A new Vice Presidencies episode is now available!
Aug. 26, 2018

2.03 – The New Sheriff in Town

2.03 – The New Sheriff in Town

Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1797

The election of 1796 results in John Adams becoming the nation’s second chief executive, but he quickly finds more questions than answers awaiting him on the path to taking the oath of office. Adams is immediately faced with the need to make decisions about who to keep from the previous administration, what if any policy changes to make, and even where he and his family will live. It’s a transition unlike any other in American history to that point, and with various pressing issues waiting on the desk, the honeymoon for the new President promised to be short-lived.

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Season 2 02 - John Adams

Special thanks to Dan McClellan for providing the English version of the intro quote for this episode!

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  • Adams, John. “To Abigail Adams, 9 February 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-11-02-0290. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 11, July 1795 – February 1797, ed. Margaret A. Hogan, C. James Taylor, Sara Martin, Neal E. Millikan, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, and Gregg L. Lint. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013, pp. 553–554.] [Last Accessed: 20 Jul 2018]
  • Adams, John. “To Elbridge Gerry, 13 February 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-1855. [Last Accessed: 20 Jul 2018]
  • Adams, John. “To Abigail Adams, 3 March 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-12-02-0003. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 12, March 1797 – April 1798, ed. Sara Martin, C. James Taylor, Neal E. Millikan, Amanda A. Mathews, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, Gregg L. Lint, and Sara Georgini. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015, pp. 7–8.] [Last Accessed: 20 Jul 2018]
  • Adams, John. “Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1797. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25802. [Last Accessed: 24 Jul 2018]
  • Adams, John. “To Abigail Adams, 22 March 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-12-02-0025. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 12, March 1797 – April 1798, ed. Sara Martin, C. James Taylor, Neal E. Millikan, Amanda A. Mathews, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, Gregg L. Lint, and Sara Georgini. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015, pp. 44–45.] [Last Accessed: 30 Jul 2018]
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  • Pasley, Jeffrey L. The First Presidential Contest: 1796 and the Founding of American Democracy. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2013.
  • Rappleye, Charles. Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.
  • Robbins, Karen E. James McHenry: Forgotten Federalist. Athens, GA and London: University of Georgia Press, 2013.
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  • Turner, Frederick J, ed. “Correspondence of the French Minister to the United States, 1791-1797.” Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1903: Volume II. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.
  • Washington, George. “To John Adams, 20 February 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00316. [Last Accessed: 30 Jul 2018]
  • Withey, Lynne. Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams. New York & London: Simon & Schuster, 2002 [1981].
  • Wolcott, Oliver, Jr. “To Alexander Hamilton, 31 March 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-20-02-0359. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 20, January 1796 – March 1797, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974, pp. 569–574.] [Last Accessed: 24 Jul 2018]

Featured Image: “Congress Hall,” unknown artist, courtesy of the US Senate Historical Office