John Adams had three remarkable careers in his lifetime. One as an enemy of British oppression and .
As an American diplomat in Europe and as the first vice-president and second .
president of the United States. His diary, letters and speeches showed him to be very patriotic, a stong .
family man and tough-minded philosopher. .
Adams was born in Quincy, Mass. on October 30, 1735. He was born in a small house that is still .
standing and open to visitors. His father was a Deacon and fifth generation farmer. His parents were both .
fond of reading, wrote John and give him a good education. He became the first of his family to go to .
college when he entered Harvard in 1751. For the next six years he read intensly while he taught school .
and studied law in Boston. In 1762 he began a fourteen year successful law career. .
In 1761 he began to think, write and act against British oppression and for the right of colonies to .
self-government. He was patriotic and held many local offices. In 1770 he insured that the British soldiers .
accused of the Boston Massacre received a fair hearing. He defended the soldiers at their trial. He spoke .
out against mob violence and other forms of social disintegration. .
In 1774 to 1776 Adams was a deligate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He was a .
champion of American rights in Congress and .
helped draft the Declaration of Independence. .
John Adams' presidency that lasted from 1797 to 1801 was a troubled one. Adams made many .
contributions during his term. He gave the Government stability by continuing practices established under .
Washington. The crisis he faced was the difficult relations with France.When in the XYZ affair peace .
commissioners retuned from Paris with stories of bribery and deceit, Adams built up the armed forces and .
took many national security measures. Jefferson and the Republicans and Hamilton and some Federalists .
wanted war with France for economic reasons, but Adams kept his nerve and when the opportunity was .