Forged in Independence: Adams and Jefferson at 200

On July 4, 1826, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of one another.

Coincidentally, it was the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the document with which both men are forever associated. Their deaths closed one of the most remarkable friendships – and rivalries – in American history.

The story of Adams and Jefferson is often told as one of political conflicts, yet their relationship began, not in rivalry, but in friendship, forged in the crucible of the American Revolution, but sustained by a shared commitment to independence.

When the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia could hardly have come from more different worlds. Adams, the son of a New England farmer and shaped by the Puritan traditions of Massachusetts, was outspoken, energetic, argumentative, and deeply committed to public service.

Jefferson, by contrast, was a Virginia planter, reserved and reflective, guided by the Enlightenment ideals that would later define his political philosophy.

Their regions differed economically, culturally, and religiously.

Despite these differences, the two men found common cause in the growing conflict with Great Britain. Before many of their contemporaries, they concluded that reconciliation with the Crown was becoming impossible. They shared the conviction that independence was not merely desirable, but unavoidable if not inevitable.

Their friendship flourished. Adams quickly recognized Jefferson's extraordinary talent as a writer. Though Adams was one of the most influential advocates for independence, he believed Jefferson was better suited to articulate the principles behind the American cause. When Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence, Adams famously insisted that Jefferson take the lead.

Jefferson initially resisted, preferring that Adams write the document. Adams declined.

Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence while Adams became one of its most important advocates in Congress, and together, they helped secure its adoption.

The Declaration became more than a political statement. It was a shared accomplishment that bound the two men together and established a partnership that would shape the new nation, but as the challenges of governing replaced the common struggle for independence, their friendship began to fray.

The emergence of America's first political factions exposed profound differences between them. Adams favored a stronger national government and closer ties with Great Britain; Jefferson and his allies emphasized states' rights, agricultural interests, and sympathy for revolutionary France.

Some of these disagreements reflected deeper philosophical and religious differences as Adams's worldview remained influenced by the Calvinist traditions of New England and Jefferson continued to embrace a form of Enlightenment deism.

These differences determined their views of the Constitution, federal authority, and the proper balance between national and state governments, and they also profoundly affected their responses to the French Revolution. Jefferson initially viewed the French Revolution as an extension of the principles proclaimed in 1776. Adams, conversely, was alarmed by the violence and instability that followed and saw it as evidence of the dangers of unchecked democratic enthusiasm.

Political disagreements soon became personal. During Washington's administration, Adams increasingly found himself aligned with Alexander Hamilton while Jefferson became the intellectual leader of the opposition.

The friendship that had begun in Philadelphia steadily deteriorated.

The election of 1796 intensified the conflict. Despite belonging to opposing political parties, Adams was elected president and under the original constitutional system, Jefferson became vice president. Rather than serving as a loyal subordinate, Jefferson often acted as the leader of the opposition, challenging Adams's policies and building support for himself.

The bitter election of 1800 completed the rupture. Jefferson defeated Adams after one of the most contentious campaigns in American history. By the time Jefferson entered the presidency, the friendship that had once united the authors of American independence appeared destroyed.

For more than a decade, the two men remained estranged. The comrades who had worked side by side in Congress became bitter political enemies; each viewed the other with suspicion, disappointment, and resentment.

Yet history was not finished with them.

Benjamin Rush, another signer of the Declaration and a close friend to both men, believed that the estrangement between Adams and Jefferson was a national tragedy. Through patient encouragement, he persuaded each that the other might be willing to renew their friendship.

Finally, in 1812, Adams wrote to Jefferson, who responded warmly in kind. What followed was one of the most extraordinary exchanges of letters in American history.

Over the next fourteen years, the former rivals corresponded more than 150 times as the bitterness of politics gradually faded. Though they never completely abandoned their differences, both rediscovered the respect and affection that had characterized their initial friendship in 1776.

Most importantly, they came to agree on the significance of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution itself. Each believed that the Revolution had been more than a military struggle. Each recognized it gave political expression to a transformation in how Americans understood ordered liberty, individual rights, and self-government.

For Jefferson, the Declaration remained the clearest expression of those principles, and for Adams, the revolution represented the triumph of ideas that had made independence possible. Together they viewed 1776 not merely as a break from Britain but as a statement of universal principles they hoped would endure and spread.

The Declaration of Independence proved to be more than a founding document. It reflected the common experience that united two men from different regions, traditions, and philosophies. It launched a friendship, survived a political war, and eventually helped rekindle a bond that seemed lost forever.

That John Adams and Thomas Jefferson should die on July 4, 1826, a half-century after the Declaration's adoption, seems almost too fitting to be true. The two men who helped define American independence left the world together on the anniversary of the nation's birth they helped midwife.

Their friendship, rivalry, and reconciliation remain among the most compelling stories of the founding era. In life, they helped create a nation. In death, they remind future generations that shared principles can endure even the deepest political divisions.

Will Sellers is an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama. He is best reached at jws@willsellers.com.