Download Week 2 Early Constitutional Controversies HIS 303: The American

Week 2 Early Constitutional Controversies
HIS 303: The American Constitution
November 19, 1794 marks the day when Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation,
sometimes referred to as the Jay Treaty, came to a conclusion. The treaty later came into
effect through a sign from President George Washington alongside His Britannic Majesty.
The treaty was then conferred by John Jay; the United States' Chief Justice. In this paper, I
would discuss conflicts and benefits of the Jay Treaty for the Americans. Jay Treaty was
inked in 1794, though it came into effect in 1796. The treaty was formed as a negotiation of
peace between Great Britain and the United States. It was signed to settle a number of
disagreements and feuds between Great Britain and the United States. Though it settled
some of the differences with the Great Britain, it posed more controversy within the
borders of our very own country.
At that period, a noticeable amount of tension existed between the two parties. This
disagreement owed their root in the violation of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which
concluded the American Revolution effectively. As France declared war on Britain by 1793,
several conflicts developed between Great Britain and the US due to clashes over the rights
of trading (Farnham, T. J, 1967).
Slave owners in the southern states asked for being paid for the slaves who were
confiscated by the British. Tensions also rose as the British apprehended several boats and
imprisoned their sailors who were US citizens. This angered a lot of Americans further. At
that time President Washington asked John Jay to go to London for a negotiation with
Britain. As the Jay Treaty came into fruition in 1794, the Senate was then asked to finish the
remaining formalities. The treaty was then approved through a 20-10 vote. It was just the
required amount of votes for the treaty to be passed (Estes, T., 2001).
Though the treaty earned approval from the Senate, it faced severe disapproval
from the public. By late 1794, as the treaty was finalized, a publisher in Philadelphia
received a leaked copy of it from Senator Stevens T. Mason. He was a rival of Jay Treaty. He
hoped that in the case where it gained enough antagonists, then President Washington
might be persuaded for not signing it to make it an official one (Tagg, J. D. 1976). John Jay
received continuous criticism from the treaty’s rivals. He was referred to as an “unskilled
negotiator' while at worst, he was referred to the one who had betrayed the interests of the
U.S. Though President Washington did not support the treaty entirely as it failed to present
a little more for U.S., he felt John Jay was successful in securing the best negotiation
possible (Estes, T. 2001).
John Jay, along with most Federalists, extended support to the Jay Treaty. A lot of
them thought the treaty acted as the sole solution to prevent another war with the Great
Britain. During that time, the U.S. was just starting as a newly built nation and a war would
certainly deteriorate it. James Madison opposed the Jay Treaty strongly under the
impression that it came with terms which favored the Great Britain greatly. He stated that
it further destabilized trade rights of America.
In a similar line of thought like President Washington, it is my opinion that even
though the Jay Treaty lacked in terms of better negotiation, it successfully avoided the
upcoming war and provided the U.S. with more than what they possessed beforehand. It is
my thought that the treaty did not favor Great Britain or provided the U.S. with a greater
inconvenience. Rather, it came up with more for America than for the British.
In conclusion, as the treaty was signed and approved, the British forces were needed
to evacuate the Northwest as was the instruction in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Boundaries
came into effect more strongly as a result of the treaty. As far as trading was concerned, the
British opened several of their ports in West Indies to the American ships (Benedict, M.L.
2006). With its controversies, the Jay Treaty did give our nation some semblance of
stability.
References:
Benedict, M.L. (2006). The blessings of liberty: A concise history of the Constitution of the
United States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Estes, T. (2001). The Art of Presidential Leadership: George Washington and the Jay Treaty.
The Virginia Magazine Of History And Biography, (2), 127.doi:10.2307/4249911
Farnham, T. J. (1967). The Virginia Amendments of 1795: An Episode in the Opposition to
Jay'Treaty. The Virginia Magazine Of History And Biography, (1), 75.doi:10.2307/4247282
Tagg, J. D. (1976). Benjamin Franklin Bache's Attack on George Washington. The
Pennsylvania Magazine Of History And Biography, (2), 191.doi:10.2307/20091053