XYZ Affair

French ships were frequently bothering American ships at sea while Adams served as president. Adams sent ministers to France in an effort to halt this. The Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, utilized these events to rally American voters against France, and John Adams wished to prevent a full-scale war with France in opposition to them. The XYZ incident had a major impact on domestic politics since it was a tool for the opposition. They were rejected, though, and the French instead sent a note requesting a $250,000 payment in exchange for a meeting.

Adams requested more military funding from Congress in an effort to prevent war, but his opponents stopped him. By inserting the letters XYZ in place of the French signatures, Adams published the French letter requesting the bribe. The Democratic-Republicans were persuaded by this to change their opinions. Adams made one more attempt to meet with France, and they were able to keep the peace out of fear that a public uproar following the publishing of the letters would push America closer to war.