John Adams was an American. Not because he was exceptional. He wasn’t. He never served like Hamilton. He struggled with self-control in contrast to Washington. He wasn’t a widely effective diplomat in France like Franklin. He barely won the Presidential election (by three votes) and was resoundedly defeated by Jefferson. And he experienced tremendous family difficulties — his second son passing away while he was President due to challenges with gambling and alcohol.
And yet he was an American. He answered the call. He was - as they say - the man in the arena. And sometimes the seemed like the only man in the arena surrounded by incompetence as he was in France (as Franklin and Henry struggled to coexist), and the growing stratification of parties during his Presidency. It was Adams who secured America’s first peace, neither siding with Britain as a pure Federalist or supporting France as the Republican’s would have him do.
If we think about how Adam’s life (more so than just his presidency relates to today), I think it’s Adams who really (first?) embodied the idea of America first. To Adams, this was grounded in the importance of education both as a tool for personal development but for the flourishing of a nation. But it was also a recognition that America needed to rely on the support of other countries. Adams routinely secured loans from the Dutch. But it was as a reliable partner. He emphasized the importance of Americans paying in international debts following the Revolutionary War. When congressed asked that he secure a peace treaty that was primarily satisfactory to France, Adams objected and ensured that America’s security received primary attention. He advanced the idea of peace through strength. He developed the Navy.