The story of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's iconic home, is one of historic preservation and the efforts of the Levy family to rescue it from disrepair. Uriah Levy, a Jewish American and U.S. Navy Commodore, purchased Monticello in 1836 and restored it to its former glory. His nephew, Jefferson Levy, continued the family's efforts to preserve the property, but faced opposition from a movement to turn Monticello into a government-run shrine to Thomas Jefferson.
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