2. The New Government Begins Part 3 The Federalists in Charge The Federalists in Charge

3. Washington Retires By 1796, Washington had helped the country through many problems, and decided that after two terms, it was time to retire.

4. Washington Publishes his “Farewell Address” Washington warned the American people to stay out of Europe’s problems, and to not enter into foreign alliances. We listened for awhile. Washington also warned Americans about the dangers of political parties, and how they can divide people. We did not listen to his advice on this one.

5. The Election of 1796 In the election, Federalists supported John Adams for president, and Thomas Pinckney for Vice President. The Democratic- Republicans supported Thomas Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for Vice President.

6. The Election of 1796

7. An Interesting Result In the election, John Adams received the most electoral votes, and Thomas Jefferson got second place. That meant the president and vice president were in different parties, which led to some contention.

9. Although he was not a popular war hero, Adams was an honest, able leader. As President, he tried to act in the best interests of the nation, even if it hurt him politically. It would have been difficult to follow George Washington

10. France Again Attacks Our Ships Soon after Adams took office, France began attacking our ships, encouraging many Americans to call for war. DIPLOMATS were sent to Paris to discuss the United States’ rights as a neutral nation.

11. The XYZ Affair The XYZ Affair The French foreign minister, Charles Talleyrand, refused to meet with the American diplomats. Instead, he sent three secret agents in his place.

12. The secret agents said that before the foreign minister would talk to them, he wanted $250,000 for himself, and a $10 million loan for France. The Americans refused, and said they wouldn’t pay anything. They went back and reported to the President.

13. Political Cartoon About the Incident

14. The president informed congress about the incident, and referred to the agents as “X”, “Y”, and “Z”. Americans were outraged that France had wanted the bribe, and were even more willing to fight France.

15. Adams Avoids War Adams Avoids War Despite a lot of pressure, Adams refused to ask Congress to declare war. However, the navy was strengthened, and fast-moving ships with guns called FRIGATES were also made. France backed down somewhat.

16. The Federalist Party Splits Many members of the Federalist party were upset with Adams and his policies. They wanted war with France, so the military could become stronger, and the government would have more power. The disagreements led to a branch of the party called “High Federalists”.

17. High Federalists Passed The Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien Act made it harder for people to become citizens. Also, anyone considered dangerous, could be expelled from the country. Under the Sedition Act, citizens could be jailed or fined for criticizing the government or its officials.

18. Anger Over the Alien and Sedition Acts Many people felt these laws violated our free speech rights. Some states even passed laws where they could NULLIFY, or cancel laws they felt were wrong, or unconstitutional.

19. The Election of 1800 By 1800, fear of war with France had faded. The Democratic- Republicans hoped to sweep the Federalists out of office by focusing on the higher taxes they had passed, as well as the Alien and Sedition Acts.

21. A Deadlock Democratic-Republicans win the election, but two members of their party tied in the electoral college at 73 votes each. Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives decides who will win. Over a period of 4 days, they voted 35 times and it was still a tie!

22. Eventually the tie was broken, and Jefferson became the President. Aaron Burr won the Vice Presidency. The Constitution was amended so this would not happen again. Some people believed Alexander Hamilton swayed people to vote for Jefferson who he may have considered “the lesser of two evils”.

23. The Federalist Party Declines After Jefferson’s win, the power of the Federalist party started to decrease. Alexander Hamilton was even killed in a DUEL with Vice President Aaron Burr.

24. Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr

25. Jefferson did not have Burr run with him for re-election in 1804. Burr then tried to be governor of New York, but Hamilton had written some bad things about Burr, which Burr felt had damaged his chances to be New York’s governor. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and actually killed him. Why Did They Duel?