<P> The Jeffersonians were opposed to Britain, preferring support for France in the wars raging in Europe, and they argued that the treaty with France from 1778 was still in effect . They considered Britain as the center of aristocracy and the chief threat to the United States' Republican values . They denounced Hamilton and Jay (and even Washington) as monarchists who betrayed American values . They organized public protests against Jay and his treaty; one of their rallying cries said: Damn John Jay! Damn everyone that won't damn John Jay! Damn every one that won't put lights in his window and sit up all night damning John Jay! </P> <P> The treaty was one of the major catalysts for the advent of the First Party System in the United States by further dividing the two major political factions within the country . The Federalist Party, led by Hamilton, supported the treaty . On the contrary, the Democratic - Republican Party, led by Jefferson and Madison, opposed it . Jefferson and his supporters had a counter-proposal to establish "a direct system of commercial hostility with Great Britain," even at the risk of war . The Jeffersonians raised public opinion to fever pitch by accusing the British of promoting Indian atrocities on the frontier . The fierce debates over the Treaty in 1794--95, according to one historian, "transformed the Republican movement into a Republican party ." To fight the treaty, the Jeffersonians "established coordination in activity between leaders at the capital, and leaders, actives and popular followings in the states, counties and towns ." Jay's failure to obtain compensation for "lost" slaves galvanized the South into opposition . </P> <P> The Federalists fought back and Congress rejected the Jefferson--Madison counter-proposals . Washington threw his great prestige behind the treaty, and Federalists rallied public opinion more effectively than did their opponents . Hamilton convinced President Washington that it was the best treaty that could be expected . Washington insisted that the U.S. must remain neutral in the European wars; he signed it, and his prestige carried the day in Congress . The Federalists made a strong, systematic appeal to public opinion, which rallied their own supporters and shifted the debate . Washington and Hamilton outmaneuvered Madison, who was opposition leader . Hamilton by then was out of the government, and he was the dominant figure who helped secure the treaty's approval by the needed 2 / 3 vote in the Senate . The Senate passed a resolution in June, advising the President to amend the treaty by suspending the 12th article, which concerned trade between the U.S. and the West Indies . In mid-August, the Senate ratified the treaty 20--10, with the condition that the treaty contain specific language regarding the June 24 resolution . President Washington signed it in late August . The Treaty was proclaimed in effect on February 29, 1796 and the House funded it in April 1796, in a series of close votes and after another bitter fight . </P> <P> James Madison, then a member of the House of Representatives, argued that the treaty could not, under Constitutional law, take effect without approval of the House, since it regulated commerce and exercised legislative powers granted to Congress . The debate which followed was an early example of originalism, in which Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," lost . One interesting feature of this nationwide constitutional debate was an advisory opinion on the subject written by Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, in which he rejected any alleged right of the House of Representatives to decide upon the merits of the treaty . After defeat on the treaty in Congress, the Jeffersonian Republicans lost the 1796 presidential election on the issue . </P>

Why did france attack u.s. merchant ships after the jay treaty was signed in 1794