[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
I think [John] Adams was correct when he said that his May resolutions were "an Epocha, a decisive Event," and tantamount to… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John] Adams never hid his jealousy and resentment of the other Founders, especially Benjamin Franklin. — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
It was [John's Adams] Massachusetts constitution if anything that influenced people. — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
After [Tomas] Jefferson's defeat of [John] Adams in the presidential election of 1800, they didn't communicate with one another for more than… — 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
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
[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
[John] Adams never had an optimistic view of human nature, and his experience in the Congress and abroad only deepened his suspicion… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John's Adams] description of [Benjamin] Franklin in a letter to [his wife] Abigail in 1775 is laudatory. Only when he experiences all… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
[John] Adams was arguing that a separate social order existed that needed to be embodied in senates and his fellow Americans could… — 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's letters to [his wife] Abigail are wonderful. In his letters, he is loving, humorous, preachy, learned, and saucy. He speaks… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
The Declaration [of Independence] was a committee report, and [Tomas] Jefferson was simply the draftsman. [John] Adams's crucial role in bringing about… — 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
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
[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
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
[John] Adams's perception of Europe, and especially France, was clearly different than [Tomas] Jefferson's. For Jefferson, the luxury and sophistication of Europe… — 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
[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 was the best and most colorful stylist among the Founders. Although [Tomas] Jefferson is widely regarded as the smoothest writer,… — 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
Perhaps more significant than his experience in Europe, though, was [John] Adams's experience in his own country, and his extensive reading on… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share Image
The relationship between [John] Adams and [Tomas] Jefferson was extraordinary. They differed on every conceivable issue, except on the Revolution and the… — 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
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
[John] Adams's letters reveal his persistence and determination to win over the Dutch against all odds and to convince them and the… — 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
I think [John's Adams] descriptions of the personalities of [Benjamin] Franklin and [Tomas] Jefferson and others were pretty accurate. It is only… — 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
[John] Adams said his objective in writing his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States and his Davila essays was to… — 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,… — 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
[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
[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
[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
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
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
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
By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence." — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share
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
[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
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
“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
[John] Adams's perception of Europe, and especially France, was clearly different than [Tomas] Jefferson's. For Jefferson, the luxury and sophistication of Europe only made… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share
History is the queen of the humanities. It teaches wisdom and humility, and it tells us how things change through time. — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share
“In the decades following the Revolution, America changed so much and so rapidly that Americans not only became used to change, but came to… — Gordon S. Wood Copy Share
![“[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/i/696/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_benjamin-franklin-may-be-a-great-philoso_1884498.png)
![“I think [John] Adams was correct when he said that his May resolutions were "an Epocha, a decisive Event," and tantamount to a declaration of independence.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/gordon-s-wood-13199_declaration_i-think-john-adams-was-correct-when-he-s_1556844.png)
![“[John] Adams never hid his jealousy and resentment of the other Founders, especially Benjamin Franklin.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/gordon-s-wood-13199_benjamin-franklin_john-adams-never-hid-his-jealousy-and-re_1886761.png)
![“It was [John's Adams] Massachusetts constitution if anything that influenced people.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_it-was-john-s-adams-massachusetts-consti_1867270.png)
![“After [Tomas] Jefferson's defeat of [John] Adams in the presidential election of 1800, they didn't communicate with one another for more than a decade.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/gordon-s-wood-13199_communicate_after-tomas-jefferson-s-defeat-of-john-a_1528979.png)
![“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/i/91d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abhorrence_by-1782-john-adams-had-come-to-feel-for_357591.png)
![“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/i/678/gordon-s-wood-13199_benefits_americans-john-adams-wrote-in-1780-belie_1953074.png)
![“[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/i/77f/gordon-s-wood-13199_congress_john-adams-is-impressed-with-tomas-jeffe_1569958.png)
![“[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/i/4dc/gordon-s-wood-13199_adams_john-adams-never-had-an-optimistic-view_386009.jpg)
![“[John's Adams] description of [Benjamin] Franklin in a letter to [his wife] Abigail in 1775 is laudatory. Only when he experiences all the adulation paid to Franklin in Paris does he begin to change his tune.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/775/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-s-adams-description-of-benjamin-fra_1471899.png)
![“[John] Adams was arguing that a separate social order existed that needed to be embodied in senates and his fellow Americans could not accept this and accused him rightly of being obsessed with the English constitution.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/gordon-s-wood-13199_accepting_john-adams-was-arguing-that-a-separate-s_2932366.png)
![“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/i/d41/gordon-s-wood-13199_american-character_by-the-time-john-adams-came-to-write-his_314115.png)
![“[John] Adams's letters to [his wife] Abigail are wonderful. In his letters, he is loving, humorous, preachy, learned, and saucy. He speaks to her with almost complete abandon, revealing all of his sensuous and vulnerable nature.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/gordon-s-wood-13199_abandon_john-adams-s-letters-to-his-wife-abigail_1330879.png)
![“The Declaration [of Independence] was a committee report, and [Tomas] Jefferson was simply the draftsman. [John] Adams's crucial role in bringing about independence in the Continental Congress has tended to get forgotten.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/gordon-s-wood-13199_committees_the-declaration-of-independence-was-a-co_2442911.png)
![“[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/i/d8d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-diary-of-course-is-even-more_1971371.png)
![“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/i/d6b/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_i-think-john-adams-s-influence-on-the-fe_2752626.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/i/f7c/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-letters-courting-abigail-smit_2513933.png)
![“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/i/f0d/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_deeply-versed-in-history-john-adams-said_940303.png)
![“[John] Adams's perception of Europe, and especially France, was clearly different than [Tomas] Jefferson's. For Jefferson, the luxury and sophistication of Europe only made American simplicity and virtue appear dearer. For Adams, by contrast, Europe represented what America was fast becoming - a…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_john-adams-s-perception-of-europe-and-es_579328.png)
![“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/i/a6f/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_as-early-as-1776-john-adams-expressed-hi_2453880.png)
![“[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/i/61b/gordon-s-wood-13199_becoming_john-adams-and-tomas-jefferson-shared-ex_2533475.png)
![“[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/i/782/gordon-s-wood-13199_colorful_john-adams-was-the-best-and-most-colorfu_244163.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/i/52f/gordon-s-wood-13199_ambition_john-adams-s-vividly-descriptive-prose-i_1856135.jpg)
![“Perhaps more significant than his experience in Europe, though, was [John] Adams's experience in his own country, and his extensive reading on the history of the English constitution. In 1779, he had an opportunity to try out his ideas by framing the Massachusetts constitution.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_perhaps-more-significant-than-his-experi_2349371.png)
![“The relationship between [John] Adams and [Tomas] Jefferson was extraordinary. They differed on every conceivable issue, except on the Revolution and the love of their country.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/gordon-s-wood-13199_country_the-relationship-between-john-adams-and_1333640.png)
![“[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/i/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/i/e8f/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_john-adams-experience-with-the-french-ph_1365435.png)
![“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/i/ccc/gordon-s-wood-13199_cynical_i-think-john-adams-developed-a-much-deep_372770.jpg)
![“[John] Adams's letters reveal his persistence and determination to win over the Dutch against all odds and to convince them and the other peoples of Europe of the potential greatness of the United States and of the importance of the Revolution to the world.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/gordon-s-wood-13199_against-all-odds_john-adams-s-letters-reveal-his-persiste_3169431.png)
![“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/i/be3/gordon-s-wood-13199_controversial_a-mutual-friend-benjamin-rush-brought-to_487463.png)
![“I think [John's Adams] descriptions of the personalities of [Benjamin] Franklin and [Tomas] Jefferson and others were pretty accurate. It is only when he felt he was wronged by them that he lets loose his anger and resentment.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/394/gordon-s-wood-13199_accurate_i-think-john-s-adams-descriptions-of-the_2774163.png)
![“[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/i/02e/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_john-adams-writings-had-indicted-the-uni_2937112.png)
![“[John] Adams said his objective in writing his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States and his Davila essays was to counter what he thought was the unfair criticism of the American state constitutions made by the French philosophers, especially [Anne Robert Jacques] Turgot.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_john-adams-said-his-objective-in-writing_1758037.png)
![“[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/i/c71/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitutionalism_john-adams-identified-himself-with-the-p_226327.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/i/f9d/gordon-s-wood-13199_aristocratic_massachusetts-constitution-was-john-adam_2289325.png)