Show AN UNHAPPY PRESIDENT 0 0 1783 john adams elected vice president 1792 re reelected elected vice president 1796 elected president 1797 inaugurated 1 u rated second president aged 61 1800 Concu concluded ded peace with france defeated for second term by jefferson 1820 member of massachi Mass massachusetts achu constitutional convention 1826 july 4 died aged SO go K 0 PROBABLY john adams was war the L unhappiest man who ever sat in the presidential chair one of a dozen unwanted presidents who wet were e taken only because tb tl men that were wanted could not ia s elected this humble role embitter tol all the remaining days of the proudest man in the lin line e of our chief magistrates it was hard enough tor for adams to be the understudy even of george washington while serving as vice president deriL when he became president it was maddening to ills his ego that lie he should be expected to play second fid tile dle to alexander hamilton the master spirit of the old governing class left over from colonial times and which controlled the federalist party the president made the fatal mistake of keeping cabinet which really had passed under the be control of hamilton amilton IT who presumed to direct the new administration very much as a tammany boss puts a tammany mayor through his paces like aristocracies everywhere the federalists wore were thrown into a state of panic by the P rench french revolution and by the rise of the Jeffers jeffersonian onlan democracy in our yet aristocratic republic in their alarm they frantically rushed through congress the alien and sedition acts which became only mill stories atones about their necks sinking their party forever not satisfied with shutting the revolution out of the new world many of them were for joining the monarchical coalition against it in the old world in an uproar uproarious lous quarrel with the absurd french frenchi diorec torr the militia was called out aid washington summoned to command it after which the president astonished the he jingoes jingles by suddenly throwing them dver aver and returning to ti a pacific policy As he had been the first minister to 0 o england john adams was also the jie first president to take up his residence in n washington As mrs adams had cen the wife of the first am american alcan avoy alvoy in london she was also the first mistress distress of the white house if for aly a few months on the way from philadelphia she and the president ost their trail in the wilderness until i straggling black came to their as 51 ls tance stance the capitol was yet unfinished and dut ut of a desolate bog far off the un white house rose to view chere was neither a fence nor a iree ree zi 4 k 14 john adams about the structure and the presidents nearest neighbor dwelt half a mile away mrs adams had a hard time to get wood enough to keep her family warm in the big bleak manmon and she smiles at us still as her letters tell us of how she hung her washing to dry in the great ea east is t r room 00 after sitting at his desk until mid midnight d hastily lias signing appointments to forestall his successor adams drove out of washington at the dawning of the lay day of jeffersons inauguration lie ie had no smiles to bestow on tho of his rival and few enough to light his own pathway through his remaining years after his brave good helem helpmeet beet inn been taken from him he be lived on eight years more lived to see what no other ex president has soon seen a son soil in the white house at ninety as ne lay flying dying in the sunset of ill the fir fourth of july we tire told that his thoughts turned to the first n and nd most glorious fourth fourt h and tant liis his lip lips murmured jefferson still sur I 1 vives the author of the Dechi ration really had find died n few hours 1 before e f ore tind and in their flight from ell earth hf of the lie two old patriots of al 71 7 WO we e strangely ly united copyright 19 lao 0 by jamas jam |