Happy Birthday John Adams
John Adams, the second President of the United States, was born on this day October 30th in 1735, two hundred and seventy-five years ago today. He was born in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts, the oldest of three sons. He married Abigail Smith five days before his 29th birthday and gained some notoriety as a lawyer for his defence of British Soldiers charged in what became known as the Boston Massacre. To this day, lawyers still quote Adams, who said in that case "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
In 1776 Adams was appointed by the Continental Congress to a committee along with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. Years later, Jefferson would call Adams "the ablest advocate and defender" of the Declaration. Adams went to Europe as a diplomat in 1777 and again in 1779 and in 1785 he was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Great Britain.
Adams became the first Vice-President of the United States in 1789. One of his first tasks involved coming up with a name of the chief executive's position. Adams favored grandiose handles like "His Majesty the President" or "His High Mightiness." President of the United States won the debate against Adams' wishes. His opponents called Adams "His Rotundity", a shot at his weight as well as his formality. Like many Vice-Presidents to come, he was left out of President George Washington's inner circle and he later wrote to 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."
In 1796 Adams won the first contested election by a narrow margin of 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson, who became the vice president. During his term in office, Adams and Jefferson fought over everything from the French Revolution to states rights and the limits of executive power. Britain and France were at war and Jefferson wanted the US to support the French, while Alexander Hamilton wanted the nation to throw it's support behind the British. Adams supported the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it a crime to publish criticism of the government. These laws were rarely used, but nevertheless made Adams unpopular.
Jefferson defeated Adams in the election of 1800, in a campaign filled with vicious mud-slinging. This added to the rift between Adams and Jefferson and Adams did not even attend Jefferson's inauguration and the two men were estranged for 12 years. In 1812 their mutual friend Benjamin Rush a fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence who had been corresponding with both, encouraged each man to end the feud. On New Year's Day 1812, Adams sent a brief, friendly note to Jefferson and Jefferson replied immediately with a warm, friendly letter, and the two men revived their friendship. They kept up their correspondence until they day they both died, which coincidentally was n July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Adams was 90 years old when he died. He had seen his son John Quincy Adams become President in 1825, 16 months before his death. Adams last words are reported to be "Thomas Jefferson still lives" but in fact he had outlived Jefferson by a few hours.
In 1776 Adams was appointed by the Continental Congress to a committee along with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. Years later, Jefferson would call Adams "the ablest advocate and defender" of the Declaration. Adams went to Europe as a diplomat in 1777 and again in 1779 and in 1785 he was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Great Britain.
Adams became the first Vice-President of the United States in 1789. One of his first tasks involved coming up with a name of the chief executive's position. Adams favored grandiose handles like "His Majesty the President" or "His High Mightiness." President of the United States won the debate against Adams' wishes. His opponents called Adams "His Rotundity", a shot at his weight as well as his formality. Like many Vice-Presidents to come, he was left out of President George Washington's inner circle and he later wrote to 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."
In 1796 Adams won the first contested election by a narrow margin of 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson, who became the vice president. During his term in office, Adams and Jefferson fought over everything from the French Revolution to states rights and the limits of executive power. Britain and France were at war and Jefferson wanted the US to support the French, while Alexander Hamilton wanted the nation to throw it's support behind the British. Adams supported the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it a crime to publish criticism of the government. These laws were rarely used, but nevertheless made Adams unpopular.
Jefferson defeated Adams in the election of 1800, in a campaign filled with vicious mud-slinging. This added to the rift between Adams and Jefferson and Adams did not even attend Jefferson's inauguration and the two men were estranged for 12 years. In 1812 their mutual friend Benjamin Rush a fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence who had been corresponding with both, encouraged each man to end the feud. On New Year's Day 1812, Adams sent a brief, friendly note to Jefferson and Jefferson replied immediately with a warm, friendly letter, and the two men revived their friendship. They kept up their correspondence until they day they both died, which coincidentally was n July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Adams was 90 years old when he died. He had seen his son John Quincy Adams become President in 1825, 16 months before his death. Adams last words are reported to be "Thomas Jefferson still lives" but in fact he had outlived Jefferson by a few hours.