Washington felt negatively about both political parties and foreign alliances in his farewell address. Regarding parties, he warned of "the baneful effects of the spirit of party" and factions seeking to promote "their own private interests." Regarding alliances, he advised "steer[ing] clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."

1.  Analyze the excerpt from Washington’s farewell address on
your note sheet.
 Answer the following two questions:
 How does Washington feel about political parties and factions?
(underline and label in the text)
 How does Washington feel about alliances with foreign countries?
(underline and label in the text)
BELL RINGER

2. Essential Question:
What problems
faced the nation
during the Adams’
presidency?
Tennessee
Standard: 8.37
TROUBLED TIMES FOR
JOHN ADAMS

3. 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

4.  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

5.  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

6.  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

7.  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

8. 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

9.  Why were Federalists upset with Adams?
CHECKPOINT

10.  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

11.  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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15.  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

16.  What issue was brought to the forefront because of the
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions?
CHECKPOINT

17. 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