Feb 24, 2003 4 min read

Visions of old guys wearing short pants and powdered wigs pop into your mind when you think about the Declaration of Independence. We have read textbooks from grade school to high school about our Founding Fathers. The faces are familiar, looking out at us from those large portraits hanging in school buildings, libraries and government offices.

What we have missed in all of these classroom studies is the feeling, the understanding, that they were real human beings. With real problems. Common, everyday problems.

These men had the same emotions, faced the same issues of integrity, confronted questions of ethical government, and wrestled with personal family issues in 1776 as any of us now living in 2003.

Their public images as Founding Fathers gives us the vague impression that somehow they were above the common folks of the time, that they never struggled to pay their bills, or spent sleepless nights worrying about their careers.

In David McCullough’s book titled simply, “John Adams,” you are offered a personal and inside view of some of the most famous men in American history, ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Franklin.

McCullough, a Pittsburgh native, read thousands of personal letters written by John Adams, our second president, and letters he received from his wife. In letters to Adams from Jefferson, Franklin and others, the lives of these famous men and women unfold before us. It is a fascinating, compelling story of how the American revolution was born.

Although the book is an authentic work of history, it reads like a mystery novel, with twists and turns in Adams’ life from his birth until his death in 1826, on July 4, at the age of 90 on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. His lifelong friend Jefferson died the same year at the age of 83. On the same day. July 4.

In the letters, we see Adams struggling with the stresses of the day, including the fact that he was considered a rebel, a traitor to the British, and would have been hanged if caught by a British warship on his trips to France to represent the colonies there along with Franklin.

The dry language of history we so seldom read in textbooks is not to be seen in this book. McCullough is a master storyteller, using the historical treasure chest of letters of these famous individuals to tell the story of John Adams and the American Revolution almost as if we were seeing the events unfold before our eyes.

Adams was worried most of the time, about his weight, his rather rotund appearance, his tendency toward what he believed to be vanity, his temper at times, his self-esteem, and he had doubts most of the time about whether his decisions and judgments were correct. In other words, he was a real person.

We get a sense of just how futile this revolution seemed to be at the time. A small group of individual colonies was declaring its independence from the strongest nation in the world. The British could send an army of highly trained soldiers to literally crush the rebellion almost overnight.

These were enormous odds facing men like Adams.

We see in his letters the determination, the fear, the passion he had for the principles of democracy, and what he personally sacrificed so future generations of Americans he would never know could live as free men and women.

Even if you don’t like American history, this is a book you must read. The Adams’ letters bring to life the events of the times, when the foundation of our nation was shaped and forged.

As McCullough says in the book: “What were those ‘self-evident’ truths that so many risked all for, fought for, suffered and died for? What was the source of their courage? Who were these people? I don’t think we can ever know enough about them.”

The book should be required reading for all government leaders, politicians, teachers and journalists. It is a story which, I’m sure, Adams himself would be pleased to know that all Americans would read someday. In that sense, the story is not simply about the life of John Adams, but more about a man who was truly one of the fathers of our country.

Mike Ellis is the editor of the Herald-Standard. His e-mail address is: mellis@heraldstandard.com.