| Date | December 8, 1798 |
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| Venue | Hall of the House of Representatives,Congress Hall[1] |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Type | State of the Union Address |
| Participants | John Adams Thomas Jefferson Jonathan Dayton |
| Previous | 1797 State of the Union Address |
| Next | 1799 State of the Union Address |
The1798 State of the Union Address was delivered byJohn Adams, secondpresident of the United States, on Saturday, December 8, 1798, in theCongress Hall ofPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.Adams compares the sickness affecting various coastal cities in 1797 to thedispensations of theTribulation. He called upon theCongress to passpublic health laws to prevent the spread of disease throughinterstate commerce. He also suggests the establishment of "a system which, while it may tend to preserve thegeneral health, may be compatible with the interests of commerce and the safety of the revenue."
Adams attributes the subsidence of disease to theDivine Providence of theSupreme Being. He notes the enthusiasm andnationalism ofAmericans in dealing with foreign aggression; notably fromFrance by sea andSpain by land through illegal garrisons in the southern U.S. frontiers.
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Adams begins hisaddress by solemnly expressing his doubts concerning negotiations inParis, accusing France of insincerity. In 1796 theFrench Directory rejectedCharles Cotesworth Pinckney as theUnited States Minister Plenipotentiary to France. The Directory passed a decree in January 1797 allowing the "capture and condemnation neutral vessels and their cargoes if any portion of the latter are ofBritish fabric or produce," essentially justifying the already institutionalizedimpressment of American sailors by theFrench Navy ininternational waters. Adams refers to the decree as an, "unequivocalact of war on the commerce of the nations it attacks," and states that if the U.S. has the means it can "reconcile nothing with their interest and honor but a firm resistance."
Adams expresses a need to invigorate and extend the U.S.measure of defense, alluding to theUnited States Navy, in light of French conduct. Adams parallels his pugnacious comments by confirming his desire for an amicable end to hostilities and insistence that preparation for war is the only way to insure peace. Another ambassador will not be sent to France without, "more determinate assurances that he would be received," because his rejection would be an, "act of humiliation." Before Adams is willing to restore formal relations, France must end depredations and pay reparations for past grievances, "heretofore inflicted on our commerce."
The necessity of maritime protection through a navy is formally expressed and exalted through the statements, "no country ever experienced more sudden and remarkable advantages from any measure of policy than we have derived from the arming for our maritime protection and defense," and "We ought...to...increase of our Navy to a size sufficient toguard our coast and protect our trade."
The illegal Spanish garrisons in theNatchez and Walnut Hills, mentioned in Adams' previous address, have been evacuated. Two commissioners, one from the United States and one from Spain, outline the 31st degree of north latitude, the border between the United States and Spain.
Southern Indians, most likelyNatchez, are preventing official demarcation of the border, either for personal reasons or through clandestine Spanish encouragement. Adams decides that maintaining a commissioner in remote areas of the nation is not worth the cost and states that the commissioner should be recalled.
| Preceded by | State of the Union addresses 1798 | Succeeded by |
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