John Adams
by David McCullough
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, May 2001

book reviewed by Kevin Quinn

David McCullough's recent biography of John Adams puts the second President of the United States in a new light. McCullough exposes the American Revolution like never before in this inside look at the life of John Adams. Although Adams had his faults, he was, according to the author, the real fire behind Thomas Jefferson's move towards independence.

The relationship between John Adams and Jefferson, highlighted throughout this book, is an excellent way to understand the American Revolution. For where Adams saw the world in "black and white" and occasionally acted too quickly, Jefferson saw shades of gray and needed Adams' decisiveness to push him to action.

McCullough believes American Revolution could not have come to a successful outcome without Adams' leadership. Although Jefferson receives the bulk of the praise, Adams' role was critical.

A good example of Adams' resolve was his trips to France to obtain financial assistance for the war effort. A trip across the Atlantic in the 1700s was without elaboration a difficult journey. Yet Adams made the trip more than once. On one trip the ship Adams and his sons, Thomas and Charles, were traveling on sprang a leak. At his command, Adams and his boys started bailing out the boat. As they neared their destination, the ship sprang another leak. The ship was forced to land in Spain where Adams faced two choices: wait for the ship to be repaired and carry him to France or walk.

Adams determined that they would reach their destination quicker by walking over the mountains into France, which he and his boys commenced to do. This choice shows Adams character and his ability to keep his goal in focus. Based on McCullough's presentation of Jefferson, it is unlikely that the latter would have made a similar decision if he had even attempted the cross-Atlantic voyages in the first place.

However, it comes down to the fact that Adams and Jefferson were different in ways that ultimately made the American Revolution possible. Adams' strong and unrelenting push for independence and Jefferson's ability to "bring" Virginia along for the ride were two necessary conditions that forged the Colonists' alliance.

Read with Joseph Ellis' "Founding Brothers," David McCullough's John Adams is an excellent way to re-discover the amazing story of the American Revolution.

*******

Kevin Quinn is a principal with the law firm of Hinman Straub P.C. in Albany, New York.

01/14/2003