18th century american history
A01=John Adams
alien and sedition acts
american diplomacy
american political history
Author_John Adams
Category=DNBH
Category=JPHL
Category=NH
Category=NHB
Category=NHK
early american republic
early us taxation
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
federalist era
forthcoming
founding fathers
franco american relations
french revolution
gwen fries
hobson woodward
jay treaty
massachusetts historical society
military buildup
miriam liebman
national direct tax
naval history
presidency of john adams
quasi war
r m barlow
sara georgini
sara martin
us foreign policy
us navy history
xyz affair
yellow fever epidemic
Product details
- ISBN 9780674306271
- Weight: 1517g
- Dimensions: 165 x 248mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2026
- Publisher: Harvard University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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This volume of the Papers of John Adams explores the period from March 1798 to June 1799, showing how President John Adams strained to repair Franco-American relations. The XYZ Affair sank his initial plans for peace, compelling Adams to recalibrate his policy. Anxious to counter French privateering, he spearheaded legislation to expand the army, grow the navy, and arm merchant ships. Members of Adams’s cabinet also tried to flex executive power, garnering mixed results. Timothy Pickering clashed with the president when he angled to run enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Acts. James McHenry and Benjamin Stoddert struggled to secure arms, recruits, and support for the military. Oliver Wolcott Jr. kept treasury dealings stable despite a yellow fever epidemic and the fragility of American trade. Adams remained in Quincy as the diplomatic crisis grew, tending to his ailing wife, Abigail, and leading from afar. He closely monitored implementation of the controversial Jay Treaty, relying on Charles Lee’s reports on the politicking of the claims commissions. The Adams administration imposed a national direct tax to pay for the military buildup, drawing dissent from Americans buffeted by economic chaos. As French attacks on US commerce soared and the Jay Treaty’s pro-British trade regulations took root, hundreds of patriotic addresses lauding Adams swept in from town meetings, local militias, state legislatures, college students, religious groups, and philanthropic societies. The president replied with gratitude, seizing the chance to reach beyond the Federalist stronghold of New England. Volume 23 charts Adams’s efforts to connect with citizens as public hope for peace with France steadily dissolved.
Sara Georgini is Series Editor for the Papers of John Adams of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Sara Martin is Editor in Chief of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. R. M. Barlow is Research Associate for the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Miriam Liebman is Assistant Editor for the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Gwen Fries is Production Editor for the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Hobson Woodward is Series Editor for the Adams Family Correspondence of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Sarah Hume is Editorial Assistant for the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
