The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-07-03

The Author and the Chief Advocate Of
the Declaration of Ind e
Deaths Were So Remarkable That
Many Saw Providence I'm 1t.
fact in the history of Independence day
is that the man who drafted the Declara-
ton and the man who stood at his side
when he introduced it into congress, and
who predicted with accuracy its future
fame, died upon the same day and ex-
actly fifty years after completing the
greatest act of their lives
They differed in almost every element
of character, yet both were ardent patri-
OTIS, upright law makers, and. in their
ways, able statesmen. The Massachu-
setts man, with Puritanical education
and inherent distrust of universal suf-
frage, and the Virginian. of extremely
liberal training and unbounded faith in
democracy, worked their way to exactly
the same conclusion in regard to Great
Britain and the colonies. They stood
together like brothers while the war
lasted, then became the heads of .radi-
cally differing parties, and were not
reconciled till age had cooled their am
bitiOn and retirement had allowed re-
sentiment to die.
They probably agreed more nearly as
to religious questions than any other.
John Adams called himself Unitarian,
and posterity has agreed to call Thomas
Jefferson a Deist, yet it is impossible to
define with any exactness how they diff
fered as to the attributes of God or the
moral government of the universe.
Adams certainly said the harsher things
OF Calvinism, but that was probably be-
cause he lived where Calvinism was still
the ruling power; and it is amusing to
note that jefferson, who never spoke of
any mans religion when he could de-
Gently avoid it, was long and vehement
ly denounced as a blasphemer and
French infdel," while Adams was
popularity regarded as orthodox.
The popular instinct, however, was
sound; the mind of Adams was reveren-
tial-to degree far greater than that of
Jefferson. Some old writer has summed
up their alliance in the Revolution, for
different reasons, by saying that Adams
wanted the existing liberties of English
men secured by establishing greater
and better England in America, while
Jefferson wanted new system, root and
branch, to secure the absolute liberties
of human nature.
John Adams was born Oct. 10, 1875,
and Thomas Jefferson April 2, 1743; the
former also lived few hours the later,
his age at death being within three
months of 81, while that of Jefferson
was but SO. Jefferson was an extreme
blonde, Adams somewhat darker; the
former was tall and in youth somewhat
ungainly, while the latter was rather be-
low the medium size, firmly knit and
graceful from his youth. Their friend
ship seemed to increase till the peace
and they corresponded freely; but in
their first service abroad each had an
experience which even then indicated
that they were soon to be political oppo-
nents, the narration of which is both
amusing and instructive.
John Adams, as the first American
minister to England, was, to put it blunt
ly, snubbed; Thomas jefferson, on the
contrary, was received with enthusiastic
welcome at the court of France The
former denounced George III and his
ministers, but bestowed high praise on
the British government and people; the
latter passed King Louis XVI over with