Reading 2 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams—two signers of the…
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Reаding 2 Thоmаs Jeffersоn аnd Jоhn Adams—two signers of the Declaration of Independence who later became presidents of the United States—had an extraordinary, though unlikely, friendship. In many ways, the two men seemed to have little in common. Jefferson, an aristocrat from Virginia, owned slaves. Adams, a member of the middle class from Massachusetts, considered slavery an abomination. Jefferson—quiet and tactful—was generally well liked by his colleagues. Adams—passionate and outspoken—was often unpopular. The two men differed even in physical appearance. Jefferson was tall and slim; Adams was medium height and somewhat stout. Jefferson and Adams had one very important thing in common, however. Each wanted the best for the United States, putting the fledgling country’s well being ahead of his personal desires. The two men served together on some important committees, including the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams was the first and the strongest advocate of independence from Great Britain. However, he recognized that Jefferson—due to his superior writing ability and his popularity—was the best person to write this significant document. Adams heartily praised the document Jefferson drafted, and persuaded the Continental Congress to approve it with only minor changes. Both men served in President George Washington’s administration. Adams was vice president, and Jefferson was secretary of state. Even so, they often disagreed over political matters. Adams wanted a strong central government, an idea shared by others who eventually formed the Federalist Party. Jefferson supported individual liberty, as did others who formed the Democratic-Republican Party. Adams and Jefferson also disagreed about France, which had helped the United States win the Revolutionary War. Jefferson wanted to help the French in their own fight to govern themselves. Adams, however, was reluctant to involve the newly formed United States in a foreign war. The political rivalry between Jefferson and Adams intensified when they vied for the presidency in 1796. At that time, presidential and vice-presidential candidates did not run as a team. Instead, the candidate receiving the highest number of electoral votes became president; the second-place candidate became vice president. With 71 electoral votes, Adams was elected president. With only three fewer votes, Jefferson became vice president—even though the two men belonged to different political parties. The election of 1800 again pitted Jefferson and Adams against each other. This time, Jefferson defeated Adams by eight electoral votes, a defeat that Adams took bitterly. The two men did not communicate for eleven years. Then in 1812, after Jefferson, too, had retired from public life, Adams decided that he had missed his old friend long enough. He wrote Jefferson a letter, the first of 158 letters in a correspondence that would continue for the rest of their lives. These honest, intelligent men enjoyed sharing their ideas and considering viewpoints other than their own. Although Adams was seven years older than Jefferson, he often predicted that he would outlive his younger rival. When Adams died at ninety years of age, his last words were reported to have been “Thomas Jefferson survives.” In fact, Jefferson had died just a few hours earlier. Both men died on July 4,1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We can conclude from the passage