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The Neutrality Act of 1794 was a
United States law The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...
which made it illegal for a United States citizen to wage war against any country at peace with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The Act declares in part:
If any person shall within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States begin or set on foot or provide or prepare the means for any military expedition or enterprise ... against the territory or dominions of any foreign prince or state of whom the United States was at peace that person would be guilty of a misdemeanor.
The act also forbade foreign war vessels to outfit in American waters and set a three-mile territorial limit at sea. The act was repealed and replaced several times while also being amended and a similar statute is in force as .


Origins and evolution

One reason for the act was to create a liability for violation of Section 8 of
Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consist ...
, which reserves to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
the power to decide to go to war. The
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
previously had an alliance with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1778 that France accused the United States of violating with the 1794 American
Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...
with
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. The French Ambassador to the United States,
Edmond-Charles Genêt Edmond-Charles Genêt (January 8, 1763July 14, 1834), also known as Citizen Genêt, was the French envoy to the United States appointed by the Girondins during the French Revolution. His actions on arriving in the United States led to a major po ...
, had been actively recruiting American
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s for attacks on
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and Great Britain, with whom the French republican government was at war. Some individuals in America were supporting the French Republican Government by engaging in privateering and other Americans were engaging in
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
military operations against
British Canada British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
and Spanish possessions in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
and South America. This led to
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 and the act of 1794. The Neutrality Act of 1794 was used in the trials of
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...
, William S. Smith and Etienne Guinet, who, with Frenchman Jean Baptist LeMaitre, were convicted of outfitting an armed ship to take part in France's war against Great Britain. The Neutrality Act of 1794 was joined by the Neutrality Act of 1817 that included States that had recently become independent from Spain that were not mentioned in the original act. Unrecognized governments such as "colonies, districts, or people" are given the same recognition as "states and princes" in the last clause of section 5.
Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
called it "an Act for the benefit of Spain against the republics of America." The Neutrality Act of 1817 also prescribed maximum penalties of three years imprisonment and up to a three thousand dollar fine. The Neutrality Act of 1794 and the Neutrality Act of 1817 were repealed and replaced by the Neutrality Act of 1818. The Neutrality Act of 1794 was repealed, reenacted, and amended several times since and its successor remains in force as .


Legislative history

On March 13, 1794, the
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
, broke a tie in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in favor of the bill that would become the Neutrality Act of 1794. The
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
voted to consider the bill immediately on May 31, 1794. On June 2, 1794, the
Committee of the Whole A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) ...
made a motion to remove section six of the bill. This section prohibited the sale within the United States of prizes captured by foreign warships or privateers.


Recent applications

In 1981, nine men involved in
Operation Red Dog Operation Red Dog was the code name of an April 27, 1981, military filibustering plot by Canadian and American citizens, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica. They planned ...
were each sentenced to three years in prison pursuant to the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1794; they had planned to overthrow the government of
Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
. In the 2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation, the
United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
alleged after a
sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...
that a group of conspirators planned to violate the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1794 by overthrowing the government of Communist
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. The United States Government has since dropped all charges against these defendants. In May 2016 four United States residents were convicted of violating the successor statute of the Neutrality Act of 1794 for their role in the 2014 Gambian coup d'état attempt.


See also

* Burr conspiracy


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neutrality Act Of 1794 1794 in American law 1794 in international relations 1794 in military history United States foreign relations legislation Presidency of George Washington