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Article: There's nothing trivial about the U.S. presidency.(U.S. History)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- July 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHAT TWO presidents died on the very same day? Our second and third commanders in chief, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, political rivals, then friends, both died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
As Jefferson lay weak in his home in Monticello, Va., on the evening of July 3, he whispered, "Is this the Fourth?" To quiet the former president, his young lawyer-friend, Nicholas Trist, answered, "Yes." Jefferson fell asleep with a smile. His heart continued to beat until the bells and fireworks of the Fourth rang out as the nation celebrated its birth.
At dawn of that same day, Adams was expiring in his ...