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Jefferson & Adams: The Origins of a Blue & Red America
By Bryan Warner
Published: Jul. 9, 2009
RALEIGH - Weary, no doubt, from his many years of serving the nascent nation he helped to forge, George Washington composed a farewell address to his countrymen in September of 1796.
Before being elected as the first president of the fledgling union of somewhat incongruous states, and before he led his motley army of farmers and merchants to an absurd victory over the titanic British imperial forces, Washington had been a surveyor.
Now, as the sun set upon his life of noble leadership, his keen eyes examined the horizon that lay before the nation, observing the ever-changing political topography, and he cautioned of obstacles coming into view. Washington warned against the growing power of political parties and the deeply rooted rancor that could choke the promise of a republic still green on the vine.
In his eight years as president, Washington had already seen the seeds sown of “the alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to part dissensions.” This bitter partisan spirit was ripening in his own administration, embodied by two of his most trusted colleagues whose own signatures were borne by the Declaration of Independence, wherein they had once pledged to each other their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor.”
John Adams, Washington’s vice president, was the national leader of the Federalist Party. Thomas Jefferson, his secretary of state, was the champion of the Democratic-Republicans. The two groups were at odds in almost every aspect.
While the Federalists favored a strong central government, the Democratic-Republicans sought more sovereign power for the states. Jefferson’s party supported the cause of farmers; Adams’ party promoted the welfare of manufacturers. Regarding international affairs, the Federalists proposed a pro-British policy; the Democratic-Republicans favored the French.
The animosity between these two leading parties transitioned easily into the tempestuous personal relationship of their respective leaders. Adams was a northerner, from Massachusetts. Jefferson was from Virginia, a southerner. Jefferson had attended the College of William & Mary. Adams was a graduate of Harvard. Adams thought “unalienable” was the more proper word choice in referring to the rights professed by the Declaration. Jefferson preferred “inalienable.”
After succeeding Washington to the presidency, Adams suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of Jefferson. Adams lost his reelection bid in 1800, with his chief rival taking the day. “I will yet outlive Jefferson,” Adams swore in wrath toward his foe, who was seven years his junior. He hastened from the capital to avoid Jefferson’s inaugural festivities.
The frigid relationship would begin to thaw in the time to come, however, as both men retired from the vicious world of politics. Theirs was an era in which Jefferson’s own vice president shot and mortally wounded Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Such times make our contemporary red and blue hues seem less than vibrant.
As the years eroded their own pride and ambitions, Jefferson and Adams exchanged letters frequently. While they saw others carry on the partisan banners, the two found they shared an unshakable bond in their concern for the well-being of the nation. This mutual goal transcended their entrenched enmity.
The reconciliation of these once diametrically opposed rivals did little to bridge the gap between their two parties. Adams’ Federalists faded, giving way to the Whigs and, eventually, Lincoln’s Republicans. Jefferson’s side evolved and is the ancestor of today’s Democratic Party. Geographic, philosophic and cultural divides festered, led to the shelling of Fort Sumter and culminated in the near-demise of the Republic.
But even as the two had earlier represented the stubborn party politics that have persisted throughout the nation’s history, in their twilight Jefferson and Adams foreshadowed the bipartisanship that has on occasion won our country its brightest moments from the clutches of its darkest days.
In the wake of last year’s election, the color-coded maps on network television seemed to show a segregated nation in our own time. But we can hope that there are many who refuse to be painted with one broad stroke, and who realize that party allegiance must be secondary to the welfare of our nation -- that was the truth learned ultimately by Jefferson and Adams.
On July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years to the day that the two had bound their names and fates to the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and Adams died. Not knowing that his former rival and renewed compatriot passed just hours before, with his last breath Adams whispered, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”