Biography of John Adams / Биография Джона Адамса


John Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735. His ancestors were among the Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony a hundred years earlier. His father was a farmer. John’s father taught his son to read before he went to school. John was ahead of others in his class and soon became bored with school. He seemed to be interested only in hunting and farming. His father was concerned; he wanted his son to go to college and become a minister. Mr. Adams encouraged his son to use his talents and soon John began to take his schooling seriously. He passed his exams. He became a student at Harvard College when he was 16. The family had to sell some of their land in order to pay for

John’s tuition. For a few years after he graduated from Harvard John taught at a oneroom schoolhouse. He did not enjoy teaching and decided to become a lawyer. His parents were upset by his decision. After becoming a lawyer, Adams moved back to Braintree and opened an office in the family home. He was successful and later opened an office in Boston. In 1764 John married Abigail Smith. They had five children. One of the two girls died as a child.

John Adams was becoming more and more concerned about British policy towards the colonies. He wrote letters to newspapers against the Stamp Act. He did not believe that the British Parliament had any right to tax the colonies without their consent. The next year Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but soon afterwards passed another set of taxes known as the Townshend Acts. When John Hancock, one of the wealthiest merchants in the colony, was arrested for smuggling, Adams agreed to be his lawyer. When he won the case he became famous and was admired by colonists who opposed British policies.

A few years later, some of those same people who had praised Adams turned against him. After the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, John Adams agreed to defend British soldiers who were put on trial for murder. This was very unpopular. Patriots in the colony were against his decision. Although he was successful in defending the soldiers, he continued to write in support of colonial opposition to the British. Although Adams did not take part in the Tea Party in 1773, he approved of the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor.

Adams served for several years in the Massachusetts colonial legislature. In 1774 he and his cousin Sam Adams and three other men were selected to represent the colony at the First Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia. He was also selected to attend the Second Continental Congress that met the following year. By now, Adams was convinced that the colonies would have to break away from Britain. During the meetings he tried to convince others that the time had come to declare independence. He supported the establishment of a Continental Army and recommended that George Washington from Virginia be named Commander-in-chief of the army.

The Congress named John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut to serve on a committee to draft a declaration of independence. The committee agreed that Jefferson should write the declaration for their review. Although Adams liked the declaration some years later he said that Jefferson had simply copied most of it from what other people had written.

While in Philadelphia, Adams wrote a number of letters to his wife Abigail. He addressed his letters to “My Dearest Friend”. He shared with her his hope for declaring independence. She often wrote to him of her views on major problems of the day. When he told her that the Second Continental Congress was discussing independence, Abigail wrote a letter back saying that he must “remember the ladies.” She was always reminding her husband that women were equal to men. He replied that it was foolish for men to ever think that they had any control over women. During the war Adams served in Congress and was sent to Europe to try to get help for the American cause. He took his son, John Quincy Adams, with him. Finally Abigail joined them in Europe.

Adams, along with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay were the men selected by Congress to work out a peace treaty ending the American Revolution. After peace had been made, Adams became the first United States ambassador to Britain. Adams returned to the United States and was elected Vice President to serve with George Washington. He was elected second President of the United States in 1796. Thomas Jefferson also ran for the presidency that year but received the second highest votes. When the Constitution of the United States was first written it said that the person with the second highest number of votes would be the vice president. Adams was a member of the Federalist political party. Jefferson was the leader of a different political party. The two men, who had worked together to declare independence, were now on different sides.

John Adams was president for one term of four years. Jefferson defeated him in the election of 1800. Adams returned to Braintree, Massachusetts. Years later he began to write to Jefferson and the two men again became friends. John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson died on that same day.