Jeffersonian Neutrality

• Threatened war between Spain and England offered the United States an opportunity to press American claims against both countries in 1790.
• Washington's advisers said to stay neutral, but Hamilton had just tied his funding program to duties on British trade, he didn't want to jeopardize relationship with England.
• On the other hand, Jefferson wanted to bargain, to keep both Spain and England guessing about America's intentions and to make them bid high for assurance of American neutrality.
• Jefferson also hoped to make England open its West Indian ports to American ships.

• Eventually things settled, but war broke out between England and France.
• England and America had already established full diplomatic relations. In 1791 England sent minister plenipotentiary, George Hammond, to Philadelphia, and U.S. sent Thomas Pinckney to London.
• Hamilton liked English and hated French. Jefferson liked French and sympathized with them about their revolutions. Hamilton also believed England was stronger therefore more to be feared than France.
• Hamilton agreed with Washington's other advisers that the U.S. should stay neutral, but he wanted to use the crisis as an opportunity to break alliance with France. He argued the treaties that have been made were with the French monarchy and they were no longer binding since the monarchy had been overthrown. US therefore should refuse the minister sent by the new French republic early in 1793.
• Jefferson argued the treaties were still binding. He wanted US to stay neutral but not declare its intention publicly so to destroy bargaining values.
• April 22, 1793 - Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality addressed to American citizens only and not actually mentioning the word "neutrality".
• Citizen Genet was French Republic minister -- a fool and lost many friends for France in US.
• British lost friends in US by - in December 1792, without warning, British naval vessels began seizing American ships trading with the French West Indies.
• Seizures along with news of the governor general of Canada telling Indians to crush American troops sent to settle broken treaties with the Creeks angered people.
• People felt British would declare war if America did not declare war first.
• Washington sent John Jay to England.

Hamilton Treaty

• John Jay could ask England for concessions in return for American neutrality like Jefferson said. Edmund Randolph, the new secretary of state, instructed Jay to consult with Russia, Sweden, and Denmark about the possibility of an armed-neutrality agreement in order to pressure England into stopping seizures of neutral shipping.
• Denmark and Sweden sent an invitation to US just after Jay's departure for Europe to join neutrality alliance. Hamilton persuaded Washington to decline. Hamilton weakened Jay's position still further by informing George Hammond, the British minister in American, of Washington's decision.
• Lord Grenville, the British foreign minister, felt safe in conceding a little.
  • He promised again to surrender the Northwest posts, provided US permitted the continuation of the English fur trade with the Indians in the area.
  • He promised compensation for ships seized as long as the US compensated British creditors for pre-revolutionary debts whose collection had been impeded by state government.
  • However, he refused to compensate American slave owners for slaves kidnapped or liberated by the British during the Revolution.
  • He also refused to give any guarantee against impressment. Instead of stopping the seizure of neutral ships, he required the US to give up its own view of neutral shipping rights for the duration of England's war with France and for two years thereafter.
• Washington reluctantly agreed, but kept details of the treaty secret. Senate passed it after refusing the part about trade with the West Indies even though people strongly opposed it.
• As the treaty came before Washington for his signature, the press was denouncing Jay, the treaty, the Senate, and even the president. Popular meetings in major cities told him to reject it. His cabinet except Randolph urged him to sign it.
• Washington signed it in the end because: the British minister handed over some intercepted dispatches written by French minister that seemed to imply Randolph had turned over state secrets to him for money.

• General Wayne had defeated the Indians of the Northwest at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (8/20/1794).
• In the Treaty of Greenville (8/5/1795) the Indians gave up most of the territory that was to become the state of Ohio.
• In the next year the British at least honored their agreement to evacuate their posts in the Northwest.
• Spain had become fearful US would side with England.
• Thomas Pinckney, who was sent to negotiate a treaty, won for the US everything it had been seeking from Spain:
  • Free navigation of the Mississippi,
  • Permission for American traders to deposit goods for shipment at the mouth of the river.
  • Acknowledgement of the American southern boundary at the 31st parallel and western boundary at the Mississippi.
  • An agreement by each country to prevent Indians within its territory from making incursions into the territory of the other.
• Although Washington's foreign policy had produced some vastly unpopular concessions to Britain, it at least gained some trading rights and recognition by both Spain and Britain of US sovereignty over the area first won from Britain in 1783. Washington's policy of neutrality was mentioned in his famous farewell address, provided in the following link, (http://www.tufts.edu/departments/fletcher/multi/texts/historical/farewell.txt), warning Americans of complex international relations. Starting with paragraph 34, Washington repeatedly stated neutrality. He mentioned in paragraph 40 of his farewell address that it was America's true policy " . . . to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."

The Presidency of John Adams

The End of French Alliance and XYZ Affair

• Even during Washington's era, France had become increasingly angry with United States' apparent partiality for England. Though Congress had passed commercial treaty of 1778 stating that United States would not give greater privileges to any one particular country, some of the laws it passed clearly favored England.
• Jay's Treaty outraged France, and France warned that it will no longer treat American ships equally. In fact, French navy had already intercepted several American ships going to England and impounded them in French ports.
• France will regard American sailors on British ships as pirates.
• France also refused to have any contact with the American minister, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
• Adams sent a three-man commission to France for negotiation, John Marshall, C.C. Pinckney, and Elbridge Gerry. However, the French minister of foreign affairs, Talleyrand, in messages conveyed by go-betweens, indicated that he wanted a bribe of $250,000 for himself and a loan of several million for France. When Adams reported the entire incident to Congress, Congress demanded to see the commission papers. Adams changed the names of Talleyrand's go-betweens to W, X, Y, and Z, and turned the paper over to Congress along with the following document provided by the link, (http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/ja2/speeches/jaxyz.htm), hence the famous XYZ affair. Americans were outraged.
• Political cartoons appeared everywhere, including the one provided by the link, (http://azimuth.harcourtcollege.com/history/ayers/chapter7/7.3.cartoon.html) depicting a Frenchman with several pirate heads beckoning to the three-man commission sent to France.
• Congress supported the president in measures against France short of war. Treaties of 1778 were repudiated. Any trades were suspended. In addition, American ships were authorized to seize French vessels, and henceforth for two years, United States and France fought an undeclared war on the seas.
• The Federalists wanted to use this opportunity to make a long-term standing army, no merely to repel a French invasion, but also to conquer Louisiana and Florida.
• Adams, having no ambition nor desire to rule by military force or to conquer territories, only wanted to strengthen the nation's navy so that American trade would not have to depend on the nation with largest navy force.
• The Federalists dragged the president through treaty after treaty to build up the national army. Washington was persuaded to accept command again, and Hamilton became Washington's second in command. It was clear that the intentions of Federalists were domestic rather than foreign.
• However, France had become more willing to negotiate due to United States violent reactions to XYZ Affair. Talleybrand sent a message to Adams through the American minister, William Vans Murry, at The Hague, that any American envoy would "undoubtedly be received with the respect due to the representative of a free, independent an powerful nation."
• Adams knew that to declare ward would lose any chance of neutrality, and it would be sacrificing national interest for party politics.
• In February 1799, he sent to the Senate the nomination of William Vans Murray as minister to negotiate with France without consulting his Cabinet.
• Adams waited for his warships to be built in case negotiation failed, then instructed Murray to proceed to Paris, where he met up with Oliver Ellsworth, the current chief justice of United States, and William R Davie.
• When this three-man commission reached Paris, they found Napoleon Bonaparte in charge. He was eager to repair the alliance and set up a coalition of neutral nations against England.
• The commissioners didn't obtain from France compensations for seizure, but they did secure recognition of principle that free ships made free goods.