The second U.S. President was John Adams, who served in the office from 1797 to 1801. He was defeated for a second term by the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson.
Adams served two terms as vice president under George Washington, from 1789 to 1797. He was educated at Harvard and worked as a lawyer in the beginning of his career. His peers knew him to get straight to the point, and he was outspoken against the oppressive taxation by the British. His previous involvement in politics included attendance at the Continental Congress and work as a diplomat, the latter contributing to the end of the American Revolutionary War.