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John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain.
- Overview
- Early life
John Adams was an advocate of American independence from Britain, a major figure in the Continental Congress (1774–77), the author of the Massachusetts constitution (1780), a signer of the Treaty of Paris (1783), ambassador to the Court of St. James (1785–88), and the first vice president (1789–97) and second president (1797–1801) of the United States.
When did John Adams become president?
Having finished second to George Washington in the first U.S. presidential election in 1789 and serving as Washington’s vice president (1789–97), Adams won a narrow victory over Thomas Jefferson to be elected as the second president of the United States in 1796. He then lost to Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election.
What was John Adams’s family like?
John Adams’s family could trace its lineage to the first generation of Puritan settlers in New England and made major contributions to U.S. political and intellectual life for more than 150 years. His cousin Samuel Adams was, like John Adams, a lynchpin of the American Revolution. John Quincy Adams, like his father, John Adams, served as U.S. president.
What was John Adams’s early life like?
Adams was the eldest of the three sons of Deacon John Adams and Susanna Boylston of Braintree, Massachusetts. His father was only a farmer and shoemaker, but the Adams family could trace its lineage back to the first generation of Puritan settlers in New England. A local selectman and a leader in the community, Deacon Adams encouraged his eldest son to aspire toward a career in the ministry. In keeping with that goal, Adams graduated from Harvard College in 1755. For the next three years, he taught grammar school in Worcester, Massachusetts, while contemplating his future. He eventually chose law rather than the ministry and in 1758 moved back to Braintree, then soon began practicing law in nearby Boston.
In 1764 Adams married Abigail Smith, a minister’s daughter from neighbouring Weymouth. Intelligent, well-read, vivacious, and just as fiercely independent as her new husband, Abigail Adams became a confidante and political partner who helped to stabilize and sustain the ever-irascible and highly volatile Adams throughout his long career. The letters between them afford an extended glimpse into their deepest thoughts and emotions and provide modern readers with the most revealing record of personal intimacy between husband and wife in the revolutionary era. Typical of their epistolary exchange was Abigail’s lament regarding John’s prolonged absence in her letter to him of November 27, 1775:
Colonel Warren returned last week to Plymouth, so that I shall not hear anything from you until he goes back again, which will not be till the last of this month. He damped my spirits greatly by telling me that the court had prolonged your stay another month. I was pleasing myself with the thought that you would soon be upon your return. It is in vain to repine. I hope the public will reap what I sacrifice.
Their first child, Abigail Amelia, was born in 1765. Their first son, John Quincy, arrived two years later. Two other sons, Thomas Boylston and Charles, followed shortly thereafter. (Another child, Susanna, did not survive infancy.)
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Apr 3, 2014 · Learn about John Adams, a key figure in the American Revolution and the second president of the United States. Explore his life, political career, presidency, family and legacy.
Learn about John Adams' life, achievements, and challenges as the second President of the United States (1797-1801). Find out how he handled the X. Y. Z. affair, the Quasi War with France, and his relationship with Thomas Jefferson.
Other articles from whitehouse.gov
- Randal Rust
- Early Years and Family Life of John Adams. John Adams, Jr. was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735 in the town of Braintree (today known as Quincy).
- The Boston Massacre Trials. In 1770, Adams was hired by the British soldiers on trial for the Boston Massacre to defend them in court. The trial was to be held in Suffolk County court, but there were no lawyers in the Boston area that would take their case.
- The First and Second Continental Congress. Adams represented Massachusetts in both the First Continental Congress (1774) and the Second Continental Congress (1775).
- First Trip to Europe. In 1777, Adams was asked to go to Europe to represent American interests. 10-year-old John Quincy accompanied him on the journey. They sailed on the frigate Boston on February 15, 1778.
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Aug 1, 2016 · Learn about the major events of John Adams's presidency, the second president of the United States and the first Federalist leader. Explore how he faced political parties, foreign wars, and judicial appointments in this article.
Learn about the life and legacy of John Adams, the second president of the United States and the first vice president. Explore his role in the Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and his correspondence with Abigail and others.
