1. America’s Conflict With France
By Mr. Eichmann

2. Causes of the Conflict
Genet Affair – Edward Genet, the French ambassador to America during the Washington administration, spoke before Congress
He called for America to honor its treaty of alliance that had been signed during the Revolutionary War
Announced that France would need America’s help in fighting against their arch enemy, Great Britain

3. Choices for President Washington
Honor the agreement and help France in their war with Great Britain
Ignore the agreement and say it is not valid
His decision: Washington stated that America was not pledged to fight with France
Genet was forced to return home by the American government, thus causing political ties between the two countries to be broken

4. Results of the Election of 1796
Hamilton tries to “fix” the election by having both Federalist candidates get the most votes for President and VP.
Hamilton is unsuccessful. Adams wins the Presidency, and Jefferson wins the Vice-Presidency.
First time in history that we have two candidates from different political parties hold the two highest offices in the land.

5. Election of 1796
John Adams and Thomas Pickney run for President as Federalists.
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr run as Democratic-Republican candidates.
Under the rules of The Constitution, the candidate with the most electoral votes becomes President, while the person in second place becomes Vice President.

6. France’s Response
French vessels began taking cargo from American ships bound for Great Britain and France to….
prevent the British from getting an advantage
pay back debts the American government still owed from the Revolutionary War
get revenge for America’s unwillingness to hold their word

7. The XYZ Affair
To remedy the situation, the new President, John Adams, sent three American diplomats to France to settle differences
Three French men requested bribes before they would allow the American diplomats to meet with Talleyrand, the new French leader after the French Revolution
The three American diplomats came back to America with their report, and the correspondence was printed in newspapers, with the letters X, Y, and Z replacing the names of the three French diplomats

8. The Choices of President Adams
Declare war against France
Patiently wait for conditions in France to improve and negotiations to come back
Seize French ships and cargo to make France change their mind
Adam’s choice – Option 3: An undeclared war, often called the Quasi-War started, with American ships attacking French vessels and taking cargo, and vice versa.

9. Worries of Problems at Home
President Adams and Alexander Hamilton worried that French spies could hurt America’s war effort
To allay fears, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts

10. Alien Act
Increased the number of years it took for a foreigner to become a citizen (5-14 Years)
Allowed the government to jail or order out of the country foreigners who he thought were “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.

11. Sedition Act
Outlawed conspiracies against the governments and attempts to start uprisings or riots.
Made it a crime to write, print, udder, or publish scandalous statements critical of the government, either house of Congress, or the President.

12. Reactions to the Alien and Sedition Acts
Numerous newspaper writers, all Democratic-Republicans, were jailed or fined.
Secretly, Thomas Jefferson wrote essays using a pen name, arguing that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. He called for nullification, which means that states could ignore federal laws if they thought they were improper
Eventually, members of the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures created the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. They called for a repeal of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The doctrine of nullification eventually led to the argument used to support state’s rights in the issues of slavery and segregation.

13. Solution To the Conflict
Adams was notified that Talleyrand was eager to repair the damage caused by the XYZ Affair.
The two sides signed the Convention of 1800 , freeing America from its alliance with France if America gave up its desire for France to pay for damages to American ships in the Quasi-War
John Adams considered this his greatest political success, although many Federalists, including Hamilton, became angry with him for not going to war against France

14. Election of 1800
Federalists - Most Federalists were not happy with Adams and his willingness to negotiate with France. As a result, the Federalists nominated Adams for President and Charles Pickney for Vice-President. But many Federalists were split as to who to vote for to be the real leader.
The Democratic-Republicans only nominated Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for Vice-President

15. Results of the Election
Hamilton again tried to “fix” the election by trying to get more Federalists to vote for Pickney than Adams, but again he failed.
Electoral Vote Count:
Jefferson votes
Adams – 65 votes
Burr – 73 votes
Result: The election was thrown into the House of Representatives
The two houses were made up of all Federalists!!!!

16. The Vote of the House
In cases of no majority, the top two candidates get voted on. The total number of representatives for each state voted on who should be president.
Since there were 16 states, 9 states were needed to get a majority
Result of the vote:
Jefferson – 8 states
Burr -6 states (Federalist states voted for Burr)
Tied – 2 states

17. Hamilton’s Beliefs
Hamilton disliked Jefferson, but hated Burr more because
They had been political rivals in the state of New York
Although Hamilton disagreed with Jefferson, he still felt that Jefferson had integrity.
He believed Burr was dangerous to America and politics in general

18. Hamilton’s Solution
Hamilton convinced one of the Federalist representatives from Delaware to change his vote from Burr to Jefferson
Result:
Jefferson – 9 states
Jefferson won the majority of states becoming President
Burr, finishing second, becomes Vice- President

19. Significance of the Election of 1800
First changeover of power from one party to another. Jefferson called this the Revolution of 1800.
The transfer of power was done peacefully, showing the world that power could be switched to another party without bloodshed.
This continues to be done today when new presidents from a different party are elected
Eventually, Congress passed the Twelfth Amendment, which caused Presidents and Vice Presidents to be voted for separately, avoiding the possibility that someone running for president could in fact become president.