John Adams

John Adams was our second President, serving from 1897-1801. He came to the office with a wealth of political experience. Adams had served in the Massachusetts colonial legislature, the Continental Congress, and a variety of diplomatic missions in Europe. He had also served as the first American minister to the Court of St. James (England) after the Revolutionary War. That had proven a particularly difficult assignment, as most Englishmen considered him a rebel traitor who should have been executed rather than a minister from a sovereign nation
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Lesson Plans | Primary Sources |

 

Lesson Plans:

Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts - Adams grew tired of having foreign born men in congress. Fearing espionage the Alien and Sedition Acts were pushed through legislation in order to guarantee more 'American' statesmen.

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From the President's Lips: The Concerns that Led to the Sedition (and Alien) Act - What conditions provided the impetus for the Sedition Act? This Lesson plan includes primary source documents like speeches and a brief biography.

Primary Source Documents:

Adams Family Papers/Manuscript Collection - The Adams Papers project was founded in 1954 to prepare a comprehensive published edition of the manuscripts written and received by the family of John Adams of Quincy, Massachusetts. The Adams Family Papers manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society forms the nucleus of the project. In addition, the editors have gathered over 27,000 copies of Adams items from hundreds of libraries, institutions, and individuals in the United States and abroad.
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Federalist Party
Adams' Biography
Adams' National Historical Park.