John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

Central American Treaty (December 1825)

In early December 1825, Secretary of State Henry Clay completed negotiations on a commercial treaty with the Federation of Central America. The treaty guaranteed complete commercial reciprocity between the United States and Central America.

Rejecting union with Mexico in 1823, the independent states of Central America – Guatemala, San Salvador (modern El Salvador), Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica – were united in a single union until 1838. It was with this federation the United States negotiated with in late 1825. Secretary Clay negotiated in Washington with the Central American minister plenipotentiary, Antonio José Cañaz. The treaty expressed nearly all of the ideals that had been the diplomatic goals of the Jeffersonian Republicans for a quarter-century.

Most importantly, the treaty guaranteed complete commercial reciprocity. This meant that American ships importing goods into Central American ports were subject only to the laws that applied to Central American citizens (no special duties or tariffs), and vice versa. The treaty defined neutral rights capaciously and contraband narrowly. The principle that "free ships make free goods" (which had been one of the disagreements between the United States and Britain that led to the War of 1812) was endorsed. The treaty protected the civil liberties of each nation's citizens when they were in the other's jurisdiction. Finally, the treaty protected the diplomats and consuls of each country; each nation granted the other "most favored nation" status. Both President Adams and the Senate acceded to Clay's treaty almost immediately – the Senate approved the treaty before the end of December.

The treaty was a firm expression of the kind of relationship Adams had wanted to forge since he served as Monroe's Secretary of State. Under the principles of the Monroe Doctrine, the United States would seek to foster the growth of a separate political and economic sphere in the western hemisphere. The protection of free and open commerce between the nations of North America, Middle America, and South America was a cornerstone of this vision. The Central American treaty would be the model for other commercial treaties with Latin American nations the United States tried to negotiate during Adams's presidency. The treaty's status as a model would be its longest legacy – the Central American Federation fell apart in 1828, and each state became its own sovereign republic. As other Latin American nations experienced similar internal turmoil in the 1820s and 30s that made a comprehensive system of commercial diplomacy difficult to maintain. Sources:

Mary W. M. Hargreaves, The Presidency of John Quincy Adams (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1985)

Lester H. Burne, ed., Chronological History of United States Foreign Relations, 1776 to January 20, 1981 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1985).