Clinton and Adams

John Adams, a Founding Father of our country, reigned as the second President of the United States from March 4, 1797 till March 4 of 1801. During this time he accomplished many foreign policy achievemnets. He took over as President at a time in which our country was in danger. Jays treaty of 1794 had just been signed and we were not on good terms at all with foreign countries, mainly France. The French were angered by the treaty and started seizing United States small merchant vessels over seas. This was known as the "Quasi -War". Adams immediatly sent a commission to France to negotiate their problems, but he also alerted Congress to have the armed forces ready to go if needed, for he was not afraid to engage in war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

Democrat Bill Clinton took office on January 20, 1993 and served for 8 strong years. He took over from President George H W. Bush. Upon taking over there was no war threat in place as there was for Adams, which is one of the first differences of many between these two great, unique Presidents. Also, the nation was considered to be in a position of unprecedented preponderance (had to look that word up in the dictionary!! Means " superiority of power or importance") which is certainly a distinctly different position than that of the time of Adams when the country was still establishing itself and certainly wasn't considered a world power.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20000301faessay28/stephen-m-walt/two-cheers-for-clinton-s-foreign-policy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton

John Adams - Foreign Policy

"My entrance into office is marked by a misunderstanding with France, which I shall endeavor to reconcile, provided that no violation of faith, no stain upon honor is exacted...America is not scared." President Adams, upon taking office was certainly very anxious to avoid war at almost any cost, knowing that the country was simply unprepared for it. He realized its instability and the need to keep out of wars, although his quote shows he presented a brave face for the country. When the pro-Britain Federalists pushed for war, John Adams sacrificed his political career for the good of the nation and refused. Essentially on his own, he sent an envoy to France in 1799 but peace with France was not settled until September of the next year. He did have the foresight to urge Congress to augment the navy and army in case of diplomatic failure, however, John Adams had succeeded in preventing war with France and preserving the United States' neutrality, although he deeply split his own party in the process. John Adams wanted to ensure we did not enter a war during which we could lose that which we had fought so hard to gain.
http://library.thinkquest.org/11492/cgi-bin/pres.cgi/adams_john?foreign
http://dscholar.humboldt.edu:8080/dspace/bitstream/2148/54/1/Cox.pdf


The Alien and Sedition Acts were signed by Adams in 1798. These four acts were actually designed to suppress Republican opposition to Adams administration. The Naturalization Act doubled the time required to naturalize the foreign born to American citizenship to 14 years. Since most immigrants voted with the republicans, they thought this act would decrease the proportion of people who voted republican. The Alien Friends Act and Alien Enemies Act allowed the president to deport any foreigner that he thought was dangerous to the country. (Sedition Act not pertinent to my discussion) This forced an even deeper division and fear between the parties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams
Johnson, Paul. A History of the American People. New York:HarperCollins Publishers 1998

Bill Clinton-Foreign Policy

In contrast to John Adams, Bill Clinton entered office at a time when the country was in an unrivaled strategic position. The Cold War was over, America's economy was 40% larger than its nearest rival (although we still had a deficit, he would work to improve that) and we were leaders in education, technology, and research. In other words, we were a stable country vs. Adams' unstable country and our security and surplus of economic and military power allowed freedom (to a degree) to pursue just about any goals Clinton might have wanted, without worrying about how other countries (or even American citizens to a point) might respond. With the security of our own U.S. independence not in any danger, Clinton sought to help other nations in their fight for independence. Because the interests of people all over the world had become so interconnected, he felt the U.S. had a responsibility to protect anyone's human rights and promote the political and economic stability of remote countries. He sent armed forces to end fighting, maintain peace, and protect civilians in such countries as Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Haiti. The following quote echoes his strong feelings about world peace and everyone's obligation to achieve it;
"The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists." -
http://www.quotesandpoem.com/quotes/showquotes/author/bill-clinton/31844
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564341_4/bill_clinton.html
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20000301faessay28/stephen-m-walt/two-cheers-for-clinton-s-foreign-policy.html

Unlike Adams, who enacted the Alien Acts to control foreigners who might be considered a threat (and also influenced American politics as well), Clinton was not at the point which occurred later on in our country where terrorist activity was a strong consideration. Instead, in 1994, President Clinton lifted the trade embargo against Vietnam, our former enemy. He cited their cooperation in locating and identifying the many U.S. service personnel still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. Also, in 1995, Clinton established full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. An interesting tidbit is that in this respect he was advised by Sen John McCain, a former POW, who has been in the news a little bit of late. Sen. McCain agreed that it was time to normalize relations with our former enemy.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8259.html

John Adams - Economic Policy

"All the perplexities, confusion and distresses in America arise not from defects in the constitution or confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, as much from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation."++

I had some difficulty finding good information regarding John Adams' economic decisions or directives. It is evident from what I read that he definitely felt it was in the United States best interest to avoid European affairs (both militarily and economically if possible), which is in line with how Washington felt when leaving office (even mentioning it in his farewell address). It seems he really wanted to help America exist on its own, without too much outside dependence. This is demonstrated in an act he passed on February 1st, 1798 relating to the acceptance of foreign coinage as legal tender in the Uited States. A following Act passed in 1800 authorized the purchase of copper equivalent to that used for coins in the prior year and also an annual purchase to continue minting coins. Adams was ensuring the establishment of America's own system of payment.
http://www.netstate.com/presidents/ma_john_adams.htm

In John Adams' Fourth State of the Union Address he directed the estimates for the appropriations for the ensuing year, but for the first time made available an account of the public revenue for the citizens. As he was not a particularly popular president (or individual), this may have been because he wanted to show how proud he was that they had gained considerable revenue. It was conclusive evidence of the great resources of the country, and of the wisdom and efficiency of the measures that had been adopted by Congress for the protection of commerce and preservation of public credit.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/John_Adams'_Fourth_State_of_the_Union_Address

Bill Clinton - Economic Policy

"We should, all of us, be filled with gratitude and humility for our present progress and prosperity. We should be filled with awe and joy at what lies over the horizon. And we should be filled with absolute determination to make the most of it." - -- Bill Clinton

Similar to John Adams, but to a much greater extent, Bill Clinton also oversaw America during a successful economic time. Under Clinton, the United States had a projected federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969. Both Adams and Clinton also expanded the economy over the course of their terms, Bill Clinton by 50%. Clinton coined the phrase "Save social security first" (social security did not exist during Adams' time) ensuring that some of the budget surplus would be reserved to fund future deficits of programs such as those. (This actually created problems for following administrations!) I equate some of these directives to what Adams was doing for the American citizen during his presidency, maintaining as well as growing our ability to exist independently.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1110165.stm

In 1993, Clinton controversially supported ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the U. S. Senate. Although this was an international agreement , it had significant effects on the economy of the U.S. It actually caused the displacement of production that was supported by American-held jobs. (That's certainly still a problem today with all the out-sourcing that has taken American jobs!) It seems that trade both creates and destroys jobs; exports create jobs for our American workers, but imports tend to reduce jobs because they are goods that otherwise may have been produced in our own country. Also, it is believed that NAFTA contributed to rising income inequality, reduced wages for production workers, weakened workers' bargaining powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits. I find this to be a contrast to what John Adams was working toward for the American people (whether it was intended or not); total independence and preservation of the American peoples' jobs, economy, and credit.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp147
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement