Partisan Politics

Section 2

Washington’s Foreign Policy

• George Washington inaugurated in 1789• Shortly after the French Revolution began in

Europe• Americans sympathized with revolutionaries,

who seemed to be fighting for same rights Americans had won a few years earlier

• Spring 1793 new group of French radicals seized control

Cont.

• They began stripping people of land and property

• Executed thousands of people– Including King and Queen

• Declared war on Britain• U.S. traded with both Britain and France• U.S. caught in the middle of European conflict

The American Response

• Americans were split over the French Revolution

• Federalists were horrified by the violence and opposed it all

• Republicans supported it despite the bloodshed

• Admired the fight for liberty

Cont.

• War put Washington in a tough position• Treaty of 1778 with France required the U.S. to

help defend France’s colonies in the Caribbean• Fulfilling this might mean war with Great

Britain• April 22, 1793 Washington issued a

proclamation declaring the U.S. to be “friendly and impartial” toward both sides

Jay’s Treaty

• British navy began intercepting all neutral ships carrying cargo to French ports

• This included American ships, despite Washington’s proclamation

• Reports arose, too, that the British were telling Native Americans to attack western settlers

• Too make reports worse, these British were operating out of forts they still occupied on American territory

• Congress at the edge of war in 1794

Cont.

• Washington still hoping to prevent war• Sends John Jay to Britain to seek solution• Britain was busy fighting France but they

understood that they didn’t want to fight U.S. too

• Also understood that U.S. relied heavily on Britain for trade

• They agreed to sign Jay’s Treaty but drove a hard controversial bargain

Cont.

• Jay was forced to agree that Britain had the right to seize cargoes bound for French ports

• He failed to get compensation for American merchants whose goods had been seized

• British gave the United States most-favored nation status– Meant that American merchants would not be

discriminated against when they traded with Britain

Cont.

• Once the treaty was leaked to the public, Republicans went crazy

• Accusing Federalists of being pro-British• Public meetings were held condemning the

treaty across the country• However Washington agreed to implement the

treaty in order to prevent war with Great Britain and to protect the fragile American economy

Pinckney’s Treaty

Westward Expansion

• Read this section

Washington Leaves Office

• 2 terms in office• Grown tired of party politics and attacks on his

character• Decided to retire• Mount Vernon

Farwell Address

Quasi-War with France

• President Adams faced troubles at home and abroad

• French began stopping and seizing goods from American ships that were headed to Britain

• Federalists begin to call for war with France• Adams was reluctant to the U.S. going to war,

like Washington• XYZ Affair (pg. 215)

Cont.

• Resolutions, mass meetings, and patriotic songs only aroused the public

• June 1798 Congress suspended trade with France and directed the navy to capture armed French ships

• U.S. and France soon fighting an undeclared war at sea becomes known as Quasi-War

Cont.

• Fall of 1798 France proposed new negotiations• September 1800 both sides signed Convention

of 1800– U.S. gave up all claims against France for damages

to American shipping– France released U.S. from treaty of 1778

• Signing of convention of 1800 ended Quasi-War

Alien and Sedition Acts

• Federalist pushed 4 laws through Congress• First three laws aimed at aliens- people who

lived in the country who were not citizens• 1st law required immigrants to wait 14 years

before becoming citizens• Next 2 laws gave president the power to

deport without trial any alien deemed dangerous to U.S.

Cont.

• 4th law was aimed at preventing sedition-incitement to rebellion

• Law made it a federal crime to utter or print anything “false, scandalous, and malicious” against the federal government or any officer of the government– Couldn’t criticize public officials

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

• Republican controlled legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions criticizing the Alien and Sedition Acts

• Written by Jefferson and madison• Resolutions argued that since states had

created the Constitution, they could declare federal laws unconstitutional

Virginia

• Virginia Resolutions introduced the theory of interposition

• If the federal government did something unconstitutional, the state could interpose between the federal government and the people and stop the illegal action

Kentucky

• Kentucky Resolution advanced the theory of nullification

• If the federal government passed an unconstitutional law, the states had the right to nullify the law, or declare it invalid

• Resolutions had little effect in 1800, used later to defend their regional interests

Election of 1800