Instructions from Congress to John Jay, 4 October 1780
Instructions from Congress to John Jay
[Philadelphia, 4 October 1780]
Instructions to the Honorable John Jay Minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America at the Court of Madrid agreed to unanimously in Congress Octr. 4th. 17801
That the said Minister adhere to his former instructions respecting the right of the United States of America to the free navigation of the river Mississippi into and from the sea, which right if an express acknowledgment of it cannot be obtained from Spain is not by any Stipulations on the part of America to be relinquished.2
To render the treaty to be concluded between the two nations permanent, nothing can more effectually contribute than a proper attention not only to the present but the future reciprocal interests of the contracting powers. The river Mississippi being the boundary of several States in the union and their citizens while connected with Great Britain and since the revolution having been accustomed to the free use thereof in common with the subjects of Spain and no instance of complaint or dispute having resulted from it, there is no reason to fear that the future mutual use of the river by the subjects of the two Nations actuated by friendly dispositions will occasion any interruption of that harmony, which it is the desire of America as well as of Spain should be perpetual.—
That if the unlimited freedom of the navigation of the river Mississippi with a free port or ports below 31 degrees North latitude,3 accessible to Merchant ships cannot be obtained from Spain, the said minister in that case be at Liberty to enter into such equitable regulations as may appear a necessary security against contraband, provided the right of the United States to the free navigation of the river be not relinquished and a free port or ports as above described be stipulated to them.4
With respect to the boundary alluded to in his Letter of the 26. May last, the said Minister be and hereby is instructed to adhere strictly to the boundaries of the United States as already fixed by Congress.
Spain having by the treaty of Paris ceded to great Britain all the country to the north eastward of the Mississippi, the people inhabiting these States while connected with Great Britain and also since the revolution have settled themselves at divers places to the westward near the Mississippi, are friendly to the revolution and being citizens of these United States and subject to the laws of those to which they respectively belong, Congress cannot assign them over as subjects to any other power.
That the said minister be farther informed that in case Spain shall eventually be in possession of East and West Florida at the termination of the war it is of the greatest importance to these United States to have the use of the water running out of Georgia through West Florida into the bay of Mexico5 for the purpose of navigation and that he be instructed to endeavour to obtain the same, subject to such regulations as may be agreed on between the contracting parties, and that as a compensation for this he be and hereby is empowered to guaranty the possessions of the said Floridas to the Crown of Spain.—6
By Order of Congress.
(Signed) Saml. Huntington. Presdt:
(attest) Charles Thompson, Secy.7
LbkC, PPAmP: Franklin (EJ: 2660).
1. A copy of these instructions, Congress’s response to JJ’s letter of 26 May (above), was also sent to BF. See BF to JJ, 20 Aug. 1781, below; and , 18: 935.
2. See the President of Congress to JJ, 16 Oct. 1779, : 716–18; and Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca, 11 May and 23 Sept. 1780, above.
3. The northern boundary of West Florida as set forth in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (7 Oct.).
4. JJ had earlier suggested that Congress offer guarantees against contraband. See Notes on John Jay’s Conference with Floridablanca, 11 May; and JJ to the President of Congress, 26 May 1780, both above. In a letter to the Committee for Foreign Affairs of 29 Jan. 1781, Carmichael advised that “the late change of measures adopted by Congress” would not, in his opinion, substantively alter Spain’s determination to exclude the United States from navigation of the Mississippi. See , 4: 243.
5. The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers flow from Georgia southwest to form the Apalachicola; the Etowah joins the Oostanaula to form the Coosa River. On the role of Florida in Congress’s plans for a treaty with Spain, see the editorial note “Congress Appoints John Jay Minister to Spain,” : 709–13.
6. For a fuller statement of the principles on which these instructions were based, see the President of Congress to JJ, 17 Oct. 1780, below.
7. JJ received this communication on 30 Jan. 1781 and acknowledged it in his letter to the President of Congress of 25 Apr. 1781, below.