The Great Seal of the United States

Ch. 12: Foreign Affairs in the Young Republic E Pluribus Unum is Latin for “Out of many, One”. It is the national motto. Great Seal of the United States How many stars are there? The 13 Stars and Stripes represent the original 13 states. How many stripes are there? The bald eagle represents freedom and power. The olive branch symbolizes peace and shows our isolationism The arrows symbolize war showing Our involvement with worldly affairs. zes

Unfinished Pyramid “He has favored our undertaking” The pyramid stands for strength and endurance – the all seeing eye “A new order or way of the ages”

Foreign Policy “Foreign” means that it involves other nations or governments. A “policy” is a plan or course of action that a government intends to follow (one example – a policy of isolationism) Thus, “foreign policy” is a plan or course of action that a government follows when dealing with other parts of the world. Isolationism Involvement

The U.S. claimed less land in the Americas as its own than Britain or Spain, which both maintained large colonial empires in the New World.

George Washington He established the policy of isolationism during his presidency in an effort to keep our nation from being destroyed by foreign conflict.

Why a policy of “neutrality”? There are three main reasons why Washington followed a policy of neutrality (not taking sides in disputes between nations): 1. America had no standing army. 2. America was surrounded by unfriendly countries. 3. America couldn’t afford to get involved in Europe’s conflicts (i.e. the war between Britain and France)

How does a nation achieve “neutrality” How does a nation achieve “neutrality”? Answer: Follow a policy of Isolationism Washington established isolationism as the foundation of American foreign policy. Isolationism is a policy of avoiding political or military agreements with other nations. By not entering into agreements, the United States attempted to stay out of conflicts between other nations (It didn’t take sides).

John Adams’ Presidency President John Adams tried to follow Washington’s policy of neutrality.

John Adams Dilemma 1: What should Adams do to protect American ships?

The Jay Treaty French leaders hoped that Britain’s refusal to leave the Ohio Valley would lead to war between England and U.S. Adams sent Supreme Court Justice John Jay to London to settle things with the British. Britain was interfering with American trade ships and the U.S wanted to fix this problem which had been going on since the end of the Revolutionary War.

The Jay Treaty In the Jay treaty, the British finally agreed to pull out their troops from the Ohio Valley. Because the French felt this was a betrayal, they began attacking and seizing American merchant ships headed for Britain.

The XYZ Affair President Adams sent three envoys (representatives) to France to convince the French to stop their attacks on American ships.

The XYZ Affair French Foreign Minister Talleyrand refused to meet with the Americans. Instead, they were met by secret agents, known only as X, Y, and Z. The agents said that no peace talks would be held unless Talleyrand received a large sum of money as tribute (a bribe). The Americans were insulted by the demand.

The XYZ Affair Congress soon voted to recruit an army of 10,000 men and build 12 new ships for the nation’s tiny navy to capture 80 armed French ships. The slogan “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!” was heard everywhere as Americans prepared for war.

Solution: What Happened? President Adams pursues peace.

Adams Sends a Peace Mission to France By the time the peace mission arrived, Napoleon Bonaparte had taken over the French government and he was eager to make peace with both Britain and the U.S.

A Peace Agreement with France With Napoleon Bonaparte leading France, Adams was able to make a peace agreement. He agreed to end France’s alliance with the U.S. In exchange, France did not have to pay for all the American ships that it had seized. The U.S. gov’t. would have to pay American ship owners for their lost property.

John Adams Thomas Jefferson Federalist Democratic-Republican THE ELECTION OF 1800 Winner John Adams Thomas Jefferson Federalist Democratic-Republican

Thomas Jefferson Dilemma 2: How should President Jefferson deal with ship seizures, impressment and Piracy?

Ship Seizures Continue Unfortunately, France and Britain would soon be at war again and both sides would resume seizing American ships that were trading with their enemy. In addition, the British began kidnapping American sailors and forcing them to serve in the British navy, a practice known as impressment.

The British claimed that the men they impressed were British deserters (sailors that had left their military posts).

Piracy American ships were facing a different threat from the Barbary States of North Africa. The U.S. had paid these states over $2 million so that they could enter the Mediterranean sea and trade, yet they still demanded more! To show he was serious, the ruler of Tripoli declared war on the U.S.

Solution: What happened? Jefferson solves only half the problem