---
title: "Proclamation of Neutrality — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "Washington's 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality kept the U.S. out of the war between France and Britain, setting the non-entanglement precedent tested in APUSH Unit 3."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
unit: "Unit 3"
---

# Proclamation of Neutrality — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

The Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) was George Washington's formal declaration that the United States would not take sides in the war between revolutionary France and Great Britain, establishing non-involvement in European conflicts as the foundation of early American foreign policy.

## What It Is

In 1793, revolutionary France went to war with [Great Britain](/apush/key-terms/great-britain "fv-autolink"), and the brand-new United States had a problem. The 1778 alliance with France (the one that helped win the Revolution) seemed to obligate America to help. Washington said no. His Proclamation of Neutrality announced that the U.S. would be "friendly and impartial" toward both sides, refusing to join either France or Britain.

The decision was controversial inside Washington's own cabinet. Alexander Hamilton wanted to lean toward Britain, America's biggest trading partner, while Thomas Jefferson sympathized with France and the ideals of its revolution. Washington's choice reflected a cold reality. The young [republic](/apush/unit-4/context-early-american-democracy/study-guide/l50VQC2Ghh7MS0mDKX46 "fv-autolink") had a tiny army, a fragile economy, and no business fighting a European war. The proclamation became the template for decades of American foreign policy, reinforced three years later by Washington's Farewell Address warning against permanent [alliances](/apush/unit-2/interactions-between-american-indians-europeans/study-guide/chUDbGx9XSPajryeDxcv "fv-autolink").

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **[Unit 3](/apush/unit-3 "fv-autolink"), Topic 3.13 (Continuity and Change in Period 3)** and supports learning objective **[APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") 3.13.A**, which asks you to explain how the independence movement affected American society from 1754 to 1800. Independence created a new challenge that the proclamation directly answers. Once the U.S. broke from Britain, it had to figure out how to survive as a weak nation in a world dominated by warring empires. Neutrality was the answer. For the exam, this is a classic causation and continuity term. It shows the consequences of independence (new diplomatic dilemmas) and starts a foreign policy tradition you can trace all the way to the 1930s, which makes it gold for continuity-and-change essays.

## Connections

### [French Revolution (Unit 3)](/apush/key-terms/french-revolution)

The [French Revolution](/apush/key-terms/french-revolution "fv-autolink") is the direct cause of the proclamation. When France's revolution turned into a war with Britain in 1793, Americans split over whether to honor the 1778 French alliance. Washington's answer was to honor neither side.

### [Alexander Hamilton (Unit 3)](/apush/key-terms/alexander-hamilton)

The [neutrality](/apush/key-terms/neutrality "fv-autolink") debate fed the first party system. Hamilton's pro-British Federalists backed the proclamation, while Jefferson's pro-French Democratic-Republicans saw it as a betrayal of a revolutionary ally. Foreign policy disagreement helped harden domestic political parties.

### [Isolationism (Units 3 and 7)](/apush/key-terms/isolationism)

The proclamation is the starting point of the [isolationist](/apush/key-terms/isolationist "fv-autolink") tradition. Washington declared neutrality in 1793, warned against entangling alliances in his 1796 Farewell Address, and that instinct echoes through the Monroe Doctrine and U.S. reluctance to enter World War I.

### [Neutrality Acts (Unit 7)](/apush/key-terms/neutrality-acts)

The 1930s Neutrality Acts are the 20th-century descendant of Washington's policy. Congress tried to keep the U.S. out of another European war using the same logic. Pairing the two gives you a ready-made continuity argument spanning 140 years.

## On the AP Exam

Multiple-choice questions usually hand you the proclamation (or an excerpt about it) and ask what post-independence challenge it addressed. The answer they want is that independence forced the new nation to define its place among powerful, warring European empires while staying out of conflicts it couldn't afford. Another common stem points out the gap between policy and behavior, since the government declared neutrality while merchants kept trading with both sides, and asks you to connect that to earlier independence-era patterns of colonists ignoring official policy. No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it's a strong piece of evidence for LEQs and DBQs on early national foreign policy, the rise of political parties, or continuity in American isolationism from Washington through the 1930s. Don't just name it. Explain what it caused or what tradition it started.

## Proclamation of Neutrality vs Neutrality Acts (1930s)

Same word, different century, different mechanism. The Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) was a single executive announcement by President Washington responding to the wars of the French Revolution. The Neutrality Acts (1935-1939) were a series of laws passed by Congress to keep the U.S. out of the conflicts leading to World War II. If the question is about Period 3 and Washington, it's the proclamation. If it's about the interwar years and Congress, it's the acts. On the exam, knowing both lets you argue isolationism as a continuity across American history.

## Key Takeaways

- Washington issued the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 to keep the United States out of the war between revolutionary France and Great Britain.
- The proclamation effectively sidestepped the 1778 alliance with France, signaling that national survival mattered more than treaty obligations to a revolutionary ally.
- The neutrality debate deepened the split between Hamilton's pro-British Federalists and Jefferson's pro-French Democratic-Republicans, fueling the first party system.
- Neutrality was a direct consequence of independence, since the new nation had to navigate European power politics with a weak military and a fragile economy.
- The proclamation set the precedent for American non-entanglement that Washington repeated in his Farewell Address and that lasted, in various forms, into the 20th century.
- American merchants traded with both Britain and France despite the official policy, showing a recurring gap between government declarations and citizens' actual behavior.

## FAQs

### What was the Proclamation of Neutrality in APUSH?

It was George Washington's 1793 announcement that the United States would stay out of the war between France and Great Britain, treating both nations impartially. It established neutrality and non-entanglement as the core of early U.S. foreign policy.

### Did the Proclamation of Neutrality break the alliance with France?

Not formally, but practically yes. The 1778 Treaty of Alliance technically still existed, but Washington refused to honor it militarily, arguing the U.S. was too weak to join a European war. Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans saw this as abandoning the ally that helped win the Revolution.

### How is the Proclamation of Neutrality different from the Neutrality Acts?

The Proclamation of Neutrality was a 1793 executive declaration by Washington during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Neutrality Acts were congressional laws passed between 1935 and 1939 to keep the U.S. out of the conflicts before World War II. They're separated by over 140 years but share the same isolationist logic, which makes them a great continuity pairing for essays.

### Why did Washington declare neutrality in 1793?

The U.S. had a tiny military, a shaky economy, and depended heavily on trade with Britain. Joining either side of the war could have destroyed the young republic. Hamilton pushed for friendliness toward Britain, Jefferson sympathized with France, and Washington chose neither.

### Did Americans actually stay neutral after the proclamation?

No, not really. Merchants kept trading with both Britain and France, and some citizens volunteered for foreign causes despite the official policy. APUSH questions often use this gap to test whether you can connect it to earlier patterns of colonists ignoring official rules, like smuggling under British trade laws.

## Related Study Guides

- [3.13 Continuity and Change in Period 3 (1754-1800)](/apush/unit-3/continuity-change-period-3/study-guide/51uENnieSL7EhfHYtqyR)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality#resource","name":"Proclamation of Neutrality — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-12T23:21:48.620Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality#term","name":"Proclamation of Neutrality","description":"The Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) was George Washington's formal declaration that the United States would not take sides in the war between revolutionary France and Great Britain, establishing non-involvement in European conflicts as the foundation of early American foreign policy.","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/proclamation-of-neutrality","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What was the Proclamation of Neutrality in APUSH?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It was George Washington's 1793 announcement that the United States would stay out of the war between France and Great Britain, treating both nations impartially. It established neutrality and non-entanglement as the core of early U.S. foreign policy."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Did the Proclamation of Neutrality break the alliance with France?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Not formally, but practically yes. The 1778 Treaty of Alliance technically still existed, but Washington refused to honor it militarily, arguing the U.S. was too weak to join a European war. Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans saw this as abandoning the ally that helped win the Revolution."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is the Proclamation of Neutrality different from the Neutrality Acts?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Proclamation of Neutrality was a 1793 executive declaration by Washington during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Neutrality Acts were congressional laws passed between 1935 and 1939 to keep the U.S. out of the conflicts before World War II. They're separated by over 140 years but share the same isolationist logic, which makes them a great continuity pairing for essays."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did Washington declare neutrality in 1793?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The U.S. had a tiny military, a shaky economy, and depended heavily on trade with Britain. Joining either side of the war could have destroyed the young republic. Hamilton pushed for friendliness toward Britain, Jefferson sympathized with France, and Washington chose neither."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Did Americans actually stay neutral after the proclamation?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, not really. Merchants kept trading with both Britain and France, and some citizens volunteered for foreign causes despite the official policy. APUSH questions often use this gap to test whether you can connect it to earlier patterns of colonists ignoring official rules, like smuggling under British trade laws."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"AP US History","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 3","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush/unit-3"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Proclamation of Neutrality"}]}]}
```