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U.S. Presidents & Presidency: J. Adams

A topic guide covering the Presidents of the United States. This is an ongoing project. As such, additional individuals will be added over time.

John Adams

John Adams, born on October 30, 1735, served as President of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Additionally, he served as vice president for George Washington. John Adams owned numerous enslaved people. 

Adams died on July 4, 1826. 

Resources

Reference, Archives, & Primary Sources

The Mather Brown Portraits of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

In 1788, when he was visiting England from France, Jefferson renewed his friendship with John and Abigail Adams and sat for a portrait by the American expatriate painter Mather Brown. Jefferson hung a copy of that portrait along with one of John Adams, also by Brown, at Monticello. It's like an 18th-century BFF locket. Only better.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWyhBDDdIMc

Perspectives

John Adams

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling biography of America's founding father and second president that was the basis for the acclaimed HBO series, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history. This is history on a grand scale--a book about politics and war and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, John Adams is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.

John Adams

While our new nation was suffering attacks from both within and without, John Adams had a vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all. He guided his peers--General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--in setting the values and agenda for a glorious, free America. Adams and his wife Abigail refined these ambitious democratic ideals, and their partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

My Dearest Friend

In 1762, John Adams penned a flirtatious note to 17 year-old Abigail Smith. In 1801 Abigail wrote to wish her husband a safe journey home after serving as president of the nation he helped create. This book contains these letters that span nearly 40 years.

John Adams's Liberty

According to Professor Guelzo, if George Washington was the heart of republic, John Adams was its brain. Follow the Founder as he becomes the first vice president, then the second president of the nation, where he suffers catastrophic blunders that sap him of any political advantages he once had.

Source: Kanopy