Thomas Jefferson & George Washington

Thomas Jefferson in his official presidential portrait, 1800

Portrait of Martha Washington, mid 1700s.

Martha Washington is said to have told a friend that the two saddest days of her life where the day her husband, George Washington, died, and the second was when Thomas Jefferson came to visit Mount Vernon. She told her friends that, after losing her husband, Jefferson’s visit was the most painful thing she had ever gone through.

Martha did not like Jefferson. He had often spoken badly about President Washington. Jefferson said Washington wanted too much power, like a king, and that he only followed Alexander Hamilton’s ideas. Jefferson even refused to go to Washington’s funeral. He told people in private that the country's "republican spirit" might return now that Washington was gone and the Federalists (people in Washington's political party) could no longer hide behind his heroic image.

But Washington and Jefferson had not always been enemies. Long before, they were friends and had much in common. Jefferson was born in 1743. Like Washington, he was tall and had red hair. Both men came from families of farmers. Jefferson went to William and Mary College, studied law, and then worked in government. He also became richer when he married a wealthy widow, Martha Wayles Skelton.

Jefferson called himself a farmer and spent much of his life caring for his land at Monticello, just as Washington cared for Mount Vernon. But the two men were most alike in their love for the American Revolution. In the Continental Congress, Jefferson was known for his great writing. His words are best remembered in the Declaration of Independence. Later, he helped make new laws in Virginia, became governor, and worked in the Congress again to open land in the west for settlers. In 1784, he was sent to France as an ambassador.

Secretary of state

Jefferson came back to the United States in November 1789 to work as Secretary of State for President Washington. Right away, he started having problems with Alexander Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury. Jefferson did not agree with Hamilton’s plan to create the Bank of the United States. He thought it was against the rules of the Constitution.

At the same time, the French Revolution was getting more violent. Jefferson still wanted America to be allied, or have friendly reltions with France, but Hamilton wanted the country to be closer to Great Britain. Jefferson even started to think that Hamilton and his group, called the Federalists, wanted to bring back kings and queens in America. He also worried that President Washington was listening to Hamilton too much. In 1793, Jefferson resigned from Washington's cabinet.

 In 1796, as the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, he became Vice President under John Adams and then was elected President in 1801. In his inaugural address, he called Washington “our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first place in his country’s love.” Back at Mount Vernon, Martha Washington dismissed Jefferson's "sarcastic" remarks, claiming his election was the "greatest misfortune our nation has ever experienced." Jefferson served for two terms, with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase being his greatest accomplishment, before retiring to Virginia where he died in 1826.

Stockwell, M. (n.d.). Thomas Jefferson. George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://web.archive.org/web/20210225054024/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/thomas-jefferson/

Gehred, K. (2018, May 18). Did Martha Washington Really Hate Thomas Jefferson?. Washington Papers. https://washingtonpapers.org/did-martha-washington-really-hate-thomas-jefferson/