John Adams and US-French Diplomacy

Abstract

Despite the number of publications written about John Adams (1735-1826), few have investigated his diplomatic endeavours in relation to France, and the consequences these had on his thoughts and actions. Through archival research and the application of qualitative and conceptual analysis, this study proffers several findings. Firstly, US-French diplomatic relations were bound to three underlying concepts: asymmetry, American exceptionalism, and French anti-Americanism. These underlined the relationship that John Adams and his counterpart, the French foreign minister, the Comte de Vergennes were to have. Secondly, contrary to regnant historiography, John Adams was not a failed diplomat. This idea can be shown to be derived from a character assassination plotted and conducted by the Comte de Vergennes, abetted by his minister in the US, the Chevalier de La Luzerne and some allies in Congress. Thirdly, the accusation of vanity, supposedly originating with Benjamin Franklin and prolonged by Alexander Hamilton, came from the same persons and through the same process. Fourthly, Adams’s observations on the United States and France during his service as a diplomat brought him to redefine some of his political thought to conclude that the aristocracy was an intrinsic part of politics and society. This thesis corrects the historical narrative: contrary to popular beliefs about John Adams, France had made him a skilled diplomat and observer of American and French politics and diplomacy and had prepared him for his role as president-diplomat.