In the midst of the American Revolution John Adams wrote to Abigail Adams that he was compelled to study politics and war so that his descendants could enjoy “the flowers of freedom,”[i] such as painting and poetry. Indeed, three generations later, John Adams’s great-grandson, Henry Adams, seemed relieved of the demands of public life. Upon his graduation from Harvard College in 1858 Henry declared that he intended to pursue “a quiet and literary life.”[ii] And, in fact, Henry never held political office like those who came before him. Nonetheless, Henry Adams found his mind occupied by the nature of the Read more