Essay on John Adams

Essay on John Adams

John Adams, who became the second president of the

United States, has been accused by some historians of being the closest thing America ever had to a dictator or monarch

(Onuf, 1993). Such strong accusations should be examined in the context of the era in which Mr. Adams lived and served. A closer examination of the historical events occurring during his vice presidency and his term as president, strongly suggests that Adams was not, in fact, a dictator. Indeed, except for his lack of charisma and political charm, Adams had a very successful political career before joining the new national government. He was, moreover, highly sought after as a public servant during the early formation of the new federal power (Ferling, 1992). Adams was a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...This is significant in assessing Hamilton's and others' arguments of Adams being a dictator after his presidential victory in 1796 A.D. There are several traits that were conspicuous about John Adams. First, he was known as an honest man of integrity (Ferling, 1992; Smelser &

Gundersen, 1975). He was also often described as

"stubborn," quick–tempered, and even cantankerous at times

(Liesenfelt, 1995; Smelser & Gundersen, 1975; Wood,

1992). He was, however, quite intelligent and apparently had a secure self–esteem, being quite willing the challenge tradition (Wood, 1992). Adams was an intensely self–introspective man, though confident (Calhoon, 1976).

By 1795, conflict was raging with France. Washington made it clear that he was not returning to office. This, for the first time, provided the impulse for the two differing political philosophies to align into separate parties, even though the

Federalists never considered themselves to be a party

(Wood, 1992). Hamilton tried to by–pass Adams by nominating Carolinian Thomas Pickney (Ferling, 1992). He had instigated a similar conspiracy to keep Adams from defeating Washington in the second national election, as

Adams had discovered (DeCarolis, 1995). In spite of the divided Federalists, Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson by three electoral votes. He became the second president and

Jefferson, having the second largest number of votes, became vice–president. This event, too, is significant because for the

... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...