Politics Behind the Logan Act of 1799
Recently, the Logan Act of 1799 has been in the news. The original act was passed by Congress because it criminalized any attempts by a private citizen to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. government.
Article II (Executive), Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution states, He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
So, what happened? John Adams was President and sent a delegation to France to negotiate an end to the conflict known as the Quasi-War. The war started when the U.S. refused to pay back its loans from the American Revolution, using the rationale that the government of Louis XVI, which made the loans, no longer exists. As a result, the French issued letters of marque to privateers and ordered the French Navy to seize U.S.-flagged ships (See 6/20/21 Post – The Undeclared War Against France – https://marcliebman.com/the-undeclared-war-against-france/ ).
Encouraged by the Democratic-Republicans led by the very pro-French Thomas Jefferson, Dr. George Logan, a Quaker, a pacifist, and a Democratic-Republican representative in the Pennsylvania Legislature, traveled to Paris. His mission was to negotiate an end to the undeclared war and win the release of American seamen and ships captured by the French.
Logan met with Talleyrand and other members of the French Foreign Ministry and told them that the Federalists favored England and were considering siding with Great Britain. This was a bald-faced lie.
Infuriated President Adams and his Secretary of State, Thomas Pickering, saw Logan’s efforts for what it was – a political stunt to embarrass the Federalists, who had a majority in both the House and Senate, and to usurp the power of the president.
The Logan Act of 1799 was passed with 58 – 36 in the House and 18-2 in the Senate. The key elements of the act can be found in Title 18, Section 953 of the U.S. Code which states Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
In 1810, Dr. Logan, now a member of the U.S. Senate, tried to get the 1799 law repealed. Even with a sizeable Democratic-Republican majority in both houses, his efforts failed.
In the years since the bill, several prosecutions have occurred, but no indictments or trials. However, it is worth noting that in December 2020, during President Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel wrote a memo stating that the Logan Act was constitutional until it was either repealed by Congress or ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The memo was made public in January 2025.
Image is Dr. George Logan painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1803.
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