Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
Encyclopedia
The United States
and the United Kingdom
signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty on 18 November 1901. The Treaty nullified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
of 1850 and gave the United States the right to create and control a canal across the Central American isthmus to connect the Pacific Ocean
and the Atlantic Ocean
. In the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, both nations had renounced building such a canal under the sole control of one nation.
by U.S. President
William McKinley
on 5 February 1900. It provided (1) that a canal might be constructed by the United States, or under its direction, (2) that the canal should be permanently neutralized on the basis of the Suez Canal agreement
— to be kept open at all times, either of war or peace, to all vessels, without discrimination, and no fortifications to be constructed commanding the canal or the waters adjacent, and (3) that other powers should be invited to join in this guaranty of neutrality. These provisions excited intense hostility in the U.S., and Senator Henry G. Davis
offered an amendment adopted by the Committee on Foreign Affairs
. The amendment provided that the neutralization clause should not prevent the United States from any measures it thought needful for its own defense or the preservation of order, specifically declared the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty abrogated, and struck out the third clause inviting the concurrence of other powers. The Senate ratified the Treaty with this amendment on 20 December 1900, but Great Britain refused to accept the amended treaty, and it expired by limitation on 5 March 1901.
John Hay
and British Ambassador to the United States Lord Pauncefote, set to work on a compromise, which they signed on 18 November 1901. President Theodore Roosevelt
sent it to the Senate, which ratified it on 16 December. In its final form, the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty abrogated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, did not forbid the United States from constructing fortifications, and did not require that the canal be kept open in time of war. The Treaty ceded to the United States the right to build and manage a canal, provided that all nations would be allowed access, and that the canal should never be taken by force.
signed the Act on 24 August.
In a formal protest lodged on 9 December, Grey declared that "while the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty left the United States free to build and protect the canal, it expressly maintained the principle of Article VIII of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, guaranteeing to England the use of the canal on a complete equality with the United States of America." On 27 February 1913 he pressed for arbitration. In the United States, the British contention was generally regarded as an attempt to interfere with the United States' sovereign rights to regulate its own commerce, and to use the canal in whatsoever manner it saw fit. A minority, led by Republican Senator Elihu Root
, held that the British objection was based on solid grounds.
President Wilson
took office in 1913 and on 5 March 1914, Wilson sent a message to Congress strongly urging the repeal of the exemption. He regarded the exemption as a plain breach of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty and declared that it was only in the United States that there was any doubt as to its language. He proposed a "voluntary withdrawal from a position everywhere questioned and misunderstood." He faced strong opposition from his own party members whose 1912 Democratic Party platform had committed them to guaranteeing free passage for U.S. Nevertheless, President Wilson
forced his own party members to accept a repeal of the exemption, but not before a proviso had been inserted in the bill expressly reserving to the United States the right to exempt ships from tolls in the future. Wilson signed these revisions to the Panama Canal Act on 15 June 1914.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty on 18 November 1901. The Treaty nullified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, negotiated in 1850 by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, later Lord Dalling...
of 1850 and gave the United States the right to create and control a canal across the Central American isthmus to connect the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. In the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, both nations had renounced building such a canal under the sole control of one nation.
Background
In the United States, for some years public irritation had been growing over the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty's restriction on that country's independent action. The British recognized their diminishing influence in the region and determined to cultivate the United States as a counterweight to Germany's influence in Central and South America. Fresh negotiations were opened, and Great Britain gave its diplomat very liberal instructions, to concede whatever did not nullify the essential principle of neutrality of access.Negotiations
A draft treaty was sent to the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
on 5 February 1900. It provided (1) that a canal might be constructed by the United States, or under its direction, (2) that the canal should be permanently neutralized on the basis of the Suez Canal agreement
Convention of Constantinople
The Convention of Constantinople was a treaty signed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Austro-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the Ottoman Empire on October 29, 1888. In the 1880s Britain had recently acquired physical control over the Suez Canal and Egypt...
— to be kept open at all times, either of war or peace, to all vessels, without discrimination, and no fortifications to be constructed commanding the canal or the waters adjacent, and (3) that other powers should be invited to join in this guaranty of neutrality. These provisions excited intense hostility in the U.S., and Senator Henry G. Davis
Henry G. Davis
Henry Gassaway Davis was a self-made millionaire and U.S. Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. His brother was U.S...
offered an amendment adopted by the Committee on Foreign Affairs
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
. The amendment provided that the neutralization clause should not prevent the United States from any measures it thought needful for its own defense or the preservation of order, specifically declared the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty abrogated, and struck out the third clause inviting the concurrence of other powers. The Senate ratified the Treaty with this amendment on 20 December 1900, but Great Britain refused to accept the amended treaty, and it expired by limitation on 5 March 1901.
Final treaty
The two diplomats, United States Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Hay
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
and British Ambassador to the United States Lord Pauncefote, set to work on a compromise, which they signed on 18 November 1901. President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
sent it to the Senate, which ratified it on 16 December. In its final form, the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty abrogated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, did not forbid the United States from constructing fortifications, and did not require that the canal be kept open in time of war. The Treaty ceded to the United States the right to build and manage a canal, provided that all nations would be allowed access, and that the canal should never be taken by force.
Tolls controversy
Prior to the opening of the Panama Canal to traffic on 15 August 1914, a controversy with Great Britain respecting the interpretation of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty arose. Under the Panama Canal Act of 1912, United States vessels engaged in the coast-to-coast trade between U.S. ports were to be exempted from canal tolls. Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, lodged a protest and claimed that the act discriminated against British and other foreign vessels in contravention of the Treaty, and requested that the Senate forgo action on the bill in order that a detailed statement might be sent, but President TaftWilliam Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
signed the Act on 24 August.
In a formal protest lodged on 9 December, Grey declared that "while the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty left the United States free to build and protect the canal, it expressly maintained the principle of Article VIII of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850, guaranteeing to England the use of the canal on a complete equality with the United States of America." On 27 February 1913 he pressed for arbitration. In the United States, the British contention was generally regarded as an attempt to interfere with the United States' sovereign rights to regulate its own commerce, and to use the canal in whatsoever manner it saw fit. A minority, led by Republican Senator Elihu Root
Elihu Root
Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
, held that the British objection was based on solid grounds.
President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
took office in 1913 and on 5 March 1914, Wilson sent a message to Congress strongly urging the repeal of the exemption. He regarded the exemption as a plain breach of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty and declared that it was only in the United States that there was any doubt as to its language. He proposed a "voluntary withdrawal from a position everywhere questioned and misunderstood." He faced strong opposition from his own party members whose 1912 Democratic Party platform had committed them to guaranteeing free passage for U.S. Nevertheless, President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
forced his own party members to accept a repeal of the exemption, but not before a proviso had been inserted in the bill expressly reserving to the United States the right to exempt ships from tolls in the future. Wilson signed these revisions to the Panama Canal Act on 15 June 1914.