TEAM FEDERALIST:

As told by David McCullough in his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the second president: "Adams, who could have applied influence behind the scenes, refused to say or do anything. Firm in his belief in the separation of powers, he saw it as a question for the legislature in which he, as President, had no business and he would stay far from it." 

Adams could have set himself as a major actor in the political drama that was unfolding in Congress during the early months of 1801 - Jefferson had even asked him to intervene in Congress' deadlock. He could have rejected the election results outright, as many states still had some very undemocratic methods for choosing their electors. But instead, he chose to conclude his unfinished business as president, including his controversial appointment of several federal judges, and he made plans for his retirement back in Quincy, Massachusetts. For the first time in American history, a sitting president peacefully handed power to an opposing political party he knew would move the country in a different direction, and he went home.  

Adams didn't even have interest in engaging in legal affairs from his Old House at Peace field. When former partner William Tudor asked Adams to reunite in a law practice, Adams replied, "I must be farmer John of Stoneyfield and nothing more (I hope nothing less) for the rest of my life." By design, Adams left the spotlight to Jefferson, Burr, and Hamilton; he knew it was time to move on. 

McCullough tells how Adams, as hurt as he was by his political defeat and all the personal attacks that had been launched against him by his one-time friend and fellow revolutionary, even hosted Jefferson at the executive mansion for dinner or tea on several occasions after Adams learned of his defeat.  

In a Jan. 16, 1811, letter to Benjamin Rush, Jefferson recalls how Adams, after hearing of his impending defeat, came to Jefferson: "Well, I understand that you are to beat me in this contest, and I will only say that I will be as faithful a subject as any you will have." There is no evidence to suggest that Adams ever deviated from Jefferson's account.  

Tweet   @brothersjudd