vi Preface

the dexterity of Onis in concealing the nature of his instructions,
the United States was led to relinquish a claim to Texas based on
the French title. His Catholic Majesty gave up a strong claim
to the Oregon territory, and the acquisition of that claim by the
United States added appreciably to those the latter country al-
ready had by discovery and settlement Aside from the bartering
of these conflicting territorial interests, an agreement was made
concerning financial obligations. There was no pecuniary purchase
of territory.
 The aggressiveness of popular opinion in this country was some-
 what offset by the fine sense of legal rights and international
 amenities displayed by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
 Nevertheless Adams had unbounded confidence in the future
 growth of the nation and devoted himself to it. In defining and
 extending the nation's boundaries in this treaty he gained a diplo-
 matic victory which he regarded as the greatest achievement of
 his career. In its accomplishment he deftly availed himself of
 Spain's embarrassments and of the desire of the European Powers
 to maintain peace.
 Onis, with the aid of only one constructive statesman among the
 officials of his own government, and with the fires of revolution
 consuming the empire more rapidly than his superiors in Spain
 realized, acquitted himself ably. He prevented the United States
from taking Texas, established a definite boundary for the colonies
which Spain still dreamed of saving, and freed his country from
financial obligations which would have plagued her long after-
ward and in far greater amount. This he accomplished cleverly,
but I do not believe, as Adams charged, that Onis himself intended
to defraud the United States in the notorious matter of the Florida
land grants, although King Ferdinand was probably culpable.
 I have designated the agreement as the "Adams-Onis Treaty"
 to give credit to the diplomatists who achieved a solution to com-
 plex problems of many years' standing. At other times I have em-
 ployed the phrase "Transcontinental Treaty" (originated by Dr.
 Samuel Flagg Bemis) to give alliterative emphasis to the broad
 scope of the subject. The necessity of recognizing the true signifi-
 cance of the western boundary issues has led to the rejection of
 such a limited term as the "Florida Treaty."
 Many persons have assisted me in this study, but space allows