Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden

by Bill O'Reilly

Washington did not invite Adams to cabinet meetings or seek his advice, which irritated the prideful New Englander.

Adams believes slavery is antithetical to America’s promise of freedom.

John Adams admits his weakness: “I can treat all with decency and civility and converse with them when it is necessary on points of business, but I am never happy in their company.”

John Adams and his predecessor, George Washington, have one thing in common: they both loathe the press.

At the turn of the nineteenth century in America, the press is notoriously partisan and personal.

The primary discussion is whether the United States should get involved in European wars.

The subsequent press viciousness toward Adams from both sides is relentless. Many stories are complete fiction, written by editors eager to sell newspapers through virulent attacks.

Free speech is guaranteed in the Constitution, but Adams believes criticism of his policies by Jefferson and the Republicans is a threat to the United States.

on June 18, 1798, the Federalist-controlled Congress passes four bills known as the Alien and Sedition Acts.

The most powerful of these limits the freedom of the press, making it illegal to publish “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against the president.

John Adams arises each morning at 5:00 a.m. He enjoys a five-mile walk, firmly believing that “move or die is the language of our maker in the constitution of our bodies.”

President Adams serves only one term in office.

He will develop the American navy into a juggernaut, soon to be the equal of any in the world. He will forge peace with France. But a hallmark of those four years is the enduring hatred Adams will develop for Alexander Hamilton as well as for his own vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

His rivalry with Hamilton will divide the Federalist Party, and in little more than two decad...

is one of the nastiest presidential campaigns in the history of the United States.

they both share a vision for America and are committed to pulling the country away from any fondness for British royalty.

Jefferson believes the Founding Fathers wanted the states to have most of the control.

the new president will also pay off the national debt. In addition, he wants to get rid of the standing army, fearing it is a threat to national freedom.

There will be no favored nation status in foreign policy: “Honest friendships with all nations. Ent...

His speech has been a triumph, effecting the transfer of power without “confusion, villainy, and bloodshed,” in the words of one eyewitness.

his greatest accomplishment is the Louisiana Purchase.

It is Jefferson and the young James Madison who form the new Democratic-Republican Party in the 1790s. The movement advocates less federal power over individuals and the states. Madison advocates for a system of checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to ensure that no group acquires more power than any other.

In 1820, he is reelected. He runs unopposed, the last time that will happen in American history.

in 1819, Spain chooses to give up on Florida entirely. The territory is ceded to the United States for $5 million.

Standing before the Eighteenth Congress, the president starkly warns Europe not to meddle in North America. There will be no more colonization of American lands. Any attempt to do so will be considered an act of war. In exchange, the United States will not intervene in European affairs.

The threat of war will become known as the Monroe Doctrine, and for the next 150 years, it will guide American foreign policy.

John Quincy Adams is lucky to be president. He actually lost the popular vote to Andrew Jackson by a wide margin. However, Jackson did not reach the 50 percent threshold in the Electoral College vote, and there were three other men in contention, including Adams. In a series of backdoor moves, Adams was able to convince Henry Clay to give him his votes. The other candidate, William Crawford of Georgia, paralyzed and nearly blind from a recent stroke, kept his small tally. Clay, from Kentucky, was Speaker of the House and not a natural ally to Adams. However, after Adams secured Clay’s support, he named him secretary of state. That action is widely known as the “corrupt bargain.”

he is not a people person.

There are now twenty-four states in the Union. Eighteen allow their residents to directly vote for president. Six states still require state legislatures to make the choice of who will serve in the Electoral College.

single-term presidency of Adams.

Adams undertakes an ambitious agenda to build new roads and canals with federal money.

He will fund these grand projects through the sale of public lands.

The president proposes a university, a new naval academy to train seafaring officers, a national observatory, and even a standard system of weights and measures. None receive congressional support.

As for foreign policy, it is nonexistent.

Adams focuses his attention completely on solving d...

He will be the only man to ever serve as a congressman after being president.

he will serve in Congress for seventeen years.

President Jackson’s two terms in office featured the following: the Trail of Tears, tariffs, slavery in Texas, the abolition of the national bank, and the admittance of Arkansas and Michigan to the Union. As president, he governed capably, with unbending will. Future presidents Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Donald Trump will publicly reference his presidency as a model for their own. In fact, when asked if Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War, President Harry Truman wrote, “If Jackson had been president instead of Old Buch [James Buchanan] the war might never have happened.”

Perhaps the worst thing is that this “Panic of 1837” was preventable.

The root cause goes back five years to President Jackson’s decision to shutter America’s national bank.

his Specie Circular of 1836 required all purchases of land to be made in gold and silver instead of paper or coin. That policy was sup...

In the face of the panic, Martin Van Buren still has time to make bold changes to America’s financial system. But he will do nothing.

Martin Van Buren is a successful politician in New York State, but on the national level he is lost without Andrew Jackson. He is not a natural leader. His reddish-brown hair will soon turn gray under the strain of governance. Van Buren has taken orders all his life. And he is good at that. But directing the fate of a growing nation is a far more difficult task.

He is a believer in Jackson’s interpretation of the Constitution: enhanced states’ rights, a deferential federal government, and little funding from Congress for roads and other internal improvements.

a new political alliance known simply as the Democratic Party,

Among Martin Van Buren’s many nicknames is “Old Kinderhook,” in reference to his town of birth. This is often shortened to OK. Coincidentally, Andrew Jackson prints this abbreviation on official documents. When he wants to approve something as all correct, he simply writes OK. Despite his proficiency in Latin and law, Jackson is such a poor speller that he believes all correct is spelled ole kurrek

Thus, OK enters the American lexicon as a verbal affirmation and eventually becomes the most used word in the entire world.

William Henry Harrison becomes the first Whig elected president.

Van Buren was a poor president who simply could not solve vexing problems.

What he will be remembered for is his presidential campaign.