History Final Review 2 - John Adams (1796)

XYZ Affair

• Diplomatic incident in 1798 in which Americans were outraged by the demand of the French for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American Diplomats 

• It was a documentation of the nasty. Three diplomats named X, Y, and Z demanded that peace talks would start at 12 million dollars 

Alien and Sedition Acts

• Collective name given to four acts passed by COngress in 1798 that curtailed freedom of speech and the liberty of foreigners resident in the United States 

• Three acts were aimed at immigrants (French and Irish) 

• President allowed to deport foreigners who came to the U.S for refuge

• Naturalization Act extended the residency requirement for U.S. citizenship from 5 to 14 years

• Sedition Act 

  • Federal crime to engage in conspiracy against the government, Lots of Republicans were indicated under the act

Nullification Crisis

• The right for a state to render null and void a national law that was deemed unconstitutional 

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

• Where Jefferson and Madison turned to safety from the Alien and Sedition Acts

• Both Kentucky and Virginia were Republican 

• Adopted State’s Rights: Favoring the rights of individual states over rights claimed by the national government