MAKING OF A NEW NATION 1776 1800
PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS FROM ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS TO XYZ AFFAIR
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Adams secret attempt to extend the length of the Alien Act before he left office
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Adams attempt to “pack” the federal courts with Federalist judges before he left office
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Either A or B
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -The term was coined because it was alleged that President Adams stayed up until midnight of his last night in office to finish paperwork to appoint his Federalist friends and supporters into judicial offices before President Thomas Jefferson, who was considered to be a Democrat-Republican, took office on March 4, 1801.
Detailed explanation-2: -History has given us the image of a petulant President John Adams staying up to all hours of the night in his last days in office in March 1801, commissioning Federalist party members as judges throughout the land.
Detailed explanation-3: -Outgoing President John Adams quickly filled the new positions with Federalist lifetime appointees, known as the “midnight judges.” When Democratic-Republicans gained a majority in Congress the following year, they repealed the 1801 act and abolished the new judgeships.