John Adams' Last Words: Fact or Fiction?

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SUMMARY

John Adams' last words are widely reported as "Thomas Jefferson survives," which has led to speculation about their authenticity. This phrase reflects the historical context of Adams and Jefferson as long-term political rivals who reconciled later in life. Notably, Jefferson passed away just hours before Adams, and the lack of modern communication meant Adams was unaware of Jefferson's death at the time. The discussion concludes that there is no significant controversy surrounding the accuracy of Adams' last words.

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LightningInAJar
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Is it true that John Adams' last words were something to the effect of, "Thomas Jefferson survives" or could that easily be fabricated? It sounds like it implies he saw the ghost of Jefferson before he himself died.
 
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Adams and Jefferson were long term political opponents.
They eventually reconciled.
Both were interested in living to the 4th of July, the birthday of the country they both helped to found. They were two of the longest surviving founders.
Jefferson had died hours before, but communications were not modern, and word of it had not yet arrived to wherever Adams was.
There does not seen to be any controversy about his last words.
I have never heard about ghosts wrt this.
 
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wrt?
 
LightningInAJar said:
wrt?
"with respect to" --- do you not know how to use Google?
 
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phinds said:
"with respect to" --- do you not know how to use Google?
Sorry. Typos aren't unheard of.
 
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