In this lengthy letter, Hamilton lays out the performance of John Adams as President and compares him to Washington, Jefferson, and Charles Pinckney. Only the final summary is provided below as the letter is too lengthy to include as a source.
Mr. Adams has committed some serious errors as President; that in addition to these, he is so stubborn he ends up ruining anything that he is in charge of, because of his anger and jealousy, he has already divided and distracted the supporters of the Federalists, through lies which strengthen the Democratic-Republicans, and has weakened the force of other Federalists like me by publicly speaking against some of the most important of them as much as he can; and as a result, he is tearing down the successes of Washington, and that there is real reason to believe, the whole country might weaken, if not fall, under his future leadership.
However, it will be my goal to control who reads this letter so that it will not take a single vote away from Mr. Adams.
CITATIONS:
1. “Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States, [24 October 1800],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-25-02-0110-0002. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 25, July 1800 – April 1802, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977, pp. 186–234.]