Life in the early Republic was a time of monumental change. Americans were still adjusting to the new Constitution, and the government it established. In addition, America had to cope with a tumultuous world situation. Great Britain and France were at war again, and America attempted to stay on the path of neutrality that President Washington urged in his farewell address to the nation1. However, such neutrality proved difficult, perhaps even impossible, to maintain. Because of the war between Great Britain and France, there was tremendous pressure put upon the United States by both nations. The U.S. was put in a situation where a decision had to made: support Britain, their mother country or to support France, with whom they had a treaty of friendship, dating back to 17782. This was a difficult issue for the nascent nation to overcome, for it had no clear nor easy solution. Just as there were two competing political parties, there were two competing trains of thought. The Federalists, the party of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, favored maintaining a strong alliance with Britain. The Democratic Republicans, the party of Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, felt that keeping the friendship between America and France strong was of the utmost importance. As it turned out, a chain of events nearly led to a war with France, despite the best intentions of both parties. A series of political negotiations between France and the U.S., which eventually became know as the XYZ affair, caused a serious rift between the two once friendly nations. The result of these negotiations changed the relationship between France and the U.S. forever, and shifted that relationship from one of friendship to one of increasing mistrust.3
The relationship between the United States and France immediately preceding the XYZ affair was rocky, at best. The Jay Treaty was the first in a series of difficulties with the U.S. and France. The treaty was between the U.S. and Great Britain, and established several important agreements. In theory, it was intended to reaffirm American neutrality. However, it took a very pro-British stance. The U.S. acknowledged Britain's right to impose tariff's on American exports. And furthermore, it granted British imports a most favored status. In addition, it promised that the U.S. would pay back British creditors. Finally, it allowed American merchants to submit claims for goods confiscated by the British, and that the British would follow through on the promises they made in the the 1973 Treaty of Paris4. This treaty was upsetting to the French, for it essentially backed out of the French-American alliance of 1798. However, at the same time that American policy was upsetting to the French, France was also participating in activities that the U.S. found unsavory. First among these was the Citizen Genęt scandal, in 1793. Citizen Edmond Charles Genęt was a French minister to the U.S. He landed in the port city of Charleston, and moved his way north to Philadelphia. Along the way, he passed out letters of Marque, which granted privateer status to American sailors, and gave them free reign to attack British ships5 . This action endangered America's neutral status, because American sailors were attacking British ships. This was, in part, one of the catalysts for Jay's Treaty. As unfortunate as Citizen Genęt's actions were, they were the not the primary cause of America's grievance with France. By far their worst offense was their practice of piracy. In the West Indies, in 1796-1797, French privateers seized 282 American ships. Of those seized, 188 had their cargo confiscated by the French6. The cargo seize would then be auctioned off by the French. These offensive actions were the main reasons for President Washington to deploy a diplomatic envoy to Paris. Unfortunately, this lead to more problems than it solved.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's first attempt to reconcile America and France's differences was a failure. Pinckney was James Monroe's replacement as minister to France. This move displeased France, as Monroe was staunchly pro-French7. Regardless, Pinckney was more than qualified for the position. Pinckney was born in South Carolina and was educated in England. In the Revolutionary War, he served as aid-de-camp to General Washington, and he himself rose to the rank of general. Before becoming minister to France, he was offered, by Washington, numerous other, high ranking positions, such as a judge position on the Supreme Court, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of State. These he declined for personal reasons8. Despite his credentials, France refused to acknowledge his position. French officials would not even speak to him. Pinckney remained in Paris, until the Directory (the ruling body in the current French government) expelled him from the county. From Paris, he traveled to Amsterdam with his family9. This first attempt at reconciliation was nothing short of disastrous. America and France were no closer to resolution than they were before. In 1797, America would try again to make the negotiations work.
The second negotiation mission to France proved to be even more problematic than the first. In fact, it was probably doomed to failure even before it began. In May of 1797, President Adams addressed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In this speech, he strongly admonishes France for not treating the United States as an ally, friend, nor even as a sovereign state. Further, he went on to say that despite this affront, he will be sending a second diplomatic mission to France, in hopes of salvaging peace10. The second mission proposed by Adams sent John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to join with Pinckney. Even before this second round of negotiations began, Pinckney had his doubts. He expressed these doubts in a letter to his friend, Major Henry William DeSaussure, of South Carolina. In his letter, he stated that the French government is emphatically unfriendly to Americans, and that he did not believe that the negotiations would amount to any sort of success11. The three men met with the French minister of foreign affairs, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. Talleyrand, and his three agents (Jean Conrad Hottinguer, Lucien Hauteval, and a Mr. Bellamy) made it clear that they were displeased with President Adam's speech, and it's criticisms of French policy; however, they were quick to add that the situation could be easily rectified. First, Adams had to soften the tone of his future speeches. Secondly, a load of 22 million Dutch guilders had to be made to France. Finally, a sum of 50,000 pounds sterling had to be provided to Talleyrand. The last demand was nothing more than a simple bride. The Americans were shocked. Pinckney reputed uttered the famous words, “No; no, not a sixpence!” In response, Talleyrand, and his agents, levied threats, stating that France would declare war on the United States, if their demands were not met. In a bold move, Pinckney and Marshall departed for America, calling Talleyrand's bluff. Gerry remained behind, in hopes of preventing war, if at all possible. Word spread quickly to America, and it incited vigorous anger12.
The American reaction to the news of the so called XYZ affair (the three agents of Talleyrand were dubbed X, Y, and Z) was that of unilateral anger. Anti-French sentiments spread throughout all of the states. The average American was indignant with anger. Many even clamored for war. Political power in the state governments, as well as in the national government, shifted. The traditionally pro-French Democratic Republicans became unpopular. Inversely, the pro-British (and now markedly anti-French) Federalists enjoyed a surge in popularity. In the 1798 elections, they seized more power than ever before, controlling both branches of Congress, as well as the presidency. In South, which was typically the stronghold of the Democratic Republicans, the Federalist gains were the largest, especially in Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia13. Nationalism surged throughout the nation. Federalists demanded war, while the weakened Democratic Republicans shouted (or sometimes whispered) for peace. Jefferson and Madison, pro-French even still, were convinced that the entire XYZ affair was blown out of proportion; that it was simply a Federalist scheme to consolidate power14. The rallying cry (usually, but incorrectly, associated with Pinckney) , “Millions for defense, but not a cent for tribune!” echoed throughout the land15. However, many Americans were cognizant of the dangers that France could pose. After all, they were a powerful European nation. As a result, this anti-French anger quickly turned to fear in some parts of the country.
Although a state of declared war did not exist, a “quasi-war” was being fought with France on the high seas. A state of semi-war existed between the United States and France existed for nearly three years. Naturally, there was drive to increase national defense. How to do so, incidentally, was hotly debated. Hamilton, and the majority of the Federalists believed that the best course of action would be to increase the strength and size of the army. Adams subscribed to the thought that the navy should be bolstered. In the end, both received a dramatic increased in power. The army was increased by 10,000 troops. The navy was even more drastically strengthened. At the time, 1798, the American navy was weak; it consisted of a handful of small cutters (with a crew of six each) and a single brig. There was not a single Frigates, or any other type of warship to patrol and protect America's coasts. Because of this apparent weakness, the navy was now authorized to build several warships, to protect the U.S.'s interests, and ward off the French, should they decide to launch a full scale attack16. In order to raise money for these new ships, the concept of subscription was developed. Essentially, this worked out that the merchant elite, those most affected by the French blockades and privateers, donated money (usually large sums) into a fund. The money from this fund was then used to construct warships. The plan worked well, and the ships produced were of high quality, even thought they were produced by the private sector. But, for whatever reason, this plan was never again instituted in America, despite the success of the ships produced17. Nearly all of the major eastern port cities produced warships at this time, with a few notable exceptions. Savannah was one such city.
Despite being a major port city, Savannah, Georgia, did not participate in the subscription of warships. In fact, they remained relatively nonchalant about the French threat early on. In a letter, printed in the Georgia Gazette, a Savannah newspaper, a Captain Townsend expressed the sentiment that he did not feel that France posed any real, immediate danger. Despite this apparent lack of concern, Savannah kept knowledgeable about the war efforts being levied elsewhere in the country. In the same issue of the Georgia Gazette, there was a story out of Boston, about several French prisoners awaiting deportment18. Many other interesting stories abounded in Savannah. Stories were recanted constantly of ships being boarded by French privateers, and their crewmen captured. One such story was of Captain John Pratt, of the ship the Federalist. His ship was boarded and plundered by the French privateer vessel, the Huron. In this particular story, Captain Pratt explained how was robbed to the fullest extent, even down to most of the clothing off of his person. After being nearly stripped, he and his crew were taken to Algiers, where they were imprisoned for sometime19. Other stories were even more fascinating. A letter was received, and printed, from an unnamed American gentlemen who spent some time living in France. He spoke of a large number of American privateers operating in France. He spoke highly, and boastfully, about those who preyed upon the French and the Barbary pirates. He claimed that two thirds of those Americans could best nearly any French vessel. However, his tone became scornful when recounting tales of American pirates, who prey upon their own countrymen, robbing fellow American sailors and selling off the goods to the French20. Clearly, the conditions between America and France were of great interest to Georgians in Savannah, if not a terrible concern. Fortunately for Savannah, and the rest of the United States, the quasi-war with France would eventually come to an end.
After three years of undeclared war, America and France would finally make peace. In a turn of events shocking to Federalists, who still vehemently opposed any sort of relationship with France, Adams announced an another American diplomatic venture to France. In the spring of 1799, Adams announced to the senate that William Vans Murray, a diplomat and an informant to Adams, would be the new plenipotentiary of the United States to France. Despite uproarious complaints from his party, Adams went ahead as planned. This sudden development in negotiations was in part to the change of power in France. Napoleon Bonaparte had ascended to the throne of France, replacing the corrupt Directory that had thwarted previous peace attempts. The regime promised the Americans that any envoys would be met with, and not sent away, nor disrespected. These meetings resulted in the Convention of 1800, which created a state of peace between America and France21. This peace was as beneficial to France as it was to the U.S. The frigates produced were capable, and the French practice of privateering was becoming more dangerous and less rewarding. Furthermore, with the rise of Napoleon, Britain stepped up its war effort. This caused France to second think it's state of pseudo-war with the U.S., in an attempt to focus its effort on Britain. In any event, this peace had unforeseen results in America. For although the quasi-war with France had come to a halt, Adams had angered his own party. They were outraged that Adams would have any dealings with France, after the disrespect of the two previous negotiations. Adams lost the support of his own party, and then lost the presidency to Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800. The peace with France did not even go into effect until after he was out of office. Regardless, it was an important diplomatic victory for America, and Adams considered it one of his finest accomplishments. With peace secured, America could now focus on the aftermath and resolutions of the XYZ affair, and the ensuing quasi-war.
Peace with France was assured, but there were some important consequences of this debacle with France. Importantly, the entire incident fostered a sense of growing nationalism in the United States. Americans were furious when France did not recognize their sovereignty as a free nation. It evoked a familiar feeling that had been dormant since the American Revolution. Again, as they had before, Americans stood defiant in the face of war with a European power. This American pride and nationalism would remain strong in the future, and would eventually plunge America to war with Great Britain, in 1812. Another legacy of the XYZ affair and the quasi-war was the new sea power of America. In a few short years, America's feeble navy had evolved into a small, but highly capable fleet. With Jefferson's election, the face of the navy would change again. In order to circumvent the unavoidable cuts to the post-war navy, he parred the fleet down to it's best ships. All of these 13 frigates were built during the quasi-war, 5 of which came to be because of subscription22. Finally, the events of 1797 to 1800 moved America's relationship with France in an entirely new direction. In 1778, America and France entered into what was intended to be an everlasting friendship of nations. America relied on France to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. Without their aid, it is nearly certain that the American colonies would have not been able to break free from the British Empire. Yet, in less than twenty short years, Franco-American relations degraded from eternal friendship to near war. These events would shape French/American relations until the present day. After the XYZ affair, things would never be the same between America and France. The supposed “everlasting friendship” would wane, even if it never would collapse entirely.
The world of the late eighteenth century was a turbulent time for most of the world. England and France were locked in a seemingly endless series of wars and conflicts. These conflicts were near world wars, because of the colonial holdings of both nations. It was against this backdrop that America helped forge it's identity. Caught between two European superpowers, trying to remain neutral, America struggled to stay afloat. Efforts to remain neutral were hindered by both English impressment crews and French privateers. The United States, still a fledgling nation, wrestled to prove its sovereignty. The chain of events, from Jay's Treaty to the quasi-war, signaled a change in American foreign policy. Clearly, due to partizan politics, among other factors, true neutrality could never be maintained. Jay's Treaty made peace with England, but antagonized France. But, without that treaty, the U.S. could have been to war with Great Britain, again. America learned, through painful trial and error, that world politics are as complicated as they are dangerous. The lessons learned were valuable ones, and would continue to shape American foreign policy for many following years. This can be considered to be the legacy of the XYZ affair and the quasi-war with France.