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What Are The Problems Leading To The Failure Of John Adams's Presidency

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In 1797, George Washington, the first president of the United States, decided to leave office and allow for a new president to take his position. With his departure, debate began around the country regarding who would be tasked with filling Washington’s shoes. The man the people elected to be tasked with becoming the second president of the United States was former, Vice President for George Washington, John Adams. Overall, Adam’s presidency was not a huge success. There were many issues, such as the XYZ affair, which was an unofficial war with France. The French were seizing United States’ trading ships and Adams wanted peace to maintain the ability to trade with Europe. Another problem that occurred during Adam’s presidency was people speaking …show more content…

This lead to the people being upset with their leader, therefore the controversial presidency of John Adams led to the downfall of his role as a presidential leader. The next election, which was in 1800 pitted John Adams against Thomas Jefferson. Adams believed that he was going to be elected, but was mistaken about his chances of receiving the popular vote. Obviously, due to Adams’ lack of the ability to lead a nation, Jefferson was elected president in 1801. This was a landslide victory and was the first time that the Democratic-Republicans controlled all parts of the government besides the judicial branch. However, before Adams forfeited office to Thomas Jefferson, “One of his last acts as president was to appoint forty-three judges who would continue to support a Federalist viewpoint even during a Jefferson administration (Behrman 93). This allowed the Federalist party to have at least some control of the federal government. Instead of welcoming the new president, Thomas Jefferson, Adams left the White House in the middle of the night after his, later named “midnight judges”, ordeal. In doing so Adams upset the Democratic-Republican party as this took all of the judicial power away from …show more content…

His “midnight judges” were able to shape a strong government into modern day society. It was the single most important thing he achieved due to the long lasting affect his actions had. His choices led to a deeper understanding of judicial review because of John Marshall’s analysis of the Constitution. The government was also able to control much of the economy through the Second Bank of the United States. The
Works Cited
Alcorn, J. “John Marshall.” Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, edited by Paul
Finkelman, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2006. Biography in Context, http://link .galegroup.com/apps/doc/K3446700392/BIC1?u+nysl_me_24_12&xid+8edb52a8. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018.\
Behrman, Carol H. John Adams. Lerner Publications Co., 2004.
"Marbury v. Madison (Excerpt)." American Eras: Primary Sources, edited by Jennifer Stock, vol. 5: Development of a Nation, 1783-1815, Gale, 2015, pp. 299-305. U.S. History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3618400100/UHIC?u=nysl_me_24_12& xid=be7d1c90. Accessed 14 Jan. 2018.
Majewski, John. "Aggressive Nationalism: McCulloch v. Maryland and the Foundation of Federal Authority in the Young Republic." Journal of Southern History, vol. 75, no. 4, 2009, p. 1048+. U.S. History in

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