[John Adams] is impressed with [Tomas] Jefferson's learning, but noted his silence during the debates in the Congress: "I never heard him… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[Benjamin] Franklin may be a great philosopher, [John Adams] told his diary in 1779, but "as a Legislator in America he has… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams] diary, of course, is even more revealing of his feelings. Both his letters to [his wife] Abigail and his diary… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
By the time [John Adams] came to write his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States in 1787 he had as… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams] always felt that his contribution to bringing about independence went unappreciated, especially after the 1790s when [Tomas] Jefferson began to… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams] experience with the French philosophers only convinced him further of the need for a bicameral legislature representing the two principal… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
Americans, [John Adams] wrote in 1780, believed that their "revolution is as much for the benefit of the generality of Mankind in… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence." — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams] letters courting Abigail Smith are especially priceless. In one of 1764 he addresses her as "Miss Adorable" and says that… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams's] vividly descriptive prose is supremely quotable. Adams wears his heart on his sleeve and reveals all of his ambitions, doubts,… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
Deeply versed in history, [John Adams] said over and over that America had no special providence, no special role in history, that… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
A mutual friend, Benjamin Rush, brought [Tomas Jefferson and John Adams] together in 1812, and they went on to exchange letters for… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
As early as 1776, [John Adams] expressed his doubts about America's capacity for virtue. "I have seen all along my Life, Such… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
I think [John Adams] developed a much deeper suspicion of France and the other European powers than he had earlier. He lost… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[ Massachusetts constitution] was [John Adams] attempt to justify that structure by the traditional notion of social estates - that the executive… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams and Tomas Jefferson] shared experience in 1775 - 1776 in bringing about the separation from Britain and their service in… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John Adams' writings] had indicted the United States for slavishly copying the English constitution by erecting bicameral legislatures in their state constitutions,… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
I think [John Adams's] influence on the federal Constitution was indirect. Many including James Madison mocked the first volume of Adams's Defence… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[The Massachusetts constitution] resembles the federal Constitution of 1787 more closely than any of the other revolutionary state constitutions. It was also drawn up… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John] Adams identified himself with the political theories of [James] Harrington, [John] Locke, and [Charles-Louis] Montesquieu, whose ideas of constitutionalism, he believed, were applicable… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John] Adams was the best and most colorful stylist among the Founders. Although [Tomas] Jefferson is widely regarded as the smoothest writer, Adams is… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
This rationale, which justified the mixed constitution of Great Britain, might have made some sense in 1776, but by 1787 most American thinkers had… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
By the time [John Adams] came to write his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States in 1787 he had as dark a… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
Creating senates, the French critics said, implied that there was another social order besides the people represented in the houses of representatives. [John] Adams… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence." — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
I think [John Adams] developed a much deeper suspicion of France and the other European powers than he had earlier. He lost much if… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John] Adams never had an optimistic view of human nature, and his experience in the Congress and abroad only deepened his suspicion that his… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
A mutual friend, Benjamin Rush, brought [Tomas Jefferson and John Adams] together in 1812, and they went on to exchange letters for the rest… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
“Intellectual activity in a culture is not a one-way flow between the great minds and passive recipients; it is a discourse, a complex marketplace-like… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
![“[John Adams] is impressed with [Tomas] Jefferson's learning, but noted his silence during the debates in the Congress: "I never heard him utter three Sentences together."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/77f/gordon-s-wood-13199_congress_john-adams-is-impressed-with-tomas-jeffe_1569958.jpg)
![“[Benjamin] Franklin may be a great philosopher, [John Adams] told his diary in 1779, but "as a Legislator in America he has done very little."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/696/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_benjamin-franklin-may-be-a-great-philoso_1884498.jpg)
![“[John Adams] diary, of course, is even more revealing of his feelings. Both his letters to [his wife] Abigail and his diary tell us what he really thinks about people and events.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d8d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-diary-of-course-is-even-more_1971371.jpg)
![“By the time [John Adams] came to write his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States in 1787 he had as dark a view of the American character as that of any critic in our history.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d41/gordon-s-wood-13199_american-character_by-the-time-john-adams-came-to-write-his_314115.jpg)
![“[John Adams] always felt that his contribution to bringing about independence went unappreciated, especially after the 1790s when [Tomas] Jefferson began to be lauded as the "author" of the Declaration of Independence.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5be/gordon-s-wood-13199_books_john-adams-always-felt-that-his-contribu_2260931.jpg)
![“[John Adams] experience with the French philosophers only convinced him further of the need for a bicameral legislature representing the two principal social orders and, equally important, an independent executive.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e8f/gordon-s-wood-13199_convinced_john-adams-experience-with-the-french-ph_1365435.jpg)
![“Americans, [John Adams] wrote in 1780, believed that their "revolution is as much for the benefit of the generality of Mankind in Europe, as for their own."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/678/gordon-s-wood-13199_benefits_americans-john-adams-wrote-in-1780-belie_1953074.jpg)
![“By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/91d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abhorrence_by-1782-john-adams-had-come-to-feel-for_357591.jpg)
![“[John Adams] letters courting Abigail Smith are especially priceless. In one of 1764 he addresses her as "Miss Adorable" and says that "By the same Token that the Bearer hereof satt up with you last night I hereby order you to give him, as many Kisses, and as many Hours of your Company after 9…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f7c/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-letters-courting-abigail-smit_2513933.jpg)
![“[John Adams's] vividly descriptive prose is supremely quotable. Adams wears his heart on his sleeve and reveals all of his ambitions, doubts, and insecurities, especially in his diary, which is one of the greatest and most readable in all of American literature.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/52f/gordon-s-wood-13199_ambition_john-adams-s-vividly-descriptive-prose-i_1856135.jpg)
![“Deeply versed in history, [John Adams] said over and over that America had no special providence, no special role in history, that Americans were no different from other peoples, that the United States was just as susceptible to viciousness and corruption as any other nation. In this regard, at…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0d/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_deeply-versed-in-history-john-adams-said_940303.jpg)
![“A mutual friend, Benjamin Rush, brought [Tomas Jefferson and John Adams] together in 1812, and they went on to exchange letters for the rest of their lives. But in their correspondence they tended to avoid the most controversial issues, such as slavery.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/be3/gordon-s-wood-13199_controversial_a-mutual-friend-benjamin-rush-brought-to_487463.jpg)
![“As early as 1776, [John Adams] expressed his doubts about America's capacity for virtue. "I have seen all along my Life, Such Selfishness, and Littleness even in New England, that I sometimes tremble to think that, altho We are engaged in the best Cause that ever employed the Human Heart, yet the…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a6f/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_as-early-as-1776-john-adams-expressed-hi_2453880.jpg)
![“I think [John Adams] developed a much deeper suspicion of France and the other European powers than he had earlier. He lost much if not all of the utopian thinking about international politics and diplomacy expressed in his Model Treaty of 1776 and became much more cynical about the world.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ccc/gordon-s-wood-13199_cynical_i-think-john-adams-developed-a-much-deep_372770.jpg)
![“[ Massachusetts constitution] was [John Adams] attempt to justify that structure by the traditional notion of social estates - that the executive represented the monarchical estate, the senate the aristocratic estate, and the house of representatives the estate of the people.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f9d/gordon-s-wood-13199_aristocratic_massachusetts-constitution-was-john-adam_2289325.jpg)
![“[John Adams and Tomas Jefferson] shared experience in 1775 - 1776 in bringing about the separation from Britain and their service in Europe cemented a friendship that in the end withstood the most serious political and religious differences that one could imagine, especially their differences over…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/61b/gordon-s-wood-13199_becoming_john-adams-and-tomas-jefferson-shared-ex_2533475.jpg)
![“[John Adams' writings] had indicted the United States for slavishly copying the English constitution by erecting bicameral legislatures in their state constitutions, most drafted in 1776.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/02e/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_john-adams-writings-had-indicted-the-uni_2937112.jpg)
![“I think [John Adams's] influence on the federal Constitution was indirect. Many including James Madison mocked the first volume of Adams's Defence of the Constitutions of the United States in 1787. But his Massachusetts constitution was a model for those who thought about stable popular…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d6b/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_i-think-john-adams-s-influence-on-the-fe_2752626.jpg)
![“[The Massachusetts constitution] resembles the federal Constitution of 1787 more closely than any of the other revolutionary state constitutions. It was also drawn up by a special convention, and it provided for popular ratification - practices that were followed by the drafters of the federal…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebc/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_the-massachusetts-constitution-resembles_34263.jpg)
![“[John] Adams identified himself with the political theories of [James] Harrington, [John] Locke, and [Charles-Louis] Montesquieu, whose ideas of constitutionalism, he believed, were applicable to all peoples everywhere; they were his contribution to what he called "the divine science of politics."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c71/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitutionalism_john-adams-identified-himself-with-the-p_226327.jpg)
![“[John] Adams was the best and most colorful stylist among the Founders. Although [Tomas] Jefferson is widely regarded as the smoothest writer, Adams is by far the most engaging and imaginative.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/782/gordon-s-wood-13199_colorful_john-adams-was-the-best-and-most-colorfu_244163.jpg)
![“Creating senates, the French critics said, implied that there was another social order besides the people represented in the houses of representatives. [John] Adams actually agreed with that implication and argued that the aristocracy and the people had to have separate houses; this was the only…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9a7/gordon-s-wood-13199_aristocracy_creating-senates-the-french-critics-said_349374.jpg)
![“[John] Adams never had an optimistic view of human nature, and his experience in the Congress and abroad only deepened his suspicion that his fellow Americans might not have the character to sustain a republican government.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4dc/gordon-s-wood-13199_character_john-adams-never-had-an-optimistic-view_386009.jpg)
