Letter to the editor: Lessons from President John Adams

Our nation’s second president, John Adams, concluded his inaugural address (March 1797) with an extended plea for divine intervention, joining in faith with those present in this 18th-century version of our day’s “God Bless America.” President-elect Adams called on “the Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector of all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, [to] continue His Blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”
With concurrence from retiring George Washington, Adams sought to foster a peaceful transition of powers, to include openness to bipartisan relations, thus seeking the best of differing voices that would breathe life and vitality into a young nation’s quest for sustainable democracy.
Richard and Paula Watkins
Mendon