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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 well educated, seasoned patriot, and experienced

diplomat. He was the runner-up in the election in which

George Washington was selected the first United States

President. According to the electoral-college system of that

time, the second candidate with the most electoral votes

became the Vice President (Smelser & Gundersen, 1975).

As president, Washington appointed, among others, two

influential political leaders to his original cabinet; Thomas

Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson, a veteran

politician became the Secretary of State and Hamiliton, a

young, outspoken New Yorker lawyer, became the

Secretary of the Treasury (Ferling, 1992). Jefferson, like

Adams, had also signed the Declaration of Independence.

Hamilton, however, was the only cabinet member relatively

unknown to Adams (Ferling, 1992). It was Hamilton,

nonetheless, who excelled during this new administration by

initiating numerous, innovative, and often controversial

programs, many of which were quite successful. Adams and

Hamilton were both Federalists. Unlike Hamiliton, Adams

was more moderate (Smelser & Gundersen, 1975). During

this first administration, Adams and Hamilton quarreled

(Washington Retires, 1995), and Adams...