John Adams, Massachusetts

John Adams, who was “in his forty-first year in the summer of 1776” (Dumas Malone, The Story of the Declaration of Independence (New York: Oxford Press, 1954), 113), was one of the more prominent individuals involved in signing the Declaration of Independence. Prior to being sent as a representative of Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, Adams had been “elected to the Massachusetts Council” (Peter Shaw, The Character of John Adams (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1976), 76). He was a member of the Committee of Five, which “was appointed to draft a statement presenting to the world the colonies' case for independence.”( “Declaration of Independence: A History,” The National Archives Experience, http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_history.html) While Jefferson was the only member of this committee that was actually responsible for writing the Declaration, Adams was one of two members (the other being Benjamin Franklin) that actually made any changes to the document once Jefferson had written it (Ibid). Following the signing of the Declaration, Adams became one of key ambassadors to France in 1778 (Shaw, The Character of John Adams, 107). While there, he “served as a commercial commissioner with Franklin and Jefferson (Malone, The Story of the Declaration of Independence, 113).” Not only did Adams play a key role in aligning himself with France, he also helped smooth over the tensions between the newly independent America and its former motherland as he became the first American minister in England (Ibid, 113).
One reason that Adams may have been chosen to represent Massachusetts was “his independence of any party and his adherence to fundamental rights above any cause (Shaw, The Character of John Adams, 78)” which can be seen by his defense of the British Soldiers following the Boston Massacre (Ibid, 78). This can lead to the conclusion that Adams was chosen to attend the Second Continental Congress because he was not afraid to stand up for what he believed was right, no matter what the circumstances were.
Adams went on to have a very successful political career following independence. In 1788, he became the first Vice President of the United States (Malone, The Story of the Declaration of Independence, 113-114). Following this, he went on to become the second President of the country (Ibid, 114). His son, John Quincy Adams, also went on to become President of the United States (Ibid, 114).

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Alex Elkin