John Adams

John Adams
2nd President of the United States
Term of office March 4, 1797 - March 4, 1801
Political party	Federalist
Vice President	Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	George Washington
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
1st Vice-President of the United States
Term of office April 21, 1789 - March 4, 1797
Political party	Federalist
President	George Washington
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
Born	October 30, 1735 Quincy, Massachusetts
Died	July 4, 1826 Quincy, Massachusetts
Spouse	Abigail Smith Adams
Religion	Unitarian

John Adams (October 30, 1735 - July 4, 1826) is one of America's Founding Fathers, serving as George Washington's Vice President from 1789 to 1797, and as the 2nd President of the United States of America, serving a single term from 1797 to 1801. In terms of party affiliation, Adams was a Federalist, and was the only Federalist to serve as President. Adams ran for re-election in the Presidential election of 1800 but was defeated by Thomas Jefferson in the latter's "Revolution of 1800."

Early life and political career

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father was also named John, his mother was Susanna Adams and his son was John Quincy Adams, a later President in his own right.

Adams attended Harvard and, after a stint as a schoolmaster in Worchester, Massachusetts, took up the practice of law in Boston. In 1765, Adams wrote tracts such as the Braintree Instructions, which argued against the British Stamp Act. His cousin, Samuel Adams, attracted far more notice during the Stamp Act crisis, leading demonstrations and using far more colorful language (there would later be some confusion regarding John and Samuel. When John was sent to France by the Continental Congress on a diplomatic mission, the French initially thought he was the "famous Adams," that is, Samuel Adams). In the wake of the Boston Massacre in 1770, Adams represented the British troops, arguing that all Englishmen (and many colonists still thought of themselves as Englishmen at this point) deserved a vigorous defense.

In 1774, after the crisis brought on by the Boston Tea Party and the resulting Coercive Acts, Adams became an advocate for American independence. Adams was one of Massachusetts’s representatives to the Continental Congress. He attracted the notice of other delegates at the Second Continental Congress as one of the few to argue for independence at this early date.

Declaring Independence

In 1776 Adams was appointed, with Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, to draft a Declaration of Independence. Adams realized that Jefferson was much more gifted in terms of self-expression than he was, and the document was composed mostly by the Virginian. However, Adams did have a great deal of input, looking over drafts of the document. The Declaration that the two submitted falls into two parts. The first, which was heavily cribbed from English political philosopher John Locke, was a statement of political principles and of the need for colonies to sever their ties with England. The second part is a list of complaints against the Crown, justifying the actions of the Continental Congress.

Adams served the Continental Congress as a diplomat, remaining abroad for a decade, from 1778 to 1788. Originally posted to France, he served in Paris with Benjamin Franklin. Franklin felt that Adams' blunt style and lack of understanding of European diplomatic process harmed the American effort. After France, Adams was posted to the Netherlands, where he secured a large war loan to help the patriot cause. Adams chaired the American delegation that drew up the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally ended the American Revolution. However, other than the recognition of American Independence and the establishment of boundaries, most the treaty's provisions were not honored by either party.

Presidency (1797-1801)

Adams returned home after the adoption of the Constitution. He served as the first vice president in the U.S. history from 1789 to 1797. George Washington's decision to retire from public life set the stage for the first truly partisan presidential election. Alexander Hamilton was the true leader of the Federalists. However he made many political enemies during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury. The Federalists decided to run Adams as their presidential candidate and Thomas Pinckney for the office of vice-president. The Republicans selected their leader, Thomas Jefferson for president and Aaron Burr as vice-President. Adams won the bitterly contested Presidential Election of 1796, garnering 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68, and became president in his own right. However, in 1796 electors did not indicate which office they were voting for. By coming in second to Adams, Jefferson became his vice-president. Before the 1804 election, the twelfth amendment would require electors to designate which office they were voting for.

Adam's faced the challenge of having to succeeded George Washington. He retained all of Washington's original cabinet members. Although some historians consider it a mistake, he believed that government officials should not be removed except for cause. He would later add the Department of Navy in 1798. He protected the Washington administration's policy of neutrality in the on going war between England and France. Federalists were pushing for a war against France and closer ties to Great Britian. Instead Adams wanted to send a bipartisan commission to France that included Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, however they both refused.

Jefferson spent much of his time as vice-president attacking Adams, even going so far as by hire journalists to write scurrilous editorials about the President. Adams passed several laws in an attempt to prevent his defeat by Jefferson in 1800. Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Act was designed to prevent immigrants, who supported Jefferson, from gaining citizenship, and the right to vote. While the Sedition Act was designed to stifle critics of Adams. When Adams was defeated by Jefferson he began an attempt to stack the courts with Federalist judges so that his party could maintain some control of the government. One such appointment led to the landmark Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. Adam’s unpopularity while in office contributed to his defeat to Jefferson in 1800.

The Adams' were the first residents of the White House. They moved in November 1800.

Death

He died July 4, 1826 at the age of 90 in Quincy, Massachusetts only a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. Both men died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Only one signer of the Declaration (Charles Carroll) outlived him.. Adams was the first President of the United States to live in the White House.

Legacy

In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President John Adams was grouped in the "Above Average" group, ranked 13th, with a mean score of 3.36 out of 5.00.

It was John Adams whose quote has been inscribed upon the mantle in the White House dinning room:

"I Pray Heaven to Bestow the Best Blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. Let none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."

Notable Quotes

• “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”

• John Adams also said another time "Ask me not whether I am Protestant, Calvinistic or Armenian, as far as they are Christians, I wish to be a fellow disciple with them all."

• "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

• "Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war."

Further reading

• see the detailed Bibliography below
• Diggins, John Patrick. John Adams: The American Presidents Series(2003) excerpt and text search
• Ellis, Joseph J. Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (2001) excerpt and text search
• Ferling, John. John Adams: A Life (1996) excerpt and text search
• Paul Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829 (2005), 1600 pp.
• Larson, Edward J. A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign. (2007). 333 pp. on 1800 online review
• McCullough, David. John Adams (2001), 768pp; popular best seller and base of 2008 PBS series excerpt and text search

Bibliography

• Aldridge, A. Owen. "John Adams: Pioneer American Conservative," Modern Age Volume 44, Number 3; Summer 2002 online edition
• Brown, Ralph A. The Presidency of John Adams. (1988). Political narrative.
• Chinard, Gilbert. Honest John Adams. (1933). short life
• Diggins, John Patrick. John Adams (2003) short interpretation by leading scholar excerpt and text search
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1993), most advanced political history of 1790s online edition
• Ellis, Joseph J. Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (1993), interpretative essay by Pulitzer prize winning scholar. online edition
• Ferling, John. Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800. (2004), narrative history of the election online edition
• Ferling, John. John Adams: A Life. (1992), full scale biography
• Grant, James. John Adams: Party of One.(2005), short biography
• Haraszti, Zoltan. John Adams and the Prophets of Progress. (1952). Adams's political comments on numerous authors
• Kirk, Russell. "John Adams and Liberty under the Law" ch 3 of Kirk, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana (1953) online edition
• Knollenberg, Bernard. Growth of the American Revolution: 1766-1775,(2003). Online edition.
• Kurtz, Stephen G. The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800 (1957). Detailed political narrative. online edition
• McCullough, David. John Adams. (2002). Best-selling popular biography, stressing Adams's character and his marriage with Abigail over his ideas and constitutional thoughts. Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. excerpt and text search
• Miller, John C. The Federalist Era: 1789-1801. (1960). Thorough survey of politics in decade.
• Ryerson, Richard Alan, ed. John Adams and the Founding of the Republic (2001). Essays by scholars: "John Adams and the Massachusetts Provincial Elite," by William Pencak; "Before Fame: Young John Adams and Thomas Jefferson," by John Ferling; "John Adams and the 'Bolder Plan,'" by Gregg L. Lint; "In the Shadow of Washington: John Adams as Vice President," by Jack D. Warren; "The Presidential Election of 1796," by Joanne B. Freeman; "The Disenchantment of a Radical Whig: John Adams Reckons with Free Speech," by Richard D. Brown; "'Splendid Misery': Abigail Adams as First Lady," by Edith B. Gelles; "John Adams and the Science of Politics," by C. Bradley Thompson; and "Presidents as Historians: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson," by Herbert Sloan.
• Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe and John Adams: An Unlikely 'Friendship'". The Historian 67#3 (2005) pp 405+. online edition
• Sharp, James. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis. (1995), detailed political narrative of 1790s.
• Smith, Page. John Adams. (1962) 2 volume; full-scale biography, winner of the Bancroft Prize
• Thompson, C. Bradley. John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty. (1998). Analysis of Adams's political thought; insists Adams was the greatest political thinker among the Founding Generation and anticipated many of the ideas in The Federalist.
• White, Leonard D. The Federalists: A Study in Administrative History (1956), thorough analysis of the mechanics of government in 1790s
• White, Morton. "Rights, Powers, and John Adams" in White, The Philosophy of the American Revolution (1978) pp 186+ online edition
• Wood, Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different’’ (2006)

Primary sources

• Adams, Charles F. The Works of John Adams, with Life (10 vols., Boston, 1850-1856) online edition vol 1; online edition vol 2;
• Adams, Abigail, Adams, John, Shuffelton, Frank. The Letters of John and Abigail Adams. ISBN 0142437115
• Butterfield, L. H. et al., eds., The Adams Papers (1961- ). Multivolume letterpress edition of all letters to and from major members of the Adams family, plus their diaries; still incomplete [1].
• Cappon, Lester J. ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams (1988).
• Carey, George W. ed. The Political Writings of John Adams. (2000). 748 pp. ISBN 9780895262929 Compilation of extracts from Adams's major political writings.
• Diggins, John P., ed. The Portable John Adams. (2004)
• John A. Schutz and Douglass Adair, eds. Spur of Fame, The Dialogues of John Adams and Benjamin Rush, 1805–1813 (1966) ISBN 978-0-86597-287-2
• C. Bradley Thompson, ed. Revolutionary Writings of John Adams, (2001) ISBN 978-0-86597-285-8
• John Adams, Novanglus; or, A History of the Dispute with America (1774) online version
• Abigail Adams and John Adams. My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams edited by Joseph J. Ellis, and Margaret A. Hogan (2007)