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At the age of 5, Jefferson began studying  under his cousin's tutor... At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and retired from his law practice. At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence. At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal...

Jefferson was a man of rare intellectual gifts and many political accomplishments. For modern Christians, Jefferson poses some troubling paradoxes. While it may be appealing to Christians to aggrandize Jefferson, we need to see the man for the enigma he was.

Do you and your family know what is considered by some folks the largest monument to an American?

William Jefferson settles in to federal prison in Beaumont, TexasBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Published: Saturday, May 05, 2012, 9:00 AM Former Democratic Rep. William Jefferson reported Friday to the low-security federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, to begin serving a 13-year sentence, the longest ever for a congressional member. Jefferson, 65, arrived about 40 minutes ahead of the noon deadline set by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III who presided over Jefferson's 2009 trial for corruption and bribery. **SNIP** His downfall began when a disgruntled investor went to the FBI in 2005, expressing concerns that she was being defrauded...

Jefferson ordered to report to federal prison in Beaumont, TexasBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Updated: Thursday, May 03, 2012, 5:29 PM WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, will begin his 13-year prison sentence Friday at the low-security federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, according to two federal law enforcement officials.Judge T.S Ellis III, who revoked Jefferson's $50,000 bail two weeks ago, had given the former nine-term congressman until noon to begin his sentence. Following recommendations from both Jefferson's lawyers and federal prosecutors, Ellis had recommended the former congressman serve his time at a minimum security prison, or prison...

William Jefferson should serve his 13-year sentence in a minimum-security prison, judge saysBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Updated: Friday, April 20, 2012, 10:11 PM Alexandria, Va. -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, must report to prison by May 4 to begin serving his 13-year sentence on bribery and public corruption charges, more than two years after he was convicted and almost seven years after news of a federal investigation of his dealings became public. Judge T.S. Ellis III rejected a motion Friday by Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, and supported by lead prosecutor Mark Lytle, that Jefferson be allowed...

Time is running out for Bill JeffersonPublished: Sunday, April 01, 2012, 6:37 AM By James Gill - The Times-Picayune Legal experts cited by the paper say federal prosecutors may now ask trial judge T.S. Ellis III to lock Dollar Bill up. Those experts are not exactly going out on a limb, considering that prosecutors opposed bail for William Jefferson in the first place. Now that an appeals court panel in Virginia has resoundingly and unanimously upheld Jefferson's conviction on all but one of 11 counts, prosecutors would be remiss if they didn't urge immediate consignment to the pen. The experts...

William Jefferson gets OK to attend funeral for former House colleagueBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune Updated: Monday, March 12, 2012, 4:14 PM WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, has received court permission to attend Wednesday's funeral for Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., one of his closest friends when both served on Capitol Hill. The funeral will be held in Newark, N.J, with a public viewing on Tuesday. Payne, 77, died last week after being diagnosed with colon cancer. **SNIP** Ellis gave Jefferson a 13-year sentence - the longest corruption sentence for a member of Congress -- after his 2009 conviction....

Thomas DiLorenzo, Professor of Economics at Loyola College in Maryland, discusses his latest book, "Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution--and What It Means for Americans Today." Recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 12 March 2009. Introduction by Dr. Mark Thornton.

Former Rep. William Jefferson unaffected by measure to block pensions for felonsBy Times-Picayune Staff Published: Saturday, February 04, 2012, 11:59 PM **SNIP** Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, who was convicted of 11 of 16 corruption charges in a 2009 trial, was unaffected by the 2007 law and will remain so if the new Senate language becomes law. Attorneys have told Congress that it doesn't have the authority to retroactively take back benefits from people, including members of Congress. The bribery-related charges against Jefferson occurred before the 2007 law. Jefferson is receiving a pension of between $40,000 and $50,000 a...

Full Title: Last check for $800 Abraham Lincoln wrote the day before he was assassinated is discovered after 150 years (and it's now worth $25,000) A personal check that Abraham Lincoln wrote the day before he was assassinated is among those that were rediscovered by an Ohio bank. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports that 70 checks were found in a vault at Huntington Bank's Columbus headquarters, including checks signed by George Washington, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and Thomas Edison. Some are being displayed at branches throughout the state. The Lincoln check had been made out to 'self' for $800.

Rick Santorum's near-miss in Iowa provides a reminder that, for many Republican voters (and not a few candidates), religion and politics overlap. If you need another reminder, though, consider this: recently, the Smithsonian has restored and put on display a weird and fantastic 19th century book known as "The Jefferson Bible." That's Jefferson as in Thomas, and this private, personal document offers a useful case study in how politics and Christianity have mixed it up in American history, right up to today. To understand Jefferson's Bible, you need to start with the one book he published in his lifetime: "Notes...

William Jefferson Appeal Could Weaken Corruption StatuteBy Amanda Becker Roll Call Staff Dec. 12, 2011, Midnight A federal prosecutor warned Friday that if the conviction of former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) is reversed on appeal, it would place many fraudulent acts committed by lawmakers outside the scope of current bribery law. Jefferson was convicted of 11 corruption charges in 2009, but his legal team is arguing that since the former Congressman’s scheme to connect businesses in which he had a financial stake with foreign governments was not related to his formal legislative duties, his activities are not covered by the...

Conservative Black man Herman Cain should be flattered by his accuser’s smear tactics. It means that the Leftist media are actually threatened and taking his candidacy far more seriously than they would like to have us believe. They are using the allegation of him as a “Serial Sexual Predator” because they can not use their other favorite weapon—the “Racism” charge or “Borking” (original intent) as it is affectionately known in Progressive circles. The reason Mr. Cain should be flattered is that he is in very good company: another Black Conservative Judge Clarence Thomas (Anita Hill) and Founder Thomas Jefferson (Sally...

Was the Declaration of Independence legal? In Philadelphia, American and British lawyers have debated the legality of America's founding documents.On Tuesday night, while Republican candidates in Nevada were debating such American issues as nuclear waste disposal and the immigration status of Mitt Romney's gardener, American and British lawyers in Philadelphia were taking on a far more fundamental topic. Namely, just what did Thomas Jefferson think he was doing? Some background: during the hot and sweltering summer of 1776, members of the second Continental Congress travelled to Philadelphia to discuss their frustration with royal rule.By 4 July, America's founding fathers approved...

Part I – The Origin of Liberty The United States became a nation through a grand self-declaration of independence on July 4, 1776. The American colonialists-turned-revolutionaries fought a valiant and victorious battle against Great Britain to back up the audacious claim made in their Declaration of Independence. In 1788 the Constitution of the United States was ratified. A new nation was born that would stand as the bastion of liberty for centuries to come because of its religious influence. Ironically, many citizens of this very same nation today writhe at the suggestion that religion is, or could be, responsible for...

This coming November, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will exhibit a cut-and-paste Bible of a mere 86 pages. Were it the work of David Wojnarowicz (the artist behind the crucifix video) or Andres Serrano (of "Piss Christ" fame), this Bible would doubtless stir up a hornet's nest. But in fact, it was created by Thomas Jefferson. During the election of 1800, Jefferson was denounced as a "howling atheist" and "a confirmed infidel" known for "vilifying the divine word, and preaching insurrection against God." But the Virginian also revered Jesus as "the first of human Sages" and was, according...

WASHINGTON—The alleged liaison between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings entered a new phase upon the release of an updated scholarly report at the National Press Club on Sept. 1. The “Jefferson-Hemings Controversy: Report of the Scholars Commission” seeks to overturn the widely held belief that the author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States had an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, and was the father of one or more of her children. The liaison has gained acceptance and notoriety in popular culture. In February 2000, “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal” was shown...

In a book due out Thursday, eminent scholars say it's unlikely that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings' children, disputing a decade's worth of conventional wisdom that the author of the Declaration of Independence sired offspring with one of his slaves. The debate has ensnared historians for years, and many thought the issue was settled when DNA testing in the late 1990s confirmed that a Jefferson male fathered Hemings' youngest son, Eston. But, with one lone dissenter, the panel of 13 scholars doubted the claim and said the evidence points instead to Jefferson's brother Randolph as the father.

Ex-New Orleans politician guilty of racketeeringPublished: Tue, July 26, 2011 @ 11:45 a.m. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former New Orleans councilwoman connected to a corruption-tainted ex-Louisiana congressman has been convicted of conspiring to loot more than $1 million from charities run with taxpayer money. Federal jurors on Monday convicted 56-year-old Renee Gill Pratt of one count of racketeering and she faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced Oct. 26. **SNIP** Jefferson was convicted in 2009 on corruption charges over his African business ties. He’s free pending appeals. Gill Pratt insisted Monday that she is innocent. She is...