What did the American diplomats say they’d rather do than pay the bribe to the French
The relevant anecdote is a part of a diplomatic incident between France and America in the late 18th century that led to an undeclared naval war .
In 1793, France went to war with Great Britain while America remained neutral. Late the following year, the United States and Britain signed the Jay Treaty and thereby resolved their issues .The French were infuriated by Jay’s Treaty, alleging that it violated earlier treaties between the United States and France. Eventually, the French went on to seize a number of American merchant ships. When John Adams became president in March 1797, he dispatched a three-member delegation to Paris the same year in an effort to restore peace between the two countries. Once the diplomats—Pinckney, Marshall and Gerry—arrived overseas, they tried to meet with France’s foreign minister, Charles de Talleyrand. Instead, he put them off and informed them that in order to see him they first would have to pay him a hefty bribe and provide France with a large loan, among other conditions.
Pinckney’s supposed response was: “No! No! Not a sixpence!”
In 1798, the American ships attacked French vessels, hence launching an undeclared naval war that came to be referred to as the Quasi-War. The hostilities were settled with the Treaty of Mortefontaine of 1801.
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