John Adams

A summary of John Adams

John Adams was born October 30th, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts. His father, John Adams Sr, was a farmer and a town councilman. His mother, Susanna Boylston Adams, was a descendant of the Boylston’s of Brookline, a prominent family in colonial Massachusetts. At the age of 16, John Adams earned a scholarship to the University of Harvard. After graduating at the age of 20 in 1755, John studied law in the office of James Putnam, a prominent lawyer.

At the age of 30, John finds himself defending the redcoats in court after the Boston Massacre had happened. After many sessions in court, the jury returns and finds that the redcoats are not guilty. That same year, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts Assembly and was one of five to represent the colony at the First Continental Congress, in 1774. Adam’s then nominated George Washington of Virginia as its commander-in-chief.

Soon, Adam’s was serving on as many as 90 committees in the fledgling government, more than any congressman, and in 1777, he became head of the Board of War and Ordinance, which oversaw the continental army. Later, in 1785, Adams became the first U.S. minister to England. In 1788, Adams returned home after being in Europe for 10 years. In 1789, he was placed on the ballot for America’s first presidential election. As expected, George Washington won the election. Because of this, Adam’s was elected the first vice president of America. As vice president, Adams had a hard time with Washington because they did not agree with some political or legal issues.

In 1796, John Adams became the second president of the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson became vice president while Adams was serving his term. During Adams presidency, a war broke out between the French and British, and John didn’t want the war to break out, so he didn’t sign the declaration of war. In 1800, the undeclared war had ended. Later on, Adams lost popularity to the public, and was not voted for his second term, instead, Thomas Jefferson became the president. After presidency, He and his wife Abigail lived out on their family farm in Quincy. There, he continually wrote to his new friend Thomas Jefferson. On July 4th 1826, Both Thomas and Adams died.

Opinion piece on the TV show 

I thought that the TV show that told the story of John Adams was pretty interesting. I thought it was very cool that I got to see and learn more about that time. My favorite episode was probably the very first one. This one introduces John Adams as the Boston Massacre takes place. He then is asked to defend the redcoats in court. In the end, the jury finds the defendant not guilty.

 Another cool thing that I learned while watching the show episodes where how his children grew up and how successful they were. John Quincy Adams, John Adams’ son, was the sixth president of the United States of America. Nabby, their daughter, grew up, got married. And had kids. But Nabby sadly died due to of breast cancer. Charles was not what they were expecting. Charles grew up to be a drunkard and then soon died because of an illness. Thomas, like his brother Charles, had trouble with alcoholism. Thomas died in 1832, deeply in debt.

My overall opinion on the mini-series was that it was informational, exciting, and engaging the entire way through. I don’t know if I could watch it again, one time was enough for me. Even though I am not into politics and stuff like that, I didn’t mind the mini-series. I would recommend this series to people who like John Adams, like politics, and like history.