Ep. 111 – Early Life & Legal Career of John Adams

John Adams grew up in a colonial Massachusetts that was rapidly becoming a hotbed of revolution. Find out how his early life, education, and legal career prepared him to be a Founding Father of the new nation to come.

 

The iconic full-length portrait of John Adams is a 1783 masterpiece by the American painter John Singleton Copley. It is housed with his alma mater, Harvard, at the Harvard University Portrait Collection.

The house in which John Adams was born – learn more about it here.

His parents were John Adams senior and Susanna Boylston. His great grandfather Henry Adams came to Massachusetts in 1638.

He attended a dame school where his education was centered on the New England Primer. 

Then, he went on to the Braintree Latin School where his teacher was Joseph Cleverly – who he didn't really like. At 14, his father hired a teacher that inspired him much more – Joseph March. That is who prepared him for Harvard. 

At Harvard, John Adams lived in Massachusetts Hall, the oldest surviving building on the Harvard campus.

Founding Fathers Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, John Hancock, and James Otis also lived there throughout the years. 

He then went on to study law with John Putnam before his master's thesis in 1758. 

He became a lawyer in 1759.

In this letter dated 28 July 1821, 86-year-old John Adams recalls his impressive education in a letter to Judge Thomas Dawes.

Learn about his famous cousin, Samuel Adams

John Adams fought against the Stamp Act. He wrote the Braintree Instructions which were popular across Massachusetts. 

One of his first big, public splashes was defending the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. 

Related episodes:

The Stamp Act

The Boston Massacre