“He is a hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”
Today, exactly 217 years ago, Thomas Jefferson was elected 4th President of The United States. His victory marked the end of a campaign that would become famous for its vicious volleys of rhetoric…
The above quote was written about then President, John Adams – who once considered Jefferson a close friend. Now the air was thick with racial slurs and character attacks.
While The House was deliberating over the tied election (yes, Jefferson tied for 1st with his VP/running-mate… 19th century America was a little kooky) Alexander Hamilton, who disliked Jefferson but perfectly despised Burr, supplied this glorious burn while cajoling The House to win Jefferson:
“I would much rather have someone with wrong principles than someone devoid of any.”
Jefferson was chosen. In the smoke and rubble, our country found a great triumph – a “peaceful” (bloodless) transfer of power from one political party to another, besides our differences.
For the first time, we proved that open and free discourse (however heated) could produce an ultimately unified people and governance.
11 years later, Jefferson and Adams rekindled their friendship and continued as pen-pals until they died.
Like the truth, friendship always shines through the years.
Think about rekindling something today.
See? The future is brighter already.