Congress dispatched Adams in February 1778 to restore peace and harmony. By the time he arrived in Paris, a Treaty of Amity and Commerce negotiated by Franklin, Lee, and Deane had already been signed. Nevertheless, he remained in Europe, finalizing a pact of assistance with the French and soliciting loan and trade agreements with the Dutch. Neither activity earned him a ticket home. He was too valuable in Europe.
With unusual tact, diplomacy, and energy, Adams worked to draw up the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
John Adams returned to America once during the Revolutionary War. He was at home on a working vacation from July to November 1779. While there, he helped draft the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780.
He stayed in Europe as a diplomat and minister to England until 1788. He was alone for about half of the ten years he was overseas. Abigail and their daughter Nabby joined him in 1784, while his other children remained in Massachusetts to complete their studies.
Abigail and Nabby’s presence made his life more bearable. The tranquility they brought him would not last.
Life at the Top
The face of politics in America had changed after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. There was a split among those who wanted a strong federal government (Federalists) with limited citizen involvement and those who preferred a weak one (Democratic-Republicans). Adams got into the middle of the fight. He believed in a strong federal government, but he did not discount the citizens’ role in it. Adams wanted them to be as engaged in the politics and welfare of their country as he was. He served as George Washington’s vice president for two terms, then won his own term as president in 1796.
John Adams was the first president to live in the Executive Mansion, which did not become officially known as the White House until 1902, during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
Adams had a turbulent four years. Two issues dominated his presidency: the Quasi-War with France and the unpopular Alien and Sedition Acts.
FEDERAL FACTS
The Federalists dominated U.S. politics through George Washington’s two terms as president. Their opposition, the Democratic-Republicans, came into prominence around 1792 and grew stronger after Adams’s presidency ended in 1801.
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts comprised four laws passed in 1798 in anticipation of war with France. They increased the waiting period for naturalization, authorized the expulsion of aliens who were considered dangerous, and curtailed press criticism of the U.S. government.
Although the acts expired or were repealed by 1802, they killed Adams’s chances of reelection in 1800. Thomas Jefferson, who had opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, won the election. Adams not only lost the presidency, but he temporarily lost Jefferson as a friend. They reconciled in 1812.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day: July 4, 1826. Allegedly, Adams’s last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” Unbeknownst to him, Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.
Adams spent the last quarter of his life at their farm, Peacefield, with Abigail and their children and grandchildren. The man who had traveled so much to build a country seldom left home after 1801.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
Quincy, Massachusetts
July 11, 1767−February 23, 1848
His Father’s Son
John Quincy Adams was the only Founding Father’s son to become president of the United States. He was well qualified, even if he did not live up to many people’s expectations. In his early years in politics he served as a minister to the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and Britain. Later, he was a Massachusetts state senator, U.S. senator, U.S. congressman, peace and commerce treaty negotiator, secretary of state, and U.S. president. Sadly, his mother, Abigail, did not live to see him become president.
Like Father, Like Son
Ideally, the best way for a Founding Father to make sure the ideas of his generation were carried over to succeeding generations was to inculcate them in a son. That way, the son would act as a conduit. It did not quite work out that way for John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
John Quincy Adams watched the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill from the family’s farm when he was seven years old. It had a chilling effect on him, as he described in a March 1846 letter. It terrified his mother and placed him and his family in “unintermitted danger” from that point on.
By the time he was fifteen years old, he had visited more places and done more things than most people several times his age. He accompanied his father to Europe in 1768 and 1780, traveled to Russia, began his studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and participated as an “additional secretary” in the peace talks in Paris to end the Revolutionary War.
Throughout his life, he worked to expand on his father’s and his contemporaries’ visions of a strong republic, although he did not always agree with his father’s political views. He had many opportunities to accomplish the mission.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“ALL MEN PROFESS HONESTY AS LONG AS THEY CAN. TO BELIEVE ALL MEN HONEST WOULD BE FOLLY. TO BELIEVE NONE SO IS SOMETHING WORSE.”
—JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
By the time he graduated from Harvard in 1787 and passed his bar exam three years later, he was an experienced diplomat. President George Washington took advantage of his experience.
John Q. the Minister
In May 1794, Washington appointed Adams the U.S. minister to the Netherlands, then transferred him to Portugal. After John Adams was elected president, he redirected his son to Berlin in 1797, where he negotiated a treaty of amity and commerce with Prussia.
His ministerial career came to an abrupt halt in 1801 after Thomas Jefferson became president. John Quincy returned to the United States and applied his talents to politics, starting his legislative career as a state senator. In 1803 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He broke away from his father’s Federalist Party once there. He sided with the Democratic-Republicans on issues such as the Louisiana Purchase and a trade embargo against Britain.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“AMERICA DOES NOT GO ABROAD IN SEARCH OF MONSTERS TO DESTROY. SHE IS THE WELL-WISHER TO FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF ALL. SHE IS THE CHAMPION AND VINDICATOR ONLY OF HER OWN.”
—JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
That was contrary to the wishes of the people of Massachusetts and resulted in the state holding a special election several months before his term was scheduled to end. He lost the election and resigned from the Senate to become a professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“ALWAYS VOTE FOR PRINCIPLE, THOUGH YOU MAY VOTE ALONE, AND YOU MAY CHERISH THE SWEETEST REFLECTION THAT YOUR VOTE IS NEVER LOST.”
—JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
He switched to the Democratic-Republican Party and resumed his political career after his three-year hiatus as a teacher.
His father’s old—and growing older—friends continued to advance John Quincy’s career. President Madison named him as minister to Russia, a post he filled from 1809−14. Next, he accepted the same post in Britain, where he served from 1815−17.
Adams did not stay in England long. He returned to the United States in 1817. President James Monroe appointed him as secretary of state. That opened the door for Adams to participate in two major events: the 1820 acquisition of Florida and the 1823 implementation of the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European powers for the first time to keep their distance from the United States’ sphere of influence, which included South America and the Caribbean islands.
FEDERAL FACTS
John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and his son, Charles Francis Adams, all served as ministers to Great Britain during their careers.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Even though the Monroe Doctrine is attribut
ed to James Monroe, historians credit John Quincy Adams with being the true architect of the policy.
The Second President Adams
Adams campaigned to replace Monroe after Monroe’s second term ended. Adams entered a four-candidate race in which he ran second to Andrew Jackson in the popular election. Because no one achieved a majority of the popular or electoral votes, the House of Representatives cast the deciding vote.
The House of Representatives voted for Adams. Jackson was convinced that Adams had promised Henry Clay—a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, an unsuccessful candidate for president, and a political ally of John Quincy Adams—a position as secretary of state in exchange for using his influence to woo House members to vote for Adams. Jackson called it a “corrupt bargain” and withdrew his support for Adams during his presidency. The feud that developed between Jackson and Adams as a result prevented Adams from accomplishing anything significant during his term, since Jackson’s followers in Congress refused to support the president’s initiatives. Jackson ran against Adams again in 1828 on an anticorruption platform and won election by a wide margin.
John Quincy Adams returned to Massachusetts to retire. His retirement did not last long. Like his parents, he did not have the patience to sit and do nothing when there were constituents to serve.
FEDERAL FACTS
In the 1824 presidential election, Andrew Jackson won 43.1 percent of the popular vote and 99 of the 261 available Electoral College votes. Adams got 30.5 percent and 84 votes respectively. The other two candidates, William Crawford and Henry Clay, split the rest almost evenly. Since no one candidate had a majority of electoral votes, the decision as to who would be president fell into the hands of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE HAVE A MAGICAL EFFECT BEFORE WHICH DIFFICULTIES DISAPPEAR AND OBSTACLES VANISH.”
—JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
Any bitter feelings he experienced following the presidential election of 1828 dissipated after the people of Massachusetts elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1830.
For the next eighteen years, John Quincy Adams concentrated on abolishing slavery. At first, he was like a man with laryngitis whispering into a gale force wind: Nobody heard his message. Gradually, he started winning converts. By the time his tenure in Congress—and his life—came to a close, he had made significant progress in bringing about the end of slavery.
Adams did not live to see it happen. He suffered a stroke in the House of Representatives on February 21, 1848, and died two days later.
It was a fitting end for a man who strived diligently to uphold the virtues and goals of his father and his contemporaries: His political career ended in a legislative building as he was fighting for what he and they believed in so strongly.
SAMUEL ADAMS
Boston, Massachusetts
September 27, 1722−October 2, 1803
Liberty, Not Beer
Samuel Adams was a master politician—literally. He earned a master of arts degree from Harvard at age twenty-one and ultimately worked as a tax collector. Because he was a disaster as a businessman, he had to do something in the public realm. Using his political skills, he occupied seats in the Massachusetts Assembly and in the First and Second Continental Congresses. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a delegate to the Massachusetts state constitutional convention in 1781, and lieutenant governor and governor of Massachusetts. He never made good beer, though.
Starting Out
Like many young men of his era, Adams struggled trying to find an occupation that suited him. It was difficult for him to find a lasting job because he was obsessed with politics and colonial independence.
A growing number of colonists were distraught with British taxation policies leading up to the Revolutionary War. Adams was among them; he considered the policies taxation without representation. Ironically, he was a tax collector.
The Boston Town Meeting elected Samuel Adams as a tax collector in 1756, but he made a mess of that job. He frequently failed to collect taxes owed. By 1764, his accounts were short more than £8,000, and he was out of the job. Eventually, Adams and some of his friends paid part of the missing funds and the town meeting wrote off the rest.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Samuel Adams’s father was a merchant and brewer. Young Samuel worked for a while at the family brewery, but he did not have the head for it—or for business in general.
Have Faith in Samuel
Samuel Adams did not become an active opponent of British taxation policies until 1763, when the citizens of Boston formed a committee to let the king and Parliament know how they felt about the new levies. They appointed Samuel Adams to the committee, putting him in the ironic position of protesting British-imposed taxes while he was collecting them. Nevertheless, he accepted the honor with relish and developed some pointed rebukes to the British, such as this one: “If our trade may be taxed, why not our lands? Why not the produce of our lands, and every thing we possess, or use? This we conceive annihilates our charter rights to govern and tax ourselves.”
FEDERAL FACTS
Samuel Adams’s 1743 master’s thesis was based on this question: “Whether it be lawful to resist the supreme magistrate, if the commonwealth cannot be otherwise preserved?”
He pursued the answer for the next thirty-three years, answering it with finality when he signed the Declaration of Independence.
Adams’s eloquent arguments raised his stature in the citizens’ eyes. They looked at him as their protester-in-chief, and he justified their faith in him. As he grew bolder in his attacks on the British, the people of Boston rewarded him by electing him to the Massachusetts General Court in 1765. That gave him a broad forum from which to lead the protests. He became almost a one-person legislature. He was appointed Clerk of the Court, which gave him the opportunity to attend every committee meeting, write the reports, and exert his influence on virtually anything the legislature did. He also produced numerous political essays for consumption outside the court, urging citizens to make their voices heard.
FEDERAL FACTS
While Samuel Adams was a member of the Massachusetts General Court, he suggested that the colonies set up a meeting in New York to discuss their grievances. It took ten years for the idea to take hold, but his idea led to the formation of the First Continental Congress.
The Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Tea Party in 1773 inflamed the increasingly restless people of Boston. After each event, Samuel Adams exhorted the people to continue their opposition to Britain. The Boston Town Meeting organized an economic boycott of British goods in May 1774. Samuel Adams was at the forefront of the plan. He set the example; they followed his leadership.
Thomas Jefferson credited Samuel Adams with being the linchpin of the Congress. He noted, “If there was any Palinurus (helmsman) to the Revolution, Samuel Adams was the man.” When the delegates lined up to sign the Declaration of Independence, Adams added his name to the list.
During the War
Adams continued working tirelessly for the United States during the Revolutionary War.
As was his custom, Adams worked with many committees to keep his hand in what was going on. One of his most important assignments was with the Board of War, to which he was appointed in 1777. His background came in handy in that function.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“HE EATS LITTLE, DRINKS LITTLE, SLEEPS LITTLE, THINKS MUCH, AND IS MOST INDEFATIGABLE IN THE PURSUIT OF HIS OBJECT. IT WAS THIS MAN, WHO BY HIS SUPERIOR APPLICATION, MANAGED AT ONCE THE FACTIONS IN CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, AND THE FACTIONS OF NEW ENGLAND.
—JOSEPH GALLOWAY
The Board of War’s role was to oversee the Continental Army’s administration and make recommendations to Congress on how to improve its operations. Adams had many ideas, such as paying bonuses to soldiers to induce them to reenlist and confiscating the property of Tories. He c
ould not tolerate Tories during or after the war. Adams believed they would destroy the new government the Americans had worked so hard to form.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“ALL MIGHT BE FREE IF THEY VALUED FREEDOM, AND DEFENDED IT AS THEY SHOULD.”
—SAMUEL ADAMS
Adams stayed in Congress until 1781. Finally, he resigned and went home to resume his political career in Massachusetts.
Welcome Home, Governor
The people of Massachusetts welcomed Adams with open arms, and immediately elected him to the state Senate. He served as president of the body from 1782−85 and 1787−88. There were two more offices ahead for him: lieutenant governor and governor.
Samuel Adams served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1789−93, became acting governor in 1793 after John Hancock died in office, and was elected governor from 1794−97.
Not Your Father's Founders Page 2