JOHN ADAMS
While Washington won the presidential election of 1789 with 69 votes in the electoral college, Adams came in second with 34 votes and became Vice President. According to David McCullough, what he really might have wanted was to be the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He presided over the Senate but otherwise played a minor role in the politics of the early 1790s; he was reelected in 1792. Washington seldom asked Adams for input on policy and legal issues during his tenure as vice president.[61]
In the first year of Washington's administration, Adams became deeply involved in a month-long Senate controversy over the official title of the President. Adams favored grandiose titles such as "His Majesty the President" or "His High Mightiness" over the simple "President of the United States" that eventually won the debate. The pomposity of his stance, along with his being overweight, led to Adams earning the nickname "His Rotundity."
As president of the Senate, Adams cast 29 tie-breaking votes—a record that only John C. Calhoun came close to tying, with 28.[62] His votes protected the president's sole authority over the removal of appointees and influenced the location of the national capital. On at least one occasion, he persuaded senators to vote against legislation that he opposed, and he frequently lectured the Senate on procedural and policy matters. Adams's political views and his active role in the Senate made him a natural target for critics of the Washington administration. Toward the end of his first term, as a result of a threatened resolution that would have silenced him except for procedural and policy matters, he began to exercise more restraint. When the two political parties formed, he joined the Federalist Party, but never got on well with its dominant leader Alexander Hamilton. Because of Adams's seniority and the need for a northern president, he was elected as the Federalist nominee for president in 1796, over Thomas Jefferson, the leader of the opposition Democratic-Republican Party. His success was due to peace and prosperity; Washington and Hamilton had averted war with Britain with the Jay Treaty of 1795.[63]
Adams's two terms as Vice President were frustrating experiences for a man of his vigor, intellect, and vanity. He complained to his wife Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."[64]
In the first year of Washington's administration, Adams became deeply involved in a month-long Senate controversy over the official title of the President. Adams favored grandiose titles such as "His Majesty the President" or "His High Mightiness" over the simple "President of the United States" that eventually won the debate. The pomposity of his stance, along with his being overweight, led to Adams earning the nickname "His Rotundity."
As president of the Senate, Adams cast 29 tie-breaking votes—a record that only John C. Calhoun came close to tying, with 28.[62] His votes protected the president's sole authority over the removal of appointees and influenced the location of the national capital. On at least one occasion, he persuaded senators to vote against legislation that he opposed, and he frequently lectured the Senate on procedural and policy matters. Adams's political views and his active role in the Senate made him a natural target for critics of the Washington administration. Toward the end of his first term, as a result of a threatened resolution that would have silenced him except for procedural and policy matters, he began to exercise more restraint. When the two political parties formed, he joined the Federalist Party, but never got on well with its dominant leader Alexander Hamilton. Because of Adams's seniority and the need for a northern president, he was elected as the Federalist nominee for president in 1796, over Thomas Jefferson, the leader of the opposition Democratic-Republican Party. His success was due to peace and prosperity; Washington and Hamilton had averted war with Britain with the Jay Treaty of 1795.[63]
Adams's two terms as Vice President were frustrating experiences for a man of his vigor, intellect, and vanity. He complained to his wife Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."[64]
2nd President of the United States In office
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 Vice President Thomas Jefferson Preceded by George Washington Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson 1st Vice President of the United States In office
April 21, 1789* – March 4, 1797 President George Washington Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson United States Minister to Great Britain In office
April 1, 1785 – March 30, 1788 Appointed by Congress of the Confederation Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Thomas Pinckney United States Minister to the Netherlands In office
April 19, 1782 – March 30, 1788 Appointed by Congress of the Confederation Preceded by Position established Succeeded by William Short Delegate to the
Second Continental Congress
from Massachusetts In office
May 10, 1775 – June 27, 1778 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Samuel Holten Delegate to the
First Continental Congress
from Massachusetts Bay In office
September 5, 1774 – October 26, 1774 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Position abolished Personal details Born October 30, 1735(1735-10-30)
Braintree, Massachusetts
(now Quincy) Died July 4, 1826(1826-07-04) (aged 90)
Quincy, Massachusetts Political party Federalist Spouse(s) Abigail Smith Children Nabby
John Quincy
Susanna
Charles
Thomas
Elizabeth (Stillborn) Alma mater Harvard University Profession Lawyer Religion Unitarianism
(previously Congregationalist)
Thanks Wikipedia
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 Vice President Thomas Jefferson Preceded by George Washington Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson 1st Vice President of the United States In office
April 21, 1789* – March 4, 1797 President George Washington Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson United States Minister to Great Britain In office
April 1, 1785 – March 30, 1788 Appointed by Congress of the Confederation Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Thomas Pinckney United States Minister to the Netherlands In office
April 19, 1782 – March 30, 1788 Appointed by Congress of the Confederation Preceded by Position established Succeeded by William Short Delegate to the
Second Continental Congress
from Massachusetts In office
May 10, 1775 – June 27, 1778 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Samuel Holten Delegate to the
First Continental Congress
from Massachusetts Bay In office
September 5, 1774 – October 26, 1774 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Position abolished Personal details Born October 30, 1735(1735-10-30)
Braintree, Massachusetts
(now Quincy) Died July 4, 1826(1826-07-04) (aged 90)
Quincy, Massachusetts Political party Federalist Spouse(s) Abigail Smith Children Nabby
John Quincy
Susanna
Charles
Thomas
Elizabeth (Stillborn) Alma mater Harvard University Profession Lawyer Religion Unitarianism
(previously Congregationalist)
Thanks Wikipedia