Excerpt from the Jay Treaty

Signed on November 19, 1794
Published in Documents of American History, edited by
Henry S. Commager, 1943

Signed in November 1794, the Jay Treaty (also known as Jay's Treaty) was essentially a truce between Britain and the United States, with each country agreeing to put an end to their hostilities and honor promises made in earlier treaties. When the terms of the Jay Treaty were made public, political division within the United States increased significantly. The two U.S. political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, supported opposing sides in the European war between France and Britain. France had declared war on Britain in 1793, hoping to start a rebellion of the working-class British against the British aristocracy (upper class), similar to the rebellion that was already occurring in France. The Democratic-Republicans remained...