Freedom, Morality, and Religion

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that morality and religion determines freedom because good morals are essential to freedom.  When societies fall into immoral practices, destruction quickly follows unless the people repent.

I have long appreciated and quoted the following statement by President John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  I recently found the more extensive quote:  “But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practicing iniquity and extravagance and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.  Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.  Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  (John Adams, To the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, 1798)

The following seven dangers to human virtue have been attributed to Ghandi:  “1) Wealth without work, 2) pleasure without conscience, 3) knowledge without character, 4) business without ethics, 5) science without humanity, 6) religion without sacrifice, 7) politics without principle.”

                I believe that a large percentage of the people living within the borders of the United States of America are without morals and virtue, particularly many of the men and women who hold leadership positions in our nation.  I believe that our nation will see some hard times because of this lack of morality.  I also believe that there are many good people living in America, and I know that good can overcome evil if there is enough good. I encourage you to be a person of good moral character who will stand firm on virtuous principles and help our nation to maintain true freedom.

Abigail Adams

                    Abigail Adams was born on November 22, 1744, in the North Parish Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to Reverend William Smith and Elizabeth Quincy Smith.  She was their second born and had one brother and two sisters:  Mary Smith Cranch (1739/1741-1811), William Smith (1746-1787), Elizabeth (Betsy) Smith Shaw Peabody (1750-1815).

The Reverend William Smith (born January 29, 1706, Charlestown, Massachusetts; died September 2783, Weymouth, Massachusetts) was a liberal Congregationalist minister and a leader in society as was his forebears.  He emphasized the importance of reason and morality instead of teaching predestination, original sin, or the full divinity of Christ.  He was a supporter of the American Revolution and was known as the father of Abigail Adams, the father-in-law of John Adams, and the grandfather of John Quincy Adams.

Elizabeth Quincy (born 1721, Braintree, Massachusetts; died 1775, Weymouth, Massachusetts; married in 1740) was the daughter of John Quincy, a member of the colonial Governor's council and colonel of the militia.  Mr. Quincy was also Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly for 40 years, ending at his death at age 77.  His interest in politics and his public service had a great influence on Abigail.  Through her mother, Abigail was a cousin of Dorothy Quincy, the wife of John Hancock.  She was also a great-granddaughter of the Rev. John Norton, founding pastor of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts - the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in Massachusetts.

                    Abigail's ancestors were English and Welsh.  Her paternal great-grandfather, Thomas Smith, was born May 10, 1645, and left Dartmouth, England, to immigrate to Charleston, Massachusetts.  One of Abigail's great-great-great grandmothers came from a Welsh family.  Abigail's genealogy has been well-researched and her known roots preceded her birth by six centuries.  She descended from royal lines in France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Holland, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Switzerland.

Abigail Smith was too sickly to receive formal schooling, but she and her sisters were taught to read, write, and cipher by

their mother.  The large libraries belonging to their father, uncle, and maternal grandfather enabled the girls to study English and French literature.  Abigail took special interest in philosophy, theology, Shakespeare, the classics, ancient history, government and law. 

Even though Abigail had no formal education, she was later known for advocating public education for girls equal to that given to boys.  Abigail was "an intellectually open-minded woman for her day" and had some distinct ideas on women's rights and government.  Her ideas eventually had a major but indirect effect on the founding of the United States.  She was "one of the most erudite women ever to serve as First Lady."

                    Abigail was described as being five feet 1 inch tall with brown hair and brown eyes.  There is no documentation showing that she worked in the parsonage activities with her father.  She was often in poor health and spent her time reading and writing letters.  She did not play cards, sing, or dance.

                    John and Abigail were third cousins and knew each other as children.  John's friend, Richard Cranch, was engaged to Abigail's older sister, Mary, when the two gentlemen visited the Smith home in 1762.  Abigail was 17 years old and perpetually reading, but John was quickly attracted to her.  He was surprised when he found out that Abigail was so well versed in poetry, philosophy, and politics because very few women were in that time period.

                    Abigail was 19 years old and John was almost 29 years old when they married on October 25, 1764, in the home of the bride's parents in Weymouth, Massachusetts.  The Reverend Smith approved of the married and performed the ceremony.  The mother of the bride was "appalled that her daughter would marry a country lawyer whose manners still reeked of the farm, but eventually she gave in."  The bride "wore a square-necked gown of white challis," and the groom wore "a dark blue coat, contrasting light breeches and white stockings, a gold-embroidered satin waistcoat his mother had made for the occasion, and buckle shoes." 

                    According to one source the newlyweds left "in a horse and carriage to a cottage that stood beside the one where John Adams had been born and raised.  This became their first home.  They moved to Boston in a series of rented homes before buying a large farm, `Peacefield,' in 1787, while John was Minister to Great Britain."

                    The other source said that "the couple mounted a single horse and rode off to their new home, the small cottage and farm that John had inherited from his father in Braintree, Massachusetts, before moving to Boston, where his law practice expanded."

                    Six children were born to the couple in the next ten years:  Abigail Amelia Adams Smith ("Nabby" - 1765-1813), John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), Susanna Boylston Adams (1768-1770), Charles Adams (1770-1800), Thomas Boylston Adams (1772-1832), and Elizabeth Adams (stillborn in 1777).

                    John and Abigail shared the management of the household finances and the farming of their property for sustenance while he practiced law in Boston.  While John was away on his long trips, Abigail was responsible for both family and farm.

                    When John Adams went to Philadelphia in 1774 as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, Abigail stayed at home.  It was during this separation that Abigail and John began their lifelong correspondence.  John sought advice from his wife frequently and on many matters; "their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics" and "serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front."  Their correspondence forms both a "rich archive that reflected the evolution of a marriage of the Revolutionary and Federal eras" as well as "a chronology of the public issues debated and confronted by the new nation's leaders."  

                    Abigail became the first Second Lady when John became the Vice President; when he was later elected as President, she became the second First Lady.  She was the wife of the second President and the mother of the sixth President, John Quincy Adams.  She was active in promoting the rights of married women and considered slavery to be "evil."

                    After John was defeated in his quest for a second term as President, the couple retired to Quincy in 1800.  "Lady Adams" died on October 28, 1818, of typhoid fever.  She was 73 years old but would have been 74 two weeks later.  She is buried beside her husband in a crypt located in the United First Parish Church (also known as the Church of the Presidents) in Quincy, Massachusetts.  She was Congregationalist but was buried in the Unitarian faith of her husband.  Her last words were, "Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend.  I am ready to go.  And John, it will not be long."  (John passed away on July 4, 1826.)

Greatness of John Adams

                    John Adams was a great man in many different ways and for a long period of time.  He was a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, and politician.  In the early days of the American Revolution he became one of the most prominent of our Founding Fathers and a leading champion of independence. 

Adams was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress and played a main role in persuading Congress to declare independence.  He assisted Thomas Jefferson in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.  He was a diplomat in Europe and was a major negotiator of the peace treaty with Great Britain.  He was also mainly responsible for obtaining loans for the Colonists from Amsterdam bankers. 

                    John was the main writer of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which ended slavery in Massachusetts; however, he was in Europe when the US Constitution was drafted.  He was a good judge of character: in 1775 he nominated George Washington to be the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces and nominated John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the United States 25 years later.

                    Adams served as Vice President while George Washington served two terms as President; he served one term as President and was defeated in his second election by Thomas Jefferson.   Adams built up the army and navy as a result of the Quasi-War (undeclared war) with France, 1798-1800. 

                    President Adams and his wife Abigail retired to Massachusetts and founded an accomplished family of politicians, diplomats and historians.  He resumed his friendship with Jefferson, and they both passed away on July 4, 1826.  The following Adams quotes show the kind of man he was. 

                   "A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man."

                    "A government of laws, and not of men."

                    "Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society."

                    "All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation."

                    "As much as I converse with sages and heroes, they have very little of my love and admiration.  I long for rural and domestic scene, for the warbling of birds and the prattling of my children."

                    "Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."

                    "Democracy … while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy.  Remember, democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide."

                    "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

                    "I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth."

                    "I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy."

                    "Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people."

 Ad

Attacks on Religious Freedom

                    The Obama Administration is attacking our First Amendment right of Freedom of Religion.  In some cases, it is just nibbling away, but in other cases, it is biting off huge chunks.  Some of the worst dangers to our freedoms come under the framework of ObamaCare.  Freedom of Religion is just the first casualty of ObamaCare, and more will follow.

                    Historian David Barton claims that President Obama is anti-Biblical, and he has compiled a list of all the ways the Obama Administration has shown hostility to Christians and Jews.  His article begins:  "When one observes President Obama's unwillingness to accommodate America's four-century long religious conscience protection through his attempts to require Catholics to go against their own doctrines and beliefs, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Catholic.  But that characterization would not be correct. Although he has recently singled out Catholics, he has equally targeted traditional Protestant beliefs over the past four years.  So since he has attacked Catholics and Protestants, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Christian.  But that, too, would be inaccurate.  He has been equally disrespectful in his appalling treatment of religious Jews in general and Israel in particular.  So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor.  In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions."

                    Barton compiled his list in the following chronological order:  "(1) numerous records of his attacks on Biblical persons or organizations; (2) examples of the hostility toward Biblical faith that have become evident in the past three years in the Obama-led military; (3) a listing of his open attacks on Biblical values; and finally (4) a listing of numerous incidents of his preferential deference for Islam's activities and positions, including letting his Islamic advisors guide and influence his hostility toward people of Biblical faith."

We live in very perilous times, much like those the Apostle Paul said would come in the latter-days (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

"Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers [slanderers], incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good,

"Traitors, heady [rash, reckless], highminded [puffed up, conceited], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away."

We must stand in defense of our religious freedom or lose our nation as we know it.  President John Adams made two different statements that should illuminate how bad our situation really is.  The first statement is interesting due to the fact that so many people in the world are fighting and dying for "democracy".  Adams said, "Democracy … while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy].  Remember, democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide."  We should be very grateful to our Founders for setting up a Republic for us and giving us the Constitution in order to safeguard it.

The Founders were very concerned about our ability to keep our Republic as reflected in Benjamin Franklin's reply when a woman asked:  "Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?"  He replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."  

   The second statement by President Adams applies directly to the importance of keeping religion and morality in our nation:  "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  This site has an excellent essay on this particular statement.  

President Calvin Coolidge was apparently as concerned as the Founders were about Americans' ability to remain religious and moral.  He made the following two statements about the importance of religion in the United States, and I believe his statements reflect Truth - eternal truths that never change. 

"The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country.  There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man.  Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all.  Peace, justice, humanity, charity - these cannot be legislated into being.  They are the result of divine grace."

President Coolidge also said:  "Our government rests upon religion.  It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind.  Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government.  There are only two main theories of government in our world.  One rests on righteousness and the other on force.  One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword.  One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism."

Other quotes of President Coolidge can be found at this site or this one.  

Like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Calvin Coolidge, many people today are very concerned about American freedom, particularly freedom of religion and the necessity for Americans to remain religious and moral.  The Obama Administration is aggressively working to destroy our freedom of religion, and many Americans are unaware of these dangers because our lame stream media is working hand-in-glove with the administration.

One such organization is The Heritage Foundation, who is actively working to get this information out to the general public.  Mike Brownfield of Heritage wrote an article on the attack on religionon March 1, 2012. 

"Since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was formally adopted, America has enjoyed the legal protection of religious freedom, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.  Today, 221 years later, centuries of progress in the protection of religious and other liberties is at risk of being rolled back in one fell swoop.  The culprit:  Obamacare.

"As we all know, President Obama's health care law will mandate that religious hospitals, charities, and schools abandon the tenets of their faiths and provide their employees insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization.  This anti-conscience mandate is but the latest assault on liberty Obamacare has ushered in.  Its shock waves are reverberating across the country, waking Americans to the fact that our first freedom - religious liberty - will be the first to fall now that the federal government has unfettered control over the country's health care system."

A week later Brownfield wrote another article about this subject and began it with this statement:  "Call it what you want - a circus, a sideshow, or just plain old political rhetoric - but for the past week America has watched the media elite and some in Washington bend over backward to turn attention away from an issue that is fundamental to the future of this country:  ObamaCare attack on individual liberty.  While those who favor its mandates may think they have changed the debate and quelled opposition, they are sorely mistaken.

"It all stems from a decision by the Obama Administration to mandate that religious employers, including schools, hospitals, and charities, provide health care coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and contraception despite the fact that such coverage is in total contradiction of many of these groups' core religious beliefs.  Some have attempted to make this a debate about other issues, but despite their efforts, the core complaint about this anti-conscience mandate remains.  The President's policy is an unprecedented attack on all Americans' rights as protected by the First Amendment.  And those who prize religious liberty aren't backing down."

No President of the United States has shown such contempt for the rule of law and particularly the Constitution, the Supreme Law of our nation, as has Obama.   We can expect more of this kind of treatment if Obama gets re-elected.  We know this by the very fact that the Obama Administration has declared war on the Catholic Church while at the same time campaigning for re-election.  I think it is fair to say that any person who casts a vote to re-elect Obama also chooses to destroy more freedom.  This President and his minions do not believe in obeying laws, only in doing what they desire - with or without legal means.  A wonderful essay on this subject can befound here.  

The following two statements by President Calvin Coolidge seem to be appropriate for this essay because they relate to the importance of religion and morality as well as the fight between good and evil.

"The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good."

"It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist.  Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves.  We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love.  Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.  Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is a part of an unending plan."

We must keep our faith in a Divine Being.  Religion and morality are important if we are to maintain our Republic.  We know that our Constitution works only when we the people have good morals and live by religious principles.  Our very liberties are at stake as the Obama Administration is painstakingly taking apart our Constitution and the rights it was meant to protect.  Now is the time for all freedom-loving Americans to come to the aid of this nation or risk losing life as we now know it.  If this nation falls to socialism/communism, there is no hope for the world because America really is the last great hope of mankind!

Abigail Smith Adams

Abigail Smith Adams, wife of President John Adams, was born his social superior. She was the daughter of the Rev. William Smith, a Congregationalist minister of Weymouth, and her grandfather was also a minister. Her mother inherited the blue blood of the Quincy family. John Adams came to the marriage as the son of a farmer with limited means who was also trained as an attorney. Abigail Smith married John Adams on October 26, 1764, when she was twenty years old. They set up housekeeping on his farm in Braintree because the income from his law profession did not provide fully for them
Abigail had limited education for two specific reasons. Opportunities for girls to be educated were restricted in those days, and her delicate health prevented her being sent from home to gain even the common schooling available. Even though Massachusetts had a reputation for encouraging education, it was usually the sons of the family who received every advantage. The girls were expected to help their mother in the manual household labor and to help their brothers. Women usually had no career opportunities outside the walls of their home. Abigail was basically self-educated because she read widely and wrote many letters.
Abigail did not have much faith in her abilities beyond being a good wife to John and a mother to his children, but she was considered to be a woman who had great and far-reaching influence for good in her day. Her letters are filled with life and feeling. She lived in an era of great historical events and was acquainted with many of the people who were making history, but her own life was not filled with great events. She was never required to perform heroic deeds for the cause of liberty, but she lived her life in such a way that she would have done so in her characteristic quiet and gracious dignity. She was the same person in the little farm house at Braintree as in the gilded drawing rooms of the courts in France and England or the unfinished parlors of the White House.
The first ten years of her marriage were filled with the mundane chores of the wife of a farmer. She spun and wove, knitted stockings, took care of the farm, and wrote frequent letters to friends and family. Four sons and a daughter were born during those years.
In 1774 John was chosen as one of the delegates from Massachusetts to meet with other delegates in Philadelphia for two months. He returned to Philadelphia when Congress met again in May 1775. While John was meeting in Congress, Abigail was busy caring for her children, managing the farm, frugally keeping house, opening her home to the homeless, giving to the poor from her meager supplies, and staying busily occupied. In this same time period she began to study books to learn the French language. Her house was used as a sort of hospital. She was violently ill, and her youngest son nearly died. During this same period of time, her mother passed away. Even though she was lonely for her husband and had to listen to the British firing on Boston, she willingly supported her husband in his duties away from home.
John came home occasionally for a few weeks at a time but was often gone. When he was appointed as an ambassador to France, he thought he could take his wife and children with him, but he could not. The British fleet wanted to capture John Adams because he was a man with a price on his head. He traveled to France on a small and not very fast vessel in February with only eleven-year-old John Quincy Adams. John came home from France after being absent for eighteen months for a breathing spell before being sent to Great Britain to negotiate a peace.
It was especially hard on Abigail when John went to France. She found relief by writing: “My habitation, how desolate it looks! My table, I sit down to it, but cannot swallow my food. Oh! Why was I born with so much of sensibility, and why possessing it have I so often been called on to struggle with it? Were I sure you would not be gone, I could not withstand the temptation of coming to you, though my heart would suffer over again the cruel torture of separation.” By the spring of 1781, she could stand the separation no longer: “I feel unable to sustain even the idea that it will be half that period ere we meet again. Could we live to the age of antediluvians, we might better support this separation, but with threescore years circumscribing the life of man, how painful is the idea that of that short space only a few years of social happiness are our allotted portion!”
Abigail cared for her aged father until he passed away and was buried beside her mother. Early in 1784, Abigail and her daughter sailed for England. It was Abigail’s first ocean voyage, and she was too sea sick to write for the first sixteen days. She reached London on July 23 and was met by her husband and by her son John Quincy whom she had not seen for six years. The family moved to Paris and lived near Dr. Benjamin Franklin for a year before going back to London where John was appointed Minister to that country and Abigail was the first female representative from the United States at the Court of Great Britain.
John and Abigail stayed in Great Britain for three years before returning home in the summer of 1788. The following year the American government was organized under the Constitution, and John was elected Vice President. They established their home in New York for a year before the seat of government was moved to Philadelphia.
In June 1800 the Federal government was moved to Washington, D.C., where the Adams family was the first to live in the partially finished White House. The first New Year’s reception at the White House was held in January 1801. Abigail lived in the White House for about four months before she returned to Quincy because of ill health. There she remained until she passed away on October 26, 1818, at age seventy-five. She retained her faculties to the last, and her declining years were marked with her characteristic cheerfulness and dignity. Eight years later, John was laid to rest beside her in Quincy.

John Adams

John Adams, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, played a leading role in the early years of our nation. He was a leader in opposing British colonial policies in America, starting when the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. He called the Boston Tea Party "the most magnificent movement of all" (December 16, 1773). He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the First Continental Congress (1774). He was active in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and signed the historic document (1776). He was elected as commissioner to France to negotiate a treaty of alliance (1777). He obtained recognition of American independence from the Netherlands (1780-1782). He served on the commission that negotiated peace with Great Britain (1782-1783). He was appointed minister to Great Britain (1785). He returned to the United States just prior to being elected to serve as Vice President of the United States (1789) and was re-elected Vice President in 1792. He was elected President of the United States in 1796.
John Adams was born October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father, also named John Adams, was a farmer, a deacon in his church, and a militia officer. His mother, Susanna, was from a leading family of merchants and physicians. She was a descendant of John Alden, a passenger on the Mayflower. The family farm was at the foot of Penn's Hill. The house where John was born is now a memorial and is close to the place where his great-great-grandfather, Henry Adams, settled before 1640. Henry came to America from Somersetshire, England, as one of the thousands of Puritans escaping religious persecution in their homeland. Thus, both of John’s parents came to America for religious freedom, and he had a right to the title of Son of Liberty.
John helped with chores on the farm and studied hard in the village school. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, with the social - not academic - rank of 14 out of 24 students. He apparently was one of the best scholars in the group.
John taught school for a short time before studying law. He started practicing law in Braintree in 1758 and moved to Boston ten years later where he became a leading attorney. John faced a dilemma in the aftermath of the Boston Massacre during which several colonists were killed by British soldiers on March 5, 1770. On one hand, some of his countrymen had been killed and people all around him were clamoring for the soldiers to be punished. On the other hand, John understood the demands of justice and humanity. He accepted the invitation to work with Josiah Quincy to defend Captain Thomas Preston when he and his men were arraigned for murder. They defended Captain Preston successfully, and he was acquitted because there was no proof that he had ordered his troops to fire. Two of the soldiers were later found guilty of manslaughter and were branded on their thumbs as punishment.
John was short and stout with a ruddy complexion. He tended to be blunt, impatient, and vane and made more enemies than friends, but those who knew him well loved him for his genial, affectionate, and playful nature.
He married Abigail Smith in 1764, the amiable daughter of a pious minister. She did not receive much public schooling but read widely and became one of the most informed women of her day. Abigail and John apparently had a very happy marriage and wrote many letters to each other during their many separations. Abigail's letters to John were published in 1840 and provide colorful pictures of life in colonial times.
The Adams' oldest son, John Quincy Adams, was elected as the sixth President of the United States the year before his father died. They had a total of five children: Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna (died in infancy), Charles (died while his father was President), and Thomas.
Just prior to the end of the Administration of President Adams, his family moved into the unfinished White House, which stood alone in a swampy landscape. In a letter from Abigail Adams to her sister, she wrote, "As I expected to find it a new country, with houses scattered over a space of 10 miles, and trees and stumps in plenty with a castle of a house - so I found it." There were about six rooms in the White House which were finished. Abigail used the East Room to dry her laundry because there was no other place yet provided for it.
Because the White House was unfinished, the Adams struggled to hold social functions. They felt a great responsibility as the first occupants of the White House to set a proper social tone for the home of the President of the United States. Because she admired social engagements of Martha Washington, Abigail tried to follow her example.
During the Administration of Adams, the government faced many domestic problems as well as an unsettled situation in Europe. Adams could not count on support from his own party or his Cabinet because there was great disagreement over foreign policy. Adams was part of the more moderate members of the Federalist Party, and Alexander Hamilton led the other group.
Most of the problems faced by President Adams were caused by the French Revolution. Adams insisted that the United States remain neutral in case of war in Europe, but this position was difficult to maintain due to the fact that European warships attacked ships from America. Both England and France claimed the right to seize American ships, and the United States was forced to defend itself. The United States launched several new warships, including the Constitution ("Old Ironsides").
Thomas Jefferson and his party sympathized with the French people because they likened the French Revolution to the Revolutionary War in America. They wanted to give support to the French people, but the group of Federalists headed by Hamilton demanded a war against France. The Federalist Party split over the issue of war or neutrality - an irreparable split which later cost Adams a second term as President. Adams was determined to maintain peace and sent commissions to France. Even though this bold act cost him the support of his party, he believed that avoiding war was his most important achievement.
Hamilton criticized Adams for not fighting France, and his arguments convinced many Federalist voters. The Democratic-Republicans criticized Adams for his hostility toward France. In the 1800 election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes while Adams received only 65. The election was decided by the House of Representation. The seat of government moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in June 1800, and Congress began meeting there in November 1800. Adams was still making appointments on his last day in office. The appointment of John Marshall as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court was one of his most important. History has shown that Adams was right in the great decisions of his political life.
Adams left the White House just before he turned 66 years old. He grieved over his defeat and left Washington, D.C., prior to Jefferson's inauguration. He returned to his home in Quincy where he studied history, philosophy, and religion.
Some the historical events that happened during the time of Adams are as follows: 1) The first woolen mills began operating in Massachusetts. 2) Congress established the Department of the Navy and the Marine Corps. 3) Johnny Appleseed wandered through Ohio and Indiana, planting apple seeds and preaching the Bible. 4) A group of shoemakers in Philadelphia organized the first labor strike in 1799 when they refused to work for nine days until they received higher wages. 5) Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799 to begin his reign as dictator. 6) The Library of Congress was established in 1800 when Congress appropriated $5,000 to buy books and to furnish a room in the Capitol to house the library. 7) In 1800 France secretly reacquired Louisiana from Spain, but the United States learn of the transaction until the following year.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson met in congress in 1775 and became good friends. Their friendship cooled after 1790 because of their different ideas about the French Revolution. After they both retired from political life, they forgot their quarrels and renewed their friendship. These two great Americans, one from the North and one from the South, both signed the Declaration of Independence. They both died on July 4, 1826. Adam's last words were: "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Adams died four months prior to his 91st birthday and was buried in Quincy, Mass.
Facts for this post came from an article by James H. Hutson in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp 34-39.

Virtue and Morality

The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday is the need for virtue and morality. This principle of freedom is based on the idea that a republican type of government needs virtuous and morally strong citizens to survive. The Founders had a great desire for independence but worried that they might not be good enough to make it work. They identified virtue and morality as being obedient to God's will, particularly the Ten Commandments.

Benjamin Franklin understood the importance of virtue and morality in obtaining and maintaining liberty: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters” (Writings of Benjamin Franklin, 9:569).

The Founders also understood that virtue comes only with effort and learning and that it must be cultivated and exercised. They wondered if their posterity would make the effort to teach the rising generations to be virtuous and moral.

John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (Quoted in John R. Howe, Jr., The Changing Political Thought of John Adams, p 189).

We must be virtuous and moral people and teach our posterity to be the same. This is one of the most important things we can do to protect the freedom, independence, and liberty guaranteed by our Constitution.

John Adams

John Adams (1735-1826) played a leading role in the early years of our nation. He was a leader in opposing British colonial policies in America, starting when the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. He called the Boston Tea Party "the most magnificent movement of all" (December 16, 1773). He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the First Continental Congress (1774). He was active in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and signed the historic document (1776). He was elected as commissioner to France to negotiate a treaty of alliance (1777). He obtained recognition of American independence from the Netherlands (1780-1782). He served on the commission that negotiated peace with Great Britain (1782-1783). He was appointed minister to Great Britain (1785). He returned to the United States just prior to being elected to serve as Vice President of the United States (1789) and was re-elected Vice President in 1792. He was elected President of the United States in 1796. John Adams was born October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father, also named John Adams, was a farmer, a deacon in his church, and a militia officer. His mother, Susanna, was from a leading family of merchants and physicians. The family farm was at the foot of Penn's Hill. The house where John was born is now a memorial and is close to the place where his great-great-grandfather, Henry Adams, settled before 1640. Henry came to America from Somersetshire, England, as one of the thousands of Puritans escaping religious persecution in their homeland. John helped with chores on the farm and studied hard in the village school. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, with the social - not academic - rank of 14 out of 24 students. He apparently was one of the best scholars in the group. John taught school for a short time before studying law. He started practicing law in Braintree in 1758 and moved to Boston ten years later where he became a leading attorney. John was short and stout with a ruddy complexion. He tended to be blunt, impatient, and vane and made more enemies than friends, but those who knew him well loved him for his genial, affectionate, and playful nature. He married Abigail Smith in 1764. She was the daughter of a minister. She did snot receive much public schooling but read widely and became one of the most informed women of her day. Abigail and John apparently had a very happy marriage and wrote many letters to each other during their many separations. Abigail's letters to John were published in 1840 and provide colorful pictures of life in colonial times. The Adams' oldest son, John Quincy Adams, was elected as the sixth President of the United States the year before his father died. They had a total of five children: Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna (died in infancy), Charles (died while his father was President), and Thomas. Just prior to the end of the Administration of President Adams, his family moved into the unfinished White House, which stood alone in a swampy landscape. In a letter from Abigail Adams to her sister, she wrote, "As I expected to find it a new country, with houses scattered over a space of 10 miles, and trees and stumps in plenty with a castle of a house - so I found it." There were about six rooms in the White House which were finished. Abigail used the East Room to dry her laundry because there was no other place yet provided for it. Because the White House was unfinished, the Adams struggled to hold social functions. They felt a great responsibility as the first occupants of the White House to set a proper social tone for in the home of the President of the United States. Because she admired social engagements of Martha Washington, Abigail tried to follow her example. During the Administration of Adams, the government faced many domestic problems as well as an unsettled situation in Europe. Adams could not count on support from his own party or his Cabinet because there was great disagreement over foreign policy. Adams was part of the more moderate members of the Federalist Party, and Alexander Hamilton led the other group. Most of the problems faced by President Adams were caused by the French Revolution. Adams insisted that the United States remain neutral in case of war in Europe, but this position was difficult to maintain due to the fact that European warships attacked ships from America. Both England and France claimed the right to seize American ships, and the United States was forced to defend itself. The United States launched several new warships, including the Constitution ("Old Ironsides"). Thomas Jefferson and his party sympathized with the French people because they likened the French Revolution to the Revolutionary War in America. They wanted to give support to the French people, but the group of Federalists headed by Hamilton demanded a war against France. The Federalist Party split over the issue of war or neutrality - an irreparable split which later cost Adams a second term as President. Adams was determined to maintain peace and send commissions to France. Even though this bold act cost him the support of his party, he believed that avoiding war was his most important achievement. Hamilton criticized Adams for not fighting France, and his arguments convinced many Federalist voters. The Democratic-Republicans criticized Adams for his hostility toward France. In the 1800 election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes while Adams received only 65. The election was decided by the House of Representation. The seat of government moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in June 1800, and Congress began meeting there in November 1800. Adams was still making appointments on his last day in office. The appointment of John Marshall as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court was one of his most important. History has shown that Adams was right in the great decisions of his political life. Adams left the White House just before he turned 66 years old. He grieved over his defeat and left Washington, D.C., prior to Jefferson's inauguration. He returned to his home in Quincy where he studied history, philosophy, and religion. Some the historical events that happened during the time of Adams are as follows: 1) The first woolen mills began operating in Massachusetts. 2) Congress established the Department of the Navy and the Marine Corps. 3) Johnny Appleseed wandered through Ohio and Indiana, planting apple seeds and preaching the Bible. 4) A group of shoemakers in Philadelphia organized the first labor strike in 1799 when they refused to work for nine days until they received higher wages. 5) Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799 to begin his reign as dictator. 6) The Library of Congress was established in 1800 when Congress appropriated $5,000 to buy books and to furnish a room in the Capitol to house the library. 7) In 1800 France secretly reacquired Louisiana from Spain, but the United States learn of the transaction until the following year. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson met in congress in 1775 and became good friends. Their friendship cooled after 1790 because of their different ideas about the French Revolution. After they both retired from political life, they forgot their quarrels and renewed their friendship. These two great Americans, one of the North and one from the South, both signed the Declaration of Independence. They both died on July 4, 1826. Not knowing that Jefferson had already died, Adams' last words were: "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Adams died four months prior to his 91st birthday and was buried in Quincy, Mass. Facts for this post came from an article by James H. Hutson in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp 34-39.