Payne 1 Jordan Payne Mr. Anderson AP History November 30, 2017 John Adams John Adams, the Second President of the United States, a founding father, and a member of the Continental Congress who headed the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Prior to being elected as the President, he served as the first Vice President alongside George Washington. Adams was a well rounded man who voiced his opinions, had exceptional writing skills, and had a solid background of legal and philosophical studies. All of these qualities and the experience he gained from serving as Vice President more than qualified him to become the leader of the country. As George Washington's term concluded, John Adams became the next President of the United States …show more content…
The Federalist Congress passed a series of laws known as the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, these laws were signed by President Adams (John Adams 2). These consist of four laws: the Naturalization Act, which increased the time period for an immigrant to become a citizen from five to fourteen years; the Alien Act, which allowed the government to arrest and deport dangerous foreigners who threatened the country's security; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries at war with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to print, write, or publish derogatory statements about the federal government or its officials (John Adams 3).The first three acts were passed to target French and Irish immigrants and as a response to the previous conflict with France known as the XYZ Affair. The Sedition Act was passed in an attempt to prevent a Democratic-Republican hostility. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which constructed an idea of "nullification" of federal laws were written in response to the Acts (John Adams 3). The election of 1800 was a close race between President John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican Vice President seeking his own term as President. As the election progressed, Adams appointed several Federalist judges to the judiciary. This became known as the “Midnight Judges” (John Adams 4). Jefferson resented these appointments and saw them as a threat towards his presidency. Adams was the first “presidents not to attend the inauguration of his successor. On March 4, 1801, he was already on the road back to Quincy” (John Adams