Chapter 10.5 John Adams takes office as the 2 nd POTUS Though George Washington had made precedents...
-
Upload
rigoberto-woolf -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Chapter 10.5 John Adams takes office as the 2 nd POTUS Though George Washington had made precedents...
Chapter 10.5 John Adams takes office as the 2nd POTUS
• Though George Washington had made precedents for future presidents to follow– John Adams would get to
do something that George Washington did not get to
• Live and work at the White House…– At least when it’s done.
President Adams arrives in Washington, D.C.
Pres. Adam’s Goals while in office
• Improve relations with the French– Hated not being able to
help during the French Revolution
• Meanwhile,– French privateers have
been attacking American ships….
• Not this again…
Pres. Adams sends U.S. diplomats to France
• U.S. Diplomats– People sent to other
countries to do represent America.
• What was their job? – To get France to stop
attacking our ships• French foreign minister
refused to talk to us….he’s still a little mad.– So he sends 3 secret
agents to talk to us…
The XYZ Affair….A Musical
• http://www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=364
XYZ Affair…a Summary
• France wanted us to pay just to discuss a treaty:– $250,000 – Loan $12,000,000
• We say “No thanks”– Then, we build the world’s largest naval ships…• Led by USS Constitution
– Nicknamed “Old Ironsides”
USS Constitution
• Carried up to 60 cannons – 30 per side
• Almost twice as much gun power as the average privateer
• Do you think the privateers will attack this ship?
USS Constitution, today
France agrees to a treaty
• 1800– Pres. Adams finally gets a treaty signed with
France• Took almost 4 years!
– The public was very upset about how Pres. Adams handled the French…• Started writing terrible things about the President in
the newspapers…
President Adams tries to silence the public
• Pres. Adams wants to keep the public from attacking the government– Passes the Alien and Sedition Act• Alien act
– POTUS can have foreign residents removed from the US if they speak out against the United States
• Sedition Act– Made it illegal to “write, print, speak, or publish” any hostile
words against the government or its policies…
– Does this sound like a president or a mad king trying to quiet the citizens?
VPOTUS Jefferson disagrees with the POTUS
• VP Jefferson wants to discuss with Pres. Adams why he should not pass these laws:
• Reasons:– Will make POTUS very
unpopular
– US Constitution, 1st Amendment» Freedom of speech,
press, etc.
• What do you think Pres. Adams says?
VP and POTUS discuss the Alien and Sedition Acts
So where does this get us?
Review Questions
• What is the XYZ Affair?
• What are the Alien and Sedition Acts?
• What is the USS Constitution?