Why did John Adams and Abigail Adams write letters to each other?
John Adams (1735-1826) was the second president of the United States. A Massachusetts lawyer, Adams gained prominence during the controversy surrounding the Stamp Act (1765) as a brilliant defender of American rights under British law. As a member of the Continental Congress, he sat on the committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence; during the Revolutionary War, he served as a commissioner to France. At the war’s end, he was appointed to the American delegation to Paris that negotiated the treaty ending the war with Britain. As president, Adams resolved to continue Washington’s policy of international neutrality.