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XYZ Affair for kids: Background and History
The
French Revolution
(1789-1799) continued to rage in France. The French King and Queen
had been beheaded and France declared a Republic. France was
now governed by five leaders of the French Revolution, who were
collectively called the "Directory." The members of the
"Directory." were furious when they heard of
Jay's Treaty (the 1794 Treaty with the
British). The French had hoped that the United States would declare
war on the British - instead they had made a treaty.
XYZ Affair for kids: Background and History of Diplomatic Relations with
France
At the time of the Jay's Treaty, James Monroe was the
US minister at Paris. The previous US Minister, Gouverneur Morris
who was a Federalist, was recalled at the request of the French
government, due to his support of the French monarchy. James Monroe
was an anti-Federalist, a member of the new Republican political
party sympathetic to the French revolutionaries.
Instead of doing all he could to smooth over the situation, James
Monroe encouraged the wrath of the Directory. President Washington
recalled James Monroe from France, and sent General Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney, another Federalist, in his place. The Directory
promptly refused to receive Pinckney, and ordered him to leave
France. News of this defiant action of the Directory refusing to
receive the US Ambassador reached Philadelphia three days after John
Adams was inaugurated as the second president of the United States.
XYZ Affair for kids: Diplomatic Relations with France
The new President Adams
immediately summoned Congress and addressed the members in furious
and stirring words on May 16, 1797. He said that the insult by the
French was "the denial of a right; but the refusal to receive him
until we have acceded to their demands without discussion and
without investigation is to treat us neither as allies nor as
friends, nor as a sovereign state." President Adams continued his
strong words by saying "...shall convince France and the world that
we are not a degraded people, humiliated under a colonial spirit of
fear and sense of inferiority". France had deeply humiliated and
insulted the United States of America.
XYZ Affair for kids: President Adams efforts to avoid war with France
The President decided to make
one more effort to establish diplomatic relations with France and
avoid war. President Adams therefore sent John Marshall, a Virginia
Federalist, and Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts Republican, to join
Pinckney in France. Their mission was to negotiate with the
French Directory.
The
XYZ Affair for kids: The Bribe
When the US Ambassadors reached
Paris they were denied permission to formally meet with the Foreign
Minister, the Marquis de Talleyrand. Instead French diplomats came
to see them. The names of three of the men were Jean Hottinguer
(later X), Pierre Bellamy (later Y), and Lucien Hauteval (later Z).
These men said that:
-
America
must apologize for the President's vigorous words
-
America
must lend money to France
-
Must pay a
bribe the members of the Directory and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs
These
outrageous suggestions were emphatically rejected by the members of
the US envoy. In sending the papers to Congress, the three French
diplomats were referred to Mr. X., Mr. Y., and Mr. Z., giving the
name of the "XYZ Affair." to the incident.
The
XYZ Affair for kids: The Reaction in America
President Adams informed Congress of the "XYZ Affair" in April 1798.
The reaction in America to the "XYZ Affair" was total outrage. Members of both the
Federalist and Republican political parties joined in indignation.
"Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute," was the cry of the
day in response to the "XYZ Affair". The reaction of the American people was to tear down French
flags. President Adams declared that he would not send another
minister to France until he was assured that the representative of
the United States would be received as "the representative of a
great, free, powerful, and independent state." The XYZ Affair
sparked what is known as the
Quasi War with France
XYZ Affair for kids
The info about the XYZ Affair provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 2nd President of the United States of America.
XYZ Affair for kids - President John Adams Video
The article on the
XYZ Affair provides an overview of one of the Important issues of his presidential term in office. The following video will give you additional important facts, history and dates about the political events experienced by the 2nd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801.
XYZ Affair
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Interesting Facts about the
XYZ Affair for kids and schools
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Interesting facts
about the XYZ Affair
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Facts about the XYZ
Affair
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John Adams Presidency from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801
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Fast, fun,
interesting facts about the XYZ Affair
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President John Adams
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John Adams Presidency and
XYZ Affair for schools,
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