Adams National Historical Park Research Project Script

by
Damian Ewing, Ethan Clark and Mason Connelly

1.
Welcome to our eportfolio presentation. For this assignment we have chosen to cover the
Adams National Historical Park. As a group we are going to explore the modern features and
long history of this historical site. Let’s begin.
2.
First off, “What is Adam’s National Historical Park?”
Well, the Adams Park is a large area of land that once belonged to John Adams and his son
John Quincy Adams through multiple generations of the Adams family until eventually being
donated to the government for its historical significance. For those Unaware, John Adams was
the second president of the United States and first Vice President. His son followed in his
footsteps as the sixth President. Both of these men along with some other important people
were born here and lived here during much of their carreers. You can see the houses where the
two were born in this painting and the map of the area underneath highlights the approximate
position where on the property the painting was made from with a red arrow.
3.
The Birthplace of John Adams in particular is one of the oldest houses here. It was mostly made
by John Adams’ father though certain older pieces of the residence have been found to be even
older than that. Back when it was still inhabited the area around the house was used as
farmland for various crops.
4.
As you saw in the painting, John Quincy Adams’ birthplace is only a few feet away from the
other house. Naturally his father also lived in the house for some time, in particular when he was
making his contributions as a founding father, drafting the declaration of independence.
5.
Another, larger house on the property is shown here. It was named “Peacefield” by John Adams
but over time got the nickname “Old House”. Though it was considerably renovated by the
Adams family after they acquired it, the house was originally owned by a sugar-planter from
Jamaica named Leonard Vassall. He left the house during the Revolutionary War because he
was A loyalist (meaning that he sided with the British). Again here you can see a painting of the
house by the same artist as before, Godfrey N. Frankenstein, and a map of the area showing
where he was when he painted it.
6.
Historical depictions of Peacefield are abundant. Here’s six more representations of the house
at various points in history.
7.
Another important place in the park, not far from the Old House is the accurately named Stone
Library. John Quincy Adams requested the library’s construction in his will and specified that it
should be stone so it was fireproof. It contains over 14,000 books that belonged to the Adams
family. Among the most interesting contents are John Adams’ copy of George Washington’s
farewell address, and the “Mendi Bible”. John Adams was a lawyer as well as a politician. And
he is remembered for having defended a group of Mendi people in front of the Supreme Court
after they Mutinied the schooner “La Amistad”. When the court ruled in their favor thanks to his
defense they thanked the president by gifting him this particular bible.
8.
The final of the historically important buildings is the United First Parish Church. This church is
not actually officially part of the park as it is not owned by the federal government but it usually
gets grouped with it due to its ready acceptance of visitors, close proximity to the park itself and
because of its importance to the Adams family. Both John Adams and John Quincy Adams
attended the church with their families. The two presidents and their wives were also buried on
the church grounds, underneath the building in the church crypt.
9.
Here for those who are curious of what other events were occurring in both America and the
rest of the world during the time when this land was still under ownership of the Adams family. It
goes from when America first becomes a nation all the way until after World War One. Five
generations total.
10.
The park is historically important for the same reason the presidents who were born and lived
there were important. Of course every U.S. President was a noteworthy character in history,
here’s an overview of what these men did that is best remembered.
11.
The park is economically important again for the same reason the presidents were. In particular
John Adam made considerable contributions to American history when it was first gaining its
independence which had massive effects on the economy of the world for centuries to come.
12.
Finally, “why should you in particular care about Adams National Historical Park?”. That’s
because it is uniquely dense in the amount of historically important people who lived there at the
time they were working on what they were known for. This is why people felt motivated to turn it
into a national park, If you care about American history you should care about this park.