Thomas Jefferson met John Adams at the 1775 Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the two forming a close personal friendship which would last for most of their lives. They were two of the committee of five assigned to write the Declaration of Independence, and worked closely together throughout the era of our founding.
The friendship between the two men came to an end during the Presidential election of 1800. Mudslinging on both sides rose to levels never before seen in a national election, an election in which both sides firmly believed the election of the other, would destroy the young nation.
Jefferson defeated one term incumbent Adams and went on to serve two terms as President.
On Jefferson’s retirement in 1809, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush, took it upon himself to patch up the broken friendship between the two founding fathers. Dr. Rush worked on his personal diplomatic mission for two years. In 1811, he finally succeeded.
There followed a series of letters between Adams and Jefferson, which together constitute one of the most comprehensive historical and philosophical assessments ever written about the American founding.
Their correspondence touched on a variety of topics, from the birth of this self-governing Republic, to then-current political issues, to matters of philosophy and religion and issues of aging. Both men understood that they were writing not only to one another, but to generations yet unborn.
Each went to great lengths to explain the philosophical underpinnings of his views. Adams the Federalist, the firm believer in strong, centralized government. Jefferson was the Democratic-Republican, advocating for smaller federal government and more autonomy for the states.
In 1826, Jefferson and Adams were the last of the founding fathers. In an ending no fiction writer would even dare to contemplate, both men died on this day in 1826, fifty years to the day from the birth of the Republic they had helped to create.
Adams was 90. His final words as he lay on his deathbed were “Thomas Jefferson still survives”. Adams had no way of knowing that Jefferson had died five hours earlier, at Monticello. He was 82.
Daniel Webster spoke of the pair a month later, at Faneuil Hall, in Boston. “No two men now live” he said”, (or) any two men have ever lived, in one age, who (have) given a more lasting direction to the current of human thought. No age will come, in which the American Revolution will appear less than it is, one of the greatest events in human history. No age will come, in which it will cease to be seen and felt, on either continent, that a mighty step, a great advance, not only in American affairs, but in human affairs, was made on the 4th of July, 1776″.