Years in Office: 1797 to 1801

Without John Adams we might have had no Independence Day to celebrate. He was one of the first men in the colonies to argue that we should seek freedom for England. John Adams served with Thomas Jefferson on the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence. He helped convince Continental Congress that the Declaration should be accepted, and as a result, on July 4, 1776, our Country was born.

John Adams, like many of our presidents, was a lawyer. He graduated from Harvard University. In spite of his great patriotism, courage, and honesty, Adams was an unpopular president. Proud and stubborn, he represented the influence and power of his secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and his Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson.

John Adams was the first president to live in the white house, then called the Castle. It was not finished inside and lacked landscaping. Adams' most important acts as President were: Keeping us out of war with France, establishing the Marine Corps and the Department of the Navy, and establishing the Library of Congress. The Fifth Amendment was added to the Constitution while he was president.