John Adams (1797-1801)
Public Acumen/Persuasion
John Adams would get a 10 in this category if you included all the time before and after he was President. In fact, he would get the top spot. There was no better man in our history that John Adams in making an argument with passion and facts and fighting for it until people agreed. His power of persuasion led the Continental Congress and led to the Lee Resolution. His arguments were the main arguments that Thomas Jefferson penned in the Declaration of Independence. And his speaking on the floor led to the vote for independence. But we aren’t scoring that here.
As President, John wasn’t that great in this department. He was a firebrand for sure and fought for what he believed in. He fought for what he believed in when it cost him dearly. It cost him reelection. But the people didn’t follow him in that fight obviously. He didn’t work well with Congress because he tried to stay above the party fighting that Washington managed to stay above, and he had even worse problems with his cabinet – which was Washington’s to start.
But, he also wrote numerous public letters during the XYZ affair that is referenced below. Those letters helped to shape the arguments during the quasi war with France and in that he gets good marks there. But John Adams was never someone that a group of people would follow through a brick wall – while President. Unfortunately for him, his 4 years in office don’t give him high marks here. I would submit that the history of this nation is better told through Adams’ words then Jefferson’s, yet Jefferson has the memorial. John’s greatest gift here though was trying to stand above the political infighting that was going on and while he tried to keep the country away from it, he lost reelection because of it.
War & Crisis
Like Washington, I submit again that his entire presidency was an exercise in crisis management. And that is because John Adams is the most unique leader in our history. Because he followed Washington. The greatest leader of a nation who helped build the nation and was respected by all stepped down and there was an election. The people, as defined at the time, had a say moreso than any probably thought possible. And Adams was chosen. Washington leaving was more important, but John’s election was just as important because it signaled the bloodless coup of democracy that we have enjoyed since 1797.
Upon taking office John’s main problem was France. He believed everything President Washington wrote in his Fairwell Address and he was not going to get involved in a foreign war. The country was split more and more with the war between France and England. And that split defined his entire time in office. It destroyed his relationship with Thomas Jefferson, it ultimately killed Alexander Hamilton and it eventually ended up with the War of 1812 that President Madison had to deal with.
But John remained as neutral as was humanly possible. Called a monarch and a lover of Britain he tried desperately to handle the whole mess without going to war. He made a huge massive blunder in forming an army with Hamilton’s persistent demands to deal with English and French issues in the territories, but when he did it, Jefferson and his side were appalled as they saw it as an armed beginning to war with France, not Britain. He chose George Washington to lead the force so that it appeared to have greatness behind it. But as Jefferson feared, Washington was too ill to really be its leader and he left the daily operation of the army up to his closest advisor – Alexander Hamilton. That was the final straw with Jefferson and much of his side of the country.
But at the same time Adams was working to stay out of any armed conflict and France eventually helped him. A peace negotiation was to take place with, France sent emissaries to America to begin talks. Jefferson wanted those talks to lead to an alliance. Adams wanted peace with France and Britain. Before the talks could begin, Adams ended them and the French delegation left, blaming Adams’ love of Britain. Jeffersonians went ballistic. And in an act of pure genius, Adams allowed to be published the documents that told the true story. Now know as the XYZ Affair, Adams showed the people of the country that France demanded massive amounts of bribes before they would even talk to America and showed themselves to be criminals of the highest order, bent not on their war with Britain but the diplomatic take over of the United States. The Jeffersonians were shamed and the public backed Adams after the event. This resulted in the Quasi-War with France, not all out war with Britain. A massive sea change in policy in the country took place.
The intervention into domestic politics by France led the Federalists in Congress to write the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams signed them and he gets a hit for that as we will see later. But in the times, against we see later, they seemed to be very necessary. Not wanting the Quasi War to begin all out war, and against every single person in his own party, John commissioned a peace delegation to France to speak with Napoleon. That delegation eventually made peace with France. However, Jefferson took that time to make public opinion again change, the people feared all out war with France and the ultimate result was that voting for Adams and Jefferson in the election started before word came back that peace with France was ultimately achieved. Adams was right, Jefferson was wrong, and the people would have likely supported Adams again had word of that peace come weeks earlier. But it didn’t, and John lost reelection to Jefferson.
He also had to deal with a minor revolt – again in Pennsylvania – when he raised taxes for foreign policy issues. Friey’s Rebellion was quickly put down when they attacked federal tax collectors and the leaders were tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Adams, always the diplomat, pardoned all of them before he left office.
Economy
When it comes to the economy, Adams basically let Congress deal with it and all of domestic policy. He supported and continued Washington’s policies for the most part. With that, and given the fact that the economy was being tugged on by France and England for his full 4 years, the economy was relatively strong during his time in office. He allowed taxes and duties to be raised to deal with a new army and the build up of a real navy, and had to deal with the rebellion referenced above. But overall, the system remained relatively strong.
Foreign Policy
Like Washington, John gets a 10 here. Fighting against public opinion, his rivals and his friends, John stayed the course to support Washington’s prayer for ultimate neutrality and he stuck to that, to his own eventual defeat, and history must judge his acts as President as they relate to England and France and pretty impressive. The fact that he was probably our greatest diplomat in history (the only close second would be his own son) certainly helped his ability to deal with this. John managed to not have America become a conduit for France and England and kept the peace that lasted until 1812.
Executive Skills/Congress
He doesn’t get great marks here. Congress respected and disliked him at the same time. He let them run the country on a daily basis focusing on foreign affairs, so if you want to give him high marks for delegation, you have to give him low marks for actual leadership. He allowed them to write and then he signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. He tried to balance Hamilton and Jefferson as best he could but it resulted in the cabinet hating him and him not really using them, and Congress bemoaning the fact that he was no Washington. It’s ironic that the greatest Continental Congressmen really didn’t work all that well with the Congress he fought for so hard.
Justice/Rights
Slavery and Indian rights went really nowhere under John. His signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts is a negative. The prosecutions that occurred because of it are dark marks on our civil rights ledger as a nation. But I think you can temper this with the context of the times discussed below. Still, if Washington gets a 5 here, Adams can do no better than a 4.
Context
He followed Washington. He tried to keep Hamilton and Jefferson together. He tried to stay neutral and stay away from England and France. He raised an army when they gave him no choice but focused on a navy for defense instead of doing what he really didn’t want to do and start all out war. As a measure of the times, he was the perfect successor to Washington because he had the same independent streak that Washington had, and had Jefferson followed instead of John, we would have been at war with England quicker than 1812, would have hitched our star to Napoleon and would have likely suffered an awful fate as a nation. John Adams tried to stand above his times when he was President the way he did when he was a leader of the revolution. But the same zeal and power he had in the 1770’s and 1780’s had no place in the 1790’s when he tried to lead the nation he helped build.
He is one of our greatest leaders when you look at his entire body of work. I could argue and have that he is our greatest. But as President, he suffers too many hits to be considered one of the truly greats there. Still, for his time, for his life, for his exercise of the power of the president, he was a truly good man who suffered personal flaws that ended up most likely costing him what he always wanted which was to be remembered and honored the way that we remember and honor Thomas Jefferson.
Conclusion
John gets a 7 for persuasion, a 10 for crisis, a 5 for the economy, a 10 for foreign policy, a 4 for civil rights and a 10 for context. Raw score of 46. Almost 20 points lower than Washington to start out. One of the truly great untold stories of our history is what would have happened had he beat Jefferson. In their letters together as their lives were closing they both came to realize that they were a part of the same coin. Heads and tails. Our history isn’t written without both of them together. As a President, John wasn’t the greatest of the greats, but as a leader we needed at the time even if we didn’t know it, he was everything you probably want – stubborn to a fault to be sure, but always focused on the most important thing as he saw it. In as much as every nation needs a George Washington, every nation also deserves a John Adams. And we are a better people a better nation, because of him.
Ack, apologies.
