https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2010/07/04/the-third-of-july/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usThu, 11 Jun 2026 03:32:40 -0400<![CDATA[Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 4th of July, 1826.  Though both men were on their deathbeds, each made an effort through the night of the third to survive until the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Adams had bulletins sent to him on Jefferson&#8217;s condition and Jefferson woke in the small hours of the third to ask, &#8220;is it the Fourth?&#8221;  The attending physician replied &#8220;it soon will be.&#8221; There was nothing funereal about the scene. It was as if both old men were on a last race; as if beneath the withered exteriors were two strong runners were striving for the tape.  That would have surprised no one in a culture where natural death, whose face had not yet been hidden behind high hospital walls, impelled men to be more generous with their lives and  less fearful of risk than the prospect of failure.]]>Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:57:26 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2010/07/04/the-third-of-july-n189875