“ A wise and frugal government... shall restrain men from injuring one another... shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits..., and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned .This is the sum of good government (Jefferson,1801) .” This was said by Thomas Jefferson our third President of the United States of American. John Adams our second President of the United States of America, for 4 years as President change the “Free World” to a federalist powerhouse in this new, young country. John Adams was a poor President for the United states because of the X,Y,Z affair, the Alien Act , the Sedition Act ,and the “Revolution of 1800”.
The X,Y,Z affair was one of the most terrible thing that John Adams dd to
…show more content…
The Alien Act was a law that was signed by John Adams to weaken the Republican party. Because all the poor people and people from other country that moved here was a Republican and John Adams was with the Federalist party. Before the Alien Act was signed in to law, people from other country that live in the U.S, also called Foreigners, could became a citizen when they lived here for 5 years, but after the law was signed they had to want for 14 years till they can become a citizen(Welcome to Our Documents). This made the Republican party angry because you need to be a citizen of the U.S to vote and now they will have less people to vote because most of the Republican were Foreigners. The Alien Act also gave the President power to deport any Foreigner that if he thought they were being bad in this country. This also made the Republicans angry(Library of …show more content…
The law also said that foreigners could not say anything bad about the government, if they did they will go to jail and then they will be deported from the county. The people could not write, print,or publish anything bad against the government or they will go to jail. This made the Republican party ever more angry with John Adams and the Federalist party. George Washington was shock what he was seeing this country turning into what he feared most.
The Sedition Act was a poor move that John Adams did. Because he hurt many people in the country because he got rid of freedom that was promised that they will be protected by the government(The White House). The Sedition Act made the people on the Republicans wanted to rebel and destroy this young country. All things that John Adams did to this country made the Republicans wonder if this country was really free (The White
People died fighting for this idea of a free country with amazing rights, and now John Adams was threatening what they all fought for. Many people were very mad and took this hatred mentality towards Adams, because of the Alien and Sedition Acts, to the polls. “John Adams was vilified by the Republicans for not vetoing the Alien and Sedition Acts.” He had the chance to stop what Congress was putting forth, yet he did nothing. Whether his intentions were for the best and he had the best in mind, it does not matter. The American public in general took it as a very hostile move and this definitely did not help his second bid for the presidency. Some people believed action needed to be taken in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson and Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. These were two documents that basically stated that the states of Kentucky and Virginia saw the Alien and Sedition Acts that were approved by John Adams as unconstitutional. This was not good for Adams. “It really targeted the centralizing power of the Federalists”. When the federalists have more power that means that Adams will have more power.
Jefferson and Adams Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were both strong presidents who kept a stabile nation, but they differed in their methods of doing so. Adams was a federalist so he helped establish a stable government by focusing on forming a strong central government. Jefferson being a democrat-republican worked to establish stability in the US government by promoting state’s rights. They both worked for stability in different but successful ways.
Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are the two most prominent leaders in establishing a stable government after the adoption of the Constitution. After the Revolution, America was unstable but was controlled after policies and regulations were set under the presidency of Washington and Jefferson. Washington excelled in making the right decisions based on what he thought was right for America’s future. Jefferson expanded independence because of his wants for more political liberty and freedom of religion and education. Although the two had different views, they both succeeded in greatly changing the nation's government for the better. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson helped in establishing a stable government for the new nation by
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison had faith in the ethics of the people to establish a republican government.
President John QuincyAdams served as the sixth President of the United States in 1824. John Quincy Adams was the son of former President John Adams. John Quincy Adams spent much of his youth accompanying his father overseas and also accompanied him in diplomatic missions. Benefitting from his fathers Presidential experience, John Q. Adams was able to gather, formulate, and practice the fundamentals of foreign policy. Through his presidential term he was able to negotiate European politics where freedom of the seas and freedom of commerce were slowly granted for the United States. I rate President John Quincy Adams average on his term of presidency. He had good intention, but the era was struggling financially. “It was also important to note
In the year of 1800, Jefferson ran for the second time averse to former president, John Adams. But unlike the previous election, when John Adams won the presidency, Jefferson was able to defeat John Adams. Adams lost the election due to passing the Alien and Sedition Acts, considered unconstitutional laws because the Acts took away the first amendment, freedom of speech. Jefferson was a more promising choice as he promised to have a “Republican Revolution”. Jefferson promised to help the yeoman farmer and decrease the Federal debt the United States had at the time.
That meant that President Adams’ success would only create more divide in his party and country (Smith 20). Subsequently during the Quasi War, President Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 (Gevinson). The idea of the acts was to suppress any French sympathizers in America and contain the growth of Republicans (Magill 48). Immigrants mainly became Republicans.
Thomas Jefferson’s presidential actions are often less remembered than his work on the Declaration of Independence and his other Revolutionary War contributions, despite their impact on how the United States would, literally, take shape. There were many outcomes from his time in office, the eight years from 1801 to 1809, some good, others less so. Still, I believe that, on the whole, his administration benefited the nation. For one thing, President Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase added hundreds of thousands square miles to the size of the United States. Another, though less direct influence he had was that, in initiating the case of Marbury v. Madison, he unintentionally aided the Supreme Court in gaining the power to exercise judicial review.
...Sedition Acts exercise a power nowhere delegated to the Federal government...this commonwealth does declare that the said Alien and Sedition Acts are violations of the said Constitution." The resolutions nullified the laws and contributed to the rise of Republicanism and the fall of Federalism.
...ll was politically motivated became obvious when the House voted to extend the act from its original one year proposed to the expiration of John Adams term, March 3, 1801. The victory of the Republicans, who ran on a platform of anti-sedition, in the election of 1800 showed that Americans were much more interested in personal freedom that what Federalist thought. It is understandable that in time of war some positions need to be taken to assure the countries well being; as seen in later wars when the Japanese were sent to camps in the west coast. But when these acts of concern start to eliminate certain right and freedoms or violate the constitution; they should be abolished. Thankfully, the American people have the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights to bring them back from the edge, and to force those positions in office governing for themselves into accountability.
The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies on a number of issues that had been developing since the penning of the Constitution. The writers of the document knew that over time the needs of the nation and its people would change, and therefore provided for its amendment. But by not expressly delegating powers to specific organizations, whether the federal government, state governments, or the people themselves, they inadvertently created a major problem in the years to follow: Constitutional interpretation.Shortly after the Constitution's ratification, two distinct camps formed, each believing in opposite manners of interpretation. One group, the Federalists, led by the newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, thought that the Constitution should be interpreted very loosely. He claimed that the Constitution contained powers other than those delegated or enumerated. These unspecified powers were implied powers.
These acts were, of no questions asked, surly constitutional. The Federalist Party presented these acts, later consequently passed by Congress, because they were and fair and just laws in accordance to the nation at that time. For the sake of argument, the nation and government was very inexperienced, and did not know what to expect in their near future. John Adams became the second president of the United States of America, subsequently, having to accept many challenges and responsibilities to fulfill the job in office. He had the task of making sure that the newly founded nation kept running smooth. That is a big burden if there are activities going on in the country that one has no control, nor knowledge of (i.e. foreigners coming into the nation and starting trouble by disrupting the form of government, or having radicals trying to protest and perturb the running government in office-Federalists, at this time). John Adams was smart enough to realize the significance of these factors. Thus, taking his duty of President of USA seriously, he, along with the Federalist-controlled Congress, took action to protect the new country. Hence, were the creation and passing of the four, debate-causing laws (Naturalization, Alien, Alien Enemies, and Sedition Acts).
The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all thirteen states on March 1, 1781 (The Articles of Confederation). From article two, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” (Transcript of Articles of Confederation) The goal of these articles was to keep the government limited and to give the states more power and rights. Stemming from experience with Great Britain, which seemed to be a good idea, the articles failed only a few years later. There was too much state authority and Congress was too weak, resulting in the inability to pass any laws. Congress, under President John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition acts over a decade later. The laws increased the American citizenship requirement from five years to fourteen years. In addition, the President also had the authority to deport or imprison aliens who “...as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof...” (Transcript of Alien and Sedition Acts). Only a few decades before, the nation desired equality for everyone, but these acts went against Jefferson, Paine, and Locke’s ideas. In this time
During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms. Assuring the people, both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison insisted the new government under the constitution was “an expression of freedom, not its enemy,” declaring “the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.” (Foner, pg. 227) The checks and balances introduced under the new and more powerful national government would not allow the tyranny caused by a king under the Parliament system in Britain. They insisted that in order achieve a greater amount of freedom, a national government was needed to avoid the civil unrest during the system under the Articles of Confederation. Claiming that the new national government would be a “perfect balance between liberty and power,” it would avoid the disruption that liberty [civil unrest] and power [king’s abuse of power in England] caused. The “lackluster leadership” of the critics of the new constitution claimed that a large land area such as America could not work for such a diverse nation.
Thomas Jefferson came into presidency with the intentions of limiting the size and power of the central government. His success and failures in accomplishing this goal were many. Thomas Jefferson was America’s third president in reign from 1801 – 1809, once tying in the presidential race with Aaron Burr, where the decision was made by the House of Representatives to choose Jefferson whom they thought was less dangerous than Burr.