The fear, however, that Pinckney might be chosen over Adams, led to the withholding from Pinckney of eighteen New England votes, so that the result was not only to make Jefferson vice president, as having more votes than Pinckney, but also to excite prejudices and suspicions in the mind of Adams against Hamilton, which, being reciprocated by him, led speedily to the disruption and final overthrow of the federal party. It had almost happened, such was the equal division of parties, that Jefferson had this time been chosen president, the election of Adams, who had 71 votes to Jefferson's 69, being only secured by two stray votes cast for him, one in Virginia and the other in North Carolina, tributes of revolutionary reminiscences and personal esteem. Chosen by this slender majority, Mr. Adams succeeded to office (March 4, 1797) at a very dangerous and exciting crisis of affairs. The progress of the French revolu-tion had superinduced upon previous party divisions a new and very vehement one. Jefferson's supporters, who sympathized very warmly with the French republic, gave their ! moral if not their positive support to the claim set up by its rulers, but which Washington had refused to admit, that under the provisions of the French treaty of alliance the United States were bound to support France against Great Britain, at least in the defence of her West India possessions.

The other party, the supporters of Adams, upheld the policy of neutrality adopted by Washington. At the same time that Washington had sent Jay to England to arrange, if possible, the pending difficulties with that country, wishing also to keep on good terms with the French republic, he had recalled Gouverneur Morris, who as minister to France had made himself obnoxious to the now predominant party there, and had appointed James Monroe in his place. Monroe, instead of conforming to his instructions and attempting to reconcile the French to Jay's mission, had given them assurances on the subject quite in contradiction with the treaty as made, both the formation and ratification of which Monroe had done his best to defeat. He had in consequence been recalled by Washington shortly before the close of his term of office, and C. C. Pinckney, a brother of Thomas Pinckney, had been appointed in his place. The French authorities, of-fended at this change and at the ratification of Jay's treaty in spite of their remonstrances, while they dismissed Monroe with great ova-tions, refused to receive the new ambassador sent in his place, at the same time issuing de-crees and orders highly injurious to American commerce.

Almost the first act of Mr. Adams as president was to call an extra session of congress to consider what should be dene. Not only was a Avar with France greatly to be dreaded and deprecated on account of her great military and naval power, but still more so on account of the very formidable party which, among the ultra republicans, she could muster within the states themselves. Under these circumstances, the measure resolved upon by Adams and his cabinet was the appointment of a new and more solemn commission to France, composed of Pinckney and two colleagues, for which purpose the president selected John Marshall of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. But instead of receiving and openly treating with those commissioners, Talleyrand, lately an exile in America, but now secretary of foreign affairs to the French directory, entered into an intrigue with them through several unaccredited and unofficial agents, of which the object was to induce them to promise a round bribe to the directors and a large sum of money to the exhausted French treasury, by way of purchasing forbearance.

As Pinckney and Marshall appeared less pliable than Gerry, Talleyrand finally obliged them to leave, after which he attempted, though still without success, to extract money or promises of it from Gerry alone. The publication of the despatches in which these discreditable intrigues were disclosed (an event on which Talleyrand had not calculated) produced a great excitement both in Europe and America. Tal eyrand attempted to escape by disavowing his agents, and pretending that the American ministers had been imposed upon by adventurers. Gerry left France, and the violation of American commercial and maritime rights was pushed to new extremes. In America the effect of all this was greatly to strengthen for the moment the federal party. The grand jury of the federal circuit court for Pennsylvania set the example of an address to the president, applauding his manly stand for the rights and dignity of the nation. Philadelphia, which, under the lead of Mifflin, McKean, and others, had gone over to the opposition, was suddenly converted once more, as during Washington's first term, to the support of the federal government. That city was then the headquarters of the American newspaper press.

All the hitherto neutral papers published there, as well as several others which had more or less decidedly leaned to the opposition, came out now in behalf of Adams. Besides an address from five thousand citizens, the young men got up a separate address of their own. This example was speedily imitated all over the country, and the spirited replies of the president, who was now in his element, served in their turn to blow up and sustain the blaze of patriotic indignation. These addresses, circulated everywhere in the newspapers, were collected at the time in a volume, and they reappear in Adams's works, of which they form a characteristic portion. A navy was set on foot, the old continental navy having become extinct, and an army was voted and partly levied, of which Washington accepted the chief command. Merchant ships were authorized to protect themselves. The treaty with France was declared to be at an end, and a quasi war with France ensued. It was not, however, the policy of France to drive the United States into the arms of Great Britain. Even before Gerry's departure Talleyrand had made some advances toward reconciliation, which were afterward renewed by communications opened with Vans Murray, the American minister to Holland. The effect of the French outrages and of the progress of the French revolution had been to create, in a part at least of the federal party, the desire for an absolute breach with France - a desire felt by Hamilton, and by three at least out of the four cabinet officers whom Adams had found and had kept in office.