Monroe was recalled from
France in 1796, and
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (q. v.), of
South Carolina, was appointed to fill his place.
On his arrival in
France, late in the year, with the letter of recall and his own credentials, the Directory refused to receive him. Not only so, but, after treating him with great discourtesy, the Directory peremptorily ordered him to leave
France.
He withdrew to
Holland (February, 1797), and there awaited further orders from home.
When
Mr. Adams took the chair of state, the
United States had no
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249]
diplomatic agent in
France.
The “French party,” or Republicans, having failed to elect
Jefferson President, the
Directory (q. v.) determined to punish a people who dared to thwart their plans.
In May, 1797, they issued a decree which was tantamount to a declaration of war against the
United States.
At about the same time
President Adams, observing the perilous relations between the
United States and
France, called an extraordinary session of Congress to consider the matter.
There had been a reaction among the people, and many leading Democrats favored war with
France.
A majority of the cabinet advised further negotiations, and
John Marshall, a Federalist, and
Elbridge Gerry, a Democrat, were appointed envoys extraordinary to join
Pinckney and attempt to settle all matters in dispute.
They reached
France in October (1797), and sought an audience with the Directory.
Their request was met by a haughty refusal, unless the envoys would first agree to pay into the exhausted French treasury a large sum of money, in the form of a loan, by the purchase of
Dutch bonds wrung from that nation by the
French, and a bribe to the amount of $240,000 for the private use of the five members of the Directory.
The proposition came semi-officially from
Talleyrand, one of the most unscrupulous politicians of the age. It was accompanied by a covert threat that if the proposition was not complied with the envoys might be ordered to leave
France in twenty-four hours, and the coasts of the
United States be ravaged by French cruisers from San Domino.
They peremptorily refused, and
Pinckney uttered, in substance, the noble words, “Millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute!”
The envoys asked for their passports.
They were given to the two Federalists under circumstances that amounted to their virtual expulsion, but
Gerry, the Democrat, was induced to remain.
He, too, was soon treated with contempt by
Talleyrand and his associates, and he returned home in disgust.
