Although Thomas Jefferson has a dark history that includes slave ownership and relocation of Native Americans, he deserves to be called one of the great Founding Fathers of the United States as he authored the Declaration of Independence , a fighter for equal rights and a scholar. As the primary author of the Declaration of Independence he made sure the words "all men are created equal" were included (Freidel and Sidey). As a fighter for equal rights, Thomas Jefferson stated in his first inaugural address: "All will also bear in mind this sacred principle that, while the will of the majority must in all cases prevail, that will to be legitimate must be reasonable and that the minority possesses their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate it would be oppression.” (A&E Networks Television) A polymath is “a person whose experience spans a significant number of different subject areas” (dictionary. com), which is definitely a definition of Thomas Jefferson. Eclectics are known for drawing on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Thomas Jefferson also had a dark history. Thomas Jefferson owned many slaves. When Thomas was 14 his father died and left him a 3,000-acre slave plantation with about 30 slaves who at one point owned as many as 600 slaves who say Mr. Jefferson may have had a long-term affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings. It seems like most people agree that they had several children together. It's hard to imagine now what it would have been like to grow up on a slave plantation and inherit slave ownership Thomas Jefferson must have experienced many feelings of slavery over the years Perhaps some of the things he saw on his own plantation... middle of paper. .. .=t>."Biography of Thomas Jefferson." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television and Web. January 7, 2014. "Thomas Jefferson and Slavery." RSS of Thomas Jeffersons Monticello blog. Np, nd Web. 6 January 2014. "Thomas Jefferson, Freeman." Thomas Jefferson, Freemann. Np, nd Web. 8 January 2014. "Thomas Jefferson." The White House. Np, nd Web. 6 January 2014. "Biography of Thomas Jefferson." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television and Web. January 7, 2014. "Biography of Thomas Jefferson." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television and Web. January 7. 2014. .