Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: 1797 to 1801
Terms: One
Birthday: October 30, 1735
Birth Place: Quincy, Massachusetts (formerly known as Braintree)
Date of Death: July 4, 1826
Place of Death: At his home, Quincy, Massachusetts
Buried: United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts

Notes:
~ John Adams was the first Vice President of the United States, serving two terms, (1789 to 1797.)
~ He is the father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States.
~His birthplace is now the Adams National Historical Park.

Adams’ Birthplace – Braintree, Massachusetts

In 1751 at the ripe old age of 16, John Adams began his formal education at Harvard College. His father wanted John to become a minister but John was not sure this was the right thing for him. In 1755 he graduated Harvard and began teaching. By 1758, he’d made his own decision and was admitted to the bar as a lawyer. From this point forward, from the age of 23, John devoted the rest of his life to political action and public service – taking him both around the colonies and to Europe.

Massachusetts sent Adams to the first (1774) and second (1975 – 1777) Continental Congress held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On September 11, 1776, Adams was part of a delegation that met on Staten Island, New York to try to work out a resolution to the war – which attempt failed.

The French Frigate – “Sensible”

Although he did not speak French, Adams was sent to France by Congress and was first there from April 1778 to June 1779. He departed for his second trip aboard a French frigate in November 1779. By 1792 he is ambassador to the Dutch republic and we find him at The Hague. Adams bought a house while in the Netherlands which became the first American-owned embassy anywhere in the world. John returned to London in 1783 and remained there, unhappily, until 1788.

In 1789 John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States for which he served two terms. Adams despised being Vice President thinking it a job with little real impact on politics and government. By 1797 he was President.

Adams spent long stretches at his home in Quincy during his time as President which makes sense because the “President’s Mansion,” what we now call The White House, was not ready for occupants until November 1800. By the time the “Mansion” was completed, Adams had lost his bid for re-election and he returned to private life and his family in Quincy where he died in 1801.

President’s Mansion – 1801

John Adams, like Washington, spent a huge portion of his life – nearly 30 years, on the move. Travel to Europe took weeks in John Adam’s time, while quite frequently under fire from enemy ships. He and Abigail were not well received either in London, France, or the Netherlands – Adams’ sometimes argumentative and forceful opinions often alienating him with courts abroad. John did take his 10-year old son, John Quincy, to France with him in 1778. Quite a trip and good experience for a future President!

He made numerous trips from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, Washington, and New York, usually alone on horseback. This is a harsh mode of travel for anyone who has experienced a Massachusetts winter, but Adams’ dedication to his tasks never wavered.

Next up – the travels of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson or, back to the first, George Washington.

“Traveling with American Presidents” list.