64. ADAMS (John), Declaration of Independence and.—
John Adams was the pillar
of its [Declaration of Independence] support
on the floor of Congress; its ablest advocate
and defender against the multifarious
assaults it encountered. For many excellent
persons opposed it on doubts whether we
were provided sufficiently with the means of
supporting it, whether the minds of our constituents
were yet prepared to receive it &c.,
who, after it was decided, united zealously
in the measures it called for.—
To William P. Gardner.
Ford ed., ix, 377.
(M.
1813)
