Jefferson Administrations - Post-presidential Years
Post-presidential Years
Upon Jefferson's return to private life he became known as the "Sage of Monticello." In early December 1811, Jefferson resumed a friendship with Adams that had been interrupted by their political feud. They struck up a lively correspondence that would continue to the end of their lives. An avid architect, Jefferson in retirement busied himself in drawing up blueprints for many buildings that still stand today, including the capitol in Richmond and the University of Virginia. His primary activity, farming, was his sole means of support.
Never a good steward of his inherited wealth, Jefferson's later years were troubled by a growing mass of unpaid debts. This preoccupation with paying off his creditors led Jefferson in 1814 to sell his personal library to the Library of Congress, which had been created at the start of the century. The Jefferson collection consisted of 15,000 books and replenished the...
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