Perspective

Four perspectives fill the pages of the Adams-Jefferson letters, the editor's, Adams, Jefferson and Abigail Adams. Each perspective differs in important ways. The most unique perspective is that of the editor, Lester J. Cappon. Cappon includes before each selection of letters an introduction to the time period that the relevant letters cover. He is intent on setting all the letters in context and explaining the complex personal, political and philosophical context in which the letters were written. He proceeds with the care of a professional historian and also treats the primary sources well, compiling them all in one source while also explaining, classifying and analyzing them.

John Adams's perspective is the more lively and jovial of the two. Adams often jokes in his letters and in general displays a chipper temperament. Of the two, Adams was much more interested in religious matters. He was more pro-British than Jefferson...