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SECTION 2
THE ELECTION OF 1800
TEXT SUMMARY
Like Washington, John Adams was a
Federalist, and he faced the challenge of
leading a nation that was politically
divided. Conflicts with France, such as
the XYZ affair, helped the
T H E BIG I D E A
Federalists expand the power of
government. They increased the
Jefferson’s election
size of the army and imposed
in 1800 represented
higher taxes. They also passed
the nation’s first
the Alien and Sedition Acts
transition of power
in 1798, under which the
from one political
President could imprison or
party to another.
deport aliens and fine or
imprison Americans who criticized the government.
Jeffersonian Republicans declared these
acts unconstitutional, claiming that the
acts violated freedom of speech. They promoted their views in the Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions, which said that
the states, not the federal government,
could decide what laws were constitutional. Virginia and Kentucky proposed the
idea of nullification, that if a state
declared a federal law unconstitutional,
they could also declare that law as “null
and void” within the state.
As tensions increased, President Adams
became unpopular with his own party for
making peace with France. Many people
also viewed the Alien and Sedition Acts as
unjustifiable. The election of 1800 was a
smear campaign in which each party brutally insulted the opposition’s candidate.
The outcome was that Jefferson defeated
Adams. More important, however, was
the fact that power was peacefully transferred from one political party to another.
GRAPHIC SUMMARY: The Election of 1800
The election of 1800 showed that the nation’s voters were divided between two political parties.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What were the Alien and Sedition
Acts and why were they opposed?
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CHAPTER 6
Guide to the Essentials
2. Map Skills Which political party
did most southern voters support
in the election of 1800?
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