Events
1796
John Adams is elected second president
1797
XYZ Affair occurs
1798
Congress passes Alien and Sedition Acts
United States wages undeclared naval war with
FranceVirginia Resolutions written
1799
Kentucky Resolutions written
Key People
-
John Adams
Second
U.S. president; approved controversial Alien and Sedition Acts
-
Thomas Jefferson
Vice president under Adams; major Democratic-Republican
figure; coauthor of Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
-
James Madison
Coauthor
of Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Solidification of Political Parties
By the end of Washington’s second term, the ideological
and personal differences between Hamilton and Jefferson had spread
to politicians nationwide. The Hamiltonians coalesced into the Federalists—loose
constructionists who favored a strong national government over the
states, a solid economy based on manufacturing, and improved relations
with Britain.
The Jeffersonians coalesced into the Democratic-Republicans—strict
constructionists who feared a centralized government, supported
the development and expansion of agriculture, and were generally
pro-France.
The Election of 1796
Because rivalry between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans
had intensified, the election of 1796was
quite heated, unlike either of the previous presidential elections.
Debates in Congress were passionate and sometimes even bloody, as
was the case when one Federalist attacked a Democratic-Republican
with a cane, only to be struck back with a fireplace poker.
Washington’s vice president, John Adams,
became the Federalist candidate, while Thomas Jefferson ran for
the Democratic-Republicans. Adams received more Electoral College
votes than Jefferson and thus became president. However, under the
original Constitution, the candidate with the second-highest number
of electoral votes—in this case, Jefferson—became vice president.
Consequently, Adams was left saddled with a vice president from
the opposing party. The presence of a Democratic-Republican so high up
in the Adams administration made it difficult at times for the president
to promote his Federalist agenda.
Undeclared Warfare with France
The first test of Adams’s mettle came from France in 1796,
when Paris ended all diplomatic relations with the United States
in response to Jay’s Treaty of the previous year. Having expected
the United States to uphold the Franco-American alliance of 1778, France
had been stunned when Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation,
then further stunned when Jay’s Treaty had normalized relations
with Britain. The French navy began to seize hundreds of American
ships and millions of dollars worth of cargo without cause or compensation.
The XYZ Affair
Adams, wanting to avoid open war with France,
sent ambassadors to Paris in 1797 to
negotiate peace and normalize relations. When the emissaries arrived,
however, French officials demanded a $250,000 bribe
before they would even speak with the Americans, let alone guarantee
a truce. These officials, whom Adams dubbed X, Y, and Z, outraged
Congress and the American public. The XYZ Affair prompted
many to cry, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!”
