Life in the United States in the late eighteenth century was a time of much uncertainty and pride for the citizens of the new nation. The country had just come away from the American Revolution with an astounding victory over Great Britain and had become an independent nation. The constitution was adopted in 1787 and ratified in 1789 when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document. The United States was effectively a nation and elected George Washington to serve as the first President. With all of the pride in the new nation there was still much uncertainty with the people. The leaders of the nation “understood that Freedom would be short-lived, that defeating an imperial State would only unleash a new State at home, unless the power of the State could be shackled. Their efforts, after a short experiment with the Articles of Confederation, were soon enshrined in the Constitution of the United States in 1787. In simple words, the Constitution was a conscious attempt to bound the State and preserve Freedom.”
France was also in political unrest during the late 18th century as well. Shortly after the American Revolution ended the French Revolution began. It can be thought of as a Counter Revolution. The French Revolution, just as the American Revolution, was a revolt against the power of a monarch and aristocracy. The French Revolution was based on principles of philosophers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau and Rene Descartes whose main principles were those of reason. Therefore the French Revolution was framed around 3 conceptions that common will and sovereignty can be accomplished through creating a government driven by reason. The first principle is that the benefits of the community outweigh individual rights; this is what the common will or sovereignty of the people means. The second principle is that the State, and the government can be beneficent instruments of progress, used to pursue common will. The third principle is unlimited government, the idea that government should centralize, regulate, and control. The political unrest in the United States and France were the leading factors for the undeclared Quasi-War.
The Term Paper on Effectos of 1905 Revolution on Russian Government
?How significant were the effects of 1905 Revolution on Russian government and society at the time? The 1905 Revolution was significant to Russian government in long run but not in short run. After investigating into the contemporary sources which focus on different people’s opinions towards the Revolution and changes brought about by it, I found that there were general agreements on the following ...
The French played a vital role in victory for the Americans in the War for Independence. Benjamin Franklin was able to convince the King of France to support the American cause. The support began in the form of ammunition and supplies and the France and America formally became allies after the Battle of Saratoga. The French invasion from the sea during the battle of Yorktown delivered the finishing blow to the British. Shortly after the British signed the Treaty of Paris. “The independence of the United States was recognized. Western and northern borders were set. Thirteen colonies were free.”
The United States and France signed the 1778 Treaty of Alliances declaring the two nations as military allies. Even as allies there was still great tension between the United States and France in the years following the Revolution. Minister to the United States Edward Genet argued that the terms of the 1778 treaty allowed the outfitting of French privateers in American ports in order to prey upon British merchant ships. Genet was also instructed to demand repayment for the American Revolutionary war debt owed to France. The French would use this money to recruit Americans for French privateering ships for operations against British shipping. Genet’s demands were in clear violation of the Neutrality Acts. “Washington and Hamilton both opposed payment and viewed the outfitting of French privateers as a violation of American neutrality. Even Jefferson, while sympathetic to the French, believed that the United States had to prohibit them from using American ports for hostile purposes.”
The United States was desperate to stay neutral in European affairs if at all possible. President Washington made a Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 and it became written in law with the Neutrality Act of 1794. The Neutrality Act, “made it illegal for an American to wage war against another country at peace with the United States. The Act also forbade foreign war vessels to outfit in American waters and set a three mile territorial limit at sea.”
The Essay on Compare And Contrast The Treatment Of Native Americans By Britain And France
The Colonial Period began with the settled countries of the time wanting to launch voyages to explore ‘the new world’. One of the first successes was the Spanish, when they were able to settle in South America as early as 1252. But the biggest exploration of the time by far was set off by Columbus who, in search of the Indies, instead fell upon America, which started mass colonization. ...
The French Revolution destroyed the friendship between the United States and France. The nations were moving in opposite directions. The United States was pushing for the rights of the people against the state, while France was pushing a strong centralized government to help ensure the rights of the people. These are in direct contradiction with one another and the nations could not be allied under these political circumstances. Although the Treaty of Alliances was not terminated until the Convention of 1800 after the Quasi-War was over the alliance was all but terminated in 1790 with the French Revolution.
The United States still had tension with Britain from the war. The British were holding forts in the Northwest that they were ordered to vacate after the war. Also the British hindrance to American trade in British colonies was cause for much tension between the two countries. The United States could ill-afford another war with Great Britain and instead sent Jon Jay to London to negotiate with the king. Jay quickly realized he did not have much bargaining power with Britain, who was involved in a war with Revolutionary France. “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 prerevolutionary 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 incredibly unpopular in the States, among citizens and members of the Democratic Republicans, but it was still able to narrowly pass the Senate vote 20 to 10 on June 24, 1795.
The Essay on April Morning War Adam
A 15-year-old boy could not be a man, over a period of time, he would have to grow and mature. He still has his whole life ahead of him. On the other hand, from the book, April Morning by Howard Fast, Adam Cooper, was forced towards becoming an adult during one morning that was unforgettable. Going into war, the decisions he made, and good role models in his life brought about Adam's adjustment ...
Revolutionary France viewed the Jay Treaty as a direct violation of the 1778 Treaty of Alliances. After the Jay Treaty France viewed the United States a hostile nation. The French terminated all diplomatic relations with America and privateers robbed nearly three hundred American ships. In a letter to congress, President Adams discusses the French privateers capturing American Ships in US harbors:
I have received a letter from His Excellency Charles Pinckney, esq., governor of the State of South Carolina, dated the 22d of October, 1797, inclosing a number of depositions of witnesses to several captures and outrages committed within and near the limits of the United States by a French privateer belonging to Cape Francois, or Monte Christo, called the Vertitude or Fortitude, and commanded by a person of the name of Jordan or Jourdain, and particularly upon an English merchant ship named the Oracabissa, which he first plundered and then burned, with the rest of her cargo, of great value, within the territory of the United States, in the harbor of Charleston, on the 17th day of October last, copies of which letter and depositions, and also of several other depositions relative to the same subject, received from the collector of Charleston, are herewith communicated.
President John Adams appointed Charles Pinckney as the minister to France in 1796 in an attempt to ease the tension between the United States and France. On Pinckney’s arrival in France Charles Talleyrand, the French Foreign minister, refused to recognize Pinckney, Adams appointed a group of three men to negotiate a new treaty. France sent three agents to meet with Adams’ new commission only to ask for outrageous bribes of $250,000 and a 10 million dollar loan. The commission refused to pay the demands, and reported the news back to Adams with the letters X, Y, and Z in place of the three French agents’ names. The attempted blackmail on the United States has since become known as the XYZ affair. The XYZ Affair was the final straw and the Federalist leaders prepared for war with France. When President Adams inform Congress of the XYZ affair President Adams was allowed by Congress to “Acquire, arm, and man no more than twelve vessels, of up to twenty-two guns each. Under the terms of this act several vessels were purchased and converted into ships of war… On May 28, 1798 Congress authorized United States ships to capture armed French vessels hovering off the coast of the United States, initiating an undeclared Quasi-War with France.”
The Essay on To What Extent Does Shakespeare Reveal That “Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark” in Act 1.
To what extent does Shakespeare reveal that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” in Act 1. In Act 1 Scene 4 Marcellus state that there is “something rotten in the state of Denmark” and Shakespeare goes to prove Marcellus to be right through his use of politics, faith and individuals. Thus conveying to the Jacobean audience that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” but also ...
The Federalist Congress feared Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republicans. Many of the Republican newspaper editors would openly speak out against the issues with France and the Federalists needed a way to silence their critics. In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress and signed into law by President Adams. It consisted of three Alien Acts and one Sedition Act. The Federalists viewed foreigners as a threat to American security as well as non-English ethnic groups became some of the core supporters of the Democratic-Republicans. The Alien Acts were directed toward all immigrants of to the United States. They made it take fourteen years to become eligible to vote as opposed to five years. The Alien Acts also say that:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies.
The more controversial law was the Sedition Act which prohibited anyone from speaking out against the government. Section two of the Sedition Acts says, “That if any person shall write, print, utter or publish” anything that the government, either house of Congress or the President of the United States saw as, “false, scandalous and malicious writing” against the government could be fined up to two thousand dollars and receive up to two years imprisonment. Under the Sedition Act over 20 Republican newspaper editors were arrested for malicious writing and some imprisoned. The Sedition Act clearly violated individual rights under the first amendment of the constitution.
The Essay on Sarbanes-Oxley Act On American Businesses
This is an article that addresses the affects of the Sarbanes-Oxley act on American Businesses and whether the act has done justice or caused harm to business owners. It addresses changes that businesses have made, what kind of company costs have been implied due to the act, how investors have dealt with businesses since the passing of the act, and how it has affected the financial market. The ...
President Adams and Charles Talleyrand feared a full-scale major war with one another. President Adams was confident that France would not declare war because they held back even after the American attacks on French ships. President Adams sought to find a peaceful solution to the issues with France even though he urged Congress to buildup the military in case war with France became inevitable. “His goal was to demonstrate American resolve.”
Despite Adams’ attempts at peace he undeclared Quasi War lasted from 1798 to 1800. The fighting took place mostly in the Caribbean and throughout wartime the United States Navy captured nearly 100 French ships. President Adams declared several Acts against France for the suspension of Commercial Intercourse between the United States and France in an attempt to hurt Frances economy even further. The Revolutionaries were able to overthrow the current Directory and a new French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, came into power in November 1799.
Napoleon greatly admired the United States, although he had aspirations to militarily conquer the Louisiana Territory. The First Consul stressed that restoring peace and friendship with the United States was essential for the benefit of France. Napoleon appointed his brother Joseph and two others to represent France. In America, the Federalists were ready for war. “Adams responded by asking Congress to appropriate funds for defensive measures. These included the augmentation of the Navy, improvement of coastal defensives, the creation of a provisional army, and authority for the President to summon up to 80,000 militiamen to active duty.”
The French American peace negotiations took place in Mortefontaine, France at the Convention of 1800. In the Treaty of Mortefontaine, the two nations agreed that the naval engagements between the two countries would end, France would return captured American Ships, the United States would compensate its citizens for damages inflicted by France on American shipping, The Franco-American Alliance would be terminated, The United States and France would grant each other most-favored-nation status, and the United States and France would reestablish commercial relation on terms similar to those outlined in the Franco-American Alliance.
The Term Paper on American Banking United State
The American Banking System 1800-1810 INTRODUCTION Looking back to the outset of the 19 th century, it is impossible to say that any real banking system had really been developed in the US. This is to say that, though there were roughly 120 private commercial banks that had been chartered by new state governments, the so-called system was scarcely organized. It was ad how in nature and directly ...
Even though there were a few battles the Quasi-War was a step in the right direction for foreign relations for the United States. It showed that the young nation had enough diplomatic resolve to keep peace with a nation it had political tension. On the homefront, the Federalists had greatly hurt themselves with the war and the laws surrounding the war. John Adams eventually lost his bid for reelection and the Democratic-Republicans took over the Presidency with Thomas Jefferson. This time was the first real show of partisanship in the United States.
Bibliography
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“The American Revolution. The First War for Independence.” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/revolution.htm (Accessed May 5, 2010).
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“Neutrality act of 1794.” http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/968871 (Accessed May 5, 2010).
“John Jay’s Treaty. U.S. Department of State. http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1784_timeline/john_jays_treaty.html (Accessed May 8, 2010).
Matthew Zerzeczny. “The Quasi War with France.” Research Subjects: Government & Politics: The Napoleon Series. http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_quasi.html (Accessed May 8, 2010).
“The Reestablishment of the Navy. 1787-1801 Historical Overview and Select Bibliography.” Department of the Navy. http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio4/biblio4a.htm (Accessed May 8, 2010).
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Statutes at Large. Act of July 14, 1798, Ch. 74, Stat. 2 (596).
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Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine).” Georgetown College. http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his325/conv1800.htm (Accessed May 8, 2010).
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[ 1 ]. R.J. Rummel, “The American Vs. The French Revolution A Freedomist Interpretation,” University of Hawaii, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COMM.5.1.05.HTM
[ 2 ]. “The American Revolution, The First War for Independence,” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/revolution.htm, Accessed 5 May 2010.
[ 3 ]. “Neutrality – The eighteenth century,” , Accessed 4 May 2010.
[ 4 ]. “Neutrality act of 1794,” http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/968871, accessed 5 May 2010.
[ 5 ]. “John Jay’s Treaty, U.S. Department of State, http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1784_timeline/john_jays_treaty.html, Accessed May 8, 2010.
[ 6 ]. Matthew Zerzeczny, “The Quasi War with France,” Research Subjects: Government & Politics: The Napoleon Series, http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_quasi.html, Accessed May 8, 2010.
[ 7 ]. “The Reestablishment of the Navy, 1787-1801 Historical Overview and Select Bibliography,” Department of the Navy, http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio4/biblio4a.htm, Accessed May 8, 2010
[ 8 ]. Act of July 6, 1798, Ch. 66, Stat. 2 (577)
[ 9 ]. Act of July 14, 1798, Ch. 74, Stat. 2 (596)
[ 10 ]. “John Adams: Foreign Affairs,” American President An Online Reference Resource, http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/adams/essays/biography/5, Accessed May 8, 2010.
[ 11 ]. “John Adams: Foreign Affairs,” American President An Online Reference Resource, http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/adams/essays/biography/5, Accessed May 8, 2010.
[ 12 ]. “Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine),” Georgetown College, http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his325/conv1800.htm, Accessed May 8, 2010.
