Blogging From A to Z April Challenge - Letter X

The last three days of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge are upon us. That went by fast.

The letter X is so underutilized. There is only one listing in my reference book for this letter. The XYZ Affair nearly brought the United States to war with France in 1798. Since it's in my favorite time period--Colonial America through the Civil War Era--one would think I recalled the details. Nope. Forgot all about I read up on it. Then it came back to mind.

America's relationship with France was rocky. Though the United States had signed the Treaty of Alliance with France in 1778, promising military support in case of attack by the British, America offered little assistance during the French revolutionary wars. In 1793, the careless involvement of France's minister to the U.S., Edmond Charles Genet, made matters worse. So by the conclusion of the Jay Treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain in 1795, which undid some of the agreements America made with France, tensions were at a new high.

French privateers began seizing American ships. The French foreign minister, Charles Maurice Talleyrand, refused to receive the new U.S. minister to France, Charles Pinckney. So, President John Adams appointed John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to join Pinckney and negotiate a new treaty with France. Three of Talleyrand's agents told the commissioners that before a new treaty could be discussed, the United States had to loan France $12 million (approximately $159,520,326.24 today). The commissioners refused and reported to President Adams that the mission had failed. The agents were designated as X,Y, and Z in the commissioners' correspondence.

When news of the failed mission was released to the public, it led to calls for immediate war against France. Though the countries engaged in naval conflicts for the next two years, no war was ever declared. In 1800, Adams negotiated the Treaty of Morfontaine, which restored peace between America and France.