Rivalry, friendship of Adams, Jefferson to be explored at BPL
One was a short, brutally honest, often outspoken New Englander, the other a tall, diplomatic, gentlemanly Southerner from Virginia. They were bitter enemies and close friends.
Together they helped lay the foundation of the United States of America, and they died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the new nation’s Declaration of Independence.
But to go beyond the political personas of founding fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, one must study their intellectual personas, captured in their love for reading, writing, and collecting books.
Beginning today at the Boston Public Library, a weeklong conference, “John Adams & Thomas Jefferson, Libraries, Leadership, and Legacy,’’ will explore the former presidents’ most private thoughts and beliefs.
Participants will discuss elements of the two men’s vast personal libraries, the notes scribbled in the margins of their books, and the contents of the many letters they wrote each other.
“They are who they are because of what they read,’’ said Bob C. Baron, founder of a publishing company in Colorado, who decided nearly two years ago to organize the conference centered on the literary side of Adams and Jefferson. “I hope that we can keep telling that story.’’
Baron, former chairman of the American Antiquarian Society, said the conference will include panel discussions with about 35 scholars, along with tours of library collections and historical sites.
While one panel will focus on Adams and Jefferson as book collectors, others will scrutinize their thoughts on religion, nationalism, and the Enlightenment.
The conference will begin at the library in Boston, stop at Adams’s former home in Quincy, and end at Monticello, Jefferson’s estate in Charlottesville, Va. Sponsors are the library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Robert H.
“I have a sneaking suspicion that many of us will come away with a deeper appreciation of the other [president,]’’ said Beth Prindle, manager of the John Adams Library Project, adding, “I think I’m going to develop a soft spot for Jefferson.’’
David M. Emblidge - associate professor in the department of writing, literature, and publishing at Emerson College - said that despite the differences in their political views, Adams and Jefferson evolved intellectually along similar lines.
Their letters reveal their mutual interest in diplomacy and law, said Emblidge, who will speak at the conference tomorrow.
But by the 1790s, the leaders had become political rivals and stopped writing to each other, resuming their correspondence only in 1812. Older and perhaps more mature, they then discovered an emotional friendship, sharing thoughts on marriage, family, aging, and mortality.
Constance B. Schulz, a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina, said that visiting historic sites as part of the conference will enrich the experience further.
“You walk through the old house at Quincy, and there’s John Adams’s rocker,’’ she said. “Or you go to Monticello and you see the really cramped stairs that Jefferson designed for his servants.’’
