Thoughts on Government Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies
by John Adams
| Thoughts on Government | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Author | John Adams | |
| Published | Boston: John Gill | |
| Date | 1776 | |
John Adams was the second President of the United States (1797-1801) as well as the first first Vice President of the United States under George Washington (1789-1797). Born in was born in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1735,[1] Adams was a Founding Father who served on two Continental Congresses, championed American independence from Britain, and later held a long career as diplomat to France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. He attended Harvard College[2] and would eventually practice law in Boston, entering the company of prominent lawyers like Jeremiah Gridley and James Otis, Jr.[3] He married Abigail Adams (née Smith) in 1764 [4] and although they were often separated, the two of them maintained a frequent correspondence, with Adams entrusting her with responsibilities and independence far beyond what was typical for the time. [5]
When the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, Adams successfully defended the British soldiers accused of shooting into the crowd, motivated by the idea that all men are entitled to a fair trial.[6] He served as a delegate from Massachusetts on the first Continental Congress in 1774 [7] and then on the second Continental Congress in 1775.[8]. While serving on the Second Continental Congress he sat on ninety committees, chairing twenty-five, leading Benjamin Rush to describe him as "the first man in the House."[9] Adams maintained that he was offered the role of drafting the Declaration of Independence, but he declined and deferred it to Thomas Jefferson instead, though Jefferson claimed he was the original, and only, choice. [10] These disputes were a hallmark of their relationship, which consisted both of friendship [11] and rivalry. [12] With Jefferson head of the Democrat-Republicans and Adams a Federalist, they ran against each other in the 1796 presidential election, resulting in Adams's victory, with Jefferson serving as vice president.[13]
Before becoming president, Adams had a long diplomatic career, beginning in 1777 when he was selected to replace Silas Deane as a diplomat to France, serving alongside Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee.[14] Afterwards, he was reassigned as diplomat to the Netherlands in 1780[15] and then the First American Minister to Great Britain after the end of the Revolutionary Way in 1785.[16] Upon his return from Europe in 1789, Adams was elected the first Vice President of the United States, serving under the first President, George Washington.[17] Adams would later become the second President of the United States, during which he oversaw the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts,[18] navigated a potential war with France[19], and became the first president to live in the White House.[20] After his presidency he returned to Massachusetts, where he would start up a correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, consisting of one hundred and nine letters sent by Adams and forty-nine by Jefferson[21] lasting until they both died on the same day — July 4th, 1826.[22]
Thoughts on Government
Adams frequently contemplated matters of governance, including in letters which he sent to at least four of his colleagues, George Wythe included. Thoughts on Government began as a letter to George Wythe[23] When Wythe sought Adams’s help in drafting a new constitution for Virginia in 1776, Adams wrote back that they had "a fair opportunity to form and establish the wisest and happiest government that human wisdom can contrive."[24] His thoughts on how to accomplish this would be printed by another recipient, Richard Henry Lee, in April 1776, as the first publication of Thoughts on Government.[25]
According to Adams, the primary purpose of the government was to promote happiness amongst its citizens, and Adams thought this could be best accomplished by a bicameral legislature, as opposed to the unicameral legislature suggested by Thomas Paine earlier, which Adams fiercely opposed.[26] In fact, Adam's biographer, Peter Shaw, suggested that Thoughts on Government was written for Southerners with an aversion to Paine.[27] It was intended to nudge Southerners away from choosing hereditary monarchies for themselves by lauding the virtues of republicanism.[28] Ultimately, many states would adopt Adam's framework in Thoughts on Government in their new constitutions established after the Declaration of Independence, including suggestions such as veto powers for the executive and checks and balances on different branches of government.[29] For example, Thoughts on Government was a strong influence on the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, which Adams himself helped draft.[30] There are several ideas from Thoughts on Government included in the Massachusetts constitution, such as the creation of a Senate and a House of Representatives [31]. The framework set out in Thoughts on Government would eventually be adopted in large part by the U.S. Constitution.[32]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg owns a copy of the printed version of Adams's letter to Wythe with the following catalog description, 'Library's copy signed on title page: "John Adams to George Wythe" in Adams' hand. Several textual corrections and the date "January 1776" also by Adams.'[33] This could mean that John Adams presented this copy to George Wythe, or it could be a reference by Adams to note which version of the letter he used for publication.[34] Both Brown's Bibliography[35] and George Wythe's Library[36] on LibraryThing include Adams's tract in Wythe's library based on the copy at Colonial Williamsburg. While this copy may not have been Wythe's, it is highly likely he owned a copy of the published version of Adams's essay.
The Wolf Law Library has been unable to locate a copy for purchase.
See also
References
- ↑ John Ferling, John Adams : A Life (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1996) 11.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 15.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 23-24.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 34.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 172.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 67-68.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 97.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 121.
- ↑ Peter Shaw, The Character of John Adams, (Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North Carolina Press, 1976) 95.
- ↑ Robert McGlone, "Deciphering Memory: John Adams and the Authorship of the Declaration of Independence," Journal of American History 85, no. 2 (1998): 411.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 273.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 314.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 332.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 198.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 229.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 274.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 299.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 365.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 378.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 395.
- ↑ Brooke Allen, "John Adams: Realist of the Revolution," The Hudson Review 55, no. 1 (2002): 48, https://doi.org/10.2307/3852843.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 444.
- ↑ George C. Homans, "John Adams and the Constitution of Massachusetts," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 125, no. 4 (1981): 287, http://www.jstor.org/stable/986331.
- ↑ Paul C. Reardon, "The Massachusetts Constitution Marks a Milestone," Publius 12, no. 1 (1982): 45, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3329672.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 155.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 155.
- ↑ Shaw, The Character of John Adams, 94.
- ↑ Shaw, The Character of John Adams, 92/3.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 157.
- ↑ Reardon, "The Massachusetts Constitution," 51.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams 215.
- ↑ Ferling, John Adams, 300.
- ↑ John Adams, 'Thoughts on Government: Applicable to the Present State of the American colonies. In a Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend' (Boston: John Gill, 1776), https://catalog.libraries.wm.edu/permalink/01COWM_INST/oaj29m/alma991023672029703196.
- ↑ "Thoughts on Government [Editorial Note,"] Founders Online, National Archives, accessed August 28, 2025.
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).
- ↑ LibraryThing, s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on August 28, 2025.