Chapter 7, Section 4

1. Chapter 7, Section 4 John Adams’s Presidency

2. The Election of 1796 • New Era in United States Politics • More than one candidate ran for president • John Adams (Federalist) vs. • Thomas Jefferson (Republican) • What did each side stand for ?(Don’t write this part. You already did, didn’t you? It’s okay)

4. A New President • John Adams would have to work hard to win the people’s trust • George Washington was adored by the people • Even those who opposed him respected him • Hard-working, honest, and intelligent

5. The United States and France • John Adams wanted to improve foreign relations with France • Sent United States diplomats overseas • Upon arrival, diplomats were ignored by Foreign Minister Talleyrand and instead visited by 3 French secret agents • Agents said that a treaty would only be discussed in exchange for a $250,000 bribe and a loan of $12 million • The United States diplomats refused the demands

6. The United States and France • In March of 1798, President John Adams told Congress that the peace-seeking mission had failed • Informed Congress of the French terms, substituting the letters X,Y, and Z for the names of the French Secret Agents • Federalists in Congress called for war with France • XYZ Affair • Americans were outraged at such disrespect

8. Preparations for War • President John Adams asked Congress to expand the navy to a fleet of more than 30 ships and called for the United States to keep a peacetime army • Congress approved both measures • President Adams did not want to go to war with France • Worried about cost • Did not ask Congress for a declaration of war • Tried to reopen peace talks with France

9. Peace Efforts • President John Adams’s decision not to declare war stunned Federalists • American and French ships engaged in fighting in the Caribbean • John Adams sent a representative to France and eventually, a treaty was signed • President Adams then forced two members of his cabinet to resign for trying to block his peace efforts

10. The Alien and Sedition Acts • Democratic-Republicans continued to sympathize with France • Alien and Sedition Acts • Passed by Federalist controlled Congress • 4 laws said to protect the United States but really intended to crush opposition to war • Sedition Act • Controversial law which forbade anyone from publishing or voice criticism of the federal government • Violated freedom of speech and freedom of press

11. The Alien and Sedition Acts • Thomas Jefferson and James Madison • Viewed acts as misuse of government power • Wrote resolutions passed by the Kentucky state legislature in 1798 and Virginia in 1799 (Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions) • Argued that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional • Congress did not repeal the acts, but allowed them to expire within a few years • The Resolutions supported the idea that states could challenge the federal government

12. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson • Longtime political rivals • Abigail Adams death helped the two men to reconcile • Close and personal correspondence for the remainder of their lives • Both died on July 4, 1826 • Both architects of the document (the Declaration of Independence) that gave birth to this new Nation dead, 50 years tothe day from the birth of the country they founded. • John Adams’s last words were “Thomas Jefferson survives” • Thomas Jefferson had died only a few hours earlier