#90.
JOHN ADAMS
I'm putting this guy up here as one of the most unsung founding fathers who probably did more for the cause of American independence than any other individual, and yet has no monuments dedicated to him in the capital, no major statues, and he's not featured on any U.S. currency (unlike several other founding fathers and Presidents).
An interesting fact is that this man who became a leader in the revolution against the British served as the defense council for the British soldiers involved in the "Boston Massacre" and got all but two of them acquitted! (The two who were found guilty of manslaughter had their thumbs branded).
To Adams' credit he was:
·An elected delegate for Massachusetts to both the First and Second Continental Congresses;
·A major driving force behind the American Revolution;
·One of the five members to serve on the Declaration of Independence Committee;
·A staunch Abolitionist for his entire life (while Ben Franklin, another well-known Abolitionist, actually owned slaves at one time. And while Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration, owned slaves his whole life!);
·One of the newly founded United States' first delegates to Holland, France & England;
·The first U.S. Vice President under George Washington;
·The second President of the United States;
·The "father" of the United States Navy;
·The first President to occupy the White House in Washington D.C.;
·In office when he averted war with France;
·The first President to be the father of another President.