Federalists and Republicans: The Rise of Political Parties 159Meanwhile the French had sent a special represen-
tative, Edmond Charles Genet, to the United States to
seek support. During its early stages, especially when
France declared itself a republic in 1792, the revolu-
tion had excited much enthusiasm in the United
States, for it seemed to indicate that American democ-
ratic ideas were already engulfing the world. The
increasing radicalism in France tended to dampen
some of the enthusiasm, yet when “Citizen” Genet
landed at Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1793,
the majority of Americans probably wished the revolu-
tionaries well. As Genet, a charming, ebullient young
man, made his way northward to present his creden-
tials, cheering crowds welcomed him in every town.
Quickly concluding that the proclamation of neutral-
ity was “a harmless little pleasantry designed to throw
dust in the eyes of the British,” he began, in plain vio-
lation of American law, to license American vessels to
operate as privateers against British shipping and to
grant French military commissions to a number of
Americans in order to mount expeditions against
Spanish and British possessions in North America.
Washington received Genet coolly, and soon
thereafter demanded that he stop his illegal activities.
Genet, whose capacity for self-deception was monu-
mental, appealed to public opinion over the president’s
head and continued to commission privateers. Even
Jefferson was soon exasperated by Genet, whom he
described as “hot headed, all imagination, no judg-
ment and even indecent toward the P[resident].”
Washington then requested his recall. The incident
ended on a ludicrous note. When Genet left France, he
had been in the forefront of the Revolution. But
events there had marched swiftly leftward, and the new
leaders in Paris considered him a dangerous reac-
tionary. His replacement arrived in America with an
order for his arrest. To return might well mean the
guillotine, so Genet asked the government that was
expelling him for political asylum! Washington agreed,
for he was not a vindictive man. A few months later
the bold revolutionary married the daughter of the
governor of New York and settled down as a farmer on
Long Island, where he raised a large family and
“moved agreeably in society.”
The Genet affair was incidental to a far graver prob-
lem. Although the European war increased the foreign
demand for American products, it also led to attacks on
American shipping by both France and Great Britain.
Each power captured American vessels headed for the
other’s ports whenever it could. In 1793 and 1794
about 600 United States ships were seized.
The British attacks caused far more damage, both
physically and psychologically, because the British fleet
was much larger than France’s, and France at least
professed to be America’s friend and to favor freedom
of trade for neutrals. In addition the British issued
secret orders late in 1793 turning their navy loose on
neutral ships headed for the French West Indies.
Pouncing without warning, British warships captured
about 250 American vessels and sent them off as
prizes to British ports. The merchant marine, one
American diplomat declared angrily, was being
“kicked, cuffed, and plundered all over the Ocean.”
The attacks roused a storm in America, reviving
hatreds that had been smoldering since the
Revolution. The continuing presence of British
troops in the Northwest (in 1794 the British began
to build a new fort in the Ohio country) and the
restrictions imposed on American trade with the
British West Indies raised tempers still further. To try
to avoid a war, for he wisely believed that the United
States should not become embroiled in the Anglo-
French conflict, Washington sent Chief Justice John
Jay to London to seek a settlement with the British.Federalists and Republicans: The
Rise of Political Parties
The furor over the violations of neutral rights focused
attention on a new development, the formation of
political parties. Why national political partiesIn the summer of 1793, a yellow fever epidemic struck Philadelphia,
killing nearly 4,000. Tens of thousands fled the city, including
President Washington and much of the federal government.
Absalom Jones, a religious leader, was among the free blacks who
remained to take care of the sick and the dead. This portrait of Jones
is by Raphaelle Peale.