Declaration Quote by Gordon S. Wood
![“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/img-quotes/e41/gordon-s-wood-13199_declaration_i-think-john-adams-was-correct-when-he-s_1556844.jpg)
“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.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Empire of Liberty, 2009
Adams saw his resolutions as a decisive, independence‑like moment.
In simple terms: Resolutions can be turning points.
Key Takeaway
Treat goals as decisive moments.
Themes
politics
history
revolution
Mood
historical
analytical
Type
academic
inspirational
When to use this quote
- personal goal setting
- political movements
- historical analysis
Key Concepts
declaration
agency
Questions to Reflect On
- What makes a resolution transformative?
- How can we recognize decisive moments?
A Different Perspective
Not all resolutions have lasting impact.
![“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/img-quotes/121/gordon-s-wood-13199_committees_the-declaration-of-independence-was-a-co_2442911.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)
![“[Joseph Smith] foresaw the time when the destiny of the nation would be in danger and would hang as by a thread. Thank God he did not see the thread break. He also indicated the important part that this people should yet play in standing for the principles embodied in these sacred documents - the…” quote by Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/36e/ezra-taft-benson-443_break_joseph-smith-foresaw-the-time-when-the-d_251877.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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“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)
![“[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_adams_john-adams-never-had-an-optimistic-view_386009.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)
