Abijah Adams

Background

Abijah Adams was born about 1754 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. His parents, and the exact date of his birth are not known; his relationship with the famous Braintree branch has not been traced.

Education

Adams was trained as a tailor.

Career

Adams first came to public notice in 1799 when he was clerk and bookkeeper in the office of the Independent Chronicle, which since 1784 his younger brother, Captain Thomas Adams, had controlled. The journal was the chief supporter in New England of Jeffersonian principles. When the General Court refused to support the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions condemning the Alien and Sedition Acts because it had no right to decide upon the constitutionality of an act of Congress, the Chronicle declared (February 18, 1799).

Both brothers were arrested for libeling the General Court. Thomas was already under federal indictment for violating the Sedition Act. He was ill and was never tried on either charge. Abijah had merely sold the papers, but under the English common law was convicted of "publishing" the libel, and was sentenced to jail for thirty days. Thomas died shortly after and in 1800 the newspaper passed into the joint control of Abijah and Ebenezer Rhoades. Adams was called senior editor. Such a staunch supporter of the Virginia Dynasty and Mr. Madison's War was certain to continue in hot water in Boston. He was again convicted of libel in 1811, this time for comment upon the official conduct of Chief Justice Parsons. He was pardoned. His office was a gathering-place for federal office-holders and other prominent Republicans, men like Perez Morton and Benjamin Austin. The latter wrote often for the Chronicle. After Adams's death, his paper (May 23, 1816), after calling him an honest man, harked back to the libel suit as his chief reason for remembrance. In 1819 the paper was sold to Davis C. Ballard, his stepson.

Achievements

• During his career as a journalist Adams played a significant role in the newspaper's vocal opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Views

Quotations: "As it is difficult for common capacities to conceive of a sovereignty so situated that the sovereign shall have no right to decide on any invasion of his constitutional power, it is hoped for the convenience of those tender consciences who may hereafter be called upon to swear allegiance to the State, that some gentleman skilled in federal logic, will show how the oath of allegiance is to be understood, that every man may be so guarded and informed, as not to invite the Deity to witness a falsehood. "

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Mr. Adams displayed an heroism which nothing but his virtues could sustain. One month he was imprisoned, . .. suffering under the utmost rigors of the Common Law, while others of the same profession were daily committing crimes of a more aggravated nature with impunity. "

Connections

Adams married Lucy Ballard, a widow, on July 11, 1790.

Spouse:

Lucy (Ballard) Adams

Brother:

Thomas Adams

References

• Who was who in America. Historical volume 1607-1896. Revised Edition 1967. A Component Volume of Who's Who in American History.