John Adams

Upbringing 

 John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[1] He was the oldest of three sons.^[2] His mother's name was Susanna Boylston Adams and his father's name was John Adams Sr. John's ancestors were the founders of the Puritians, which was a very large honor.^[3] Growing up  both of his parents were very fond of reading, so they both agreed to give there son a good education.^[4] John went to Harvard College to study law and graduated in 1755, he was the first of his family to go to college. His religion was Unitarian , which is the love of God and humans.^[5] 

Marriage and Children 

 Adams married a woman named Abigail Smith Adams on October 25, 1764. He described her as wise, strong-willed, passionate, and a well spirited women. They had four children, Abigail Amelia Adams (1765-1813), John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), who later became the sixth president of the United States, Susanna Adams (1768-1770), Charles Adams (1770-1800), and Thomas Boylston Adams (1772-1832).^[6]

Prior Offices Held 

Before Adams became the president the prior offices that he held were that he was a part of an outcry for Writs of Assistance and provided access to the library of the Attorney General. Also from 1785 to 1788 Mr. Adams was the minister for the Court of St. James.^[7] He also served as the Minister to England and France between the years of 1778 and 1785. ^[8]

John Adams ran for vice president against Thomas Jefferson and won. He identified himself as George Washington's administer, who was president at this time, and served a two year term. Which was very frustrating for him, this is what he said to his wife Abigail "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of men contrived or his imagination conceived."^[9] 

Election of 1796

John Adams planned on running for President against Thomas Jefferson in 1796. Throughout the election period Jefferson was accused of making people vote for him by Adams. Although, in the end, Adams had the advantage over Jefferson, since George Washington approved and wanted Adams to win. John Adams won with a total of 71 electoral votes and Jefferson only having 68 votes. Since Jefferson had the second most votes, he was declared the Vice President for Adams.^[10]

Presidency 

In 1797, John Adams became the 2nd president of the United States, and during this time there was a war going on between the French and the British. The war was causing a variety of difficulties.  In 1798, John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were made to weaken the Democratic- Republican Party, also it increased the residency requirements from 5 to 15 years for all people who wanted to become or were American Citizens. Many people did not support these laws, so they began to agree with the Democratic- Republic Party.  John Adams served only one term as president and that was from 1797-1801.^[11]

Party Affiliation

Federalist

Influential Moments

• He was a founding father
• He is on Mount Rushmore
• He kept the war from occurring between the U.S. and France in the XYZ Affair
• He was involved in the Peace Treaty with England in 1783
• Wrote influential essays, constitutions, and treaties^[12] 

Salary 

John Adams earned around $25,000 dollars per year as president.^[13]

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Cabinet (1797-1801)

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Death

John Adams died July 4, 1826 in Monticello. The cause of his death was heart failure which was caused by arteriosclerosis.^[16]Before John had died, he made a toast declaring that the 4th of July would represent "Indepdence Forever!" Thomas Jefferson had also died the same day as Adams had, and it was also the 50th birthday of the country. Unaware that Jefferson had already died, John Adams said, "Thomas Jefferson still survives." John Adams was buried in First Parish Church, the church is located in Quincy, MA, which is very close to Boston. His son John Quincy Adams would later be buried next to his father in the vault.^[17]

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