FFQF: The Hilarious John Adams
January 1, 2009 by Mrs. Mecomber
Filed under FFQF
See what’s up with today’s FFQF at Meet the Founders blog
The theme for this month is Humor. This is going to be a fun one! Did you know that America’s founding fathers were quite the cut-ups? Indeed! They were not like the stodgy, stuffed-shirt, two-faced fuddy-duds that fill our halls of legislation today, nay!
John Adams and Alexander Hamilton stand out as some of the funniest guys. For this week, I want to quote two of John Adams’ statements. Adams was from humble parents in a humble little area of the coastal northeast, Braintree, Massachusetts. He was not of noble or wealthy heritage, not like the aristocrat Thomas Jefferson (with whom he compared himself) or like the European princes and nobles he mingled with when he served as ambassador for America. And Adams was quite aware of his “lowly” state in the affairs of men— but he could govern, think, and write better than most of them. And he was a master in the art of humorous self-deprecation. I’ve read a book of the letters he and his wife Abigail wrote to each other during his years away from home, and they are filled with wit and stunning wisdom– a really great read!
Here he is, mocking his elegant stature as king of the manure pile, at his humble farmhouse in rural Massachusetts (after having rubbed elbows with the dukes and nobles of Europe). This is to his younger son, John Quincy Adams:
“You may call me the monarch of Stoney Field, Count of Gull Island, Earl of Mount Ararat, Marquis of Candlewood Hill and Baron of Rocky Run.”
And here is Adams, sardonically jabbing at Jefferson’s noble mansion-building project, in a letter to Richard Rush, November 18, 1814:
“Mr. Jefferson lives at Monticello, the lofty mountain. I live at Montezillo, a little hill.”
HA! Those are just mere tidbits of the marvel of John Adams– that guy sure could tell a story and make point, and make you crack up at the same time. I hope to have more of funny John Adams in the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing what Hercules Mulligan at Meet the Founders has for today!
Hercules Mulligan on Fri, 2nd Jan 2009 12:28 pm
LOL! I love these. I’ll be driving my family up the wall with the first one! Thanks for posting.
Hey, you wanna know something else? Ever since Adams christened his home “Montezillo” in the letter you quoted above, he addressed his letters from “Montezillo!”
So, whenever you go through the volumes of his letters, you come across the heading: “To Thomas Jefferson. Montezillo, 12 OCtober 1818″
Man, that guy was funny. I think this month is going to be a tribute mostly to “Hammy” and John Adams!
Happy FFQF!
Mrs. Mecomber on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 9:12 am
That’s hilarious about Adams signing his letters that way!!! lol!
Yeah, I agree. Hamilton and Adams take the cake when it comes to humor.