Presidency of John Adams

Part 3

THE PRESIDENCY OF JOHN ADAMS

Adams served one term as president, and his vice president served during a period marked by tensions related to the French Revolution

Adams’s one term and Vice President

Adams served one term; his presidency occurred during the French Revolution era and his vice president served alongside him

The XYZ Affair

A diplomatic insult in which French diplomats demanded a bribe and a loan before negotiations, leading to public outrage and the Quasi

The Quasi

War with France and the Creation of the Navy

Full War with France Avoided

Full

The Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws that made it harder for immigrants to become citizens, allowed deportation of perceived foreign threats, restricted immigration from France and enemy nations, and made it illegal to criticize the government

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Written by Thomas Jefferson (Kentucky) and James Madison (Virginia), they argued that states could declare federal laws unconstitutional if they violated the Constitution; most states rejected this idea, which later became part of deeper constitutional tensions leading toward the Civil War