A howling, stone-throwing mob marched on the Philadelphia home of Pennsylvania Senator William Bingham. In Frankfort, Kentucky, the state legislature denounced Senator Humphrey Marshall and demanded that the Constitution be amended to allow for the recall of United States senators. So angry were his constituents, as one writer observed, that Marshall was "burned in effigy, vilified in print, and stoned in Frankfort." Many of the other senators who, on June 24, 1795, had provided the exact 20-to-10 two-thirds majority necessary to approve John Jay's treaty with Great Britain experienced similar popular outrage. Show A year earlier, at President George Washington's request, Chief Justice of the United States John Jay had sailed to London to negotiate a reduction of tensions between the two nations. The president wanted Great Britain to withdraw its troops from the United States' northwestern territories, to compensate slave holders for slaves British soldiers had abducted during the Revolutionary War, to pay shipowners for trading vessels seized by its navy, and to allow free trade with the British West Indies. Jay achieved only a limited success, however, gaining the withdrawal of troops and compensation to American merchants. He failed to obtain protections for American shipping or reimbursement for stolen slaves, and he prematurely conceded American responsibility to pay British merchants for pre-Revolutionary War debts. Jay's treaty contained provisions that many considered humiliating to the United States, but President Washington sent it to the Senate for formal approval. The president and his supporters argued that Jay had obtained the best possible deal and that the nation could ill afford another war with Britain. The treaty's opponents, members of the Senate's anti-administration Democratic-Republican minority, demanded that the treaty be renegotiated because—among other reasons—it failed to protect America's trading agreements with France. The president's allies among the Senate's Federalist majority rejected this proposal and narrowly approved the treaty. When the text of the treaty became public, mobs took to the streets to condemn George Washington, John Jay, and the United States Senate. Even John Rutledge, Washington's recess appointee to replace Jay as chief justice, criticized ratification of the treaty as a sellout. When the Senate reconvened in December 1795, it retaliated by immediately rejecting the imprudent Rutledge's pending nomination. Although debate over the flawed pact deepened the nation's political divisions and destroyed relations with France, its ratification likely saved the still-fragile republic from a potentially disastrous new war with Britain.
 Library of Congress President George Washington had much on his mind in 1794. War raged on the European continent, and despite issuing an official proclamation of neutrality, Washington nevertheless realized his country could not ignore completely the tumult in Europe between France and Great Britain. And though America had been independent for over a decade, relations with the former mother country remained tense. Britain refused to withdraw its troops from America’s western forts, denied American ships access to ports, and continuously interfered with what Americans regarded as their neutral shipping rights. Many regarded Britain’s provocative behavior as a stinging reminder that the English regarded the American Revolution as far from settled. But what options did the young United States and its first President have? Taking up arms could prove foolhardy, since neither the American Army nor its Navy was a match for the battle-tested British military. And war with Britain could prove economically disastrous, dooming the still-vulnerable nation in its infancy. But inaction carried its own risks. A failure to act might strengthen Britain’s resolve to continue its behavior. Washington’s political adversaries might accuse the President and his Federalist Party of a weak foreign policy. There was a middle course. Recognized as a sovereign nation after its victory in the War of Independence, America had won the right to make treaties among the other recognized powers of the earth. Might diplomacy offer the United States some redress without the risks of all-out war? Ultimately, Washington chose the path of negotiation. Convinced that America would not be ready to confront Britain militarily for at least “twenty years,” Washington believed the wisest path was to buy time through peaceful mediation. Signed in 1794, Jay’s Treaty took its name from America’s chief negotiator in London, John Jay. Almost immediately, Washington’s political opponents leveled harsh criticism at the terms of Jay’s Treaty, complaining that it favored the British. But the treaty did include an agreement to remove British troops from American soil, and established better, more regular commercial relations between the two countries. Today, historians take a more generous view of Washington’s actions than did his contemporary critics. With hindsight, it is easier to see Washington’s actions as prudent and farsighted. By buying time through negotiated settlement, the President avoided the immediate danger of a costly and potentially disastrous war with Britain—though America’s diplomatic actions did help provoke Britain’s European rival France. And just as Washington had forecast, the treaty did help bring about almost twenty years of peace with Britain. Two decades of harmony finally ended with the outbreak of war in 1812. Why did Republicans oppose the Jay Treaty?He sent Federalist Chief Justice John Jay to London in 1794 to negotiate a treaty with Britain to maintain trade relations and avoid war. Yet again the Democratic-Republicans were unhappy with Washington's actions, fearing that Jay, who was notoriously pro-British, would betray his own country.
Why was Jay's treaty disliked by most people in America?One critique of the Jay Treaty was its move away from America's traditionally neutral stance toward the affairs of the Great Powers in Europe. Washington himself had issued a Neutrality Proclamation in 1793, urging Americans to avoid aligning with either rival in the struggle between France and Great Britain.
What two major issues did Jay's treaty seek to resolve?In the treaty Britain, conceding to primary American grievances, agreed to evacuate the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796; to compensate for its depredations against American shipping; to end discrimination against American commerce; and to grant the U.S. trading privileges in England and the British East Indies.
What was the major issue with Jay's treaty?Jay's only significant bargaining chip in the negotiations was the threat that the United States would join the Danish and the Swedish governments in defending their neutral status and resisting British seizure of their goods by force of arms.
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