John Adams

Born October 1735
Braintree, Massachusetts
Died July 4, 1826
Quincy, Massachusetts

President and vice president of the United States, diplomat, lawyer, writer

John Adams was an enemy of British oppression who worked tirelessly for American independence. A man with a great mind, he wrote vivid diaries, letters, and essays; gave patriotic speeches; and negotiated effectively on behalf of his country. Although he could be a vain and stubborn politician, this passionate patriot was one of America's most important founding fathers.

Adams, one of three brothers, was born on his family's farm in Quincy (then known as Braintree), Massachusetts. His father, also named John, was a farmer and a church deacon who directed the affairs of his hometown for more than twenty years. Adams's mother, Susanna Boyleston Adams, came from a respected Brookline, Massachusetts, family. John Adams was very close to his mother. His biographer Page Smith wrote that "she brought a touch of [city worldliness] to the family. She had… an [unending supply] of [sayings about the right way to behave] which her son took to heart."

As a child, Adams loved spending time in the woods and fields that surrounded his Braintree home. "I spent my time as idle children do in making and sailing boats and ships upon the ponds and brooks, in making and flying kites, in driving hoops, playing marbles, playing quoits, wrestling, swimming, skating and above all in shooting, to which diversion I was addicted to a degree of Ardor which I know not that I ever felt for any other Business, Study, or Amusement," he would later write in his autobiography. This love for the outdoors once prompted a young Adams to tell his father of his plans to become a farmer. However, his parents had different ideas for the future of their son. The Adamses were firm believers in education, and decided that their son should attend Harvard and become a clergyman.

Graduates from Harvard, studies law, marries

After finishing his elementary studies, Adams attended what is now Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, where he received excellent grades and graduated in 1755. After graduation, the nineteen-year-old young man moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, and began teaching grammar school, deciding against entering into the ministry. Once settled in his new position, Adams started to study law. In 1758 Adams completed his law studies, returned to his parents' home, and was admitted to the Boston bar. Over the next several years, Adams built up his law practice and more significantly began to involve himself in Revolutionary politics.

In 1764 Adams married bright, strong-willed Abigail Adams see entry, the daughter of a noted clergyman. In the first decade of their marriage, the couple had five children—Abigail (called "Nabby"), John Quincy, Susanna (who died at the age of thirteen months), Charles, and Thomas.

While Adams traveled around New England establishing his reputation as a lawyer, Abigail kept him posted about events at home. Through his wife's family he came to know many of the area's wealthiest and most powerful people. In an age when many men considered women of lesser value than men, Adams considered the well-informed Abigail his intellectual equal, and he listened to her informed views on public affairs.

Gains fame for defending liberty

In the 1760s American colonists became angry with England. The British governing body, called Parliament, in an

effort to raise money to pay off war debts, passed laws that required the colonists to pay high taxes and had adopted other measures the colonists thought unfair. Americans especially disliked the Stamp Act of 1765, which required them to buy a stamp to place on every printed document and other paper items they used. They protested by tearing down the house of the British-appointed governor in Boston, Thomas Hutchinson, setting fire to the tax office, and refusing to buy any British-made goods.

Joining the protest against the Stamp Act of 1765, Adams wrote several articles for the Boston Gazette that were also published in England. The colonists had never had any representatives in the British Parliament. Adams argued that it was wrong for Parliament to tax the colonies without the colonists having any say in the matter. "No taxation without representation" became the rallying cry. Adams's well-crafted writings made him New England's most popular defender of liberty in the press.

A formal statement that Adams wrote for his own town in protest of the Stamp Act was used as a model by other towns. Adams became a frequent contributor to the newspapers, speaking out against the perceived injustices carried out by the British Parliament. In time the British government gave in and removed all taxes they had placed on the colonists except the one on tea, which they kept to remind the colonists that England was still in charge.

Encourages rebellion but defends fair treatment for all

Representatives of the British government were fearful of angry colonial mobs that protested against proposed new taxes. They demanded that England send troops to Boston to help keep the peace. Their fears proved well founded in the winter of 1770, when the Boston Massacre took place (see Samuel Adams entry). In that event British soldiers fired upon a crowd of colonists (who may have provoked the British soldiers with their taunts), killing five colonial citizens who were shouting insults at them.

Despite the cries for revenge that came from many New Englanders, Adams insisted that the "redcoats" (British soldiers wore red uniforms) receive a fair trial. When criticized for defending the British soldiers, Adams responded that in a free country all men deserved the right to be defended against their accusers. Through the efforts of Adams and other colonial lawyers, eight of the soldiers and their commander were set free on the grounds of self-defense. Two were found guilty of manslaughter (killing of a human being without any bad intent). For punishment, they had their thumbs branded with a hot iron.

The Boston Tea Party

Colonial resistance to British policies finally boiled over in an incident known as the Boston Tea Party. On December 16, 1773, angry colonists boarded three British ships anchored in Boston harbor and threw their cargoes of tea into the water to protest the British tax on tea. Adams supported the incident, which many historians consider the event that led the colonists to break away from England and begin their own government. The British responded by closing the port of Boston and passing other measures the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. War came ever closer, and the thirteen colonies realized that to defend themselves effectively, they needed to unite under one central government.

First Continental Congress meets

In 1774 the First Continental Congress was called to discuss and solve the problems of the relations between America and Britain. The citizens of Massachusetts elected John Adams and Samuel Adams as their representatives. In the spring of 1774 delegates met to discuss what to do about the troubles with their mother country. They chose Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of the meeting because it was far away from where British soldiers were encamped in Boston.

John Adams was deeply committed to the idea of American independence, and devoted himself to the discussion. Adams told the delegates that they had to work together to prepare for a long war ahead. He helped draft a declaration to the king of England and a declaration of the rights of colonists. The members agreed to meet again in May 1775 if by then the king had not addressed their complaints.

Washington chosen to head army

The battle of Lexington and Concord began in April 1775 and, with this battle, the Revolutionary War had begun. The rebels pushed the redcoats back to Boston, trapping them there. Since the king was not responsive to their declaration of rights, the representatives met again in May 1775 in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. During this convention they heard speeches on whether or not the colonies should officially go to war against Great Britain. Like the citizens of the colonies, the congress was deeply divided on the matter of war. New Englanders, who had experienced the worst of the British actions, spoke of the growing threat of the British army. Some southerners spoke in favor of remaining loyal to England. In his autobiography, Adams wrote that the battle at Lexington and Concord "changed the instruments of warfare from Penn to Sword."

In June 1775 the Continental Congress created the Continental army. Headquartered at Cambridge, Massachusetts, the army swelled to more than 16,000 soldiers. At the Second Continental Congress Adams rose and nominated George Washington see entry to serve as head of the new army. The tall, quiet man had served as a colonel in the Virginia militia, an army made up of citizens rather than professional soldiers. One reason Adams chose Washington was to draw the rich southern plantation owners into the struggle for independence. As a result of Adams's private talks with all the delegates, Washington was the choice of every one of them.

Nurtures move towards liberty

Adams kept a detailed diary of the events of revolutionary times that has proved to be a rich source of information for future generations. The patriotic Adams had respect for the British tradition of laws and freedom, but he believed that a war for American independence from England could not be avoided. Never one to leave anything to chance, he placed his own secretary on the staff of General Washington to keep himself informed of all that went on with the new Continental army.

Throughout 1776 Adams spoke, wrote, and plotted to persuade the Second Continental Congress to declare independence. Still, the delegates hesitated to make a final break from England. Adams became part of a committee chosen to draft a declaration proclaiming independence. His fellow committee members were Thomas Jefferson, a lawyer from Virginia who became the third president of the United States; Benjamin Franklin (see entries), American politician, scientist, inventor, and writer; Roger Sherman, a politician representing Connecticut; and Robert Livingston, a politician from New York. Adams persuaded Jefferson to be the chief writer, made some small changes in the document when it was finished, and helped to win its approval by the congress. In July 1776 the Declaration of Independence was issued. The Declaration set out in memorable fashion the colonists' grievances and those rights they felt had been trampled by the British Crown.

Suggests national celebration

On July 3, 1776, the eve of what is now celebrated as Independence Day, Adams wrote in a letter to his wife: "The most memorable Epoch [time period] in the History of America has begun… It ought to be solemnized [celebrated] with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other—from this time forward, for ever more."

With a new, independent United States now established (the name first appeared in the Declaration of Independence), Adams suggested that each state set up its own government. (Four years later he became the main author of the Massachusetts State Constitution.) He also helped organize the American army to make it ready for the coming battle with trained British soldiers, and argued that George Washington must have full authority as commander, answering only to Congress.

Serves his country as ambassador abroad

Adams served the new country in many ways as war broke out. He became the Chairman of the Board of War, a post now called the Secretary of Defense. At various times between 1777 and 1783, as the Revolutionary War raged, he was called upon to visit foreign countries to enlist their aid in the battle against Great Britain. He served as a commissioner to France, where he and Benjamin Franklin, also serving as an American ambassador abroad, convinced the French to fight alongside American soldiers in the war.

Adams served as wartime U.S. Minister to the Netherlands in 1780, where he secured a loan for his country. In 1783 Adams, Franklin, and John Jay see entry negotiated the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1785 Adams went to England to serve as the first official representative of the newly independent United States. King George III see entrywished him well, but Adams's efforts to restore good business relations were blocked by many British officials, who resented the long and bitter conflict. In 1787 and 1788 he responded to foreign critics of his country by writing a three-volume Defense of the Constitution of the United States. In the book he argued that "there is danger from all men" who hold power, and that the most dangerous are those who wield the most power.

Becomes vice president

In 1789, after much debate, the U.S. Constitution was adopted, and for the first time in the history of the United States the various states chose electors to meet and select a president. At that time, each elector could cast two votes. They chose George Washington to serve as the first president of the United States. Adams became vice president because he received the second-largest number of votes. (Later the system was changed so that president and vice president were elected by two separate votes.)

Adams called the position of vice president, which he held for eight years, an "insignificant office." He sometimes resented playing second fiddle to Washington, but he supported the president in the belief that the duties of the offices of president and vice president should be carried out with great dignity. However, Adams opposed the attitudes of his Federalist colleagues who believed that the rich and well educated should have more influence than ordinary citizens (see box).

Elected president, has troubles with France

After Washington's second term as president ended, Adams was elected president of the United States in 1796. Thomas Jefferson was Adams's chief rival for the presidency. The election revealed one of the most significant philosophical and political divisions in American history—that between Federalists and Republicans (see box). Federalists believed in a strong central government that exercised financial and commercial powers. On the other hand, Republicans believed that individual states should exercise governmental power. Adams believed in a moderate Federalism, while Jefferson supported the Republican view of government. Adams defeated Jefferson, who became his vice president. The Adamses were the first presidential family to live in the new White House, moving in while the paint was still wet.

During his term as president, Adams helped the new government continue in an orderly manner, but his job was full of difficulties, both at home and abroad. His major challenge involved relations between the United States and France. During Adams's first term, the French, who were at war with Great Britain, grew angry with the United States. They believed the young nation had broken its agreement to serve as a French ally. They ordered that all American ships be captured and that American seamen found on British ships be treated as pirates.

In an incident called the "XYZ Affair" (1797–98), Adams sent three representatives to Paris to try to improve America's troubled relationship with the French. They were met there by three French agents whom the Americans referred to as "X, Y, and Z" in their official messages to Adams. The Americans returned home saying that the French foreign minister refused to deal with them unless they paid him $250,000 and agreed to loan France $10 million.

A threat of war

When Adams reported the French insult, the American people were furious and rallied around him. Congress authorized the building of new warships and the raising of an army against the French. At Adams's urging, a series of emergency measures, called the Alien and Sedition Acts, was passed to frighten foreign spies into leaving the country and to silence newspaper editors who opposed the war preparations.

Adams was pressured by members of the Republican Party, led by Jefferson. Republicans said it was wrong for the president to try to silence those who objected to his war policies. Adams also faced troubles from members of his own Federalist Party, who urged him to go forward at once with a war. Even without a formal declaration of war, in 1798 hostilities began at sea between America and France. But things soon cooled on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and a peace agreement was finally reached between the two countries.

Retires from public life

Alexander Hamilton see entry, a member of the Federalist Party like Adams, was furious at the president for sending a peace mission to France. But Adams was fiercely independent and sometimes decided issues on what he thought was good for the country rather than on what his party wanted. The Federalist Party was divided on the French question during the election of 1800, and Adams lost the election to the Republican, Jefferson, by just a few votes.

The defeated Adams, then sixty-six years old, returned to Quincy, Massachusetts, with his wife, Abigail. There he tended his farm, enjoyed his friends and family, and wrote his autobiography. The letters he exchanged with Jefferson during those years provide an excellent portrait of the early nineteenth century. Adams was deeply saddened by the loss of his wife to typhoid fever in 1818. But he took pride in witnessing his son, John Quincy Adams, take the oath of office as the sixth president of the United States in 1824.

On July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, ninety-year-old John Adams died at his home. Taking comfort in the idea that the new country was left in good hands, his last words were, "The country is safe. Thomas Jefferson survives." He did not know that the other American hero had died just a few hours earlier.

For More Information

Bowen, Catherine Drinker. John Adams and the American Revolution. Boston: Little, Brown, 1950.

Brill, Marlene Targ. John Adams: Second President of the United States. Chicago: Children's Press, 1986.

Butterfield, L. H., March Friedlaender, and Mary-Jo Klein, eds. The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762–1784. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.

Peabody, James Bishop, ed. John Adams: A Biography in His Own Words. New York: Newsweek, 1973.

Lukes, Bonnie L. The Boston Massacre. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998.

Sandak, Cass R. The John Adamses. New York: Crestwood, 1992.

Smith, Page. John Adams. New York: Doubleday, 1962.

Early American Political Parties

With a new constitution and a new national government in place by 1789, it was natural that citizens would organize political parties in order to express their views, and, of course, the parties often disagreed on how the new government should be run.

The Federalists

The group of colonists who had led the movement to create a constitution for the United States formed the Federalist Party. Its membership included people such as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, a soldier, political leader, economist, and officer in the Continental army. The Federalist Party supported Hamilton's belief in a strong central government and a strong court system and was in favor of a financial system he developed, which was designed to strengthen the federal government and create a national bank.

Hamilton and most other Federalists wanted the country to be run by its wealthiest and best-educated citizens. Adams disagreed with this position of his fellow party members. The Federalists also believed that the United States should not become involved in international affairs—including wars. Adams disagreed. With the election of Republican Thomas Jefferson to the presidency in 1800, the Federalist party lost its popularity and power, never to regain it.

The Republicans

The chief opponents of the Federalist Party were first known as the anti-Federalists and later as the Republican Party. Thomas Jefferson led the Republican Party, whose members called themselves the party of the common man.

By 1820 the Republicans had broken into two separate groups: the National Republican Party, later called the Whig Party, and their opposition, called the Democratic Party. The two parties differed on such issues as the rights of the individual states, taxes on goods that came into and out of the country, and a national treasury system. The National Republicans were made up largely of people from the eastern part of America. The Democratic Party was made up mostly of people from southern and western America.