“Adams’s more belligerent advisers saw in the conflict with France a splendid opportunity to achieve larger objectives.  The war scare provided a pretext for the standing army Federalists had long sought.  In the summer of 1798, Congress authorized an army of fifty thousand men to be commanded by Washington in the event of hostilities.  Federalists in the cabinet and Senate also sought to rid the nation of recent immigrants from France and other countries who were viewed as potential subversives –and even worse as Republican political fodder– enacting laws making it more difficult to acquire American citizenship and permitting the deportation of aliens deemed dangerous to public safety.  Striking directly at the opposition, the Federalists passed several vaguely worded and blatantly repressive Sedition Acts that made it a federal crime to interfere with the operation of the government or publish any ‘false, scandalous and malicious writings’ against its officials.” –George Herring, From Colony to Superpower, p. 87

Discussion Questions

  • The late 1790s was a period of fierce partisan debate over immigration and its perceived threat to national security.  What insights, if any, do you see in the story of the Alien & Sedition crisis for the politics of today?
  • President John Adams eventually defused the crisis over Alien & Sedition and the Quasi War with France by forging a compromise with Napoleon in 1800.  He claimed this as perhaps his greatest legacy as a statesman.  Does Herring seem to agree?  What is your assessment of Adams during this period?

Additional Resources