Escritas

Poems List

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.

letter to Abigail Adams, 12 May 1780

3

In politics the middle way is none at all.

letter to Horatio Gates, 23 March 1776

2

A government of laws, and not of men.

in Boston Gazette (1774) no. 7; later incorporated in the Massachusetts Constitution (1780); see Ford 139:7

3

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

Notes for an Oration at Braintree (Spring 1772), in Diary and Autobiography of John Adams vol. 2 (1960)

2

The law, in all vicissitudes of government … will preserve a steady undeviating course … On the one hand it is inexorable to the cries of the prisoners; on the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace.

argument in defence of the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials, 4 December 1770; see Sidney 316:10

3

Comments (0)

ShareOn Facebook WhatsApp X
Log in to post a comment.

NoComments

John Adams (1735-1826) was a statesman, lawyer, writer, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Prior to that, he was vice president under George Washington, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and the chief American diplomat in Europe during the Revolution. Adams was a vocal advocate for American independence and played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence. His presidency was marked by tensions with France and the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts. Despite his historical significance, Adams is often remembered for his political rivalry with Thomas Jefferson, with whom he shared a long and complex correspondence after leaving office. He died on the same day as the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, an event he helped to create.