Friends divided : John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

The Resource Friends divided : John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Label
Friends divided : John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Title remainder
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Statement of responsibility
Gordon S. Wood
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist with enough faith in the innate goodness of his fellow man to be democracy's champion, was an aristocratic Southern slave owner, while Adams, the overachiever from New England's rising middling classes, painfully aware he was no aristocrat, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government. They worked closely in the crucible of revolution, crafting the Declaration of Independence and leading, with Franklin, the diplomatic effort that brought France into the fight. But ultimately, their profound differences would lead to a fundamental crisis, in their friendship and writ large in the nation, as they became the figureheads of two entirely new forces, the first American political parties. It was a bitter breach, lasting through the presidential administrations of both men, and beyond. But late in life, something remarkable happened: these two men were nudged into reconciliation. What started as a grudging trickle of correspondence became a great flood, and a friendship was rekindled, over the course of hundreds of letters. In their final years they were the last surviving founding fathers and cherished their role in this mighty young republic as it approached the half century mark in 1826. ... Arguably no relationship in this country's history carries as much freight as that of John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Gordon Wood has more than done justice to these entwined lives and their meaning; he has written a magnificent new addition to America's collective story."--Dust jacket flaps
Writing style
Award
New York Times Notable Book, 2017
Biography type
collective biography
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
973.3092/2
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • plates
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

Context

Context of Friends divided : John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Work of

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