Chapter 6 Section 2

Foreign Affairs Trouble the Nation

OBJECTIVE:

UNDERSTAND the differences

between the Federalists

and the Jeffersonians

regarding

the French revolution

Republicans (Madison, Jefferson, et. al.) wanted the US to support France and honor the 1778 treaty of alliance with France.

Federalists (Hamilton, et al.) wanted the US to support Britain.

Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation established an American tradition of isolationism, but was popular with no one: French, British, Federalists, or Jeffersonians/Republicans.

Washington’s Neutrality

ProclamationSITUATION: Britain and France at war, again.

PROBLEM: Franco-American alliance of 1778 implies the US should side with France, but Britain will retaliate against the new, weak US and its merchant marine.

SOLUTION: Well….

Delay.Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation established an American tradition of isolationism, but was popular with no one: French, British, Federalists, or the Jeffersonians/Republicans.

Edmond Genêt by Ezra Ames, 1809–1810Citizen Edmond Genêt's visit caused the first major diplomatic crisis in the new nation. His attempts to enlist Americans in support of the French Revolution raised troubling questions about the international role of the United States. (Collection of the Albany Institute of History and Art. Bequest of George Genêt.)

Edmond Genêt by Ezra Ames, 1809–1810

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

KEY IDEA: Jefferson resigns in 1793, frustrated with Hamilton and the administration’s policies

Native Americans Resist White Settlers1783 British operating frontier forts on US soil

1790: Gen. Harmar (US) defeated by Chief Little Turtle and the Miami Indians

1791: Gen. St. Clair (US) defeated by the Miami

1794: Gen. Wayne (US) wins

Battle of Fallen Timbers against Miami Indians,

& proves the Miami were supported by British arms/Canadians

1795: Treaty of Greenville, Indians cede Ohio to US

Jay’s Treaty & Pinckney’s Treaty

Jay’s Treaty:+ British pledge to evacuate US soil

- They should have already done this in 1783

- US bound to pay pre-revolutionary accounts to Brit. Merchants

- Jeffersonian South would have to pay the majority of these debts.

OVERALL: - Negative result

Treaty hurts Republicans, Washington, & vitalizes the Republican party

Pinkney’s Treaty:

+ Spain meets all of US demands

+ Spain concedes disputed land in N. Florida to US

+Spain grants navigation rights on the Mississippi to Americans

OVERALL: Positive Result

Growing Danger of Sectionalism

Election of 1796Adams (Federalist) receives 71 electoral votes.

Jefferson (Republican) receives 68 electoral votes.

ALMOST ALL OF JEFFERSON’S VOTES COME FROM THE SOUTH, ADAMS WINS ALMOST ALL OF HIS VOTES IN THE NORTH.

Adams becomes President, Jefferson is Vice-President.

Is the new nation already coming apart?

XYZ Affair• The French, enraged by Jay’s Treaty, abuse the

US ambassador.• Adams sends 3 men, including John Marshall, to

France.• French officials demand $250,000 bribe before

letting the Americans see Tallyrand.• Americans refuse, go home.• America authorizes a navy and the marine corps

is created.• Federalists call for all out war. Instead, for 2

years each nation captures the others ships at sea when they can.

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798Following the X,Y,Z Affair and the Genet Affair,

Federalists accuse Republicans of being dangerous and disloyal.

Many immigrants are Republicans.The Alien and Sedition Acts are passed:

1. increase naturalization req. from 5 to 14 years2. allow the President to deport anyone he considers “undesirable.”3. Federalists use the acts to try and jail Republican editors, writers, and politicians for being “seditious.”

Virginia and Kentucky ResolutionsThe Republicans consider the Alien and Sedition Act to

be an assault on the First Amendment.Jefferson and Madison draft a resolution in the Virginia

state Legislature declaring the Alien and Sedition Act unconstitutional.

Virginia and Kentucky claim the right of nullification = the power to declare null and void federal laws that go

beyond the powers granted to the federal government by the Constitution.

ENDURING QUESTION: WHO HAS THE LAST WORD?

STATES OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

6.2 OrganizerCause and Effect

• French Revolution• Pinckney’s Treaty• Battle of Fallen Timbers• Election of 1796• Jay’s Treaty• XYZ Affair• Tensions b/w Federalists &

Republicans• Alien and Sedition Acts

• Edmund Genet Affair• Expansion West• Jay’s Treaty• Rising Sectionalism• XYZ Affair• Tensions b/w Federalists

& Republicans• Alien and Sedition Acts• VA & KY Resolutions

What were the differences between the Federalists and the Jeffersonians

regarding the French revolution?