"Two Pieces of Homespun"
John Adams to Thomas Jefferson,
January 1, 1812
Manuscript letter
Manuscript Division
State Department transfer, 1904 (9.9)
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After nearly twelve years of enmity stemming from their spirited
presidential election of 1800, won by Jefferson, both men were induced
to resume a correspondence and ultimately a friendship by Benjamin
Rush (1745-1813) of Philadelphia. This letter of January 1, 1812,
was the first in the resumed exchange that would last until their
deaths on July 4, 1826. Adams enclosed John Quincy Adams's (1767-1848)
Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory, which he described
as "two Pieces of Homespun."
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