Aim: What was the significance of John Adams’ Presidency?

1. Aim: What was the significance of John Adams’ Presidency? Do Now: Create a list reviewing the details of George Washington’s Presidency.

2. Objectives • To discuss the Presidency of John Adams. • To understand the major events of his term.

3. Brainstorm: List the characteristics of George Washington’s Presidency.

4. Setting the Stage… In 1792, Washington had won reelection without opposition but he declined to run again in 1796, after his second term. After a long life in American politics, Washington wished to return home to his plantation in Virginia. He also wished to set a two-term precedent, proving to all that he was no king. Washington retired with a string of astounding achievements. On the frontier, the Native Americans had been defeated, western lands up to the Mississippi were open for settlement, and the Whiskey rebels suppressed. He had kept the nation out of war and boosted tariffs which slowly began to reduce the immense national debt. In his Farewell Address, he proposed national unity rather than trusting in political parties and pleaded for American neutrality and isolationism. In 1796, it became the responsibility of other American politicians to guide our young nation into its unwritten future.

5. The Election of 1796 • Federalist Party vs. Democratic-Republicans • John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson • John Adams narrowly won the election. Thomas Jefferson became his Vice President.

6. The X Y Z Affair • The French became angered by American Neutrality. • As a result, the French began seizing American merchant vessels. • Adams sent envoys to Paris to discuss terms.

7. The Result of the XYZ Affair. • In 1798, Federalists created a Navy. • The navy won some surprising victories and unified America • New taxes created problems for the Federalists.

8. The Alien and Sedition Acts • The Alien Act: Allowed the president to arrest and deport immigrants who criticized the government. • The Sedition Act: Made it a crime to criticize the government.

9. Response to the Alien and Sedition Acts • In 1798 and 1799 two states refused to adopt the Alien and Sedition Acts. • The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions declared the acts unconstitutional. • Significance: The ability of states to nullify national laws would later threaten to dissolve the union.