5 Chapter 4 Governor and Minister to France

Chapter 4 Governor and Minister to France Most members of Congress signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776. Its author signed the paper Th Jefferson. After signing, he was ready to go home. He missed his family. Besides, he felt he was needed in Virginia. He quit his seat in Congress on September 2 and reached Monticello a week later.

In October, Jefferson became a member of Virginia's new state legislature. He served there for three difficult years. England was the world's most powerful nation. For a long while, it appeared that the United States would lose the war.

Jefferson ran for governor of Virginia in June 1779. He was elected and held the office for two years. Jefferson was a brilliant thinker. He was a marvelous writer. But he was not a good wartime governor. Perhaps the biggest problem was that in his heart he was a man of peace. He was not good at raising and arming men for combat. As a result, Virginia was unprepared when the British invaded the state in 1781. On June 2, 1781, with British forces overrunning Virginia, Jefferson's term as governor ended. Two days later, Jefferson was at Monticello when a messenger arrived with terrible news. The British were coming to capture him! Thomas made Martha and the children board a carriage and escape. He then walked into the woods to see if he could spot the enemy. Seeing no sign of them, he decided to return home for some papers. Before doing that, he took out a small telescope he had brought along. He aimed it at Charlottesville, just two miles from Monticello. The town was crawling with British troops.

The telescope may have saved his life. The British had seized Monticello. Had he returned

home, Jefferson might have been captured and hanged. Instead, he met up with his family. CONTINENTAL SOLDIER

WHEN THE THIRTEEN COLONIES WENT TO WAR AGAINST ENGLAND, THE AMERICAN COLONISTS WANTED THEIR OWN FLAG TO REPRESENT THE LAND THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR. HERE ARE SOME OF THE FLAGS COLONISTS USED DURING THE REVOLUTION. Jefferson took them to Poplar Forest, a plantation he owned about eighty miles from Monticello. A few months after the Jeffersons fled Monticello, Americans won a stunning victory. It occurred right in Virginia. Ben Franklin had