No sooner had John Adams taken office than he faced a crisis with France. The French objected to Jay’s Treaty because they felt that it put the United States on the side of Britain. In 1797, French ships began to seize American ships in the West Indies, as the British had done.
Once again, Americans called for war, this time against France. To avoid war, Adams sent diplomats (representatives) to Paris to discuss the rights of neutral nations.
The XYZ Affair The French foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, did not deal directly with the Americans. Instead, he sent three agents to offer the Americans a deal. Before Talleyrand would even begin talks, the agents said, he wanted $250,000 for himself and a $10 million loan to France. “Not a sixpence!” replied one of the Americans angrily. (A sixpence was a British coin worth six pennies.)
The diplomats informed Adams about the offer. He then told Congress. Adams did not reveal the names of the French agents, referring to them only as X, Y, and Z.
Many Americans were outraged when news reached them about the XYZ Affair in 1798. (The affair had taken place in 1797, but it took time for news to cross the ocean by ship.) They took up the slogan, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!” They were willing to spend money to defend their country, but they would not pay a bribe to another nation.
Why did President Adams send diplomats to France in the first place?
President Adams sent the diplomats to France in hopes that...