Why John Adams was the Worst President

John Adams was the 2nd president of the United States of America. John Adams served his term from 1797 to 1801, serving right after George Washington. However, compared to George Washington, John Adams was widely disliked and for good reason. From instances of power abuse to starting an unneeded war, John Adams had proven himself to be one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.

Conflicts with France

John Adams despised the ongoing French Revolution during his presidency. He was fearful of the revolution weakening America but that was not the only problem he had with France. John Adams held a personal vendetta against France. It was unthinkable to him that France had overthrown their king and set up a more-egalitarian state than the United States that had also abolished slavery. His fear and own personal bias eventually led to a series of drastic and rash decisions.

John Adams had made his disdain for France apparent by voiding former financial loans, refusing to pay U.S’s leftover debt to France for any longer. With America not paying its debt anymore under John Adams’s orders as well as the Jay’s Treaty, reconciling with the French in the XYZ affair had failed. In conclusion, because of John Adams, America had gone into a needless war with France, their usually close ally, for the first and last time in history.

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

John Adams was notorious for passing the unpopular Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798. This act made it harder for immigrants to become citizens due to the residency requirement being increased from 5 to 14 years. In addition to this, this act also allowed those considered “dangerous” to be imprisoned or deported from the U.S.

This act was widely disliked as it outlawed any criticism targeted towards the government. John Adams had essentially used his power to place a limit on free speech. In one instance, John Adams had imprisoned someone for calling him “his rotundancy”, a blatant overreach and abuse of his powers. Eventually, the Supreme Court had stepped in to undo this law and rightfully declare it as unconstitutional. Although, this did not make up for the damage that already occurred because of this law. Many people were unfairly imprisoned or deported as a result of John Adams.

Conclusion

John Adams was the worst president in U.S. history as none of the decisions made under him had helped America. In fact, John Adams had made America worse under his administration. In addition to the fact that he had gone to war with France, a close ally of America, he had also infringed the very constitution America was built on.

Sources:

https://americaspresidents.si.edu/research/object-groups/knowing-the-presidents-john-adams#:~:text=Because%20Adams%20believed%20in%20the,he%20avoided%20war%20with%20France.

The worst president was John Adams