Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, and at 33 years of age, joined the signers officially adopting the Declaration in 1776. Jefferson, America’s third president, influenced a fledgling country in public service spanning more than five decades. In his second inaugural address in 1805, Jefferson referenced the Exodus story from the Bible: “I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and plant

The fact that Thomas Jefferson had children with his slave Sally Hemmings was denied by Jefferson's family for almost 2 centuries–until DNA evidence confirmed it. A descendent of Jefferson and Hemmings learns the details of the story. A new episode of One Thousand Years of Slavery airs this Monday at 8 PM. #1000YearsOfSlavery | Smithsonian Channel