The United States and Great Britain signed Jay’s Treaty on November 19,
1794. It was a follow-up to the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which was supposed to establish peaceful relations between the two countries after the
American Revolution (1775–83). Jay’s Treaty was meant to solve some
persistent problems that were causing diplomatic tensions and threatening to provoke another war.
Growing pains
The United States had several complaints against Great Britain after the
American Revolution. According to the Treaty of Paris, the English were
supposed to abandon posts in the Northwest Territory near Canada.
Britain not only refused to do so, but it also complicated American attempts to make peace with the region’s Native American tribes.
At sea, Great Britain actively prevented U.S. ships from trading in
British ports. British naval vessels regularly impressed, or kidnapped,
U.S. seamen into British service, and this too was a constant strain on
diplomatic relations.
Great Britain had its own complaints against the United States.
British creditors with prewar debts in America were having difficulty collecting their debts in state courts, and British Loyalists were struggling to
regain confiscated property in America. Disagreements about territorial
boundaries also caused problems.
War
All of these issues were complicated by the outbreak of war between
Great Britain and France in 1793. As a young country, the United States was unprepared to go to war on behalf of either country, but neutrality
was difficult to maintain. U.S. treaties with France enabled French privateers to equip themselves and operate in U.S. ports. The United States
also had promised to defend the French West Indies. Both the French
and U.S. navies, however, were greatly inferior to the British. Great
Britain and Spain were allies against France. Both countries had territories, and boundary disputes, along American borders. The United States
could hardly risk conflict with Great Britain and Spain together.
American commercial interests also had to be protected. Great
Britain was still the main trade partner for the United States. Great
Britain provided many manufactured goods to the states and supplied
credit. Though support for both the French and English existed in the
United States, President George Washington (1732–99; served
1789–97) issued a proclamation of neutrality in April 1793.
The treaty
Attempts to remain neutral caused problems with both Great Britain and
France. The British were particularly aggressive in challenging neutrality.
Increased British impressment of U.S. sailors and the seizure of 250
U.S. ships in the French West Indies brought the countries to the brink
of war. Washington sent John Jay (1745–1829), the chief justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court, to England to negotiate a treaty.
Under Jay’s Treaty, the English agreed to vacate the Northwest
Territory, restore U.S. trading privileges in British ports and the East
Indies, compensate for seized ships, and end discrimination of U.S. commerce. The United States opened the Mississippi River to the English,
promised to pay debts owed to British merchants, and agreed to close
U.S. ports to the outfitting of privateers for British enemies.
The treaty that Jay negotiated was unacceptable to many Americans
and sparked sharp division among politicians and citizens. It provoked
furious debate in Congress. Though it failed to resolve some of the most
divisive issues, such as impressment of sailors and recognition of U.S.
neutrality, the treaty did manage to stabilize diplomatic relations.
Though disappointed, President Washington signed it, believing it to be
the only alternative to war. Thanks to intense effort by his administration, it was passed by the Senate in February 1796.
Jay’s Treaty had far-reaching implications. Most importantly, it
avoided war between the United States and Great Britain during a vulnerable time of development for the young country. But it complicated
U.S. relations with France, which considered the treaty a breach of its
own agreements with the United States. An undeclared naval war between the two countries followed. Political debates among Americans
further inspired the organization of the Republican Party and the party system in American politics.