John+-+JA

(October 30,1975- July 4, 1826) Political Party - Federalist Term of Office - 1797- 1801 Vice President - Thomas Jefferson
 * John Adams**

In general, John Adams was simply an average president. Judging by his few accomplishments, he probably could have done better, but he also could’ve done a lot worse. John Adams is being given a C- for his fair, at best, presidency. One of the more obvious goals of John Adams was to avoid, and eventually end, the “Quasi-War” with France. He also had the nearly impossible goal of living up to the well-known name of the previous president, George Washington. The first goal succeeded to a certain extent. The Convention of 1800 with France helped to end the “Quasi-War,” but it left him politically unpopular with the American citizens. As for reaching the metaphorical bar set unreachably high by Washington, John Adams didn’t come close. Although John Adams was a Federalist, his vice president, Thomas Jefferson, was a Democratic-Republican. The majority of the American Congress was made up of Federalists. However, John Adams chose to keep Washington’s Cabinet rather than choosing his own, so his connections with them were not as strong as they could have been. During his presidency, John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Judiciary Act. John Adams did not accomplish very much during his single term as president. That being said, he did have one good accomplishment. During France’s war with Britain, France seized American trade ships heading to Britain. Instead of going to war, Adams sent a peace delegation to France. However, three French agents, known as the X, Y & Z agents, demanded a large cash bribe, a tremendous loan, and a formal apology from Adams. When Adams refused to meet the demands, the undeclared Quasi-War of 1798 began. Yet, with the Convention of 1800, Adams was able to quickly resolve the problem. This was not a very large achievement, at least as compared to the dreadful failure of the Alien and Sedition Acts. These four acts extended the required residence for citizenship to 14 years, allowed Adams to deport any alien that was declared “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United Sates” (mainly French), allowed Adams to deport aliens whose home countries were at war with the U.S., and made it a crime to publish offensive materials against the U.S. government. The majority of these laws were unconstitutional, and later revoked. These acts cause Adams to be seen as a failure in the eyes of many. If any decision made by John Adams affects current times, it would be the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act was enacted July 14, 1798, making it the latest of the four Alien and Sedition Acts. Of all the four acts, the Sedition Act was the most unconstitutional, directly going against the first amendment. It destroyed the rights of free speech and freedom of the press, which continue to be the most known and referred to amendments to this day. Although it was revoked in 1801, the Sedition Act is still a perfect example of what the president is not allowed to do. In the end, the country was not much different than it was when Adams started his term. In fact, if anything, America turned out just a tiny bit worse once Adams was through with it. John Adams deserves a C- for being a completely average, or possibly a little below average, president. While he didn’t help America very much at all, he didn’t hurt it as bad as he could have.

Works Cited

“John Adams (1735-1826)“ Miller Center of Public Affairs. 2008. University of Virginia. 9 September 2008. 

“John Adams.” Brittanica. 2008. Encyclopedia Brittanica Inc. 10 September 2008. 

“John Adams.” The White House. Washington. 9 September 2008. 