John Adams
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John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a
Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...
and the second
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
that achieved independence from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the
U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...
as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first person to hold the office of
vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser
Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. She was a founder o ...
and his friend and political rival
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
. A lawyer and political activist prior to the Revolution, Adams was devoted to the
right to counsel In criminal law, the right to counsel means a defendant has a legal right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant's legal ex ...
and
presumption of innocence The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person Accused (law), accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilt (law), guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the Prosecut ...
. He defied anti-British sentiment and successfully defended British soldiers against murder charges arising from the
Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre, known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street, was a confrontation, on March 5, 1770, during the American Revolution in Boston in what was then the colonial-era Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the confrontati ...
. Adams was a
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
delegate to the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
and became a leader of the revolution. He assisted Jefferson in drafting the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
in 1776 and was its primary advocate in Congress. As a diplomat, he helped negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain and secured vital governmental loans. Adams was the primary author of the
Massachusetts Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. It consists of a preamble, declaration ...
in 1780, which influenced the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
, as did his essay '' Thoughts on Government''. Adams was elected to two terms as vice president under President
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and was elected as the United States' second president in 1796 under the banner of the
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...
. Adams's term was dominated by the issue of the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
, and his insistence on American neutrality led to fierce criticism from both the
Jeffersonian Republicans The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...
and from some in his own party, led by his rival
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
. Adams signed the controversial
Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...
and built up the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
in an undeclared naval war with France. He was the first president to reside in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. In his bid in 1800 for
reelection The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...
to the presidency, opposition from Federalists and accusations of despotism from Jeffersonians led to Adams losing to his vice president and former friend Jefferson, and he retired to Massachusetts. He eventually resumed his friendship with Jefferson by initiating a continuing correspondence. He and Abigail started the
Adams political family The Adams family is an American political family of English origins, most prominent between the late 18th century and the early 20th century. Based in eastern Massachusetts, they formed part of the Boston Brahmin community. The family traces to ...
, which includes their son
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
, the sixth president. John Adams died on July 4, 1826 – the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
New Englanders New Englanders, also called Yankees, are the inhabitants of the New England region in the Northeastern United States. Beginning with the New England Colonies, the name "New Englander" refers to those who live in the six New England states or thos ...
Adams and his son are the only presidents of the first twelve who never owned
slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. Historians and scholars have favorably ranked his administration.


Early life and education

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, to John Adams Sr. and
Susanna Boylston Susanna Boylston Adams Hall (March 5, 1708 – April 21, 1797) was an early- American socialite, mother of the second U.S. president, John Adams and the paternal grandmother of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams. Early life Susanna was ...
. He had two younger brothers, Peter and Elihu. Adams was born on the family farm in Braintree, Massachusetts. His mother was from a leading medical family of present-day
Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...
. His father was a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
in the
Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
, a farmer, a
cordwainer A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...
, and a lieutenant in the
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
. Adams often praised his father and recalled their close relationship. Adams's great-great-grandfather
Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fran ...
immigrated to Massachusetts from
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town in Essex, England, and is the principal settlement of Braintree District. It is located north-east of Chelmsford, west of Colchester and north-west of Southend-on-Sea. According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Cens ...
, England, around 1638. Adams's formal education began at age six at a
dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...
, conducted at a teacher's home and centered on ''
The New England Primer ''The New England Primer'' was the first reading primer designed for the American colonies. It became the most successful educational textbook published in 17th-century colonial United States and it became the foundation of most schooling bef ...
''. He then attended Braintree Latin School under Joseph Cleverly, where studies included Latin, rhetoric, logic, and arithmetic. Adams's early education included incidents of truancy, a dislike for his master, and a desire to become a farmer, but his father commanded that he remain in school. Deacon Adams hired a new schoolmaster named Joseph Marsh, and his son responded positively. Adams later noted that "As a child I enjoyed perhaps the greatest of blessings that can be bestowed upon men – that of a mother who was anxious and capable to form the characters of her children."


College education and adulthood

At age sixteen, Adams entered
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
in 1751, studying under Joseph Mayhew. As an adult, Adams was a keen scholar, studying the works of ancient writers such as
Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
,
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
,
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
, and
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
in their original languages. Though his father expected him to be a minister, after his 1755 graduation with an A.B. degree, he taught school temporarily in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, while pondering his permanent vocation. In the next four years, he began to seek prestige, craving "Honour or Reputation" and "more from isfellows", and was determined to be "a great Man". He decided to become a lawyer, writing his father that he found among lawyers "noble and gallant achievements" but, among the clergy, the "pretended sanctity of some absolute dunces". He had reservations about his self-described "trumpery" and failure to share the "happiness of isfellow men". When the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
began in 1754, Adams, aged nineteen, felt guilty he was the first in his family not to be a militia officer; he said "I longed more ardently to be a Soldier than I ever did to be a Lawyer".


Law practice and marriage

In 1756, Adams began
reading law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship u ...
under James Putnam, a leading lawyer in Worcester. In 1758, he earned an A.M. from Harvard, and in 1759 was admitted to the bar. He developed an early habit of diary writing; this included his impressions of James Otis Jr.'s 1761 challenge to the legality of British
writs of assistance In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
, which allowed British officials to search a home without notice or reason. Otis's argument against the writs inspired Adams to the cause of the American colonies. In 1763, Adams explored aspects of political theory in seven essays written for Boston newspapers. Under the
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
"Humphrey Ploughjogger", he ridiculed the selfish thirst for power he perceived among the Massachusetts colonial elite. Adams was initially less well known than his older cousin
Samuel Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, Political philosophy, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts, a le ...
, but his influence emerged from his work as a constitutional lawyer, his analysis of history, and his dedication to
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
. Adams often found his own irascible nature a constraint in his political career. In the late 1750s, Adams fell in love with Hannah Quincy; he was poised to propose but was interrupted by friends, and the moment was lost. In 1759, he met 15-year-old Abigail Smith, his third cousin, through his friend Richard Cranch, who was courting Abigail's older sister. Adams initially was not impressed with Abigail and her two sisters, writing that they were not "fond, nor frank, nor candid". In time, Adams grew close to Abigail. They were married on October 25, 1764, despite the opposition of Abigail's mother. The pair shared a love of books and proved honest in their praise and criticism of each other. After his father's death in 1761, Adams had inherited a farm and
a house A House were an Irish rock band that where active in Dublin from 1985 to 1997, and recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of frontman Dave Couse ... bolstered by the and'sseemingly effortless musicality". The single " En ...
where they lived until 1783. John and Abigail had six children:
Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...
(known as "Nabby") in 1765,
John Quincy Colonel John Quincy (July 21, 1689 – July 13, 1767) was an American soldier, politician and member of the Quincy political family. His granddaughter Abigail Adams named her son, the future president John Quincy Adams, after him. Two days ...
in 1767, Susanna in 1768,
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
in 1770,
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
in 1772, and Elizabeth in 1777. Susanna died when she was one year old, while Elizabeth was stillborn. All three of Adams's sons became lawyers. Charles and Thomas were unsuccessful, became alcoholics, and died at a relatively young age. In contrast, John Quincy excelled and launched a political career, eventually becoming president himself.


Career before the Revolution


Opponent of Stamp Act

Adams rose to prominence leading widespread opposition to the Stamp Act. The Act was passed by the
British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
without consulting colonial American legislatures, and required payment of a direct tax by the colonies for stamped documents, and was designed to pay for the costs of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. Power of enforcement was given to British
vice admiralty court Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime act ...
s, rather than
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
courts. These Admiralty courts acted without juries and were greatly disliked. The Act was despised for both its monetary cost and implementation without colonial consent, and encountered violent resistance, preventing its enforcement. Adams authored the " Braintree Instructions" in 1765, in a letter sent to the representatives of Braintree in the Massachusetts legislature. It explained that the Act should be opposed since it denied two fundamental rights guaranteed to all Englishmen (and which all free men deserved): to be taxed only by consent and to be tried by a jury of one's peers. The instructions were a succinct and forthright defense of colonial rights and liberties, and served as a model for other towns. Adams also reprised his pen name "Humphrey Ploughjogger" in opposition to the Stamp Act in August of that year. Included were four articles to the ''
Boston Gazette The ''Boston Gazette'' (1719–1798) was a newspaper published in Boston, in the British North American colonies. It was a weekly newspaper established by William Brooker, who was just appointed Postmaster of Boston, with its first issue releas ...
''. The articles were republished in ''The London Chronicle'' in 1768 as ''True Sentiments of America'', or ''A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law''. He also spoke in December before the governor and council, pronouncing the Stamp Act invalid in the absence of Massachusetts representation at Parliament. He noted that many protests were sparked by a popular sermon of Boston minister
Jonathan Mayhew Jonathan Mayhew (October 8, 1720 – July 9, 1766) was a noted American Congregational minister at Old West Church, Boston, Massachusetts. Early life Mayhew was born at Martha's Vineyard, being fifth in descent from Thomas Mayhew (1592–16 ...
, invoking Romans 13 to justify insurrection. While Adams strongly opposed the Act in writing, he rebuffed attempts by Samuel Adams, a leader in the popular protest movements, to involve him in mob actions and public demonstrations. In 1766, a town meeting of Braintree elected Adams as a selectman. With the repeal of the Stamp Act in early 1766, tensions with Britain temporarily eased. Putting politics aside, Adams moved his family to Boston in April 1768 to focus on his law practice. The family rented a house on Brattle Street that was known locally as the "White House". He, Abigail, and the children lived there for a year, then moved to Cold Lane; later they moved again to a larger house in Brattle Square in the center of the city. In 1768, Adams successfully defended the merchant
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...
, who was accused of violating British acts of trade in the Liberty Affair. With the death of
Jeremiah Gridley Jeremiah Gridley (or Jeremy Gridley; 1702–1767) was a lawyer, editor, Massachusetts General Court, colonial legislator, and Massachusetts Attorney General, attorney general in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the 18th century. He serv ...
and the mental collapse of James Otis Jr., Adams became Boston's most prominent lawyer.


Counsel for the British: Boston Massacre

Britain's passage of the
Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of Parliament enacted in 1766 and 1767 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after Char ...
in 1767 revived tensions, and an increase in mob violence led the British to dispatch more troops to the colonies. On March 5, 1770, when a mob accosted a lone British sentry, eight of his fellow
soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...
reinforced him, and the crowd around them grew to several hundred. The soldiers were struck with snowballs, ice, and stones, and in the chaos the soldiers opened fire, killing five civilians, in the infamous
Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre, known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street, was a confrontation, on March 5, 1770, during the American Revolution in Boston in what was then the colonial-era Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the confrontati ...
. The accused soldiers were arrested on charges of murder. When no other attorneys would come to their defense, Adams decided to do so despite the risk to his reputation. He believed no person should be denied the right to counsel and a fair trial. The trials were delayed so that passions could cool. The week-long trial of the commander, Captain Thomas Preston, began on October 24 and ended in his acquittal, because it was impossible to prove that he had ordered his soldiers to fire. The remaining soldiers were tried in December when Adams made his famed argument regarding jury decisions: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence". Adams won an acquittal for six of the soldiers. Two, who had fired directly into the crowd, were convicted of manslaughter. Adams was paid a small sum by his clients. According to biographer John E. Ferling, during
jury selection Jury selection is the selection of the people who will serve on a jury during a jury trial. The group of potential jurors (the "jury pool,” also known as the ''venire'') is first selected from among the community using a reasonably random metho ...
Adams "expertly exercised his right to challenge individual jurors and contrived what amounted to a packed jury. Not only were several jurors closely tied through business arrangements to the British army, but five ultimately became Loyalist exiles." While Adams's defense was helped by a weak prosecution, he "performed brilliantly." Ferling surmises that Adams was encouraged to take the case in exchange for political office; one of Boston's seats opened three months later in the
Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days o ...
, and Adams was the town's choice to fill the vacancy. The prosperity of his law practice increased from this exposure, as did the demands on his time. In 1771, Adams moved his family to
Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree () is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is officially known as a town, but Braintree is a city with a mayor-council form of government, and it is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The populat ...
, but kept his office in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
; he noted "Now my family is away, I feel no Inclination at all, no Temptation, to be any where but at my Office." After some time in the capital, he became disenchanted with the rural and "vulgar" Braintree as a home for his family – in August 1772, he moved them back to Boston. He purchased a large brick house on Queen Street, not far from his office. In 1774, Adams and Abigail returned the family to the farm due to the increasingly unstable situation in Boston, and Braintree remained their permanent Massachusetts home.


American Revolution

Adams, who had been among the more conservative of the
Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...
, persistently held that while British actions against the colonies had been wrong, open insurrection was unwarranted and peaceful petition with the view of remaining part of Great Britain was preferable. His ideas began to change around 1772, as the British Crown assumed payment of the salaries of Governor Thomas Hutchinson and his judges instead of the Massachusetts legislature. Adams wrote in the ''Gazette'' that these measures would destroy judicial independence and place the colonial government in closer subjugation to the Crown. After discontent among members of the legislature, Hutchinson delivered a speech warning that Parliament's powers over the colonies were absolute and that any resistance was illegal. John Adams, Samuel, and Joseph Hawley drafted a resolution adopted by the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
threatening independence as an alternative to tyranny. The resolution argued that the colonists had never been under the sovereignty of
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
: their charter, as well as their allegiance, was exclusive to the King. The
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...
, a demonstration against the
Tea Act The Tea Act 1773 ( 13 Geo. 3. c. 44) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to he ...
and the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's tea monopoly over American merchants, took place on December 16, 1773. Protestors demolished 342 chests of tea worth about ten thousand pounds on the British schooner ''Dartmouth'', anchored in Boston harbor. The ''Dartmouth'' owners briefly retained Adams as legal counsel regarding their liability for the destroyed shipment. Adams applauded the destruction of the tea, calling it the "grandest Event" in the history of the colonial protest movement, and writing in his diary that it was an "absolutely and indispensably" necessary action.


Continental Congress


Member of Continental Congress

In 1774, at the instigation of Samuel Adams, the
First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...
was convened in response to the
Intolerable Acts The Intolerable Acts, sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists fo ...
, a series of deeply unpopular measures intended to punish Massachusetts, centralize authority in Britain, and prevent rebellion in other colonies. Four delegates were chosen by the Massachusetts legislature, including John Adams, who agreed to attend, despite an emotional plea from his friend, Attorney General
Jonathan Sewall Jonathan Sewall (August 24, 1729 – September 27, 1796) was the last Colonial attorney general of Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on August 24, 1729, to Jonathan Sewall Sr. and Mary (Payne) Sewall. Sewall's father was an unsucces ...
, not to. Shortly after he arrived in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Adams was placed on the 23-member Grand Committee tasked with drafting a letter of grievances to
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. The committee soon split into conservative and radical factions. Although the Massachusetts delegation was largely passive, Adams criticized conservatives such as Joseph Galloway,
James Duane James Duane (February 6, 1733 – February 1, 1797) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, attorney, jurist, and American Revolutionary War, American Revolutionary leader from New York (state), New York. He serve ...
, and Peter Oliver who advocated a conciliatory policy towards the British or felt that the colonies had a duty to remain loyal to Britain, although his views at the time aligned with those of conservative
John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13, O.S. November 2">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. November 21732Various sources indicate a birth date of November 8, 12 or 13, but his most recent biographer ...
. Adams sought the repeal of objectionable policies, but at this stage he continued to see benefits in maintaining the ties with Britain. He renewed his push for the right to a jury trial. He complained of what he considered the pretentiousness of the other delegates, writing to Abigail, "I believe if it was moved and seconded that We should come to a Resolution that Three and two make five We should be entertained with Logick and Rhetorick, Law, History, Politicks and Mathematicks, concerning the Subject for two whole Days, and then We should pass the Resolution unanimously in the Affirmative." Adams ultimately helped engineer a compromise between the conservatives and the radicals. The Congress disbanded in October after sending the petition to the King and showing its displeasure with the Intolerable Acts by endorsing the
Suffolk Resolves The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774, by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resulted in a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the In ...
, which called for a boycott of British goods. Adams's absence was hard on Abigail, who was left alone to care for the family. She still encouraged her husband in his task, writing: "You cannot be, I know, nor do I wish to see you an inactive Spectator, but if the Sword be drawn I bid adieu to all domestick felicity, and look forward to that Country where there is neither wars nor rumors of War in a firm belief that thro the mercy of its King we shall both rejoice there together." News of the opening hostilities with the British at the
Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...
made Adams hope that independence would soon become a reality. Three days after the battle, he rode into a militia camp and, while reflecting positively on the high spirits of the men, was distressed by their poor condition and lack of discipline. A month later, Adams returned to Philadelphia for the
Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...
as the leader of the Massachusetts delegation. He moved cautiously at first, noting that the Congress was divided between
Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
, those favoring independence, and those hesitant to take any position. He became convinced that Congress was moving in the proper direction – away from Great Britain. Publicly, Adams supported "reconciliation if practicable," but privately agreed with
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
's confidential observation that independence was inevitable. In June 1775, with a view of promoting union among the colonies against Great Britain, he nominated
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
of Virginia as commander-in-chief of the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
then assembled around Boston. He praised Washington's "skill and experience" as well as his "excellent universal character." Adams opposed various attempts, including the
Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8, 1775, in a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. The Congress had already authoriz ...
, aimed at finding peace. Invoking the already-long list of British actions against the colonies, he wrote, "In my opinion Powder and Artillery are the most efficacious, Sure, and infallibly conciliatory Measures We can adopt." After his failure to prevent the petition from being enacted, he wrote a private letter derisively referring to Dickinson as a "piddling genius." The letter was intercepted and published in Loyalist newspapers. The well-respected Dickinson refused to greet Adams and he was for a time largely ostracized. Ferling writes, "By the fall of 1775 no one in Congress labored more ardently than Adams to hasten the day when America would be separate from Great Britain." In October 1775, Adams was appointed chief judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court, but he never served, and resigned in February 1777. In response to queries from other delegates, Adams wrote the 1776 pamphlet '' Thoughts on Government'', which laid out an influential framework for republican constitutions.


Independence

Throughout the first half of 1776, Adams grew increasingly impatient with what he perceived to be the slow pace of declaring independence. In the
Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...
in Philadelphia, he helped push through a plan to outfit armed ships to launch raids on enemy vessels. Later in the year, he drafted the first set of regulations for the provisional navy. Adams drafted the preamble to the
Lee Resolution The Lee Resolution, also known as "The Resolution for Independence", was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, resolving that the Thirteen Colonies (then referred to as the United Colonies) were "free a ...
of colleague
Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...
. He developed a rapport with delegate
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
of Virginia, who had been slower to support independence but by early 1776 agreed that it was necessary. On June 7, 1776, Adams seconded the Lee Resolution, which stated that the colonies were "free and independent states." Prior to independence being declared, Adams organized a
Committee of Five The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a group of five members who drafted and presented to the full Congress in Pennsylvania State House what would become the United States Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. Th ...
charged with drafting a
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
. He chose himself, Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and
Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...
. Jefferson thought Adams should write the document, but Adams persuaded the committee to choose Jefferson. Many years later, Adams recorded his reasoning to Jefferson: "Reason first, you are a Virginian, and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second, I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third, you can write ten times better than I can." The Committee left no minutes, and the drafting process itself remains uncertain. Accounts written years later by Jefferson and Adams, although frequently cited, are often contradictory. Although the first draft was written primarily by Jefferson, Adams assumed a major role. On July 1, the resolution was debated in Congress. It was expected to pass, but opponents such as Dickinson made a strong effort to oppose it. Jefferson, a poor debater, remained silent while Adams argued for its adoption. Many years later, Jefferson hailed Adams as "the pillar of he Declaration'ssupport on the floor of Congress, tsablest advocate and defender against the multifarious assaults it encountered." On July 2, Congress officially voted for independence. Twelve colonies voted in the affirmative, while New York abstained. Dickinson was absent. On July 3, Adams wrote to Abigail that "yesterday was decided the greatest question which was ever debated in America, and a greater perhaps never was nor will be decided among men." He predicted that " e second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America," and would be celebrated annually. Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4. During the congress, Adams sat on ninety committees, chairing twenty-five, an unmatched workload among the congressmen. As
Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...
reported, he was acknowledged "to be the first man in the House." In June 1776, Adams became head of the
Board of War and Ordnance Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...
, charged with recording the officers in the army and their ranks, the disposition of troops throughout the colonies, and ammunition. He was referred to as a "one man war department," working up to eighteen-hour days and mastering the details of raising, equipping and fielding an army under civilian control. Adams functioned as a ''de facto'' Secretary of War. He kept extensive correspondences with
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
officers concerning supplies, munitions, and tactics. Adams emphasized to them the role of discipline in keeping an army orderly. He authored the "Plan of Treaties," laying out Congress's requirements for a treaty with France. He was worn out by the rigor of his duties and longed to return home. His finances were unsteady, and the money that he received as a delegate failed to cover his expenses. However, the crisis caused by the defeat of the American soldiers kept him at his post. After defeating the Continental Army at the
Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...
on August 27, 1776, British Admiral
Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving in the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations agai ...
determined that a strategic advantage was at hand, and requested that Congress send representatives to negotiate peace. A delegation consisting of Adams, Franklin, and
Edward Rutledge Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 – January 23, 1800) was an American Founding Father and politician who signed the Continental Association and was the youngest signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th govern ...
met with Howe at the
Staten Island Peace Conference The Staten Island Peace Conference was a brief informal diplomatic conference held between representatives of the British Crown and its rebellious North American colonies in the hope of bringing a rapid end to the nascent American Revolution. ...
on September 11. Howe's authority was premised on the states' submission, so the parties found no common ground. When Lord Howe stated he could view the American delegates only as British subjects, Adams replied, "Your lordship may consider me in what light you please, ... except that of a British subject." Adams learned many years later that his name was on a list of people specifically excluded from Howe's pardon-granting authority. Adams was unimpressed with Howe and predicted American success. He was able to return home to Braintree in October before leaving in January 1777 to resume his duties in Congress.


Diplomatic service


Commissioner to France

Adams advocated in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
that independence was necessary to establish trade, and conversely, trade was essential for the attainment of independence; he specifically urged negotiation of a commercial treaty with France. He was appointed, along with Franklin, Dickinson,
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, and
Robert Morris Robert or Bob Morris may refer to: :''Ordered chronologically within each section.'' Politics and the law * Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), lieutenant governor of Colonial Pennsylvania * Robert Morris (financier) (1734–1806), one of the Foun ...
from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, "to prepare a plan of treaties to be proposed to foreign powers." While Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, Adams worked on the
Model Treaty The Model Treaty, or the Plan of 1776, was a template for commercial treaties that the United States planned to make with foreign powers during the American Revolution against Great Britain. It was drafted by the Continental Congress to secure ec ...
, which authorized a commercial agreement with France but contained no provisions for formal recognition or military assistance. The treaty adhered to the provision that " free ships make free goods," allowing neutral nations to trade reciprocally while exempting an agreed-upon list of contraband. By late 1777, America's finances were in tatters, and that September a British army had defeated General Washington and captured Philadelphia. More Americans came to determine that mere commercial ties between the U.S. and France would not be enough, and that military assistance would be needed. The defeat of the British at Saratoga was expected to help induce France to agree to an alliance. In November 1777, Adams learned that he was to be named commissioner to France, replacing
Silas Deane Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became t ...
and joining Franklin and Arthur Lee in Paris to negotiate an alliance with the French. James Lovell invoked Adams's "inflexible integrity" and the need to have a youthful man who could counterbalance Franklin's age. On November 27, Adams accepted, wasting no time. Abigail was left in Massachusetts to manage their home, but it was agreed that 10-year-old John Quincy would go with Adams, for the experience was "of inestimable value" to his maturation. On February 17, 1778, Adams set sail aboard the frigate ''
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
'', commanded by Captain Samuel Tucker. The trip was stormy and treacherous. The ship was pursued by British vessels, with Adams personally taking up arms to help capture one. A cannon malfunction wounded several sailors and killed one. On April 1, the ''Boston'' arrived in France, where Adams learned that France had agreed to an
alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
with the United States on February 6. Adams was annoyed by the other two commissioners: Lee, whom he thought paranoid and cynical, and the popular and influential Franklin, whom he found lethargic and overly deferential to the French. He assumed a less visible role but helped manage the delegation's finances and record-keeping. Frustrated by the perceived lack of commitment on the part of the French, Adams wrote a letter to French foreign minister Vergennes in December, arguing for French naval support in North America. Franklin toned down the letter, but Vergennes ignored it. In September 1778, Congress increased Franklin's powers by naming him
minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...
to France while Lee was sent to Spain. Adams received no instructions. Frustrated by the apparent slight, he departed France with John Quincy on March 8, 1779. On August 2, they arrived in Braintree. In late 1779, Adams was appointed as the sole minister charged with negotiations to establish a commercial treaty with Britain and end the war. Following the Massachusetts constitutional convention, he departed for France in November, accompanied by his sons John Quincy and 9-year-old Charles. A leak forced the ship to land in
Ferrol, Spain Ferrol (, ) is a city in the province of A Coruña in Galicia, Spain, located in the Rías Altas, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern-day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city had a population of 64,785, making it the ...
, and Adams and his party spent six weeks travelling overland to Paris. Constant disagreement between Lee and Franklin eventually resulted in Adams assuming the role of tie-breaker in almost all votes on commission business. He increased his usefulness by mastering French. Lee was eventually recalled. Adams closely supervised his sons' education while writing to Abigail about once every ten days. In contrast to Franklin, Adams viewed the Franco-American alliance pessimistically. The French, he believed, were involved for their own self-interest, and he grew frustrated by what he saw as their sluggishness in providing substantial aid. The French, Adams wrote, meant to keep their hands "above our chin to prevent us from drowning, but not to lift our heads out of water." In March 1780, Congress, trying to curb inflation, voted to devalue the dollar. Vergennes summoned Adams for a meeting. In a letter sent in June, he insisted that fluctuation of the dollar value without an exception for French merchants was unacceptable and requested that Adams write to Congress asking it to "retrace its steps." Adams bluntly defended the decision, not only claiming that the French merchants were doing better than Vergennes implied but voicing other grievances he had with the French. The alliance had been made over two years before. During that period, an army under the
comte de Rochambeau Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807) was a French Royal Army officer who played a critical role in the Franco-American victory at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. ...
had been sent to assist Washington, but it had yet to do anything of significance and America was expecting French warships. These were needed, Adams wrote, to contain the British armies in the port cities and contend with the powerful British Navy. However, the French Navy had been sent not to the United States but to the West Indies to protect French interests there. France, Adams believed, needed to commit itself more fully to the alliance. Vergennes responded that he would deal only with Franklin, who sent a letter back to Congress critical of Adams. Adams then left France of his own accord.


Ambassador to the Dutch Republic

In mid-1780, Adams traveled to the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. One of the few other republics at the time, Adams thought it might be sympathetic to the American cause. Securing a Dutch loan could increase American independence from France and pressure Britain into peace. At first, Adams had no official status, but in July he was formally given permission to negotiate for a loan and took up residence in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in August. Adams was originally optimistic and greatly enjoyed the city, but soon became disappointed. The Dutch, fearing British retaliation, refused to meet Adams. Before he had arrived, the British found out about secret aid the Dutch had sent to the Americans and authorized reprisals against their ships, which only increased their apprehension. Word had also reached Europe of American battlefield defeats. After five months of not meeting with a single Dutch official, Adams in early 1781 pronounced Amsterdam "the capital of the reign of
Mammon Mammon (Aramaic: מָמוֹנָא, māmōnā) in the New Testament is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of ...
." He was finally invited to present his credentials as ambassador to the Dutch government at
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
on April 19, 1781, but they did not promise any assistance. In the meantime, Adams thwarted an attempt by neutral European powers to mediate the war without consulting the United States. In July, Adams consented to the departure of both of his sons; John Quincy went with Adams's secretary
Francis Dana Francis Dana (June 13, 1743 – April 25, 1811) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777–1778 and 1784. A signer of the Articles of Confederat ...
to
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
as a French interpreter, in an effort to seek recognition from
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and a homesick Charles returned home with Adams's friend
Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse (March 4, 1754 – October 2, 1846) was a physician, co-founder and professor of Harvard Medical School. He is most well known for being the first doctor to test the smallpox vaccine in the United States, which he carried ou ...
. In August, shortly after being removed from his position of sole head of peace treaty negotiations, Adams had "a major nervous breakdown." That November, he learned that American and French troops had decisively defeated the British at Yorktown. The victory was in large part due to the assistance of the French Navy, which vindicated Adams's stand for increased naval assistance. News of the American triumph at Yorktown convulsed Europe. In January 1782, after recovering, Adams arrived at The Hague to demand that the States General answer his petitions. His efforts stalled, and he took his cause to the people, successfully capitalizing on popular pro-American sentiment. Several provinces began recognizing American independence. On April 19, the States General formally recognized American independence and acknowledged Adams as ambassador. On June 11, with the aid of the Dutch ''Patriotten'' leader Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Adams negotiated a loan of five million guilders. In October, he negotiated a treaty of amity and commerce. The house that Adams bought during this stay in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
became the first American embassy on foreign soil.


Treaty of Paris

After negotiating the loan with the Dutch, Adams was re-appointed as the American commissioner to negotiate the war-ending treaty, the Treaty of Paris. Vergennes and France's minister to the United States,
Anne-César de La Luzerne Anne-César de La Luzerne (15 July 1741 – 14 September 1791) was an 18th-century French soldier and diplomat who had an influential role to the Continental Congress and new government of the United States of America after it gained independence ...
, disapproved of Adams, so Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...
, and
Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laur ...
were appointed to collaborate with Adams, although Jefferson did not initially go to Europe and Laurens was posted to the Dutch Republic following his imprisonment in the Tower of London. In the final negotiations, securing fishing rights off
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
and
Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
proved both very important and very difficult. In response to very strict restrictions proposed by the British, Adams insisted that not only should American fishermen be allowed to travel as close to shore as desired, but that they should be allowed to cure their fish on the shores of Newfoundland. This, and other statements, prompted Vergennes to secretly inform the British that France did not feel compelled to "sustain hesepretentious ambitions." Overruling Franklin and distrustful of Vergennes, Jay and Adams decided not to consult with France, instead dealing directly with the British. During these negotiations, Adams mentioned to the British that his proposed fishing terms were more generous than those offered by France in 1778 and that accepting would foster goodwill between Britain and the United States while putting pressure on France. Britain agreed, and the two sides worked out other provisions afterward. Vergennes was angered when he learned from Franklin of the American duplicity, but did not demand renegotiation. He was surprised at how much the Americans could extract. The independent negotiations also allowed the French to plead innocence to their Spanish allies, whose demands for
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
might have caused significant problems. On September 3, 1783, the treaty was signed and American independence was recognized.


Ambassador to Great Britain

Adams was appointed the first American ambassador to Great Britain in 1785. After arriving in London from Paris, Adams had his first audience with
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
on June 1, which he meticulously recorded in a letter to Foreign Minister Jay the next day. The pair's exchange was respectful; Adams promised to do all that he could to restore friendship and cordiality "between People who, tho by an Ocean and under different Governments have the Same Language, a Similar Religion and kindred Blood," and the King agreed to "receive with Pleasure, the Assurances of the friendly Dispositions of the United States." The King added that although "he had been the last to consent" to American independence, he had always done what he thought was right. He startled Adams by commenting that "There is an Opinion, among Some People, that you are not the most attached of all Your Countrymen, to the manners of France." Adams replied, "That Opinion sir, is not mistaken... I have no Attachments but to my own Country." King George responded, "An honest Man will never have any other." Adams was joined by Abigail in London. Suffering the hostility of the King's courtiers, they escaped when they could by seeking out
Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer and pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the F ...
, minister of
Newington Green Unitarian Church Newington Green Unitarian Church is one of England's oldest Unitarian churches, located on Newington Green, north London. The site has maintained strong ties to progressive political and religious causes for over 300 years, and is London's old ...
and instigator of the debate over the Revolution within Britain. Adams corresponded with his sons John Quincy and Charles, both of whom were at Harvard, cautioning the former against the "smell of the midnight lamp" while admonishing the latter to devote sufficient time to study. Jefferson visited Adams in 1786 while serving as Minister to France; the two toured the countryside and saw many historical sites. While in London, Adams met his old friend
Jonathan Sewall Jonathan Sewall (August 24, 1729 – September 27, 1796) was the last Colonial attorney general of Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on August 24, 1729, to Jonathan Sewall Sr. and Mary (Payne) Sewall. Sewall's father was an unsucces ...
, but the two discovered that they had grown too far apart to renew their friendship. Adams considered Sewall one of the war's casualties, and Sewall critiqued him as an ambassador: While in London Adams wrote his three-volume ''
A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America is a three-volume work by John Adams, written between 1787 and 1788. The text was Adams’ response to criticisms of the proposed American government, particularly those ...
'', a response to those he had met in Europe who criticized the government systems of the American states. Adams's tenure in Britain was complicated by both countries failing to follow their treaty obligations. The American states had been delinquent in paying debts owed to British merchants, and in response, the British refused to vacate forts in the northwest as promised. Adams's attempts to resolve this dispute failed, and he was often frustrated by a lack of news of progress from home. The news he received of tumult at home, such as
Shays' Rebellion Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
, heightened his anxiety. He asked Jay to be relieved; in 1788, he took his leave of George III, who promised to uphold his end of the treaty once America did the same. Adams then went to The Hague to take formal leave of his ambassadorship there and to secure refinancing from the Dutch, allowing the United States to meet obligations on earlier loans.


Vice presidency (1789–1797)


Election

On June 17, 1788, Adams returned to a triumphant welcome in Massachusetts. He returned to farming life in the months after. The nation's first
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
was soon to take place. Because George Washington was widely expected to win the presidency, many felt that the vice presidency should go to a northerner. Although he made no public comments on the matter, Adams was the primary contender. Each state's
presidential electors In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...
gathered on February 4, 1789, to cast their two votes for the president. The person with the most votes would be president and the second would become vice president. Adams received 34
electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
votes in the election, second behind Washington, who was a unanimous choice with 69 votes. As a result, Washington became the nation's
first president First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, and Adams became its first
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
. Adams finished well ahead of all others except Washington, but was still offended by Washington receiving more than twice as many votes. In an effort to ensure that Adams did not accidentally become president and that Washington would have an overwhelming victory,
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
convinced at least 7 of the 69 electors not to cast their vote for Adams. After finding out about the manipulation but not Hamilton's role in it, Adams wrote to Benjamin Rush that his election was "a curse rather than a blessing." Although his term started on March 4, 1789, Adams did not begin serving as vice president until April 21, because he did not arrive in New York in time.


Tenure

The sole constitutionally prescribed responsibility of the
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
is to preside over the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
, where they were empowered to cast a tie-breaking vote. Early in his term, Adams became deeply involved in a lengthy Senate controversy over the official titles for the president and executive officers of the new government. Although the House agreed that the president should be addressed simply as "George Washington, President of the United States", the Senate debated the issue at some length. Adams favored the style of ''Highness'' (as well as the title of ''Protector of Their
he United States' He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
Liberties'') for the president. Some senators favored a variant of ''Highness'' or the lesser ''Excellency''.
Anti-federalists The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed History of the United States Constitution#1788 ratification, the ratification of the 1787 Uni ...
in the Senate objected to the monarchical sound of them all; Jefferson described them as "superlatively ridiculous." They argued that these "distinctions," as Adams called them, violated the Constitution's prohibition on titles of nobility. Adams said that the distinctions were necessary because the highest office of the United States must be marked with "dignity and splendor". He was widely derided for his combative nature and stubbornness, especially as he actively debated and lectured the senators. "For forty minutes he harangued us from the chair," wrote Senator William Maclay of Pennsylvania. Maclay became Adams's fiercest opponent and repeatedly expressed personal contempt for him in public and private. He likened Adams to "a monkey just put into breeches."
Ralph Izard Ralph Izard (January 23, 1741/1742May 30, 1804) was an American politician who served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1794. Early life Izard was born at "The Elms" near Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of H ...
suggested that Adams be referred to as "His Rotundity," a joke which soon became popular. On May 14, 1789, the Senate decided that the title of " Mr. President" would be used. Privately, Adams conceded that his vice presidency had begun poorly and that perhaps he had been out of the country too long to know the sentiment of the people. Washington quietly expressed his displeasure with the fuss. As vice president, Adams largely sided with the Washington administration and the emerging
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...
. He supported Washington's policies against opposition from anti-Federalist Republicans. He cast 29 tie-breaking votes, and is one of only three vice presidents who have cast more than 20 during their tenure. He voted against a bill sponsored by Maclay that would have required Senate consent for the removal of executive branch officials who had been confirmed by the Senate. In 1790, Jefferson,
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
, and Hamilton struck a bargain guaranteeing Republican support for Hamilton's debt assumption plan in exchange for the capital being temporarily moved from New York to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and then to a permanent site on the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
to placate Southerners. In the Senate, Adams cast a tie-breaking vote against a last-minute motion to keep the capital in New York. Adams played a minor role in politics as vice president. He attended few
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
meetings, and the President sought his counsel infrequently. While Adams brought energy and dedication to the office, by mid-1789 he had already found it "not quite adapted to my character ... too inactive, and mechanical." He wrote, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." Adams's initial behavior in the Senate made him a target for critics of the Washington administration. Toward the end of his first term, he grew accustomed to a marginal role, and rarely intervened in debate. Adams never questioned Washington's courage or patriotism, but Washington did join Franklin and others as the object of Adams's ire or envy. "The History of our Revolution will be one continued lie," Adams declared. "The essence of the whole will be that Dr. Franklin's electrical Rod smote the Earth and out sprung General Washington. That Franklin electrified him with his Rod – and henceforth these two conducted all the Policy, Negotiations, Legislatures and War." Adams won reelection with little difficulty in
1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded. * February 18 – Thomas Holcrof ...
with 77 votes. His strongest challenger, George Clinton, had 50. On July 14, 1789, the French Revolution began. Republicans were jubilant. Adams at first expressed cautious optimism, but soon began denouncing the revolutionaries as barbarous and tyrannical. Washington eventually consulted Adams more often, but not until near the end of his administration, by which point distinguished cabinet members Hamilton and Jefferson had resigned. The British had been raiding American trading vessels, and John Jay was sent to London to negotiate an end to hostilities. When he returned in 1795 with a
peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...
on terms unfavorable to the United States, Adams urged Washington to sign it to prevent war. Washington did so, igniting protests and riots. He was accused of surrendering American honor to a tyrannical monarchy and of turning his back on the French Republic. John Adams predicted in a letter to Abigail that ratification would deeply divide the nation.


Election of 1796

The 1796 election was the first contested American presidential election. Twice, George Washington had been elected to office unanimously but, during his presidency, deep philosophical differences between the two leading figures in the administration – Hamilton and Jefferson – had caused a rift, leading to the founding of the Federalist and Republican parties. When Washington announced that he would not stand for a third term, an intense
partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
struggle for control of Congress and the presidency began. As in the previous two presidential elections, no candidates were put forward for voters to choose between in 1796. The Constitution provided for the selection of electors who would then choose a president. In seven states voters chose the presidential electors. In the remaining nine states, they were chosen by the state's legislature. The clear Republican favorite was Jefferson. Adams was the Federalist frontrunner. The Republicans held a
congressional nominating caucus The congressional nominating caucus is the name for informal meetings in which American congressmen would agree on whom to nominate for the presidency and vice presidency from their political party. History The system was introduced after George ...
and named Jefferson and
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...
as their presidential choices. Jefferson at first declined the nomination, but he agreed to run a few weeks later. Federalist members of Congress held an informal nominating caucus and named Adams and
Thomas Pinckney Thomas Pinckney (October 23, 1750November 2, 1828) was an American statesman, diplomat, and military officer who fought in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, achieving the rank of major general. He served as Governor of So ...
as their candidates. The campaign was mostly confined to newspaper attacks, pamphlets, and political rallies; of the four contenders, only Burr actively campaigned. The practice of not campaigning for office would persist for decades. Adams stated that he wanted to stay out of the "silly and wicked game" of electioneering. As the campaign progressed, fears grew among Hamilton and his supporters that Adams was too vain, opinionated, unpredictable and stubborn to follow their directions. Indeed, Adams did not consider himself a strong member of the Federalist Party. He had remarked that Hamilton's economic program, centered around banks, would "swindle" the poor and unleash the "gangrene of avarice." Desiring "a more pliant president than Adams," Hamilton maneuvered to tip the election to Pinckney. He coerced South Carolina Federalist electors, pledged to vote for "
favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term referring to a presidential candidate, either one that is nominated by a state but considered a nonviable candidate or a politician whose electoral appeal derives from their native state, r ...
" Pinckney, to scatter their second votes among candidates other than Adams. Hamilton's scheme was undone when several
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
state electors heard of it and agreed not to vote for Pinckney. Adams wrote shortly after the election that Hamilton was a "proud Spirited, conceited, aspiring Mortal always pretending to Morality, with as debauched Morals as old Franklin who is more his Model than any one I know." Throughout his life, Adams made highly critical statements about Hamilton. He made derogatory references to his womanizing, real or alleged, and slurred him as the " Creole bastard." Adams won the presidency by a narrow margin, receiving 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson, who became the vice president; Pinckney finished third with 59 votes, and Burr came fourth with 30. The balance of the votes were dispersed among nine other candidates. This is the only election to date in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets.


Presidency (1797–1801)


Inauguration

Adams was sworn into office as the nation's second president on March 4, 1797. He followed Washington's lead in using the presidency to exemplify republican values and
civic virtue Civic virtue refers to the set of habits, Value (ethics), values, and Attitude (psychology), attitudes that promote the general welfare and the effective functioning of a society. Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue () repr ...
, and his service was free of scandal. Adams spent much of his term at his Massachusetts home
Peacefield Peacefield, also called Peace field or Old House, is a historic home formerly owned by the Adams family of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was the home of United States Founding Father and U.S. president John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, an ...
, preferring the quietness of domestic life to business at the capital. He ignored the political patronage and office-seeking which other officeholders utilized. Historians debate the wisdom of his decision to retain Washington's cabinet given its loyalty to Hamilton. The "Hamiltonians who surround him," Jefferson remarked, "are only a little less hostile to him than to me." Although aware of Hamilton's influence, Adams was convinced that their retention ensured a smoother succession. Adams maintained the economic programs of Hamilton, who regularly consulted with key cabinet members, especially the powerful Treasury Secretary,
Oliver Wolcott Jr. Oliver Wolcott Jr. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833) was an American politician and judge. He was the second United States Secretary of the Treasury, a judge of the United States circuit court, United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit ...
Adams was in other respects quite independent of his cabinet, often making decisions despite opposition from it. Hamilton had grown accustomed to being regularly consulted by Washington. Shortly after Adams was inaugurated, Hamilton sent him a detailed letter with policy suggestions. Adams dismissively ignored it.


Failed peace commission and XYZ affair

Historian
Joseph Ellis Joseph John-Michael Ellis III (born July 18, 1943) is an American historian whose work focuses on the lives and times of the Founding Fathers of the United States. His book '' American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' won a Nation ...
writes that " e Adams presidency was destined to be dominated by a single question of American policy to an extent seldom if ever encountered by any succeeding occupant of the office." That question was whether to make war with France or find peace. Britain and France were at war as a result of the French Revolution. Hamilton and the Federalists strongly favored the British monarchy against what they denounced as the political radicalism and anti-religious frenzy of the French Revolution. Jefferson and the Republicans, with their firm opposition to monarchy, strongly supported the French overthrowing their king. The French had supported Jefferson for president in 1796 and became belligerent at his loss. Adams continued Washington's policy of staying out of the war. Because of the Jay Treaty, the French saw America as Britain's junior partner and began seizing American merchant ships that were trading with the British. Most Americans were still pro-French due to France's assistance during the Revolution, the perceived humiliation of the Jay Treaty, and their desire to support a republic against the British monarchy, and would not tolerate war with France. On May 16, 1797, Adams gave a speech to the House and Senate in which he called for increasing defense capabilities in case of war with France. He announced that he would send a peace commission to France but simultaneously called for a military buildup to counter any potential French threat. The speech was well received by the Federalists. Adams was depicted as an eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and the "emblems of defense" in the other. The Republicans were outraged, for Adams not only had failed to express support for the cause of the French Republic but appeared to be calling for war against it. Sentiments changed with the
XYZ Affair The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the presidency of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the History of the United States (1789–1849), United States and French First Republic, Republican ...
. The peace commission that Adams appointed consisted of
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...
,
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (February 25, 1746 – August 16, 1825) was an American statesman, military officer and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United S ...
and
Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...
. Jefferson met four times with Joseph Letombe, the French consul in Philadelphia. Letombe wrote to Paris stating that Jefferson had told him that it was in France's best interest to treat the American ministers civilly but "then drag out the negotiations at length" to arrive at most favorable solution. According to Letombe, Jefferson called Adams "vain, suspicious, and stubborn." When the envoys arrived in October, they were kept waiting for several days, and then granted only a 15-minute meeting with French Foreign Minister Talleyrand. The diplomats were then met by three of Talleyrand's agents (later code-named, X, Y, and Z), who refused to conduct negotiations unless the United States paid enormous bribes to France and to Talleyrand personally. Supposedly this was to make up for offenses given to France by Adams in his speech. The Americans refused to negotiate on such terms. Marshall and Pinckney returned home, while Gerry remained. News of the disastrous peace mission arrived in a memorandum from Marshall on March 4, 1798. Adams, not wanting to incite violent impulses among the populace, announced that the mission had failed without providing details. He also sent a message to Congress asking for a renewal of the nation's defenses. The Republicans frustrated the President's defense measures. Suspecting that he might be hiding material favorable to France, Republicans in the House, with the support of Federalists who had heard rumors of what was contained in the messages, voted overwhelmingly to demand that Adams release the papers. Once they were released, the Republicans, according to Abigail, were "struck dumb."
Benjamin Franklin Bache Benjamin Franklin Bache (August 12, 1769 – September 10, 1798) was an American journalist, printer and publisher. He founded the '' Philadelphia Aurora'', a newspaper that supported Jeffersonian philosophy. He frequently attacked the Federali ...
, editor of the '' Philadelphia Aurora,'' blamed Adams's aggression for the disaster. Among the general public however, the affair substantially weakened popular American support of France. Adams reached the height of his popularity as many in the country called for full-scale war against the French.


Alien and Sedition Acts

Despite the XYZ Affair, Republican opposition persisted. Federalists accused the French and their immigrants of provoking civil unrest. In an attempt to quell the outcry, the Federalists introduced, and the Congress passed, a series of laws collectively referred to as the
Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...
. Passage of the Naturalization Act, the Alien Friends Act, the Alien Enemies Act and the Sedition Act all came within a period of two weeks, in what Jefferson called an "unguarded passion." The first three acts targeted immigrants, specifically French, by giving the president greater deportation authority and increasing citizenship requirements. The Sedition Act made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or its officials. Adams had not promoted any of these acts, but signed them in June 1798 at the urging of his wife and cabinet. The administration initiated fourteen or more indictments under the Sedition Act, as well as suits against five of the six most prominent Republican newspapers. The majority of the legal actions began in 1798 and 1799, and went to trial on the eve of the 1800 presidential election. Vocal opponents of the Federalists were imprisoned or fined under the Sedition Act for criticizing the government. Among them was Congressman
Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in Congress from 1797 to ...
of Vermont, who was sentenced to four months in jail for criticizing the President. The alien acts were not stringently enforced because Adams resisted Secretary of State
Timothy Pickering Timothy Pickering (July 17, 1745January 29, 1829) was the third United States Secretary of State, serving under Presidents George Washington and John Adams. He also represented Massachusetts in both houses of United States Congress, Congress as ...
's attempts to deport aliens, although many left on their own, largely in response to the hostile environment. Republicans were outraged. Jefferson, disgusted by the acts, wrote nothing publicly but partnered with Madison to secretly draft the
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799 in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. The resolutions argued ...
. Jefferson wrote for Kentucky that states had the "natural right" to nullify any acts they deemed unconstitutional. Writing to Madison, he speculated that as a last resort the states might have to "sever ourselves from the union we so much value." Federalists reacted bitterly to the resolutions, and the acts energized and unified the Republican Party while doing little to unite the Federalists.


Quasi-War

In May 1798, a French
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
captured a merchant vessel off of
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
. An increase in attacks on sea marked the beginning of the undeclared naval war known as the
Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...
. Adams knew that America would be unable to win a major conflict, both because of its internal divisions and because France at the time was dominating the fight in most of Europe. He pursued a strategy whereby America harassed French ships in an effort sufficient to stem the French assaults on American interests. In May, shortly after the attack in New York, Congress created a separate Navy Department. The prospect of a French invasion led for calls to build up the army. Hamilton and other "High Federalists" were particularly adamant that a large army be called up, in spite of a common fear, particularly among Republicans, that large standing armies were subversive to liberty. In May, a provisional army of 10,000 soldiers was authorized by Congress. In July, Congress created twelve infantry regiments and provided for six cavalry companies, exceeding Adams's requests but falling short of Hamilton's. Federalists pressured Adams to appoint Hamilton, who had served as Washington's aide-de-camp during the Revolution, to command the army. Distrustful of Hamilton and fearing a plot to subvert his administration, Adams chose Washington without consulting him. As a condition of his acceptance, Washington demanded that he be permitted to appoint his own subordinates. He wished to have
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...
as second-in-command, followed by Hamilton, and then Charles Pinckney. On June 2, Hamilton wrote to Washington stating that he would not serve unless he was made Inspector General and second-in-command. Washington conceded that Hamilton, despite holding a rank lower than Knox and Pinckney, had, by serving on his staff, more opportunity to comprehend the whole military scene, and should therefore outrank them. Adams sent Secretary of War
James McHenry James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was an Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommendation ...
to
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
to convince Washington to accept the post. McHenry put forth his opinion that Washington would not serve unless permitted to choose his own officers. Adams had intended to appoint Republicans Burr and
Frederick Muhlenberg Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (; January 1, 1750 – June 4, 1801) was an American minister of religion, minister and Politics of the United States, politician who was the first speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
to make the army appear bipartisan. Washington's list consisted entirely of Federalists. Adams relented and agreed to submit to the Senate the names of Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox, in that order, although final decisions of rank would be reserved to Adams. Knox refused to serve under these conditions. Adams intended to give to Hamilton the lowest possible rank, while Washington and many other Federalists insisted that the order in which the names had been submitted to the Senate must determine seniority. On September 21, Adams received a letter from McHenry relaying a statement from Washington threatening to resign if Hamilton were not made second-in-command. Fearing Federalist backlash, Adams capitulated, despite bitter resentment. The illness of Abigail, whom Adams feared was near death, exacerbated his suffering. It quickly became apparent that due to Washington's advanced age, Hamilton was the army's ''de facto'' commander. He exerted effective control over the War Department, taking over supplies for the army. Meanwhile, Adams built up the Navy, adding six fast, powerful frigates, most notably the USS ''Constitution''. The Quasi-War continued, but there was a decline in war fever beginning in the fall once news arrived of the French defeat at the
Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...
, which many Americans hoped would make them more disposed to negotiate. In October, Adams heard from Gerry in Paris that the French wanted to make peace and would properly receive an American delegation. That December in his address to Congress, Adams relayed these statements while expressing the need to maintain adequate defenses. The speech angered both Federalists, including Hamilton, many of whom had wanted a request for a declaration of war, and Republicans. Hamilton secretly promoted a plan, already rejected by Adams, in which American and British troops would jointly seize
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...
and
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, ostensibly to deter a possible French invasion. Hamilton's critics, including Abigail, saw in his military buildups the signs of an aspiring military dictator. On February 18, 1799, Adams nominated diplomat
William Vans Murray William Vans Murray (February 9, 1760 – December 11, 1803) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1790, and in the United States House of Representatives from 1791 to 1797. ...
for a peace mission to France without consulting either his cabinet or Abigail, who nonetheless upon hearing of it described it as a "master stroke." To placate Republicans, he nominated
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...
and Ellsworth to accompany Murray, and the Senate immediately approved them on March 3. Henry declined the nomination and Adams chose
William Richardson Davie William Richardson Davie (June 20, 1756 – November 29, 1820) was an American statesman, politician, military general, Founding Father of the United States who served as the 10th Governor of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799. A member of the F ...
to replace him. Hamilton strongly criticized the decision, as did Adams's cabinet members, who maintained frequent communication with him. Adams again questioned their loyalty but did not remove them. To the annoyance of many, Adams spent March to September 1799 in Peacefield. He returned to Trenton, where the government had set up temporary quarters due to the yellow fever epidemic, after a letter arrived from Talleyrand confirming that American ministers would be received. Adams then decided to send the commissioners to France. Adams arrived in Trenton on October 10. Shortly after, Hamilton, in a breach of military protocol, arrived uninvited at the city to speak with the President, urging him not to send the peace commissioners but instead to ally with Britain to restore the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...
. "I heard him with perfect good humor, though never in my life did I hear a man talk more like a fool," Adams said. On November 15, the commissioners set sail for Paris.


Fries's Rebellion

To pay for the military buildup of the Quasi-War, Adams and his Federalist allies enacted the
Direct Tax Although the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions, in general, a direct tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction, which is described as an indirect tax. There is a distinction betwee ...
of 1798. Direct taxation by the federal government was widely unpopular, and the government's revenue under Washington had mostly come from
excise tax file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
es and
tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...
. Though Washington had maintained a balanced budget with the help of a growing economy, increased military expenditures threatened to cause major budget deficits, and the Federalists developed a taxation plan to meet the need for increased government revenue. The Direct Tax of 1798 instituted a progressive
land value tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic efficiency, ec ...
of up to 1% of a property's value. Taxpayers in eastern Pennsylvania resisted federal tax collectors, and in March 1799 the bloodless Fries's Rebellion broke out. Led by Revolutionary War veteran John Fries, rural German-speaking farmers protested what they saw as a threat to their liberties. They intimidated tax collectors, who often found themselves unable to go about their business. The disturbance was quickly ended with Hamilton leading the army to restore peace. Fries and two other leaders were arrested, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to hang. They appealed to Adams requesting a pardon. The cabinet unanimously advised Adams to refuse, but he instead granted the pardon, arguing the men had instigated a mere riot as opposed to a rebellion. In his pamphlet attacking Adams before the election, Hamilton wrote that "it was impossible to commit a greater error."


Federalist divisions and peace

On May 5, 1800, Adams's frustrations with the Hamilton wing of the party exploded during a meeting with McHenry, a Hamilton loyalist who was universally regarded, even by Hamilton, as an inept Secretary of War. Adams accused him of subservience to Hamilton and declared that he would rather serve as Jefferson's vice president or minister at The Hague than be beholden to Hamilton for the presidency. McHenry offered to resign at once, and Adams accepted. On May 10, he asked Pickering to resign. Pickering refused and was summarily dismissed. Adams named John Marshall as Secretary of State and Samuel Dexter as Secretary of War. In 1799,
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
took over as head of the French government in the
Coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the Fr ...
and declared the French Revolution over. News of this event increased Adams's desire to disband the provisional army, which, with Washington now dead, was commanded only by Hamilton. His moves to end the army after the departures of McHenry and Pickering were met with little opposition. Federalists joined with Republicans in voting to disband the army in mid-1800. Napoleon, determining that further conflict was pointless, signaled his readiness for friendly relations. By the
Convention of 1800 The Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine (French: ''Traité de Mortefontaine''), was signed on September 30, 1800, by the United States and France. The difference in name was due to congressional sensitivity at entering i ...
, the two sides agreed to return any captured ships and to allow for the peaceful transfer of non-military goods to an enemy of the nation. On January 23, 1801, the Senate voted 16–14 in favor of the treaty, four votes short of the necessary two thirds. Some Federalists, including Hamilton, urged that the Senate vote in favor of the treaty with reservations. A new proposal was then drawn up demanding that the Treaty of Alliance of 1778 be superseded and that France pay for its damages to American property. On February 3, the treaty with the reservations passed 22–9 and was signed by Adams. News of the peace treaty did not arrive in the United States until after the election, too late to sway the results. As president, Adams proudly avoided war, but deeply split his party in the process. Historian
Ron Chernow Ronald Chernow (; born March 3, 1949) is an American writer, journalist, and biographer. He has written bestselling historical non-fiction biographies. Chernow won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the 2011 American ...
writes that "the threat of
Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
ism" was the one thing that united the Federalist Party, and that Adams's elimination of it unwittingly contributed to the party's demise.


Establishing government institutions and move to Washington

Adams's leadership on naval defense has sometimes led him to be called the "father of the American Navy." In July 1798, he signed into law
An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen An Act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen was passed by the 5th United States Congress. It was signed by President John Adams on July 16, 1798. The Act authorized the deduction of twenty cents per month from the wages of seamen for th ...
, which authorized the establishment of a government-operated marine hospital service. In 1800, he signed the law establishing the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. Adams made his first official visit to the nation's new
seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...
in early June 1800. Amid the "raw and unfinished" cityscape, the President found the public buildings "in a much greater forwardness of completion than expected." He moved into the nearly completed President's Mansion (later known as the White House) on November 1. Abigail arrived a few weeks later. On arrival, Adams wrote to her, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof." The Senate of the 7th Congress met for the first time in the new
Congress House Congress House is the headquarters of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), a British organisation that represents most of the UK's trade unions. It is also an events venue, Congress Centre. In 1948, David du Roi Aberdeen won an architectural compe ...
(later known as the Capitol building) on November 17, 1800. On November 22, Adams delivered his fourth
State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...
to a joint session of Congress. This would be the last annual message any president would personally deliver to Congress for the next 113 years.


Election of 1800

With the Federalist Party deeply split over his negotiations with France, and the opposition Republican Party enraged over the Alien and Sedition Acts and the expansion of the military, Adams faced a daunting reelection campaign in
1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...
. The Federalist congressmen caucused in the spring of 1800 and nominated Adams and Pinckney. The Republicans nominated Jefferson and Burr, their candidates in the previous election. The campaign was bitter and characterized by malicious insults by partisan presses on both sides. Federalists claimed that the Republicans were the enemies of "all who love order, peace, virtue, and religion." They were said to be libertines and dangerous radicals who favored states' rights over the Union and would instigate anarchy and civil war. Jefferson's rumored affairs with slaves were used against him. Republicans accused Federalists of subverting republican principles through punitive federal laws and of favoring Britain and the other coalition countries in their war with France to promote aristocratic, anti-republican values. Jefferson was portrayed as an apostle of liberty and man of the people, while Adams was labelled a monarchist. He was accused of insanity and marital infidelity. James T. Callender, a Republican propagandist secretly financed by Jefferson, degraded Adams's character and accused him of attempting to make war with France. Callender was arrested and jailed under the Sedition Act, which further inflamed Republican passions. Opposition from the Federalist Party was at times equally intense. Some, including Pickering, accused Adams of colluding with Jefferson so that he would end up either president or vice president. Hamilton was hard at work, attempting to sabotage the President's reelection. Planning an indictment of Adams's character, he requested and received private documents from both the ousted cabinet secretaries and Wolcott. The letter was intended for only a few Federalist electors. Upon seeing a draft, several Federalists urged Hamilton not to send it. Wolcott wrote that "the poor old man" could do himself in without Hamilton's assistance. Hamilton did not heed their advice. On October 24, he sent a pamphlet strongly attacking Adams's policies and character. Hamilton denounced the "precipitate nomination" of Murray, the pardoning of Fries, and the firing of Pickering. He vilified the President's "disgusting egotism" and "ungovernable temper." Adams, he concluded, was "emotionally unstable, given to impulsive and irrational decisions, unable to coexist with his closest advisers, and generally unfit to be president." Strangely, it ended by saying that the electors should support Adams and Pinckney equally. Thanks to Burr, who had covertly obtained a copy, the pamphlet became public knowledge and was distributed throughout the country by Republicans. The pamphlet ended Hamilton's political career and helped ensure Adams's already likely defeat. When the electoral votes were counted, Adams finished third with 65 votes, and Pinckney came in fourth with 64 votes. Jefferson and Burr tied for first with 73 votes each. Because of the tie, the election devolved upon the House of Representatives, with each state having one vote and a majority required for victory. On February 17, 1801 – on the 36th ballot – Jefferson was elected by a vote of 10 to 4 (two states abstained). Hamilton's scheme, although it made the Federalists appear divided and therefore helped Jefferson win, failed in its overall attempt to woo Federalist electors away from Adams. To compound the agony of his defeat, Adams's son Charles, a long-time alcoholic, died on November 30. Anxious to rejoin Abigail, who had already left for Massachusetts, Adams departed the White House in the predawn hours of March 4, 1801, and did not attend Jefferson's inauguration. Including him, only five out-going presidents (having served a full term) have not attended their successors' inaugurations. The complications of the 1796 and 1800 elections prompted a modification to the Electoral College through the 12th Amendment.


Cabinet


Judicial appointments

Adams appointed two
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
associate justices during his term in office:
Bushrod Washington Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was an American attorney and politician who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1798 to 1829. On the Supreme Court, he was a staunch ally of Chi ...
, the nephew of George Washington, and
Alfred Moore Alfred Moore (May 21, 1755 – October 15, 1810) was an American judge, lawyer, planter and military officer who became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Moore Square, a park located in the Moore Square Histo ...
. After Ellsworth's retirement due to ill health in 1800, it fell to Adams to appoint the Court's fourth Chief Justice. At the time, it was not yet certain whether Jefferson or Burr would win the election. Regardless, Adams believed that the choice should be someone "in the full vigor of middle age" who could counter what might be a long line of successive Republican presidents. Adams chose his Secretary of State John Marshall. He, along with Stoddert, was one of Adams's few trusted cabinet members, and was among the first to greet him when he arrived at the White House. Adams signed his commission on January 31 and the Senate approved it immediately. Marshall's long tenure left a lasting influence on the Court. He maintained a carefully reasoned nationalistic interpretation of the Constitution and established the judicial branch as the equal of the executive and legislative branches. After the Federalists lost control of both houses of Congress along with the White House in the election of 1800, the
lame-duck session A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a ''sine die'' ...
of the 6th Congress in February 1801 approved a judiciary act, commonly known as the
Midnight Judges Act The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; , and officially An act to provide for the more convenient organization of the Courts of the United States) expanded the federal judiciary of the United States. The act was support ...
, which created a set of federal appeals courts between the district courts and the Supreme Court. Adams filled the vacancies created in this statute by appointing a series of judges, whom his opponents called the "Midnight Judges", just days before his term expired. Most of these judges lost their posts when the 7th Congress, with a solid Republican majority, approved the
Judiciary Act of 1802 The Judiciary Act of 1802 () was a Federal statute, enacted on April 29, 1802, to reorganize the federal court system. It restored some elements of the Judiciary Act of 1801, which had been adopted by the Federalist majority in the previous Con ...
, abolishing the newly created courts.


Post-presidency (1801–1826)


Initial years

Adams resumed farming at
Peacefield Peacefield, also called Peace field or Old House, is a historic home formerly owned by the Adams family of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was the home of United States Founding Father and U.S. president John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, an ...
in
Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...
, and also began work on an autobiography. The work had numerous gaps and was eventually abandoned and left unedited. Most of Adams's attention was focused on farm work, although he mostly left manual labor to hired hands. His frugal lifestyle and presidential salary gave him a considerable fortune by 1801. In 1803, Bird, Savage & Bird, the bank holding his cash reserves of about $13,000, collapsed. John Quincy resolved the crisis by buying his properties in Weymouth and Quincy, including Peacefield, for $12,800. During his first four years of retirement, Adams made little effort to contact others, but eventually resumed contact with old acquaintances such as
Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse (March 4, 1754 – October 2, 1846) was a physician, co-founder and professor of Harvard Medical School. He is most well known for being the first doctor to test the smallpox vaccine in the United States, which he carried ou ...
and
Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...
. Adams generally stayed quiet on public matters. He did not publicly denounce Jefferson's actions as president, believing that "instead of opposing Systematically any Administration, running down their Characters and opposing all their Measures right or wrong, We ought to Support every Administration as far as We can in Justice." When a disgruntled James Callender, angry at not being appointed to an office, turned on the President by revealing the
Sally Hemings Sarah "Sally" Hemings ( 1773 – 1835) was a Black people, black woman Slavery in the United States, enslaved to the third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, inherited among many others from his father-in-law, John Wayles. Hemi ...
affair, Adams said nothing. John Quincy was elected to the Senate in 1803. Shortly thereafter, both he and his father crossed party lines to support Jefferson's
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...
. The only major political incident involving the elder Adams during the Jefferson years was a dispute with
Mercy Otis Warren Mercy Otis Warren (September 25, 1728 – October 19, 1814) was an American activist poet, playwright, and pamphleteer during the American Revolution. During the years before the Revolution, she had published poems and plays that attacked royal ...
in 1806. Warren, an old friend, had written a history of the American Revolution attacking Adams for his "partiality for monarchy" and "pride of talents and much ambition." A tempestuous correspondence ensued between her and Adams. In time, their friendship healed. Adams did privately criticize the President over his
Embargo Act The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. Much broader than the ineffectual 1806 Non-importation Act, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Br ...
, although John Quincy voted for it. John Quincy resigned from the Senate in 1808 after the Federalist-controlled
Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
refused to nominate him for a second term. After the Federalists denounced John Quincy as no longer being of their party, Adams wrote to him that he himself had long since "abdicated and disclaimed the name and character and attributes of that sect." After Jefferson's retirement in 1809, Adams became more vocal. He published a three-year marathon of letters in the '' Boston Patriot'' newspaper, refuting line-by-line Hamilton's 1800 pamphlet. The initial piece was written shortly after his return from Peacefield and "had gathered dust for eight years." Adams had decided to shelve it over fears that it could negatively impact John Quincy should he ever seek office. Although Hamilton had died in 1804 in a duel with Aaron Burr, Adams felt the need to vindicate his character against his charges. With John Quincy having broken from the Federalist Party and joined the Republicans, he felt that he could safely do so without threatening his political career. Adams supported the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. Having worried over the rise of sectionalism, he celebrated the growth of a "national character" that accompanied it. Adams supported
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
for reelection to the presidency in
1812 Events January–March * January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire. * January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege ...
. Adams's daughter
Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...
("Nabby") was married to
William Stephens Smith William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy ...
, but she returned to her parents' home after the failure of the marriage; she died of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
in 1813.


Correspondence with Jefferson

In early 1801, Adams sent Thomas Jefferson a brief note wishing him a happy and prosperous presidency. Jefferson failed to respond, and they did not speak again for nearly 12 years. In 1804, Abigail, unbeknownst to her husband, wrote to Jefferson to express her condolences upon the death of his daughter
Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Pauline ...
, who had stayed with the Adamses in London in 1787. This initiated a brief correspondence between the two which quickly descended into political rancor. Jefferson terminated it by not replying to Abigail's fourth letter. Aside from that, by 1812 there had been no communication between
Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...
, the home of Jefferson, and Peacefield since Adams left office. In early 1812, Adams reconciled with Jefferson. The previous year had been tragic for Adams; his brother-in-law and friend Richard Cranch had died along with his widow Mary, and Nabby had been diagnosed with breast cancer. These events mellowed Adams and caused him to soften his outlook. Their mutual friend Benjamin Rush, who had been corresponding with both, encouraged them to reach out to each other. On New Year's Day, Adams sent a brief, friendly note to Jefferson to accompany a two-volume collection of lectures on rhetoric by John Quincy Adams. Jefferson replied immediately with a cordial letter, and the two revived their friendship, which they sustained by mail. Their correspondence lasted the rest of their lives, and has been hailed as among their great legacies of American literature. Their letters represent an insight into both the period and the minds of the two revolutionary leaders and presidents. The missives lasted fourteen years, and consisted of 158 letters – 109 from Adams and 49 from Jefferson. Early on, Adams repeatedly tried to turn the correspondence to a discussion of their actions in the political arena. Jefferson refused to oblige him, saying that "nothing new can be added by you or me to what has been said by others and will be said in every age." Adams made one more attempt, writing that "You and I ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to each other." Still, Jefferson declined to engage Adams in this sort of discussion. Adams accepted this, and the correspondence turned to other matters, particularly philosophy and their daily habits. As the two grew older, the letters grew fewer and farther between. There was also important information that each man kept to himself. Jefferson said nothing about his construction of a new house, domestic turmoil, slave ownership, or poor financial situation, while Adams did not mention the troublesome behavior of his son Thomas, who had failed as a lawyer and become an alcoholic, resorting afterwards to living primarily as a caretaker at Peacefield.


Last years and death

Abigail died of
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
on October 28, 1818, at Peacefield. 1824 was filled with excitement in America, featuring a four-way presidential contest that included John Quincy. The
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...
toured the country and met with Adams, who greatly enjoyed Lafayette's visit to Peacefield. Adams was delighted by the election of John Quincy to the presidency. The results became official in February 1825 after a deadlock was decided in the House of Representatives. He remarked, "No man who ever held the office of President would congratulate a friend on obtaining it." On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Adams died of a heart attack at Peacefield at approximately 6:20 pm. His last words included an acknowledgement of his longtime friend and rival: "Thomas Jefferson survives." Adams was unaware that Jefferson had died several hours before. At 90, Adams was the longest-lived US president until
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
surpassed him in 2001. John and Abigail Adams's crypt at
United First Parish Church United First Parish Church is an American Unitarian Universalist congregation in Quincy, Massachusetts, established as the parish church of Quincy in 1639. The current building was constructed in 1828 by Boston stonecutter Abner Joy to design ...
in Quincy also contains the bodies of John Quincy and Louisa Adams.


Political writings


''Thoughts on Government''

During the First Continental Congress, Adams was sometimes solicited for his views on government. While recognizing its importance, Adams had privately criticized
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...
's 1776 pamphlet ''
Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...
'', which attacked all forms of monarchy, even constitutional monarchy of the sort advocated by
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
. It supported a unicameral legislature and a weak executive elected by the legislature. According to Adams, the author had "a better hand at pulling down than building." He believed that the views expressed in the pamphlet were "so democratical, without any restraint or even an attempt at any equilibrium or counter poise, that it must produce confusion and every evil work." What Paine advocated was a radical democracy, incompatible with the system of checks and balances that conservatives like Adams would implement. At the urging of some delegates, Adams committed his views to paper in separate letters. So impressed was Richard Henry Lee that, with Adams's consent, he had the most comprehensive letter printed. Published anonymously in April 1776, it was titled '' Thoughts on Government'' and styled as "a Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend." Many historians agree that none of Adams's other compositions rivaled the enduring influence of this pamphlet. Adams advised that the form of government should be chosen to attain the desired ends – the happiness and virtue of the greatest number of people. He wrote, "There is no good government but what is republican. That the only valuable part of the
British constitution The constitution of the United Kingdom comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no official attempt has been made to c ...
is so because the very definition of a republic is an empire of laws, and not of men." The treatise defended
bicameralism Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
, for "a single assembly is liable to all the vices, follies and frailties of an individual." Adams suggested that there should be a
separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
between the
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
, the
judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
and the
legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
branches, and further recommended that if a continental government were to be formed then it "should sacredly be confined" to certain
enumerated powers The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers ar ...
. ''Thoughts on Government'' was referenced in every state-constitution writing hall. Adams used the letter to attack opponents of independence. He claimed that
John Dickinson John Dickinson (November 13, O.S. November 2">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. November 21732Various sources indicate a birth date of November 8, 12 or 13, but his most recent biographer ...
's fear of republicanism was responsible for his refusal to support independence, and that opposition from Southern planters was rooted in fear that their aristocratic slaveholding status would be endangered.


Massachusetts Constitution

After returning from his first mission to France in 1779, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention with the purpose of establishing a new constitution for Massachusetts. He served on a committee of three, also including Samuel Adams and
James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II ( ; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealth ...
, to draft the constitution. The writing fell primarily to John Adams. The resulting
Constitution of Massachusetts The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. It consists of a preamble, declaration ...
was approved in 1780. It was the first constitution written by a special committee, then ratified by the people, and was the first to feature a bicameral legislature. Included were a distinct executive – though restrained by an executive council – with a qualified (two-thirds) veto, and an independent judicial branch. The judges were given lifetime appointments, to "hold their offices during good behavior." The Constitution affirmed the "duty" of the individual to worship the "Supreme Being," and the right to do so without molestation "in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience." It established free public education for three years to the children of all citizens. Adams was a strong believer in education as a pillar of the
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. He believed that people "in a State of Ignorance" were more easily enslaved while those "enlightened with knowledge" would be better able to protect their liberties.


''Defence of the Constitutions''

Adams's preoccupation with political and governmental affairs, which caused considerable separation from his wife and children, had a distinct familial context, which he articulated in 1780: "I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have the liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry, and Porcelaine." While in London, Adams learned of a convention being planned to amend the
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
. In January 1787, he published a work entitled ''A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States''. The pamphlet repudiated the views of
Turgot Turgot may refer to: * Turgot of Durham ( – 1115), Prior of Durham and Bishop of St Andrews * Michel-Étienne Turgot (1690–1751), mayor of Paris * Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781), French economist and statesman * Louis Félix Étienne, ...
and other European writers as to the viciousness of state government frameworks. He suggested that "the rich, the well-born and the able" should be set apart from other men in a senate – that would prevent them from dominating the lower house. Adams's ''Defence'' is described as an articulation of the theory of
mixed government Mixed government (or a mixed constitution) is a form of government that combines elements of democracy, aristocracy and monarchy, ostensibly making impossible their respective degenerations which are conceived in Aristotle's ''Politics'' as a ...
. Adams contended that social classes exist in every political society, and that a good government must accept that reality. For centuries, a mixed regime balancing monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy was required to preserve order and liberty. Historian
Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation ...
maintained that Adams's political philosophy had become irrelevant by the time the Federal Constitution was ratified. By then, American political thought, transformed by more than a decade of vigorous debate as well as formative experiential pressures, had abandoned the classical perception of politics as a mirror of social estates. Americans' new understanding of
popular sovereignty Popular sovereignty is the principle that the leaders of a state and its government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associativ ...
was that the citizenry were the sole possessors of power in the nation. Representatives in the government enjoyed mere portions of the people's power and only for a limited time. Adams was thought to have overlooked this evolution and revealed his continued attachment to the older version of politics. Yet Wood was accused of ignoring Adams's peculiar definition of the term "republic", and his support for a constitution ratified by the people. On
separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
, Adams wrote that, "Power must be opposed to power, and interest to interest."Works of John Adams, IV:557 This sentiment was later echoed by James Madison's statement that, " bition must be made to counteract ambition", in
Federalist No. 51 Federalist No. 51, titled: "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments", is an essay written by James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, the fifty-first of ''The Federalist Papers' ...
, explaining the separation of powers established under the new Constitution. Adams believed that humans naturally wanted to further their own ambitions, and a single democratically elected house, if left unchecked, would be subject to this error; it needed to be checked by an upper house and an executive. He wrote that a strong executive would defend the people's liberties against "aristocrats" attempting to take it away. Adams first saw the new
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
in late 1787. To Jefferson, he wrote that he read it "with great satisfaction." Adams expressed regret that the president would be unable to make appointments without
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
approval and over the absence of a
Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
.


Political philosophy and views


Slavery

Adams never owned a
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
and declined on principle to use slave labor, saying:
I have, through my whole life, held the practice of slavery in such abhorrence, that I have never owned a negro or any other slave, though I have lived for many years in times, when the practice was not disgraceful, when the best men in my vicinity thought it not inconsistent with their character, and when it has cost me thousands of dollars for the labor and subsistence of free men, which I might have saved by the purchase of negroes at times when they were very cheap.
Before the war, he occasionally represented slaves in suits for their freedom. Adams generally tried to keep the issue out of national politics, because of the anticipated Southern response during a time when unity was needed to achieve independence. He spoke out in 1777 against a bill to emancipate slaves in Massachusetts, saying that the issue was presently too divisive so the legislation should "sleep for a time." He was against use of black soldiers in the Revolution due to opposition from Southerners. Slavery was abolished in Massachusetts about 1780, when it was forbidden by implication in the Declaration of Rights that John Adams wrote into the Massachusetts Constitution. Abigail Adams vocally opposed slavery.


Monarchism

Adams expressed controversial and shifting views regarding the virtues of monarchical and hereditary political institutions. At times he conveyed substantial support for these approaches, suggesting for example that "hereditary monarchy or aristocracy" are the "only institutions that can possibly preserve the laws and liberties of the people." At other times he distanced himself from such ideas, calling himself "a mortal and irreconcilable enemy to Monarchy". Such denials did not assuage his critics, and Adams was often accused of being a monarchist. Historian
Clinton Rossiter Clinton Lawrence Rossiter III (September 18, 1917 – July 11, 1970) was an American historian and political scientist at Cornell University (1947-1970) who wrote ''The American Presidency'', among 20 other books, and won both the Bancroft Prize ...
portrays Adams as a revolutionary conservative who sought to balance republicanism with the stability of monarchy to create "
ordered liberty Ordered liberty is a concept in political philosophy, where individual freedom is balanced with the necessity for maintaining social order. The phrase "ordered liberty" originates from an opinion by Justice Benjamin Cardozo in ''Palko v. Connec ...
." His 1790 ''Discourses on Davila'' published in the ''
Gazette of the United States The ''Gazette of the United States'' was an early American newspaper, first issued semiweekly in New York City on April 15, 1789, but moving the next year to Philadelphia when the nation's capital moved there the next year. It was friendly to t ...
'' warned once again of the dangers of unbridled democracy. Many attacks on Adams were scurrilous, including suggestions that he was planning to "crown himself king" and "grooming John Quincy as heir to the throne." Adams felt that the great danger was that an
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
of the wealthy would take hold to the detriment of equality. To counter that danger, the power of the wealthy needed to be channeled by institutions, and checked by a strong executive.


Religious views

According to biographer
David McCullough David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United S ...
, "Adams was both a devout Christian, and an independent thinker, and he saw no conflict in that." He believed that regular church service was beneficial to man's moral sense. Adams was raised in the
Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
. In Quincy, the Unitarian faction was dominant and included Adams and his father. It was a new force in the colonies and denied the
Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
and the divinity of Jesus Christ. It was opposed by the
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
faction. In 1825, the Unitarians split off as a separate denomination that included John Adams. Adams's family was descended from
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
. Strict Puritanism had profoundly shaped New England's culture, laws, and traditions, and Adams praised the historical Puritans as "bearers of freedom, a cause that still had a holy urgency". Adams recalled that his parents "held every Species of Libertinage in ... Contempt and horror". Fielding argues that Adams's beliefs synthesized Puritan,
deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
, and
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
concepts. Frazer notes that while he shared many perspectives with deists and often used deistic terminology, "Adams clearly was not a deist... Adams did believe in miracles, providence, and, to a certain extent, the Bible as revelation." In 1796, Adams denounced
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...
's deistic criticisms of Christianity in ''
The Age of Reason ''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology'' is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century Brit ...
'', saying, "The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, let the Blackguard Paine say what he will."
Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation ...
writes, "Although both Jefferson and Adams denied the
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
s of the Bible and the divinity of Christ, Adams always retained a respect for the religiosity of people that Jefferson never had". In his retirement years, Adams moved closer to more mainstream Enlightenment religious ideals. He blamed institutional Christianity and established churches in Britain and France for causing much suffering but insisted that religion was necessary for society.


Legacy


Historical reputation

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
summarized what many thought of Adams, saying "He means well for his country, is always an honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes, and in some things, absolutely out of his senses." Adams strongly felt that he would be forgotten and underappreciated by history. These feelings often manifested themselves through envy and verbal attacks on other Founders. Edmund Morgan argues, "Adams was ridiculously vain, absurdly jealous, embarrassingly hungry for compliments. But no man ever served his country more selflessly." Historian George C. Herring argued that Adams was the most independent minded of the Founders. Though he formally aligned with the Federalists, he was somewhat a party unto himself, at times disagreeing with the Federalists as much as he did the Republicans. He was often described as prickly, but his tenacity was fed by decisions made in the face of universal opposition. Adams was often combative, as he admitted: " s PresidentI refused to suffer in silence. I sighed, sobbed, and groaned, and sometimes screeched and screamed. And I must confess to my shame and sorrow that I sometimes swore." Stubbornness was seen as one of his defining traits, a fact for which Adams made no apology. "Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right," he wrote. His resolve to advance peace with France while maintaining a posture of defense reduced his popularity and contributed to his defeat for reelection. Most historians applaud him for avoiding an all-out war with France during his presidency. His signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts is almost always condemned. According to Ferling, Adams's political philosophy fell "out of step" with national trends. The country tended further away from Adams's emphasis on order and the rule of law and towards the Jeffersonian vision of liberty and weak central government. In the years following his retirement, as first
Jeffersonianism Jeffersonian democracy, named after its advocate Thomas Jefferson, was one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to American republicanism, whi ...
and then
Jacksonian democracy Jacksonian democracy, also known as Jacksonianism, was a 19th-century political ideology in the United States that restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andrew Jackson and his supporters, i ...
grew to dominate American politics, Adams was largely forgotten. In the 1840 presidential election, Whig candidate
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...
was attacked by Democrats on the false allegation that he had been a supporter of John Adams. Adams was eventually subject to criticism from
states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
advocates.
Edward A. Pollard Edward Alfred Pollard (February 27, 1832December 17, 1872) was an American author, journalist, and Confederate sympathizer during the American Civil War who wrote several books on the causes and events of the war, notably ''The Lost Cause: A New ...
, a strong supporter of the Confederacy during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, singled out Adams, writing: In the 21st century, Adams remains less well known than many of the Founders, in accordance with his predictions. McCullough argued that " e problem with Adams is that most Americans know nothing about him." Todd Leopold of
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
wrote in 2001 that Adams is "remembered as that guy who served a single term as president between Washington and Jefferson." He has always been seen, Ferling says, as "honest and dedicated", but despite his lengthy career in public service, is still overshadowed. Gilbert Chinard, in his 1933 biography of Adams, described him as "staunch, honest, stubborn and somewhat narrow." In his 1962 biography,
Page Smith Page Smith (September 6, 1917 – August 28, 1995) was an American historian, professor and author. In 1964 he became the founding Provost of Cowell College, University of California, Santa Cruz and resigned from the university in 1973 in p ...
lauds Adams for his fight against radicals whose promised reforms portended anarchy and misery. Ferling, in his 1992 biography, writes that "Adams was his own worst enemy." He criticizes him for his "pettiness ... jealousy, and vanity", and faults his frequent separations from his family. He praises Adams for his willingness to acknowledge his deficiencies and for striving to overcome them. In 2001, McCullough published the biography ''
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
'', in which he lauds Adams for consistency and honesty, "plays down or explains away" his more controversial actions, and criticizes Jefferson. The book sold very well and was very favorably received and, along with the Ferling biography, contributed to a rapid resurgence in Adams's reputation. In 2008, a
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
was released based on the McCullough biography, featuring
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( ; born June6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. After studying a ...
as Adams.


In memoriam

Adams is commemorated as the namesake of various counties, buildings, and other items. One example is the
John Adams Building The John Adams Building is the second-oldest of the buildings of the Library of Congress of the United States. Built in the 1930s, it is named for John Adams, the second president, who signed the law creating the Library of Congress in 1800. The ...
of the Library of Congress, an institution whose existence Adams had signed into law. Adams is honored on the
Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in ...
in Washington D.C. He does not have an individual monument dedicated to him in the city, although a family Adams Memorial was authorized in 2001. According to McCullough, "Popular symbolism has not been very generous toward Adams. There is no memorial, no statue ... in his honor in our nation's capital, and to me that is absolutely inexcusable. It's long past time when we should recognize what he did, and who he was."


See also

* Electoral history of John Adams *
Founders Online Founders Online is a research website providing free access to a digitized collection representing the papers of seven of the most influential figures in the founding of the United States. Among the 185,000 documents available through the website ...
*
List of abolitionist forerunners Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846), the pioneering English abolitionist, prepared a "map" of the "streams" of "forerunners and coadjutors" of the Abolitionism in the United Kingdom, abolitionist movement, which he published in his work, ''The Histor ...
*
List of presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year Term of office, term via the United States Electoral College, Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constituti ...


Explanatory notes


References


Bibliography


Biographies

* * * * * * * *


Specialized studies

* * * * * * * * Fea, John. "John Adams and religion." in ''A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams'' (2013) pp. 184–19
online
* * * * Georgini, Sara. ''Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family'' (Oxford University Press, 2019
excerpt
* * * * Holdzkom, Marianne. ''Remembering John Adams: The Second President in History, Memory and Popular Culture'' (McFarland, 2023
online
* Holmes, David L. ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers'' (Oxford University Press, 2006) ch 7, "The Religious Views of John Adams," pp 73–108; also pp 117–121 on Abigail Adams. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Scherr, Arthur (2018). ''John Adams, Slavery, and Race: Ideas, Politics, and Diplomacy in an Age of Crisis.'' Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. * * * * * *


Primary sources

* * * * * * * * * 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. * Butterfield, L. H., ed
''Adams Family Correspondence.''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press * * * Hogan, Margaret; Taylor, C. James, eds. (2007)
''My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams.''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. * * Taylor, Robert J. et al., eds
''Papers of John Adams.''
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


Further reading


External links


The Papers of John Adams
subset o
Founders Online
from the
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John Adams: A Resource Guide
at the
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The John Adams Library
at the
Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...

Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive
at the
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* * *
John Adams
on
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