Founders Online --> [ Back to normal view ]
Quick links.
- About Founders Online
- Major Funders
- Search Help
- How to Use This Site
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Teaching Resources
About the Adams Papers
The Massachusetts Historical Society established the Adams Papers editorial project in 1954, upon the Adams family’s commitment to donate their extensive collection of correspondence, diaries, and other documents to the Society. This collection is the most comprehensive and historically significant family archive held by an American cultural institution, public or private. Comprising nearly 300,000 manuscript pages, the material provides an intimate look at our nation’s history and culture from the era of the Revolution to the late nineteenth century. Since Lyman H. Butterfield first organized the project, three generations of editors have added over 27,000 items from hundreds of other public and private sources. The entire collection now contains about 100,000 documents. Access to information concerning the collection has been made available to the public with the completion of the NHPRC-sponsored Online Adams Catalogue (OAC) at http://www.masshist.org/adams/catalog/ .
Unlike other founding generation projects, the Adams Papers does not end with the death of the first generation. John and Abigail Adams are the focus of the first generation, but the chronological end date for the edition is 1889. The first volumes, Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, appeared in 1961. As of 2012, 46 volumes have been published, including 37 in the founding generation. The Adams Papers edition was funded originally by Time-Life Inc. and the Ford Foundation. Over the years the Lyn and Norman Lear Fund, the J. Howard Pew Freedom Trust, and the Charles E. Culpepper Foundation contributed significantly to the support of the project. At present funding is provided by the NHPRC, the NEH, the Packard Humanities Institute, and the Florence Gould Foundation.
Access to other Adams digital resources at the Massachusetts Historical Society may be found at http://www.masshist.org/ . Information about the editorial project and other related resources is available at http://www.masshist.org/adams_editorial/ .
See a complete list of Adams Papers volumes included in Founders Online, with links to the documents.
The letterpress edition of The Adams Papers is available from Harvard University Press .
Copyright © by the Massachusetts Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Help inform the discussion
- X (Twitter)
John Adams: Impact and Legacy
Historians have difficulty assessing John Adams's presidency. On the one hand, his aloofness and refusal to enter directly into political conflict probably undermined his effectiveness and cost him his reelection in 1800. His stubborn independence left him politically isolated and alone. Even his own cabinet opposed his policies much of the time. He valued no one's opinion half as much as his own—except for that of his wife, Abigail. As an active party politician who nevertheless distrusted factionalism and many Federalist leaders, such as Alexander Hamilton, Adams seems to have been hopelessly out of place in the partisan-style Republic that he had helped bring to life. Much of Adams's isolation reflected a well-conceived value system in which he believed that the executive branch should stand above politics. He viewed the legislature as subject to corruption and thus refused to work with it on a close basis. He prided himself on never giving into public opinion that conflicted with his principles. Adams counted himself among those natural aristocrats who were born for leadership because of their superior reason and virtue. In this sense, he distrusted the people and feared majority rule. Adams believed that the danger to American society in 1800 came not from excessive authority but from conflict and anarchy. Adams's elite republicanism stood in stark contrast to the more egalitarian Jeffersonian democracy that was poised to assume power in the new century.
On the other hand, most historians agree that Adams was correct in not expanding the naval war with France into an all-out conflict. Another protracted war, especially one so soon after the War of Independence with the populace deeply divided along partisan lines, might have been fatal for the nascent American union. Historians concur that Adams nearly won the election of 1800 and that history might have judged him differently had he completed a second term.
Adams has been justifiably censured for having signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, although it is important to note that he neither openly advocated their passage nor personally implemented them. Moreover, when faced with populist defiance, such as in Fries's Rebellion, he ignored Hamilton's call for a strong show of federal force. In the end, he even pardoned the leaders. Seen in this light, Adams's legacy is one of reason, moral leadership, the rule of law, compassion, and a cautious but active foreign policy that aimed both at securing the national interest and achieving an honorable peace.
C. James Taylor
Former Editor-in-Chief, Adams Papers Massachusetts Historical Society
More Resources
John adams presidency page, john adams essays, life in brief, life before the presidency, campaigns and elections, domestic affairs, foreign affairs, life after the presidency, family life, the american franchise, impact and legacy (current essay).
IMAGES
VIDEO