John Adams

John Adams was a direct descendant of Puritans who came to America in the 1630s more than 100 years before his birth, and growing up in colonial Massachusetts, he felt a responsibility to live up to his heritage from a young age. He attended Harvard at age 16 and became a constitutional lawyer upon graduation. Adams rose to political prominence as an opponent of the Stamp Act 1765 and was selected as part of the Continental Congress and to help draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams became the first U.S. vice president in 1789 and won the presidential election of 1796. As president, he stressed civic virtue and strengthened the central government.