Angela Brown
6.2 THE GOVERNMENT TAKES A NEW
COURSE
LEARNING TARGETS:
1.
2.
3.
Summarize the actions of John Adams as
President.
Describe the events of Gabriel Prosser’s
Rebellion.
Explain the outcome and the importance of
the election of 1800.
FOCUS:
Bellringer:
 Rate on a scale of 1 – 5
with 5 the highest the
importance of the
following conditions to
presidential campaigns:
 Length of the campaign
 honesty of the campaign,
 relevance of issues raised
during the campaign
Key Terms:
 XYZ Affair
 Alien and Sedition Act
 Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions
 nullification
JOHN ADAMS
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Despite having served as
a leader during the
American Revolution and
as the Vice President for
eight years, John Adams
lacked the prestige of
George Washington.
As President, Adams
faced the differences
were growing wider and
wider.
He also faced the threat
of war from abroad.
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From the beginning of the
Adams administration, the
U.S. began to drift toward
war with France.
The French were angry
about Jay’s Treaty with the
British and began seizing
American ships in French
harbors.
Trying to avoid war, Adams
sent officials to Paris to
negotiate with the
revolutionary government.
THE XYZ AFFAIR
Once in Paris, the American officials were met by
secret agents sent by the French foreign minister.
 These agents were later identified only as X, Y, and
Z.
 They demanded a bribe of $250,000 and a loan to
the French of $10 million before the Americans
would even by allowed to see the French foreign
minister.
 This was common practice in European diplomacy
but outraged the Americans and became known
as the X, Y, Z Affairs.

THE X,Y.Z AFFAIR
The diplomats refused to pay and returned
home.
 The slogan “Millions for defense, but not one
cent for tribute (bribery)” rang out in the U.S.
 By 1798 the French and U.S. engaged in an
undeclared war firing on and seizing each
other’s ships.

THE ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
The federalists took advantage of the war crisis
and Adam’s popularity to push important new
measures through Congress.
 An increase in the size of the army, higher taxes
to support the army and navy, and the Alien
and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a few.

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
Under the Alien Act, the President gained the right
to imprison or deport citizens of other countries
residing in the U.S.
 Under the Sedition Act, persons who wrote,
published or said anything “of a false, scandalous,
and malicious” nature against the American
government or its officials could be fined or jailed.
 You had to be able to proved everything you said.
 The Federalists used the Sedition Act to silence
Republican opposition.
 Ten Republicans were convicted and many others
were tried.

THE VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS
Jefferson, Madison, and other Republicans
believed that the Sedition Act violated the
constitutional protection of freedom of speech.
 The Constitution did not state who had the
authority to determine constitutionality.

VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS
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Jefferson and Madison believed that the states should
make that judgment.
They responded with the Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions.
They stated, if a state decided that a law was
unconstitutional, it could declare that law “null and void”
within the state.
This principle of nullification remained unresolved.
Neither Virginia nor Kentucky tried to enforce the
resolutions.
Their defiance of federal power was clear.
INCREASING TENSIONS
Tensions between Federalists and Jeffersonian
Republicans continued to grow during the late
1790s.
 Members of Congress attacked each other in the
House.
 Crowds taunted President Adams, at times forcing
him to enter the presidential residence in
Philadelphia through the back door.
 With the election of 1800 looming, many people
believed the future of the U.S. was at stake.

GABRIEL PROSSER’S REBELLION
In the area around Richmond, Virginia, a
blacksmith named Gabriel Prosser and several
other slaves planned a rebellion.
 The leaders intended to take over Richmond
and win freedom.
 The small-scale rebellion failed.
 The rebels were caught and tried, and at least
twenty of them, included Prosser, were
executed.

THE ELECTION OF 1800
The election of 1800 was a nasty campaign.
 Jeffersonian newspapers accused Adams of
being a monarchist…a terrible insult at the
time.
 Federalists asserted that Jefferson was a
godless man who would lead the United States
into chaos.

THE ELECTION OF 1800
Jefferson won the popular vote in December
1800.
 He was unable to get a majority in the Electoral
College so the House would have to choose the
new President.
 Though Jeffersonians had won most of the
seats they had not yet entered office.
 The vote would be taken by the Federalists
controlled House.

JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT
Even before the voting began it was clear that
no candidate could get a majority immediately.
 The House finally elected Jefferson as the their
President on the thirty-sixth ballot.
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WHY ADAMS LOST
Adams defeat was in a way an unfair judgement of
his abilities.
 Adams was more devoted to public service and,
some historians believe, more honest than most
Presidents.
 Rising above Federalist hostility to France, he had
sent a second diplomatic mission to that country
in 1799.
 This mission had cooled tensions between the U.S.
and France considerably.
 Like most decisive Presidents, however, Adams
failed to quiet his critics and angered many of his
supporters.
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WHY JEFFERSON WON
By 1800 Thomas Jefferson was the clear leader of
those who prefered local to national government.
 Jefferson and his followers believed it was better
to risk too much liberty than suffer from too much
government.
 Jefferson always denied that he was a politician.
 He never saw himself as working to build a
permanent political party.
 This is exactly what he did.
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A PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER
In 1801 Washington D.C. designed by L’Enfant
to feature broad boulevards and Roman
buildings, was a swamp with muddy, rutted
roads and half-completed structures.
 With Jefferson’s inauguration, the Federalist
leaders proved they would step down and let
the Jeffersonian Republicans take over.
 Jefferson recognized the significance of this
peaceful transfer of power.
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EXIT SLIP
1. Why was the election of 1800 significant in
the history of the United States?
 2. Create a list of the Federalists’ actions that
angered many Americans and caused them to
elect Jeffersonian Republicans in 1800.
 3. How does the Sedition Act reflect the
Federalists’ position in the controversy between
those who favored liberty and those who
favored order?
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