Whiskey Rebellion

• Whiskey important to frontier economies
• One of the only products farmers could make w/corn & transport w/o spoiling
• Whiskey even used as a type of currency – like tobacco in colonial days
• Pennsylvania rebellion against Fed. Gov.
• Rebels closed the courts & attacked tax collectors
• Hamilton & Washington saw this as an opportunity to prove itself with the use of military
• 12,000 men under Hamilton to Pittsburgh to restore order – showing the Gov. Would enforce its laws

French Revolution

• Begun in 1789 – inspired by the American Revolution of "liberty, fraternity, and equality" [Lafayette]
• Early 1790’s France disagreed over how to run the county – in reality no fraternity – lots of violence: Reign of Terror
• Government Executed 1000’s, including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Reactions:

• Federalists tended to oppose it, upset by violence, but approved of it in theory
• Jefferson’s DR supported it
• Though lots of debate occurred, the Americans remained neutral
• 1793, Washington issued Proclamation of Neutrality

Jay’s Treaty [1794]

• Should the US be neutral in the war between England & France?
• Washington believed we should side with the British
• Sent John Jay to negotiate with England
• Unable to get the British to stop their practice of Impressment on American Ships
• But, the British agreed to leave the Forts they occupied in the NW territory
• Also, expanded trade agreements w/ England
• Controversy back home: no real protection for American Ships betrayed the Revolutionary ideals, & a sell-out to the British hate in America
• The government ensured peace with England (for the moment) – in doing so, lost support of many Americans

XYZ Affair

• XYZ Affair, marked a low point in relations between France and the United States and brought the two nations close to war
• The French Directory had been angered by the conclusion in 1794 of Jay's Treaty, which resolved differences between England and the United States, and in retaliation had stepped up its harassment of American shipping
• From June 1796 to June 1797, French ships had captured 316 vessels flying the American colors
• Washington dispatched Charles C. Pinckney, a Southern Federalist, to Paris in December 1796. The Directory flatly rejected this effort. It not only refused to recognize the envoy but also even threatened to arrest him if he did not quit the country, and Pinckney, incensed by the insult, departed for the Netherlands
• Once Adams gained the Presidency, he sent 3 emissaries – they were asked for 250,000 dollars, 10 million dollar loan & a public apology from President Adams before the Americans could see the French minister
• Adams refers to the 3 French agents, who requested this as "XYZ."
• Pinckney's supposed retort, "Millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute,"
• The United States offered to extend to France the same privileges granted to Britain under the terms of Jay's Treaty. At the same time it demanded reparations for the spoliation of American shipping.
• The details of the affair stung the American public to a high degree of indignation, and there was clamor -- especially among the Federalists -- for an immediate declaration of war
• George Washington was summoned from retirement to take command of the American Army
• Adams courageously resisted public opinion and labored for a peaceful settlement