In September,1796,on the eve of the presidential election,Washington issued his Farewell Address,another state paper to be treasured and read by generations of Americans to come.In this address he directed the attention of the people to three subjects of lasting interest.He warned them against sectional jealousies.He remonstrated against the spirit of partisanship,saying that in government "of the popular character,in government purely elective,it is a spirit not to be encouraged."He likewise cautioned the people against "the insidious wiles of foreign influence,"saying:"Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none or a very remote relation.Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies,the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns.Hence,therefore,it would be unwise in us to implicate ourselves,by artificial ties,in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities....Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation?...It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world....Taking care always to keep ourselves,by suitable establishments,on a respectable defensive posture,we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies."
The Campaign of 1796-Adams Elected.-On hearing of the retirement of Washington,the Anti-Federalists cast off all restraints.In honor of France and in opposition to what they were pleased to call the monarchical tendencies of the Federalists,they boldly assumed the name "Republican";the term "Demo-crat,"then applied only to obscure and despised radicals,had not come into general use.They selected Jefferson as their candidate for President against John Adams,the Federalist nominee,and carried on such a spirited campaign that they came within four votes of electing him.
The successful candidate,Adams,was not fitted by training or opinion for conciliating a determined opposition.He was a reserved and studious man.He was neither a good speaker nor a skillful negotiator.In one of his books he had declared himself in favor of "government by an aristocracy of talents and wealth"-an offense which the Republicans never forgave.While John Marshallfound him "a sensible,plain,candid,good-tempered man,"Jefferson could see in him nothing but a "monocrat"and "Anglo-man."Had it not been for the conduct of the French government,Adams would hardly have enjoyed a moment's genuine popularity during his administration.
The Quarrel with France.-The French Directory,the executive department established under the constitution of 1795,managed,however,to stir the anger of Republicans and Federalists alike.It regarded the Jay treaty as a rebuke to France and a flagrant violation of obligations solemnly registered in the treaty of 1778.Accordingly it refused to receive the American minister,treated him in a humiliating way,and finally told him to leave the country.Overlooking this affront in his anxiety to maintain peace,Adams dispatched to France a com-mission of eminent men with instructions to reach an understanding with the French Republic.On their arrival,they were chagrined to find,instead of a de-cent reception,an indirect demand for an apology respecting the past conduct of the American government,a payment in cash,and an annual tribute as the price of continued friendship.When the news of this affair reached President Adams,he promptly laid it before Congress,referring to the Frenchmen who had made the demands as "Mr.X,Mr.Y,and Mr.Z."
A Quarrel between a Federalist and a Republican in the House of RepresentativesThis insult,coupled with the fact that French privateers,like the British,were preying upon American commerce,enraged even the Republicans who had been loudest in the profession of their French sympathies.They forgot theirwrath over the Jay treaty and joined with the Federalists in shouting:"Millions for defense,not a cent for tribute!"Preparations for war were made on every hand.Washington was once more called from Mount Vernon to take his old position at the head of the army.Indeed,fighting actually began upon the high seas and went on without a formal declaration of war until the year 1800.By that time the Directory had been overthrown.A treaty was readily made with Napoleon,the First Consul,who was beginning his remarkable career as chief of the French Republic,soon to be turned into an empire.
Alien and Sedition Laws.-Flushed with success,the Federalists deter-mined,if possible,to put an end to radical French influence in America and to silence Republican opposition.They therefore passed two drastic laws in the summer of 1798:the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The first of these measures empowered the President to expel from the country or to imprison any alien whom he regarded as "dangerous"or "had reasonable grounds to suspect"of "any treasonable or secret machinations against the government."