JOHN ADAMS: EARLY AMBITION, LATER MATURITY
Though John Adams was a brilliant and powerfully influential founding father of our country, in his younger days he was certainly touched by a powerful dose of ambition. Richard B. Morris writes of him and quotes from his diary: A driven man, he was thirsty for fame and greedy for applause, seemingly obsessed with his reputation and how it could be enhanced. As a young man he entered this self- questioning in his diary, almost in despair: “How shall I gain a reputation! How shall I spread an opinion of myself as a lawyer of distinguished genius, learning, and virtue!” Combining enormous self-esteem with a very special talent for denigrating his rivals, he exploited his first-rate mind and abundant energy to propel himself forward on his career. Ever so often, however, he was beset by self-doubt and would succumb to a state of depression, exhibiting to the external world his peevish and fretful side. Inclined to dramatize his…
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