Question

Can someone easily explain to me what the XYZ affair was? I know it had to do with John Adams. I just need to know about the event itself and it's significance to the nation

Answer 1

The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the administration of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France that led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War. The name derives from the substitution of the letters X, Y and Z for the names of French diplomats in documents released by the Adams administration.