During the years immediately leading up to the 19th century, America suddenly found standing at the doorstep of war with a leading European power.
Immediately upon taking his oath of office in Philadelphia, PA (then the capital of the United States) as America’s second president, John Adams found himself immediately facing a daunting foreign policy crisis.
War Between Britain and France
Britain and France were at war with each other already (a war which would last nearly 25 years, from 1793-1815) and both vying for U.S. aid. Though they had been considerable allies in creating peace terms after the Revolutionary War, Adams, his federalist ideals guiding him, had great qualms about helping the French fearing them growing stronger and allowing the violent French Revolution (which was still in the process of finally winding down) and its religious ideas to be imported any further into the U.S.
The revolution had proven itself to be a corrupter of morals an invading influence into the French educational system, where it attempted to ‘enlighten’ a new generation of political leaders. The fear of this was at its pinnacle in the political arena Adams found himself entrenched in upon becoming president, and he was forced to make some difficult decisions.
Because of President Adams’ refusal to aid the French (despite the aid the French had provided during the American Revolution), there grew a great rift between the two nations; a feeling of animosity so great that it seemed inevitable that the two would eventually go to war with one another, a situation Adams desired to avoid at all costs.
Three important delegates were sent by the U.S. to France in an attempt to show America’s desire for peace between the nations; John Marshall (soon to be Chief Justice), Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (soon to be running for Vice President in the election of 1800) and Elbridge Gerry (later Vice President under James Madison). Adams’ hope was that this delegation might prove helpful to the matter, a fact evident in his 1979 address on the state of the nation:
“Our envoys extraordinary to the French Republic embarked - one in July, the other in August - to join their colleague in Holland …. Whatever may be the result of this mission, I trust that nothing will have been omitted on my part to conduct the negotiation to a successful conclusion, on such equitable terms as may be compatible with the safety, honor and interest of the United States…Indeed, whatever may be the issue of the negotiation with France, and whether the war in Europe is or is not to continue, I hold it most certain that permanent tranquility and order will not soon be obtained.”
This attempt, though admirable, proved ultimately to be futile, as the delegates were turned away quite rudely by the French officials. The optimism seen in his first state of the union address soon faded as the situation in France showed itself more clearly to Adams. His second State of the Union address in December of 1798 displayed a decidedly different tone:
“The course of the transactions in relation to the United States and France which have come to my knowledge during your recess will be made the subject of a future communication. That communication will confirm the ultimate failure of the measures which have been taken by the Government of the United States toward an amicable adjustment of differences with that power.”
X, Y, and Z
Congress responded almost immediately to this Adams’ “further communication” by publically releasing the statement made to the delegates by the French officials, denying their rights as ambassadors to America. Instead of releasing the names of these officials, however, they were referred to quite simply as “X,” “Y,” and “Z.” This became forever known, therefore, as the “XYZ Affair.” War, it seemed, was unavoidable.
And war, in fact, is what it came to in a matter of speaking. Many today consider the ordeal with France under Adams’ leadership to be a sort of Quasi-war, which is an appropriate term, for war was never truly declared by either side. Instead, the quasi-war consisted of a number of skirmishes between newly constructed American Navy (created, in fact, for the very purpose of protecting American privateers from French pirating vessels) and that of the French.
For more information on this period of history, read about the Alien and Sedition Acts
References:
Adams, John. “1st State of the Union Address.” 1797.
McCollough, David. “John Adams.” Simon and Schuster. 2002.
