Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, by Professor Gordon Wood

Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, featuring Dr. Gordon Wood being interviewed by Dr. Jeffry Morrison.

Dr. Wood discusses the topic of his most recent book: the friendship and subsequent falling out of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The two were initially united in their radicalism, eager to break from Britain well before most, and they became good friends when they served diplomatic missions together in England and France. However, they fundamentally differed as to the function of the national government, and their rivalry was cemented with the rise of their respective political parties—the Republicans and the Federalists—and the Revolution of 1800. Dr. Wood goes on to analyze both the similarities and differences in Jefferson’s and Adam’s manner of thinking, political views and legacies.

Dr. Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor Emeritus of History at Brown University. American History Videos are sponsored by the James Madison Foundation and are available to help teachers, students, and the general public learn more about America's founding and the Constitution of the United States. www.jamesmadison.gov.

0:00 Intro
0:29 Avid Patriots
3:05 Freedom United
7:53 Revolution of 1800
14:33 Jefferson's Accomplishments
16:46 Adams' Accomplishments
22:53 Friendship Tried
29:39 Jefferson Celebrated
32:47 Death and Remembrance