| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第1-15页 |
| ·The scope and purpose of the thesis | 第8-9页 |
| ·The method of the study | 第9-10页 |
| ·Literature review | 第10-13页 |
| ·Organization of the thesis | 第13-15页 |
| Chapter 2 The social and historical context of Adams’s works | 第15-22页 |
| ·The social and historical context from 1776 to 1787 | 第15-17页 |
| ·The immediate context of John Adams’s works | 第17-20页 |
| ·A brief overview of John Adams’s roles during the War for Independence and the formation of the new republic | 第20-22页 |
| Chapter 3 John Adams’s ideas on government | 第22-46页 |
| ·John Adams’s definition of basic concepts of government | 第22-26页 |
| ·The end of government | 第22-23页 |
| ·The best form of government | 第23-26页 |
| ·The critique of simple government | 第23-24页 |
| ·Republican government | 第24-26页 |
| ·John Adams’s ideas on the essential principles of government | 第26-33页 |
| ·Representation | 第26-28页 |
| ·Separation of powers | 第28-30页 |
| ·Mixed and balanced government | 第30-33页 |
| ·Other aspects of John Adams’s ideas on government | 第33-46页 |
| ·John Adams’s ideas on human nature and its relevance to constitution making | 第33-37页 |
| ·John Adams’s ideas on public virtue | 第37-42页 |
| ·John Adams’s views on inequality and aristocracy | 第42-46页 |
| Chapter 4 Sources of John Adams’s political ideas | 第46-60页 |
| ·The heritage from the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment | 第47-52页 |
| ·Influence of Lockean epistemology and political philosophy of John Lock | 第47-50页 |
| ·Methodology of Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton | 第50-52页 |
| ·Influence of Machiavelli’s political thoughts | 第52-54页 |
| ·Influence of James Harrington’s political ideas on government | 第54-55页 |
| ·Influence of the colonial politics of the eighteenth century | 第55-57页 |
| ·The social reality of the revolutionary era | 第57-60页 |
| Chapter 5 The embodiment of John Adams’s ideas on government and his contributions | 第60-65页 |
| ·The embodiment of Adams’s ideas on government in the Massachusetts Constitution | 第60-62页 |
| ·Adams’s contributions to the constitution making | 第62-65页 |
| Chapter 6 Conclusion | 第65-68页 |
| Bibliography | 第68-70页 |
