John Adams had been Washington’s vice president, was also a Federalist, and served one term as president (1796 to 1800). Adams was opposed in the 1796 election by Thomas Jefferson, running as a Republican. Adams won, but Jefferson came in second in the Electoral College, thus putting candidates of two different parties in as president and vice president.

Despite recent biographies that suggest otherwise, Adams had four largely unsuccessful years in office. Adams spent a great deal of time back home in Quincy, Massachusetts, thus allowing his Cabinet members to make major decisions with little input from the president.

Problems with France

The French were unhappy with a series of American laws and policies that economically favored the British at their expense. For many in France, Jay’s Treaty was the last straw. The French impounded several American ships going to England and announced that American sailors doing duty on British ships would be treated as “pirates,” A three- member diplomatic delegation went to Paris in 1798 to negotiate with the French, French Minister Talleyrand, through third and fourth parties, informed the Americans that a bribe would have to be paid before negotiations could begin. The American diplomats refused to pay, and word of this caused outrage at home. This affair came to be know as the “XYZ Affair,” named for the unnamed “assistants” of Talleyrand who made the bribe offer.

Adams announced the buildup of the American navy in preparation for a potential war against France. Trading with France was temporarily suspended, and American ships were authorized to attack French ships at sea. In 1800 the French and the Americans met again (Napoleon was now in power in France) and tensions decreased. The Convention of 1800 gave the United States compensation for ships that had been seized by the French, In addition, the United States was freed from its diplomatic entanglements with the French.