The Quasi War with France and the XYZ Affair – John Jay
(1798)
Annotation:
A decade after the Constitution was drafted, the United States faced its most serious
international crisis: an undeclared naval war with France. In Jay's Treaty, France
perceived an American tilt toward England, especially in the provision permitting
Britain to seize French goods from American ships in exchange for financial
compensation. France retaliated by launching an aggressive campaign against
American shipping, particularly in the West Indies, capturing hundreds of vessels
flying the U.S. flag.
Adams attempted to negotiate with France, but the French government refused to
receive the American envoy and suspended commercial relations. Adams then called
Congress into special session. Determined that the United States not be
"humiliated," he recommended that Congress arm American merchant ships, fortify
harbors, and expand the army and navy. By a single vote the House of
Representatives authorized the President to arm American merchant ships but
postponed consideration of the other defense measures.
Adams then sent three commissioners to France to negotiate a settlement. French
foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838) continually postponed
official negotiations. In the meantime, three of the minister's emissaries (known
simply as X, Y, and Z) said that the only way the Americans could see the minister
was to pay a bribe of $250,000 and provide France with a $10 million loan! The
indignant American commissioners refused. When word of the "XYZ Affair" became
known in the United States, it aroused a popular demand for war. The popular slogan
was "millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute."
During the winter of 1798, 14 American warships backed by 200 armed merchant
ships captured 80 French vessels and forced French warships out of American
waters. But the President refused to ask Congress for an official declaration of war.
This is why this conflict is known as the quasi-war. In this selection, John Jay, now
the Governor of New York, reflects on the country's tangled relations with France.
In 1800, after seven months of negotiations, diplomats worked out an agreement
known as the Convention of 1800. The agreement freed the United States from its
alliance with France; in exchange, America forgave $20 million in damages caused
by France's illegal seizure of American merchant ships during the 1790s.
Source: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/searchdisplay.cfm?ID=339