Mark’s Improbable History

I teach American history at a junior high school in Orinda. My students often tell me that I tell them stories in a way that makes it sound like I made it all up, but that isn’t true. I don’t make up these stories. History is full of odd coincidences and strange people. Thomas Hardy said: “While much is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened.” Here is a tale of an odd coincidence.

Jefferson and Adams. As every American schoolchild knows (or should know), the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. After the Revolutionary War was over, Jefferson and Adams became political enemies. It wasn’t just because Adams was against slavery and Jefferson owned a lot of slaves. They had completely opposite political philosophies. Adams was the head of the Federalist Party, and Jefferson was the head of the anti-Federalists. For over 20 years, Jefferson and Adams did not speak to each other, but in their old age, they patched up their differences and became friends and pen pals, writing to each other frequently. On July 4, 1826; exactly 50 years to the day after Thomas Jefferson and John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; John Adams died at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts. On his deathbed, John Adams’ final words were: “At least Jefferson still lives!” However, unknown to Adams, Thomas Jefferson died shortly before Adams that same day at Monticello in Virginia, and Jefferson’s final thoughts were of Adams.