Monroe-Pinkney Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Monroe–Pinkney Treaty of 1806 was a treaty drawn up by diplomats of the United States
and Britain
as a renewal of the Jay Treaty
of 1795. It was rejected by President Thomas Jefferson
and never took effect. The treaty was negotiated by minister to England James Monroe
and his associate William Pinkney
on behalf of the administration of President Thomas Jefferson
, and Lord Holland and Lord Auckland on behalf of the "Ministry of All the Talents
" government headed by Lord Grenville
.
For the Americans, the goal of the treaty was to make the British abandon the practice of impressing
sailors from American ships, as well as to address the neutral trading rights of American vessels in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars
, among other commercial concerns. However, the British were short of manpower for the Royal Navy
, and believed that numerous British deserters were serving on American ships. In the desperate war against Napoleon, the British believed that they could not afford to abandon impressment: offending the Americans was seen as a much lesser evil than losing to Napoleon. Therefore, no concessions on the issue of impressment were made.
The negotiations were begun on 27 August 1806, and the treaty was signed on 31 December 1806. President Jefferson received the treaty in March of 1807, but was disappointed and refused to submit it to the Senate for ratification. This failure to resolve differences over the issue of impressment and neutral trading rights contributed to the coming of the War of 1812
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
as a renewal of the Jay Treaty
Jay Treaty
Jay's Treaty, , also known as Jay's Treaty, The British Treaty, and the Treaty of London of 1794, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that is credited with averting war,, resolving issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolution,, and...
of 1795. It was rejected by President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and never took effect. The treaty was negotiated by minister to England James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
and his associate William Pinkney
William Pinkney
William Pinkney was an American statesman and diplomat, and the seventh U.S. Attorney General.-Biography:Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Pinkney studied medicine and law, becoming a lawyer after his admission to the bar in 1786...
on behalf of the administration of President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and Lord Holland and Lord Auckland on behalf of the "Ministry of All the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
" government headed by Lord Grenville
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville PC, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807 as head of the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background :...
.
For the Americans, the goal of the treaty was to make the British abandon the practice of impressing
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
sailors from American ships, as well as to address the neutral trading rights of American vessels in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, among other commercial concerns. However, the British were short of manpower for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and believed that numerous British deserters were serving on American ships. In the desperate war against Napoleon, the British believed that they could not afford to abandon impressment: offending the Americans was seen as a much lesser evil than losing to Napoleon. Therefore, no concessions on the issue of impressment were made.
The negotiations were begun on 27 August 1806, and the treaty was signed on 31 December 1806. President Jefferson received the treaty in March of 1807, but was disappointed and refused to submit it to the Senate for ratification. This failure to resolve differences over the issue of impressment and neutral trading rights contributed to the coming of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.