The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams

By John Adams, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, et al.

Book Overview

An intellectual dialogue of the highest plane achieved in America, the correspondence between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson spanned half a century and embraced government, philosophy, religion, quotidiana, and family griefs and joys. First meeting as delegates to the Continental Congress in 1775, they initiated correspondence in 1777, negotiated jointly as ministers in Europe in the 1780s, and served the early Republic -- each, ultimately, in its highest office. At Jefferson's defeat of Adams for the presidency in 1800, they became estranged, and the correspondence lapses from 1801 to 1812, then is renewed until the death of both in 1826, fifty years to the day after the Declaration of Independence.

Lester J. Cappon's edition, first published in 1959 in two volumes, provides the complete correspondence between these two men and includes the correspondence between Abigail Adams and Jefferson. Many of these letters have been published in no other modern edition, nor does any other edition devote itself exclusively to the exchange between Jefferson and the Adamses. Introduction, headnotes, and footnotes inform the reader without interrupting the speakers. This reissue of The Adams-Jefferson Letters in a one-volume unabridged edition brings to a broader audience one of the monuments of American scholarship and, to quote C. Vann Woodward, 'a major treasure of national literature.'

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807842303
• ISBN13: 9780807842300
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Omohundro Institute and Unc Press
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 2.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating illustrations of John and Abigail Adams’ and Thomas Jefferson’s characters

This book illuminates the incredible minds of the Adamses and Jefferson. Their later correspondence in retirement, discussing profound philosophies of government, is particularly applicable today, and probably should be required reading for elected federal officials (maybe with required comprehension testing?). David McCoullogh’s John Adams biography stimulated me to read this, and the letters don’t disappoint. Of special interest was their involvement as ministers of the congress (prior to Constitution adoption) to France and England and their attempts to secure loans for the huge Revolutionary War debt, as well as deal with the grasping Barbary states. The letters tend to make the three individuals come alive - and they all impress with their huge knowledge of history and philosophy. The letters are an excellent accompaniment to biographies of the three, and particularly refreshing because they are untainted by editorial bias. Anyone interested in American history would be enriched by this correspondence.