John Adams: Unfit To Lead

“John Adams: Unfit to Lead”

            This campaign advertisement took the perspective of the Jeffersonian-Republicans in accusing John Adams and the Federalists of being monarchist aristocrats that favored Britain over America’s Revolutionary War allies, France. The issues of foreign policy and international allegiance were highly relevant in the lead-up to the Election of 1796 due to the fact that France and England were in conflict at that time. The nation that the United States decided to associate with could have a significant impact on the future of the still-developing country. This advertisement spoke to that reality and made the Federalist position on America’s role in the international community the focal point of its criticism. John Adams, of course, is the primary target and I employed several tactics in the advertisement aimed at discrediting his ability to lead the country and questioning his commitment to the Constitutional values United States during this pivotal time period.

To begin with, the music, “Rule Britannia!,” was chosen so as to convey the message that John Adams was as British sympathizer. The opening shot, Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, combined with the text from Adams’ legal defense of the British soldiers involved in the incident are included to bolster the claim that Adams was inclined to favor Great Britain, even at the expense of his fellow countrymen. The picture of dying colonialists is coupled with the line “at the head of such rabble of Negroes” to add emphasis to Adams’ insensitivity to the casualties of the massacre.

The quote from Adams stating that “the Lacedaemonian republic had the three essential parts of the best possible government, monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy,” is included to further demonstrate his affinity for royal and elitist government. “Monarchy” is coupled with a picture of King George III, which, following the images of the Boston Massacre, is intended to spark resentment in the observer. In keeping with the utilization of the voters’ memories of the American Revolution, “Aristocracy” is coupled with a political cartoon depicting the Intolerable Acts of 1774, which is alluding to the fact that money was unjustly taken from the colonies to support the British ruling class and suggesting that Adams would desire a similar socioeconomic arrangement in his “best possible government.” And finally, “Democracy” is coupled with the political cartoon, “The Horse America, Throwing His Master,” as a symbol that voters of the time would be able to relate to.

However, the quote soon disappears and the frame pans to the “Master” riding America. A quick transition is then made to show the face of Adams; suggesting that he is comparable to the same type of ruler that the nation fought so hard to be rid of. At the same time, a quote from Mathew Carey’s critique of a 1796 political pamphlet called “The Pretensions of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency Examined, and the Charges against John Adams Refuted” (a picture of which was accompanies the beginning of Adams’ second quote in the advertisement), is begun; with words capitalized that are most indicative of Adams’ anti-democratic philosophy. Carey’s argument is supplemented by a copy of the Jay Treaty as well as a depiction of Jay burning in effigy to equate that diplomatic agreement with the Federalists’ bias towards the British who – the advertisement makes sure you remember – were tyrannical in their dealings with the U.S.  The Constitution is coupled with the line “all the ideas of the human mind, would be vainly applied (to such an unequivocal and explicit declaration of monarchial and aristocratical faith),” to demonstrate that the United States has already created a fair government of its own, and it doesn’t need Adams’ anti-democratic influence to try and change it for the worse. The word “nay” is conveniently aligned with the “Jay” on the effigy’s body for added (subliminal) effect.

John Adams’ lone image is presented at the end to remind the observer that he is an aristocrat, a monarchist, and is not what America needs if she wishes to move forward. That particular image, as well as most of the others, was acquired through Google Image searches. The quotes that were included in the advertisement were located online as well, the first being taken from Adams’ court statements from the Boston Massacre trials (available online at this website: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/keyfigures.html), the second quote was taken from Mathew Carey’s critique (available online through the Readex Archive of Americana, Early American Imprints, Series I: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=K64P4FMMMTMyOTk5NzI3My42MTEwMjk6MToxNToxMzcuMTY1LjE2Mi4yMjI&p_action=doc&p_docnum=2&p_queryname=2&p_docref=v2:0F2B1FCB879B099B@EAIX-0F30164EADB02AC0@18073-@1); accordingly, Carey’s own words were taken from the same source as well. The music for the advertisement was downloaded through a YouTube to MP3 converter.

I am still learning the ropes as far as the video production technology is concerned, which made for a lengthy photo/text arrangement process, but overall the making of the video was enjoyable as it was an interesting new way to engage with history and present an argument. I am determined to improve upon my abilities as the semester progresses.