Abby Hoskin

The student will be able to generate a large understanding of the life of our second president John Adams.

 1735 Born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts on October 30th 1764 Married to Abigail Smith  1774 Chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress  1777 Elected as commissioner to France to negotiate a treaty of alliance  Obtained recognition of American independence from the Netherlands  Served on the commission that negotiated peace with Great Britain  1785 Appointed minister to Great Britain  1789 Elected Vice-President of the United States  1792 Re-elected Vice-President  1796 Elected President of the United States  1800 The Library of Congress was established  1800 The capital was moved to Washington, DC and the White House became home of the President 1800 Indiana territory was organized

 He was born on October 30 th, 1735, in Quincy Massachusetts  Skipped school to hunt and fish  Loved being outdoors  Wanted to live the life of a farmer  Loved to read books

 His dad was a farmer  A deacon in the Congregational Church.   He earned a living from farming and shoemaking.  He wanted his son to gain a good and formal education  As soon as John could read, his dad gave him the bible

 Attended school taught by female teacher  He went through a reading and writing class, followed by a Latin class  He excelled his studies  Went to Harvard University at age 15  Taught in a Latin school to earn tuition fees to study law  Graduated in 1775

 Set reputation as a blunt-speaking, and of independent mind  Served as a delegate between 1774 and 1777  Also diplomat of Europe between 1778 and 1788

 In the early days, the candidate receiving the second largest vote would become vice president  Thomas Jefferson, who opposed Adams during the election, became John Adam’s vice president  Adams won the election principally because he was recognized in the Washington Administration and he was able to win two electoral ballots from Jefferson states.

 Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton; party favored industry, banking, merchants, ect.  Democratic Republicans, Let by Thomas Jefferson, who advocated limited powers of for the federal government, believed in heavy taxation for Adam’s military buildup, they were much more organized  John Adams was a federalist

 Adams spent more time in congress than the did with his family.  Adams was married to a beautiful, smart woman named Abigail Smith  She usually felt lonely without John Around to help her with household and family duties.  She left behind about 2000 letters containing strong commentary, some of the strongest of her time.

 They had five children: -Abigail Amelia (1765–1813) -John Quincy (1767–1848), -Susanna (1768–1770), -Charles (1770–1800), -Thomas Boylston (1772–1832)  They usually spent long periods of time away from each other because Adams had government business

 He was able to avoid war with the French  He won the nation’s respect, even though he was criticized for signing the Alien and Sedition acts.  Pardoned the instigators of Fries’s Rebellion

 War erupted in 1792 because France attempted to export it’s revolutionary ideas to monarchical nations allied against the French  Britain joined France, which worried Americans because Britain was it’s main source of trade  Their ships started to seize American ships  Result was Jay’s treaty.  Plunged Adams into a foreign crisis

 Within months of retirement, Adams threw himself into his writing and commentary. For the rest of his life, Adams wrote prolifically, including his autobiography and a voluminous correspondence  With his retirement from public office, John and Abigail finally obtained the homelife that she had always wanted

 Both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Near noon, close to the time of Jefferson's death, Adams awakened from a deep sleep and with great effort proclaimed, "Thomas Jefferson survives." These were his last words, after which he fell into a coma. At about six o'clock in the evening, as the warm day turned cool, John Adams died. He was ninety-one years old.

 Q: What were John Adam’s last Words? “Thomas Jefferson Survives”