Rules on Neutrality, 3 August 1793

Rules on Neutrality

1.1 The original arming and equipping of vessels in the ports of the United States by any of the belligerent parties, for military service offensive or defensive, is deemed unlawful.

2. Equipments of merchant vessels2 by either of the belligerent parties in the ports of the United States, purely for the accommodation of them as such, is deemed lawful.

3. Equipments in the ports of the United States3 of vessels of war in the immediate4 service of the Government of any of the belligerent parties, which if done to other vessels would be of a5 doubtful nature, as being applicable either to commerce or war, are deemed lawful; except those which shall have made prize of the subjects, people, or property of France coming with their prizes into the Ports of the United States pursuant to the seventeenth Article of our Treaty of Amity and commerce with France.

4. Equipments in the Ports of the united States,6 by any of the parties at war with France,7 of vessels fitted for Merchandize and war, whether with or without Commissions, which are doubtful in their nature as being applicable either to commerce or war, are deemed lawful; except those which shall have made prize, &c.8

5. Equipments9 of any of the vessels of France, in the Ports of the United States, which are doubtful in their nature, as being applicable to commerce or war, are deemed lawful.

6. Equipments of every kind in the Ports of the United States, of privateers of the Powers at war with France, are deemed unlawful.

7. Equipments10 of vessels in the Ports of the United States, which are of a nature solely adapted to war,11 are deemed unlawful; except those stranded or12 wrecked, as mentioned in the eighteenth Article of our Treaty with France, the sixteenth of our Treaty with the United Netherlands, the ninth of our Treaty with Prussia, and except those13 mentioned in the nineteenth Article of our Treaty with France, the seventeenth of our Treaty with the United Netherlands, the eighteenth of our Treaty with Prussia.

8. Vessels of either of the parties not armed, or armed previous to their coming into the ports of the United States, which shall not have infringed any of the foregoing rules, may lawfully engage or inlist therein14 their own Subjects or15 Citizens, not being inhabitants of the United States; except privateers of the Powers at War with France, and except those vessels which shall have made prize, &c.16

August 3. 1793

The foregoing rules having been considered by us at several meetings, and being now unanimously approved, they are submitted to the President of the United States.

Th: Jefferson
Alexander Hamilton
H. Knox
Edm: Randolph

MS (DLC: Washington Papers); in the hand of George Taylor, Jr., signed by TJ, Hamilton, Knox, and Randolph, with date and final paragraph in Randolph's hand; endorsed by Tobias Lear. PrC (DLC); undated and unsigned; lacks final paragraph. Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 91: 15625); undated; in Hamilton's hand, with some revisions subsequently made by him in a darker ink and a marginal note by Randolph (see note 6 below), only the most important alterations being recorded below. PrC of Tr (DLC: Washington Papers); in Taylor's hand.

  1. Dft begins in Hamilton's hand: “At a Meeting of the Secretary of State The Secretary of the Treasury The Secretary at War and the Attorney General at the The following rules were agreed to.”
  2. Remainder of clause interlined by Hamilton in Dft.
  3. Preceding seven words interlined by Hamilton in Dft.
  4. Word interlined by Hamilton in Dft.
  5. Preceding nine words interlined in a darker ink by Hamilton in Dft in place of “are of a.”
  6. In Dft Hamilton originally wrote the next two clauses as “of vessels armed for Merchandize and War” before revising the passage as above.
  7. Preceding four words interlined in Dft by Hamilton in a darker ink after revising the passage described in the preceding note. He made this change in response to a note Edmund Randolph wrote in the margin next to this rule: “qu: if not better to say something here to distinguish vessels of France; altho’ taken up in the next article.”
  8. In Dft Hamilton here canceled his original fifth rule, which he later used in slightly variant form as rule 6.
  9. Remainder of clause interlined by Hamilton in Dft.
  10. “All” canceled by Hamilton with darker ink before this word in Dft.
  11. Preceding word altered by Hamilton in Dft from “warlike purposes.”
  12. Word interlined by Hamilton in a darker ink in Dft in place of “and.”
  13. In Dft Hamilton here canceled with darker ink “putting into the Ports of the UStates through stress of weather pursuit of pirates or [enemies] or other urgent necessity or accident as.”
  14. Word interlined by Hamilton in Dft.
  15. Preceding two words interlined by Hamilton in a darker ink in Dft.
  16. On a small sheet filed with the Dft, Hamilton wrote “The following rules were proposed but not agreed to.” These rules have not been identified.