| John Adams | |||
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| Airdate | October 30, 2012 | ||
| Curriculum | Social Studies | ||
John Adams launched on BrainPOP Social Studies October 30, 2012.
Summary[]
Tim is judging the game of cards to a robot gang.
Appearances[]
Transcript[]
Quiz[]
FYI[]
Did You Know[]
With a relationship that moved from friendship to bitter rivalry and back to friendship, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are forever linked in the early history of the United States.
As delegates to the Continental Congress, Adams and Jefferson worked together to draft a statement explaining America’s separation from Great Britain. Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and Adams was its main defender during several days of heated debate in the Congress.
While the two men agreed on the principles of America’s new government, their political philosophies had some major differences. These differences grew in the 1790's, as political parties started to emerge. Adams sided with the Federalists — who favored a stronger federal government — while Jefferson became a leader of the Democratic-Republicans, who wanted stricter limits on federal power.
In the presidential election of 1796, Adams and Jefferson became rivals. Adams defeated Jefferson to win the presidency. With the second-most electoral votes, Jefferson became his vice president.
Over the next four years, their disagreements over federal power grew. In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated Adams, who returned home before the inauguration. Some historians believe that Adams left out of bitterness, while others insist he was mourning the recent death of his son.
Whatever the case, Adams and Jefferson were out of touch until a mutual friend helped revive their friendship in 1812. That’s when they exchanged the first of many letters, a correspondence that lasted for 14 years. Their 158 letters are a historian’s treasure trove of insights into the personal thoughts and political beliefs of the two former Presidents.
Oddly, both men died just hours apart on July 4, 1826 — exactly 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence!
Famous Faces[]
They say that behind every great man is a great woman — and Abigail Adams gives truth to that old adage! She’s one of the most influential first ladies in U.S. history. Her relationship with John Adams was unusual for its time as a partnership of love, friendship, and mutual respect.
Born into a prestigious Massachusetts family in 1744, Abigail didn’t receive a formal education. But her passion for reading fed her sharp wit and intelligence, making her a perfect match for the intellectual Adams. They married in 1764.
Throughout their marriage, Abigail felt the pain of long separations from her husband, first because of John’s law practice and later because of his role in the American Revolution. She ran the family farm and raised five children almost single handed l y. Her loneliness and the challenges of life during the Revolution are described in the many eloquent and insightful letters she wrote to John over the years.
Despite the hardships, Abigail saw these sacrifices as the patriotic duty of every educated and independent American woman. As the Revolution gave way to the beginnings of a new nation, Abigail joined John during his diplomatic service in Paris and London, and later performed many official functions as the wife of the first vice president and the second President of the United States. Besides hosting dinners and entertaining guests, she advised her husband on many important political decisions — a role she had filled throughout his entire career.
In 1801, John and Abigail were finally able to retire to a life of quiet companionship at their home in Quincy, Massachusetts. Abigail died of typhoid fever on October 28, 1818.
Arts And Entertainment[]
Paintings in museums aren’t the only way to see the heroes of the American Revolution. Sometimes Hollywood lends a helping hand! Case in point is John Adams, a television miniseries that was broadcast in 2008.
Starring Paul G i a m a t t i as Adams, the seven-part series tells the story of Adams’s role in the establishment of the United States as an independent nation. It starts in the early days of the American Revolution, when Adams is a lawyer in Boston, and ends with his death 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
As you might expect, a number of major events in Adams’ life are re-enacted along the way. These include the Boston Massacre, his trip to France, and of course his term as President!
Besides Adams, the miniseries also brings to life many of the most famous figures living in America at the time. Laura Lin n e y stars as the most important person in Adams’ life, his wife Abigail. And Adams shares screen time with revolutionary heroes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
The series was based on a 2001 book of the same title written by American author David McCullough. Originally conceived as an account of both Adams and Jefferson, John Adams took McCullough seven years to write!
The HBO series was a popular and critical success, winning four Golden Globe Awards and 13 Emmies. The 13 Emmies broke the record for the most ever won by a show in a single year!
Trivia[]
- As payment for defending the British soldiers charged with murder in the Boston Massacre, John Adams received a measly 18 guineas. While that was considered underpayment for 15 days of a good lawyer’s time, it’s not as bad as it may seem: In 1770, 18 guineas could purchase several horses!
- John and Abigail Adams were passionately opposed to slavery and never bought a single slave.
- On November 1, 1800, just before losing his bid for re-election, Adams became the first President to live in the still-unfinished President’s Mansion—that’s what we call the White House today!
- One of Adams’s greatest legacies was his appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States. Marshall’s long tenure on the Supreme Court helped establish the judicial branch as equal to the executive and legislative branches in importance.
- Adams did not attend the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, becoming one of only four living Presidents in history not to attend the inauguration of his successor.
- Until George W. Bush became President in 2001, John Quincy Adams was the only son of a former President to become President himself.
- Adams’s last words were reported to be, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” Adams hadn’t heard that his old friend and fellow Founding Father had died just a few hours earlier that day.
- The Adams family is one of only four families to have produced two Presidents of the United States. The others are the Harrison family, the Roosevelt family, and the Bush family.
In Depth[]
In 1797, President Adams sent three diplomats to negotiate with the French after months of attacks on American merchant ships. France was in the midst of the French Revolution and was carrying on a war with Great Britain at the same time. They began seizing American merchant ships in retaliation for the opening of trade between the United States and France’s enemy, Great Britain.
The mission of Adams’s diplomats was to get the French to stop the attacks on American shipping. But three French agents who met with the Americans in Paris demanded huge bribes before negotiations could start. These included a $12 million loan from the U.S. and a $250,000 payment to French foreign minister Charles Maurice d e Talleyrand!
President Adams reported the insult delivered by the three French agents — identified only as X, Y, and Z — to Congress. This, of course, enraged Americans throughout the country clamored for war.
This X Y Z Affair led to a strengthening of the American navy and the formation of an army. Starting in 1798, an undeclared war between American and French naval forces, known as the Quasi-War, was waged on the high seas.
Though Adams took a tough public stance against France and encouraged the military buildup, his ultimate goal was to avoid all-out war. Fortunately, he received unofficial word in 1799 that the French were willing to negotiate.
Adams sent another diplomatic team to France, and by the time they arrived, Napoleon Bonaparte had taken over. The new ruler of France signed the Treaty of Mo r t e f o n t a i n e with the Americans, bringing an end to hostilities. Adams later described the peace treaty as the greatest accomplishment of his political career.
Quot able s[]
Here are some quotations from John Adams, Founding Father and second President of the United States!
“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.”
“Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”
“You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.”
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”
“No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.”
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.”
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