Born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1735, John Adams was a distinguished member of
both the First and the Second Continental Congresses. He is the man most directly responsible for persuading
Thomas Jefferson to be the author of the Declaration of Independence, and for ensuring the completed
document's passage. He is also the man responsible for the nomination and selection of George Washington
as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. During and following the war, Adams served as a
diplomat for the new nation in Europe, and he was elected as the nation's first vice president in 1789. As
vice president he was the first to cast a tie breaking vote in the Senate. While he attempted to actively
preside over the Senate, his only constitutionally assigned duty other than succession, he found the vice
presidency to be "the most insignificant office that was ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination
conceived."
With Adams' inauguration as the nation's second president, the peaceful transition of government clearly
demonstrated that the new republic, where the people ruled, established in the Constitution was viable. As
president, Adams was quickly faced with the prospect of the nation being pulled into a war involving France
and England. When American vessels and seaman became threatened, Adams persuaded the Congress to
establish the Navy. The nation was divided regarding both American involvement in the war, and as to
how Adams managed to avoid American participation in it, and in the election of 1800, the issue cost Adams his re-election.
John Adams, America's longest living president, died of debility, on July 4, 1826, at the age of 90.
He is buried at the First Unitarian Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. Adams' last words are recorded to have been, "Jefferson still survives,"
referring to his fellow patriot, Thomas Jefferson. Adams did not know that Jefferson himself had died only hours before.
Both of these founding fathers, who each played such crucial roles in declaring and establishing American
independence, died on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
| Date of Birth | Occupations | Wife | Children |
| 30 Oct 1735 | Teacher, Lawyer Diplomat | Abigail Smith | Three boys Two girls |
| Prior Military Service | Offices Held Before Presidency | Electoral and Popular Votes In 1796 | Age When First Inaugurated |
| None | Representative Massachusetts General Court Delegate First and Second Continental Congresses Member Mass. Provincial Congress Delegate Mass. Constitutional Convention Commissioner to France Minister to Netherlands and England Vice President | 71 Electoral Votes Popular Vote Unknown | 61 |
| Number of States When First Inaugurated | Population When First Inaugurated | Electoral and Popular Votes In 1800 | States Admitted to Union While President |
| 16 | 4,883,209 | 65 Electoral Votes Defeated Popular Vote Unknown | None |
| Offices Held After Presidency | Other Main Activities After Presidency | President at Time of Death | Date of Death |
None | Writer | John Quincy Adams | 4 July 1826 |
Q1: What historic event involving President Adams took place on November 1, 1800?
And the answer is...
Q2: What parental distinction do John Adams and
George H.W. Bush share?
And the answer is...
Q3: John Adams was the first college educated man to become president. From what
college did he graduate?
And the answer is...
Q4: John Adams was one of only two presidents to have also signed the Declaration
of Independence. Who was the other?
And the answer is...
Go to the page for John Adams maintained by the
White House
Historical Association.
Read more about John Adams on the
American Presidency site maintained by
Grolier's Encyclopedia Americana.
Go to the page for the
Adams National Historic Site
maintained by the National Park Service.
Read the Inaugural Addresses of each of our presidents by going to the site maintained by the
Bartleby Library.
