John Adams perhaps best embodies the persona of the eighteenth century enlightened republican. Born to a simple farming family from Massachusetts, he devoted his attention to a variety of tasks, always seeking to improve himself. His ideas, formulated only after years of continuous study and experience as a public servant endeared him to the principles of liberty and equality. He proved indispensable in the cause of independence, and afterwards in the formation of the United States government. By the end of his tenure as a public servant he had proved indispensable in separating the thirteen colonies from the yoke of Great Britain, steered the country toward a government founded on checks and balance, established the navy as the first line of defense, kept the United States out of Europe’s devastating wars and created the conditions salubrious to economic growth. Indeed, John Adams’ importance as a political figure in the early years of the republic cannot be understated.
