1. THE NEW NATION AND
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Essential Questions:
How did events in Europe shape early U.S. foreign
•
policy?
• What was the Battle of Fallen Timbers?
• What was Jay’s Treaty?
• How did the Election of 1796 impact the young
nation?
• What was the X, Y, Z Affair?
• What were the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions?
2. Events in Europe
In July 1789 a mob stormed the
Bastille in France (the French prison)
Initially many Americans
supported the French in their
revolution
Founded on the same republican
ideals as the American revolution
Americans soon became divided
over whether to support the French
1793 events took a deadly turn
King Louis XVI was beheaded
This launched the Reign of Terror
The Jacobins declared war on
other monarchies, like Great
Britain
3. American Reactions to the
French
Americans were split along party
lines
Democratic-Republicans
wanted to honor the 1778
treaty and support the French
Federalists wanted to back the
British
In April 1793, President
Washington took a middle of the
line approach
He issued a declaration of
neutrality
Said U.S. would not support
any side
Jefferson later resigned from the
cabinet frustrated over the
4. Spain
Spain was worried that they
would be attacked by a joint
British-American force
Included almost every provision
the Americans desired:
Spain gave up land claims
east of the Mississippi (except
Florida)
Spain recognized the 31st
parallel as the southern
boundary of the U.S.
Spain agreed to open
Mississippi to traffic to U.S.
citizens
Spain agreed to allow
Americans to use the port of
5. Native Americans
Pioneers that moved west
assumed the 1783 Treaty of Paris
gave them free reign to settle the
area
British still maintained forts in
Northwest Territory (in violation
of the treaty)
Settlers meet resistance from
British as well as the native
inhabitants
Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794)
Washington ordered federal
troops against Native
Americans in the region
Miami Confederacy was
defeated at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers
The battle ended Native
American resistance in Ohio
6. Jays Treaty
John Jay was in London at the
time of the Battle of Fallen
Timbers
Was negotiating a treaty with
Britain over territories west of the
Appalachian Mountains
When news of the Battle of
Fallen Timbers arrived in London
the British agreed to evacuate
the area
Treaty passed the Senate but
many were angry at its terms
Allowed British to continue
their fur trade in America’s
7. Washington’s Farewell
The divisions between
Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans
convinced Washington not
to run for a third term
In his farewell address he
urged Americans to “steer
clear of permanent
alliances” with other
nations
In 1797, Washington
retired to his home in
Mount Vernon
8. 1796 Election
The election of 1796 saw two different
parties contesting for same office
Federalists nominated John Adams
Democratic-Republicans nominated
Thomas Jefferson
Adams got 71 votes and Jefferson got
68
The country found itself with a
Federalist president (Adams) and a
Democratic-Republican vice-
president (Jefferson)
Election underscored danger of
sectionalism
Placing the interest of one region
over those of the nation as a whole
South voted for Jefferson, & the north for
Adams
9. Adams and Foreign Affairs
President Adams faced a new
crisis
A possible war with France
French viewed Jay’s Treaty as a
violation of the French-
American alliance
French refused to receive
American ambassadors
They began to seize American
ships bound for Britain
By this time the reign of terror
had ended
The French government
consisted a legislature, and a
five man executive branch called
the Directory
They had little patience with
America
10. X…Y…and Z
Planned to meet with French minister
Talleyrand
Directory sent three low-level
officials
Referred to as “X”, “Y”, and “Z”
Demanded a $250,000 dollar bribe
as a payment for seeing
Talleyrand
News of this insult spread and so did
anti-French feelings
In 1798, Congress created a navy
department and authorized American
ships to seize French vessels
Army of 50,000 troops was
created and George Washington
was brought out of retirement
Undeclared naval war raged
between France and the United
States for the next two years
11. The Alien and Sedition Acts
Federalists pushed through Congress four
measures that became known as the Alien
and Sedition Acts
A fear of French spies swept the
nation
Meant to counter what they saw as a
growing threat against the government
Three measures of the Acts were:
Raised residence requirement for
American citizenship from 5 years to
14 years
Allowed the president to deport or jail
any alien considered undesirable
Set fines and jail terms for anyone
trying to hinder the operation of the
government or expressing “false”
statements against the government
Outraged Democratic-Republicans said
the laws violated the freedom of speech
12. Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions
Jefferson and Madison organized opposition to
the Acts by appealing to the states
Madison drew up Virginia resolutions and
Jefferson drew up the Kentucky resolutions
It had written into it the idea of nullification
States had right to nullify, any act of
Congress that they deemed
unconstitutional
Resolutions called on other states to do the
same
No states did and the controversy died out
Resolutions showed the balance of power
between the states and the federal
government remained a controversial issue
13. The Death of Washington
On December 14, 1799
Washington died after catching a
severe cold
He was buried according to his
wishes with a military funeral at
Mount Vernon
Ironically, Washington’s death
would bring about better relations
with the French
In hopes of luring Americans to
his side Napoleon ordered ten
days of mourning to be observed
in the French armies
Soon Napoleon would offer even
great concessions to the
Americans
