There are thousands who, with a tenth of his understanding and without a spark of his honesty, would distance him infinitely in any court in Europe.[138]
While in London Adams wrote his three-volume A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America. It was a response to those he had met in Europe who criticized the government systems of the American states.[139]
Adams's tenure in Britain was complicated by both countries failing to follow their treaty obligations. The American states had been delinquent in paying debts owed to British merchants, and in response, the British refused to vacate forts in the northwest as promised. Adams's attempts to resolve this dispute failed, and he was often frustrated by a lack of news of progress from home.[140] The news he received of tumult at home, such as Shays' Rebellion, heightened his anxiety. He then asked Jay to be relieved;[141] in 1788, he took his leave of George III, who engaged Adams in polite and formal conversation, promising to uphold his end of the treaty once America did the same.