alternatehistory.com

Here's a constitutional paradox. When John Adams took office as POTUS in 1797, he asked Jefferson (who had just been elected VP) to go to France to negotiate an end to French attacks on American ships. IOTL, he decline to go.

Suppose that Jefferson did go to Paris in 1797 and then, back in America, John Adams died (don't care how - maybe he fell off his horse and hit his head). Jefferson would be President, but he wouldn't know it for a few months. It might take as long as six months for Jefferson to get back to America.

What happens?
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