John Adams
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Object type: Painting
Date: 1793
Artist: John Trumbull, 6 Jun 1756 - 10 Nov 1843
Former attribution: Gilbert Stuart, 3 Dec 1755 - 9 Jul 1828
Sitter: John Adams, 30 Oct 1735 - 4 Jul 1826
Place: United States/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/Philadelphia
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Stretcher: 65.1 × 54.9 × 2.5cm (25 5/8 × 21 5/8 × 1")
Frame: 78.7 x 69.2 x 6cm (31 x 27 1/4 x 2 3/8")
Credit line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Topics: Legislators
Neckwear
Arts and Culture
Literature
Congressmen
Writers
Government
Diplomacy
Dress accessories
Portraits
Continental congressman
Decoration and ornament
Colonial statesman
Statesman
Costume
Men
Signer of Declaration
Public officers
Politics
Vice-Presidents
Diplomats
Stock
Cravat
Presidents
Exhibition Label: Second president, 1797–1801
John Adams sat for this portrait when he was vice president, a role he described as “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived.” There was, however, an important benefit to the position: It became the springboard for his election to the presidency in 1796.
The threat of war with France dominated much of Adams’s time in office. In 1798, tensions grew when documents revealed that French agents had requested a bribe from U.S. trade delegates. In response, Adams signed four measures, collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, restricting immigration and preventing “false, scandalous, and malicious” press. Three of the acts eventually expired or were repealed. The Alien Enemies Act, which permits “all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government” to be “apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed” during wartime, remains in effect.
While Adams avoided war, he failed to maintain peace with his political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, who held competing views of government. Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. That same year, artist John Trumbull’s depiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in which both men appear, was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Segundo presidente, 1797–1801
John Adams posó para este retrato siendo vicepresidente, puesto que describió como “el más insignificante que haya inventado el hombre”. No obstante, le rindió un beneficio importante: fue el trampolín para su elección a la presidencia en 1796. La amenaza de una guerra con Francia dominó gran parte del mandato Adams. En 1798 la tensión aumentó cuando unos documentos revelaron que agentes franceses habían solicitado un soborno a los delegados comerciales de EE.UU. A raíz de esto, Adams firmó cuatro medidas, conocidas en conjunto como Leyes de Extranjería y Sedición, que restringían la inmigración e impedían la publicación de escritos “falsos, escandalosos y maliciosos”. Con los años, tres de las leyes expiraron o fueron derogadas. La Ley de Enemigos Extranjeros, que permite que “todos los nativos, ciudadanos, residentes o súbditos de la nación o gobierno hostil” sean “detenidos, restringidos, custodiados y expulsados” en tiempos de guerra, sigue vigente.
Aunque Adams evitó la guerra, no logró la paz con sus rivales políticos Alexander Hamilton y Thomas Jefferson, quienes tenían visiones de gobierno contrapuestas. Adams y Jefferson murieron el 4 de julio de 1826. Ese año se instaló en la rotonda del Capitolio de EE.UU. la pintura de John Trumbull que ilustra la firma de la Declaración de Independencia, en la que ambos aparecen.
[None]