John Adams, who played a major part in winning European support for the cause of American independence, served as Washington's vice-president and succeeded him as president in 1797. He was succeeded in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson, the principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence, signed on 4 July 1776.
In 1826, although failing fast, Adams was determined to survive until the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. At dawn on that day, he was awakened by his servant, who asked if he knew what day it was. He replied, "Oh, yes, it's the glorious fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all." He then slipped into a coma. In the afternoon he recovered consciousness briefly to murmur, "Thomas Jefferson lives." These were his last words. Unknown to him, Jefferson had died that same day.
美國獨立運動贏得歐洲支持，約翰．亞當斯功勞不少。他曾任華盛頓副總統，一七九七年更繼之而任總統，至一八零一年，《美國獨立宣言》主要起草人湯瑪斯．傑佛遜繼任。該《宣言》簽署於一七七六年七月四日。
一八二六年，亞當斯已是風中殘燭，但決心活到《宣言》簽署五十週年紀念日。那天一早，僕人把他喚醒，問他知不知道是什麼日子，他回答說：「知道，是光輝的七月四日，願上帝祝福這一天，祝福大家。」他說罷，昏迷過去，到下午，短暫恢復知覺，低聲說：「湯瑪斯．傑佛遜還活着。」這是他最後一句話，殊不知傑佛遜也在同一天去世了。*
*毛澤東死前最後一句話是：「我還有救嗎？」