Notes on the American and French Revolutions, U.S. Neutrality, and Early Challenges

Thinking Globally: Two Revolutions

• Common Heritage of Enlightenment Thinking:

  • Both the American ($1776$) and French ($1789$) Revolutions grew from a shared intellectual foundation of radical eighteenth-century Enlightenment ideas.

  • These ideas emphasized equality, freedom, and the sovereignty of the people.

• Echoes in Declarations:

  • The French Declaration of the Rights of Man ($1789$) deliberately mirrored Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence ($1776$).

  • Both asserted that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights," including "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression."

  • Many French thinkers recognized the American Revolution as a direct inspiration for their own.

  • Thomas Paine famously remarked to George Washington, "The principles of America opened the Bastille."

• French Radicalism:

  • In several respects, the French Revolution was more radical than its American counterpart.

  • It temporarily abolished slavery, a monumental step the Americans would not take for nearly a century later.

The Launch of the French Revolution

• Storming the Bastille ($1789$):

  • On July $14$, $1789$, a large mob stormed the Bastille, a Parisian prison described by the Marquis de Lafayette as France's "fortress of despotism."

  • This violent act resulted in the deaths of half a dozen soldiers, and the severed heads of the commanding officer and the mayor of Paris were paraded throughout the city.

  • This event marked the bloody beginning of the French Revolution.

  • Bastille Day is still celebrated as France's national holiday, akin to the Fourth of July in the United States.

Intertwined Roots and Divergent Legacies

• Financial Catalysts:

  • The British government, to offset the costs of the war that expelled France from North America in $1763$, imposed new taxes on its American colonists, leading to the American Revolution in $1776$.

  • Conversely, France's aid to the rebellious Americans forced its government to seek new revenues, ultimately igniting the political upheaval in Paris in $1789$.

• Differing Outcomes and Legacies:

  • American Revolution:

    • Revolutionaries were well-armed and, after victory, allowed approximately $80,000$ Loyalists to depart without severe retribution.

    • Americans quickly resumed their established habits of self-rule and governance.

    • They successfully drafted the U.S. Constitution, which provided a stable framework for government for over two centuries.

    • American revolutionaries relatively easily reaped the benefits of their revolution.

  • French Revolution:

    • The French Revolution was characterized by extreme bloodshed and political instability for at least a century.

    • Revolutionaries faced constant threats of counterrevolution domestically and foreign intervention from abroad.

    • It devolved into intense violence, including the execution of about $40,000$ French citizens during the "Reign of Terror" ($1793$–$1794$).

    • The King and Queen were guillotined, and France launched preemptive attacks on neighboring countries.

    • The Catholic Church was stripped of its property and privileges, and there was a brief experiment with a new state religion, the "Cult of Reason."

    • Ultimately, supreme power was ceded to Napoleon Bonaparte, who spread the ideals of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" across Europe, leading to extensive conflicts.

    • Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in $1815$ led to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy.

Explaining the Divergence

• Pre-Revolutionary Histories:

  • Scholars attribute the vastly different outcomes to the distinct pre-Revolutionary histories of the two nations.

  • France's Obstacles:

    • The French Revolution confronted deeply entrenched adversaries in the landed nobility and the clergy (the "two estates"), who fiercely defended their ancient privileges.

    • Surrounding European princes and potentates also opposed the Revolution.

    • To succeed, the French Revolution needed to centralize power in a strong state capable of suppressing internal enemies and deterring foreign intervention.

    • This necessity contributed to the enduring legacy of stronger central governments in most European societies compared to the United States.

  • America's Advantages:

    • The Americans faced no comparable obstacles; they lacked a significant aristocracy, a church with the dominating influence of the Catholic Church in France, or menacing neighbors.

    • This allowed them the luxury to focus on limiting the power of the state, rather than needing to enlarge it.

    • The U.S. would not face a comparable challenge of dismantling and reshaping an entire social order until the Reconstruction era after its Civil War.

• Revolution as "Murder and Create":

  • Revolution is often described as a process of "murder and create."

  • The American revolutionaries were unique in being "spared the necessity to murder."

  • The American Revolution was less an abstract ideological upheaval and more a consolidation of two centuries of well-established American norms, values, and behaviors.

  • Alexander Hamilton, in a $1789$ letter to Lafayette, expressed his apprehension: "I dread the reveries of your philosophic politicians," highlighting the practical versus philosophical approaches.

U.S. Neutrality and British Embroilments

• Franco-American Alliance of $1778$:

  • While mutually beneficial in $1778$, by $1793$ the alliance primarily served French interests.

  • The U.S. technically did not violate its obligations since France never formally invoked the alliance.

  • American neutrality indirectly favored France, as the French West Indies critically depended on American foodstuffs, which would have been blockaded by British fleets if America had officially joined the war.

• Economic Opportunities and Risks:

  • Initially, the war in Europe presented a boon for American merchants, who had struggled in the early $1790$s.

  • It created new opportunities for trade with both warring factions and facilitated smuggling past preoccupied navies.

  • However, neutrality carried the inherent risk of conflict with both Britain and France, as each sought to prevent American supplies from reaching the other.

• British Provocations (Post-$1783$ Peace Treaty):

  • President Washington's policy of neutrality was severely tested by Britain.

  • For ten years, Britain continued to occupy northern frontier posts on U.S. soil, in direct defiance of the $1783$ peace treaty (see Map 9.1).

  • The British government aimed to preserve its lucrative fur trade in the Great Lakes region and sought to establish a buffer state against "ambitious Americans."

  • British agents actively supplied firearms to Native American tribes, assisting Little Turtle in his defeat of American forces on the Wabash.

• Battle of Fallen Timbers ($1794$):

  • A newly equipped and better-trained American army, led by General "Mad Anthony" Wayne, marched west and decisively routed the Native American confederacy.

  • The British, critically, refused to shelter the fleeing Native Americans at Fort Miami, effectively abandoning their former allies.

• Treaty of Greenville (August $1795$):

  • Following the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the Native American confederacy agreed to negotiate.

  • They ceded vast territories of the Old Northwest, encompassing most of present-day Indiana and Ohio.

  • In return, they received a lump-sum payment of $20,000$, an annual annuity of $9,000$, and the perpetual right to hunt on the ceded lands.

  • Crucially, they hoped for recognition of their sovereign status, although the treaty codified an increasingly unequal relationship, limiting the perceived ability of the U.S. to dictate their future.

Border Confrontations and Maritime Tensions

• British Maritime Actions:

  • On the sea frontier, the British aggressively sought to starve out the French West Indies.

  • Royal Navy commanders disregarded American neutrality, seizing approximately $300$ American merchant ships.

  • Scores of American seamen were "impressed" (forcibly conscripted) into British service, and hundreds were imprisoned in harsh dungeons.

• American Outcry:

  • Impressment, in particular, outraged patriotic Americans, especially the Jeffersonians.

  • A strong call arose for the U.S. to either declare war on Britain or impose a nationwide embargo.

  • Federalists, however, staunchly resisted such drastic measures, as Alexander Hamilton's economic development plans heavily relied on trade with Britain, and war would cripple his financial system.

• Thomas Paine's Bitter Criticism:

  • Residing in France, Thomas Paine published an open letter in $1796$ expressing his bitterness towards George Washington's anti-French policies.

  • He accused Washington of being "treacherous in private friendship… and a hypocrite in public life," questioning whether he was an "apostate or an imposter."

Jay's Treaty and Washington's Farewell

• Jay's Mission to London ($1794$):

  • President Washington dispatched Chief Justice John Jay to London in a last-ditch effort to prevent war with Britain.

  • Jeffersonians were highly skeptical of Jay, given his Federalist and Anglophile leanings, fearing he would betray American interests (his routine kiss of the queen's hand during his presentation ceremony further fueled these fears).

• Compromised Negotiations:

  • Jay's negotiating position was weak and further undermined by Alexander Hamilton, who, fearing war, secretly provided the British with details of America's bargaining strategy.

  • Outcome of Jay's Treaty:

    • British promised to evacuate posts on U.S. soil (a pledge previously made in $1783$ to Jay himself, generating little confidence).

    • Britain agreed to pay damages for recent seizures of American ships.

    • However, Britain refused to make any commitments regarding future maritime seizures, impressments, or the supply of arms to Native Americans.

    • Jay was forced to agree that the United States would pay pre-Revolutionary debts still owed to British merchants.

• Reactions to Jay's Treaty:

  • The treaty, more than any other issue, invigorated the nascent Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson.

  • Jeffersonians were furious, viewing it as a humiliating surrender to Britain and a betrayal, particularly of the Jeffersonian South.

  • Southern planters would bear the brunt of paying pre-Revolutionary debts, while wealthy Federalist shippers received compensation for British seizures.

  • Jeffersonian mobs publicly hanged, burned, and guillotined effigies of "damn'd archtraitor, Sir John Jay."

  • Even George Washington's immense popularity was affected by the controversy.

• Unintended Benefit: Pinckney's Treaty ($1795$):

  • Fearing that Jay's Treaty signaled an impending Anglo-American alliance, Spain hastily sought a deal with the U.S.

  • Pinckney's Treaty of $1795$ granted the Americans almost all their demands, including:

    • Free navigation of the Mississippi River.

    • The right of deposit (warehouse rights) at New Orleans.

    • Control over the large disputed territory of western Florida.

• Washington's Farewell Address ($1796$):

  • Exhausted after his second term's diplomatic and partisan struggles, President Washington decided to retire.

  • His retirement helped establish the two-term tradition for U.S. presidents (later formalized by the Twenty-second Amendment in $1951$ after Franklin D. Roosevelt broke it in $1940$).

  • In his Farewell Address (published in newspapers, not delivered orally), Washington strongly advised against "permanent alliances," specifically referencing the "vexatious" Franco-American Treaty of $1778$.

  • He clarified that he did not oppose all alliances, but favored only "temporary alliances" for "extraordinary emergencies."

  • This advice was considered prudent for a "weak and divided nation in $1796$" but might not apply to a future "mature and muscular giant."

• Washington's Presidential Legacy:

  • His contributions were enormous, despite Alexander Hamilton often appearing to overshadow him.

  • He solidified the central government and established its fiscal stability.

  • The American West continued to expand, and the merchant marine prospered.

  • Most importantly, Washington successfully kept the young nation out of foreign wars and overseas entanglements.

  • With the "experimental stage" passed, the presidency could be handed over to a less imposing figure.

  • Despite his accomplishments, Washington faced bitter partisan abuse upon leaving office in $1797$, a stark contrast to his initial widespread popularity, reflecting the often "ungrateful" nature of republics.

John Adams Becomes President

• Successor to Washington:

  • Following Washington's retirement, the question arose of who would succeed the "Father of His Country."

  • Alexander Hamilton was the most prominent Federalist figure after Washington.