#3: Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826

Oh Jefferson, Jefferson, Jefferson. What am I going to write about you? I know that I will probably be struck by lightning for this but I have to admit that I am not a fan of Jefferson. I know that he was a genius and that he doubled the size of the United States and that his home is a model of architectural splendor and that his face adorns Mount Rushmore in all its glory, but I have never liked him. In fact, I disliked him even before I read Washington’s and Adams’ biographies and was given all that great ammunition. Jefferson has always seemed rather weak to me. Even though he is a quiet gentleman I never took his silence as strong but more cunning and hypocritical, like a spider spinning a web from the shadows.

That being said, I do have to admit that Jefferson continues to possess a universality that simply will not die away. Presidential candidates, in the last century especially, were always quick to throw down the Jeffersonian gauntlet for their cause, proving the extreme adroitness of Jefferson’s legacy. Jefferson, like the Bible, can be used, apparently, to uphold just about any argument or ideology. This contradiction, which is exactly what Jefferson was himself, is such an unusual phenomenon in American politics that Joseph Ellis concentrated his entire lengthy prologue on it. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1997) was the biography that I chose to represent our third President based mainly on my impressions of Ellis’ handling of Washington and the relative size of the book, which I must confess, is always a factor to me.

Jefferson’s youth is completely shrouded in mystery due to the Shadwell fire of 1770 which entirely consumed all evidence of Jefferson’s childhood. We do know that he was born in Shadwell, VA in 1743 and that he was one in a long line of successful Virginia planters. Other than that however, there is barely any good information about him as a child, nor really anything up until he went to college. I gathered that he was a rather serious, shy young man, tall with red hair and freckles. He would remain a great reader his entire life. He went to college at William and Mary and upon graduation, decided to study law in Williamsburg (then the capital of Virginia) under the renowned lawyer, George Wythe. It was around this time that he decided, not only to build Monticello, but in a contrary maneuver, to stand for the House of Burgesses. Here we see the contradictions inherent in Jefferson’s own soul: on the one hand his desire to get away from the world, to have his escape from reality and on the other, his desire to be included in society through politics. His entire life seemed to be a battle between the need for retirement from public life and the urge for greater involvement in the political arena.

His nature, so quiet and unassuming (which would be mistaken for arrogance on occasion), was initially a detriment to his political career. So self-effacing was he at the time that when the First Continental Congress called for men from each state, Jefferson was voted as a substitute for the real political big-wigs from Virginia. “It would be fair to say that Jefferson made the list of acknowledged political leaders in the Old Dominion, but just barely, and largely because of his ties by blood and patronage with the Randolph [his mother’s] circle” (p. 29). While biding his time in Williamsburg, Jefferson published a pamphlet called A Summary View of the Rights of British America which espoused his views, at the time, of really radical concepts on tyranny and revolution.

He was voted onto the Virginia delegation to the Second Continental Congress in 1775, leading him to Philadelphia and ultimately to his destiny. While attending the Congress, Jefferson, as the junior member on a distinguished delegation, continued his habitual policy of observation and silence. Not fond of public speaking, he did not debate nor deliver any sort of speech. He typified the “refined and disciplined scholar” (p. 38) instead but due to his publication of Summary View, no one doubted that he had the heart of a Patriot. And, of course, this brings us to The Declaration of Independence!

I love the Declaration of Independence as much as the next person but you have to admit that there is a sort of “hallowed” air swirling around it that is rather uncanny. Ellis gives us some good insight on this phenomenon.

“During the next six weeks, from mid-May to early July 1776, Jefferson wrote the words that made him famous and that, over the course of the next two centuries, associated him with the most visionary version of the American dream. As a result, this historical ground has been trampled over by hordes of historians, and the air surrounding it is perpetually full of an incandescent mixture of incense and smoke. His authorship of the Declaration of Independence is regarded as one of those few quasi-religious episodes in American history, that moment when, at least according to the most romantic explanations, a solitary Jefferson was allowed a glimpse of the eternal truths and then offered the literary inspiration to inscribe them on the American soul” (p. 46).

It sounds so melodramatic but I love it.

Jefferson was delegated the task of writing a declaration announcing the United States’ independence from England not only because he was handy with a pen, but he possessed a decided flair for writing. And the result was more than anyone could have wished. True, there were some changes made to the original document but the bulk of it was straight from Jefferson’s brain (there were charges made at the time that he plagiarized some of it.) Jefferson stayed only long enough to hear the debate and to sign it before he left once more for Monticello.

During the war years, Jefferson faced two defining moments at home. The first was a brief two-year stint as governor of Virginia. As a self-proclaimed scholar, Jefferson was quite unfit for this task. “It was the worst possible time for a man who preferred the rarified atmosphere of scholarship and the study to assume the duties of governor, since wartime exigencies generated massive economic, logistical and political problems that even the most adroit executive would have found daunting” (p. 65). His tenure as governor was disastrous—Virginia’s economy was in shambles, the British, under, Benedict Arnold, burned the capital city of Richmond to the ground, and Jefferson himself was almost captured by the British. In fact, the Virginia Assembly called for an investigation into Jefferson’s seeming cowardice when he fled from the British. Although the charges were all dropped, Jefferson never got over those accusations and the rumors would be reused during his presidential elections. The second defining moment was the death of his wife, Martha, during this time. She was never robust and the constant pregnancies kept her weak. It was after the birth of a daughter that Martha never recovered and after a summer of lingering, finally succumbed. Jefferson never remarried.

Jefferson always professed that he only wanted to be a farmer at Monticello but after the war, he jumped at the chance to assume a diplomatic post to France. The Treaty of Paris had been signed the year before so Jefferson was to join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in securing much-needed European loans to finance the fledgling United States. Apparently the three Americans were a sight to behold. “We know that when he [Jefferson] made his first official appearance with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin at the French court at Versailles, the physical contrast struck several observers as almost comical, like watching a cannonball, a teapot, and a candlestick announce themselves as the American trinity” (p. 65).

During his time in France, Jefferson would begin a very close and personal relationship with the Adams family. Off and on this friendship would span close to fifty years and be a constant source of information and enjoyment for succeeding generations. He also had to deal with several issues, including French loans to the US and the Barbary pirates preying on American merchants in the Mediterranean, all of which would be hampered by the ineffectual government at home under the Articles of Confederation. He was also able to be present at another national upheaval culminating in the French Revolution. Although it must be noted that though on the scene, Jefferson was remarkably dense concerning the motives and reasoning behind the revolution and the effect that it would have on history. “Therefore it is worth noting that, though, shocked at first by the random and savage character of the mob violence, he never questioned his belief in the essential rightness of the cause of the ultimate triumph of its progressive principles” (p. 110). Jefferson believed that revolutions required blood of some kind and that revolutions, in principle, were good things. Ultimately, though, he was quite unprepared for the course that the French Revolution was soon to take.

In 1788, George Washington became the first President of the United States under the brand new US Constitution and so chose Thomas Jefferson as his first Secretary of State. “Jefferson’s tenure as secretary of state coincided with the most uncharted era in American political history. Precisely because the new national government was new, every major decision set a precedent and initiative in domestic or foreign policy threatened to establish a landmark principle” (p. 121). I am fascinated by this idea: a totally new government with no precedents. This political tabula rosa is so rare that the inception of the United States is truly mindboggling and, I think, cool as hell. Ok, back to Jefferson. As secretary of state, his main job function was to keep the United States out of war so that we could grow into our new nationhood. “This meant steering clear of European conflicts at almost any cost and providing time and space for the emergent American national economy to develop its still-nascent potential” (p. 124). It was clear in his dealings that Jefferson had pro-French tendencies which on several occasions nearly caused a breakdown in relations with England.

It was also during this time that Jefferson, along with Madison, began the rudiments of political parties. In reaction to Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists, Jefferson, who espoused a weaker central government, became a member of the Republican or Anti-Federalist party (absolutely not the Republican party that we know today.) Not only was there personal animosity between Jefferson and Hamilton, their political ideologies were wildly different on almost every subject. The problem was, however, that Jefferson’s stance on government was opposite of the government that he was currently a member of. Thus, he was publicly working against Washington and the form of government that he personified. “This helps explain the vituperation and highly personal attacks on his [Jefferson’s] character in the public press during those years: there was as yet no available language or mentality for a more detached interpretation of his behavior” (p. 122). Shortly into Washington’s second term, Jefferson asked to resign from his position as secretary of state. The situation with Hamilton, who was also a member of Washington’s cabinet as secretary of the treasury, became increasingly strained and as did the attacks on Jefferson in the media. The Sally Hemings scandal hit papers around this time and the accusations would forever be linked to Jefferson’s name, although nothing has been proven. Also people speculated on the authenticity of his Christianity.

Upon retirement, Jefferson returned immediately to his beloved Monticello to become a farmer. He began massive renovations to Monticello though he was already so deeply in debt that it seems inconceivable that he would do any such thing. Jefferson had already wracked up a huge debt to the English from his pre-war ties, not to mention his extravagant living abroad. “His financial predicament was serious. Comparisons in modern-day terms are notoriously tricky to calculate, but can conservatively be estimated in the range of several hundred thousand dollars” (p. 137). The worry that this would cause Jefferson would remain with him until the end of his life. Being at home also meant that he was constantly aware of slavery around him. Indeed, his life and livelihood depended on it though he would say that he was against the institution itself.

The voters called him out of retirement. Washington had retired after two terms, leaving the United States in need of its second president. After an extremely close race, John Adams became the newest President, with Jefferson, who came in second, the Vice President. During the next four years, Jefferson did not do much (the Vice Presidential position had basically no job description) but continued to work behind the scenes with Madison and Monroe for a more republican government. Jefferson would get his chance though; in 1800, Thomas Jefferson was voted in as the 3rd President of the United States.

His Presidency was, in itself, an immense upheaval for the nascent US due to the fact that Jefferson idealized very different concepts from the previous two governmental leaders. Jefferson would call this the Revolution of 1800 but as Hamilton sagely predicted, it was easier talking than getting things done once in the White House (it wasn’t called that yet, btw). Jefferson’s first term was characterized by a masterful, yet laissez faire-ish, success. In fact, he was nearly invisible. America, at the time, was enjoying a moment of peace both at home and abroad and thus it allowed Jefferson to slowly ease away from the helm and allow the country to chug along nicely. Because he had such time and resources on his side, he was able to concentrate most of his attention to the national debt and to its reduction thereby. He so assiduously worked on this that national taxes were ended during his presidency and the national debt halved. Add to that the freaking huge land acquisition called the Louisiana Purchase and there is no need to mention it—he was pretty popular.

His second term was not nearly so pleasant and was characterized by an economic flop. The British was beginning to act up again, impressing American sailors onto their boats, so Jefferson, in all his idealism, decided to retaliate through an Embargo Act. Instead of affecting the British, however, this Act dearly hurt the American economy by sending it into a tailspin of extreme proportions. It was a relief to Jefferson when he was finally able to step down as President of the United States and resume his much-cherished mantle of gentleman farmer.

As always he was soon heading back to Monticello, where spend considerable energy on making the place livable and economically viable. He began new industries on this land and even began planning a vast new university that would be located near him at Charlottesville (which became the University of Virginia). His main occupation during his retirement was a back-breaking amount of correspondence. He answered most of the letters that he received which was over one thousand a year and kept detailed accounts of all his daily work. John Adams would become a dear friend again during this time and their letters in total range upwards of a 150. He died on July 4, 1826 at the age of 83.

# 3: Thomas Jefferson Part 2

Really Cool Stuff about Jefferson:
1. He sang or hummed softly to himself all the time. “He sang whenever he was walking or riding, sometimes when he was reading” (p. 26). It was to be a distinct characteristic of his his entire life.
2. He explained America’s rights through an interpretation of Whig philosophy he called “expatriation.” Basically the Whigs' “romantic endorsement of a pristine past, a long-lost time and place where men had lived together in perfect harmony without coercive laws or predatory rulers, gave narrative shape to his [Jefferson’s] fondest imaginings and to utopian expectations with deep roots in his personality” (p. 32). The expatriation theory then developed into an idea that America was the true inheritor of the original Saxon lifestyle even though this perfect past, which, as history, was completely false.
3. Jefferson had a rather comical vendetta against Georges de Buffon, the leading French naturalist at the time. Buffon believed that plants and animals in North America were inferior to their European counterparts because of the unpropitious land in America. Jefferson, living in France at the time, tried to refute Buffon by sending expeditions out in the United States to look for large animals. A couple animals were killed and sent over to Jefferson but when he showed them off to Buffon, Buffon said that nothing could be concluded from such carcasses.
4. Jefferson was a firm believer in revolutions. Jefferson remarked (upon hearing of Shays Rebellion) “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure” (p. 100).
5. While living in France, he carried on a successful flirtation with a couple of women, even going so far as showing a decided partiality for Maria Cosway, a married woman. It was rumored that Jefferson broke his wrist at one point from showing off for her by trying to jump a fence.
6. It is true that there is no evidence supporting the theory that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Heming’s children. In recent DNA testing, the only conclusion that scientists could discover was that someone in Thomas Jefferson’s line (not necessarily himself) had fathered children on someone in Sally Hemings’ line. It’s confusing, true, but rather indicative. I tend to think that there was no way Jefferson would have done it…there’s a sort of asexual-ness to him.
7. He coined the phrase “splendid misery.” Upon becoming Vice President, Jefferson wrote “The second office of this government is honorable and easy, the first is but a splendid misery.”
8. His utopian radicalism was best typified by his “generational sovereignty” concept. Basically he decided that the world belongs to the living so we should all try to “live in the now” and not deal with the laws and precedents that dead people have passed down to us. Thus all “personal and national debts, all laws, even all constitutions, should expire after that time” (p. 111), leaving the present to fend for itself. Madison was the recipient of these ideas and promptly told his mentor that this concept was really close to anarchy and chaos and that it should never be brought up again.
9. Jefferson was one enormous contradiction. It is as if his whole personality was being pulled in two opposite directions and each was fighting for its existence. For instance, his whole life was a struggle between his desire to be at Monticello and his need to be in public view. Another contradiction was his lifestyle in general. He took meticulous notes on every single purchase he ever made but overspent himself regularly. He hated to be in debt but at every place he lived (Philadelphia, France, Monticello, White House), he renovated the places almost as soon as he moved in. His debt was so large by the time that he reached the presidency that he felt compelled to frenetically work on the national debt. On the political side of things, he was an acknowledged anti-federalist but his treatment of the Louisiana Purchase suggests otherwise. “He violated his most cherished political principles several times over in order to guarantee the most expansive version of the ‘noble bargain,’ and he temporarily made himself into just the kind of monarchical chief magistrate he had warned against” (p. 208). His views on slavery were also contradictory for he did not like the institution of it but until there was a way to get rid of the slaves (to another country perhaps), they would have to be left where they were. “The unavoidable conclusion, then, was that slavery was morally wrong, but racial segregation was morally right. And until a practical solution to the problem of what to do with the freed slaves could be found, it made no sense to press for emancipation” (p. 147).

I rather enjoyed this book. First of all, it wasn’t long! In the amount of pages that it used, Ellis’ did a great job of giving us a good idea of what made Jefferson who he was. Since Jefferson was a complete enigma (internally) in nearly every facet of his life, it probably wasn’t easy for the author to come to some sort of conclusion about him. Ellis gave us the good and bad about Jefferson, allowing us to make up our minds about him and not letting the author’s feelings on the subject cloud our unbiased viewpoint. The more I read about the presidents, the more I find this truly remarkable.

On the other hand, I had some issues with this work This may sound silly but he used the word “dichotomies” like one million times. Actually it was more like 10 times but in a 300 page book that word sticks out a mile and it bothered me that he continued to use it over and over again. Also if you plan on reading this book in the future, be aware that it is mainly a character study of Jefferson and not a simple biography. Since the book is character-based, Ellis can kind of pick and choose what aspects of Jefferson he wishes to discuss. For example, Ellis spends a whole chapter on Jefferson’s first term of the presidency (which was a relatively good time for Jefferson) and then barely mentions his second term, a disaster for Jefferson. Now I don’t think that Ellis did this because he loves Jefferson so much that he is willing to smudge the facts but I do think that maybe he didn’t want to dwell on the second term and its effect on Jefferson character. As an unbiased reader, however, I would like to hear more about Jefferson’s second term, good or not. It was, after all, an extension of Jefferson’s policies and of himself.

In the end, though, I don’t hate Jefferson as much as I used to. Although he was born to privilege and had a relatively cushy life, even during a national revolution and multiple disturbances, I think that he didn’t have it easy at all. During Jefferson’s lifetime, there was a strict code of conduct operating in Virginia and it left little room for error or, even, controversy of any kind. Southern gentlemen were held to a very high level of behavior that produced extreme indebtedness, enabling of disrespectable family members or friends, secrecy, double standards, and polite backstabbing. At that time, you did not talk about your problems and by all means, you had to prove that you were a propertied man, even if that meant going into debt. You were not allowed to show emotion or stoop to telling people what you actually wanted, thus you had to use backhanded channels of acquiring things (or of being elected.) If there was a black sheep in the family, it was up to you to save them, even if they got worse and worse; it was your responsibility.

It’s easy to see how Jefferson turned out the way he did. There was much personal tragedy in his life, starting with the death of his mother and weaving its way through the loss of his wife and all of his children but one. He practically began life in debt because that was what you did to uphold public opinion. He had slaves because they were always there and he tried to make the United States into a viable country because he was well-read enough to realize it could be done. Most of Jefferson’s delusions are a direct result of his upbringing—it was the only way he could bear life. The ultimate tragedy here though was that Jefferson bought into the southern way of life and remained an adherent to it even to the end when he had to sell his beloved Monticello.

#2: John Adams Part 2

Really Cool Stuff about John Adams
1. He was a good judge of character and abilities, which was evident in his selection of George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and of Thomas Jefferson as writer the Declaration of Independence.
2. There is actually a book written exclusively about the voyage that John Adams and his son took in 1778 to France. It’s called Dangerous Crossing: The Revolutionary Voyage of John and John Quincy Adams. http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Crossing-Revolutionary-Voyage-Quincy/dp/0525469664/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263597217&sr=1-16
3. John Adams solely wrote the Constitution of the state of Massachusetts in 1779. “As time would prove, he had written one of the great, enduring documents of the American Revolution. The constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the oldest functioning written constitution in the world” (p. 225).
4. John Adams was the first American ambassador to the Netherlands and to England; the first Vice President of the United States, and the first (and last) President to run against his own Vice President.
5. He began the practice of “midnight judges” where the lame-duck President appointed party-friendly judges at the eleventh hour. His most famous appointment: John Marshall as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court. “Possibly the greatest Chief Justice in history, Marshall would serve on the Court for another thirty-four years” (p. 560).
6. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the very same day, July 4, 1826. John Adams was 90 and Jefferson was 83.
7. The Adams’ were extremely prolific writers. John and Abigail wrote thousands of letters to each other and thousands more to their children. Adams’ letters to Jefferson and other friends range in the hundreds. “The Adams Papers, from which much of this book has been drawn, may be rightly described as a national treasure” (p. 653).

I really liked this book. I’m not just saying that because of the great reviews nor did I simply rent the HBO series and cheat, I genuinely and with good reason love this book. Part of that, I mentioned earlier. The sheer amount of information that John Adams literally just gives to us through all his diaries and letters over a considerable span of years is just awe-inspiring. McCullough states that “Not Washington, not Jefferson or Madison or Hamilton, not even Franklin for all that he wrote, was so forthcoming on paper as was John Adams over a lifetime of writing about himself and his world” (p. 653). With all this information, on the other hand, I’m sure that it was also a little more difficult for David McCullough to write this book. Having to edit away what wasn’t important must have been extremely hard in and of itself but McCullough shows his genius by his delicate handling of such copious knowledge. He sticks to the point, only giving us enough extraneous detail so that we can fully know how very human John Adams really was. Yet, he balances that with a respect for all that John Adams does in the service of our country. John Adams, while not making the best President, was a true blue American…before there was a United States of America.

David McCullough also is quite objective about John Adams in this book. He uses everything about John Adams, the good and the bad. For instance, John Adams had many admirable qualities but he was also vain and stubborn. We are given a blank slate when it comes to the Founding Father and we are left to make the final evaluation. Thus, I have come to realize that John Adams was a great man, doing his best at a time of national crises, but like all men, had issues and problems and human failings like everyone else. His marriage alone inspires true admiration for this man. The respect and love that he holds for Abigail his entire life is a tremendous love story in itself. His unshaken ideals for himself, the people he knows and loves and for his country is also remarkable in their tenacity. He had high expectations for all whom he encounters and, while repeatedly disappointed, remained high-minded to the end of his days.

Another reason I really liked this book is that it was such an easy read. It is close to 650 pages and for a history book, that can be an eternity of sifting through facts and boring commentary. However, David McCullough uses so many quotes from so many letters and diaries, it’s like reading a novel! This book is not just straight narrative but a deft dialogue that transpires between John Adams and everyone else through their correspondence. It is so well-contrived that you forget that you are reading about real life.

I also have a new respect for John Adams and what life was like during that time. Through his eyes, we see the deprivation that the Adams’ endured by fighting for their independence or from John having to work consistently away from home. As good a mother as Abigail undoubtedly was seemed to be no match for an absentee father as evidenced in their two youngest sons dying of alcoholism. Their daughter married a man who was in and out of work and generally someone not to be trusted to take care of her. John Quincy, we’ll see more of in another book but he was so stiff and formal that we can deduce how much he was affected by his father’s work. It is sad to see such a good man and one of our Founding Fathers be tormented by the paths that his children chose. His family life just shows us how human John Adams really was and the impact that that had on the founding of our nation.

In conclusion, I thought this book a well-written and objective account of our second President and a Founding Father of our nation. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this era of our history not only due to the prolific primary sources that abound in this work but also to the fantastic feel of history in the hands of David McCullough. John Adams leapt off the pages of history for me and I suggest a similar journey for you.

Please let me know if these posts are helpful to you or not. Also if you have any questions, just write up a comment for me. Thanks!

#2: John Adams (1735-1826)

As a young girl growing up in the United States, I had to complete the ubiquitous homework assignment on a Great American Woman which usually meant Clara Barton, Florence Nightingale, or Abigail Adams. I am pretty sure that I did reports on all three ladies but what I remember best about Abigail was her calm good sense and words of wisdom delivered during a most chaotic time in our nation’s history. Attached to her is, of course, John Adams, our second President. He was in office for only one term and other than a signature on the Declaration of Independence, I had no idea how John Adams spent his time.

To help me learn more, I read David McCullough’s book John Adams (Simon and Schuster: New York, 2001) which was used as the basis for the hit-HBO series “John Adams”. David McCullough writes mainly historical non-fiction (including Truman, a book I may read later) and has garnered much praise for his work regarding this much-neglected Founding Father. I had heard so much good stuff about this book that I was probably the only person ever looking forward to getting to President #2.
The descendant of good Puritans and farmers from Massachusetts, John Adams entered the world imbued with certain New England viewpoints and ideals. He was the oldest of three sons and so extremely bright that his father decided he was not to be a farmer, but instead sent him to Harvard. Eventually becoming a lawyer, John moved back home to Braintree and married Abigail Smith, the middle daughter of Rev. William Smith of Weymouth. “She was in all respects his equal and the part she was to play would be greater than he could possibly have imagined, for all his love for her and what appreciation he already had of her beneficial, steadying influence” (p. 57). The sheer amount of correspondence between them throughout the years made their union as famous in the US as any couple in history.

It was the same year that his first child, Abigail, was born that the Stamp Acts were put into place and John Adams’ rise to fame began. The Stamps Acts were just the beginning of the “taxation without representation” that England would foist on the colonies to help pay for the French and Indian War. Living near a major seaport like Boston, Adams could not but be aware of popular sentiment generating towards England which culminated in the Boston massacre, the Boston Tea Party and finally, in Lexington and Concord. It was in the aftermath of the Boston massacre that John Adams would shine. Due to his strict ideas on justice, he was the only lawyer in Boston who would take on the defense of the British garrison, the defendants. This decision made him extremely unpopular at the time but no one could fault his determination or his fairness. Besides, he won the case.

A tax on tea in 1773 led to the Sam Adams’ Boston Tea Party (he was a cousin of John) which, in turn, led to the British shutting down the entire port of Boston. John Adams was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia even as things got worse in New England as action between the British and the Americans culminated in Lexington and Concord. While in Congress, John Adams continued to promote the war and the need for independence, almost single-handedly creating the Continental Army (and Washington’s place therein) and a firm declaration of independence. Actually, it was through his determination and zeal in the Second Continental Congress that war was eventually declared and the Declaration of Independence was signed.

During the early months of the war, John Adams continued at Congress on the Board of War and in debate over the Articles of Confederation. Setbacks in the Continental Army plagued the Americans at this time and patriotic feeling was at an all-time low. In 1778, Adams, with his oldest son, John Quincy, boarded a ship bound to France where he would form part of the American commission, under Benjamin Franklin, in Paris. As a plain lawyer and farmer, he would prove an irritant to not only his fellow commissioners but also to the French court. Thus, the Continental Congress would name Benjamin Franklin sole minister plenipotentiary to France, thereby dispensing with John Adams altogether. He returned to the United States as a private citizen.

Back in Braintree, Adams was immediately asked to become a delegate to the Massachusetts state constitutional convention. There he was chosen to write the state’s constitution, including a declaration of rights, which was pretty much unanimously adopted soon after. He was then informed that he would be sent back to France to “negotiate treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain” (p. 225). Although Adams was loath to travel overseas yet again, the importance of American independence was such that he went without delay.

In France, John Adams found that he was liked even less than before and that his presence might actually hurt American interests rather than aiding them. “With no support or consideration from either Vergennes [the French Foreign Minister] or Franklin, Adams’s position in Paris had become untenable” (p. 243). Thus, he acted upon his own initiative and moved to the Dutch Republic in quest of a hefty loan for the fledgling nation. However, the war at home was not going well with major losses in the South, leading the Dutch to take an extremely critical view of American chances at independence.

On November 23, 1781, John Adams was told that Cornwallis had surrendered to Washington and that the war was over. In March, the Netherlands recognized American independence and in June, America was granted its first Dutch loan of 5 million guilders. Adams was then instructed to return to France to become one of the five American peace commissioners to treat with Great Britain. After much wrangling, the Treaty of Paris was signed in November 1782 and history would change. “As time would tell, the treaty that he [Adams], Franklin, and Jay had made was as advantageous to their country as any in history. It would be said that they had won the greatest victory in the annals of American diplomacy” (p. 285).

Abigail, along with Nabby, their oldest daughter, would soon join John in Paris. It was at this time that the lifelong friendship with Jefferson was established, as he had just arrived as the newly appointed minister to the French court. Their stay in Paris was not of long duration because John found himself voted the very first American ambassador to the Court of St. James in London. The Adams’ were received politely and with cordiality by the king but the British media absolutely tore them to shreds. Never were the Adams’ to feel fully comfortable in England. Nabby married Colonel Smith, an assistant to her father, and they would have their first child, a boy, in 1787. That same year, John heard about the adoption of the new Constitution of the United States and, subsequently, his recall from Europe.

In the very first election under the new constitution, John Adams received the second most votes in the nation which placed him as the first Vice President of the United States under George Washington’s presidency. “All the frustrations and feelings of stagnation that went with the vice presidency, all that so many others who followed in the office were to bemoan over the years, were felt intensely by the first Vice President” (p. 412). As a man of action and decision, Adams found the duty-less vice presidency irksome, leading him to pour his energy into his sole role as leader of the Senate. By doing so, he seemed to overstep his duties which led to certain political consequences that would affect him further down the road. However, as Washington decided to stay in office another term, Adams found himself retaining the position of vice president for another four long years. “It was not just that the vice presidency offered so little chance to say or do anything of consequence, but that at a time when party politics were becoming increasingly potent and pervasive, he would not, could not, be a party man. And so, for both reasons, he was becoming more and more a man apart” (p. 447-48.)

Thus, he rode out the issues of Citizen Genet, the Whisky Rebellion, and the Jay Treaty, only to find himself voted in as the second President of the United States in November 1796 with Thomas Jefferson as his vice president. Almost immediately, however, Adams found that he was facing the presidency at any extremely uncertain time both at home and abroad. Political parties were forming in America and threatening a peaceful coexistence of political ideologies, with Adams’ own Vice President, Jefferson, heading the opposition. France had rebelled, had beheaded their king and was now at war with Europe. Plus, England treated the United States with scarcely veiled contempt. “Nor was Adams like George Washington immensely popular, elected unanimously, and all but impervious to criticism. He had no loyal following as Washington had, no coterie of friends in Congress. Further, there was the looming reality that America at the moment had no military strength on land or sea” (p. 484). To say that John Adams faced some very stiff decisions would be an understatement.

As President, John Adams faced the unpleasant prospect of keeping the United States neutral in the European war, even though they had a signed a treaty of accord with France (remember the American revolution??) American feeling for France was heightened and most Americans were upset that the United States was not aiding its European champion. Not to mention, Alexander Hamilton and Washington were working behind Adams’ back on a scheme for a more powerful American army should war be declared. It was at that time, in the midst of the Quasi-War, that Adams decided to blow open the XYZ affair in which Talleyrand, the French Minister, had, in effect, asked for a bribe to keep France from invading the United States. The Americans were shocked and war fever ebbed, but by handling the situation the way that he had, Adams effectively limited himself to only one term as President.

It was true soon enough. In 1800, after only months in the new Federal City on the Potomac, Adams was voted out of office and Jefferson into it. John and Abigail were then able to retire in peace back to their old Massachusetts home, where they were surrounded by family and friends. Adams spent his retirement by daily walks, a vigorous correspondence, increased reading and visits by various guests. Abigail died on October 28, 1818 but John lived to the age of 90 and able to see his son, John Quincy Adams, elected as 6th President of the United States. He died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after he signed the Declaration of Independence.

#1: George Washington Part 2

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone's holdiday seasons went well and that the return to "normal" life was relatively painless. Now that I am back from all my travels I really have no excuse now not to continue on with my project. I decided that it was high time that we metaphorically laid George Washington to rest. So here are my final thoughts on the book and its topic.

My thoughts on this book are two-fold. First, I enjoyed reading it. Joseph Ellis is an erudite scholar which, while giving his book a thesis paper feel, does not hurt the overall effect of readability by the public. His command of English vocabulary is truly exceptional and though he assumes a lecturing tone at times, I could really tell the genuine interest for his subject behind it. For instance, Ellis’ reason for choosing to write a book on George Washington is masterly. “It seemed to me that Benjamin Franklin was wiser than Washington; Alexander Hamilton was more brilliant; John Adams was better read; Thomas Jefferson was more intellectually sophisticated; James Madison was more politically astute. Yet each and all of these prominent figures acknowledged that Washington was their unquestioned superior. Within the gallery of greats so often mythologized and capitalized as Founding Fathers, Washington was recognized as primus inter pares, the Foundingest Father of them all. Why was that? In the pages that follow I have looked for an answer, which lies buried within the folds of the most ambitious, determined, and potent personality of an age not lacking for worthy rivals. How he became that way, and what he then did with it, is the story I try to tell” (p. xiv). I did not sense a definitive bias from Joseph Ellis regarding Washington. He lets Washington speak for himself, little though he does that, even when the motives are less than altruistic or just plain contradicting. The number of direct sources from Washington probably proved frustrating but Ellis works deftly around this gap by using copious sources from various contemporary peers of Washington and the research that has been done since.

Secondly, I still have a hard time picturing George Washington, the man. Although I really believe that this is not the fault of the author but due mainly to the scanty surviving sources written by Washington himself. Washington, apparently, always had a view towards the future and his place in posterity and thus limited what he put in writing. Also he directed Martha to burn all their personal correspondence after his death—which she complied with. I really feel that being able to read the letters between him and his wife would have shed a more humane light on the Father of Our Nation. All that being said I have learned a new respect for George Washington and that immense impact that he had on the birth of our nation. Even if he wasn’t the smartest or the most intellectual or best dresser, Washington had something indefinable, something that allowed all the men around him to trust him implicitly. And I feel so blessed to have a man like this around when we so desperately needed him.

Here are some people that I will like to follow up with later:
Alexander Hamilton
John Jay
Martha Washington
Lafayette
John Rutledge of South Carolina
John Hancock