John Adams1797-1801

Michael Catanzaro & Cooper Hawley

Background • Born 10/30/1735 in

Massachusetts • Married Abigail Smith 1764• Very influential pre-

revolutionary/revolutionary involved in discussing and correcting such things as the Stamp Acts and the Townshend Acts

• Published Thoughts of Government in 1776

• Drafted Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Roger Sherman.

• Vice president of George Washington 1788-1796

Important Dates

• 1789 Elected Vice President for George Washington with 34 votes

• 1797 Elected President of the United States

• XYZ affairs 1798

• Alien and Sedition Acts 1798

• Kentucky and Virginia Resolution 1798

• End of Presidency 1801

Vice Presidency

• John Adams was a relatively useless Vice President because George Washington didn’t ask his help on many issues

• As President of the Senate, Adams gave 29 tie-breaking votes, a record that still stands today!

• He was a huge target for critics of the Washington administration

XYZ Affairs• The XYZ Affairs was a diplomatic situation between the French and

Americans• The French seized almost 300 American ships headed for Britain with

goods. • Hamilton and many other Federalists called for war• Adams sent out Charles Cotesworth Pickney, John Marshall, and Elbrige

Gerry to Paris in 1797• The French guards demanded a large bribe to just talk to Talleyrand• This bribe was to help fund the French Wars• The negotiations ended there and the Americans returned home• Jefferson was convinced that the failure was the American correspondents

fault and demanded to see the paperwork• John Adams gave it to him but changed the French guards names to X,Y,

and Z thus giving the affair the name XYZ Affair• This Affair resulted in a war called the Quasi-War

Quasi-War

• The Quasi-War was in 1798 after the XYZ Affairs

• This war was undeclared and was fought completely at sea

• In 1800 the Convention of 1800 was signed and the war was over

• Sadly the news didn’t reach America soon enough to save Adams from losing his second-term election

Alien and Sedition Laws

• These laws were a group of laws regarding immigrants passed in 1798

• Naturalization Act: Increased the required duration of residence for immigrants to become citizens to 14 years. Enacted June 18, 1798 but was repealed in 1802.

• Alien Friends Act: Authorized the president to deport any resident alien that was thought to be dangerous to the peace. Enacted June 25, 1798 with a two year expiration act.

• Alien Enemies Act: Authorized president to deport any resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the US. Enacted July 6, 1798 with no expiration date.

• Sedition Act: Made it a crime to publish writing against the government or its officials. Enacted July 14, 1798 with a three year expiration date

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

• The Kentucky Resolutions were drafted by Vice President Thomas Jefferson. They argued that the government was formed by a compact among the states and that the federal powers were limited to those given to it in the Constitution. In addition, the validity of laws passed by the government under unauthorized powers should be determined by the states. Another resolution, passed by the Kentucky legislature in 1799, called for a formal nullification by the states of any law deemed objectionable.

• The Virginia Resolutions were drawn up by James Madison, later the fourth U.S. president. They also said that states had the right to interfere with any alleged unconstitutional exercise of power by the federal government.

Political Cartoons

Foreign PolicyWhen Adams entered office, he decided that he needed to keep Washington’s policy not getting involved in the French and British war. Because the French helped secure American independence from Britain, they had greater popularity with America. After the Jay Treaty, the French became angry and began to seize many American merchant ships that were trading with the British in what was to became known as the Quasi-War. Adams sent a commission to negotiate an understanding with France. However, Adams urged the Congress to augment the navy and army in case of diplomatic failure.

Domestic PolicyWhen Adams was president he followed Washington's lead in making the presidency the example of republican values, and stressing civic virtue, he was never involved in any scandal. Adams decided to keep the old cabinet, which was controlled by Hamilton, instead of installing his own people. Which is looked upon by some historians as his worst presidential decision. Yet, there are other historians who feel that Adams's decision to keep Washington's cabinet was a statesman-like step to soothe worries about an orderly succession. Adams's combative spirit did not always lend itself to presidential decorum, he always had something to say and sometimes it was not of the classiest taste.

He earns……?

7

Presidential RankJohn Adams, we feel ranks among the top ten of presidents in our country’s history. We ranked him as number 8 on the list of presidents for a number of reason. He established and maintained foreign policy making the United States a larger player in worldly affairs. Also he was involved with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which made clearer distinction of the powers federal and state governing bodies had.

Bibliography

• ”John Adams." Encarta. 19 Oct. 2008 <http://www.encarta.msn.com>.

• "John Adams." Wikipedia. 19 Oct. 2008 <http://www.wikipedia.org>.

• Cohen, Lizabeth, David M. Kennedy, and Thomas A. Bailey. American Pageant. 12th ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.