John Adams and Thomas Jefferson: A Friendship for America’s 250th Birthday

Two founders, once rivals, reconciled — and a birthday worth remembering

As America approaches her 250th birthday, historian Jane Hampton Cook gives us a gift: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, in their own words, reflecting on the Declaration they brought into the world together.

The story is remarkable. These two men helped birth a nation, then became bitter rivals for the presidency. Yet in their final years they reconciled, exchanging hundreds of letters. And in God’s providence, both died on the very same day — July 4, 1826 — fifty years to the day after the Declaration was adopted.

Adams once predicted that Independence Day would be celebrated “by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty,” with pomp and parade from one end of the continent to the other. He was right. Two centuries later, we still remember.

That is the calling of every generation. As the psalmist wrote, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). We are not merely to enjoy our liberty — we are to remember its roots and pass the story on.

Watch the video below, and consider Jane Hampton Cook’s illustrated keepsake, A Great and Grateful Nation, as a way to rediscover the faith and gratitude that shaped our founding.