Question

Describe how Jefferson’s marriage proposal to Rebecca Burwell went.

Answer 1

Jefferson had an awkward courtship with Rebecca Burwell, a 16-year-old girl, who declined Jefferson's marriage proposal, and his unwelcome advances towards the wife of a boyhood friend. It resulted in Jefferson putting flowers in his room to wilt all night. Instead, Rebecca Burwell married Jacquelin Ambler, which made her the mother-in-law of the United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, who wrote the famous Marbury vs. Madison decision which was a criticism on President Jefferson.