A Clash of Philosophies
In December 1818, an aging John Adams, frail and eyesight diminished, viewed John Trumbull's grand depiction of the Declaration of Independence signing at Boston's Faneuil Hall. The former president reportedly praised the work, though his private correspondence suggests skepticism. Adams, ever the pragmatist, doubted art could capture the messy reality of revolution, once writing that a truthful rendering would show "legislative debates so prosaic they likely wouldn't have inspired anyone to pick up a brush."
His outlook contrasted sharply with Thomas Jefferson, who saw near-sacred significance in the Founding. During the 1789 French Revolution, Jefferson wrote to James Madison that European admirers regarded America's founding documents "like that of the Bible, open to explanation but not to question." This lofty view, as
The Legacy of a Friendship
The book centers on the duo's complicated bond and their shared death date, July 4, 1826, the Declaration's 50th anniversary. Contemporary Americans interpreted this as divine affirmation of their work, a notion Rasenberger traces to the era's heightened religious sentiment. Yet the author focuses less on public perception than the men's private convictions. Through their extensive letters, a clear picture emerges: they disagreed profoundly on whether providence guided their efforts.
Their differences extended beyond personality. Adams, quoting Niccolò Machiavelli, believed "whoever would found a state … must presume that all men are bad by nature." Jefferson, meanwhile, declared human minds "perfectible to a degree of which we cannot yet form any conception." These views colored their politics: Jefferson championed radical renewal, even proposing the Constitution expire every 19 years, a idea that stunned Madison, who had spent years drafting it.
Rasenberger avoids taking sides but acknowledges the challenge. "Truth with Jefferson was always complicated," he notes, citing the Virginian's paradoxical disdain for Europe alongside his lavish Parisian lifestyle. While Jefferson's optimism fueled iconic rhetoric, like the Declaration's "self-evident" truths, Adams focused on the unglamorous work of governance. "Miracles will not be wrought for us," Adams wrote. "If we will have government, we must use human and natural means."
As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, their tension remains unresolved. Jefferson's soaring language endures, but Adams' realism grounded the nation. Rasenberger's work succeeds not in resolving their clash but in framing it as essential: "Jefferson's America would never have been possible without Adams' realism. Adams' America would never have been possible without Jefferson's idealism."