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John Adams

Second president, 1797-1801

Personal Information

John Adams was many things: lawyer, diplomat, member of the Continental Congress, and one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735. He proposed to Abigail Smith in 1762 and they married two years later. The couple had six children.

On November 6, 1758, Adams was sworn-in as a lawyer. Returning to Braintree, he opened his own practice.  Stemming from a poor performance in his very first case, the practice, in its first year (1759-1760), suffered. However, with training and time, John was able to refine his skills.

As a member of the Federalist Party, Adams decided to run for the presidency. He lost and became Vice-president to George Washington during both terms (1789-1792) (1793-1796). 

In 1796, he decided to run yet again for the presidency. He won the election and assumed the presidency at the age of 61.

Campaign  

In 1796, The United States, with a population of about 4.6 million, was comprised of sixteen states in the Union.

When George Washington was unwilling to serve a third term, Adams decided to run yet again for the presidency as the Federalist Party nominee—against Thomas Jefferson of the Republican Party.

The election of 1796 was the first of its kind. It launched the multi-party system, where people could vote for their party of choice.

Receiving seventy-one electoral votes, only three more votes than his opponent, Adams won the election and assumed the presidency at the age of 61.

The election of 1796 was the only one in which the elected president (Adams) and vice president (Jefferson) came from different parties.

Election debates focused on foreign policy—especially how closely to align with Great Britain and France; developing a strong central bank and monetary system; the role and size of the federal government; how to regulate land speculators and private investors; and the civil

Learned and thoughtful, John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician. "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity," he said, doubtless thinking of his own as well as the American experience.

Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he early became identified with the patriot cause; a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, he led in the movement for independence.

During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James's, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington.

Adams' two terms as Vice President were frustrating experiences for a man of his vigor, intellect, and vanity. He complained to his wife Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

When Adams became President, the war between the French and British was causing great difficulties for the United States on the high seas and intense partisanship among contending factions within the Nation.

His administration focused on France, where the Directory, the ruling group, had refused to receive the American envoy and had suspended commercial relations.

Adams sent three commissioners to France, but in the spring of 1798 word arrived that the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand and the Directory had refused to negotiate with them unless they would first pay a substantial bribe. Adams reported the insult to Congress, and the Senate printed the correspondence, in which the Frenchmen were referred to only as "X, Y, and Z."

The Nation broke out into what Jefferson called "the X. Y. Z. fever," increased in intensity by Adams's exhortations. The populace cheered itself hoarse wherever the President appeared. Never had the Federalists been

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Early Life
John Adams, son of Deacon John Adams and Susanna Boylston, was the fifth generation from Henry Adams who reached the shores of America, from England, in 1633. Henry with his wife and eight children was given a grant of forty acres of land, not far from where Deacon John Adams and Susanna Boylston Adams brought up their three sons, one of which was named John Adams. John Adams was the oldest of the three sons and at an early age began to attend schools in the community of Braintree. His father served as a moderator at town meetings and inspired John to take an interest in community affairs. Upon completion of his preliminary course of study at local schools, John Adams attended Harvard College where he received an A.B. in 1755. After graduation, the future United States President briefly taught school in Worcester, Massachusetts. There he was influenced by attorney, James Putnam, to pursue a career in law. John studied law under Putnam and then returned to Braintree to be presented to the Bar.

Young Lawyer
John Adams was kept busy trying to establish himself as a lawyer, but often had time to socialize. He grew more and more fond of Parson William Smith's daughter, Abigail, and became a frequent visitor to their home in nearby Weymouth, Massachusetts. Abigail was exceptionally intelligent and spent much of her free time reading the books in her father's extensive library. The future First Lady also learned much from guests she met while staying with her grandfather Colonel John Quincy, who was one of the most prominent citizens in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Abigail's intelligence, strong interpersonal skills and strength of character made her ideally suited for lifelong partnership through marriage to a man with aspirations of a career in public service. John was eager to pursue his relationship with Abigail Smith but realized the responsibility that marriage entailed. Therefore, Adams set out to organize and improve the cottage and farmland t