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John Adams was an American statesman and politician and the second President of the United States (1797-1801).
The Adamses were among the first Puritan settlers in New England, and John's father was a farmer and shoemaker. John Adams graduated from Harvard College, taught grammar school in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then practiced law in Boston. In 1764, Adams married Abigail Smith, a minister's daughter, who became his confidante and lifelong political partner.
In 1765, Adams wrote "A Dissertation on Canon Law and Feudal Law," where he justified his opposition to British interference in the colonies. In the summer of 1774, Adams was elected to the Massachusetts delegation to the First Continental Congress, in which he became a major figure. He wrote Thoughts on Government as a basic guide to drafting new state constitutions. In July 1776, John Adams drafted the Plan of Treaties, which became the basis for the treaty with France and set the strategic priorities that would shape American foreign policy over the next century.
He was elected to the post of head of the War Council, in 1780 he became the author of the Massachusetts Constitution, which became a model for other states, in 1783 he signed the Treaty of Paris. From 1785 to 1788 John Adams served as the first American ambassador to Great Britain and proved himself worthy in this difficult situation, being the official embodiment of American independence from the British Empire. He studied European history extensively and the result was his three-volume book entitled A Defense of the Constitution of the Government of the United States of America (1787).
In 1789 Adams became the country's first vice president (Washington was the first president of the United States), and in 1797 he was elected the second president of the United States. However, his reign was not the best in the history of the new country. Deteriorating relations with France led to an undeclared naval war between the former allies. In 1798, Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, which restricted free speech rights. They met widespread opposition across the country. Adams resisted opposition demands for all-out war with France, but lost the 1800 election to Thomas Jefferson.
John Adams retired from politics and settled in his hometown of Quincy. He became the founder of an entire dynasty of politicians and died on July 4, 1826 (the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence), living to see his eldest son John Quincy elected as the sixth president.
Thomas Jefferson was an American politician and statesman, the third President of the United States (March 4, 1801 - March 4, 1809).
Jefferson was the son of a planter and received a law degree. In 1774, he wrote A Summary of the Rights of British America, which attracted public attention, and he soon gained a reputation as one of the first advocates of American independence from the authority of the British Parliament. In the spring of 1775, the Virginia legislature appointed him a delegate to the Second Conference of the Continental Congress. A year later he was appointed to a committee of five, which also included Adams and Benjamin Franklin, to draft a formal statement of reasons to justify a break with Great Britain. Jefferson thus became one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France in 1785, was secretary of state (1790-1793) under Washington, and vice president (1797-1801) under John Adams.
A Democratic-Republican, Jefferson, who believed that the national government should play a limited role in the lives of citizens, was elected president in 1800. One of the most significant accomplishments of Jefferson's first administration was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million dollars in 1803 (from the Gulf of Mexico to present-day Canada), effectively doubling the size of the United States. During his second term, Jefferson was focused on trying to keep America out of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. After his second term as president, he was succeeded by James Madison in 1808.
Upon leaving office, Jefferson retired to his plantation in Virginia, pursued his favorite pastimes, and helped found the University of Virginia. In addition to politics, he is known as a writer, farmer, horticulturist, inventor, book collector, art historian, architect, and scientist. He died at the age of 83 on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
William Shakespeare was a British poet and playwright and writer.
William's father, John Shakespeare, was a merchant and official in Stratford. There are reports that he was a sailor for a time before joining a theater company in London. Beginning in the 1590s, Shakespeare began writing plays, and in 1593 he published a poem, Venus and Adonis, which became popular. He dedicated it to the Duke of Southampton, who was a philanthropist and patron of talent, and soon his business was booming.
From 1592 to 1600 Shakespeare wrote his dramas and romantic comedies "Richard III", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Merchant of Venice", as well as the comedies "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night" and the tragedy "Julius Caesar". The playwright's business was so successful that he even bought a large house in Stratford. In 1599, Shakespeare became one of the owners, playwright and actor of the new theater "Globe". In 1603 King James took Shakespeare's troupe under his direct patronage. In the mature period, the great playwright turned to tragedies, there were "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" and others.
Although in the 19th century researchers had some doubts about the authorship of many of these works, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest English playwright, one of the best playwrights in the world. His plays have been translated into all major languages and to this day form the basis of the world theatrical repertoire, most of them have been screened many times. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shakespeare remains the world's best-selling playwright, and his plays and poems have sold more than 4 billion copies in the nearly 400 years since his death.
