During House debate on Article 27, of the Jay Treaty, and whether or not Federalist (nationalist) President John Adams has the authority to surrender to British authorities, a British subject, who is accused of having committed murder on board a British ship, Federalist Representative John Marshall, of the Commonwealth of Virginia, calls Adams “the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, and its sole representative with foreign nations.”

       NOTE: Marshall did not mean that foreign policy is the prerogative of the President alone; rather he meant that as chief executive officer, the President is responsible to see that the provisions of a lawfully ratified treaty be carried out.

       [restored 11/7/2021]