Watch Thomas Jefferson | Ken Burns | PBS (original) (raw)

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Part 1

Jefferson also made himself into a true renaissance man – a scholar, a philosopher, a diplomat, an aesthete, and an architect. As a young man, he was transformed by the fire of the Enlightenment into America’s most articulate voice for human liberty.

Full Length 86m 50s

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Part 1

Full Length

Part 1

86m 50s

Jefferson also made himself into a true renaissance man – a scholar, a philosopher, a diplomat, an aesthete, and an archit

Part 2

Full Length

Part 2

87m 12s

Jefferson’s last years were spent founding the University of Virginia and reestablishing his friendship, after decades of

Drafting the Declaration of Independence

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Drafting the Declaration of Independence

3m 38s

Benjamin Franklin was initially asked to construct the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, but after turning i

The Road to Monticello

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The Road to Monticello

2m 59s

Thomas Jefferson was born in the Colony of Virginia on April 13, 1743. Upon his father’s death, Jefferson inherited severa

An American Enigma

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An American Enigma

4m 59s

Thomas Jefferson is an enigma among American historical figures. He was one of America’s founding fathers, and the princip

About the Film

Thomas Jefferson is a two-part portrait of our enigmatic and brilliant third president. Thomas Jefferson embodies within his own life the most profound contradictions of American history: as the author of the Declaration of Independence, he gave voice to our fervent desire for freedom, but he also owned more than 150 slaves and never saw fit to free them.

Premiered on PBS: February 1997

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