John Adams
Best known as: 2nd president of the USA
Occupation: Politician, lawyer
Nationality: American
Religion: Unitarian
Political party: Federalist
Born: October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts
Died: July 4, 1826 in Quincy, Massachusetts
Remains: buried at the United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts
Education: attended Harvard University
Positions held:
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Member of the Continental Congress (1774-1778)
U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands (1781-1788)
U.S. Ambassador to Britain (1785-1788)
Vice President of the United States (1789-1797)
President of the United States (1796-1800)
Publications:
A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law (1768)
A Defence of the Constitution of Government of the United States (1787)
Short biography:
John Adams was a successful lawyer in colonial America. Although he opposed Britain's policies, including taxation without reperesentation, , he defended the British soldiers accused of killing 5 colonists in the Boston Massacre because he believed they should get a fair trial. Adams was one of the first to support American independence, and in 1776 he signed the Declaration of Independence. Adams supported the U.S. Constitution and served as George Washington's Vice President. In 1797 he ran for President as a member of the Federalist Party, defeating his main rival Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. As president, Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which decreased the rights of immigrants and Adams' political enemies, and violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The high point of Adams' presidency was the XYZ Affair. In 1797 France rudely refused to meet with American diplomats unless America paid them money. Adams skillfully handled the situation by publishing details of the events and replacing the French politicians' names with the letters X, Y, and Z. This humiliated France without violating the unofficial code of diplomacy, which mandated that all negotiations be kept secret. Thomas Jefferson defeated Adams in the presidential election of 1800.
Wife: Abigail Smith Adams
Boss: George Washington
Vice president: Thomas Jefferson
Cabinet:
Timothy Pickering (Secretary of State)
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (Secretary of the Treasury)
James McHenry (Secretary of War)
Charles Lee (Attorney General)
Joseph Habersham (Postmaster General)
Benjamin Stoddert (Secretary of the Navy)
Family members:
Parents: John Adams and Susanna Boylston
Son: John Quincy Adams
Enemies: Thomas Jefferson
Fun facts:
- As president, Adams tried to get people to call him pompous-sounding names like "His Excellency," but instead people began calling him "His Rotundity."
