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John Adams
2nd President of the United States Nickname: “Atlas of Independence” Born: October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts |
Father: John Adams
Mother: Susanna Boylston Adams
Married: Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818), on October 25, 1764
Children: Abigail Amelia Adams (1765-1813); John Quincy Adams (1767-1848); Susanna Adams (1768-70); Charles Adams (1770-1800); Thomas Boylston Adams (1772-1832)
Religion: Unitarian
Education: Graduated from Harvard College (1755)
Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Federalist
Other Government Positions:
- Member of Continental Congress, 1774-78
- Commissioner to France, 1778
- Minister to the Netherlands, 1780
- Minister to England, 1785
- Vice President, 1789-97 (under
Washington)
Presidential Salary: $25,000/year
| Year | Electoral Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 | George Washington |
69 |
| John Adams | 34 | |
| John Jay | 9 | |
| R. H. Harrison | 6 | |
| John Rutledge | 6 | |
| John Hancock | 4 | |
| George Clinton | 3 | |
| Samuel Huntington | 2 | |
| John Milton | 2 | |
| James Armstrong | 1 | |
| Benjamin Lincoln | 1 | |
| Edward Telfair | 1 | |
| (Votes Not Cast) | 12 | |
| 1792 | George Washington |
132 |
| John Adams | 77 | |
| George Clinton | 50 | |
| Thomas Jefferson |
4 | |
| Aaron Burr | 1 | |
| 1796 | John Adams | 71 |
| Thomas Jefferson |
68 | |
| Thomas Pinckney | 59 | |
| Aaron Burr | 30 | |
| Samuel Adams | 15 | |
| Oliver Ellsworth | 11 | |
| George Clinton | 7 | |
| John Jay | 5 | |
| James Iredell | 3 | |
| George Washington |
2 | |
| John Henry | 2 | |
| S. Johnston | 2 | |
| Charles C. Pinckney | 1 | |
| 1800 | Thomas Jefferson |
73 |
| Aaron Burr | 73 | |
| John Adams | 65 | |
| Charles C. Pinckney | 64 | |
| John Jay | 1 |
Vice President: Thomas Jefferson (1797-1801)
Cabinet:
- Secretary of State
- Timothy Pickering (1797-1800)
- John Marshall (1800-01)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1797-1800)
- Samuel Dexter (1801)
- Secretary of War
- James McHenry (1797-1800)
- Samuel Dexter (1800-01)
- Attorney General
- Charles Lee (1797-1801)
- Secretary of the Navy
- Benjamin Stoddert (1798-1801)
Supreme Court Appointments:
- Chief Justice
- John Marshall (1801-35)
- Associate Justice
- Bushrod Washington (1799-1829)
- Alfred Moore (1800-04)
- 1796
- E Pluribus Unum: “Out of Many, One”; is added to American coins.
- 1797
- Three anonymous French troublemakers bring France and the U.S. to the brink of war in what comes to be known as the XYZ Affair.
- 1798
- Federalists support the highly unpopular Alien and Sedition Acts. They would later be repealed.
- 1800
- The U.S. capital is moved to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia.
- Jefferson defeats Adams.
- Congress establishes the Library of Congress.
- John Adams — from The Presidents of the United States of America
- Compiled by the White House.
- John Adams — from American Presidents: Life Portraits — C-SPAN
- Biographical information, trivia, key events, video, and other reference materials. Website created to accompany C-SPAN’s 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits.
- John Adams — from U.S. Presidents
- From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
- Biography of John Adams — from From Revolution to Reconstruction
- Biography written by Jim Liesenfelt for this American Revolution HTML project.
- Adams National Historical Site
- The birthplace of John Adams and other notable Americans. From the National Park Service.
- John Adams Building
- Inscriptions and quotations in the John Adams Building of the Library of Congress. Photographs of this building of the Library of Congress are included.
- The Adams’ were the first residents of the White House. They moved in in November 1800 while the paint was still wet. Mrs. Adams would hang her laundry in the East Room to dry.
- Adams was one of six presidents not to attend the inauguration of his successor. Not only was Adams disappointed in losing to Jefferson, he was also grieving the death of his son Charles.
- President Adams was the great-great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden, Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
- To ensure that they received a fair trial, John Adams represented the British soldiers accused of the 1770 Boston Massacre even though he was opposed to British taxation.
- John Adams helped negotiate (with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay), the Treaty of Paris that brought an end to the Revolutionary War.
- The only presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence, Adams and Jefferson both died on its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826. Adams’ dying words were “Thomas Jefferson survives”. Jefferson, however, had passed on a few hours earlier.
Previous President: George Washington | Next President: 
Thomas Jefferson
©1996-2008. Robert S. Summers. All rights reserved.