Adams organized a new diplomatic envoy to France in 1799. His cabinet underwent changes in 1800 when hisSecretary of War,James McHenry, resigned, and Adams removed hisSecretary of State,Timothy Pickering. These actions, along with the dissolution of an army led by his rivalAlexander Hamilton, effectively ended Hamilton's influence in government. Adams lost the1800 presidential election toThomas Jefferson, and Adams spent his final month as president reshaping the federal judiciary by issuing a large number of nominations to judicial positions through theJudiciary Act of 1801.
March 5 – Adams suggests to his treasury secretaryOliver Wolcott Jr. that they work with Thomas Jefferson andJames Madison to form a bipartisan commission to negotiate with France. This causes an argument between Adams and Wolcott.[4]
March 8 – Washington departs fromPhiladelphia, then the capital of the United States.[5]
March 21 – Adams moves into what was then the presidential residence in Philadelphia. He finds its condition and budget significantly below what is necessary.[7]
May 16 – Adams addresses a joint session of Congress to discuss defense of theEast Coast from French attack.[2] The speech is criticized by theJeffersonians and their Democratic-Republican Party, who see it as warmongering and as demonstrating sympathies toward the British.[14] France later demands an apology for Adams' criticism of the nation.[15]
June 12 – Adams delivers a message to Congress recommending the establishment of Natchez as a separate territory. It will eventually be created as theMississippi Territory.[2]
June 20
Adams nominatesElbridge Gerry for the envoy to France after Dana declines.[2]
William Vans Murray becomes Minister Resident to the Netherlands, succeeding Adams' sonJohn Quincy Adams. Murray will hold the position until September 2, 1801.[20]
June 22 – The Senate confirms Gerry's appointment to the envoy.[2]
June 24 – Adams signs a bill allowing him to command state governments to raisemilitias of 80,000 men.[2]
July 4 –William Blount is expelled from the United States Senate.[6]
July 10 – Congress adjourns.[21][13] Several members of the Federalist Party express reservations about Adams' proposed defense initiatives, and the session ends without their passage despite the Federalists' majority.[22]
September 10 – David Humphreys, former minister to Portugal, becomes Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. He will hold the position until December 28, 1801.[20]
September 27 – Marshall and Pinckney arrive in Paris to negotiate with the French government.[25]
October – Adams departs from Quincy, but he is forced to stop upon learning of an outbreak ofyellow fever in Philadelphia. He stays with his daughterNabby over the following weeks.[24]
October 4 – Gerry arrives in France to meet with the other members of the diplomatic envoy.[28]
October 18 – In what came to be known as theXYZ Affair,Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer solicits a bribe from the American envoy to France if they are to be allowed to negotiate with Talleyrand.[3][25]
October 20 – Hottinguer and his associate Pierre Bellamy meet with the diplomatic envoy and they insist on a bribe.[29]
October 21
Discussion resumes in France where Bellamy proposes that the United States take a loan from the Dutch in addition to his request of a bribe. Gerry convinces his fellow diplomats to keep negotiating and they decide that they will inform the United States of the loan offer in exchange for the end of French hostilities.[30]
October 22 – The envoy sends its first messages back to the United States reporting on the status of negotiations.[31]
October 28 – Gerry meets with Talleyrand and his associate Lucien Hauteval. Hauteval insists on a bribe if the envoy is to stay in France. They refuse when it is made clear that French hostilities would continue even if the bribe was paid.[32]
November – Adams arrives in Philadelphia. He is afflicted by a cold and rests for a week as a precautionary measure.[33][34]
November 13 – Congress enters a new session.[13] It is unable to act for the first several days because it does not have a quorum.[31]
November 22 – Adams delivers the1797 State of the Union Address. He talks about national defense and says it should be funded by taxes instead of loans.[2]
November 28 – Adams formally expresses his belief to the Senate that amerchant navy should be established.[2]
January 17 – Adams forms a commission to negotiate a treaty with theCherokee Nation.[2]
January 18 – France publishes a decree to take a hostile stance toward American shipping.[25]
January 24 – Adams sends requests to his cabinet members, seeking advice as to whether the United States should align with theKingdom of Great Britain in the event of war with France.[36][37]
January 31 – Marshall sends a formal message to the French foreign office, co-signed by the other two members of the envoy, laying out the grievances of the American government and expressing a desire to avoid war. The message is dated January 17, but Gerry's reservations caused a delay in its signing.[38]
March 2 – The diplomatic envoy is able to meet with Talleyrand.[41]
March 4 – Adams receives letters from the diplomatic envoy to France describing the XYZ affair.[42][43]
March 5 – Adams delivers the initial uncoded letter about the XYZ affair to Congress. Coded messages have yet to be decoded.[44]
March 6 – The diplomatic envoy meets with Talleyrand for the final time.[25]
March 12 – The final letter to Adams about the XYZ affair is decoded.[45]
March 13 – Adams consults with his cabinet to decide whether to share the full news of the XYZ affair with Congress and whether to propose a declaration of war.[46][47]
March 19
Adams reports to Congress that negotiations with France were unsuccessful. He does not disclose the nature of the XYZ affair.[48][45] In his speech, he argues that the problems in France are Europe's concern and that the United States should not become involved.[49]
Talleyrand responds to the diplomatic envoy's list of grievances with a public statement to the American people denouncing the Adams administration.[50]
March 23 – Adams sends an order that the diplomatic envoy should return if negotiations had not begun.[48]
March 27 – The Democratic–Republican Party introduces theSprigg Resolutions in an effort to limit American military activity against France, but they are unsuccessful.[51]
March 30 – CongressmanWilliam Branch Giles introduces a resolution demanding release of the diplomatic envoy's reports.[52][53]
April 2 – RepresentativeAlbert Gallatin, leader of the Democratic-Republicans, speaks in the House of Representatives to demand Adams release the diplomatic envoy's messages.[54] The House votes to approve Giles' resolution ordering the release of its reports as well as its original instructions, with 65 in favor and 27 opposed.[52][55]
April 3 – Adams reports the XYZ affair to Congress, detailing attempts by the French government to solicit bribes from the American envoy.[2][3][56] He uses the letters W, X, Y, and Z to describe the French officials instead of identifying them by name.[57]
April 6 – The House of Representatives votes to release the communications associated with the XYZ affair.[58]
April 7 – Adams signs a bill to create the Mississippi Territory and ban the importation of foreign slaves into the territory.[2] He namesNatchez as its capital and appointsWinthrop Sargent as its governor.[3]
April 8 – RepresentativeSamuel Sewall introduces a bill that would implement Adams' desired naval defenses and a provisional army.[59]
April 24 – Marshall departs fromBordeaux on a return trip to the United States.[57]
April 25 – The performer Gilbert Fox premiers the song "Hail, Columbia" byJoseph Hopkinson in a theater onChestnut Street. Abigail Adams is in attendance, and John Adams attends a performance a few days later.[61]
April 27 – Congress permits Adams to organize a fleet of 12 gunboats.[62][63]
May – Congress and the public increasingly support the creation of an army as rumors spread that France is building an invasion enforce and engaging in covert actions within the United States.[64]
A law is passed authorizing the procurement of weapons for the military.[66]
May 9 – A day of fasting and prayer is held in the United States by Adams' proclamation.[67]
May 15 – France bans American ships from French military ports.[68]
May 21 – The Senate confirms the appointment of Stoddert as Secretary of the Navy.[2]
May 24 – TheUSSGanges is launched to protect against French attack. No combat takes place.[69]
May 27 – French newspapers report that the XYZ affair has been made public in the United States, effectively ending negotiations between the countries.[70]
May 28
Adams signs a bill granting him the power to raise a federal army of 10,000 men in the event of an invasion.[2] It also grants him the power to authorize seizure of French vessels that attack American merchantmen.[3]
The French government receives the XYZ affair correspondences.[71]
Adams receives a letter from his Minister Resident to the Netherlands, William Vans Murray, reporting that Elbridge Gerry had stayed in Paris to continue negotiations after the other two members of the diplomatic envoy, John Marshall and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, had left.[72]
George Logan departs from the United States in secret to negotiate with France on behalf of the United States as a private citizen.[73]
June 13 – A law is passed making it illegal for Americans to engage in trade with France, effective July 1.[74]
June 18 – Adams signs the first of four Alien and Sedition Acts: the Amendments to the Naturalization Act of 1795. This requires that non-citizen residents register and bars citizenship for people from nations at war with the United States.[2] It setsnaturalization requirements that residents must live in the United States and declare their intention to seek citizenship for five years before they are eligible.[3]
June 19 – John Marshall arrives in Philadelphia after leaving France.[75]
June 21 – Adams delivers a message to Congress, declaring that he "will never send another minister to France without assurances that he will be received, respected, and honored as the representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent nation". Adams' rivalHigh Federalists see this as provoking war.[76]
June 25
Adams signs the second of four Alien and Sedition Acts: the Alien Act. This gives him the power to deport any non-citizen residents he deems a threat to the United States.[3]
A law is passed authorizing American merchant ships to carry weapons and defend themselves from French attack.[77]
Adams and Pickering condemn Gerry for negotiating unilaterally after the other members of the diplomatic envoy had departed from France.[78]
July – JournalistJohn Daly Burk is arrested for libel against the president.[81] He is released on the condition that he leaves the country, but he goes into hiding in Virginia for the remainder of Adams's term.[82]
July 1 – The Federalists try and fail to gain the votes for a declaration of war against France.[83]
July 3 – The Senate confirms Washington's appointment as commander-in-chief of the army.[2][85]
July 4 – Federalists in Congress meet to discuss whether they should push for a declaration of war against France, but they lack the votes when moderate Federalists choose not to support it.[86]
July 6 – Adams signs the third of four Alien and Sedition Acts: the Alien Enemies Act. This legalizes the arrest or deportation of men from nations that are enemies of the United States.[3]
July 7
Adams signs a bill voiding all treaties between France and the United States.[2]
Adams formally names Washington commander-in-chief of the army.[3][87]
July 9
TheQuasi-War begins when Adams signs a bill granting all American vessels legal authority to capture armed French vessels anywhere in the ocean.[2]
The French government places an embargo on American ships in French ports.[88]
July 13 – Washington accepts Adams' nomination as commander-in-chief.[2]
July 14
Adams signs the fourth and final of the Alien and Sedition Acts: the Sedition Act. This criminalizes false or malicious statements about the government, obstruction of government operations, and incitement of insurrection or unlawful assembly.[2] It enables the Adams administration to penalize criticism against it.[65]
Adams signs a bill setting taxes on dwellings, land, and slaves so as to fund military preparation amid tensions with France.[2]
July 18 – Adams appoints 14 officers to the army. This includes his rival Alexander Hamilton, whom he appoints inspector general.[2]
July 19 – The special session of Congress ends after two days.[13]
July 22 – Talleyrand requests further negotiations with Gerry, giving up previous requests of a loan and an explanation of Adams' criticism of France.[91]
July 25 – Adams departs from Philadelphia for the summer.[84]
August 7 – George Logan arrives in Paris to negotiate with the French government.[73]
August 8
John and Abigail Adams arrive in Quincy. Abigail had become seriously ill amid an outbreak of yellow fever and would require rest over the following months. John continues working in the room across the hall.[93]
Gerry departs fromLe Havre to return to the United States.[88]
August 14 – Adams declines Hamilton's request to call him andHenry Knox into duty as generals, citing issues of seniority that had yet to be resolved.[94]
August 16 – The French government lifts its embargo against American ships.[95]
October 1 – Elbridge Gerry returns to the United States from France. He reports that France is open to peace.[97]
October 4 – Adams and Gerry have a meeting in Quincy.[97]
October 6 – CongressmanMatthew Lyon is arrested for violating the Sedition Act.[98]
October 8 – Adams receives a letter from Washington in which he demands the ability to select his own general staff if he is to remain commander-in-chief of the army. Adams sends a letter accepting these terms despite his displeasure with Washington's choice of Hamilton as inspector general.[99]
October 9 – Lyon is sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay $1,000 (equivalent to $18,903 in 2024) plus court costs. Despite being imprisoned during the election, he will be re-elected to Congress.[98]
October 20 – Adams requests input from his cabinet on whether to seek peace or war with France.[100]
October 25 – Commissioners appointed by Great Britain and the United States define theSt. Croix River boundary between Maine and Nova Scotia, ending a dispute that began in 1764.[101]
November 6 –Toussaint Louverture, the autonomous leader of the French colonySaint-Domingue, guarantees protection to American ships engaging in commerce in Saint-Domingue despite the French embargo.[102]
November 10
Thomas Jefferson anonymously publishes theKentucky Resolution condemning the Sedition Act as abuse of power.[2]
George Washington arrives in Philadelphia in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the army.[103]
Logan returns to Philadelphia following his attempt to negotiate with France as a private citizen.[104]
November 12 – Adams departs from Quincy with his nephewWilliam Smith Shaw while Abigail remains behind to recover from her illness.[105]
November 16
The government of Kentucky adopts the Kentucky Resolution.[3][100]
The BritishHMSCarnatic intercepts and searches the USSBaltimore sloop-of-war.[106] Adams dismisses the ship's captain, Isaac Phillips, for allowing the search without resistance.[107]
November 25 – Adams returns to the capital in Philadelphia.[108] He meets with his cabinet to consider whether a new diplomatic envoy should be sent to France or if war should be declared.[108]
November 26 – Adams meets with Logan to discuss his negotiations with France.[109][100]
December 4 – George Washington departs from Philadelphia.[110]
December 8 – Adams delivers the1798 State of the Union Address. Congress's failure to reach a quorum prevented him from delivering the speech five days before.[111]
December 19
Adams nominates his recess appointee Bushrod Washington to a permanent seat on the Supreme Court. Washington is confirmed and receives his commission the following day.[60]
Adams hostsJoseph Bunel, a diplomat from Saint-Domingue, to negotiate trade despite the French embargo.[102] Bunel is the first black man to dine with an American president.[110]
January 15 – Adams reunites with his sonThomas Boylston Adams after the latter spent five years in Europe. He brings news to his father about the ongoing negotiations in France.[112]
January 18 – Congress receives the diplomatic letters of Elbridge Gerry.[113][114]
January 24 – Over a period of four days,William Duane, a journalist critical of Adams, publishes Gerry's diplomatic letters in thePhiladelphia Aurora to advocate for peace between the United States and France.[114]
January 30 – As a response to Logan's unauthorized trip to France, Adams signs theLogan Act into law, making it a crime to negotiate with foreign governments on behalf of the United States as a private citizen.[112]
February 2 – Adams releases the report from Elbridge Gerry about the diplomatic situation in France.[115][116]
February 3 – The USSUnited States captures the French schoonerL'Amour de la Patrie off the coast of Martinique.[96]
February 4 – The USSUnited States captures the French privateerTartuffe in theSaint Lucia Channel.[96]
February 9
The USSConstellation, commanded byThomas Truxtun, winsa battle and captures the FrenchL'Insurgente.L'Insurgente had previously attacked several American merchant ships.[117] The battle, taking place off the coast ofNevis,[96] is the first major battle of the Quasi–War.[118][119]
A law is passed authorizing Adams to resume trade withSaint-Domingue at his discretion.[120]
February 18 – Against the wishes of his party, Adams announces his intention to form a new diplomatic envoy to France. He nominates William Vans Murray as its leader.[121][122] Adams decides not to send the envoy until he can confirm that France is open to negotiation.[123]
February 22 – At the request of Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, the Danish shipMinerva is boarded to investigate French official Matthew Salmon when it reaches Charleston. The ship was occupied by Salmon and four other French citizens, as well as a secret compartment containing French documents. Pickering argues without evidence that this was part of a French plot to foment a slave rebellion.[124]
February 23 – Adams meets with a commission of his rival High Federalists, led byTheodore Sedgwick, to negotiate Adams' decision to appoint William Vans Murray in the diplomatic envoy to France. Fearing that such collaboration might be unconstitutional, Adams agrees on the condition that their meeting not be included in the report.[125]
February 25
At the urging of his rival High Federalists, Adams agrees to nominate Oliver Ellsworth andPatrick Henry to the diplomatic envoy alongside William Vans Murray.[123] He rejects their original proposal of Alexander Hamilton andGeorge Cabot.[126]
The necessity of lumber for naval purposes leads to Adams signing the first American law governing forests.[127]
February 27 – The Senate confirms Adams' nominations for the diplomatic envoy to France.[2] Henry will eventually decline the nomination for health reasons and be replaced byWilliam Richardson Davie.[118]
March 5 – The USSDelaware captures the French schoonerMarsouin off the coast ofMatanzas, Cuba.[96]
March 6 – Farmers in thePennsylvania Dutch community beginFries's Rebellion, an armed uprising against federal tax collectors in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[2] Eighteen people are arrested.[129]
March 7 –John Fries, the leader of Fries's Rebellion, leads 150 men toBethlehem, Pennsylvania, where they force a marshal to release three people who has been arrested for not paying the federal tax.[130]
March 10 – Adams holds a cabinet meeting in his home to discuss what terms for peace they would demand from France.[131]
March 12
Adams issues a proclamation declaring the actions of Fries's Rebellion to be treason and orders the rebels to disperse.[132] He authorizes military force to end the rebellion.[2]
Adams departs from Philadelphia for his home in Quincy, Massachusetts. The cabinet objects, feeling that Adams is neglecting his duty.[133]
March 14
The USSConstellation captures the French schoonerUnion off the coast ofGuadeloupe.[96]
Edme Étienne Borne Desfourneaux, the French governor of Guadeloupe, unilaterally orders that American ships be captured and taken to Gudaeloupe.[128]
April 18 –Edward Stevens arrives inCap Francais as the United States's Counsul General to Saint-Domingue. He is tasked with opening trade and helping Saint-Domingue distance itself from France.[134]
April 20 – The United States and Great Britain negotiate an agreement on their approach to Saint-Domingue.[135]
May –Harrison Gray Otis begins publishing the "Envoy" series in Boston to express support for Adams.[136]
May 5 – William Vans Murray expresses to the French government Adams' intention to reestablish negotiations.[137]
May 15
John Fries and two associates are found guilty of treason for rebelling against federal taxes. Their conviction is later voided by a technicality and a second trial is scheduled.[132]
Talleyrand orders that Americans in French ports are not to be taken prisoner.[138]
May 22 – Saint-Domingue accepts the proposal formed by the United States and Great Britain and agrees not to attack or capture American or British possessions.[139]
October – Adams learns that his sonCharles has become an alcoholic and decides to "renounce him".[142]
October 10 – Adams arrives inTrenton, New Jersey, where he meets with his cabinet and the new diplomatic envoy. There is disagreement as to whether they should continue with the envoy.[143]
October 15 – Adams holds an evening meeting with his cabinet that lasts until nearly midnight to consider revising the instructions for the diplomatic envoy to France. They determine that any agreement should not involve protection of French territories in the Western Hemisphere but should include a board of commissioners to resolve American claims of damage against France.[144]
October 16 – Adams announces the creation of the new diplomatic envoy.[145]
December 5 – Adams nominates his recess appointee James Winchester to a permanent seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.[60]
December 6 – Adams refers the Treaty of Amity to Congress for ratification.[2]
December 10 – Moore's nomination to the Supreme Court and Winchester's nomination to the district court are confirmed and they receive their respective commissions.[60]
May 5 – Adams has a meeting withJames McHenry, hisSecretary of War, which becomes a heated argument as Adams accuses the cabinet of plotting against him and he unloads his scorn for Hamilton. Adams later expresses remorse for his comments.[166][167]
May 6 – McHenry declares his resignation as Secretary of War, effective June 1.[168]
May 11 – The Democratic-Republican Party chooses Thomas Jefferson as its candidate for the 1800 presidential election with Aaron Burr as his running mate.[153]
May 12 – Adams receives a reply from Pickering that he will not resign as Secretary of State. Adams dismisses Pickering from the position an hour later.[171] This is the first instance of a president removing a cabinet member.[2] Adams names John Marshall as his new Secretary of State and names Samuel Dexter to be McHenry's replacement as Secretary of War.[172] He also orders that the army, which had been placed under Hamilton's charge, be dissolved. The changes effectively mark the end of Hamilton and the High Federalists having influence in the federal government.[173]
May 13 – Adams signs a bill authorizing the next session of Congress to be held in Washington, D.C.[2]
May 14
The February restriction on enlistment to the military is expanded to allow for early discharge of officers and enlisted men.[174]
Congress adjourns.[13] The session is ended early so the federal government has time to move to the new capital.[175]
May 15
Adams orders that the transfer of the federal government from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. to begin.[176]
May 21 – Adams issuespardons to the leaders of Fries's Rebellion, sparing them the death penalty. This is protested by his new cabinet, the Federalist Party, and the Pennsylvania German community.[2]
May 27
Adams leaves Philadelphia for Washington, D.C. with his stewardJohn Briesler and nephew William Smith Shaw.[177]
JournalistJames T. Callender posts security after being indicted for libeling the president with his pamphletThe Prospect Before Us.[163]
June 3 – Adams arrives in Washington, D.C.[177] He takes occupancy in a room at a tavern while construction continues on what would later be called theWhite House.[179]
June 4 – Callender is sentenced to nine months in prison for libeling the president and ordered to pay $200 (equivalent to $3,705 in 2024).[180]
June 11 – Celebrations are held in Washington, D.C. in honor of its new status as capital, and Adams speaks to the public.[181]
June 14 – Adams departs from Washington, D.C. for Quincy.[182]
September 6 – Adams authorizes American trade with all of Saint-Domingue.[184]
September 11 – A conference is held between American and French diplomats to begin forming a peace agreement. France encourages the United States to abandon its alliance with Great Britain.[185]
September 27 – A peace agreement between France and the United States is drafted.[186]
September 30 – TheConvention of 1800 creates peace between France and the United States.[2] The diplomatic envoy chooses to sign it even though it does not include the American demands of France renouncing the previous treaties or compensating the U.S.[159] Although the physical signing of the document took place at two o' clock in the morning on October 1, September 30 is understood to be the official date.[187][188] The signing of the treaty effectively ends the Quasi–War.[189]
January 21 – Adams reports the Convention of 1800 to the Senate and encourages its ratification.[203]
January 23 – A vote to ratify the Convention of 1800 fails in the Senate with 16 votes in favor and 14 against, falling below the required 20-vote supermajority.[204][205][203]
January 27 – Marshall's nomination as Chief Justice is confirmed by the Senate.[60][2][206]
January 31 – Marshall receives his commission as Chief Justice of the United States.[60]
February 3 – The Senate approves theConvention of 1800 with France by a vote of 22 in favor and 9 opposed.[207]
February 4 – John Marshall accepts his commission as Chief Justice of the United States.[208]
February 11 – Electoral votes are counted in Congress. As electoral ballots made no distinction between presidential and vice presidential votes, Jefferson ties with his vice presidential running mate Aaron Burr.[2]
Abigail Adams and the Adams' granddaughter Susanna depart from the White House.[209]
February 16 – Adams holds his final presidential dinner, hosting a delegation ofIndians.[210]
February 17 – TheHouse of Representatives votes to confirm Jefferson as the winner of the presidential election.[2] It takes a total of 36 ballots because Federalist members of Congress continued voting for Jefferson's running mate Burr to keep the presidency from Jefferson.[211]
Adams' judicial appointments from two days prior are confirmed as judges and receive their respective commissions.[60] Although Greene is confirmed, he is never given his commission. Ingersoll and Lee decline theirs.[200]
February 25 – Adams nominates Philip Barton Key as chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit five days after Key was seated as a judge on the court. Adams nominatesCharles Magill to take Key's place on the court. Paine's nomination is confirmed.[60] Gibbons' nominations is confirmed, but he is not given a commission because the seat was not vacated as expected.[200]
February 26 – Adams nominatesWilliam Tilghman to be chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Third Circuit. Key and Magill's nominations are confirmed.[60]
March 2 – Tilghman's nomination to the U.S. Circuit Court for the Third Circuit is confirmed.[60]
March 3
Cranch, Johnson, and Marshall are confirmed as district judges. Cranch and Marshall receive their commissions, but Johnson declines his.[60][200] Key, Magill, Paine, and Tilghman also receive their commissions.[60]
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