The Happiness Of Society Is The

Adams wrote this in Thoughts on Government (1776), a pamphlet he composed at the request of fellow delegates who sought his advice on drafting state constitutions as independence approached. He argued that government exists not to accumulate power but to promote the well-being of its citizens — a classical republican premise he drew partly from John Locke and partly from his reading of Roman history. The pamphlet was widely circulated and influenced several state constitutions.