Hilary Wilson
April 12, 2004
Faux Feelings: America’s Fabricated Feelings Towards France Surrounding the XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair stirred strong nationalistic attitudes in the hearts of Americans. Many citizens called for a war with France, who just decades before had helped the young nation defeat the British and gain independence. How did a once vibrant and beneficial alliance take a sudden turn for the worse? What made a nation of people call for arms against their former friends? It seems that in a last attempt to breath life into a dying political party, the Federalists used propaganda to convince the American people of the dire threat the French posed to the success of their nation. It is true that the condition of relations between the two independent states began to deteriorate with the French Revolution, however they might not have reached the low point they did if it had not been for the loud voices of the American Federalist Party. The city of Savannah provides a good example of a place in which people were temporarily swayed by Federalist propaganda. It seems that there was not a shift to Federalist ideology in Savannah and throughout the nation, but instead a temporary “rally around the flag” effect.[1]
American and French relations began a downward spiral in 1793, when the United States declared neutrality in regards to the ongoing dispute between Great Britain and the newly formed French Republic. Prior to the American declaration of neutrality the young nation experienced a period of self-doubt in relation to its foreign policy, primarily concerning Britain and France. Since the close of the revolution, the United States possessed an alliance with the French monarchy, when the monarchy fell many Americans (mostly Federalists) believed the alliance to be null due to the new government in France. This original agreement enabled France to call upon the United States for military aid and the Federalists feared they would be pulled into France’s war with Britain, who they considered to be a valuable trading prospect for their nation. Oppositely the Jeffersonians (also known as the Republicans) believed the alliance to still be in tact and believed the Federalist’s fear to be unfounded. According to the Jeffersonians the French would never call on the Americans to uphold their end of the military alliance. Such disagreements laid the footwork for arguments to continue between the two dominant political parties in the United States.[2]
The neutrality statement enacted by the United States came off as a farce to the British who believed the nation could not be neutral and still honor the alliance it made with France at the close of the Revolution. In actions speaking against the policy of the United States the British began to capture American ships. This response led to the two nations skirting the line of war. To seek reconciliation Washington sent John Jay to Britain to discuss appropriations of what would eventually become known as Jay’s Treaty.[3]
The contents of Jay’s Treaty (signed in 1795), which improved American and British relations, appalled the French and heightened their already tense feelings against the Americans. In the treaty the English granted the Americans most favored nation status and the Americans agreed to stop interfering in Britain’s naval conflicts with France. Many French newspapers printed in the United States for French immigrants depicted anger over the treaty. The French anger was publicly displayed for the entire world to witness in 1796, when Charles Pickney, the American ambassador, was presented to the French government. The Republic refused to recognize him and quickly expelled him from the nation. Recognizing the severity of the situation, the United States swiftly sought to enter a treaty with France similar to Jay’s Treaty and sent Pickney, along with Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall to discuss the details. These three men and their mission to France would eventually form what is now known as the XYZ Affair.[4]
When President John Adams conscripted the three men as envoys to France he gave them strict instruction to follow upon their arrival in October of 1797. The purpose of their mission was to “…[terminate] all differences between the United States and the French Republic, and [restore] that harmony and good understanding, and that commercial and friendly intercourse.”[5] At this time the citizens of America were eager, as the mission statement voiced, to restore good feelings between themselves and the French. It appears that Adams, not yet able to poison the minds of his citizens against what he and his party viewed as an inferior foreign ally, supported the mission and gave special instructions to the envoy. Adams told the men not to make any agreements that were in violation to any previous treaty and to avoid promising America’s assistance in any military conflicts France might pursue. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly for the Americans, the envoy was supposed to seek French assurance of the sovereignty of The United States of America. As they had with the signing of the Jay’s Treaty with Britain, America now sought recognition from another great European power; France.[6]
Much to the surprise of Pickney, Gerry, and Marshall, Talleyrand (the French foreign minister) did not meet them immediately, instead he sent his representatives who provided the trio with their own list of demands. The name of Talleyrand’s representatives were kept private and referred to as W, X, Y, and Z (because W is mentioned so infrequently in the envoy’s letters and descriptions, the ordeal became known simply as the XYZ Affair). These men informed the Americans that the Directory would agree to meet them only if they succeeded in doing three things for the French. First, they were to pay a bribe of $250,000. Second, the French government wished to obtain a loan from the United States, in the guise of payback for the revolution, so as not to disrupt their neutrality statement. Lastly, the group was to make sure several passages from a recent speech made by Adams that were unfavorable to the French were recanted.[7]
Pickney, Gerry, and Marshall were not authorized to meet such demands. They sent dispatches back to the United States for the review of Adams and awaited his response. In April of 1798, Adams released the dispatches to Congress and to the public citizens of the United States. He, no doubt, intended for the report on the affair to be printed in newspapers all over the nation in order to spur passionate feelings in the citizens. Although such bribes were a regular practice in Europe, Adams claimed he wanted to encourage the decorum of the United States and the French were attempting to prevent this. If hostilities towards the French were warm before the scandal was made public, they were boiling after the XYZ Affair became known. Every rooted anti-French sentiment bloomed into full force and the nation was at odds. Adams and his Party had been given the perfect opportunity to defame the French and promote his choice for chief American ally: the British. This made them appear to be the party with America’s honor at heart, which was the concern of many lay people.[8]
Adams released the dispatches to the public for personal, political reasons, and most likely not for the good of the country as he tried to convince the citizens. Launching the dispatches into the public light was a questionable attempt to harm the reputation of the Republicans, who favored the French. The Federalists were making one last attempt to salvage their political credibility with the people, who were beginning to almost entirely identify with the ideology of the Jeffersonian Party. For example, before the XYZ Affair, the south was consistently voting Jeffersonian Republican. The Federalists used the media to spread the news of the scandal and draw citizens from the Jeffersonian Republicans back into the folds of their own party. However, were they attracted by Federalist ideology or a strong sense of nationalism?[9]
The ultimate goals of the Federalists are expressed by Moreau St. Mery in a journal he composed during his exile in the United States. St. Mery, was a political refugee from France in 1793 who traveled to New York. Originally a native of the West Indies he wished to return there, however, he found it would be dangerous to do so, and therefore toured the United States. During his tour, St. Mery documented the daily life of Americans, as well as various other points of interest, in his journals. The intentions of the Federalists are made clear when he refers to them as “[working] for war against the [the French].”[10] The Federalist party portrayed the demanding of bribes to be an insult to American honor. The party seems to have prayed on a young and insecure nation to further its political goals; an ultimate war with France.[11]
On April 27, 1798, when the first news of the scandal was printed in the Georgia Gazette, the editors of the newspaper immediately began to poison the minds of the citizens against the French. Directly below the article about the dispatches the paper chose to print a warning from Benjamin Raleigh, apparently a sailor from Baltimore. In Raleigh’s letter to the American people he discloses the position of French ships outside the harbor waiting to attack American vessels, he states: “I assure you there are about 30 French privateers getting ready to cruise around the Cape of Virginia…they are taking your vessels as fast as they can…”[12]. After reading the insulting demands of the French upon the American envoys and then reading testimony that thirty French vessels waited to damage American interests, the people of Savannah, just as their fellow Americans must have been infuriated, caught in the smoke of the Federalist spin. The city must have been a whirlwind of heated arguments against the French who had, by requiring bribes from the young country, insulted her honor. Savannah was ready to join forces with the nation to express pride in the government. In order to do this they needed to support Adams and the Federalists and to hate the French.[13]
The intention of the Federalist cannot be more clearly seen than in the following example specific to Savannah and the south. The Federalists, specifically the Secretary of State, in order to ensure the support of southerners, and in turn the people of Savannah gave a false testimony. In this testimony they stated that the French conspired to stir a rebellion among the slaves of the south, starting in the French colony of Santo Domingo. Due to the strong dependence of Savannah’s citizens on the cultivation of land, they no doubt felt very compelled to join the Federalist crusade against the French, if they had not before. Savannah voiced strong support of the national government in a letter from the people to President Adams on June 29, 1798. In this letter the people speak of honor and national pride as reason to fight the French by saying the following: “Fondly anticipating the restoration of a good understanding, on principles compatible with justice and honor..,” and they go onto say “…we believe you [Adams] have done as much as [possible] to [hold true to our principles]…”[14] This statement mentions nothing of the restoring good understanding between the nation in a way that would foster good trade relations or diplomatic agreements between the nations. Instead, Savannah seems concerned with restoring America’s honor abroad. Had they cared about trade, they might have listened more closely to the republicans who opposed confrontation with the French. Questions of national honor bred a strong supporting of Adams and his administration.[15]
Many feelings experienced by citizens of Savannah and the rest of the nation are, no doubt, reflected in the journal of St. Mery. One aspect of daily life described by St. Mery was the escalating hatred Americans held for the French. St. Mery describes the antagonism of the Americans for the French in the following passage: “People acted as though a French invasion force might land in America at any moment. Everybody was suspicious of everybody else: everywhere one saw murderous glances.”[16] These strong emotional responses taken by Americans, and inferably by natives of Savannah, are no doubt a result of the propaganda promoted by Adams to heighten cries for war against France.
Savannah voiced disgusted sentiments against the French before the XYZ Affair occurred and this enabled them to readily identify with an anti-French administration and Party. These hostilities against Frenchmen within the Savannah began long before the failed envoy to Paris. For example, in 1796 when a string of fires broke out within the city, its citizens immediately sited persons of French ethnicity to be at fault. Although many of the Frenchmen seeking asylum in the United States were loyal to the monarch and not associated with the bloody revolution that frightened the United States; Americans continued to antagonize and fear these individuals. When news of the XYZ Affair was released conditions worsened.[17]
As the news of the French scandal spread throughout America, nationalism followed closely behind. Citizens spoke out openly against the new adversary; people began to wear roses of black ribbon, known as ‘black cockades’, to portray their feelings of federalism and patriotism. Conditions were no different in south Georgia where the Savannah based Georgia Gazette, ran an article in June of 1798 relaying the removal of traditional national cockades from a meeting hall and the immediate replacement of them with the new, black cockades. The United States was willing to come together in rare demonstrations of favor for the national government and to show a new dislike for the former ally. (Interestingly, hostilities between the French and Americans were not limited to American soil alone. American tourists in France found themselves to be victims of poor treatment and hatred that rivaled the treatment Frenchmen received in America.) A nation who once held self-doubt in the foreign arena of politics now had reason to stand up for itself. The Federalists made themselves appear to be the party ready to do just that, encouraging a temporary party realignment.[18]
The feelings of dislike that unfolded on the streets of the nation moved quickly, if they were not precipitated by, political disagreements on the future of relations with France. It was clear to the politicians that diplomatic conditions with France were in danger of escalating to war (ultimately they would). Jefferson’s party, the Republicans sympathized with the French. They believed that a war with France was unfavorable for the young nation and would support un-republican ideals and tried to convince an excited nation of that. The Federalists, on the other hand, were anxious for war with France, inspiring the people to feel the same. Because of the grass roots anti-French sentiments the Federalists gained much support for their stance on the issue. Americans, who were once attracted to the idea of supporting a fellow nation in revolution, were disenchanted with the bloodiness of the French Rebellion and with the unfolding of the XYZ Affair and now longer relished support. The French had insulted the Americans and it seemed the Federalists would restore their pride by challenging France while the Republicans wanted to appease it.[19]
As mentioned before, the Federalist Party, under the leadership of Adams, spoke out against the French and called for the defense of national honor. As a result, many Americans lost in their rage against the act of France, also called for action. In turn, the Federalist Party experienced success all over the country, including in the south. However, by in 1799, according to a letter to the people of Georgia, by James Jackson, the governor of the state at the time, the citizens elected two non-federalists to The House of Representatives. (This is an indication that the success of the Federalists was temporary and not due to a ideology change across the nation. This idea will be discussed further.) Despite this last fact, it cannot be disputed that the Federalists did experience a slight elevation in their status with the American people who lost faith in the pro-French Jeffersonians, but the elevation in no way proves an ideological shift in the nation.[20]
The political effects of the affair were further expressed in the heighten popularity of President Adams. In 1796, he was elected by a very narrow victory; the race being close between he and Jefferson (who eventually became Vice President). But the spring of 1798, Americans favored the President and were confident in his ability to lead the country through the conflict. It is most likely that Adams gained popularity through his direct condemnation of the French in his message to congress concerning the dispatches received from Pickney, Gerry, and Marshall. In the note to the reader of the pamphlets, which is not only congress, but also the public of America Adams declares the dispatches to “…unveil to [the United States] the ambitious and tyrannical views of the cabinet of France…”[21] This obvious opposition to the Republic of France by Adams ignited passion in the citizens and heightened the already flaming feelings towards France. The man who people once thought incapable of leadership seemed to be changing the way and the Federalists benefited from such a transformation. This, in addition to the realignment, seems to prove a shift to the Federalist Party.[22]
Savannah appeared to exemplify the national shift. They too found Adams to now be a capable and worthy leader. Like their brothers in patriotism across the nation, Savannah spoke openly against the new threat of the French. However, Savannah is the perfect locale to prove the hypothesis mentioned above: The sudden burst of support for Adams and the Federalist was not a shift in ideology, but rather a temporary “rally around the flag effect” the nation often experiences in time of crisis. Immediately after the release of the dispatches, Savannah did not hesitate to discuss the atrocities of France, however, as mentioned before, by the 1799 election the state elected their representatives from Jefferson’s party, and not the Federalists’.[23]
Adams gained enough support to enlarge the army and navy and launch the Quasi-War (the undeclared naval war that carried out between France and the United States between 1798 and 1799). Eventually, the Federalists went so far as to pass the Alien and Sedition Laws, which were intended to limit the success of the Republicans and limit the rights of American citizens. However, by 1798 France dropped the bribery and loan demands and Savannah, in December of 1799 elected two non-Federalists to the House of Representatives. It seems that the Federalists, although still experiencing some successes across the nation, were beginning to disenchant some Americans. The propaganda and spins used by the administration and the reigning party could not keep the nationalist phenomena strong and therefore could not keep the people voting for them. Within a few decades the Federalists would virtually disappear from the political scene and the Republicans would be the single party in American politics.[24]
The XYZ Affair and the propaganda it launched within the United States led the Federalist Party to an elongated period of dying. In the new century the Republicans would find themselves the only party in American politics. It seems that the Federalists, sensing their eventual demise, used the scandal with the French to draw people into their folds. Perhaps the popularity of Adams can be compared to that of President Bush after the horrible events of September 11, 2001. The Americans appeared to be changing their views to match those of the Federalists, in their apparent support, however, in reality they were simply showing support for the honor of their nation which they felt had been threatened by France’s conduct during the XYZ Affair. There was no shift in political ideology at the close of the eighteenth century; but instead a simple leaning towards the Federalists, who created and pleased a nationalistic America.
NOTES:
[1]William L. Chew, “Yankees Caught in the Crossfire: The Trials and Travails of Americans in Revolutionary and Napoleon’s France,” Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture 32 (2003): 300.
[2] William Stinchcombe, The XYZ Affair (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1980) 5.
[3] Stinchcombe, TXA 7.
[4] Louis C. Kleber, “The XYZ Affair,” History Today 23, vol. 10 (1973) 717.
[5]
B. Russel, America
and France. [microform] : The intire [sic] message of
the
president of the United States, to both houses of Congress: covering
the full
powers to, and dispatches from, the envoys extraordinary of the United
States,
to the French Republic. : Published by order of Congress.
Message of the president of the United States to both Houses of Congress, April 3d, 1798, Early American Imprints, vol. 1 (Worcester: American Antiquity Association, 1955-1983) 4.
[6] Kleber, 717
B. Russel, 4.
[7] Stinchcombe, TXA 4
B. Russel, 10
[8] Stinchcombe, TXA, 4
John E. Findling and Frank W. Thackeray, Events that Changes America in the Eighteenth Century, “The XYZ Affair”, by Donald .A Rakestraw (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998), 158.
[9] Stinchcombe, TXA, 128.
Robert Kelley, “Ideology and Political Culture from Jefferson to Nixon,” The American Historical Review 82, no. 3 (June 1977): 539.
[10] St. Mery, 252.
[12] “Baltimore, April 7,” Georgia Gazette, April 27, 1798 (Film #: AN13.S45 G42)
[13] “Philadelphia, April 4,” Georgia Gazette, April 27, 1798 (Film #: AN13:S45 G42)
“Baltimore, April 7”
Findley and Thackeray, 159.
[14] “Savannah, June 29,” Georgia Gazette June 29, 1798. (Film #: AN13.S45 G42)
[15] Findley and Thackeray, 160.
[16] St. Mery, 252.
[17] Thomas C. Sosnowski, “America and the Revolution: Bitter Farewells: Francophobia and the French Emigres in America,” Consortium on revolutionary Europe: 1750-1850 (1991) 281.
Sosnowski, 276.
[18] Findley and Thackeray, 153.
“Death of the National Cockade,” Georgia Gazzette, 22 June 1798. (Film #: AN13.S45 G42)
Chew, 300.
[19] Andy Trees, “Private Correspondence for the Public Good,” Virginia Magazine of History & Biography 108, no. 3 (2000) 2.
Stinchcombe, TXA, 113.
Stinchcombe, TXA, 117.
Findley and Thackeray, 156.
[20] John W. Kuehl, “The XYZ Affair and American nationalism: Republican Victories in the Middle Atlantic States,” Maryland Historical Magazine 67, no. 1 (1972): 1-4
“Georgia: A Proclamation,” Georgia Gazette, 27 December, 1798. (Film #: AN13.S45 G42)
[21] B. Russel, 71.
[23] “Savannah, June 29”
“Georgia: A Proclamation”
[24]Findley and Thackeray, 153-154
William Stinchcombe, “The Diplomacy of the WXYZ Affair,” The William and Mary Quarterly 34, no. 4 (1977) 91
“Georgia: A Proclamation”
Findley
and
Thackeray, 168.
Related Links:
1. A statement made by
John Adams on the XYZ Affair
2. Timeline of Quasi
War
3. Original
Proclamation of Neutrality