John Adams

John Adams (October 19, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, lawyer, and writer who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before becoming president, he was the first vice president under President George Washington from 1789 to 1797. He was also the one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Adams was a leader of the American Revolutionry War, which caused the United States to gain independence from Great Britain. During the war, he served the U.S. government as a senior diplomat in Europe. 

 Early life 
Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel John Adams, Sr. (1691-1761), and Susanna Boylston (1708-1797) and was the cousin of the philosopher and fellow Founding Father Samuel Adams.

John Adams went to Harvard College. He married Abigail Adams in 1764.

 American Revolutionary War 
Adams wanted the Thirteen Colonies to be free from Great Britain. However, he was fair and thought every person should be treated fairly. Even though he did not want British soldiers in Boston, he was the lawyer who defended the British soldiers who were involved in the Boston Massacre.

Adams was a representative from Massachusetts during the Second Continental Congress. He helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolutionary War,  Adams helped make peace with Great Britain. He served in France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain as an ambassador in the 1780s.

 Vice president 

Adams was the first vice president under President George Washington. After Washington chose not to run again, Adams won the 1796 election.

Adams is thought to have been the first president to belong to a political party, the Federalist Party, which supported Washington, but like Washington, he thought himself above any particular party. Adams beat Jefferson, who was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Candidates for president and vice president then did not run together like today.  Since Jefferson got the second-highest number of votes, he became vice president.

 President 

During his term, Adams resolved a conflict against France peacefully. He also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it illegal to say bad things about the government. Many people did not like those acts, which they felt took away their freedom of speech. Adams was lost re-election for president to Jefferson in 1800. The Federalist Party was less popular than when Adams was elected. 

One of Adams's last acts as president was to make John Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States. That kept the Federalist Party in an important role.

Of the first five U.S. presidents, Adams was the only one who never owned slaves. He was also the only one to be from New England.

 Death
Adams died on July 4, 1826 of heart failure, as the same day that Jefferson died. It was was also exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. At 90, Adams was the longest lived president of the United States until Ronald Reagan surpassed him in October 2001.

Adams was also the longest-lived vice president until Levi P. Morton surpassed him in 1915 and later by John Nance Garner in 1959.

References

 Other websites 

 John Adams' White House biography 
 John Adams -Citizendium

Category:1735 births
Category:1826 deaths
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom
Category:Lawyers from Massachusetts
Category:American revolutionaries
Category:Deaths from heart failure
Category:Federalist Party politicians
Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:Politicians from Massachusetts
Category:Presidents of the United States
Category:Signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
Category:19th-century American politicians
Category:18th-century American politicians
Category:People from Quincy, Massachusetts
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands
Category:Vice presidents of the United States
Category:19th-century presidents of the United States