The Lives and Policies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and Their Views on Machiavelli

1. The Lives and Policies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and Their Views on Machiavelli Emily Pierce, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences, and Honors College Faculty Member: Diane Verrill, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, and Honors College TOPIC LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY In order to complete my research, I will use documented analysis as my research method. The goal for my paper is to discuss how these two men viewed Machiavelli, thus shaping their own personal political views. Machiavelli wrote The Prince centuries before the American Revolution, but his ideas were still very influential in the 1700’s. Since I do not have any means of asking Adams and Jefferson what their perspectives on Machiavelli were, I will have to use the ideas of Thompson and Rahe, both of whom helped to explain the correlation between the two men. By the end of this project I hope to have gathered enough information to bring into the light how polarized, yet similar, Adams and Jefferson were to each other. My goal for my research paper is to compare the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and the influence that they had on America. Even though these two men had very different ideas in politics, they both came together in the end for a common cause. In order to study how Adams and Jefferson differed in their views of politics, I used sources that compared their political knowledge to that of Machiavelli, the Florentine political analyst. The Prince by Machiavelli is a book that explains how to access and maintain political power. The book is divided into sections on Principalities, Armies, The Character of the Prince, and Italy’s Political Situation. John Adams supported Machiavelli’s works and was one of the few Founding Fathers who considered Machiavelli’s ideas. Adams even claimed to have been a “student of Machiavelli.” Adams agreed with Machiavelli that human nature was unchanging and driven by passion, and that societies form and fall in the same fashion as well. It was these ideas derived from Machiavelli that gave Adams a constitutional outlook. On the outside, Thomas Jefferson gave little evidence to owing any of his political policies to Machiavelli—the only time Jefferson mentioned him by name was used as an insult! Yet his ability to quote Machiavelli suggests that he had read his works. Jefferson feared the fate of the infant country of America and did not want social class to become a priority. It is views like these in which Jefferson shows how Machiavellian his ideas are. It can be concluded that Adams is Pro Machiavelli yet Jefferson was not a huge admirer. This can help explain the actions in their lives and why these two men loved to disagree. BACKGROUND John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are two of the most influential figures in American history. Their love of country and freedom is second to none. Adams and Jefferson had a unique relationship and they were always involved in each other’s lives. Unfortunately, politics tore them apart and they wouldn’t become friends again until the latter part of their lives. “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” John Adams “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny: when the govern- ment fears the people, there is liberty.” Thomas Jefferson REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1469-1527. “The Prince.” Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1995. Rahe, Paul M. 1995. “Thomas Jefferson’s Machiavellian Political Science” The Review of Politics, Vol. 57. No. 3. pp. 449-481. Cambridge University Press (February 25, 2012). Thompson, C. Bradley. 1995. “John Adams’s Machiavellian Moment.” The Review of Politics, Vol.57, No. 3. pp. 389-417. Cambridge University Press (February 25, 2012). Warren Burggren, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Vish Prasad, Ph.D., Vice President for Research and Economic Development Michael Monticino, PhD, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Gloria C. Cox, Ph.D., Dean, Honors College Richard McCaslin, PhD, Department of History http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DoBxvkyqL._SL500_AA300_.jpg http://www.americanantiquarian.org/TAH/5a50954r.jpg http://www.the-biomatrix.net/machiavelli-quotes.jpg http://rikowski.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/niccolo-machiavelli.jpg http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/portrait-of-john-adams- gilbert-stuart.jpg http://www.libertyclick.com/images/thomasjefferson.jpg http://free-wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/7/img-2414.jpg http://www.bu.edu/bostonia/winter02/adams/adams-statue.jpg