📜John Adams

2nd President · 1797–1801 · Federalist

John Adams was one of the most important figures of the American Founding — a Massachusetts lawyer who defended the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre, argued for independence in the Continental Congress, negotiated the Treaty of Paris, and served as the first Vice President under Washington before winning the presidency in his own right in 1796.

Lawyer and Revolutionary

Born in the farming town of Braintree, Adams graduated from Harvard in 1755 and trained as a lawyer. In 1770 he accepted the unpopular defense of the British soldiers tried for the Boston Massacre — winning acquittal for most — on the principle that every accused person deserves a defense. By 1774 he was representing Massachusetts in the First Continental Congress, where he became an early and fierce advocate for independence.

Diplomacy and Vice Presidency

Adams spent much of the Revolution in Europe securing loans, treaties, and, with Franklin and Jay, negotiating the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the war. He served as first U.S. minister to Britain from 1785 to 1788. Elected Vice President under Washington — a job he described as "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived" — he presided over the Senate for eight years before winning the presidency in 1796.

XYZ and the Alien and Sedition Acts

Adams's single term was dominated by the Quasi-War with France. French agents (known only as X, Y, and Z) demanded bribes before they would negotiate with American envoys — the XYZ Affair. Congress authorized an undeclared naval war. Adams also signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which criminalized criticism of the government and remain a dark mark on his record. His decision to pursue peace with France likely cost him re-election in 1800.

Retirement and Jefferson

Adams retired to his Quincy farm after losing to Jefferson in 1800. Their long estrangement ended in 1812 when the two began a correspondence that ran to 158 letters and is considered one of the great exchanges in American intellectual history. Adams died on July 4, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — hours after Jefferson.

Adams Trivia

• Adams and his son John Quincy Adams were the first father-son presidents.
• He was the first president to live in the White House, moving in while it was still unfinished in November 1800.
• His wife Abigail Adams's letters are among the most important primary sources of the founding era.
• Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin sat on the five-man committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
• His last words are reported to have been "Thomas Jefferson survives." Jefferson had actually died hours earlier.

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