Jefferson v. Adams

I read in TIME yesterday about the different political approaches of rivals Jefferson and Adams. I remember reading a biography by McCullough about Adams years ago and being completely surprised with the contradiction of the two founding fathers, in personality and conviction. Jefferson seemed (and still seems) to me as this young, sly wordsmith with a flair for literature and a tendency to go into debt. Adams on the other hand was a farmer, a tiller of the earth, a man who knew the value of hard work. He wrote like he talked—spouting his thoughts on the page without revision. (Jefferson wrote as if every personal letter would one day be published). Adams was also a tremendous lawyer and actually defended the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre. Adams died without debt; Jefferson accrued debt until his dying day—at one point selling some of his book collection to buy back his credibility. Jefferson and Adams: sometimes friend, sometimes foe, and prominent pageant pieces in our history classes. And I can’t help but look at these legendary personalities and wonder who would have had my vote. Of course, today’s politics seem so much more decisive, so polarizing. But isn’t it so American to think how much more virtuous, centered, and inspired politics were back then. (I guess somebody just forgot to put the clause in the constitution about abolishing slavery). For the record, I would have voted for Adams for a term, and then Jefferson. Exactly how it turned out. Weird.