Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis

The letters of chapter thirteen range from January 1820 until a few months before their deaths in April 1826. Both men grew content in old age, passing their time of resentment. They retired happily and stayed mentally active as philosophers. Further, most men were lucky in good health.

Though, by 1818, Adams was not able to write due to his palsy. Jefferson also became sick first in 1818. They were consoled through sharing infirmities. They also looked back fondly to their careers and the revolutionary days. Near the end of their lives, they came to represent the historical past.

Jefferson focused mostly on establishing the University of Virginia in the last years of his life, and while Adams did not have a cause of this sort, he still stayed interested in politics, unlike Jefferson.

The two men's friendship had passed its most several tests early...