John Adams thought July 2 would be marked as a national holiday for generations to come: “[Independence Day] will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am a ...

John Adams rose to prominence in 1770, when he defended eight British soldiers who were charged with murder after they fired into a group of Bostonians, killing five and wounding six others.

Between 1778 and 1788, John Adams served his country as a diplomat in France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. His independent, unbending temperament was not ideal for diplomacy, and his ...