Revolutionary War Documents | John Jay's Treaty
John Jay's Treaty
Chief Justice of the United States John
Jay, who had helped negotiate an end to the War for Independence and
had been Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the
Articles of Confederation, was
selected to undertake a mission to London in 1794 to resolve outstanding
issues between the United States and its old adversary. The most
important problem was British retention of a string of small military
posts in northwestern U.S. territory that London had explicitly agreed
to vacate as part of the treaty of 1783. In addition, British hindrance
of American trade and shipping was causing serious tensions between the
two countries. Because Jay was a Federalist and considered pro-British,
Jefferson's followers only reluctantly agreed to his mission. They were
not amused when the U.S. envoy kissed the hand of the Queen as he was
presented at court. In reality, Jay had little bargaining power in
London. The British were at war with revolutionary France and little
prone to compromise. Once they learned that the United States would not
join a league of smaller European nations prepared to defend their
neutrality by force of arms, the British realized they held all the
cards. The only concessions Jay obtained was a surrender of the
northwestern posts--already agreed to in 1783--and a commercial treaty
with Great Britain that granted the United States "most favored
nation" status, but seriously restricted U.S. commercial access to
the British West Indies. All other outstanding issues--the
Canadian-Maine boundary, compensation for pre-revolutionary debts, and
British seizures of American ships--were to be resolved by arbitration.
Jay even conceded that the British could seize U.S. goods bound for
France if they paid for them and could confiscate without payment French
goods on American ships. The treaty was immensely unpopular; "Sir
John Jay" became one of the most hated Americans, "damned and
double damned" for caving in to the British. The treaty squeaked
through the Senate on a 20 to 10 vote on June 24, 1795. President
Washington courageously implemented the treaty in the face of
popular disapproval, realizing that it was the price of peace with Great
Britain and that it gave the United States valuable time to consolidate
and rearm in the event of future conflict.
Jay's Treaty
Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America,
by their President, Ratified June 24, 1795.
Published by
Neale and Kammerer, Philadelphia, 1795
Although the
Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the American War for Independence, the
years following saw relations between America and England deteriorate
precipitously. England refused to evacuate the frontier forts in the
Northwest Territory; in addition, she seized American ships, forcing
American sailors to serve in England's war against France. The United
States, for her part, passed navigation laws that were potentially
damaging to Great Britain. It was apparent that a commercial war
between the two countries would undermine the health of the American
economy.
The American statesman John Jay, pressed into service as special envoy, went to England to
negotiate disagreements between the two governments. On November 19, 1794 Jay's Treaty was signed, averting the threat
of war.
The Treaty eliminated British control of western posts within two years, established America's claim for damages from
British ship seizures, and provided America a limited right to trade in the West Indies.
Although Jay's Treaty provoked a storm of controversy (Jay was burned in effigy by mobs of outraged Americans), President
Washington pressed for ratification. The treaty passed the Senate in June, 1795.
Among John Jay's many accomplishments--- president of Congress in 1778, minister to Spain, one of three Americans who
negotiated the Paris Peace Treaty, an author of The Federalist and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court--- none was more important than his negotiation of of the Treaty with Great Britain in 1794.
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