Power Always Thinks It Has A

Adams wrote this to Thomas Jefferson on February 2, 1816, in the midst of their celebrated late-life correspondence, which Benjamin Rush had helped broker after the two men's bitter estrangement following the 1800 election. The observation reflects Adams's lifelong suspicion of concentrated authority — a theme running through his political writing from the earliest days of the republic. He had watched the French Revolution confirm his fears that unchecked power corrupts even those who believe themselves enlightened.