John Adams

John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he became one of the most influential voices for independence, serving in the Continental Congress and helping draft the Declaration of Independence.

Adams served as the first vice president under Washington for eight years before winning the presidency in 1796 in the first contested election. His presidency was dominated by the quasi-war with France and intense partisan conflict between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

His most controversial act was signing the Alien and Sedition Acts, which criminalized criticism of the government. However, his greatest achievement was avoiding full-scale war with France through diplomacy, a decision that cost him reelection but which he considered his finest legacy.

Adams and Thomas Jefferson, once close allies turned bitter rivals, reconciled in their later years through a remarkable exchange of letters. Both died on July 4, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

“I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.”