Lesson 17: How Did the Civil War Test and Transform the American Constitutional System?

Biographies

Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was a scientist, philosopher, diplomat, and architect. He supported the revolutionary cause and served as governor of Virginia. Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Jefferson wrote the initial draft of the Declaration of Independence, which was amended by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin and submitted to Congress. Jefferson supported the Constitution but was critical of its lack of a bill of rights. He was the first secretary of state in Washington's cabinet and the leader of the Republican Party. Jefferson was elected vice president in 1796 and was chosen president four years later. He was reelected to the presidency in 1804.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. In his Gettysburg Address he declared the aim of preserving a "nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."