Synopsis of the next five episodes of: The Real Housewives of the Federalists Era

In the next episode, you will learn about the Alien and Sedition Acts.  Moving into Adams’ presidency, one of his first motions as president was passing these acts.  It was told to the people that these acts were instituted to prevent non-citizens from corrupting the government.  In reality, it was used to rid the government of anti-Federalist ideas.  Adams did this by declaring in the Alien Act that an individual must reside in the United States for at least fourteen years before they could be considered a citizen.  Because most immigrants would most likely support Jefferson, their say in the government would be limited.  The sedition act, forbade any negative connotation towards the government, which would further restrict the formation of the Jeffersonian- Republican party.  If they tried to establish that they were a true political party, they would be punished.  The ladies comment how they feel about this and a heated dispute between Abigail and Lucy breaks out as party beliefs begin to override their friendship.

In addition, you will see debate spark over the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.  The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions stated that an individual may nullify,which means to disregard, the Alien and Sedition acts with the argument that they were unconstitutional.  These resolutions caused controversy between the Federalists and the Jeffersonian- Republicans who had opposing views on the Alien and Sedition Acts.  Because there was no precedent for the Supreme Court to rule whether they were constitutional or not, there was a major debate between the parties.  Because the acts were in favor of the Federalists, they disagreed with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.  As a parallel, because the Jeffersonian- Republicans were opposed to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they were in favor of the Resolutions.  In this episode, the housewives model these beliefs and behaviors of their husbands who created them.

Later, the housewives will discuss the result of the XYZ affair. They will represent their husbands’ beliefs resulting from the different parties.  In regards to the Jeffersonian- Republican party, Lucy and Dolley will show that they are against going to war with their ally France.  With the Federalist Party, Elizabeth, is distraught with the treatment received by the men in France and wants to go to war. The Federalists were angered that they were not entering war with France, because they had been attacking U.S. ships.   Like their husbands, Martha and Abigail remain neutral.  As a result of this, Adams takes the advice of Washington and avoids any war or alliances.  By doing this, Adams chooses “Patriotism over Party”.  He keeps the nation’s best interest in mind instead of siding with his own party.

The show then takes you to the results of Jay’s treaty and the XYZ affair.  The nation slowly moved into an undeclared war with France.  The French were extremely angered by Jay’s treaty, causing them to enter a Quasi War, which is a war that is never officially declared, with America.  Going against the neutrality promise, The United States begins to secretly trade with Britain in fear of going to war with them.  This was in hopes that the British would cease all attacks on American ships.  However, this favoritism towards the British only increased the hatred between America and France and caused even more debate between the now distinguished political parties.  The women dispute over the loss or gain of trust in their national government after abandoning Washington’s idea of neutrality.  

To end the season, the housewives bring out the topic of the Convention of 1800.  This treaty, signed in Paris, was established to end the fighting that erupted during the Quasi War.  It broke the twenty-two year old treaty the French and Americans had previously established.  As a return for the trouble, the United States federal government would pay off the claims of any damage caused by American sailors.  Adams follows Washington’s warning of neutrality by breaking the alliance with France while remaining peaceful.  This leads to the purchase of Louisiana from the French.  Abigail praises her husband’s ability to remain strong yet peaceful during this major setback in his presidency.  Elizabeth feels that his actions are not as meritorious as he claims, due to the fact that he was acting only out of jealousy.