The intro and outro music for the John Adams episodes unless otherwise stated is from “Hail, Columbia” as performed by the US Navy Band. The full recording can be found at Wikipedia. The song was originally called “The President’s March” and was composed for Washington’s first inaugural. More information about the history of “Hail, Columbia” can be found at Wikipedia.
Year(s) Discussed: 1735-1848
I asked for your questions to wrap up our series on the second POTUS, and you sent in some great ones! In this episode, we discuss everything from Adams’s tenure as US Minister to the Netherl…
Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1826
After leaving the presidency, John Adams searched for a path ahead. In the process, he dealt with emotions that had been building for years, rebuilt some bridges that had been burned in politi…
Year(s) Discussed: 1800-1801
The nation had little time to process the news that Adams was defeated in his bid for reelection as a constitutional crisis developed regarding who would succeed him to the post. Meanwhile, th…
Year(s) Discussed: 1796-1800
As the new federal capital comes alive with government officials and newspaper publishers moving in to be on hand for the congressional session opening in November 1800, President Adams waits …
Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1801
As President Adams and the federal government transition to the new federal capital, the next presidential election looms, and both Federalist and Democratic-Republican leaders work on behalf …
Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1801
The revolution in Saint-Domingue inspires enslaved people in the United States to seek their freedom in the 1790s at a time that the slaveocracy was becoming more ingrained in the American eco…
Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800
With the new members of the Adams Cabinet coming on board, the President travels south to inspect the work on the new Federal Capital as the US government begins its move from Philadelphia to …
Year(s) Discussed: 1799-1800
As the presidential election of 1800 looms and party leaders begin weighing their options, President Adams decides that the time is right to make a few changes in his administration. To the Pr…
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1800
The French Directory falls, and the three US peace commissioners are left with many questions as to how to proceed before they even arrive in Paris. Meanwhile, the US government considers a ch…
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799
In Trenton, Adams confronted his Cabinet as well as Gen. Alexander Hamilton over the peace mission to France before the government moved back to Philadelphia for one last winter. After the new…
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799
New unrest in the government of France in 1799 presented President Adams with an important decision as to whether to continue with his peace overtures. Meanwhile, competing agendas within his …
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799
John Adams makes a fateful decision that threatens his administration and its ability to react quickly to developing events. Meanwhile, General James Wilkinson’s past collusion with the Spanis…
Year(s) Discussed: 1798-1799
Adams throws the American political landscape into a frenzy with a special message to Congress announcing that he was appointing a new Minister to France to negotiate peace. While exploring wh…
Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799
Despite the wealth of evidence coming in of the sincerity of the French Directory in seeking peace, President Adams found himself at odds with his Secretary of State Timothy Pickering at the b…
Year(s) Covered: 1798
As the nation gears up for the possibility of war with France, President Adams is increasingly focused on the possibility of peace as he prepares his annual message to Congress. Meanwhile, a rising …