Olney–Pauncefote Treaty

The Olney–Pauncefote Treaty of 1897 was a proposed treaty between the United States and Britain in 1897 that would have required arbitration of major disputes. The treaty was rejected by the U.S. Senate and never went into effect.

The 1895 dispute between the United States and Britain over Venezuela was peacefully resolved through arbitration. Both nations realized that a mechanism was desirable to avoid possible future conflicts. American secretary of state Richard Olney in January 1897 negotiated an arbitration treaty with the British diplomat Julian Pauncefote. President William McKinley supported the treaty, as did most opinion leaders, academics, and leading newspapers. The main opposition came from Irish-Americans, who held a very negative view of Britain because of its treatment of Ireland.

In the Senate, however, a series of amendments exempted important issues from any sort of arbitration. Any issue that was not exempted would need a two thirds vote of the Senate before arbitration could begin. Virtually nothing was left of the original proposal, and the Senate in May 1897 voted 43 in favor to 26 opposed, three votes short of the two thirds majority needed. The Senate in the first place was jealous of its control over treaties, and secondly was susceptible to a certain deep-rooted Anglophobia.

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