VPOTUS 001 - John Adams

Tenure of Office: April 21, 1789 - March 4, 1797

John Adams had a lengthy, busy career in public service, but it's likely that he would not rank his eight years as the first Vice President of the United States as one of his crowning achievements. Join my co-host Alex and myself as we explore his tempestuous tenure in this office and determine whether it was notable enough or impactful enough for Adams to preside from the rostrum of VP All-Stars.

Show Notes
Guest Profile

“Adams, John, 1735-1826.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/A000039. [Last Accessed: 21 Oct 2023]
Adams, John. “To Benjamin Rush, 17 May 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-19-02-0322. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 19, February 1787–May 1789, ed. Sara Georgini, Sara Martin, R. M. Barlow, Amanda M. Norton, Neal E. Millikan, and Hobson Woodward. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, pp. 460–462.] [Last Accessed: 21 Oct 2023]
Adams, John. “To Abigail Adams, 7 December 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-11-02-0225. [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. 438–439.]
Bartoloni-Tuazon, Kathleen. For Fear of an Elective King: George Washington and the Presidential Title Controversy of 1789. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press, 2014.
Bordewich, Fergus M. The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016.
Chervinsky, Lindsay M. The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020.
Cunliffe, Marcus. “Elections of 1789 and 1792.” History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968, Volume I. Arthur M Schlesinger Jr, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers and McGraw-Hill, 1971. pp. 3-32.
Ferling, John. John Adams: A Life. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010 [1992].
Goldstein, Joel K. The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2016.
McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.
Smith, Page. “Election of 1796.” History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968, Volume I. Arthur M Schlesinger Jr, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers and McGraw-Hill, 1971. pp. 59-98.

Featured Image: "John Adams" by John Trumbull [c. 1792-1793], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: "Four Ruffles and Flourishes and Hail Columbia," as performed by the United States Navy Band and courtesy of Wikipedia

VPOTUS 001 - John Adams

Alex

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