John Adams

John Adams (Http://elizparker.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/john-adams5.jpg )

Who is John Adams? Is he a lawyer? Is he a husband, or a president? Is he a Founding Father, or just a father? Is he testy, or just misunderstood? To tell you the truth, he’s all of this together. John Adams is a hero since, though not the most prominent, he was one of the devoted men who got us here today. I will show you why.

John Adams was born on October 13th, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts and lived on a farm next to the place of his birth. When John was young, he farmed with his father, and wanted it to stay that way. But his father, also a deacon, had different plans. John was a Puritan, which was a stricter form of Christianity, over any other religion and some household items were considered sinful. Deacon Adams wanted his son to go to college and wanted his younger brothers, Elihu and Peter, to work at the farm. Eventually, John was soon sent to Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated a great student. After teaching for a bit, he was tutored by James Puttnam to be a young lawyer. He kept teaching and was tutored simultaneously for three years. Soon enough, he was ready and became a real lawyer. And he was a great lawyer indeed.

He, after many years, decided to get wed. He fell in love with Abigail Smith and soon married her. After his father's sad death, he and Abigail moved to Braintree to farm on his father's land given to him. They lived there for a while peacefully until the “Acts” from Britain were announced. Soon, John was arguing in the court for America’s sake. We are all glad he did.

John also had a few problems in life. When he later became president, he sometimes made difficult decisions for the country. For example, when he was trying to think whether to declare war opposed to France or leave it as it is during the Quasi-War before the French Revolution, and he had people on two sides. The Federalists, his own party, who agreed that they should have a strong central government and thought war was worthy. And then he had the Democratic-Republicans, who believed in states' rights and sided with France. When he resisted siding with France and made a treaty with England, the Democratic-Republicans were furious. Another example of his unpopularity was that some people saw him as vain, which made him very disliked. Another problem he had was his pride. For it almost made him resign from vice president because he came in second. But, fortunately he swallowed his pride and stayed. Also, when Abigail died, he had many struggles, for she wasn’t only his wife, but his conscience and his best friend, which is something horrid to lose. But, he was able to struggle through that sad day in October 1818, and he moved along. And, avoiding these obstacles, he became a proud John Adams.

John also made many contributions to our country. One is when he finally made signed a treaty with France. He also went against the “acts” of Great Britain and fought for our rights. One more contribution he made was when he signed the Declaration of Independence and he joined Congress. In Congress, I’m guessing, he made this quote, “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”-John Adams. This quote clearly states that he didn’t exactly believe in democracy, but rather in a republic. As Benjamin Franklin, when asked what kind of government he had helped found, replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

He also was recognized for his many deeds to our country. He was a peace maker between the US and France. He also became our second president and was the first to live in the White House. He also was the first vice president. Because he made these contributions, we are America.

He has three very interesting traits. He was a bit headstrong, and let’s face it, we all are, but he did like his own decisions for the country. When he was sent to France earlier in his life, he begged to go back home because he didn’t like it there. Another trait that he had was that he was an extremely talented lawyer. He was so terrific, he was taken to court for Britain’s Stamp Act, and made a very superior impression on the people with his lawyer skills. Also, he was eventually able to make a treaty with England because of his skill. The last trait I’d like to share with you is that he was very patriotic. When he was happy about the Boston Tea Party and thought it was right and he refused to work for England when they wanted him. He also believed in the freedom of our country and supported it by signing the Declaration of Independence and taking part in congress. These traits make him John, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

In conclusion, John Adams was not very popular back then, but now I believe that John Adams is a hero, for all the little things he’s done to make our country better.