John Adams Jr. (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826)

On September 27, 1779, the Continental Congress appointed John
Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge
of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain
during the Revolutionary War.

Adams had traveled to Paris in 1778 to negotiate an alliance with
France, but had been unceremoniously dismissed when Congress
chose Benjamin Franklin as sole commissioner. 

After returning to Massachusetts in mid-1779, Adams was elected
as a delegate to the state convention to draw up a new constitution;
he was involved in these duties when he learned of the diplomatic
commission.

Signing the Preliminary Treaty of Peace at Paris, by Carl
Wilhelm Anton Seiler, 1904.