Composer, born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. He studied at Harvard, then taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (197282) and was composer in residence with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (19825). His music, notably the opera Nixon in China (1987), is of the minimalist school, stressing relentless repetition. On the Transmigration of Souls, an orchestral and choral work commissioned to commemorate the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, premiered in New York City in 2002. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1997.
John Adams|
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| 2nd President of the United States | |
|---|---|
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In office March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 |
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| Vice President(s) | Thomas Jefferson |
| Preceded by | George Washington |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| 1st Vice President of the United States | |
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In office April 21, 1789 – March 4, 1797 |
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| President | George Washington |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| Born |
October 30, 1735 Braintree, Massachusetts |
| Died |
July 4, 1826 Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Abigail Smith Adams |
| Religion | Unitarian |
| Signature | |
John Adams (October 31, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a politician and Founding Father of the United States of America who served both as that nation's first Vice President (1789–1797), and as its second President (1797–1801). Adams was a sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and a diplomat in the 1770s. As a statesman and author Adams helped define a set of republican ideals that became the core of America's political value system: the rejection of hereditary monarchy in favor of rule by the people, hatred of corruption, and devotion to civic duty. but Adams is the most captivating founding father on most counts."
Early Life
John Quincy Adams was born the eldest of three brothers on October 30, 1735 (October 19 by the Old Style, Julian calendar), in Braintree, Massachusetts, though in an area which became part of Quincy, Massachusetts in 1792. His birthplace is now part of Adams National Historical Park. His father, a farmer, also named John (1690-1761), was a fourth-generation descendant of Henry Adams, who immigrated from Barton St. David, Somerset, England, to Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1636. His mother was Susanna Boylston Adams.
Young Adams graduated from Harvard College in 1755 and, for a time, taught school in Worcester and studied law in the office of James Putnam. Otis’s argument inspired Adams with zeal for the cause of the American colonies. Years later, when he was older, Adams undertook to write out, at length, his recollections of this scene.
In 1764, Adams married Miss Abigail Smith (1744–1818), the daughter of a Congregational minister, at Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Adams lacked the genius for popular leadership shown by his second cousin, Samuel Adams; Adams is credited with drafting the Massachusetts Constitution. Impetuous, intense and often vehement, Adams often found his inborn contentiousness to be a handicap in his political career.
Politics
Adams first rose to prominence as an opponent of the Stamp Act of 1765.
In 1768, Adams moved to Boston. After the Boston Massacre in 1770, several British soldiers were arrested and charged with the murder of four colonists, and Adams joined Josiah Quincy II in defending them.
Continental Congress
Adams was a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778. From that time onward, Adams championed the establishment and strengthening of an American Navy and is often referred to as the father of the United States Navy.
Today, the Declaration of Independence is remembered as the great revolutionary act, but Adams and most of his contemporaries saw the Declaration as a mere formality. The resolution to draft independent constitutions was, as Adams put it, "independence itself."
Thoughts on Government
At that time, Adams penned his Thoughts on Government (1776), the most influential of all political pamphlets written during the constitution-writing period. Adams contended, with remarkable force and persuasion, the necessary existence of social estates in any political society, and the need to precisely mirror those social estates in the political structures of the society.
Adams, viewing the world through a thoroughly classical lens, thought all American state constitutions needed to exhibit a wise balance much like the ancient English Constitution had for so long. Adams and his fellow American political thinkers resented little as much as a hereditary nobility distinguished by wealth and land. Such people lacked the necessary virtue to balance the people in the legislature, Adams thought, and were prone to corruption. Adams, unlike some Americans, was not keen on eliminating all vestiges of aristocracy. A distinguished group of independent, virtuous gentlemen, as Adams put it, could adequately balance the passions of the people represented in the lower house of the legislature.
Massachusetts' eventual constitution, ratified in 1780 and written largely by Adams himself, structured its government most closely on this view of politics and society. As the decade unfolded, and political debate reached a fiery pitch across the newly independent states, the ideas expressed so forcefully by Adams, whether agreed with or despised, could be found at the center of most pressing discussions about politics and society in newspapers, pamphlets, and convention halls.
Declaration of Independence
On June 7, 1776, Adams seconded the resolution introduced by Richard Henry Lee that "these colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states," acting as champion of these resolutions before the Congress until their adoption on July 2, 1776. Although that document was largely drafted by Jefferson, John Adams occupied the foremost place in the debate on its adoption. Many years later, Jefferson hailed Adams as, "The Colossus of that Congress—the great pillar of support to the Declaration of Independence, and its ablest advocate and champion on the floor of the House." The French government, however, did not approve of Adams’ appointment and subsequently, on Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes’ insistence, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Henry Laurens were appointed to cooperate with Adams. Since Jefferson did not leave the United States for the task and Laurens played a minor role, Jay, Adams and Franklin played the major part in the negotiations. Overruling Franklin, Jay and Adams decided not to consult with France;
Throughout the negotiations, Adams was especially determined that the right of the United States to the fisheries along the British-American coast should be recognized. Before these negotiations began, Adams had spent some time in the Netherlands (the Netherlands were then the only well functioning Republic in the world). With the aid of the Dutch patriot leader Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Adams secured the recognition of the United States as an independent government at The Hague on April 19, 1782 (in February 1782 the Frisian states were the first that recognized the United States). The Netherlands was the first European country to grant diplomatic recognition to the US, who appointed Adams – who later became president — as the first ambassador. Moreover, the house that Adams purchased during this stay in The Netherlands became the first American embassy on foreign soil anywhere in the world.
In 1785, John Adams was appointed the first American minister to the court of St. James (that is, ambassador to Great Britain). Adams admitted this, stating: "I must avow to your Majesty that I have no attachment but to my own country.”
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain referred to this period of Adams' diplomacy in remarks delivered on July 7, 1976 at the White House during the U.S. bicentenary. She said, in part:
Constitutional ideas
While in London, Adams published a work entitled A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States (1787). Adams, some have maintained, had become intellectually irrelevant by the time the Federal Constitution was ratified. Adams had completely missed this concept and revealed his continued attachment to the older version of politics.
Vice Presidency
While Washington was the unanimous choice for president, Adams came in second in the electoral college and became Vice President in the presidential election of 1789. (To expatiate this fact: the reason Adams played, involuntarily, a smaller role in the government, and indeed in the decisions of the Executive, was for precisely and only the reason that the Senate forbade the Vice President from taking part in their debates and Washington never asked Adams' for input on policy and legal issues. Taking the backseat was something to which Adams, the firebrand of the Revolution, was not accustomed.)
As president of the Senate, Adams cast twenty-nine tie-breaking votes—a record that only John C.
Presidency: 1797-1801
Policies
See also: John Adams' First State of the Union AddressIn 1796, after Washington refused to seek another term, Adams was elected the second president, defeating Thomas Jefferson, who became Vice President.
Adams' four years as president (1797–1801) were marked by intense disputes over foreign policy. Adams and the Federalists favored Britain, while Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans favored France. Adams and the moderate Federalists were able to avoid a war through various measures, some of which proved unpopular. They cracked down on political immigrants and domestic opponents with the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were signed by Adams in 1798. Some historians have noted that the Alien and Sedition Acts were relatively rarely enforced, as only 10 convictions under the Sedition Act have been identified and as Adams never signed a deportation order, and that the furor over the Alien and Sedition Acts was mainly stirred up by the Republicans. Adams was forced to name Washington as commander of the new army(the U.S Navy), and Washington demanded that Hamilton be given the #2 position. Adams reluctantly gave in. The rift between Adams and the High federalists (as Adams' opponents were called) grew wider. The High Federalists refused to consult Adams over the key legislation of 1798; They also alienated Adams and his large personal following.
For long stretches, Adams withdrew to his home in Massachusetts. In February 1799, Adams stunned the country by sending diplomat William Vans Murray on a peace mission to France. Adams avoided war, but deeply split his own party in the process. In the presidential election of 1800, Adams ran and lost the electoral vote narrowly.
Midnight Judges
As his term was expiring, Adams appointed a series of judges, called the "Midnight Judges" because most of them were formally appointed days before the presidential term expired.
Major presidential actions
Built up the US navy Fought the Quasi War with France Signed Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 Ended war with France through diplomacy Appointed John Marshall as Chief JusticeSpeeches
Inaugural Addresses
Inaugural Addresses (4 March 1797)State of the Union Address
First State of the Union Address (22 November 1797) Second State of the Union Address, (8 December 1798) Third State of the Union Address, (3 December 1799) Fourth State of the Union Address, (22 November 1800)Administration and Cabinet
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | John Adams | 1797–1801 |
| Vice President | Thomas Jefferson | 1797–1801 |
| Secretary of State | Timothy Pickering | 1797–1800 |
| John Marshall | 1800–1801 | |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Oliver Wolcott, Jr. | 1797–1800 |
| Samuel Dexter | 1800–1801 | |
| Secretary of War | James McHenry | 1797–1800 |
| Samuel Dexter | 1800–1801 | |
| Attorney General | Charles Lee | 1797–1801 |
| Postmaster General | Joseph Habersham | 1797–1801 |
| Secretary of the Navy | Benjamin Stoddert | 1798–1801 |
Supreme Court appointments
Adams appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Bushrod Washington – 1799 Alfred Moore – 1800 John Marshall (Chief Justice) – 1801States admitted to the Union
None
Post Presidency
Following his 1800 defeat, Adams retired into private life.
In 1812, Adams reconciled with Jefferson. Their mutual friend Benjamin Rush, who had been corresponding with both, encouraged Adams to reach out to Jefferson. Adams sent a brief note to Jefferson, which resulted in a resumption of their friendship, and initiated a correspondence which lasted the rest of their lives.
Sixteen months before his death, his son, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829), the only son of a former President to hold the office until George W. His son Thomas and his family lived with Adams and Louisa Smith (Abigail's niece by her brother William) to the end of Adams' life.
Death
On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Adams died at his home in Quincy. Adams was unaware that Jefferson, his great political rival — and later friend and correspondent — had died a few hours earlier on that same day.
Religious views
Adams was raised a Congregationalist, becoming a Unitarian at a time when most of the Congregational churches around Boston were turning to Unitarianism. As a youth, Adams' father had urged him to become a minister, but Adams refused, considering the practice of law to be a more noble calling. A detailed analysis of Adams' religion by Everett (1966) argues that Adams was not a deist, but he used deistic terms. Everett concludes that "Adams strove for a religion based on a common sense sort of reasonableness" and maintained that religion must change and evolve toward perfection.
In 1796, on Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, Adams wrote:
The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, let the Blackguard Paine say what he will." Adams was one of three presidents who died on the Fourth of July, along with Jefferson and Monroe (1831). The Adams Memorial is proposed in Washington, D.C. for John Adams and his family. Adams spoke with a lisp. Was the longest lived president at 90 years 253 days, until Ronald Reagan broke Adams's record on October 13, 2001.
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