Adam Smith

Examples of Adam Smith in the following topics:

• Classical Liberalism

  • Classical liberalism developed over the course of the 1800s in the United States and Britain and drew upon Enlightenment sources (particularly the works of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Adam Smith).
  • Classical liberals agreed with Adam Smith that government had only three essential functions: protection against foreign invaders, protection of citizens from wrongs committed against them by other citizens, and the building and maintaining of public institutions and public works that the private sector could not profitably provide.
  • Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.

• The Rights of Englishmen

  • Adam Smith, a Scottish political economist, extended on some of Locke's arguments by theorizing a relationship between government and trade.
  • In "The Wealth of Nations", Smith argued that, rather than directing and controlling a nation's economy, the best kind of governments encouraged the development of free markets--in which trade with other nations was unfettered by mercantile policies.
  • According to Smith, government should be limited to defense, public works, and the administration of justice, financed by taxes based on income.
  • Essentially, Smith envisioned the government's role in the economy as a minimized (even nonexistent) presence, with the "invisible hand" of supply and demand determining economic policy.
  • Smith saw self-interest, rather than altruism, as the motivation for the production of goods and services.

• Laissez-Faire and the Supreme Court

  • In a similar vein, Adam Smith viewed the economy as a natural system and the market as an organic part of that system.
  • Smith saw laissez-faire as a moral program, and the market its instrument to ensure men the rights of natural law.

• Economic Nationalism

  • The name "American System" was coined by Henry Clay of the Whig Party to distinguish the school of thought from the competing theory of economics at the time, the British System, represented by Adam Smith in his work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

• The Election of 1796

  • Paradoxically, Hamilton himself opposed Adams and worked to undermine his election.
  • In the election, Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson by a narrow margin of only three electoral votes.
  • It caused much discord between Adams and Jefferson, with Jefferson leveraging his position as vice president to attack President Adams' policies and Adams alienating Jefferson from all cabinet and policy decisions.
  • Smith of South Carolina presented a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives for an amendment that would allow the presidential electors to designate which candidate would be president and which would be vice president.
  • The majority of votes for Jefferson came from the southern states and Pennsylvania, while the majority of votes for Adams came from the northern states.

• The Adams Presidency

  • John Adams, the second president to hold office, believed in a strong federal government and an expansion of executive power.
  • As the second president to hold office, Federalist John Adams followed Washington's example in stressing civic virtue and republican values.
  • Adams' combative spirit did not always lend itself to presidential decorum, as Adams himself admitted in his old age: "[As president] I refused to suffer in silence.
  • When Adams entered office, he decided to continue Washington's policy of staying out of the European war.
  • John Adams was the second President of the United States, elected in 1796.

• The Adams Presidency

  • John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, served from March 4, 1825, to March 4, 1829.
  • John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was the son of former President John Adams.
  • After Adams lost control of Congress in 1827, the situation became more complicated.
  • Adams defended his domestic agenda as continuing James Monroe's policies.
  • Portrait of John Quincy Adams by George Peter Alexander Healy (1858).

• Al Smith and the Election of 1928

  • Alfred Emanuel "Al" Smith was the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in the election of 1928.
  • Hoover even triumphed in Smith's home state of New York by a narrow margin.
  • In all, Smith carried only six of the 11 states of the former Confederacy.
  • Smith was a strong opponent of Prohibition and the first Roman Catholic nominee for U.S. president.
  • Shades of red are for Hoover (Republican) and shades of blue are for Smith (Democratic).

• Domestic Turmoil During the Adams Presidency

  • The Adams presidency was marked by several domestic conflicts that deepened the split between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
  • Upon assuming office, Adams made the decision to retain all of the members of Washington's cabinet.
  • Although aware of the Hamilton factor, Adams was convinced that their retention would ensure a smoother succession.
  • Adams' presidency saw several conflicts that fueled domestic tensions.
  • The leaders were to be hanged in front of the tavern, but were pardoned by President Adams.

• The Election of 1828 and the Character Issue

  • Adams accepted Secretary of the Treasury Richard Rush of Pennsylvania as his vice presidential running mate.
  • Pro-Jackson newspapers heralded the “hero of New Orleans” while denouncing Adams.
  • Adams won the New England states, New Jersey, and Delaware.
  • In addition, Adams picked up Maryland.
  • This map illustrates the Electoral College votes for Jackson and Adams for each state.