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LIFE AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE, PART I

© John S. Cooper

We read a great deal about what a President does while he is in the White House, but very little is written about what he does after he leaves office. Most of our Presidents have continued to serve their country in a number of ways.

George Washington had no precedent to follow in retirement, any more than he did in office. He happily returned to his estate, Mount Vernon. As the tension with France increased after the X-Y-Z Affair, President John Adams decided to prepare the army for a possible war. Adams appointed Washington “Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the armies raised or to be raised.” Washington accepted the commission on July 4, 1798 on the condition that he would only take the field in case of invasion and that he had approval rights over the composition of the general staff. Washington spent a few weeks traveling and establishing his plans in case of war, and then waited at home at Mount Vernon for the call to arms. The war never came, and Washington resigned his commission. He died the next year. Washington remains the only President to serve on active military duty after his term as President.

John Adams lived for twenty-five years after leaving the White House. He never again served in office, but did renew his friendship with Thomas Jefferson. Their correspondence covered politics, religion, philosophy, current events, and much more. They both died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years to the day after the approval of the Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” But Jefferson had died several hours earlier in Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson accomplished more after retiring than most people do in their entire career. In addition to his renewed correspondence with John Adams and many others, he founded the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and served as its first rector, or president. Jefferson wanted to create a university “ based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind to explore and to expose every subject susceptible of its contemplation.” He designed the building, supervised the construction, hired the faculty and determined the curriculum. He also instituted the system of academic electives. The University of Virginia, called Mr. Jefferson’s University by the students and faculty, continues today as one of the finest institutions of higher learning in the country.

James Madison spent his retirement years tending to his estate. Poor crops and his son’s gambling debts left him with little cash. In 1829, Madison represented Orange County at the Virginia Constitutional Convention.