Claim: John Adams practices law.

John Adams -LRB- October 30 -LSB- O.S. October 19 -RSB- 1735 -- July 4 , 1826 -RRB- was an American patriot who served as the second President of the United States -LRB- 1797 -- 1801 -RRB- and the first Vice President -LRB- 1789 -- 97 -RRB- . He was a lawyer , diplomat , statesman , political theorist , and , as a Founding Father , a leader of the movement for American independence from Great Britain . He was also a dedicated diarist and correspondent , particularly with his wife and closest advisor Abigail .   He collaborated with his cousin , revolutionary leader Samuel Adams , but he established his own prominence prior to the American Revolution . After the Boston Massacre , he provided a successful -LRB- though unpopular -RRB- legal defense of the accused British soldiers , in the face of severe local anti-British sentiment and driven by his devotion to the right to counsel and the `` protect -LSB- ion -RSB- of innocence '' . Adams was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress , where he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence . He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 , and was its foremost advocate in the Congress . As a diplomat in Europe , he helped negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain , and acquired vital governmental loans from Amsterdam bankers . Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which influenced American political theory , as did his earlier Thoughts on Government -LRB- 1776 -RRB- .   Adams 's credentials as a revolutionary secured for him two terms as President George Washington 's vice president -LRB- 1789 to 1797 -RRB- and also his own election in 1796 as the second president . In his single term as president , he encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans , as well as the dominant faction in his own Federalist Party , led by his rival Alexander Hamilton . Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts , and built up the army and navy in the face of an undeclared naval `` Quasi-War '' with France . The major accomplishment of his presidency was a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the face of Hamilton 's opposition . Due to his strong posture on defense , Adams is `` often called the father of the American Navy '' . He was the first U.S. president to reside in the executive mansion , now known as the White House .   In 1800 , Adams lost re-election to Thomas Jefferson and retired to Massachusetts . He eventually resumed his friendship with Jefferson upon the latter 's own retirement by initiating a correspondence which lasted fourteen years . He and his wife established a family of politicians , diplomats , and historians now referred to as the Adams political family . Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams , the sixth President of the United States . He died on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence , and the same day as Jefferson . Modern historians in the aggregate have favorably ranked his administration .