1. Section 4 – pg 172 The Presidency of John Adams
Chapter 4
Section 4 – pg 172
The Presidency of John Adams

2. Troubles with France Adams faced crisis over relations w/ France
Pg 172
Troubles with France
Adams faced crisis over relations w/ France
They were angered by US neutrality in the war
They thought we should be supporting them since they helped us during our Revolution
They saw Jay’s Treaty as us on Britain's side
In 1796 snubbed a US diplomat
Cont. to attack American merchant ships

3. Pg 172
The XYZ Affair
In 1797 Adams sent 3 agents to France to negotiate
Returned saying that the French gov’t wanted them to pay a bribe of $250,000 and led them several million dollars
Americans reacted by saying they would pay “not a sixpence” (6 pennies)
Later became a slogan, “Millions for defense, but not one sixpence for tribute”
Later when the this all became public, the names of the agents were kept secret and they were just called: X, Y, and Z
This incident became known
as the XYZ affair

4. War Fever Pg 173 The XYZ Affair caused war fever in the US
Federalists demanded that Adams ask Congress to declare war on France
Adams asked Congress to increase size of army and rebuild navy
Also convinced Congress to create a separate dept. of the navy
Between 1798 and 1800, the US fought an undeclared naval war w/ France

5. The President and other Americans opposed a full-scale war
Pg 173
The President and other Americans opposed a full-scale war
In 1800, Adams sent people to France to negotiate with France’s dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte
this dude 
Since Napoleon was busy fighting other European countries he agreed to stop seizing American ships
Some Americans were angry that he had done this, weakening him politically

6. The Alien and Sedition ActsPg
The Alien and Sedition Acts
War fever deepened the split between Federalists and Republicans
Federalists’ fear of revolutionary France spilling over into the US made them mistrust immigrants
They thought immigrants might back the republicans
Federalists decided that to restore order they must destroy their political enemies

7. A group of laws passed in 1798, called Alien Act, aimed immigrants
Pg 174
A group of laws passed in 1798, called Alien Act, aimed immigrants
Alien: an outsider or someone from another country
Increased the length of time a person had to live in the US to become a citizen from 5 yrs to 14 yrs
Gave the President the power to deport or imprison any alien he considered dangerous

8. Pg 174
A group of laws passed in 1798, called Sedition Act, aimed Republicans
Sedition: activity designed to overthrow a gov’t
Made it a crime for anyone to write or say anything insulting or anything false about the President, Congress, or the gov’t in general
Harshest law limiting speech ever passed in the US
During 1798 and 1799, 10 ppl were convicted under the act, most were republican editors and printers

9. Pg 174
States’ Rights
The Republicans denounced the Alien and Sedition Acts
They claimed that the Sedition Act violated the First Amendment
Unfortunately at this time, it was not established the Supreme Court had the power to strike down laws that were unconstitutional
Republicans decided to express their opposition through state legislatures

10. The Acts eventually expired
Pg 174
James Madison wrote a resolution attacking the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by the Virginia legislature
Thomas Jefferson did the same for Kentucky
They stated that these acts were unconstitutional and declared that states had the right to declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional
However, this had little impact
The Acts eventually expired
Presidents power to imprison or deport immigrants expired in 1800
Sedition Act expired in 1801
Waiting period to become citizen returned to be 5 yrs in 1802

11. Pg 174
Eventually the resolution written in Virginia and Kentucky became more important that the reasons they were written
The resolutions claimed that states could nullify (deprive of legal force) a law passed by Congress
Boosted the idea of state’s rights
Later certain states will refuse to obey certain federal laws
This become important when the Southerners are trying to protect slavey