When future President Franklin Roosevelt was under secretary of the navy he noticed there was no memorial to the third president. When Roosevelt became president he became an vocal leader to have the memorial built. The memorial cornerstone was laid in 1939. The memorial was dedicated on April 13, 1943. President Franklin Roosevelt gave the dedication speech.
The memorial is circular. As you walk into the entrance of the memorial you will notice above the center column a frieze of the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence. The men are Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livinston, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson and Sam Adams. Inside the memorial you will see engraved in the walls of the memorial the Declaration of Independence, his beliefs on changing the Constitution and religious freedom.
The statue of Jefferson is 19 feet tall. It was sculpted Rudolph Evans. The original Statue was made out of plaster. The bronze statue was place inside the memorial in 1947 The permanent statue is made out of bronze. The statue weighs over 10000 pounds. The statue depicts Jefferson is a holding the Declaration of Independence in his hands. If you look at the back of the statue you will see items on the statue symbolizing Jefferson as a farmer.
Jefferson was a President, Secretary of State and Vice President. He was the first President to shake hands with people, started a political party. He bought the Louisiana purchase and started the University of Virginia.
