JOHN ADAMS IS PRESIDENT (1796)

I. Foreign Issues

A. John Adams’s biggest problem = France

B. France was impressing our ships

C. Adams’ reaction was to send a peace keeping mission to France to try and end the impressment

I. Foreign Issues

D. XYZ Affair- when the U.S. diplomats arrived in France they were kidnapped and held hostage.1. French officials said they

could not meet to end impressment until America paid them $250,000 along with a $12 million dollar loan

2. John Adams refuses3. Undeclared naval war

begins

Response in America to XYZ

E. Federalists were angry- remember their job is trading

F. Democratic Republicans- believed this was our own fault since we didn’t send aid during the revolution

G. Adams fears a civil war so he issues the Alien and Sedition Acts

Alien and Sedition Acts

F. Alien and Sedition Acts1. First three laws went against immigrants since

most were Democratic Republicans2. Final law made it illegal to print anything

negative against the governmentG. Adams supported these laws thinking it

would end the threat of war and calm both sides

Response to Alien and Sedition

G. The two largest Democratic Republican States responded with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions1. Written by: Jefferson and Madison2. Argued: states had the right to nullify (or made null

and void) federal laws that hurt individual states3. Said the national Alien and Sedition laws would not

exist in their states4. Introduced idea of nullification to U.S.

John Adams’s Response

H. Didn’t get rid of the laws, but didn’t punish

Virginia and Kentucky either

I. Sent another peace-keeping mission to

France to end the undeclared naval war