ssahna_irnsg_units_AC.book Page 131 Thursday, December 8, 2005 12:19 PM
Section 4
The Presidency of John Adams
Section 4 Focus Question
How did problems with France intensify the split between
the Federalists and Republicans? To begin answering this
question,
• Find out about America’s troubles with France.
• Read about the impact of the Alien and Sedition acts.
• Learn about the idea of states’ rights.
Key Events
1789
Washington
organizes new
government
departments and
appoints heads.
1795
Senate approves
Jay’s Treaty with
Britain.
1798
“XYZ Affair”
becomes public
and sours relations with France.
Congress passes
the Alien and
Sedition acts.
Section 4 Summary
Reading Strategy
Read the bracketed paragraph.
Underline the cause
and the effects of
M
France’s anger.
a
Te rk
Draw an arrow from
xt
the cause to the
effect.
E
Troubles With France
The decision of the United States to stay neutral during the
war between France and Britain angered France. The French
had supported America during the American Revolution.
They thought the support should be returned. Also, Jay’s
Treaty made it look as if the United States favored Britain.
As a result, the French refused to meet with an American
diplomat, and they continued to seize American ships.
In 1797, Adams sent three diplomats to France. Agents of
the French foreign minister demanded a bribe from the
Americans. The so-called XYZ Affair outraged many Americans, especially Federalists. (XYZ refers to the three French
agents whose real names were kept secret.) The affair led to
an undeclared naval war with France. Adams and Congress
increased the army and rebuilt the navy.
Adams opposed war with France. He sent another group
of diplomats to France. In 1800, a treaty was signed. France
agreed to stop seizing American ships. War was avoided.
The treaty angered many of Adams’s fellow Federalists who
wanted war with France. ✓
TH
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All Rights Reserved.
Events in Europe intensified the split between Federalists
and Republicans. Tensions increased further with the passage of the Alien and Sedition acts.
✓ Checkpoint
To what did the XYZ Affair lead?
______________________________
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The undeclared war with France increased distrust between
Federalists and Republicans. Federalists feared that European immigrants would spread dangerous ideas. They
feared that immigrants would support the Republicans
when they became citizens.
Unit 3
Chapter 8
Section 4
131
ssahna_irnsg_units_AC.book Page 132 Thursday, December 8, 2005 12:19 PM
✓ Checkpoint
Name the act that targeted
Republicans.
______________________________
Vocabulary Builder
The word resolution has different
meanings depending on its context. Which definition is most like
that in the bracketed text?
A. A statement of a group’s
opinion
B. The solving of a problem
Name the two men who wrote resolutions for Virginia and Kentucky.
______________________________
______________________________
States’ Rights
Republicans opposed the Alien and Sedition acts. They said
that the Sedition Act violated the First Amendment right to
free speech.
James Madison and Thomas Jefferson wrote resolutions
for the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures. They stated that
the Alien and Sedition acts were unconstitutional. They also
argued that the states had the right to declare federal laws
unconstitutional.
The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions had little shortterm impact. By 1802, the Alien and Sedition acts had
expired. Congress restored the waiting period for citizenship to five years.
The resolutions were more important over the long run.
They established the ideas of states’ rights and nullification.
States’ rights is the idea that the union binding “these
United States” is an agreement between the states. Therefore, they can overrule federal law. Nullification is the
related idea that states have the power to nullify, or deprive
of legal force, a federal law. The ideas increased in importance when the southern states began defending slavery. ✓
Check Your Progress
1. How did John Adams deal with problems with France?
________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ___________ ______ ______ ___________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ________ ___ ____________ ____________ ___________ ____________ __________ ______________ ____________ ___________ ____________ ____________ __ _________
________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ___________ ______ ______ ___________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ________ ___ ____________ ____________ ___________ ____________ __________ ______________ ____________ ___________ ____________ ____________ __ _________
2. What two principles did the Virginia and Kentucky
resolutions help to establish?
________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ___________ ______ ______ ___________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ________ ___ ____________ ____________ ___________ ____________ __________ ______________ ____________ ___________ ____________ ____________ __ _________
________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ___________ ______ ______ ___________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ________ ___ ____________ ____________ ___________ ____________ __________ ______________ ____________ ___________ ____________ ____________ __ _________
132
Unit 3
Chapter 8
Section 4
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All Rights Reserved.
✓ Checkpoint
As a result of their fears, the Federalist-controlled Congress passed several laws. The first law it passed was the
Alien Act. This law increased the time from 5 to 14 years that
it took for an alien, or outsider or someone from another
country, to become a citizen. It also allowed the President to
jail or deport aliens he considered dangerous. Congress also
passed the Sedition Act. Sedition is an activity aimed at
overthrowing a government. This act made it a crime to say
or write anything insulting or false about the government.
The Sedition Act placed the harshest limits on free speech in
America’s history. People who were convicted of breaking
this law were either jailed or fined. ✓