history 201 unit 3 part 3

John Adams' Presidency

Problems Faced by Adams a. The biggest problem facing John Adams was John A dams. The truth is John Adams wasn't sure why he wanted to be president. 1. John Adams was a man of many contradictions. He was intelligent, progressive, arrogant, moody, and often too honest. 2. While these qualities served him well on occasio n, most often they got him into trouble. Because he said exactly what he thought, when he thought it . Adams was conceived as a hot head, which he could be, and unpolished as a statesman. Americans may say they want someone who will tell the whole truth, but they don't really mean it. They di dn't like it when Adams did it. 3. Another problem facing Adams was he was followin g in the long shadow of George Washington. Back in the early 1990s Stephen Spielberg produced a television show called Dinosaurs . The baby never called his father, father; he always referred to him as "Not the Momma." That was John Adams problem; he was "Not the Washington." yet, pe ople always compared him. Adams didn't even seek his own cabinet members at the beginning of his Administration out of loyalty for Washington. This cost him because this cabinet was always more loyal to Washington, and Hamilton, who had tried to sabotage Adams president ial run. 4. Another reason Adams' presidency was doomed to f ailure was his inability to control the agenda in Congress. Why couldn't he? He was never in Phila delphia, the temporary capital or in Washington DC, once built. Of the four years he ser ved as president, he spent 385 days at the capital. The rest of time he was in Quincy, Massach usetts. In those days, you couldn't run your country if you're not in the capital. 5. Why did John Adams spend so much time away from the capital? He felt betrayed by his cabinet and members of his own party, thus he trusted no on e except his wife, Abigail. And she was in Quincy. 6. Adams was especially angry with Thomas Jefferson . Prior to his inaugural, Adams had asked Jefferson to essentially be his co-president. He to ld his old friend that this country was facing many challenges, but if the two worked together then thi ngs could get done. Under advice from James Madison, Jefferson declined the offer. Madison told him that if republican ideals were to prevail then the Federalists must be destroyed. That meant John Adams couldn't succeed as president. b. Foreign Affairs 1. Like Washington, Adams had serious foreign conce rns, manly with France. As the war between Britain and France continued, the French began seiz ing our boats because they resented Jay's Treaty. They also refused to seat our new Ambassado r to France. The Pro-British Federalists began to pressure Adams to declare war on France. And jus t like Washington, Adams knew America was not prepared for war, so he was determined to find a peaceful solution while avoiding a political alliance with Britain against France. 2. To avoid war, Adams sent diplomats John Marshall , Eldridge Gerry, and Charles Coatsworth Pinckney to France to negotiate a settlement. Howev er, when the Americans arrived, they were met by three secret representatives known only as, X, Y and Z. These men demanded money to arrange the meeting between the Americans and the French mi nister, Talleyrand. The Americans refused and came home. 3. The XYZ Affair, as the incident became known, ca used a quasi war with France the rest of Adams' term. That is, America and France were on th e verge of war for the rest of his presidency. The slogan became "millions for defense, but not on e cent for tribute." 4. The High Federalists , those who looked to Alexander Hamilton for leader ship, saw the Affair as an opportunity for war against France, a political alliance with Britain, and to weaken Republican opponents. a. They demanded Adams raise an Army and form a nav y. Adams said no to the Army, but requested Congress appropriate the funds for three ships and sell bonds for twenty-four more. The first three battleships were The Constitution, The United States, and the Constellation. b. Adams stopped short of war, and wanted to send a new Ambassador to France to try to negotiate a settlement. When the High Federalists b locked his nomination, Adams threatened to resign and let Jefferson become president. He got h is new Ambassador. 5. The High Federalists did convince Adams to sign The Alien and Sedition Acts into law. These egregious laws changed residency requirements for f oreigners to become citizens from five to fourteen years. The president could deport foreigne rs during wartime. The Sedition Act provided for the fining or imprisonment of anyone who spoke out against government officials or impeded government business. a. The Republicans saw these laws for what they wer e: an attempt to weaken their influence with immigrant voters, and to speak out against the Fede ralists. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote opposition papers, known as the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. b. Both men called for states to Nullify , declare void, these laws because they were unconstitutional. Jefferson said that the states ha d created the federal government, therefore they had the right to disregard laws they believed viola ted the constitution and state sovereignty. Madison, who wrote the Virginia Resolutions, said t hese laws violated the First and Tenth Amendments.

Republican Resistance

a. Jefferson and Madison were determined to mount a formative opposition for the 1800 election. They attacked Adams for The Alien and Sedition Acts, not ing they were set to expire the day after the next president was sworn into office. They also proteste d the fact that the Federalists had raised tariffs and other taxes to prepare for a war with France that n ever happened. b. Adams was highly unpopular and finished third be hind Thomas Jefferson and his Vice-Presidential choice, Aaron Burr. However, Jefferson and Burr wer e tied with Electoral College votes, so the election was thrown into the House of Representativ es for the first time. c. Aaron Burr refused to step aside, and instead co mpeted with Jefferson for the presidency. After thirty-five ballots, there was still no winner. The country was on the verge of a Constitutional crisi s until Hamilton intervened. He convinced enough High Federalists to vote for Jefferson because he considered Burr power hungry, thus more unfit to be president than Jefferson. On the thirty sixth ball ot, Jefferson was elected.

The Federalists Last Gasp

a. The last major accomplishment of Adams' administ ration was the Judiciary Act 1801. This law created a new system of six circuit courts with six teen new judges and reduced the number of Justices on the Supreme Court from six to five. b. Adams submitted nominees for these judgeships be fore the end of his term in March of 1801. By packing the court with Federalist Judges, he ensure d that at least one branch of government would be held by the Federalists. Jefferson resented the cou rt packing scheme and called the men Midnight Judges because they were put on the bench at the last mom ent. c. The single greatest legacy of Adams' presidency was his appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall's common sen se and intellect would bring a much needed stability to the Federal Bench. He would write many majority opinions over the next thirty-five years. d. The Jefferson-Burr election controversy followin g on the heels of the Adams-Jefferson election convinced lawmakers the Constitution had to be amen ded. So, after much debate, the 12 th Amendment was ratified in 1804. The amendment states Electors had to specify a Presidential and Vice Presidentia l choice on their ballots.