The Dream That Rewrote American History

Divided by Politics - United by Divine Insight 

Benjamin Rush's prophetic dream about the reconciliation of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson is one of the most remarkable anecdotes from the Founders' era.

This is the amazing true story about long time friends and brothers in the fight for liberty, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who became bitter rivals after the presidential election of 1800, but made peace later in life through the prophetic dream and intervention of a mutual friend.

Left: Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale in 1800. Right: Portrait of John Adams by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1800/1815

The Dream That Mended a Broken Friendship 

Imagine two giants of the American Revolution - John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - once inseparable, now locked in icy silence for over a decade. The virulent 1800 presidential election had shattered their bond. Political wounds ran deep. The young republic trembled at the thought of two of its greatest founders forever divided.

Enter Dr. Benjamin Rush (1746–1813) a fascinating and multifaceted Founding Father - signer of the Declaration of Independence, brilliant physician, (one of the most influential medical figures of his era), and a passionate social reformer. Rush was deeply religious (Presbyterian roots, with strong Christian convictions), a vocal abolitionist, advocate for public education, temperance, and women's rights in education. He helped found Dickinson College and was Treasurer of the U.S. Mint. His life was marked by intense humanitarianism.  

Rush's intervention is often called heroic and essential—without him, the profound late-life correspondence that gives us so much insight into the Founders' thoughts might never have occurred.

Rush was deeply troubled by the long-standing rift between his two friends (stemming from the bitter 1800 election and political differences over the French Revolution). 

Then, one ordinary autumn evening in Philadelphia, something extraordinary happened. Rush fell asleep… and stepped into a dream so vivid, so precise, he viewed it as divine guidance in healing a divide harmful to the young nation.

THE DREAM

In the dream, his son Richard approached him holding a thick volume.

“What book is that in your hands?” Rush asked.

“It is the history of the United States, sir,” Richard replied. “Shall I read a page of it to you?”

Rush, ever the skeptic of secular histories, waved him off. “No, no — I believe in the truth of no history but that which is contained in the Old and New Testaments.”

“But sir,” his son insisted gently, “this page relates to your friend Mr. Adams.”

Rush’s heart leaped. “Let me see it then,” he said.

What he read on that page in his dream would change history.

The future history book told of two old friends who had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the Continental Congress of 1775, bound by identical principles of liberty. It described how the storms of the French Revolution had driven them apart. It spoke of Adams retiring with dignity to Quincy, surrounded by family and books. It pictured Jefferson retreating wearily to Monticello, tending his farms.

Then came the turning point that made Rush’s pulse race even in sleep:

“In the month of November 1809, Mr. Adams addressed a short letter to his old friend Mr. Jefferson… This letter did great honor to Mr. Adams. It discovered a magnanimity known only to great minds. Mr. Jefferson replied… These letters were followed by a correspondence of several years in which they mutually reviewed the scenes of business… and candidly acknowledged to each other all the errors of opinion and conduct… Many precious aphorisms… are contained in these letters… These gentlemen sunk into the grave nearly at the same time, full of years and rich in the gratitude and praises of their country.”

IN SUMMARY

The "page" from this future history book (dated 1809) detailed:

1. Adams and Jefferson first met in the Continental Congress of 1775.

2. They shared identical principles of liberty, attachment to their country, and views on the Revolutionary struggle, leading them to become close personal and political friends.

3. Differences over the French Revolution divided them and the nation.

4. The pro-French faction ousted Adams from the presidency in 1800, elevating Jefferson.

5. Adams retired gracefully to Quincy, Massachusetts, spending his later years in literary and philosophical pursuits surrounded by family and friends.

6. Jefferson retired in 1808 (note: the dream slightly misdates his actual 1809 retirement), weary of public life's intrigues, to Monticello, Virginia, where he focused on farming and innovative agriculture.

7. In November 1809, Adams wrote a short, magnanimous letter to Jefferson congratulating him on his retirement and expressing regard and good wishes—this act showed great honor and "magnanimity known only to great minds."

8. Jefferson replied warmly, reciprocating esteem.

9. This sparked years of correspondence where they reviewed their shared history, candidly admitted errors in opinion and conduct during public service, and shared profound insights (many "precious aphorisms" from observation, experience, and reflection).

10. It was hoped the world would one day see these letters.

11. Ultimately, the two men "sunk into the grave nearly at the same time, full of years and rich in the gratitude and praises of their country," outliving their political opponents, with posterity adding that they were "Rival friends."

 

THE LETTER

Benjamin Rush wrote a letter to John Adams dated October 17, 1809, in which he describes this dream.  The full text of the letter can be found here.

Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale 1783

Rush enclosed the dream excerpt as the core of the letter, framing it as a hopeful vision he believed might inspire Adams. (The letter itself is brief beyond the dream description, serving mainly to share it.)

Adams responded on October 25, 1809, with amusement and warmth: "A Dream again! I wish you would dream all day and all Night, for one of your Dreams puts me in spirits for a Month. I have no other objection to your Dream, but that it is not History. It may be Prophecy."

Rush didn’t stop there.

He became a one-man bridge of reconciliation — writing, nudging, reminding both men of their shared glory and the damage their silence was doing to the nation they had built. He told Jefferson of Adams’ lingering affection. He reminded Adams of Jefferson’s quiet respect.

For more than two years, Rush gently, persistently, lovingly refused to let the friendship die.

Then, on January 1, 1812 - almost exactly as the dream had foretold — John Adams picked up his pen and wrote the first words of healing:

“My dear Sir…”

Jefferson answered the very next day with open arms.

What followed was pure magic: 158 letters over fourteen years — some of the most profound, honest, funny, philosophical, and moving correspondence in American history. They argued about religion and government, laughed about old battles, admitted mistakes, and celebrated the miracle of the nation they had midwifed together.

And then, on July 4, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence they had both signed — the dream’s final prophecy came true.

John Adams, 90 years old, uttered his last words: “Thomas Jefferson survives…”

He did not know that Thomas Jefferson had slipped away just hours earlier at Monticello.

They “sunk into the grave nearly at the same time,” exactly as Benjamin Rush had seen in his dream seventeen years earlier.

Benjamin Rush himself had passed in 1813, never living to witness the final chapter. But he had already done something extraordinary: he had listened to a dream, trusted its message, and used it to heal a wound that threatened the soul of America.

Today, when we read those luminous late letters between Adams and Jefferson, we are reading the fruit of one man’s midnight vision — a vision that refused to let friendship die, refused to let bitterness win, and reminded a young nation that even its greatest heroes were human enough to forgive.

Benjamin Rush didn't just sign the Declaration of Independence, he helped keep its spirit alive — through a God given dream, through relentless love, and through the quiet courage of believing that broken things can be made whole again.

That is the power of God's hand of providence on a young nation through one man's faith!