History of the United States I / Unit 8 USH1 1081 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The XYZ Affair
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The idea
Adams sent envoys to France in seventeen ninety-seven to resolve tensions after Jay's Treaty, and three French emissaries demanded a bribe of two hundred fifty thousand dollars and a ten million dollar loan.
In practice
The Americans code-naming the officials X, Y and Z in their correspondence.
Where people slip
The envoys refused. When the story became public it infuriated American citizens.
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