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The Works of John Adams, Volume 5

John Adams · 1850s (compiled)

Another volume of Adams's collected works, including diary entries and official correspondence from his presidency.

Contains Adams's own diary and letters, including correspondence from his presidency.

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Dark cloth book cover embossed with ornamental scrollwork and a small numeral 5 near the center, arranged in a vertical symmetrical pattern with a fine border. No title text is visible.
John Adams, The Works of John Adams (ed. Charles Francis Adams). John Adams Library, Boston Public Library.

About this source

What it is

This volume belongs to the same multi-volume edition of The Works of John Adams, edited by his grandson Charles Francis Adams. It includes diary material, notes of Senate debates, essays, and letters, including correspondence between Adams and his Secretary of State Timothy Pickering during his presidency. It is held in the John Adams Library at the Boston Public Library.

Why it matters

The letters here show Adams dealing with political attacks in the press while president, revealing the pressures and controversies of early American politics. Together with his diary, the volume shows Adams as both a private writer and a public figure under scrutiny.

Look closer

  • What does Pickering's letter about newspaper 'slander' tell you about politics in Adams's presidency?
  • Why would Adams's family want to publish his private diary alongside his official letters?
  • What is missing from a collection like this that a single original letter might show better?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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