Pinckney's Treaty. Pulitzer Prize for History 1927. Illustrated

Samuel Flagg Bemis

• Publisher: Asimis Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9786178781071
• Subtopic: World History

Pinckney's Treaty by Samuel Flagg Bemis is a landmark study of early American diplomacy, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1927. This scholarly yet accessible work examines the 1795 treaty between the United States and Spain—also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo—which secured American navigation rights on the Mississippi River and defined the boundary between Spanish Florida and the U.S. Bemis explores the geopolitical tensions of the post-Revolutionary War era, including Spain's efforts to limit American expansion and the young nation's desire to assert its sovereignty in international affairs. At the center of this narrative is Thomas Pinckney, the American envoy whose negotiation skills helped avert conflict and solidify U.S. access to vital western trade routes. Through detailed analysis and original research, Bemis situates the treaty within the broader context of early American foreign policy, westward expansion, and the fragile balance of power in North America. Pinckney's Treaty remains a foundational work in the field of diplomatic history, illustrating how strategic negotiation helped shape the nation's future.Pinckney's Treaty by Samuel Flagg Bemis is a landmark study of early American diplomacy, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1927. This scholarly yet accessible work examines the 1795 treaty between the United States and Spain—also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo—which secured American navigation rights on the Mississippi River and defined the boundary between Spanish Florida and the U.S. Bemis explores the geopolitical tensions of the post-Revolutionary War era, including Spain's efforts to limit American expansion and the young nation's desire to assert its sovereignty in international affairs. At the center of this narrative is Thomas Pinckney, the American envoy whose negotiation skills helped avert conflict and solidify U.S. access to vital western trade routes. Through detailed analysis and original research, Bemis situates the treaty within the broader context of early American foreign policy, westward expansion, and the fragile balance of power in North America. Pinckney's Treaty remains a foundational work in the field of diplomatic history, illustrating how strategic negotiation helped shape the nation's future.

Table of contents

• Key to abbreviations used in footnotes
• Preface
• Chapter I. Introduction Origin of the Mississippi question and the boundary dispute
• Chapter II. The Mississippi question and other issues with Spain
• Chapter III. Gardoqui and Jay
• Chapter IV. Congress and the negotiation
• Chapter V. Further negotiations, 1786-1788
• Chapter VI. James Wilkinson and the Spanish conspiracy
• Chapter VII. Spanish policy and the American West
• Chapter VIII. “Patience and persuasion”
• Chapter IX. More patience and more persuasion
• Chapter X. Godoy's propositions for the President and their fate
• Chapter XI. Jay's treaty and its effect
• Chapter XII. Pinckney's treaty
• Chapter XIII. Conclusion
• Appendices