The XYZ Affair

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

In 1798, worried that emotions would push France and America into an open war, President John Adams sent a delegation consisting of John Marshall, Elbridge Gerry, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to Paris to try and calm these rising tensions. The delegation arrived in Paris in early October but were denied a meeting for weeks. They were finally approached by three French officials whose code names were X, Y, and Z. These Frenchmen informed the Americans that before any negotiations could start, a few “sweeteners” would need to be provided to French officials, including $250,000 for Foreign Minister Charles Talleyrand.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses these negotiations, also known as the XYZ affair, and why it still matters today.

Images courtesy of National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Getty Museum Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Library Company of Philadelphia, The New York Public Library, National Gallery of Art, National Archives, Wikipedia.

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Tom Hand
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