Learn about John Adams' childhood, education, and family. Read about Adams' siblings, his cousin Samuel Adams, and his time at Harvard.
Updated: 11/21/2023
John Adams | Childhood, Background & Education
Table of Contents
- John Adams' Childhood and Education: Overview
- John Adams' Childhood and Background
- John Adams' Education and Intellectual Development
- The Significance of John Adams' Life
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of education did John Adams have?
John Adams received a formal education, as most firstborn sons did during this time period. He first attended a dame school followed by Latin preparatory school. He went to college at Harvard and graduated in 1755.
How many years of education did John Adams have?
From six to fifteen, John Adams attended a dame school, where he was taught reading and writing, and a Latin preparatory school. At fifteen, he was accepted into Harvard College in 1751 and graduated in 1755. He had 13 years of formal education.
What was John Adams life like when he was young?
John Adams grew up on his family's farm. He enjoyed the open space and dreamed of eventually becoming a farmer. He also grew up in a religious household with his family descending from devout Puritan believers.
What was John Adams before he was president?
Prior to becoming President, John Adams held a few different jobs. He was a schoolteacher and a lawyer. Following the colonies' victory in the Revolutionary War, Adams was elected Vice President to George Washington. When Washington left office, Adams was elected President.
Table of Contents
- John Adams' Childhood and Education: Overview
- John Adams' Childhood and Background
- John Adams' Education and Intellectual Development
- The Significance of John Adams' Life
- Lesson Summary
John Adams was the second President of the United States from 1797 to 1801. He grew up in a town outside of Boston, Massachusetts on a farm. Although he had initially planned to remain on the farm, his life took a different path. He became a lawyer and eventually became a revolutionary against the British controlling the colonies. He became so powerful as a revolutionary that he was voted George Washington's Vice President and eventually succeeded him as America's second president.
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Henry Adams, John Adams' great-great-grandfather, settled in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1636. Like most English settlers during this time, Henry Adams wanted to escape England due to the country's lack of religious tolerance. Massachusetts during this time was highly populated with Puritans. Puritans were a religious group that set out to purify the Church of England from the last remaining touches of the Roman Catholic faith. The Puritan faith included the teachings of John Calvin and other Calvinist theologians, and required believers to abstain from any practices that could be considered sinful and worldly, instead encouraging a strict religious devotion. They believed it was important to be in agreement with God to be cleansed from their sins.
When Was John Adams Born?
John Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735. As previously mentioned, his family had deep ties to Braintree, which lies just a few miles outside of Boston. The family had lived there for nearly a century at the time, and they were well-respected in the community. Adams was born prior to the Revolutionary War and before the original thirteen colonies became States. During this time period, the settlers in New England were still until the English monarch's rule.
John Adams' Parents
Adams' parents were John and Susanna Boylston Adams. John's father was a deacon in the Congregational Church, a shoemaker, and a farmer. John idolized his father. Unlike his father, there is little known about his mother, Susanna. However, she was known to have a fiery temper. Adams' father died in 1761 and Susanna remarried. Adams did not get along with his stepfather.
John Adams' Siblings
John Adams had two younger brothers: Peter and Elihu. Elihu Adams actually fought in the Revolutionary War. Adams was also the second cousin of Samuel Adams, who was a fellow revolutionary. Samuel Adams, in many respects, was even more radical than his cousin, John, but both played large roles in the foundation of the United States. The cousins both signed the Declaration of Independence.
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During the years when Adams was educated, America was going through a period of Enlightenment. Critical thinkers in America during this period challenged traditional authority. They believed that humans needed to understand the universe and radically change the way they thought about topics such as science and religion. In the colonies, intellectual status was very important and it was usually tied to religion. The more intelligent one was, the higher position in the church that person had. Adams had the perfect blend. He came from a well-known, Puritan family. He received an excellent education at Harvard College and passed the bar exam. He was also becoming an adult during a time when he could use his high intellect to change the colonies and help create a country.
John Adams' Early Education
Because Adams came from a well-established and respected family, he was able to receive a formal education. Because Adams grew up on a farm and enjoyed the open space, he wanted to be a farmer, but his father insisted he receive an education and become a minister. First, Adams attended a "dame school." It was called "dame" because students were taught by a female teacher. The standard primary school text used within the American Colonies during this time period was called the New England Primer. It used religious verses to teach children to read and write.
Following the dame school, Adams attended Braintree Latin School. This school was a preparatory school for those who planned to attend college. He excelled at his studies and was accepted into Harvard College at fifteen years old.
John Adams' Time at Harvard College
Adams began attending Harvard College at fifteen years old — one year younger than most. He was handed an English packet and asked to translate it into Latin for his admittance exam. He believed that he was not permitted to use a dictionary and would have a deadline. However, Mr. Joseph Mayhew, Adams' eventual tutor, gave him a dictionary, pen and ink, and told him to take his time. Adams was able to calm down and complete his exam. Adams passed and was admitted into Harvard.
Adams never spoke about his college years in detail. He did, however, describe Harvard as being a small institution: one president, two professors, four tutors, and one hundred students. Adams' favorite professor was John Winthrop. Winthrop taught him mathematics and natural philosophy. Adams' enjoyed the curriculum, specifically in theology, mathematics, and natural science. He also made friends with students from different social classes; often these students were wealthier than Adams' own family. During his time at Harvard, Adams joined a speaking club. He performed so well that his classmates recommended he would make a great lawyer rather than the minister his father wanted him to be.
Adams graduated from Harvard College in 1755. He went on to teach school for a few years while studying law. He used his salary from teaching to pay for his legal studies. Adams was taught law by a local lawyer in Worcester named James Putnam. Adams passed the bar exam in 1758.
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Adams was born and became an adult during a period of time in America when he could be exposed to many revolutionary ideas associated with the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a period from 1685 to 1815 where traditionally authority was questioned. Thinkers during the Enlightenment period began to challenge traditional authority and embraced the idea that humanity can be changed for the better with the use of logic and reason. Politics, science, communications and philosophy were subjects that went through radical change during this time period. Adams was able to witness this change and use it later in life when he became a revolutionary fighting for the American colonies against England.
Adams was a descendant from Mayflower Pilgrims, and his family was wealthy enough to send him to formal schools and Harvard College. Therefore, he had both a respected family and an excellent education to help him establish himself as an influential member of New England Society. After returning home to Braintree, he did struggle to start his career as a lawyer, but after he won his first case, his practice grew. The moment that he made a name for himself was 1765 during the time the Stamp Act was implemented. Adams disagreed with the Stamp Act, but did not initially want to play a large role in fighting against it. However, he changed his mind and helped the popular movement against the Stamp Act. He wrote anonymous newspaper essays and helped to send out propaganda pieces.
After that moment, his status in New England society steadily rose. He was sent to the First Continental Congress as one of the four delegates from Massachusetts and was reelected to the Second Continental Congress. Adams also led the charge in congress to fight for American independence from England. He was one of the American diplomats that negotiated the Treaty of Paris. He became such an influential member of not only New England Society but American society in general that he was elected Vice President in 1789 and reelected in 1792. Finally, in 1797, John Adams became the second President of the United States.
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John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 to a well-established Puritan family in Massachusetts. Adams was also the second cousin of Samuel Adams, a revolutionary firebrand. They both became famous for fighting for American independence and signed the Declaration of Independence together. John Adams received a formal education where he was taught with the New England Primer, the primary school text used within the American Colonies, which used religious verses to teach reading and writing. He went on to attend Harvard College and graduated in 1755. He became a schoolteacher and used his salary to pay for law lessons with well-known local lawyer James Putnam. Adams grew up during the Enlightenment period in the colonies. It helped form his ideas about life and religion. Due to the Enlightenment period surrounding him and his education, Adams became a leading figure in the colonies' fight for freedom. He gained the trust and confidence of those around him and was elected as the first Vice President of America. Finally, in 1797, Adams became America's second president.
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Additional Info
John Adams: The Subject of Renewed Attention
Some of you may have seen the HBO mini-series on John Adams that came out a few years ago. The dramatic and historically accurate mini-series presents the American Revolution and its aftermath through the eyes of John Adams. The film was based off of David McCollough's enormously popular 2002 book John Adams. Since the book and the film have come out, interest in America's second president has been on the rise. Once frequently overlooked besides the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, the contributions of John Adams are now the subject of renewed focus. In that spirit, this lesson will examine the childhood and education of one of America's most important ''Founding Fathers''. Let's dig in!
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Early Childhood and Education
John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father, John Adams, Sr., was a farmer, shoemaker, Congregationalist deacon, and a respected man in the community. Little is known about his wife (and John Adams's mother), Susanna Boylston, but she also came from a respected family and is believed to have had a temper. John Adams had two younger siblings, Peter and Elihu. He also had a second cousin named Samuel Adams, who turned out to be an even more fiery revolutionary than he was. Once grown, these two men would play powerful roles in igniting a revolution.
The Adams family had descended from the Puritans, an English Protestant religious sect that sought to ''purify'', or reform the Church of England. Upon migrating to the New World, the Puritans made Massachusetts their home. The Puritans emphasized strict religious devotion, abstaining from sinful and worldly practices, and the teachers of John Calvin and other ''Calvinist'' theologians. Religion was important to the Adams family, and young John grew up attending church and being instructed in the teachings of the Christian faith.
As the eldest son of a respected family, John grew up receiving a formal education. He attended a sort of elementary school called a ''dame school'', where the teacher (usually female hence the term 'dame') taught class out of the home. Most of these schools used a popular text called The New England Primer to teach students. This was a standard primary school text within with the American Colonies, and it taught students to read through the recitation of religious rhymes. For example, corresponding to the letter A, students would recite the following verse: '' In Adam's Fall, we sinned all.''
After dame school, John attended Braintree Latin School where he learned Latin, rhetoric, and other more advanced subjects. As a boy, John wished to be a farmer, but his father wanted him to become a minister. John loved the outdoors and preferred to hunt and farm over studying theology. On one occasion, his father thought he could teach his son a lesson and shift his interest away from farming by forcing him to do a grown man's level of work. After an incredibly grueling day of work, young John was asked by his father if he still wanted to be a farmer and how he liked the workload. John replied: ''I like it very well, Sir.''
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Experience at Harvard College
In 1751, John entered Harvard College and received instruction from Joseph Mayhew. He excelled in rhetoric at Harvard. Still, despite pressure from his father, he couldn't bring himself to go into ministry. He graduated 15th out of 24 in 1755. After college, he taught school for a short time in Worcester, Massachusetts, before deciding to become a lawyer. While working as a schoolmaster (teacher), John aspired to other things. He sought to become a ''great man'', and to this end, he pursued a career in law. John studied law at Harvard College under a respected lawyer named James Putnam. He obtained his law degree in 1758.
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John Adams would go on to become a highly respected lawyer. Following the Boston Massacre in 1770, his successful defense of the indicted British soldiers earned him widespread recognition. Even so, his political sympathies prompted him to adopt the Patriot cause, leading to him becoming one of America's ''Founding Fathers.'' This is another story, for another lesson, however.
Lesson Summary
Let's review some key themes related to the childhood and education of John Adams.
- John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts. He came from a respected family and received a formal education.
- His cousin, Samuel Adams would become a fiery revolutionary and play an important role in igniting the American Revolution.
- Religion was important to the Adams family. They had descended from the Puritans, an English Protestant religious sect that sought to ''purify'', or reform the Church of England. The Puritans emphasized strict religious devotion, abstaining from sinful and worldly practices, and the teachers of John Calvin and other ''Calvinist'' theologians.
- As a boy, John preferred hunting and farming to studying theology. Although his father wanted him to be a minister, John ultimately took another path.
- The New England Primer was a standard primary school text within with the American Colonies. It taught students to read through the recitation of religious rhymes.
- After dame school and earning a bachelor's degree from Harvard College, John studied law at Harvard College under a respected lawyer named James Putnam.
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John Adams | Childhood, Background & Education
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