John Adams resources

If you would like to learn more about John Adams, I highly recommend the book by David McCullough simply titled John Adams and the HBO miniseries of the same name.

John Adams: Fighting for Independence

Of all the Founding Fathers I have studied, John Adams has never been one to stand out in my mind. Certainly, I know he was an important player in the events, but I have never really paid him much heed. He did not lead the armies, like General George Washington. He did not author a monumental document, as did Thomas Jefferson. He was not clever and inventive, as was Benjamin Franklin. He did not even lead exciting revolts, as did his cousin Samuel Adams when he led the Boston Tea Party. However, I have come to find that Mr. Adams was just as important a figure as any of these gentlemen, if not more.


As a lawyer from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Adams did many of the “behind-the-scenes” jobs that we don’t pay attention to, and yet are often the most important. Specifically, I will discuss his role in helping the Colonies to transform into free and independent states.

It was Mr. Adams who headed the Massachusetts delegation to the Continental Congress and was one of the most active voices in that chamber. It was Mr. Adams who called incessantly for support of the Massachusetts militia, who were the first, and for a long time only, militia fighting back against the British forces near Boston. It was also Mr. Adams who proposed that they select a Commander-in-Chief to lead these armed forces, and then suggested Colonel George Washington from the Virginia delegation to fill the position. Mr. Adams was Washington’s most ardent voice in Congress when the armies needed money or supplies.

Mr. Adams was also the foremost supporter of independence. He was one of the first congressmen to even put forth the idea. It was he, along with Benjamin Franklin, who asked Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. When Independence was finally to come to a vote, John Dickinson, the foremost opponent of the proposal, stood and spoke with great eloquence and genuine concern about the consequences of such a Declaration. When he finished, no one dared respond until John Adams at last took the floor. What followed was a speech that many said was the finest Adams ever gave. Thomas Jefferson later said of the speech that Adams was “not graceful nor elegant, nor remarkable fluent,” but spoke “with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats (McCullough 127).” It was the turning point of the debate. Richard Stockton, a delegate from New Jersey said that Adams was “the man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independency. . . . He it was who sustained the debate, and by the force of his reasoning demonstrated not only the justice, but the expediency of the measure (McCullough 127).” Once the vote took place and motion for independence had passed, Adams continued on to be the zealous protector of the Declaration and every phrase and concept that Jefferson had written therein.

As Richard Stockton said, we are indeed indebted to John Adams, among other men, for the independency and founding of our country. He fought in the chamber of congress with the zeal and energy one would expect to find on the battlefield. He believed so much in the necessity of a free and independent country, that he said, “we should always remember that a free constitution of civil government cannot be purchased at too dear a rate, as there is nothing on this side of Jerusalem of equal importance to mankind (McCullough 125).”

John Adams was a vital player in the events of our American Revolution. I am so grateful to have had this man to fight for the cause of independence and to lead our country as the second President of the United States.



Works Cited

McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.

Pelosi Ignoring Fiscal Realities of Healthcare

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is pushing government-run healthcare reform while government-run Medicare is already $38 trillion in debt!
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=695448

Morality Necessary for a Free Government

This is a quote from George Washington's farewell address when he left the presidency. He listed several important guidelines for future political decisions, and here is one of the most important ones he listed:

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?"

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp

Please go back and read that last paragraph and make sure you understand it.
Who, indeed? Who can look indifferently at our government's push to take morality and religion out of public affairs? Why are we standing idly by?
Also, please note that he gave this speech while still the President of the United States. So much for separation of church and state.

The Values of the Founding Fathers

There are a few things in this life that can make me so happy I could cry:
1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. People I love
3. Holding a baby
4. The Story of America's Journey to Independence
In class today, we watched Part 2 of John Adams produced by HBO. It reminded me yet again of the sacrifices, the toils, the hard fight that our Fathers gave for their country. They believed in this grand experiment. They believed in their natural rights. They were good, honest men with strong characters, backed by smart, hard-working women.
It is my firm belief that God had a hand in the founding of this country. I'm not just saying this because it is what other Christians say, but because I truly believe it.
As I watched this movie, I was in awe at the fantastic caliber of men who founded this country. Our nation has gone so far awry since the beginning of our country. We must return to the values that these men believed in - honesty, morality, honor, patriotism, personal responsibility, hard work, charity, humility, and integrity. These are not out-dated values. They are true now as they were true then and they could solve many of our problems. We must return to what the founders intended us to be. I will post an important quote by Geroge Washington on this topic in my next blog.