John Adams
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John Adams (October 30, 1735 - July 4, 1826) is considered one of America's Founding Fathers, serving as George Washington's Vice-President from 1789 to 1797, and as the second President of the United States of America, serving a single term from 1797 to 1801. In terms of party affiliation, Adams was a federalist, and was the only federalist to serve as President. Adams ran for re-election in 1800 but was defeated by Thomas Jefferson in the latter's "Revolution of 1800."
John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father was also named John, his mother was Susanna Adams and his son was John Quincy Adams.
Adams attended Harvard and, after a stint as a schoolmaster in Worchester, Massachusetts, took up the practice of law in Boston. In 1765, Adams wrote tracts such as the Braintree Instructions, which argued against the British Stamp Act. His cousin, Samuel Adams, attracted far more notice during the Stamp Act crisis, leading demonstrations and using far more colorful language (there would later be some confusion regarding John and Samuel. When John was sent to France by the Continental Congress on a diplomatic mission, the French initially thought he was the "famous Adams," that is, Samuel Adams). In the wake of the Boston Massacre in 1770, Adams represented the British troops, arguing that all Englishmen (and many colonists still thought of themselves as Englishmen at this point) deserved a vigorous defense. In 1774, after the crisis brought on by the Boston Tea Party and the resulting Coercive Acts, Adams became an advocate for American independence. Adams was one of Massachusetts’s representatives to the Continental Congress. He attracted the notice of other delegates at the second Continental Congress as one of the few to argue for independence at this early date. In 1776 Adams was appointed, with Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, to draft a declaration of independence. Adams realized that Jefferson was much more gifted in terms of self-expression than he was, and the document was composed mostly by the Virginian. However, Adams did have a great deal of input, looking over drafts of the document. The Declaration that the two submitted falls into two parts. The first, which was heavily cribbed from English political philosopher John Locke, was a statement of political principles and of the need for colonies to sever their ties with England. The second part is a list of complaints against the Crown, justifying the actions of the Continental Congress.
Adams served the Continental Congress as a diplomat, remaining abroad for a decade, from 1778 to 1788. He served in Paris with Benjamin Franklin (whom he did not get along with) and was later posted to the Netherlands, where he secured a large war loan to help the patriot cause. Adams chaired the American delegation that drew up the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally ended the American Revolution. However, other than the recognition of American independence and the establishment of boundaries, most the treaty's provisions were not honored by either party.
Adams returned home after the adoption of the Constitution. He served as the first vice president in the U.S. history from 1789 to 1797. He won the bitterly contested election of 1796, becoming president in his own right.
