"He needed the physical work, the dirt between his fingers or the strong handle of the scythe in his hands."

He is one of our most understated presidents and while that in itself is a dishonor as his presidency was significant, we are really missing out on a great story of a great man by glossing over John Adams. In Chapter 5 of Wulf's Founding Gardeners, the juxtaposition of Adams and the other first three presidents is over apparent.

In case you missed it, I will highlight some of the more illuminating quotes:

"There was Adams with an axe in his hand felling trees next to his hired laborer, a New England farmer with a modest estate...Jefferson [was] riding across his plantation as his slaves harvested wheat..." (Wulf, 103).

"...while the vice president was happily mixing manure in his own yard..." (Wulf, 104).

"The gardens in Quincy wold never be as grand as the ones in Mount Vernon, Monticello or Montipelier, both because Adams could not afford it and because he thought such elaborate designs 'mere Ostentations of Vanity'" (Wulf, 108).

"While Jefferson only dirtied his hands for scientific experiment like this, Adams stood in a pile of compost that was rising in his yard-- seemingly one of his favorite spots..." (Wulf, 119).

"While Adams had his arms up to the elbow in the dung, the studious Madison used pen, paper and numbers to tackle the problem" (Wulf, 119).

Who knew our second president had such passion for dung?  That would surely be a way to gain elementary students' attention in a text book!

More than Adams' love for hard physical work, we see a man who is a great representation of a founding father. Not to take away from Washington, Jefferson or Madison, but Wulf makes it so clear to us that Adams was a hard-working, non-elitist, non slave-owning man.

One of the most interesting parts of this chapter was the discussion about how John and Abigail divided up the farm work. John oversaw the fields and Abigail   oversaw the flowerbeds...the image of the first lady in high-society boston laboring over flowerbeds is such a great thought!

Wulf also mentions on page 115 that, "...for the founding fathers, free husbandmen with small self-suffecient farms would be the foot soldiers of the infant nation." Although the founding fathers, according to Wulf, believed this, none accomplished it like Adams. The Virginia gardens and farms required slave labor to be maintained.  Wulf explains that while Washington considered reducing the use of slaves, he didn't and also would not lease his land to be farmed by "the slovenly farmers of this country" (112).

If anyone of our first four presidents represented the population in the US at the time, it was Adams. A small farmer, a hard-working man and in love with his country.