In 1793, George Washington was a year into his second term as President when he faced a crisis caused by foreign interference in America’s domestic politics. A foreign envoy was undermining his administration’s policies and attacking him personally.
The crisis originated in Europe where Britain was fighting revolutionary France. Should the U.S. get involved in their war? American opinion was evenly split. Britain was the largest market for American goods, but France helped us win independence from Britain.
The Federalist Party, led by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, supported neutrality in hopes of protecting American business interests. The Republican Party (also known as the Democratic-Republican Party) was led by James Madison and Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, and favored France.
Cabinet meetings were raucous as Hamilton and Jefferson struggled to persuade Washington to their side of the argument. Washington supported neutrality because he knew the U.S. was too militarily weak to defend itself. On April 22, 1793, he issued the Neutrality Proclamation which stated that the U.S. would remain neutral in the war between Britain and France. The Proclamation also said that U.S ports would not be used as a base of operations for privateers.
Privateers were small boats refitted to make them faster and stealthier so that they could break Britain’s blockade of French ports. The closest modern equivalent is the “cigarette” boats that deliver cocaine across the Caribbean while attempting to evade the U.S. Coast Guard.
Also in April 1793, a new French ambassador arrived, named Edmond-Charles Genet and calling himself Citizen Genet. He had flaming red hair and a massive ego. He was also a demagogic orator who could sway crowds to his populist message to support revolutionary France.
Genet landed at Charleston, South Carolina and was greeted by a friendly crowd. Americans overwhelmingly supported the French Revolution because the excesses of the Reign of Terror were still in the future. Genet’s massive ego was fluffed by his reception, giving him a false impression of his abilities to sway American public opinion.
Instead of heading for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to present his credentials to Washington, Genet traipsed from town to town making speeches to adoring crowds. He also began buying and provisioning privateers. By the time he arrived in Philadelphia in May 1793, Washington was annoyed with him.
Washington handed off Genet to Thomas Jefferson, but Jefferson was playing a double game. He acted as a loyal member of the government at Cabinet meetings; then tacitly advised Genet how to circumvent the Neutrality Proclamation. Genet’s ego did the rest.
Genet openly challenged the Neutrality Proclamation. He encouraged his American friends to create political clubs, similar to today’s political action committees (PACs) that supported France and attacked Washington’s administration. Mobs raced through the streets of Philadelphia threatening to drag Washington into the street if he objected to Genet’s activities. The Republican Party supported Genet as part of their partisan politicking against the Federalist Party.
When Jefferson warned Genet to tone down his attacks, Genet decided to meet with Washington, expecting to charm the president. He showed up unannounced at the president’s office and bragged about his popularity, citing newspaper reports. Washington retorted that he didn’t read newspapers, implying that popularity contests were beneath his dignity. That was the final straw for Jefferson.
On July 11, 1793, Jefferson handed a report to Washington that revealed the true extent of Genet’s efforts to undermine the government. The clincher was a report that Genet was outfitting a privateer in Philadelphia’s harbor. When the Pennsylvanian authorities warned that he was breaking U.S. law, Genet replied that if they interfered “he would appeal from the President to the people”.
Outraged by his insults, two Federalist Party members published a letter in a friendly newspaper complaining of Genet’s threat to go over Washington’s head directly to the American people. Instantly, public opinion swung behind Washington and against Genet.
France agreed to replace Genet and ordered him to return to France. Washington granted political asylum to Genet, saving his life. If he had returned to France, he would probably have perished in the Reign of Terror that began in September 1793.
There are many books detailing this early attempt at foreign interference in domestic American politics. Detailed accounts may be found in Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow (2010) and Washington: The Indispensable Man, by James Thomas Flexner (1969, with several new editions since).
Want to receive this blog straight to your inbox? Sign up for my mailing list.
You can also follow me at HerSavvy.com. My column appears the 3rd Tuesday of each