The real tea on the founding fathers
A rare, handwritten letter from Thomas Jefferson is hitting the market, and lowkey, the timing is chaotic. Dating back to 1787, the document was penned in Paris while Jefferson was serving as minister to France. He was writing to his friend David Rittenhouse—a total science nerd and astronomer—to drop some wisdom about the future of the new nation during the height of the Constitutional Convention.
What the letter says
Jefferson didn’t hold back on what he thought mattered most for the country’s glow-up. He specifically highlighted three main pillars: keeping the peace, clearing out national debt, and supporting agriculture. He wrote, “Peace should be our plan, and the payment of our debts, improvement of our constitutions and extension of agriculture our principal objects.”
The letter is currently being sold by the Raab Collection, a Pennsylvania-based dealer, with a guide price of $285,000. It comes as a set with a scientific book Jefferson gifted to Rittenhouse, and it’s being called a top-tier historical find. Nathan Raab, the president of the collection, noted that the themes are still hitting home centuries later. “Things change, yet things stay the same,” Raab said.
Why it matters
If you’re wondering why this is a vibe check for modern politics, it’s because the letter feels like a direct call-out of the current administration. Donald Trump has frequently claimed Jefferson as one of his political heroes, even putting up a statue of him at the White House earlier this year. But critics point out that the current administration is lowkey failing the Jefferson test: we’ve got a long-running war in Iran, the national debt has ballooned past $40 trillion, and there’s constant friction between the White House and American farmers.
Essentially, Jefferson’s 1787 priority list is the exact inverse of what’s happening in 2026. Whether you think it’s a coincidence or a major L for the current political status quo, the document serves as a reminder that the issues the founding fathers were sweating over are still haunting us today.
