President as Chief Diplomat?RESOURCES
NARRATIVE
As the official with the constitutional responsibility to receive ambassadors and the power to negotiate treaties, the President was the chief diplomat of the United States. George Washington was intensely conscious that he set an example for future Presidents with every act of diplomacy. One of his first challenges came with the negotiation of Jay’s Treaty.
In one of his first acts as chief diplomat, Washington sent John Jay to England to work out questions that had remained unsettled after the 1783 Treaty of Paris. In Jay’s Treaty, the British agreed to evacuate the Great Lakes forts they had continued to occupy after the Revolution, but most other U.S. concerns were not addressed. Most significantly, the British failed to recognize rights of neutral countries and made no commitment to stop impressment of American sailors.
Though the Senate ratified the document, many Americans were unhappy with the Treaty because it did not sufficiently protect the rights of Americans. Public protests erupted across the country. Criticism of Jay and even of President Washington was very harsh and insulting, but Washington maintained his dignity, never responding publicly to the insults. When people sent the President petitions opposing the treaty, he sent this response:
“…I have weighed with attention every argument…. But the constitution is the guide, which I never will abandon. It has assigned to the President the power of making treaties, with the advice and consent of the senate. ... that they ought not to substitute for their own conviction the opinions of others…”
If a letter from Treaty opponents was disrespectful, he did not reply at all. Regarding one set of petitions, Washington noted: "No answer given. The Address too rude to merit one." When Treaty opponents in the House of Representatives demanded documents related to the Treaty, the President declined, stating that the Constitution provides no role for the House in treaty ratification.
Though he had hoped for stronger protection of American interests, Washington accepted the Treaty, explaining, "My opinion respecting the treaty (is that I am) not favorable to it, but that it is better to ratify it in the manner the Senate have advised…, than to suffer matters to remain as they are, unsettled."
Washington set the example as chief diplomat, demonstrating both the orderly process of shared responsibility between the Senate and the President, and the Constitution’s placement of the President in the central position regarding foreign affairs.
QUESTIONS
- Why were many Americans unhappy about Jay’s Treaty?
- What rights of Americans were left unaddressed?
- How did President Washington respond to the public criticism?
- Describe at least 3 ways in which President Washington demonstrated that the President is the key decision-maker regarding foreign affairs.
ANSWERS
- Many Americans were unhappy with the Treaty because it did not sufficiently protect the rights of Americans.
- Rights left unaddressed included the fact that the British failed to recognize rights of neutral countries and made no commitment to stop impressment of American sailors.
- Washington maintained his dignity, never responding publicly to the insults, and he explained the Constitutional system by which the Senate provides advice and consent for treaties (Students may also note that he made no move to shut down the vigorous public protest, thus demonstrating his commitment to liberties such as speech, press, assembly and petition).
- Accept reasoned answers, which might include:
- Washington delegated the negotiation process to John Jay.
- He allowed public protest to run its course, and then took action based on the advice and consent of the Senate.
- Washington declined to justify the Treaty to the House of Representatives by providing the documents they demanded, explaining that only the Senate has the Constitutional role of advice and consent.
- He ultimately gave his support to the treaty even though it was not all he had hoped for, highlighting the responsibility of the President to settle foreign policy questions through diplomacy.
EXTENSION
Have students read the historical narrative, discuss and answer the questions, then conduct additional research on Jay’s Treaty in preparation for a debate on its merits.
