It is a matter of personal opinion but if you believe that violence is an appropriate response of being wronged in some way then yes they were justified.
The XYZ Affair Cause tension to increase between United States and France. It led to an undeclared war on the United States. Because of it, Congress chose to increase defenses, so the Department of Navy and warships.
Get this from google I hope this help :)
No, I believe it became communist then.
