Friday, June 15, 2018

Dead In the Ground

After Washington, John Adams became president with Thomas Jefferson as vice-president (he got 2nd place!) and Adams would go on to become our first one-term president. Despite heavy opposition from Jefferson and Hamilton loyalists, Adams one term is considered pretty favorable by historians. Adams was the first president to reside in the White House and signed ill-conceived bills that increased the number of years it took to become a citizen of the country, allowed the president to deport any foreigner who he deemed dangerous to the country, and made it illegal to publish knowingly false or malicious articles against the government.

Interestingly, Adams was the first president to not attend his successors' inauguration. Adams left the White House for Massachusetts in the early morning hours to be with his wife. His son, Charles, had died shortly after losing the election and Adams wanted to get back home with his wife. Only two other presidents didn't attend their successor's inauguration. John Quincy Adams did not attend Andrew Jackson's and Andrew Johnson did not attend Ulysses Grant's.

And yes, John Adams is dead. He died 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, only a few hours after Thomas Jefferson.