John Adams was a central participant as lawyer, politician, diplomat and political theorist to the creation and early development of the American republic. In major works of political theory he pondered the problem of forms of government more deeply than any contemporary, while his diary and extensive correspondence present both a unique history of the turbulent times through which he lived and an invaluable personal portrait.
Adams was born on October 19, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts, into a family of farmers, originally settled there from England in 1640, now of a certain local prominence. As a boy he wanted to farm and he remained attracted to the outdoors. However, his father intended him for the ministry and Adams was first despatched to the town’s unsatisfactory Latin school
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Citation: Pollard, Alistair Finn. "John Adams". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 November 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=30, accessed 23 November 2024.]