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Posted on 06/29/2026 11:14:29 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
The personal relationship between Jefferson and Adams had soured under the weight of political rivalry—exacerbated by the brutal campaign of 1800.
For years after the election, the two men remained estranged.
The physician and mutual friend Benjamin Rush played a pivotal role in bringing the two former friends back together. Encouraged by Rush, Jefferson and Adams began corresponding in 1812, initiating a remarkable exchange of letters that spanned 14 years and addressed topics ranging from politics and philosophy to their reflections on aging and legacy.
Through this correspondence, Jefferson and Adams confronted their differences—both political and personal—with candor and a shared commitment to understanding…Their dialogue not only healed their fractured friendship but also provided a powerful example of reconciliation for a divided nation.
(Excerpt) Read more at ashbrook.org ...
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Let’s see. Jefferson took out the Barbary Pirates and Adams wanted to pay them off. That’s all I know.
The irony there is that Jefferson was opposed to building a Navy but then used the Navy that was built by John Adams to fight the Barbary Pirates
;~))
During the Adams Presidency, the USA did not have the money to build a fleet of war ships to battle the Moslem Pirate Nations. By the time Jefferson was in office, there were sufficient funds for a navy with leather neck marines. By 1860, the USA had the money to go to war against the Confederacy. Still though, Tomas J. Was 6’3” and Adams was 5’2”.
Wow, I didn’t know that.
The conflict between Jefferson and Adams was an extension of Jefferson's enmity towards Hamilton and all Federalists (including Jefferson's falling out with Washington, who was also a Federalist in everything but name).
The Federalists wanted a strong military, investment in infrastructure, tariffs, and a central bank. Jefferson and the anti-Federalists lived in a fantasy world where the US could persist as an agrarian backwater with no industry, no infrastructure investment, and a non-existent military apart from state militias. The US would not have lasted long as a nation under that model.
They didn’t actually have the money, that’s why they introduced ‘greenbacks’. They passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862 so they could force people to accept paper for goods and services.
Adams was an ass, treated Jefferson poorly. Even jovial Ben Franklin wasn’t fond of Adams.
Still, a good man.
No greenbacks till 1862. Then what did they use for buying and selling prior to 1862?
Gold and silver coinage.
There some things that happen that I do not think happen by accident; that G-d and his providence play a role sometimes.
Exactly. Jefferson was a great intellectual and writer, but not so much in many practical matters. Most of the conflict between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists was one of Realpolitik and what you rightly call lofty ideals.
Adams was a grumpy old man… even when he was young. But he didn’t treat Jefferson poorly. It was just the opposite, just as Jefferson had done with Washington. Jefferson was just very sneaky about it.
Together they helped create a legal framework that made possible national directions either one could anticipate and may have opposed if told that’s how it would work out.
Jefferson was termed an “agrarian” because he appreciated what developed from the small town Church going small business life, compared to the concentration of political power in large city life. He was concerned about too much national power in the hands of urban culture and that power bent to the demands toward needs that urban life created. Rural areas would retain their independence of mind and action better than the city masses.
Jefferson was a backstabber. I lost a great deal of respect for him when I read about his starting a newspaper to attack George Washington - while serving as Washington's Secretary of State! Part of it was due to his anger at Washington for remaining neutral towards the France vs. UK conflict, but it was also due to jealousy over the fact that Washington held Hamilton's practical mind in higher regard than Jefferson's idealism.
If Jefferson’s view had prevailed, America would have remained an economic backwater rather than becoming the industrial powerhouse of modern times. Hamilton, Adams, and Washington had a vision to take America into the modern world through development of infrastructure, a solid financial system, and a strong national defense, while Jefferson’s vision was a return to an almost feudal economy.
Gold and silver coins. I thought such coins did in fact constitute the concept of money. My bad. I always thought that money existed in a variety of forms. Chickens, firewood, rakes, shovels, coins. Now I know that coins are not money.
“If Jefferson’s view had prevailed, America would have remained an economic backwater rather than becoming the industrial powerhouse of modern times. Hamilton, Adams, and Washington had a vision to take America into the modern world through development of infrastructure, a solid financial system, and a strong national defense, while Jefferson’s vision was a return to an almost feudal economy.”
I don’t disagree. but Jefferson was right about the general negatives that would come out of so much national political power concentrated where people concentrated - the cities, and how long term that would bend politics against our true rights and in favor of bigger government.
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