Was Washington To Blame For The X, Y, And Z Affair?

Was Washington to blame for the X, Y, and Z affair? In my opinion yes, Washington was partly responsible for this affair. Throughout his presidency, Washington got rid of many problems with foreign affairs by establishing a treaty. When they needed Spain to give us navigation of the Mississippi river, he created Pinckney’s Treaty. Also, when Britain’s army units remained in America and causing havoc, Washington made Jay’s treaty. The main focus that Washington was making was the need to have peace in America. The American unity was way too fragile to have any wars anytime soon. So the goal was to avoid them at all costs. But, France was having their French Revolution and needed America’s aid. But, Washington already made it clear of
his plan so he made the Neutrality Proclamation. France was a little ticked off that America wasn’t honoring the Franco-American alliance. But, when Washington signed Jay’s treaty, France wasn’t happy at all and felt betrayed. So when, John Adams was elected he had his hand full trying to follow in the steps of his predecessor. France began to seize American merchant ships, and refused to receive America’s newly appointed representative, threatening to arrest him. Adams needed to resolve this issue to avoid a war, so he had his representatives meet the French foreign minister, Talleyrand. However, along the way they were stopped by three men (X, Y, and Z) who demanded a loan of 32 million florins, and a bribe of $250,000, just to talk to the prime minister. The representatives refused to pay this hefty cost, even with the knowledge that they were “standard diplomatic devices in Europe.” So, two out of the three representatives leave (Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall) and Elbridge Gerry stayed for a couple of months as a last resort to reinforce the don’t-start-a-war-plan. But, it doesn’t really work. Everything kind of got chaotic after that; war hysteria spread across America. America began rushing to prepare for war; preparing battle ships and gathering men. French seemed to be winning already just by the judging of their numbers. But, soon things began to die down. France didn’t really want to rush into another war. John Adams ended up making a peace treaty with France called the Convention of 1800, though it didn’t really help much.
John Adams wasn’t re-elected and signing that treaty was his downfall as a president. He was portrayed as safe or weak because he didn’t go to war with France or start a war to get more land. But, he was just following Washington’s policy of the don’t-start-a-war-plan. So, in conclusion Washington was a big factor in the action of Adams. Washington’s influence is what caused Adam’s to make the decision that he did. Adam’s put the country before his needs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough for him to be reelected.