During the spring and summer of 1794, Washington and his cabinet faced concerns that arose from the ongoing war in Europe. Embargo evasions, activities of French and British privateers, and the formation of a league of armed neutrality by Denmark and Sweden required appropriate administrative responses. Fears persisted about a potential war with Great Britain, even as John Jay began negotiations as envoy extraordinary to that nation.

Issues on the frontier included an attempt by Elijah Clarke of Georgia to establish an independent government on Creek Indian lands, unrest in Kentucky...

The highlight events of the months from October 1794 through March 1795, the period documented by volume 17 of the Presidential Series, were the suppression of the Whiskey Insurrection in western Pennsylvania and the negotiation of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain.

The volume opens with Washington, believing that his constitutional duty as commander in chief required his presence, en route to rendezvous with the troops called out to suppress the insurrection. After meeting with representatives from the insurgent counties and reviewing the troops, he concluded that serious...

International issues occupy much of Washington's attention in volume 18 of the Presidential Series, which covers 1 April through 30 September 1795. Peace agreements were made with Morocco in August and with Algiers in September. Thomas Pinckney traveled to Spain to renew negotiations over use of the Mississippi River. The fall of the Netherlands to France and the creation of the pro-French Batavian Republic there raised concerns about American finances in Europe. Washington also contended with new violations of American neutrality by British naval commanders. Washington's biggest...