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The Portable John Adams

john adams jack diggins

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In addition to being an uncompromising defender of liberty, esteemed diplomat, and successor to George Washington, John Adams was a passionate and prolific writer. Adams biographer John Patrick Diggins gathers an impressive variety of his works in this compact, original volume, including parts of his diary and autobiography, and selections from his rich correspondence with this wife, Abigail, Thomas Jefferson, and others. The Portable John Adams also features his most important political works: “A Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law,” “Thoughts on Government,” “A Defense of Constitutions,” “Novanglus,” and “Discources in Davila.” There is no finer introduction to the protean genius of this seminal American philosopher.

533 pages, Paperback

First published June 29,2004

This edition

Format
533 pages, Paperback
Published
June 29, 2004 by Penguin Books
ISBN
9780142437780
ASIN
0142437786
Language
English

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About the author

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john adams

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the U.S. government as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first person to hold the office of vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams and his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson.
A lawyer and political activist prior to the Revolution, Adams was devoted to the right to counsel and presumption of innocence. He defied anti-British sentiment and successfully defended British soldiers against murder charges arising from the Boston Massacre. Adams was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress and became a leader of the revolution. He assisted Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and was its primary advocate in Congress. As a diplomat he helped negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain and secured vital governmental loans. Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which influenced the United States Constitution, as did his essay Thoughts on Government.
Adams was elected to two terms as vice president under President George Washington and was elected as the United States' second president in 1796. He was the only president elected under the banner of the Federalist Party. Adams's term was dominated by the issue of the French Revolutionary Wars, and his insistence on American neutrality led to fierce criticism from both the Jeffersonian Republicans and from some in his own party, led by his rival Alexander Hamilton. Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and built up the Army and Navy in the undeclared naval war with France. He was the first president to reside in the White House.
In his bid in 1800 for reelection to the presidency, opposition from Federalists and accusations of despotism from Jeffersonians led to Adams losing to his vice president and former friend Jefferson, and he retired to Massachusetts. He eventually resumed his friendship with Jefferson by initiating a continuing correspondence. He and Abigail generated the Adams political family, including their son John Quincy Adams, the sixth president. John Adams died on July 4, 1826 – the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Adams and his son are the only presidents of the first twelve who never owned slaves. Historians and scholars have favorably ranked his administration.

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Bronos23
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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There is some great history in this. It's definitely good for a source document but maybe not so much for a casual read. Obviously the letters to Abigail have been trimmed down; I would have liked to see more if they exist during continental congress but I'll have to find those elsewhere. Anyway, it's worth checking out for someone interested in the colonial period.
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moxeetwo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Apparently this founding father, who was our country's nearest realization of the Platonic ideal of a true philosopher-statesman, was tied to and caught between the dual ruling principles that he inherited: namely, that while the power and sustainability of a country who ruling class resembles an aristocracy diminishes over time, and ultimately founders and dies. Neither the contrary political position is well-received: Perhaps based on his reading of Machiavelli and Montesquieu, Adams concludes that in true democracies, where each citizen has an equal share and separate role in the control of his or her fate, are -- if history is any judge -- countries headed for destitution. As Ivan has told me time and again, the final outcome of the French Revolution has yet to be decided.
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bloodycrow
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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I have not had such fun with a penguin since the early history of Rome by Livy!
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