1
No sooner had Adams taken office….
Conflict with France
• The French people objected to the (1) Jay Treaty
between the United States and Britain. In 1797, French
ships began to seize American ships in the West Indies.
• To avoid war, Adams sent (2) John Marshall, Charles C.
Pinckney, and Elbridge Gerry to France.
The XYZ Affair
• The French foreign minister,
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
would not deal directly with the
Americans but sent three secret
agents to offer the Americans a
deal.
– “You must pay money before we
can begin the talks.” de Tallyrand
wants $250,000 for himself and a
loan of 10 million for France.
XYZ Affair – “This was a bribe!”
• “This was a bribe!” Replied the American diplomats.
• Congress did not want to reveal the names of the three
agents, so they were referred to as X, Y and Z.
the Paris Monster: an
American cartoon of
1798 on the 'XYZ'
Affair; the five-man
Directory ruling
France demands
money at dagger's
point from the
American
commisioners.
War fever ignited!
• Soon the Americans heard about the XYZ
Affair in 1798 and were outraged and
called for (3) war.
– “Millions for defense, but not one cent for
tribute!”
Adams Reaction
• In response, Congress quickly voted to
strengthen the (4) Army and Navy.
• America built frigates - fastest sailing ships with
many guns.
The American frigate USS
Constellation (left) bears down
on the L'Insurgente off the
island of Nevis in the West
Indies on 9 February 1799
during the undeclared war with
France: contemporary aquatint.
The L'Insurgent (left) hauls down her tricolor and surrenders to the
American frigate USS Constellation off of the island of Nevis in the
West Indies on 9 February 1799 during the undeclared war with France.
Contemporary aquatint.
7
New Power in France
• In 1799, (5) Napoleon Bonaparte came to
power. Already at war with Britain, Napoleon did
not want war with America to and in the
Convention of 1800, France and the United
States agreed on terms for peace.
WASHINGTON‘S DEATH
• The death of President George
Washington on 14 December 1799.
Federalists pass through several
laws
• During the crisis with France
the Federalists passed
through three laws
collectively known as the (6)
Alien Acts.
• These acts were supposed
to protect the country from
foreigners living in the
Country.
Naturalization Act
• Federalists wanted to make citizenship more difficult
for newcomers so they increased the time required
to become a United States citizen from 5 to 14
years.
The Alien Act
• The Alien Act allowed the president to deport or expel
any alien thought to be (6) dangerous to the country.
• Federalists hoped this would silence any French
refugees who opposed Federalist calls for war.
Alien Enemies Act
• The Alien Enemies Act allowed the
United States government to arrest
and deport all aliens who were
citizens of foreign nations at war
with the United States.
Sedition Act
• Federalists also passed a law called the (7)
Sedition Act that made it a crime to speak or
write critically about the federal government or
those who ran it.
American cartoon, 1798, engraving on the fight in Congress between
Roger Griswold (wielding cane) and Matthew Lyon, the most notable
victim of the Sedition Act of 1798.
Jefferson and Madison React
• Sedition Act violates the (8) 1st Amendment to the
Constitution.
• Since the Federalists controlled the courts Jefferson and
Madison urged states to take action.
• Kentucky and Virginia pass the (9) Kentucky and Virginia
Resolutions of 1798 which stated that each state had an
equal right to judge for itself whether a law was
constitutional.
The Election of 1800
• In the election of 1800, (10) Thomas Jefferson and
Aaron Burr ran against John Adams and Charles
Pinckney for President and Vice President.
• Following the Constitution, the one with the highest vote
became President and the second highest became Vice
President. The vote was a deadlock, or tie between
Jefferson and Burr.
• Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives
decides the election in the case of a tie vote.
A new president
• With the help of Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson elected to
become the new president of the United States.
• Aaron Burr becomes Vice President.
Amending the Election Method
• The tie made it clear that the election method
was flawed. To avoid another tie, Congress
passed the (12) Twelfth Amendment which
called for electors to vote on separate
amendments to elect President and Vice
President.
Federalists Legacy
• After the election of (13) 1800, the
Federalists party lost power.
• Under the Federalists America had
expanded to include three new
states – Vermont, Kentucky, and
Tennessee.
• French architect Pierre L’Enfant had
been given the honor of planning
the construction of Washington,
D.C.
Vermont
Kentucky
Tennessee
1800 blueprint for the Whitehouse