pporter of the Declaration of Independence. It was reported
by a committee composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. During the same year
he, with Dr. Franklin and Edward Rutledge, was deputed to treat with
Lord Howe for the pacification of the colonies. He declined at this time
the offer of the office of Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of
Massachusetts.

In December, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a commissioner to the court
of France; and with the exception of one short interval, during which he
aided in the framing of the Massachusetts State Constitution, he spent
the following eleven years in diplomatic services abroad. He arranged
the treaties of the United States with most foreign nations during that
time, was associated with Franklin and Jay in signing the treaty of
peace with England, and was our first English minister.

The services of Mr. Adams in the cause of his country, at home and
abroad, during the period to which we have referred, it is believed,
were not excelled by those of any other of the patriots of the
Revolution. In the language of one of his eulogists (Mr. J. E. Sprague,
of Massachusetts), "Not a hundred men in the country could have been
acquainted with any part of the labors of Mr. Adams--they appeared
anonymously, or under assumed titles; they were concealed in the secret
conclaves of Congress, or the more secret cabinets of princes. Such
services are never known to the public; or, if known, only in history,
when the actors of the day have passed from the stage, and the motives
for longer concealment cease to exist. As we ascend the mount of
history, and rise above the vapors of party prejudice, we shall all
acknowledge that we owe our independence more to John Adams than to any
other created being, and that he was the Great Leader of the American
Revolution."

When permission was given him to return from Europe, the Continental
Congress adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That Congress
entertain a high sense of the services which Mr. Adams has rendered to
the United States, in the execution of the various important trusts
which they have from time to time committed to him; and that the thanks
of Congress be presented to him for the patriotism, perseverance,
integrity, and diligence with which he has ably and faithfully served
his country." Such was the testimonial of his country, expressed through
the national councils,