Explore the best John Adams quotes that reflect his commitment to liberty, justice, and the principles of democracy. From his views on government and human rights to his reflections on education, freedom, and morality, his words inspire and provoke thought even centuries later.
John Adams was an American lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the second President of the United States from 1797 to 1801.
As one of the key Founding Fathers, Adams played a critical role in shaping the early Republic and was one of the key architects of the American Revolution.
A leading voice in the Continental Congress, Adams was a passionate advocate for freedom and justice. He was one of the primary authors of the Declaration of Independence and joined Thomas Jefferson and others in drafting this historic document.
As a leader, Adams has a long list of achievements in his career, including advocating for the separation of the United States from Great Britain, laying the groundwork for Independence, and spearheading peace through the Treaty of Paris.
John Adams was more than just America’s second president, he was a fearless patriot who wasn’t afraid to take the hard road if it meant standing for what was right.
His commitment to principle often made him a polarizing figure, but his legacy endures as a champion of liberty and governance.
Beyond politics, Adams was a devoted family man. He shared a remarkable relationship with his wife, Abigail Adams, whose letters reveal the deeply personal side of a man navigating history’s most turbulent times.
In this post, we’ve gathered the most famous John Adams quotes that showcase his brilliance as a writer, a political powerhouse, and a defender of democracy.
Top 10 John Adams Quotes
- “Facts are stubborn things.” — John Adams
John Adams Quotes - “Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” — John Adams
Best John Adams Quotes - “A government of laws, and not of men.” — John Adams
Quotes From John Adams - “Go on and improve in everything worthy.” — John Adams
Quotes By John Adams - “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.” — John Adams
John Adams Famous Quotes - “To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.” — John Adams
John Adams Sayings - “Defeat appears to me preferable to total inaction.” — John Adams
John Adams Quote - “If conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value.” — John Adams
John Adams Quotations - “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom!” — John Adams
John Adams Quotes On Freedom - “The true source of our suffering has been our timidity. We have been afraid to think. . . . Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” — John Adams
Best John Adams Quotes
- “Virtue is not always amiable.” — John Adams
- “The happiness of society is the end of government.” — John Adams
- “No man is entirely free from weakness and imperfection in this life.” — John Adams
- “Tyranny can scarcely be practiced upon a virtuous and wise people.” — John Adams
- “To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.” — John Adams
- “Power always thinks… that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.” — John Adams
- “Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.” — John Adams
- “The smell of the midnight lamp is very unwholesome. Never defraud yourself of sleep, nor your walk.” — John Adams
- “Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.” — John Adams
- “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” — John Adams
John Adams Quotes On Government, Liberty, & Democracy
- “Fear is the foundation of most governments.” — John Adams
- “Move or die is the language of our Maker in the constitution of our bodies.” — John Adams
- “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” — John Adams
- “Let frugality and industry be our virtues. Fire (our children) with ambition to be useful.” — John Adams
- “Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives. We ought to do all we can.” — John Adams
- “The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.” — John Adams
- “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” — John Adams
- “Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” — John Adams
- “Human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.” — John Adams
- “There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” — John Adams
- “Public business, my son, must always be done by somebody. It will be done by somebody or other. If wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not.” — John Adams
- “Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” — John Adams
- “I fear that in every elected office, members will obtain an influence by noise not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls . . . There must be decency and respect.” — John Adams
- “Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” — John Adams
- “The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations.” — John Adams
John Adams Quotes On Education & Freedom
- “In politics the middle way is none at all.” — John Adams
- “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.” — John Adams
- “The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.” — John Adams
- “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.” — John Adams
- “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” — John Adams
- “I read my eyes out and can’t read half enough neither. The more one reads the more one sees we have to read.” — John Adams
- “Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” — John Adams
- “My country has contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” — John Adams
- “The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the more anxiously I inquire, the less I seem to know. . . . Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. This is enough.” — John Adams
- “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.” — John Adams
John Adams Quotes On Love
- “Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war.” — John Adams
- “You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.” — John Adams
- “Above all, except the wife and children, I want to see my books.” — John Adams
- “Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.” — John Adams
- “The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.” — John Adams
- “Friendship is one of the distinguishing glorys of man. . . . From this I expect to receive the chief happiness of my future life.” — John Adams
- “Liberty, according to my metaphysics is a self-determining power in an intellectual agent. It implies thought and choice and power.” — John Adams
- “The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.” — John Adams
- “As much as I converse with sages and heroes, they have very little of my love or admiration. I should prefer the delights of a garden to the dominion of a world.” — John Adams
- “I will rouse up my mind and fix my attention. I will stand collected within myself and think upon what I read and what I see. I will strive with all my soul to be something more than persons who have had less advantages than myself.” — John Adams
Conclusion
What are your favorite John Adams quotes and sayings listed above? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section below.
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