John adams biography political polls

He valued no one's opinion half as much as his own—except for that of his wife, Abigail. As an active party politician who nevertheless distrusted factionalism and many Federalist leaders, such as Alexander Hamilton, Adams seems to have been hopelessly out of place in the partisan-style Republic that he had helped bring to life. Much of Adams's isolation reflected a well-conceived value system in which he believed that the executive branch should stand above politics.

He viewed the legislature as subject to corruption and thus refused to work with it on a close basis. He prided himself on never giving into public opinion that conflicted with his principles. Adams counted himself among those natural aristocrats who were born for leadership because of their superior reason and virtue. In this sense, he distrusted the people and feared majority rule.

Adams believed that the danger to American society in came not from excessive authority but from conflict and anarchy. Adams's elite republicanism stood in stark contrast to the more egalitarian Jeffersonian democracy that was poised to assume power in the new century. On the other hand, most historians agree that Adams was correct in not expanding the naval war with France into an all-out conflict.

Adams favored the style of Highness as well as the title of Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties for the president. Adams said that the distinctions were necessary because the highest office of the United States must be marked with "dignity and splendor". He was widely derided for his combative nature and stubbornness, especially as he actively debated and lectured the senators.

Maclay became Adams's fiercest opponent and repeatedly expressed personal contempt for him in public and private. He likened Adams to "a monkey just put into breeches. President " would be used. Washington quietly expressed his displeasure with the fuss. As vice president, Adams largely sided with the Washington administration and the emerging Federalist Party.

He supported Washington's policies against opposition from anti-Federalist Republicans. In the Senate, Adams cast a tie-breaking vote against a last-minute motion to keep the capital in New York. Adams played a minor role in politics as vice president. He attended few cabinet meetings, and the President sought his counsel infrequently.

Toward the end of his first term, he grew accustomed to a marginal role, and rarely intervened in debate. Franklin's electrical Rod smote the Earth and out sprung General Washington. That Franklin electrified him with his Rod — and henceforth these two conducted all the Policy, Negotiations, Legislatures and War. His strongest challenger, George Clinton , had On July 14, , the French Revolution began.

Republicans were jubilant. Adams at first expressed cautious optimism, but soon began denouncing the revolutionaries as barbarous and tyrannical. When he returned in with a peace treaty on terms unfavorable to the United States, Adams urged Washington to sign it to prevent war. Washington did so, igniting protests and riots. He was accused of surrendering American honor to a tyrannical monarchy and of turning his back on the French Republic.

The election was the first contested American presidential election. As in the previous two presidential elections, no candidates were put forward for voters to choose between in The Constitution provided for the selection of electors who would then choose a president. In the remaining nine states, they were chosen by the state's legislature.

Federalist members of Congress held an informal nominating caucus and named Adams and Thomas Pinckney as their candidates. The practice of not campaigning for office would persist for decades. As the campaign progressed, fears grew among Hamilton and his supporters that Adams was too vain, opinionated, unpredictable and stubborn to follow their directions.

He had remarked that Hamilton's economic program, centered around banks, would "swindle" the poor and unleash the "gangrene of avarice. He coerced South Carolina Federalist electors, pledged to vote for " favorite son " Pinckney, to scatter their second votes among candidates other than Adams. Hamilton's scheme was undone when several New England state electors heard of it and agreed not to vote for Pinckney.

He made derogatory references to his womanizing, real or alleged, and slurred him as the " Creole bastard. Adams won the presidency by a narrow margin, receiving 71 electoral votes to 68 for Jefferson, who became the vice president; Pinckney finished third with 59 votes, and Burr came fourth with The balance of the votes were dispersed among nine other candidates.

Adams was sworn into office as the nation's second president on March 4, He followed Washington's lead in using the presidency to exemplify republican values and civic virtue , and his service was free of scandal. He ignored the political patronage and office-seeking which other officeholders utilized. Historians debate the wisdom of his decision to retain Washington's cabinet given its loyalty to Hamilton.

The "Hamiltonians who surround him," Jefferson remarked, "are only a little less hostile to him than to me. Shortly after Adams was inaugurated, Hamilton sent him a detailed letter with policy suggestions. Adams dismissively ignored it. Historian Joseph Ellis writes that "[t]he Adams presidency was destined to be dominated by a single question of American policy to an extent seldom if ever encountered by any succeeding occupant of the office.

Hamilton and the Federalists strongly favored the British monarchy against what they denounced as the political radicalism and anti-religious frenzy of the French Revolution. Jefferson and the Republicans, with their firm opposition to monarchy, strongly supported the French overthrowing their king. Because of the Jay Treaty, the French saw America as Britain's junior partner and began seizing American merchant ships that were trading with the British.

Most Americans were still pro-French due to France's assistance during the Revolution, the perceived humiliation of the Jay Treaty, and their desire to support a republic against the British monarchy, and would not tolerate war with France. On May 16, , Adams gave a speech to the House and Senate in which he called for increasing defense capabilities in case of war with France.

The speech was well received by the Federalists. Adams was depicted as an eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and the "emblems of defense" in the other. The Republicans were outraged, for Adams not only had failed to express support for the cause of the French Republic but appeared to be calling for war against it. Sentiments changed with the XYZ Affair.

John adams biography political polls

Letombe wrote to Paris stating that Jefferson had told him that it was in France's best interest to treat the American ministers civilly but "then drag out the negotiations at length" to arrive at most favorable solution. According to Letombe, Jefferson called Adams "vain, suspicious, and stubborn. The diplomats were then met by three of Talleyrand's agents later code-named, X, Y, and Z , who refused to conduct negotiations unless the United States paid enormous bribes to France and to Talleyrand personally.

News of the disastrous peace mission arrived in a memorandum from Marshall on March 4, Adams, not wanting to incite violent impulses among the populace, announced that the mission had failed without providing details. The Republicans frustrated the President's defense measures. Suspecting that he might be hiding material favorable to France, Republicans in the House, with the support of Federalists who had heard rumors of what was contained in the messages, voted overwhelmingly to demand that Adams release the papers.

Once they were released, the Republicans, according to Abigail, were "struck dumb. Among the general public however, the affair substantially weakened popular American support of France. Adams reached the height of his popularity as many in the country called for full-scale war against the French. Federalists accused the French and their immigrants of provoking civil unrest.

In an attempt to quell the outcry, the Federalists introduced, and the Congress passed, a series of laws collectively referred to as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Sedition Act made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or its officials. The administration initiated fourteen or more indictments under the Sedition Act, as well as suits against five of the six most prominent Republican newspapers.

The majority of the legal actions began in and , and went to trial on the eve of the presidential election. Jefferson, disgusted by the acts, wrote nothing publicly but partnered with Madison to secretly draft the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. Jefferson wrote for Kentucky that states had the "natural right" to nullify any acts they deemed unconstitutional.

Writing to Madison, he speculated that as a last resort the states might have to "sever ourselves from the union we so much value. An increase in attacks on sea marked the beginning of the undeclared naval war known as the Quasi-War. He pursued a strategy whereby America harassed French ships in an effort sufficient to stem the French assaults on American interests.

The prospect of a French invasion led for calls to build up the army. Hamilton and other "High Federalists" were particularly adamant that a large army be called up, in spite of a common fear, particularly among Republicans, that large standing armies were subversive to liberty. In May, a provisional army of 10, soldiers was authorized by Congress.

In July, Congress created twelve infantry regiments and provided for six cavalry companies, exceeding Adams's requests but falling short of Hamilton's. Federalists pressured Adams to appoint Hamilton, who had served as Washington's aide-de-camp during the Revolution, to command the army. As a condition of his acceptance, Washington demanded that he be permitted to appoint his own subordinates.

McHenry put forth his opinion that Washington would not serve unless permitted to choose his own officers. Washington's list consisted entirely of Federalists. Adams intended to give to Hamilton the lowest possible rank, while Washington and many other Federalists insisted that the order in which the names had been submitted to the Senate must determine seniority.

On September 21, Adams received a letter from McHenry relaying a statement from Washington threatening to resign if Hamilton were not made second-in-command. It quickly became apparent that due to Washington's advanced age, Hamilton was the army's de facto commander. He exerted effective control over the War Department, taking over supplies for the army.

The Quasi-War continued, but there was a decline in war fever beginning in the fall once news arrived of the French defeat at the Battle of the Nile , which many Americans hoped would make them more disposed to negotiate. That December in his address to Congress, Adams relayed these statements while expressing the need to maintain adequate defenses.

The speech angered both Federalists, including Hamilton, many of whom had wanted a request for a declaration of war, and Republicans. Hamilton's critics, including Abigail, saw in his military buildups the signs of an aspiring military dictator. On February 18, , Adams nominated diplomat William Vans Murray for a peace mission to France without consulting either his cabinet or Abigail, who nonetheless upon hearing of it described it as a "master stroke.

Henry declined the nomination and Adams chose William Richardson Davie to replace him. Adams again questioned their loyalty but did not remove them. He returned to Trenton, where the government had set up temporary quarters due to the yellow fever epidemic, after a letter arrived from Talleyrand confirming that American ministers would be received.

Adams then decided to send the commissioners to France. On November 15, the commissioners set sail for Paris. Direct taxation by the federal government was widely unpopular, and the government's revenue under Washington had mostly come from excise taxes and tariffs. Though Washington had maintained a balanced budget with the help of a growing economy, increased military expenditures threatened to cause major budget deficits, and the Federalists developed a taxation plan to meet the need for increased government revenue.

Taxpayers in eastern Pennsylvania resisted federal tax collectors, and in March the bloodless Fries's Rebellion broke out. Led by Revolutionary War veteran John Fries , rural German-speaking farmers protested what they saw as a threat to their liberties. They intimidated tax collectors, who often found themselves unable to go about their business.

Fries and two other leaders were arrested, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to hang. They appealed to Adams requesting a pardon. The cabinet unanimously advised Adams to refuse, but he instead granted the pardon, arguing the men had instigated a mere riot as opposed to a rebellion. On May 5, , Adams's frustrations with the Hamilton wing of the party exploded during a meeting with McHenry, a Hamilton loyalist who was universally regarded, even by Hamilton, as an inept Secretary of War.

Adams accused him of subservience to Hamilton and declared that he would rather serve as Jefferson's vice president or minister at The Hague than be beholden to Hamilton for the presidency. McHenry offered to resign at once, and Adams accepted. On May 10, he asked Pickering to resign. Pickering refused and was summarily dismissed. Napoleon, determining that further conflict was pointless, signaled his readiness for friendly relations.

By the Convention of , the two sides agreed to return any captured ships and to allow for the peaceful transfer of non-military goods to an enemy of the nation. On January 23, , the Senate voted 16—14 in favor of the treaty, four votes short of the necessary two thirds. Some Federalists, including Hamilton, urged that the Senate vote in favor of the treaty with reservations.

A new proposal was then drawn up demanding that the Treaty of Alliance of be superseded and that France pay for its damages to American property. On February 3, the treaty with the reservations passed 22—9 and was signed by Adams. As president, Adams proudly avoided war, but deeply split his party in the process. Historian Ron Chernow writes that "the threat of Jacobinism " was the one thing that united the Federalist Party, and that Adams's elimination of it unwittingly contributed to the party's demise.

Adams's leadership on naval defense has sometimes led him to be called the "father of the American Navy. Adams made his first official visit to the nation's new seat of government in early June Amid the "raw and unfinished" cityscape, the President found the public buildings "in a much greater forwardness of completion than expected. Abigail arrived a few weeks later.

On arrival, Adams wrote to her, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof. With the Federalist Party deeply split over his negotiations with France, and the opposition Republican Party enraged over the Alien and Sedition Acts and the expansion of the military, Adams faced a daunting reelection campaign in The Republicans nominated Jefferson and Burr, their candidates in the previous election.

The campaign was bitter and characterized by malicious insults by partisan presses on both sides. Federalists claimed that the Republicans were the enemies of "all who love order, peace, virtue, and religion. Jefferson's rumored affairs with slaves were used against him. Republicans accused Federalists of subverting republican principles through punitive federal laws and of favoring Britain and the other coalition countries in their war with France to promote aristocratic, anti-republican values.

Jefferson was portrayed as an apostle of liberty and man of the people, while Adams was labelled a monarchist. He was accused of insanity and marital infidelity. Callender , a Republican propagandist secretly financed by Jefferson, degraded Adams's character and accused him of attempting to make war with France. Callender was arrested and jailed under the Sedition Act, which further inflamed Republican passions.

Opposition from the Federalist Party was at times equally intense. Some, including Pickering, accused Adams of colluding with Jefferson so that he would end up either president or vice president. Planning an indictment of Adams's character, he requested and received private documents from both the ousted cabinet secretaries and Wolcott. Upon seeing a draft, several Federalists urged Hamilton not to send it.

Wolcott wrote that "the poor old man" could do himself in without Hamilton's assistance. Hamilton did not heed their advice. Hamilton denounced the "precipitate nomination" of Murray, the pardoning of Fries, and the firing of Pickering. He vilified the President's "disgusting egotism" and "ungovernable temper. When the electoral votes were counted, Adams finished third with 65 votes, and Pinckney came in fourth with 64 votes.

Jefferson and Burr tied for first with 73 votes each. Because of the tie, the election devolved upon the House of Representatives, with each state having one vote and a majority required for victory. On February 17, — on the 36th ballot — Jefferson was elected by a vote of 10 to 4 two states abstained. To compound the agony of his defeat, Adams's son Charles, a long-time alcoholic, died on November Anxious to rejoin Abigail, who had already left for Massachusetts, Adams departed the White House in the predawn hours of March 4, , and did not attend Jefferson's inauguration.

Adams appointed two U. At the time, it was not yet certain whether Jefferson or Burr would win the election. Regardless, Adams believed that the choice should be someone "in the full vigor of middle age" who could counter what might be a long line of successive Republican presidents. Adams chose his Secretary of State John Marshall. He maintained a carefully reasoned nationalistic interpretation of the Constitution and established the judicial branch as the equal of the executive and legislative branches.

After the Federalists lost control of both houses of Congress along with the White House in the election of , the lame-duck session of the 6th Congress in February approved a judiciary act, commonly known as the Midnight Judges Act , which created a set of federal appeals courts between the district courts and the Supreme Court. Adams filled the vacancies created in this statute by appointing a series of judges, whom his opponents called the "Midnight Judges", just days before his term expired.

Most of these judges lost their posts when the 7th Congress , with a solid Republican majority, approved the Judiciary Act of , abolishing the newly created courts. Adams resumed farming at Peacefield in Quincy, Massachusetts , and also began work on an autobiography. The work had numerous gaps and was eventually abandoned and left unedited.

Adams generally stayed quiet on public matters. He did not publicly denounce Jefferson's actions as president, believing that "instead of opposing Systematically any Administration, running down their Characters and opposing all their Measures right or wrong, We ought to Support every Administration as far as We can in Justice. Shortly thereafter, both he and his father crossed party lines to support Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase.

Warren, an old friend, had written a history of the American Revolution attacking Adams for his "partiality for monarchy" and "pride of talents and much ambition. In time, their friendship healed. After the Federalists denounced John Quincy as no longer being of their party, Adams wrote to him that he himself had long since "abdicated and disclaimed the name and character and attributes of that sect.

After Jefferson's retirement in , Adams became more vocal. He published a three-year marathon of letters in the Boston Patriot newspaper, refuting line-by-line Hamilton's pamphlet. The initial piece was written shortly after his return from Peacefield and "had gathered dust for eight years. Although Hamilton had died in in a duel with Aaron Burr , Adams felt the need to vindicate his character against his charges.

With John Quincy having broken from the Federalist Party and joined the Republicans, he felt that he could safely do so without threatening his political career. Having worried over the rise of sectionalism, he celebrated the growth of a "national character" that accompanied it. Adams's daughter Abigail "Nabby" was married to William Stephens Smith , but she returned to her parents' home after the failure of the marriage; she died of breast cancer in In early , Adams sent Thomas Jefferson a brief note wishing him a happy and prosperous presidency.

Jefferson failed to respond, and they did not speak again for nearly 12 years. In , Abigail, unbeknownst to her husband, wrote to Jefferson to express her condolences upon the death of his daughter Polly , who had stayed with the Adamses in London in This initiated a brief correspondence between the two which quickly descended into political rancor.

Jefferson terminated it by not replying to Abigail's fourth letter. Aside from that, by there had been no communication between Monticello , the home of Jefferson, and Peacefield since Adams left office. In early , Adams reconciled with Jefferson. The previous year had been tragic for Adams; his brother-in-law and friend Richard Cranch had died along with his widow Mary, and Nabby had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

These events mellowed Adams and caused him to soften his outlook. Jefferson replied immediately with a cordial letter, and the two revived their friendship, which they sustained by mail. Their correspondence lasted the rest of their lives, and has been hailed as among their great legacies of American literature. Their letters represent an insight into both the period and the minds of the two revolutionary leaders and presidents.

The missives lasted fourteen years, and consisted of letters — from Adams and 49 from Jefferson. Early on, Adams repeatedly tried to turn the correspondence to a discussion of their actions in the political arena. Adams accepted this, and the correspondence turned to other matters, particularly philosophy and their daily habits.

As the two grew older, the letters grew fewer and farther between. There was also important information that each man kept to himself. Jefferson said nothing about his construction of a new house, domestic turmoil, slave ownership, or poor financial situation, while Adams did not mention the troublesome behavior of his son Thomas, who had failed as a lawyer and become an alcoholic, resorting afterwards to living primarily as a caretaker at Peacefield.

Abigail died of typhoid on October 28, , at Peacefield. The Marquis de Lafayette toured the country and met with Adams, who greatly enjoyed Lafayette's visit to Peacefield. The results became official in February after a deadlock was decided in the House of Representatives. He remarked, "No man who ever held the office of President would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.

On July 4, , the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Adams died of a heart attack at Peacefield at approximately pm. During the First Continental Congress, Adams was sometimes solicited for his views on government. While recognizing its importance, Adams had privately criticized Thomas Paine 's pamphlet Common Sense , which attacked all forms of monarchy, even constitutional monarchy of the sort advocated by John Locke.

It supported a unicameral legislature and a weak executive elected by the legislature. According to Adams, the author had "a better hand at pulling down than building. So impressed was Richard Henry Lee that, with Adams's consent, he had the most comprehensive letter printed. Published anonymously in April , it was titled Thoughts on Government and styled as "a Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend.

Adams advised that the form of government should be chosen to attain the desired ends — the happiness and virtue of the greatest number of people. He wrote, "There is no good government but what is republican. Adams was raised in modest but comfortable surrounding in Braintree, MA. He would go on to attend Harvard College where he would receive a Bachelors of Arts.

This would lead him to start his professional career as a teacher. By , Adams career shifted to law, and his engagement in public policy was on the rise. In he had published various essays under a pseudonym to help present an anonymous point of view on subjects of the day. His first real foray into politics came in when he publicly opposed the Stamp Act of As the new colonies began to demand their freedom, Adams public profile grew with it.

George III. Martha Washington. Political Career Adams quickly became identified with the patriot cause, initially as the result of his opposition to the Stamp Act of His son, John Quincy Adams, was the nation's sixth president. Industries Journalism and Nonfiction Law U. The other presidential father-son pair is George H. Bush and George W. John Adams and his rival died on the same day, July 4, This was also the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams was the first U. Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people. People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity. The balance of power in a society accompanies the balance of property in land. Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge.

Let us dare to read, think, speak and write. I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth. We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial. What will be the consequence, I know not.

I cannot but wish I were better qualified. Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right. Gentlemen, I feel a great difficulty how to act.