30th October 1735 saw the birth (in Braintree,
Massachusetts) of John Adams, who would become the first Vice-President and
second President of the United States of America.
Adams played a significant part in the founding of the new
country, not least by nominating George Washington for the post of Commander-in-Chief
and Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence.
He had a long career in government, during which his overall
policy was to do whatever he thought best for the country, whatever anyone else
might think. For this reason he rejected all political parties and refused to
support any particular faction.
He managed to annoy just about everyone who mattered at one
time or another. As American ambassador to France he insisted on speaking his
mind, despite the consequences, which prompted Benjamin Franklin to think that
he must be mentally unbalanced.
He was a convinced Federalist, which set him against Thomas
Jefferson and James Madison, who were staunch advocates of “states’ rights”. On
the other hand, Alexander Hamilton did not think that John Adams went far
enough in his federalism!
Fortunately, Adams was able to reconcile himself with
Jefferson after both had had their turn as President, and they coincidentally
died on the same day, 4th July 1826.
© John Welford
No comments:
Post a Comment