An Act of Providence
Once again, I have just finished watching John Adams the miniseries. It is historically accurate as Adams and his wife left many letters and writings, as did Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The series is a stirring account of our revolution for independence from Britain – not from the perspective of battles, but from the perspective of the men who formed and created the Declaration of Independence.
In the process, these men worked with other nations in which the cultures were vastly different. Adams had much trouble with this. Franklin embraced the differences and had a bit of fun in it all. Jefferson went with the flow. The difference in statesmanship between the three is quite something to see. Again, we have historical backup for their experiences in their letters and works.
Jefferson and Adams were good friends and thought of each other as the North and South Poles of the birth of our nation – so much so that they eventually feuded. They first met as delegates to the Continental Congress, Adams from Massachusetts and Jefferson from Virginia. Their friendship grew stronger in the 1780s when the two served ambassadorial missions to Europe.
Upon return to the United States, the two began to feud over the nation’s government; Jefferson, as secretary of state in George Washington’s cabinet, greatly feared creating an authoritative central power which would eventually result in a loss of freedom that all had fought so hard to establish. As vice president, Adams favored a strong central government to ensure the nation’s survival during the early years of independence as the country was still forming. The men ceased to be friends over this clash. The two would not exchange another word for 12 years.
It is interesting to note that both men were accurate in their thinking at that time. The two poles, although opposite looking, balanced each other. Today, we are, as Jefferson and Adams were, split between the two philosophies. Our people, just like Jefferson and Adams, the North and South Poles, have ceased talking to each other and lost their friendships just as they did.
Communication and debate are essential for moving forward. After all, it is how the Continental Congress created the Declaration of Independence, with each man contributing thoughts and ideas, debating in detail each subject, all to create a balanced structure for the new nation. Not talking/debating with each other today is destroying that balance.
After Abigail Adams’s death, the two men began to write to each other again as true friends sharing in the joys and sorrows of life and looking back to both their struggles in creating this wonderful country. If you have a chance, read some of their letters or at least watch the miniseries John Adams to hear word for word their letters to each other.
In the end, perhaps it was an act of Providence that these two men came together at this time in history, as did all the other men who contributed. These two, however, the north and south poles, in particular, were the strongest proponents of creating a free country. The two men died on Independence Day, July 4th in 1826 in just hours apart. Another act of Providence? I would say yes.
