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The Second President of the United States

 * Name -** John Adams Jr.
 * Birth date -** October 30, 1735
 * Death date-** July 4, 1826 at the age of 90
 * Political Party -** Federalist
 * Term as president -** One from 1797 - 1801
 * Vice President -** Thomas Jefferson

John Adams today is mostly known as the second president. He followed George Washington, known as being one of the greatest presidents, which is a hard undertaking in its own. When his term started his was also pressured to join a side in the war between Great Britain and France, but he wisely avoided having to send the still young nation into a situation that could hinder what the Founding Fathers strove for. Adams meshed many of Washington's ideas with his own in a attempt to keep his popularity with the colonists and to make what he envisioned as a great America. He was intelligent, stubborn, and composed man that lead to an honorable yet not exciting presidency. John Adams deserves a B because he did not harm the nation by getting involved too much with foreign affairs, but he passed the Alien and Sedition Acts which lost his popularity because the colonists believed they were unconstitutional. He slowly lost what faith the colonists had in him to be a great leader and therefore was not reelected for a second term.

The main goal even before Adams was president was to ensure that the transition went smoothly so the citizens were confident that their liberties were not being taken for granted. He was the first president to be elected into office and so he wanted to make sure that the Americans believed they made the right decision. He also needed to make sure that the powers between the states and the nation were equal and that the government stayed true to its democracy. He never met all of the citizens expectations, but they all respected what he did for the country during his term.

John Adams never got along well with his congress. He was very stubborn and did not like to compromise his opinions. During his term the Senate and House of Representatives were very supportive and the majority ruled within his political party. In the Senate there were 22 seats taken by the Federalists and only 10 towards the Democratic-Republicans. In the House of Representatives throughout his term there was about 58 seats for the Federalists and about 47 for the Democratic-Republican. The biggest piece of legislation to pass through the congress during Adams presidency was the Alien and Sedition Acts.

When John Adams first became president the United States and France relationship was not as secure as one would hope. So as one of Adams first goals of his presidency was to smooth things between the two countries. He sent three commissioners, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, to France to try and change the alliances between countries. The French government thought that they deserved something for their help to the Americans so they asked the United States for loans and bribes before they would look into the relationship. The United States refused to give in to the French and so they did not work out the alliance. This outraged the citizens of America and eventually led to an undeclared war (the Quasi-War) between France and Britain.

This disagreement was to be known as the XYZ Affair, because when Adams wrote back to the commissioners he did not want to use their names so he used X, Y, and Z instead. As tensions grew between the two countries Adams was urged to form a Navy to protect the American ships. Adams agreed and the Navy, the Department of the Navy, and the Marine Corps were established. The war continued to worsen when French ships attack American ships so Adams asked Washington to be Commander of Armed Forces and sent the U.S. Navy to France. The U.S. ships defeated the French and Adams was applauded for making the corruption in French government visible. The citizens were not thrilled with the way Adams handled the situation, including the hasty treaty they created even though it was geared towards America. With the troubles with France at a halt America controlled most of the ocean.

While under the threat of war with France in 1798, Congress passed what became referred to as the Alien and Sedition Acts which consisted of four laws in an effort to strengthen the Federal government. The first was called the Naturalization Act which required that aliens in America had to be residents for fourteen, instead of five, years before they could become eligible for citizenship. Next came the Alien Act which allowed the removal of aliens who were seen as possibly dangerous to the safety of the country. The third law was the Alien Enemies Act which can permission during wartime to arrest, imprison and deport any aliens to the enemy power. Finally the Sedition Act was passed declaring that any sort of treasonable act including the publication of false statements, was a punishable act and they would receive a fine and possibly be imprisoned. In response to the acts the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were written. They stated that the Federalists believed the acts to be unconstitutional and extended the federal power into the states. These acts ultimately led to Adams not being reelected in 1800.

The most positive outcome from Adams presidency was avoiding the war between Britain and France. This was very difficult due to the relations with the French, but Adams squeezed around that predicament. In 1800 there was a convention called the Convention of 1800 with France that explained that the U.S. could not get involved with the war, but the French wanted supplies. America could not get involved and both sides ended the alliance peacefully. This helped the new America to grow and develop protection and grow.

Another positive outcomes of his presidency was the Judiciary Act. This decreased the amount of time that the judges would remain in the federal and district courts. To fill the now empty spots Adams appointed as many spots as possible with the judges he chose before his term ended. The judges were called "midnight judges" because it is said that they were signed into office on the last night of his term. One position that he appointed was John Marshall as cheif justice. Marshall was a very prominent figure in his career and while chief justice he established judicial review.

One harmful decision that Adams made as President was in keeping Washington's cabinet throughout his term. With Hamilton as the leader it showed how Adams wasn't strong enough to choose his own cabinet. He had faith in this cabinet even though Jefferson and Hamilton never got along very well. It may have made the transition between presidents smoother, but it also was a poor decision because Adams did not always get along with the entire cabinet. Another bad decision would have been the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were truly unconstitutional and did not give the citizens much faith in the democracy. They showed that even the democracy needed to be watched and checked by the people. It made people not trust Adams judgment and that decreased his popularity.

It may seem Adams accomplished a lot in his presidency, but a lot of situations he got out of, he also got into. There were no extensive changes to the government or the country. He was president after Washington who had a lot of influence and came before Jefferson who also accomplish a lot so Adams gets kind of lost in our memories, because he didn't do anything too important or worth mentioning, except for possibly the Alien and Sedition Acts which were not a positive feature of his term.

The country was better off after John Adams was president. He kept the country out of foreign affairs to help it grow and develop which earns him a higher grade, but he also corrupted the democracy that he as one of the Founding Fathers hoped for. He did use a lot of Washington's procedures, but Washington was a great leader and all the presidents since have followed his lead. He was not reelected which shows that by the end of the presidency he was not liked by the majority of the country, but for the deeds that he did accomplish Adams earned the grade of a B.


 * Bibliography:**

"The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 | Early America's Milestone Historic Documents." __Archiving Early America: Primary Source Material from 18th Century America__. 10 Sept. 2009 .

"American President: John Adams." __Miller Center of Public Affairs__. 10 Sept. 2009 .

"Art & History Home Origins & Development Party Division." __U.S. Senate__. 10 Sept. 2009 .

DeGregorio, William A. __The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents__. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.

"Historical Party Strength in U.S. House of Representatives." __U.S. Congress__. 10 Sept. 2009 .