John Adams and Abigail Smith meet for the first ... Louisiana-Purchase — 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River — nearly doubles the nation's size. April-June: John ...

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father, a farmer and deacon, hoped that Adams would enter the clergy, but his Harvard professors thought his propensity ...

In 1788, when John Adams returned from Europe to a hero's welcome, he came home to limitless possibilities. The presidency would belong to George Washignton, of course, but what office would suit ...