Common Sense

Two funny stories actually. On the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, in 1826, John Adams lay dying just before he slipped away, his last words were “Thomas Jefferson lives.” It’s funny for two reasons, and funny weird not funny haha. One, Thomas Jefferson, although he was a fellow founding father and a member of the Committee of Five that did the draft of of the Declaration with Adams, they became arch rivals at the birth of the new Republic. Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson was the founder of the Democratic-Republicans. The only two political rivals I can think of who hated each other more were Hamilton and Burr, and we know how that ended.

The other reason was that Jefferson had died just a few hours earlier. Both men died on the 4th of July, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Even if you don’t believe in God, or fate or destiny, there’s something about that which makes it hard to deny the universe is more than random coincidence. There’s something about it which makes you wonder if maybe there was more to the words “Wehold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The other funny story is about an American president who died in office. Zachary Taylor had attended the ceremony dedicating the Washington Monument on July 4, 1850. It was a hot day, and he retired to the White House to eat cherries and drink a class of milk while sitting on the South Lawn watching fireworks. Five days later, he was dead. The only American president killed by cherries and milk.

Actually, most historians think it was gastroenteritis and at least one still believes he was poisoned.

American history is filled with these kinds of stories. One thing I hope you do today is think about some of them and maybe do a little exploring of your own.