Jefferson and Adams- two reasons to celebrate July Fourth!

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were both instrumental in the founding of this country.  Both were on the committee which drafted the Declaration of Independence. Both were presidents. During the course of their lives, they were friends and political adversaries.

They were certainly very different people.

Jefferson is known as a renaissance man- a man who loved new ideas, loved learning, and was extremely creative. He was shy and did not like to give speeches. In fact, he usually delivered a written copy of his State of the Union address to Congress where it would be read into the record. He invented the dumb waiter, a system of copying letters, organized the Louisiana Purchase and wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statues of Religious Freedom, Notes on the State of Virginia, and founded the University of Virginia. Monticello, his home and plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia was his pride and joy. He spoke French and was one of the people who successfully convinced the French to aid the American army during Revolutionary Way.  He was also our 3^rd President.

Adams came from a different background.  He was happy to give speeches. He was a lawyer and a farmer from Massachusetts. He did, however, encourage Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. He also served as Ambassador to France, though he did not particularly enjoy the French way of Life. He was a good judge of character and was able to persuade the Continental Congress to appoint George Washington Commander and Chief of the Army. He served first as Washington’s Vice-President and then was elected President in 1796.

In 1800, the two men ran against each other in the Presidential Election. The election of 1800 was every bit as partisan and ugly as it is today. Many disagreed with Adam’s creation of the Alien and Sedition acts during his quasi-war with France. It was one of the first elections where it was clear that partisan politics played a role. Though it came down to the wire, Jefferson won.

In 1809, when Jefferson left office he concentrated on Monticello, and managed to found the University of Virginia. After writing John Adams a note of condolence on the death of his wife, Abigail, the two former presidents began corresponding regularly. These two men who played huge parts in the founding of our great Nation were, during the course of their lifetimes, friends, enemies, people who tolerated each other to achieve greater things, political rivals, presidents, were friends in the end.

July 4, 1826

John Adams died in Massachusetts.  When he realized it was the Fourth, he said, “It is a great day. It is a good day. Jefferson lives.”

Thomas Jefferson died the same day. His epitaph reads:

HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.

Happy Fourth to All! If it were not for men like Jefferson and Adams, we could still be British!

(Most of the information is from Wikipedia and my own memory of history.)