John Adams was born on October 30, 1735. He was an American diplomat, attorney and sometimes writer. He was also considered as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.
John Adams also served as the second president of the United States, a position he held from 1797 to 1801. He was one of the leaders of the American Revolution against Great Britain and he was the first vice-president of the U.S.
Continue reading and discover all these amazing facts about John Adams.
John Adams Facts
1. John Adams came from a very important and wealthy family
John Adams was born in 1735, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John’s father, whose name was John Adams Sr., was a farmer, a town councilman and also a Congregationalist deacon.
His mother, on the other hand, was Susanna Boylston Adams, and she came from a prominent family in colonial Massachusetts.
John Adams’ family was well-known around this area and beyond, especially since his parents got married.
2. Adams studied at Harvard University
An interesting fact about John Adams is that he attended Harvard University when he was only sixteen years old. He had won a scholarship in the previous year, and even though his family was able to afford his studies, he preferred to use this scholarship to fund himself.
There, he received his undergraduate degree and master’s degree within a couple of years of entering this prestigious university.
In 1758, Adams was admitted to the bar exam, something he had to study really hard in order to be able to achieve his qualifications.
3. He became a Diplomat
After graduating from Harvard, John faced a tough choice: he could either join the ministry, because it’s something his father truly wanted and asked him to do so, or he could become a diplomat, and, eventually, a politician.
John Adams chose the latter. In fact, during the Revolutionary War, Adams served in France and Holland as a diplomat from his country and he actually helped both countries to negotiate the treaty of peace that they were longing for.
4. John Adams’ political career was important
Adams was an intelligent person. He quickly identified with the patriot cause and he was one of the first opponents to the Stamp Act in 1765, an interesting fact about John Adams.
He was also a terrific writer, and in 1766 he published a response against the Stamp Act which was called ‘’Essay on the Canon and Feudal Law’’.
This essay was published in the Boston Gazette, and it was done as a series of four essays instead of one.
He was elected as one of five to represent the First Continental Congress in 1774, a position he held with pride.
One of Adams’ most important contributions was when he proposed a resolution in which he stated that each colony should have an independent government.
This happened in 1776, and soon later he was writing the preamble to the resolution, which, in turn, led politicians to set the first stages of the independence movement.
In addition, this would become the first step for the Declaration of Independence, which was approved on the 4th of July.
5. He also experienced a lot of backlash for some of his decisions
In 1770, Adams decided to represent some British soldiers who had killed five civilians in a situation that was referred to as the Boston Massacre.
Adams justified this decision to defend the soldiers on the grounds that the facts of any case are truly more important and relevant than what the society thinks about what had happened.
He also believed that every person deserves a defense and even though he was soon facing some hard criticisms he completed the defense without hesitation.
6. Adams became the first Vice President of the United States of America
In 1781, George Washington became the First President of the United States while Adams became the first Vice President of the country.
And even though both politicians shared many similar political views, it can be argued that the role Adams had was ceremonial, as he didn’t participate much, an interesting John Adams fact.
People argued that Adams was truly frustrated at how internal politics were being handled in his country, and he soon started to disagree with many things that were occurring.
7. His Presidency was an important step in the U.S politics
In 1796, history was being made as Adams was the first Federalist to be nominated to become the president of the country, an interesting fac t about John Adams.
Adams was fighting against Jefferson, who was the leader for the opposition movement, which was also called the Democratic-Republican Party.
And even though Adams won the election, it was still by quite a small margin, thus citizens weren’t sure what was going to happen in their country.
Also, there was a war going on between France and Great Britain, and this meant that there were retaliations going on in the United States as well.
But because John Adams was a diplomat, he strongly focused his country’s attention on France, but France suspended commercial relations with the North American country.
Adams also decided to send three commissioners to France in order to evaluate the situation and see whether or not things could be solved between the two countries, however, the French were really against any idea of solving anything and they even requested the United States to pay what seemed to be as a bribe.
It was a tough moment for the United States and its new President, but they managed to survive.
Conclusion
John Adams was a popular president who tried his best at making the United States a key player in international politics and relations.
Also, because of his upbringing, both his fellow citizens and the rest of the politicians knew that Adams was able to lead his country in a more remarkable way.
He was a political philosopher but he was also a politician who loved everything that was related to the international atmosphere.
John Adams and the Federalists became important in the United States as soon as President Adams was sworn in.
I hope that this article on John Adams facts was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Historical People Facts Page!
