John Adams

John Adams

File:Gilbert Stuart

John Adams (1735-1826) was an American Founding Father, diplomat, and the second President of the United States from 1797-1801. Adams was a prominent figure of the American Revolution. His numerous accomplishments include involvement in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, writing the constitution for the state of Massachusetts, serving as a diplomat to England, France, and The Netherlands, negotiating the Treaty of Paris, and serving as the first Vice President of the United States under President George Washington.

In the presidential election of 1796, Adams, on the ticket of the Federalist Party, defeated the Democratic-Republican nominee Thomas Jefferson and became the second President of the United States. He broke with Hamilton and the ultra-Federalists, leaving him in a weak position as president. He lost to Jefferson in a bitter rematch in known 1800. His presidency was marked by the Quasi-War between the United States and France, the XYZ Affair, the founding of the U.S. Navy, the passage of Aliens and Sedition Acts, building a new national army, and an unexpected peace with France; as he left office he appointed numerous judges,most notably John Marshall as Chief Justice.

Adams founded one of the great families in American history, with numerous politicians, diplomats and historians. Adams reputation was long in the doldrums, since Franklin quipped in 1783: "He means well for his Country, and is always an honest Man, often a Wise One, but sometimes and in some things, absolutely out of his senses." Historians Much admire his independence, patriotism and realism, but his self-righteousness and vanity represented a critical weakness.

Early Life

Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams

File:Benjamin Blythe, 1766

John Adams was born in the small community of Braintree, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, on October 19, 1735. His father was a farmer, shoemaker, and church deacon, which led to the modest upbringing that would define Adams' life. At a young age Adams developed a love of books and studying, and at the age of 15 he was admitted to Harvard College and graduated in 1755. Deciding to pursue a career in law, he first took a job as a schoolmaster in Worcester to save money for an apprenticeship. He was admitted to the bar in 1759. Upon his father's death in 1761, Adams inherited the family farm; ke set up his first law office out of his house. He married Abigail Smith Adams in 1764; they has children, most notably John Quincy Adams. He was influenced by the revolutionary lawyer James Otis, from whom he adopted some of his revolutionary thoughts, but he focused mainly on local politics until the passage of the Stamp Act of 1765, which he opposed vigorously.

Political Career

American Revolution

Adams was a vocal critic of the Stamp Act, a tax passed by the British Parliament in 1765, and supported the Sons of Liberty, a rebellious organization attacking symbols of British control. He participated in the Massachusetts General Court's response to the Act. Following the Boston Massacre of 1770, in which British troops opened fire on a crowd, Adams defended the accused in court and six of them were acquitted as result. He served a delegate in both the First and the Second Continental Congresses. He signed the Declaration of Independence, as well as playing a small roll in the drafting process. Thomas Jefferson later remarked that Adams was the Declaration of Independence's "pillar of support on the floor of Congress, its ablest advocate and defender." Though Adams in principle opposed the practice of slavery, he remained silent when Jefferson was pressured to strike out a provision in the Declaration that condemned slavery.

Adams served in Europe as a diplomat for the greater part of the war, serving in France and Holland. Adams was able to secure important loans from the Dutch, as well as collaborating with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay to negotiate the Treaty of Paris, ending the war with England. He would also serve as America's first foreign minister to England.

Vice President

The role of Vice President was one that Adams didn't settle into easily. His primary job was to serve as President of the Senate, in which his only duty was to cast tie-breaking votes. His relationship with the president was friendly, but Washington rarely asked him for his counsel. All of this was frustrating to Adams, who was a man of action and not shy about letting his opinions be known. Adams once complained to his wife, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived". However, during his term Adams casted 29 tie-breaking votes, a record that still stands today, including voting to prevent another war with Great Britain.

Presidency

The Adams administration was not a tranquil one. The French were openly seizing American ships, leading to an undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. Adams sent diplomats to meet with the French Directory, only to be refused an audience and commercial relations were suspended. In 1798, the French demanded American diplomats to pay huge bribes in order to see the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, which the diplomats rejected. This incident was known as the XYZ affair, after coded messages were sent from the diplomats referring to their French contacts as X, Y, and Z. Nationalist sentiment soon became overwhelming in the United States, causing the Congress to authorize Adams' plan to organize the navy. Adams also reluctantly signed the Alien and Sedition Act as a wartime measure.

In 1799, however, his friendly response to French peace overture angered hardline Federalists such as Alexander Hamilton, leading to an intraparty chasm. Hamilton attacked Adams for his "ungovernable indiscretion" and "distempered jealousy". This, plus the unpopularity of the Aliens and Sedition Act, led to Adams' electoral defeat to Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election.

Supreme Court appointments

John Adams appointed three justices to the Supreme Court. They are Bushrod Washington, who was George Washington's nephew, Alfred Moore, and Chief Justice John Marshall, who was instrumental in initiating the process of judicial review.

Later life and legacy

Adams largely retired from politics after stepping down from the White House. In 1820, however, he served as a delegate to the constitutional convention of Massachusetts. He resided in Quincy, Massachusetts in his later life and saw his son John Quincy Adams elected president in 1824, He died in Quincy on July 4, 1826.

Further reading

see the detailed guide on the Bibliography subpage

• 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