Citizen Edmond-Charles Genêt
The "Citizen Genêt Affair" refers to an event from 1793 to 1794, when a French minister, Edmond-Charles Genêt, was dispatched by the French National Assembly to the United States to enlist American support for France's wars with Spain and Britain.
Instead of traveling to Philadelphia to present himself to President Washington for accreditation, Citizen Genêt arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 8, 1793, where he remained after being met with great Democratic-Republican fanfare. His goals in South Carolina were to recruit and arm American privateers to join French expeditions against the British in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Genêt commissioned four privateering ships (the Republicaine, the Anti-George, the Sans-Culotte, and the Citizen Genêt) and organized American volunteers to fight Britain's Spanish allies in Florida.
After raising this militia, Genêt traveled to Philadelphia to meet Washington and formally request an official suspension of Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality. Angered by Genêt's audacity in recruiting privateers in blatant violation of American neutrality, Washington confronted Genêt in the presidential mansion in Philadelphia. When Genêt's request was turned down, he was also informed that his actions were unacceptable. Genêt protested and continued to direct his privateers to capture British ships, threatening the United States' position in the war between France and Britain.
The Citizen Genêt Affair
President's House, Philadelphia; Washington confronted Genêt in the presidential mansion in Philadelphia, then at the national capital.
Effects on Foreign Relations
Genêt continued to defy the wishes of the U.S. government, sending American recruits to capture British ships and rearm them as privateers. Washington sent Genêt an 8,000-word letter of complaint on Jefferson and Hamilton's recommendation. Genêt refused to cease his activities, challenging Washington's executive authority and blatantly disregarding official American policy.
The Citizen Genêt Affair spurred Great Britain to instruct its naval commanders in the West Indies to seize all ships trading with the French. The British captured hundreds of American ships and their cargoes, increasing the possibility of war between the two countries. The Affair came to an end when the Jacobins, having taken power in France in January 1794, sent an arrest notice to Washington that demanded that Genêt return to France. Genêt, knowing that he would likely be sent to the guillotine, asked Washington for asylum. It was Hamilton—Genêt's fiercest opponent in the cabinet—who convinced Washington to grant him safe haven in the United States. With his mission and life of public service officially over, Genêt relocated to New York and lived the rest of his life as a private gentleman farmer.
Sketch of Citizen Genêt
Edmond-Charles Genêt came dangerously close to violating President Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality.