John Adams

John Adams (1735–1826) was a leading proponent of independence in Massachusetts. Notably, however, he was the defense attorney for the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre in 1770.

As a delegate to the Continental Congresses, he nominated George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army and helped Thomas Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence. Between 1778 and 1788, Adams served as a diplomat in Europe. He negotiated the Treaty of Paris to end the war in 1783.

In the election of 1796, Adams, who was Washington’s vice president, won the presidency over Thomas Jefferson. But in 1800 he lost to Jefferson. He died just hours after Thomas Jefferson, on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of independence.