John Adams is often credited with the quotation: “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.” There is no record that Adams ever said it.

The quotation appears in print from only about 2002.


Wikipedia: John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American politician and the second President of the United States (1797–1801), after being the first Vice President (1789–1797) for two terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.

Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to adopt the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. As a representative of Congress in Europe, he was a major negotiator of the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and chiefly responsible for obtaining important loans from Amsterdam.

Adams’ revolutionary credentials secured him two terms as George Washington’s vice president and his own election as the second president of the United States. During his one term as president, he was frustrated by battles inside his own Federalist party (by a faction led by Alexander Hamilton) and the newly emergent bi-partisan disagreements with Jeffersonian Republicans. During his term he also signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts. The major accomplishment of his presidency was his peaceful resolution of the Quasi-War crisis with France in 1798.

After Adams was defeated for reelection by Thomas Jefferson (at the time, Adams’ vice-president), he retired to Massachusetts. He and his wife Abigail Adams founded an accomplished family line of politicians, diplomats, and historians now referred to as the Adams political family. Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States. His achievements have received greater recognition in modern times, though his contributions were not initially as celebrated as those of other Founders.

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“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.”
- John Adams

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“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”
John Adams

Google Books
Web of Debt:
The shocking truth about our money system and how we can break free
By Ellen Hodgson Brown
Baton Rouge, LA: Third Millennium Press
2008
Pg. 45:
President John Adams is quoted as saying, “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”

31 December 2008, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, Letters, pg. A10:
John Adams said: “There are two ways to enslave a nation: One is by the sword and the other is by debt.”
Karl Kofoed. Drexel Hill

Google Books
Bankruptcy of Our Nation:
12 key strategies for protecting your finances in these uncertain times
By Jerry Robinson
Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press
2009
Pg. 207:
There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
President John Adams)

Similarly:

‘When you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty.’

Benjamin Franklin