2   John Adams  1797 – 1801
“Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody
than either aristocracy or monarchy.
John Adams
There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”
Adams' revolutionary credentials secured him two terms as George Washington's vice president and his own election in 1796 as the second president. During his one term, he encountered ferocious attacks by the Jeffersonian Republicans, as well as the dominant faction in his own Federalist Party led by his bitter enemy Alexander Hamilton.

Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and built up the army and navy especially in the face of an undeclared naval war with France, 1798-1800. The major accomplishment of his presidency was his peaceful resolution of the conflict in the face of Hamilton's opposition.

18th Century Stars previous_president next_president