The second U.S. president, an influential founding father, is not celebrated quite as much as others in the nation’s capital, but that may eventually change as a group is trying to build a memorial to honor former President John Adams.
“It’s time for us to honor the second president of our country,” said Jackie Gingrich Cushman, president of the Adams Memorial Foundation and chair of the Adams Memorial Commission.
Cushman said in addition to a statue of Adams, the planned memorial would honor the whole Adams family, including Abigail and John Quincy Adams who would later serve as the sixth president.
“They’re just an amazing family,” Cushman told WTOP. “I believe that we would not be here today without John Adams and his leadership during the Revolutionary War. I don’t think he could have done what he did without Abigail Adams.”
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress that would authorize land for a memorial to Adams. A suggested location has been President’s Park, just south of the White House.
“Because he was the first president to live in the White House, we believe proximity to the White House is important,” Cushman said.
The planned memorial would not be on the same grand scale of the Washington Monument or the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials but a quieter “New England-ish library and garden,” according to Cushman.
If approved, the Adams Memorial will likely take a while to come to fruition.
“This is a seven to 12-year process,” she said.
In the meantime, the foundation is accepting donations for the building process.
“We also would love you to contact your congressman or senators and tell them that you want an Adams Memorial,” Cushman said.
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