"At root, Adams wanted to foster people’s devotion to virtue, to acting as they should, and to serving the public good. Only a virtuous people, he noted more than once, could be free." So writes Bruce Frohnen in this well-worth reading post over at the The University Bookman: On Statesmanship: The Case of John Adams. Frohnen does a very good job of explaining both the importance of Adams at the time of the Revolution and his monumental impact as a politician once the Constitution as ratified.
I have long thought that Adams was seriously under-ranked as far as our presidents go -- and I've argued this point in several posts here at American Creation. Frohnen's post helps to solidify the case that Adams is a far more significant player in our national history than is usually acknowledged. Patriot, Federalist, conservative and traditionalist, Adams deserves a far closer look by those who would seek to maintain order and tradition without falling into the poisonous trap of ideology.
No comments:
Post a Comment