Lived

October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826

Home State

Massachusetts

Party

Federalist

Vice President

Thomas Jefferson

John Adams was a leading revolutionary lawyer, the principal advocate for independence in the Continental Congress, and a diplomat who helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris. As the first Vice President and then the second President, he kept the young republic out of full-scale war with France through the Convention of 1800 and appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice. His signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which criminalized political criticism, provoked a backlash that helped elect Thomas Jefferson. Adams accepted his 1800 defeat peacefully, reinforcing the constitutional discipline of orderly transfer of power. Boston lawyer who defended the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre. Delegate to both Continental Congresses; primary negotiator of the Treaty of Paris (1783); Minister to Great Britain; Washington's Vice President.

Harvard College (A.B. 1755).

Kept the young republic out of full-scale war with France during the Quasi-War through the Convention of 1800. Founded the Department of the Navy. Appointed John Marshall Chief Justice — arguably the single most consequential judicial appointment in American history. Signed the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Judiciary Act of 1801 (the 'Midnight Judges' Act, later repealed).

Signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which criminalized criticism of the government and were used against opposition editors. The backlash produced the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and helped elect Jefferson.