Chapter 8

Alien and Sedition Acts

(1798) Four measures passed during the undeclared war with France that limited the freedoms of speech and press and restricted the liberty of non citizens.

X Y Z Affair

French foreign minister Tallyrand's three anonymous agents demanded payments to stop French plundering of American ships in 1797; refusal to pay the bribe led to two years of sea war with France (1798-19800).

Thomas Jefferson

He was a plantation owner, author, the drafter of the Deceleration of Independence, ambassador to France, leader of the Republican party, secretary of state, and the third president of the United States. As president, he purchased the Louisiana territory from France, withheld appointments made by President Adams leading to Marbury v. Madison, outlawed foreign slave trade, and was committed to a "wise and frugal" government.

John Adams

He was a signer of the Deceleration of Independence and a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. During the Revolutionary War, he worked as a diplomat in France and Holland and negotiated the peace treaty with Britain. After the Revolutionary War, he served as the minister to Britain as well as the vice president and the second president of the United States. As president, he passed the Alien and Sedition Acts and endured a stormy relationship with France, which included the XYZ affair.

Whiskey Rebellion

Violent protest by western Pennsylvania farmers against the federal excise tax on corn whiskey, 1794.

Jay's Treaty

The treaty of 1794 between Britain and the United States that prevented a war between the two, created ten years of peace between the two, and made trade possible.

Pickney's Treaty

Treaty with Spain negotiated by Thomas Pickney in 1795; established United States boundaries at the Mississippi River and the 31st parallel and allowed open transportation on the Mississippi.