Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky made a fascinating and informative presentation Tuesday evening, March 4, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall based on her latest book, Making the Presidency, which profiles John Adams. Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, gave the audience in the Oregon Historical Society’s Mark Hatfield Lecture Series a good understanding of John Adams as  vice president and later as the second president of the United States, and the challenges that he encountered along the way.

Chervinsky related that the American people did not have any experience in transitioning from presidents. For eight years, George Washington had established precedents such as executive privilege, the first presidential veto, and leaving the presidency peacefully when his two terms ended. When he retired as president, his farewell address was published in the newspaper because he wanted the American people to read it rather than to hear about it, and in this speech he warned them about “entangling alliances.” He also wanted to leave the presidency while he was alive so that an orderly transition could take place.

According to Chervinsky, when John Adams became president he did not want to disappoint Americans because he did not look or sound like George Washington. He knew that he would be unpopular and the American people would be critical of him. Nevertheless, he decided that he needed to chart his own course as president. At the time, most leaders’ transitions from the world’s countries were either hereditary or a result of violence. Adams proved that a presidential transition could be a smooth one, and set a precedent.

Chervinsky discussed Adams’ wife, Abigail Adams. She was a first-rate intellect who analyzed the documents that her husband read, critiqued his speeches, gave him sound counsel, and was invaluable to him during his presidency. The letters between the two of them have shown her to be extremely wise and a great asset to him.

During her presentation, Chervinsky skillfully explained to the audience the difficulties Adams encountered with his cabinet. Adams was reluctant to replace Washington’s cabinet because he felt that it would be a rebuke to the first president.

During this era, it was exceedingly difficult to secure the efforts of competent cabinet members because the work was difficult with low pay and low prestige, travel was uncomfortable, and cabinet members had to be away from home for months at a time. Adams inherited the following cabinet members who undermined him at every opportunity: Timothy Pickering (Secretary of State), James McHenry (Secretary of War) and Oliver Wolcott (Secretary of the Treasury). These individuals also wanted Alexander Hamilton to be the head of the army.

 Chervinsky walked the audience through the complex diplomatic efforts of the United States to avert war with France. France felt threatened when Adams signed the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. The French believed their relationship with the United States going back to the Revolutionary War entitled them to receiving preferential treatment. As a result of the Jay Treaty, France began to commandeer United States ships and imprison the crews and passengers.

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Adams sent three envoys (“the XYZ Affair”) to France to avert war. When the envoys arrived in France, the government made demands for bribes, loans, and for the United States to issue an apology to them. Adams responded to the possibility of war with France and decided that the United States needed to create a navy. He named Bejamin Stoddert as the first Secretary of the Navy of the United States.

Adams also appointed George Washington to head the army. Washington threatened to resign unless Adams approved of his request to make Hamilton the No. 2 man of the army. Adams did not trust Hamilton but reluctantly agreed to it. Washington agreed to serve as head of the army, but only if Adams allowed him to stay home unless France invaded the United States and for Adams to pursue diplomatic efforts to avert war with France.

Adams agreed to all of Washington’s demands to secure his services as the head of the army. In addition, Pickering, McHenry, and Wolcott wrote a series of letters to Washington and were successful in persuading him that Adams knew nothing about running the government or how to conduct diplomatic efforts.

Benjamin Stoddert (Secretary of the Navy) began to quickly build up the navy with Adams’ blessing. On the other hand, Adams made McHenry (Secretary of War) wait as long as six weeks for his requests for more officers to be added to the army. Chervinsky maintained that Adams knew the American people would not agree to increase the size of the army from 2,500 people to over 50,000 and to pay higher taxes to finance it, so he used delaying tactics with McHenry in order to keep the army small.

According to Chervinsky, Adams had informants world-wide due to his career as a diplomat in Great Britain and with the Dutch. These informants were willing to help him with peace efforts with France. The reports from his informants went directly to Adams, who discovered that France had misunderstood the American spirit and wanted to avert war, too. Adams discovered that France was open to diplomacy to solve the problems between the two countries.

In 1799 Adams sent new envoys to France and told their government they needed to treat the diplomats with respect. Pickering and McHenry rebelled at Adams’ diplomatic efforts with France, and as a result were fired. Adams then appointed John Marshall as his new Secretary of State. According to Chervinsky, the ability to fire and hire cabinet officials set a precedent for the president. The result of the diplomatic efforts between the United States and France was the Treaty of Mortefontaine. This treaty established peace with France and resulted in one of the longest-lasting peace treaties between two countries.

The Election of 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was one of the most bitterly contested presidential contests. During this era each state had one vote, and after thirty-six ballots Jefferson was elected president.

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Chervinsky gave a nice conclusion to her presentation when she stated that Adams provided a peaceful and smooth transition to a new president after he lost the election of 1800. He required his cabinet and staff to meet with Jefferson’s administration. Adams did everything he could to ensure the survival of the presidency, and left quietly. In other words, he set the tone for the presidency that is with us today.

Adams’ contribution as president was his ability to establish precedent, avert war through diplomatic means, and ensure a smooth transition to the next president. Chervinsky used a quotation from Adams to end her presentation: “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”