Author

John Adams

Portrait of John Adams.
Portrait of John Adams. Source · Public domain
Thoughts on Government and Selected Letters

1776-1826 · 18th Century · Political Theory

John Adams's Thoughts on Government and selected letters present a founder preoccupied with constitutional balance, civic virtue, law, ambition, and the fragility of republics. Thoughts on Government, written in 1776, argues that new American states should avoid simple unicameral democracy and instead build mixed, balanced institutions with separated powers and independent courts.