IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
I.I
L^IM |2.5
|5o ""^ iSE
Z U£ 11112.0
1118
pS 1.4 II 1.6
^
6"
►
m
V]
^c%
y/f
CM a:
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WIST MAIN STREET
wEBSVin, >!.Y <5ao
(716) 87ij-45JJ
■^n
i-
;
.v<^ k
CIHM/ICMH
Microfiche
Series.
CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques
Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas tachniquaa at bibiiographiquaa
Tha instituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat
original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia
copy which may ba bibliographicaily uniqua,
which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha
raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa
tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow.
□ Colourad covara/
Couvartura da coulaur
□ Covara damagad/
D
D
D
D
D
D
n
Couvartura andommagte
Covara raatorad and/or lamlnatad/
Couvartura raatauria at/ou palliculte
I — I Covar titia miaaing/
La titra da couvartura manqua
Colourad mapa/
Cartaa giographiquaa it coulaur
Colourad inic (i.a. othar than blua or black)/
Encra ds coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noiral
Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/
Pfanchaa at/ou illuatrationa 9n coulaur
Bound with othar matarial/
RaliA avac d'autraa documanta
Tight binding may cauaa shadowa or diatortion
along intarior margin/
Lareliura %»rr^ paut cauaar da I'cmbra ou da la
diatoraion la long da la marga intiriaure
Blank laavaa addad during raatoration may
appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar posaibia, thaaa
hava baan omittad from filming/
II sa paut qua cartainaa pagaa blanchaa ajoutiaa
lora d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta,
mala, loraqua cala Atait poaaibia, caa pagaa n'ont
paa *t« filmiaa.
1
t
L'Inatitut a microfilm* la maillaur axamplaira
qu'il lui a it* posaibia da sa procurar. Las details
da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-itra uniquaa du
point da vua bibliographiqua, qui pauvent modifiar
una imaga raproduita, ou qui pauvant axigar una
modification dana la mithoda normala da filmaga
sont indiqute ci-daaaous.
|~n Colourad pagaa/
n
n
n
Pagaa da coulaur
Pagaa damagad/
Pagaa andsmmagiaa
Pagaa raatorad and/or laminatad/
Pagaa raatauriaa at/ou paliicuiias
Pagaa discolourad, stainad or foxad/
Pagaa dicoiorias, tachatias ou piquAes
Pagaa datachad/
Pagaa ditachias
Showthrough/
Tranaparanca
r~| Quality of print variaa/
Qualit* inigaia da i'imprassion
Includaa supplamantary matarial/
Comprand du material suppiimantaira
Only aditlon availabia/
Saula Mition disponibia
Pagaa wholly or partially obscurad by arrata
slips, tissuaa. ate, hava baan rafilmad to
ansura tha bast possibia imaga/
Laa pagaa totalamant ou partiailamant
obscurciaa par un fauiilat d'errata. una pelure,
ate, ont iti fiimias A nouveau da fapon i
obtanir la maiilaura imaga possibia.
P
c
a
1
a
7
V
h
d
a
b
ri
n
n
Additional commants:/
Commantairaa supplimantairaa:
Wrinkled pages may film slightly out of focus.
Thia itam is filmad at tha raduction ratio chackad balow/
Ca documant aat film* au taux da reduction indiqui ci-daasous.
10X 14X 18X 22X
26X
30X
y
12X
16X
20X
24X
28X
32X
The copy filmed here het been reproduced thenke
to the generosity of:
. Library of the Pubtic
Archives of Canada
L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce h la
g4n6rosit4 de:
la bibliothdque des Archives
publiques du Canada
The innages appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.
Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated Impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.
The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol •— ^> (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.
Les images sulvantes ont At6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettetA de l'exemplaire f ilm6. et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrax de
f limape.
Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimie sont filmis en commen9ant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernldre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'iliustration, soit par le second
plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont filmfo en commen^ant par la
premSAre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'iliustration et en terminant par
la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.
Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la
dernlAr'^ image de cheque microfiche, seion le
cas: le symbole — •» signifie "A SUIVRE", le
symbols V signifi« "FIN".
IVIaps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included In one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:
Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre
fiimis A des taux de r6duction diffirents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre
reproduit en un seui clichA, il est filmA d partir
de Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
lllustrent la mAthode.
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
I
*• - ■■■,■''.- t-
V7?f "■ ,
.■*!
/2-
VIEW
rSiT'
iS^
'ff^ '\y^ffl„%^^V^ ; ■ ■ OF THE
, ># STATE OF PARTIES
IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA;
;.>«.i^.,ji^rf^./ _■
■^Mi
BEING
AN ATTEMPT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE PRESENT
ASCENDANCY OF THE FRENCH, OR DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
IN THAT COUNTRY;
■'^■'<,<'^'»%.;-''■■.•«^■.' ■•tit'^'
.;*:
tN TWO LETTERS TO A FRIEND.
BT
IF A GENTLEMAN WHO HAS RECENTLY VISITED THE
UNITED STATES.
" Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few."— SwiFT.
^,'.
EDINBURGH:
'••■ -ie»^'
, r^, •■".:.
Printed by James Ballantyne and Co.
; 70R JOHN BALLANTYNE AND CO. EDINBURGH;
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, LONDON.
K^
■W---
1812.
.:-*-5p;
■*#"
■'?
-^i;-
,;5i;iv.
K-.
PHMPP
i^m^mm^m^
/■'.
t.:':
:i 5
'i V
■iir I
i:
i v./ <:ja. * t'
I *"
7'r-
( t
* / .
■'yi(*'Ai>
• .- r J ..
f| -.
i^-v
)■/' •<•
4 itl'^J^Af-JJ* — i^A.
» ^
'.; . ?
1 ; * ' . I ( t!
./JiJ i.'.}
i.0V7l
i'.'<i Jl
J/i|j
/ . ' .. I ■
;'>■;<..>:
A VIEW, &c.
LETTER I,
'W
My DEAR Friend,
»..'•. . J.. ; . •■ ■ • /■-.',
oiNCE my return from America, you have
made frequent inquiries respecting the present
disposition of the American government. You
have often remarked, how singular it is, that a
people, with whom we are in many ways so
closely connected, should testify, on all occa-
sions, so strong an antipathy to their mother
country, and so open a partiality to France.
These dispositions of the American government
no one, I believe, now ventures to call in ques-
tion. Every act of the British government is
i^i^iit
viewed by America through a distorted me-
dium, and converted, if possible, into a topic
of reproach and invective : while, on the other
hand, the most flagrant acts of injustice on the
part of France are either passed over in total
silence, jr studiously extenuated by those to-
wards whom they are directed. The causes of
this Anti-Anglican spirit of the American go-
vernment lie deeper than is commonly imagi-
ned : and, in compliance with your desire, I
shall endeavour to lay before you such inform-
ation on this interesting topic, as a short resi-
dence in the United States has enabled me to
acquire.
f
Certain obvious causes of the antipathy of
the Americans to England must present them-
selves to the most superficial observer. The
animosities engendered by the revolutionary
war, it may be supposed, have not altogether
subsided : and the unavoidable inconvefiiences
resulting to the commerce of America, from
our naval supremacy, must likewise be a source
of alienation ^d disgust. But surely the Ame-
ricans have less cause to cherish the animosities
of the revolutionary war than we ourselves
have : and the naval supremacy of our coun-»
try is unquestionably productive of greater ad*
vantage than inconvenience to the United
States. The origin, therefore, of the French
bias, which at present distinguishes the Ameri-
can government, must be sought for in other
circumstances. The result of my observation
on the state of parties in America was, that
this bias proceeded partly from the animosities
of the revolutionary war, partly from the jar-
ring views and interests of the different sections
of the Union, partly from the prejudices of
certain leading statesmen ; but chiefly from the
excessively democratic nature of the American
government, from the universal suffrage which
is its distinguishing feature, and the violent
party contentions by which such a government
must always be a^tated. ; .: '
It is the last of these circumstances, the na-
ture of the American government, to which, as
the most powerful of the causes we are inves-
tigating, I shall first solicit your attention. In
order to explain the nature of this singular go-
vernment, it will be necessary, in the first place,
to take a very cursory view of its history, and
to notice the change of parties which, in the
short space of twenty years, has already taken
place in the United States. This short disqm-
sition, while it is essential to the solution of the
problem we are considering, may perhaps sug-
gest to you some curious observations on the
nature of free governments in general, and
more particularly on that of the United States.
It is well known, that the present constitu-
tion of America was framed by a body of dele-
gates firom the several states* who sat at Anna-
polis, in the year 1789, 'and of which Generals
Washington and Hamilton, and Dr Franklin,
were the most conspicuous members. It is
also well known, that the constitution, or plan
of government, which this august body, after
many months deliberation, gave forth, (although
the United States have now foi twenty years
been prospering under it beyond all expectation
and example,) was established with much dif-
ficulty and after a strenuous opposition from a
powerfl\l and numerous party, who were un-
friendly to its adoption. The party, which
framed and supported it, was composed of
those who saw the necessity of the United
States, considered as one nation, being provi-
ded with a national government ; that is to say,
with an organ or instrument, by which their
intercourse with foreign states might be carried
on, and by which, at the same time, such mat-
ters of internal police, as are closely connected
with that intercourse, might be regulated. In
furnishing the United States with this indispen-
sable organ, the chief difficulty consisted in
establishing a government, which should both
possess sufficient vigour for the purposes its
founders had in view, and at the same time be
armed with no prerogatives that might seem
dangerous to the liberties of the nation, or de-
viate from those forms of democratic polity to
which the American people are so closely at-
tached* • i
: The constitution actually framed, seems, in
an eminent degree, to possess both these re-
commendations. The powers, with which it is
8
h
ii
ll
invested, are sufficient for the ends of its institu-
tion : and its forms are at the same time stricdy
conformable to the republican model. It con-
sists o5 a president, who is elected every four
years, by electors chosen in each state, by the
legislature of the state ; and in whom is vested
the supreme executive authority of the United
States. The legislative powers of the general
government are confided to a senate, composed
^9f thirty-two members, (two being chosen by
the legislature of each state,) who hold their
seats for six years ; and to a house of represen-
tatives, which is renewed every two years, and
consists of one member for every thirty thou-
sand voters throughout the union.
The functions, which this government was
appointed to exercise, are such as arise out of
the foreign relations of the United States, toge-
ther with a few matters of domestic police,
which can be more advantageously managed
by a national government than by the legisla-
tures of the individual states. Foreign treaties
and embassies, therefore, the declaration of
peace and war, the regulation of foreign trade
raX
9
md levying of the customs, the reguladon of
the coin and of the law of bankruptcy, are the
exclusive province of the general government :
while the proper legislature of each state still
administers all those branches of government,
that relate to its own individual concerns and
internal police. The judicatories of the general
and state governments have their respective juris-
dictions apportioned by the same rules. The
courts of the United States (of which there is
one in each state, and a supreme court of ap-
peal at Washington,) take cognizance of all
questions occurring between foreigners, between
a foreigner and a citizen of the United States,
between states themsdves, between citizens of
different states, or between a state and a citizen
of another state. The courts of the individual
states retain the cognizance of all causes civil
and criminal, properly originating within the
bounds of their own immediate jurisdiction.
• This government, so inoffensive in its struc-
ture, and so necessary in its operation, encoun-
tered the most bitter opposition from a large
and formidable party, and was only at last
10
established by the persevering exertions of
those, who saw that its institution was indis-
pensable, not only to the welfare, but to the
very existence of the union. America, in the
opinion of her wisest and most patriotic citi-
zens, was at that time on the eve of civil war
and national bankruptcy ; and nothing, it was
evident, but the establishment of a strong na-
tional government could avert these greatest of
all calamities. The successful conclusion, to
which the revolutionary war had been conduct-
ed, naturally rendered them anxious that the
future proceedings of the nation should be
equally respectable in the eyes of the world 5
and that the enemies of their country should
have no handle for saying, that they had gain-
ed little by the acquisition of independence ;
since civil discord was an evil scarcely inferi-
or to foreign oppression. Actuated by these
motives, the friends of the federal constitu-
tion exerted all their energies to procure its
adoption ; and, after many struggles, did ob-
vAn the sufeges of a majority of the state
conventions, assembled to deliberate on its
11
merits. Under the auspices of Washington,
who, after being the leader of his country in
war, was summoned, by their unanimous voice,
to be their first ruler in peace, the federal con-
stitution commenced its operation on the 4th of
March, 1789 ; and the prosperity which Ame-
rica has enjoyed under its influence, bears
ample testimony to the wisdom of its founders.
The party, who voted for and procured its
adoption, received the appellation of Federal-
ists ; those who opposed it were distinguished
by the name of Antifederalists. Thus arose
the two great parties, which have since divided
the union. Their views and objects' are at pre-
sent very different from what they were at the
time, when they first marshalled themselves in
array against each other ; but their component
parts are still nearly the same.
The party which opposed the establishment
of the apparently unexceptionable constitution,
which forms the general government of \e
United States, consisted of persons, who, though
professing to have the same object in view,
were actuated by various motives. The objec-
12
If
■
it
li
tion urged by all was, that the federal constitu-
tion was too powerful, splendid, and costly a
government ; and might prove dangerous to
the liberties, as well as burthensome to the
finances, of the nation. The powers, confer-
red on the general government, encroached too
far, it was alleged, on the efficacy and import-
ance of the state governments ; and in the same
degree that they armed the former with prero-
gatives dangerous to the citizen, disqualified the
latter from protecting his rights. The office of
president was likewise represented as approach-
ing too near to the monarchical standard. The
fears that were entertained, or at least express-
ed, on this subject, are well described in the
Federalist. " Here," it is observed, in the 67th
number of that admirable work, being one of
the numbers attributed to General Hamilton,
*' the writers against the constitution seem to
** have taken pains to signalise their talent of
*' misrepresentation. Calculating upon the aver-
" slon of the people to monarchy, they have
" endeavoured to enlist all their jealousies and
" apprehensions in opposition to the intended
13
" president of the United States ; not merely
" as the embryo, but as the full-grown progeny
** of that detested parent. To establish the pre-
" tended affinity, they have not scrupled to
" draw resources even from the regions of fic-
" tion. The authorities of a magistrate, in few
" instances greater, in some instances less, than
" those of a governor of New York, have been
** magnified into more than royal prerogatives.
" He has been decorated with attributes, sujpe-
" ric)r in dignity and splendour to those of a
" King of Great Britain. He has been shewn
" to us with the diadem sparkling on his brow,
** and the imperial purple flowing in his train.
** He has been seated on a throne, surrounded
" with minions and mistresses ; giving audi-
*' ence to the envoys of foreign potentates in
" all the supercilious pomp of majesty. The
" images of Asiatic despotism and voluptuous-
** ness have not been wanting to crown the ex-
*' aggerated scene. We have been taught to
" tremble at the terrific visages of murdering
"janissaries; and to blush at the unveiled
" mysteries of a future seraglio."
u
The federal party naturally comprehended
the greater part of those, whose property and
education gave them a deep interest in the wel-
fare of the community, and led them to perceive
the necessity of a national government. The an-
tifederal party consisted, for the most part, of per-
sons of an opposite description. Speaking gene-
rally, one was the party of the gentry, the other
of the commonalty. Many of the antifederalists,
therefore, (at least if we may place any reliance
on the assertions of their political opponents,)
being men of desperate fortune and abandoned
character, were, in their opposition to the esta-
blishment of the federal constitution, actuated
by no better motive, than a wish to see realized,
those very national calamities, which it was calcu-
lated to avert ; and even enjoyed the prospect of
those civil disorders, in which men of this de-
scription know they have nothing to lose, and
imagine that something may possibly be gained.
It is probable, also, that a considerable part of
this faction was instigated, merely by the envy
and dislike, which tjiey felt to the proceedings
of men, whom they were forced to regard.
1
M'
&
15
though unwilling to acknowledge, as their su-
periors ; and by aversion to the establishment
of a government, in whose honours and emo-
luments they had little chance of participating.
Those members of the faction, whose talents
and zeal had marked them for its leaders, were
probably animated by the hopes of forming a
strong and efficient party, which, at some future
time, might put them in possession of that very
government, of which they affected so highly
to disapprove. They proceeded on the safe
calculation, that in a government purely repub-
lican, those who take the popular side, are sure
in the end to prevail. By raising an outcry,
therefore, about liberty and the rights of the
people, and expressing much alarm for the dan-
gerous tendency of the general government,
they laid in a stock of popular favour, which
might afterwards be turned to their own advan-
tage : and thus commenced that system, which
has since been so fatally efficacious, — that sys-
tem of delusion, misrepresentation, and false-
hood, whichj it will appear in the sequel, are
6
•
i
1 1
i
!
! ^
16
among the leading characteristics of American
politics.
The government being established, its offices
were of course filled by persons of that party;
which had framed and procured its establish-
ment. The illustiious person placed at its head,
selected for its principal departments, some of
the most eminent of his companions in arms,
together with other gentlemen, recommended by
their civil qualifications, to the offices which he
conferred on them. The celebrated Hamilton,
who had been his aid-du-camp during the war,
was appointed secretary to the treasury ; Ge-
neral Knox, who had also acted a conspicuous
part in the revolutionary struggle, was placed
in the station of secretary at war. Mr Jeffer-
son was appointed secretary of state, and Mr
Randolph attorney-general. All these gende-
men were eminent either for their talents or
services. The first Congress was composed,
with very few exceptions, of the patrons and
supporters of the new constitution, ana the state
legislatures were filled with persons of the same
description.
U
17
''V'.i
Of the four persons above mention^?, as
composing the PreslJcnt's Cabinet, he who
most amply fulfilled the expectations of the
country, was the secretary to the treasury. Ge-
neral Hamilton, it is well known, was equally
remarkable for the greatness and the versatility
of his genius. He had served with much re-
putation in the war of the revolution, and evin-
ced talents that,on a military theatre, would have
raised him to the highest distinction. No sooner
had he sheathed his sword, and accepted the ap-
pointment of secretary to the treasury, than he
shewed, that he was no less fitted to shine as a
statesman than as a soldier. And some years
afterwards, when the necessities of his situation
compelled him to resign the high office, which
Washington had conferred on him, he betook
himself to the profession of the law, and soon
rose to the highest eminence at the American
bar.*
* The various talents and services of General Hamilton
present a constellation of excellence, of which there are a few
examples in the antient republics, but which can hardly occur
in any settled country of modern times; having in this case been
tlrawn into notice, by the unlooked-for contingencies, to which
B
18
U<i
Under the excellent management of this
statesman, the finances of the United States
were soon reduced to a state of order, that
laid the foundation of the prosperity which the
country has since enjoy i , The official reports
drawn up by him, and presented to Congress,
exhibit a luminous view of the situation, in
which America then stood with respect to hex
pecuniary resources; and reflect the highest
honour on the financial talents, as well as the
general political knowledge, of their author.
During tiie first term of General Washing-
n
.iF '•
the war of American independence gave rise. The fame of
Hamilton, in America, is second only to that of Washington :
and, indeed, it is confidently believed, that the great founder
of the American nation owed no"^ small portion of his glory
to the merits of his distinguished minister. It is certain,
at least, that many of the most admired state- papers and
speeches of Washington proceeded from the pen of Hamil-
ton. The premature death of this great man excited ge-
neral commiseration throughout America and Europe. After
reaching the first ranks of eminence in almost every line
of human exertion, and while yet in the vigour of his days,
and the midst of his usefulness, he fell a sacrifice to the ran-
cour of a political rival : leaving to a numerous family, httle
more, than the honour of his illustrious name, and the benefit
of his great example.
19
■"''1
ton's administration, the success, attending the
operation of the new constitution, was such, as.
amply fulfilled the expectations, and testified
the wisdom, of its founders. On the expiry of
the four years, for which he had been elected pre-
sident, this great man was again unanimously re-
elected : and the second term of his administra-
tion was equally prosperous with the first. At
the end of eight years, declining to be again re-
elected, Mr Adams, who had previously filled
the office of vice-president, was chosen to suc-
ceed General Washington in the chief magistra-
cy of the Union. During the administration of
this second president of the United States, the
federal party gradually declined in strength;
and, on the expiry of his term of office, it
was completely overthrown. Mr Jefferson, who
had placed himself at the head of the opposite
party, was elected president ; and the adherents
of this faction (which has since passed by the
different names of the republican, democratic,
or French party,) soon obtained a decided
majority, both in Congress and in the legi-
slatures of the individual states. The federal
constitution was thus administered, for twelve
f
I
i'l'l
It I
I
ii
ml
Mi
t
I 111'!
20
years only, by those who had originally framed
it, and procured its adoption. At the end of
that time, viz, in the year 1800, it passed, and
has ever since continued, in the hands of those,
who, at the time of its establishment, were its
avowed and inveterate enemies.
The means, by which so total and sui'prising
a revolutfon was in so short a time effected,
have an immediate reference to the object of
this letter ; and are the more deserving of in-
quiry, that they seemed to be but imperfect-
ly understood even in America ; and I have
never met with any explanation of them, that
was to me at all satisfactory. The Overthrow
of federalism has been ascribed by some, to cer-
tain obnoxious measures, adopted by the go-
vernment, under the administration of Washing-
ton and Adams ; and particularly to their rai-
sing a small standing army of 6000 men, and
proposing to build a small navy of six ships of
the line. But this is obviously insufficient to
account for so great a change. No person in
his senses could seriously disapprove of raising
an army of 6000 men, which, in so extensive
a territory as that of the United States, would
Hi
I ;■
SI
to
.*
in
be hardly perceptible. As little could it injure
the government to build six 74- gun ships : as
such a navy is nothing more, than what might
seem necessary, for maintaining the police of.
their own ports and harbours. Neither, could
the downfal of federalism be occasioned, as some
have asserted, by what has been called the mis-
conduct of President Adams. Besides being
charged with a demeanour, rather more distant
and haughty, than befitted the first magistrate
of a republic, this gendeman is accused of a ca-
pital error of administration, in having omitted
to declare war against revolutionary France, at
that period, when she seemed inclined to wage
war with every well-regulated community, and
had offered peculiar indignities to America her-
self. But this explanation is equally unsatis-
factory with the former ; for that partiality to-
wards France, which has since unhappily been
so conspicuous in the great body of the Ameri-
can nation, was even then become too appa-
rent : and it seems probable, that, by declaring
war against France, President Adams might
have accelerated, but certainly could not have
i:
n
!| l!l
iim
S2
retarded, the approaching downfal of h?j party.
After a long and attentive consideration of the
subject, I have adopted the opinion, that the
change of parties i)> America was a great move-
ment, that arose from the combined operation
of two causes, namely, the peculiar firame and
structure of the American constitution, and the
peculiar situation in which America was then
placed with regard to Europe. My ideas on
these points I shall now endeavour to expkdn
as briefly as possible.
Every nation, that has a popular government,
must be divided into parties, and these parties
must be constantly at war with each other. In
order to fight, they must have subjects of con-
tention, and these subjects of contention must
be either internal or foreign. For some time,
both before and after the establishment of their
national government, the attention of the Ame-
ricans was wholly engrossed by their domestic
concerns. The constitution of the government,
under which they were to live, and on which
their future happiness or misery so essentially
depended, was a matter of sufficient importance
flS
to occupy all their attention, and furnish em-
ployment for all their intrigues. The esta-
blishment of the federal government, therefore,
as has already been stated, gave rise to the first
great division that took place in the country.
For several years, the whole nation was split
into two parties, of which one was unceasingly
occupied in commending the federal constitu-
tion and the federal government ; the other, in
abusing the constitution, and in reviling, and
striving to undermine the party, by which it
was framed and administered.
Such was the occupation of the American
parties for several years succeeding the esta-
blishment of the federal constitution. At last
the French revolution, and the stupendous
events which followed it, diverted their atten-
tion from domestic concerns, and fixed it al-
most exclusively on the great scenes that were
passing on the opposite shore of the Atlan-
tic. The dawn of the French revolution pre-
sented itself to the astonished Americans, in
the light of a mighty people, bursting the
shackles of tyranny, and realising those blissful
visions, which the friends of humanity and free-
S4
\m
dom have in every age so fondly indulged.
Their national vanity was flattered by the share,
which their own revolution was thought to have
had, in the production of the memorable event :
and they rejoiced in the transporting idea, that
the blessings of free and popular government,
which they considered as originating in perfec-
tion with themselves, were about to be extend-
ed to the whole human race. For several years
they resigned themselves to this pleasing delu-
sion : at last the spell was dissolved ; but it
maintained its influence over their minds, long
enpugh, to produce the most important eflfects
on the state of their parties. At first, as I have
alrcttdy stated, neaily the.whole nation was borne
away by the torrent ; the whole democratic par-
ty certainly without any exception. The princi-
ples, which seemed to govern the French revo-
lutionists, at the outset of their career, were en-
tirely conformable to the views of that faction ;
and were of course, no less industriously propa-
gated by the leaders, than greedily imbibed by
the party at large. The only individuals, who, at
that period of philanthropy and frenzy, ventured
m
^r
S5
to express any distrust or apprehension, with
regard to the ultimate issue of the French revo-
lution, were a few of the most cautious and re-
flecting of the federal party. It appeared to
these sagacious persons, to be highly improbable,
that a country, so differently situated as France
from America, could by any means be rerdered
capable of the same form of government ; or that,
though a republican government could exist in a
new under-peopled country, at a distance from
the theatre of war, it could at all exist, or at least
exist for any length of time, in"an old, fully-peo-
pled country, inhabited by a martial race, and
surrounded with warlike neighbours. Such, in
particular, were the sentiments of General
Washington and of General Hamilton : and
though it was too soon apparent, that the prin-
ciples of these iliuvStrious men were just, and
their fears well founded, the prevalence of the
opposite sentiments among the great body of the
people was seriously detrimental to the interests
of the federal party. The love of freedom, so
cong iiial lO the lower orders of every state, the
admiration of French equality, so natural to the
fi6
American populace, pervaded by far the greater
pan of the nation : and the prudent caution of
General Washington and his wise advisers, v^ras
stigmatized, as proceeding, from a cold insensibi-
lity to the cause of freedom, and an undue par-
tiality to the interests of England,— then, as was
supposed, endeavouring to form a coalition, for
the base purposes of checking the emancipation,
and partitioning the territory, of France. It may
be easily imagined, how quickly the concurrent
operation of these two causes, during the pro-
gress of the French revolution, thinned the ranks
of the federalists, and increased the strength of
their opponents. In point of fact, there can be
no doubt, that the French revolution had a ma-
terial share in the overtl .row of the federal par-
ty. In'point of date, the two events correspond
with a singular exactness. The federal party
may be said to have come into power, when the
federal constitution was established, in the year
1 789 ; and its final overthrow was marked by
the accession of Mr Jefferson to the presidency,
in the year 1 800. The French revolution be-
gan about the year 1 790, and may be said to
m
a
27
have reached its consummation about the year
1800, when Buonaparte declared himself first
Consul of the French republic
So early as the year 1 797, Europe had as-
sumed many features of the frightful picture
which she now exhibits. France had made
considerable progress in the destructive career
she has since too successfully pursued, and Bri-
tain was approaching to the proud station, which
I hope she will long maintjun, of the last recep^
tacle of European freedom, and the only re-
maining refuge of suffering humanity. It was
then becoming apparent, that there would soon
exist,but two independent nations in Europe: and
the Americans began to be apprehensive, that it
would be necessary for them, as for every other
people, to take a share in the war, which these
mighty rivals were waging with each other.
Washington, by issuing a proclamation of neu-
trality, superseded, at that time, the necessity of
a measure, which, in any event, must have been
prejudicial to the United States ; and laid the
foundation of the neutral trade, from which
his countrymen have since derived such incal-
28 ,
culable benefits. But still, though the coun-
try remained at peace, every American was
called on to take a side ; to choose either the
French or the English party. From this dme,
the objects of political discussion in the United
States were exclusively foreign. The paltry
concerns of their own administration dwindled
into insignificance, when compared with the
wonderful events, which almost every day
brought forth in Europe, and by which they
foresaw that their own interests might after-
wards be materially affected.
The antifederal party being established in
power, it became necessary for them to draw
up a political creed ; to choose a set of princi-
ples, which should be the watch-word of their
party, and by the propagation of which, they
might maintain themselves in the situations,
in v/hich, by dint of so much perseverance,
they had at last been placed. When entrust-
ed with the administration of its offices, they
found no fault with the federal constitution,
which, during their exclusion from power, had
been the object of their unceasing hostility : the
federalists of course, whatever were their opi-
' iti
29
A-
*..,
nions of those, by whom the government was
now administered, found no fault with the
government itself; so that the change of par-
ties concurred with the aspect of affairs in Eu-
rope entirely to take away the original ground
of d'spute. Foreign politics became the ex-
clusive object of attention ; and it was necessa-
ry for the antifederalists, with a view to the in-
terests of their party, to choose a system of fo-
reign politics; in other words, to make a
choice between France and England. Their
bias towards France was but too observable
before their accession to power : and the stri-
king change in the politics and constitution of
that country, produced after their accession to
power, by the unprincipled ambition of Buo-
naparte, had no tendency to withdraw them
from the unfortunate predilection. This is the
remarkable feature of American politics. It
was natural, that republican America should be
attached to republican France; but when
France ceased to be a republic, and, on the con-
trary, became the abode of the most cruel des-
potism that ever afflicted the human race, it
30
seems incredible, that the Americans should even
then have persevered in their part!?Jity for her,
and their dislike to her illustrious rival. France is
not only herself the victim of a degrading tyran-
ny , but the cradle of a military despotism, that has
overspread the continent of Europe ; and, on a
review of the relative situation.,in which America,
England, and France have for some years been
placed, it appears at first view almost impossible,
that the Americans should have preferred the
alliance of France to that of England. France
has laid prostrate the liberties of continental Eu-
rope, and openly ^ms at the subjugation of the
world. Great Britain is the only remaining
obstacle to the execution of this design ; and
nothing but her subjection is now wanting to
crown the ambition of the Gallic tyrant. Were
the Americans mere unconcerned spectators of
this contest, the most sublime, perhaps, which
the world has ever witnessed, the common sen-
timents and feelings of human nature, and more
particularly the sentiments and feelings of re-
publicans, ought to render them averse to the
oppressor, and obtain their good wishes at
6
vt
^mtii'
31
least for the nation, which constitutes the bul-
wark of the civilized world. But the Ameri-
cans have much stronger reasons for respecting
the character, and courting the alliance of Great
Britain, than can proceed either from the hatred
of tyranny, the admiration of valour, or even the
principles of republicanism. They are, at this
moment,reposing under the shield of British pro-
tection : their existence, as an independent nation,
is indissolubly linked to that of Great Britain.
The downfal of America would follow that of
England, as certainly as the rising of the sun is
followed by the diffusion of light. Notwithstand-
ing these obvious reasons of attachment and
friendship, the American government is hostile
to Great Britain. Their personal interests, real or
supposed, lead them to sacrifice the best feel-
ings of human nature, and perhaps the true in-
terests of their own country, on the altar of po-
pular prejudice ; and to persist in a predilection,
real or feigned, for the inveterate enemy of the
country, which constitutes their sole security
against foreign subjugation.
} P:
1)1
fil'
32
This proceeds on the supposition, that a ma-
jority, or at least a great part, of the American
people is inclined to be hostile to England;
because the American government is composed
of individuals, who are the heads of a party,
and can retiun their power only so long as that
party continues to be the more powerful of the
two. This Anti-Anglican tendency of the Ame-
rican people arises partly from sentiments ori-
ginally inherent in the people, and partly from
the influence of their leaders, who of course en-
deavour to foster and propagate the sentiments,
to which they owe their own elevation. I
shall now endeavour to explain the causes of
this Anti-Anglican propensity, distinguishing,
as far as possible, the sources of antipathy,
which are original, from those that proceed
from the influence and exertions of the demo-
cratic leaders.
I . In the first place, the animosities of the re-
volutionary war have not been entirely obliterated
by the lapse of thirty years. The Americans,
being the successful party in that war, ought to
-^S
33
It a ma-
merican
agland ;
mposed
I party,
: as that
1 of the
e Ame-
ats ori-
.y from
irse en-
iments,
on. I
jses of
ishing,
pathy,
roceed
demo-
he re-
erated
icans,
htto
be the least unwilling to forgive and forget, the
differences in which it originated ; and with the
liberal part of the community, this is according-
ly the case.
Many of those who acted a conspicuous part
in the revolutionary war, and even carried arms
on the side of America, are now marshalled un-
der the banners of the federal party; that is, of
the party which is attached to the interests of
England. When these persons had done what
they conceived to be their duty to their native
or adopted country, and avenged the wrongs
they held to be inflicted on her by the parent
state, they dropped all feelings of hostility ; they
laid aside their resentment, when they sheathed
their swords. They had candour to pardon er-
rors, that sprung from circumstances unprece-
dented in politics, and could separate the mistakes
of a minister from the character of a people. On
the lower orders, however, these considerations
can have little influence. They see but the
dark side of the picture. Overlooldng not only
the errors of judgment, from vvhich the colonial
war arose, but the calamities to Britain herself,
c
34
by which these errors were expiated, they
brood over the temporary miseries it inflicted
on America j and are unable, or ynwilling, to
perceive those circumstances of common inte-
rest and indissoluble connexion, which ought to
render America the perpetual ally of England.
This sentiment of hostility is much more general
in the southern, than in the middle or eastern*
states ; but prevails, more or less, throughout the
whole extent of the union, and must not be over-
looked in accounting for the ascendancy of the
French or antifederal party.
I!
it 1,1
■mi '
ill'
"I
I't
iijijlii'ifi*.
m
2. The democratic party was, from the mo-
ment of its birth, inclined to take the side of
France, merely because the federal party had
taken the side of England. Those feelings of
affection and respect for the English character,
which have always more or less prevailed in
America, were, at the close of the revolutionary
• In America, the States of New England, which are of-
ten in Europe called the Northern, are uniformly called the
Eastern States ; because they lie to the eastward of New York
and New Jersey ; which, with Pennsylvania and Maryland,
are called the Middle States.
95
mo-
ide of
had
[gs of
cter,
d in
•nary
ire of-
bd the
York
Inland,
war, confined almost exclusively, to the federal
party, which was composed chiefly of the bet-
ter orders of the people ; and their prevalence
among this party seems to have inspired the
lower classes with the apprehension of a return
of affection, between the United States and the
mother country. It is easy to see, that the cir-
cumstances of connexion between America and
England can produce their full effect, only on
persons of a certain degree of refinement The
two countries have the same language; their
religion, laws, customs, and manners, are very
nearly the same : the constitution of America
is evidentiy formed on the English model : and
what constitutes their chief distinction from
other nations, their boasted freedom, is entirely
of English origin. It is only persons of educa-
tion, however, who can feel the force, or admit
the justice, of these circumstances of connexion.
The influence of English literature (which is
great in America) must evidently be confined
to such persons alone. Many of the upper
classes have relations and connexions in Eng-
land ; and many of them have travelled in Eu-
36
rope ; where they could not fail to draw a com-
parison between the two great nations of that
hemisphere, much to the advantage of the land
of their forefathers. * Sensible of the bias, which
these circumstances of connexion naturally pro-
duced in the federal party, and being themselves
unsusceptible of the feelings, in which that bias
originated, the opposite faction seems to have
conceived a violent jealousy of the federalists,
and to have entertained apprehensions, that
their British predilections would render them
less tenacious, than they ought to be, of the
rights and interests of America. Washington f
himself did not escape the suspicion of an un-
due partiality to England ; and Hamilton was
constantly reviled as a British agent. When a
body of men, therefore, stepped forward, who
not only disclaimed all connexion with, and at-
tachment to, Great Britain, but even expressed
a contempt or dislike of her character, and
shewed a disposition to view all her acts through
* See the excellent pamphlet on the French government,,
by an American.
+ See Marshall's Life of Washington.
^^^
37
an unfriendly medium, the people were gradu-
ally induced to withdraw their confidence from
their original and natural rulers, and to commit
their destinies to a description of men, of whose
attachment to England they could have no sus-
picion. It has thus happened, by a singular fa-
tality, that those very circumstances of con-
nexion, which ought to have rendered England
the constant ally of America, have been pro-
ductive of alienation and disgust between the
countries ; and have not only deprived the go-
vernment of America of all partiality for, but
have rendered it decidedly hostile to, England.
The purely republican nature of the American
government renders the people the source of all
authority : the illiterate commonalty are jealous
of the English connexions and predilections of
the higher classes ; and think it safer to bestow
their suffrages on men, who have neither Eng-
lish connexions nor English partialities. Eng-
land and America ought to live in perpetual
amity : they would do so, if the better classes
enjoyed in America, that influence which they
possess in Europe ; and which it is for the in-
! ;'if
^|•^l'
38
ter3St of the people theirselves, that they should
enjoy. But in America every thing is at the
disposal « 'the mob, or rather of those int*" rest-
ed leaders, who can render the passions and pre-
judices of the mob subservient to their own ad-
vantage. When in such a country the flood-
gates of democracy aie oper ed, every generous
feeling, and every liberal principle, must be
swept away by the torrent.
3. There is yet another reason why the
ruling party in America find it for their inte-
rest to espouse French rather than English po-
litics. To revile the conduct of England, and
gloss over the faults of France, serves the pur-
poses, which the democratic leaders have in
view, better than the opposite line of co;iduct
would do. The Americans are a bold, active,
and enterprising people, having all the vigour
of Englishmen, combined with the enterprise of
new colonists. The systems of policy, there-
fore, adopted by their favourite leaders, must be
of a nature fitted to rouse and inflame, and keep
in constant agitadjn, a t'^'-bulent, fiery, and fe-
' Wi
y should
s at the
intrrest-
^nd pre-
>wn ad-
; flood-
enerous
lust be
ly the
r inte-
sh po-
d, and
e pur-
ive in
)iiduct
ictivcj
vigour
ise of
iiej;e-
ist be
keep
life-
/id
w
39
rocious populace. The leaders of the demo-
cratic faction know that French, or rather Anti-
English principles, possess this quality in a much
higher degree than Aose of the opposite de-
scription. England is, as to America, a much
more powerful country than France; because
England, by means of her naval power, comes
into immediate contact with America ; and
France, by the same power, is excluded from
the western hemisphere. The democratic lead-
ers, therefore, bestow the most lavish abuse up-
on England, and, as far as possible, endeavour
to exasperate the people r^ainst her, precisely
because she has the means of immediately hurt-
ing them : whereas France, who has inflicted
on them much deeper inj arios than ever they
received at the hands of England, is seldom or
never mentioned by them but in terms of ili-
diflference or of commendation. The injuries
done by France, howe\'er, to America, consist
chiefly iii the confiscation of goods and ship-
ping in the ports of the former country ; and
these, being injuries which are felt chiefly, if
not entirely, by the opulent merchants, are of
ii
I
' . ''■ • III
! I III' ' '
\\\i'.m:
11' "-^'1'
■ iiifi'
40
course extenuated and glossed over in a system
of politics, that is intended for the level of the
populace. While the British navy subsists,
America is inaccessible to France : and the lead-
ing demagogues of that country exhaust their
ingenuity in calumnies and invectives against
their protector ; because it gratifies the feroci-
ous populace they delude, to insult a powerful
nation that has the means of annoying them.
The democratic leaders seem to be careless of
the evils, which this line of conduct may event-
ually bring down upon their country. Provi-
ded they can retain their offices and emolu-
ments, they think little of the means by which
they contrive to do so. As little do they seem
to reflect on the gross inconsistency and absurd-
ity of the politics they advocate. They ex-
press little or no resentment against France, be-
cause, though she has done them incalculable
mischief, she can do them less injury than Eng-
land : and they affect to consider, as their dead-
ly enemy, the nation that has the power of de-
fending them, and actually does defend them,
ag^nst .lie people, that has swallowed up the
m
4i
liberties of Europe. But this power, which
protects them against France, could also, they
know, lay their principal towns in ashes, and
blockade their shipping in their harbours ; and
they revile and insult the nation, possessed of
this power, because, by so doing, they keep
alive that agitation and ferment, which are the
vital air of a democratic community.
Connected with the subject of Britain being
the present protector of America, there is ano-
ther idea, which probably enters into the consi-
deration of the violent politicians of the latter
country. Their haughty spirit of independence
renders them peculiarly adverse to the notion, of
receiving protection from a country, which they
cri\sk!er as having been once thek oppressor, and
\ - uv t Toke it is their boast to have thrown off
At tae termination of the American war, there
were not wanting politicians on both sides of
the Atlantic, but particularly in the United
States, who predicted that the greatness of Bri-
tain was on the wane ; and that the disjunction
f her transatlantic dominions was the forerun-
i|;
rit'l
i
42
ner of her own dowiifal, or at least a blow, from
which she would not speedily recover. All
these expectations, however, have been totally
disappointed : the prosperity of Britain has ne-
ver advanced with so rapid a step, as since the
termination of the American war ; and for se-
veral years past she has been the protector of
he* own r -ohed colonies* The United States
derive as muc enefit from the British navy as
they could possibly have done, had they still
formed an integral part of the British empire.
They are unwilling, however, to acknowledge
so great a favour from the country, which they
formerly baffled, and which they still affect to
set at defiance. The obligation, which they re-
fuse to acknowledge, they cannot avoid feeling ;
and hence arises a strange mixture of sentiment,
which induces them to hate their protector, and
to revile their best ally.
It appears, then, that the ascendancy of the
democratic party in America, is chiefly owing
to its having embraced the political principles
most consonant to the sentiments of a rude and
fierce democracy, exetcising supreme authority,
I "•!
1%
45
)w, from
er. AH
fi totally
has ne*
ince the
I for se-
ctor of
d States
navy as
ley still
empire,
wledge
h they
feet to
ley re-
leling :
iment,
r, and
)f the
>wing
ciples
eand
)rity,
.m.
i
'^K-M
and uncontrouled by any of those checks which,
in governments less democratic, are found to be
so useful in moderating the zeal, and correcting
the errors of the populace. The principles of
this party are infinitely less agreeable to truth,
to justice, and to sound policy, than those of the
federalists : but they have been adopted, and are
still cultivated, because they are more congenial
to the animosities engendered by the revolu-
tionary war, because they are in opposldon to
the principles advocated by the federalists, and
because they afford more abundant food and
exercise to the turbulence and fury of a conten-
tious populace.
In a popular government, every party con-
tains two separate descriptions of people, those
who lead, and those who are led. The leaders
are at first determined, by principle, by interest,
or by accident, to choose the party which they
prefer ; and the reaction of their influence on
the party is more or less perceptible, in propor-
tion to the greater or less degree of activity they
display in promoting its interests. It has al-
ready been explained, that the leaders of the
44
"%
'■ i,l '
1
iir
democratic party in America have obtained pos-
session of the government, by choosing that set
of principles, which was most acceptable to the
ruder and less refined part of the community ;
and it is proper to add, that they owe their as-
cendancy also, in some degree, to the superio-
rity which, in one respect, they have always
manifested over their political opponents ; to
their greater activity and 2eal in propagating the
principles, and advancing the interests, of their
party.
It might have been inferred, a priori, from
the difference between the materials of which
the two parties are composed, that their con-
duct would be marked by the difference, which
is here alluded to. The leading federalists are
gentlemen of fortune, talents, and education, the
natural rulers of the country. The leaders of
the democratic party, on the other hand, are,
for the most part, what may be called politi-
cians of fortune ; adventurers, who follow po-
litics as a profession. With them politics are a
primary, with the federalists, they are rather a
secondary consideration. The democrates, be-
45
aed pos-
'_"y
• that set
e to the
nunity ;
heir as-
•uperio-
always
i
tits; to
ing the
)f their
, from
« ,
which
r con-
,.-;■■«■
which
;*
ts are
,.''«if^
n,the
^
3rs of
M
, are,
m
30liti-
§
V po-
€
area
-M
her a
m
, be-
m
ing in general men of inferior birth and breed-
ing to the federalists, can more easily mix with
the rabble, and practise the tribunitian arts.
They affect, in their dress and manners, to re-
gard themselves as of the plebeian order, and
condescend to a familiarity of intercourse with
the vulgar, from which gentlemen would revolt.
They practise, in short, with greater activity and
perseverance than the federalists, all the means
by which the interests of their party can be ad-
vanced. These means, as being curious in
themselves, and totally different from any thing
that is known in this country, are not unwor-
thy of explanation.
It is in the great towns that these means are
employed with the greatest activity, and attend-
ed with the most complete success ; and a state-
ment of what is done in New York will fur-
nish a good specimen of what is done through-
out the union. This city, which contains about
80,000 inhabitants, is divided into ten wards,
eac!i of which has an alderman and officers of
its own. This division has been made chiefly
for the convenience of elections ; which, in a
46'
country where suffrage is universal, and party
spirit runs so high, could not be conducted on
the same plan as in England, without being the
source of tumults and bloodshed. On occasion
of elections, each ward has its own poll, where
the votes are given in on written tickets. The
federalists and republicans * of each ward hold
occasionally separate meetings, in which they
discuss the state of public affairs, and the present
condition of their respective parties. On great
occasions, general meetings of all the federalists
and all the republicans in the city are separate-
ly called by their respective leaders. These ge-
neral meetings, which are often very numerous,
are addressed in an animated harangue by some
m
m
If.
* It is proper here to mention, that the democratic party
have, for some time past, styled themselves Republicans. The
federalists, not to be deficient in a popular appellation, call
themselves Federal Republicans. The names, however, which
the two parties give to each other, are very different from
those which they arrogate to theptiselves. The Republicans
pall the Federalists, Aristocrates, Tories, Englishmen, and Bri-
tish agents. The Federalists retort, on their adversaries, the
still more opprobrious epithets of Democrates, Frenchmen,
and Jacobins.
-^
47
I party
cted on
ang the
ccasion
, where
. The
rd hold
h they
present
n great
leralists
parate-
ese ge-
lerous,
jrsome
tic party
IS. The
on, call
, which
nt from
ublicans
md Bri-
ics, the
chmcn,
orator, who moves a string of resolutions, that
have been previously concerted. The resolu-
tions are adopted by acclamation, and publish-
ed in all the newspapers. During my stay in
the country, (which happened to be at the time
of the embargo, in the years 1808 and 1809,)
the standing topics of declamation, at the feder
ral meetings, were the errors and misconduct of
their own government in respect to the two beir
ligerent powers, and the incalculable mischief
tiie country was suffering from the maladmi-
nistration of its rulers. The democratic assem-
blies were chiefly entertained with the abuse of
England, whose atrocious conduct, it was al-
leged, had rendered necessary all the restraints,
which the government had seen fit to impose
on the commerce of their own country. On
certain great festivals, particularly on the 4th of
July, the anniversary of the declaration of Ame-
rican independence, an oration is delivered in
one of the churches, to which all parties are in-
vited. The avowed object of this meeting is
to keep alive, in the minds of the people, the
love of independence, and the memory of the
48
great exploits by which it was achieved : but
its real purpose is, to rake up the animosities of
the revolutionary war, and to perpetuate that
antipathy to England, which the leaders of the
democratic party find it for their interest to che-
rish. It is attended accordingly by few but
those in the democratic interest
In almost all the arts, by which a political
party can be benefited, the democrates or re-
publicans are an overmatch for their adversaries.
Previous to elections, they exert themselves with
indefatigable zeal to secure a majority : nor are
they scrupulous about the means, provided the
end be attained. Dissimulation, misrepresenta-
tion, and falsehood, are alternately made use of.
The press, which, in this country, is the guar-
dian of freedom, in America, is the instrument
of faction. Newspapers are there multiplied to
an extent unknown in any other country. The
avidity for news creates a demand for them
among all classes of the community ; and the
general diffusion of opulence enables all ranks
to gratify this inclination. In the city of New
York alone, which is not more populous than
6
t
49
that of Edinburgh, there are published eight or
nine daily papers. The most violent of these
vehicles of intelligence are, of course, in the ser-
vice of democracy. They are often conducted
with a spirit and animation, worthy of a better
cause ; and would be highly creditable to their
authors, were they not disgraced by the gross
and vulgar abuse, which they continually lavish
on the British government and the federal par-
ty. The democratic papers, scattered over the
union, propagate, to its farthest bounds, the
principles and the prejudices of the faction ;
whose zeal for proselytism is displayed, per-
haps, more remarkably in this particular, than
in any other. Whenever a township, in the
back settlements, appears sufficiendy advanced
to support a newspaper, a press is established
for the dissemination of democratic tenets.
Printing-presses are now at work on spots,
where, twelve years ago, not a tree was cut
down : and thus the indefatigable zeal of this
industrious party, endeavours to secure the ac-
cession of tracts of country that remain to be
cleared, and of citizens yet unborn.
D
■if.
60
Such, my dear Sir, are the causes of demo-
cratic ascendancy which operate in every part
of the Union. Other sources of the Anti-An-
glican spirit, as connected with the predomi-
nance of the democratic party, are to be found
in the jealousies and dissensions, that prevail
among the different parts of the Union them-
selves, owing to the different circumstances in
which they are placed ; and of these circum-
stances it will here be necessary to introduce a
short explanation.
It is well known, that there is a considerable
difference between the habits and pursuits ctf
the people of the northern and southern states.
Agriculture is chiefly cultivated in the latter,
commerce and navigation in the former. The
inhabitants of New England have a near re-
semblance to the Dutch: the prominent fea*
tures of their character being enterprise, pajsi^
mony, and avidity of gain. The peopW of
Virginia, and the southern states, on the c^em
hand, are chiefly planters and landholders; ^^
description of persons, whose ideas are n9*ywl-
{*!"! J..
51
ly more aristocratical, and who have always re-
garded themselves as the twblesse of America,
The effects of the commercial prosperity, which
America has enjoyed, since the establishment of
her independence, though they have been per-
ceptible in every quarter of the Union, have
been much more conspicuous in the northern,
than in the southern states. The southern
states, by sending their produce to Europe,
have carried on a considerable foreign trade of
consumption ; but the merchants of the north-
ern states have also, till the late interruption of
commerce, carried on almost the whole car-
rying trade of Europe ; and enriched them-
selves by an employment, in which their south*
ern brethren have, comparatively speaking, had
littie participation. The northern merchants
have thus acquired a degree of opulence, that
has enabled them to outshine, in magnificence
and splendour, the southern planters. Hence
has arisen a competition and rivalship, that have
destroyed the little cordiality, that once subsist-
ed, between these parts of the country. The
different sectioho of -the American Union do
if
«r ' "?'
I ^ft
52
by no means entertain for each other those
friendly sentiments, that subsist between the
different provinces of the British or French
empires. They regard each other with a mu-
tual jealousy and dislike, bordering upon ha-
tred. The inhabitants of the northern states,
whose character is very similar to that of their
English ancestors, dislike the arrogance and pre-
sumption of the southern slave-holders : and
the southern planters, on the other hand, de-
spise the plodding industry, ana commercial
spirit (K the northern merchants. The com-
mercial prosperity of die northern states has of
late years inflamed the jealousy of the south-
ern, who would, therefore, look with the less
regret on a war with England, by which the
commerce of their nation would be almost to-
tally annihilated.
There is yet another reason to be assigned
for the aversion of the Virginians to neutral
traffic. Their spirit is too proud for this spe-
cies of trade. A neutral power cannot be treat-
ed with the respect, Tvhich a belligerent always
exacts. Ip submitting to the necessary search
■.:#
II.
»'S
53
less
the
to-
fbr contraband goods, or foreign seamen, its
vessels are liable to many insults and indignities,
which a high-spirited nation cannot tamely en-
dure. The Dutch might more easily pocket
these affronts ; being a people, whose territory
was diminutive, and whose very existence de-
pended upon commerce. The New England-
ers are also tolerably fitted for the business, ha-
ving a decided propensity to mercantile affairs ;
and inhabiting the territory which is the most
fully peopled of any in the United States, and
that, in which the channels of industry are most
completely filled up. But the Virginians and Ca-
rolinians, high-spirited, haughty and fierce, lords
of a tenitory, nearly as large as the iialf of Eu-
rope, of which not a tenth part is yet inhabit-
ed ; from the united effect of their fi*ee go-
vernment, and che practice of domestic slavery,
combining the turbulence of republicans with
the pride of nobility, — such a people cannot easi-
ly stoop to the indignities, which a neutrii na-
tion must lay its account with suffering. I
have already observed, that the southern states
profit much less by this neutral trade, than their
I
ii
it «
:!■ -
m
mm
II'!
: '.I'
W^!
.54
northern brethren : but had they even no jea-
lousy of that part of the union, they are indig-
nant to see the flag of then: country employed
as a beast of burthen, and rendered alternately
the slave and the victim of contending bellige-
rents.
For these reasons, Virginia, and the other
southern states, are strongly impregnated with
the anti-commercial, and, of course, Anti- An-
glican spirit : and these states are now considered
as the strong-hold of the antifederal, republican,
or democratic party. It deserves here to be
mentioned, that the southern states have, in pro-
pordon to their population, mo/e poliucal weight
than the northern, owing to the following cir-»
cumstance. By the second section of the first
article of the Constitution of the United States,
it is provided, that " representatives," (members
of the House of Representatives,) " and direct
" taxes, shall be apportioned among the several
•* states, according to their respective numbers^
" which sh be determined, by adding to the
" whole number of free persons, including those
" bound to service for a term of years, and ex-
r:
,''H
% ;!ii
5S
«* duding Ifidiafts tiot taxed) three-fifths of all
•• othef pewons." This clause was introduced,
in ordet to give the southern states a represen-^
tation for their slaves. There are slaves in all
the states ; but the proportion of those in the
southern to those in the northern, is at least ten
to one. The southern states, therefore, send
more members to Congress, In proportion to
their free population, th?n the northern. TLcy
have, in consequence, more political power;
and the party, which they support, is the most
likely to prevail.
There yet remains to be cons: lered, another
subordinate circumstance, by wiiich the ascen-
dancy 6f the democratic interest in America
may, in part, be accounted fdr. This is the
vast number of foreigners, who yearly land in
th'-^ United States. Of these the greater part
ate discontented Irish, who emigrate in swarms
tc a country, where the wages of labour are
higher than in th(ar own ; and where they are
permitted to indulge, without restraint, that ha-
tred to the British government, which is the
ruling passion of their souls. They are recei-
56
'\ ■ i
I' ^.'
Wf
*>'■'■■ ,
II
ved with open arms by the democratical fac-
tion, whose principles are congenial to their
own ; and into whose scale they throw their
whole political influence. The last Irish rebel-
lion sent to the United States a vast crowd of
rebels and United Irishmen ; and every passing
year makes additions to the number. The re-
sidence, which is necessary to entide a foreign-
er to the privileges of citizenship in America^
has varied according to the different principles
and interests of the two parties, by which the
government has at different times been admini-
stered. At first, under the federal rule, if I ain
not much mistajcen, the residence necessary was
five years : but on its being found, that the
greater part of those who applied for the bene-
fit of this law, were in the habit of joining their
political adversaries, the term was prolonged, by
act of Congress, to fourteen years. When the
democratic party came into power, they knew
it to be their interest that naturalization should
be as easy as possible ; and the term of resi-
dence was accordingly brought back to its old
period of five years. ?'"♦: it is well known, that
■J
^■^k-L
■i
57
there are modes, by which persons, who have
not fulfilled the statutory residence, may obtain
certificates of citizenship ; and that many fo-
reigners vote at every election, who have not
been five years in the United States. It is one
of the chief evils, that have resulted from the
independence of the American colonies, and of
which the full extent was at first very far from
being clearly seen, that these republican com-
munities, sprung firom our own bosom, and
speaking our own language, furnish a recepta-
cle, in which the disaffected of a-l descriptions
may exercise their hostility to tha mother coun-
try, not only with p ^rfect impunity, but per-
haps with as much efficacy, as they could have
done at home. The Irish are noted, as being
the most bitter democrates in America. In the
city of New York alone, there are five or six
thousand of them, who all vote with the demo-
cratic party, and, as is thought by many in-
telligent persons, have, for several years past,
turned the political scale of that city in favour
of the antifederalists.
The democratic party, therefore, in the Uni-
■n, '"•'h
■■ftii
5B
ted States, may be said to be composed of all
those persons, who cherish the animosities of
the revolutionary war ; of all those who oppose
the federal party from a spirit of opposition,
and in consequence of being impregnated with
the anti-commercial and Anti-Anglican spirit,
which is so strong in the southern parts of the
union ; and it comprehends, in the last place,
the discontented outcasts of all descriptions from
our own dominions, who of course throw their
whole weight into the scale of the Anti-English
party. The numbers, which, from its own na-
ture, must necessarily repair to the standard of
such a partyi together with its superior activity,
vigour, and energy, have for several years past
given it an ascendancy over its political rivals.
I flatter myself, my dear Sir, that you have
mow a tolerably correct idea of the chief sources,
from which the manifest hostility of the present
American government to Great Britain proceeds.
It arises from causes that are almost wholly inter-
nal, and very litde connected with the merit or
demerit of the conduct of Britsdn towards the
United States. The persons administering the
km.
■n-
s^
i
American government manifest an aversion to-
wards this country, and treat its government
with all the insolence which they dare to exhi-
bit, because these sentiments and that behaviour
are the tenure by which they hold their offices.
The American rulers are the heads and leaders
of the faction, among tlie members of which,
these principles are the watch-word and the bond
of alliance : and the more steadily they adhere
to. these principles, the more faithful are they
accounted to their trust, and the more true to
the interests of their party. Most of them are
adventurers in politics ; men, who choose to
make their fortunes in this way ; and who, of
course, are as much bound to support the views
of their party, however erroneous, as an hired
advocate, to plead the cause of his client, how-
ever bad. I have no doubt, that many of them
secretly despise the principles they profess, and
disapprove of the conduct they pursue: but
they must either adhere to these principles and
that practice, or abandon their party, and resign
their offices and honours. The greater part of
them, however, are, I suspect, by this time im-
60
pressed with a thorough conviction of the recti-
tude of their principles. For such is the power of
party spirit, that the most extiavagant conduct,
when viewed through its distorting medium,
will appear judicious, and the most criminal
measures, laudable. Most, it is probable, at
first joined this party from interest, and perhaps
a few, from principle. But whatever were their
original motives, the spirit of party, by which I
mean the interest felt by every person in the
success of the party, to which he has attached
himself, degenerates at last, in a country like
America, into a passion, which absorbs every
faculty of the understanding, and every emo-
tion of the soul.
m
|^s:ri
%
6\
LETTER 11.
Having now, my dear Sir, laid before you
the chief circumstances, in which the hostility
of the present American government to Great
Britain appears to originate, I proceed to ex-
plain certain peculiarities of the American con-
stitution, and several accidental causes, by which
that hostility has been materially aided and in-
creased.
Of the peculiarities of the American consti-
tution, which have contributed to the end in
question, the most remarkable seems to be, the
total exclusion of hereditary power and dignity.
Not only are all the legislative bodies of the
('I I"
il
m
ir
:o
62
United States filled by election, but all the chief
executive functionaries are constituted in the
same manner. The consequence of this pecu-
liarity is, that when, from any cause, the go-
vernment receives a bias, it gives way to that
bias, more totally and absolutely, than it wruld
do, were any mixture of hereditary aristocracy
admitted into its composition. The rulers of
America, both supreme and subordinate, are the
creatures and instruments of a party ; and the
leading principle of their conduct of course is,
to promote the interests of the party, of which
they are the tools and the creatures. Their
views, therefore, are less upright, less indepen-
dent, and, in short, less patriotic, than those of
hereditary magistrates might be expected to be.
Having, besides, less interest in the prosperity
and preservation of the state, they may be sup-
posed to feel less devotion to its interests.
The author does not mean to assert, that exalt-
ed merit is necessarily the concomitant of heredi-
tary rank ; or to deny, that the most illustrious
descent has oftenbeen disgraced,by the most egre-
gious folly and the most abject baseness. But he
63
he chief
in the
is pecu-
the go-
to that
t wrald
stocracy
ulers oi
, are the
and the
3urse is,
f which
Their
ndepen-
those of
d to be.
osperity
je sup-
:s.
It exalt-
heredi-
ustrious
>stegre-
Buthe
certainly does mean to affirm, that, cateris parl^
bus^ hereditary dignity of rank is the surest gua-
rantee of genuine dignity of sentiment : and that
he, who has tb^^ largest stake in the community
will, in general, feel the most anxious concern for
its welfare. A great and opulent prince can sel-
dom have in view, any other object, than the
prosperity and glory of his country. Elevated
by his station, no less above the cares of private
industry, than the paltry avocations of politi-
cal intrigue, he surveys, with calm deliberet-
tion, as from another planet, the relations of his
own with foreign states ; and directs the pro*
ceedings of his ministers to that line of conduct,
which seems, on the whole, most likely to pro-
mote the general interests of his dominions.
The great advantage, indeed, of hereditary nK>
narchy seems to be, that the prince, being raised
hx above the petty objects of private conten-
tioD, is able to moderate and counteract the self-
ish views of his ministers, and to prevent the inte-
rests of his country from being sacrificed either to
the prejudices of individuals, or the animosities
of cabals and factions. The prince, in short, is
64
III i
a check on the jarring interests and selfish
designs of his subjects. In the United States,
there is no such magistrate, and no such check.
The supreme executive ruler of that country is
raised from the mass of the community, by the
influence of superior talents and successful in-
trigue; and can never regard himself in any
other light, than as head of the party, to which
his elevation is owing. The eminence of his
station, so far from moderating, serves but to
increase, the violence of his party zeal ; and he
holds himself bound, in duty and in gi'atitude,
to employ the power and the influence, which
his party have bestowed on him, in exalting
them, and depressing their political opponents.
Whoever will take the trouble to reflect, for
a moment, on the difference between an heredi-
tary and elective chief magistracy, must be satis-
fied of the very different effects,which the one and
the other must produce on the governments, in
which they respectively exist. An hereditary
sovereign is indebted, for his honours and his
wealth, to the favour of no earthly being ; he
owes them to God and his destiny ; and is re-
|J
^.
,'S
5
65
W'r '»i*
Sponsible for the application of these bleosings,
and for the exercise of the pow^r which ac-
companies them, only to his Maker, his consci-
ence, and the people at large, over wiiom he is
appointed to reign. That people he regards
with an eye of equal affection ; he considers
them in the light of children ; and, in the ordi-
nary case, has no peculiar predilection for any
one class of his subjects. Another sentiment,
arising from his hereditary dignity, has also a
powerful influence on his conduct. Being, for
the most part, descended of a long and illustri-
ous line of ancestors, he is naturally desirous to
emulate the fame of his forefathers, and per-
petuate the honours of his race. Very different,
in all these respects, is the situation of an elec-
tive chief magistrate. For his honours and emo-
luments, he is indebted, not to the lustre of his
descent, but to the favour of a faction, which has
raised him to power, in opposition to the will, and
in spite of the exertions, of a large body of the
nation. By the very constitution of his authority,
therefore, he is led to regard a great proportion
n
66
of his feilow-citizens, with an eye of disgust and
alienation. Instead of considering them all as a
great family, for whose interest he is equally
bound to provide, he separates them into the
two classes of friends and enemies ; arid while
he thinks no exertions too ^eat for promoting
the private interests of the former, he surveys
the latter, not merely with cold indifference,
but often with implacable hatred. If there is
any part of the empire, in which his political
opponents* form the majority of the people,
he must necessarily consider that district as a rot-
ten member of the body politic ; and the cir«
cumstance of hurting the interests of that mem-
ber, will not be regarded as an insurmountable
1*1
* Of this there is a remarkable instance in the New England
">art of the American union. The four states of New England,
viz. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhorie
Island, are th*, strong-hold of the English, or federal party ;
and of course, since the accession of the other party to power,
they have almost uniformly been in opposition to the presi-
dent ant! the government. The anti-commercial measures of
Jefferson were thought to have been dictated, in no slight de-
gree, by liis enmity to the New England states.
67
jt and
11 as a
[[ually
o ihe
while
notinjr
jrveys
jrence,
lere is
olitical
people,
s a rot-
le cir-
:mein-
lintable
England
England,
Rhoae
il party ;
[o power,
lie presi-
isures of
[light de-
n
objection, to any measure he may be advised to
adopt Neither has an elective magistrate the
high motive of illustrious lineage to incite him
to virtuous and patriotic conduct. He is cho-
sen from the mass of the people ; and, when
the term of his office expires, returns to his na-
tive obscurity. As little is he actuated by the
consideration, that his posterity can be either
benefited or injured, by the character of his ad-
ministration. His interest in the office he ex-
ercises, compared with that of a sovereign, is a
transient and fleeting interest. It is sometimes
said, that the royal authority is a trust, and not
a property. I maintain that it is a property, in
the strictest and most literal sense of the term.
The property of a prince does not merely con-
sist in his treasures and his dignities ; it consists
in the interests, the prosperity, and the glory of
his people. These are the inheritance he has
recei' -i from his forefathers; these are the pa-
trimony he transmits to his descendants. The
higher the renown of his people, when he as-
sumes the sceptre, the richer is the inheritance
he receives ; and the higher he can raise that
68
renown, during the period of his own admini-
stration, the more improved is the estate, which
he hands dcvrn to his posterity. This power-
ful motive of exertion is also, in a great mea-
sure, wanting to an elective magistrate. His
children can hardly be affected by the success
or failure of his administration. They are con-
cerned in his personal character ; but in the
prosperity of his government they have no in-
terest, distinct from that of ordinary citizens.
We may therefore conclude, that pure patriot-
ism, genuine nobleness of sentiment, and steady,
undeviating attachment to the interests of his
country, are seldom to be looked for in an
elective magistrate. Petty, factious, and local
views, will govern his conduct, and fix the
character of his administration.
This, then, is one peculiarity of the Ameri-
can government, which may in part account
for the phenomena we are considering ; name-
ly, the circumstance of the chief magistrate be-
ing an elective, and not an hereditary, officer ;
and it is to be observed, that this remark is ap-
plicable, not only to the general government of
«
..i .,4
}l
69
the United States, but also to each of the go-
vernments of the individual states ; the chief
magistrates, or governors of which are all, like
the president of the United States, chosen in the
manner of election. Another peculiarity, worthy
of notice, in the American constitution, is its
federal form, by which the functions of govern-
ment are divided, between the general and the
state governments. In consequence of this pe-
culiarity, those powers which, in other coun-
tries, are exercised by one government, or by
one set of rulers, are, in America, parcelled out
and divided between two, or rather among
many different sets of rulers. The effect of
this partition of powers appears to be, to heighten
the defects, which the rulers of America, from
the causes already stated, would at any rate la-
bour under; to render them more factious,
more turbulent, more violent ; and, when they
take any bias in politics, to subject them more .
completely to that bias. The government of
the United States (taking the words in the sense
in which they are understood in Europe,) means
the president and the two houses of Congress.
I '
!]■ villi
'1-:
70
These depositaries of power are aptly enough,
in Europe, denominated the government of the
United States, because they are the organ, hy
which the intercourse of the United States with
foreign nations is carried on. But if they are
called the government of the United States, in
the same sense, in which the term government
is used, when applied to the governments of Eu-
rope, the words are most fallacious ; because
these functionaries in America do not, in fact,
exercise one-tenth part of the powers, that are
exercised by the governments of Europe. This
circumstance has the double effect of lessening
their interest in the community, and diminish-
ing their personal importance : thus rendering
them better adapted, for what in reality they
are, the tools and instruments of a faction.
It was formerly stated, that, by the constitu-
tion of the United States, the authority of the
general government, comprehending the presi-
dent and two houses of Congress, is confined to
the management of the intercourse of the Uni-
ted States wl;b foreign nations, and a very
few objects of domestic concern, which can be
..m
71
better managed by the general, than by the
state governments. The powers of peace and
war, therefore, the sending and receiving am-
bassadors, the appointment of the officers, civil,
naval, and military, of the United States, the
regulation of the coin, the customs, and the
law of bankruptcy, are the exclusive province
of the general government. With these excep-
tions, all the other powers of government are
exercised by the legislatures of the individual
states. The seventeen state-governments of the
Union all consist, like the general government,
of an executive and two houses of legislature :
and each of these, within its own limits, exer-
cises a supreme, sovereign authority, indepen-
dent of, and unconnected with, the general go-
vernment of the Union. The internal police,
therefore, of each state, the powers of taxation,
(except as to the customs,) the raising, discipli-
ning, and officering of the militia, together with
the whole body of the municipal law, both ci-
vil and criminal, — all these most important de-
partments are, in each state, under the controul
of its own peculiar legislature.
72
«l
In Britain, the superintending power of the
legislature extends to every branch of the em-
pire, and every department of the state. With
parental care, it vrat'hes ovdr the domestic as
vreW as foreign concerns of the nation ; and the
same government, that has the power of decla-
ring peace and war, has also the power of im-
posing taxes, and of regulating the municipal
law. The concentration of these powers fur-
nishes an additional guaiancee for the patriotism
of government, and at the same time invests it
with that due degree of weight and dignity,
which a government ought to possess. The
division of powers, on the contrary, that has
taken place in America, prevents the persons,
who administer the general government, from
ever feeling their interests, as they ought to be,
completely amalgamated and identified with
those of the country, whose foreign affairs they
are appointed to conduct. They cannot feel
the same interest in, and the same attachment to,
a country, in which their authority is confront-
ed, and their measures often condemned, by a
nmnber of independent governments, as if
73
K^
their own supreme power extended over every
part of the empire. In the same proportion,
too, that their powers are curtailed by the rival
authority of the state governments, their per-
sonal dignity is impaired, and their real import-
ance diminished. Hence probably arises much
of their insolence and arrogance. It is an old
and a just remark, that the less power any body
of men possesses, the more eager are they to
exercise, the more ostentatious to display, that
portion of authority. This observation is stri-
kingly illustrated in the case of the American
rulers. Who are the men, that pass by the
name of the government of the United States,
and, for the last seven or eight years, have con-
ducted themselves, with such glaring partiality
to France, and such intolerable insolence to
Britain ? Are they the rulers of a great and
powerful nation, exercising all the functions of
sovereignty, viewing all foreign states with an
equal eye, and whose sole rule of conduct is
a conscientious regard to the rights and inte-
rests of their country ? No. They are a set
of men, delegated to exercise a few of the func-
74.
flli
tions, and these not the most important func-
tions, of sovereignty : they are raised to this dig-
nity, such as it is, by the votes of a faction, in op-
position to the will of nearly one half of the na-
tion : they are taken, many of them, from the
dregs of the people, to which, after strutting their
hour on the public stage, they must again re-
turn : and the greater part of them receive for
their services, while in office, a remuneration of
five or six dollars a-day. Such are the men,
who style themselves the government of the
United States, and who delight to insult and to
bully the British monarch and the British na-
tion. They revile and insult the nation, which
constitutes their only barrier ag^unst the ambi-
tion of France : and they not only overlook the
innumerable wrongs they have received from
this latter country, but behave to its govern-
ment with all possible courtesy ; partly, per-
haps, because the persons administering that go-
vernment are, like themselves, sprung from the
level of tlie populace, and animated by an equal
dislike to the ancient dynasties, and legitimate
sovereigns of the earth.
75
^y-fS.
In accounting for the present disposition of
the American government, it is also to be con-
sidered, that the personal character of the chief
magistrate is by no means without its influence.
It has often been remarked, that in Great Bri-
tain, though the king is more fettered, than per-
haps any other prince, with whom we are ac-
quainted, his personal influence is by no means
imperceptible on the measures of government :
and I think the personal influence of the presi-
dent of the United States must be held to be at
least equal to that of the British sovereign.
There have now been four presidents of the
United States, viz. Washington, Adams, Jefl?er-
son, and Maddison. The two former have
been of the federal, the two latter of the anti-
federal, or republican party. By the constitu-
tion of the United States, the president must be
elected every four years ; but the same person
may be re-elected, as often as the nation chooses
to bestow on him this mark of its confidence.
Washington was twice unanimously called to
the administration of the government, and of
course was president for eight years. Adams
76
i
held the office only for four years : Jefferson
was president for eight years ; and Maddison is
now in the third year of his first presidency.
The personal characters of all these gentlemen
are to be considered, in an estimate of American
politics. Washington is, on the whole, one of
the purest and most unexceptionable characters
that occurs in history : and in nothing is the
excellence of his character more conspicuous,
than in the uniform liberality of hi'=; sentiments
towards Great Britain. If an aveioion to this
country were excusable in any American ma-
^strate, it surely was so in Washington ; but
nothing of this sort ever found admittance into
his bosom. He regarded the conduct of the mo-
ther country, in the war with the colonies, as the
offspring of ministerial error and popular preju-
dice : and, on the close of the contest, not only
dismissed all feelings of hostility, but entertain-
ed for his ancient enemy, those sentiments of
esteem and respect, to which her national cha-
racter so well entides her. He had too much
respect for genuine freedom, not to feel the
highest veneration for that country, which had
k/.ij
77
furnished the model of the free government, he
had succeeded in bestowing on his own. This
natural predilection for the land of his forefa-
thers, was so perceptible throughout the whole
course of his administration, that even the spot-
less purity and transcendent renown of his cha-
racter, did not prevent the tongue of calumny
from attributing to him, an undue partiality to-
wards England : and the man, who conducted
the armies of America, in the war withi England,
was stigmatized as a British agent. Similar ac-
cusations were made against his great co-adjutor
Hamilton ; who entertained for the British cha-
racter the same respect, and viewed the conduct
of the mother country in the war, with the same
liberality of sentiment. These illustrious men
justly thought, that though the ties of depend-
ence no longer existed, the identity of language,
laws, religion, government, and manners, ren-
dered England the natural ally of America ; and
formed a connexion between them, which, with-
out' violence to the intentions of Providence,
and injury to the interests of both nations,
could not be afterwards dissolved. Mr Adams
78
professed, and intended to tread in the steps of
Washington: but his personal influence was
much less than that of his great predecessor ;
and, during his administration, the federal party
gradually declined in strength. On the acces-
sion of Jeflferson, in 1800, to the presidential
dignity, new sentiments were adopted, and new
principles governed the American cabinet This
gentleman had always been suspected of an an-
tipathy to England ; and, from the period of his
election to the office of president, this antipathy
became gradually more and more apparent ; till
at last he was admitted, on all hands, to be, in
disposition as in office, the most conspicuous of
the Anti-Anglican faction.
This propensity of Mr Jefferson has been ac-
countec' for on various hypotheses. He resided
in France, for several years, as minister of the
United States, and returned to his own coun-
try, at the commencement of the revolution.
It is certain that, at this period, he carried back
to America, very strong prepossessions in fa-
vour of France ; a decided partiality for French
manners and French liberty. The French
79
partialiti«s, which he then entertained, are,
therefore, sufficiently well accounted for. —
But how shall we explain his adherence to
these partialities, when the course of events in
France has proved, in so lamentable a manner,
the fallacy of his expectations, as to the esta-
blishment of a free government in that country ;
and when the Frendi, instead of being, like the
Americans, the citizens of a republic, are be-
come the slaves of the most cruel tyranny, that
ever afflicted the human race ? This pertinaci-
ous adherence to French politics and French
partialities, can, I think, be explained on only
one supposition, that the party which entertain-
ed these monstrous principles, was, for the rea-
sons I have endeavoured to state in the forego-
ing letter, destined to be the prevailing one in
the country; and that Mr Jefferson's public
virtue was insufficient to contend with his pri-
vate ambition. He saw, that the sweets of power
and emolument would be the reward of his ad-
herence to this line of politics ; and his zeal, se-
conded by his abilities, soon, accordingly, placed
him at the head of the Anti-AngUcan factioa
80
1
When raised to the summit of his ambition,
gratitude naturally attached him still closer to
the line of policy, which had procured his ele-
vation : and his antipathy to England, thence-
forward, bore the appearance, rather of a passion
than a principle, Mr Maddison was originally
a federalist, and a co-adjutor of Hamilton, in
the composition of the distinguished work,
which bears the name of that party. But he
has been gradually seduced into other courses,
by the operadon probably of the same moiives,
which swayed the mind of Mr Jefferson ; and,
from his recent conduct, it seems likely, that he
is determined, not to be inferior to his predeces-
sor, in what constituted the most prominent fea-
ture of that gentleman's public character.
The last reason, that here occurs to be assign-
ed, for the violence of the present ruling party
in America, is, the strength of the opposite par-
ty. T'he French, or democratic party, though,
at present, predominant in all, or at least the
greater number of the states, is by no means so
powerful, as to be able, altogether to despite the
efforts of its antagonists. On tlie contrary, the
81
m
federal party exercises a steady and powerful
opposition, which it requires all tha efforts of
the democrates to counteract; and which has
the effect of rendering their attachment to the
principles they profess, still more bigoted than
it would otherwise be. It may se?m, at first
view, that the circumstance here alluded to
ought rather to have the opposite effect ; and
that, in proportion as the party in opposition are
likely to overthrow the party in power, ought
the latter to be moderate in their conduct. The
reverse of this, however, in reality, is the case.
Every relaxation of the line of policy, hitherto
pursued by the democrates, is regarded by the
federalists as a victory, to be imputed to their
own exertions, and a reluctant tejtimony, borne
by their enemies themselves, to the sound-
ness of their political principles. Every sucli
deviatioi would probably be regarded in the
same light by the people at large, and would
therefore, in all likelihood, be rather hurtful than
beneficial to their party. In consequence of the
nearly equal balance maintained between the
F
U-i i
82
two factions, and the frequency of the elections,
at which the equality of that balance is displayed,
the party in power lives in constant dread of be-
ing deprived of their power, and of course are sti-
mulated to the most strenuous and incessant em-
ployment of all the means, by which alone, in
their opinion, their ascendancy can be maintdn-
ed. As the storms and tempests of a northern re-
gion but bind its inhabitants the more closely
to their rocks and mountains ; so the political
shocks and dangers to which this party is con-
tinually exposed, have no other effect, than that
of making them cling the closer to their darling
prejudices. Besides, they knoW; that the more
rigidly they adhere to their own principles, or,
in other words, the niore directly they shock
and thwart the principles and sentiments of their
opponents, the more they will hurt the feelings
of these opponents : and tliis is a consideration
which, in a country, where party spirit runs so
high as in America, is by no means without its
influence.
Such appears to me to be a fair and a toler-
ably full account of the causes of that antipathy
83
ration
Ins so
lilt its
toler-
)athy
A
of the American government to this country, of
which we have, of late years, had so many con-
vincing proofs. The considerations, stated in
this and the preceding letter, are, in my esti^
mation, amply sufficient to account for this bias
of the American govemnxent, w thout having
recourse to the supposition of French bribery,
which is employed by some in the solution of
the problem. This account of the matter 1 am
inclined wholly to disregard ; not only, because
direct bribery, according to the remark of Mr
Hume, is much less frequent, among public
men, than the vulgar are apt to imagine ; but
because, from the peculiar nature of the Ame-
rican constitution, the bribery of its public func-
tionaries may be pronounced to be nearly, if not
wholly, impossible, and beyond the means of
the. great Napoleon himself. In the United
States, no one individual has so nmch influence,
as to render the bribing him of much conse-
quence ; and of course, if bribery is made use
of at all, it must be practised among so great a
number of people, and conducted on so system-
atic a plan, as would evince a profligacy of
84
M
,!J
sentiment, and deprivation of principle, which
v/e cannot rrjppose to exist in any numerous
body of men whatever. The sweets of power
and emolument are sufficient bribes to induce
the rulers of America to persevere in the line of
conduct, they for some years past have follow-
ed ; and I conscientiously believe, that these are
all the bribes they receive.
From whatever causes the Anti-Anglican spi-
rit of the American government may be thought
to proceed, none will deny that it has lately ma-
nifested itself in * conduct towards this country,
which is sufficient to justify the most hostile feel-
ings, on the part of the British government. In
mitigation, however, of these feelings, I here beg
leave to state two observations, which appear to
flow as corollaries from the doctrine, which it
has been the humble aim of these letters to pin-
fold, and which may therefore, in part, have
been anticipated by the preceding observations.
The first is, that the A nti- Anglican spirit of
* Renewal of the Non-inteicour.>.f, aftair of the Little Belt,
and equipment i»f Trench privateers in AurtMican ports.
85
:h it
r-
the American government seems to proceed, in
a very great degree, if not entirely, from causes
that are internal, operating within the United
States, and having no reference to the conduct
or character of the British government, or
British nation. With the exception of one or
two, the numerous causes, above stated, are all of
this description. The mutual rivalry and ha-
tred of the two factions, the superior adaptation
of French politics to the views and dispositions
of a turbulent democracy, the English connexi-
ons and partialities of the federalists, the jealou-
sies that subsist between the different sections of
the Union, the peculiarities of the American
constitution, and personal characters of the lead-
ing men, — all these are internal causes, or at least
causes, whose operation is independent of the
conduct or character of Great Biitain. Indeed, of
all the causes above enumerated, there are only
three, ^hat have any reference to Great Britain.
These are the animosities left by the revolution-
ary war, the efforts of discontented emigrants
from this countrv* and the naval pre-eminence
of Great Britain. The first of these causes has
86
undoubtedly some influence in America, but an
influence that is always diminishing. As to the
second, it is better, that united Irishmen, and
other discontented emigrants, should discharge
their venom on the other side of the Atlantic,
than in the bosom of their own country : and
as to the third, it seems entitled to even less re-
gard, than either of the other two. The power
and pre-eminence of our country, particularly
in a naval point of view, excite the envy and
malignity of the democratic party in America ;
and it therefore serves the purposes of the leaders
of that party, to manifest hostility towards us.
But this power and pre-eminence ought only
to induce us to regard, with calm indignation
and silent contempt, the puny hostility it en-
genders.
I repeat, therefore, that the antipathy of the
American government to this country arises
from causes, that are almost wholly internal,
that cannot be understood, without some know-
ledge of the domestic circumstances of the Uni-
ted States, and that have no reference to this
87
country, farther than as the present situation of
this country, in respect to France, happens to suit
the views of their selfish demagogues, and the
purposes of their paltry politics. The antipa-
thy in question proceeds from the struggles and
convulsions of a turbulent and ferocious demo-
cracy, from the contentions incident to a people,
who are ruled by universal suffrage and elective
magistracy, and from the animosities of con-
flicting parties, who hate each other, much
more, than any of them hates us. Any direct
injuries, therefore, that may proceed from this
hostility, are scarcely more to be regarded, than
a blow, which we accidentally receive from a
madman in his ravings, or from a person, who
is labouring under a fit of the epilepsy.
The second observation, that here occurs to
be made, is, that the very violence of the pre-
sent government of America is a convincing
proof of its weakness. It has been already stated,
that the constant terror in which the republican
party is kept, by the pressure of federal influ-
ence and activity, adds much to its bitterness
as
i
k
'MM,
mm
f
and its zeal. Were it more firmly established
than it in reality is, it would pursue its course
with more calmness, moderation, and dignity :
it would act more from patriotic and disinte-
rested views : it would act less from mere pique,
malice, and resentment. The very violence,
therefore, of the republican party in America is
a satisfactory proof of its weakness ; and, from
this and various other considerations, it is evi-
dent, that the hostility of the American govern-
ment is less to be regarded, than that of any
other government on the face of the earth. The
violence of the French party in the United
States is, in fact, the best evidence of the strength
of the English party ; the best evidence, that
there still exists in that country, a powerful par-
ty, attached to the land of their forefathers, un-
influenced by blind passions and sordid interests,
and possessed of sufficient weight, to prevent an
interested faction, from carrying into practice
their destructive principles, or executing their
audacious threats.
Of the various causes, that have been assign-
« tl, for the remarkable bias, lately manifested by
ir^
89
the American government, you will easily per-
ceive, that I consider the institution of univer-
sal suffrage, as one of the most deserving of no-
tice ; or rather, that all the causes, that have
been assigned, presuppose the existence of, and
owe their efficiency to, this institution. This,
it appears to me, is almost the origo malt ; this
is the circumstance, that gives life, and vigour,
and energy, to all the causes I have attempted
to explain. And hence, my dear Friend, may
chiefly be accounted for, what always seems to
persons on this side of the Atlantic, so incom-
prehensible a paradox, that the Americans, a
nation of freemen, should entertain so strong a
predilection for France, which is a land of ty-
ranny, and so strong a dislike to England,
which is a land of freedom : not to mention,
that England is the only country, which now
preserves the remains of the civilized world,
and America herself, from the overwhelming
domination of France. Whoever reflects, for a
moment, on the composition of the republican
party in America, and on the uniform tendency
of universal suflfrage, to which it owes its exist-
it!
11
90
11 tFF
dice, will cease to wonder at this seemingly
unnatural propensity. The republican party, in
the United States, consists of a populace, who
are governed by their passions, and of leaders,
who are ruled by their interests. The policy,
adopted by such a party, must necessarily be a
coarse and illiberal policy. It must be a policy
suited to the profanum vulgus ; to the views
and capacities of a rude, illiterate, and ferocious
populace. Such exactly is the policy of the rs-
publican faction in America. Those sentiments
of respect and admiration, which the bare men-
tion of the English name ought, at the present
moment, to excite in the heart, not only of eve-
ry American, but of every human being, whose
heart is rightly constituted, the federalists alone
are susceptible of. That highly estimable body
entertain and express for England, the consider-
ation to which she is so well entitled, not only,
from her being, at present, the bulwark of the
civilized world, and the asylum of oppressed
humanity, but, in a more peculiar degree, from
her having so long been the nurse of true reli-
gion, of genuine liberty, of sound literature ;
i
I
91
I
i
I i
and as having furnished the model of that free
government, and of those equal laws, which
constitute the proudest distinction of the Ame-
rican commonwealth. Very different are the
views and sentiments of the republican party.
They can see litde difference between a nation
that is ruled by a king, and one that is govern-
ed by an emperor ; a great part of them pro-
bably do not know, that the government of
England is better than that of France. They
treasure up the miseries and animosities of the
revolutionary war ; they vilify England, because
the fedei 'lists express respect and esteem for her
character ; they pass over the injuries they re-
ceive from France, because, if they were at war
with that country, they ha scarcely any means
of coming mto contact with her, in consequence
of the protection they receive from her rival ;
they are encouraged and supported in their
Anti-Anglican measures, by the exhortations
and example of discontented Irish, and other
foreigners ; their zeal is inflamed and exaspera-
ted by the unrt^nit.ing efforts of their leaders,
and by the vigoxci' ; opposition of the federal
i^
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)
A
1.0
I.I
1.25
M^tlL 12-5
|5o ■■■ inilBBI
ui MS
111
Mi
u
2.0
18
U III 1.6
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WtS' ?^«'M^" 5TRfi'! f
WEBSTFR.N.Y. t .380
(716) 87!2-4503
\
<>
M
92,
-/' i
I -'^
party ; and thus it happens, that, in a republi-
can country, the ruling party is hostile to this
land of freedom, and attached to a nation of
slaves.
After the most mature and deliberate consi-
deration I have been able to give to the subject,
I am come to be satisfied, that the American
government has not, and never had, any serious
intention or wish to go to war with this country.
It suits their purposes to threaten a war with
England ; but they must know how greatly they
would overshoot the mark, were they to attempt
to put these threats in execution. None will be
inclined to controvert this doctrine, who consi-
ders, for a moment, the dreadful and inevitable
calamities, which a war with Great Britain would
inflict on America. The annihilation of her
commerce and navy, the destruction of her sea-
ports, the dismemberment of her Union, and a
bloody civil war, are the bitter fruits which, in
all likelihood, she would reap in this ruinous
undertaking. There is another consequence,
likely to result to America, from a war with
this country, which we would consider aa
93
an advantage, but which would be regarded
by her present rulers, in a very different point
of view, — I mean a change of administra-
tion. The first effect of a war would be the
destruction of American commerce ; the de-
struction of commerce necessarily involves the
destruction of the revenue, for the revenue of
the United States arises almobt entirely from the
customs : in order to carry on the war, there-
fore, as weli as the ordinary business of govern-,
ment, loans must be resorted to, and direct taxes
imposed. But direct taxes would be felt as an
intolerable burthen by the people of America ;
they would speedily remove the present admi-
nistration, in order to restore peace and com-
merce to their country ; and thus the American
rulers would fall the first victims to what has
been believed by many, to be their favourite
measure. Unless, therefore, we suppose the go-
vernmftit of America to be destitute not only of
all principle and patriotism, but even of com-
mon understanding, and common regard to
their own interest, we cannot suppose them to
be serious in their wish for a British war.
P4
;■
That there is, however, a number of persons
iri America, who are sincerely desirous of a war
with this country, there can, unfortunately, be
no doubt. To this class belong all the united
Irishmen, and other discontented foreigners.
Such is the blind hatred of these persons to the
British government, that they would gladly see
America at v/ar with it, for the sake of the
litde injury, which might result to England,
however destructive such war nught prove to
the interests of their adopted counory. There
is also a description of persons in America, both
natives and foreigners, who are desirous of war,
for the very reason, that it would probably ^ve
rise to some intestine convulsion. Having no-
thing to lose, they entertain no apprehensions
from any confusion that a war would occasion ;
and even anticipate plunder in the general wreck,
that might overspread the country. Though
the number of persons of this descriptioif ought,
from the circumstances in which she is placed,
to be smaller in America, than in any other
country whatever, I have reason to believe that,
even there, their number is not inconsiderable.
95
It is to be hoped, however, that the influence
of the wise and good will always be sufficient,
to frustrate the nefarious schemes of such des-
peradoes.
Of all the effects, that would result to Ame-
rica firom a British war, the only one, that would
be advantageous to Great Britain, is a change
in the American administration. All the others
would constitute evils, which would be hardly
less prejudicial to this country, than to that which
they immediately affected. Whatever retards
the prosperity of America, must hurt the prospe-
rity of England ; because America must, for many
years, form a great and increasing outlet for the
manufactures of the mother country. It cannot
be disputed, that a separation of the Union, with
the wars and disasters which would accompa-
ny it, would check the growth of the Ameri-
can states ; and whatever partial benefits might
arise to this country, from the alliance of any
one of the confederacies, into which the Union
might be divided, it seems undeniable, that the
very act of disunion would be a positive evil to
Britain, Neither is it to be overlooked, that
5
!
f^frpmmmmm
"jpp
^mmmmm^i^fwmi^m''^
lip***
96
ii.i
m. \i
t )
the miseries of a British war, and those of the
civil war, which would probably follow, would
be most severely felt by that portion of the
American people, which is friendly to the Bri-
tish nation. The federalists compose a most
numerous and respectable body, who have op-
posed, with all their influence, the baneful po-
licy, which their government has been lately
pursuing. A regard for their interest ought to
serve as one motive, at least, to induce the Bri-
tish govemment,.to abstain from hostilities with
America ; because it is on them, that the evils
of these hostilities would fall with the heaviest
pressure. They are, generally speaking, the
people of property, of education, of family ;
and it is persons of this description, who suffer
most severely in civil broils. America is thie
only firee nation, besides our own, now remain-
ing in the world. She has hitherto advanced
in the career of improvement with unexampled
rapidity ; and if her progress is not prematurely
checked, she seems destined to arrive at a height
of greatness to which no nation has hitherto at-
tained, and which will reflect immortal honour
on her British origin.* The unnatural dis-
memberment of such a country, with its conco^
mitant evils of civil wars and sanguinary revo-
lutions, would present a spectacle, which it
would be shocking to humanity to behold, and
« To the admirers of the fulness and majesty of the Eng-
lish language, it may be consolatory to reflect, that while
French arms, and the French tongue, are pervading every
section of Europe,—- there is, on the other side of the Atlan-
tiCf a nation capable of preserving and transmitting it to fu-
ture generations. Supposing the French to supersede all
others in Europe, yet, a century hence, the English will be
spoken bv the greatest numheTSf—Inchiquin*s LetterSf p. 105.
A work published at New York, in 1810.
Like the vast wastes, that were kept as a frontier by the
ancient Gauls, the Atlantic ocean forms a perpetual natural
protection of America from the invasions of Europe ; a bar-
rier sufficient in itself at present, while the only power that
could become an invader is unable to keep the sea, which is
ruled by a power unable to invade. At no distant day, the
stationary strength of Europe may be counterpoised by the
increased strength of America; and the current of irruption,
which for so many thousand years has proceeded from east
to west, having reached the limits of its action, may recoil,
and trace back its steps from the populous and mighty West^
to the reduced and prostrate EasU-^Ibid, p. 162.
ii
t f
98
I •
I
disgraceful for any country to have contributed
to produce. . j ,
- Such of the Americans, as really and anxi-»
ously wish for a war with this country, ys^ould
be well pleased to see it begun, provided the
odium of it could be thrown on the British go-
vernment. They are afraid to strike the first
blow ; but if England could be provoked to do
so, they would enter on the war with alacrity,
knowing, that'^during its progress they wouldl
be able to mortify, and perhaps to take still
r
more substantial revenge, on their political op-
ponents. They would also cherish the expec-
tation, that, by the operation of hostilities, the
breach between the countries would be irrepa-
rably widened, and, at the same time, so much
discredit thrown on the English party, that it
would never afterwards be able to give them
any serious annoyance. The democratic party,
powerful as it is, is not yet strong enough to
undertake the tremendous responsibility, of be-
ing the aggressors in a war with England.
If ever the Americans do declare war against
Great Britain,' it will probably be at a time,
99
gainst
time,
ivhen their internal dissensions have arrived at
such a height, and when the jealousies and-
quarrels^ between the northern and southern
sections of the Union, have so nearly approach-*
ed to open hostilities, that each party is only
waiting for a pretence to declare war against
the other., In such a case, the proclamation of
war. agzunst Britain will be the signal of civil
contention : it will be the ccnsumn^ation and
the issue of those political disputes, which have
hitherto nourished, and been nourished, by the
sentiment of hatred to England : and the same
measure, that has already introduced one revo-
lution in America* niay probably be the pre-
cursor of another. When this period arrives,
(and I hope and trust it is yet far, very far dis-
tant,) it willvbe for the wisdom of the Bridsh
government, to adopt such measures, as the
exigency pf the case may require ; and, while
they watch the natural, though premature dis-
solution of the American empire, to direct their
own. amity, and their own hostility, in such a
manner, as may best promote the aggrandise-
ment of that fragment of the Union, which
■ < ■
■*4
I
Tswar-
^SZz
H?
•^irm
I
1- ■^ 'I
^1 f
1.H '
l^'!
100
embraces the alliance of England. At present,
it is evidently the policy of England to prac-
tise the utmost forbearance towards America :
to disregard the self-interested and unsteady
proceedings of the narrow-minded rulers of a
factious republic ; and, so long as war is not
actually declared, to cultivate the spirit, and pre-
serve the appearances, of peace and amity. By
persevering in this line of conduct, we shall
show the people of America, that we are more
attentive to their interests, than their own go-
vernment are ; and may possibly contribute, in
no inconsiderable degree, to the rise of the fede-
ral, and depression of the French party. The
policy here recommended, however ungrate-
ful it may be to our passions and prejudices, is
certainly that, which our interests dictate : and
it afibrds me very sincere pleasure to observe,
that this is actually the policy, which his Ma-
jesty's ministers seem at present determined to
pursue.
101
POSTSCRIPT.
In the foregoing pages, the author has purpose--
\y abstained from any discussion of the points,
immediately in dispute, between the British and
American governments; because these have
been discussed, with much greater ability than
he can pretend to, by persons, whose travels
have never extended beyond the limits of Eu-
rope ; and the author's sole object was, to lay
before the public such information, as only a
personal acquaintance with the United States
could afford the means of acquiring. His ob-
ject has been to show, that there exists in the
> A
102
American government, a hostility towards this
country, independent of any measures, which
the British government may pursue ; and if,
by laying open those peculiar circumstances, in
the situation of America, which may be sdid, in
a manner, to compel her involuntarily to dislike
England, and of course to be partial l;o France,
he shall, in any degree, be successful in remo-
ving the prejudices so generally entertained on
this subject, or lessening the desire for war,
which seems to be fast gaining ground, his
purposes will be fully accomplished, and his la-
bour amply rewarded.
The affair of the Chesapeake has been settled,
in a mahtier equally creditable tc the candour
and liberality of the British government ; and
the affair of the Little Belt, it is to be hoped,
will be brought to an equally satisfactory ter-
mihation. The Orders in Council (the grand
source of dispute 'between the countries,) are a
field too extensive to be entefed on at present ;
but the author may be permitted, in one word,
to observe, that the whole conduct of the Bri-
tish governni nt, in relation to these Orders,
:*?.?
103
seems to have been strictly conformable, not
only to the principles of sound policy, but to
the laws of nations, as necessarily modified by
the unprecedented circumstances of modem
times. A neutral trade is a trade, that owes its
existence to the toleration of belligerents ; a
trade, suffered to proceed in time of war, be-
cause it alleviates the calamities of war, and is
subservient, not only to the profit of the neutral
trader, but to the accommodation of both belli-
gerents. The convenience of the belligerents
is, however, the primary object of this species
of traffic ; the profit of the trader is only a se-
condary consideration. Neutral trade, there-
fore, can only be carried on, under such regula-
tions, as the belligerents choose to impose ; and
if the belligerents find, that it is not essential to
their accommodation ; or if, for the sake of an-
noying each other, or from any other motive
whatever, they wish to suspend it, it follows,
from the very definition of neutral trade, that
they have a right to do so. The whole body of
French Decrees and British Orders in Council,
taken as a system, may be regarded as a sort of
Tm
BSSBBB
'^wm
'WT'
m
,'1
f
|! i ill
I! t H,
104
tacit agreement, between France and England,
that neutral trade shall no longer be carried on.
The British government was at first justified in
issuing the Orders in Council, by the conduct
of the French government in issuing their De-
crees ; and until satisfactory evidence is produ-
ced, that the Decreet, are really and dona Jide
rescinded, the Orders ought certainly to be con-
tinued in force. It would even seem, that, un-
der the very peculiar circumstances of modern
times, a broader view of the right of the Bri-
tish government to issue these Orders may be
taken, than what results from the principle of
retaliation ; and that, though the French De-
crees had never existed, the British Cabinet
would have had a good right to issue the Or-
ders in Council, on finding, that the Americans
caTied on, in fact, the whole trade of France,
and deprived England of almost all the advan-
tages, which, in regard to the annoyance of her
enemy, she was entitled to derive from her
naval supremacy. In all former wars, the na-
val power of the contending parties has been
pretty equally balanced, and the rules, prescri-
105
n
bed for the regulation of neutrals, have been
promulgated by the joint authority of all the
belligerents. In this war, however, there is
but one belligerent, that appears on die ocean ;
the powers and prerogatives, that used to be di-
vided among several, have been absorbed, by
the resources and valour of the nation, that rules
the seas. By the laws, therefore, of nature and
nations, as well as by the principles of common
sense, this predominant power must have a
right to enact laws for the regulation of its own
element, and to confine the trade of neutrals,
within such bounds, as its own rights and inte-
rests require to be dravm.
The diminution of neutral trade, necessarily
occasioned by this just exercise of the maritime
rights of Britain, is at present made use of by
the American rulers, as a convenient handle to
inflame the populace agsdnst England ; and they
even seem to be holding out the extraordinary
proposal of vindicating, what they call their
neutral rights, by force of arms. This scheme,
if seriously entertained, will be no less abortive
in execution, than it is absurd in theory. An
1
'j^, miBt.
»... [ .. — . . TJT
n^
*. i
1 '
106
armed neutral is a contradiction in terms. When
a nation arms fo^ the purpose of asserting neu-
tral rights, it ceases to be a neuttal ; and Ame-
rica may rest assured, that the cause of neutra-
lity will ne^^er bie promoted, by her assuming
the character of a belligerent. At present, she
has it in her power to enjoy the whole of that
large and valuable branch of trade, which she
has hitherto been accustomed to carry on with
the British dominions. If she goes to war for
the purpose of asserting her neutral rights, she
will lose the trade of Britain, without recover-
ing that of France. Her commeix:e will be
swept from the ocean ; and, at the end of the
war, neutral rights will be found in exactly the
same situation, ir which they stood at the be-
ginning.
The preceding Letters were in the press, be-,
fore the arrival of the last accounts from Ame-
rica, announcing, that the hostile resolutions of
the Committee of Foreign Relations had been
passed, by a large majority, in the House of
Representatives. This intelligence has been
considered as bearing a very warlike aspect;
91
107
but the fact is, that there is scarcely any thing
in it, to induce an opinion, that war is more
likely, at present, than it has been for a consider-
able time past. The resolutions are little more
violent, than have resounded through the Uni-
ted States, on the meeting, not only of the
House of Representatives, but of every le^sla-
tive body, for the last thtee or four years ; and
the threat of v^^ar is now clamorously renewed ;
partly with the view of intimidating the British
Cabinet ; but chiefly for the purpose of impress-
ing on the people of the United States, and
particularly on the democratic party, a deep
sense of the vigour arid energy of the govern-
ment; and thereby securing the re-election of
Mr Maddison to the oiEce of president The
member, who brings up the Report to the
House, explicitly admits, that America is not
yet in such a situation, as would justify her
putting herself in the attitude of war ; and he
might have added, that many years must elapse,
before this attitude can be safely assumed by her.
The two chief inducements to a war with
this country, held out by Mr Porter, in regard
I
n 1
S'lt
■J
' .
Ms
108
to the means of annoyance, possessed by Ame-
rica, are, that she would be able to harass the
British trade, particularly in the West Indies ;
and also, that she would be able to conquer
Canada. The first of these temptations to war
is too ridiculous to require any comment ; and
as to the second, even admitting that America
has the means of subduing Canada, it is certain
that she would suffer a much greater misfortune,
in the acquisidon of this province, than Britain
would sustain, from the loss of it. The Cana-
dians are by no means a people well calculated
to form a constituent member of a republican
confederation : and besides, the territory of the
United States being at present too extensive,
the addition of the immense province of Ca-
nada would only increase tlie already imminent
danger of disunion. The conquest of Canada,
in 1763, was one of the immediate causes of
the revolution of 1 775. As soon as they were
relieved from the pressure of an enemy on their
frontier, the colonists began to quarrel with the
mother country : and should the United States
be now relieved from the salutary neighbour-
mm
iTCBP
■i.iiw «j ap u
1
109
hood of a foreign power, they would speedily
begin to quarrel among themselves. The un-
wieldy mass, when no longer cemented by any
external influence, would fall asunder by its own
weight : and the conquest of Canada would thus
have been the immediate forerunner of two of
the most remarkable events, in the history of
the western world.
The only particular, in which the intelli-
gence, last received from America, is more
alarming, than what has preceded it, is the very
large majority, by which the Lostile resolutions
have been carried through the House of Re-
presentatives. This, however, is satisfactorily
enough accounted for by the report, now pre-
valent, that the minority in Congress have re-
sorted to the desperate expedient of supporting,
instead of opposing, all the measures of govern-
ment ; in the hope,that their violence may plunge
the country into some difliiculty, that may pro-
duce a change of administration. After a long
and severe struggle, finding all their efforts to
resist the baneful policy pursued by the govern-
ment, only attended by fresh disappointments
•->>—
■'"'w'.
.■»v>'
OSMM
•
'-TV^"
■"';^v^- '
;^
*
'.
»
*.
*;. • i y^fx't^'' 1
V
■ \
'
»
f
., f''-ys ■' ■ '
lil
"Mj'!
J.-,"
no
and defeats, the federalists, it is s^d, have d&v
termined to try the experiment, of givfiig, for
a time, full scope to the violence of the govern-
ment, and thus affording the people an oppor-
tunity o( feeling the evils, which they are un-
able or unvvrilling to foresee, must infallibly re-
sult from the policy of their present rulers. If
this account is true, some great event may be
considered as at hand. A change of the Ame-
rican administration would be one of the most
fortunate events, that could happen, both for
America and England. But if this consequence
failed to result from the concurrence of the fe-
deralists in the hostile measures of government,
there is much danger, that a declaration of war
would be followed by a dismemberment of the
Union. ,,4>- ,
^tb FeK 1812.
...T
EltlNBUIlGB :
Printed by James Ballantjne and Co.
l^i^:'
'\^
i
:,;>^^t^>. -..viiSissiH;.
)r
i-
r-K
1-
e-
If
e-
>st
or
ce
e-
it,
ar
iie
>..'•»
^.:?'.->^
p^