Adams published a short essay on the proper form of government for colonial governments entitled Thoughts on Government. He advocated for a bicameral legislative body, writing that “a people cannot be long free, nor ever happy, whose government is in one assembly.” He also wrote that the judicial branch must be independent from the legislative and executive branches: “[The] judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check upon both.”