John Adams

Birth-Death: (1735 - 1826 ) Term: (1797-1801 )

During his presidency John Adams encountered a divided nation. The Federalists were actively fighting the Democratic-Republicans in every aspect of the nation: the tariffs, power of the Federal government, freedom of speech and others. Adams successfully avoided a split of the new nation.

Domestic Events of John Adams

    The new nation was already splitting up by the time John Adams accepted the presidency. The country was divided evenly between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists (Democratic Republicans). The Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton were in support of stronger national (federal) government, while the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, advocated states' rights. The election of 1796 showed the division inside the nation: John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson by only 3 electoral votes.

    John Adams was fully aware of his narrow victory and he sought political harmony. He tried to compromise with Jefferson while maintaining the support from the Hamiltonians that put him in power. Both of these objectives were difficult by themselves, and together they were almost impossible to attain.

    Trying to achieve his goals of stabilizing the nation and keeping it on the course towards democracy, John Adams found it impossible to avoid partisan politics. When the Democratic-Republicans began to criticize John Adams for the military build up over the conflict with France, he issued the Alien and Sedition Acts to stop government criticism and interference during this critical period. The more important Sedition Acts provided imprisonment and fines for criticism of officers of federal government. These Acts prompted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. In these resolutions, the states declared the above acts null and void because the government has exceeded its power. These were the first doctrines of States Rights.

    Overall, the domestic aspect of John Adams' presidency was filled with conflicts between the two major political parties of this time. He was not very successful in his actions. However, the country remained on its democratic course and major revolutions were avoided.