the "Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America," but more popularly known as the Jay Treaty. The document was officially ratified by President George Washington in August 1795. The debates about the treaty caused Washington to establish a firm protocol concerning the constitutional treaty making process. By spring of 1794, America appeared to be on the brink of war with England and citizens claimed that the British government resisted opening its ports to American ships. It interfered with neutral shipping rights to fight its war with France, and violated sections of the 1783 Treaty of Peace that ended the American Revolution.