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Benjamin Franklin
John Adams, a leader in the First Continental Congress and, later, the second president of the new United States, was a controversial figure. He often sparred with George Washington, especially over the loss of Philadelphia to the British, and he was one of the least moderate voices in Congress when it came to heading into a full-scale war. He also was one of the first Americans to suggest that the Revolution should be viewed not as a military struggle but as an ideological one; he often said that victory was forged less on the battlefield than “in the minds and hearts of the people.”
John Adams Quotes in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
The Lafayette in the Somewhat United States quotes below are all either spoken by John Adams or refer to John Adams . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Pages 190-268
Quotes
Following the lead of John Adams, Americans prefer to think of the American Revolution not as an eight-year war but rather as a revolution “effected before the War commenced.” We like to believe, as Adams did, that the revolution was “in the minds and hearts of the people,” as opposed to the amputated limbs and bayoneted torsos of Continental and French casualties.
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John Adams Character Timeline in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
The timeline below shows where the character John Adams appears in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 1-59
...had just won the popular vote, but the electoral college had instead selected John Quincy Adams as president, prompting popular outrage. Plus, more and more members of the Revolutionary generation were...
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...to violence. Just as Andrew Jackson made a show of peacefully congratulating rival John Quincy Adams on the presidency, anti-Adams Americans were able to turn to the press (and not the...
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...more agreeable time” because “there was no simpler, more agreeable time.” For example, after John Adams began the First Continental Congress with a simple ceremonial prayer, Americans of different faiths immediately...
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...Quaker John Dickinson, who wanted to avoid violence at all costs, and future president John Adams, who thought this degree of moderation was foolish.
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Pages 126-190
...hub, and it was therefore a crucial symbol of independence. Washington, Franklin, Lafayette and John Adams all worried that losing Philadelphia would destroy Patriot morale.
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...enamored of General Washington. But in the fall of 1777, many men in Congress (John Adams included) were so frustrated about Washington’s Fabian strategy that they were thinking of demoting him....
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...and made Americans more able to trust him. This was especially important because politicians like Adams were constantly worried that the new nation would succumb to a military dictatorship (as Rome...
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Pages 190-268
...She decides that it is because Americans, following in the footsteps of men like John Adams, tend to believe that the Revolution was more about a change of heart than “amputated...
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