10. Callender launched vicious personal attacks on John Adams
With the support of Jefferson, James Callender next turned his vitriolic attacks on the character of President John Adams. In articles and pamphlets, Callender referred to Adams as “His Rotundity”, describing him as monarchical. He referred to the President as being “a hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force of a man nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman”. Callender accused Adams of desiring ascension to a throne as America’s King, with his son John Quincy as his heir. Finally, Callender accused the President of deliberately provoking a crisis with France, through the XYZ Affair, which led to an undeclared naval war. The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic crisis which generated public outrage in the United States, though Callender’s version of the event did not match the facts.
The affair occurred when three diplomats dispatched by Adams to France found their credentials unrecognized until they agreed to the payment of bribes to French officials. When Adams learned of the French position, he initiated preparations for war with the French. The main issue driving the crisis was the French seizure of American ships engaged in trade with the British colonies in the Caribbean. Callender’s version of the crisis had the Americans deliberately provoking the French, based on Adams own preference for Britain and its constitutional monarchy. Callender accused Adams of wanting to adopt a similar government in America. Eventually, the crisis was resolved after a Quasi-War fought at sea, but the damage to Adams Presidency was significant. In 1799, Callender was arrested and convicted under the Sedition Act, and sentenced to nine months in prison.