IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
On July 4 of this year, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation's birth. At risk to their lives, a group of American colonial leaders signed a Declaration of Independence from Great Britian. The document's stirring words were principally authored by a young soft-spoken farmer from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson went on to play a pivotal role in shaping the new nation's democracy. He served as Vice President under both George Washington and John Adams, then as America's third President for eight years, then as Minister to France, then as Governor of Virginia, and founder of the University of Virginia. Along the way, he doubled the size of the new nation by negotiating the Louisiana Purchase from France, wrote eight books, learned multiple languages, discovered plant species unknown to botanists, and insisted that slavery be banned from the Northwest Ordinance states. John Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He is in awe of the career of Ann Arbor high school graduate, Ken Burns.
