Video: 'The Story of America: John Adams'

(Thursday, October 30, 1735) — John Adams, the second president of the United States (1797-1801) and the first vice president of the United States (1789-1797), was born today on the family farm in Braintree, Massachusetts Bay, British America (now Quincy).

Adams’s term was dominated by the issue of the French Revolutionary Wars, and his insistence on American neutrality led to fierce criticism from both the Jeffersonian Republicans and from some in his own party, led by his rival Alexander Hamilton.

Video: 'John Adams - 2nd President of the United States Documentary'

Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and built up the Army and Navy in an undeclared naval war with France.

He was the first president to reside in the White House.

In his 1800 bid for reelection to the presidency, opposition from Federalists and accusations of despotism from Jeffersonians led to Adams losing to his vice president and former friend, Thomas Jefferson.