21 Famous Quotes by John Adams
10/30/1735 - 7/4/1826
Also Known As:
Bonny Johnny
The Duke of Braintree
The Colossus of Independence
Professions:
Information:
About John Adams
John Adams was the second president of the United States, having earlier served as the first vice president of the United States. An American Founding Father, he was a statesman, diplomat, and a leading advocate of American independence from Great Britain. Well educated, he was an Enlightenment political theorist who promoted republicanism and wrote prolifically about his often seminal ideas, both in published works and in letters to his wife and key adviser Abigail as well as to other Founding Fathers.
Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. A lawyer and public figure in Boston, as a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence. He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and was its primary advocate in the Congress. Later, as a diplomat in Europe, he helped negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and was responsible for obtaining vital governmental loans from Amsterdam bankers. A political theorist and historian, Adams largely wrote the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which together with his earlier Thoughts on Government, influenced American political thought. One of his greatest roles was as a judge of character: in 1775, he nominated George Washington to be commander-in-chief, and 25 years later nominated John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the United States.
Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy]. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.
Democracy
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That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of the history of the whole world
Majority
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That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of the history of the whole world
Minority
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Consenting to slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust, as offensive in the sight of God as it is derogatory from our own honor or interest of happiness
Slavery
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I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.
Liberty
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Grief drives men into habits of serious reflection, sharpens understanding and softens the heart. -John Adams.
Heart-quotes
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I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.
War
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While all other sciences have advanced, that of government is at a standstill - little better understood, little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago.
Miscellaneous
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The Bible contains the revelation of the will of God. It contains the history of the creation of the world, and of mankind.
Miscellaneous
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The Pythagorean, as well as the Platonic philosophers, probably concurred in the fabrication of the Christian Trinity
Miscellaneous
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Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Miscellaneous
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The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people's hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice
Miscellaneous
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The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.
Miscellaneous
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I am persuaded there is among the mass of our people a fund of wisdom, integrity, and humanity which will preserve their happiness in a tolerable measure
Miscellaneous
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