The only fighting in the Quasi-War occurred at sea, and mostly in the Caribbean. But with war at a fever pitch and French interests so close by in Louisiana, there was a very real concern in Congress about a possible French invasion of the United States from the west.
In response to the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by the Federalist controlled Congress and signed by President John Adams in July 1798, Democratic-Republicans howled long and loud about the legislation that they viewed as an assault on both their party and the Constitution. They turned to their leader, Vice President Thomas Jefferson, to counter these Acts and, if possible, use them to their political advantage.
Jefferson was assisted in his efforts by James Madison, his fellow Virginian and brilliant political protégé. At the time of the laws’ passage both men were essentially unemployed and residing at their homes, Monticello and Montpelier. Because the homes were only thirty In 1798, the existing United States Army comprised about 3,300 men, not nearly adequate to defend our borders. Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, called for an expansion of this force to combat the new threat. However, due to the fear of a large permanent army, Congress was hesitant to do so.
Consequently, in May 1798, Congress reluctantly agreed to create a 10,000 soldier “provisional” force. miles apart, the two men were in constant contact.
Although Jefferson was the Vice President, he had little interest in helping President Adams and consequently spent a considerable amount of his time away from the capital planning his run for the Presidency in 1800. Madison had retired from the House of Representatives in 1797 and had kept very busy laying the foundation for Jefferson’s campaign.
Leading Democratic- Republicans viewed the Alien and Sedition Acts as a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, with Democratic-Republican Senator Henry Tazewell of Virginia saying the laws “indulge that appetite for tyranny” that would lead to monarchy. They were also greatly concerned that the Acts were a direct assault on state’s rights. But they were arguably even more worried about the laws’ adverse effects on their chances in the 1800 election.
This organization was officially designated the Provisional Army of the United States and was to exist alongside the United States Army.
Despite pressure from Federalists to nominate Hamilton to lead this unit, President Adams nominated George Washington to be its commander. This appointment surprised many, including Washington himself, as Adams named the former president without ever consulting him on the matter.
Washington, whose official title was commander in chief of all the Armies of the United States, accepted this new command on two conditions. He wanted to remain at Mount Vernon until needed and he wanted to name his own subordinates. Washington requested Hamilton to be his second- in-command and, due to Washington’s advanced age, Hamilton became the de facto commander.
From President Adams’s perspective, Washington’s choice could not have been worse, as Adams and Hamilton had never been close. In a letter to Benjamin Rush, Adams referred to Hamilton as the “bastard brat of a Scotch peddler.”
Abigail, John’s wife and chief advisor, stated Hamilton was as “ambitious as Julius Caesar…His thirst for fame is insatiable.”
Unfortunately for both men, this appointment brought them into more frequent contact and conflict. Hamilton, suddenly a major general and a man for whom fame was a fair lady worth courting, seized the opportunity and immediately began diverting federal resources towards this fledgling force. As the crisis with France lessened, Adams was anxious to be rid of this thorn in his side.
As the army never did any fighting and the cost to maintain it was significant, Adams finally disbanded it in 1800. Hamilton was not happy with losing his Their newspapers such as the Aurora spewed forth bitter accusations, many of them completely false, against the Adams administration on a regular basis.
The attack dog style articles assailed any and all Federalists including George Washington and had almost won the Presidency for Jefferson in 1796. Without the ability to print their propaganda, the Democratic- Republicans knew they could not win in 1800.
John Breckinridge of Kentucky and Wilson Nicholas of Virginia visited Monticello and pressed Jefferson to draft a resolution calling for organized resistance to the laws that they could present to their respective state legislatures.
It was further determined that the legislatures should offer different versions of the resolutions so it would not appear that they were created in concert with one another.
Consequently, James Madison was brought into the mix to draft the Virginia Resolution and Jefferson the one for Kentucky. Recognizing that if it was known Jefferson and Madison wrote the resolutions that they would be charged with a crime, it was decided to keep the authors anonymous. Jefferson did not require much convincing to draft the resolutions and happily complied, with Madison following Jefferson’s lead.
The two men created their drafts separately and they had distinct and important differences. In general, Jefferson’s version was much more radical, even dangerous to the preservation of the Union. Madison, arguably the brighter and steadier of the two Founding Fathers, drafted a more balanced argument against the Alien and Sedition Acts and a reasonable method of pushing back against them.
Jefferson’s original draft of the Kentucky Resolution invoked the theory that the federal government was a command and intensified his behind-the-scenes maneuvers to put forward a Federalist presidential candidate for the upcoming election that would be more his puppet than the independent Adams.
In November 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte took over effective control of the French government with the support of wealthy French merchants who owned lucrative plantations in the Caribbean.
Bonaparte was anxious to conclude the Quasi-War, which sapped France’s naval resources and harmed his supporters’ economic interests.
Consequently, when President Adams sent Oliver Ellsworth, William Vans Murray, and William Richardson Davie to France to open peace negotiations, Napoleon readily agreed to talks. Ellsworth was perhaps the most noteworthy of the trio, having represented Connecticut in the Continental Congress compact of states, much like they had been under the Articles of Confederation, and that the states did not need to comply with federal laws they found to be unconstitutional.
Furthermore, the test of the constitutionality of any law was to be found in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and could be judged by each individual state.
In Jefferson’s opinion, if the federal government passed a law that assumed an authority that was not expressly granted to it by Constitution, then that law was unconstitutional, and the states were not bound to comply with it.
In fact, Jefferson wrote the states “have the right and are in duty bound to interpose” against the implementation of the law.
His initial draft went so far as to proclaim that the individual states had the right to nullify a federal law that the state judged to be unconstitutional.
and again at the Constitutional Convention. Along with Roger Sherman, Ellsworth was instrumental in crafting the Connecticut Compromise, which saved the convention. Ellsworth was also Connecticut’s first United States senator and our nation’s third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
On November 9, 1800, the two nations signed the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, which acknowledged American rights to the freedom of the seas. However, France refused to compensate American merchants who lost vessels and cargo to French privateers for any of their losses, estimated to be valued at $20 million.
The determination of President Adams to stand by his principles, certainly one of his greatest traits, and not to expand the conflict with France was rewarded. Unfortunately for Adams, the news reached America too late to help him in the election of 1800, in which he faced off again with Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican Party.
Despite Adams’s numerous accomplishments for America and being the incumbent, he was not able to fight both Jefferson from the outside and Hamilton from the inside. Although the race was close, President Adams lost the election of 1800 to Jefferson seventy-five electoral votes to sixty-eight when Adams failed to carry New York state as he did in 1796.
Adams’s willingness to find an acceptable peace and mend fences with France in the face of opposition from his own party would be instrumental in allowing the Louisiana Purchase to happen in 1803.
This landmark agreement more than doubled the size of the United States. Ironically, President Adams was somewhat responsible for This “nullification” doctrine was viewed by many Democratic-Republicans as dangerous to the preservation of the Union and thought Jefferson had gone too far. As a result, the Kentucky legislature struck that provision from the final bill, and simply asked that other states support their attempt to repeal the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Likewise, Madison’s Virginia Resolutions assumed a more moderate tone, much to Jefferson’s dismay, and asked for the various states to convene to discuss the matter. Madison did not agree with Jefferson that the states had the right to declare a federal law “null and void.” It must be remembered that Madison was arguably the foremost constitutional scholar in the country, perhaps only equaled by John Adams.
Furthermore, Madison was the chief architect of the new Constitution which established the concept of the giving Jefferson his greatest achievement as president.
So why should the Quasi-War matter to us today? This little-known event in our nation’s history represents the first time after securing independence that America had to stand up to a foreign power. Despite being unprepared at the outset of the conflict, the United States quickly responded and acquitted itself well.
The United States Navy, hastily assembled, proved to be more than a match for French warships. Revolutionary France found out, as the British did in the American Revolution, that America was a country to be taken seriously, helping the young nation to gain credibility in the eyes of the world.
Next week, we will discuss the legacy of John Adams.
Tom Hand is a local historian of note.
