Author:
Moats, Sandra, author.
ImprintCharlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2021.
Imprint2021
Descriptionxv, 212 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Note:"This book is published as part of the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot."--Page iii.
Note:Introduction: "The Mischiefs of Foreign Intrigue" -- chapter 1. "Highway Robbery under the Protection of the Law": American Privateers in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic -- chapter 2. "Free Ships Make Free Goods": Revolutionary Experiments in Neutrality -- chapter 3. "The Contests of European Nations": George Washington and Neutrality -- chapter 4. "Americans in Politics": Crafting a Neutral Proclamation -- chapter 5. "To Keep This Country in Peace": French Violations and Executive Actions -- chapter 6. "A Rank Due to the United States": Enforcing Neutrality across the Federal Government -- chapter 7. "My Objects Are, to Prevent a War": Enforcing Neutrality across the Globe -- Conclusion: "First in Peace": George Washington, Statesman.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-198) and index.
Note:"Navigating Neutrality explores the unexpected role George Washington's 1793 Neutrality Proclamation played in energizing the U.S. government's constitutional responsibilities to support and promote America's commercial and sovereign interests. Designed to avoid warfare as Great Britain and France battled in the Atlantic during the French Revolutionary Wars, neutrality encompassed a wide range of issues, including diplomacy, law, defense, commerce, and domestic politics. Proclaiming neutrality proved easier than enforcing it. American citizens eagerly accepted lucrative French privateering commissions, and Britain retaliated by attacking American ships, cargos, and sailors. In response, Washington and his cabinet formulated policies to enforce neutrality across all three branches of the government and around the globe. Maritime citizens, stranded in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, especially came to appreciate the government's rescue efforts. As Sandra Moats shows, enforcing neutrality galvanized all three branches of the nascent U.S. government, serving as a manifesto of the young nation's quest to be respected in its independence and helping to build a U.S. government capable of supporting its global aspirations."--Publisher description.
