The inauguration of John Adams in Philadelphia, on March 4, 1797, was a simple but moving affair. Jefferson was there in a blue frock coat. So was Washington, in a black velvet suit. Adams was determined to be republican. He arrived at Congress Hall in a simple carriage drawn by two horses.   It was a stark contrast to that used by Washington at his first inauguration, a grand carriage drawn by six white horses. Adams dressed in a plain gray suit without ornate buttons and knee buckles.[1]

He was awake most of the night, worrying that he would faint during the ceremony.   An effective orator, he delivered his speech with emotion and power. He emphasized his determination to maintain American neutrality. He reminded his audience, filled with members of Congress, foreign diplomats and the Democratic-Republican press, that he had spent seven years in France. He held the French, he said, in high esteem.[2]

He faced rapidly deteriorating diplomatic relations with France. The recently elected Executive Directory considered Jay’s treaty to be an act of hostility and a violation of America’s alliance during the Revolutionary War.   The Jay Treaty allowed the British to capture ships laden with provisions bound for France and to expel French privateers from American ports. The Executive Directory responded by allowing French corsairs to wage an aggressive campaign against American shipping in 1796. Soon, depredations by the French surpassed those of the British in 1793.[3]

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) the French foreign minister, repeatedly snubbed Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry in their attempts to negotiate with France.

President Washington had sent Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to Paris as the American ambassador. The new French government did not recognize Pinckney, effectively severing diplomatic relations. When news of Pinckney’s rebuff reached the United States, John Adams was president. He sent John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to Paris to help Pinckney with negotiations.

As Adams continued diplomatic efforts, he persuaded Congress to prepare for war. When Marshall and Gerry arrived in Paris in 1797, defensive measures in the United States were in place. Harbors were fortified. Congress had authorized the completion of three frigates, started when hostilities with the Barbary pirates began. Adams was empowered to raise a militia of 80,000. To avert a war before negotiations had taken place, the president issued an order barring the armament of merchant ships. Congress banned the use of privateers.[4] Adams delivered a speech on July 16, 1797, recommending formation of an army and navy and noting the importance of treaties with Sweden and Prussia.

The commissioners waited six months for the French foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, to receive them officially. He refused to grant an audience. As the French continued to attack America’s merchant marine, three unofficial agents met the American envoys, demanding a loan to France and a bribe of $250,000 (the equivalent of $4.5 million in 2009.) The American negotiators replied, “No, no; not a sixpence.” Talleyrand responded by suggesting that Gerry alone remain in France to negotiate. Marshall immediately set sail for the United State in April 1798.

No, No; Not a Sixpence

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825)

John Marshall (1755-1835)

Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814)

John Adams sent John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to join Charles Cotesworth Pinckney in Paris to negotiate with the recently elected Executive Directory of France. After they were repeatedly rebuffed by the French foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, three French envoys, later dubbed “X,Y, and Z” by Adams, demanded a loan plus a bribe of $250,000. Pinckney, Marshall and Gerry replied “No, no; not a sixpence.”

In March 1798, Adams finally received the dispatches. The envoys failed to negotiate with Talleyrand. When the news reached the American public, a wave of anti-French sentiment swept over the nation.

John Adams (1735-1826) enjoyed a surge in popularity as president following the XYZ Affair as the nation was seized by anti-French fervor and “millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute” became the patriotic motto.

Adams renewed his efforts to increase America’s defenses. Vice President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans opposed the measures.They demanded that Adams release the dispatches. Adams presented them to Congress, referring to the unofficial agents as “X, Y, and Z.”

The Democratic-Republicans relented. Congress authorized the procurement of arms, and created a department of the Navy. They augmented America’s fleet with twelve vessels bearing arms and ten galleys to protect America’s merchant marine. Congress added a new regiment to the Army and gave Adams the authority to recruit 10,000 men for a provisional army. It authorized Adams to accept companies of volunteers in reserve. When Marshall returned in June, the United States renounced its treaties with France. The United States had entered into an undeclared war with France. Congress commissioned three additional ships for the Navy augmented the Army with twelve infantry regiments and six more light dragoon troops.[5]

The Quasi-War continued until 1800. On January 1, 1799, Adams sent delegates to negotiate with France. Hostilities ended with the Treaty of Montefontaine.

CAREY THE NATIONALIST | Those “Wild Irishmen” and Alien and Sedition Acts

[1] David McCullough, John Adams, (New York: Simon & Shuster, 2001) 468.

[2] McCullough, John Adams, 469.

[3] James Morton Smith, Freedom’s Fetters: The Alien and Sedition Laws and American Civil Liberties (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1956) 7.

[4] Smith, Freedom’s Fetters, 5-6.

[5] Smith, Freedom’s Fetters, 8.