On July 4, 1776, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence. Both had worked hard together in producing it. Subsequently, Adams became the second American president while Jefferson followed him as the young country’s third. Both had a high regard for the Bible. “It is the bedrock of liberty,” said Jefferson. In 1804, he wrote a letter to Joseph Priestly, the famous scientist, urging him to compose a book of Jesus’ sayings extracted from the Bible. Adams regarded it as “the best book in the world.” In his view, the Bible contained more philosophy than all other books combined and was essential for understanding both the world and humanity.
These great men had many things in common, although their friendship was often sparked by bitter disagreement. Adams was “utterly adverse” to the admission of slavery into Missouri, which was the exact opposition to Jefferson who favored it. They became known as “The Feuding Founders.” For as long as they had been friends, one pundit declared, they had been “frenemies.”
There were other issues that challenged their friendship. Paradoxically, they disagreed on whether July 4th was worthy of celebration. Adams refused to celebrate that date because it was on July 2nd that the declaration was approved in a closed session of Congress. For Jefferson, on the other hand, “The only birthday I ever commemorated is that of our independence, the Fourth of July.”
The two were friends but also rivals and even adversaries. Historian Gordon S. Wood titled his book about the pair, Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Nevertheless, toward the end of their lives, there is evidence that they were reconciled.
On July 3, 1826, Jefferson asked his attending physician, “Is it the Fourth?” These were Jefferson’s last words. His physician answered, “It soon will be.” The third president of the United States passed away on the following day.
John Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Adams was mistaken. Jefferson passed away five hours earlier in Monticello at age 83. Adams died that day in Quincy, Massachusetts. At that time, in 1826, John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams, was the reigning president. Five years later, James Monroe, America’s fifth president, also died on July 4th.
On the jubilee of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson passed from the earth. The public was prepared to believe that this was no mere coincidence, but a sign from a providential God. In his first speech as president, George Washington spoke the following words:
It would be peculiar to omit [from] this first official act, my fervent supplication to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aid can supply every human defect…no people can be bound to acknowledge and endure the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men [more] than the people of the United States.
In Patrick Henry’s rousing “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, he stated that “there is a just God who presides over the destiny of nations.” Benjamin Franklin stated his conviction that God had blessed America at a Constitutional Convention:
In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor…
Was the passing of Jefferson and Adams on the same day mournful or joyful? Eulogies to these two stout-hearted men indicated that their departure should not be seen as a mournful, but as a joyful event. During their reign, America expanded and grew in strength and number. On August 2, 1826, Daniel Webster gave a two-hour eulogy honoring Adams and Jefferson in which he stated that their deaths on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, that “striking and extraordinary” event, was “proof” from on high “that our country, and its benefactors, are objects of His care.”
Were the accumulated coincidences sufficient to constitute a proof of God’s providential care? The historical events that followed the Declaration of Independence only provide addition reason that it was the case. Skeptics may prefer to speak of coincidences, extraordinary as they were, as chance happenings. Nonetheless, it is not difficult to believe that a nation, founded on religious principles, would be under the providential care of a Divine Being.
Someone has said that “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Repeated coincidences, however, do not require God’s signature. To the faithful, the benefits drawn from a series of extraordinary coincidences are sufficient proof of God’s presence. We have more to thank God for than our existence.
Patrick Henry would be pleased to see the Statue of Liberty, a monument to his cherished credo. But he would be even more pleased to witness what the Lady of Liberty is holding in her left hand: a table bearing the words “July IV MDCCLXXVI.”
The Fourth of July will continue to be celebrated annually with justifiable pride. Flags will fan the air, parades will be met with cheers, and fireworks will brighten the night sky. But it should not be forgotten that God played an important, perhaps even a decisive role in making that date memorable.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
