“I must study politics and war that my sons might that’ve the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” So said John Adams, our second President, a founding father and on of the most selfless public servants America has ever seen. Born in 1735 to John Adams Sr., Adams early life was characterized by a Christian upbringing not unlike that of his Puritan ancestors. He attended Harvard at the age of sixteen and after teaching at Worcester School for awhile he studied to become a lawyer. Adams believed that everyone should have the right to a fair trial, so when the British soldiers who had fired on colonists in the 1770 Boston Massacre needed someone to represent them in court, Adams stepped up to the plate. Adams served the Patriot cause tirelessly during the American Revolution and afterwards helped to lay the foundation of the United States’ government. Adams became our second President in 1797 and he served one term.
Adams was a tireless advocate for human liberty and a hard working patriot. He rarely got to see his family for extended periods of time during the Revolution. His sacrifices were great and many. Let us be thankful for this great man and his many sacrifices.
Here are some quotes by John Adams:
“Our Constitution was only made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other government.”
“There are two ways to enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”
“Always stand on principle…even if you stand alone.”
“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, “whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection,” and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.”