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JAMES  BARBOUR 

W.    S.  LONG,  A.  B. 


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JAMES  BARBOUR.* 

W.  S.  Long,  A.  B. 

The  period  from  1815  to  1845  has  been  well  named  one  of 
nationality  and  democracy/  since  the  progress  of  these  forces 
stands  out  pre-eminently  as  the  great  work  of  this  time.  The 
second  war  with  Great  Britain  had  kindled  the  whole  country 
into  a  new  flame  of  national  patriotism.-  Transportation  was 
revolutionized  by  the  introduction  of  the  steamboat  and  by  the 
development  of  canals  and  turnpikes.  The  factory  system, 
nourished  by  the  restrictions  of  the  Embargo  and  war,  de- 
veloped rapidly.  The  expansion  of  cotton  planting  trans" 
i'oniied  tlie  activities  of  the  South,  and  turned  them  into  the 
newer  regions  of  the  Gulf,  and  gave  a  new  life  to  the  decaying 
institution  of  negro  slavery.  A  stream  of  immigrants  began 
to  pour  into  the  new  lands  of  the  West,  and  there,  among  the 
rough  and  healthful  conditions  of  pioneer  life,  democracy  arose 
in  a  society  in  which  strong  manhood  was  the  basis  of  equality. 
This  restless  spirit  soon  began  to  react  upon  the  older  states 
through  those  strong  western  leaders  who  looked  upon  govern- 
ment, not  as  an  evil,  but  as  an  instrument  for  good,  and  with 
the  rise  of  their  influence,  the  day  of  nationalism  began  to 
dawn.  But  then  the  interests  of  sections  clashed.  The  tariff 
enabled  manufacturers  of  the  North  to  grow  rich,  while  the 
farmers  of  Virginia  and  the  South  were  being  impoverished. 
The  tariff  collected  money  from  them  which  Congress  now 
wished  to  spend  for  internal  improvements.  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke,  Spencer  Roane,  John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  and 
others  began  a  determined  fight  against  these  loose  construc- 
tion tendencies,  and  a  great  popular  reaction  followed  their 
lead.^  Then  as  the  nation  tended  to  sink  back  into  the  old  ruts 
of  particularism,  the  majority  of  the  old  Republican  party  held 
out  for  a  still  stricter  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  and 
called  themselves  the  National-Democratic  party.   But  the  still 

*The  Bennett  History  Medal  was  awarded  the  writer  of  this  essay. 

1  Ash  ley,  Federal  State,  p.  135. 

»Babcock,  American  Nationality/,  Chapters  IX  to  XVIII. 

•Turner,  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  4. 


powerful  minority  broke  away  from  this  attitude  and  under 
the  leadership  of  Clay,  united  to  form  the  National-Republican 
party,  afterwards  called  Whig.*  It  should  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that  the  old  Republican  party  had  not  always  been 
consistent  in  their  advocacy  of  state  rights.  The  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  in  1801,  under  Jefferson,  and  the  United  States 
Bank,  and  the  Tariff  Acts  of  1816  under  Madison,  made  it, 
in  fact,  strongly  nationalistic.^  At  this  time,  however,  new 
issues  were  appearing  which  were  to  draw  a  sharp  line  through 
the  old  party,  showing  some  men  committed  definitely  to  a 
policy  of  nationalism,  and  turning  some  who  had  favored  the 
policies  of  1816  back  to  the  extremer  tenets  of  the  old-time 
faith.  There  were  many  causes  for  this  division  into  loose  and 
strict  constructionists.  Sectionalism  was  a  main  cause ;  the 
injection  of  the  personality  of  Andrew  Jackson  into  the  presi- 
dential contests  of  1824  and  1828  was  another  cause;  and  the 
birth  of  organized  politics  under  Martin  Van  Buren,  Thomas 
Ritchie  and  others,  played  its  own  large  share. 

This  was  the  period  which  was  to  claim  the  best  energies  of 
James  Barbour.  His  unselfish  devotion  of  these  energies  car- 
ried him  too  far  beyond  his  fellows  in  Virginia  to  permit  any 
return  upon  the  crest  of  this  reaction,  and  when  his  maturer 
wisdom  might  have  helped  them  most,  his  fellow  citizens  mis- 
took this  stand  for  principle,  for  a  desertion  of  their  interests, 
and  in  return,  deserted  him.  It  is  hard  to  reconcile  the  hot 
defender  of  the  Virginia  Resolutions  of  1799  with  the  man 
who  later  in  the  Senate  voted  for  the  bank  bill,  the  bill  for 
internal  improvements,  and  the  tariff,  and  who,  still  later,  en- 
dorsed the  nationalistic  policy  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  But 
if  any  defense  be  necessary  at  all,  we  can  surely  point  to  the 
respective  changes  of  Calhoun  and  Webster,  and  Barbour 
stands  in  good  company  indeed. 

He  was  born  at  Barboursville,  in  Orange  County,  June  10, 
1775,*  only  twenty  miles  from  the  home  of  Jefferson  and  one 
year  before  the  pen  of  Jefferson  recorded  our  Declaration  of 

<Ashley,  Federal  State,  p.  141. 

^Burgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  3. 

•  Tfce  National  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography.  Vol.  V,  p.  446. 

Gi.i 


Independence.  Madison  lived  only  a  few  miles  away  and  at- 
tended the  church  of  which  Thomas  Barbour,  father  of  James, 
was  vestryman^ 

James  Barbour's  ancestry  was  very  honorable.  There  are 
many  legendary  accounts  of  the  founding  of  this  family  in 
Virginia,  some  of  them  conflicting,  and  many  of  them  improb- 
able.^^ What  seems  to  be  the  most  reliable  account  however, 
is  the  following  extract  from  an  autograph  note  in  the  Bible 
of  Gov.  James  Barbour:  "The  farthest  back  I  have  been  able 
to  trace  with  any  certainty,  is  my  great-grandfather,  James 
Barbour,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Scotland,  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  17th  Century.  He  came  in  the  character  of  a 
merchantman,  and  was  wrecked  on  his  first  adventure.  His 
friends,  as  stated  by  tradition,  being  rich,  furnished  him  with 
another  cargo  which  he  turned  to  a  profitable  account,  in  (I 
believe)  the  county  of  King  and  Queen.  He  had  issue,  only 
one  son,  whom  he  called  after  himself,  James,  who  married 
Sarah  Todd,  of  a  most  respectable  family.  My  grandfather's 
prospects  in  life  were  considerably  shattered  by  the  second 
marriage  of  his  mother,  by  which  a  second  son  was  born  who 
by  some  means  obtained  control  of  the  whole  Barbour  estate, 
and  squandered  it.  James  then  left  the  home  of  his  childhood, 
and  went  to  Culpeper  county,  near  the  end  of  the  first  quarter 
of  the  18th  Century,  being  the  first  settler  of  the  country 
lying  between  the  eastern  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the 
Southwest  Mountains.  Here  he  lived,  died,  and  was  buried."^ 
He  was  a  vestryman  of  St.  Mark's  Parish  at  its  organization 

TOM  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  in  Virginia,  Vol.  II,  p.  90. 

TaNote. — All  accounts  agree  that  the  founder  of  the  Virginia  family 
was  Scotch.  Some  trace  this  ancestry  back  to  a  William  Barbour,  said 
to  have  been  a  younger  son  of  the  Baron  of  Mulderg.  Other  accounts 
point  to  John  Barbour,  the  Scottish  poet,  and  author  of  "The  Bruce" 
(see  Green,  Notes  on  Culpeper,  Part  II,  p.  135,  and  Peter,  U.  8.  Supreme 
Court  Reports,  Vol.  XVI).  The  name  is  rendered  Barber  in  the  State 
Land  Reports,  and  from  a  seal  ring  lately  in  their  possession,  the  arms 
displayed  are  those  of  the  family  in  Staffordshire,  England:  Gules, 
three  mullets,  argent,  with  a  bordure  ermine.  Crest:  A  passion  cross 
on  three  steps;  Gules.  The  motto:  ''Nihilo  nisi  Cruce,"  seems  to  indi- 
cate an  origin  in  the  days  of  the  Crusaders.  (See  Hardesty,  Virginia 
and  Virginians.  Vol.  I,  p.  114.) 

"Green,  Notes  on  Culpeper,  Part  II,  p.  135. 


in  1731.®  He  appears  as  a  grantee  of  lands  in  St.  George's 
Parish,  Spottsylvania  county,  June  26,  1731,  and  again  in 
1733,  in  St.  Mark's  Parish  of  the  same  county.^"  He  was  pre- 
siding justice  of  the  Culpeper  Court  in  1764,  and  died  in  1775 
in  Culpeper  county.  His  widow  Sarah,  a  second  wife,  died  in 
1781.  Their  wills  are  both  recorded  in  Culpeper  county,  and 
show  thera  both  possessed  of  large  estates.  ^^  They  left  five 
sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  Thomas  Barbour,  father  of 
Gov.  James  Barbour,  was  the  second  son.  He  married  Mary 
Pendleton  Thomas  of  Orange  county.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses  from  Orange  county,  and  signed  the 
Non-Importation  Act  of  1769.  In  1775,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  "Committee  of  Public  Safety"  for  Orange  county.^'  After 
the  formation  of  the  Union  he  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature.  Then  Richard  Henry  Lee,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
Arthur  Lee,  wrote  that  he  was  glad  that  Thomas  Barbour  was 
in  the  state  councils,  "For  he  is  a  truly  intelligent  and  patrio- 
tic man. '"^^ 

Such  was  the  stock  from  which  sprang  this  race  of  statesmen, 
and  during  the  period  from  1821  to  1825,  a  time  when  Clay, 
Webster,  Rufus  King,  Nathaniel  Macon,  and  Pinkney  of  Mary- 
land made  our  national  legislature  a  wrestling  place  for  giants, 
we  find  our  James  Barbour  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders 
of  the  Senate,  while  his  brother,  Philip  Pendleton,  and  their 
second  cousin,  John  S.  Barbour,  were  prominent  members  of 
the  lower  House.^* 

In  James  Barbour  we  have  an  example  of  that  inherent 


i»Note — This  extract,  in  all  its  details,  Is  borne  out  by  a  number  of 
other  authentic  accounts.  (See  Hardesty,  Virginia  and  Virginians,  Vol. 
I,  p.  113;  and  Peter,  U.  S.  Hupreme  Court  Reports,  Vol.  XVL). 

loSmith,  Oovrrnors  of  Virginia,  p.  321. 

11  Green,  Notes  on  Culpeper,  Part  II,  p.  136. 

J -'Smith,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  321. 

1 'Green,  Notes  on  Culpeper,  Part  II,  p.  136. 

i*Note. — Prof,  Turner  says  that,  "In  December  of  1821,  Barbour,  of 
Virginia,  was  chosen  speaker  [of  the  House  of  Representatives]  by  a 
close  vote."  (See  Turner's  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  195.)  This 
Barbour  is  Indexed  as  ".Tames  Barbour"  (IMd.,  p.  354.)  Here  James 
Barbour  has  been  confused  with  his  brother  Philip  P.  Barbour,  who 
was  chosen  Speaker  at  that  time.  (See  Ahridgement  of  the  Debates  of 
Congress,  Vol.  VII,  p.  216,  and  Annals  of  Congress,  17th  Congregs,  lit 
SesBion,  Vol.  I,  p.  518.) 


genius  which  can  rise  to  eminence  without  the  regular  educa- 
tion so  necessary  in  our  own  time.^^  Very  little  is  known  about 
his  boyhood  and  early  education.  However,  James  Waddell, 
commemorated  as  the  "Blind  Preacher"  by  William  Wirt, 
taught  school  for  a  while  at  his  home  near  Gordonsville,  and 
James  Barbour  studied  for  a  short  time,  under  him  there. ^® 
While  still  very  young,  he  served  as  Deputy  Sheriff  in  his 
county,  and  during  this  time,  he  read  enough  law  to  gain  his 
admission  to  the  bar  in  1794,^^  when  he  was  only  nineteen 
years  old!  On  October  29,  1792,  he  married  Lucy  Johnson, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Johnson  of  Orange  county,  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses.^ ^^ 

In  1796,  young  James  Barbour  was  elected  to  the  Virginia 
Assembly^ ^  and  soon  gained  the  respect  of  the  older  members, 
both  for  his  excellent  judgment  and  for  the  fluency  with  which 
he  expressed  his  opinions.  In  1798,  the  famous  Virginia  Reso- 
lutions, which  Jefferson  had  inspired  Madison  to  write,  were 
proposed  in  the  House  of  Delegates.  The  discussion  continued 
over  into  the  next  session,  and  then  James  Barbour  entered 

i^it  has  been  claimed  that  James  Barbour  was  a  junior  at  William 
and  Mary  College  with  Robt.  B.  Taylor  and  Cabell,  and  that  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke  joined  this  Class  when  it  was  Senior.  (See 
Branch  Hiiitorical  Papers  of  Randolph-Macon  College,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  2,  p. 
146.)  However,  it  is  certain  that  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  left  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College  in  the  spring  of  1784.  (See  National  Encyclo- 
poedia  of  American  Biogra2)1fif,Vo\.  V,  p.  97,  and  Garland.  "John  Ran- 
dolph of  Roanoke,  Vol.  1,  p.  22.)  This  would  hare  made  James  Barbour 
a  Junior  at  William  and  Mary  College  in  1783,  when  he  was  eight 
years  old. 

A  similar  mistake  may  be  noticed  in  the  William  and  Mary  College 
Qiiarterly,  Vol.  VII,  p.  5,  where  we  find,  in  a  list  of  Governors  of  Vir- 
ginia from  1776  to  1861,  with  the  places  of  their  education: 

"James  Barbour,  1812-14,  Private  Schools." 

On  page  8  of  this  volume  in  a  list  of  U.  S.  Senators  from  1789  to 
1860  with  the  places  of  their  education,  we  find: 

"James  Barbour,  1815-182.5,  William  and  Mary  College." 

It  is  very  likely  that  James  Barbour  has  also  in  this  last  case  been 
confused  with  his  brother  P.  P.  Barbour,  who  did  attend  William  and 
Mary  College. 

leScott,  History  of  Orange  County,  p.  127;  Smith,  Governors  of  Vir- 
ginia, p.  321 ;  Hardesty,  Virginia  and  Virginians,  Vol.  I,  p.  114. 

iTlbid.;  The  National  Encyclopoedia  of  American  Biography,  Vol.  V, 
p.  446;  Smith,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  321. 

iTalbid.,  p.  325. 

-i-^Journal  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  Session  of  1796-97,  p.  1. 


6 

the  lists  in  support  of  them  with  his  usual  impetuous  elo- 
quence.^® Although  he  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  House, 
he  was  one  of  the  foremost  in  denouncing  the  odious  laws 
which  had  called  forth  the  resolutions,  and  his  speech  was  con- 
sidered the  most  effective  that  was  delivered.^*'  On  January  1, 
1801,  he  was  appointed  on  a  committee  to  confer  with  a  com- 
mittee from  the  Senate  on  these  resolutions.^^  In  these  de- 
bates, we  find  a  beginning  of  that  able  advocacy  of  the  rights 
of  the  States  which  he  maintained  until  continued  service  in 
a  larger  sphere  and  an  experience  in  the  national  adminis- 
tration brought  a  conviction  that  the  whole  is  greater  than  its 
parts.  From  this  time  on,  until  his  election  as  Governor,  in 
1812,  the  name  of  James  Barbour  appears  on  all  of  the  most 
important  committees,  frequently  as  chairman.  He  proposed 
the  ^'Anti-Duelling  Act,"  one  of  the  most  stringent  legislative 
acts  ever  passed."^  In  1800,  he  was  chairman  of  a  committee"^ 
which  prepared  a  bill  "To  simplify  the  mode  of  procedure  in 
real  actions."-*  In  May  of  1807,  he  served  on  the  grand  jury 
which  indicted  Aaron  Burr.^^  What  he  evidently  considered 
his  most  important  work  in  the  Assembly  was  the  bill  which 
became  the  Act  of  February  2,  1810,  and  provided  for  the 
Literary  Fund  of  Virginia. -^^  He  later  requested  that  re- 
ference to  this  be  the  only  inscription  on  his  tomb.^^  He  served 
repeatedly  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  and  received 
much  praise  for  the  able  manner  in  which  he  presided  over  that 
body. 

isHaxdesty,  Virginia  and  Virginians,  Vol.  I,  p.  115. 

2oSouthern  Literary  Messenger,  "Vol.  XVIII. 

iiJournal  of  the  Hovisle  of  Delegates,  Session  of  1800-01,  Jan.  1,  1801. 

22Hardesty,  Virgi7iia  and  Virginians,  Vol.  I,  p.  115. 

23joMrnoZ  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  Session  of  1800-01,  Deo.  2. 

24lbld. 

''■Christian,  Richmond,  Her  Past  and  Present,  p.  77. 

25aNote. — See  Report  of  the  Second  Auditor  of  Virginia  on  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Public  Debt,  of  the  Literary  Fund,  and  Retired  Teachers 
Fund,  fiscal  year,  ending  September  30,  1912,  p.  52;  also  (Virginia) 
Acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1809,  p.  15;  also  Scott,  History  of  Orange 
County.  Virginia,  p.  182.  It  has  been  strenuously  denied  that  Governor 
Barbour  was  the  originator  of  this  Fund.  But  on  the  strength  of  this 
evidence,  I  have  felt  justified  in  stating  that  he  was,  as  he  himself 
claimed.     (See  Smith,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  325). 

2«Smitb,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  325. 


On  the  night  of  December  26,  1811,  an  event  occurred  which 
threw  Virginia  into  mourning  and  cast  a  gloom  over  all  the 
country.  The  Richmond  Theatre,  in  Richmond,  caught  fire 
and  many  of  Virginia's  best  people  were  burned.  Among 
them  were  Gov.  George  William  Smith  and  his  family."  On 
Friday,  January  3,  1812,  the  Legislature  met  and  elected  James 
Barbour,  then  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  Governor 
of  Virginia.-®  On  the  next  day,  Andrew  Stevenson  was  elected 
to  succeed  him  as  Speaker.'" 

On  February  11th,  Gov.  Barbour  sent  a  message  to  the  Legis- 
lature asking  for  an  appropriation  for  the  defense  of  Virginia, 
in  case  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain.^'"  On  March  31st  he 
wrote  to  the  commandants  of  regiments  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  Virginia  to  be  in  a  state  of  defense.  He  then  called  upon 
them  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  be  prepared  in  case 
of  war."  In  this  way  he  earned  his  title  of  "The  War  Gov- 
ernor." It  was  a  trying  period  upon  men  in  authority,  but 
Gov.  Barbour  never  faltered,  and  was  said  even  to  have  pledged 
his  personal  means  to  sustain  the  credit  of  his  State.^-  By 
July  4th,  of  this  year,  the  feeling  in  Virginia  against  England 
ran  so  high  that  the  customary  celebrations  were  much  more 
enthusiastic  even  than  usual.  The  Governor  reviewed  the 
Richmond  and  Manchester  troops,  and  at  a  dinner  which  fol- 
lowed, Capt.  Heth  proposed  the  Toast,  "The  Governor,  our 
Commander-in-Chief,  may  his  military  genius  equal  his  ardor 

in  the  cause."  To  which  he  replied,  "Unanimitv  in  our  coun- 
cils, and  a  hearty  co-operation  in  the  field  will  place  America 
beyond  her  present  conflict.  "^^  The  martial  Governor  was 
evidently  not  well  pleased  with  the  selfish  attitude  of  New 
England  in  denouncing  the  War.  Similar  meetings  were  held 
all  over  the  state  and  the  zeal  of  the  Governor  was  every- 
where the  subject  of  sincere  toasts.      On  the  fifth  of  May,  in 

27Christian,  Richmond,  Her  Past  and  Present,  p.  80. 

isThe  Virginia  Patriot,  Vol.  Ill,  January,  1812. 

aeibld. 

soibid.,  February  11,  1812. 

silbid,  March  31.  1812. 

»2Smith,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  324. 

'^The  Virginia  Patriot,  Vol.  Ill,  July  4,  1812. 


8 

response  to  an  order  by  President  Madison,  Gov.  Barbour  is- 
sued an  order,  calling  for  four  divisions  of  militia,  each  to 
number  1,000  men.  On  November  30,  he  sent  a  massage  to 
the  Legislature,  avowing  his  zeal  for  state  rights,  and  de- 
fending his  course.  He  then  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
a  larger  sum  of  money  should  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Executive.  He  recommended  that  the  upper  James  be  ex- 
plored, and  if  possible,  connected  with  the  western  waters. 
He  recommended,  also,  that  our  roads  be  improved,  and  then 
that  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  should  establish  a  great 
Literary  Institution,  equal  to  the  State.^*  This  course  was 
approved  December  2nd  with  a  formal  re-election  as  Governor. 

This  last  administration  was  as  acceptable  as  the  first,  and 
on  the  first  of  December,  1814,  he  was  elected  by  the  Legis- 
lature to  succeed  Richard  Brent  in  the  United  States  Senate.^** 
On  the  eleventh  day  of  January,  1815,  James  Barbour  pro- 
duced his  credentials,  was  qualified  and  took  his  seat  in  the 
Senate.^"  On  the  19th  of  January,  we  find  him  with  Rufus 
King  and  Wm.  B.  Giles  opposing  the  amendments  to  the  bank 
charter  bill.  "Mr.  Barbour,  particularly,  in  an  eloquent  man- 
ner, enforced  the  necessity  of  acting  decisively  on  a  subject 
which  had  been  so  long  pending  between  the  two  Houses,  and 
which  so  greatly  interested  the  feelings  of  the  community, 
which  'turned  its  eyes  with  ceaseless  anxiety  upon  the  dila- 
tory proceedings  of  Congress.'  "  The  amendments  were  lost 
by  a  vote  of  21  to  13.  The  bill  then  was  passed,  and  vetoed 
by  President  Madison.^^  It  was  then  brought  again  before 
Congress,  for  passage  over  the  President's  veto,  and  Barbour 
voted  nay.^^  But  in  a  few  days  Barbour  himself  proposed 
(presumably  at  the  instigation  of  Calhoun)  a  new  bill  to 
recharter  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  This  bank  was  to  be 
much  larger  than  the  old  one.  The  capital  was  to  be  $50,000,- 
000,  of  which  $20,000,000  were  to  be  in  treasury  notes,  and  the 
government  was  to  suscribe  $10,000,000.     It  was  to  have  the 


'nThe  Virginia  Patriot,  Vol.  Ill,  November  30,  1812. 
s^Smlth,  Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  324. 

i'^Annnls  of  Congress,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  166  (13th  Con.  2nd  Sess.) 
'''Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  V,  p.  304. 
*'^Abri(}gemc7it  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  V,  p.  305. 


9 

capacity  of  borrowing  $30,000,000.  His  bill  passed.^"  The  next 
year,  we  find  him  voting  for  Calhoun's  famous  "Bonus  Bill," 
which  his  brother,  P.  P.  Barbour,  opposed  so  strenuously  in 
the  House.*"  These  were  his  early  departures  from  the  old 
principle  of  states  rights.  Although  he  supported  these 
measures,  our  champion  of  the  Virginia  Resolutions  had  not 
entirely  forsaken  his  old-time  faith. 

Just  at  this  time,  an  incident  occurred  which  may  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  future  of  James  Barbour.    He  brought  in 
a  resolution  directing  President  Monroe  to  present  a  sword  to 
Col.  R.  M.  Johnson  of  Kentucky,  as  a  token  of  the  thanks  of 
Congress  and  of  the  nation  for  his  gallant  conduct  in  the  battle 
of  the  Thames,  October  13,  1813.      In  a  splendid  speech,  he 
showed  how  the  difficulties,  which  had  caused  the  testimonial 
to  be  withheld,  could  be  removed,  and  then  he  described  the 
battle,  and  the  manner  in  which  Johnson  killed  Tecumseh, 
with    such   telling   effect,   that   the   resolution   passed   unani- 
mously.*^    It  is  worthy  of  note  that  from  this  time  until  the 
end  of  Barbour's  service  in  the  Senate,  he  and  Johnson  were 
the  best  of  friends,  and  their  names  seldom  appear  on  different 
sides  of  any  question.    When  John  Quincy  Adams  was  elected 
President,  Johnson,  who  had  been  one  of  his  most  consistent 
supporters,  requested  strongly  that  James  Barbour  be  given 
a  place  in  the  Cabinet.*-     In  a  few  days  after  this,  Barbour, 
as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign  relations,  reported  a 
bill  closing  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to  British  vessels 
engaged  in  the  West  India  trade.*^    Following  this  very  closely, 
he  championed  the  cause  of  Matthew  Lyons  who  had  peti- 


^9 Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  V,  p.  309. 

Note. — In  the  Presidential  Campaign  of  1840,  when  Barbour  sup- 
ported General  W.  H.  Harrison,  he  wag  condemned  for  his  support  ol 
this,  "Balloon  Bank."  It  may  be  interesting,  however,  to  note  that, 
even  as  late  as  December,  1819,  Judge  Spencer  Roane,  that  prince  of 
advocates  for  the  rights  of  the  states,  wrote  to  Barbour,  and  advised 
him  to  "submit  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  for  the  present,  un- 
constitutional as  it  is."  (See  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly 
Vol.  X,  p.  8). 

*oAbridgenient  of  the  Debates  of  Congresi,  Vol.  V,  p.  665. 

♦  ilbid.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  45. 

*2Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VI,  p.  509. 

*s Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  47. 


10 

tioned  Congress  for  a  remission  of  the  fines  imposed  upon 
him  under  the  odious  sedition  act  of  the  first  Adams  adminis- 
tration. Lyons,  personally,  Avas  very  unpopular,  but  his  case 
involved  the  old  question  which  had  done  so  much  at  the  polls 
for  the  Republican  party  in  1800.  It  very  likely  reminded 
Barbour  of  his  youthful  fight  in  the  Virginia  Assembly.  So 
he  made  a  brilliant  speech,  denying  that  the  unpopularity  of 
Lyons  should  be  held  as  an  objection  to  his  case,  and  claim- 
ing that  they  merely  had  to  pass  upon  the  constitutional  ques- 
tion involved;  that  "The  law  was  unconstitutional,  and  Con- 
gress ought  to  say  so,  and  repair  the  damages  made  under 
color  of  its  authority."**  In  December  of  this  year  (1819), 
Barbour,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  to  which  it  was  referred, 
submitted  a  long  statement  of  the  case,  coupled  with  a  resolu- 
tion declaring  that  the  law  was  unconstitutional,  and  asking 
for  a  committee  to  report  a  bill  to  that  effect.  The  proposition 
failed  by  a  few  votes.*' 

James  Barbour  was  now  rising  rapidly  to  that  leadership 
which  his  talents  so  well  justified.  It  was  an  important  time. 
Sectional  jealousies  between  the  North  and  South  had  never 
before  been  so  keen.  The  admission  of  Alabama  as  a  slave 
state  swung  the  balance  of  representation  in  Congress  to  a 
dead  center,  with  eleven  slave  states  and  eleven  free.*"  Then 
Missouri,  a  slave  territory,  applied  for  permission  to  form  a 
constitution  and  state  government.  This  threatened  a  turn  in 
the  balance,  a  turn  which  seemed  to  statesmen  of  the  North 
more  serious  than  ever  before  because  they  thought  this  their 
last  chance  to  stop  the  progress  of  slavery.  To  them  it  seemed 
inevitable,  that  in  the  industrial  scramble  for  the  conquest  of 
the  West,  the  slaveowner  with  his  slaves  must  surely  triumph 
over  the  free  laborers  working  as  individuals.  They  seemed 
to  see,  in  the  future,  the  whole  Louisiana  Territory  converted 
into  an  area  of  slave  states.*^  On  the  other  hand,  the  South 
had  even  larger  cause  for  fear.    Population  in  the  North  had 

**Ibid.,  p.  185  to  188. 

■••■Tbld..  p.  CGO. 

■♦"Burgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  63. 

^'Turner,  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  155. 


11 

increased  over  that  in  the  South,  until  in  1819,  the  eleven  north- 
ern states  could  muster  105  votes  in  the  House,  against  only  81 
for  the  eleven  slave  states  of  the  South.*^  This  majority  was 
spurred  on  to  increased  hostility  to  slavery  by  that  tide  of 
free  labor  w^hich  was  pushing  into  the  West,  and  demanding 
lands  where  freemen  would  not  need  to  work  in  competition 
with  slaves.  But  this  hostility  was  held  in  check  by  the  Senate, 
where  each  state  had  only  two  votes.  So  that  if  the  North 
were  ever  to  abolish  slavery  it  would  be  necessary  to  obtain 
control  of  the  Senate.  Thus,  there  the  contest  centered,  and 
there  the  South  for  years,  fought  with  a  surpassing  power  and 
eloquence  for  what  then  seemed  the  very  basis  of  her  economic 
existence.  Indeed,  statesmen  of  the  South  were  far  superior 
in  intellectual  powers  to  those  from  the  free  states  of  the 
North.***  It  was  recognized  both  in  the  North  and  South,  that 
slavery  itself  was  largely  responsible  for  this  superiority. 
Thus  we  find  as  one  of  the  strange  tricks  which  fate  some- 
times plays,  that  the  system  which  was  driven  by  persecution 
to  a  desperate  defense  had  itself  provided  the  possibility  for 
the  development  of  defenders,  whose  eloquence  and  political 
genius  harked  back  for  comparison  to  the  best  that  Greece 
and  Rome  had  produced.  Nowhere  was  this  more  evident 
than  in  Virginia.  The  "Virginia  Dynasty"  had  not  depended 
entirely  upon  the  large  number  of  electoral  votes  which  Vir- 
ginia could  deliver.  Hers  was  a  sheer  intellectual  domina- 
tion, supported  by  wealthy  planters  who  lived  upon  their  es- 
tates, and  who,  in  the  leisure  which  slavery  afforded,  reveled 
in  well-stocked  libraries,  and  studied  the  science  of  govern- 
ment until  it  became  an  instinct  and  a  passion.  In  Virginia, 
plain  little  courthouses  became  the  arenas  of  giant  contests 
over  simple  points  at  law,  and  the  halls  of  her  Legislature 
rang  unceasingly  with  resistless  reasoning  which  flowed  in  a 
strange  and  fiery  eloquence.  Such  was  the  environment  of 
the  men  who  were  to  fight  for  the  South,  and  among  them 
James  Barbour  was  a  giant  indeed. 

4sTurner,  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  154. 
*sMemoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams.  Vol.  IV,  p.  306. 


12 

At  the  close  of  the  15th  Congress,  the  Senate  had  ' '  Resolved, 
unanimously.  That  the  thanks  of  the  Senate  be  presented  to 
the  Honorable  James  Barbour,  for  the  dignified  and  impartial 
manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  the  important  duties  of 
President  of  the  Senate  since  he  was  called  to  the  Chair.  "^^ 
At  a  dinner,  during  this  session,  his  republicanism  had  offended 
the  decorous  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  confided  to  his  Diary, 
that  "He  [James  Barbour]  was  a  man  of  affected  pomposity 
of  speech,  full  of  prejudices  and  dogmatism,  and  of  common- 
place exaggeration  of  Eepublicanism.""^  IvTevertheless,  on  Jan- 
uary 16,  of  the  next  year  (1820)  we  find  this  entry  in  Adams' 
Diary:  "With  the  single  exception  of  Rufus  King,  of  New 
York,  there  is  not,  in  either  House  of  Congress,  a  member  from 
the  free  states  able  to  cope,  in  powers  of  rnind,  with  William 
Pinkney,  or  James  Barbour."^-  This  change  of  opinion  is 
significant,  and  carries  with  it  high  praise  indeed.  Barbour 
was  now  ready  to  take  high  ground.  His  ability  was 
recognized,  and  an  opportunity  was  waiting  to  give  to  it  its 
fullest  expression. 

When  the  16th  Congress  convened,  about  the  first  business 
was  the  disposal  of  the  Missouri  question.  In  the  meantime, 
expecting  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state,  and  deter- 
mined to  preserve  the  old  balance,  Massachusetts  had  given 
to  that  part  of  her  territory  which  is  now  Maine,  permission 
to  form  a  constitution  and  apply  for  admission  to  the  Union, 
if  that  could  be  effected  before  March  4th,  of  the  next  year."' 
Accordingly  Maine  drew  up  a  constitution,  and  applied  for 
admission  without  the  preliminary  form  of  asking  the  permis- 
sion of  Congress.^*     The  North  now  had  an  opportunity  to 


i^Ahridfjement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  199. 

i--^ Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams.  Vol.  IV,  p.  226. 

Note. — Mr.  Barbour  had  maintained  that  an  American  Ambassador 
at  a  foreign  court  should  present  himself  in  frock  coat  and  metal  but- 
tons, and  if  he  were  not  well  received,  should  retire  in  indignation,  and 
carry  on  all  further  business  by  correspondence.  However,  Mr.  Bar- 
bour is  not  recorded  as  having  done  this  when  he  actually  became  our 
ambassador  to  England. 

92yotd„  p.  506. 

osTurner,  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  160-161. 

B«Burge88,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  77. 


13 

gain  two  new  states  with  four  anti-slave  Senators,  if  Missouri 
could  be  admitted  as  a  free  state.  Or  if  this  were  not  pos- 
sible, they  would  deadlock  Missouri,  and  get  Maine  in,  thus 
gaining  a  majority  of  two  votes.  They  had  a  majority  in 
the  House,  and  succeeded  in  passing  Taylor's  amendment  to 
restrict  slavery  in  Missouri.  When  the  bill  came  to  the  Senate 
thus  amended,  the  hopes  for  the  South  were  small.  Little 
objection  could  be  raised  to  the  admission  of  Maine,  and  if  that 
state  were  admitted,  her  two  Senators  would  decide  the  dead- 
lock in  favor  of  the  amendment  to  restrict  slavery  in  Missouri. 
The  only  way  to  prevent  this  lay  by  way  of  a  parliamentary 
trick,  and  accordingly,  on  the  third  of  January,  1820,  James 
Barbour  rose  at  his  seat,  and  served  notice  that  he  would  on 
Wednesday,  the  5th,  offer  a  motion  to  couple  the  bill  to  admit 
Maine  with  the  one  to  admit  Missouri. ^^  The  motion  came  in 
due  time.^®  The  next  day,  Mr.  Roberts,  of  Pennsylvania,  ob- 
jected to  this  coupling  of  the  two  bills,  and  moved  that  the  bill 
be  recommitted  with  instructions  to  the  committee  to  separate 
the  two,  and  report  Maine  in  a  distinct  bill  as  it  came  from 
the  other  house. 

Then  a  memorable  debate  followed.  Mr.  Barbour  spoke  at 
some  length  against  the  proposition  to  separate  the  bills;  de- 
fended the  right  of  Missouri  to  statehood,  and  admitted  that 
Maine  had  an  equal  right;  but  denied  that  her  haste  in  adopt- 
ing a  constitution,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  could  give 
her  any  claim  on  the  Senate,  or  that  the  forbearance  of  Mis- 
suori  should  be  held  to  make  her  any  the  less  worthy  of  state- 
hood than  Maine.  The  proposition  failed  by  a  vote  of  25  to 
18."  Then  the  fight  began  in  real  earnest.  Mellen  and 
Roberts  of  Pennsylvania,  King  of  New  York,  and  the  two  sena- 
tors from  Massachusetts  supported  the  House  amendment  to 
restrict,  and  opposed  the  Senate  proposition  to  couple  the 
two  bills.  But  at  no  time  has  southern  talent  shone  more 
conspicuously.  Nathaniel  Macon  began  with  a  wonderfully 
telling  argument,    and   he  was    ably    supported    by    William 


55Burgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  81;  Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of 
Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  425. 

^T Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  386. 


14 

Pinkney,  the  new  Senator  from  Maryland,  with  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  speeches  which  had  ever  been  delivered  before 
the  Senate.^**  Then  James  Barbour  entered  the  fight  and  fully 
justified  the  high  tribute  which  Adams  had  paid  him. 

After  a  further  statement  of  the  points  at  issue,  he  showed 
that  the  South  had  always  supported  every  proposition  to 
suppress  the  slave  trade.  He  said  that  the  South  did  not 
wish  now  to  multiply  the  number  of  slaves,  but  to  spread  them 
over  a  larger  area;  that  the  real  question  was,  "Shall  we 
violate  the  Constitution  by  imposing  restrictions  upon  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  while  exercising  the  great  privilege  of  form- 
ing their  government;  shall  we  violate  the  solemn  obligations 
imposed  by  treaty?  And  shall  we  finally  do  an  act  of  im- 
measurable injustice  in  excluding  the  people  of  one-half  the 

republic  from  participating  in  that  country,  bought  by  a 
common  treasure,  and  their  exclusive  councils?^''.  And  for 
what?  Not  to  diminish  slavery,  but  to  confine  it  within  its 
present  limits.  ...  To  seduce  the  white  population  from 
this  portion  of  the  country,  thus  interdicted.  ...  To  drive 
us  from  the  country,  and  surrender  it  exclusively  to  the 
blacks.  .  .  .  The  Constitution  has  not  authorized  the  exer- 
cise of  such  a  power  directly,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it  to 
justify  such  an  exercise  by  implication,  if  implication  were 
allowable.  ...  If  then  it  be  true  that  your  discretion,  even 
as  to  admission  is  limited,  and  in  the  present  case  all  the  con- 
stituent qualifications  exist  on  the  part  of  Missouri  for  state- 
hood, you  are  bound  to  say  that  she  shall  be  admitted  as  a  state 
into  this  Union.  If  she  be  admitted  as  a  state,  all  the  attri- 
butes of  the  old  states  instantly  devolve  upon  her,  and  the 
most  prominent  of  these  is  the  right  to  fashion  her  govern- 

i'^Burgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  84. 

6»Note. — Later  in  his  speech  he  explained  that  by  "Their  exclusive 
councils"  he  meant  that,  a  Southern  envoy  (Monroe)  had  bargained  for 
the  Louisiana  Territory;  that  a  Southern  President  (Jefferson)  had 
approved  the  bargain;  that  a  Senate,  controlled  by  aoutherners  had 
ratified  the  treaty;  and  that  a  house  of  representatiyes  entirely  con- 
trolled by  southerners  had  appropriated  the  purchase  money,  all  in  the 
face  of  the  violent  partisan  protests  of  senators  and  representatives 
from  that  same  section  which  v/as  then  trying  to  monopolize  this 
same  territory  with  a  partisan  control. 


15 


meut  according  to  the  will  and  the  pleasure  of  the  good  people 
of  that  state.  Whereas  your  restriction  deprives  them  of  that 
privilege  forever."  Then  after  defending  the  moral  issue  in- 
volved, he  exclaimed:  "Sir,  no  portion  of  the  Union  has  been 
more  loyal  than  the  South !  Is  this  your  reward  for  our 
loyalty?  Sir,  there  is  a  point  where  resistance  becomes  a 
virtue,  and  submission  a  crime.  .  .  .  Our  people  are  as  brave 
as  they  are  loyal.  They  can  endure  anything  but  insult. 
But  the  moment  you  pass  that  Rubicon,  they  will  redeem  their 
much  abused  character,  and  throw  back  upon  you  your  in- 
solence and  your  aggression.'"^" 

It  is  not  necessary  to  comment  upon  this  speech.  In  it  he 
had  graphically  stated  the  whole  position  of  the  South,  and 
he  had  added  a  fire  to  southern  arguments  which  Pinkney 
alone  could  intensify.  His  motion  to  couple  the  two  bills  had 
made  it  impossible  for  the  North  to  secure  the  admission  of 
Maine  in  time  to  have  her  two  senators  vote  upon  the  admis- 
sion of  Missouri.  The  sanction  of  Massachusetts  for  the  state- 
hood of  Maine  held  good  only  until  March  the  fourth.  Fur- 
ther delay  would  have  been  foolish  for  the  North,  and  they 
saw  that  a  compromise  was  inevitable,  although  the  move- 
ment had  gone  too  far  for  the  House  to  recede  entirely.  The 
amendment  to  restrict  failed  by  a  vote  of  27  to  16. ''^  The 
motion  to  unite  the  two  bills  then  passed  by  a  vote  of  23  to 
21.®-  Mr.  Barbour  then  moved  that  the  Senate  insist  on  this 
first  clause  of  its  amendments,  and  it  was  carried."^  Then 
Messrs.  Thomas,  Barbour,  and  Pinkney  were  elected  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  a  committee  from  the  House,  which  was 
led  by  Mr.  Clay.«* 

During  this  time,  excitement  in  Virginia  reached  an  alarm- 
ing pitch.    The  motion  to  couple  the  two  bills  was  practically 

«o Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  425. 

^^Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  425.  '' 

e^Ibid.,  p.  450. 

esJ&W.,  pp.   452. 

G4Note. — This  conference  agreed  on  the  famous  Missouri  Compromise, 
by  which  slaA^ery  was  to  be  permitted  in  Missouri,  but  excluded  forever 
from  the  Louisiana  territory  north  of  36°  30'  north  latitude.  (See 
Burgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  87.) 


16 

the  ouly  way  to  prevent  restriction  in  Missouri.  But  on  the 
same  day  that  Barbour  served  notice  of  his  intention  to  offer 
this  motion,  he  i-eceived  a  letter  from  President  Monroe, 
strongly  advising  him  against  the  plan,  and  recommending  that 
they  admit  Maine  at  once,  thus  throwing  the  South  helpless 
upon  the  charity  of  the  North.""  That  Mr.  Barbour  did  not 
follow  this  advice,  has  already  been  shown.  On  February  9th 
a  caucus  of  the  Virginia  Assembly  was  held  to  nominate  Presi- 
dential electors.  Just  as  they  came  together,  a  report  got 
out  that  Mr.  Charles  Yancej^  a  leading  member,  had  just  re- 
ceived an  interesting  letter  from  Senator  Barbour,  on  the 
President's  position.  Yancey  at  last  yielded  to  the  cries  about 
him,  and  read  the  letter  to  them.  Immediately  an  intense  ex- 
citement prevailed,  and  so  indignant  were  they  all  with  Mr. 
Monroe  that  the  caucus  broke  up  without  making  any  nomina- 
tion."" 

Then  news  came  to  Virginia  that  a  compromise  was  im- 
pending, and  when  the  nature  of  this  compromise  was  under- 
stood, the  excitement  increased  beyond  all  bounds.  On  Feb- 
ruary 11th,  Harry  St.  George  Tucker  wrote  Barbour  that  the 
South  thought  that  President  Monroe  was  afraid  of  losing  his 
re-election,  and  was  thus  trying  to  play  to  the  North,  but  that 
the  South  was  unwilling  to  purchase  his  services  at  such  a 
price. "^  On  February  19th,  Judge  Spencer  Roane  wrote  to  the 
same  effect.®^  On  February  14th,  ex-President  Madison  wrote 
to  Barbour  from  Montpelier,  and  advised  him  under  the  con- 
ditions to  yield  to  the  compromise.'^"  But  following  this  close- 
ly came  letters  from  Andrew  Stevenson,  Charles  Yancey, 
Thomas  Ritchie,  Judge  Roane,  W.  F.  Gordon,  Linn  Banks, 
and  others,  all  telling  him  of  the  tremendous  opposition  in 
Virginia  to  any  compromise  whatsoever;  all  complimenting 
the  magnificent  fight  which  he  had  made  for  the  South,  and 
all  assuring  him  of  their  unchanged   affection   and   support.^" 

'"'''William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly.  Vol.  X,  p.  9. 
<'''Tbid.,  p.  6  to  10. 

f^TThe  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly,  Vol.  X,  p.  11. 
''■^Ibid..  p.  17. 
63/6id.,  p.  12. 

T"Note. — All  of  these  letters  can  be  found  in  the  William  and  Mary 
College  Quarterly,  Vol.  X,  pp.  5  to  24. 


17 

Accordingly  when  the  vote  was  taken  on  Thomas'  compromise 
amendment,  James  Barbour,  and  James  Pleasants,  his  col- 
league, voted  against  it.^^  On  March  2nd,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Barbour,  it  was  decided  to  take  up  the  bill  again.  Then  Mr. 
Barbour  moved  to  strike  out  the  restrictive  clause,  and  it  was 
carried,  when  the  bill  passed.^-  On  the  next  day,  this  same 
committee  was  re-elected  managers  of  the  Maine  bill  in  con- 
ference with  managers  from  the  House,  and  their  report  was 
concurred  in.'^^  A  very  good  idea  of  the  intensity  of  this  fight 
can  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  James  Barbour  proposed  to 
each  Senator  a  convention  of  the  states  to  dissolve  the  Union, 
and  to  agree  on  terms  of  separation  and  the  mode  of  disposing 
of  the  public  debt,  lands,  etc.''* 

There  were  no  other  very  important  legislative  fights  during 
the  remainder  of  Barbour's  service  in  the  Senate.  However, 
one  bill  came  up  and  called  from  him  a  speech  which  deserves 
mention.  It  was  entitled  "A  Bill  for  abolishing  imprison- 
ment for  debt"  and  had  been  pending  before  the  Senate  for 
some  time.  On  February  17th,  1824,  James  Barbour  made 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  of  all  his  speeches  in  its  support.'^ 

After  the  struggle  over  Missouri  had  ended  in  compromise, 
another  began  for  the  next  presidential  election.  James  Bar- 
bour took  very  little  active  part  in  the  real  campaign.  But 
he  was  a  warm  champion  of  a  caucus  nomination,  and  told 
Col.  R.  M.  Johnson  that  if  no  one  would  join  him,  then  he, 
"I,  by  myself,  I"  would  make  a  caucus  nomination  alone.''* 
It  is  not  known  definitely,  however,  whom  he  would  have  sup- 
ported at  this  time,  but  he,  at  least,  realized  that  no  election 
could  result  in  any  popular  vote  on  so  many  candidates,  and 
wished  to  avoid  throwing  the  election  to  the  House."  In 
January,  James  Barbour  told  Col.  Johnson  that  if  the  election 

''iWilliavi  and  Mary  College  Qiuirterly,  Vol.  X,  p.  7. 

^ -Abridgement  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  Vol.  VI,  p.  154. 

73/6id.,  p.  454. 

"^^Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  V,  p.  13. 

""•Elogupnce  in  the  United  States,  Vol.  IV,  p.  216. 

''^Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  V,  p.  13. 

TTNote.— Even  Thomas  Ritchie  favored  a  caucus  nomination  at  this 
time,  and  for  the  same  reason  that  Barbo-ur  did.  (See  Ambler,  Section- 
alism in  Virginia,  p.  130,  and  The  Richmond  Enquirer,  Februaxy  12, 
1824.) 


18 

should  go  to  the  House  the  vote  would  be  at  least  two-thirds 
for  Adams  against  Crawford,  and  that  he  had  thoughts  of 
giving  his  adhesion  to  Adams.  This  Johnson  advised  him  to 
do."  It  is  well  known  that  the  caucus  was  held  and  resulted 
in  the  nomination  of  Crawford  by  a  small  minority  of  the 
Republicans  in  Congress.^**  But  after  the  nomination,  Bar- 
bour's enthusiasm  seems  to  have  waned,  and  in  April,  Col. 
Johnson  reported  that,  "Barbour  seems  ready  to  give  up  the 
cause. '""^  In  May,  Mr.  Adams  talked  to  Rufus  King  and 
James  Barbour  about  his  plan  for  a  slave  trade  convention 
with  England.  King  approved  it,  and  Adams  remarked,  "But 
Barbour,  a  Caucus  man,  seemed  very  coolly  disposed  towards 
it."*^  Nevertheless,  on  the  24th  of  May,  Col.  Taylor  reported 
to  Adams,  "That  Gov.  Barbour  had  this  day  made  the  best 
speech  he  had  ever  heard  from  him,  in  support  of  the  Conven- 
tion, and  had  done  entire  justice  to  it."*"  Now  he  seemed  to 
be  taking  Col.  Johnson's  advice.  In  December  of  this  year 
(1824)  Mr.  Adams  called  on  Mr.  Barbour,  and  after  talking 
about  various  public  matters,  asked  him  confidentially  about 
the  coming  election.  Barbour  told  him  that  the  entire  Vir- 
ginia delegation  would  vote  for  Crawford,  but  that  if  his 
cause  should  be  hopeless,  they  would  in  any  case,  vote  for 
another  than  a  mere  military  leader  ( Jackson). ^^  A  few  days 
later,  Barbour  called  on  Mr.  Adams  and  repeated  that  the 
Virginia  delegation  would  vote,  at  first  for  Crawford,  and 
then,  if  that  were  impracticable,  their  next  choice  would  be 
for  Adams,^*  The  main  facts  of  this  election  are  now  common 
knowledge,  how  that  in  the  House,  under  the  leadership  of 
Clay,  the  supporters  of  Crawford  went  over  and  voted  for 
Adams  who  was  elected  on  the  first  ballot.^®    On  February  12th, 


TsJLf emoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VI,  p.  235;  Ambler,  Sectionalism  in 
Virginia,  p.  127. 

ToBurgess,  The  Middle  Period,  p.  133. 
»oMejnoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adama,  Vol.  VI.  p.  284. 
»^Ibid.,  p.  323. 
a276id..  p.   348. 
»'^IMd.,  p.  466. 
8«/6irf.,  p.  475. 
»*-'Burgess,     The  Middle  Period,   p.   142. 


19 

Col.  R.  M.  Johnson  had  a  long  talk  with  Mr.  Adams  and 
strongly  advised  him  to  appoint  Gov.  Barbour  to  one  of  the 
Departments.**^  On  March  4th,  the  name  of  James  Barbour 
was  sent  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation  as  Secretary  of  War.^^ 

Here  we  find  the  turning  point  in  the  career  of  James  Bar- 
bour. Until  this  time  he  had  been  upheld  by  his  statesman- 
ship and  genius  as  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  his 
Slate.  Now  he  had  been  received  into  the  poitical  family 
of  a  President  against  whom  the  political  leaders  of  New 
York  and  Virginia  were  soon  to  unite  in  a  deadly  opposition. 
As  a  member  of  the  new  administration  be  must  help  frame 
its  policies,  and  consequently,  be  held,  in  part,  responsible  for 
its  every  act.  The  "Era  of  Good  Feeling"  had  already  broken 
up  into  a  seething  foment  of  political  scheming,  and  Jackson, 
defeated,  was  already  preparing  to  inflict  a  dire  revenge  upon 
the  men,  who,  as  he  said,  "had  combined  to  cheat  the  people 
of  their  choice."  In  November,  President  Adams  was  pre- 
paring his  first  message  to  Congress,  and  read  it  to  his  Cabinet. 
Mr.  Barbour  objected  to  that  part  relating  to  internal  improve- 
ments, and  even  Mr.  Clay  "thought  there  was  much  force  in 
his  remarks."*®  While  they  were  discussing  this  message,  a 
very  striking  contrast  appeared  between  these  two  men.  Mr- 
Clay  was  for  recommending  nothing,  which,  from  its  unpopu- 
larity, would  be  unlikely  to  succeed,  while  Mr.  Barbour  wished 
to  recommend  nothing  that  might  be  carried  without  recom- 
mendation,*'' 

Among  the  first  duties  of  the  new  Secretary  was  the  disposal 

of  those  Indian  tribes,   in   Georgia  and  Florida,   which  had 

already  begun  to  block  the  progress  of  civilization.     This  was 

a  very  difficult  matter,  and  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Gov.  Troup,  of  Georgia,  was  continually  quarrelling  with  the 

federal  Indian  agent,   and  at   one   time  threatened  to  treat 

Barbour  as  a  public  enemy,  should  he  insist  on  his  order  to 

block  a  survey  which  Troup  had  planned.^"    But  by  a  skillful 

»«Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VI,  p.  509. 

eUMd.,  p.  510. 

snibid..  Vol.  VII,  p.  69. 

69ihid.,  p.  61. 

9olMd.,  p.  136;  Turner,  Rise  of  the  New  West,  p.  312, 


20 

and  judicious  management,  Barbour  was  able  to  avert  any  real 
issue  with  the  hot  headed  Governor.  Thus  it  was  left  for  his 
successor  under  Andrew  Jackson,  to  stir  up  the  trouble  which 
caused  "Old  Hickory"  to  back  down.  Mr.  Barbour,  at  first 
planned  to  incorporate  the  Indians  within  the  States  of  the 
Union  and  to  cease  making  treaties  with  them  at  all,  and 
consider  them  altogether  subject  to  our  laws.  Mr.  Clay  thought 
that  the  Indians  could  not  be  civilized  and  that  they  were 
destined  to  extinction.  He  said  that  he  did  not  believe  any  of 
them  would  be  left  in  fifty  years.  Mr.  Barbour  was  shocked 
at  these  opinions."^  In  January  of  1826,  Mr.  Barbour  finally 
agreed  on  a  treaty  with  the  Creeks  in  Georgia,  by  which 
treaty,  the  Chattahoochie  was  to  be  the  boundary.  The  Presi- 
dent having  agreed  to  it,  it  was  signed.*^-  The  nest  month, 
Barbour  laid  before  the  Cabinet,  his  letter  to  the  Committee 
on  Indian  Affairs.  His  plan  had  changed  from  the  one  that  he 
at  first  considered,  into  a  plan  for  forming  all  of  the  tribes 
into  a  great  territorial  government,  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  This  letter  provoked  much  hostile  criticism  from  the 
Virginia  press,®'*  but  Mr.  Adams  remarked  in  his  Diary,  ' '  There 
are  many  excellent  remarks  in  the  paper,  which  is  full  of  bene- 
volence, and  humanity.""* 

This  same  characteristic  of  Gov.  Barbour  appeared  perhaps 
more  strikingly  in  July  of  this  year.  On  July  1st,  he  told 
President  Adams  about  the  damage  which  recent  rains  had 
done  to  the  estate  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  proposed  that  on  July 
the  Fourth,  after  the  usual  ceremonies  at  the  Capitol,  he  should 
address  the  audience,  and  invite  an  immediate  subscription  for 
the  benefit  of  the  grand  old  sage,  and  that  he  himself  would 
give  $100.00.  Mr.  Adams  doubted  the  success  of  the  plan. 
Nevertheless,  on  the  Fourth,  Barbour  delivered  his  address, 
which,  although  only  a  few  subscriptions  were  secured,  Mr. 
Adams  remarks,  "was  the  overflowing  of  a  generous,  bene- 
volent,  and  patriotic  heart,   respectable   even  in   its   inefKiei- 

»iMemoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adami,  Vol.  VII,  p.  89. 
92lhid.,  p.  108. 

•^Richmond  Enquirer,  February,  1826. 
»*Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adamt,  Vol.  VII,  p.  li.3. 


21 

eney."^^  On  the  sixth  of  July,  Mr.  Barbour  had  the  sad  duty 
of  reporting  to  Mr.  Adams,  that  Jefferson  had  died  at  Monti- 
cello,  on  July  the  Fourth,  All  were  profoundly  touched  by  the 
strange  and  striking  coincidence,  and  Barbour  was  especially 
affected,  as  he  prepared  his  special  order  to  the  army,  in  de- 
ference, both  to  Jefferson  and  to  the  elder  Adams."'' 

In  December,  1826,  Mr.  Clay  talked  to  President  Adams 
about  the  ensuing  presidential  election.  He  said  that  his 
friends  were  talking  about  him  (Clay)  for  vice-president,  but 
that  he  did  not  care  about  this  and  would  be  willing  to  remain 
as  Secretary  of  State  if  the  friends  of  the  administration 
would  unite  in  supporting  Gov.  Barbour  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency.'"'^ In  November  of  the  next  year  when  the  elections  in 
New  York  were  going  unfavorably  to  the  administration, 
Barbour  called  on  Mr.  Adams  and  asked  his  opinion  about 
the  vice-presidency.  Adams  preferred  not  to  interfere,  but 
said  that  his  inclination  was  for  him  (Barbour).  Mr.  Barbour 
then    said    that    Mr.    Clay  had  proposed  it  to  hiui;  that    he 

wished  all  personal  considerations  to  be  pushed  ou+,  and  let 
the  man  be  selected  who  could  give  the  most  strength  to  the 
cause.  He  did  not  think,  however,  that  Mr.  Clay  coidd 
effect  ihis.^'^ 

Only  a  few  months  were  necessary  to  make  this  prospect 
unattractive.  The  combination  of  Van  Buren  and  his  hench- 
men in  New  York  with  Thomas  Ritchie  and  others  in  Vir- 
ginia, into  an  organized  fight  against  the  administration  in 
favor  of  Jackson  had  been  all  too  successful.  It  was  hard  now 
not  to  see  that  the  people  would  soon  have  their  "Choice." 
And  Barbour's  desire  for  the  vice-presidential  nomination  de- 
creased accordingly.  At  one  time  the  support  of  Gov.  Barbour 
would  have  been  a  tower  of  strength  to  Adams  in  Virginia, 
at  least.  But  now  his  identity  with  the  administration  was  too 
well  established  for  the  enemies  of  this  administration  to  leave 
his  popularity  intact.    His  nationalistic  ideas  ha^  come  up  for 

s^Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VII,  p.  118. 
•«7bi(f.,  p.  122. 

^^aMcjnoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  216-17. 
•mid.,  p.  352. 


22 

assault  in  the  Jackson  papers,  and  Jackson  himself  began  to 
count  as  personal  enemies  all  who  did  not  support  him.  Little 
wonder  that  Barbour  began  to  dread  a  campaign.  But  he 
was  not  inactive.  One  especially  interesting  incident  was  his 
call  on  Adams,  March  21,  1828,  to  leave  copies  of  Jackson's 
letter  to  L.  W.  Campbell,  written  in  September,  1812.  This 
letter  and  a  note  were  in  very  abusive  language,  with  a  total 
disregard  of  or  ignorance  of  spelling  or  grammar.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  publish  them  in  some  way  so  as  to  form  a  contrast 
to  his  printed  speeches  which  had  really  been  written  by  Harry 
Lee.  This  had  already  been  done  by  a  printed  named  Force, 
in  Nashville,  Tennessee.  The  plan  now  was  to  get  a  resolu- 
tion through  the  House  calling  for  the  publication  of  the  cor- 
respondence relating  to  the  Indian  passports.  Jackson's 
friends  did  not  know  of  this  letter,  and  it  was  hoped  to  get  it 
published  in  this  way.  Adams  approved  the  stratagem,  but  it 
later  failed.*'^  The  "Old  Hero"  and  his  friends  were  "on  the 
job."  Perhaps  these  latter  suspected  something  of  this  sort, 
or  at  least  were  afraid  to  run  any  risk. 

As  early  as  January  23,  1828,  Dr.  Watkins,  of  Virginia, 
went  to  President  Adams  to  urge  the  appointment  of  Gov. 
Barbour  as  Minister  to  England  to  succeed  Albert  Gallatin, 
saying  that  Mr.  Clay  had  already  talked  to  Barbour  about 
this,  and  had  induced  him  to  expect  it.  Mr.  Adams  said  that 
it  would  be  very  agreeable  to  him  to  gratify  any  wish  of 
Gov.  Barbour,  but  that  he  had  almost  promised  this  place 
to  another,  however  he  would  wait  until  the  close  of  that 
session  of  Congress  to  make  an  appointment.*^®  In  March,  Mr. 
Clay  told  Adams  that  Webster  desired  the  mission  to  England 
before  he  passed  the  prime  of  life.  But  as  Gov.  Barbour,  who 
was  very  anxious  to  go,  would  certainly  not  stay  more  than  two 
or  three  years,  Mr.  Webster  was  willing  to  postpone  his  own 
claims  until  that  time.  Mr.  Clay  then  mentioned  Gen.  Porter 
and  Spencer  as  possible  successors  of  Barbour  as  Secretary  of 
War.^""*    Mr.  Adams  then  notes  in  his  Diary,  "Webster  wants 

i'^Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  VII,  p.  482. 
»o7Md..  p.  417. 
looj&itf.,  p.  474. 


23 

it  through  ambition,  Rush  and  Barbour,  as  a  shelter  from  the 
political  storm  of  which  they  are  now  afraid — I  cannot  blame 
them."^*^^  In  a  few  days,  Barbour  himself  spoke  to  Adams 
about  his  desire  for  the  appointment,  and  asked  to  have  notice 
some  time  beforehand,  in  case  of  his  appointment,  in  order  to 
arrange  his  private  affairs.    This  Adams  promised.'"^ 

In  May,  Mr.  Clay  began  again  to  urge  the  claims  of  Gov. 
Barbour,  and  Adams  remarked  again  that  both  Barbour  and 
Rush  wanted  to  save  themselves  from  the  wreck.  Then  he 
adds,  "And  it  is  not  inoperative  upon  Mr.  Clay's  recent  pro- 
pensities to  resign.  As  the  rage  of  the  tempest  increases  and 
the  chances  grow  desperate,  each  one  will  take  care  of  him- 
self. I  know  not  that  I  could  do  better  than  gratify  Gov. 
Barbour,  who  has  rendered  faithful  service  to  his  country 
and  whose  integrity  and  honor  are  unsullied.  In  my  own 
political  downfall,  I  am  not  necessarily  bound  to  involve  my 
friends.  Mr.  Clay  thinks  that  the  appointment  of  Governor 
Barbour  would  not  have  a  bad  political  effect  upon  the  admin- 
istration. In  this  he  is  mistaken.  The  effect  will  be  violent, 
and  probably  decisive.  But  why  should  I  require  men  to  sacri- 
fice themselves  for  me?"^°^  Such  was  the  spirit  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  the  grand  old  Puritan.  In  a  few  days  Barbour 
talked  again  with  Adams  about  the  appointment,  and  insisted 
that  Adams  should  not  let  his  claims  be  an  embarrassment  to 
the  administration.     Adams  told  him  that  the  difficulties  had 

cleared  away,  and  that  there  was  only  his  desire  to  preserve 
the  administration  unbroken  to  the  end.  But  that  in  a  few 
days  he  would  decide."*  Accordingly  he  called  a  Cabinet 
meeting  for  May  17th  to  consider  the  subject.  Barbour  asked 
to  be  absent  from  this  meeting  and  was  excused.  ^"^  At  this 
meeting  Adams  suggested  that  the  appointment  be  postponed, 
but  the  Cabinet  was  all  of  the  opinion  that  it  should  be  made 


101  Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Vol.  "VII,  p.  483. 

io2/&<(i.,  p.  485. 

lOiMemoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adama,  Vol.  VII,  p.  625. 

loiibid.,  p.  538. 

lOB/ftid.,  p.  544. 


24 

immediately,  and  that  Gov.  Barbour  was  the  man  for  the  place. 
Adams  again  mentioned  the  bad  effect  this  might  have  on  the 
ensuing  election.  Clay  argued  that  this  might  not  be  the 
case.^*** 

Adams  knew  more  than  his  advisers.  When  the  appoint- 
ment became  kno^woi  the  enemies  of  his  administration  jumped 
at  once  to  the  conclusion  which  Adams  had  feared;  the  hostile 
press  charged  at  once  that  the  administration  had  acknowl- 
edged its  defeat;  that  James  Barbour  had  deserted  the  cause, 
and  some  declared  that  the  choice  of  Barbour  to  succeed 
Gallatin  was  ridiculous.^'''  However,  other  papers  rallied  to 
the  defense,  and  in  the  Richmond  Whig  this  latter  criticism 
was  ably  answered  in  a  striking  editorial :  "  It  is  the  fashion 
in  Virginia  to  depreciate  James  Barbour  for  the  purpose  of 
dispensing  a  larger  share  of  praise  to  his  brother,  Philip  P. 
Barbour,  w^ho  has  more  successfully  cultivated  the  regard  of 
that  political  club,^"®  which  has  so  long  ruled  things  with  a 
despotic  sway.  To  deny  that  Gov.  Barbour  has  fine  talents, 
only  proves  the  weakness  of  those  who  make  the  objection. 
On  the  score  of  talent,  Gov.  Barbour  is  amply  equal  to  the 
occasion.  "^''^  Subsequent  events  proved  that  this  was  true. 
On  the  28th  of  May,  the  Senate  ratified  the  nomination  of 
James  Barbour  as  Minister  to  England,  by  a  vote  of  27  to  12. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  12  who  voted 
"no,"  were  John  Tyler  and  L.  W.  Tazewell,  both  of  Vir- 
ginia. ^^^ 

Gov.  Barbour  went  at  once  to  London,  and  took  up  his  new 
duties.  He  was  introduced  to  the  British  Premier  early  in 
October^  and,  under  instructions  from  Secretary  Clay,  im- 
mediately began  negotiations  for  a  settlement  of  the  old  trouble 

ioalMd.,  p.  546 

i'>-! Richmond  Enquirer,  May  26  and  27,  1828; 
(From  New  York  Evening  Post,  Ma3^  1828). 

soiThe  Richmond  Junto,  of  which  Thomas  Ritchie  was  one  of  the 
leaders. 

1097716  Constitutional  Whig,  May  24,  1828. 

^loCongressional  Dehates,  Vol.  IV,  Part  II,  p.  2773;  20th  Con.,  1st  Ses.; 
The  Constitutional  Whig,  May  28,  1828. 

lllKiles  Register,  Vol.  35,  p.  121. 


25 

over  slaves  escaping  into  Canada.  Mr.  Gallatin  had  been  in- 
structed to  settle  this,  but  Great  Britain  had  refused  to  treat. 
When  Mr.  Barbour  pressed  the  subject,  the  British  minister  at 
first  claimed  that  an  act  of  Parliament  made  a  slave  free  when 
he  escaped  to  British  territory.  Barbour  pointed  out  that  this 
was  not  an  act  of  Parliament  but  rather  the  result  of  a  judicial 
decision.  Lord  Aberdeen  then  said  that  Sir  George  Murray 
would  bring  it  before  Parliament,  where  he  hoped  the  evil 
could  be  obviated.^ ^-  Early  in  the  next  year,  Mr.  Barbour  was 
presented  to  the  King  and  was  received  with  marked  courtesy 
and  kindness  of  manner,  while  the  reception  of  Mr.  Gallatin, 
on  the  contrary,  had  been  repulsive  in  the  extreme.^ ^^  But 
merit  under  the  new  President  (Jackson)  did  not  necessarily 
ensure  reward,  and  early  in  the  summer  Barbour  was  recalled, 
and  Lewis  McLane  of  Delaware,  an  ardent  supporter  of  Jack- 
son, was  appointed  his  successor.^^*  The  old  pilots  had  not 
dreamed  of  such  a  "storm,"  and  now  they  realized  that  no 
harbour  could  be  a  safe  shelter  from  it. 

It  is  gratifying,  however,  to  note  the  favor  which  Gov. 
Barbour  received  while  he  was  abroad.  Most  of  the  societies 
and  learned  institutions  of  London  invited  him  to  become  a 
foreign  member,  and  the  English  papers  noted  especially  his 
presence  at  the  annual  festival  of  the  Medico-Botanical  So- 
ciety, which  boasted  among  its  members,  the  crowned  heads, 
as  well  as  the  most  distinguished  persons  of  Europe.  Of  the 
toasts  drank  on  that  occasion,  one  was  highly  flattering  to  the 
foreign  ministers  present,  and  was  enthusiastically  received  by 
the  company.  Barbour's  colleagues,  the  representatives  of 
other  nations,  with  one  accord,  insisted  on  his  returning  thanks 
in  their  behalf.  This  he  did  in  a  very  modest  and  eloquent 
speech.^ ^^  At  a  meeting  of  the  British  and  Foreign  School 
Society  in  London,  Mr.  Barbour  was  introduced  by  Mr,  Wilber- 
foree  as  his  "Excellent  Friend."  He  spoke  a  short  while  in 
response,  and  was  followed  by  Lord  John  Russell,  who:   "Felt 

ii276id.,  p.  289. 

iisj&id.,  Vol.  36.  March  28,  1829. 
ii*7&irf.,  p.  298-9. 

ii^ViJe«  RegUter,  Vol.  36,  p.  308.  (The  speech  is  printed  here  in 
full.) 


26 

the  highest  satisfaction"  in  Mr.  Barbour,  as  the  representative 
of  a  great  nation.  "It  is  very  gratifying,"  said  he,  "to  have 
at  last,  an  American  ambassador  who  can  watch  the  progress 
of  England  with  interest  and  pleasure,  instead  of  the  jealousy 
which  former  ministers  have  always  held."''*'  On  July  1st, 
the  University  of  Oxford  honored  Mr.  Barbour  with  the  de- 
gree of  LL.  D.  This  degree  was  at  the  same  time  conferred  on 
many  noblemen,  army  officers,  scientists,  etc.  It  was  a  great 
occasion,  large  crowds  having  assembled  to  see  the  famous  men 
who  were  to  receive  honorary  degrees.  After  the  presentation 
of  these,  there  was  a  grand  procession  of  dignitaries."" 

Gov.  Barbour  and  his  family  sailed  from  Liverpool  in  Octo 
ber,"^  and  arrived  in  New  York,  November  1st,  1829."^ 
He  was  immediately  invited  to  attend  the  dinner  which  New 
York  was  to  give,  on  November  6th,  to  Mr,  Brown  who  had 
been  recalled  from  France.  But  private  reasons  compelled 
him  to  decline,  and  he  set  out  at  once  for  Virginia.^-''  But  the 
next  week  he  was  splendidly  entertained  at  a  great  public 
dinner  given  by  citizens  of  Richraond.^^^ 

In  May  of  the  next  year.  Gov.  Barbour  announced  himself 
as  a  candidate  to  represent  Orange  county  in  the  next  General 
Assembly.  He  made  a  poAverful  speech  at  Orange  courthouse, 
reviewing  his  own  political  life,  and  vindicated  his  acceptance 
of  a  seat  in  Adams'  Cabinet.'--  The  election  was  very  close 
and  exciting.  So  intense  was  the  opposition  that,  although 
Barbour's  opponent  was  an  illiterate  and  unknown  man,  there 
seemed  to  be  little  doubt  that  he  would  be  elected  over  the 
man  who  had  been  Governor,  Senator,  Secretary  and  Ambas- 
sador. Even  a  number  of  the  members  of  Barbour's  own 
family  are  said  to  have  refused  to  vote  for  him,  because  of 

his  connection  with  Adams. '-"^      However,  ex-President  Madi- 

ii«Ibid.,  p.   329. 
iiTlhid.,  Vol.  37,  p.  8. 
ii87bi(i.,  October  17,  1829. 
iio/&fd.,  November  7,  1829. 
120/btd.,  November  14,  1829. 
121/bid.,  November  28,  1829. 
i'-:2,vtle*  Register,  Vol.  38,  p.  218. 

i2-'aFrom  an  ac<!Ount  by  W.  W.  Scott,  Law  Librarian  of  Virginia  (a 
nephew  of  James  Barbour). 


27 

son,  old  as  he  was,  attended  the  election  and  voted  for  Gov. 
Barbour. ^^-'^  At  first  it  appeared  that  Mr.  Davis,  Barbour's 
opponent,  had  a  majority  of  14  votes.  But  the  sheriff  dis- 
covered a  number  of  fraudulent  votes  for  Davis,  and  de- 
clared Mr.  Barbour  elected. ^-^  The  election  was  contested, 
however,  and  Mr.  Barbour  took  his  seat  in  the  Assembly  de- 
claring that  he  would  retire  if  there  should  be  any  reasonable 
proof  that  his  opponent  had  not  been  defeated.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  look  into  the  matter,  and  it  appeared  to 
them  that  Barbour  had  not  received  a  legal  majority,  although 
they  were  unable  to  show  sufficient  proof.  Nevertheless,  Mr. 
Barbour  saw  that  the  intense  partisan  hostility  was  deter- 
mined to  defeat  him,  and  on  the  16th  of  February,  1831,  he 
gave  notice  that  he  would  retire,  in  order,  as  he  said,  "to  re- 
lieve the  committee  of  the  expense  and  labour  of  going  over 
the  great  mass  of  records,  etc."  He  then  bade  farewell  to  the 
Assembly  in  a  valedictory,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  his  speeches. ^^*  But  he  still  had  many  friends  in  Orange 
county,  and  they  arranged  a  public  dinner  for  him  at  Orange 
Courthouse  for  March  10th.  Mr.  Madison  was  invited,  but  was 
too  feeble  to  accept  the  invitation,  else  he  "would  have  joined 

in  the  tribute  to  be  offered  to  one  whose  private  worth  and 
social  virtues  are  known  to  all."  Judge  P.  P.  Barbour  hand- 
somely accepted  the  invitation  extended  him.  Robert  Taylor 
also  accepted  in  an  earnest  and  feeling  manner.  In  those 
daj^s  political  views  were  personal  things,  and  it  was  no  small 
tribute  to  the  private  worth  of  a  public  man  to  be  entertained 
at  a  public  dinner  with  his  political  opponents  present  to  do 
him  honor;  and  in  his  letter  of  acceptance,  Gov.  Barbour 
showed  himself  fully  sensible  of  the  compliment.^-^ 
He  now  retired  to  his  beautiful  home,  "Barboursville,""* 

i22bMZes  Register,  Vol.  39,  p.  173. 

i^^Ibid.,  p.   173;    The  Fredericksburg  Arena,   November,   1830;    The 
Fredericksburg  Herald,  November,  1830. 

i2*Niles  Register,  Vol.  39,  p.  464.     (This  valedictory    1»    reproduced 
here  in  full.) 

^^^Niles  Register,  March  26,  1831. 

i26Note. — A  half-tone  engraving  and  interesting  description  of  this 
ftne  old  mansion  may  be  found  in  Scott,  History  of  Orange  County, 
p.  81  and  202. 


28 

and  took  very  little  active  part  in  politics  until  early  in  the 
spring  of  1839,  when  the  presidential  campaign  began.  He 
then  entered  heartily  into  the  campaign,  and  with  Benjamin 
W.  Leigh  of  Richmond,  was  elected  delegate-at-large  from 
Virginia  to  the  Whig  Convention  to  be  held  at  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania.^-"  This  convention  met  at  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  Harrisburg,  on  the  fourth  of  December.  The  next  day,  Gov. 
James  Barbour  was  elected  president  of  the  conventions-^  with 
John  Tyler  of  Virginia  as  one  of  the  vice-presidents. 

In  this  Convention,  the  New  York  politicians,  led  by  Thur- 
low  Weed,  effected  the  slaughter  of  Henry  Clay,  and  availa- 
bility had  its  first  complete  triumph  in  our  national  politics.  ^^^ 
Men  of  every  political  creed  had  come  together  to  seek  a  com- 
mon advantage,  and  to  revenge  past  wrongs.  Old  enmities 
were  forgotten  among  those  who  had  assembled,  and  old  friend- 
ships were  forgotten,  too.  Even  James  Barbour  forgot  the 
many  personal  services  which  had  cemented  his  friendship  with 
Clay,  and  in  his  opening  speech  declared,  that  "he  had  not 
come  there  with  any  personal  prejudices  in  his  heart,  nor  had 
any  of  them  come  to  whine  after  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt,  but 
to  give  perpetuity  to  republican  institutions.  To  reach  this 
end,  it  mattered  not  what  letters  of  the  Alphabet  spelled  the 
candidate's  name,  for  his  part,  he  could  sing  Hosannas  to  any 
Alphabetical  combination. "  ^  ^" 

During  the  balloting  for  the  presidential  nominee,  Harrison 
seemed  to  have  a  lead  on  Clay.  Finally  a  letter  from  Clay 
was  read.  It  gave  the  convention  a  free  rein,  but  Clay  de- 
clined to  withdraw.    Barbour  then  made  a  beautiful  speech  in 


^-^tRichmond  Whig,  October  1,  1839. 

issA^iZes  Register,  Vol.  VII,  5th  Series,  p.  249;  Shepard,  Martin  Van 
Burm  (Am.  Statesmen  Series),  p.  378. 

Note. — The  Gov.  Barbour  here  referred  to  is  listed  in  the  index  of 
this  book  as  "Philip  P.  Barbour"  (see  p.  470).  Nevertheless,  Gov.  P. 
P.  Barbour,  v/ho  was  a  rank  Democrat,  is  clearly  confused  here  with 
his  brother.  Gov.  .Tames  Barbour,  who  was,  undoubtedly.  President  of 
this  Convention.     (See  Niles  Register,  VII,  5th  Series,  p.  249.) 

i29Shepard,  Martin  Van  Bnren,  p.  378. 

isoA'iZea  Register,  Vol.  VII,  5th  Series,  p.  249. 


29 

compliment  to  Clay,  but  ended  with  a  strong  endorsement  of 
General  Harrison.^ ^^  Harrison  was  nominated  with  John 
Tyler,  of  Virginia,  for  a  running  mate.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  just  eleven  years  before,  Tyler  had  voted  in  the  United 
States  Senate  against  the  confirmation  of  Barbour  as  Ambassa- 
dor to  England.  Now  be  had  come  over  into  Barbour's  own  par- 
ty, and  Barbour  atoned,  in  part,  for  his  desertion  of  Clay,  by 
proving  that  he  had  indeed,  "not  come  with  any  personal  preju- 
dices in  his  heart."  Since  he  worked  faithfully  for  Tyler's  nom- 
ination, and  then  sang  "Hosannas"  throughout  the  campaign 
to  this  very  unusual  combination.  It  was  a  memorable  cam- 
paign. The  meu  who  had  lost  the  most  by  Jackson's  slogan,  ''Let 
the  people  rule,"  now  came  back  with  an  echo  to  that  cry,  and 
the  successor  of  Jackson  trembled  as  the  echoes  rang.  Old  as  he 
was.  Gov.  Barbour  plunged  into  the  campaign  with  his  old- 
time  eloquence.  At  Staunton,  he  met  Gov.  William  Smith  in 
a  debate  and  spoke  for  five  hours.  Gov.  Smith  himself  later 
pronounced  this  speech  "the  ablest  he  had  ever  heard  from 
the  lips  of  any  man."^^-  Soon  after  this  Barbour  made  a 
speech  at  a  convention  at  Martinsburg,  Virginia  (now  West 
Virginia),  which  the  Richmond  Whig  noted  as  "The  most  mag- 
nificent burst  of  eloquence  to  which  the  times  have  given 
birth."^^^  These  were  the  times,  too,  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  and 
Webster! 

If  we  leave  out  any  thought  that  Gov.  Barbour  may  have 
been  spurred  on  by  memories  of  former  personal  wrongs,  and 
think  only  of  the  great  issues  which  were  at  stake,  there  is 
something  sublime  in  this  his  last  great  fight.  After  ten  years 
of  retirement  from  his  thirty  years  of  eminent  public  service, 
he  had  come  back  before  the  people,  not  seeking  for  office,  but 
to  warn  them  against  the  "Little  Magician"  and  his  crew  of 
politicians,  and  to  help  "give  perpetuity  to  Republican  in- 
stitutions." A  contemporary  remarks:  "Gov.  Barbour  pre- 
sented an  imposing  appearance,  with  striking  face,  long,  shaggy 
eyebrows,  and  head  covered  with  silvery  flowing  locks;  with 

i3iNiles  Register,  Vol.  VII,  Sth  Series,  p.  378. 
is2Bell,  Memoirs  of  Gov.  Wm.  Smith,  p.  14. 
i^3Richmond  Whig,  September  21,  1840. 


30 

a  majestic  and  sonorous  voice,  he  filled  one's  conception  of  a 
Roman  Senator  in  the  last  days  of  the  Republic.  "^^* 

At  the  close  of  this  contest,  broken  in  health  by  the  strain, 
he  went  to  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  to  consult  certain 
eminent  surgeons  and  physicians,  and  it  was  found  that  he 
had  been  suffering  for  several  years  under  the  effects  of  a 
slow  and  insiduous  disease  which  had  gradually  impaired  his 
constitution.  The  surgeons  could  give  him  no  hope  for  a  per- 
manent cure,  and  he  returned  sadly  to  "Barb ours ville."  In 
December  of  1841,  he  started  again  for  Baltimore,  this  time 
by  way  of  Richmond  where  he  was  to  attend  the  Agricul- 
tural Convention.  But  the  trip  to  Richmond  exhausted  him, 
and  after  a  few  days  of  rest  there,  he  returned  again  to  "Bar- 
bourville."  After  a  few  weeks  of  rest,  he  seemed  to  recover 
again,  and  was  able  to  take  charge  of  his  estate,  but  as  sum- 
mer approached  the  old  statesman  weakened  fast,  and  on  the 
seventh  of  June,  in  the  possession  of  his  mental  faculties,  and 
conscious  of  the  approaching  end,  he  died,  surrounded  by  his 
family. ^^^     Now  the  hand  of  death  had  silenced  his  enemies, 

and  the  voices  of  his  friends  united  into  one  full  chord  of 
praise.  From  among  these  many  notes,  the  fittest  one  de- 
clared him :  ' '  One  of  the  noblest  of  the  sons  of  Virginia,  the 
virtues  of  whose  private  life  and  character  outshone  all  of 
the  splendor  with  which  popular  favor  or  political  distinction 
could  adorn  his  name."^^^  It  is  characteristic  of  the  man  that 
he  desired  only  this  simple  inscription  on  his  tomb : 

**Here  lies  James  Barbour 

Originator  of 

The  Literary  Fund 

of  Virginia."^" 

But  he  shares  the  fate    so    common    to    distinguished    Vir- 
ginians, since  even  this  small   tribute  has  been  denied  him, 

i34Bell,  Memoirs  of  Oov.  Wm.  Smith,  p.  14. 
^  ^'•Richmond  Whig,  June  16,  1842. 

13' Smith,  Governors  of  Yirginia,  p.  325. 


31 

and  he  still  lies  in  an  unmarked  grave.  However  the  little 
town  of  Barboursville  stands  near  where  his  home  had  been, 
and  Barbour  county  in  West  Virginia,  formed  in  1842,  also 
perpetuates  his  name  and  memory.^^^  Time  has  not  yet  healed 
the  enmity  which  his  desertion  caused  in  Democratic  Virginia, 
and  the  silent  neglect  of  his  contemporaries  proves  all  too  elo- 
quently how  intense  this  enmity  had  been.  It  is  not  our  task 
to  defend  James  Barbour,  but  only  to  ask  that  his  critics 
study  closely  all  his  actions  before  condemning  any  single 
motive  of  this  man  whose  whole  life  supports  no  baser  charge 
than  that  he  stood  for  conviction  in  the  face  of  political 
disaster,  and  refused  to  cringe  for  safety  before  the  altar  of  a 
demagogue. 


i38Smith,    Governors  of  Virginia,  p.  325. 


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