John Adams was a leader.
John Adams ( October 30 [ O.S. October 19 ] 1735 -- July 4 , 1826 ) was an American patriot who served as the second President of the United States ( 1797 -- 1801 ) and the first Vice President ( 1789 -- 97 ) . He was a lawyer , diplomat , statesman , political theorist , and , as a Founding Father , a leader of the movement for American independence from Great Britain . Adams 's credentials as a revolutionary secured for him two terms as President George Washington 's vice president ( 1789 to 1797 ) and also his own election in 1796 as the second president . In his single term as president , he encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans , as well as the dominant faction in his own Federalist Party , led by his rival Alexander Hamilton .