John Adams
At the end of yesterday's posting I said that I would focus on John Adams today. At the time I had yet to see the latest issue of USA Weekend (30 June-2 July 2006). The cover story titled What So Proudly We Hailed is about a discussion by David McCullough with some of the descendants of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson & Patrick Henry at John Adams home in Quincy, MA. The Adams' home is just 1 part of the Adams National Historical Park (http://www.nps.gov/adam/index.htm) found there in Quincy. If you would like to read it, the article can be found at: http://www.usaweekend.com/06_issues/060702/060702founding_fathers.html.
David McCullough is probably the most well respected & preeminent historians of our time. He has written several excellent books. For 2 of his books he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He has received many other awards. I own 2 of his books, 1776 & John Adams. I consider them 2 of the premier books in my collection.
David McCullough is probably the most well respected & preeminent historians of our time. He has written several excellent books. For 2 of his books he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He has received many other awards. I own 2 of his books, 1776 & John Adams. I consider them 2 of the premier books in my collection.
(http://www.electriceggplant.com/davidmccullough/)
1776 is his latest & tells of the events that occur that year in America. It doesn't focus much on the writing of the Declaration because that subject is covered in much more depth in his bio of John Adams. But, the book is much more than just a collection of information about those events. As a result of his extensive research on both sides of the Atlantic your are able to know, through quotes from letters, the 1st hand experiences of those involved, not just the elite & leaders, but the every day common people who were affected by these events.
John Adams came out in 2001. I have read several biographies & believe this to be the best of the lot. It is also 1 of his 2 Pulitzer Prize winners. Because of how their lives from about 1775 on, this is also, to a lesser extent, a partial biography of Thomas Jefferson. Again, this is much more than a rehashing of facts. Through the use of the various Adams journals & correspondence as well as those of others who came in conntact with the Adams you get to know him as a flesh & blood human being. McCullough doesn't cover up the flaws.
OK, so who was John Adams, 1 of my greatest heroes. The simple answer: delegate to both Contnental Congresses, signer of the Declaration of Independence, signer of the peace treaty between the USA & England, 1st American ambassador to the Court of St. James, 1st Vice-President & 2nd President. The real story is much more complex. My short answer is: "Without John Adams the USA would have never come into existance. He was the man behind the drive to declare independence, the 1 who brought it about, the man who insured the survival of the USA because of what he did as president in preventing war with both England & France.
Like most people growing up I didn't know much about John Adams. It wasn't until I discovered the movie version of the play 1776 that my interest in John Adams began. That movie very quickly became my favorite because of its theme, the start of our country. I will be honest, it isn't perfectly accurate, no play can be. In the paperback edition of the script, the authors talk about the changes they needed to make, the biggest of which is a having the Declaration being debated & edited before the final vote on Independence.
John Adams was born 30 Oct 1735 in Braintree (now Quincy) in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He graduated from Harvard & went on to become a lawyer. In 1764 he married Abigail Smyth (another mostly unsung hero from the early days of our country). As the various tax acts, stamp act etc. were passed & forced on the Colonies he began writing & speaking out against them. In 1770 he was 1 of 2 lawyers defending the English soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. He saw this as the morally right thing to do because he believed every accused person deserved the right to a lawyer to defend him at trial. His actions resulted in his being elected to Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1774 he was elected to represent Massachusetts in the 1st Continental Congress & to the 2nd in 1775. There he lead the charge to declare independence. He nominated Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. His work on getting the Navy going has won him the title of father of the navy. He served on the committee to write the Declaration & was the 1 who insisted on Jefferson writing it. He did make a few additions/changes before it was submitted to Congress. I could go on & on about his accomplishments. I would recommend David McCullough's book for the whole story. There you will come to understand how much we actually owe to him.
John Adams became my hero because of who he was. He had strong beliefs in what was right & wrong. He described himself as obnoxious & disliked. He also knew that he would be the forgotten Founding Father. At 1 point in the play Adams says the following to Adams (based on an actual writing of his): "I won't be in the history books anyway, only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them- Farnklin, Washington, and the horse- conducted the entire revolution by themselves." He deeply loved Abigail. He called her "his dearest friend".
1776 is his latest & tells of the events that occur that year in America. It doesn't focus much on the writing of the Declaration because that subject is covered in much more depth in his bio of John Adams. But, the book is much more than just a collection of information about those events. As a result of his extensive research on both sides of the Atlantic your are able to know, through quotes from letters, the 1st hand experiences of those involved, not just the elite & leaders, but the every day common people who were affected by these events.
John Adams came out in 2001. I have read several biographies & believe this to be the best of the lot. It is also 1 of his 2 Pulitzer Prize winners. Because of how their lives from about 1775 on, this is also, to a lesser extent, a partial biography of Thomas Jefferson. Again, this is much more than a rehashing of facts. Through the use of the various Adams journals & correspondence as well as those of others who came in conntact with the Adams you get to know him as a flesh & blood human being. McCullough doesn't cover up the flaws.
OK, so who was John Adams, 1 of my greatest heroes. The simple answer: delegate to both Contnental Congresses, signer of the Declaration of Independence, signer of the peace treaty between the USA & England, 1st American ambassador to the Court of St. James, 1st Vice-President & 2nd President. The real story is much more complex. My short answer is: "Without John Adams the USA would have never come into existance. He was the man behind the drive to declare independence, the 1 who brought it about, the man who insured the survival of the USA because of what he did as president in preventing war with both England & France.
Like most people growing up I didn't know much about John Adams. It wasn't until I discovered the movie version of the play 1776 that my interest in John Adams began. That movie very quickly became my favorite because of its theme, the start of our country. I will be honest, it isn't perfectly accurate, no play can be. In the paperback edition of the script, the authors talk about the changes they needed to make, the biggest of which is a having the Declaration being debated & edited before the final vote on Independence.
John Adams was born 30 Oct 1735 in Braintree (now Quincy) in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He graduated from Harvard & went on to become a lawyer. In 1764 he married Abigail Smyth (another mostly unsung hero from the early days of our country). As the various tax acts, stamp act etc. were passed & forced on the Colonies he began writing & speaking out against them. In 1770 he was 1 of 2 lawyers defending the English soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. He saw this as the morally right thing to do because he believed every accused person deserved the right to a lawyer to defend him at trial. His actions resulted in his being elected to Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1774 he was elected to represent Massachusetts in the 1st Continental Congress & to the 2nd in 1775. There he lead the charge to declare independence. He nominated Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. His work on getting the Navy going has won him the title of father of the navy. He served on the committee to write the Declaration & was the 1 who insisted on Jefferson writing it. He did make a few additions/changes before it was submitted to Congress. I could go on & on about his accomplishments. I would recommend David McCullough's book for the whole story. There you will come to understand how much we actually owe to him.
John Adams became my hero because of who he was. He had strong beliefs in what was right & wrong. He described himself as obnoxious & disliked. He also knew that he would be the forgotten Founding Father. At 1 point in the play Adams says the following to Adams (based on an actual writing of his): "I won't be in the history books anyway, only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them- Farnklin, Washington, and the horse- conducted the entire revolution by themselves." He deeply loved Abigail. He called her "his dearest friend".
I won't claim he was perfect, he wasn't. Sadly he signed the Alien & Sedition Acts. He didn't believe Catholics could be good citizens. & as he got older he turned his back on Christianity & became a Unitarian. He denied that Jesus was the Son of God.
I deeply love the United States. I love its values, what it stands for as proclaimed in the Declaration. This is because my maternal grandparents were immigrants from Italia. They came over because of the promises this country held out. As I learned about John Adams I came to love him, flaws & all. I am not to happy about his support of the Sedition Acts. But, in the end, I saw him as just as much the father of our country as George Washington is.
In yesterday's blog I pointed out what he said about celebrating America's independence. He may have gotten the date wrong. But he was very accurate on the how of celebrating the birth of the USA. Interestingly enough, while in France he became 1 of the 1st people to throw parties to celebrate the 4th.
Thank you John Adams.
(Again, I highly recommend reading David McCullough's books 1776 & John Adams as well as viewing the movie 1776.)
I deeply love the United States. I love its values, what it stands for as proclaimed in the Declaration. This is because my maternal grandparents were immigrants from Italia. They came over because of the promises this country held out. As I learned about John Adams I came to love him, flaws & all. I am not to happy about his support of the Sedition Acts. But, in the end, I saw him as just as much the father of our country as George Washington is.
In yesterday's blog I pointed out what he said about celebrating America's independence. He may have gotten the date wrong. But he was very accurate on the how of celebrating the birth of the USA. Interestingly enough, while in France he became 1 of the 1st people to throw parties to celebrate the 4th.
Thank you John Adams.
(Again, I highly recommend reading David McCullough's books 1776 & John Adams as well as viewing the movie 1776.)
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