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A Fifth⁃generation American， John Adams was born on October 30，1735 in Brainstree （now Quincy）， Massachusetts.He was named after his father， who was a farmer， leather craftsman， Harvard graduate believing in education.In the mind of young John， he was“The honestest man I ever Knew，” he once said of his father.It was his father´s example that feuded young John´s ambition.His father died in the flu epidemic of 1761.John´s mother was called Susanna Boylston Adams， who married his father in 1734.She is among the least well known of the famous Adams family， for her name appears infrequently in the large body of Adam´s writings.Five years after the death of her husband， she married John Hall， who did not get along well with her grown children.Like George Washington´s mother， she died in the first year of her son´s presidency.
Adams had two younger brothers ——Peter Boylston Adams， farmer， militia captain of Brainstree， and Elihu Adams， who while a company commander in the militia during the American Revolution， died from a“contagious distemper .”
Adams had four children to live to maturity.Abigail “Nabby” Adams married a veteran officer of the Revolution and secretary to her father in London.She died of cancer after having suffered from three years of severe pain.John Quincy Adams was the sixth president.Charles Adams was lawyer， a bright engaging young man with an outstanding personality in this reserved family， he died an alcoholic at age 30.Thomas Boylston Adams was also a lawyer.From his first case， a sensational trial at which he defended the owners of a local brothel， he built a modest practice in Philadelphia and served abroad as secretary to his older brother John Quincy， but he， too， drank excessively and died in debt.
John Adams was a second cousin to Samuel Adams， patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence， and a third cousin to his own wife， Abigail Smith Adams.
In his childhood， John´s favorite pastime was hunting.He even took his gun along to school so that he could take to the field at dismissal without having to go home first.He caught time to read and write in his early childhood.In 1751， at the age of 16，Adams entered Harvard College .Class standing in those days depended not on scholastic achievements， but rather on the social position of one´s family.Adams ranked slightly below average， 15 th of the 24 students in class.He mostly enjoyed maths and philosophy.His four years at Harvard turned him around intellectually .“ I soon perceived a growing curiosity， a love of books and a fondness for study，” he wrote of his college days in his autobiography，“ which dissipated all my inclination for sports， and even for the society of the ladies .” He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1755.After graduation， Adams taught school for a year in Worcester，Massachusetts， and then decided to become a lawyer.He studied for two years in the office of a Worcester attorney， James Putnam， and in November 1758 he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar.Shortly after， he began law practice in Brainstree.
Adams was short， about five feet six inches， stocky in his youth， and portly in middle age.He had quick blue eyes and fine brown hair.Ironically， Adams， the longest⁃living president， was beset by a train of maladies throughout his 90 years .“My constitution is a glass bubble .” He once said .“There are few people in this world with whom I can converse，” Adams once admitted .“ I can treat all with decency and civility， and converse with them， when it is necessary， on points of business.But I am never happy in their company .” This confession sums up the paradox of Adams.personality——he genuinely loved and had deep compassion for humanity but never learned to deal with individual human beings.To his immediate family， he was a warm， generous loving man； to outsiders， he appeared cold， aloof and conceited.As a young man， he was determined to be a man of substance and， if circumstances afforded the opportunity， a great man.He wrestled with his passion throughout his life.
Adams belonged to Unitarian branch of Congregationalism .“My religion is founded on the love of God and my neighbor .” He once reflected as he approached death and believed that although Christ was a great and good man whose example of piety， love and universal brotherhood was the ideal that all people and nations should emulate， he was， after all， still a human being， not the son of God， not the word⁃made fresh.Adams was confident of life after death and had little use of trappings or organized religion.He believed that one needed only to follow good conscience God gave him and follow the precepts set forth in the Bible in order to be a solid Christian.
Adams liked walking outdoors daily， but his most absorbing hobby was his private library， whose volumes of books he spoon⁃fed to his children and grandchildren.Not content with simply to read a book， Adams criticized the text， marking the pages with incisive marginalia.Among his regret in old age was that he did not have enough time to learn Chinese in order to read their ancient texts.An inveterate diarist， Adams recorded fine word sketches of people， places， and events.He also collected souvenirs from his many travels.At Stratford⁃upon⁃Avon， he even shamelessly carved out a sliver of wood from a chair in Shakespeare´s birthplace.
When the British parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765， John and his elder cousin Sam Adams took active roles in urging opposition to it.Sam Adams helped organize the Son of Liberty， a patriotic organization that stirred up mob action against the British， while John Adams prepared resolutions against the tax that were approved by Brainstree and other Massachusetts towns.
In 1766 Adams moved his family to Boston in order to improve his law practice.His most famous case came with the defense of a British captain and eight soldiers who fired into a mob in the Boston Massacre of March 5，1770.It was a courageous case that nearly cost him his career.In this case， Adams strongly felt that the British authorities who had stationed the troops in Boston were more guilty than the soldiers who actually fired the shots.Adams and his associate， Josiah Quincy， succeeded in wining the acquittal of the British captain and six of his soldiers.Although many Boston patriots， including Sam Adams， denounced John for defending the British soldiers， he also won wide respect for the sense of justice that had led him to take the case.Eventually， his lonely stand against trial by passion and his insistence that it is more important to protect the innocent than to punish the guilty was vindicated.He was elected late in 1770 to the Massachusetts legislature， the General Court.
Although John Adams did not happen to be in Boston on the night of December 16，1773， when Sam Adams helped organize the Boston Tea Party， protesting a British tax on tea， he rejoiced in the action， as he wrote in his diary：“This destruction of the tea is so bold， so daring， so firm， intrepid and inflexible， and it must have so important consequences， and so lasting， that I can´t but consider it as an epoch in history！” Subsequent events bored him out， for the British soon retaliated by closing the port of Boston， which in turn led to the convening of the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774.
After returning home from the Congress， Adams contributed articles to the Boston Gazette ， in which he detailed the legal position of the American patriots in their controversy with Britain.But the articles were interrupted by the battles of Lexington and Concord.
On June 14，1775， by nominating George Washington to be commander⁃in⁃chief of an army to be formed with troops from all the colonies， Adams successfully turned the Massachusetts Rebellion into the American Revolution.Throughout 1775 and into the spring of 1776， he was particularly concerned with efforts to get the Congress to declare independence from Britain.Finally， in June， while Washington´s troops were preparing to defend New York city from an imminent invasion， Congress elected a committee，with Adams as a member， to write the Declaration of Independence.Although Adams was noted for his writing， he deferred the authorship of the Declaration to Thomas Jefferson.Besides Jefferson， he is the only president to have signed the Declaration of Independence.In his last years in Congress， 1777， Adams presented the resolution establishing the United States flag with thirteen red and white strips and a union of thirteen white stars on a blue field “representing a new constellation .”
Despite his bluntness than his diplomacy， Adams was appointed by Congress as one of its commissioners to France to try to negotiate a military and monetary aid in 1778.In 1780， he joined the commissioners in negotiating a peace treaty with Britain.Late in 1782， he took part in discussions with the British that resulted in the peace treaty ending the Revolutionary War， but Benjamin Franklin won most of the credit for the agreement.In 1785 Adams was appointed the first American minister to Great Britain.
As the Constitution had been ratified by the states， a new government was to take shape under the constitutional rules.As the new government required a President and a Vice⁃President， Adams felt strongly he should be named Vice⁃President， for he knew George Washington would be President.
As the states prepared for the first presidential election under the new Constitution， it was clear that no one but George Washington had any chance of being named to the nation´s highest office， so Adam´s friends pushed him as a vicepresidential candidate to represent the North， while Thomas Pinckney was the Federalist candidate to represent the South .When the Electoral College met in February 1789， all 69 electors named Washington.Second choices were numerous，and Adams barely squeaked into office with 34 of the 69 votes cast.
“My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived .” John Adams had been vocal in his beliefs that government belonged to the hands of the wealthier， better educated citizens.He accepted the second term as Vice⁃President only because he wanted to be President.He summed up his duties as the nation´s first vice president.Adams again turned to writing， publishing a number of articles called Discourses on Davilia ， which upheld the advantages of the United States governmental structure as opposed to that set up in France by the French Revolutionists.These articles offended Thomas Jefferson， an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution， and led to a break in friendship between them.
By the time of the second presidential election， the country was clearly divided into two political parties——the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans.Despite the strong opposition from the Democratic Republicans， Adams won easily the second vice⁃presidential election in 1793.Throughout his second term as Vice President，Adams stood solidly in support of Washington， particularly as the attacks of the Democratic Republicans increased in fury with ratification by the Senate of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain.
However， the publication of Washington´s Farewell Address in September 1796 set off the first real contest in American history for the nation´s highest office.In severe political campaign， the Democratic Republicans accused Adams of desiring to set up a hereditary monarchy in the country while the Federalists denounced Jefferson as an advocate of overthrowing the Constitution.The unprecedented maneuver almost lost the election for the Federalists.The count of the electoral vote gave Adams the presidency by the narrow margin of three votes——71 for Adams to 68 for Jefferson.
On March 4，1797， Adams was sworn in as the second President of the United States in Philadelphia when he was 61 years old， and the ceremony notified the world that the Republican form of the government had carried out a peaceful and orderly change in Chief Executives.However， more or less strange， he carried over into his administration all the members of Washington´s Cabinet.Not until after the death of Washington in 1799 did Adams feel free to rid himself of them.
More seriously yet， Adams was confronted with a crisis in relations with France that dominated his entire administration.The leaders of the French wanted the United States to join them in their war with Great Britain， and even imperiously refused to recognize the American diplomats and threatened to hang any American seamen they captured on British ships.The XYZ affair soon made the country take up the cry，“Millions for defense， but not one cent for tribute .”
Adams soon called Washington back to active duty as commander⁃in⁃chief of a new United States army， and， at Washington´s insistence， appointed Alexander Hamilton as second in command.Frigates United States ， Constitution ， and Constellation became the first warships of the new nation that grew to a fleet of 49 vessels by 1799.At the same time， the Congress in 1798 passed the Alien and Sedition Acts that gave the government unusual powers to imprison aliens and citizens who threatened or opposed the federal government.Early in 1799 Adams proposed a new attempt to establish diplomatic relations with France.As the presidential election of 1800 approached， the Federalist party was split over Adams.actions in avoiding war with France .Not surprisingly， Adams was defeated by Thomas Jefferson.
The last few months of Adams.administration were conducted in Washington D.C.， the new federal capital .Adams once wrote to his wife， Abigail Smith，expressing the prayer that nearly a century and a half later came to be carved on the mantel in the State Dining Room：“I pray to Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that hereafter inhabit it… May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof .” However， before his administration ended， Adams had the satisfaction of receiving a peace agreement with France and seeing it approved by the Senate.
Adams was a rather controversial President.He advocated the federal government´s rights over states.rights， holding a running conflict with France， which he viewed with deep trust， and was viewed by many as attempting to use English common law as the rule of government rather than the Constitution.
In fact， Adams had a truly special relationship with Jefferson that developed out of their common cause against English imperial rule and their different roots in the regional cultures of New England and Virginia.As a result， Adams admired， even loved Jefferson； they sustained a 50⁃year relationship that developed in an exchange of letters in their twilight years that most American historians regard as the final intellectual achievement of their research on the revolutionary generation.But Adams also disagreed profoundly with Jefferson´s vision of the American Revolution .He thought that Jefferson´s entire political vision rested on a seductive set of attractive illusions.
On the early morning of the last day of his presidency， Adams left Washington for his home in Massachusetts after signing the commissions of some appointments of federal judges， even without attending Jefferson´s inauguration.He felt very sorry for himself and told a friend mournfully it might be just as well as he was defeated ， that he didn´t think he had long to live.He was then 66 years old but would live to be 90.
On March 4，1801， Adams returned to his homestead at Quincy， Massachusetts，expecting to enjoy a few years of peaceful retirement before passing.However， he embarked on an intellectual adventure that lasted more than a quarter century.At 89，he enjoyed a thrill denied to every other former executive to see his son John Quincy Adams elected the nation´s sixth president.
After Jefferson´s retirement from the presidency， Adams resumed a cordial correspondence with him， and on his deathbed Adams.last words were of his old friend：“ Thomas Jefferson still survives .” But by an extraordinary quirk of fate，Jefferson died on the same day， July 4，1826——the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence for which they both had struggled so hard.
Although over⁃weighed， Adams exuded a certain rustic masculinity and intellectual vigor that made him very popular with girls .“ I was of an amorous disposition，” he wrote in his autobiography，“and very early from ten or eleven years of age， was very fond of societies of females .” However， having been warned by his father that illicit sex always brought with it venereal disease， Adams remained celibate till marriage.Although he declined to enumerate his “youthful flames，” he assumed the reader of his autobiography that “they were all modest and virtuous girls and always maintained this character through life .”
One girl known to have lured Adams to the brink of engagement was Hannah Quincy， daughter of Colonel Josiah Quincy and sister of the Josiah Quincy who later joined Adams in defending British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre.One year younger than Adams， Hannah was a witty， unusually well⁃read， attractive girl who kept several suitors dangling simultaneously.At 23， Adams still a struggling lawyer， was determined to avoid marriage till his finance improved， but Hannah kept drawing him closer and closer to a commitment.Adams´s suspense of marriage made her tired of waiting and in 1760 she married Dr.Bela Lincoln of Hingham， who however left her widowed.Hannah died in 1826， the same year as Adams.
John Adams married Abigail Smith， daughter of a clergyman 19， on October 25，1764， at the home of the bride´s parents in Weymouth， Massachusetts when he was 28.The second of the three sisters， Abigail was a sickly child， too sick to send to school.With absolutely no formal education， she became one of the most erudite woman ever to serve as First Lady and is today regarded as an early heroine of the women´s liberation movement.The American Revolution and Adam´s role in it meant many long separations， but John and Abigail maintained an intimacy in regular correspondence.Abigail， a keen observer of current events， kept Adams posted on developments at home.During the momentous year of 1776， as America scrapped the royal statutes，she urged her husband to include women in the new order.With the removal of the capital to Washington in 1800， Abigail Adams became the First Lady to preside over the White House.She found the unfinished mansion in Washington“habitable” and the location“beautiful” but complained that she could found nobody willing to chop and haul firewood for the First Family.Abigail´s health suffered in Washington.In 1801 she returned home to Massachusetts where she remained the rest of her life.In later years she renewed correspondence with Thomas Jefferson， whose political opposition to her husband had hurt her deeply.She died of typhoid fever on October 28，1818.