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 __** John Adams **__//Born: October 30, 1735 Died: July 4, 1826 Political Party: Federalist Term of Office: March 4, 1797-March 4, 1801 Vice President: Thomas Jefferson//

As the favored successor of George Washington, John Adams had very big shoes to fill. Not only was he held to very high expectations, but he was also burdened with the threat of war with France and the ongoing issues with Britain. Ultimately, John Adams made the right decisions to take care of the task at hand and for that reason he deserves a **B-**. ​  John Adams had very few goals for his presidency, one being his vow to enforce the stong central government that was established by George Washington. Adams believed that government should be left to the so called "pros" or the politicians because he distrusted the government in the hands of the masses. He also wanted to patch up foreign affairs with France, despite the colonists overall desire for war. Many of his goals and decisions were actually against the opinions of his own administration. John Adams proved that he wouldn't make his decision based off of what the people wanted, but rather he would make his decision based off of what would better the new nation as a whole. Adams ultimately achieved his goal in 1800 due to the XYZ Affair. Though his decisions may not have been very popular with the people he achieved his goals and therefore had a rather successful presidency. ​ Adams was a man of foreign policy and in turn left most of the domestic affairs to congress. John Adams was said to have some of the most diplomatic experience when compared to any American, so he therefore combined his foreign and domestic policy. With a Federalist-dominated Congress Adams had support on the majority of his acts or laws that he wanted to be put into effect. One of the many Acts that was signed into law was the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and they also approved of the XYZ Affairs. Another act passed was the Logan Act, after Dr. George Logan from Pennsylvania started negotiations with French officials without the authorization or approval from the government. This act was passed in 1799 to outlaw private diplomacy and is still in effect till this day. In July of 1798 Adams approved the levying of federal taxes on property later pardon John Fries and his group of rebels who were facing conviction of treason after using armed resistance against tax collectors. Overall John Adams relationship with Congress was rather sound and supportive.  John Adams' most effective and positive action would have to be the XYZ Affair. The XYZ Affairs was established to make amends with France and in turn set-up a long lasting peace agreement. Relations with France had gone sour during George Washington's presidency due to his pro-British foreign policy. Adams feared that war was a foot so in 1797 he sent Charles Cotesworth Pickney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry to Paris to in hope of finally settling the dispute between countries, but sadly they failed. Instead their Prime Minister Talleyrand sent Bellamy, Hauteval, and Hottinguer to the states to ask for $250,000 bribe. After the document was released with X,Y,and Z taking the place of the French agents names the Americans turned on the French. Fighting ensued, but Adams never declared an official war against France. Instead he tried to establish peace once more, but this time he succeeded. In 1799 he sent Patrick Henry, William Vans Murray, and Oliver Ellsworth to Paris and under the Convention 0f 1800 France finally accepted the U.S. neutrality rights at sea and cleared the Americas of its debt from the previous revolution. In return the United States named French its "most-favored-nation" as a trading partner.

John Adams' action with the most negative outcome would have to be the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. The Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four bills designed to crush opposition. They were the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, the Alien Enemies Act, and the Sedition Act. The Naturalization Act made it very difficult for immigrants to become citizens, where as the Alien Act was used to specifically rid the nation of the blatant pro-Republican immigrants and it also allowed the president to deport any alien that was considered dangerous. The Alien Enemies Act which was mainly directed at the French authorized the president to imprison any enemy alien during a war, while the Sedition Act threatened citizens with a fine or imprisonment if one was caught writing or speaking of scandalous things against the government. The problem with the Alien and Sedition Acts was that it interfered with the freedom of press and angered many of the French immigrants and the Jeffersonians in the Americas. The Acts also "kicked the Democratic-Republican opposition into high gear." This sparked the organization of the Democratic-Republicans into a true opposition party and they began fighting for various officer positions such as the Speaker of the House. Due to added conflict the Naturalization Act was repealed in 1802, while the other three acts that were only set in place for two years lapsed in 1800.

One decision that John Adams and his administration made that influenced the lives of people in future generations was the appointment of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. John Marshall is known as the best Chief Justice in the history of the United States. He was credited for saving "the Court from lapsing into a vestigial third branch of the government", but rather turned it into a vital player in the checks and balances. He also strengthened the courts influence by creating a system where only one jurist had to speak for the whole when the court disagreed. He was also responsible for creating two of the most important decisions that were ever handed down. In the case of //Marbury v. Madison// he established judicial review or the right of the Supreme Court to call certain acts of Congress unconstitutional. In the case of //McCulloch v. Maryland// he upheld the "constitutionality" of the Bank of the United States under the implied powers that are given to Congress under the Constitution. This also led to the liberal social welfare legislation of the twentieth century. Along with John Marshall being the greatest Chief Justice, he was also the last leading Federalist to be in power.

Concisely, John Adams was an overall great president who bettered the Americas despite the difficult situations that he was placed in. He is said to be the Atlas of Independence and is "The man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independency." In spite of being urged by not only the masses, but by his very own administration to go to war with France he remained dedicated to his goal for peace between the once aligned countries. He ultimately did what was best for the nation rather than what would make the people like him and in turn achieved his goal of making peace terms with France and for that main reason John Adams deserves a **B-** for his presidency.

__Works Cited__

"The Adams Presidency: 1797–1800." //Spark Notes//. Spark Notes, 2010. Web. 3 Feb. 2010. [].

DeGregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. 7th ed. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade, 2009. Print.

"John Adams (1735 - 1826)." //American President an Online Reference Resource//. Miller Center of Public Affairs, 2009. Web. 3 Feb. 2010. [].