From the moment John Adams entered the presidency in 1797, the United States was in a state of undeclared war with France. The Quasi-War, as it was known, dominated his presidency, monopolizing ...

For Thanksgiving, I published a short history of Jefferson’s and his Democrats’ reaction to John Adams’ fearmongering for political power around the “XYZ Affair.” I referenced Adams ...

Politics doesn't just unfold in documents and legislation—it also takes shape off the record in social environments.

On March 4, 1801, John Adams rose before dawn. It was his last day as president, and he was leaving Washington in defeat. Adams had no intention of staying for the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson ...

“How do you like our new Constitution?” Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Adams in mid-November 1787. Jefferson mostly wanted to ...

John Adams was many things: lawyer, diplomat, member of the Continental Congress, and one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in ...

Before the election of 1824, the United States was at the tail end of the so-called Era of Good Feelings, a time when political partisanship was low and one party, the Democratic-Republicans ...

President Biden’s farewell address was a cliché-laden mess, yet the media coverage described it as a “speech for the history ...

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the ...

Donald Trump will be sworn into office on Monday, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. See the schedule of events.

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father, a farmer and deacon, hoped that Adams would enter the clergy, but his Harvard professors thought his propensity ...