John Adams Life

John Adams

Early Life

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, (now known as Quincy) Massachusetts on the family farm. John was named after his father, a member of the church. His father was also the town's tax collector, selectman, constable and lieutenant of the militia. His father's occupation was farming. John's father passed away in the flu wave of 1761.

Of all the famous people in the Adams' life, somewhat little is known about John's mother, Susanna Boylston Adams. She was known to have a bad temper. She remarried in 1766 to Lt. John Hall. Apparently, John did not get along with his stepfather. Susanna Adams died in 1797, while John was serving his first year as President.

John had two younger brothers, Peter and Elihu. John Adams was the second cousin of Samuel Adams, fellow revolutionary and John was the third cousin to his future wife, Abigail Smith.

Growing up, John took advantage of the freedom given by his parents. In his autobiography, John wrote that he cared little for school and enjoyed all types of outdoor activities. John's favorite activity was hunting. Even as a child young john was a hard worker and also was good in school and on the farm. He was a very well mannered and intelligent young man.

Education and Early Career

He became interested in politics early in his career as a lawyer. In 1765 a crisis happened when the British Government passed the Stamp Act. This was an unpopular tax on public documents, newspapers, licenses, insurance policies, and even playing cards. Adams wrote powerful articles against the tax in the Boston Gazette. These articles helped to establish his reputation as a famous political thinker.

Adams' diplomatic career began in 1778 when he was sent to France to help negotiate a treaty of alliance. In 1780 he returned to Europe as minister to arrange for loans and trade agreements in France and the Netherlands. Two years later Adams, together with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay,...