Before his death, Thomas Jefferson left explicit instructions regarding the monument to be erected over his grave. In this undated document, Jefferson supplied a sketch of the shape of the marker, and the epitaph with which he wanted it to be inscribed:

"... on the faces of the Obelisk the following inscription, & not a word more:

Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia

"because by these," he explained, "as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered."

In this slideshow, you will learn more about Jefferson's three greatest accomplishments. 

Thomas Jefferson is considered the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, although Jefferson's draft went through a process of revision by his fellow committee members and the Second Continental Congress.

The Declaration announced America's separation from one of the world's most powerful empires: Britain.  Parliament's taxes imposed without American representation, along with King George III's failure to address or ease his subjects' grievances, made dissolving the "bands which have connected them" not just a choice, but an urgent necessity.  As the Declaration made clear, the "long train of abuses and usurpations" and the tyranny exhibited "over these States" forced the colonists to "alter their former system of Government."  In such circumstances, Jefferson explained that it was the people’s “right, it was their duty,” to throw off the repressive government.  Under the new "system," Americans would govern themselves.

Jefferson considered the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom among the three greatest accomplishments for which he wished “most to be remembered.”

The statute gives Virginians the right to choose their faiths without coercion and affirms the separation of church and state.

The statute was drafted by Jefferson in 1777 when he was part of a committee revising the Constitution of Virginia. It was passed in 1786. 

The bill was strongly supported by those who had suffered under the established church in colonial Virginia and who desired religious freedom and a separation of church and state. 

Jefferson was in France when he learned of the bill's passage, and had the Statute translated into French and Italian and distributed as widely as possible. The Statute would go on to play a critical role in the development of American religious freedom and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. As James Madison explained, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom "is a true standard of Religious liberty: its principle the great barrier agst. usurpations on the rights of conscience. As long as it is respected & no longer, these will be safe."

Inscribed on his tombstone, this was one of the many ways Jefferson instilled a right to religious freedom in the formation of the new nation.

Jefferson included the creation of the University of Virginia as one of three accomplishments for which he most wished to be remembered. Years after the end of his presidency, at the age of seventy-six, he spearheaded the legislative campaign for the university's charter, secured its location, designed its buildings, planned its curriculum, and served as its first rector. It was his last great public service. 

The cornerstone for the University was laid in October of 1817. Jefferson designed a plan for the "Academical Village", and the University of Virginia opened for students in 1825. 

Standards for Thomas Jefferson's Three Greatest Achievements