Founding Father, author of the oldest written constitution still in force, and the second President of the United States.
John Adams was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, now Quincy, on 30 October 1735, into a family descended from the early English Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay. He trained as a lawyer and rose to prominence as one of the foremost advocates of American independence in the Continental Congress, where he proposed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army and pressed hardest for the Declaration of 1776.
He drafted the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1780, which remains the oldest functioning written constitution in the world and served as a model for the federal Constitution that followed. As a diplomat in Europe he helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that secured American independence and arranged the loans that kept the young republic solvent.
He served as the first Vice-President of the United States under Washington and in 1796 was elected the second President. As President he kept the United States out of a ruinous war with France through patient diplomacy, a decision he regarded as the proudest service of his career.
He founded a political dynasty. His son John Quincy Adams became the sixth President, and the Adams family gave the United States diplomats and statesmen for a further century. John Adams died on 4 July 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, on the same day as Thomas Jefferson.
The Adams name is a patronymic, the son of Adam, one of the oldest personal names of all. John Adams made it one of the founding names of the American republic.
Achievements
·Leading advocate of American independence in the Continental Congress
·Author of the Constitution of Massachusetts, 1780, the oldest written constitution still in force
·Negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, 1783
·First Vice-President and second President of the United States
·Founder of the Adams political dynasty
Frequently asked
What is John Adams famous for?
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Founding Father, author of the oldest written constitution still in force, and the second President of the United States. John Adams was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, now Quincy, on 30 October 1735, into a family descended from the early English Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay.
When was John Adams born?
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John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy). The full biographical record sits on the dedicated page on Clan Rising, set alongside the wider history of the Adams family.
When did John Adams die?
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John Adams died in 1826. That gave a lifespan of about 91 years.
How long did John Adams live?
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John Adams lived for around 91 years, from in 1735 to in 1826. The page records the substantive years in full, with the achievements and the geography that frame the life.
Where was John Adams born?
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John Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy), in England. The atlas links the birthplace to its tile page so the surrounding geography and other families of the area can be explored from the same record.
What is John Adams's connection to the Adams family?
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John Adams is recorded on Clan Rising as a Adams Family Champion, a figure whose life is inseparable from the surname. The Adams family page sets the wider context for the name and links through to every other notable bearer.
What did John Adams achieve?
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Headline achievements recorded for John Adams include Leading advocate of American independence in the Continental Congress, Author of the Constitution of Massachusetts, 1780, the oldest written constitution still in force, Negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, 1783 and First Vice-President and second President of the United States. The full list and the surrounding biographical record sit on the dedicated champion page.
Was John Adams a Adams?
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Yes. John Adams is filed on Clan Rising under the Adams family. The naming convention follows the surname a diaspora reader would search for today; titles, particles and pen names sort under that same canonical surname.