| Abstract |
"After Thomas Jefferson visited Mount Vernon in 1801 to pay his respects to George Washington's widow, Martha Washington remembered the encounter as the second-worst experience of her life-after the death of her husband. The two founders had become estranged by the time that Washington died. But for most of the time that they had known one another, from their first meeting in 1769, they enjoyed a productive and positive relationship. Contrary to the way that many historians portray them, they agreed on much more than they disagreed over, particularly about the meaning and legacy of the American Revolution. Their relationship is crucial to understanding the Revolution and its legacies. Their differences began in the aftermath of revolution, during Washington's administration, especially over disagreements in fiscal and foreign policy. They also had different visions of society. Washington believed that elites like the Virginia gentry should rule in the new republic. Jefferson believed that an elite should be chosen by the electorate and based on merit, as demonstrated by education and service. Washington thought the United States needed a strong central government; Jefferson imagined power decentralized in the states. Their final rupture came when a private criticism of Washington by Jefferson was made public and the president took grave offense. They were never reconciled, but Jefferson, who outlived Washington by more than twenty-five years, later emphasized their agreements. As early as his first inaugural address in March 1801, Jefferson said that 'every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans, we are all federalists.' Products of the same culture and class, Washington and Jefferson joined a common struggle in the American Revolution and developed a close relationship that eventually collapsed under the weight of political differences. A Revolutionary Friendship brilliantly captures the two founders in the fullness of all human friendships: sometimes dramatic, often challenging, and ultimately poignant"-- Provided by publisher. |
