The Collaborators
Washington was leaving office and the next president was needed to be selected. The memory of 76 was still alive and only those leaders who had stepped forward at the national level to promote the great cause were eligible. Back then to solicit votes was itself a confession of unworthiness for national office. Because Washington had served and Benjamin Franklin was dead it naturally left two candidates Adams and Jefferson. Adams was vice president to Washington and had cast 31-38 tie breaking votes in the senate more than any subsequent vice president in American history. (This was in part due to the small size of the senate. Adams credentials made him virtually unbeatable. He led the opposition against the Stamp Act and every British policy toward the American colonies. Adams was known as "the Atlas of independence" for renouncing any reconciliation with England during the Continental Congress. He also published his guidebook "Thoughts on Government". He lobbied for Washington to head the Continental Army and picked Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. These were a few among many of his contributions. He also held many offices of government secretary of war being one and vice president under Washington being the other. The vice president has two duties, one to serve as president pro tem of the Senate, casting a vote only to break a tie. Adams cast thirty-one tie-breakers more than any subsequent vice president in American history. Still it was a thin victory 71 to 68 in favor of Adams and Jefferson became the vice president. Until the twelfth Amendment electors voted for two candidates, not one ticket of two.
Jefferson had a nasty habit of attacking his political opponents even when they were once friends and Adams was no exception. However, Jefferson being the vice president, Adams invited him to join his cabinet to create a bipartisan administration. Adams wife Abigail, who was so crucial to his presidency thought that they could look past their present problems and build on a previous trusting relationship. For Adams he felt that differences could be overcome intimacy trumped ideology. But, for Jefferson he had in reality become a party leader and loyalty to party trumped intimacy to Adams. The other difficulty was that Adams retained Washington's advisors probably his biggest blunder since they were all federalists while Jefferson was a republican. Jefferson also turned down a position as an envoy to France. The country was facing an undeclared war against French privateers in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Adams was committed to American neutrality and eventually did send an Envoy to France who was successful at preventing war. But, the biggest Blunder of the Adams presidency was the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were designed to deport or disenfranchise foreign-born residents, mostly Frenchmen, who were disposed to support the Republican Party, and to make it a crime to publish "any false, scandalous, and malicious writing or writings against the Government of the United States." Adams went to his grave claiming this law was signed by him grudgingly and reluctantly and never enjoyed his support. But, these laws backfired on the Federalists eventually leading to the party's demise. Because when they tried to support it they found the public would take the side of the defendants and looked at the federalist like bullies. Adams was a president without a party. His cabinet were federalists and his vice president republican but, Adams stayed neutral his last acts as president was establishing the government headquarters on the Potomac.
The Friendship
Adams struck a final blow before he left office in what is termed as "the Midnight Judges". He appointed several Federalists, John Marshall chief among them, that denied Jefferson the right to choose his own men and caused him immense trouble in his presidency. The Adam's "team" leveled two charges against Jefferson's political honor. One that Jefferson was personally involved in his Presidential Campaign. Two that Jefferson had vilified a man whom he claimed was a longstanding friend. Jefferson's first term in office however was one of the most successful in American history, capped off by the Louisiana Purchase (1803) which doubled the size of the Nation. His second term on the other hand was more of a blunder with the infamous Embargo Act (1807), which devastated the economy while failing to avert the looming war with England. It is interesting to study the letters between Jefferson and Adams to see that history experienced is different than history remembered. Adams claims when Jefferson sat with him in congress he never heard three sentences stringed together. And yet Jefferson is seen as a major player in the Continental congress.
One of the most interesting stories in this chapter happens with Adams friend Benjamin Rush with whom Adams corresponds with regularly. They talk about dreams in their letters and Benjamin at one point has a dream that Adams and Jefferson make peace and begin writing each other and then they pass away on the same day. Truth was stranger they passed away on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence within five hours of each other.
The Adams and Jefferson correspondence was very political. Even though Adams didn't have a party and Jefferson was a party man thru and thru. The differing political opinion was about a strong federal government or not. Jefferson talked about the few being destined to govern the many but; he did not favor a strong federal government. He was wrong about the French Revolution, initially he say it as another American splitting off from England. But, changed his tune later on, which was common and he had a gift of betraying friends for his political party.
It is interesting that Adam's last words were Thomas Jefferson still lives and he was the second of the two to die. To Adams America is still an experiment and we can see that through history there have been challenges to this country and good men rise up and make a difference still.
