John Adams: Ego in Chief

John Adams   

President: Mar. 4, 1797–Mar. 3, 1801

Age at inauguration: 57

Political Party: Federalist

What I read:

John Adams by David McCullough

Age at death: 90. He died July 4^th, the same day as Thomas Jefferson.

Cause of Death: It was reported by a family member that his death was, "merely the cessation of the functions of a body worn out by age." Some doctors believe it was likely congestive heart failure.  It is rumored that Adams' last words were: "Thomas Jefferson survives." In fact, "the last word was indistinct and imperfectly uttered."

Health & Appearance: Stood 5’7” with blue eyes and light brown hair. He was always a bit round in appearance but muscular from life on the farm and his love of the outdoors. After first refusing a smallpox inoculation, he later contracted it and had a terrible case. He may have had hyperthyroidism. He endured reoccurring bouts of depression and might have had bipolar disorder or other mental health issues which, during period of high stress, kept him bed ridden. He was once in a coma for five days. He smoked and chewed tobacco, liked to drink, had a tremor, and lost his teeth but refused dentures so he lisped.

Pre-Presidency: John Adams was a farmer and a college graduate. He studied law and was a popular lawyer in Boston. He taught Latin. He was a cousin of Samuel Adams (who he thought was an extremist). He was a member of the Continental Congress. He was instrumental in holding the colonies on their course of rebellion. He was editor of the Declaration of Independence, and Vice President under Washington.

Adams and Franklin helped get France involved in the Revolutionary War. Adams hated that Franklin achieved this goal by partying with the French.  Adams held office hours while Franklin held court until the wee hours of the morning. 

So why a picture of John and Abigail? IMO they were the first power couple in the presidency.  Abigail Adams had formal education, which was rare for the time. She advocated for education and, as an early suffragette, fought for voting rights for women. She took no shit and kept her husband’s ego in check.  She was his sounding board and he valued her advice although he did not always take it.

Major accomplishments & leadership: 

He was the first president to reside in the presidential mansion known as the White House.

Adams kept us out of a major conflict with France by refusing to pay bribes to stop them from attacking U.S. ships and increased the size of our Navy, which then won battles against the French.

He appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

He did not own slaves and was against slavery as an institution.

He got us out of the Quasi-War with England but was hampered by a congress who disliked him.

Adams was barely elected over Jefferson. Jefferson, writing under a pen name, attacked Adams in the press constantly.  Adams’ decision to sign into law the hotly debated Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, drove his allies away. He was the first president to cry “fake news” and, although it was true, his arrogance, combined with Jefferson’s attacks, kept him from getting reelected.

Are you kidding me? 

He drank a pint of stout every morning.

During the Presidential campaign against Jefferson, Adams called him, "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father" and, in an attack ad, warned of the consequences of a potential Jefferson presidency: "Murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced, the air will be rent with the cries of the distressed, the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes." Kind of makes today’s political climate seem tame by comparison!

Years before, while still friends, Adams and Jefferson visited the home of Shakespeare and Adams chipped a piece of Shakespeare’s chair as a keepsake.

What I learned: 

Adams, like several founders, took time to come around to independence, but once he did his impassioned debates were instrumental in holding the Continental Congress together.  He was one of the few founders so hated by the Crown that he risked being hung if captured.

Adams was best as a legislator, political organizer, and lawyer. However, once he was elected President, those skills worked against him.  Where Washington took advice from many viewpoints before a final decision, Adams did no such thing. If Abigail could not change his mind then there was no wiggle room.  He was self-aware enough to realize he was pretentious and brash, yet he refused to change. By his own words, he was a powerful, brilliant, and arrogant mind.

PRECEEDED BY: George Washington

SUCCEEDED BY: Thomas Jefferson