Adams was so famous that the British tried to bring him over to their side. He rejected an offer to become advocate general in the British court system in the Colonies. He chose instead to rebel against British oppression.
Defending the British
As a supporter of U.S. independence, Adams didn’t mind peaceful protests to British rule. He didn’t approve of violence, however. In 1770, the Boston Massacre, which started as a demonstration against the British, got out of hand. Five people were killed when British soldiers opened fire on the protestors. Rejecting violent protest, Adams not only defended the soldiers, he got them acquitted.
Adams’s reputation rose. People saw him not only as a patriot, but also as a man who believed in the law and was unwilling to compromise his principles.
Entering politics
In 1773, Adams became one of the most vocal supporters of the Boston Tea Party. (See Chapter 3.) At the same time, he wrote a series of articles criticizing British policies. When the Colonies held the first Continental Congress in 1774 to discuss what to do about British oppression, Adams attended as a delegate representing Massachusetts.
The first Continental Congress accomplished nothing. By the time the Congress met again in 1775, Adams and many of his colleagues and neighbors were ready for an armed resistance. John Adams proposed establishing a continental army to oppose Britain. He further recommended that Colonel Washington from Virginia should be put in charge of the new military force.
Adams wanted Washington to be in charge of the newly created continental army for political reasons. He wanted to make sure that the Southern colonies supported a war of independence. Support was easier to garner with a Southerner in charge of the military.
Declaring independence
At the second Continental Congress in 1775, Adams called for passing a declaration of independence and chaired a special committee formed to produce such a declaration.
Thomas Jefferson, a delegate to the Congress from Virginia, wrote the declaration, and Adams presented it to the Continental Congress. The Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the only future presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Representing the new country
Adams’s major contributions to the founding of the United States didn’t come during his presidency — they came before he assumed the office. In his own way, Adams was as important to the revolution as George Washington. While Washington won on the battlefield, Adams succeeded in diplomacy. Without Adams’s efforts, the fledgling government wouldn’t have had a treaty of friendship and alliance with France and wouldn’t have received financial support from the Netherlands.
Acting as chief diplomat
With the Revolutionary War in full force, Adams played the role of diplomat during his next series of missions. The Continental Congress sent him to France in 1777 to gain French support for the new country. Not only did France recognize the newly established United States, but it also signed a treaty of friendship. Not satisfied with his successes, Adams traveled to the Netherlands to set the foundation for future financial support for the United States.
After a brief stint at home in 1778, during which he wrote the constitution for the state of Massachusetts — which is still in force today — Adams went back abroad.
This time, Adams traveled to Paris to work on a peace treaty between Britain and the United States. At first, his attempts were fruitless. So he traveled to the Netherlands. This time he succeeded. Not only did he secure a $42 million loan, but he also got the Dutch to agree to recognize the newly formed United States. He then went back to Paris to negotiate with representatives of the British crown. After long negotiations, Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay worked out “The Treaty of Paris,” which ended the Revolutionary War in 1783 and established U.S. independence for good.
With Adams so successful as a diplomat, the new U.S. government asked him to stay in Europe and become the U.S. representative to Great Britain. (The government at this point was run according to the provisions in the Articles of Confederation — Chapter 1 has more on the country’s founding.) He accepted the position and stayed in Britain until 1788. When he returned to the United States, he found out that he was one of the candidates considered for the presidency. He thought that he had no shot at winning, so he ignored the nomination.
Becoming vice president
In February 1789, the first Electoral College (see the “The Electoral College” sidebar in Chapter 1 for information on this) in U.S. history assembled to choose the first president and vice president. Each elector was given the opportunity to cast two ballots. Whoever received the most votes became president. The person who came in second became the new vice president. To his great surprise, Adams was selected vice president of the United States.
Adams believed that the vice president’s duty was to be loyal to the president — to support the president’s policies publicly and raise questions only privately. For eight years, Adams publicly supported Washington on all major issues, including neutrality in the Franco-British war (even though Adams privately favored the British in the war). Clearly, Adams set a precedent for future vice presidents.
Adams didn’t enjoy his role as vice president. He often complained in private of how insignificant his position was, calling the vice presidency the “most insignificant position ever invented.”
Although he was loyal to Washington, Adams didn’t shy away from conflict. He openly participated in the conflict between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson (the “The first party system” sidebar in Chapter 3 explains the issues involved), in turn setting the foundation for our present political party system. Adams sided with Hamilton on the issues.
Adams was afraid of the public — especially because of the excesses of the French Revolution, where more than 20,000 members of the French political and social elite were killed — so he favored a stronger central government to maintain law and order. He felt more aligned with Great Britain than with France, and he favored the British in foreign policy. In the realm of economics, Adams believed in limited protection for the slowly developing U.S. industries. All of these political views made him a Federalist. He soon found himself facing off with Jefferson on major issues.
Running for president
To the surprise of many, President Washington didn’t run for a third term in 1796. Multiple candidates from both of the newly formed political parties ran for the office.
The Federalists favored two candidates — John Adams and Thomas Pinckney — while the Democratic-Republicans united behind Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Right away, Adams and Jefferson emerged as the front-runners. When the final tally came in, the election was close, and all four candidates received Electoral College votes. Adams came in first, winning 71 Electoral College votes. Jefferson received 68 votes, and Pinckney received 59 votes. Burr finished last with 30 votes. Adams was elected the second president of the United States.
Article 2 of the Constitution prescribes that the person with the highest number of electoral votes becomes president, while the second-highest vote-getter serves as vice president. Thus, for the only time in U.S. history, the president and vice president belonged to different political parties.
The 12th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1804, altered the process, allowing members of the Electoral College to cast two ballots — one for president and one for vice president.
President John Adams (1797–1801)
As the first president from the northern colonies (Massachusetts), Adams did an admirable job of continuing to provide legitimacy for the country. Adams was often criticized as being authoritarian and unable to tolerate criticism. His presidency was characterized by the Alien and Sedition Acts, which heavily undermined personal freedom in the United States.
John Adams (shown in Figure 4-1) was inaugurated on March 4, 1797. He faced a range of problems right away.
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bsp; John Adams was the first president to live in the presidential mansion in Washington D.C. Adams moved into the mansion after it was finished in the fall of 1800. But he hated Washington, D.C. so much that he was glad to leave it in March 1801.
Figure 4-1: John Adams, 2nd president of the United States (1797–1801).
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The ABCs of the XYZ Affair
To avoid a war with France over whether the Unites States should take France’s side in its war with England, Adams sent a U.S. delegation to France to negotiate. When the U.S. delegation arrived in France, the French refused to receive them. Instead, the XYZ Affair started when three agents of French foreign minister Talleyrand asked for a bribe of $250,000 from the U.S. diplomats in addition to a $12 million loan for the French government. France wanted all of this before they would meet with the U.S. delegation.
The U.S. delegation refused to comply and went back home. Adams tried to keep this insult secret, but he released it to the public after Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans blasted him for trying to start a war. However, the names of three French diplomats were not released. Instead, Adams used the pseudonym XYZ to describe the diplomats.
Having problems with France
The French believed that the United States owed its independence to France’s efforts, and they expected the new country to support them in their current fight against the British. Washington’s decision to remain neutral annoyed the French. In an effort to punish the United States, France started attacking and seizing U.S. ships in early 1797. Within months, France had seized 300 U.S. ships.
Hamilton and the Federalists called for war against France. Adams knew that war was unacceptable to Vice President Jefferson and many U.S. citizens, so he tried to negotiate instead. He sent a mission of peace to France. But at the same time, he mobilized U.S. forces just in case the mission failed. The French refused to even meet with the U.S. delegation. (Check out the “The ABCs of the XYZ Affair” sidebar for details of the scandal.)
This diplomatic insult prompted the United States Congress and the public to prepare for war with France. Congress voted to end all treaties with France and established the Department of the Navy. Adams asked Washington to take command of the U.S. military one more time; Alexander Hamilton became Washington’s second in command.
In the winter of 1799, the conflict turned violent. A U.S. frigate, the Constellation, successfully captured a French warship. War now seemed imminent.
Facing a crisis at home
As the nation got ready for war, partisan conflict broke out in Congress. The Democratic-Republicans under Jefferson attacked the Federalists, accusing them of trying to force the country into a war. They felt that France was their true ally and that the Federalists were overreacting. For the Democratic-Republicans, the Federalists were a bunch of closet monarchists who wanted to restore British control. The Federalists, on the other hand, thought that the Democratic-Republicans were violent radicals who wanted to initiate a French-style revolution that would end in massive bloodshed. Compromise between the two parties wasn’t possible anymore. In 1798, Vice President Jefferson left the capital for a full year out of disgust for Adams and the Federalists. The political war was on.
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four separate acts designed to silence any opposition to Federalist rule:
The Naturalization Act made it more difficult to become a U.S. citizen. It mandated living in the country 14 years instead of 7 to acquire citizenship. Adams and the Federalists knew that most of the country’s recent immigrants were Democratic-Republicans. By making it tougher to become a citizen, the Federalists made sure that immigrants could not vote for an additional 7 years.
The Alien Act allowed the government to deport foreigners that were considered a threat to the United States.
The Alien Enemies Act allowed the government to imprison foreigners that were considered a threat to the United States.
The Sedition Act made it a crime to criticize the federal government. Criticizing the president or the Congress was punishable by imprisonment and fines up to $5,000.
President Adams never enthusiastically enforced the first three acts, but he and his party used the Sedition Act to send reporters, newspaper publishers, and even a congressman to jail.
When Jefferson became president, his Democratic-Republican Party repealed the Naturalization Act — the other acts expired in the early years of Jefferson’s presidency.
After Jefferson’s departure, the Democratic-Republicans refused to collaborate with the Federalists. They even accused them publicly of trying to reestablish the monarchy. The Federalists, in turn, claimed that the Democratic-Republicans were ready to initiate a revolution in the United States and destroy democracy. President Adams became so alarmed that he started preparations to defend the presidential mansion (located in Philadelphia until 1800) against an attack.
Limiting civil liberties
Adams and the Federalists felt that the country couldn’t prepare for war with constant dissent and criticism by the Democratic-Republicans. To deal with the problem, the Federalist majority in Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which severely limited the ability of U.S. citizens to criticize the government. (See “The Alien and Sedition Acts” sidebar for details of these acts.)
The Federalists thought that they were now in a secure position to dominate the country and start a war. However, the acts backfired. The average citizen didn’t see the need for the acts and even feared that they undermined democracy in the United States. Furthermore, major leaders, including Jefferson and Madison, criticized the acts publicly. Two states, Kentucky and Virginia, issued statements — written by Jefferson and Madison, respectively — refusing to enforce the acts and threatening to nullify them. Virginia, fearing a federal attack, mobilized its state militia for a possible showdown with Adams. Federalist Hamilton, now in charge of the federal military, was ready to send in the troops.
Avoiding civil war
With the outbreak of a civil war looming, Adams looked for a political solution. This time, he sought to make peace with France himself. He ignored Congress and even his own cabinet, and sent one more delegation to France. He also demobilized the federal military to avoid a confrontation with Virginia. To top it off, Adams fired two of his cabinet members — Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and Secretary of War James McHenry. He distrusted them because they were loyal to Hamilton. In retaliation, Hamilton did his best to undermine Adams in the upcoming presidential elections.
The negotiations with France proved successful, and in October 1800, the two countries signed a treaty. France recognized U.S. neutrality, and the United States didn’t insist that France pay reparations for the U.S. ships they seized.
Losing the presidency in 1800
The election of 1800 was a rematch between Jefferson and Adams. The outcome was very close — just as it was in 1796. The difference was Hamilton. Hamilton, who was angry with Adams, did his best to make sure that his own president lost the race. Right before the election, he published an article in which he called Adams mad and egotistical. The feud divided the Federalists, and Adams lost the race to Jefferson. The final tally gave Jefferson 73 Electoral College votes and Adams 65 votes.
Making an ungraceful escape
Adams was angry and disappointed at losing the presidency — he felt that he deserved to win reelection because he had so loyally served his country. He was so mad, that he refused to attend his successor’s swearing-in ceremony. He and his wife actually snuck out of Washington, D.C. the night before Jefferson arrived to occupy the White House.
Switching parties at the end
After leaving office, Adams became a bitter enemy of Hamilton. In 1812, Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, left the Federalist Party to become Democratic-Republicans. At the same time, Adams made peace with Jefferson. The renewal of their friendship helped restore Adam
s’ reputation with the citizenry.
Adams lived long enough to see his son, John Quincy, win the presidency in 1824. Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence that both men had worked on.
John Adams is one of two presidents whose son also went on to become president of the United States. The other is George Bush (1989 to 1993), whose son, George W. Bush, became president in 2000.
Master of Multitasking: Thomas Jefferson
Many consider Thomas Jefferson, shown in Figure 4-2, to be one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. Without any doubt, Jefferson was one of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world. He was not only a politician, but also a philosopher, a diplomat, a scientist, an inventor, and an educator. Without Jefferson, there wouldn’t be a Declaration of Independence or a Louisiana Purchase. Like Washington and Adams, Jefferson truly deserves the title “founding father.”
Figure 4-2: Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States (1801–1809).
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
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