JOHNADAMS: LOOKINGFORALEGACY

MelHughes History101AmericanHistoryto1877 Dr.BarryShollenberger AmericanPublicUniversity August28,2011

I.

Introduction
No one else could boast such a rsum: he was a committee member on the development

of the Declaration of Independence as well as a signer; a diplomat in France, Great Britain and Holland; a Vice President of the United States, then a President himself, and father of another. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare said, some are born great, some achieve greatness1 John Adams wanted a legacy, though it is doubtful he ever realized the magnitude of his achievements.

II. Making History

A. Early Career

John Adams was born October 19, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts.2 The oldest son of Deacon John Adams, his father was a farmer and churchman, and intended his firstborn son to be a minister. John went to Harvard, graduating at age 20but he had no interest in ministry. He became a lawyer instead. By 1765 he had a thriving office in Braintree with another in Boston. Books were his real love. Let nogirl, no gun, no cards, no flutes, no violins, no dress, no tobacco, no laziness decoy you from your books, he wrote.3 Later Adams married Abigail Smith, a girl with no formal education, but an avid reader who loved to quote poetry and read philosophyunusual for a woman then. They had five children and spent 54 years together.

B.

Historical Significance
1. PreRevolution

For many people, a producing farm, a successful law practice, and a happy marriage would be enough. John Adams, however, had always dreamed of fame, and in the 1760s he

Rowse, A.L. (Editor) The Annotated Shakespeare: Comedies. New York: Octavian Books Ltd., 1978 McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2001, p.30 Note: October 19 became October 30 after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.) 3 McCullough, p.51
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began to achieve it. The American colonies were finding it hard to deal with the restrictions and taxes imposed by an authority three thousand miles away. Tensions between Americas British colonies and the British Crown had been brewing for some years. An essay Adams wrote for the Boston Gazette in 1765 shared his views on government and liberty. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and writethat British liberties are not the grants of princes or parliamentsthat many of our rights are inherentbefore Parliament existed.4 Not long after this, Adams wrote the Braintree Instructionsdirectives from the town to their delegate to the legislative body of Massachusetts. This was printed in the Gazette and later by other newspapers throughout the state, gaining such success that 40 towns adopted it.5 Before his serious essays, however, Adams had created a several pseudonyms that had also made him infamous. Best known were U, a cultured and well-educated gentleman, and the other was Humphrey Ploughjogger, a barely literate, down-to-earth farmer.6 In these anonymous essays Adams could gleefully satirize anything from Loyalist arguments to the local growing season, and he did. He even recommended hemp as the farmers crop of choiceit was good for making both nooses and narcotics.7 Real fameand infamystruck hard and fast, and used his real name. In 1768, British troops had been sent to Boston to keep order after the public reaction to the Townshend Act (a new set of taxes on such unrelated items as paper, glass, paint, and tea).8 The Bostonians reviled the troops. In 1770 tensions escalated to the point of a riotous crowd throwing rocks and oyster

McCullough, p.60 Noauthorgiven,HistoryandTextoftheBraintreeInstructions,FirstCongregationalChurchofBraintree website,http://www.firstchurchbraintree.com/the_braintree_instructions.htm,accessed25August2011. 6 Burns,Eric.InfamousScribblers:TheFoundingFathersandtheRowdyBeginningsofAmericanJournalism.New York:PublicAffairsTM,2006,p.167(NotetoDr.Shollenberger:PublicAffairsisprintedasoneword.)

5 4

7
8

Saltzberg, Helen, dissertation on John Adamss Earliest Essays

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1920972, .accessed: 24 August 2011

Burns,p.130.

shells at a unit of soldiers and the troops opened fire, killing five men in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Jonathan Sewall, attorney general of the province, Loyalist, and a friend of Adams, asked Adamsa known Patriotto defend the soldiers at trial.9 Adams took the case based on the principle that everyone deserved a trial by jury, and because no one else would defend them. Sensitive to criticism, however, he was soon wincing every time he heard his name. He was publicly scorned; rumors went out that he had been bribed; that he was secretly a Tory. Later in life, Adams would reflect that the case was the most exhausting one he had ever handled. There were two separate trials, one for the officer in charge and another for the eight enlisted soldiers. Adams obtained an acquittal for the captain because no one had actually heard him give the order to fire. As for the squad of soldiers, six were acquitted and two found guilty of manslaughter. It was regarded as a success for Adams, but the Gazette printed terrible things about him, and he lost more than half his clients. Still, by 1772 Adamss practice was booming again, and he had been elected to the Massachusetts legislature, having been labeled equal to the greatest orator that ever spoke in Greece or Rome.10

2.

Revolution

In 1774 Adams was chosen as one of five delegates to represent Massachusetts at the first Continental Congress. When his friend Jonathan Sewall, the committed Loyalist, begged him not to go, Adam replied, Swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish, I am with my country.11 He was still with his country two years later, pushing the Continental Congress to act upon the resolution Richard Henry Lee of Virginia had introduced for Americas independence from Great Britain.

McCullough, p.65. McCullough,p.71. 11 ibid.

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Adams sat on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, along with Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin. According to Adams, he asked Jefferson to write it. Jefferson asked why Adams did not write it himself, and Adams replied, First, you are a Virginian, and a Virginian ought to appearSecond, I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular. And third, you write ten times better than I.12 Jeffersons original draft was heavily edited before agreement was reached. Most changes were minor, but one could have sabotaged the whole endeavor. The draft had contained a section on the abolishment of black slavery. The Southern delegates insisted on removing this clause before they would vote for the resolution. Although Adams fought every change, he was livid over the removal of the slavery section. The resolution was passed unanimously on July 2, 1776, and on the next day, Adams wrote: Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which was ever debated in America, and a greater perhaps never was or will be decided among Men. A Resolution was passed without one dissenting Colony, that these united Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent States.13 By the time the Declaration was drafted, the war was already being fought, and things were not going well. At one particularly grim point, with Washington in retreat after the battle of Long Island, Adams was sent out with Ben Franklin and Edward Rutledge to a conference with Admiral Lord Howe (brother of General Howe) to discuss accommodation. Adams refused to countenance surrender and sent Howe packing. Later he learned Howe had been carrying a list of names of Patriots to be pardoned, and that Adams himself on the list to hang.14

McCullough.,p.119. Adams,JohnandAbigail.MyDearestFriend:LettersofAbigailandJohnAdams,editedbyMargaretHoganand JamesTaylor.Harvard:HarvardUniversityPress,2010.p.122.(Note:capitallettersinAdamsswritingarehis.) 14 McCullough,p.155.

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After a brief visit home, Adams was then sent to France to join Franklin on a diplomatic mission in hopes of achieving support from the French government. His first visit was of short duration, although he returned to France again in 1779. While Adams did not hesitate to go, he spent more time writing reports to Congress, articles for both French and even British newspapers, and letters to Abigail than he did in any negotiations. His long tirades about how French sea power would assure a U.S. victory fell on deaf ears. Before long both Ben Franklin and the French foreign minister, the Comte de Vergennes, had had enough of him. Congress, considering the possibility of securing a loan from Holland, sent Adams there instead. This venture took longer than expected. In fact, Cornwallis had surrendered long before Adams and the Dutch were able to come to terms. They recognized Americas status as an independent state; granted the new country a $2 million loan, and in October of 1782, Adams signed a treaty of commerce with the Dutch Republic.15

3.

PostRevolution

Adams returned to Paris to help Franklin and John Jay in negotiating the treaty with Great Britain, which was signed in September of 1873. Abigail joined him the following year. Adamss friend Thomas Jefferson had also arrived around this time, and the three often visited. Jefferson and Adams, despite their different ages, temperaments, and politics, became friends, and Jefferson, who had lost his wife not long before, came to like and genuinely respect Abigail. In the summer of 1785 Adams packed up his family and headed to London, where he was to become minister to the Court of St. Jamesin short, the first American ambassador to Great Britain. Despite the prestige which usually accompanied such an assignment, this was something

15

McCullough,p.273

different, and possibly even dangerous. With the Treaty of Paris not yet two years old, Great Britain still hoped the fledging United States would fail. Americans were regarded at best as colonial savages, and at worst as traitors who should be hanged. Asking a friend for advice, Adams recorded in his diary, I told him I trembled at the thought of going there.16 Subjected to stares and public hostility, he and Abigail made the best of their time in London. The British were in denial and thought America would surely be desperate to return to the fold. Adams had hoped to establish trade with the British, but soon realized that in spite of the cordiality of King George, the mission was a futile one. He asked Congress for relief in 1787, but it was another year before he and Abigail came home. In the meantime he was able to use his influence in Holland to secure another loan, chiefly to pay the U.S. war debt to the French.17 He also used his last year in England to write Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, in which he examined growth cycles of nations.18 While Adams and Jefferson had been abroad, a younger generation was coming into its ownsmart young men, as Adams called them,19 like James Madison and Alexander Hamiltonand writing what would become the U.S. Constitution. George Washington was certain to become the first President of the country, and since he was a Southerner, it was widely agreed that a Northerner should be Vice President. John Adams was first choice. Alexander Hamilton had grave doubts about Adamss suitability and did what he could to sabotage the electoral votes; while Washington was chosen unanimously, Adams had less than half of the 69 available votes. As he was running with ten other people, though, he still

McCullough,p.329. Cappon,Lester(editor)TheAdamsJeffersonLetters.ChapelHill,NC:theUniversityofNorthCarolinaPress, 1959,p.206. 18 Howe,JohnJr.TheChangingPoliticalThoughtofJohnAdams.Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUniversityPress,1966, p.133. 19 McCullough,p.392.

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came in first, but he was deeply hurt at the statistics.20 Further, he found the office to be the most insignificant ever contrived. Still, he served as such for both Washingtons terms, and at the end of them was chosen President himself, in 1796. Adams served but one term as President. The other major contender for the office was Thomas Jefferson, who became Vice President under Adams. This made things difficult since Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson, a Republican. Unlike Adams, who had supported Washington even when he disagreed, Jefferson felt no such obligation. Jefferson was also secretly pleased when Adams had won the election. He knew that Washingtons immediate successorno matter who he waswould not fill Washingtons shoes, and also that some of the problems of Washingtons administration would begin to show up later, and would thus be blamed on the new President.21 He was right. The dubious high point of Adamss presidency was avoiding war with France brought on by the XYZ Affair.22 Basically this chaotic diplomatic situation was caused by French Foreign Minister Talleyrands refusal to see American envoys unless they paid him a bribe. But unquestionably, the low point of Adamss term was collection of laws called the Alien and Sedition Acts. 23 This set of four laws changing naturalization requirements and authorizing the expulsion of dangerous foreigners was not something Adams had asked for, but when the Federalist majority in Congress passed them, he did sign them. The worst of the laws was the Sedition Act, which made any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government (including Congress and the President) a crime. This had the virtue of shutting down Benjamin Franklin Baches Aurora, a Republican scandal sheet that never checked its facts

20 21

McCullough,p.394. Ellis,Joseph.PassionateSage:theCharacterandLegacyofJohnAdams.NewYork:W.W.Norton,2001. 22 McCullough,p.498. 23 McCullough,p.505.

if the story was juicy enough and which had hounded George Washington and John Adams from the beginning. Of course, the act also violated the First Amendment. Thomas Jefferson, Adamss Vice President, thought the act an abomination,24 and packed up and went home in protest.25 The election of 1800 was hard-fought and ill-fought. A great many lies were told on both sidesnot by Adams and Jefferson themselves, but by newspapers and pamphleteers (the bloggers of the day.) Republicans claimed the Federalists wanted to bring back the monarchy and establish a state church; Federalists claimed a vote for Republicans was a vote for atheism and radical violence like that of the French Revolution.26 When the dust settled, Jefferson was the victor and Adams was in shocknot so much over his loss as to the betrayal of him by Alexander Hamiltonhimself a fellow Federalistwho had in the final months published tirades against Adams calling into question his fitness for office.27 Adams left the capital before Jefferson arrived, to this day the only living president to refuse to attend the inauguration of his successor.28 Many saw his leaving in such a state as his being a petulant old man.29 When Jefferson took office, he made a great speech declaring he would terminate the Alien and Sedition Acts, and claiming We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists;30 lauding the greatness of George Washington. Of Adams he said nothing.31 Adams went into retirement embittered, though claiming not to be. He had his beloved Abigail and his beloved books. I have spent an estate in books, he told Abigail once.32 He read

Burns,p.360. McCullough,p.506. 26 Ferling,John.Adamsvs.Jefferson:theTumultuousElectionof1800.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2004. pp148154. 27 Ellis,p.21. 28 Ellis,p.20. 29 McCullough,p.564. 30 Ferling,p.205. 31 McCullough,p.565.

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for hours daily, kept up with his son John Quincy, who had entered the Senate, and after a while, began writing again. He got back in touch with his old friend, Benjamin Rush. He became more mellow, no longer a victim of his temper. After some years, he even reconciled with Jefferson, and they began corresponding again. Adams died July 4, 1826the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

III. Conclusion
A. Analysis

John Adams was a man of tremendous idealism and integrity. He could also be vain and insecure. His stubbornness and temper were among his greatest assets, but they also made him his own worst enemy. Had cooler heads not prevailed, his lack of tact could have brought the Declaration of Independence to nothing. As a diplomat, he ran hot and cold. His jealousy of the prestige and popularity of Benjamin Franklin and distrust of the foreign minister kept him from playing a very effective role in France during his first visit. A letter from Franklin said, Mr. Adams has given extreme offense to the court here.33 However, he did manage to secure the recognition of the Dutch, and his first meeting with King George III, which was very much a make or break situation, was handled superbly. The King was much affected by Adamss etiquette and passion. Although his desire to silence the libelous pens of Benjamin Franklin Bache and the like is understandable, his allowing the First Amendment to be violated is still unconscionable. Adams frequently made a better writer and political philosopher than a politician.

Adams,CharlesFrancis(editor).TheFamiliarLettersofJohnandAbigailAdams.NewYork:Hurd&Houghton. 1875.p.4 33 McCullough,p.143.
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B.

Authors conclusion

During the years of the Revolution, Adams feared he would be left out. He once jibed that people would think that George Washington and Ben Franklin conducted the entire Revolution by themselves. He doubted anyone would remember anything he did. But while people called Thomas Jefferson the Pen of Independence, John Adams was its acknowledged voice.34 Further, Adams himself had written the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which served as a model for the Constitution Madison wrote; Adamss brief book Thoughts on Government, written in 1776, had also provided ideas that had been used in the new governmental setup.35 Whether he was the best or most popular president or even the best or most popular founding father is irrelevant; the legacy he left to this nation is indisputable.

McCullough,p.643. Noauthorgiven,JohnAdamsandtheMassachussettsConstitution,MassachusettsSupremeJudicialCourt Home,http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/johnadamsb.html

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Bibliography
Adams, Charles Francis (editor). The Familiar Letters of John and Abigail Adams. New York: Hurd & Houghton. 1875. Burns, Eric. Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism. New York: PublicAffairsTM, 2006. (Note to Dr. Shollenberger: PublicAffairs is printed as one word.) Cappon, Lester (editor) The Adams-Jefferson Letters. Chapel Hill, NC: the University of North Carolina Press, 1959. Ellis, Joseph. Passionate Sage: the Character and Legacy of John Adams. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001. Ferling, John. Adams vs. Jefferson: the Tumultuous Election of 1800. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Hogan, Margaret, and Taylor, James (editors). My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2010. (Note to Dr. Shollenberger: the spellings and capitalizations are those used by the Adamses.) Howe, John Jr. The Changing Political Thought of John Adams. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966. McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2001. No author given, History and Text of the Braintree Instructions, First Congregational Church of Braintree website, http://www.firstchurchbraintree.com/the_braintree_instructions.htm, accessed 25 August 2011. No author given, John Adams and the Massachussetts Constitution, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Home, http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/john-adams-b.html, accessed 28 August 2011. Rowse, A.L. (Editor) The Annotated Shakespeare: Comedies. New York: Octavian Books Ltd., 1978. Saltzberg, Helen, dissertation on John Adamss Earliest Essays http://www.jstor.org/stable/1920972, .accessed: 24 August 2011.