John Adams


John Adams October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826 was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, as alive as Founding Father who served as a 2nd president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. previously his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain in addition to during the war, served as a diplomat in Europe. He was twice elected vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797 in a prestigious role with little power. Adams was a dedicated diarist in addition to regularly corresponded with numerous important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams as well as his friend and rival Thomas Jefferson.

A lawyer and political activist prior to the Revolution, Adams was devoted to the right to counsel and presumption of innocence. He defied anti-British sentiment and successfully defended British soldiers against murder charges arising from the Boston Massacre. Adams was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress and became a leader of the revolution. He assisted Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. As a diplomat in Europe, he helped negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain and secured vital governmental loans. Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which influenced the United States constitution, as did his essay Thoughts on Government.

Adams was elected to two terms as vice president under President George Washington and was elected as the United States'president in 1796. He was the only president elected under the banner of the Federalist Party. During his single term, Adams encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans and from some in his own Federalist Party, led by his rival Alexander Hamilton. Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and built up the Army and Navy in the undeclared naval war called the "Quasi-War" with France. During his term, he became the first president to reside in the executive mansion now so-called as the White House.

In his bid for reelection, 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 correspondence that lasted fourteen years. He and his wife generated a vintage of politicians, diplomats, and historians now transmitted to as the Adams political family, which includes their son John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. John Adams died on July 4, 1826 – the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence – hours after Jefferson's death. Adams and his son are the only presidents of the first twelve that did not own slaves in their lives. Surveys of historians and scholars pretend favorably ranked his administration.

Continental Congress


In 1774, at the instigation of John's cousin Samuel Adams, the First Continental Congress was convened in response to the Intolerable Acts, a series of deeply unpopular measures identified to punish Massachusetts, centralize dominance 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 non to.

Shortly after he arrived in Philadelphia,Adams was placed on the 23-member Grand Committee tasked with drafting a letter of grievances to King George III. The members of 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, and Peter Oliver who advocated a conciliatory policy towards the British or felt that the colonies had a duty to come on loyal to Britain, although his views at the time did align with those of conservative John Dickinson. Adams sought the repeal of objectionable policies, but at this early stage he continued to see benefits in maintaining the ties with Britain. He renewed his push for the correct 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 do 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 thepetition to the King and showing its displeasure with the Intolerable Acts by endorsing the Suffolk Resolves.