In 1776, at the time of this letter John Adams was the representative for Massachusetts in the Continental Congress. He was writing to George Wythe, representative for Virginia, who was America's first professor of law and a supporter of the Declaration of Independence. Adams cites the need for a system of checks and balances, an idea that he came back to when writing the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Learn more with this primary source from American Experience: "John & Abigail Adams."