Neutrality Proclamation

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The Neutrality Proclamation was a declaration issued by George Washington on April 22, 1793 stating that the United States would "adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial towards the belligerent powers", in this case referring to France, Britain, and its Spanish allies. Any American providing assistance to the warring countries would be prosecuted.

It was the result of France's declaration of war against Britain. President Washington was alerted, and he immediately returned from Mount Vernon to the then capital, Philadelphia. His cabinet supported neutrality, but disagreed on how to effect it. Alexander Hamilton supported closer ties with the British, while Thomas Jefferson supported the French. It was upon Jefferson's insistence that word "neutrality" did not actually appear in the declaration. Nonetheless, it would come to be known as the Neutrality Proclamation.

The neutrality of the United States was nearly undermined during the Citizen Genet scandal.

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