John Adams: One cool dude

[lord of the mark]

Ive been reading the David McCullough biog of our second president.

Really like this guy. Very sharp, fierce integrity - had the nerve to defend the British troops after the Boston "massacre". Nuanced positions, yet full of passion. Wasnt aware of his key role on the Board of War (congress military committee) in the months after July 1776.

Abigail Adams was cool too. Strong woman, almost proto-feminist.

Note for Molly Bloom - did you know that Judge Sewall, of Salem witch trial fame, wrote an attack on slavery in 1700, years before Wilburforce?

[Sava]

Sam Adams is pretty cool... I like his beer

[Dr Strangelove]

Sam Adams was pretty much responsible / to blame for the American Revolution. He was the driving force behind the Liberty Tree Boys. Without his obsessive, almost psychotic, rabble rousing conflict between the British and the colonists may never have intensified to the point of war.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

McCullough did American history a terrible disservice by writing such an engaging biography of Adams. Adams is vastly overrated -- a timid revolutionary (especially compared to cousin Sam), a pathetic diplomat, and a horrid president; he left behind some wonderfully readable correspondence with his wife and with Jefferson, but that's not enough to justify the ridiculous re-evaluation engendered by McCullough's book. I realize that Founder biographies are in vogue right now -- we've had four major Franklin biographies in two years -- but anybody from the pantheon is more worthy of attention than Adams.

Now, John Quincy Adams -- there's a figure richly deserving of McCullough-esque treatment.

[Dr Strangelove]

Didn't John Adams have the "Alien and Sedition Acts" passed? If his legacy had endured America would be a very different country today. It's hard to believe that a man so seemingly bigoted and intolerant would have taken up the Amistaad case.

[Ramo]

The guy who took up Amistad was his son (and also a President), John Quincy Adams.

I'm not particularly a fan of either guy for obvious reasons (though, Jr. was definitely the more interesting). Abigail kicked ass, though.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Ramo's right: JA = Alien and Sedition Acts

JQA = Amistad case, Monroe Doctrine (he was Monroe's SecsState), brilliant diplomat, crusading anti-slavery congressman after he was president.

JA
JQA

[Sava]

Amistad... I never saw that movie

wasn't that black guy from Gladiator in it?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Quincy Adams is definetly one of the most underappreciated Americans. He was a great man, though not really that great of a President (though at least he didn't **** it up).

Oh, Rufus, don't forget that Quincy was instrumental in the Adams-Onis treaty, which got us Florida .

[Deity Dude]

I thought JQA was his grandson.

[Imran Siddiqui]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams%2C_John_Quincy

John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth (1825-1829) President of the United States. The son of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Smith, he was the only son of a former President to become President himself until George W. Bush took office in 2001.

[Deity Dude]

Well maybe I should edit my post

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Sava
Amistad... I never saw that movie

wasn't that black guy from Gladiator in it?

GIVE US US FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sava]

I think there's a mental hospital near here

[Ted Striker]

It's a line from the movie.