Download John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

“Oh no they didn’t”: The XYZ Affair
When Washington declined to run for a third term, the presidential election put Federalist
John Adams against Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams narrowly beat Jefferson,
with the nation voting along regional lines, Adams taking the North and Jefferson taking the South.
Soon into Adams’ presidency, he began dealing with the problems between the British and French.
It might sound like something out of “Sesame Street” but the XYZ Affair was, in fact, a
diplomatic incident between France and America in the late 18th century that led to an
undeclared war at sea. In 1793, France went to war with Great Britain while America remained
neutral. Late the following year, the United States and Britain signed the Jay Treaty, which
resolved several longstanding issues between those two nations. The French were infuriated by
Jay’s Treaty, believing it violated earlier treaties between the United States and France
(remember, they helped us out in the American Revolution); as a result, they went on to seize a
substantial number of American merchant ships. When President George Washington sent the
U.S. minister to France in 1796, the government there refused to meet with him. After John
Adams became president in March 1797, he sent three American diplomats to Paris in an effort to
restore peace between the two
countries. Once the diplomats arrived
overseas they tried to meet with
France’s foreign minister to discuss
the relationship. Instead, the French
foreign minister kept putting them off
and eventually had three agents
inform the U.S. diplomats that in
order to see him they first would have
to pay him a hefty bribe of $250,000
and provide France with a large loan,
among other conditions. The
American diplomats were completely
shocked the French would think they
could get them to agree to the bride. They responded by exclaiming, “No, no, not a sixpence!”
Meaning, they wouldn’t even give them a few coins.
When word of the French demands reached the United States, it caused an uproar and
prompted calls for war against the French. Adams was humiliated his plan for diplomacy did not
work and called off negotiations with the French. After some Federalist members of Congress
asked to see the diplomats’ reports regarding what had transpired in France, Adams handed them
over with the names of the French agents replaced with the letters X, Y and Z; thus the name XYZ
Affair. Congress subsequently authorized various defense measures, including the creation of the
Department of the Navy and the construction of warships. To pay for the expanded military,
Congress imposed unpopular taxes on stamps and land. Then, in July 1798, it authorized American
ships to attack French vessels, launching an undeclared naval war that came to be referred to as
the Quasi-War. Federalists used the incident to question the loyalty of pro-French DemocraticRepublicans and the Democratic-Republicans painted the aggressive Federalists as warmongers
seeking to undermine the republic by military means.
“Watch what you say!”: The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Sedition Act was one of four laws passed by the Federalist controlled Congress in
1798. Commonly referred to as the Alien and Sedition Acts, these laws, which restricted
free speech, changed immigration and naturalization (becoming a citizen) requirements,
and gave the president extraordinary powers to deport non-citizens deemed dangerous to
public safety, were part of the hysterical reaction to the XYZ Affair. In the wake of this
disastrous diplomatic mission, war with France seemed imminent. To prepare for the
conflict, the Federalist Congress strengthened the army and navy, and passed the Alien and
Sedition acts to silence or remove their domestic opponents.
Critics of the acts denounced them as obviously political, intended to silence
opposition to the Federalists. And indeed, to a certain extent they were. The Sedition Act
was used to harass Democratic-Republican opponents of the Federalist Congress and
administration. The Naturalization Act sought to weaken the Dem-Rep Party by extending
the time it took for immigrants coming to America to become citizens; this was important
because immigrants tended to become Democratic-Republican voters. But to be fair to the
Federalists, and to better understand the evolution of America's political ideology, we need
to explore the logic behind these acts and the debate they inspired.
“The Revolution”: Election of 1800
By 1800, the Sedition Act and the new federal taxes had become very unpopular. Sensing
that, Adams suspended expanding the military and sent diplomats again to France to seek
peace. This angered some members of his own Federalist political party and divided them on
the issue of war with France. Because the Federalist Party was divided, Thomas Jefferson and
the Democratic-Republicans won the election.
Thomas Jefferson recalled his own election as president in 1800 as a "revolution" in
American politics. "Revolution" is a strong word, but it was probably the right word for it at
the time. The Dem-Rep Party Jefferson led into power in 1801 was dramatically different from
the Federalist Party that had governed since 1789. Jefferson's use of the word signified more
than a mere transition from one party to another; He believed that the Federalists he
defeated represented not just a different political vision, but a dangerously wrong political
vision—one that threatened to restore the antidemocratic principles and institutions of the
British government Americans had rejected in 1776.
For Jefferson, therefore, the election of 1800 represented more than a simple changing of
the guard. It signified the restoration of America's Revolutionary vision, the return of the
great ideals of 1776. And in Thomas Jefferson's mind—as in the minds of his followers—
Jefferson himself, as the author of the Declaration of Independence, was just the man to lead
this second revolution.
John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson:
“Bromance to Enemies to BFFs”
Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams were the last surviving
members of the original American
revolutionaries who had stood up to
the British Empire and forged a new
political system in the former colonies. However, while they both believed in democracy
and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their opinions on how to achieve these ideals
diverged over time. The close friendship between Jefferson and Adams began when they
met at the 1775 Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Although different in many ways
down to their appearance, the two developed a strong respect and liking for one another.
In 1776, they worked together on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence,
and in 1784, Jefferson joined Adams in France on diplomatic service. While Jefferson
remained in Paris, Adams served primarily in London. Jefferson would go to England on
diplomatic business and to visit his dear friend Adams. He and Adams found time to make
tours of English gardens, visit Shakespeare's home
Adams preceded (came before) Jefferson as president (1797-1800); it was during this
time that their ideas about policy-making became as distinct as their personalities. The
testy and hot-tempered Adams was a firm believer in a strong centralized government,
while the intellectual and gentle Jefferson believed federal government should take a more
hands-off approach and defer to individual states’ rights. Due to an awkward feature of the
Constitution, Jefferson, as 2nd place finisher to the election of 1796, became Adams’ Vice
President. As Adams’ vice president, Jefferson was so horrified by what he considered to be
Adams’ abuse of the presidency–particularly his passage of the restrictive Alien and
Sedition Acts of 1798. Jefferson feels the acts to be unacceptable violations of basic rights,
and works in secret to bring about resolutions to declare these acts unconstitutional. He
plotted how to bring his Democratic-Republican faction back into power in the presidential
election of 1800. After an exceptionally bitter campaign, in which both parties engaged in
slanderous attacks on each other in print, Jefferson emerged victorious. It appeared the
former friends would be eternal enemies.
After serving two presidential terms (1801-1809), Jefferson and Adams each
expressed to mutual friends their respect for the other and their desire to renew their
friendship. Adams was the first to break the silence; he sent Jefferson a letter dated
January 1, 1812, in which he wished Jefferson many happy new years to come. Jefferson
responded with a note in which he fondly recalled when they were fellow laborers in the
same cause. The former revolutionaries resumed their friendship over the next 14 years or
so, sending letters back and forth during their golden years. They wrote each other on
numerous topics, from memories of their nation's history, to opinions on current political
issues, to matters of philosophy and religion, to issues of aging. Their letters were also
lighthearted and filled with affection. Jefferson wrote, "I have compared notes with Mr.
Adams on the score of progeny (offspring), and find I am ahead of him, and think I am in a
fair way to keep so. I have 10 1/2 grandchildren, and 2 3/4 great-grand-children."
After fifteen years of resumed friendship, on July 4, 1826, Jefferson and Adams died
within hours of each other. Their deaths occurred -- perhaps appropriately -- on the 50th
anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Unaware that his friend had
died hours earlier, Adams' family later recalled that his last spoken words were, "Thomas
Jefferson survives."
The written words of Jefferson and Adams, however, survive to this day, preserving
the rich legacy of their friendship, thoughts, and ideas. In their later years, Jefferson
responded to a reflective question from Adams: "You ask if I would agree to live my 70, or
rather 73, years over again? To which I say Yea. I think with you that it is a good world on
the whole, that it has been framed on a principle of benevolence (kindness)."