Title: John Adams
 
Author: David McCullough
 
Backstory:
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough didn’t intend to write a book about John Adams, the second president of the United States. Instead, he set out to explore the relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson but became fascinated by Adams’ life and role in the development of the fledgling U.S. This chronicle, which took seven years to write, has drawn admirers from the business community, who marvel at Adams’ modest background and his commitment to the revolutionary cause and public service. His son, John Quincy Adams, would later become the sixth U.S. president, a father-son feat not repeated until the presidencies of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. “I find John Adams to be not just great history but lessons I can put into practice every day,” says John Stumpf, C.E.O. of Wells Fargo & Co. “I value the lessons it teaches about how we should conduct ourselves—with tenacious commitment to our principles—not just in business but in our personal lives and in our lives as American citizens.”

Total reading time: 1,200 minutes
 
First published: 2001
 
Key passages:
“He was lively, pungent, and naturally amiable—so amiable, as Thomas Jefferson would later write, that it was impossible not to warm to him. He was so widely read, he could talk on almost any subject, sail off in almost any direction.” (page 48)

“The happiness of the people was the purpose of government,” Adams wrote. “And therefore that form of government was best which produced the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number.” (page 102)

“He had never walked away from work that needed doing. He had never failed to speak his mind when it counted, to take a stand and fight for what he believed. Yet remarkably, he had never lost his temper or attacked anyone in a personal way, no matter the bitterness or inner fury to be found in some of his private writing.” (page 163)

Synopsis:
In this prizewinning biography, David McCullough brings to life the story of a long overlooked and underappreciated figure of the American Revolution, John Adams.

Adams was a prolific writer who ensured that his diaries and correspondence—particularly the letters he and his wife, Abigail, wrote to each other and the notes he sent and received from the other founding fathers—were preserved. Weaving this primary material throughout the book, McCullough spins a lively year-by-year narrative, addressing each stage of Adams’ life in chronological order, using his subject’s own words to give us first-person insight into his role in shaping the early republic.

The tale begins with Adams’ birth, in 1735, into a devout Puritan farming family in Massachusetts; continues with his years at Harvard, where he prepared to become a leading Boston attorney; and goes on to document his role in 1770 as the legal representative for the British soldiers on trial for the Boston Massacre, a role that highlighted Adams’ deep commitment to principle and brought him international fame as a lawyer. Four years later, Adams proved his political mettle again in the First Continental Congress and went on to serve in Europe on behalf of the colonies for most of the Revolutionary War, attempting to secure political and financial alliances with countries such as France and the Netherlands. His successes there, particularly in securing a $5 million loan from the Netherlands, were key to the military and economic survival of the U.S., cementing Adams’ reputation as a devoted civil servant.

After the war, Adams, a member of the Federalist Party, served as vice president under George Washington and then as the country’s second president, from 1797 to 1801. During this period, his legacy began to solidify. Displaying the stubbornness he became known for, President Adams fought popular opinion with his opposition to joining the 1798 Quasi-War between England and France, making an enemy of Alexander Hamilton, who believed the U.S. should side with England. Adams also courted controversy in his legislative work with laws like the Sedition Act, which sought to restrict free speech and punish anyone who spoke out against the government. These decisions led to a severe break with Thomas Jefferson, who, by opposing and criticizing Adams’ leadership, earned enough support to succeed his former friend as president in 1801.

Immediately following Jefferson’s election, Adams retired to his home in Braintree, Massachusetts, where he spent the rest of his life working on his farm, writing, and corresponding with his generation of political friends. (Abigail had died several years earlier.) Adams passed away on July 4, 1826, just hours after Jefferson, with whom he had long since reconciled. Though Adams’ diaries betray disappointment that his sacrifices for his country were, during his lifetime, unappreciated, McCullough paints a portrait of a selfless, honest, and straightforward politician, whose contributions to the U.S. are worthy of admiration.