Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/125

 JOHN ADAMS 95 who secured the second place instead of Pinckney, it seemed on the surface as if Hamilton s advice had been sound. But from the outset it had been clear (and no one knew it better than Hamilton) that several southern federalists would withhold their votes from Adams in order to give the presi dency to Pinckney, always supposing that the New England electors could be depended upon to vote equally for both. The purpose of Hamilton s advice was to make Pinckney president and Adams vice-president, in opposition to the wishes of their party. This purpose was suspected in New Eng land, and while some of the southern federalists voted for Pinckney and Jefferson, eighteen New Englanders, in voting for Adams, withheld their votes from Pinckney. The result was the election of a federalist president with a republican vice- president. In case of the death, disability, or re moval of the president, the administration would fall into the hands of the opposite party. Clearly a mode of election that presented such temptations to intrigue, and left so much to accident, was vicious and could not last long. These proceedings gave rise to a violent feud between John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, which ended in break ing up the federalist party, and has left a legacy of bitter feelings to the many descendants of those two illustrious men. The presidency of John Adams was stormy.