Our First Sixteen Presidents: 2 John Adams

Our First Sixteen
Presidents

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John Adams
by John Trumbull, c. 1792

JOHN ADAMS, the Second President of the United States, was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, October 19th, 1735, o.s. He graduated at Harvard College in 1755; taught school and studied law at Worcester; began practice in his native town; and in 1768, having become influential in the patriotic party, he removed to Boston. Elected a member of the Revolutionary Congress in 1774, he was continued in that station until his appointment as Commissioner to France three years later. In that body he was the foremost advocate of independence, and as one of a committee of five, prepared the draft of that instrument which gave freedom to these United States. He was the First Minister to Great Britain; and on the formation of the Federal Government, became Vice-President. He succeeded Washington as President in 1797, his term closing in 1801. He died on the 4th of July, 1826.

As a Statesman, John Adams compares favorably with any of his contemporaries. He was profound in his views, and in general, accurate in judgment. Vanity and irritability of temper were his faults. Of independent mind and enlarged understanding, his patriotism was for the whole country. He had the misfortune to stand as the representative of a party with which he had no real sympathy,—a party whose principal tenet was mutual admiration, and whose chief occupation was the composition of eulogies upon its members,—a practice religiously kept up by their descendants. His political defeat was brought about principally by the machinations of Alexander Hamilton, a troublesome character then at large in the slate of New York, whose personal ambition ignored all considerations of party, friendship, and his own private character, domestic peace and happiness.

The time and circumstances of Adams's administration would have been unfavorable to the reputation of any incumbent. The calm judgment of to-day vindicates the wisdom of most of his measures, especially those in which he was opposed to his associates.

Massachusetts has furnished two Presidents of the United States, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, father and son. The old town of Quincy was the birthplace of both, although when the elder Adams was born, October 30, 1735, the settlement formed a part of Braintree, and so remained till incorporated under the name of Quincy, in 1792. John Adams, the second President of this Republic, inherited something of firmness and strength of character from his father, a hard-working, God-fearing man, and from his earlier ancestors, Henry Adams and John Alden, both prominent among the Pilgrim founders of New England. Brought up with farmers, and living an out-door life, the boy became impressed with the idea that he would follow agricultural pursuits, and would not spend his life among books and in the seclusion of a library. A few days of hard work on the farm, even in the midst of the natural beauties which had so attracted him in his hours of idleness, satisfied the lad, and he was quite willing to go to school, where he applied himself diligently to his studies, so that he entered Harvard College when sixteen years old, graduating four years later with a record for ability as a student and for straightforward and manly characteristics. Having received a good education, all that the father was able to give the young man, he must now support himself and lean upon his own resources. He studied law in Worcester, Massachusetts, and paid his expenses by teaching school. He was admitted to the bar of Suffolk County in 1758, and began the practice of law in his native town soon after, showing early in his career ability in his profession, and acquiring a reputation for his talents as a clear thinker and able counsel. Devoted to his profession, young Adams spent some of rare leisure

in wooing Miss Abigail Smith, of Weymouth, whom he married in October, 1764. This clergyman's daughter possessed the qualities of a noble womanhood, and was a helpmeet to her husband in every sense of the word. The name of Abigail Adams is honored and respected, not only because she was the wife of the illustrious President, but by reason of her womanly graces, her rare force of character, and her intellectual and moral endowments.

Shortly after his marriage he removed to Boston, where wider fields were opened to him for the exercise of his abilities as lawyer and citizen. At this period the exactions of England upon the American colonies became intolerable, and Adams, who had always maintained his interest in public affairs, came to the front as a patriot, and, in company with James Otis and other distinguished men, held councils as to what course their country should pursue in resisting the arbitrary encroachments of Great Britain. His first prominent connection with a movement to resist England's hard rule was at a public meeting held in Braintree to oppose the Stamp Act. Adams, whose writings had already excited favorable comment for their literary style and clear presentation of subjects discussed, prepared and offered resolutions condemning the act. These resolutions were unanimously adopted, and were so timely and forcible, and so well expressed the popular feeling, that forty other towns in Massachusetts adopted them without a single change.

Although Adams was an ardent patriot, he was large-minded and tolerant; several of his acts at this period show both his natural force of character and that he did not blindly follow the popular will. After the Boston Massacre, in 1770, he acted as one of the counsel to defend Captain Preston, who ordered the soldiers to fire upon the citizens of Boston, and Mr. Adams was of course censured by the populace. Although criticised by many, he was generally popular, as before, and was sent as representative from the town of Boston to the Massachusetts Legislature. He held to his bold convictions and antagonized many of the measures of the Provincial governor, Hutchinson, while serving in the legislature, and continued to write able articles for the press, condemning the course pursued by the British Government. In 1774 he was appointed to represent Massachusetts in the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, where he took foremost rank as an able advocate of liberty, a leader well equipped for his position. His mind had grasped already the idea of independence, but the people were not ready for it, and popular feeling was against those, Adams among the number, supposed to be in sympathy with the thought. England showed no disposition to relent; Boston Harbor was filled with armed ships, and the port was closed; and Adams and a few others felt that no longer was it a question of redress of grievances: it was time for independence. In 1775 Mr. Adams successfully used his influence in Congress to procure the appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief, and the next year he was called to aid in the framing of the Declaration of Independence. Although Jefferson drafted the important document, it was John Adams who supported it in Congress with so much of eloquence and power. Jefferson wrote of his friend and colleague: "The great pillar of support to the Declaration of Independence, and its ablest advocate and champion in Congress was John Adams." How Adams himself regarded the Declaration and the results sure to follow, is shown by

a letter which he wrote to his wife on the day following its adoption: "Yesterday, the greatest question was decided that was ever debated in America; a greater, perhaps, never was or will be decided among men. A resolution was passed that these United States are, and ought to be, free and independent states. The 4th of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these states; yet through all the gloom I can see that the end is worth more than all the means, and that posterity will triumph, though you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not."

In December of 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed commissioner to the court of France in place of Silas Deane,

recalled. In February of '78 he embarked on the frigate Boston, to undertake as soon as possible the duties imposed. The voyage was made in rough and stormy weather, and was an eventful and perilous trip. Several British ships were sighted, and the Boston gave chase to and captured one, which proved to be a privateer, the Martha, carrying fourteen guns. It is said that Mr. Adams took part in this engagement, carrying a musket, and doing excellent service, till he was forcibly removed from danger by his friends. Although

Mr. Adams was respected in France, he showed little talent for diplomacy, and his dignity, his stiff manners, and unflinching honesty were not offset by the tact of a skillful embassador. Franklin had already concluded a treaty of alliance with France, and by his gracious bearing had made himself popular in the country where so much attention was paid to the politeness and the minor courtesies of social life. In 1779 Adams returned to his native land, and found congenial occupation in helping frame the new state constitution of Massachusetts. While he was engaged in this work he was appointed minister to Great Britain for the purpose of negotiating a treaty of peace and commerce. He reached Paris in 1780, and finding much to annoy him in the motives which caused France to enter into the American alliance, and, feeling himself alienated from the views held by Franklin, Adams decided to go to Holland, where he worked successfully to establish an alliance of amity and commerce. Holland recognized the United States as a free and independent nation, and Adams, as its acknowledged minister, was welcomed in the diplomatic bodies of The Hague. He also succeeded in obtaining large sums of money as loans for his country from the bankers of Amsterdam. Returning to Paris, he was associated with Franklin, Jay, and Laurens in a commission to conclude treaties with the several countries of Europe; and under their direction, Adams rendering important aid, the treaty of peace with Great Britain was signed September 3, 1783, the provisional treaty having been agreed to November 30, 1782. The services which Adams rendered for his country during the war of the Revolution were no less important in the light of history than those of Washington, though they were of a different character. Of this "Washington of negotiation," one of his biographers says: "As we ascend the mount of history, and rise above the vapors of party prejudice, we shall all acknowledge that we owe our independence more to John Adams than to any other created being, and that he was the great leader of the American Revolution."

Peace having been proclaimed, Mr. Adams was appointed minister to Great Britain to represent the Republic of the United States, an office justly held to demand the utmost ability and discretion. At that time, 1785, he was living in Paris, but at once crossed the channel to assume the arduous and delicate responsibilities imposed. He met with a courteous reception from the king, but felt himself hampered in thought and action, and soon asked leave to return to his own country, coming back in 1788, and receiving from Congress recognition and thanks for his services. He then repaired to his home, applying himself to professional and literary pursuits, and sought to encourage art, science, and letters. In that same year he was given honorable preferment by being chosen Vice-President, and in that office he was closely associated with Washington during the eight years of his administration. At its close, after a hotly-contested election, Adams was chosen President, and inaugurated at Philadelphia, March 4, 1797.

The administration of John Adams is more justly estimated in the light of history with the progress of years, and a proper value

John Adams
by Asher B. Durand (1767 - 1845)
probably after Gilbert Stuart, c. 1810

is placed upon the man, his strict integrity of purpose and life. He was never very popular among his contemporaries, though many of them realized his worth and patriotism. He did not know how to conciliate his party or personal opponents, and the four years of his administration were years of struggle and trial. The French Revolution caused strife among the American patriots, and they became alienated from each other because of their intense partisanship with either France or England. Some of Mr. Adams’ measures were successful, however, and he maintained the dignity of his country among the foreign powers. He served only four years, being defeated at the election in 1801, when Jefferson was chosen President, being more popular than Adams on account of his more tolerant and sympathetic views. Mr. Adams retired to his home in Quincy and lived there till the time of his death. He maintained, throughout his long life, the full possession of his mental faculties, and enjoyed reviewing his triumphs and living them over again in the successes of his son, John Quincy Adams. In 1818 the noble wife who had shared the sorrows and joys of her husband for over half a century passed away, and the eight years longer which Mr. Adams spent on the earth were tinged with a sadness never quite overcome. On the 4th of July, 1826, his mortal career was ended, and that same day is made memorable by the death of Thomas Jefferson, his friend and fellow-worker for the principles of independence.

The outward attractions of gracious manners and magnetic personality, John Adams never possessed. The sterling qualities of his inner self rang true in every instance, however, and the "Duke of Braintree," as he was frequently termed, was a man to rule, and, by force of his powerful intellect and his judicial mind, to sway the destinies of a nation. He was something of a scholar, and a writer of considerable skill and elegance of expression. His family were very dear to his heart, and his friends, once gained, enjoyed his confidence and esteem ever after. Many there are who can be courteous and genial; few who can possess the enduring virtues which made John Adams capable of doing so much for his country, and his own deeply-imbued principles of right and justice. History dismisses with a single word, and oblivion hides the man whose claim for attention is a gracious manner, while true merit is always acknowledged, if but slowly, and wins an ever-deepening regard

from a world that, in spite of all its follies and errors, respects virtue and truth wherever found. So the generations of the American people reverence the name of John Adams, an honest gentleman, and a clear thinker; an able writer, and a conscientious President of the United States.