John Adams by David McCullough

Yes, I actually read a history book! The owner touted it as a good read…and it is a good, interesting book.

John Adams was interested in politics early in life, first in local politics and then as the Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. From there, he never stopped being a politician, ambassador, Vice President and finally the first one-term President. His years as VP and President were contentious and unhappy. It wasn’t until both men were long retired that he renewed his friendship with Thomas Jefferson.

He retired to his farm in Quincy, Massachusetts and lived comfortably until his death. His wife, Abigail, died a few years before him, but he continued to be surrounded by family members after she died. They had had a good life together; they saw the country grow; they had lived in Europe and traveled there extensively. He lived to see his oldest son, John Quincy, become the sixth president of the US.

Adams knew politics when he said, “Ambition is one of the more ungovernable passions of the human heart. The love of power is insatiable and uncontrollable…” (Sounds like George and Dick to me.) He had foresight...he was a big proponent of independence but looked beyond independence and the outcome of the war to what would be established once independence was achieved. “The happiness of the people was the purpose of government,” he wrote. (Are we happy today?)

Unfortunately, no lessons have been learned in the last 200+ years and much is still the same.
Lying, cheating and scandals were on the scene in the late 1700’s just as they are today. There was lots of hoopla when George Washington died, and that practice sure hasn’t changed.