John Adams (October 30,1735 – July 4, 1826) was the first (1789–1797) Vice President of the United States, and the second (1797–1801) President of the United States. His son, John Quincy Adams, was the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829), the only son of a former President to hold the office until George W. Bush in 2001.
John Adams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd President | |
| Vice President | Thomas Jefferson |
| Preceded by | George Washington |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | american |
| Political party | Federalist |
John Adams was born on October 30 (October 19 Old Style, Julian Calendar), 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts; his birthplace is now a national park. His father, a farmer, also named John, was a fourth-generation descendant of Henry Adams, who emigrated from Barton St David, Somerset, England, to Massachusetts in about 1636; his mother was Susanna Boylston Adams. Young Adams graduated from Harvard College in 1755, and for a time taught school in Worcester and studied law in the office of James Putnam. In 1758, he was admitted to the bar. From an early age he developed the habit of writing descriptions of events and impressions of men. The earliest of these is his report of the 1761 argument of James Otis in the superior court of Massachusetts as to the legality of Writs of Assistance. Otis’ argument inspired Adams with zeal for the cause of the American colonies. Years later, when he was an old man, Adams undertook to write out, at length, his recollections of this scene.
In 1764 Adams married Miss Abigail Smith (1744–1818), the daughter of a Congregational minister at Weymouth, Massachusetts. Their children were Abigail Amelia (1765-1813); future president John Quincy (1767-1848); Susanna Boylston (1768-70); Charles (1770-1800); Thomas Boylston (1772-1832); and an infant daughter (1777).
Adams had none of the qualities of popular leadership of his second cousin, Samuel Adams; instead, his influence emerged through his work as a constitutional lawyer. Impetuous, intense and often vehement, Adams often found his inborn contentiousness to be a handicap in his political career. These qualities were particularly manifested at a later period—as, for example, during his term as president.
Politics
Adams first rose to influence as an opponent of the Stamp Act of 1765. In that year, he drafted the instructions which were sent by the town of Braintree to its representatives in the Massachusetts legislature, and which served as a model for other towns in drawing up instructions to their representatives; in August 1765 he anonymously contributed four notable articles to the Boston Gazette (republished separately in London in 1768 as A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law), in which he argued that the opposition of the colonies to the Stamp Act was a part of the never-ending struggle between individualism and corporate authority; in December 1765 he delivered a speech before the governor and council in which he pronounced the Stamp Act invalid on the ground that Massachusetts, being without representation in Parliament, had not assented to it.
In 1768 Adams moved to Boston. After the Boston Massacre in 1770, several British soldiers were arrested and charged with the murder of five colonists, and Adams joined Josiah Quincy II in defending them. The trial resulted in an acquittal of the officer who commanded the detachment, and most of the soldiers; but two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. These claimed benefit of clergy and were branded in the hand and released. Adams's conduct in taking the unpopular side in this case resulted in his subsequent election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives by a vote of 418 to 118.
Adams was a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778. In June 1775, with a view to promoting the union of the colonies, he nominated George Washington as commander-in-chief of the army. His influence in Congress was great, and almost from the beginning he sought permanent separation from Great Britain. On October 5, 1775, Congress created the first of a series of committees to study naval matters. From that time onward, Adams championed the establishment and strengthening of an American Navy and is often referred to as the father of the United States Navy.
On June 7, 1776, Adams seconded the resolution introduced by Richard Henry Lee that "these colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states," acting as champion of these resolutions before the Congress until their adoption on July 2, 1776.
On June 8, 1776, he was appointed on a committee with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman to draft a Declaration of Independence. Although that document was largely drafted by Jefferson, John Adams occupied the foremost place in the debate on its adoption. Many years later Jefferson hailed Adams as "The colossus of Independence." Adams served as the head of the Board of War and Ordinance, as well as many other important committees.
Post-Continental Congress
In 1778, Adams sailed for France to supersede Silas Deane in the American commission there. However, as soon as he embarked, that commission concluded the desired treaty of alliance, and he returned home in time to be elected a member of the convention which framed the Massachusetts constitution of 1780. He penned the first draft along with James Bowdoin and Samuel Adams.
Before this work had been completed, he was chosen as minister plenipotentiary for negotiating a treaty of peace and a treaty of commerce with Great Britain and again sent to Europe in September 1779. The French government, however, did not approve of Adams’ appointment and subsequently, on Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes’ insistence, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Henry Laurens were appointed to cooperate with Adams. Since Jefferson did not leave the United States for the task and Laurens played a minor role, Jay, Adams and Franklin played the major part in the negotiations. Overruling Franklin’s vote, Jay and Adams decided to break their instructions, which required them to "make the most candid confidential communications on all subjects to the ministers of our generous ally, the king of France; to undertake nothing in the negotiations for peace or truce without their knowledge or concurrence; and ultimately to govern yourself by their advice and opinion.” Instead, they dealt directly with the British commissioners, without consulting the French ministers.
Throughout the negotiations Adams was especially determined that the right of the United States to the fisheries along the British-American coast should be recognized. Eventually the American negotiators were able to secure a favorable treaty, which was signed on November 30, 1782. Before these negotiations began, Adams had spent some time in the Netherlands. In July 1780, he had been authorized to execute the duties previously assigned to Laurens. With the aid of the Dutch patriot leader Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Adams secured the recognition of the United States as an independent government at The Hague on April 19, 1782. During this trip he also negotiated a loan and, in October 1782, a treaty of amity and commerce, the first of such treaties between the United States and foreign powers after that of February 1778 with France.
In 1785 John Adams was appointed the first American minister to the court of St. James's. When he was presented to his former sovereign, George III, the King intimated that he was aware of Adams's lack of confidence in the French government. Adams admitted this, stating: "I must avow to your Majesty that I have no attachment but to my own country.” While in London, Adams published a work entitled A Defence of the Constitution of Government of the United States (1787), in which he repudiated the views of Turgot and other European writers as to the viciousness of the framework of state governments. In this work, he made the controversial statement that "the rich, the well-born and the able" should be set apart from other men in a senate.
These so-called elitist sentiments, along with the fact that his principle competition was the American folk hero, George Washington, lead Adams to receive only thirty-four out of sixty-nine votes in the presidential election of 1789. As this was the second largest number, he was declared vice-president. His vice-presidency was colored by the suspicion of many of his colleagues and made notable by the formation of two well-defined political groups—the Federalists (which Adams led along with Alexander Hamilton), and the Democratic-Republicans.
Presidency
In 1796, after Washington refused to seek another term, Adams was elected president, defeating Thomas Jefferson, who became Vice President. See also: John Adams' First State of the Union Address
Adams's four years as president (1797–1801) were marked by intense disputes over foreign policy. Britain and France were at war; Adams and the Federalists favored Britain, while Jefferson and the Republicans favored France. An undeclared naval war between the US and France, called the Quasi-War broke out in 1798. The humiliation of the XYZ Affair led to serious threat of full-scale war with France. The Federalists built up the army (under George Washington and Alexander Hamilton), built warships, and raised taxes. They cracked down on political immigrants and domestic opponents, by the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams was a poor negotiator and, indeed, never fully controlled his own cabinet. Adams and Hamilton became alienated, and senior offocials began to look to Hamilton rather than to the president as their political chief. For long stretches Adams sequestered himself at home in Massachusetts, letting the cabinet run national affairs. In February 1799 Adams suddenly roused himself, stunning the country by sending diplomat William Vans Murray on a peace mission to France. Napoleon was now in power in Paris; realizing the animosity of the U.S. was doing no good, he signalled readiness for friendly relations. The treaty of alliance of 1778 was superceded and the U.S. could now be free of foreign entanglements. Adams brought his nation back from the brink of war, but deeply split his own party in the process. He brought in John Marshall as Secretary of State, and demobilized the emergency army. The death of Washington in 1799 weakened the Federalists, as they lost the one man who symbolized and united the party. In 1800 Adams ran for reelection and lost narrowly. Defeat was due to distrust of him in his own party, the popular disapproval of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the popularity of his opponent, Thomas Jefferson, and the effective campaigning of Aaron Burr in New York City, which proved decisive. As his term was expiring he appointed a series of judges, most of whom were unseated when the Jeffersonians repealed their offices. But John Marshall remained and his long tenure as Chief Justice marked the final triumph of Federalist principles. Adams retired into private life, and later resumed his friendship with Jefferson.
Scholarly Secondary Sources
- Brown, Ralph A. The Presidency of John Adams. (1988), the standard scholarly treatment..
- Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1994), the leading scholarly history of the 1790s.
- Ellis, Joseph J. Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (2001), interpretive essays by leading scholar.
- Ferling, John. Adams Vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800. (2004), narrative history of famous election.
- Ferling, John. John Adams: A Life. (1992), the most scholarly biography.
- Grant, James. John Adams: Party of One.(2005). Well-written popular history.
- Haraszti, Zoltan. John Adams and the Prophets of Progress. (1952). One of the most original studies in this field -- examining Adams's political thought by reference to the arguments he waged with authors in the margins of their books.
- McCullough, David. John Adams. (2002), a best-selling popular biography (but not highly recommended by scholars.)
- Miller, John C. The Federalist Era: 1789-1801. (1960), a useful older history of the decade; slights the debate over republicanism explained so well by Elkins and McKitrick.
- Sharp, James. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis. (1995), solid political narrative of 1790s.
- Smith, Page. John Adams. (1962), outdated scholarly biography.
- Thompson, C. Bradley. John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty. (1998). Scholarly analysis of Adams's political thought.
Primary Sources
- Adams, C.F. The Works of John Adams, with Life (10 vols., Boston, 1850-1856)
- Butterfield, L. H. et al., eds., The Adams Papers (1961-). monumental scholarly edition, still incomplete.
- Cappon, Lester J. ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams (1988).
- Carey, George W., ed. The Political Writings of John Adams. (2001). Massive compilation of extracts from Adams's major political writings.
- Diggins, John P., ed. The Portable John Adams. (2004).
Cabinet
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | John Adams | 1797–1801 |
| Vice President | Thomas Jefferson | 1797–1801 |
| Secretary of State | Timothy Pickering | 1797–1800 |
| John Marshall | 1800–1801 | |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Oliver Wolcott, Jr. | 1797–1800 |
| Samuel Dexter | 1800–1801 | |
| Secretary of War | James McHenry | 1797–1800 |
| Samuel Dexter | 1800–1801 | |
| Attorney General | Charles Lee | 1797–1801 |
| Postmaster General | Joseph Habersham | 1797–1801 |
| Secretary of the Navy | Benjamin Stoddert | 1798–1801 |
Supreme Court appointments
Adams appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Major presidential acts
- Signed Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
- Signed Judiciary Act of 1801
States admitted to the Union
None
Death
On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Adams died at Quincy, after uttering the famous last words "Thomas Jefferson still survives." (Unbeknownst to Adams, Jefferson had died a few hours earlier). His crypt lies at United First Parish Church (also known as the Church of the Presidents) in Quincy. Until his record was broken by Ronald Reagan in 2001, he was the nation's longest-living President (90 years, 247 days).
John Adams in popular culture
- Adams was played by William Daniels in both the Broadway musical (as well as the 1972 movie adaptation) 1776.
See also
- Adams political family
- John Adams birthplace (Quincy, Massachusetts)
- List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations
- U.S. presidential election, 1789
- U.S. presidential election, 1792
- U.S. presidential election, 1796
- U.S. presidential election, 1800
External links
- "Thoughts on Government" Adams, April 1776
- The Papers of John Adams from the Avalon Project (includes Inaugural Address, State of the Union Addresses, and other materials)
- Adams Family Papers: An electronic archive Captured December 16, 2004.
- United First Parish Church
- Works by John Adams at Project Gutenberg
- White House biography
- State of the Union: 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800
- Medical and Health History of John Adams
