Thomas Jefferson

A delegate to the second Continental Congress and, at Adams' insistence, author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson, too, was a man marked by contradictions. His attraction to the sophisticated offerings of European cities was at odds with his belief in the yeoman farmer as the wellspring of virtue; his instinctive support of rebellion was at odds with his tendency to avoid personal conflict; and his aristocratic upbringing and his position as a leading Virginia landowner and slaveholder were at odds with his belief in individual rights and equality. He grew apart from Adams as their beliefs on the direction of America's government diverged, and served as Adams' contentious Vice President and as the third President of the United States.