I can't see how this wasn't a tension for Hitchens, who tends to dislike characters that shy away from a fight (I just this evening listened to Hitchens describe Bill Clinton as a draft dodger in the 60's, for instance). This constitution's system of government, an executive branch checked by a bicameral legislature and by a judiciary, is the oldest living constitution on the planet.Ĭontrast the boldness of Adams's vocalized belief system with Thomas Jefferson, who tended to be a bit sneaky. He was a co-editor of the Declaration of Independence (along with Benjamin Franklin), and it was Adams's speech before the Continental Congress that convinced the assembly to vote to adopt the Declaration and secede from Great Britain.įurthermore, the one thing about the United States that Christopher Hitchens most admired was our constitution, which was modeled largely after the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which was primarily authored by John Adams.

In fact, we might attribute his loss in the election of 1800 to this very attribute: he was unwilling to compromise on the matter of whether or not the United States would aid in the French Revolution, and as it seemed the United States neared war with the French (this was due more to the machinations of Jefferson, not Adams's failed leadership), Adams didn't divert his position.Īdams was, like Jefferson, a prolific writer and orator. If John Adams believed in something, he would sacrifice everything for it. May I add that John Adams was, as OP points out, a much more vocal person than Thomas Jefferson.

Hitchens jefferson