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Line 1: − + + + − ==Background==+ − In an effort to resolve differences that had accumulated between the two nations since the [[Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)]], President [[John Adams]] dispatched a commission of three men to meet with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Talleyrand in 1797. After many delays, the American commissioners were approached by three intermediaries of Talleyrand, who demanded apologies for allusions critical of France made by President Adams and payment of a bribe of several million dollars before official negotiations could proceed. Convinced that further negotiations were hopeless the three commissioners returned to the United States, and President Adams released their dispatches to Congress, substituting X, Y, and Z for the names of Talleyrand’s agents. “I will never send another minister to France without assurances that he will be received, respected, and honored, as the representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent nation,” Adams declared. The American public was outraged at publication of the dispatches, and Congress enacted a series of measures to raise an army and authorize a Navy Department. It also unilaterally abrogated treaties with France, authorizing privateers and public vessels to attack French ships found competing with American commerce. Between 1798 and 1800 the U.S. Navy captured more than 80 French ships although neither country officially declared war. − The British delighted in the anti-French uproar in America and moved to assist the United States against a common foe, revolutionary France. President Adams wanted to avoid a major war, confident that had France wanted war it would have responded to American attacks on French ships. Talleyrand feared that limited hostilities with the United States might escalate into a full-scale war and let it be known that he would accept a new American diplomatic representative. Adams nominated a new representative to France despite public and Federalist disappointment that there would be no war, but conceded to Federalist demands and expanded the single nomination into a commission of three. Although the Franco-American negotiations were initially deadlocked, France finally agreed to cancel the Treaty of Alliance of 1778 if the United States dropped financial claims resulting from recent seizures of American merchant shipping. The resulting Convention of 1800 terminated the only formal treaty of alliance of the United States. It would be nearly a century and a half before the United States entered into another formal alliance. + + + + + − ==U.S. Naval actions==+ − [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Benjamin Stoddert]] realized that the navy possessed too few warships to protect a far-flung merchant marine by using convoys or by patrolling the North American coast. Rather, he concluded that the best way to defeat the French campaign against American shipping was by offensive operations in the Carribean, where most of the French cruisers were based. Thus at the very outset of the conflict, the Department of the Navy adopted a policy of going to the source of the enemy's strength. Nevertheless, by 1799, in response to the merchant's insistent demands for protection, naval vessels were convoying merchant ships in the Caribbean in addition to cruising against the enemy. − When Stoddert became secretary in June 1798, only one American naval vessel was deployed. By the end of the year a force of twenty ships was planned for the Caribbean. Before the war ended, the force available to the navy approached thirty vessels, with some 700 officers and 5,000 seamen.+ + − + − Although they were fighting the same enemy, the Royal Navy and the United States Navy did not cooperate operationally, nor did they share operational plans or come to mutual understandings about deployment of their forces. The British did sell the American government naval stores and munitions. And the two navies shared a system of signals by which to recognize each other's warships at sea and allowed merchantmen of their respective nations to join their convoys.+ + − By October 1800, aggressiveness of the cruisers of the United States Navy, as well as those of the Royal Navy, combined with a more conciliatory diplomatic stance by the French toward America, produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships. In mid-December 1800 news reached Washington that a peace treaty with France (Convention of Mortefontaine, 30 September 1800) ended the Quasi-War.+ − ----+ − {{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio4/biblio4a.htm][http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/nr/16318.htm]}}+ − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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The '''Quasi-War''' was a two-year (1798-1800), undeclared war fought as a result of depredations by the privateers of Revolutionary France against the expanding merchant shipping of the United States.
The '''Quasi-War''' was an undeclared naval war between the U.S. and France, 1798-1800. It was inconclusive militarily, but had a profound impact on American politics, as war opponent [[Thomas Jefferson]] defeated President [[John Adams]] for reelection in 1800, even as Adams was ending the war.
==Origins==
Although the United States had gained British recognition in 1783 following the American Revolution, it remained endangered by European economic and military rivalries and by insecure possession of the Ohio Valley. Indeed, both Britain and Spain were attempting to separate the western region from the United States. Of particular concern to the Federalist-mercantile classes was the fear that France also was planning to surround the new republic by gaining or regaining possession of Canada, Florida, and the Louisiana country. The agrarian and democratic classes led by [[Thomas Jefferson]] tended to discount this fear and instead professed sympathy for the ideals of the French Revolution. Foreign policy was the major force behind the creation of the first voter-based political parties in the world during the [[First party System]].
The outbreak in Europe of the War of the First Coalition between Britain and France produced, after 1792, an economic upheaval which both revived and entangled the Federalist-mercantile interests. The sale of grain to France, and the replacement of the British merchant flag by the neutral American one in Near Eastern trade, proved enormously profitable to Americans. The british tried to kill, by blockade, the French grain trade. The major issues with Britain, including its occupation of forts in the Ohio Valley, were resolved by [[Jay's Treaty]] of 1795, which brought ten years of peace and profitable trade between the U.S. and Britain.
At the same time the insolent conduct of the French minister [[Edmond Genet]] ("Citizen Genet") forced President [[George Washington]] and Secretary of State [[Thomas Jefferson]] to demand his recall. The ruling French Directory chose to interpret these acts as an expression of pro-British policy by the Federalist administration, headed, between 1797 and 1801, by President [[John Adams]]. Both as a war measure and to relieve its financial strain, the Directory inspired the seizure of 316 U.S. merchant vessels, and even went so far as to seize British merchantmen within U.S. territorial waters.
==The XYZ Affair==
Despite Republican pressure to overlook the provocation, and the demand of some [[Federalist Party]] leaders led by [[Alexander Hamilton]] for an outright declaration of war, Adams attempted to reach a peaceful solution by sending a special mission to Paris. The French foreign minister, [[Charles de Talleyrand]], refused a meeting, but instead sent three unofficial representatives to U.S. commissioners Charles C. Pinckney, [[John Marshall]], and Elbridge Gerry. The French agents set forth a number of grievances including U.S. refusal to open its ports to French prizes (ships seized at sea), the forced recall of Minister Genet, and the previous dispatch of an American minister, Pinckney himself, who was unacceptable to the Directory. They then demanded a national loan of $64,000,000 to the French Republic, a personal bribe to the Directors, and reaffirmation of the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 as indispensable preliminaries to any settlement. Pinckney and his fellow commissioners refused to enter discussions upon this basis, giving rise to the newspaper slogan, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!" The Directory thereupon retaliated by declaring that cargo of British origin would render a neutral ship liable to capture, a virtual ultimatum against the neutral rights of the United States.
==Public Response ==
Adams refused to consider the French proposals. The Republicans, mistakenly thinking Adams had rejected reasonable terms, demanded to see the correspondence, which Adams sent to Congress (replacing the actual names of the French agents, with the letters "X," "Y," and "Z.") The public outrage was overwhelming against France.
The off-year elections to Congress were held between April 1798 and March 1799. The Federalists captured more seats than they would ever have again. This victory was largely a southern phenomenon. In Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, significant contests were won by Republicans because of the party's ability to dispel the stigma of close association with France and win over the more moderate Federalists. Republicans who did not dispel their pro-French image met defeat at the polls, especially in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. More Federalists were elected to Congress from the South than at any time since Washington's first term. Many southerners feared a French invasion, and preparedness by some southern cities included building naval vessels. Kentucky and Tennessee were least angered by the XYZ relations. Concern for the preservation of liberty remained the chief worry of westerners. Kentucky and Virginia responded to the Alien and Sedition Acts with the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions] (1798) (secretly written by Jefferson and [[James Madison]]) to challenge the Adams' administration, but many other states repudiated these Resolutions. The election results indicated that people wanted an independent policy which would insure the integrity of American national interest. The XYZ Affair forced Americans to recognize that they must be truly free of both England and France in order to develop their national character.
==Congress acts==
In July, 1798, and over Republican protests, Congress denounced all treaties with France, authorized the raising of an army of 10,000 men commanded by former president [[George Washington]], and provided for the establishment of a new [[United States Navy|Navy Department]] and the commissioning of fifteen cruisers for reprisals upon the French. It also attempted to take advantage of the war spirit by enacting the four [[Alien and Sedition Acts]], ostensibly aimed against French revolutionary agitators and doctrines, but also intended to suppress the Republican opposition.
The highlight of the first year of the undeclared war was the capture by [[Thomas Truxtun]]'s ''Constellation'' of the French frigate ''l'Insurgente'' in February 1799. In addition, American naval vessels seized nineteen French privateers during the winter of 1798-99. The French challenge to American naval forces increased late in 1799 as six French warships arrived in the Antilles with instructions to intensify the commercial war. The American squadrons responded aggressively. ''Constellation'' fought to a draw the more powerful ''la Vengeance'' on 1 February 1800. Silas Talbot engineered an expedition in the Puerto Plata harbor in Santo Domingo, a possession of France's ally Spain, on 11 May 1800 in which a naval force under Lieutenant [[Isaac Hull]] cut out the French privateer ''Sandwich'' from the harbor and spiked the guns in the Spanish fort. By the end of the war American ships had made prizes of approximately eighty-five French vessels. American successes resulted from a combination of Stoddert's administrative skill in deploying effectively his limited forces and the initiative of his seagoing officers.
The merchants of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and those of Philadelphia signed subscription lists to build warships for loan to the navy even before the government discussed or authorized such a construction program. Baltimore and three Virginia cities followed shortly thereafter, all before Benjamin Stoddert took office as the first secretary of the new Navy Department. Charleston, Boston, and Salem subscribed ships after Congress enacted legislation to reimburse subscribers with "navy stock" paying 6% interest, which was 2% lower than other government securities.<ref> See Frederick C. Leiner, ''Millions for Defense: The Subscription Warships of 1798.'' (1999) </ref>
==The War at Sea==
The ensuing two years (1798-1800) of undeclared hostilities witnessed no land engagements, although Hamilton proposed the seizure of Florida and New Orleans, which belonged to France's ally, Spain. Regular naval engagements were few, since the British Navy held the bulk of the French battle squadrons under strict blockade. Actions were confined to the American Atlantic coastline and to the West Indies, the scenes of French depredations and of the surviving French commerce. The inexperienced U.S. Navy was represented chiefly by Thomas Truxtun, commander of the "Constellation," a 48-gun heavy frigate. On Feb. 9, 1799, off St. Kitts, Truxtun ran down and captured the French 40-gun cruiser "L'Insurgente" after an hour's fight. A year later, on Feb. 2, 1800, off Basse Terre, Truxtun nearly destroyed but failed to make a prize of the "Vengeance," a vastly superior 52-gun battle cruiser. The 30-gun light cruiser "Boston," under George Little, fought and took the 24-gun "Berceau" on Oct. 12, 1800, after another hard action.
During the war, the U.S. Navy took 84 armed French vessels, most of which were raiding privateers, and lost only the 14-gun "Retaliation" to overwhelming force. In the course of the conflict, U.S. foreign trade increased by $21,000,000 as a result of the protection afforded it by the navy. By the end of the war, the navy consisted of six heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, and one brig-of-war, in addition to twenty-one merchantmen converted to naval duty.
==Negotiating Peace==
The unexpected fighting ability of the U.S. Navy, which destroyed the French West Indian trade, together with the growing weaknesses and final overthrow of the Directory in France, combined to produce in Talleyrand a desire to reopen negotiations. At the same time, an embarrassing quarrel with Hamilton, and the increasing Republican outcry against his tottering administration, caused Adams to take sudden and unexpected action rejecting the hawks in his own party and offering peace to France. On Feb. 18, 1800, he sent to the Senate his nomination of William Murray as minister to France to negotiate peace, as Federalists cried betrayal.
[[Category:United States History]]
The subsequent negotiations, embodied in the [[Treaty of Mortefontaine]] of Sept. 30, 1800, affirmed the rights of Americans as neutrals upon the sea and abrogated the alliance with France of 1778, but failed to provide compensation for the $20,000,000 "French Spoliation Claims" of the United States. The treaty also implicitly ensured that the United States would remain neutral toward France in the wars of Napoleon.
==Results of the War==
The Federalist capitalization upon the war fever of 1798, embodied in the Alien and Sedition Acts, however, recoiled against Adams. These statutes provided a rallying cry for the Republicans who nominated Jefferson and defeated Adams in the presidential election of 1800. Even though opposed in principle to the employment of force, the Republicans themselves were later forced to subdue the [[Barbary Wars|Barbary pirates]], wage war against Britain in 1812, and again coerce France before securing general recognition of the territorial and maritime rights of the United States.
==Bibliography==
* Brown, Ralph A. ''The Presidency of John Adams.'' (1988). [http://www.amazon.com/Presidency-John-Adams-American/dp/0700601341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196382380&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* DeConde, Alexander. ''The Quasi-War: The Politics and Diplomacy of the Undeclared War with France 1797–1801'' (1966)
* Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, ''The Age of Federalism''. (1993), the standard history of the 1790s [http://www.questia.com/read/59152800 enline edition]
* Ferling, John. ''John Adams: A Life.'' (1992) [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-Life-E-Ferling/dp/0945707142/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196382445&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ferling, John. "'Oh That I Was a Soldier': John Adams and the Anguish of War," ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 36, No. 2 (Summer, 1984), pp. 258-275 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0678(198422)36%3A2%3C258%3A%22TIWAS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 in JSTOR]
* Fowler, Jr. William M. ''Jack Tars and Commodores: The American Navy, 1783-1815'' (1984)
* Hale, Matthew Rainbow. "'Many Who Wandered in Darkness': the Contest over American National Identity, 1795-1798." ''Early American Studies'' 2003 1(1): 127-175. Issn: 1543-4273
* Kohn, Richard H. ''Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America, 1783-1802'' (1975)
* Kurtz, Stephen G. ''The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800'' (1957). Detailed political narrative. [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-presidency-of-john-adams-the-collapse-of-federalism-1795-1800-by-stephen-g-kurtz.jsp online edition]
* McCullough, David. ''John Adams.'' (2002). Pulitzer Prize popular biography, [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-McCullough/dp/0743223136/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196382528&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]
* Miller, John C. ''The Federalist Era: 1789-1801'' (1960), pp 210-227
* Murphy, Jr. William J. "John Adams: The Politics of the Additional Army, 1798-1800," ''The New England Quarterly'' Vol. 52, No. 2 (Jun., 1979), pp. 234-249 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0028-4866%28197906%2952%3A2%3C234%3AJATPOT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P in JSTOR]
* Palmer, Michael A. ''Stoddert's War: Naval Operations During the Quasi-War With France, 1798-1801'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Stodderts-War-Operations-Quasi-War-Literature/dp/1557506647/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196380859&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]
* Phillips, James Duncan. "Salem's Part in the Naval War with France," ''The New England Quarterly'' Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec., 1943), pp. 543-566 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0028-4866%28194312%2916%3A4%3C543%3ASPITNW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W in JSTOR]
* Ray, Thomas M. "'Not One Cent for Tribute': The Public Addresses and American Popular Reaction to the XYZ Affair, 1798-1799." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' (1983) 3(4): 389-412. Issn: 0275-1275 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0275-1275(198324)3%3A4%3C389%3A%22OCFTT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8 in Jstor]
* Sharp, James. ''American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis.'' (1995), detailed political narrative of 1790s.
* Smelser, Marshall. ''The Congress Founds the Navy, 1787-1798'' (1959)
* Smith, Jean Edward ''John Marshall: Definer Of A Nation'', (1996).
* Stinchcombe, William. ''The XYZ Affair.'' (1980). 167 pp.
* Stinchcombe, William. "The Diplomacy of the WXYZ Affair," in ''William and Mary Quarterly'', 34:590-617 (October 1977); in JSTOR; note the "W". [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597(197710)3%3A34%3A4%3C590%3ATDOTWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in JSTOR]
* Stinchcombe, William. "Talleyrand and the American Negotiations of 1797-1798." ''Journal of American History'' 1975 62(3): 575-590. Issn: 0021-8723 Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8723(197512)62%3A3%3C575%3ATATANO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U in Jstor]
===Primary sources===
* Knox, Dudley W. ed. ''Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France'' (1935) [http://www.questia.com/read/99595627 online edition]
* Marsall, John. "Letters of John Marshall When Envoy to France, 1797, 1798." ''American Historical Review'' 1897 2(2): 294-306. Issn: 0002-8762 Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762%28189701%292%3A2%3C294%3ALOJMWE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N in JSTOR]
====Notes====
<references/>
[[Category:wars]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]