From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation. American history in Special English. I'm Steve Ember.This week in our series, we continue the story of America's second president, John Adams. He took office in 1797.He had served eight years as vice president under President George Washington.Now, state electors had chosen him to govern the new nation.Adams was an intelligent man. He was a patriot and an able diplomat. But he did not like party politics.This dislike caused trouble during his presidency because two political parties struggled for power during his time in office.Adams was caught in the middle.John Adams was a member of the Federalist Party. As president, he should have been party leader.But this position belonged to a man who really knew how to get and use political power, Alexander Hamilton.
