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//**John Adams**//
Born October 30th, 1735. Died July 4th, 1826. Federalist Terms of Office: March 4th, 1797 - March 4th 1801 Vice President: Thomas Jefferson

John Adams has been regarded in many cases not only a devout patriot, but as a brilliant intellectual. Drawing together all the aspects of his presidency, he deserves a B- for his efforts. Working with an ever growing party of democrats against him, John Adams made difficult choices both politically and personally to do what he thought best for the country. Although there are historians who disagree, Adams miraculously kept peace with France, signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into policy, and developed a navy building America's defenses. With these tasks being slightly infeasible, John Adams handled the situations thrown at him with a cautious but vigorous leadership.

After taking office on March 4th 1797, Adams was already off to a rough start. Many problems arose concerning foreign policy. Colonists and politicians became split between siding with England or France during the French revolution. Some wanting the America's to do both, there were still those that thought they should stay neutral. Adams favored keeping peace with the French despite the hard feelings that were strongly felt by many other parties. However under the circumstances, this decision did make the most sense, even though it was most likely the more difficult option to accomplish. Having to oppose many people who Adam needed on his side, he put aside politics for the well-fare of the country. Considering how young the Americas still were, entering a war without a significant cause to do so could've been a fatal choice for the country. Because of this, it can be sufficiently argued that his decision to do so had the overall most positive outcome for the country because of the lasting positive effect it had, as well as the protection it created. For if they had gone to war with France, the destruction could’ve been permanent and the damage unfixable.

Searching for a way to keep control, the highly controversial Alien and Sedition acts were signed. A hopeless attempt on Adam’s part to restrain the Republican hospitality. The Alien act(s) were put into place as a form of damage control. Giving the president the power and ability to remove any foreigner who was thought to be dangerous to the country. The Sedition act made it a punishable crime to publish "false, scandalous, or malicious writing" against any form of the government or its officers. Although it has been noted that these acts were virtually never enforced, the resentment it created throughout the American people towards Adams was unfixable. Making these acts the worst action done on Adam’s part, not because the idea itself was such a negative one, but because the reaction of the colonists and the dislike that grew between Adams and important political members. Ultimately resulting in costing Adams the next presidential election.

Although still diligently working to avoid a war with France, Adams once again put aside the popular vote and chose the best choice for the fate of the country, this one being the building of America’s navy. Built to defend and attack French privateers, the navy originally consisted of four ships built top of the line for the time. They did serve their purpose and after only two years of the navy’s official establishment it had grown to support 49 vessels. Even though this decision was a positive one on Adam’s part, it did come with its downsides. Those being the funding for the country’s military expenses. Coming directly from the colonist’s pockets through taxes however, it made the decision an un-popular one.

Having been elected during the time where the terms Republican and Democrat-Republican were used interchangeably, John Adam’s popularity steadily decreased through congress as his presidency progressed. As the Republican views became more specific, Adams began losing his popularity votes by making choices that, reflected on now, could be considered more “smart” rather than “popular.” Facing difficult decisions where opposing members of his own Federalist Party wasn’t favorable; realistically it turned out to be correct. Weather this was the right decision to make or not will timelessly be debatable. Also, as election time drew around again Adams had nearly everything working against his favor. Although the popular dislike of the Alien and Sedition acts could have been enough for him to lose his re-election chances, Aaron Burr actively campaigned negatively against Adams, consequently helping Jefferson to rise in the favorable hand. Resulting in Jefferson winning the election, and John Adams retiring.

One of the decisions Adams made that had the biggest influence on the people of future generations, is the development of the navy. To the people today, the navy is something that is in a sense, taken for-granted. Viewed as something that has always been around, but in actuality is something that all the people of America have benefited from. Adams foresight to create this has resulted in numerous positives for the country. The major one being that the country now had a stronger built independence from Britain. John Adams gave the America’s the ability to defend their selves.

Pulling everything together, I think that the country truly was better off at the end of Adams term. Although he made decisions that were not regarded as popular, he also didn’t make many choices that directly resulted in a negative consequence. Because of this, Adam’s deserves a solid B when ranked for presidency, for his insightfulness to the future of the country, as well as his ability to maintain control under such heavy political pressure.

Bibliography:

"Adams, John (1735–1826)."//Encyclopedia of the American Constitution//. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst, eds. 2nd ed. 6 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. [|http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/].

"John Adams Biography". History Empire. February 4, 2010 <[]

"The Presidency of John Adams". Digital History. February 4, 2010 <[]

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