““This country is indeed in a melancholy situation; sunk in ease, devoted to the pursuits of gain, incumbered with a complicated and perplexed constitution, divided among themselves in interest and sentiment, they seem afraid of every thing.” While deteriorating in their economy and lack of national unity, as Adams now saw it, and with a deep gap between rich and poor, they remain “too complacent,” with a faded pride in the “strong sense of independence and republican temper” that was once so vital a trait of the national character.””
![“[John] Adams never had an optimistic view of human nature,…” 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)
