I am Thomas Jefferson, I was an American statesman, planter, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. I was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Following the American Revolutionary War and before becoming president in 1801, I was the nation's first U.S. secretary of state under George Washington and then the nation's second vice president under John Adams. I was a leading proponent of democracy, republicanism, and natural rights, and I produced formative documents and decisions at the state, national, and international levels.