Adams briefly comments on the “hideous political murders” of three Presidents of the United States assassinated in office in Henry’s lifetime: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James Garfield (1881), and William McKinley (1901). He sees 1901 as a year of tragedy, including the deaths of John Hay’s son, Del, and one of Henry’s best friends, Clarence King. Adams occasionally demonstrates remarkable prescience regarding political developments in the coming century, here accurately predicting the importance of Germany’s relationship with France and England. Henry’s theory of history continues to develop within the context of paradox.
