A Short History of the United States for School Use

by Edward Channing

Washington appointed Commander-in-chief. Hamilton and Adams.
The navy.
Naval warfare, 1798-99. McMaster, 213-214.

222. War with France, 1797-98.--The organization of a provisional army was now at once begun. Washington accepted the chief command on condition that Hamilton should have the second place. There were already a few vessels in the navy. A Navy Department was now organized. The building of more warships was begun, and merchant vessels were bought and converted into cruisers. French privateers sailed along the American coasts and captured American vessels off the entrances of the principal harbors. But this did not last long. For the American warships drove the privateers to the West Indies and pursued them as they fled southward. Soon the American cruisers began to capture French men-of-war. Captain Truxton, in the Constellation, captured the French frigate L'Insurgent. Many other French vessels were captured, and preparations were made to carry on the naval war even more vigorously when a treaty with France was signed.

Another commission sent to France.
The treaty of 1800.

223. Treaty with France, 1800.--This vigor convinced the French that they had been hasty in their treatment of the Americans. They now said that if another minister were sent to France, he would be honorably received. Adams wished to send one of the American ministers then in Europe, and thus end the dispute as soon as possible. But the other Federalist leaders thought that it would be better to wait until France sent a minister to the United States. Finally they consented to the appointment of three commissioners. Napoleon Bonaparte was now the ruler of France. He received the commissioners honorably, and a treaty was soon signed. On two points, however, he refused to give way. He declined to pay for American property seized by the French, and he insisted that the treaty of 1778 (pp. 115, 166) was still binding on both countries. It was finally agreed that the Americans should give up their claims for damages, and the French government should permit the treaty to be annulled. John Adams always looked upon this peaceful ending of the dispute with France as the most prudent and successful act of his whole life. But Hamilton and other Federalists thought it was treachery to the party. They set to work to prevent his reëlection to the presidency.

Repressive Laws. McMaster, 211-212.
The naturalization act.
The alien acts.
The Sedition Act.

224. Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798.--The Federalists, even if they had been united, would probably have been defeated in the election of 1800. For they had misused their power to pass several very foolish laws. The first of these laws was the Naturalization Act. It lengthened the time of residence in the United States from five to fourteen years before a foreign immigrant could gain the right to vote. This law bore very harshly on the Republicans, because most of the immigrants were Republicans. Other laws, called the Alien Acts, were also aimed at the Republican immigrants. These laws gave the President power to compel immigrants to leave the United States, or to live in certain places that he named. The worst law of all was the Sedition Act. This was aimed against the writers and printers of Republican newspapers. It provided that any one who attacked the government in the press should be severely punished as a seditious person. Several trials were held under this law. Every trial made hundreds of persons determined to vote for the Republican candidate at the next election.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions 1798-99. McMaster, 212-213.
Jefferson and Madison on the Constitution.
The Kentucky Resolutions of 1799.

225. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 1798-99.--In the exciting years before the Revolutionary War the colonial legislatures had passed many resolutions condemning the acts of the British government (see pp. 77, 84). Following this example Jefferson and Madison now brought it about that the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions against the Alien and Sedition Acts. They declared that the Constitution was a compact between the states. It followed from this that any state could determine for itself whether any act of Congress were constitutional or not. It followed from, this, again, that any state could refuse to permit an Act of Congress to be enforced within its limits. In other words, any state could make null or nullify any Act of Congress that it saw fit to oppose. This last conclusion was found only in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799. But Jefferson wrote to this effect in the original draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions called the voter's attention to the Federalist abuse of power and did much to form public opinion.

Death of Washington, 1799.

226. Death of Washington, 1799.--In the midst of this excitement George Washington died. People forgot how strongly he had taken the Federalist side in the last few years, and united to do honor to his memory. Henry Lee spoke for the nation when he declared that Washington was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." To this day, we commemorate Washington's birthday as we do that of no other man, though of late years we have begun to keep Lincoln's birthday also.