synopsis

Thomas Jefferson is by most accounts the most admired and greatest figure in American history. However, he was a man whose behavior in many ways contradicted his public declarations. He supported resistance and revolution in America and France, yet was not a charismatic politician or front-line soldier. His eloquence was immortalized in the Declaration of Independence, which declared that "All men are created equal." He disapproved of the slave trade, yet owned over 200 human beings and had no intention of granting them their freedom. A Renaissance man in his own right, Jefferson was an architect, writer, surveyor, statesman and scientist. In this two part documentary, Ken Burns paints a biographical portrait of Thomas Jefferson, from his beginnings in Virginia to the building of Monticello, while also exploring Jefferson's battles with the Federalist movement.