Dear John...

I've gotten way behind in my Presidential Posts. I'm going to blame John Adams.

I researched, read and read again. I tried to find an angle, an idea, anything that could help me connect to our second President and then realized I couldn't. *sigh* But I resolved to write about all our Presidents, not just the ones I could connect with or found particularly fascinating.

John Adams, our second President was born October 30, 1735 (or October 19th, by the Julian calendar). He was a decedent of the founding generation of Puritans and strongly believed in their value system. He went to Harvard at sixteen and, although is father hoped he'd become a minister, taught school for a few years before deciding on a career in law.

He married Abigail in 1764 and had six children, one of whom died at birth, one who died at the age of two, and another who would become President.

He and Abigail had a very "modern" marriage. Abigail was independent, outspoken and intelligent. Adams listened to her opinions and loved talking politics with her. (To the extent that some of his detractors referred to her as "Mrs. President".) Theirs was a marriage of love. They saved all of their letters to each other - for which I'm glad. It helped me see the personal side of a man who's political face was pompous, immodest and cool. One of the exchanges I read made me laugh.

In response to her letter in which she said, "No man, even if he is 60, ought to live more than three months at a time from his family." Adams responded, "How dare you hint or lisp a word about '60 years of age.' If I were near I would soon convince you that I am not above 40."

He was a strong and vocal opponent of the Stamp Act and, in an odd twist, also defended, in court, the eight soldiers responsible for the Boston Massacre. During that trial, he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court. And the part of history that we're more familiar with began.

He attended the first two Continental Congresses as the representative from Massachusetts. From the beginning, he advocated separation from Britain. It was Adams who nominated George Washington as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and it Adams who advised Congressmen on the construction of a new government.

On June 7, 1776, Adams seconded the motion for independence. In hindsight, you have to respect these men. They were considered traitors to the Crown and, if the Revolutionary War had gone differently, would not be the heroic historic figures we know.

After the war, Adams was appointed as the first US Ambassador to Britain. (Think how odd that must have been for both parties.) He spent a lot of time working with different European nations to create trade treaties and, get this, obtain loans.

When he returned to the US, he remained in the forefront of American politics.

Interesting tidbit...he opposed slavery on principal yet he spoke against a bill that would emancipate slaves in Massachusetts.

In 1789, Adams became the first American Vice-President, serving for two terms under Washington.

Side note: While Washington insisted on being called Mr. President, Adams tried in vain to get the title changed to either "His Majesty the President" or "His High and Mightiness". Hmm.

When Adams ran for President in 1796, two political parties had formed. He ran under the Federalist Party while his opponent, Thomas Jefferson, ran on the Democratic-Republican ticket. Adams won by a narrow margin making him our second President and Jefferson our second Vice-President.

Side note: You really must question the idea of having the second-place candidate serve as VP - especially considering they were opposing parties. In a perfect world it might have forced both parties to work together. In our world, it just made things interesting as you will see when I write about Jefferson.

Jefferson and Adams started out as friends, but by the time the election occurred, they were bitter rivals. I'm sure the Alien and Sedition Acts didn't help matters and, if nothing else, it helped to drive a wedge between the two parties. (Federalists thought it was protection, Democrat-Republicans thought it violated the Constitution.)

Side note: The more I read about past political campaigns, party "wars", mud-slinging and Acts that should never have happened, the more I'm reassured that there truly is nothing new under the sun.

During his Presidency, Adams amped up the US Navy, fought the Quasi-War with France - ending it with diplomacy, and appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice - an act that resulted in the Judicial branch of the government becoming the equal of the Legislative and Executive branches.

On top of all that, he was the first President to reside in the White House.

After he lost re-election to Jefferson, Adams went back home to his farm. After a time, he began corresponding with Jefferson at the urging of a mutual friend and eventually rekindled their friendship. They wrote for fourteen years, sending 158 letters.

Adams outlived his wife and two of his children. He lived to see his son John Quincy become President, making him the first of only two father/son Presidents.

When Adams died on July 4, 1826 (the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence), his last words were of Jefferson. Some reports say that he said, "Jefferson still lives." Others say that only the name "Jefferson" was legible. Regardless, in a sad twist of fate, Jefferson did not still live. He was killed a few hours earlier in a duel with Aaron Burr.