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This article originally appeared in Mount Vernon magazine, published three times a year by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
Washington vs. Jefferson: The conflict that continues to trouble America
Conflict between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson? Although numerous historians have explored Jefferson’s differences with Alexander Hamilton, little has been written of—and thus, few Americans know about—the fascinatingly complex and, at times, contentious, relationship that developed between the two most famous founding fathers.
By Thomas Fleming
The differences in temperament and experience between the two men were readily apparent. During the eight-year struggle for independence, George Washington learned to live dangerously. Surmounting military defeats and attempted betrayals by fellow revolutionists, he rose to worldwide fame as the commander of the American Continental Army. With independence secured, he rejected pleas to banish the bankrupt Continental Congress and become the new nation’s dictator. Instead, he resigned his commission and became a private citizen once more.
Jefferson’s chief contribution to the struggle was drafting the Declaration of Independence. The opening paragraph’s soaring insistence that every human being was entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would ultimately give America’s revolution world-transforming power. While our nation’s most sacred document was ultimately edited and issued by the Continental Congress, Jefferson is widely acknowledged to be its principal architect.
Jefferson also served for two years (1779–81) as governor of Virginia, the nation’s largest state, during which he struggled to deal with such daunting and discouraging problems—from imminent bankruptcy to British invasions—that he refused to accept a third term. When a disillusioned member of the state’s legislature suggested the governor’s performance deserved a reprimand, the deeply wounded Jefferson told his friend James Madison that he would never again hold public office. The contrast between this emotional reaction and Washington’s eight years of steadfast leadership is striking.
With Washington’s covert backing, Vice President John Adams defeated Jefferson in the ensuing election to become the second president. France, brooding over the Jay Treaty, began seizing American merchant ships and threatened an invasion. Pro-Jefferson newspapers relentlessly assailed Adams, blaming him and his political party for the conflict. Congress passed a Sedition Act, making it a crime for an orator or a newspaper editor to libel the president or other federal officials. Former president Washington and many others saw it as a justifiable war measure.
An enraged Jefferson persuaded Madison to write a protest to be issued by the Virginia legislature, declaring a state had the power to “interpose” a refusal to obey such a law. In a statement for the Kentucky legislature, Jefferson went even further. He asserted that a state could and should consider “cission”—secession—to protect its citizens’ right to free speech.
A dismayed Washington saw these ideas as fatal to the future of the Union and urged their opposition. As the argument raged, Washington died of a throat infection. Deprived of his leadership, the political party supporting Adams faltered badly. Ultimately, the people did not want war with France and war measures that struck at their fundamental freedoms. In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson became the nation’s third president.
Toward the end of his life, James Madison—Jefferson’s most devoted disciple—had a change of mind and heart. He said students at the University of Virginia should be urged to read Washington’s Farewell Address. He issued a statement warning all Americans to cherish and perpetuate the Union of the United States. “Let the open enemy to it be regarded as a Pandora with her box opened,” he wrote. “And the disguised one as a serpent creeping with his deadly wiles into paradise.”
These words suggest that Madison had returned to the sunny porch of Mount Vernon as a partner of that realistic visionary, George Washington. As conflicts between assertive presidents and a hostile Congress continue to divide America, our leaders would do well to rediscover the presidency of George Washington, who demonstrated how much executive leadership could accomplish, even as he retained the affection of the American people.
This article is based on Thomas Fleming’s book, The Great Divide: The Conflict Between Washington and Jefferson That Defined A Nation.