The lives of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson: with a parallel ..

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THE

OF

GEORGE -WASHINGTON

AND

THOMAS JEFFERSON:

WITH A PAEALLEI,.

"^***f w ^S' 9v^^^^

** Makcus Cato and Caius CiESAK were both extraordinary men,
but of a genius widely different. Greatness of soul they equally
possessed, and they equally reached the summit of g-lory; yet it was
a gloiy peculiar to each, and certainly acquired by very opposite
methods." — Salxust.

B7 STEPHXSnr SI1MCPS0I7.

PHILADELPHIA :

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HENRY YOUNG,

N.-E. Corner ofPassyunk Road and StnpP*?'^ S};re;et. ',

1833.

o ' • o .

r

THE NEW YORK

I PUBLIC LIBRARY
f 163965

ASTOR, LENOX AND

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
1899.

Easteni District of Pennsylvania^ to wit :
Be rr Rexembered,

^j^Jl^^ That, on the twenty-second clay of March, A. D. one
^^ thousand eig-ht hundred and thirty -three, Stephen
Jm Simpson, of the said District, hath deposited in this
V^^S^tv Office the title of a book, the title of which is in the
«'Vlf¥"i"^ following" words to., wit :

' 71ie Lives of George Washington and Thomas Jef-
ferson, with a Parulleh'^

* Marcus Cato and Caius Caesar were both extraordinary men, but
of a g"enius widely different. Greatness of soid they equally pos-
sessed, and they equally reached the summit of g'lory; yet it was a
glory peculiar to each, and certainly acquired by veiy opposite me-
thods.'— Sallust. Br Stephen Simpson. The rig-ht whereof he
claims as Author, in conformity with an Act ofCong-ress, entitled
* An Act to amend the several Acts respecting" Copy-rig-hts.'

' FRANCIS HOPKINSON,

Clerk of the Eastern District.

,*A''^

• « " ♦

. • .

• •• .

» * <

DEDICATION.

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.

Fellow Citizens,

This volume, containing the Lives of the

TWO GREAT FOUNDERS OF THE AMERICAN

REPUBLIC, GEORGE WASHINGTON and
THOMAS JEFFERSON, is respectfully de-
dicated to you by the Author, in the hope and
expectation, that their common services to their
Country, and their joint labours in rearing the
inestimable fabric of our free constitution,
may endear their virtues, wisdom, and patriotism
to future generations : and that posterity
may derive as usefuLa lesson from the history
of their lives, as their own generations experi-
enced blessings from their labours.

In the example of great and illustrious men,
our children will always find the best and
most instructive lessons of social duty, and
public spirit : and however you may be divided
by party, or differ in principle, you cannot fail
to derive a lesson of wisdom and tolerance from
the historical fact ^ that the tioo great Fathers
of our liepublic, w^ho differed so vitally upon
the genius and nature of our federal govern-
ment, both administered its supreme functions,
under the same Constitution, with an equal
measure of liberty, happiness, and prosperity to
all.

STEPHEN SIMPSON.

Hamilton, March 17, 1833.

TO THE READER.

A DESIRE to diffuse among the people a more intimate
knowledge of the origin, progress, adoption, and administra-
tion of the Constitution and government under which they
live and flourish; and to give them a more distinct and
accessible history of the ttvo great Founders of the Re-
public, have been among the chief inducements to this pub-
lication. Having remarked, that, no work of this kind
was to be procured in a cheap, popular, and current form,
it occurred to the Editor, that much prejudice might be
removed, and much information imparted by presenting in
a shape susceptible of general perusal, the leading events
of history, and the prominent traits of character, peculiar
to the two Statesmen, whose lives are here delineated.
Popular information on these points, is certainly a desidera-
tum; and the Editor, without presumption, ventures to
indulge the hope, that this volume may contribute to sup-
ply a deficiency, which on all hands is acknowledged to be
a reproach to our national character. Ignorance on any
subject is disreputable; but to be ignorant of the genius,
virtues, and achievements of George Washington, and
Thomas Jefferson, ought justly to raise a blush to the
cheek of every American.

In selecting the incidents of the life of AVashington, I
have followed a guide, whose love of truth, and ardour of
patriotism, was an ample guarantee that he would not mis-
lead me as to facts; and could not seduce me as to prin-
ciples; his integrity of mind being only equal to his purity
of purpose, and lofty independence of character and senti-
ment— attributes and virtues, which have secured to Mar-
shall's Life of Washington, the reputation of an ele-
gant and sterling history of that great man; which must
cause every American to regret, that its voluminous size,
places it beyond the reach of the popular reader.

Towards the venerable author of that work, now in the
age of the Patriarchs, after having consummated the la-
bours of the Patriot, I cannot withhold the homage of my

Vl

entire esteem^ not less as the friend and historian of the
Father of his Country, than as the impartial and iit>''
expounder of the laws and Constitution of the L
States, who, combining the highest genius with the pu._t
virtue, presents us witli a model of those Statemen, who
flourished in the days of IVashlngton, as 'n-naments of their
country^ and the best friends of rational Liberty.

The disinterested patriot, might now be permitted to
cherish the hope, that the time has at length arrived, when
difference of political opinion need not beget inveterate
personal animosity^ and that variety of views in respect
to national policy, may be tolerated without that impeach-
ment of motive, which would originate accusations of har-
bouring schemes of monarchy on the one hand, or disor*
ganizing tenets of Jacobinical licentiousness on the other.
In this matter, the venerable Chief Justice has set us an
example, every way worthy of the father of his Country,
wdiose biography he has so elegantly composed, and ^vhose
creed of political tolerance, he has so faithfully illustrated.
And whatever may be oiir opinion of the powers of the
Court over which he presides, with so much genius, learn-
ing, and dignity, we cannot abstain from yielding him the
homage of our veneration and gratitude^ veneration for
his unspotted patriotism, and gratitude for his public
services; to say nothing of the esteem we clierish for his
virtues, the admiration in which we hold his talents, and
the encomiums we- are ever ready to lavish on his beautiful
literarv productions; his profound legal investigations, and
his honest juridical expositions of the laws and Constitu-
tion of our country. *

The sources from which I have drawn the facts of Mr*
Jefferson's life and history, are too authentic to admit of
dispute; being his own pen, and his own letters^ We liave
too, on all important points, preferred that he should give
his own sentiments in his own language; so that instead of
being seen through a mirror* he might be contemplated in
his own naked proportions of truth and reality; not like
the statute of Jupiter, in a cold and doubtful resemblance,
but like the livino; Deitv himself, full of life, and breathing
immortality.

THE

OF

FEW men, either of ancient or modern times, have
extorted such universal homage from mankind, as the sub
ject of this biography; whose virtues and prudence seem to
have supplied w^hat was deficient in his genius — and whos3
genius appears to have supplied whatever might be wanting
m those political perfections, which are always implied in
the unity of a great and illustrious character. Equally
distinguished for public services, and private virtue — as
eminent in the cabinet for wisdom of council, as he wai5
skilful in his plans of war, and brave in the conflicts of the
neld — endowed v/ith the highest patriotism, or love of coun-
try, mixed with a wholesome ambition, whose end and aim
was true glory — it is not surprising that mankind should
have become, as it were, fascinated, by a concentration of
rare qualities in the person of George Washington, which,
have seldom, if ever, been found so happily united in the
same individual-^-or allotted, in such harmonious proper •
tions, as to produce a character so exempt from all vicious
exeess, as to border close upon perfection j yet, at the same
time, presenting the full force of all those passions, which
are so apt to run into violence, degenerate into evil, or be-
come pernicious and disgusting by their extravagance.

The contemplation of the life of such a man must ever
excite the curiosity of mankind, and kindle a feeling of
laudable pride in the bosom of every American citi7.en, MTiO
values the principles of liberty, or appreciates the glory of
the country to which he is indebted for the enjoyment of
happiness, and the exercise of the rights and dignity of a

A

THE LIFE OF

human being. Identified with the rise, history, and inde-
pendence of his country, the life of Washington becomes
a subject of double interest to all, as combining the grea^t
events of the most memorable revolution recorded in history,
with the genius and virtues of an individual, who realises
the grandeur of ancient heroes, blended with the best traits
of virtue peculiar to the sages and philosophers of Greece
and Rome.

George Washingtox vv^as born on the 22d of Febraary,
1732. He was a native of Virginia, the son of Augustin
Washington, and first drew his breath at Bridges Creek,
in the County of Westmoreland of that state, in the family
mansion of his great grandfather, John Washington, who
had emigrated from tlie north of England about the year
1657". He was the eldest of five children, by the second
marriage of his father, with Miss Mary Ball, a lady of for-
tune, who had descended from one of the first families in
Virginia. The first wife of his father was a Miss Dandridge,
by whom he had two children.

By the death of his father, he was left an orphan at the
tender age of ten years ; but his patrimonial estate being-
small, his education was necessarily limited to a mere
English course of study, while his youth, from the same
cause, was devoted to pursuits of useful industry; and it
appears that his first profession was that of a Surveyor,
which is said to have given him a knowledge of vacant
lands, that materially contributed to the subsequent in-
crease of his fortune.

Being a favourite son, left at a tender age to the care of
an affectionate mother, he naturally became an object of
great solicitude to his surviving parent.

At fifteen, his propensity for military life became so far
developed, that he succeeded, by his importunity, in obtain-
ing the berth o{ Midshipman in the British navy; having
manifested that irresistible enthusiasm for war, which cha-
racterises an inherent propensity for a particular profession,
upon the occasion of hostilities being declared by England
against France and Spain.

But the fears of his mother induced her to oppose this
perilous destination of her son, and for a time suspended
the commencemient of his military career.

At the age of nineteen, he was appointed an Adjutant
General of Virginia, when the militia were in training for

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 5

actual service; which shews that his military talents were,
even then, highly appreciated.

At this early period did he develope those clear percep-
tions, and that sound judgment, which so far contnbute to
the formation of avio-orous understandincr. and ensure sue-
cess in the undertakings of life. Nature, indeed, seems to
have fashioned his mind in that happy scale of modulated
and restricted power, which, while it endowed him with
sufficient perspicacity, yet, at the same time, so interposed
the restraints of judgment and sound sense, as to prevent
his imagination from exagigeratino; or distorting the real pro-
portions, and true magnitude of objects. Thus, though his
imasination was not vivid, his understandino; was vig-orous.
so as to admirably qualify him for the duties of military life,
as well as the ordinary concerns of the world. These traits
of his character are delineated in a peculiar and striking
manner in the various journals which he composed, when
despatched on public business, particularly tliat which he
kept on the occasion of the appointment which was now
conferred on him. ' ' -

On the 31st October, 1753, having volunteered his ser-
vices to Governor Dinwiddle, he was commissioned to bear
the remonstrances of Virginia to the commander of the
French posts, against their encroachments on the English
settlements; a penlous duty, which he discharged to the sa-
tisfaction of the government and the public; but the French,
being indisposed to retire from the Ohio, the Assembly ot
Virginia determined to resort to compulsory measures, and
a regiment was raised, to which Washington was appointed
Lieutenant Colonel. In this predatory campaign against
the French and Indians. Wasliington first distinguished
himself for that ability to manage a retreat, and that pru-
dent valour which awaits occasion for victory, or can seize
opportunity to escape disaster, which afterwards so emi-
nently characterised him. For his conduct on this occasion,
the Legislature of Virginia passed him a vote of thanks.

The applause bestowed on his judgment and discretion,
his valour and his skill, had inflamed his natural passion
for a military life ; but a distinction having been adopted
between the officers of the crown and those of the provin-
cial troops, giving precedence of rank to the former,
Washington retired from the service in disgust, under a
deep sense of intended injury and dishonour.

4 THE LIFE OF

In this interval between his civil and military life, his
eldest brother, Lawrence Washington, who had been en-
gaged in the expedition against Carthagena, having paid
the debt of nature, bequeathed him the plantation of
Mount Vernon^ a large estate on the banks of the Poto-
mac, and named by him after Admiral Vernon., under
whom he served. George nov/ removed to this delightful
residence, with the fixed purpose of spending the remain-
der of his days in the pleasures and avocations of private
life. But how feeble are all human resolutions !

Being invited by General Braddock^ to enter his family
as a volunteer aid de camp, under very flattering profes-
sions, Washington, in whom the love of military life was
a passion, could not resist the temptation, and he accord-
ingly joined the forces of that commander. In this cam-
paign, his ad^'ice was proved by experience, to have al-
ways been dictated by the spirit of wisdom : and his as-
sistance was of inestimable advantage to the commanding
general, who never suffered adverses, but when he ne-
glected the suggestions of the sagacity, or undervalued the
admonitions of the experience of Washington.

In this disastrous campaign against Fort Bu Quesne^
Braddock was defeated and killed; and Colonel Washing-
ton, only escaped by one of those miracles of war, which
sometimes reserve brave men for greater acliievements of
glory.

Braddock's defeat proved a real victory to Washington.)
whose advice, as events proved, had it been followed,
would have resulted in the victory of the day, and the suc-
cess of the expedition. His conduct was applauded — ^his
discretion extolled — ^liis valour admired — so that he was
considered the flower of Virginia chivalry — and honored
as the pride and ornament of his native state.

A new regiment of sixteen companies was now raised
by the Assembly, and the command tendered to Colonel
Washington, who accepted the trust under discretionary
pow ers never before granted to an officer; so rapid was the
growth of his fame as a military captain, and with such
exclusive zeal did he devote the energies of his mind to the
art of war.

The year 1755 was remarkable for the horrid ravages
perpetrated by the French and Indians on the frontier set-
tlements of Virginia; and Washington was active in stay-

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

ing the progress of massacre and destruction: but his ut-
most exertions did not completely succeed, in this arduous
undertaking — a deficiency, however, more ascribable io
the State Assembly, than to their military commander,
who,^being left destitute of troops, could not accomplish in
his own person, what would have required a large army to
effect.

In the subsequent spring of 1756, a similar irruption of
the enemy again desolated the inhabited borders of the
State ; and again, from the inadequacy of his means, was
Washington incapable of rendering the country any efficient
service. His mortification and ^rief, on this occasion,
were intense ; and wrung from his benevolent heart the
wish that he had never accepted his commission. But,
undismayed, and unwearied, he now directed his energies
to exhort the Assembly to provide sufficient means to repel
their savage invaders ^ and all that wisdom, skill, and
humanity could accomplish, was done by Washington, in
the way of advice, appeals and exhortation, to provide
C43mpetent means of defence and aggression.

Insubordination among the troops, was a vital defect in
their means of efficiency; to remedy which, Washington
appealed in the most forcible manner, until he procured a
partial remedy for the evil. But the frontiers long conti-
nued to suffer terrible desolation from the inroads of the
Indians and French, who came down from the Ohio, like
a torrent, overwhelming in destruction all that opposed
their passage, or presented an object for plunder, violence,
and massacre.

This era is only important and interesting, in the life of
Washington, as it affords the first great display of that con-
summate military genius, which stamped him with features
so superior to the common order of men. Under public
disasters M'hich paralysed the very faculty of thought in
others, he rose with vigour to the emergency of the crisis
— detected at once the cause of defeat — penetrated to the
means of victory — devised remedies for defects — supplied
deficiencies by his invention — explored the country with a
military eye, that seemed like intuition itself — suggested
plans of organising the army — selected scites for forts and
garrisons^ — and, in fine, demonstrated to the conviction cf
all, that the commander of the Virginia forces, had been
gifted by nature with the liighest military genius, which

A 2

O THE LIFE OF

only requued to be sustained by competent means, and
displayed on a suitable theatre, to raise him to an eminence
of glory, not exceeded by ancient, or modern heroes. Such
must be the conviction of all, who read the papers which
he submitted to the Governor and Assembly of Virginia,
upon the state of the country, at that period: and in which
he strongly recommended them to carry the war into the
enemy's country, in order to obtain peace and security at
home. Looking attentively at his conduct, and his writ-
ings, of that epoch, there is discernible throughout them a
spirit breathing the purest ambition of military fame, and
enthusiastically absorbed in this one darling object of his
mind.

From the time of Braddock's defeat, Washington had his
thoughts fixed on the reduction of Fort Du Qiiesne, as the
only means of securing the frontiers from the murderous
incursions of the savage foe; and from letters written by
him, under the influence of an impatient thirst of glory,
and a depressed ambition, denied its proper field of action
— the impetuosity of his temper — the irritation of his spirit
— and the great perspicacity of his intellect in military
matters, break forth with a lustre, which while it presaged
his future greatness, at the same time extorts our admira-
tion.* It was evident, from his own confessions, that, not-
witlistandino; his constitutional modestv. he thoug-ht himself
somewhat neglected, and that his merits were not justly
appreciated by those in power in the mother country, how-
ever sincerely his services had been applauded by the
Provincial Assembly.

The capture, or more properly speaking, the evacuation
of Fort Du Quesne bv the French — and the cessation of
Indian hostilities, chiefly to be ascribed to that event, now
released Washington from all obligations of honor, or
patriotism, to remain in the army: and, as his ambition
could not be gratified by being placed on the permanent
establishment, he now resolved to retire, especially as his
impaired health, as well as his private affairs, demanded
his attention, to place both on a sounder footing. He
accordingly resigned his commission as Colonel of the First
Virginia Regiment, and commander in chief of the troops
of the Colony. On this occasion, the regret and attachment

* See Vol. 2, chapter 1, MarshAll's Life.

GEORGE Washington. 7

of his officers were feelingly manifested in a complimentary
address highly flattering to his private worth, as well as
military genius.

Shortly after his retirement from the army, he became
united in wedlock to Mrs. Custis, a young widow of large
fortune, fine person, splendid accomplishments, and those
amiable qualities of the heart and mind, which, operating in
the circle of love, tend so much to promote the permanent
happiness of the conjugal state — to inspire and to enjoy
which, in the highest degree of perfection, appears to have
been one of the peculiar felicities of his constitution. At
the time of his marriage, he was in his twenty-seventh
year.

Let us here pause, at what we may term the first great
stage of the life of Washington, to indulge in those natural
reflections upon his genius and character, which are indis-
pensable to a just and rational appreciation of the com-
plexion of his principles, and the power of his understand-
ing, as they afterwards became more fully developed, in
the progress of the Revolution — the establishment of Inde-
pendence, and the adoption of the Federal Constitution.

The first object for reflection that occurs in the survey
of this part of his life, was his scanty education, being de-
nied the benefit of classical instruction, and cast into active
life at so early an age as fifteen. It is evident, that what-
ever knowledge, or science, he had acquired at school
within that term, must have been very limited, if not
superficial 5 yet neither in his letters, nor in his active
duties, does any deficiency from that cause appear: his
genius happily supplying all defects, and omissions, which
there may have been in his education. The style of his
letters, and public papers, was copious, flowing, lucid, and
elegant. His conceptions are clear — ^his diction vigorous
— ^his reasoning close and logical — as if his very exemption
from the fetters of the classics had ^ven a freedom, bold-
ness, and elasticity to his mind, which, under their cum-
bersome weig-ht. it mio;ht otherwise have wanted: and when
we consider the inherent power of his mind, it is doubtful,
whether he could have dB.ived any advantage from more
profound studies, in the profession which his genius had
impelled him to embrace with so much enthusiasm and
success.

Viewed in this light, Washington presents us with a

8

THE LIFE OF

striking example of that native force of the American cha-
racter, in its unsophisticated grandeur, and inartificial
strength, which has so often caused it to be compared to
the colossal magnitude of our mountains, and the expansive
majesty of our lakes and streams. Too great by nature, to
require the auxiliary aids of art, he could not well have
been improved by those classical refinements, which add
vigor to feebler minds, and give grace to the uninspired
labors of dulness.

Yet his education was appropriate to his destination in
life — ^it was the education of a soldier. He did not, of
course, aspire to the profound speculations of the philoso-
pher; the elegance and taste of the man of letters: or the
comprehensive and deep researches of the statesman. It
does not appear that his studies and reading ever led him
to those elaborate disquisitions, which would have enabled
him to grasp the theories of government, or conduct him to
the highest eminences of civil, judicial, or political life. No
yearnings of his spirit after such distinctions, are, therefore,
to be detected in the early part of his life; no political
pan tings — ^no civil aspirations, ever interfered to jostle his
thirst of military fame, or cause him to seek distinctions
which lay out of the natural path of liis genius. We are,
therefore, not to be surprised, that during the whole course
of the Revolution, he never indulged in an inclination for
the studies of civil law, philosophy, science, or belles-lettres;
and that, feeling his strength to lie in the military line,
he chose to confine it, where it would obtain most splen-
dour and achieve most good for his countrv. It is true,
that, prior to his marriage, he had been chosen to the Pro-
vincial Assembly: and that, at a subsequent period, he took
his seat in the Congress that declared Independence: but
on these occasions he was confessedlv out of his element
— he never shone — he never felt at home — and always
availed himself of the first opportunity to resign the honor
which he could not embellish with splendour, or convert to
his own glory; and which did not gi-atify his feelings, or
minister to his favorite passion of military fame.

It was in accordance with this trait of his geniu?, that, in
the incipient stages of the Revolution, he appeared so little
on the civil theatre of action: and became rather a specta-
tor, than a participator in the political convulsions, which.
on every side, were distracting the country. In the first

GEORGE WASHINGTON. y

Congress, although his name is enrolled among the dele-
gates from Virginia, yet he does not appear to have taken a
prominent part on any of the important committees, on
which he was placed, or to have borne an active share in their
proceedings; so adverse were his habits and genius to civil
and political pursuits — yet, it is not to be inferred from
this inaptitude of his mind for the discharge of parliamen-
tary duties, and political functions, that his heart was not
w armly devoted to the cause of liberty and independence.
Still, we have no reason to believe that he ever fomented
the discontent of the Colonies; or inspirited the people to
sedition, complaint, or remonstrance, against any of the
oppressive and illegal acts of the mother country. Ap-
proving, rather than instigating, the revolutionary move-
ments around him, he became an efficient, though not active
friend to the cause of liberty and emancipation; and while
Patrick Henry was hurling the thunders of his eloquence
against the tyranny of the King — whilst Jay was compos-
ing manly and spirited appeals to the justice of the British
Ministry — and whilst Paine was captivating the ear, and
winning the hearts of the people to the cause of liberty, and
the rights of man, through the columns of the public jour-
nals, and the medium of a free press — Washington, repos-
ing on the rock of his military genius, was serenely await-
ino; the final catastrophe of the struggle, when, argument
being exhausted — patience M'earied — and negociation inef-
fectual— the time to draw the sword would arrive, and
usher him. in the fulness of liis vigour, and the maturitv of
his judgment, on his native element of war, to save his
country, or perish in vindicating her rights, liberty, and
independence.

At the same time, however, that he was exempt from the
effervescent fervor of sedition, there is ample reason to be-
lieve that sound whig principles had taken a deep root in
his mind, and that, although he might not be found enthu-
siastic in the cause of Independence, yet that he had no
objection to see the royal government overturned, and a
republican constitution substituted in its place. His mili-
tary ambition, which was unquestionably the absorbing
passion of his heart, (if the harmony of his constitution ad-
mitted a ruling passion,) had been mortified and disappoint-
ed by that system of court favour, in military promotion,
which had obstructed his advancement on the regular esta-

10 THE LIFE OF

blishment of the royal troops, and confined him to the su-
bordinate rank of a provincial officer — a circumstance which
had so frequently exposed him to the most acute mortifica-
tion, when compelled to >deld to the arrogant claims of
precedence set up by the king's officers, on all occasions,
over the provincial officers of the colonial governments;
which not only checked his ambition, but mortified his
feelings, at the same moment that it obstructed his ad-
vancement, chilled his enterprise, and baffled the natural
bent of his powerful genius, which panted to reach the
climax of military perfection and renown.

When we reflect upon the infatuation of the British o;o-
vernment, in the preposterous policy of humiliation, which
they adopted towards the colonies at that period, we are
struck with astonishment that so little knowledge of human
nature should have entered into their \-iews and measures,
and that they should systematically attempt to hold us in
vassalage by the very means that were calculated to move
us to revolt and independence — that is, by treating a proud
spirited people as their inferiors, and attempting to degrade
men whose besettino; sin, if thev had one, was a restless
ambition, and a soaring spirit of enterprise and invention,
which transcended all that history had ever recorded of
any other people — a system of policy which directly excited
the self-love of every man to react against them, and which
arrayed wealth, talents, and all other possessions in opposi-
tion to the royal government, notwithstanding the peril of
the contest which they were compelled to w age. For the
case of Washington w^as also the case of a thousand others,
who, notwithstanding their enjoyment of opulence, ease,
pleasure, and social distinction, yet panted to attain that
public eminence which a government of their own only could
bestow ; without much carins; what kind of o-overnment
should be substituted in the place of the foreign despotism
that then degraded as well as oppressed, insulted^ and re-
buked them; without even resorting to the common expedient
of selecting their choice spirits for preferment, or delegating
some portion of the power of court favour, and royal patron-
age to the lordly Governor, w^ho, from time to time, repre-
sented the imperial majesty of England.

Next to his passion for war and military pursuits, the
propensity of Washington was towards agriculture, and
those collateral avocations connected with the management

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 11

and improvement of his estate, whose value and increase
had now swelled his fortune to a splendid magnitude, which
claimed his attention, and occupied the greater portion of his
time; and from the period of his resigning his commission
to the Assembly of Virginia, he had divided his thoughts
between public affairs and the concerns of his plantations.

As a member of the Virginia Legislature, he was always
respected, though never conspicuous? but he was repeatedly
elected as a delegate to the State Assembly.

When the independent companies of the northern parts
of Virginia had completed their organisation, they chose
Washington for their Commander. So that, whether in
military or civil pursuits, whenever honor was to be con-
ferred, or confidence reposed, Washington was always sure
to be selected as the prominent object of attachment and
regard to the people.

Having been elected to the first Congress, he took his
seat in that body, when it met at Philadelphia, and was
always chosen as a member of those committees, which
were appointed for military or defensive purposes; in which
situations the soundness of his judgment, the firmness of his
purpose, the integrity of his character, and the imposing
dignity of his person and address, combined with his un-
questionable patriotism, enabled him to be of essential ser-
vice to his country; and although we have from his pen no
exposition of the abstract principles that constituted the
basis of our revolutionary struggle, yet he has said enough
to show that he approved of the ground of resistance, and
embarked all his feelings and wishes in the great contest
for national independence.

To the dignity of his personal deportment, and the awe
inspiring expression of his noble countenance, Washington
was, perhaps, as much indebted for his eminence through
life, as to the pure integrity of his soul, and the unblemish-
ed disinterestedness of Ms devotion to the good of his
country. Physically adapted to inspire awe, to kindle
enthusiasm, or to extort devotion to his person, he was, of
all the public men of that time, the best qualified to lead
our troops to victory, or to protect and shelter them under
defeat. Various and irresistible were the inducements
that influenced Congress to invest him with the chief and
exclusive command of the Annies of the United Coioniesj
to whicli post he was unanimously chosen by Congress cu

12 THE LIFE OF

the 14th of June, 1775, Among other considerations that
operated in favor of his selection, may be mentioned his

freat opulence — his experience in military affairs — ^liis
nown ambition to achieve military renown — ^his valour,
firmness and prudence — his penetrating sagacity — his com-
prehensive grasp of mind — his faculty of combining detached
parts into one great whole — his power of conceiving the
great — executing the dangerous — and embracing the vast —
together with indomitable courage— exhaustless patience —
and unconquerable fortitude: — a combination of attributes
and circumstances so rarely found united in one person,
that the living example of the model might, without depart-
ing from the tone of reason, be justly demonstrated a pro-
digy of nature.

Endowed with unaffected modesty, this great man, wlien
presented with his commission, avowed his sincere diffi-
dence of his ability for the important trust.

To add to his merit, he refused to receive any compen-
sation for his services: with an understandins: that Congress
should discharge his expenses onlyj of which he pledged
himself to keep a strict account. How widely different
from modern patriots, who only seek to serve their country
for emolument and pay ! It is not, however, to be doubt-
ed, but that the gratification experienced by Washington,
in his love of military life, proved in itself a profuse remu-
neration for all his toils and perils.

A more popular choice of a commander in chief, could
not have been made. The whole country rang, wdth one
united shout of unanimous applause, that an individual so
well fitted, in all respects, for the arduous duty of the
crisis, had been chosen to discharge it.

Still the spirit of liberty was startled into jealousy, by
the almost absolute military power, with which he had
been invested; and the address of congratulation present-
ed to him by the Provincial Assembly of New York, upon
his arrival in that city, on his way to assume command of
the army at Cambridge, contained this prudent and jealoti*
clause: —

*' We have the fullest assurances, that, whenever this
important contest shall be decided by that fondest wish of
every American soul — ^n accommodation with our mother
country, you will cheerfully resign the important deposit
committed into your hands, and reassume the character of
our worthiest citizen.'^

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 13

To this candid and undisguised requisition, that he would
put oft' his armour, and resign his military power the mo-
ment that the object of his assuming it should be accom-
plished, he replied, in the true spirit of the patriot, aware
of the danger to which the allusion was directed; and wil-
ling to dispel, or assuage all apprehensions of evil, bj
an explicit avowal of his desire to comply with their requi-
sition. To the flattering address of the Massachusetts Le-
gislature, he thus replied : —

"Your kind congratulations on my appointment and ar-
rival, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and will be
ever retained in grateful remembrance. In exchang-ino- the
enjoyments of domestic life for the duties of my present
honorable, but arduous situation, I only emulate the virtue
and public spirit of the whole province of Massachusetts,
which, with a firmness and patriotism without example, has
sacrificed all the comforts of social and political life, in sup-
port of the rights of mankind, and the welfare of our com-
mon country. My highest ambition is to be the happy
instrument of vindicating these rights^ and to see this devoted
province again restored to peace, liberty and safety."

There seems to have been a constitutional trait of diffi-
dence and modesty in his character,- for when the president
of Congress communicated his appointment, he is said to
have felt great distress from the consciousness that his abi-
lities mi o-ht prove incompetent to the task. On that memo-
rable occasion, he uttered the following remarkable senti-
ment : —

.... '»But, lest some unlucky event should happen un-
favourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered
by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare
with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to
the command I am honored with."

Upon his arrival at the army at Cambridge, Washington
found the disorganization so great, as to demand his imme-
diate and exclusive attention, in order to place it on a more
systematic and substantial basis; well knowing that without
harmony, discipline, and subordination, even strength be-
comes weakness, and numbers lead to defeat, instead of
commanding victory. Although he was mortified to find
not only defects in discipline, and an alarming deficiency
of ammunition, yet these very evils, by calling up all his
energies into action, not only conduced to his own fame,

B

14 THE LIFE OF

bill contributed to the ultimate safety of the country, and
the immediate success of the American arms. Thus, the
very first eftbrt of the military genius of Washington, by
being directed to the efficient organisation of the army,
demonstrated the wisdom of the choice which Congress had
made, in conferring on him the chief command of the con-
tinental forces; to which, it cannot be doubted, we were
solely indebted for the triumph of our arms, and the final
establishment of our independence.

Whatever of military glory beams around the imperishable
laurels of Washington, and^it is sufficiently brilliant not to
want increase, still it must be lamented, that he did not
participate in the fame of Breed's Hill, or what is com-
monly termed ^^the Battle of Bunker'' s Hill.^^

To make up for this stroke of ill -fortune, or omission of
fortune, Washington devoted himself so assiduously to
the blockade of Boston, that the Britisli not only found it
impossible for them to harass the surrounding country, or
attempt a battle, that they became streightened for provi-
sions, and suffered much from this deprivation, which,
owing to the perpetual vigilance of the American comman-
der, they fountl it impossible to remedy.

But the short terms of enlistment on which the army
had been formed, now began to occasion serious embarrass-
ment to the commander, w^ho, the more his desire increased
to drive the British from that town, the more his means of
accomplisliing such an object vanished from his grasp; a
disappointment the more mortifying, because public opinion
had long been anticipating its reduction, under a false im-
pression of the exaggerated strength of the forces under
General Washington, who, as the blockade became further
protracted, began to be an object of public censure; indeed
the popular clamour against him proceeded so far, as to in-
sinuate aloud, that he was more desirous of prolonging the
war, in order to continue his own importance, than to ter-
minate it by a battle, which might consio;n him to private
life. Although not insensible to this unjust censure, yet
he could not repel the imputation without exposing the
real weakness of the American troops; and he preferred to
suffer in his own reputation for the moment, than to injure
teh cause of freedom, by disclosing a weakness which
might prove fatal to the triumph of whig principles. The
conviction of his own judgment against the policy of an

GEORGE WASHINGTON-. l5

attack, was strengthened bj the concurrence of a council
of war; fortified by which, he even ventured to disregard
the wishes of Congi-ess in favour of an attempt to expel the
British forces from Boston.

Although averse to an immediate attack, Washington
continued to make gradual approaches towards the town,
by erecting fortifications on Plowed Hill, Cobble Hill, and
Lechmere's Point; positions considered favorable to pre-
sent, or ulterior operations: and these approaches having
been carried within half a mile of the enemy's works on
Bunker'' s Hill ^ gave rise to occasional cannonading which
drove their floating batteries from their original stations.

Up to this period, the winter of 1775, the professed
object of hostilities against Great Britain, had been an
accommodation with the royal government, on condition of
having the principle of non-taxation without representation,
recognised by the mother country. A redress of griev-
ances, not national independence,^ was the avowed object:
it was said to be a war against a corrupt ministrv, not
against the British Crown. But this fallacy could not
long delude the public mind; or blind men of the most
doltish perception to the real tendency of a contest, which
had assumed an attitude so mortal, inveterate, and exter-
minating. It was natural, too, that a people who only
started for a redress of grievances, should, as they pro-
gressed, and felt themselves strong enough for self-govern-
ment, and powerful enough to vanquish their oppressors,
at last turn their thoughts to the subject of national inde-
pendence, and project the total abolishment of the King's
authority, and the royal government. No doubt the most
discerning and sagacious politicians foresaw, from the com-
mencement of the collision, that it must ultimately assume
the character of Revolution and Independence. No doubt
a majority of the great leaders of oppugnation wished, if
they did not directly design it to be so; but with the great
mass of the people, it wore a more humble, a more just, and
a more practicable complexion, in the mere object of guard-
ing the substance of the privilege of representation in the
Imperial Parliament, by conceding to the Colonies the
sole and sovereign right of self taxation: being excluded
by local circumstances from a representation in Parliament.
But open and avowed measures for the establishment of a
government independent of the mother country Mere now
adopted.

16

THE LIFE OF

Massachusetts and Virginia were the first to open the
path to this arduous and dangerous enterprise, by making
application to Congress for advice as to the best mode of con-
ducting their affairs, under existing revolutionary movements;
and other provinces following the example, the question
of separation from the mother country naturally arose, in
opposition to those who maintained that the connection
which formerly subsisted should still be preserved. Go-
vernments for the Colonies totally independent of the mo-
ther country, were advocated by some, whilst others, more
timid, or less inclined to liberty, espoused the restriction
ot such governments to the continuance of the dispute then
pending with Great Britain — ^thus leaving open a door by
which to return into the arms of monarchy and dependence.
At this period, indeed, the idea of separation was so little
countenanced, that great opposition was made to a resolu-
tion granting to New Hampshire even the restricted go-
vernment to which I have just alluded — that is, "during
the continuance of the present dispute with Great Britain 5"
and every endeavour was systematically made to impress
on the public mind, that a separation was not intended:
an effort which contributed to produce an impression, if not
an effect, the very opposite of what was designed.

How far Washington participated at this period in these
opinions, or whether he interfered in them at all — to which
party he inclined, whether in favour of separation^ or of
monarch'if, I have no means of ascertaining: but it is most
probable that he did not anticipate the growth of popular
opinion, or attempt to quicken it into maturity in favour of
a separation. This conjecture is rendered probable, be-
cause it accords with his general reserve, political cool-
ness, passive observation, strict prudence, and lofty habits
of dignity, reflection, and acquiescence; for, except in
matters of military bearing, his intellect seems rarely to
have been quickened to that stage of excitement, which
would impel him to take a deep interest in the mere politi-
cal questions of the day. This conjecture, too, is strictly
conformable to his military attitude, which might in some
measure forbid a zealous and active espousal either of se]m-
ration, or prolonged adhesion to the monarchy of Britain.

The siege of Boston was now prosecuted w\i\\ renewed
vigour by Washington. A plan of attack was matured and
adopted; and, on the 4th of March, 1776, the American

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 17

troops took possession of the heights of Dorchester, from
which thej poured a heavy cannonade on the besieged.
Counteracting movements were made by the British gene-
ral (Howe) to dislodge the troops of Washington from this
position J but the forces of the former being dispersed by a
storm, while in their boats, the whole plan of defence was
changed; and the English evacuated Boston on the 17th of
March, much to the chagrin of the American general, who
had projected a scheme of assault upon the town, which he
did not doubt, would prove entirely and splendidly trium-
phant.

The recovery of Boston by the American army consti-
tuted an important event in the war; and the wliole colo-
nies rang with peals of joy upon the achievement. It was
** resolved, that the thanks of Congress, in their own name,
and in the name of the thirteen United Colonies, whom they
represent, be presented to his excellency General Wash-
ington, and the officers and soldiers under his command, for
their wise and spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition
of Boston, and that a medal of gold be struck, in commemo-
ration of this great event, and presented to his excellency;
and that a committee of three be appointed to prepare a let-
ter of thanks, and a proper device for the medal. "

The expedition into Canada in 1775, especially that
against Quebec, although planned with consummate abi-
lity, as far as it respected the military arrangement of the
operation, yet proved extremely disastrous to the Ameri-
can arms, notwithstanding the heroic bravery displayed by
the Generals, Montgomery, Arnold, and Thomas; who, as
soldiers and commanders, performed all that genius, valour,
and judgment could accomplish. But the great defect of
the plan, was the vast disproportion that existed between
the means and the end. The project having originated
with Congress, on the avowed expectation of annexing Ca-
nada to the thirteen United Colonies, it met with the con-
currence of Washington, and has been made to redound to
his glory, although fraught with nothing but defeat, disas-
ter, and a useless, or worse than useless, expenditure of
lives, money, resources, and credit. The enterprise was
altogether too vast, and the scene of its execution too remote,
to be justified on any principles, or views, not exclusively
military. It was based on an assumption of exaggerated
resources in the United Colonies, which not only did not

B2

18 THE LIFE OF

exist, but it is difficult to conceive how any impartial mind
could have imagined that it was possible to exist. Although
I am willing to concede to Washin^on, therefore, as much
applause as he could justly lay claim to, for the military
arrangements of the expedition into Canada, yet, as it
respects the political elements of the design, as far as they
implicate the character of the statesman for policy, know-
ledge, judgment, and a correct appreciation of all the com-
prehensive relations involved in it — it must be admitted to
detract in some measure from his civic character, and to
impair the aggregate of that greatness, which belongs to in-
herent fame, apart from the splendour of military glory.

It may be said, however, that Congress, by adopting the
scheme, made it their oM^n, and so far exonerated the Ge-
neral from all censure due to a project, which aimed at
such colossal ends, by such pigmy and disproportionate
means. But this cannot well be admitted^ for it was the
habit of Congress to adopt all his suggestions, according to
the pledge of adhesion which it had originally given to him,
when it invested him with the absolute and unlimited pow-
ers of a military Dictator — powers justified by the crisis,
and indispensable to the triumphant issue of the struggle
between the Colonies and the Monarchy. It was, too,
peculiarly incumbent upon Washington, to restrain, rather
than excite, to enterprises of such stupendous magnitude;
for, to him Mas practically known the insufficiency and fee-
bleness of the military material of the United Colonies, as
well as their deficiency in the great sinew of war, money i
— and had he expressed his dissent from the enterprise, no
doubt can exist that it would never have been attempted.

It was more unfortunate, however, in its leaving tlie co-
lonies naked of the means of vigorous defence, as it ex-
pended resources, which, at home, would have proved infi-
nitely more advantageous than abroad, even had complete
victory attended the Canada expedition. And when we
reflect, that all the troops engaged in that disastrous cam-
paign, underwent hardships, and endured suft'erings, as well
as achieved romantic deeds of heroic courage, never sur-
passed, if equalled — we cannot but express our astonish-
ment and regret, at the wanton temerity of an enterprise,
which gave occasion to such brilliant displays of heroism,
and involved such terrible consequences of defeat.

Anticipating an attack upon New York by the forces of

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 19

General Howe, which had evacuated Boston, Washington
hastened from that place with the main body of his amij to-
wards the Hudson 5 and having reached New York on the
14th of April, he directed all his energy and resources to
prepare for the reception of the enemy, and prevent his oc-
cupation of so important a post; to guard against which, he
omitted no precaution of defence, which military genius, or
the resources of the colonies, could furnish or suggest.

But here, as on all other occasions, the deficiency of the
material of the troops, in respect to muskets and bayonets,
presented serious impediments to his efficient operations.
The want of magazines, clothing, tents, ammunition, and
arms, was truly lamentable. A loyal and tory population,
too, not only in the city, but about the surrounding country,
added to his difficulties, increased his embarrassments, and
frustrated his designs. This disaffection to the American
cause had risen to so great a head, as to take the shape of a
conspiracy to seize and deliver up Washington himself to
the royal government. In this plot even some of the ge-
neral's guards were implicated tlirough the arts, intrigues
and corruption of the royal governor, Tryon, and the mayor
of the city. That it failed, was rather to be ascribed to
good fortune, than any defect in the plot, or penetration in
the intended victim. Some of those who were guilty were
executed. A similar conspiracy having been exploded at
Albany, those concerned likewise suffered the penalty of
death.

The Congress of 1775 had adjourned under sanguine ex-
pectations, that the disputes existing between the Colonies
and Great Britain, would speedily be adjusted to the satis-
faction of both parties. But this hope was entirely dissipated
by the speech of the King to Parliament; while the proceed-
ings of the latter evinced a disposition the most remote from
that which would have prevailed had a temper of justice
and conciliation predominated in their councils. On the
contrary, an inflexible resolution to subdue the colonies by
the sword, was manifested by increased and immense pre-
parations to prosecute with success, the ensuing campaign;
evincing not only an implacable animosity in the tory ad-
ministration, but a vindictive thirst of revenge in the Eng-
lish people. Fully appreciating the importance of these
hostile movements, the colonies were not backward in
making vigorous preparations to repulse the legions that

20 THE LIFE OF

were now to be poured upon them: and it will ever redound
to the glorj of Washington, that, keeping his eye upon the
movements of the mother country, he now pressed upon
Congress, in his letters to that body, the necessity of adopt-
ing measures which would enable him, at the liead of the
army, to protect the country from the ravages and devasta-
tion of the expected foe. It is to be regretted that Con-
gress, from the want of experience and judgment, did not
comply with his requisitions to that extent which was es-
sential to the consummation of the object aimed at.

It cannot be thought irrelevant to the life of Washington,
to here advert to the progress which the public mind was
now making towards the great work of National Indepen-
dence; which had heretofore been merged in the minor ob-
ject of obtaining redress of grievances. Anterior to the
year 1776, an absolute horror was generally expressed,
whenever the idea of a sepai'ation of the colonies from Great
Britain had been liinted, accompanied by an avowal of
anxious desire to re-establish the union and harmony which
had always subsisted between the mother country and
America. Since blood had been shed, however, between
the contending parties, an opposite sentiment had gradually
supplanted the desire of a renewal of political connection
with Great Britain. To feel affection — to profess alle-
giance— to desire to cultivate amity with a monarch whose
armies were desolating our country, giving our homes to
the fire-brand, our families to the sword, and our all that
made life valuable, to the rapacity of a band of mercenary
soldiers; at the same time that we were attempting to avert
the blow, or retaliate the injury, was not only impossible,
but unnatural and absurd. It was in the nature of the
human heart to revolt from a power, which thus sought to
afflict, crush and vanquish us; and to desire never again to
hold communion with the bloody and oppressive authors of
our wrongs and sufferings. Still, on the other hand, pow-
erful prejudices existed, to draw back the people to their
ancient allegiance, and customary form of government.
Education, habit, all the associations of the mind, and
many of the affections of family ties, had implanted a deep
love of the British government and nation in the hearts of
the Americans, and made them averse to thinking of a final
and lasting separation from the mother country. Even as
late as June 1775, Congress issued a proclamation for a

GEORGE WASHIXGTON. 21

fast, assigning as one of the reasons for its recommenda-
tion, to "'beseech the Almighty to bless our Bightf id Sove-
reign. King George the Third, and inspire him with wis-
dom.'* These prejudices in favour of remaining under the
British government now rapidly wore away: and an in-
creased love and admiration of Republican principles,
coupled with the desire of Independence, began to take
root in the minds of the people, especially that portion of
them who had no ties of aristocratical distinction, official
pomp, or family pride, to rend asunder by the separation;
and Mhose mediocrity of fortune placed them beyond the
dread which operated on the minds of the more opulent
and powerful members of society. To this class of citizens,
too, the public journals of the colonies, now began to open
their columns in favour of independence. To these fol-
lowed pamplilets and essays: among which stood in bold
and prominent relief, distinguished for its eloquence, pa-
triotism, and energy, tlie Commox Sense of Thomas
Paine: which, combining great force of language and power
of argument, with an irresistible array of facts and princi-
ples, too obvious to be denied, and too reasonable to be
confuted, carried conviction to every mind, at the same
time that they enlisted the most ardent feelings in the cause
of liberty and independence: agitating the calm and tempe-
rate ^nth a glowing love of country, and infusing irresistible
enthusiasm into fhe bosom of the ardent champions of
the Rights of Man. He boldly attacked with triumphant
ridicule, and resistless argument, the whole fabric of the
British Constitution, which had so long- been held in idol a-
trous veneration as the paragon of political wisdom; and at
the same time demonstrated a longer continuance of a con-
nection with England, to be as impracticable as it was ab-
surd, dangerous, and inconsistent. Lucid in his style, forci-
ble in his diction, and happy in his illustrations, he threw
the charms of poetry over the statue of Reason, and made
converts to liberty, as if a power of fascination presided over
his pen. Universally read, warmly applauded, and prompt-
ly responded to, this pamphlet daily won crowds of zealous
converts to the rational docti'ineof American Indepen-
dence. It was now perceived and acknoMledged, that a
reconciliation with England was now impracticable; and
the opinions of Paixe soon became the opinions of a large
majority of the people, who coincided in his principles,
adopted his views, and embraced his doctrines.

22 THE LIFE OF

It is not the purpose of this biography to enter into a full
discussion, or a minute review of the question of indepen-
dence: but we may here remark, that the writings of Tho-
mas Paine have been admitted to have had more influence
in the accomplishment of the separation of the colonies from
the mother country, than any other cause; and that preju-
dice, arising from a secret attachment to the British consti-
tution, could alone have operated to withhold from his
name and memory, that lustre and renown, which always
gathers in clustering glory round the brows of those wor-
thies, who in times of peril, espouse the rights of the peo-
ple; and amidst the frowns, thunders, and tempests of des-
potism, denounce the tyranny of kings, and satirise into
derision and contempt, the pomp of thrones and the pride
of monarchs.

To the genius of Thomas Paine, as a popular writer, and
to that of George Washington, as a prudent, skilful and
consummate general, are the American people indebted for
their rights, liberties and independence. The high opinion
of Paine, entertained by Washington, and publicly express-
ed by the latter, sheds fresh lustre on the incomparable
merits of the great leader of the army of the revolution.

It was under an impression in part produced by the pow-
erful writings of Paine, that Congress, on the 6th of May,
1776, passed a resolution recommending to the Colonies
to adopt separate and independent governments; and from
that time they assumed the character and attitude of So-
vEREiGx States, presenting the sublime and imposing
spectacle of a free and enlightened people framing their
own systems of government in virtue of their inalienable
rights, and inherent sovereignty, and reducing to the cer-
tainty of written constitutions the boundaries of power and
the popular fountains of authority.

Representative democracies were adopted by the different
states, with two branches of legislative and one of executive
power, limited in most of the states by declarations of rights,
and declared in all to emanate from the sole spring of
power, the sovereign rights of the people.

From this commencement, the step was short to the
Declaration of Independence of the United States.

On the 29th of June, 1776, General Howe arrived off
Sandy Hook, with the British army from Halifax, where
he had wintered his troops, and had waited for reinforce-
ments; and on the 3d and 4th of July he effected a landing

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 23

of his troops on Staten Island; previous to which, General
Washington had been active in removing all the supplies
that might prove of advantage to the enemy.

All the energies and resources of Washington were now
put in requisition, to observe the movements and counteract
the designs of the military and naval forces of England,
under the command of Sir William and Lord Howe; who
were also constituted commissioners to treat for peace^ant
pardons, seduce traitors, and purchase renegades. These
commissioners published circulars, addressed to the people,
exhorting them to return to their allegiance to the crown,
which were transmitted by Washington to Congress.

Not only were the people to be bought, but even the
general in chief of the army of the United States was to be
tampered with, or bribed from his duty. Lord Howe ac-
cordingly despatched a letter with a flag, addressed to
* George Washington, Esquire,'^ which the General declined
receiving, because it did not recognise the public character
with which he was invested by Congress, and in no other
character could he have any intercourse ^\dth his lordship.
This prudent and dignified conduct met with the warm
approbation of Congress, who immediately passed a special
resolution, ' that no letter or message be received on any
occasion whatever from the enemy, by the commander in
chief, or others, the commanders of the American army,
but such as shall be directed to them in the characters they
respectively sustain.'

To overcome this difficulty of etiquette, without commit-
ting the royal power, as well as to amuse the Americans
with the pretence of pacific intentions. Colonel Patterson,
Adjutant-General of the British army, was despatched on
shore by General Howe, bearing a letter directed to
'George' Washington, &c. &c. &c.' He was, of course,
admitted to an interview with Wasliington, whom he ad-
dressed by the title of ' Excellency;' and after the prelimi-
narv compliments, proceeded to state his business by say-
ing^ that " General Howe much regretted the difliculiies
that liad arisen respecting the address of the letters; that
the mode adopted was deemed consistent with propriety,
and was founded on precedent in cases of ambassadors and
])lenipotentiaries, where disputes or difficulties about rank
had arisen; tliat General Washington might recollect he
had, last summer, addressed a letter to the ' honorable

24 THE LIFE OF

William Howe;' that Lord and General Howe did not
mean to derogate from his rank, or the respect due to him;
and that they held his person and character in the highest
esteem, but that the direction, with the addition of &:c. &c.
&c. implied every thing which ouo;ht to follow.*' Colonel
Patterson then laid on the table the letter of which he was
the bearer.

Washington unhesitatingly declined to receive it, alleg-
ing '• that a letter directed to a person in a public charac-
ter, should have some description, or indication of that
character, otherwise it would be considered as a mere pri-
vate letter. It was true, the etceteras implied every thing,
and they also implied any thing. That the letter to Gene-
ral Howe, alluded to, was an answer to one received from
him under a like address; which having been taken by the
officer on duty, he did not think proper to return; and
therefore answered in the same mode of address; and that
he should absolutely decline any letter relating to his pub-
lic station, directed to him as a private person."

Coloiiel Patterson then observed, ' that General Howe
would not urge his delicacy further, and repeated his asser-
tions that no want of respect was intended.'

Some observations then passed upon the treatment of
prisoners; after which Colonel Patterson said, that '"the
goodness and benevolence of the King had induced him to
appoint Lord Howe and General Howe his commissioners
to accommodate the unhappy dispute at present subsisting;
that they had great powers, and would derive much plea-
sure from effecting the accommodation; and that he wished
this visit to be considered as making the first advance to-
wards so desirable an object."

The reply of General Washington to this proposition
was, ' that he was not vested with any powers on this sub-
ject, by those from whom he derived his authority; but he
would observe that, so far as he could judge from what had
as yet transpired, Lord Howe and General Howe were
only empowered to grant pardons; that those who had com-
mitted no fault wanted no pardon; and that the Americans
were only defending what they deemed their indubitable
rights.' ' This, (Colonel Patterson replied,) would open a
rery wide field for argument:* and after expressing his fears
that an adherence to forms might obstruct business of the
greatest moment and concern, he took his leave.

GEORGE WASHINGTOK. £5

The substance of this conversation was subsequently
published by order of Congress.

The Hessians now began to arrive from Europe, to rein-
force General Howe; which did not fail to exasperate the
animosity of the patriot Americans, against what they
justly conceived to be a wanton and barbarous aggravation
of the contest; for the tomahawk of the Indian was to be
added to the brutal and mercenary musket of the Hessian;
and slaves and savages were to be recklessly arrayed in an
implacable war against a free, civilized, and enlightened
portion of their own family, tlieir descendants, their chil-
dren, bound by ties of consanguinity to observe the rules
of civilized warfare, and bow to the dictates of feeling and
humanity, which are never incompatible with patriotism
and duty.

The British army now amounted to twenty-four thou-
sand effective men; whilst that of the Americans did not
exceed ten thousand, who were badly equipped, insuffi-
ciently furnished with arms, and in a very unhealthy con-
dition, owing to the want of tents, and exposure to the
weather. I'he force under Washington was, indeed, any
thing but efficient; but the obstacles to making it greater,
were radical, and not to be overcome — these were, the want
of commerce, the want of monev, the decay of credit, and
a lingering hope, which blasted the energy of preparation
for victory; that a reconciliation would yet render hostili-
ties useless, and by sheathing the sword, bring back peace,
and all its attendant blessin2;s. Under all these disa,dvan-
tages, however, Washington conceived the design of attack-
ing tlie English at Staten Island; but a tempest rising frus-
trated this intention, and he remained inactive waiting for
reinforcements, and in daily expectation of receiving an
attack from the enemy; which he awaited with the more
anxiety, as his own troops were scattered over an extent
of fifteen miles, in the occupation of posts, difficult of ac-
cess, and therefore impossible to be concentrated for sud-
den emergencies. Under these difficulties and embarrass-
ments, he thus wrote to Congress : —

" These things are melancholy, but they are nevertheless
true. I hope for better. Under every disadvantage, my
utmost exertions shall be employed to bring about the great
end we have in view; and so far as I can judge from the
professions and apparent dispositions of my troops, I shall

26 THE LIFE OF

have their support. The superiority of the enemy, and the
expected attack, do not seem to have depressed their spi-
rits. These considerations lead me to think, that though
the appeal may not terminate so happily as I could wish,
yet the enemy will not succeed in their views without con-
siderable loss. Any advantage they may gain, I trust, may
cost them dear. "

The tenor of this letter anticipating defeat, miglit be open
to severe criticism, but for the lamentable, indeed almost
fatal disadvantages and embarrassments, under which the
Americans laboured; and which justify us in averring,
that no parallel can be found in history of a general main-
taining the appearance of a belligerent attitude, and sus-
taining himself against all the deficiencies that beset him,
with a force so broken, so incompetent, and so transitory.
Under other circumstances, to have anticipated defeat,
might have been viewed as highly culpable 5 but in his ac-
tual situation, it was a conclusion irresistibly forced upon
him by circmnstances beyond his power to avert, and
which lie possessed no resources to remedy.

Being now reinforced by several regiments from Mary-
land, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, his
force was increased to twenty-seven thousand men, of
whom one-fourth were on the sick list.

As Washington now momently expected an attack, and
av/are that the influence of the first battle might decide that
of the second, if not involve the ultimate fate of the coun-
try, he bent all his energies to enforcing subordination, and
exciting that glow of enthusiasm, which always attends fne
ardent love of liberty; and which in a peculiar manner had
kindled the indis:nation of the Americans ag-ainst the merce-
nary invaders of their native land. Upon this spirit,
Washington now in a great measure relied, as a substitute
for discipline, skill, and experience. His orders to his
troops, issued soon after the arrival of general Howe, show
that he knew how to call into action this generous passion
of self-devotion to the love of liberty; and the tone of elo-
quence of this address, renders it a striking illustration of
his character, and a beautiful trait in the mind of the pa-
triot general.

" The time" (he says) " is now near at hand, which
must probably determine whether Americans are to be free-
men or slaves; whether they are to have any property thej

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 27

:an call their own; whether their houses and farms are to
je pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a
state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will de-
liver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend,
under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our
cruel and unrelentino; enemv leaves us onlv the choice of a
brave resistance, or the most abject submission. >Ve
have, therefore, to resolve to conquer, or to die. Our own,
our country's honour, call upon us for a vigorous and
manly exertion; and if we now shamefully fail we shall
become infamous to the whole world. Let us then rely on
the goodness of our cause, and the aid of the Supreme
Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage
us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our coun-
trymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings
and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving
them from the tyranny meditated against them. Let us,
therefore, animate and encourage each other, and show the
whole world, that a freeman contendino- for liberty on his
own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth. "
The anticipations of defeat expressed by Washington in
his letters to cong-ress. were but too fullv realised bv the
victory of Brooklyn, achieved by the British over the
American army — one of the most signal and disastrous de-
feats that our arms sustained during the whole war; and to
justify which, on the part of general Washington, has, I be-
lieve," never been seriously attempted; for, after making
every allowance for want of equipment, discipline, and
subordination, there still appears some deficiency of military
skill in the movements, positions, and general arrangement
of the arm"^, which leaves Washington open to much criti-
cism on the score of military talent. Even Marshall, who
is disposed never to blame, and always to eulogise the
patriot general, admits a want of skill in 'not having
guarded the road which leads over the hills from Jamaica
to Bedford.' The truth, however, is, that Washington's
great trait of character and genius was a passive fortitude;
a patience under adversity, and a skill in extricating him-
self from difticulties, and bearing up against disasters.
But he wanted some of the genius for active, energetic and
successful warfare; for brilliancy of attack, fertility of re-
sources, and promptitude of action, as well as a perfect
arrangement of his plan of operations. Some idea of this

28 THE LIFE OF

deficiency in his military character, may be formed from
the following extract from Marshall's account of the battle
of Brooklyn, which occurred on the 2rth Auo-ust, 1776.

" About half past eight o'clock, the British right haying
then reached Bedford, in the rear of SuUiyan's left, gene-
ral De Heister ordered colonel Donop's corps to advance
to the attack of the hill, followlno; himself with the centre
of the army. The approach of Clinton was now discovered
by the American left, which immediately endeavoured to
regain the camp at Brooklyn. They were retiring from
the woods by regiments, with their cannon, ivhen they en-
coimtered the front of the British, consisting of the light
infantry and light dragoons, who were soon supported by
the guards. About the same time the Hessians advanced
from Flatbiish, against that part of the detachment which
occupied the direct road to Brooklyn. Here general Sulli-
van commanded in person: but he found it difficult to keep
his troops together long enough to sustain the first attack.
The firing heard towards Bedford had disclosed to them
the alarming fact, that the British had turned their left
JJank, and were getting completely into their rear. Perceiv-
ino- at once the full dang-er of their situation, they soug-ht to
escape it by regaining the camp with the utmost possible
celeritv. The sudden route of this party enabled De
Heister to detach a part of his force asrainst those who were
engaged near Bedford. In that quarter, too, the Americans
were broken and driven back into the woods, and the front
of the column led by general Clinton, continuing to move
forward, intercepted and engaged those ivhoicere retreating
along the direct road from Flatbush. Thus attached both
in front and rear^ and alternately driven by the British on
the Hessians, and by the Hessians back again on the Bri-
tish, a succession of skirmishes took place in the woods,
in tlie course of which, some parts of corps forced their
way throucrh the enemy, and reo;ained the lines of Brooklyn,
and several individuals saved themselves under cover of
the woods: but a great proportion of the detachment was
killed or taken. "

Though unequal to the achievement of a great ^^ctory
with his present troops, Washington was eminently suc-
cessful in conductins: the retreat of his army from Lono;
Island; and on the night of the 28th of Auo;ust, he conducted
hi? troops across the East river, unperceived and unmolest-

GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 29

ed by the enemy, having secured all his stores, baggage
and ammunition.

Marshall, commenting upon this retreat, says, •' without
loss, to withdraw a defeated, dispirited and undisciplined
army from the view of an experienced and able officer, and
to transport them in safety across a large river, while
watched by a numerous and vigilant fleet, require talents
of no ordinary kind; and the retreat from Long Island mav
justly be ranked among those skilful manoeuvres which dis-
tinguish a master in the art of war. ^'

According to this sentiment, retreat, not victory^ is the
test of great generalship! But this is fallacious,- and
Washington is in every military aspect of his character, too
great to require a fallacy to sustain him — he was a prudent
general, perhaps too prudent for his own o:lory, but not too
prudent for the salvation of his country: for which we stand
entirely indebted to that saving quality of his o;reat mind.
For had he indulged in the ambition of victorvonlv, inde-
pendent of the fatal consequences of the risk attendant upon
an impetuotis system of perilous warfare, a doubt cannot
be entertained, that under the defective organization of the
continental army which stibsisted throughout the whole of
the war, the result must have proved fatal to the cause of
liberty and independence.

It must, however, strike the reader with peculiar force,
that this prudence and discretion was the characteristic of
the military genius of JVasliingfon: and that his judgment
cannot be praised for the exercise of a qualitv, v.hich being
purely constitutional. Mas independent of all volition on
bis part. It was, perhaps, only after much experience, that
Washington liimself discovered, that he was not fully qua-
lified for those bold and daring achievements of war, which
are peculiar to men of other and less tender structure of
the constitution and sympathies.

The battle of Brooklyn, no doubt, opened a wide field for
reflection to the great commander who had lost the battle,
and who, -with the paternal affection of a father, had v/ept
over the slaughter of his best troops, the flower of his army,
and the hope of the nation. It could not have escaped the
penetration and sagacity of the commander in chief, that
the design of meeting in the open field, and in pitched bat-
tles, the disciplined and compact army of the British em-
pire, in the energv of its colossal structure, and the nride

' C 2

30 THE LIFE OF

of its well paid battalions, would be little short of the chi-
merical project of Don Quixote; and experience, as well as
observation and foresight, had now convinced him that the
only method of can-ying on the war which promised ulti-
mate success, was a defensive policy; an attitude of prudent
reserve, and a position of alternate attack and defence, as
circumstances might warrant, or opportunity induce: to
hang on their skirts, pouring upon them like a torrent in
their moments of supineness, when lulled into langour by
contempt, security and triumph; and at less auspicious
times, retreating before their greater numbers and superior
discipline. To have a full perception of the wisdom and
utility of such a policy, is to rise higher in the scale of
greatness than to be a mere consummate general; for it im-
plies a concentration of great qualities, which no exclusive
military commander ever united in his own person.

Marshall extenuates the conduct of Washington on that
occasion, by alleging the total destitution of cavalry, to act
as Videts, in conveying information of the approach of the
enemv, apparently not recollecting that the cause of this
deficiency must have been in the commander in chief; for,
it can hardly be supposed that Congress were to attend so
minutely to the details of the army as to provide by a specific
law for Videts. It was competent to Washington, to mount
his own Videts; or, not having the means to do so, he would
naturally avoid such a disposition of his army as required
their indispensable assistance and co-operation to avoid
defeat, or to secure a victory. It must be admitted that
he attempted too much for his limited means to accomplish,
or his peculiar genius to control and direct.

The effect upon the army was dismaying: whole regiments
marched home; and it was a common occurrence for compa-
nies of militia to take their departure, without shame and
without leave. The prevailing sentiment was that of de-
spair. A dark and awful cloud hung over the destiny of
the country.

Lord Howe availed himself of the despondency of the
Americans, produced by this defeat, to proffer terms of
harmony and peace; but the negociations were transitory
and ineffectual, and both parties returned to their bellige-
rent operations.

After some inconsiderable skirmishing, in which the
American troops entirely failed to preserve their character

GEORGE WASHINGTOK. 51

for cool and collected courage, an incident almost unavoid-
able when raw soldiers are opposed to regulars, Washington
entirely evacuated New York, of which General Howe
took possession on the 15th September, 1776.

Washington now moved his troops towards the White
Plains, and conceived the plan of habituating his men to
stand fire, bv accustomino; them to skirmishing-. The Bn-
tish forces having followed him, occasion soon offered to
test the value of the experiment: a detachment of three
hundred Hessians and British were attacked, repulsed and
beaten; the spirits of the American soldiers revived; the
tone of feelincr throuo;hout the armv rose hio-her: and Wash-
ington personally exerted himself to improve the impression,
and deepen the consciousness of their own valour and good
conduct, so as to convince them that they possessed equal
courao;e to their enemies, if thev were onlv resolved to
exert it.

Devoting his days to the discipline and improvement of
liis soldiers, and his nights to the composition of letters to
Congress, exhorting them to improve the organisation, and
add to the efficiencv of the armv. this g-ood man and virtu-
ous patriot exhibited a rare example of love of country,
seldom equalled and never surpassed.

In one of his letters to Congress at this period, I have
noted a very extraordinary sentiment, which AVashington
alleo-es as one of the causes of the inefficiency of the armv.
He says ' I see such a distrust and jealousy of military
POWER, that the commander in chief has not an opportunity,
even by recommendation, to give the least assurances of
reward for the most essential services.^ In many other of
his letters, this effect of the principles of liberty upon the
minds and conduct of the soldiers, as loosening the bands
of discipline, and unfitting them for the control of their
officers, is mentioned with feelings of eloquent lamentation;
and no doubt the evils he endured from this source were
great! But it was by contrast only ^Aith the slaves of the
royal army that it appeared an evil; and great as that evil
no' doubt was, still it was to be preferred to that servile
and mercenary spirit which bound the Hessians in fetters
of iron to the commands of their masters. Had the Ame-
ricans been capable of this servile spirit, they never would
have rallied under the banners of liberty, from the love of
independence, to defend the country against/oreiV?! tyrants.

32 THE LIFE OF

The battle of the White Plains, on the 26th of October,
1776, was of inconsiderable moment, but left rather a fa-
vourite impression on the American troops, although the
loss on both sides was about equal.

The capture of Fort Washington, by the British and
Hessians, on the 16th November, was a more serious affair,
in which, however, Washington did not personally com-
mand. It was carried by storm, owing to some deficiency
of skill and adaress in Colonel Cadwalader, who, as he
retreated towards the fort, suffered his detachment to be
intercepted and made prisoners. The garrison of two thou-
sand men were made prisoners of war. This severe loss
was ascribed to the M^ant of firmness and gallantry in that
part of the forces under the command of Cadwalader.

General Washington now commenced his memorable re-
treat through New Jersey; his army daily melting away,
from the expiration of their terms of enlistment, as well as
the despair which began to pervade the minds of all, as to
the final success of the cause of Independence. Gloom and
despondency hung over the American army, as well as the
sacred cause of American Liberty: all seemed to despair
but Washington, who, erect and undismayed, still reposed
on the goodness of his cause for final success; and, amidst
all the difficulties and darkness that environed him, cast
his hopes high above human agency, still confident that
heaven \nom\^ prosper the just. He was not disappointed:
that feeling sustained him — it gave him fortitude under
adversity — it stimulated his energies to fresh exertion — it
infused hope into his bosom, gave tone to liis mind, vigor
to Ms actions, sharpened his invention, multiplied his re-
sources, and added a sublime heroism to the moral and in-
tellectual power of the man. To this sentiment and this
trait of his mind, are we indebted for the final triumph of
the cause of Independence; for the crisis was awful and deci-
sive. Had Washington quailed, or faltered then, universal
despair and submission to the royal power would have fol-
lowed: but when the little band of ragged and half-starved
patriots, who still clustered about him, sought in his coun-
tenance, with an anxious and scrutinising glance, for the
index of their fate, and beheld him serene, unmoved, and
undismayed, not only void of fear, and above the weakness
of complaint, but apt to encourage the drooping, and inspire
with hope and confidence the desponding hearts of others,

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 33

their spirits revived, as they read in the inspired serenity
of his noble countenance, the assurance of future victory,
and the presage of final glorv.

Upon reaching the Delaware river, Washington found
himself at the head of less than three thousand men, desti-
tute of blankets, tents, clothing, shoes, and utensils for
cooking, almost naked, some of them literally barefooted,
exposed to the piercing blasts of a November and December
sky: they presented a spectacle well calculated to chill the
heart of the most sanguine with despair. Such was now
the army of Washington, in full retreat before the well
appointed and proud battalions of the king, pampered mer-
cenaries, overfed Hessians, and luxurious myrmidons^
compelled to fly before Avhom was doubly mortifying, and
doublv disastrous, as the whole country was now beo-inning;
to desert the American cause, and eager to propitiate the
royal favour by prompt submission, instead of avenging
their wrongs by courageous resistance, or vindicating their
I'ights in manly combat.

It was in such a trying crisis, that General and Lord
Howe plied the people with the promises of royal o;race
and favour, if thev would return to their allegiance, tlirow
down their arms, and return to their homes. But tliis crafty
and insidious proclamation did not produce an impression
upon the honesty of one true patriot, however it might suc-
ceed with the corrupt, or purchase the affections of traitors.

Washino;ton removed his baggage and stores to the south
side of the Delaware, and sent liis sick to Philadelphia:
whilst he remained with the efficient part of his army on
the Trenton side, in the vicinity of that town.

The British forces under Cornwallis continued at Bruns-
wick; but the evident design of the enemy was to take pos-
session of Philadelphia; to prevent which, Washington
made the best disposition which his scanty means allowed.

Being reinforced by tv/o thousand troops from Philadel-
phia, Washington advanced towards Princeton, for the pur-
pose of attacking the English; but Cornwallis having also
been reinforced, made rapid advances from Brunswick, by
a'different route, in order to get into the rear of the Ame-
ricans, Washington again retreated, and found it neces-
sary to pass the Delaware on the 8th of December; having
previously secured the boats, and broken down the bridges.

As the' rear guard of Washington crossed the river, the

34 THE LIFE OF

van of the British appeared in sight, their main body taking
post at Trenton; whilst detachments were marched above
and below the town, in order to perplex the Americans as
to the point at which tiiey designed to attempt a passage.

Lines of defence were now drawn bv General Putnam
from the Schuylkill to the Delaware; while General Mifflin
was despatched to Philadelphia to superintend the safety
of the numerous stores in that city.

Washington displayed unusual vigilance and skill in the
means he now adopted to prevent the British from effecting
a passage of the river.

Vigorous efforts were made to rouse the militia of Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Delaware; and General Mifflin
^vas deputed to make an excursion through the different
counties of Pennsylvania, in order to rouse the citizens to
an immediate defence of the city and country. General
Armstrong was also despatched on this important errand.

General Gates was now ordered to join Washington from
the northern army, and General Heath was likewise ordered
from Peckskill. General Lee was also ordered to con-
centrate; but he was taken prisoner at a farm house three
miles distant from his army; but his forces were promptly
marched to the main army, by General Sullivan, on w^hom
their command now devolved: so that, with these and other
reinforcements, the American army was now increased to
seven thousand effective men.

The British now retired into winter quarters. Four
thousand were cantoned on the Delaware, at Trenton, Bor-
dentown, the White Horse, and Mount Holly, to ths Hack-
ensack; while strong corps were posted at EUzahethtown,
Brunswick and Princeton.

Washington, however, still distrusted their intention of
remaining inactive, apprehending that the British general
was only waiting for the freezing of the river to make his
wav to the city that winter.

During the respite afforded by the inactivity of the Bri-
tish forces, to Washington, he employed his attention by
representing fully to Congress the causes of his defeats and
weakness, and invoking them to place the army on a per-
manent foundation, more competent to a successful and
creditable prosecution of the w^ar. In the course of these
letters, his aversion to a dependence on militia is strongly
expressed; and it will elucidate his great character, as well

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 35

as explain the nature of the material tliat, in a great mea-
sure, wrought American Independence, to quote a few pas-
sages.

"Could any tiling," he asked, "be more destructive of
the recruiting business, than giving ten dollars bounty for
six weeks service in the militia, who come in, you cannot
tell how— go, you cannot tell when — and act, you cannot
tell where; who consume your provisions, exhaust your
stores, and leave you at last at a critical moment. "

"These, Sir, are the men I am to depend on ten days
hence. This is the basis upon which your cause will rest,
and must forever depend, until you get a large standing
army, sufficient of itself to oppose the enemy. "

In order to complete his view of what he considered an
efficient military system, he suggested the expediency of
having his powers enlarged, which would enable him to act
more freely and decisively, without that tediousness and
delay which a constant application to Congress to sanction
his measures and enterprises, necessarily caused, and which
often frustrated the best conceived designs. Aware of the
delicacy of this suggestion, and of the objections to which
it would probably give rise, he added, " This might be
termed an application for powers too dangerous to be en-
trusted; but he could only answer, that desperate diseases
required desperate remedies. He could with truth declare
that he felt no lust for power, but wished with as much
fervency as any man upon this wide extended continent,
for an opportunity of turning the sword into a ploughshare;
but his feelings as an officer and as a man had been such as
to force him to say that no person ever had a greater choice
of difficulties to contend with than himself."

Having already adopted measures not within the scope
of tlie powers conferred on him by Congress, and having
urtjed many others, he thus excuses and justifies the in-
fraction of his authority: — ^he said, " It may be thought I
am going a good deal out of the. line of my duty to adopt
these measures, or advise thus freely: a character to lose,
an estate to forfeit, the inestimable blessings of liberty at
stake, and a life devoted, must be my excuse. ' '

Perhaps no human being ever embraced the cause of his
country 'from motives less sordid, interested, and impure,
than did George Washington: and whatever may have been
his ambition to serve his country, or to acquire military

Q

6 THE LIFE OF

glorv, every thought of his mind was honest, every pulsa-
tion of his heart was the pulsation of patriotism. But his
habits of thinking, his modes of action, and his settled prin-
ciples, were not of that relaxed character which assimilated
to the idea of loose government, democratic principles, or
popular sovereignty. Educated under the royal govern-
ment, accustomed to the aristocratical forms of society, and
prejudiced in favour of the rigid discipline of the standing
armies of England, he naturally inclined to give a prefer-
ence to those modes of action, which combined the greatest
vigour and decision in their results, without being in the
slightest degree less friendly to the cause of liberty and in-
dependence. It v/as the liabit of thinking and acting, pe-
culiar to a lofty and decisive mind: a habit which had been
strengthened by his experience and observation of the fatal
and pernicious consequences of that loose and relaxed sys-
tem of action, attendant upon the ideas of equality, gene-
rated by revolutionary principles, and the unbounded tenets
of liberty. The time has long since passed, if it ever ex-
isted, when the purity, the pati'iotism, or the public virtue
of Washington could be suspected or impeached; but the
discrepancy of his ideas and modes of action, from the re-
laxed character of the democratic principles so prevalent
among tiie people in 1776, as well as at the present period,
have been too frequently observed, and too severely criti-
cised, to be passed over, in exhibiting a trait of his charac-
ter, which he was himself conscious required explanation,
if not apology, under the jealous restrictions of republican
authority, and the sovereign rights of a free and equal peo-
ple. That this discrepancy was the result of education,
habit, and the disastrous military experience of an ineffi-
cient army, organized on the loose system of a democratic
militia, is now matter of historical fact; which never can be
permitted to impugn the purity of his patriotism, or detract
from i\iQ resplendent glory of his public services and stu-
pendous fame. How far that discrepancy operated at a
subsequent period to produce party collisionn, and lead to
inauspicious ideas of power, will appear in the course of
this Vfork.

As the lapse of every day reduced the strength of the
American army, it increased the gloomy prospect of tlie
capture of Philadelphia by the British forces, should the ice
of the Delaware become strong enough for the passage of

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 37

the troops. To this disastrous event Washington looked
with a foreboding of evil, greater than had yet occurred to
harass and depress himj for it was justly apprehended, that
should the city fall into the hands of tlie enemy, the im-
pression of the American cause having become desperate,
would prevail on the public mind so far as to deter the
people from enlisting, or even the militia from taking any
part in so hopeless a struggle.

The impending crisis roused all the energies, and called
forth all the resources of the mind of Washington; and he
resolved to achieve some signal enterprise, that should win
back public opinion in his favour, and wipe oft* the discredit
of his past reverses and defeats; and for this purpose, he
now conceived the bold plan of attacking all the- British
posts on the Delaware at tlie same instant. The result of
this enterprise, was the battle and victory of Trenton, on
the morning of the 26th of December, 1776, achieved by
Washington in person, at the head of 2400 continentals;
on which occasion 1000 prisoners were taken, six field
pieces, and a thousand stand of arms. Owing to the ob-
structions caused by the ice in the river, that part of the
plan intrusted to Generals Irvine and Cadwalader, proved
abortive^ bat tlie whole plan of attack was admirably con-
ceived; and nothing but the inclemency of the elements
saved all the British posts from destruction. Washington
recrossed the DelaAvare with his prisoners and spoils. It
appeared that the British troops generally were in a pro-
foundsleep, the eff*ect of intoxication and debauch indulged
in on the Christmas festiv ah

The British general M'as struck with astonishment.
Congress received the intelligence with exultation; and the
spirits of the whigs throughout the country revived. From
the depth of despair a sun -burst of liberty and triumph
broke upon their gloom and despondency; and from being
plunged in utter despair, the lovers of freedom were sud-
denly elevated to the summit of hope, victory, enterprise
and valor. Public opinion, always capricious and seldom
just, now became as loud in sounding the praises of Wash-
ington, as it had before been sullen and morose, if not un-
just, in covering him with censure and rebuke.

Being reinforced by fifteen hundred men from Pennsyl-
vania, and having; concentrated his small army, Washing-
ton resolved to resume active operations; for which purpose

D

OO THE LIFE OF

he recrossed the Delaware, and again took post at Trenton,
with the intention of proceeding to Princeton and Bruns-
wick, where the military chest was deposited belonging to
the enemy: but Lord Cornwallis having advanced upon him
from New York, a^aln placed him in one of those critical
situations to which he \\ as so liable to expose himself, and
from whicli he was so celebrated for the power of extrication.
He now found himself in front of the whole British army,
hemmed in on all sides: so that Cornwallis calculated, with
certainty, on ^making sure work of him in the morning.'
Bu Washington, having held a council, determined to change
his post, and 'march silently in the night by a circuitous
route, along the left flank of the British army into their
rear at Princeton.' This movement was skillfully accom-
plished. The American army decamped, and when morn-
ing broke, Cornwallis found that his expected prey had
eluded his grasp. Washington accomplished his object^
he surprised and captured a regiment at Princeton j while
Cornwallis hastened his march back to Brunswick, to se-
cure the stores from the meditated attempt of the American
general.

On this occasion, the admiration and applause bestowed
by the British officers on this masterly movement of Wash-
ington, was equ§il to their surprise and mortification, at his
having escaped the toils of the veteran troops of the King:
so, that if he exhibited any want of skill in falling into the
predicament, he more than made up for it by the splendid
display of generalship manifested in his retreat towards
Princeton; and which the merest accident prevented from
resulting in a brilliant achievement, which must have co-
vered the British general forever with irretrievable disgrace.
It was at this period, that Robert Morris, a talented and
opulent merchant of Philadelphia, remitted to Washington
five hundred pounds in specie; which proved of the most
essential service to the xVmerican cause.

Washington now retired to Morristown, wliere he placed
his troops under cover, and gave them that repose of which
thev stood in absolute need; but his army was enfeebled
almost to dissolution by sickness, and the expiration of the
terms for which his men had been enlisted.

It is evident from these successes, that whatever reason
Washington might have for his preference of regular troops
to militia, yet that his most creditable victories were achiev-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 59

ed by patriot husbandmen taken from the plough, whose
courage and love of liberty proved a substitute for disci-
pline and experience.

Still 'shadows, clouds and darkness,' rested on the issue
of the war,' and though the spirits of the whigs were revived,
their confidence of success was not fully restored.

To meet the magnitude of the crisis, Congress, who had
adjourned to Baltimore, authorised Washington to raise
sixteen additional regiments; and clothed him -vnth almost
absolute power for the conduct of the war.

Towards the close of 1776, Congress began to turn their
attention towards'/'^Ymce for aid to prosecute the war; and,
with a view to enlist foreign powers in the cause of Ameri-
ca, adopted and published resolutions of their unalterable
determination never to accept of any terms of accoramoda-
tion from England, which did not fully recognise and
acknowledge their independence. These resolutions fell
into the hands of the English, and were published in the
London papers.

Perhaps no man ever lived, who had been accustomed
to the scenes of blood and hardship inseparable from war-
fare, more humane and merciful than General Washington;
and it was, therefore, with the utmost reluctance and pain,
that he at last adopted the policy of retaliation in respect to
English prisoners, wMch Congress nad urged him to adopt;
and which the conduct of the British officers, prior to the
arrival of General Howe, had rendered so indispensably
necessary to check tlie barbarity, and curb the insolence of
the royai army. Tlie preposterous idea, that the American
soldiers ought to be treated as traitors and rebels to a go-
vernment which they had solemnly renounced, in a great
general convention of the people, was, however, too glaring
to be long persisted in, notwithstanding the leaven of tory-
ism and royalty, which aided to give it the colour of jus-
tice, and tlius lessen the turpitude of their own conduct,
by casting the blackest stigma of infamy on the friends of
liberty and independence. Yet the same humanity which
caused Washington to be averse to inflict the measure of
retaliation upon his British prisoners, induced him eventu-
ally to resort to it, when apprised of the cruel sufferings of
the Americans on board of the British prison ships — sufter-
ings which will forever tarnish the escutcheon of British
heroism, with the trait of politic cruelty, and assimilate tlie

40 THE LIFE OF

character of the commanders of the Englisli armies of that
time, and tlie English ministry, to the barbarous cruelty of
tlie inquisition of Spain, who tortured their victims to bring
them to the true faitli, as the British tortured the American
prisoners, to compel them to embrace the royal cause, and
enlist under the banners of the Kino-.

No sooner, however, had ^^'aslnngton resolved to act on
the principle of retaUation, and to treat every British pri-
soner as the English treated the American prisoners, than
General Howe became sensible of the impolicy of their con-
duct, and agreed to fix on a cartel for an exchano;e of pri-
soners: thus happily terminating an important rpiestion not
less interesting to humanity, than important to the princi-
ples involved in the law of nature and of nations; and to
infringe which, under any temptations, on the part of the
English, will ever continue to excite astonishmeiit and ab-
horrence.

Having experienced the most serious evils and embarrass-
ments in his operations, by the dread wliich his troops en-
tertained of the small pox. General AVashington was in-
duced to have his whole army inoculated Mith that disease,
whilst in winter quarters in 1777. His prejudice against,
and his distrust of the militia continued to increase, so
mucli so, as to induce him to countermand a projected at-
tack against Rhode Island, when he made this emphatic
observation: 'It is right not to risk a miscarriage: unti)
w^e get our new army properly established, it is our busi-
ness to play a certain game, and not depend upon militia
for any thing capital.'

Washington now confined his operations to small skir-
mishing parties, wliich, while they harassed the enemy, em-
boldened the Americans. But his force was constantly
fluctuating, from the o;reat numbers of militia who almost
daily left him, and often left him before any others had
arrived to supply their places; exposing him to the constant
danger of having his positions forced by the British. It was
a great source of mortification to Washington, that when
the militia left his camp, they carried ott' blankets and arms,
which ought to have been reserved for the regular troops,
thus inflicting a real injury, as well as producing a negative
disadvantage.

Although unimportant in themselves singly, the losses in
the aggregate sustained by the British army during the

GEORGE WASHIXGTOy. 41

winter, were greater than those they had suffered at Tren-
ton and Princeton, yet far beneath the hopes which had
been cherished by the American general, whose energetic
mind submitted, with great reluctance, to this necessary
restraint on his movements.

Having made arrangements that he should be reinforced
towards the close of the winter of 1777, by fresh troops
from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it was resolved by
Congress, 'to be their earnest desire to make the army un-
der him sufficiently strong, not only to curb and confine
the enemy within their present quarters, and prevent them
from drawing support of any kind from the country, but by
the divine blessing, totally to subdue them before' they can
be reinforced.'

But this desire was not gratified. The c|uotas expected
from the States did not arrive; and Washington was under
constant apprehensions that his positions would be attacked
and carried by the enemy; or, that availing himself of his
superiority, he would advance to Philadelphia and capture
the city.

March arrived, and still found him unprovided with ade-
quate means to attempt offensive operations against the
enemy.

In answer to the letter of Congress enclosino; the resolu-
tion above alluded to, Washington observed, " Could I ac-
complish the important objects so eagerly wished by Con-
gress, confining the enemy within their present quarters,
preventing their getting supplies from the country, and
totally subduing them, before they are reinforced, I should
be happy indeed. But what prospect or hope can there be
of my affecting so desirable a work at this time? the en-
closed return, to which I solicit the most serious attention
of Congress, comprehends the whole force I have in Jersey.
It is but a handful, and bears no proportion on the scale of
numbers, to that of the enemy. Added to this, the major
part is made up of militia. The most sanguine in specula-
tion cannot deem it more than adequate to the least va-
luable purposes of war."

As a precautionary measure, the boats on the Delaware
were secured, and the public stores deposited in remote
places, least exposed to the designs of the enemy.

All hopes of being able to strengthen the army so as to
enable the commander to destroy the British forces during

D 2

42 THE LIFE OF

the winter beino; now abandoned, Washino-ton extended his
views to measures exclusively connected with the prosecu-
tion of the next campaign.

One of the most formidable obstacles to the efficient pro-
secution of hostilities Mas the depreciation of the continen-
tal paper money.

It was at this period that the resort to the States, as
sovereign and efficient o;overnments, for an increase of the
army, was adopted^ and to the States Washington now ap-
pealed, to increase and hasten their quotas of troops for
the common defence. These appeals were conceived in
the spirit of the patriot, and executed with the eloquence
of genius, warmed by the love of liberty, imbued with the
ardour of enthusiasm, and enforced with that zeal which a
laudable military ambition, combined with love of country,
were so well calculated to inspire.

At this period, he suggested to Governor Henry of Vir-
ginia, that coercive measures might be resorted to, to fill
the ranks of the army; and empliatically disapproved of the
volunteer system, who were to serve for six months. The
coercive system was, of course, never resorted to.

The States now conceived the plan of retaining continen-
tal reo;iments for local defence, on the ground that the ene-
my having complete possession of the sea, might annoy and
harass each part, while the force raised for its defence
would be removed to the main army, at a point too remote
to come to the assistance of the State invaded. To oppose
and put down so pernicious a scheme, demanded all the
power of remonstrance, so peculiar to the genius of Wash-
ington, who triumphantly exploded the selfish, short-sighted
and injurious scheme.

To an analogous project, that each State should organise
a body of regular troops, as a substitute for their militia^
he was likewise opposed, on the ground that such regular
troops would come in competition with the army of the
United States, weaken its force, retard its completion, and
eventually diminish, instead of augmenting the common
strength and general ability to assail the enemy, or to repel
his aggressions. But his opposition against this measure
was not equally successful, although it for a time suspend-
ed the execution of the scheme? K>r, at a period not long
after, the States did resolve to raise regular troops for their
individual defence.

GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 43

We may here note, that, even at this early period, arose
the germ of that cause of dissention between the States and
the general government, which have produced, at several
subsequent eras, controversies, questions and parties, that
have inflamed the minds of the people, and endangered the
peace and permanency of the Union. In Washington, his
advocacy of consolidated power in the union was a preju-
dice of the purest patriotism, combined with a military love
of energetic power, which had its origin not less in his de-
sire to vanquish, by a single blow, the enemies of his coun-
try, than the thirst of acquii'ing glory by brilliant feats of
arms, or decisive victories, or trophies of valour, skill and
patriotism. Still, however, it had so much influence, as
indeed all his opinions had, whether founded in reason or
engendered by prejudice and habit, as to prove the founda-
tion of a party, which embraced nearly all the wealth, ta-
lent and intelligence, arrayed on the side of the whig popu-
lation; for, such was the confidence reposed in him — such
the idolatrous aftection cherished for his virtues, his talents
and his patriotism, that reason itself shrunk from the task
of testing the soundness of his opinions; while justice al-
ways took it for o;ranted, that what Washington decreed
could not be wrong, and that what he uttered was alike
sanctioned by truth, and confirmed by honesty. With such
a moral weight of popular power attached to his name, it
was natural that all who partook of the same militai-y ar-
dour, the same love of energetic authority, and the same
desire to behold the American army a colossal engine of
stupendous power, should coincide in views which aimed
to concentrate all the energies of the States in the grand
focus of the general government, presenting the magnificent
spectacle of a consolidated empire, compensating bv its
vigour and effect for the absence of that freedom, which,
while it relapses, enfeebles; and while it protects, often
leads to momentary distraction, or casual licentiousness.

It was natural, however, that the principal advocates for
this consolidated power in the union, should be found
among the officers of the army, or those invested with au-
thoritv under the confederacy; for the States, and the peo-
ple of the States crenerally, do not appear to have implicitly
adopted the sentiments of Washington upon this question.
Marshall, who had embraced the views of Washington ia
their widest extent, has the following passage, which shows

44 THE LIFE OF ^

that even in that crisis of unexampled danger to the liberty
and independence of the country, the States were decidedly
opposed to the plan of consolidation. He says, * the soli-
citude of the State governments to retain within their re-
spective limits, and tor partial objects, a part of the force
raised for the general defence, was not the only interference
with the plan formed by the commander in chief for the
conduct of the ensuing campaign.* The other interference
to which Marshall alludes, was a resolution of Congress of
the 10th of April, 1777, ' that a camp be immediately
formed on the M'estern side of the Delaware, to which the
continental troops in Philadelphia, and on their march from
the southward and westward, should be ordered to repair
with all expedition.'

The plan of the campaign formed by Washino;ton, was
to take possession of Middlebrook, on the high grounds to
the north of Brunswick, as a point from Avhich he might
with facility move to the highlands on the Hudson; antici-
pating that the enemy would move in that direction, which
induced him to request Congress that the camp on the west
of the Delaware might be composed of militia.

In iSIay, he broke up his winter camp at Morristovrn:
and on the 28th of that month took post on the heights of
Brunswick, with an army amounting to 8000 men, 2000 of
whom were on the sick list, and a large proportion raw re-
ciniits. foreigners, and servants, in whom the General does
not seem to have reposed confidence. General Arnold,
who was at that time in Philadelphia, was invested with
the command of the camp on the west bank of the Dela-
ware.

The object of the campaign, on tlie part of the British
commander, was the acquisition of Philadelphia, iiaving
first subdued New Jersev. then crossing the Delaware on a
portable bridge, and proceeding on to tlie city: hoping
that, by this measure, the American armv could be broutrht
to a general action on equal ground, when, by its signal
defeat, the war would be brought to a close.

Washington now occupied his strongly fortified camp at
Middlebrook, to attack whicli was full of danger; and
yet to pass on to the Delaware, and leave the American
army in his rear, was not in accordance with the prudent
temper of General Howe? he, therefore, determined to try
tlie eftect of manceuvre, in enticing Washington out of his

GEORGE -SVASHINGTOX. 45

encampment; but AVashington penetrating the object of the
enemy, remained immovable in his camp; and Howe, not
inclined to give his adversary any advantage, retired sud-
denly to Amboy: whence, after several manoeuvres and
some skirmishing, Howe crossed his army to Staten Island
on the 30th of June, preparatory to embarking his forces
for the Delaware, or Chesapeake, Uncertain, however, as
to the tinal destination of the British army, AVashington
made his dispositions for any contingency that might occur;
and advisetl Congress to make every preparation to ward
off the expected blow from Philadelphia.

Whilst Washington moved towards the Delaware to
meet Howe, who had embarked his army for that destina-
tion, he despatched Major Generals Arnold and Lincoln,
to the east, to hold Burgoyne at bay; for which purpose he
weakened his own army, in the hope of defeating the plans
of Burgoyne.

On the 30th of July, the British fleet was discovered off
the Capes of Delaware; when W^ashington immediately
commenced his march in person for the neighboHrhood of
Philadelphia.

Howe, deterred from entering the Delaware by the sup-
posed difficulties of its navigation, again put to sea and
steered for the Ciiesapeake, which he did not reach till the
16th of August.

In the mean time, Washington inspected the defensible
points of Philadelphia, and recommended Red Bank and
Mud Island, as positions from which to defend the river,
should the British menace that quarter. In the interval of
Howe's passage to the Chesapeake, a variety of rumours
and conjectures distracted the American army, as to his
final destination; but Washington, with his usual perspi-
cacity, remained firm in the conviction, that the acquisition
of Philadelphia was the real object of the enemy.

On the 24th of August, W^ashington marched through
Philadelphia, on his way to meet the enemy, who the next
day landed eighteen thousand men at Elk river ferry, con-
sisting of the flower of the British army, in excellent spirits,
sound health, and among the best disciplined troops in
Europe.

The American army, including the militia, which had
been carefully summoned, did not exceed eleven thousand
men, an4 toqk a position in the rear of |led-Clay Creek,

46 THE LIFE Ot

having its left at Newport, on the Christiana, and on the
main road to Philadelphia, from the camp of General Hovv e.
At this post, Washington resolved to dispute the posses-
sion of Philadelphia wiith the British General; but, upon a
closer insight into his plans, he thought it prudent to
change his position, and take up his post behind the Bran-
dvwine, on the heio-ht extending- from Chadd's ford.

On the 11th of September, Howe, at the head of the Bri-
tish, attacked and defeated the forces under Washington,
on the Brandywine, compelling the Americans to relreat
to Chester, and on the next day to Philadelphia. Many of
the troops of Washington displayed the coolness and cou-
raJge of veterans; whilst others fled ignominiously upon the
first approach of the enemy. The Americans suffered a
loss of three hundred killed and six hundred wounded;
whilst that of the British was not more than one-third.

From Chester he retired to a camp near Germantown,
where, having reposed his troops, he recrossed the Schuyl-
kill, and advanced on the Lancaster road, in the expecta-
tion of meeting the enemy, with whom he was desirous of
trying the fate of another battle.

On the 15th of September, Washington reached the War-
ren tavern, and on the 16th Sir William Howe advanced
to meet him, when an action commenced; but a heavy rain
coming on, separated the combatants, and the Americans
were forced to retreat, their ammunition having been ren-
dered totally unfit for use. Washington now retreated to
Warwick Furnace, on French Creek, there to renew his
munitions, and replace the arms that had been injured by
the rains, the severity of which had prevented the enemy
from making any immediate pursuit; but the weather having
mended, Howe continued to advance upon the American
general, w^ho, prudently declining an action, although pub-
lic opinion would have urged him to the peril, Howe crossed
the Schuylkill, and advanced towards the city; but Wash-
ington, after the most mature deliberation, came to the con-
clusion not to risk a general engagement: a decision which,
no doubt, led to the ultimate salvation and triumph of the
cause of American Independence. A council of war con-
firmed him in the wisdom, policy, and patriotism of this
course J for his troops were badly clothed, worse armed,
harassed, fatigued, and weakened' by absent detachments
and recent losses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 47

On the 26th of September, Lord Cornwallis took posses-
sion of Philadelphia without opposition.

Criticism and censure, on the part of British writers,
have been lavishly heaped upon "Washington, and extrava-
gant praise bestowed upon General Howe, on the occasion
of the victorious approaches of the latter to the capital of
the United States. But, on the part of Washington, his
army is known to have been so inferior in force, as well as
equipment, to the English general, as to furnish ample
excuse for his failure to arrest the progress of the enemj
towards Philadelphia. If he was « out-generalled' at the
battle of Brandvwine, it was not so much owing to superior
military genius in Sir William Howe, as to his ha>'ing com-
mand of superior numbers, superior facilities, troops who
were disciplined, and well provided, and officers who were
experienced, well trained, and exuberantly supplied with
everv appliance and means to secure victory by force, or
eifect it by stratagem. On the part of Washington, the
patriot drops the tear of mortification over the lamentable
deficiencies, wants, and inconveniences, that obstructed
his motions, baffled his manoeuvres, defeated his plans, and
circumvented his o:enius; but there was one thing which all
his wants and disadvantages could not subtract from, or
impair^ — a mind endowed with invincible courage, sublime
fortitude, exhaustless resources, and indomitable patriotism.
The next event of importance which marked the life of
this illustrious man, was the Battle of Germantown, in the
arrangement of which that consummate skill of generalship
was displayed, of which his English detractors had attempted
to strip him at the battle of Brandvwine, and which will
ever remain as a memorable instance of that happy faculty
of surprising an enemy, which formed in Washington so
prominent a feature of his military character. That it mis-
carried, as it respected the splendid results anticipated, is
solely to be ascribed to that want of experience, discipline,
and 'training, that constituted so vital a defect of the
continental army, assisted by those natural disadvantages
which arose from the heavy fog of the atmosphere, and
the difticulties of the ground, upon v.hich the troops v/ere
destined to operate. Yet the 4th October will ever remain
a memorable day in the life of the father of his country.

In this battle,"^ the British lost five hundred in killed and
wounded: the Americans sustained a loss of two hundred
killed, and six hundred wounded.

48 THE LIFE OF

Congress voted their a])probation to the General, com-
mending the plan of attack, and extolling the courage dis-
played in its execution, for which tlieir thanks were awarded
to Washington, and the continental army.

In its moral consecjuences, liowever, the battle of Ger-
mantown was of essential service to the American cause.
It checked the growing defection of tlie people, arrested the
despondency of the public mind, and cheered the drooping
spirits of the friends of freedom.

No reverse could depress the indormitable energy of
Washington, or throw" the chill of torpor on his enterprising
and active genius. He still continued to liarass the Britisli
from his camp at Skippack creek, and to devise and execute
means to cut off their supplies^ at the same time that he
meditated an attack upon their forces stationed at Wilming-
ton. Congress co-operated with Washington in cutting off
the supplies from the enemy, by passing a resolution wTiich
subjected to the punishment of death, by martial law, all
>f ho should furnish them with provisions.

He now directed his attention to the defence of the forts
on the Delaware, and the fortifications of Red Bank: the
latter of which was so gallantly defended by Colonel Greene,
against an attack made by the Hessians, under Colonel
Donop, who suffered a signal repulse with the loss of 400
men. This affair, though comparatively small, had a benign
effect upon the American cause, and extorted the approba-
tion of Congress.

The British army havins; evacuated Germantown, and
retired to Philadelphia, Washington advanced to White
Marsh, where he pitched his camp, intent upon a system of
harassment, skirmishing, and surprises, waiting for favour-
able occasions to attack, cut off, and distress the enemy,
or, if practicable, bring them to a general action. For this
purpose, he despatched Colonel Hamilton, his aid, to General
Gates, to hasten his reinforcements from the north.

Fort Mifflin, in the command of Colonel Samuel Smith,
was now besieged and assaulted bv General Howe, whose
cannonade w-as irresistible: the works were beaten down.
Colonel Smith was wounded, and, after being defended to
the last extremity, it was evacuated by the American troops
on the 16th of November, at eleven at night.

General Howe, having completed a line of defence from
the Delaware and the Schuvlkill, and received a reinforce-

GEORGE WASHIXGTO-N. 49

inent from New York, was emboklened to plan an attack
upon Fort Mercer, under Cornwailis, at the head of two
thousand men.

Washington made exertions to preserve this post, but
thev proved unavailing, and the fort was accordingly eva-
cua*^ted. Thus the British army at length succeeded in
opening a free communication with their Iket, by the De-
laware.

As the limits assigned to this work do not admit of a
detail of the events "of the revolution in which General
Washington was not personally concerned, we can only
observe, tha:, as far as his agency extended as commander
in chief, in planning the northern campaign of tlds memo-
rable year, he evinced the most consummate skill, com-
bined with a comprehensiveness of conception, and a sound-
ness of judgment, which won general admiration, and ex-
torted the applause of his enemies, notwithstanding the
disastrous issue of it, by the evacuation of Ticonderoga
and Fort Independence, which, hov/ever, w^ere richly com-
pensated by the victory of Bennington, by the gallant action
of Stillwater, and finally, after repeated defea's, by the
total surrender of the army of Burgoyne to the American
forces under General Gates — events which, owing much
of their success to the genius and foresight of Washington,
did not fail to reflect on his character a lustre which, added
to his other merits, kindled a blaze of glory round his
brow.

The effect of the surrender of Burgoyne, both in the
United States and Europe, was highly favourable to the
American cause. Earl Chatham, in the House of Lords,
moved to amend the Address to the King, by introducing a
recommendation to his majesty to ' procure an immediate
cessation of hostilities with America, and commence a treaty
of conciliation, to restore peace and liberty to America,
strength and happiness to England, security and permanent
prosperity to both countries.' In support of this motion,
he said, •• But, my Lords, v.ho is the man that, in addition
to the dismces and mischiefs of war, has dared to authorise
and associate to our arms the tomahawk and scalping knife
of the savasce: — to call into civilised alliance the wild and
inhuman inhabitants of the woods.- — to delegate to the mer-
ciless Indian the defence of disputed rights, and to wags
the horrors of his barbarous vrar against our brethren.^ My

E

50 THE LIFE OF

Lords, these enormities cry aloud for redress and punish-
ment. Unless thoroughly done away, it will be a stain on
the national character. It is not the least of our national
misfortunes that the strength and character of our army are
thus impaired. Familiarised to the horrid scenes of savage
cruelty, it can no longer boast of the noble and generous
principles which diij;nify a soldier. No longer you sympa-
thise with tlie dignity of the royal banner, nor feel the pride,
pomp, and circumstance of glorious war, which makes am-
bition virtue. What makes ambition virtue? — the sense of
honor. But is this sense of honor consistent with the spirit
of plunder, or the practice of murder? — can it flow from
mercenary motives, or can it prompt to cruel deeds?"

Chatham had struck the true chords of the motives of
tliose who warred upon this country; and the whole British
empire vibrated with one intense sensation of horror. The
contest on the part of England was mercenary cind cruel.
On the part of the Americans, love of liberty and love of
country led to deeds of heroism that astonished mankind,
and to sacrifices, sufferings, and losses, v.-hich could alone
flow from the purest devotion to freedom and independence.

Washington was now pressed by all sides to make an
attack upon Howe's army in Philadelphia, as well by his
own officers as by the strong current of public opinion; and
the plan was drawn, canvassed, and demonstrated by a few
ardent spirits to be infallible. But the prudence, sagacity,
firmness and patriotism of Washington resisted the public
clamour, and detected flaws and dangers in the scheme,
v.hich his own friends, who were importunate for the mea-
sure, wholly overlooked. Despising the appeals made to
his own glory, he preferred the safety of his country to the
brilliancy of* his own fame: for though he might succeed in
adding Tustre to the one, he iTiight, at the same time, fail
in securing the independence and safety of the other. He
therefore declined the perilous attempt, and thus exhibited
one of the most sublime spectacles of moral grandeur to be
found in the history of military chiefs. That he now panted
with uncommon ardour to signalise himself in a decisive
action, was proved by the unceasing eftbrts he made, after
the defeat of Burgoyne, to procure a reinforcement from the
northern army, under Gates, to whom he had despatched a
large portion of his best troops: btit he was too much devoted
to his country to gratify it at the possible expense of its

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 51

final subjugation by a cruel and oppressive enemy. The
wisdom of his determination was soon demonstrated by the
preparations of Lord Howe to attack the American army.

On the 4th of December, at night, Howe marched out
of Philadelphia at the head of his entire force, and the next
day encamped on Chesnut Hill, in front of Washington's
right wing. But nothing beyond an inconsiderable skirmish
resulted from the complicated demonstrations of the English
general, who was deterred from the attack by the admirable
position of the American commander; and, on the 8th De-
cember, Howe retreated to Pliiladelphia. The two armies
were nearly equal in numbers, of 12,000 men each: and the
circumstance of Howe declining an action with raw troops,
after marching out for that purpose, evinced a respect for
the talents of Washington and the bravery of his troops,
which did not fail to produce an impression favourable to
the American cause, and still more honourable to the com-
mander of the American grand army.

Washington now went into winter c^uarters, at Valley
Forge; the weather having set in with a severity of cold
which caused great sufferings to his exposed troops, who
were destitute of tents, blankets, and comfortable clothing;
and, to add to these privations, the dangei' of famine now
stared them in the face, in a land abounding with plenty.
This was caused by the great depreciation of the continental
money, now so sunk in value as to be almost utterly worth-
less. This want of provisions, and the radical defects in
the commissary department, now pressed with great force
upon the army, and often destroyed its faculty for action.
This subject now brought into light a trait of greatness,
justice and benevolence in the character of Washington,
which, in my opinion, has never been enough extolled.
Congress had empowered liim to seize all provisions he
might want within seventy miles of head cjuarters, giving
a certificate for the value of the same. Necessity forced
him, in some measure, to exert this authority, or behold his
troops famish around him. But he failed to exert it to the
extent intended by Conoress; his feelings revoltins; from a
measure which might produce distress to families, and was
on its very face oppressive to the people. For this humanity
he incurred the disapprobation of Congress, who renewed
their orders to him to enforce the seizure; but such was his
innate sense of justice and humanity, as well as hispercep-

52

THE LIFE OF

lion of sound j)olic3-, ^^^^^ ^^^ never would fully comply with
the resolutions of Congress.

The Legislature of Pennsylvania had remonstrated to
Congress against ^^'ashington's moving into winter quar-
ters, and expressed great dissatisfaction with his measures;
alrliough they had been criminally negligent in furnishing
him with means to keep the field, or to prosecute active
hostilities: so prone are men to complain of others, when
they even fiiil to discharge their own duties.

Envy, faction and ambition, panting to rise upon his ruin,
took advantage of tliese partial and unjust discontents, to
impeach his character and assail his capacity. The splendid
achievement of General Gates at »Saratoga, had awakened
the ambition of that officer, and stimulated his friends to
attempt that he might supplant AVashington in the chief
command of the American forces; and these feelings ope-
rating upon one portion of Congress and the public, who
are always impatient under inaction, and whose feelings
hurry them to an excessive admiration of Avliatever is bold,
brilliant and daring, produced a considerable array of
opposition to Washington; at the head of wliich stood Ge-
neral Conway, a friend of Gates, for the avowed purpose of
investino- the latter with tlie command in chief.

This powerful intrigue was so extensively diftused, that
attempts had been made to alienate the confidence of the
Stales from AVashinoton: and an anonymous letter ad-
<lressed to Patrick Henry, of Virginia, then governor of
that State, was transmitted by liim to Washington. The
immediate intrigue that developed the plot, was a passage in
a letter written by Colonel Conivay to General Gates,
which ran thus: ' heaven has been determined to save voiir
countrv, or a zceak s^eneird txnd bad counsellors would have
ruined it.' This passage of the letter was communicated
by a member of Conijress to Washini^ton.

Strong in the affections of the people, and almost idol-
ized by tlie great majority of the army, it was only neces-
sary to expose a combination and intrigue so unprincipled
and selfish, in order to cover its authors with merited
ignominy, and exalt still higher in public esteem, the in-
tended victim of its malignancy. Looked upon by all as
tlie saviour of his country, it was not difficult to withstand
and triumph over an intrigue, which the moment it was
touched by the spear of truth, for such in fact was the cha-

GfeOkGE WASHINGTON* o3

racter of Washington, melted into the hideous features of
unhallowed ambition, private envy, and grovelling selfish-
ness.

How he felt and acted under the operation of these dero-
gatory machinations, we feel naturally curious to enquire;
and, indeed, his conduct and temper on this occasion must
go far in deciding our estimate of his extraordinary cha-
racter. Endowed with a mind not only of colossal magni-
tude, but of singular firmness, these aspersions caused
neither agitation nor excitement; though not to feel in some
degree indignant, would have been to possess attributes
superior to those of humanity. In his answer to General
Gates, calling; for the name of the informer, there is but one
expression which implied any degree of undue excitement,
where he says: *' Pardon me then, for adding, that, so far
from conceiving the safety of the States can be affected, or
in the smallest degree injured, by a discovery of this kind,
or that I should be called upon in such solemn terms to point
out the author, that I considered the information as coming
from yourself, and given with a friendly view to forewarn,
and consequently forearm me against a secret enemy, or in
other words, a dangerous incendiary, in which character,
sooner or later, this country will know General Conway."

At this time his army was barefooted, naked, and with-
out provisions, the fiiult of which was exclusively in Con-
gress and the depreciated currency of the country: but
imacrination, in its wildest creations, cannot conceive suf-
ferings more intense than wei^e this winter endured by the
American army.

How acutely Washington felt, and sympathised for
these sufferings, might be shown by multiplied evidences
of his humane heart; but I shall confine myself to part of
one letter of his to Governor Livingston: '' I sincerely feel
for the unhappy condition of our poor fellows in the hospi-
tals, and wish my powers to relieve them were equal to my
inclination. It is but too melancholy a truth, that our hos-
pital stores of every kind, are lamentably scanty and defi-
cient. I' fear there is no prospect of their being soon in a
better condition. Our difficulties and distresses are cer-
tainlv sreat, and such as wound the feelino;s of humanitv:
— our sick, naked! — our well, naked! — our unfortunate
men in captivity, naked!"

The armv was now melting away, ©wing to the depi'e-

E 2'

54 THE LIFE Ot

elation of continental money, which reduced the officers to
beofgary, and the soldiers to nakedness. Washington re-
commended increased pay, half pay, and a pension system,
and submitted to Congress an elaborate, able, and compre-
hensive system for the organisation of the army, as well as
for the commissary department in particular^ to which Con-
gress conformed in their new regulations.

Still the famine of man and horse in the army prevailed,
and every hour tlireatened to dissolve it, notwithstanding
the Herculean labours of Washington, to exhort the States
to action, and stimulate the Congress to energy. Mutiny
was often manifested by the starving troops, and as often
suppressed; but nothing could have suppressed it, but the
deep affection which most of the men cherished for their
great commander, who possessed that indescribable some-
thing, which attaches both officers and soldiers to his per-
son, and inspires all wiih veneration and respect. To this
quality alone in the General, is to be ascribed the preser-
vation of the army at this crisis.

Perhaps no man ever received so signal and complete
atonement from the party guilty of the wrong, as did
General Washington, when the following letter from Ge-
neral Conway, wno had been seriously wounded in a duel,
met his eye.

'^Philadelphia, July 23, 1778.

" Sir, — I find myself just able to hold the pen during a
few minutes, and take this opportunity of expressing my
sincere grief for having done, written, or said any thing
disao-reeable to your excellency. Mv career will soon be
over; therefore, justice and truth prompt me to declare my
last sentiments. You are. in my eyes, the o-reat and good
man. May you long enjoy the love, veneration and esteem
of these States, whose liberties you have asserted by your
virtues.

" I am, with the greatest respect. Sir, &:c.

"PH. CONWAY."

In February, 1778, Lord North agreed to submit to Par-
liament a plan of conciliation with America. About the
same time, a treaty of commerce and alliance was con-
cluded with France, by Mr. Deane, the minister of the
United States at that court. These bills of pacification
were first transmitted to General Washin«j:ton, and by him
submitted to Congress, accompanied by his views of their

GEO&GE WASHtyGTON. S5

probable operation and influence on the public mind. His
letter to Congress was accompanied by a certificate of tlie
very singular manner in whicli the bills came to his hands;
with the * extraordinary and impertinent request, that the
contents should be, through him, communicated to the
army.' These propositions of peace were instantly and
indignantly rejected, as insulting, unjust, and derogatory;
inasmuch as they did not acknowledge the Lidependence of
the United States.

An eyent now occurred, in May, 1778, which it is mat-
ter of surprise the British ministry had not anticipated —
the recognition of the independence of the United States
by France; a consequent war between that country and
England; and an efficient co-operation by France, to
achieve and consummate our liberties.

Washin2;ton now eno-ajjed in an arduous negociation with
the Eno-lish General, to obtain a mitio-ation of the sufFering-s
of the American prisoners, who had been captured by the
enemy; and to arrange some permanent system for their
speedy exchange and comfortable subsistence. In this
humane and laudable effort, he at length succeeded.

The conduct of the revolutionary war, could certainly
have devolved on no one who combined in so great a degree
the qualities of a humane heart, a firm purpose, a vigilant
eye, and a comprehensive scope of intellectual vision, and
military foresight.

Sir William Howe having resigned his command of the
English army, was succeeded by Sir Henry Clinton, who
evacuated Philadelphia on the 18th of June, 1778, direct-
ing his marcli throudi the Jerseys. On the same day
Washino-ton moved }\is army from Valley Foro;e, and
crossed the Delaware at Corryell's ferry, keeping posses-
sion of the high grounds, and being careful to avoid a gene-
ral en2:a2:ement with the enemv, vet strono;ly inclined to
hazard an attack. In this uncertainty, caused by conflict-
ing enterprise and prudence, he called a council of war,
wliich decided acjainst risking- an engagement. Still, his
desire to achieve sometliing against a retreating foe, over-
came the advice of his council, and he resolved to attack
the rear of the British on his own responsibility; and on the
28th of June, he advanced upon the retiring columns of the
enemy in the vicinity of Monmouth Court House, until the
battle becoming general, a sharp conflict ensued, when the

56 THE LIFE OF

approach of night caused a cessation of hostilities 5 both
parties keeping their positions, and laying on their arms.
Washington, who had been very active throughout tlie day,
exposed his person at every point, regardless of all danger,
and passed the night in the midst of his soldiers in his
military cloak.

During the night, the British silently retreated, wholly
unperceived by the Americans. In this sharp conflict, the
British suffered the greatest loss; and the result was a vic-
tory confessed to the American arms, by the retreat of the
beaten foe.

On this occasion, General Lee was suspended from com-
mand for one year by a court martial 5 among other charges,
for disobedience of orders, and disrespect to Washington,
which the whole army strongly resented.

Congress voted their thanks for his conduct on this occa-
sion, as well as to his officers and men.

Washington now moved his army towards the North
River, and Sir Henry Clinton eflected his retreat to New
York.

In Julv, the arrival of the French fleet under Count
D'Estaing, having on board a French army, to co-operate
with the Americans against the English, threw a different
complexion over the whole contest; and inspired a reason-
able hope of a speedy termination of the struggle of the
States against the absurd pretensions of the crown of Eng-
land.

The fleet of Howe had left the Delaware, at the same time
that the British army had evacuated Philadelphia.

Without following the operations of the French and Eno;-
lish forces, which would be foreign to the object of this
work, I shall merely remark, that as far as Washiny:ton
participated in deciding their movements, he displayed all
his wonted wisdom, sagacity, prudence, magnanimity, va-
lour and patriotism. His address and influence were suc-
cessfully interposed to heal a dissention which had arisen
on points of co-operation and etiquette, between the com-
mander of the French fleet and General Sullivan.

Nothing important, in which Wasiiington was immedi-
ately concerned, occurred afterwards, during the campaign
of irrS; and in December the American army went into
winter quarters in the neighbourhood of West Point and
Middlebrook; the troops being sheltered in huts, and well

GEORGE >VASHI>fGTON'. 57

provided with clothing, from the supplies furnished by
France.

Let lis here pause for a moment, to contemplate the ex-
panding genius, and lowering character of this wonderful
man, as he rose under the pressure of new exigencies, and
improved in wisdom by the admonitions of adversity, and
the lessons of experience.

It is a singular fact, that in the writings of Washinjrton,
we discover no liistorical allusions, or traces of having
studied the laws of nations, or the science of jurisprudence^
and yet no deficiency of sound principles, or useful knov,-
ledge, is ever to be detected in him: so much did the rich-
ness ot his genius supply him Mith stores of wisdom. And
though it is apparent, that he had never made the science
of government a peculiar object of study, yet experience, as
he advanced through the difficulties of the war, had sug-
gested to him much useful knowledge on important points
of civil government. Yet, on this latter subject, his ideas
evidently receiyed a tinge of prejudice, from his military
education: and that when he thought of o-overnment, he con-
ceiyed of a power too energetic to be perfectly compatible
with the broad doctrines of liberty, however it might secure
the efficiency of prompt and energetic authority. Accustomed
as he was to the rapid moyements and absolute commands of
an army, this habit would naturally generate in his mind a
desire to introduce the same prompt principle of action into
government, and to view the deliberate motions, and tedious
debates of free assemblies with a feeling of dislike propor-
tioned to their laxity of moyement, and tardiness of con-
clusion. Having insensibly acquired this mode of think-
ing, he would unconsciously espouse the concentration of
power, without feeling any hostility to the principles, or
repugnance to the spirit of liberty^ and thus gradually en-
graft upon his principles of military government civil doc-
trines of congenial and analogous energy.

The dependence of his army upon the moyements and
proceedings of government, obviously first attracted his
attention to the study of our political fabric, at the same
time that it caused him to scrutinise it, more in reference to
the army, than to the people: and this without making him
less a loVer of liberty, or less a friend to the rights and hap-
piness of the human race: for his heart was always too
benevolent to permit him to embrace the cause of despotism. 5

58 THE LIFE OF

and his genius was too luminous ever to allow him to har-
bour the delusion, that, freedom once enjoyed could ever
be extinguished, or equality once proclaimed could ever
be recalled.

It is, perhaps, peculiar to Washington alone , that every
step of his military career inducted him into a knowledge
of political principles; and that the character of the states-
man gradually surmounted that of the general; at the same
time that the ideas of the general became the basis of the
principles of the politician.

Purity of purpose, strict honesty of character, exalted
patriotism and elevated intellect, would naturally infer that
energy of government to be most conducive to human hap-
piness, which, embracing in its principles the preference of
talents and virtue^ could discern no evil but in crime, and
detect no blemish but in weakness; not considering that the
weakness was necessarily incidental to the exercise of
right; and that the evil was a component part of the human
system as inseparable from government, as it was unavoid-
able to man.

When Washington, therefore, unwarily became the ad-
vocate of power in the hands of a few, he did not necessa-
rily desire, or intend to crush the rights of the many, so
much as to curb their vices, remedy their weakness, and
add to their happiness. If he miscalculated the means as a
statesman, he was correct in their appreciation as a general:
and the moral sublimity of his virtues rescued him from all
suspicion of any attempt to subjugate their rights, or shackle
their freedom.

Commissioners from Great Britain, to negociate a plan
of conciliation with the States, again arrived at Philadel-
phia, and were announced to Washington by the English
general. Sir Henry Clinton, who, being joined in the em-
bassy, undertook to open the negociation. Washington
having referred the proposition to Congress, that body re-
jected the terms offered, on the ground of the non -recogni-
tion of the Independence of the States, and her omission to
withdraw her fleets and armies from our limits.

Apprehensions being justly entertained, that these offers
of peace and re-union with the mother country, might have
an injurious effect on the public mind, their insufficiency
was ably combated by the popular writers of the day, who,
to the asperity of sarcasm, added the keenness of wit, and

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 59

the force of reasoning. But their tendency to mislead the
people, was arrested by the audacious attempts of Governor
Johnson, one of the Commissioners, to bribe the most influ-
ential members of Congress; and the still more reprehensi-
ble attempt upon Mr. Read, with the ofter of ten thousand
pounds sterling, and the best office in the gift of the crown.
The Commissioners being repulsed by Congress, addressed
their seditious appeals to the people. The great influence
of Washington was successfully used, to induce the rejec-
tion of terms based on the reannexation of the States to
Great Britain, as well as to prevent the influence of such
appeals on the people and the army.

The horrid atrocities of the Indian wars of 1778, the
massacre of Wyoming, and other terrible devastations of
savasre vengeance, having; attracted the attention of Con-
gress, Washington was directed to adopt measures to repel
these invasions of the savages on the frontiers of New York,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania; but having consulted a
council of war, all operations during that season were de-
clared to be impracticable.

At the commencement of the year 1779, the conquest of
Canada again became a favorite project with Congress;
and a plan of co-operation with the French forces, to ac-
complish that object, was drawn up by cabinet ministers,
and submitted to Washington, with a request that he would
make his observations on it, and then enclose it to Dr.
Franklin, at Paris, by him to be laid before the French
court, for its approval.

To military sagacity of the highest order, Washington
united views so profound and comprehensive, as could not
fail, when combined with his great experience, to qualify
him, in an eminent manner, to judge of the feasibility or
unsoundness of this extensive plan of operations; and pene-
trating at once to the serious evils involved in its execution,
he remonstrated to Congress against its adoption; at the
same time that he fully investigated its merits, and proved
the mischiefs, difliculties and^ perils, with which it was
fraught.

Congress, on their part, while they confessed the great
ability of his exposition, yet still p^ersevered in the plan
which he had exploded in so masterly a manner, and again
pressed it, with some modifications, on his attention; but
not convinced of the error of his opinions, nor satisfied with

60 THE LIFE OF

the military talent of Congress, he requested a personal
conference with that body; to which Con2;ress having ac-
ceded, he proceeded to Philadelpliia, and met a committee
of that bo(iv, to consult iii)on the general state of the armv,
and the condition and welfare of the country.

The power of <i;enius in its particular and darling profes-
sion is irresistible: Congress yielded to the powerful argu-
ments of Washinfjton against the proposed expedition: thus,
by their very reluctance, and slovvly extorted conviction
of their errors, giving the sanction of their entire apiproba-
tion to his views, and confirming tlie force of his judgment,
the fulness of his knowledge, and the weiglit of his expe-
rience.

How far he preserved his country, by thus interposing
his veto against so comprehensive and perilous a project,
can only be conjectured: but it is highly probable, that had
he not opposed it, reckless of all consequences to himself,
the effects would have been disastrous to the army, and
perhaps fatal to its liberties and independence; but disre-
garding all consequences to his own fame, he nobly threv/
himself in the gap, to bear the brunt of opposition, to a
measure of government, originated with much partiality,
and cherished with peculiar fondness.

Washington soon experienced the disadvantage of the
alliance with France, in the impression of apathy produced
by the belief that it w^as the infallible precursor of peace
and independence, which must now necessarily take place
without striking another blow, or putting to risk the chances
of another battle. The people, on this account, became
averse to active operations; enthusiasm for liberty sunk into
the conviction that it was achieved: enlistments were al-
most suspended, or proceeded with too tardy a pace to be
efficient, w^hile, from the same cause, it became manifestly
inexpedient to proceed to coercion to fill the vacant rank's
of the army. Yet, the happy delusion, that the war had
found a period v>ith the date of the French alliance, made
no impression on the sagacious mind of Washington: and
while he lamented the delay which took place in Congress
on the subject of providing for the campaign of 1779, he
omitted nothing; on his part to stimulate the Union and the
States to renewed exertion to proscctite it to a decided issue.

The dissentions that now arose in Con-xress, generated
by tlie quarrels and jealousies of our ministers at foreign

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

61

courts, added to this fatal torpor, and produced no little
elation in the minds of our enemies. The real character
of the state of the country, at this period, will be best de-
lineated by a letter, written by Washington himself, to one
of his talented political friends, in which he says, '* I am
particularly desirous of a free communication of sentiments
with you at this time, because I view things very differently,
I fear, from what people in general do, who seem to think
the contest at an end, and that to make money, and get
places, are the only things now remaining to be done. I
nave seen, without despondency, even for a moment, the
hours which America has styled her gloomy ones; but I
have beheld no day since the commencement of hostilities,
when 1 have thought her liberties in such imminent danger
as at present. Friends and foes seem now to combine to
pull down the goodly fabric we have hitherto been raising,
at the expense of so much time, blood, and treasure; and un-
less the bodies politic will exert themselves to bring things
back to first principles, correct abuses, and punish our in-
ternal foes, inevitable ruin must follow. Indeed, we seem
to be verging so fast to destruction, that I am filled with
sensations to which I have been a stranger until within
these three months. Our enemy behold with exultation
and joy how effectually we labour for their benefit — and
from being in a state of absolute despair, and on the point
of evacuating America, are now on tiptoe. Nothing, there-
fore, in my judgment, can save us but a total reformation
in our own conduct, or some decisive turn of affairs in
Europe. The former, alas! (to our shame be it spoken,) is
less likely to happen than the latter, as it is now consistent
with the views of the speculators, various tribes of money
makers, and stock-jobbers of all denominations, to continue
the war for their own private emolument, without consider-
ing that this avarice and thirst for gain must plunpje every
thing, including themselves, in one common ruin."

** It is a fact too notorious to be concealed, that Congress
is rent by party — that much business of a trifling nature,
and personal concernment, withdraws their attention from
matters of great national moment at this critical period:
when it is also known that idleness and dissipation take
place of close attention and application, no man who wishes
well to the liberties of this country, and desires to see its
rights established, can avoid crying out, * where are our

F

62

THE LIFE OF

men of abilities? — why do they not come forth to save their
country?' Let this voice, my dear Sir, call upon you, Jef-
rERsoK, and others. Do not, from a mistaken opinion that
we are to sit down under our vine and our fig tree, let our
hitherto noble struo-gle end in ig-nominv. Believe me when
I tell you there is danger of it. I have pretty good reasons
for thinking that administration, a little while ago, had re-
solved to give the matter up, and negociate a peace with us
upon almost any terms ; but I shall be much mistaken if
they do not now, from the present state of our currency,
dissentions, and other circumstances, push matters to the
utmost extremity. Nothing, I am sure, will prevent it but
the interruption of Spain, and their disappointed hope from
Russia."

Thus, with a comprehensive eye and an ever wakeful
patriotism, did Washington penetrate to the causes of our
weakness, lament the obstacles of our independence, and
labour to soothe irritation, remove difficulties, and promote
union, harmony and success. But whatever hopes the
English might cherish from our dissentions were speedily
dissipated by that recuperative energy and common sense
of danger which recalled the minds of men from the spoils
of victory to the acquisition of Independence.

Active hostilities were now transferred from the northern
and middle States to South Carolina and Georgia, where
a large body of tories, disaffected to the cause of liberty,
inspired the enemy with sanguine hopes of making an easy
victorv of those States; in which attempt, they at first but
too well succeeded.

Serious discontents, of a seditious character, having ap-
peared in the Jersey brigade, Washington, with his usual
address and patriotism, laboured to arrest it by the persua-
sion of his eloquence. The want of pay, and other evils
incident to a deranged and rotten currency, were of too
deep a nature to be very patiently borne, or easily healed.

Washino-ton now directed his attention to the Indian set-
tlements; and having despatched Colonel Van vSchaick and
General Sullivan against some of the towns of the Onanda-
2:oes, a complete devastation of their country and farms
was eftected.

The British army, composed of 9000 men, was stationed
at New York, while a detachment of 2000, under General
Matthews, was engaged in harassing the lower counties

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 63

of Virginia, In Rhode Island, their force amounted to 6000
men, making a total of 17,000 men, under the command
of Sir Henry Clinton, to co-operate with whom a powerful
fleet rode at anchor, ready, at any moment, to transport
his forces to any point which promised a successful attack.

On the part of the Americans, the grand total of their
armies did not exceed 16,000 — 3,000 under the command
of Gates, in New England, and 13,000 on the banks of the
North River, where thej had been encamped during the
winter; 6,000 fit for active service, were posted at Middle-
brook, under the command of Washington.

Under this disparity of force, combined with the strong
posts occupied by the enemy, Washington determined on a
defensive campaign, contenting himself with securing the
important passes on the North River, and protecting the
adjacent country from the cruel ravages of an unsparing foe:
even this defensive system was not unattended with its
perils and difficulties.

West Point, being by nature a strong position, had,
since the year 1777, been a particular object of attention
to the Americans, who had constructed formidable works
for its defence, with the intention of rendering it impregna-
ble to the assaults of an enemy.

King's Ferry, a few miles below West Point, near the
termination of the Highlands, was the great pass of com-
munication between the eastern and middle States? and is
commanded by the two opposite points of land, the most
elevated of which, on the west side of the river, is called
from its roughness Stoxey Poixt, while the flat neck of
land on the east is denominated Verplanck's Point,

The possession of King's Ferry became, therefore, an
important object to both armies. The Americans had con-
structed a strong post on Verplanck's Point, called Fort
Fayette, which w^as garrisoned by a company under captain
Armstrong; but the works on Stoney Point, though consi-
derable, were yet incomplete. The British general now
projected a coup de main upon these works. But the Ame-
ricans, having abandoned Stoney Point, without waiting for
an attack, the enemy immediately took possession of it,
and soon compelled Fort Fayette, on the opposite shore, to
capitulate, the garrison surrendering themselves prisoners
of war.

To prevent an att-ack on West Point, Washington now

64 ' THE LIFE OF

followed the enemy with the first division of his army from
Middlebrook, but was compelled, from the inferiority of his
force, to pursue measures strictly defensive. In the mean
time the English completed the fortifications, and left strong
garrisons in Stoney Point and Fort Fayette.

In July, the British army made an invasion of Connecti-
cut, but almost immediately returned to the Hudson, with-
out having accomplished any thing decisive in that state.

Washington now conceived the idea of surprising the
posts at King^s Ferry; a design to which he was impelled
by a desire to satisfy public expectation by some distin-
guished exploit, which would tend to reconcile the people
to his plan of defensive warfare, without incurring any great
peril to the main army. With this view, he carefully re-
connoitred the two posts in person, and employed all the
means in his power to obtain information of their real
strength. His conclusion was that they could only be car-
ried by surprise; but he resolved to n^ake an attempt on
Stoney Point first, which, if successful, would easily com-
mand the surrender of Fort Fayette.

This notable achievement was made at twelve o'clock
at night of the 15th Julv, 1779, under the command of
General Wayne, who surprised and captured the fort in a
manner never surpassed for its daring, its intrepidity, and
its coolness. No military exploit in history excels the
brilliancy of the capture of Stoney Point.

Washington ha\'ing thus secured Stony Point, made an
unsuccessful attempt upon the opposite post; but Sir Henry
Clinton advancing to its relie^, the American general de-
termined to evacuate Stoney Pointy which could not b3
maintained without a naval force, and to retire into the
highlands, when the British again took possession of it,
repaired tlie fortifications, and manned it with a stronger
garrison.

Independent of the splendour of this exploit, it is difti-
cult to conceive tlie object which prompted its execution,
or to approve of a design which, had no miscarriage inter-
vened to obstruct its complete fulfilment, must still have
been a useless expense of life, labour and gallantry.

Washington now removed his head quarters to West
Point; not deeming himself sufficiently in force to hazard
a general engagement. In the same cautious spirit of pru-
dence, he issued orders to the commanders of corps and

GEORGE WASHINGTON'. 65

detachments nor to risk their troops in any partisan en-
gagements but when the occasion of certain victory pre-
sented itself^

The British general, wearied with inactivity, now retired
to York Island, and engaged himself in giving increased
strength to its fortifications; while, despairing of success in
any attempt to draw Washington from his strong position,
he began to direct his attention to a campaign against the
southern States.

On the 18th of August, Major Lee surprised and made
prisoners the British garrison at Pawles Hook, opposite
New York, on the west bank of the Hudson; an enterprise
which, having been achieved under the direction of Wash-
ington, received at the time no inconsiderable measure of
applause.

Admiral Arbuthnot, a few days after this event, arrived
at New York with a reinforcement for the British army;
and shortly after, tiie Count D'Estaing arrived on the
southern coast, with a powerful French fleet; upon the
news of which. vSir Henry Clinton concentrated liis forces
in New York.

The campaign of 1779, was not, upon the whole, either
very creditable to the cause of Independence, or favourable
to the fame and reputation of the commander in chief, so
far as it respected any accession of glory, from active ope-
rations, or brilliant triumphs; but, as it related to that wis-
dom and prudence, which looked to the permanent £:ood of
his country, he stood higher than at any preceding period,
and commanded more veneration in the minds of the judi-
cious and reflectino:, for his virtues, talents and patriotism.

Washington closed this campaign, as he had done so
many preceding ones, by addressing a remonstrance to
Congress against the militia system, and recommending
the plan of coercive drau^jhts for one year by the States, as
the only efficient method of perfecting the establishment of
a permanent army. But Cangress seem not only them-
selves to have been averse ^o so strong a measure, which
caused them to adopt it with tardiness and reluctance-, but
the States appear to have resisted it, from a natural jealousy
of consolidated power; so that the resolutiens of Congress
in favour of the system recommended by Washington, -even-
tually failed, when they came to be canvassed by the jealous
rights of thirteen independent sovereignties.

E 2

66

THE LIFE OF

In December Washington placed his army in winter
quarters; one division at West Point, and the other at
Morristown, New Jersey, sheltered by huts, and so dis-
posed as to protect the surrounding country from the de-
predations of the enemy, as at the same time to secure his
troops from insult, surprise or defeat.

The subjugation of Georjiiaby the British, and the unsuc-
cessful attempt of the confbined forces of the French and
Americans to recover Savannah, and the departure of the
French fleet from the continent, justly excited the fears of
^^'ashington for the fate of South Carolina, which, combined
with the secret intelligence he had received from his spies
in New York, that the enemy meditated the South as the
scene of the campaign of 1780, awakened all his fears and
patriotism for the safety of that section of the union, whicli
now became the theatre of sanguinary and triumphant
operations to the British army under Sir Henry Clinton.

On the 12th of May, Charleston capitulated a surrender
to the English general. Washington's opinion was adverse
to the policy of defending that city, after it had been found
impracticable to defend the bar and maintain the harbour.
General Lincoln was severely censured for his conduct;
but it does not appear that he was so much to blame, at-
those who, having promised him reinforcements, had inspired
delusive hopes, that ended in his ruin.

Lord Cornwallis, with one division of the British army,
now advanced upon North Carolina, while other detach-
ments carried their victorious arms through fields of car-
nage, until the whole south was subjugated by the troops of
his Britannic majesty. Emboldened by this unexpected
success, Sir Henry Clinton, on the 3d of June, ITSO, issued
his proclamation, re-establishing, in full force, tlie royal
government; after which, supiiosing the conquest of the
South to be complete, he sailed for New York, leaving
liOrd Cornwallis with four thousand troops, to extend his
victories into North Carolina.

These movements in the south did not escape the vigi-
lant eve of Washington: and in March he sent a detach-
ment of the Maryland and Delaware lines, under the com-
mand of the Baron de Kalb, to reinforce the southern army.
As these troops entered South Carolina, they were joined
by several corps of American militia, who deserted frwra
the colours of Cornwallis, by whom they had been enlisted.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 67

Congress then called General Gates to the command of the
southern department, on the 13th of June, 1780, under the
idea that the conqueror of Burgoyne would now prove, hy
his great military talents, the saviour of the southern states.

The defeat of the Americans at Camden, on the 16th of
August, 1780, demonstrated the fallacy of reposing conti-
dence in a general of the ardent and active genius of Gates,
when commanding a raw army, composed of militia, or
nev/ recruits. Such bold and impetuous talents were more
adapted to lead the disciplined and well drilled battalions
of Europe, than the inexperienced and timid recruits of a
free government, opposed to constraint, and stubborn in
their rights. The rout of the Americans at this battle was
complete and overwhelming. The Baron de Kalb was
killed at the head of his troops. Congress afterwards di-
rected a monument to his memory. The American loss in
killed, wounded and prisoners, was great and fatal, but
never precisely ascertained. To this rout of Gates, suc-
ceeded the defeat of Sumpter at Catawba Ford, by the
bloody and impetuous legion of Tarlton.

The winter quarters of the army under AVashington, had
not been much improved beyond its condition of preceding
years, in respect to rations; the depreciation ol the cur-
rency having eSectually operated to check the certainty of
supplies to so a;reat an extent as again to menace the toial
dissolution of the army; a catastrophe which was solely
averted by the patriotism of the people of New Jersey.

A requisition on the States, to supply the treasury of the
Union by taxation, v.as now resorted to; but it did not
prove eft'ectual: and the limit of two hundred millions of
continental money having been completed, other sources of
supply were wow to be devised; whicli consisted in a re-
quisition on the States for their respecLive quotas of provi-
sions, spirits a'.id forao;e, fur v/hich they were to be finally
paid in Spanisli milled dollars.

To this svsteui V\'ashin,ii:ton was decidedly opposed, on
the ground that the war ought to be conducted on a national,
rather than a state system; and, in this opinion, says Mar-
sfudl^ • all tiiose who were engaged in higii and responsible
situations,' coincided. Kere, again, v/e perceive the ^fr/zj
of those parties v.hich arose under the federal constitution,
ut a subsequent period. Tiie objection^ of Washington,
however, v. ere disregarded, and the new syntem of Stale

68 THE LIFE or

quotas of provisions, went into operation, owing, as Mar-
shall confesses, to " a disposition in the members of Con-
gress^ growing inevitably out of the organisation of the
government to consult tlie will of the states, from which
they were delegated, and perhaps to prefer their accommo-
dation to any other object however essential to the whole.^'
On this subject, the language of Marshall is but the echo of
Washington s opinions, and is so remarkable as to demand
special attention. He says * Under these circumstances, it
required a degree of energy seldom found, to struggle with
surrounding difficulties for the preservation of a general
system; and to resist the temptation of tlirowing the na-
tion, by a system of requisitions, at the fed of the states,
where the vital principle of power, the right to levy taxes,
was exclusively placed. "

Agents in Europe were now employed to negociate loans,
which, to a limited extent, proved successful; while various
schemes of compounding for the continental money in cir-
culation, and forming the basis of a new issue of paper cre-
■dits, were suggested, or devised.

About this time, the views of Washiiigtoa to'uching the
powers of the State sovereignties, were fully developed in
a letter to a member of Congress, in which he thus ex-
pressed himself: "'Certain I am. that unless Congress
speaks in a more decisive tone — unless they are vested with
powers by the several states, competent to the great pur-
poses of the war, or assume them as matter of right, and
thev and the States respectively act with more energy than
they hitherto have done^ that our cause is lost. We can no
longer drudge on in the old way. By ill-timing the adop-
tion of measures, bv delavs in the -execution of them, or br
unwarrantable jealousies, we incur enormous expenses, and
derive no benefit from thein. One State will comply with
a requisition from Congress, another neglects to do it, a
third executes it by halves; and all differ in the manner,
the matter, or so much in point of time, that we are always
■working up hilU and while such a system as the present one,
^r rather want of one, prevails, we ever shall be unable to
apply our strength or resources to any advantage.

** This, my dear Sir, is plain language to a member of
Congress; but it i» the language of truth and friendship. It
ie the result of long thinking, close app^lication, and strict
^bgervation. I see one head gradually changing into

GEORGE WASHINGTOK. 69

THIRTEEN. I 868 oue army branching into thirteen; and
instead of looking up to Congress as the supreme controlling
power of the United States, considering themselves as de-
pendent on their respective states. In a word, I see the
power of Congress declining too fast for the consequence
and respect which are due to them as the great representa-
tive body of America, and am fearful of the consequences."

The depreciation of continental money was now at its
lowest ebb; so that the pay of a captain would not purchase
even a pair of shoes, nor that of a major general have hired
the horse he rode on!

Congress now resolved to make good this depreciation of
their pay, at a future period. But the want of pay, and the
w^ant of rations at length produced a mutiny, which, how-
ever, was soon quelled.

Lafayette, having gone back to France upon the breaking
out of the war between that power and England, returned
to the United States in April, in a royal frigate, and
brought the cheering news of the promised aid of a land and
naval armament, to co-operate in the cause of our Indepen-
dence. Washington received him with the joy and affec-
tion due to an old friend, and a tried patriot, whose valour
and enthusiasm in the American cause had been so conspi-
cuously displayed at the battle of Brandy wine. His arri-
val imparted a fresh impulse to the Congress, and a glow of
hope to the whole army.

All the energies of his mind were now devoted to the
great object of making an efficient co-operation with the
promised aid from France, which arrived on the 10th of
July at Rhode Island, under the Count de Rochambeau,
with orders to place himself and forces under General
Washington; who, to manifest his affection for the French,
recommended to his officers, to adopt the French white
cockade, engrafted on the black American — as a symbol of
union and friendship.

He now contemplated an enterprise against New York,
which, however, he was forced to relinquish.

For a time public attention was drawn to the defection
of General Arnold, and the severe but just execution of
Major Andre, of the British army, with whom Arnold ne-
gociated to surrender the strong post of West Point. It
must ever excite astonishment, that the Americans could
have suffered the army to be disgraced by a man so profli

70 THE LIFE OF

gate, unprincipled and sordid in his moral character, and
so equivocal in his political sentiments. His vices, well
known before his desertion, were only proclaimed to the
world after his treason. After beins; tried and disgraced
by a court martial, it was unquestionably a great error in
judgment, to permit him to command an American post.

On the occasion of this melancholy and important event,
all the sensibilities of Washington were excited to the most
painful and intense degree. Besides the embarrassments
and difficulties attendant on the fate of Andre, by the novel
and unsettled attitude of a revolutionary army, young in
rebellion, and a government still of doubtful independency,
and unestablished freedom, others, of a character not less
distressing, but of an individual and personal nature, ren-
dered it one of the most afflicting eras of his life; and the
more that inexorable justice pleaded for the life of the Spy^
as an atonement for an oppressed people, and their violated
liberty, as a pledge of the eventual independence of their
country, and as a shield against the future stroke of dis-
guised treason, the more did compassion and humanity
plead for the life of the victim, with the trumpet tongue of
his virtues, his talents, his accomplishments, and his
honour.

Perhaps no man ever paid the penalty of death, so totally
exempt from all the sordid attributes of crime, to take from
the deed its natural horrors, or steel the blessed sympathy
of the human heart by the grovelling atrocity of the victim,
against the shedding of the blood of a fellow creature.

Genius and virtue threw all the fascinating hues of ro-
mance over the execution of this ill-fated son of destiny.
Brave, generous, and lofty, endowed with the most exalted
sense of honor, and a gallantry approaching the spirit of
the old cavaliers of romance, possessing talents of the high-
est order, and an intellect cultivated to the most brilliant
point of perfection; joined to all those refined sensibilities,
which constitute the poetry of life, and rescue us from the
grovelling vices and debasing passions of our kind, Andre
became an object of interest and concern to all, but in a
particular manner to AVashington, who being so richly gifted
with the same attributes, became fully qualified to appre-
ciate all his virtues, and to sympathise acutely in his mis-
fortune. But, however deeply he might feel, his natural
firmness and heroic sense of duty to his country, to liberty.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 71

and to independence, forbade him to disclose the agonj
which wrung his heart when he found himself constrained
by every obligation of patriotic duty to enforce the verdict
of the court martial; and if a tear fell to moisten the paper,
when he appended his signature to the warrant for his exe-
cution, it was the hallowed tribute which nature, in a vir-
tuous bosom, ever pays to the afflictions of a noble mind,
and redeemed the act of state policy from every vestige of
revenge, cruelty, or design.

The unceasing efforts of the British government to rescue
Andre from his impending fate, did honor to the country
in whose service his life was so fruitlessly sacrificed, and
wipe away some of the dark stain which the honors and
rewards they bestowed upon the traitor-knave who had
enticed him into so disgraceful an end, and who, while
virtue continues to be cherished, or patriotism rewarded
with the applause of men, will continue to be doomed to
everlasting execration, as one who combined splendour of
talents with the perfection of crime, and whose name will
be appropriated by the remotest generations of mankind, to
cover with the leprosy of infamy, all vile deeds, whose
atrocity may fail to be expressed in the common words of
our language, which, when they fail to express the concen-
tration of human villany, will find an ample substitute in
the name of Benedict Jirnold.

Allied to some of the first families of Great Britain, and
placed by royal patronage in the highest path of preferment,
the fate of Major Andre produced an impression which
extended even to the heart of the throne, and drew tears
from the brightest eyes of Europe. Contracted in vows of
love, to one of the most beautiful and accomplished daugh-
ters of England, the fate of Andre became a touching theme
for the poet, as well as an instructive moral to the histo-
rian; and while the bosom of beauty sighed over his fate,
the lyre of the minstrel tuned a monody to his melancholy
and ill-fated love.

To Washington only could the execution of a sentence
which awakened such profound and universal sympathy,
have been fulfilled without producing imputations of cruelty,
and a vindictive thirst of blood. But in him the mild be-
nevolence of his heart, the lofty justice of his mind, and
the exalted purity of his feelings and intentions, interposed
the bulwark of humanity against the remotest suspicion of

72 THE LIFE OF

want of mercy. Washington never shed blood but with
anguish, and on occasions of the most dire necessity. He
took no delight in scenes of carnage, and never exposed the
lives of his soldiers more than was absolutely necessary to
the purpose in hand; being more frugal of the expenditure
of life than any general who ever led a squadron to the
field, in any age, or any country.

The entire safety of the American cause pleaded with
irresistible eloquence in favour of the execution of Andre;
and the flight and escape of A nold added weight to every
consideration of policy that operated to induce the doom
of the former. The attempt of the British alone to enter
the American camp with overflowing purses of gold, tempt-
ing the weak and corrupting the wicked, demanded exem-
plary punishment on the part of the commander in chief;
and however sophistry might quibble about the justice of
the sentence of the court martial, on the ground that Andre
did not enter the American lines in disguise, the fact never
was disputed that he was arrested in disguise within the
American lines.

The whole deportment of Major Andre, however, was so
frank, manly, and honourable, as to enlist among his warm-
est champions and admirers the most zealous friends of
American independence, who only regretted that fortune
skould have favoured the flight of the infamous traitor Ar-
nold, while adversity cast her toils around his brilliant but
less fortunate victim: for Andre confessed, with the frank-
ness of a soldier, and the veracity of a man of honor, the
object of his visit to West Point; and instead of vexir.g the
case by equivocations and concealment, threw himself at
once on the magnanimity of his foes, by avowing his real
designs. It will, however, notwithstanding the fact of his
disguise, ever continue a disputed point, whether he could
strictly be viewed in the light of a spy; but the necessity
of his execution was placed beyond a doubt, and his claim
to be set at liberty, under all the circumstances, never
could be fully established. But his death did not sully his
fame, or cover him with opprobrium — ^having died like a
hero as he had lived like a man of bravery and honor. The
most rigid patriot may give a tear to his fate, feel esfeem
lor his virtues, and express admiration for his heroism,
ralour, and genius.

The measures of Congress were still distracted by two

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 73

opposing parties, one of which entered fully into the views
of Washington, as to the necessity of consolidated power
in one heady whilst the other, jealous of military supremacy,
w^hich they feared might prove detrimental to liberty after
the restoration of peace, were opposed to every measure
that aimed to give vigor to its organisation, or too much
power to its friends.

To counteract this disposition, he again addressed re-
monstrances to Congress against the inefficient state of the
army, exhorting that body to more activity, and depicting,
in strong language, the necessity for renewed exertion, and
more energetic preparations to take the field. A majority
of Congress were, however, found to be opposed to his
strong system; and a committee reported, reducing the
numbers of the regiments, which was sustained by the
whole body. To this Washington objected; and having
submitted his arguments against it, and brought forward
his own plan. Congress receded from their ground, and fell
into his views, of ' an army entirely for the war, and half
pay for life.'

Few military operations occurred under Washington's
command during the campaign of 1780; and of those few,
none were of magnitude or importance enough to claim
the attention of this history besides those already related.

General Greene being appointed, at the instance of Wash-
ington, to the command of the southern division, prosecuted
the war in that quarter with much vigor, and some partial
success; while a court martial was ordered to inquire into
the conduct of General Gates.

The battle of the Cowpens, which occurred on the 17th
January, 1781, under General Morgan, over the troops
of Tarleton, was the most decisive triumph of the American
arms, that was achieved this year; the loss of the Americans
being only eighty in killed and wounded, whilst it deprived
Cornwallis of one-fifth of his numbers, besides arms, am-
munition, baggage, and horses. Morgan, however, was in
turn compelled to retreat into Virginia, before the superior
forces of Cornwallis, who instantly marched to intercept
the victorious army. But our limits do not admit of our
giving a more minute account of that section of the army,
not immediately under the command of Washington.

The revolt of the Pennsylvania line, in the northern army,
thirteen hundred of whom left the army, and marched to-

G

74 THE LIFE or

wards Princeton, at one time, threatened serious conse-
quences to the American cause, and engaged the special
attention of Washington, but which was finally settled by
a committee of Congress, who agreed to the terms of the
mutineers, and nearly the whole line received their dis-
charge. The success of this revolt now stimulated the
Jersey line to attempt the same terms; but Washington,
having become alarmed for the safety of the whole army,
determined to yield to no complaints whilst they retained
arms in their hands, and despatched General Howe to re-
duce them to unconditional submission, and execute the
ringleaders. This decisive step checked the spirit of re-
volt. On both occasions, the British general attempted,
without success, to buy over the mutineers, the want of
pay having been the chief cause of the sedition; but the
troops indignantly rejected the infamous terms.

Colonel Laurens was now despatched to France to nego-
ciate a loan, and carried with him a full exposition of the
state of our affairs, in the form of a letter from the pen of
Washington, breathing the purest spirit of wisdom, and
replete with just reflections and sound views, which could
not fail to produce a powerful impression on the cabinet
of Versailles.

To the untirins: exertions of Washington must be ascribed
the resolution now passed by Congress, recommending to
{he States to vest the power in Congress to levy for the
use of the United States a duty q{ five per centum ad valo-
rem on all goods, wares, and merchandise of foreign growth
and manufacture; and on all prizes and prize goods, con-
demned in the American courts; which was to constitute a
fund to pay the principal and interest of all debts contracted
in the prosecution of the war, and to contiiiue till those
debts should be discharged. An attempt was made to be-
stow on the federal head a.fidlpoiver to regulate commerce,
and increase this impost at pleasure; but, as Marshall says,
* state hifluence predominated^ and they were over-ruled by
great majorities. Still all the States would not unite in
the proposed limited power.

A secretary for foreio;ii affairs, or superintendant of
finance, a secretary of war, and a secretary of marine,
were now added to the other departments of government,
for the first time.

About the same period, the articles of confederation v, ere

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 75

agreed to, and ratified, as a means of prosecuting the war
with more vigour; the property of the public lands within
tlie chartered limits of some of the States, constituting the
only impediment to its adoption; the States in whose limits
the vacant lands were, claiming exclusive right to them;
and those States who had none, urging tliat it should con-
stitute a joint property for the common benefit.

Washington now turned his attention to repel the incur-
sions making by Arnold into Virginia; and ordered a detach-
ment of twelve hundred men under Lafayette, to march to
the Chesapeake, there to be transported to Virginia, under
convoy of a French frigate. He also addressed letters to
Governor Jefferson, of Virginia, and the Baron Steuben^
to aid, assist, and advance the expedition; having given in-
structions to Lafayette to grant Arnold no terms, which
might avert the punishment due to his crimes. But La-
fiiyette having failed in his expedition, Arnold escaped;
and Cornwallis concentrated his forces, with the object of a
more active and vigorous prosecution of the campaign.

The middle and lower parts of Virginia, now became the-
theatre of a desolating war, in which private and public
property shared an indiscriminate destruction. Among
other plantations. Mount Vernon was threatened with con-
flagration by the commander of the British vessels in the
Potomac; and only spared in consideration of the refresh-
ments furnished by Mr. Lund Washington, to whom the
General had confided the care of his plantation. On this
occasion, Washin*j:ton evinced the true feelings of the pa-
triot; for, on being informed of the circumstance of the
enemy having spared his estate, he addressed his kinsman a
letter couched in the following terms: '• I am sorry to hear
of your loss; I am a little sorry to hear of my own: but, that
which gives me m.ost concern, is, that you should have gone
on board the vessels of the enemy, and furnished them with
refreshments. It would have been a less painful circum-
stance to me, to have heard, that in consequence of your
non-compliance with their request, they had burnt my
house, and laid the plantation in ruins. You ought to have
considered yourself as my representative, and should have
reflected on the bad example of communicating with the
enemy, and making a voluntary ofter of refreshment to
them, with a view to prevent a conflagration. "

The Governor of Virginia, Mr. Jefferson, and most of the

76 THE LIFE OP

members of Congress, now united in urging ^^'as]ungton to
the defence of his native state; and liafayette expressed
particular solicitude, that he would by his presence at
home, rouse the people to make a spirited effort to expel
the enemy. This request, he would not, liowever, comply
M'ith, having; meditated a combined operation against New
York, from which he hoped to achieve greater benefits to
the whole union.

Wayne liaving; attacked the line of Cornwallis near
Jamestown, was compelled to retreat^ but the Eno;lish ge-
neral did not follow up his advantage, from an impression,
that an assault so daring, implied a greater force than it was
prudent to pursue.

In conjunction with the Count De Rochambeau, Wash-
ington now digested apian of operations against New York.
The American armv amounted to but four thousand five
hundred, while the French troops did not exceed fifteen
hundred.

Robert Morris Mas now appointed Siij)erintendant of
Finance; and upon his talents, credit, and exertions, now
depended the safety of the army, and the success of the
campaign. He realised all the confidence reposed in him,
and "svas the means of ensuring a successful termination of
hostilities, so far as they depended on the sinews of Avar.
Enlightened, just, and sagacious, he restored tlie public
credit, replenished the military chest, and gave vigour and
efficiency to all those necessary departments of subsistence,
which are so indispensable to the movements of an army.

With Mr. Morris originated the plan of a National
Bank, which, like the project of consolidated power in the
union, and a standing army at the nod of the federal go-
vernment, has excited so much controversy and opposition.
The capital was to consist of four hundred thousand dollars
by private subscription; to be incorporated by government,
and subject to the inspection of the Superintendant of
Finances, their notes being receivable by all as specie, the
states, as well as the federal government. Congress
passed an act of incorporation for this Bank on the 31st of
December, 1781.

At the same time, he contracted with government to
farm the taxes of Pennsylvania, for which he engaged to
furnish the army with flour, a contract wliich he punctually
fulfilled, and the advantages of which were inappreciable.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 77"

Washington having found the enemy too powerful and
vigilant in New York, to admit of a successful attack with
inferior forces, now turned his attention towards the
South, as the most eligible field for decisive operations; and
Lafayette was directed so to dispose of his troops as to
prevent Cornwallis from escaping, by a sudden march to
Charleston.

The Count De Grasse arrived in the Chesapeake, with
twenty-eight sail of the line, and several frigates late in
August, where he received full intelligence of the situation
of the armies, from an officer despatched by Lafayette for
that purpose. In the mean while. Lord Cornwallis was
fortifying himself in Yorktown. In compliance with his
orders from Washington, Lafayette had occupied a position
on James River, to oppose any movement of the English
general to escape to South Carolina. Four French ships of
the line, and several frigates, were now ordered to blockade
the mouth of York River, and convey the land forces under
the Marquis St. Simon, to form a junction with the troops
of Lafayette.

Washington having determined to direct the active ope-
rations of the allied armies against Lord Cornwallis, imme-
diately prepared to carry his plan into effect without delay,
and with all possible vigour. To General Heatli, he as-
signed the defence of the posts on the Hudson, and the duty
of protecting the surrounding country. Washington as-
sumed in person the lead of the southern expedition.

After many feints and manoeuvres, for the purpose of in-
ducino- the enemy to believe, that his object was Staten
Island, he put both armies in motion, and having crossed
the Hudson at King's Ferry, on the 25th of August, com-
menced his march for the Chesapeake; and so well had he
manao-ed to divert the attention of the English general from
his real destination, that he had accomplished the passage
of the Delaware, before the enemy suspected the real point
of his hostility, and when it became too late to molest or
obstruct him on his march.

While Washington was on his way to Virginia, Sir Henry
Clinton, with a view, perhaps, of recalling him to a defence
of the North, planned an expedition against New London,
which he entrusted to the command of General Arnold,
who, having stormed and captured the town, put the Ame-
ricans to the sword after their surrender, in cold blood, and

Ga

78 THE LIFE OF

with a cowardly ferocity, every way characteristic of the
heart of a traitor; after which,' with the dark spirit of a
midiiiglit incendiary, the town was devoted to the torch of
conflagration, by which the wanton destruction of private
property was immense and afflicting.

But AVasliington was not to be diverted from his design
against Cornwallis; and having quickened his march, he
reached Williamsburii;, on the 14th of September, attended
by the Count De Rochambeau, and the Chevalier De Cha-
telleux, having previously made arrangements for the safe
transportation of liis army from the head of Elk to Balti-
more.

His troops having arrived, Washington invested York-
town, on the 25th of September; while the French admiral
completely blockaded the town on the side of the mouth of
James and York rivers.

Some uneasiness was now excited among the Americans,
by the information of six ships of the line, and some troops
having arrived at New York, under Admiral Digby, to
reinforce the English.

Stimulated to renewed exertion, lest the British general
should be relieved by a large reinforcement promised from
New York, Washington pressed the siege with such unex-
ampled rapidity, that, on the 11th of October, the second
parallel was opened within three hundred yards of the Bri-
tish lines; and on the 14th, several redoubts of the enemy
were carried by storm. Victory after victory perclied on
the banners of the combined armies; and every day beheld
the works of the English sinking beneatli the incessant fire
of the gallant besiegers; and on the ITih, having become
altogether untenable. Lord Cornwallis beat a parley to
propose a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, to
allow commissioners to meet to settle the terms for the sur-
render of Yorktovv'n and Glocester, which being definitively
agreed to on the 19th of October, Cornwallis surrendered
his posts, with the garrisons that had defended them, toge-
ther with the British shipping in the harbour, includino-
their seamen, to Vie land and naval otficers of America and
France. The prisoners amounted to 7000 men.

The allied arni}^ under the command of AVashington, was
estimated at 16,000 men.

The capture of Yorktown, and the army of Cornwallis,
being one of the most brilliant and important achievements

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 79

of the revolutionary war, excited a commensurate degree
of triumph and exultation, througout the United States, as
the precursor of peace, as well as the means of glory. Con-
gress greeted the event with a joy more than proportioned
to its magnitude; and resolutions passed that body, return-
ing the thanks of the nation to General Washington, to the
Count De Rochambeau, to the Count De Grasse, and to the
officers of the allied armies in general. A marble column
commemorative of the event, to be erected in Yorktown,
was also voted; besides two stands of colours being pre-
sented to Washington.

In addition to these manifestations of their high sense of
the achievement, Congress issued a proclamation appoint-
ing a day for a general thanksgiving, for this signal inter-
position of Providence.

The lustre which this victory threw around the character
of Washington, cast into shade whatever previous fame his
talents had won, or his virtues had extorted. The voice of
public praise rose to the pitch of enthusiastic veneration.
Addresses, conceived in sincere gratitude, and couched in
terms bordering on affectionate idolatry, poured in upon him
from everv city, town and hamlet of the union: as if the
nation hacl been delivered of a devouriu"- monster bv his
signal prowess, or rid of a wasting pestilence by his healing
virtues. State governments, city authorities, learned in-
stitutions, and every variety of public bodies seemed to
emulate each other, in the ardent expressions of the pro-
found sense they entertained of his important services; of
their sincere attachment to his person, and of their warm
admiration for his character. Still, this praise neither ex-
cited him to vanity, nor inspired him with presumption.

AVashington now urged the French admiral to co-operate
in the prosecution of the war, until the British should be
entirely expelled from the southern states, particularly in-
voking' his aid against Charleston; but the prior plan of
operations agreed on by the French squadron, prevented a
compliance with his wishes.

General Green was now reinforced by a body of troops
under General St. Clair, with orders to"^ take Wilmington
in his route to Charleston, and to dispossess the enemy of
the former post. The French troops remained in Virginia;
the Count De Grasse sailed for the West Indies, and
Washington proceeded to Philadelphia; while Lafayette
had permission to return to France.

80 THE LIFE OF

The southern campaign was now prosecuted with vigour
and success; but the nearly equal division of the people into
whigs and tories, imparted to their hostilities a deep dye
of vindictive passion, malignant ferocity, and cruel revenge.
Bloody desolation marked the footsteps of the English foe,
and the tory Americans: but still, victory hovered over the
banner of freedom, and General Green obtained merited
applause for his southern triumphs.

Not elated by his recent victory, Washington kept his
mind steadily fixed upon preparations for the ensuing cam-
paign of 1782; and, instead of relaxing, he determined to
add fresh vigour to his exertions, to bring the war to a ter-
mination. In a letter to General Green, written at Mount
Vernon, he thus discloses his opinions and tlesigns, which
evince not less wisdom in the man, than modest and un-
presuming merit in the general: " I shall attempt to stimu-
late Congress to the best improvement of our late success,
by taking the most vigorous and effectual measures to be
ready for an early and decisive campaign the next year. My
greatest fear is, that, viewing this stroke in a point of light
which may too much magnify its importance, they may
think our work too nearly closed, and fall into a state of
languor and relaxation. To prevent this error, I shall
employ every means in my power; and if, unhappily, we
sink into this fatal mistake, no part of the blame shall be
mine."

On the 27th of November, 1781, Washington arrived at
Philadelphia, and Congress granted him an audience on the
succeeding day, in order to aid in the proper establishment
of the army; the same causes, want of money, inefficient
taxation, and conflicting powers in the union and the state
authorities, as those we have already related, having ope-
rated to enfeeble and derange it; the same remedies, there-
fore, were recommended by him, and the same difficulties
obstructed their application. On this occasion, he again
addressed circular letters to the States.

Happily for the Independence of America, the force of
public opinion in Great Britain, was fast inclining that go-
vernment to overtures of a general peace, and a disposition
to recognise the independence of the United States; and,
notwithstanding the warlike tone of the King's speech, at
the opening of Parlianfient in November, the current soon
began to run counter to the royal pleasure, and a large mi-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 81

nority in favor of peace daily swelled its numbers, until it
eventually shook the throne in the resolutions of a majority.
A change of ministry, at first led to negociations, and
finally terminated in peace, on the 19th of April, 1783.

Every event on the part of the United States, had, ibr
some time, been conspiring to render a peace absolutely
necessary to their preservation. The treasury was ex-
hausted of its last dollar. No portion of the taxes could be
realised: the army was discontented, because impoverished;
and seditious, because smarting under wrongs, which it had
power, as well as inclination, to redress. AVashington, ever
watchful over the welfare of his country, had exhausted the
resources of his genius, the influence of his character, and
the force of his eloquence, to remove or mitigate these evilsj
but in vain: even his influence was compelled to wane, be-
neath a combination of evils, wliich no human fortitude
could endure, nor patience submit to. Still, Washington
had the address, the singular address and good fortune, not
to quell tlie spirit which sought for justice, but to turn the
feelings that were inflamed by wrongs, into a harmless
channel. On this occasion, his services to his country,
were not of less importance, than his most brilliant military
achievements; and being based on feelings of ec[uity, bene-
volence and justice, they far eclipse in moral grandeur, the
most sanguine trophies that a martial victor ever displayed
to the applause of people, intoxicated by the glare of glory.

Measures were now adopted for disbanding the army,:
but the wants of the treasury opposed serious obstacles to
this proceeding: and a part of the Pennsylvania line having
revolted, they marched from Lancaster to Philadelphia,
where, beino: ioined by other licentious soldiers, thev be-
sieged Congress in the State House, and compelled that
body to adjourn to Princeton. In the mean time, Wash-
ington had ordered a detachment of fifteen hundred men,
to suppress the mutiny; but before their arrival, the sedition
had been quelled without bloodshed.

Thus terminated the w^ar of seven years for American
Independence, of which Washington had been, in so great
a measure, the chief pillar and support: which originated in
a difference apparently trifling; which was prosecuted
through a series of difliculties and embarrassments, unex-
ampled in the history of mankind; and which was finally
achieved by those unseen combinations, and auspicious

82 THE LIFE OF

events, which baffle and peq^lex the sagacity of man, at the
same time that they excite his i^ratitude and admiration.

Througliout this lono and arduous struggle, the whole
American people displayed those virtues which most en-
noble Imman nature; and their patience, toil, suffering,
bravery, and forbearance, entitle them to rank with any
nation on the face of the globe. But, in a peculiar manner
were thev indebted to those shining virtues in the character
of Washington, wiiich, combined with his high faculties of
genius and intellect to conduct them triumphantly through
its fiery ordeal, and place them on the eminence, whose
lofty and glittering peak, attracted the attention and ap-
plause of the world. Commenced without preparation;
equally destitute of money, arms and discipline, the Revo-
lution depended almost wholly for success, upon the genius
and resources of tlie commander in chief; whose peculiar
character alone fitted him to uphold it amidst adversity,
rally it under defeat, and preserve it unbroken amidst con-
vulsions. The experience in the case of General Gates,
fully evinced what would have been its melancholy catas-
trophe, had the impetuous ambition of a fiery and adventu-
rous commander, led on its starved battalions; or an in-
triguing and unprincipled adventurer, like Conway, or
Arnold, had the disbursement of its funds, or the manage-
ment of that suftering and seditious mass of undisciplined
men, who could only be preserved in subordination by the
personal influence of George Washington — his virtues, his
genius, and his patriotism.

On the 25th of November, 1783, the British evacuated
New^ York, and the American troops took possession of the
town. Washington, accompanied by Governor Clinton,
now^ made his public entry into the city; after which, he
proposed to bid adieu to his companions in arms, prior to a
resignation of his military command.

The account which Gordon has given us of this parting
scene, would suffer by any abridgement: " This affecting
interview took place on the 4th of December. At noon,
the principal officers of the army assembled at Francis'
tavern; soon after w^hich, their beloved commander entered
ths room. His emotions were too strong to be concealed.
Filling a glass, he turned to them and said, ' With a heart
full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you; I most
devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 83

and happy, as your former ones have been glorious and
honourable. ' Having drank, he added, ' I cannot come to
each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you,
if each of you will come and take me by the hand. ' Gene-
ral Knox being nearest, turned to him; incapable of utter-
ance, Washington grasped his hand, and embraced him.
In the same aftectionate manner, he took leave of each suc-
ceeding officer. In every eye stood the tears of dignified
sensibility; and not a word was articulated to interrupt the
majestic silence and the tenderness of the scene. Leaving
the room, he passed through the corps of light infantry, and
walked to ^^ hitehall, where a barge awaited to carrv him
to Pawles Hook. The v/hole company followed in mute
and solemn procession, with dejected countenances, testi-
fying the feelings of delicious melancholy, which no lan-
guage can describe. Having entered the barge, he turned
to the company, and, waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu.
They paid him the same affectionate compliment, and after
the barge had left them, returned in the same solemn man-
ner to the place where they had assembled."

Congress was tlien in session at Annapolis, and thither
Washington repaired, to resign his commission into their
hands. This eventful ceremony took place on the 23d of
December, 1783. Having been introduced by the Secre-
tary, he delivered the following address:

"Mr. President. — The great events on which my re-
signation depended, having at length taken place, I have
now the honour of offering my sincere congratulations to
Congress, and of presenting myself before them, to surren-
der into their hands, the trust committed to me, and to
claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my
country.

' ' Happy in the confirmation of our independence and
sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the
United States, of becoming a respectable nation, I resign
with satisfaction, the appointment I accepted with diffi-
dence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous
a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in
the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme
POWER OF THE vNiGx, and the patronage of Heaven.

" The successful termination of the war has verified the
most sanguine expectations; and my gi-atitude for the inter-
position of Providence, and the assistance I have received

84 THE LIFE OF

from my countrymen, increases with every review of the
momentous contest.

*' While I repeat my obligations to the army in general,
I should do injustice to my own feelings, not to acknow-
ledge in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished
merits of the gentlemen who have been attached to my per-
son during the war. It was impossible the choice of confi-
dential officers to compose my family, should have been
more fortunate. Permit me. Sir, to recommend in particu-
lar, those who have continued in the service to the present
moment, as worthy of the favourable notice and patronage
of Congress.

'* I consider it as an indispensable duty to close this last
<ict of my official life, by commending the interests of our
dearest country, to the protection of Almighty God, and
those who have the superintendence of them to his holy
keeping.

'' Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire
from the great theatre of action, and bidding an aftectionate
address to this august body, under whose orders I have so
long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave
of all the employments of public life."

To this address, Congress returned an appropriate reply,
couched in the spirit of gratulation, praise and affection.

Finding himself thus relieved from the cares of public
life, he now retired to Mount Vernon, followed by the
esteem, admiration, gratitude and love of the whole Ame-
rican people.

It would, perhaps, have been more consonant to the un-
obtrusive and simple principles of genuine republicanism,
had this virtuous and laudable feeling of veneration for their
late chief, been restrained within the limits of addresses,
resolutions, and declarations of gratitude and attachment,
instead of manifesting its extravagance in statues, monu-
ments, and columns, whose pomp seemed to reflect the
tinsel of royal governments, and might tend to corrupt tlie
integrity of republican truth. Great by nature, and still
greater by his virtues, no outward homage could increase
his glory, no splendour of magnificence inflate him with
pride.

Unmoved by the torrent of adulation which flowed upon
him, he devoted his hours to domestic happiness, and the
pursuits and improvements of agriculture, which had al-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 85

ways been his favourite occup-ition. His feelings in his
new retirement will be best understood by his own expres-
sion of them. In a letter to Governor Clinton, three days
after his reaching Mount Vernon, he says: 'The scene is
at length closed. I feel myself eased of a load of public
care, and hope to spend the remainder of my days in culti-
vating the affections of good men, and in the practice of the
domestic virtues.' In another to Lafayette, he thus unfolds
the sound philosophy of his mind and benevolent emotions
of his heart: '* At length, my dear Marquis, I have become
a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and, under
the shadow of my own vine and my own tig tree, free from
the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of public life, I
am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of
which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame — the
statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are
spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare othis own,
pefTiaps the ruin of other countries, as if this globe was
insufficient for us all — and the courtier, who is always
watching the countenance of his prince, in the hope of
catchilig a gracious smile, can have very little conception.
I have not only retired from all public employments, but
am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the
solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life, with
heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined
to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the
order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of
life, until I sleep with my fathers."

It was evident, however, that this desire of private con-
tentment, required a struggle; and that his mind, long ac-
customed to public command, could not immediately sub-
side into the tranquil current of domestic ease. In a letter
to General Knox, he thus depicts this difficulty o( weaning
his thoughts from the turmoil of public aftair^: " I am just
beginning to experience the ease and fre'^«iom trom public
cares, which, however desirable, takes sometime to realise;
for, strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, that it
was not until lately, I could get the better of my usual
custom of ruminating, as soon as I awoke in the morning,
on the business of the ensuing day, and of my surprise at
finding, after revolving many things in my mind, that I was
no lono-er a public man, or had any thing to do with public
transactions. 1 feel now, however, as I conceive a wearied

H

86 THE LIFE OF

traveller must do, who, after treading many a painful step
with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased of the latter,
having reached the haven to which all the former were di-
rected, and from his house-top is looking back, and tracing
with an eager eye, the meanders by whicli he escaped the
quicksands and mires which lay in his way, and into which
none but the all powerful guide and dispenser of human
events, could have prevented his falling."

He now devoted himself to agriculture, and plans of in-
ternal improvement, for which purpose he explored the
western parts of Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and
particularly directed his attention to improve the navigation
of the Potomac and James Rivers. Extending his views to
the western country, he gave a luminous exposition of the
sound policy of connnecting that section of the union more
closely with the eastern states, by means of inteimal hn-
proveme)ifs.

How deeply the love of fame was implanted in his heart,
and how pure was his ambition which thirsted for glory,
will appear from an extract of his letter, in which he de-
clined to receive a donation of one hundred and fifty shares
in the Potomac and James River Navigation Company,
from the States of Virginia and Maryland, who seized that
occasion to testify their gratitude and respect towards him,
in a substantial form.

. " Not content," (he writes,) " with the bare conscious-
ness of my having in all this navigation business, acted
upon the clearest conviction of tlie political importance of
the measure, I w^ould wish that every individual who may
hear that it w^is a favorite plan of mine, may know^ also,
that I had no other motive for promoting it, than the advan-
tage oi" which I conceived it would be productive to the
union atl^.vge, and to this state in particular, by cementing
the eastern aTi<l western territory together, at the same time
that it will give\laour and increase to our commerce, and
be a convenience to our citizens.

"How^ would this m?.tter be view^ed then, by the eye of
the world, and what opinion would be formed, when it
comes to be related, that G***** ^********* exerted him-
self to effect this work, and that G***** \V********* has
received tiventy thousand dollars^ and^zue thousand pounds
sterling of the public money as an interest therein? Would
not this, (if I am entitled to any merit for the part I have

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 87

performed, and without it there is no foundation for the
act) deprive me of the principal thing which is laudable in
my conduct? Would it not, in some respects, be considered
in the same light as a pension? and would not the appre-
hension of this induce me to offer my sentiments in future,
with the more reluctance? In a word, under whatever
pretence, and however customary these gratuities may be
in other countries, should I not thenceforward, be consi-
dered as a dependant? — one moment's thought of which
would give me more pain tlian I should receive pleasure
from the product of all the tolls, was every farthing of them
vested in me."

An invidious mind might detect a spark of pride in this
sentiment, but a liberal one would perceive nothing but the
most exalted patriotism! The stock thus declined for his
private emolument, being appropriated by him to the esta-
blishment of two seminaries of learning.

The pride of station, and the ostentation of rank peculiar
to royal governments, are not only necessary to the safety
of the King, but indispensable to the pomp and glitter of a
court: hence, they are as foreign to the simplicity of a re-
public, and the virtuous habits of a free and equal people,
as pure republican principles would be inconsistent with, as
Avell as destructive of, royal ])ower and regal magnificence.
Happilv for the fame of Washington, the project for the
establishment of the society of the Cincinnati, did not ori-
o;inate with him. " This" idea, " (says Marshall) "was
suggested bv General Knox, and matured in a meeting com-
posed of the generals, and of deputies from the regiments,
at which 3Iajor General le Baron Steuben presided. An
agreement was then entered into, by which the officers were
to constitute themselves into one society of friends, to en-
dure as long as they should endure, or any o/their eldest
MALE posterity; and in failure thereof, any collateral
branches who might be judged worthy of becoming its sup-
porters and members, were to be admitted into it. To
mark their veneration for that celebrated Roman, between
whose situation and their own, they found some similitude,
they were to be denominated the Society of the Cincin-
nati. Individuals of the respective States, distinguished
for their patriotism and abilities, might be admitted as
honorary members for life, provided their numbers should
at no time exceed a ratio of one to four.

88 THE LIFE OF

" The society was to be designated by a medal of gold,
representino; the American eagle, bearing on its breast the
devices of the order, which was to be suspended by a deep
hhie ribband, edged ivith white,^^ &:c. &c. Of this new
order, Washington was unanimously chosen president.

"Without experiencing any open opposition," (says
Marshall^ " this institution was carried into complete effect^
and its lionours, especially by the foreign officers, were
sought \vith great avidity. But soon after it was organised,
those jealousies, which in its first moments had been con-
cealed, burst forth into open view. In October, 1783, a
pamphlet was published by Mr. Burk, of South Carolina,
for the purpose of rousing the apprehensions of the public,
and of directing its resentments against the society. Per-
ceiving in the Cincinnati, the foundation of an hereditary
order, whose base, from associating with the Military the
chiefs of the powerful families in each State, would ac-
quire a degree of solidity and strength admitting of any
superstructure, he pourtrayed, in that fervid and infectious
language, ^vhich is the genuine offspring of passion, the
dangers to result from the fabric which would be erected
on it. The Ministers of the United States too, in Europe,
and the political theorists who cast their eyes towards the
west for support to favorite systems, having the privi-
ledged orders constantly in view, were loud in their
condemnation of an institution, from which a race of no-
bles WAS expected to spring. Throughout every State
the alarm was spread, and a high degree of jealousy per-
vaded the mass of the people. "

W ASHiNGTON eudeavoured to procure a modification of
some of the aristocratic features of the institution, but
without success.

The same apprehensions of this society have continued to
exist up to the present period, although much diminished.
by the extinction of its original members, wrought by the
hand of time, and the progress of free principles.

Experience havino; proved the articles of confederation,
under which the thirteen States were united together, to be
insufficient for the prosperous, efficient, and harmonious
government of the whole, especially for the preservation of
the PUBLIC CREDIT, and the payment of the public debt;
the design of substituting a more efficient union, began to
be generally entertained.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 89

I have already adverted to the two great parties, into
which the country was divided j one in favor of the sove-
reignty of the States, and the other inclining to invest the
federal government with powers so absolute and unlimited,
as to make the union paramount, and reduce the States to
entire subserviency to the union: one being in favour of
THE nation — the other giving a preference to a cluster of
independent republics. Hence a wide contrariety of opi-
nion prevailed, as to the measures to be adopted, to ensure
union, without endangering liberty !

Many of the officers of the army had been elected to the
Congress of 1783, and these formed the head ot that party
which inclined to vest supreme power in the union.

At the head of this party, for such it indubitably was,
stood George Washington — unsurpassed in genius and ta-
lent— unrivalled in purity and patriotism.

I have already alluded to the manner in which the mili-
tary attitude of Washington, and his contact to the civil
power, had gradually inducted him into speculations of
government peculiar to the practical statesman 5 and that
sad experience of the evils of a relaxed system of polity,
had deeply imbued his mind in favor of that high toned
authority which assimilates to martial discipline and vigour.
In accordance with these ideas, prompted by his extreme
solicitude for the good of his country, he addressed on the
8th of June, 1783, a circular letter to the Governors of the
several States respectively, from which I must cite the fol-
lowing extracts. Speaking of the option of government
left to the United States, he says: "This is the time of
their political probation; this is the moment when the eyes
of the whole world are turned upon them; this is the mo-
ment to establish, or ruin their national character forever;
this is the favourable moment to give such a tone to our
federal crovernment, as will enable it to answer the ends of
its institution, or this may be the ill-fated moment for re-
laxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of
the confederation, and exposing us to become the sport of
European politics, which may play one State against ano-
ther, to prevent their growing importance, and to serve
their own interested purposes. For, according to the sys-
tem of policy the States shall adopt at this moment, they
will stand or fall; and by their confirmation or lapse, it is
yet to be decided, whether the revolution must ultimately

H2

90 THE LIFE OF

be considered as a blessing or a curse — a blessing or a
curse, not to the present age alone, for, with our fate, will
the destiny of unborn millions be involved."

*' There are four things which I humbly conceive, are
essential to the well-being, I may even venture to say, to
the existence of the United States, as an independent
power.

'* 1st. An indissoluble union of the States under one
federal head.

'' 2d. A sacred regard to public justice.

" 3d. The adoption of a proper peace establishment, and

"4th. The prevalence of that pacific and friendly
disposition among the people of the United States, lohich
ivill induce them to for get their local prejudices and politics^
to make those mutual concessions ivhich are requisite to the
genercd prosperity, and in some instances, to sacrifice
THEIR INDIVIDUAL advantages to the interest of the

COMMUNITY.

"These are tlie pillars on which the glorious fabric of
our independency and national character must be support-
ed. Liberty is the basis, and whoever would dare to sap
the foundation, or overturn the structure, under whatever
specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest
execration, and the severest punishment which can be in-
flicted by his injured country."

Such sentiments not only ennoble and dignify, but im-
mortalise their author; and whatever prejudices he may
have cherished in favour of a vigorous authority in the
Union, were more than atoned for by the purity of his pa-
triotism, and the exalted honesty of his heart.

Again, in the same letter, breathing nothing but hallow-
ed patriotism, he says, " It is only in our united character
that we are known as an empire, that our independence is
acknowledged, that our power can be regarded, or our cre-
dit supported among foreign nations. The treaties of the
European powers with the United States of America, will
have no validity on a dissolution of the Union. We shall
be left nearlv in a state of nature, or we may find, bv our
own unhappy experience, that there is a natural and neces-
sary proofression from the extreme of anarchy to the ex-
treme of tyranny, and that arbitary power is most easily
established" on the ruins of liberty abused to licentious-

ness."

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 91

But, however forcible in the abstract, or desirable in the
practice, may be the principle of energy and coercion, to
fulfil the ends of government, it may still be questioned,
whether in the present era of the world, it is feasible to
apply the doctrine of force and compulsion towards the in-
dividual States of the confederacy, even supposing it to be
sanctioned by the terms of the compact. The prooress of
human rights, even in Europe, has interposed public opi-
nion, to arrest the most despotic powers of the most an-
cient regal dynasties, embedded in the tyranny and barba-
rism of feudal systems, and gothic absolutism. Power
claimed to be derived from Heaven, or resting on the moss
covered columns of Rome, or Constantinople, or emerging
from the glimmer of rio;ht, under the vague sanction of a
charter, has, in every clime been melted by the sun of li-
berty into a form in some degree plastic, under the force of
public opixion. In a government founded on rights, ?iwA
not on compulsion, justice and truth, not the edge of the
sword, is both the arbiter of right, and the bloodless aven-
ger of wrong: for a free government can only be preserved
by ^'o/^o^/«/'^/ submission; and no motive for its preservation
vnW be found to exist, when, leaving the moral energies of
its citizens to look to physical coercion^ the principle of
cohesion is rejected, for the action of momentary impulsion,
which the instant it ceases, is followed by the rebound of
discord and ruin. But these remarks will only apply to
the case of States, not individual citizens; and to ques-
tions of organic controversy, not legal obligations and
penalties.

He watched with peculiar solicitude, the conduct of the
States, in relation to the revenue system of 1783, by which
they were required to grant to Congress the power to levy
imposts; but which the jealousy of the State of New York
had reserved to itself and was not willing to part with to
the national government. On this subject, he seems to
\\a\e.felt ivith passion, and to have thought with an energy
and glow, to v/hich, on ordinary questions, he was an utter
stranger. In a letter written by him in October, 1785, he
said, " The war, as you have very justly observed, has ter-
minated most advantageously for America; and a fair field
is presented to our view: but I confess to you freely, my
dear Sir, that I do not think vve possess wisdom or justice
enough to cultivate it properly. Illiberality, jealousy and

92 THE LIFE OF

local policy, mix too much in all our public councils, for the
good government of the Union. In a word, the confedera-
tion appears to me to be little more than a shadow without
the substance; and Congress a nugatory body, their ordi-
nances beincr little attended to. To me, it is a solecism in
politics: indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary things
in nature, that we should confederate as a nation, and yet
be afraid to give the rulers of that nation^ who are the crea-
tures of our own making, appointed for a limited and short
duration, &c. By such policy as this the wheels of go-
vernment are clogged, and our brightest prospects, and that
high expectation which was entertained of us by the won-
dering world, are turned into astonishment; and from the
hidi o-round on which we stood, we are descendino: into the
vale ef confusion and darkness. '-^

In answer to a letter from General Lafayette, in 1784>
Washington thus expressed himself in relation to American
affairs: *'It is one of the evils of democratic governments,
that the people, not always seeing^ and frequently misled,
must often feel before they act right. But evils of this
nature seldom fail to Mork their own cure. It is to be la-
mented, nevertheless, that the remedies are so slow, and
that those who wish to apply them seasonably, are not at-
tended to before they suffer in person, in interest, and in
reputation. I am not without hopes that matters will soon
take a favourable turn in tl:e federal constitution. The
discerning part of the community have long since seen the
necessity of giving adequate powers to Congress for national
purposes, and those of a different description, must yield
to it ere long."

These arguments w«re not conceived with his usual
acumen; for it was not the want of knowledge, but the de-
mocratic jealousy of power in the Union, v.hich retarded
the consummation for which he so devoutly prayed. The
progress of events soon made this apparent, in the rise of
tivo great parties in every State, 'which,' as Marshall
says, * were distinctly marked, and which pursued distinct
objects with systematic arrangement.'

One was rigid injustice, strict in public faith, friends to
a vigorous course of taxation, and an energetic exercise of
law and power, and strictly opposed to all relaxation of
principles, as well as considerations of feeling, for individual
distress, or national weakness. In fine, it embraced every

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 9

£?

idea and principle, which went to constitute an aristocracy
of virtue and talents; and on this ground it advocated an
enlargement of the powers of the federal government, com-
mensurate to the grand object of ' the dignity and character
of the nation abroad, and its interests at home.' ' The
other party,' says Marshall, 'marked out for itself a more
indulgent course. Viewing with extreme tenderness the
case of the debtor, their efforts were unceasingly directed
"to his relief. To exact a faithful compliance with contracts
was a measure too harsh to be insisted on, and was one
which the people Mould not bear. They were uniformly in
favour of relaxing the administration of justice, of affording
facilities for the payment of debts, or of suspending their
collection, and of remitting taxes. The same course of
opinion led them to resist every attempt to transfer from
their own hands into those of Congress, powers Avhich by
others were deemed essential to the preservation of the
Union. '

The latter party constituted a decided majority of the
People. The former comprehended men of great wealth,
of political distinction, and eminent family honours, as well
as the officers, in general, of the armv and navy.

The contests between these parties now began to rage
with great animation, whenever the period returned for the
annual elections of public officers.

The project for a convention of the States, to revise the
state of the Union, originated with Virginia, in January
1786, and had its first conception at Mount Vernon, from
the lips of Washington himself, whose paternal solicitude
for his country was excited to the highest pitch, by the
breach of the public faith in the matter of the national debt
— the general embarrassments of the country — the confusion
of political principles, and sovereign powers — and last, but
not least, the virulence and rage of party conflicts, and jar-
ring doctrines of tolerant liberty and inflexible justice.

To which of these parties '\\'ashington belonged will be
seen from an extract from his Letter to the Governors of
the States, already adverted to; and which will, at the same
time, display the causes of their difference, as above detailed
by Marshall. He says " The ability of the country to dis-
charge the debts which have been incurred in its defence, is
not to be doubted; an inclination, 1 ffatter myself, will not
be wanting. The path of our duty is plain before us. Ho-

94 THE LIFE OF

nestj will be found, on every experiment, to be the best,
and only true policy. Let us, then, as a nation, be just;
let us fulfil the public contracts which Congress had un-
doubtedly a right to make, for the purpose of carrying on
the war, with the same good faith we suppose ourselves
bound to perform our private engagements. In the mean
time, let an attention to the cheerful performance of their
proper business as individuals, and as members of society,
be earnestly inculcated on the citizens of America. Then
will they strengthen the hands of government^ and be happy
under its protection. Every one will yield the fruit of his
labours — every one will enjoy his own acquisitions without
molestation, and without danger." If these views were
correct, still much allowance ought to be made for those
who opposed them, when it is considered how recently the
People had escaped from the oppressive yoke of Britain?
and that the power of taxation, and an absolute govern-
ment, had been the cause of their disruption from the crown
of England. It was a pardonable error, if an error, to lean
on the s de of right, liberty, and ease, in preference to tax-
ation, energetic authority, and voluntary impoverishment.
But this will more fully appear as we proceed in the history
of the great father of his country.

It having been settled that the Convention should meet
in Annapolis, in the month of September, 1786, public
attention was excited to an intense degree, in everv section
of the Union, upon t!.e subject of its deliberations. Among
others, Washington stood prominent for the boldness of his
sentiments, and the magnitude of the powers to be vested
in the Federal Union. In reply to a letter from Mr. Jay^
he thus expresses himself: — "'Your sentiments that our
aiFairs are drawing rapidly to a crisis, accord with my own.
What the event will be is also beyond the reach of my
foresight. We have errors to correct; we have probably
had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our
confederation. Experience has taught us that men will not
adopt and carry into execution measures the best calculated
for their own good, without the intervention q/" coercive
POWER. I do not conceive we can exist lons" as a nation,
without lodging somewhere a power which ivill pervade the
whole Union in as energetic a manner as the authority of
the State governments extends over the several States. To
be fearful of investing Congress, constituted as that body

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 95.

is, with ample authorities for national purposes, appears
to me the very climax of popular absurditj, and madness.
Could Congress exert them for the detriment of the people,
without injuring themselves in an equal or greater propor-
tion? Are not their interests inseparably connected with
those of their constituents ?*' &c. ^' Many are of opinion
that Congress have too frequently made use' of the suppliant
humble tone of requisition in applications to the States,
whe?i they had a right to assert their imperial dignity,
and COMMAND obedience. Be that as it may, requisitions
are a perfect nullity, where thirteen sovereign, independent
disunited States, are in the habit of discussing, and refusing
or complying with them at their option. Requisitions are
actually little better than a jest and a bye-word throughout
the land. If you tell the Legislatures they have violated
the treaty of peace, and invaded the prerogatives of the
confederacy, they will laugh in your face. What then is
to be done ? Things cannot go on in the same train forever.
It is much to be feared, as you observe, that the better kind
of people, being disgusted with these circumstances, will
have their minds prepared for any revolution whatever.
We are apt to run from one extreme into another. To
anticipate and prevent disastrous contingencies, would be
the part of wisdom and patriotism.*'

In the succeeding extract, we behold one of the most
astonishing proofs of his ardent love of liberty, that reason
could induce us to look for, or imagination realise in its
wildest visions of human perfection; and which stamps him
as inferior to none of the great champions of equal rights
and human liberty.

*' What astonishino; chano-es a few years are capable of
producing! I am told, that even respectable characters
speak of a monarchical form of government without horror.
From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting, is often
but a single step. But how irrevocable and tremendous!
what a triumph for our enemies to verify their predictions!
what a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that
we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems
founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal
and fallacious! Would to God that wise measures may be
taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too
much reason to apprehend.

*' Retired as I am from the world, I frankly acknowledge

96 THE LIFE OF

I cannot feel myself an unconcerned spectator. Yet, hav-
ing happily assisted in bringing the ship into port, and
having been fairly discharged, it is not my business to em-
bark again on a sea of troubles.

" Nor could it be expected that my sentiments and opi-
nions would have much weight on the minds of my coun-
trymen. They have been neglected, though given as a last
legacy in the most solemn manner, I had then, perhaps,
some claims to public attention. I consider myself as
havinj^ none at present."

In this last sentiment, the father of his countrv under-
rated his own weight of character, and undervalued the
sao-acity and virtue of the people to appreciate his opinions,
and pay deference to his judgment. Like all great minds,
he was too precipitate in pronouncing judgment on his own
weight of reputation, and, because the people would not im-
mediately and implicitly adopt his views, he hastened to
the unjust conclusion, tiiat he was neglected, and that the
public no longer esteemed the edicts of his genius, or the
suggestion of his patriotism.

The Convention to revise the federal o-overnment beinat
assembled at Annapolis, it was found that five States only
had deputed commissioners — New York, Nevv Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Mr*
Dickerson being appointed president, they proceeded to the
discussion of the object of their meeting, but finding their
powers too limited to arrive at any profitable results, and
that a minority of the States only were represented, they
resolved to adjourn without any final action on the subject;
having agreed to submit reports to their respective States,
representing the expediency of revising and extending the
federal system; for which purpose they recommended the
appointment of deputies by the State Legislatures, to meet
in Convention in the cltv of Philadelphia, on the 2d of
May, 1787.

The Legislature of Virginia., in conformity to this re-
commendation, passed an act for the appointment of depu-
ties, to assemble in convention at Philadelphia, for the pur-
poses specified in the report of the Convention at Annapolis.

Against his wishes, and in opposition to his remon-
strances, Virginia placed Washington at the head of her
deputation to the federal convention, for reasons which Mr.
Madison thus detailed in a letter addressed to him: '* It

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 97

has been thought advisable to give this subject a very so-
lemn dress, and all the weioht which could be derived from
a single State. This idea will also be pursued in the se-
lection of characters to represent Virginia in the federal
convention. You will infer our earnestness on tliis point,
from the liberty which will be used of placing your name at
the head of them. How far this liberty may correspond
with the ideas by which you ought to be governed, will be
best decided where it must ultimately be decided. In
everv event it will assist powerfully in marking the zeal of
our legislature, and its opinion of the magnitude of the
occasion." This appointment, so flattering to the pride of
AVashinjrton, and so important to the country, he subse-
quently accepted, after many arguments and objections, all
of which, however, were wholly detached from the merits
of the question, or the principles involved in it.

It was certainly a spectacle of a novel character, to be-
hold the eyes of all men turned towards AVashington, in
this civil crisis of the republic, to take a lead in the Con-
vention, that was to revise and permanently settle the con-
stitution of the United States. It was the more singular,
from the fact, that his education was not scholastic, nor his
studies in the civil or national law such as to qualify liim to
take a seat on equal grounds with such profound scholars
and jurists, as Madison, Franklin, Adams, Jeffersok,
and others. Yet such was the fact, that the genius of
Washington, combined with good sense, practical know-
ledo-e, and much experience, had qualified him for this task
in a very eminent manner, and had even rendered hira
superior,* in some respects, to those who were most pre-
eminently qualified, in a mechanical sense, to discharge
the dutie's of the important tasks assigned them.

The fact, however, cannot be concealed, that Washing-
ton had been in reality, the President of the United States,
during the whole period of his military command — Congress
having alwavs acted by his promptings, or under his coun-
sel an^ advice; so that his perpetual contact with the civd
authority, and his influence over its deliberations, invested
him with power, even greater than that of a Roman Dicta-
tor; while it excited his mind to a perpetual investigation
of all those great principles, which enter into the formation
of government, not as a theory, but a practical system^
whei-e the means proposed were to be chosen directly m

I

9S THE IIFE or

reference to the ends proposed to be attained. It is as a prac-
tical statesman, that we are to consider Washington — one
who derived his knowledge from experience and observa-
tion, and who paid as little regard to abstract principles, or
scientific deductions, in devising the means adapted to salu-
tary ends, as he felt disposed to regard with indifference,
the study of systems, and the forms of shadows, wiien the
substance stood before him, ready to be grasped, and pre-
pared for all the uses of beneficial application to the go-
vernment and happiness of mankind.

Insurrections having broken out in Massachusetts, in alt
the forms of ultra democracy, inimical alike to liberty, law,
property, peace, and the personal safety of the citizen,
Washington experienced all the anxiety and solicitude of a
fond father, for the menaced fate of his beloved countrvi
and in a letter to his friend. Colonel Humphries, he thus
poured forth his feelings, and expressed his fears. "For
God's sake, tell me," said he, "what is the cause of all
these commotions.? do they proceed from licentiousness,
British influence disseminated by the tories, or real griev-
ances which admit of redress.? If the latter, why was re-
dress delayed until the public mind had become so much
agitated.? If the former, why are not the powers of govern-
ment tried at once? It is as well to be without, as not to
exercise them. Commotions of this sort, like snow -balls,
gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the
way to divide and crumble them."

In answer to this, the Colonel thus describes the causers
of the tumults: *' I believe there are a few real grievances;
and also some wicked ao;ents, or emissaries, who have been
busy in magnifying the positive evils, and fomenting cause-
less jealousies and disturbances. But it rather appears to
me, that there is a licentious spirit prevailing among many
of the people; a levelling principle; a desire of change; and
a wish to annihilate all debts, public and privates-
General Knox assigned the same causes to Washington,
to explain the eastern insurrections: " The insurgents," he
said, " were chiefly of the young and active part of the
community, who were more easily collected than kept to-
gether. Desperate and unprincipled, they would probably
commit overt acts of treason," &c. " It is indeed, a fact,"
he observed, "that high taxes are the ostensible cause of
the commotion; but that they are the real cause is as fai'

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 99

remote from truth, as light is from darkness. The people
who are the insurgents, have never paid any, or but very
little taxes. But they see the weakness of government.
They feel at once their own poverty^ compared with the opu-
lent, and their own force; and they are determined to make
use of the latter, in order to remedy the former. Their
creed is, that the property of the United States has been
protected from confiscation by the joint exertions of cdl, and
therefore ought to be common to all. And he that attempts
opposition to this creed, is an enemy to equity and justice,
ami ought to be swept from the face of the earthP

Such were the representations that were made to Wash-
ington, of the piratical character of the American people^ by
those high-toned officers of the army, M'ho had access to his
ear. »Such representations, whether too highly coloured, or
but faithful pictures of the real state of the popular mind in
New England, could not fail to make a deep and painful
impression on the mind of Washington^ and to impregnate
him with the idea, that the entire democracy of the Union
was about to apply the hand of pillage to the fortunes of the
opulent, and the sword of assassination to the throats of the
virtuous. That his idea of the evil had been extravagantly
exaggerated by these accounts, appears from some parts of
his reply to the letter last quoted. " I feel, my dear Ge-
neral Knox," says Washington, " infinitely more than I
can express to you, for the disorders which have arisen in
these States. Good God! who, besides a tory, could have
foreseen, or a Briton have predicted them? I dt) assure
you, that even at this moment, when I reflect upon the pre-
sent aspect of our attairs, it seems to me like the visions of
a dream. My mind can scarcely realise it as a thing in
actual existence — so strange, so wonderful does it appear
to me. In this, as in most other matters, we are too slow.
When this spirit first dawned, it might probably have been
easily checked^ but it is scarcely within the reach of human
ken, at this moment, to say when, where, or how it vn\\
terminate. There are combustibles in every State, to ivhich
a spark might setfre.^^

Colonel Lee, a member of Congress, havino; addressed
Washington a letter on the same subject, invoking him to
throw the influence and weight of his personal character in
the scale opposed to this seditious movement, the General
answered him in a strain so decidedly in favour of the

100 THE LIFE OF

prompt application of coercive measures on the part of the
Union, that it deserves to be quoted, as well for its illus-
tration of his energetic character, as for its analogy to re-
cent movements in the Southern States; and which may
excite regret in some, and exultation in others, that he
could exhort to so severe, but so just an application of the
remedy oi force. Still, every opinion he utters is the opi-
nion of a patriot, a sage, and a statesman, and are every
way wortliy of his genius and his fame.

''You talk, my good Sir," he writes in his answer to
Colonel Lee, "of employing influence to appease the pre-
sent tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that
influence is to be found; nor, if attainable, that it would be
a proper remedy for these disorders. Influence is not go-
vernment. Let us have a government, by which our lives,
liberties and properties will be secured; or let us know the
worst at once. Under these impressions my humble opi-
nion is, that there is a call for decision. Know precisely
what the insurgents aim at. If they have real grievances,
redress them if possible, or acknowledge the justice of them,
and your inability to do it in the present moment. If they
have not, employ the force of government against them at
once. If this is inadequate, all will be convinced that the
superstructure is bad, or wants support."

'* These are my sentimtnts. Precedents are dangerous
things. Let the reins of government then be braced, and
held with a steady hand, and every violation of the Consti-
tution he reprehended. If defective^ let it be amended., but
not suffered to be trampled upon while it has an existence."

As I consider the developement of the feelings and opi-
nions of Washington upon this insurrection, to constitute
the most important part of his life, as well as affording to
the people of the United States, a solemn and instructive
lesson against the evils of anarchy, and the calamities of
disunion, I shall pursue the subject to its close, as I feel
bound to make a solemn appeal to every American, to re-
ceive the admonitions of Washington, as a political father,
whose sole care was the freedom and happiness of this peo-
ple, and whose only aim was the untarnished glory and fame
of our common country.

His friend, Colonel Humphries, now addressed him a let-
ter, in which he thus expressed himself in relation to the
delicate and critical attitude of Washino-ton. " In case of

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 101

civil discord, I have already told you, it was seriously my
opinion, that you could not remain neuter; and that you
would be obliged, in self-defence, to take part on one side
or the other, or withdraw from the continent. Your friends
are of the same opinion; and I believe you are convinced,
that it is impossible to have more disinterested or zealous
friends, than those who have been about jour person.*'

In his reply, tlie General said, and his sentiments deserve
to be indelibly engraved upon every heart — "It is with
the deepest and most heartfelt concern, I perceive by some
late paragraphs extracted from the Boston papers, that the
Insurgents of Massachusetts, far from being satisfied with
the redress offered by their general court, are still acting in
open violation of law and government, and have oblio:ed the
chief magistrate, in a decided tone, to call upon the militia
of the State, to support the constitution. AVhat, gracious
God! is man, that there should be such inconsistency and
perfidiousness in his conduct. It is but the other day that
we were shedding our blood to obtain the constitutions un-
der which we now live — constitutions of our own choice
and making; and now, we are unsheathing the sword to
overturn them. The thing is so unaccountable, that I
hardly know how to realise it, or to persuade myself that
I am not under the illusion of a dream."

Happily for AVashington, the insurrection was quelled by
a small force of the Boston militia, with little loss of lives,
and in the course of a few days. But its influence on the
approaching measures of the Federal Convention, was very
o;reat, as it inclined public opinion to strengtlien and en-
large the powers of the Union.

The suspicion that "Washington favoured a resort to
FORCE, or military power, in preference to enlarging the
authority of the Union, by a Convention of the Sfates,
havino; been propagated to his disadvantage. General Knox,
who before had dissuaded him from attending as a delegate,
now changed his opinion, and exhorted Mm to accept the
appointment of his native State. Knox, in his letter says:
'•« Were vou not to attend the Convention, slander and ma-
lice might suggest, that force would be the most agreeable
mode of reform to you. When civil commotion rages, no
purity of character, no services however exalted, can afford
a secure shield from the shafts of calumny."

" On the other hand, the unbounded confidence the people

12

102 THE LIFE OF

hav« in your tried patriotism and wisdom, would exceed-
ingly facilitate the adoption of any important alterations
that might be proposed by a Convention of which you were
a member, and (as I before hinted) the President:^

The Convention now met at Philadelphia, the represen-
tatives from twelve States, having presented themselves,
Rh<)de Island only having been averse to the scheme.
Washixgton having been unanimously chosen President,
thev immediately, with closed doors, began to prosecute the
great and important subject of their congregation.

On the irth of September, 1787, the Coxvextiox was
proclaimed to the people, accompanied by a resolution, that
the fruit of their labours should be ' laid before the United
States in Congress assembled,-' and should afterwards be
submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each
State bv the people thereof, under the recommendation of
its Legislature, for their assent and ratification — its ratifi-
cation by nine States being required as the condition of its
goino; into operation.

The Constitution, thus framed, was transmitted by
Washington to Cono-ress, in a letter written bv him, in
which it was said to be " the result of a spirit ot amity, and
of that mutual deference and concession, which the peculi-
arity of their political situation rendered indispensable.*'
*' That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every
State," he continued, ''is not, perhaps, to be expected j
but each will doubtless consider, \\\dit\\2iA her interests bee ji
idone consulted, the consequences might have been, particu-
larly disagreeable or injurious to others. That it is liable
to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been ex-
pected, we hope and believej that it may promote the last-
ing welfare of that country so dear to i\5 all, and secure her
freedom and happiness, is our most ardent wish.'*

It may safely be alleged, when we consider the vast dis-
parity of views, discrepancy of principles, and discordancy
of feelincr, wliich prevailed in the convention, that its adop-
tion was chiefly owing to the personal influence and politi-
cal weio;ht of character which, on the score of wisdom,
purity, and patriotism, attached to the presence of Wash-
ington^ who, soaring above all imputation of party, or
undue bias, reposed on the broad doctrines of national hap-
piness, political liberty, and united independence. This
idea is fortified and confirmed by the strenuous opposition

GEORGE WASHINGTON'. 103

made to it by those wlio constituted the democratic pha-
lanx, and who advocated the unimpaired sovereignty of the
States, and a constitution based on the principle of a Union
of Independent Nations, in each of whom the sovereign
power should reside without abatement or deduction. Bv
these, the apprehension was cherished, that the cradle of
the federal constitution would prove ' the o^rave of repub-
lican liberty.' Delusion and fallacy could extend no further.

It was mainly on tliis ground of ' State Sovereignty.,^
tliat the constitution reported by the convention, was op-
posed on the part of some of the States; and that parties,
arraved ao-ainst federal pov/er, entered warnilv into the
discussion of its merits, in the interim between its promul-
gation by the convention, and its ratification bv the States.
To elucidate its merits, and enforce and illustrate its vir-
tues, three of the most disting-uished friends of "Washing;-
ton, noted for their political acumen, profound knowledge
of jurisprudence, power of argument, and force of style,
united their labours, in a series of papers, under the title of
the "Federalist;" the joint production of Alexander
Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison; whilst, on the
side of State sovereignty, popular riglits, and limited go-
vernment, were arrayed the powerful pens of the great
champions of democracy: each party straining every nerve
to prevent, or secure its ratification by the States.

Here, ag-ain. the weigrht and influence of TVashinsctoji^s
character secured a result, which, without the authority of
his name, and the magic power of his virtues, could not
have been produced; for there is conclusive reason to be-
lieve, that had the State Conventions been left purely to the
naked merits of the Constitution, the ratification by the
number of States recjuired to g;ive it eftect, could not have
been obtained. Even Marshall is constrained to admit, that
in some of the adopting States, a majority of the people
were in opposition to it, and were only brought to acquiesce
in its provisions, from a just dread of the calamitous conse-
quences of a dismemberment of the Union, rather than from
an approbation of the instrument which had been submitted
for their sanction; and from a deference to the character
of Washington, which no other man could have inspired.

The parties that divided on this momentous question,
never afterwards reunited. The controversv was wag:ed
with warmth, and, in some cases, conducted with acrimony;

104 THE LIFE OF

but where feelings were not embittereti. convictions became
only more strengthened by opposition; and the causes of
difference, residing in a radical disparily of condition and
fortune, or an equally insuperable inequality of views, in-
tellect and reason; the minority, though vanquished, still
remained unconvinced; and, holding v, ith all the tejiacity of
right, to opinions whicli they conceived founded in justice,
and sanctified by liberty, they waited in patience, to fight
over the same battle on another field; resolved never to re-
linquish that sovereigjity of the States, which they deemed
essential to freedom, but to vindicate their opinions by
concentrating the suffrages of the people upon those candi-
dates, who would favour anti-federal doctrines, and thus
eft'ectually nullify a constitution in practice, which they
wanted moral force to resist in theory. Thus became per-
petuated those embittered feuds of the two parties, denomi-
nated Federal and Democratic: one clingino;. under the
guarantee of the constitution, to the supreme pov/er of the
Union, and the other tenaciously contending for a relaxed
government and State sovereignty, by popular appeals to the
people, and a rally of democracy at the polls.

Although every American must always bow with reve-
rence before this monument of human wisdom, and rational
liberty, yet, while we admire the beauty of its structure,
the harmony of its parts, and the grandeur of the whole
edifice, we may be permitted to lament, that its framers
should have omitted to devise so essential a part of its or-
ganisation, as a TRIBUNAL explicitly as well as fully author-
ised and empowered to decide, in the last resort, on c|ues-
tions of doubtful powers exercised by the Union and the
States; and without which final power in some tribunal, the
States and the Union have been left to be the interested
judges of the extent of their respective rights, powers, and
sovereignties. This organic defect is the more to be de-
plored, as no occasion happened during the administration
of AVashington, to enable him to give the weight of his tes-
timony on so fundamental a question: the western insurrec-
tion not being an analogous case, but a mere oppugnation
of individuals to laws acknowledged on all hands to Idc con-
siitutionally enactuL * The great defect of the constitution

* This is admitted by Mr. Jefferson himself! See Letter to Madi-
son, quoted in Life of Jefferson.

GEORGE WASHIN'GTON. 105

being, that when a power exercised by the federal govern-
ment is denied to be authorised by that instrument, by a
sovereign State, there is no tribunal to which to appeal, to
settle the controversy — the functions of the Supreme Court
only extending to laws made ix pursuance of the constitu-
tion; thus leaving the States to decide in Convention,
against laws, which may not be clearly and fully warranted
by the letter of the federal compact. Some consolation for
this omission, however, is to be found in the fact, that the
number of such unauthorised laws must ever be rare, whilst
the people remain virtuous, their rulers honest, and the
press free and untrammelled.

Eleven states having ratified tiie constitution in 1788,
measures were put in preparation to carry its provisions
into effect. North Carolina and Rhode Island dissented,
and New York reluctantly concurred.

It is impossible to doubt, that we are indebted to the
great virtues, and unequalled popularity of Washington,
for the formation, as well as the ratification of the federal

CONSTITUTIOX.

Under a conviction of this fact, no sooner was the new
political system about to be arranged into practice, than
public attention became rivetted to Washington, as the
first President of the United States. His valour, wisdom,
prudence, and virtues, had achieved our independence,
when, without him, it must, in all probability, have failed.
His wisdom, perseverance, patriotism, and infiuence, had
secured us a national constitution, when, v/ithout him,
w^e should have broken into fragments, and sunk into anar-
chy and confusion: and it was but a just and rational de-
duction from these premises, that he alone, so pre-eminent
for his virtues, and so distinguished for his triumphs, both
civic and military, could be placed in the chair without
exciting the clamour of party, or giving birth to the invidi-
ousness of envy; for, to no party, but to that of his country,
did he belong? and whatever" difterences might prevail
among the people, or the leaders, it never impaired the un-
bounded confidence of the former in his patriotism, or pro-
voked the malice of the latter, to question his motives: and,
such a president was demanded as well by the friends as
by the opponents of the new system, that its excellences
might be developed with his skill and firmness, or its de-
fects, if any, arrested and supplied by his wisdom, mode-
ration, and virtue.

106

THE LIFE OF

Anotlier consideration of great and potent weight, like-
wise pointed to him, on this occasion, as the individual best
qualified to carry into practice, the untried provisions of
the new constitution: and this was, his intimacy with the
designs, intentions, and meaning of tlie convention that
formed it; and which his official situation as President of it,
enabled him so fully to understand, and qualified him so
admirably to administer, in his favourite branch of practi-
cal jurisprudence. Other considerations, too, had their
weight, which were not easily defined, or specially referable
to any one peculiar trait of his gigantic character, but
which arose from the general grandeur of his lofty and tow-
ering virtues, which soared above all the common features
of human frailty; and which pointed to him, with instinc-
tive judgment, such as we feel towards the colossal statues
of the gods, as the best qualified to control the destinies of
mankind. Universal veneration, universal love, universal
confidence, the feelin«»;s, the judgment, and the wisdom of
men, all pointed to Washington, the untutored hero of the
new world, as the first who should exercise the power of
President of the United States,

Having avowed his determination no longer to endure the
cares of public life, the first eft'ort of his friends, was to
wean him from his retirement, and persuade him to com-
plete the splendid work which he had thus far perfected —
the FouxDATiox OF THE REPUBLIC ! For tlus purpose, those
who stood highest in his esteem, and possessed the most
influence over his mind, importuned him yet to sacrifice
for the public good, and the glory of his country. His
friend, Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, thus p^ddressed him:
*' We cannot do wdthout you, and I, and thousands more,
can exnlain to anv bodv but yourself^ why we cannot do
without you." Governeur Morris wrote: "I liave ever
thought, and have ever said, that you must be the Presi-
dent; no other man can fill that ofiice. No other man can
draw forth the abilities of our country into the various de-
partments of civil life. You, alone, can awe the insolence
of opposing factions, and the greater insolence of assuming
adherents. I say nothing of foreign powers, nor of their
ministers; with these last you will have some plague. As
to your feelings on this • occasion, they are, I know, both
deep and affecting; you embark property most precious, on
a most tempestuous ocean: for, as you possess the highest

GEORGE WASHINGTOK. 107

reputation, so you expose it to the perilous chance of popu-
lar opinion. On the other hand, you will, I firmly expect,
enjoy the inexhaustible felicity of contributing to the hap-
piness of all your countrymen. You v.ill become the father
of more than three millions of children; and wliile your
bosom glows with parental tenderness, in theirs, or at
least in a majority of them, you will excite the dutious
sentiment of filiaf affection. 'This, I repeat it, is what I
firmly expect: and my yiews are not directed by that en-
thusiasm which vour public character has impressed on the
public mind. Enthusiasm is generally short-sighted, and
too often blind. I form my conclusions from those talents
and yirtues which the world believes, and which your friends
knoiv you possess."

Other and stronger letters from his friends in different
sections of the Union, pressed him to the same point,: and,
anions; other reasons urged by his friend Colonel Lee. was
the apprehension, that the rally of the enemies of the con-
stitution, making in the seyeral States, in opposition to the
new system, would certainly proye but too successful,
were any other less popular character placed in the Presi-
dential chair.

In his reply to the letter of Colonel Lee, General Wash-
ington obseryed, "Your obseryations on the solemnity of
the crisis, and its application to myself, bring before me
subjects of the most momentous and interesting nature. In
our endeayours to establish a new general goyernment. the
contest, nationally considered, seems not lo haye been so
much for o;lory as existence. It was for a longtime doubt-
ful whether we were to suryiye as an independent republic,
or decline from our federal dignity into insignificant ami
wretched fragments of empire. The adoption of the consti-
tution so extensiyely, and \Wth so liberal an acquiescence
on the part of the minorities in general, promised the for-
mer; but lately the circular letter of New York has mani-
fested, in my apprehension, an unfayourable. if not an insi-
dious tendency, to a contrary policy. I still hope for the
best; but before you mentioned it, I could not help fearing
it would serye as a standard to which the disaffected might
resort. It is now eyidently the part of all honest men.
who are friends to the new constitution, to endeayour to
giye it a chance to disclose its merits and defects, by carry-
ing it fairly into effect, in the first instance.

1U8 THE LIFE OF

*' The principal topic of your letter is, to me, a point of
great delicacy indeed, insomuch that I can scarcely, without
some impropriety, toucli upon it. In the first place, the
eyent to which you allude, may never happen, among other
reasons, because, if the partiality of my fellow citizens con-
ceive it to be a mean by which the sinews of the new go-
vernment would be strengthened, it will, of consecjuence,
be obnoxious to those who are in opposition to it, many of
whom, unquestionably, will be placed among the electors.

''This consideration alone would supersede the expe-
diency of announcing any definitive and irrevocable reso-
lution. You are among the small number of those who
know my invincible attachment to domestic life, and that
my sincerest wish is to continue in the enjoyment of it solely
until my final hour. But the world would be neither so
v/ell instructed, nor so candidly disposed, as to believe me
to be uninfluenced by sinister motives in case any circum-
stance should render a deviation from the line of conduct I
had prescribed for myself indispensable. Should the con-
tingency you sugo;est take place, and (for aro;ument sake
alone let me say) should my unfeigned reluctance to accept
the office be overcome by a deference for the reasons and
opinions of my friends, might I not, after the declarations
I have made, (and heaven knows they were made in the
sincerity of my heart,) in the judgment of the impartial
world, and of posterity, be chargeable with levity and in-
consistency, if not with rashness and ambition } Nay, far-
ther, would there not even be some apparent foundation
for the two former charges ? Now, justice to myself, and
tranquillity of conscience require that I should act a part,
if not above imputation, at legist capable of vindication. Nor
will you conceive me to be too solicitous foi" reputation.
Though I prize as I ought the good opinion of my fellow
citizens, yet, if I know myself, I would not seek or retain
popularity at the expense of one social duty, or moral vir-
tue. AVhile doing what my conscience informed me was
right, as it respected my God, my country, and myself, I
could despise all the party clamour and unjust censure
nhich must be expected from some whose personal enmity
might be occasioned by their hostility to the government.
I am conscious that I fear alone to give any real occasion
for obloquy, and that I do not dread to meet with unme-
rited reproach. And, certain I am, whensoever I shall be

GEORGE WASHINGTOV. 109

convinced the good of my country requires my reputation
to be put in risque, regard for my own fame will not come
in competition with an object of so much magnitude."

*• If I declined the task, it would be upon quite another
principle. Notwithstanding my advanced season of life,
my increasing fondness for agricultural amusements, and
my growing love of retirement, augment and confirm my
decided predilection for the character of a private citizen,
yet, it will be no one of these motives, nor the hazard to
which my former reputation might be exposed, or the terror
of encounterino; new fatiijues and troubles, that would deter
me from an acceptance; but, that a belief that some other
person, who had less pretence, and less inclination to be
excused, could execute all the duties full as satisfactorily
as myself. To say more, would be indiscreet, as a disclo-
sure of a refusal beforehand, might incur the application of
the fable, in which the fox is represented as undervaluing
the grapes he could not reach. You will perceive, my dear
Sir, by what is here observed (and which you will be pleased
to consider in the light of a confidential communication)
that my inclinations will dispose and decide me to remain
as I am, unless a clear and insurmountable conviction
should be impressed on my mind, that some very disagree-
able consequences must, in all human probability, result
from the indulgence of my wishes."

His friend. Colonel Hamilton, having joined in a similar
solicitation, Washington responded in the same manner,
repeating the sentiments that he had uttered to Mr. Morris.

In answer to a letter from General Lincoln, on the same
subject, he thus expressed himself, in language so earnest,
and feeling so intense, as to leave no room for a suspicion,
that he sincerely desired to escape further honours, and
repose amidst the tranquil shades of his plantation. '' I
would willingly pass over in silence, that part of your let-
ter, in which you mention the persons who are candidates
for the two first offices in the executive, if I did not fear
the omission might seem to betray a v/ant of confidence.
Motives of delicacy have prevented me hitherto from con-
versing, or writing on this subject, whenever I could avoid
it with decency. I may, however, with great sincerity,
and, I believe, without offending against modesty, or pro-
priety, say to you, that I most heartily wish the choice to
which you allude, might not fall upon me, and that if it

JV

110 THE LIFE OF

should, I must reserve to myself the right of making up my
final decision, at the last moment, when it can be brought
into one view, and when the expediency or inexpediency of
a refusal can be more judiciously determined than at pre-
sent. But, be assured, my dear Sir, if, from any induce-
ment, I shall be persuaded ultimately to accept, it will not
be (so far as I know^ my own heart) from any of a private
or personal nature. Every personal consideration conspires
to rivet me (if I may use the expression) to retirement. At
my time of life,* and under my circumstances, nothing in
this M'orld can ever draw me from it, unless it be a convic-
tioni\\2ii the partiality of my countrymen had made my ser-
vices absolutely necessary, joined to a/<?«r that my refusal
might induce a belief that I preferred the conservation of
my own reputation and private ease to the good of my coun-
try. After all, if I should conceive myself in a manner
constrained to accept, I call heaven to witness, that this very
act would be the greatest sacrifice of my personal feelings
and wishes, that ever I have been called upon to make. It
would be to forego repose and domestic enjoyment for
trouble, perhaps for public obloquy: for, I should consider
myself as enterino; upon an unexplored field enveloped on
every side with clouds and darkness.

"From this embarrassing situation, I had naturally sup-
posed, that my declarations at the close of the war would
have saved me; and, that my sincere intentions, then pub-
licly made known, would have eftectually precluded me
forever afterwards, from being looked upon as a candidate
for any office. This hope, as a last anchor of worldly hap-
piness in old age, I had still carefully preserved, until the
public papers and private letters from my correspondents
in almost every quarter, taught me to apprehend that I
might soon be obliged to answer the question, whether I
would go again into public life or not?"

In his answer to an epistle from Lafayette, pressing him
to the same point, he repeats tlie same sentiments, with this
addition: "Nothing short of a conviction of duty will in-
duce me again to take an active part in public affairs. And,
in that case, if I can form a plan for my own conduct, my
endeavours shall be unremitting-lv exerted (even at the
hazard of former fame or present popularity) to extricate my

* Only 57!!!

GEORGE WASHINGTON. Ill

country from the embarrassments in ^hich it is entano-led,
through want of credit; and to establish a general system of
policy, which, if pursued, will ensure permanent felicity to
the commonwealth. I think I see a path, as clear and as
direct as a ray of light, which leads to the attainment of that
object. Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and
FRUGALITY, are necessary to make us a great and happy
people. Happily, the present posture of affairs, and the
prevailing disposition of my countrymen, promise to co-
operate in establishing those four great and essential pillars
of public felicit}'.*'

At length, the elections for Electors of President and
Vice-President, under the new constitution, took place: and
on the 6th of April, 1789, the votes were opened, and
counted in the >Senate, when it appeared, that George
^Vashington was unanimously elected President of the
United States by the people, and John Adams Vice-Presi-
dent, to serve for four years from the 4th of March, 1789.

When we consider the animosity of parties, the great
proportion of the people who were already arrayed under
the banners of the anti-federalists, and the violent efforts
whicli were made to depress the first movement of the new-
constitution, it will excite some surprise, that even the
great popular weight of Washington's character, should
have frowned down all opposition to him: and that the
people of so immense and diversified a tract of country,
should have united without a dissentins; voice anion » the
electors, in conferring upon him the supreme executive
power of the Union I

As affording some evidence of the reluctance with which
he consented to assume this new dignity, and as illustrative
of that modesty and diffidence which were natural to his
great mind. I shall quote an extract from one of liis letters
to General Knox, upon the subject of his elevation to office.
"■ I feel for those members of the new Congress, who, hith-
erto, have given an unavailing attendance at the theatre of
action. For myself, the delay may be compared to a re-
prieve; for, in confidence, I tell you (with the world it
would obtain little credit) that my movements to the chair
of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike
those of a culprit who is goino; to the place of his execution;
so unwilling am I in the evening of life, nearly consumed
in publij: c.ares4 to quit a peaceful abode for an ocean of

112 THE LIFE OF

difficulties, ivithout that comj)etency of political skill, abili-
ties, and inclinations, which are necessary to manage the
helm. I am sensible that I am embarking the voice of the
people, and a good name of mv own on this voyage; but
what returns will be made for them. Heaven alone can fore-
tell. Integrity and firmness are all I can promise; these,
be the vovao;e long; or short, shall never forsake me, althoug-h
I mav be deserted bv all men: for, of the consolations which
are to be derived from these, under any circumstances, the
world cannot deprive me."

His election was announced to him at Mount Yernon, on
the 14th of April, 1789, by Charles Thompson, Secretary of
the late Congress; and two days after, he set out to assume
the duties of government, accompanied by Mr. Thompson
and Colonel Humphreys. In his diary, he has thus de-
scribed his feelings upon this eventful occasion: "^ About
ten o'clock, I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life,
and to domestic felicity, and, ivith a mind oppressed U'ith
more anxious and painful sensations than I have tvords to
express, set out for Xew York, in company u'ith Mr. Thomp-
son, and Colonel Humphreys, with the best dispositions to
render service to my country, in obedience to its call, but
ivith less hope of answering its expectations.^^

AVith every disposition to appreciate the merit of the sa-
crifice which Washington, on this occasion, made of his
private ease to his public duty, I must confess that the en-
comiums which have been so profusely lavished upon this
act of his life, do not seem fully warranted by the real
nature of the case. Whatever may have been his motives,
and we acknowledge them to have been both lofty and pure,
still, as it must be considered as the crowning act of his
glory, which was to consummate his fame, and hand him
down to posterity, equal, if not superior, to Solon, Lycurgus,
Alfred, and Constantine, as the founder, of an empire, and
the father of his country, the sacrifice was not so great, on
a final, as an immediate view of it. A laudable and virtuous
ambition was to be gratified, by the greatest acc|uisition of
vast and unboundecl renown. Heretofore, the fame of a
soldier had glittered on his brow, and wreathed his helmet
with imperishable laurels; but the reputation of the States-
man had not been his; and although the labour and peril of
carrying out into practice the new features of an untried
government were great, yet the credit and glory of success.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 113

ivere proportionablj enhanced, and promised the greatest
reward, in the applause and aftection of unborn millions,
to which human virtue ever could attain. At the same time,
we are bound to believe, that his reluctance to undertake
the arduous task was sincere; and that his diffidence in his
ability to perform it, was the unaffected effusion of a modest
and upright heart, and a mind too great not to be humble.
On his way to New York, various public marks of respect
and affection, strewed his path with flowers, and solaced
him for his sacrifice of privacy to the public weal. A vo-
lunteer escort conducted him into Alexandria, where a pub-
lic dinner was prepared to greet him, and where an address,
replete with just encomium and sincere attachment, was
presented, to which he responded with his characteristic
modesty. At Georgetown, the same testimonial of public
confidence awaited him; and at Philadelphia, the splendour
of his reception partook of the pomp of a Roman triumph,
and the magnificence of a modern coronation. The city was
illuminated, and its streets thronged with a dense mass of
people, who had been attracted from all the surrounding
country. At Trenton, the same demonstration of a nation's
joy and pride, surrounded him with honours that he blushed
to receive, and would fain have dispensed with: but the sex
best beloved by man, stood in his path to do homage to the
patriot, strewing his way with flowers, and twining his
brows with laurel. On the bridge over which he passed, a
triumphant arch was erected, embellished with laurels, and
adorned with festoons of flowers, supported by thirteen
PILLARS, each entwined with wreaths of undying verdure;
while on the front of the arch was emblazoned, in golden
letters, this inscription;

" the defender of the mothers

will be the

protector of the daughters,"

besides various devices and dates, illustrative of his vir-
tues, or commemorative of his victories. Here he was met
by a procession of matrons, leading their daughters dressed
in white garments, who, as he approached, greeted him by
chauntin": the foUowino; ode:

Kg

114 THE LIFE OF

1.

'' Welcome mlg-hty Chief once more
Welcome to this grateful shore;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims ag-ain the fatal blow,
Aims at thee, the fatal blow.

2.

Virg-lns fair, and matrons g-rave,
Those thy conquering- arms did save.
Build for thee triumphal bowers;
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers,
Strew your Hero's way with flowers."

When he arrived at Brunswick, he was joined by the
Governor of New York, who escorted him to Elizabethtown
Point. On the road, he was met by the committee of Con-
gress, who conducted him, with great military pomp, to the
Point, where he embarked for New York, in a beautiful
baro;e of thirteen oars, manned by thirteen branch pilots.

In his private journal, Washington thus describes his
reception, and the sensations it inspired: "The display of
boats which attended and joined on this occasion, some with
vocal and others with instrumental music on board, the
decorations of the ships, the roar of cannon, and the loud
acclamations of the people, which rent the sky as I passed
along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as pain-
ful (contemplating the reverse of this scene, which may be
the case, after all my labours to do good,) as they were
pleasing. "

Having been landed at Murray's wharf, on the 23d of
April, he proceeded to the apartments that had been pro-
vided for him, where his reception by foreign ministers,
public bodies, and political characters, exceeded in splen-
dour the pomp of courts, and eclipsed in sincerity the pro-
fessions of sycophants. At night, the city was brilliantly
illuminated.

All this display of attachment, blended with adulation,
did not, however, affect with arrogance the well -poised
mind of Washington, who beheld in the public enthusiasm
only a fresh stimulus to serve his country, and who heard
in the music of flattery, no sound but that which inflamed
him with the ambition of true glory.

The eulogy bestowed on him by Mr. Adams, on the day
that he took his seat in the Senate, as Vice President of the

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 115

United States, is too happily conceived, eloquently ex-
pressed, and justly merited, not to be quoted in this place.

Mr. Adams said, "It is with satisfaction that I cono-ra-
tulate the people of America on the formation of a national
constitution, and the fair prospect of a consistent adminis-
tration of a government of laws^ on the acquisition of a
House of Representatives, chosen by themselves; of a Se-
nate thus composed by their own State Legislatures; and on
the prospect of an Executive authority^ in the hands of one,
whose portrait I shall not presume to draw. Were I blessed
with powers to do justice to his character, it would be im-
possible to increase the confidence or affection of his coun-
try, or make the smallest addition to his glory. This can
only be effected by a discharge of the present exalted trust
on the same principles, with the same abilities and virtues,
which have uniformly appeared in all his former conduct,
public or private. May I, nevertheless, be indulged to in-
quire, if we look over the catalogue of the first magistrates
of nations, whether they have been denominated Presidents
or Consuls, Kings or Princes, where shall we find one,
whose commandino; talents and virtues, whose overruling;
good fortune, have so completely united all hearts and
voices in his favour.^ — who enjoyed the esteem and admira-
tion of foreign nations, and fellow-citizens, with equal
unanimity.^ qualities so uncommon, are no common bless-
ings to the country that possesses them. By these great
qualities, and their benign effects, has Providence marked
out the head of this nation, with a hand so distinctl v visible,
as to have been seen by all men, and mistaken by none."

As the^r^^ President of the United States, whose actions
and policy, measures and deportment, were to become as
precedents to all future generations, the conduct of Wash-
ington, in the most minute and trifling particular, became a
subject of special interest, as well as curious observation,
and much importance. Among his domestic regulations, was
that which prescribed the forms of intercourse between the
President and the people, in the institution of Levees^ and
Levee days, appropriated for receiving visits of friendship,
curiosity,^ or courtesy. A letter from one of his friends,
stating the public clamour which this imitation of the cus-
toms of Kings had given rise to, received from Washington
the following explanatory reply: " While the eyes of Ame-
rica, perhaps of tlie world, are turned to this government,

116 THE LIFE OF

and many are watching the movements of all those who are
concerned in its administration, I should like to be in-
formed, through so good a medium, of the public opinion of
both men and measures, and of none more than myself j not
so much of what may be thought commendable parts, if any,
of my conduct, as of those wh'ch are conceived to be of a
different complexion. The man who means to commit no
wrong, will never be guilty of enormities, consequently can
never be unwillino- to learn what are ascribed to him as
foibles. If they are really such, the knowledge of them in
a well disposed mind, will go half way towards a reform.
If they are not errors, he can explain, and justify the mo-
tives of his actions."

'' At a distance from the theatre of action, truth is not
alwavs related without embellishment, and sometimes is
entirely perverted, from a misconception of the causes which
produced the effects that are the subjects of censure."

" This leads me to think that a system which I found it
indispensably necessary to adopt upon my first coming to
this city, might have undergone severe strictures, and have
had motives very foreign from those that governed me,
assigned as causes thereof. I mean, first, returning no
visits: second, appointing certain days to receive them ge-
nerally (not to the exclusion however of visits on any other
days under , particular circumstances); and third, at first
entei'taining no company, and afterwards (until I was unable
to entertain any at all) confining it to official characters. A
few days evinced the necessity of the two first in so clear
a point of view, that had I not adopted it, I should have
been unable to have attended to any sort of business, unless
I had applied the hours allotted to rest and refreshment to
this purpose; for, by the time I had done breakfast, and
thence until dinner, and afterwards until bed-time, I could
not get relieved from the ceremony of one visit before I had
to attend to another. In a word, I had no leisure to read,
or to answer the despatches that were pouring in upon me
from all quarters."

"Before the custom was established, which now accom-
modates foreign characters, strano;ers, and others, who, from
motives of curiosity, respect to the chief magistrate, or anv
other cause, are induced to call upon me, I was unable to
attend to any business whatsoever; for gentlemen, con-
sulting their own convenience rather than mine, were call-

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 117"

ing from the time I rose from breakfast, often before, until
I sat down to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neglect my
public duties, reduced me to the choice of one of these alter-
natives— either to refuse them altogether, or to appropriate
a time for the reception of tliem. The first would, I well
knew, be disgusting to many: the latter, I expected, would
undergo animadversion from those who would find fault
with or without cause. To please every body was impos-
sible. I therefore adopted tliat line of conduct which com-
bined public advantage with private convenience, and
which, in my judgment, was unexceptionable in itself.*'

*' These visits are optional. They are made without
invitation. Between the hours of three and four, every
Tuesday, I am prepared to receive them. Gentlemen,
often in great numbers, come and go, chat with each other,
and act as they please: a porter shows them into the
room, and they retire from it when they choose, and with-
out ceremony; at their first entrance, they salute me, and I
them: and as many as I can talk to, I do. AVhat pomp there
is in all this, I am unable to discover. Perhaps it consists
in not sitting. To this, two reasons are opposed: first, it is
unusual; secondly, (which is a more substantial one) because
I have no room laro;e enouo;h to contain a third of the chairs
which would be sufficient to admit it. If it is supposed that
ostentation, or the fashions of courts, (which, by the bye, I
believe originate oftener in convenience, not to say neces-
sity, than is generally imagined) gave rise to this custom, I
will boldly affirm, that no supposition was ever more erro-
neous; for, were I to indulge my inclinations, every mo-
ment that I could withdraw from the fatigues of my station,
should be spent in retirement. That they are not. proceeds
from the sense I entertain of the propriety of giving to every
one free access, as consists with that respect which is due
to the chair of crovernment : and that respect. I conceive, is
neither to be acquired, or preserved, but by maintaining a
just medium between much state and too great familiarity.*'
•• Similar to the above, but of a more familiar and sociable
kind, are the visits every Friday afternoon, to Mrs. "Wash-
ington, where I always am. These public meetings, and a
dinner once a week, to as many as my table will hold, with
the references to and from the different departments of
State, and other communications with all parts of the
Union, is as much, if not more, than I am able to undergo;

118 THE LIFE OF

for I have already had within a year, two severe attacks;
the last worse than the first — a third, it is more than pro-
bable, will put me to sleep with my fathers."

I have thus given, in the words^of Washington himself,
his reasons for instituting those ceremonies and forms,
which gave such deep oftence to the republicans of the day;
which reasons certainly appear conclusive, as far as he teas
concerned; but another question remains, v/hether, in the
hands of a chief less virtuous, and more ambitious, they
might not be made the gradual instruments of a change of
government to monarchy? He seems to have overlooked
the fact, that he was establishing precedents for poste-
rity, and not regulating forms for his own convenience: so,
that the error in his reasoning, arose from his virtue: his
modestv and diffidence not permitting him to give sufficient
importance to his own doings, which, as the^r-s-^ President
of the Republic, were to become, in after times, the moral
laws of an empire boundless in extent, and stupendous in
power. Let it not be said, that too much importance has
been attached to this matter. Ma ners and ceremonies are
intimatelv connected with, and materially influence the
principle's of liberty, and the rights of the citizen; and it is
ever a salutary symptom, to see the people jealous of the
deportment of" their governors, though, as in the case of
Washington, their governors may be totally innocent of
anv design on their liberties, by the introduction of forms
obnoxious to their pride, and sense of equality.

Washino;ton was inaugurated on the 30th of April, 1789,
when he addressed both"^houses of Congress, in a speech,
which, for sound views, orthodox princ!ples,pious sentiments,
and comprehensive plans, will ever remain an admired mo-
nument. It was not, however, so pleasing to see the two
houses imitate the adulation of the British Parliament, by
votino; an address, which was the mere echo of the speech:
that the praises they contained were fully merited, is no
apologv for a custom, which had its European origin in
svcophancy, and became perpetuated by corruption.
' Plans for the organization of the new government were
now to be devised by the Congress; and protracted debates
ensued between the 'two parties that respectively inclined
towards a strong, and a relaxed government — a limited
exercise, or a plenary endowment of power. I shall notice,
in this place, only those two great points, which seemed

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 119

most to aftect the President, and to divide the two con-
tending parties. — First, the title of the president^ and
second, his power of removal from office, without

THE concurrence OF THE SENATE.

After much debate, the followino; report was entered on
the journals of the Senate, on the 14th of May, 1789.

" The committee appointed on the 9th inst. to determine
under what title it will be proper for the Senate to address
the President of the United States of America, reported,
that in the opinion of the committee, it will be proper thus
to address the President: " His Highness the President of
the United States af Americcu and Protector of their
Liberties."

From this stigma on the republican character of the coun-
try, we were rescued by the virtue and patriotism of the
House of Representatives^ who, having successfully resisted
the monarchical designs of the senate, compelled that
aristocratic body to postpone the above report, and agree to
the following resolution, which will forever remain a monu-
ment of the danger to be apprehended to the liberties of the
country^ from this aristocratic body: —

" From a decent respect for the opinion and practice of
civilised nations, whether under monarchical or republican
forms of government, whose custom is to annex titles of
respectability to the office of their chief magistrate, and that
on intercourse with foreign nations, a due respect for the
majesty of the people of the United States, may not be
hazarded by an appearance of singularity, the Senate have
been induced to be of opinion, that it would be proper to
annex a respectable title to the office of President of the
United States. But the Senate, desirous of preserving har-
mony with the House of Representatives, where the practice
lately observed, in presenting an address to the President,
was without the addition of titles, think it proper^ for the
present, to act in conformity with the practice of that house. *'
In this attempt to introduce titles, no imputation of any
agency on the part of AVashino:ton, was ever surmised: and
it probably had its origin exclusively in the ambition of the
Vice-President, Mr. Adams, who, at a future period, by
heaping monstrous abuses on the federal system, caused by
his lust of power, so total a prostration of the energetic
policy of his great predecessor.

A question was now discussed by Congress of a nature

120 THE LIFE OP

equally important, whether the President possessed the
power of removal from office without the consent and con-
currence of the Senate. On tlie bill ' to establish an execu-
tive department, to be denominated i\\Q Department of Fo-
reign Affairs, in the committee of the whole House, Mr.
White moved to strike out the clause which declared the
Secretary to be removable by the President, on the ground
that the power of removal was necessarily incident to that
of appointment; and, as the Senate possessed a conjoint
power of making appointments, that body must, in like
manner, share in the power of removal.

In the course of debate, the following arguments were
used : — " If the constitution gave the power to the Presi-
dent, a repetition of the grant in an act of Congress was
nugatory — if the constitution did not give it, the attempt to
enforce it by law was improper — if it belonged conjointly
to the President and Senate, the House of Representatives
should not attempt to abridge the constitutional preroga-
tive of the other branch of the Legislature. However this
might be, they were clearly of opinion that it was not placed
in the President alone. In the power over all the Executive
officers^ which the bill proposed to confer upon the Presi-
dent, the most alarming dangers to liberty were perceived.
It was in the nature of Monarchical Prerogative, and
would convert them into the mere tools and creatures of his
will. Jl dependence so servile on one individual, woidd deten'
men of high and honourable minds from engaging in the
public service; and if, contrary to expectation, such men
should be brouo;ht into (»ffice, thev would be reduced to the
necessity of sacrificing every principle of independence to th^
will of the chief magistrate, or of exposing themselves to th£
disgrace of being removed from office^ and that, too, at a time
when it might be no longer in their power to engage in other
pursuits.^''

" Gentlemen, it was to be feared, were too much dazzled
with the splendour of the virtues which adorned the actual
President, to be able to look into futurity. But the fra-
mers of the constitution had not confined their views to the
person who would most probably fill the first presidential
chair. The House of Representatives ought to follow their
example, and to contemplate this power m the hands of an
ambitious jiax, who might apply it to dangerous purposes
— who might, from caprice, remove the most worthy men
from office.*^

GEORGE WASHIXCTON. 121

Bv the friends of the President, it was contended, that
thepoiver of removal was purely executive.^ and was con-
ferred by the constitution: at so early a period of its history^
did it come into dispute what powers tliat instrument did
actually confer upon the several branches of government by
the parties to the compact.

But, it was agreed, *' if it was a case on which the con-
stitution was silent, the clearest principles of political ex-
pediency required that neither branch of the Legislature
should participate in it."

"The danger that a President could ever he found, who
would remove good men from office, was treated as imagi-
nary. It was not by the splendour attached to the charac-
ter of the present chief magistrate alone, that this opinion
was to be defended. It was founded on the structure of the
office. The man in ivhose favour a majority of the people
of this continent would unite, had probability at least, in
favour of his priiiciples^ in addition to which, the public
odium that would inevitably attach to such conduct, would
be an effectual security against it."

The amendment of Mr. White, dexyixg the power of
REMOVAL, was negatived by a vote of thirty-four to twenty;
but, subsequently, the Legislative grant of the power was
withdrawn, and the bill was passed implying the constitu-
tional right of removal, by the antececlent vote against the
amendment, which went to deny the power. So that, even
now, this question, of the constitutional power of removal,
remains unsettled, excepting the sanction w'hich this vote
may be supposed to give.

;^Ir. Madison's twelve amendments to the constitution,
were now passed by two-thirds of Congress, and ratified by
two-thirds of the States; which, if they did not remove, at
least mollified the opposition of the anti-federalists.

Congress having passed laws for the organisation of all the
departments, Washington proceeded to select officers qua-
lified by their talents, and recommended by their patriotism,
to discharge these important trusts.

At head of the Department of State, he appointed Tho-
mas Jeffersox, for whom he entertained the most exalted
opinion as a patriot of sound principles; as a statesman of
the most extensive attainments in the science of politics;
and as a scholar of the most profound and elegant acquire-
ments, Mr, Jefferson was then at his residence in Virgi-

L

129r THE LirE OF

Ilia, having returned home for a sliort time, by permission,
from the court of Versailles, where he had succeeded Dr.
Franklin, as ambassador. Mr. Jefferson gave a preference
to his foreign appointment; but in deference to the wishes
of Washington, he accepted the Department of State.

Alexander HAMiLToxwas appointed to the head of the
Treasury; a man, whose genius was only equalled bv his
learning, and his learning equalled by his courage, firmness,
and love of liberty.

General Knox was retained as Secretary of War.

Edmund Randolph^ of Virginia, was chosen Attorney
General.

In the Judiciary branch of government, talents and in-
tegrity not inferior were selected. John Jay was appointed
Chief Justice; and John Rutledge, James Wilson.
William Gushing, Robert Harrison and John Elair,
were appointed Associate Justices. All these selections
were considered as judicious and popular; made on the
broad grounds of national good, and with a single eye to the
iyivigoration and success of the new Constitution, which, of
course, necessarily led to the choice of a majority of pro-
minent and decided federalists.

Congress having adjourned on the 29th of September, the
President determined to improve the recess by a journey to
Massachusetts, and personally inquire into the causes of
tlie recent insurrection, as well as to soothe and conciliate
by his presence, the discontented portion of that population.
His reception did not fall short, but far exceeded all ex-
pectation. The people greeted him with an enthusiastic
welcome; and all the parade of public institutions, and mi-
litary bodies, gave eclat to the splendour of his welcome:
while the addresses presented to him, breathed devotion to
the countrv, attachment to the constitution, and affection
for his person*

In November 1789. North Carolina adopted tlie Consti-
tution, and entered into the Union.

On the 8th of January, 1790, he again met Congress, and
in person delivered his speech, from which I cannot omit to
extract the following beautiful passage, evincive of so
much wisdom, patriotism, and love of liberty. After invit-
ing their attention to various important imyjrovements, he
added, •' Nor am I less persuaded, that you will agree with
me in opinion, that there is nothing which can better deserve

GEOUGE WASHINGTON. 123

jour patronage than the promotion of science and literature.
Knowledge is in every country, the surest basis of public
happiness: in one, in which the measures of government
receive their impression so immediately from the sense of
the communitv as in ours, it is proportionably essential. To
the security of a free constitution it contributes in various
ways, by convincing those who are entrusted with the public
administration, that every valuable end of government is
best answered by the enliglitened confidence of the people;
and by te^tching the people themselves to know and to value
their own rights: to discern and to provide against invasions
of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary
exercise of lawful authority; between burdens proceeding
from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting
from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the
spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the
first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy but temperate
vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect
to the laws.*'

This session of Congress was remarkable ioYi\\Q^ funding
of the public debt, which received the countenance and ap-
probation of Washington, but in reality only benefitted a
few speculators, and left the poor soldier as wretched and
destitute as ever. Marshall thus describes the effects of this
funding system. " The public paper suddenl}- rose, and
was for a short time, above par. The immense wealth
WHICH INDIVIDUALS acquircd by this unexpected apprecia-
tion, could not be viewed with indifference. By those who
participated in its advantages, the author of a system to
which they were so greatly indebted, was regarded with an
enthusiasm of attachment, to which scarcely any limits
could be assio;ned. To many others, this adventitious col-
lection of wealth in particular hands was a subject rather of
chagrin than of pleasure; and the reputation which the suc-
cess of his plans «;aveto the Secretary of the Treasury, was
not contemplated with unconcern. As if the debt had been
created by the existing government, not by a war which gave
liberty and indep'^ndence to the United States, its bein^
funded was ascribed by many, not to a sense of justice, and
to a liberal and enlightened policy, but to the desire of be-
stowing on the government an artificial strength by the
creation of a MONIED INTEREST, ivhich would be
subservient to its loill.^^

124 THE LIFE OF

Havino; been attacked this year bv a dano-erous malady,
from which he suftered severely, and recovered with diffi-
culty, he employed the period of his convalescence in making
ia visit to Rhode Island, which State was not yet compre-
hended in the Union; but where he was received with an
enthusiasm of attachment not inferior to that displayed in
other parts of the Union. After his return from Rhode
Island, he paid a visit to his favorite il/ozoi^ Vernon, whose
rural shades and tranquil beauty, still had charms for his
heart, superior to those anxious joys which are to be found
amidst the pomp of power, the glitter of glory, or the mag-
nificence of state. From this recreation, however, he was
soon summoned, by the meeting of Congress, in its third
session, to repair to Philadelphia, where, in future, that
body was to meet.

The speech of the President was consistent with his for-
mer views, and settled policy, and breathed the purest in-
tentions of a devoted patriot, which extorted the unanimous
applause of an enlightened Congress,

The projects of the Secretary of the Treasury, however

excited a different feeling, and startled the friends of State
Rights and limited government into decided opposition.
His proposition to tax domestic distilled spirits, wasw^armly
resisted, and engendered able and protracted debates. Com-
menting on this subject, Marshall remarks, in the true spirit
of the party, of which he was a distinguished leader: *' All
that powerful party in the United States, which attached
itself to the local, rather than to the general government,
would inevitably contemplate any system of internal reve-
nue with jealous disapprobation. To them, imposts collected
by Congress, on any domestic manufacture, wore the sem-
blance of diforeign power intruding itself into their particu-
lar concerns, and excited serious apprehensions for State
importance, and for liberty.''^ Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, and North Carolina, protested against it in strong
and energetic terms.

Another and still more important project of the same offi-
cer, excited even more discussion, while it awakened warmer
feelings, and led to more metaphysical reasoning: I allude
to the scheme of a National Bank, which was now formally
submitted by him in a special report, eciually distinguished
for plausible argument and luminous views, but deficient in
that stability of logical foundation, without which the vigour

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 125

of ratiocination assumes the glitter of refined sophistry.
But the basis oi iitUity was universally admitted to be un-
questionable: and when a positive benefit, combined with
prospective speculation, is adduced in support of a doubtful
power, the constitution can liavebut a poor chance of main-
tainino; its intesritv ao-ainst the combined efforts of ";enius,
metaphysics, money, utility and power. What is iisefuL
we all desire to be legal 5 and what is profitable, we natu-
rally infer, can never become pernicious. But a Constitu-
tion, whose powers lie concealed beneath an impervious
mass of construction, deduction, inference, and metaphy-
sical subtlety, would be better adapted to a college of Ger-
man professors, or a monastery of monks, than for the o;o-
vernment of a people, all of whom are equally free, and all
of whom are equally entitled to participate in its adminis-
tration.

The debate on this question, again arrayed parties in
fierce opposition, and even divided the cabinet to a degree
that menaced its total rupture. Washington took the opi-
nion of his constitutional advisers on this important cpies-
tion. Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Randolph were of opinion
that Cono;re5s, by the passage of the bill, had obviously
transcended the powers vested in them by the constitution.
On the other hand. General Hamilton maintained it to be
purely constitutional. The President required from each
their aro;uments in writing, which, being submitted, his
habitual propensity to add vigour toihe Union, inclined him
to the conviction, that the Bank was fullv authorised by the
constitution, and he accordingly gave the sanction of his
signature to the act of incorporation. It cannot be doubted,
however, that his mind had been long predetermined in
favour of the measure: and that, however he might hold his
judgment open to a conviction e/f its illegality, should it be
made so to appear to him; yet, that his wishes and aftections
towards it, as a favourite feature of his federal policy, had
closed those avenues to conviction, which can only bias the
understanding when the feelings are neutral, and the de-
sires uninfluenced towards a particular conclusion.

The controversy on jPec/^rft/Pozrer and State Rights, was
now started afresh on the Bank Quzstiox; and federalism,
and anti-federalism, were rung through all their chanoesby
enthusiastic champions: the sovereignty of the states
being supposed by the latter to constitute the palladium of

L 2

126 THE LIFE OF

liberty; and the supremacy and power of the Union being
deemed essential by the latter, to the preseryation of law,
order, justice, property, subordination and peace.

Tlie scheme of the National Bank, was hailed with rap-
ture by those who had become suddenly enriched by the
Funding of the Public Debt; and in proportion as it
strengthened the monicd interests did it proyoke the hosti-
lity and censure of the middlino; and poorer classes, in
whom are always to be found the sincere adyocates of the
true principles of liberty.

From this moment of the incorporation of the Bank of the
United States, parties assumed their /lerfect forms of organ-
ization and principles, as they minister to the general com-
fort of mankind.

From this period, too, we may date an irreconcilable
rupture between Mr. Jefferson and General Hamilton: the
former the opponent, and the latter the adyocate of the
bankino; and fundins; system.

Washino-ton now made an excursion into the Southern
States, subsequently to the dissolution of the first Congress,.
on the 3d of March, 1791; where his reception, by mefi of
all parties, attested to the fact, that he united all hearts;
and that, howeyer the measures or the constitution of go-
Ternment might be censured and disapproyed, none would
refuse to pour the grateful homage of free hearts, into the
bosom of their yeteran chief.

The second Congress assembled in Philadelphia, on the
24th of October, 1791. The apportionment bill now proyed
another cause of excitement., and diyided parties by a broad
line of separation. In this debate, Mr. Giles, who was ia
fayour of a full representation of the people, used these ar-
guments; that the corruption of the British Parliament was
not owing to their numbers, but other causes, and '^' among
these icere the frequent mortgages of the funds, and the
immense appropriations at the disposal of the executive.''^
" An inequality of circumstances," he continued, "pro-
duces reyolutions in goyernments, from democracy to aris-
tocracy and monarchy. Great wealth produces a desire of
distinctions, rank and titles. The reyolutions of property
in this country haye created a prodigious inequality of cir-
cumstances. Goyernment has contributed to this inequa-
lity. The Bank of the United States is a most import'
'Ont machine in promoting the objects of //a's monied in-

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 127

TEREST. This Bank will be the most powerful en-
gine TO corrupt THIS HOUSE. Soiiie of the members are
directors of this institution; and it will only "be bv increas-
ing the representation tliat an adequate barrier can be op-
posed to this monied interest. The strong executive of this
government, ought to be balanced bv a full representation
in this house."

The defeat of General St. Clair, who had been despatched
against the hostile Miami Indians, now flung a momentary
gloom over the administration of ^^^ashino•ton: and Cono-ress
proceeded to augment the armv to 5,000 men; after which,
on the 8th May, 1792, that body adjourned to the first
Monday in November.

Every day now added virulence and asperity to the op-
position of parties; and, as new measures developed more
fully the discrepancy of their principles, so did thev aug-
ment the inveteracy of their mutual dislike; and while we
confess the truth, we may also deplore the fact, that the
force of interest, rather than the love of truth, or the prac-
tice of virtue, engendered their animosity, and eventually
exasperated dift'erence of opinion, to an implacable tiostility
of feeling and passion.

The complaints of the opposition, however, were not
destitute of substantial principles and established fiictsto
sustain them. The creation of the national debt, by the
FUNDING of the depreciated public responsibilities, had en-
gendered, it was alleged, a necessity for taxation on the
people, wlien there existed no necessity for funding, in order
to make the rich more affluent, and the poor more needy:
besides being the assumption of a debt which properly be-
lonsred to the individual States. Fundino; naturally led to
EXCISE, andbegot a series of oppressive taxes, which excited
public clamour, and might produce a civil war; besides, that
such taxes \y ere partial in their operation, and must be un-
productive, unless extorted by arbitrary means, and wrung
from the hand of labour at the point of the sword. In fine,
the ground of opposition covered the best principles of hu-
manity, benevolence, peace and industry- against abstract
equity, rigid justice, and the inflexible severity of efficient
power, ready to punish with death, for the inability to com-
ply with exorbitant taxation.

Other o;rounds of opposition were also broken, but were
less tenable and more resolvable into the s]nrit of party.

128 THE LIFE OF

than based on the solid principles of liberty, or the incon-
testable dictates of reason. A qualified exception, however,
must be made to this remark, in the case of the Bank of
THE United States, which, in order to escape any impu-
tation of prejudice, I shall cite in the words of Judge Mar-
shall himself, as I have previously done, on several occa-
sions from the same motive.

The opposition contended, with what justice the reader
must decide — that, " The banishment of coin would be
completed by ten millions of paper money in the form of
Bank Bills^ which were then issuing into circulation. Nor
w^ould this be the only mischief resulting from the institu-
tion of the bank. The ten, or twelve per cent, annual p)ro-
Jit paidto the lenders of this paper medium, woidd betaken
out of the pockets of the people, ivho would have had, with-
out interest, the coin it was banishing. That all the capi-
tal employed in paper circulation is barren and useless,
producing like that on a gaming table, no accession to
itself, and is withdrawn from commerce and agriculture,
where it would have produced addition to the common
mass. The wealth, therefore, heaped upon individuals by
the funding and banking systems, would be productive of
general poverty and distress. That, in addition to the en-
couragement these measures gave to vice and idleness, they
had furnished effectual means of corrupting such a portion
of the Le2:islature as turned the baknice between the honest
voters. This corrupt squadron, deciding the voice of the
Legislature, had manifested their dispositions to get rid

OF THE LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY THE CONSTITUTION; Zi??ll-

tations on the faith of which the States acceded to
THAT INSTRUMENT. T/icy iverc proceeding rapidly in their
plan of absorbing all power, invading the rights of the
States, and converting the federal into a consolidated
government."

" That the ultimate object of all this was to prepare the
way for a change from the present republican form of govern-
ment to that of a monarchy, of which the English consti-
tution was to be the model. So many of the friends of
monarchy wecein the Legislature, that, aided by the corrupt
squad of jmper decders who were at their devotion, they had
a majority in both houses. The republican party, even
when united with the anti-federcdists, continued a minori-
ty." These arguments were ably replied to on the oppo-
site side.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 129

These arguments and imputations, however, were not so
much intended to apply to TVashington and his measures,
as to Colonel Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, and
ostensible head of the consolidated federal party.

In respect to General Wasliington, the purity of his
heart and character, repelled tlie approximation of all the
elements of party. His views were national; every pul-
sation of his heart was for his country: and beinji; exalted
above the influence of interest, by every consideration of
character and popularity with the zchoie people, it was
utterly impossible, that any party could claim him as its
leader, or that any of his measures or views could be re-
ferred or traced to party motives. If he did entertain one
of sentiment, it was an honest one, and that error M'as per-
haps a preference of a government of law and force, to a
government of opinion — an error which may be traced to
the fact, that he acquired his education under the strict
notions of the monarchy, autl contracted his habits in the
employment of the royal government, as a military man:—
being still, not less a republican in principle — not less an
t^7nericc(n in practice.

These conflicts of party opinions, would have passed by
AVashington wholly disregarded, had they not invaded the
trancjuillity of his cabinet^ and arrayed in dire hostility the
Secretary of State {Jefferson! ) and the Secretary o!" the
Treasury. [Hamilton I] These officers, from the first mo-
ment of their entrance into the cabinet, had disagreed upon
principles of essential importance to the harmony of the
administration. This radical contrariety in their charac-
ters and views, naturally became augmented with the lapse
of time; — and every measure of o-overnnient conduced
more or less to widen the breach, as they more clearly de-
monstrated the irreconcilable hostility of their doctrines,
views and opinions: Mr. Jefferson, havino; been from the
first a warm champion of liberty, and opposed to \\ie federal
constitution, as implying a power of supremacy over the
sovereignty of the States; and General Hamilton being the
most prominent of those who favoured a federal govern-
ment, whose power should supersede opinion, and extin-
guish the rights of the States, On the same principle, Mr.
Jefferson was partial to France, and Mr. Hamilton partial
to England, and as inimical to France, as Mr. Jefferson
was inimical to Ens-land I

130 THE LIFE OF

To trace all the forms of this hostility is not consistent
with the main object of this biography. As it aftected
Washington, it caused liim the deepest mortification and
chagrin; so much so as to draw from him the following let-
ters to the Secretary of iState, and Secretary of the Treasury,
conceived in the purest spirit of patriotism, and breathing
the fond affection of a father towards his children. The
first letter bears the date of August 23, 1792. Having en-
tered into a review of the delicate external relations of the
United States, he thus digressed to the main topic of his
epistle: — '' How unfortunate, and how much is it to be
regretted, then, that while we are encompassed on all sides
with avowed enemies, and insidious friends, internal dis-
sentions should be harrowino; and tearino; our vitals. The
last, to me, is the most serious, the most alarming, and the
most afflicting of the two; and without more charity for the
opinions of one another in governmental matters, or some
more infallible criterion by which the truth of speculative
opinions, before they have undergone the test of experience,
are to be forejudged, than has yet fallen to the lot of falli-
bility, I believe it will be difficult, if not impracticable, to
manage the reins of government, or to keep the parts of it
together; for if, instead of laying our shoulders to the ma-
chine, after measures are decided on, one pulls this way,
and another that, before the utility of the thing is fairly
tried, it must inevitably be torn asunder; and, in my opinion,
the fairest prospect of happiness and prosperity that ever
was presented to man, will be lost, perhaps, forever."

"My earnest wish, and my fondest hope, therefore, is,
that, instead of wounding suspicions, and irritating charges,
there may be liberal allowances, mutual forbearances, and
temporising yielding on all sides. Under the exercise of
these, matters Avill go on smoothly, and, if possible, more
prosperously. Without them, every thing must rub, the
wheels of government will clog, our enemies will triumph,
and, by throwing tlieir weight into the disaffected scale,
may accomplish the ruin of the iioodly fabric we have been
erectmo;."

" I do not mean to apply this advice, or these observa-
tions, to any particular person or character. I havje given
them in the same general terms to other officers of the ffo-
vernment, because the disagreements which have arisen
from difference of opinions, and the attacks which have been

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 131

made upon almost all the measures of government, and
most of its executive officers, liave for a long time past filled
me with painful sensations, and cannot fail, I think, of pro-
ducing unhappy consequences^ at home and abroad." The
letter to General Hamilton was almost a literal copy of this
to Mr. Jefferson. Another was also addressed by him to
Mr. Randolph, the Attorney General.

These paternal efforts to compose the internal wars of the
Cabinet proved wholly unsuccessful, although urged by
Washington with a pathos and eloquence truly patriotic.

The opposition to the excise laws, in the western counties
of Pennsylvania, now disturbed the serenity of the admi-
nistration by acts of open rebellion; to quell which, Wash-
ington issued his proclamation, exhorting the interference
antl aid of the civil magistrates.

In the management of the foreign reelations of the
United Slates, at the head of which Mr. Jefferson stood,
Washington had been eminently successful. France was
accommodated with a loan, to enable her to recover St.
Domingo from her revolted negroes.

Major General Wayne was now appointed to the com-
mand of the army, in place of St. Clair, against the hostile
bands of western Indians. On the 5th of November, 1792,
Congress again assembled. In his speech, Washington
recommended the civilization of the Indian tribes, as the
best means of diverting them from the pursuits of war, as
well as earnestly pressed the adoption of measures, to
ensure the speed}^ redemption of tlie public debt. Notliing,
however, of any*^ importance, marked this session of Con-
gress, but the introduction and rejection of resolutions,
criminating the conduct of the Secretary of the Treasury,
in the management of the public loans and funded debt.
Congress expired on the 3d of ^larch; leaving parties in a
higher state of irritation, and fomenting more than ever
the original feelings of hostility, which marked their oppo-
sition.

On the 22d February, 1793, the birth day of Washing-
ton was first celebrated; and Congress adjourned for half
an hour, to pay him their respects: but not without some
opposition from the anti-federal and republican party.

In 1793, the announcement of the French revolution,
and the adoption of a republican constitution on the ruins
of the monarchv, created a burst of enthusiasm throughout

132 THE LIFE OF

the United States^ which though not universal was far from
being confined to the republican party; though by others,
it was greeted by more tempered feelings, and qualified
approbation, until ultimately parties approved or denounced
it, as thev stood rano;ed under their different banners.
Those who may be emphatically denominated the people,
looked upon it with eyes of admiration and rapture. Wash-
ington himself extended towards it the hand of a ready
welcome.

The expiration of his first term of four years now ap-
proacliing, Washington contemplated declining another
election: but being overruled by his friends, he yielded to
the general wish of the public, and was uxanimously re-
elected. But Mr. Adams encountered serious opposition
from the State rights party; antl although re-elected, yet it
was by a small majority over George Clinton: a consti--
tutional incompatibility having interfered v/ith the election
of Mr. Jefferson to that office — lie being a citizen of the
same State as the President, which the constitution ex-
pressly provides against.

Towards France, and her revolution, Washington de-
ported himself on the maxim, " That every nation possessed
a right to govern itself according to its own will, to change
its institutions at discretion, and to tramact its business
through ivhatever agents it might think proper: but, at the
same time, he determined to maintain the neutrality of the
United States, and not to become involved in the dissen-
tions of Europe.

France now declared war against Great Britain and Hol-
land; and the American public became inflamed with ani-
mosity against England, and an enthusiastic feeling in fa-
vour of French liberty, and the general cause of France.

The President, being strengthened by the unanimous
opinion of his cabinet, issued a. j)roclamation of 7ieutralityy
on the 2^3d April, 1793.

The next question was not concurred in with the same
unanimity — ichether the President should receive a minister
from the republic of France^ Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Ran-
dolph maintained the affirmative, on the ground that the
revolution had produced no change in the relations be-
tween the two nations. Mr. Hamilton and General Knox
held contrary opinions, on the ground that France had
no right to involve other nations, absolutely and uncondition-'

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 133

nlly, in the changes and consequences of her revolution;
maintainino; the risrht of a nation to absolve itself from all
obligations, even oj treaties, on a change of the internal
situation of the other contracting party, if a continuance of
connexion might be thought disadvantageous, or dangerous.
But this position would inevitably tend to war, and was
obviously inconsistent with neulra/ity.

The President, finding the cabinet divided, required
their opinions in v.riting; which, being produced, disphayed
a discrepancy of principle on the merits of the revolution
of France, which threatened to extend its influence as
well through the deliberations of ti^e cabinet, as among the
sentiments of the people.

Should Congress be convened.^ — ^was another question
propounded by the President, to whicli he received a
unanimous negative opinion.

The President ultimately adopted the opinion of Mr.
Jefferson and Mr. Randolph, that a minister should be re-
ceived from France, and the obligations of treaties with tliat
power maintained.

Wasliington Avas now openly and violently assaulted in
the public prints, for the proclamation of neutrality, c^//
governments were pronounced hostile to liberty; and the
United States not the least so. Party passion becran to
rage in favour of France and the rights of man. and the
rancour of deadly hate was poured upon Great Britain, and
all who abetted the tyranny of kino-s, or refused to succour
a free people struggling for liberty against a wicked com-
bination of kino;s: evidentlv fflancins: at the attitude of neu-
trality assumed by Washington.

The French government now recalled tlie minister M^ho
had been appointed by Louis the I6th, and citizen Genet
was deputed, not less in virtue of his talents, than his glow-
ing entliusiasm in the sacred cause of freedom.

Mr. Genet arrived with a double set of instructions —
one, directing him to operate on the government, to bend
her to the policy of France; failing in which, he w^as to
resort to the people, and labour to bring them over to es-
pouse the principles of tlie revolution and the cause of
France.

On the 8th of April, Mr. Genet arrived at Charleston,
S. C, where he was received with the most glowing enthu-
siasm, not only by the citizens, but the public authorities, the

M

134 THE LIFE OF

Governor and other public bodies. Here he remained a few
days, receiving the homage of the people, enlistins: men,
fittino- out and arming; vessels, and 2:rantino; commissions
to cruize and commit hostilities on nations who were on
friendly terms with the United States.

His journey to Philadelpliia was a complete march of
civic triumph: and displayed all the pomp of enthusiastic
welcome' — such as had never before ";reeted a foreign
minister. He arrived at Philadelphia on the I6th May,
and had an audience with the President, by v/hom he
was cordiail}- received; while, on the part of the people,
the most extravagant transports of joy were indulged in;
at Grav's ferry he was met bv ''•crowds who flocked from
every avenue of the city, to meet the republican ambassa-
dor of an allied nation.*' To these exhibitions of popular
feeling succeeded congratulatory addresses, which mani-
fested all the ardent affection of fraternisation and alliance.

The British minister now entered complaints against his
proceedings, as violations of the American neutrality.

Actual hostilities were now committed by the French
within the waters of the United States against Great Bri-
tain:— the English ship Grange being captured by the
French frigate U AmhuscaCie^ within the Delaware Capes,
a restitution of which was demanded by the English minis-
ter.

The cabinet unanimously agreed that the proceedings
complained of were usurpations of national sovereignty,
and a violation of neutral rights.

On the question of restitution, the cabinet were divided
— Mr Jefferson and Mr. Randolph opposing, and Generals
Hamilton and Knox, being in favour of it. Vv'ashington
took time to deliberate; but restitution was obviously dic-
tated by every principle of the laws of nations, and the
doctrines of equity and justice.

Genet, dissatisfied with the government, entered into
laboured expositions against the decision of the Executive;
in which indecorum was mixed with a boldness bordering
on arrogance. He was answered, bv the President, that
the decision could not be rescinded; but on the contrary,
that the vessels which had been equipped in the ports of
the United States must make reparation for the violation
of their sovereignty, by departing from their waters. To
this requisition Mr. Genet refused compliance; nor would

GEORGE AVASHIXGTON. 135

he acquiesce in the decisions of the Executive. He con-
tended that the Americans had infrino;ed the treaty witli
France.

Two citizens of the United States were now arrested in
Charleston, for having vioLated the proclamation of neu-
trality, by cruising out of that port under French commis-
sions. Mr. Genet demanded the release of these persons,
in the following terms: " I have this moment been informed
that two officers, in the service of the republic of France,
citizen G. Henfield and J. Singletary, have been arrested
onboard the privateer of the French republic, 'the Citizen
Genet,' and conducted to prison. 'I'he crime laid to their
charge — the crime which my mind cannot conceive, and
which my pen almost refuses to state, is tlie serving of
France, and defending, with her children, the common
glorious cause of liberty.'-

" }3eing ignorant of any positive law or treaty which
deprives Americans of this privilege, and authorizes offi-
cers of police arbitarily to take mariners, in the service of
France, from onboard their vessels^ I call upon vour inter-
vention, sir, and that of the President of the United States,
in order to obtain the immediate releasement of the above
mentioned officers, who have acquired, by the sentiments
animatino; them, and bv the net of their ensiajrement, an-
terior to every act to the contrary, the rio-ht of French
citizens, if they have lost that of American citizens."

Washington, firm, collected, upright antl^ honest, could
not but feel tliis 2;ross indio-nitv offered to the g-overnment
of his country, at the same time that his attachment to
France, and the cause of liberty, withheld him from indulg-
ing in those expressions of resentment which the provo-
cation and insult would fully have justified.

In the meantime the fever of French liberty continued to
rage with unabated fierceness among the people; while ani-
mosity towards England prevailed to the same excess, and
received an application, in its course towards the great and
good man^ who, unmindful of the storm of party, and forti-
fied by conscious integrity, stood prepared to do his duty
to his country, regardless of all consequences. "Washing-
ton, retired in the calm recess of his wisdom, anticipated
the course which posterity Mould approve, and which
the voice of history would consecrate to the applause
of after ages. As the head of a nation^ he was not to be-

136

THE LIFE OF

come the brawling champion of liberty, or the reckless
abettor of violated national faitli and prostrated treaties.
Between two friendly natioiis he was iDound to observe a
deportment equally pacihc towards both, and to abide by
tlie law of nations y not the infections enthusiasm for liberty,
which, in its headlong course, like the lava of iEtna, sweeps
over all that opposes its passage, and buries in ruins friend
and foe v»ith indiscriminate fury. Fatal indeed, might have
been the consequences, had the popular impetuosity hurried
the President into a precipitate espousal of the cause of
French liberty.

I cannot contemplate this, and the subsequent period of
the life of Washington, without feeling that spontaneous
homa":e of veneration for his o-reatness which the undaunted
fortitude, and inflexible resolution he displayed, are so
naturally calculated to inspire. Calm amidst the raging
excitement of popular passions, he remained uninfected by
the delirium, at the same time that he continued devoted
to the principles of liberty. Tranquil and composed, he
contemplated the storm with the eye of wisdom, which em-
braced in its wide scope all the consequences of the system
of anarchy, which had intoxicated the people with delight.
Indifterentto his own interest, he looked only to the o;rand
object of the public good 5 and disregarding, rather than
despising the popular clamour, that on all sides stunned
the ear with its shouts — the wild and maddened shouts of
liberty; he waited for the storm to spend its fury, without
changing his course to avoid its rage, but satisfied, that
when it should have blown over it would find him en-
trenched by public opinion, and his country secure from the
quaking conflicts of the demon of blood and anarchy.

Washington left Philadelphia on the 24th of June, on a
visit to Mount Vernon; and returned to the seat of govern-
ment on the 11th of July.

In this interval occurred the important case of the equip-
ment and departure of the French privateer La Petit De-
mocrat^ from the port of Philadelphia; her escape from the
authorities of the country having been eft'ected by a delibe-
rate falsehood of the minister Genet; who now openly me-
naced the constituted authorities of the republic, and boldly
threatened '• to appeal from the President to the People! IP''

The Secretary of State having retired to his seat in the
country, indisposed, Washington addressed him a letter, of

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 137

which the foUowins; is an extract — "AVhat is to be done in
the case of the little Sarah (La petit Democrat.) now at
Chester? Is the minister of tlie French republic to set the
acts of this government at defiance icith impunity, and then
threaten the executive with an appeal to the people? What
must the world think of such conduct; and of the govern-
ment of the United States in submittino; to it?"

" These are serious questions, circumstances press for
decision; and, as you have had time to consider them (upon
me they come unex[>ectedly) 1 wish to know vour opinion
upon them even before to-morrow, for the vessel mav then
be gone. '-

The force of public opixiox, in opposition to laws and
to treaties, was now fully manifested in the acquittal of
Gideon Hentield. who had been prosecuted for a violation
of the proclamation of neutrulity; an acquittal which
effectually prostrated all the power of the government,
while it exposed Washington to all that popular, but unjust
censure, which attends upon an attempt to exercise theo-
retical power in opposition to public opixiox, which may
be termed the practical power of governments; but which
in fact is the only power in free constitutions.

The violation of the principles of the armed neutrality,
that free bottoms should make free goods, and that the flag
of a neutral should protect all property under it, again
brought the American President in collision with the dema-
gogue minister of France: the latter n^on having acceded
to the principle, while England had rejected its recognition.- <-
In this state of thino;s the English had made prize of French
property in American bottoms; which exasperated the
French minister to taunt and insult the government in the
most degrading manner.

These aggravated degradations, heaped in quick succes-
sion upon one another, finally determined Washinfrton to
resort to vigorous measures to defend the government from
such disgraceful indignities; he, therefore, on the 25th of
July, addressed a note to the Secretary of State, intimating
his resolution to proceed in a formal manner against Mr.
Genet: and accordingly Mr. Morris, the American minis'
terat Paris, was instructed to desire his recal: a measure
now indispensable to the dignitv, honor and independence
of the United States.

The declaration of Genet, that he would appeal from the

M2

133 THE LIFE OF

Executive to the people of the United States, as if the peo-
ple had been in opposition to the Executive, now being fully
established, and perfectly understood, began to cause that
reaction of public opinion in favour of Washington, which
is ever certain to be produced where the warmth of feeling
has hurried the judgment into error, in opposition to the
best principles of the lieart and the soundest maxims of
rational liberty, the purest doctrines of social right antl
national independence. The people began at last to awake
to the proper estimation of the pure and exalted character
of the jrreat man who directed the destinies of the nation
in the true spirit of wisdom, actuated by the most pabiotic
motives of true glory.

It will ever redound to the honour of the federal party,
that in this crisis they sustained the course pursued by
Yf ashington, in relation to France, without opposing those
free principles which they thought might eventually con-
duct her to rational liberty; and it will always be admitted,
as a full palliation of the conduct of the democratic party,
that they lost sight for a moment, and for a moment only,
of what was due to their own character, dignity and inde-
pendence, in their enthusiasm for the cause of freedom, and
the establishment of the rights of man. On this occasion,
tlie two parties arrayed themselves in direct hostility, but
the supporters of the o"re«/ ?f«sAi7?o-/on triumphed, as they
deserved to do, ovei- the infuriated champions of the dema-
gogue minister of 8ie French; so that, finally, the procla-
mation of neutrality was fully sustained by public opimon..

The relations of the United States with Spain, Great
Britain and France, daily became more complicated, and
at one time threatened serious consequences to the tran-
quillity of the nation. The navigation of the Mississippi;
the contemplated invasion of Florida; troops to be raised
and commanded by Genet, the insolent minister of the
French, presuming upon liberty to insult the majesty of the
American people; the hostilities with the Indians; the im-
pressment of American seamen by English cruizers; the
violation of neutral rights by France and England, in their
attempts to cut off the commerce and resources of each
other; the insults oftered to the United States by the French;
and other minor points of collision, all contributed to in-
crease the difficulties of the country, and manifest the
growing importance of the concerns of the republic.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'. 139

It was under the pressure of these aprgravated embarrass-
ments, that Washino;ton addressed Congress, on the 4th of
December, in his speecli reviewing the causes most likely
to lead to war, and suggesting the measures best calculated
to avert, or repel it. The following passage from his ad-
dress on that occasion, is worthy of all praise : — '* I cannot
recommend to your notice measures for the fulfilment of
our duties to the rest of the world, without again pressing
upon you the necessity of placing ourselves in a condition
of complete defence, and of exacting from them the fulfil-
ment of their duties towards us. The United States ought
not to indulge a persuasion that, contrary to the order of
human events, they will for ever keep at a distance those
painful appeals to arms, with which the historv of every
other nation abounds. There is a rank due to the United
States among nations which will be withheld, if not abso-
lutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. Jfwe desire to
avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to
secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our
prosperity, it must be known that we are, at all times,

READY FOR WAR."

Althouo;h a democratic majority had been elected to the
House of Representatives , that body approved and sanc-
tioned all the pixjceedings of Washington, in respect to
Genet, and the proclamation of neutrality — thus furnish-
ing conclusive proof that judicious, reflecting, and ra-
tional men, of all parties, concurred^ in the wisdom, and.
applauded the patriotism of his measures.

Mr. Jefferson, the Secretary of State, now submitted to
Congress an able and elaborate report, on free trade and
unrestricted commerce; but concluding with a strong re-
commendation for retaliatory impositions against those na-
tions that embarrassed our navigation, and hindered our
industry by prohibitorv duties.

Havino; submitted this report, Mr. Jefterson, on the 31st
of December, 1793, resigned his office; having, some time
previous, intimated his intention to the President.

Judge Marshall has paid so handsome a tribute to the
character of Mr. Jefterson, on the occasion of his resigna-
tion, that I cannot omit to quote it in this place, as the
praise extorted by merit, from a liberal, enlightened, and
magnanimous opponent: — " This gentleman withdrew from
political station at a moment when he stood particularly

140 THE LIFE OF

high in the esteem of his countrymen. His fixed opposition
to the financial schemes which had been proposed by the
Secretary of the Treasury, and approved by the legislative
and executive departments of the government — his ardent
and undisguised attachment to the revolutionary party in
France — the dispositions which he was declared to possess
in regard to Great Britain; and the popularity of his opin-
ions respecting the Constitution of the United States, had
devoted to him that immense party, whose sentiments were
supposed to comport with his on most or all of these inter-
esting subjects. To the opposite party he had, of course,
become particularly unacceptable. But the publication of
his correspondence with Mr. Genet, dissipated much of the
prejudice which had been excited against him. He had.,
in that correspondence, maintained with great ability,
the opinions embraced by the federalists on those points
of difference ichich had arisen between the two republics^
and which, having become universally the subjects of dis-
cussion, had, in some measure, displaced those topics on
which the parties had previously divided. The partiality
for France that was conspicuous through the whole of it,
detracted nothino;from its merit in the opinion of the friends
of the administration, because, however decided might be
their determination to support their own government in a
controversy with any nation whatever, they felt all the
partialities for tliat republic which the correspondence ex-
pressed. The hostility of his enemies therefore, was, for
a time, considerably lessened without a correspondino" dimi-
nution of the attachment of his friends. In ofjlce, it would
have been impracticable long to preserve these dispositions?
and it would have been difficult to preserve that ascendancy
which he held over the minds of those who had supported,
and probably would continue to support, every pretension of
the French republic, without departing from principles and
measures, wliich be had openly and ably defended.*'

Edmuxd Randolph was now appointed by Washinjrton
to succeed ^Sr, Jefterson; and JVilliam Bradford, of Penn-
sylvania, was appointed to succeed Mr. Randolph, as
Attorney General.

The Algerine cruizers having captured several valuable
American merchantmen, and all efforts to effect a peace with
that national freebooter, having failed, the President recom-
mended to Cono;ress the establishment of a naval force: and

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 141

Oil the 2d of January, 1794, a resolution was agreed to by
the House of Representatives, " that a naval force adequate
to the jDrotection of the commerce of the United States,
ought to be provided, to consist of six frigates, four of 44,
and two of 36 guns."

This project was opposed with great ardour and eloquence
by the democratic members, on the ground of expense; that
it was part of the system of monarchy; that it augmented
the public debt, whicli was a great burden on the people,
and was highly tyrannical. 'I'he bill, however, was finally
carried by a majority of eleven!

British cruizers now began to commit serious depredations
on American commerce, by authority of that government.
A war with England was accordingly anticipated, and a
project to raise an army of fifteen thousand men, was intro-
duced by Mr. Sedgewick. An embargo was also proposed
and passed, to extend to thirty days. Bills to organise eighty
thousand militia, and procure arms and ammunition; to
raise a provisional army of twenty-five thousand men, and
fortify posts and harbours, were submitted and agreed to.
But all these, besides other measures, were suddenly ar-
rested by the revocation of the obnoxious British order.

An increasing affection for France, and devotion to-French
liberty, again broke (^ut among the people, and pervaded the
Congress; while at the same time, the clamour against Eng-
land rose to a high pitch, portending v/ar and civil commo'
tion.

All these fluctuations of opinions and events, were ob-
served by AV^ashino;ton with a vigilant eve, but a mind iin-
moved by the excitements and agitations of the hour. De-
termined to preserve a neutral attitude, unless forced from
it by actual aggression, or insults incompatible with honour,
if submitted to, and which thus far, had not happened, he
resolved to make a last eftbrt to neofociate terms with Great
Britain, and accordino;ly nominated Mr. Jay, as envoy ex-
traordinary to the court of St. James. This nomination was
approved by the Senate, and while the attempt at negocia-
tion revived the hopes of a continuance of peace in the
hearts of good men, it struck dismay and confusion into
those, who, reckless of all consequences, hoped to fatten on
the public misery, or gratify their passions at the expense
of the prosperity of the people.

No act of his life so fully demonstrated the wisdom, pa-

142 THE LIFE OF

triotism and firmness of AVashinirton. as this: and, as it is
chiefly in respect to the illustration of his character and
genius, that I follow the course of his prominent public
measures; this one, of opening negociations with Great Bri-
tain, in the midst of a popular excitement, so intense and
o-lowins, in favour of France, and in hostility to Eno-land,
demands peculiar and emphatic attention, as an evidence of
that lofty consciousness of rectitude, which distinguished
him throuo-hout the whole course of his existence, and
which rendered him wholly indifferent to the censure and
misrepresentations of the tactions, the prejudiced and the
unthinking;.

It will scarcely be credited by future generations, that
this Cono;ress purchased peace with Algiers, at the price of
a inillion of dollars!

Congress now adjourned on the 9th of June, to the first
Monday in November.

Genet was on the eve of carrying hostile expeditions into
the Floridas and Louisiana, by troops raised in the United
States, when he was recalled by his government; and at the
very time that the President contemplated the suspension
of his diplomatic functions. He was succeeded by Fauchtt.

The French now requested the recal of Governeur Mor-
ris, the American minister at Paris: with which Washington
immediately complied; appointing in his place, James Mon-
roe, an ardent champion of the cause of French liberty, and
an enthusiastic admirer of the bloody scenes of the French
revolution.

The free navigation of the Mississippi had now become
an important object to the western country: and Kentucky
demanded, in energetic and imperative terms, tliat govern-
ment should procure the restitution of what the God of na-
ture had orio-inallv o-i'anted to them. But, anterior to this
remonstrance, Washington had prosecuted negociations for
that object with a zeal and sedulity never exceeded, though
not yet successful.

On the 20th of August, 1794, General Wayne obtained a
signal victory over the Miami Indians.

The insurrection of the western counties of Pennsylvania,
against the excise on distilled spirits, now claimed the most
serious attention of the President; having reached a head
that bid open defiance to the civil power, and even menaced
the military force of the Union with a successful resistance.

GEORGE WASHIXGTOX. 143

On the rth of August, 1794, therefore, Washington issued
his Proclamation, conimandino; the insurgents to submit to
the laws, and calling on the Governors of tlie States to fur-
nish their quotas of militia, to the amount of twelve thou-
sand men, to march at a moment's warning. By these
prompt and vigorous measures, the President succeeded in
cjuelling this formidable insurrection, which at one time
tlireatened to diftuse its revolutionary flame, into a general
conflagration of civil war, fatal to the peace of the country,
and rife with anarchy, bloodshed, and ruin: and which,
originating in the wanton spirit of licentious liberty, in the
full enjoyment of freedom, property, and every civil right
and political privilege, manifested a degi'ee of depravity in
the instigators, which excited not less astonishment than
abhorrence.

In resorting to the extremity of military coercion on this
occasion, Washington displayed all those high qualities of
benevolence and moderation, tenderness for human life, and
sympathy for human suffering, which always mark the man
of true greatness of soul. Aware of the terrific disasters,
the desolating ravages, the heart-rending woes, which ever
await upon civil strife, he deferred a resort to force up to
the last moment, when ingenuity had been exhausted to
devise plans of conciliation, and every effort had failed to
draw back the insurgents to a dutiful obedience to the laws.
Even then, he determined rather to intimidate and overcome
them into submission by a force whose magnitude should
strike them with dismay, and prevent hostilities than chas-
tise them into submission, or extirpate them by the sword.
Always humane, but at the same time, always just; while he
consulted all the dictates of feeling towards the insurgents,
he had to consider his higher obligations to preserve the vir-
tuous portion of society from slaughter, conflagration and
murder, by causing the government to be respected, the
laws to be enforced, and the harmony of the social order
preserved from violence, rupture and anarchy.

If, in contemplating the dark gulf of civil war that now
yawned before him, he was excited to impute this insurrec-
tion to causes, societies and persons, who may have been
guiltless of instigating to so horrible a crime; the error, if
one existed, may easily be excused on account of the terrific
magnitude of the calamities impending; and the anxious
solicitude wliich must naturally have disquieted his mind,

144 THE LIFE OF

to avert that most shocking of all human ills, a civil commo-
tion, which desolates a country with blood, and leaves no
hope of returning tranquillity to cheer the mind amidst the
triple wreck of property, happiness and life.

The sentiments of AVashington upon this event, cannot
fail to excite tlie reverence and extort the approbation of
the reader. In a letter to Mr. Jay, he thus expressed him-
self: " That the self created societies who have spread
themselves over this country, have been labouring inces-
santlv to sow the seeds of distrust, jealousy, and of course,
discontent, hoping thereby to eftect some revolution in the
government, is not unkno\N n to you* That they have been
the fomenters of the western disturbances, admits of no
doubt in the mind of any one who will examine their con-
duct. But. fortunately,' they have precipitated a crisis, for
M'hich thev were not prepared: and thereby have unfolded
views, which will, I trust, eifect their annihilation sooner
than it mio-ht have happened. An occasion has also been
afforded for the people of this country to show their abhor-
rence of the result, and their attachment to the constitution
and the laws: for, I believe, that five times the number of
militia that were required, would have come forward in
support of them, had it been necessary."

" The spirit which blazed out on this occasion, as soon as
the object was fully understood, and the lenient measures
of the government Mere made known to the people, deserves
to be communicated. There are instances of general offi-
cers going at the head of a single troop, or of light compa--
nies: of field officers, when they came to the place of ren-
dezvous, and found for them no command in that grade,
turning into the ranks, and serving as private soldiers under
their own captains: and of numbers possessing the first for-
tunes in the country, standing in the ranks as private men,
and by way of example to others, marching day by day with
their knapsacks at their backs, and sleeping on straw, with
a sino-le blanket, in a soldier's tent, during; the frost vnig-hts*
which we have had. Nay, more, many young Quakers of
the first family, character and property, not discouraged by
the elders, have turned into the ranks, and are marchins:
witli the troops.*'

Congress assembled in November, and on the 19tli of
that month, the President pronounced to them liis annual
speech, on the state of the nation; replete with suggestions

GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 145

of wisdom, sentiments of patriotism, lessons of policy, and
admonitions for improvement, urging the organization of the
militia, the redemption of the public debt, and other whole-
some measures tending to the national weal. One passage
of his address deserves to be here c[uoted: after commend-
ing the alacrity with which the people had rallied in defence
of the Union, he proceeded to say: ^' To every description,
indeed, of citizens, let praise be given: but let tlvem per-
severe in their aifectionate vigilance over that precious

DEPOSITORY OF AMERICAN HAPPINESS, THE CONSTITUTION OF

THE UNITED STATES. And whcn, in the calm moments of
reflection, they shall have retraced the origin and progress
of the insurrection, let them determine whether it has not
been fomented by combinations of men, who, careless of
consequences, and disregarding the unerring truth, that
those who rouse, cannot always appease a civil convulsion,
have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts,
suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the whole govern-
ment.*'

He now recommended to Congress, a more perfect organ-
isation of the militia, to meet a similar crisis, should it ever
again arise, and to secure the general defence of the
country.

Parties in Congress now ran so high, as to demonstrate
the fearful pitch, to which political opinio ns r.iay inflame
the passions of men, even when in the full enjoyment of all
the blessino-s which real freedom can secure to a virtuous
and enlightened people.

An important measure of this Congress, which had been
orio-inally and repeatedly urged by Washington, and whose
beneficial effects have been felt even down to the present
time, while the credit of its suggestion has been successively
assumed bv every subsequent administration, was a bill to
provide for the gradual redemption of the public debt: and
whose object lias, at the time of penning this life, been fully,
or to all intents and purposes, fully consummated. For the
passage of this act, we are indebted to the guardian patri-
otism of Washington: and for the devisement of the scheme
of the Sinking Fund, we are indebted to the genius and
talents of Alexander Hamilton, the William Pitt of the
United States, in every attribute of mind, save his love of
liberty, his opposition to the arbitrary acts of the mother
country, and his determined resoktion to conquer, or die,

146 THE LIFE OF

in the sacred cause of Independence. To the Congress of
1794 — 5, however, we owe the adoption of a system for the
redemption of a debt, which, in its course of periodical
liquidation, has excited the ambition of every administration,
to claim the merit of its origin, in virtue of their mere
necessary compliance with its legal requisitions. I state
this fact, only to show the extent of public virtue, and un-
aiFected patriotism, w hich must have belonged to the great
AND GOOD MAN, who was its veol and original author^ and
to whom we stand indebted as a people, for so many and
such great and endless blessings.

The scanty provision made for the recompense of the
officers of government, now deprived Washington of the
aid and assistance of his able and ingenious financier; and
the plan for the redemption of the public debt was the last
official act of an important character which emanated from
the Secretary of the Treasury:— that gentleman, from the
inadequate nature of his salary, being now compelled to,
relinquish his station in the government. Hamilton gave
in his resignation on the 31st of January, 1795. Whatever
could be said of his political principles and views by the
members of an antagonist party, all conceded to this great
man the possession of talents and abilities never surpassed
by an American statesman. Devoted to the Uniox, and op-
posed to the anarchical system of State sovereignty, as equal
to national power, he stood side by side to W^ashifvgton,
through all the contentions of parties, and so fully reflected
the sentiments and principles of the/a/Aer of his country,
as to forbid just censure, while his great patron received
unqualified praise. Ranging himself in opposition to the
sanguinary excesses of the French revolution, he had the
sagacity to foresee, and the moral courao;e to predict, that
it could not and would not end in the permanent establish-
ment of a popular, free and happy government. W^ashing-
ton appointed Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut, in his place.

In respect to the best policy, which wisdom dictated to
the United States to pursue towards the Indian tribes^
Washington always espoused a pacific, conciliating, and
humane system. A report upon this subject by the Secre-
tary at War, contained this excellent passage: —

♦• It seems that our own experience would demonstrate
the propriety of endeavouring to preserve a pacific conduct
in preference to a hostile one with the Indian tribes. The

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 147

United States can get nothin* by an Indian war; but they
risk men, money, and reputation! As we are more powerful
and more enlightened than they are, there is a responsibility
of national character that we should treat them with kind-
ness and even ivith liberality. ^^

From the same cause that had deprived Washington of the
genius of Alexander Hamilton in the Treasury, was he now
bereaved of the services of General Knox, the Secretary at
War, who, from the penurious provision made for the com-
pensation of the heads of departments, was now compelled
to tender his resignation, which he did on the 28th of De-
cember, 1794. Timothy Pickering, was appointed to suc-
ceed him.

On the 7th of March, 1795, Jay's celebrated treaty with
England, was received at the Department of State.

Prior to the arrival of this treaty in the United States,
the prejudice of party had perverted its character, and
popular clamour had denounced it, without even being
acquainted with its merits or demerits. The prejudice of
the popular mind against England, gave a tone to the sen-
timents of the people, which superceded all enquiry into its
provisions and terms. It was sufficient that it was a treaty
with England, and that Jay had been the negociator, to
doom it to the irrevocable abhorrence of an inflamed people.
Popular meetings were convened to denounce; parties
arrayed to oppose it; and newspapers employed to stigmatise
it — but, the Senate of the United States and George IVash-
ington\i2iA ratified the treaty; and yet the people proclaimed
that it would destroy the interest, sully the honour, and
undermine the independence of the country — ^because it was
a British treaty! ^Slarshall indulges in the following judi-
cious reflections upon this course of the party, who were re-
solved to see no merit, and to detest every measure, having
the remotest connexion with England. '' In the populous
cities, meetings of the people were immediately summoned,
in order to take into their consideration, and to express their
opinions respecting an instrument, to comprehend the full
extent of which, a statesman ivoidd need deep reflection in
the quiet of his closet, aided by considerable inquiry. It may
well be supposed, that persons feeling some distrust of their
capacity to form, intuitively, a correct judgment on a sub-
ject so complex, and disposed only to act knowingly, would
be disinclined to attend such meetings; or, if present at

148 THE LIFE OF

them, Mould be unwilling to commit themselves by so hasty
a decision. Many intelligent men, therefore, stood aloof,
while the most intemperate assumed, as usual, the name of
the people^ pronounced a definitive and unqualified condem-
nation of every article in the treaty; and ^vith the utmost
confidence assigned reasons for their opinions, Avhich in
many instances, had only an imaginary existence." In
saying this, Marshall disclaims being an advocate for the
treaty; but for what reason it is difticult to imagine.

The treaty was burnt by a mob of three hundred persons
before the doors of the British minister and consul at Phi-
ladelphia, as well as before the mansion of Mr. Binghcnn,
one of the Senators !

Washington however, with his characteristic firmness,
remained immovable — determined never to yield his consti-
tutional functions to public clamour, and to make the policy
of government a mere M^eathercock of party. He was all
that an American, proud of his country, and in love with
virtue, could wish him.

During the raging of the storm kindled by the ratification
of the treaty, Washington, as usual, retired for a short
period to Mount Vernon^ from whence, in a letter dated the
31st of July, he expressed himself to a friend in Philadel-
phia, in terms of the most acute anxiety, as to the embarrass-
ments in which these popular movements placed the govern-
ment with foreign powers, especially the two jealous belli-
gerents, whose wars, like the gulfs of Sylla and Charibdis,
every moment threatened to drag the United States into
their devouring vortex.

On the 11th of August, Washington returned to Phila-
delphia, and having called a cabinet council, he ratified the
treaty, resolved to discharge his duty in defiance of all
consequences to his own popularity.

Exasperated by this decided and firm step, the popular
indignation rose to the highest pitch, and ventured to prefer
charges of peculation against the man, who had spent a life
of toil in the service of his country, without fee or reward!
A calumny so gross could not adhere to a reputation so
spotless; and public indignation, upon an inquiry into the
grounds of the libel, frowned its propagators into silence
and contempt.

On the 19th of August, 1795, the Secretary of State
tendered his resignation, and Mr. Pickering was appointed

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 149

in his room; and Mr. M 'Henry was commissioned as Se-
cretary at War. The death of Mr. Bradford having caused
a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, Mr. Lee, of
Virginia, was appointed.

The western counties of Pennsylvania were now restored
to perfect quiet.

On the 3d of August, General Wayne concluded a treatv
of peace with the Indian tribes, north-west of the Ohio, as
well as those of the southern portion of the Union.

On the 5th of vSeptember, a treaty with Algiers was con-
cluded.

Successful in all points in adjusting the differences of the
country with Foreign Powers, a treaty with Spain was
likewise concluded, in which the free "navigation of the
Mississippi river was guaranteed, and satisfactory bounda-
ries settled: thus, evincing on the part of Washington, those
high qualities of perseverance, prudence, justice, firmness,
dignity and right, which constitute the practical statesman,
and which in his person were combined with the exalted
virtues of the approved patriot.

The new Congress now met, and again exhibited a majo-
rity in the House of Representatives, opposed to the admir
nistration. The speech of the President was, as usual, dis-
tinguished for wisdom, firmness, dignity and moderation,
in which he exhorted Congress to the practice of toleration
and forbearance.

Mr. Adet, having succeeded Fauchet as minister from
France, the former presented to the President, on the 1st
Januarv. 1796. the colours of the French nation, on which
occasion AVashington delivered a highly complimentary
address to the French ambassador, in which the cause of
liberty was most enthusiastically extolled by the American
chief," who did not fail to pay a tribute of warm praise to
the virtues and gallantry of the citizens of France.

In February, 1796, the treaty with Great Britain was
returned to the President, ratified by the English monarch.
Accordingly, Washington, in pursuance of his constitu-
tional functions, issued his proclamation, announcing its
terms, and enjoining its observance and execution as the
supreme law of the land.

At this proclamation the House of Representatives took
umbrafre, under an impression that the action of the House
was necessary to its validity.

N 2

150 THE LIFE OF

To manifest this dissatisfaction, the House adopted a re-
solution, calling on the President to lay before them all
papers connected with the negociations of Mr. Jay with
the British government. As a party movement, hostile to
Washington, this resolution acquired great importance, not
only as it infringed on his constitutional powers, but as it
placed him in a position of direct collision with the popular
branch of the Legislature. Fortunately for the constitu-
tion and the country, his firmness was not to be moved by
the dread of losing popular favour. Important precedents
were to be established bv his conduct on this occasion: and,
acting with his wonted deliberation, judgment and sagacity,
he transmitted a message to the House, on the 30th of
March, in which he denied their right to demand papers,
and declined a compliance with their resolution. This
message is remarkable for a vig-our of reasoninj>- a frank-
ness of tone, a fearlessness of consequences and a perspi-
cuity of exposition which will never fail to command ad-
miration and extort applause; as a triumphant vindication
of executive prerogative and constitutional provision, against
attempted legislative usurpation and the confusion and chaos
of mere party innovations.

At the head of the opposition to Washington, in the
House of Representatives, stood Albert Ga//«^zn, a talented
emigrant from Switzerland, who had been conspicuous in
the western insurrection, and whom popular infatuation
had invested with the dignity of a representative, instead
of the obscurity of the insurgent. This man, always loose
in principle, and never satisfied Mdth the regular movements
of lawful government, now attempted to oppose the en-
lightened decision of Washington, by the clamour of faction
and the sophistry of the demagogue.^ In vain, however, did
this wily Jesuit oppose what he had not virtue enough to
approve. The dignified and patriotic policy of Washino--
ton triumphed; and, on the 29th of April,' the resolution
was carried in favour of the necessary laws to carry into
eftect the treaty with Great Britain.

Congress adjourned on the 1st of June, with partv pas-
sions highly inflamed; and containing, among some of the
brightest jewels of political worth and purity, more than
enough of gross and grovelling material to have fomented a
revolution against the united virtue of the sages of mankind.

Amidst the cares of State, and the complicated avocations

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 151

incidental to the government of a great empire, Washington
did not permit the finer emotions of friendship and humanity
to be etiaced from his heart. Having been early and cor-
dially attached, by the ties of the warmest friendship, to
the Marquis La Fayette, he had been a grieved observer of
the exile and imprisonment of that chivalrous Frenchman
in the dun<i;eon of Olmutzj and had exerted his influence,
throuo;h the American ambassadors at foreign courts, to al-
leviate his suft'erings, and procure his enlargement; but,
disappointed in this object, he addressed a letter to the
Emperor of Germany, which is so deeply characterised by
the noblest feelings, the most refined sentiments, and the
purest ebullitions of a humane and generous heart, that I
cannot omit to record it for the pleasure of the reader.

" It will readily occur to your majesty that occasions
may sometimes exist, on which official considerations would
constrain the chief of 4 nation to be silent and passive in
relation even to objects which affect his sensibility, and
claim his interposition as a man. Finding myself precisely
in this situation at present, I take the liberty of Mriting
this private letter to your majesty, being persuaded that mv
motives will also be my apology for it.*'

" In common with the people of this country, I retain ^
strong and cordial sense of the services rendered to them
by the Marquis de la Fayette: and my friendship for him
has been constant and sincere. It is natural, therefore,
that I sliould sympathise with him and his family in their
misfortunes, and endeavour to mitigate the calamities thev
experience, among which his present confinement is not the
least distressino:. "

*' I forbear to enlarge on this delicate subject. Permit
me only to submit to your majesty's consideration, whether
his long imprisonment, and the confiscation of his estate,
and the indigence and dispersion of his family, and the
painful anxieties incident to all these circumstances, do not
form an assemblage of sufferings which recommend him to
the mediation of humanity.-' Allow me, sir, on this occa-
sion to be its organ; and to entreat that he mav be permit-
ted to come to this country on such conditions, and under
such restrictions as your majesty may think it expedient to
prescribe.*"

•' As it is a maxim with me not to ask what, under similar
circumstances, I would not giant, your majesty will do me

152 THE LIFE OF

the justice to believe, that this request appears to me to
correspond with those great principles of magnanimity and
wisdom which form the basis of sound policy and durable
glory."

Another epoch in the life and history of Washington, was
now about to take place, inferior to no preceding era of his
eventful existence, and illustrious character, in the impor-
tance of its influence upon the government and destinies of
his native country, by the precedent it would establish, as a
conservative principle of the liberties, rights and happiness
of the people. This was the epoch of his retirement from
office.

His intention to decline another election, had for some time
been imparted to his intimate friends, who justly contem-
plated with dread an event which would open the country to
the convulsions of party on the one hand, or the agitations
incident to an untried system on the other. Having been
forced^ as it were, by the power of public opinion, from the
sweets of private life, purely from considerations of national
usefulness; and having yielded to this force with painful
reluctance, he now, seeing his country safely moored from
the tempests of domestic discord and foreign aggression,
once more turned his eyes towards Mount Vernon, sighing
for the repose of its shades, and longing to enjoy the tran-
quil solace of its domestic endearments. To establish a
wholesome limit to the term of executive power, which the
constitution had left open to an indefinite practice, to be
settled h\ precedent, was not among the least of his motives
which induced him to form this resolution: to depart from
which, nothing short of circumstances fatal to the existence
of the Union could have influenced him.

It is a sino-ular and an exalted trait in the character of
Washington, that party never understood him, and that
party never could appreciate the purity of his virtue, or the
grandeur of his genius. The reason of this was, that he
never thought, or felt through the medium of party himself,
and liad no sympathy for its delusions, its blindness, its
deceptions and its sinuosities. His passions were national
not factious, his views were for his country, not for a party;
and hence the non-existence of all sympathy, between those
who looked at every measure through the focus of a party,
and the great patriot who never permitted himself to look
at any subject but through the medium of his country's
good.'

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 153

Whatever IVIr. Jefferson may have alleged in moments of
envy, or during the irritation of party excitement, to dis-
parage the republican force of the inflexible principles of
Washington, he has made ample atonement for the injustice,
in his notes of ' Conversations with the President,'' from
which I cannot omit to quote the following passage, " I
expressed to him, says Jefferson, my excessive repugnance
to public life, the particular uneasiness of my situation in
this place, where the laws of society oblige me to move
exactly in the circle wliich I know to bear me peculiar
hatred; that is to say, the wealthy aristocrats^ the merchants
connected closely with England, the new created paper
fortunes; that, thus surrounded, my words were caught,
multiplied, misconstrued, and even fabricated and spread
abroad to m^^ injury; that he saw also, that there was such
an opposition of views between myself and another part of
the administration, as to render it peculiarlv unpleasing,
and to destroy tlie necessary harmony. Without knowing
the views of what is called the republican party here, or ha-
ving any communication with them, I could undertake to
assure him, from my intimacv witli that partv in the late
Congress, that there was not a view in the republican party,
as spread over the United States, which Avent to the frame
of the government; that I believed the next Congress would
attempt nothing material, but to render their own body in-
dependent; that that party were firm in their dispositions
to support the government; that the manoeuvres of Mr.
Genet might produce some little embarrassment, but that
he would be abandoned by the republicans the moment they
knew the nature of his conduct; and, on the whole, no crisis
existed which threatened any thing."

*' He said, he believed the views of the republican party
were perfectly pure, but when men j)ut a machine into 7no-
tion it is impossible for them to stop it exactly where they
would choose, or to say where it will stop. That the con-
stitution we have is an excellent one, if we can keep it where
it is; that it Avas indeed, supposed there was a party dis-
posed to change it into a monarchical form, but that he
could conscientiously declare there was not a man in the
United States who would set his face more decidedlv
against it than himself. Here I interrupted him, by saying,
'no rational man in the United States suspects you of any
other disposition^ but there does not pass a week, in which

154 THE LIFE OF

we cannot prove declarations dropping from the monarchi-
cal party, that our government is good for nothing, is a milk
and water thing which cannot support itself, we must knock
it down, and set up something of more energy.' He said,
if that 2vas the case, he thought it a proof of their insanity,
for that the republican spirit of the Union was so manifest
and so solid, that it was astonishing hoiv any one coidd
expect to move it.^^

Making allowance for the envy which evidently moved
Jeiferson, on all occasions, to disparage Washington, the
former has been more just to him than might with reason
be expected; when we consider that the latter never encour-
aged Jefferson to look beyond his cabinet appointment, and
always gave the preference of patronage, with an eye to the
succession, to the enemies of the Secretary of State, which
could not fail to kindle his resentment, and even excite
his venom. Yet, even thus prejudiced as Jefferson was
against the father of his country, he has given us the fol-
lowing testimony in favour of the modesty, moderation and
republican simplicity of the first President of the nation,
and which, .presume, we are to understand as equivalent
to his recantation of his insidious charges of his monarchi-
cal disposition and design in the institution of levees, ^^c. —
"When the President went to New York, he resisted, for
three weeks, the effort to introduce levees. At length he
yielded, and left it to Humphreys, and some others, to set-
tle the forms. Accordingly, an anti-chamber and presence
room were provided, and when those who were to pay their
court were assembled, the President set out, preceded by
Humphreys. After passing through the anti- chamber the
door of the inner room was thrown open, and Humphreys
entered first, calling out with a loud voice, ' the President
of the United States.' The President was so much discon-
certed with it, that he did not recover it the whole time of
the levee, and when the company was gone, he said to
Humphreys — ' well you have taken me in once, but you
shall never take me in a second time.' "

It must ever excite the surprise, regret and mortification
of all true Americans, that a party ever did exist in oppo-
sition to George Washington; and in the minds of the same
it will ever excite mingled emotions of contempt and ab-
horrence, that this party should have opened the battery of
their slanders, as they beheld the patriot on his retreat to

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 155

private life; and that their malicious detraction sharpened
its demoniac acrimony as the object of their calumny ap-
peared to ascend beyond their reach, in his progress to an
exalted and immortal renown. Like all cowards, they
began the attack when the lion had turned his back on the
reptiles who in vain strove to sting him, and finding the
giant impenetrable to their pigmy malice, they determined,
bv making a noise, to conceal their own imbecility and di-
minish the apparent grandeur of their foe — by the virulence
of their hatred and malignity.

Foremost in this work' of* infamy stood Frexeau's and
Bache's papers, the infuriate champions of licentious doc-
trines, and the common sewer through which concealed
rancour poured its cowardly libels upon the head of the man
who had achieved the independence and founded the repub-
lic of America; who had won its victories in fields of blood,
and cemented its liberties by the practical illustration of
the constitution which he had assisted to frame and adopt.
In one of these journals appeared a confidential paper,
which had been privately submitted to the advice of
his cabinet: and the publicity of which brouQ:ht suspicions
of a perfidious betrayal of confidence on so ^e member of
his late administration. From this paper, faction drew in-
ferences to blacken the fame and asperse the motives of
Washington, in relation to his deportment towards the in-
solent Genet, and the blood v scenes of the French revo-
lution.

Mr. Jeffersox, on whom, from the fact of his retirement
from the cabinet, and other circumstances, suspicion un-
justly fell, of having violated his confidence as a cabinet
minister, now thought proper to vindicate himself, in a letter
to Washington, from the foul charge of having given it to
the public; and that this violation of confidence and good
faith, must have been the work of some other, less alive to
the purity of his character, and the value of a good name.
Mr. Jefterson avowed his total abstraction from all party
questions.

To this letter of vindication and denial, Washington thus
responded: "If I had entertained any suspicion before, that
the queries which have been published in Bache's paper,
proceeded from you, the assurances you have given of the
contrary would have removed them: but the truth is, I har-
boured none. I am at no loss to conjecture from what

156 THE LIFE OF

source they flowed, through what channel they were con-
veyed, nor for what purpose they and similar publications
appear.

** As you have mentioned the subject yourself, it would
not be frank, candid, or friendly, to conceal that your con-
duct has been represented as derogating from that opinion
I conceived you had entertained of me^ that to your parti-
cular friends and connexions you have described, and they
have denounced me, as a person under a dangerous influ-
ence, and that, if I would listen more to some other opi-
nions, all would be well. My answer invariably has been,
that I had never discovered any thing in the conduct of Mr.
Jefterson to raise suspicions in my mind of his sincerity;
that if he would retrace my public conduct, while he was in
the administration, abundant proofs would occur to him,
that truth and right decisions were the sole objects of my
pursuit; that there were as many instances within his own
knowledge of my having decided against as in favour of
the person evidently alluded to; and, moreover, that I was
no believer in the infallibility of the politics or measures of
any man living. In short, that I was no party man mvself,
and that the first wish of my heart, was, if parties did exist,
to reconcile them. "

'' To this I may add, and very truly, that, until the last
year or two, I had no conception that parties would, or
even could go the lengths I have been v/itness to; nor did I
believe, until lately, that it was within the bounds of proba-
bility, hardly within those of possibility, that while I was
using my utmost exertions, to establish a national character
of our own, independent as far as our obligations and jus-
tice would pell^it, of every nation of the earth; and wished,
by steering a steady course, to preserve this country from
the horrors of a desolatino; war, I should be accused of beino-
the enemv of one nation, and subject to the influence of
another; and to prove it, that every act of my administration
would be tortured, and the grossest and most insidious mis-
representations of them be made, by giving one side only of
a subject, and that too in such exaggerated and indecent
terms, as could scarcely be applied to a Nero — to a notorious
defaulter — or even to a common pick-pocket.

But, enough of this — I have already gone further in the
expression of my feelings than I intended."

Every expedient of depravity — every project of forgery

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 157

and defamation, were now exhausted to blast his fame, or
tarnish his glorj. Fabricated letters, which had before been
published, in 1777, detected and condemned, were now
raked from the recesses of putrid slander, and republished
as wenuine, by the same incendiaries who had attempted to
defame him through Bache's paper, and M'hich occasioned
the denial of Mr. Jefferson's agency in that dark work of
moral assassination. The letters were said to have been
found in a portmanteau, left in the care of his mulatto ser-
vant Billy, who was taken prisoner by the British. In the
exposure of their fabrication by Washington, deposited in
the department of state, it appears that Billy never was
taken prisoner, and that no part of the baggage of the Ge-
neral ever fell into the hands of the enemy.

The charges of enmity towards France, alleged to per-
vade and influence the mind of AVashington, had been fully
refuted by his official efforts to negociate a treaty of com-
merce with that republic^ but the incapacity of Mr. Monroe,
as a diplomatist, combined with his extravagant devotion to
the French Directory, had operated to frustrate all the
plans of Washington to succeed in any negociation for that
object. To remove the obstacle supposed to exist in the
person of that minister, he was accordingly superceded by
Charles Cotesworth Pincknev, of South Carolina.

As the election for President and Vice President drew
near, Washington perceiving that he might safely withdraw
from the chair, announced his intention to the American
people, in what has been called his Farewell Address, a
paper so pre-eminent for the best lessons of political wis-
dom, and so replete with maxims of liberty, that tend to
cement the Union, and preserve the Republic entire, for
endless generations — a paper, at the same time so distin-
guished for its eloquence, and remarkable for its pure and
lofty spirit of patriotism — that not to insert it here, ema-
nating as it did immediately from the head and heart of its
great author, would betray a want of judgment, as well as
of patriotism, of which I would not willingly be supposed
guilty; more especially, as it ought to be a subject of fre-
quent perusal, and much study, to every American, of
whatever age, or condition — that they may imprint on the
memories of their children, the political tef^ament of a man,
who never thought but for his country's good— and who
never felt but for his country's honour, and the rights, liber-
ties, and happiness of the human race.

O

158 THE LIFE OF

OF GEORGE WASHINGTON'.

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UXITED STATES.

Friends and Fellow Citizens,

The period of a new election of a citizen to administer
tlie executive government of the United States, being not
far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your
thoughts must be employed in desio;nating the person who
is to be clothed with that important trusty it appears to me
proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct
expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise
you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being con-
sidered among the number of those out of whom a choice is
to be made.

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be
assured, that this resolution has not been taken, without a
strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the
relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country: that,
in witlulrawing the tejider of service which silence in my
situation might im"[?ly, I am influenced by no diminution of
zeal for vour future interest, no deficiencv of grateful
respect for your past kindness: but am supported by a full
conviction that the step is compatible with both.

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in theojOfice
to which your sufFrao-es have twice called me. have been a
uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and
to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I con-
stantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my
power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty
to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had
been reluctantly drawn. The streno-th of my inclination to

• • *" ~ •■■■

do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the
preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature
reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of oiir
affairs M"ith foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of
persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon
the idea. ^

I rejoice that fhe state of your concerns, external as well
as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination in-
compatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety: and I

GEORGE WASHINGTON'. 159

am persuaded whatever partiality may be retained for my
services, that in the present circumstances of our country,
you will not disapprove of my determination to retire.

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous
trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the dis-
charge of this trust, I will only say, that I have with good
intentions contributed towards the organisation and admi-
nistration of the government, the best exertions of which a
very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in
the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience
in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others,
has streng-thened the motives to difiidence of mvself; and
every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me
more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary
to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circum-
stances have given peculiar value to my services, they were
temporary; I have the consolation to believe, that while
choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene,
patriotism does not forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to
terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not
permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that
debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for
the many honours it has conferred upon me; still more for
the stediast confidence with which it has supported me; and
for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting
my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and perse-
vering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits
have resulted to our country from these services, let it
always be remembered to our praise', and as an instructive
example in our annals, that under circumstances in which
the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mis-
lead amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of
fortune often discourao-in";, — in situations in which not un-
frequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of
criticism; the constancy of your support was the essential
prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans, by which
they were effected. Profoundly penetratecl with this idea,
I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement
to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the
choicest tokens of its beneficence, that vour union and
brotherly affections may be perpetual; that the free consti-
tution, which is the work of your hands may be sacredly

160 THE LIFE OF

maintained: that its administration in every department
may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the
happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices
of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preserva-
tion, and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire
to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the
aftection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a
stranger to it.

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for
your welfare, which cannot end but with mv life, and the
apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me,
on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn con-
templation, and to recommend to your frequent review,
some sentiments, which are the results of much reflection,
of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me
all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people.
These Mill be offered to vou with the more freedom, as you
can only feel in them tlie disinterested warnings of a parting
friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias
bis counsel. Nor can I fors-et, as an encourao-ement to it.
your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and
not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty
with everv lio-ament of vour hearts, no recommendation of
mine is necessarv to fortifv or confirm the attachment.

The unity of government which constitutes you one peo-
ple, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is amain
pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support
of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad: of your
prosperity: of that very liberty which you so highly prize.
But, as it is easy to foresee, that from 'different causes and
from different cjuarters, much pains will be taken, many
artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction
of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress
against which the batteries of internal and external enemies
w^ill be most constantlv and actively directed, it is of infi-
iiite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense
value of your national Union, to your collective and indi-
vidual happiness: that vou should cherish a cordial, habi-
tual and immovable attachment to it: accustoming your-
selves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your
political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation
with jealous anxiety: discountenancing whatever may sug-
gest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned:

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 161

and. indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every
attempt to alienate any part of our country from the rest,
or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the
various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and in-
terest. Citizens by birth, and by choice of a common "country,
that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The
name of American, which belongs to you in your national
capacity, must always, exalt the just pride of patriotism
more than any appellation derived from local discrimina-
tions. With slight shades of difference, you have the same
religion, manners, habits and politicaf principles. You
have in a common cause fought and triumphed together^
the independence and liberty you possess are the work of
joint councils, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufler-
ings and successes.

But these considerations, however powerfully they ad-
dress themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed
by those which apply more immediately to your interest.
Here every portion of our country finds the most command-
ing motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union
of the whole.

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South,
protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds
in the productions of the latter great additional resources
of maritime and commercial enterprize, and precious ma-
terials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same
intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its
agriculture and its commerce expand. Turning partly into
its own channels the seamen of the north, it finds its parti-
cular navigation invigorated^ and while it contributes in
different ways to nourish and increase the general mass of
the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection
of a maritime strength, to which itself is unec|ually adapted.
The East, in a like intercourse with the West, always finds,
and in the progressive improvement of interior communica-
tions by land and water, will more and more find a valuable
vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or
manufactures at home. The West derives from the East
supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and what is
perhaps of still greater consequence, it must, of necessity,
owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its
own productions to the weight, influence, and the future

O 2

162 THE LIFE OF

maritime strength of the Union, directed bj an indissoluble
community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by
which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether
derived from its own separate strength or from an apostate
and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be
intrinsically precarious.

While then every part of our country thus feels an im-
mediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts com-
bined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and
efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably
greater security from internal danger, a less frequent inter-
ruption of their peace by foreign nations^ and what is of
inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemp-
tion from those broils and wars between themselves, which
so frequently assist neighbouring countries, not tied to-
gether by the same government, which their own rivalships
alone would be sufficient to produce^ but which opposite
foreign alliances, attachments and intrigues, would stimu-
late and embitter.. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the
necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which
under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty,
and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to
republican liberty 5 in this sense it is, that your Union ought
to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that
the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation
of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive lan-
guage to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit
the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic
desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government
can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it.
To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal.
We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the
whole, with the auxiliary agency of government for the re-
spective subdivisions, will aftbrd a happy issue to the ex-
periment. With these powerful and obvious motives to
Union, aft'ecting all parts of our country, while experience
shall not have demonstrated its impractibility, there will
always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in
any quarter may endeavour to weaken its bonds.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our
Union, it occurs, as a matter of serious concern, that any
ground should have been furnished for characterizing par-
ties by geographical discriminations — Northern and South-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. " 163

ern — ^ Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may
endeavour to excite a belief that there is a real difference
of local interests and views. One of the expedients of
party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to
misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You
cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies
and heart burnings which spring from those misrepresen-
tations; they tend to render alien to each other those who
ought to be bound by fraternal affection. The inhabitants
of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on
this head; they have seen, in the negociation by the execu-
tive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of
the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at
that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof
how unfounded were suspicions propagated among them of
a policy in the general government, and in the Atlantic
States, unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mis-
sissippi: thev have been M'itnesses to the formation of twa
treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain,
which secure to them every thing they could desire, in
respect to our foreign relations towards continuing their
prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely, for the
preservation of these advantages, on the Union, by which
they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to
these advisers, if such they are, who would sever them from
their brethren, and connect them with aliens }

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union* a goyern-
ment for the whole is indispensable. >so alliances, how-
ever strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute;-
they must inevitably experience the infractions and inter-
ruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced.
Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon
your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of govern-
ment better calculated than your former for an intimate
Union, and for the efficacious manao;ement of your common
concerns. This government, the offspring of our own
choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full inves-
tigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its.
principles in the distribution of its powers, uniting security
with energy, and containing within itself a provision for
its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence
and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance
with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties en-

164 THE LIFE OF

joined by the fundamental maxims of true libery. The basis
of our political systems is the right of the people to make,
and to alter their constitutions which at any time exists,
till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole
people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.

The yery idea of the power and the right of the people
to establish goyernment, presupposes tlie duty of every in-
dividual to obey the established government. All obstruc-
tions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and
associations, under whatever plausible character, with the
real design to direct, control, counteract or awe the regular
deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are
destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal ten-
dency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an ar-
tificial and extraordinary force, to put in the place of the
delegated Mill of the nation the will of a party, often a
small but artful and enterprising minority of the community;
and according to the alternate triumphs of difterent parties,
to make the public administrations the mirror of the ill
concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than
the organ of consistent wholesome plans digested by com-
mon councils, and modified by mutual interest.

However combinations or associations of the above de-
scription may now and then answer popular ends, they are
likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent
engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled
men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people,
and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; de-
stroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted
them to unjust dominion.

Towards the preservation of your government, and the
permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite,
not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppo-
sitions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you re-
sist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles,
however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may
be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations
which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to
undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the
changes to which you may be invited, remember that time
and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character
of governments as of other human institutions; that experi-
ence is the surest standard by which to test the real ten-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 165

dency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility
in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion,
exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of
hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for
the efficient management of your common interests, in a
country so extensive as ours, a government of as much
vigour as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty,
is indispensable. Liberty itself will find, in such a govern-
ment, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its
surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name
where the government is too feeble to withstand the enter-
prises of faction, to confine each member of the society
within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain
all in the secure and tranquil enjoyments of the rights of
persons and property.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in
the State, with particular reference to the founding of them
on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more
comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn
manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party
general ly.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature,
having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind.
It exists under difterent shapes in all governments, more
or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the
popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly
their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another,
sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissen-
tion, which in different ages and countries has perpetuated
the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.
But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent
despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gra-
dually inclining the minds of men to seek security and re-
pose in the absolute power of an individual: and sooner or
later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or
more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition
to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public
liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind,
the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party
are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise peo-
ple to discourage and restrain it.

166 THE LIFE OF

It serves always to distract the public counsels, and en-
feeble the public'administration. It agitates the community
with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms: kindles the
animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally
riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign in-
fluence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to
the government itself through the channels of party pas-
sions. Thus the policy and will of one country are sub-
jected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties, in free countries, are
useful checks upon the administration of the government,
and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within
certain limits is probably true: and in governments of a
monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence,
if not with favour, upon the spirit of party : but in those of
the popular character, and in government purely elective, it
is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural ten-
dency it is certain there will always be enough of that
spirit for every .salutary purpose. And there being con-
stant dano;er of excess, the effort ouo;ht to be, bv force of
public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it — a fire not to be
quenched; it demands uniform vigilance to prevent its burst-
ing into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should con-
sume.

It is important likewise that the habits of thinking in a
free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with
its administration to confine themselves within their respec-
tive constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the
powers of some department to encroach upon another. The
spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of
all departments in one, and thus to create, whatsoever are
the forms of government, a real despotism. A just estimate
of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which pre-
dominates in human hearts, is sufficient to satisfy us of the
truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks
in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distri-
buting it into different depositories, and constituting each
to be the guardian of the public weal against invasion by
the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and
modern: some of them in our country, and under our own
eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to insti-
tute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution
or modification of the constitutional powers be in any par=

GEORGE WASHINGTON. l67

ticular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the
way which the constitution designates: but let there be no
change bv usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may
be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by
which free governments are destroyed. The precedent
must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any par-
tial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.
In vain should that man claim the tribute of patriotism who
should labour to subvert these great pillars of human hap-
piness— these firmest props of the duties of men and citi-
zens. The mere politician equally with the honest man
ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not
trace all their connections Avith private and public felicity.
Let it simply be asked where is the security for property,
for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligations
desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation
m courts of justice.^ And let us with caution indulge the
supposition, that morality can be maintained without reli-
gion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined
education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and expe-
rience both forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a neces-
sary spring of popular government. The rule indeed ex-
tends with more or less force to every species of free go-
vernment. "Who that is a sincere friend to it can look
with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of
the fabric ?

Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, in-
stitutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In pro-
portion as the structure of a government gives force to
public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be
enlightened.

As a very important source of strength and security,
cherish public credit^ one method of securing it is to use
it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by
cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely dis-
bursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much
greater disbursements to repel it: avoiding, likewise, the
accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of
expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to dis-

168

THE LIFE OF

charge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occa*
sioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the bur-
then which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of
these maxims belongs to your representatives; but it is
necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facili-
tate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential
that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the
payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have re-
venue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised
which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant;
that the intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the se-
lection of the proper objects ought to be a decisive motive
for a candid construction of the conduct of government in
making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures
for obtaining revenue wliich the public exigencies may at
any time dictate.

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; culti-
vate peace and harmony with all: religion and morality en-
join this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not
equally enjoin it.^ It will be worthy of a free, enlightened,
and at no very distant period, a powerful nation, to give to
mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people
always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who
can doubt that, in the course of time, the fruits of such apian
would richly repay any temporary advantages which might
be felt by a steady adherence to it.^ Can it be, that provi-
dence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation
with its virtue.^ The experiment, at least, is recommended
by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas !
is it rendered impossible by its vices?

In the execution of such apian, nothing is more essential
than that inveterate antipathies against particular nations,
and passionate attachments for others, should be ex-
cluded; and that in place of them, just and amicable feel-
ings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which
indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or a habitual
fondness, is in some degree of a slave. It is a slave to its
animosity, or to its affection; either of which is sufficient to
lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in
one nation against another disposes each more readily to
offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of um-
brage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental
or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent col-

GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 169

lisions, obstinate, envenomed and bloodj contests. The
nation prompted by ill-will and resentment sometimes im-
pels to war the government contrary to the best calculations
of policy. The government sometimes participates in the
national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason
would reject; at other times it makes the animosity of the
nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by
pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives.
The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty of nations,
has been the victim. So, likewise, a passionate attachment of
one nation for another, produces a variety of evils. Sympa-
thy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an
imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common
interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the
other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels
and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or
justification.

It leads also to concessions to the favourite nation of
privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure
the nation making the concessions, by unnecessarily parting
with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting
jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate in the par-
ties from whom equal privileges are Avithheld; and it gives
to ambitious, corrupted or deluded citizens facility to^ be-
tray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without
odium, sometimes even with popularity, gilding with the
appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, or a laudable
zeal for public good, the foolish compliances of ambition,
corruption, or infatuation.

As avenues to foreign influence, in innumerable ways,
such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly
enlio-htened and independent patriot. How many oppor-
tunities do they aftord to tamper with domestic factions,
to practise the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion,
to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attach-
ment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful na-
tion, dooms the former to be tVie satellite of the latter.

Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive
dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see
danger onlv on one side, and serve to veil and even to
secoiid the \arts and influence of the other. Real patriots,
who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to
become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes

P

170 THE LIFE OF

usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender
their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign na-
tions, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with
them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we
have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with
perfect good faith. Here let us stop.

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have
none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be en-
gaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are
essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it
must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties,
in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary
combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us
to pursue a diiferent course. If we remain one people,
under an efficient government, the period is not far otF when
we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when
we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality
we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously re-
spected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility
of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the
giving us provocation — when we may choose peace or war,
as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation?

Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground.^ Why

by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe,

entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European

ambition, rivalship, interest, humour, or caprice ?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances

with any portion of the foreign world, so far I mean as we

are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as

capable of patronising infidelity to existing engagements.

I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private

affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it,

therefore, let those eno-agements be observed in their o;enu-

• • • • J

ine sense. But, m my opinion, it is unnecessary, and

would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable esta-
blishments, in a respectable defensive posture, we may
safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emer-
gencies.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are re-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 171

commended by policy, humanity, and interest. But, even
our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial
hand; neither seeking or granting exclusive favours or pre-
ferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing
and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce,
but forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed,
in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights
of our merchants, and to enable the government to support
them; conventional rules of intercourse, the best that pre-
sent circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but
temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or
varied, as experience or circumstances shall dictate; con-
stantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look
for disinterested favours from another; that it must pay with
a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept
under that character; that by such acceptance, it may place
itself in the condition of having given equivalents for no-
minal favour, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude
for not giving more. There can be no greater error than
to expect, or calculate, upon real favours from nation to
nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which
a just pride ought to discard.

In offering to my countrymen, these counsels of an old
and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the
strong and lasting impression I could wish — that they will
control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our
nation from running the course which has hitherto marked
the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself
that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some
occasional good, that they may now and then recur to mo-
derate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs
of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pre-
tended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for
the solicitude of your welfare, by which they have been
dictated.

How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been
guided by the principles which have been delineated, the
public records and the other evidences of my conduct must
witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of
my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself
to be guided by them.

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my pro-
clamation of the 2?d of April, 1793, is the index to my

172 THE LIFE OF

plan. Sanctioned bj your approving voice, and by that of
your representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit
of that measure has continually governed nie, uninfluenced
by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

After deliberate examination Avith the aid of the best
lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country,
under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take,
and was bound in duty and interest, to take a neutral posi-
tion. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should de-
pend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance
and firmness. The considerations which respect the right
to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to
detail. I will only observe, tliat according to my under-
standing of the matter, that right, so far from being denied
by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually ad-
mitted by all. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may-
be inferred, without any thing more from the obligation
which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases
in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations
of peace and amity towards other nations.

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct
will be referred to your own reflections and experience.
With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavour to
gain time to our country to settle and mature its recent in-
stitutions, and to progress without interruption, to that
degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to
give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration,
I am unconscious of intentional error; I am, nevertheless,
too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I
may have committed many errors. Whatever they may
be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate
the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with
me the hope, that my country will never cease to view
them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my
life dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults
of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as
myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and
actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural
to a man who views it in the native soil of himself and his
progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleas-
ing expectation, that retreat, in which I promise myself to

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 173

realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in
the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of
good laws under a free government — the ever favourite
object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our
mutual cares, labours and dangerfe.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.
United States, 17th September, 1796.

In all quarters of the Union, this Address was received
with profound veneration and respect for its author, and a
deep conviction of the truth and preciousness of the solemn
lessons it contained. The people bowed witli reverence to
the precepts of patriotism, which fell from the venerated
lips of the mighty man, whose genius and virtue had con-
ducted them through such tempests and perils, to their pre-
sent freedom and felicity. Several of the State Legislatures
passed resolutions to have it transcribed on their journals;
and nearlv all adopted resolutions, declaring their respect
for his person, their exalted sense of his public services, and
the deep emotion with which they beheld his retirement
from public life.

The period of his political cares now rapidly approached;
and on the 7th of December, 1796, Washington for the last
time, met the national legislature in the Senate chamber, to
deliver his final speech on the aftairs of the country; and
here, he exceeded all his antecedent addresses, in the com-
prehensive reach of mind, and condensation of political
wisdom which it exhibited. After enumerating and com-
menting on the prominent events of his administration for
the past year, he digressed to the recommendation of a com-
petent Naval establishment; the erection of National
Works for the manufacture of the necessary munitions of
war; for a National Institute of Agriculture; for a
Military Academy; for a National University; and an
increase of compensation to the officers of government. As
usual, his exposition of^ the foreign relations of the country
was lucid and patriotic; while his view of its internal proS'
perity was perspicuous, animated and cheering.

The Senate adopted an answer to the speech, replete with
sentiments of affection and gratitude towards the veteran
chief, and expressive of their regret at his retirement from
the Presidential chair.

In the House of Representatives, however, a similar spirit

P 2

174 THE LIFE OF

of patriotism and liberality did not universally prevail.
Faction liad there reared its snaky front; and malice, pas-
sion and hatred had been, in a great measure, substituted
for the pure spirit of American patriotism. Mr. Giles,
cursed by nature with tl^e unquiet spirit of eternal opposi-
tion, vented his gall in slander, and satiated his malignity
by his aspersions on the character of Washington. With
an audacity onlv equalled by his disregard of truth, and a
malignity of heart, which found no parallel but in his perver-
sity of understanding, that gentleman said, " he was one of
tliose citizens who did not regret the President's retiring
from office. He hoped he would retire to his country seat,
and enjoy all the happiness he could wish: and he believed
he would enjoy more tliere than in his present situation.
He believed the government of the United States would go
on without him. The people were competent to their own
government. "Wliat calamities Mould attend the United
States, if one man alone was essential to their govern-
ment.'^ He believed there were a thousand men in the
United States, who were capable of filling the Presiden-
tial chair as well as it had been filled heretofore. And
althouo;h a clamour had been raised in all parts of the
United States, more or less from apprehensions on the depar-
ture of the President from office, yet, not feeling these ap-
prehensions himself, he was perfectly easy on the occasion.
He wished the President as much happiness as any man,
&c." — "'but for his part, he retained the same opinions he
had always done with respect to his measures, nor should
any influence under heaven prevent him from expressing
that opinion — an opinion in which he vras confident, ere
long, all America ivould concur.'^ "^

The address, to wliich Mr. Giles made his ineffectual
opposition, was carried by an overwhelming majority, and
contained the following beautiful and appropriate passages

* Mr. Giles lived to see the folly of this prediction: for, at the
time of his death, every measure of AVashinglorx had been fully adopt-
ed by those Avho opposed them in 1796. The federal policy became
the democratic policy, even down to the navy and tlie bank; and
^Tr. Giles was left a solitary monument of consistent obstinacv, at
war with all parties, and himself denounced by all America. Mr.
Madison and Mr. Monroe, more wise, became converts to a policy
which could not be changed without plunging the country in ruin,
and subjecting' it to insult and dishonour.

GEORGE WASHINGTON*. 175

— "The spectacle of a free and enlightened nation offer-
ing, by its representatives, the tribute of unfeigned appro-
bation to its first citizen, however novel and interesting it
may be, derives all its lustre (a lustre which accident or
enthusiasm could not bestow, and wiiich adulation would
tarnish) from the transcendant merit of which it is the vo-
luntary testimony.''

"May you long enjoy that liberty which is so dear to you,
and to which your name will ever be so dear; may your
own virtue, and a nation's prayers, obtain the happiest sun-
shine for the decline of your days, and the choicest of fu-
ture blessings. For our country's sake; for the sake of re-
publican liberty, it is our earnest wish that your example
may be the guide of your successors; and thus, after being
the ornament and safeguard of the present, become the
patrimony of our descendants." This address was carried
by nearly a unanimous vote, three members onlv voting- in
the negative I

Washington beheld his return to private life with those
heartfelt emotions of sincere pleasure, which delight *'• the
wearied traveller ivho sees a resting place, and is bending
his body to lean thereon.'^''

He remained in Philadelphia, after the expiration of his
term of office, only long enough to attend the inauguration
of John* Adams, as President, a.nd Thomas Jefferson, as
Vice-President of the United States.

The merchants of Philadelphia, fully qualified to appre-
ciate the genius, and reverence the virtues and patriotism
of Washington, could not consent to part with the father
of his country, without some signal testimony of their gra-
titude and admiration; which, more or less, extended to
every class of life. For this purpose, they prepared a mag-
nificent banquet, to which A^'ashington was invited, together
with manv officers of hig-h rank in the late army, the heads
of departments, foreign ministers and persons of distinction.

Upon entering the area of the Rotundo, tlie general was
conducted to his seat; and, a signal being given, the music
struck up Washington's March, while a curtain scene,
which represented simple objects in the rear of the princi-
pal seat, was drawn up and discovered an emblematical
painting of his retirement from office. The principal figure
was tliat of a female, as large as life, representing America,
seated on an elevation of sixteen marble steps. On her left

176 THE LIFE OF

hand reposed the federal shield, sustained by an eagle, and
at her feet lay the cornucopiae. In her right hand she held
the Indian calumet of peace, supporting the cap of liberty;
while in the perspective rose the temple of fame; and on
her left stood an ciltar consecrated to public gratitude,
upon which incense was burning. In her left hand she held
a scroll, inscribed ^ valedictory^^ and at the foot of the
altar lay a. plumed helmet and sword, from which a figure of
Washington, as large as life, appeared retiring down the
steps, pointing with his right hand to the emblems of power
which he had resigned, and with his left to a beautiful land-
scape of Mount Vernox, in front of which appeared oxen
yoked to the plough. Over the seat of Washington, a
fio-ure of genius^ descending from the clouds, appeared
placing a wreath of laurel on his head.

No sooner was his successor installed into office, than
Washington hastened towards his favourite retreat of Mount
Vernon f but all his efforts to render his journey private
proved unavailing; and the country through which he pass-
ed was thronged with grateful citizens, eager to express
their veneration and attachment to the man, who, uniting
virtue with greatness, shone brighter in the declining hours
of his authority, than the sun that rose to gild the chair
which he had "^voluntarily resigned; and the splendour of
whose real glory has been hourly augmenting from the day
of his retirement to the present time. While in power,
ambition envied his greatness, without being able to per-
ceive that adventitious circumstances did not create it; and
malignant faction aspersed his motives, without being able
to discern or appreciate his patriotism.

It has been remarked, as a singular fact in the life of
Washington, that though the most popular of all men who
ever did, or can occupy the presidential chair, yet that
scarcely any prominent measure of his administration has
escaped the Venom of party invective, or the unsparing de-
nunciation of malignant criticism; the cause of which is to
be found in his patriotism, which refused to compromise
his countrv; and in his genius, which could carry into suc-
cessful execution the indistinct outlines of a vast and com-
plicated empire, the boundaries of whose powers were
defined by an instrument open to every variety of construc-
tion; and, to pronounce on the violation of whose powers,
no tribunal had been understandingly erected.

GEORGE WASHINGTOy. 177

At Mount Vernon his time was now devoted to agricul-
tural pursuits, and the duties of an extensive correspon-
dence: tog-ether with that influx of social intercourse, which
his past greatness, and ever enduring virtues, poured upon
him: so that with the improvements of a somewhat neglected
estate, the society of men and the allurements of books,
added to the pleasing duties of a dift\isive correspondence,
everv hour o;lided awav with the calm delight of rational
employment and philosophic dignity, yet with a heart not
narrowed in the sphere of its action, and a mind still acute-
ly alive to the honour, interest, freedom and prosperity of
his country.

It was scarcely within the compass of human reason, how-
ever, that Washington should not entertain a lively sensi-
bility for the progress of those political events, connected
with the operations of that stupendous machine of govern-
ment, which his genius had set in motion, and that policy
of its administration which his wisdom and virtue had de-
vised, as tlie polar star of its safety and honour. AVarmly
attached to the system he had pursued, he looked to its
preservation with the fond solicitude of parental love,
w^hich all his efforts to abstract liimself from political affairs,
could not restrain or overcome. Still there was a struggle
in his mind between the love of retirement, and his habitual
propensity to watch over the welfare of his country, which
is well depicted in the following extract from one of his let-
ters— "I have confidence, however, in that providence
which has shielded the United States from the evils that
have hitherto threatened them; and as I believe the major
part of the people of this country to be well affected to its
constitution and government, I rest satisfied that, should a
crisis ever arrive to call forth the sense of the community,
it will be strong in support of the honour and dignity of
the nation. Therefore, however much I regret the oppo-
sition, which has for its object the embarrassment of the ad-
ministration. I shall view thinss in the calm lio;ht of mild
philosophy, and endeavour to finish my course in retirement
and ease."

But the insulting and degradino; conduct of France, first
towards our minister, General Pinckney, then towards our
three envoys, and afterwards to our flag and property —
coupled with the insolent demand that " France ivants
money and must have it;^^ and that without money she

178

THE LIFE OF

would declare war against us; having at last provoked hos-
tilities with that republic — Washington was appointed to
the command of the armies of the United States, in July,
1798, which he very reluctantly accepted, under the con-
viction that his duty to his country would not permit him
to decline a commission, which a deep sense of the danger
of the crisis had been the motive for conferring on liim. He
now directed all his attention to the organization of the
army; though convinced himself that France would never
have the madness to attempt an invasion.

On Friday, the 13th December, 1799, while superintend-
ing some alterations and improvements on his estate, ex-
posed to a drizzling rain, which saturated his hair, and
wet his neck, he received the malady, which in a short
period terminated his existence. DisVegarding his beino-
w^et, as a slight inconvenience, he passed the day in his
usual manner, free from all apprehension of danger: but
during the night he was seized with a violent inflammation
of the windpipe, attended with ague, great pain in the upper
and fore part of the throat, a cough, difficultv of breathing
and considerable fever. He immediately' lost fourteen
ounces of blood, but would not permit anv of the domestics
to be disturbed, that they might be despatched for a phy-
sician, until day -break. "Doctor Craik arrived at 11, and
immediately requested a consultation. But the resources
of art were exhausted in vain. His vital powers were fast
sinking beneath the force of his malady; his speech became
difficult, and his respiration obstructed^iiore and more. In
this manner the vital functions seemed to be rapidly de-
parting; and on Saturday m^\i, at half past 11 o'clock, he
expired, in the full possession of his intellectual faculties,
and without a struggle or a groan.

Labouring under the presentiment, from the beginning,
that his disease would prove mortal, he perhaps uncon-
sciously assisted to aid its ravages, by the great reluctance
with which he submitted to the remedies prescribed for its
cure. This impression, however, was too serious to be
eradicated; and a few hours before he died, he with diffi-
culty made himself understood, when he expressed a wish
to die Avithout being further troubled. As soon as he was
attacked, and found it impossible to swallow, he concluded
all hope of recovery vain; and, undressing himself, went to
bed, to conclude his mortal career.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 179

To Doctor Craik, who added the kindness of a friend to
the skill of a physician, he said with difficulty, as his head
reposed on the lap of the doctor, who sat on his bed,
' Doctor, I am dying, and have been dying for a long time,
but I am not afraid to die.'

Thus, with the serenity of a saint, and the composure ot
a philosopher, expired, in his sixty-seventh year, the purest
man, and most disinterested patriot, who had ever founded
an empire, and exercised the supreme authority of a nation.

As sudden as it was afflicting, the intelligence of his
death struck the public mind with a palsy of grief, which
every moment spread wider, and sunk\leeper into the
hearts of the community. At a distance, the news of his
death preceded the intelligence of his illness; so quick had
been the ravages of his disease; and as the dismay was en-
hanced, from the minds of men not being prepared for the
catastrophe, a general gloom overspread the country. The
two Houses of Congress immediately adjourned on the re-
ceipt of the intelligence. On the succeedinfj day, a mem-
ber of the House addressed to the chair the following just
and beautiful eulogy, as introductory to three resolutions.*
'* The melancholy event which was yesterday announced
with doubt, has been rendered but too certain. Our
Washington is no more ! The hero, the patriot, and the
sage of America — the man on whom, in times of danger,
every eye was turned, and all hopes were placed, lives now
only in his own great actions, and in the hearts of an affec-
tionate and afflicted people.

" If, Sir, it had not been usual openly to testify respect
for the memory of those whom heaven has selected as its
instruments for dispensing good to man, yet, such has been
the uncommon worth and such the extraordinary incidents
which may have marked the life of him whose loss we all
deplore, that the whole American nation, impelled by the

* " Resolved, That this House will wait on the President in con-
dolence of this mournful event.

"Resolyed, That the Speaker's chair be shrouded with black,
and that the members and officers of the House wear black during-
the Session.

" Rf.solveb, That a Committee, in conjunction with one from the
Senate, be appointed to consider on the most suitable manner of pay-
ing- honour to the memoiy of the max, first ix waii, first in

PEACE, and FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS."

180 THE LIFE OF

same feelings, would call, with one voice, for a public ma-
nifestation of that sorrow which is so deep and universal.

'»More than any other individual, and as much as to
one individual was possible, has he contributed to found
this our wide spreading empire, and to give to the Western
World Independence and Freedom.

*' Having ertected the great object for which he was placed
at the head of our armies, we have seen him convert the
sword into the ploughshare, and sink the soldier into the
citizen.

" When the debility of our federal system had become
manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast conti-
nent were dissolvino;, we have seen him the chief of those
patriots who formed for us a constitution which, by pre-
serving the Union, will, I trust, substantiate and perpetuate
those blessings which our revolution had promised to bestow.

" In obedience to the general voice of his country callino;
him to preside over a great people, we have seen him once
more quit the retirement he loved, and in a season more
stormy and tempestuous than war itself, with calm and wise
determination pursue the true interests of the nation, and
contribute, more than any other could contribute, to inc
establishment of that system of policy, which will, I trust,
yet preserve our peace, our honour and our independence.

" Having; been twice unanimously chosen the chief mao;is-
trate of a free people, we have seen him, at a time when his
re-election, with universal suffrage, could not be doubted,
afford to the world a rare instance of moderation, by with-
drawing from his hio;h station to the peaceful walks of pri-
vate life.

*' However the public confidence may change, and the
public affections fluctuate with respect to others, with re-
spect to him, they have, in war and in peace, in public and
private life, been as steady as his own firm mind, and as con-
stant as his own exalted virtues."

It would fill a volume to allude to, much less detail all
the public testimonials of grief, reverence and affection,
which attended the funeral obsequies of this illustrious man.

The person, manners and temper of Washington, must
always excite the affectionate curiosity of comino- ages, to
the end of time. He was above the middle size, tall, robust
and vigorous — formed to endure great fatigue, and from an
exuberance of vitality requiring much exercise to preserve

GEORGE WASHINGTON* 181

healthy yet, though robust, his form was graceful and
dignified.

In his manners, he was inclined to be reserved and drj,
yet neither stern nor haughty; but this disposition he re-
laxed to cheerfulness and sociability, amidst the charms of
conversation, or the finer pleasures of select society; still,
however, preserving that dignity, which seemed to attach
to his deportment rather as an attribute of mind, than a
carriage of his person.

His temper was naturally quick; but vigilance and disci*
pline had taught him to correct its impetuosity, and restrain
its ebullitions. His heart was benevolent, humane and
affectionate; and if he was prone to be easily oftended, he
was also remarkable for a forgiving and conciliating temper,
which never permitted resentment to rankle into revenge,
or fester into hatred; for, it passed over his heart like the
glow from his cheek — a momentary flush, and all was calm
again. Indeed, every lineament of his countenance shone
with mao-nanimitv, and beamed w ith the true lustre of heroic
virtue; mirroring a heart free from every spot, which the
^yil passions imprint on the wicked.

In his personal economy he was prudent, yet at the same
time liberal. Cautious of all visionary schemes, and guarded
against prodigal experiments; when he knew the purpose to
be useful, his bounty was as ample as his means. By this
judicious husbandry, his private fortune was always adequate
to his extensive hospitality; for never havino; impaired his
estate, through neglect, extravagance, or pride; by costly
display, or vain magnificence; he could practise the art of
bountiful entertainment, without committing the error of
luxurious ruin.

The cast of his mind was to deep meditation, and solid
sense. Wit, he never made pretensions to: the point
which sparkles, and the flash that fascinates, to dazzle the
fancy while it beguiles the judgment, were alike alien to tl.e
heroic gravity of his mind; which, though abundantly gifted
with genius, seems to have been too colossal and lofty for
the glare and brilliancy of imagination.

He was naturally prone to be serious, and the usual habit
of his mind was sober reflection. He seldom smiled, never
indulged in laughter, and rarely relaxed to the familiarity
of common social intercourse; habit having strengthened his
constitutional propensity to abstraction, to the contempla-

Q

182 THE LIFE OF

tion of vast enterprises, beneficial measures or useful
schemes.

In his moral liabits, he was virtuous and pure, chaste and
discreet: no imputation of private vice ever having dimned
the true lustre of his gi'eatness.

Free from the revengeful passions, he was equally exalted
above the false ideas of honour: he was never known to
shoot an enemy in a duel, or assassinate a foe in a brawl:
being equally a stranger to the gaming table, the cock-pit,
and the race ground.

In his relisfion he was a sincere Christian: but neither
profe-ssed great sanctity, nor put on the exterior of rigid
piety, content to discharge his duty to man, and to adore
God in his heart. Mr. Jefferson has attemptetl to make
him a dissenter from the Christian creedj but this is an
error; the testimony to prove his religion beins too con-
clusive to admit a doubt. It is true, that he neither encou-
raged priests nor priestcraft; but it is equally true, that
his sense of religion was profound, and his piety warm and
unaffected.

He had a peculiar aversion to sitting for his portrait, and
of course suffered much vexation from the importunity of
artists: but Gilbert Stuart, having arrived from England
with a letter of introduction from Mr. Jav to ^Vashington,
an acquaintance with that eminent artist ensued; and
Stuart having been fortunate enough to win liis confidence
and esteem, he painted his first portrait of him. This was
in 1794:. But the artist not being satisfied with this attempt
destroyed it: and Washington having consented to another
sitting. Stuart contrived to excite those emotions of the
great mind of his subject, which would throw the best ex-
pression into his countenance. It is said, that such was the
impression of aMe, produced by Washington on the artist,
that he lost his self-possession at the first sitting; althougii
Stuart had long been familiar with the society of the first
noblemen of Europe: but he had not yet beheld the nohle-
man of nature — the great and good man, whose greatness of
soul beamed in a visage unequalled for its grandeur and
puritv. This second portrait is represented as the most
faithful ever painted; and v»as purchased of the wido^v of
Stuart by the Boston ^^thenemn, for- one thousand dollars.
A portrait from this standard pi dure, by Durand, is now in
process of engraving, and will soon be furnisiied to the

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 183

public. Stuart resided at Germantoicn, at the period that
he painted the portrait of the great American; and the Ge-
neral rode out to sit to him; on one of whicli occasions, the
painter made him the following jocular compliment: •' Ge-
neral, I have always felt much indebted to you for your
kindness: but my greatest obligation to you is, that you
never attempted to paint portraits; for you have had such
perfect success in all you have undertaken, that if you had
been a painter I should have had no hopes."

Such was George Washington; a man, who, made
great by nature, and still greater by virtue; self-educated,
and^depending more on the suggestions of genius than the
lessons of science and the precepts of learning, for his pre-
eminent success in life, presents us with a model of human
perfection, which, combining simple grandeur with unaf-
fected modesty, has never been equal ted by the possessors
of supreme authority.

In reviewing with the cool and impartial eye of criticism,
the whole range of history, ancient and moclern, we meet
with no character that can aspire to equal, in all the points
of true greatness that of George Washington. Some, it is
true, are more splendid and dazzling; others more distin-
guished for daring enterprise; and others again, more bril-
liant and illustrious, on account of their profound learning,
varied acquirements, glittering eloquence, or commanding
and exalted ambition, reckless of consequences, and intent
solely upon renown. Indeed, in isolated and detached fea-
tures of character, he had innumerable superiors; but, in the
grand whole, of what constitutes true ghry, and makes a
hero, without making a villain, Washington had no equal,
but stands alone a monument of the beneficence of Heaven
in its creation of a great man, whose fri'eatness was combined
with virtue, and whose never fading lustre was untarnished
by one vice — undimned by one crime. Fallible, it is true,
he was; but it was the fallibility of great and well poised
genius, which so rarely erred, that men of less exalted na-
tures looked upon him as a standard of perfection, and not
without reason; for time and experience put the great seal of
wisdom on his deeds, and those most opposed eventually
yielded to him their approbation and applause; as if he pos-
sessed the faculty of penetrating beyond the mist of human
passions around him, to discern the truth which lay unob-
scured to his eye, in the brightness of the future; and of

184 THE LIFE OF

shaking off from his mind all those living prejudices which,
like devouring insects, prey upon the reason of man, de-
facing his intellect, obscuring his judgment, and debasing
Ms moral to the grossness of his physical nature.

We recognise in Washino-ton. the three o-reat characters
of a warrior, a statesman, and a legislator. As a general,
he was cool, skilful, inventive, and, mixing intrepidity with
prudence, he exhibited that happy concord of qualities which
could dash on to achieve victory, or with cautious prudence
stand aloof from battle, or eftect a secure retreat. Rather
passive than active in his mind, more disposed to wait for
the event, and resist it, than to anticipate it, and miscarry
by false calculation, the defective nature of his military
material, confirmed him in the habit of this propensity.
Gifted with foresight and penetration, he was never taken
by surprise; and fertile in expedients, he never suffered him-
self to sink under the difficulties that surrounded him. His
military genius, however, cannot fairly be appreciated bv
his Tnilitary practice. His letters breathe the fiery spirit of
the curbed war-horse, chafing for action, but restrained by
prudence: and having wisdom enough to bend to circum-
stances, instead of rushins:, with reckless and headlono;
rashness, upon measures pregnant equally with glory, with
ruin and defeat. It was a great quality of his mind, to
know the exact measure of his strength, and to have pru-
dence not to risk that strength in dubious conflicts, where
defeat would have amounted to extirpation, and even vic-
tory might have involved ruin. There was wisdom, there-
fore, blended with his valour; and prudence with his skill
and address — qualities which, though not so brilliant as im-
petuosity and daring, yet were more useful to his country,
and more beneficial to mankind.

As a statesman, Washington discarded theory for prac-
tice, and preferred experience to speculation. He was a self-
formed politician, made by circumstances, observation and
practice; not fashioned by books in the solitude of the closet,
but created by contact with mankind, and having for his
object the happiness of society, instead of the vanity or pas-
sions of one portion only of that great family, whose hap-
piness he was destined to promote.

He was a republican, on the broad principles of equal
rights and public virtue: advocating rational liberty under
the sanction and guarantee of wholesome laws, whose effi-

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 185

cacv should equally protect virtue, industry and order, from
lawless violence, licentious laxity, or disorganising freedom.
His political principles are to be discerned in the constitu-
tion of the United States: where liberty, reduced into system,
breathes nothing but benevolence and love, law and order;
and which has extorted the admiration and applause of all
mankind, who favour the ecpial rights of man, in the pursuit
and enjoyment of happiness.

In his'transactions with foreign nations, as well as in his
intercourse with his fellow citizens, his maxim was that of
truth, sincerity and frankness. "Without making ostenta-
tious professions of his honesty, he was never known to have
been guiltv of duplicity, deceit, or equivocation. Truth
was the god of his idolatry; and from native dignity of soul,
as well as from an enlightened selfishness, he always held
and acted on the principle of honesty beins; the best policy,

I shall conclude this brief outline of the life of Washixg-
Tox, by cpioting the portrait of his character drawn by the
pen of Thomas Jeffersox, which, as it cannot be supposed
to flatter, must be estimated as rigidly faithful on the side
of his defects, and sparingly just to his undeniable merits.
Mr. Jefferson says: ••! think I knew the General intimately
and thoroughly; and were I called on to delineate his cha-
racter, it should be in terms like these:"

'*His mind was great and powerful, without being of the
very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute
as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw,
no judo;ment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation,
being little aided by invention, or imagination, but sure in
conclusion. Hence the common remark of his oflicers, of
the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hear-
ing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best; and cer-
tainly no general ever planned his battles more judiciously.
But if deranged during the course of the action, if any mem-
ber of his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, he
was slow in a readjustment. The consec^uence was, that
he often failed in the field, and rarely against an enemy in
station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable of fear,
meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern.
Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence,
never acting until every circumstance, every consideration,
was maturelv weighed; refrainino; if he saw a doubt, but,
when once decided, going through with his purpose what-

Q 2

186

THE LIFE OF

ever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure; his
justice the most inflexible I have ever known; no motive of
interest, or consanguinity, of friendship, or hatred, being
able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense
of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man. His tenxper
was naturally irritable and high toned; but reflection and
resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over
it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tre--
raendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honourable,
but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised
utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary pro-
jects and all unworthy calls on his charity. His heart was
not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every
man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to
it. His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly
what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble;
the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure
that could be seen on horseback. Although, in the circle
of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety,
he took a free share in conversation; his colloquial talents
were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness
of ideas, nor fluency of words. In public, when called on
for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short and embar-
iTassed; yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy
and correct style. This he had acquired by conversation
with the v/orld; for his education was merely reading, writ^
ing and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying
at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly,
reading little, and that only in agriculture and English his-
tory. His correspondence became necessarily extensive,
and, with journalising his agricultural proceedings, occu-
pied most of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole,
his character was, in its mass perfect, in nothing bad, in
few points indifterent;'and it may truly be said, that never
did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a
man great, and to place him in the same constellation with
whatever worthies have merited from man our everlasting
remembrance. For his was the sinsular destiny and merit
of leading the armies of his country successfully through an
arduous war, for the establishment of its independence; of
conducting its counsels through the birth of a government,
new in its forms and principles, until it had settled down
into a quiet and orderly train; and of scrupulously obeying

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 187

the laws through the whole of his career, civil and military,
of which the history of the world furnishes no other
example.*'

Too great to study the art, or practice the meanness of
adventitious fame, he never devised any measure for effect,
or planned means by Avhich to captivate the popular mind
by shallow devices. Intrinsically powerful, he disdained
the little arts bv which pretenders to greatness attempt to
catch the plaudits of the credulous ignorant, who are so
often deceived by the professions of the demagogue, and
imposed on by the slight -hand adroitness of the mountebank.

It was this conscious inteo;rity of soul that made him sen-
sibly alive to the deflimation of the public press, which an-
noyed him. beyond all proportion to its importance; and
which, had he been able to view his own greatness and
purity in its true light, as it struck the public, he would
have disregarded in silent contempt, as too feeble and ma-
lio;nant to excite a painful feeling: however it mio;ht have
been pointed by the malignity of Callender. the hatred of
Bache, the ferocity of Duane, or the licentiousness of
Freneau.

As such, it is scarcely within the boundaries of human
possibility, that the world will ever again behold his paral-
lel; and it is almost reduced to certainty, that no American
will ever arise to extort an equal degree of our veneration,
s:ratitude and love.

END OF THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON,

THE
OF

THOMAS JEFFERSOX.

ViRGixiA, the illustrious mother of the brightest gems of
our revolutionary era, o;ave birth to Thomas Jefferson.

In the character of this extraordinary man, as well as- in
the events of his life, "\ve are presented with a combination
of philosophical attainments, and political talents, of be-
nevolent feelino;s, and ambitious aspirations, rarely found
united in the same individual, and still more rarely result-
ing in that brilliancy of renown, and extensive popular vene-
ration, which covers his name with an immortality as bright
as the truths of science, and as imperishable as the liberties
of mankind.

There is something so peculiarly attractive in the biography
of an obscure youth of the American forest, gradually rising
on our view, and enlar^ino; each dav in his dimensions, until,
with herculean vigour, he shook to fragments the mighty pil-
lars of the British constitution, causing the throne to tremble,
and the brightest jewel in the diadem of the British king
to fall from his brow: there is something in the achieve-
ment, at once so simple in its progress and yet so sublime
in its effects, as to cause an involuntary emotion of aston-
ishment at the daring of the attempt, as well as the power
required for its performance? and we feel tempted almost
to doubt, as too romantic for belief, what we recognise as
the truth of history, and bow to as the consecrated gift of
inspired and creative genius. In proportion as our admi-
ration is excited, by achievements so extraordinary and
singular, do we feel our curiositv awakened, to enquire by
what means deeds so vast were accomplished j and to be-

190 THE MFE OF

come more intimately acquainted with the faculties and at-
tributes 01 an intellect, which, stepping forward in advance
of all other minds of his own age, should have the sagacity
to conceive, and the moral courage to propose, a national
revolution of magnitude so vast, consequences so fearful,
and results so grand, so stupendous and so sublime!

He was born at a place called Shadwell, in Albemarle
county, on the 2d day of April, 1743, old style. His an-
cestors were among the earliest settlers of the province:
and are said to have arrived at the possession of respecta-
bility and affluence, by the perseverance of their industry
and the vigour of tlieir enterprize. His father, Peter Jef-
ferson, was a man of integrity, science and reputation: and
held responsible appointments under the government of the
province. The family orio;inally emio;rated to Virginia,
from "Wales, near the mountain of Snowdon. Of his father,
Jefterson relates that his ' education had been quite ne-
glected; but being of a strong mind, sound judgment, and
eager after information, he read much and improved himself,
insomuch that he was chosen, vrith Joshua Fry, professor of
mathematics in William and Mary College, to continue the
boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina.*'
^ His father died on the ITth August, 1757, leaving a
widow, with six daughters and two sons, Thomas being the
elder. His father appears to have possessed considerable
property, for he left an estate on James river, called 'Snoiv-
don,' to his younger brother, and to Thomas the plantation
of Shadwell, on which he was born. At the age of five,
his fatlier placed him at an Enf>;lish school: and when he
was nine, he vras put to acquire I^atin and Greek, with a
Mr. Douglass, a Scotch clergyman, who also instructed
him in French. On the death of his father, liis education
was transferred to another clergyman, a Mr. jNIaury, emi-
nent for his classical attainments, with whom he continued
two years. In the spring of 1760, beino; qualified for fur-
ther advancement, he was translated to William and Mary
College, where he continued to pursue his studies for two
years more. His own account of this period of his life at
college is too impressive not to be quoted in this place.
"It was my great good fortune, and what probably fixed
th€ destinies of my life, that Dr. William Small, of Scot-
land, was then professor of mathematics, a man profound
in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 191

talent of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners,
and an enlarged and liberal mind. He, most happily for
me, became soon attached to me, and made me his daily
companion when not engaged in the school; and from his
conversation I got my first views of the expansion of sci-
ence, and of the system of things in which we are placed.
Fortunately, the philosophical chair became vacant soon
after my arrival at college, and he was appointed to fill it*
per interim; and he was the first who ever gave, in that col-
lege, regular lectures in ethics, rhetoric and belles lettres.
He returned to Europe in 1762, having previously filled up
the measure of his goodness to me, by procurinrr for me,
from his most intimate friend, George ^^'ythe, a reception
as a student at law, under his direction, and introduced
me to the acquaintance and familiar table of Governor Fau-
quier, the ablest man who had ever filled that office. With
him, and at his table. Dr. Small and INIr. A\'vthe, his amici
ommum horarum, and myself, formed n parfie guarre, and
to the liabitual conversations on these occasions I owed
much instruction. Mr. A^'ythe continued to be my faithful
and beloved mentor in youth, and my most alfectionate
friend through life. In 1767, he led me into the practice
of the law at the bar of the general court, at which I con-
tinued until the revolution shut up the courts of justice.*'

Soon after this, in 1769, he was chosen by the people of
his county to represent them in the Leo;islature of the State;
a station that he continued to fill up to the period of the
revolution. Nothing remarkable appears to have emanated
from him in that capacity, except his project for the eman-
cipation of SLAVES, a humane policy, to which he was
at all times devoted, with more of the feelings of a philan-
thropist, than tlie policy of a statesman.

In the years 1768 — 9, he took an active part in the joint
resolutions and address which were adopted against those
of the Houses of Lords and Commons, too-ether with an ad-
dress to the King, in whicli the people of Virginia avov/ed
their determination to make common cause with those of
Massachusetts; upon which occasion they were dissolved
by the Governor, when they proceeded to a public house,
and drew up and signed articles of non-importation from
Great Britain.

Whilst a student at Williamshurg^ in 1765, he heard
Patrick Henry declaim against the stamp act, and remarks,
* he appeared to me to speak as Homer ivroteJ^

192 THE LIFE OF

In January, 1772, Mr. Jefferson was ilnited in marriage
to Martha Skelton^ a vouno; widow of twentv-three, the
daughter of an opulent attorney of the name of Wavles, by
whom he acquired a considerable fortune.

Possessed of a vivid imagination, ardent temperament
and benevolent feelings, that held communion with the
happiness of mankind, rather than the sympathies of indi'
viduals, it was scarcely possible that Mr. Jefferson, in the
same State with Patrick Henry, and breathing daily an at*
mosphere imbued with the richest perfumes of eloquence,
freedom and justce, could remain an indifferent specta-
tor to the agitating questions of British outrages, pro*
vincial wrongs, and American rights. Animated with the
purest love of liberty; fresh from the study of Roman pa-
triots and Grecian sages, statesmen and warriors, to stimu-
late him in the love of country, and urge him to the vindi-
cation of the rights of man; he watched, with an eagle eye^
every movement of despotism, and hung, with youthful
rapture, on the exciting accents that fell from the eloquent
lips of Henry, glowing with patriotism and burning with
indignation. Quick to conceive, and prompt to act, to love
liberty, and to perceive oppression, was sufficient to impel
Jefferson, with the enthusiasm of a young mind, to embark
in the vindication and defence of the injured and aggressed.
party. On every side he beheld men of his own age ready
to greet the goddess Liberty, and throng to the rescue of
their insulted country. The contagious ardour of youth
quickly kindled the combustible material of southern minds
into a flame of enthusiastic devotion to the common cause
of liberty and independence. To doubt one power of the
English crown over the colonies, was enough to ensure its
denial and obstruct its exercise; to doubt allegiance, was to
provoke rebellion; to f/u'nA; of rebellion was at once to fling
open the door to revolution, and to pave the road that led
to Independence.

In the sprino; of 1773, Mr. Jefferson was active, along
\vith Patrick Henry and others, in forming a committee of
correspondence, to produce unity of action among the co-
lonies, in opposition to Great Britain, by devising and con-
certing measures for a general convention of the colonies
at some central point. Payton Randolph, the speaker, was
chosen chairman. Massachusetts, at the same time, and
without any knowledge of similar proceedings having been
adopted by Virginia, had taken the same course.

THOMAS JE.FFERSOX. 193

The Boston port bill, in June i7T4, produced a power-
ful impression on A'irginia; and immediately determined
the leading members of the Legislature of that colony to
take a decided stand by the side of Massachusetts. Mi\
Jefterson relates this incident in terms too remarkable to
be overlooked; he says: — •' The lead in the House, on these
subjects, being no longer left to tlie old members, Mr.
Henry, R. H. Lee. Fr. L. Lee, three or four other mem-
bers, whom I do not recollect, and myself, agreeing that
we must boldly take an unequivocal stand in the line of
Massachusetts, determined to meet and consult on the pro-
per measures, in the council chamber, for the benefit ot the
library in that room. We were under conviction of the
necessity of rousing our people from the lethargv into which
they had fallen, as to passing events; and thoui^ht that the
appointment of a day of general fasting and prayer, would
be most likely to call up and alarm their attention. No
example of such a solemnity had existed since the days of
our distresses in the war of ^55, since which a new genera-
tion had grown up. With the help, therefore, of Rush-
worth, whom we rummaged over for the revolutionary pre-
cedents and forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved
by him, we cooked up a resolution, somewhat moderating
their phrases, for appointing the 1st day of June, on which
the port bill was to commence, for a day o( fasting, humi-
liation and prayer; to implore heaven to avert from us
the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in the
support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the King and
Parliament to moderation and justice."

It will be seen, from this account, that Mr. Jefferson
was active and prominent among the first who took a stand
against the encroachments of the crown: and exerted him-
self to the utmost to stimulate his countrymen to a firm,
manly and independent resistance, in the approaching strug-
gle of right acjainst power.

The next important measure, adopted at the same time,
was one recommending the counties to elect delegates to
meet in August, to appoint Delegates to a General
Congress, should that projoct be deemed eligible. This
measure being acceded to, delegates were accordingly
chosen to meet in convention; and Mr. Jefterson, among
others, being elected, prepared a draught of instructions
to be given to the delegates to be chosen to Congress.

R

194 THE LIFE OF

These instructions were afterwards printed in a pamphlet*
under the title of 'A Summary View of the Rights of
British America;'^ containing a lucid and powerful exposi-
tion of the real political relations, founded in principle, rea*-
son and nature, between the colonies and the mother coun-
try. This paper was addressed to the King, and breathed a
spirit of liberty and darino^, which, while it startled the
timid, inspired confidence in the bold and resolution in the
brave. Mr. Burke afterwards adapted it to the atmosphere
of London, to answer the ends of the opposition there: and
it passed very rapidly through several editions. It was on
account of this pamphlet, that Mr. Jefferson's name was
included in a list of proscriptions by the ministry, at the
same time that he was threatened with a prosecution for
treason^ by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the pro-
vince.

Mr. Jefferson, though he had not been appointed a dele-
gate to the first Congress, that met at Philadelphia, yet he
w^asnot inactive in the Legislature, in 1775; where, at the
suggestion of Peyton Randolph, he drew up the answer of
tlie General Assembly of Virginia, to the conciliatorv pro-
positions of Lord Xorth; which, for its independent spirit,
and bold tone, struck some of the moderate men, if not
with horror, at least with amazement: but, as Jeft'erson savs,
it finally passed 'the House with long and doubtful scru-
ples from Mr. Nicholas and James Mercer, and a dash of
cold water on it here and there, enfeebling it somewhat,
but finally with unanimity, or a vote approachino; to it.*
' This being passed, continues Mr. Jefferson, I repaired
immediately to Philadelphia, and conveyed to Congress
the first notice they had of it. It was entirely approved
there. I took my seat with them on the 21st of June.-

A committee being appointed by Congress, on the 22d
of July, to consider and report on'Lord'Xorth's concilia-
tory resolution, Mr. Jefterson was appointed, conjointlv
with Doctor Franklin, Mr. Adams and R. H. Lee. At the
request of the committee, Mr. Jefferson undertook to pre-
pare the report, and it could not have fallen into more able
and efficient hands: for such were the spirits that engen-
dered rebellion, dashed on to revolution and achieved in-
dependence. It Mas fortunate for the countrv and the
cause, that we had Jefferson to move in the cabinet, and
Washington to organize the field I

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 195

That momentous event, the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, was now approaching its birth-day; the Convention
of Virginia having, on the 15th of May, 1776, instructed
their delegates in Congress to declare the colonies indepen-
dent of Great Britain; for which purpose they appointed a
committee to prepare a declaration of rights and plan of
government.

In pursuance of these instructions, the Virginia delegates,
on the 7th of June, 1776, moved, that the Congress should
declare '' that these United Colonies are, and of right ought
to be, FREE and indepexdext States, that they are ab-
solved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that
all political connection between them and the State of
Great Britain is, and ou»ht to be, totally dissolved;
that measures should be immediately taken for procuring
the assistance of foreign powers, and a confederation be
formed to bind the colonies more closely together. "

This proposition was deferred to the succeeding day, the
8th of June, when it was taken up and referred to a com-
mittee of the whole House, who consumed that day, and
the following Monday, in debate upon the resolutions. In
the course of this discussion the right of the colonies to
independence was not controverted; but ihe policy of issu-
ing a declaration of the kind, at that period, was considered
bv some rather dubious; among other reasons, because the
middle States, more cautious and circumspect than those
of the North and South, had not instructed their delegates
to vote for such an extremity; which induced the Congress
to postpone their final vote on the question to the 1st of
July, in order to give time for the colonies of New York,
New Jersev, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South
Carolina, to mature their disposition to come heartily into
the measure, on the expediency of which they were not yet
fully satisfied. In the interim^ however, a committee was
appointed to prepare this solemn and important state paper,
consisting of Mr. Jefferson, John Adams, Dr. Franklin,
Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. At the request
of the committee. Mr. Jefferson consented to draught this
momentous and interesting document. Having completed
the Declaration of American Independence, he submitted
it to the committee, by whom it was approved, and not less
applauded than approved; and he accordingly reported it to
the House on the 28th of June, when it was read, and or-
dered to lie on the table.

196 THE LIFE OF

It cannot be doubted, that on this occasion, Mr. Jeffer-
son felt all the solicitude ^vhich the solemn import of the
instrument was reasonably calculated to inspire: as a step
which was to usher into benig a doubtful civil war — a bloody
and uncertain revolution, and finally give birth to an em-
pire, which was to change the face of the civilized world;
convulse the monarchies' of Europe; invert the obligations
between kings and people; dissolve the ancient foundations
of government, and create a new empire out of the chaos
produced by tyranny against the rights of man. Property
and life were to be perilled, peace and abundance to be
sacrificed, toil and danger to be endured; and it was all.
cheerfully done; the sacrifice was placed upon the altar
of liberty, the fire was kindled, the smoke gathered in
dark and lurid clouds, the flames ascended even to the
heavens, but the offering was an acceptable one, the God of
nations smiled upon the sacrifice, and America became free,
happy and independent.

On the 4th of July, the debates upon this important ques-
tion having closed, the Declaration of Independence was
adopted and signed by every member present, except Mr.
0ICKINSOX. In reference to the debates on this occasion,
Mr. Jefferson observes— ''The pusiUaniinous idea that we
had friends in England wortli keeping terms with, still
haunted the minds of many. For this reason, those pas-
sages which conveyed censures on the people of England
were struck out, lest they should give them oft'ence. The
clause too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of
Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina
and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the im-
portation of slaves, and w^ho, on the contrary, still wished
to continue it. Our northern brethren also, I believe, felt k
little tender under the censures; for though their people had
very few slaves themselves, yet they had been pretty con-
siderable carriers of them to others. The debates having
taken up the greater paxts of the second, third and fourth days
of July, w^ere, on the evenino; of the last period, closed."

Congress, on the 12th of July, entered into the discus-
sion of a great question, second in importance only to the
Declaration of Independence; this was the adoption of ar-
ticles of confederation between the thirteen United States.
The debate on these articles extended to a period of two
years: and were only ratified in 1778, by ten States. On
the 26th of November eleven States concurred in them;

THOMAS JfiFFERSON. 197

and on the 23d February, 1779, Delaware also received
them; but it was not until March 1, 1781, that Maryland
gave in her adhesion to the confederacy.

What part Jefferson took in this measure I have not been
able to discover; and suspect it to have been both less pro-
minent and less ardent than that on the Declaration of In-
dependence; not because he considered it of inferior mo-
ment, but because the mind naturally relaxes and flags after
great exertion, or unusual labour and excitement; or that
others jealous of his prominence, were now ambitious of
taking their part in the great work of self-government.

The new government of Virginia being now organised,
Mr. Jefferson determined to resign his seat in Congress,
having been elected by his county to the new Legislature of
his native State, to be held in October. On this subject he
remarks, *' I knew that our legislation, under the regal
government, had many very vicious points which urgently
required reformation, and I thought I could be of more use
in forwarding that work. I therefore retired from my seat
in Congress on the 2d of September, resigned it, and took
my place in the Legislature of my state on the 7th of
October."

Jefferson now commenced his labours in the Legisla-
ture of Virginia, as the champion of reform and the apos-
tle ot liberty. He there drew a bill for the organization
of the courts of justice^ of great importance, which was ap-
proved by the committee, and finally passed into a law.

But the most eventful, memorable and republican act of
his whole life, was now to be performed; and not to do in-
justice to which, I must detail in his own language. " On
the 12th, I obtained leave to bring in a bill declaring tenants
in tail to hold their lands in fee simple. In the earlier
times of the colony, when lands were to be obtained for
little or nothing, some provident individuals procured large
grants; and desirous oi founding great families for them-
selves, settled them on their descendants in fee tail. The
transmission of this property from generation to generation,
in the same name, raised up a distinct set of families,
who being privileged by law in the perpetuation of their
ivealth, were thus formed into a patrician order, distin-
guished by the splendour and luxury of their establish-,
ments. From this order, too, the King habitually selected
his counsellors of state; the hope of which distinction de-^

R 2

198 THE LIFE OF

voted the whole corps to the interests and will of the crown.
To annul this privilege, and instead of an aristocracy of
wealthy of more harm and danger than benefit to society,
to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and taknt,
which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the
interests of society, and scattered with equal hand through
all its conditions, w^as deemed essential to a well ordered
republic. To eftect it, no violence was necessary, no de-
privation of natural right, but rather an enlargement of it,
by a repeal of the law. For this would authorise the pre-
sent holder to divide the property among his children
equally, as his aftections were divided; and would place
them, by natural generation, on the level of their fellow
citizens.?'

This noble law, for the abolishment of entails. Mr. Jef-
ferson had the satisfaction to see pass; and the still greater
consolation of reflecting; that he was the author ot it.

He proposed a trial by jury in the court ot Chancery,
which he carried; but an opponent proposing an amendment,
making, it optional with the parties, it became almost a
nullity.

He next extended his benevolence to the cessation of the
importation of slaves; and succeeded in carrying a bill, in
78, prohibiting their further importation.

Impelled by a controversy that now arose in Virginia
between the ministers of the English Episcopal church and
the Dissenters, he next attempted to procure, and succeeded
in a repeal of the " laws which rendered criminal the main-
tenance of any religious opinions, the forbearance of re-
pairing to church, or the exercise of anv mode of worship:
and to exempt dissenters from contributions to support the
established church."

The removal of the seat of government from Vv'illiams-
burg, to a more secure and central part, was the next ob-
ject of his attention: but it occupied him three years to ac-
complish this laudable object.

In May, 1789, he introduced a bill defining: the qualifi-
cations of citizenship, asserting the natural right of expa-
triation, and prescribing the manner of exercising it: which
became a law.

The account of these laws v.e have derived from ?vlr.
Jefferson's own pen: and in making; the statement he ob-
serves, with his characteristic modesty: ''In giving this

- ?

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 199

account of the laws, of which I was mvself the mover and
draughtsman, I by no means, mean to claim to myself the
merit of obtaining their passage. I had many occasional and
strenuous coadjutors in debate, and one, most stedfast,
able, and zealous, who was himself a host. This was
Georg-e Mason, a man of the first order of wisdom among-
those who acted on the theatre of the revolution; of expan-
sive mind, profound judgment, cogent in argument, learned
in the lore of our former constitution, and earnest for the
republican change on democratic principles. His elocution
was neither flowing, nor smooth; but his language was
strong, his manner most impressive, and strengthened by a
dash of biting cynicism, when provocation made it season-
able." To Mr. Wythe and Mr. Madison, he also ascribes
efficient co-operation.

These acknowledgements of politeness, and marks of
diffidence, must not, however, be allowed to detract from
the merit of Mr^ Jefterson, for the splendid reforms he thus
introduced; and for which the world stands exclusively in-
debted to his peculiar genius, singular sagacity, pure repub-
lican principles, and intrepid moral courage — ^reat quali-
ties, which uniting with his ardent and expansive benevo-
lence, could not have been found in another individual,
combined in those happy proportions, capable of penetrating
to the evils of a great system, and endowed with vigour of
intellect competent to their extirpation.

Indeed, it is difficult to appreciate justly, the civil and
juridical services rendered to his country by Jefterson at
this period: so apt are we to overlook the quiet revolutions
in civil life and judicial systems, wrought by the tranquil
operations of genius, science and intellect; and so prone are
we to devote our exclusive attention to that glare of mili-
tary glory, which filling the world with noise, bustle, and
confusion, forces itself upon the attention of all, and by its
very horrors extorts the tribute of universal homage and
dread: so true it is, that the authors and 'promoters of
human happiness, improvement and wisdom, who deserve
the undivided gratitude and admiration of the world;
achievino; their labours of love without noise, are on that
account neglected; whilst the cruel ravager of nations, the
blood stained victor of war, and the destroyer of thousands,
and the happiness of millions, is hailed with applause from
the nursery to the stable, while millions incapable of thought,

200 THE LIFE OF

clamour forth his renown, and sympathise in deeds, that all
can appreciate, because ferocious, sanguinary, or afflicting.
For ourselves, we contemplate the benevolent Sage of Vir-
ginia, with emotions of the most exalted pleasure, while
thus devoting himself at the shrine of justice, to preserve
the rights of the people, at the fountain head of the Judi-
ciary— securing at once, life, property, liberty and hap-
piness.

Enlarging the sphere of his usefulness in ihis branch of
patriotic duty, he presented a bill to the Legislature, in the
session of 1776, for a Revision of the Laws of Virginia,
which being adopted, he, in company with four other mem-
bers, was chosen to that important and arduous task: the
principal feature in the revised code, being the abolishment
of the law of primogeniture: which one of his colleagues
being desirous to retain, Jefferson answered him, " that if
the elder son could eat twice as much, or do double work,
it might be a natural evidence of his right to a double por-
tion; but being on a par in his powers and wants, with his
brothers and sisters, he should be on a par also in the par-
tition of the patrimony. This simple argument decided the
question in favour of its annulment. Another prominent
feature of the revised code, was " the bill for establishing
religious freedom, the principles of which had, to a certain
degree, been enacted before I had drawn it, says Jeffer-
son, in all the latitude of reason and right. It still met
with opposition; but with some mutilations in the preamble,
it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved that
its protection of opinion ivas meant to he universal. Where
the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the
plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was
proposed, by inserting the words 'Jesus Christ,' so that it
should read, 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ,
the holy author of our religion; the insertion was rejected
by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend
within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile,
the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo and Infidel of
every denomination. " In this, he superadded the mitigation
of the penal code, on the system of Beccaria, abolishing the
penalty of death for all crimes, except murder and treason.
Let me not forget to record in this place, that the plan of
solitary confinement at hard labour, originated with this
distinguished philanthropist, and illustrious statesman.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 2Ul

Inexhau?Tible in his schemes for the improvement of the
human familv. he now undertook to devise -'a systematical
plan of GEXERAL EDUCATION-, rtachmg to all classes^ in
pursuance of an act of Assembly of Virginia: but, though
the bill passed, the system was never carried into practice.

He also framed a bill in relation to the gradual removal
of the curse of slavery: his observations on which I feel
mvself bound to transcribe. •• The principles of the amend-
ment, however, were agreed on. that is to say, the freedom
of all born aft^er a certain day. and deportation at a proper
age. But it was found, that the public mind would not yet
bear the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day.
Vet the dav is not distant when it must bear and adopt it,
or worse will follow. Nothing is more certainly written in
the book of fate, than that these people are to be free; nor
is it less certain, that the two races, equally free, cannot
live in the same government. Nature, habit and opinion,
have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. It
is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation
and deportation, peaceably, and in such slow degree, as that
the evil will wear oft' insensibly, and their place be pari
passi/, filled up by free white latx)urers. If, on the contrary,
it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the
prospect held up. We should in vain look for an example
in the Spanish deportation or deletion of the Moors. This
precedent would fall far short of our case.*'

Mr. Jefferson was not insensible of the highly important
part he had been acting in the civil government of his native
State, towards bringing the entire and actual fabric of its
politv, to assimilate to the abstract model of its republican
principles. Remarking upon these events of his life in his
Memoirs, he savs, •• I considered four of these bills, passed
or reported, as forming a system by which every fibre would
be eradicated of ancient or future aristocracy, and a loun-
dation laid for a government truly republican. The repeal
of the Laws of Entail, would prevent the accumulation
and perpetuation of wealth, in select families, and preserve
the soil of the countrv from beino; daily more and more ab-
sorbed in mortmain. The abolition of Primogeniture,
and equal partition of inheritances, * removed the feudal

* This phrase is not g^mmatical — it ought to read ''and the
estabhshment of equal partition of inheritances."

202 THE LIFE OF

and unnatural distinctions which made one member of every
family rich, and all the rest poor, substituting equal parti-
tion, the best of all Agrarian laws. The restoration of the
rights o/" Conscience, relieved the people from taxation for
the support of a religion not theirs; for the establishment
was truly of the religion of the rich, the dissenting sects
being entirely composed of the less Mealthy people; and
those, by the bill for a general education, would be qualified
to understand their rights, to maintain them, and to exer-
cise with intelligence their parts in self-government: and
all this would be effected, without the violation of a single
natural right of any one individual citizen. To these too,
might be added, as a further security, the introduction of
the trial by jury, into the chancery courts, which have
already ingulphed, and continue to ingulph, so great a prO'
portion of the jurisdiction over our property."

It was scarcely within the range of probability, that a man
so highly gifted with talents, so judicious in the beneficial
application of them, and so popular in his ideas and princi-
ples, should long remain unhonoured by the greatest office
in the gift of his native state: and we accordingly perceive
him appointed Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia,
on the 1st of June, 1779, at the expiration of the term for
which Patrick Henry had served, as the first Governor of
that State, after its separation from colonial vassalage to
England: a station which had become doubly arduous from
the cruel exasperation of the enemy, which had driven them
to aggravate the natural horrors of war, by the most savage
and revolting practices towards American prisoners. Jef-
ferson had, on a previous occasion, extended the hand of
humanity to alleviate the sufferings of the British prisoners
in Virginia, in a manner and under circumstances which
stamped his benevolence as the spontaneous and sterlingcoin
of the heart. Now, however, he was compelled by duty,
to the painful resolution, of visiting with retaliation on the
British prisoners in his power, the cruelties inflicted on ours
by the enemy. In a letter to General Washington, he thus
expresses himself. "I shall give immediate orders for
having in readiness every engine, which the enemy have
contrived for the destruction of our unhappy citizens, cap-
tivated by them. The presentiment of these operations is
shocking beyond expression. I pray Heaven to avert them;
but nothing in this world will do with such an enemy but

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 203

proper firmness and decision." For a time, this conduct
only stimulated the British to increased severity against our
unfortunate countrymen who fell into their hands; but a
perseverance in the system adopted by Jefferson, eventually
succeeded, and corrected a procedure at variance with every
principle, feeling and practice of civilised nations. In a
letter which he addressed to one of the American prisoners,
he thus exhorts them to fortitude and philosophv. " There
is nothing, you may be assured, consistent witli'the honour
of your country, which we shall not, at all times, be ready-
to do for the relief of yourself and companions in captivity.
We know that ardent^ spirit and hatred for tyranny, which
brought you into your present situation, will enable you to
bear against it with the firmness which has distinguished
you as a soldier, and to look forward with pleasure to the
day when events shall take place, against which the wounded
pride of your enemies will find no comfort, even from re-
flections on the most refined of the cruelties with which
they have glutted themselves."

The administration of Mr. Jefferson was now rendered
memorable, by the sudden invasion of Virginia by the Bri-
tish, headed by the daring Tarleton, tracking his way with
barbarity and blood, as the van of Cornwallis's armv, and
shaking Virginia to the centre, by the sudden and terrible
shock of war.

This was a new era in the life of Jeflferson. The philo-
sopher, the sage and the statesman, was called to buckle on
his armour, and array the militia of his State against the
formidable invasion of a fierce and disciplined foe. Vir<n-
nia with her wonted chivalry roused herself to action; and
Jefferson bent all the energies of his powerful intellect to
the efficient discharge of his military functions; and put in
requisition every means of defence and precautioi), which
his foresight and resources enabled him to applr. On the
11th of June, he wrote to Washington in the following
style of energy, decision, and activity." Our intelligence
from the southward is most lamentably defective. Though
Charleston has now been in the hands of the enemy a month,
we hear nothing of their movements which can' be relied
upon. Rumours say that they are penetrating northward.
To remedy this defect, I shall immediately establish a line
of expresses from hence to the neighbourhood of their army,
and send thither a sensible, judicious person, to give us

204 THE LIFE OF

information of their movements. This intelligence will, I
hope, be conveyed at the rate of one hundred and twenty
miles in the twenty-four hours. They set out to their sta-
tions to-morrow. I wish it w ere possible that a like speedy
line of communication could be formed from hence to your
excellency's head quarters. Perfect and speedy informa-
tion of what is passing in the south, mijjht put it in your
power perhaps to frame your measures by theirs. There
is really nothing to oppose the enemy nortliward. but the
cautious principle of the military art. North Carolina is
without arms. They do not abound with us. Those we
harve are freely imparted to them; but such is the state of
their resources that they have not been able to move a single
musket from this State to theirs. All the wagons we can
collect here, have been furnished to the Baron De Kalb,
and are assembled for the march of 2500 men under Gene-
ral Stevens, of Culpepper, who will move on the 19th inst.
I have written to Congress to hasten supplies of arms and
military stores for the southern States, and particularly to
aid us with cartridge paper and boxes, the want of which
articles, small as they are, renders our stores useless. The
want of money cramps every eftort. This will be supplied
by the most unpalatable of all substitutes, force. Your
excellency'^ will readily conceive that, after the loss of one
army, out' eves are turned towards the other, and that we
comfort ourselves with the hope that, if any aids can be
furnished by you, without defeatino- the operations more
beneficial to the Union, they will be furnished. At the
same time, I am happy to find jthat the wishes of the people
go no further, as far as I have an opportunity of hearing
their sentiments. Could arms be furnished, I think this
State and North Carolina, would embody from ten to fifteen
thousand militia immediately, and more if necessary. I hope
ere lonk to be able to £i;ive vou a more certain statement of
the enemv's as well as our own situation.*'

The Legislature of Viro;inia acted with a vicrour and
promptitude commensurate to the occasion, and clothed the
Governor with extraordinary powers, not exactly consistent
with republican ideas: but Jefferson rose to the critical na-
ture of tlie emergency, and did not disappoint public ex-
pectation in this solemn crisis.

• I italicise this title to show that even Jefferson could not pre-
serve, in practice, his strict republicas simplicitt!

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 205

An attack^ however, now burst upon them from another
and unexpected quarter. General Arnold, the traitor of
West Point, always daring, and now become reckless and
ferocious, suddenly landed below Richmond, at the head of
1500 men. This was a complete surprise, for which the
Governor was unprepared; the available militia having been
placed under the command of General Nelson, and station-
ed at Williamsburg. In this juncture, Jefferson, having
hastily summoned two hundred militia, under the command
of Baron Steuben, with which force he superintended in
person the records and military stores that were deposited
in the capital, across the river, until he saw them safe from
the gripe of the enemy. On this occasion Jefterson mani'
fested that coolness and displayed that undaunted courage
which might have been justly expected from his character;
and continued to issue his orders until tlie very appearance
of the light horse of tlie enemy made it prudent to with-
draw his person from the scene of embarkation. Arnold
having laid waste and plundered the surrounding country,
Mr. Jefferson, to rid the State of his further annoyance,
conceived a laudable plan for his capture, which he thought
might be attended with success; and whicli he thus explained
in a letter to General Muhlenbero;, dated 31st January,
1780, '"Sir, Ac€(uainted as you are with the treasons ot
Arnold, I need say nothing for your information, or to give
you a proper sentiment of them. You will readily suppose
that it is above all thino;s desirable to drag him from those
under whose wing be is now sheltered. On his march to and
from this place, I am certain it mio;ht have been done with
faciiitv, bv men of enterprise and firmness. I think it may
still be done, though perhaps not c[uite so easily. Having
peculiar confidence in the men from the western side of the
mountains, I meant, as soon as they should come down, to
get the enterprize proposed to a chosen number of thera^
such whose courage and whose fidelity would be above all
doubt. Your perfect knowledge of those men personally,
and mv confidence in your discretion, induce me to ask you
to seek from among them proper characters, in such num-
bers as you think best; to reveal to them our desire; and
eno-ao;ethem to undertake to seize and bring off this great-
esfoF all traitors. Whether this may be best effected by
their o-oing; in as friends, and awaitins; their opportunity,
or otherwise, is left to themselves. The smaller the num-

S

9,06 THE LIFE OF

ber the better, so that they may be sufficient to manage him.
Every necessary caution must be used on their part, to pre-
vent a discovery of their design by the enemy. I will un-
dertake, if they are successful in bringing him off alive, that
they shall receive five thousand guineas reward among them;
and to men formed for such an enterprise, it must be a great
incitement to know that their names will be recorded with
glory in history, with those of Vanwert, Paulding and
Williams."

The plan thus suggested by Jefferson was carried into
effect; but it proved abortive, Arnold being not less cautious
and circumspect, than he was daring and unprincipled.

Failing in this scheme, he now projected another, in
which he was to receive the co-operation of General Wash-
ington, and the French fleet. In a letter of the 8th of
March, he thus addressed the former personage, upon the
subject: '* We have made, on our part, every preparation
which we were able to make. The militia, proposed to
operate, will be upwards of 4000 from this State, and 1000
or 1200 from Carolina, said to be under General Gregorv.
The enemy are at this time, in a great measure, blockaded
by land, there being a force on the east side of Elizabeth
river. They suffer for provisions, as they are afraid to
venture far, lest the French squadron should be in the
neighbourhood, and come upon them. Were it possible to
block up the river, a little time would suffice to reduce
them by want and desertions; and would be more sure in
its events than any attempt by storm." But Arnold again
escaped; the arrival of a British squadron of superior force
having driven the French fleet from the Chesapeake.

Arnold havino; effected a retreat from Viro-inia, Cornwal-
lis now penetrated the State from the south. Exhausted of
most of hef slender resources for the common defence, and
the succour of her southern sisters, Jefferson srav, and de-
plored, that his native state had been left naked to the
sword of the enemy. But his was not a spirit to despair,
or shrink in times of danger. Again he rose with the pres-
sure of the emergency; and having rallied every remaining
resource of the common^vealth, he placed her in the best
attitude of defence which his limited means permitted.

The liCgislature convened at Charlotteville on the 28th
of May; and thus took from the Governor some of the
weight of the heavy responsibility which had b€en thrown

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 207

upon him by a concurrence of adverse events and disastrous
circumstances. His letter to General Washington, of that
date, will supercede any description of ours, relating to the
embarrassments and difficulties that pressed upon him.

'•I have just been advised, he says, that the British have
evacuated Petersburg, been joined by a considerable rein-
forcement from New York, and crossed James river at
Westover. They were, on the 26th instant, three miles
advanced towards Richmond, at which place. Major Gene-
ral, the Marquis Fayette, lay with three thousand men,
regulars and militia, that being the whole number we could
arm, until the arrival of the 1100 stand of arms from Rhode
I^sland, which are about this time at the place where our
public stores are deposited. The whole force of the enemy
within this State, from the best intelligence I have been
able to get, is, I think, about 7000 men, including the gar^
rison left at Portsmouth. A number of privateers, which
are constantly ravaging the shores of our rivers, prevent us
from receivino; any aid from the counties lying on navigable
waters; and powerful operations meditated against our wes-
tern frontier, by a joint force of British and Indian savages,
have, as your excellency before knew, obliged us to em-
body between two and three thousand men in that quarter.
Your excellency will judge from this state of things, and
from what you know of your own country, what it may
probably sutler during the present campaign. Should the
enemy be able to obtain no opportunity of annihilatng the
Marquis's army, a small proportion of their force may yet
restrain his movements eftectually, while the greater part
is employed in detachments to waste an unarmed country,
and lead* the minds of the people to acquiesce under those
events, which they see no human power prepared to ward
off". We are too far removed from the other scenes of war,
to say whether the main force of the enemy be within this
state; but I suppose they cannot any where spare so great
an army for the operations of the field. Were it possible
for this circumstance to justify, in your excellency, a deter-
mination to lend us your personal aid, it is evident from the
universal voice, that the presence of their beloved country-
man, whose talents have so long been successfully emplojr
in establishing the freedom of kindred States,* to whose

* I cannot avoid calling- the attention of the reader, in an eni-
phatic manner, to the terms here used ' KiyoiiED states,' addressed

208 THE LIFE OF

person they have still "flattered themselves they retained
some right, and have ever looked upon as their dernier re-
sort in distress; that your appearance, among them, I say,
would restore full confidence of salvation, and would render
them equal to whatever is not impossible. I cannot un-
dertake to foresee and obviate the difficulties which lie
in the way of such a resolution. The whole subject is
before you, of which I see only detached parts. Should
the danger of the State, and its consequences to the Union,
be such as to render it best for the whole that jou should
repair to its assistance, the difficulty would then be how to
keep men out of the field. I have undertaken to hint this
matter to your excellency, not only on my own sense of its
importance to us, but at the solicitation of many membei^
of weight in our Le^rislature, which has not vet assembled
to speak its own desires. A few days will bring to me that
relief, which the constitution has prepared for those op-
pressed Avith the labours of my office; and a long declared
resolution of relinquishing it to abler hands, has prepared
my way for retirement to a private station; still, as an in-
dividual, I should feel the comfortable effects of your pre-
sence, and have (what I thought could not have been) an
additional motive for that gratiKide, esteem and respect^
which I have long felt for your excellency."

Certainly, more delicate, and at the same time, more
abundant adulation, was never before comprised in so nar-
row a compass, in a letter of state, addressed from one
public character to another, on a question of great national
concernment; and, if Washington did not feel it, he must
have been more than human. The flattery, however, was
too refined to offend; and reflects equal honour on him who
oflered, and him who received it; being, beyond all doubt,
the sincere ebullition of the heart on the part of Jefferson.

His term of office having expired on the 2d of June, Mr.
Jefferson retired from the cares of public, to the enjoyment
of private life, under the pleasing reflection that he had

to the commander in chief of the armies of the United States; and
who must have looked upon this expression of Jefferson as a rank
political heresy, at war with the common defence and general wel-
fare of the whole; a doctrine to which Washington was so religiously-
attached, as constituting the palladium of civil liberty, as well as
military success and national safety.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 209

faithfully discharged his duty to the utmost of his ability,
in a period of trying difficulty, and through scenes of im-
minent peril and perplexing embarrassment? which, in all
after times, must secure him an honorable immortality.

He now retired to his retreat at Monticello,- but had
scarcely reached that place, when intelligence was received
that Tarleton, at the head of 250 horse, had been detached
from the main army, to surprise and capture the members
of the Legislature, then in session at Charlotteville. The
House was on the point of proceeding to business, when
the alarm was communicated, and had hardly time to
adjourn, when the enemy burst into the village, assured of
their prey; but no one was taken, though all had a narrow
escape. But the ex-Governor was not forgotten; and Cap-
tain M'Leod, with a troop of horse was despatched to
Monticello, to secure Jefferson. Fortunately, the intel-
ligence of their approach v/as conveyed in advance, and Jef-
ferson was enabled to escape, having sent oft' his family in
a carriage, and mounting a horse himself, made his way
through the woods to the house of a friend, \vhere he was
joined by his family. This is the famous incident in his
life, which has been so opprobriously stigmatised by faction,
by ' the flight to Carter^s mountain;'^ which venal bards
have sung in satiric strains, and which the mercenary scrib-
blers of a sordid party, have attempted to brand with
infamy in scurrilous prose. Let the simple question be
asked, was an unarmed individual to stand still, and sufter
himself to be captured by a body of 250 horse? Or was he,
like Captain Bobadil, to challenge and kill them by tens, in
succession? But the pencil of historv has too vividly con-
secrated to veneration the firmness of the statesman, and
the talents of the man, as well as his zeal and intrepidity,
to require his vindication from so frivolous, though at the
same time so malicious a charo-e,

Like all men distinguished for prominent talents and
great decision of character, Jefferson did not escape the
aspersions and suspicions of an opposition party during his
gubernatorial labours; and after his retirement, a Mr.
Nicholas moved, in the Legislature, for an enquiry into
his administration, on the ground of remissness and neglect
in securing the public defence from the inroads of the
enemy. Jefferson, and his friends, manifested the utmost
readiness to meet this investigation; but, after a short time,

S 2

210 THE LIFE OF

Mr. Nicholas having become convinced of the futility of
the charge, declined its farther prosecution, and it fell, still-
born, into the tomb of oblivious calumny. Jefferson, hov^r-
ever, expecting to meet it, procured one of the representa-
tives of his county to resign his seat in the Legislature, and
in his place he was unanimously chosen; but when the
House met, and no one appeared to prosecute the inquiry,
Jeiferson rose in his seat, and after reciting the charges
brouo-ht against them, entered brieflvinto his ovvn defence;
which, having concluded, his justification was deemed so
full and complete that the House unanimously passed this
resolution — ' Resolved, That the sincere thanks of the
General Assembly be given to our former Governor, Thomas
Jefferson, for his impartial, upright and attentive adminis-
tration, whilst in office. The Assembly wish, in the strong-
est manner, to declare the high opinion they entertain of
Mr. Jefferson's ability, rectitude and inteo-ritv, as chief
magistrate of this commonwealth, and mean, by thus pub-
licly avowing their opinion, to obviate and remove all un-
merited censure.'

Mr. Nicholas now made the amende honorable, by a pub-
lication of his error, and an acknowledgment of the injus-
tice of which he had been guilty towards Mr. Jefferson: an
example of frank and honorable atonement, v/hich it is to be
lamented is not more aenerallv imitated, after the transient
heat of party animosity has cooled off, and reason left to
meditate on the injustice, can vanquish the impulse of
passion at the shrine of truth.

The next remarkable event in the life of Jefferson, was
of a literary character, and relates to the composition of his
" Notes on Virginia," written in 1781, amidst the din of
arms, the clamour of politics, and the confusion of war. The
Secretary of the French Legation, M. De Marbois, having
proposed to Mr. Jefferson a series of inquiries relative to
the State of Virginia; its natural productions, government,
geography, history and laws; he answered them in this
work, so replete with science, learning;, research and philo-
sophy. Pleased even to delight with this performance, the
gentleman to whom it was addressed, procured it to be
translated and printed in the French, and circulated among
his friends, in whom it excited a lively interest. From this
copy, a translation having been made without his know-
ledge, he was induced, in the year 1787", to publish the work

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 211

under his own direction in its original English dress. As
no inconsiderable portion of his tame rests upon this pro-
duction, we shall enter into some examination of its merits
in another place.

In September 1782, Mr. Jefferson suffered a severe stroke
of domestic affliction, in the demise of his wife — " in whose
affections, he savs, unabated on both sides, I had lived the
last ten years in unchequered happiness." Desirous of a
change of scene from the spot of his bereavement, he now
accepted the appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary, to
negociate peace, through the mediation of the Empress of
Russia, in conjunction with Mr. Adams, Mr. Jay, Dr.
Franklin, and Mr. Laurens: an appointment which he had
the year before declined, under a conviction that he could
be more useful at home. This mission, however, failed;
and, after having reached Philadelphia, he was excused by
Congress from proceeding in its execution, owing to the
arrival of intelligence of the signing of the provisional treaty
of peace. He therefore, returned to Monticello on the
15th of May, 1783.

On the 6lh of June, he was again appointed a delegate to
Congress, and took his seat in that body on the 4th of No-
vember, at Trenton; from whence Congress adjourned to
Annapolis, to meet on the 26tli of the same month, whither
Jefferson attended them. But it was not until the 13th of
December, that a quorum could.be formed.

His first work of utility in tfiis session, was the scheme
for regulating the current money of the United States, by
adopting the Dollar, as our unit of account and payment,
and its divisions and subdivisions in the decimal ratio —
thus rendering it into dollars, dimes, cents and mills. He
suggested tlie same principle in the regulation of distances,
and weights and measures; but, strange to say, it has never
yet been adopted, though so eligible and advantageous.

The definitive treaty of peace now arrived, and was to be
ratified by Congress; but the want of a full representation
Q^ nine States, protracted its final adoption. Much and
unavailing debate now ensued, speaking of w-hich Mr. Jef-
ferson makes the following apt and judicious strictures upon
parliamentary debates, which are too excellent not to be
quoted. " Our body was little numerous, but very conten-
tious. Day after date, was v/asted on the most unimportant
questions. A member, one of those afflicted with the

212 - THE LIFE OF

morbid rage of debate, of an ardent mind, prompt ima-
gination, and copious flow of words, who heard with
impatience any logic which was not his own, sitting near
me, on some occasion of a trifling but wordy debate, asked
me how I could sit in silence, hearing so much false rea-
soning, which a word sliould refute? I observed to him,
that to refute, indeed, was easy, but to silence impossible;
that in measures brought forward by myself, I took the
labouring oar, as was incumbent on me; but that in general,
I was willing to listen; that if every sound argument or
objection was used by some one or other of the numerous
debaters, it was enough; if not, I thought it sufficient to
suggest the omission, without going into a repetition of what
had been already said by others: that this was a waste and
abuse of the time and patience of the House, which could
not be justified. And 1 believe, that if the members X)f
deliberate bodies were to observe this course o;enerallv, thev
Avould do in a day, what takes them a week; and it is really
more questionable than may at first be thought, whether
Bonaparte's dumb I^egislature, which said nothing and did
much, may not be preferable to one which talks much and
does nothing. I served ivith General Washington in the
Legislature of Virginia, before the Revolution, and during
if, with Dr. Franklin, in Congress: I never heard either of
them speak ten minutes at a time, nor to any but the main
POINT, zvhich was to decide the question. They laid their
shoulders to the great points, knowing that the little ones
ivould follow of themselves. If the present Congress errs iu
too much talking, how can it be otherwise, in a body to
which the people send one hundred and fifty Lawyers,
whose trade it is to question every thing, yield nothing, and
talk by the hour? That one hundred and fifty Lawyers
should do business together, ought not to be expected.*'

At length, on the 14th of January, the delegates from
nine States having arrived, the treaty was ratified, without
a dissentino; voice.

Congress having resolved to join another Minister in
Europe, (to negociate treaties of commerce) to Mr. Adams
and Dr. Franklin. Mr. Jefferson was appointed. He gives
the foUowino; brief account of his voyaj^e to France. ''I
accordingly left Annapolis on the 11th, took with me my
eldest daughter, then at Philadelphia, (the two others being
too young for the voyage) and proceeded to Boston in quest

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 213

of a passage. While passing through the different States,
I made a point of informing myself of the state of the com-
merce of each; went on to New Hampshire with the same
view, and returned to Boston. Thence I sailed on the 5th
of July, in the Ceres, a merchant ship of Mr. Nathaniel
Tracey, bound to Cowes. He was himself a passenger, and
after a pleasant voyage of nineteen days, we arrived at
Cowes on the 26th. I was detained there a few days by
the indisposition of my daughter. On the 30th, we em-
barked for Havre, arrived there on the 31st, left it on the
3d of Auo;ust, and arrived at Paris on the 6th. I called
immediately on Dr. Franklin, at Passy, communicated to
him our charge, and Vve wrote to Mr. Adams, then at the
Hague, to join us at Paris."

In Eurone, tlie services of ISIr. Jeiferson were hij>;hly be-
neficial to his country; for, independent of his diplomatic
talent, the moral force of his character as a statesman, a
man of science, a philosopher, and a sage, elevated the re-
putation of his country, and extorted that respect v»hich
civilised mankind always pay as the tribute of reason to the
power of intellect. Having negociated several treaties of
commerce. Dr. Franklin returned home; and Mr. Adams,
having been appointed ambassador at St. James, Mr. Jeft'er-
son was left as minister at the court of Versailles.

A treaty with Prussia and Morocco, was the only fruit of
the labours of the three ambassadors.

At the request of Mr. Adams, Jefterson now went over
to London, to attempt a treaty v»ith that power; but returned
to Paris covered with disappointment, mortification and
chagrin, at the cold reception the overture had met with.

From Paris, Mr. Jefferson found leisure to travel into
Italy, and explore Holland; and his powers of observation
fully enabled him to amass a fund of information as useful
to his country, as it proved beneficial to himself.

In France, a long residence and a perfect mastery of the
language, could not fail to imbue him deeply with European
politics. His prepossessions in favour of France were warm
and evident; he did not conceal his attachment to the
French character, and to French modes of thinking, acting,
and feeling; and he, therefore, naturally became a favorite
with their philosophers and men of letters; nor was it a
slight honor to call D\^lembert his friend, embrace Con-
dorcet as a companion, and acknowledge the .^bbe Morrellet

214 THE LIFE OF

as his literary god-father, who, from love to the author,
translated his Notes on Virdnia.

Althouo-h at a foreign court, the thouo-hts of Jefferson
were too much directed to home, to allow him to overlook
what was going on, in tiie formation of the new Constitu-
tion, to which he looked with an anxiety and solicitude pro-
portioned to the magnitude and importance of the object.
As it will forever remain an interesting subject of rational
curiosity, as well as of political importance to know in what
light he viewed the Constitution at the time of its adoption,
1 shall quote from his memoirs and correspondence, all that
appears to bear directly upon this o:reat point. He says,
page 63, "Our first essay in America, to establish a fede-
rative government, had fallen, on trial, very short of its
object. During the war of Independence, while the pres-
sure of an external enemy hooped us together, and their
enterprises kept us necessarily on the alert, the spirit of
the people, excited by danger, was 2i supplement to the Con^
federation, and urged them to zealous exertions, whether
claimed by that instrument or not: but when peace and
safety were restored, and everv man became eno-ajred in
useful and profitable occupatix)n, less attention was paid to
the calls of Congress. The fundamental defect of the con-
federation was, that Cono-ress was not authorised to act im-
mediately on the people, and by its own officers. Their
power was only requisitory, and those requisitions were
addressed to the several I^eg-islatures, to be bv them carried
into execution, without other coercion than the moral prin-
ciple of duty. This allowed, in fact, a a negative to every
Legislature, on every measure proposed by Congress; a ne-
gative so frequently exercised in practice, as to benumb
the action of the federal government, and to render it inef-
ficient in its general objects, and more especially in pecu-
niary and foreign concerns. The want, too, of a separation
of the legislative, executive and judiciary functions worked
disadvantageously in practice. Yet this state of things af-
forded a happy augury of the future march of our confede-
racy, when it was seen that the good sense and good dispo-
sitions of the people, as soon as they perceived the incom-
petence of their first compact, instead of leaving its correc-
tion to insurrection and civil war, agreed, with one voice,
to elect deputies to a general Convention, who should
peaceably meet and agree on such a Constitution, as would

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 215

ensure peace^ justice^ liberty^' the conwion defence and
general ivelfare.

*'This Convention met at Philadelphia, on the 25th of
Mav, 1787. It sat with closed doors, and kept all its pro-
ceedings secret until its dissolution on the 17th of Septem-
ber, when the result of its labours were published all toge-
ther. I received a copy early in November, and read and
contemplated its provisions with great satisfaction. As not
a member of the Convention, however, nor probably a single
citizen of the Union had approved it in all its parts, so I
too found articles which I thought objectionable. The ab-
sence of express declarations insuring freedom of religion,
freedom of the press, freedom of the person, under the unin-
terrupted protection of the Habeas Corpus, and trial by jury
in civil as well as in criminal cases, excited my jealousy;
and the re-eligibility of the President for life I quite disap-
proved. I expressed freely, in letters to my friends, and
more particularly to Mr. Madison and General Washington,
my approbations and objections. How the good should be
secured, and the ill brought to rights, was the difficulty.
To refer it back to a new convention might endanger the
loss of the whole. My first idea was, that the nine states
first acting, should accept it unconditionally, and thus se-
cure what in it was good, and that the four last should ac-
cept on the previous condition, that certain amendments
should be agreed to; but a better course was devised of ac-
cepting the whole, and trusting that the good sense and
honest intentions of our citizens would make the alterations
which should be deemed necessary. Accordingly, all ac-
cepted, six without objection, and seven with recommenda-
tions of specified amendments. Those respecting the press,
religion, and juries,, with several others of great value, were
accordingly made; but the habeas corpus was left to the
discretion of Congress, and the amendment against the re-
eligibility of the President was not proposed. My fears of
that feature were founded on the importance of the office,
on the fierce contentions it mioht excite among ourselves,
if continuable for life, and the dangers of interference,
either with money or arms, by foreign nations, to whom the
choice of an American President might become interesting.
Examples of this abounded in history; in the case of the
Roman emperors, for instance — of the popes, while of any
significance — of the German emperors, the kings of Poland,

216 THE LIFE OF

and the Deys of Barbary* I had observed, too, in the feudal
history, and in the receiit instance, pavdcularlv. of the Stad-
tholder of Holhind, how easily ofiices or tenures for life,
slide into inheritances. My wish, therefore, was that
the President should be elected for seven years, and be in-
eligible afterwards. This term I thought sufticient to ena-
ble him, with the concurrence of the Legislature, to carry
through and establish any system of improvement he should
propose for the general good. But the practice adopted, I
think, is better — allowing his continuance for eight years,
with a liability to be dropped at half-way of the term, mak-
ing that a period of probation.* That his continuance
should be restrained to seven years was the opinion of the
Convention at an earlier stage of its session, when it voted
that term, by a majority of eight against two, and by a sim-
ple majority that he should be ineligible a second time. This
opinion was confirmed by the House so late as July 26,
referred to the committee of detail, reported favourably by
them, and changed to the present form by final vote, on the
last day but one only of their session Of this change, three
States expressed their disapprobation — New York, by re-
commending an amendment that the President should not
be eligible a third time, and Vir2;inia and North Carolina
that he should not be capable of serving more than eight
in any term of sixteen years; and although this amendment
has not been made in form, yet practice seems to have esta-
blished it. The example of four Presidents voluntarily

* Mr. Jefferson was evidently too much of a politician to g-ive the
true definition of the first term of four years; and instead of ' proba-
tion' I should propose to substitute the word popuhiriiv, 'making
that a term of popularity,' during- which the President courts the
PEOPLE FOR A RK-ELECTiox, and docs nothing" for the g-ood of the na-
tion; and having- secured a re-election, he then acts with an eye to
history, and does all the g-ood he can to secure himself the universal
applause of all parties. 1 his shows four years to be sufficient for the
PUBLIC GOOD, but not enough for private ambition; and we may justly
indulg-e a regret, that one so celebrated for his profession of republican
doctrines as Mr. Jefferson, should in the same breath deprecate long-
tenures of office, and yet oppose short ones: after experience, too,
had so fully demonstrated, that the first four years was the rule of
the demag'ogue, and the last four the administration of the patriot!
The first four to org-anise a party for re-election, and the last four to
perform what he was originally elected to do, but neg-lected, to attend
to partisan arrang-ements. Not so, however, with Washington! ! !

THOMAS jrFFERSOX. 217

retiring at the end of their eiglith year, and the progress of
public opinion, that the principle's salutary, have given it
in practice the force of precedent and usage;' insomuch, that
should a President consent to be a candidate for a third
election, I trust he would be rejected, on this demonstra-
tion of ambitious views.*

"But there was another amendment, of which none of us
thought at the time, and in the omission of which lurks the
germ that is to destroy this happy combination of national
powers, in the general government, for matters of Natioyml
concern, and independent powers in the States, for what
concerns the States severally. In England, it was a great
point, gained at the Revolution, that the commissions of
the Judges, which had hitherto been during pleasure, should
thenceforth be made during good behaviour. A Judiciary
dependent on the will of the King, had proved itself the
most oppressive of all tools in the hands of that magistrate.
Nothino; then could be more salutarv, than a chano-e there,
to the tenure of good behaviour; and the question of good
behaviour left to the vote of a simple majority in the two
houses of Parliament. Before the Revolution, we were all
good English whigs, cordial in their free principles, and in
their jealousies of their exectitive magistrate. These jea-
lousies are very apparent in all our State constitutions: and
ia the general government, in this instance, we have gone
even beyond the Eno;lish caution, by requiring a vote of
two -thirds, in one of the Houses, for removing a Judge; a
vote so impossible, where any defence is made, before men
of ordinary prejudices and passions, that our Judges are
effectually independent of the nation. But this ought not
to be. I 'would not, indeed, make them dependent on the
Executive authority, as they formerly were in England; but
I deem it indispensable to the continuance of this govern-
ment, that thev should be submitted to some practical and
impartial control; and that this to be impartial, must be

* This precedent was entirely accidental, "Washinglon having- de-
termined to retire at the end of four years; but being- restrained from
that course by the peculiar pressure of the pubhc exig-encies, which
he thought rendered it a point of honour to continue, until the dlffi-
cidties of the country covdd be adjusted. To settle those difficulties,
he reluctantly stood a second term: but his opinion was decidedly in
favour of o>-E term!

T

218 THE LIFE OF

compounded of a mixture of State and Federal authorities.-*
It is not enough that honest men are appointed Judges. All
know the influence of interest on the mind of man, and how
unconsciously his judgment is warped by that influence.
To this bias add that of the esprit de corps, of their peculiar
maxim and creed that -it is the office of a good Judge to
enlarge his jurisdiction:* and the absence of responsibility;
and Ifow can we expect impartial decision between the Ge-
neral Government, of v/hich they are themselves so eminent
a part, and an individual State, from which they have no-
thing to hope or fear? We have seen, too, that contrary to
all correct example, they are in the habit of going out of the
question before them, to throw an anchor ahead, and grapple
further hold for future advances of power. They are then,
in fact, the corps of sappers and miners, steadily working
to undermine the independent rights of the States, and to
consolidate all power in the hands of that government, in
which they have so important a freehold estate.*'

Althoughlhave everbeen prejudiced against the Supreme
Court, and in favour of State rights, yet I cannot conceive
how that tribunal can ever decide against the consolidation
features of the constitution. That court was not constituted
as a conservative tribuncd of the rights of the States,, but as
a conservative tribuncd of the power of the United States.
Without the Supreme Court, as now organised, the consti-
tution is nothing. The States have the remedy of an ap-

* >Ir. Jefferson does not reason here \^-ith his wonted logical pre-
cision. He admits that Judg-es being- men, must have some bias of
interest or feeling-; and cannot therefore be impartial; yet he con-
tends for an impartial power to which tliey shall beheld "responsible!
The mixture of State and Federal authorities, mu.=t, however, be
composed of men; and why should they be more impartial than the
Judg-es ' 1 his is reasoning in a circle, and contending- for an Utopia.
If the independence of the Jvidiciaiy is sound doctrme in England,
why not in the United States"' Because of the habilitv of human
nature to be partial to itself' At this rate, we might abohsh all go-
vernment, because its officers are men. I must confess, I cannot
discern the force of Mr. Jefferson's argument. He desired to arrest
consolidation, by making the Judges of the Supreme Court depen-
dent on those in favour of State rights: a bias quite as partial, and as
destructive to the Republic as consohdationi The independence of
the Court, strikes us as unexceptionable — but it is the Coxstitv-
Tiox that LEAX5 to consolidation; and how can the Court escape the
same propensity?

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 219

peal to public opinion, if aggressed ; and such a panoply is
more desirable than the sword of coercion, or the tomahawk
of civil strife. If public opinion will not redress their
WTongs, they cannot be greatly injured. So thought Mr.
Jefferson himself, when he indited the following letter,
teeming with sound doctrines, conceived by the clear head
of a republican, and approved by the sound heart of a
philanthropist.

In a letter to F. Hopkinson, dated Paris, March 15,
1789, he avows himself an advocate of a consolidated
government, and disclaims the suspicion ot being an anti-
federalist. " You say that I have been dished up to you
as an an ti -federalist, and ask me if it be just. My opinion
was never worthy enough of notice, to merit citing; but
since you ask it, I will tell it to you. I am not a federalist,
because I never submitted the whole system of my opinions
to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in
philosophy, in politics, or in any thing else, where I was
capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction, is the
last degradation of a free and moral agent.* If I could not
go to heaven, but with a party, I would not go there at all.
Therefore, I protest to you, I am not of the party of fede-
ralists. But I am much farther from that of the anti-fede-
ralists. I approved, from the first, of the great mass of
what is in the new constitution; the consolidation of
THE government; the organisation into executive, legisla-
tive and judiciary; the subdivision of the legislative; the
happy compromise of interests between the great and little
States, by the different manner of voting in the different
houses; the voting by persons instead of States; the qualified
negative on laws given to the Executive, which, however, I
should have liked better, if associated with the Judiciary
also, as in New York; and the power of taxation. I
thought, at first, that the latter might have been limited.
A little reflection soon convinced me it ought not to be.
What I disapproved from the first moment, also, was the
want of a bill of rights, to guard liberty against the legisla-

* It will be observed, that this sentiment from Mr. Jefferson aims
a blow of ig-nominy against all parties; and, as neither its truth, nor
philosophy can be controverted, it only remains, that to escape it
men must not lose the faculty of free and moral agents, when they
attach themselves to a party. •

220 THE LIFE OF

tive as well as executive branches of the government,* that
is to say, to secure freedom in religion, freedom of the
press, FREEDOM FROM MONOPOLIES, frecdoni from unlawful
imprisonment, freedom from a permanent military, and a
trial by jury, in all cases determinable by the laws of the
land. I disapproved also, the perpetual, re- eligibility of
the President. To these points of disapprobation I adhere.
My first wish was, that the nine first conventions might
accept the constitution, as the means of securing to us the
great mass of good it contained, and that the four last
might reject it, as the means of obtaining amendments.
But I was corrected in this wish, the moment I saw the
much better plan of Massachusetts, and which had never
occurred to me. With respect to the declaration of rights,
I suppose the majority of the United States are of my opi-
nion: for I apprehend, all the anti -federalists, and a very
respectable portion of the federalists, think that such a de-
claration should no\y be annexed. The enlightened part of
Europe have given us the greatest credit for inventing this
instrument of security for the Rights of the People, and
have been not a little surprised, to see us so soon give it up.
With respect to the re-eligibility of the President, I find
myself differing from the majority of my countrymen j fori
think there are but three States of the eleven, which have
desired an alteration of tliis. And, indeed, since the thing
is established, / ivould wish it not to be altered during the
life of our great leader,* whose executive talents are su^
perior to those, I believe, of any man in the world, and who
alone, by the authority of his name and the confidence re-
posed in his perfect integrity, is fully qualified to put the
new Government sounder ivay, as to secure it against the
EFFORTS OF OPPOSITION. But having derived from our
error all the good there was in it, I hope we shall correct
it the moment we can no longer have the same name at
the helm.

" These, my dear friend, are my sentiments, by which
you will see I was right in saying, I am neither federalist,
nor anti -federalist; that I am of neither party, nor yet a
trimmer between parties. These, my opinions, I wrote
within a few hours after I had read the constitution, to one
or two friends in America. I had not then read one single

* Washington!

THOMAS JEFFERSON. " 221

word printed on the subject. I never had an opinion in
politics or religion, which I was afraid to own. A costive
reserve on these subjects, mio;ht have procured me more
esteem from some people, but less from mvself. "

Thus he wrote to Mr. Hopkinson in March, 1789: but,
in another to Mr. Madison, m 1787", he expressed an opi-
nion essentially varied as to the consolidated power of
government.

** I own I am not afriendio a very energetic government^
it is always oppressive; it places the governors indeed more
at their ease, but at the expense of the people. The late re-
bellion in Massachusetts, has o;iven more alarm than I think
it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in thirteen
States, in the course of eleven years, is but one for each State
in a century and a half. No Country should be so long
WITHOUT oxE, nor will any degree of power in the hands
of government prevent insurrections. In England, where
the hand of power is heavier than with us, there are seldom
half a dozen years without an insurrection. In France,
where it is still heavier, but less despotic, as Montesquieu
supposes, than in some other countries, and where there are
always two or three hundred thousand men ready to crush
insurrections, there have been three in the course of the
three years I have been here, in everyone of which, greater
numbers were engaged than in Massachusetts, and a great
deal more blood was spilt. In Turkey, where the sole nod
of the despot is death, insurrections are the events of every
day. Compare again the ferocious depredations of their
insuro-ents with the order, the moderation, and the almost
self-extinguishment of ours, and say, finally, whether peace
is best preserved bv giving enercry to the government, or
iyiformation to the people. This'last is the most certain
and the most legitimate engine of government. Educate
and inform the whole mass of the people, enable them to see
that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and
they Mill preserve it; and it requires no very high degree
of education to convince them of this; they are the only sure

^- ...iv approve the propo;
shall concur in it cheerfuUv, in hopes they will mend it,
whenever they shall find it works wrong. This reliance

T 2

222 THE LIFE OF

cannot deceive us as long as we remain rirtuousi and I
think we shall be so, as long as agriculture is our principal
object, which will be the case while there remain vacant
lands in any part of America."

Mr. Jefterson's sentiments on the French Revolution^ are
given with a fulness and frankness in his Memoirs, which
renders them not less important than interesting; and a just
appreciation of his character and conduct in relation to that
splendid, yet melancholy era, demands that I should here
transcribe those opinions which he deliberately recorded
with his own hand. After speaking of the escort of the
King, bv a garde Bourgeoise to his palace at Versailles,
amidst the cry of " Five le Boy et la Nation^^'^ he thus
remarks: "And here, again, was lost another precious occa^
sion of sparing to France the crimes and cruelties through
which she has since passed, and to Europe, 'and finally
America, the evils which flowed on them also from this mor-
tal source. The King was now become a passive machine
in the hands of the National Assembly, and had he been left
to himself, he would have willingly acquiesced in whatever
they should devise as best for the nation. A wise consti-
tution would have been formed, hereditary in his line, him-
self placed at its head, with powers so large, as to enable
him to do all the good of his station, and so limited, as to
restrain him from its abuse. This he Mould have faithfully
administered, and more than this I do not believe he ever
wished. But he had a Queen of absolute sway over his weak
mind and timid virtue, and of a character the reverse of his
in all points. This angel, as gaudily painted in the rhap-
sodies of Burke, with some smartness of fancy, but no sound
sense, was proud, disdainful of restraint, indignant at all
obstacles to her will, eager in the pursuit of pleasure, and
firm enough to hold to her desires, or perish in their wreck.
Her inordinate gambling and dissipations, with those of the
Count D'Artois, and others of her clique, had been a sen-
sible item in the exliaustion of the treasurv, which called
into action the reforming hand of the nation; and her oppo-
sition to it, her inflexible perverseness, and dauntless spirit
led herself to the Guillotine, drew the King on with her, and
plunged the world into crimes and calamities, which will for-
ever stain the pages of modern history. I ever have believed,
that had there been no queen, there would have been no

THOMAS JErFERSOX. , 223

revolution.* No force would have been provoked nor
exercised. The king would have gone hand in hand with
the wisdom of his sounder counsellors; who, guided by the
increased lights of the age, wished only, with the same
pace, to advance the principles of their social constitution.
The deed, which closed the mortal course of these sove-
reigns, I shall neither approve nor condem. I am not pre-
pared to say that the first magistrate of a nation cannot
commit treason against his countrv, or is unamenable to its
punishment; nor yet, that where there is no written law,
no regulated tribunal, there is not a law in our hearts, and
a power in our hands, given for righteous employment in
maintainincr rio-ht and redressing; wrong;. Of those, who
judged the King, many thought him wilfully criminal; many,
that his existence would keep the nation in perpetual con-
flict with the horde of kings, who would war against a re-
generation which might come home to themselves, and that
it were better that 0}ie should die them all. I should not
have voted with this portion of the Legislature. I should
have shut up the c^ueen in a convent, putting harm out of
her power, and placed the king in his station, investing him
with limited powers, which, I verily believe, he would
have honestly exercised, according to the measure of his un-
derstanding.^ In this way, no void would have been created,
courting the usurpation of a military adventurer,! nor oc-
casion given for those enormities which demoralized the
nations of the world, and destroyed, and is yet to destoy,
millions and millions of its inhabitants. There are three
epochs in history, signalised by the total extinction of na-
tional moralitv.' The first was of the successors of Alex-
ander, not omitting himself; the next, the successors of the
first Ccesar; the third, our own age. This was begun by
the partition of Poland, followed by that of the treaty of
Pilnitz; next the conflagration of Copenhagen; then the
enormities of Bonaparte, partitioning the earth at his
will, and devastating it with fire and sword; now the con-
spiracy of Kings, the successors of Bonaparte, blasphe-
mously calling themselves the Holy Alliance, and treading

• This is but a poor compliment to the French people, even under
the theory expounded by Mr. Jefferson.

•j- A coarse title for the tihst >iax of his ag-e — the wonder of the
whole world!!!

224 THE LIFE OF

in the footsteps of their incarcerated leader^ not yet, indeed
usurping the government of other nations, avowedly and,
in detail, but controlling, by their armies, the forms in which
they will permit them to be governed; and reserving, in
petto, the order and extent of the usurpations further medi-
tated. But I will return from a digression, anticipated too,
in time, into which I have been led by reflection on the
criminal passions which refused to the world a favourable
occasion ot sa^dng it from the afflictions it has since suf'
fered.*'

Having obtained leave of absence to return to Virginia,
upon some domestic engagements, Mr. Jefferson landed at
Norfolk^ on the £3d of November, and proceeded on to
Eppington, the residence of his connection, Mr. Eppes,
w-here he was greeted by an express from President Wash-
ington, covering his appointment as Secretary of State.
Upon this subject Mr. Jefferson thus expresses his feelings,
which it is due to truth to say, do not correspond with his
usual warmth of heart, or his well known aspiration after
political celebrity: "I received it with real regret. My
wish had been to return to Paris, where I had left my
household establishment, as if there myself, and to see the
end of the revolution: which, I then thought, would be
certainly and happily closed in less than a year. I then
meant to return home, to withdraw from political life, into
which I had been impressed by the circumstances of the
times, to sink into the bosom of my family and friends, and
devote myself to studies more congenial to my mind.* In
my answer of December 15, I expressed these dispositions
candidly to the President, and my preference of a return to
Paris; but assured him, that if it was believed I could be
more useful in the administration of the government, I
would sacrifice my own inclinations without hesitation, and
repair to that destination; this I left to his decision. I
arrived at Monticello on the 23d of December, w^here I
received a second letter from the President, expressing his
continued wish that I should take my station there, but

* Here we behold one of those traits of intellectual dissimulation,
pecuhar to men, who, combining' literary talents with political
address, so often leads those possessed of them to deceive the world,
when they cannot even succeed in deceiving* themselves into the
behef of their own sincerity.

THOMAS JEFTERSOX. 225

leaving me still at liberty to continue in my former office,
if / could not reconcile myself to that now proposed. This
silenced mv reluctance, and I accepted the new appoint-
ment. "

I must here pause for a moment, to indulge in those
reflections which naturally arise from this elevation of the
statesman of Monticello, to the most lofty station in the
cabinet of our greatest and best Presidentfand which con-
stitutes one of those emphatic eras in the life of a politician,
which decide and involve his future destiny. This may be
considered the first period of the life of this singular and
extraordinary man^ singular for his genius, and extraordi-
nary for his profound and diversified acquirements. Few
men had made such rapid progress from the obscure condi-
tion of a county court lawyer, to the brilliant eminence of
Secretary of State under George Washington; from being
a member of the General Assembly of Yirginia, to become
the first statesman of the United States; and to maintain a
rank in philosophy and learning, second only to the most
distinguished literati of Europe. Genius and volition of
the highest order could alone have subjugated that immense
space to the empire of greatness, which had divided the
youthful attorney from the post he was now called upon to
fill; and from which, as on an eminence, he could look doivn
upon the past covered with its shadows: and up to the
future, glittering with the most resplendent prospect of
honour and renown. He was now called to a station,
which genius, fired with ambition, occupies as a starting
point for higher exaltation; and which unleavened medi-
ocrity only, takes possession of as the fncd seat of its dis-
tinction, and the satisfyino;' object of its ambition. Mr.
Jefferson belonged to the first class of soaring and kindling
minds, that never enjoy rest until they have attained glory,
and which never pauses at a point of advancement short of
the apex of worldly honour or political power. The mo-
tives, therefore, which induced his acceptance of this ap-
pointment, were derived from thoughts and feelings of a
higher reach, and loftier tone, than any of those common-
place considerations which look to the emolument of the
office before him, or to the accommodation of the personage
who tenders it.

During his stay at home, his eldest daughter was now
married to Mi\ Randolph, ' a young gentleman of genius,

226 THE LIFE OF

science and honourable mincl^' who afterwards became
Governor of Virginia.

Mr. Jefferson left Monticello, for New York, on the 1st
of March, 1790, to enter on the duties of his new office.
At PhiLadelphia, he called on Dr. Franklin, who was then
on his death-bed, and who conversed with him with the
resignation of a philosopher, and tlie animation of an en-
thusiast for liberty. The doctor confided to him a MS.
memoir of his life, which Mr. Jefferson, under a mistaken
idea of the trust reposed in him, afterwards delivered into
the hands of his grandson, William Temple Franklin.
This memoir Mr. Jefferson represents as containing impor-
tant details: among others he thus relates a very important
one, " I remember, he savs, speaking of secret negociations
of Franklin, to accommodate matters between the Colonies
and Great Britain, that Lord North's answers were dry,
unyielding, in the spirit of unconditional submission, and
betrayed an absolute indifference to the occurrence of a
rupture: and he said to the mediators distinctly, at last,
that 'a rebellion ivas not to be deprecated on the part of
Great Britain: that the confiscations it ivoiddjiroduce would
provide for many of their friends.'' This expression was
reported by the mediators to Dr. Franklin." Here the
negociation stopped.

Mr. Jefferson reached New York on the 21st March,
while Congress was in session; and commenced his duties
as Secretary of iS'/«fe, under George Washington!

In a letter to General W^ashington, dated April 16, 1784,
Mr. Jefferson gives, at full length, his objections to the
institution of the Cincinatti; from which I must take an
extract of a brief passage: "The objections of those who
are opposed to tlie institution shall be briefly sketched.
You will readily fill tliem up. They urge that it is against
the confederation, against the letter of some of our consti-
tutions, against the spirit of all of them; that the founda-
tion, on which all these are built, is the natural equality^ of

* Mr. Jefferson here reasons with less closeness than is common
to him; there is no natural equality in man, but that all possess, in an
equal degree, a natural rig"htto happiness is another, and a more ra-
tional proposition. Metaphysical equality of rig-ht is a much sounder
doctrine than the physical, or metaphysical equality of mankind;
for no two men are equal in body, or mind. The pernicious doctrines
fasliionable in the era of the French revolution, are now exploded

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 2'27

man, the denial of every pre-eminence but that annexed to
legal office,! and particularly the denial of a pre-eminence
by birth: that, however, in their present dispositions, citi-
zens might decline accepting honorary instalments into
the order, but a time may come ^vhen a well directed dis-
tribution of them might draw into the order all the men of
talents, of office and wealth: and, in this case, would pro-
bablv procure an eno-raftment into the crovernment: that in
this they will be supported by their foreign members, and
the wishes and influence of foreign courts: that experience
has shown that the hereditary branches of modern jjovern-
ments are the patrons of privilege and prerogative, and not
of the natural rights of the people, whose oppressors they
generally are: that, beside these evils, which are remote,
others may take place more immediately; that a distinction
is kept up between the civil and military, which it is for
the happiness of both to obliterate: that when the members
assemble they will be proposing to do something, and what
that somethino: may be, will depend on actual circum-
stances; that being an organized body, under habits of sub-
ordination, the first obstruction to enterprize will be already
surmounted: that the moderation and virtue of a single
character have probably prevented this revolution from
being closed^ as most others have been, by a subversion of
that liberty it ivas intended to establish: that he is not itn-
mortal, and his successor, or some of his successors, 7nay
be led by false ccdculations into a less certain road to glory.'''

It has alwavs been known that Mr. Jefferson was op-
posed to the institution of the Cincinatti, as containing the
germ of an hereditary nobility; but to what precise extent
he carried his objections, I was never able to discover, until
I met with the foregoing letter, published by his grandson,
in the volume that contains his memoir of his own life. It
appears, from the foregoing extract, that he opposed it on
the broadest grounds of democracy, equality, and popular
sovereignty and rule.

His letters from Paris, in 1785 and *86, to Washington

for others, of more enlarged benevolence, yet equally favourable to
liberty.

f Mr. Jefferson could not mean to deny the natural pre-eminence
of g-enius, and the acquired superiority of learning-, skill and ex-
perience!

228 THE LIFE OF

himself, as well as to others, breathe the purest attachment
and the highest veneration for that great patriot^ from whom
he does not seem to have been alienated till subsequent
events, and pregnant ambition, begot feelings of an oppo-
site nature; all generated by the new situation which he
was called on to occupy in the new government. It is re-
markable, too, that at the dates here referred to, he took
peculiar pleasure in discoursing of matters connected with
pomp, splendour and ceremony; so that the Court of Ver-
sailles, instead of disgusting his republican taste, seems, on
the contrary, to have been highly pleasing to him. Being
intrusted, at this time, with a commission to procure an
artist to execute an equestrian statue of Washi?igton, he
appears to have taken great pleasure, and spent much pains
in that undertaking; which led him to a protracted corres-
pondence, in which his overflowing aftection for Washing-
ton was constantly manifested, and which could not fail to
awaken in the breast of the first President a corresponding
sentiment of attachment, esteem and confidence. But this
friendship was now to undergo the severest trials, by being
subjected to the test of ambition, and exposed to the temp-
tations of envy, and the jealous pangs of beholding the
favour of the chief magistrate extended to others, who stood
in his pathway to the highest point of honour. Let no man
say, when he climbs ambition's ladder, that he will stop
half way, and that he desires not to ascend to the top; let
no man delude his judgment, by hoping to reconcile the
claims of friendship and gratitude with the lusts of ambi-
tion; or think to remain free from the fever while he gives
his heart up to the flush of power, and riots in visions of
future greatness ! Fatal delusion ! The moment he plants
his foot on the political ladder, the delirium of his head
overbalances the pulsations of his heart, he swims on clouds,
and he ceases to walk tlie earth until he can walk over men !
Mr. Jeff*erson now took his station as the second officer
of the federal government; second only in political impor-
tance, official dignity, and arduous responsibility of duty,
to that occupied by the illustrious Washington, who had
called him to the discharge of its functions. At all times
demanding, in the incumbent, a happy combination of pro-
found learning, vigorous talents, and extensive, as well as
varied acquirements, the office of Secretary of State, at the
commencement of the new government, required those

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 229

qualities in an eminent degree to be united in the man who
should be called to fultil its duties, for the first time, under
an untried constitution. Happily all these requisites were
combined, in a most extraordinary and singular manner, in
the person and intellect of Mr. Jefferson, who, fortunately
for his country, combined the most elevated ardour of pa-
triotism with the sterling splendour of genius and learning.

To attend Mr. Jefterson through all the detail of his
official duties, as Secretary of State, would be to compile
a history of that department, instead of sketching a bio-
graphy of this eminent man. I shall, therefore, confine
myself to the delineation of those traits of character which
become displayed in strong contrast of opposition to the
views and principles of those with whom he was associated;
his mere ability, so far as it related to the performance of
his official functions, being too universally applauded, and
too justly appreciated, to be open to hio;her encomium, or
more rigid criticism, than that through which his merits
have been established.

The first question which elicited that contrariety of views
and principles, which existed between Jefterson and the
President, was the incorporation of the Bank of the
United States. That measure having produced a deep
excitement in both Houses of Congress, as involvinjr funda-
mental principles of constitutional power, naturally awa-
kened the well -approved patriotism of ^^'ashington, v.'hich
induced him to pause and deliberate with his usual coolness
and ability, before he decided upon its final adoption. For
this purpose, he requested a written investigation of the
merits of the question from Mr. Jefterson, in common with
the other members of his cabinet: in complying with which,
this illustrious statesman exhibited a power of reasoning not
inferior in brilliancy to that solidity of principle upon which
he rested as the foundation of his arguments. Simple, broad,
and comprehensive in his premises, he went upon tlie self-
evident axiom that a ////??7e<:/ constitution, restricted by spe-
cial grants of power, could not authorise a sovereign exer-
cise of authority, which no part of that instrument allowed,
or granted in express terms — that the power to create a na-
tional bank was in its very nature too vast and influential
over the whole rights and interests of the people, to be either
a necessary or an incidental power, to others expressly
granted — and that it were better for the harmonv and suc-

U

£30 THE LIFE OF

cess of the whole Union, to forego the exercise of a doubtful
power than to breed endless dissentions and heart-burnings,
by assuming an authority which could not be sustained by
the letter of the Constitution^ to observe which the govern-
ment was bound in the exercise of substantive powers. In
this powerful and masterly elucidation of one of the most
controverted features of the federal government, he was
decidedly opposed, by the eloquent and brilliant exposition
of Alexander Hamilton, who, reasoning on opposite princi-
ples, and leaning to a government of more energetic and
comprehensive genius, naturally carried Mith him the al-
ready prepossessed judgment of the President. But neither
the force of Hamilton's reasoning, nor the hourly augment-
ing weight of the influence of Washino;ton himself, have
been able to settle this perturbed question; while the mas-
terly, but simple edifice of free principles, erected by the
republican logic of Jefferson, will forever remain a monu-
ment of that stern, inflexible and uncompromising democracy
which made him so emphatically the man of the people; and
which have consecrated his labours upon this subject as a
perpetual rallying point for the advocates of free principles.
State rights, and equality of privileges.

As some curiosity will naturally be excited to see this
report of Mr. Jefferson upon the Bank of the United States,
and as it is to be found in but few v/orks, accessible to the
general class of readers, I shall here extract it.

MR. Jefferson's official opiniox ox the power of con-
gress TO establish a national bank.

The Bill for establishing a National Bank, undertakes,
among other things,

1st. To form the subscribers into a corporation.

2d. To enable them, in their corporate capacities, to re-
ceive grants of land, and so far, is against the laws of mort-
main. *

3d. To make alien subscribers capable of holding lands;
and so far is ao-ainst the laws of alienao-e.

4th. To transmit these lands, on the death of a proprie-

* Thoug-h the Constitution controls the laws of mortmain, so far
as to permit Congress itself to hold lands for certain purposes, vet
not so far as to permit them to communicate a similar right to other

corporate bodies.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 231

tor, to a certain line of successors; and so far, changes the
course of descents.

5th. To put the lands out of the reach of forfeiture or
escheat; and so far, is against the laws of forfeiture and
escheat.

6th. To transmit personal chattels to successors in a
certain line: and so far is against the laws of distribution.

rth. To give them the sole and exclusive right of banking
under the national authority; and so far, is against the laws
of monopoly.

8. To communicate to them a power to make laws para-
mount to the laws of the States: for so they must be con-
strued to protect the institution from the control of the
State Legislatures; and so, probably, they will be construed.

I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on
the ground that ' all powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it, to the States,
are reserved to the States, or to the people.' (Twelth
Amendment.) To take a single step beyond the boundaries
thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to
take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer sus-
ceptible of any definition.

The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by
this Bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the
United States by the Constitution.

I. They are not among the powers specially enumerated.
For these are,

1. A power to lay taxes for the purpose of paying the
debts of the United States; but no debt is paid by this bill,
nor any tax laid. "Were it a bill to raise money, its origina-
tion in the Senate would condemn it by the Constitution.

2. To 'borrow money.* But this bill neitlier borrows
money, nor insures the borrowing of it. The proprietors
of the Bank will be just as free as any other money holders,
to lend or not to lend their money to the public. The ope-
ration proposed in the Bill, first to lend them two millions,
and then borrow them back again, cannot change the nature
of the latter act, which will still be a payment, and not a
loan, call it by what name you please.

3. ' To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among
the States, and with the Indian tribes. ' To erect a bank,
and to regulate commerce, are very difterent acts. He who
erects a bank, creates a subject of commerce in its bills; so

232 THE LIFE OF

does he who makes a bushel of wheat, or digs a dollar out
of the mines. Yet neither of these persons regulate com-
merce thereby. To make a thing which may be bought and
sold, is not to prescxibe regulations for buying and selling.
Besides, if this were an exercise of the power of regulating
commerce, it would be void, as extending as much to the
internal commerce of every State, as to its external. For
the power given to Congress by the Constitution, does not
extend to the internal regulation of the commerce of a State,
(that is to say, of the commerce between citizen and citizen,)
which remains exclusively with its own Legislature, but to
its external commerce only; that is to say, its commerce with
another State, or with foreign nations, or with the Indian
tribes. Accordingly, the Bill does not propose the mea-
sure as a 'regulation of trade,' but as 'productive of con^
siderable advantage to trade.'

Still less are these powers covered by any other of the
special enumerations.

II. Nor are they within either of the general phrases,
which are the two following:

1. To lay taxes, to provide for the general welfare of the
United States; that is to say, 'to lay taxes/or the purpose
of providing for the general welfare.' For the laying of
taxes is the potver, and the general welfare the purpose, for
which the power is to be exercised. Congress are not to
lay taxes ad libitum, for any purpose they please; but only
to pay the debts, or provide for the welfare of the Union. In
like manner, they are not to do any thing they please, to
provide for the general w elfare, but only to lay taxes for
that purpose. To consider the latter phrase, not as de-
scribing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct
and independent power to do any act they please, which
might be for the good of the Union, would render all the
preceding and subsequent enumerations of power complete-
ly useless. It would reduce the whole instrument to a
single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to
<lo whatever would be for the good of the United States;
and as they M'ould be the sole judges of the good or evil, it
would be also a power to do whatever evil they pleased.
It is an established rule of construction, where a phrase
will bear either of two meanings, to give it that which will
allow some meaning to the other parts of the instrument,
and not that which will render all the others useless. Cer-

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 233

(lainlj-, no such universal power was meant to be given them.
It was intended to lace them up straightly within the enu-
merated powers, and those without wliich, as means, these
powers could not be carried into effect. It is known that
the very power now proposed as a means was rejected as
an end bv the Convention which formed the Constitution.
A proposition was made to them to authorise Congress to
open canals, and an amendatory one to empower them to
incorporate; but the whole was rejected; and one of the
reasons of rejection urged in debate was, that they then
would have a power to erect a bank, which would render
the great cities, where there were prejudices and jealousies
on that subject, adverse to the reception of the Constitution.

2. The second general phrase is, ' to make all laws
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the enu-
merated powers. ' But they can all be carried into execution
without a bank. A bank, therefore, is not necessary, and
consequently, not authorised by this phrase.

It has been much urged, that a bank will give great faci-
lity or convenience in the collection of taxes. Suppose this
were true: vet the constitution allows onlv the means which
are 'necessary,' not those which are merely convenient,
for effecting the enumerated powers. If such a latitude of
construction be allowed to this phrase, as to give any non-
enumerated power, it will go to every one; for there is no
one which ingenuity may not torture into a convenience in
some ivay or other to some one of so long a list of enume-^
rated powers. It would swallow up all the delegated pow-
ers, and reduce the whole to one phrase, as before observed.
Therefore it was, that the constitution restrained them to
the necessary means, that is to say, to those means without
which the grant of the power would be nugatory.

'• But let us examine this ' convenience,' and see what it
is. The report on this subject, (page 2,) states the only ge-
neral convenience to be, the preventing the transportation
and retransportation of money between the States and the
treasury. (For I pass over the increase of tlie circulating
medium ascribed to it as a merit, and which, according to
my ideas of paper money, is clearly a demerit.) Every
State will have to pay a sum of tax money into the treasury;
and the treasury will have to pay, in every State, a part of
the interest on the public debt, and salaries to the officers
of government resident in that State. In most of the
^ U2

234 THE LIFE OF

States there will still be a surplus of tax money to come up
to the seat of government for the officers residing there.
The payments of interest and salary in each State, may be
made by treasury orders on the State collector. This will
take up the greater part of the money he has collected in
his State, and consequently prevent the great mass of it
from being drawn out of the State. If there be a balance
of commerce in favour of that State, against the one in
which the government resides, the surplus of taxes will be
remitted by the bills of exchange drawn for that commercial
balance. And so it must be if there were a bank. But if
there be no balance of commerce, either direct or circuitous,
all the banks in the world could not bring the surplus of
taxes but in the form of money. Treasury orders, then,
and bills of exchange, may prevent the displacement of the
main mass of the money collected, without the aid of any
bankj and where these fail, it cannot be prevented, even
with that aid.

Perhaps, indeed, bank bills may be a more convenient
vehicle than treasury orders. But a little difference in the
degree of convenience, cannot constitute the necessity
which the constitution makes the ground for assuming any
non -enumerated power.

Besides, the existing banks will, without doubt, enter
into arrangements for lending their agency, and the more
favourable, as there will be a competition among them for
it. Whereas, this bill delivers us up bound to the na-
tional bank, who are free to refuse all arrangements but on
their own terms, and the public not free, on such refusal,
to employ any other bank. That of Philadelphia, I believe,
now does this business by their post notes, which, by an
arrangement with the treasury, are paid by any State col-
lector, to whom they are presented. This expedient, alone,
suffices to prevent the existence of that necessity \\\\\q\\ may
justify the assumption of a non-enumerated power as a
means for carrvino- into eftect an enumerated one. The
thing may be done, and has been done, and well done,
without this assumption; therefore, it does not stand on that
degree of necessity which can honestly justify it.

It may be said, that a bank whose bills would have a cur-
rency all over the States, would be more convenient than
one whose currency is limited to a single State. So it would
be still more convenient, that there should be a bank whose

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 235

bills should have a currency all over the world. But it
does not follow from this superior conveniency, that there
exists any where a power to establish such a bank, or that
the world may not go on very well without it.

Can it be thought, that theX'onstitution intended, that for
a shade or two oi' convenience, more or less. Congress should
be authorised to break down the most ancient and funda-
mental laws of the several States, such as those against
mortmain, the laws of alienage, the rules of descent, the
acts of distribution, the laMS of escheat and forfeiture, and
the laws of monopoly. Nothing but a necessity invincible
by any other means, can justify such a prostration of laws
which constitute the pillars of our whole system of juris-
prudence, Will Congress be too straight-laced to carry the
Constitution into honest eflect, unless they may pass over
the foundation laws of the State governments, for the
slightest convenience to theirs.'*

The negative of the President is the shield pro\'ided by
the Constitution, to protest against the invasions of the Le-
gislature:^ as f, the rights of the Executive: second, of the
Judiciarv: third, of the States and State Leg-islatures. The
present is the case of a right remaining exclusively with the
States, and is, consequently, one of those intended by the
Constitution to be placed under his protection.

It must be added, however, that unless the President's
mind, on a view of every thing which is urged for and
ao-ainst this bill, is tolerablv clear that it is unauthorised bv
the constitution, if the pro and the con hang so even as to
balance his judgment, a just respect for the wisdom of the
Legislature, would naturally decide the balance in favour
of their opinion, It is chiefly for cases where they are clearly
misled bv error, ambition or interest, that the Constitution
has placed a check in the negative of the President.

February 15, 1791. TH. JEFFERSOX.

Congress, aware of the great importance of the cod and
whale fisheries, had directed the attention of the Secretary
of State to those subjects; and Mr. Jefterson, in compliance
ynx\\ a resolution of that body, made a report to Congress
on the Ist of February, 1791.* embracing a comprehensive
enquiry into the nature and tendency of that trade, and
taking'a wide survey of its benefits, advantages, and bear-
ings, as well in a national point of view, as in its effects and

236 THE LIFE OF

operations upon the prosperity and happiness of the people
in general. Among other points that he elucidated with
the hand of a master in this report, was the influence of that
trade in bettering the condition of the labouring classes, by
reducing the cost of the first necessary of life — food; and
the means it provided for rearing a hardy and skilful race
of brave seamen; its extension of the commerce of the
country; its efficacy as the means of defence in war; and its
inestimable value as a nursery for seamen^ out of which to
fill up the complement of our public ships of war. In fine,
this able and profound report displayed all that variety of
information and fullness of talent, for which its author was
so celebrated, and which so happily qualified him to digest
plans of national improvements; explore new sources of
public wealth, and analyse the complicated relations of the
most intricate and unknown branch of trade or enterprise.
From this report, Mr. Jefferson" has justly been considered
as having a fair claim to the character of Father of the
American Fisheries.

In his various negociations with England and Spain, at
this eventful period of the commencement of the new fede-
ral government, Mr. Jefferson manifested that patriotism
and benevolence for which he was always distinguished;
and displayed that skill, learnmo;, eloquence, and address,
which always characterised his elegant pen. In the discus-
sion of the violated treaties with the British minister, and
the free navigation of the Mississippi, he illustrated these
pre-eminent qualities of his accomplished mind in a striking
and peculiar manner.

I have already, in the Life of IVashijigton, alluded to-
that trait of our national policy established by the father of
his country, which preserved us from being entangled in
the wars and alliances of Europe, by settling the principle
of neutrality as the wisest policy of the republic. On this
occasion, Mr. Jefferson, as Secretary of State, became sig-
nally distinguished, by his correspondence with the insolent
Genet, who, uniting impudence to vulgarity, unwisely sup-
posed that qualities so offensive, must necessarily consti-
tute the essence of republican liberty. Mr. Jefferson had
advised and fully concurred in the proclamation of neutra-
lity between England, Holland and France; but he dis-
sented from that position of the cabinet, which urged the
suspension of our treaties with the latter country, during

THOMAS JEFrERSOX. 237

the anarchj of her wild revolution, when all government
seemed to be dissolved in oceans of blood, but which AVash-
ington himself did not approve; so that Genet was received
without any stipulation of suspended treaties, as the minis-
ter of the French people. Whatever may have been Mr.
Jefferson's partiality for the French people, and his sympathy
for the cause of liberty, in which they were so furiously
engaged, (and that he felt on these subjects with extreme
warmth, we have his own testimony to prove,) still he was
too well instructed in his duty as a member of the govern-
ment, to permit the influence of his feelings to bias, or
change the current of his official duties. It is, therefore,
more to Ms honour, than if he had not cherished this par-
tiality, that he vindicated the dignity of the President, and
defended the rights and policy of his country, in a tone of
pure and lofty patriotism m liich reflected the highest credit
on his integrity; and with a force of argument and power
of illustration, which attested to the singular felicity of his
genius, and the enviable stores of his knowledo;e.^

On the 16th of December, 1793, Mr. Jefterson presented
to Congress the last official paper, of which he was the
author, under the administration of George Washington:
this was a report on the commerce and navigation of the
United States, in its relation to foreign governments, with
suggestions as to what measures it may be expedient to
adopt, to improve and extend the same.

This report has derived additional importance fronj its
recognition of principles which assimilate closely with the
doctrines of Free Trade, andyet embrace the contingency
of a Protective Tariff. He begins by considering the
value of the articles of our export to the difterent countries
with whom we exchange commodities; and then proceeds
to investigate the restrictions which other nations have im^
posed upon our trade; whence he branches out into an
appeal to Congress, to devise and adopt the most eligible
modes for their modification, counteraction, or removal.
He then susrsests as two of the most eligible methods:
Jirst^ Negociations for commercial treaties on the basis oi
reciprocity; and second, Legislative enactments imposing
counteracting restrictions upon the trade of those nations
that will not treat on the first named condition. Commer-
cial regulations he deemed preferable, because he con-
tended that an unshackled and free trade was the most pro-

238 THE LIFE OF

•fitable, reasonable and just; and that the United States
ouglit to hold in special favour any nation who would, by
commencing the system, set a good example for others to
follow; and in the same spirit, to resist with rigorous coun-
teractino; duties, the commerce and navio-ation of those
countries that pertinaciously adhered to the system of pro-
hibitions, high duties, or vexatious exactions. An obvious
train of powerful argument is adduced to sustain this just
position, and recommend to national patronage the naviga-
tion interest of the country 5 urging with a fervour commen-
surate to the great importance of the question, the adoption
of the system of xatioxal reciprocity — opposing tariff
to tariff- — duty against duty ; but at all times giving a de-
cided preference to free and unrestrained trade, universally
guaranteed from all shackles by commercial treaties and
arrangements.

In accordance with this enlightened and masterly expo-
sition of sound national policy, Mr. Madison introduced a
series of resolutions, which were designed to give the report
of Mr. Jefferson the sanction of leg-islative authority. An
animated and prolonged debate ensued: in the course of
W'hich every collateral topic of a political character was
freely and vividly discussed: the policy of the nation in
times of war, and of peace; the hostilities of Europe; the
progress of commerce, and the necessity of retaliation; in
fine, every question having a main bearing on the point was
fully analysed and expounded. It was supposed that a
majority could have been rallied upon the passage of the
resolutions; but they were not put to the vote, and now only
remain a monument of that political foresight in Mr. Jeffer-
son, and that legislative wisdom on the part of Mr. Madi-
son, which formed such prominent characteristics of these
eminent individuals. Yet it must ever be considered as
singular, that through all the revolutions of public opinion,
the opposite policy of Hamilton has prevailed^ under every
administration. Accordino; to an intention lono; before
expressed, Mr. Jefferson resigned his office, as Secretary of
State, on the 31st of December, 1793.

I have now arrived at a new era in the life of ^Ir. Jeffer-
son; when he shed the peaceful robes of the statesman, to
assume the sword, shield and armour of the politician — an
era, at which admiration for his genius is overclouded by
mortification for his loss of dignity, his sacrifice of opinion

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 239

to expediency, and his occasional dereliction from principle
in compliance witli the fallacious suggestions of interest.
"We must now cease for a time to contemplate him as the
philanthropist, whose eye is fixed on the public good, or as
the patriot, whose heart is engrossed by schemes that will
benefit his country; and be content to observe him as one
who is to build up his fortune with all 'sorts of people,'
and manage politics as an art of individucd greatness, not
of national good. It is, perhaps, to be lamented that men
of great minds should ever be condemned to compromise
their honest candour in order to conciliate popular favour,
for great stations: but still it is so ordained in the scale of
human frailty, that vast powers of intellect shall be che-
quered by some obliquities of character, that detract from
that unmixed veneration which they would otherwise inspire.
If, however, as a p.olitician^ Mr. Jefterson was not so lofty
and unblemished as he was considered, as a statesman we
must refer much of the discrepancy to those inevitable and
adventitious circumstances, which, while they placed him in
open contrast with the greatest man of his age, surrounded
him with powerful rivals of equal talents, superior energy,
more moral courage, and greater intellectual prowess. AVith
Washington to overshadow him — with Hamilton to rival
him — with Adams to carry off" the palm of political triumph,
and Jay to excel him in diplomacy, it required no little
management, skill, and address, to preserve himself floating
on the waters, and to reach that final harbour of glory to
which he at last safely navio;ated his barque, through fogs,
and shoals, and tempests that environed him at every turn,
and menaced him so often with annihilation. But the
clouds of the politician once passed, we shall again behold
his glory shine out undimmed, as brilliant and resplendent
as ever, leaving us nothins; to recrret, but that eciuivocation,
duplicity, and inconsistency, which must always, more or
less, attach to every man who ventures from the virtue and
independence of private life, or dignified station, to can-
vass for the popular favour, and, like St. Paul, attempt to
be •«// things to all men.- But, in the case of Mr. Jeffer-
son, we have in his character a feature of consistency that
is not always found in minor politicians — a strict adherence
to his oivn party fanaticism up to the day of his death, va-
rying only in the objects of his crimination, and changing
from John Adams to Timothy Pickering, from Alexander

240 THE LIFE OF

Hamilton to Oliver Wolcott. In this delirium of another
' Polish plot,- by which we were again to be brought under
the dominion of a King, he always was sure to repeat the
dream, thoush he chan«2;ed the characters and actors in the
traced v: and this, too, without seemins; to be aware that
the whole invention was the weak contrivance of emi^^rants
from foreign countries, who possessed no other means of
rising to importance, but on the Maves of faction, and who
kept themselves busy in fanning the embers of faction, in
the hope of sharing the ' spoils^ which might attend any
confusion in society, or revolution in the government ; for
tliat confusion and revolution were their objects, was de-
monstrated by facts,* which it is wonderful should have'
escaped the penetration of Mr. Jefferson.

His motives for retirement Avere obviously to be disco-
vered from the violence of party dissentions that now began
to rage, which had even penetrated the cabinet, to place
him in opposition to Hamilton; and which naturally brought
liis official duties in opposition to his individual feelings,
who not only had the ear, but the heart and the judgment
of Washington. Devoted with enthusiasm to the cause of
the French Revolution; in principle a democrat, radically
Avedded to the very ultra doctrines of liberty; it was
scarcely possible, that he should longer continue in a cabi-
net, whose love of rational freedom was tempered by reve-
rence for law and subordination, and restrained by consi-
derations of public virtue, human happiness, and national
safety, under the auspices of "Washington, entrenched be-
hind the towering genius of Alexander Hamilton. The
revolution in popular sentiment, which now daily threat-
ened to leave Uashino;ton*s administration in a minority,
admonished Mr. Jefferson to make a timely escape from the
cabinet, unless he desired to share the fate of its shipwreck;
and as no cono;eniality of views bound liim in fidelity to
adhere to its ruined fortunes, policy, as well as feeling,
suggested retirement as the only means of preserving his
own honour and avoiding the supposed impending downfall
of the administration. These motives for his retirement
were perfectly consistent, judicious, and justifiable; and

• The insurrections that appeared in various sections of the Union,
were instig'ated by foreigners, who appeared as their leadei*s and
chiefs.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 241

if they failed, as it respected the calculation, of the voice
of popular opinion being in opposition to the illustrious
patriot at the head of the nation, the error of the tlieor j was
rather to be ascribed to the pre-eminent virtue of the Presi-
dent, than to the misconception of public opinion in Mr.
Jefferson; for it cannot admit of a doubt that the country
and the government must have been shattered into a thou-
sand fragments, by the violent collisions of partv, but for
the wisdom, the purity, the moderation, and the patriotism
of George Washino;ton; the excellence of whose character,
while it arrested the current of democratic feeling for the
time, and even caused it to ebb entirely, from its influence
on the government, so as to admit his successor's election
from the same school of modulated freedom: vet, when
withdrawn, proved that the virtue of the man, rather than
the force of public opinion, had been tlie means of averting
that catastrophe, upon which Mr. JeR'erson had jtrounded
his resignation; and that the political sagacity of the latter
only failed in point of time, and evinced no deficiency either
in relation to principles or facts. Results finally attested
fo the unerring political foresight of Mr. Jefterson, as to the
tendency of popular sentiment to the single point of demo-
cratic supremacv, by a tremendous and overwiielming ma-
jority. How far Mr. Jefferson co-operated to produce that
result, after his retirement from the Washington cabinet,
does not so clearly appear; but that he was not altogether
inactive, and that he still continued to cherish a dislike of
Washington, a mortal hatred of .Alexander Hamilton, and
the federalists generallv, with, perhaps, soiue exception as
to Washington, whom no man could really hate, will appear
from the following letters, which can alone do justice to
their great author, without abridgment or mutilation.

''TO JAMBS MADISON*.

'' Monticello, ^Iprll 3, 1794.
" Dear Sir, — Our post having ceased to ride ever since
the inoculation began in Riehinond, till now, I received
three davs ago, and all to<rether, your friendly favours of
March 9^, 9, 12, 14, and Colonel Monroe's ot March 3 and
16 I have been particularlv gratified by the receipt ot tlie
papers containing vours, and Smith's discussion ot your
reo-ulatino- propositions. These debates had not been seen
he?e but In a very short and mutilated form. I am at no

W

242 THE LIFE OF

loss to ascribe Smitlvs speech to its true father. Every
tittle of it is Hamiltoirs except the introduction. There is
scarcely any thing there which I have not heard from him
m ourvarious private, though official discussions. The
very turn of the arguments is the same, and others will see,
as well as myself, that tlie style is Hamilton's. The sophistry
is too fine, too ingenious, even to have been comprehended
by Smith, much less devised by him. His reply shows that he
did not understand his first speechjas its general inferiority
proves its legitimacy, as evidently as it does the bastardy of
tlie orio-inal. You know we had understood that Hamilton
had prepared a counter report,* and that some of his humble
servants in the Senate were to move a reference to him in
order to produce it. But, I suppose they thought it would
have a better eftect if fired oft' in the House of Represen-
tatives. I find the report, however, so fully justified, that
the anxieties m ith whicli I left it are perfectly quieted. In
this quarter, all espouse your propositions with ardour, and
witliout a dissenting voice.

" The rumour of a declaration of war has given an oppor-
tunity of seeing, that the people here, though attentive t»
tlie loss of value of their produce in such an event, yet find
in it a gratification of some other passions, and particularly
of their anclenti hatred to Great Britain. Still, I hope i;t
will not come to that^ but that the proposition will be car-
ried, and justice be done ourselves in a peaceable way. As
to the guarantee of the French Islands, whatever doubts
may be entertained of the moment at which we ought to in-
terpose, yet I have no doubt but that we ought to interpose
at a proper time, and declare both to England and France^
that these islands are to rest with France, and that we wiU
make a common cause with the latter for that object As
to the naval armament, the land armament, and the marine
fortifications, whicli are in qjuestion with you; I have no
doubt tliey will all be carried. Not that the monocrats and
papenncn in Cungress want war; but thev want armies and
debts; and though we may hope that the sound part of Con-

' TJis letter alludes to the debate on Mfidison's resolutions of
Free Trade, based on Jefferson's lleport.

fWe ou^lit to read, and perhaps Mr. Jefferson meant, anciext
iovE and recent hatred.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 24

1^

gress is now so augmented as to insure a majority in cases
of general interest merely, yet I have always observed, that
in questions of expense, where members may hope either for
offices or jobs for themselves or their friends, some few will
be debauched, and that is sufficient to turn the decision
where a majority is, at most, but small. I have never seen
a ^Philadelphia paper since I left it, till those you enclosed
me; and I feel myself so thoroughly weaned from the inter-
est I took in the proceedings there, while there, that I have
never had a wish to see one, and believe that I never shall
take another newspaper of any sort. I find my mind totally
absorbed in my rural occupations.

*' Accept sincere assurances of aifection.

TH. JEFFERSON. *'

In a letter of May 1, 1794, to Tench Coxe, he thus vents
his indignation and hatred against Kings and Priests.
^' Your letters give a comfortable view of French affairs,
and later events seem to confirm it. Over the foreign
powers, I am convinced, they will triumph completely; and
I cannot but hope that that triumph, and the consequent
disgrace of the invading tyrants, is destined, in the order of
events, to kindle the wrath of the people of Europe against
those who have dared to embroil them in such wickedness,
and to bring at length, kings, nobles and priests to the scaf-
folds which they have been so long deluging with human
blood. I am still ivarm ivhenever I think of these scoun-
drels, though I do it as seldom as I can, prefering infi-
nitely to contemplate the tranquil groivth of my lucerne
and potatoes.-'^

Having ' contemplated the growth of his lucerne and
potatoes,^ until he had gathered in his crop, Mr. Jefferson,
in the December of the same year, again turned his atten-
tion to politics, and addressed to his friend, Mr. Madison,
the following inflammatory and glowing epistle, causing
him to forget the veneration due to the character of the
great Washington, in the temporary heat kindled by the
party passions of the day.

TO JAMES MADISON.

Monticello, Dec. 28, 1794.
Dear Sir, I have kept INIr. Jay's letter a post or two,
with an intention of considering attentively the observations

•244 THE LIFE OF

it contains; but I have really so little stomach for any thing
of that kind, that I have not resolution enough even to endea-
vour to understand the observations. I therefore return the
letter, not to delay your answer to it, and beg you, in an-
swering for yourself, to assure him of my respects and
thankful acceptance of Chalmers' Treatise, which I do not
possess, and if you possess yourself of the scope of his
reasoning, make any answer to it you please for me. If
it had been on the rotation of my crops,* I would have
answered myself, lengthily perhaps, but certainly con
gusto.

*'The denunciation of the democratic societies is one of
the extraordinary acts of boldness of which we have seen
so many from the faction of monocrats. It is wonderful,
indeed, that the Presideni'\ should have permitted himself
to be the organ of such an attack on the freedom of dis-
cussion, the freedom of writing, printing and publishing.
It must be a matter of rare curiositv to gret at the modi-
fications of these rights proposed by them, and to see what
line their ingenuity would draw between democratical
societies, W'hose avowed object is the nourishment of the
republican principles of our constitution, and the Society
of the Cincinatti, a self- created one, carving out for itself
hereditary distinctions, lowering cfxer our constitution eter-
nally, meeting together in all parts of the Union periodic
cally, with closed, doors, accumulating a capital in their
separate treasury, corresponding secretly and regularly,
and of which society the very persons denouncing the
democrats are themselves the fathers, founders, and high
officers. Their sight must be perfectly dazzled by the
glittering of crowns and coronets, not to see the extrava-
gance of the proposition to suppress the friends of general
freedom; while those who wish to confine that freedom to
the few, are permitted to go on in their principles and prac-

• There seems to have been some little affectation in this air of ex-
treme devotedness to lccehxx and potatoes, in the sasre of Monti-
cello! - ^

t It is a subject for lamentation, as well as surprise, that Jeffer-
son should have permitted tlie slanders ag-ainst the illustrious Wash-
ington to make any impression on his mind. But overheated am-
ambition, and some g-angrene of pride, must have eng-endered this
letter; the whole of which is unworthv of the head and derogatory
to the heart of the author of the Declaration of Independence.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 245

tices. I here put out of sight the persons ^vhose misbe-
haviour has been taken advantage of to slander the friends
of popular rights: and I am happy to observe, that as far as
the circle of my observation and information extends, every
body has lost sight of them, and views the abstract attempt
on their natural and constitutional rights in all its na-
kedness. I have never heard of a single expression or
opinion which did not condemn it as an inexcusable aggres-
sion. And with respect to the transactions'^ against the
excise law, it appears to me that you are all swept away in
the torrent of governmental opinions, or that we do not
know what these transactions have been. AVe know of
none which, according to the definitions of the law, have
been any thing more than riotous. There was, indeed, a
meeting to consult about a separation. But to consult on
a question does not amount to a determination of that ques-
tion in the affirmative, still less to the acting on such a
determination: but we shall see, I suppose* what the court
lawyers, and courtly judges, and would-be ambassadors
will make of it. The excise law is an infernal one. The
first error was to admit it by the Constitution: the second
to act on tliat admission? the third and last will be to make
it the instrument of dismembering the Union, and setting
us all afloat to choose what part of it we will adhere to.
The information of our militia, returned from the westward,
is uniform, that tliough the people there let them pass
quietly, they were objects of their laughter, not of their
fear; that one thousand men could have cut off their whole
force in u thousand places of the Allegany; that their de»
testation of the excise law is universal, and has now asso'
ciated to it a detestation of the government; and that separ
ration, which perhaps was a verv distant and problematical
event, is now near, and certain, and determined in the
mind of every man. I expected to have seen some justi-
fication of arming one part of the society against another;
of declarins a civil war the moment before the meeting of

* The term *TRA>-sACTio>-s,' here given by :Mi'. J. to the atrocious
lysrBBscTioxs that prevailed in the western counties of Pennsvl-
vania, is not calcidated to add to the lustre of his reputation, or in-
crease our esteem for his character; and we cannot but sincerely wish
that this letter had never seen the hght; still it was due to truth to
represent him as he truly was, ' notliing extenuate, nor set down
auerht in malice.*

246 THE LIFE OF

that body, which has the sole right of declaring war^ of
being so 'patient of the kicks and scofts of our enemies,
and nsin;; at a feather against our friends 5 of adding a mil-
lion to i\w public debt^ and deriding us with recommenda-
tions to pay it if we can, &c. &c. But the part of the
speech which was to be taken as a justification of the ar-
mament, reminded me of Parson Saunder's demonstration
wliy minus into minus makes plus. After a parcel of shreds
of stuft' from iEsops' Fables and Tom Thumb, he jumps all
at once into his ergo, minus multiplied into minus makes
plus. Just so the fifteen thousand men enter after the
fables in the speech."

"However, the time is coming when we shall fetch up
the leeway of our vessel.* The changes in your house, I
see, are going on for the better, and even the Augean herd
over your headst are slowly purging oft' their impurities.
Hold on, then, my dear friend, that we may not shipwTeck
in the meanwhile. I do not see, in the minds of those
with whom I converse, a greater affliction than the fear of
your retirement; but this must not be, unless to a more
splendid and more efficacious post. I'here I should rejoice
to see you; I hope I may say, I shall rejoice to see you.
I have long had much in my mind to say to you on that
subject; but double delicacies have kept me silent. I ought
perhaps, to say, while I would not give up my own retire^
ment for the empire of the universe, how I can justify
wisliing one, whose happiness I have so much at heart as
yours, to take the front of the battle ivhich is fighting for
MY SECURITY. This wouUl be easy enough to be done, but
not at the heel of a lengthy epistle." Adieu.

TH: JEFFERSON.

Tliis is wliat Mr. Jefferson called a state of retirement
irom political aftairs; and whicii his biographers have called
a devotion to the tranquil pursuits of agriculture!

At Monticello, Mr. Jefterson, like all southern gentle-
men, displayed a hospitality commensurate to his former
public station, and his elegant private fortune. Among
olliers, whom curiosity attracted to his mansion, was the

• This is rather a curious commentary upon ' the conteii^la^tioji
ot hicerne and potatoes!!!' * 5^

t The Senate.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 247

celebrated French traveller, the Duke tie Liancourt, avIio
thus describes the sage and politician of Monticello: " His
conversation is ot the most agreeable kind, and he possesses
a stock of information not inferior to that of any other man.
In Europe he would hold a distinguished rank amono- men
of letters, and as such he has already appeared there. At
present he is employed with activity and perseverance in
the management of his farms and buildings, and he orders,
directs and pursues, in the minutest detail, every branch
of business relating to them. The author of this sketch found
him in the midst of harvest, from which the scorching heat
of the sun does not prevent his attendance. His negroes
are nourished, clothed, and treated as well as his white
servants could be. As he cannot expect any assistance
from the two small neighbouring towns, every article is
made on his farm; his negroes are cabinet makers, carpen-
ters, masons, bricklayers, &:c. The children he emplovs
in a nail manufactory, which yields already a considerable
profit. The young and old negresses spin for the clothing
of the rest. He animates them by rewards and distinctions;
in fine, his superior mind directs the management of his
domestic concerns with the same abilities, activity and re-
gularity, which he evinced in the conduct of public affairs,
and which he is calculated to display in every situation in
life."

Durino; the vear 1795, Mr. Jefterson became more anxi-
ous, and of course more active, on the political arena, bv
correspondence with the leading republicans, wlio had as-
sumed the attitude of opposition to the Washington admi-
nistration; from what motives, and for what objects, history
has no longer left open to doubt or conjecture. The father
of his countrv had now progressed in his second term o^
office, accepted with painful reluctance, with an unalter-
able determination never to permit his name again to be
used for that high station. To secure the succession, there-
fore, became an object of the highest importance to the two
conflicting parties; the one headed by John Adams, tlien
Vice President, and sustained by Alexander Hamilton,
who, wielding the intellectual club of a giant, presenteil a
shield of patriotism invulnerable to the sliafts of calumny,
and opposed a breast-plate of polished integrity, from which
the weapons of malice, envy and opposition recoiled with a
force fatal to his assailants. To this party stood opposed

248 THE LIFE OF

a plialanx of republican patriots, equally devoted to their
countiv, equally inflamed with ambition, but more enthu-
siastic and wild in their notions of liberty; and scarcely
less distinguished by talents, genius and learning. At the
head of this party stood, proudly pre-eminent, the subject
of tliis biography, assisted by James Madison, Aaron Burr,
James Monroe, TVilliam B. Giles, and others of inferior
note, and less creditable reputation. The former party
represented the monied influence, and comprehended the
higher orders of society; law, divinity, medicine, commerce
and agriculture, or the great landed interest; and from its
inherent rigour, both physical and mental, assumed amoral
force, which, in the usual course of human events, must
have proved invincible to all extraneous assaults. On th«
adverse side, stood the less intelligent and more penurious
people; those whose passions were easily inflamed by the
cry of liberty, and whose indignation was promptly pro-
voked by the suspicion of oppression, tyranny, or the un-
just exercise of power. To this party, the excise knv, and
the French revolution, were objects easily understood, as
composing the essence of tyranny on the one hand, and
liberty on the other; and their leaders did not fail to ap^
ply the fire-brand, where they discovered the combustibles.
But the vast moral influence of the character of Washino-^
ton, arrested, for a time, the explosion of these inflamma-r
tory elements, and decided the victory in favour of that
party which represented the wealth, intelligence, virtue
and talent of the country, in a greater degree than did its
clamourous and honest adversaries, who fancied they be^
held equality of riches and pleasures in the promised gifts
of cfjual rights, universal suffrage and democratical govern-
ment: not reflecting, that, however a.vdei\t\y candidates for
ofiice may profess lenity, oncers are compelled to observe
justice: and tliat the professions of partisans to gain popu-
lar support, are never intended as a mde of action, for the
incumbent, when invested with power.

It was upon this subject, of a successor to Washington,
that Mr. Jefferson addressed the following letter to Mr.
^ladison; in whicli his aversion to public life is depicted
in colours so strong; and g-lowins;, as to staa^er belief how
he could ever be persuaded to overcome so invincible a re-
pugnance to its cares ! This letter discloses more of the
character of its great author, than could be furpished in a

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 249

volume of dissertation; and I, therefore, make no apology
for its quotation, which, as it flows from his own lips, caii-
not be open to dispute.

TO JAMES MADISON'.

MoniiceUo, April 27, 1795.

'» Dear Sir, Your letter of March the 23d, came to hand
the 7th of April, and notwithstanding the urgent reasons
for answering a part of it immediately, yet, as U mentioned
that you would leave Philadelpliia wi'thin a few davs. I
feared that the answer might pass you ontlie road. A let-
ter fi-om Philadelphia, by the last post, having announced
to me your leaving that place the day preceding its date, I
amin hopes this will find you in Orange. In mine, to which
yours of March the 23d was an answer, I expressed my
hope of the only change of position I ever wislied to se*e
you make, and I expressed it with entire sincerity, because
there is not another person in the United States, who, being
placed at the helm of our affairs, my mind would be so
completely at rest for the fortune of our political bark.
The wish, too* was pure and unmixed with any thing re-
specting myself personally.

''For as to myself, the subject had been thoroughly
weighed and decided on, and my retirement from office had
been meant from all office, high or low, without exception.
I can say too, with truth, that the subject had not been pre-
sented to mv mind bv anvvanitv of mv own. I knew mv-
sell and mv tellow citizens, too well to have ever thouo;ht
of it. But the idea was forced upon me by continual insi-
nuations in the public papers, while I was in office. As all
these came from a hostile quarter, I knew that their object
was to poison the public mind as to my motives, when they
were not able to charge me with facts. But tlie idea bein»
once presented to me, mv own quiet required that I should
face it and examine it. I did so, thoroughly, and had no
difficulty to see that every reason which had determined me
to retire from the office I then held, operated more strongly
against that which was insinuated to be m}- object. I de-
cided then on those general crpounds which could alone be
present to my mind at that tirae, that is lo say, reputation,
tranquillity, labour; for as to public duty, it could not be
atopic of consideration in my case. If these jjeneral con-
siderations were sufficient to ground a firm resolution never

350 THE LIFE OF

to permit myself to think of the office, or be thought of for
it, the special ones which have supervened on my retire-
ment, still more insuperably bar the door to it. My health
is eiUirelv broken down within the last eight months: mv
ap;e requires that 1 should place my affairs in a clear states*
these are sound, if taken care of, but capable of consider-
able dangers if longer neglected; and above all things, the
delights I feel in the societv of mv familv, and in the agri-
cultural pursuits in which I am so eagerly engaged. The
little spice of ambition which I had in my younger days,t
has long since evaporated, and I set still less store by a
posthumous than present name. In stating to you the
heads of reasons wliich have produced my determination, I
do not mean an opening for future discussion, or that I may
be reasoned out of it. The quEsxiox is forever closed
WITH me; /ny sole object is to avail myself of the Jirst opening
ever given me from a friendly quarter^ (and I could not
with decency do it before,) of preventing any division or
loss of votes, which might be fatal to the republican
interest. If that has any chance of prevailing, it must be
by preventing the loss of a single vote, and by concentrating
all its strength upon one object. ^Vho this should be, is a
question I can more freely discuss with any body than
yourself. In this I painfully feel the loss of Monroe. Had
he been here, I should have been at no loss for a channel
through which to make myself understood, if I have been
misunderstood by any body through the instrumentality of
Mr. Fenno and his abettors.! I long to see you.

TH. JEFFERSON."

* Mr. Jefferson was then bvft 52 years old! ! !

•j- Ambitiox is the passion peculiar to ag-e — taxitt to youth!

% Judg-e Marshall, in his life of AVashington alludes to the esta-
blisliment of a paper, by Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, called
the National Gazette, the leading articles of which, attacking- Wash-
ington, Hamilton, and their measures, were alleged to flow from the
pen of Jeffei-son himself! The joui'nal in question was certainly de-
voted to Mr. Jeffei*son; but how flir his pen, or opinions, entered into
its columns, it is perhaps, at this period, impossible to ascertain. The
imputation, at the present day, would convey little reproach, having
become a common practice. If it were true of Mr, Jefferson, we
can only remark, tliat less eminent for greatness, and less powerful
in public veneration, than Washington: he might find it necessary,
m coping with Hamilton and Adams, to employ the press i a their
depreciation, and make use of its influence to sustain liimself, even

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 251

There is much in this letter to excite enquiry and reflec-
tion* Is it possible, that Jefferson should have been so averse
to the Presidency? Is it possible, that he would not quit
his farm for the empire of the universe: and yet, a few years
after, accept of the Vice Presidentship of the United States.
That Jefferson was a great man, cannot be doubted^ but that
he was also liable to the frailties of human nature, is here
made too manifest to be doubted.

It is difficult to suppose, that Mr. Jefferson had no che-

at the expense of Washington. How far the practice is calculated
to sap the foundations of liberty, is anothe4- question. Adams and
Hamilton, ' the abettors of Fenno,' on their part, resorted to the
same means of ag-gresslon and defence, and employed the press
against Mr. Jefferson.

His employment of Callexder, an impoverished Scotch adven-
turer, of some talents, but no character and principle, to traduce the
reputation of Washington, has been denied by some and extenuated
by others; but enoug-h is known to dispel all doubt of the ag-ency of
Mr. Jefferson in. this unfortunate transaction; an ag-ency which we
cannot but deplore, as it exposes one of those fi-ailties of a great
mind, which so often interposes between the reach of perfection, to
which genius so naturally aspires, to arrest admiration from turning
to iDOLATiiT; and to chequer humanity with some traits of its native
imperfection. It must be allowed, as some atonement for his trans-
gression, that Mr. Jeffei-son lived to la\-ish unbounded encomiums
on the father of his country: and to confess that liis great virtues
extorted the homage of the world, and excited the admiration and
applause of all parties. In the same manner, his employment of
Frkxeau for the same purpose, he has fully admitted in liis 'Axas,'
where he says, speaking of an interview with Washington, "He
advsited to a piece in Freneau's paper of yesterday; he said he
despised all their attacks on him personally, but that there never had
been an act of the government, not meaning in the executive Une
only, but in any line, which that paper had not abused. He had also
marked the word republic thus (V) where it was apphed to the
French republic. He was evidently sore and warm, and I took his
intention to be that I should interpose in some way with Freneau,
perhaps withdraw his appointment of translating clerk to my office.
But I will not do it. His paper has savep our CoxsTiTixioy,
which was galloping fast into monarchy, and has been checked by no
one means so powerfully as by that paper. It is well and universally
known, that it has been that paper which has checked the career of
the monocrats; and the President, not sensible of the designs of the
party, has not, with his usual good sense and sang froid, looked on
the efforts and effects of tliis free press, and seen, that though some
bad things have passed through it to the public, yet the good have
preponderated immensely."

252 THE LIFE OF

rislied views of supreme power at this time, when the whole
course of liis retirement was marked by epistolary effusions
ot political rancour and bitterness, unequalled in the history
ofa politician of the ' higher order^^ and which even tempted
him to assail the character of the great and pure Washing-
ton, as an advocate of English monarchy; because he stood
aloof from the intrigues of all parties, and disdained to tar-
nish his integrity by a collision with any faction — looking
to his country, and his country only, as the idol of his ado-
ration. In the following extract of a letter to ' Mazzei,^
we have a lamentable instance of the wide difference that
obtains between a. patriot statesman, whose labours had con-
tributed to found the institutions of his country, and the
partisan politician, rankling under the triumph of rivals,
and panting and fretting to get his foot on his enemies, as
the stepping-stone to supreme power.

TO p. MAZZEI.

**MY DEAR FRIEND, Monticello, Apvil 24, 1796.

*' The aspect of our politics has wonderfully changed
since you left us. In place of that noble love of liberty and
republican government, which carried us triumphantly
through the war, an Anglican monarchical and aristocratical
party has sprung up, whose avowed object is to draw over
us the substance, as they have already done the forms of the
British government. The main body of our citizens, how-
ever, remain true to their republican principles; the whole
landed interest is republican, and so is a great mass of ta-
lents. Against us are tlie executive, the judiciary, two out
of three branches of the legislature, all the officers of the
government, all who want to be officers, all timid men who
prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty,
British merchants, and Americans trading on British capi-
tals, speculators and holders in the banks and public funds,
a contrivance invented for the purposes of corruption, and
for assimilating us in all tilings to the rotten as well as the
sound parts of the British model. It would give you a fever
were I to name to you the apostates who have gone over to
these heresies — men who were "Samsons in the field, and
Solomons in the council, but who have had their heads shorn
by the harlot — England. In short, we are likely to preserve
the liberty we have obtained only by unremitting labours
and perils. But we shall preserve it; and our mass of

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 253

weight and wealtli on the good side is so great, as lo leave
no dano;er that force will ever be attempted against us. We
have only to awake and snap the Lilliputian cords with
which they have been entangling us during the first sleep
which succeeded our labours. 1 begin to feel the elVects of
age. My health has suddenly broken down, with svmptoms
which o;ive me to believe, I shall not have much to encoun-
ter of lihe tedium vi/se. ^Miile it remains, however, my
heart v»ill be warm in its friendships, and among these, will
always foster the aft'ections, with which I am, dear Sir,
your friend and servant,

TH. JEFFERSON."

What motive could induce Mr. Jefferson to brand George
AVashington, the Executive^ as a Monarchists it is difficult
to conceive. Washington! the father of his country I — The
soldier who had achieved our independence through a seven
years war! — the patriot, who had ever stood aloof from
power — the statesman, ivho had assisted to frame, and who
carried into practice, the free Constitution of the United
States! — the Republican, who had established the/;recf(^/e/?^
which corrected the unlimited duration of the elio-ibility of
the President to office — who had rejected all recompense for
his public services, and who had now spent a life in the field
and in the cabinet, devoted to the welfare and liberties of
his country ! I It was utterly impossible that Mr. Jeft'erson
should believe, what he here alleo:ed — then why allege it.-
A\"ashington did not stand in his way — and if he did, he
could not remove him. Did he envy him \\\i future glory?
He could not tarnish, much less diminish its lustre, by an
unfounded imputation! — Then, why prefer a charge, which
few would tolerate, and none would believe? To gratify
feeling — to create a fancied superiority for his own princi-
ples— and to be highest, not as a pafriot — not as a stafes-
man — not as an American — but to be highest, as the entiiu-
siastic champion of universal liberty, who would tolerate
nothing short of the emancipation of every people: and that
the United States should, like Don Quixotte, buckle on her
armour, mount her Rosinante, and set out to liberate all
mankind, and slay all kings, or perish in the attempt! But
the best apology for this letter is, that the writer never de-
signed it to be published; and that, however frail may have
been the feelinL^s of his heart, his head was too strong to

X

254 THE LIFE Of

permit him to divulge their unrighteous wanderings, except
to the bosom of undivulgable friendship!

AVhile I note these spots on the sun of Mr. Jefterson'a
greatness, I feel bound to observe, that the line of distinct
Son is a broad and distinct one, which separates the true
glory of the beneficial actions of one of the founders of the
Republic, from the partisan blemishes, occasioned by the
heats, animosities, and rivalry of the politician^ who appeals
to the current prejudices of the people, to wean their affec'
tions from a competitor, or court them to himself: nor does
this last trait of character, demand that severitv of censure,
or warrant that acerbity of denunciation, which we are too
much disposed to fall into, when we pass judo;ment upon
tlie deeds of men made illustrious by their talents, and im-
mortal by their virtues. In proof of this course being dic-
tated by reason and propriety, we have only to reflect, that
the very measures which Mr. Jefferson had made the pretext
for the denunciation of Washington, he had himself sanc-
tioned and approved: he admitted the Excise law to be
Constitutional — he had concurred in and sanctioned the
Proclamation of Neutrality — he had, with his own pen, elo-
quently resented the insults and indignities offered to the
American Republic by the audacious Genet: nor is there
reason to believe, that he opposed the treaty of Mr. Jay,
until he thought he discovered in the mass of the people, a
dislike to it, which presented him with a prospect of an
available fund of popularity, at a season auspicious to his
ambition: for that he was ambitious, every syllable oi humi-
lity that tails from his lips, gives incontestible assurance.
Of little avail would have been his character, and his talents
to his country, had lie not been so. It was this ambition,
which, in moments of depression, caused him to look with a
jaundiced eye upon the peerless lustre of the true glory of
Washington; and to exclaim in despite of his better reason
— "Oh! Sun! I hate thy beams!'- This, however, was but
the evil spirit of tlie moment — it quickly passed away, and
left his mind to the calm control of more benevolent feelings,
andjuster thoughts!

There was one feature of the policy of JVashington, ho^\^-
e\'er, in which Jefferson never could'agree, and that was the
N-vrioxAL bank; which he took every occasion to assail, and
^vhlch there is reason to believe, constituted the chief cause
ol his growing dislike of Washin2:ton, as it v/as known to be

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 255

the sole one of his hatred of Alexander Hamilton. The
following letter will tend to elucidate these points,

TO COLONEL MONROE.

••DEAR SIR, MonticellOj June 12, 1796.

*' Congress have risen. You will have seen bj their pro-
ceedings the truth of what I always observed to you, that
one man outiceighs them all in influence over the people, Mho
have supported his judgment against their own and tliat of
their representatives. Republicanism must lie on its oars;
resign the vessel to its pilot, and themselves to the course
he thinks best for them. I had always conjectured, from
such facts as I could get hold of, that our public debt was
increasing about a million of dollars a year. You will see
by Gallatin's speeches, that the thing is proved.* You will
see farther, that we are completely saddled and bridled, and
that the Bank is so firmly mounted on us, that we must go
where they will guide. They openly publish a resolution,
that the national property being increased in v^lue, they
must by an increase of circulating medium furnish an ade-
quate representation of it, and by further additions of active
capital promote the enterprises of our merchants. It is
supposed that the paper in circulation in and around Phila-
delphia, amounts to twenty millions of dollars, and that in
the whole Union to one hundred millions. I think the last
too hio;h."

Both these amounts were exaggerated far beyond their
possible limits. This letter to Colonel Monroe, is dated.
June 12. On the 19th of the same month, and same year,
he addressed a letter to General TVashins-ton, den vino; the
publication of the Interrogatories put to the Cabinet on the

* Mr. J. here again declaims as a partisan, instead of reasoning- as
a statesman. The anti-federalists opposed taxes and imposts, to dis-
charge the expenses of g-overnment; and yet complained that the
public debt was augnnented! How could it be otherwise, when the
public revenue was deficient. Who caused that deficiency' The
anti-federaUsts ! Yet, in a letter to Washington, dated Paris, Dec. 4,
1788, he says: " Calculation has convinced me, that circumstances
may arise, and probably Avill arise, wherein all the resources of tax-
ation will be necessary for the safely of the State. For, although I
am decidedly of opinion, we should take no part in European quar-
rels, but cultivate peace and commerce with all, yet who can avoid
seeing the source of war in the tyranny of those nations, who deprive
us of the natural right of trading with our neighbour."

^56 THE LIFE OF

occasion of GenePs reception, and ^Yl^ich had appeared in
Bache's Aurora^ then the assailing journal on the Wash-
ington Cabinet. In this letter, Mr. Jefferson says, " I
learn that this last person [General H. liee !] has thought
it worth his while to try to sow tares between you and me,
by representing me as still engaged in tlse bustle of politics,
and in turbulence and intrigue against the government. I
never believed for a moment that this could make any im-
pression on you, or that your knowledge of me would not
outweigli the slander of an intriguer, dirtily employed in
sifting the conversations of my table, where alone he could
hear of me: and seeking; to atone for his sins against you,
by sins against another, who had never done him any other
injury than that of declining his confidence. Political con-
versations I really clislike, and therefore avoid v.here I cart
without affectation.'''^

We have seen, however, that Mr. Jefferson had not an
equal dislike to political correspondence; and that his free
denunciation of Washington, and his cabinet, under his pen,
were not intended to be embraced in his denial of attacking
the government in his conversations. He appeared, there-
fore, to the face of Washington as a friend, and behind his
back as an enemy. Some organic frailty of his constitution,
in the moral courage of his mind, must have led to this trait
of inconsistency. Thus, only three weeks after his friendly
letter to General Washington, we find him writing to Mon-
roe in the following terms: —

" Monticello, July 10, 1796.

*'Dear Sir, — The campaign of Congress has closed.
Though the Anglomen have, in the end, got their treaty
through, and so far have triumphed over the cause of repub-
licanism, yet it has been to them a dear bought victory: it
has given the most radical shock to their party which it has
ever received: and there is no doubt, they would be glad to
be replaced on the ground they possessed the instant before
Jay's nomination extraordinary. Thej^ see that nothing can
support them but the colossus of the President's merits icith
the PEOPLE^ and the moment he retires, that his successor,
if a monocrat,* will be overborne by the republican sense
of his constituents; if a republican, he will of course give
fair play to that sense, and lead things into the channel of

* The party attached to the National Bank, and the Funded System!

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 257

liar men J, between the governors and governed. In the
mean time, patience.^''

"Most assiduous court is paid to Patrick Henrj. He
has been oftered every thin^ which they knew he would not
accept. Some impression is thought to be made, but we do
not believe it is radical. If they thought they could count
upon him, they would run him"^ for their Vice-President;
their first object being to produce a schism in this vState.
As it is, they will run Mr. Pinckney; in Mhich they regard
his Southern position rather than his principles. Mr. Jay,
and his advocate Camillus, are completely treaty-foun-
dered.**

Enough has now been cited, from Mr. Jefferson's letters,
to show, that however religiously he might be devoted to
the culture of "• lucerne and potatoes,' that he found ample
leisure, amidst all his avocations of building, planting,
reading, science, philosophy and rustic pleasures, to not
only attend to the passing events of the political world, but
to interpose his voice and his pen in deciding their ten-
dency, and controlling their movements. There is con-
tained in the letter just quoted enough to prove him not
only a close observer, but a consummate actor in the finesse
and secret managament of the day^ and it is apparent that
his mind now began to assume mat texture of refined
equivocation, which the habit of political intrigue and
management so naturally engrafts upon it; leading step by
step to that svstem of mental reservation, which reconciles
the conscience to the loss of integrity, without shocking
the sensibilities by the flagrant violation of veracity. If,
up to the period of his retirement from the office of Secre^
tary of State, he retained the bold and single front of un-
dissembled honesty, ' wearing his heart upon his sleeve.'
which may reasonably be doubted, from the current stories
of the day, he soon found it necessary to his purpose, of
rising to the supreme station in the government, to profess
to one set of men an attachment, which he either did not
feel, or could not, consistently with his interest, avo^v to
another; and which naturally begat that duplicity which he
afterwards carried to such extreme refinement. The first
attempt of the intrigue to prostrate Hamilton and Adams,
no doubt comprehended the person and character of Wash-
ington, who was also to be immolated on the bloody altar
of French liberty; but being foiled in this attempt, the

X2

258 THE LIFE OF

father of his country being found too deeply enshrined in
the hearts of a virtuous people, the circle of proscription
was narrowed down; and while Washington was left to the
o-randeur of his towering virtues, unapproachable to malice,
envy, ambition or crime, Adams and Hamilton were spe-
cially selected as the victims to popular vengeance, under
the sapping; and mining system of intrigue, insinuation
and newspaper detraction, of the charge of British ix-

FLUENCE, MONARCHICAL PRINCIPLES and TREASONABLE

PROJECTS, charges as baseless as the winds, and which
never would have found breath to utter them, but for the
ambition of those who, under the plea of agricultural pur-
suits in unbroken retirement, panted to gain the high places,
which were never to be reached but by the most profound
system of intrigue, deception and management, or the niost
adroit appeals to the popular passions, to objects of vision-
ary oppression, or fanciful equality of rights, possessions
and privileges.

It was manifest to the most superficial observation, that
the grounds of opposition assumed by the party headed by
Jefferson, were generally untenable and fallacious; and the
simple interrogation of 'what has French liberty to do with
American policy?'' at o^ice exploded the illusion of exclu-
sive republica?iistn in the opponents of Washington. Ameri-
can liberty was settled forever by the Constitution and
the Declaration of Independence; and Mr. Jefterson
himself had been a party to the establishment of that na-
tional policy, which the first President had devised and
executed, under the masterly co-operation of General
Hamilton; which policy was based on the naturcd interests
of the whole Union, resolvable into commerce, agriculture
and manufactures; peace with all nations, and entangling
alliances with none: which policy every year's experience
confirmed and settled deeper and deeper into the vitals of
the country, as the natural and never to be exploded pystem
which was essential to the prosperity, growth, indepen-
dence and power of the nation; and, even up to the present
time, has continued entire and unbroken, a monument of
the united wisdom and patriotism of Washington; and a
test of the fallacy of all those grounds of party opposition,
which, when triumphant, never ventured to remove one
stone of that glorious edifice of our prosperity; which,
through all the revolutions of factions, all the' storms of

• THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 259

party, all the fierce contentions of rival candidates, has
REMAINED THE SAME,; a Standing rebuke to parties, and a
historical lesson to the people, Avarninjr them aiiiainst those
dissentions. Vvhich render the multitude mach in order that
a few may make their fortunes out of their fevers and their
folly: and which, like Cromwell, only shouts liberty to
gain power, and cants of reform, that it may more success-
fully practice corruption.

One apparent exception only is to be found in this prac-
tice (j{ federal policy by Mr. Jeiterson, and liis democratic
successors: and tliat is the Bank of the United States.
This is only an apparent exception, for Mr. Madison raised
the reputed monster from its ashes, with limbs enlarged to
gigantic measurement, and we have lived to see democratic
majorities in both Houses of Congress, give it their sanc-
tion as a part of the settled policy of the country. The
-same observation will extend to the funding system, and
excise, which, under the democratic administration of the
immediate successor of Mr. Jefferson, rose to a colossal
size, unknown in the times of the federal ^monocrat,'*
and which could not have failed to awaken the terrors of
Hamilton himself, for the permanency and purity of free
institutions!

Even on the question of the bank, Mr. Jefferson had, from
want of moral courage, manifested a doubtfulness and in-
decision in tlie concluding sentence, Mhere he recommends
that the President should acquiesce in the opinion of Con-
gress, which was far from making this institution an essen-
tial object o{ exclusion to the republican creed; especially,
when contrasted with his favourite position, that every
branch of government was equally a judge of the uncon-
stitutionality of a law; and bound to veto, or enforce it
accordingly'! Placed at the head of the nation to preserve
the Constitution, as well as execute the laws, it was cer-
tainly the duty of the President to act on his own exclu-
sive responsibility: and it was the duty of the Secretary of
State to abide by his own opinion, and to recommend the
Executive to the same course, without reference to any
balancing between two opinions, or any sacrifice of duty to
Congress; which, after all, reduced his famous report al-
most to a mere petitio principii.

Mr. Jefferson, however, was destined to rise to the Pre-
sidency; and he had a pre-sentiment tliat the immediate

i260 THE LIFE OF

successor of Washington, presuming too far on public opin-
ion, would cause a reaction in the people, and open the
path to his ambition, and, properly regulated, it was cer-
tainly a laudable ambition. Hence his advice to Monroe,
» in the meantime patience,^ let AVashington, too colossal
with the people to be touched, pass away; and then we will
struggle with his successors for the victory!

Wasliington. iiavino- declined a re-election, and publish-
ed his incomi)arable valedictory to the people of the United
States, tlie two contending parties rallied with great zeal
and warmth upon their separate candidates, the federalists
uniting upon John Adams, and the anti-federalists upon
Mr. Jefferson! It is well known, that under the Con-
stitution, at that period, the highest on the return was
chosen President, and the lowest became Vice President;
Mr. Adams was returned for the first, and Mr. Jefferson
for the second, or Vice Presidency.

It will be a matter of curiosity to know what Mr. JefFer-
son said upon this occasion; for we can hardly expect to
ascertain what he thought^ though we may conjecture with-
out much deviation from the truth; and it will also be mat-
ter of instructive curiosity, to ascertain how he conducted
himself on this occasion. His firjSt letter was addressed tQ
l]iis successful competitor, rejoicing in his victory!

TO JOHN ADAMS.

*'DEAR SIR, MonticeUo, Dec. 28, 1796.

The public, and the public papers, have been much occupied
lately in placing us in a point of opposition to each other.*
I confidently trust we have felt less of it ourselves! In tho
retired canton where I live, we know little of what is pass-
ing. Our last information from Philadelphia is of the I6th
inst. At that date the issue of the late election seems not
to have been known as a matter of fact. With me, how^-
e^'cr, its issue was never doubted. I knew the impossibility
of your losing a single vote north of the Delaware; and even
if you should lose that of Pennsylvania in the mass, you
would get enough south of it to make your election sure. I
never, for a single moment, expected any other issue, and
thougli I shall not be believed, yet it is not the less true,

• >Ir. JoflTcrson prided himself in this opposition to the '* Monar-
cliists iiud Monocrats."

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 2Gl

that I never icished any of her. '^ My neighbours, as my
compurgators, could aver this lact, as seeing my occupations
and my attachment to them. It is possible.' indeed, that
even you may be cheated of your succesfiion by a (rick wor-
thy the subtlety of your arch friend of Xew rork. v.lio has
been able to make of your real friends, tools for defeating
their and your just \vishes. Probably, however, lie will be
disappointed as to you: and my inclinations put me out of
his reach. I leave to others the sublime deliiihts of riding
in the storm, better pleased with sound sleep and a warmer
birth below it, encircled with the society of my neighbours,
friends, and fellow labourers of the earth, rather tlian with
spies and sycophants. Still, I shall value highly the share
I may have had in the late vote, as a measure of the share I
hold in the esteem of my fellow citizens. In this point of
view, a few votes less are but little sensible, while a few
more would have been in their eftect very sensible and op-
pressive to me. I have no ambition to govern men. It is a
painful and thankless office. And never since the day you
signed the treaty of Paris, has our horizon been so overcast.
I devoutly wish you may be able to sliun for us this war,
which will destroy our agriculture, commerce and credit.
If you do, the o-lorv will be all vour own. And that vour
administration may be filled with glory and happiness to
yourself, and advantage to us, is the sincere prayer of one,
Who, though in the course of our voyage, various little inci-
dents have happened, or been contrived, to separate us, yet
retains for you the solid esteem of the times when we were
working for our independence, and sentiments of sincere
respect and attachment.

TH. JEFFERSON.

The reader will ask for no comment on this letter. It is
altoofether unworthy of a great mind; and yet such was the
weakness of the man who had a head to contriye a. govern-
ment for an empire, but wanted the moral courage to be true
even to his own party, when addressing the victorious chief
of that, to him. detested faction, the monarchical .^Inglo men!

* Here Mr. J. for want of a little moral courag-e, in wliich he was
much deficient, makes a positive declaration of treachery to his own
party ! He then favoured the success of " Monarcliists and Mono.

ClT.tS."

262 THE LIFE OF

I now turn to a letter written by him to James Madison,
whicli tlirows a new liglit over tK? variable complexion of
this extraordinarv politician, and sing;ular philosopher: and
which so materially contributes to make up one of the most
accomplished disciples of the <^reat Florentine politician,
that perhaps will ever flourish in this country.

**TO JAMES MADISON.

Dear Sir, — Yours of December 19, is safely received.
I never entertained a doubt of the event of the election. I
knew that the eastern troops were trained in the schools of
their town meetings, to sacrifice little differences of opinion
to the solid advantages of operating in phalanx; and that
the more free and moral ao;ency of the other States would
fullv supply their deficiency. I had no expectation, indeed,
that the vote would have approached so near an equality. It
is difficult to obtain full credit to declarations of disinclina-
tion to honors, and most so with those who still remain in
the world. But never was there a more solid unwilling;-
ness, founded on rigorous calculation, formed in the mind
of any man short of peremptory refusal. No arguments,
therefore, were necessary to reconcile me to a relinquish-
ment of the first office, or acceptance of the second.* iVb
motive could have induced me to undertake the first, but that
of putting our vessel upon her republican tack, and prevent-
ing her being driven too far to leeward of her true princi-
ples. And the second is the only office in the world about
which I cannot decide in my own mind whether I would
rather have it or not have it. Pride does not enter into the
estimate. For I tliink with the Romans of old, that the
general of to-day should be a common soldier to-morrow, if
necessary. But as to Mr. Adams particularly, I could have
no feelings which would revolt at being placed in a second-
ary station to him. I am his junior in life. I was his junior
in Congress, his junior in the diplomatic line, and lately his
junior in our civil government. I had written him the en-
closed letter before the receipt of yours. I had intended it

* When Mr. Jefferson had ascertained that he had missed the
Presidency, he seems to have set himself rehg'iously at work, to con-
vince every body tliat he not only did not expect it, but he was sure
he could not obtain it — that he rejoiced in his miscaiTiag-e, and thought
it misfortune enough to be oppressed with the VicE-PaEsiDExrY! I !

fliOMAS J^FFEUSO?^. ^6

■s

for some time, but had put it off from time to time, from
the discouragement of despair to make him believe me sin-
cere. As the information by the last post does not make it
necessary to change any thing in the letter, I enclose it,
open for your perusal, as well that you may be possessed
of the ti'ue state of dispositions between us, as that if there
be any circumstance which might render its delivery ineli-
gible, you may return it to me. If Mr. Adams could be
induced to administer the government on its principles,
quitting his bias for an English constitution, it would be
M^orthy consideration whether it would not be for the public
gO'Sd to come to a good understanding with him as to his
future elections. He is the only sure barrier against Ha-
inilton^s s'ettins; in,

" The Political Progress is a work of value, and of a sin-
gular complexion. The author's eye seems to be a natural
achromatic, divesting every object of the glare of colour.
The former work of the same title possessed the same kind
of merit. They disgust one, indeed, by opening to his
view the ulcerated state of the human m,ind .'.' But to cure
an ulcer, you must go to the bottom of it, which no author
does more radically than this. The reflections into ivhich
it leads us are not very flattering to the human species. In
the whole animal kingdom, I recollect no family but man,
steadily and systematically employed in the destruction of
itself. Nor does what is called civilisation produce any
other effect than to teach him to pursue the principle of the
bellum omnium in omnia, on a greater scale, and, instead
of the little contests between tribe and tribe, to comprehend
all the quarters of the earth in the same work of destruc-
tion. If to this we add, that as to other animals, the lions
and tygers are mere lambs compared with man as a destroy-
er, we must conclude that Nature has been able to find in
man alone a sufficient barrier against the too great multi-
plication of other animals and of man'himself, an equilibrat-
ing power against the fecundity of generation. ^Vhile in
makingUhese observations, my situation points my atten-
tion to the welfare of man in the physical world, yours may
perhaps present him as equally warring in the moral one.
Adieu. Yours affectionately. " TH.' JEFFERSON."

Mr. Jefferson being chosen Vice President, proceetled In
February to Philadelphia, where he was sworn into office

264 THE LIFE OF

on the 4tii of March, 1797, when he took the chair as pre-
sidino- officer of the Semite, to which body he delivered a brief
but pertinent address, expressive of his attachment to the
Constitution and laws of his country.

This event, however, was without any importance to the
country, and had no iniluence on its policy; for, having ta-
ken the oath of office, and made his respects to the new
President, he returned in July to jSIonticello, there to su-
perintend the management of his plantation, indulge in the
speculations of philosophy, or manage and stimulate the
movements of political partisans, to the great final result
of his elevation to the Presidential chair. ^^

Mr. Jefterson abstained from any co-operation with Mr.
Adams, as Vice President, because he considered his office
as constitutionally confined to legislative functions, and
was therefore debarred from executive consultations. But
had he been disposed to a cordial concurrence with the
Executive, the opinions of Mr. Adams were too diametri-
cally opposite to those of Mv. Jefterson to have permitted
of any co-operation. Mr. Jeflerson seems, however, to have
been disappointed that no overtures of this kind were made
to him."*^

The agitation of war with France, caused by the aggra-
vated spoliations of that power, during the session of Con-
gress of 1797, caused Mr Jefferson great excitement. Al-
ways opposited to war, his hatred of England caused him to
re^iard a war with France as the last of national calamities.
It will, however, always redound to his fame, that he ad-
vocated a decided neutrcdity with all the powers of Europe,
although he appeared unable to divest his mind of the phan-
tom of English injluence over the American government,
and to believe that tiiat power possessed over us a ruinous
monopoly of commerce, trade and feelinjr. as well as a
monopoly of '' our banks txnd public funds.' His extreme
abhorrence of England caused him to look Avith a favoured
eye upon the most outrageous spoliation?, and degrading
indignities from France: estimating those evils as preferable
to what he imasined would be the more intolerable ones of
a closer connection with Great Britain. There v/as some-
thing in his bitter dislike of En2;land, indeed, which could

See Letters to James Sullivan, Eldridg-e GeiTV, General Gates,
Jaines Madison, and Colonel Burr, dated 1797.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 265

not alto<;ether be reconciled to the feelings of a magnani'
moiis mind, which losevS all sense of resentment, and buries
in oblivion all remembrance of wrongs, when the battle is
ended, and the hand of amity is extended in a mutual em-
brace with the generous pledge of - forget and forgive.'

It was not made a point of concealment on the part of
Mr. Jefferson, that from the moment he left the Cabinet of
Washington, he had become a severe censurer of all the
measures of government, sometimes exonerating but gene-
rally including the chief in his condemnation. Nothin"-
pleased him; and he seemed resolved to be pleased with
nothing. Secretly employed in fomenting discontent, and
instigating to opposition, he yet professed to weep over the
effects of party spirit, and to lament with grief of heart
that such things should be! In a letter to Mr. Rutledi^-e,
of June 24, 1797, he thus bewails this heart-burning be-
tween former friends now changed into political enemies: —
*' This is, indeed, (he says) a most humiliating state of
things; but it commenced in 1793. Causes have been add-
ing to causes, and effects accumulating on effects, from that
time to this. We had in 1793 the most respectable cha-
racter in the universe. What the neutral nations tliink of
us now, I know not; but we are low indeed with the belli-
gerents. Their kicks and cuffs prove their contempt. If
we weather the present storm, I hope we shall avail our-
selves of the calm of peace to place our foreign connections
under a new and different arrangement. We must make
the interest of every nation stand surety for tlieir justice;
and their own loss to follow injury to us, as effect follows
its cause. As to every thing except commerce, we oujrht
to divorce ourselves from them all. But tliis system would
require time, temper, wisdom, and occasional sacrifice of
interest; and how far all these will be ours, our children
may see, but we shall not. The passions are too high at
present to be cooled in our day.'^ You and I have formerly

* It must be recollected that this moralising- comes from the prime
mover and instigator of those passions! It was Jefferson who orig-in-
ally fotaented the feud and fever of the French revohitionnry party;
which has no more affinity to this country than those of Poland, Swit-
zerland, or Ireland. The principle of liberty involved was never
objected to by an American; but to make common cause with any
country of Europe, struggUng in the convulsions of a revolution, is

Y

266 , THE LIFE OP

seen warm debates and high political passions. But gentle-
men of different politics would then speak to each other,
and separate the business of the Senate from that of society.
It is not so now. Men who have been intimate all their
lives, cross the streets to avoid meeting, and turn their
heads another way, lest they should be obliged to touch their
hats. This may do for young men, with whom passion is
enjoyment. But it is a^icting to peaceable minds. Tran-
quillity is the old man'^s milk. I go to enjoy it in a few
days, and to exchange the roar and tumult of bulls and
bears, for the prattle of my o;randchildren, and senile rest.
Be these yours, my dear friend, through long years, with
every other blessing, and the attachment of friendi as
warm." &.c.

The newspapers, in the summer of 1797, having obtained
a copy of his letter to ' Mazzei,' in which he questioned
tlie patriotism of Washington, and accused him of the de-
design of introducing a monarchy, Mr. Jetlerson became
much agitated under the severity of the public indignation,
which it naturally excited, and addressed a long letter,
dated the 3d of August, to ^Ir. Madison, asking his advice,
whether he should avow the letter, and incur the hostility
of ' nine-tenths of the people,' with whom "Washington was
popular, or remain quiet, and stand a chance of escaping
the odium and detestation of its calumnious sentiments.
Speaking of this subject, he observes "Now it would be
impossible for me to explain this publicly, without bringing
on a personal difference between General JVashington and
myself, which nothing before the publication of this letter
has ever done. It would embroil me also with all those with
whom his character is still popular;'^ that is to say, nine- -

what no sound patriot or g-enulnc statesman can advocate. Yet was
tills the ground of dissention, \\ liich fomented parties to the excess so
pathetically deplored by Mr. Jefierson !

* Mv. Jefferson here speaks of the character of Washing-ton, as if it
had been impaired, and his popularity diminished by some act of a
vicious or censurable nature: — 'with whom his character is still po-
pular.' It would be difficult to find any of the people with whom he
was not at all times popular. Demagogaies and candidates for office
are the sole exceptions. It was certainly a daring scheme to attempt
to obtain the Presidency by the desiniction of the character of George
"\VASHi>'GrToy, by a SECRET system of insinuation and slander, imputing
the most detestable treasons to the purest and noblest of mortals!

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 267

tefiiths of the people of the United States, and what ifood
wouldbe obtained by avowing the fetter, with the necessary
explanations? Very little, indeed, in my opinion, to coun-
terbalance a good deal of harm. "

At a date subsequent to this, September 1, 1797, in a
letter to Colonel Arthur Campbell, he repeats all the sub-
stance of his letter to MazzeiH He here terms the party
of Washington 'old tories,' who aim to bring back the
government to Monarchy^ and whom he stigmatises as
' treacherous emissaries. '

It is very extraordinary that Mr. Jefferson could never
divest himself of a rankling envy of tlie tame of A>'ashing-
ton. In a letter to Mr. Madison, .dated Philadelphia, Feb-
ruary 15, 1798, he says, ' A great ball is to be given here
on the 22d, and in other great towns of the Union. This
is, at least, very indelicate, and probably excites uneasy
sensations in some. I see in it, however, this useful de-
duction, that the birth days which have been kept, have
been, not those of the President, but of the General.' No,
not of the general,"but of the father of his country. He
now drew the cords of his correspondence closer with
General Gates, in whose disappointed bosom rankled a
congenial hatred of George JVashington! In a letter to
Mr. Madison, of March 2, 1798, he thus continues to
vent his spleen against the saviour of our country. '' The
late birth-night has certainly sown tares among the ex-^
elusive federalists. It has winnowed the grain from the
chaft\ The smcere/y Adamites did not go. The Washing-
tonians w^ent religiously, and took the secession of the
others in high dudgeon. The one sect threatens to desert
the levees, the other the parties. The Whigs went in num-
ber, to encourage the idea that the birth-nights, hitherto
kept, had been for the General, and not the President: and
of course that time would bring an end to them. Goodliue,
Sedgwick, &c. did not attend; but the three Secretaries
and Attorney General did."

It must forever excite astonishment, that Mr. Jefferson's
envious feelings towards Washington, should have been
so powerful as to blind his sagacity to the intrinsic great-
ness of that incomparable man, as to lead him to believe
that his celebrity was owing to birth -night balls; and that
an unworthy trick of the whigs, in attending those balls,
could break down the colossal genius of a man who had

268 THE LIFE OF

raised an empire from the dust and blood of a revolution of
raised soldiers, and an empty treasury ! Yet such is the
madness of party. Mr. Jefferson used the term * iv/iigs^
in contradistinction to the TVashinsrtonians^ whom he stvled
lories^ yet the Washington tuhigs were the men who urged
the Declaration of Independence, fought knee deep in blood
to gain it, and carried into successful practice a republican
constitution to secure it. Jimong these too, ALEjiAXDER
Hamilton stood Jirst, in proud pre-eminence^ justly glo-
rious.

The patriot will never cease to lament that jNIr. Jeffer-
son ever descended to the arts of the politician to secure
a, station which could not enhance his fame, and which has
only served to embody, in historical evidence, the fallacy
of all the charges which he ever adduced ao-ainst his o-reat
rival; for the history of every democratic administration
has been, eventually, a mere imitation of the federal policy
of the father of his country!

Mr. Jefferson's letters to Mr. Madison now began to
teem with exhortations to make a free and bold use of his
pen in the public papers, in order to produce a favourable
impression previous to the approaching elections; and to
point out to him what subjects to touch with most advan-
tage to the cause. How far Mr. Madison complied Avith
these requests, it is not our business now to enquire.

The crisis of Mr. Adams's crimes and follies, and the
fate of his administration, w^ere now rapidly approaching;^
and as some idea may be formed of the progress of events
at that time from the following letter, I quote it entire, fh

TO JAMES MADISON. \^

Philadelphia, April 26, 1798. ^
" Dear Sir — The bill for the naval armament, (twelve
vessels) passed by a majority of about four to three in the
House of Representatives; all restrictions on the objects
for which tlie vessels should be used were struck out. The
bill for establishing a department of Secretary of the Navy,
was tried yesterday, on its passage to the third reading,
and prevailed by forty-seven against forty-one. It w ill be
read the third time to-day. The provisional army of
20,000 men will meet some difficulty. It would sui^ly be
rejected, if our members were all here. Giles, Clopton,
Cabell and Nicholas, have gone, and Clay goes to-morrow.
He received here news of the death of his wife. Parker

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 269

has completely gone over to the war party. In this state
of things they will carry what they please.* One of the war
party, in a tit of unguarded passion, declared some time
ago they would pass "a citizen bill, an alien- bill, and a
SEDITION bill: accordingly, some days ago, Coit laid amo-
tion on the table of the House of Representatives, for modi-
fying the citizen law. Their threats pointed at Gallatin.*
and it is believed they will endeavour to reach him by tliis
bill. Yesterdaay Mr. Hillhouse laid on the table of the Senate,
a motion for giving power to send away suspected aliens. This
is understood to be meant for Volney and Collet. But it will
not stop there, when it gets into a course of execution.
There is now only wanting to accomplish the whole decla-
ration before mentioned, a sedition bill, which we shall
certainly soon see proposed. The object of that is the sup-
pression of the whio; presses. Bache's has been particularly
named. t That paper and also Carey's, totter for want of
subscriptions. We should really exert ourselves to procure
them: for, if these papers fall, republicanism will be entirely
brow beaten. Carey's paper comes out three times a week,
at'five dollars. The meeting of the people which was called
at Xew York, did nothing. It was found that the majoritv
would be against the address. Thev therefore chose to cir-
culate it individually. The committee of ways and means,
have voted a land tax. An additional tax on salt, will cer-
tainly be proposed in the House, and probably prevail to
some degree. I'he stoppage of interest on the public debt,
will also, perhaps, be proposed, but not with effect. In the
mean time, that paper cannot be sold. Hamilton is coming
on as Senator from New York. There have been so much
contrivance and combination, as to show there is some great
object in hand. Troup, the District Jud^e of New York,
resigns towards the close of the session of their Assembly.
The^ appointment of Mr. Hobart, tlieir Senator, to succeed

*ln one of Mr. Jefferson's letters, he ascribes the origin of the ton-
party, to foreig-ners; whereas the anti-federalists were made up of
forei'g-ners; for instance, Gallatin, a Swiss — Callender, a Scot — Dal-
las, an Englishman— Duane, an Irishman — Tench Coxe, an Eng-
lishman — Blair M'Cleneg^n, an Irishman— with others, too number-
less to mention.

f This paper was under the special patronag'e of Mr. Jeffersonj
and was notorious for its coarse calumnies aguinst Washington and
its ultra democi-acv of doctrine.

Y 2

SrO THE LIFE OF

Troup, is not made by the President till after the Assembly
had risen; otherwise, they would have chosen the Senator
in place of Hobart. Jay then names Hamilton Senator, but
not till a day or two before his own election as Governor
was to come on, lest the unpopularity of the nomination
should be in time to effect his own election. We shall see
in what all this is to end; but surely in something. The
popular movement in the eastern States is checked, as we
expected, and war addresses are showering in from New
Jersey, and the great trading towns. However, we still
trust, that a nearer view of war and a land tax will oblige
tl\e great mass of the people to attend. At present, the war-
hawks talk of Septemberising, deportation, and the examples
for quelling sedition set by the French Executive. All the
firmness of the human mind is now in a state of requisition."
It will, no doubt, startle the reader with some surprise to
discover, that as far back as 1798, the democratic party
contemplated a secession of some of the Southern States
from the Union — that the proposition was made to Mr.
Jefferson^ and that he instantly frowned it into oblivion,
and revolted with the just honour of patriotism from the
suicidal thought. As the recent agitation of the same
scheme has given it great importance, the opinions of Mr,
Jefferson upon this question must excite an interest and
curiosity, beyond those of any other man — more especially
531s his authority\\di?> been quoted with such entire confidence
in favour of the doctrine of Nullification. And here, I
cannot avoid expressing the delight with which I can again
beliold Mr. Jefferson, in the attitude of the patriot and the
statesman, divested of the contaminating poison of partv,
his gi-eat mind self-poised on legitimate principles ot con-
stitutional liberty; and in all the substantial attributes of a
federalist, approximating to the purity and grandeur of
Washington himself. The following is the letter on the
subject of State secession, -which, with the exception of the
commencement, relating to Generals Washington and Ha-
milton, does equal honour to the head and the heart of the
author of the Declaration of Independence.

TO JOHN TAYLOR.

'' Philadelphia, June 1, 1798*
"Mr. New showed me your letter on the subject of the
patent, which gave me an opportunity of observing what
you said as to the effect, with you of public proceedings.

THOMAS JEFFERSOK. 271

and that it was not unwise now to estimate that separate
mass of Virginia and North Carolina, with a view to
THEIR SEPARATE EXISTENCE. It is tiTic, that wc are com-
pletely under the saddle of Massaclmsetts and Connecticut,
and that they ride us very hard, cruelly insulting our feel-
ings, as M-ell as exhausting our strength and subsistence.
Their natural friends, the three other eastern States, join
them from a sort of family pride, and they have the art to
divide certain other parts of the Union, so as to make use
of them to govern the whole. This is not new: it is the old
practice of despots, to use a part of the people to keep the
rest in order. And those who have once got an ascendancy
and possessed themselves of all the resources of the nation,
their revenues and offices, have immense means for retain-
ing their advantage. But our present situation is not a
natural one.* The republicans through every part of the
Union say, that it was the irresistible influence and popu-
larity of General Washington, played oft' by the cunning of
Hamilton, which turned the government over to anti-repub-
lican hands, or turned the republicans chosen by the people
into anti -republicans. He delivered it over to his successor
in this state; and very untoward events since, improved
with great artifice, have produced on the public mind tlie
impressions we see. But still I repeat it, this is not the
natural state. Time alone would bring round an order of
things more correspondent to the sentiments of our consti-
tuents. But are there no events impending, which will do
it within a few months.^ The crisis with England, the pub-
lic and authentic avowal of sentiments hostile to the leading
principles of our Constitution, the prospect of a war, in
which we shall stand alone, land tax, stamp tax, in--
crease of public debt, &c. Be this as it may, in every free
and deliberatins: societv, there m/ast, from the nature of
man, be opposite parties, and violent dissentions and dis-
cords; and one of these, for the most part, must prevail
over the other for a longer or sliorter time. Perhaps tliis
party division is necessary, to induce each to Match and
dilate to the people the proceedings of the otlier. But ?/,

* In respect to party-measures, such as the mad acts of John
Adams, certainly not — but in respect to the Natioxal PotiiT, it cer-
tainly ^yas, for Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, Mr. Mom-oe, and J. q.
Adams, ALL continued to practise the same >-atioxal policy!

272 THE LIFE OF

on a temporary sxiperiority of the one party ^ the other is to
resort to a scission of the union, no federal government can
ever exist. If to rid ourselves of the present ride of Massa-
chusetts and Connecticut, we break the union, ivill the
evil end there? Suppose the New England States alone cut
oft', will our natures be changed? Are we not men still to
the South of that, and witli all the passions of men? Im-
mediately we shall see a Pennsylvania and a Virginia party
arise in the residuary confederacy, and the public mind will
be distracted with t1ie same party spirit. What a game too
will the one party have in their hands, by eternally threat-
ening the other, that unless they do so and so, they will
join their northern neighbours. If we reduce our Union to
Virginia and North Carolina, immediately the conflict will
be established between the representatives of these two
States, and they will end by breaking into their simple units.
Seeing, therefore, that an association of men who will not
quarrel with one another, is a thing which never yet existed,
from the g-reatest confederacy of nations, down to a town
meeting, or a vestry; seeing that we must have some body
to quarrel with, I had rather keep our New England asso-
ciates for that purpose, than to see our bickerings transferred
to others. They are circumscribed within such narrow
limits, and their population so full, that their numbers will
ever be the minority; and they are marked like the Jews,
with, such a perversity of character, as to constitute, from
that circumstance, the natural division of our parties. A
little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches' pass
over, their spells dissolved, and the people recovering their
true sight, restoring their o;overnment to its true principles.
It is ti'ue, that in the mean time, we are suftering deeply in
spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war, and long oppres-
sions of enormous public debt. But icho can say what

WOULD BE THE EVILS OF A SCISSION, AND WHEN AND WHERE
THEY WOULD END? BeTTER KEEP TOGETHER AS WE ARE,

haul oft" from Europe as soon as we can, and from all attach-
ments to any part of it; and if they show their power just
sufficiently to hoop us together, it Mill be the happiest situa-
tion in which we can exist. If the game runs sometimes
against us at home, we must have patience till luck turns,
and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the
principles we have lost. For this is a game, M'here princi-
ples are the stake. Better luck, therefore, to us all,-' &c.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 273

Tliis letter is fraught with copious matter for reflection;
and while it presents us with a vague and undefined picture
of what Mr. Jefferson esteemed as the opposites of republi-
can principles, it likewise manifests so much coincidence of
opinion with what we may call the leading features of the
Washington policy, as to leave a doubt on the mind, to
which party the writer adhered, and which doubt is only
solved by his inveterate and bitter prejudice against the
New^ England States, and his unjust sarcasm against
Washington's popularity, and Hamilton's cunning. It is
conclusive, from this letter, as well as much other testimony
to be found under the signature of Mr. Jefferson, that he
created a party distinguished by no essential contrariety of
principle from that of Washington, and marked by no vital
diversity of practice, in order to gratify his envy of that
towering man, and his vengeance of his powerful and bril-
liant rival, General Hamilton — so that when he was pushed
to the extreme point, he found it hard to tell for what he
was contending, but that he icas not President, and another
was! I do not now speak of that monstrous fungus of
tyranny, which John Adams heaped upon the temple of the
Washington policy, to break it down with the weight of the
ALIEN and SEDITION LAWS, and which so justly hurled that
infatuated man, from the pinnacle of power, into the gulf
of public perdition and political infamy: but I speak of that
original and perpetuated j)olicy of Washington, which Mr.
Jefferson, when elected to the Presidency was compelled
finally to adopt^^which, under his successor, Mr. Madison,
became more emphatically confirmed, so that the difference
between him and Alexander Hamilton totally vanished into
*thin air,' as no longer to be discernable; and which, .under
James Monroe, became the humble imitation of the great
FEDERAL SYSTEM, in theory, in practice, and in form.

In a letter of November 26, 1798, to John Taylor, Mr,
Jefferson wishes it were possible to procure an amendment
of the constitution, * taking from the federal government
the POWER OF BORROWING.' It is really wonderful that a
statesman of his sagacity, should have suggested an alter-
ation in the organic law, which would reduce the Union
to a non-combatant in war, and a non-producer in peace!
It was nothing short of a proposition to dissolve the con-
federacy.

To counterbalance the weakness of this suggestion, he

274 THE LIFE OF

gives us a free and ample definition of his political creed,
in a letter to Mr. Gerrj, dated January 26, 1799, from
uhich I uKike the folloM'ing extract, with that pride which
a republican admirer of Mr. Jefferson must always feel at
tlie annunciation of principles tliat he reveres, and with
that pleasure wliich is always enjoyed at the exaltation of
the object of our regard.

*' In confutation of tliese, and all future calumnies, says
Mr. J. by way of anticipation, I shall make to you a pro-
fession of my political faith; in confidence that you will
consider every future imputation on me of a contrary com-
plexion, as bearing on its front the mark of falsehood and
calumny.

" I do then, with a sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preser-
vation of our present federal constitution, according to the
true sense in Avhich it was adopted by the States, that in
which it was advocated by its friendsj and not that which
its enemies apprehended, who therefore became its ene-
mies,* and I am opposed to monarchising its features by the
forms of its administration, with a view to conciliate a first
transition to a President and Senate for life, and from
that to an hereditary^ tenure of these offices, and thus
to worm out the elective principle. I am for preservino-
to the States the powers not yielded by them to the
Union, and to the Legislature of the Union its constitu-
tional share in the division of powers; and I am not for
transferring all the powers of the States to the general
government, and all those of that government to the Exe-
cutive branch. I am for a government rigorously fruo-al and
simple, applying all the possible savings of the jDublic reve-
nue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a mul-
tiplication of officers and salaries, merely to make partisans,
and for increasing, by every device, the' public debt, on the
principle of its being a public blessing. I am for relyino- for
internal defence, on our militia solely, till actual invasion,
and for such a naval force only as may protect our coasts and
harbours* from such depredations as we have experienced;

• Mr. Jefferson, when elected President, attempted to carry this
feature ofliis policy into practice? and the gam-boat system will for-
ever remain on the pag-e of history, as one of those inevitable abor-
tions of capricious philosophy, and perverse politics, wliich results
trom the chunerical spirit of puritanical reform.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 275

and not for a standing army in time of peace, ^vhich may-
overawe the public sentiment: nor for a navy, whicli by its
own expenses and the eternal wars in which it will impli-
cate us, will grind us with public burdens, and sink us
under them. I am for free commerce with all nations;
political connection with none; and little or no diplomatic
establishment. And I am not for linking ourselves by new
treaties with the quarrels of Europe; entering that field of
slaughter to preserve their balance, or joining in the con-
federacy of Kings to war against the principles of liberty.
I AM FOR FREEDOM of RELIGION", (ind a£rainst allmanceuvres
to bring about the legal ascendancy of one sect over another;
FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, aiid agaiust all viohitioiis of
the constitution to silence by force, and not by reason, the
complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens,
against the conduct of their agents. And I am for en-
couraging the progress of science in all its branches; and
not for raising a hue and cry against the sacred name of
philosopliy, for awing the human mind by stories of ranv-
head and bloody bones, to a distrust of its own vision; and
to repose implicitly on that of others; to go backwards in-
stead of forwards to look for improvement; to believe that
government, religion, morality, and every other science
w^ere in the highest perfection in ages of the darkest igno-
rance, and that nothing can ever be devised more perfect
than what was established by our forefathers. To these, I
will add, that I was a sincere well-wisher to the success ot
the French revolution, and still wish it may end in the
establishment of a free and well ordered republic, but I
have not been insensible under the atrocious depredations
they have committed on our commerce. The first object
of my heart is my own country. In that is embarked my
family, my fortune and my own existence. I have not one
farthing oi" interest, nor one fibre of attachment out of it,
nor a single motive of preference of any one nation to an-
other, but in proportion as they are more or less friendly
to us. But, though deeply feeling the injuries of France^
I did not think war the surest means of redressing them.
I did believe that a mission, sincerely disposed to preserve
peace, would obtain for us a peaceable and honourable set-
tlement and retribution; and I appeal to you to say, whether
this might not have been obtained, if either of your col-
leafTues had been of the same sentiment with yourself.-'

276 THE LIFE OF

He concludes, bv assurlno: Mr. Gerry that he differs in no
opinion from him, having even come to give his approbation
and sanction to the funding system. '

In a letter to Dr. Rush, of September 23, 1800, he thus
speaks: 'thev believe that any portion of power confided
to me will be exerted in opposition to their schemes to
found a church establishment! and thev believe rightly,
for I have sworn, upon the altar of God, eternal hos-
tility AGAIXST EVERY FORM OF TYRANNY OVER THE MIND
OF MAN.'

"NVe have now arrived at an important era in the life of
Mr. Jefferson. The gross abuses and usurpations of Mr.
Adams having caused a revulsion of public sentiment, Mr.
Jefferson, as the candidate of the republican party for the
Presidency, received seventy -three votes, and Mr. Adams,
the federal candidate sixty-five. Mr. Burr, on the same
ticket with Jefferson, received also seventv-three votes*
understandingly , for the Vice Presidency; but this equality,
a^ordino; to the then clause of the constitution, brought
the election into the House of Representatives; where, on
the tliirty-sixth ballot, and amidst unprecedented excite-
ment, Mr. Jefferson was chosen President, and Colonel
Burr became Vice President of the United States.

Mr. Jefferson was accordinijly inducted into office on the
4th of March, 1801; and delivered his inauo:iiral address to
both Houses of Congress. In this celebrated paper, he repeats
his political creed, as already recited in his letter to Mr.
Gerry, accompanied by strono; exhortations to the contend-
ing parties, to unite in harmonious efforts for the general
good, being all brethren of the same j)rinciple; and exclaim-
ing, ' WE ARE ALL REPUBLICANS, WE ARE ALL FEDERAL-
ISTS;' he appeared to view the discords of party as vision-
ary in their objects, and as pernicious in their influence 1 1
AN'hedier his want of moral courage led him to thus con-
ciliate tlie federal party; or whether he now acted from the
honest consciousness of his heart, that when power was
obtained, party hostility was no longer necessarv, or useful,
I shall leave to the reader to decide. The expression gave
offence to all parties; the democrats thought it destroyed
their merit; and the federalists deemed themselves insulted
by the sophistry of a 'Jesuit;' nor is it easy to perceive how
a politician lite Mr. Jefferson, who had been contending
for tlie preservation of the republic from the jaws of a regal

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 277

party, tories in principle aiid traitors in design, could so
suddenly claim to belong to the same school; fraternise
with monarchists and monocrats, and denounce the invid^
ous distinctions of party, as inimical to the national safety,
and derogatory to the national honour.

Whatever may have been the insincerity of Mr. Jeffer-
son's party principles anterior to the election, it certainly
manifested a magnanimous disposition, as well as a patri-
otic spirit, thus to proclaim the truth of a uniformity fyf
free principles among the American people^ and to depre-
cate those feuds and dissentions which arose from the un-
just imputation of monarchical views, on the one hand, and
Jacobinical licentiousness on the other. To a philosophic
mind, such as his undoubtedly was, it would appear as the
climax of absurdity, to continue to wage a war of preposter-
ous imputations, after the attainment of victory had resulted
in the calm enjoyment of power, on his part, and the wea-
ponless subjuo;aton of his opponents, on the other. All
motive for crimination was now removed; the outs had got
in, and the dejected party were too sensibly prostrated to
maintain resistance beyond the point of defeat. To cla-
mour the old cant, in this state of serene enjoym«nt of
authority, was not only impolitic but impracticable. The
criminal career of Mr. Adams had cured itself; and as his
measures had no foundation in the principles or constitution
of the country, but violated both, it was but declaring what
facts had proved, that the American people, who had re-
jected Mr. Adams, were brethren of the same principle;
that they were all republicans and all federalists; all
equally devoted to liberty, and all firmly attached to the
Union, the Constitution, and the Independence of the

United States. ^, , .1

In a letter to Moses Robinson, of March 23, 1801, he
thus expresses his opinions of the two parties, republicans
and federalists: "When our fellow citizens examine the
real principles of both parties, I think they will find little to
differ about. I know, indeed, that there are some ot their
leaders who have so committed themselves, that pride, if
no other passion, will prevent their coalescing. U e must
be easy ivith them. The eastern states will be the last to
come over, on account of the dominion of the clergy, who
had got a smell of union between church and state, and
began to indulge reveries which can never be realised in the

278 THE LIFE Ot

present state of science. If, indeed, they could have pre-
vailed on us to view all advances in science as dangerous
innovations, and to lookback to the opinions and practices
of our forefathers, instead of looking forward for improve-
ment, a promising ground -work would have been laid. But
I am in hopes their good sense >vill dictate to them, that,
since the mountain will not come to them, they had better
go to the mountain; that they will find fheir interest in
acquiescing in the liberty and science of their country;
and tliat the Christian religion, when divested of the rags
in which they have enveloped it, and broudit to the origi-
nal purity and simplicity of its benevolent institution, is a
religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and
the freest expansion of the human mind."

Mr. Jefferson having now become President, it is a na*
tural enqury to make, how far he corrected the abuses of
his predecessor, and in what special objects his administra-
tion differed from that of George Washington. These par-
ticulars, Mr. J. himself, has detailed in a letter to Nathan-
iel Macon.

* Levees ar6 done aWay:' — but Mr, Madison revived
them! — ' Communications* are made by the President to
Congress by message, instead of being delivered in person:
and no response is made to the messages.' — 'The diplo-
matic establishment in Europe will be reduced to three
ministers.' — * The compensations to collectors limited by
act of Congress.' — ' The army is- undergoing a chaste re-
formation.'—.'The navy will be reduced to the legal es-
tablishment.'—-' Agencies in everv department will be
revised.'— Economy to be the order of the day.'

Important questions of policy in relation to removals and
rr;3;)om/m6n/s were now to be settled bv the new President.
He was anxious on the one hand to /ier// party wounds, and
harmonize all differences: and on the other, he was still
more anxious to appoint friends in the place of enemies.
In tins state ot mind, lie addressed the following letter

TO ELDRIDGE GERRY.

^, ^ Washington, March 29, 1801.

»' My Dear Sir-^Your two letters of Januarv the 15th,

and February the 29th, came safely to hand, and I thank

you tor the history of a transaction which will ever be

interesting in our affairs. It has been very precisely as I

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 279

had imagined. I thought, on your return, that if you had
come forward boldly, and appealed to the public by a full
statement, it would have had a great eftect in your favour
personally, and that of the republican cause then oppressed
almost unto death. But I judged from a tact of the south-
ern pulse. I suspect that of the north was different, and
decided your conduct, and perhaps it has been as well. If
the revolution of sentiment has been later, it has perhaps '
been not less sure. At length it has arrived. What with
the natural current of opinion, which has been setting over
to us for eighteen months, and the immense impetus which
was given it from the 11th to the 17th of February, we may
now say that the United States, from New York south-
wardly, are as unanimous in the principles of '76, as they
were in '76. The only difterence is, that the leaders who
remain behind are more numerous and bolder than the apos-
tles of toryism in '76. The reason is, that we are now justly
more tolerant than we could safely have been then, circum-
stanced as we were. Your part of the Union, though as
absolutely republican as ours, had drunk deeper of the de-
lusion, and is therefore slower in recovering from it. The
2egis of government, and the temples of religion and of jus-
tice, have all been prostituted there, to toll us back to the
times when we burnt witches. But your people will rise
again.* They will awake like Samson from his sleep, and
carry away the gates and posts of the city. You, my friend,
are destined to rally them ao-ain under their former ban-
ners, and when called to the post, exercise it with firmness
and with inflexible adherence to your own principles. The
people will support you, notwithstanding the bowlings of
the ravenous crew from whose jaws they are escaping. //
ivill be a great blessing to our country, If ive can once more
restore harmony and social love among its citizens. I con-
fess, as to myself, it is almost the first object of my heart,
and oBe to which I would sacrifice every thing but principle.
With the people I have hopes of effecting it. But their
coRYPH.^i are incurables. I expect little from them."
*'I was not deluded by the eulogiums of the public pa-

* Let the reader contrast this picture of the people of New Eng-
land, with that in a preceding letter, to John Jay, where they are
painted as the Jews of America, and the natural opponents of the
people of the south.

280 THE LIFE OF

pers in the first moments of change. If they could have
continued to get all the loaves and fishes, that is, if I would
have gone over to them, they would continue to eulogise.
But I well knew that the moment that such removals should
take place, as the justice of the preceding administration
ought to have executed, their hue and cry would be set up,
and they would take their old stand. I shall disregard
-that also. Mr. Adams's last appointments, when he knew
he was namin^- counsellors and aids for me, and not for
himself, I set aside as far as depends on me. Officers who
have been guilty of gross abuses of office, such as marshal Is
packing juries, &:c. I shall now remove, as my predecessor
ought in justice to have done. The instances will be few,
and p-overned by strict rule, not party passion. The right
of opinion shall suffer no invasion from me. Those who
have acted well have nothing to fear, however they may
have differed from me in opinion; those who have done ill,
however, have nothing to hope; nor shall I fail to do jus-
tice, lest it should be ascribed to that difference of opinion.
A coalition of sentiments is not for the interest of the
printers. They, like the clergy, live by the zeal they can
kindle, and the schisms they can create. It is contest of
opinion in politics, as ivell as religion, which makes us take
great interest in them, and bestow our money liberally on
those who furnish aliment to our ajjpetite. The mild and
simple principles of the Christian philosophy would produce
too much calm, too much regularity of good, to extract
from its disciples a support for a numerous priesthood,
were they not to sophisticate it, ramify it, split it into hairs,
and twist its texts till they cover the divine morality of its
author with mysteries, and require a priesthood to explain
them. * The quakers seem to have discovered this. They
have no priests, therefore no schisms. They judge of the
text by the dictates of common sense and common uiorality.
vSo the printers can never have us in a state of perfect rest
and union of opinion. They would be no longer useful,

♦ If I can understand Mr. Jefferson, he accuses the priesthood of
a crafty fraud, to extort a hving- from the over-heated zeal of in-
fatuated big-ots. Is this just, or liberal > He tlien compares prix-
TEns to PRIESTS, and charg-esthem with the same crafty fraud! ! Yet
Mr. J. professed to espouse the liberty of the press, and to vindicate
the freedom of rehg-ious opinions! !— both of which he here violates
and denounces ! Alas for poor human nature.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 281

and would have to go to the plough. * In the first moments
of quietude which have succeeded the election, thej seem
to have aroused their lying faculties beyond their ordinary
state, to re-agitate the public mind."'

Three months after this, his appetite for harmony sud-
denly changed into a thirst for war, and he thus wrote to
Gideon Granger, on the 3d of May, 1801 — • I never
dreamed that all opposition was to cease. The clergy^ who
have missed their union icith the State, the Anglornen who
have missed their union vnth England, and the political
adventurers who have lost the chance of swindling aj\d
plunder in the waste of public money, will never cease to
bawl, on the breaking up of their sanctuary."

An important event in the political life of Mr. Jefferson
now occurred. This was the acquisition of Louisiana, by
purchase, /ro/72 France; to accomplish which object, Mr.
Monroe v<as commissioned, as minister extraordinary, with
Chancellor Livingston, to proceed to Paris, and negociate
for the cession. The,followin» letter to General Gates, who,
being the enemy of Washington naturally became the
friend of Jefferson, will display the feelings and views of
the latter upon this occasion,

TO GENERAL GATES.

Washi>-gto!t, July 11, 1803.
•' Dear General^-I accept with pleasure, and with plea-
sure reciprocate vour congratulations on the acquisition of
Louisiana; for it' is a subject of mutual congratulation, as
it interests everv man of the nation. The territory ac-
quired, as it includes all the waters of the Missouri and
Mississippi, has more than doubled the area of the United
States, and the new part is not inferior to the old in soil,
climate, productions, and important communications. If
our legislature dispose of it with the wisdom we have a
ricrht to expect, they may make it the means of tempting all
oiTr Indians, on the east side of the Mississippi, to remove

» Would Mr. J. have ventured on this proscription of the freedom
of the press prior to his election > We think not. He onlv hated
the means bv which he rose to power, when he felt himself no longer
•m need of its assistance :-^a Uttleness of soul which we woidd hardly
expect to find in one of hi§ enlarged powers of mtellect. But per-
haps his hatred against the press was excited by its prostitution to
ignorant mechamcs, and its utter destitution of science, gemus and

literature!

Z 2

Og^ THE LIFE OF

to the rvest, and of condensing, instead of scattering our
population. I find our opposition is very ^vllllng to p uck
FeTthers from Monroe, although not fond of sticking them
in^o Livingston's coat. The truth is, both have a just por-
tion of merit; and were it necessary, or proper, it would be
shown that each has rendered peculiar services.

In another letter, to Judge Breckeiinclge he t\m^ follows
up his ideas of exultation at this bright achievement ot his
acWnistration:— "Objections are raising to the eastward
a-ainst the vast extent of our boundaries, and propositions
a?e made to exchange Louisiana, or a part ot it, tor the
Floridas. But, as I have said, we shall get the Floridas
without, and I would not give one inch of the waters ot
the Mississippi to any nation; because I see, in a light very
important to our peace, the exclusive right to its naviga-
tion, and the admission of no nation into it, but as into the
Potomac or Delaware, with our consent, and under our
police. These federalists see in this acquisition the forma-
tion of a new confederacy, embracing all the waters of the
Mississippi, on both sides of it, and a separation of its east-
ern waters from us."

One of the most efficient virtues, as well as chief beauties
of the character of Mr. Jefferson, consisted in the simplicity
of his mind, that influenced him to avoid ostentation, pomp,
ceremony, and vain parade, and inclined him to give a pre-
ference to every mode of performing an action, which com-
bined the greatest convenience, and avoided the least dis-
play. An application having been made to him by some of
the citizens of Boston, in August, 1803; to ascertain the
date of his birth, in order to celebrate his birth-day, he de-
clined to communicate the information in a letter to Levi
Lincoln, couched in the following words: ''With respect to
the day on which they wish to fix their anniversary, they
may be told, that disapproving myself of transferring the
honours and veneration tor the great birth-day of our republic
to any individual, or of dividing them with individuals, /
have declined letting my own birth-day be known, and have
engaged my family not to communicate it. This has been
the uniform answer to every application of the kind.'^

Here we behold a sacrifice of personal vanity to prin-
ciple, which is worthy of unqualified praise and admiration;
which has few examples in history, and which is apt to be
too little appreciated by the people.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 28S

Hi> Constitutional integrity was equally striking. In a
letter to Wilson C. Nicholas', he resisted all arguments to
induce him to acquiesce in the construction of the Constitu-
tion, in order to bring Louisiana into the Union, contrary
to his idea of procuring a special grant of power from the
States, for that purpose. He says, -'When an instrument
admits two constructions, the one safe, the other dangerous,
the one precise, the other indefinite. I prefer that which is
safe and precise. I liad rather ask an enlargement of power
from the nation, where it is found necessary, than to assume
it by a construction which would make our powers bound-
less. Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written
Constitution. Lei us not make it a blank paper by construc-
tion. I say the same as to the opinions of those who con-
sider the grant of the treaty making power as boundless. If
it is. then we have no Constitution. If it has bounds, they
can be no others than the definitions of the powers which
that instrument gives. It specifies and delineates the ope-
rations permitted to the federal government." &c. *' I
confess, then. I think it important, in the present case, to
set an example against broad construction, by appealing for
new power to the people."

In a note to Mr. Gallatin, directing a non-interference in
the choice of directors for the Branches of the Bank of the
United States. Mr. Jefterson expresses himself in the fol-
lowino; manner: •• From a passage in the letter of the Pre-
sident [of the Bank.] I observe an idea of establishing a
branch bank of the United States in New Orleans. This
institution is one of the most deadly hostility existing
against the principles and form of our Constitution. The
nation is, at this time, so strong and united in its sentiments,
that it cannot be shaken at this moment. But suppose a
series of untoward events should occur, sufficient to bring
into doubt the competency of a republican government to
meet a crisis of great danger, or to unhinge the confidence
of the people in the public functionaries,: an institution like
this, penetrating by its branches every part of the Union,
actino; bv command and in phalanx, may. in a critical mo-
ment7 upset the government. I deem no government safe
which is under the vassalasre of any self-constituted autho-
rities, or any other authority than that of the nation, or its
regular functionaries. What an obstruction could not this
bank of the United States, with all its branch banks, be in

284 THE LIFE OF

time of war? It might dictate to us the peace we should
accept, or withdraw its aids? Ought we, then, to give fur-
ther growth to an institution so powerful, so hostile? That
it is so hostile we know, firsts from a knowledge of the
principle of the persons composing the body of directors in
every bank, principal, or branch, and those of most of the
stockholders: second, from their opposition to the measures
and principles of the government, and to the election of
those friendly to them^ and third, from the sentinxents of
the newspapers they support. Now, while we are strong,
it is the greatest duty we owe to the safety of our Consti-
tution, to bring this powerful enemy to a perfect subordina-
tion under its authorities. The first measure would be to
reduce them to an equal footing only with other banks, as
to the favours of the government. But, in order to be able
to meet a general combination of the banks against us, in a
critical emergency, could we not make a beginning towards
an independent use of our own money towards holding our
own bank in all the deposits where it is received, and let^
ting the treasurer give his draft or note, for payment at any
particular place, which, in a well conducted government,
ought to have as much credit as any private draft, or bank
note, or bill, and would give us the same facilities which
we derive from the banks?"

His first term having nearly expired, Mr. Jefterson was
again placed in nomination for a second period, and re-
elected by an increased majority. In a letter to Mr. Gerry
upon this subject, he expresses his feelings in the following
terms: ''I sincerely regret that the unbounded calumnies
of the federal party have obliged me to throw myself on the
verdict of my country fov trial, my great desire having been
to retire at the end of the present term, to a life of tran-
(luillity; and it was my decided purpose when I entered into
office. They force my continuance. If we can keep the
vessel of State as steadily in her course for another four
years, my earthly purposes will be accomplished, and I
shall be free to enjoy, as you are doing, my family, my
farm, and my books. " When it is considered that Mr.
Jefterson was a zealous and primitive dissenter from the
unlimited re-eligibility of tiie executive; and that he
espoused with ardour short terms of office, and had origi-
nally intended to hold the office but four years, it must be
deeply lamented, that he suftered the clamour of enemies to

THOMAS JEFFERSON. • 285

divert him from establishing a precedent of so much vital con-
sequence to the purity and duration of our free institutions.
The reasons he adduces for this dereliction are such as
might with equal force be alleged for a continuance in the
office for life. How much of real glory he lost, by missing
this opportunity of putting the seal of sincerity, and the test
of consistency on his original professions, can only be esti-
mated by a full and iust consideration of the difficulty
attending the sacrifice of ambition to principle; of resisting
the temptation of personal vanity, for the enduring future
applause of mankind. Had he now retired, how perfect
would have been his fame.^ How transcendent his patri-
otism! how pure his democracy! how dazzling the lustre of
his renown!

In the spring of 1804, he suffered a heavy bereavement
in the death of one of his daughters, Mrs. Eppes, which
caused him much affliction. On this melancholy occasion,
Mrs. John Adams, the wife of the Ex-President of that
name, addressed him a letter of condolence, to which he
responded in a spirit of cordiality and reconciliation with
her husband: and which correspondence was afterwards
continued, until it ended in a renewal of friendly commu-
nications with Mr. Adams himself. In his letters to Mrs.
Adams, he entered fully into an explanation of all his con-
duct and measures, disclaiming all unfriendly feelings to-
wards the Ex-President; making a full acknowledgment of
his integrity of purpose, and resolving their long estrange-
ment to w\QY^ difference of opinion! Upon this subject, it
is worth while to quote a passage from oneof September 11,
1804. ''Both of our political parties, at least the honest
part of them, agree conscientiously in the same object, the
PUBLIC good: but they differ essentially in what they deem
the means of promoting that good." Thus conceding to
Mr. Adams, what he had so often denied, integrity and
patriotism!

Devoted to science, and at all times intent on improve-
ments in literature and knowledge, as well as politics and
government, Mr. Jefferson now projected the expedition
of Leiois and Clarke to the Columbia river, for the pur-
pose of exploring and ascertaining the geography, natural
history, climate, riches, resources, and peculiarities of the
new purchase of the Territory of Louisiana.

A schism among the more rigid republicans having oc-

^286 THE LIFE OF

curretl in the party, Mr. Jefferson addressed a letter of
vindication to Mr, Duane, dated March 22, 1806. John
Randolph luid raised the banner of opposition, under the
plea of dereliction from the true faith. In his letter to
Duane, Mr. Jefterson says: '• In the first place, then, I have
had less communication, directly, or indirectly, with the
republicans of i\\e East this session, than I ever had before.
This has proceeded from accidental circumstances, not
from deslsn. And if there be anv coolness between those
of the South and mvself, it has not been from me towards
them. That Mr. R. has openly attacked the administration
is sufficiently known. We were not disposed to join the
league with Britain, under any belief that she is fighting for
the liberties of mankind, and to enter into war with Spain,
and consequently France. The House of Representatives
were in the same sentiment, when they rejected Mr. R's
resolutions for raising a body of regular troops for the
western service. We are for a peaceable accommodation
with all those nations, if it can be effected honourably.
This, perhaps, is not the only ground of his alienation; but
which side retains its orthodoxy, the vote of eighty-seven
to eleven republicans, may satisfy you.

Another charo-e was discord in the cabinet. Mr. J. af'
firms that there existed perfect harmony.

Another was — ' that there was an ostensible cabinet and
a concealed one;' which Mr. J. denied!!

Another, that he had denounced republicans sls jacobins!
And that he would appoint none but moderates to office,
of both parties! This he pronounced false and unfounded.

Another, that he patronised the expedition of Miranda!
which he also pronounced false; yet adds — ^'To know as
much of itas we could was our duty, but not to encourage it,'*

• The practice of men elected in virtue of partyviolence, of throw-
ing' themselves into the arms of moderate men of both parties, as an
atonement for their ag-gressions, and to conciliate their former op-
ponents, is one of those ti-aits of depraved policy, which the unprin-
cipled and profligate politicians of all ages and countries, have acted
on with impunity to themselves, and apparently without instructing
the people in the wisdom of moderation, when espousing" the cause
of the hypocritical demagogues m whose behalf they are always so
eag"er to enlist themselves. It was an indig-nant repudiation of such
baseness which prompted Mr. Jefferson to reply to the letter of Duane;
for, however he might have possessed those politic views which mo-
dulate the tone of the skilful statesman, on critical occasions, Mr.

THOMAS JEFFERSON* 287

On the 4th of May, 1806, he addressed a long letter to
Mr. Monroe on the subject, in which he severely denounces
John Rardolph for having abandoned the partyj that gen-
tleman being a friend of Mr. Monroe, whom Mr. Jefferson
conjures to cast him oft".

The next important event of Jefterson's administration
was the explosion of the conspiracy of Aaron Budji. In
a letter to Mr. Bowdoin, of April 2, 1807, he thus speaks
of this extraordinary event- — " No better proof of the good
faith of the United States could have been given, than the
vigour with which we have acted, and the expense incurred,
in suppressing the enterprize meditated lately by Burr,
against Mexico. Although, at first, he proposed a separa-
tion of the western country, and on that ground received
encouragement and aid from Yrujo, according to the usual
spirit of his government towards us, yet he very early saw
that the fidelity of the western country was not to be
shaken, and turned himself wholly towards Mexico. And
so popular is an enterprise on that country, in this, that we
had only to lie still, and he would have had followers
enouo-h to have been in the city of Mexico in six weeks.

Jefferson was never known to prove treacherous to his friends, or
faithless to his adherents : and if he sometimes held out the hand of
fellowship to the moderate men, of the federal party, it was rather
with a ^dew to conciliate them into his support, than to reward them
with favours, or to advance them over the heads of his ancient and
tried friends. In party fidelity, he never stopped half-way, or left
his open and avowed friends, to sneak into corners, and hold intri^ie
with the moderators, who content themselves with whispering- cen-
sure, and nodding- and shaking- the head, as a means of secret assas-
sination, ag-ainst those bold and fearless spirits, whose virtues they are
too depi-avcd to envy, and whose talents they are too stupid to ap-
preciate. Party fidehty was a laudable trait in the chai-acter of Mr.
Jefferson; and althoug-hhe lived at a ci"itical time, when the popular
delusion of party receded before the daily demonstration of facts,
that Presidents must be Presidents, no matter fi-om what party they
are elected; yet he maintained his republican integrity more than any
other of his successors, who made party distinctions the cause of
exclusive merit in their candidatesliip. He lived to see and to hear
the federal party loud in his praise, and wai-m in his support; and yet
never returned the compliment by patronage or encomiums. They
were sincere and consistent, because they admu-ed him for having
finally embraced all the measures of federal policy; and he was honest,
because he remained true to those who had originally sustained him
through the storm and tempest of the conflict.

288 THE LIFE OF

You have doubtless seen mv several messao;es to Congress,
which j^ive a faithful narrative of that conspiracy. Burr,
himself, after bein^j disarmed, bv our endeavours, of all
his followers, escaped from the custody of the court of Mis-
sissippi, but was taken near Fort Stoddart, making his way
to >Iobile, by some country people, who brought him on as
a prisoner to Richmond, where he is now under a course for
trial."

Mr. Jefterson's eagerness to procure the infliction of
punishment on Burr, for treason^ is not exactly consistent
with liis own belief, that the object of Burr was Mexico,
and not the dismemberment of the western States from the
Union. In the progress of this trial, Mr. Jefferson suiFered
himself to become highly excited against Chief Justice
Marshall, and the Supreme Court, and the federalists,
v;hom he accused of an intention to shelter and protect
Burr; but without any shadow of proof, or even probability.
Mr. Jefferson, while he disclaimed all hatred of Burr,
acknowledged that he had always cherished a prejudice
against him; but there is no reason to believe that private
enmity stimulated him to any additional zeal to prosecute
this guilty man, when his public duty furnished such abun-
dant motive to urge him to an assiduous prosecution of this
mysterious and daring conspiracy, its actors, agents and
instruments. In one of his letters to George Hay, he calls
Burr an ' impudent federal bull-dog. '

Having been invited by some officious and flattering
friends, to undertake 2i pilgrimage of popularity through the
Eastern States, Mr. Jefferson with that genuine and unaf-
fected simplicity that at all times distinguished him from
inferior men, and that true sense of personal dignity which
revolts from being made a ' public spectacle' for the curi-
ous to gaze at, positively declined the ofter. He says, '* I
confess that I am not reconciled to the idea of a chief w\d^-
^htvate paradi)}g himself through the several States, as an
object of public ijaze, and in quest of an applause which, to
be valuable, should be purely voluntary. / had rather ac-
quire silent good tvill by a faithful discharge of my duties,
than any expressions of it to mj putting myself in the way
of receiving them. As I have never yet seen the time when
the public business would have permitted me to be so long
in a situation in which I could not carry it on, so I have no
reason to expect that such a time will come wliile I remain
in office."

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 289

This is a severe satire on the practice of his successors,
who found more time to travel, the more tlie public business
increased upon their hands! A sure proof that the era of
our public virtue has nearly passed away; and that the vir-
tues of the men of the revolution, are not to be found in the
breasts of their descendants.

A similar display of republican heroism he also made, on
the subject of an application made to him, to appoint a day
of fasting and prayer. In answer to this request, he ob-
served: '•! consider the government of the United States
as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with
religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline or exercises.
This results not only from tlie provision that no law shall be
made respecting the establishment or free exercise of reli-
gion, but from that also which reserves to the States the
powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly no
power to prescribe any religious exercise, or to assume
authority in religious discipline, has been delegated to the
general government. It must then rest with the States, as
far as it can be in any human authority. But it is only
proposed that I ^\iQ\\\^ recommend, not prescribe, a day of
fasting and prayer; that is, that I should indirectly assume
to the United States an authority over religious exercises,
which the Constitution has directly precluded them from.
It must be meant, too, to be sanctioned by some penalty on
those who disregard it; not indeed of fine and imprisonment,
but of some degree of proscription, perhaps in public opi-
nion. And does the change in the nature of the penalty
make the recommendation the less a law of conduct for
those to whom it is directed .? I do not believe it is for the
interest of religion to invite the civil magistrate to direct its
exercises, its discipline, or its doctrines; nor of the reli-
gious societies, that the general government should be in-
vested with the power of effecting any uniformity of time
or matter among them. Fasting and prayer are religious
exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every
religious society has a right to determine for itself the times
for these exercises, and the objects proper for them accord-
ing to their own particular tenets; and this right can never
be^safer than in their own hands, where the Constitution
has deposited it."

The operation of the Berlin and Milan Decrees on the part
of France, and of the Orders of Council on the part of Great

Aa

£90 THE LIFE OF"

Britain, now began to be felt as serious aggressions on the
commerce and revenue of the United States. The licen-
tious and preposterous doctrines of blockade, proclaimed by
France, and the retaliation of so monstrous a violation of
the laws of nations, by England, soon inflicted the most fatal
wounds upon neutral commerce, insulting and degrading the
national character, at the same time that it cut up its re-
sources, plundered its wealth, and mutilated its marine: for
impressment was added to robbery and confiscation, our flag
bein"- unable to protect the persons of our citizens from the
power of insolent England, or secure their property from
tlie rapacity of libertine France. Unhappily for this coun-
try and its national character, the feuds engendered by the
collisions between those two countries among our citizens,
during the French revolution, had enlisted the democratic
and federal parties under the banners of the two European
belligerents. It was known that Mr. Jefferson was partial
to France and hated England; and as he always preferred
peace to war, a disposition to negociate for a redress of
■wrongs of this heinous character, w^as construed by some
into a pusillanimous submission to the despotism of France:
and by the adverse party, into a degrading acquiescence in
the wrongs of England. The democrats called for a war
with Great Britain; the federalists, and those who opposed
French tyranny, called for a war against France. Mr.
Jefferson desired peace, and disregardino: the clamours of
both, proceeded to negociation. In a letter to Lafavette In
1807, he thus pictures our distressful and embarrassinn-
situation: — " I encloseyou a proclamation, which will show
you the critical footing on which we stand at present with
England. Never since the battle of Lexington, have I seen
this country in such a state of exasperation as at present.
And even tiiat did not produce such unanimity. The fe-
deralists themselves coalesce with us as to 'the object,
although they will return to their old trade of condemnin<^
every step Me take towards obtaining it. ' Reparation for
the past, and security for the future,' is our motto. Whc-
ther these will be yielded freely, or will require re&ort to
non-intercourse, or to war, is yet to be seen. We have
actually near two thousand men in the field, covering the
exposed parts of the coast, and cutting oft' supplies fronathe
British vessels."

The attack, at once wanton, cowardly, and insulting,

or

>5

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 291

o

made on the frigate Chesapeake, by the British admiral; the
Non-Importation Act; and finally, the Embargo — all pre-
monished of a state of approaching hostilities: for, without
displaying strength, they manifested weakness, as well as
timidity, and exhibited a temper more disposed to endure
insult, than redress wrong. At the same time, the violation
of the laws of nations committed by France against neutral
commerce, not being resented by the United States, Eng-
land issued a retaliatory order of Council, prohibiting all
commerce between America and the ports of her enemies in
Europe, unless the merchandise was first landed in Eng-
land, and the duties paid for re-exportation. The effect was
total ruin to American commerce, which must thus become
the certain prey, to one or the other of the belligerent
powers. To save us from this gulf of ruin, Mr. Jefterson
recommended, and Congress passed on the 22d December,
1807, an embargo law.

This was the last important act of Mr. Jefterson^s politic
cal life. . His administration was now drawing to a close,
after forty years of public service, and twenty of party tur-
moil. He had now attained the a,o;e of sixty-Jive, and if the
enjoyment of power had not produced satiety, the charms
of rpfii-pnipnt must at least have promised the delight of
novelty. His annual message to Congress this year, 1808,
spoke of this event in a strain of unaffected modesty, dig-
nified feeling, and patriotic eloquence every way creditable
to his head and his heart. '• Availing myself of this, the
last occasion which will occur of addressing the two houses
of the Legislature at their meeting, I cannot omit the ex--
pression of my sincere gratitude for the repeated proofs of
confidence manifested to me by themselves and their prede-
cessors, since my call to the administration, and the many
indulgences experienced at their hands. The same grateful
acknowledo-ments are due to my fellow citizens g-enerallv,
whose support has been my o;reat encouragement under all
embarrassments. In the transaction of their business I canr
not have escaped error — it is incident to our imperfect
nature. But I may say with truth my errors have been of
the understanding, not of intention, and that the advance-
ment of their rights and interests has been the constant
motive for every measure. On these considerations I solicit
their indulo-ence. Lookino; forward with anxiety to their
future destinies, I trust, that in their steady character, un=

292 THE LIFE OF

shaken bv (liHiculties, in their love of liberty, obedience to
law, and support of public authorities, I see a sure guarantee
of ll»e permanence of our republic; and retiring from the
charjje of their aftairs. I carry with me the consolation of a
firm persuasion, that Heaven has in store for our beloved
country, long ages to come of prosperity and happiness."

No atlministration of any President of the United States,
has been so frequently, and so severely criticised as that of
Mr. Jeft'erson; audit has received from his friends encomi-
ums as extravagant, as it lias from his opponents, censures
unmeasured, bitter and unqualified. The truth, no doubt,
lies between the reprobation of the one, and the flattery of
the other. He tried to the fullest extent, the experiment of
his own policy, and failed — signally and ingloriously failed.
His anti-naval system exploded itself in the puerility of the
gun-boat system; and his Chinese policy, or as it was sarcas-
tically termed the ' terrapin policy,'^ of withdrawing from
all FOREIGN COMMERCE — of becomiug producers without
being exporters — fell, not less emphatically, and exploded
in its own delusions. On other points, however, he esta-
blished salutary precedents; especially in the articles of
economy; a limited diplomatic list; and an accelerated
extinguishment of the public debt. At the samo time, tho
Republic suftered indignities and disgrace, without atone-
ment, that it had never before endured; among which v/as
tlie attack on the Chesapeake; and the insults and pillage
of Napoleon, on our commerce; to avoid which partial evil,
Mr. Jefferson unwisely resorted to its prostration by our-
selves, in preference to its plunder by the French. His
natural want of courage, moral as well as physical, neces-
sarily led to this suicidal policy. Still his administration,
on the whole, was creditable and prosperous — and, though
we were neither respected abroad, nor contented at home,
yet we were prosperous and happy — the Union was secure
and firm — the States, with the exception of those of Neio
England, were cjuiet; and the Treasury was full. In what
light his administration was viewed by his native State,
under the influence of enthusiastic admiration, will appear
from the following ' Farewell Address' to him, which
Nvas agreed to bv both houses of the Virginia Legislature,
February 7, 1809.

"Sir, — The General Assembly of your native State can-
not close their session, without acknowledging your services

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 293

in the office which you are just about to lay down, and bid-
ding you a respectful and atiectionate farewell.

*' We have to thank you for the model of an administra-
tion conducted on the purest principles of republicanism;
for pomp and state laid aside; patronage discarded; internal
taxes abolished; a host of superfluous officers disbanded;
the monarchic maxim, * that a national debt is a national
blessing,' renounced, and more than thirty-three mil-
lions of our debt discharged; the native right to nearly one
hundred millions of acres of our national domain extin-
guished; and without the guilt, or calamities of conquest, a
vast and fertile re^rion added to our countrv, far more ex-
tensive than her original possessions, bringing along with
it the Mississippi and the port of Orleans, the trade of the
west to the Pacific ocean, and in the intrinsic value of the
land itself, a source of permanent and almost inexhaustible
revenue. These are points in your administration which
the historian will not fail to seize, to expand, and teach
posterity to dwell upon with delight. Nor will he forget our
peace with the civilised world, preserved through a season
of uncommon difficultv and trial; the good-will cultivated
with the unfortunate' aborigines of our country, and the
civilisation humanely extended among them; the lesson
taught the inhabitants of the coast of Barbary, that we have
the means of chastisino; their piratical encroachments, and
awino- them into justice; and that theme, on which above
all, the historic genius will hang w^ith rapture, the liberty
of speech and of the press preserved inviolate, without
which o-enius and science are given to man in vain.

In the principles on which you have administered the
o-overnment, we see only the continuation and maturity of
the ^ame virtues and abilities, which drew upon you in vour
youth the resentment of Dunmore. From the first brilliant
and happy moment of your resistance to foreign tyranny,
until the present day, we mark with pleasure and with gra-
titude the same uniform, consistent character, the same
warm and devoted attachment to liberty and the republic,
the same Roman love of your country, her ri-hts, her
peace, her honour, her prosperity. How blessed will be the
J^tirement into which you are about to go! Ho^y deservedly
blessed will it be! For you carry with vou the richest ot
all rewards, the recollection of a life well spent in the ser^

Aa 2

294 THE LIFE OF

vice of your country, and proofs the most decisive of the
love, the gratitude/the veneration of your countrymen."

In a let'ter to a friend, he thus pictures his return to
private life : — ''Within a few days I retire to my family,
mv books and farms? and having gained the harbour myself,
I shall look on mv friends still buffeting the storm, with
anxiety, indeed, but not with envy. Never did a prisoner,
released from his chains, feel such relief as I shall on shak-
ing oft' the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the
tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme
delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have
lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them,'' and
to commit mvself on the boisterous ocean of political pas-
sions. 1 thank God for the opportunity of retiring from
them without censure, and carrying with me the most con-
soling proofs of public approbation."

He retired to Monticello, about the middle of March,
1809? and gives the following account of his journey: — '' I
had a verv fatio-uino- journev. havino; found the roads exces-
sively bad, although I have seen them worse. 1 he last three
days I found it better to be on horseback, and travelled
eight hours througli as disagreeable a snow-storm as I was
ever in. Feeling no inconvenience from the expedition
but fatipiue, I have more confidence in my vis vitx than I
had before entertained. The spring is remarkably back-
ward." Having been welcomed home bv the citizens of
his county, he addressed them in the following: strain of
pmus affection: —

•' Returning to the scenes of my birth and early life, to
the society of tliose with whom I was raised, a'':d who have
been ever dear to me. I receive, fellow citizens and neigh-
bours, with inexpressible pleasure, the cordial welcome vou
are so good as to give me. Long absent on duties which
the history of a wonderful era made incumbent on those
called to them, the pomp, the turmoil, the bustle and splen-
dour of office, liave drawn but deeper sio;hs for the tranquil
and irresponsible occupations of private life, for the enjoy-
ment of an affectionate intercourse Avith you, my neigh-

• There is an ob\-ious error here. >Ir. Jefferson ha^-ing' commenced
his pohtical career before the revolution, and continued it throug-h
the administration of Georg-e Washington, which presented no enor-
mities. The enormities begun in 1792-3, with the French Revolution,

THOMAS JEFFERSON". 295

hours and friends, and the endearments of family love,
which nature has given us all, as the sweetener of every
hour. For these 1 gladly lay down the distressing; burdfen
or power, and seek, with my fellow citizens, repose and
safety under the watchful cares, the labours and perplexi-
ties of younger and abler minds. The anxieties you express
to administer to my happiness, do, of themselves, confer
that happiness; and the measure will be complete, if my
endeavours to fulfil my duties in the several public stations
to which I have been called, have obtained for me the ap-
probation of my country. The part which 1 have acted on
the theatre of public life, has been before them; and to their
sentence I submit it: but the testimony of my native coun-
ty, of the individuals who have known me in private life,
to my conduct in its various duties and relations, is the
more grateful, as proceeding from eye witnesses and ob-
servers— from triers of the vicinage. Of you, then, my neigh-
bours, I mav ask in the face of the world, ' whose ox have I
taken, or whom have I defrauded.^ AVhom have I oppressed,
or of whose hand have I received a bribe to blind mine eyes
therewith.^' On your verdict I rest with conscious security.
Your wishes for my happiness are received with just sensi-
bility, and I offer sincere prayers for your own welfare and
prosperity."

In this letter to his neighbours, we behold what may be
considered as an ofiicial induction into the pursuits and
enjoyments of private life; and certainly few men who have
occupied the lofty stations of supreme power, have ever
been better qualified to adorn with usefulness, or enjoy
with reason, the calm avocations of a planter, a citizen, and
a gentleman. Being a practical, as well as a theoretical
farmer, his knowledge and skill admirably qualified him for
the profitable cultivation of his estate. Deeply embued with
a fine literary taste, profoundly versed in the sciences, and
a complete master of mathematics, as well as an erudite
Greek scholar, besides being conversant Mith most of the
ancient and modern languages, he combined resources for
an elegant literary retirement, seldom equalled, and never
surpassed. His correspondence, too, of a literary, scientific,
political, and friendly character, was diftused throughout
everv civilised country of Europe, as well as America. An
object of rational curiosity to all strangers of distinction,
and a fountain of literary refreshment to all travelling lit^-

296 THE LIFE OF

rati, his mansion of course, soon attracted successive crowds
of Americans, and foreigners, to enliven his retirement,
and tax his hospitality: so that the Ex-President of the
United States, in his residence at Monticello, appeared ra-
ther to have acquired splendour, eclat, and followers, by
his retirement, than to have sunk from a state of public
magnificence to a condition of private obscurity. Such is
the force of intrinsic merit over the adventitious and tran-
sient glare of external greatness. The Presidency could
add nothing to the inherent greatness of Jefferson, but the
genius of Jefferson ennobled with lustre the chair that had
been consecrated to renown, by the virtues and greatness
of Washington.

Mr. Jefferson now occupied his leisure in the pursuits to
which I have just alluded: — the management of his farms — '
the comfort of his guests— the demands of his correspondents
—the novelties of science — the beauties of literature — and
the free dispensation of advice and patronage to all useful
enterprises, or learned experiments: never foro;etting his
darling passion of politics, to which he always recurred with
delight, and in which he excelled to such perfection.

In a letter to a friend, he thus describes the employment
of his time: — " My mornings are devoted to correspon-
dence. From breakfast to dinner I am in my shops,* my
p^arden. or on horseback amono- my farms ; from dinner to
dark I give to society and recreation with my neighbours
and friends; and from candle-light to early bed-time, I read.
My health is perfect, and my strength considerably rein-
forced by the activity of the course I pursue; perhaps it is
as great as usually falls to the lot of men sixty-seven years
of age. I talk of ploughs and harrows, seeding and har-
vesting, with my neighbours, and of politics too, if they
choose, with as little reserve as the rest of my fellow citi-
zens, and feel, at length, the blessing of being free to say
and do what I please, without being responsible for it to
any mortal. A part of my occupation, and by no means
the least pleasing, is the direction of the studies of such

^ * He was always devotedly fond of mechanics, and worked like a
Joiimeyman in what lie called his shops; constructing- various articles
of utility, or decoration, for his farm, his house, or his chamber; be-
sides those philosophical instruments and nick-nacks whif h men pi
curious minds are attached to.

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 297

young men as ask it. They place themselves in the neigh-
bouring village, and have the use of my library and counsel,
and make a part of mv society." This was in Februarv,
1810.

Curious to know his opinions on all subjects, we feel
more peculiarly so to hear them on the great leading ques-
tions and events of the day. In 1810, some apprehension
was entertained that Napoleon would, at no distant day,
meditate the invasion and conquest of the United States.
One of his correspondents having expressed this fear to
him, Mr. Jefterson not only ridiculed it as a chimera, but
demonstrated its impossibility, in the following singular
strain of party delusion, and political sagacity: — «' For five-
and-thirty years we have walked together through a land
of tribulations; yet these have passed away, and so, I trust,
will thos3 of the present day. The toryism with which we
struffo-led in ^77^ differed but in name iVom the federalism
of '99, with w^hich we struggled also; and the Anglicism of
1808, against which we are now struggling, is but the same
thing: still, in another form. It is a longing for a king, and
an English king rather than any other. This is the true
source of their sorrows and wailings.-'

"The fear that Buonaparte v.ill come over to us, and
conquer us also, is too chimerical to be genuine. Supposing
him to have finished Spain and Portugal, he has yet England
and Russia to subdue. The maxim of war was never sounder
than in this case, not to leave an enemy in the rear, and
especially where an insurrectionary flame is known to be
under the embers, merely smothered, and ready to burst at
every point. These two subdued, (and surely the Anglo-
men will not think the conquest of England alone a short
work) ancient Greece and Macedonia, the cradle of Alex-
ander, his prototype, and Constantinople, the seat of empire
for the world, would glitter more in his eye than our bleak
mountains and rugged forests, Egypt, too, and the golden
apples of Mauritania, have for more than half a century,
fixed the longing eyes of France; and with Syria, you know,
he has an old affront to wipe out. Then come Pontus and
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, the five countries
on the Euphrates and Tigris, the Oxus and Indus, and all
beyond the Hyphasis, which bounded the glories of his Ma-
cedonian rival; with the invitations of his new British sub-
jects on the banks of the Ganges, whom, after receiving

298 THE LIFE OF

under his protection the mother country, he cannot refuse
to visit. When all this is done and settled, and nothing of
the old world remains unsubdued, he may turn to the new
one: but will he attack us first, from whom he will get but
hard knocks and no monev? Or will he first lav hold of the
gold and silver of Mexico and Peru, and the diamonds of
Brazil? A republican emperor, from his aftection to repub-
lics, independent of motives of expediency, must grant to
ours the Cyclop's boon of being the last devoured. While
all this is doing, we are to suppose the chapter of accidents
read out, and that nothins; can happen to cut short or to
disturb his enterprises.*' From this view of the affairs of
Xapoleon,\\Q turns to a dissertation on thefafidfy of kings,
which will interest the reader. " When I observed that
the king of England was a cypher, I did not mean to con-
tine the observation to the mere individual now on that
throne. The practice of kings marrying only into the fa-
milies of kings has been that of Europe for some centuries.
Now, take any race of animals, confine them in idleness
and inaction, whether in a stye, a stable, or a state room,
pamper them with high diet, gratify all their sexual appe-
tites, immerse them in sensualities, nourish their passions,
let every thing bend before them, and banish whatever
might lead them to think, and in a few generations they
become all body and no mind: and this, too, by a law of
nature, by that very law by which we are in the constant
practice of changing the characters and propensities of the
animals we raise for our own purposes. Such is the regi-
men in raising kingsj and in this May they have gone on for
centuries. While in Europe, I often amused myself with
contemplating the characters of the then reigninjr sovereigns
of Europe. Louis the XVI. was a fool, of my own know-
ledge, and in despite of the answers made for him at his
trial. The king of Spain was a fool, and of Naples the
same. They passed their lives in hunting, and despatched
two couriers a week one thousand miles to let each other
know what same they had killed the preceding days. The
king of Sardinia was'a fool. All these were Bourbons. The
queen of Portugal, a Braganza. was an idiot by nature.
And so was the king of Denmark. Their sons, as regents,
exercised the powers of government. The king of Prussia,
successor to the great Frederick, was a mere hog in body,
as well as in mind. Gustavus, of Sweden, and Joseph of

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 299

Austria, were really crazy; and George of En<;land, you
know, was in a straight waistcoat. There remained, th'en,
none but old Catharine, who had been too lately picked up
to have lost her common sense. In this state Buonaparte
found Europe,* and it was this state of its rulers which lost
it with scarce a struggle. These animals had become \\ iih-
out mind and powerless; and so will every hereditary mo-
narch be after a few generations. Alexander, the grandson
of Catharine, is as yet an exception. He is able to'hold his
own. But he is only of the tliird generation. His race is
not yet worn out. And so endeth the Book of Kings, from
all of whom the Lord deliver us, and have you, my friend,
and all such good men and true, in his holy keeping.*'

Although he admired the religion of the' Quakers, yet
he most heartily detested their politics: for in writincj to
Lafayette in ISlr, he thus severely portrays them: — " That
(Delaware) is essentially a Quaker State, the fragment of
a religious sect, which there, as in the other States in Eng-
land, are a homogeneous mass, acting with one mind, and
that directed by the mother society in England. Dispersed,
as the Jews, they still form, as those do, one nation, foreijin
to the land they live in. They are Protestant Jesuits, im
plicitly devoted to the will of their superior, and forgetting
all duties to their country, in the execution of the policy
of their order. "When war is proposed with England, they
have religious scruples; but when with France, these are
laid by, and they become clamorous for it. They are. how-
ever, silent, passive, and give no other trouble than of
whipping them along."

I have enumerated, among Mr. Jefterson's frailties his
want of moral courage, which kept him from that candid
avowal of his political opinions in the presence of his oppo-
nents, which appeared almost in the light of an act of
treachery towards his friends, his party and his principles.
The following account from his own pen of liis alienation
from Mr. Adams, will not only illustrate this feature of
his character, but will also show the feeble texture of that
discrepancy of opinion, which seperated him even from the
father of the alien and sedition laws, when those opinions
were pressed home to their testing point — '• Vou remember
the machinery, says Mr. Jetferson, which the federalists
played off, about that time, to beat down the friends to the
real principles of our Constitution, to silence by terror

n

00 THE LIFE OF

every expression in their favour, to bring us into war with
France, and alliance v»ith England, and finally to hGrnolo-
gisc our constitution with that of England. Mr. Adams,
you know, was overwlielmed with feverish addresses, dic-
tated by the fear, and often by the pen of the bloody buoy;
and was seduced by them into some open indications of his
new principles of government, and in fact was so elated as
to mix with his kindness a little superciliousness towards
me. Even Mrs. Adams, with all her good sense and pru-
dence, was sensibly flushed. And you recollect the short
suspension of our intercourse, and the circumstance which
s;ave rise to it» which vou were so g-ood as to bring to an
early explanation, and have set to rights, to the cordial
satisfaction of us all. The nation at length passed con-
demnation on the political principles of the federalists,* by
refusing; to continue Mr. Adams in the Presidency. On
the day on which we learned in Philadelphia, the vote of
the city of Xew York, which it was well known would de-
cide the vote of the State, and that, again, the vote of the
Union, I called on Mr. Adams on some official business.
He was very sensibly affected, and accosted me with these
words — ' Well, I understand you are to beat me in this
contest, and I will only say that I will be as faithful a sub-
ject as any you will have.* "• Mr. Adams, said I, this is no
personal contest between you and me. Tv/o systems of
principles, on the subject of government, divide our fell ov/
citizens into two parties. AVith one of these you concur,
and I with the other. As we have been longer on the pub-
lic stage than most of those now living, our names happen
to be more generally known. One of these parties, there-

• There is a great fallacy in this idea, which Jefferson himselfhas
exploded in another letter, where he acknowledges that the mad
measures of Adams gave the repubhcans the victory. It was on those
mad measures that the nation passed sentence ofexclusion against
Mr. Adams. If we are to understand by federal principles, federal
pohc^', such as it was established by Washington, it never suffered
any change, and of course, never incurred condemnation. What
Jefferson calls ' the real i)rinciples of the Constitution,' did not ex-
tend to the frame of government, but related merely to moulding its
administration to an accordance with public opixiox; as contradis-
tinguished from the policy of John Adams, who was for fohcikg pub-
lic opinion to an implicit approbation and support of every measure
of government, right or wrong, expedient or pernicious.

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 301

fore, has put your name at its head, the other mine. AVere
we both to die to-day, to-morrow two other names would
be in the place of ours, witliout any change in the motion
of the machine.* Its motion is from its principle, not from
you or myself.' ' I believe you are right, said he that we
are but passive instruments, [what wretched delusion, or
odious hypocricy! Mr. Adams a passive instrument!] and
should not suffer this matter to affect our personal dispo-
sitions.' But he did not long retain this just view of the
subject. I have always believed that the thousand calum-
nies which the federalists, in bitterness of heart and morti-
fication of their ejection, daily invented against me, were
carried to him bv their busy intrig-uers, and made some im-
pression. When the election between Burr and myself
was kept in suspense by the federalists, and they were me-
ditating to place the president of the Senate at the head of
the government, I called on Mr. Adams, with a view to
have this desperate measure prevented by his negative. He
grew warm in an instant, and said with a vehemence he
had not used towards me before, ' Sir, the event of the
election is within your own power. You have only to say
you will do justice to the public creditors^ maintain the
navy, and kot disturb those holding offices, and the
government will instantly be put into your hands. We
know it is the wish of the people it should be so. ' ' Mr.
Adams, said I, I know not what part of my conduct, in
either public or private life, can have authorised a doubt of
my fidelity to the public engagements. I say, however, I
will not come into the government by capitulation. I will
not enter on it, but in perfect freedom to follow the dic-
tates of my own judgment. ' I had before given the same
answer to*^ the same intimation from Governeur Morris.
* Then, said he, things must take their course.' I turned
the conversation to something else, and soon took my leave.
It was the first time in our lives we had ever parted with

* In this opinion few will be found to concur. I tliink the two
conflicting- parties would never have existed, but for AL-. Adiuns and
Mr. JeflTerson. The federal party died with the contests of these
embittered rivals; and will never be revived. This is historical truth.
The ascendant party, since the era of Madison's rule, has compre-
hended more of federalism, federal doctrine, federal policy and fede-
ral men, than any of the ingi-edients of the opposite party; while
Madison himself revived the Natioxai. Ba>'k!

Bb

302 THE LIFE OF

any thing like dissatisfaction. And then followed those
scenes of midnight appointment, whicli have been con-
demned by all men. The last day of his political power,
the last hours, and even beyond the midnight, were employ-
ed in tilling all offices, and especially permanent ones, with
the bitterest federalists, and providing for me the alterna-
tive, either to execute the government by my enemies,
whose study it would be to thwart and defeat all my mea-
sures, or to incur the odium of such numerous removals
from office, as might bear me down. A little time and re-
flection eftaced in my mind this temporary dissatisfaction
with Mr. Adams, and restored me to that just estimate of
his virtues and passions, which a long acquaintance had
enabled me to fix. And my first wish became that of
making his retirement easy, by any means in my power;
for it was understood he was not rich. I suggested to some
republican members of the delegation from his State, the
giving him, either directly or indirectly, an office, the most
lucrative in that State, and then oftered to be resigned, if
they thought he would not deem it affrontive. They were
of opinion he would take great offence at the offer; and
moreover, that the body of republicans would consider such
a step in the outset as auguring very ill of the course I
meant to pursue.* I dropped the idea, therefore, but did
not cease to wish for some opportunity of renewing our
friendlv understandino;. "

'" Tavo or three years after, having had the misfortune to
lose a daughter, between whom and Mrs. Adams, there
had been a considerable attachment, she made it the occa-
sion of writing me a letter, in which with the tenderest
expressions of concern at this event, she carefully avoided
a single one of friendship towards myself, and even con-
cluded it with the wishes of ' her who once took pleasure in
subscribing herself your friend, Abigail Adams.' Unpromis-
ing as was the complexion of this lette>, I determined to
make an effort towards removing the clouds from between

* What an admirable commentary on the chicanery of party in the
higher order of politicians, would it have been to have seen Mr.
Jefterson appoint John Adams to be Attorney General of the United
States, for Massachusetts; and at the same time removing- the collec-
tor of Boston, because he was a disciple of John Adams! i ! Yet such
tilings have been done by otliers, as well as projected by Mr. Jef-
ferson 1 1 !

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 303

US. This brought on a correspondence ^vhich I now enclose
for jour perusal, after whicli be so good as to return it to
me, as I have never communicated it to any mortal breath-
ing before. I send it to jou to convince you I have not been
wanting either in the desire, or the endeavour to remove
this misunderstanding. Indeed, I thought it highly dis-
graceful to us both, as indicating minds not suiHciently
elevated to prevent a public competition from affecting
our personal friendship. I soon found, from the corres-
pondence, that conciliation was desperate, and yielding to
an intimation in her last letter, I ceased from further ex-
planation. / have the same good opinion of Mr. Adams
tvhich I ever had. I know him to be an honest man, an
able one with his pen, and he was a powerful advocate on
the floor of Congress.-'^ He has been alienated from me by
belief in the lying suogestions contrived for electioneering
purposes, that I perhaps mixed in the activity and intrigues
of the occasion. My most intimate friends can testify that
I was perfectly passive. t They would sometimes, indeed,
tell me what was going on; btit no man ever heard me take
part in such conversations; and none ever misrepresented
Mr. Adams in my presence, without my asserting his just
character. With very confidential persons I have doubt-
less disapproved of the jjrinciples and j^ractices of his ad-
ministration. This was unavoidable. But never ivith

* If thus honest, good and able, why should he have been pro-
scribed, particularly by Mr. J? The truth is, Mr. Jefferson here
sacrifices truth to benevolence, and sincerity to a supposed magna-
nimity, incumbent on the higher order of pohticians towanls one
another. To suppose Adams honest in the alien and sedition
laws, was to suppose liim a fool; but he was not a fool, therefore he
was not honest! Can despotism be honest> Can a tyrant be
good? Can a violator of his country's constitution be equal to a
patriot, who devotes a life to its observance' This is the logic of
Mr. Jefferson, which we are to refer to that lamentable weakness of
his nature, which so utterly destroyed his moral courage.

f Admitting personal passiveness, it does not necessarily include
moral or intellectual passiveness. It is well known tliat Mr. J.
spared no labour of mind to stimulate the people against Mr. Adams;
as we have seen in his letters already quoted; besides, it is the very
quibbUng of ethetical sophistry to say that lie was not instrumental
in the contest, because he was not personally active! A man may
be a principal in a murder, and yet a thousand miles from the scene
of blood!

304 THE LIFE OF

tliose with u'Jiom it could do him any injury. Decency
would have required this conduct from me, if disposition
had notj and I am satisfied Mr. Adams' conduct was
equally honourable towards me. But I think it part of his
character to suspect foul play in those of whom he is jea-
lous, and not easily to relinquish his suspicions."

This letter is so pregnant with important reflections,
that we must now submit it to the reader without further
comment. It is of the highest order of those epistles,
which reveal the mysteries of the higher order of politicians ,
sliowing that the people are legitimate objects of specula-
tion to the polished leaders, who remain behind the curtain,
or in the green room, while the farce of party is enacting
for their benefit.

In 1812, he renewed his correspondence with John
Jidams, and became a convert from the free trade to the
restrictive system, and advocated with zeal the protection
of American manufactures. Perfect friendship and esteem,
was now restored between these two great ex-belligerents !
Tlie purpose of both had been answered by their schism,
and tliey now returned to the enjoyment of benevolence
and love!

Havino; now become reconciled to Mr. Adams, he shifted
all the crime of intended monarchy upon a dead opponent^
and made Alexander Hamilton the grand conspirator
against the system of our federal republican government.
Hamilton had been many years at rest in his bloody grave
— a grave dug by the ferocity of party and blood shed by
the malignity of Aaron Burr; and he had suffered his ashes
to rest in peace, up to the moment of his reconciliation
with John Adams! Believino; Adams to be honest, whom
should he now stigmatise as the traitor from republican-
ism to monarchy? AVho but Hamilton — that Hamilton,
whose fame is made up of the Constitution of the Uni-
ted States, and the policy which it framed to the hands
of its first and immortal Executive officer! Mr. Jefferson's
letter to « Mellish' in 1813, would open space for a volume
of comment upon the weakness of human nature; but he was
then seventy^ and age, he himself confesses, had impaired
his faculties, prostrated his memory, and benumbed his
intellect.

Among other singular and fallacious ideas adopted by
Mr. Jefterson, was that respecting Napoleon Buonaparte—

THOMAS JEFFERSON-. 305

that he was a great scoundrel only — was no statesman, but
an ignorant pretender, destitute equally of genius, talents,
and learning I Such are the unaccountable delusions and
prejudices of great minds.

During the progress of the war with England, although
in retirement, he was sensibly alive to our defeats and our
victories; our disgraces and our glories: and lived to hail
with pride and exultation the brilliant victories of that nuvy^
which he had once so zealously opposed, and furiously
denounced.

On the subject of the Hartford Convention^ his opinions
were as decisive as his feelings were ardent in its reproba-
tion. On this subject, he said, '"The cement of this Union
is in the heart blood of every American. I do not believe
there is on earth a government established on so immovable
a basis. Let them, in any State, even in Massachusetts
itself, raise the standard of separation, and its citizens will
rise in mass, and do justice themselves on their own incen-
diaries.''

Having become embarrassed by his extended hospitalities
to an endless crowd of curious visitors or ancient friends,
Congress in 1815. agi-eed to purchase his extensive and
valuable library, for the sum of fifty tliousand dollars,
which afforded him some temporary relief from the exijjen-
cies that pressed upon him.

He appears to have enjoyed the long life to which he
attained with unalloyed zest: for, in a letter to Mr. Adams,
he thus observes: — '• You ask me if I would a^ree to live
my seventy, or rather seventy-three years over again. ^ To
which I say, yea. I think with you, that it is a good world
on the whole; that it has been framed on a principle of
benevolence, and more pleasure than pain dealt out to us.
There are, indeed, (who might say nay.) gloomy and hypo-
chondriac minds, inhabitants of diseased bodies, disgusted
with the present, and despairing of tlie future; always
counting that the worst will happen, because it may happen.
To these I say, how much pain have the evils cost us which
have never happened? My temperament is sanguine. I
steer my bark with hope in the head, leaving fear astern.
My hopes, indeed, sometimes fail, but not oftener than the
forebodino;5 of the gloomy. There are, I acknowledge, even
in the happiest life, some terrible convulsions, heavy set-offs
ao-ainst the opposite page of the account. I have often won-

Bb 2

306 THE LIFE OF

dered for what good end the sensations of grief could be
intended."*

In 1819, he gave the following account of the encroach-
ments of age upon his constitution, and the manner of his
living, which shows the powerful animal frame with which
lie had been blessed by nature. *' I live so much like other
people, that I miglit refer to ordinary life as the history of
my own. Like my friend, the Doctor, I have lived tem-
perately, eating little animal food, and that not as an ali-
ment, so much as a condiment for the vegetables, which
constitute my principal diet. I double, however, the Doc-
tor's glass and a half of wine,t and even treble it with a
friend, but halve its effect by drinking the weak wines only.
The ardent wines I cannot drink, nor do I use ardent spirits
in any form. Malt liquors and cider are my table drinks;
and my breakfast, like that also of my friend, is of tea and
coffee. I have been blest with organs of digestion which
accept and concoct, witliout ever murmuring, whatever the
palate chooses to consign to them, and I have not yet lost a
tooth by age. I was a hard student until I entered on the
business of life, the duties of which leave no idle time to
those disposed to fulfil them; and now, tired, and at the
age oi seventy -six, I am again a hard student. Indeed, my
fondness for reading and study revolts me from the drud-
gery of letter writing; and a stiff* wrist, the consequence
of an early dislocation, makes writing both slow and painful.
I am not so regular in my sleep, as the Doctor says he was,
devoting to it from five to eight hours, according as my
company or the book I am reading, interests me; and I never
go to bed without an hour, or half an hour's previous reading
of something moral, whereon to ruminate in the intervals of
sleep. But, whether I retire to bed, early or late, I rise
with the Sun. I use spectacles at night, but not necessarily
in the day, unless in reading small print. My hearing is
distinct in particular conversation, but confused when seve-
ral voices cross each other, M'hich unfits me for the society
of the table. I have been more fortunate than my friend
in the article of health. So free from catarrhs that I have

* Mr. Jefferson here forg-ot his philosophy— without gi-ief, how
should we experience joy^ witliout pain, how should we feel plea,
sure' r

t Dr. Rush.

THOMAS JEFFERSON*. SOT

not had one, (in the breast I mean) on an average of eight,
or ten years through life. I ascribe this exemption partly to
the habit of bathing my feet in cold water for sixty years past
A feyer of more than twenty-four hours I have not had
aboye two or three times in m'y life. A periodical head-ache
has afflicted me occasionally,' once perhaps in six or eight
years, for two or three weeks at a time, which seems now
to haye left me: and, except on a late occasion of indisposi-
tion, I enjoy good health,: too feeble, indeed, to walk much,
but riding without fatigue six or eight miles a day, and
sometimes thirty or forty. I may end these egotisms,
therefore, as I began, by'saying, tliat my life has been so
much like that of other people', that I might say with Horace,
to every one, • nomine mutato, narrafur fabida de te.'' I
must not end, however, M'ithout due thanks,*' &c.

Mr. Jefferson has been much censured for his ideas on
religion, as if he possessed the power to believe whatever
he might ivill to believe, without reference to the verdict of
his understanding. Fortunately, his sentiments have not
been left to surmise and suspicion, for he has himself told
us what he believed, which completely refutes the com-
monly received opinion that he was a.\i Atheist, In order
that we may not run the risk of misrepresenting him on this
momentous topic, I shall quote his own words: " I have to
thank you for your pamphlets on the subjects of Uxitari-
ANisM, and to express my gratification with your efforts for
the revival of priinitive Christianity in your quarter. No
historical fact is better established, than tliat the doctrine
oi one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early
ao;es of Christianity: and was amono; the efficacious doc-
trines which gave it triumph over the Polijtlieism of the
ancients, sickened with theabsurditiesof their own theology.
Nor was the unity of the Supreme Being ousted from the
Christian creed by the force of reason, but bv the sword of
civil government, wielded at the will of the fanatic Atha-
nasius. The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another
Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and
o;rowth in the blood of thousands and tliousands of martvrs.
And a strong proof of the solidity of the primitive faitli. is
its restoration, as soon as a nation arises which vindicates
to itself the freedom of religious opinion, and its external
divorce from the civil authority. The pure and simple unity
of the Creator of the universe, is now all but ascendant ii>

308 THE LIFE OF . .

the Eastern States? it is dawning in the west, and advan-
cing towards the South; and I confidently expect that the
present generation will seeUnitarianism become the general
religion of the United States. The eastern presses are
giving us manv excellent pieces on the subject, and Priest-
ley's learned 'writings on it are, or should be, in every
hand. In fact, the Athanasian paradox that one is three,
and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human
mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it,
and how can he believe wliat presents no idea? He who
thinks he does, only deceives himself. He proves, also,
that man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining
jTuard against absurdities the most monstrous, and, like a
ship without a rudder, is the sport of every wind. AVith such
persons. guUability which they call faith, takes the helm
from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck."
In another place he says: — '-The doctrines of Jesus are
simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

'< 1. That there is one only God, and he all perfect.

"2. That there is a future state of rewards and punish-
ments.

" 3. That to love God with all thv heart, and thv neigh-
bor as thvself, is the sum of religion. These are the great
points on which he endeavoured to reform the religion of
the Jews." He then compares these with the doctrines of
Calvin, and adds, *'Now, which of these is the true and
charitable Christian? He who believes and acts on the
simple doctrines of Jesus, or the impious dogmatists, as
Athanasius and Calvin? Verily, I say these are the false
shepherds foretold us to enter not by the door into the
sheepfold, but to climb up some other wav. They are mere
usurpers of the Christian name, teaching a counter religion
made up of the deleria of crazy imaginations, as foreign from
Cln-istianity as is that of Mahomet. Their blasphemies have
driven thinking man into infidelity, who have too hastily
rejected the supposed author himself, with the liorrors so
falsely imputed to him. Had the doctrines of Jesus been
preached always as pure as they came from his lips, tho
U'hole civilised u'orld ivould now have been Christians, i
rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and be-
lief, winch has surrendered its creed and conscience to
neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one onlv
God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 309

now living in the United States who will not die an Unita-
rian. "

That he believed in a future state is evident from the
following passage of a letter addressed to John Adams: —
" It is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very
distant, at which we are to deposit in the same cerement,
our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend in essence
to an ecstatic meeting with the friends ice have loved and
lost, and whom we shcdl still love and silxf.-r lose again."
He also believed in a superintendino; Providence.

Mr. Jefterson had at all times shown more or less of a
hostile feeling, if not an exterminating spirit, against tlie
Supreme Court of the United States, which he par-
ticularly manifested durino; Burr's Trial. This feelinjr
he still cherished as late as 1822, when he lamented that
tlie judges were appointed for life, and advocated their de-
pendence on the President and Senate, for the renewal of
their commissions every four or six vears. But whv did he
not commence this reform in the States? Even democratic
Pennsylvania has her judges for a life-term! On this sub-
ject he says " That there should be public functionaries
independent of the nation [people I] whatever maybe their
demerit, is a solecism in a republic of the first order of ab-
surdity and inconsistency.-'

In 1823, at the age o^ eighty, he still retained all liis fer-
vor of feeling and animation of passion; and, in a letter to
Mr. Madison, he uttered one of his most violent and bitter
phillipics against Timothy Pickering, the government of
England, and the party of Anglomen. His vigour of con-
stitution, and force of mind, were indeed wonderful.

Mr. Jefferson had now for some years been active as the
patron of a new College, or university, at Charlotteville,
to which he devoted much of his time, intellect, taste,
learning, and toleration.

In 18'20, he states that he received 1267 letters, ' many
of them reciuiring answers of elaborate research, and all
to be answered with due attention and consideration.' At
his advanced age this was certainly a laborious and oppres-
sive performance.

The extensive scale of magnificent hospitality wliich Mr.
Jefferson conceived himself bound to practise, towards the
crowd of visitors who at all times clustered round him,
from the different countries of Europe as well as the States,

310 THE LIFE OF

and whom lie entertained in a style v.hicli would have re-
quired a regal income to defray without embarrassment,
aijain reduced him to those streights and difficulties wkich
had. on a prior occasion, compelled him to dispose of his
valuable library to Congress. To relieve him from this
pressure, consistently with the puritanical austerity of his
own republican principles, was extremely difficult, if not
impossible. The introduction of a pension list would have
been worse tlian 3. funded debt or the national bank; to be-
stow gratuities was equally exceptionable: to create sine-
cures was worse than all. His estates were valuable, pro-
vided an equitable price could be obtained for them; and
to enable him to procure their full value, the Legislature
of Virginia passed a law in the year 1826, authorising him
to dispose of them by lottery. This remedy was cer-
tainly a severe one. It mio;ht afiord him relief from debt,
but it would also leave him destitute of property,; and its
preamble might, without exao;geration. have been couched
in the following v.ords — 'An Act to enable Thomas Jeffer-
son to pay his debts by the sale of his estate, and retire to
the county poor-house to end his old age.' Virginia, lofty
and chivalrous Virginia, always proud, like Cornelia, to.
boast of her sons as the jewels of Borne, ought not to have
sunk the generositv of her character in the cold austeritv of
the i-igid republican, when she beheld the honourable po-
verty of her public benefactor invoking succour in his help-
less age: especiallv when that poverty was caused by his
desire to preserve the dignity of his former station, and the
eclat of his native State for southern hospitality. When
we look back to that period of Mr. Jefferson's life, we are
struck with astonishment at the caprice that distino:uished
the course of the United States, which could refuse a muni-
ficent grant of land to one of her own most eminent citizens,
and yet grant the same to a foreigner, who, whatever may
have been his military merits, never possessed the same
genius, or had rendered to the country any services that
would bear a comparison with those of 'the sage of Monti-
cello.

Str. :k Mith surprise and sympathy for this extraordinary
penury of a man whom all had supposed to be opulent, be-
cause none had reflected on the liberal scale of his hospitali-
ty, the people in many States spontaneously rushed to his
relief, and calling public meetings, made voluntary contri-

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. Sll

butions, to enable him to extricate himself from his embar-
rassments. The laudable and noble character of this sym-
pathy, however, was more precious, as it respected the
virtue of the people, and the veneration in which tlie illus-
trious object of its concern was held, tlian for the efficacious
nature of the succour it afforded. It could hardly be ex-
pected that any plan of this kind could be devised which
would result in an adequate product — if the subscriptions
were large, they vvould be confined to a class of society
whose dislike of Mr. Jefi'erson would restrain them from
contributing; and if small, the aggregate could not become
an object worth the acceptance. From these causes the
popular mode of succour entirely failed: and the more eligi-
ble one of compounding with his creditors was adopted; a
proposition v.hich, having originated with them, was the
more honourable to both parties.

His ovvn account of this state of his affairs, will, how-
ever, be most satisfactory. In a letter to Mr. Madison, he
says — *' You will have seen in the newspapers some pro-
ceedings in the Legislature, which have cost me much
mortification. My own debts had become considerable,
but not beyond the effect of some lopping of property,
which would have been little felt, when our friend '^ * ^ *
gave me the coup de grace. Ever since that I have been
paying twelve hundred dollars a year interest on his debt,
which, w^ith my own, was absorbing so much of my annual
income as that the maintenance of my family was making
deep and rapid inroads on my capital, and had already
done it. Still, sales at a fair price would leave me com-
pletely provided. Had crops and prices for several years
been such as to maintain a steady competition of substan-
tial bidders at market, all would have been safe. But the
long succession of years of stunted crops, of reduced prices,
the general prostration of the farming business, under le-
vies for the support of manufactures.) &c.* with the calami-
tous fluctuations of value in our paper medium, have kept
agriculture in a state of abject depression, which has peo-
pled the western states by silently breakhiijup those on the
Atlantic, and glutted the land market, while it dre- of^' its
bidders. In such a state of things property has lost its

* I consider all this as a fallacious account of the true causes of
his ruin, wliich was obviously produced by his princely hospitality !

S12 THE LIFE OF

character of being a resource for debts. Highland, in
Bedford, which, in the days of our plethory, sold readily
for from fifty to one hundred dollars the acre, (and such
sales were many then,) would not now sell for more than
from ten to twenty dollars, or one quarter, or one-fifth of
its former price. * Reflecting on these things, the practice
occurred to me, of sellino-. on fair valuation, and by wav of
lottery, often resorted to before the revolution to eftect
large sales, and still in constant usage in every State for
individual as well as corporation purposes. If it is per-
mitted in my case, my lands here alone, with the mills,
&.C. will pay every thing, and leave me Monti cello and a
fai-m free. If refused, 1 must sell every thing here, per-
haps considerably in Bedford, move thither with my family,
where I have not even a log hut to put my head into,
and whether the ground for burial will depend on the
depredations which, under the form of sales, shall have
been committed on my property. The question then with
me was idtrum ho rum? But why afilict you with these
details ? Indeed I cannot tell, unless pains are lessened
by communication with a friend. The friendship which
has subsisted between us, now half a century, and the
harmony of our political principles and pursuits, have been
sources of constant happiness to me through that long
period."

It w^as amidst all the deep afflictions caused by these
embarrassments, that Mr. Jefferson still found inclination
and intellect enough at his command, even at that great
age to which he had advanced, to write the following beau-
tiful effusion of patriotism to Mr. Gilesj which, while it
exhibits a firm attachment to the Uxiox, also indicates that
invincible spirit of republican liberty, which would resist
to tiie death every encroachment upon the Constitution,
every infringement of the rights of the people, and every
usurpation upon the sovereignty of the States. I shall make
no apology for quoting it entire.

TO WILLIAM B. GILES.

MoxTicELto, Dec. 26, 1825.
'»Dear Sir — I wrote you a letter yesterday, of which
you will be free to make*^ what use you please. This will
contain matters not intended for the' public eye. I see, as
you do, and with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides
with which the federal branch of our government is advanc-

THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 313

hig towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the
States, and the consolidation in itself of all powers foreiirn
wid domestic; and that too by constructions, which, ii'
legitimate, leave no limits to their power. Take togetiier
the decisions of the Federal Court, the doctrines of the
President,'^ and the misconstructions of the constitutional
compact, acted on by the Legislature of the Federal branch;
and it is but too evident that the three ruling branches of
that department, are in combination to strip their col-
leagues, the State authorities, of the powers reserved
by them, and to exercise themselves all functions, foreign
and domestic. Under the power to regulate commerce,
thej assume indefinitely that also over agriculture and
manufactures, and call it * regulation'^ to take the earnings
of one of these branches of industry, and that too the most
depressed, and put them into the pockets of the other, the
most flourishing of all. Under the authority to establish
post roads, they claim that of cutting down mountains for
the construction of roads, of digging canals, and aided by a
little sophistry of the words * general welfare;' a riglit to do
not only the acts to effect that, which are specifically
enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think,
or pretend will be for the general welfare. AwA ichat is
our resource for the preservation of the constitution? Rea-
son and argument? You might as well reason and argue
with tiie marble columns encircling them. The representa-
tives chosen by ourselves? Tliey are joined in the combi-
nation, some from incorrect views of government, some
from corrupt ones, sufficient voting together to outnumber
the sound parts; and with majorities only of one, two, or
three, bold enough to go forward in defiance. Are we then
to stand with the hot-headed Georgian? No. That must
be the last resource, not to be thought of until much longer
and greater sufferings. If every infraction of a
COMPACT of 50 many parties is to be resisted at once, as a
dissolution of it, none can ever by. formed which would
LAST ONE YEAR. We must liave patience and longer en-
durance, then, with our brethren while under delusion; give

* A democratic President, an admirer of the French rcvohition!
a minister recalled bv AVashinglon, and a Secretary of Stale recom-
mended by Jeflersoii himself! A lec,dtimate heir to the dynasty of
the democrats!!

C c

I?>

14 THE LIFE OF

them time for reflection and experience of consequences;
keep ourselves in a situation to profit by the chapter of acci-
dents; and separate from our companions only when the sole
alternatives left, are the dissolution of the Union with them,
or submission to a government without limitation of powers*
Between these two evils, when we must make a choice,
there can be no hesitation. But in the meanwhile, the
States should be watchful to note every material usurpation
on their rights, to denounce them as they occur in the most
peremptory terms j to protest against them as wrongs to
which our present submission shall be considered, not as
acknowledgments or precedents of right, but as a tempo-
rary yielding to the lesser evil, until their accumulation
shall overweigh that of separation. I would go still fur-
ther, and give to the federal member, by a regular amend-
ment of the Constitution, a right to make roads and
CANALS OF intercommunication betwecn the States, pre
viding sufficiently against corrupt practices in Congress,
(log-rolling, &c.) by declaring that the federal proportion
of each State, of the monies so employed, shall be in works
within the State, or elsewhere with its consent, and with a
due salvo of jurisdiction. This is the course which I think
safest and best as yet."

Here was due reverence for the Union, mixed with a
proper regard for the rights of the States.

Mr. Jefferson had now been anxiously devoting the last
fifteen, or eighteen years of his life, to reconcile ancient
quarrels, heal lacerated friendships, and conciliate political
animosity; but it does not appear that he was always suc-
cessful in this benevolent inclination of his amiable feelings.
With John Adams, he appears to have concluded something
like a dubious reconciliation; sincere no doubt on the part
of Jefferson: but deceitful and hollow, on that of his ancient
rival. In this particular, Mr. Jefferson betrayed a lust of
popular esteem, which his fame could have dispensed with,
and which his character and station ouglit to have restrained
him from: but the motive was sound; his feelings were de-
cidedly benevolent, and he no doubt experienced pain, as
long as he thought occasion of enmity existed between him
and others.

It was on such an occasion, that in 18S4, he addressed a
letter to a man conspicuous in the annals of intrigue, cele-
brated for the arts of party management and renowned for

THOMAS JEFFERSON". 315

the expertness and address of the managing politician.*
This man had, it seems, taken occasion to transmit to Mr.
Jefterson, the phillipic of Timothy Pickering against John
Adams: in which he had given a faithful portrait of the
father of the alien and sedition laws; but which he had
mixed up along with some strictures against Mr. Jefterson.
In the answer of the latter to Van Buren, many admissions
are made bv the writer, which 2:0 to recal former charjres
made by him against Washington, among which I shall
quote the following: — "My last parting with General
Washington, was at the Inauguration of Mr. Adams, in
March 1797, and was warmly aifectionate; and I never had
any reason to believe any change on his part, as there
certainly was none on mine. But one session of Congress
intervened between that and his death, the year following,
in my passage to and from which, as it happened to be not
convenient to call on him, I never had another opportunity;
and as to the cessation of correspondence observed during
that short interval, no particular circumstance occurred for
epistolary communication, and both of us were too much
oppressed with letter writing, to trouble either the other,
with a letter about nothing."

" The truth is, that the federalists, pretending to be the
exclusive friends of General Washington, have ever done
what they could to sink his character, by hanging theirs on
it, and by representing as the enemy of republicans him,
who, of all men, is best entitled to the appellation of the
Father of that Republic, which they were endeavouring to
subvert, and the republicans to maintain."

Here is an evident contradiction, which it is impossible
to understand. Although Washington belonged to no party,
yet it is certain that the party of the federalists icas formed

* It must certainly be esteemed a very singular circumstance that
a modern politician slioidd have had the temerity to place himself in
an attitude that would serve to give a sanction to the libels heaped
upon the head of the great and pure "NVashing-ton, by enticing' from
Mr. Jefferson a history- of political errors, of which he had before
made ample atonement, by the strong- avowal of his re^et for their
commission, as well as his full confession of their fallacy! It is, how-
erer, still more astonishing-, that Mr. Jefferson should ever have be-
come involved in a common censure on John Adams, from a disposir
tion inherent in both those ancient enemies, and octog-enerian
friends, to pull down the father of his country to a level with their
own passions and envy!

r>

16 THE LIFE OF

on his principles, his policy^ and his views of the Constitu-
tion: and that the adverse party arose from causes entirely
opposite, headed by Mr. Jefterson ! Washington belonged
to the nation; but he was emphatically suppoi'ted by the fe-
deral party, whose fundamental policy was afterwards
adopted in toto by the republicans. This view of the ques-
tion is acknowledged by Jefterson himself, in anotlier part
of this letter. " General Washington, after the retirement
of liis first cabinet, and the composition of his second, en-
tirely federal, and at the head of which was Mr. Pickering
himself, had no opportunity of hearing both sides of any
question. His measures, consequently, took more tlie hue
of the party in w^hose hands he was." Mr. Jefterson hence
proceeds to argue, that General Washington was more of a
republican than a federalist ! I although he had before accused
Mm not only of federalism but monarchy! " April 9, 1792.
The President asked me, if the treaty stipulating a sum,
and ratified by him, with the advice of the Senate, would
not be good under the Constitution and obligatory on the
representatives to furnish the money .^ I answered it certainly
would, and that it would be the duty of the representatives
to raise the monev: but, that the v mig-ht decline to do what
was their duty, and I thought it migl\t be incautious to com-
mit himself by a ratification with a foreign nation, where he
might be left in the lurch in the execution: it was possible
too, to conceive a treaty, which it would not be their duty
to provide for. He said that he did not like throwing too
much into democratic hands, that if they would not do what
the Constitution called on them to do, the government

WOULD BE AT AN END, and lllUSt thcil ASSUME ANOTHER

FORM. He stopped here; and I kept silence to see whether
he would say any thing more in the same line, or add any
qualifying expression to soften \s\\?ii he had said: but he did
neither.''^

So early as 1823, Mr. Jefterson defined the principles,
and predicted the importance of the Nullification, or
State Rights party, in a letter to Lafayette, from wliich I
select a pertinent passage. " We are all in agitation even
in our peaceful country. For in peace as well as in war,
the mind must be kept in motion. Who is to be the next
President, is the topic here of every conversation. My
opinion on that subject is what I expressed to you in my
last letter: the question will be ultimately reduced to the

THOMAS JEFFERSON. SIT

northernmost and southernmost candidates. The former
will get every federal vote in the Union, and many repub-
licans; the latter all those denominated of the old school; for
jou are not to believe that these two parties are amalga-
mated; that the lion and the lamb are lying down together.
The Hartford Convention,4;he victory of Orleans, the peace
of Ghent, prostrated the name of federalism. Its votaries
abandoned it through shame and mortitication, and now
call themselves republicans. But the name alone is changed,
tlie principles are the same. For in truth, the parties of
whig and tory, are those of nature. They exist in all coun-
tries, whether called by these names, or by those of aristo-
crats and democrats, Cote Droite and Cote Gauche, Ultras
and Radicals, Serviles and Liberals. The sickly, weakly,
timid man, fears the people, and is a tory by nature. The
healthy, strong and bold, cherishes them, and is formed a
whig by nature. On the eclipse of federalism with us,
although not its extinction, its leaders got up the Missouri
question, under the false front of lessening the measures of
slavery, but with the real view of producing a geographical
division of parties, which might ensure them the next Pre-
sident. The people of the north went blindfold into the
snare, followed their leaders for a while with a zeal truly
noble and laudable, until they became sensible that they
were injuring instead of aiding the real interests of the
slaves, that they had been used merely as tools for election-
eering purposes; and that trick of hypocrisy then fell as
quickly as it had been got up. To that is now succeeding
a distinction, which, like that of republican and federal, or
whig and tory, being equally intermixed through every
State, threatens none of those geographical schisms which
go immediately to a separation. The line of division now,
IS THE PRESERVATION OF STATE RIGHTS as rcserved in the
Constitution, or by strained constructions of that instru-
ment, to merge all into a consolidated government.
The TORIES are for strengthening the executive and ge-
neral government; the whigs cherish the representative
branch, and the rights reserved by the vStates,* as the bul-

* Had Jefferson lived to the year 1832, what would he have said
of the two parties whom he has here desig-nated as Whig-s and To-
ries; seeing- that they could chang-e their principles and position, and
yet still retain their names! ! ! What would he have said of his native

Cc2

318 THE LIFE OF

wark against consolidation, which must immediately gene-
rate monarchy. And although this division excites, as yet,
no warmth, yet it exists, is well understood, and ^Vill be a
principle of voting at the ensuing election, with the reflect-
ing men of both parties."

Thus Mr. Jeft'erson lived to acknowledge under his own
name, that the only point of division between the two great
parties of the country, was the advocacy of state rights
by one, and federal coxsolidation by the other: and
although a deep seated and early prejudice still determined
him to insinuate a charge of establishing monarchy against
tlie federalists, in which it was impossible he could have
been logically sincere, yet when free from the visitation of
this Constitutional fanaticism, he could clearly discern,
and candidly acknowledge, that there existed no difterence
between democracy and federalism, but that radical and
original point of contention, which had existed even under
the old confederacy^ which led to the adoption of the pre-
sent constitution^ and which had been so triumphant in the
rejection of the ultra doctrines of John Adams. True, this
was a prolific parentcd question, involving numberless
others of great moment, touching the Supreme Court, the
Bank of the United vStates, the Tariff, and Internal Im-
provements: comprehending, too, a system of policy vital in
its principles, and extensive in its effects; but it is worthy of
remark, that, after the lapse of half a c^entury, the varia-
tions of party controversies revolving throug;h the entire
circle of new interests, should return round to the point
from which they originally started, more distinctly marked,
and emphatically important, than when first made the bat-
tle ground of liberty, by the advocates of restricted autho-
rity and limited power.

The infirmities of age, and the maladies incident to the
gradual breaking up of a vigorous constitution, now began
to make a sensible impression upon the health of this great
man. For several years he had been gradually sinking under
tlie weight of age: like some towering and ancient oak,
once the monarch of the woods in bloom, bulk and vigour,*
but now withering in its topmost branches; worm-eaten in

State, sustaining- a federal executive on the principles of consolida-
tion; and proving- recreant to State i%hts> *' Tempora mutanuir,
et nos mutantur in illis."

THOMAS JEFFERSO-V. 319

its trunks and limb after limb stripped of its accustomed ver-
dure, till every blast threatened its prostration, as it bent
and groaned beneath the surges of time. These intirmities,
which for the last two years had been heavily pressing on him,
reached their crisis on the 26th of June, 1826, when the
severity of his pains compelled him to confine himself to
bed. Still, his constitution being powerful, impressed the
idea among his friends that his illness was not serious, and
would not prove fatal: but his own conviction was different^
he felt that his last moments were near, and prepared his
mind with the calm resignation of a philosopher, to meet the
awful event as became a man, who had lived beyond the
usual term allotted to his kind; and whom nature, by the
decay of his faculties, had been gradually weaning, like a
kind and merciful mother, from the joys of life. For some
time preceding his illness, his conversation had instinctively
turned in the channel of the approaching end of his mortal
career, as if warned by an inward monitor of the doom to
which he was shortly destined. But, amidst all his obser-
vations upon the coming event, he indulged in no fears, and
vented no repinings. ' I do not wish to die,' said he, ad-
dressino; those around him, 'but I do not fear to die — ac-
quiescence is a duty under circumstances not placed among
those we are permitted to control.' The only source of
anxiety which appeared to exist arose from his desire to
behold"^ his favourite university at Charlotteville, firmly
established on a prosperous and reputable basis. Having
called in a physician, his malady yielded to the skill of art;
but the Doctor expressed liis apprehensions'that the extreme
debility to which it had reduced him, might prevent his
recovery. Mr. Jefterson himself had no doubt on the sub-
ject'-^in the full consciousness of approaching dissolution,
although entirelv free from bodilv pain. Serene and com-
posed in his mind, he issued his directions with the o:reatest
calmness respecting his burial, requesting his coifin to be
plain, and his body to be interred at Monticello, without
pomp or parade: thus evincing in his last liours, that love of
simplicity, and republican frugality whicli had distinguished
him so conspicuously through a long life. Having completed
his orders for liis funeral, he called the members of his
family around his couch, conversing separately with each
one, "and presenting to his favourite daugliter, Mrs.
Randolph, a small morocco case, with a request that

320 THE LIFE OF

she would not open it until after his demise, and which con-
tained a poetic eftusion in praise of her virtues and affection,
from his own elegant and tasteful pen. This was on Sunday;
and continuing to linger over to the succeeding day, he then
enquired, with some anxiety, wliat was the day of the month,
and being answered the 3d of July, he expressed a strong
desire that he might be permitted to survive another day, to
breathe the Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence.
The strength of the desire perhaps led to the fruition of his
wishes; for nature continued to sustain him up to the longed
for hour, wlien expiring with a gentle sigh, his spirit was

fathered to the abode of his fathers. Thus died Thomas
EFFERSON, the author of the Declaration of American
Independence, ruling whose passion through a long life
never left him, even at the moment when exhausted nature
eclipsed the flame of his spirit in the night of the grave, on
the day which his pen had made memorable in the annals of
nations.

This extraordinary death of an illustrious man produced
a deep sensation on the public mind; and all parties united
in paying the tribute of praise and honour to his splendid
talents, his patriotic achievements, and his public services;
and if popular superstition gave some addition to the force
of the catastrophe, by its occurring on xhejiftieth anniversary
of independence, the virtue of the feeling may justly excuse
the extravagance of the idea, which so extraordinary an
association of pride, patriotism and love of liberty conspired
to produce,

Mr. Jefferson, at the period of his death, had attained to
the age of eighty -three years, two months and twenty-one
days !

His personal endowments, like his political attributes,
w^ere beyond the ordinarv dimensions, beino; six feet two
inches high, thin, but well formed in his person, erect in
his carriao;e, and imposing in his appearance. His complec^-
tion was fair, his hair red and luxuriant, with lio;ht eves
that sparkled with intelligence, and beamed with philan-
thropy, which gave to his countenance an expression at
once peculiar and remarkable, corresponding to his square
face, his expansive forehead and large nose, whose dilated
nostril denoted the high spirit of the generous steed, and
which, in man, indicates deep passion, lively sensibility
and profound thought. His visage was of that class,

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 321

which, to behold, instinctively produces tlie feeling, while
it prompts to the exclamation,' ' that is the head of a great

inan.'^

An unaffected simplicity of manners v.as mixed with a
native dignity which was inseparable from his personal ad-
vantages of stature and form; but which was always re-
strained to unobtrusive bounds by his republican habits; so
that all who approached him were perfectly at ease. His
disposition being cheerful, his conversation was lively and
enthusiastic, remarkable for the chastity of his colloquial
diction, and the correctness of his phraseology.

Benevolence and liberality were prominent traits of his
excellent disposition. To his slaves he was an indulgent
master, always sacrificing his own interests to their com- '
forts. As a neighbour, his liberality and friendly offices
extorted universal esteem. As a friend he was ardent and
unchan2;eable; and as a host, the munificence of his hospi-
tality was carried to the culpable excess of self-impoverish-
ment I

In forming his opinions, he is represented to have been
deliberate, cautious and circumspect; and to have been as
tenacious of their retention, as he was slow to adopt them.
His temper was even; and he possessed so much command
over it, that his most intimate friends have declared they
never beheld him give way to passion, petulence, or anger;
in proof of which his servants always regarded him with
the ardour of filial affection.

AYe have already seen, from his own account, that his
domestic habits were simple and unostentatious; that he
was a hard student; a persevering labourer; a vigilant over-
seer; a fkithful correspondent; and a successful farmer.

As a man of letters, and a votary of science, few Ameri-
cans have risen to higher distinction, or displayed more
liberal patronage. As a profound Greek scholar he had few
equals; and in the mathematics, he attained a proficiency
not common to American students. But he did not con-
fine his powerful intellect to any particular branch of sci-
ence and literature, but roamed over all, witliout impairing
its vigour by the diftusiveness of his attention, or the
variety of his knowledge. He is said to have bestowed
much attention upon the northern languages of Europe, as
being powerful auxiliaries to the study of our own. Like
all philosophers, however, a great portion of his knowledge

5-22 THE LIFE OF

was rather curious than useful, and acquired more with a
view to the tame of erudition, than the natural and whole-
some appetite for learning, rendered eager by rational curi-
osity.

In formino; a just appreciation of the character of Thomas
Jefferson, the American patriot will cast aside the narrow
prejudices of party, which embittered the times in which
he flourished; and soaring to the higher grounds of national
feelinjr, contemplate him as he appeared to the eye of the
repubfic, in the character of the patriot, the philosopher
and the statesman. In the first named capacity, we have
beheld him occupy a prominent station in the Legislature of
Virginia, until elected a delegate to Congress; he became
illustrious for the production of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, as well as distinguished for the prominent and
efficient manner in which lie urged the adoption of that
measure upon those who were more reluctant to cut oft" the
last hope of reconciliation with the mother country. In this
earlier period of his history, up to the unhappy era of the
French revolution, Mr. Jefferson stands in bold relief, as
an active, zealous, talented and disinterested patriot; who
sacrificed his days and nights to the emancipation of his
country from the fetters of monarchical dependence, to
redeem her from the feudal thraldom of the laws of entail
and primogeniture, and to advance to a state of practical
utility the ec^ual rights of man, to secure the diffusion of
tlie greatest sum of human happiness. It was in this period
of his career, that he made a bold and decided stand for
those FUNDAMENTAL POINTS of FREEDOM, whlcli have im-
mortalised his fame among republicans, and embalmed his
name in the hearts of the people. It was then thtit he so
ably contended for —

First — The reserved rights of the States, and the non-con-
struction of the Constitution — by implication, derivation
and analojrv.
Second — That he opposed the power to incorporate a bank,

because not authorised by the constitution.
Third — Tliat he advocated economy in expenditures, rota-
tion in office, the extinguishment of the funded debt, and
tlie abolishmennt of all pomp, parade and ceremony in
government.
Fourth — That he contended for the neutral policy of the
nation, under the motto of ' friendship with all nations,
alliances with none.'

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 323

t'ifth — The repeal of internal taxes, and all excise laws.

We are to consider him as a pliilosoplier (luring tlie period
of his retirement, from 1793 to the epoch of his election as
President; for, although mucli of his time was spent in jk)*
litical correspondence, yet as he professed retirement, and
took no prominent part in the contests of the day, we must
regard him as exclusively occupied in the pursuits of litera-
ture, the study of science, the practice ot husbandry, and
the knowledge of government. It is to be lamented, that
during this period of his retirement, he could not find lei*
sure to compose some elaborate work, that might have been
worthy of the fame of the author of the Notes on Virginia.

As a statesman, Mr. Jefferson's character beams in full
effulgence upon us, from the time of his election as Presi-
dent, to the period of his death; and here he exhibits an
excellence of character, not indeed without blemish, but so
pure, so vast, so exalted, as to extort our hearty and un-
qualified admiration. To detail the peculiar merits of his
Presidentship, in this place, would be to indulge in a repe-
tition of what we have already related. But a synopsis
of his political creed, such as he illustrated it by his course
of administration, will be necessary to make up a just esti-
mation of his political merits, in contradistinction to the
administration of John Adams:—

1. An administration conducted on the pure principles of
constitutional republicanism — pomp, state and ceremony
laid aside..

2. Patronage discarded, or reduced.

3. Internal taxes abolished, and superfluous officers dis-
banded.

4. Thirty-three millions of the national debt liquidated.

5. The liberty of speech and of the press maintained.

6. Peace with all nations; alliances with none.

But Mr. Jefterson has, himself, given so particular and
lucid an account of his public services, that I cannot do
better than conclude this sketch of his character by a fjuo-
tation from his own article. He says, "I may, however,
more readily than others, suggest the offices in which I
have served. I came of age in 1764, and was soon put into
the nomination of justices of the county in which I live, and
at the first election following, I became one of its repre-
sentatives in the Legislature.'

** I w^as thence sent to the old Congress.

524 THE LIFE OF

*' Then employed two years with Mr. Pendleton and Mr
Wythe, on the revisal and reduction to a single code of the
whole body of the British statutes, the acts of our Assem-
bly, and certain parts of the common law.

" Then elected Governor.

"Next to the Legislature, and to Congress again.

"' Sent to Europe as Minister Plenipotentiary.

''Appointed Secretary of State to the new government-

"Elected Vice President, and President. And, lastly,
a Visitor and Rector of the University. In these difterent
offices, with scarcely any interval between them, I have
been in the public service now sixty-one years; and during
the far greater part of the time, in foreign countries, or in
otlier States."

'*If it were thought worth while to specify any particu-
lar services rendered, I would refer to the specification of
them made by the Legislature itself in their farewell ad-
dress, onmv retirino; from the Presidency, February, 1809.
There is one, however, not therein specified, the most im-
portant in its consequences, of any transaction in any por-
tion of my life; to wit, the head I personally made against
the federal principles and proceedings, during the adminis-
tration of Mr. Adams. Their usurpations and violations
of the Constitution at that period, and their majority in
botli Houses of Congress, were so great, so decided, and
so daring, that after combating their aggressions, inch by
inch, without beino- able in the least to check their career,
the republican leaders thought it would be best for them to
give up their useless efforts there, go home, get into their
respective legislatures, embody whatever of resistance they
could be formed into, and, if ineffectual, to perish there as
in tJie last ditch. All, therefore, retired, leaving Mr. Gal-
latin alone in the House of Representatives, and myself in
tlie Senate, where I then presided as Vice President. Re-
maining at our posts, and bidding defiance to the brow-
beatings and insults by which they endeavoured to drive
us off also, we kept the mass of Republicans in phalanx to-
gether, until the Legislatures could be brought up to the
charge; and nothing on earth is more certain, than if myself
particularly, placed by my oflice of Vice President at the
head of the Republicans, had given way, and withdrawn
from my post, the Republicans throughout the Union would
have given up in despair, and the cause would have been

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. ^25

lost forever. Bv lioldinji on, we obtained time for the
Legislatures to come up with their weight; and tliose of
Virginia and Kentucky particularly, but more especially
the former, by their celebrated resolutions, saved the Con-
stitution at its last gasp. No person who was not a witness
of the scenes of that gloomy period, can form any idea of
the afflicting persecutions and personal indignities we had
to brook. They saved our country however. The spirits
of the people were so much subdued, that they would liave
sunk into apathy and ^NIoxarchy as the only form of go-
vernment which could maintain itself.

" If legislative services are worth mentionino;, and the
stamp of liberality and equality, which was necessarv to be
impressed on our laws, in the first crisis of our birth as a
nation, was of anv value, thev will find that the leading;
and most important laws of that day were prepared by my-
self, and carried chiefly by my efforts, supported, indeed,
by able and faithful coadjutors from the ranks of the House,
very effective as seconds, but who would not have taken
the field as leaders.

'* The prohibition of the further importation of slaves
was the first of these measures in time.

" This was followed bv the abolition of entails, wliich
broke up the hereditary and high-handed aristocracy
w^hich, by accumulating immense masses ofproperti/ in sin-
gle lines of families, had divided our country into two
distinct orders of nobles and plebeians.*

" But, further, to complete the equality among our citi-
zens so essential to themaintainance of republican govern-
ment, it was necessary to abolish the principle o( primoge-
niture. I drew the law of descents, giving equal inlierit-
ance to sons and daughters, Avhich made a part of the re-
vised code.

" The attack on the establishment of a dominant reli-
gion was first made by myself. It could be carried at first
only by a suspension of salaries for one year, by battling
it again at the next session for another year, and so from

The distribution of Feuxral PAxnoyAOE in single lines of fami-
xiES, by the national executive, has produced the same eflect. Sons
inherit the offices of their fathehs with as much rcgailarity and cer-
tainty as they did their estates, under the law of PRiMouEMTinE ! !
and this, too, under the reformed dynasty of the inuuacuhito Repub-
licans, of whom Mr. Jefferson was t"he model and the father! I !

Dd

ei

Z& THE LIFE OF

year to year until the public mind was ripened for the bill
for establishing religious freedom, which I had prepared
for the revised code also. This was at length established
permanently, and by the efforts chiefly of Mr. Madison,
being myself in Europe at the time that work was brought
forward.

"•To these particular services, I think I might add the
establishment of our university, as principally my work,
acknowledging at the same time, as I do, the great assist-
ance received from my able colleagues of the visitation.
But my residence in the vicinity, threw, of course, on me
the chief burthen of the enterprise, as well of the buildings,
as of the general organisation and care of the whole. The
effect of this institution on the future fame, fortune, and
prosperity of our country, can as yet be seen but at a
distance. But an hundred well educated youths, which it
will turn out annually, and ere long, will fill all its offices
with men of superior qualifications, and raise it from its
humble state to an eminence among its associates M'hich it
has never yet known 5 no, not in its brightest days. That
institution is now qualified to raise its youth to an order of
science unequalled in any other States and this superiority
will be the greater from the free range of mind encouraged
there^ and the restraint imposed at other Seminaries by the
shackles of a domineering hierarchy, and a bigoted
ADHESION TO ANCIENT HABITS. Those HOW Oil the theatre
of affairs, will enjoy the ineffable happiness of seeing them-
selves succeeded by sons of a grade of science beyond their
own ken. Our sister States will also be repairing to the
same fountains of instruction, will bring hither their genius
to be kindled at our fire, and will carry back the fraternal
affections, which, nourished by the same alma mater, will
knit us to them by the indissoluble bands of early personal
friendships. The good old dominion, the blessed mother
of us all, will then raise lier head M'ith pride among the
nations, will present to them that splendour of genius
which she has ever possessed, but has too long suffered to
rest uncultivated and unknown, and will become a centre
of ralliance to the States whose youth she has instructed,
and as it were adopted. I claim some share in the merits
of this great work of regeneration."

We mav consider as amono; Mr. Jefferson's last acts, the
publication of his '-Memoirs,^ ^dnas,"^ diwA' Correspondence,'^

THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 327

which we have understood, that he marked for publication,
previous to liis demise, with his own hand.* That his mind
was sound and sane at that period, will not admit of a
doubt. The works, therefore, which he thus ordered to be
placed before the people, must be estimated as perfor-
mances published by the author during his life-time; and
not as posthumous productions, for the publicity of Mhich
he was not responsible. The fact that he arranged and di-
rected their publication, is sufficient to stamp them with
the character of his living works, as much so, as if he had
corrected the proof-sheets, as they fell from the press.
Why he did so direct their publication, will admit of vari-
ous constructions. My hypothesis is this — that he designed
the volumes published by his grandson as materials for a
biography, or history, from the time he ceased his Memoirs
up to the period immediately preceding his death; and cer-
tainly the character of the papers thus published, are every
way calculated to carry out the idea of their publicity, as
here suggested; being every way competent to furnish ample
materials for a history of his life. How far they influence
the moral hues of his character, is another question, which
perhaps, in the enthusiasm of literary vanity, and the fulness
of political fame, he entirely omitted to consider. Censure,
heavy and inconsiderate, has already been liis portion for
this redeeming act of political justice; for which, in our
opinion, he deserves more encomium, than for any other act
of his retirement. By giving the public these documents,
he has placed them in possession of the truth, reckless of
the consequences to his own glory, and in defiance of the
vulgar prejudices of a narrow minded policy. But why
should the disclosure of the truth, depreciate the fame of
Mr. Jefferson? Such a position is neither consistent with
sound ethics, nor compatible with political justice. What-
ever Mr. Jefferson has avouched for under his own hand,
touching himself, must be received as historical trutli: and
if such averments be not favourable to his fame, who shall
say, he had not aright to delineate himself as he really was,
without being controlled, or restricted by any artificial

* I have this fact from Roberts Vaux, Esq. who derived his infor-
mation from the grandson of Mr. Jefferson; and which is important,
as it dispels a g-enei-al error of opinion, that his grandson acted with
ixDiscKETiox in making tlie publication, when, in fact, he had no
MORAL agency whatever in the act.

f?

28 THE LIFE OF

standard of his character which may have been adopted by
the public under the delusion of appearances, or the fanati-
cism of faction. His character was certainly best known
to liimself — his motives were truly known to no otherj and
his sentiments respecting his cotemporaries, could only
flow in the limpid streams of truth from his own lips;
and besides, his fame was his own property; if it had been
overrated by those who knew him not, it was competent for
him to present the people with a faithful likeness of himself^
by which they might correct the error. I do not know, that
Mr. Jefferson has disclosed any thing but what might not
liave been reasonably inferred from his conduct, or deduced
from his principles — so that his testimony has only placed
beyond doubt, what might have been otherwise open to
dispute, controversy and doubt.

The first motive which actuated Mr. Jefferson to order
this postlmmous publication, w^as, without doubt, literary
vanity — the ruling passion strong in its approach to the
grave: the second motive was to solve political problems,
which, if not untied, might blur his fame; and to blacken by
the worst imputations, the glory of men, whose renown,
unless destroyed might equal his own, or perhaps eclipse
him. These three motives are evident on the face of these
volumes. His ' Anas,' blacken Washington, Adams, and
Hamilton, as monarchists, with slight shades of difference
in their opinions, on trivial subjects. }l\s letters solve many
curious problems, among which, and not the least, is his own
conduct towards the great federal triumvirate just named.
His ' Memoirs j^ gratify his literary vanity, and indicate
the extent of fame to which he was destined. I can readily
imagine, that Mr. Jefferson might suppose all these publica-
tions would redound to his glory and fame— -that his Me-
onoir would be venerated by the people, with an enthusi-
astic devotion in virtue of his services — that his '^ ..^nas,^
would manifest a patriotism and love of liberty which would
make up for calumny, mendacity and fiction; and that the
benevolence and American spirit, w hich breathes through his
' Einstles^"^ would more than compensate for their insince-
rity, want of coherence, consistence and harmony, as well
as candour, rectitude and truth. And as will always be the
case in such Morks, the good ivill predominccte, and thus
snatch them as a ivhole, from that perdition, to which, if
totally evil, they must inevitably be doomed. Thus, it is

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 329

after all, but a sprinkling of evil that we can detect in the
post mortem publications of his grandson, as it respects his
own character as a politician and a statesman. How far
these documents may affect his party is another question;
and I must here candidly acknowledge, that Mr. Jefferson
has said eikoifgh in these volumes, to overthrow the entire
foundation and superstructure of the democratic party; not
leaving one stone upon another, or cement enough to bind
together a fragment of principle to a pebble of policy!
They have wrought a total subversion of the great land-
marks, which were supposed to divide tlie two parties. As
the grand magician of his party, who conjured it out of the
vices of the French effervescence oi Ninety -Three; he has,
by a shiglje, wave of liis wand, dispelled the whole illusion;
and the cheating scene vanishes from our view, with the
same apparition-like, celerity that it first made its appear-
ance: and we stand paralysed'with amazement, at the ex-
traordinary fact, of so larga a portion of mankind having
given-Wajfe^-ja -^delusion, which eludes the grasp of reason,
defies the tfefinition of logic, and baffles the mightiest efforts
of the great genius of its author, to reduce it to the palpable
form and tangible proportions of reality. "Who, in the con-
templation of such a picture, can abstain from venting a
sigh over the frailty of genius, and indulging in a smile,
when he reflects on the easy credulity of the world, that
not only swallows with avidity, but invites by eager solici-
tation, the fiction that ensdaves, and the illusion that
degi'ades it !

From a careful investigation of the writings of Mr. Jef-
ferson, published since his demise, we deduce the following
three causes of party distinction, between federalists and
republicans; most of iiiluch, as characterising the former,
have been fully adopt^a-fid confirmed by the latter.

First. — English Monarchists, who adopted the Bri-
tish Constitution as the model of perfection, and desired to
introduce it in the United States: the proof being in the
desire of the Eastern States to dissolve the Union. This
was a fiction of fanaticism, and of course, not to be adopted
by any party.

Second. — The Monied Aristocracy, revolving round
the Bank af the United States, and the Funded Debt.

Third. — The friends of the Union of the States, as
contendino- for the supremacy of the United States over the

Dd2

530 THE LIFE OF

States, in opposition to those who espouse State Rights,
on the ground that the Sovereignty of the latter is para-
mount to the authority and power of the former :

These may be termed the substantive grounds of party
distinction, as avowed by Mr. Jefterson, omitting personal
and minor considerations, incidental to, or growing out of
them.

Now, the first has been fully exploded as a vision of
fanatacism, unworthy the serious attention of any rational
being; in itself ridiculous, and completely refuted by the
change of the scene of Sedition from the North to the
SouTHj the federalists having become republicans — and
the republicans of the South being transformed mio English
monarchists; yet at the same time being friends of state
RIGHTS, as well as champions of the bank of the united
STATES — comprehending the singular contradiction of being
the largest stockholders in that institution — the essence of
the monied aristocracy^ and according to Mr. Jefferson's
theory, not omitting even Virginia ! the admirers of the
British Constitution, who desire the restoration of the
English Monarchy!

In the second point, we have an ample refutation in the
historical fact, that the present Bank of the United States,
was incorporated by a Congress unanimously Democratic
— and that it was approved and suggested by Mr. Jef-
ferson's FAVORITE democratic disciple, James 3Iadison,
as well as its stock being owned, and its management con-
trolled by democrats — enemies of England, and champions
of State^Rights 1 At a time too, when the Funded Debt
had nearly all got into the liands of the republican party.

His ?/iir(/ point of distinction is not much sounder; and car-
ries more of specious pretence to liberty, than true devotion
to constitutional law. As the author of the Kentucky and
Virginia resolutions, nullifying the alien and sedition
LAWS, Mr. Jefterson is justly considered as the father of this
false doctrine, of oppugnation to federal laws, in virtue of re-
served rights, not because there do not exist reserved rights,
but because, to exercise them in the mode here meditated,
would be to destroy the end of government, and prostrate
the ichole system of rights belonging to the majority; for a
few reserved rights, supposed to be infringed by an excited
minority. Mr. Jefterson has himself confuted this doctrine
of forcible resistance of the laws of the Union in his letter
to Judge Johnson, where, in criticisino; 3IarshalPs decision

THOMAS JEFFERSON". S31

in the case of Cohen, he remarks — '• But the chief justice
says, ' there must be an iiUbnate arbiter somewhere.' True,
there must, but does that prove it is either party? The
ultimate arbiter is the people of the uxiox, assembled

BY THEIR DEPUTIES IN COXVENTION, at the Call of CoTl-

gress^ or of two-thirds of the States. Let them decide to
which they mean to give an authority claimed by two of
their organs. And it has been the peculiar wisdom and
felicity of our Constitution, to have provided this peaceable
appeal, luhere that of other nations is at once to force. '^
Thus empliatically did Mr. Jefterson confute all the dif-
ferences, which remained for the ingenuity of party to
draw a line of hostile separation between nominal federal-
ists and professing republicans. So much for those sub-
stantive grounds of difference, which can only be relied on
to justify pretensions to superior political virtue in either
party.

In the same letter to Judge Johnson, he justifies his
publication of his ' Letters' and * Anas' by the following
observations — ' History may distort truth, and ivill distort
it for a time, by the superior efforts at justification of those
who are conscious of needing it most. Nor ivill the open-
ing scenes of our present government be seen in their true
aspect, until the letters of the day, now held in private
hoards, shall be broken up, and laid open to public view.'"
It was, no doubt, to facilitate this object of historiccd truth,
which impelled him to order those publications which have
so astonished and electrified some, and so enlightened and
undeceived all !

It was doubtless with a view to clear uji the opening
scenes of the government, that Mr. Jefferson gave his pri-
vate letters to the gaze of the public eye; and to this lau-
dable motive, blended with that literary vanity, which is
so common to all, and so harmless in itself, are we indebted
to him for that rich repast which his writings furnish to
the curious politician, and the patriotic American.

Whether a// has been published from his pen, however,,^,
that would throw light on the opening schemes of tlie po-
litical drama of his day, is a question which yet remains to
be answered; and which time only can disclose. It seems
to be probable that little more remains behind, with the
single exception of that full correspondence which took
place between him and John Mams, during his retirement;
and which naturally excites a desire that those, to whom

532 LIFE or JEFFERSON.

the papers of the latter statesman liave been confided, will
co-operate in clearing up the mystery of the melo-drama
of party which has been acted for the amusement of the
people, and the projit of the managers, by giving to the
public a full and exact edition of his letters, papers and
memoirs.

Mr. Jefterson's style of composition will compare with
the best authors of the English language, being at once
energetic, harmonious, flowing and elegant. His diction
was highly expressive, his choice of words copious, and his
command of language wonderful: but he sometimes degene-
rated into the French structure of phrase,* and sometimes
became feeble and obscure from too much diftuseness. On
the whole, however, his composition is equally remarkable
for strength, purity and elegance; and he is one of the few
of our public men who may take rank by the side of Wash-
ington, Hamilton^ Marshall, and Jay, for the eloquence
of their style, and the force and energy of their diction.

On the whole, viewing his character in every light in
which it presents itself, and contemplating him in the
aggregate of his greatness, history presents us with few
men endowed with greater abilities, or better calculated to
promote the happiness of mankind. Fulfilling this desti-
nation of liis o;enius and his learnino;. he carried out into
practice the plans suggested by his benevolence for the
EquALizATiox of human rights and human enjoyments; and
became, not only one of the founders of this great repub-
lic, but the special apostle of liberty, in opposition to
those systems of aristocracy which seek to grind the peo-
ple to the lowest point of human imperfection and enjoy-
ment, in order to make them the more passive and unresist-
ing victims to the fetters of power, and the schemes of am-
bition. With a heart always alive to the inherent claim
of the great family of his fellow beings to life, liberty and
property, on the principles of equity and equal rights, lie
possessed a head endowed with sagacity to penetrate to the
causes of human oppression, and resolution sufficient to
undertake their removal; nor did he pause in this glorious
work of political reformation, until, by patient pei^sever-
ance, and unremitting labour, he succeede'd in the consum-
mation of a system of principles which have secured to the
people of the United States the greatest sum of political
happiness, wliich seems compatible with the exercise of
universal liberty.

■^ASHIITGTON AND JErrERSON

Among the people of antiquity, it was esteemed almost
miraculous for men to rise to supreme power in virtue of
their genius and merit, independent of those adventitious
aids at that period so much resorted to: such as force, fraud,
fortune, or some other accident, distinct from native vigor
of mind, and felicity of genius, on the one hand, and the
beauty and harmony of the elective franchise on the other;
by which a free people spontaneously confer sovereign
authority as a reward to merit, or a token of gratitude for
public services.

In modern ages, but especially in this happy country, we
have become so accustomed to this imposing; spectacle, as
no longer to behold it with surprise: and it therefore ex-
cites little emotion, although wortliy of the highest admira-
tion, as a circumstance ennobling to human nature, to be-
hold Washington and Jefterson springing up from the ob-
scure condition of plebeian rusticity, to occupy the chair of
supreme power, arrayed in all the attributes of kings, and
armed with the mighty energies of empire. Yet this fact
illustrates with so much force, the most beautiful feature of
our free and equal government, where all native Americans
are eligible to the highest post of honour, that we may rea-
sonably pause for a moment to moralise on this resemblance
in their humble origin, and splendid fortunes — to contem-
plate in the young Surveyor of Lord Fairfax, tlie renowned
FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY; and to tracc in the ViUage Law-
yer, of a small town in Virginia, tlie future autlior ot the
Declaration of American Independence, and the third Pre-
sident of the United States^ne of whom, by his achieve-
ments in arms shook the British empire to its centre; while
the other, by liis masterly exposition of human rights, scat-
tered the seeds of revolution over every soil cursed by the
hand of oppression, or blighted by the shade of tyranny.

334 PARALLEL.

It was for the poets of antiquity to sing of the creative
powers of genius, and to invent monstrous fables to illus-
trate its transcendant career; but it was left for American
hlstori/ to exhibit in the common occurrences of real life,
the force of superior intellect to mould for itself that high
destiny for which nature had qualified it at its birth, by
endowing it with faculties to overturn the mighty fabric of
feudal ages, consolidated by tyranny, and cemented by
time. It was left for Washington in the field, and Jef-
ferson in the cabinet, to accomplish a revolution without
a parallel in history for its grandeur, and which may chal-
lenge the wisdom and judgment of mankind to surpass it in
the wholesome principles it has established for the govern-
ment, or the mass of happiness it has secured for the en-
joyment of the human family.

An excess of glory is highly injtirious to a just apprecia-
tion of character; for, while greatness intoxicates the mind,
virtue is sure to captivate the judgment: and the lustre of
both combined, are naturally calculated to lead to adulation
on the one hand, or give birth to enviotis detraction on the
other.

The unanimous award of mankind in favour of the genius
and honesty, purity and patriotism of the character of
George Washington, while it furnishes ample reason to
abstain from an indiscriminate indulgence in panegyric,
which his greatness can well dispense with, presents us,
on that account, with sufficient inducements to analyse the
peculiar traits of his great mind, with an impartial freedom,
which, being equally removed from servile flattery, and
rigid justice, may preserve that happy medium, in which
truth, softened by benevolence, may draw a faithful picture,
without deepening the shadows by malice, or flinging the
lustre of fiction over the bridit and smilino; features of its
Virtues.

Genius, like Nature, combines such opposite qualities,
as either to kindle enthusiasm, or excite incredulity and
dislike. Hence men, too great, are equally liable to be-
come objects of adoration to some, and of abhorrence to
others. In this manner, it is always more difficult to dis-
sect than to appreciate the concentrated merits of one who
is alike distinguished in opposite professions, than another
who is merely noted for excellence, however transcendant,
in a single pursuit.

PARALLEL. SS5

Thus, "where the glory of the statesman and the ^varrio^
unite, the glare and ettulgence of his entire fame, will
scarcely permit us to survey with cool and impartial reason
the qualities and deeds of the one, separate and apart from
the talents and achievements of the other, so as to arrive at
an exact knowledge of the principles and views of the poli-
tician, distinct from the honesty and y,eal of tlie patriot; or
tiie courage, skill, and prudence of tlie military commander.
We all know that Jove has his thunders; but it is permitted
to few only to trace the mysterious course of his wisdom,
or admire the infinite beneficence of his decrees, that govern
and control the harmony of nature.

In the same manner, the verdict of the public has attested,
in a voice too emphatic to admit of a doubt, to the genius,
learning, statesmanship, and patriotism of Thomas Jef-
ferson, so as to dispense with that spirit of adulation,
which we are so prone to fall into when engaged in an in-
vestigation of the merits, or a comparison of the characters
of individuals, prominent on the page of history, for their
virtues, talents, and public services: for, true greatness,
like Nature in her majesty, is ' when unadorned adorned
the most.' The statue of Jupiter does not require to have
its brows entwined with roses, in order to add to its sub-
lime proportions, or deepen the veneration felt for the god.

But here again a fresh difliculty arises: for genius in
one branch of greatness only, however resplendent, must
suffer disparagement when brought into contrast with con-
centrated greatness, that glows with equal lustre in every
path of duty. Apollo may captivate the hosts of heaven
with his lyre; but it is for Jove only equally to excite aftec-
tion, admiration and awe.

This contrast of their characters and career, however,
is not only natural, but unavoidable. Both were the found-
ers of the republic — both flourished in the same administra-
tion— both co-operated to produce the same revolution, and
establish the same government — both acted as Presidents
of the republic— both headed antagonist parties — botli con-
ferred unbounded benefits on the same age, and on posterity
—both interwove their minds in the government, and iiilused
their principles into the people. To brin^ two such charac-
ters into comparison appears inevitable; if that comparison
results in contrast, it is still more extraordinary, but ecpially
unavoidable.

^36 PARALLEL.

It Mill scarcely be denied, that a man may be honest in
his views of State policy, and firm in his political prin-
ciples of constitutional liberty; that he may love his coun-
try with an unalloyed and holy love, seeking to promote
its welfare and happiness, with a single eye to its glory
and freedom; and yet, that his principles may be inva-
lidated or impaired by a constitutional moral Meakness
that gives the hue of truth to his fallacious impressions, or
arrests his best judgment by the irresistible force ot a pre-
dominant passion. The history of man proves him a crea-
ture of delusions, by showing his convictions to be the oflf-
spring of his passions rather than the effects of his reason.
This, indeed, is more or less the fallible tenure of all great-
ness; even the highest intellect and genius, to which every
man, however he may rise in the scale of superiority or
perfection is liable; but which is too frequently confounded
with a total exemption from error, in the general glare of
renown which encircles a si'eat and a o-ood name.

As time rolls on, and the experience of new generations
reveals discrepancies of opinion, or starts doubts of princi-
ples and powers, in relation to the organic structure of our
government: — or conflicting interests give birth to fresh
questions of right, or novel propositions of liberty; the
authority of o-reat names, as well as the force of illustrious
examples, as additional inducements arise to recur to them,
become of the most essential importance, and not only ex-
cite an intense interest and curiosity, but prompt us, from
a regard to our own rights, to ascertain the principles and
opinions of those eminent men who were instrumental in
forming the government, or achievino; the independence of
the nation; and thus beget an additional curiosity, of a cha-
racter peculiar to itself, to pry into the motives of their
conduct, and compare the merits of their deeds, as well as
the soundness of their principles, the sincerity of their
opinions, and the honesty of their professions.

Among the events within the compass of the present age,
\yhich have thrown a new and exciting interest over the
lives, deeds and opinions of these two extraordinary men,
the animated and still protracted discussion of the rights of
the individual States, and the controlling power of the
Union---stand prominent for their formidable consequences,
and maintain a fearful attitude, both in respect to the per-
manence of the Union, and the popular fame of its two

PARALLEL. 337

most distinguished founders. The reference tliat lias so
frequently been made to the opinions of Mr. Jefterson, to
sustain the doctrines of the party in favour of State supre-
macy; and the implied sanction of Washington to principles
of an opposite tendency, seem to have invested those emi-
nent patriots with a responsibility for modern opinions,
which an investigation of facts will scarcely warrant. Yet,
how far these presumptions are justified by historical events
and political testimony, presents a subject for curious in-
vestigation, at the same time that it gives rise to another,
still more deeply interesting, because involving considera-
tions of the highest moment to the rights, liberties and hap-
piness of the human family, not only in respect to their
popular appreciation, and the true value which we ought to
place on their respective characters, but whether their
principles, attributes and achievements, as statesmen, poli-
ticians and Presidents, were truly modelled on the frame
of tlie Constitution, or the Constitution modelled on the
frame of their opinions and principles? And it will appear
strange, if, in the progi'ess of this investigation, we should
arrive at the extraordinary fact, that the 7nmd of TVash-
ington was the fountain whence flowed the wisdom and
beauty of the federal Constitution — and that Constitution
became the fountain of Mr. Jefferson's political principles:
so that instead of bringing them into conflict, upon this vexed
and litigated question, we reduce them to harmony by
showing that while both were republicans, both were at the
same time federalists: the only difference between them
consisting in this — that Washington, as the Father of the
Constitution, viewed it with the eye of knowledge — and
that Jefterson, as its disciple, surveyed it with the prying
glance of criticism, content to acquiesce in its doctrines,
yet as captious, to cjuestion its wisdom, as he felt disposed
to acquire celebrity by pointing out its defects, or .suggest-
ing improvements, which might fortify liberty in impreg-
nable strength or diffuse its blessings to the more universal
enjovment and happiness of mankind.

It'is a striking circumstance, in the history of tliese dis-
tinguished men, that the most ardent friendship should have
subsisted between them from the year TG to *93: and that
on the part of Jefterson it never abated up to the day of his
death, as far as professions serve to indicate aftection and
esteemjwhile as it respects Washington, he seemssuddenly

E e

338 PARALLEL.

to have dropped all intercourse with the former from the
period of that popular commotion which followed the ratifi-
cation of Jay's treaty, when Mr. Jefferson took so decided
a part against the father of his country. True, Jefferson
always contended that no coolness existed between them;
but as it respected Washington, this was an error. On the
part of Jefferson, it must ever be regretted that political
management should have brought him into collision with
Washington; for no man was better calculated for ardent
and lasting friendship than Jefferson — whose heart on all
occasions seems to flow into his pen, and spread over his
paper, in the most captivating language of affection. His
letter to Washington, accepting the State Department, is
the purest effusion of devoted friendship, that, perhaps, ever
was penned by one statesman to another! Who was to
blame for the rupture of this amity? He who changed his
opinions and his deportment, or he who remained stedfast
and unwavering in his ancient creed and patriotic demea-
nor? Unquestionably, he who changed with the times, and
preferred ambition to fixed principles, was more open to
censure for ruptured friendship, than the man, who clinging
to the Constitution of his country, resisted the allurements
of foreign factions, in order the more securely to establish
tlie independence of his country. The moment that Jef-
ferson left the iVashington Cabinet^ even overlooking his
assaults on its chief and its measures, whilst a member of
it — that moment, he ceased to be a friend to the great man
at the head of the nation. It did not necessarily follow,
however, that he should become his enemy; yet lie did be-
come his enemy, by secret imputations of monarchical pro-
pensities, and avowed impeachment of the vigor of his un-
derstanding, by representing him as the dupe of those
around him: playing on his character, the insidious artillery
oi insinuation — vouching for his honesty, but lamenting his
delusion — confessing to his patriotism, vet weeping over the
infatuations that were pushing the country to rum! The
crime of Washington was his abstinence from the French
Revolution; and that he gave the preference to Hamilton as
a counsellor, than to Jefferson! Hence the self-love of the
latter was wounded; and under the mortification of this ap-
parent neglect, he felt resentment against one, whose great-
ness he envied; at tiie same time that he resolved to detract
from his virtue, in order to lessen his influence, which

PARALLEL. 539

must otherwise place Adams, or Hamilton, as his successor
in the Presidential chair.

But before I enter fully into a review of their deeds, it
may here be proper to meet, and obviate an objection to
bringing them into comparison, or juxtaposition, wliich has
so often been alleged, as to merit a special remark. In
forming a comparison between the characters of tliese emi-
nent men, \ye naturally entertain an appreliension of bring-
ing them into conflict, by a supposed hostility of principles
and of genius, of party attachments and national policy,
which is calculated to throw them into such decided con-
trast, as necessarily to create a mutual disparagement; as
if the merit of one was the demerit of the other; and tliat
there existed some malign spirit, m hich flaring the torch of
demoniac rage over their ashes, would render the excel-
lence of both entirely incompatible with truth, and often-
sively repugnant to justice.

Happilj^ for the cause of history and public virtue, these
apprehensions are found to be as fallacious, as they appear
at first sight to be illiberal; for the mist of party passion
having been blown off" by the winds of time, we can now
analyse their virtues and talents, without having our per-
ceptions distorted by the lens of faction, or our feelings
embittered by that rage of collision which is so apt to excite
resentment, and so often festers into malignity, Besides
this reason, which in itself is amply sufficient, the virtues
of Washington have left nothing in the power of history
to disparage — wliile the public services of Jefferson,
are more than adequate to counteract any possible frailty
of character, which the most fastidious virtue, or sharp-
sighted malignity could detect, amidst the varied mass of
opinions and principles, that constitute his political, literary,
scientific, and philosophical character.

In the different bent of their genius, and their opposite
pursuits in life, we may discover ample and adequate cause
to account for all those features of contrariety, which dis-
tinguished and marked their respective characters: and
which, throwing one into a splendid eminence, which the
civic talents of the other caused him to despair of attain-
ing, naturally infused a feeling of envy, which in time in-
duced those collisions, that terminated in an attitude of
unfriendly disparagement. The instinctive propensity of
Washington to the occupation, and his powerful ability to

n

40 PARALLEL.

achieve the conquests of war, forms a beautiful contrast to
the equally decided bias of the mind of Jetferson to civil
and pacific pursuits; and not only explains the disparity in
their characters, but accounts, in some measure, for the
discrepancy of their views, principles and policy. But it
was certainly a misfortune in Jefferson, that he possessed
but one of the attributes of greatness, and that one the least
obtrusive, and the least glarino;, which naturally seeks the
shade of the grotto, or the quiet repose of the study, achiev-
ing its intellectual conquests in tranquil labour, and denied
all that eclat and renown, which attends upon ' the pride,
pomp and circumstance of glorious war.' This deprivation
of military talent, was itself a cause of inferiority, which
no acquirements of science, or vigour of genius could com-
pensate; and which must necessarily depress him below
Washington, unless the latter had been, in like manner, as
destitute of civil greatness as Jefterson was of military ta-
lents.

On the other hand, it was the good fortune of Washington,
to combine all the great, and to be disfigured by none of the
little, or mean qualities of the statesman and the soldier;
but to rise to the highest degree of perfection in both, as his
genius qualified him to shine with equal lustre in both — an
endov.ment so rare as to furnish us with but two or three
similar examples throughout the vvhole range of history.
This combination of civil and military talent, called into
action at a peculiar period of the revolution of the govern-
ment from dependence to liberty — exalted him to the head
of the nation, by those natural and imposing circumstances,
which invests a father with authority over his children, by
inspiring that unbounded confidence, which flows from gra^
titude for that safety and protection, which a general only
can give to a people in time of war, when pillage, devasta^-
tion, ravage and flames, aggravate the horrors of the sword.
It was equally fortunate, that his military station was so
intimately connected with, and dependent on his civil du-
ties, so that he could not fail to become proficient in both at
the same time, in a path peculiar to himself— clear and un-
obstructed by the labours of others, without precedents to
embarrass him, or counteracting power to perplex his en--
terprises, or check and defeat his plans. By this means,
the force of his genius had full play, and increased the na-
tural weight of his character to a gigantic magnitude,

PARALLEL. 341

opening a wdde field for the exhibition of virtues, and the
display of talents, which showing liim to be superior to the
abuse of power, and competent to all the duties of both civil
and military government, gave him a complete command of
public opinion, by having possessed himself of the hearts
and confidence of the people. Thus, he rose to the supreme
magistracy, by the natural force of his virtues, the vigour
of his genius, the vastness of his services, and the extent
and solidity of his patriotism, without resorting to intrigue
or management. He did not require, and he did not pos-
sess, the art, finesse and stratagems of the professional po-
litician; and was, therefore, untarnished by those vices,
which, politically, passions generate, to soil the character by
sores, as fevers deface the complexion by unsightly erup-
tions. He had no rival — no competitor, because no man of
his age united in himself the same qualities, or had per-
formed the same services to his country: hence, no man
thought of attempting to rival one, to whom all bowed with
deference, as to a being of acknowledged superiority — and
to whom all were equally contented and proud to owe alle-
giance, as the virtuous and incomparable cliief of their free
and unbiassed choice. ^

Less commanding in the scope of his public services, less
exalted in his political attitude, and less brillant in his ce-
lebrity, Mr. Jefferson was still equally transcendent in the
grasp of his mind, and equally distinguished for the value
of his public performances; intrinsically equal as a states-
man, though externally inferior to AVasliington in tlie attri-
butes of heroic splendour. To Thomas Jeffersox we are
indebted for that great and magnificent creed of civil
LIBERTY which now defines, secures, and protects our rights,
as men born equally free, equally entitled to the pursuit
and enjoyment of happiness, and equally qualified for the
exalted task of self-government. The Declaration or
Independence, which drew its existence from the lucid
force of his eloquent pen, inspired by the genuine spint of
liberty, as well as sustained by the soundest doctrines of
philosophical truth, must ever be estimated as a production
sufficient to entitle him to the admiration and gratitude of
all people in all ages; and yet great as it intrinsically is,
as the special testament of American liberty, it is only to
be adequately appreciated by viewing it as the fountain of
human rights in every clime— as the grand foundation upon

" Ee2

542 PARALLEL.

which every nation might erect the superstructure of Free-
dom— as the great root of human rights, from which grew
the branches of universal liberty, under whose shade every
man could enjoy his own vine, and his own fig-tree. Such,
rationally appreciated, is the inherent merit of that memo-
rable paper.

But its preciousness did not terminate in its production;
nor was its great author to be satisfied with the mere pro-
mulgation of abstract principles, without feeling an ambi-
tion to give them a practical illustration which should de-
monstrate that they were adapted to the increase and
diffusion of human happiness. It was reserved for Jeifer-
son to direct the administration of the federal government
according to the Declaration of Independence, and to have
established in its principles the great landmarks of the
Constitution that was subsequently adopted; and which,
although not present in person, to influence, he was present
in spirit, speaking through the truths of that document all
that liberty and wisdom could have enunciated from the
glowing language of his tongue, had he been on the floor of
the Convention. In this there is a striking similitude be^
tween him and Washington; the two greatest documents of
the republic, the Farewell Address, and the Declara-
tion OF Independence, having been produced by them;
both invaluable, as containing the imperishable creed of
American Liberty, but produced under circumstances the
very opposite of each otlier, and for purposes wholly dis'
similar; the Declaration of Independence leading the way
to a separate government in a republican form, and the
Farewell Address being designed to perpetuate the Union,
and preserve liberty, by lessons derived from the experi'
ence of its »reat author. And fortune, as if to compen-
sate to Jefterson, for the superior glory of Washington,
had decreed that his name should not be appended to the
Declaration of Independence; so she equally favoured
Washington, in turn, by denying Jefterson the fame of sit-
ting in the Federal Convention. Here again, however,
Washington soars superior to the sage of Monticello; for
Fortune, having given him an opportunity to compose his
Valedictory, as a set-oft' to the eclat of the Declaration;
while, on the part of Jefferson, he had not the power to over-
come the disadvantage of being excluded from the Conven-
tion of States that framed the Constitution !

PARALLEL. 343

As it respects the comparative merits of the Declaration
and the Valedictory, it is difficult to determine which can
boast the superiority. It was the peculiar fortune of Jef-
ferson, and the peculiar felicity of his genius, incident to
the active benevolence of his heart, to establish in the I)e-
daration a radical principle of civil liberty, which, having
extorted the universal assent of mankind, has caused it t^
be viewed as a standard of free government, which equally
defies tyranny to extinguish, and reason to controvert.
That standard consists in the defined and acknowledjired
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE, and their inalienable equal-
ity OF rights; which, at that period, made a bold and dar-
ing inroad on established opinions, and inflicted on anti-
quated prejudices a startling and mortal shock, which ran
with the quickness of electricity through the nerves of man-
kind, waking nations from the death-slumber of despotism,
and causing thrones to totter, and empires to quake to their
centre. It was universal in its sweep — it was local in its
efficacy. In the radical principle it defines, we possess an
invaluable test of political justice, by which we may ad-
just all controversies in collateral questions of government,
or abuses of power; for it establishes points of policy as cer-
tain and as irrefragible as the axioms of mathematical truth,
or the unvarying principles of logic. Starting on the prin-
ciple of inherent sovereignty and inalienable rights in the
people, Jefferson furnished us with materials for that beau-
tiful theory and practice of government, whose power
extends only to the limit of expressly delegated authority,
which never can encroach upon the rights reserved by the
people, or pass beyond the reach of their control and final
recall for it settled the responsibility of all public officers
to their principals, the people, at the same time that it
secured a recurrence to first principles to correct abuses;
whicli principles were rendered so obvious and just, as to
defy tvrants to obscure, suftbcate, pollute or de>itroy them.
There is a merit in such an achievement which few states-
men can boast of; and yet this was not all, f<»r to Jefter»on
belongs the peculiar and undivided glory of not only the
origin, and the daring enterprize of the primary announce-
ment of the truths of the Declaration to the w orld. but the
hio'her merit of acting on them as the primary elements ot
libertv, of deeper authority than tiie constitution itself.
The original suggestion, or authorship of this paper, there-

344 PARALLEL.

fore, was not the eclipsing point of merit, belonging to his
genius and patriotism. When invested with the supreme
functions of government, it was his fortune to carry out,
into pracice, those radical doctrines of liberty which he had
so skilfully incorporated in the Declaration, thus giving
birth to a school rather than a party, Mho were wedded to
a consistent adherence to the practice of doctrines of re-
publican liberty, which that document had maintained in
tlieory with such captivating eloquence and resistless effect.
This was a high merit in Jefterson and his school, because
of the existence of an adverse party, which, while it tacitly
granted the eternal truths of the Declaration, yet felt dis-
posed to recede in practice from those grounds of right
which made power responsible to the people, reduced it to
the minimum of energy necessary to order, and lopped off
all excrescences of pomp, expense and perpetuity, which
might seduce it into extravagance, or inflate it with despo-
tism. Such were some of the peculiar beauties and merits
of the Declaration of Independence, which, in the thunders
of Washington's cannon, unrolled the scroll of human rights
to the delighted gaze of an astonished world, surprised at
their own freedom, and bewildered with the consciousness
of their own power.

The Valedictory of Washington, with less of universal
interest, comprises infinitely more of domestic utility and
merit. It is the solemn record of wisdom, drawing its im-
portant truths from the infallible texts of history and ex-
perience; and announcing its precepts of public virtue, in
the hallowed tones of pure and disinterested patriotism.
It is the chart of that eternal ocean of time through which
the ship of our liberty is to be steered, on which is painted
the safe passage of the broad sea, the whirling pools and
eddies that engulph and drift the vessel into dangerous cur-
rents, and the rocks above, and the shoals beneath the waves,
which, when once touched, wreck her foreverj at one spot
marking the cape of storms, and at another denoting the
treacherous silver of the surface, which tempts only to
destroy. It is the work of the greatest political pilotthat
ever explored unknown regions for the happiness of man;
of the most able commander, that ever recorded the experi-
ence and observation of genius, for the benefit of his succes-
sors, and the safety of the republic, through all the tempests
of time, the changes of men, the vicissitudes of fortune.

PARALLEL. 345

To the statesman, as well as to the people, it is more per-
manently valuable than the Declaralion; for wliilst the valk-
DicTORY is read antl reverenced, tlie public virtue will re-
main uncorrupted, the public liberty secure from encroach-
ment, the constitution safe from violation, faction will be
rebuked into something like decency even in its prostitu-
tions, and demagiogues will tremble at the shadow of their
own vices, lest the voice of Washington, rising as it were
from the sepulchre, to swell the blast of the trump of liber-
ty, should rouse the just indignation of the people, to hurl
them to merited destruction.

The merit of these two papers are invaluable and pecu-
liar; and scarcely admit of that preference which would
decree superiority to either. One teaches all people to
attain freedom; the other teaches all free people how to pre-
serve their liberties, rights and prosperity, by virtue, mo-
deration and firmness.

The style of composition which marks the two papers is
admirably adapted to each, but that of the Valedlctoru is
more impressive, pleasing and opulent — being more rich,
full and flowing; whilst that of the Declaration is more con-
cise and formal, agreeably to its character; one was the
Corinthian, the other the Ionic temple. The style of \N'ash-
ington was easy yet dignified, lofty yet familiar; that of
Jefferson was more elaborate, learned and artificial, and
excites more admiration thaifpleasure. In their epistolary
composition, Washington is superior, because less stiff' and
more elegant. The letters of Jefferson smell of the lamp,
those of Washington are the graceful effusions of an ac-
complished mind, pouring out its spontaneous riches in a
stream of native eloquence, not solicitous of parade and
display, but intent on the single purpose before him; yet so
polished and refined as always to escape either error, or
negligence; being chaste without labour and beautiful with-
out art. In this respect Washington may be compared to
Cffisar, and Jefferson to Cicero; except that the former had
less art than his Roman prototype; and the latter less elo-
quence, though equally figurative and rhetorical. And
here I will observe that'the style of Mr. Jefferson partakes
largely of the exuberance and'fertility of his noble imai::iria-
tion, while that of Washington seems more iudjued with
good sense and fine feeling, than vivid fancy or glowing
sentiment; yet the po>ver of composition, which distinguish-

<:^

46 PARALLEL.

ed the latter, was truly surprising for a military man,
whose education had been so limited, and whose active
pursuits in life had been so far removed from the studies
of the closet, and the taste of the belles letters; a circum-
stance, however, which denotes tlie extraordinary genius
of the man, and which can alone account for that wonder-
ful career of distinsuished success which attended all his
undertakings.

It is to be lamented tliat Jefferson ever questioned the
authorship of the Valedictory by Washington, by ascribing
it to Hamilton and Madison; because it betrays a feeling to
which Jefferson ought to have been superior, without the
ability to substantiate the fact alleged, which is reduced to
a pure fiction. Jefferson had enough of literary fame to
satisfy him, without wishing to deprive liis great predeces-
sor of this wreath of his civic glory. Neither Madison nor
Hamilton ever made pretensions to any share in the merit
of tliis transcendent production: which affords internal evi-
dence that it came from the same mind, the same pen
throughout; every part bearing testimony to the peculiar
train of thinkino; and stvle for which Washino-ton was so
distino:uished: and which bears not the most remote affini-
ty to any thing tliat ever flowed from the nervous and con-
cise pens of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.

It may safely be alleged, that every hour that adds age
and vigour to the federal g;overnment, will add glory and
applause to this precious valedictory document; and that
as the people daily become more enlightened and virtuous,
more weaned from factions fomented by the passions of
other countries, and having no connection with our own,
tliev will also become daily converts to its sterlino- doc-
trines of republican virtue, and holding it not less sacred
than the constitution which it sobeauiit'ully expounds and
efficiently fortifies, they will cling to it as the ark of po-
litical inspiration, from the true prophet of liberty. It is
utterly impossible to appreciate this state paper beyond its
real merits. Penetrating to the future with tiiat extraordi-
nary prescience that distinguished this extraordinary man,
he has anticipated and portrayed every variety of political
crime — every feature of depraved demagogism — every dis-
tortion of factious lubricity, and feverish ambition, that
could arise to debauch our liberties, or, under the specious
professions of hollow patriotism, destroy our constitution.

PARALLEL. 347

No events of our history — no eras of our parties — no ex-
tended measures — no novel policies of our country — no
fresh complexion newly laid on by upstart demajrio^ues, or
frog-mire candidates — but will here be fitund depicted in
their true colours, by the admonishing voice of the paternal
Washington; whose purity of precept is only equalled by
his soundness of principle? and whose jealous solicitude for
the rights of the people has no parallel, but in the exalted
wisdom of his care that government should act without
impediment or obstruction, from tiie combinations ol parties,
or false principles of resistance, disguised under colour uf
right and freedom.

Free governments not only being established on the virtue
of the people, but depending for their permanency on the
culture and preservation of their moral purity, it has ever
been esteemed a source of great calamity, to have their
ideas of political morality depraved by bad examples; and
on the other hand, it has ever been thought a proportionate
blessing when the chiefs and leaders in a popular govern-
ment have deported themselves with a strict regard to truth,
candour, sincerity and justice. B}' observing an elevated
course of political morality; by never professing what there
is no intention to fulfil; by never feigning impracticable
reforms; and never fabricating fictitious and unfounded
charges against antagonist parties; but always acting on the
principle of truth, justice, and sincerity — a statesman may
do more to cement the liberties of his countiy, than by a
hundred battles, or the extermination of a thousand foes, or
myriads of hostile invaders. This was the peculiar merit
of George Washington; he was an honest and virtuous
statesman; who has left in his example, as well as his pre-
cepts, a model of public virtue, more precious to our liber-
ties, and more calculated to ensure the permanency of our
free institutions, than the capture oi' rorktoiou or the victory
of Saratoga. Contrasted with ^N'ashington in this feature
of his character, Mr. Jefferson presents us with a display
of European finesse and insincerity in his political course,
which, as his admirer on the sound points of his mind, we
would fain behold buried in oblivion; but which his own
testimony has recorded on the page of history in features
too prominent to be either overlooked, or approved. This
is the more to be regretted, as he had so much in his jx)wer
of a contrary nature; being so pre-eminently qualified both

r

48 PARALLEL.

by genius and education, to exhibit to the people in the
beautiful lanj^uage of eloquence, the advantages of public
virtue, and the true glory which attends upon a strict ad-
herence to truth, and a rigid practice of sincerity, honesty,
and candour, which in all ages have extorted the applause
and veneration of mankind. By pursuing such a course, he
would have saved his country from that deluge of foreign
j>assions which infuriate factions let loose upon us; and he
would have abstained from that fabrication of monarchical
plots and designs, in which no sane mind could believe with-
out supposing a weakness of reason, and a force of passion,
wholly repugnant to his philosophical habits of enquiry and
reflection. But, by depraving the political morality of the
j>eople by fiction and intrigue, he laid the foundation of
those violent struggles of party which have gone so near
breaking up this happy confederacy into discordant frag-
ments, and tearing society in pieces by civil commotion,
and factious brawls. In this respect, therefore, Washing-
ton was the very opposite of his successor: for the fbrmer
was truly the soul of honour, candour, and truth; who
never feigned what he did not feel — and never felt but at
the impulse of honesty and justice.

There was no one point of perfect equality between
the external advantages of these two transcendant men ^
in every position of fortune, Jefferson being the inferior^
nor was it possible to alter this relation of their destiny.
When the commander in chief of the armies of a nation
combines in himself virtue, public spirit, and splendid ge-
nius, together with the high functions of the supreme head
of the government, his superiority becomes too manifest to
be disputed, if the people are universally satisfied with his
rule; and this was in an eminent manner the case with
Wasliington, who was thus compelled to shun^ instead of
coveting, the burden of public honors. The situation of Jef-
ferson was precisely the reverse; and hence much of that
divei^sity which marked their respective characters.

Both were equally ardent, and honorably distinguished
in their espousal of the principles of Liberty, and the De-
clai-ation of Independence:— both were equallv devoted to
human rights and to human happiness, as the only just and
rational end of all good government. At the commence-
ment of the revolution, and up to the era of the adoption
of the Constitution, both agreed harmoniously upon the

PARALLEL. * 349

means necessary to ensure that object; and Mr. Jefterson
Nvent so far as to proclaim Iiiinself a disciple of consolida-
tion, from which he afterwards dissented, on the power to
incorporate a bank, and some minor points of the oro;anic
laws. It was the French revolution that came with an awful
thunder-clap upon their harmony, when the bamier of blood
terrified AVasliington from democratic anarchy, and nerved
the ambition of Jefferson to ride on the whirlwind and direct
the storm.

From the earliest date of American politics, there is no
I'eason to believe that any essential difterence of opinion
existed between "SVashington and Jefferson, until the fer-
ment produced by the French revolution acted so violently
on public opinion in the United States, as to attempt io force
an ALLIANCE with France, in the cause of Liberty, and in-
duce a war with England, as a test of the sincerity of our
republicanism. At this time, when we can calmly take a
retrospection of the fallacious feelings of that era, we can
smile with philosophical coolness at the mistaken ideas that
then fomented illusions so gross, and led to prejudices so
totally unfounded. It was destined, however, that the cool
penetration and unperturbed sagacity of Washington should
detect the true character of the 5ano:uinary assassins of
France, and resist all allurements, arjruments, and intimi-
dations, to become a party to the battles of European cor-
ruption, and maintain the integrity of American policy, on
the pure and independent basis of American principles.
In this abstraction from the quarrels and intrigues of Eu-
rope, Mr. Jefterson not only then concurred, but continued
to enforce it up to the latest day of his existence; whilst,
during his administration, he successfully parried the cross-
thrusts of the belligerents, without resorting to war: and,
making due allowance for his partiality lO France, and his
antipathy to England, he certainly managed to avoid hos-
tilities with signal address, admirable management, and
much diplomatic skill. But this is rather digressing from
the point immediately before us.

There was some exception, however, to this uni-on of
opinion between them on minor points of national jiolicy
--such as the Bank of the United States, the Funded Debt
and the Protective System: but this variation of views did
not beo-et that discordant hostility which results from colli-
sions (Generated by popular passions, and the inflammatory

350 iPARALLEL*

feelings of party. On these questions of constitutional
rights or State expediency^ no passion was agitated, no
pride wounded, no vanity ruffled, no interest blasted, no
ambition baffled, no feeling chafed. It was a mere difter-
ence of abstract opinion, and ended with the expression of
dissent. Far otherwise was that generated by the question
of the French Revolution, which caused every heart to leap,
and every vein to swell with passion, which seized on the
minds of the people like a raging fire, warming them with
enthusiastic devotion towards souls of congenial liberty,
and kindling implacable hate against all who would not
mingle in the madness of the hour. Political friendship
might live and flourish in the first named atmosphere of
honest difference of opinion^ but was wholly incompatible
with the scorching heat of that era, whose volcanic eruptions
of blood and anarchy threatened to sweep to destruction
every opposing sentiment, and to immolate on the altar of
popular vengeance, all who should dare to pause ere they
yielded their plaudits to the blood smeared actors in the
Tragedy of Mankind. Humanity would instinctively
hesitate to contemplate the consequences. Interest would
boldly dash into the current, and secure the effect of popu-
larity, by sharing in the common infatuation of the hour.

"Whetlier it was owing to superior felicity of fortune or
genius, or greater power of penetrating to the final result
of principles and events, may be doubtful; but it is certain
that Washington was guilty of little, or no inconsistency,
while Mr. Jefferson's course is marked by a constant stic-
cession of fluctuating opinions and opposite vie\Ys. Thus,
we are presented in the old age of Jefterson with the singular
spectacle of his denunciation of the French revolution, and
his exulting joy produced by the restoration of the Bour-
bons! The period of this change of opinion was February
14, 1815, which will be found fullv expressed in his letter
to Lafayette of that date; and which manifests a contra-
diction of views, in regard to foreign politics, not less re-
markable, than he displayed in relation to our domestic
policy, during the course of his administration. It may be
asked, it he is to be denied the privilege of correctino^ his
opinions by tiie lights of historv, and gaining increas'e of
wisdom from the voice of time? Assured Iv not. But
our position is this, that it was the peculiar fortune of
ANashmgton never to miscalculate events, or to embrace

PARALLEL. 351

novelties as blessings, which the course of experience de-
monstrated as calamitous and afllicting; wliile on the con-
trary, it was the misfortune of Mr. Jefterson to be a perpe-
tual victim to change, deluded by the glare of every novelty.
It was doubly a misfortune in this instance, liowever, that
Jefterson should have made so great a transition from the
extreme of i^re;ic/^ liberty to the opposite extreme of Bour-
bon despotism.

All men are honest, frank, sincere, and free from dissi-
mulation, when their ambition and interest, maintaininji; an
even pace, leaves them under the just inlluence ot their
passions, on the commonly received opinions of right and
wrong. It is only when some great and extraordinary
object of interest, or ambition interposes, to tempt integrity
from its iiigh-road, that the mind begins to entangle its
thoughts and principles into a shape the best calculated to
attain a desired end: and insensibly loses its candour and
sincerity in the windings of finesse and the mesches of in-
trigue. It was unfortunate for the fame of Mr. Jefferson that
the French revolution ever existed? and on the contrarv, it
was fortunate for Washington that it arose to test his firm-
ness, and illustrate his total independence and purity of
character. It was unfortunate for Jefterson, because it
tempted him to change the character of the statesman for
the politician, and to stir those waters which are always
fraught with bitterness, and too often impregnated with
poison to him who slakes the thirst of ambition at tlieir
fountains.

Washington having no motive to court the people, by
whom he was idolised before tliere existed any office to con-
fer upon him, save his military command, of no profit, of
vast peril and doubtful honour! was frank, plain and ho-
nest in all his opinions and dealings with the public, and
could afford to even sacrifice his popularity to his duty.
Nor was he only frank; lie was courageously just, obsti-
nately right, sternly honest by nature; and as it respected
the weight of his popular influence, this rather required to
be tamed, than stimulated or increased by artificial means.
Jefferson, on the contrary, who at the bloody dawn of the
French revolution got a glimpse of power, had to work Ins
w ay to supreme authority, through a host of rivals, who
w^ere the declared friends, par excellence, of ^Vashington;
and who, while they equalled, or surpassed him in civil

S52 PARALLEL.

<jualitications, overtopped him at that period in popular
esteem: besides, he had but one branch of talent to move
in, and vvas to depend solely on his genius, which was cer-
tainly great; on his science, which was profound and vari-
ous; and on his tact and management as a politician, in
which he was excelled by none, to make his way to popular
favour, so as to enable him to gain the Presidential Chair.
I say, he had but one field of talent to operate in to gain
popularity, because his philosophical attainments could not
be appreciated by the great mass of the population; and
however they might fix him in the esteem of the learned,
they could not promote his popularity with the people. He
was accordingly thrown on his diplomatic resources; and if
he lost some of his sincerity in being compelled to finesse
for the game, he had the consolation of success to reconcile
him to the censure of honest men. Compelled, therefore,
to resort to some«(Zc«p/fmfZz^mmethodof winning the favor
and applause of the million, he seized on the first popular
effervescence to launcli his bark upon the current; and when
the French revolution broke out with such a burst of flame,
such clouds of smoke, and such torrents of blood, and he
perceived that Washington was too sternly honest, as well
as literally sincere, even to colour his Neutral Policy with
one affected tinge of the gore of France, lest he should be
swayed from his duty by the impulses of feeling — that he
would not even pretend to feel a sympathy for our ancient
ally in arms^ when she flung herself to bathe in the ocean
blood of liberty — ''when she got drunk with blood to vomit
crime;' but that he remained strictly and honestly consis-
tent, with what both Jefferson and himself believed to be
the true policy of the nation; when Jefterson saw this,
he discovered at a glance, that the pathway to power had at
last opened to him, in a burst of popularity never before
equalled; for the people, more prone to feef than to think,
and more apt to think erroneously than right, unless they
do feel, had embraced the cause of France, because it was
the cause of liberty, without knowing how it might tarnish
the faith, or injure the interest of the nation. On this occa-
sion it was, that Jefterson began to aberrate from that high
principle of sincerity, which reduced him to an inferiority
to Washington, by practising on the distinction between the
character of the politician and that of the statesman; and to
act a part in the former capacity, which was inconsistent

PARALLEL. 353

with his principles and opinions, in the latter: for he fuUj
agreed with Washington, that it was tlie true policy of the
United States, not to involve lier interests in the quarrels
of Europe. But the flood of liberty, as it bore public opi-
nion whirling on its bosom, was too templing to be resisted
either by a laudable or a prurient ambition. It opened on
him a light somewhat analogous to tlie glare of military
renown, in its bloody and ferocious beams; that shed on his
philosophical garments some of the reflected blaz,e of the
heroes of the Guillotine and the J\fartyrs of Monarchy! To
stand aloof on such a tempting crisis, would liave sliown a
degree of prudery that his public character did not require;
and which would have been as much out of place, as it
would have been for Washington to assume the attitude of
a demagogue, by plunging the nation into an alliance with
France, and a wanton war against England. Their positions
and their characters, their objects and their interests, were
diametrically opposite. One was President, the other but
a candidate in imagination; whose hopes of power at some
future day, were but just expanding into blossom, and
shooting forth those green buds of glory that carry so sweet
a perfume to the heart. Yet Washington, in tlie same cir-
cumstances, would not so have acted; for lie disliked the
glare of public life; and always retreated from, instead of
wooing honors; while Jefferson, though averse to public
ceremony, exact forms, and ostentatious displays, was yet
fond of the possession of power, and took great pleasure in
its exercise, though opposed to its parade and display. In
this latter quality, there was a close resemblance between
them; for Jefferson himself informs us that all of the cere-
monies which distinguished the administration of Washing-
ton, were forced upon him by Colonel Humphreys and Ge-
neral Knox, much to his own mortification, as he always had
an invincible repugnance to public parade.

Here again, however, we are presented with a perfect
parallel between the conduct of Washington towards
France, in resisting an alliance and preserving neutrality,
and that of Jeff*erson, when President, in steering clear of
any alliance with her or England, during the times of the
paper blockades, and the Berlin and Milan decrees; which
proves how strictly Jefferson imitated Washington, when
placed in power, though he affected to censure him with
such severity, when that great and pure Cliief, saved us
•^ Ff2

354 PARALLEL.

from tlie stain of a concurrence in the bloody forms, and
wild excesses of the French revolution: and which absti-
nence the people sanctioned, as was shown by the election
of John Adams, on whom had fallen the mantle of Wash-
ington; but who so little knew how to preserve its purity
unblemished, or to appreciate its real intrinsic virtues, in
the spirit of the first wearer.

But it is remarkable, that two great revolutions^ the two
greatest of modern times, and ancient history presents us
with none similar, were the occasions of exalting Washing-
ton and JeiFerson to the Presidential chair; for it was indu-
bitably the French revolution that opened to Jefferson the
door of the palace, and prepared the way far his future en-
trance. It is the more extraordinary, because Jefferson thus
derived all the advantage of military achievements, without
drawing a sv.ord; his mere approbation of the civil commo-
tion of France, having procured him the support of all its
votaries, admirers and disciples in this country, as the vic-
tories of Washington had done in respect to all the lovers
of American independence. Thus, the moment tliat John
Adams had abused the strong government of Washington,
by drawing the cords too tight, which caused so powerful
a reaction of public opinion, Jeff*erson stood ready, fully
attired in the robes of liberty, to enter the Presidential
cliair, merely in virtue of his sympathy for France, bloody
and reckless and tyrannical as she was, and without having
changed essentially any of those principles and opinions
which had qualified him to act in concert with Washington,
in his cabinet, on all great national questions, with the
exception of the Baxk of the United States and the
Funded Debt: two measures, which, although deemed
monarchical by Jefferson, have received the deliberate
sanction of his ultra democratic successors, Madison and
Monroe. *

* As late as 1813, Mr. Jefferson declared, that he held no diffe-
rence of political principle with Washington; that it was a mere dif-
ference of sentiment or idea. He says — * The only point in wliich
he and I ever differed in opinion, was, that I had more confidence
than he had in tlie natural integi-ity and discretion of the people,
and in the safety and extent to which they mig-ht trust themselves
with a control over their g-overnment. He has asseverated to me a
thousand times his determination tliat the existing" g-ovemment
should have a fair ti-ial, and that in support of it he would spend the

PARALLEL. 555

After all motive for finesse and niaiiaj^ement was re-
moved by the induction of Jetterson into power, the course
of his administration fully demonstrated this identity of
principle and policy with \hat of Washini^ton, exhibitino-
that remarkable fact, which establishes a radical difference
of perceptions and principles between the liis!;her order of
politicians, and those who move with the multitude, untler
a fallacious and delusive taith in the infallibility and honesty
of those they worship; the remarkable fiict to wliich I make
allusion is this: that his administration differed in no essen-
tial point of PRINCIPLE from that of AVashinj^ton: thus
showing, that liberty as understood by the multitude, never
can enterintothe elements of government, notwithstanding
the words, 'Democracy,' 'Freedom,' 'EquALiTV,' may
be run^ through all their changes by leaders or dema-
gogues, in order to deceive the people into a happy submis-
sion to the yoke W'hich they must bear, no matter who ad-
ministers the laws which compel them to obedience, as the
laws must be administered by all in the same way; and the
Constitution is not so flexible as to admit of gross usurpa-
tions, without exposing the outrage to popular correction.
But Jefferson w^as every way favoured bv fortune, as a Pre-
sident— first, in having Washington to precede him in
power, with whose main policy he co-operated and coincided
in; and secondly, in having Adams to violate the Constitu-
tion by the Aliex and Sedition Laws, which broujjiit into
splendid contrast, the republican professions of Jefierson,

last drop of his blood.' 'It is a mere calumny, therefore, in die
monarchists to associate General AVsshington with their principles.
But that may have happened in this case, which has been often seen
in ordinary cases, that, by often repeating" an imtruth, men come to
believe it themselves. It is a mere artifice in tliis party to bolster
themselves up on the revered name of that first of our worthies.'
Yet Mr. Jefferson certainly originated *tlic calumny,' antl repeated
*the untruth!' But all tliis he had forgotten, when he denounced
its autlaor as a monarchist !

In a letter to Mr. Madison, written in 1788, he furnishes ample
proof, by the hig-h encomiums he passed on the * Fedcndist,' as ' the
best commentary on the principles of g-ovcrnment which ever was
■written,' that he differed m no fundamental maxims from Wxshing'-
ton. In the same letter, too, he shows that he distrustcil the people
quite as much as Washington, for he joins Mr. Madison in deprecat-
ing* a convention to revise the Constitution, which he tlien so cor-
dially approved; and indeed at no period ever condemned.

356 PARALLEL.

v/hicli then covered him with one dazzling and eflfulgent
glow of liberty.

Jefferson possessed another advantage over Washington,
which gave him an eclat with the people, out of all propor-
tion to the real measure of their respective merits on the
score of liberty, for no republican ever breathed more ardent
devotion to true liberty than "Washington, everv fibre of
whose heart vibrated to the wind of freedom, and beat re-
sponsive throbs of sympathy to the Rights of Max. This
advantao-e in Jefferson, was his having the ivorst President
as his immediate predecessor. It was in fact, the vice of
John Adams' administration, which proved so fortunate for
Mr. Jefferson; which enabled him to relieve an oppressed
people from the persecution of Alien and Sedition Laws,
and the burden of Excise and Stamfi Acts, with all the
train of evils consequent upon the total perversion of the
government, to say nothing of the projected Union of
Church and State, as alleged by Jefferson to be meditated
by his predecessor, John Adams. In these particulars, Jef-
ferson possessed many brilliant advantages over Washing-
ton, who had no wicked administration to bring in contrast
to his pure, virtuous and patriotic government: and it must
be observed, that the greatest impressions are always made
on the mass of the community, by contrasts, and not by the
intrinsic merit of positive virtue and talent.

An essential difference marked their various genius, in
its active power; Washington's inclining more to repose,
tranquillity, and acquiescence, and that of Jefferson being
active, belligerent, revolutionary, seditious, agitating, and
enterprising, and of course, capable of greater benefits to
mankind. But, unfortunately, this superiority of volition
in Jefferson was rendered in a great degree nugatory, by
that visionary temper of his mind, Mhich, always rioting in
hypothesis, too often left him a victim to chimeras, when
he ought to have been projecting /jr<^c?ic«/ benefits for socie-
ty; in which Washington, though less active in intellect,
was more fortunate and successful.

It is not one of the least interesting traits common to
these two illustrious men, that they should both be engaged
at the same time in the attainment of the revolution, by
opposite, but not less important, or less efficacious means —
one by military movements, and the other by civil reforma-
tions; tor, while Washington was giving all the energies of

PARALLEL. 357

his mind to vanquish or extirpate the mercenary troops of
Britain. Jefterson was devotiny; his days and niii;hts to pull-
ing dow n the gotinc strong holds ofEnglish judicial tyranny,
and demolishing those feudal citadels of oppression, injus-
tice, and superstition, which were entrenclied bv a svstein
of laws, founded in the individual caprice of the tvra'nts of
a barbarous age. By revising the civil and crimmal code
of \ irginia, and substituting ordinances emanatino^ from
the principles of liberty, and based on the rock of equity
and right, for laws founded in regal caprice, or military
despotism, Mr. Jefterson rose to an elevation not inferior
to the fame of Solon, or Lycurjjus; for his success in abol-
ishing the law of Entails and Primogeniture, alone,
will forever immortalise him as a patriot, and cause him to
be held in veneration as a philanthropist and statesman of
the highest grade. Perhaps no country has ever before been
so signally blessed, by havino; two such great minds occu-
pied at the same time in the discharge of military and civil
functions, so indispensable to the completion and confirma-
tion of its liberties.

Through every vicissitude of the revolution, destiny still
assigned to both tlie most responsible stations of usefulness
to their country; and it was a remarkable circumstance in
their history, that while the signature of AN'ashington is
wanting to the Declaration of Independence, owing to his
being at the head of the army prior to that event, that Jef-
ferson should have been absent from the Convention wliich
adopted the Constitution, under the Presidentship of the
former. At this latter period, however, Jefterson was as
usefully employed in his peculiar element, nejjociating
loans and treaties of commerce with the powers of Europe,
and winning for his country that moral and political weight
of character which always attends a nation from the genius,
learning, tact, and philosophy of its ambassadors; so that^
in respect to the moral elevation of the United States in the
eves of Europe, Jefterson contributed by his talents of di-
plomacy, and his literary acquirements, as Washington did
at home by his military deeds and civil services. Three
such men as Thomas Jefterson, Benjamin Franklin, and
John Adams, representing us in Europe, would cause the
country to be as much respected as the capture of a liritish
army of ten thousand men. AVhen John Jay returned
from Europe, he declared that the man who stood highest

o

58 PARALLEL.

on tlie roll of fame, among the Americans, after Washing-
ton, was Alexander Hamilton; so, we may add, that the
third was Thomas Jefterson.

It is on many accounts to be lamented, that Jefferson
was absent from the country during the session of the Fe-
deral Convention, and that he had not a seat in it when
the Constitution was adopted: for it is highly probable, that
his being away may have kindled that jealousy of its provi-
sions, and that envy of the fame of its authors, which were
a part of his nature, and which caused him to feel more dis-
satisfied with their work than he otherwise would have
been, from a pure intellectual review of its merits and de-
fects. This is manifested by his letters, approving of all
its provisions at the time, and suggesting the amendments
which were subsequently appended to it. Had he been one
of its authors, the croakings of his criticisms would have
been silenced; for in that case, the discrepancy of his views
touching the national bank, the funding system, and the
rights of the States, would have been compromised, or set-
tled and adjusted to a distinct understanding; besides, the
force of his genius, the extent of his learning, and the per-
spicacity of his intellect, brought directly to bear upon the
subject, would no doubt have suggested improvements,
which, when not excited by the imposing dignity and im-
portance of the occasion, would not be so likely to occur
to him. So that, considered in any light, his presence in
the Convention v/ould probably have prevented all those
party feuds which were afterwards engendered under the
pressure, or the pretence of those discrepancies.

A disposition prone to jealousy, and envious of others,
seems, in some measure, natural to genius when combined
with literature; which, as it gives birth to criticism, is sure
to engender captiousness. Washington, exempt from these
frailties, because not possessing the propensity that gave
them birth, appears in a more amiable, if not a more exalted
light than Jefferson, the controversial action of whose mind
constantly exposed hini to the influence of passions embit-
tered by the infusion of jealous ideas, or disturbed by the
irritation of envious feelings. Yet this jealous propensity
had nothing abasinMy little about it; for a g-reat mind is
only jealous of great objects; and what excited the envy
of Jefferson would have exacted the veneration of inferior
beings.

PARALLEL* 359

In another respect, this literary passion of Jcfterson proved
of serious disadvantage to liis fame, by realising the excla-
mation of the ancient prophet, ' Oh! that mine enemv had
written a book I' But ^v'lo can resist the impulse oY ge-
nius?— who can escape the decree of destiny I It was suffi-
cient that his mind was imbued with ^ the divine Jire^ — that
it was filled with the love of antiquity, garnished with mo-
dern science, and fermenled by the true spirit of philoso-
phical improvement. Su:h being the facts, it followed al-
most as a necessary consequence, that Jefterson sliould
leave beliind him a voluminous production of 'Memoirs,'
'State Papers,' 'Anas,' 'Correspondence,' and other
works, in which the secret thoughts of his heart were re-
corded, his motives revealed, his springs of action con-
fessed, and the Mhole mord economy of the man and the
statesman laid bare to our iew by the skilful operation of
his own dissecting knife; aid which, while it casts a glare
of light upon the track of his political pilgrimage, for which
history must ever stand indebted to his candour, at the
same time enters a powerful ^lea of extenuation for much
of the frailty that it unconscioisly exposes. In this, Jef-
ferson diftered essentially from Washington, who, besides
that he had no literary passion, n- ambition to gratify, had
no secret history to endite. It r, our peculiar genius that
creates the necessity for its exerc^e, or makes the meat it
feeds on. Jefferson was scientilc, inventive, literary;
hence he was led into theories; thes^. seduced him to simu-
lation; hypotheses gave birth to plots and scliemes, which
all required literary talent and tact to conceal, shadow,
expand, manage, direct, digest, and eventually explain,
reconcile, harmonise, excuse, palliate or justify. 'Washing-
ton, if he was destitute of the charms and flowers and graces
of mere literature, or philosophy^ was of course witliout
the schemes it eno;enders, and free from the intrif^ues that
mark the career of the profound theorist and speculator.
Above the entanglements of party — exempt from the
mesches of personal politics, and exalted above the schemes
and plots of rivals, he had no history of his heart to reveal,
distinct from the history of his country — he had used no
management to explain away, and devised no plots to be
cleared up — he had inflicted no wounds on the reputations
of others, whose smartings called for balm to be poured
into them before they would close and lieal. Thus, if he

ri

60 PARALLEL.

left no volumes to record his own glory of private genius
by his own pen, he left no deeds that might obscure that
glory, by the efibrts used to palliate, excuse, or defend
them, if, tlierefore, as a p]iilosoplier and an author, Wash-
ington left no works behind him, the disadvantage is more
than made up by his single hearte'l sincerity, and honoura-
ble confidence, which never suspetted depravity of another,
never designed evil to those around him, and never recorded
the poisonous whisperings of any against the fame and in-
teo-ritv of his friends.

It must not be understood, however, that I mean to dis-
parage those beautiful productions of the pen of Washing-
ton, which, in the form of his ' Valedictory,' of his let-
ters, of his messages, and othe* public documents, carry
about them all those native charns of style, and unaffected
elegance of composition, whicli, without being laboured,
always please, and without foppishness, always shine: con-
genial to the character of their author, combining majesty
with o;race, and unitino- elegaDce to manly vig-our.

The minds of both were corstructed on the heroic models
soaring to great ideas, and rejecting all that was grovelling
or derogatory, while the ciicle of their perceptions was as
unlimited as the rano;e of flieir thoughts, and as universal
as the bounds of science. The mind of Jefferson, however,
was made up more artific-ally from the stores of learning 5
while that of Washington was replete with the spontaneous
riches of an exuberant md creating genius, sprouting into
verdure, buds, and blossoms, whenever touched by the
dews of reflection, or warmed by the vivid glow of duty,
excitement, patriotism, or glory.

The nice shades of difference, and beautiful diversity
existing between two illustrious minds, constitutes the most
pleasing theme of history^ and while it prompts us to bow
to the majesty of virtue, v\hich shines forth in the character
of Washington, it extorts no less reverence and admiration
for the colossal frame of the intellect of Jefferson; which
was evidently organised on a system of more exact science,
and purer ratiocination, than that of the first President.
The propensity of Jefferson was to the closet, to deep re-
search, pure science, profound metaphysics, elaborate phi-
losophy, strict analysis, undaunted reason, mixed with a
chastened but vivid imagination, rife with creations, but
never rioting in profuse fertility. Jeft'erson was all per-

PARALLEL. 361

spicacity, acuteness, system, printipU'^ restiii;; on the reiru-
lar gradation of abstract truth. braiichin<;out into beautiful,
and often fanciful theories, sucli as we buiiold in his Sotes
on Virginia, connected with the iinprovement and happi-
ness of mankind, and directed to the perfectabilitv of free
government and the human mind. Yet his literary in-
tegrity was not encircled, like that of Washiny;ton, bV the
splendour of unvaried truth; and his propensity to mi/.^tifi-
cation, too often obscured liis meaning, enveloped his^enti-
ments in doubt, and curtained, amidst clouds of soplii?trv,
the real features of his opinions. This defect probably
arose from the perversion of the moral faculty causecl
ori^inallv bv his studv and practice of law, and afterwards
conhrmed by the habits of equivocation, subterfuge and
finesse, incident to the science and art of diplomacy: for
a negociator is but a lawyer pleading with nations, reserv-
ing points for equivocation, and retreating behind verbal
distinctions, to escape the award of truth, or the mortifi-
cation of confessing to injustice. On the contrary, the
intellect of "Washington resembled the pure a/.ure of the
heavens, which sparkled with truth, and was undimned by
a cloud: and yet in force, in art, in finesse, in imairination,
in science, was inferior, on the whole, to that of the sao;e
of Monticello. Though not irregular, or eccentric, it was
more desultory and less classical than that of Jefterson.: it
was self-formed, had not been so strictly disciplined by a
rigid education, and was more made up from observation,
experience, living wisdom and actual knowledge of the
world. Although capable of great volition and pregnant
\yith vast ideas, the leading trait of his mind was the un-
mixed o;ravity of wisdom, the dignified conception of truth,
the lofty contemplation of principles self-evidently true,
or established by facts, on the system of Bacon's philoso-
phy of induction; so that he was inferior to Jeil'erson in
that vivacity of imagination which caused that philosopiier
to sport so often on the wings of speculation, tlieory, and
abstract systems. In this consisted the great dift'erence
between them. Had Jefferson been educated to war, he
would have made a very enterprisinjr, but not a safe gene-
ral: and had Washington devoted his mind to philosop/n/,
he would have rejected all error, however specious or bril-
liant, and establislied on a foundation not to be sliaken. the
inductive philosophy of Bacon, where tlie apex of theory

^63 PARALLEL^

o

should tower, like the pyramids of Egypt, gradually from
the expansive base of facts, in all the beauty and grandeur
of indestructible truth.

Washington was magnanimous and unsiispfectitig, be-
cause intrepid^ honest and fearless. Jefferson rather in-
clined to the opposite qualities, for he was deficient in that
high degree of physical as well as moral courage that we
look for in great men, as well as suspicious, for he seems
to have been really of the belief that his opponents desired
to overturn the republic, and erect on its ruins the splen-
dours of monarchy; a belief so monstrous as to class itself
among the most gross infatuations of the bewildered fana-
ticks of any age. And here I must remark a contradiction
in Jefferson's philosophy, which did not tend to elevate
him above his illustrious model; for with all his vigour of
reason, he fell into the weakness of political fanaticism, if
he was sincere in his suspicions of monarchical designs on
the part of Hamilton and Adams; and if he only affected
that belief for party purposes, he became equally culpable
on another score. Yet in politics, he was, at all periods
of his life, inclined to political fanaticism, consulting pas-^
sion instead of reason, and looking to monstrous crimes iii
his opponents with a full belief^ without reference to mo-
tive, object, or consequences. Credulity ought not to have
led him to keep a journcd of slanderous imputations against
the first patriots of the republic^ nor ought passion to have
stamped such atrocious aspersions with the hue of proba^
bility. This political /«>^«/«f^s??^ could not be ascribed to
his ambition, for he retained its weakness to tlie day of his
death, and when he was induced to acquit John Adams of
all designs of monarchv* he was still readv to lav the same
treason at the door of Pickering. Now Wasliington was
too truly philosophical to fall into t\\\^ fan-nticismi\\^ never
believed the plot of monarchy, and Jefferson did not crimi-
nate him for his scepticism! Why.?. Because Jefferson
«lid not believe it to the conviction of his reason, and never
itdduced the charge, but in moments of political excite-
ment, when /)«5sio??^ not judgment, stood at the helm; and
when at a loss for a reason to justify his political dislikes
and antipathies, he could, in an ad-captandum way, allege
the plot of monarchy, which, like the old cabalistic terms
of faction in Great Britain, silenced all opposition, and
superceded all argument, by the cry of ' Popery! Popery!
Popery I'

PARALLEL. 363

I repeat, that when compared to Jefferson, on tliis score,
Washington rises to a decided superiority; for he was even
more exposed than the former, to all 'those temptations
which shake reason from her centre, to the weakness of
political fanatacismi He was more exposed in 1793, dur-
ing the French revolution, and might, with equal reason,
have charged the democrats with Jacobinical designs, but
he did not; he knew their motives to be pure, and thou^-h
his well-poised mind would not permit him to fall into the
popular enthusiasm for French liberty, still he favoured
her revolution, up to the time when it became dangerous to
the peace of the country to give it positive encouragement;
and if lie warned the people against the perils of self-created
societies, 'his candour proved his conviction of their honesty,
as it showed the obligation of duty, under which he thought
he was actino; in making: the admonishment.

As the father of the protective system to American manu-
factures, to Washington belongs the exclusive merit of
founding that system, which has so exuberantly contributed
to the wealth, vigour and resources of the country; while
to Jefferson belongs whatever merit may attach to the doc-
trines of free-trade, connected with the principles of State
rights, as an agent by which to resist the protective policy.
Yet, in some measure, Mr. Jefterson's domestic system of
non-intercourse with foreign nations, involves the principle
of encouragement of home industry, without a resort to
protective revenue. This system of protection, as one of
the collateral branches of national independence, received
the decided approbation of Washin<:;ton, as a prominent
feature of the federal policy, naturallv growinij; out of the
Constitution, and formed a prominent object of contention
between the two chiefs, Hamilton reporting in favour of
protection, and sustained by Congress; and Jefterson, sus-
tained by Madison, reporting for general free trade, and
partial protection, as a measure of retaliation onlv, but
never sustained by Congress. So that, when we contrast
this part of their policy, that of JTashington, as it respects
the wealth of the nation, is superior; while that of JeJJ^er-
son, as it respects the local interests and individual liber-
ties of the States, has its peculiar merit. But here, as in
every other difference between them, the policy of Wash-
ington was of great practiced utilitt/ to his country, and
that of Jefferson of great theoretical freedom. Washington

fl

64 PARALLEL.

was exceedingly wise, or uncommonly fortunate, for what-
ever be patronised, or projected, contributed to swell the
prosperity and affluence of the country; while the systems
of Jefferson, though more refined and metaphysical, rather
retarded, or were calculated to retard, or arrest, the
growtli and wealth of the nation.

Tlius his domestic system — his Chinese policy — his non-
intercoi(rse-^\ns abstraction of the republic from the com-
merce of the world, all tended to produce the opposite
effects of that expansive and liberal policy of commerce and
manufactures, which stamped the administration of George
Washington with the bold, magnificent and colossal fea-
tures of American genius, industry and enterprize.

On the other hand, Jefferson's genius shines forth in his
favourite system of a frugal government — small revenue —
limited expenditures — no taxes — no public debt — no super-
fluity of public officers — no interned improvements, so that
power may be kept doAvn to the standard of pure republi-
can symplicity; prefering poverty with freedom, to opu-
lenceimder the temptation of losing it; stinting the growth
of the nation, in order to preserve it from the perils of cor-
ruption. For this system Jefferson was highly extolled by
his admirers; yet it seems inconsistent with his predomi-
nant notion of the perfectability of man, and his daily
march to improvement, which would rather suggest the
expansion of the government functions in proportion to the
growth of the country, than the contraction of its prosperity
to the ancient measure of its original organic limitations.
Thus 'economy,' 'economy,' was the cry of Jefferson;
commerce, revenue, prosperity and imp^'ov©mont, >Tas ihe
motto of tne Washington cabinet; the latter ha.s> prevailed
in practice — the former is only heard in theory: the coun-
try has expanded, the policy of Washington has prevailed
through all administrations under the appellation of ' de-
mocracy,'^ and the special magic of the powerful name of
J efferson !

Both were ambitious; but they differed as much in their
ambition, as in the other passions of their minds, that of
W^ashington being inflexibly directed to the performance of
just actions, indifferent of praise or censure; and that of
Jefferson, being directed to Just actions, with an immediate
view to popular applause, the appetite for which formed at
once the great feature, as it proved the only vice of his public

PARALLEL. 365

character, if it can be said to have had a vice. It cannot
be dissembled that the ambition of Jefterson, although pure
and moderate, was yet diluted, if not turned from its noblest
channel, by that weak benevolence which covets universal
praise, which caused him to tremble at tlie whisperings of
censure, and inclined him too often to compromise his
principles and opinions, in order to avert criticism, or
escape controversy and condemnation. When he retired
from the cabinet of General AVashinjcton, he alleged to
that chief, as the leading cause of his resignation, the pain
it gave him to be anions; aristocrats, who viewed liim witli a
glance of hatred, or surveyed him with tlie leer of scorn,
instead of returning hate for hate, and scorn for scorn,
which the goodness of his heart would not allow. He also
spoke of the public papers, in a manner that betrayed tlie
anguish which their censure inflicted, by an acrimonious
denunciation of their licentiousness; instead of being satis-
fied with the approbation of the President, and the voice
of a self-applauding conscience. There is reason too, to
believe, that his conciliatory phrase, * we are all republi-
cans— we are all federalist's,' had its source in this defi-
ciency of moral courage; which, however, is always more
or less allied to benevolence, and tlie amiable weaknesses of
our nature. So that, after all, this defect of character car-
ried with it a beauty, Mhich did not shine so conspicuously
in Washington, wlio was too lofty to be merely amiable,
and too stern to be actively benevolent; and whose ambition
was so chastened down (o a passive and exalted form, as
to be whoUv indifterent to immediate gratification, partak-
ing of that 'comparative repose which always cliaracterises
Pgantic natures. True, he was not insensible to the cen-
sure or praise of men, for he felt reproach acutely, but he
could endure it and depise it, and sought not by concessions
to avert or mollify it; and he did endure reproof and con-
demnation, for tlie sake of final and future encomium, re-
nown and glorv. His whole career, throughout tlie revo-
lution, was'a sacrifice of present praise, and an endurance
of unjust obloquv and sarcasm, for the sake of his country
—for the sake of final glory: and here he realised the highest
fortitude and greatness of the human soul; for it was the
safety of the republic which sealed his lips as to the cause
of his abstaining from battle, and reconciled him to bear

Gg2

66 PARALLEL.

the most cutting reproaches, equally derogatory to his
honour and patriotism.

Jefterson, endowed with a more delicate sensibility, and
a softer shade of character, presents us with less inflexible
and courageous traits of mind, being eager to snatch the
applause of the moment, and ever alive to the task of avert-
ino- censure and deprecating condemnation, without looking
to^the jrrand result of his actions, when the time should
come for settling tlie true sum of his glory — at the period of
calm judgment, when the passions, laid asleep by time, would
permit the verdict of reason to be heard and recorded, un-
mixed with prejudice, interest, or excitement. For, after
all. to that period must all living fame be referred for just
and final adjudication. But this seems to have been impos-
sible to Mr. Jefterson, who was evidently endowed with a
quicker sensibility than Washington: not, perhaps, a greater
sum of it, but a greater susceptibility of excitement; and
one reason of this dift'erence between them is to be found in
the fact, of the greatness of "\Vashino;ton having operated
upon Jefterson as a sort of exampler to glory, inspiring him
with an emulation of greatness, and whetting his appetite
for distinction; which always produces more or less of that
nervous anxiety for the issue, which ever attends an intense
desire of success. That this kind of emulation was deeply
seated in his mind, he has himself told us, in a letter to his
grandson, where he thus expresses himself: "'I had the good
fortune to become acquainted very early with some charac-
ters of very high standing, 2i\\&to feelthe incessant wish that
I could ever become what they ivere.'' No doubt but he had
this same feeling in relation to Washington, whose superior
renown operated on his mind to produce the twin passions
of emulation and envy; and thus to make him as morbidlv
sensitive to abuse, or censure, as he was anxiously covetous
of approbation and encomium. It was the repulsion between
his ambition and his benevolence, that naturallv reduced the
tone of his moral courage, and deprived him of some portion
of that tenacity of principle and opinion, which forms so
bold a feature in the character of greatness, and without
which it exhibits a deficiency of what is essential to firmness
of purpose, consistency of principle, and fidelity to profes-
sions, as well as that true dignity of mind, which is itself a
virtue, and which bears about it such an indescribable charm
and beauty, that it wins universal admiration and esteem.

PARALLEL. 367

Nor is this quality incompatible with a due deference for
the opinions of others; on the contrary, it implies the right
of freedom of opinion to all, and extenils no further than to
insist on our own right, while we grant the same liberty to
those who difter from us. No man was further elevated
above all thoughts of proscribing freedom of opinion than
Washington; yet he always maintained his principles with
firmness, defended them with zeal, and practised them
with enercry.

There are many acts of his life which seem to impress
the idea, that he possessed moral courage in its greatest
extent, especially his authorship of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence', which long perplexed me to decide on those other
events of his life, which denoted a deficiency of that great
quality. But it must be remembered, that the most timid
men will act with apparent courage and decision when their
individucdity is lost, or obscured in the o;eneral responsibi-
lity of a public body; and that Mr. Jefferson, as one of a
committee of Congress, would have moral coura2;e to com-
pose the Declaration for thcd committee and that Congress,
which w^ould entirely tail him when placed to the score of
his owm personal account. So it was with the reform of the
Civil and Crimimd Code of Virginia, when he expunged
the laws of Primogeniture and Entail, and that which
bound the mind to religious obseryances — he acted as one
of a Committee, and thus avoided individual responsibility
for the obnoxiousness of the act.

It must not, however, be understood, that I mean to
deny to Mr. Jefterson «// moral courage; for he possessed
and displayed it on some occasions to a considerable ex-
tent; but did not manifest it on so great a scale as to qua-
lify him for those striking deeds which constitute heroism
of character.

In accordance with this temper of his mind, he never
ventured on any measure that could excite the discord of
his cabinet, or bring him in collision with the heads of de-
partments; to whose opinions, promises and arrangements,
he even sacrificed his own pledjres, and, on some occasions,
his own convictions. This disposition made him skilful in the
practice of evasion, equivocation, and sometimes of duplicity.

When we contemplate the productions of Mr. JelVerson's
pen, he does not appear so wanting in moral courage, as
when we compare his actions in public life, with his theories

o

68 PARALLEL.

on paper: yet even his correspondence exhibits a perpetual
desire to explain, harmonise and reconcile points of discre-
pancy, which are obviously too discordant ever to admit of
concord. Thus, what he had condemned Mr. Adams for in
1798, and politically counteracted in 1801, he absolves him
from in 1813, in order to consummate a reconciliation^ and
by a method which was as easy in 1801, or *98, as in 1813,
that is, by shifting oft' the responsibility from Mr. Adams,
071 his cabinet, for all his pernicious and obnoxious acts,
leaving to him only the responsibility of all his good mea-
sures, a species of sophistication m hich Mr. Jefterson must
have been fully sensible of, at the very time that he conir
mitted it.

Washington was more fortunate, at least, if not more
highly endowed. He had no opinions to modify, no political
antipathies to explain, no party quarrels to reconcile I no re-
sponsibility to shift from one agent to another, in order to
escape the pangs of controversy, or the shock of contradic-
tion, which alwavs carried horror and dismav to Mr. Jef-
ferson; who, even on the topic of religion, where he was
apparently most dauntless, shrunk from the publicity of
his opinions, always enjoining secrecy on his correspond-
ents, and ever indulging in lamentations, because his con-
fidence was betrayed! He was evidently afraid of the
clergy; but when he found the plergy did not attack him,
he returned to the charge, and made another confidential
attack on the clergy.

It was unfortunate for Mr. Jefterson, that his peculiar
position having excited and developed a propensity to agi-
tate all questions as a politician, instead of composing difr
ferences of opinion, that it should have led to establish a
con-esponding habit of his mind as a statesman, to unsettle
all principles of government, in direct opposition to the con-
trary temper of Washington, whose object appears to have
been to settle and establish the government, its principles,
its powers, and its functions on a foundation of permanency
not to be shaken by doubts, or overturned by sedition as
well as to concentrate public opinion to this point. To have
government established on a solid basis, where its principles
secure equal freedom and happiness to the people, seems
infinitely preferable to its perpetual oscillation and the
continued agitation of its powers without brinoring the dis-
cussion to a practicable issue or a more beneficial practice.

PARALLEL. 5G9

It was unfortunate for Jefterson, that he bequeatlied as a
legacy to the people, doubts never to be dispelled hy con-
troversy, and broached principles that, while thev cannot
add to liberty or happiness, interrupt the calm enjoviuent
of both, by inspiring- fallacious liopes and visionaiv tlreams
of political bliss, that never can be realised under a svsteni
of civil law, and a voluntary Constitution. Viewed in his
character of agitator, Mr. Jefterson sinks to an inferiority
to Washington, which we cannot but deplore, as not only
unnecessary in a country which enjoyed the maximum of
libertv, but as dero^ratorv to his elevated character as a
statesman, and his rational dio;nity as a philosopher. AVhat
more can government give than an equalitij of right and
happiness to every citizen? In vain would sophistry labour
to disguise the fact, that by pursuing this course, ]Nlr. Jef-
ferson has proved the founder of a school of agitators, who,
•without having for their object any tangible measure of na-
tional good, were prodigal of professions of liberty that
meant nothing, and unceasing in exciting tiie people against
chimerical g-rievances and unfounded wron";s: the fallacvof
which being constantly liable to detection, created a kind
of moral necessity for deceit? thus creating what their foun-
der never intended, a distinct class of political demagogues,
who in a free country had the audacity to pn)claim to the
people that they were slaves, in order that m virtue ot the
deceit, tiiev might ride into office, on their credulity and
fanaticism.' On this point Washington was far above his
successor; for he was only solicitous to secure to the go-
vernment the fai^rliful oKorcicp nf if« Ipgitimato powers: and
to conciliate and confirm public opinion in support of a sys-
tem, based on the rights of man. and operating to protect
the property and promote the happiness of every republican,
who couUrboast of the title of 'citizen.- In a despotic
government, the merit of Mr. Jefterson's conduct would
have been transcendent? but under a free Constitution,
which dispensed even a prodigal measure of libtMty to all,
it was mischievous, as well as unmeaninir. and led to tliose
turbulent associations and clubs, which fermeiitiiiii: by the
imported passions of Paris, Dublin and London, had to re-
sort to the wretched fiction of a plot of monarch j/, in order
to give plausibility to the wild chimera, which formed the
ground-work of their tesselated party.

All difterences of opinion that ever existed between these

d'r

70 PARALLEL.

great men, appear at various periods, to have been recon-
ciled, removed, or superceded by coincident sentiments, or
waivers of the question, on the part of Mr. Jefterson^ so that
in the end, it would appear really difficult to tell, whether
he, or Mr. Adams, had been the author of the Alien and
Seditio.v laws, or the father of the State Rights doctrine.

The same remark will apply to Jefterson and Washing-
ton^ but here there was not the same reason for hostile views
or political hatred, and of course, no difficulty of reconcilia-
tion, even under the fanatical charge of monarchical de-
sijjns alleo-ed against him: for the alleoration not beino; sin^-
cere, the recantation cost nothing.

The moment that Jefferson commenced acting in a mili-
tary capacity as Governor of Virginia, he bowed at once
with reverence and affection to the acknowledged supre-
macv of the jjenius of Washino;ton, and joined in the uni-
versal sentiment of veneration which at all tunes attached
to the person and character of the great chief. Personally
and politically intimate, as they were, at a subsequent
period, when the glory of Washington was in its full blos-
som, it is scarcely possible that thev should ever have che-
rished a misunderstanding of the genius and motives of one
another: and once conceding the point of mutual patriotism
and integrity, in which belief both were sincere, it is incon^
ceivable that difference of opinion should have led to an
alienation of friendship. Rivalry could not enter between
men of such dissimilar genius, at least not on the part of
Washington 5 and although it is possible that Jefterson may
sometimes have contemplated tlie fanie of the former with
a jealous feeling, yet the object of his emulation was too
highly exalted in glory and power, to permit any permanent
emotions of envy to take root in his bosom. The attempt
to pull him down, therefore, by Frenau, Callender, Bache,
and Duane, was soon abandoned; for it was quickly found
to react against themselves: it was the Lilliputians attempt-
ing to bind Gulliver, to use a favorite comparison of Mr,
Jefterson, and overwhelmed them in disgrace, for havino;
attempted to destroy a man whose virtues made him inde^
strlictible.

Although it is more a circumstance of fortune than a trait
ot individual merit, yet Jefferson possessed an advantage
over Washington in having the sympathies of his nature
fully developed by the parental affections. A man, in ge-

TARALLKL. 371

neral, who has no chiklrert, is but an itnperfoct beings »lc-
fective in the noblest and ni()>t amiable feelinijs of the
heart; Had Wasliington been a father, he lui^ilit l\ave been
less austere, but he could not have been more virtuous; he
might have been more amiable and accessible, but not more
benevolent. This circumstance threw a softer and warmer
colouring over the character of Jefferson, whicli (lisj)laved
him to advantage, when contrasted with the cold and rej)ul-
sive dignity of Washinirton; but^ periiaps the want of |)ro-
D-eny in the latter, caused no material reduction in the
splendour of his character, or the perfection of his heart
and mind; as he seemed to have been in so ^reat a de^jree
elevated above the common failings and weaknesses orour
nature: yet to Jefterson, this circumstance must have been
hidilv favourable to the bland and amiable cast of his tem-
perament, inclining him to affection, benignity, and friend-
ship.

As a statesman, the palm of superiority must certainly
be awarded to Washington, who gave the flesh and muscle,
and animation of practice, to the new theoretical ske/eton
of an untried constitution; and whose execution of it being
afterwards confirmed by all his successors, attested to its
wisdom: for the few exceptions^ in which they departed
from his precedents, were so immaterial, as not to constitute
a difference of judgment as to the main policy of the na-
tion. Mr. Adams' misrule is always to be considered as
anomalous; and when we compare Mr. Jefferson's policy
of the anti-commercial system, with that of his successors,
his was in that respect likewise anomalous. Mr. Adams'
precedent misrule, was unfavourable to the full di-play of
Mr. Jefterson-s statesmanship, as it gave him a propensity
to ultraism, or a radical policy, too much in the extreme of
his views; but this was corrected by his successors, and
commerce was reinstated in her just rii^hts.

In comparing their peculiar merits as statesmen, we
ouo-ht of course to include the views and doctrines of each,
in relation to the Constitution, and the extent of its powers
over the States. And here Wasliington shines in the lus-
tre of transcendent superiority, not so much because he
manifested superior talents, as'superior rectitude and con-
sistency. As the father of the Con>titution, we have seen
Washiiiirton stimulate the States, and appeal to the people,
for its formation, on the broad ground of giving efficiency

372 PARALLEL.

and vigour to the general government^ as a fundamental
desideratum. We have seen him preside and act in the
coxvENTiox of delegates, during their deliberations, when
the only question was, shall the United States possess

the CONTROLIXG POWER of a SUPREME GOVERXMENT? and

when, in answer to that question, the controling power was
distinctly invested in the general government^ subject only
to the limitations imposed by the Constitution! We have
seen the States individually pause upon its adoption, on the
broad ground of the expediency of parting with this specific
portion of their sovereignty, previous to their ratification of
its provisions. We have seen Washington devote his days
and nio-hts to the obtainment of a constitution that would
vest in the Union powers of sufficient energy to all the pur-
poses o( national supremacy^ independent of the mere ivili
and consent of the States, and superceding the right of their
veto, non-concurrence, or reluctant and tardy compliance.
We have seen such a constitution framed and adopted; we
have seen Washixgtox chosen to carry it into execution^
with a special reference to his qualifications, to give it a
practical shape corresponding to his ideas of energy^ and
to the inherent virtues of the instrument, to supply that
energy. We have seen him accomplish that object, with-^
out exciting the opposition of any one State, or producing
a murmur of discontent, grounded on the suspicion of hav^
ing transcended the powers lodged in the government by
the Constitution. We have seen all his cotemporaries con-
cur in and sanction this course of exalted patriotism and
political virtue; thus presenting a consistent career of in-
variable views in relation to Constitutional /a?r, which com-
mands our reverence for his wisdom as a statesman, and
extorts our applause for his integrity as a politician, demon-
strating his sagacity to have been unequalled and his
honesty incorruptiblet

Contrasted with this attitude of unalterable advocacy of
a controling power in the Union, Mr. Jefferson is dis-
tinguished for a fickleness of opinion, which leaves him
deficient in that stabilitv of character, which we naturally
expect from one of his complete education and profound
legal acquirements. He had studied the Constitution in
Paris, and had avowed himself a federalist; he had studied
it at home, and his approbation of it continued unaltered;
he came into the new jjovernnient to administer it, and still

PARALLEL. 373

asseverated that the Constitution was perfect, and intended
for absolute federal power witliin the limits of the autliori-
ties delegated. Nor did he change his opinion until he
saw that the presidency was within his grasp, and yet that
others, more specially patronised by "Washington, had the
best chance of plucking the golden fruit. This devclope-
ment of ambition being coincident to the era of the French
revolution, caused Mr. Jefferson to rally a party under the
flaunting banner of State rights and French liberty; even
then, however, conceding a controling attribute to the go-
vernment of the Union; for it was not until the epoch of
the ALIEN and sedition laws, that he reached the verge of
ultra-democracy in the promulgation of nullification doc-
trines, subversive of that controling virtue of the Union,
which, at an anterior date, he had admitted as the legiti-
mate line of federal power. Yet, even on this point, he
was rather doubtful than heterodox, inclining more to theo-
retical, and always deprecating practical nullification, and
evincing more of the character of a visionary, than an ultra.
This want of stability, however, was a source of serious
disparagement to him as a statesman, whicli gave to ^\'ash-
ington every advantage which attends upon a consistent and
lofty course of action, unvaried by times, uninfluenced by
circumstances. Indeed, Jefterson's frequent change of senti-
ment in respect to the Constitution, has even confused his
disciples, who are yet undetermined whether to range them-
selves as federalists, or rally as democrats. As late as 1813,
in a letter to Melish, he declares that — 'The party called
republican is steadily for the support of the present con-
stitution. They obtained, at the commencement, all the
umendments to it they desired. These reconciled themselves
to it perfectly, and if they have any ulterior view, it is only,
Y>er\\Si])S^to populco'ise it further ,\iy shortenin<»; the senatorial
term, and devising a process for the responsibility of judn-cs,
more practicable tlian that of impeachment.' In tliese few
lines more doubt, instability, and contradiction obtains,
than is to be discovered in the entire course of ^Vaslling-
ton's life, and certainly indicate a looseness of views not
altogether reconcilable to our ideas of a first rate states-
man. In looking for the cause of this oscillation, we
must advert to the unfortunate position he assumed of ultra-
liberty, which almost necessarily forced him into visionary
ideas of government, on the one hand, and of derogatory

Hh

74 PARALLEL.

imputations against the antagonist party on the other; and
it \vas still more unfortunate'that he should live to see his-
tory record the fallacy of all his promised views of ulterior
good, as well as the falsity of all his predictions of a mon-
archical evil, made for the' purpose of throwing into odious
contrast the character of the adverse party. The felicity
of position, on the contrary, occupied by Washington,
saved him from all those tortious paths which fictitious
devices compel a resort to; so that his course, as a states-
man, was uniform, consistent, honest, unchangeable and
enlio-htened, based on practicable principles, and profess-
ino- to do no more than what was fully warranted by the
obvious letter, and defined powers of the Constitution.

In the bold and striking achievements of his administra-
tion, however, Jefferson approached very near to the great-
ness of Washington. The acquisition oi LGuisiana, which
doubled the domains of the republic, was a master-stroke
of statesmanship, an enlargement of empire by a movement
of diplomacy, a bloodless victory, attended by all the con-
sequences of a martial triumph through fields of carnage;
and tlie credit of it was certainly very distinguished and
remarkable: in his ordinary negociations, however, he does
not appear to have been so successful.

The statesmanship of Washington commenced long prior
to his filling the presidential chair: and the very day that
he accepted the station of commander in chief was he cmn-
pelled to devote his attention to those civil and political
movements on which depended the efficient organization of
the army. The loose texture of the old confederation, impos*
ed upon him the arduous duties of a supreme magistrate. His
elaborate correspondence with the Congress displays those
hio-h civil attributes which mark the eminent statesman,
and exceed in bulk and difficulty the duties of a President
under the federal union: whilst his letters to the States
manifest that enlarged, vigilant and profound view of the
national relations, that admit of no scope for rivalry or
competition. Acting at once as the promptor to Congress
— as the guardian of the confederacy— as the stimulator
and exhorter of the States — -as commander of the army,
and the parent of the people, it excites unqualified admira-
tion at the prodigious extent of his talents, the fecundity
of his genius, the solidity of his judgment, the abundance
of his resources; and in fine of all those qualities which

PARALLEL. 375

contribute to form the active, practical and consummate
STATESMAN. And it was this immense stock of reputation,
a.s a. civil magistrate, that he brought into view of public
opinion, when it concentrated with spontaneous entliusiasm
upon his name as the first President under the Federal
Constitution. It was not the eclat of his military deeds,
which pointed all minds towards him as the man pre-emi-
nently qualified to administer the civil functions of a new
government, in a crisis of unexampled peril to the liberties
of the people, and the safety of the country; but Ins es-
tablished fame as a statesman, his resplendent labours as
a legislator, and an executive, as one who could give effi-
cient motion to the immense machine of government, di-
recting its energies to the proper objects, and even origi-
nating and maturing the laws necessary for the general
welfare, and indispensable to the common defence. As a
statesman, therefore, Washington rises to the highest point
of glory and of greatness.

The superiority of Washington's statesmanship seems to
be shown in the peculiar adaptation of his policy to the
special object of the Federal Constitution, which was the
vigor and efficiency of the government, in contradistinction
to the laxity of principle and looseness of the parts in the
old confederacy. Let us suppose that Mr. Jefferson had
been chosen to carry into practice the first experiment of
the government, instead of Washington, and that he had
applied his system of State rights and popular interference
to the new machine which the Federal Convention had just
placed in the hands of the Executive.'' Is it not self-evi-
dent, that, for want of vigour and energy, the Constitution
would have crumbled to pieces in his hands, and left him
in possession only of the fragments of the old confederacy.^
For that is certainly the true system of the government
which fulfils its great ends; and that, of course, must be
the spurious doctrine which baffles and defeats the object
had in view by those who framed it.^ The ditlVrence in the
crisis, and the remote stages of the two administrations,
cannot affect the principle. A goyernment of laws must
have the principle of energy and coercion; and it was the
concentration of this enerjry in a federal government which
the Convention gave, and which, to carry out into perfec-
tion, induced the Washington policy. It does appear,
therefore, that Mr. Jeftefterson's was anomalous, and not

576 PARALLEL.

congenial to the Constitution, but a policy formed in ac-
cordance with the constant and living current of popular
opinion^ a policy for the people, not for the Constitution;
a policy framed to gain popularity, not to cement, fulfil
or consummate the fabric and purposes of government. It
appears, therefore, to be rather the policy of the politician
than the policy of the statesmcm — the legislator — the law-
giver or the patriot, who looks beyond the bounds of pre-
sent praise, to the final consequences of civilization and
liberty. Yet even this anomalous policy of Mr. Jefferson,
so far from being incompatible with human happiness and
permanent freedom, is admirably calculated to secure those
objects, provided the people are sufficiently virtuous to
be governed by opinion instead of law! It implies, in the
PEOPLE, the highest perfection of virtue and intelligence;
and leaving nothing to coercion^ leaves the safety of society
at the mercy of their discretion, wisdom, prudence and vir-
tue. It implies that power will be so honest as to commit
no usitrpafion, and that the people wdll be so virtuous as
to abstain from all violence, licentiousness and disorder;
but this is supposing the very effect that government is in-
stituted to secure. Hence the discrepancy between Mr.
Jefferson's system and the highest attributes of the states-
man : for he does not himself appear to have discovered the
real nature and direct tendency of his own principles, hav-
ing been driven into them without due consideration, by
the impulse of French liberty, on the one hand, and the
force of Mr. Adams' tory despotism on the other. In proof
of this, we have many declarations under Mr. Jefferson's
pen, which show that he had not considered the scientific
principles of his system so profoundly as he had studied its
impression on the minds of the people, and, seeing it well
received by them, he determined to adhere to it. Washing-
ton, on the contrary, only looked to the adaptation of his
policy to the Constitution, and never, for a moment, sus-
pected that the people could desire what the legitimate
ends of government would not gratify or sanction; at least
he never suspected it anterior to the French revolution;
and when he did behold this neiv idea of government, he
instantly resisted it, as subversive of law, order and secu-
rity. So that, in effect, there was this difference between
Washington and Jefferson, as statesmen, that the former
rescued the republic from the chaos of the old confede-

PARALLEL. 377

RACY to the coercive government of the Federal Consti-
tution, and the latter re-conducted us to the chaos of the
confederacy through the currents of popuhar opinion, ideas
ot unbounded liberty, implicit confidence in the virtues of
the people, and an unlimited faith in their intelligence and
capacity for self-goverxment.

It is apparent that mere party differences would never
have severed these eminent men. By party difterences, I
mean those which grew out of diflference of opinion upon
constitutional principles, or points of national policy. In
this respect, very little essential variation of sentiment ob-
tained between them. It was faction, not sound, whole-
some and legitimate party, which fomented the mind of
Jefterson against his great predecessor. It was the fermen-
tation of passions wholly extraneous to our government,
constitution and country, adopted by the latter in obedi-
ence to the popular impulse, or at the dictate of his own
antipathies. It is, therefore, to the greater credit of Wash-
ington, that he never fell into the delusions, errors, or vices
of faction; but kept his mind well poised upon great prin-
ciples inherent in the Constition, or substantial measures
demonstrated by experience, to promote the prosperity and
develope the resources of the nation; witliout hecdinjr the
voice of faction, whether it assumed the conciliatory tone
of soft adulation, or the harsh sound of intimidating reproof;
and his credit for this elevation of conduct is the greater,
because the temptation to court popular favour was so
powerful, and the consequence of losing it was so apt to
terrify the judgment from its propriety. By thus resisting
the lust of popularity, on the one hand, and the fear of pub-
lic denunciation, on the other, he displayed the most sub-
lime moral Grandeur of which the human mind is capable,
when it sacrifices to the stern dictates of duty every con-
sideration of interest, ambition, fame, power and flattery.
It was in this lofty disregard of all consequences, that
Washington shone, on all occasions, with, a lustre so su-
perior to other men.

How far Mr. Jefferson was correct in drawino; the line
of discrimination between pliysical and moral \\Wr\y , and
striking at the emancipation of the human mind from the
fetters of prejudice, interest, selfishness and otlier unnorthy
passions, it is not my present purpose to enquire; hut it is
a fact, that the great point of difterence between him and

H h2

C"^

78 PARALLEL.

AVashington, lav in this trait of his character, which carried
him into theories and experiments, positions and principles,
that involved him in a perpetual warfare of politics, religion,
morals, and metaphysics.

It cannot be doubted but that Jefferson lived into an era
verv different in its predominant characteristics from the
political age in which \N'ashington flourished as President.
The epoch of Jeflerson was the second stage in our national
existence, a sta^e of more refinement and luxury than that
of Washington's time, a middle epoch between honesty and^
corruption which favoured duplicity and finesse, without'
plunging into open political debaucheries. Jefferson too,
having been so long at the French court, assisted to pro-
duce this lamentable laxity of the political moral sentiment
of the people; and it is to 'this trait of his character that we
are, perhaps, to refer his change of opinion as to the honesty
of John Adams, when, with a credulity not common to old
age, he believed all the palavering of that ^ Angloman,' in
vindication of his character from the authorship of the alien
and sedition laws: as if, as President, he could divest him-
self of his constitutional responsibility for the measures of
his administration. It must ever excite astonishment, that
Jefferson could for a moment tolerate the idea of the irre-
sponsibility of the Executive, by giving John Adams credit
for his interested expurcration from the turpitude of the
obnoxious laws of his Presidentship: receiving his ipse dixit
in a matter Mhere the strongest testimony would naturally
become liable to cross examination, and reasonable distrust 5
but thus to admit Mr. Adams' pleading in his own favour,
and in crimination of others unjustly, betrayed in Jefferson
a credulity, or a lust of conciliating the good opinion of his
rivals, which it is difficult to reconcile either to his philo-
sophical acumen, or to his sense of justice. True, he tells
us Ids motive, that he would not have the world think that
political competition could beget personal hostility between
him and a rival! Yet if it did produce personal feelings,
it mattered not wliat the world should think of it, even sup-
posing it possible to deceive tke world by such an artifice.
But still there must always remain left a number of indi-
viduals in the opposite partv. with whom reconciliation is
hopeless. Thus, though Jefferson became nominally re-
conciled to John Adams, yet he died full of indignation and
hatred against Timothy Pickering, and opened the grave

PARALLEL. 379

oi Hamilton to give a last blow to the dead lion. It was
impossible to make tlie world believe wluit he did not be-
lieve himself, that he ciierished no personal animosity
against his greatest political enemy and rival. The ferocity
of party hatred between rivals has no limits but tiie i:;rave;
it assassinated Alexander Hmnilton, it persecuted J)e Witt
Clinton to death, it ostracised John C. Calhoun and Henry
Clay, it did attempt to destroy Washington himself: and
never will become less bitter wiiile men are actuated by
the passions that destroy their greatness.

Both understood human nature well, and had studied
man with success; but Wasliington luid a peculiar intuition
for penetrating to the true characters of men, and ascer-
taining at a glance what objects they were best adapted to
accomplish. His first cabinet has never been equalled in
talent by any subsequent one; and his selection of Jef-
ferson, as Secretary of State, evinces his extraordinary
sagacity in immediately penetrating to the strong bias of
men, and finding out for wliat station their talents best
qualified them. In this faculty Washington was superior
to Jefferson, although the latter was largely gifted with the
same instinct of genius,

A command over the passions of men — an intimate know-
ledge with the springs of human actions — a power to stimu-
late or restrain, direct, or control, the judgments and con-
duct of otiiers, has always been thought to imply the high-
est scope of genius. This constituted a peculiar charm in
the character of Washington, while Mr. Jetterson could
boast of very little of it. It was this gift of genius which
enabled Washington to keep his troops togetiier, when with-
out pav, provision, clothing or slielter, and thus save his
country! Jefterson, in a certain measure possessed some
of the same genius, but not of that exalted (jualitv whicli
distinguished the first President, who could reconcile men
to the extreme of suffering from affection to his person, and
reverence for his virtues. Mr. Jefferson's control and in-
fluence was of rather an opposite character, as they fid lowed
him from motives of interest? and yet, in both cases, the
object to be obtained was much the same, thoui^h the feel-
ing of personal veneration may have been different. Hut
this power over others in Wasiiington, extended to all oc-
casions, and all men, under every variety of situation,
which was not the case with Mr. Jefferson.

c

80 PARALLEL.

To counterbalance this disadvantage, Mr. Jefferson was
more social, more companionable, more colloquial than his
great predecessor: and hence he entertained a greater va-
riety of guests, and practised a more extended hospitality:
being not only the Magnus Apollo of all politicians of every
grade, but the oracle of authors, schoolmasters, book-ma-
kers, inventors, dreamers, schemers, and the whole tribe
of those who claim affinity to Apollo, Minerva, Mercury,
or Mammon. But this disposition had its attendant evils;
it seduced him into expenditures not justified by the in-
come of his estate, and left him in his old age poor and
embarrassed; when his political doctrines had, in a great
measure, grown out of fashion, and his services to his
country had to be recalled to the recollection of the age by
the vigour and pathos of his own pen, in order to procure a
law to dispose of his estate by lottery; a favour granted to
all others, almost without solicitation, and for objects of the
most frivolous nature.

In respect to their personal economy, therefore, Wash-
ington had more wisdom and prudence, and perhaps less
hospitality and warmth of friendship; but he manifested his
wisdom, in not leaving himself naked, to the cold ingrati-
tude of a selfish world, and compelled to make appeals to
his country, when that country had become deaf to his
claims: and in this sense, the verdict of history seems to
have ratified the distrust of Washington in the virtue of the
people. There was this difference too, betv.een them on
this point, that Washington never received a cent of the
people's money for his public services; while Mr. Jefferson
obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from the national
treasury for his services to government; and whicli rendered
his want of economy a perfect contrast to the wise liberality
of expenditure practised by the father of his country.

Without supposing Jefferson to have been actuated by
sordid motives, which would be to suppose him divested of
all laudable ambition, in his pursuit of the highest honours
of the nation, it mav be esteemed a reasonable cause of
regret, that, like Washington, he did not decline all com-
pensation: and yet a doubt may be started whether that
country will not be less liable to corruption, that allows a
liberal compensation to its public officers, instead of tempt-
ing the rich to serve the people for nothing, and eventually
subjecting the public honours to be purchased by the opulent.

PARALLEL. 381

It was wortliy of remark, even to the generations in
which these great men flourished, that they diftered as
much in their exteriors as in their minds :' tlie apparel
of Washington being adapted to his station and rank in
life, equally free from ostentatious display and iriap|)ro^
priate meanness; while that of Jetterson was far inleiior
to his rank, as if he even courted the applause of the
people by seeming to approach to tiie condition of the la-
bouring classes, by his coarse and plain clothes, often in
direct contradiction to his rank, and obviously in desiprjied
contrast to the dresses of those whom he stigmatised as
monarchists. In this fashion of extreme humility, he was
imitated by other prominent men of the partv, who were
rallying their strength in opposition to TVashington^ espe-
cially by Albert Gallatin, and all those demagogues who
hoped to make up for the hollowness of their hearts, by
the popular cut and colour of tlieir garments; as if political
orthodoxy resided in the texture of the cloth, and the folds
of their mantles, instead of the texture of their minds, and
the honesty of their principles, ^^'hatever virtue, however,
resided in these plain republican coats, no afliectation of it
was attempted by Washington and his friends, who seemed
perfectly willing to be judged by the virtues of the inward
man; leavino; their garments to the taste of the mercer and
the skill of the taylor, witli such criticisms as little minds
might feel disposed to make on so small a subject.

That Mr. Jeft'erson was deficient in that enerirv of cha-
racter, which characterised his great predecessor, was shown
by his forbearance to resent in a proper manner, the insult-
ing aggressions of France and England, duiing the period
of the Berlin and Milan decrees, and the attack on the
Chesapeake; when the character of the republic sunk in his
hands to the lowest point of pusillanimous dejection; and
w^hen a proper degree of vigour would have restored it to
its wonted honour and fame. Wasliington, though careful
at all times to shun war, never failed to extort the respect
of foreign powers.

Mr. Jefferson was more fortunate than Washington, in
having his life protracted to an old age, which introduced
him, as it were into the company of posterity, to behold the
effects of the two systems of government which he had
opposed as monarchical, and which he had practised as re-
publican; but which were, in fact, only two modes of the

e>

82 PARALLEL.

sajne federal government! It was also his fortune to live
to behold the victories on sea and land of the war of 1812;
but he seems to have been insensible to his own agency in
the production of many of the disasters which that war
brought upon tlie country, and which were clearly to be
traced to his system of depending on the militia in time
of war, and his favourite theory of non-taxation^ and a total
independence of the monied influence. As democrats were
pledged by Jefferson, never to tax the people, the first con-
sequence of the war was the prostratio7i of public credit,
and the result of that was universal defeat on every quar-
ter; while, at the same time, his State right doctrine found
a practical illustration in the Hartford Convention, that
struck oft' one-half of the fiscal resources and moral weight
of the empire, from co-operating in the war. But, although
Mr. Jeff*er5on lived through all these bitter fruits of his
erroneous policy, yet he does not appear to have been sen-
sible tliat he was instrumental, as he indubitably was, in
producing them: for they were the inevitable effects of the
great democratic system which he so proudly displayed to
the world, in his eloquent pen. But his correspondence
furnishes no gleam of suspicion, that the force of such la-
mentable experience ever shook the scales of political fana-
ticism from his eyes; for though he exults much in the
splendour of our naval victories that wreathed gems of glory
round the brows of our Bainbridge, our Decatur, and our
Hull, yet he never seemed conscious of his own error of
policy, in respect to our naval system, which would have
reduced its actions to our harbours, and its seventy-fours
to the cockle-shell dimensions of a gun-boat.

How superior in this respect was Washington! — who
founded public credit on a just system of taxation, as a
source oi revenue to pay the interest, and redeem the /^rm-
cipal — who, from experience, pronounced militia to be in-
capable of waging protracted war — and who consolidated
into a system that fiscal poiver without which war wants
its sinews, and government its wheels.

Thus the reaction caused by the Jefferson system only
confirmed the Avisdom of the IVashington policy: and in
the last extremity of disgrace and poverty, Madison was
compelled to plan a national bank of fifty millions capi-
tal, to raise an army of 50,000 men, and to increase the
navy to royal power and splendour; besides resorting to

PARALLEL. 383

o

STAMP ACTS, EXCISE LAWS, tllC FUNDING SYSTEM, lUllionul

depreciated paper, immense bands of government oj/icers,
and, in fine* with the exception of the alien and sedition
laws, every feature of the federal policy. Thus, Jet!erson
lived to see Madison practise all that he had denounced as
monarchy, corruption, and tyranny, in his federal prede-
cessors.

The great traits of Mr. Jefferson's character were deci-
dedlv modern: and he had nothins: of the cothic left in his
mind, after the era of 1793. Washington, on the contrary,
evinced a disposition to cling to what was established: wiiile
Jefterson was at all times on the alert for revolution, inven-
tion, improvement, looking to the intellectual perfectability
of man; while the eyes of Washington were alone fixed upon
the virtue and happiness of the human family. The mind of
Jefterson was more active, more inquisitive, more exploring,
more philosophic, and aimed to abolish every abuse, civil
and religious, which obstructed the march of the intellect to
unshackled perfection. Learning more profound, and spe-
culation more excursive, distino;uished Jefterson, and opened
to his view avenues for doubt, knowledge, abuse, and men-
tal bondage than Washin";ton ever dreamed of: for, as a
philosopher^ or a mere literary man, the great chief of the
republic cannot compare with the sage of Monticello. Nor
does the hero of Mount Vernon require any of the eclat of
philosophy, or the schools, or unversities, or philosophical
societies, to add to the unfading lustre of his imperishable
name, or swell the limits of his boundless s:;lorv.

The animosity of Jefterson towards every thing in any
manner connected with kingcraft, or priestcraft, was one
of the ruling passions of his mind, that never su tiered
change, or underwent mitigation. Had he lived in the
time of Luther, he would have instigated to a schism in the
church, or a total renunciation of Christianity: and had he
been a subject of English King John, he would have stimu-
lated the people to extort the Magna Charta from the king,
or excited them to abolish the throne and forfeit the head
of the monarch. There was that in him which, in any
country, and any age, would never have remained (piiet
while power abused right, or opjnession laughed at justice:
and there was, too, within him that which prompted him to
aspire to rule men, in virtue of having been gifted by na-
ture with the requisite talents for their government, hi all

384 PARALLEL*

these traits of his mind, he differed essentially from Wash-
ington, who was disposed to acquiesce in systems already
established 5 and who was wholly indifferent to the preva-
lence of priestcraft, or the abuses of religion to the sinister
purposes of human passion. The active spirit of the Re-
former had no place in the nature of the hero q{ Mount
Vernon, who being firmly attached to the dcmocraticcd prin-
ciples of the Constitution — which he had himself mainly as-
sisted to establish, which recognised the exercise of the
equal rights of the people, and which brought the govern*
ment into the very focus of the popular sovereignty — he
seems to have been satisfied to promote the general happi-
ness of mankind, through the res^ular medium which the
people had devised and adopted for that purpose, in the
plenary and unlimited exercise of their pow er.

Aspiring to do something more for the people than the
Constitution warranted, and imputing to the democratic
federalists designs inimical to liberty, Mr. Jefterson pro-
fessed to give the people a degree of freedom incompatible
with government, and to assume the exclusive merit to
himself of being a friend to the exercise of equal rights,
and the enjoyment of human happiness. In the calm mo-
ments of sober enquiry, and impartial reflection, he recalled
the stigma, and disclaimed the arrogation, conceding to all
his oppopents the merit of honest intentions, and the pos-
session of principles favourable to human liberty, and con-
servative of our republican constitution.

In maintaining his judgment in the cool equipoise of
reason, and his mind free from the fever of political fanati-
cism, Washington was far superior to Jefterson, who on
his part, fell from the true glory of philosophy into all
the cant, bigotry, and delusion of a vulgar enthusiast for
the destruction of law and order. To have attained the
standard of true philosophical dignity, which in general
belonged to Washington, in virtue of his admirable mind,
Jeft'erson ought to have felt and practised the same political
tolerance that he espoused in matters of religious opinions,
and abstained equally from the j^re and faggots of the poli-
tical as he did of the religious fanatic: for a fanatic in party
passions is far less excusable than a fanatic in religion —
the former resembling a horse-jockey, and the latter a poor
besotted monk.

In this respect, when we contemplate the character *of

PARALLEL. 385

Washington, we bow with instinctive reverence to the ma*
jesty of reason, as well as virtue; and venerate the heart
of that man who could modulate its tumultuous throbbings
at the suggestion of patriotism and philosophy, rebuking
faction from his presence, spurnin*^ from him its venom,
its poison, and its vengeance — its degrading passions, and
its debasing instruments — its insincere doublings — its si-
mulating tortuosities— its unmanly deception — its fawning
meanness, and its sycophantic adulation. Enthroned in
truth, virtue, and patriotism, he required no altar of vulgar
pr^udices to smoke with the sacrifice of honesty and truth,
to conciliate his pleasure, or appease his resentment' — too
strong in virtue, and too conscious of justice, to give favour
as a boon, or receive flattery in commutation of right.

It is, after all, in the moral grandeur of character that
we are to look for that superiority, which entitles heroes and
statesmen to the lasting esteem, applause and veneration
of mankind, through all changes of time, and through all
revolutions of empires. The system of government, or the
mode of polity popular in one age may be execrated in ano-
ther, as men sink to degeneracy, or soar higher in the scale
of perfection; as taste varies, or fashions alter: but in Vir-
tue there is a truth and a beauty that endures forever, the
graces of which never fade, but charm all tastes in all ages,
amons: all nations. Here we are constrained to confess
that Washington bears away the palm from all competitors
in the race of glory, being equally exempt from ambition
and envy, avarice and hatred, revenge and cruelty, and
free from all those personal vices which degrade our being,
and detract from the intellectual excellence of man. It can
be said of few men, as it may of Washington, that he never
traduced another's fame, envied another's greatness, or at-
tempted to pull down a rival, or obstruct his advancement
by intrigue, fiction, insinuation, falsehood, or calumny,*
being not only negatively, but positively virtuous — uniting
benevolence to justice, and doing in all cases to others as
he would that others should do unto him. An empire lay
at his command, but he disdained it at the price of virtue:
a crown might have glittered on his brows, but he trampled
the meretricious ^em beneath his feet. A free people invited
him to authority for life, but he rejected the offer, and re-
tired to the quiet enjoyment of private life, presentin;^ in
every feature of his character that moderation, humility,

o

86 PARALLEL.

modesty, virtue, clemency, and firmness, -which constitutes
the moral grandeur of geniuSj and extorts the universal
homage of mankind.

From as full an investigation of the respective merits of
these distinguished men as our limited talents would permit
us to make J and from as impartial an estimate of their prin-
ciples and public services, as a total exemption from motive
allows to the frailty of our nature — we are constrained to
acknowledge that, in point of genius, wisdom, patriotism,
and service to his country, Washington soars to a height of
superiority that admits of no competitor, no rival, no equal;
while Mr.Jefferson presents so many striking points of cha-
racter, mingled with great genius, various erudition, expert
statesmanship, and eccentric opinion, as at once to command
admiration, and induce esteem^ at the same time that his
versatile character, and singular doctrines, will lead to
the interminable animosity, and inapppeasable dislike of a
vast portion of mankind. In all stations, Washington was
incomparably great: in the range of his civil duties, Jeffer-
son Mas always able. Both achieved great blessings for
mankind: but Washino;ton achieved greater for his country.
In intellect, both were beyond the common standard of
great men — in patriotism, both were undoubted — in princi-
ple, both were sound — in opinion, Washington was sincere,
and Jefterson equivocal. Leisure and education made Jef-
ferson a philosopher: business, and the calls of his country
compelled Washington to keep the field of active life, and
denied him the speculations of the closet; so that his entire
existence was devoted to the practical labours of beneficent
government. Envying no man, and coveting no power, he
never rose by the fall of others; for fortune threw author-
ity and honours into his lap, even contrary to his desire;
and he was naturally prone to add to, instead of detracting
from, the merits of others. As it relates to their political
doctrines, I have been unable to discover that Jefterson
was more of a democrat than Washington, or that Washing-
ton was more of a federalist than Jefferson, according to the
Constitution, as it was administered under their respective
administrations.

I now speak of them as statesmen — Washington was not
a politician; and Jefferson was an ultra politician, who made
a clamour about liberty when, Washington being in power,
no want of it was experienced, and in a country where it was

PARALLEL. 387

enjoyed to the utmost extent of popular sovereignty. Tliis
was a mere persoiiaf, not a political difterence between them.
it was personal in Jefferson, in order to court the people to
his support; but it meant nothing, and it could give them
nothing but what they possessed; for how could he add to
the FULLNESS OF LIBERTY.'^ How could he fill a measure
already overflowing? The difference between them was in
themotive^ not in the principle. It was necessary to impeach
the patriotism of Washington in order to give himself merit;
but the contrast produced was opposite to that which was
desired; and but for, to him, the saving folly of John Adams,
the reaction would have been fatal to the fame of Jetterson.

Adams more than realised the fiction which Jeft'erson had
created against his predecessor; and what was illusioyi in
1793, became fact — palpable and tangible fact in 17981
Adams, too, was an ultra politician, and he was the natural
foil of another idtra politician of the radical school, who had
only to restore the Constitution to its Washingtonian in-
tegrity, and his fallacies of liberty were supposed to have
produced a revolution, which was solely accomplished by
the simple operation of the national charter, in its legiti-
mate rectitude. The non-abuse of the Constitution pro-
duced universal exuberance of freedom; and fidelity to the
principles of the revolution, constituted equally the merit
of Washington and Jefferson.

It was this fidelty which caused them both to administer
the government to the satisfaction of the people, and the
prosperity of the country; so that, in the lapse of time, and
on mature reflection, it became difficult to detect those
minute points of difterence which had been engendered by
the interference oi foreign politics, havin^ no relation to
our Constitution and government; but whicn merely served
as machines of detraction, by which parties could depre-
ciate and criminate one another, without having any foun-
dation beyond the inflamed passions of the moment. It
was incident to the great mind of Washington, that he
rejected the use, and repelled the intrusion of these foreign
topics of incendiary faction, his sagacity having penetrated
to their fallacious character, and his rigid sense of honesty
and justice, having repudiated the use of all means to ac-
complish an end not sanctified by morality and truth. On
the other hand, every true American must lament, that it
was incident to the peculiar situation and circumstances of

388 PARALLEL.

Mr. Jefferson, to harbour, cherish and apply to political
purposes, a delusion too gross to receive the countenance of
aphilosopherj and to foment a foreign fanatacism, too pe-
culiar to the country in which it originated, to permit its
adoption without betraying an extravagance and inconsis-
tency unbecoming an American statesman. But the lesson
to be derived from the example, creates the clemency that
extends a liberal indulgence to the error; while the efful-
gence of his talents and patriotism throws into obscurity
those minor spots of character which are lost in the blaze of
the Declaration of Ixdepexdexce.

In nothing is the human judgment so wanting in discri-
mination, as in its proper appreciation of personal charac-
ter, We are all prone to idolise those we admire, as per-
fect beings, or to denounce those we dislike as monsters of
deformity, whose blemishes are unredeemed by one beauty,
or a solitary excellence. It is needless to observe that such
a course wars equally against philosophy, common sense,
and the obligations of justice between man and man; but
we are bound to declare, that he who aspires to the dignity
of a rational being, can only evince his title to that honour
by learning to place a juster estimate upon human fallibility,
and to confess that a man may be great without being fault-
less, and that the splendour of his genius may justify all
our admiration, without permitting us to fall into idolatry,
or maintaining the preposterous idea of his infallible virtue.

It is in this spirit of philosophical truth that I have en-
deavoured to analyse the character of Jefferson; conscious
that his intrinsic greatness was more than sufficient to com-
pensate for his casual inconsistencies, or occasional dere-
lictions; and confident that the affection of his devotees,
however ardent, could not interpose the plea of perfection
against the confession of frailty flowing from his own lips.
History deals in facts, not affections; and, in all cases of
controverted character, we appeal for a verdict to the head,
even though the heart bleeds in announcing the sentence.
While the same principle has regulated our estimate of the
qualities of TFashington, the absence of the same inconsis-
tencies averted conclusions equally detractive, though still
adverse to that superlative point of transcendent perfection
which the votary claims for the idol of his devotion. Still,
however, we behold, in the character of Wasliington, a
man less imperfect than any other man, whom history has

PARALLEL. 389

delineated as the chief agent of sovereign power, as one
who made up for the want of eftiilgent genius by the steady
splendour of his virtues, and the undeviating rectitude of
iiis understanding:!

Admitting both to be men who had human frailties, man-
kind must always concede them to have been very extra-
ordinary models of their kind, not excelled by any whom
ancient superstition has deified, or modern enthusiasm
extolled as the prodigy of ages; and he, who calls himself
an American, and does not feel his heart expand, and his
chest swell with the just pride of a patriot, when he hears
the name of JVashington, or recals to mind the services of
Jefferson^ must have a bosom too callous to be excited by
greatness to admiration, or impressed by virtue to grati-
tude, love and veneration.

The American wlio loves his country, and feels conscious
of the pride of patriotism, in the glory of its achievements,
and the virtues of its fathers, will exalt his views above the
mists Q^ party when he contemplates the greatness of tliese
two illustrious founders of the republic, and decree them,
accordingly, that ample and unmixed measure of fame to
which they'are both entitled as American statesmen; who,
inhaling the breath o( genius at their birth, gave more than
royal dignity to the obscure cradles of the cottages in which
they were born, and from which they emerged to supreme
power, by the force of virtue and talents pre-eminent among
men, through the spontaneous su ft rages of a free and en-
lightened people. Upheld by principles of eternal truth,
and made memorable by deeds of lasting utility, their
names are consecrated to perpetual veneration in the hearts
of a grateful posterity, who never can forget their virtues
while they enjoy its fruits, nor cease to emulate as long as
they continue to appreciate their patriotism.

THE END.

> ERRATA.

Pag'e 96, third paragi-aph, ' Virgixia' is added erroneously to the

five States that originally appointed delegates to the Convention.

The next paragraph will lead the reader to correct the error.
Page 315, in note, fourth line from bottom, for ' ots John Adams,'

read *with John Adams.*
Page 320, fourteenth line, for 'ruling whose passion,' read * whose

ruling passion.'

DEC 3 1 1934