John Fredrick Parker
Donor
What if, in 1777, when the Continental Congress wanted to send John Adams to France as a backup to Ben Franklin, he had gotten them to pick someone else?
He certainly played a critical role, yes, but IIANM that was toward the end of the war -- his years in France preceding that were hardly helpful...
Wasn't John Adams crucial to the US' relations with the Dutch Republic?
Jefferson is still relatively in the background.
Congress actually asked Jefferson to go, but he declined on account of his wife's frail health.