Happy Bday #2!!!

On the anniversary of the birth of the second president...



"It's the birthday of the second president of the United States, John
Adams, born in Braintree, Massachusetts (now part of Quincy,
Massachusetts) (1735). Though he was one of the most important founders
of our country, he has long been overshadowed by the president who came
before him, George Washington, and the president who came after him,
Thomas Jefferson.

He made a name for himself as a young man by arguing against the
British right to tax the colonies. When the British passed the Stamp Act
in 1765, Adams argued that people should just stop buying stamps, and
they did. When the British began taxing paint, lead, paper, and tea,
Adams said people should stop buying those things as well. Colonists in
Massachusetts stopped painting their houses and switched from drinking
tea to drinking New England rum.

The British sent troops to Boston to keep the peace, as the colonists
grew more and more disobedient. A riot in 1770 led to several colonists'
getting shot by British troops, the incident that became known as the
Boston Massacre. Adams took the surprising step of defending the British
troops in court, because no one else would take the case. He argued that
the violence was the fault of the British government, not the soldiers,
and he managed to get most of the soldiers acquitted. Adams later said,
"[Taking that case] was one of the most gallant, generous, manly and
disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of
service I ever rendered my country."

Adams's defense of the soldiers made him unpopular among the radical
wing of the American revolutionaries, but it also gave his a reputation
as a man of great principle. He was elected to the First Continental
Congress in 1774, and began to argue that the British Parliament lacked
any legal authority over the colonies. He quickly became the most
respected advocate for breaking with Great Britain. People began to call
him the "Atlas of Independence."

It was Adams who nominated Washington to serve as commander of the
Continental Army, and it was Adams who chose Jefferson to write the
Declaration of Independence. And it was he who persuaded the delegates
from the colonies to adopt the resolution in favor of independence. He
stood up on July 1, 1776 and spoke without notes for about two hours in
favor of independence. No one knows exactly what he said that day,
because no one transcribed his words, but Thomas Jefferson later said,
"[Adams spoke] with a power of thought and expression that moved us from
our seats." The resolution was adopted the following day, on July 2,
1776. It was probably the greatest day of Adams's life.

He was only 5 feet 6 inches tall, and he was overweight. Unlike Ben
Franklin, he was not a great wit. He had no talent for flattery, and
instead was always ruthlessly honest in his opinions. He also wasn't a
wealthy man, and spent much of his later life struggling with debts.

John Adams said, "In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one
useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a
congress." "