John Adams was born and raised in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He graduated from Harvard University in 1755 and became one of Boston's most notable attorneys. His high level of education would be most beneficial once he decided to run for president. During the 1960s Britain was passing higher taxes and tariffs on the colonies and Adams decided they no longer had probable cause to do so. He came to believe that laws such as the Stamp Act were simply another means of subjugation. In 1774 Adams attended the First Continental Congress as a Massachusetts delegate. Next year, during the Second Continental Congress, Adams nominated George Washington to command the colonial forces during the Revolutionary War. He Also nominated Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence we all know and love. Two years later, Adams was sent to Paris, France in order to acquire their support. There, he worked with John Jay and Benjamin Franklin to help negotiate the Treaty of Paris. This successfully ended the eight year long war between the colonies and Britain. From 1785 to 1788 Adams would serve as the United State's first ambassador to Britain. The following year, Adams ran for vice president and won. Over the next eight years there would be debate after debate about what shape the new nation would take, what they were going to do about certain foreign policy issues, etc... From this arose the United State's first two political political parties: the Federalists who supported a strong central government and the Democratic Republicans who advocated an agrarian based society and a decentralized government. Since Adams was a Federalist he had backed Washington's decision to not help France with their revolution for fear that their own government would fall apart. After Adams became president in 1797 his opposition to close ties with France persisted which led to the undeclared Quasi-War and the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Presidency
Adams' presidency was filled with troubles concerning foreign policy. France was at war with Britain, finishing their revolution, and seizing American ships holding British goods because of the way they thought the US had forged an alliance with Britain based off of Jay's Treaty. At first, Adams tried to settle things with France peaceably by sending three commissioners to Paris to negotiate a treaty. However, Prime Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand of France refused to meet with them. He further insulted them by agreeing to meet only if they gave him $250'000 and a 10 million dollar loan for his financially struggling country. Adams responded to such impudence, now known as the XYZ Affair, by appropriating defensive measures. A provisional army and the Marine Corps were created, coastal defenses were improved, and Congress repealed the treaties of alliance and commerce with France that had been negotiated during the Revolutionary War. The US was soon locked in an undeclared navel war called the Quasi-War with France. The people were outraged by Frances actions as well so they were supportive of Adams actions. The Federalists had never been so popular. Until Adams decided to pass the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. There were four separate laws in that act, the most controversial being the Sedition Act which stated that anyone who said anything negative about the government would be fined and imprisoned. It made Republicans, like Thomas Jefferson, absolutely furious. This was the very first case of a law not coinciding with an Amendment in the Constitution. We're still having problems with unconstitutional laws even today. Especially when it comes to guns. In 2008 the District of Columbia banned handguns but the statute was deemed unconstitutional because it violated a person's second amendment right to bear arms. Nowadays, our practice of judicial review has improved significantly, but back then, it was completely new and under-developed. Back to the Quasi-War. The US and France were finally able to see eye to eye and Napoleon (who was now the head of the French Government) signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine. John Adams ran for president again in the election of 1800, but because so many Americans had been shaken by the Sedition Act, he lost to Thomas Jefferson.
Legacy
John Adams' impacted his presidency, Jefferson's presidency, and history itself by passing a law that was deemed unconstitutional and making peace with the French. What made the Sedition Act so groundbreaking during his time was that it changed the way people thought about the Constitution. If it was so absolute, then how could Adams pass a law that defied it? Is there a gray area? Where is the line drawn? Adams stirred questions like these in the minds of the people, and they're questions that are still under debate today. Adams was able to influence Jefferson's presidency because he persuaded France to sign the Treaty of Montefaire, Without it, Jefferson would have never been able to make the Louisiana Purchase.
Works Cited
Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “John Adams: Impact and Legacy.” Accessed January 17, 2016. http://millercenter.org/president/biography/adams-impact-and-legacy.
"The Alien and Sedition Acts." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"History.com." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France, 1798–1800 - 1784–1800 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France, 1798–1800 - 1784–1800 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"John Adams." The White House. The White House. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"The Alien and Sedition Acts." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"History.com." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France, 1798–1800 - 1784–1800 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France, 1798–1800 - 1784–1800 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"John Adams." The White House. The White House. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.