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John Adams
John Adams' Presidency
The legacy of John Adams is so
much more than the
accomplishments and failings of his
presidency! Before Adams was
President of the United States,
before he was vice president, he was
one of the driving forces behind the
revolution.
Adams' fiery and quite blunt
passion as a patriot was of
unquestionable importance. He
was a mentor to THOMAS
JEFFERSON, although they
became major political rivals.
He knew, or at least was advised by his
wife Abigail, to temper his direct and
abrasive style by utilizing the skills of
others, such as Jefferson, for tasks which
required an eloquence he did not possess.
In this lesson, we'll look at the most
lasting actions of Adams' presidency: his
handling of the XYZ affair, the Alien and
Sedition Acts, and the Midnight
Appointments.
The XYZ Affair
The signing of the Jay Treaty that
averted war with England and settled
issues with the Treaty of Paris, which
had ended the Revolutionary War,
actually angered a lot of Americans and
Europeans. Many Americans saw the
treaty as a humiliating surrender to the
British. French leaders saw it as a step
toward the U.S. allying with the British,
which was a breach of the 1778 treaty
between France and the U.S.
John Adams took office in 1797, and he
walked into dealing with several issues
left by President Washington, including
difficult dealings with France - our most
important ally! Because of the Jay
Treaty with England, French forces
began attacking American ships. In an
attempt to set things right with France
and make the seas safe again for
American ships, President Adams sent
three commissioners to France:
Charles Pinckney, who was the
United States minister to France
and had negotiated the Treaty of
San Lorenzo with Spain; John
Marshall, a lawyer from Virginia
and future Supreme Court
Justice; and Elbridge Gerry,
future Vice President under
James Madison.
When the three commissioners
arrived in France, they weren't
exactly welcomed through the
official channels to begin
negotiations. Instead, they were met
by three agents of the Foreign
Minister Talleyrand. Instead of
giving their names in their official
report, the commissioners labeled
these men X, Y, and Z - hence the
scandal's name.
The agents demanded a $250,000
bribe to meet with Talleyrand
and a $12,000,000 loan! At the
time, bribes in politics were
normal, but this was ridiculous.
Pinckney's response to the men
was, 'No, no, not a sixpence!'
The commissioners' report to
Congress was made public, and
Americans were irate! Even the
Democratic-Republicans, who
had staunchly supported the
French, were supporting the
rallying cry: 'Millions for
defense, but not one cent for
tribute.'
Many people wanted war,
especially Adams' fellow
Federalists, but President Adams
refused to declare war. Instead,
he emphasized the importance of
building up the military.
Congress stopped trade with France,
dropped the alliance with France,
tripled the size of the army, and
commissioned the building of 40
ships for the newly created
department of the Navy. The newly
built-up military needed strong
leadership, so President Adams got
President Washington to come out of
retirement to lead the American
military once again.
The newly created Navy, along
with some American privateers,
went ahead and made shipping a
nightmare for the French. In
1798 and 1799, Americans seized
almost 90 ships!
The XYZ Affair shows Adams at his
finest. It shows his willingness to do what
he felt was right for the country instead
of merely what was more important for
his party. ALEXANDER HAMILTON
was leading the Federalists' push to war,
but President Adams stuck to his guns
and did not succumb to his party's
pressure. He was convinced that war
with France would lead to a civil war for
the States.
And, it turned out, war wasn't
necessary. What has been called
the Quasi-War had been enough,
and Talleyrand was ready to talk.
He invited the U.S. back to
negotiate; however, by the time
the Americans arrived to
negotiate, Napoleon had come to
power in France.
He immediately cut ties with the
U.S. to focus on his own agenda.
Had President Adams not held
the states back from war, it is
quite possible that the Louisiana
Purchase would not have come to
be in 1803!
The Alien and Sedition Acts
For every finest hour, there has to be
a darkest - the Alien and Sedition
Acts. Following the French
Revolution and the States' 'quasiwar' with France, partisan tensions
were high. The Federalists were in
control of Congress, and Adams was
president. Democratic-Republicans
in some states were refusing to
enforce federal laws.
There were even some calls for
secession. Some began to fear
something like the French
Revolution spreading to the states.
Some Federalists feared anarchy.
Others feared losing power, but it led
to the Federalist-controlled Congress
passing the Alien and Sedition Acts,
which were signed into law by
President Adams.
Many Federalists saw this all as
having been caused by French
and French-sympathizing
immigrants. The acts were meant
to guard against this threat of
anarchy.
The Alien and Sedition Acts were
a group of four bills passed:
- The Naturalization Act, which extended
the amount of time a person had to
reside in the states before they could
become a citizen from 5 to 14 years.
- The Alien Act, which authorized the
president to deport any resident alien
considered 'dangerous to the peace and
safety of the United States.' This act had
a two year expiration date.
- The Alien Enemies Act, which
authorized the president to
apprehend and deport resident
aliens if their home countries were at
war with the United States of
America. At the time, war was
considered likely between the U.S.
and France. The act is actually still
technically intact today as U.S. Code
50, sections 21-24.
- Lastly, the Sedition Act, which
made it a crime to publish 'false,
scandalous, and malicious
writing' against the government
or certain officials. It had an
expiration date of March 3, 1801,
which happened to coincide with
the day before President Adams'
term was to end.
Obviously, just a couple of decades
earlier, the people of the United
States had fought a war in the name
of freedom and the rights of
individuals. These acts were an
affront to everything the revolution
was about. Even though there were
real fears to be defended against,
this was unacceptable in the U.S.
The Alien and Sedition Acts are one
of the major factors in President
Adams not winning a second term
and are a stain on his legacy. If it
weren't for the Alien and Sedition
Acts, maybe Adams would have a
monument like Jefferson's in D.C.
After all, Adams was Jefferson's
mentor before he became his
political rival.
Adams' Lasting Legacy
The lasting legacy of his
presidency is the Midnight
Appointments. The power of the
Federalists was annihilated in the
election of 1800. They lost both
Houses of Congress, and Thomas
Jefferson, a DemocraticRepublican, won the Presidency.
During the lame duck phase from
the time of the election until the
new government is sworn in,
President Adams and the
Federalist Congress passed the
Judiciary Act of 1801. It is the
same legislation that Adams had
proposed early in his term.
Adams used his authority under
this act to pack the courts with
Federalist judicial appointments
during the final two months and
up to the last days of his
administration.
These appointments would lead to the use of
JUDICIAL REVIEW in the American
political process and many other important
advents of the development of the judicial
system. Presidents today still use their final
time in office to push through last minute
agendas that may or may not be popular,
especially if they have a 'friendly congress.'
What I mean is a congress that will pass their
legislation up to them and allow them to sign
it quickly at the very end.