Ashley Husemoller’s Reviews > Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams > Status Update

He seemed to believe, not only that it was unnecessary to suffer fools gladly, but also to tell them to their faces that they were fools.

The essence of “Moody‘s Doctrine“ was “that when Men knew not what to do, they ought not to do they knew not what.”

In a dramatic encounter with Hamilton, who tried vainly to persuade him to change his mind, Adams remained serenely, defiant. “Never in my life,” he recalled nearly a decade later, “did I hear a man talk more like a fool.“

Adams’s original intention was to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict w/ France, enlisting the support of Jefferson[…]to create a bipartisan administration & a foreign policy that remained true to what Adams called “my system,” which entailed[…]American neutrality at almost any cost & the creation of a naval force of sufficient size to fight a defensive war if France/England left America no choice.

If Virtue was to be rewarded with Wealth, it would not be Virtue… — John King Behavior Adams (except not literally, because he would NEVER, but he was so good to Abigail)