USA > Louisiana > The province and the states, a history of the province of Louisiana under France and Spain, and of the territories and states of the United States formed therefrom, Vol. II > Part 5
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EARLY NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
tude on the river Mississippi for all merchant vessels' goods, wares, and merchandises belonging to the inhabitants of these States.' On October 13, 1770, a motion in congress to recede from the claim of a free navigation of the Mississippi below the thirty-first degree on condition that Spain would grant a free port below such parallel of latitude was lost. On February 2, 1780, congress was informed by the French minister of state that before Spain could be induced to treat with the United States, the King of Spain desired the views of congress on "certain arti- cles which his Catholic Majesty deems of great importance to the interests of his crown, and on which it is highly necessary that the United States explain themselves with precision and with such moderation as may consent with their essential rights." The articles were as follows :#
"1. A precise and invariable western boundary to the United States. 2. The exclusive navigation of the river Mississippi. 3. The possession of the Floridas. 4. The lands on the left or eastern side of the river Mississippi."
In regard to the first article, Spain maintained that the United States extended no farther westward than the line mentioned in the proclamation of the King of England of October 7, 1763,-a line extending approximately north and south a little west of the Alleghany mountains, thus leaving all the country to the west- ward as far as the Mississippi river in the possession of the Indians and hence subject to the colonization, conquest and set- tlement of any country. Taking into consideration this view of the first article, the second was construed that, inasmuch as the United States could claim no land abutting on the Mississippi, they had no right to the free navigation of that river. In regard to the third article, it was argued that, as Spain would herself wrest the Floridas from Great Britain during the war, every source of dispute concerning them would thereby be removed. Under the fourth article, it was contended that the Indian country lying west of the line referred to in the proclamation mentioned above and east of the Mississippi river was open to conquest from Great Britian by the arms of Spain. This was the Spanish view of the situation in February, 1780. She took the position that, as Great Britain had omitted to include the country east of the Mississippi and west of the line mentioned in the proclamation in one of the governments she had organized out of the territory seemed from France by the treaty of 1763, she herself had left
· Diplomatic Correspondence, secret
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the country with the Indians; and that, therefore, Spain had as much right to enter it and take possession as had Great Britain. Congress was thus informed by the French minister of state that the above outline embraced the Spanish view of the situation in America, and was requested to indicate the position which the United States expected to assume. This would be necessary before Spain was willing to consider the subject of a treaty with congress.
Mr. Jay, in replying to this inquiry, took the position that France liad possessed all the Indian country above mentioned previous to 1763, having secured it by exploration and settlement, particularly at Detroit, and on the Wabash, Illinois and other rivers and elsewhere ; that Great Britain, by the treaty of 1763, had obtained the country from France, with the western boundary in the middle of the Mississippi river; that, in order to retain the friendship of the Indian inhabitants therein, she had purposely excluded the country from any of her other American colonies ; and that she had reserved the country for future settlement, when she should purchase the claims of the Indians residing therein." In support of this view he cited the treaty of 1763 and the proclamation of the English King of October 7, 1763, of which the following extracts will be sufficient to illustrate his argument :
"And whereas, h is just and reasonable and essential to our interest, and the security of our colonies, that the several nations or tribes of Indians, with whom we are connected, and who live under our protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the possession of such parts of our dominions and territories as, not having been ceded to, or purchased by us, are reserved to them or any of them, as their hunting grounds."
"No governor or commander in chief of our other colonies or plantations in America (meaning the English colonies along the Atlantic and the Floridas) shall presume for the present, and until our further pleasure be known, to grant, warrant or survey, or pass patents for any lands beyond the heads or sources of any of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic ocean from the west or northwest ; or upon any lands whatever which, not having coded to, or purchased by us, as aforesaid, are reserved to the said Indians, or any of them. And we do further declare it to be our royal will and pleasure, for the present, as aforesaid, to reserve unto our sovereignty, protection and dominion, for the use of the
. Life of John Jay.
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EARLY N.IFICATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
said Indians, all the lands and territories not included within the limits of our said three new governments; as also all the land and territories lying to the westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the west and northwest as aforesaid ; and we do hereby strictly forbid, on pain of our displeasure, all our loving subjects from making any purchases or settlements whatever, or taking possession of any of the lands above reserved without our especial leave and license for that purpose first obtained." +
Mr. Jay maintained that the English title from France to the country westward to the Mississippi was absolute, and that the proclamation of the king proved that England did not relinquish the country to the Indian,, but on the contrary made ample pro- visions for their security, protection and government by excluding settlers from the country, the appointment of agents to keep in friendly communication with them, and otherwise. That Being true, the United States, taking their title from the British and that title not having been previously questioned, was entitled to the country westward to the middle of the Mississippi, and, there- fore, to the free navigation of that stream.
At this point of the discussion the whole subject was permitted to remain quiet for a period; and in the meantime Mr. Jay pressed the consideration of a treaty with the United States. In April, 1780, the Count de Florida Blanca, representing Spa'n, pro- pounded a series of questions, under the insistence of Mr. Jay, concerning the civil and military strength of the United States, their resources in remote particulars and ability to continue the war, their power, should she need it, to assist Spain in case she became their ally, the strength of their marine, etc. f These ques- tions were so searching that several members of congress took umibrage and alarm and counseled the unwisdom of revealing so minutely the military strength of the colonies. Mr. Jay, however, answered them as fully as seemed consistent with safety and dignity, stating, among other things, that the United States would assist Spain in two ways: Either by fighting ber enemies or by advantages of commerce. He urged that, as Spain was already at war with Great Britain, she should now unite with the United States against the common enemy.
On May 11, 1780, the Count de Florida Blanca informed Mr. Jay that there was but one obstacle from which he apprehended
· Annual Register (English), Vol VI
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any great difficulty in agreeing to the terms of the proposed treaty and that "arose from the pretentious of America to the navigation of the Mississippi." He stated that, while congress had at first claimed such right, they had afterward relinquished it, but had again "made it an essential condition of the treaty." He observed that the king of Spain "was finaly resolved in his mind" on the questions of boundary and the navigation of the Mississippi, that he was not likely to recede, though he desired to aid the Ameri- cans, and that he had recently taken steps to inform himself fully in regard to the disputed points. Mr. Jay replied that congress considered that several of the states were bounded on the west by the Mississippi river, and were, therefore, interested in its navigation, but we willing to regulate disputed questions so as to make Spain secure. The count reiterated that he was confident the king would not relinquish the navigation of the Mississippi, and expressed the hope that some way around the obstacle could be found.
On May 26, 1780, Mr. Jay wrote as follows to congress : "If congress remain firm, as I have no reason to doubt, respecting the Mississippi, I think Spain will imally be content with equitable regulations, and I wish to know whether congress would consider any regulations necessary to prevent contraband as inconsistent with their ideas of free navigation." Spain was unfortunately situated. She realized that, if the American colonies were able to defend themselves against an army of eighty thousand troops sont against them, they would not in the least fear Spain, should they gain their independence; would, in short, be able to enforce any claim they might make. They would be able to force their con . traband, or forbidden goods, into the Spanish American colonies- into Louisiana-despite the exclusive policy of Spain and the protests of the inhabitants of that province. The relinquishment of the navigation right meant the absolute surrender of the Span- ish ambition to own the exclusive navigation of the Gulf of Mexico and of the Mississippi and meant the consequent invasion of contraband into New Orleans and every other settlement in Louisiana to the crushing injury of Spanish commerce. The inhabitants of New Orleans protected against such a possibility, and the policy of Spam became emphatic never to surrender the question of navigation. The Spanish policy was to exclude the goods of all other nations from Louisiana, in order to give the manufacturers of Spain the benefit of exclusive trade with that colony. The navigation of the Mississippi by other nations, it was manitest, would countervail the Spanish policy and flood
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Louisiana with the cheap goods of other countries-with the unde- sirable goods of the United States. This could not be counte- naneed, and hence the exclusive navigation must remain with Spain. This was the position of that country.
William Carmichael, American charge d'affairs at the court of Madrid, wrote from St. Ildefonso, on August 22, 17So, to the committee of foreign affairs of congress, that "the navigation of the Mississippi appears to be the great, and if we can credit the assertions of men in power, the sole obstacle" to an agreement concerning terms to be embodied in the proposed treaty. As a matter of fact, Spain and the United States had little or nothing in conmon. The latter wanted assistance, particularly of money ; and the former wanted the exclusive navigation of the Missis. sippi. Neither seemed disposed to yield, so there was abundant room for the diplomats to display their talents. To the Ameri- can requests for a loan, Spain replied that such demands should be made on France, the ally of the United States, and the one receiving all the benefits of their trade.
In a letter dated September 25, 1780, Mr. Carmichael said, referring to a conversation that had taken place between Mr. . Jay and the Count de Florida Blanca, "In the course of this con- ference the Count de Florida Blanca asserted with warmth that the king would never relinquish the navigation of the Mississippi, and that the ministry regarded the exclusive right to it as the principal advantage which Spain would obtain by the war. This being the bar to the treaty, it seems not improbable that this court ( Spanish) will not be in a hurry to treat with us, but rather trust to her interest in a general congress for peace to obtain her favorite objects."
The following extract from a letter of October 3, 1780, from Benjamin Franklin to Mr. Jay states the American position at that date admirably : "If you are not so far private in Spain, continue, however, the even good temper you have hitherto manifested. Spain owes us nothing ; therefore, whatever friendship she shows us in lending money or furnishing clothes, etc., though not equal to our wants and wishes, is, however, tant de gagne (so much gain). Those who have begun to assist us are more likely to continue than to decline, and we are still so much obliged as their aid amounts to. But I hope and am confident that court will be wiser than to take advantage of our distress and insist on our making sacrifices by an agreement which the circumstances of such distress would hereafter weaken, and the very proposition can only give disgust at present. Poor as we are, yet as I know
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we shall be rick, I would rather agree with them to buy, at a great price, the whole of their right on the Mississippi than sell a drop of its waters. A neighbor might as well ask me to sell my street door." F
That remarkable letter exhibits the intellectual precision of the writer, the accuracy of his views, the breadth of his statesmanship, the wisdom of his counsels, and the steadfast purpose of the Amer- ican leaders of the revolutionary period. It reveals the diplo- matic spirit to an astonishing degree, as well as the severity of the straits under which the colonies continued their heroic struggles.
In October, 1786, congress instructed Mr. Jay to adhere to their former instructions to him concerning the right to navigate the Mississippi and, if it could be accomplished, to secure from Spain an acknowledgment of that right ; to explain that the Mississippi was the western boundary of several of the states, and that the United States, while connected with Great Britain, had been accus- tomed to the privilege of navigating that stream; and to assure the Spanish court that the mutual use of the river would in no wise jeopardize the interests or the peace of the Spanish American colonies nor of Spain. He was further instructed that, if an admission of the right of the United States to navigate the Mis . sissippi above the thirty-first degree and to have a port or ports below that parallel could be secured, he might enter into such reg- ulations as would secure the Spanish colonies against American contraband. He was told that it was of the utmost importance to the United States, should Spain gain the Floridas, to possess the right not only to navigate the Mississippi, but the rivers that had their sources in the states and flowed south through the Floridas into the Gulf, and to the every effort in his power to gain such concessions. If he could secure these rights, he was instructed to guarantee the Floridas to Spain.
In November, 1780, Mr. Jay offered the following pungent remarks to M. Gardoqui in answer to his offer to buy the navi- . gation of the Mississippi: "I told him that object could not come in question in a treaty for a loan of a hundred thousand pounds, and Spain should consider that to render alliances permanent they should be so formed as to render it the interest of both parties to observe them ; that the Americans, almost to a man, believed that God Almighty had made that river a highway for the people of the upper country to go to sea by ; that this country was extensive and fertile; that the genend, many; officers, and others of di,-
. Life of Benjamin Franklin
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tinction and influence in America were deeply interested in it ; that it would rapidly settle, and that the inhabitants would not readily be convinced of the justice of being obliged either to live without foreign commodities and lose the surplus of their pro- ductions or be obliged to transport both over rugged mountains and through an innnense wilderness to and from the sea, when they daily saw a fine river flowing before their doors and offering to save them all the trouble and expense and that without injury to Spain."+
But M. Gardoqui replied lightly to this sonorous speech and declared that the present generation would not want this naviga- tion and it should be left to future generations to manage their own affairs. It was about this time, also, that the Count de Florida Blanca informed Mr. Jay that if Spain could not keep all of the nations out of the Gulf of Mexico, she should admit all; that the king would never relinquish the navigation of the Mis- sissippi and the Gulf ; that the Spanish minister regarded this-as the principal object to be gained by Spain in the war; with that gained he would not care if Spain gained no other cession; that he considered it more important than the acquisition of Gibraltar ; and that if they could not get it, it was a matter of indifference whether the British possessed Mobile or not.
These remarks of the Count de Florida Blanca and the above extracts from the letters both of Mr. Jay and Mr. Franklin reveal the tension that existed between the two countries in regard to the navigation of the Mississippi (and the Gulf of Mexico) by Spain. The whole ambition of Spain during the later stages of the war was to secure to herself the exclusive right to navigate the Gulf ; hence she began war against lingland, not as the friend of France, not as an ally of the United States, to secure the Flor- idas. Her possessions would then encircle the Gulf, and her right to its exclusive navigation could be maintained by her colonial policy of exclusion. But if she lost the exclusive navigation of the Mississippi, she likewise lost the exclusive navigation of the Gulf, and, therefore, she bent every effort of diplomacy with the United States and of war with Great Britain to gain her object. She offered a large sum of money to the United States with the hope that they would yield. She advanced part of it and then artfully withheld the balance, when the colonies were in their sorest straits near the close of the long struggle, hoping their necessities would induce them to surrender the coveted prise --
. Digdomadic Corespondence, serttl.
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the navigation of the Mississippi. She professed the warmest friendship for the colonies and meant it, but studiously gave them no advantage that was not aimed at the accomplishment of her object. Her ministers used every art and argument, and even secured the carnest, active and moral support of the French court, and would have been successful, owing to the dire extremity of the colonies, had not the colonial leaders seen that the navigation of the Alississippi was absolutely essential to the growth and pros- perity of the upper Mississippi valley.
In his letter of November 6. 1780, to congress, Mr. Jay said : "In my opinion we should endeavor to be as independent on the charity of our friends as on the mercy of our enemies, Jacob took advantage even of his brother's hunger, and extorted from him a higher price than the value of the Mississippi even for a single dinner. The way to be not in Esau's condition is to be pre- pared to meet with Jacob's." But the valiant talk of the colonial leaders did not clothe the continental army, nor provide them with necessary food, mimitions and arms. The soldiers were in rags, barefooted, unpaid, scantily provided with food, and in many instances wholly destitute of medical stores. Russia and other countries of Europe were endeavoring by mediation to restore peace. England herself was extending tempting offers to induce the rebels to lay down their arms. Many in the United States were tired of the war, and were willing to concede almost any- thing to secure peace. The pressure brought to bear upon con- gress could scarcely be sustained by that body. In this mem- orable extremity they finally, on February 15, 1781, prepared and adopted the following letter of instructions to Mr. Jay.
"Sir: Congress having since their instructions to you of the 29th September, 1779, and th October, 1780, relative to the claim of the United States to the free navigation of the river Missis- sippi and to a free port or ports below the thirty-first degree of north latitude resumed the consideration of that subject; and being desirous to manifest to all the world, and particularly to his Catholic Majesty, the moderation of their views, the high value they place on the friendship of his Catholic Majesty, and their disposition to remove every reasonable obstacle to his acces- sion to the alliance subsisting between his most Christian Majesty and these United States, in order to unite the more closely in their measures and operations three powers who have so great a unity of interest, and thereby to compel the common enemy to a speedy, just and honorable peace, have resolved and you are hereby instructed, to recede from the instructions above referred
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to, so far as they insist on the free navigation of that part of the river Mississippi which lies below the thirty-first degree of north latitude and on a free port or ports below the same, provided such cession shall be imalterably insisted on by Spain, and pro- vided the free navigation of the said river above the said degree of north latitude shall be acknowledged and guaranteed by his Catholic Majesty to the citizens of the United States in common with his own subjects: It is the order of congress at the same time that you exert every possible effort to obtain from his Caili- . olic Majesty the use of the river aforesaid with a free port or ports below the said thirty-first degree of north latitude for the citizens of the United States under such regulations and restrictions only as may be necessary safeguard against illicit commerce."+
This letter had been introduced by the representatives from Virginia in pursuance of instructions from their constituents. A motion made to defeat its adoption by congress was lost. New . Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia voted for its adoption. Massachusetts voted against it, and Connecticut, New York and North Carolina each deposited a split vote. It was thus adoted. Mr. Jay was much displeased with this action and said : "I flatter myself that congress will never again attempt to form an alliance on principles of quality in forma pauperis (as a poor man ). Before their ungenerous letter on our right to the Missis- sippi arrived, it was known in Europe, and the substance of my last instructions on that head were not secret here before they reached this side of the ocean."
He reported at this time that every act of congress was known in Europe before he was officially apprised of its passage and stated that his letters were opened in Spain and that many of them never reached him. On April 25, 1781, he said in a letter to congress: "There is more reason to suspect that the French court were apprised of their contents (the letters addressed to him) before they arrived, and to believe that the construction of the treaty, by which the navigation of the Mississippi is supposed to be comprehended in the guaranty, does not correspond with their ideas on that subject. The court (at Madrid) continues pertinacionsly to insist on our ceding that navigation, nor will they, as yet, listen to any middle course."
Spain perceived at this time that the States were almost certain to gain their independence. She had practically taken possession
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of the Floridas, had catured a few posts in the Upper Mississippi country to the cast of that river, had established herself at Natchez, watched every act of congress, and waited as patiently as a leopard at a deer lick for the states to yield the navigation of the Mississippi. From Havana at first, and later from the Florida and louisiana ports, her troops made steady advances into the British possessions above the thirty-first degree of north latitude. She did everything in her power, with the sanction and support of the Lonisianians, to gain the Mississippi by her conquests on its banks. Many of the Louisianians enlisted in her armies and were the first to invade the country to the east of the Mississippi and above the thirty-first degree of north latitude. She advanced more money to the American, under professions of earnest sym- pathy and friendship. Her ministers redoubled their efforts to obtain through the arts of diplomacy the paramount object-the navigation of the Mississippi. Her conquests in America above the thirty-first degree of north latitude were designed to fasten and strengthen her claims on the country to the east of the Mis- sissippi, as against the claims of the states when peace should be proclaimed. Her minister, played with the necessities of the colonies and their requests for money and munitions as a cat with a mouse.
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