No Monuments for John Adams

Many view John Adams as a historical footnote — the guy who was president between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. You won’t find a monument for Adams in our nation’s capitol and his likeness appears on obscure $2 bills and the $1 coin.

When David McCullough’s best-selling book, John Adams, was published a few years ago, I owned the book for a year before I finally began reading it. Once I did, I was astounded by the accomplishments of America’s second president.

While Adams was a brilliant thinker and prolific writer (like his son, John Quincy), he was regarded as a maverick by his political peers. His flabby demeanor and gruff personality were stark contrasts to Washington’s regal qualities and Jefferson’s aristocratic and refined persona.

Although Adams played a major role in developing the Declaration of Independence, he left the chore of writing the document to Jefferson. Adams may have had the vision but Jefferson had the quill. Once the document was presented to the Continental Congress, Jefferson received the acclaim and was only too happy to take the credit.

McCullough’s book gives an honest account of Adams’ life, which was reflected in HBO’s excellent mini-series starring Paul Giamatti. I recommend reading the book first before viewing the DVD.

As a public relations professional, there is much to be learned from John Adams’ story. How many companies with great product ideas have struggled to sell them simply because they couldn’t clearly articulate their product’s features and benefits? How many service providers get so caught up in talking about their methodologies that potential customers have no idea of what the company does or why they should hire them?

Although this will come across as shameless self-promotion, I’m positive Adams would have benefitted from working with a good publicist during his political career. Despite his genius, Adams was often vilified by the news media for his Federalist views. This was due in no small part to a whisper campaign that his former friend, Thomas Jefferson, launched against him during the Adams presidency.

After he was out of office, Adams tried to defend his reputation by writing a series of editorials for Boston newspapers, but by this time, he was dismissed by the public as a doddering old fool.

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. After Adams’ wife, Abigail, died, he patched things up with Jefferson and the two started writing a string of letters to set the record straight. Many of these letters are considered national treasures.

In a final twist of irony, both patriots died hours apart on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. John Adams’ final words were, “Thomas Jefferson lives.” Jefferson, on the other hand, left no doubt of how he wanted to be viewed by future generations. His epitaph reads, “Author of the Declaration of Independence.”

Even in death, Jefferson knew how to get in the last word.