Joel Adams II (March 6, 1784 – May 1, 1859) was an American politician, lawyer, and planter.

He studied law in the office of the late Judge Nott, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Soon after his admission to the bar, he left the profession, and then devoted himself, with eminent success, to the pursuits of a planter in his native district.

His nephew James Hopkins Adams graduated from Yale University, and was the 66th Governor of South Carolina from 1854 to 1857.

Joel's nephew James Pickett Adams (1828–1904) was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and was Major in the Confederate States Army.