Proclamation of Neutrality
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The Proclamation of Neutrality was a formal announcement issued by U.S. President George Washington on April 22, 1793, declaring the United States a neutral nation in the conflict between Great Britain and France that had begun with the French Revolution. It threatened legal proceedings against any American providing assistance to warring countries.
[edit] Background
At the time, it was a controversial decision. Some in Washington's cabinet, especially Thomas Jefferson, felt that it was the reciprocal duty of the U.S. to aid the French because they had aided the Americans with funds and troops in their secession from the British Empire, a result of the Franco-American Treaty of Alliance signed in 1778. Others, especially Alexander Hamilton, felt it was in the United States' best interest to side with Britain for the purpose of spurring economic trade. Washington eventually recognized those positions as a false dichotomy. He would do neither, thereby shielding the fledging U.S. from, in his view, unnecessary harm.
The Proclamation of Neutrality was a presidential decree, and as such merely expressed Washington's official opinion, strong and persuasive as it may have been. It did not constitute a law, because it had not been submitted to the Congress, and therefore was not legally enforceable. Washington appeased Jefferson's insistence by removing the word 'neutrality' from the document itself, but that action had no effect on its meaning or intent, nor on its destiny to be known as the Neutrality Proclamation.
[edit] References
- DeConde, Alexander. Entangling Alliance: Politics & Diplomacy under George Washington (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1974;1958); [ISBN 0837172322]
- Elkins, Stanley; McKitrick, Eric. The Age of Federalism (Oxford: 1993); [ISBN 0195068904].
- Frisch, Morton J. The Significance of the Pacificus [Alexander Hamilton]-Helvidius [James Madison] Debates: toward the Completion of the American Founding (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007); [ISBN 0865976899]. the primary source, containing the full texts of the Proclamation, Hamilton's formal defense, and each debate.
- Smith, Richard Norton. Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation (New York: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1993), esp. pp. 159-162; [ISBN 0395524423].
- Thomas, Charles Marion. American Neutrality in 1793; a Study in Cabinet Government (New York: AMS Press, 1967); [ISBN n/a].
[edit] External links
| United States Foreign Policy |  |
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| Presidential: Proclamation of Neutrality • Monroe Doctrine • Roosevelt Corollary • Truman Doctrine • Eisenhower Doctrine • Kennedy Doctrine • Johnson Doctrine • Nixon Doctrine • Carter Doctrine • Reagan Doctrine • Clinton Doctrine • Bush Doctrine
Other: Lodge Corollary • Containment • Domino theory • Rollback • Stimson Doctrine • Kirkpatrick Doctrine • Weinberger Doctrine • Powell Doctrine • Rumsfeld Doctrine • Wolfowitz Doctrine |
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