Chapter 9 Section 4 “the second president”
Key Terms Diplomat – Someone who represents the US. Alien – someone who is foreign or not from this country Sedition – Stirring up rebellion against the government Nullify – To cancel States’ Rights – Something states can decide rather than the federal government handling
Adams Gets Tested In the first months of John Adams’ presidency, he was tested. France, unhappy with Jay’s Treaty, began attacking American Ships. The American people called for war! Adams wanted to stay out of European affairs, so he did not declare war. Instead he sent diplomats to Paris to see if they could work something out. When the American diplomats met with the French, the French diplomat asked for $250,000 just to talk and a $10 million dollar loan to France. The Americans refused to pay the bribe and went home. Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute”!!
You’d better step off France!! The XYZ Affair When the Americans came back and told about how the French tried to force them to pay a bribe, the country became outraged. This became known as the XYZ affair. This time they demanded war!!! Adams still didn’t think that the US should get involved in another war. Instead, he built fast-sailing ships called frigates with many guns to escort American ships safely. This helped convince France that attacking US ships might not be such a good idea. Adams’ refusal to support war led to a split in the Federalist party. You’d better step off France!!
Were you listening? How did President Adams deal with the French taking over American ships? What happened when President Adams refused to go to war against France?
Alien and Sedition Acts I can’t believe Adams would make me wait 14 yrs to vote!! You can’t vote anyway, you’re a woman…I think. Under the Alien Act, the president could expel any foreigner from the country if he thought they were dangerous. Also, immigrants had to be a citizen for 14 years before they could get the right to vote (before the alien act it was 4 years). The Sedition Act made it legal for the government to fine or imprison people that criticized the government or its officials. This made republicans very angry!!
State’s Rights Thomas Jefferson and others in the Republican party urged states to nullify (cancel) the Alien and Sedition Acts. He argued that a state had the right to call a law unconstitutional, and nullify the law within that state’s borders. This brought up many pressing questions. Did the state governments have the right to declare laws unconstitutional? What exactly were the rights that states had? Within a few years, the Alien and Sedition acts expired. Still, the issue of where a state had the power to nullify federal laws would come up again.
Time to Review What was Adam’s goal in trying to limit the voting rights of immigrants (Alien Act)? What part of the Constitution did the Sedition Act violate? What does it mean for something to be unconstitutional? Did we solve the problem of deciding if states had the right to nullify federal laws?
Election of 1800 The federalist party ruined its reputation with the alien and sedition acts. Jefferson (leader of the republican party) won the election, and that was pretty much all she wrote for the federalists. Especially after their leader, Alexander Hamilton was killed in a dual by Aaron Burr.