8.27 John Adams' Presidency

Essential
Question: What
problems faced
the nation during
the Adams’
presidency?

Tennessee
Standard: 8.27

TROUBLED TIMES FOR

JOHN ADAMS

This was the first

election dominated by
political parties

The President

(Adams) and Vice
President (Thomas
Jefferson) were of two
different political
parties

Adams was a

Federalist, Jefferson
was a Democratic-
Republican

ADAMS IS ELECTED

Open Ended

What were the two political parties that dominated this election?

Multiple Choice

WHo was the second president of the United States?

• Aaron Burr

• Thomas Jefferson

• John Adams

• Charles Pinckney

 France was unhappy

about Jay’s Treaty

 France began seizing

American ships

 Americans were upset

that the French were
interfering with trade
and politics

 To avoid war, Adams

sent a three-person
peace commission to
Paris- John Marshall,
Charles C. Pinckney,
and Elbridge Gerry

PROBLEMS W/ FRANCE

Multiple Choice

Why did President Adams send negotiators to France?

• United States and France were involved in a not declared war

• to say French that United States was strengthening the military

• French had begun capturing American ships

• French agents demanded for a loan and bribe

Multiple Choice

What barred French and British warships from American ports?

• Treaty of Paris

• Declaration of War

• Proclamation of Neutrality

• Treaty of Britain

 Meetings with the French did not go

as planned

 French foreign minister, Charles

Talleyrand, sent three agents to
meet with Americans

 These three agents demanded a

bribe of $250,000 and a loan of
$10,000,000 to be paid to
Talleyrand in order to negotiate

 Americans were enraged and

refused the bribes

 This was called the “XYZ Affair”-

the agents were known only as X, Y,
and Z.

 Americans were enraged even more
 Congress built up the strength of

the army and navy and American
ships waged an undeclared war on
France.

XYZ AFFAIR

Multiple Choice

What was the United States' reaction to the French agents' demand for a loan and a bribe?

• United States strengthened military

• United States declared war to France

• United States began capturing french ships

• Unites States established new negotiations with France

Multiple Choice

The Federalist party used the XYZ Affair to...

• start a war with France.

• try to impeach John Adams.

• create a national agreement on new immigration laws.

• build support for expanding the national army.

 Why was France upset with America?
 How did France respond?
 How did Adams’ try to make peace with France?
 How did France respond to America’s attempts at making

peace?

CHECKPOINT

 Adams was seriously

considering asking Congress
to declare war on France

 Adams blamed France and

Americans who supported
France (Jefferson and the
Democratic-Republicans)

 Adams decided to wait on

asking Congress to declare
war

 Eventually, France’s new

leader, Napoleon Bonaparte
decided that he did not want
America as an enemy

 America and France signed a

peace treaty at the
Convention of 1800

WINNING THE PEACE

Federalists did not

like the idea that
Adams had signed a
peace treaty with
France

Alexander Hamilton

himself wanted to
lead the army against
the French

This divided the

Federalists and lost
Adams the support of
his own political party

LOSING FEDERALIST SUPPORT

 Why were Federalists upset with Adams?

CHECKPOINT

 Federalist-controlled

Congress began
passing controversial
laws

 These laws were aimed

at stopping the growth
of the Democratic-
Republican party

 Three of these acts

were aimed at
protecting the country
from aliens (foreigners
living in the U.S.)

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

 Naturalization Act- increased

the amount of time to become
a U.S. citizen from 5 to 14
years.

 Alien Act- Gave the president

the power to deport any
foreigner

 Alien Enemies Act- Allowed

the government to arrest and
deport all aliens who were
citizens of enemy nations

 Sedition Act- Made it a crime

to speak or write critically
about the President, members
of Congress, the federal
government, or federal laws

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

Multiple Choice

The Alien and Sedition Acts were...

• passed to strengthen the nation's military

• strongly supported by the Republican party

• strongly supported the Federalist party

• passed to increase immigration

 Under the Sedition Act,

25 Democratic-
Republican newspaper
editors and others were
arrested and 10 were
convicted

 No aliens were ever

deported

 This brought a quick

and angry response
from Jefferson and the
Democratic-
Republicans

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

Multiple Choice

John Adams pushed for the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. According to historians, one consequence of the Alien and Sedition Acts was that

• immigrants became naturalized citizens faster.

• citizens staged boycotts to protest the laws.

• John Adams failed to win reelection.

• John Adams deported thousands of immigrants.

 Which law allowed the deportation of any foreigner?
 Which law criminalized criticism of the government?

CHECKPOINT

Madison (who had

switched parties) and
Jefferson saw this as
an attack on the First
Amendment

To combat this, they

wrote two statements:
The Virginia
Resolution and the
Kentucky Resolution

MADISON AND JEFFERSON RESPOND

 Claimed that the Alien and

Sedition Acts violated the
Constitution

 People in each state had the

right to nullify, or cancel, a
federal law within that state

 It was up to the state to

determine whether or not to
obey these laws (states’ rights
theory)

 Federalists believed that only

the Supreme Court could
declare a law unconstitutional

 No other state passed

resolutions

 Brought the issue of states’

rights to the forefront

KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA RESOLUTIONS

Multiple Choice

What did the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions claim?

• Pinckney's Treaty was biased in favor of wealthy landowners

• Settlers had the right to settle in the Northwest Territories

• The Alien and Sedition Acts violated the Constitution

• Jay's Treaty violated the Constitution

 What issue was brought to the forefront because of the

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions?

CHECKPOINT

The Sedition Act

made Adams and the
Federalists look
tyrannical

Adams’ stance on

making peace with
France caused a split
in the Federalist Party

Democratic-

Republicans were
gaining power

FEDERALISTS LOSE POWER

Multiple Choice

What divided the Federalists and hurt John Adam's chance for re-election?

• states' rights

• war with France

• Neutrality Act

• treaty with France

Go to your Quizizz Class and find the assigned 8.27 Exit Ticket.

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​8.27 Exit Ticket

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