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Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
What is this article about?
A 1797 letter to the Columbian Centinel confirms details from a 1791 French publication about French minister Vergennes' attempts during 1783 peace talks to restrict US independence and western territories, opposed firmly by American envoys Jay and Adams in Paris.
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MR. RUSSELL,
AS some facts asserted by the Secretary of State, in his letter to Mr. Pinckney, of January 16th, 1797, are denied in a publication in the Gazette National, or Moniteur Universel, a translation of which appeared in the Centinel of Aug. 23d, I send you an extract, copied verbatim, from an English impression of a work of the late M. Briot, published in Paris, in the year 1791; which confirms the truth of what the writer in the French paper, above-mentioned, is pleased to call, "an accusation as false as it is wicked."
Yours, Z. A. Y. A.
"At the time," says he, "when the different powers were establishing the basis of the peace of 1783, M. Vergennes, actuated by private views, wanted to persuade the ambassadors from the congress, to confine themselves to their fisheries, and renounce the western territory; that is, an extensive and fertile country beyond the Alleghanies. This minister particularly insisted that the independence of America should not be one of the fundamental principles of the treaty, but merely contingent. To succeed in this project, it was necessary to gain over Messrs. Jay and Adams. Mr. Jay declared that he would sacrifice his life sooner than sign such conditions; that the Americans fought for their independence, and that they would not lay down their arms until it was completely obtained: that the court of France had acknowledged it, and could not consistently recall the avowal. Mr. Jay did not find it difficult to hold Mr. Adams in the same opinion; nor could M. Vergennes ever subdue his inflexibility."
N. B. The reader will recollect, that Mr. Pickering mentions in his letter to Mr. Pinckney, that ". . . for some time Dr. Franklin and Mr. Jay, were alone at Paris." The contest had begun between Mr. Jay and M. Vergennes, before Mr. Adams reached Paris; but it appears that he and his colleague Mr. Jay, were equally firm in supporting the interests of the United States.
Sept. 1, 1797.
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Paris
Event Date
Peace Of 1783
Key Persons
Outcome
us envoys jay and adams firmly resisted vergennes' proposals to limit american independence and western territory claims, maintaining full independence as a fundamental treaty principle.
Event Details
During the 1783 peace negotiations, French minister M. Vergennes sought to persuade US ambassadors to restrict their fisheries, renounce western territories beyond the Alleghanies, and treat American independence as contingent rather than fundamental. Mr. Jay and Mr. Adams opposed this inflexibly, with Jay declaring he would not sign such conditions and emphasizing France's prior acknowledgment of independence. The contest began before Adams arrived, and both stood firm with Franklin alone initially in Paris.