e tricolor of France, a present from the French
government to the United States, was sent by Washington to Congress, to
be deposited with the archives of the nation, French influence was on
the wane. The common sense of the country got the better of its
passion. In the reaction the Federalists regained the popular favor for
a season.

Whatever latent sympathy the French people may have had for America as
the nation which set the example of resistance to arbitrary rule, the
French government certainly was moved by no enthusiasm for abstract
rights. Its only object was to check the power of their ancient enemy,
and deprive it of its empire beyond the seas. Nevertheless, France did
contribute materially to American success. The American government and
people acknowledged the value of her assistance, and, in spite of the
prejudices of race, there was a strong bond of sympathy between the two
nations; and when, in her turn, France, in 1789, threw off the feudal
yoke, she expected and she received the sympathy of America. Beyond this
the government and the people of the United States could not and would
not go. The position of France in the winter of 1796-97 was peculiar.
She was at war with the two most formidable powers of Europe,--Austria
and England, the one the mistress of Central Europe, the other supreme
ruler of the seas. The United States was the only maritime power which
could be opposed to Great Britain. The French government determined to
secure American aid by persuasion, if possible, otherwise by threat. The
Directory indiscreetly appealed from the American government to the
American people, forgetting that in representative governments these are
one. Nor was the precedent cited in defense of this unusual
proceeding--namely, the appeal of the American colonists to the people
of England, Ireland, and Canada to take part in the struggle against the
British government--pertinent; for that was an appeal to sufferers under
a common yoke.

The enthusiasm awakened in France by the dramatic reception of the
American flag, presented by Monroe to the French Convention, was
somewhat dampened by the cooler manner with which Congress received the
tricolor, and was entirely dashed by the moderation of the reply of the
House to Washington's message. The consent of the House to the
appropriations to carry out the Jay Treaty decided the French Directory
to suspend diplomatic relations with the United States. The marvelous
succ