John Adams: Administration and Events (Part I)

Navy Department Created. President Adams immediately began preparing for war. He created the Navy Department; prior to this, the Navy had been under the War Department. The coming war with France was going to be a naval war, and the creation of a Navy Department would allow for a more efficient command structure.

President Adams also appointed a new commander of the Army. He appointed George Washington, who immediately traveled to every state where he conferred with the militia commanders and made plans for when war was finally declared. Washington then returned to his home at Mount Vernon to await developments. The crisis passed without a war, and Washington resigned his commission and returned to private life.

President Adams avoided the war by sending another delegation to Paris. By this time, the French were worried about the United States joining the British in a war against them. The French immediately received the American delegation, and a solution was negotiated. The war fever in America passed without shots being fired. This did not permanently resolve the problem, but it did avoid a costly war.

President Adams was not popular with his own party for avoiding this war. The Federalists were hoping a war with France would thoroughly discredit the pro-French Democratic-Republican Party. They were furious with Adams for working so hard to prevent a war, which would have guaranteed a Federalist victory in the next election (which they ultimately lost). President Adams considered this his greatest achievement, and once proposed that his tombstone read "Here lies John Adams who took upon himself responsibility for peace with France in the year 1800."

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