BIOGRAPHY:

John Adams is a prominent politician, lawyer, diplomat, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, who participated in the development of the Declaration of Independence. As first vice president, he faced criticism from Republicans, but nevertheless won the election in 1796 and became George Washington’s successor as president of the United States. As a historian and the founder of a dynasty of American politicians, Adams, according to scientists, made an invaluable contribution to development and future destiny of the American people. His son John Quincy Adams continued the family’s political tradition and became the 6th President of the United States.

Childhood and youth:

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 on the family farm in Braintree, Massachusetts. His mother, Suzanne Boylston, belonged to a family of Brooklyn doctors, and his father, John Adams Sr., a Puritan by birth, served as a deacon of the local parish, combining church duties with the work of a shoemaker and police lieutenant. After the birth of his first child, the parent became a city councilor and began building schools and roads. The Adams family had three children.

From childhood, John Jr. honored family traditions based on strict Puritan principles. He received his early education at a boys’ and girls’ school and then studied Latin, rhetoric, logic and arithmetic at an institution called Braintree Latin School.

At the age of 16, Adams entered Harvard College and became interested in ancient Greek literature, and after receiving his bachelor’s degree, he became a teacher at a school in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Soon the young man, dreaming of becoming a great man, thought about a more prestigious profession and decided to study law. In 1758 John received his LL.B. degree and was admitted to the Bar. He became famous thanks to the Boston Massacre case, managing to acquit 6 soldiers who opened fire on city residents in self-defense.

In 1763, Adams entered politics and published 7 incriminating essays in Boston newspapers under the pseudonym Humphrey Plowjogger.

Policy:

Adams’s political biography began with criticism of the law that required the colonies to pay a direct tax on documents certified by a seal, which was used to finance Britain’s war with France. In 1765, John sent a letter to Braintree’s representatives in the Massachusetts legislature, which contained instructions to protect the colonial rights of citizens of American cities. He devoted several articles published in a Boston newspaper to the same topic.

In 1772, Adams argued for independence of America’s legislative and judicial systems from British payments. And 2 years later he was elected as a delegate from Massachusetts to the American Congress. The man supported America’s status as a British colony, but soon his views changed, and he joined the supporters of independence. Since 1775, Adams was the head of the military department, at the same time he headed 25 committees, which was an unrivaled workload among congressmen.

In 1776, John believed that America was moving towards liberation too slowly. He continued to serve in the legislature, helping to promote a plan to equip armed ships to conduct raids on British shipping. Midway through the year, Adams drafted the first set of rules governing the provisional U.S. Navy and supported the Freedom of the Colonies Resolution.

At the same time, John became part of a 5-person committee tasked with drafting a Declaration of Independence, the first draft of which was discussed in Congress on July 1, 1776. The document was unanimously approved and adopted in the second reading on July 4, 1776, after amendments made by Adams.

In 1777, John went to France as part of the American delegation, which was supposed to conclude an agreement on trade and military support with the mainland country. Unlike the other envoys, Adams received no instructions regarding the negotiations and was left disappointed by the visit. In mid-1780, John was sent to Holland, which was sympathetic to the former British colony. Adams was given the authority to negotiate the loan, but representatives of the host country refused to meet with him. 2 years later, thanks to his efforts and the defeat of the British at Yorktown, the States General of the Netherlands recognized the independence of America and concluded a treaty of friendship and trade. The house Adams purchased in Amsterdam became the first United States embassy on foreign soil.

From 1785 Adams served as American ambassador to Great Britain. His work was complicated by the failure of both countries to fulfill their treaty obligations. The American states were unable to pay their debts to British traders, and the British responded by refusing to vacate the forts in the northwest. John’s attempts to resolve this dispute were unsuccessful; he resigned as ambassador and returned to his homeland, where presidential elections were soon to take place.

According to the results of the vote on February 4, 1789, George Washington became the head of the young power. Adams, who received half as many votes, took over as vice president and initially played a minor role in the new government. The situation changed after the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, which Adams called the triumph of tyranny and barbarity. Washington, who held a similar point of view, began to consult more often with his vice president.

In 1796, disagreements arose in the Washington administration, leading to the creation of the Federalist and Republican parties, each of which nominated its own candidate for the supreme office. Thomas Jefferson was the Republican favorite, and the former vice president became the leader of the Federalists. Both candidates’ campaigns were a “foolish and wicked game” and limited to diatribes in newspapers and pamphlets. John Adams eventually outmaneuvered his opponent and was sworn in as the second President of the United States on March 4, 1797. He continued the traditions of George Washington, ignoring political patronage, preferring civic virtue.

However, the years of his reign were marked by political crises and conflicts. Adams’ achievements included the creation of the US Navy and the introduction of the 11th Amendment to the Constitution. He also became the first president to live in the Executive Mansion, now known as the White House.

Throughout his term, Vice President Thomas Jefferson tried to undermine the head of state’s credibility and ultimately defeated his rival in the 1800 election. Adams left politics and moved to Massachusetts. The former president never criticized his successor’s ideas; this role was assumed by his son John Quincy, who was elected to the Senate in 1803.

In 1812, the differences between Adams and Jefferson were forgotten, and the former government colleagues began a friendly correspondence, excerpts from which were quoted. After his death, the works of the 2nd President of the United States were published by his descendants. His portrait has been repeatedly recreated in the works of artists and filmmakers. In 1959, the film “John Paul Jones,” dedicated to the founder of the American Navy, was released, and in 2008, the series “John Adams,” based on the book by David McCullough, premiered.

Personal life:

In the late 1750s, Adams fell in love with Hannah Quincy and wanted to propose to her, but his friends prevented him and the moment was lost.

In 1759, one of his friends introduced John to 15-year-old Abigail Smith. Adams was initially unimpressed with the girl, writing that she was “neither loving nor outspoken.” However, over time, the young people became close and got married on October 25, 1764.

The couple was happy in their personal life. John and his wife had the same sharp mind and developed intellect, which they showed in their praise and criticism of each other. After his father’s death in 1761, Adams inherited the farm and house, where the family lived until 1783.

John and Abigail had five children: Nabby, John Quincy, Susannah, Charles and Thomas. The couple lost their middle daughter at the age of one. The boys became lawyers, but the younger ones became addicted to alcohol and died early. Some time later, breast cancer caused Suzanne’s death.

The only survivor and most successful was Adams’ second son, John Quincy, who entered politics and became the 6th President of the United States in 1825.

Political career:

Under the influence of his cousin Samuel Adams, he joined the radical wing of the “patriots”, but always remained an admirer of the “old” English constitution, which was highly valued by the Whig opposition in England. Violent demonstrations were as repugnant to him as, from his point of view, the unacceptable legal claims of the English Parliament. He began his political career as a critic of the Stamp Act, gaining fame with articles published in the Boston Gazette and reprinted in London in 1768 under the title Essay on the Canon and Feudal Law.

In 1774 he was elected to the Massachusetts National Congress.

Participated in the First and Second Continental Congresses. His signature appears under the text of the Declaration of Independence, in the drafting of which he took a direct part. He proposed appointing George Washington as commander of the Continental Army.

Played a major role in creating the Massachusetts Constitution (1779).

In 1777-1779 – envoy to France, initially achieved little in the diplomatic field.

In 1780, he was sent as ambassador to Holland, where he managed to gain his state the favor of the government and public opinion, as well as diplomatic recognition.

In 1783 he participated in the drafting of the Paris Peace Treaty.

In 1785, he concluded the Prussian-American trade treaty, famous in international law, in The Hague.

In 1785-1788 – the first American ambassador to Great Britain, in London he published “Defense of the Constitution and Governance of the United States” (3 volumes, 1787).

Returning to his homeland in 1788, he, at the head of the Federalist Party, began changes in the government structure, after which he was elected vice president in 1789.

In 1789-1797 – Vice President of the United States, showed himself as a conservative politician, but was a mediator in the conflict between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

Slavery issue:

Adams himself never bought slaves and fundamentally refused to use slave power. Abigail Adams was also against slavery and hired free blacks (unlike her father, who had two household slaves). Meanwhile, Adams tried not to touch the issue of slavery in big politics. He even opposed the emancipation of slaves in his home state of Massachusetts and was against the use of African Americans in the American Revolutionary War.

Presidency:

The presidential election of 1796 was the first to involve political parties. Adams was the Federalist Party’s presidential candidate, and the party’s other candidate was Thomas Pinckney, governor of South Carolina. At that time there were no running mate candidates in the modern sense, but Thomas Pinckney was chosen for precisely this purpose. Adams’s main opponent was Thomas Jefferson, the candidate of the Democratic-Republican Party. Another Democratic-Republican candidate and Jefferson’s de facto running mate was Senator Aaron Burr.
During the presidential campaign, instead of actively participating in it, Adams remained at home in his city of Quincy. The party campaigned for him. As a result, John Adams won in the northern states, Thomas Jefferson – in the southern. Adams was elected President of the United States and took office on March 4, 1797.

Adams’s presidency was marked by crises and conflicts, such as the XYZ Affair (a diplomatic incident that led to undeclared naval war between the US and French navies), the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the confrontation with Jeffersonians. At the same time, he is considered the founding father of the American Navy. During his presidency, the 11th Amendment was added to the Constitution.

Adams became the first owner of the White House built under him (not yet called that).

Leaving politics:

Shortly after the end of his presidential term, Adams announced the end of his political career. But, being retired, he continued to conduct lively correspondence on political topics, including with his main opponent Thomas Jefferson, who at that time became the third president of the United States.

In 1801, Jefferson was elected president. Adams retired to Quincy, where he devoted himself to literature and farming. There he also served on a commission to revise the government of Massachusetts.

Death:

John Adams lived to a ripe old age. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he gave a speech dedicated to the fate of America and its citizens. At that moment, no one suspected that death was about to overtake the great politician.

On July 4, 1826, the day the most important document in the history of the country was adopted, the 2nd President of the United States died in his own home in Queens. An interesting fact is that John’s political opponent, Thomas Jefferson, died a few hours earlier in Charlottesville.