Presidency of
John Adams
2. John Adams
• President from 1797 to 1801
• Vice President: Thomas Jefferson
• Political Party: Federalist (but Independent
minded)
• From Massachusetts
• Primary Profession: Lawyer
• Successfully defended the British soldiers in
the Boston Massacre trial. He was one of the
key members of the Declaration Committee,
former ambassador to Great Britain, 1st VicePresident of the United States.
Tension with French
• Like Washington, President
Adams declared neutrality in
the French Revolutionary war
between France and England.
• France was angry about
American neutrality.
• They began seizing American
merchant ships and forcing
American sailors to join the
French Navy in a practice called
impressment.
XYZ Affair
• When Adams sent diplomats to try and
negotiate a treaty with France, three
anonymous French officials (called X, Y,
and Z) demanded bribes before they
would talk to the American diplomats.
• Americans were furious when they
heard about this incident, which came
to be known as the XYZ Affair. Many
wanted America to go to war with
France.
• Adams went against the wishes of the
people and remained neutral in order
to keep America out of a war that may
well have destroyed the young country.
Alien and Sedition Acts
• At the urging of the Federalist party, Adams signed the Alien and Sedition
Acts in 1798. These laws made it harder for foreigners to become naturalized
U.S. citizens and made it a crime to criticize the government.
• These acts were supposed to protect the new federal government from
sedition, which is speaking out against the authority of the government. In
fact the Federalists were targeting immigrants (who usually supported the
Democratic-Republicans) and trying to silence Jefferson’s supporters.
• Jefferson and his supporters urged states to nullify or refuse to obey these
laws which were clear violations of the 1st Amendment and therefore
unconstitutional.
• The American people were outraged by the Alien and Sedition Acts. In the
Presidential Election of 1800, John Adams and the Federalists were defeated
and Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republicans took over the
government.
The Midnight Judges
• Knowing that the DemocraticRepublicans would soon take over
power in the country, John Adams used
the last 20 days of his Presidency to
appoint as many Federalists judges to
the Judicial Branch as he could in order
to protect Federalist policies.
• Jefferson protested against the
appointment of these “Midnight Judges”
and in the end this would lead to a
critical showdown between the
Executive and Judicial branches (more
on that tomorrow).
Legacy
• By virtue of losing the 1800 election,
John Adams became the first President
to lose his bid for re-election. Some
feared that he may use his power as
President to remain in office.
• Adams however accepted his defeat and
stepped down as President, turning
power over to Thomas Jefferson and the
Democratic-Republicans.
• Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
would die on July 4th 1826…America’s
50th Birthday.