[wagglebee]

Jefferson and Adams could look back on lifetimes of accomplishment on behalf of young America. By 1826, the United States was enjoying an exuberant adolescence. Its borders stretched ever westward. Its goods were finding worldwide markets. Its ambitions were ravenous. Its future appeared seamless – without limit to prosperity and peace.

I believe that God ordained the birth of the United States of America and with it the birth of true freedom. The presence of the great minds and leadership in our Founding Fathers is truly Providential.

[wagglebee]

Adams/Jefferson Ping.

[Verginius Rufus]

After Jefferson and Adams died, only one of the Signers was left--Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who died in 1832 at the age of 95.

Jefferson had been invited to attend a celebration in Washington, DC, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. That inspired the last letter he ever wrote, on June 24, 1826, in which he expresses his belief "that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God."

[Lunatic Fringe]

Their deaths is of history's great ironies.

[VOA]

"On the morning of July 4, 1826, the leading residents of Quincy, Mass., and
Charlottesville, Va., began their last celebration of the nation’s birth –
and their last day on Earth."


This history (and other Providential events in America) are recounted
masterfully by Michael Medved in this recording:

"God's Hand on America"
https://www.treefarmtapes.com/catalog/product.asp?productid=11872

The first time I ever heard of the 50th Anniversary story of Jefferson and Adams
was on this recording.
Funny the things they just don't (or won't...or can't) tell you at school.

[NonValueAdded]

History bump

[NicknamedBob]

I was aware of this irony of fate. In fact, I referenced it in this poem...


The Last Goodbyes

Every time you say Goodbye, it is a last Goodbye,
And sometimes, it becomes a Last, without a hint of why.
I said Goodbye, some years ago, to a little girl of ten,
Just heard the news report today. I won’t see her again.

It never should have happened. That much is always clear,
But accidents and tragedies have no respect for time of year.
In Springtime, when the budding life is bursting out like song,
The loss of one so full of hope just makes the world seem wrong.

One never does expect it. Surprise is no surprise.
The Reaper dressed in party clothes is in a poor disguise.
Still I recall the time that I was last to see her leave,
I don’t think it occurred to me I’d be the one who’d grieve.

We said Goodbye. It lasted long. A lifetime I suppose,
She should have gone about her life, for that is how it goes.
I wither and diminish. She flourishes and thrives.
But age is not the only thing that puts an end to lives.

Please take these notes in sadness, from lessons I have learned,
When you say Goodbye please make it Good, and make the Last one earned.
Like Jefferson and Adams, each stricken to his bed,
Yet each was sure the other lived, on a day that each was dead.

Our Goodbyes have a purpose, they hold a memory,
A flash of frozen joyfulness, in case of tragedy.
Please make the most of them, and “photograph” the smile,
And hold that hug, or handshake. It has to Last a while.

NicknamedBob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 16, 2005

[Skooz]

I believe that God ordained the birth of the United States of America and with it the birth of true freedom. The presence of the great minds and leadership in our Founding Fathers is truly Providential.

I whole heartedly concur.

[maxwellp]

Their presense, together, as America's Founding Fathers was truly a miracle. Public education of our school children today does not teach this miracle of America and in the end may destroy America.