Thomas Jefferson Still Survives
Written by admin on July 4th, 2009It was a remarkable coincidence. On July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two of the signers of the declaration, and both former Presidents of the United States, took their dying breaths.
It is recorded that during the night before his death at Monticello, Jefferson asked, “Is it the fourth?” He was assured that it was indeed the fourth, to which he murmured, “Ah.” He died at 12:50 the next afternoon, July 4th, 1826.
Many miles away, in Quincy, Massachusetts, John Adams was dying. Though Adams and Jefferson had many a lively argument over their fledgling country, their friendship endured and grew. John Adams’ dying words: “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Adams died at 5:30, July 4th, 1826.
I like to think that our democratic republic will survive, and in that Thomas Jefferson and all the signers of the Declaration will survive.
Our July 4th learning table is set up to be on display for the coming week or so.
We gathered up many things revolutionary: biographies of Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and others; we have a large flag, books about life in the 1700s, a small flag, reproductions of colonial and revolutionary currency, and more.
We’ll keep our table up for at least a week and hopefully learn a little more about our nation’s birth.
I thought these recent pictures from our Yorktown trip would be fitting today.
One Country
One Constitution
One Destiny
Happy Fourth of July!
Lynn
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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Dear Lynn,
I love the Yorktown pictures, and the table vignette. Very interesting history, too.
I hope you had a wonderful Fourth.
Love,
Marquet