XYZ Affair

Background. With the Jay Treaty ratified in 1795, the United States reached an agreement with Britain that angered members of the French Directory. By the end of Washington's presidency in early 1797 the dispute was reaching crisis proportions: Pinckney had been refused as U.S. minister, and American merchant ships had been seized in the Caribbean.

The Commission to France. Adams called a special session of Congress for May 1797 and, after meeting his cabinet in late May, chose a commission of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, despite cabinet objections to Gerry. The commissioners arrived in Paris in early October 1797 and immediately requested a meeting with Talleyrand, who had become foreign minister that July.

The Bribe Demands. Approached through informal channels by agents of Talleyrand, the commissioners were presented with demands including a large loan to the French government and a £50,000 bribe to Talleyrand himself. Although bribes to Talleyrand were widely known, the Americans were offended and curtly refused; the French rejected their offer to send one commissioner home for instructions in exchange for suspending shipping seizures.

Aftermath. The commissioners left France without formal negotiations, and the affair contributed to the undeclared Quasi-War of 1798–1800. Congress authorized twelve frigates, nullified the 1778 Treaty of Alliance on July 7, 1798, and authorized attacks on French warships, while "Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute" became a Federalist slogan.