Inauguration of John Adams
- When
- 1796–1797
- Where
- Site of the presidential oath of office; United States executive transition; Electoral College voting
- Episodes
- 3
John Adams was sworn in as the second President of the United States on March 4, 1797, succeeding George Washington after the first contested presidential election. The passages confirm the date of the inauguration but do not explicitly state the ceremony's location, so Philadelphia is admitted only as the legacy location with noted uncertainty.
Episodes
- Transition from the Washington Administration
Power passed from Washington's administration to Adams following the 1796 election, the first contested American presidential contest.
- Hamilton's Effort to Deny Adams Votes
Hamilton convinced at least 7 of 69 electors to withhold votes from Adams, seeking an overwhelming victory for Washington's preferred outcome.
- Inauguration of John Adams
Adams took the presidential oath on March 4, 1797, becoming the nation's second president after the first contested election.
Background and detail
Background. Adams had served two terms as vice president under George Washington, from 1789 to 1797, and largely sided with the Washington administration and the emerging Federalist Party. The 1796 election, the first contested American presidential election, arose after deep philosophical differences between Hamilton and Jefferson split the administration into Federalist and Republican parties.
Election of 1796. Adams was elected as the United States' second president in 1796 under the banner of the Federalist Party. As in the previous two presidential elections, no candidates were put forward for voters to choose between. Alexander Hamilton, seeking to ensure Washington would have an overwhelming victory and that Adams would not accidentally become president, convinced at least 7 of the 69 electors not to cast their vote for Adams.
Inauguration. Adams was sworn into office as the nation's second president on March 4, 1797. The supplied passages confirm the date but do not name the city where the oath was taken; Philadelphia is retained from the legacy record as the presumed location, with that limitation stated explicitly.
Immediate Aftermath. The French had supported Jefferson for president in 1796 and became belligerent at his loss. On May 16, 1797, Adams gave a speech to the House and Senate calling for increased defense capabilities in case of war with France, an early measure of his new administration.
People involved
- John Adams · Incoming president, sworn in as the second President of the United States
- George Washington · Outgoing president whose administration gave way to Adams
- Alexander Hamilton · Federalist leader who persuaded electors to withhold votes from Adams in 1796
Sources
- John Adams Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.