Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815

Chapter 7

France had been seizing American ships since the outbreak of hostilities in Europe but stepped up its efforts after Jay’s treaty and Adams becoming president.

In response to this Adams called a special session of Congress in May 1797 and requested a buildup of military forces which Congress authorized.

To cool tensions with France Adams decided to send a diplomatic mission to the French.

The result was what became known as the XYZ Affair where French agents threatened the U.S. and demanded bribes.

Adams recalled the envoys and the Republicans, thinking it would prove Adams incompetent, demanded all dispatches between the envoys and the administration to be released. When they were Americans were outraged at the French and Adams was never more popular.

With increasing fear of French influence in the U.S. and even fears of invasion Congress was quick to sanction the Quasi War with France: an independent Department of the Navy was created, all treaties with France were voided, an army was raised, and American vessels were encouraged to fire on any French ships that were attacking American merchant vessels.

The army was led by Washington with, after political maneuvering, Hamilton as second in command and never got off the ground.

Adams wasn’t very interested in it, there was too much infighting, and recruiting was difficult as officers had to be staunch Federalists.

Throughout the crisis of 1798-1799 Americans were fearful of the possibility of France invading the U.S. at worst and at best trying to at least subvert the government.

To help combat this threat the administration supported, and Congress passed, the Naturalization Act of 1798 which, among other measures, extended the required period of residency before an alien could become a citizen to 14 years; the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 which many Republicans supported and which allowed the federal government to deport aliens without trial in times of war; and the Alien Friends Act of 1798 which gave the government similar powers as the Alien Enemies act but applied to times of peace.

To deal with the perceived threat Republican newspapers posed Congress also passed the Sedition Act of 1798 which made it a crime to print, publish or speak any words whose intent was to defame or discredit the government.

This law, as opposed as it was, was actually more liberal than the common law understanding of free speech in the English tradition and which was still practiced in the individual states.

The law allowed for jury trials whereas common law cases on free speech matters were decided by a judge and truth of what was spoken or written could be taken into account when deciding innocence whereas if the speech in question was true or not didn’t matter in common law cases.

The Alien and Sedition Acts so terrified Republicans that Jefferson wrote of how the Federalists had done more to harm American liberty than the English ever had however they believed that the individual states were bulwarks against this Federalist tyranny.

Jefferson and Madison, now in the Virginia legislature, put forth ideas that would lay “the basis for the nullification and states’ rights doctrines later used to defend slavery and Southern distinctiveness in the period leading up to the Civil War” (269).

In the resolutions Jefferson drafted, which ended up in Kentucky’s resolutions, Jefferson described how states had the right to void acts of the federal government if they found them to be unconstitutional and while the Kentucky Resolutions that were eventually published didn’t mention the word “nullification” Jefferson did use it.

Madison’s draft which was issued by the Virginia legislature was less radical then Jefferson’s, viewing the proper response as more of a protest rather than an act a state legislature could take to void a federal act given that, in Madison’s view legislatures had no authority to declare federal acts unconstitutional considering that state legislatures were not the ones who ratified the Constitution, it was the people through their ratifying conventions.

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions gained little traction and in an attempt to reaffirm their stance, Republicans leaders had Kentucky reiterate their opposition to the Alien and Sedition acts and, with Jefferson’s advice, included the word “nullification” this time.

By 1799 Jefferson advocated Kentucky and Virginia severing ties with the Union.

By late 1798 things were quieting down as the French navy was defeated at the Battle of the Nile which ended any threat the French posed to the British or America and Adams sent another mission to France which concluded peace with the Treaty of Mortefontaine.

The peace treaty ended the Quasi War and suspended the treaty with France made in 1798.

Adams’ peace mission also caused a rupture in Federalist politics between hardliners who opposed peace with France and moderates such as Adams.

Emboldened by the Federalist caucus nominating Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for president and vice predident (without specifying who would be president and vice president) Adams dismissed the Hamiltonians from his cabinet and insulted Hamilton leading to Hamilton writing a letter attacking Adams to be sent to Federalist elites but it ended up leaking to the political benefit of Republicans.