John Adams

Hello! My name is John Adams, and I am excited to tell you my story. I was born on a farm in a small town called Braintree, Massachusetts, way back on October 30th, 1735. As a boy, I loved reading more than just about anything. While my father hoped I would become a minister, my heart was set on studying the law. I believed that understanding rules and laws was the best way to ensure people were treated fairly. I worked hard in my studies. After I finished my studies at Harvard College in 1755, I became a lawyer, ready to help my community and stand up for what was right. I was eager to use my knowledge to make a difference in the world around me.

As a young lawyer, I met and fell in love with the clever and wonderful Abigail Smith, and we were married in 1764. During this time, many of us in the American colonies were growing unhappy with the rules being made for us by the King of Great Britain. We felt it wasn't fair to be taxed when we had no voice to represent us in the government making those rules. I decided to use my words and my knowledge of the law to speak out against these injustices. I even did something very difficult in 1770; I defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. It was not a popular decision, but I believed so strongly that everyone, no matter what, deserved a fair trial to determine if they were innocent or guilty. Soon after, I was chosen to travel to Philadelphia to meet with leaders from all the other colonies at a special meeting called the Continental Congress.

In Philadelphia, I worked with brilliant people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The year 1776 was one of the most important of my life. I was chosen to be on a committee to write a very special document: the Declaration of Independence. I argued with all my might for the colonies to approve it and declare that we were a new, free country, separate from Great Britain. During the Revolutionary War that followed, I sailed across the ocean to Europe. My job was to be a diplomat and ask other countries, like France, for their help in our fight for freedom. It was a long and difficult war, but we finally won. After the war was over, I helped write the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which was the official agreement that the war was over and the United States of America was truly independent.

After helping to create our new nation, I continued to serve it in other ways. In 1789, when my good friend George Washington became our very first president, I was honored to become the first-ever Vice President. I served alongside him for eight years, helping to guide our young country through its earliest days. Then, in 1797, the American people elected me to be the second President of the United States. It was a great honor, but also a great challenge to lead a country that was still so young and figuring out its path. During my time as president, my wife Abigail and I became the very first family to live in the new President's House in Washington, D.C., which you now know as the White House.

After my presidency ended, I retired to my family farm back in Massachusetts. I spent my time reading, writing, and enjoying my family. I even started writing letters again to my old friend Thomas Jefferson, and we shared our thoughts on many subjects for many years. I lived to be 90 years old, and my life ended on a very special day: July 4th, 1826. It was exactly 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted. I am remembered as one of America's Founding Fathers, who used my voice and my belief in the law to help build a new nation founded on liberty.