The presidency of John Adams began on March 4, 1797, when John Adams was inaugurated as the 2nd president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1801. The first year of his presidency focused on negotiations with the French government to avoid armed conflict as relations between France and the United States deteriorated, but negotiations failed when French officials demanded bribes from the delegation in what became known as the XYZ Affair. The Quasi-War, a series of skirmishes between France and the United States, occurred in 1798. Adams implemented the Alien and Sedition Acts that placed restrictions on foreign nationals and criminalized criticism of his administration. He faced growing backlash from both the opposing Democratic-Republican Party and the High Federalist faction within his own Federalist Party. While the conflict was ongoing, Adams established relations with the French colony of Saint-Domingue under the rule of Toussaint Louverture.
Adams organized a new delegation to France in 1799. His cabinet underwent changes in 1800 when his Secretary of War, James McHenry, resigned, and Adams removed his Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering. These actions, along with the dissolution of an army led by his rival Alexander Hamilton, effectively ended Hamilton's influence in government. Adams lost the 1800 presidential election to Thomas Jefferson and spent his final month as president reshaping the federal judiciary by issuing a large number of nominations to judicial positions through the Judiciary Act of 1801.
1797
March 1797 March 4 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd president of the United States by Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth in Congress Hall. He retains the cabinet members of his predecessor, George Washington. Thomas Jefferson becomes vice president of the United States. March 5 – Adams suggests to his treasury secretary Oliver Wolcott Jr. that they work with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to form a bipartisan commission to negotiate with France. This causes an argument between Adams and Wolcott. March 8 – George Washington departs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then the capital of the United States. March 14 – Adams learns that diplomat Charles Cotesworth Pinckney had not been accepted by the French Directory. He meets with his cabinet to discuss the United States' response. March 21 – Adams moves into what was then the presidential residence in Philadelphia. He finds its condition and budget significantly below what he considers necessary. March 25 – Following French attacks on American ships, Adams schedules a special session of the United States Congress for May 15 to address deteriorating relations between France and the United States. The Democratic-Republican Party protests, fearing that Adams intends to declare war on France. March 29 – The United States enters into a treaty with the Mohawk people.
April 1797 April 14 – Adams initiates a new discussion with his cabinet regarding a response to France's attacks against American ships. April 21 – Adams's mother Susanna Boylston dies.
May 1797 May 10 Adams's wife Abigail Adams arrives in Philadelphia. The USS United States, the first of the original six frigates authorized for the United States Navy, launches at Philadelphia. May 15 – The 5th United States Congress convenes for its first session. May 16 – Adams addresses a joint session of Congress to discuss defense of the East Coast from French attack. The speech is criticized by the Jeffersonians and their Democratic-Republican Party, who see it as warmongering and as demonstrating sympathies toward the British. France later demands an apology for Adams's criticism of the nation. May 31 – Adams nominates Francis Dana, John Marshall, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as a delegation to France.
June 1797 June 5 – The United States Senate confirms Adams's nominations for the Pinckney delegation to France. June 7 – French philosopher Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney, an ally of Thomas Jefferson, flees the United States. June 10 – The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States and Tripoli, which had been signed during Washington's presidency, enters into force. June 12 – Adams delivers a message to Congress recommending the establishment of Natchez as a separate territory. It will eventually be created as the Mississippi Territory. June 20 Adams nominates Elbridge Gerry for the Pinckney delegation to France after Dana declines. William Vans Murray becomes Minister Resident to the Netherlands, succeeding Adams's son John Quincy Adams. June 22 – The Senate confirms Gerry's appointment to the Pinckney delegation. June 24 – Adams signs a bill allowing him to command state governments to raise militias of 80,000 men.
July 1797 July 4 – William Blount is expelled from the United States Senate. July 10 – The 5th United States Congress adjourns from its first session. Several members of the Federalist Party express reservations about Adams's proposed defense initiatives, and the session ends without their passage despite the Federalists' majority. July 19 – Adams departs from Philadelphia for the summer. He goes to his home in Quincy, Massachusetts. July 20 – Marshall departs from Philadelphia on his way to France. July 22 – Adams establishes the United States Mint and ends the recognition of foreign currencies as legal tender. July 23 – Gerry departs from Boston, Massachusetts, on his way to France. July 25 – David Humphreys ends his tenure as Minister Resident to Portugal. July 26 – Adams's son John Quincy Adams marries Louisa Catherine Johnson, though Adams is not informed of this for another two months.
August 1797 August 28 – The United States and Tunis enter into a commerce treaty.
September 1797 September 4 – A coup takes place in France, replacing the government with one more hostile to the United States. September 7 – The USS Constellation, the second of the original six frigates authorized for the United States Navy, launches at Baltimore. September 8 – William Loughton Smith becomes Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal. September 10 – David Humphreys, former minister to Portugal, becomes Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. September 15 – The United States enters into a treaty with the Seneca people. September 27 – Marshall and Pinckney arrive in Paris to negotiate with the French government.
October 1797 October – Adams departs from Quincy, but he is forced to stop upon learning of an outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia. He stays with his daughter Nabby over the following weeks. October 4 – Gerry arrives in France to meet with the other members of the Pinckney delegation. October 8 – The Pinckney delegation informally meets with French foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. October 18 – In what came to be known as the XYZ Affair, Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer solicits a bribe from the Pinckney delegation if they are to be allowed to negotiate with Talleyrand. October 20 – Hottinguer and his associate Pierre Bellamy meet with the Pinckney delegation and they insist on a bribe. October 21 Discussion resumes in France where Bellamy proposes that the United States accept 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, in exchange for the end of French hostilities, they are willing to inform the United States of the loan offer. The USS Constitution, the third of the original six frigates authorized for the United States Navy, launches at Boston. October 22 – The Pinckney delegation sends its first messages back to the United States reporting on the status of negotiations. October 28 – Gerry meets with Talleyrand and his associate Lucien Hauteval. Hauteval insists on a bribe if the Pinckney delegation is to stay in France. They refuse when it is made clear that French hostilities would continue even if the bribe was paid.
November 1797
November – Adams arrives in Philadelphia. He is afflicted by a cold and rests for a week as a precautionary measure. November 13 – The 5th United States Congress convenes for its second session. November 22 – Adams delivers the 1797 State of the Union Address. He talks about national defense and says it should be funded by taxes instead of loans. November 28 – Adams formally expresses his belief to the Senate that a merchant navy should be established.
December 1797 December 5 – Adams's son John Quincy Adams becomes Minister Plenipotentiary to Prussia. December 6 – Adams addresses Congress in another controversial call to action against France that is criticized by the Jeffersonians.
1798 January 1798 January 8 – The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting states sovereign immunity in federal court. January 17 – Adams forms a commission to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Nation. January 18 – France issues a decree to take a hostile stance toward American shipping. January 24 – Adams sends requests to his cabinet members, seeking advice as to whether the United States should align with the Kingdom of Great Britain in the event of war with France. January 31 – Marshall sends a formal message to the French foreign office, co-signed by the other two members of the Pinckney delegation, 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 had caused a delay in its signing.
February 1798 February – Adams reports to Congress that a French privateer attacked a British merchant ship in Charleston Harbor. February 15 – Secretary of War James McHenry sends a peace plan to Adams. The plan was written by Hamilton, but McHenry presents it as his own.
March 1798 March 2 – The Pinckney delegation is able to meet with Talleyrand. March 4 – Adams receives letters from the Pinckney delegation to France describing the XYZ affair. March 5 – Adams delivers the initial uncoded letter about the XYZ affair to Congress. Coded messages have yet to be decoded. March 6 – The Pinckney delegation meets with Talleyrand for the final time. March 12 – The final letter to Adams about the XYZ affair is decoded. 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. March 15 – A treaty is signed with Great Britain amending article 5 of the Jay Treaty. March 19 Adams reports to Congress that negotiations with France were unsuccessful. He does not disclose the nature of the XYZ affair. In his speech, he argues that the problems in France are Europe's concern and that the United States should not become involved. Talleyrand responds to the Pinckney delegation's list of grievances by issuing a public statement to the American people denouncing the Adams administration. March 23 – Adams sends an order that the Pinckney delegation should return if negotiations had not begun. March 27 – The Democratic–Republican Party introduces the Sprigg Resolutions in an effort to limit American military activity against France, but they are unsuccessful. March 30 – Congressman William Branch Giles introduces a resolution demanding release of the Pinckney delegation's reports.
April 1798 April 2 – Representative Albert Gallatin, leader of the Democratic-Republicans, speaks in the House of Representatives to demand Adams release the Pinckney delegation's messages. 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. April 3 – Adams reports the XYZ affair to Congress, detailing attempts by the French government to solicit bribes from the Pinckney delegation. He uses the letters W, X, Y, and Z to describe the French officials instead of identifying them by name.