Chapter 9 Section 4
“the second president”
Adams Gets Tested
• In the first months of John
Adams’ presidency, he was
tested. France, unhappy with
Jay’s Treaty, began attacking
American Ships. The American
people called for war!
• Adams wanted to stay out of
European affairs, so he did not
declare war. Instead he sent
diplomats to Paris to see if they
could work something out.
• When the American diplomats
met with the French, the French
diplomat asked for $250,000
just to talk. The Americans
refused to pay the bribe and
went home.
The XYZ Affair
• When the Americans came back
and told about how the French
tried to bribe them, the country
became outraged. This time
they demanded war!!!
• Adams still didn’t think that the
US should get involved in
another war. Instead, he built
ships fast-sailing ships called
frigates with many guns. This
helped convince France that
attacking US ships might not be
such a good idea.
• Adams’ refusal to support war
led to a split in the Federalist
party.
You’d better
step off
France!!
Alien and Sedition Acts
I can’t believe
Adams would make
me wait 14 yrs to
vote!!
You can’t vote
anyway,
you’re
• Under
thea Alien Act, the
woman…I
think. could expel any
president
foreigner from the country if he
thought they were dangerous.
Also, immigrants had to be a
citizen for 14 years before they
could get the right to vote
(before the alien act it was 4
years).
• The Sedition Act made it legal
for the government to fine or
imprison people that criticized
the government or its officials.
• This made republicans very
angry!!
State’s Rights
• Thomas Jefferson and others in
the Republican party urged
states to nullify (cancel) the
Alien and Sedition Acts. He
argued that a state had the right
to call a law unconstitutional,
and nullify the law within that
state’s borders.
• This brought up many pressing
questions. Did the state
governments have the right to
declare laws unconstitutional?
What exactly were the rights
that states had?
• Within a few years, the Alien
and Sedition acts expired.
Still, the issue of where a state
had the power to nullify federal
laws would come up again.
Election of 1800
• The federalist party ruined
its reputation with the
alien and sedition acts.
Jefferson (leader of the
republican party) won the
election, and that was
pretty much all she wrote
for the federalists.
Especially after their
leader, Alexander
Hamilton was killed in a
dual by Aaron Burr.