The Library of John Adams

This is not Adams' library. These are from my own.

I believe it was in fourth grade that I first got hooked on biographies. Reading the stories of significant people was both educational and entertaining. Those early bios may not have had the depth that one discovers as the mature, but they were using for forming ideas about our history and human history.  

When I read David McCullough's biography of John Adams (2002) it not only displayed the man himself, but introduced readers to a whole cast of Adams' contemporaries and the major event that threw them together, our American Revolution--the subject of Ken Burns' latest documentary series, currently airing on PBS.

Something that really stood out in that Adams biography was how devoted to writing Adams was. In addition to all his correspondence--he wrote volumes to his wife Abigail when away from her--he wrote legal briefs as a lawyer and legislation as a leader. He also wrote ideas and comments in the margins of his books. One story I recall is that he wrote as many as 5,000 words in the margins of just one of his countless books. 

A voracious reader, he imported hundreds of books from London booksellers like John Stockdale throughout his life. A full collection of his papers, along with his book lists, can be found at the Massachusetts Historical Socety. His personal library (around 3,000 volumes!) is today housed in the Boston Public Library. A review of the titles reveals the scope of his interests: law, history, politics, theology, science, classical literature and poetry. Isaac Newton, David Hume, Adam Smith, Plutarch, Homer, Milton (Paradise Lost) and Edward Gibbon (Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire) reveal the breadth of his interests and thought.

One observation that stands out when I look at his library and copious notes: Leaders are Readers. 

It's been said that Adams’ London imports formed the intellectual backbone of his defense of liberty, law, and balanced government. His library wasn’t just a collection—it was a working arsenal for revolution and nation-building.

As the United States enters its 250th year, there will be much wrangling about whether the Constitution is still valid in the 21st century and whether it's time for an overhaul. We're already hearing the rumblings as some point out its weaknesses and shortcomings. On the other hand, let's be careful here. Though there may be things the founders got wrong, it's still remarkable how much they got right.

This Day In History... July 4

On this day in history the American colonies declared their independence from England, setting in motion the Revolutionary War. Had the colonialists lost in their bid for freedom,  the signers of the Declaration would all have been tried for treason and hanged. They were willing to put everything on the line for their ideals.

Most interestingly, two of these signees -- Thomas Jefferson and John Adams -- died on this same date fifty years later, in 1826.

In 1855 on this day Walt Whitman published the first edition of his Leaves of Grass at his own expense.

In 1863 on this day, Union General U.S. Grant's army won the Battle of Vicksburg, one of only two battles from the American Civil War cited for their military brilliance in a list of the top 20 battles of all time. Twelve of the battles on that list were by Napoleon.

In 1934 on this day boxer Joe Louis won his first fight. He went on to become heavyweight champion, defending that title for more than ten years straight. Nicknamed "The Brown Bomber," Louis became a national hero with an impact that went far beyond the punches he threw in the ring.

On this day in 1939 baseball legend Lou Gehrig, afflicted with a fatal illness, bid a tearful farewell at Yankee Stadium in New York. "Fans," he said, "for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his longevity and durability, he was also a remarkable ballplayer with a career batting average of .340, and an amazing on-base percentage of .447. Up until A-Rod broke his record, he'd hit more grand slams than any baseball player in history.

On this day in 1957 the four-cent Flag stamp was issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

On this day in 1960 the 50-star U.S. flag made its debut in Philadelphia.

Barnett Newman (no relation) died on this day in 1970, the year I graduated high school. Newman was a modern era painter famous (among other things) for his Newmanesque zips.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. And if you're playing with fireworks tonight, be careful. There are more house fires on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year.

Honduras: Are We On The Wrong Side?

A month ago I went to a retirement party for a friend and got into a conversation with someone who is intimately connected with Honduras, whose family is still there. Naturally, with Honduras being in the news I had to ask if he could explain what was happening there.

It was a clean and concise summary. Essentially, the properly elected president did not wish to follow the country's own Constitution. The military deposed him not because it was striving for power, but because of the president's unconstitutional behavior. Unfortunately, multinational organizations like the U.N. and O.A.S. want him reinstated.

I just finished watching the film Black Hawk Down, which shows the consequences of a military incursion in Somalia in 1993 in which 19 soldiers and 1000 Somali citizens lost their lives. The film shows the action which took place, but the book details the backdrop. The Somalia situation was this. The country was a wrecked mess run by gangs. The most powerful had been top dog for quite some time, but he was hated and ruthless. The one good thing he did was to unify all the rival gangs in their common hatred of him. They banded together and ousted him.

But this ousted gang leader, who had diplomatic ties to the U.N., persuaded the U.S. to intervene and help him regain his "rightful place." It was a disastrous, ill-conceived response. I highly recommend this book.
Based on my understanding of the situation, we are very possibly doing an instant replay. On Sept 4 it was announced that the U.S. cut off aid to Honduras, which is already one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. Two letters that I have received from Honduras indicate that the people are in dire straits.

Here's a brief summary of the background on this story.

One of the most amazing features of the United States has been its example of the peaceful transition of power. Right from the start our history has been a role model that is worth noting and quite a contrast to most of history. George Washington, who was nearly godlike in stature, stepped down voluntarily from the equivalent of a throne, the U.S. presidency. Keep in mind there were no term limits in those days.

When our second president John Adams handed power over to Thomas Jefferson, this was the first time in history that power was given voluntarily to an opposing party. These two were adversaries. Adams and Jefferson both lived by the principle of Rex Lex, that is, Law is King. There is something higher than the men and women who run the country.

That tradition has followed us to the present time where ideologically contrary presidents have handed over the baton, or sword, or whatever symbol you'd like to call it, without resorting to guns, hand grenades, etc. If the disrespect shown on the floor of congress last week (Mr. Bush was booed in 2005 on one occasion in a similar vein) is the worst of what we do, well, we're probably not doing too badly.

As for Honduras... Based on a lifetime of reading and certain anecdotal observations from friends and acquaintances over the years, my guess is that there is a divergence of opinion on the matter within the State Department itself, or the Pentagon and the executive branch. Let's pray our leaders make wise decisions and exercise care as they evaluate courses of action.

Setting The Trajectory

I've been reading Joseph Ellis' Founding Brothers, a book about the first decade of our Republic. Ellis, who wrote a National Book Award-winning bio on Jefferson did this piece as a follow up, no doubt because of his love for that period, but probably also to utilize all the research he'd dug up to produce the first book.

Ellis argues that of all the decades in our history, the first one was preeminent in importance because it set the trajectory our country would take. From the manner in which conflicts were resolved to the manner in which power was wielded, there is probably some truth to Ellis' assessment.

Take, for example, the matter of Washington stepping down as president after two terms. This was unheard of in the era of monarchies. King George III said Washington was the greatest man ever if he could do that. Well, he did it. The torch was passed to another, John Adams. It was unprecedented, but served as just one example of how things were different over here. Instead of being about power, Washington's presidency was about service.

The book begins with the story of the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. It is inconceivable today that a sitting Vice President would kill a man in a duel -- though our previous VP did shoot a lawyer. The significance of the Burr-Hamilton event is this: even though Burr won he lost. When he shot Hamilton, his reputation was shot. The real significance is that the old order, the code of the duel, and all those "gentlemanly" things that were vestiges of the old British ways, fell to the wayside and from this instance on were no longer to be a part of the New America.

Another major chapter in the book is about the manner in which the founding fathers avoided resolving the slave issue. In thinking about to tell it I was reminded of a dream I once had.

In the dream there was a giant tortoise in my small house. It was making a mess as turtles do, but it was also so enormous that I could not get it out of the house because it was wider now than the doors. I was in despair, and I prayed to God for help. A ray of light came down from above and shone on the tortoise, and almost immediately the critter began to become translucent, then transparent and a misty nothing... but just before disappearing altogether, she gave birth to four more baby turtles which were just so cute. Then I woke up.

The meaning of the dream for me was this: deal with a bad habit or situation when it is small and you can maybe get rid of it, but allow it to stick around and you have a major problem on your hands. The only way to get rid of that tortoise would have been to tear a wall out.

Well, the slave issue was not cute like those little baby turtles, but it was a much smaller problem in 1790 than in 1850. The founding fathers would have been better off facing it, and dealing with it while there were fewer slaves and a lesser economic impact. Instead, though they knew sooner or later it was going to tear the fabric of the Republic, they shuttled it off for another time the way many groups and individuals deal with their problems. Try to put a good face on it, try not to make waves.

Aside: How about in your life? Is that an elephant in your living room?

For sure reading Founding Brothers has me eager to find the Jefferson book by Ellis. I very much enjoyed David McCullough's John Adams a couple years ago and recommend it to you are well for an intro to this period of our history. They were remarkable times and remarkable men. They were not passive about the world they lived in. The issues they wrestled with and how they resolved them set the tone for what made America the influential nation it later became.