Questions about Content:

1. JQA almost signs the letter to his cousin with an incorrect closing. What mistake does he recognize and correct?

2. What title does Mr. Thaxter have? What role could he have played in JQA's youth?

3. According to his June 2, 1777, letter, what are JQA's favorite activities?

Questions for Drawing Historical Connections:

4. At the time of the 1774 letter, John Adams is in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress. Why did this meeting take place? What was its importance?

5. In the 1777 letter, John Adams is again in Philadelphia, this time playing key roles in directing the young nation's war effort. What dramatic events had changed America since the First Continental Congress?

Questions for Thought, Discussion, and Writing:<

6. The letters span ages seven through ten in JQA's life. What is important to him at this young age?

7. By both eighteenth- and twenty-first-century standards, JQA is developing a distinct personality. Using the letters, describe that personality.