The British, still angered over the recent revolution by its former colonies, refused to leave the western forts according to the Treaty of Paris of 1783. The British also denied trading rights to the United States in many of its colonies, especially the British West Indies. At the same time, the United States was Great Britain's main trading partner, but Britain was trying to force the United States to trade directly with England much as they had in colonial days.
The British also wanted to stop all trade between the United States and France, their enemy. The British stopped and often seized American ships heading for France. They also took American seamen from their ships, claiming they were deserters from British ships. This practice, called impressment, was authorized by the Order in Council, passed by the British cabinet. The Orders in Council authorized British ship captains to stop and search American vessels and seize any deserters found. British captains often seized the number of men they needed, with little regard for the origins of the men seized. It proved a great source of fully trained seamen.
The new American government was also having trouble with the French. The French wanted to stop American trade with Great Britain, and also seized shipments and ships heading to Great Britain. The new French government, which had taken power after the overthrow of the monarchy, expected the United States to stand by the Treaty of Alliance of 1778 under which the French had helped the Americans in the Revolution. But the French government had beheaded the king who made the alliance, which brought up an interesting point of international law.
Under international law, a new government is a new entity. It is not bound to continue previous treaties or meet previous obligations (such as debts, which Hamilton chose to honor even though he didn't have to do so, as discussed in the last article). President Washington chose to remain neutral, and not honor the 1778 treaty, since France was a new government, in essence a brand new country. This did not please the French.
During Washington's first term, political parties formed. The framers of the Constitution did not plan for the development of parties or their effect on our government. The two parties were called the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists were those who favored a strong central government, a centralized economy, and an industrial base to the economy. They favored Great Britain over France.
