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The Revolutionary Age Francis D. Cogliano and Patrick Griffin, Editors Navigating Neutrality Early American Governance in the Turbulent Atlantic • Sandra Moats University of Virginia Press Charlottesville and London University of Virginia Press © by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia All rights reserved First published ---- (hardcover) --- - (ebook) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title. Cover image: USS Constellation ­ring upon L’Insurgente, by Rear Admiral John William Schmidt. (Wikimedia / Naval History and Heritage Command, National Archive ID -KN-) is book is published as part of the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot. With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Pilot uses cutting-edge publishing technology to produce open access digital editions of high-quality, peer-reviewed monographs from leading university presses. Free digital editions can be downloaded from: Books at JSTOR, EBSCO, Hathi Trust, Internet Archive, OAPEN, Project MUSE, and many other open repositories. While the digital edition is free to download, read, and share, the book is under copyright and covered by the following Creative Commons License: BY-NC-ND. Please consult www.creativecommons.org if you have questions about your rights to reuse the material in this book. When you cite the book, please include the following URL for its Digital Object Identi­er (DOI): https://doi.org/. /m. We are eager to learn more about how you discovered this title and how you are using it. We hope you will spend a few minutes answering a couple of questions at this url: https://www.longleafservices.org/shmp-survey/ More information about the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot can be found at https://www.longleafservices.org. For Anna Stadick and in memory of Joyce Appleby • Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction “The Mischiefs of Foreign Intrigue” 1 Chapter 1 “Highway Robbery under the Protection of the Law”: American Privateers in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic 9 Chapter 2 “Free Ships Make Free Goods”: Revolutionary Experiments in Neutrality 24 Chapter 3 “The Contests of European Nations”: George Washington and Neutrality 41 Chapter 4 “Americans in Politics”: Crafting a Neutral Proclamation 59 Chapter 5 “To Keep This Country in Peace”: French Violations and Executive Actions 78 Chapter 6 “A Rank Due to the United States”: Enforcing Neutrality across the Federal Government 103 Chapter 7 “My Object Is to Prevent War”: Enforcing Neutrality across the Globe 127 “First in Peace”: George Washington, Statesman Notes Bibliography Figure . Continental Congress directive on privateering Figure . Empress Catherine the Great of Russia Figure . Society of Cincinnati medal Figure . George Washington Figure . Citizen Genet Figure . USS Constellation Figure . Captain Joshua Barney of Maryland xi is project had its origins in the Papers of George Washington. As I leafed through these volumes, I came across a slew of letters between Washington and the French ocers who had served alongside him in the Continental Army. It took me several years and a few unsuccessful article submissions to realize that these letters explained Washington’s steadfast commitment to American neu- trality. From that kernel, this book was born. I had the good fortune to be working on this project when the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington opened at Mount Vernon in . I was one of seven inaugural fellows, and during my ­ve-month tenure, I made signi­cant progress researching and framing this project. Living and working at Washington’s beloved estate was a wonderful bonus. I am grateful to Doug Bradburn for his conversation and insights. e always ecient and pleasant Mary Jongema helped me with all manner of challenges, including mastering DeVos House. DeDe Petri, Wisconsin’s representative on the Mount Vernon La- dies Association, has been a generous supporter. She hosted me at her home for a research presentation; she also invited me to speak at a gathering in Madison, Wisconsin. I am also grateful to Gwen White and Jon Taylor for their friendship during the fellowship period. During the – academic year, I enjoyed a second fellowship, this time at the Institute for the Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (ank you Lesley Walker for making me aware of this opportunity.) is nine-month respite from teaching and administrative duties allowed me to write for this book full time. I am grateful to Ann Harris for her cheerful assis- tance during my time in Madison and to Ullrich Langer, the program’s director, who always called on me during the weekly research presentations. I also appre- ciate the comments and insights of the institute’s other fellows. A special shout out to Melissa Vise for her friendship while in Madison and her willingness to share her oce with me. is book would not have been completed without these two long-term fellowships. Both gave me time to research, write, and, most importantly, think. xiii xiv Acknowledgments e availability of online historical sources has exploded since I ­nished grad- uate school. e National Archives’ Founders Online epitomizes the quality and accessibility the Internet can oer to anyone interested in the nation’s found- ing generation. Nonetheless, print resources and in-person research remain in- dispensable for historians. is book oers its existence to the ­rst-rate (and multivolume) Papers of George Washington. In addition to the library at Mount Vernon, my research led me to the excellent holdings at the Massachusetts His- torical Society, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Lastly, I bene­ted from the generous borrowing privileges that exist across the thirteen University of Wisconsin libraries. At Parkside’s library, Heather Spencer and Liz Antaramiam deserve special recognition for their heroic eorts in tracking down sources from the other University of Wis- consin campuses. I want to thank my departmental colleagues at Parkside, Ed Schmitt, Beth Brownson, and David Bruce, for their continued support as I took breaks from teaching to work on this book. Dean Peggy James has been supportive of my research, ensuring a sabbatical, course releases, and research time and money. I am also proud to call her a friend. As I have worked on this project, I have gained from the insights of many scholars, including Ben Irvin and Rachel Hope Cleves. Lige Gould deserves spe- cial recognition for his generosity as a colleague. I discussed American neutrality with him once at Mount Vernon, and he became an enthusiastic supporter of me and this project. He good-naturedly wrote countless letter of recommendations on my behalf, and his help ensured the successful completion of this book. Deep appreciation goes to my friends who have supported me, including Les- ley Walker, Anna Stadick, Dana Oswald, Kenny French, Catherine Stephens, Peter O’Keefe, Lisa Kornetsky, and Sahar Bahmani. Henry Moats and Liam Moats have been supportive in their unique ways, with both ensuring that I got exercise. As I contemplated sailors and privateering, I was able to see Lake Michigan from my study, a vast body of water that is both inspiring and com- forting. New York City boasts a ­rst-rate classical public-radio station, WQXR. It has proved to be an essential companion as I researched, wrote, revised, and resubmitted. Of course, this book would not be seeing the light of day without a publisher. anks to Cathy Kelly of the Omohundro Institute for steering me to Nadine Zimmerli at the University of Virginia Press. Nadine has been a strong supporter of this project, and her editorial insights and substantive comments have greatly improved the quality of the ­nal manuscript. I am also grateful to the press’s Acknowledgments xv two anonymous reviewers, who oered generous comments and constructive suggestions, and to Frank Cogliano and Patrick Grin for including me in e Revolutionary Age series. e book’s dedication honors two people who have proved indispensable to my scholarly career. Anna Stadick has been a steady and reliable friend through- out this long process, including enabling me to be away from home for long stretches. Sadly, my mentor, Joyce Appleby, passed away while I was working on this book. I want to thank her for the excellent training she gave me as an historian. I hope the ­nal results are worthy of her eorts. Introduction “e Mischiefs of Foreign Intrigue” ’ against Britain could not have occurred at a worse time for President George Washington. In late March , when the news reached Philadelphia, Washington had begun his F second term in a job he was not sure he wanted anymore. e growing parti- sanship among voters and within his cabinet, along with the increasingly per- sonal attacks appearing in the nation’s newspapers, had soured Washington on his presidential duties. Nonetheless, he recognized the dangers a European war posed for the young nation, particularly one involving America’s principal allies. Amid these international and partisan challenges, Washington achieved the near impossible when he forged a consensus neutrality policy in his deeply divided cabinet and then utilized the authorities contained in the Constitution to imple- ment American neutrality at home and abroad to keep the nation at peace. e United States’ commitment to neutrality began on April , , when Washington and his cabinet issued the Neutrality Proclamation to shield the young nation from the latest round of warfare between France and Great Brit- ain. Recognizing the signi cant risks that this conict posed for the recently independent United States, the proclamation announced America’s desire to pursue friendly commercial and diplomatic relations with all nations, includ- ing its two principal trading partners, while avoiding hostilities. Amid a cen- tury of ghting on the high seas in which ship seizures and privateering were the norm, this proclamation boldly declared America’s right of free trade even during wartime.
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