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Washington enacts an embargo...
Washington enacts an embargo...
Item # 707902
May 22, 1794
THE LONDON CHRONICLE, England, May 22, 1794
* The prelude to peace
* Diplomatic Brinkmanship
Page 5, under: "America", is a printing of a Resolution from Congress enacting an embargo: "...on all ships and vessels in the ports of the United Starters...bound to any foreign port or place for the term of 30 days...", signed in type by the President; George Washington.
Eight pages, 9 by 12 inches, never bound nor trimmed, red tax stamp on page 4.
background: The appearance of this resolution in the May 22, 1794, edition of the London Chronicle captures a moment of high-stakes brinkmanship when the United States nearly stumbled into a second war with Great Britain. By the time this news reached London, the embargo was a direct reaction to the British "Orders in Council," which had authorized the seizure of hundreds of American merchant vessels trading with the French West Indies. For the British public reading this eight-page journal, the inclusion of George Washington’s name at the bottom of a trade prohibition signaled that the young republic was willing to risk economic suicide to defend its neutrality and maritime rights. This specific document is a prelude to the Jay Treaty negotiations; while the embargo was a blunt instrument of economic pressure, it provided the diplomatic leverage needed for Chief Justice John Jay to arrive in London later that year to settle the disputes. The "United Starters" typo (likely a misreading of the "long s" in "States") serves as a charming reminder of the frantic pace of 18th-century transatlantic news-gathering, where a single ship's arrival could shift the entire political discourse of the British capital.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
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