Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Statesmanship and the example of John Adams

"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.

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