Pierre Adet
French scientist, politician, and diplomat
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Pierre-Auguste, chevalier Adet (17 May 1763 – 19 March 1834) was a French scientist, politician, and diplomat. He worked with Lavoisier on a new chemical notation system, and was secretary to the scientific periodical Annales de chimie, founded in 1789.[citation needed]
Pierre Adet | |
|---|---|
Pierre Auguste Adet | |
| Born | 17 May 1763 Nevers, France |
| Died | 19 March 1834 (aged 70) Paris, France |
He proved that glacial acetic acid and vinegar acetic acid were the same substance.[1]
In 1796, Adet was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.[2] He was secretary to the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, Jean Dalbarade. He was commissioner to Saint-Domingue. He later became French ambassador to the United States, He sent Victor Collot on a reconnaissance of the Ohio River, and Mississippi River.[3][4] In 1803, he was Prefect of the Nièvre département. In 1809, he was a member of the Corps législatif.
1796 presidential election
As French minister (ambassador) to the United States, Adet openly supported the Democratic-Republican Party and its presidential nominee, Thomas Jefferson, while attacking the Federalist Party and its presidential nominee, John Adams.[5]
Adet claimed that Adams was an enemy of France, which was accurate, and was a friend of England – which was an exaggeration. Adet encouraged American friends of France to vote for Jefferson; Federalists responded by attacking Adet for interfering in American politics. The French First Republic responded with a decree announcing seizures of American ships in the West Indies, and that American sailors in British service would be treated as pirates. In effect, a limited maritime war against American commerce began a few days before Adams was inaugurated in 1797. Adams responded by calling a special session of Congress, asking it to enact defense measures to prepare for war. However, he also sent a special mission to France to resolve the dispute. The mission proved to be a disaster called the XYZ Affair. It led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War.[6]
The foreign intrigue France perpetrated was unsuccessful, as Adams won the election with an electoral vote count of 71–68. A significant factor in thwarting the French efforts was George Washington's Farewell Address, which condemned foreign meddling in America.[5]