Adams' Presidency & Early Foreign Policy Challenges

Active learning helps students grapple with the complexities of Adams’ presidency by placing them in roles where they must weigh competing priorities. Debating constitutional questions, analyzing primary documents, and simulating historical decisions make abstract political conflicts tangible and memorable.

• 8th Grade
• American History
• 3 activities
• 35 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the primary causes and immediate effects of the XYZ Affair on United States foreign policy.
2. Analyze how the Alien and Sedition Acts restricted freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
3. Evaluate the arguments presented in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions regarding states' rights and federal authority.
4. Compare the Federalist and Democratic-Republican perspectives on the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Mock Trial

⏱ 60 min·Whole Class

Mock Trial: Were the Alien and Sedition Acts Constitutional?

Students are assigned roles as prosecution, defense, witnesses, and a three-judge panel. The prosecution argues the Acts violated the 1st Amendment; the defense argues they were a legitimate exercise of wartime power. Students receive excerpts from the Acts, the 1st Amendment, and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Judges deliver a written verdict with reasoning.

Prepare & details

Explain the causes and effects of the XYZ Affair on U.S. foreign relations.

Facilitation Tip: For the Mock Trial, assign clear roles and provide a timed structure to keep the debate focused on constitutional arguments.

Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout

Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Mock Trial

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Document Analysis: The XYZ Affair Dispatches

Small groups read adapted excerpts from the original dispatches Adams sent to Congress with the French agents renamed X, Y, and Z. Groups identify the specific demands, the American response, and the emotional register of the text, then write a one-paragraph newspaper lede for either a Federalist or Democratic-Republican paper.

Prepare & details

Analyze how the Alien and Sedition Acts challenged the principles of the Bill of Rights.

Facilitation Tip: During Document Analysis, have students annotate the XYZ Affair dispatches in pairs before discussing as a class.

Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout

Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Formal Debate

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Formal Debate: States' Rights vs. Federal Supremacy

Students debate whether Virginia and Kentucky had the right to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts. One side argues from Jefferson's Kentucky Resolutions; the other from Hamilton's position on federal supremacy. The goal is not to declare a winner but to map the constitutional argument on both sides and trace its reappearance in later American history.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the significance of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions in asserting states' rights.

Facilitation Tip: In the Debate, assign a student to record key arguments on the board to ensure all voices are heard and referenced later.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teachers know this topic works best when students confront primary sources firsthand and then apply their understanding through structured argumentation. Avoid presenting Adams’ decisions as simply right or wrong; instead, guide students to weigh the risks of war against the costs of political backlash. Research shows that role-playing historical dilemmas builds empathy and deepens comprehension of cause and effect.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students will be able to explain the causes and consequences of Adams’ foreign policy choices and evaluate the constitutional debates they provoked. They will also practice historical empathy by justifying positions from multiple perspectives.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Mock Trial: Were the Alien and Sedition Acts Constitutional?, students may assume the Acts directly caused war with France.

What to Teach Instead

Use the mock trial to redirect this misconception by asking students to connect Adams’ domestic policies to his handling of the XYZ Affair, emphasizing that the Acts were a separate domestic crisis.

Common Misconception

During the Debate: States' Rights vs. Federal Supremacy, students may believe the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were widely accepted at the time.

What to Teach Instead

During the debate, ask students to cite evidence from primary sources showing how other states responded, using the Resolutions as a springboard to discuss their long-term impact.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After the Mock Trial: Were the Alien and Sedition Acts Constitutional?, provide students with short excerpts from the Acts and contemporary newspaper articles criticizing the government. Ask students to identify which statements might have been prosecuted under the Sedition Act and explain why, referencing specific clauses of the Act.

Discussion Prompt

During the Debate: States' Rights vs. Federal Supremacy, pose the question: 'Were the Alien and Sedition Acts a necessary measure to protect the young nation during a time of crisis, or an unconstitutional overreach of federal power?' Facilitate a class debate where students must use evidence from primary sources and the Bill of Rights to support their arguments.

Exit Ticket

After the Document Analysis: The XYZ Affair Dispatches, have students write one sentence summarizing the main goal of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and one sentence explaining why this concept of states' rights was controversial.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to draft a letter from Adams to Congress explaining his decision to pursue peace despite Federalist opposition.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems for the Mock Trial roles to help students frame their constitutional arguments.
• Deeper exploration: Have students research how the Quasi-War influenced later U.S. foreign policy, such as the Louisiana Purchase.

Key Vocabulary

XYZ Affair	A diplomatic incident in 1797 where French agents demanded bribes from American diplomats before allowing negotiations, leading to public outrage and increased tensions with France.
Quasi-War	An undeclared naval war fought between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800, stemming from French attacks on American shipping.
Alien and Sedition Acts	A series of laws passed in 1798 that made it harder for immigrants to become citizens and criminalized criticism of the federal government.
Sedition Act	A component of the Alien and Sedition Acts that prohibited false, scandalous, and malicious writing or utterances against the U.S. government, Congress, or the President.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions	Statements passed in 1798 and 1799, primarily authored by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, arguing that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws.
Nullification	The legal theory that a state has the right to invalidate any federal law which that state deems unconstitutional.