John Adams

John Adams was a leading advocate of independence, a diplomat who helped negotiate the peace with Britain, and Washington's two-term vice president before winning the presidency in 1796. A Federalist, he inherited a bitter rivalry with his own vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

His term was dominated by the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval conflict with France. He resisted pressure for full-scale war and secured peace, a decision he considered his finest service though it split his party. The controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, which restricted immigrants and criminalized criticism of the government, damaged him politically and contributed to his defeat in 1800.

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