The 2nd POTUS John Adams was born on this day in 1735.

Ten Notes On POTUS John Adams.

1. John Adams was the first Vice President of the United States. He was Vice President for eight years for George Washington. He hated being Vice President. His quote on the Vice Presidency was ” My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” The job that Adams really wanted was to be named the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

2. John Adams raised his son John Quincy to be POTUS. JQ’s was raised as a president in waiting and it turned out he did become POTUS #6. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were the only father-son to be POTUS until George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush came along. There was one grandfather-grandson- William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.

3. John Adams was not a striking figure physically. He was short, 5’7″ and weighed 190 pounds. He had brown eyes and brown hair. For most of his life we complained about his health. Yet for all his supposed health problems he lived to be 90 years and 247 days old. He was the oldest living president until recent times when Ford and Ronaldus Magnus passed him up. I think it was far more impressive to live have made it to 90 back then though. Four POTUS have lived to be at least 90. Ford and Ronaldus Magnus 93, Adams and Herbert Hoover 90. George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter are closing in on 90 and still going strong.

4. John Adams was the first POTUS to live in the White House. The White House hadn’t been built when George Washington was POTUS. He was also the only POTUS among the first 5ive who was not from Virginia and also the only one of the first 5ive that did not own slaves. Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe all were from Virginia and all were slave owners.

5. John Adams was a difficult man to like. He was very opinionated and never hesitated in sharing his opinions. He didn’t have a filter. What he thought he tended to say. He offended a lot of people. Most likely he also suffered from some kind of chemical imbalance. He would have moments when he was riding high and then he’d go to feeling like the lowest form of life on earth. He was a brilliant man though. I just don’t think someone of his temperament could be electable today.

6. Adams had a miserable presidency. It started out bad, on Inauguration Day, he is finally POTUS after 8 years of playing second fiddle to the great Washington. All eyes that day were not on Adams but on Washington.  What an act he had to follow. He thought since Washington was so admired and loved that it would transfer over to him. The thing was it wasn’t the office of POTUS that the people loved it was Washington. Adams would be an unpopular president. He also had according to the U.S. Constitution at that time Thomas Jefferson as his VIce President. The losing candidate for POTUS became Vice Daddy back then. Adams and Jefferson would have an interesting relationship throughout their lives but having Jefferson as Vice Daddy and then having Jefferson challenge him again in the election of 1800 didn’t help matters. Adams made one of the biggest bonehead mistakes of any POTUS with the Alien and Sedition laws of 1798. The one blemish on an otherwise stellar career.

7. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day/year. After their careers of public service were over they became fast friends once again. They sent letters back and forth to each other. Fascinating, wonderful letters. You can buy a book of these letters. Anyhow. On July 4,1726, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson died. Three hours later John Adams died. His last words “Thomas Jefferson survives” He had no way of knowing that Jefferson had died earlier in the day. Amazingly 5ive years later the 5th POTUS James Monroe would also die on a July 4th.

8. Adams was not a great POTUS but he was a great American. I think for a number of years he hadn’t got his just do but in recent years with the David McCullough’s book “John Adams” an excellent book { David McCullough is not capable of writing anything that isn’t top notch} and the HBO mini-series “John Adams” he is getting the love he deserves.

9. Offices that John Adams served in- Member of the Massachusetts legislature, Member, Revolutionary Provincial Congress of Massachusetts,  Delegate, First Continental Congress, Delegate Second Continental Congress,  Member, Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, U.S. Minister to France, U.S. Minister to Netherlands, U.S. Minister to Great Britain. Vice-President of the United States [or Vice Daddy as he called it} and President of the United States.

10. John Adams was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence by the committee who was assigned to do so. Adams persuaded them to give the job to Thomas Jefferson instead. So it is Tom Jefferson who wrote it. Adams would later regret his decision to  pass it on to Jefferson.