The Jay Treaty called the “Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation” was signed
at London on 19 November 1794 and was submitted to the United States Senate
on June 8 with a Resolution of advice and consent on June 24, 1795.
The United States ratified it on August 14 followed
by Great Britain on October 28 at London.
The Jay Treaty was proclaimed on 29 February 1796.
This is the entire treaty:
Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation,
between His Britannic Majesty;
and The United States of America,
by Their President, with the advice
and consent of Their Senate
His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America,
being desirous by a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and
Navigation to terminate their Differences in such a manner,
as without reference to the Merits of Their respective
Complaints and Pretensions, may be the best calculated
to produce mutual satisfaction and good understanding:
And also to regulate the Commerce and Navigation
between Their respective Countries, Territories and People,
in such a manner as to render the same reciprocally
beneficial and satisfactory; they have respectively named
their Plenipotentiaries, and given them Full powers to treat
of, and conclude, the said Treaty, that is to say;
His Britannic Majesty has named for His Plenipotentiary,
The Right Honorable William Wyndham Baron Grenville
of Wotton, One of His Majesty’s Privy Council, and His
Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;
and The President of the said United States, by and with
the advice and Consent of the Senate thereof,
hath appointed for Their Plenipotentiary The Honorable
John Jay, Chief Justice of the said United States
and Their Envoy Extraordinary to His Majesty,
who have agreed on, and concluded the following Articles:ARTICLE 1
There shall be a firm inviolable and universal Peace,
and a true and sincere Friendship between His Britannic
Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, and the United States
of America; and between their respective Countries,
Territories, Cities, Towns and People of every Degree,
without Exception of Persons or Places.ARTICLE 2
His Majesty will withdraw all His Troops and Garrisons
from all Posts and Places within the Boundary Lines
assigned by the Treaty of Peace to the United States.
This Evacuation shall take place on or before the first Day
of June One thousand seven hundred and ninety six,
and all the proper Measures shall in the interval be taken
by concert between the Government of the United States,
and His Majesty’s Governor General in America,
for settling the previous arrangements which may be
necessary respecting the delivery of the said Posts:
The United States in the mean Time at Their discretion
extending their settlements to any part within the said
boundary line, except within the precincts or Jurisdiction
of any of the said Posts.
All Settlers and Traders, within the Precincts or Jurisdiction
of the said Posts, shall continue to enjoy,
unmolested, all their property of every kind,
and shall be protected therein.
They shall be at full liberty to remain there,
or to remove with all or any part of their Effects;
and it shall also be free to them to sell their Lands, Houses,
or Effects, or to retain the property thereof,
at their discretion; such of them as shall continue to reside
within the said Boundary Lines shall not be compelled
to become Citizens of the United States, or to take any Oath
of allegiance to the Government thereof, but they shall be
at full liberty so to do, if they think proper, and they shall
make and declare their Election
within one year after the Evacuation aforesaid.
And all persons who shall continue there after the expiration
of the said year, without having declared their intention
of remaining Subjects of His Britannic Majesty,
shall be considered as having elected
to become Citizens of the United States.ARTICLE 3
It is agreed that it shall at all Times be free to His
Majesty’s Subjects, and to the Citizens of the United States,
and also to the Indians dwelling on either side of the said
Boundary Line freely to pass and repass by Land, or Inland
Navigation, into the respective Territories and Countries
of the Two Parties on the Continent of America
(the Country within the Limits of the Hudson’s Bay Company
only excepted) and to navigate all the Lakes, Rivers, and
waters thereof, and freely to carry on
trade and commerce with each other.
But it is understood, that this Article does not extend to the
admission of Vessels of the United States into the Sea Ports,
Harbors, Bays, or Creeks of His Majesty’s said Territories;
nor into such parts of the Rivers in His Majesty’s said
Territories as are between the mouth thereof, and the
highest Port of Entry from the Sea, except in small vessels
trading bona fide between Montreal and Quebec, under such
regulations as shall be established to prevent
the possibility of any Frauds in this respect.
Nor to the admission of British vessels from the Sea into
the Rivers of the United States, beyond the highest Ports
of Entry for Foreign Vessels from the Sea.
The River Mississippi, shall however, according to the
Treaty of Peace be entirely open to both Parties; and it is
further agreed, That all the ports and places on its Eastern
side, to whichsoever of the parties belonging, may freely be
resorted to, and used by both parties, in as ample a manner
as any of the Atlantic Ports or Places of the United States,
or any of the Ports or Places of His Majesty in Great Britain.
All Goods and Merchandize whose Importation into His
Majesty’s said Territories in America, shall not be entirely
prohibited, may freely, for the purposes of Commerce,
be carried into the same in the manner aforesaid,
by the Citizens of the United States, and such Goods
and Merchandize shall be subject to no higher
or other Duties than would be payable
by His Majesty’s Subjects on the Importation
of the same from Europe into the said Territories.
And in like manner, all Goods and Merchandize whose
Importation into the United States shall not be wholly
prohibited, may freely, for the purposes of Commerce,
be carried into the same, in the manner aforesaid,
by His Majesty’s Subjects, and such Goods and
Merchandize shall be subject to no higher or other Duties
than would be payable by the Citizens of the United States
on the Importation of the same in American Vessels
into the Atlantic Ports of the said States.
And all Goods not prohibited to be exported
from the said Territories respectively,
may in like manner be carried out of the same
by the Two Parties respectively, paying Duty as aforesaid.
No Duty of Entry shall ever be levied by either Party
on Peltries brought by Land, or Inland Navigation
into the said Territories respectively,
nor shall the Indians passing or repassing with
their own proper Goods and Effects of whatever nature,
pay for the same any Impost or Duty whatever.
But Goods in Bales, or other large Packages
unusual among Indians shall not be considered
as Goods belonging bona fide to Indians.
No higher or other Tolls or Rates of Ferriage than what are,
or shall be payable by Natives, shall be demanded on either
side; and no Duties shall be payable on any Goods which
shall merely be carried over any of the Portages, or carrying
Places on either side, for the purpose of being immediately
reimbarked, and carried to some other Place or Places.
But as by this Stipulation it is only meant to secure to each
Party a free passage across the Portages on both sides,
it is agreed, that this Exemption from Duty shall extend only
to such Goods as are carried in the usual and direct Road
across the Portage, and are not attempted to be in any
manner sold or exchanged during their passage across
the same, and proper Regulations may be established
to prevent the possibility of any Frauds in this respect.
As this Article is intended to render in a great Degree
the local advantages of each Party common to both,
and thereby to promote a disposition favorable to
Friendship and good neighborhood, it is agreed, that
the respective Governments will mutually promote
this amicable Intercourse, by causing speedy and
impartial Justice to be done, and necessary protection
to be extended, to all who may be concerned therein.ARTICLE 4
Whereas it is uncertain whether the River Mississippi
extends so far to the Northward as to be intersected
by a Line to be drawn due West from the Lake of the woods
in the manner mentioned in the Treaty of Peace between
His Majesty and the United States, it is agreed, that
measures shall be taken in Concert between His Majesty’s
Government in America, and the Government of the
United States, for making a joint Survey of the said River,
from one Degree of Latitude below the falls of St Anthony to
the principal Source or Sources of the said River, and also of
the parts adjacent thereto, and that if on the result of such
Survey it should appear that the said River would not be
intersected by such a Line as is above mentioned;
The two Parties will thereupon proceed by amicable
negotiation to regulate the Boundary Line in that quarter
as well as all other Points to be adjusted between the
said Parties, according to Justice and mutual Convenience,
and in Conformity, to the Intent of the said Treaty.ARTICLE 5
Whereas doubts have arisen what River was truly
intended under the name of the River St. Croix
mentioned in the said Treaty of Peace and forming
a part of the boundary therein described, that question
shall be referred to the final Decision of Commissioners
to be appointed in the following Manner-Viz-
One Commissioner shall be named by His Majesty,
and one by the President of the United States,
by and with the advice and Consent of the Senate thereof,
and the said two Commissioners shall agree on the choice
of a third, or, if they cannot so agree, They shall
each propose one Person, and of the two names
so proposed one shall be drawn by Lot,
in the presence of the two original Commissioners.
And the three Commissioners so appointed shall be
Sworn impartially to examine and decide the said question
according to such Evidence as shall respectively be laid
before Them on the part of the British Government
and of the United States.
The said Commissioners shall meet at Halifax
and shall have power to adjourn to such
other place or places as they shall think fit.
They shall have power to appoint a Secretary,
and to employ such Surveyors or other
Persons as they shall judge necessary.
The said Commissioners shall by a Declaration
under their Hands and Seals, decide what River
is the River St Croix intended by the Treaty.
The said Declaration shall contain a description
of the said River, and shall particularize the Latitude
and Longitude of its mouth and of its Source.
Duplicates of this Declaration and of the State
meets of their Accounts, and of the Journal
of their proceedings, shall be delivered by them
to the Agent of His Majesty, and to the Agent
of the United States, who may be respectively
appointed and authorized to manage the business
on behalf of the respective Governments.
And both parties agree to consider such decision
as final and conclusive, so as that the same shall
never thereafter be called into question, or made
the subject of dispute or difference between them.ARTICLE 6
Whereas it is alleged by divers British Merchants and
others His Majesty’s Subjects, that Debts to a considerable
amount which were bona fide contracted before the Peace,
still remain owing to them by Citizens or Inhabitants of the
United States, and that by the operation of various lawful
Impediments since the Peace, not only the full recovery of
the said Debts has been delayed, but also the Value and
Security thereof, have been in several instances impaired
and lessened, so that by the ordinary course of Judicial
proceedings the British Creditors, cannot now obtain and
actually have and receive full and adequate Compensation
for the losses and damages which they have thereby
sustained: It is agreed that in all such Cases where full
Compensation for such losses and damages cannot, for
whatever reason, be actually obtained had and received by
the said Creditors in the ordinary course of Justice,
The United States will make full and complete
Compensation for the same to the said Creditors;
But it is distinctly understood, that this provision is
to extend to such losses only, as have been occasioned
by the lawful impediment aforesaid, and is not to extend
to losses occasioned by such Insolvency of the Debtors
or other Causes as would equally have operated
to produce such loss, if the said impediments
had not existed, nor to such losses or damages
as have been occasioned by the manifest delay
or negligence, or willful omission of the Claimant.
For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any such
losses and damages, Five Commissioners shall be appointed
and authorized to meet and act in manner following-viz-
Two of them shall be appointed by His Majesty,
Two of them by the President of the United States
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof,
and the fifth, by the unanimous voice of the other Four;
and if they should not agree in such Choice,
then the Commissioners named by the two parties
shall respectively propose one person,
and of the two names so proposed, shall be drawn
by Lot in the presence of the Four Original Commissioners.
When the Five Commissioners thus appointed shall first meet,
they shall before they proceed to act respectively,
take the following Oath or Affirmation in the presence
of each other, which Oath or Affirmation, being so taken,
and duly attested, shall be entered on the Record of their
Proceedings, -viz.- I. A: B: One of the Commissioners
appointed in pursuance of the 6th Article of the
Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between
His Britannic Majesty and The United States of America,
do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will honestly,
diligently, impartially, and carefully examine, and
to the best of my Judgement, according to Justice
and Equity decide all such Complaints, as under the said
Article shall be preferred to the said Commissioners:
and that I will forbear to act as a Commissioner
in any Case in which I may be personally interested.
Three of the said Commissioners shall constitute a Board,
and shall have power to do any act appertaining to the said
Commission, provided that one of the Commissioners named
on each side, and the Fifth Commissioner shall be present,
and all decisions shall be made by the Majority
of the Voices of the Commissioners then present.
Eighteen Months from the Day on which the said
Commissioners shall form a Board, and be ready
to proceed to Business are assigned for receiving
Complaints and applications, but they are nevertheless
authorized in any particular Cases in which
it shall appear to them to be reasonable and just
to extend the said Term of Eighteen Months, for any term
not exceeding Six Months after the expiration thereof.
The said Commissioners shall first meet at Philadelphia,
but they shall have power to adjourn
from Place to Place as they shall see Cause.
The said Commissioners in examining the Complaints
and applications so preferred to them, are impowered
and required in pursuance of the true intent and meaning
of this article to take into their Consideration all claims
whether of principal or interest, or balances of principal
and interest, and to determine the same respectively
according to the merits of the several Cases,
due regard being had to all the Circumstances thereof,
and as Equity and Justice shall appear to them to require.
And the said Commissioners shall have power to examine
all such Persons as shall come before them on Oath
or Affirmation touching the premises; and also
to receive in Evidence according as they may think
most consistent with Equity and Justice all written positions,
or Books or Papers, or Copies or Extracts thereof.
Every such Deposition, Book or Paper or Copy
or Extract being duly authenticated either according
to the legal Forms now respectively existing in the two
Countries, or in such other manner as the said
Commissioners shall see cause to require or allow.
The award of the said Commissioners or
of any three of them as aforesaid shall in all Cases
be final and conclusive both as to the Justice
of the Claim, and to the amount of the Sum
to be paid to the Creditor or Claimant.
And the United States undertake to cause the Sum
so awarded to be paid in Specie to such Creditor
or Claimant without deduction; and at such Time or Times,
and at such Place or Places, as shall be awarded
by the said Commissioners, and on Condition
of such Releases or assignments to be given
by the Creditor or Claimant as by the said Commissioners
may be directed; Provided always that no such payment
shall be fixed by the said Commissioners to take place
sooner than twelve months from the Day
of the Exchange of the Ratifications of this Treaty.ARTICLE 7
Whereas Complaints have been made by divers Merchants
and others, Citizens of the United States,
that during the course of the War in which His Majesty
is now engaged they have sustained considerable losses
and damage by reason of irregular or illegal Captures
or Condemnations of their vessels and other property
under Color of authority or Commissions from His Majesty,
and that from various Circumstances belonging to the said
Cases adequate Compensation for the losses and damages
so sustained cannot now be actually obtained, had and
received by the ordinary Course of Judicial proceedings;
It is agreed that in all such Cases where adequate
Compensation cannot for whatever reason be now actually
obtained, had and received by the said Merchants and
others in the ordinary course of Justice, full and Complete
Compensation for the same will be made
by the British Government to the said Complainants.
But it is distinctly understood, that this provision
is not to extend to such losses or damages
as have been occasioned by the manifest delay
or negligence, or willful omission of the Claimant.
That for the purpose of ascertaining the amount
of any such losses and damages Five Commissioners
shall be appointed and authorized to act in London
exactly in the manner directed with respect to those
mentioned in the preceding Article, and after having taken
the same Oath or Affirmation (mutatis mutandis).
The same term of Eighteen Months is also assigned
for the reception of Claims, and they are in like manner
authorized to extend the same in particular Cases.
They shall receive Testimony, Books, Papers and Evidence
in the same latitude, and exercise the like discretion,
and powers respecting that subject, and shall decide the
Claims in question, according to the merits of the several
Cases, and to Justice Equity and the Laws of Nations.
The award of the said Commissioners or any such three of
them as aforesaid, shall in all Cases be final and conclusive
both as to the Justice of the Claim and the amount of the
Sum to be paid to the Claimant; and His Britannic Majesty
undertakes to cause the same to be paid to such Claimant in
Specie, without any Deduction, at such place or places, and
at such Time or Times as shall be awarded by the said
Commissioners and on Condition of such releases or
assignments to be given by the Claimant,
as by the said Commissioners may be directed.
And whereas certain merchants and others,
His Majesty’s Subjects, complain that in the course
of the war they have sustained Loss and Damage
by reason of the Capture of their Vessels and Merchandize
taken within the Limits and Jurisdiction of the States,
and brought into the Ports of the same, or taken
by Vessels originally armed in Ports of the said States:
It is agreed that in all such cases where Restitution
shall not have been made agreeably to the tenor
of the letter from Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Hammond
dated at Philadelphia September 5th 1793.
A Copy of which is annexed to this Treaty, the Complaints
of the parties shall be, and hereby are referred to the
Commissioners to be appointed by virtue of this article,
who are hereby authorized and required to proceed
in the like manner relative to these as to the other Cases
committed to them, and the United States undertake to pay
to the Complainants or Claimants in specie without deduction
the amount of such Sums as shall be awarded to them
respectively by the said Commissioners and at the times
and places which in such awards shall be specified,
and on Condition of such Releases or assignments
to be given by the Claimants as in the said awards
may be directed: And it is further agreed that
not only to be now existing Cases of both descriptions,
but also all such as shall exist at the Time, of exchanging
the Ratifications of this Treaty shall be considered as being
within the provisions intent and meaning of this article.ARTICLE 8
It is further agreed that the Commissioners mentioned
in this and in the two preceding articles shall be respectively
paid in such manner, as shall be agreed between the two
parties, such agreement being to be settled at the Time
of the exchange of the Ratifications of this Treaty.
And all other Expenses attending the said Commissions
shall be defrayed jointly by the Two Parties,
the same being previously ascertained and
allowed by the Majority of the Commissioners.
And in the case of Death, Sickness or necessary absence,
the place of every such Commissioner respectively, shall be
supplied in the same manner as such Commissioner was
first appointed, and the new Commissioners shall take the
same Oath, or Affirmation, and do the same Duties.ARTICLE 9
It is agreed, that British Subjects who now hold Lands
in the Territories of the United States, and American Citizens
who now hold Lands in the Dominions of His Majesty,
shall continue to hold them according to the nature
and Tenure of their respective Estates and Titles therein,
and may grant Sell or Devise the same to whom
they please, in like manner as if they were Natives;
and that neither they nor their Heirs or assigns shall,
so far as may respect the said Lands, be and the legal
remedies incident thereto, be regarded as Aliens.ARTICLE 10
Neither the Debts due from Individuals of the one Nation,
to Individuals of the other, nor shares nor monies,
which they may have in the public Funds, or in the public
or private Banks shall ever, in any Event of war,
or national differences, be sequestered, or confiscated,
it being unjust and impolitic that Debts and Engagements
contracted and made by Individuals having confidence
in each other, and in their respective Governments,
should ever be destroyed or impaired by national authority,
on account of national Differences and Discontents.ARTICLE 11
It is agreed between His Majesty and the United States of
America, that there shall be a reciprocal and entirely perfect
Liberty of Navigation and Commerce, between their
respective People, in the manner, under the Limitations,
and on the Conditions specified in the following Articles.ARTICLE 12
His Majesty Consents that it shall and may be lawful,
during the time hereinafter Limited, for the Citizens
of the United States, to carry to any of His Majesty’s Islands
and Ports in the West Indies from the United States
in their own Vessels, not being above the burthen
of Seventy Tons, any Goods or Merchandizes,
being of the Growth, Manufacture, or Produce
of the said States, which it is, or may be lawful to carry
to the said Islands or Ports from the said States
in British Vessels, and that the said American Vessels
shall be subject there to no other or higher Tonnage Duties
or Charges, than shall be payable by British Vessels,
in the Ports of the United States; and that the Cargoes
of the said American Vessels, shall be subject there
to no other or higher Duties or Charges,
than shall be payable on the like Articles,
if imported there from the said States in British vessels.
And His Majesty also consents that it shall be lawful
for the said American Citizens to purchase, load and carry
away, in their said vessels to the United States from the said
Islands and Ports, all such articles being of the Growth,
Manufacture or Produce of the said Islands, as may now
by Law be carried from thence to the said States in British
Vessels, and subject only to the same Duties and Charges
on Exportation to which British Vessels and their Cargoes
are or shall be subject in similar circumstances.
Provided always that the said American vessels
do carry and land their Cargoes in the United States only,
it being expressly agreed and declared that during the
Continuance of this article, the United States will prohibit
and restrain the carrying any Molasses, Sugar, Coffee,
Cocoa or Cotton in American vessels, either from
His Majesty’s Islands or from the United States,
to any part of the World, except the United States,
reasonable Sea Stores excepted.
Provided also, that it shall and may be lawful
during the same period for British vessels to import
from the said Islands into the United States,
and to export from the United States to the said Islands,
all Articles whatever being of the Growth, Produce
or Manufacture of the said Islands, or of the United States
respectively, which now may, by the Laws
of the said States, be so imported and exported.
And that the Cargoes of the said British vessels,
shall be subject to no other or higher Duties or Charges,
than shall be payable on the same articles
if so imported or exported in American Vessels.
It is agreed that this Article, and every Matter and Thing
therein contained, shall continue to be in Force,
during the Continuance of the war in which His Majesty
is now engaged; and also for Two years from and after
the Day of the signature of the Preliminary or other
Articles of Peace by which the same may be terminated.
And it is further agreed that at the expiration of the said
Term, the Two Contracting Parties will endeavor further
to regulate their Commerce in this respect, according
to the situation in which His Majesty may then find Himself
with respect to the West Indies, and with a view
to such Arrangements, as may best conduce
to the mutual advantage and extension of Commerce.
And the said Parties will then also renew their discussions,
and endeavor to agree, whether in any and what cases
Neutral Vessels shall protect Enemy’s property;
and in what cases provisions and other articles
not generally Contraband may become such.
But in the meantime their Conduct towards each other
in these respects, shall be regulated by the articles
hereinafter inserted on those subjects.ARTICLE 13
His Majesty consents that the Vessels belonging to the
Citizens of the United States of America, shall be admitted
and Hospitably received in all the Sea Ports and Harbors
of the British Territories in the East Indies:
and that the Citizens of the said United States, may freely
carry on a Trade between the said Territories and the said
United States, in all articles of which the Importation
or Exportation respectively to or from the said Territories,
shall not be entirely prohibited; Provided only,
that it shall not be lawful for them in any time of War
between the British Government, and any other Power
or State whatever, to export from the said Territories
without the special Permission of the British Government
there, any Military Stores, or Naval Stores, or Rice.
The Citizens of the United States shall pay for their Vessels
when admitted into the said Ports, no other or higher
Tonnage Duty than shall be payable on British Vessels
when admitted into the Ports of the United States.
And they shall pay no other or higher Duties or Charges
on the importation or exportation of the Cargoes of the said
Vessels, than shall be payable on the same articles
when imported or exported in British Vessels.
But it is expressly agreed, that the Vessels of the
United States shall not carry any of the articles exported
by them from the said British Territories to any Port
or Place, except to some Port or Place in America,
where the same shall be unladen, and such Regulations
shall be adopted by both Parties, as shall from time to time
be found necessary to enforce the due and faithful!
observance of this Stipulation: It is also understood that
the permission granted by this article is not to extend
to allow the Vessels of the United States to carry on any
part of the Coasting Trade of the said British Territories,
but Vessels going with their original Cargoes, or part
thereof, from one port of discharge to another,
are not to be considered as carrying on the Coasting Trade.
Neither is this Article to be construed to allow the Citizens
of the said States to settle or reside within the said
Territories, or to go into the interior parts thereof,
without the permission of the British Government
established there; and if any transgression should be
attempted against the Regulations of the British Government
in this respect, the observance of the same shall
and may be enforced against the Citizens of America
in the same manner as against British Subjects,
or others transgressing the same rule.
And the Citizens of the United States, whenever
they arrive in any Port or Harbor in the said Territories,
or if they should be permitted in manner aforesaid,
to go to any other place therein, shall always be subject
to the Laws, Government and Jurisdiction, of what nature,
established in such Harbor, Port or Place according
as the same may be: The Citizens of the United States,
may also touch for refreshment, at the Island of st Helena,
but subject in all respects to such regulations, as the
British Government may from time to time establish there.ARTICLE 14
There shall be between all the Dominions of His Majesty
in Europe, and the Territories of the United States, a
reciprocal and perfect liberty of Commerce and Navigation.
The people and Inhabitants of the Two Countries
respectively, shall have liberty, freely and securely,
and without hindrance and molestation, to come with their
Ships and Cargoes to the Lands, Countries, Cities, Ports
Places and Rivers within the Dominions and Territories
aforesaid, to enter into the same, to resort there,
and to remain and reside there, without any limitation
of Time: also to hire and possess, Houses and ware houses
for the purposes of their Commerce; and generally the
Merchants and Traders on each side, shall enjoy the most
complete protection and Security for their Commerce;
but subject always, as to what respects this article, to the
Laws and Statutes of the Two Countries respectively.
ARTICLE 15
It is agreed, that no other or higher Duties shall be
Paid by the Ships or Merchandize of the one Party
in the Ports of the other, than such as are paid
by the like vessels or Merchandize of all other Nations.
Nor shall any other or higher Duty be imposed
in one Country on the importation of any articles,
the growth, produce, or manufacture of the other,
than are or shall be payable on the importation
of the like articles being of the growth, produce
or manufacture of any other Foreign Country.
Nor shall any prohibition be imposed, on the exportation
or importation of any articles to or from the Territories
of the Two Parties respectively which
shall not equally extend to all other Nations.
But the British Government reserves to itself the right
of imposing on American Vessels entering into the British
Ports in Europe a Tonnage Duty, equal to that which
shall be payable by British Vessels in the Ports of America:
And also such Duty as may be adequate to countervail
the difference of Duty now payable on the importation
of European and Asiatic Goods when imported into
the United States in British or in American Vessels.
The Two Parties agree to treat for the more exact
equalization of the Duties on the respective Navigation
of their Subjects and People in such manner
as may be most beneficial to the two Countries.
The arrangements for this purpose shall be made
at the same time with those mentioned
at the Conclusion of the 12th Article of this Treaty,
and are to be considered as a part thereof.
In the interval it is agreed, that the United States
will not impose any new or additional Tonnage Duties
on British Vessels, nor increase the now subsisting
difference between the Duties payable on the importation
of any articles in British or in American Vessels.ARTICLE 16
It shall be free for the Two Contracting Parties
respectively, to appoint Consuls for the protection of Trade,
to reside in the Dominions and Territories aforesaid;
and the said Consuls shall enjoy those Liberties and Rights
which belong to them by reason of their Function.
But before any Consul shall act as such, he shall be in the
usual forms approved and admitted by the party to whom
he is sent, and it is hereby declared to be lawful and proper,
that in case of illegal or improper Conduct towards the Laws
or Government, a Consul may either be punished according
to Law, if the Laws will reach the Case, or be dismissed
or even sent back, the offended Government
assigning to the other, Their reasons for the same.
Either of the Parties may except from the residence
of Consuls such particular Places,
as such party shall judge proper to be so excepted.ARTICLE 17
It is agreed that, in all Cases where Vessels shall be
captured or detained on just suspicion of having
on board Enemy’s property or of carrying to the Enemy,
any of the articles which are Contraband of war;
The said Vessel shall be brought to the nearest
or most convenient Port, and if any property of an Enemy,
should be found on board such Vessel, that part only
which belongs to the Enemy shall be made prize,
and the Vessel shall be at liberty to proceed
with the remainder without any Impediment.
And it is agreed that all proper measures shall be taken
to prevent delay, in deciding the Cases of Ships or Cargoes
so brought in for adjudication, and in the payment
or recovery of any Indemnification adjudged or agreed
to be paid to the masters or owners of such Ships.ARTICLE 18
In order to regulate what is in future to be esteemed
Contraband of war, it is agreed that under the said
Denomination shall be comprised all Arms and Implements
serving for the purposes of war by Land or Sea;
such as Cannon, Muskets, Mortars, Petards, Bombs,
Grenades Carcasses, Saucisses, Carriages for Cannon,
Musket rests, Bandoliers, Gunpowder, Match, Saltpeter,
Ball, Pikes, Swords, Headpieces, Cuirasses, Halberds,
Lances Javelins, Horse furniture, Holsters, Belts and,
generally all other Implements of war, as also Timber for
Ship building, Tar or Rosin, Copper in Sheets, Sails, Hemp,
and Cordage, and generally whatever may serve directly
to the equipment of Vessels, unwrought Iron and Fir planks
only excepted, and all the above articles are hereby
declared to be just objects of Confiscation, whenever
they are attempted to be carried to an Enemy.
And Whereas the difficulty of agreeing on the precise
Cases in which alone Provisions and other articles
not generally contraband may be regarded as such,
renders it expedient to provide against the inconveniences
and misunderstandings which might thence arise:
It is further agreed that whenever any such articles
so becoming Contraband according to the existing
Laws of Nations, shall for that reason be seized,
the same shall not be confiscated, but the owners
thereof shall be speedily and completely indemnified;
and the Captors, or in their default the Government
under whose authority they act, shall pay
to the Masters or Owners of such Vessels
the full value of all such Articles, with a reasonable
mercantile Profit thereon, together with the Freight,
and also the Demurrage incident to such Detention.
And Whereas it frequently happens that vessels sail
for a Port or Place belonging to an Enemy, without knowing
that the same is either besieged, blockaded or invested;
It is agreed, that every Vessel so circumstanced
may be turned away from such Port or Place,
but she shall not be detained, nor her Cargo,
if not Contraband, be confiscated; unless after notice
she shall again attempt to enter; but She shall be permitted
to go to any other Port or Place She may think proper:
Nor shall any vessel or Goods of either party,
that may have entered into such Port or Place
before the same was besieged, block aced or invested
by the other, and be found therein after the reduction
or surrender of such place, be liable to confiscation,
but shall be restored to the Owners or proprietors thereof.ARTICLE 19
And that more abundant Care may be taken for the
security of the respective Subjects and Citizens of the
Contracting Parties, and to prevent their suffering Injuries
by the Men of war, or Privateers of either Party,
all Commanders of Ships of war and Privateers
and all others the said Subjects and Citizens shall forbear
doing any Damage to those of the other party,
or committing any Outrage against them,
and if they act to the contrary, they shall be punished,
and shall also be bound in their Persons and Estates to make
satisfaction and reparation for all Damages, and the interest
thereof, of whatever nature the said Damages may be.
For this cause all Commanders of Privateers before they
receive their Commissions shall hereafter be obliged to give
before a Competent Judge, sufficient security by at least
Two responsible Sureties, who have no interest in the
said Privateer, each of whom, together with the said
Commander, shall be jointly and severally bound in the
Sum of Fifteen hundred pounds Sterling, or if such Ships
be provided with above One hundred and fifty Seamen
or Soldiers, in the Sum of Three thousand pounds sterling,
to satisfy all Damages and Injuries, which the said Privateer
or her Officers or Men, or any of them may do or commit
during their Cruise contrary to the tenor of this Treaty,
or to the Laws and Instructions for regulating their Conduct;
and further that in all Cases of Aggressions
the said Commissions shall be revoked and annulled.
It is also agreed that whenever a Judge of a Court of
Admiralty of either of the Parties, shall pronounce sentence
against any Vessel or Goods or Property belonging to the
Subjects or Citizens of the other Party a formal and duly
authenticated Copy of all the proceedings in the Cause,
and of the said Sentence, shall if required be delivered to
the Commander of the said Vessel, without the smallest
delay, he paying all legal Fees and Demands for the same.ARTICLE 20
It is further agreed that both the said Contracting Parties,
shall not only refuse to receive any Pirates into any of their
Ports, Havens, or Towns, or permit any of their Inhabitants
to receive, protect, harbor conceal or assist them in any
manner, but will bring to condign punishment all such
Inhabitants as shall be guilty of such Acts or offences.
And all their Ships with the Goods or Merchandizes taken
by them and brought into the port of either of the said
Parties, shall be seized, as far as they can be discovered
and shall be restored to the owners or their Factors or
Agents duly deputed and authorized in writing by them
(proper Evidence being first given in the Court of Admiralty
for proving the property,) even in case such effects should
have passed into other hands by Sale, if it be proved that
the Buyers knew or had good reason to believe,
or suspect that they had been piratically taken.ARTICLE 21
It is likewise agreed that the Subjects and Citizens
of the Two Nations, shall not do any acts of Hostility
or Violence against each other, nor accept Commissions
or Instructions so to act from any Foreign Prince or State,
Enemies to the other party, nor shall the Enemies
of one of the parties be permitted to invite or endeavor
to enlist in their military service any of the Subjects
or Citizens of the other party; and the Laws against all such
Offences and Aggressions shall be punctually executed.
And if any Subject or Citizen of the said Parties respectively
shall accept any Foreign Commission or Letters of Marque
for Arming any Vessel to act as a Privateer
against the other party, and be taken by the other party,
it is hereby declared to be lawful for the said party
to treat and punish the said Subject or Citizen, having such
Commission or Letters of Marque as a Pirate.ARTICLE 22
It is expressly stipulated that neither of the said
Contracting Parties will order or Authorize any Acts
of Reprisal against the other on Complaints of Injuries
or Damages until the said party shall first have presented
to the other a Statement thereof,
verified by competent proof and Evidence,
and demanded Justice and Satisfaction, and the same
shall either have been refused or unreasonably delayed.ARTICLE 23.
The Ships of war of each of the Contracting Parties,
shall at all times be hospitably received in the Ports
of the other, their Officers and Crews paying due respect
to the Laws and Government of the Country.
The officers shall be treated with that respect,
which is due to the Commissions which they bear.
And if any Insult should be offered to them by any
of the Inhabitants, all offenders in this respect
shall be punished as Disturbers of the Peace
and Amity between the Two Countries.
And His Majesty consents, that in case an American
Vessel should by stress of weather, Danger from Enemies,
or other misfortune be reduced to the necessity of seeking
Shelter in any of His Majesty’s Ports, into which such
Vessel could not in ordinary cases claim to be admitted;
She shall on manifesting that necessity to the satisfaction
of the Government of the place, be hospitably received,
and be permitted to refit, and to purchase at the market
price, such necessaries as she may stand in need of,
conformably to such Orders and regulations
as the Government of the place, having respect
to the circumstances of each case shall prescribe.
She shall not be allowed to break bulk
or unload her Cargo, unless the same shall
be bona fide necessary to her being refitted.
Nor shall be permitted to sell any part of her Cargo,
unless so much only as may be necessary
to defray her expenses, and then not without
the express permission of the Government of the place.
Nor shall she be obliged to pay any Duties whatever,
except only on such Articles, as she may be permitted
to sell for the purpose aforesaid.ARTICLE 24
It shall not be lawful for any Foreign Privateers
(not being Subjects or Citizens of either of the said Parties)
who have Commissions from any other Prince or State
in Enmity with either Nation, to arm their Ships in the Ports
of either of the said Parties, nor to sell what they have
taken, nor in any other manner to exchange the same, nor
shall they be allowed to purchase more provisions than shall
be necessary for their going to the nearest Port of that
Prince or State from whom they obtained their Commissions.ARTICLE 25
It shall be lawful for the Ships of war and Privateers
belonging to the said Parties respectively to carry
whithersoever they please the Ships and Goods
taken from their Enemies without being obliged to pay
any Fee to the Officers of the Admiralty, or to any Judges
whatever; nor shall the said Prizes when they arrive at,
and enter the Ports of the said Parties be detained or seized,
neither shall the Searchers or other Officers of those Places
visit such Prizes (except for the purpose of preventing the
Carrying of any part of the Cargo thereof on Shore in any
manner contrary to the established Laws of Revenue,
Navigation or Commerce) nor shall such Officers take
Cognizance of the Validity of such Prizes; but they shall be
at liberty to hoist Sail, and depart as speedily as may be,
and carry their said Prizes to the place mentioned in their
Commissions or Patents, which the Commanders of the said
Ships of war or Privateers shall be obliged to shew.
No Shelter or Refuge shall be given in their Ports to such
as have made a Prize upon the Subjects or Citizens
of either of the said Parties; but if forced by stress
of weather or the Dangers of the Sea, to enter therein,
particular care shall be taken to hasten their departure,
and to cause them to retire as soon as possible.
Nothing in this Treaty contained shall however be construed
or operate contrary to former and existing
Public Treaties with other Sovereigns or States.
But the Two parties agree, that while they continue in amity
neither of them will in future make any Treaty
that shall be inconsistent with this or the preceding article.
Neither of the said parties shall permit the Ships or Goods
belonging to the Subjects or Citizens of the other
to be taken within Cannon Shot of the Coast,
nor in any of the Bays, Ports or Rivers of their Territories
by Ships of war, or others having Commission
from any Prince, Republic or State whatever.
But in case it should so happen, the party whose Territorial
Rights shall thus have been violated, shall use his utmost
endeavors to obtain from the offending Party, full and
ample satisfaction for the Vessel or Vessels so taken,
whether the same be Vessels of war or Merchant Vessels.ARTICLE 26
If at any Time a Rupture should take place
(which God forbid) between His Majesty
and the United States, the Merchants and others
of each of the Two Nations, residing in the Dominions
of the other, shall have the privilege of remaining
and continuing their Trade so long as they behave
peaceably and commit no offence against the Laws,
and in case their Conduct should render them suspected,
and the respective Governments should think proper
to order them to remove, the term of Twelve Months
from the publication of the order shall be allowed them
for that purpose to remove with their Families,
Effects and Property, but this Favor shall not be extended
to those who shall act contrary to the established Laws,
and for greater certainty it is declared that such Rupture
shall not be deemed to exist while negotiations
for accommodating Differences shall be depending
nor until the respective Ambassadors or Ministers,
if such there shall be, shall be recalled, or sent home
on account of such differences, and not on account of
personal misconduct according to the nature and degrees
of which both parties retain their Rights, either to request
the recall or immediately to send home the Ambassador
or Minister of the other; and that without prejudice
to their mutual Friendship and good understanding.ARTICLE 27
It is further agreed that His Majesty and the United States
on mutual Requisitions by them respectively or by their
respective Ministers or Officers authorized to make the
same will deliver up to Justice, all Persons who being
charged with Murder or Forgery committed within the
Jurisdiction of either, shall seek an Asylum within any of the
Countries of the other, Provided that this shall only be done
on such Evidence of Criminality as according to the Laws of
the Place, where the Fugitive or Person so charged shall be
found, would justify his apprehension and commitment for
Trial, if the offence had there been committed.
The Expense of such apprehension and Delivery
shall be borne and defrayed by those
who make the Requisition and receive the Fugitive.ARTICLE 28
It is agreed that the first Ten Articles of this Treaty shall
be permanent and that the subsequent Articles except the
Twelfth shall be limited in their duration to Twelve years to
be computed from the Day on which the Ratifications of this
Treaty shall be exchanged, but subject to this Condition that
whereas the said Twelfth Article will expire by the Limitation
therein contained at the End of two years from the signing
of the Preliminary or other Articles of Peace, which shall
terminate the present War, in which His Majesty is engaged;
It is agreed that proper Measures shall by Concert be taken
for bringing the subject of that article into amicable Treaty
and Discussion so early before the Expiration of the said
Term, as that new Arrangements on that head may
by that Time be perfected and ready to take place.
But if it should unfortunately happen that His Majesty and
the United States should not be able to agree on such new
Arrangements, in that case, all the Articles of this Treaty
except the first Ten shall then cease and expire together.Lastly. This Treaty when the same shall have been ratified
by His Majesty, and by The President of the United States,
by and with the advice and Consent of Their Senate, and the
respective Ratifications mutually exchanged, shall be binding
and obligatory on His Majesty and on the said States, and
shall be by Them respectively executed and observed with
punctuality, and the most sincere regard to good Faith.
And Whereas it will be expedient in order the better
to facilitate Intercourse and obviate Difficulties
that other Articles be proposed and added to this Treaty,
which Articles from want of time and other circumstances
cannot now be perfected; It is agreed that the said Parties
will from Time to Time readily treat of and concerning such
Articles, and will sincerely endeavor so to form them,
as that they may conduce to mutual convenience,
and tend to promote mutual Satisfaction and Friendship;
and that the said Articles after having been duly ratified,
shall be added to, and make a part of this Treaty.In Faith whereof We the Undersigned, Ministers
Plenipotentiary of His Majesty The King of Great Britain;
and the United States of America, have signed
this present Treaty, and have caused
to be affixed thereto, the Seal of Our Arms.Done at London, this Nineteenth Day of November,
One thousand seven hundred and ninety Four.GRENVILLE [Seal] JOHN JAY [Seal]1
In March 1791 the United States had enacted its first domestic excise tax
on “distilled spirits” which was about one-quarter of the net price of a gallon of whiskey.
On imports the tax ranged from 25 cents a gallon to 40 cents depending
on the alcohol content, and domestic liquors were charged from 9 to 25 cents.
This tax especially affected farmers in the west who gained much
of their income from wheat and corn which they could not transport
to markets as easily as they could the whiskey from stills.
The excise tax was to go into effect on August 1, and some farmers in
western Pennsylvania met at Redstone Old Fort on July 27 to plan their resistance.
They met again in two more conventions.
Robert Johnson was appointed to collect the revenue in Washington
and Allegheny Counties in western Pennsylvania, and in early September
in a forest at Pigeon Creek he was captured by a gang wearing dresses
as disguises
who took his horse, stripped him naked, and covered his body with hot tar and feathers.
He was released and identified three men to the sheriff
who was too intimidated to arrest them.
Johnson also gave the name of Daniel Hamilton to the federal government in his complaint.
Another man claiming he was a tax collector got similar treatment.
After that, little effort was made to collect the tax.
President Washington could not find anyone in Kentucky to enforce United States law.
A conference met for three days in Pittsburgh,
and they worked on a petition objecting to the whiskey tax.
General John Neville was put in charge of collection in the four
westernmost counties
of Pennsylvania for a salary of $400 a year
and one percent of what he and his deputies could collect.
The US Congress had revised the excise tax on 8 May 1792
to remove the distinction between producers in cities or the country.
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton wanted effective enforcement,
and a central excise office was to be established in
each county where distillers must register all stills.
Failure to register could mean forfeiting the still and paying a fine raised to $250.
The four counties around the forks at Pittsburgh organized the Mingo Creek
Association and planned their own enforcement to prevent collection of the tax.
When Captain William Faulkner offered to rent Neville a room
for his office in the town of Washington, he was warned and shunned.
About forty delegates met at a convention in Pittsburgh in late August
and the prominent Albert Gallatin signed their resolutions.
Two days later thirty armed men visited Faulkner’s house
while he was gone and broke things.
George Clymer was sent to Pittsburgh as the
federal revenue inspector for all of Pennsylvania.
Although he was thin, he introduced himself as
Secretary of War Henry Knox who was known to be fat.
Clymer asked for protection at Fort Fayette.
He asked the district judge Alexander Addison to take depositions,
but he would not let a federal official dictate to a state court.
Deputy collector Benjamin Wells wanted the money; his house was attacked by disguised
gangs, and in November he agreed to publish his resignation in the Pittsburgh Gazette.
In 1793 he traveled to Philadelphia three times
to report to the departments of Justice and Treasury.
Tom the Tinker became a leader, and the gangs
called themselves Tom the Tinker’s Men.
In emulation of the revolution they met by liberty poles.
On 24 February 1794 President Washington signed a proclamation offering a reward
of $200 for detaining persons who had violently entered the office of the revenue collector.
Congress then ended the requirement that farmers charged had to go to Philadelphia for trial.
In April the Democratic Society of Washington County sent a petition to President Washington.
William Rawle, the US attorney for Pennsylvania,
was building a file on the Mingo Creek Association.
Treasury Secretary Hamilton and United States Attorney General William Bradford
planned a strategy to enforce the law, not charging those who agreed to register a still.
Rawle got some warrants on May 31 before the more lenient law went into effect on June 5.
The rebels reacted by shutting down all tax offices,
and they punished civilian collaborators as well as officials.
The United States Marshal David Lenox went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
When he and Neville visited William Miller’s farm, Miller refused to accept the writ.
A posse of vigilantes followed them.
Neville fled to Bower Hill while Lenox returned to Pittsburgh.
The Mingo Creek Association elected John Holcroft
to gather armed men and capture the marshal.
He led 37 men with muskets to Bower Hill where
Neville’s men mortally wounded Miller’s nephew.
Holcroft’s men fired at the building and had six men wounded by return fire.
On July 15 Marshal Lenox started trying to serve more than
sixty writs on tax evaders to appear in a Philadelphia courthouse.
Two days later about 600 men assembled at Couch’s Fort
and
voted to attack Bower Hill which the US Army was defending.
They demanded that the marshal turn over his writs
and that Neville resign as excise inspector.
Neville and a few soldiers defended his home, and the rebels set buildings on fire.
Seeing a white flag, James McFarlane told his men to stop firing, and he was shot dead.
Inside Major Kirkpatrick surrendered.
The militia let his soldiers go and held Kirkpatrick hostage.
Then they burned down the Bower Hill plantation.
After a negotiation Lenox agreed not to serve
any more writs in the west and surrendered.
After four men warned the inhabitants of Pittsburgh that every
house would be burned down if they did not support the resistance,
7,000 people gathered on Braddock’s Field on August 1.
Washington met with his cabinet the next day.
A congress was held at Parkinson’s Ferry on August 14 with 226 delegates from
five Pennsylvania counties and Ohio County in Virginia with 250 armed men in the gallery.
They demanded the excise tax be repealed and talked about redistribution of wealth.
The next day representatives of President Washington
sent them a message asking for a negotiation.
Supreme Court Justice James Wilson had authorized him to invoke the
Militia Act on August 4, but Pennsylvania’s Governor Thomas Miffli
objected to calling out the state militia and doubted they would come
to prevent Genet’s ship from escaping from United States waters.
The next day Hamilton gave Washington a report justifying military action.
Secretary of War Knox agreed they needed at least 12,000 men.
The Federalist Attorney General Bradford
agreed with Randolph that they should negotiate first.
On August 6 Washington assigned Bradford to lead a
Presidential Commission to negotiate with the rebels.
On August 7 Washington issued this Proclamation Calling Forth the Militia:
Whereas combinations to defeat the execution of the laws
laying duties upon Spirits distilled within the United States
and upon Stills, have from the time of the commencement
of those laws existed in some
of the Western parts of Pennsylvania.
And whereas the said Combinations, proceeding in a manner
subversive equally of the just authority of Government
and of the rights of individuals have hitherto
effected their dangerous and criminal purpose;
by the influence of certain irregular meetings whose
proceedings have tended to encourage and uphold
the spirit of opposition, by misrepresentations
of the laws calculated to render them odious,
by endeavors to deter those who might be so disposed
from accepting offices under them,
through fear of public resentment and of injury
to person and property, and to compel those
who had accepted such offices by actual violence
to surrender or forbear the execution of them;
by circulating vindictive menaces against all those
who should otherwise directly or indirectly
aid in the execution of the said laws, or who,
yielding to the dictates of conscience and to a sense
of obligation should themselves comply therewith,
by actually injuring and destroying the property of persons
who were understood to have so complied;
by inflicting cruel and humiliating punishments
upon private citizens for no other cause
than that of appearing to be friends of the laws;
by intercepting the public officers on the high ways,
abusing, assaulting and otherwise ill-treating them;
by going to their houses in the night,
gaining admittance by force, taking away their papers
and committing other outrages;
employing for these unwarrantable purposes
the Agency of Armed Banditti, disguised in such manner
as for the most part to escape discovery:
And whereas the endeavors of the Legislature
to obviate objections to the said laws, by lowering the duties
and by other alterations conducive to the convenience
of those whom they immediately affect
(though they have given satisfaction in other quarters)
and the endeavors of the Executive officers to conciliate
a compliance with the laws, by explanations, by forbearance
and even by particular accommodations founded
on the suggestion of local considerations,
have been disappointed of their effect by the machinations
of persons whose industry to excite resistance has increased
with every appearance of a disposition among the people
to relax in their opposition and to acquiesce in the laws:
insomuch that many persons in the said western parts
of Pennsylvania have at length been hardy enough
to perpetrate acts which I am advised amount to treason,
being overt acts of levying war against the United States;
the said persons having on the sixteenth
and Seventeenth of July last past proceeded in arms
(on the second day amounting to several hundreds)
to the house of John Neville Inspector of the Revenue
for the fourth survey of the District of Pennsylvania,
having repeatedly attacked the said house with the persons
therein wounding some of them, having seized David Lenox,
Marshal of the District of Pennsylvania,
who previous thereto had been fired upon,
while in the execution of his duty, by a party of armed men
detaining him for some time prisoner,
till for the preservation of his life
and the obtaining of his liberty he found it necessary
to enter into stipulations to forbear the execution
of certain official duties touching processes
issuing out of a Court of the United States;
and having finally obliged the said Inspector of the Revenue
and the said marshal from considerations of personal safety
to fly from that part of the Country, in order
by a circuitous route to proceed to the seat of Government;
avowing as the motives of these outrageous proceedings
an intention to prevent by force of Arms
the execution of the said laws,
to oblige the said Inspector of the Revenue
to renounce his said office, to withstand by open violence
the lawful authority of the Government of the United States,
and to compel thereby an alteration in the measures
of the Legislature and a repeal of the laws aforesaid.
And whereas by a law of the United States entitled
“An Act to provide for calling forth the militia
to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections,
and repel invasions,” it is enacted that whenever the laws
of the United States shall be opposed or the execution
thereof obstructed in any State by combinations
too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course
of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the
Marshals by that act, the same being notified by an
associate Justice or the District Judge, it shall be lawful
for the President of the United States to call forth
the militia of such State to suppress such combinations
and to cause the laws to be duly executed.
And if the militia of a State where such Combinations
may happen shall refuse or be insufficient to suppress
the same it shall be lawful for the President
if the Legislature of the United States shall not be
in session to call forth and employ such numbers of the
militia of any other State or States most convenient thereto,
as may be necessary, and the use of the militia so to be
called forth may be continued, if necessary, until the
expiration of thirty days after the Commencement
of the ensuing Session: Provided always, that whenever
it may be necessary in the judgment of the President
to use the military force hereby directed to be called forth;
the President shall forthwith, and previous thereto,
by proclamation, command such insurgents
to disperse and retire peaceably to their
respective abodes within a limited time.
And whereas James Wilson, an associate Justice,
on the fourth instant, by writing under his hand did,
from evidence which had been laid before him,
notify to me that
in the Counties of Washington and Alleghany,
in Pennsylvania, laws of the United States are opposed,
and the execution thereof obstructed by combinations
too powerful to be suppressed
by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings,
or by the powers vested in the marshal of that district.
And whereas it is in my judgment necessary,
under the circumstances of the case, to take measures
for calling forth the militia in order to suppress
the combinations aforesaid, and to cause
the Laws to be duly executed,
and I have accordingly determined so to do,
feeling the deepest regret for the occasion,
but withal the most solemn conviction
that the essential interests of the Union demand it;
that the very existence of Government
and the fundamental principles of social order,
are materially involved in the issue,
and that the patriotism and firmness of all good citizens
are seriously called upon, as occasion may require,
to aid in the effectual suppression of so fatal a spirit.
Wherefore, and in pursuance of the proviso above recited,
I, George Washington, President of the United States,
do hereby command all persons, being insurgents
as aforesaid and all others whom it may concern,
on or before the first day of September next,
to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes.
And I do moreover warn all persons whomsoever
against aiding, abetting, or comforting
the perpetrators of the aforesaid treasonable acts;
and do require all officers and other citizens according
to their respective duties and the laws of the land,
to exert their utmost endeavors to prevent
and suppress such dangerous proceedings.2
They left that day, and Secretary of War Knox ordered the governors of Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia to call out 13,000 militiamen on September 1.
Knox got permission to go to Maine to look into his land investments there,
and Alexander Hamilton became acting Secretary of War.
Attorney General Bradford wrote advising no delay in sending troops.
After a long war council on August 24 Hamilton began planning to send 15,000 men,
and Virginia’s Governor Henry Lee III was to command under Washington.
Hamilton also wrote newspaper articles as “Tully” to explain the need for military action.
On August 26 Washington in a private letter to Henry Lee wrote,
As the Insurgents in the western counties of this State
are resolved (as far as we have yet been able to learn from
the Commissioners, who have been sent amongst them)
to persevere in their rebellious conduct until
what they call the excise Law is repealed;
and acts of oblivion and amnesty are passed;
it gives me sincere consolation amidst the regret with which
I am filled, by such lawless and outrageous conduct,
to find by your letter above mentioned, that it is held
in general detestation by the good people of Virginia;
and that you are disposed to lend your personal aid
to subdue this spirit, and to bring those people
to a proper sense of their duty.
On this latter point I shall refer you to letters
from the War office; and to a private one from Col. Hamilton
(who in the absence of the Secretary of War,
superintends the military duties of that department)
for my sentiments on this occasion.
It is with equal pride and satisfaction I add, that
as far as my information extends, this insurrection
is viewed with universal indignation and abhorrence;
except by those who have never missed an opportunity
by side blows, or otherwise, to aim their shafts
at the general government; and even by these
there is not a Spirit hardy enough yet,
openly to justify the daring infractions of Law and order;
but by palliatives are attempting to suspend all proceedings
against the insurgents until Congress shall have decided
on the case, thereby intending to gain time, and if possible
to make the evil more extensive, more formidable,
and of course more difficult to counteract and subdue.
I consider this insurrection as the first formidable fruit
of the Democratic Societies; brought forth
I believe too prematurely for their own views,
which may contribute to the annihilation of them.
That these societies were instituted
by the artful and designing members (many of their body
I have no doubt mean well, but know little of the real plan,)
primarily to sow the seeds of jealousy and distrust
among the people, of the government,
by destroying all confidence in the Administration of it;
and that these doctrines have been budding ever since,
is not new to anyone who is acquainted
with the characters of their leaders,
and have been attentive to their maneuvers.
I early gave it as my opinion to the confidential characters
around me, that if these Societies were not counteracted
(not by prosecutions, the ready way
to make them grow stronger)
or did not fall into disesteem from the knowledge
of their origin, and the views with which
they had been instituted by their father, Genet,
for purposes well known to the Government;
that they would shake the government to its foundation.
Time and circumstances have confirmed me in this opinion,
and I deeply regret the probable consequences,
not as they will affect me personally,
(for I have not long to act on this theatre,
and sure I am that not a man amongst them
can be more anxious to put me aside,
than I am to sink into the profoundest retirement);
but because I see, under popular and fascinating guises,
the most diabolical attempts to destroy the best fabric
of human government and happiness, that has
ever been presented for the acceptance of mankind.3
The Commission began negotiating with the moderate Hugh Henry Brackenridge
in Pittsburgh, offering not to begin prosecuting anyone for treason until July 1795.
If laws were obeyed by then, they would pardon crimes not yet indicted.
Brackenridge in 1781 had helped start the Pittsburgh Gazette,
the first newspaper on the western frontier.
In 1786 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly, and the next year
he obtained state funding to found the Pittsburgh Academy
which eventually became the University of Pittsburgh.
His satirical novel Modern Chivalry about life in the west
was published in four volumes 1792-97.
Influenced by Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Captain Farrago travels around with
his Irish bond-servant Teague O’Regan who tries to be a politician, a scientist,
a minister, a husband, a comedian, a tax collector, and a newspaper editor;
but from lack of education and experience, he fails in these,
and eventually Farrago persuades him to give them up.
Brackenridge criticized speculators who tried to profit by manipulation.
He warned that a free society cannot be preserved when the love of money is encouraged.
The virtues of a republic are self-denial, humility, and justice.
Brackenridge also wrote and in 1795 published his account of the Whiskey Rebellion,
Incidents of the Insurrection in the Western Parts of Pennsylvania in the Year 1794.
He became a judge in 1799 and was appointed
to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1801.
On 23 August 1794 the committee of moderates agreed to present
the President’s terms to a committee of 60 which five days later voted 34-23
to submit, and Brackenridge got a hundred copies of the committee’s report printed.
Washington ordered the militia to report on September 9.
A referendum was set for September 11, and males over 18
had to
take an oath of submission to federal law by that date to gain amnesty.
Maryland’s Governor Thomas Sim Lee called out 700 men to defeat 90 rebels
who had seized the armory at Frederick’s Town; but in Hagerstown the militia drove the
officers out of town, and they put up a second liberty pole after the first was torn down.
On September 25 President Washington issued this final proclamation
warning the “Whiskey Rebellion” that force would be used to enforce the laws:
Whereas from a hope that the combinations against
the Constitution and laws of the United States in certain
of the Western counties of Pennsylvania would yield to time
and reflection I thought it sufficient in the first instance
rather to take measures for calling forth the militia
than immediately to embody them, but the moment is now
come when the overtures of forgiveness,
with no other condition than a submission to law,
have been only partially accepted;
when every form of conciliation not inconsistent with
the being of Government has been adopted without effect;
when the well-disposed in those counties are unable by their
influence and example to reclaim the wicked from their fury,
and are compelled to associate in their own defense;
when the proffered lenity has been perversely
misinterpreted into an apprehension
that the citizens will march with reluctance;
when the opportunity of examining the serious
consequences of a treasonable opposition has been
employed in propagating principles of anarchy,
endeavoring through emissaries to alienate the friends
of order from its support, and inviting its enemies
to perpetrate similar acts of insurrection;
when it is manifest that violence would continue to be
exercised upon every attempt to enforce the laws;
when, therefore, Government is set at defiance,
the contest being whether a small portion of
the United States shall dictate to the whole Union,
and, at the expense of those who desire peace,
indulge a desperate ambition.
Now, therefore, I, George Washington, President
of the United States, in obedience to that high
and irresistible duty consigned to me by the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed;”
deploring that the American name should be sullied
by the outrages of citizens on their own Government,
commiserating such as remain obstinate from delusion,
but resolved, in perfect reliance on that gracious Providence
which so signally displays its goodness towards this country,
to reduce the refractory to a due subordination to the law,
do hereby declare and make known that, with a satisfaction
which can be equaled only by the merits of the militia
summoned into service from the States of New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, I have received
intelligence of their patriotic alacrity in obeying the call
of the present, though painful, yet commanding necessity;
that a force which, according to every reasonable
expectation, is adequate to the exigency is already in motion
to the scene of disaffection; that those who have confided
or shall confide in the protection of Government shall meet
full succor under the standard and from the arms
of the United States; that those who, having offended
against the laws, have since entitled themselves
to indemnity will be treated with the most liberal good faith
if they shall not have forfeited their claim by any subsequent
conduct, and that instructions are given accordingly.
And I do moreover exhort all individuals, officers,
and bodies of men to contemplate with abhorrence
the measures leading directly or indirectly to those crimes
which produce this resort to military coercion;
to check in their respective spheres the efforts of misguided
or designing men to substitute their misrepresentation
in the place of truth and their discontents in the place
of stable government, and to call to mind that,
as the people of the United States have been permitted,
under the Divine favor, in perfect freedom, after solemn
deliberation, in an enlightened age, to elect their own
Government, so will their gratitude for this inestimable
blessing be best distinguished by firm exertions
to maintain the Constitution and the laws.
And, lastly, I again warn all persons whomsoever
and wheresoever not to abet, aid, or comfort the insurgents
aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril;
and I do also require all officers and other citizens,
according to their several duties, as far as may be
in their power, to bring under the cognizance
of the laws all offenders in the premises.4
On September 30 Washington and Hamilton left Philadelphia to join the army at Carlisle.
Washington arrived in Carlisle by October 9 and began sending out troops the next day.
About 15,000 men assembled providing Washington
with more men that he had ever commanded.
On the 18th he paraded 3,000 soldiers in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
Col. Hamilton put Virginia’s Governor “Light-Horse Harry” Henry Lee
in command on the 20th, and the next day Washington left to go east.
Hamilton ordered quartermasters to seize civilian property.
Arrests already had begun with the radical evangelist Herman Husband,
and about 150 had been arrested by November 17.
Only twenty prisoners were in the first group that marched to
Philadelphia where they were paraded before 20,000 citizens.
Twelve cases went to trial in 1795.
Only two were convicted of treason, and Washington pardoned them.
Gov. Lee ordered a general pardon.
Loyalty oaths were made, and stills were registered.
Overt opposition to the whiskey tax had ended,
though many managed to elude the tax in various ways.
In 1801 President Jefferson would appoint Albert Gallatin
Secretary of the Treasury, and the whiskey tax would be repealed.
Notes
1. The Jay Treaty; November 19, 1794 (online)
2. Washington Writings, p. 870-873.
3. Ibid., p. 875-876.
4. Ibid., p. 882-884.
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