John Adams: He's Number Two

 

VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.

Today we are talking about John Adams. In 1796, he was elected as the country’s second president.

Being second can be difficult. And being the second president of a new country, following a popular first president such as George Washington, turned out to be extremely difficult.

For one thing, Adams did not always get along with other people. He was known to get angry easily, and often.

Adams also was leader of a divided administration. His own vice¹ president often disagreed with him – passionately³.

The situation was the result of a rule in the Constitution at the time. It said the person who received the majority of votes became president. The person with the second largest number of votes became vice president.

The rule worked fine for the first two elections. Washington had won the presidency⁴, and Adams won the vice presidency. The two men belonged to the same political party and shared many points of view.

But in 1796, Adams’ opponent in the election, Thomas Jefferson, became the vice president. The two men were personal friends, but political enemies.

President Adams supported a strong federal government that protected the interests of business and the wealthy. Vice President Jefferson, on the other hand, wanted to limit the power of the federal government. As a result, Adams and Jefferson often clashed.

Adams also made what many historians consider a mistake in choosing his cabinet. Adams simply kept Washington’s official advisers⁵, mostly to satisfy political opponents.

But later, Adams learned that many of his cabinet members opposed him, too.

Historian John Ferling says Adams was “in over his head, and started swimming upstream” almost from the start of his presidency.

Foreign policy crisis

On top of all that, Adams faced a foreign policy crisis. After the French Revolution, Great Britain allied⁶ with other European nations against France. They wanted to keep the unrest from spreading to their countries.

Adams worked hard to make sure the U.S. did not get pulled into a war between France and Great Britain. But France did not trust the U.S. It tried to interrupt trade by seizing U.S. ships.

Adams wanted to resolve the problem peacefully. He threatened military action, but he also sent diplomats⁷ to talk with French officials.

Adams aimed for “an honorable peace” with France. It took some time but he got it.

Historian John Ferling says although the crisis in Europe caused Adams “endless trouble,” he dealt with it well.

Many years later, Adams wrote that “the greatest jewel in his crown” was reaching peace with France.

The Adams family

Even if Adams struggled as president, he was successful in other parts of his life.

He grew up outside the city of Boston. His father was a farmer, as well as a church official and town leader. However, Adams chose to attend Harvard University and become a lawyer.

Adams was a very good lawyer. In fact, he was one of the busiest lawyers in Boston. His success enabled him to buy a big, two-story house that still stands in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Adams also had a happy marriage. The relationship between him and his wife, Abigail, is one of the best-known of that time. The two wrote many letters to each other during the years they were apart. More than 1,000 of their letters still survive today.John and Abigail Adams were both passionate² patriots⁹ who supported the American Revolution.

They also agreed about the issue of slavery. Unlike many founding families of the U.S., the couple did not own slaves and spoke¹⁰ out against the system of people owning other people.

Election of 1800

In November of 1800, John and Abigail Adams moved to the Executive Mansion¹¹ in Washington, D.C. Adams was the first president to live in what we now call the White House.

They would not stay long, however.

Adams was facing a difficult re-election campaign. His vice president, Thomas Jefferson, was running against him. His party was divided – many Federalists supported other candidates. And some voters did not like his decisions – including creating a permanent army, raising taxes, and limiting the rights of immigrants.

Those four laws – called the Alien and Sedition¹² Acts – extended the time that immigrants had to wait before becoming U.S. citizens.

They permitted the government to detain citizens from enemy nations without reason during wartime.

The laws also permitted the president to expel foreign citizens he believed were dangerous.

And they made criticizing the president or Congress a crime.

Adams said the Acts aimed to control people in the U.S. who supported France. But many politicians at the time argued that the laws mostly affected¹³ people who supported the opposing political party.

Historian John Ferling says they were right. And, he says, Adams may have been using the Alien and Sedition Acts to protect his political career. But they ended up damaging his public image.

They also raised the question for the first time of whether states had the right to ignore a federal law if they disagreed with it.

Adams and Jefferson

Supporters of Vice President Thomas Jefferson used Adams’ approval of the Alien and Sedition Acts against him effectively. Jefferson’s campaign said Adams exercised so much power as president that he must want the U.S. to become a monarchy¹⁴.

Adams’ campaign said Jefferson was a radical¹⁵ who would bring revolution to the country.

The U.S. had never experienced such an ugly election before. Some people wondered whether the country would be able to transfer power peacefully.

When Jefferson won, however, Adams did not resist. He retired¹⁶ to his farm in Massachusetts.

Adams spent most of his retirement¹⁷ writing. He even began exchanging long letters with his old friend – and old enemy – Thomas Jefferson.

They two men discussed their families, their thoughts on politics and religion, and their nation’s history. The letters were both personally and historically meaningful: Adams and Jefferson were the last living members of the original patriots who started a new country.

On July 4, 1826 – the nation’s 50th birthday – the two friends, patriots and former U.S. presidents died within hours of one another.

Words in This Story

passionately - adv. having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs

upstream - adj. in the direction opposite to the flow in a stream or river

interrupt - v. to cause something to stop happening for a time

patriot⁸ – n. person who supported the American Revolutionary War for freedom from Britain

ugly - adj. unpleasant

transfer - v. to give rights to another person

original - adj. existing first or at the beginning

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

9 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

12 sedition   

n.煽动叛乱

参考例句：

• Government officials charged him with sedition.政府官员指控他煽动人们造反。
• His denial of sedition was a denial of violence.他对煽动叛乱的否定又是对暴力的否定。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。