1.  John Adams was a very honest and able leader.  Unlike George Washington who was tall and dignified, Adams was short and a bit pudgy.  Throughout his presidency Adams had many difficult decisions to make.  As a President, he tried to act in the best interests of the nation. 

2.  No sooner had Adams taken office than he faced a crisis with France  France objected to Jay’s Treaty and began to seize American ships in the West Indies.  To avoid war, Adams sent diplomats to Paris to discuss the rights of neutral nations.  The French minister did not deal directly with Americans. Instead he sent three agents (XYZ) to offer the Americans a deal.  The French minister wanted $250,000 for himself and a $10 million loan to France.  America angrily rejected this proposal  The U.S. frigates to convince France to stop attacking American ships.

3.  The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed during the crisis with France.  The Alien Act allowed the President to expel any alien, or foreigner, thought to be dangerous to the country.  Another law made it harder for immigrants to enter the country.  Republican anger grew when Congress passed the Sedition Act.  Sedition means stirring up rebellion against a government.  Under this law, citizens could be fined or jailed if they criticized the government or its officials.  Republicans felt this act was a violation of the first amendment of the constitution.

4.  Outraged, Jefferson urged the states to take a strong action against the Alien and Sedition acts.  He urged that states had the right to NULLIFY, or cancel, a law passed by the federal government.  With the help of Jefferson and Madison, Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions in 1798 and 1799.  The Kentucky and Virginia resolutions claimed that each state had “the right to judge for itself” whether a law is constitutional.  This raised an important question within government.  DID A STATE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE ON ITS OWN THAT A LAW WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

5.  Led by Hamilton, many Federalists criticized Adams.  They wanted war.  War would force the nation to build its military forces.  A strong military would increase federal power, a key Federalist goal.  They split over this war issue.  This disagreement weakened the party for the election of 1800.

6.  The Republicans looked to sweep the Federalists from office.  Republicans supported Thomas Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for Vice President.  John Adams was again named the Federalist Candidate.  Jefferson and Burr each received 73 electoral votes.  Under the Constitution, if no candidate wins the electoral vote, the House of Representatives decides the election.  The House vote was also evenly split.  After 4 days and 36 votes, the House choose Jefferson as President and Burr as Vice President.  The 12 th Amendment was later passed.  The Federalist party began to phase out.