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Second president
1797-1801

Born in Massachusetts in 1735, Adams was a cerebral farmer and lawyer who supported revolution but not anarchy. A philosophical man with a profound love of justice, he made his name successfully defending the British troops involved in the Boston Massacre against murder charges. Though it was not a popular verdict, rebel leaders recognized the intelligent and well-spoken Adams as an asset to their cause.

He spent much of the Revolutionary War abroad, enlisting support from France and Holland. Afterward, he did much to ease British-American tensions as ambassador to Great Britain. Always ambitious, he served two frustrating terms as vice president before being elected president in 1796.

As president, he worked diligently to keep his fragile young nation from taking sides in the war between Britain and France. During that period, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, a heavy-handed measure that clamped down on political opposition under the guise of national security.

A complex man unafraid to speak his mind, Adams was defeated in his bid for a second term by Thomas Jefferson, a friend turned political rival. The first president to occupy the newly built White House retired to his farm, where he would live to see his son, John Quincy Adams, elected president in 1825. Adams died the following year in 1826.

First president
1789-1797

Born in Virginia in 1732, he played a key role in both the revolutionary war and the western expansion. As a young man, he helped survey the Shenandoah lands. As an officer in the British army, he fought in the early skirmishes of the French and Indian War.

A successful planter, he grew disenchanted with British rule and joined in the colonial rebellion. He reluctantly agreed to lead the colonial army and after six grueling years -- and with the help of the French -- forced a British surrender in 1781.
Although he wanted to retire, he played a key role in convincing his peers to abandon the ill-fated Articles of Confederation and adopt the Constitution.

He was unanimously elected president by the electors (there was no popular vote then for president) and served two terms. His presidency was marked by his attempts to keep the new country neutral in foreign affairs and his distaste for political parties; neither wish was honored by his successors. He died at Mount Vernon in 1799.