In one of American history’s lesser-known facts, Founding Fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826. That is 50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Adams nominated Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence while acting as one of his editors and advisers.
It would be difficult to find two Founding Fathers with a more complicated personal history than Adams and Jefferson. The two were close friends during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent Revolutionary War years, during which both served as ambassadors to France. However, things began to change for the worse in subsequent years. The two would be in conflict over many issues of the early Republic, including the role of the federal government and states’ rights. This was more problematic while Jefferson served as Adams’ vice president. Unlike today, back then, the Constitution called for the man who finished second in the presidential election to become the vice president. The two became political rivals that would climax in the bitter presidential election of 1800, making Jefferson the third president of the United States.
As the saying goes, “Time heals all wounds.” Adams and Jefferson began a series of correspondence after both men had left political life and retired to Massachusetts and Virginia. These letters discussed the personal and intellectual challenges of the day and seemed to give each man a better understanding of the other.
Upon his death at age 90, Adam’s last words are proclaimed to be, “At least Jefferson lives.” Jefferson had died five hours earlier at age 83. In one of history’s unknowns, it is said that two couriers on horseback, each carrying messages for the other about the deaths, crossed en route.