We had spent the last few days diving into America’s beginnings. Our last stop was th a visit to the home of Thomas Jefferson- Monticello.
Thomas Jefferson was the country’s first Secretary of State, the second Vice President, and the third President. Most notably, he was one of the founding fathers of the country. He was also the author of the Declaration of Independence.
After the Revolutionary War ended, there were a few meticulously created replicas of the Declaration of Independence. One of these replicas was given to Thomas Jefferson where it hung it his home honoring the incredible feat that had been achieved in establishing an independent country.
In those words, Jefferson and the other founding fathers declared independence from the sovereignty of King George III. Declaring their independence was an act of treason. Had they lost the war all of those men would have been tried and executed as traitors to the crown.
The last line of the declaration states ” And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor”.
Thomas Jefferson inherited 5,000 acres of land from his father at the age of 14. He would build his home on the top of the hill overlooking the rest of the plantation.
Jefferson was greatly influenced by his travels through Europe. He brought back with him ideas of style and design and included them in building his neoclassical home here in Virginia. He would also design the nearby University of Virginia.
Monticello was listed as a national landmark in 1987. It was also deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architectural and historic significance.
There are many tours available at Monticello. We decided on the highlights tour that includes the main floor of the house and the grounds. The highlight tour cost $42/adult, $13/teen, $4/child.
We entered the house through the guest entrance. We were greeted with a museum like entry way showing the wide array of Jefferson’s interests. His father was a cartographer and Jefferson was given many of his maps. There were antlers and skins of animals from out west that came back from the Lewis and Clark expedition. The next room was his office, filled with books and writings, where he spent much of time.
Jefferson loved natural light and so incorporated windows and skylights wherever possible. In every room, there is a beautiful attention to detail in the paintings chosen. The placement of furniture is carefully considered. The items of interest were laid out for guests to enjoy. His house is an incredible collection. It reflects the influence and design that came from Jefferson’s travels throughout Europe as the Secretary of State.
Our tour finished outside facing the beautiful front of Monticello. The elegant bunting of red, white, and blue was draped along the top.
Every year on the 4th of July, Monticello holds a massive naturalization ceremony for all those who are becoming citizens of the U.S. The new citizens stand on the stairs to be sworn in. Afterwards they have the opportunity to speak about what their citizenship means to them.
Outside of the house were the rooms and areas showing the work and labor that went into running the plantation. Hundreds of free and enslaved people worked here at Monticello. They operated behind the scenes to create a comfortable place to live. Their work also provided a significant experience to those visiting.
Along the outside of the house was what they called ‘Mulberry Road’ where all the slave quarters lined the lane. Jefferson and other founding fathers were plantation owners. They faced the moral contradiction of declaring independence and freedom while at the same time owning slaves who were denied their freedom.
They were painfully aware of this contradiction. Most of them thought that slavery was a practice that should be abolished. Talk of abolishing slavery was a heated debate before and after the revolution. But many felt that the newly formed country was too unstable to face such a divisive controversy.
It would be almost 100 years later, with a Civil War that almost destroyed the country, before slavery was finally abolished.
The gardens of Monticello are extensive and beautiful as they stretch the entire length of the area on top of the hill. Rows and rows of of plants and herbs bask in the sun in their perfectly cultivated place of sun and soil.
The garden provided for everyone at Monticello along with supporting neighboring communities. Today, they hold farmer’s markets where visitors can come and purchase some of what is grown here. They can also purchase some of the heritage seeds that were grown hundreds of years ago.
From the main house, we walked down the hill until we came to the imposing black and gold fence of the cemetery. The tallest pillar marks where Thomas Jefferson was laid to rest.
There are very strict guidelines about who can be buried here of only those related to Jefferson being allowed. The cemetery spreads out from Jefferson’s grave to include a small assortment of other graves remembering his descendants through the generations.
Here too visitors can see the stark contrast between people, even in death. At the bottom of the hill is the area where those enslaved would be buried. There are no markers, no stones, no names- just a piece of ground.
The Jefferson Foundation has been working tirelessly to research those who worked here at Monticello and would have been buried here to make this area sacred ground honoring those who died. It was a very sad and moving part of Monticello.
Walking through Monticello is really an incredible history lesson on one of the key players in the American Revolution. Jefferson wrote the words that would not only demand freedom but also define a country. It is amazing to think what power words can have.
Here are some other U.S. presidents sites to consider:
Thank you for coming along today on this visit to Monticello, the home of President Thomas Jefferson. May you speak words of power, direction, and freedom.
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