Maria Callas
John Adams to Benjamin Rush: The Legendary Correspondence
History 121
March 1, 2015
The sound of a letter being torn open upset the quiet of John Adams’s quaint office in Quincy, Massachusetts. Adams was excited to see that the letter was a response from his friend Dr. Benjamin Rush. Before the age where a conversation consisted of a single word lighting up an iPhone, eloquently handcrafted letters were mailed between people documenting ideas, thoughts, feelings and illustrating important pieces of history. John Adams and Benjamin Rush’s legendary correspondence gave society with an eye-opening look into their personal thoughts, morals,and feelings. Thier close friendship was a catalyst to one of the greatest
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Benjamin Rush was 29 years younger than John Adams; he was born in Philadelphia in 1764. During the 1700’s and 1800’s the medical field was a forum for social and political changes. Doctors were held in high regard and were integral members in their communities.TO Rush’s mind, politics and medicine were not two different concepts but rather very connected. Rush explored many diseases and their rational cures; he also thought about “curing” politics. He was interested in changing the structure of federal and state government, tax reform, public education and creating a sewage system. According to Charles Strozier an expert in American History and Psychohistory, Benjamin Rush was “wonderfully American--utopian, confident, assertive, bold, progressive, and hopeful. He knew no boundaries and disdained constraints on the human soul.” Rush studied at Princeton and had a father-son relationship with Benjamin Franklin. He also studied under John Redman, at Edinburgh University. While living in Philadelphia Rush wrote a pamphlet detailing contemporary issues separating the colonists and the british. While involved in politics he made lots of connections and friendships most importantly John Adams. He married Julia Stockton and had nine children. In history he is known for being a famous doctor, who made contributions in the field of psychiatry and a signed of the Declaration of Independence during his minor role in the American …show more content…
By 1805 Adams had read Shakespeare twice in and was an avid reader of Cicero and the Bible. These texts fueled his mind to contemplate ideas. Adams and Rush discussed epic poems and romantic novels like Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake. They also discussed topics in education. Rush believed that the study of Greek and Latin was outdated and instead students should study modern languages. Abigail Adams agreed and claimed that Greek and Latin which was studied only by men left women out of the conversation. While Adams saw truth in her argument, he believed Greek and Latin was an important part of understanding and interpreting historical ideas and texts of the
John Adams (1735-1826) and Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) traded in excess of 1,100 letters, starting amid their wooing in 1762 and proceeding all through John's political vocation (until 1801). These warm and educational letters incorporate John's portrayals of the Continental Congress and his impressions of Europe while he served in different strategic parts, and additionally Abigail's redesigns about their family, homestead, and news of the Revolution's effect on the Boston region. The early letters traded between John Adams and Abigail Smith happened amid their wooing, including a progression of sixteen letters traded between 12 April and 9 May 1762 while John was in Boston being vaccinated against smallpox. John and Abigail wedded on 25 October 1764. Amid the early 1770s, John composed to Abigail when his lawful work for the circuit court detracted him from home.
How did the Articles of Confederation affect George Washington and John Adams presidencies? The Articles of Confederation established a weak national government and strong state governments. The articles affected both George Washington's and John Adams's presidencies. This was not the best decision and led to a new government coming about. George Washington had to create a new government that all the colonies could agree on.
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams provides an insightful record of American life before, during, and after the Revolution. The letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between John and Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Covering key moments in American history - the Continental Congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and John Adams's diplomatic missions to Europe - the letters reveal the concerns of a couple living during a period of explosive change, from smallpox and British warships to raising children, paying taxes, the state of women, and the emerging concepts of American
There have been forty four presidents in the United States of America. Of them, President George Washington and President John Adams were the first two. They are widely considered as honored men who set a pace in history for what America is today. Although both are founding fathers of America, they were quite different in their life and in politics.
Benjamin Rush played a key role in founding our country. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the year 1746. Rush studied medicine in Scotland and around Europe. In 1769, he returned to the colonies and started a medical practice in his hometown and later became a college professor at the College of Philadelphia. He was very active in the Sons of Liberty, an organization in the colonies to fight for the rights of the colonists and to stop taxes by the British.
George Washington and John Adams are two of the most influential men that birthed the American Republic. Without hesitation, it is easy to say that if either of these men were not apart of our countries beginning, the nation would be extremely difference or not even existing at all. With that being said, in this paper, I will not only examine the striking similarities between the two, but the night and day differences that still polarize hundreds of years later. To begin, I will speak about the founding father’s lives before they took office. George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732.
Between the years of 1789 – 1800, there were two people given the job of being the President of these United States of America, George Washington, the first president, and John Adams, the second president. Between the years of 1789 – 1800, the United States of America was a very young country who was searching for its identity, a leader, and an economic basis on which to run the country. Before, 1789, when George Washington took office, the Constitution of the United States was a very new document. It had just been ratified 1 year earlier, which meant that the Articles of Confederation, which ruled the country between the years 1783 – 1788, was thrown
John Adams was born October 30, 1735, in Massachusetts. He was the son of John Adams Sr. who was a farmer and served as the deacon at his church. Adams was a very intelligent man and was offered a scholarship to Harvard University when he was only 16. He decided to go to Harvard although his father wanted him to stay in Massachusetts and enter the ministry. He studied law at Harvard in the office of James Putnam. Later in 1758 he earned his masters degree in law.
The book, John Adams, by David McCullough, is a powerfully written biography of one of our nation’s greatest heroes. This biography explores Adams’ life in great depth, unveiling a side to his life unbeknownst to those who have never studied his life in great detail. Through diary entries, letters, and various other documents, the reader grasps a sense of what Adams’ day to day life was like, and is also able to grasp the enormity of his lifetime accomplishments.
John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 and died July 4, 1826. He was an early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, a major figure in the Continental Congress author of the Massachusetts constitution, signer of the Treaty of Paris, first American ambassador to the Court of St. James, first vice president, and second president of the United States. Although Adams was looked as one of the most significant statesmen of the revolutionary era, his reputation faded in the 19th century, only to grow again during the last half of the 20th century.
Benjamin began college in September 1850, and he was known as a “smart, stern, quiet, and religious student.” He followed his father’s stern teaching and joined the local Presbyterian Church. He did not have much of a social life outside of class and did not spend much time with his fellow classmates. Even though, Benjamin quickly discovered that he had a gift for public speaking. He impressed his teachers and peers alike with his words and his fluent thinking. He joined the Union Literary society, a club at his local college, and became its president. Members of the club discussed various subjects that Benjamin enjoyed, such as politics, literature, world history, American history, and speech. Benjamin even gave speeches on these subjects to his classmates and his teachers.
John Adams was many things in his long and illustrious career. He was a lawyer, diplomat, farmer, Vice President and President. He is most well-known for being the second president. He did some good things and some bad things. Although the four years of John Adams’ presidency were quiet and somewhat forgotten, his successes in foreign policy and his control no doubt outweighed his failures in the Sedition Act and with his cabinet, in part to his background and characteristics.
In The Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin recounts the many paramount experiences throughout his life that shaped him into great American figure he was known to be. On the opening page, Franklin reveals the book’s epistolary format by writing, “Dear Son,” going on to admit that he’s made some mistakes in the past and to recollect that past is a way to relive it. By divulging his desire to “change some sinister Accidents & Events” (Franklin 3) the author indicates how important it is for his son to observe as he amends his mistakes. Pride, virtue and vanity play a pivotal role in Benjamin Franklin’s life and the way he portrays himself to others. Instances occur where the author is shown gloating about his great accomplishments and he puts
It was the year 1706 in Boston, MA when Benjamin Franklin entered the world. Birthed after fourteen other siblings, Franklin's family structure is only one deciding factor in the way that this legendary tale pans out. A hero of American Revolution, this novel depicts 18th century realism accurately while logging Franklin's personal conception on human nature and social community. Many look at Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography as your typical rags to riches tale yet, the truth and falsehood throughout the pages is unknown, raising many questions and concerns. As this book was written in segments over a stretched period of time, we must analyze this account of his life, the struggles and successes which took place, and the outcome of such
Abigail Adam’s emotional appeal was the main rhetorical strategy in her letter. When writing, she uses a maternal tone to encourage John to make his parents and country proud. She uses the words “my dear son” to address John in the beginning, and continues using the words “my son” throughout. She speaks formally, with attention to detail, but this helps