John Adams Influence On Education

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On October 30, 1735, John Adams was born to John Adams, Sr. and Susanna Boylston Adams, in Braintree (or what is now called: Quincy), Massachusetts. He was direct descendant of Henry Adams, on his father’s side, and John Alden, on his mother’s side, both of whom were Pilgrims on the Mayflower in 1638. That said, there can be no doubt why the Boylston-Adams family was considered one of the more prestigious families in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Consequently, this fact influenced young Adams’ education. Attending a local school during his primary education, then taking a university preparatory course, he was given a scholarship to Harvard College at age sixteen. In 1755, twenty-year-old Adams graduated from Harvard and went on to studying …show more content…
Around this time, Adams was becoming progressively more aware of the worsening relationship between the colonies and the motherland. Nevertheless, not until the Crown passed the Stamp Act, did he fully realize the brokenness of said relationship. In August of 1765, Adams reacts by anonymously writing his “Dissertation on Cannon and Feudal Law,” which was printed in the Boston Gazette, in which he spoke of America’s desire for independence: “It was this great struggle that peopled America. It was not religion alone, as is commonly supposed; but it was a love of universal liberty, and a hatred, a dread, a horror, of the infernal confederacy before described, that projected, conducted, and accomplished the settlement of America.” (Adams, …show more content…
In December 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred, causing England to retaliate by imposing the Intolerable Acts, in May of 1774. That same year, Adams was appointed delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and again to the Second Continental Congress, in May of 1775. It was during this period that Adams’ involvement in the fight for Independence began. One of Adams’ first acts as Delegate was the nomination of George Washington to commander of the Continental army, in July 1775. He wrote “Thoughts on Government” in 1776 in response to the North Carolina Provincial Congress, moreover Adams designed the three-branch government system with checks and balances, which was later adopted as the model for the United States Government. In June, he was appointed President of Congress Board of War and while in office he wrote the “Plan of Treaties” in hope of securing alliances with other European nations. Finally, on July 4, 1776, John Adams, became one of the fifty-six delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence, marking the end of colonial America and the beginning of the United States of