and both adams and jefferson write back. adams is 81 years old and adams opened his reply to trouble with expressions of pleasure at hearing from him, who he had not seen since he 79 deposit when they had crossed paths in new york's and philadelphia and then the offered cordial affirmations and best wishes with the project. after dispensing with the niceties, adams launched a frontal attack on trumbull's paintings and all forms of state art past, present, and future. you will please to remember, he lectured the artist, that the burn and the pencil, the chisel and the trial, -- of which we have any information on the side of despotism and superstition. for centuries, artists and sculptors painting portraits have conspired against the rights of mankind. and adams, moral universe, he was the supreme instrument of sophistry. he warned troubled the great artist of independence, he too was on the threshold of becoming an enemy of human rights. he felt obliged to tell troubled that in his words, i am therefore more inclined to despa

so adams and jefferson are at opposite poles. own way trying to uphold the ongoing values of the revolution at a time, 1818, when the revolution was becoming hazy and the popular imagination. four adams, that meant representing the past with absolute authenticity and presenting it from descending into folklore. to him, trumbull was distorting history and producing a sublime deception as critics might have described it, because the page read never witnessed or recorded the events. in fact, the classically trumbull admitted he wanted to -- he wantedegates to show them calmly, wisely, sternly. converted bickering congressmen into stoic republicans governing. the incessant rancor inside independence hall dissolved here into the timeless calm. trumbull deliberately polished his picture with an iconic sheen and to adams that was a tragedy. jefferson, the equally daunting task was to enshrine republican values that had emerged during the revolution so they might be sustained and propagated. he understood and approved idea of project was

one of the things i wrote about in the adams jefferson letters the famous correspondent and they had fallen out as most people probably knew. and that at the end of their lives they start this epic correspondence. the way they begin the conversation as they are nerdy now to about how fast the their letters are getting to each other. your letter only got here in six days. a very high bandwidth. they would've been shocked but they would've quickly figured it out. david you're on with stephen johnson. >> my grandfather started a toy company in 1920 and he have a philosophy and hero he wrote a lot about which was bringing reality into the land of make-believe. i never knew him. i would have argued that we need to keep play in reality separate. so he believed that by giving children actual miniature real things his work was in the smithsonian we went to a lot of trouble to make his toys so real that he said children instead of playing with a fantasy object would now be playing with the real object and therefore become more realistic. and go on to lead corporations and do practical things.

hamilton's premature death in 1804 at the hands of vice presentedburr, jefferson -- john adams, who also despised hamilton, partly for good reason, would later join jefferson in crafting a narrative which per trade hamilton in a most -- which portrayed hamilton in a most unflattering light. adams believed that hamilton suffered from an overabundance of secretion which led him to engage in unbridled touring. both jefferson and adams were nativists and it perturbed them , as adamscreel vaster referred to him, who was not quite american, held such sway over george washington, whom, by the way, they also resented. the civil war and the rise of the anti-slavery republican party provided a brief respite from populist hamilton bashing. a series of republican presidents, including james garfield, rather be a, all deeply -- rutherford b. hayes, all admired hamilton and to some extent for his antislavery stance, which stood in contrast to jefferson. hamilton's reputation pete at the dawn -- peaked at the dawn whene 20th century theodore roosevelt invoked hamilton and his embrace of energetic gover

it was probably going to come down to jefferson or adams at the time, and adams recollects jefferson, says to i think you should write it. jefferson says, why? adam says, there are three reasons. one, i'm from massachusetts and you are from virginia and we are considered much more radical. it is probably better if you do it from a more temperate point of view. two, i am much more obnoxious than you. i think the delegates would feel better if you wrote it. three, you are 10 times the writer i am. i think that was probably true. theas jefferson that pens original draft of the declaration of independence and then adams and franklin, for the most part, make some amendments to that and then it goes before the full continental congress really on july 3 and on july 4, it is adopted. say that so, when they thomas jefferson was the author of the declaration of independence, what do you say? mr. puleo: i say, yes. jefferson himself admits he used ideas from john locke, used ideas from his own contemporary george mason and one of the reasons he says, if i chose ideas,ely brand-new people without

adams believed that hamilton suffered from an overabundance of secretion which led him to engage in unbridled whoring. both jefferson and adams were nativists and it perturbed them bastard, whiche was not quite american held such , sway over george washington, whom, by the way, they also resented. the democratic party, particularly jackson and then ren echoed thisu characterization of hamilton. the civil war and the rise of the anti-slavery republican party provided a brief respite from populist hamilton bashing. a series of republican presidents, including james garfield rutherford b. hayes, harrison, all admired hamilton for his nationalism, and to some extent for his antislavery , stance, which stood in stark contrast to jefferson's beliefs. hamilton's reputation peaked at the dawn of the 20th century when theodore roosevelt invoked hamilton's nationalism and his embrace of energetic government to provide a further progressive agenda. one of roosevelt's left and progressive successors, warren reveredng, also hamilton. llon erectedetary me a statue outside the treasury department. mellon's embrace of hamilton was

jefferson/adams. >> thomas jefferson hired john calendar of accusing him of being -- john adams and his people for their part were already spreading rumors thomas jefferson was sleeping with slaves in monticello which in fact he was and use one of my favorite slurs in american election campaigns by saying you can't vote for thomas jefferson because he is dead. and how can you vote for a dead man. >> afraid the election is going to be rigged. >> reporter: as for donald trump's claim the election is rigged before it actually haven't seen before in american elections. >> there was even a time when he didn't get an emmy for his tv program three years in a rehe started tweeting the emmys were rigged. >> should have gotten it. >> reporter: the first clinton/trump debate was the most watched in tv history with 84 million viewers. >> donald supported the invasion of iraq. >> wrong. >> absolutely proved over and over. >> wrong. >> donald trump never misses a chance to launch a full-throated attack on the media. >> they're not reporting it, you are not reporting it katie. >> reporter: nbc corresp

. >> care is what it is at the beginning of the last election john adams and thomas jefferson but somehows hd the differences have metastasized in the last few elections cycles to the detriment of the republicub people would say i disagree but now we have lost our temperament it is hard to excite your base really we don't mean that. 99 percent of us for ourselves them posterity and country. bad in it is hugely important to talk about the issues and the demonization this is where we will get into trouble. if we have the election cycle where all of the bad people because he went after sut the repeal of prohibition and it is pretty low. >> host: what you think of the donald trump won president compared to a pastst president quick. >> i don't know. he will be a the future but it is almost janice that this is the least qualified most temperamentally says that after a run towardrs national office. with a strange infatuation so those who escape the soviet union said arsenic as a strong thing. and the opponents' first in coe republican primary. en to make it possible to get back to a playing field

but in the election of 1800 when thomas jeffersonan john adams, jefferson hired a newspaper editor to write incredible slander about adams in the press. he wrote that he was a hideous hermpahroditical character. ( laughter ) it was horrible-- he wrote horrible things about him. >> stephen: really? >> yes, that's absolutely true. it's a matter of historical record. and then everyone said that when trump bragged about the size of his penis, that was-- "oh, we can't believe he bragged about the size of his penis, what president could have done such a thing?" but l.b.j., lyndon b. johnson-- very appropriate name-- penis constantly. >> stephen: yeah, but in private. >> not that privately! >> stephen: not in a debate, a televised debate! >> there is a very well- circulated story that he pulled out his penis in front of a bunch of reporters. they said "why are you invading vietnam?" and he pulled out his penis and said "this is why." now, that story might be apocryphal, but he nicknamed his penis "jumbo." this is a matter of historical record. and he would whip it out in front of congress pe

, i've read a lot of books, there's a big emphasis on the fighting that went on between jefferson, hamilton, adamsand then madison joining with jefferson and others. and, you know, it's -- anden then, you know, he's secretary of state and leaving, and i don't know whether it was a temporary perspective that jefferson had during the washington administration. and and washington is from virginia. and i was very surprised to see, after reading your books, how jefferson turned out to be evil. am i crazy, or -- >> did you just say "evil"? >> >> >> yes.ville, because he was against the -- >> how many times have you seen "hamilton"? [laughter] >> i have the cd -- [laughter] no, no, no, and also miranda's book, and -- >> yeah, yeah. >> no, no, but the fact is looking at chernow's book, he takes a certain perspective. >> could i start an answer? >> go ahead. >> okay. and annette will set me right. first of all, the idea of political opposition is absolutely illegitimate. >> okay. >> party, faction, no good. a republic. we've been talking about love ad nauseam. it's supposed to be that people do recognize c

so the shelves are weighed down with biographies of adams, jefferson, washington, hamilton. right? musical, right? there should be a biography of this guy. because this guy, i think, is the reason why louisiana territory becomes america. because this is the guy that kills the french troops. french troops are dying by the thousand. so that when thomas jefferson sends ministers to paris to negotiate the purchase of new orleans, because as jefferson said, whoever controls new orleans is our natural enemy. right? because you think of that western expansion. if you're a farmer, if you're in the west, if you're in kentucky, or points west, you're not thinking to lug your produce back across the appellation mountains. -- appalachian mountains. you're looking to float it down the ohio, down the mississippi to new orleans. if spain holds out, if france holds out, you've got a problem. so jefferson's ministers go looking to buy new orleans. they arrive in paris and the french minister says, have we got a deal for you. because napoleon has decided to unload. the war with britain, the disaster

go back to 1800 and look at the politics that led up to that election, the contest between adams and jefferson adams had passed acts in 1878. it turned to great violence in france and a growing paranoia, to quote jon meacham, about french refugees. there was a concern to keep french refugees out. there was a concern to crack down on the government's approach to that, and adams using those laws threw journalists into jail, a congressman was arrested and indictmented and jailed under the sedition laws and jefferson aggressively resisted those. the 1800 election was bitterly contested. there was lots that could be said about the characters of the variest parties at the time, but at the end of the day, hamilton threw the election to jefferson. it was sort of in the electoral college context, and that produced the bitter enmity between bur and hamilton that led to hamilton's death. we have seen similar politics. it was a paralist state of affairs. the country was in a dangerous state and required aggressive work to rectify. adams at the last minute tried to reduce the number of supreme court justic

go back to 1800 and look at the politics that led up to that election, the contest between adams and jeffersonssed alien extradition acts and the french revolution, turn to great violence in france and growing paranoia about french refugees. there was a strong concern to keep french refugees out and strong concern to crack down on dissent to the government approach on that and adams using those laws threw journalists into jail and congressman was arrested and indicted and jailed under extradition laws and jefferson aggressively resisted those. 1800 election was bitterly contested. there are lots that's can be said about the character of the various parties at the time. but at the end of the day, it was in the electoral college context, that produced a bitter -- that led to hamilton's death. we have seen similar politics and the country was in a dangerous place and required aggressive work to rectify. there are a lot of close parallels and it took hard work on the part of jefferson and came into the presidency to right the balance to restore impartiality of the judiciary to pull the politician

it was going to come down to jefferson or adams. acams recollects later that he says to jefferson, i think you should write it. jefferson says why? adams says, well this really three reasons, one, i'm from massachusetts and you're a virginian, we're considered much more radical than massachusetts, probably better if you do it from a more tempered point of view. two, adams says to jefferson, i am much more obnoxious than you. i think the delegates would feel much better for you wrote it. and three , he says to jefferson, you are 10 times the writer i am. i think that was probably true. and so it's jefferson that pens the original draft of the declaration of independence. and then adams and franklin for the most part make some edits to that. and then it goes before the full continental congress on july 3. and on july 4, it's adopted. >> so when they say thomas jefferson was author of the declaration of independence, what do you snay >> i say yes. i think jefferson himself admits that he used ideas from john locke, he used ideas from mo

. >> reporter: consider the election of aifght teen hundred, when thomas jefferson ran against john adams. >> thomas jefferson a hired a scurrilous scottish writer names james callender to accuse john adams of being a hideous memory afro indict which has neither the force nor firmness of a man, john adams and his people for their part were already spreading rumors that thomas jefferson was sleeping with slaves at monticello, which in fact he was. they also used one of my favorite all-time slurs in american campaigns by simply saying, well you can't vote for thomas jefferson because he is dead. and how can you vote for a dead man. >> i am afraid the election is going to be rigged. i have to be honest. that is something we haven't seen before in american elections. >> there was even a time when he didn't get an emmy for his tv he started tweeted that a the emmys were rigged. >> i should have gotten it. >> i would say the only truly rigged election in american history was 1876 which is the dirtiest election of all-time. where you had rutherford b hayes the republican running against samuel t

there may have been conflict between adams and jefferson, but your kids were not exposed to it. you didn't discuss that with president going forward, do you think? >> if let's say donald trump is elected one thing that happens politicians at lower levels tend it to imitate who is successful. if he is not successful tonight and let's say the republicans go in a different direction, republicans particularly will say let's find someone who is different from trump and not have someone toe still out. it will be fascinating to watch. >> we'll all be watching for sure. >>> it's all hands on deck. that's what the top intelligence officials tell nbc news about the scope of the government's readiness for this election day. both military and cyber experts are monitoring incoming intelligence for any threats. there are six national cyber centers and 54 state operation centers that are being fully election monitors in 28 different states, that includes virginia. polling places will be monitored in fairfax and prince william counties. now when you're at the polls keep an eye out for any kind

there's a big emphasis on the fighting that went on between jefferson, hamilton, adams and then madisonjoined with jefferson and others and then, you know secretary of state leaving and i don't know whether it was a temporary perspective that jefferson had during the washington administration. washington is from virginia and i was so surprised to see after reading your book how jefferson turned out to be evil. and my crazy? >> did you just say evil? >> evil because he was against the washington's approach-- >> how many times have you seen "hamilton"? >> i have the cd and also miranda's broke. no, no, no, but looking at the book he takes it into perspective. >> could i start an answer? >> go ahead. >> annette will set me right. first of all, the idea of political opposition is absolutely illegitimate. party, faxing, no good. we have been talking about love at nausea. it's supposed to be that people do recognize common values and commitments and they don't and of course love always makes failed love always makes things worse as a freud would tell you about love and hate. the second thing

he was trying to learn the art of painting in west's studio and befriends abigail and john adams and jefferson and they encourage him to embark in a series of american history paintings. he initially intended, if my memory is correct, 15 or 16 of them, but only executed about eight. this to my thinking is one of the best. erin and i have seen this painting. it is at the trumbull gallery in yale. it is rather small. we think of trouble as great historic paintings, but the early ones are small, only about this big and they are beautiful. if you ever wonder what his inspiration is, it is west. doing the death of another general outside of the same city, quebec, just five years -- 20 years apart. now trumbull, like so many of the other artists, sees commercial potential for collecting subscriptions and engravings of the paintings he does. but unlike copley, he is more reluctant to alter the factual is some of his painting. they are all very realistic, but they vary by factual is. as we know with any history painting, you are going to fudge things in order to show off a moral dimension to the scene

president adams, even jefferson famously said given a choice of governments without newspapers or newspapersake newspapers without governments and then he served as president for eight years and said i'll never read another newspaper again, they're full of lies. >> that sets me up for my very next question and maybe you can answer it. he said during the campaign that he wanted to make it easier for journalists who reported negative stories about him to be sued for libel. do you think he has a deeper ambition to silence critics or control dissent? >> absolutely. there's no question in my mind that if he had his way, he would say i get to say what i want on twitter about anybody else but you don't get to say what you think about me. again, it's for me but not for thee and we have -- i don't agree with senator mccain that we should ignore this. we have to fight back and we have to tell him that we, the american people, whether we're experts or the ordinary folk, are going to fight to defend our first amendment. >> do we have john mccain's sound bite because you just mentioned it, but go on. >>

and it was a very close-run thing because of a controversy with the election between adams and jefferson, and they were insistent that the constitutional order clean-up that auntilly in the electoral college and make this transition happen. that set a pattern. one of the remarkable things is that we had in the union states an election in 1864. there are certain, to go to nancy's point, there are certain rituals that send an important cultural and political signal that the body politic is intact. it may be fighting each other, one arm may be trying to punch the other fist, but ultimately it is one country, and the political order is bigger than any one person. >> woodruff: nancy gibbs, if you're donald trump, what are you looking for from president obama and the people around him, and conversely, what is president obama looking for from the trump team in. >> well, you know, this is going to be so interesting to watch because naturally anyone who has just been elected president may think they have all the answers and have no need for advice, that they have just had the affirmation from the

was doing as i had previously written a book about 1800, and that got me into the issue of jefferson and adamseven appears in that because he lived into the early part of that election. i had written that and that captured the establishment of partisanship. notes,have madison's edited, with another professor. they can be used in classrooms and it is widely used. i had done the constitution and the 1800 election, and what i wanted to do was fill out the story of the founding of our government and the constitution. story, bylling this washington at center stage. he is left out of the story, even in that other book. i thought i could tell the story in a different way by bringing washington to the center of the story. we hear these names all the time about people who write these experiences. first off, the man who started fedex, i have him making a speech about washington, and you have any idea how much money he gave to the library? dr. larson: a lot. a lot more than i have. i wish i did, but i don't know. we are told that the president envisioned a structure for his documents here on the grounds

professor wood is working on a book on john adams and thomas jefferson. it will not be long before that is published as well. what professor wood has done is he has taken all kinds of different interpretations about the revolution and he has synthesized but also delved into the primary sources and has come up with an interpretation of what the american revolution was and almost as important, what that revolution -- how the revolution transformed the american people and made us a different and unique people that others might look to. and so, that is what he is going to be talking about today and i think you will enjoy it. let's welcome professor gordon wood. [applause] prof. wood: with an introduction like that, i have to reciprocate and tell you a little bit about what john is doing to historical research. what john and other editors do is long-lasting. we historians who write books, those books are very ephemeral. they do not last very long. history is a quasi-science. new books supplant the older books. older books are not used and red. what john and th