John Adams: A Model for Public Officials?

Originally published July/Aug 2004

It’s summertime as I write this column, always a good time for reading. The book I can’t put down this year is David McCullough’s John Adams. It is a wonderful story. David McCullough won a Pulitzer price for John Adams and I’m pleased he did, because Adams is the least understood and least admired of our Founding Fathers. Yet, as McCullough has demonstrated, nobody except George Washington did more to create our nation and ensure its survival during the first two rocky decades.

Most people with a high school education probably know that John Adams was our second president. Some recall he was our ambassador to France, and was George Washington’s vice president. Few know much more about his extraordinary life. Consider the following:

• In the aftermath of the fighting at Lexington and Concord, Adams successfully called on the Continental Congress to name 44 year old George Washington as head of the army.
• During the spring of 1776, as the Continental Congress met to debate independence, Adams was a giant among giants. He served with Jefferson on a five person committee to draft a Declaration of Independence, and argued for Jefferson to be the principal author. McCullough wrote that “Adams made the Declaration of Independence happen when it did.”
• Adams was brilliant and unrelenting in convincing members of the Congress to take the risk of voting for independence (an act that was considered treasonous by the British, punishable by death). Benjamin Rush recalled that “Every member of Congress in 1776 acknowledged him [Adams] to be the first man in the House.” Jefferson called Adams “our colossus on the floor.” Jefferson later recalled that Adams’ speeches on behalf of independence were given “with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats.”
• Adams was one of five members of the Continental Congress who oversaw running of the War for Independence.
• He was the principle author of the Massachusetts State Constitution, the oldest functioning written constitution in the world. One of its major contributions was the establishment of an independent judiciary. In it he called for “a government of laws, and not of men.” The constitution also established the principle of separation and balance of powers.
• Adams served as ambassador to France during the War for Independence, and helped persuade that government to intervene militarily on the side of the colonies (which proved critical at the final battle at Yorktown).
• Adams also persuaded the Dutch to recognize United States, and to loan it money at a crucial time during the War.

And this was but the start of his public career!

ADAMS & JEFFERSON

One of the more interesting aspects of this book is the description of the complex relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The men developed a strong respect for each other when supporting the cause of independence. Then they parted company over political differences and became harsh adversaries in the 1790s and first part of the new century. According to McCullough, Adams didn’t think mankind could be improved, but was fascinated by human nature. Jefferson was devoted to the ideal of improving mankind, yet had little interest in getting to know most people. Adams’s many letters reflected his personal thoughts and feelings; Jefferson kept his true feelings to himself. Adams said what he meant (even when it got him in trouble); Jefferson was rarely direct, preferring to be diplomatic (he followed Ben Franklin’s advice to “never contradict anybody”).

Most important perhaps, were their political differences. Adams believed in the necessity of a strong central government and chief executive. Jefferson was passionate about the importance of keeping government small and the executive position weak. And then there was the ever present issue of slavery. Adams abhorred slavery in every way. Jefferson wrote eloquently against the practice of slavery, but he could never live without his own slaves and the daily comforts they provided him.

The men had a number of similarities as well. Both loved fine literature and read continuously. They were probably the most learned men among the founding fathers. Both distinguished themselves as lawyers early in their careers. Both loved great challenges, and hated wasting time.

Both were very devoted to home and family. Each had an enormous and life long dedication to education, and a belief that an independent nation founded on self rule could only survive if the people were well educated. Both were very ambitious, and each took steps to try to conceal that ambition (as was the custom of the times).

Both served as vice president and then as president. And both men totally devoted their lives to the Revolution and building of a new nation ­ they were true patriots.

JEFFERSON’S FEET OF CLAY

What I found fascinating about this book was McCullough’s treatment of Jefferson. He has said that he started off planning to write a book about both men, but the more he learned about Jefferson the more he fell out of love with him. As one who lives in Jefferson’s home town of Charlottesville, I actually appreciated his comments on Jefferson’s feet of clay. Nobody is as great as we often make Jefferson out to be, and McCullough noted Jefferson’s flaws.

It turns out that Jefferson practiced a kind of politics that contributes to our current cynicism about public life. Jefferson used others to attack those whose positions he opposed. He did so when he became concerned that Adams actually believed in monarchy for the United States (Adams didn’t, but his writings left many to wonder about his true sentiments). When Jefferson started to think that Washington was building too strong a central government and allowing the presidency to gain more power than necessary, he encouraged the editor of a Republican party newspaper to attack Washington in the paper. And he urged others to use an assumed name to attack Washington, telling Madison, for instance, to “take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him [Washington] to pieces in the face of the public.”

As Adams’ Vice President, Jefferson opposed Adams on most key issues. For instance, Jefferson secretly communicated with a French ambassador to undercut Adams’ negotiations with the French government at a critical time in Adams’ presidency. By the fourth year of the administration, the two men were barely on speaking terms.

In 1800, when Adams and Jefferson both ran for President, Jefferson hired a scandalmonger named Callender to make vicious attacks on Adams. Jefferson approved of Callender’s writings in advance, and made sure his connection to Callender didn’t become public. Callender’s writings were so outrageous he was tried and convicted for inciting the people against their president, and served nine months in jail.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM ADAMS?

You might be thinking that Adams must have contributed his share to the declining relationship with Jefferson. No doubt that’s true. My point isn’t to hold Adams up as a saint. The man brought many of his problems on himself. Rather, I’m struck by the similarities between Adams’s career in public office, and those of many public managers today.

First, Adams prided himself on being a man of character, which he certainly was. But there were times when he could have used Jefferson’s gifts of diplomatic language; his tendency to tell people just what he thought often undercut his effectiveness. Second, Adams was often enraged by the political maneuvering going on around him, even by members of his cabinet when he was president. He would have benefitted from a taking a cool, skeptical view of those who called themselves his allies. Third, Adams worried endlessly that his extraordinary contributions to the young republic would be forgotten by later generations (until recently that was largely true). He didn’t understand what Jefferson knew; that in this unfair world it helps to have a “publicist.” James Madison often served in that role for Jefferson, and Madison proved extremely effective in saying things on Jefferson’s behalf that Jefferson couldn’t say without appearing egotistical and overly ambitious.

Finally, Adams might have worried less and enjoyed his early and middle years more had he understood something my mom used to teach us. She said that one of the secrets to life is, “you have to live long enough!” In Adams’ later years he struck up a correspondence and a new, warm relationship with Jefferson, and their letters are a treasure for anyone wanting to learn about the mind sets of our nation’s founders. He lived to see his son, John Quincy Adams, elected to the presidency. And his confidence in the future of the American experiment only grew with time.

Being a leader in public life today can be extremely frustrating; do 25 great things for your constituents and they’re all forgotten when you disappoint them once. We can enjoy our government service more if we take these lessons from John Adams’s life: character is critical, but a diplomatic tongue is too; be careful about assuming your allies are acting in your interest; realize that your good works won’t necessarily speak for themselves and that it helps to find someone who tells your story for you; and take the long view. That long view, and a healthy sense of humor, are especially important in today’s political climate.