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John Adams

2nd President of the United States
(March 4, 1797 to March 3, 1801)

Nickname: "Atlas of Independence"

Born: October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts
Died: July 4, 1826, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts

Father: John Adams
Mother: Susanna Boylston Adams
Married: Abigail Smith (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

**Presidential Election Results:**
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. (1797-1801); 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)

Notable Events:

1796
- E Pluribus Unum: "Out of Many, One"; added to American coins.
1797
- Three anonymous French trouble makers brought France and the U.S. to the brink of war in what became known as the XYZ Affair.
1798
- Federalists support the highly unpopular Alien and Sedition Acts. They would later be repealed.
1800
- U.S. capital relocated to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia.
- Jefferson defeated Adams.
- Congress established Library of Congress.

Internet Biographies:

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 The American President: 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. Still under construction, but does contain some original material.

Historical Documents:

Novanglus (1775)
Inaugural Address (1797)
XYZ Affair (1797)
Thoughts on Government

Other Internet Resources:

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.

Points of Interest:

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 three 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.
Adams was the great-great-grandson of John and Priscilla Alden, Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
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