saw the peril of a general European war.

Early in April, 1793, a British packet brought the news to New York that
Louis XVI had been guillotined and that France was at war with England
and Spain. The ominous tidings brought President Washington post-haste
from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia. Summoning his advisers, he put before
them the perplexing questions which had arisen in his mind. Neutrality
was obviously the policy which national self-interest dictated; but
neutrality seemed hardly compatible with our treaty obligations to
France. In the treaties of 1778, the United States had expressly
guaranteed French possessions in America and had opened its ports to
French privateers and their prizes, denying the privilege to her
enemies. Hamilton argued rather fallaciously that these treaties were
made by the King of France and were binding upon his successors alone;
they were not in force after the Revolutionary Government had destroyed
the monarchy. Furthermore, the guaranty did not apply to an offensive
war such as that which France was now waging. Jefferson and Randolph
took issue with Hamilton on these points; but all agreed that neutrality
must be preserved. On April 22, the President issued a proclamation,
which, avoiding the word "neutrality," declared that the United States
was at peace with both France and Great Britain, and warned all citizens
to avoid all acts of hostility.

The proclamation was well-timed, for Genet had already landed at
Charleston and had begun his extraordinary career as revolutionary agent
of the Gironde. He found the ground well watered for the seeds of
revolution. In Georgia and South Carolina, the frontiersmen were
smarting under the repeated depredations of the Cherokees and Creeks and
eager to put an end to Spanish ascendancy in that quarter. Under these
circumstances it was no difficult matter to arrange for expeditions
against St. Augustine from the Georgia frontier, and against New Orleans
from South Carolina by way of the Tennessee River and the Mississippi.
Assuming that the United States was already enlisted in the cause by the
treaties of 1778, Genet sent out orders to French consuls, bidding them
set up courts of admiralty for the trial of prize cases, and even
dispatched privateers from the port of Charleston to prey upon British
vessels. Before Genet could reach Philadelphia, the French frigate
L'Ambuscade had captured the Little Sarah in lower Delaware Bay, and had
anchored