John Adams was one of the founding fathers of the United States and its second president succeeding George Washington. A very well educated man with profound thoughts and compassion for humanity, John Adams is an iconic figure in American history. He played an important and integral role in America’s independence from Britain and donned many hats in government as well as in shaping up the first democracy in the world.
Understanding John Adams
John Adams personality traits are extremely interesting. He was regarded as a popular leader, someone even his peers looked up to but there were certain inner dilemmas or strife rather that he had to deal with. John Adams had a loving and compassionate personality. He thought about the world around him, the American people and humanity at large. He was a strong advocate of righteousness. While he played the roles of a diplomat, statesman and an advocate of American Independence, at the same time he defended British soldiers who were innocent but accused in the Boston Massacre. It was this duality of his character that pressed for what is right and what is righteous at the same time that made him quite a difficult man to understand. His consistently busy mind also mired his chances of mingling with every person he met since it dawned on his personality.
Personal Life
In his personal life, John Adams had a very warm and generous personality. Those who didn’t know him personally found his personality to be cold, conceited and aloof. Although aloof from normal conversations and banters, he was a thinker and his thoughts shaped up many great ideas of the young nation at the time.
Some of the John Adams personality traits were a quick temper, pugnacity, extreme mood swings and an urge or passion to do something worthwhile, good and bigger than the mundane. Despite his belief in the righteous and the knowledge as well as wisdom he had, John Adams suffered from bouts of depression quite often. When he started falling ill very often and after his efforts or achievements were not held in high esteem or recognized as such in the public eye, John Adams would suffer from depression which kept him secluded from social life. But he didn’t have a secluded personality to begin with.
John Adams had made an admission once that can easily sum up his personality, ‘There are few people in this world with whom I can converse. I can treat all with decency and civility, and converse with them, when it is necessary, on points of business. But I am never happy in their company.”