John Adams

How Sara Georgini Does History with the John Adams Papers

The series editor for the Papers of John Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society discusses her work as a public historian. 

America's First Peaceful (Just Barely!) Transfer of Power

by Akhil Reed Amar

While the selection of Thomas Jefferson as the third president in 1801 (after an electoral college deadlock) is touted as a crucial peaceful transfer of presidential power from one party to another, the transition was far more fraught with peril than most realize. 

How John Adams Managed a Peaceful Transition of Presidential Power

by Sara Georgini

John Adams handed over power to Thomas Jefferson in 1801, but his actions demonstrated that power truly remained in the hands of the people.

On the Peaceful Transfer of Power: Lessons from 1800

by Sara Georgini

Adams lost the presidency amid violent factionalism, a seething press, rampant electioneering, and the eruption of party politics, yet became a champion for the peaceful transfer of power. 

John Adams Knew When to Go Home

by R.B. Bernstein

One thing that John Adams never did was to voice a word of regret about leaving the presidency at his term’s end. None of his successors has ever violated or dishonored the precedent he established. And, if we are fortunate, none ever will.

The thin-skinned president who made it illegal to criticize his office

Though Adams was a Founding Father of the United States’ democracy, he couldn’t abide personal scorn.

The Founders Worried too, About Foreign Meddling in Our Elections

by Jeanne Abrams

John Adams went so far as to advocate the holding of fewer elections on the grounds that would give foreigners less opportunity to interfere.

Worried About Political Partisanship?

by Gordon S. Wood

Adams and Jefferson showed that even the harshest partisans can enjoy a warm friendship. (It helped that they had a common enemy.)

We celebrate Independence Day on the wrong date for the right reasons

by Joseph J. Ellis

John Adams’s choice, July 2, makes more sense. That was the day independence was officially decided. But we are right to celebrate the fourth since that's the date Americans always have.

The Press Was the Enemy of the People in John Adams’s Era

by Jeff Biggers

Federalists even passed a law allowing the authorities to jail journalists.

Why It’s Important to Remember the Way We’ve Remembered the Boston Massacre

by Eric Hinderaker

The people who turned Crispus Attucks into a hero of the Revolution.

5 Steps Obama Can Take to Thwart Trump and Advance the Liberal Agenda

by Donald Johnson

Obama may be on his way out, but like John Adams, there’s a lot a president can do in his final days in office.

Why Naming John Marshall Chief Justice Was John Adams’s “Greatest Gift” to the Nation

by Harlow Giles Unger

“I had never before heard myself named for the office and had not even thought of it. I was pleased as well as surprised and bowed in silence. Next day I was nominated.”