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“Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations” has been
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The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between French and United States
diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War.
U.S. and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of 1800, also
known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine.
Elbridge Gerry
In the late 1700s, the final French Revolutionary government, the Directory, was
experiencing problems financing its European wars. Many leaders were also angry
that the United States had concluded the Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1794.
Consequently, in 1796 French leaders decided to issue an order allowing for the
seizure of American merchant ships, carefully timed to catch as many as possible
by surprise. President John Adams dispatched three U.S. envoys to restore
harmony between the United States and France—Elbridge
Gerry, Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney, and John Marshall.
John Marshall
These commissioners, like others of the Adams administration, viewed France as a
center of decadence and intrigue and the rampant intrigue and factions of the
Directory made it difficult for the Americans to accomplish their mission. Upon
arriving in France, Gerry, Pinckney and Marshall found that they were unable to
formally meet with the Foreign Minister, the Marquis de
Talleyrand. The U.S. envoys were instead approached by several
intermediaries, Nicholas Hubbard (la
