XYZ Affair

The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic scandal which took place from March of 1797 to 1800 in which three French agents, publicly referred to only as X, Y, and Z, demanded 50,000 pounds sterling, a $12 million loan from the United States, and a formal apology for comments made by U.S. President John Adams in return for further bilateral peace negotiations during a meeting with a three member American commission consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry in Paris. Several weeks prior to the meeting with X, Y, and Z, the American commission had met with French foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand to discuss French retaliation to the Jay Treaty, which they perceived as evidence of an Anglo-American alliance. The French seized nearly 300 American ships bound for British ports in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean Seas.

Related Topics:
Diplomatic - March - 1797 - 1800 - French - Sterling - United States - U.S. President - John Adams - Charles Cotesworth Pinckney - John Marshall - Elbridge Gerry - Paris - French foreign minister - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand - Jay Treaty - Anglo-American - British - Atlantic - Mediterranean - Caribbean Sea

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Sending Pinckney as part of the commission was a bold step by Adams as Franco-U.S. relations had recently worsened by Talleyrand's rejection of Pinckney as America's minister to France. The French continued to seize American ships, and the United States Federalist Party advocated going to war.

Related Topics:
Franco-U.S. relations - United States Federalist Party

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The American delegates found this bribery unacceptable and to this demand, the American delegates had actually answered "Not a sixpence," but in the inflated rhetoric of the day the response became the infinitely more memorable: "Millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute!" Recent evidence suggests that this slogan was not widely adopted.

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The U.S. offered France many of the same provisions found in Jay's Treaty with Britain, but France reacted by deporting Marshall and Pinckney back to the United States, refusing any proposal that would involve these two delegates. Gerry remained in France, thinking he could prevent a declaration of war, but did not officially negotiate any further.

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President Adams released the report of the affair a month later resulting in passionate anti-French sentiment. In 1798, a declaration of war was narrowly, and only temporarily, avoided by Adams' diplomacy; specifically by appointing new diplomats including William Murray to handle the growing conflict. However, despite the lack of a formal declaration of war, continued French raids against American merchantmen led to the abrogation of the Franco-American Alliance in the Quasi-War (July 7, 1798-1800). Adams again sent negotiators on January 18, 1799, which eventually negotiated an end to hostilities through the Treaty of Mortefontaine. During negotiations with France, the U.S. began to build up its navy, a move long supported by Adams and Marshall, to defend against both the French and the British. In addition, in a speech delivered on July 16, 1797, Adams championed the formulation of a navy and army while emphasizing the importance of renewing treaties with Prussia and Sweden.

Related Topics:
1798 - William Murray - Franco-American Alliance - Quasi-War - July 7 - 1800 - January 18 - 1799 - Treaty of Mortefontaine - Navy - July 16 - Prussia - Sweden

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