John Adams Library

The Boston Public Library holds a vast collection of early American books, pamphlets, broadsides, and manuscripts. Taken together, these holdings situate the John Adams Library among one of the most comprehensive and internationally significant collections of its kind.

All of these collections are freely available to the public and can be viewed in the BPL Special Collections Reading Room. For more information, see the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department page.

Featured Materials

Included in the BPL's early American collections are substantial numbers of early Boston and Cambridge imprints; rare, original editions of the laws and statutes of the New England colonies; original editions of the individual state constitutions, several printings of the Declaration of Independence, and thousands of manuscripts from the Colonial Period through the Federal Era and beyond. These collections include many rare and unique sources connected to the life and work of John Adams, his family, his contemporaries, and the founders of our nation.

John Adams' Boston Massacre Trial Notes

The Boston Public Library owns a substantial portion of John Adams' notes for the Boston Massacre Trial in 1770 (Ms.Adams.307). Adams, believing in the right to a fair trial, served as the defense attorney for Captain Preston and the eight British regulars who had fired upon a crowd in front of the Boston Custom House. The remainder of Adams' trial notes are held at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to George Washington

BPL owns the original Washington Before Boston medal. This, the first Congressional gold medal, was authorized by the Second Continental Congress for presentation to George Washington in 1776. It commemorates Washington's victory over British forces at Boston in March of that year. John Adams was intimately involved with the original inception and early design of the medal, though the finished version -- pictured here -- took over 16 years to realize and was finally awarded to Washington in 1792.

Adams' Copy of the United States Constitution

This copy of the United States Constitution, printed in 1787, is believed to have been owned by John Adams (H.90.87 pb). An inscription in the hand of John Quincy Adams on the first page of the document reads: "An original copy of the Constitution of the United States, attested by Charles Thomson secretary to the Confederation Congress. Issued 28 September, 1787." It was donated to the BPL by Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915).

Original Copies of the Declaration of Independence

John Adams was a member of the Committee of Five who drafted the United States Declaration of Independence. BPL holds five contemporary copies of the Declaration, printed between July of 1776 and early 1777 in Boston, Salem, New Haven, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. In addition, BPL holds a paper proof copy of the so-called Stone Broadside. An extremely rare document, this hyper-accurate reproduction of the then-fading original manuscript was commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in 1820 and was completed in 1823.

John Adams Manuscripts 

This collection was compiled from letters from the Mellen Chamberlain, Americana, and English Civilization collections; it consists of letters to, from, and about Adams. The majority of these letters date from before Adams' presidency and many are addressed to Dr. Benjamin Rush. Also included in this collection are items found within books from John Adams' Library, including letters, notes, pressed leaves, and advertisements. 

A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom

The difficult, but lasting friendship and the bitter political rivalry between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are well-documented. The work of both men, along with the work of many of the other founders of the nation, are represented within the BPL's Collections. This, the sole surviving copy of the first printing of Thomas Jefferson's bill for religious freedom in the state of Virginia is a foundational document of American democracy and is considered by many to be a direct forerunner of the First Amendment itself.

Abigail Adams Correspondence

 The collection (Ms.Am.229) consists of 22 letters written by Abigail Adams between 1770 and 1785. Most of the letters are addressed to John Thaxter, a close family friend with whom both John and Abigail corresponded frequently. 

Prince Collection and the Old South Library

The Thomas Prince Collection and Library of the Old South Church is a group of approximately 3,500 books and 950 manuscripts assembled primarily by Old South pastors Thomas Prince (1687-1758) and Joseph Sewall (1688-1769).

During his lifetime, Adams himself was known to consult the Prince Collection. And, like Adams' own library, the Prince Collection is one of the few extant Colonial American libraries that remains largely in-tact.

Early American Books and Manuscripts 

Other collections related to the John Adams Library include the Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow (1826-1889) Collection, the Chamberlain Collection of Autographs, the Americana Collection, and the John A. Lewis Collection of Early New England Imprints. 

Other institutions with materials related to the Adams Family include:

• Massachusetts Historical Society
  • Adams Family Papers
  • John Adams' notes for the the trial of the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre (in the John Davis Papers, Ms. N-1097)
  • Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915) Papers (on microfilm)
• Adams National Historical Park
  • Birthplaces of John Adams and John Quincy Adams
  • Old House at Peace field
  • Stone Library
• Library of Congress
  • Adams Family Papers, 1176-1948 (mostly materials to and from John Quincy Adams)
• Vermont Historical Society
  • The two earliest surviving diaries of John Adams are contained in the Royall Tyler Collection
• LibraryThing has compiled a list of books that were once owned by John Adams and are held across numerous institutions and collections