Chapter 7.4: John Adams’s Presidency

  1. Why was the Election of 1796 different from previous elections?

Political parties began to form; as a result, more than one candidate ran for president

  1. What role did geography play in the 2 political parties? How did their views differ?

Federalist – cities, North;Republicans – farms, more isolated areas, South and West

  1. Who became President? Vice President?Adams Pres, Jefferson VP
  1. John Adams’s Foreign Policy: Which country posed a threat to the US in this period? Make a timeline of events leading up to the XYZ Affair and the US response to it.

France

France was attacking US ships  Adams sent diplomats to Paris to negotiate a treaty  XYZ demanded a bribe and “loan” (not to be paid back) of $12 million  Delegates refused demands  J Adams: “Millions for defense; not one cent for tribute!”  Federalists called for war

  1. What did the Alien and Sedition Acts say? What did the 2 parties say about them?

Additional Information on the Alien and Sedition Acts. There were actually 4 laws grouped together. In addition to what you have already read, these laws increased the time it took to become a naturalized citizen from 5 years to 14 years and made it easier to deport foreigners.

Laws were said to protect the US, but the Federalists intended them to crush opposition to war

Sedition Act – classified any criticism of government as sedition – speech promoting the overthrow of the government – people were arrested, affect free speech and press

  1. Look up the term states’ rights and define it. What did the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions say? How did they support the idea of states’ rights?

Doctrine of states’ rights – belief that the power of the states should be greater than the power of the federal government

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions proposed a form of states’ rights – said the government couldn’t pass the Alien and Sedition acts because they interfered with state government; states challenged federal laws

Chapter 7.4 Section Assessment

  1. A. What two political parties emerged before the election of 1796? Federalist and Democratic-Republican

Who were the founders of each party? How did their views differ?

Fed: Hamilton and Adams – wanted strong central government, loose construction

Dem-Rep: Jefferson and Madison – wanted limits on central government, strict construction

  1. B. What effect did political parties have on the election of 1796? Resulted in more than one candidate running for president at a time; ended up with president and VP from different parties
  1. C. various answers
  1. A. What was one of Adams’s first goals as president? Improve US relations with France

B. Why were Federalists shocked by Adams’s decision to resume peace talks with the French? They had expected him to call for war

  1. A. Identify the foreign policy of John Adams. What did the Alien and Sedition Acts state? He worked to avoid war with France; forbade anyone from publishing or voicing criticism of the federal government

B. What idea regarding states’ rights did the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions support? States could challenge the federal government

C. various answers – opinion

  1. Chart:

Federalists–many call for war, passed Alien and Sedition Acts, opposed the resolutions

Democratic-Republicans – many supported France; viewed acts as misuse of powers; wrote resolutions to repeal Alien and Sedition Acts