John Adams Quotes
This is the only instance I have ever known of a man of sound sense and real genius who was an enemy of Christianity.
The debate was on the concept of a National Fast Day. Thomas Jefferson, who rarely spoke or debated made an exception and strongly opposed the proposal of which Adams was a prime supporter. Jefferson carried the motion but Adams had sharply rebuked Jefferson’s lack of piety to the degree that he feared that he had insulted and angered Jefferson with whom he agreed on most issues. Jefferson, however, appeared not to be insulted at all, and after the debate took the chair next to Adams. The incident was the subject of a famous letter from Benjamin Rush to Adams years later. It is not clear whether Jefferson was being particularly magnanimous and forgiving or as some suspect did not regard being accused of a lack of religiosity as an insult at all. Later, of course, the two became major political enemies, and then became friends after they both were out of politics.
John Adams, 1735-1826, 2nd President of the United States (Federalist, MA), Debate in the Continental Congress
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
John Adams Jr. was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain, and he served as the first vice president of the United States. Adams was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with many important figures in early American history, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
