Book— 
 
THE 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGi: WASHINGTON 
 
 AND 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON: 
 
 WITH A PARALLEL. 
 
 " Maecus Cato and Catus C.^sar were both extraordinary men, 
 but of a g-enius widely different. Greatness of soul they equally 
 possessed, and they equally reached the summit of glory; yet it was 
 a g'lory peculiar to each, and certainly acquired by very opposite 
 me thods. " — S allust. 
 
 BY STEPHEN SHVEPSON. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HENRY YOUNG, 
 
 N.-E. Corner of Passyunk Road and Shippen Street. 
 
 1833. 
 

 one 
 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to wit: 
 
 Be IT Remembered, 
 
 O-iii?^ That, on the twenty-second day of March, A. D 
 ^«^^ thousand eig'ht hundred and thirty-three Stephen 
 5W;# Simpson, of the said District, hath deposited m this 
 ^^m|r Office the title of a book, the title of which is in the 
 
 ^^^X?^ following words to wit : 
 ^ The Lives of George Washington mid Thomas Jef- 
 ferson, with a Parallel.^ 
 * Marcus Cato and Caius C^sar were both extraordinary men, but 
 of a eenius widely different. Greatness of soul they equally pos- 
 sessed and they equally reached the summit of glory; yet it was a 
 Siy Pecuhar to each, and certainly acquired by very opposite me- 
 thods C,Wi:st. By Stephe. Simpson. The right whereof he 
 ctms as Author, in conformity with an Act of Congress entitled 
 ' An Act to amend the several Acts respecting Copy-rights. 
 FRANCIS HOPKINSON, 
 
 Clerk of the Eastern District. 
 
 //^^ 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Fellow Citizens, 
 
 This volume, containing the Lives of the 
 
 TWO GREAT FOUNDERS OF THE AMERICAN 
 
 REPUBLIC, GEORGE WASHINGTON and 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON, is respectfully de- 
 dicated to you by the Author, in the hope and 
 expectation, that their common services to their 
 Country, and their joint labours in rearing the 
 inestimable fabric of our free constitution, 
 may endear their virtues, wisdom, and patriotism 
 to future generations : and that posterity 
 may derive as useful a lesson from the history 
 of their lives, as their own generations experi- 
 enced blessings from their labours. 
 
 In the example of great and illustrious men, 
 our children will always find the best and 
 most instructive lessons of social duty, and 
 public spirH: and how^ever you may be divided 
 by party, or differ in principle, you cannot fail 
 to derive a lesson of wisdom and tolerance from 
 the historical fact ^ that the tivo great Fathers 
 of our liepublic^ who differed so vitally upon 
 the genius and nature of our federal govern- 
 ment, both administered its supreme functions^ 
 under the same Constitution^ with an equal 
 measure of liberty, happiness, and prosperity to 
 all. 
 
 STEPHEN SIMPSON. 
 
 Hamilton, March 17, 1833. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 A DESIRE to diffuse among the people a more intimate 
 knowledge of the origin, progress, adoption, and administra- 
 tion of the Constitution and government under which they 
 live and flourish 5 and to give them a more distinct and 
 accessible history of the Uvo great Founders of the Re- 
 public, have been among the chief inducements to this pub- 
 lication. Having remarked, that, no work of this kind 
 was to be procured in a cheap, popular, and current form, 
 it occurred to the Editor, that much prejudice might be 
 removed, and much information imparted by presenting in 
 a shape susceptible of general perusal, the leading events 
 of history, and the prominent traits of character, peculiar 
 to the two Statesmen, whose lives are here delineated. 
 Popular information on these points, is certainly a desidera- 
 tum; and the Editor, without presumption, ventures to 
 indulge the hope, that this volume may contribute to sup- 
 ply a deficiency, which on all hands is acknowledged to be 
 a reproach to our national character. Ignorance on any 
 subject is disreputable^ but to be ignorant of the genius, 
 virtues, and achievements of George Washingtox, and 
 Thomas Jefferson, ought justly to raise a blush to the 
 cheek of every American. 
 
 In selecting the incidents of the life of Washington, I 
 have followed a guide, whose love of truth, and ardour of 
 patriotism, was an ample guarantee that he would not mis- 
 lead me as to facts; and could not seduce me as to prin- 
 ciples; his integrity of mind being only equal to his purity 
 of purpose, and lofty independence of character and senti- 
 ment — attributes and virtues, which have secured to Mar- 
 shall's Life of Washington, the reputation of an ele- 
 gant and sterling history of that great man; which must 
 cause every American to regret, that its voluminous size, 
 places it beyond the reach of the popular reader. 
 
 Towards the venerable author of tliat work, now in the 
 age of the Patriarchs, after having consummated the la* 
 bours of the Patriot, I cannot withhold the homage of my 
 
entire esteem ^ not less as the friend and historian of the 
 Father of his Country, than as the impartial and upright 
 expounder of the laws and Constitution of the Unifed 
 States, who, combining the highest genius with the purest 
 virtue, presents us with a model of those Statemen, who 
 flourished in the days of JVashington, as ornaments of their 
 country, and the best friends of rational Liberty. 
 
 The disinterested patriot, might now be permitted to 
 cherish the hope, that the time has at length arrived, when 
 difference of political opinion need not beget inveterate 
 personal animosity; and that variety of views in respect 
 to national policy, may be tolerated without that impeach- 
 ment of motive, which would originate accusations of har- 
 bouring schemes of monarchy on the one hand, or disor- 
 ganizing tenets of Jacobinical licentiousness on the other. 
 In this matter, the venerable Chief Justice has set us an 
 example, every way worthy of the father of his Country, 
 whose biography he has so elegantly composed, and whose 
 creed of political tolerance, he has so faithfully illustrated. 
 And whatever may be our opinion of the powers of the 
 Court over which he presides, with so much genius, learn- 
 ing, and dignity, we cannot abstain from yielding him the 
 homage of our veneration and gratitude; veneration for 
 his unspotted patriotism, and gratitude for his public 
 services; to say nothing of the esteem we cherish for his 
 virtues, the admiration in which we hold his talents, and 
 the encomiums we are ever ready to lavish on his beautiful 
 literary productions; his profound legal investigations, and 
 his honest juridical expositions of the laws and Constitu- 
 tion of our country. 
 
 The sources from which I have drawn the facts of Mr. 
 Jefferson's life and history, are too authentic to admit of 
 dispute; being his own pen, and his own letters. We have 
 too, on all important points, preferred that he should give 
 his own sentiments in his oivn language; so that instead of 
 being seen through a mirror, he might be contemplated in 
 his own naked proportions of truth and reality; not like 
 the statute of Jupiter, in a cold and doubtful resemblance, 
 but like the living Deity himself, full of life, and breathing 
 immortality. 
 
THE 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE ^YASHIl^GTOK. 
 
 FEW men, either of ancient or modern times, have 
 extorted such universal homage from mankind, a^ the sub- 
 ject of this biography; whose virtues and prudence seem to 
 have supplied what was deficient in his genius — and whose 
 genius appears to have supplied whatever might be wanting 
 in those political perfections, Avhich are always implied in 
 the unity of a great and illustrious character. Equally 
 distinguished for public services, and private virtue — as 
 eminent in the cabinet for wisdom of council, as he was 
 skilful in his plans of war, and brave in the conflicts of the 
 field — endowed with the highest patriotism, or love of coun- 
 try, mixed with a wholesome ambition, whose end and aim 
 was true glory — it is not surprising that mankind should 
 have become, as it were, fascinated, by a concentration of 
 rare qualities in the person of George Washington, v/liich 
 have seldom, if ever, been found so happily united in the 
 same individual — or allotted, in such harmonious propor- 
 tions, as to produce a character so exempt from all vicious 
 excess, as to border close upon perfection; yet, at the same 
 time, presenting the full force of all those passions, which 
 are so apt to run into violence, degenerate into evil, or be- 
 come pernicious and disgusting by their extravagance. 
 
 The contemplation of the life of such a man must ever 
 excite the curiosity of mankind, and kindle a feeling of 
 laudable pride in the bosom of every American citizen, who 
 values the principles of liberty, or appreciates the glory of 
 the country to which he is indebted for the enjoyment of 
 Lappiness, and the exercise of the rights and dignity of a 
 
 A 
 
\l THE LIFE OF 
 
 liuman being. Identified with the rise, history, and inde- 
 pendence of his country, tlie life of Washington becomes 
 a subject of double interest to all, as combining the grea^t 
 events of the most memorable revolution recorded in history, 
 witli the genius and virtues of an individual, who realises 
 the grandeur of ancient heroes, blended with the best traits 
 of virtue peculiar to the sages and philosophers of Greece 
 and Rome. 
 
 George Washington was born on the 22d of February, 
 1732. He was a native of Virginia, the son of Augustin 
 Washington, and first drew his breath at Bridges Creek, 
 in the County of Westmoreland of that state, in the family 
 mansion of his great grandfather, John Wasliington, who 
 liad emigrated from the north of England about the year 
 I65r. He was the eldest of five cliildren, by the second 
 n.iarriage of his father, with Miss Mary Ball, a lady of for- 
 tune, vvho had descended from one of the first families in 
 Virginia.'The first wife of his father was a Miss Dandridge, 
 by whom he had two children. 
 
 By the death of his father, he was left an orphan at the 
 tender age of i^xv years ; but his patrimonial estate being 
 small, his education was necessarily limited to a mere 
 English course of study, while his youth, from the same 
 cause, was devoted to pursuits, of useful industry; and it 
 appears tliat his first profession was that of a Surveyor, 
 which is said to have given him a knowledge of vacant 
 lands, that materially contributed to the subsequent in- 
 crease of his fortune. 
 
 Being a favourite son, left at a tender age to the care of 
 an aftectionate mother, he naturally became an object of 
 great solicitude to his surviving parent. 
 
 At fifteen, his propensity for military life became so far 
 developed, that he succeeded, by his importunity, in obtain- 
 ing the berth oi Midshipman in the British navy; having 
 manifested that irresistible enthusiasm for war, which cha- 
 racterises an inherent propensity for a particular profession, 
 upon the occasion of hostilities being declared by England 
 against France and Spain. 
 
 But the fears of his mother induced her to oppose this 
 perilous destination of her son, and for a time suspended 
 the commencement of his military career. 
 
 At the age of nineteen, he was appointed an Adjutant 
 General of Virginia, when the militia were in trainin2: for 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 
 
 actual service; which shews that his military talents were, 
 even then, highly appreciated. 
 
 At this early period did he develope those clear percep- 
 tions, and that sound judgment, which so far contribute to 
 the formation of a vigorous understanding, and ensure suc- 
 cess in the undertakings of life. Nature, indeed, seems to 
 have fashioned his mind in that happy scale of modulated 
 and restricted powxr, which, while it endowed him with 
 sufficient perspicacity, yet, at the same time, so interposed 
 the restraints of judgment and sound sense, as to prevent 
 his imagination from exaggerating or distorting the real pro- 
 portions, and true magnitude of objects. Thus, though his 
 imagination was not vivid, his understanding was vigorous, 
 so as to admirably qualify him for the duties of military life, 
 as well as the ordinary concerns of the w^orld. These traits 
 of his character are delineated in a peculiar and striking 
 manner in the various journals which he composed, w^hen 
 despatched on public business, particularly that which he 
 kept on the occasion of the appointment which was now- 
 conferred on him. 
 
 On the 31st October, 1753, having volunteered his ser- 
 vices to Governor Dinwiddle, he was commissioned to bear 
 the remonstrances of Virginia to the commander of the 
 French posts, against their encroachments on the English 
 settlements; a perilous duty, which he discharged to the sa- 
 tisfaction of the government and the public; but the French, 
 bein^ indisposed to retire from the Ohio, the Assembly ot 
 Virginia determined to resort to compulsory measures, and 
 a regiment was raised, to which Washington was appointed 
 Lieutenant Colonel. In this predatory campaign against 
 the French and Indians, Washington first distinguished 
 himself for that abilit}'^ to manage a retreat, and that pru- 
 dent valour which awaits occasion for victory, or can seize 
 opportunity to escape disaster, which afterwards so emi- 
 nently characterised him. For his conduct on this occasion, 
 the Legislature of Virginia passed him a vote of thanks. 
 
 The applause bestowed on his judgment and discretion, 
 his valour and his skill, had inflamed his natural passion 
 for a military life ; but a distinction having been adopted 
 between the officers of the crown and those of the provin- 
 cial troops, giving precedence of rank to the former. 
 Washington retired from the service in disgust, under a 
 deep sense of intended injury and dishonour. 
 
4 THE LIFE OF 
 
 In this interval between his civil and military life, his 
 eldest brother, Lawrence Washington, who had been en- 
 gaged in the expedition against Carthagena, having paid 
 the debt of nature, bequeathed him the plantation of 
 Mount Vernon^ a large estate on the banks of the Poto- 
 mac, and named by him after Admiral Vernon, under 
 whom he served. George now removed to this delightful 
 residence, with the fixed purpose of spending the remain- 
 der of his days in the pleasures and avocations of private 
 life. But how feeble are all human resolutions ! 
 
 Being invited by General Braddock^ to enter his family 
 as a volunteer aid de camp, under very flattering profes- 
 sions, Washington, in whom the love of military life was 
 a passion, could not resist the temptation, and he accord- 
 ingly joined the forces of that commander. In this cam- 
 paign, his advice was proved by experience, to have al- 
 ways been dictated by the spirit of wisdom ; and his as- 
 sistance was of inestimable advantage to the commanding- 
 general, who never suftered adverses, but when lie ne- 
 glected the suggestions of the sagacity, or undervalued the 
 admonitions of the experience of Washington. 
 
 In this disastrous campaio;n against Fort Du Quesne, 
 Braddock was defeated and killed ; and Colonel Washing- 
 ton, only escaped by one of those miracles of war, which 
 sometimes reserve brave men for greater achievements of 
 glory. 
 
 Braddock's defeat proved a real victory to Washingtonj 
 whose advice, as events proved, had it been followed, 
 would have resulted in the victory of the day, and the suc- 
 cess of the expedition. His conduct was applauded — his 
 discretion extolled — ^his valour admired — so that he was 
 considered the flower of Virginia chivalry — and honored 
 as the pride and ornament of his native state. 
 
 A new regiment of sixteen companies was now raised 
 by the Assembly, and the command tendered to Colonel 
 Washington, who accepted the trust under discretionary 
 powers never before granted to an officer; so rapid was the 
 growth of his fame as a military captain, and with such 
 exclusive zeal did he devote the energies of his mind to the 
 art of war. 
 
 The year 1755 was remarkable for the horrid ravages 
 perpetrated by the French and Indians on the frontier set- 
 tlements of Virginia; and Washington was active in stay- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 ing the progress of massacre and destruction: but his ut- 
 most exertions did not completely succeed, in this arduous 
 undertaking — a deficiency, however, more ascribable to 
 the State Assembly, than to their military commander, 
 who,^being left destitute of troops, could not accomplish in 
 his own person, what would have required a large army to 
 effect. 
 
 In the subsequent spring of 1756, a similar irruption of 
 the enemy again desolated the inhabited borders of the 
 State ; and again, from the inadequacy of his means, was 
 Washington incapable of rendering the country any efficient 
 service. His mortification and grief, on this occasion, 
 were intense 5 and wrung from his benevolent heart the 
 wish that he had never accepted his commission. But, 
 undismayed, and unwearied, he now directed his energies 
 to exhort the Assembly to provide sufficient means to repel 
 their savage invaders; and all that wisdom, skill, and 
 humanity could accomplish, was done by Washington, in 
 the way of advice, appeals and exhortation, to provide 
 competent means of defence and aggression. 
 
 Insubordination among the troopl, was a vital defect in 
 their means of efficiency; to remedy which, Washington 
 appealed in the most forcible manner, until he procured a 
 partial remedy for the evil. But the frontiers long conti- 
 nued to suflter terrible desolation from the inroads of the 
 Indians and French, who came down from the Ohio, like 
 a torrent, overwhelming in destruction all that opposed 
 their passage, or presented an object for plunder, violence, 
 and massacre. 
 
 This era is only important and interesting, in the life of 
 Washington, as it affords the first great display of that con- 
 summate military genius, which stamped him with features 
 so superior to the common order of men. Under public 
 disasters which paralysed the very faculty of thought in 
 others, he rose with vigour to the emergency of the crisis 
 — detected at once the cause of defeat — penetrated to the 
 means of victory — devised remedies for defects — supplied 
 deficiencies by his invention — explored the country with a 
 militai-y eye, that seemed like intuition itself — suggested 
 plans of organising the army — selected scites for forts and 
 garrisons- — and, in fine, demonstrated to the conviction of 
 all, that the commander of the Virginia forces, had been 
 gifted bv nature with the highest military genius, which 
 A 2 
 
O THE LIFE OF 
 
 only required to be sustained by competent means, and 
 displayed on a suitable theatre, to raise him to an eminence 
 of glory, not exceeded by ancient, or modern heroes. Such 
 must be tlie conviction of all, who read the papers which 
 he submitted to the Governor and Assembly of Virginia, 
 upon the state of the country, at that period; and in which 
 he strongly recommended them to carry the war into the 
 enemy's country, in order to obtain peace and security at 
 home. Looking attentively at his conduct, and liis writ- 
 ings, of that epoch, there is discernible throughout them a 
 spirit breathing the purest ambition of military fame, and 
 enthusiastically absorbed in this one darling object of his 
 mind. 
 
 From the time of Braddock's defeat, Washington had his 
 thoughts fixed on the reduction of Fort Du Quesne, as the 
 only means of securing the frontiers from the murderous 
 incursions of the savage foe; and from letters written by 
 him, under the influence of an impatient thirst of glory, 
 and a depressed ambition, denied its proper field of action 
 — the impetuosity of his temper — the irritation of his spirit 
 — -and the great perspicacity of his intellect in military 
 matters, break forth with a lustre, which while it presaged 
 his future greatness, at the same time extorts our admira- 
 tion.* It was evident, from his own confessions, that, not- 
 withstanding his constitutional modesty, he thought himself 
 somewhat neglected, and that his merits were not justly 
 appreciated by those in power in the mother country, how- 
 ever sincerely his services had been applauded by the 
 Provincial Assembly. 
 
 The capture, or more properly speaking,, the evacuation 
 of Fort Du Quesne by the French — and the cessation of 
 Indian hostilities, chiefly to be ascribed to that event, now 
 released Washington from all obligations of honor, or 
 patriotism, to remain in the army: and, as liis ambition 
 could not be gratified by being placed on the permanent 
 establishment, he now resolved to retire, especially as his 
 impaired health, as well as his private affairs, demanded 
 his attention, to place both on a sounder footing. He 
 accordingly resigned his commission as Colonel of the First 
 Virginia Regiment, and commander in chief of the troops 
 of the Colony. On this occasion, the regret and attachment 
 
 ' * See Vol. 2, chapter 1, Marshall's Life. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. J 
 
 of his officers were feelingly manifested in a complimentary 
 address highly flattering to his private worth, as well as 
 military genius. 
 
 Shortly after his retirement from the army, he became 
 united in wedlock to Mrs. Custis, a young widow of large 
 fortune, fine person, splendid accomplishments, and those 
 amiable qualities of the heart and mind, which, operating in 
 the circle of love, tend so much to promote the permanent 
 happiness of the conjugal state — to inspire and to enjoy 
 which, in the highest degree of perfection, appears to have 
 been one of the peculiar felicities of his constitution. At 
 the time of his marriage, he was in his twenty-seventh 
 year. 
 
 Let us here pause, at what we may term the first great 
 stage of the life of Washington, to indulge in those natural 
 reflections upon his genius and character, which are indis- 
 pensable to a just and rational appreciation of the com- 
 plexion of his principles, and the power of his understand- 
 ing, as they afterwards became more fully developed, in 
 the progress of the Revolution — the establishment of Inde- 
 pendence, and the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
 
 The first object for reflection that occurs in the survey 
 of this part of his life, was his scanty education, being de- 
 nied the benefit of classical instruction, and cast into active 
 life at so early an age as fifteen. It is evident, that what- 
 ever knowledge, or science, he had acquired at school 
 within that term, must have been very limited, if not 
 superficial; yet neither in his letters, nor in his active 
 duties, does any deficiency from that cause appear: his 
 genius happily supplying all defects, and omissions, which 
 there may have been in his education. The style of his 
 letters, and public papers, was copious, flowing, lucid, and 
 elegant. His conceptions are clear — his diction vigwous 
 — ^his reasoning close and logical — as if his very exemption 
 from the fetters of the classics had given a freedom, bold- 
 ness, and elasticity to his mind, which, under their cum- 
 bersome weight, it might otl.erwise have wanted: and when 
 we consider the inherent power of his mind, it is doubtful, 
 whether he could have d^-'ived any advantage from more 
 profound studies, in the profession which his genius had 
 impelled him to embrace with so much enthusiasm and 
 success. 
 
 Viewed in this light, Washington presents us with a 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 striking example of that native force of the American cha- 
 racter, in its unsophisticated grandeur, and inartificial 
 strength, which has so often caused it to be compared to 
 the colossal magnitude of our mountains, and the expansive 
 majesty of our lakes and streams. Too great by nature, to 
 require the auxiliary aids of art, he could not well have 
 been improved by those classical refinements, which add 
 vigor to feebler minds, and give grace to the uninspired 
 labors of dulness. 
 
 Yet liis education was appropriate to his destination in 
 life — it was the education of a soldier. He did not, of 
 course, aspire to the profound speculations of the philoso- 
 pher; the elegance and taste of the man of letters; or the 
 comprehensive and deep researches of the statesman. It 
 does not appear that his studies and reading ever led him 
 to those elaborate disquisitions, which would have enabled 
 him to grasp the theories of government, or conduct him to 
 the highest eminences of civil, judicial, or political life. No 
 yearnings of liis spirit after such distinctions, are, therefore, 
 to be detected in the early part of his life; no political 
 pantings — no civil aspirations, ever interfered to jostle his 
 thirst of military fame, or cause him to seek distinctions 
 which lay out of the natural path of his genius. We are, 
 therefore, not to be surprised, that during the whole course 
 of the Revolution, he never indulged in an inclination for 
 the studies of civil law, philosophy, science, or belles-lettres; 
 and that, feeling his strength to lie in the military line, 
 he chose to confine it, where it would obtain most splen- 
 dour and achieve most good for liis country. It is true, 
 that, prior to liis marriage, he had been chosen to the Pro- 
 vincial Assembly; and that, at a subsequent period, he took 
 his seat in the Congress that declared Independence; but 
 on these occasions he was confessedly out of his element 
 —he never shone — he never felt at home — and always 
 availed himself of the first opportunity to resign the honor 
 which he could not embellish with splendour, or convert to 
 his own glory; and which did not gratify his feelings, or 
 minister to his iavorite passion of military fame. 
 
 It was in accordance with this trait of his genius, that, in 
 the incipient stages of the Revolution, he appeared so little 
 on the civil theatre of action: and became ratlier a specta- 
 tor, than a participator in the political convulsions, which, 
 on every side, were distracting the country. In the first 
 
GEORGE AVASHIKGTON. 
 
 Congress, although his name is enrolled among the dele- 
 gates from Virginia, yet he does not appear to have taken a 
 prominent part on any of the important committees, on 
 which he was placed, or to have borne an active share in their 
 proceedings; so adverse were liis habits and genius to civil 
 and political pursuits — ^yet, it is not to be inferred from 
 this inaptitude of his mind for the discharge of parliamen- 
 tary duties, and political functions, that his heart was not 
 v/armly devoted to the cause of liberty and independence. 
 Still, we have no reason to believe that he ever fon>ented 
 the discontent of the Colonies; or inspirited the people to 
 sedition, complaint, or remonstrance, against any of the 
 oppressive and illegal acts of the mother country. Ap- 
 proving, rather than instigating, the revolutionary move- 
 ments around him, he became an efficient, though not active 
 friend to the cause of liberty and emancipation; and while 
 Patrick Henry was hurling the thunders of his eloquence 
 against the tyranny of the King — whilst Jay was compos - 
 ino- manly and spirited appeals to the justice of the British 
 Ministry — and whilst Paine was captivating the ear, and 
 winning the hearts of the people to the cause of liberty, and 
 the rights of man, through the columns of the public jour- 
 nals, and the medium of a free press — Washington, repos- 
 ing on the rock of his military genius, was serenely await- 
 in» the final catastrophe of the struggle, when, argument 
 being exhausted — patience wearied — and negociation inef- 
 fectual — the time to draw the sword would arrive, and 
 usher him, in the fulness of his vigour, and the maturity of 
 his judgment, on his native element of war, to save his 
 country, or perish in vindicating her rights, liberty, and 
 independence. 
 
 At the same time, however, that he was exempt from the 
 ettervescent fervor of sedition, there is ample reason to be- 
 lieve that sound whig principles had taken a deep root in 
 his mind, and that, although he might not be found enthu- 
 siastic in the cause of Independence, yet that he had no 
 objection to see the royal government overturned, and a 
 republican constitution substituted in its place. His mili- 
 tary ambition, which was unquestionably the absorbing 
 passion of his heart, (if the harmony of his constitution ad- 
 mitted a ruling passion,) had been mortified and disappoint- 
 ed by that system of court favour^ in military promotion, 
 which had obstructed his advancement on the regular esta- 
 
10 THE LIFE OF 
 
 blishment of the royal troops, and confined him to the su- 
 bordinate rank of a provincial officer — a circumstance which 
 had so frequently exposed him to the most acute mortifica- 
 tion, when compelled to yield to the arrogant claims of 
 precedence set up by the king^s officers, on all occasions, 
 over the provincial officers of the colonial governments^ 
 which not only checked his ambition, but mortified his 
 feelings, at the same moment that it obstructed his ad- 
 vancement, chilled his enterprise, and baffled the natural 
 bent of his powerful genius, which panted to reach the 
 climax of military perfection and renown. 
 
 When we reflect upon the infatuation of the British go- 
 vernment, in the preposterous policy of humUiation, which 
 they adopted towards the colonies at that period, we are 
 struck with astonishment that so little knowledge of human 
 nature should have entered into their views and measures, 
 and that they should systematically attempt to hold us in 
 vassalage by the very means that were calculated to move 
 us to revolt and independence — that is, by treating a proud 
 spirited people as their inferiors, and attempting to degrade 
 men whose besetting sin, if they had one, was a restless 
 ambition, and a soaring spirit of enterprise and invention, 
 which transcended all that history had ever recorded of 
 any other people — a system of policy which directly excited 
 the self-love of every man to react against them, and which 
 arrayed wealth, talents, and all other possessions in opposi- 
 tion to the royal government, notwithstanding the peril of 
 the contest which they were compelled to wage. For the 
 case of Washington was also the case of a thousand others, 
 who, notwithstanding their enjoyment of opulence, ease, 
 pleasure, and social distinction, yet panted to attain that 
 public eminence which a government of their own only could 
 bestow; without much caring 2vhat kind of government 
 should be substituted in the place of the foreign despotism 
 that then degi-aded as well as oppressed, insulted, and re- 
 buked them; without even resorting to the common expedient 
 of selecting their choice spirits for preferment, or delegating 
 some portion of the power of court favour, and royal patron- 
 age to the lordly Governor, who, from time to time, repre- 
 sented the imperial majesty of England. 
 
 Next to his passion for war and military pursuits, the 
 propensity of Washington was towards agriculture, and 
 those collateral avocations connected with the management 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 11 
 
 and improvement of his estate, whose value and increase 
 had now swelled his fortune to a splendid magnitude, which 
 claimed his attention, and occupied the greater portion of his 
 time; and from the period of his resigning his commission 
 to the Assembly of Virginia, he had divided his thoughts 
 between public affairs and the concerns of his plantations. 
 
 As a member of the Virginia Legislature, he was always 
 respected, though never conspicuous; but he was repeatedly 
 elected as a delegate to the State Assembly. 
 
 When the independent companies of the northern parts 
 of Virginia had completed their organisation, they chose 
 Washington for their Commander. So that, whether in 
 military or civil pursuits, whenever honor was to be con- 
 ferred, or confidence reposed, Washington was always sure 
 to be selected as the prominent object of attachment and 
 regard to the people. 
 
 Having been elected to the first Congress, he took his 
 seat in that body, when it met at Philadelphia, and was 
 always chosen as a member of those committees, which 
 were appointed for military or defensive purposes; in which 
 situations the soundness of his judgment, the firmness of his 
 purpose, the integrity of his character, and the imposing 
 dignity of his person and address, combined with his un- 
 questionable patriotism, enabled him to be of essential ser- 
 vice to his country; and although we have from his pen no 
 exposition of the abstract principles that constituted the 
 basis of our revolutionary struggle, yet he has said enough 
 to show that he approved of the ground of resistance, and 
 embarked all his feelings and wishes in the great contest 
 for national independence. 
 
 To the dignity of his personal deportment, and the awe 
 inspiring expression of his noble countenance, Washington 
 was, perhaps, as much indebted for his eminence through 
 life, as to the pure integrity of his soul, and the unblemish- 
 ed disinterestedness of Ms devotion to the good of his 
 country. Physically adapted to inspire awe, to kindle 
 enthusiasm, or to extort devotion to his person, he was, of 
 all the public men of that time, the best qualified to lead 
 our troops to victory, or to protect and shelter them under 
 defeat. Various and irresistible were the inducements 
 that influenced Congress to invest him with the chief and 
 exclusive command of the Armies of the United Colonies; 
 to wliicli post he was unanimously chosen by Congress on 
 
IS THE LIFE OF 
 
 the 14th of June, 1775. Among other considerations that 
 operated in favor of his selection, may be mentioned his 
 
 treat opulence — ^his experience in military affairs — ^liis 
 nown ambition to achieve military renown — -his valour, 
 firmness and prudence — his penetrating sagacity — his com- 
 prehensive grasp of mind — his faculty of combining detached 
 parts into one great whole — ^liis power of conceiving the 
 great — executing the dangerous — and embracing the vast — 
 together with indomitable courage — exhaustless patience— 
 and unconquerable fortitude: — a combination of attributes 
 and circumstances so rarely found united in one person, 
 that the living example of the model might, without depart- 
 ing from the tone of reason, be justly demonstrated a pro- 
 digy of nature. 
 
 Endowed with unaffected modesty, this great man, when 
 presented with his commission, avowed his sincere diffi- 
 dence of his ability for the important trust. 
 
 To add to his merit, he refused to receive any compen- 
 sation for his services; with an understanding that Congress 
 should discharge his expenses only; of which he pledged 
 himself to keep a strict account. How widely different 
 from modern patriots, who only seek to serve their country 
 for emolument and pay! It is not, however, to be doubt- 
 ed, but that the gratification experienced by Washington, 
 in his love of military life, proved in itself a profuse remu- 
 neration for all his toils and perils. 
 
 A more popular choice of a commander in chief, could 
 not have been made. The whole country rang, with one 
 united shout of unanimous applause, that an individual so 
 well fitted, in all respects, for the arduous duty of the 
 crisis, had been chosen to discharge it. 
 
 Still the spirit of liberty was startled into jealousy, by 
 the almost absolute military power, with which he had 
 been invested; and the address of congratulation present- 
 ed to him by the Provincial Assembly of New York, upon 
 his arrival in that city, on his way to assume command of 
 the army at Cambridge, contained this prudent and jealous 
 clause: — 
 
 «* We have the fullest assurances, that, whenever this 
 important contest shall be decided by that fondest wish of 
 every American soul — ^an accommodation \nt\i our mother 
 country, you will cheerfully resign the important deposit 
 committed into your hands, and reassurae tne character of 
 our v/ortMest citizen. -'' 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 13 
 
 To this candid and undisguised requisition, that he would 
 put off his armour, and resign his military power the mo- 
 ment that the object of his assuming it should be accom- 
 plished, he replied, in the true spirit of the patriot, aware 
 of the danger to which the allusion Mas directed; and wil- 
 ling to dispel, or assuage all apprehensions of evil, by 
 an explicit avowal of his desire to comply with their requi- 
 sition. To the flattering address of the Massachusetts Le- 
 gislature, he thus replied : — 
 
 '* Your kind congratulations on my appointment and ar- 
 rival, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and will be 
 ever retained in grateful remembrance. In exchanging the 
 enjoyments of domestic life for the duties of my present 
 honorable, but arduous situation, I only emulate the virtue 
 and public spirit of the whole province of Massachusetts, 
 which, with a firmness and patriotism without example, has 
 sacrificed all the comforts of social and political life, in sup- 
 port of the rights of mankind, and the welfare of our com- 
 mon country. My highest ambition is to be the happy 
 instrument of vindicating these rights, and to see this devoted 
 province again restored to peace, liberty and safety." 
 
 There seems to have been a constitutional trait of diffi- 
 dence and modesty in his character; for when the president 
 of Congress communicated his appointment, he is said to 
 have felt great distress from the consciousness that his abi- 
 lities might prove incompetent to the task. On that memo- 
 rable occasion, he uttered the following remarkable senti- 
 ment : — 
 
 .... '*But, lest some unlucky event should happen un- 
 favourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered 
 by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare 
 with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to 
 the command I am honored with." 
 
 Upon his arrival at the army at Cambridge, Washington 
 found the disorganization so great, as to demand his imme- 
 diate and exclusive attention, in order to place it on a more 
 systematic and substantial basis; well knowing that without 
 harmony, discipline, and subordination, even strength be- 
 comes weakness, and numbers lead to defeat, instead of 
 commanding victory. Although he was mortified to find 
 not only defects in discipline, and an alarming deficiency 
 of ammunition, yet these very evils, by calling up all his 
 energies into action, not only conduced to his own fame, 
 B 
 
14 THE LIFE OF 
 
 but contributed to the ultimate safety of the country, and 
 the immediate success of the American arms. Thus, the 
 very first effort of the military genius of Washington, by 
 being directed to the efficient organisation of the army, 
 demonstrated the wisdom of the choice which Congress had 
 made, in conferring on liim the chief command of the con- 
 tinental forcesj to which, it cannot be doubted, we were 
 solely indebted for the triumph of our arms, and the final 
 establishment of our independence. 
 
 Whatever of military glory beams around the imperishable 
 laurels of Washington, and it is sufficiently brilliant not to 
 want increase, still it must be lamented, that he did not 
 participate in the fame of Breed's Hill, or what is com- 
 monly termed ^^the Battle of Bunker^ s Hill.'''' 
 
 To make up for this stroke of ill-fortune, or omission of 
 fortune, Washington devoted himself so assiduously to 
 the blockade of Boston, that the British not only found it 
 impossible for them to harass the surrounding country, or 
 attempt a battle, that they became streightened for provi- 
 sions, and suffered much from this deprivation, which, 
 owing to the perpetual vigilance of the American comman- 
 der, they found it impossible to remedy. 
 
 But the short terms of enlistment on which the army 
 had been formed, now began to occasion serious embarrass- 
 ment to the commander, who, the more his desire increased 
 to drive tlie British from that town, the more his means of 
 accomplishing such an object vanished from his grasp; a 
 disappointment the more mortifying, because public opinion 
 had long been anticipating its reduction, under a false im- 
 pression of the exaggerated strength of the forces under 
 General Washington, who, as the blockade became further 
 protracted, began to be an object of public censure; indeed 
 ike. popular clamour against him proceeded so far, as to in- 
 sinuate aloud, that he was more desirous of prolonging the 
 war, in order to continue his own importance, than to ter- 
 minate it by a battle, which might consign him to private 
 life. Although not insensible to this unjust censure, yet 
 he could not repel the imputation without exposing the 
 real weakness of the American troops; and he preferred to 
 suffer in his own reputation for the moment, than to injure 
 teh cause of freedom, by disclosing a weakness which 
 might prove fatal to the triumph of whig principles. The 
 conviction of his own judgment against the policy of an 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON^. 13 
 
 attack, was strengthened by the concurrence of a council 
 of war; fortified by which, he even ventured to disregard 
 the wishes of Congress in favour of an attempt to expel the 
 British forces from Boston. 
 
 Although averse to an immediate attack, Washington 
 continued to make gradual approaches towards the town, 
 by erecting fortifications on Plowed Hill, Cobble Hill, and 
 Lechmere's Point; positions considered favorable to pre- 
 sent, or ulterior operations: and these approaches having 
 been carried within half a mile of the enemy's works on 
 Bunker''s Hill, gave rise to occasional cannonading which 
 drove their floating batteries from their original stations. 
 
 Up to this period, the winter of 1775, the professed 
 object of hostilities against Great Britain, had been an 
 accommodation with the royal government, on condition of 
 having the principle of non-taxation without representation, 
 recognised by the mother country. A redress of griev- 
 ances, not national independence, was the avowed object: 
 it was said to be a war against a corrupt ministry, not 
 against the British Crown. But this tallacy could not 
 long delude the public mind; or blind men of the most 
 doltish perception to the real tendency of a contest, which 
 had assumed an attitude so mortal, inveterate, and exter- 
 minating. It was natural, too, that a people who only 
 started tor a redress of grievances, should, as they pro- 
 gressed, and felt themselves strong enough for self-govern- 
 ment, and powerful enough to vanquish their oppressors, 
 at last turn their thoughts to the subject of national inde- 
 pendence, and project the total abolishment of the King's 
 authority, and the royal government. No doubt the most 
 discerning and sagacious politicians foresaw, from the com- 
 mencement of the collision, that it must ultimately assume 
 the character of Revolution and Independence. No doubt 
 a majority of the great leaders of oppugnation wished, if 
 they did not directly design it to be so; but with the great 
 mass of the people, it wore a more humble, a more just, and 
 a more practicable complexion, in the mere object of guard- 
 ing the substance of the privilege of representation in the 
 Imperial Parliament, by conceding to the Colonies the 
 sole and sovereign right of self taxation; being excluded 
 by local circumstances from a representation in Parliament. 
 But open and avowed measures for the establishment of a 
 government independent of tlie mother country were now 
 adopted. 
 
16 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Massachusetts and Virginia were the first to open the 
 path to this arduous and dangerous enterpnse, by making 
 application to Congress for advice as to the best mode of con- 
 ducting their aifairs, under existing revolutionary movements; 
 and other provinces following the example, the question 
 of separation from the mother country naturally arose, in 
 opposition to those who maintained that the connection 
 which formerly subsisted should still be preserved. Go- 
 vernments for the Colonies totally independent of the mo- 
 ther country, were advocated by some, whilst others, more 
 timid, or less inclined to liberty, espoused the restriction 
 of such governments to the continuance of the dispute then 
 pending with Great Britain — thus leaving open a door by 
 which to return into the arms of monarchy and dependence. 
 At this period, indeed, the idea of separation was so little 
 countenanced, that great opposition was made to a resolu- 
 tion granting to New Hampshire even the restricted go- 
 vernment to which I have just alluded — that is, *' during 
 the continuance of the present dispute with Great Britain;" 
 and every endeavour was systematically made to impress 
 on the public mind, that a separation was not intended: 
 an effort which contributed to produce an impression, if not 
 an effect, the very opposite of what was designed. 
 
 How far Washington participated at this period in these 
 opinions, or whether he interfered in them at all — to which 
 party he inclined, whether in favour of separation, or of 
 monarch^/, I have no means of ascertaining; but it is most 
 probable that he did not anticipate the growth of popular 
 opinion, or attempt to quicken it into maturity in favour of 
 a separation. This conjecture is rendered probable, be- 
 cause it accords with his general reserve, political cool- 
 ness, passive observation, strict prudence, and lofty habits 
 of dignity, reflection, and acquiescence; for, except in 
 matters of military bearing, his intellect seems rarely to 
 have been quickened to that stage of excitement, which 
 would impel him to take a deep interest in the mere politi- 
 cal questions of the day. This conjecture, too, is strictly 
 conformable to his military attitude, which might in some 
 measure forbid a zealous and active espousal either of sepa- 
 ration, or prolonged adhesion to the monarchy of Britain. 
 
 The siege of Boston was now prosecuted with renewed 
 vigour by Washington. A plan of attack was matured and 
 adopted; and, on the 4th of March, 1776, the American 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 17 
 
 troops took possession of the heights of Dorchester, from 
 which they poured a heavy cannonade on the besieged. 
 Counteracting movements were made by the British gene- 
 ral (Howe) to dislodge the troops of Washington from this 
 position; but the forces of the former being dispersed by a 
 storm, while in their boats, the whole plan of defence was 
 changed; and the English evacuated Boston on the 17th of 
 March, much to the chagrin of the American general, who 
 had projected a scheme of assault upon the town, which he 
 did not doubt, would prove entirely and splendidly trium- 
 phant. 
 
 The recovery of Boston by the American army consti- 
 tuted an important event in the war; and the whole colo- 
 nies rang with peals of joy upon the achievement. It was 
 '* resolved, that the thanks of Congress, in their own name, 
 and in the name of the thirteen United Colonies, whom they 
 represent, be presented to his excellency General Wash- 
 ington, and the officers and soldiers under his command, for 
 their wise and spirited conduct in tlie siege and acquisition 
 of Boston, and that a medal of gold be struck, in commemo- 
 ration of this great event, and presented to his excellency; 
 and that a committee of three be appointed to prepare a let- 
 ter of thanks, and a proper device for the medal." 
 
 The expedition into Canada in 1775, especially that 
 against Quebec, although planned with consummate abi- 
 lity, as far as it respected the military arrangement of the 
 operation, yet proved extremely disastrous to the Ameri- 
 can arms, notwithstanding the heroic bravery displayed by 
 the Generals, MontgoiTiery, Arnold, and Thomas; who, as 
 soldiers and commanders, performed all that genius, valour, 
 and judgment could accomplish. But the great defect of 
 the plan, was the vast disproportion that existed between 
 the means and the end. The project having originated 
 with Congress, on the avowed expectation of annexing Ca- 
 nada to the thirteen United Colonies, it met with the con- 
 currence of W^ashington, and has been made to redound to 
 his glory, although fraught with nothing but defeat, disas- 
 ter, and a useless, or worse than useless, expenditure of 
 lives, money, resources, and credit. The enterprise was 
 altogether too vast, and the scene of its execution too remote, 
 to be justified on any principles, or views, not exclusively 
 military. It was based on an assumption of exaggerated 
 resources in the United Colonies, which not onlv did not 
 
 B 2 
 
18 THE LIFE OP" 
 
 exist, but it is difficult to conceive how any impartial mind 
 could have imagined that it was possible to exist. Although 
 I am willing to concede to Washington, therefore, as much 
 applause as he could justly lay claim to, for the military 
 arrangements of the expedition into Canada, yet, as it 
 respects the political elements of the design, as far as they 
 implicate the character of the statesman for policy, know- 
 ledge, judgment, and a correct appreciation of all the com- 
 prehensive relations involved in it — ^it must be admitted to 
 detract in some measure from his civic character, and to 
 impair the aggregate of that greatness, which belongs to in- 
 herent fame, apart fi'om the splendour of military glory. 
 
 It may be said, however, that Congress, by adopting the 
 scheme, made it their own, and so far exonerated the Ge- 
 neral from all censure due to a project, which aimed at 
 such colossal ends, by such pigmy and disproportionate 
 means. But this cannot well be admitted; for it was the 
 habit of Congress to adopt all his suggestions, according to 
 the pledge of adhesion which it had originally given tx) him, 
 when it invested him with the absolute and unlimited pow- 
 ers of a military Dictator — ^j^owers justified by the crisis, 
 and indispensable to the triumphant issue of the struggle 
 between the Colonies and the Monarchy. It was, too, 
 peculiarly incumbent upon Washington, to restrain, rather 
 than excite, to enterprises of such stupendous magnitude; 
 for, to him was practically known the insufficiency and fee- 
 bleness of the military material of the United Colonies, as 
 well as their deficiency in the great sinew of war, 'money! 
 — and had he expressed his dissent from the enterprise, no 
 doubt can exist that it would never have been attempted. 
 
 It was more unfortunate, however, in its leaving the co- 
 lonies naked of the means of vigorous defence, as it ex- 
 pended resources, which, at home, would have proved infi- 
 nitely more advantageous than abroad, even had complete 
 victory attended the Canada expedition. And when we 
 reflect, that all the troops engaged in that disastrous cam- 
 paign, underwent hardships, and endured sufferings, as well 
 as achieved romantic deeds of heroic courage, never sur- 
 passed, if equalled — we cannot but express our astonish- 
 ment and regret, at the wanton temerity of an enterprise, 
 which gave occasion to such brilliant displays of heroism, 
 and involved such terrible consequences of defeat. 
 
 Anticipating an attack upon New York by the forces of 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 19 
 
 General Howe, which had evacuated Boston, Washington 
 hastened from that place with the main body of his army to- 
 wards the Hudson 5 and having reached New York on the 
 14th of April, he directed all his energy and resources to 
 prepare for the reception of the enemy, and prevent his oc- 
 cupation of so important a post; to guard against which, he 
 omitted no precaution of defence, which military genius, or 
 tlie resources of the colonies, could furnish or suggest. 
 
 But here, as on all other occasions, the deficiency ol the 
 material of the troops, in respect to muskets and bayonets, 
 presented serious impediments to his efficient operations. 
 The want of magazines, clothing, tents, ammunition, and 
 arms, was truly lamentable. A loyal and tory population, 
 too, not only in the city, but about the surrounding country, 
 added to his difficulties, increased his embarrassments, and 
 frustrated his designs. This disaffection to the American 
 cause had risen to so great a head, as to take the shape of a 
 conspiracy to seize and deliver up Washington himself to 
 the royal government. In this plot even some of the ge- 
 neral's guards were implicated through the arts, intrigues 
 and corruption of the royal governor, Tryon, and the mayor 
 of the city. That it failed, was rather to be ascribed to 
 good fortune, than any defect in the plot, or penetration in 
 the intended victim. Some of those who were guilty were 
 executed. A similar conspiracy having been exploded at 
 Albany, those concerned likewise suffered the penalty of 
 death. 
 
 The Congress of 1775 had adjourifed under sanguine ex- 
 pectations, that the disputes existing between the Colonies 
 and Great Britain, would speedily be adjusted to the satis- 
 faction of both parties. But this hope was entirely dissipated 
 by the speech of the King to Parliament; while the proceed- 
 ings of the latter evinced a disposition the most remote from 
 that which would have prevailed had a temper of justice 
 and conciliation predominated in their councils. On the 
 contrary, an inflexible resolution to subdue the colonies by 
 the sword, was manifested by increased and immense pre- 
 parations to prosecute with success, the ensuing campaign; 
 evincing not only an implacable animosity in the tory ad- 
 ministration, but a vindictive thirst of revenge in the Eng- 
 lish people. Fully appreciating tlie importance of these 
 hostile movements, the colonies were not backward in 
 making vigorous preparations to repulse the legions that 
 
20 THE LIFE OF 
 
 were now to be poured upon them: and it will ever redound 
 to the glory of Washington, that, keeping his eye upon the 
 movements of the mother country, he now pressed upon 
 Congress, in his letters to that body, the necessity of adopt- 
 ing measures which would enable him, at the head of the 
 army, to protect the country from the ravages and devasta- 
 tion of the expected foe. It is to be regretted that Con- 
 gress, from the want of experience and judgment, did not 
 comply with his requisitions to that extent which was es- 
 sential to the consummation of the object aimed at. 
 
 It cannot be thouglit irrelevant to the life of Washington, 
 to here advert to the progress which the public mind was 
 now making towards the great work of National Indepen- 
 dencej which had heretofore been merged in the minor ob- 
 ject of obtaining redress of grievances. Anterior to the 
 year 1776, an absolute horror was generally expressed, 
 whenever the idea of a separation of the colonies from Great 
 Britain had been hinted, accompanied by an avowal of 
 anxious desire to re-establish the union and harmony which 
 had always subsisted between the mother country and 
 America. Since blood had been shed, however, between 
 the contending parties, an opposite sentiment had gradually 
 supplanted the desire of a renewal of political connection 
 with Great Britain. To feel affection — to profess alle- 
 giance — to desire to cultivate amity with a monarch whose 
 armies were desolating our country, giving our homes to 
 the fire-brand, our families to the sword, and our all that 
 made life valuable, to the rapacity of a band of mercenary 
 soldiers; at the same time that we were attempting to avert 
 the blow, or retaliate the injury, was not only impossible, 
 but unnatural and absurd. It was in tlie nature of the 
 human heart to revolt from a power, which thus sought to 
 afflict, crush and vanquisli us; and to desire never again to 
 hold communion with the bloody and oppressive authors of 
 our wrongs and sufferings. Still, on the other hand, pow- 
 erful prejudices existetl, to draw back the people to their 
 ancient allegiance, and customary form of government. 
 Education, habit, all the associations of the mind, and 
 many of the affections of family ties, had implanted a deep 
 love of the Britlsli government and nation in the hearts of 
 the Americans, and made them averse to thinking of a final 
 and lasting separation from the mother country. Even as 
 late as June 1775, Congress issued a proclamation for a 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 fast, assigning as one of the reasons for its recommenda- 
 tion, to ** beseech the Almighty to bless our Rightful Sove- 
 reign, King George the Third, and inspire him with wis- 
 dom. " These prejudices in favour of remaining under the 
 British government now rapidly wore away; and an in- 
 creased love and admiration of Republican principles, 
 coupled with the desire of Independence, began to take 
 root in the minds of the people, especially that portion of 
 them who had no ties of aristocratical distinction, official 
 pomp, or family pride, to rend asunder by the separation; 
 and whose mediocrity of fortune placed them beyond the 
 dread which operated on the minds of the more opulent 
 and powerful members of society. To this class of citizens, 
 too, the public journals of the colonies, now began to open 
 their columns in favour of independence. To these fol- 
 lowed pamphlets and essays; among which stood in bold 
 and prominent relief, distinguished for its eloquence, pa- 
 triotism, and energy, the Common Sense of Thomas 
 Paine; which, combining great force of language and power 
 of argument, with an irresistible array of facts and princi- 
 ples, too obvious to be denied, and too reasonable to be 
 confuted, carried conviction to every mind, at the same 
 time that they enlisted the most ardent feelings in the cause 
 of liberty and independence; agitating the calm and tempe- 
 rate with a glowing love of country, and infusing irresistible 
 enthusiasm into the bosom of the ardent champions of 
 the Rights of Man. He boldly attacked with triumphant 
 ridicule, and resistless argument, the whole fabric of the 
 British Constitution, which had so long been held in idola- 
 trous veneration as the paragon of political wisdom; and at 
 the same time demonstrated a longer continuance of a con- 
 nection with England, to be as impracticable as it was ab- 
 surd, dangerous, and inconsistent. Lucid in his style, forci- 
 ble in his diction, and happy in his illustrations, he threw 
 the charms of poetry over the statue of Reason, and made 
 converts to liberty, as if a power of fascination presided over 
 his pen. Universally read, warmly applauded, and prompt- 
 ly responded to, this pamphlet daily won crowds of zealous 
 converts to the rational doctrine of American Indepen- 
 dence. It was now perceived and acknowledged, that a 
 reconciliation with England was now impracticable; and 
 the opinions of Paine soon became the opinions of a large 
 majority of the people, who coincided in his principles, 
 adopted his views, and embraced his doctrines. 
 
22 THE LIFE OF 
 
 It is not the purpose of this biography to enter into a full 
 discussion, or a minute review of the question of indepen- 
 dence: but we may here remark, that the writings of Tho- 
 mas Paine have been admitted to have had more influence 
 in the accomplishment of the separation of the colonies from 
 the mother country, than any other cause; and that preju- 
 dice, arising from a secret attachment to the British consti- 
 tution, could alone have operated to withhold from his 
 name and memory, that lustre and renown, which always 
 gathers in clustering glory round the brows of those wor- 
 thies, who in times of peril, espouse the rights of the peo- 
 ple; and amidst the frowns, thunders, and tempests of des- 
 potism, denounce the tyranny of kings, and satirise into 
 derision and contempt, the pomp of thrones and the pride 
 of monarchs. 
 
 To the genius of Thomas Paine, as a popular writer, and 
 to that of George Washington, as a prudent, skilful and 
 consummate general, are the American people indebted for 
 their rights, liberties and independence. The high opinion 
 of Paine, entertained by Washington, and publicly express- 
 ed by the latter, sheds fresh lustre on the incomparable 
 merits of the great leader of the army of the revolution. 
 
 It was under an impression in part produced by the pow- 
 erful writings of Paine, that Congress, on the 6th of May, 
 1776, passed a resolution recommending to the Colonies 
 to adopt separate and independent governments; and from 
 that time they assumed the character and attitude of So- 
 vereign States, presenting the sublime and imposing 
 spectacle of a free and enlightened people framing their 
 own systems of government in virtue of their inalienable 
 rights, and inherent sovereignty, and reducing to the cer- 
 tainty of written constitutions the boundaries of power and 
 the popular fountains of authority. 
 
 Representative democracies were adopted by the difterent 
 states, with two branches of legislative and one of executive 
 power, limited in most of the states by declarations of rights, 
 and declared in all to emanate from the sole spring of 
 power, the sovereign rights of the people. 
 
 From this commencement, the step was short to the 
 Declaration of Independence of the United States. 
 
 On the 29th of June, 1776, General Howe arrived oft' 
 Sandy Hook, with the British army from Halifax, where 
 he had wintered his troops, and had waited for reinforce- 
 ments; and on the 3d and 4th of July he effected a landing 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 of his troops on Staten Island; previous to vrhich, General 
 Washington had been active in removing all the supplies 
 that might prove of advantage to the enemy. 
 
 All the energies and resources of Washington were now 
 put in requisition, to observe the movements and counteract 
 the designs of the military and naval forces of England, 
 under the command of Sir William and Lord Howe; who 
 were also constituted commissioners to treat for peace^ant 
 pardons, seduce traitors, and purchase renegades. These 
 commissioners published circulars, addressed to the people, 
 exhorting them to return to their allegiance to the crown, 
 which were transmitted by Washington to Congress. 
 
 Not only were the people to be boKght, but even the 
 general in chief of the army of the United States was to be 
 tampered with, or bribed from his duty. Lord Howe ac- 
 cordingly despatched a letter with a flag, addressed to 
 * George Washington, Esquire,'^ which the General declined 
 receiving, because it did not recognise the public character 
 with wliich he was invested by Congress, and in no other 
 character could he have any intercourse with his lordship. 
 
 This prudent and dignified conduct met with the warm 
 approbation of Congress, who immediately passed a special 
 resolution, ' that no letter or message be received on any 
 occasion whatever from the enemy, by the commander in 
 chief, or others, the commanders of the American army, 
 but such as shall be directed to them in the characters they 
 respectively sustain.' 
 
 To overcome this difficulty of etiquette, without commit- 
 ting the royal power, as well as to amuse the Americans 
 with the pretence of pacific intentions. Colonel Patterson, 
 Adjutant-General of the British army, was despatched on 
 shore by General Howe, bearing a letter directed to 
 ' George Washington, &c. &.c. &c.' He was, of course, 
 admitted to an interview with Washington, whom he ad- 
 dressed by the title of ' Excellency;' and after the prelimi- 
 nary compliments, proceeded to state his business by say- 
 ing, that " General Howe much regretted the difficulties 
 that had arisen respecting the address of the letters; that 
 the mode adopted was deemed consistent with propriety, 
 and was founded on precedent in cases of ambassadors and 
 plenipotentiaries, where disputes or difficulties about rank 
 had arisen; that General Washington might recollect he 
 had, last summer, addressed a letter to the * honorable 
 
24 THE LIFE or 
 
 William Howe;' that Lord and General Howe did not 
 mean to derogate from his rank, or the respect due to him; 
 and that they held his person and character in the highest 
 esteem, but that the direction, with the addition of &c. &c. 
 &c. implied every thing which ought to follow." Colonel 
 Patterson then laid on the table the letter of which he was 
 the bearer. 
 
 Washington unhesitatingly declined to receive it, alleg- 
 ing " that a letter directed to a person in a public charac- 
 ter, should have some description, or indication of that 
 character, otherwise it would be considered as a mere pri- 
 vate letter. It was true, the etceteras implied every thing, 
 and they also implied any thing. That the letter to Gene- 
 ral Howe, alluded to, was an answer to one received from 
 him under a like address; which having been taken by the 
 officer on duty, he did not think proper to return; and 
 therefore answered in the same mode of address; and that 
 he should absolutely decline any letter relating to his pub- 
 lic station, directed to him as a private person." 
 
 Colonel Patterson then observed, ' that General Howe 
 would not urge his delicacy further, and repeated his asser- 
 tions that no want of respect was intended. ' 
 
 Some observations then passed upon the treatment of 
 prisoners; after which Colonel Patterson said, that "the 
 goodness and benevolence of the King had induced him to 
 appoint Lord Howe and General Howe his commissioners 
 to accommodate the unhappy dispute at present subsisting; 
 that they had great powers, and would derive much plea- 
 sure from effecting the accommodation; and that he wished 
 this visit to be considered as making the first advance to- 
 wards so desirable an object." 
 
 The reply of General Washington to this proposition 
 was, ' that he was not vested with any powers on this sub- 
 ject, by those from whom he derived his authority; but he 
 would observe that, so far as he could judge from what had 
 as yet transpired. Lord Howe and General Howe were 
 only empowered to grant pardons; that those who had com- 
 mitted no fault wanted no pardon; and that the Americans 
 were only defending what they deemed their indubitable 
 rights.' ' This, (Colonel Patterson replied,) would open a 
 very wide field for argument:' and after expressing his fears 
 that an adherence to forms might obstruct business of the 
 greatest moment and concern, he took his leave. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 25 
 
 The substance of this conversation was subsequently 
 published by order of Congress. 
 
 The Hessians now began to arrive from Europe, to rein- 
 force General Howe; which did not fail to exasperate the 
 animosity of the patriot Americans, against what they 
 justly conceived to be a wanton and barbarous aggravation 
 of the contest 5 for the tomahawk of the Indian was to be 
 added to the brutal and mercenary musket of the Hessian j 
 and slaves and savages were to be recklessly arrayed in an 
 implacable war against a free, civilized, and enlightened 
 portion of their own family, their descendants, their chil- 
 dren, bound by ties of consanguinity to observe the rules 
 of civilized warfare, and bow to the dictates of feeling and 
 humanity, which are never incompatible with patriotism 
 and duty. 
 
 The British army now amounted to twenty-four thou- 
 sand effective men; whilst that of the Americans did not 
 exceed ten thousand, who were badly equipped, insuffi- 
 ciently furnished with arms, and in a very unhealthy con- 
 dition, owing to the want of tents, and exposure to the 
 weather. I'he force under Washington was, indeed, any 
 thing but efficient; but the obstacles to making it greater, 
 were radical, and not to be overcome — these were, the want 
 of commerce, the want of money, the decay of credit, and 
 a lingering hope, which blasted the energy of preparation 
 for vTctory; that a reconciliation would yet render hostili- 
 ties useless, and by sheathing the sword, bring back peace, 
 and all its attendant blessings. Under all these disadvan- 
 tages, however, Washington conceived the design of attack- 
 ing the English at Staten Island; but a tempest rising frus- 
 trated this intention, and he remained inactive waiting for 
 reinforcements, and in daily expectation of receiving an 
 attack from the enemy; which he awaited with the more 
 anxiety, as his own troops were scattered over an extent 
 of fifteen miles, in the occupation of posts, difficult of ac- 
 cess, and therefore impossible to be concentrated for sud- 
 den emergencies. Under these difficulties and embarrass- 
 ments, he thus wrote to Congress : — 
 
 '' These things are melancholy, but they are nevertheless 
 true. I hope for better. Under every disadvantage, my 
 utmost exertions shall be employed to bring about the great 
 end we have in view; and so far as I can judge from the 
 professions and apparent dispositions of ray troops, I shall 
 
 C 
 
26 THE LIFE OV 
 
 have iheiv support. The superiority of the enemy, and the 
 expected attack, do not seem to have depressed their spi- 
 rits. These considerations lead me to think, that though 
 the appeal may not terminate so happily as I could wish, 
 yet the enemy will not succeed in their views without con- 
 siderable loss. Any advantage they may gain, I trust, may 
 cost them dear." 
 
 The tenor of this letter anticipating defeat, might be open 
 to severe criticism, but for the lamentable, indeed almost 
 fatal disadvantages and embarrassments, under which the 
 Americans laboured; and which justify us in averring, 
 that no parallel can be found in history of a general main- 
 taining the appearance of a belligerent attitude, and sus- 
 taining himself against all the deficiencies that beset him, 
 with a force so broken, so incompetent, and so transitory. 
 Under other circumstances, to have anticipated defeat, 
 might have been viewed as highly culpable; but in his ac- 
 tual situation, it was a conclusion irresistibly forced upon 
 him by circumstances beyond his power to avert, and 
 which he possessed no resources to remedy. 
 
 Being now reinforced by several regim.ents from Mary- 
 land, Pennsylvania, New' York, and Massachusetts, his 
 force was increased to twenty-seven thousand men, of 
 whom one-fourtli were on the sick list. 
 
 As Washington now momently expected an attack, and 
 .iware that the influence of the first battle might decide that 
 of the second, if not involve the ultimate fate of the coun- 
 try, he bent all his energies to enforcing subordination, and 
 exciting that glow of enthusiasm, which always attends the 
 ardent love of liberty; and which in a peculiar manner had 
 kindled the indignation of the Americans against the merce- 
 nary invaders of their native land. Upon this spirit, 
 Washington now in a grea,t measure relied, as a substitute 
 for discipline, skill, and experience. His orders to his 
 troops, issued soon after the arrival of general Howe, show 
 tliat he knew how to call into action this generous passion 
 of self-devotion to the love of liberty; and the tone of elo- 
 quence of this address, renders it a striking illustration of 
 his character, and a beautiful trait in the mind of the pa- 
 triot general. 
 
 " The time" (he says) *' is now near at hand, which 
 must probably determine whether Americans are to be free- 
 men or slaves; whether they are to have any property they 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 27 
 
 can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to 
 be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a 
 state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will de- 
 liver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, 
 under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our 
 cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of a 
 brave resistance, or the most abject submission. AVe 
 have, therefore, to resolve to conquer, or to die. Our own, 
 our country's honour, call upon us for a vigorous and 
 manly exertion; and if we now shamefully fail we shall 
 become infamous to the whole world. Let us then rely on 
 the goodness of our cause, and the aid of tlie Supreme 
 Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage 
 us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our coun- 
 trymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings 
 and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving 
 them from the tyranny meditated against them. Let us, 
 therefore, animate and encourage each other, and show the 
 whole world, that a freeman contending for liberty on his 
 own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth. *' 
 The anticipations of defeat expressed by Washington in 
 his letters to congress, were but too fully realised by the 
 victory of Brooklyn, achieved by the British over the 
 American army — one of the most signal and disastrous de- 
 feats that our arms sustained during the whole war; and to 
 justify which, on the part of general Washington, has, I be- 
 lieve, never been seriously attempted; for, after making 
 every allowance for want of equipment, discipline, and 
 subordination, there still appears some deficiency of military 
 skill in the movements, positions, and general arrangement 
 of the army, which leaves Washington open to much criti- 
 cism on the score of military talent. Even Marshall, who 
 is disposed never to blame, and always to eulogise t\\Q 
 patriot general, admits a want of skill in 'not having 
 guarded the road which leads over the hills from Jamaica 
 to Bedford.' The truth, however, is, that Washington- s 
 great trait of character and genius was a passive fortitude; 
 a patience under adversity, and a skill in extricating him- 
 self from difficulties, and bearing up against disasters. 
 But he wanted some of the genius for active, energetic and 
 successful warfare; for brilliancy of attack, fertility of t&-^ 
 sources, and promptitude of action, as well as a perfect 
 arrangement of his plan of operations. Some idea of t'hU 
 
28 THE LIFE OF 
 
 deficiency in his military character, may be formed from 
 the following extract from Marshall's account of the battle 
 of Brooklyn, which occurred on the 27th August, 1776. 
 
 " About half past eight o'clock, the British right having 
 then reached Bedford, in the rear of Sullivan's left, gene- 
 ral De Heister ordered colonel Donop's corps to advance 
 to the attack of the hill, following himself with the centre 
 of the army. The approach of Clinton was now discovered 
 by the American left, which immediately endeavoured to 
 regain the camp at Brooklyn. They were retiring from 
 the woods by regiments, with their cannon, when they en- 
 countered the front of the British, consisting of the light 
 infantry and light dragoons, who were soon supported by 
 the guards. About the same time the Hessians advanced 
 from Flatbush, against that part of the detachment which 
 occupied the direct road to Brooklyn. Here general Sulli- 
 van commanded in person; but he found it difficult to keep 
 his troops together long enough to sustain the first attack. 
 The firing heard towards Bedford had disclosed to them 
 the alarming fact, that the British had turned their left 
 flank, and ivere getting completely into their rear. Perceiv- 
 ing- at once the full danger of their situation, they sought to 
 escape it by regaining the camp with the utmost possible 
 celerity. The sudden route of this party enabled De 
 Heister to detach a part of his force against those who were 
 engaged near Bedford. In that quarter, too, the Americans 
 were broken and driven back into the woods, and the front 
 of the column led by general Clinton, continuing to move 
 forward, intercepted and engaged those ivho were retreating 
 along the direct road from Flatbush. Thus attacked both 
 in front and rear., and alternately driven by the British on 
 the Hessians, and by the Hessians back again on the Bri- 
 tish., a succession of skirmishes took place in the woods, 
 in the course of which, some parts of corps forced their 
 way through the enemy, and regained the lines of Brooklyn, 
 and several individuals saved themselves under cover of 
 the woods; but a great proportion of the detachment was 
 killed or taken." 
 
 Though unequal to the achievement of a great victory 
 with his present troops. ^^ t'.shiugton was eminently suc- 
 '^""';*'ul m conducting the retreat of his army from' Long 
 Island; and on the night of the 28th of August, he conducted 
 his troops across the East river, unperceived and unmolest- 
 
GEORGE WASUINGTON. 29 
 
 ed by the enemy, having secured all his stores, baggage 
 and ammunition. 
 
 Marshall, commenting upon this retreat, says, *' without 
 loss, to withdraw a defeated, dispirited and undisciplined 
 army from the view of an experienced and able officer, and 
 to transport them in safety across a large river, while 
 watched by a numerous and vigilant fleet, require talents 
 of no ordinary kind; and the retreat from Long Island may 
 justly be ranked among those skilful manoeuvres which dis- 
 tinguish a master in the art of war." 
 
 According to this sentiment, retreat^ not victory^ is the 
 test of great generalship! But this is fallacious; and 
 Washington is in every military aspect of his character, too 
 great to require a fallacy to sustain him — he was sl pruderd 
 general, perhaps too prudent for his own £j;lory, but not too 
 prudent for the salvation of his country; for which we stand 
 entirely indebted to that saving quality of his great mind. 
 For had he indulged in the ambition of victory only, inde- 
 pendent of the fatal consequences of the risk attendant upon 
 an impetuous system of perilous warfare, a doubt cannot 
 be entertained, that under the defective organization of the 
 continental army which subsisted throughout the whole of 
 the war, the result must have proved fatal to the cause of 
 liberty and independence. 
 
 It must, however, strike the reader with peculiar force, 
 that this prudence and discretion was the characteristic of 
 the military genius of Washington; and that his judgment 
 cannot be praised for the exercise of a quality, which beii.^, 
 purely constitutional, was independent of all volition on 
 nis part. It w as, perhaps, only after much experience, i\\c.t 
 Washington himself discovered, that he was not fully qua- 
 lified for those bold and daring achievements of war, which 
 are peculiar to men of other and less tender structure of 
 the constitution and sympathies. 
 • The battle of Brooklyn, no doubt, opened a wide field for 
 reflection to the great commander w ho had lost the battk, 
 and who, with the paternal affection of a father, had wept 
 over the slaughter of his best troops, the flower of his armv, 
 and the hope of the nation. It could not have escaped the 
 penetration and sagacity of the commander in chief, tbftt 
 the design of meeting in the open field, and in pitched bat- 
 tles, the disciplined and compact army of the British em- 
 pire, in the energy of its colossal structure, and the pirkle 
 C 2 
 
30 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of its well paid battalions, would be little short of the chi- 
 merical project of Don Quixote; and experience, as well as 
 observation and foresight, had now convinced him that the 
 only method of carrying on the war wliich promised ulti- 
 mate success, was a defensive policy; an attitude of prudent 
 reserve, and a position of alternate attack and defence, as 
 circumstances might warrant, or opportunity induce; to 
 hang on their skirts, pouring upon them like a torrent in 
 their moments of supineness, when lulled into langour by 
 contempt, security and triumph; and at less auspicious 
 times, retreating before their greater numbers and superior 
 discipline. To have a full perception of the wisdom and 
 utility of such a policy, is to rise higher in the scale of 
 greatness than to be a mere consummate general; for it im- 
 plies a concentration of great qualities, wTiich no exclusive 
 military commander ever united in his own person. 
 
 Marshall extenuates the conduct of Washington on that 
 occasion, by alleging the total destitution of cavalry, to act 
 as Videts, in conveying information of the approach of the 
 enemy, apparently not recollecting that the cause of this 
 deficiency must have been in the commander in chief; for, 
 it can hardly be supposed that Congress were to attend so 
 minutely to the details of the army as to provide by a specific 
 law for Videts. It was competent to Washington, to mount 
 his own Videts; or, not having the means to do so, he would 
 naturally avoid such a disposition of his army as required 
 their indispensable assistance and co-operation to avoid 
 defeat, or to secure a victory. It must be admitted that 
 he attempted too much for his limited means to accomplish, 
 or his peculiar genius to control and direct. 
 
 The effect upon the army was dismaying: whole regiments 
 marched home; and it was a common occurrence for compa- 
 nies of militia to take their departure, without shame and 
 without leave. The prevailing sentiment was that of de- 
 spair. A dark and awful cloud hung over the destiny of 
 the country. 
 
 Lord Howe availed himself of the despondency of the 
 Americans, produced by this defeat, to proffer terms of 
 harmony and peace; but the negociations were transitory 
 and ineffectual, and both parties returned to their bellige- 
 rent operations. 
 
 After some inconsiderable skirmishing, in which the 
 American troops entirely failed to preserve their character 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. Si 
 
 for cool and collected courage, an incident almost unavoid- 
 able when raw soldiers are opposed to regulars, Washington 
 entirely evacuated New York, of which General Howe 
 took possession on the 15th September, 1776. 
 
 Washington now moved his troops towards the White 
 Plains, and conceived the plan of habituating his men to 
 stand lire, by accustoming them to skirmishing. The Bri- 
 tish forces having followed him, occasion soon offered to 
 test the value of the experiment; a detachment of three 
 hundred Hessians and British were attacked, repulsed and 
 beaten; the spirits of the American soldiers revived; the 
 tone of feeling throughout the army rose higher; and Wash- 
 ington personally exerted himself to improve the impression, 
 and deepen the consciousness of their own valour and good 
 conduct, so as to convince them that they possessed equal 
 courage to their enemies, if they were only resolved to 
 exert it. 
 
 Devoting his days to the discipline and improvement of 
 his soldiers, and his nights to the composition of letters to 
 Congress, exhorting them to improve the organisation, and 
 add to the efficiency of the army, this good man and virtu- 
 ous patriot exhibited a rare example of love of country, 
 seldom equalled and never surpassed. 
 
 In one of his letters to Congress at this period, I have 
 noted a very extraordinary sentiment, which Washington 
 alleges as one of the causes of the inefficiency of the army. 
 He says ' I see such a distrust and jealousy of military 
 POWER, that the commander in chief has not an opportunity, 
 even by recomm,endation, to give the least assurances of 
 reward for the most essential services. ' In many other of 
 his letters, this effiict of the principles of liberty upon the 
 minds and conduct of the soldiers, as loosening the bands 
 of discipline, and unfitting them for the control of their 
 officers, is mentioned with feelings of eloquent lamentation; 
 and no doubt the evils he endured from this source were 
 great ! But it was by cotitrast only with the slaves of the 
 royal army that it appeared an evil; and great as that evil 
 no doubt was, still it was to be preferred to that servile 
 and mercenary spirit which bound the Hessians in fetters 
 of iron to the commands of their masters. Had the Ame- 
 ricans been capable of this servile spirit, they never would 
 ha\-e rallied under the banners of liberty, from the love of 
 independence, to defend the country against/orez^w tyrants. 
 
52 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The battle of the White Plains, on the 26th of October, 
 1776, was of inconsiderable moment, but left rather a fa- 
 vourite impression on the American troops, although the 
 loss on both sides was about equal. 
 
 The capture of Fort TFashiiigton, by the British and 
 Hessians, on the 16th November, was a more serious aftair, 
 in which, however, Washington did not personally com- 
 mand. It was carried by storm, owing to some deficiency 
 of skill and address in Colonel Cadwalader, who, as he 
 retreated towards the fort, suffered his detachment to be 
 intercepted and made prisoners. The garrison of two thou- 
 sand men were made prisoners of war. This severe loss 
 was ascribed to the want of firmness and gallantry in that 
 part of the forces under the command of Cadwalader. 
 
 General Washington now commenced his memorable re- 
 treat through New Jersey; his army daily melting away, 
 from the expiration of their terms of enlistment, as well as 
 the despair which began to pervade the minds of all, as to 
 the final success of the cause of Independence. Gloom and 
 despondency hung over the American army, as well as the 
 sacred cause of American Liberty: all seemed to despair 
 but Washington, who, erect and undismayed, still reposed 
 on the goodness of his cause for final success; and, amidst 
 all the difiiculties and darkness that environed him, cast 
 his hopes high above human agency, still confident that 
 heaven would, jorosjoer the just. He was not disappointed: 
 that feeling sustained him — it gave him fortitude under 
 adversity — it stimulated his energies to fresh exertion — ^it 
 infused hope into his bosom, gave tone to his mind, vigor 
 to his actions, sharpened his invention, multiplied his re- 
 sources, and added a sublime heroism to the moral and in- 
 tellectual power of the man. To this sentiment and this 
 trait of his mind, are we indebted for the final triumph of 
 the cause of Independence; for the crisis was awful and deci- 
 sive. Had Washington quailed, or faltered then, universal 
 despair and submission to the royal power would have fol- 
 lowed: but when the little band of ragged and half-starved 
 patriots, who still clustered about him, sought in his coun- 
 tenance, with an anxious and scrutinising glance, for the 
 index of their fate, and beheld him serene, unmoved, and 
 undismayed, not only void of fear, and above tlie weakness 
 of complaint, but apt to encourage the drooping, and inspire 
 with hope and confidence the desponding hearts of others. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 their spirits revived, as they read in the inspired serenity 
 of his noble countenance, the assurance of future victory, 
 and the presage of final glory. 
 
 Upon reaching the Delaware river, Washington found 
 himself at the head of less than three thousand men, desti- 
 tute of blankets, tents, clothing, shoes, and utensils for 
 cooking, almost naked, some of them literally barefooted, 
 exposed to tlie piercing blasts of a November and December 
 sky: they presented a spectacle well calculated to chill the 
 heart of the most sanguine with despair. Such was now 
 the army of Washington, in full retreat before the well 
 appointed and proud battalions of the king, pampered mer- 
 cenaries, overfed Hessians, and luxurious myrmidons; 
 compelled to fly before whom was doubly mortifying, and 
 doubly disastrous, as the whole country was now beginning 
 to desert the American cause, and eager to propitiate the 
 royal favour by prompt submission, instead of avenging 
 their wrongs by courageous resistance, or vindicating their 
 rights in manly combat. 
 
 It Vv'as in such a trying crisis, that General and Lord 
 Howe plied the people with the promises of royal grace 
 and favour, if they would return to their allegiance, throW 
 down their arms, and return to their homes. But this crafty 
 and insidious proclamation did not produce an impression 
 upon the honesty of one true patriot, however it might suc- 
 ceed with the corrupt, or purchase the aiFections of traitors. 
 
 Washington removed his baggage and stores to the south 
 side of the Delaware, and sent his sick to Philadelphia; 
 whilst he remained with the efficient part of his army on 
 the Trenton side, in the vicinity of that town. 
 
 The British forces under Cornwallis continued at Bruns- 
 wick; but the evident design of the enemy was to take pos- 
 session of Philadelphia; to prevent which, Washington 
 made the best disposition which his scanty means allowed. 
 
 Being reinforced by two thousand troops from Philadel- 
 phia, Washington advanced towards Princeton, for the pur- 
 pose of attacking the English; but Cornwallis having also 
 been reinforced, made rapid advances from Brunswick, by 
 a"diiferent route, in order to get into the rear of the Ame- 
 ricans. Washington again retreated, and found it neces- 
 sary to pass the Delaware on the 8th of December; having 
 previously secured the boats, and broken down the bridges. 
 
 As the rear guard of Washington crossed the river, the 
 
34 THE LIFE OF 
 
 van of the British appeared in sight, their main body taking 
 post at Trenton; whilst detachments were marched above 
 and below the town, in order to perplex the Americans as 
 to the point at which they designed to attempt a passage. 
 
 Lines of defence were now drawn by General Putnam 
 from the Schuylkill to the Delaware; while General Miftlin 
 was despatched to Philadelphia to superintend the safety 
 of the numerous stores in that city. 
 
 Washington displayed unusual vigilance and skill in the 
 means he now adopted to prevent the British from effecting 
 a passage of the river. 
 
 Vigorous efforts were made to rouse the militia of Penn- 
 sylvania, Maryland, and Delaware; and General Mifflin 
 was deputed to make an excursion through the different 
 counties of Pennsylvania, in order to rouse the citizens to 
 an immediate defence of the city and country. General 
 Jirmstrong was also despatched on this important errand. 
 
 General Gates was now ordered to join Washington from 
 the northern army, and General Heath was likewise ordered 
 from Peckskill. General Lee was also ordered to con- 
 centrate; but he was taken prisoner at a farm house three 
 miles distant from his army; but his forces were promptly 
 marched to the main army, by General Sullivan, on whom 
 their command now devolved: so that, with these and other 
 reinforcements, the American army was now increased to 
 seven thousand effective men. 
 
 The British now retired into winter quarters. Four 
 thousand were cantoned on the Delaware, at Trenton, Bor- 
 den town, the White Horse, and Mount Holly, to th2 Hack- 
 ensack; while strong corps were posted at Elizabethtoivn , 
 Brunswick and Princeton. 
 
 Washington, however, still distrusted their intention of 
 remaining inactive, apprehending that the British general 
 was only waiting for the freezing of the river to make his 
 way to the city that winter. 
 
 During tlie respite afforded by the inactivity of the Bri- 
 tish forces, to Washington, he employed his attention by 
 representing fully to Congress the causes of his defeats and 
 weakness, and invoking them to place the army on a per- 
 manent foundation, more competent to a successful and 
 creditable prosecution of the v/ar. In the course of tliesj 
 letters, his aversion to a dependence on militia is strongly 
 expressed; and it will elucidate his great character, as well 
 
GEORGE WASHmOTON. 35 
 
 as explain the nature of the mat erial thsit, in a great mea- 
 sure,^ wought American Independence, to quote a few pas- 
 
 '' Could any thing,'' he asked, '' be more destructive of 
 the recruitmg business, than giving ten dollars bounty for 
 SIX weeks service in the militia, who come in, jou cannot 
 te liow—go, you cannot tell when— and act, you cannot 
 tell where,- who consume your provisions, exhaust your 
 stores, and leave you at last at a critical moment. " 
 h.l! '^'u?'^' ^^^ the men I am to depend on ten days 
 nence. 1 his is the basis upon which your cause will rest 
 and must forever depend, until you get a large standing 
 army, sufficient of itself to oppose the enemy. '^ ^ 
 
 In order to complete his view of what he considered an 
 h.v?n^''i-'''^^^^''^ '^f^^' ^'^ suggested the expediency of 
 having Ills powers enlarged, which would enable him to act 
 more treely and decisively, without that tediousness and 
 W^o'"^ ' ^ constant application to Congress to sanction 
 his measures and enterprises, necessarily caused, and which 
 dpi;^. V'l^i'^ ^^^ ^^'^ conceived designs. Aware of the 
 1 wn,7/ this suggestion, and of the objections to which 
 tZ} Vrohmy^iye rise, he added, -This might be 
 rTteH.tnf?''^'\T^"i P"^"^'^ ^"« dangerous to be en- 
 rl" • ^i^ ^'^ '^^''^'^ ^"^^ ^^''^^^■' t^^t desperate diseases 
 ihTZfU^'"'f mne^ie.. He could with truth declare 
 that he telt no lust for power, but wished with as much 
 fervency as any man upon this wide extended continent, 
 for an opportunity of turning the sword into a ploughshare: 
 but his feelings as an officer and as a man had been such as 
 to force him to say that no person ever had a greater choice 
 of difficulties to contend with than himself." 
 
 Having already adopted measures not within the scope 
 of the powers conferred on him by Congress, and havin- 
 urged many others he thus excuses and^ justifies the n^ 
 fraction of his authority:-he said, - It mly be thought I 
 ain going a good deal out of the line of my duty to adopt 
 
 tllZ^TT'f''-: ^^'^''^ *^^"^ ^''^^y- ^ character to lose, 
 an estate to forfeit, the inestimable blessings of liberty at 
 stake, and a life devoted, must be my excuse.'^ 
 
 Perhaps no human being ever embraced tlie cause of his 
 country from motives less sordid, interested, and impure, 
 than did George Washington: and whatever may have been 
 his ambition to serve his country, or to acquire military 
 
36 THE LIFE OF 
 
 glory, every thought of his mind was honest, every pulsa- 
 tion of his heart was the pulsation of patriotism. But his 
 habits of thinking, his modes of action, and his settled prin- 
 ciples, were not of that relaxed character which assimilated 
 to the idea of loose government, democratic principles, or 
 popular sovereignty. Educated under the royal govern- 
 ment, accustomed to the aristocratical forms of society, and 
 prejudiced in favour of the rigid discipline of the standing 
 armies of England, he naturally inclined to give a prefer- 
 ence to those modes of action, which combined the greatest 
 vigour and decision in their results, without being in the 
 slightest degree less friendly to the cause of liberty and in- 
 dependence. It v/as the habit of thinking and acting, pe- 
 culiar to a lofty and decisive mind; a habit which had been 
 strengthened by his experience and observation of the fatal 
 and pernicious consequences of that loose and relaxed sys- 
 tem of action, attendant upon the ideas of equality, gene- 
 rated by revolutionary principles, and the unbounded tenets 
 of liberty. The time has long since passed, if it ever ex- 
 isted, when the purity, the patriotism, or the public virtue 
 of Washington could be suspected or impeached; but the 
 discrepancy of his ideas and modes of action, from the re- 
 laxed character of the democratic principles so prevalent 
 among the people in 1776, as well as at the present period, 
 have been too frequently observed, and too severely criti- 
 cised, to be passed over, in exhibiting a trait of his charac- 
 ter, which he was himself conscious required explanation, 
 if not apology, under the jealous restrictions of republican 
 authority, and the sovereign rights of a free and equal peo- 
 ple. That this discrepancy was the result of echtcatiofi, 
 habit, and the disastrous military experience of an ineffi- 
 cient army, organized on the loose system of a democratic 
 militia, is now matter of historical fact; which never can be 
 permitted to impugn the purity ol his patriotism, or detract 
 from the resplendent glory of his public services and stu- 
 pendous fame. How far that discrepancy operated at a 
 subsequent period to produce party collisions, and lead to 
 inauspicious ideas of power, will appear in the course of 
 this work. 
 
 As the lapse of every day reduced the strength of the 
 American army, it increased the gloomy prospect of the 
 capture of Philadelphia by the British forces, should the ice 
 of the Delaware become strong enough for the passage of 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 6/ 
 
 the troops* To this disastrous event Washington looked 
 with a foreboding of evil, greater than had yet occurred to 
 harass and depress him; for it was justly apprehended, that 
 should the city fall into the hands of the enemy, tlie im- 
 pression of the American cause having become desperate, 
 would prevail on the public mind so far as to deter the 
 people from enlisting, or even the militia from taking any 
 part in so hopeless a struggle. 
 
 The impending crisis roused all the energies, and called 
 forth all the resources of the mind of Washington; and iie 
 resolved to achieve some signal enterprise, that should win 
 back pul lie opinion in his favour, and wipe off the discredit 
 of his past reverses and defeats; and for this purpose, he 
 now conceived the bold plan of attacking all the British 
 posts on tlie Delaware at the same instant. The result of 
 this enterprise, was the battle and victory of Trentox, on 
 the morning of the 26th of December, 1776^ achieved by 
 Washington in person, at the head of 2400 continentals; 
 ■on which occasion 1000 prisoners were taken, six field 
 pieces, and a thousand stand of arms. Owing to the ob= 
 structions caused by the ice in the river, that part of the 
 plan intrusted to Generals Irvine and Cadwalader, proved 
 abortive; but the whole plan of attack was admirably con- 
 •ceived; and nothing but the inclemency of the elements 
 saved all the British posts from destruction, Washington 
 recrossed the Delaware with his prisoners and spoils. It 
 appeared that the British troops generally were in a pro- 
 fouiidsleep, the effect of intoxication and debauch indulged 
 in on the Christmas festival. 
 
 The British general was struck with astonishment. 
 Congress received the intelligence with exultation; and the 
 spi' its of the whigs throughout the country revived. From 
 the depth of despair a sun -burst of liberty and triuniT»h 
 broke upon their gloom and despondency; and from being 
 plunged in utter despair, the lovers of freedom were sud- 
 denly elevated to the summit of hope, victory, enterprise 
 and valor. Public opinion, always capricious and seldom 
 just, now became as loud in sounding the praises of W^ash- 
 ington, as it had before been sullen and morose, if not un- 
 just, in covering him with censure and rebuke. 
 
 Being reinforced by fifteen hundred men from Pennsyl- 
 vania, and having concentrated his small army, Wasliing- 
 ton resolved to resume active operations; for which purpose 
 
38 THE LIFE OF 
 
 he recrossed the Delaware, and again took post at Trenton, 
 Avith tiie intention of proceeding to Princeton and Bruns- 
 M'ick, wiiere the military chest was deposited belonging to 
 the enemy; but Lord Cornwallis having advanced upon him 
 from New Yoik, again placed him in one of those critical 
 situations to which he a\ as so liable to expose himself, and 
 from which he was so celebrated for the power of extrication. 
 He now found himself in front of the whole Biitisli army, 
 hemmed in on all sides; so that Cornwallis calculated, with 
 certainty, on '-making sure icork of him in the morning.' 
 Bu Washington, having held a council, determined to change 
 his post, and 'march silently in the night by a circuitous 
 route, along the left flank of the British army into their 
 rear at Princeton.' Tliis movement was skillfully accom- 
 plished. The American army decamped, and A\hen morn- 
 ing broke, Cornwallis found that his expected prey had 
 eluded his grasp. Washington accomplished Ins object; 
 he surprised and captured a regiment at Princeton; while 
 Cornwallis hastened his march back to Brunswick, to se- 
 cure the stores from the meditated attempt of the American 
 general. 
 
 On this occasion, the admiration and applause bestowed 
 by the British officers on this masterly movement of Wash- 
 ington, was equ^l to their surprise and mortification, at his 
 liavino; escaped tlie toils of the veteran troops of the King: 
 so, I'lat if he exhibited any want of skill in falling into tlie 
 predicament, he more than made up for it by the splendid 
 display of generalship manifested in his retreat towards 
 Piinceton; and which the merest accident prevented from 
 resulting in a brilliant achievement, which must have co- 
 vered the British general forever with irretrievable disgrace. 
 
 It was at tliis period, that Robert Morris, a talented and 
 opulent merchant of Philadelphia, remitted to Washington 
 five hundred pounds in specie; which proved of the most 
 essential service to the American cause. 
 
 Washington now retired to Morristown, where he placed 
 !iis troops under cover, and gave them that repose of wliich 
 they stood in absolute need; but his army was enfeebled 
 almost to dissolution by sickness, and the expiration of the 
 terms for which liis men had been enlisted. 
 
 It is evident from these successes, that whatever reason 
 Washington might have for his preference of regular troops 
 to militia, yet that his most creditable victories were achiev- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 39 
 
 ed by patriot husbandmen taken from the plough, v/hose 
 courage and love of liberty proved a substitute for disci- 
 pline and experience. 
 
 Still 'shadows, clouds and darkness,' rested on the issue 
 of the war; and though the spirits of the whigs were revived, 
 their confidence of success was not fully restored. 
 
 To meet the magnitude of the crisis. Congress, who had 
 adjourned to Baltimore, authorised AVashington to raise 
 sixteen additional regiments; and clothed him with almost 
 absolute power for the conduct of the war. 
 
 Towards the close of 1776, Congress began to turn their 
 attention towards'i^mnce for aid to prosecute the war; and, 
 with a view to enlist foreign powers in the cause of Ameri- 
 ca, adopted and published resolutions of their unalterable 
 determination never to accept of any terms of accommoda- 
 tion from England, which did not fully recognise and 
 acknowledge their independence. These resolutions fell 
 into the hands of the English, and were published in the 
 London papers. 
 
 Perhaps no man ever lived, wlio had been accustomed 
 to the scenes of blood and hardship inseparable from war- 
 fare, more humane and merciful than General Washington; 
 and it was, therefore, with the utmost reluctance and pain, 
 that he at last adopted the policy of retaliation in respect to 
 English prisoners, w\iich Congress nad urged him to adopt; 
 and which the conduct of the British officers, prior to the 
 arrival of General Howe, had rendered so indispensably 
 necessary to check the barbarity, and curb the insolence of 
 the royal army. Tiie preposterous idea, that the American 
 soldiers ought to be treated as traitors and rebels to a go- 
 vernment which they had solemnly renounced, in a great 
 general convention of the people, was, however, too glaring 
 to be long persisted in, notwithstanding the leaven of tory- 
 ism and royalty, which aided to give it the colour of jus- 
 tice, and thus lessen the turpitude of their own conduct, 
 by casting the blackest stigma of infamy on the friends of 
 liberty and independence. Yet the same humanity which 
 caused Wasliington to be averse to inflict the measure of 
 retaliation upon his British prisoners, induced lum eventu- 
 ally to resort to it, wlien apprised of tlie cruel sufferings of 
 the Americans on board of the British priso)i ships — suffer- 
 ings which will forever tarnish the escutcheon of British 
 heroism, with the trait of politic cruelty, and assimilate the 
 
40 
 
 THE LIFE Ot 
 
 character of the commanders of the English armies of that 
 time, and the English ministry, to the barbarous cruelty of 
 the inquisition of Spain, who tortured their victims to bring 
 them to the true faith, as the British tortured the American 
 prisoners, to compel them to embrace the royal cause, and 
 enlist under the banners of the King. 
 
 No sooner, however, had Washington resolved to act on 
 the principle of retaliation, and to treat every British pri- 
 soner as the English treated the American prisoners, than 
 General Howe became sensible of the impolicy/ of their con- 
 duct, and agreed to fix on a cartel for an exchange of pri- 
 soners j ll)us happily terminating an important question not 
 less interesting to humanity, than important to the princi- 
 ples involved in the law of nature and of nations 5 and to 
 infringe which, under any temptations, on the part of the 
 English, will ever continue to excite astonishment and ab- 
 horrence. 
 
 Having experienced the most serious evils and embarrass- 
 ments in his operations, by the dread which his troops en- 
 tertained of the small pox. General Washington Mas in- 
 duced to have his whole army inoculated with that disease, 
 whilst in winter quarters in 1777. His prejudice against, 
 and iiis distrust of the militia continued to increase, so 
 much so, as to induce him to countermand a projected at- 
 tack against Rhode Island, when he made this emphatic 
 observation: * It is right not to risk a miscarriage: until 
 we get our new army properly establislied, it is our busi- 
 ness to play a certain game, and not depend upon militia 
 for any tiling capital. ' 
 
 Washington now confined his operations to small skir- 
 mishing parties, which, while they harassed the enemy, em- 
 boldened the Americans. But his force was constantly 
 fluctuating, from the great numbers of militia who almost 
 daily left him, and often left him before any others liad 
 arrived to supply their places; exposing him to the constant 
 danger of having his positions forced by the British. It was 
 a great source of mortification to Washington, that when 
 the militia left his camp, they carried off blankets and arms, 
 which ought to have been reserved for the regular troops, 
 thus inflicting a real injury, as well as producing a negative 
 disadvantage. 
 
 Although unimportant in themselves singly, the losses in 
 the aggregate sustained by the British army during the 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 41 
 
 winter, were greater than those they had suffered at Tren- 
 ton and Princeton^ yet far beneath the hopes which had 
 been cherished by the American general, whose energetic 
 mind submitted, with great reluctance, to this necessai'#| 
 restraint on his movements. 
 
 Having made arrangements that he should be reinforced 
 towards the close of the winter of 1777, by fresh troops 
 from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it was resolved by 
 Congress, ' to be their earnest desire to make the army un- 
 der him sufficiently strong, not only to curb and confine 
 the enemy within their present quarters, and prevent them 
 from drawing support of any kind from the country, but by 
 the divine blessing, totally to subdue them before they can 
 be reinforced.' 
 
 But this desire was not gratified. The quotas expected 
 from the States did not arrive; and Washington was under 
 constant apprehensions that his positions would be attacked 
 and carried by the enemy; or, tliat availing himself of his 
 superiority, lie would advance to Pliiladelphia and capture 
 the city. 
 
 March arrived, and still found him unprovided with ade- 
 quate means to attempt offensive operations against the 
 enemy. 
 
 In answer to the letter of Congress enclosing the resolu- 
 tion above alluded to, Washington observed, "Could I ac- 
 complish the important objects so eagerly wished by Con- 
 gress, confining the enemy within their present quarters, 
 preventing their getting supplies from the country, and 
 totally subduing them, before they are reinforced, I should 
 be happy indeed. But what prospect or hope can there be 
 of my affecting so desirable a work at tliis time.^ the en- 
 closed return, to which I solicit the most serious attention 
 of Congress, comprehends the whole force I have in Jersey. 
 It is but a liandful, and bears no proportion on the scale ot 
 numbers, to that of the enemy. Added to this,, the major 
 part is made up of militia. The most sanguine in specula- 
 tion cannot deem it more than adequate to the least va- 
 luable purpos-es of war." 
 
 As a precautionary measure, i\\e- boats on the Delaware 
 were secured, and the public stoics deposited in remote- 
 places, least exposed to the desigrrs of the enemy. 
 
 All hopes of being able to strengthen the army so as to. 
 enable the comnix^nder to destroy the British forces durin«- 
 
42 The life o^ 
 
 the winter being now abandoned, Washington extended his 
 views to measures exclusively connected with the prosecu- 
 tion of the next campaign* 
 
 One of the most formidable obstacles to the efficient pro- 
 secution of hostilities was the depreciation of the continen- 
 tal paper money. 
 
 It was at tliis period that the resort to the States, as 
 sovereign and efficient governments, for an increase of the 
 army, was adopted; and to the States Washington now ap- 
 pealed, to increase and hasten their quotas of troops for 
 the common defence. These appeals were conceived in 
 the spirit of the patriot, and executed with the eloquence 
 of genius, warmed by the love of liberty, imbued with the 
 ardour of enthusiasm, and enforced with that xeal which a 
 laudable military ambition, combined with love of country, 
 were so well calculated to inspire. 
 
 At this period, he suggested to Governor Henry of Vir- 
 ginia, that coercive tneasures might be resorted to, to fill 
 the ranks of the army; and emphatically disapproved of the 
 volunteer system, who were to serve for six months. The 
 coercive system was, of course, never resorted to. 
 
 The States now conceived the plan of retaining continen- 
 tal regiments for local defence, on the ground that the ene- 
 my having complete possession of the sea, might annoy and 
 harass each part, while the force raised for its defence 
 would be removed to the main army, at a point too remote 
 to come to the assistance of the State invaded. To oppose 
 and put down so pernicious a scheme, demanded all the 
 power of remonstrance, so peculiar to the genius of Wash- 
 ington, who triumphantly exploded the selfish, short-sighted 
 and injurious scheme. 
 
 To an analogous project, that each State should organise 
 a body of regular troops, as a substitute for their militia^ 
 he was likewise opposed, on the ground that such regular 
 troops would come in competition with the army of the 
 United States, weaken its force, retard its completion, and 
 eventually diminish, instead of augmenting the common 
 strength and general ability to assail the enemy, or to repel 
 his aggressions. But his opposition against this measure 
 was not equally successful, although it for a time suspend- 
 ed the execution of the scheme; ftr, at a period not long 
 after, the States did resolve to raise regular troops for their 
 individual defence. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOX. 43 
 
 We may here note, that, even at this early period, arose 
 the germ of that cause of dissention between the States and 
 the general government, which have produced, at several 
 subsequent eras, controversies, questions and parties, that 
 have inflamed the minds of the people, and endangered the 
 peace and permanency of the Union. In Washington, his 
 advocacy of consolidated power in the union was a preju- 
 dice of the purest patriotism, combined with a militarjr love 
 of energetic power, which had its origin not less in his de- 
 sire to vanquish, by a single blow, the enemies of his coun- 
 try, than the thirst of acquiring glory b^r brilliant feats of 
 arms, or decisive victories, or trophies of valour, skill and 
 patriotism. Still, however, it had so much influence, as 
 indeed all his opinions had, whether founded in reason or 
 engendered by prejudice and habit, as to prove the founda- 
 tion of a party, which embraced nearly all the wealth, ta- 
 lent and intelligence, arrayed on the side of the whig popu- 
 lation: for, such was the confidence reposed in him — such 
 the idolatrous aifection cherished for his virtues, his talents 
 and his patriotism, that reason itself shrunk from the task 
 of testing the soundness of his opinions; while justice al- 
 ways took it for granted, that what Washington decreed 
 could not be wrong, and that what he uttered was alike 
 sanctioned by truth, and confirmed by honesty. With such 
 a moral weight of popular power attached to his name, it 
 was natural that all who partook of the same military ar- 
 dourj the same love of energetic authority, and the same 
 desire to behold the American army a colossal engine of 
 stupendous power, should coincide in views which aimed 
 to concentrate all the energies of the States in the grand 
 focus of the general government, presenting the magnificent 
 spectacle of a consolidated empire, compensating by its 
 vigour and eftect for the absence ot that freedom, which, 
 while it relapses, enfeebles j and while it protects, often 
 leads to momentary distraction, or casual licentiousness,. 
 
 It was natural, however, that the principal advocates for 
 this consolidated power in the union, should be found 
 among the officers of the army, or those invested with au- 
 thority under the confederac}'^; for the States, and the peo- 
 ple of the States generally, do not appear to have implicitly 
 adopted the sentiments of Washington upon this question. 
 Marshall, who had embraced the views of Washington in 
 their widest extent, has the following passage, which shows 
 
44 THE LIFE OP 
 
 that even in that crisis of unexampled danger to tlie liberty 
 and independence of the country, the States were decidedly 
 opposed to the plan of consolidation. He says, ' the soli- 
 citude of the State governments to retain witliin their re- 
 spective limits, and tor partial objects, a part of the force 
 raised for the general defence, was not the only interference 
 with the plan formed by tlie commander in chief for the 
 conduct of the ensuing campaign. ' The other interference 
 to which Marshall alludes, was a resolution of Congress of 
 the 10th of April, 1777, ' that a camp be immediately 
 formed on the western side of the Delaware, to which the 
 continental troops in Philadelphia, and on their march from 
 the southward and westward, should be ordered to repair 
 with all expedition.' 
 
 The plan of the campaign formed by Washington, was 
 to take possession of Middlebrook, on the high ground* to 
 the north of Brunswick, as a point from which he might 
 with facility move to the highlands on the Hudson; antici- 
 pating that the enemy would move in that direction, which 
 induced liim to request Congress that the camp on the west 
 of the Delaware might be composed of militia. 
 
 In May, he broke up his winter camp at Morristown; 
 and on the 28th of that month took post on the heights of 
 Brunswick, with an army amounting to 8000 men, 2000 of 
 whom were on the sick list, and a large proportion raw re~ 
 cruits, foreigners, and servants, in whom the General does 
 not seem to have reposed confidence. General Arnold, 
 who was at that time in Philadelphia, was invested with 
 the command of the camp on the west bank of the Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 The object of the campaign, on the part of the British 
 commander, was the acquisition of Philadelphia, having 
 fi^st subdued New Jersey, then crossing the Delaware on a 
 portable bridge, and proceeding on to the city; hoping 
 that, by this measure, tlie American army could be brought 
 to a general action on equal ground, when, by its signal 
 defeat, the war would be brought to a close. 
 
 Wasliington now occupied his strongly fortified camp at 
 Middlebrook, to attack which was full of danger; and 
 yet to pass on to the Delaware, and leave the American 
 army in his rear, was not in accordance with the prudent 
 temper of General Howe; he, therefore, determined to try 
 the effect of manoeuvre, in enticing Washington out of hfa 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 45 
 
 encampment; but Washington penetrating the object of the 
 enemy, remained immovable in his camp; and Howe, not 
 inclined to give his adversary any advantage, retired sud- 
 denly to Amboy: whence, after several manoeuvres and 
 some skirmishing, Howe crossed his army to Staten Island 
 on the 30th of June, preparatory to embarking his forces 
 for the Delaware, or Chesapeake. Uncertain, however, as 
 to the final destination of the British army, Washington 
 made his dispositions for any contingency that might occur; 
 and advised Congress to make every preparation to ward 
 off the expected blow from Philadelphia. 
 
 Whilst Washington moved towards the Delaware to 
 meet Howe, who had embarked his army for that destina- 
 tion, he despatched Major Generals Arnold and Lincoln, 
 to the east, to hold Burgoyne at bay; for which purpose he 
 weakened his own army, in the hope of defeating the plans 
 of Burgoyne. 
 
 On the 30th of July, the British fleet was discovered off 
 the Capes of Delaware; when Washington immediately 
 commenced his march in person for the neighbourhood of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Howe, deterred from entering the Delaware by the sup- 
 posed difliculties of its navigation, again put to sea and 
 steered for the Chesapeake, which he did not reach till the 
 16th of August. 
 
 In the mean time, Washington inspected the defensible 
 points of Philadelphia, and recommended Red Bank and 
 Mud Island, as positions from which to defend the river, 
 should the British menace that quarter. In the interval of 
 Howe's passage to the Chesapeake, a variety of rumours 
 and conjectures distracted the American army, as to his 
 final destination; but Washington, with his usual perspi- 
 cacity, remained firm in the conviction, that the acquisition 
 of Philadelphia was the real object of the enemy. 
 
 On the 24th of August, Washington marched through 
 Philadelphia, on his way to meet the enem}^, who the next 
 day landed eighteen thousand men at Elk river ferry, con- 
 sisting of the flower of the British army, in excellent spirits, 
 sound health, and among the best disciplined troops in 
 Europe. 
 
 Tlie American army, including the militia, which had 
 been carefully summoned, did not exceed eleven thousand 
 men, and took a position in the rear of Red-Clay Creek, 
 
46 THE LIFE OF 
 
 having its left at Newport, on the Christiana, and on the 
 main road to Philadelphia, from the camp of General Howe. 
 At this post, Washington resolved to dispute the posses- 
 sion of Philadelphia with the British General; but, upon a 
 closer insight into his plans, he thought it prudent to 
 change his position, and take up his post behind the Bran- 
 dywine, on the height extending from Chadd's ford. 
 
 On the 11th of September, Howe, at the head of the Bri- 
 tish, attacked and defeated the forces under Washington, 
 on the Brandjwine, compelling the Americans to retreat 
 to Chester, and on the next day to Philadelphia. Many of 
 the troops of Washington displayed the coolness and cou- 
 rage of veterans; whilst others fled ignominiously upon the 
 first approach of the enemy. The Americans suffered a 
 loss ojf three hundred killed and six hundred wounded; 
 whilst that of the British was not more than one-third. 
 
 From Chester he retired to a camp near Germantown, 
 where, having reposed his troops, he recrossed the Schuyl- 
 kill, and advanced on the Lancaster road, in the expecta- 
 tion of meeting the enemy, with whom he was desirous of 
 trying the fate of another battle. 
 
 On the 15th of September, Washington reached the War- 
 ren tavern, and on the 16th Sir William Howe advanced 
 to meet him, when an action commenced; but a heavy rain 
 coming on, separated the combatants, and the Americans 
 were forced to retreat, their ammunition having been ren- 
 dered totally unfit for use. Washington now retreated to 
 Warwick Furnace, on French Creek, there to renew h.is 
 munitions, and replace the arms that had been injured by 
 the rains, the severity of which had prevented the enemy 
 from making any immediate pursuit; but the weather having 
 mended, Howe continued to advance upon the American 
 general, who, prudently declining an action, although pub- 
 lic opinion would have urged him to the peril, Howe crossed 
 the Schuylkill, and advanced towards the city; but Wash- 
 ington, after tlie most mature deliberation, came to the con- 
 clusion not to risk a general engagement; a decision which, 
 no doubt, led to the ultimate salvation and triumph of the 
 cause of American Independence. A council of war con- 
 firmed him in the wisdom, policy, and patriotism of this 
 course; for his troops were badly clothed, worse armed, 
 harassed, fatigued, and weakened by absent detachments 
 and recent losses. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 47 
 
 On the 26th of September, Lord Cornwallis took posses- 
 sion of Philadelphia without opposition. 
 
 Criticism and censure, on the part of British writers, 
 have been lavishly heaped upon Washington, and extrava- 
 gant praise bestowed upon General Howe, on the occasion 
 of the victorious approaches of the latter to the capital of 
 the United States. But, on the part of "Washington, his 
 armj is known to have been so inferior in force, as well as 
 equipment, to the English general, as to furnish ample 
 excuse for his failure to arrest the progress of the enemy 
 towards Philadelphia. If he was ' out-generalled' at the 
 battle of Brandywine, it was not so much owing to superior 
 military genius in Sir William Howe, as to his having com- 
 mand of superior numbers, superior facilities, troops who 
 were disciplined, and well provided, and officers who were 
 experienced, well trained, and exuberantly supplied with 
 every appliance and means to secure victory by force, or 
 effect it by stratagem. On the part of Washington, the 
 patriot drops the tear of mortification over the lamentable 
 deficiencies, wants, and inconveniences, that obstructed 
 his motions, baffled his manoeuvres, defeated liis plans, and 
 circumvented liis genius 5 but there was one thing wliich all 
 his wants and disadvantages could not subtract from, or 
 impair — a mind endowed with invincible courage, sublime 
 fortitude, exhaustless resources, and indomitable patriotism. 
 
 The next event of importance which marked the life of 
 tliis illustrious man, was the Baffle of Germantown, in the 
 arrangement of which that consummate skill of generalship 
 was displayed, of which his English detractors had attempted 
 to strip !iim at tb.e battle of Brandywine, and which will 
 ever remain as a memorable instance of that happy faculty 
 of surprising an enemy^ which formed in Washington so 
 prominent a feature of his military character. That it mis- 
 carried, as it respected tlie splendid results anticipated, is 
 solely to be ascribed to that want of experience, discipline, 
 and training, that constituted so vital a defect of the 
 rontinenlal army, assisted by those natural disadvantages 
 v.hich arose from the heavy fog of the atmosphere, and 
 the difficulties of the ground, upon which tlie troops were 
 destined to operate. Yet the 4th October will ever remain 
 h memorable day in the life of the father of his country. 
 
 l\\ this battle," the British lost five hundred in killed and 
 wounded^ tise Americans sustained a loss of two hundred 
 killed, and six hundred wounded. 
 
48 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Congress voted their approbation to the General, corn- 
 mending the plan of attack, and extolling the courage dis- 
 played in its execution, for which their thanks were awarded 
 to Washington, and the continental army. 
 
 In its moral consequences, however, the battle of Ger- 
 man town was of essential service to the American cause. 
 It checked the growing defection of the people, arrested the 
 despondency of the public mind, and cheered the drooping 
 spirits of the friends of freedom. 
 
 No reverse could depress the indormi table energy of 
 Washington, or throw the chill of torpor on his enterprising 
 and active genius. He still continued to harass the Britisli 
 from his camp at Skippack creek, and to devise and execute 
 means to cut off their supplies; at the same time that he 
 meditated an attack upon their forces stationed at Wilming- 
 ton. Congress co-operated with Washington in cutting off 
 the supplies from the enemy, by passing a resolution which 
 subjected to the punishment of death, by martial law, all 
 who should furnish them with provisions. 
 
 He now directed his attention to the defence of the forts 
 on the Delaware, and the fortifications of Red Bank; the 
 latter of which was so gallantly defended by Colonel Greene, 
 against an attack made by the Hessians, under Colonel 
 Donop, who suffered a signal repulse with the loss of 400 
 men. This affair, though comparatively small, had a benign 
 effect upon the American cause, and extorted the approba- 
 tion of Congress. 
 
 The British army having evacuated Germantown, and 
 retired to Philadelphia, Washington advanced to White 
 Marsh, where he pitched his camp, intent upon a system of 
 harassment, skirmisliing, and surprises, waiting for favour- 
 able occasions to attack, cut off, and distress the enemy, 
 or, if practicable, bring them to a general action. For this 
 purpose, he despatched Colonel Hamilton, his aid, to General 
 Gates, to hasten his reinforcements from the north. 
 
 Fort Mifflin, in the command of Colonel Samuel Smith, 
 was now besieged and assaulted by General Howe, whose 
 cannonade was irresistible: the works were beaten down. 
 Colonel Smith was wounded, and, after being defended to 
 the last extremity, it was evacuated by the American troop* 
 on the 16th of November, at eleven at night. 
 
 General Howe, having completed a line of defence from 
 the Delaware and the Schuylkill, and received a reinforce- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 49 
 
 ment from New York, was emboldened to plan an attack 
 upon Fort Mercer, under Cornwallis, at the head of two 
 thousand men. 
 
 Washington made exertions to preserve this post, but 
 they proved unavailing, and the fort was accordingly eva- 
 cuated. Thus the British army at length succeeded in 
 opening a free communication with their fleet, by the De- 
 laware. 
 
 As the limits assigned to this work do not admit of a 
 detail of the events of the revolution in which General 
 Washington was not personally concerned, we can only 
 observe, that, as far as his agency extended as commander 
 in chief, in planning the northern campaign of this memo- 
 rable year, he evinced the most consummate skill, com- 
 bined with a comprehensiveness of conception, and a sound- 
 ness of judgment, which won general admiration, and ex- 
 torted the applause of his enemies, notwithstanding the 
 disastrous issue of it, by the evacuation of Ticonderoga 
 and Fort Independence, which, however, were richly com- 
 pensated by the victory of Bennington, by the gallant action 
 of Stillwater, and finally, after repeated defeats, by the 
 total surrender of the army of Burgoyne to the American 
 forces under General Gates — events which, owing much 
 of their success to the genius and foresight of Washington, 
 did not fail to reflect on his character a lustre which, added 
 to his other merits, kindled a blaze of glory round his 
 brow. 
 
 The effect of the surrender of Burgoyne, both in the 
 United States and Europe, was highly favourable to the 
 American cause. Earl Chatham, in the House of Lords, 
 moved to amend the ilddress to the King, by introducing a 
 recommendation to his majesty to ' procure an immediate 
 cessation of liostilities with America, and commence a treaty 
 of conciliation, to restore peace and liberty to America, 
 strength and happiness to England, security and permanent 
 prosperity to both countries.' In support of this motion, 
 he said, '< But, my Lords, w4io is the man that, in addition 
 to the disgraces and mischiefs of war, has dared to authorise 
 and associate to our arms the tomahawk and scalping knife 
 of the savage? — to call into civilised alliance the wild and 
 inhuman inhabitants of the woods. ? — ^to delegate to the mer- 
 ciless Indian the defence of disputed rights, and to wage 
 the horrors of his barbarous war against our brethren? My 
 
 E 
 
50 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Lords, these enormities cry aloud for redress and punish- 
 ment. Unless thoroughly done away, it will be a stain on 
 the national character. It is not the least of our national 
 misfortunes that the strength and character of our army are 
 thus impaired. Familiarised to the horrid scenes of savage 
 cruelty, it can no longer boast of the noble and generous 
 principles which dignify a soldier. No longer you sympa- 
 thise with the dignity of the royal banner, nor feel the pride, 
 pomp, and circumstance of glorious war, which makes am- 
 bition virtue. What makes ambition virtue? — ^the#s^nse of 
 honor. But is this sense of honor consistent with the spirit 
 of plunder, or the practice of murder?— can it flow from 
 mercenary motives, or can it prompt to cruel deeds.^" 
 
 Chatham had struck the true chords of the motives of 
 those who warred upon this country; and the whole British 
 empire vibrated with one intense sensation of horror. The 
 contest on the part of England was mercenary and cruel. 
 On the part of the Americans, love of liberty and love of 
 country led to deeds of heroism that astonished mankind, 
 and to sacrifices, sufferings, and losses, which could alone 
 ilov,- from the purest devotion to freedom and independence. 
 
 Washington was now pressed by all sides to make an 
 attack upon Howe's army in Philadelphia, as well by his 
 own officers as by the strong current of public opinion; and 
 the plan was drawn, canvassed, and demonstrated by a few- 
 ardent spirits to be infallible. But the prudence, sagacity, 
 firmness and patriotism of Washington resisted the public 
 clamour, and detected flaws and dangers in the scheme, 
 v^ hich his own friends, who were importunate for the mea- 
 sure, wholly overlooked. Despising the appeals made to 
 his own glory, he preferred the safety of his country to the 
 brilliancy of his own fame; for though he might succeed in 
 adding lustre to the one, he iTiight, at the same time, fail 
 in securing the independence and safety of the other. He 
 therefore declined the perilous attempt, and thus exhibited 
 one of the most sublime spectacles of moral grandeur to be 
 found in the history of military chiefs. That ne now panted 
 with uncommon ardour to signalise himself in a decisive 
 action, was proved by the unceasing efforts he made, after 
 the defeat of Burgoyne, to procure a reinforcement from the 
 northern army, under Gates, to whom he had despatched a 
 large portion of his best troops; but he was too much devoted 
 to his country to gratify it at the possible expense of its 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 51 
 
 final subjugation bj a cruel and oppressive enemy. The 
 wisdom of his determination was soon demonstrated by the 
 preparations of Lord Howe to attack the American army. 
 
 On the 4th of December, at night, Howe marched out 
 of Philadelphia at the head of his entire force, and the next 
 day encamped on Chesnut Hill, in front of Washington's 
 rio-ht wing. But nothing beyond an inconsiderable skirmish 
 resulted from the complicated demonstrations of the English 
 general, who was deterred from the attack by the admirable 
 position of the American commander; and, on the 8th De- 
 cember, Howe retreated to Philadelphia. The two armies 
 were nearly equal in numbers, of 12,000 men each: and the 
 circumstance of Howe declining an action with raw troops, 
 after marching out for that purpose, evinced a respect for 
 the talents of Washington and the bravery of his troops, 
 which did not fail to produce an impression favourable to 
 the American cause, and still more honourable to the com- 
 mander of the American grand army. 
 
 Washington now went into winter quarters, at Valley 
 Forge; the weather having set in with a severity of cold 
 which caused great sufterin^s to his exposed troops, who 
 were destitute of tents, blankets, and comfortable clothingi 
 and, to add to these privations, the dangei* of famine now 
 stared them in the face, in a land abounding with plenty. 
 This was caused by the great depreciation of the continental 
 money, now so sunk in value as to be almost utterly wortk- 
 less. This want of provisions, and the radical defects iu 
 the commissary department, now pressed with great force 
 upon the army, and often destroyed its faculty for action. 
 This subject now brought into light a trait of greatness, 
 justice and benevolence in the character of Wasliington, 
 which, in my opinion, has never been enough extolled. 
 Congress had empowered him to seize all provisions he 
 might want within seventy miles of head quarters, giving 
 a certificate for the value of the same. Necessity forced 
 him, in some measure, to exert this authority, or behold his 
 troops famish around him. But he failed to exert it to the 
 extent intended by Congress; his feelings revolting from a 
 measure which might produce distress to families, and was 
 on its very face oppressive to the people. For this humanity 
 lie incurred the disapprobation of Congress, who renewed 
 their orders to him to enforce the seizure; but such was his 
 innate sense of justice and humanity, as well as hispercep- 
 
52 THE LIFE OF 
 
 tion of sound policy, that he never would fully comply with 
 the resolutions of Congress. 
 
 The Legislature of Pennsylvania had remonstrated to 
 Congress against Washington's moving into winter quar- 
 ters, and expressed great dissatisfaction with his measures; 
 although they had been criminally negligent in furnishing 
 him with means to keep the field, or to prosecute active 
 hostilities: so prone are men to complain of others, when 
 they even fail to discharge their own duties. 
 
 Envy, faction and ambition, panting to rise upon his ruin, 
 took advantage of these partial and unjust discontents, to 
 impeach his character and assail his capacity. The splendid 
 achievement of General Gates at Saratoga, had awakened 
 the ambition of that officer, and stimulated his friends to 
 attempt that he might supplant Washington in the chief 
 command of the American forces; and these feelings ope- 
 rating upon one portion of Congress and the public, who 
 are always impatient under inaction, and whose feelings 
 hurry them to an excessive admiration of whatever is bold, 
 brilliant and daring, produced a considerable array of 
 opposition to Washington; at the head of which stood Ge- 
 neral Conway, a friend of Gates, for the avowed purpose of 
 investing the latter with the command in chief. 
 
 This powerful intrigue was so extensively diffused, that 
 attempts had been made to alienate the confidence of the 
 States from Washington; and an anonymous letter ad- 
 dressed to Patrick Henry, of Virginia, then governor of 
 that State, was transmitted by him to Washington. The 
 immediate intrigue that developed the plot, was a passage in 
 a letter written by Colonel Conway to General Gates, 
 v/hich ran thus: ' heaven has been determined to save your 
 country, or a weak general -dJi A bad counsellors would have 
 ruined it.' This passage of the letter was communicated 
 by a member of Congress to Washington. 
 
 Strong in the affections of the people, and almost idol- 
 ized by the great majority of the army, it was only neces- 
 sary to expose a combination and intrigue so unprincipled 
 and selfish, in order to cover its authors with merited 
 ignominy, and exalt still higher in public esteem, the in- 
 tended victim of its malignancy. Looked upon by all as 
 the saviour of his country, it was not difficult to withstand 
 and triumph over an intrigue, which the moment it was 
 touched by the spear of truth, for such in fact was the cha- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 5S 
 
 racter of AVasliin^ton, melted into the hideous features of 
 unhallowed ambition, private envj, and grovelling selfis'n- 
 ness. 
 
 How he felt and acted under the operation of these dero- 
 gatory machinations, we feel naturally curious to enquire^ 
 and, indeed, his conduct and temper on this occasion must 
 go far in deciding our estimate of his extraordinary cha- 
 racter. Endowed with a mind not only of colossal magni- 
 tude, but of singular firmness, these aspersions caused 
 neither agitation nor excitement; though not to feel in some 
 degree indignant, would have been to possess attributes 
 superior to those of liumanity. In his answer to General 
 Gates, calling for the name of the informer, there is but one 
 expression which implied any degree of undue excitement, 
 where he says: " Pardon me then, for adding, that, so far 
 Irom conceiving the safety of the States can be affected, or 
 in the smallest degree injured, by a discovery of this kind, 
 or that I should be called upon in such solemn terms to point 
 out the author, that I considered the information as coming; 
 from yourself, and given with a friendly view to forewarn, 
 and consequently forearm me against a secret enemy, or in 
 other words, a dangerous incendiary, in which character, 
 sooner or later, this country will know General Conway.*- 
 
 At this time his army was barefooted, naked, and witli- 
 out provisions, the fault of which was exclusively in Con- 
 gress and tlie depreciated currency of the country: but 
 imagination, in its wildest creations, cannot conceive suf- 
 ferings more intense than were this winter endured by the 
 American army. 
 
 How acutely Washington felt, and sympathised for 
 these sufferings, might be shown by multiplied evidences 
 of his humane heart; but I shall confine myself to part of 
 one letter of his to Governor Livingston: "* I sincerely feel 
 for the unhappy condition of our poor fellows in the hospi- 
 tals, and wish my powers to relieve them were equal to my 
 inclination. It is but too melancholy a truth, that our hos^- 
 pital stores of every kind, are lamentably scanty and defi- 
 cient. I fear there is no prospect of their being soon in a 
 better condition. Our difficulties and distresses are cer- 
 tainly great, and such as wound the feelings of humanity: 
 —our sick, naked! — our well, naked! — our unfortunate 
 men in captivity, naked!" 
 
 The army was now melting away, owing to the depi'e- 
 E 2 
 
54 THE LIFE OF 
 
 elation of continental money, which reduced the officers to 
 beggary, and the soldiers to nakedness. Washington re- 
 commended increased pay, half pay, and a pension system, 
 and submitted to Congress an elaborate, able, and compre- 
 hensive system for the organisation of the army, as well as 
 for the commissary department in particular; to which Con- 
 gress conformed in their new regulations. 
 
 Still the famine of man and horse in the army prevailed, 
 and every hour threatened to dissolve it, notwithstanding 
 the Herculean labours of Washington, to exhort the States 
 to action, and stimulate the Congress to energy. Mutiny 
 was often manifested by the starving troops, and as often 
 suppressed; but nothing could have suppressed it, but the 
 deep affection which most of the men cherished for their 
 great commander, who possessed that indescribable some- 
 thing, which attaches both officers and soldiers to his per- 
 son, and inspires all with veneration and respect. To this 
 quality alone in the General, is to be ascribed the preser- 
 vation of the army at this crisis. 
 
 Perhaps no man ever received so signal and complete 
 atonement from the party guilty of the wrong, as did 
 General Washington, when the following letter from Ge- 
 neral Conway, who had been seriously wounded in a duel, 
 met his eye. 
 
 ''Philadelphia, July 23, 1778. 
 '' Sir, — I find myself just able to hold the pen during a 
 few minutes, and take this opportunity of expressing my 
 sincere grief for having done, written, or said any thing 
 disagreeable to your excellency. My career will soon be 
 over; therefore, justice and truth prompt me to declare my 
 last sentiments. You are, in my eyes, the great and good 
 man. May you long enjoy the love, veneration and esteem 
 of these States, whose liberties you have asserted by your 
 virtues. 
 
 " I am, with the greatest respect. Sir, &c. 
 
 '*PH. CONWAY.'' 
 In February, 1778, Lord North agreed to submit to Par- 
 liament a plan of conciliation with America. About the 
 same time, a treaty of commerce and alliance was con- 
 cluded with France, by Mr. Deane, the minister of the 
 United States at that court. These bills of pajcification 
 were first transmitted to General Washington, and by him 
 submitted to Congress? accompanied by his views of their 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 55 
 
 probable operation and influence on the public mind. His 
 letter to Congress was accompanied by a certificate of the 
 very singular manner in which the bills came to his hands; 
 with the ' extraordinary and impertinent request, that the 
 contents should be, through him, communicated to the 
 army.' These propositions of peace were instantly and 
 indignantly rejected, as insulting, unjust, and derogatory; 
 inasmuch as they did not acknowledge the Independence of 
 the United States. 
 
 An event now occurred, in May, 1778, which it is mat- 
 ter of surprise the British ministry had not anticipated— 
 the recognition of the independence of the United States 
 by France; a consequent war between that country and 
 England; and an efficient co-operation by France, to 
 achieve and consummate our liberties. 
 
 Washington now engaged in an arduous negociation with 
 the English General, to obtain a mitigation of the sufferings 
 of the American prisoners, who had been captured by the 
 enemy; and to arrange some permanent system for their 
 speedy exchange and comfortable subsistence. In this 
 humane and laudable effort, he at length succeeded. 
 
 The conduct of the revolutionary war, could certainly 
 have devolved on no one who combined in so great a degree 
 the qualities of a humane heart, a firm purpose, a vigilant 
 eye, and a comprehensive scope of intellectual vision, and 
 military foresight. 
 
 Sir William Howe having resigned his command of the 
 English army, was succeeded by Sir Henry Clinton, who 
 evacuated Philadelphia on the 18th of June, 1778, direct- 
 ing his march through the Jerseys. On the same day 
 Washington moved his army from Valley Forge, and 
 crossed the Delaware at CorryelPs ferry, keeping posses- 
 sion of i\iQ high grounds, and being careful to avoid a gene- 
 ral engagement with the enemy, yet strongly inclined to 
 hazard an attack. In this uncertainty, caused by conflict- 
 ing enterprise and prudence, he called a council of war, 
 which decided against risking an engagement. Still, his 
 desire to achieve something against a retreating foe, over- 
 came the advice of his council, and he resolved to attack 
 the rear of the British on his own responsibility; and on the 
 28th of June, he advanced upon the retiring columns of the 
 enemy in the vicinity of Monmouth Court Ilouse^ until the 
 battle becoming general, a sharp conflict ensued, when the 
 
56 THE LIFE OF 
 
 approach of niglit caused a cessation of hostilities; both 
 parties keeping their positions, and laying on their arms. 
 Washington, who had been very active throughout the day, 
 exposed his person at every point, regardless of all danger, 
 and passed the night in the midst of his soldiers in his 
 military cloak. 
 
 During the night, the British silently retreated, wholly 
 unperceived by the Americans. In this sharp conflict, the 
 British suffered the greatest loss; and the result was a vic- 
 tory confessed to the American arms, by the retreat of the 
 beaten foe. 
 
 On this occasion, General Lee was suspended from com- 
 mand for one year by a court martial; among other charges, 
 for disobedience of orders, and disrespect to Washington, 
 which the whole army strongly resented. 
 
 Congress voted their thanks for his conduct on this occa- 
 sion, as well as to his officers and men. 
 
 Washington now moved his army towards the Nortli 
 River, and Sir Henry Clinton effected his retreat to New 
 York. 
 
 In July, the arrival of the French fleet under Count 
 D'Estaing, having on board a French army, to co-operate 
 with the Americans against the English, threw a different 
 complexion over the whole contest; and inspired a reason- 
 able hope of a speedy termination of the struggle of the 
 States against the absurd pretensions of the crown of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The fleet of Howe had left the Delaware, at the same time 
 that the British army had evacuated Philadelphia. 
 
 Without following the operations of the French and Eng- 
 lish forces, which would be foreign to the object of this 
 work, I shall merely remark, that as far as Washington 
 participated in deciding tlieir movements, he displayed all 
 his wonted wisdom, sagacity, prudence, magnanimity, va- 
 lour and patriotism. His address and influence were suc- 
 cessfully interposed to heal a dissention which had arisen 
 on points of co-operation and etiquette, between the com- 
 mander of the French fleet and General Sullivan. 
 
 Nothing important, in which Washington was immedi- 
 ately concerned, occurred afterwards, during the campaign 
 of 1778; and in December the American army went int(» 
 winter quarters in the neiglibourhood of "SVest Point and 
 Middlebrook; the troops being sheltered in iiuts, and well 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 57 
 
 provided with clothing, from the supplies furnished by 
 Fiance. 
 
 Let us here pause for a moment, to contemplate the ex- 
 panding genius, and towering character of this wonderful 
 man, as he rose under the pressure of new exigencies, and 
 improved in wisdom by the admonitions of adversity, and 
 the lessons of experience. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that in the writings of Washington, 
 we discover no historical allusions, or traces of having 
 studied the laws of nations, or the science of jurisprudence; 
 and yet no deficiency of sound principles, or useful know- 
 ledge, is ever to be detected in him; so much did the rich- 
 ness ot his genius supply him with stores of wisdom. And 
 though it is apparent, that he had never made the science 
 of government a peculiar object of study, yet experience, as 
 he advanced through the difficulties of the war, had sug- 
 gested to him much useful knowledge on important points 
 of civil government. Yet, on this latter subject, his ideas 
 evidently received a tinge of prejudice, from his military 
 education; and that when he thought of government, he con- 
 ceived of a pov/er too energetic to be perfectly compatible 
 with the broad doctrines of liberty, however it might secure 
 the efficiency of prompt and energetic authority. Accustomed 
 as he was to the rapid movements and absolute commands of 
 an army, this habit would naturally generate in his mind a 
 desire to introduce the same prompt principle of action into 
 government, and to view the deliberate motions, and tedious 
 debates of free assemblies with a feeling of dislike propor- 
 tioned to their laxity of movement, and tardiness of con- 
 clusion. Having insensibly acquired this mode of think- 
 ing, he would unconsciously espouse the concentration of 
 power, without feeling any hostility to the principles, or 
 repugnance to the spirit of liberty; and thus gradually en- 
 graft upon his principles of military government civil doc- 
 trines of congenial and analogous energy. 
 
 The dependence of his army upon the movements and 
 proceedings of government, obviously first attracted his 
 attention to the study of our political fabric, at the same 
 time that it caused him to scrutinise it, more in reference to 
 the army, than to the people; and this without making him 
 less a lover of liberty, or less a friend to the rights and hap- 
 piness of the human race; for his heart was always too 
 benevoleat to permit him to embrace the cause of despotism i 
 
58 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and his genius was too luminous ever to allow him to har- 
 bour the delusion, that, freedom once enjoyed could ever 
 be extinguished, or equality once proclaimed could ever 
 be recalled. 
 
 It is, perhaps, peculiar to Washington alone, that every 
 step of his military career inducted him into a knowledge 
 of political principles; and that the character of the states- 
 man gradually surmounted that of the general; at the same 
 time that the ideas of the general became the basis of tlie 
 principles of the politician. 
 
 Purity of purpose, strict honesty of character, exalted 
 patriotism and elevated intellect, would naturally infer that 
 energy of government to be most conducive to human hap- 
 piness, which, embracing in its principles the jiveference of 
 talents and virtue, could discern no evil but in crime, and 
 detect no blemish but in weakness; not considering that the 
 weakness was necessarily incidental to the exercise of 
 right; and that the evil was a component part of the human 
 system as inseparable from government, as it was unavoid- 
 able to man. 
 
 When Washington, therefore, unwarily became the ad- 
 vocate of power in the hands of a few, he did not necessa- 
 rily desire, or intend to crush the rights of the many, so 
 much as to curb their vices, reniedy their weakness, and 
 add to their happiness. If he miscalculated the means as a 
 statesman, he was correct in their appreciation as a general : 
 and the moral sublimity of his virtues rescued him from all 
 suspicion of any attempt to subjugate their rights, or shackle 
 their freedom. 
 
 Commissioners from Great Britain, to negociate a plan 
 of conciliation with the States, again arrived at Philadel- 
 phia, and were announced to Washington by the English 
 general, Sir Henry Clinton, who, being joined in the em- 
 bassy, undertook to open the negociation. Washington 
 having referred the proposition to Congress, that body re- 
 jected the terms offered, on the ground of the non -recogni- 
 tion of the Independence of the States, and her omission to 
 withdraw her fleets and armies from our limits. 
 
 Apprehensions being justly entertained, that these offers 
 of peace and re-union with the mother country, might have 
 an injurious effect on the public mind, their insufficiency 
 was ably combated by the popular writers of the day, who, 
 to the asperity of sarcasm, added the keenness of wit, and 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOK. 59 
 
 the force of reasoning. But their tendency to mislead the 
 people, was arrested by the audacious attempts of Governor 
 Johnson, one of the Commissioners, to bribe tlie most influ- 
 ential members of Congress; and the still more reprehensi- 
 ble attempt upon Mr. Read, with the offer of ten thousand 
 pounds sterling, and the best office in the gift of the crown. 
 The Commissioners being repulsed by Congress, addressed 
 their seditious appeals to the people. The great influence 
 of Washington was successfully used, to induce the rejec- 
 tion of terms based on the reannexation of the States to 
 Great Britain, as well as to prevent the influence of such 
 appeals on the people and the army. 
 
 The horrid atrocities of the Indian wars of 1778, the 
 massacre of Wyoming, and other terrible devastations of 
 savage vengeance, having attracted the attention of Con- 
 gress, Washington was directed to adopt measures to repel 
 these invasions of the savages on the frontiers Of New York, 
 New Jersey and Pennsylvania; but having consulted a 
 council of war, all operations during that season were de- 
 clared to be impracticable. 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1779, the conquest of 
 Canada again became a favorite project with Congress; 
 and a plan of co-operation with the French forces, to ac- 
 complish that object, was drawn up by cabinet ministers, 
 and submitted to Washington, with a request that he would 
 make his observations on it, and then enclose it to Dr. 
 Franklin, at Paris, by him to be laid before the French 
 court, for its approval. 
 
 To military sagacity of the highest order, Washington 
 united views so profound and comprehensive, as could not 
 fail, when combined with his great experience, to qualify 
 him, in an eminent manner, to judge of the feasibility or 
 unsoundness of this extensive plan of operations; and pene- 
 trating at once to the serious evils involved in its execution, 
 he remonstrated to Congress against its adoption; at the 
 same time that he fully investigated its merits, and proved 
 the mischiefs, difficulties and perils, with which it was 
 fraught. 
 
 Congress, on their part, while they confessed the great 
 ability of his exposition, yet still persevered in the plan 
 which he had exploded in so masterly a manner, and again 
 pressed it, with some modifications, on his attention; but 
 not convinced of the error of his opinions, nor satisfied with 
 
60 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the military talent of Congress, he requested a persoi^al 
 conference with that body; to which Congress having ac- 
 ceded, he proceeded to Philadelphia, and met a committee 
 of that body, to consult upon the general state of the army, 
 and the condition and welfare of the country. 
 
 The power of genius in its particular and darling profes- 
 sion is irresistible: Congress yielded to the powerful argu- 
 ments of Washington against the proposed expedition: thus, 
 by their very reluctance, and slowly extorted conviction 
 of their errors, giving the sanction of their entire approba- 
 tion to his views, and confirming the force of his judgment, 
 the fulness of his knowledge, and the weight of his expe- 
 rience. 
 
 How far he preserved his country, by thus interposing 
 his veto against so comprehensive and perilous a project, 
 can only be conjectured: but it is highly probable, that had 
 he not opposed it, reckless of all consequences to himself, 
 the effects would have been disastrous to the army, and 
 perhaps fatal to its liberties and independence 5 but disre- 
 garding all consequences to his own fame, he nobly threw 
 himself in the gap, to bear the brunt of opposition, to a 
 measure of government, originated with much partiality, 
 and cherished with peculiar fondness. 
 
 Washington soon experienced the disadvantage of the 
 alliance with France, in the impression of apathy produced 
 by the belief that it was the infallible precursor of peace 
 and independence, which must now necessarily take place 
 without striking another blow, or putting to risk the chances 
 of another battle. The people, on this account, became 
 averse to active operations; enthusiasm for liberty sunk into 
 the conviction that it was achieved; enlistments were al- 
 most suspended, or proceeded with too tardy a pace to be 
 efficient, while, from the same cause, it became manifestly 
 inexpedient to proceed to coercion to fill the vacant ranks 
 of the army. Yet, the happy delusion, that the war had 
 found a period with the date of the French alliance, made 
 no impression on the sagacious mind of Washington; and 
 while he lamented the delay which took place in Congress 
 on the subject of providing for the campaign of 1779, he 
 omitted nothing on his part to stimulate the Union and the 
 States to renewed exertion to prosecute it to a decided issue. 
 
 The dissentions that now arose in Congress, generated 
 by the quarrels and jealousies of our ministers at foreign 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 61 
 
 courts, added to this fatal torpor, and produced no little 
 elation in the minds of our enemies. The real character 
 of the state of the country, at this period, will be best de- 
 lineated by a letter, written by Washington himself, to one 
 of his talented political friends, in which he says, •' I am 
 particularly desirous of a free communication of sentiments 
 with you at this time, because I view things very differently, 
 I fear, from what people in general do, who seem to think 
 the contest at an end, and that to make money, and get 
 places, are the only things now remaining to be done. I 
 have seen, without despondency, even for a moment, the 
 hours which America has styled her gloomy ones; but I 
 have beheld no day since the commencement of hostilities, 
 when 1 have thought her liberties in such imminent danger 
 as at present. Friends and foes seem now to combine to 
 pull down the goodly fibric we have hitherto been raising, 
 at the expense of so much time, blood, and treasure; and un- 
 less the bodies politic will exert themselves to bring things 
 back to first principles, correct abuses, and punish our in- 
 ternal foes, inevitable ruin must follow. Indeed, we seem 
 to be verging so fast to destruction, that I am filled with 
 sensations to which I have been a stranger until within 
 these three months. Our enemy behold with exultation 
 and joy how effectually we labour for their benefit — and 
 from being in a state of absolute despair, and on the point 
 of evacuating America, are now on tiptoe. Nothing, there- 
 fore, in my judgment, can save us but a total reformation 
 in our own conduct, or some decisive turn of affairs in 
 Europe. The former, alas! (to our shame be it spoken,) is 
 less likely to happen than the latter, as it is now consistent 
 with the views of the speculators, various tribes of money 
 makers, and stock-jobbers of all denominations, to continue 
 the war for their own private emolument, without consider- 
 ing that this avarice and thirst for gain must plunge every 
 thing, including themselves, in one common ruin." 
 
 ** It is a fact too notorious to be concealed, that Congress 
 is rent by party — that much business of a trifling nature, 
 and personal concernment, withdraws their attention from 
 matters of great national moment at this critical period: 
 when it is also known that idleness and dissipation take 
 place of close attention and application, no man who wishes 
 well to the liberties of this country, and desires to see its 
 rights established, can avoid crying out, 'where are our 
 
 F 
 
62 THE LIFE OF 
 
 men of abilities? — why do they not come forth to save their 
 country?' Let this voice, my clear Sir, call upon you, Jef- 
 ferson, and others. Do not, from a mistaken opinion that 
 we are to sit down under our vine and our fig tree, let our 
 hitherto noble struggle end in ignominy. Believe me when 
 I tell you there is danger of it. I have pretty good reasons 
 for thinking that administration, a little while ago, had re- 
 solved to give the matter up, and negociate a peace with us 
 upon almost any terms ; but I shall be much mistaken if 
 they do not now, from the present state of our currency, 
 dissentions, and other circumstances, push matters to the 
 utmost extremity. Nothing, I am sure, will prevent it but 
 the interruption of Spain, and their disappointed hope from 
 Russia." 
 
 Thus, with a comprehensive eye and an ever wakeful 
 patriotism, did Washington penetrate to the causes of our 
 weakness, lament the obstacles of our independence, and 
 labour to soothe irritation, remove difficulties, and promote 
 union, harmony and success. But whatever hopes the 
 English might cherish from our dissentions were speedily 
 dissipated by that recuperative energy and common sense 
 of danger which recalled the minds of men from the spoils 
 of victory to the acquisition of Independence. 
 
 Active hostilities were now transferred from the northern 
 and middle States to South Carolina and Georgia, where 
 a large body of tories, disaffected to the cause of liberty, 
 inspired the enemy with sanguine hopes of making an easy 
 victory of those States? in which attempt, they at first but 
 too well succeeded. 
 
 Serious discontents, of a seditious character, having ap- 
 peared in the Jersey brigade, Washington, with his usual 
 address and patriotism, laboured to arrest it by the persua- 
 sion of his eloquence. The want of pay, and other evils 
 incident to a deranged and rotten currency, were of too 
 deep a nature to be very patiently borne, or easily healed. 
 
 Washington now directed his attention to the Indian set- 
 tlements; and having despatched Colonel Van Schaick and 
 General Sullivan against some of the towns of the Onanda- 
 goes, a complete devastation of their country and farms 
 was eftected. 
 
 The British army, composed of 9000 men, was stationed 
 at New York, while a detachment of 2000, under General 
 Matthews, was engaged in harassing the lower counties 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 65 
 
 >f Virginia. In Rhode Island, their force amounted to 6000 
 nen, making a total of 17,000 men, under the command 
 )f Sir Henry Clinton, to co-operate with whom a powerful 
 fleet rode at anchor, ready, at any moment, to transport 
 lis forces to any point which promised a successful attack. 
 
 On the part of the Americans, the grand total of their 
 armies did not exceed 16,000 — 3,000 under the command 
 of Gates, in New England, and 13,000 on the banks of the 
 North River, where they had been encamped during the 
 winter; 6,000 fit for active service, were posted at Middle- 
 brook, under the command of Washington. 
 
 Under this disparity of force, combined with the strong 
 posts occupied by the enemy, Washington determined on a 
 defensive campaign, contenting himself with securing the 
 important passes on the North River, and protecting the 
 adjacent country from the cruel ravages of an unsparing foe: 
 even this defensive system was not unattended with its 
 perils and difficulties. 
 
 West Point, being by nature a strong position, had, 
 since the year 1777, been a particular object of attention 
 to the Americans, who had constructed formidable works 
 for its defence, with the intention of rendering it impregna- 
 ble to the assaults of an enemy. 
 
 King's Ferry, a few miles below West Point, near the 
 termination of the Highlands, was the great pass of com- 
 munication between the eastern and middle States, and is 
 commanded by the two opposite points of land, the most 
 elevated of which, on the west side of the river, is called 
 from its roughness Stoney Point, while the flat neck of 
 land on the east is denominated Verplanck's Point. 
 
 The possession of King's Ferry became, therefore, an 
 important object to both armies. The Americans had con- 
 structed a strong post on Verplanck's Point, called Fort 
 Fayette, which was garrisoned by a company under captain 
 Armstrong; but the works on Stoney Point, though consi- 
 derable, were yet incomplete. The British general now 
 projected a coup de main upon these works. But the Ame- 
 ricans, having abandoned Stoney Point, without waiting for 
 an attack, the enemy immediately took possession of it, 
 and soon compelled Fort Fayette, on the opposite shore, to 
 capitulate, the garrison surrendering themselves prisoners 
 of war. 
 
 To prevent an attack on West Point, Washington now 
 
64 THE LIFE OF 
 
 followed the enemy with the first division of his army from 
 Middlebrook, but was compelled, from the inferiority of his 
 force, to pursue measures strictly defensive. In the mean 
 time the English completed the fortifications, and left strong 
 garrisons in Stoney Point and Fort Fayette. 
 
 In July, the British army made an invasion of Connecti- 
 cut, but almost immediately returned to the Hudson, with- 
 out having accomplished any thing decisive in that state. 
 
 Washington now conceived the idea of surprising the 
 posts at King^s Ferry; a design to which he was impelled 
 by a desire to satisfy public expectation by some distin- 
 guished exploit, which would tend to reconcile the people 
 to his plan of defensive warfare, without incurring any great 
 peril to the main army. With this view, he carefully re- 
 connoitred the two posts in person, and employed all the 
 means in his power to obtain information of their real 
 strength. His conclusion was that they could only be car- 
 ried by surprise; but he resolved to make an attempt on 
 Stoney Point first, which, if successful, would easily com- 
 mand the surrender of Fort Fayette. 
 
 This notable achievement was made at twelve o'clock 
 at night of the 15th July, 1779, under the command of 
 General Wayne, who surprised and captured the fort in a 
 manner never surpassed for its darin<^, its intrepidity, and 
 its coolness. No military exploit in history excels the 
 brilliancy of the capture of Stoney Point. 
 
 Washington having thus secured Stony Point, made an 
 unsuccessful attempt upon the opposite post; but Sir Henry 
 Clinton advancing to its relie*", the American general de- 
 termined to evacuate Stoney Pointy which could not ba 
 maintained without a naval force, and to retire into the 
 highlands, when the British again took possession of it, 
 repaired the fortifications, and manned it with a stronger 
 garrison. 
 
 Independent of the splendour of this exploit, it is difli- 
 cult to conceive the object which prompted its execution, 
 or to approve of a design which, had no miscarriage inter- 
 vened to obstruct its complete fulfilment, must still have 
 been a useless expense of life, labour and gallantry. 
 
 Washington now removed his head quarters to West 
 Point; not deeming himself sufiiciently in force to hazard 
 a general engagement. In the same cautious spirit of pru- 
 dence, he issued orders to the commanders of corps and 
 
 \ 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 65 
 
 detachments not to risk their troops in any partisan en- 
 gagements but when the occasion of certain victory pre- 
 sented itself. 
 
 The British general, wearied with inactivity, now retired 
 to York Island, and engaged himself in giving increased 
 strength to its fortifications; while, despairing of success in 
 any attempt to draw Washington from his strong position, 
 he began to direct his attention to a campaign against the 
 southern States. 
 
 On the 18th of August, Major Lee surprised and made 
 prisoners the British garrison at Pawles Hook, opposite 
 New York, on the west bank of the Hudson; an enterprise 
 which, having been achieved under the direction of Wash- 
 ington, received at the time no inconsiderable measure of 
 applause. 
 
 Admiral Arbuthnot, a few days after this event, arrived 
 at New York with a reinforcement for the British army; 
 and shortly after, the Count D'Estaing arrived on the 
 southern coast, with a powerful French fleet; upon the 
 news of which. Sir Henrj^ Clinton concentrated his forces 
 in New York. 
 
 The campaign of 1779, was not, upon the whole, either 
 very creditable to the cause of Independence, or favourable 
 to the fame and reputation of the commander in chief, so 
 far as it respected any accession of glory, from active ope- 
 rations, or brilliant triumphs; but, as it related to that wis- 
 dom and prudence, which looked to the permanent good of 
 his country, he stood higher than at any preceding period, 
 and commanded more veneration in the minds of the judi- 
 cious and reflecting, for his virtues, talents and patriotism. 
 
 Washington closed this campaign, as he had done so 
 many preceding ones, by addressing a remonstrance to 
 Congress against the militia system, and recommending 
 the plan of coercive draughts for one year by the States, as 
 the only efficient method of perfecting the establishment of 
 a permanent army. But Congress seem not only them- 
 selves to have been averse to so strong a measure, which 
 caused them to adopt it with tardiness and reluctance, but 
 the States appear to have resisted it, from a natural jealousy 
 of consolidated power; so that the resolutions of Congress 
 in favour of the system recommended by Washington, even- 
 tually failed, when they came to be canvassed by the jealous 
 rights of thirteen independent sovereignties. 
 
 E 2 
 
66 THE LIFE OF 
 
 In December Washington placed his army in winter 
 quarters; one division at West Point, and the other at 
 Morristown, New Jersey, sheltered by huts, and so dis- 
 posed as to protect the surrounding country from the de- 
 predations of the enemy, as at the same time to secure his 
 troops from insult, surprise or defeat. 
 
 The subjugation of Georgia by the British, and the unsuc- 
 cessful attempt of the combined forces of the French and 
 Americans to recover Savannah, and the departure of the 
 French fleet from the continent, justly excited the fears of 
 Washington for the fate of Soutli Carolina, which, combined 
 with the secret intelligence he had received from his spies 
 in New York, that the enemy meditated the South as the 
 scene of the campaign of 1780, awakened all his fears and 
 patriotism for the safety of that section of the union, which 
 now became the theatre of sanguinary and triumphant 
 operations to the British army under Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 On the 12th of May, Charleston capitulated a surrender 
 to the English general. Washington's opinion was adverse 
 to the policy of defending that city, after it had been found 
 impracticable to defend the bar and maintain the harbour. 
 General Lincoln was severely censured for his conduct; 
 but it does not appear that he was so much to blame, as 
 those who, having promised him reinforcements, had inspired 
 delusive hopes, that ended in his ruin. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, with one division of the British army, 
 now advanced upon North Carolina, while other detach- 
 ments carried their victorious arms through fields of car- 
 nage, until the whole south was subjugated by the troops of 
 his Britannic majesty. Emboldened by this unexpected 
 success. Sir Henry Clinton, on the 3d of June, 1780, issued 
 his proclamation, re-establishing, in full force, the royal 
 government; after which, supposing the conquest of the 
 feouth to be complete, he sailed for New York, leaving 
 Lord Cornwallis with four thousand troops, to extend his 
 victories into North Carolina. 
 
 These movements in the south did not escape the vigi- 
 lant eye of Washington; and in March he sent a detach- 
 ment of the Maiyland and Delaware lines, under the com- 
 mand of the Baron de Kalb, to reinforce the southern army. 
 As these troops entered South Carolina, they v/ere joined 
 by several corps of American militia, who deserted from 
 the colours of Cornwallis, by whom they had been enilsted. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 67 
 
 Congress then called General Gates to the command of the 
 southern department, on the 13th of June, 1780, under the 
 idea that the conqueror of Burgojne would now prove, by 
 his great military talents, the saviour of the southern states. 
 The defeat of the Americans at Camden, on the 16th of 
 August, 1780, demonstrated the fallacy of reposing confi- 
 dence in a general of the ardent and active genius of Gates, 
 when commanding a raw army, composed of militia, or 
 new recruits. Such bold and impetuous talents were more 
 adapted to lead the disciplined and well drilled battalions 
 of Europe, than the inexperienced and timid recruits of a 
 free government, opposed to constraint, and stubborn in 
 their rights. The rout of the Americans at this battle was 
 complete and overwhelming. The Baron de Kalb was 
 killed at the head of his troops. Congress afterwards di- 
 rected a monument to his memory. The American loss in 
 killed, wounded and prisoners, was great and fatal, but 
 never precisely ascertained. To this rout of Gates, suc- 
 ceeded the defeat of Sumpter at Catawba Ford, by the 
 bloody and impetuous legion of Tarlton. 
 
 The winter quarters of the army under Washington, had 
 not been much improved beyond its condition of preceding 
 years, in respect to rations^ the depreciation of the cur- 
 rency having effectually operated to check the certainty of 
 supplies to so great an extent as again to menace the total 
 dissolution of the army 5 a catastrophe which was solely 
 averted by the patriotism of the people of New Jersey. 
 
 A requisition on the States, to supply the treasury of the 
 Union by taxation, was now resorted to; but it did not 
 prove effectual; and the limit of two hundred millions of 
 continental money having been completed, other sources of 
 supply were now to be devised; which consisted in a re- 
 quisition on the States for their respective quotas of provi- 
 sions, spirits and forage, for which they were to be hnally 
 paid in Spanish milled dollars. 
 
 To this system Wasliington was decidedly opposed, on 
 the ground that the war ought to be conducted on a national, 
 ratiier tiian a state system; and, in this opinion, says Mar- 
 shall, • all those who were engaged in high and responsible 
 situations,' coincided. Here, again, we perceive the o^erm 
 of those parties which arose under the federal constitution, 
 at a subsequent period. The objections of Washington, 
 however, were disregarded, and the new system of State 
 
68 THE LIFE OF 
 
 quotas of provisions, went into operation, owing, as Mar- 
 shall confesses, to " a disposition in the members of Con- 
 gress, growing inevitably out of the organisation of the 
 government to consult the will of the states, /rom ivhich 
 they were delegated, and perhaps to j)refer their accommo- 
 dation to any other object hoivever essential to the whole.''' 
 On this subject, the language of Marshcdl is but the echo of 
 Washington s opinions, and is so remarkable as to demand 
 special attention. He says ' Under these circumstances, it 
 required a degree of energy seldom found, to struggle with 
 surrounding difficulties for the preservation of a general 
 system; and to resist the temptation of throwing the na- 
 tion, by a system of requisitions, at the feet of the states, 
 where the vital principle of power, the right to levy taxes, 
 was exclusively placed." 
 
 Agents in Europe were now employed to negociate loans, 
 which, to a limited extent, proved successful; while various 
 schemes of compounding for the continental money in cir- 
 culation, and forming the basis of a neiv issue of paper cre- 
 dits, were suggested, or devised. 
 
 About this time, the views of Washington touching the 
 powers of the State sovereignties, were fully developed in 
 a letter to a member of Congress, in which he thus ex- 
 pressed himself: ''Certain I am, that unless Congress 
 speaks in a more decisive tone— unless they are vested with 
 powers by the several states, competent to the great pur- 
 poses of the war, or assume them as matter of right, and 
 they and the States respectively act with more energy than 
 they hitherto have done, that our cause is lost. We can no 
 longer drudge on in the old way. By ill-timing the adop- 
 tion of measures, by delays in the execution of them, or by 
 unwarrantable jealousies, we incur enormous expenses, and 
 derive no benefit from them. One State will comply with 
 a requisition from Congress, another neglects to do it, a 
 third executes it by halves; and all difter in the manner, 
 the matter, or so much in point of time, that we are always 
 working up hill; and while such a system as the present one, 
 or rather want of one, prevails, we ever shall be unable to 
 apply our strength or resources to any advantage. 
 
 " This, my dear Sir, is plain language to a member of 
 Congress; but it is the language of truth and friendship. It 
 is the result of long thinking, close application, and strict 
 observation. I see one head gradually changing into 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 69 
 
 THIRTEEN. I 866 OYie army branching into thirteen; and 
 instead of looking up to Congress as the supreme controlling 
 power of the United States, considering themselves as de- 
 pendent on their respective states. In a word, I see the 
 power of Congress declining too fast for the consequence 
 and respect which are due to them as the great representa- 
 tive body of .America, and am fearful of the consequences." 
 
 The depreciation of continental money was now at its 
 lowest ebb; so that the pay of a captain would not purchase 
 even a pair of shoes, nor that of a major general have hired 
 the horse he rode on! 
 
 Congress now resolved to make good this depreciation of 
 their pay, at a future period. But the want of ipa.j, and the 
 want of rations at length produced a mutiny, which, how- 
 ever, was soon quelled. 
 
 Lafayette, having gone back to France upon the breaking 
 out of the war between that power and England, returned 
 to the United States in April, in a roj^al frigate, and 
 brought the cheering news of the promised aid of a land and 
 naval armament, to co-operate in the cause of our Indepen- 
 dence. Washington received him with the joy and affec- 
 tion due to an old friend, and a tried patriot, whose valour 
 and enthusiasm in the American cause had been so conspi- 
 cuously displayed at the battle of Brandywine. His arri- 
 val imparted a fresh impulse to the Congress, and a glow of 
 hope to the whole army. 
 
 All the energies of his mind were now devoted to the 
 great object of making an efficient co-operation with the 
 promised aid from France, which arrived on the 10th of 
 July at Rhode Island, under the Count de Rochambeau, 
 with orders to place himself and forces under General 
 Washington; who, to manifest his affection for the French, 
 recommended to his officers, to adopt the French white 
 cockade, engrafted on the black American — as a symbol of 
 union and friendship. 
 
 He now contemplated an enterprise against New York, 
 which, however, he was forced io relinquish. 
 
 For a time public attention was drawn to the defection 
 of General Arnold, and the severe but just execution of 
 Major Andre, of the British army, with whom Arnold ne- 
 gociated to surrender the strong post of West Point. It 
 must ever excite astonishment, that the Americans could 
 have suffered the army to be disgraced by a man so profli 
 
70 THE LIFE OF 
 
 gate, unprincipled and sordid in his moral character, and 
 so equivocal in his political sentiments. His vices, well 
 known before his desertion, were only proclaimed to the 
 world after his treason. After being tried and disgraced 
 bj a court martial, it was unquestionably a great error in 
 judgment, to permit him to command an American post. 
 
 On the occasion of this melancholy and important event, 
 all the sensibilities of Washington were excited to the most 
 painful and intense degree. Besides the embarrassments 
 and difficulties attendant on the fate of Andre, by the novel 
 and unsettled attitude of a revolutionary army, young in 
 rebellion, and a government still of doubtful independency, 
 and unestablished freedom, others, of a character not less 
 distressing, but of an individual and personal nature, ren- 
 dered it one of the most afflicting eras of his life; and the 
 more that inexorable justice pleaded for the life of the Spy, 
 as an atonement for an oppressed people, and their violated 
 liberty, as a pledge of the eventual independence of their 
 country, and as a shield against the future stroke of dis- 
 guised treason, the more did compassion and humanity 
 plead for the life of the victim, with the trumpet tongue of 
 his virtues, his talents, his accomplishments, and his 
 honour. 
 
 Perhaps no man ever paid the penalty of death, so totally 
 exempt from all the sordid attributes of crime, to take from 
 the deed its natural horrors, or steel the blessed sympathy 
 of the human heart by the grovelling atrocity of the victim, 
 against the shedding of the blood of a fellow creature. 
 
 Genius and virtue threw all the fascinating hues of ro- 
 mance over the execution of this ill-fated son of destiny. 
 Brave, generous, and lofty, endowed with the most exalted 
 sense of honor, and a gallantry approaching the spirit of 
 the old cavaliers of romance, possessing talents of the high- 
 est order, and an intellect cultivated to the most brilliant 
 point of perfection; joined to all those refined sensibilities, 
 which constitute the poetry of life, and rescue us from the 
 grovelling vices and debasing passions of our kind, Andre 
 became an object of interest and concern to all, but in a 
 particular manner to Washington, who being so richly gifted 
 with the same attributes, became fully qualified to appre- 
 ciate all his virtues, and to sympathise acutely in his mis- 
 fortune. But, however deeply he might feel, his natural 
 firmness and heroic sense of duty to his country, to liberty, 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 71 
 
 and to independence, forbade him to disclose the agony 
 which wrung his heart when he found himself constrained 
 b;y^ every obligation of patriotic duty to enforce the verdict 
 of the court martial; and if a tear fell to moisten the paper, 
 when he appended his signature to the warrant for his exe- 
 cution, it was the hallowed tribute which nature, in a vir- 
 tuous bosom, ever pays to the afflictions of a noble mind, 
 and redeemed the act of state policy from every vestige of 
 revenge, cruelty, or design. 
 
 The unceasing efforts of the British government to rescue 
 Andre from his impending fate, did honor to the country 
 in whose service his life was so fruitlessly sacrificed, and 
 wipe away some of the dark stain which the honors and 
 rewards they bestowed upon the traitor -knave who had 
 enticed him into so disgraceful an end, and who, while 
 virtue continues to be cherished, or patriotism rewarded 
 with the applause of men, will continue to be doomed to 
 everlasting execration, as one who combined splendour of 
 talents with the perfection of crime, and whose name will 
 be appropriated by the remotest generations of mankind, to 
 cover with the leprosy of infamy, all vile deeds, whose 
 atrocity may fail to be expressed in the common words of 
 our language, which, when they fail to express the concen- 
 tration of human villany, will find an ample substitute in 
 the name of Benedict Arnold, 
 
 Allied to some -of the first families of Great Britain, and 
 placed by royal patronage in the highest path of preferment, 
 the fate of Major Andre produced an impression which 
 extended even to the heart of the throne, and drew tears 
 from the brightest eyes of Europe. Contracted in vows of 
 love, to one of the most beautiful and accomplished daugh- 
 ters of England, the fate of Andre became a touching theme 
 for the poet, as well as an instructive moral to the histo- 
 rian; and while the bosom of beauty sighed over his fate, 
 the lyre of the minstrel tuned a monody to his melancholy 
 and ill-fated love. 
 
 To Washington only could the execution of a sentence 
 which awakened such profound and universal sympathy, 
 have been fulfilled without producing imputations of cruelty, 
 and a vindictive thirst of blood. But in him the mild be- 
 nevolence of his heart, the lofty justice of his mind, and 
 the exalted purity of his feelings and intentions, interposed 
 the bulwark of humanity against the remotest suspicion of 
 
72 THE LIFE OF 
 
 want of mercy. Washington never shed blood but with 
 anguish, and on occasions of the most dire necessity. He 
 took no delight in scenes of carnage, and never exposed the 
 lives of his soldiers more than was absolutely necessary to 
 the purpose in hand^ being more frugal of the expenditure 
 of life than any general who ever led a squadron to the 
 field, in any age, or any country. 
 
 The entire safety of the American cause pleaded with 
 irresistible eloquence in favour of the execution of Andre; 
 and the flight and escape of A nold added weight to every 
 consideration of policy that operated to induce the doom 
 of the former. The attempt of the British alone to enter 
 the American camp with overflowing purses of gold, tempt- 
 ing the weak and corrupting the wicked, demanded exem- 
 plary punishment on the part of the commander in chief; 
 and however sophistry might quibble about the justice of 
 the sentence of the court martial, on the ground that Andre 
 did not enter the American lines in disguise, the fact never 
 was disputed that he was arrested in disguise within the 
 American lines. 
 
 The whole deportment of Major Andre, however, was so 
 frank, manly, and honourable, as to enlist among his warm- 
 est champions and admirers the most zealous friends of 
 American independence, who only regretted that fortune 
 should have favoured the flight of the infamous traitor Ar- 
 nold, while adversity cast her toils around his brilliant but 
 less fortunate victim: for Andre confessed, with the frank- 
 ness of a soldier, and the veracity of a man of honor, the 
 object of his visit to West Point; and instead of vexing the 
 case by equivocations and concealment, threw himself at 
 once on the magnanimity of his foes, by avowing his real 
 designs. It will, however, notwithstanding the fact of his 
 disguise, ever continue a disputed point, whether he could 
 strictly be viewed in the light of a spy; but the necessity 
 of his execution was placed beyond a doubt, and his claim 
 to be set at liberty, under all the circumstances, never 
 could be fully established. But his death did not sully his 
 fame, or cover him with opprobrium— having died like a 
 hero as he had lived like a man of bravery and honor. The 
 most rigid patriot may give a tear to his fate, feel esleem 
 lor his virtues, and express admiration for his heroism, 
 valour, and genius. 
 
 The measures of Congress were still distracted by two 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 73 
 
 opposing parties, one of which entered fully into the views 
 of Washington, as to the necessity of consolidated power 
 in one head; whilst the other, jealous of military supremacy, 
 which they feared might prove detrimental to liberty after 
 the restoration of peace, were opposed to every measure 
 that aimed to give vigor to its organisation, or too much 
 power to its friends. 
 
 To counteract this disposition, he again addressed re- 
 monstrances to Congress against the inefficient state of the 
 army, exhorting that body to more activity, and depicting, 
 in strong language, the necessity for renewed exertion, and 
 more energetic preparations to take the field. A majority 
 of Congress were, however, found to be opposed to his 
 strong system; and a committee reported, reducing the 
 numbers of the regiments, which was sustained by the 
 whole body. To this Washington objected; and having 
 submitted his arguments against it, and brought forward 
 his own plan. Congress receded from their ground, and fell 
 into his views, of ' an army entirely for the war, and half 
 pay for life.' 
 
 Few military operations occurred under W^ashington's 
 command during the campaign of 1780; and of those few, 
 none were of magnitude or importance enough to claim 
 the attention of this liistory besides those already related. 
 
 General Greene being appointed, at the instance of Wash- 
 ington, to the command of the southern division, prosecuted 
 the war in that quarter with much vigor, and some partial 
 success; while a court martial was ordered to inquire into 
 the conduct of General Gates, 
 
 The battle of the Cowpens, which occurred on the 17th 
 January, 1781, under Genei'al Morgan, over the troops 
 of Tarleton, was the most decisive triumph of the American 
 arms, that was achieved this year; the loss of the Americans 
 being only eighty in killed and wounded, whilst it deprived 
 Cornwallis of one-fifth of his numbers, besides arms, am- 
 munition, baggage, and horses. Morgan, however, wasin 
 turn compelled to retreat into Virginia, before the superior 
 forces of Cornwallis, who instantly marched to intercept 
 the victorious army. But our limits do not admit of our 
 giving a more minute account of that section of the army, 
 not immediately under the command of Washington. 
 
 The revolt of the Pennsylvania line, in the northern army, 
 thirteen hundred of whom left the army, and marched to- 
 
 G 
 
74 THE LIFE OF 
 
 wards Princeton, at one time, threatened serious conse- 
 quences to the American cause, and engaged the special 
 attention of Washington, but which was finally settled by 
 a committee of Congress, who agreed to the terms of the 
 mutineers, and nearly the whole line received their dis- 
 charge. The success of this revolt now stimulated the 
 Jersey line to attempt the same terms; but Washington, 
 having become alarmed for the safety of the whole army, 
 determined to yield to no complaints whilst they retained 
 arms in their hands, and despatched General Howe to re- 
 duce them to unconditional submission, and execute the 
 ringleaders. This decisive step checked the spirit of re- 
 volt. On both occasions, the British general attempted, 
 without success, to buy over the mutineers, the want of 
 pay having been the chief cause of the sedition; but the 
 troops indignantly rejected the infamous terms. 
 
 Colonel Laurens was now despatched to France to nego- 
 ciate a loan, and carried with him a full exposition of the 
 state of our affairs, in the form of a letter from the pen of 
 Washington, breathing the purest spirit of wisdom, and 
 replete with just reflections and sound views, which could 
 not fail to produce a powerful impression on the cabinet 
 of Versailles. 
 
 To the untiring exertions of Washington must be ascribed 
 the resolution now passed by Congress, recommending to 
 the States to vest the power in Congress to levy for the 
 use of the United States a duty oi five per ccntinn ad valo- 
 rem on all goods, wares, and merchandise of foreign growth 
 and manufacture; and on all prizes and prize goods, con- 
 demned in the American courts; which was to constitute a 
 fund to pay the principal and interest of all debts contracted 
 in the prosecution of the war, and to continue till those 
 debts shoidd be discharged. An attempt was made to be- 
 stow on the federal head ^ full power to regulate commerce, 
 and increase this impost at pleasure; but, as Marshall says, 
 * state infiuence predominated^ and they were over-ruled by 
 great majorities. Still all the States would not unite in 
 the proposed limited power. 
 
 A secretary for foreign affairs, or superintendant of 
 finance, a secretary of war, and a secretary of marine, 
 were now added to the other departments of government, 
 for the first time. 
 
 About the same period, the articles of confederation were 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 75 
 
 agreed to, and ratified, as a means of prosecuting the war 
 with more vigour; the property of the public lands within 
 the chartered limits of some of the States, constituting the 
 only impediment to its adoption,* the States in whose limits 
 the vacant lands were, claiming exclusive right to themj 
 and those States who had none, urging that it should con- 
 stitute a joint property for the common benefit. 
 
 Wasliington now turned his attention to repel the incur- 
 sions making by Arnold into Virginia; and ordered a detach- 
 ment of twelve hundred men under Lafayette, to march to 
 the Chesapeake, there to be transported to Virginia, under 
 convoy of a French frigate. He also addressed letters to 
 Governor Jefferson, of Virginia, and the Baron Steuben^ 
 to aid, assist, and advance the expedition; having given in- 
 structions to Lafayette to grant Arnold no terms, which 
 might avert the punishment due to his crimes. But La- 
 fayette having failed in his expedition, Arnold escaped; 
 and Cornwallis concentrated his forces, with the object of a 
 more active and vigorous prosecution of the campaign. 
 
 The middle and lower parts of Virginia, now became the 
 theatre of a desolating war, in which private and public 
 property shared an indiscriminate destruction. Among 
 other plantations, Mount Vernon Avas threatened with con- 
 flagration by the commander of the British vessels in the 
 Potomac; and only spared in consideration of the refresh- 
 ments furnished by Mr. Lund Washington, to whom the 
 General had confided the care of his plantation. On this 
 occasion, Washington evinced the true feelings of the pa- 
 triot; for, on being informed of the circumstance of the 
 enemy having spared his estate, he addressed his kinsman a 
 letter couched in the following terms: '• I am sorry to hear 
 of your loss; I am a little sorry to hear of my own: but, that 
 which gives me most concern, is, that you should have gone 
 on board the vessels of the enemy, and furnished them with 
 refreshments. It would have been a less painful circum- 
 stance to me, to have heard, that in consequence of your 
 non-compliance with their request, they had burnt my 
 house, and laid the plantation in ruins. You ought to have 
 considered yourself as my representative, and should have 
 reflected on the bad example of communicating with the 
 enemy, and making a voluntary off*er of refreshment to 
 them, with a view to prevent a conflagration." 
 
 The Governor of Virginia, Mr. Jefferson, and most of the 
 
76 THE LIFE OF 
 
 members of Congress, now united in urging Washington to 
 the defence of his native state; and Lafayette expressed 
 particular solicitude, that he would by his presence at 
 home, rouse the people to make a spirited effort to expel 
 the enemy. This request, he would not, however, comply 
 with, liaving meditated a combined operation against New 
 York, from which he hoped to achieve greater benefits to 
 the whole union. 
 
 Wayne having attacked the line of Cornwallis near 
 Jamestown, was compelled to retreat; but the English ge- 
 neral did not follow up his advantage, from an impression, 
 that an assault so daring, implied a greater force than it was 
 prudent to pursue. 
 
 In conjunction with the Count De Rochambeau, Wash- 
 ington now digested a plan of operations against New York. 
 The American army amounted to but four thousand five 
 hundred, while the French troops did not exceed fifteen 
 hundred. 
 
 Robert Morris was now appointed Superintendant of 
 Finance^ and upon his talents, credit, and exertions, now 
 depended the safety of the army, and the success of the 
 campaign. He realised all the confidence reposed in him, 
 and was the means of ensuring a successful termination of 
 hostilities, so far as they depended on the sinews of war. 
 Enlightened, just, and sagacious, he restored the public 
 credit, replenished the military chest, and gave vigour and 
 efficiency to all those necessary departments of subsistence, 
 which are so indispensable to the movements of an army. 
 
 With Mr. Morris originated the plan of a National 
 Bank, which, like the project of consolidated power in the 
 union, and a standing army at the nod of the federal go- 
 vernment, has excited so much controversy and opposition. 
 The capital was to consist of four hundred thousand dollars 
 by private subscription; to be incorporated by government, 
 and subject to the inspection of the Superintendant of 
 Finances, their notes being receivable by all as specie, the 
 states, as well as the federal government. Congress 
 passed an act of incorporation for this Bank on the 31st of 
 December, 1781. 
 
 At the same time, he contracted with government to 
 farm the taxes of Pennsylvania, for which he engaged to 
 furnish the army with flour, a contract which he punctually 
 fulfilled, and the advantages of which were inappreciable. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 77 
 
 Washington having found the enemy too powerful and 
 vigilant in New York, to admit of a successful attack with 
 inferior forces, now turned his attention towards the 
 South, as the most eligible field for decisive operations^ and 
 Lafayette was directed so to dispose of his troops as to 
 prevent Cornwallis from escaping, by a sudden march to 
 Charleston. 
 
 The Count De Grasse arrived in the Chesapeake, with 
 twenty-eight sail of the line, and several frigates late in 
 August, whe. e he received full intelligence of the situation 
 of the armies, from an officer despatched by Lafayette for 
 that purpose. In the mean while. Lord Cornwallis was 
 fortifying himself in Yorktown. In compliance with his 
 orders from Washington, Lafayette had occupied a position 
 on James River, to oppose any movement of the Eno-lish 
 general to escape to South Carolina. Four French ships of 
 the line, and several frigates, were now ordered to blockade 
 the mouth of York River, and convey the land forces under 
 the Marquis St. Simon, to form a junction with the troops 
 of Lafayette. 
 
 Washington having determined to direct the active ope- 
 rations of the allied armies against Lord Cornv allis, imme- 
 diately prepared to carry his plan into effect without delay, 
 and with all possible vigour. To General Heath, he as- 
 signed the defence of the posts on the Hudson, and the duty 
 of protecting the surrounding country. Washington as- 
 sumed in person the lead of the southern expedition. 
 
 After many feints and manoeuvres, for the purpose of in- 
 ducing the enemy to believe, that his object was Staten 
 Island, he put both armies in motion, and having crossed 
 the Hudson at King's Ferry, on the 25th of August, com- 
 menced his march for the Chesapeake; and so well had he 
 managed to divert the attention of the English general from 
 his real destination, that he had accomplished the passage 
 of the Delaware, before the enemy suspected the real point 
 of his hostility, and when it became too late to molest or 
 obstruct him on his march. 
 
 While Washington was on his way to Virginia, Sir Henry 
 Clinton, with a view, perhaps, of recalling him to a defence 
 of the North, planned an expedition against New London, 
 which he entrusted to the command of General Arnold, 
 who, having stormed and captured the town, put the Ame- 
 ricans to the sword after their surrender, in cold blood, and 
 G2 
 
78 THE LIFE OF 
 
 with a cowardly ferocity, every way characteristic of the 
 heart of a traitor; after which, with the dark spirit of a 
 midnight incendiary, the town was devoted to the torch of 
 conflagration, by which the wanton destruction of private 
 property was immense and afflicting. 
 
 But Washington was not to be diverted from his design 
 against Cornwallis; and having quickened his march, he 
 reached Williamsburg, on the 14th of September, attended 
 by the Count De Rochambeau, and the Chevalier De Cha- 
 telleux, having previously made arrangements for the safe 
 transportation of his army from the head of Elk to Balti- 
 more. 
 
 His troops having arrived, Washington invested York- 
 town, on the 25th of September; while the French admiral 
 completely blockaded the town on the side of the mouth of 
 James and York rivers. 
 
 Some uneasiness was now excited among the Americans, 
 by the information of six ships of the line, and some troops 
 iiaving arrived at New York, under Admiral Digby, to 
 reinforce the English. 
 
 Stimulated to renewed exertion, lest the British general 
 should be relieved by a large reinforcement promised from 
 New York, Washington pressed the siege with such unex- 
 ampled rapidity, that, on the 11th of October, the second 
 parallel was opened within three hundred yards of the Bri- 
 tish lines; and on the 14th, several redoubts of the enemy 
 were carried by storm. Victory after victory perched on 
 the banners of the combined armies; and every day beheld 
 the works of the English sinking beneath the incessant fire 
 of tlie gallant besiegers; and on the 17th, having become 
 altogether untenable. Lord Cornwallis beat a parley to 
 propose a cessation of hostilities for twenty -four hours, to 
 allow commissioners to meet to settle the terms for the sur- 
 render of Yorktown and Glocester, which being definitively 
 agreed to on the 19tli of October, Cornwallis surrendered 
 his posts, with the garrisons that had defended them, toge- 
 ther with the British shipping in the harbour, including 
 their seamen, to the land and naval officers of America and 
 France. The prisoners amounted to 7000 men. 
 
 The allied army under the command of Washington, was 
 estimated at 16,000 men. 
 
 The capture of Yorktown, and the army of Cornwallis, 
 being one of the most brilliant and important achievements 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 79 
 
 of the revolutionaiy war, excited a commensurate degree 
 of triumph and exultation, througout the United States, as 
 the precursor of peace, as well as the means of glory. Con- 
 gress greeted the event with a joj more than proportioned 
 to its magnitude; and resolutions passed that body, return- 
 ing the thanks of tlie nation to General Washington, to the 
 Count De Rochambeau, to the Count De Grasse, and to the 
 officers of the allied armies in general. A marble column 
 commemorative of the event, to be erected in Yorktown, 
 was also voted; besides two stands of colours being pre- 
 sented to Washington. 
 
 In addition to these manifestations of their high sense of 
 the achievement. Congress issued a proclamation appoint- 
 ing a day for a general thanksgiving, for this signal inter- 
 position of Providence. 
 
 The lustre which this victory threw around the character 
 of Washington, cast into shade whatever previous fame his 
 talents had won, or his virtues had extorted. The voice of 
 public praise rose to the pitch of enthusiastic veneration. 
 Addresses,- conceived in sincere gratitude, and couched in 
 terms bordering on affectionate idolatry, poured in upon him 
 from every city, town and hamlet of the union: as if the 
 nation had been delivered of a devouring monster by his 
 signal prowess, or rid of a wasting pestilence by his healing 
 virtues. State governments, city authorities, learned in- 
 stitutions, and every variety of public bodies seemed to 
 emulate each other, in the ardent expressions of the pro- 
 found sense they entertained of his important services; of 
 their sincere attachment to his person, and of their warm 
 admiration for his character. Still, this praise neither ex- 
 cited him to vanity, nor inspired him with presumption. 
 
 Washington now urged the French admiral to co-operate 
 in the prosecution of the war, until the British should be 
 entirely expelled from the southern states, particularly in- 
 voking his aid against Charleston; but tlie prior plan of 
 operations agreed on by the French squadron, prevented a 
 compliance with his wishes. 
 
 General Green was now reinforced by a body of troops 
 under General St. Clair, with orders to take Wilmington 
 in his route to Charleston, and to dispossess the enemy of 
 the former post. The French troops remained in Virginia: 
 the Count De Grasse sailed for the West Indies, and 
 Washington proceeded to Philadelphia; while Lafayette 
 had permission to return to France. 
 
80 THE LIFE OF 
 
 I'he southern campaign was now prosecuted with vigour 
 and success; but the nearly equal division of the people into 
 whigs and tories, imparted to their hostilities a deep dye 
 of vindictive passion, malignant ferocity, and cruel revenge. 
 Bloody desolation marked the footsteps of the English foe, 
 and the tory Americans: but still, victory hovered over the 
 banner of freedom, and General Green obtained merited 
 applause for his southern triumphs. 
 
 Not elated by his recent victory, Washington kept his 
 mind steadily fixed upon preparations for the ensuing cam- 
 paign of 1782; and, instead of relaxing, he determined to 
 add fresh vigour to his exertions, to bring the war to a ter- 
 mination. In a letter to General Green, written at Mount 
 Vernon, he thus discloses his opinions and designs, which 
 evince not less wisdom in the man, than modest and un- 
 
 fjresuming merit in the general: " I shall attempt to stimu- 
 ate Congress to the best improvement of our late success, 
 by taking the most vigorous and eftectual measures to be 
 ready for an early and decisive campaign the next year. My 
 greatest fear is, that, viewing this stroke in a point of light 
 which may too much magnify its importance, they may 
 think our work too nearly closed, and fall into a state of 
 languor and relaxation. To prevent this error, I shall 
 employ every means in my power; and if, unhappily, we 
 sink into this fatal mistake, no part of the blame shall be 
 mine." 
 
 On the 27th of November, 1781, Washington arrived at 
 Philadelphia, and Congress granted him an audience on the 
 succeeding day, in order to aid in the proper establishment 
 of the army; the same causes, want of money, inefficient 
 taxation, and conflicting powers in the union and the state 
 authorities, as those we have already related, having ope- 
 rated to enfeeble and derange it; the same remedies, there- 
 fore, were recommended by him, and the same difficulties 
 obstructed their application. On this occasion, he again 
 addressed circular letters to the States. 
 
 Happily for the Independence of America, the force of 
 public opinion in Great Britain, was fast inclining that go- 
 vernment to overtures of a general peace, and a disposition 
 to recognise the independence of the United States; and, 
 notwithstanding the warlike tone of the King's speech, at 
 the opening of Parliament in November, the current soon 
 began to run counter to the royal pleasure, and a large mi- 
 
GEORGE WASHIXGTOK. 81 
 
 nority in favor of peace daily swelled its numbers, until it 
 eventually shook the throne in the resolutions of a majority. 
 A change of ministry, at first led to negociations, and 
 finally terminated in peace, on the 19th of April, 1783. 
 
 Every event on the part of the United States, had, for 
 some time, been conspiring to render a peace absolutely 
 necessary to their preservation. The treasury was ex- 
 hausted of its last dollar. No portion of the taxes could be 
 realised: the army was discontented, because impoverished; 
 and seditious, because smarting under wrongs, which it had 
 power, as well as inclination, to redress. Washington, ever 
 watchful over the welfare of his country, had exhausted the 
 resources of his genius, the influence of his character, and 
 the force of his eloquence, to remove or mitigate these evils; 
 but in vain: even his influence was compelled to wane, be- 
 neath a combination of evils, which no human fortitude 
 could endure, nor patience submit to. Still, AVashington 
 had the address, the singular address and good fortune, not 
 to quell the spirit which sought for justice, but to turn the 
 feelings that were inflamed by wrongs, into a harmless 
 channel. On this occasion, his services to his country, 
 were not of less importance, than his most brilliant military 
 achievements; and being based on feelings of equity, bene- 
 volence and justice, they far eclipse in moral grandeur, the 
 most sanguine trophies that a martial victor ever displayed 
 to the applause of people, intoxicated by the glare of glory. 
 
 Measures were now adopted for disbanding the army; 
 but the wants of the treasury opposed serious obstacles to 
 this proceeding: and a part of the Pennsylvania line having 
 revolted, they marched from Lancaster to Philadelphia, 
 where, being joined by other licentious soldiers, they be- 
 sieged Congress in the State House, and compelled that 
 body to adjourn to Princeton. In the mean time, Wash- 
 ington had ordered a detachment of fifteen hundred men, 
 to suppress the mutiny; but before their arrival, the sedition 
 had been quelled without bloodshed. 
 
 Thus terminated the war of seven years for American 
 Independence, of which Washington had been, in so great 
 a measure, the chief pillar and support: which originated in 
 a difterence apparently trifling; which was prosecuted 
 through a series of difficulties and embarrassments, unex- 
 ampled in the history of mankind; and which was finally 
 achieved by those unseen combinations, and auspicious 
 
82 THE LIFE OF 
 
 events, which baffle and perplex the sagacity of man, at the 
 same time that they excite his gratitude and admiration. 
 
 Throughout this long and arduous struggle, the whole 
 America I people displayed tliose virtues M'hich most en- 
 noble human nature; and their patience, toil, suft'ering, 
 bravery, and forbearance, entitle them to rank with any 
 nation on the face of the globe. But, in a peculiar manner 
 were they indebted to those shining virtues in tlie character 
 of Washington, which, combined with his higli faculties of 
 genius and intellect to conduct them triumphantly through 
 its tiery ordeal, and place them on the eminence, whose 
 lofty and glittering peak, attracted the attention and ap- 
 plause of the world. Commenced without preparation; 
 equally destitute of money, arms and discipline, the Revo- 
 lution depended almost wholly for success, upon the genius 
 and resources of the commander in chief; whose peculiar 
 character alone fitted him to uphold it amidst adversity, 
 rally it under defeat, and preserve it unbroken amidst con- 
 vulsions. The experience in the case of General Gates, 
 fully evinced what would have been its melancholy catas- 
 trophe, had the impetuous ambition of a liery and adventu- 
 rous commander, led on its starved battalions; or an in- 
 triguing and unprincipl*ed adventurer, like Conway, or 
 Arnold, had the disbursement of its funds, or the manage- 
 ment of that suffering and seditious mass of undisciplined 
 men, who could only be preserved in subordination by the 
 personal influence of George Washington — his virtues, his 
 genius, and his patriotism. 
 
 On the 25th of November, 1783, the British evacuated 
 New York, and the American troops took possession of the 
 town. Washington, accompanied by Governor Clinton, 
 now made -his public entry into the city; after which, he 
 proposed to bid adieu to his companions in arms, prior to a 
 resignation of his military command. 
 
 The account wliich Gordon has given us of this parting 
 scene, would suffer by any abridgement: " This affecting 
 interview took place on the 4th of December. At noon, 
 the principal officers of the army assembled at Francis' 
 tavern; soon after which, their beloved commander entered 
 th-; room. His emotions were too strong to be concealed. 
 Fill ins: a glass, he turned to them and said, * With a heart 
 full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you; I most 
 devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 83 
 
 and happy, as your former ones have been glorious and 
 honourable.' Having drank, he added, ' I cannot come to 
 each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you, 
 if each of you will come and take me by the hand.' Gene- 
 ral Knox being nearest, turned to him; incapable of utter- 
 ance, Washington grasped his hand, and embraced him. 
 In the same attectionate manner, he took leave of each suc- 
 ceeding officer. In every eye stood the tears of dignified 
 sensibility; and not a word was articulated to interrupt the 
 majes'ic silence and the tenderness of the scene. Leaving 
 the room, he passed through the corps of light infantry, and 
 walked to A\ hitehall, where a barge awaited to carry him 
 to Pawles Hook. The v/hole company followed in mute 
 and solemn procession, with dejected countenances, testi- 
 fying the feelings of delicious melancholy, which no lan- 
 guage can describe. Having entered the barge, he turned 
 to the company, and, waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. 
 They paid him the same affectionate compliment, and after 
 the barge had left them, returned in the same solemn man- 
 ner to the place where they had assembled." 
 
 Congress was then in session at Annapolis, and thither 
 Washington repaired, to resign his commission into their 
 hands. This eventful ceremony took place on the 23d of 
 December, 1783. Having been introduced by the Secre- 
 tary, he delivered the following address: 
 
 *'Mr. President. — The great events on which my re- 
 signation depended, having at length taken place, I have 
 now the honour of offering my sincere congratulations to 
 Congress, and of presenting myself before them, to surren- 
 der into their hands, the trust committed to me, and to 
 claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my 
 country. 
 
 *' Happy in the confirmation of our independence and 
 sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the 
 United States, of becoming a respectable nation, I resign 
 with satisfaction, the appointment I accepted with diffi- 
 dence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous 
 a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in 
 the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme 
 POWER OF THE UNION, and the patronage of Heaven. 
 
 " The successful termination of the war has verified the 
 most sanguine expectations; and my gratitude for the inter- 
 position of Providence, and the assistance I have received 
 
84 THE LIFE OF 
 
 from my countrymen, increases with every review of the 
 momentous contest. 
 
 «' While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, 
 I should do injustice to my own feelings, not to acknow- 
 ledge in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished 
 merits of the gentlemen who have been attached to my per- 
 son during the war. It was impossible the choice of confi- 
 dential officers to compose my family, should have been 
 more fortunate. Permit me, Sir, to recommend in particu- 
 lar, those who have continued in the service to the present 
 moment, as worthy of the favourable notice and patronage 
 of Congress. 
 
 " I consider it as an indispensable duty to close this last 
 act of my official life, by commending the interests of our 
 dearest country, to the protection of Almighty God, and 
 those who have the superintendence of them to his holy 
 keeping. 
 
 "Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire 
 from the great theatre of action, and bidding an affectionate 
 address to this august body, under whose orders I have so 
 long acted, I here oifer my commission, and take my leave 
 of all the employments of public life." 
 
 To this address. Congress returned an appropriate reply, 
 couched in the spirit of gratulation, praise and affection. 
 
 Finding himself thus relieved from the cares of public 
 life, he now retired to Mount Vernon, followed by the 
 esteem, admiration, gratitude and love of the whole Ame- 
 rican people. 
 
 It would, perhaps, have been more consonant to the un- 
 obtrusive and simple principles of genuine republicanism, 
 had this virtuous and laudable feeling of veneration for their 
 late chief, been restrained within the limits of addresses, 
 resolutions, and declarations of gratitude and attachment, 
 instead of manifesting its extravagance in statues, monu- 
 ments, and columns, whose pomp seemed to reflect the 
 tinsel of royal governments, and might tend to corrupt the 
 integrity of republican truth. Great by nature, and still 
 greater by his virtues, no outward homage could increase 
 his glory, no splendour of magnificence inflate him with 
 pride. 
 
 Unmoved by the torrent of adulation which flowed upon 
 iiim, he devoted his hours to domestic happiness, and the 
 pursuits and improvements of agriculture, which had al^ 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 85 
 
 ways been his favourite occupation. His feelings in his 
 new retirement will be best understood by his own expres- 
 sion of them. In a letter to Governor Clinton, three days 
 after his reaching Mount Vernon, tie says: *The scene is 
 at length closed. I feel myself eased of a load of public 
 care, and hope to spend the remainder of my days in culti- 
 vating the affections of good men, and in the practice of the 
 domestic virtues.' In another to Lafayette, he thus unfolds 
 the sound philosophy of his mind and benevolent emotions 
 of his heart: ''At length, my dear Marquis, I have become 
 a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and, under 
 the shadow of my own vine and my own fig tree, free from 
 the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of public life, I 
 am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of 
 which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame* — ^the 
 statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are 
 spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, 
 perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if this globe was 
 insufficient for us all — and the courtier, who is always 
 watching the countenance of his prince, in the hope of 
 catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. 
 I have not only retired from all public employments, but 
 am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the 
 solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life, with 
 heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined 
 to be pleased with all; and this, my dear fi'iend, being the 
 order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of 
 life, until I sleep with my fathers." 
 
 It was evident, how ever, that this desire of private con- 
 tentment, required a struggle; and that his mind, long ac- 
 customed to public command, could not immediately sub- 
 side into the tranquil current of domestic ease. In a letter 
 to General Knox, he thus depicts this difficulty of weaning 
 his thoughts from the turmoil of public aft'airs: '' I am just 
 beginning to experience the ease and freedom from public 
 cares, which, however desirable, takes some time to realise; 
 for, strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, that it 
 was not until lately, I could get the better of my usual 
 custom of ruminating, as soon as I awoke in the morning, 
 on the business of the ensuing day, and of my surprise at 
 finding, after revolving many things in my mind, that I was 
 no longer a public man, or had any thing to do with public 
 transactions. I feel now, however, as I conceive a wearied 
 
 H 
 
86 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 traveller must do, who, after treading many a painful step 
 with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased of the latter, 
 having reached the haven to which all the former were di- 
 rected, and from his house-top is looking back, and tracing 
 with an eager eye, the meanders by which he escaped the 
 quicksands and mires which lay in his way, and into which 
 none but the all powerful guide and dispenser of human 
 events, could have prevented his falling." 
 
 He now devoted himself to agriculture, and plans of in- 
 ternal improvement, for which purpose he explored the 
 western parts of Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and 
 particularly directed his attention to improve the navigation 
 of the Potomac and James Rivers. Extending his views to 
 the western country, he gave a luminous exposition of the 
 sound policy of connnecting that section of the union more 
 closely with the eastern states, by means of internal im- 
 provements. 
 
 How deeply the love of fame was implanted in his heart, 
 and how pure was his ambition which thirsted for glory, 
 will appear from an extract of his letter, in which he de- 
 clined to receive a donation of one hundred and fifty shares 
 in the Potomac and James River Navigation Company, 
 from the States of Virginia and Maryland, who seized that 
 occasion to testify their gratitude and respect towards him, 
 in a substantial form. 
 
 *' Not content," (he writes,) " with the bare conscious- 
 ness of my having in all tliis navigation business, acted 
 upon the clearest conviction of the political importance of 
 the measure, I would wish that every individual who may 
 hear that it was a favorite plan of mine, may know also, 
 that I had no other motive for promoting it, than the advan- 
 tage of which I conceived it would be productive to the 
 union at large, and to this state in particular, by cementing 
 the eastern and western territory together, at the same time 
 that it will give vigour and increase to our commerce, and 
 be a convenience to our citizens. 
 
 " How would this matter be viewed then, by the eye of 
 the world, and what opinion would be formed, v/hen it 
 comes to be related, that G**'*** \y*****«-*** exerted him- 
 self to eftect this work, and that G***** w******** ■" has 
 received twenty thousand dollars^ ?inAJive thousand pounds 
 sterling of the public money as an interest therein? Would 
 not this, (if I am entitled to any merit for the part I have 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 87 
 
 performed, and without it there is no foundation for the 
 act) deprive nie of the principal thing which is laudable in 
 my conduct? Would it not, in some respects, be considered 
 in the same light as a pension? and would not the appre- 
 hension of this induce me to offer my sentiments in future, 
 with the more reluctance? In a word, under whatever 
 pretence, and hoAvever customary these gratuities may be 
 in other countries, should I not thenceforward, be consi- 
 dered as a dependant?— one moment's thought of which 
 would give me more pain than I should receive pleasure 
 from the product of all the tolls, was every farthing of them 
 vested in me." 
 
 An invidious mind might detect a spark of pride in this 
 sentiment, but a liberal one would perceive nothing but the 
 most exalted patriotism! The stock thus declined for his 
 private emolument, being appropriated by him to the esta- 
 blishment of two seminaries of learning. 
 
 The pride of station, and the ostentation of rank peculiar 
 to royal governments, are not only necessary to the safety 
 of the King, but indispensable to the pomp and glitter of a 
 court: hence, they are as foreign to the simplicity of a re- 
 public, and the virtuous habits of a free and equal people, 
 as pure republican principles would be inconsistent with, as 
 well as destructive of, royal power and regal magnificence. 
 
 Happily for the fame of Washington, the project for the 
 establishment of the society of the Cincinnati, did not ori- 
 ginate with him. "This idea," (says Marshall) "was 
 suggested by General Knox, and matured in a meeting com- 
 posed of the generals, and of deputies from the regiments, 
 at which Major General le Baron Steuben presided. An 
 agreement was then entered into, by which the officers were 
 to constitute themselves into one society of friends, to en- 
 dure as long as they should endure, or any q/* their eldest 
 MALE posterity; and in failure thereof, any collateral 
 branches who might be judged worthy of becoming its sup- 
 porters and members, were to be admitted into it. To 
 mark their veneration for that celebrated Roman, between 
 whose situation and their own, they found some similitude, 
 they were to be denominated the Society of the Cincin- 
 nati. Individuals of the respective States, distinguished 
 for their patriotism and abilities, might be admitted as 
 honorary members for life, provided their numbers should 
 at no time exceed a ratio of one to four. 
 
88 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " The society was to be designated by a medal of gold, 
 representing the American eagle, bearing on its breast the 
 devices of the order, which was to be suspended by a deep 
 blue ribband, edged with white,^^ &c. &c. Of this new 
 order, Washington M^as unanimously chosen president. 
 
 ''AVithout experiencing any open opposition," (says 
 Marshall] " this institution was carried into complete effect; 
 and its nonours, especially by the foreign officers, Avere 
 sought with great avidity. But soon after it was organised, 
 those jealousies, which in its first moments had been con- 
 cealed, burst forth into open view. In October, 1783, a 
 pamphlet was published by Mr. Burk, of South Carolina, 
 for the purpose of rousing the apprehensions of the public, 
 and of directing its resentments against the society. Per- 
 ceiving in the Cincinnati, the foundation of an hereditary 
 ORDER, whose base, from associating with the Military the 
 chiefs of the powerful families in each State, would ac- 
 quire a degree of solidity and strength admitting of any 
 superstructure, he pourtrayed, in that fervid and infectious 
 language, which is the genuine offspring of passion, the 
 dangers to result from the fabric which would be erected 
 on it. The Ministers of the United States too, in Europe, 
 and the political theorists who cast their eyes towards the 
 west for support to favorite systems, having the privi- 
 LEDGED ORDERS coustautly iu vicw, were loud in their 
 condemnation of an institution, from which a race of no- 
 bles WAS EXPECTED TO SPRING. Tlirougliout cvcry State 
 the alarm was spread, arid a high degree of jealousy per- 
 vaded the mass of the people. " 
 
 Washington endeavoured to procure a modification of 
 some of the aristocratic features of the institution, but 
 without success. 
 
 The same apprehensions of this society have continued to 
 exist up to the present period, although much diminished 
 by the extinction of its original members, wrought by the 
 hand of time, and the progress of free principles. 
 
 Experience having proved the articles of confederation, 
 under which the thirteen States were united together, to be 
 insufficient for the prosperous, efficient, and harmonious 
 government of the whole, especially for the preservation of 
 the PUBLIC CREDIT, and the payment of the public debt; 
 the design of substituting a more efficient union, began to 
 be generally entertained. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 89 
 
 I have already adverted to the two great parties, into 
 which the country was divided; one in favor of the sove- 
 reignty of the States, and the other inclining to invest the 
 federal government with powers so absolute and unlimited, 
 as to make the union paramount, and reduce the States to 
 entire subserviency to the union: one being in favour of 
 THE NATION — the othcr giving a preference to a cluster of 
 independent republics. Hence a wide contrariety of opi- 
 nion prevailed, as to the measures to be adopted, to eyisure 
 union, without endangering liberty I 
 
 Many of the officers of the army had been elected to the 
 Congress of 1783, and these formed the head of that party 
 which inclined to vest supreme power in the union. 
 
 At the head of this party, for such it indubitably was, 
 stood George Washington — unsurpassed in genius and ta- 
 lent — ^unrivalled in purity and patriotism. 
 
 I have already alluded to the manner in which the mili- 
 tary attitude of Washington, and his contact to the civil 
 power, had gradually inducted him into speculations of 
 government peculiar to the practical statesman; and that 
 sad experience of the evils of a relaxed system of polity, 
 had deeply imbued his mind in favor of that high toned 
 authority which assimilates to martial discipline and vigour. 
 In accordance with these ideas, prompted by his extreme 
 solicitude for the good of his country, he addressed on the 
 8th of June, 1783, a circular letter to the Governors of the 
 several States respectively, from which I must cite the fol- 
 lowing extracts. Speaking of the option of government 
 left to the United States, he says: "This is the time of 
 their political probation; this is the moment when the eyes 
 of the whole world are turned upon them; this is the mo- 
 ment to establish, or ruin their national character forever; 
 this is the favourable moment to give such a tone to our 
 federal government, as will enable it to answer the ends of 
 its institution, or this may be the ill-fated moment for re- 
 Taxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of 
 the confederation, and exposing us to become the sport of 
 European politics, which may play one State against ano- 
 ther, to prevent their growing importance, and to serve 
 their own interested purposes. For, according to the sys- 
 tem of policy the States shall adopt at this moment, they 
 will stand or fall; and by their confirmation or lapse, it is 
 yet to be decided, whether the revolution must ultimately 
 
 H2 
 
90 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 be considered as a blessing or a curse — a blessing or a 
 curse, not to the present age alone, for, with our fate, will 
 the destiny of unborn millions be involved." 
 
 ''There are four things which I humbly conceive, are 
 essential to the well-being, I may even venture to say, to 
 the existence of the United States, as an independent 
 power. 
 
 " 1st. An indissoluble union of the States under one 
 federal head. 
 
 " 2d. A sacred regard to public justice. 
 
 " 3d. The adoption of a proper peace establishment, and 
 
 "4th. The prevalence of that pacific and friendly 
 disposition among the people of the United States, which 
 will induce them to for get their local prejudices and politics, 
 to m,ake those mutual concessions which are requisite to the 
 general prosperity, and in some instances, to sacrifice 
 THEIR individual advantages to the interest of the 
 
 COMMUNITY. 
 
 "These are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of 
 our independency and national character must be support- 
 ed. Liberty is the basis, and whoever would dare to sap 
 the foundation, or overturn the structure, under whatever 
 specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest 
 execration, and the severest punishment which can be in- 
 flicted by his injured country." 
 
 Such sentiments not only ennoble and dignify, but im- 
 mortalise their author; and whatever prejudices he may 
 have cherished in favour of a vigorous authority in the 
 Union, were more than atoned for by the purity of his pa- 
 triotism, and the exalted honesty of his heart. 
 
 Again, in the same letter, breathing nothing but hallow- 
 ed patriotism, he says, " It is only in our united character 
 that we are known as an empire, that our independence is 
 acknowledged, that our power can be regarded, or our cre- 
 dit supported among foreign nations. The treaties of the 
 European powers with the United States of America, will 
 have no validity on a dissolution of the Union. We shall 
 be left nearly in a state of nature, or we may find, by our 
 own unhappy experience, that there is a natural and neces- 
 sary progression from the extreme of anarchy to the ex- 
 treme of tyranny, and that arbitary power is most easily 
 established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentious- 
 ness. " 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 91 
 
 But, however forcible in the abstract, or desirable in the 
 practice, may be the principle of energy and coercion, to 
 fulfil the ends of government, it may still be questioned, 
 whether in the present era of the world, it is feasible to 
 apply the doctrine of force and compulsion towards the in- 
 dividual States of the confederacy, even supposing it to be 
 sanctioned by the terms of the compact. The progress of 
 human rights, even in Europe, has interposed public opi- 
 nion, to arrest the most despotic powers of •the most an- 
 cient regal dynasties, embedded in the tyranny and barba- 
 rism of feudal systems, and gothic absolutism. Power 
 claimed to be derived from Heaven, or resting on the moss 
 covered columns of Rome, or Constantinople, or emerging 
 from the glimmer of right, under the vague sanction of a 
 charter, has, in every clime been melted by the sun of li- 
 berty into a form in some degree plastic, under the force of 
 PUBLIC opinion. In a government founded on rights, and 
 not on compulsion, justice and truth, not the edge of the 
 sword, is both the arbiter of right, and the bloodless aven- 
 ger of wrong: for Vifree goveryiment can only be preserved 
 by i;o/zmf«r?/ submission; and no motive for its preservation 
 will be found to exist, when, leaving the tnoral energies of 
 its citizens to look to physical coercion, the principle of 
 cohesion is rejected, for the action of momentary impulsion, 
 which the instant it ceases, is followed by the rebound of 
 discord and ruin. But these remarks will only apply to 
 the case of States, not individual citizens; and to ques- 
 tions of organic controversy, not legal obligations and 
 penalties. 
 
 He watched with peculiar solicitude, the conduct of the 
 States, in relation to the revenue system of 1783, by which 
 they were required to grant to Congress the power to levy 
 imposts; but which the jealousy of the State of New York 
 had reserved to itself, and was not willing to part with to 
 the national government. On this subject, he seems to 
 have/e/^ with passioii, and to have thought imth an energy 
 and glow, to which, on ordinary questions, he was an utter 
 stranger. In a letter written by him in October, 1785, he 
 said, '' The war, as you have very justly observed, has ter- 
 minated most advantageously for America; and a fair field 
 is presented to our view; but I confess to you freely, my 
 dear Sir, that I do not think we possess wisdom or justice 
 enough to cultivate it properly. Illiberality, jecdousy and 
 
92 THE LIFE OF 
 
 local policy, mix too much in all our public councils, for the 
 good government of the Union. In a word, the confedera- 
 tion appears to me to be little more than a shadow without 
 the substance; and Congress a nugatory body, their ordi- 
 nances being little attended to. To me, it is a solecism in 
 politics: indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary things 
 in nature, that we should confederate as a nation, and yei 
 be afraid to give the rulers of that nation, who are the crea- 
 tures of our own making, appointed for a limited and short 
 duration, &c. By such policy as this the wheels of go- 
 vernment are clogged, and our brightest prospects, and that 
 high expectation which was entertained of us by the won- 
 dering world, are turned into astonishment; and from the 
 high ground on which we stood, we are descending into the 
 vale of confusion and darkness.''' 
 
 In answer to a letter from General Lafayette, in 1784, 
 Washington thus expressed himself in relation to American 
 affairs : "It is one of the evils of democratic governments, 
 that the people, not ahvays seeing, and frequently misled, 
 must often feel before they act right. But evils of this 
 nature seldom fail to work their own cure. It is to be la- 
 mented, nevertheless, that the remedies are so slow, and 
 that those who wish to apply them seasonably, are not at- 
 tended to before they suffer in person, in interest, and in 
 reputation. I am not without hopes that matters will soon 
 take a favourable turn in the federal constitution. The 
 discerning part of the community have long since seen the 
 necessity of giving adequate powers to Congress for national 
 purposes, and those of a different description, must yield 
 to it ere long." 
 
 These arguments were not conceived with his usual 
 acumen; for it was not the want of knowledge, but the de- 
 mocratic jealousy of power in the Union, which retarded 
 the consummation for which he so devoutly prayed. The 
 progi-ess of events soon made this apparent, in the rise of 
 two great parties in every State, ' which, ' as Marshall 
 says, ' were distinctly marked, and ivhich pursued distinct 
 objects with systematic arrangement.' 
 
 One was rigid in justice, strict in public faith, friends to 
 a vigorous course of taxation, and an energetic exercise of 
 law and power, and strictly opposed to all relaxation of 
 principles, as well as considerations of feeling, for individual 
 distress, or national weakness. In fine, it embraced every 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 idea and principle, which went to constitute an aristocracy 
 of virtue and talents; and on this ground it advocated an 
 enlargement of the powers of the federal government, com- 
 mensurate to the grand object of * the dignity and character 
 of the nation abroad, and its interests at home. ' ' The 
 other party,' says Marshall, 'marked out for itself a more 
 indulgent course. Viewing with extreme tenderness the 
 case of the debtor, their efforts were unceasingly directed 
 to his relief. To exact a faithful compliance with contracts 
 was a measure too harsh to be insisted on, and was one 
 which the people would not bear. They were uniformly in 
 favour of relaxing the administration of justice, of affording 
 facilities for the payment of debts, or of suspending their 
 collection, and of remitting taxes. The same course of 
 opinion led them to resist every attempt to transfer from 
 their own hands into those of Congress, powers which by 
 others were deemed essential to the preservation of the 
 Union. ' 
 
 The latter party constituted a decided majority of the 
 People. The former comprehended men of great wealth, 
 of political distinction, and eminent family honours, as well 
 as the officers, in general, of the army and navy. 
 
 The contests between these parties now began to rage 
 with great animation, whenever the period returned for the 
 annual elections of public officers. 
 
 . The project for a convention of the States, to revise the 
 state of the Union, originated with Virginia, in January 
 1786, and had its first conception at Mount Vernon, from 
 the lips of Washington himself, whose paternal solicitude 
 for his country was excited to the highest pitch, by the 
 breach of the public faith in the matter of the national debt 
 — the general embarrassments of the country— the confusion 
 of political principles, and sovereign powers— and last, but 
 not least, the virulence and rage of party conflicts, and jar- 
 ring doctrines of tolerant liberty and inflexible justice. 
 
 To which of these parties Washington belonged will be 
 seen from an extract from his Letter to the Governors of 
 the States, already adverted to; and which will, at the same 
 time, display the causes of their difference, as above detailed 
 by Marshall, He says " The ability of the country to dis- 
 charge the debts which have been incurred in its defence, is 
 not to be doubted; an inclination, I flatter myself, will not 
 be wanting. The path of our duty is plain before us. Ho- 
 
94 THE LIFE OF 
 
 nesty will be found, on every experiment, to be the best, 
 and only true policy. Let us, then, as a nation, be just; 
 let us fulfil the public contracts which Congress had un- 
 doubtedly a right to make, for the purpose of carrying on 
 the war, with the same good faith we suppose ourselves 
 bound to perform our private engagements. In the mean 
 time, let an attention to the cheerful performance of their 
 proper business as individuals, and as members of society, 
 be earnestly inculcated on the citizens of America. Then 
 will they strengthen the hands of government, and be happy 
 under its protection. Every one will yield the fruit of his 
 labours — every one will enjoy his own acquisitions without 
 molestation, and without danger." If these views were 
 correct, still much allowance ought to be made for those 
 who opposed them, when it is considered how recently the 
 People had escaped from the oppressive yoke of Britain; 
 and that the power of taxation, and an absolute govern- 
 ment, had been the cause of their disruption from the crown 
 of England. It was a pardonable error, if an error, to lean 
 on the side of right, liberty, and ease, in preference to tax- 
 ation, energetic authority, and voluntary iinpoverishment. 
 But this will more fully appear as we proceed in the history 
 of the great father of his country. 
 
 It having been settled that the Convention should meet 
 in Annapolis, in the month' of September, 1786, public 
 attention was excited to an intense degree, in every section 
 of the Union, upon the subject of its deliberations. Among 
 others, Washington stood prominent for the boldness of his 
 sentiments, and the magnitude of the powers to be vested 
 in the Federal Union. In reply to a letter from Mr. Jay, 
 he thus expresses himself : — '' Your sentiments that our 
 affairs are drawing rapidly to a crisis, accord with my own. 
 What the event will be is also beyond the reach of my 
 foresight. We have errors to correct; we have probably 
 had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our 
 confederation. Experience has taught us that men will not 
 adopt and cai-ry into execution measures the best calculated 
 for their own good, without the intervention q/* coercive 
 POWER. I do not conceive we can exist long as a nation, 
 without lodging somewhere a power which will pervade the 
 tvhole Union in as energetic a manner as the authority of 
 the State governments extends over the several States. To 
 be fearful of investing Congress, constituted as that body 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 95 
 
 is, with ample authorities for national purposes, appears 
 to me the very climax of popular absurdity, and madness. 
 Could Congress exert them for the detriment of the people, 
 without injuring themselves in an equal or greater propor- 
 tion? Are not their interests inseparably connected with 
 those of their constituents ?" &c. "^ Many are of opinion 
 that Congress have too frequently made use of the suppliant 
 humble tone of requisition in applications to the States, 
 ivhen they had a right to assert their imperial digmty, 
 and COMMAND obedience. Be that as it may, requisitions 
 are a perfect nullity, where thirteen sovereign, independent 
 disunited States, are in the habit of discussing, and refusing 
 or complying with them at their option. Requisitions are 
 actually little better than a jest and a bye-word throughout 
 the land. If you tell the liegislatures they have violated 
 the treaty of peace, and invaded the prerogatives of the 
 confederacy, they will laugh in your face. What then is 
 to be done ? Things cannot go on in the same train forever. 
 It is much to be feared, as you observe, that the better kind 
 of people, being disgusted with these circumstances, will 
 have their minds prepared for any revolution whatever. 
 We are apt to run from one extreme into another. To 
 anticipate and prevent disastrous contingencies, would be 
 the part of wisdom and patriotism." 
 
 In the succeeding extract, we behold one of the most 
 astonishing proofs of his ardent love of liberty, that reason 
 could induce us to look for, or imagination realise in its 
 wildest visions of human perfection; and which stamps him 
 as inferior to none of the great champions of equal rights 
 and human liberty. 
 
 " What astonishing changes a few years are capable of 
 producing! I am told, that even respectable characters 
 speak of a monarchical form of government without horror. 
 From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting, is often 
 but a single step. But how irrevocable and tremendous! 
 what a triumph for our enemies to verify their predictions ! 
 what a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that 
 we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems 
 founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal 
 and fallacious! Would to God that wise measures may be 
 taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too 
 much reason to apprehend. 
 
 *' Retired as I am from the world, I frankly acknowledge 
 
96 THE LIFE OF 
 
 I cannot feel myself an unconcerned spectator. Yet, hav- 
 ing happily assisted in bringing the ship into port, and 
 having been fairly discharged, it is not my business to em- 
 bark again on a sea of troubles. 
 
 " Nor could it be expected that my sentiments and opi- 
 nions would have much weight on the minds of my coun- 
 trymen. They have been neglected, though given as a last 
 legacy in the most solemn manner, I had then, perhaps, 
 some claims to public attention. I consider myself as 
 having none at present." 
 
 In this last sentiment, the father of his country under- 
 rated his own weight of character, and undervalued the 
 sagacity and virtue of the people to appreciate his opinions, 
 and pay deference to his judgment. Like all great minds, 
 he was too precipitate in pronouncing judgment on his own 
 weight of reputation, and, because the people would not im- 
 mediately and implicitly adopt his views, he hastened to 
 the unjust conclusion, that he was neglected, and that the 
 public no longer esteemed the edicts of his genius, or the 
 suggestion of his patriotism. 
 
 The Convention to revise the federal government being- 
 assembled at Annapolis, it was found that five States only 
 had deputed commissioners — New York, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Mr. 
 Dickerson being appointed president, they proceeded to the 
 discussion of the object of their meeting, but finding their 
 powers too limited to arrive at any profitable results, and 
 that a minority of the States only were represented, they 
 resolved to adjourn without any final action on the subject; 
 having agreed to submit reports to their respective States, 
 representing the expediency of revising ancl extending the 
 federal system; for which purpose they recommended the 
 appointment of deputies by the State Legislatures, to meet 
 in Convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the 2d of 
 May, 1787. 
 
 The Legislature of Virginia^ in conformity to this re- 
 commendation, passed an act for the appointment of depu- 
 ties, to assemble in convention at Philadelphia, for the pur- 
 poses specified in the report of the Convention at Annapolis. 
 
 Against his wishes, and in opposition to his remon- 
 strances, Virginia placed Washington at the head of her 
 deputation to the federal convention, for reasons which Mr, 
 Madison thus detailed in a letter addressed to him: "It 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 97 
 
 has been thought advisable to give this subject a very so- 
 lemn dress, and all the weight which could be derived from 
 a single State. This idea will also be pursued in the se- 
 lection of characters to represent Virginia in the federal 
 convention. You will infer our earnestness on this point, 
 from the liberty which will be used of placing jour name at 
 the head of them. How far this liberty may correspond 
 with the ideas by which you ought to be governed, will be 
 best decided where it must ultimately be decided. In 
 every event it will assist powerfully in marking the zeal of 
 our legislature, and its opinion of the magnitude of the 
 occasion." This appointment, so flattering to the pride of 
 Washington, and so important to the country, he subse- 
 quently accepted, after many arguments and objections, all 
 of which, however, were wholly detached from the merits 
 of the question, or the principles involved in it. 
 
 It was certainly a spectacle of a novel character, to be- 
 hold the eyes of all men turned towards Washington, in 
 this civil crisis of the republic, to take a lead in the Con- 
 vention, that was to revise and permanently settle the con- 
 stitution of the United States. It was the more singular, 
 from the fact, that his education was not scholastic, nor his 
 studies in the civil or national law such as to qualify him to 
 take a seat on equal grounds with such profound scholars 
 and jurists, as Madison, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, 
 and others. Yet such was the fact, that the genius of 
 Washington, combined with good sense, practical know- 
 ledge, and much experience, had qualified him for this task 
 in a very eminent manner, and had even rendered him 
 superior, in some respects, to those who were most pre- 
 eminently qualified, in a mechanical sense, to discharge 
 the duties of the important tasks assigned them. 
 
 The fact, however, cannot be concealed, that Washing- 
 ton had been in reality, the President of the United States, 
 during the whole period of his military command — Congress 
 having always acted by his promptings, or under his coun- 
 sel and advice 5 so that his perpetual contact with the civil 
 authority, and his influence over its deliberations, invested 
 him witli power, even greater than that of a Roman Dicta- 
 tor; while it excited his mind to a perpetual investigation 
 of all those great principles, which enter into the formation 
 of government, not as a theory, but a practiced system, 
 where the means proposed were to be chosen directly in 
 
98 THE LIFE OF 
 
 reference to the ends proposed to be attained. It is as a prac- 
 tical statesman, that we are to consider Washington — one 
 who derived his knowledge from experience and observa- 
 tion, and who paid as little regard to abstract principles, or 
 scientific deductions, in devising the means adapted to salu- 
 tary ends, as he felt disposed to regard with indifference, 
 the study of systems, and the forms of shadows, when the 
 substance stood before him, ready to be grasped, and pre- 
 pared for all the uses of beneficial application to the go- 
 vernment and happiness of mankind. 
 
 Insurrections having broken out in Massachusetts, in all 
 the forms of ultra democracy, inimical alike to liberty, law, 
 property, peace, and the personal safety of the citizen, 
 Washington experienced all the anxiety and solicitude of a 
 fond father, for the menaced fate of his beloved country; 
 and in a letter to his friend, Colonel Humphries, he thus 
 poured forth his feelings, and expressed his fears. "For 
 God's sake, tell me," said he, "what is the cause of all 
 these commotions. P do they proceed from licentiousness, 
 British influence disseminated by the tories, or real griev- 
 ances which admit of redress? If the latter, why was re- 
 dress delayed until the public mind had become so much 
 agitated.^ If the former, why are not the powers of govern- 
 ment tried at once? It is as well to be without, as not to 
 exercise them. Commotions of this sort, like snow -balls, 
 gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the 
 way to divide and crumble them." 
 
 In answer to this, the Colonel thus describes the causes 
 of the tumults: " I believe there are a few real grievances; 
 and also some wicked agents, or emissaries, who have been 
 busy in magnifying the positive evils, and fomenting cause- 
 less jealousies and disturbances. But it rather appears to 
 me, that there is a licentious spirit prevailing among many 
 of the people; a levelling principle; a desire of change; and 
 a wish to annihilate all debts, public and private.'^ 
 
 General Knox assigned the same causes to JVashingtoti, 
 to explain the eastern insurrections: '' The insurgents," he 
 said, " were chiefly of the young and active part of the 
 community, who were more easily collected than kept to- 
 gether. Desperate and unprincipled, they would probably 
 commit overt acts of treason," &c. " It is indeed, a fact," 
 he observed, "that high taxes are the ostensible cause of 
 the commotion; but that they are the real cause is as far 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 99 
 
 remote from truth, as light is from darkness. The people 
 who are the insurgents, have never paid any, or but very 
 little taxes. But they see the weakness of government. 
 They feel at once their own poverty^ compared with the opu- 
 lent, and their own force; and they are determined to m,ake 
 use of the latter^ in order to remedy the former. Their 
 creed is, that the property of the United States has been 
 protected from confiscation by the joint exertions of all, and 
 therefore ought to be common to all. And he that attempts 
 opposition to this creed, is an enemy to equity and justice, 
 and ought to be swept from the face of the earthP 
 
 Such were the representations that were made to Wash- 
 ington, of the piratical character of the American people^ by 
 those high-toned officers of the army, who had access to his 
 ear. Such representations, wliether too highly coloured, or 
 but faithful pictures of the real state of the popular mind in 
 New England^ could not fail to make a deep and painful 
 impression on the mind of Washington, and to impregnate 
 him with the idea, that the entire democracy of the Union 
 was about to apply the hand of pillage to the fortunes of the 
 opulent, and the sword of assassination to the throats of the 
 virtuous. That his idea of the evil had been extravagantly 
 exaggerated by these accounts, appears from some parts of 
 liis reply to the letter last quoted. " 1 feel, my dear Ge- 
 neral Knox," says Washington, " infinitely more than I 
 can express to you, for the disorders which have arisen in 
 these States. Good God! who, besides a tory, could have 
 foreseen, or a Briton have predicted them.'^ I do assure 
 you, that even at this moment, when I reflect upon the pre- 
 sent aspect of our alFairs, it seems to me like the visions of 
 a dream. My mind can scarcely realise it as a thing in 
 actual existence — so strange, so wonderful does it appear 
 to me. In this, as in most other matters, we are too slow. 
 When this spirit first dawned, it might probably have been 
 easily checked; but it is scarcely within the reach of human 
 ken, at this moment, to say when, where, or how it will 
 terminate. There are combustibles in every State, to zvhich 
 a spark might setfire.'''^ 
 
 Colonel Lee, a member of Congress, having addressed 
 Washington a letter on the same subject, invoking him to 
 throw the influence and weight of his personal character in 
 the scale opposed to this seditious movement, the General 
 answered him in a strain so decidedly in favour of the 
 
100 THE LIFE OF 
 
 prompt application of coercive measures on tlie part of the 
 Union, that it deserves to be quoted, as well for its illus- 
 tration of his energetic character, as for its analogy to re- 
 cent movements in the Southern States; and which may 
 excite regret in some, and exultation in others, that lie 
 could exhort to so severe, but so just an application of the 
 remedy oi force. Still, every opinion he utters is the opi- 
 nion of a patriot, a sage, and a statesman, and are every 
 way wortliy of his genius and his fame. 
 
 "You talk, my good Sir," he writes in his answer to 
 Colonel Lee, '''• of employing influence to appease the pre- 
 sent tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that 
 influence is to be found; nor, if attainable, that it would be 
 a proper remedy for these disorders. Influence is not go- 
 vernment. Let us have a government, by which our lives, 
 liberties and properties will be secured; or let us know the 
 worst at once. Under these impressions my humble opi- 
 nion is, that there is a call for decision. Know precisely 
 w^hat the insurgents aim at. If they have real grievances, 
 redress them if possible, or acknowledge the justice of them, 
 and your inability to do it in the present moment. If they 
 have not, employ the force of government against them at 
 once. If this is inadeqnatp. all will be convinced that the 
 superstructure is bad, or wants support." 
 
 '' These are my sentiments. Precedents are dangerous 
 things. Let the reins of government then be braced, and 
 held with a steady hand, and every violation of the Consti- 
 tution be reprehended. If defective^ let it be amended^ but 
 not sufferecl to be trampled upon while it has an existence." 
 
 As I consider the developement of the feelings and opi- 
 nions of Washington upon this insurrection, to constitute 
 the most important part of his life, as well as affording to 
 the people of the United States, a solemn and instructive 
 lesson against the evils of anarchy, and the calamities of 
 disunion, I shall pursue the subject to its close, as I feel 
 bound to make a solemn appeal to every American, to re- 
 ceive the admonitions of Washington, as a political father^ 
 whose sole care was the freedom and happiness of this peo- 
 ple, and whose only aim was the untarnished glory and fame 
 of our common country. 
 
 His friend. Colonel Humphries, now addressed him a let- 
 ter, in which he thus expressed himself in relation to the 
 delicate and critical attitude of Washington. '' In case of 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 101 
 
 civil discord, I have already told you, it was seriously my 
 opinion, that you could not remain neuter; and that you 
 would be obliged, in self-defence, to take part on one side 
 or the other, or withdraw from the continent. Your friends 
 are of the same opinion; and I believe you are convinced, 
 that it is impossible to have more disinterested or zealous 
 friends, than those who have been about your person." 
 
 In his reply, the General said, and his sentiments deserve 
 to be indelibly engraved upon every heart — "It is with 
 the deepest and most heartfelt concern, I perceive by some 
 late paragraphs extracted from the Boston papers, that the 
 Insurgents of Massachusetts, far from being satisfied with 
 the redress offered by their general court, are still acting in 
 open violation of law and government, and have obliged the 
 cliief magistrate, in a decided tone, to call upon the militia 
 of the State, to support the constitution. What, gracious 
 God 1 is man, that there should be such inconsistency and 
 perfidiousness in his conduct. It is but the other day that 
 we were shedding our blood to obtain the constitutions un- 
 der which we now live — constitutions of our own choice 
 and making; and now, we are unsheathing the sword to 
 overturn them. The thing is so unaccountable, that I 
 hardly know how to realise it, or to persuade myself that 
 I am not under the illusion of a dream." 
 
 Happily for Washington, the insurrection was quelled by 
 a small force of the Boston militia, with little loss of lives, 
 and in the course of a few days. But its influence on the 
 approaching measures of the Federal Convention, was very 
 great, as it inclined public opinion to strengthen and en- 
 large the powers of the Union. 
 
 The suspicion that Washington favoured a resort to 
 FORCE, or military power, in preference to enlarging the 
 authority of the Union, by a Convention of the States^ 
 having been propagated to his disadvantage. General Knox, 
 who l>efore had dissuaded him from attending as a delegate, 
 now changed his opinion, and exhorted him to accept the 
 appointment of his native State. Knox, in his letter says: 
 '* W^ere you not to attend the Convention, slander and ma- 
 lice might suggest, that force ivould be the most agreeable 
 tnocle of reform to you. When civil commotion rages, no 
 purity of character, no services however exalted, can afford 
 a secure shield from the shafts of calumny." 
 
 ' ' On the other hand, the unbounded confidence the people 
 12 
 
102 THE LIFE OF 
 
 have in your tried patriotism and wisdom, would exceed- 
 ingly facilitate the adoption of any important alterations 
 tliat might be proposed by a Convention of which you were 
 a member, and (as I before hinted) the President.'^'' 
 
 The Convention now met at Philadelphia, the represen- 
 tatives from twelve States, having presented themselves, 
 Rhode Island only having been averse to the scheme. 
 Washington having been unanimously chosen President^ 
 they immediately, with closed doors, began to prosecute the 
 great and important subject of their congregation. 
 
 On the 17th of September, 1787, the Convention was 
 proclaimed to the people, accompanied by a resolution, that 
 the fruit of their labours should be ' laid before the United 
 States in Congress assembled;' and should afterwards be 
 submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each 
 State by the people thereof, under the recommendation of 
 its I^egislature, for their assent and ratification — its ratifi- 
 cation by nine States being retjuired as the condition of its 
 going into operation. 
 
 The Constitution, thus framed, was transmitted by 
 Washington to Congress, in a letter written by him, in 
 which it was said to be " the result of a spirit of amity, and 
 of that mutual deference and concession, M^iich the peculi- 
 arity of their political situation rendered indispensable." 
 ** That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every 
 State," he continued, '^is not, perhaps, to be expected^ 
 but each will doubtless consider, that had her interests been 
 alone considted, the consequences might have been, particu- 
 larly disagreeable or injurious to others. That it is liable 
 to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been ex- 
 pected, we hope and believe; that it may promote the last- 
 ing welfare of that country so dear to us all, and secure her 
 freedom and liappiness, is our most ardent wish." 
 
 It may safely be alleged, when we consider the vast dis- 
 parity of views, discrepancy of principles, and discordancy 
 of feeling, which prevailed in the convention, that its adop- 
 tion was chiefly owing to the personal influence and politi- 
 cal \veight of character which, on tlie score of wisdom, 
 purity, and patriotism, attached to the presence of Wash- 
 ington^ who, soaring above all imputation of party, or 
 undue bias, reposed on the broad doctrines of national hap- 
 piness, political liberty, and united independence. This 
 idea is fortified and confirmed by tlie strenuous opposition 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 103 
 
 made to it by those who constituted the democratic pha- 
 lanx, and who advocated the unimpaired sovereignty of the 
 States, and a constitution based on the principle of a Union 
 of hidependent Nations, in each of whom the sovereign 
 power should reside without abatement or deduction, Bj 
 these, the apprehension was cherished, that the cradle of 
 the federal constitution would prove ' the grave of repub- 
 lican liberty.' Delusion and fallacy could extend no further. 
 
 It was mainly on this ground of ' State Sovereignty,'' 
 that the constitution reported by the convention, was op- 
 posed on the part of some of the States 5 and that parties, 
 arrayed against federal power, entered warmly into the 
 discussion of its merits, in the interim between its promul- 
 gation by the convention, and its ratification by the States. 
 To elucidate its merits, and enforce and illustrate its vir- 
 tues, three of tiie most distinguished friends of Washing- 
 ton, noted for their political acumen, profound knowledge 
 of jurisprudence, power of argument, and force of style, 
 united their labours, in a series of papers, under the title of 
 the *' Federalist;" the joint production of Alexander 
 Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison; whilst, on the 
 side of State sovereignty, popular rights, and limited go- 
 vernment, were arrayed the powerful pens of the great 
 champions of democracy: each party straining every nerve 
 to prevent, or secure its ratification by the States. 
 
 Here, again, the weight and influence of Washington''s 
 character secured a result, which, without the authority of 
 his name, and the magic power of his virtues, could not 
 have been produced; for there is conclusive reason to be- 
 lieve, that had the JState Conventions been left purely to the 
 naked merits of the Constitution, the ratification* by the 
 number of States required to give it effect, could not have 
 been obtained. Even Marshall is constrained to admit, that 
 in some of the adopting States, a majority of the people 
 were in opposition to it, and were only brought to acquiesce 
 in its provisions, from a just dread of the calamitous conse- 
 quences of a dismemberment of the Union, rather than from 
 an approbation of the instrument which had been submitted 
 for their sanction; and from a deference to the character 
 of Washington, which no other man could have inspired. 
 
 The parties that divided on this momentous question, 
 never afterwards reunited. The controversy was waged 
 with warmth, and, in some cases, conducted with acrimony; 
 
104 THE LIFE OF 
 
 but where feelings were not embittered, convictions became 
 only more strengthened by opposition; and the causes of 
 difterence, residing in a radical disparity of condition and 
 fortune, or an equally insuperable inequality of views, in- 
 tellect and reason; the minority, though vanquished, still 
 remained unconvinced; and, holding v/ith all the tenacity of 
 right, to opinions which they conceived founded in justice, 
 and sanctified by liberty, they waited in patience, to fight 
 over the same battle on another field; resolved never to re- 
 linquish that sovereignity of the States, which they deemed 
 essential to freedom, but to vindicate their opinions by 
 concentrating the suffrages of the people upon those candi- 
 dates, who would favour anti-federal doctrines, and thus 
 eftectually nullify a constitution in practice, which they 
 wanted moral force to resist in theory. Thus became per- 
 petuated those embittered feuds of the two parties, denomi- 
 nated Federal and Democratic; one clinging, under the 
 guarantee of the constitution, to the supreme power of the 
 Union, and the other tenaciously contending for a relaxed 
 government and State sovereignty, by popular appeals to the 
 people, and a rally of democracy at the polls. 
 
 Although every American must always bow with reve- 
 rence before this monument of human wisdom^ and rational 
 liberty, yet, while we admire the beauty of its structure, 
 the harmony of its parts, and the grandeur of the whole 
 edifice, we may be permitted to lament, that its framers 
 should have omitted to devise so essential a part of its or- 
 ganisation, as a TRIBUNAL explicitly as well as fully author- 
 ised and empowered to decide, in the last resort, on ques- 
 tions of doubtful powers exercised by the Union and the 
 States; and without which final power in some tribunal, the 
 States and the Union have been left to be the interested 
 judges of the extent of their respective rights, powers, and 
 sovereignties. This organic defect is the more to be de- 
 plored, as no occasion happened during the administration 
 of Washington, to enable him to give the weight of his tes- 
 timony on so fundamental a question: the western insurrec- 
 tion not being an analogous case, but a mere oppugnation 
 of individuals to laws acknowledged on all hands to be con- 
 stitutionally enacted. * The great defect of the constitution 
 
 * This is adinltted by Mr. Jefferson himself! See Letter to Madi- 
 son, quoted in Life of Jefferson. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 105 
 
 being, that when a power exercised by the federal govern- 
 ment is denied to be authorised by that instrument, by a 
 sovereign State, there is no tribunal to which to appeal, to 
 settle the controversy — the functions of the Supreme Court 
 only extending to laws made in pursuance of the constitu- 
 tion; thus leaving the States to decide in Convention, 
 against laws, which may not be clearly and fully warranted 
 by the letter of the federal compact. Some consolation for 
 this omission, however, is to be found in the fact, that the 
 number of such unauthorised laws must ever be rare, whilst 
 the people remain virtuous, their rulers honest, and the 
 press free and untrammelled. 
 
 Eleven states having ratified the constitution in 1788, 
 measures were put in preparation to carry its provisions 
 into effect. North Carolina and Rhode Island dissented, 
 and New York reluctantly concurred. 
 
 It is impossible to doubt, that we are indebted to the 
 great virtues, and unequalled popularity of Washington, 
 for the formation, as well as the ratification of the federal 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Under a conviction of this fact, no sooner was the new 
 political system about to be arranged into practice, than 
 public attention became rivetted to Washington, as the 
 first President of the United States. His valour, wisdom, 
 prudence, and virtues, had achieved our independence* 
 when, without him, it must, in all probability, ha^ e failed. 
 His wisdom, perseverance, patriotism^ and influence, had 
 secured us a national constitution, wlien, without him, 
 we should have broken into fragments, and sunk into anar- 
 chy and confusion: and it was but a just and rational de- 
 duction from these premises, that he alone, so pre-eminent 
 for his virtues, and so distinguished for his triumphs, both 
 civic and military, could be placed in the chair without 
 exciting the clamour of party, or giving birth to the invidi- 
 ousness of envy; for, to no party, but to that of his country, 
 did he belong; and whatever* differences mi^ht prevail 
 among the people, or the leaders, it never impaired the un- 
 bounded confidence of the former in his patriotism, or pro- 
 voked the malice of the latter, to question his motives: and, 
 such a president was demanded as well by the friends as 
 by the opponents of the new system, that its excellences 
 might be developed with his skill and firmness, or its de- 
 fects, if any, arrested and supplied by his wisdom, mode- 
 ration, and virtue. 
 
106 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Another consideration of great and potent weight, like- 
 wise pointed to him, on this occasion, as the individual best 
 qualified to carry into practice, the untried provisions of 
 the new constitution: and this was, his intimacy with the 
 designs, intentions, and meaning of the convention that 
 formed it; and which his official situation as President of it, 
 enabled him so fully to understand, and qualified him so 
 admirably to administer, in his favourite branch oi practi- 
 cal jurisprudence. Other considerations, too, had their 
 weight, which were not easily defined, or specially referable 
 to any one peculiar trait of his gigantic character, but 
 which arose from the general grandeur of his lofty and tow- 
 ering virtues, m hich soared above all the common features 
 of human frailty; and which pointed to him, with instinc- 
 tive judgment, such as we feel towards the colossal statues 
 of the gods, as the best qualified to control the destinies of 
 mankind. Universal veneration, universal love, universal 
 confidence, the feelings, the judgment, and the wisdom of 
 men, all pointed to Washington, the untutored hero of the 
 new world, as the first who should exercise the power of 
 President of the United States, 
 
 Having avowed his determination no longer to endure the 
 cares of public life, the first effort of his friends, was to 
 wean him from his retirement, and persuade him to com- 
 vUte the splendid work which he had thus far perfected — 
 the FOUNDATION OF THE REPUBLIC ! For tliis purpose, those 
 who stood highest in his esteem, and possessed the most 
 influence over his mind, importuned him yet to sacrifice 
 for the public good, and the glory of his country. His 
 friend, Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, thus addressed him: 
 " We cannot do without you, and I, and thousands more, 
 can explain to any body but yourself, why we cannot do 
 without you." Governeur Morris wrote: "I have ever 
 thought, and have ever said, that you must be the Presi- 
 dent; no other man can fill that office. No other man can 
 draw forth the abilities of our country into the various de- 
 partments of civil life. You, alone, can awe the insolence 
 of opposing factions, and the greater insolence of assuming 
 adherents. I say nothing of foreign powers, nor of their 
 ministers; with these last you will have some plague. As 
 to your feelings on this occasion, they are, I know, both 
 deep and affecting; you embark property most precious, on 
 a most tempestuous ocean: for, as you possess the highest 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 107 
 
 reputation, so jou expose it to the perilous chance of popu- 
 lar opinion. On the other hand, you will, I firmly expect, 
 enjoy the inexhaustible felicity of contributing to the hap- 
 piness of all your countrymen. You will become the father 
 of more than three millions of children; and while your 
 bosom glows with parental tenderness, in theii-s, or at 
 least in a majority of them, you will excite the dutious 
 sentiment of filial affection. This, I repeat it, is what I 
 firmly expect; and my views are not directed by that en- 
 thusiasm which your public character has impressed on the 
 public mind. Enthusiasm is generally short-sighted, and 
 too often blind. I form my conclusions from those talents 
 and virtues which the world believes, and which your friends 
 know you possess." 
 
 Other and stronger letters from his friends in different 
 sections of the Union, pressed him to the same point; and, 
 among other reasons urged by his friend Colonel Lee, was 
 the apprehension, that the rally of the enemies of the con- 
 stitution, making in the several States, in opposition to the 
 new system, would certainly prove but too successful, 
 were any other less popular character placed in the Presi- 
 dential chair. 
 
 In his reply to the letter of Colonel Lee, General Wash- 
 ington observed, " Your observations on the solemnity of 
 the crisis, and its application to myself, bring before me 
 subjects of the most momentous and interesting nature. In 
 our endeavours to establish a new general government, the 
 contest, nationally considered, seems not to have been so 
 much for glory as existence. It was for a long time doubt- 
 ful whether we were to survive as an independent republic, 
 or decline from our federal dignity into insignificant and 
 wretched fragments of empire. The adoption of the consti- 
 tution so extensively, and with so liberal an acquiescence 
 on the part of the minorities in general, promised the for- 
 mer; but lately the circular letter of New York has mani- 
 fested, in my apprehension, an unfavourable, if not an insi- 
 dious tendency, to a contrary policy. I still hope for the 
 best; but before you mentioned it, I could not help fearing 
 it would serve as a standard to which the disaffected might 
 resort. It is now evidently the part of all honest men, 
 who are friends to the new constitution, to endeavour to 
 give it a chance to disclose its merits and defects, by carry- 
 ing it fairly into effect, in the first instance. 
 
108 
 
 THE LIFE or 
 
 .' The principal topic of your letter is, to me a point of 
 rrreat delicacy indeed, insomuch that I can scarcely without 
 fome mp'opriety, toucli upon it. In the first place, he 
 evTnt to which j4. allude, may never happen, among other 
 reasons, because, if the partiality of my fellow citizens con- 
 cave i to be a mean by whicli the sinews of the new go- 
 vernment would be strengthened, it will, of consequence, 
 be Xnoxious to those wlm are in opposition to it, many of 
 whom" unquestionably, will be placed among the electors. 
 
 "This consideratimi alone would supersede the expe- 
 diency of announcing any definitive and irrevocable reso- 
 utiom You are anmng'the small number "l /hose wh° 
 kimw my invincible attachment to domestic I'f^' Jjnd Aat 
 m V sincerest wish is to continue in the enjoyment of it solely 
 "n^til my fina hour. But the world would be neither so 
 well instructed, nor so candidly disposed, as to believe me 
 to be uninfluenced by sinister motives m case any circum- 
 stance should rende/a deviation from the line of conduct I 
 had orescribed for myself indispensable. Should the con- 
 tfn Jncy yousuggest take place, and (for argument sake 
 alone let me say) should my unfeigned reluctance to accept 
 ?le office be overcome by k deference for the reasons and 
 opinions of m^Wends, might I not, after the declarations 
 r avrmadc^and heaven" knows they were made in the 
 sincerity of m) heart,) in the judgment of the impartial 
 
 orld and of p'^steri.y^ be chargeable -* le-ty and m- 
 consistency, if not with rashness and ambition ? Nay, far- 
 ther, 'S there not even be some apparent foundation 
 for the two former charges ? ^ows jus Uce to " If -d 
 tranouiUity of conscience require that I shou d act a pait, 
 f noTabove imputation, at least capable ot vindication Nor 
 will you conceive me to be too solicitous for reputa on 
 Though I prize as I ought the good opmion of my fellow 
 ciSs, yet, if I know myself, I would not seek or retain 
 popularHy at the expense of one social dutys or moral vir- 
 fi^r While doing what my conscience informed me was 
 rWt as it respected my God, my country, and myself, I 
 could despise all the pirty clamour and unjust censure 
 which mul be expected from some whose personal enmity 
 mth be occasioned by their hostility to the goven— 
 i am conscious that I fear alone to give any '■';a »c— 
 for obloquy, and that I do not dread o ">eet «f ""^^^ 
 rited reproach. And, certain I am, whensoever I shall be 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 109 
 
 convinced the good of my countrj requires my reputation 
 to be put in riscjue, regard for my own fame will not come 
 in competition with an object of so much magnitude." 
 
 *' If 1 declined the task, it would he upon quite another 
 principle. Notwithstanding my advanced season of life, 
 my increasing fondness for agricultural amusements, and 
 my growing love of retirement, augment and confirm my 
 decided predilection for the character of a private citizen, 
 yet, it will be no one of these motives, nor the hazard to 
 which my former reputation might be exposed, or the terror 
 of encountering new fatigues and troubles, that would deter 
 me from an acceptance; but, that a belief that some other 
 person, who had less pretence, and less inclination to be 
 excused, could execute all the duties full as satisfactorily 
 as myself. To say more, would be indiscreet, as a disclo- 
 sure of a refusal beforehand, might incur the application of 
 the fiible, in which the fox is represented as undervaluing 
 the grapes he could not reach. You will perceive, my dear 
 Sir, bv what is here observed (and which you will be pleased 
 to consider in the light of a confidential communication) 
 that my inclinations will dispose and decide me to remain 
 as I am, unless a clear and insurmountable conviction 
 should be impressed on my mind, that some very disagree- 
 able consequences must, in all human probability, result 
 from the indulgence of my wishes." 
 
 His friend, Colonel Hamilton, having joined in a similar 
 solicitation, Washington responded in the same manner, 
 repeating the sentiments that he had uttered to Mr. Morris. 
 
 In answer to a letter from General Lincoln, on the same 
 subject, he thus expressed himself, in language so earnest, 
 and feeling so intense, as to leave no room for a suspicion, 
 that he sincerely desired to escape further hcmours, and 
 repose amidst the tranquil shades of his plantation. '* I 
 would willingly pass over in silence, that part of your let' 
 ter, in which you mention the persons who are candidates 
 for the two first offices in the executive, if I did not fear 
 the omission might seem to betray a want of confidence. 
 Motives of delicacy have prevented me hitherto from con- 
 versing, or writing on this subject, whenever I could avoid 
 it with decency. I may, however, with great sincerity, 
 and, I believe, without offending against modesty, or pro- 
 priety, say to yov., that I most heartily wish the choice to 
 which you allude, might not fall upon me, and that if it 
 
 K. 
 
110 THE LIFE OF 
 
 should, I must reserve to myself the right of making up my 
 final decision, at the last moment, when it can be brought 
 into one view, and when the expediency or inexpediency of 
 a refusal can be more judiciously determined than at pre- 
 sent. But, be assured, my dear Sir, if, from any induce- 
 ment, I shall be persuaded ultimately to accept, it will not 
 be (so far as I know my own heart) from any of a private 
 or personal nature. Every personal consideration conspires 
 to rivet me (if I may use the expression) to retirement. At 
 my time of life,* and under my circumstances, nothing in 
 this world can ever draw me from it, unless it be a convic- 
 tion that the partiality of my countrymen had made my ser- 
 vices absolutely necessary, joined to 3. fear that my refusal 
 might induce a belief that I preferred the conservation of 
 my own reputation and private ease to the good of my coun- 
 try. After all, if I should conceive myself in a manner 
 constrained to accept, I call heaven to witness, that this very 
 act would be the greatest sacrifice of my personal feelings 
 and wishes, that ever I have been called upon to make. It 
 would be to forego repose and domestic enjoyment for 
 trouble, perhaps for public obloquy: for, I should consider 
 myself as entering upon an unexplored field enveloped on 
 every side with clouds and darkness. 
 
 ''From this embarrassing situation, I had naturally sup- 
 posed, that my declarations at the close of the war would 
 have saved me; and, that my sincere intentions, then pub- 
 licly made known, would have effectually precluded me 
 forever afterwards, from being looked upon as a candidate 
 for any office. This hope, as a last anchor of worldl^^ hap- 
 piness in old age, I had still carefully preserved, until the 
 public papers and private letters from my correspondents 
 in almost every quarter, taught me to apprehend that I 
 might soon be obliged to answer the question, whether I 
 would go again into public life or not?" 
 
 In his answer to an epistle from Lafayette, pressing him 
 to the same point, he repeats the same sentiments, with this 
 addition: "Nothing short of a conviction of duty will in- 
 duce me again to take an active part in public affairs. And, 
 in that case, if I can form a plan for my own conduct, my 
 endeavours shall be unremittingly exerted (even at the 
 hazard of former fame or present popularity) to extricate my 
 
 * Only 57!!! 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. Ill 
 
 country from the embarrassments in which it is entangled, 
 through want of credit; and to establish a general system of 
 policy, which, if pursued, will ensure permanent felicity to 
 the commonwealth. I think I see a path, as clear and as 
 direct as a ray of light, which leads to the attainment of that 
 object. Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and 
 FRUGALITY, are necessary to make us a great and happy 
 people. Happily, the present posture of aftairs, and the 
 prevailing disposition of my countrymen, promise to co- 
 operate in establishing those four great and essential pillars 
 of public felicity. " 
 
 At length, the elections for Electors of President and 
 Vice-President, under the new constitution, took place: and 
 on the 6th of April, 1789, the votes were opened, and 
 counted in the Senate, when it appeared, that George 
 Washington was unayiimously elected President of the 
 United States by the people, and John Adams Vice-Presi- 
 dent, to serve for four years from the 4th of March, 1789. 
 
 W^hen we consider the animosity of parties, the great 
 proportion of the people who were already arrayed under 
 the banners of the anti-federalists, and the violent eftbrts 
 which were made to depress the first movement of the new 
 constitution, it will excite some surprise, that even the 
 ^reat popular weight of Washington's character, should 
 have frowned down all opposition to him; and that the 
 people of so immense and diversified a tract of country, 
 should have united without a dissenting voice among the 
 electors, in conferring upon him the supreme executive 
 power of the Union ! 
 
 As aifording some evidence of the reluctance with which 
 he consented to assume this new dignity, and as illustrative 
 of that modesty and diffidence which were natural to his 
 great mind, I shall quote an extract from one of his letters 
 to General Knox, upon the subject of his elevation to office. 
 " I feel for those members of the new Congress, who, hith- 
 erto, have given an unavailing attendance at the theatre of 
 action. For myself, the delay may be compared to a re- 
 prieve; for, in confidence, I tell you (with the world it 
 would obtain little credit) that my movements to the chair 
 of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike 
 those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution; 
 so unwilling am I in the evening of life, nearly consumed 
 in public cares^ to quit a peaceful abode for an ocean of 
 
112 THE LIFE OF 
 
 difficulties, u-ithout that competency of political akilU abili- 
 ties, and inclinations, which are necessary to manage the 
 helm. I am sensible that I am embarking the voice of the 
 people, and a good name of my own on this voyage,* but 
 what returns will be made for them. Heaven alone can fore- 
 tell. Integrity and firmness are all I can promise; these, 
 be the voyage long or sliort, shall never forsake me, although 
 I may be deserted by all men; for, of the consolations which 
 are to be derived from these, under any circumstances, the 
 world cannot deprive me." 
 
 His election was announcetl to him at Mount Vernon, on 
 the l4thof April, 1789, by Charles Thomps(m, Secretary of 
 the late Congress; and two days after, he set out to assume 
 the duties of government, accompanied by Mr. Thompson 
 and Colonel Humphreys, In his diary, he has thus de- 
 scribed his feelings upon this eventful occasion: "About 
 ten o'clock, I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, 
 and to domestic felicity, and, with a mind oppressed imth 
 Viore anxious and painful sensations than I have ivords to 
 express, set out for New York, in company with Mr. Thomp- 
 son^ and Colonel Humphreys, witli the best dispositions to 
 render service to my country, in obedience to its call, hut 
 with less hope of answering its expectations,''^ 
 
 With every disposition to appreciate the merit of the sa- 
 crifice which Washington, on this occasion, made of his 
 private ease to his public duty, I must confess that the en- 
 comiums which have been so profusely lavished upon this 
 act of his life, do not seem fully warranted by the real 
 nature of the case. Whatever may have been his motives, 
 and we acknowledge them to have been hoin lofty and pure, 
 still, as it must be considered as the crowning act of his 
 glory, which was to consummate his fame, and hand him 
 down to posterity, equal, if not superior, to Solon, Lycurgus, 
 Alfred, and Constantine, as the founder, of an empire, and 
 the father of his country, the sacrifice was not so great, on 
 a final, as an immediate view of it. A laudable and virtuous 
 ambition was to be gratified, by the greatest acquisition of 
 vast and unbounded renown. Heretofore, the fame of a 
 soldier had glittered on his brow, and wreathed his helmet 
 with imperishable laurels; but the reputation of the States- 
 Tnan had not been his; and although the labour and peril of 
 carrying out into practice the new features of an untried 
 government were great, yet the credit and glory of success. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 113 
 
 were proportionablj enhanced, and promised the greatest 
 reward, in the applause and affection of unborn millions, 
 to which human virtue ever could attain. At the same time, 
 we are bound to believe, that his reluctance to undertake 
 the arduous task was sincere^ and that his diffidence in his 
 ability to perform it, was the unaffected effusion of a modest 
 and upright heart, and a mind too great not to be humble. 
 On his way to New York, various public marks of respect 
 and affection, strewed his path with flowers, and solaced 
 him for his sacrifice of privacy to the public weal. A vo- 
 lunteer escort conducted him into Alexandria, where a pub- 
 lic dinner was prepared to greet him, and where an address, 
 replete with just encomium and sincere attachment, was 
 presented, to which he responded with his characteristic 
 modesty. At Georgetown, the same testimonial of public 
 confidence awaited himj and ?ii Philadelphia, the splendour 
 of his reception partook of the pomp of a Roman triumph^ 
 and the magnificence of a modern coronation. The city was 
 illuminated, and its streets thronged with a dense mass of 
 people, who had been attracted from all the surrounding 
 country. At Trenton, the same demonstration of a nation's 
 joy and pride, surrounded him with honours that he blushed 
 to receive, and would fain have dispensed with: but the sex 
 best beloved by man, stood in his path to do homage to the 
 patriot, strewing his way with flowers, and twining his 
 brows with laurel. On the bridge over which he passed, a 
 triumphant arch was erected, embellished with laurels, and 
 adorned with festoons of flowers, supported by thirteen 
 PILLARS, each entwined with wreaths of undying verdurej 
 while on the front of the arch was emblazoned, in golden 
 letters, this inscriptions 
 
 "the defender of the mothers 
 
 WILL BE the 
 PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS," 
 
 besides various devices and dates^ illustrative of his vir- 
 tues, or coinmemorative of his victories. Here he was met 
 by a procession of matrons, leading their daughters dressed 
 in white garments, who, as he approached, greeted him by 
 
 clmunting the following ode: 
 
 K2 
 
114 THE LIFE OF . . 
 
 1. 
 
 <' Welcome mighty Chief once more 
 Welcome to this grateful shore; 
 Now no mercenary foe 
 Aims again the fatal blow, 
 Aims at thee, the fatal blow. 
 
 2. 
 Virgins fair, and matrons grave, 
 Those thy conquering arms did save. 
 Build for thee triumphal bowers; 
 Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers, 
 Sti'ew your Hero's way with flowers." 
 
 When he arrived at Brunswick, he was joined by the 
 Governor of New York, who escorted him to Elizabethtown 
 Point. On the road, he was met bj the committee of Con- 
 gress, who conducted him, with great military pomp, to the 
 Point, where he embarked for New York, in a beautiful 
 barge of thirteen oars, manned by thirteen branch pilots. 
 
 In his private journal, Washington thus describes his 
 reception, and the sensations it inspired: "The display of 
 boats which attended and joined on this occasion, some with 
 vocal and others with instrumental music on board, the 
 decorations of the ships, the roar of cannon, and the loud 
 acclamations of the people, which rent the sky as I passed 
 along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations a« pain- 
 ful (contemplating tlie reverse of this scene, which may be 
 the case, after all my labours to do good,) as they were 
 pleasing. " 
 
 Having been landed at Murray's wharf, on the 23d of 
 April, he proceeded to the apartments that had been pro- 
 vided for him, where his reception by foreign ministers, 
 public bodies, and political characters, exceeded in splen- 
 dour the pomp of courts, and eclipsed in sincerity the pro- 
 fessions of sycophants. At night, the city was brilliantly 
 illuminated. 
 
 All this display of attachment, blended with adulation, 
 did not, however, aftect with arrogance the well-poised 
 mind of Washington, who beheld in the public enthusiasm 
 only a fresh stimulus to serve his country, and who heard 
 in the music of flattery, no sound but that which inflamed 
 him with the ambition of true glory. 
 
 The eulogy bestowed on him by Mr. Adams, on the day 
 that he took liis seat in the Senate, as Vice President of the 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 115 
 
 United States, is too happily conceived, eloquently ex- 
 pressed, and justly merited, not to be quoted in this place. 
 
 Mr. Adams said, '^ It is with satisfaction that I congra- 
 tulate the people of America on the formation of a national 
 constitution, and the fair prospect of a consistent adminis- 
 tration of a government of laws; on the acquisition of a 
 House of Representatives, chosen by themselves; of a Se- 
 nate thus composed by their own State Legislatures; and on 
 the prospect of an Executive authority, in the hands of one, 
 whose portrait I shall not presume to draw. Were I blessed 
 with powers to do justice to his character, it would be im- 
 possible to increase the confidence or affection of his coun- 
 try, or make the smallest addition to his glory. This can 
 only be effected by a discharge of the present exalted trust 
 on the same principles, with the same abilities and virtues, 
 which have uniformly appeared in all his former conduct, 
 public or private. May I, nevertheless, be indulged to in- 
 quire, if we look over the catalogue of the first magistrates 
 of nations, whether they have been denominated Presidents 
 or Consuls, Kings or Princes,, where shall we find one, 
 whose commanding talents and virtues, whose overruling 
 good fortune, have so completely united all hearts and 
 voices in his favour.? — who enjoyed the esteem and admira- 
 tion of foreign nations, and fellow-citizens, with equal 
 unanimity .? qualities so uncommon, are no common bless- 
 ings to the country that possesses them. By these great 
 qualities, and their benign effects, has Providence marked 
 out the head of this nation, with a hand so distinctly visible, 
 as to have been seen by all men, and mistaken by none." 
 
 As the^rs^ President of the United States, whose actions 
 and policy, measures and deportment, were to become as 
 precedents to all future generations, the conduct of Wash- 
 ington, in the most minute and trifling particular, became a 
 subject of special interest, as well as curious observation, 
 and much importance. Among his domestic regulations, was 
 that which prescribed the forms of intercourse between the 
 President and the people, in the institution of Levees, and 
 ieyee days, appropriated for receiving visits of friendsliip, 
 curiosity, or courtesy. A letter from one of his friends, 
 stating the public clamour which this imitation of the cus- 
 toms of Kings had given rise to, received from \Vashino-ton 
 the following explanatory reply: *' While the eyes of Ame- 
 rica, perhaps of the world, are turned to this government. 
 
116 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and many are watching the movements of all those who are 
 concerned in its administration, I should like to be in- 
 formed, through so good a medium, of the public opinion of 
 both men and measures, and of none more than myself; not 
 so much of what may be thought commendable parts, if any, 
 of my conduct, as of those which are conceived to be of a 
 different complexion. The man who means to commit no 
 wrong, will never be guilty of enormities, consequently can 
 never be unwilling to learn what are ascribed to him as 
 foibles. If they are really such, the knowledge of them in 
 a w^ell disposed mind, will go half way towards a reform. 
 If they are not errors, he can explain, and justify the mo- 
 tives of his actions." 
 
 " At a distance from the theatre of action, truth is not 
 always related without embellishment, and sometimes is 
 entirely perverted, from a misconception of the causes which 
 produced the effects that are the subjects of censure." 
 
 "This leads me to think that a system which I found it 
 indispensably necessary to adopt upon my first coming to 
 this city, might have undergone severe strictures, and have 
 had motives very foreign from those that governed me, 
 assigned as causes thereof. I mean, first, returning no 
 visits: second, appointing certain days to receive them ge- 
 nerally (not to the exclusion however of visits on any other 
 days under particular circumstances); and third, at first 
 entertaining no company, and afterwards (until I was unable 
 to entertain any at all) confining it to official characters. A 
 few days evinced the necessity of the two first in so clear 
 a point of view, that had I not adopted it, I should have 
 been unable to have attended to any sort of business, unless 
 I had applied the hours allotted to rest and refreshment to 
 this purpose; for, by the time I had done breakfast, and 
 thence until dinner, and afterwards until bed-time, I could 
 not get relieved from the ceremony of one visit before I had 
 to attend to another. In a word, I had no leisure to read, 
 or to answer the despatches that were pouring in upon me 
 from all quarters." 
 
 ''Before the custom was established, which now accom- 
 modates foreign characters, strangers, and others, who, from 
 motives of curiosity, respect to the chief magistrate, or any 
 other cause, are induced to call upon me, 1 was unable to 
 attend to any business whatsoever; for gentlemen, con- 
 sultino; their own convenience rather than mine, were call- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOX. IIT 
 
 iiig from the time I rose from breakfast, often before, until 
 I sat down to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neglect my 
 public duties, reduced me to the choice of one of these alter- 
 natives — either to refuse them altogether^ or to appropriate 
 a time for the reception of them. The first would, I well 
 knew, be disgusting to manjj the latter, I expected, would 
 undergo animadversion from those who would find fault 
 with or without cause. To please every body was impos- 
 sible. I therefore adopted that line of conduct which com- 
 bined public advantage with private convenience, and 
 which, in my judgment, was unexceptionable in itself." 
 
 *' These visits are optional. They are made without 
 invitation. Between the hours of tliree and four, every 
 Tuesday, I am prepared to receive them. Gentlemen, 
 often in great numbers, come and go, chut with each other, 
 and act as they please; a porter shows tliem into the 
 room, and they retire from it when they choose, and with- 
 out ceremony; at their first entrance, they s>^aluteme, and I 
 them; and as many as I can talk to, I do. Wliat pomp there 
 is in all this, I am unable to discover. Perhaps it consists 
 in not sitting. To this, two reasons are opposed; first, it is 
 unusual; secondly, (which is a more substantial one) because 
 I have no room large enough to contain a third of the chairs 
 which would be sufficient to admit it. If it is supposed that 
 ostentation, or the fashions of courts, (which, by the bye, I 
 believe originate oftener in convenience, not to say neces- 
 sity, than is generally imagined) gave rise to this custom, I 
 will boldly affirm, that 7W supposition was ever more erro- 
 neous; for, were I to indulge my inclinations, every mo- 
 ment that I could withdraw from the fatigues of my station, 
 should be spent in retirement. That they are not, proceeds 
 from the sense I entertain of the propriety of giving to every 
 one free access, as consists with tliat respect which is due 
 to the chair of government; and that respect, I conceive, is 
 neither to be acquired, or preserved, but by maintaining a 
 just medium between much state and too great familiarity." 
 
 " Similar to the above, but of a more familiar and sociable 
 kind, are the visits every Friday afternoon, to Mrs. Wash- 
 ington, where I always am. These public meetings, and a 
 dinner once a week, to as many as my table will hold, with 
 the references to and from the difterent departments of 
 State, and other communications with all parts of the 
 Union, is as much, if not more, than I am able to undergo; 
 
118 THE LIFE OF 
 
 for I have already had within a year, two severe attacks; 
 the last worse than the first — a third, it is more than pro- 
 bable, will put me to sleep with mj fathers. " 
 
 I have thus given, in the words of Washington himself, 
 his reasons for instituting those ceremonies and forms, 
 which gave such deep oft'ence to the republicans of the day; 
 which reasons certainly appear conclusive, as far as he was 
 concerned; but another question remains, v/hether, in the 
 hands of a chief less virtuous^ and more ambitious, they 
 might not be made the gradual instruments of a change of 
 government to monarchy? He seems to have overlooked 
 the fact, that he was establishing precedents for poste- 
 rity, and not regulating forms for his own convenience: so, 
 that the error in his reasoning, arose from his virtue; his 
 modesty and diffidence not permitting him to give sufficient 
 importance to his own doings, which, as the first President 
 of the Republic, were to become, in after times, the Tnoral 
 laivs of an empire boundless in extent, and stupendous in 
 power. Let it not be said, that too much importance has 
 been attached to this matter. Manners and ceremonies are 
 intimately connected with, and materially influence the 
 principles of liberty, and the rights of the citizen; and it is 
 ever a salutary symptom, to see the people jealous of the 
 deportment of their governors, though, as in the case of 
 Washington, their governors may be totally innocent of 
 any design on their liberties, by the introduction of forms 
 obnoxious to their pride, and sense of equality. 
 
 Washington was inaugurated on the 30th of April, 1789, 
 when he addressed both houses of Congress, in a speech, 
 which, for sound views, orthodox principles, pious sentiments, 
 and comprehensive plans, will ever remain an admired mo- 
 nument. It was not, however, so pleasing to see the two 
 houses imitate the adulation of the British Parliament, by 
 voting an address, which was the mere echo of the speech: 
 that the praises they contained were fidly merited, is no 
 apology for a custom, which had its European origin in 
 sycophancy, and became perpetuated by corruption. 
 
 Plans for the organization of the new government were 
 now to be devised by the Congress; and protracted debates 
 ensued between the two parties that respectively inclined 
 towards a strong, and a relaxed government — a limited 
 exercise, or a plenary endowment of power. I shall notice, 
 in this place, only those two great points, which seemed 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 119 
 
 most to affect the President, and to divide the two con- 
 tending parties. — First, the title of the president; and 
 second, his power of removal from office, without 
 
 THE CONCURRENCE OF THE SENATE. 
 
 After much debate, the following report was entered on 
 the journals of the Senate, on the 14th of May, 1789. 
 
 " The committee appointed on the 9th inst. to determine 
 under what title it will be proper for the Senate to address 
 the President of the United States of America, reported, 
 that in the opinion of the committee, it will be proper thus 
 to address the President: " His Highness the President of 
 the United States af Jlmerica^ and Protector of their 
 Liberties." 
 
 From this stigma on the republican character of the coun- 
 try, we were rescued by the virtue and patriotism of the 
 House of Bepresentatives, who, having successfully resisted 
 the monarchical designs of the senate, compelled that 
 aristocratic body to postpone tlie above report, and agree to 
 the following resolution, which will forever remain a monu- 
 ment of the danger to be apprehended to the liberties of the 
 country, from this aristocratic body: — 
 
 '' From a decent respect for the opinion and practice of 
 
 civilised nations, whether under monarchical or republican 
 
 forms of government, whose custom is to annex titles of 
 
 respectability to the o^ce of their chief magistrate, and that 
 
 on intercourse with foreign nations, a due"^ respect for the 
 
 majesty of the people of the United States, mav not be 
 
 hazarded by an appearance of singularity, the Senate have 
 
 been induced to be of opinion, that it would be proper to 
 
 ^mi^x Q. respectable title to the office of President of the 
 
 , United States, But the Senate, desirous of preservino- har- 
 
 j mony with the House of Representatives, where the practice 
 
 I lately observed, in presenting an address to the President, 
 
 j was without the addition of titles, think it proper, for the 
 
 j present to act in conformity icith thepractice of that house.'' 
 
 \ In this attempt to introduce titles, no imputation of any 
 
 ; agency on the part of ^^'ashington, was ever surmised; and 
 
 I it probably had its origin exclusively in the ambition of the 
 
 Vice-President, Mr. Adams, who, "^at a future period, by 
 
 [ heaping monstrous abuses on the federal system, caused by 
 
 his lust of power, so total a prostration 'of the enero-etic 
 
 ; policy of his great predecessor. ^ 
 
 A question was now discussed by Congress of a nature 
 
120 THE LIFE OF 
 
 equally important, whether the President possessed the 
 power of removal from office ivithout the consent and con- 
 currence of the Senate. On the bill ' to establish an execu- 
 tive department, to be denominated the Departinent of Fo- 
 reign Affairs, in the committee of the whole House, Mr. 
 White moved to strike out the clause which declared the 
 Secretary to be removable by the President, on the ground 
 that the power of removal was necessarily incident to that 
 of appointment; and, as the vSenate possessed a conjoint 
 power of making appointments, that body must, in like 
 manner, share in the power of removal. 
 
 In the course of debate, the following arguments were 
 used : — " If the constitution gave the power to the Presi- 
 dent, a repetition of the grant in an act of Congress was 
 nugatory — if the constitution did not give it, the attempt to 
 enforce it by law was improper — if it belonged conjointly 
 to the President and Senate, the House of Representatives 
 should not attempt to abridge the constitutional preroga- 
 tive of the other branch of the Legislature. However this 
 might be, they were clearly of opinion that it was not placed 
 in the President alone. In the power over all the Executive 
 officers^ which the bill proposed to confer upon the Presi- 
 dent, the most alarming dangers to liberty were perceived. 
 It was in the nature of Monarchical Prerogative, and 
 woidd convert them into the mere tools and creatures of his 
 ivill. Ji dependence so servile on one individual, ivould deter 
 men of high and honourable minds fronn engaging in the 
 public service^ and if, contrary to expectation, such men 
 should be brought into office, they would be reduced to the 
 necessity of sacrificing every principle of independence to the 
 tvill of the chief ■magistrate, or of exposing themselves to the 
 disgrace of being removed from office^ and that, too, at a time 
 ivhen it might be no longer in their poiver to engage in other 
 pursuits,''^ 
 
 " Gentlemen, it was to be feared, were toomucii dazzled 
 with the splendour of the virtues which adorned the actual 
 President, to be able to look into futurity. But the fra- 
 mers of the constitution had not confined their views to the 
 person who would most probably fill tlie first presidential 
 chair. The House of Representatives ought to follow their 
 example, and to contemplate this power in the hands of an 
 ambitious max, who might apply it to dangerous purposes 
 — who might, from caprice, remove the most ivorthy m,en 
 from office.'''' 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 121 
 
 By the friends of the President, it was contended, that 
 t\\ej30wer of removal was purely executive, and was con- 
 ferred by the constitution: at so early a period of its history, 
 did it come into dispute what powers that instrument did 
 actually confer upon the several branches of government by 
 the parties to the compact. 
 
 But, it was agreed, '' if it was a case on which the con- 
 stitution was silent, the clearest principles of political ex- 
 pediency required that neither branch of the Legislature 
 should participate in it.^' 
 
 •^^ The danger that a President could ever be found, who 
 would remove good 7nen from office, was treated as imagi- 
 nary. It was not by the splendour attached to the charac- 
 ter of the present chief magistrate alone, that this opinion 
 was to be defended. It was founded on the structure of the 
 office. The man in ivhose favour a majority of the people 
 of this continent would unite, had probability at least, in 
 favour of his principles; in addition to which, the public 
 odium that would inevitably attach to such conduct, would 
 be an effectual security against it." 
 
 The amendment of Mr. White, denying the power of 
 REMOVAL, was negatived by a vote of thirty-four to twenty; 
 but, subsequently, the Legislative grant of the power was 
 withdrawn, and the bill was passed implyi?ig the constitu- 
 tional right of removal, by the antecedent vote against the 
 amendment, which went to deny the power. So that, even 
 now, this question, of the constitutional power of removal, 
 remains unsettled, excepting the sanction which this vote 
 may be supposed to give. 
 
 Mr. Madison's twelve amendments to the constitution, 
 were now passed by two -thirds of Congress, and ratified by 
 two-thirds of the States; which, if they did not remove, at 
 least mollified the opposition of the ayiti-federalists. 
 
 Congress having passed laws for the organisation of all the 
 departments, Washington proceeded to select officers qua- 
 lified by their talents, and recommended by their patriotism, 
 to discharge these important trusts. 
 
 At head of the Department of State, he appointed Tho- 
 mas Jefferson, for whom he entertained the most exalted 
 opinion as a patriot of sound principles; as a statesman of 
 the most extensive attainments in the science of politics; 
 and as a scholar of the most profound and elegant acquire- 
 ments. Mr. JelFerson was then at his residence in Virgi- 
 
122 THE LIFE OF 
 
 nia, having returned home for a short time, by permission, 
 from the court of Versailles, wJiere he had succeeded Dr. 
 Franklin, as ambassador. Mr. Jefferson gave a preference 
 to his foreign appointment; but in deference to the wishes 
 of Washing-ton, he accepted the Department of State. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton was appointed to the head of the 
 Treasury; a man, whose genius was only equalled by his 
 learning, and his learning equalled by his courage, firmness,, 
 and love of liberty. 
 
 General Knox was retained as Secretary of War. 
 
 Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, was chosen Jittorney 
 General. 
 
 In the Judiciary branch of government, talents and in- 
 tegrity not inferior were selected. John Jay was appointed 
 Chief Justice; and John Rutledge, James Wilson, 
 William Gushing, Robert Harrison and John Blair, 
 were appointed Associate Justices. All these selections 
 were considered as judicious and popular; made on the 
 broad grounds of national good, and with a single eye to the 
 invigoration and success of the new Constitution, which, of 
 course, necessarily led to the choice of a majority of pro- 
 minent and decided federalists. 
 
 Congress having adjourned on the 29th of September, the 
 President determined to improve the recess by a journey to 
 Massachusetts, and personally inquire into the causes of 
 the recent insurrection, as well as to soothe and conciliate 
 by his presence, the discontented portion of that population. 
 His reception did not fall short, but far exceeded all ex- 
 pectation. The people greeted him with an enthusiastic 
 welcome; and all the parade of public institutions, and mi- 
 litary bodies, gave eclat to the splendour of his welcome; 
 while the addresses presented to him, breathed devotion to 
 the country, attachment to the constitution, and affection 
 for his person. 
 
 In November 1789, North Carolina adopted the Consti- 
 tution, and entered into the Union. 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1790, he again met Congress, and 
 in person delivered his speech, from which I cannot omit to 
 extract the following beautiful passage, evincive of so 
 much wisdom, patriotism, and love of liberty. After invit- 
 ing their attention to various important improvements, he 
 added, " Nor am I less persuaded, that you will agree with 
 me in opinion, that there is nothing which can better deserve 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 123 
 
 jour patronage than the promotion of science and literature. 
 Knowledge is in every country, the surest basis of public 
 happiness: in one, in which the measures of government 
 receive their impression so immediately from the sense of 
 the community as in ours, it is proportionably essential. To 
 the security of a free constitution it contributes in various 
 ways, by convincing those who are entrusted with the public 
 administration, that every valuable end of government is 
 best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people; 
 and by teaching the people themselves to know and to value 
 their own rights; to discern and to provide against invasions 
 of them; to distinguish hetiveen oppression and the necessary 
 exercise of lawful authority; between burdens proceeding 
 from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting 
 from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the 
 spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the 
 first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy but temperate 
 yigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect 
 to the laws." 
 
 This session of Congress was remarkable for the funding 
 of the public debt, which received the countenance and ap- 
 probation of Washington, but in reality only benefitted a 
 few speculators, and left the poor soldier as wretched and 
 destitute as ever. Marshall thus describes the effects of this 
 funding system. " The public paper suddenly rose, and 
 was for a short time, above par. The immense wealth 
 WHICH INDIVIDUALS acquirccl by this unexpected apprecia- 
 tion, could not be viewed with indif!erence. By those who 
 participated in its advantages, the author of a system to 
 which they were so greatly indebted, was regarded with an 
 enthusiasm of attachment, to which scarcely any limits 
 could be assignecL To many others, this adventitious col- 
 lection of wealth in particular hands was a subject rather of 
 chagrin than of pleasure; and the reputation which the suc- 
 cess of his plans gave to the Secretary of the Treasury, was 
 not contemplated with unconcern. As if the debt had been 
 created by the existing government, not by a war which gave 
 liberty and independence to the United States, its being 
 funded was ascribed by many, not to a sense of justice, and 
 to a liberal and enlightened policy, but to the desire of be^ 
 stoiving on the government an artificial strength by the 
 creation of a MONIED INTEREST, ichich would be 
 subservient to its will, " 
 
124 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Having been attacked this year by a dangerous malady, 
 from which he suffered severely, and recovered with diffi- 
 culty, he employed the period of his convalescence in making 
 a visit to Rhode Island, which State was not yet compre- 
 hended in the Union; but where he was received with an 
 enthusiasm of attachment not inferior to that displayed in 
 other parts of the Union. After his return from Rhode 
 Island, he paid a visit to his favorite Mount Vernon, whose 
 rural shades and tranquil beauty, still had charms for his 
 heart, superior to those anxious joys which are to be found 
 amidst the pomp of power, the glitter of glory, or the mag- 
 nificence of state. From this recreation, however, he was 
 soon summoned, by the meeting of Congress, in its third 
 session, to repair to Philadelphia, where, in future, that 
 body was to meet. 
 
 The speech of the President was consistent with his for- 
 mer views, and settled policy, and breathed the purest in- 
 tentions of a devoted patriot, which extorted the unanimous 
 applause of an enlightened Congress. 
 
 The projects of the Secretary of the Treasury, however, 
 excited a different feeling, and startled the friends of State 
 Rights and limited government into decided opposition. 
 His proposition to tax domestic distilled spirits, w^as warmly 
 resisted, and engendered able and protracted debates. Com- 
 menting on this subject, Marshall remarks, in the true spirit 
 of the party, of which he was a distinguished leader: ** All 
 that powerful party in the United States, which attached 
 itself to the local, rather than to the general government, 
 would inevitably contemplate any system of internal reve- 
 nue with jealous disapprobation. To them, imposts collected 
 by Congress, on any domestic manufacture, wore the sem- 
 blance of ^foreign jjoiver intruding itself into their particu- 
 lar concerns, and excited serious apprehensions for State 
 importance, and for liberty. ^^ Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
 Virginia, and North Carolina, protested against it in strong 
 and energetic terms. 
 
 Another and still more important project of the same offi- 
 cer, excited even more discussion, while it awakened warmer 
 feelings, and led to more metaphysical reasoning: I allude 
 to the scheme of a National Bank, which was now formally 
 submitted by him in a special report, equally distinguished 
 for plausible argument and luminous views, but deficient in 
 that stability of logical foundation, without which the vigour 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON^. 125 
 
 orf ratiocination assumes the glitter of refined sophistry. 
 But the basis oi utility was universally admitted to be un- 
 questionable; and when a positive benefit, combined with 
 prospective speculation, is adduced in support of a doubtful 
 power, the constitution can have but a poor chance of main- 
 taining its integrity against the combined eftbrts of genius, 
 metaphysics, money, utility and power. What is useful^ 
 we all desire to be legal 5 and what is profitable, we natu- 
 rally infer, can never become pernicious. But a Constitu- 
 tion, whose powers lie concealed beneath an impervious 
 mass of construction, deduction, inference, and metaphy- 
 sical subtlety, would be better adapted to a college of Ger- 
 man professors, or a monastery of monks, than for the go- 
 Ternment of a people, all of whom are equally free, and all 
 ©f whom are equally entitled to participate in its adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 The debate on this question, again arrayed parties in 
 fierce opposition, and even divided the cabinet to a degree 
 that menaced its total rupture. Wasliington took the opi- 
 nion of his constitutional advisers on this important ques- 
 tion. Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Randolph were of opinion 
 that Congress, by the passage of the bill, had obviously 
 transcended the powers vested in them by the constitution. 
 On the other hand. General Hamilton maintained it to be 
 purely constitutional. The President required from each 
 their arguments in writing, which, being submitted, his 
 habitual propensity to add vigour to the Union, inclined him 
 to the conviction, that the Bank was fully authorised by the 
 constitution, and he accordingly gave the sanction of his 
 signature to the act of incorporation. It cannot be doubted, 
 however, that his mind had been long predetermined in 
 favour of the measure; and that, however he might hold his 
 judgment open to a conviction of its illegality, should it be 
 made so to appear to him; yet, that his wishes and aftections 
 towards it, as a favourite feature of his federal policy, had 
 closed those avenues to conviction, which can only bias the 
 understandino; when the feelino;s are neutral, and the de- 
 sires uninfluenced towards a particular conclusion. 
 
 The controversy on /"cf/era/ Politer and State Rights^ was 
 now started afresh on the Bank Question; and federalism, 
 and anti-federalism, were rung through all their changes by 
 enthusiastic champions: the sovereignty of the states 
 being supposed by the latter to constitute the palladium o.f 
 L 2 
 
126 THE LIFE OF 
 
 liberty; and the supremacy and power of the Union being 
 deemed essential by the latter, to the preservation of law, 
 order, justice, property, subordination and peace. 
 
 Tlie scheme of the National Bank, was hailed with raj>- 
 ture by those who had become suddenly enriched by the 
 Funding of the Public Debt; and in proportion as it 
 strengthened the monied interest^ did it provoke the hosti- 
 lity and censure of the middling and poorer classes, in 
 whom are always to be found the sincere advocates of the 
 true principles of liberty. 
 
 From this moment of the incorporation of the Bank of the 
 United States, parties assumed their /lerfect forins of organ- 
 isation and principles, as they minister to the general com- 
 fort of mankind. 
 
 From this period, too, we may date an irreconcilable 
 rupture between Mr. Jefferson and General Hamilton: the 
 former the opponent, and the latter the advocate of the 
 banking and funding system. 
 
 Washington now made an excursion into the Southern 
 States, subsequently to the dissolution of the first Congress, 
 on the 3d of March, 1791; where his reception, by 7nen of 
 all parties, attested to the fact, that he united all hearts; 
 and that, however the measures or the constitution of go- 
 vernment might be censured and disapproved, none would 
 refuse to pour the grateful homage of free hearts, into the 
 bosom of their veteran chief. 
 
 The second Congress assembled in Piiiladelphia, on the 
 24th of October, 1791. The apporliomnent bill now proved 
 another cause of excitement, and divided parties by abroad 
 line of separation. In this debate, Mr. Giles, who was in 
 favour of a full representation of the people, used these ar- 
 guments; that the corruption of the British Parliament was 
 not owing to their numbers, but other causes, and " among 
 these ivere the frequent mortgages of the funds, and the 
 immeiise appropriations at the disposal of the executive.'^'' 
 "An inequality of circumstances," he continued, "pro- 
 duces revolutions in governments, from democracy to aris- 
 tocracy and monarchy. Great wealth produces a desire of 
 distinctions, rank and titles. The revolutions of property 
 in this country have created a prodigious inequality of cir- 
 cumstances. Government has contributed to this inequa- 
 lity. The Bank of the United States is a most import- 
 'ant machine in promoting the objects of this uoniiLu in- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOJJ. 127 
 
 TEREST, This Bank will be the most powerful en- 
 gine TO corrupt THIS HOUSE. Soiiie of the members are 
 directors of this institution^ and it will only be by increas- 
 ing the representation that an adequate barrier can be op- 
 posed to this monied interest. The strong executive of this 
 government, ought to be balanced by a full representation 
 in this house." 
 
 The defeat of General St. Clair, who had been despatched 
 against the hostile Miami Indians, now flung a momentary 
 gloom over the administration of Washington,- and Congress 
 proceeded to augment the army to 5,000 men; after which, 
 on the 8th May, 1792, that body adjourned to the first 
 Monday in November. 
 
 Every day now added virulence and asperity to the op- 
 position of parties; and, as new measures developed more 
 fully the discrepancy of their principles, so did they aug- 
 ment the inveteracy of their mutual dislike; and while we 
 confess the truth, we may also deplore the fact, that the 
 force of interest, rather than the love of truth, or the prac- 
 tice of virtue, engendered their animosity, and eventually 
 exasperated difference of opinion, to an implacable hostility 
 of feeling and passion. 
 
 The complaints of the opposition, however, were not 
 destitute of substantial principles and established facts to 
 sustain them. The creation of the national debt, bv the 
 FUNDING of the depreciated public responsibilities, had en- 
 gendered, it was alleged, a necessity for taxation on the 
 people, when there existed no necessity for funding, in order 
 to make the rich more affluent, and the poor more needy: 
 besides being the assumption of a debt which properly be- 
 longed to the individual States. Funding naturally led to 
 EXCISE, andbegot a series of oppressive taxes, which excited 
 public clamour, and might produce a civil war; besides, that 
 such taxes were jxcrtial in their operation, and must be un- 
 productive, unless extorted by arbitrary means, and wrung 
 •from the hand of labour at the point of the sword. In fine, 
 the ground of opposition covered the best principles of hu- 
 manity, benevolence, peace and industry, against abstract 
 equity, rigid justice, and the inflexible severity of efficient 
 power, ready to punish with death, for the inability to com- 
 ply with exorbitant taxation. 
 
 Other grounds of opposition v/ere also broken, but were 
 less tenable and more resolvable into the sjnrit of party, 
 
128 THE LIFE OF 
 
 than based on the solid principles of liberty, or the incon- 
 testable dictates of reason. A qualified exception, however, 
 must be mad« to this remark, in the case of the Bank of 
 THE United States, which, in order to escape any impu- 
 tation of prejudice, I shall cite in the words of Judge Mar- 
 shall himself, as I have previously done, on several occa- 
 sions from the same motive. 
 
 The opposition contended, with what justice the reader 
 must decide — that, '^ The bcmishment of coin would be 
 completed by ten millions of paper money in the form of 
 Bank Bills, which were then issuing into circulation. Nor 
 would this be the only mischief resulting from the institu- 
 tion of the bank. The ten, or twelve per cent, annual pro- 
 Jit paid to the lenders of this paper medium, would be taken 
 out of the pockets of the people, who ivould have Imd, ivith- 
 out interest, the coin it was banishing. That all the capi- 
 tal employed in paper circulation is barren and useless, 
 producing like that on a gaming table^ no accession to 
 itself, and is withdrawn from commerce and agriculture, 
 where it would have produced addition to the common 
 mass. The wealtli, therefore, heaped upon individuals by 
 the funding and banking systems, would be productive of 
 general poverty and distress. That, in addition to the en- 
 couragement these measures gave to vice and idleness, they 
 had furnished effectual means of corrupting such a portion 
 of the Legislature as turned the balance betiveen the honest 
 voters^ This corrujjt squadron, deciding the voice of the 
 Legislature, had manifested their dispositions to get rid 
 
 OF THE limitations IMPOSED BY THE CONSTITUTIONJ lim,i- 
 tatlOnS ON THE FAITH OF WHICH thc StATES ACCEDED TO 
 
 THAT INSTRUMENT. Tficy Were proceeding rapidly in their 
 plan of absorbing all power, invading the rights of the 
 States, and converting the federal into a consolidated 
 government." 
 
 " That the ultimate object of all this was to prepare the 
 way for a change from the present republican form of govern- 
 ment to tliat of a monarchy, of which the English consti- 
 tution was to be the model. So many of the friends of 
 monarchy were in the Legislature, that, aided by the corrupt 
 squad oi paper dealers who were at their devotion, they had 
 a majority in both houses. The republican party, even 
 when united with the anti-federalists, continued a minori- 
 ty." These arguments were ably replied to on the oppo- 
 site side. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 129 
 
 These arguments and imputations, however, were not so 
 mucli intended to apply to Washington and his measures^ 
 as to Colonel Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, and 
 ostensible head of the consolidated federal party. 
 
 In respect to General Washington, the purity of his 
 heart and character, repelled the approximation of all the 
 elements of party. His views were national; every pul- 
 sation of his heart was for his country; and being exalted 
 above the influence of interest^ by every consideration of 
 character and popularity with the whole people, it was 
 utterly impossible, that any party could claim him as its 
 leader, or that any of his measures or views could be re- 
 ferred or traced to party motives. If he did entertain one 
 of sentiment, it was an honest one, and that error was per- 
 haps a preference of a government of law and force, to a 
 government of opinion — an error which may be traced to 
 the fact, that he acquired his education under the strict 
 notions of the monarchy, and contracted his habits in the 
 employment of the royal government, as a military man:— 
 being still, not less a republican in principle — -not less an 
 Atnerican in practice. 
 
 These conflicts of party opinions, would have passed by 
 Washington wholly disregarded, had they not invaded the 
 tranquillity of his cabinet; and arrayed in dire hostility the 
 Secretary of State {Jefferson!) and the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, [Hamilton!] These officers, from the first mo- 
 ment of their entrance into the cabinet, had disagreed upon 
 principles of essential importance to the harmony of the 
 administration. This radical contrariety in their charac- 
 ters and views, naturally became augmented with the lapse 
 of time; — and every measure of government conduced 
 more or less to widen the breach, as they more clearly de- 
 monstrated the irreconcilable hostility of their doctrines, 
 views and opinions: Mr. Jefterson, having been from the 
 first a warm champion of liberty, and opposed tothe/ef/er«/ 
 constitution, as implying a power of supremacy oyer the 
 sovereignty of the States; and General Hamilton being the 
 most prominent of those who favoured a federal govern- 
 ment, whose power should supersede opinion, and extin- 
 guish the rights of the States. On the same principle, Mr. 
 JeiFerson was partial to France, and Mr. Hamilton partial 
 to England, and as inimical to France, as Mr. Jefferson 
 was inimical to England! 
 
130 - THE LIFE OF 
 
 To trace all the forms of this hostility is not consistent 
 with the main object of this biography. As it aftected 
 Washington, it caused him the deepest mortification and 
 chagrin; so much so as to draw from him the following let- 
 ters to the Secretary of State, and Secretary of the Treasury, 
 conceived in the purest spirit of patriotism, and breathing 
 tJie fond affection of a father towards his children. The 
 first letter bears the date of August 23, 1792. Having en- 
 tered into a review of the delicate external relations of the 
 United States, he thus digressed to the main topic of his 
 epistle: — " How unfortunate, and how much is it to be 
 regretted, then, that while we are encompassed on all sides 
 with avowed enemies, and insidious friends, internal dis- 
 sentions should be harrowing and tearing our vitals. The 
 last, to me, is the most serious, the most alarming, and the 
 most afflicting of the two; and without more charity for the 
 opinions of one another in governmental matters, or some 
 more infallible criterion by which the truth of speculative 
 opinions, before they have undergone the test of experience, 
 are to be forejudged, than has yet fallen to the lot of falli- 
 bility, I believe it will be diflicult, if not impracticable, to 
 manage the reins of government, or to keep the parts of it 
 together; for if, instead of laying our shoulders to the ma- 
 chine, after measures are decided on, one pulls this w^ay, 
 and another that, before the utility of the thing is fairly 
 tried, it must inevitably be torn asunder; and, in my opinion, 
 the fairest prospect of happiness and prosperity that ever 
 was presented to man, will be lost, perhaps, forever." 
 
 "My earnest wish, and my fondest hope, therefore, is, 
 that, instead of wounding suspicions, and irritating charges, 
 there may be liberal allowances, mutual forbearances, and 
 temporising yielding on all sides. Under the exercise of 
 these, matters will go on smoothly, and, if possible, more 
 prosperously. Without them, every thing must rub, the 
 wheels of government will clog, our enemies will triumph, 
 and, by throwing their weight into the disaffected scale, 
 may accomplisli the ruin of the goodly fabric we have been 
 erecting."" 
 
 *■* I do not mean to apply this advice, oi' these observa- 
 tions, to any particular person or character. I have given 
 them in the same general terms to other officers of the go- 
 vernment, because the disagreements which have arisen 
 from difference of opinions, and the attacks which have been 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 131 
 
 made upon almost all the measures of government, and 
 most of its executive officers, have for a long time past filled 
 me with painful sensations, and cannot fail, I think, of pro- 
 ducing unhappy consequences, at home and abroad. " The 
 letter to General Hamilton was almost a literal copy of this 
 to Mr. Jefferson. Another was also addressed by him to 
 Mr. Randolph, the Attorney General. 
 
 These paternal efforts to compose the internal wars of the 
 Cabinet proved wholly unsuccessful, although urged by 
 Washington with a pathos and eloquence truly patriotic. 
 
 The opposition to the excise laws, in the western counties 
 of Pennsylvania, now disturbed the serenity of the admi- 
 nistration by acts of open rebellion; to quell which, Wash- 
 ington issued his proclamation, exhorting the interference 
 and aid of the civil magistrates. 
 
 In the management of the foreign reelations of the 
 United States, at the head of which Mr. Jefferson stood, 
 AVashington had been eminently successful. France was 
 accommodated with a loan, to enable her to recover St^ 
 Domingo from her revolted negroes. 
 
 Major General Wayne was now appointed to the com- 
 mand of the army, in place of St. Clair, against the hostile 
 bands of western Indians. On the 5th of November, 1792, 
 Congress again assembled. In his speech, Washington 
 recommended the civilization of the Indian tribes, as the 
 best means of diverting them from the pursuits of war, as 
 well as earnestly pressed the adoption of measures, to 
 ensure the speedy redemption of the public debt. Nothing, 
 however, of any importance, marked this session of Con- 
 gress, but the introduction and rejection of resolutions, 
 criminating the conduct of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 in the management of the public loans and funded debt. 
 Congress expired on the 3d of March; leaving parties in a 
 higher state of irritation, and fomenting more than ever 
 the original feelings of hostility, which marked their oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 On the 22d February, 1793, the birth day of Washing- 
 ton was first celebrated; and Congress adjourned for half 
 an hour, to pay him their respects: but not without some 
 opposition from the anti -federal and republican party. 
 
 In 1793, the announcement of the French revolution, 
 and the adoption of a republican constitution on the ruins 
 of the monarchy, created a burst of enthusiasm throughout 
 
132 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the United States^ which though not unirersal was far from 
 being confined to the republican party; though by others, 
 it was greeted by more tempered feelings, and qualified 
 approbation, until ultimately parties approved or denounced 
 it, as they stood ranged under their different banners. 
 Those who may be emphatically denominated the people^ 
 looked upon it with eyes of admiration and rapture. Wash- 
 ington himself extended towards it the hand of a ready 
 welcome. 
 
 The expiration of his first term of four years now ap- 
 proacliing, Washington contemplated declining another 
 election; but being overruled by his friends, he yielded to 
 the general wish of the public, and was unanimously re- 
 elected. But Mr. Adams encountered serious opposition 
 from the State rights party; and although re-elected, yet it 
 was by a small majority over George Clinton: a consti- 
 tutional incompatibility having interfered with the election 
 of Mr. Jefterson to that office — he being a citizen of the 
 same State as the President, which the constitution ex- 
 pressly provides against. 
 
 Towards France, and her revolution,Washington de- 
 ported himself on the maxim, " That every nation possessed 
 a right to govern itself according to its own ivill, to change 
 its institutions at discretion, and to transact its business 
 through ivhatever agents it might think proper: but, at the 
 same time, he determined to maintain the neutrality of the 
 United States, and not to become involved in the dissen- 
 tions of Europe. 
 
 France now declared war against Great Britain and Hol- 
 land; and the American public became inflamed with ani- 
 mosity against England, and an enthusiastic feeling in fa- 
 vour of French liberty, and the general cause of France. 
 
 The President, being strengthened by the unanimous^ 
 opinion of his cabinet, issued 2i proclcmiation of neutrcdity, 
 on the 22d April, 1793. 
 
 The next question was not concurred in with the same 
 unanimity — whether the President should receive a minister 
 from the republic of France? Mr. Jetterson and Mr. Ran- 
 dolpli maintained the affirmative, on the ground that the 
 revolution had produced no change in the relations be- 
 tween the two nations. Mr. Hamilton and General Knox 
 held contrary opinions, on the ground that France had 
 no right to involve other nations^ absolutely and unconditioi\-^ 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 133 
 
 ally, in the changes and consequences of her revolution; 
 maintaining the right of a nation to absolve itself from all 
 obligations, even of treaties, on a change of the internal 
 situation of the other contracting party, if a continuance of 
 connexion might be thought disadvantageous, or dangerous. 
 But this position would inevitably tend to war, and was 
 obviouslv inconsistent with neutrality. 
 
 The President, finding the cabinet divided, required 
 their opinions in v/riting; which, being produced, displayed 
 a discrepancy of principle on the merits of the revolution 
 of France, which threatened to extend its influence as 
 well through the deliberations of the cabinet, as among the 
 sentiments of the people. 
 
 Should Congress be convened? — was another question 
 propounded by the President, to which he received a 
 unanimous negative opinion. 
 
 The President ultimately adopted the opinion of Mr. 
 Jefferson and Mr. Randolph, that a minister should be re- 
 ceived from France, and the obligations of treaties with that 
 power maintained. 
 
 Washington was now openly and violently assaulted in 
 the public prints, for the proclamation of neutrality. Jill 
 governments were pronounced hostile to liberty; and the 
 United States not the least so. Party passion began to 
 rage in favour of France and the rights of man, and the 
 rancour of deadly hate was poured upon Great Britain, and 
 all who abetted the tyranny of kings, or refused to succour 
 a free people struggling for liberty against a wicked com- 
 bination of kings; evidently glancing at the attitude of neu- 
 trality assumed by Washington. 
 
 The French government now recalled the minister who 
 had been appointed by Louis the I6th, and citizen Genet 
 was deputed, not less in virtue of his talents, than his glow- 
 ing enthusiasm in the sacred cause of freedom. 
 
 Mr. Genet arrived with' a double set of instructions — 
 one, directing him to operate on the government, to bend 
 her to the policy of France; failing in which, he was to 
 resort to the people, and labour to bring them over to es^ 
 pouse the principles of the revolution and the cause of 
 France. 
 
 On the 8th of April, Mr. Genet arrived at Charleston, 
 S. C, where he was received with the most glowing enthu- 
 siasm, not only by the citizens, but the public authorities, th^ 
 
 M 
 
134 THE LIFE OE 
 
 Governor and other public bodies. Here he remained a feW 
 days, receiving the homage of the people, enlisting men, 
 fitting out and arming vessels, and granting commissions 
 to cruize and commit hostilities on nations who were on 
 friendly terms with the United States. 
 
 His journey to Philadelphia was a complete march of 
 civic triumph J and displayed all the pomp of enthusiastic 
 welcome— such as had never before greeted a foreign 
 minister. He arrived at Philadelphia on the 16th May, 
 and had an audience with the President, by whom he 
 was cordially received; while, on the part of the people, 
 the most extravagant transports of joy were indulged in; 
 at Gray's ferry he was met by " crowds who flocked from 
 every avenue of the city, to meet the republican ambassa- 
 dor of an allied nation." To these exhibitions of popular 
 feeling succeeded congratulatory addresses, which mani- 
 fested all the ardent aftection of fraternisation and alliance. 
 
 The British minister now entered complaints against his 
 proceedings, as violations of the American neutrality. 
 
 Actual hostilities were now committed by the French 
 within the waters of the United States against Great Bri- 
 tain: — the English ship Grange being captured by the 
 French frigate U Ambuscade, within the Delaware Capes, 
 a restitution of which was demanded by the English minis- 
 ter. 
 
 The cabinet unanimously agreed that the proceedings 
 complained of were usurpations of national sovereignty, 
 and a violation of neutral rights. 
 
 On the question of restitution, the cabinet were divided 
 — Mr Jefferson and Mr. Randolph opposing, and Generals 
 Hamilton and Knox, being in favour of it. "Washington 
 took time to deliberate; but restitution was obviously dic- 
 tated by every principle of the laws of nations, and the 
 doctrines of equity and justice. 
 
 Genet, dissatisfied with the government, entered into 
 laboured expositions against the decision of the Executive; 
 in which indecorum was mixed with a boldness bordering 
 on arrogance. He was answered, by the President, that 
 the decision could not be rescinded; but on the contrary, 
 that the vessels which had been equipped in the ports of 
 the United States must make reparation for the violation 
 of their sovereignty, by departing from their waters. To 
 this requisition Mr. Genet refused compliance; nor would 
 
OEORGE WASHINGTON. 135 
 
 he acquiesce in the decisions of the Executive. He con- 
 tended that the Americans had infringed the treaty with 
 France. 
 
 Two citizens of the United States were now arrested in 
 Charleston, for having violated the proclamation of neu- 
 trality^ by cruising out of that port under French commis- 
 sions- Mr. Genet demanded the release of these persons, 
 in the following terms: '* I have this moment been informed 
 that two officers, in the service of the republic of France, 
 citizen G. Henfield and J. Singletary, have been arrested 
 on board the privateer of the French republic, ' the Citizen 
 Genet,' and conducted to prison. The crime laid to their 
 charge — the crime which my mind cannot conceive, and 
 which my pen almost refuses to state, is the serving of 
 France, and defending, with her children, the common 
 glorious cause of liberty." 
 
 "Being ignorant of any positive law or treaty which 
 deprives Americans of this privilege, and authorizes offi- 
 cers of police arbitarily to take mariners, in the service of 
 France, from on board their vessels^ I call upon your inter- 
 vention, sir, and that of the President of the United States, 
 in order to obtain thp immpdiato ncleasement of the above 
 mentioned officers, who have acquired, by the sentiments 
 animating them, and by the act of their pngagpment, an- 
 terior to every act to the contrary, the right of French 
 citizens, if they have lost that of American citizens." 
 
 Washington, firm, collected, upright and^ honest, could 
 not but feel this gross indignity offered to the government 
 of his country, at the same time that his attachment to 
 France, and the cause of liberty, withheld him from indulg- 
 ing in those expressions of resentment which the provo- 
 cation and insult would fully have justified. 
 
 In the meantime the fever of French liberty continued to 
 rage with unabated fierceness among the people; while ani- 
 mosity towards England prevailed to the same excess, and 
 received an application, in its course towards the great and 
 good man, who, unmindful of the storm of party, and forti- 
 fied by conscious integrity, stood prepared to do his duty 
 to his country, regardless of all consequences. Washing- 
 ton, retired in the calm recess of his wisdom, anticipated 
 the course which posterity would approve, and which 
 the voice of history would consecrate to the applause 
 of after ages. As the head of a nation, he was not to be-- 
 
136 THE LIFE OF 
 
 come the brawling champion of liberty, or tlie reckless 
 abettor of violated national faith and prostrated treaties. 
 Between two friendly nations he was bound to observe a 
 deportment equally pacific towards both, and to abide bj 
 the Imv of nations^ not the infectious enthusiasm for liberty, 
 which, in its headlong course, like the lava of iEtna, sweeps 
 over all that opposes its passage, and buries in ruins friend 
 and foe with indiscriminate fury. Fatal indeed, might have 
 been the consequences, had the popular impetuosity hurried 
 the President into a precipitate espousal of the cause of 
 French liberty. 
 
 I cannot contemplate this, and the subsequent period of 
 the life of Washington, without feeling that spontaneous 
 homage of veneration for his greatness which the undaunted 
 fortitude, and inflexible resolution he displayed, are so 
 naturally calculated to inspire. Calm amidst the raging 
 excitement of popular passions, he remained uninfected by 
 the delirium, at the same time that he continued devoted 
 to the principles of liberty. Tranquil and composed, he 
 contemplated the storm with the eye of ivisdom, which em- 
 braced in its wide scope all the consequences of the system 
 of anarchy, which had intoxicated the people with delight, 
 indifferent to his own interest, he looked only to the grand 
 object of the public good; and disregarding, rather than 
 despising the popular clamour, that on all sides stunned 
 the ear with its shouts — the wild and maddened shouts of 
 liberty; he waited for the storm to spend its fury, without 
 changing his course to avoid its rage, but satisfied, that 
 when it should have blown over it w^ould find him en- 
 trenched by public opinion, and his country secure from the 
 quaking conflicts of the demon of blood and anarchy. 
 
 Washington left Philadelphia on the 24th of June, on a 
 visit to Mount Vernon; and returned to the seat of govern- 
 ment on the 11th of July. 
 
 In this interval occurred the important case of the equip- 
 ment and departure of the French privateer La Petit De- 
 mocrat, from the port of Philadelphia; her escape from the 
 authorities of the country having been eftected by a delibe- 
 rate falsehood of the minister Genet; who now openly me- 
 naced the constituted authorities of the republic, and boldly 
 threatened " to appeal from the President to the People! !P'^ 
 
 The Secretary of State having retired to his seat in the 
 country, indisposed, Washington addressed him a letter, of 
 
■GEORGE WASHINGTON. 137 
 
 wliichthe following is an extract — " What is to be done in 
 the case of the little Sarah (La petit Democrat,) now at 
 Chester? Is the minister of the French republic to set the 
 acts of this government at defiance with impunity^ and then 
 threaten the executive with an appeal to the people? What 
 must the world think of such conduct; and of the govern- 
 ment of the United States in submitting to it?" 
 
 " These are serious questions, circumstances press for 
 decision; and, as you have had time to consider them (upon 
 me they come unexpectedly) I wish to know your opinion 
 upon them even before to-morrow, for the vessel may then 
 be gone." 
 
 The force of public opinion, in opposition to laws and 
 to treaties, was now fully manifested in the acquittal of 
 Gideon Henfield, who had been prosecuted for a violation 
 of the proclamation of neutrality; an acquittal which 
 effectually prostrated all the power of the government, 
 while it exposed Washington to all that popular, but unjust 
 censure, which attends upon an attempt to exercise theo- 
 retical power i?i opposition to public opinion, which may 
 be termed the practical power of governments; but which 
 in fact is the only power in free constitutions. 
 
 The violation of the principles of the armed neutrality, 
 that free bottoms should make free goods, and that the flag 
 of a neutral should protect all property under it, again 
 brought the American President in collision with the dema- 
 gogue minister of France; the latter nation having acceded 
 to the principle, while England had rejected its recognition. 
 In this state of things the English had made prize of French 
 property in American bottoms; which exasperated the 
 French minister to taunt and insult the government in tiie 
 most degrading manner. 
 
 These aggravated degradations, heaped in quick succes- 
 sion upon one another, finally determined Washington to 
 resort to vigorous measures to defend the government from 
 such disgraceful indignities; he, therefore, on the 25th of 
 July, addressed a note to the Secretary of State, intimating 
 his resolution to proceed in a formal manner against Mr. 
 Genet; and accordingly Mr. Morris, the American minis- 
 ter at Paris, was instructed to desire his recal; a measure 
 now indispensable to the dignity, honor and independence 
 of the United States. 
 
 The declaration of Genet, that he would appeal from the 
 M2 
 
138 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Executive to the j^eojile of the United States, as if the peo- 
 ple had been in opposition to the Executive, now being fully 
 established, and perfectly understood, began to cause that 
 reaction of public opinion in favour of Washington, which 
 is ever certain to be produced where the warmth of feeling 
 has hurried the judgment into error, in opposition to the 
 best principles of the heart and the soundest maxims of 
 rational liberty, the purest doctrines of social right and 
 national independence. The people began at last to awake 
 to the proper estimation of the pure and exalted character 
 of the great man who directed the destinies of the nation 
 in the true spirit of wisdom, actuated by the most patriotic 
 motives of true glory. 
 
 It will ever redound to the honour of the federal party ,^ 
 that in this crisis they sustained the course pursued by 
 Washington, in relation to France, without opposing those 
 free prindjdes which they thought might eventually con- 
 duct her to rational liberty; and it will always be admitted, 
 as a full palliation of the conduct of tlie democratic party, 
 that they lost sight for a moment, and for a moment only, 
 of what was due to their own character, dignity and inde- 
 pendence, in their enthusiasm for the cause of freedom, and 
 the establishment of the rights of man. On this occasion, 
 the two parties arrayed themselves in direct hostility, but 
 the supporters of the o-re«/ Washington tr'mmii\\ed, as they 
 deserved to do, over the infuriated champions of the dema- 
 gogue minister of the French; so that, finally, the procla- 
 mation of neutrality was fully sustained by public opixion. 
 
 The relations of the United States with Spain, Great 
 Britain and France, daily became more complicated, and 
 at one time threatened serious consequences to the tran- 
 quillity of the nation. The navigation of the Mississippi; 
 the contemplated invasion of Florida; troops to be raised 
 and commanded by Genet, the insolent minister of the 
 French, presuming upon liberty to insult the majesty of the 
 American people; the hostilities with the Indians; the im- 
 pressment of .American seamen by English cruizers; the 
 violation of neutral rights by France and England, in their 
 attempts to cut off tlie commerce and resources of each 
 other; the insults offered to the United States by the French; 
 and other minor points of collision, all contributed to in- 
 crease the difficulties of the country, and manifest the 
 growing importance of the concerns of tire republic. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTOK. 139 
 
 It was under the pressure of these ag-gravated embarrass- 
 ments, that Washington addressed Congress, on the 4th of 
 December, in his speech reviewing the causes most likelj 
 to lead to war, and suggesting the measures best calculated 
 to avert, or repel it. The following passage from his ad- 
 dress on that occasion, is worthy of all praise : — " I cannot 
 recommend to your notice measures for the fulfilment of 
 our duties to the rest of the world, without again pressing 
 upon you the necessity of placing ourselves in a condition 
 of complete defence, and of exacting from them the fulfil- 
 ment of their duties towards us. The United States ought 
 not to indulge a persuasion that, contrary to the order of 
 human events, they will for ever keep at a distance those 
 painful appeals to arms, with which the history of every 
 other nation abounds. There is a rank due to the United 
 States among nations which will be withheld, if not abso- 
 lutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to 
 avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to 
 secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our 
 prosperity, it must be known that we are, at all times, 
 
 READY FOR WAR." 
 
 Although a democratic ^majority had been elected to the 
 House of Bepresentatives , that body approved and sanc- 
 tioned all the proceedings of Washington, in respect to 
 Genet, and the proclamation of neutrality — thus furnish- 
 ing conclusive proof that judicious, reflecting, and ra- 
 tional men, of all parties, concurred in the wisdom, and 
 applauded the patriotism of his measures. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, the Secretary of State, now submitted to 
 Congress an able and elaborate report, on free trade and 
 unrestricted commerte; but concluding with a strong re- 
 commendation for retaliatory impositions against those na- 
 tions that embarrassed our navigation, and hindered our 
 industry by prohibitory duties. 
 
 Having submitted this report, Mr. Jefferson, on the 31st 
 off December, 1793, resigned his office^ having, some time 
 previous, intimated his intention to the President. 
 
 Judge Marshall has paid so handsome a tribute to the 
 character of Mr. Jefferson, (m the occasion of hi« resigna- 
 tion, that I cannot omit to quote it in this place, as the 
 praise extorted by tnerit^ from a liberal, enlightened, and 
 magnanimous opponent: — '^' This gentleman withdrew from 
 political station at a moi^ient when he stood particularly 
 
140 THE LIFE OF 
 
 high in the esteem of his countrymen. His fixed opposition 
 to the financial schemes which had been proposed by the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, and approved by the legislative 
 and executive departments of the government — his ardent 
 and undisguisjed attachment to the revolutionary party in 
 France — the dispositions which he was declared to possess 
 in regard to Great Britain 5 and the popularity of his opin- 
 ions respecting the Constitution of the United States, had 
 devoted to him that immense party, whose sentiments were 
 supposed to comport with his on most or all of these inter- 
 esting subjects. To the opposite party he had, of course, 
 become particularly unacceptable. But the publication of 
 his correspondence with Mr. Genet, dissipated much of the 
 prejudice which had been excited against him. He had, 
 in that correspondence, maintained with great ability, 
 the opinions embraced by the federalists on those points 
 of difference which had arisen between the two republics, 
 and which, having become universally the subjects of dis- 
 cussion, had, in some measure, displaced those topics on 
 which the parties had previously divided. The partiality 
 for France that was conspicuous through the whole of it, 
 detracted nothing from its merit in the opinion of the friends 
 of the administration, because, however decided might be 
 their determination to support their own government in a 
 controversy with any nation whatever, they felt all the 
 partialities for that republic which the correspondence ex- 
 pressed. The hostility of his enemies therefore, was, for 
 a time, considerably lessened without a corresponding dimi- 
 nution of the attachment of his friends. Li office, it would 
 have been impracticable long to preserve these dispositions; 
 and it would have been diflicult to preserve that ascendancy 
 which he held over the minds of those who had supported, 
 and probably would continue to support, every pretension of 
 the French republic, without departing from principles and 
 measures, wliich he had openly and ably defended." 
 
 Edmund Randolph was now appointed by Washington 
 to succeed Mr. Jeft'erson; and William Bradford, of Penn- 
 sylvania, was appointed to succeed Mr. Randolph, as 
 Attorney Generctl. 
 
 The Algerine cruizers having captured several valuable 
 American merchantmen, and all efforts to eff"ect a peace with 
 that national freebooter, having failed, the President recom- 
 mended to Congress the establishment of a naval force; and 
 
&EORGE WASHINGTON. 141 
 
 Oil the 2d of Januaiy, 1794, a resolution was agreed to by 
 the House of Representatives, ''that a naval force adequate 
 to the protection of the commerce of the United States, 
 ought to be provided, to consist of six frigates, four of 44, 
 and two of 36 guns." 
 
 This project was opposed with great ardour and eloquence 
 by the democratic members, on the ground of expense; that 
 it was part of the system of monarchy; that it augmented 
 the public debt, which was a great burden on the people, 
 and was highly tyrannical. I'he bill, however, was finally 
 carried by a majority of eleven! 
 
 British cruizers now began to commit serious depredations 
 on American commerce, by authority of that government. 
 A war with England was accordingly anticipated, and a 
 project to raise an army of fifteen thousand men, was intro- 
 duced by Mr. Sedgewick. An embargo was also proposed 
 and passed, to extend to thirty days. Bills to organise eighty 
 thousand militia, and procure arms and ammunition; to 
 raise a provisional army of twenty-five thousand men, and 
 fortify posts and harbours, were submitted and agreed to. 
 But all these, besides other measures, were suddenly ar- 
 rested by the revocation of the obnoxious British order. 
 
 An increasing affection for France, and devotion to French 
 liberty, again broke out among the people, and pervaded the 
 Congress^ while at the same tir.ie; the clamour against Eng- 
 land rose to a high pitch, portending war and civil commo- 
 tion. 
 
 All these fluctuations of opinions and events, were ob- 
 served by Washington with a vigilant eye, but a mind un- 
 moved by the excitements and agitations of the hour. De- 
 termined to preserve a neutral attitude, unless forced from 
 it by actual aggression, or insults incompatible with honour, 
 if submitted to, and which thus far, had not happened, he 
 resolved to make a last effort to negociate terms with Great 
 Britain, and accordingly nominated Mr. Jay, as envoy ex- 
 traordinary to the court of St. James. This nomination was 
 approved by the Senate, and while the attempt at negocia- 
 tion revived the hopes of a continuance of peace in the 
 hearts of good men, it struck dismay and confusion into 
 those, who, reckless of all consequences, hoped to fatten on 
 the public misery, or gratify their passions at the expense 
 of the prosperity of the people. 
 
 No act of his life so fully demonstrated the wisdom, pa- 
 
142 THE LIFE OF 
 
 triotism and firmness of Washington, as thisj and, as it is 
 chiefly in respect to the illustration of his character and 
 genius, that I follow the course of his prominent public 
 measures; this one, of opening negociations with Great Bri- 
 tain, in the midst of a popular excitement, so intense and 
 glowing, in favour of France, and in hostility to England, 
 demands peculiar and emphatic attention, as an evidence of 
 that lofty consciousness of rectitude, which distinguished 
 him throughout the whole course of his existence, and 
 which rendered him wholly indifferent to the censure and 
 misrepresentations of the factious, the prejudiced and the 
 unthinking. 
 
 It will scarcely be credited by future generations, that 
 this Congress purchased peace with Jllgiers, at the price of 
 a million of dollars! 
 
 Congress now adjourned on the 9th of June, to the first 
 Monday in November. 
 
 Genet was on the eve of carrying hostile expeditions into 
 the Floridas and Louisiana, by troops raised in the United 
 States, when he was recalled by his government; and at the 
 very time that the President contemplated the suspension 
 of his diplomatic functions. He was succeeded by Fauchet. 
 
 The French now requested the recal of Governeur Mor- 
 ris, the American minister at Paris; with which Washington 
 immediately complied; appointing in his place, James Mon- 
 roe^ an ardent champion of the cause of French liberty, and 
 an enthusiastic admirer of the bloody scenes of the French 
 revolution. 
 
 The free navigation of the Mississippi had now become 
 an important object to the western country; and Kentucky 
 demanded, in energetic and imperative terms, that govern- 
 ment should ^roc?/re the restitution of what the God of na- 
 ture had originally granted to them. But, anterior to this 
 remonstrance, Washington had prosecuted negociations for 
 that object with a zeal and sedulity never exceeded, though 
 not yet successful. 
 
 On the 20th of August, 1794, General Wayne obtained a 
 signal victory over the Miami Indians. 
 
 The insurrection of the ivestern counties of Penyisylvania, 
 against the excise on distilled spirits, now claimed the most 
 serious attention of the President; having reached a head 
 that bid open defiance to the civil power^ and even menaced 
 the military force of the Union with a successful resistance. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 143 
 
 On the 7th of August, 1794, therefore, "Washington issued 
 his Proclamation, commanding the insurgents to submit to 
 the laws, and calling on tlie Governors of the States to fur- 
 nish their quotas of militia, to the amount of twelve thou- 
 sand men, to march at a moment's warning. By these 
 prompt and vigorous measures, the President succeeded in 
 quelling this formidable insurrection, which at one time 
 threatened to diffuse its revolutionary flame, into a general 
 conflagration of civil war, fatal to the peace of the country, 
 and rife with anarchy, bloodshed, and ruin: and which, 
 originating in the wanton spirit of licentious liberty, in the 
 full enjoyment of freedom, property, and every civil right 
 and political privilege, manifested a degree of depravity in 
 the instigators, which excited not less astonishment than 
 abhorrence. 
 
 In resorting to the extremity of military coercion on this 
 occasion, Washington displayed all those high qualities of 
 benevolence and moderation, tenderness for human life, and 
 sympathy for human suffering, which always mark the man 
 of true greatness of soul. Aware of the terrific disasters, 
 the desolating ravages, the heart-rending woes, which ever 
 await upon civil strife, he deferred a resort to force up to 
 the last moment, when ingenuity had been exhausted to 
 devise plans of conciliation, and every effort had failed to 
 draw back the insurgents to a dutiful obedience to the laws. 
 Even then, he determined rather to intimidate and overcome 
 them into submission by a force whose magnitude should 
 strike them with dismay, and prevent hostilities than chas- 
 tise them into submission, or extirpate them by the sword. 
 Always humane, but at the same time, always just; while he 
 consulted all the dictates of feeling towards the insurgents, 
 he had to consider his higher obligations to preserve the vir- 
 tuous portion of society from slaughter, conflagration and 
 murder, by causing the government to be respected, the 
 laws to be enforced, and the harmony of the social order 
 preserved from violence, rupture and anarchy. 
 
 If, in contemplating the dark gulf of civil war that now 
 yawned before him, he was excited to impute this insurrec- 
 tion to causes, societies and persf)ns, who may have been 
 guiltless of instigating to so horrible a crime; the error, if 
 one existed, may easily be excused on account of the terrific 
 magnitude of the calamities impending-; and the anxious 
 solicitude which must naturally have disquieted his mind, 
 
144 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to avert that most shocl^ingof all human ills, a civil commo- 
 tion, which desolates a country with blood, and leaves no 
 hope of returning tranquillity to cheer the mind amidst the 
 triple wreck of property, happiness and life. 
 
 The sentiments of Washington upon this event, cannot 
 fail to excite the reverence and extort the approbation of 
 the reader. In a letter to Mr. Jay, he thus expressed him- 
 self: " That the self created societies who have spread 
 themselves over this country, have been labouring inces- 
 santly to sow the seeds of distrust, jealousy, and of course, 
 , discontent, hoping thereby to effect some revolution in the 
 government, is not unknown to you. That they have been 
 the fomenters of the western disturbances, admits of no 
 doubt in the mind of any one who will examine their con- 
 duct. But, fortunately, they have precipitated a crisis, for 
 which they were not prepared; and thereby have unfolded 
 views, which will, I trust, eftect their annihilation sooner 
 than it might have happened. An occasion has also been 
 afforded for the people of this country to show their abhor- 
 rence of the result, and their attachment to the constitution 
 and the laws; for, I believe, that five times the number of 
 militia that were required, would have come forward in 
 support of them, had it been necessary." 
 
 " The spirit which blazed out on this occasion, as soon as 
 the object was fully understood, and the lenient measures 
 of the government were made known to the people, deserves 
 to be communicated. There are instances of general offi- 
 cers going at the head of a single troop, or of light compa- 
 nies; of field officers, when they came to the place of ren- 
 dezvous, and found for them no command in that grade, 
 turning into the ranks, and serving as private soldiers under 
 their own captains; and of numbers possessing the first for- 
 tunes in the country, standing in the ranks as private men, 
 and by way of example to others, marching day by day with 
 their knapsacks at their backs, and sleeping on straw, with 
 a single blanket, in a soldier's tent, during the frosty nights, 
 which we have had. Nay, more, many young Quakers of 
 the first family, character and property, not discouraged by 
 the elders, have turned into the ranks, and are marching 
 with the troops." 
 
 Congress assembled in November, and on the 19th of 
 that month, the President pronounced to them his annual 
 speech, on the state of the nation; replete with suggestions 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 145 
 
 of wisdom, sentiments of patriotism, lessons of policy, and 
 admonitions for improvement, urging the organization of the 
 militia, the redemption of the public debt, and other whole- 
 some measures tending to the national weal. One passage 
 of his address deserves to be here quoted: after commend- 
 ing the alacrity with which the people had rallied in defence 
 of the Union, he proceeded to say: "To every description, 
 indeed, of citizens, let praise be given: but let them per- 
 severe in their affectionate vigilance over that precious 
 
 DEPOSITORY OF AMERICAN HAPPINESS, THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. And wheu, in the calm moments of 
 reflection, they shall have retraced the origin and progress 
 of the insurrection, let them determine whether it has not 
 been fomented by combinations of men, who, careless of 
 consequences, and disregarding the unerring truth, that 
 those who rouse, cannot always appease a civil convulsion, 
 have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts, 
 suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the whole govern- 
 ment." 
 
 He now recommended to Congress, a more perfect organ- 
 isation of the militia, to meet a similar crisis, should it ever 
 again arise, and to secure the general defence of the 
 country. 
 
 Parties in Congress now ran so high, as to demonstrate 
 the fearful pitch, to which political opinio ns may inflame 
 the passions of men, even when in the full enjoyment of all 
 the blessings which real freedom can secure to a virtuous 
 and enlightened people. 
 
 An important measure of this Congress, which had been 
 originally and repeatedly urged by Washington, and whose 
 beneficial effects have been felt even down to the present 
 time, while the credit of its suggestion has been successively 
 assumed by every subsequent administration, was a bill to 
 provide for the gradual redemption of the public debt; and 
 whose object has, at the time of penning this life, been fully, 
 or to all intents and purposes, fully consummated. For the 
 passage of this act, we are indebted to the guardian patri- 
 otism of Washington^ and for the devisement of the scheme 
 of the Sinking Fund, we are indebted to the genius and 
 talents of .Alexander Hamilton, the William Pitt of the 
 United States, in every attribute of mind, save his love of 
 liberty, his opposition to the arbitrary acts of the mother 
 country, and his determined resolution to conquer, or die, 
 
 N 
 
146 THE LIFE OF 
 
 in the sacred cause of Independence. To the Congress of 
 1794 — 5, however, we owe the adoption of a system for the 
 redemption of a debt, whicli, in its course of periodical 
 liquidation, has excited the ambition of every administration, 
 to claim the merit of its origin, in virtue of their mere 
 necessary compliance with its legal requisitions. I state 
 this fact, only to show the extent of public virtue, and un- 
 affected patriotism, which must have belonged to the great 
 AND GOOD MAN, who was its vecil and original author^ and 
 to whom we stand indebted as a people, for so many and 
 such great and endless blessings. 
 
 The scanty provision made for the recompense of the 
 officers of government, now deprived Wasliington of the 
 aid and assistance of his able and ingenious financier^ and 
 the plan for the redemj)tion of the public debt was the last 
 official act of an important character which emanated from 
 the Secretary of the Treasury: — that gentleman, from the 
 inadequate nature of his salary, being now compelled to 
 relinquish his station in the government. Hamilton gave 
 in his resignation on the 31st of January, 1795. Whatever 
 could be said of his political principles and views b}^ the 
 members of an antagonist party, all conceded to this great 
 man the possession of talents and abilities never surpassed 
 by an American statesman. Devoted to the Union, and op- 
 posed to the anarchical system of State sovereignty, as equal 
 to national power, he stood side by side to Washington, 
 through all the contentions of parties, and so fully reflected 
 the sentiments and principles of the father of his country^ 
 as to forbid just censure, while his great patron received 
 unqualified praise. Ranging himself in opposition to the 
 sanguinary excesses of the French revolution, he had the 
 sagacity to foresee, and the moral courage to predict, that 
 it could not and would not end in the permanent establish- 
 ment of a popular, free and happy government. Washing- 
 ton appointed Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut, in his place. 
 
 In respect to the best policy, which wisdom dictated to 
 the United vStates to pursue towards the Indian tribes^ 
 Washington always espoused a pacific^ C07iciliating, and 
 humane system. A report upon this subject by the Secre- 
 tary at War, contained this excellent passage: — 
 
 ♦' It seems that our own experience would demonstrate 
 the propriety of endeavouring to preserve a pacific conduct 
 in preference to a hostile one with the Indian tribes. The 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 147 
 
 United States can get nothing by an Indian war; but they 
 risk men, money, and reputation. As we are more powerful 
 and more enlightened than they are, there is a responsibility 
 of national character that we should treat them with kind- 
 ness and even with liberality.''^ 
 
 From the same cause that had deprived Washington of the 
 genius of Alexander Hamilton in the Treasury, was he now 
 bereaved of the services of General Knox, the Secretary at 
 War, who, from the penurious provision made for the com- 
 pensation of the heads of departments, was now compelled 
 to tender his resignation, which he did on the 28th of De- 
 cember, 1794. Timothy Pickering, was appointed to suc- 
 ceed him. 
 
 On the 7th of March, 1795, Jay's celebrated treaty with 
 England, was received at the Department of State. 
 
 Prior to the arrival of this treaty in the United States, 
 the prejudice of party had perverted its character, and 
 popular clamour had denounced it, without even being 
 acquainted with its merits or demerits. The prejudice of 
 the popular mind against England, gave a tone to the sen- 
 timents of the people, which superceded all enquiry into its 
 provisions and terms. It was sufficient that it was a treaty 
 with Engcland, and that Jay had been the negociator, to 
 doom it to the irrevocable abhorrence of an inflamed people. 
 Popular meetings were convened to denounce; parties 
 arrayed to oppose it; and newspapers employed to stigmatise 
 it — but, the Senate of the U^iited States and George Wash- 
 ington\\2i6. ratified the treaty; and yet the people proclaimed 
 that it would destroy the interest, sully the honour, and 
 undermine the independence of the country — ^because it was 
 a British treaty ! Marshall indulges in the following judi- 
 cious reflections upon this course of the party, who were re- 
 solved to see no merit, and to detest every measure, having 
 the remotest connexion with England. *' In the populous 
 cities, meetings of the people were immediately summoned, 
 in order to take into their consideration, and to express their 
 opinions respecting an instrument, to comprehend the full 
 extent of which, a statesman would need deep reflection in 
 the quiet of his closet, aided by considerable inquiry. It may 
 well be supposed, that persons feeling some distrust of their 
 capacity to form, intuitively, a correct judgment on a sub- 
 ject so complex, and disposed only to act knowingly, would 
 be disinclined to attend such meetings; or, if present at 
 
148 THE LIFE OF 
 
 them, would be unwilling to commit themselves by so hasty 
 a decision. Many intelligent men, therefore, stood aloof, 
 while the most intemperate assumed, as usual, the name of 
 the people; pronounced a definitive and unqualified condem- 
 nation of every article in the treaty; and with the utmost 
 confidence assigned reasons for their opinions, which in 
 many instances, had only an imaginary existence." In 
 saying this, Marshall disclaims being an advocate for the 
 treaty; but for what reason it is difficult to imagine. 
 
 The treaty was burnt by a mob of three hundred persons 
 before the doors of the British minister and consul at Phi- 
 ladelphia, as well as before the mansion of Mr. Bingham^ 
 one of the Senators ! 
 
 Washington however, with his characteristic firmness, 
 remained immovable — determined never to yield his consti- 
 tutional functions to public clamour, and to make the policy 
 of government a mere weathercock of party. He was all 
 that an American, proud of his country, and in love with 
 virtue, could wish him. 
 
 During the raging of the storm kindled by the ratification 
 of the treaty, Washington, as usual, retired for a short 
 period to Mount Vernon^ from whence, in a letter dated the 
 31st of July, he expressed himself to a friend in Philadel- 
 phia, in terms of the most acute anxiety, as to the embarrass- 
 ments in which these popular movements placed the govern- 
 ment with foreign powers, especially the two jealous belli- 
 gerents, whose wars, like the gulfs of Sylla and Charibdis, 
 every moment threatened to drag the United States into 
 their devouring Aortex. 
 
 On the 11th of August, Washington returned to Phila- 
 delphia, and having called a cabinet council, he ratified the 
 treaty, resolved to discharge his duty in defiance of all 
 consequences to his own popularity. 
 
 Exasperated by this decided and firm step, the popular 
 indignation rose to the highest pitch, and ventured to prefer 
 charges of peculation against the man, who had spent a life 
 of toil in the service of his country, without fee or reward! 
 A calumny so gross could not adhere to a reputation so 
 spotless; and public indignation, upon an inquiry into the 
 grounds of the libel, frowned its propagators into silence 
 and contempt. 
 
 On the 19th of August, 1795, the Secretary of State 
 tendered his resignation, and Mr. Pickering was appointed 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 149 
 
 in his room; and Mr. M 'Henry was commissioned as Se- 
 cretary at War. The death of Mr. Bradford having caused 
 a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, Mr. Lee, of 
 Virginia, was appointed. 
 
 The western counties of Pennsylvania were now restored 
 to perfect quiet. 
 
 On the 3d of August, General Wayne concluded a treaty 
 of peace with the Indian tribes, north-west of the Ohio, as 
 well as those of the southern portion of the Union. 
 
 On the 5th of September, a treaty with Algiers was con- 
 cluded. 
 
 Successful in all points in adjusting the differences of the 
 country with Foreign Powers, a treaty with Spain was 
 likewise concluded, in which the free navigation of the 
 Mississippi river was guaranteed, and satisfactory bounda- 
 ries settled: thus, evincing on the part of Washington, those 
 high qualities of perseverance, prudence, justice, firmness, 
 dignity and right, which constitute the practical statesinan, 
 and which in his person were combined with the exalted 
 virtues of the approved patriot. 
 
 The new Congress now met, and again exhibited a majo- 
 rity in the House of Representatives, opposed to the admi- 
 nistration. The speech of the President was, as usual, dis- 
 tinguished for wisdom, firmness, dignity and moderation, 
 in which he exhorted Congress to the practice of toleration 
 and forbearance. 
 
 Mr. Adet, having succeeded Fauchet as minister from 
 France, the former presented to the President, on the 1st 
 January, 1796, the colours of the French nation, on M'hich 
 occasion Washington delivered a highly complimentary 
 address to the French ambassador, in which tlie cause of 
 liberty was most enthusiastically extolled by the American 
 chief, who did not fail to pay a tribute of warm praise to 
 the virtues and gallantry of the citizens of France. 
 
 In February, 1796, the treaty with Great Britain was 
 returned to the President, ratified by the English monarch. 
 Accordingly, Washington, in pursuance of his constitu- 
 tional functions, issued his proclamation, announcing its 
 terms, and enjoining its observance and execution as the 
 supreme law of the land. 
 
 At this proclamation the House of Representatives took 
 umbrao;e, under an impression that the action of the House 
 was necessary to its validity. 
 N 2 
 
150 THE LIFE OF 
 
 To manifest this dissatisfaction, the House adopted a re- 
 solution, calling on the President to lay before them all 
 papers connected with the negociations of Mr. Jay with 
 the British government. As a party movement, hostile to 
 Washington, this resolution acquired great importance, not 
 only as it infringed on his constitutional jwwers^ but as it 
 placed him in a position of direct collision with the popular 
 branch of tlie Legislature. Fortunately for the constitu- 
 tion and the country, his firmness was not to be moved by 
 the dread of losing popular favour. Important pi-ecedefits 
 were to be established by his conduct on this occasion: and, 
 acting with his wonted deliberation, judgment and sagacity, 
 he transmitted a message to the House, on the 30th of 
 March, in which he denied their right to demand papers, 
 and declined a compliance with their resolution. This 
 message is remarkable for a vigour of reasoning, a frank- 
 ness of tone, a fearlessness of consequences and a perspi- 
 cuity of exposition which will never fail to command ad- 
 miration and extort applause; as a triumphant vindication 
 of executive prerogative and constitutional provision, against 
 attempted legislative usurpation and the confusion and chaos 
 of mere party innovations. 
 
 At the liead of the opposition to Washington, in the 
 House of Representatives, stood Albert Gallatin, a talented 
 emigrant from Switzerland, who had been conspicuous in 
 the western insurrection, and whom popular infatuation 
 had invested with the dignity of a representative, instead 
 of the obscurity of the insurgent. This man, always loose 
 in principle, and never satisfied with the regular movements 
 of lawful government, now attempted to oppose tlie en- 
 lightened decision of Washington, by the clamour of faction 
 and the sophistry of the demagogue. In vain, however, did 
 this wily Jesuit oppose what lie liad not virtue enough to 
 approve. The dignified and patriotic policy of Washing- 
 ton triumphed; and, on the 29th of April, the resolution 
 was carried in favour of the necessary laws to carry into 
 eftect the treaty M'ith Great Britain. 
 
 Congress adjourned on the 1st of June, with party pas- 
 sions highly inflamed; and containing, among some of the 
 brightest jewels of political worth and purity, more than 
 enough of gross and grovelling material to have fomented a 
 revolution against the united virtue of the sages of mankind. 
 
 Amidst the cares of State, and the complicated avocations 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. - 151 
 
 incidental to the government of a great empire, Washington 
 did not permit the finer emotions of friendship and humanity 
 to be effaced from his heart. Having been early and cor- 
 dially attached, by the ties of the warmest friendship, to 
 the Marquis La Fayette, he had been a grieved observer of 
 the exile and imprisonment of that chivalrous Frenchman 
 in the dungeon of Olmutz; and had exerted his influence, 
 through the American ambassadors at foreign courts, to al- 
 leviate his sufferings, and procure his enlargement 5 but, 
 disappointed in this object, he addressed a letter to the 
 Emperor of Germany, which is so deeply characterised by 
 the noblest feelings, the most refined sentiments, and the 
 purest ebullitions of a humane and generous heart, that I 
 cannot omit to record it for the pleasure of the reader. 
 
 " It will readily occur to your majesty that occasions 
 may sometimes exist, on which official considerations would 
 constrain the chief of a nation to be silent and passive in 
 relation even to objects Mhich affect his sensibility, and 
 claim his interposition as a man. Finding myself precisely 
 in this situation at present, I take the liberty of writing 
 this private letter to your majesty, being persuaded that my 
 motives will also be my apology for it." 
 
 " In common with the people of this country, I retain a 
 strong and cordial sense of the services rendered to them 
 by the Marquis de la Fayette; and my friendship for him 
 has been constant and sincere. It is natural, therefore, 
 that I should sympathise with him and his family in their 
 misfortunes, and endeavour to mitigate the calamities they 
 experience, among which his present confinement is not the 
 least distressing. " 
 
 '' I forbear to enlarge on tliis delicate subject. Permit 
 me only to submit to your majesty's consideration, whether 
 his long imprisonment, and the confiscation of his estate, 
 and tlie indigence and dispersion of his family, and the 
 painful anxieties incident to all these circumstances, do not 
 form an assemblage of suff*erings which recommend him to 
 the mediation of humanity.^ Allow me, sir, on this occa- 
 sion to be its organ; and to entreat that he may be permit- 
 ted to come to this country on such conditions, and under 
 such restrictions as your majesty may think it expedient to 
 prescribe. " 
 
 "' As it is a maxim with me not to ask what, under similar 
 circumstances, I would not grant, your majesty will do me 
 
152 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the justice to believe, that this request appears to me to 
 correspond with those great principles of magnanimity and 
 wisdom which form the basis of sound policy and durable 
 glory." 
 
 Another epoch in the life and history of Washington, was 
 now about to take place, inferior to no preceding era of his 
 eventful existence, and illustrious character, in the impor- 
 tance of its influence upon the government and destinies of 
 his native country, by the precedent it would establish, as a 
 conservative principle of the liberties, riglits and happiness 
 of the people. This was the epoch of his retirement from 
 office. 
 
 His intention to decline another election, had for some time 
 been imparted to his intimate friends, who justly contem- 
 plated with dread an event which would open the country to 
 the convulsions of party on the one hand, or the agitations 
 incident to an untried system on the other. Having been 
 forced, as it were, by the power of public opinion, from the 
 sweets of private life, purely from considerations of national 
 usefulness; and having yielded to this force with painful 
 reluctance, he now, seeing his country safely moored from 
 the tempests of domestic discord and foreign aggression, 
 once more turned his eyes towards Mount Vernon, sighing 
 for the repose of its shades, and longing to enjoy the tran- 
 quil solace of its domestic endearments. To establish a 
 wholesome limit to the term of executive power, which the 
 constitution had left open to an indefinite practice, to be 
 settled hj precedent, was not among the least of his motives 
 which induced him to form this resolution: to depart from 
 which, nothing short of circumstances fatal to the existence 
 of the Union could have influenced him. 
 
 It is a singular and an exalted trait in the character of 
 Washington, that party never understood him, and that 
 party never could appreciate the purit}" of his virtue, or the 
 grandeur of his genius. The reason of this was, that he 
 never thought, or felt through the medium of party himself, 
 and liad no sympathy for its delusions, its blindness, its 
 deceptions and its sinuosities. His passions were national 
 not factious, his views were for his country, not for a party; 
 and hence the non-existence of all sympathy, between those 
 who looked at every measure through the locus of a party, 
 and the great patriot who never permitted himself to look 
 at any subject but through the medium of his country^ s 
 good! 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 153 
 
 Whatever Mr. Jeiferson may have alleged in moments of 
 envy, or during the irritation of party excitement, to dis- 
 parage the republican force of the inflexible principles of 
 Washington, he has made ample atonement for the injustice, 
 in his notes of ' Conversations with the President,'^ from 
 which I cannot omit to quote the following passage, "I 
 expressed to him, says Jefferson, my excessive repugnance 
 to public life, the particular uneasiness of my situation in 
 this place, where the laws of society oblige me to move 
 exactly in the circle which I know to bear me peculiar 
 hatred; that is to say, the wealthy aristocrats, the merchants 
 connected closely with England, the new created paper 
 fortunes; that, thus surrounded, my words were caught, 
 multiplied, misconstrued, and even fabricated and spread 
 abroad to my injury; that he sav/ also, that there was such 
 an opposition of views between myself and another part of 
 the administration, as to render it peculiarly unpleasing, 
 and to destroy the necessary harmony. Without knowing 
 the views of what is called the republican party here, or ha- 
 ving any communication with them, I could undertake to 
 assure him, from my intimacy with that party in the late 
 Congress, that there was not a view in the republican party, 
 as spread over the United States, which went to the frame 
 of the government; that I believed the next Congress would 
 attempt nothing material, but to render their own body in- 
 dependent; that that party were firm in their dispositions 
 to support the government; that the manoeuvres of Mr. 
 Genet might produce some little embarrassment, but that 
 he would be abandoned by the republicans the moment they 
 knew the nature of liis conduct: and, on the whole, no crisis 
 existed which threatened any thing." 
 
 '' He said, he believed the views of the republican party 
 were perfectly pure, but lohen men put a tnachine into 7no- 
 tion it is impossible for them to stop it exactly where they 
 would choose, or to say where it will stop. jThat the con- 
 stitution we have is an excellent one, if we can keep it where 
 it is; that it was indeed, supposed there was a party dis- 
 posed to change it into a monarchical form, but that he 
 could conscientiously declare there was not a man in the 
 United States who would set his face more decidedly 
 against it than himself. Here I interrupted him, by saying, 
 'no rational man in the United States suspects you of any 
 other dispositioti: but there does not pass a week, in which 
 
154 THE LIFE OF 
 
 we cannot prove declarations dropping from the monarchi- 
 cal party, that our government is good for nothing, is a milk 
 and water thing which cannot support itself, we must knock 
 it down, and set up something of more energy.' He said, 
 if that ivas the case, he thought it a j)roof of their insanity, 
 for that the republican spirit of the Union loas so manifest 
 and so solid, that it was astonishing hoiv any one could 
 expect to move it.^^ 
 
 Making allowance for the envy which evidently moved 
 Jefferson, on all occasions, to disparage Washington, the 
 former has been more just to him than might with reason 
 be expected; when we consider that the latter never encour- 
 aged Jefferson to look beyond his cabinet appointment, and 
 always gave the preference of patronage, with an eye to the 
 succession, to the enemies of the Secretary of State, which 
 could not fail to kindle his resentment, and even excite 
 his venom. Yet, even thus prejudiced as Jefferson was 
 against the father of his country, he has given us the fol- 
 lowing testimony in favour of the modesty, moderation and 
 republican simplicity of the first President of the nation, 
 and which, I presume, we are to understand as equivalent 
 to his recantation of his insidious charges of his monarchi- 
 cal disposition and design in the institution oi levees, SfC. — 
 '• V/hcn the President went to New York, he resisted, for 
 three weeks, the effort to introduce levees. At length he 
 yielded, and left it to Humphreys, and some others, to set- 
 tle the forms. Accordingly, an anti-chamber and presence 
 room were provided, and when those who were to pay their 
 court were assembled, the President set out, preceded by 
 Humphreys. After passing through the anti-chamber the 
 door of the inner room was thrown open, and Humphreys 
 entered first, calling out with a loud voice, ' the President 
 of the United States.' The President was so much discon- 
 certed with it, that he did not recover it the whole time of 
 the levee, and when the company was gone, he said to 
 Humphreys— 'well you have taken me in once, but you 
 shall never take me in a second time.' " 
 
 It must ever excite the surprise, regret and mortification 
 of all true jimericans, that a party ever did exist in oppo- 
 sition to George Washington; and in the minds of the same 
 it will ever excite mingled emotions of contempt and ab- 
 horrence, that this party should have opened the battery of 
 their slanders, as they beheld the patriot on his retreat to 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 155 
 
 private life; and that their malicious detraction sharpened 
 its demoniac acrimony as the object of their calumny ap- 
 peared to ascend beyond their reach, in his progress to an 
 exalted and immortal renown. Like all cowards, they 
 began the attack when the lion had turned his back on the 
 reptiles who in vain strove to sting him, and finding the 
 giant impenetrable to their pigmy malice, they determined, 
 by making a noise, to conceal their own imbecility and di- 
 minisli the apparent grandeur of their foe — by the virulence 
 of their hatred and malignity. 
 
 Foremost in this work of infamy stood Freneau*s and 
 Baohe's papers, the infuriate champions of licentious doc- 
 trines, and the common sewer tlirough which concealed 
 rancour poured its cowardly libels upon the head of the mrin 
 who had achieved the independence and founded the repub- 
 lic of America; who had won its victories in fields of blood, 
 and cemented its liberties by the practical illustration of 
 the constitution which he had assisted to frame and adopt. 
 In one of these journals appeared a confidential paper, 
 which had been privately submitted to the advice of 
 his cabinet; and the publicity of which brought suspicions 
 of a perfidious betrayal of confidence on some member ot 
 his late administration. From this paper, faction drew in- 
 ferences to blacken the fame and asperse the motives of 
 Washington, in relation to his deportment tov/ards the in- 
 solent Genet, and the bloody scenes of tlie French revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, oa whom, from the fact of his retirement 
 from the cabinet, and other circumstances, suspicion un- 
 justly fell, of having violated his confidence as a cabinet 
 minister, now thought proper to vindicate liimself, in a letter 
 to Washington, from the foul charge of having given it to 
 the public; and that this violation of confidence and good 
 faith, must have been the work of some other, less alive to 
 the purity of his character, and the value of a good name. 
 Mr. JeiFerson avowed his total abstraction from all party 
 questions. 
 
 To this letter of vindication and denial, Washington thus 
 responded: "If I had entertained any suspicion before, that 
 the queries which have been published in Bache's paper, 
 proceeded from you, the assurances you have given of the 
 contrary would have removed them: but the truth is, I har- 
 boured none. I am at no loss to conjecture from what 
 
156 THE LIFE OF 
 
 source they flowed, through what channel they were con- 
 veyed, nor for what purpose they and similar publications 
 appear. 
 
 " As you have mentioned the subject yourself, it would 
 not be frank, candid, or friendly, to conceal that your con- 
 duct has been represented as derogating from that opinion 
 I conceived you had entertained of me; that to your parti- 
 cular friends and connexions you have described, and they 
 have denounced me, as a person under a dangerous influ- 
 ence, and that, if I would listen more to some other opi- 
 nions, all would be well. My answer invariably has been, 
 that I had never discovered any thing in the conduct of Mr. 
 Jefferson to raise suspicions in my mind of his sincerity; 
 that if he would retrace my public conduct, while he was in 
 the administration, abundant proofs would occur to him, 
 that truth and right decisions were the sole objects of my 
 pursuit; that there were as many instances within his own 
 knowledge of my having decided against as in favour of 
 the person evidently alluded to; and, moreover, that I was 
 no believer in the infallibility of the politics or measures of 
 any man living. In short, that I was wo party man myself, 
 and that the first wish of my heart, was, if parties did exist, 
 to reconcile them. " 
 
 " To this I may add, and very truly, that, until the last 
 year or two, 1 had no conception that parties would, or - 
 even could go the lengths I have been witness to; nor did I 
 believe, until lately, that it was within the bounds of proba- 
 bility, hardly within those of possibility, that while I was 
 using my utmost exertions, to establish a national character 
 of our own, independent as far as our obligations and jus- 
 tice would permit, of every nation of the earth; and wished, 
 by steering a steady course, to preserve this country from 
 the horrors of a desolating war, I should be accused of being 
 the enemy of one nation, and subject to the influence of 
 another; and to prove it, that every act of my administration 
 would be tortured, and the grossest and most insidious mis- 
 representations of them be made, by giving one side only of 
 a subject, and that too in such exaggerated and indecent 
 terms, as could scarcely be applied to a Nero — to a notorious 
 defaulter — or even to a common pick-pocket. 
 
 But, enough of this — I have already gone further in the 
 expression of my feelings than I intended. " 
 
 Every expedient of depravity — every project of forgery 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 157 
 
 and defamation, were now exhausted to blast his fame, or 
 tarnish his glory. Fabricated letters, which had before been 
 published, in 1777, detected and condemned, were now 
 raked from the recesses of putrid slander, and republished 
 as genuine, by the same incendiaries who had attempted to 
 defame him through Bache's paper, and which occasioned 
 the denial of Mr. Jefterson's agency in that dark work of 
 moral assassination. The letters were said to have been 
 found in a portmanteau, left in the care of his mulatto ser- 
 vant Billy, who was taken prisoner by the British.' In the 
 exposure of their fabrication by Washington, deposited in 
 the department of state, it appears that Billy never was 
 taken prisoner, and that no part of the baggage of the Ge» 
 neral ever fell into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 The charges of enmity towards France, alleged to per- 
 vade and influence the mind of Washington, had been fully 
 refuted by his official efforts to negociate a treaty of com- 
 merce with that republic; but the incapacity of Mr. Monroe, 
 as a diplomatist, combined with his extravagant devotion to 
 the French Directory, had operated to frustrate all the 
 plans of Washington to succeed in any negociation for that 
 object. To remove the obstacle supposed to exist in the 
 person of that minister, he was accordingly superceded by 
 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina. 
 
 As the election for President and Vice President drew 
 near, Washington perceiving thathemight safely withdraw 
 from the chair, announced his intention to the American 
 people, in what has been called his Farewell Address, a 
 paper so pre-eminent for the best lessons of political wis- 
 dom, and so replete with maxims of liberty, that tend to 
 cement the Union, and preserve the Republic entire, for 
 endless generations — a paper, at the same time so distin- 
 guished for its eloquence, and remarkable for its pure and 
 lofty spirit of patriotism— that not to insert it here, ema- 
 nating as it did immediately from the head and heart of its 
 great author, would betray a want of judgment, as well as 
 of patriotism, of which I would not willingly be supposed 
 guilty; more especially, as it ought to be a subject of fre- 
 quent perusal, and much study, to every American, of 
 whatever age, or condition — that they may imprint on the 
 memories of their children, the political testament of a man, 
 who never thought but for his country's good — and who 
 never felt but for his country's honour, and the rights, liber- 
 ties, and happiness of the human race. 
 
158 THE LIFE OF 
 
 OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Friends and Fellow Citizens, 
 
 The period of a new election of a citizen to administer 
 the executive government of the United States, being not 
 far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your 
 thoughts must be employed in designating the person who 
 is to be clothed with that important trust; it appears to me 
 proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct 
 expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise 
 you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being con- 
 sidered among the number of those out of whom a choice is 
 to be made. 
 
 I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be 
 assured, that this resolution has not been taken, without a 
 strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the 
 relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country: that, 
 in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my 
 situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of 
 zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful 
 respect for your past kindness; but am supported by a full 
 conviction that the step is compatible with both. 
 
 The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office 
 to which your suffrages have twice called me, have been a 
 uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and 
 to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I con- 
 stantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my 
 power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty 
 to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had 
 been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to 
 do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the 
 preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature 
 reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our 
 affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of 
 persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon 
 the idea. 
 
 I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well 
 as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination in- 
 compatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety : and I 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 159 
 
 am persuaded whatever partiality may be retained for my 
 services, that in the present circumstances of our country, 
 you will not disapprove of my determination to retire. 
 
 The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous 
 trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the dis- 
 charge of this trust, I will only say, that I have with good 
 intentions contributed towards the organisation and admi- 
 nistration of the government, the best exertions of which a 
 very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in 
 the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience 
 in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, 
 has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself^ and 
 every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me 
 more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary 
 to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circum- 
 stances have given peculiar value to my services, they were 
 temporary 5 I have the consolation to believe, that while 
 choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, 
 patriotism does not forbid it. 
 
 In looking forward to the moment which is intended to 
 terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not 
 permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that 
 debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for 
 the many honours it has conferred upon me; still more for 
 the stedfast confidence with which it has supported me^ and 
 for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting 
 my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and perse- 
 vering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits 
 have resulted to our country from these services, let it 
 always be remembered to our praise, and as an instructive 
 example in our annals, that under circumstances in which 
 the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mis- 
 lead amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of 
 fortune often discouraging, — ^in situations in which not un- 
 frequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of 
 criticism; the constancy of your support was the essential 
 prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans, by which 
 they were eflfected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, 
 I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement 
 to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the 
 choicest tokens of its beneficence, that your union and 
 brotherly affections may be perpetual; that the free consti- 
 tution, which is the work of your hands may be sacredly 
 
160 THE LIFE OF 
 
 maintained; that its administration in every department 
 may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the 
 happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices 
 of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preserva- 
 tion, and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire 
 to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the 
 affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a 
 stranger to it. 
 
 Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for 
 your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the 
 apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, 
 on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn con- 
 templation, and to recommend to your frequent review^ 
 some sentiments, which are the results of much reflection, 
 of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me 
 all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. 
 These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as jou 
 can only feel in them the disinterested warnings of a parting 
 friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias 
 his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, 
 your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and 
 not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty 
 with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of 
 mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. 
 
 The unity of government which constitutes you one peo- 
 ple, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is amain 
 pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support 
 of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your 
 prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. 
 But, as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and 
 from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many 
 artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction 
 of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress 
 against which the batteries of internal and external enemies 
 will be most constantly and actively directed, it is of infi- 
 nite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense 
 value of your national Union, to your collective and indi- 
 vidual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habi- 
 tual and immovable attachment to it; accustoming your- 
 selves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your 
 political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation 
 with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may sug- 
 gest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 161 
 
 and, indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every 
 attempt to alienate any part of our country from the rest, 
 or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the 
 various parts. 
 
 For this you have every inducement of sympathy and in- 
 terest. Citizens by birth, and by choice of a common country, 
 that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The 
 name of American, which belongs to you in your national 
 capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism 
 more than any appellation derived from local discrimina- 
 tions. With slight shades of difference, you have the same 
 religion, manners, habits and political principles. You 
 have in a common cause fought and triumphed together^ 
 the independence and liberty you possess are the work of 
 joint councils, and joint eflforts, of common dangers, suffer- 
 ings and successes. 
 
 But these considerations, however powerfully they ad- 
 dress themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed 
 by those which apply more immediately to your interest. 
 Here every portion of our country finds the most command- 
 ing motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union 
 of the whole. 
 
 The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, 
 protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds 
 in the productions of the latter great additional resources 
 of maritime and commercial enterprize, and precious ma- 
 terials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same 
 intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its 
 agriculture and its commerce expand. Turning partly into 
 its own channels the seamen of the north, it finds its parti- 
 cular navigation invigorated; and while it contributes in 
 different ways to nourish and increase the general mass of 
 the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection 
 of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. 
 The East, in a like intercourse with the West, always finds, 
 and in the progressive improvement of interior communica- 
 tions by land and water, will more and more find a valuable 
 vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or 
 manufactures at home. The West derives from the East 
 supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and what is 
 perhaps of still greater consequence, it must, of necessity, 
 owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its 
 own productions to the weight, influence, and the future 
 02 
 
162 THE LIFE OF 
 
 maritime strength of the Union, directed by an indissoluble 
 community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by 
 which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether 
 derived from its own separate strength or from an apostate 
 and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be 
 intrinsically precarious. 
 
 While then every part of our country thus feels an im- 
 mediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts com- 
 bined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and 
 efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably 
 greater security from internal danger, a less frequent inter- 
 ruption of their peace by foreign nations; and what is of 
 inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemp- 
 tion from those broils and wars between themselves, which 
 so frequently assist neighbouring countries, not tied to- 
 gether by the same government, which their own rivalships 
 alone would be sufficient to produce; but which opposite 
 foreign alliances, attachments and intrigues, would stimu- 
 late and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the 
 necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which 
 under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, 
 and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to 
 republican liberty; in this sense it is, that your Union ought 
 to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that 
 the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation 
 of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive lan- 
 guage to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit 
 the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic 
 desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government 
 can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. 
 To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. 
 We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the 
 whole, with the auxiliary agency of government for the re- 
 spective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the ex- 
 periment. With these powerful and obvious motives to 
 Union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience 
 shall not have demonstrated its impractibility, there will 
 always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in 
 any quarter may endeavour to weaken its bonds. 
 
 In contemplating the causes which may disturb our 
 Union, it occurs, as a matter of serious concern, that any 
 ground should have been furnished for characterizing par- 
 ties by geographical discriminations — Northern and South- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 163 
 
 ern — Atlantic and AVestern; whence designing men may 
 endeavour to excite a belief that there is a real diflference 
 of local interests and views. One of the expedients of 
 party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to 
 misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You 
 cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies 
 and heart burnings which spring from those misrepresen- 
 tations; they tend to render alien to each other those who 
 ought to be bound by fraternal aftection. The inhabitants 
 of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on 
 this head; they have seen, in the negociation by the execu- 
 tive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of 
 the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisftiction at 
 that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof 
 how unfounded were suspicions propagated among them of 
 a policy in the general government, and in the Atlantic 
 States, unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mis- 
 sissippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two 
 treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, 
 which secure to them every thing they could desire, in 
 respect to our foreign relations towards continuing their 
 prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely, for the 
 preservation of these advantages, on the Union, by which 
 they were procured.? Will they not henceforth be deaf to 
 these advisers, if such they are, who would sever them from 
 their brethren, and connect them with aliens ? 
 
 To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a govern- 
 ment for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, how- 
 ever strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute^ 
 they must inevitably experience the infractions and inter- 
 ruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. 
 Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon 
 your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of govern- 
 ment better calculated than your former for an intimate 
 Union, and for the efficacious management of your common 
 concerns. This government, the offspring of our own 
 choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full inves- 
 tigation and mature deliberati';n, completely free in its 
 principles in the distribution of its powers, uniting security 
 with energy, and containing within itself a provision for 
 its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence 
 and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance 
 w^ith its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties en- 
 
164 THE LIFE OF 
 
 joined bj the fundamental maxims of true libery. The basis 
 of our political systems is the right of the people to make, 
 and to alter their constitutions which at any time exists, 
 till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole 
 people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. 
 
 The very idea of the power and the right of the people 
 to establish government, presupposes the duty of every in- 
 dividual to obey tlie established government. All obstruc- 
 tions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and 
 associations, under whatever plausible character, with the 
 real design to direct, control, counteract or awe the regular 
 deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are 
 destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal ten- 
 dency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an ar- 
 tificial and extraordinary force, to put in the place of the 
 delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a 
 small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; 
 and according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, 
 to make the public administrations the mirror of the ill 
 concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than 
 the organ of consistent wholesome plans digested by com- 
 mon councils, and modified by mutual interest. 
 
 However combinations or associations of the above de- 
 scription may now and then answer popular ends, they are 
 likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent 
 engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled 
 men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, 
 and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; de- 
 stroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted 
 them to unjust dominion. 
 
 Towards the preservation of your government, and the 
 permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, 
 not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppo- 
 sitions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you re- 
 sist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, 
 however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may 
 be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations 
 which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to 
 undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the 
 changes to which you may be invited, remember that time 
 and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character 
 of governments as of other human institutions; that experi- 
 ence is the surest standard by which to test the real ten- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 165 
 
 dency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility 
 in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, 
 exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of 
 hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for 
 the efficient management of your common interests, in a 
 country so extensive as ours, a government of as much 
 vigour as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty, 
 is indispensable. Liberty itself will find, in such a govern- 
 ment, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its 
 surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name 
 where the government is too feeble to withstand the enter- 
 prises of faction, to confine each member of the society 
 within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain 
 all in the secure and tranquil enjoyments of the rights of 
 persons and property. 
 
 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in 
 the State, with particular reference to the founding of them 
 on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more 
 comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn 
 manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party 
 general ly. 
 
 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, 
 having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. 
 It exists under different shapes in all governments, more 
 or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the 
 popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly 
 their worst enemy. 
 
 The alternate domination of one faction over another, 
 sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissen- 
 tion, which in different ages and countries has perpetuated 
 the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. 
 But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent 
 despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gra- 
 dually inclining the minds of men to seek security and re- 
 pose in the absolute power of an individual: and sooner or 
 later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or 
 more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition 
 to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public 
 liberty. 
 
 Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, 
 the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party 
 are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise peo- 
 ple to discourage and restrain it. 
 
166 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 It serves always to distract the public counsels, and en- 
 feeble the public administration. It agitates the community 
 with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the 
 animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally 
 riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign in- 
 fluence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to 
 the government itself through the channels of party pas- 
 sions. Thus the policy and will of one country are sub- 
 jected to the policy and will of another. 
 
 There is an opinion that parties, in free countries, are 
 useful checks upon the administration of the government, 
 and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within 
 certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a 
 monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, 
 if not with favour, upon the spirit of party; but in those oif 
 the popular character, and in government purely elective, it 
 is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural ten- 
 dency it is certain there will always be enough of that 
 spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being con- 
 stant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of 
 public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it — a fire not to be 
 quenched; it demands uniform vigilance to prevent its burst- 
 ing into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should con- 
 sume. 
 
 It is important likewise that the habits of thinking in a 
 free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with 
 its administration to confine themselves within their respec- 
 tive constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the 
 powers of some department to encroach upon another. The 
 spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of 
 all departments in one, and thus to create, whatsoever are 
 the forms of government, a real despotism. A just estimate 
 of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which pre- 
 dominates in human hearts, is sufficient to satisfy us of the 
 truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks 
 in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distri- 
 buting it into different depositories, and constituting each 
 to be the guardian of the public weal against invasion by 
 the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and 
 modern; some of them in our country, and under our own 
 eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to insti- 
 tute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution 
 or modification of the constitutional powers be in any par« 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 167 
 
 ticular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the 
 way which the constitution designates: but let there be no 
 change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may 
 be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by 
 which free governments are destroyed. The precedent 
 must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any par- 
 tial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. 
 Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political 
 prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. 
 In vain should that man claim the tribute of patriotism who 
 should labour to subvert these great pillars of human hap- 
 piness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citi- 
 zens. The mere politician equally with the poorest man 
 ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not 
 trace all their connections with private and public felicity. 
 Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, 
 for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligations 
 desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation 
 in courts of justice.^ And let us with caution indulge the 
 supposition, that morality can be maintained without reli- 
 gion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined 
 education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and expe- 
 rience both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
 prevail in exclusion of religious principle. 
 
 It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a neces- 
 sary spring of popular government. The rule indeed ex- 
 tends with more or less force to every species of free go- 
 vernment. Who 'that is a sincere friend to it can look 
 with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of 
 the fabric ^ 
 
 Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, in- 
 stitutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In pro- 
 portion as the structure of a government gives force to 
 public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be 
 enlightened. 
 
 As a very important source of strength and security, 
 
 I cherish public credit; one method of securing it is to use 
 
 . it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by 
 cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely dis- 
 bursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much 
 
 i greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding, likewise, the 
 accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of 
 
 1 expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to dis- 
 
168 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 charge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occa- 
 sioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the bur- 
 then which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of 
 these maxims belongs to your representatives; but it is 
 necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facili- 
 tate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential 
 that you siiould practically bear in mind, tliat towards the 
 payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have re- 
 venue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised 
 which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; 
 that the intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the se- 
 lection of the proper objects ought to be a decisive motive 
 for a candid construction of the conduct of government in 
 making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures 
 for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies may at 
 any time dictate. 
 
 Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; culti- 
 vate peace and harmony with all: religion and morality en- 
 join this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not 
 equally enjoin its' It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, 
 and at no very distant period, a powerful nation, to give to 
 mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people 
 always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who 
 can doubt that, in the course of time, the fruits of such apian 
 would richly repay any temporary advantages which might 
 be felt by a steady adherence to it.^ Can it be, that provi- 
 dence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation 
 with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended 
 by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas ! 
 is it rendered impossible by its vices.^ 
 
 In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential 
 than that inveterate antipathies against particular nations, 
 and passionate attachments for others, should be ex- 
 cluded; and that in place of them, just and amicable feel- 
 ings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which 
 indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or a habitual 
 fondness, is in some degree of a slave. It is a slave to its 
 animosity, or to its affection; either of v/hich is sufficient to 
 lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in 
 one nation against another disposes each more readily to 
 offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of um- 
 brage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental 
 or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent col- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 169 
 
 lisions, obstinate, envenomed and bloody contests. The 
 nation prompted by ill-will and resentment sometimes im- 
 pels to war the government contrary to the best calculations 
 of policy. The government sometimes participates in the 
 national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason 
 would reject^ at other times it makes the animosity of the 
 nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by 
 pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. 
 The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty of nations, 
 has been the victim. So, likewise, a passionate attachment of 
 ohe nation for another, produces a variety of evils. Sympa- 
 thy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an 
 imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common 
 interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the 
 other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels 
 and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or 
 justification. 
 
 It leads also to concessions to the favourite nation of 
 privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure 
 the nation making the concessions, by unnecessarily parting 
 with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting 
 jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate in the par- 
 ties from whom equal privileges are withheld; and it gives 
 to ambitious, corrupted or deluded citizens facility to be- 
 tray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without 
 odium, sometimes even with popularity, gilding with the 
 appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, or a laudable 
 zeal for public good, the foolish compliances of ambition, 
 corruption, or infatuation. 
 
 As avenues to foreign influence, in innumerable ways, 
 such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly 
 enlightened and independent patriot. How many oppor- 
 tunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, 
 to practise the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, 
 to influence or awe the public councils! Such an attach- 
 ment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful na- 
 tion, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. 
 
 Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive 
 dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see 
 danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even to 
 second the arts and influence of the other. Real patriots, 
 who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to 
 become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes 
 
170 THE LIFE OF 
 
 usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender 
 their interests. 
 
 The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign na- 
 tions, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with 
 them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we 
 have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with 
 perfect good faith. Here let us stop. 
 
 Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have 
 none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be en- 
 gaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are 
 essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it 
 must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties, 
 in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary 
 combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. 
 
 Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us 
 to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, 
 under an efficient government, the period is not far off when 
 we may defy material injury from external annoyance^ when 
 we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality 
 we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously re- 
 spected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility 
 of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the 
 giving us provocation — when we may choose peace or war, 
 as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. 
 
 Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? 
 Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground.^ Why 
 by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, 
 entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European 
 ambition, rivalship, interest, humour, or caprice ? 
 
 It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances 
 with any portion of the foreign world, so far I mean as we 
 are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as 
 capable of patronising infidelity to existing engagements. 
 I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private 
 affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, 
 therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genu- 
 ine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and 
 would be unwise to extend them. 
 
 Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable esta- 
 blishments, in a respectable defensive posture, we may 
 safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emer- 
 gencies. 
 
 Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are re- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 171 
 
 commended by policy, humanity, and interest. But, even 
 our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial 
 hand; neither seeking or granting exclusive favours or pre- 
 ferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing 
 and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, 
 but forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed, 
 in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights 
 of our merchants, and to enable the government to support 
 them; conventional rules of intercourse, the best that pre- 
 sent circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but 
 temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or 
 varied, as experience or circumstances shall dictate; con- 
 stantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look 
 for disinterested favours from another; that it must pay with 
 a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept 
 under that character; that by such acceptance, it may place 
 itself in the condition of having given equivalents for no- 
 minal favour, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude 
 for not giving more. There can be no greater error than 
 to expect, or calculate, upon real favours from nation to 
 nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which 
 a just pride ought to discard. 
 
 In offering to my countrymen, these counsels of an old 
 and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the 
 strong and lasting impression I could wish — that they w411 
 control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our 
 nation from running the course which has hitherto marked 
 the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself 
 that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some 
 occasional good, that they may now and then recur to mo- 
 derate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs 
 of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pre- 
 tended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for 
 the solicitude of your welfare, by which they have been 
 dictated. 
 
 How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been 
 guided by the principles which have been delineated, the 
 public records and the other evidences of my conduct must 
 witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of 
 my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself 
 to be guided by them. 
 
 In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my pro- 
 clamation of the ^2d of April, 1793, is the index to my 
 
172 THE LIFE OF 
 
 plan. Sanctioned bj your approving voice, and by that of 
 your representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit 
 of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced 
 by any attempts to deter or divert me from it. 
 
 After deliberate examination with tlie aid of the best 
 lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, 
 under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, 
 and was bound in duty and interest, to take a neutral posi- 
 tion. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should de- 
 pend upon me, to maintain it, witli moderation, perseverance 
 and firmness. The considerations which respect the right 
 to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to 
 detail. I will only observe, that according to my under- 
 standing of the matter, tliat right, so far from being denied 
 by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually ad- 
 mitted by all. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may 
 be inferred, without any thing more from the obligation 
 w^iich justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases 
 in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations 
 of peace and amity towards other nations. 
 
 The inducements of interest for observing that conduct 
 will be referred to your own reflections and experience. 
 AVith me, a predominant motive has been to endeavour to 
 gain time to our country to settle and mature its recent in- 
 stitutions, and to progress without interruption, to that 
 degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to 
 give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes. 
 
 Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration, 
 I am unconscious of intentional error; I am, nevertheless, 
 too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I 
 may have committed many errors. Whatever they may 
 be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate 
 the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with 
 me the hope, that my country will never cease to view 
 them with indulgence; and that, after forty -five years of my 
 life dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults 
 of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as 
 myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 
 
 Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and 
 actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural 
 to a man who views it in the native soil of himself and his 
 progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleas- 
 ing expectation, that retreat, in which I promise myself to 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. IfS 
 
 realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in 
 the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of 
 good laws under a free government — the ever favourite 
 object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our 
 mutual cares, labours and dangers. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 United States, 17th September, 1796. 
 
 In all quarters of the Union, this Address was received 
 with profound veneration and respect for its author, and a 
 deep conviction of the truth and preciousness of the solemn 
 lessons it contained. The people bowed with reverence to 
 the precepts of patriotism, which fell from the venerated 
 lips of the mighty man, whose genius and virtue had con- 
 ducted them through such tempests and perils, to their pre- 
 sent freedom and felicity. Several of the State Legislatures 
 passed resolutions to have it transcribed on their journals; 
 and nearly all adopted resolutions, declaring their respect 
 for his person, their exalted sense of his public services, and 
 the deep emotion with which they beheld his retirement 
 from public life. 
 
 The period of his political cares now rapidly approached^ 
 and on the 7th of December, 1796, Washington for the last 
 time, met the national legislature in the Senate chamber, to 
 deliver liis final speech on the affairs of the country; and 
 here, he exceeded all his antecedent addresses, in the com- 
 prehensive reach of mind, and condensation of political 
 wisdom which it exhibited. After enumerating and com- 
 menting on the prominent events of his administration for 
 the past year, he digressed to the recommendation of a com- 
 petent Naval establishment; the erection of National 
 Works for the manufacture of the necessary munitions of 
 war; for a National Institute of Agriculture; for a 
 Military Academy; for a National University; and an 
 increase of compensation to the officers of government. As 
 usual, his exposition of the foreign relations of the country 
 was lucid and patriotic; while his view of its internal pros- 
 perity was perspicuous, animated and cheering. 
 
 The Senate adopted an answer to the speech, replete with 
 sentiments of aff*ection and gratitude towards the veteran 
 chief, and expressive of their regret at his retirement from 
 the Presidential chair. 
 
 In the House of Representatives, however, a similar spirit 
 P 9. 
 
17'4 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of patriotism and liberality did not universally prevail. 
 Faction had there reared its snaky frontj and malice, pas- 
 sion and hatred had been, in a great measure, substituted 
 for the pure spirit of American patriotism. Mr. Giles, 
 cursed by nature with the unquiet spirit of eternal opposi- 
 tion, vented his gall in slander, and satiated his malignity 
 by his aspersions on the character of Washington. With 
 an audacity only equalled by his disregard of truth, and a 
 malignityof heart, which found no parallel but in his perver- 
 sity of understanding, that gentleman said, " he was one of 
 those citizens who did not regret the President's retiring 
 from office. He hoped he would retire to his country seat, 
 and enjoy all the happiness he could wish; and he believed 
 he would enjoy more there than in his present situation. 
 He believed the government of the United States would go 
 on without him. The people were competent to their own 
 government. What calamities would attend the United 
 States, if one man alone was essential to their govern- 
 ment. ^ He believed there were a thousand men in the 
 United States, who were capable of filling the Presiden- 
 tial chair as well as it had been filled heretofore. And 
 although a clamour had been raised in all parts of tlie 
 United States, more or less from apprehensions on the depar- 
 ture of tlie President from office, yet, not feeling these ap- 
 prehensions himself, he was perfectly easy on the occasion. 
 He wished the President as much happiness as any man, 
 &c.'' — i'but for his part, he retained the same opinions he 
 had always done with respect to his measures, nor should 
 any influence under heaven prevent him from expressing 
 that opinion — an opinion in which he was confident, ere 
 lon^, all America ivould concur. "* 
 
 The address, to which Mr. Giles made his ineffectual 
 opposition, was carried by an overwhelming majority, and 
 contained the following beautiful and appropriate passages 
 
 * Mr. Giles lived to see the folly of this prediction; for, at the 
 time of his death, every measure of Washing-ton had been fuU}^ adopt- 
 ed by those who opposed them in 1796. The federal pohcy became 
 the democratic policy, even down to the navy and the bank; and 
 Mr. Giles was left a solitary monument of consistent obstinacy, at 
 war with all parties, and himself denounced by all America. Mr. 
 Madison and Mr, Monroe, more wise, became converts to a policy 
 which could not be chang-ed without plung-ing- the country in ruip, 
 and subjecting- it to insult and dishonour. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 175 
 
 — '*The spectacle of a free and enlightened nation offer- 
 ing, by its representatives, the tribute of unfeigned appro- 
 bation to its tirst citizen, however novel and interesting it 
 may be, derives all its lustre (a lustre which accident or 
 enthusiasm could not bestow, and which adulation would 
 tarnish) from the transcendant merit of which it is the vo- 
 luntary testimony. " 
 
 "May you long enjoy that liberty which is so dear to you, 
 and to which your name will ever be so dearj may your 
 own virtue, and a nation's prayers, obtain the happiest sun- 
 shine for the decline of your days, and the choicest of fu- 
 ture blessings. For our country's sake; for the sake of re- 
 publican liberty, it is our earnest wish that your example 
 may be the guide of your successors; and thus, after being 
 the ornament and safeguard of the present, become the 
 patrimony of our descendants." This address was carried 
 by nearly a unanimous vote^ three members only voting in 
 the negative ! 
 
 Washington beheld his return to private life with those 
 heartfelt emotions of sincere pleasure, which delight '•''the 
 wearied traveller who sees a resting place, and is bending 
 his body to lean thereon.^^ 
 
 He remained in Philadelphia, after the expiration of his 
 term of office, only long enough to attend the inau guration 
 of John Ada]ms,«5 President, dnd Thomas Jefferson, as 
 Vice-President of the United States. 
 
 The merchants of Philadelphia, fully qualified to appre- 
 ciate the genius, and reverence the virtues and patriotism 
 of Washington, could not consent to part with the father 
 of his country, without some signal testimony of their gra- 
 titude and admiration; which, more or less, extended to 
 every class of life. For this purpose, they prepared a mag- 
 nificent banquet, to which Washington was invited, together 
 with many officers of high rank in the late army, the heads 
 of departments, foreign ministers and persons of distinction. 
 
 Upon entering the area of the Rotundo, the general was 
 conducted to his seat; and, a signal being given, the music 
 struck up Washington's March, while a curtain scene, 
 which represented simple objects in the rear of the princi- 
 pal seat, was drawn up and discovered an emblematical 
 painting of his retirement from office. Tlie principal figure 
 was that of a female, as large as life, representing America, 
 seated on an elevation of sixteen marble steps, Oji her left 
 
176 THE LIFE OF 
 
 hand reposed the federal shield, sustained bj an eagle, and 
 at her feet laj the cornucopiae. In her right hand she held 
 the Indian calumet of peace, supporting the cap of liberty; 
 while in the perspective rose the temple of fame; and on 
 her left stood an altar consecrated to public gratitude, 
 upon which incense was burning. In her left hand she held 
 a scroll, inscribed ' valedicto?^,^ and at the foot of the 
 altar lay r plumed helmet and sword, from which a figure of 
 Washington, as large as life, appeared retiring down the 
 steps, pointing with his right hand to the emblems of power 
 which he had resigned, and witli his left to a beautiful land- 
 scape of Mount Vernon, in front of which appeared oxen 
 yoked to the plough. Over the seat of Washington, a 
 figure of genius, descending from the clouds, appeared 
 placing a wreath of laurel on liis head. 
 
 No sooner was his successor installed into office, than 
 Washington hastened towards his favourite retreat of Mount 
 Vernon: but all his efforts to render his journey private 
 proved unavailing; and the country tlirough which he pass- 
 ed was thronged with grateful citizens, eager to express 
 their veneration and attachment to the man, who, uniting 
 virtue with greatness, shone brighter in the declining hours 
 of his authority, than the sun that rose to gild the chair 
 which he had voluntarily resigned; and the splendour of 
 whose real glory has been hourly augmenting from the day 
 of his retirement to the present time. While in power, 
 ambition envied his greatness, without being able to per- 
 ceive that adventitious circumstances did not create it; and 
 malignant faction aspersed his motives, without being able 
 to discern or appreciate his patriotism. 
 
 It has been remarked, as a singular fact in the life of 
 Washington, that though the most popular of all men who 
 ever did, or can occupy the presidential chair, yet that 
 scarcely any prominent measure of his administration has 
 escaped the venom of party invective, or the unsparing de- 
 nunciation of malignant criticism; the cause of which is to 
 be found in his patriotism, which refused to compromise 
 his country; and in his genius, which could carry into suc- 
 cessful execution the indistinct outlines of a vast and com- 
 plicated emp're, the boundaries of whose powers were 
 tlefined by an instrument open to every variety of construc- 
 tion; and, to pronounce on the violation of whose powers, 
 no tribunal had been understandingly erected. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. I7f 
 
 At Mount Vernon his time was now devoted to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, and the duties of an extensive correspon- 
 dence 5 fogetlier with that influx of social intercourse, which 
 his past greatness, and ever enduring virtues, poured upon 
 him; so that with the improvements of a somewhat neglected 
 estate, the society of men and the allurements of books, 
 added to the pleasing duties of a diftusive correspondence, 
 every hour glided away with the calm delight of rational 
 employment and philosophic dignity, yet with a heart not 
 narrowed in the sphere of its action, and a mind still acute- 
 ly alive to the honour, interest, freedom and prosperity of 
 his country. 
 
 It was scarcely within the compass of human reason, how- 
 ever, that Washington should not entertain a lively sensi- 
 bility for the progress of those political events, connected 
 with the operations of that stupendous machine of govern- 
 ment, which his genius had set in motion, and that policy 
 of its administration which his wisdom and virtue had de- 
 vised, as the polar star of its safety and honour. Warmly 
 attached to the system he had pursued, he looked to its 
 preservation with the fond solicitude of parental love, 
 which all his efforts to abstract himself from political affairs, 
 could not restrain or overcome. Still there was a struggle 
 in his mind between the love of retirement, and his habitual 
 propensity to watch over the welfare of his country, which 
 is well depicted in the following extract from one of his let- 
 ters — "I have confidence, however, in that providence 
 which has shielded the United States from the evils that 
 have hitherto threatened them; and as I believe the major 
 part of the people of this country to be well aff"ected to its 
 constitution and government, I rest satisfied that, should a 
 crisis ever arrive to call forth the sense of the community, 
 it will be strong in support of the honour and dignity of 
 the nation. Therefore, however much I regret the oppo- 
 sition, which has for its object the embarrassment of the ad- 
 ministration, I shall view things in the calm light of mild 
 philosophy, and endeavour to finish my course in retirement 
 and ease. " 
 
 But the insulting and degrading conduct of France, first 
 towards our minister. General Pinckney, then towards our 
 three envoys, and afterwards to our flag and property — 
 coupled with the insolent demand that '* France wants 
 money and must have it;^^ and that without money she 
 
178 " THE LIFE OF 
 
 would declare war against us; having at last provoked hos- 
 tilities witii that republic — Washington was appointed to 
 the command of the armies of the United States, in July, 
 1798, which he very reluctantly accepted, under the con- 
 viction that his duty to his country would not permit him 
 to decline a commission, which a deep sense of the danger 
 of the crisis had been the motive for conferring on him. He 
 now directed all his attention to the organization of the 
 army; though convinced himself that France would never 
 have the madness to attempt an invasion. 
 
 On Friday^ the 13th December, 1799, while superintend- 
 ing some alterations and improvements on his estate, ex- 
 posed to a drizzling rain, which saturated his hair, and 
 wet his neck, he received the malady, which in a short 
 period terminated his existence. Disregarding his being 
 wet, as a slight inconvenience, he passed the day in his 
 usual manner, free from all apprehension of danger; biit 
 during the night he was seized with a violent inflammation 
 of the windpipe, attended with ague, great pain in the upper 
 and fore part of the throat, a cough, difliculty of breathing 
 and considerable fever. He immediately lost fourteen 
 ounces of blood, but would not permit any of the domestics 
 to be disturbed, that they might be despatched for a phy- 
 sician, until day -break. Doctor Craik arrived at 11, and 
 immediately requested a consultation. But the resources 
 of art were exhausted in vain. His vital powers were fast 
 sinking beneath the force of his malady; his speech became 
 difficult, and his respiration obstructed more and more. In 
 this manner the vital functions seemed to be rapidly de- 
 parting; and on Saturday mg\\t, at half past 11 o'clock, he 
 expired, in the full possession of his intellectual faculties, 
 and without a struggle or a groan. 
 
 Labouring under the presentiment, from the beginning, 
 that his disease would prove mortal, he perhaps uncon- 
 sciously assisted to aid its ravages, by the great reluctance 
 with which he submitted to the remedies prescribed for its 
 cure. This impression, however, was too serious to be 
 eradicated; and a few hours before he died, he with diffi- 
 culty made himself understood, when he expressed a wish 
 to die without being further troubled. As soon as he was 
 attacked, and found it impossible to swallow, he concluded 
 all hope of recovery vain; and, undressing himself, went to 
 bed, to conclude his mortal career. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 179 
 
 To Doctor Craik, who added the kindness of a friend to 
 the skill of a physician, he said with difficulty, as his head 
 reposed on the lap of the doctor, who sat on his bed, 
 ' Doctor, I am dying, and have been dying for a long time, 
 but I am not afraid to die.' 
 
 Thus, with the serenity of a saint, and the composure of 
 a philosopher, expired, in his sixty-seventh year, the purest 
 man, and most disinterested patriot, who had ever founded 
 an empire, and exercised the supreme authority of a nation. 
 
 As sudden as it was afflicting, the intelligence of his 
 death struck the public mind with a palsy of grief, which 
 every moment spread wider, and sunk deeper into the 
 hearts of the community. At a distance, the news of his 
 death preceded the intelligence of his illness; so quick had 
 been the ravages of his disease; and as the dismay was en- 
 hanced, from the minds of men not being prepared for the 
 catastrophe, a general gloom overspread the country. The 
 two Houses of Congress immediately adjourned on the re- 
 ceipt of the intelligence. On the succeeding day, a mem- 
 ber of the House addressed to the chair the folio win^^ just 
 and beautiful eulogy, as introductory to three resolutions.* 
 *'The melancholy event which was yesterday announced 
 with doubt, has been rendered but too certain. Our 
 Washington is no more ! The hero, the patriot, and the 
 sage of America — tlie man on whom, in times of danger, 
 every eye was turned, and all hopes were placed, lives now 
 only in his own great actions, and in the hearts of an affec- 
 tionate and afflicted people. 
 
 '' If, Sir, it had not been usual openly to testify respect 
 for the memory of those whom heaven has selected as its 
 instruments for dispensing good to man, yet, such has been 
 the uncommon worth and such the extraordinary incidents 
 which may have marked the life of him whose loss we all 
 deplore, that the whole American nation, impelled by the 
 
 * *' Resolved, That this House will wait on the President in con- 
 dolence of this mournful event. 
 
 '* Resolved, That the Speaker's chair be shrouded with black, 
 and that the members and officers of the liouse wear black during 
 the Session. 
 
 "Resolved, That a Committee, in conjunction with one from the 
 Senate, be appointed to consider on the most suitable manner of pay- 
 ing- honour to the memory of the max, first ix wau, pibst ix 
 
 PEACE, and FIRST IN THE HEABTS OF HIS FELLOW CITIZEN'S." 
 
180 THE LIFE OF 
 
 same feelings, would call, with one voice, for a public ma- 
 nifestation of that sorrow which is so deep and universal. 
 
 "More than any other individual, and as much as to 
 one individual was possible, has he contributed to found 
 this our wide spreading empire, and to give to the Western 
 World Independence and Freedom. 
 
 '' Having effected the great object for wliich he was placed 
 at the head of our armies, we have seen him convert the 
 sword into the ploughshare, and sink the soldier into the 
 citizen. 
 
 *' When the debility of our federal system had become 
 manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast conti- 
 nent were dissolving, we have seen him the chief of those 
 patriots who formed for us a constitution which, by pre- 
 serving the Union, will, I trust, substantiate and perpetuate 
 those blessings which our revolution had promised to bestow. 
 
 " In obedience to the general voice of his country calling 
 him to preside over a great people, we have seen him once 
 more quit the retirement he loved, and in a season more 
 stormy and tempestuous than war itself, with calm and wise 
 determination pursue the true interests of the nation, and 
 contribute, more than any other could contribute, to the 
 establishment of that system of policy, which will, I trust, 
 yet preserve our peace, our honour and our independence. 
 
 " Having been twice unanimously chosen the chief magis- 
 trate of a free people, we have seen him, at a time when his 
 re-election, with universal suff'rage, could not be doubted, 
 afford to the world a rare instance of moderation, by with- 
 drawing from his high station to the peaceful walks of pri- 
 vate life. 
 
 "However the public confidence may change, and the 
 public aff*ections fluctuate with respect to others, with re- 
 spect to him, they have, in war and in peace, in public and 
 private life, been as steady as his own firm mind, and as con- 
 stant as his own exalted virtues." 
 
 It would fill a volume to allude to, much less detail all 
 the public testimonials of grief, reverence and affection, 
 which attended the funeral obsequies of this illustrious man. 
 
 The person, manners and temper of Washington, must 
 always excite the aff*ectionate curiosity of coming ages, to 
 the end of time. He was above the middle size, tall, robust 
 and vigorous — formed to endure great fatigue, and from an 
 exuberance of vitality requiring much exercise to preserve 
 
GEORGE AVASHINGTON. 181 
 
 health; yet, though robust, his form was graceful aud 
 dignified. 
 
 In his manners, he was inclined to be reserved and dry, 
 yet neither stern nor haughty; but this disposition he re- 
 laxed to cheerfulness and sociability, amidst the charms of 
 conversation, or the finer pleasures of select society; still, 
 however, preserving that dignity, which seemed to attach 
 to his deportment rather as an attribute of mind, than a 
 carriage of his person* 
 
 His temper was naturally quick; but vigilance and disci- 
 pline had taught him to correct its impetuosity, and restrain 
 its ebullitions. His heart was benevolent, humane and 
 afiiectionate; and if he was prone to be easily offended, he 
 was also remarkable for a forgiving and conciliating temper, 
 which never permitted resentment to rankle into revenge, 
 or fester into hatred; for, it passed over his heart like the 
 glow from his cheek — a momentary flush, and all was calm 
 again. Indeed, every lineament of his countenance shone 
 with magnanimity, and beamed with the true lustre of heroic 
 virtue; mirroring a heart free from every spot, which the 
 evil passions imprint on the wicked. 
 
 In his personal economy he was prudent, yet at the same 
 time liberal. Cautious of all visionary schemes, and guarded 
 against prodigal experiments; when he knew the purpose to 
 be useful, his bounty was as ample as his means. By this 
 judicious husbandry, his private fortune was always adequate 
 to his extensive hospitality; for never having impaired his 
 estate, through neglect, extravagance, or pride; by costly 
 display, or vain magnificence; he could practise the art of 
 bountiful entertainment, without committing the error of 
 luxurious ruin. 
 
 The cast of his mind was to deep meditation, and solid 
 sense. Wit, he never made pretensions to: the point 
 which sparkles, and the flash that fascinates, to dazzle the 
 fancy while it beguiles the judo;ment, were alike alien to the 
 heroic gravity of his mind; which, though abundantly gifted 
 with genius, seems to have been too colossal and lofty for 
 the glare and brilliancy of imagination. 
 
 He was naturally prone to be serious, and the usual habit 
 of his mind was sober reflection. He seldom smiled, never 
 indulged in laughter, and rarely relaxed to the familiarit,y 
 of common social intercourse; habit having strengthened his 
 constitutional propensity to abstraction, to the contempla- 
 
 Q 
 
182 THE LIFE OF 
 
 tion of vast enterprises, beneficial measures or useful 
 schemes. 
 
 In his moral habits, he was virtuous and pure, chaste and 
 discreet: no imputation of private vice ever having dimned 
 the true lustre of his greatness. 
 
 Free from the revengeful passions, he was equally exalted 
 above the false ideas of honour: he was never known to 
 slioot an enemy in a duel, or assassinate a foe in a brawl j 
 being equally a stranger to the gaming table, the cock-pit, 
 and the race ground. 
 
 In his religion he was a sincere Christian; but neither 
 professed great sanctity, nor put on the exterior of rigid 
 piety, content to discharge his duty to man, and to adore 
 God in his heart. Mr. Jefferson has attempted to make 
 him a dissenter from the Christian creed 5 but this is an 
 errorj the testimony to prove his religion being too con- 
 clusive to admit a doubt. It is true, that he neither encou- 
 raged priests nor priestcraft; but it is equally true, that 
 his sense of religion was profound, and his piety warm and 
 unaffected. 
 
 He had a peculiar aversion to sitting for his portrait, and 
 of course suffered much vexation from the importunity of 
 artists: but Gilbert Stuart, having arrived from England 
 with a letter of introduction from Mr. Jay to Washington, 
 an acquaintance with that eminent artist ensued? and 
 Stuart having been fortunate enough to win his confidence 
 and esteem, he painted his first portrait of him. This was 
 in 1794. But the artist not being satisfied with this attempt 
 destroyed it; and Washington having consented to another 
 sitting, Stuart contrived to excite those emotions of the 
 great mind of his subject, which would throv/ the best ex- 
 pression into his countenance. It is said, that such was the 
 impression of awe, produced by Washington on the artist, 
 that he lost his self-possession at the first sitting; although 
 Stuart had long been familiar with the society of the first 
 noblemen of Europe: but he had not yet beheld the noble- 
 man of nature — the great and good man, whose greatness of 
 soul beamed in a visage unequalled for its grandeur and 
 purity. This second portrait is represented as the most 
 faithful ever painted; and was purchased of the widow of 
 Stuart by the Boston Atheneum^ for one thousand dollars. 
 A portrait from this standard picture, by Durand, is now in 
 process of engraving, and will soon be furnished to the 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 public. Stuart resided at Germantown, at the period that 
 he painted the portrait of the great American^ and the Ge- 
 neral rode out to sit to him; on one of which occasions, the 
 painter made him the following jocular compliment: "Ge- 
 neral, I have always felt much indebted to you for your 
 kindness; but my greatest obligation to you is, that you 
 never attempted to paint portraits; for you have had such 
 perfect success in all you have undertaken, that if you had 
 been a painter I should have had no hopes." 
 
 Such was George Washington; a man, who, made 
 great by nature, and still greater by virtue; self-educated, 
 and depending more on the suggestions of genius than the 
 lessons of science and the precepts of learning, for his pre- 
 eminent success in life, presents us with a model of human 
 perfection, which, combining simple grandeur with unaf- 
 fected modesty, has never been equalled by the possessors 
 of supreme authority. 
 
 In reviewing with the cool and impartial eye of criticism, 
 the waole range of history, ancient and modern, we meet 
 with no character that can aspire to equal, in all the points 
 of true greatness that of George Washington. Some, it is 
 true, are more splendid and dazzling; others more distin- 
 guished for daring enterprise; and others again, more bril- 
 liant and illustrious, on account of their profound learning, 
 varied acquirements, glittering eloquence, or commanding 
 and exalted ambition, reckless of consequences, and intent 
 solely upon renown. Indeed, in isolated and detached fea- 
 tures of character, he had innumerable superiors; but, in the 
 grand ivhole, of what constitutes true glory, and makes a 
 hero, without making a villain, Washington had no equal, 
 but stands alone a monument of the beneficence of Heaven 
 in its creation of a great man, whose greatness was combined 
 with virtue, and whose never fading lustre was untarnished 
 by one vice— -undimned by one crime. Fallible, it is true, 
 he was; but it was the fallibility of great and well poised 
 genius, which so rarely erred, that men of less exalted na- 
 tures looked upon him as a standard of perfection, and not 
 without reason; for time and experience put the great seal of 
 wisdom on his deeds, and those most opposed eventually 
 yielded to him their approbation and applause; as if he pos- 
 sessed the faculty of penetrating beyond the mist of human 
 passions around him, to discern the truth which lay unob- 
 scured to his eye, in the brightness of the future; and of 
 
184 THE LIFE OF 
 
 shaking off from his mind all those living prejudices which, 
 like devouring insects, prey upon the reason of man, de- 
 facing his intellect, obscuring his judgment, and debasing 
 liis moral to the grossness of his physical nature. 
 
 We recognise in Washington, the three great characters 
 of a warrior, a statesman, and a legislator. As a general, 
 he was cool, skilful, inventive, and, mixing intrepidity with 
 prudence, he exhibited that happy concord of qualities which 
 could dash on to achieve victory, or with cautious prudence 
 stand aloof from battle, or effect a secure retreat. Rather 
 passive than active in his mind, more disposed to wait for 
 the event, and resist it, than to anticipate it, and miscarry 
 by false calculation, the defective nature of his militmy 
 ^naterial, confirmed him in the habit of this propensity. 
 Gifted with foresight and penetration, he was never taken 
 by surprise; and fertile in expedients, he never suffered him- 
 self to sink under the difficulties that surrounded him. His 
 military genius, however, cannot fairly be appreciated by 
 his ini/itaty practice. His letters breathe the fiery spirit of 
 the curbed war-l\orse, chafing for action, but restrained by 
 prudence: and having wisdom enough to bend to circum- 
 stances, instead of rushing, with reckless and headlonj^ 
 rashness, upon measures pregnant equally with glory, witli 
 ruin and defeat. It was a great quality of his mind, to 
 know the exact measure of his strength, and to have pru- 
 dence not to risk that strength in dubious conflicts, where 
 defeat would have amounted to extirpation, and even vic- 
 tory might have involved ruin. There was wisdom, there- 
 fore, blended with his valour; and prudence with his skill 
 and address — qualities which, though not so brilliant as im- 
 petuosity and daring, yet were more useful to his country,, 
 and more beneficial to mankind. 
 
 As a statesman, Washington discarded theory for pi-ac- 
 tice, and preferred experience to speculation. He was a self- 
 formed politician, made by circumstances, observation and 
 practice; not fashioned by books in the solitude of the closet, 
 but created by contact with mankind, and having for his 
 object the happiness of society, instead of the vanity or pas- 
 sions of one portion only of that great family, whose hap- 
 piness he was destined to promote. 
 
 He was a republican, on the broad principles of equal 
 rights and public virtue: advocating rational liberty under 
 the sanction and guarantee of wholesome laws, whose effi- 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 185 
 
 cacy should equally protect virtue, industry and order, from 
 lawless violence, licentious laxity, or disorganising freedom. 
 His political principles are to be discerned in the constitu- 
 tion of the United States; where liberty, reduced into system, 
 breathes nothing but benevolence and love, law and order j 
 and which has extorted the admiration and applause of all 
 mankind, who favour the equal rights of man, in the pursuit 
 and enjoyment of happiness. 
 
 In his transactions with foreign nations, as well as in his 
 intercourse with his fellow citizens, his maxim was that of 
 trutk, sincerity and frankness. Without making ostenta- 
 tious prof essions of his honesty, he was never known to have 
 been guilty of duplicity, deceit, or equivocation. Truth 
 was the god of his idolatry; and from native dignity of soul, 
 as well as from an eiilightened selfishness, he always held 
 and acted on the principle of honesty being the best policy, 
 
 I shall conclude this brief outline of the life of Washing- 
 ton, by quoting the portrait of his character drawn by the 
 pen of Thomas Jefferson, which, as it cannot be supposed 
 to flatter, must be estimated as rigidly faithful on the side 
 of his defects, and sparingly just to his undeniable merits. 
 Mr. Jefferson says: "I think I knew the General intimately 
 and thoroughly; and were I called on to delineate his cha- 
 racter, it should be in terms like these:" 
 
 " His mind was great and powerful, without being of the 
 very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute 
 as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, 
 no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, 
 being little aided by invention, or imagination, but sure in 
 conclusion. Hence the common remark of his ofl&cers, of 
 the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hear- 
 ing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best; and cer- 
 tainly no general ever planned his battles more judiciously. 
 But if deranged during the course of the action, if any mem- 
 ber of his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, h^ 
 was slow in a readjustment. The consequence was, that 
 he often failed in the field, and rarely against an enemy in 
 station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable of fear, 
 meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. 
 Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, 
 never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, 
 was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, 
 when once decided, going through with his purpose what- 
 Q2 
 
186 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure; his 
 justice the most inflexible I have ever known; no motive of 
 interest, or consanguinity, of friendship, or hatred, being 
 able to iaias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense 
 of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper 
 was naturally irritable and high toned; but reflection and 
 resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over 
 it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tre- 
 mendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honourable, 
 but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised 
 utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary •pro- 
 jects and all unworthy calls on his charity. His heart was 
 not warm in its aifections; but he exactly calculated every 
 man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to 
 it. His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly 
 what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble; 
 the best horseman of his age, and tlie most graceful figure 
 that could be seen on horseback. Although, in the circle 
 of liis friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, 
 he took a free share in conversation; his colloquial talents, 
 were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness 
 of ideas, nor fluency of words. In public, when called on 
 for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short and embar- 
 rassed; yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy 
 and correct style. This he had acquired by conversation 
 with the world; for his education was merely reading, writ- 
 ing and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying 
 at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, 
 reading little, and that only in agriculture and English his- 
 tory. His correspondence became necessarily extensive, 
 and, with journalising his agricultural proceedings, occu- 
 pied most of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole, 
 his character was, in its mass perfect, in nothing bad, in 
 few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never 
 did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a 
 man great, and to place him in the same constellation with 
 whatever worthies have merited from man our everlasting 
 remembrance. For his was the singular destiny and merit 
 of leading the armies of his country successfully through an 
 arduous war, for the establishment of its independence; of 
 conducting its counsels through the birth of a government, 
 new in its forms and principles, until it had settled down 
 into a quiet and orderly train; and of scrupulously obeying 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 187 
 
 the laws through the whole of his career, civil and military, 
 of which the history of the world furnishes no other 
 example." 
 
 Too great to study the art, or practice the meanness of 
 adventitious fame, he never devised any measure for effect^ 
 or planned means by which to captivate the popular mind 
 by shallow devices. Intrinsically powerful, he disdained 
 the little arts by which pretenders to greatness attempt to 
 catch the plaudits of the credulous ignorant, who are so 
 often deceived by the professions of the demagogue, and 
 imposed on by the sli ght- hand a.droitness of the mountebank. 
 
 It was this conscious integrity of soul that made him sen- 
 sibly alive to the defamation of the public press, which an- 
 noyed him beyond all proportion to its importance; and 
 which, had he been able to view his own greatness and 
 purity in its true light, as it struck the public, he would 
 have disregarded in silent contempt, as too feeble and ma- 
 lignant to excite a painful feeling; however it might have 
 been pointed by the malignity of Callender, the hatred of 
 Bache, the ferocity of Duane, or the licentiousness of 
 Freneati. 
 
 As such, it is scarcely within the boundaries of human 
 possibility, that the world will ever again behold his paral- 
 lel; and it is almost reduced to certainty, that no American 
 will ever arise to extort an equal degree of our veneration, 
 j^ratitude and love. 
 
 END OF THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 

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THE 
 
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 OF 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSOW^. 
 
 Virginia, the illustrious mother of the brightest, gems of 
 our revolutionary era, gave birth to Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 In the character of this extraordinary man, as well as in 
 the events of his life, we are presented with a combination 
 of philosophical attainments, and political talents, of be- 
 nevolent feelings, and ambitious aspirations, rarely found 
 united in the same individual, and still more rarely result- 
 ing in that brilliancy of renown, and extensive popular vene- 
 ration, Avhich covers his name with an immortality as bright 
 as the truths of science, and as imperishable as the liberties 
 of mankind. 
 
 There is something so peculiarly attractive in the biography 
 of an obscure youth of the American forest, gradually rising 
 on our view, and enlarging each day in his dimensions, until, 
 with herculean vigour, he shook to fragments the mighty pil- 
 lars of the British constitution, causing the throne to tremble, 
 and the brightest jewel in the diadem of the British king 
 to fall from his brow: there is something in the achieve- 
 ment, at once so simple in its progress and yet so sublime 
 in its effects, as to cause an involuntary emotion of aston- 
 ishment at the daring of the attempt, as well as the power 
 required for its performance; and we feel tempted almost 
 to doubt, as too romantic for belief, what we recognise as 
 the truth of history, and bow to as the consecrated gift of 
 inspired and creative genius. In proportion as our admi- 
 ration is excited, by achievements so extraordinary and 
 singular, do we feel our curiosity awakened, to enquire by 
 what means deeds so vast were accomplished; and to be- 
 
190 THE LIFE OF 
 
 come more intimately acquainted with the faculties and at- 
 tributes of an intellect, which, stepping forward in advance 
 of all other minds of his own age, should have the sagacity 
 to conceive, and the moral courage to propose, a national 
 revolution of magnitude so vast, consequences so fearful, 
 and results so grand, so stupendous and so sublime! 
 
 He was born at a place called Shadwell, in Albemarle 
 county, on the 2d day of April, 1743, old style. His an- 
 cestors were among the earliest settlers of the province^ 
 and are said to have arrived at the possession of respecta- 
 bility and affluence, by the perseverance of their industry 
 and the vigour of their enterprize. His father, Peter Jef- 
 ferson, was a man of integrity, science and reputation; and 
 held responsible appointments under the government of the 
 province. The family originally emigrated to Virginia, 
 from Wales, near the mountain of vSnowdon. Of his father, 
 Jefferson relates that his ' education had been quite ne- 
 glected; but being of a strong mind, sound judgment, and 
 eager after information, he read much and improved himself, 
 insomuch that he was chosen, with Joshua Fry, professor of 
 mathematics in William and Mary College, to continue the 
 boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina." 
 
 His father died on the ITth August, 1757, leaving a 
 widow, with six daughters and two sons, Thomas being the 
 elder. His father appears to have possessed considerable 
 property, for he left an estate on James river, called 'Snow- 
 f/ow,' to his younger brother, and to Thomas the plantation 
 of Shadwell, on which he was born. At the age of five, 
 his father placed him at an English school; and when he 
 was nine, he was put"to acquire liatin and Greek, w'ith a 
 Mr. Douglass, a Scotch clergyman, who also instructed 
 him in French. On the death of his father, his education 
 was transferred to another clergyman, a Mr. Maury, emi- 
 nent for his classical attainments, with whom he continued 
 two years. In the spring of 1760, being qualified for fur- 
 ther advancement, he was translated to William and Mary 
 College, where he continued to pursue his studies for two 
 years more. His own account of this period of his life at 
 college is too impressive not to be quoted in this place. 
 "It was my great good fortune, and what probably fixed 
 th€ destinies of my life, that Dr. William Small, of Scot- 
 land, was then professor of mathematics, a man profound 
 in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 191 
 
 talent of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners, 
 and an enlarged and liberal mind. He, most happily for 
 me, became soon attached to me, and made me his daily 
 companion w4ien not engaged in the school; and from his 
 conversation I got my first views of the expansion of sci- 
 ence, and of the system of things in m hich we are placed. 
 Fortunately, the philosophical chair became vacant soon 
 after my arrival at college, and he was appointed to fill it, 
 jm^ interim; and he was the first who ever gave, in that col- 
 lege, regular lectures in ethics, rhetoric*and belles lettres. 
 He returned to Europe in 1762, having previously filled up 
 the measure of his goodness to me, by procuring for me, 
 from his most intimate friend, George Wythe, a reception 
 as a student at law, under his direction, and introduced 
 me to the acquaintance and familiar table of Governor Fau- 
 quier, the ablest man who had ever filled that oflice. With 
 him, and at his table. Dr. Small and Mr. Wythe, his mnici 
 omnium horarum, and myself, formed a jMriie giiarre, and 
 to the habitual conversations on these occasions I owed 
 much instruction. Mr. Wythe continued to be my faithful 
 ^nd beloved mentor in youth, and my most affectionate 
 friend through life. In 1767, he led me into the practice 
 of the law at the bar of the general court, at which I con- 
 tinued until the revolution shut up the courts of justice.'' 
 
 Soon after this, in 1769, he was chosen by the people of 
 his county to represent them in the Legislature of the State; 
 a station that he continued to fill up to the period of the 
 revolution. Nothing remarkable appears to have emanated 
 from him in that capacity, except his project for the eman- 
 cipation of slaves, a humane policv, to M'hich he was 
 at all times devoted, with more of the"^feelings of a philan- 
 thropist, than the policy of a statesman. 
 
 In the years 1768—9, he took an active part in the joint 
 resolutions and address which were adopted against those 
 of the Houses of Lords and Commons, together with an ad- 
 dress to the King, in which the people of Virginia avowed 
 their determination to make common cause with those of 
 Massachusetts; upon which occasion they were dissolved 
 by the Governor, when they proceeded to a public house, 
 and drew up and signed articles of non-importation from 
 Great Britain. 
 
 Whilst a student at Williamsburg, in 1765, he heard 
 Patrick Henry declaim against the stamp act, and remarks, 
 * he appeared to me to speak as Homer ivrote.'' 
 
192 THE LIFE Oif 
 
 In January, 1772, Mr. Jefterson was united in marriage 
 to Martha Skelton, a young widow of twenty-three, the 
 daugliter of an opulent attorney of the name of Wayles, by 
 whom he acquired a considerable fortune. 
 
 Possessed of a vivid imagination, ardent temperament 
 and benevolent feelings, that held communion with the 
 happiness of mankind, rather than the sympathies of indi-' 
 viduals, it was scarcely possible that Mr. Jeiferson, in the 
 same State with Patrick Henry, and breathing daily an at- 
 mosphere imbued Af ith the richest perfumes of eloquence, 
 freedom and justce, could remain an indifferent specta- 
 tor to the agitating questions of British outrages, pro- 
 vincial wrongs, and American rights. Animated with the 
 purest love of liberty; fresh from the study of Roman pa- 
 triots and Grecian sages, statesmen and warriors, to stimu- 
 late him in the love of country, and urge him to the vindi- 
 cation of the rights of man; he watched, with an eagle eye, 
 every movement of despotism, and hung, with youthful 
 rapture, on the exciting accents that fell from the eloquent 
 lips of Henry, glowing with patriotism and burning with 
 indignation. Quick to conceive, and prompt to act, to love 
 liberty, and to perceive oppression, was sufficient to impel 
 Jefferson, with the enthusiasm of a young mind, to embark 
 in the vindication and defence of the injured and aggressed 
 party. On every side he beheld men of his own age ready 
 to greet the goddess Liberty, and throng to the rescue of 
 their insulted country. The contagious ardour of youth 
 quickly kindled the combustible material of southern minds 
 into a flame of enthusiastic devotion to the common cause 
 of liberty and independence. To doubt one power of the 
 English crown over the colonies, was enough to ensure its 
 denial and obstruct its exercise; to doubt allegiance, was to 
 provoke rebellion; to iAmA; of rebellion was atoncetoflin? 
 open the door to revolution, and to pave the road that led 
 to Independence. 
 
 In the spring of 1773, Mr. Jefferson was active, along 
 with Patrick Henry and others, in forming a committee of 
 correspondence, to produce unity of action among the co- 
 lonies, in opposition to Great Britain, by devising and con- 
 certing measures for a general convention of the colonies 
 at some central point. Payton Randolph, the speaker, was 
 chosen chairman. Massachusetts, at the same time, and 
 without any knowledge of similar proceedings having been 
 adopted by Virginia, had taken the same course. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 193 
 
 The Boston port bill, in June 1774, produced a power- 
 ful impression on Virginia; and immediately determined 
 the leading members of the Legislature of that colony to 
 take a decided stand by the side of Massachusetts. Mr. 
 Jefferson relates this incident in terms too remarkable to 
 be overlooked; he says: — '•' The lead in the House, on these 
 subjects, being no longer left to the old members, Mr. 
 Henry, R. H. Lee, Fr. L. Lee, three or four other mem- 
 bers, whom I do not recollect, and myself, agreeing that 
 we must boldly take an unequivocal stand in the line of 
 Massachusetts, determined to meet and consult on the pro- 
 per measures, in the council chamber, for the benefit of the 
 library in that room. We were under conviction of the 
 necessity of rousing our people from the lethargy into which 
 they had fallen, as to passing events; and thought that the 
 appointment of a day of general fasting and pra^^er, would 
 be most likely to call up and alarm their attention. No 
 example of such a solemnity had existed since the days of 
 our distresses in the war of ^55, since which a new genera- 
 tion had grown up. With the help, therefore, of Rush- 
 worth, whom we rummaged over for the revolutionary pre- 
 cedents and forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved 
 by him, we cooked up a resolution, somewhat moderating 
 their phrases, for appointing the 1st day of June, on which 
 the port bill was to commence, for a day o{ fasting, humi- 
 liation and prayer; to implore heaven to avert from us 
 the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in the 
 support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the King and 
 Parliament to moderation and justice. " 
 
 It will be seen, from this account, that Mr. Jefterson 
 was active and prominent among the first who took a stand 
 against the encroachments of the crown; and exerted him- 
 self to the utmost to stimulate his countrymen to a firm, 
 manly and independent resistance, in the approaching strug- 
 gle of right against power. 
 
 The next important measure, adopted at the same time, 
 was one recommending the counties to elect delegates to 
 meet in August, to appoint Delegates to a General 
 Congress, should that project be deemed eligible. This 
 measure being acceded to, delegates were accordingly 
 chosen to meet in convention; and Mr. Jefferson, among 
 others, being elected, prepared a draught of instructions 
 to be given to the delegates to be chosen to Congress. 
 
 R 
 
194 THE LIFE OF 
 
 These instructions were afterwards printed in a pamphlet, 
 under the title of ' A Summary Vieiv of the Rights of 
 British America;'' containing a lucid and powerful exposi- 
 tion of the real political relations, founded in principle, rea- 
 son and nature, between the colonies and the mother coun- 
 try. This paper was addressed to the King, and breathed a 
 spirit of liberty and daring, which, while it startled the 
 timid, inspired confidence in the bold and resolution in the 
 brave. Mr. Burke afterwards adapted it to the atmosphere 
 of London, to answer the ends of the opposition there; and 
 it passed very rapidly through several editions. It was on 
 account of this pamphlet, that IMr. Jefferson's name was 
 included in a list of proscriptions by the ministry, at the 
 same time that he was threatened with a prosecution for 
 treason, by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the pro- 
 vince. 
 
 Mr. Jefterson, though he had not been appointed a dele- 
 gate to the first Congress, that met at Philadelphia, yet he 
 was not inactive in the Legislature, in 1775; Vvhere, at the 
 suggestion of Peyton Randolph, he drew up the answer of 
 the G*eneral Assembly of Virginia, to the conciliatory pro- 
 positions of Lord North; which, for its independent spirit, 
 and bold tone, struck some of the moderate men, if not 
 with horror, at least with amazement; but, as Jefferson says, 
 it finally passed 'the House with long and doubtful scru- 
 ples from Mr. Nicholas and James Mercer, and a dash of 
 cold water on it here and there, enfeebling it somewhat, 
 but finally with unanimity, or a vote approaching to it.' 
 * This being passed, continues Mr. Jefferson, I repaired 
 immediately to Philadelphia, and conveyed to Congress 
 the first notice they had of it. It was entirely approved 
 there. I took my seat with them on the 21st of June.' 
 
 A committee being appointed by Congress, on the 22d 
 of July, to consider and report on Lord Nortli's concilia- 
 tory resolution, Mr. Jefferson was appointed, conjointly 
 with Doctor Franklin, Mr. Adams and R. H. I^ee. At the 
 request of the committee, Mr. Jefferson undertook to pre- 
 pare the report, and it could not have fallen into more able 
 and efiicient hands; for such were the spirits that eno;en- 
 dered rebellion, dashed on to revolution and achieved in- 
 dependence. It was fortunate for the country and the 
 cause, that we had Jefferson to 77iove in tlie cabinet, and 
 Washington to organize the field ! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 195 
 
 That momentous event, the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, was now approaching its birth-day; the Convention 
 of Virginia having, on the loth of May, 1776, instructed 
 their delegates in Congress to declare the colonies indepen- 
 dent of Great Britain; for which purpose they appointed a 
 committee to prepare a declaration of rights and plan of 
 government. 
 
 In pursuance of these instructions, the Virginia delegates, 
 on the 7th of June, 1776, moved, that the Congress should 
 declare ''that these United Colonies are, and of right ought 
 to be, FREE and independent States, that they are ab- 
 solved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that 
 all political connection between them and the State of 
 Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; 
 that measures should be immediately taken for procuring 
 the assistance of foreign powers, and a confederation be 
 formed to bind the colonies more closely together." 
 
 This proposition was deferred to the succeeding day, the 
 8th of June, when it was taken up and referred to a com- 
 mittee of the whole House, who consumed that day, and 
 the following Monday, in debate upon the resolutions. In 
 the course of this discussion the right of the colonies to 
 independence was not controverted; but the policy of issu- 
 ing a declaration of the kind, at that period, was considered 
 by some rather dubious; among other reasons, because the 
 middle States, more cautious and circumspect than those 
 of the North and South, had not instructed their delegates 
 to vote for such an extremity; which induced the Congress 
 to postpone their final vote on the question to the 1st of 
 July, in order to give time for the colonies of New York, 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South 
 Carolina, to mature their disposition to come heartily into 
 the measure, on the expediency of which they were not yet 
 fully satisfied. In the interim, however, a committee was 
 appointed to prepare this solemn and important state paper, 
 consisting of Mr. Jefterson, John Adams, Dr. Franklin, 
 Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. At the request 
 of the committee, Mr. Jefferson consented to draught this 
 momentous and interesting document. Having completed 
 the Declaration of American Independence, he submitted 
 it to the committee, by whom it was approved, and not less 
 applauded than approved; and he accordingly reported it to 
 the House on the 28th of June, when it was read, and or- 
 dered to lie on the table. 
 
196 THE LIFE OF 
 
 It cannot be doubted, that on this occasion, Mr. Jeft'er- 
 son felt all the solicitude which the solemn import of the 
 instrument was reasonably calculated to inspire: as a step 
 whicli was to usher into being a doubtful civil war — a bloody 
 and uncertain revolution, anxl finally give birth to an em- 
 pire, whicli was to change the face of the civilized world; 
 convulse the monarchies of Europe; invert the obligations 
 between kings and people; dissolve the ancient foundations 
 of fj;overnment, and create a new empire out of the chaos 
 produced by tyranny against the rights of man. Property 
 and life were to be perilled, peace and abundance to be 
 sacrificed, toil and danger to be endured; and it was all 
 cheerfully done; the sacrifice was placed upon tlie altar 
 of liberty, the fire was kindled, the smoke gathered in 
 dark and lurid clouds, the flames ascended even to the 
 heavens, but the offering was an acceptable one, the God of 
 nations smiled upon the sacrifice, and America became free, 
 happy and independent. 
 
 On the 4th of July, the debates upon this important ques- 
 tion having closed, the Declaration of Independence was 
 adopted and signed by every member present, except Mr. 
 Dickinson. In reference to the debates on this occasion, 
 Mr. Jefferson observes — ^ '- Tha piisillanimous idea that we 
 had friends in England worth keeping terms with, still 
 haunted the minds of many. For this reason, those pas- 
 sages which conveyed censures on the people of England 
 were struck out, lest they should give them offence. The 
 clause too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of 
 Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina 
 and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the im- 
 portation of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still wished 
 to continue it. Our northern brethren also, I believe, felt a 
 little tender under the censures; for though their people had 
 very few slaves themselves, yet they liad been pretty con- 
 siderable carriers of them to others. The debates having 
 taken up the greater parts of the second, third and fourth days 
 of July, were, on the evening of the last period, closed." 
 
 Congress, on the 12th of July, entered into the discus- 
 sion of a great question, second in importance only^to the 
 Declaration of Independence; this was the adoption of ar- 
 ticles of confederation between the thirteen United States. 
 The debate on these articles extended to a period of two 
 years; and were only ratified in 1778, by ten States. On 
 the 26th of November eleven States concurred in them; 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 197 
 
 and on the 23d Februar^^, 1779, Delaware also received 
 them; but it was not until March 1, 1781, that Maryland 
 gave in her adhesion to the confederacy. 
 
 What part Jefferson took in this measure I have not been 
 able to discover; and suspect it to have been both less pro- 
 minent and less ardent than that on the Declaration of In- 
 dependence; not because he considered it of inferior mo- 
 ment, but because the mind naturally relaxes and flags after 
 great exertion, or unusual labour and excitement; or that 
 others jealous of his prominence, were now ambitious of 
 taking their part in the great work of self-government. 
 
 The new government of Virginia being now organised, 
 Mr. Jefferson determined to resign his seat in Congress, 
 havino- been elected by his county to the new Legislature of 
 his native State, to be held in October. On this subject he 
 remarks, " I knew that our legislation, under the regal 
 government, had many very vicious points which urgently 
 required reformation, and I thought I could be of more use 
 in forwarding that work. I therefore retired from my seat 
 in Congress on the 2d of September, resigned it, and took 
 my place in the Legislature of my state on the 7th of 
 October. " 
 
 Jefferson now^ commenced his labours in the Legisla- 
 ture of Virginia, as the champion of reform and the apos- 
 tle ot liberty. He there drew a bill for the organization 
 of the courts of justice, of great importance, which was ap- 
 proved by the committee, and finally passed into a law. 
 
 But the most eventful, memorable and republican act of 
 his whole life, was now to be performed; and not to do in- 
 justice to which, I must detail in his own language. '^' On 
 the 12th, I obtained leave to bring in a bill declaring tenants 
 in tail to hold their lands in fee simple. In the earlier 
 times of the colony, when lands were to be obtained for 
 little or nothing, some provident individuals procured large 
 grants; and desirous of founding great families for them- 
 selves, settled them on their descendants in fee tail. The 
 transmission of this property from generation to generation, 
 in the same name, raised up a distinct set of families, 
 who being privileged by law in the perpetuation of their 
 wealth, were thus formed into a patrician order, distin- 
 guished by the splendour and luxury of their establish- 
 ments. From this order, too, the King habitually selected 
 his counsellors of state; the hope of which distinction de- 
 R 2 
 
198 THE LIFE OF 
 
 voted the whole corps to the interests and will of the crown. 
 To annul this privilege, and instead of an aristocracy of 
 wealthy of more harm and danger than benefit to society, 
 to make an opening for the aristocracy oi virtue and talent, 
 which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the 
 interests of society, and scattered with equal hand through 
 all its conditions, w^as deemed essential to a well ordered 
 republic. To eftect it, no violence was necessary, no de- 
 privation of natural right, but rather an enlargement of it, 
 by a repeal of the law. For this would authorise the pre- 
 sent holder to divide the property among his children 
 equally, as his aftections were divided; and would place 
 thesm, by natural generation, on the level of their fellow 
 citizens." 
 
 This noble law, for the abolishment of entails, Mr. Jef- 
 ferson had the satisfaction to see pass; and the still greater 
 consolation of reflecting that he w^as the author of it. 
 
 He proposed a trial by jury in the court of Chancery, 
 which he carried; but an opponent proposing an amendment, 
 making it optional with the parties, it became almost a 
 nullity. 
 
 He next extended his benevolence to the cessation of the 
 importation of slaves; and succeeded in carrying a bill, in 
 '78, prohibiting their further importation. 
 
 Impelled by a controversy that now arose in Virginia 
 between the ministers of the English Episcopal church and 
 the Dissenters, he next attempted to procure, and succeeded 
 in a repeal of the " laws which rendered criminal the main- 
 tenance of any religious opinions, the forbearance of re- 
 pairing to church, or the exercise of any mode of worship: 
 and to exempt dissenters from contributions to support the 
 established church. " 
 
 The removal of the seat of government from Williams- 
 burg, to a more secure and central part, was the next ob- 
 ject of his attention; but it occupied him three years to ac- 
 complish this laudable object. 
 
 In May, 1789, he introduced a bill defining the qualifi- 
 cations of citizenship, asserting the natural right of expa- 
 triation, and prescribing the manner of exercising it; which 
 became a law. 
 
 The account of these laws we have derived from Mr. 
 Jefterson's own pen; and in making the statement he ob- 
 serves, with his characteristic modesty: <'In giving this 
 
THOMAS JEFFER50X. 
 
 199 
 
 account of the laws, of which I was myself the mover and 
 draughtsman, I by no means, mean to claim to myself the 
 merit of obtaining their passage. I had many occasional and 
 strenuous coadjutors in debate, and one, most stedfast, 
 able, and zealous, who was himself a host. This was 
 Georgre Mason, a man of the first order of wisdom among: 
 those Avho acted on the theatre of the revolution; of expan- 
 sive mind, profound judgment, cogent in arjcument, learned 
 in the lore of our former constitution, and earnest for the 
 republican chanjre on democratic principles. His elocution 
 was neither flowing, nor smooth; but his language was 
 strong, his manner most impressive, and strengthened by a 
 dash of biting cvnicism. when provocation made it season- 
 able." To 5lr. Wythe and Mr. Madison, he also ascribes 
 efficient co-operation. 
 
 These acknowledgements of politeness, and marks of 
 diffidence, must not, however, be allowed to detract from 
 the merit of Mr. Jefterson, for the splendid reforms he thus 
 introduced; and for which the world stands exclusively in- 
 debted to his peculiar f;enius, singular sagacity, pure repub- 
 lican principles, and intrepid moral couratre — great quali- 
 ties, which unitins: with his ardent and expansive benevo- 
 lence, could not have been found in anotlier individual, 
 combined in those happy proportions, capable of penetrating 
 to the evils of a great system, and endowed with vigour of 
 intellect competent to their extii-pation. 
 
 Indeed, it is difficult to appreciate justly, the civil and 
 juridical services rendered to his country by Jefferson at 
 this period: so apt are we to overlook the quiet revolutions 
 in civil life and judicial systems, wrought by the tranquil 
 operations of genius, science and intellect; and so prone are 
 we to devote our exclusive attention to that glare of mili- 
 tary u-lory, which fillino: the world with noise, bustle, and 
 confusion, forces itself upon the attention of all, and by its 
 very horrors extorts the tribute of universal homage and 
 dread: so true it is. that the authors and promoters of 
 human happiness, improvement and wisdom, who deserve 
 the undivided gratitude and admiration of the world; 
 achieving their labours of love without noise, are on that 
 account neo:lected: whilst the cruel ravager of nations, the 
 bloodstained victor of war, and the destroyer of thousands, 
 and the happiness of millions, is hailed with applause from 
 the nursery to the stable, while millions incapable of thought. 
 
200 THE LIFE OF 
 
 clamour forth his renown, and sympathise in deeds, that all 
 can appreciate, because ferocious, sanguinary, or afflicting. 
 For ourselves, we contemplate the benevolent Sage of Vir- 
 ginia, with emotions of the most exalted pleasure, while 
 thus devoting himself at the shrine of justice, to preserve 
 the rights of the people, at the fountain head of the Judi- 
 ciary — securing at once, life, property, liberty and hap- 
 piness. 
 
 Enlarging the sphere of his usefulness in this branch of 
 patriotic duty, he presented a bill to the Legislature, in the 
 session of 1776, for a Revision of the Laws of Virginia^ 
 which being adopted, he, in company with four other mem- 
 bers, was chosen to that important and arduous task: the 
 principal feature in the revised code, being the abolishment 
 of the laio of 'primogeniture: which one of his colleagues 
 being desirous to retain, Jefferson answered him, " that if 
 the elder son could eat twice as much, or do double work, 
 it might be a natural evidence of his right to a double por- 
 tion; but being on a par in his powers and wants, with his 
 brothers and sisters, he should be on a par also in the par- 
 tition of the patrimony. This simple argument decided the 
 question in favour of its annulment. Another prominent 
 feature of the revised code, was " the bill for establishing 
 religious freedom, the principles of which had, to a certain 
 degree, been .enacted before I had drawn it, says Jeffer- 
 son, in all the latitude of reason and right. It still met 
 with opposition; but with some mutilations in the preamble, 
 it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved that 
 lis protection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where 
 the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the 
 plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was 
 proposed, by inserting the words 'Jesus Christ,' so that it 
 should read, 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, 
 the holy author of our religion; the insertion was rejected 
 by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend 
 within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, 
 the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo and Infidel of 
 every denomination. " In this, he superadded the mitigation 
 of the penal code, on the system of Beccaria, abolishing the 
 penalty of death for all crimes, except murder and treason. 
 Let me not forget to record in this place, that the plan of 
 solitary confinement at hard labour, originated with this 
 distinguished philanthropist, and illustrious statesman. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 2Ul 
 
 Inexhaustible in his schemes for the improvement of the 
 Imman famih', he now undertook to devise ^' a systematical 
 plan of CxEXERAL EDUCATION, reaching to all classes, in 
 pursuance of an act of Assembly of Virginia: but, though 
 the bill passed, the system was never carried into practice. 
 
 He also framed a bill in relation to the gradual removal 
 of the curse of slavery; liis observations on which I feel 
 myself bound to transcribe. " The principles of the amend- 
 ment, however, were agreed on, that is to say, the freedom 
 of all born after a certain day, and deportation at a proper 
 age. But it was found, tliat the public mind would not yet 
 bear the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day. 
 Yet the day is not distant when it must bear and adopt it, 
 or worse will follow. Nothing is more certainly written in 
 the book of fate, than that these people are to be free; nor 
 is it less certain, that the two races, equally free, cannot 
 live in the same government. Nature, habit and opinion, 
 have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. It 
 is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation 
 and deportation, peaceably, and in such slow degree, as that 
 the evil v.iil wear off insensibl}^, and their place be pari 
 passu, filled up by free white labourers. If, on the contrary, 
 it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the 
 prospect held up. We should in vain look for an example 
 in the Spanish deportation or deletion of the Moors. This 
 precedent would fall far short of our case." 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was not insensible of the highly important 
 part he had been acting in the civil government of his native 
 State, towards bringing the entire and actual fabric of its 
 polity, to assimilate to Ihe abstract model of its republican 
 principles. Remarking upon these events of his life in his 
 Memoirs, he says, "I considered four of these bills, passed 
 or reported, as forming a system by which every fibre would 
 be eradicated of ancient or future aristocracy, and a foun- 
 dation laid for a government truly republican. The repeal 
 of the Laws of Entail, would prevent the accumulation 
 and perpetuation of wealth, in select families, and preserve 
 the soil of the country from being daily more and more ab- 
 sorbed in mortmain. ' The abolition of Primogeniture, 
 and equal partition of inheritances,-^ removed the feudal 
 
 * This phrase is not grammatical — it ought to read *' and the 
 estabUshment of equal pai-tition of inheritances." 
 
202 THE LIFE OY 
 
 and unnatural distinctions which made one member of every 
 family rich, and all the rest poor, substituting equal parti- 
 tion, the best of all Agrarian laws. The restoration of the 
 rights q/* Conscience, relieved the people from taxation for 
 the support of a religion not theirs; for the establishment 
 was truly of the religion of the rich, the dissenting sects 
 being entirely composed of the less wealthy people; and 
 those, by the bill for a general education, would be qualified 
 to understand their rights, to maintain them, and to exer- 
 cise with intelligence their parts in self-government: and 
 all this would be effected, without the violation of a single 
 natural right of any one individual citizen. To these too, 
 might be added, as a further security, the introduction of 
 the trial by jury, into the chancery courts, which have 
 already ingulphed, and continue to ingulph, so great a pro- 
 portion of the jurisdiction over our property." 
 
 It was scarcely within the range of probability, that a man 
 so highly gifted with talents, so judicious in the beneficial 
 application of them, and so popular in his ideas and princi- 
 ples, should long remain unhonoured by the greatest office 
 in the gift of his native state; and we accordingly perceive 
 him appointed Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 
 on the 1st of June, 1779, at the expiration of the term for 
 which Patrick Henry had served, as the first Governor of 
 that State, after its separation from colonial vassalage to 
 England: a station which had become doubly arduous from 
 the cruel exasperation of the enemy, which had driven them 
 to aggravate the natural horrors of war, by the most savage 
 and revolting practices towards American prisoners. Jef- 
 ferson had, on a previous occasion, extended the hand of 
 humanity to alleviate the sufferings of the British prisoners 
 in Virginia, in a manner and under circumstances which 
 stamped his-benevolence as the spontaneous and sterling coin 
 of the heart. Now, however, he was compelled by duty, 
 to the painful resolution, of visiting with retaliation on the 
 British prisoners in his power, the cruelties inflicted on ours 
 by the enemy. In a letter to General Washington, he thus 
 expresses himself. "I shall give immediate orders for 
 having in readiness every engine, which the enemy have 
 contrived for the destruction of our unhappy citizens, cap- 
 tivated by them. The presentiment of these operations is 
 shocking beyond expression. I pray Heaven to avert them; 
 but nothing in this world will do witji such an enemy but 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 203 
 
 proper firmness and decision." For a time, this conduct 
 only stimulated the British to increased severity against our 
 unfortunate countrymen who fell into tlieir hands; but a 
 perseverance in the system adopted by Jefferson, eventually 
 succeeded, and corrected aprocedure at variance with every 
 principle, feeling and practice of civilised nations. In a 
 letter which he addressed to one of the American prisoners, 
 he thus exhorts them to fortitude and philosophy. " There 
 is nothing, you may be assured, consistent with the honour 
 of your cou itry, which we shall not, at all times, be ready 
 to do for the relief of yourself and companions in captivity. 
 We know that ardent spirit and hatred for tyranny, which 
 brought you into your present situation, will enable you to 
 bear against it with the firmness which has distinguished 
 you as a soldier, and to look forward with pleasure to the 
 day when events shall take place, against which the wounded 
 pride of your enemies will find no comfort, even from re- 
 flections on the most refined of the cruelties with which 
 they have glutted themselv-es. " 
 
 The administration of Mr. Jefferson was now rendered 
 memorable, by the sudden invasion of Virginia by the Bri- 
 tish, headed by the daring Tarleton, tracking his way with 
 barbarity and blood, as the van of Cornwallis's army, and 
 shaking Virginia to the centre, by the sudden and terrible 
 shock of v/ar. 
 
 This was a new era in the life of Jefferson. The philo- 
 sopher, the sage and the statesman, was called to buckle on 
 his armour, and array the militia of his State against the 
 formidable invasion of a fierce and disciplined foe. Virgi- 
 nia with her' wonted chivalry roused herself to action; and 
 Jefferson bent all the energies of his powerful intellect to 
 the efficient discharge of his military functions: and put in 
 requisition every means of defence and precaution, which 
 his foresight and resources enabled him to apply. On the 
 11th of June, he wrote to Washington in the following 
 style of energy, decision, and activity. " Our intelligence 
 from the southward is most lamentably defective. Though 
 Charleston has now been in the hands of tlie enemy a month, 
 we hear nothing of their movements which can be relied 
 upon. Rumours say that they are penetrating northward. 
 To remedy this defect, I shall immediately establish a line 
 of expresses from hence to the neighbourhood of their army, 
 and send thither a sensible, judicious person, to give us 
 
204 THE LIFE OF 
 
 information of their movements. This intelligence will, I 
 hope, be conveyed at the rate of one hundred and twenty 
 miles in the twenty-four hours. They set out to their sta- 
 tions to-morrow. I wish it were possible that a like speedy 
 line of communication could be formed from hence to your 
 excellency's head quarters. Perfect and speedy informa- 
 tion of what is passing in the south, might put it in your 
 power perhaps to frame your measures by theirs. There 
 is really nothing to oppose the enemy northward, but the 
 cautious principle of the military art. North Carolina is 
 without arms. They do not abound with us. Those we 
 have are freely imparted to them; but such is the state of 
 their resources that they have not been able to move a single 
 musket from this State to theirs. All the wagons we can 
 collect here, have been furnished to the Baron De Kalb. 
 and are assembled for the march of 2500 men under Gene 
 ral Stevens, of Culpepper, who will move on the 19th inst. 
 I have written to Congress to hasten supplies of arms and 
 military stores for the southern States, and particularly to 
 aid us with cartridge paper and boxes, the want of which 
 articles, small as they are, renders our, stores useless. The 
 want of money cramps' every effort. This will be supplied 
 by the most unpalatable of all substitutes, force. Your 
 excellency* will readily conceive that, after the loss of one 
 army, our eyes are turned towards the other, and that we 
 comfort ourselves with the hope that, if any aids can be 
 furnished by you, without defeating the operations more 
 beneficial to the Union, they will be furnished. At the 
 same time, I am happy to find that the wishes of the people 
 go no further, as far as I have an opportunity of hearing 
 their sentiments. Could arms be furnished, I think this 
 State and North Carolina, would embody from ten to fifteen 
 thousand militia immediately, and more if necessary. I hope 
 ere long to be able to give you a more certain statement of 
 the enemy's as well as our own situation." 
 
 The Legislature of Virginia acted with a vigour and 
 promptitude commensurate to the occasion, and clothed the 
 Governor with extraordinary powers, not exactly consistent 
 with republican ideas; but Jefferson rose to the critical na- 
 ture of the emergency, and did not disappoint public ex;r 
 pectation in this solemn crisis. 
 
 * I italicise this title to show that even Jefferson could not pre- 
 serve, in practice, his strict iiEPCBtiCAsr simplicity! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 205 
 
 An attack, however^ now burst upon them from another 
 and unexpected quarter. General Arnold, the traitor of 
 West Point, always daring, and now become reckless and 
 ferocious, suddenly landed below Richmond, at the head of 
 1500 men. This was a complete surprise, for which the 
 Governor was unprepared; the available militia having been 
 placed under the command of General Nelson, and station- 
 ed at Williamsburg. In .this juncture, Jefferson, having 
 hastily summoned two hundred militia, under the command 
 of Baron Steuben, with which force he superintended in 
 person the records and military stores that were deposited 
 in the capital, across the river, until he saw them safe from 
 the gripe of the enemy. On this occasion Jefferson mani- 
 fested that coolness and displayed that undaunted courage 
 which might have been justly expected from his character; 
 and continued to issue his orders until the very appearance 
 of the light horse of the enemy made it prudent to with- 
 draw his person from the scene of embarkation. Arnold 
 having laid waste and plundered the surrounding country, 
 Mr. Jefferson, to rid the State of his further annoyance, 
 conceived a laudable plan for his capture, which he thought 
 might be attended with success; and which he thus explained 
 in a letter to General Muhlenberg, dated 31st January, 
 1780, "Sir, Acquainted as you are with the treasons of 
 Arnold, I need say nothing for your information, or to give 
 you a proper sentiment of them. You will readily suppose 
 that it is above all things desirable to drag him from those 
 under whose wing he is now sheltered. On his march to and 
 from this place, I am certain it might have been done with 
 facility, by men of enterprise and firmness. I think it may 
 still be done, though perhaps not quite so easily. Having 
 peculiar confidence in the men from the w estern side of the 
 mountains, I meant, as soon as they should come down, to 
 get the enterprize proposed to a chosen number of them, 
 sucli whose courage and whose fidelity would be above all 
 doubt. Your perfect knowledge of those men personally, 
 and my confidence in your discretion, induce me to ask you 
 to seek from among them proper characters, in such num- 
 bers as you think best; to reveal to them our desire; and 
 engage them to undertake to seize and bring off this great- 
 est of all traitors. Whether this may be best effected by 
 their going in as friends, and awaiting their opportunity, 
 or otherwise, is left to themselves. The smaller the num- 
 
 S 
 
206 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ber the better, so that they may be sufficient to manage him. 
 Every necessary caution must be used on their part, to pre- 
 vent a discovery of their design by the enemy. I will un- 
 dertake, if they are successful in bringing him off alive, that 
 they shall receive five thousand guineas reward among them; 
 and to men formed for such an enterprise, it must beagi'eat 
 incitement to know that their names will be recorded with 
 glory in history, with those of Vanwert, Paulding and 
 Williams." 
 
 The plan thus suggested by Jefterson was carried into 
 effect; but it proved abortive, Arnold being not less cautious 
 and circumspect, than he was daring and unprincipled. 
 
 Failing in this scheme, he now projected another, in 
 which he was to receive the co-operation of General Wash- 
 ington, and the French fleet. In a letter of the 8th of 
 March, he thus addressed the former personage, upon the 
 subject: "We have made, on our part, every preparation 
 which we were able to make. The militia, proposed to 
 operate, will be upwards of 4000 from this State, and 1000 
 or 1200 from Carolina, said to be under General Gregory. 
 The enemy are at this time, in a great measure, blockaded 
 by land, there being a force on the east side of Elizabeth 
 river. They suflier for provisions, as they are afraid to 
 venture far, lest the French squadron should be in the 
 neighbourhood, and come upon them. Were it possible to 
 block up the river, a little time would suffice to reduce 
 them by want and desertions; and would be more sure in 
 its events than any attempt by storm." But Arnold again 
 escaped; the arrival of a British squadron of superior force 
 having driven the French fleet from the Chesapeake. 
 
 Arnold having eftected a retreat from Virginia, Cornwal- 
 lis now penetrated the State from the south. Exhausted of 
 most of her slender resources for the common defence, and 
 the succour of her southern sisters, Jefferson saw, and de- 
 plored, that his native state had been left naked to the 
 sword of the enemy. But his was not a spirit to despair, 
 or shrink in times of danger. Again he rose with the pres- 
 sure of the emergency; and having rallied every remaining 
 resource of the commonwealth, he placed her in the best 
 attitude of defence which his limited means permitted. 
 
 The Legislature convened at Charlotteville on the 28th 
 of May; and thus took from the Governor some of the 
 weight of the heavy responsibility Avhich had been thrown 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 207 
 
 upon him by a concurrence of adverse events and disastrous 
 circumstances. His letter to General Washington, of that 
 date, will supercede any description of ours, relating to the 
 embarrassments and difficulties that pressed upon him. 
 
 " I have just been advised, he says, that the British have 
 evacuated Petersburg, been joined by a considerable rein- 
 forcement from New York, and crossed James river at 
 Westover. They were, on the 26th instant, three miles 
 advanced towards Riclmiond, at which place, Major Gene- 
 ral, the Marquis Fayette, lay with three thousand men, 
 regulars and militia, that being the whole number we could 
 arm, until the arrival of the 1100 stand of arms from Rhode 
 Island, which are about this time at the place where our 
 public stores are deposited. The whole force of the enemy 
 within this State, from the best intelligence I have been 
 able to get, is, I think, about 7000 men, including the gar- 
 rison left at Portsmouth. A number of privateers, which 
 are constantly ravaging the sliores of our rivers, prevent us 
 from receiving any aid from the counties lying on navigable 
 waters^ and powerful operations meditated against our wes- 
 tern frontier, by a joint force of British and Indian savages, 
 have, as your excellency before knew, obliged us to em- 
 body between two and three thousand men in that quarter. 
 Your excellency will judge from this state of things, and 
 from what you know of your own country, what it may 
 probably sufler during the present campaign. Should the 
 enemy be able to obtain no opportunity of annihilatng the 
 Marquis's army, a small proportion of their force may yet 
 restrain his movements effectually, while the greater part 
 is employed in detachments to waste an unarmed country, 
 and lead the minds of the people to acquiesce under those 
 events, which they see no human power prepared to ward 
 oft'. We are too far removed from the other scenes of war, 
 to say whether the main force of the enemy be within this 
 state; but I suppose they cannot any where spare so great 
 an army for the operations of the field. Were it possible 
 for this circumstance to justify, in your excellency, a deter- 
 mination to lend us your personal aid, it is evident from the 
 universal voice, that the presence of their beloved country- 
 man, whose talents have so long been successfully employ- 
 in establishing the freedom of kindred States,* to whose 
 
 * I cannot avoid calling the attention of the reader, in an em- 
 phatic manner, to the terms here used ' iciiyDUED states,' addressed 
 
208 THE LIFE OF 
 
 person they have still flattered themselves they retained 
 some right, and have ever looked upon as their dernier re- 
 sort in distress^ that your appearancej among tliem, I say, 
 would restore fidl confidence of salvation, and would render 
 them equal to whatever is not impossible. I cannot un- 
 dertake to foresee and obviate the difticulties which lie 
 in the way of such a resolution. The whole subject is 
 before you, of which I see only detached parts. Should 
 the danger of the State, and its consequences to the Union, 
 be such as to render it best for the wliole that you should 
 repair to its assistance, the difliculty would then de how to 
 keep men out of the field. I have undertaken to hint this 
 matter to your excellency, not only on my own sense of its 
 importance to us, but at the solicitation of many members 
 of weight in our Legislature, which has not yet assembled 
 to speak its own desires. A few days will bring to me that 
 relief, which the constitution has prepared for those op- 
 pressed with the labours of my office; and a long declared 
 resolution of relinquishing it to abler hands, has prepared 
 my way for retirement to a private station; still, as an in- 
 dividual, I should feel the comfortable effects of your pre- 
 sence, and have (what I thought could not have been) an 
 additional motive for that gratitude, esteem, and respect^ 
 which I have long felt for your excellency." 
 
 Certainly, more delicate, and at the same time, more 
 abundant adulation, was never before comprised in so nar- 
 row a compass, in a letter of state, addressed from one 
 public character to another, on a question of great national 
 concernment; and, if Washington did not feel it, he must 
 have been more than human. The flattery, however, was 
 too refined to off*end; and reffects equal honour on him who 
 offered, and him who received it; being, beyond all doubt, 
 tlie sincere ebullition of the heart on the part of Jefferson. 
 
 His term of office having expired on the 2d of June, Mr. 
 Jefferson retired from the cares of public, to the enjoyment 
 of private life, under the pleasing reflection tliat he had 
 
 to the commander in chief of the armies of the United States; and 
 who must have looked upon this expression of Jefferson as a rank 
 political heresy, at war with tlie common defence and g-eneral wel- 
 fare of the whole; a doctrine to which Washing-ton was so rehg-lously 
 attached, as constituting- the palladium of civil liberty, as well as 
 military success and national safety. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 209 
 
 faithfully discharged his duty to the utmost of his ability, 
 in a period of trying difficulty, and through scenes of im- 
 minent peril and perplexing embarrassment^ which, in all 
 after times, must secure him an honorable immortality. 
 
 He now retired to his retreat at Monticelloj but had 
 scarcely reached that place, when intelligence was received 
 that Tarleton, at the head of 250 horse, had been detached 
 from the main army, to surprise and capture the members 
 of the Legislature, then in session at Charlotteville. The 
 House was on the point of proceeding to business, when 
 the alarm was communicated, and had hardly time to 
 adjourn, when the enemy burst into the village, assured of 
 their prey; but no one was taken, though all had a narrow 
 escape. But the ex-Governor was no#forgotten; and Cap- 
 tain M'Leod, with a troop of horse was despatched to 
 Monticello, to secure Jefferson. Fortunately, the intel- 
 ligence of their approach v/as conveyed in advance, and Jef- 
 ferson was enabled to escape, having sent off his family in 
 a carriage, and mounting a horse himself, made his way 
 through the woods to the house of a friend, where he was 
 joined by his family. This is the famous incident in his 
 life, which has been so opprobriously stigmatised by faction, 
 by ' the flight to Carter'' s mountain;'' which venal bards 
 have sung in satiric strains, and which the mercenary scrib- 
 blers of a sordid party, have attempted to brand with 
 infamy in scurrilous prose. Let the simple question be 
 asked, was an unarmed individual to stand still, and suffer 
 himself to be captured by a body of 250 horse? Or was he, 
 like Captain Bobadil, to challenge and kill them by tens, in 
 succession? But the pencil of history has too vividly con- 
 secrated to veneration the firmness of the statesman, and 
 the talents of the man, as well as his zeal and intrepidity, 
 to require his vindication from so frivolous, though at the 
 same time so malicious a charge. 
 
 Like all men distinguished for prominent talents and 
 great decision of character, Jeflierson did not escape the 
 aspersions and suspicions of an opposition party during his 
 gubernatorial labours | and after his retirement, a Mr. 
 Nicholas moved, in the Legislature, for an enquiry into 
 his administration, on the ground of remissness and neglect 
 in securing the public defence from the inroads of the 
 enemy. Jefferson, and his friends, manifested the utmost 
 readiness to meet this investigation; but, aft^r a short time, 
 
 S 2 
 
210 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Mr. Nicholas having become convinced of the futility of 
 the charge, declined its farther prosecution, and it fell, still- 
 born, into the tomb of oblivious calumny. Jeiferson, how- 
 ever, expecting to meet it, procured one of the representa- 
 tives of his county to resign his seat in the Legislature, and 
 in his place he was unanimously chosen; but when the 
 House met, and no one appeared to prosecute the inquiry, 
 Jefferson rose in his seat, and after reciting the cliarges 
 brought against them, entered briefly into his own defence; 
 which, having concluded, his justification was deemed S{» 
 full and complete that the House unanimotisJy passed this 
 resolution — ' Resolved, That the sincere thanks of the 
 General Assembly be given to our former Governor, Thomas 
 Jeiferson, for his impartial, upright and attentive adminis- 
 tration, whilst in office. The Assembly wish, in the strong- 
 est manner, to declare the high opinion they entertain of 
 Mr. Jefferson's ability, rectitude and integrity, as chief 
 magistrate of this commonwealth, and mean, by thus pub- 
 licly avowing their opinion, to obviate and remove all un- 
 merited censure. ' 
 
 Mr. Nicholas now made the amende honorable^ by a pub- 
 lication of his error, and an acknowledgment of the injus- 
 tice of which he had been guilty towards Mr. Jeiferson: an 
 example of frank and honorable atonement, which it is to be 
 lamented is not more generally imitated, after the transient 
 heat of party animosity has cooled oif, and reason left to 
 meditate on the injustice, can vanquish the impulse of 
 passion at the shrine of truth. 
 
 The next remarkable event in the life of Jeiferson, was 
 of a literary character, and relates to the composition of his 
 '' Notes on Virginia," written in 1781, amidst the din of 
 arms, the clamour of politics, and the confusion of war. The 
 Secretary of the French Legation, M. De Marbois, having 
 proposed to Mr. Jeiferson a series of inquiries relative to 
 the State of Virginia; its natural productions, government, 
 geography, iiistory and lav/s; he answered them in this 
 work, so replete with science, learning, research and philo- 
 sophy. Pleased even to delight with this performance, the 
 gentleman to whom it was addressed, procured it to be 
 translated and printed in the Frencli, and circulated among 
 his friends, in whom it excited a lively interest. From this 
 copy, a translation having been made without his know- 
 ledge, he was induced, in the year 1787, to publish the work 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 211 
 
 under his own direction in its original English dress. As 
 no inconsiderable portion of his fame rests upon this pro- 
 duction, we shall enter into some examination of its merits 
 in another place. 
 
 In September 1782, Mr. Jefferson suffered a severe stroke 
 of domestic affliction, in the demise of his wife — '* in whose 
 affections, he says, unabated on both sides, I had lived the 
 last ten years in unchequered happiness." Desirous of a 
 change of scene from the spot of his bereavement, he now 
 accepted the appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary, to 
 negociate peace, through the mediation of the Empress of 
 Russia, in conjunction with Mr. Adams, jNIr. Jay, Dr. 
 Franklin, and ^Ir. Laurens: an appointment which he had 
 the year before declined, under a conviction that he could 
 be more useful at home. This mission, however, failed; 
 and, after having reached Philadelphia, he was excused by 
 Congress from proceeding in its execution, owing to the 
 arrival of intelligence of the signing of the provisional treaty 
 of peace. He therefore, returned to Monticello on the 
 15th of May, 1783. 
 
 On the 6th of June, he was again appointed a delegate to 
 Congress, and took his seat in that body on the 4th of No- 
 vember, at Trenton; from wlience Congress adjourned to 
 Annapolis, to meet on the 26th of the same month, whither 
 Jefferson attended them. But it was not until the 13th of 
 December, that a quorum could be formed. 
 
 His first work of utility in this session, was the scheme 
 for regulating the current money of the United States, by 
 adopting the Dollar^ as our unit of account and payment, 
 and its divisions and subdivisions in the decimal ratio — 
 thus rendering it into dollars, dimes, cents and mills. He 
 suggested the same principle in the regulation of distances, 
 and weights and measures; but, strange to say, it has never 
 yet been adopted, though so eligible and advantageous. 
 
 The definitive treaty of peace now arrived, and was to be 
 ratified by Congress; but the want of a full representation 
 of nine States, protracted its final adoption. !Much and 
 unavailing debate now ensued, speaking of which Mr. Jef- 
 ferson makes the following apt and judicious strictures upon 
 parliamentary debates, whicli are too excellent not to be 
 quoted. " Our body was little numerous, but very conten- 
 tious. Day after date, was M^asted on the most unimportant 
 questions. A member, one of those afflicted with the 
 
212 THE LIFE OF 
 
 morbid rage of debate, of an ardent mind, prompt ima- 
 gination, and copious flow of words, who heard with 
 impatience any logic which was not his own, sitting near 
 me, on some occasion of a trifling but wordy debate, asked 
 me how I could sit in silence, hearing so much false rea- 
 soning, which a word should refute? I observed to him, 
 that to refute, indeed, was easy, but to silence impossible; 
 that in measures brought forward by myself, I took the 
 labouring oar, as was incumbent on me; but that in general, 
 I was willing to listen; that if every sound argument or 
 objection was used by some one or other of the numerous 
 debaters, it was enough; if not, I thought it suflicient to 
 suggest the omission, without going into a repetition of what 
 had been already said by others: that this was a waste and 
 abuse of the time and patience of the House, which could 
 not be justified. And 1 believe, that if the members of 
 deliberate bodies were to observe this course generally, they 
 would do in a day, what takes them a week; and it is really 
 more questionable than may at first be thought, whether 
 Bonaparte's dumb I>.egislature, which said nothing and did 
 much, may not be preferable to one which talks much and 
 does nothing. / served with General Washington in the 
 Legislature of Virginia, before the Revolution, and during 
 it, with Dr. Franklin, in Congress; I never heard either of 
 them speak ten minutes at a time, nor to any but the main 
 POINT, which loas to decide the question. They laid their 
 shoulders to the great points, knoiving that the little ones 
 would follow of themselves. If the present Congress errs in 
 too much talking, how can it be otherwise, in a body to 
 which the people send one hundred and fifty Lawyers, 
 ivhose trade it is to questioji every thing, yield nothing, and 
 talk by the hour? That one hundred and fifty Lawyers 
 should do business together, ought not to be expected." 
 
 At length, on the 14th of January, the delegates froni 
 nine States having arrived, the treaty was ratified, without 
 a dissenting voice. 
 
 Congress having resolved to join another Minister in 
 Europe, (to negociate treaties of commerce) to Mr. Adams 
 and Dr. Franklin. Mr. Jefferson was appointed. He gives 
 the following brief account of his voyage to France. "I 
 accordingly left Annapolis on the 11th, took with me my 
 eldest daughter, then at Philadelphia, (the two others being 
 too young tor the voyage) and proceeded to Boston in quest 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 213 
 
 of a passage. Wliile passing through the different States, 
 I made a point of informing myself of the state of the com- 
 merce of each; went on to New Hampshire with the same 
 view, and returned to Boston. Thence I sailed on the 5th 
 of July, in the Ceres, a merchant ship of Mr. Nathaniel 
 Tracey, bound to Cowes. He was himself a passenger, and 
 after a pleasant voyage of nineteen days, we arrived at 
 Cowes on the 26th. I was detained there a few days by 
 the indisposition of my daughter. On the 30th, we em- 
 barked for Havre, arrived there on the 31st, left it on the 
 3d of August, and arrived at Paris on the 6th. I called 
 immediately on Dr. Franklin, at Passy, communicated to 
 him our cliarge, and we wrote to Mr. Adams, then at the 
 Hague, to join us at Paris." 
 
 In Europe, the services of Mr. Jefferson were highly be- 
 neficial to his country; for, independent of his diplomatic 
 talent, the moral force of his character as a statesman, a 
 man of science, a philosopher, and a sage, elevated the re- 
 putation of his country, and extorted that respect which 
 civilised mankind always pay as the tribute of reason to the 
 power of intellect. Having negociated several treaties of 
 commerce. Dr. Franklin returned home; and Mr. Adams, 
 having been appointed ambassador at St. James, Mr. Jeffer- 
 son was left as minister at the court of Versailles. 
 
 A treaty with Prussia and Morocco, was the only fruit of 
 the labours of the three ambassadors. 
 
 At the request of Mr, Adams, Jefferson now w^ent over 
 to London, to attempt a treaty with that power; but returned 
 to Paris covered with disappointment, mortification and 
 chagrin, at the cold reception the overture had met with. 
 
 From Paris, Mr. Jefferson found leisure to travel into 
 Italy, and explore Holland; and his powers of observation 
 fully enabled him to amass a fund of information as useful 
 to his country, as it proved beneficial to himself. 
 
 In France, a long residence and a perfect mastery of the 
 language, could not fail to imbue him deeply with European 
 politics. His prepossessions in favour of France were warm 
 and evident; he did not conceal his attachment to the 
 French character, and to French modes of thinking, acting, 
 and feeling; and he, therefore, naturally became a favorite 
 with their philosophers and men of letters; nor was it a 
 slight honor to call D\fllembert his friend, embrace Con- 
 dorcet as a companion, and acknowledge the .^bbe Morrellet 
 
214 THE LIFE OF 
 
 as his literary god-father, who, from love to the author, 
 translated his Notes on Virginia. 
 
 Although at a foreign court, the thoughts of Jefterson 
 were too much directed to home, to allow him to overlook 
 what was going on, in the formation of the 7iew Constitu- 
 tion, to which he looked with an anxiety and solicitude pro- 
 portioned to the magnitude and importance of the object. 
 As it will forever remain an interesting subject of rational 
 curiosity, as well as of political importance to kno^y in what 
 light he viewed the Constitution at the tiine of its adoption, 
 I shall quote from his memoirs and correspondence, all that 
 appears to bear directly upon this great point. He says, 
 pa^e 63, ''Our first essay in America, to establisli a fede- 
 rative government, had fallen, on trial, very short of its 
 object. During the war of Independence, while the pres- 
 sure of an external enemy hooped us together, and their 
 enterprises kept us necessarily on the alert, the spirit of 
 the people, excited by danger, was a supplement to the Con- 
 federation, and urged them to zealous exertions, whether 
 claimed by that instrument or not 5 but vv^hen peace and 
 safety were restored, and every man became engaged in 
 useful and profitable occupation, less attention was paid to 
 the calls of Congress. The fundamental defect of the con- 
 federation was, that Congress was not authorised to act im- 
 mediately on the people, and by its own officers. Their 
 power was only requisitory, and those requisitions were 
 addressed to the several I^egislatures, to be by them carried 
 into execution, without other coercion than the moral prin- 
 ciple of duty. This allowed, in fact, a a negative to every 
 Legislature, on every measure proposed by Congress^ a ne- 
 gative so frequently exercised in practice, as to benumb 
 the action of the federal government, and to render it inef- 
 ficient in its general objects, and more especially in pecu- 
 niary and foreign concerns. The want, too, of a separation 
 of the legislative, executive and judiciary functions worked 
 disadvantageously in practice. Yet this state of things af- 
 forded a happy augury of the future march of our confede- 
 racy, when it was seen that the good sense and good dispo- 
 sitions of the people, as soon as they perceived the incom- 
 petence of their first compact, instead of leaving its correc- 
 tion to insurrection and civil war, agreed, with one voice, 
 to elect deputies to a general Convention, who should 
 peaceably meet and agree on such a Constitution, as would 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 215 
 
 ensure peace, justice, liberty,' the common defence and 
 general welfare. 
 
 **This Convention met at Philadelphia, on the 25th of 
 May, 1787. It sat with closed doors, and kept all its pro- 
 ceedings secret until its dissolution on the irth of Septem- 
 ber, when the result of its labours were published all toge- 
 ther. I received a copy early in November, and read and 
 contemplated its provisions vnth great satisfaction. As not 
 a member of the Convention, however, nor probably a single 
 citizen of the Union had approved it in all its parts, so I 
 too found articles which I thought objectionable. The ab- 
 sence of express declarations insuring freedom of religion, 
 Ireedom of the press, freedom of the person, under the unin- 
 terrupted protection of the Habeas Corpus, and trial by jury 
 in civil as well as in criminal cases, excited riiy jealousy; 
 and the re-eligibility of the President for life I quite disap- 
 proved. I expressed freely, in letters to my friends, and 
 more particularly to Mr. Madison and General Washington, 
 my approbations and objections. How the good should be 
 secured, and the ill brought to rights, was the difficulty. 
 To refer it back to a new convention might endanger tlie 
 loss of the whole. My first idea was, that the nine states 
 first acting, should accept it unconditionally, and thus se- 
 cure what in it was good, and that the four last should ac- 
 cept on the previous condition, that certain amendments 
 should be agreed to; but a better course was devised of ac- 
 cepting the whole, and trusting that the good sense and 
 honest intentions of our citizens would make the alterations 
 which should be deemed necessary. Accordingly, all ac- 
 cepted, six without objection, and seven with recommenda- 
 tions of specified amendments. Those respecting the press, 
 religion, and juries, with several others of great value, were 
 accordingly made; but the habeas corpus was left to the 
 discretion of Congress, and the amendment against the re- 
 eligibility of the President was not proposed. My fears of 
 that feature were founded on the importance of the office, 
 on the fierce contentions it mio-ht excite among ourselves, 
 if continuable for life, and the dangers of interference, 
 either with money or arms, by foreign nations, to whom the 
 choice of an American President might become interesting. 
 Examples of this abounded in history; in the case of the 
 Roman emperors, for instance — of the popes, while of any 
 significance — of the German emperors, the kings of Poland, 
 
216 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and the Deys of Barbary. I had observed, too, in the feudal 
 history, and in the recent instance, particularly, of the Stad^ 
 tholder of Holland, how easily offices or tenures for life, 
 slide into inheritances. My wish, therefore, was that 
 the President should be elected for seven ye.ars^ and be in- 
 elijrible afterwards. This term I thought suthcient to ena- 
 ble him, with the concurrence of the Legislature, to carry- 
 through and establish any system of improvement he should 
 propose for the general good. But the practice adopted, I 
 think, is better — allowing his continuance for eight years, 
 M^ith a liability to be dropped at half-way of the term, mak- 
 ing that a period of probation. ■' That his continuance 
 should be restrained to seven years was the opinion of the 
 Convention at an earlier stage of its session, when it voted 
 that term, by a majority of eight against two, and by a sim- 
 ple majority that he should be ineligible a second time. This 
 opinion was confirmed by the House so late as July 26, 
 referred to the committee of detail, reported favourably by 
 them, and changed to the present form by final vote, on the 
 last day but one only of their session Of this change, three 
 States expressed their disapprobation — New York, by re- 
 commending an amendment that the President should not 
 be eligible a third time, and Virginia and North Carolina 
 that he should not be capable of serving more than eiglit 
 in any term of sixteen years; and although this amendment 
 has not been made in form, yet practice seems to have esta- 
 blished it. The example of four Presidents voluntarily 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson was evidently too much of a politician to give the 
 true definition of the first term of four years; and instead of * proba- 
 tion' I should propose to substitute the word popnlnvity, 'making' 
 that a term of popularity,' chu-ing- which tlie President couiits the 
 PEOPLE roil A ni:-ELECTiox, and does nothing for the g'ood of the na- 
 tion; and having secured a re-election, he then acts with an eye to 
 history, and does all the good he canto secure himself tlie universal 
 applause of all parties, 'this shows /o»r years to be sufficient for the 
 PUBEic GOOD, but not enough for private ambition; and we may justly 
 indulge a regret, that one so celebrated for his pi-ofession of republican 
 doctrines as Mr. Jefferson, should in the same breath deprecate long 
 tenures of office, and yet oppose short ones; after experience, too, 
 had so fully demonstrated, that the first four years was the rule of 
 the demagog-ue, and the last foiu- the administration of the patriot! 
 The first four to organise a party for re-election, and the last four to 
 perform what he was originally elected to do, but neglected, to attend 
 to partisan arrangements. Not so, however, with Washington! ! ! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. glf 
 
 retiring at the end of their eighth year, and tlie progress of 
 public opinion, that the principle is salutary, have given it 
 in practice the force of precedent and usage; insomuch, that 
 should a President consent to be a candidate for a third 
 election, I trust he would be rejected, on this demonstra- 
 tion of ambitious views.* 
 
 "But there was another amendment, of which none of us 
 thought at the time, and in the omission of which lurks the 
 germ that is to destroy this happy combination of national 
 powers, in the general government, formatters of National 
 concern, and independent powers in the States, for what 
 concerns the States severally. In England, it was a great 
 point, gained at tlie Revolution, that the commissions of 
 the Judges, which had hitherto been during pleasure, should 
 thenceforth be made during good beliaviour. A Judiciary 
 dependent on the will of the King, had proved itself the 
 most oppressive of all tools in the hands of that magistrate. 
 Nothing then could be more salutary, tlian a change there, 
 to the tenure of good behaviour; and the question of good 
 beliaviour left to tlie vote of a simple majority in tlie two 
 houses of Parliament. Before the Revolution, we were all 
 good English whigs, cordial in their free principles, and in 
 llieir jealousies of their executive magistrate. These jea- 
 lousies are very apparent in all our State constitutions; and 
 in the general government, in this instance, we have gone 
 even beyond the English caution, by requiring a vote of 
 two-thirds, in one of the Houses, for removing a Judge; a 
 vote so impossible, where any defence is made, before men 
 of ordinary prejudices and passions, that our Judges are 
 effectually independent of the nation. But this ought not 
 to be. I would not, indeed, make them dependent on the 
 Executive authority, as they formerly were in England; but 
 I deem it indispensable to the continuance of this govern- 
 ment, that they should be submitted to some practical and 
 impartial control; and that this to be impartial, must be 
 
 * This precedent was entirely accidental, Washin^on liaving de- 
 tei-mined to retire at the end of four years; but being- restrained from 
 that course by the peculiar pressure of the pubhc exigencies, which 
 he tlioug-ht rendered it a point of honour to continue, until the diffi- 
 culties of the country could be adjusted. To settle those difficulties, 
 he reluctantly stood a second term: but his opinion was decidedly in 
 favour of ONE teum! 
 
 T 
 
218 THE LIFE OF 
 
 compounded of a mixture of State and Federal authorities. =■ 
 It is not enough that honest men are appointed Judges. All 
 know the influence of interest on the mind of man, and how 
 unconsciously his judgment is warped by that influence. 
 To this bias add that of the esprit tie corps, of their peculiar 
 maxim and creed that 'it is the office of a good Judge to 
 enlarge his jurisdiction;' and the absence of responsibility : 
 and how can we expect impartial decision between the Ge- 
 neral Government, of which they are themselves so eminent 
 a part, and an individual State, from which they have no- 
 thing to hope or fear? We have seen, too, that contrary to 
 all correct example, they are in the habit of going out of the 
 question before them, to throw an anchor ahead, and grapple 
 further hold for future advances of power. They are then, 
 in fact, the corps of sappers and miners, steadily working 
 to undermine the independent rights of the States, and to 
 consolidate all power in the hands of that government, in 
 which they have so important a freehold estate. " 
 
 Although I have ever been prejudiced against the Supreme 
 Court, and in favour of State rights, yet I cannot conceive 
 how that tribunal can ever decide against i\i^ consolidation 
 features of the constitution. That court was not constituted 
 as a conservative tribunal of the rights of the States,, but as 
 a conservative tribunal of the power of the United States. 
 Without the Supreme Court, as now organised, the consti- 
 tution is nothing. The States have the remedy of an ap- 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson does not reason here with his wonted log-Ical pre- 
 cision. He admits that Judg-es being- men, must have some bias of 
 interest or feehng-; and cannot therefore be impartial; yet he con- 
 tends for an impartial power to which they shall beheld responsible ! 
 The mixture of State and Federal authorities, must, however, be 
 composed of men; and why should they be more impartial than th6 
 Judges? This is reasoning- in a circle, and contending- for an Utopia. 
 If the independence of the Judiciary is sound doctrine in Eng-land, 
 why not in the United States^ Because of the liability of human 
 nature to be partial to itselfi" At this rate, we mig-ht abolish all g'O- 
 vernment, because its ofhcers are men. I must confess, I cannot 
 discern the force of Mr. Jefferson's argument. He desired to arrest 
 consolidation, by making the Judges of the b'npreme Court depen- 
 dent on those in favour of State rights; a bias quite as partial, and as 
 destructive to the Republic as consolidation! The independence of 
 the Court, strikes us as unexceptionable — but it is the Constitu- 
 tion- that LEAxs to consolidation; and how can the Court escape the 
 same propensity!* 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 219 
 
 peal to public opinion, if aggressed; and such a panoply is 
 more desirable than the sword of coercion^ or the tomahawk 
 of civil strife. If public opinion will not redress their 
 wrongs, they cannot be greatly injured. So thought Mr. 
 Jefferson himself, when he indited the following letter, 
 teeming with sound doctrines, conceived by the clear head 
 of a republican, and approved by the sound heart of a 
 philanthropist. 
 
 In a letter to F. Hopkinson, dated Paris, March 13, 
 1789, he avows himself an advocate of a consolidated 
 government, and disclaims the suspicion of being an anti- 
 federalist. " You say that I liave been dished up to you 
 as an anti -federalist, and ask me if it be just. My opinion 
 was never worthy enough of notice, to merit citing; but 
 since you ask it, I will tell it to you. I am not a federalist, 
 because I never submitted the whole system of my opinions 
 to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in 
 philosophy, in politics, or in any thing else, where I was 
 capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction, is the 
 last degradation of a free and moral agent.* If I could not 
 go to heaven, but with a party, I would not go there at all. 
 Therefore, I protest to you, I am not of the party of fede- 
 ralists. But I am much farther from that of the anti-fede- 
 ralists. I approved, from the first, of the great mass of 
 what is in the new constitution; the consolidation of 
 THE government; the organisation into executive, legisla- 
 tive and judiciary; the subdivision of the legislative; the 
 happy compromise of interests between the great and little 
 States, by the different manner of voting in the different 
 houses; the voting by persons instead of States; the qualified 
 negative on laws given to the Executive, which, however, I 
 should have liked better, if associated with the Judiciary 
 also, as in New York; and the power of taxation. I 
 thought, at first, that the latter might hare been limited. 
 A little reflection soon convinced me it ought not to be. 
 What I disapproved from the first moment, also, was the 
 want of a bill of rights, to guard liberty against the legisla- 
 
 * It will be observed, that this sentiment from Mr. Jefferson aims 
 a blow of ignominy against all parties; and, as neither its truth, nor 
 philosophy can be controverted, it only remains, that to escape it 
 men must' not lose the faculty of free and moral agents, when they 
 attach themselves to a party. 
 
220 THE LIFE OI' 
 
 tive as well as executive branches of tlie government; that 
 is to say, to secure freedom in religion, freedom of the 
 press, FREEDOM FROM MONOPOLIES, freedom from unlawful 
 imprisonment, freedom from a permanent military, and a 
 trial by jury, in all cases determinable by the laws of the 
 land. I disapproved also, the perpetual, re- eligibility of 
 the President. To these points of disapprobation I adhere. 
 My first wish was, that the nine first conventions might 
 accept the constitution, as the means of securing to us the 
 great mass of good it contained, and tliat the four last 
 might reject it, as the means of obtaining amendments. 
 But I was corrected in this wish, the moment I saw the 
 much better plan of Massachusetts, and which had never 
 occurred to me. With respect to the declaration of rights, 
 I suppose the majority of the United States are of my opi- 
 nion: for I apprehend, all the anti -federalists, and a very 
 respectable portion of the federalists, think that such a de- 
 claration should now be annexed. The enlightened part of 
 Europe have given us the greatest credit for inventing this 
 instrument of security for the Rights of the People, and 
 have been not a little surprised, to see us so soon give it up. 
 With respect to the re-eligibility of the President, I find 
 myself diftering from the majority of my countrymen; for I 
 think there are but three States of the eleven, which have 
 desired an alteration of this. And, indeed, since the thing 
 is established, / would wish it not to be altered during the 
 life of our great leader,* whose executive talents are su- 
 perior to those, /believe, of any man in the world, and who 
 alone, by the authority of his name and the confidence re- 
 posed in his perfect integrity, is fully qualified to put the 
 new Government sounder way, as to secure it against the 
 efforts of opposition. But having derived from our 
 error all the good there was in it, I hope we shall correct 
 it the moment we can no longer have the same name at 
 the helm. 
 
 '' These, my dear friend, are my sentiments, by which 
 you will see I was right in saying, I am neither federalist, 
 nor anti-federalist; that I am of neither party, nor yet a 
 trimmer between parties. These, my opinions, I wrote 
 within a few hours after I had read the constitution, to one 
 or two friends in America. I had not then read one single 
 
 * Wasuikoton! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 2S1 
 
 word printed on the subject. I never had an opinion in 
 politics or religion, which I was afraid to own. A costive 
 reserve on these subjects, might have procured me more 
 esteem from some people, but less from myself. " 
 
 Thus he wrote to Mr. Hopkinson in March, 1789j but, 
 in another to Mr. Madisoyi, ia 1787, he expressed an opi- 
 nion essentially varied as to the consolidated power of 
 government. 
 
 " I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government; 
 it is always oppressive ;"it places the governors indeed more 
 at their ease, but at the expense of the people. The late re- 
 bellion in Massachusetts, has given more alarm than I think 
 it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in thirteen 
 States, in the course of eleven years, is but one for each State 
 in a century and a half. No Country should be so long 
 WITHOUT ONE, nor will any degree of power in the hands 
 of government prevent insurrections. In England, where 
 the hand of power is heavier than with us, there are seldom 
 half a dozen years without an insurrection. In France, 
 where it is still heavier, but less despotic, as Montesquieu 
 supposes, than in some other countries, and where there are 
 always two or three hundred thousand men ready to crush 
 insurrections, there have been three in the course of the 
 three years I have been here, in everyone of which, greater 
 numbers were engaged than in Massachusetts, and a great 
 deal more blood was spilt. In Turkey, where the sole nod 
 of the despot is death, insurrections are the events of every 
 day. Compare again the ferocious depredations of their 
 insurgents with the order, the moderation, and the almost 
 self-extinguishment of ours, and say, finally, whether peace 
 is best preserved by giving energy to the government, or 
 information to the people. This last is the most certain 
 and the m,ost legitimate engine of government. Educate 
 and inform the whole mass of the people, enable tliem to see 
 that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and 
 they will preserve it; and it requires no very high degree 
 of education to convince them of this; they are the only sure 
 reliance for the preservation of our liberty. After all, it is 
 my principle, that the will of the majority should prevail. 
 If they approve the proposed constitution in all its parts, I 
 shall concur in it cheerfully, in hopes they will mend it, 
 whenever they shall find it works wrong. This reliance 
 T 2 
 
222 THE LIFE OF 
 
 cannot deceive us as long as we remain virtuous^ and I 
 think we shall be so, as long as agriculture is our principal 
 object, which will be the case while there remain vacant 
 lands in any part of America." 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's sentiments on the French Revolution^ are 
 given with a fulness and frankness in his Memoirs, which 
 renders them not less important than interesting; and a just 
 appreciation of his character and conduct in relation to that 
 splendid, yet melancholy era, demands that I should here 
 transcribe those opinions which he deliberately recorded 
 with his own hand. After speaking of the escort of the 
 King, by a garde Bourgeoise to his palace at Versailles, 
 amidst the cry of '' Vive le Boy et la Nation^'''^ he thus 
 remarks: '^' And here, again, was lostanother precious occa- 
 sion of sparing to France the crimes and cruelties through 
 which she has since passed, and to Europe, and finally 
 America, the evils which flowed on them also from this mor- 
 tal source. The King was now become a passive machine 
 in the hands of the National Assembly, and had he been left 
 to himself, he would have willingly acquiesced in whatever 
 they should devise as best for the nation. A wise consti- 
 tution would have been formed, hereditary in his line, him- 
 self placed at its head, with pov/ers so large, as to enable 
 him to do all the good of his station, and so limited, as to 
 restrain him from its abuse. This he would have faithfully 
 administered, and more than this I do not believe he ever 
 wished. But he had a Queen of absolute sway over hisv/eak 
 mind and timid virtue, and of a character the reverse of his 
 in all points. This angel, as gaudily painted in the rhap- 
 sodies of Burke, with some smartness of fancy, but no sound 
 sense, was proud, disdainful of restraint, indignant at all 
 obstacles to her v/ill, eager in the pursuit of pleasure, and 
 firm enough to hold to her desires, or perish in their wreck. 
 Her inordinate gambling and dissipations, with those of the 
 Count D'Artois, and others of her clique^ had been a sen- 
 sible item in the exhaustion of the treasury, which called 
 into action the reforming hand of the nation; and her oppo- 
 sition to it, her inflexible perverseness, and dauntless spirit 
 led herself to the Guillotine, drew the King on with her, and 
 plunged the world into crimes and calamities, which will for- 
 ever stain the pages of modern history. I ever have believed, 
 that had there been no queen, there would have been no 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 223 
 
 revolution.* No force would have been provoked nor 
 exercised. The king would have gone hand in hand with 
 the wisdom of his sounder counsellors,* who, guided by the 
 increased lights of the age, wished only, with the same 
 pace, to advance the principles of their social constitution. 
 The deed, which closed the mortal course of these sove- 
 reigns, I shall neither approve nor condem. I am not pre- 
 pared to say that the first magistrate of a nation cannot 
 commit treason against his country, or is unamenable to its 
 punishment; nor yet, that where there is no written law, 
 no regulated tribunal, there is not a law in our hearts, and 
 a power in our hands, given for righteous employment in 
 maintaining right and redressing wrong. Of those, ^ho 
 judged the King, many thought him wilfully criminal; many, 
 that his existence would keep the nation in perpetual con- 
 flict with the horde of kings, who would war against a re- 
 generation which might come home to themselves, and that 
 it were better that one should die them all. I should not 
 have voted with this portion of the Legislature. I should 
 have shut up the queen in a convent, putting harm out of 
 her power, and placed the king in his station, investing him 
 with limited powers, which, I verily believe, he would 
 have honestly exercised, according to the measure of his un- 
 derstanding. In this way, no void would have been created, 
 courting the usurpation of a military adventurer,! nor oc- 
 casion given for those enormities which demoralized the 
 nations of the world, and destroyed, and is yet to destoy, 
 millions and millions of its inhabitants. There are three 
 epochs in history, signalised by the total extinction of na- 
 tional morality.^ The first was of the successors of Alex- 
 ander, not omitting himself; the next, the successors of the 
 first Caesar; the third, our own age. I'his was begun by 
 the partition of Poland, followed by that of the treaty of 
 Pilnitz; next the conflagration of Copenhagen; then the 
 enormities of Bonaparte, partitioning the earth at his 
 will, and devastating it with fire and sword; now the con- 
 spiracy of Kings, the successors of Bonaparte, blasphe- 
 mously calling themselves the Holy Alliance, and treading 
 
 * This is but a poor compliment to the French people, even under 
 the theory expounded by Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 f A coarse title for the first man of his ag-e — the wonder of the 
 whole world! !! 
 
224 THE LIFE OF 
 
 in the footsteps of their incarcerated leader; not yet, indeed 
 usurping the government of other nations, avowedly and, 
 in detail, but controlling, by their armies, the forms in which 
 they will permit th>em to be governed; and reserving, i?i 
 petto, the order and extent of the usurpations further medi- 
 tated. But I will return from a digression, anticipated too, 
 in time, into which I have been led by reflection on the 
 criminal passions which refused to the world a favourable 
 occasion of saving it from the afflictions it has since suf- 
 fered." 
 
 Having obtained leave of absence to return to Virginia, 
 upon some domestic engagements, Mr. Jefferson landed at 
 Norfolk, on the 23d of November, and proceeded on to 
 Eppington, the residence of his connection, Mr. Eppes, 
 where he was greeted by an express from President Wash- 
 ington, covering his appointment as Secretary of State* 
 Upon this subject Mr. Jefferson thus expresses his feelings, 
 which it is due to truth to say, do not correspond with his 
 usual warmth of heart, or his well known aspiration after 
 political celebrity: " I received it with real regret. My 
 wish had been to return to Paris, where I had left my 
 household establishment, as if there myself, and to see the 
 end of the revolution; which, I then thought, would be 
 certainly and happily closed in less than a year. I then 
 meant to return home, to withdraw from political life, into 
 which I had been impressed by the circumstances of the 
 times, to sink into the bosom of my family and friends, and 
 devote myself to studies more congenialio my mind.* In 
 my answer of December 15, I expressed these dispositions 
 candidly to the President, and my preference of a return to 
 Paris; but assured him, that if it was believed I could be 
 more useful in the administration of the government, I 
 would sacrifice my own inclinations without hesitation, and 
 repair to that destination; this I left to his decision. I 
 arrived at Monticello on the 23d of December, where I 
 received a second letter from the President, expressing his 
 continued wish that I should take my station there, but 
 
 * Here we behold one of those traits of intellectual dissimulation, 
 peculiar to men, who, combining' literary talents with political 
 address, so often leads those possessed of them to deceive the world, 
 when they cannot even succeed in deceiving" themselves into the 
 belief of their own sincerity. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 225 
 
 leaving me still at liberty to continue in my former office, 
 if / could not reconcile myself to that now proposed. This 
 silenced my reluctance, and I accepted the new appoint- 
 ment. " 
 
 I must here pause for a moment, to indulge in those 
 reflections which naturally arise from this elevation of the 
 statesman of Monticello, to the most lofty station in the 
 cabinet of our greatest and best President; and which con- 
 stitutes one of those emphatic eras in the life of a politician, 
 which decide and involve his future destiny. This may be 
 considered the first period of the life of this singular and 
 extraordinary man; singular for his genius, and extraordi- 
 nary for his profound and diversified acquirements. Few 
 men had made such rapid progress from the obscure condi- 
 tion of a county court lawyer, to the brilliant eminence of 
 Secretary of State under George Washington; from being 
 a member of the General Assembly of Virginia, to become 
 the first statesman of the United States; and to maintain a 
 rank in philosophy and learning, second only to the most 
 distinguished literati of Europe. Genius and volition of 
 the highest order could alone have subjugated that immense 
 space to the empire of greatness, which had divided the 
 youthful attorney from the post he was now called upon to 
 fill; and from which, as on an eminence, he could look down 
 upon the past covered with its shadows; and up to the 
 future, glittering with the most resplendent prospect of 
 honour and renown. He was now called to a station, 
 which genius, fired with ambition, occupies as a starting 
 point for higher exaltation; and which unleavened medi- 
 ocrity only, takes possession of as the final seat of its dis- 
 tinction, and the satisfying"" object of its ambition. Mr. 
 Jefterson belonged to the first class of soaring and kindling 
 minds, that never enjoy rest until they have attained glory, 
 and which never pauses at a point of advancement short of 
 the apex of worldly honour or political power. The mo- 
 tives, therefore, which induced his acceptance of this ap- 
 pointment, were derived from thoughts and feelings of a 
 higher reach, and loftier tone, than any of those common- 
 place considerations which look to the emolument of the 
 office before him, or to the accommodation of the personage 
 who tenders it. 
 
 During his stay at home, his eldest daughter was now 
 married to Mr. Randolph, ' a young gentleman of genius, 
 
226 THE LIFE OF 
 
 science and honourable mind 5' who afterwards became 
 Governor of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Jefterson left Monticello, for New York, on the 1st 
 of March, 1790, to enter on tlie duties of his new office. 
 At Philadelphia, he called on Dr. Franklin, who was then 
 on his death-bed, and who conversed with him with the 
 resignation of a philosopher, and the animation of an en- 
 thusiast for liberty. The doctor confided to him a MS. 
 memoir of his life, which Mr. Jefterson, under a mistaken 
 idea of the trust reposed in him, afterwards delivered into 
 the hands of his grandson, William Temple Franklin. 
 This memoir Mr. Jefterson represents as containing impor- 
 tant details: among others he thus relates a very important 
 one, " I remember, he says, speaking of secret negociations 
 of Franklin, to accommodate matters between the Colonies 
 and Great Britain, that Lord North's answers were dry, 
 unyielding, in the spirit of unconditional submission, and 
 betrayed an absolute indifference to the occurrence of a 
 rupture 5 and he said to the mediators distinctly, at last, 
 that ' a rebellion was not to be deprecated on the part of 
 Great Britaiii; that the confiscations it would produce would 
 provide for many of their friends. ' This expression was 
 reported by the mediators to Dr. Franklin." Here the 
 negociation stopped. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson reached New York on the 21st March, 
 while Congress was in session; and commenced his duties 
 as Secretary of State, under George Washington ! 
 
 In a letter to General W^ashington, dated April 16, 1784, 
 Mr. Jefterson gives, at full length, his objections to the 
 institution of the Cincinatti; from whicli I must take an 
 extract of a brief passage: "The objections of those who 
 are opposed to the institution shall be briefly sketched. 
 You will readily fill them up. Tliey urge that it is against 
 the confederation, against the letter of some of our consti- 
 tutions, against the spirit of all of them; that the founda- 
 tion, on which all these are built, is the natural equality'^ of 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson here reasons with less closeness than is common 
 to liim; there is no natural equahty in man, but that all possess, in an 
 equal degree, a natural rig-htto happhiess is another, and a more i-a- 
 tional proposition. Metaphysical equality of rig-ht is a much sounder 
 docti-ine than the physical, or metaphysical equality of mankind; 
 for no two men are equal in body, or mind. The pernicious doctrines 
 fashionable in the era of the French revolution, are now exploded 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 227" 
 
 man, the denial of every pre-eminence but that annexed to 
 legal office,! and particularly the denial of a pre-eminence 
 by birth; that, however, in their present dispositions, citi- 
 zens might decline accepting honorary instalments into 
 the order, but a time may come when a well directed dis- 
 tribution of them might draw into the order all the men of 
 talents, of office and wealth: and, in this case, would pro- 
 bably procure an engraftment into the government; that in 
 this they will be, supported by their foreign members, and 
 the wishes and influence of foreign courts; that experience 
 has shown that the hereditary branches of modern govern- 
 ments are the patrons of privilege and prerogative, and not 
 of the natural rights of the people, whose oppressors they 
 generally are; that, beside these evils, which are remote, 
 others may take place more immediately; that a distinction 
 is kept up between the civil and military, which it is for 
 the happiness of both to obliterate; that when the members ^ 
 assemble they will be proposing to do sometliing, and what 
 that something may be, will depend on actual circum- 
 stances; that being an organized body, under habits of sub- 
 ordination, the first obstruction to enterprize will be already 
 surmounted; that the moderation and virtue of a single 
 character have probably prevented this revolution from 
 being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of 
 that liberty it was intended to establish; that he is not im- 
 mortal, and his successor, or some of his successors, may 
 be led by false ccdculations into a less certain road to gloryy 
 
 It has always been known that Mr. Jefferson v/as op- 
 posed to the institution of the Cincinatti, as containing the 
 germ of an hereditary nobility, but to what precise extent 
 he carried his objections, I was never able to discover, until 
 I met with the foregoing letter, published by his grandson, 
 in the volume that contains his memoir of his own life. It 
 appears, from the foregoing extract, that he opposed it on 
 the broadest grounds of democracy, equality, and popidar 
 sovereignty and rule. 
 
 His letters from Paris, in 1785 and '86, to Washington 
 
 for others, of more enlarged benevolence, yet equally favourable to 
 liberty. 
 
 f Mr. Jefferson could not mean to deny the natural pre-eminence 
 of g-enius, and the acquired superiority of learning-, skill and ex- 
 iperience! 
 
228 THE LIFE OF 
 
 himself, as well as to otliers, breathe the purest attachment 
 and the highest veneration for that great patriot; from whom 
 he does not seem to have been alienated till subsequent 
 events, and pregnant ambition, begot feelings of an oppo- 
 site nature; all generated by the new situation which he 
 was called on to occupy in the new government. It is re- 
 markable, too, that at tlie dates here referred to, he took 
 peculiar pleasure in discoursing of matters connected with 
 pomp, splendour and ceremony; so that the Court of Ver- 
 sailles, instead of disgusting his republican taste, seems, on 
 the contrary, to have been highly pleasing to him. Being 
 intrusted, at this time, with a commission to procure an 
 artist to execute an equestrian statue of Washington, he 
 appears to have taken great pleasure, and spent much pains 
 in that undertaking; which led him to a protracted corres- 
 pondence, in which his overflowing affection for Washing- 
 ton was constantly manifested, and which could not fail to 
 awaken in the breast of the first President a corresponding 
 sentiment of attachment, esteem and confidence. But this 
 friendship was now to undergo the severest trials, by being 
 subjected to the test of ambition, and exposed to the temp- 
 tations of envy, and the jealous pangs of beholding the 
 favour of the chief magistrate extended to others, who stood 
 in his pathway to the highest point of honour. Let no man 
 say, when he climbs ambition's ladder, that he will stop 
 half way, and that he desires not to ascend to the top: let 
 no man delude his judgment, by hoping to reconcile the 
 claims of friendship and gratitude with the lusts of ambi- 
 tion; or think to remain free from the fever while he gives 
 his heart up to the flusli of power, and riots in visions of 
 future greatness ! Fatal delusion! The moment he plants 
 his foot on the political ladder, the delirium of his head 
 overbalances the pulsations of his heart, he swims on clouds, 
 and he ceases to Vv^alk the earth until he can walk over men i 
 Mr. Jefferson now took his station as the second officer 
 of the federal government; second only in political impor- 
 tance, official dignity, and arduous responsibility of duty, 
 to that occupied by the illustrious Washington, who had 
 called him to the discharge of its functions. At all times 
 demanding, in the incumbent, a happy combination of pro- 
 found learning, vigorous talents, and extensive, as well as 
 varied acquirements, the office of Secretary of State, at the 
 commencement of the new government, required those 
 
Thomas jeffersoj^. Q,^Q 
 
 qualities in an eminent degree to be united in the man who 
 should be called to fulfil its duties, for the first time, under 
 an untried constitution. Happily all these requisites were 
 combined, in a most extraordinary and singular manner, ill 
 the person and intellect of Mr. Jefterson, who, fortunately 
 for his country, combined the most elevated ardour of pa- 
 triotism with the sterling splendour of genius and learning. 
 
 To attend Mr. Jefferson through all the detail of his 
 official duties, as Secretary of State, would be to compile 
 a history of that department, instead of sketching a bio- 
 graphy of this eminent man. I shall, therefore, confine 
 myself to the delineation of those traits of character w hich 
 become displayed in strong contrast of opposition to the 
 views and principles of those with whom he was associated; 
 his mere ability, so far as it related to the performance of 
 his official functions, being too universally applauded, and 
 too justly appreciated, to be open to higher encomium, or 
 more rigid criticism, than that throug^i which his merits 
 have been established. 
 
 The first question which elicited that contrariety of views 
 and principles, which existed between Jefferson and the 
 President, was the incorporation of the Bank of the 
 United States. That measure having produced a deep 
 excitement in both Houses of Congress, as -involving funda- 
 mental principles of constitutional power, naturally awa- 
 kened the well -approved patriotism of Washington, v/hich 
 induced him to pause and deliberate with his usual coolness 
 and ability, before he decided upon its final adoption. For 
 this purpose, he requested a written investigation of the 
 merits of the question from Mr. Jefferson, in common with 
 the other members of his cabinet; in complying with which, 
 this illustrious statesman exhibited a power of reasoning not 
 inferior in brilliancy to that solidity of principle upon which 
 he rested as the foundation of his arguments. Simple, broad, 
 and comprehensive in his premises, he went upon the self- 
 evident axiom that a limited constitution, restricted by spe- 
 cial grants of power, could not authorise a sovereign exer- 
 cise of authority, which no part of that instrument allowed, 
 or granted in express terms — that the power to create a na- 
 tional bank was in its very nature too vast and influential 
 over the whole rights and interests of the people, to be either 
 a necessary or an incidental power, to others expressly 
 granted — and that it were better for the harmony and suc- 
 
230 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ces3 of the whole Union-, to forego the exercise of a doubtful 
 power than to breed endless dissentions and heart-burnings, 
 by assuming an authority which could not be sustained by 
 th« letter of the Constitution^ to observe which the govern- 
 ment was bound in the exercise of substantive powers. In 
 this powerful and masterly elucidation of one of the most 
 controverted features of the federal government, he was 
 decidedly opposed, by the eloquent and brilliant exposition 
 of Alexander Hamilton, who, reasoning on opposite princi- 
 ples, and leaning to a government of more energetic and 
 comprehensive genius, naturally carried with him the al- 
 ready prepossessed judgment of the President. But neither 
 the force of Hamilton's reasoning, nor the hourly augment- 
 ing weight of the influence of Washington himself, have 
 been able to settle this perturbed question; while the mas- 
 terly, but simple edifice of free principles, erected by the 
 republican logic of Jefferson, will forever remain a monu- 
 ment of that stern, inflexible and uncompromising democracy 
 which made him so emphatically the man of the people; and 
 which have consecrated his labours upon this subject as a 
 perpetual rallying point for the advocates of free principles, 
 State rights, and equality of privileges. 
 
 As some curiosity will naturally be excited to see this 
 report of Mr. Jefferson upon the Bank of the United States, 
 and as it is to be found in but few works, accessible to the 
 general class of readers, I shall here extract it. 
 
 GRESS TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 The Bill for establishing a National Bank, undertakes, 
 among other things, 
 
 1st. To form the subscribers into a corporation. 
 
 2d. To enable them, in their corporate capacities, to re- 
 ceive grants of land, and so far, is against the laws oi mort- 
 Tnain. * 
 
 3d. To make alien subscribers capable of holding lands; 
 and so far is against the laws of alienage. 
 
 4th. To transmit these lands, on the death of a proprie- 
 
 * Though the Constitution controls the laws of mortmain, so far 
 as to permit Confess itself to hold lands for certain purposes, yet 
 not so far as to permit them to communicate a similar right to other 
 corporate bodies* 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 231 
 
 tor, to a certain line of successors; and so far, changes the 
 course of descents. 
 
 5th. To put the lands out of the reach of forfeiture or 
 escheat; and so far, is against the laws of forfeiture and 
 escheat. 
 
 6th. To transmit personal chattels to successors in a 
 certain line; and so far is against the laws of distribution. 
 
 rth. To give them the sole and exclusive right of banking 
 under the national authority; and so far, is against the laws 
 of monopoly. 
 
 8. To communicate to them a power to make laws para- 
 mount to the laws of the States; for so they must be con- 
 strued to protect the institution from the control of the 
 State Legislatures; and so, probably, they will be construed. 
 
 I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on 
 the ground that ' all powers not delegated to the United 
 States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it, to the States, 
 are reserved to the States, or to the people.' (Twelth 
 Amendment. ) To take a single step beyond the boundaries 
 thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to 
 take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer sus- 
 ceptible of any definition. 
 
 The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by 
 this Bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the 
 United States by the Constitution. 
 
 I. They are not among the powers specially enumerated. 
 For these are, 
 
 1. A power to lay taxes for the purpose of paying the 
 debts of the United States; but no debt is paid by this bill, 
 nor any tax laid. Were it a bill to raise money, its origina- 
 tion in the Senate would condemn it by the Constitution. 
 
 2. To ' borrow money.' But this bill neither borrows 
 money, nor insures the borrowing of it. The proprietors 
 of the Bank will be just as free as any other money holders, 
 to lend or not to lend their money to the public. The ope- 
 ration proposed in the Bill, first to lend them two millions, 
 and then borrow them back again, cannot cliange the nature 
 of the latter act, which will still be a payment, and not a 
 loan, call it by what name you please. 
 
 3. ' To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
 the States, and with the Indian tribes. ' To erect a bank, 
 and to regulate commerce, are very different acts. He who 
 erects a bank, creates a subject of commerce in its bills: so 
 
232 THE LIFE OF 
 
 does he who makes a bushel of wheat, or digs a dollar out 
 of the mines. Yet neither of these persons regulate com- 
 merce thereby. To make a thing which may be bought and 
 sold, is not to prescribe regulations for buying and selling. 
 Besides, if this were an exercise of the power of regulating 
 commerce, it would be void, as extending as much to the 
 internal commerce of every State, as to its external. For 
 the power given to Congress by the Constitution, does not ' 
 extend to the internal regulation of the commerce of a State, 
 (that is to say, of the commerce between citizen and citizen,) 
 which remains exclusively with its own Legislature, but to 
 its external commerce only; that is to say, its commerce with 
 another State, or with foreign nations, or with the Indian 
 tribes. Accordingly, the Bill does not propose the mea- 
 sure as a 'regulation of trade,' but as ' productive of con- 
 siderable adK^antage to trade.' 
 
 Still less are these powers covered by any other of the 
 special enumerations. 
 
 II. Nor are they within either of the general phrases, 
 which are the two following: 
 
 1. To lay taxes, to provide for the general welfare of the 
 United States; that is to say, 'to lay taxesybr the purpose 
 of providing for the general welfare.' For the laying of 
 taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose, for 
 which the power is to be exercised. Congress are not to 
 lay taxes ad libitum, for any purpose they please; but only 
 to pay the debts, or provide for the welfare of the Union. In 
 like manner, they are not to do any thing they please, to 
 provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for 
 that purpose. To consider the latter phrase, not as de- 
 scribing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct 
 and independent power to do any act they please, which 
 might be for the good of the Union, would render all the 
 preceding and subsequent enumerations of power complete- 
 ly useless. It would reduce the whole instrument to a 
 single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to 
 do whatever would be for the good of the United States; 
 and as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it 
 would be also a power to do whatever evil they pleased. 
 It is an established rule of construction, where a phrase 
 will bear either of two meanings, to give it that which will 
 allow some meaning to the other parts of the instrument, 
 and not that which will render all the others useless. Cer- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 233 
 
 taitily, no such universal power was meant to be given them. 
 It was intended to lace them up straightly within the enu- 
 merated powers, and those without which, as means, these 
 powers could not be carried into effect. It is known that 
 the very power now proposed as a ineans was rejected as 
 an end by the Convention which formed the Constitution. 
 A proposition was made to them to authorise Congress to 
 open canals, and an amendatory one to empower them to 
 incorporate; but the whole was rejected; and one of the 
 reasons of rejection urged in debate was, that they then 
 would have a power to erect a bank, which would render 
 the great cities, where there were prejudices and jealousies 
 on that subject, adverse to the reception of the Constitution. 
 
 2. The second general phrase is, ' to make ail laVvS 
 necessary and proper for carrying into execution the enu- 
 merated powers. ' But they can all be carried into execution 
 without a bank. A bank, therefore, is not necessary, and 
 consequently, not authorised by this phrase. 
 
 It has been much urged, that a bank will give great faci- 
 lity or convenience in the collection of taxes. Suppose this 
 were true; yet the constitution allows only the means which 
 are ' necessary, ' not those which are merely convenient, 
 for effecting the enumerated powers. If such a latitude of 
 construction be allowed to this phrase, as to give any non- 
 enumerated power, it will go to every one; for there is no 
 one which ingenuity may not torture into a co?ivenience in 
 some icay or other to some one of so long a list of enume^ 
 rated powers. It w^ould swallow up all the delegated pow- 
 ers, and reduce the whole to one phrase, as before observed. 
 Therefore it was, that the constitution restrained them to 
 the necessary means, that is to say, to those means without 
 which the grant of the power would be nugatory. 
 
 ''But let us examine this ' convenience,' and see M^iatit 
 is. The report on this subject, (page 2,) states the only ge-- 
 neral convenience to be, the preventing the transportation 
 and retransportation of money between the States and the 
 treasury. (For I pass over the increase of the circulating 
 medium ascribed to it as a merit, and which, according to 
 my ideas of paper money, is clearly a demerit.) Every 
 State will have to pay a sum of tax money into the treasury; 
 and the treasury will have to pay, in every State, a part of 
 the interest on the public debt, and salaries to the officers 
 of government resident in that State. In most of the 
 
 U2 
 
g34 THE LIFE OF 
 
 States there will still be a surplus of tax money to come up 
 to the seat of government for the officers residing there. 
 The payments of interest and salary in each State, may be 
 made by treasury orders on the State collector. This will 
 take up the greater part of the money he has collected in 
 his State, and consequently prevent the great mass of it 
 from being drawn out of the State. If there be a balance 
 -of commerce in favour of that State, against the one in 
 which the government resides, the surplus of taxes will be 
 remitted by the bills of exchange drawn for that commercial 
 balance. And so it must be if there were a bank. But if 
 there be no balance of commerce, either director circuitous, 
 all the banks in the world could not bring the surplus of 
 taxes but in the form of money. Treasury orders, then, 
 and bills of exchange, may prevent the displacement of the 
 main mass of the money collected, without the aid of any 
 bank; and where these fail, it cannot be prevented, even 
 with that aid. 
 
 Perhaps, indeed, bank bills may be a more convenient 
 vehicle than treasury orders. But a little difference in the 
 degree of convenience, cannot constitute the necessity 
 which the constitution makes the ground for assuming any 
 non-enumerated power. 
 
 Besides, the existing banks will, without doubt, enter 
 into arrangements for lending their agency, and the more 
 favourable, as there will be a competition among them for 
 it. Whereas, this bill delivers us up bound to the na^- 
 tional bank, who are free to refuse all arrangements but on 
 their own terms, and the public not free, on such refusal, 
 to employ any other bank. That of Philadelphia, I believe, 
 now does this business by their post notes, which, by an 
 arrangement with the treasury, are paid by any State coU 
 lector, to whom they are presented. This expedient, alone, 
 suffices to prevent the existence of that necessity \\\\\q\\ may 
 justify the assumption of a non-ennmerated power as a 
 means for carrying into effect an enumerated one. The 
 thing may be done, and has been done, and well done, 
 without this assumption; therefore, it does not stand on that 
 degree of necessity which can honestly justify it. 
 
 It may be said, that a bank whose bills would have a cur- 
 rency all over the States, would be more convenient than 
 one whose currency is limited to a single State. vSo it would 
 be still more convenient, that there should be a bank whose 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 235 
 
 bills should have a currency all over the world. But it 
 does not follow from this superior conveniency, that there 
 exists any where a power to establish such a bank, or that 
 the world may not go on very well without it. 
 
 Can it be thought, that the Constitution intended, that for 
 a shade or two oi' convenience, more or less. Congress should 
 be authorised to break down the most ancient and funda' 
 mental laws of the several States, such as those against 
 mortmain, the laws of alienage, the rules of descent, the 
 acts of distribution, the laws of escheat and forfeiture, and 
 the laws of monopoly. Nothing but a necessity invincible 
 by any other means, can justify such a prostration of laws 
 which constitute the pillars of our whole system of juris- 
 prudence. Will Congress be too straight-laced to carry the 
 Constitution into honest eftect, unless they may pass over 
 the foundation laws of the State governments, for the 
 slightest convenience to theirs.^ 
 
 The negative of the President is the shield provided by 
 the Constitution, to protest against the invasions of the Le- 
 gislature j^r*^, the rights of the Executive; second, of the 
 Judiciary; third, of the States and State Legislatures. The 
 present is the case of a right remaining exclusively with the 
 States, and is, consequently, one of those intended by the 
 Constitution to be placed under his protection. 
 
 It must be added, however, that unless the President's 
 mind, on a view of every thing which is urged for and 
 against this bill, is tolerably clear that it is unauthorised by 
 the constitution, if the pro and the con hang so even as to 
 balance his judgment, a just respect for the wisdom of the 
 Legislature, would naturally decide the balance in favour 
 of their opinion. It is chiefly for cases where they are clearly 
 misled by error, ambition or interest, that the Constitution 
 has placed a check in the negative of the President. 
 
 February 15, 1791. TH. JEFFERSON. 
 
 Congress, aware of the great importance of the cod and 
 whale fisheries, had directed the attention of the Secretary 
 of State to those subjects; and Mr. Jefterson, in compliance 
 with a resolution of that body, made a report to Congress 
 on the 1st of February, 1791, embracing a comprehensive 
 enquiry into the nature and tendency of that trade, and 
 taking a wide survey of its benefits, advantages, and bear- 
 ings, as well in a national point of view, as in its effects and 
 
236 THE LIFE OF 
 
 operations upon the prosperity and happiness of the people 
 in general. Among other points that he elucidated with 
 the hand of a master in tins report, was the influence of that 
 trade in bettering the condition of the labouring classes, by 
 reducing tlie cost of the ftrst necessary of life — food; and 
 the means it provided for rearing a hardy and skilful race 
 of brave seamen; its extension of the commerce of the 
 country; its efficacy as the means of defence in war; audits 
 inestimable value as a nursery for seamen, out of which to 
 fill up the complement of our public ships of war. In fine, 
 this able and profound report displayed all that variety of 
 information and fullness of talent, for which its author was 
 so celebrated, and which so happily qualified him to digest 
 plans of national improvements; explore new sources of 
 public wealth, and analyse the complicated relations of the 
 most intricate and unknown branch of trade or enterprise. 
 From this report, Mr. Jefferson has justly been considered 
 as having a fair claim to the character of Father of the 
 American Fisheries. 
 
 In his various negociations with England and Spain, at 
 this eventful period of the commencement of the new fede^ 
 ral government, Mr. JeiFerson manifested that patriotism 
 and benevolence for which he was always distinguished; 
 and displayed that skill, learning, eloquence, and address, 
 which always characterised his elegant pen. In the discus- 
 sion of the violated treaties with the British minister, and 
 the free navigation of the Mississippi, he illustrated these 
 pre-eminent qualities of his accomplished mind in a striking 
 and peculiar manner. 
 
 I have already, in the Life of Washington, alluded to 
 that trait of our national policy established by the father of 
 his country, which preserved us from being entangled in 
 the wars and alliances of Europe, by settling the principle 
 of neutrality as the ivisest policy of the republic. On this 
 occasion, Mr. Jefferson, as Secretary of State, became sig- 
 nally distinguished, by his correspondence with the insolent 
 Genet, who, uniting impudence to vulgarity, unwisely sup- 
 posed that qualities so offensive, must necessarily consti- 
 tute the essence of republican liberty. Mr. Jefferson had 
 advised and fully concurred in the proclamation of neutra- 
 lity between England, Holland and France; but he dis- 
 sented from that position of the cabinet, which urged the 
 suspension of our treaties with the latter country, during 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. S37 
 
 the anarchy of her wild revolution, when all government 
 seemed to be dissolved in oceans of blood, but which Wash- 
 ington himself did not approve; so that Genet was received 
 without any stipulation of suspended treaties, as the minis- 
 ter of the French people. Whatever may have been Mr. 
 Jefferson's partiality for the French people, and his sympathy 
 for the cause of liberty, in which they were so furiously 
 engaged, (and that he felt on these subjects with extreme 
 w^armth, w^e have his own testimony to prove,) still he w^as 
 too well instructed in his duty as a member of the govern- 
 ment, to permit the influence of his feelings to bias, or 
 change the current of his official duties. It is, therefore, 
 more to his honour, than if he had not cherished this par- 
 tiality, that he vindicated the dignity of the President, and 
 defended the rights and policy of his country, in a tone of 
 pure and lofty patriotism which reflected the highest credit 
 on his integrity; and with a force of argument and power 
 of illustration, which attested to the singular felicity of his 
 genius, and the enviable stores of his knowledge. 
 
 On the 16th of December, 1793, Mr. Jeiferson presented 
 to Congress the last official paper, of which he was the 
 author, under the administration of George W^ashington: 
 this was a report on the commerce and navigation of the 
 United States, in its relation to foreign governments, with 
 suggestions as to what measures it may be expedient to 
 adopt, to improve and extend the same. 
 
 This report has derived additional importance from its 
 recognition of principles which assimilate closely with the 
 doctrines of Free Trade, and yet embrace the contingency 
 of a Protective TARrFF. He begins by considering the 
 value of the articles of our export to the different countries 
 with whom we exchange commodities; and then proceeds 
 to investigate the restrictions which other nations huve im- 
 posed upon our trade; whence he branches out into an 
 appeal to Congress, to devise and adopt the most eligible 
 modes for their modification, counteraction, or removal. 
 He then suggests as two of the most eligible methods; 
 firsts Negociations for commercial treaties on the basis of 
 reciprocity; and second, Legislative enactments imposing 
 counteracting restrictions upon the trade of tiiose nations 
 that will not treat on the first named condition. Commer- 
 cial regulations he deemed preferable, because he con- 
 tended that an unshackled and free trade was the most pro- 
 
238 THE LIFE OF 
 
 fitable, reasonable and just; and that the United States 
 ought to hold in special favour any nation who would, by 
 commencing the system, Set a good example for others to 
 follow; and in the same spirit, to resist with rigorous coun- 
 teracting duties, the commerce and navigation of those 
 countries that pertinaciously adhered to the system of pro- 
 hibitions, high duties, or vexatious exactions. An obvious 
 train of powerful argument is adduced to sustain this just 
 position, and recommend to national patronage the naviga- 
 tion interest of the country; urging with a fervour commen- 
 surate to the great importance of the question, the adoption 
 of the system of national reciprocity — opposing tariff 
 to tariff— Awij against duty ; but at all times giving a de- 
 cided preference to free and unrestrained trade, universally 
 guaranteed from all shackles by commercial treaties and 
 arrangements. 
 
 In accordance with this enlightened and masterly expo- 
 sition of sound national policy, Mr. ISIadison introduced a 
 series of resolutions, which were designed to give the report 
 of Mr. Jefferson the sanction of legislative authority. An 
 animated and prolonged debate ensued; in the course of 
 which every collateral topic of a political character was 
 freely and vividly discussed; the policy of the nation in 
 times of war, and of peace; the hostilities of Europe; the 
 progress of commerce, and the necessity of retaliation; in 
 fine, every question having a main bearing on the point was 
 fully analysed and expounded. It was supposed that a 
 majority could have been rallied upon the passage of the 
 resolutions; but they were not put to the vote, and now only 
 remain a monument of that political foresight in Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, and that legislative wisdom on the part of Mr. Madi- 
 son, which formed such prominent characteristics of these 
 eminent individuals. Yet it must ever be considered as 
 singular, that through all the revolutions of public opinion, 
 the opposite policy of Hamilton has prevailed^ under every 
 administration. According to an intention long before 
 expressed, Mr. Jefferson resigned his ofhce, as Secretary of 
 State, on the 31st of December, 1793. 
 
 I have now arrived at a new era in the life of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son; when he shed the peaceful robes of the statesman, to 
 assume the sword, shield and armour of the politician — an 
 era, at which admiration for his genius is overclouded by 
 mortification for his loss of dignity, his sacrifice of opinion 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 239 
 
 to expediency, and his occasional dereliction from principle 
 in compliance with the fallacious suggestions of interest. 
 We must now cease for a time to contemplate him as the 
 philanthropist, whose eye is fixed on the public good, or as 
 the patriot, whose heart is engrossed by schemes that will 
 benefit his country; and be content to observe him as one 
 who is to build up his fortune with all 'sorts of people,' 
 and manage politics as an art of individual greatness, not 
 of national good. It is, perhaps, to be lamented that men 
 of great minds should ever be condemned to compromise 
 their honest candour in order to conciliate popular favour, 
 for great stations,' but still it is so ordained in the scale of 
 human frailty, that vast powers of intellect shall be che- 
 quered by some obliquities of character, that detract from 
 that unmixed veneration which they v»^ould otherwise inspire. 
 If, however, as a politician, Mr. Jefferson was not so lofty 
 and unblemished as he was considered, as a statesman we 
 must refer much of the discrepancy to those inevitable and 
 adventitious circumstances, which, while they placed him in 
 open contrast with the greatest man of his age, surrounded 
 him with powerful rivals of equal talents, superior energy, 
 more moral courage, and greater intellectual prowess. With 
 Washington to overshadow him — with Hamilton to rival 
 him — with Adams to carry off the palm of political triumph, 
 and Jay to excel him in diplomacy, it required no little 
 management, skill, and address, to preserve himself floating 
 on the waters, and to reach that final haiiiour of glory to 
 ■which he at last safely navigated his barque, through fogs, 
 and shoals, and tempests that environed him at every turn, 
 and menaced him so often with annihilation. But the 
 clouds of the politician once passed, we shall again behold 
 his glory shine out undimmed, as brilliant and resplendent 
 as ever, leaving us nothing to regret, but that equivocation, 
 duplicity, and inconsistency, which must always, more or 
 less, attach to every man who ventures from the virtue and 
 independence of private life, or dignified station, to can- 
 vass for the popular favour, and, like St. Paul, attempt to 
 be 'all things to all men.'' But, in the case of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, we have in his character a feature of consistency that 
 is not always found in- minor politicians — a strict adherence 
 to his own party fanaticism up to the day of his death, va- 
 rying only in the objects of his crimination, and changing 
 from John Adams to Timothy Pickering, from Alexander 
 
240 THE LIFE OF' 
 
 Hamilton to Oliver Wolcott. In this delirium of another' 
 * Polish plot,' by which we were again to be brought under 
 the dominion of a King, he always was sure to repeat the 
 dream, though he changed the characters and actors in the 
 tragedy; and this, too, without seeming to be aware that 
 the whole invention was the weak contrivance of emigrants 
 from foreign countries, who possessed no other means of 
 rising to importance, but on the waves of faction, and who 
 kept themselves busy in fanning the embers of faction, in 
 the hope of sharing the ' spoils^ which might attend any 
 confusion in society, or revolution in the government ; for 
 that confusion and revolution were their objects, was de- 
 monstrated by facts,* which it is wonderful should have 
 escaped the penetration of Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 His motives for retirement were obviously to be disco- 
 vered from the violence of party dissentions that now began 
 to rage, which had even penetrated the cabinet, to place 
 him in opposition to Hamilton; and which naturally brought 
 his official duties in opposition to his individual feelings, 
 who not only had the ear, but the Ae«r/ and the judgment 
 of Washington. Devoted with enthusiasm to the cause of 
 the French Revolution; in principle a democrat, radically 
 wedded to the very ultra doctrines of liberty; it was 
 scarcely possible, that he should longer continue in a cabi- 
 net, whose love of rational freedom was tempered by reve^ 
 rence for law and subordination, and restrained by consi- 
 derations of public virtue, human happiness, and national 
 safety, under the auspices of Washington, entrenched be- 
 hind the towering genius of Alexander Hamilton. The 
 revolution in popular sentiment, which now daily threat- 
 ened to leave Washington's administration in a wmonVy, 
 admonished Mr. Jefferson to make a timely escape from the 
 cabinet, unless he desired to share the fate of its shipwreck; 
 and as no congeniality of views bound him in fidelity to 
 adhere to its ruined fortunes, policy, as well as feeling, 
 suggested retirement as the only means of preserving his 
 own honour and avoiding the supposed impending downfall 
 of the administration. These motives for his retirement 
 were perfectly consistent, judicious, and justifiable; and 
 
 * The insiuTections that appeared in various sections of the Union, 
 were instig-ated by foreig-ners, who appeared as their leade-rs and 
 chiefs. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 241 
 
 if thej failed, as it respected the calculation^ of the voice 
 of popular opinion being in opposition to the illustrious 
 patriot at the head of the nation, the error of the theory was 
 rather to be ascribed to the pre-eminent virtue of the Presi- 
 dent, than to the misconception of public opinion in Mr. 
 Jefferson; for it cannot admit of a doubt that the country 
 and the government must have been shattered into a thou- 
 sand fragments, by the violent collisions of party, but for 
 the wisdom, the purity, the moderation, and the patriotism 
 of George Washington; the excellence of whose character, 
 while it arrested the current of democratic feeling for the 
 time, and even caused it to ebb entirely, from its influence 
 on the government, so as to admit his successor's election 
 from the same school of modulated freedom; yet, when 
 withdrawn, proved that the virtue of the man, rather than 
 the forc« of public opinion, had been the means of averting 
 that catastrophe, upon which Mr. Jefferson had grounded 
 his resignation; and that the political sagacity of the latter 
 only failed in point of time, and evinced no deficiency either 
 in relation to principles or facts. Results finally attested 
 to the unerring political foresight of Mr. Jefferson, as to the 
 tendency of popular sentiment to the single point of demo- 
 cratic supremacy, by a tremendous and overwhelming ma- 
 jority. How far Mr. Jefferson co-operated to produce that 
 result, after his retirement from the Washington cabinet, 
 does not so clearly appear; but that he was not altogether 
 inactive, and that he still continued to cherish a dislike of 
 Washington, a mortal hatred of Alexander Hamilton, and 
 the federalists generally, with, perhaps, some exception as 
 to Washington, whom no man could really hate, will appear 
 from the following letters, which can alone do justice to 
 their great author, without abridgment or mutilation, 
 
 ''to JAMES MADISON. 
 
 " Monticello, .^pril 3, 1794. 
 " Dear Sir, — Our post having ceased to ride ever since 
 the inoculation began in Richmond, till now, I received 
 three days ago, and all together, your friendly favours of 
 March 2, 9, 12, 14, and Colonel Monroe's of March Sand 
 16. I have been particularly gratified by the receipt of the 
 papers containing yours, and Smith's discussion of your 
 regulating propositions. These debates had not been seen 
 here but in a very short and mutilated form. I am at no 
 ^ W 
 
^42 THE LIFE OF 
 
 loss to ascribe Smithes speech to its true father. Every 
 tittle of it is Hamilton's except the introduction. Thei^ is 
 scarcely any thing there which I have not heard from him 
 in our various private, though official discussions. The 
 very turn of the arguments is the same, and otliers will see, 
 as well as myself, that the style is Hamilton's. The sophistry 
 is too fine, too ingenious, even to have been comprehended 
 by Smith, much less devised by him. His reply shows that he 
 did not understand his first speech^ as its general inferiority 
 proves its legitimacy, as evidently as it does the bastardy of 
 the original. You know we had understood that Hamilton 
 had prepared a counter report,* and that some of his humble 
 servants in the Senate were to move a reference to him in 
 order to produce it* But, I suppose they thought it would 
 have a better effect if fired off in the House of Represen- 
 tatives. I find the report, however, so fully justified, that 
 the anxieties with which I left it are perfectly quieted. In 
 this quarter, all espouse your propositions with ardour, and 
 without a dissenting voice. 
 
 '' The rumour of a declaration of war has given an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing, that the people here, though attentive to 
 the loss of value of their produce in such an event, yet find 
 in it a gratification of some other passions, and particularly 
 of their ancientf hatred to Great Britain. Still, I hope it 
 will not come to that^ but that the proposition will be car- 
 ried, and justice be done ourselves in a peaceable way. As 
 to the guarantee of the French Islands, wliatever doubts 
 may be entertained of the moment at which we^ought to in- 
 terpose, yet I have no doubt but that we ought to interpose 
 at a proper time, and declare both to England and France, 
 that these islands are to rest with France, and that we will 
 make a common cause with the latter for that object. As 
 to the naval armament, the land armament, and the marine 
 fortifications, which are in question with you, I have no 
 doubt they will all be carried. Not that the monocrats and 
 papermen in Congress want war; but they want armies and 
 debtsj and though we may hope that the sound part of Con- 
 
 * This letter alludes to the debate on Madison's resolutions of 
 Free Trade, based on Jefferson's Report. 
 
 ■j-We oug-ht to read, and perhaps Mr. Jefferson meant, anciext 
 I.OVE and recent hatred. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 243 
 
 gress is now so augmented as to insure a majority in cases 
 of general interest merely, yet I have always observed, that 
 in questions of expense, where members may hope either for 
 offices or jobs for themselves or their frieiids^ some few will 
 be debauched, and that is sufficient to turn the decision 
 where a majority is, at most, but small. I have never seen 
 a Philadelphia paper since I left it, till those you enclosed 
 me; and I feel myself so thoroughly weaned from theinter^ 
 est I took in the proceedings there, while there, that I have 
 never had a wish to see one, and believe that I never shall 
 take another newspaper of any sort. I find my mind totally 
 absorbed in my rural occupations. 
 
 " Accept sincere assurances of affection. 
 
 TH. JEFFERSON," 
 
 In a letter of May 1, 1794, to Tench Coxe, he thus vents 
 his indignation and hatred against Kings and Priests. 
 "Your letters give a comfortable view of French aff'airs, 
 and later events seem to confirm it. Over the foreign 
 powers, I am convinced, they will triumph completely; and 
 I cannot but hope that that triumph, and the consequent 
 disgrace of the invading tyrants, is destined, in the order of 
 events, to kindle the wrath of the people of Europe against 
 those who have dared to embroil them in such wickedness, 
 and to bring at length, kings, nobles and priests to the scaf- 
 folds which the}^ have been so long deluging with human 
 blood. I am still ivarm ivhenever I think of these scoun- 
 drels, though I do it as seldom as I can, prefering infi- 
 nitely to contemplate the tranquil growth of my lucerne 
 and potatoes^ 
 
 Having ' contemplated the growth of his lucerne and 
 potatoes,^ until he had gathered in his crop, Mr. Jefferson, 
 in the December of the same year, again turned his atten- 
 tion to politics, and addressed to his friend, Mr. Madison, 
 the following inflammatory and glowing epistle, causing 
 him to forget the veneration due to the character of the 
 great Washington, in the temporary heat kindled by the 
 party passions of the day. 
 
 TO JAMES MADISON. 
 
 Monticello, Dec. 28, 17*94. 
 Dear Sir, I have kept Mr. Jay's letter a post or two, 
 with an intention of considering attentively the observations 
 
244 THE LIFE OF 
 
 it contains; but I have really so little stomacli for any thing 
 of that kind, that I have not resolution enough even toendea- 
 vour to understand the observations. I therefore return the 
 letter, not to delay your answer to it, and beg you, in an- 
 swering for yourself, to assure him of my respects and 
 thankful acceptance of Chalmers' .Treatise, which I do not 
 possess, and if you possess yourself of the scope of his 
 reasoning, make any answer to it you please for me. If 
 it had been on the rotation of my crops, * I would have 
 answered myself, lengthily perhaps, but certainly con 
 gusto. 
 
 "The denunciation of the democratic societies is one of 
 the extraordinary acts of boldness of which we have seen 
 so many from the faction of monocrats. It is wonderful, 
 indeed, that the President^ should have permitted himself 
 to be the organ of such an attack on the freedom of dis- 
 cussion, the freedom of writing, printing and publishing. 
 It must be a matter of rare curiosity to get at the modi- 
 fications of these rights proposed by them, and to see what 
 line their ingenuity would draw between democratical 
 societies, whose avowed object is the nourishment of the 
 republican principles of our constitution, and the Society 
 of the Cincinatti, a self-created one, carving out for itself 
 hereditary distinctions, lowering over our constitution eter- 
 nally, meeting together in all parts of the Union periodic 
 cally, with closed doors, accumulating a capital in their 
 separate treasury, corresponding secretly cmd regularly^ 
 and of which society the v.ery persons denouncing the 
 democrats are themselves the fathers, founders, and high 
 (xfficers. Their sight must be perfectly dazzled by the 
 glittering of crowns and coronets, not to see the extrava- 
 gance of the proposition to suppress the friends of general 
 freedom; while those who wish to confine that freedom to 
 the few, are permitted to go on in their principles and prac- 
 
 * There seems to have been some little affectation in this air of ex- 
 treme devotedness to iucEuifE and potatoes, in the sag-e of Montis 
 cello! 
 
 t It is a subject for lamentation, as well as surprise, that Jeffer- 
 son should have permitted the slanders ag-ainst the illustrious Wash- 
 ington to make any impression on his mind. But overheated am- 
 ambition, and some g-ang-rene of pride, must have eng-endered this 
 letter; the whole of which is unworthy of the head and derogatory 
 to the heart of the author of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 245 
 
 tices. I here put out of sight the persons whose misbe- 
 haviour has been taken advantage of to slander the friends 
 of popular rights; and I am happy to observe, that as far as 
 the circle of my observation and information extends, every 
 body has lost sight of them, and views the abstract attempt 
 on their natural and constitutional rights in all its na- 
 kedness. I have never heard of a single expression or 
 opinion which did not condemn it as an inexcusable aggres- 
 sion. And with respect to the transactions^ against the 
 excise law, it appears to me that you are all swept away in 
 the torrent of governmental opinions, or that we do not 
 know what these transactions have been. We know of 
 none which, according to the definitions of the law, have 
 been any thing more than riotous. There was, indeed, a 
 meeting to consult about a separation. But to consult on 
 a question does not amount to a determination of that ques- 
 tion in the affirmative, still less to the acting on such a 
 determination; but we shall see, I suppose, what the court 
 lawyers, and courtly judges, and would-be ambassadors 
 will make of it. The excise law is an infernal one. The 
 first error was to admit it by the Constitution; the second 
 to act on that admission; the third and last will be to make 
 it the instrument of dismembering the Union, and setting 
 us all afloat to choose what part of it we will adhere to, 
 The information of our militia, returned from the westward, 
 is uniform, that though the people there let them pass 
 quietly, they were objects of their laughter, not of their 
 fear; that one thousand men could have cut off their whole 
 force in a thousand places of the Allegany; that their de- 
 t^tation of the excise law is universal, and has now asso- 
 ciated to it a detestation of the government; and that sepa- 
 ration, which perhaps was a very distant and problematical 
 event, is notv near, and certain, and determined in the 
 mind of every mcin. I expected to have seen some justi- 
 fication of arming one part of the society against another; 
 of declarino; a civil war the moment before the meeting of 
 
 * The term 'transactioks,' here g-iven by Mr. J. to the atrocious 
 iNSUBHECTioNs that prevailed in the western counties of Pennsyl- 
 vania, is not calculated to add to the lustre of his reputation, or in- 
 crease our esteem for his character; and we cannot but sincerely wish 
 that this letter had never seen the light; still it was due to truth to 
 represent him as he truly was, * nothing extenuate, nor set down 
 auerht inm^ilice.* 
 
 W 2 
 
246 THE LIFE OF 
 
 that body, which has the sole right of declaring war; of 
 being so patient of the kicks and scoffs of our enemies, 
 and rising at a feather against our friends; of adding a mil- 
 lion to the public debt, and deriding us with recommenda' 
 tions to pay it if we can, &c. &c. But the part of the 
 speech which was to be taken as a justification of the ar- 
 mament, reminded me of Parson Saunder's demonstration 
 why minus into ininus makes plus. After a parcel of shreds 
 of stuft' from iEsops' Fables and Tom Thumb, he jumps all 
 at once into his ergo, 7ninus multiplied into minus makes 
 plus. Just so the fifteen thousand men enter after the 
 tables in the speech, " 
 
 ^ ' However, the time is coming when we shall fetch up 
 the leeway of our vessel.* The changes in your house, I 
 see, are going on for the better, and even the Augean herd 
 over your headst are slowly purging off their impurities. 
 Hold on, then, my dear friend, that we may not shipwreck 
 in the meanwliile. I do not see, in the minds of those 
 with whom I converse, a greater affliction than the fear of 
 your retirement; but this must not be, unless to a more 
 splendid and more efficacious post, I'here I should rejoice 
 to see you; I hope I may say, I shall rejoice to see you. 
 I have long had much in my mind to say to you on that 
 subject; but double delicacies have kept me silent. I ought 
 perhaps, to say, while I would not give up my own retire- 
 ment for the empire of the universe, how I can justify 
 wishing one, whose happiness I have so much at heart as 
 yours, to take the front of the battle which is fighting for 
 MY SECURITY. Tlus would be easy enough to be done, but 
 not at the heel of a lengthy epistle," Adieu. 
 
 TH: JEFFERSON, 
 
 This is what Mr. Jefferson called a state of retirement 
 from political affairs; and which his biographers have called 
 a devotion to the ti'anquil pursuits of agriculture! 
 
 At Monticello, Mr. Jefferson, like all southern gentle- 
 men, displayed a hospitality commensurate to his former 
 public station, and his elegant private fortune. Among 
 others, whom curiosity attracted to his mansion, was i\\e. 
 
 *■ This is rather a curious conniientary upon ' the contemplation 
 of Ivvcerne and potatoes ! ! ! ' 
 f Th.e Senate. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 247 
 
 celebrated French traveller, the Duke de Liancourt, who 
 thus describes the sage and politician of Monticello: " His 
 conversation is of the most agreeable kind, and he possesses 
 a stock of information not inferior to that of any other man. 
 In Europe he wou^ld hold a distinguished rank among men 
 of letters, and as such he has already appeared there. At 
 present he is employed with activity and perseverance in 
 the management of his farms and buildings, and he orders, 
 directs and pursues, in the minutest detail, every branch 
 of business relating to them. The author of this sketch found 
 him in the midst of harvest, from which the scorching heat 
 of the sun does not prevent his attendance. His negroes 
 are nourished, clothed, and treated as well as his white 
 servants could be. As he cannot expect any assistance 
 from the two small neighbouring towns, every article is 
 made on his farm; his negroes are cabinet makers, carpen- 
 ters, masons, bricklayers, &c. The children he employs 
 in a nail manufactory, which yields already a considerable 
 profit. The young and old negresses spin for the clothing 
 of the rest. He animates them by rewards and distinctions; 
 in fine, his superior mind directs the management of his 
 domestic concerns with the same abilities, activity and re- 
 gularity, which he evinced in the conduct of public affairs, 
 and which he is calculated to display in every situation in 
 life." 
 
 During the year 1795, Mr. Jefferson became more anxi- 
 ous, and of course more active, on the political arena, by 
 correspondence with the leading republicans, who had as- 
 sumed the attitude of opposition to the Washington admi- 
 nistration; from what motives, and for what objects, history 
 has no longer left open to doubt or conjecture. The father 
 of liis country had now progressed in his second term of 
 office, accepted with painful reluctance, with an unalter- 
 able determination never to permit his name again to be 
 used for that high station. To secure the succession^ there- 
 fore, became an object of the highest importance to the two 
 conflicting parties; the one headed by John Adams, then 
 Vice l^resident, and sustained by Alexander Hamilton, 
 who, wielding the intellectual club of a giant, presented a 
 shield of patriotism invulnerable to the shafts of calumny, 
 and opposed a breast-plate of polished integrity, from which 
 the weapons of malice, envy and opposition recoiled with a 
 force fatal to his assailants. To this party stood opposed 
 
248 THE LIFE OF 
 
 a phalanx of republican patriots, equally devoted to tlieir 
 country, equally inflamed with ambition, but more enthu- 
 siastic and wild in their notions of liberty; and scarcely 
 less distinguished by talents, genius and learning. At the 
 head of this party stood, proudly pre-eminent, the subject 
 of this biography, assisted by James Madison, Aaron Burr, 
 James Monroe, William B. Giles, and others of inferior 
 note, and less creditable reputation. The former party 
 represented the monied influence, and comprehended the 
 higher orders of society; law, divinity, medicine, commerce 
 and agriculture, or the great landed interest; and from its 
 inherent rigour, both physical and mental, assumed amoral 
 force, which, in the usual course of human events, must 
 have proved invincible to all extraneous assaults. On the 
 adverse side, stood the less intelligent and more penurious 
 people; those whose passions were easily inflamed by the 
 cry of liberty, and whose indignation was promptly pro- 
 voked by the suspicion of oppression, tyranny, or the un- 
 just exercise of power. To this party, the excise law, and 
 the French revolution, were objects easily understood, as 
 composing the essence of tyranny on the one hand, and 
 liberty on the other; and their leaders did not fail to ap- 
 ply the fire-brand, where they discovered the combustibles. 
 But the vast moral influence of the character of Washing- 
 ton, arrested, for a time, the explosion of these inflamma- 
 tory elements, and decided the victory in favour of that 
 party which represented the wealth, intelligence, virtue 
 and talent of the country, in a greater degree than did its 
 clamourous and honest adversaries, who fancied they be- 
 held equality of riches and pleasures in the promised gifts 
 of equal rights, universal suffrage and democratical govern- 
 ment; not reflecting, that, however ardently candidates for 
 office may profess lenity, officer's are compelled to observe 
 justice; and that the professions of partisans to gain popu- 
 lar support, ^re never intended as a rule of action, for the 
 incumbent, when invested with power. 
 
 It was upon this subject, of a successor to Washington, 
 that Mr. Jefferson addressed the following letter to Mr. 
 Madison; in which his aversion to public life is depicted 
 in colours so strong and glowing, as to stagger belief how 
 he could ever be persuaded to overcome so invincible a re- 
 pugnance to its cares ! This letter discloses more of the 
 character of its great author, than could be furnished in a 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 249 
 
 volume of dissertation; and I, therefore, make no apology 
 for its quotation, which, as it flows from his own lips, can- 
 not be open to dispute. 
 
 TO JAMES MADISON. 
 
 Monticello, April 27, 1795. 
 
 ''Dear Sir, Your letter of March the 23d, came to hand 
 the 7th of April, and notwithstanding the urgent reasons 
 for answering a part of it immediately, yet, as it mentioned 
 that you would leave Philadelphia within a few days, I 
 feared that the answer might pass you on the road. A let- 
 ter from Philadelphia, by the last post, having announced 
 to me your leaving that place the day preceding its date, I 
 am ill hopes this will find you in Orange. In mine, to which 
 yours of March the 23d was an answer, I expressed my 
 hope of the only change of position I ever wished to see 
 you make, and I expressed it with entire sincerity, because 
 there is not another person in the United States, who, being 
 placed at the helm of our affairs, my mind would be so 
 completely at rest for the fortune of our political bark, 
 The wish, too, was pure and unmixed with any thing re- 
 specting myself personally. 
 
 ''For as to myself, the subject had been thoroughly 
 weighed and decided on, and my retirement from office had 
 been meant from all office, high or low, without exception. 
 I can say too, with truth, that the subject had not been pre- 
 sented to my mind by any vanity of my own. I knew my- 
 self and my fellow citizens, too well to have ever thought 
 of it. But the idea was forced upon me by continual insi- 
 nuations in the public papers, while I was in office. As all 
 these came from a hostile quarter, I knew that their object 
 was to poison the public mind as to my motives, when they 
 were not able to charge me with facts. But the idea being 
 once presented to me, my own quiet required that I should 
 face it and examine it. I did so, thoroughly, and had no 
 difficulty to see that every reason which had determined me 
 to retire from the office I then held, operated more strongly 
 against that which was insinuated to be my object. I de- 
 cided then on those general grounds which could alone be 
 present to my mind at that time, that is to say, reputation, 
 tranquillity, labour; for as to public duty, it could not be 
 a topic of consideration in my case. If these general con- 
 siderations were sufficient to grouncl a finn resolution never 
 
250 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to permit myself to think of the office, or be thought of for 
 it, the special ones which have supervened on my retire- 
 ment, still more insuperably bar the door to it. My health 
 is entirely broken down within the last eight months; my 
 age requires that I should place my affairs in a clear state;* 
 these are sound, if taken care of, but capable of consider- 
 able dangers if longer neglected; and above all things, the 
 delights I feel in the society of my family, and in the agri- 
 cultural pursuits in which I am so eagerly engaged. The 
 little spice of ambition which I had in my younger days,t 
 has long since evaporated, and I set still less store by a 
 posthumous than present name. In stating to you the 
 heads of reasons which ha\e produced my determination, I 
 do not mean an opening for future discussion, or Lluil I may 
 he reasoned out of it. The quESXioN is forever closed 
 WITH ME;7ny sole object is to avail my self of the first opening 
 ever given me from a friendly quarter, (and I could not 
 with decency do it before,) of preventing any division or 
 loss of votes, which might be fatal to the republican 
 interest. If that has any chance of prevailing, it must be 
 by preventing the loss of a single vote, and by concentrating 
 all its strength upon one object. Who this should be, is a 
 question I can niore freely discuss with any body than 
 yourself. In this I painfully feel the loss of Monroe. Had 
 he been here, I should have been at no loss for a channel 
 through which to make myself understood, if I have been 
 misunderstood by any body through the instrumentality of 
 Mr, Fenno and his abettors. J I long to see you. 
 
 TH. JEFFERSON." 
 
 * Mr. JefFerson was then bift 52 years old! ! ! 
 
 f Ambition is the passion pecuHar to ag-e — yakitt to youth! 
 
 t Judg-e Marshal], in his life of Washington alludes to the esta- 
 blishment of a paper, by Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, called 
 the National Gazette, the leading- articles of which, attacking' Wash- 
 ington, Hamilton, and their measures, were alleg-ed to flow from the 
 pen of Jeff'erson himself! The journal in question was certainly de- 
 voted to Mr. Jefferson; but how far his pen, or opinions, entered into 
 its columns, it is perhaps, at this period, impossible to ascertain. The 
 imputation, at the present day, would convey little reproach, having- 
 become a common practice. If it were true of Mr. Jefferson, we 
 can only remark, that less eminent for gi-eatness, and less powerful 
 in public veneration, than Washington; he mig-lit find it necessary, 
 in coping- with Hamilton and Adams, to employ the piiess in their 
 depreciation, and make use of its influence to sustain himself, even 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 251 
 
 There is much in this letter to excite enquiry and reflec- 
 tion. Is it possible, that Jefferson should have been so averse 
 to the Presidency? Is it possible, that he would not quit 
 his farm for the empire of the universe j and yet, a few years 
 after, accept of the Vice Presidentship of tlie United States. 
 That Jefferson was a great man, cannot be doubted 5 but that 
 he was also liable to the frailties of human nature, is here 
 made too manifest to be doubted. 
 
 It is difficult to suppose, that Mr. Jefferson had no che- 
 
 at the expense of Washington. How far the practice is calculated 
 to sap the foundations of liberty, is another question. Adams and 
 Hamilton, • the abettors of Fenno,' on their part, resorted to the 
 same means of aggression and defence, and employed the press 
 against Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 His employment of CxLtKiTDEit, an impoverished Scotch adven- 
 turer, of some talents, but ilo character and principle, to traduce the 
 reputation of Washington, has been denied by some and extenuated 
 by otherst but enough is known to dispel all doubt of the agency of 
 Mr. Jefferson in tliis unfortunate transaction; an agency which we 
 cannot but deplore, as it exposes one of those frailties of a gi-eat 
 mind, which so often interposes between the reach of perfection, to 
 which genius so naturally aspires, to arrest admiration from turning 
 to idolatry; and to chequer humanity with some traits of its native 
 imperfection. It must be allowed, as some atonement for his trans- 
 gression, that Mr. Jefferson lived to lavish unbounded encomiums 
 on the father of his country; and to confess that his gi-eat virtues 
 extorted the homage of the world, and excited the admiration and 
 applause of all parties. In the same manner, his employment of 
 Frkneau for the same purpose, he has fully admitted in his *Anas,' 
 where he says, speaking of an interview with Washington, " He 
 adverted to a piece in Freneau's paper of yesterday; he said he 
 despised all their attacks on him personally, but thattliere never had 
 been an act of the government, not meaning in the executive line 
 only, but in any line, which that paper had not abused. He had also 
 marked the word republic thus (V) where it was apphed to the 
 French republic. He was evidently sore and warm, and I took his 
 intention to be that I should interpose in some way with Freneau, 
 perhaps withdraw his appointment of translating clerk to my office. 
 But I will not do it. His paper has saved our Coxstitutiost, 
 which was galloping fast into monarchy, and has been checked by no 
 one means so powerfully as by that paper. It is well and universally 
 known, that it has been that paper which has checked the career of 
 the monocrats; and the President, not sensible of the designs of the 
 party, has not, with his usual good sense and sang froid, looked on 
 the efforts and effects of this free press, and seen, that though some 
 bad things have passed througli it to the public, yet the good have 
 preponderated immensely." 
 
252 THE LIFE OF 
 
 rished views of supreme power at this time, when the whole 
 course of his retirement was marked by epistolary effusions 
 ot political rancour and bitterness, unequalled in the history 
 of a politician of the' higher order,'' and which even tempted 
 him to assail the character of the great and pure ^Vashing- 
 ton, as an advocate of Englisii monarchy; because he stood 
 aloof from the intrigues of all parties, and disdained to tar- 
 nish his integrity by a collision with any faction — looking 
 to his country, and his country only, as the idol of his ado- 
 ration. In the following extract of a letter to ' Mazzei,^ 
 we have a lamentable instance of the wide ditterence that 
 obtains between 2i patriot statesman, whose labours had con- 
 tributed to found the institutions of his country, and the 
 partisan politician, rankling under the triumph of rivals, 
 and panting and fretting to get his foot on his enemies, as 
 the stepping-stone to supreme power. 
 
 TO p. MAZiZEI. 
 
 "my dear friend, Monticello, Jlpril 24, 1796. 
 
 *' The aspect of our politics has wonderfully changed 
 since you left us. In place of that noble love of liberty and 
 republican government, which carried us triumphantly 
 through the war, an Anglican monarchical and aristocratical 
 party has sprung up, whose avowed object is to draw over 
 us the substance, as they have already done the forms of the 
 British government. The main body of our citizens, how- 
 ever, remain true to their republican principles; the whole 
 landed interest is republican, and so is a great mass of ta- 
 lents. Against us are the executive, the judiciary, two out 
 of three branches of the legislature, all the officers of the 
 government, all who want to be officers, all timid men who 
 prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty, 
 British merchants, and Americans trading on British capi-' 
 tals, speculators and holders in the banks and public funds, 
 a contrivance invented for the purposes of corruption, and 
 for assimilating us in all things to the rotten as well as the 
 sound parts of the British model. It would give you a fever 
 were I to name to you the apostates who have gone over to 
 these heresies — men who were Samsons in the field, and 
 Solomons in the council, but who have had tlieir heads shorn 
 % the harlot — England. In short, we are likely to preserve 
 the liberty we have obtained onl}^ by unremitting labours 
 and perils. But we shall preserve it; and our mass of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 253 
 
 weight and wealth on the good side is so great, as to leave 
 no danger that force will ever be attempted against us. We 
 have only to awake and snap the Lilliputian cords with 
 which they have been entangling us during the first sleep 
 which succeeded our labours. I begin to feel the effects of 
 age. My health has suddenly broken down, with symptoms 
 which give me to believe, I shall not have much to encoun- 
 ter of the tedium vitx. While it remains, however, my 
 heart will be warm in its friendships, and among these, will 
 always foster the affections, with which I am, dear Sir, 
 your friend and servant, 
 
 TH. JEFFERSON." 
 
 What motive could induce Mr. Jefferson to brand George 
 Washington, the Executive^ as a Monarchist, it is difficult 
 to conceive. Washington ! the father of his country I — The 
 soldier who had achieved our independence through a seven 
 years war! — the patriot, who had ever stood aloof from 
 power — the statesman, Avho had assisted to frame, and who 
 carried into practice, the free Constitution of the United 
 States! — the Republican, who had established the/jreccf/m^, 
 which corrected the imlimited duration of the eligibility of 
 the President to office — who had rejected all recompense for 
 his public services, and who had now spent a life in the field 
 and in the cabinet, devoted to the welfare and liberties of 
 his country ! ! It was utterly impossible that Mr. Jefferson 
 should believe, what he here alleged — then why allege it? 
 Washington did not stand in his way — and if he did, he 
 could not remove him. Did he envy him Xrvi future glory? 
 He could not tarnish, much less diminish its lustre, by an 
 unfounded imputation ! — Then, why prefer a charge, which 
 few would tolerate, and none would believe? To gratify 
 feeling — to create a fancied superiority for his own princi- 
 ples—and to be highest, not as a patriot — not as a states- 
 man—T\Qt as an American — ^but to be highest, as the enthu- 
 siastic champion of universal liberty, who would tolerate 
 nothing short of the emancipation of every people; and that 
 the United States should, like Don Quixotte, buckle on her 
 armour, mount her Rosinante, and set out to liberate all 
 mankind, and slay all kings, or perish in the attempt! But 
 the best apology for this letter is, that the writer never de- 
 signed it to be published; and that, however frail may have 
 been the feelings of his heart, his head was too strong to 
 
254 THE LIFE OF 
 
 permit him to divulge their unrighteous wanderings, except 
 to the bosom of undivulgable friendship! 
 
 While I note these spots on the sun of Mr. Jefferson's 
 greatness, I feel bound to observe, that the line of distinc 
 tion is a broad and distinct one, which separates the true 
 glory of the beneficial actions of one of the founders of the 
 Republic, from the partisan blemishes, occasioned by the 
 heats, animosities, and rivalry of the politician, who appeals 
 to the current prejudices of the people, to wean their affec- 
 tions from a competitor, or court them to himself: nor does 
 this last trait of character, demand that severity of censure, 
 or warrant that acerbity of denunciation, which we are too 
 much disposed to fall into, when we pass judgment upon 
 the deeds of men made illustrious by their talents, and im- 
 mortal by their virtues. In proof of this course being dic- 
 tated by reason and propriety, we have only to reflect, that 
 the very measures which Mr. Jefferson had made the pretext 
 for the denunciation of Washington, he had himself sanc- 
 tioned and approved: he admitted the Excise law to be 
 Constitutional^— he liad concurred in and sanctioned the 
 Proclamation of Neutrality — he had, with his own pen, elo- 
 quently resented the insults and indignities offered to the 
 American Republic by the audacious Genet: nor is there 
 reason to believe, that he opposed the treaty of Mr. Jay, 
 until he thought he discovered in the mass of the people, a 
 dislike to it, which presented him with a prospect of an 
 available fund of popularity, at a season auspicious to his 
 ambition; for that he was ambitious, every syllable of humi- 
 lity that falls from his lips, gives incontestible assurance. 
 01 little avail would have been his character, and his talents 
 to his country, had he not been so. It was this ambition, 
 which, in moments of depression, caused him to look with a 
 jaundiced eye upon the peerless lustre of the true glory of 
 Washington^ and to exclaim in despite of his better reason 
 — '*Oh! Sun! I hate thy beams!" This, however, was but 
 the evil spirit of the moment — it quickly passed away, and 
 left his mind to the calm control of more benevolent feelings, 
 and juster thoughts! 
 
 There was one feature of the policy of TFashington, how- 
 ever, in which Jefferson never could agree, and that was the 
 NATIONAL BANKj wliich hc took cvcry occasiou to assail, and 
 which there is reason to believe, constituted the chief cause 
 of his growing dislike of Washington, as it was known to ha 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 255 
 
 the sole one of his hatred of Alexander Hamilton. The 
 following letter will tend to elucidate these points. 
 
 TO COLONEL MONROE. 
 
 **DEAR SIR, Monticello, June 12, 1796. 
 
 ** Congress have risen. You will have seen by their pro- 
 ceedings the truth of what I always observed to you, that 
 one man outweighs them all in influence over the people, who 
 have supported his judgment against their own and that of 
 their representatives. Republicanism must lie on its oars; 
 resign the vessel to its pilot, and themselves to the course 
 he thinks best for them. I had always conjectured, from 
 such facts as I could get hold of, that our public debt was 
 increasing about a million of dollars a year. You will see 
 by Gallatin's speeches, that the thirgis proved.* You will 
 see farther, that we are completely saddled and bridled, and 
 that the Bank is so firmly mounted on us, that we must go 
 where they will guide. They openly publish a resolution, 
 that the national property being increased in value, triey 
 must by an increase of circulating medium furnish an ade- 
 quate representation of it, and by further additions of active 
 capital promote the enterprises of our merchants. It is 
 supposed that the paper in circulation in and around Phila- 
 delphia, amounts to tiventy millions of dollars, and that in 
 the whole Union to one hundred millions. I think the last 
 too high." 
 
 Both these amounts were exaggerated far beyond their 
 possible limits. This letter to Colonel Monroe, is dated 
 June 12. On the 19th of the same month, and same year, 
 he addressed a letter to General Washington, denying the 
 publication of the Interrogatories put to the Cabinet on the 
 
 * Mr. J. here again declaims as a partisan, instead of reasoning as 
 a statesman. The anti-federahsts opposed taxes and imposts, to dis- 
 charge the expenses of government? and yet complained that the 
 pviblic debt was augmented! How could it be otherwise, when the 
 public revenue was deficient. Who caused that deficiency? The 
 anti-federalists! Yet, in a letter to Washington, dated Paris, Dec. 4, 
 1788, he says: *' Calculation has convinced me, that circumstances 
 may arise, and probably will arise, wherein all the resources of tax-r 
 ation will be necessary for the safety of the State. For, although I 
 am decidedly of opinion, we should take no part in European quar- 
 rels, but cultivate peace and commerce with all, yet who can avoid 
 seeing the source of war in the tyranny of those nations, who deprive 
 us of the natural right of trading with our neighbour.'* 
 
^56 THE LIFE OF 
 
 occasion of Genet^s reception, and which had appeared in 
 Backers Jiurora, then the assailing journal on the Wash- 
 ington Cabinet. In this letter, Mr. Jeff'erson says, " I 
 learn that this last person [General H. liCe!] has thought 
 it worth his while to try to sow tares between you and me, 
 by representing me as still engaged in tiie bustle of politics, 
 and in turbulence and intrigue against the government. I 
 never believed for a moment that this could make any im- 
 pression on you, or that your knowledge of me would not 
 outweigh the slander of an intriguer, dirtily employed in 
 sifting the conversations of my table, where alone he could 
 hear of me; and seeking to atone for his sins against you, 
 by sins against another, who had never done him any other 
 injury than that of declining his confidence. Political con- 
 versations I recilly dislike, and therefore avoid v/here I can 
 without affectation.''^ 
 
 We have seen, however, that Mr. Jeft'erson had not an 
 equal dislike to political correspondence; and that his free 
 denunciation of Washington, and his cabinet,-i/7if?er his pen, 
 were not intended to be embraced in his denial of attacking 
 the government in his conversations. He appeared, there- 
 fore, to the face of Washington as a friend, and behind his 
 back as an enemy. Some organic frailty of his constitution, 
 in the moral courage of his mind, must have led to this trait 
 of inconsistency. Thus, only three iveeks after his friendly 
 letter to General Washington, we find him writing to Mon- 
 roe in the following terms: — 
 
 '' Monticello, July 10, 1796. 
 
 ^'Dear Sir, — The campaign of Congress has closed. 
 Though the Anglomen have, in the end, got their treaty 
 through, and so far have triumphed over the cause of repub- 
 licanism, yet it has been to them a dear bought victory: it 
 has given the most radical shock to their party which it has 
 ever received: and there is no doubt, they would be glad to 
 be replaced on the ground they possessed the instant before 
 Jay's nomination extraordinary. They see that nothing can 
 support them but the colossus of the President's merits with 
 the people; and the moment he retires, that his successor, 
 if a monocrat,* will be overborne by the republican sense 
 of his constituents; if a republican, he will of course give 
 fair play to that sense, and lead things into the channel of 
 
 * The party attached to the National Bank, and the Funded System ! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. QS"^ 
 
 harmony, between the governors and governed. In the 
 mean time, patience. " 
 
 *^Most assiduous court is paid to Patrick Henry. He 
 has been offered every thing which they knew he would not 
 accept. Some impression is thought to be made, but we do 
 not believe it is radical. If they thought they could count 
 upon him, they would run him for their Vice President; 
 their first object being to produce a schism in this State. 
 As it is, they will run Mr. Pinckney; in which they regard 
 his Southern position rather than his principles. Mr. Jay, 
 and his advocate Camillus, are completely treaty-foun- 
 dered." 
 
 Enough has now been cited, from Mr. Jefferson's letters, 
 to show, that however religiously he might be devoted to 
 the culture of ' lucerne and potatoes,' that he found ample 
 leisure, amidst all his avocations of building, planting, 
 reading, science, philosophy and rustic pleasures, to not 
 only attend to the passing events of the political world, but 
 to interpose his voice and his pen in deciding their ten- 
 dency, and controlling their movements. There is con- 
 tained in the letter just quoted enough to prove him not 
 only a close observer, but a consummate actor in the finesse 
 and secret management of the day; and it is apparent that 
 his mind now began to assume that texture of refined 
 equivocation, which the habit of political intrigue and 
 management so naturally engrafts upon it; leading step by 
 step to that system of mental reservation, which reconciles 
 the conscience to the loss of integrity, without shocking 
 the sensibilities by the flagrant violation of veracity, Ir; 
 up to the period of his retirement from the office of Seere^ 
 tary of State, he retained the bold and single front of un- 
 dissembled honesty, * wearing his heart upon his sleeve.' 
 which may reasonably be doubted, from the current stories 
 of the day, he soon found it necessary to his purpose, of 
 rising to the supreme station in the government, to profess 
 to one set of men an attachment, which he either did not 
 feel, or could not, consistently with his interest, avow to 
 another; and which naturally begat that duplicity which he 
 afterwards carried to such extreme refinement. The first 
 attempt of the intrigue to prostrate Hamilton and Adams, 
 no doubt comprehended the person and character of Wash- 
 ington, who was also to be immolated on the bloody altar 
 of French liberty; but being foiled in this attempt, the 
 
^58 THE LIFE OF 
 
 father of his country being found too deeply enshrined in 
 the hearts of a virtuous people, the circle of proscription 
 was narrowed down; and while Washington, was left to the 
 grandeur of his towering virtues, unapproachable to malice, 
 envy, ambition or crime, Adams and Hamilton were spe- 
 cially selected as the victims to popular vengeance, under 
 the sapping and mining system of intrigue, insinuation 
 and newspaper detraction, of the charge of British in- 
 fluence, MONARCHICAL PRINCIPLES and TREASONABLE 
 
 PROJECTS, charges as baseless as the winds, and which 
 never would have found breath to utter them, but for the 
 ambition of those who, under the plea of agricultural pur- 
 suits in unbroken retirement, panted to gain the high places, 
 which were never to be reached but by the most profound 
 system of intrigue, deception and management, or the most 
 adroit appeals to the popular passions, to objects of vision- 
 ary oppression,, or fanciful equality of rights, possessions 
 and privileges. 
 
 It was manifest to the most superficial observation, that 
 the grounds of opposition assumed by the party headed by 
 Jefferson, were generally untenable and fallacious; and the 
 simple interrogation of ' what has French liberty to do with 
 American policy?^ a.t once exploded the illusion of exc/?^- 
 sive republicanism in the opponents of Washington. Ameri- 
 can liberty was settled forever by the Constitutioi* and 
 the Declaration of Independence; and Mr. Jefterson 
 himself had been a party to the establishment of tliat na- 
 tional policy, which the first President had devised and 
 executed, under, the masterly co-operation of General 
 Hamilton; which policy was based on the natural interests 
 of the whole Union, resolvable into commerce, agriculture 
 and manufactures; peace with all nations, and entangling 
 alliances with none: which policy every year's experience 
 confirmed and settled deeper and deeper into tlie vitals of 
 the country, as the natural and never to be exploded system 
 which was essential to the prosperity, growth, indepen- 
 dence and power of the nation; and., even up to the present 
 time, has continued entire and unbroken, a monument of 
 the united wisdom and patriotism of Washington; and a 
 test of the fallacy of all those grounds of party opposition, 
 M^hich, when triumphant, never ventured to remove one 
 stone of that glorious edifice of our prosperity; which, 
 through all the revolutions of fections, all the 'storms of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 259 
 
 party, all the fierce contentions of rival candidates, has 
 REMAINED THE SAMEj a Standing rebuke to parties, and a 
 historical lesson to the people, warning them against those 
 dissentions, which render the inidtitude 'mad, in order that 
 a feiv may make their fortunes out of their fevers and their 
 folly; and which, like Cromwell, only shouts liberty to 
 gain pouter, and cants of reform, that it may more success- 
 fully practice corruption. 
 
 One apparent exception only is to be found in this prac- 
 tice oi federal policy by Mr. Jefferson, and his democratic 
 successors; and that is the Bank of the United States. 
 This is only an apparent exception, for Mr. Madison raised 
 the reputed monster from its ashes, with limbs enlarged to 
 gigantic measurement, and we have lived to see democratic 
 majorities in both Houses of Congress, give it their sanc- 
 tion as a part of the settled policy of the country. The 
 same observation will extend to the funding system, and 
 EXCISE, which, under the democratic administration of the 
 immediate successor of Mr. Jefferson, rose to a colossal 
 size, unknown in the times of the federal ' moyiocrat,'' 
 and which could not have failed to awaken the terrors of 
 Hamilton himself, for the permanency and purity of free 
 institutions I 
 
 Even on the question of the bank, Mr. Jefferson had, from 
 want of moral courage, manifested a doubtfulness and in- 
 decision in tlie concluding sentence, where he recommends 
 that the President should acquiesce in the opinion of Con- 
 gress, M'hich was far from making this institution an essen- 
 tial object o^ exclusion to the republican creed; especially, 
 when contrasted with his favourite position, that every 
 branch of government was equally a judge of the uncon- 
 stitutionality of a law; and bound to veto, or enforce it 
 accordingly I Placed at the head of th^ nation to preserve 
 the Constitution, as well as execute the laws, it was cer- 
 tainly the duty of the President to act on his own exclu- 
 sive responsibility; and it was the duty of the Secretary of 
 State to abide by his own opinion, and to recommend the 
 Executive to th^ same course, without reference to any 
 balancing between two opinions, or any sacrifice of duty to 
 Congress; which, after all, reduced his famous report al- 
 most to a mere petitio principii. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, however, was destined to rise to the Pre- 
 sidency; and he had a pre-sentiment that the immediate 
 
260 THE LIFE OF 
 
 successor of Washington, presuming too far on public opin- 
 ion, would cause a reaction in the people, and open the 
 path to his ambition, and, properly regulated, it was cer- 
 tainly a laudable ambition. Hence his advice to Monroe, 
 ' in the rneantime patience,^ let Washington, too colossal 
 with the people to be touched, pass awayj and then we will 
 struggle with his successors for the victory! 
 
 Washington, having declinefd a re-election, and publish- 
 ed his incomparable valedictory to the people of the United 
 States, the two contending parties rallied with great zeal 
 and warmth upon their separate candidates, the federalists 
 uniting upon John Adcims, and the anti-federalists upon 
 Mr. Jefferson! It is well known, that under the Con- 
 stitution, at that period, the highest on the return was 
 chosen President, and the lowest became Vice President; 
 Mr. Adams was returned for the first, and Mr. Jefferson 
 for the second, or Vice Presidency. 
 
 It will be a matter of curiosity to know what Mr. Jeffer- 
 son said upon this occasion; for we can hardly expect to 
 ascertain what he thought, though we may conjecture with» 
 out much deviation from the truth; and it will also be mat- 
 ter of instructive curiosity, to ascertain how he conducted 
 himself on this occasion, His first letter was addressed to 
 his successful competitor, rejoicing in his victory! 
 
 TO JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 ''dear sir, 3Ionticello, Dec. 28, 1796. 
 
 The public, and the public papers, have been much occupied 
 lately in placing us in a point of opposition to each other.* 
 I confidently trust we have felt less of it ourselves ! In the 
 retired canton where I live, we know little of what is pass» 
 ing. Our last information from Philadelphia is of the 16th 
 inst, At that date the issue of the late election seems not 
 to have been known as a matter of fact. With me, how- 
 ever, its issue was never doubted. I knew the impossibility 
 of your losing a single vote north of the Delaware; and even 
 if you should lose that of Pennsylvania in the mass, you 
 would get enough south of it to make your election sure. I 
 never, for a single moment, expected any 'other issue, and 
 though I shall not be believed, yet it is not the less true, 
 
 - r, » — ' ' 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson prided himself in this opposition to the ** Monar- 
 chists and Monocrats." 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 261 
 
 that I never wished any other.* My neighbours, as my 
 compurgators, could aver this fact, as seeing my occupations 
 and my attachment to them. It is possible, indeed, that 
 even you may be cheated of your succession by a trick wor- 
 thy the subtlety of your arch friend of New York, who has 
 been able to make of your real friends, tools for defeating 
 their and your just wishes. Probably, however, he will be 
 disappointed as to you; and my inclinations put me out of 
 his reach. I leave to others the sublime delights of riding 
 in the storm, better pleased with sound sleep and a warmer 
 birth below it, encircled with the society of my neighbours, 
 friends, and fellow labourers of the earth, rather than with 
 spies and sycophants. Still, I shall value highly the share 
 I may have had in the late vote, as a measure of the share I 
 hold in the esteem of my fellow citizens. In this point of 
 view, a few votes less are but little sensible, while a few 
 more would have been in their eftect very sensible and op- 
 pressive to me. I have no ambition to govern men. It is a 
 painful and thankless office. And never since the day you 
 signed the treaty of Paris, has our horizon been so overcast. 
 I devoutly wish you may be able to shun for us this war, 
 which will destroy our agriculture, commerce and credit. 
 If you do, the glory will be all your own. And that your 
 administration may be filled with glory and happiness to 
 yourself, and advantage to us, is the sincere prayer of one, 
 who, though in the course of our voyage, various little inci- 
 dents have happened, or been contrived, to separate us, yet 
 retains for you the solid esteem of the times when we Avere 
 working for our independence, and sentiments of sincere 
 respect and attachment. 
 
 TH. JEFFERSON. 
 
 The reader will ask for no comment on this letter. It is 
 altogether unworthy of a great mind; and yet such was the 
 weakness of the man who had a head to contrive a govern- 
 ment for an empire, but wanted the moral courage to be true 
 even to his own party, when addressing the victorious chief 
 of that, to him, detested faction, i\\tmonarchicalJinglo7nen! 
 
 * Here Mr. J. for want of a little moral courag-e, in which he was 
 much deficient, makes a positive declaration of treachery to his own 
 party! He then favoured the success of " Monarcliists and Mono- 
 crats." 
 
262 THE LIFE OF 
 
 I now turn to a letter written by him to James Madison, 
 which throws a new light over the variable complexion of 
 this extraordinary politician, and singular philosopher; and 
 which so materially contributes to make up one of the most 
 accomplished disciples of the great Florentine politician, 
 that perhaps will ever flourish in this country. 
 
 '*TO JAMES MADISON. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Yours of December 19, is safely received. 
 I never entertained a doubt of the event of the election. I 
 knew that the eastern troops were trained in the schools of 
 their town meetings, to sacrifice little differences of opinion 
 to the solid advantages of operating in phalanx; and that 
 the more free and moral agency of the other States would 
 fully supply their deficiency. I had no expectation, indeed, 
 that the vote would have approached so near an equality. It 
 is difficult to obtain full credit to declarations of disinclina- 
 tion to honors, and most so with those who still remain in 
 the world. But never was there a more solid unwilling- 
 ness, founded on rigorous calculation, formed in the mind 
 of any man short of peremptory refusal. No arguments, 
 therefore, were necessary to reconcile me to a relinquish- 
 ment of the first office, or acceptance of the second.'^ JVo 
 motive could have induced me to undertake the first, but that 
 of putting our vessel upon her republican tack, and prevent- 
 ing her being driven too far to leeward of her true princi- 
 ples. And the second is the only office in the world about 
 which I cannot decide in my own mind whether I would 
 rather have it or not have it. Pride does not enter into the 
 estimate. For I think with the Romans of old, that the 
 general of to-day should be a common soldier to-morrow, if 
 necessary. But as to Mr. Adams particularly, I could have 
 no feelings which would revolt at being placed in a second- 
 ary station to him, I am his junior in life, I was his junior 
 in Congress, his junior in the diplomatic line, and lately his 
 junior in our civil government. I had written him the en^ 
 closed letter before the receipt of yourg. I had intended it 
 
 * When Mr. JefFerson had ascertained that he had missed the 
 Presidency, he seems to have set himself religiously at work, to con- 
 vince every body that he not only did not expect it, but he wag sure 
 he could not obtain it — that he rejoiced in his miscarriag-e, and thoug-ht 
 it misfortune enoug-h to be oppressed with the Vice-Pbesidsnct! ! ! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 263 
 
 for some time, but had put it off from time to time, from 
 the discouragement of despair to make hini believe me sin- 
 cere. As the information by the last post does not make it 
 necessary to change any thing in the letter, I enclose it, 
 open for your perusal, as well that you may be possessed 
 of the true state of dispositions between us, as that if there 
 be any circumstance which might render its delivery ineli- 
 gible, you may return it to me. If Mr. Adams could be 
 induced to administer the government on its principles, 
 quitting his bias for an English constitution, it would be 
 worthy consideration whether it would not be for the public 
 good to come to a good understanding with him as to his 
 future e\ect\ons. He is the only sure barrier against Ha- 
 milton's getting in. 
 
 " The Political Progress is a work of value, and of a sin- 
 gular complexion. The author's eye seems to be a natural 
 achromatic, divesting every object of the glare of colour. 
 The former work of the same title possessed the same kind 
 of merit. They disgust one, indeed, by opening to his 
 view the ulcerated state of the human mindU But to cure 
 an ulcer, you must go to the bottom of it, which no author 
 does more radically than this. The reflections into which 
 it leads us are not very flattering to the human species. In 
 the whole animal kingdom, I recollect no family but man, 
 steadily and systematically employed in the destruction of 
 itself. Nor does what is called civilisation produce any 
 other effect than to teach him to pursue the principle of the 
 bellum omnium in omnia, on a greater scale, and, instead 
 of the little contests between tribe and tribe, to comprehend 
 all the quarters of the earth in the same work of destruc- 
 tion. If to this we add, that as to other animals, the lions 
 and tygers are mere lambs compared with man as a destroy- 
 er, we must conclude that Nature has been able to find in 
 man alone a sufficient barrier against the too great multi- 
 plication of other animals and of man*himself, an equilibrat- 
 ing power against the fecundity of generation. While in 
 making! these observations, my situation points my atten- 
 ti(m to the welfare of man in the physical world, yours may 
 perhaps present him as equally warring in the moral one. 
 Adieu. Yours affectionately. TH. JEFFERSON." 
 
 Mr. Jeff*erson being chosen Vice President, proceeded in 
 February to Philadelphia, where he was sworn into office 
 
264 THE LIFE OF 
 
 on the 4th of March, 1797, when he took the chair as pre- 
 siding officer of the Senate, to which body he delivered a brief 
 but pertinent address, expressive of his attachment to the 
 Cojjstitution and laws of his country. 
 
 This event, however, was without any importance to the 
 country, and had no influence on its policyj for, having ta- 
 ken the oath of office, and made his respects to the new 
 President, he returned in July to Monticello, there to su- 
 perintend the management of his plantation, indulge in the 
 speculations of philosophy, or manage and stimulate the 
 movements of political partisans, to the great final result 
 of his elevation to the Presidential chair. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson abstained from any co-operation with Mr. 
 Adams, as Vice President, because he considered his office 
 as constitutionally confined to legislative functions, and 
 was therefore debarred from executive consultations. But 
 had he been disposed to a cordial concurrence with the 
 Executive, the opinions of Mr. Adams were too diametri- 
 cally opposite to those of Mr. JetFerson to have permitted 
 of any co-operation. Mr. Jefferson seems, however, to have 
 been disappointed that no overtures of this kind were made 
 to him.* 
 
 The agitation of war with France, caused by the aggra- 
 vated spoliations of that power, during the session of Con- 
 gress of 1797, caused Mr Jefferson great excitement. Al- 
 ways oppositedto war, his hatred of England caused him to 
 regard a war with France as the last of national calamities. 
 It will, however, always redound to his fame, that he ad- 
 vocated a decided neutrality with all the powers of Europe, 
 although he appeared unable to divest his mind of the phan- 
 tom of English influence over the American government, 
 and to believe that that power possessed over us a ruinous 
 monopoly of commerce, trade and feeling, as well as a 
 monopoly of '■our banks cind public funds.'' His extreme 
 abhorrence of England caused him to look with a favoured 
 eye upon the most outrageous spoliation?, and degrading 
 indignities from France; estimating those evils as preferable 
 to what he imagined would be the more intolerable ones of 
 a closer connection with Great Britain. There was some- 
 thing in his bitter dislike of England, indeed, which could 
 
 * See Letters to James Sullivan, Eldridg-e Gerry, General Gates, 
 James Madison, and Colonel Burr, dated 1797. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSONi 265 
 
 not altogether be reconciled to the feelings of a magnani- 
 mous mind, which loses all sense of resentment, and buries 
 in oblivion all remembrance of wrongs, when the battle is 
 ended, and the hand of amity is extended in a mutual em- 
 brace with the generous pledge of ' forget and forgive.' 
 
 It was not made a point of concealment on the part of 
 Mr. Jefferson, that from the moment he left the Cabinet of 
 Washington, he had become a severe censurer of all the 
 measures of government^ sometimes exonerating but gene- 
 rally including the chief in his condemnation. Nothing 
 pleased him; and he seemed resolved to be pleased with 
 nothing. Secretly employed in fomenting discontent, and 
 instigating to opposition, he yet professed to weep over the 
 effects of party spirit, and to lament with grief of heart 
 that such things should be! In a letter to Mr. Rutledge, 
 of June 24, 1797, he thus bewails this heart-burning be- 
 tween former friends now changed into political enemies:-— 
 " This is, indeed, (he says) a most humiliating state of 
 things; but it commenced in 1793. Causes have been add- 
 ing to causes, and effects accumulating on eflects, from that 
 time to this. We had in 1793 the most respectable cha- 
 racter in the universe. What the neutral nations think of 
 us now, I know not,* but we are low indeed with the belli- 
 gerents. Their kicks and cuffs prove their contempt. If 
 we weather the present storm, I hope we shall avail our- 
 selves of the calm of peace to place our foreign connections 
 under a new and different arrangement. We must make 
 the interest of every nation stand surety for their justice; 
 and their own loss to follow injury to us, as effect follows 
 its cause. As to every thing except commerce, we ought 
 to divorce ourselves from them all. But this system would 
 require time, temper, wisdom, and occasional sacrifice of 
 -interest; and how far all these will be ours, our children 
 may see, but we shall not. The passions are too high at 
 present to be cooled in our day,* You and I have formerly 
 
 * It must be recollected that this moralising- comes from the prime 
 mover and instigator of those passions! It was Jefferson who origin- 
 ally fomented the feud and fever of the French revolutionary party; 
 which has no more alRnity to this country than those of Poland, Swit- 
 gerland, or Ireland. The principle of liberty involved was never 
 objected to by an American; but to make common cause with any 
 country' of Europe, stL'uggHng in the convulsions of a revolution, is 
 
2166 THE LIFE OF 
 
 seen warm debates and high political passions. But gentle- 
 men of different politics would then speak to each otlier, 
 and separate the business of the Senate from that of societ^r. 
 It is not so now. Men who have been intimate all their 
 lives, cross the streets to avoid meeting, and turn their 
 heads another way, lest they should be obliged to touch their 
 hats. This may do for young men, with whom passion is 
 enjoyment. But it is afflicting to peaceable minds. Tran- 
 quillity is the old man^s milk. I go to enjoy it in a few 
 days, and to exchange the roar and tumult of bulls and 
 bears, for the prattle of my grandchildren, and senile rest. 
 Be these yours, my dear friend, through long years, with 
 every other blessing, and the attachment of friends as 
 warm." &c. 
 
 The newspapers, in the summer of 1797, having obtained 
 a copy of his letter to ' Mazzei,' in which he questioned 
 tlie patriotism of Washington, and accused him of the de- 
 design of introducing a monarchy, Mr. Jetterson became 
 much agitated under the severity of the public indignation, 
 which it naturally excited, and addressed a long letter, 
 dated the 3d of August, to Mr. Madison, asking his advice, 
 whether he should avow the letter, and incur the hostility 
 of ' nine-tenths of the people,' with whom Washington was 
 popular, or remain quiet, and stand a chance of escaping 
 the odium and detestation of its calumnious sentiments. 
 Speaking of this subject, he observes "Now it would be 
 impossible for me to explain this publicly, without bringing 
 on a personal difference between General IVashington and 
 7nyself, lohich nothing before the publication of this letter 
 has ever done. It woidd embroil me also ivith all those with 
 whom his character is still 2iopular;* that is to say, nine- 
 
 what no sound patriot or genuine statesman can advocate. Yet was 
 tliis the ground of dissention, wliich fomented parties to the excess so 
 pathetically deplored by Mr. Jefferson! 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson here speaks of the character of Washing-ton, as if It 
 had been impaired, and his popularity diminished by some act of a 
 vicious or censurable nature: — 'v^^ith whom his character is still po- 
 pular.' It would be difficult to find any of the people with whom he 
 was not at all times popular. Demagog-ues md candidates far office 
 are the sole exceptions. It was certainly a daring scheme to attempt 
 to obtain the Presidency by the destruction ofthe character of Georob 
 Washington, by a secret system of insinuation and slander, imputing 
 the most detestable treasons to the purest and noblest of mortals! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. ^^67 
 
 tenths of the people of the United States, and what good 
 ivoidctte obtained by avowing the letter, with the necessary 
 explanations? Very little, indeed, in my opinion, to coun- 
 terbalance a good deal of harm.'^^ 
 
 At a date subsequent to this, September 1, 1797, in a 
 letter to Colonel Arthur Campbell, he repeats all the sub- 
 stance of his letter to MazzeU! He here tertns the party 
 of Washington ' old tories,' who aim to bring back the 
 government to Monarchy, and wliom he stigmatises as 
 ' treacherous emissaries. ' 
 
 It is very extraordinary that Mr. Jefferson could never 
 divest himself of a rankling envy of the fame of Washing- 
 ton. In a letter to Mr. Madison,;^dated Philadelphia, Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1798, he says, ' A great ball is to be given here 
 on the 22d, and in other great towns of the Union. This 
 is, at least, very indelicate, and probably excites uneasy 
 sensations in some. I see in it, however, this useful de- 
 duction, that the birth days which have been kept, have 
 been, not those of the President, but of the General.' No, 
 not of the general,' but of the father of his country. He 
 now drew the cords of his correspondence closer with 
 General Gates, in whose disappointed bosom rankled a 
 congenial hatred of George Washington! In a letter to 
 Mr. Madison, of March 2, 1798, he thus continues to 
 vent his spleen against the saviour of our country. '' The 
 late birth-night has certainly sown tares among the ex- 
 clusive federalists. It has winnowed the grain from the 
 chaft\ The sincerely Adamites did not go. The Washing - 
 tonians went religiously, and took the secession of the 
 others in high dudgeon. The one sect threatens to desert 
 the levees, the other the parties. The Whigs went in num- 
 ber, to encourage the idea that the birth-nights, hitherto 
 kept, had been for the General, and not the President; and 
 of course that time would bring an end to them. Goodhue, 
 Sedgwick, &c. did not attend; but the three Secretaries 
 and Attorney General did." 
 
 It must forever excite astonishment, that Mr. Jefferson's 
 envious feelings towards Washington, should have been 
 so powerful as to blind his sagacity to the intrinsic great- 
 ness of that incomparable man, as to lead him to believe 
 that his celebrity was owing to birth-night balls; and that 
 an unworthy trick of the whigs, in attending those balls, 
 could break down the colossal o-enius of a man who had 
 
268 THE LIFE OF 
 
 raised an empire from the dust and blood of a revolution of 
 ragged soldiers, and an empty treasury! Yet such is the 
 madness of party. Mr. Jeiferson used the term ' ivhigs^ 
 in contradistinction to the Washmgtonians, whom he styled 
 toriesj yet tlie Washington ivhigs were the men who urged 
 the Declaration of Independence, fought knee deep in blood 
 to gain it, ami carried into successful practice a republican 
 constitution to secure it. Among these too, Alexander 
 Hamilton stood first, in proud pre-eminence, justly glo- 
 rious. 
 
 The patriot will never cease to lament that Mr. Jefter- 
 son ever descended to the arts of the politician to secure 
 a station which could not enhance his fame, and w hich has 
 only served to embody, in historical evidence, the fallacy 
 of all the charges which he ever adduced again-st his great 
 I'ivalj for the history of every democratic administration 
 has been, eventually, a mere imitation of the federal policy 
 of the father of his country ! 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's letters to Mr. Madison now began to 
 teem with exhortations to make a free and bold use of his 
 pen in the public papers, in order to produce a favourable 
 impression previous to the approaching elections^ and to 
 point out to him what subjects to touch with most advan- 
 tage to the cause. How far Mr. Madison complied wdtli 
 these requests, it is not our business now to enquire. 
 
 The crisis of Mr. Adams's crimes and follies, and the 
 fate of his administration, were now rapidly approaching; 
 and as some idea may be formed of the progress of events 
 at that time from the following letter, I quote it entire. 
 
 TO JAMES MADISON. 
 
 Philadelphia, April 26, 1798. 
 *' Dear Sir — The bill for the naval armament, (twelve 
 vessels) passed by a majority of about four to three in the 
 House of Representatives; all restrictions on the objects 
 for which the vessels should be used were struck out. The 
 bill for establishing a department of Secretary of the Navy, 
 was tried yesterday, on its passage to the third reading, 
 and prevailed by forty-seven against forty-one. It will be 
 read the third time to-day. The provisioned army of 
 20,000 men will meet some difficulty. It would surely be 
 rejected, if our members were all here. Giles, Clopton, 
 Cabell and Nicholas, have gone, and Clay goes to-morrow. 
 He received here news of the death of his wife. Parker 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 269 
 
 has completely gone over to the war party. In this state 
 of things they will carry what they please.' One of the war 
 party, in a fit of unguarded passion, declared some time 
 ago they w^ould pass a citizen bill, an alien bill, and a 
 SEDITION bill: accordingly, some days ago, Coit laid amo- 
 tion on the table of the House of Representatives, for modi- 
 fying the citizen law. Their threats pointed at Gallatin,* 
 and it is believed they will endeavour to reach him by this 
 bill. Yesterdaay Mr. Hillhouse laid on the table of the Senate, 
 a motion for giving power to send away suspected ali ens. This 
 is understood to be meant for Volney and Collet. But it will 
 not stop there, when it gets into a course of execution. 
 There is now only wanting to accomplish the whole decla- 
 ration before mentioned, a sedition bill, which we shall 
 certainly soon see proposed. The objectof that is the sup- 
 pression of the whig presses. Backers has been particularly 
 named.t That paper and also Carey's, totter for want of 
 subscriptions. We should really exert ourselves to procure 
 them; for, if these papers fall, republicanism will be entirely 
 brow beaten. Carey's paper comes out three times a week, 
 at'five dollars. The meeting of the people which was called 
 at New York, did nothing. It was found that the majority 
 would be against the address. They therefore chose to cir- 
 culate it individually. The committee of ways and means, 
 have voted a land tax. An additional tax on salt, will cer- 
 tainly be proposed in the House, and probably prevail to 
 some degree. I'he stoppage of interest on the public debt, 
 will also, perhaps, be proposed, but not with eftect. In the 
 mean time, that paper cannot be sold. Hamilton is coming 
 on as Senator from New York. There have been so much 
 contrivance and combination, as to show there is some great 
 object in hand. Troup, the District Judge of New York, 
 resigns towards the close of the session of their Assembly. 
 The appointment of Mr. Hobart, their Senator, to succeed 
 
 * In one of Mr. Jefferson's letters, he ascribes the origin of the tory 
 party, to foreigners; whereas the anti-federahsts were made up of 
 foreigners; for instance, Gallatin, a Swiss — Callender, a Scot — Dal- 
 las, an Englishman— Duane, an Irishman — Tench Coxe, an Eng- 
 lishman — Blair M'Clenegan, an Irishman— with others, too number- 
 less to mention. 
 
 f This paper was under, the special patronage of Mr. Jefferson; 
 and was notorious for its coarse calumnies against Wasliington an(i 
 its ultra democracy of doctrine. 
 
 Y 2 
 
270 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Troup, is not made by the President till after the Assembly 
 had risen; otherwise,' they would have chosen the Senator 
 in place of Hobart. Jay then names Hamilton Senator, but 
 not till a day or two before his own election as Governor 
 was to come on, lest the unpopularity of the nomination 
 should be in time to eftect his own election. We shall see 
 in what all this is to end; but surely in something. The 
 popular movement in the eastern States is checked, as we 
 expected, and war addresses are showering in from New 
 Jersey, and tlie great trading towns. However, we still 
 trust, that a nearer view of war and a land tax will oblige 
 the great mass of the people to attend. At present, the war- 
 hawks talk of Septemberising, deportation, and the examples 
 for quelling sedition set by the French Executive. All the 
 firmness of the human mind is now in a state of requisition." 
 It will, no doubt, startle the reader with some surprise to 
 discover, that as far back as 1798, the democratic party 
 contemplated a secession of some of the Southern States 
 from the Union — that the proposition was made to Mr, 
 Jefferson, and that he instantly frowned it into oblivion, 
 and revolted with the just honour of patriotism from the 
 suicidal thought. As the recent agitation of the same 
 scheme has given it great importance, the opinions of Mr. 
 Jefferson upon this question must excite an interest and 
 curiosity, beyond those of any other man — -more especially 
 as his authority \i2i'& been quoted with such entire confidence 
 in favour of the doctrine of Nullification. And here, I 
 cannot avoid expressing the delight with which I can again 
 behold Mr. Jefferson, in the attitude of the patriot and the 
 statesman, divested of the contaminating poison of party, 
 his great mind self-poised on legitimate principles of con- 
 stitutional liberty; and in all the substantial attributes of a 
 federalist, approximating to the purity and grandeur of 
 Washington himself. The following is the letter on the 
 subject of State secession, which, with the exception of the 
 commencement, relating to Generals Washington and Ha- 
 milton, does equal honour to the head and the heart of the 
 author of the Declaration of Independence, 
 
 TO JOHN TAYLOR. 
 
 '' Philadelphia, June 1, 1798. 
 ''Mr. New showed me your letter on the subject of the 
 patent, which gave me an opportunity of observing what 
 you said as to the effect, with you of public proceedings, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 271 
 
 and that it was not unwise now to estimate that separate 
 mass of Virginia and North Carolina, with a view to 
 THEIR separate EXISTENCE. It is tiTic, that we are com- 
 pletely under the saddle of Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
 and that they ride us very hard, cruelly insulting our feel- 
 ings, as well as exhausting our strength and subsistence. 
 Their natural friends, the three other eastern States, join 
 them from a sort of family pride, and they have the art to 
 divide certain other parts of the Union, so as to make use 
 of them to govern the whole. This is not new: it is the old 
 practice of despots, to use a part of the people to keep the 
 rest in order. And those who have once got an ascendancy 
 and possessed themselves of all the resources of the nation, 
 their revenues and offices, have immense means for retain- 
 ing their advantage. But our present situation is not a 
 natural one.* The republicans through every part of the 
 Union say, that it was the irresistible influence and popu- 
 larity of General Washington, played off by the cunning of 
 Hamilton, which turned the government over to anti-repub- 
 lican hands, or turned the republicans chosen by the people 
 into anti-republicans. He delivered it over to his successor 
 in this states and very untoward events since, improved 
 with great artifice, have produced on the public mind the 
 impressions we see. But still I repeat it, this is not the 
 natural state. Time alone would bring round an order of 
 things more correspondent to the sentiments of our consti- 
 tuents. But are there no events impending, which will do 
 it within a few months? The crisis with England, the pub- 
 lic and authentic avowal of sentiments hostile to the leading 
 principles of our Constitution, the prospect of a war, in 
 which we shall stand alone, land tax, stamp tax, in- 
 crease of public debt, &c. Be this as it may, in every free 
 and deliberating society, there must, from the nature of 
 man, be opposite parties, and violent dissentions and dis- 
 cordsj and one of these, for the most part, must prevail 
 over the other for a longer or shorter time. Perhaps this 
 party division is necessary, to induce each to watch and 
 dilate to the people the proceedings of the other. But if 
 
 * In respect to party-measures, such as the mad acts of John 
 Adams, certainly not — but in respect to the Nationai. roLicT, it cer- 
 tainly was, for Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, Mr. Monroe, and J. Q. 
 Adams, ail continued to practise tlie same national policy! 
 
272 THE LIFE OF 
 
 on a temporary superiority of the one party ^ the other is to 
 resort to a scission of the union, no federal government can 
 ever exist. If to rid ourselves of the present rule of Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut.^ we break the union, will the 
 evil end there? Suppose the New England States alone cut 
 oft', will our natures be changed? Are we not men still to 
 the South of that, and with all the passions of men? Im- 
 mediately we shall see a Pennsylvania and a Virginia party 
 arise in the residuary confederacy, and the public mind will 
 be distracted with the same party spirit. What a game too 
 will the one party have in their hands, by eternally threat- 
 ening the other, that unless they do so and so, they will 
 join their northern neighbours. If we reduce our Union to 
 Virginia and North Carolina, immediately the conflict will 
 be established between the representatives of these two 
 States, and they will end by breaking into their simple units. 
 Seeing, therefore, that an association of men who will not 
 quarrel with one another, is a thing which never yet existed, 
 from the greatest confederacy of nations, down to a town 
 meeting, or a vestry; seeing that we must have some body 
 to quarrel with, I had rather keep our New England asso- 
 ciates for that purpose, than to see our bickerings transferred 
 to others. They are circumscribed within such narrow 
 limits, and their population so full, that their numbers will 
 ever be the minority; and they are marked like the Jews, 
 with such a perversity of character, as to constitute, from 
 that circumstance, the natural division of our parties. A 
 little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass 
 over, their spells dissolved, and the people recovering their 
 true sight, restoring their government to its true principles. 
 It is true, that in the mean time, we are suffering deeply in 
 spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war, and long oppres- 
 sions of enormous public debt. But ivho can say what 
 
 WOULD BE THE EVILS OF A SCISSION, AND WHEN AND WHERE 
 THEY WOULD END? BeTTER KEEP TOGETHER AS WE ARE, 
 
 haul off from Europe as soon as we can, and from all attach- 
 ments to any part of it; and if they show their power just 
 sufficiently to hoop us together, it will be the happiest situa- 
 tion in which we can exist. If the game runs sometimes 
 against us at home, we must have patience till luck turns, 
 and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the 
 principles we have lost. For this is a game, where princi- 
 ples are the stake. Better luck, therefore, to us all," &c. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON'. 273 
 
 This letter is fraught witli copious matter for reflection^ 
 and while it presents us with a vague and undefined picture 
 of what Mr. Jefferson esteemed as the opposites of republi- 
 can principles, it likewise manifests so much coincidence of 
 opinion with what we may call the leading features of the 
 TVashington policy^ as to leave a doubt on the mind, to 
 which party the writer adhered, and which doubt is only 
 solved by his inveterate and bitter prejudice against the 
 New England States, and his unjust sarcasm against 
 Washington's popularity, and Hamilton's cunning. It is 
 conclusive, from this letter, as well as much other testimony 
 to be found under the signature of Mr. Jefferson, that he 
 created a party distinguished by no essential contrariety of 
 principle from that of Washington, and marked by no vital 
 diversity of practice, in order to gratify his envy of that 
 towering man, and his vengeance of his powerful and bril- 
 liant rival. General Hamilton — so that when he was pushed 
 to the extreme point, he found it hard to tell for what he 
 was contending, but that he ivas not President, and another 
 was! I do not now speak of that monstrous fungus of 
 tyranny, which John Adams heaped upon the temple of the 
 Washington policy, to break it down with the weight of the 
 ALIEN and sEDiTiOxX LAWS, and which so justly hurled that 
 infatuated man, from the pinnacle of power, into the gulf 
 of public perdition and political infamy; but I speak of that 
 original and perpetuated policy of Washington, which Mr. 
 Jefferson, when elected to the Presidency was compelled 
 finally to adopt'— -which, under his successor, Mr. Madison, 
 became more emphatically confirmed, so that the difference 
 between him and Alexander Hamilton totally vanished into 
 ' thin air,' as no longer to be discernable; ancl which, under 
 James Monroe, became the humble imitation of the great 
 FEDERAL SYSTEM, in thcory, in practice, and in form. 
 
 In a letter of November 26, 1798, to John Taylor, Mr. 
 Jefferson wishes it were possible to procure an amendment 
 of the constitution, ' taking from the federal government 
 the POWER OF BORROWING.' It is really wonderful that a 
 statesman of his sagacity, should have suggested an alter- 
 ^.tion in the organic laiv, which would reduce the Union 
 to a non-combatant in war, and a non-producer in peace! 
 It was nothing short of a proposition to dissolve the con^ 
 federacy. 
 
 To counterbalance the weakness of this suggestion, he 
 
274 THE LIFE OF 
 
 gives US a free and ample definition of his political creed, 
 in a letter to Mr. Gerrj, dated January 26, 1799, from 
 which I make the following extract, with that pride which 
 a republican admirer of Mr. Jefferson must always feel at 
 the annunciation of principles that he reveres, and with 
 that pleasure which is always enjoyed at the exaltation of 
 the object of our regard. 
 
 " In confutation of these, and all future calumnies, says 
 Mr. J. by way of anticipation, I shall make to you a pro- 
 fession of my political faith j in confidence that you will 
 consider every future imputation on me of a contrary cwn- 
 plexion, as bearing on its front the mark of falsehood and 
 calumny. 
 
 " I do then, with a sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preser- 
 vation of our present federal constitution, according to the 
 true sense in which it was adopted by the States, that in 
 which it was advocated by its friends, and not that which 
 its enemies apprehended, who therefore became its ene- 
 mies; and I am opposed to monarchising its features by the 
 forms of its administration, with a view to conciliate a first 
 transition to a President and Senate for life, and from 
 that to an hereditary tenure of these offices, and thus- 
 to worm out the elective principle. I am for preserving 
 to the States the powers not yielded by them to the 
 Union, and to the Legislature of the Union its constitu- 
 tional share in the division of powers; and I am not for 
 transferring all the powers of the States to the general 
 government, and all those of that government to the Exe- 
 cutive branch. I am for a government rigorously frugal and 
 simple, applying all the possible savings of the public reve- 
 nue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a mul- 
 tiplication of officers and salaries, merely to make partisans, 
 and for increasing, by every device, the public debt, on the 
 principle of its being a public blessing. I am for relying for 
 internal defence, on our militia solely, till actual invasion, 
 and for such a naval force only as may protect our coasts and 
 harbours* from such depredations as we have experienced^ 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson, when elected President, attempted to carry this 
 feature of his policy into practice; and the g-un-boat system will for- 
 ever remain on the page of history, as one of those inevitable abor- 
 tions of capricious philosophy, and perverse politics, which results 
 from the chimerical spirit of puritanical reform. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 275 
 
 and not for a standing army in time of peace, which may 
 overawe the public sentiment: nor for a navy, which by its 
 own expenses and the eternal wars in which it will impli- 
 cate us, will grind us with public burdens, and sink us 
 under them. I am for free commerce with all nations; 
 political connection with none; and little or no diplomatic 
 establishment. And I am not for linking ourselves by new 
 treaties with the quarrels of Europe; entering that field of 
 slaughter to preserve their balance, or joining in the con- 
 federacy of Kings to war against the principles of libertv. 
 I AM FOR FREEDOM of RELIGION, 0)1(1 cigalnst all mcmoeiivres 
 to bring about the legal ascendancy of one sect over another: 
 FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, aiid agaiust all violations of 
 the constitution to silence by force, and not by reason, the 
 complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens, 
 against the conduct of their agents. And I am for en- 
 couraging the progress of science in all its branches; and 
 not for raising a hue and cry against the sacred name of 
 philosophy, for awing the human mind by stories of raw- 
 head and bloody bones, to a distrust of its own vision; and 
 to repose implicitly on that of others; to go backwards in- 
 stead of forwards to look for improvement; to believe that 
 government, religion, morality, and qxqyj other science 
 were in the highest perfection in ages of the darkest igno- 
 rance, and that nothing can ever be devised more perfect 
 than what was established by our forefathers. To these, I 
 will add, that I was a sincere well-wisher to the success ot 
 the French revolution, and still wish it may end in the 
 establishment of a free and well ordered republic, but I 
 have not been insensible under the atrocious depredations 
 they have committed on our commerce. The first object 
 of my heart is my own country. In that is embarked my 
 family, my fortune and my own existence. I have not one 
 farthing of interest, nor one fibre of attachment out of it, 
 nor a single motive of preference of any one nation to an- 
 other, but in proportion as they are more or less friendly 
 to us. But, though deeply feeling the injuries of France, 
 I did not think war the surest means of redressing them. 
 I did believe that a mission, sincerely disposed to preserve 
 peace, would obtain for us a peaceable and honourable set- 
 tlement and retribution; and I appeal to you to say, whether 
 this might not have been obtained, if either of your col- 
 leagues had been of the same sentiment with yourself." 
 
276 THE LIFE OF 
 
 He concludes, bj assuring Mr. Gerry that he differs in no 
 opinion from him, having even come to give his approbation 
 and sanction to the fund hi g system.' 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Rush, of September 23, 1800, he thus 
 speaks: 'they believe that any portion of power confided 
 to me will be exerted in opposition to their schemes to 
 found a church establishment! and they believe rightly, 
 for I have sworn, upon the altar of God, eternal hos- 
 tility AGAINST EVERY FORM OF TYRANNY OVER THE MINt) 
 OF MAN.' 
 
 We have now arrived at an important era in the life of 
 Mr. Jefferson. The gross abuses and usurpations of Mr. 
 Adams having caused a revulsion of public sentiment, Mr. 
 Jefferson, as the candidate of the republican party for the 
 Presidency, received seventy-three votes, and Mr. Adams, 
 the federal candidate sixty -five. Mr. Burr, on the same 
 ticket with Jefferson, received also seventy -three votes, 
 under standingly , for the Vice Presidency; but this equality y 
 according to the then clause of the constitution, brought 
 the election into the House of Representatives; where, on 
 the thirty-sixth ballot, and amidst unprecedented excite- 
 ment, Mr. Jefferson was chosen President, and Colonel 
 Burr became Vice President of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was accordingly inducted into office on the 
 4th of March, 1801; and delivered his inaugural address to 
 both Houses of Congress. In this celebrated paper, he repeats 
 his political creed, as already recited in his letter to Mr. 
 Gerry, accompanied by strong exhortations to the contend- 
 ing parties, to unite in harmonious efforts for the general 
 good, being all brethren of the sa^ne principle; and exclaim- 
 ing, 'we are all REPUBLICANS, WE ARE ALL FEbERAL- 
 
 isTs;' he appeared to view the discords of party as vision- 
 ary in their objects, and as pernicious in their influence!! 
 W^hetlier his want of moral courage led him to thus con- 
 ciliate the federal party; or whether he now acted from the 
 honest consciousness of his heart, that when power was 
 obtained, party hostility was no longer necessary, or useful, 
 I shall leave to the reader to decide. The expression gave 
 offence to all parties; the democrats thought it destroyed 
 their merit; and the federalists deemed themselves insulted 
 by the sophistry of a 'Jesuit;' nor is it easy to perceive how 
 a politician like Mr. Jefferson, who had been contending 
 for the preservation of the republic from the jaws of a regal 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 277 
 
 party, tories in principle and traitors in design, could so 
 suddenly claim to belong to the same school^ fraternise 
 with monarchists and monocrats, and denounce the invidi- 
 ous distinctions of party, as inimical to the national ^afety, 
 and derogatory to the national honour. 
 
 Whatever may have been the insincerity of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son's party principles anterior to the election, it certainlv 
 manifested a magnanimous disposition, as well as a patrf- 
 otic spirit, thus to proclaim the truth of a uniformity of 
 free principles among the American people,* and to depre- 
 cate those feuds and dissentions which arose from the un- 
 just imputation of monarchical views, on the one hand, and 
 Jacobinical licentiousness on the other. To a philosophic 
 mind, such as his undoubtedly was, it would appear as the 
 climax of absurdity, to continue to wage a war of preposter- 
 ous imputations, after the attainment of victory had resulted 
 in the calm enjoyment of power, on his part, and the wea- 
 ponless subjugaton of his opponents, on the other. All 
 motive for crimination was now removed; the outs had got 
 in, and the dejected party were too sensibly prostrated to 
 maintain resistance beyond the point of defeat. To cla- 
 mour the old cant, in this state of serene enjoyment of 
 authority, was not only impolitic but impracticable. The 
 criminal career of Mr. Adams had cured itself; and as his 
 measures had no foundation in the principles or constitution 
 of the country, but violated both, it was but declaring what 
 facts had proved, that the .American people, who had re- 
 jected Mr. Adams, were brethren of the same principle; 
 that they were all republicans and all federalists; all 
 equally devoted to liberty, and all firmly attached to the 
 Union, the Constitution, and the Independence of the 
 United States. 
 
 In a letter to Moses Robinson, of March 23, 1801, he 
 thus expresses his opinions of the two parties, republicans 
 and federalists; *'When our fellow citizens examine the 
 real principles of both parties, I think they will find little to 
 differ about. I know, indeed, that there are some of their 
 leaders who have so committed themselves, that pride, if 
 no other passion, will prevent their coalescing. We must 
 be easy with them. The eastern states will be the last to 
 come over, on account of the dominion of the clergy, who 
 had got a smell of union between church and state, and 
 beffan to indulge reveries which can never be realised in the 
 
 B => Z 
 
^7'$ THfi LIFE OF 
 
 present state of science. If, indeed, they could have pre- 
 vailed on us to view all advances in science as dangerous 
 innovations, and to look back to the opinions and practices 
 of our. forefathers, instead of looking forward for improve- 
 ment, a promising ground-work would have been laid. But 
 I am in hopes their good sense will dictate to them, that, 
 since the mountain will not come to them, they had better 
 go to the mountain; that they will find their interest in 
 acquiescing in the liberty and science of their country; 
 and that the Christian religion, when divested of the rags 
 in which they have enveloped it, and brought to the origi- 
 nal purity and simplicity of its benevolent institution, is a 
 religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and 
 the freest expansion of the human mind." 
 
 Mr, Jefferson having now become President, it is a na- 
 tural enqury to make, how far he corrected the abuses of 
 his predecessor, and in what special objects his administra- 
 tion differed from that of George Washington. These par- 
 ticulars, Mr. J. himself, has detailed in a letter to Nathan- 
 iel Macon. 
 
 * Levees are done away:' — hut Mr. Madison revived 
 themJ^—' Communications are made by the President to 
 Congress by message, iiistead of being delivered in person; 
 and no response is made to the messages.' — « The diplo- 
 matic establishment in Europe will be reduced to three 
 ministers.' — 'The compensations to collectors limited by 
 act of Congress.' — ' The army is undergoing a chaste re- 
 formation.' — 'The navy will be reduced to the legal es- 
 tablishment.' — ' Agencies iw every department will be 
 revised.' — Economy to be the oi^der of the day.' 
 
 Important questions of policy in relation to removals and 
 appointments were now to be settled by the new President. 
 He was anxious on the one hand to heal party wounds, and 
 harmonize all differences; and on the otlier, he was still 
 more anxious to appoint friends in the place of enemies. 
 In this state of mind, he addressed the followmo- letter 
 
 TO ELDRIDGE GERRY. 
 
 Washington, March 29, 1801. 
 
 '' My Dear Sir — Your two letters of January the 15th, 
 
 and February the 29th, came safely to hand, and I thank 
 
 you for the history of a transaction which will ever be 
 
 mteresting in our affairs. It has been very precisely as I 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 279 
 
 had imagined. I thought, on your return, that if you had 
 come forward boldly, and appealed to the public by a full 
 statement, it would have had a great eflfect in your favour 
 personally, and that of the republican cause then oppressed 
 almost unto death. But I judged from a tact of the south- 
 ern pulse. I suspect that of the north was different, and 
 decided your conduct, and perhaps it has been as well. If 
 the revolution of sentiment has been later, it has perhaps 
 been not less sure. At length it has arrived. What with 
 the natural current of opinion, which has been setting over 
 to us foF-eighteen months, and the immense impetus which 
 was given it from the 11th to the 17th of February, we may 
 now say that the United States, from New York south- 
 wardly^ are as unanimous in the principles of '76, as they 
 were in '76. The only difference is, that the leaders who 
 remain behind are more numerous and bolder than the apos- 
 tles of toryism in '76. The reason is, that we are now justly 
 more tolerant than we could safely have been then, circum^^ 
 stanced as we were. Your part of the Union, though as 
 absolutely republican as ours, had drunk deeper of the de- 
 lusion, and is therefore slower in recovering from it. The 
 aegis of government, and the temples of religion and of jus- 
 tice, have all been prostituted there, to toll us back to the 
 times when we burnt witches. But your people will rise 
 again.* They will awake like Samson from his sleep, and 
 carry away the gates and posts of the city. You, my friend, 
 are destined to rally them again under their former ban- 
 ners, and when called to the post, exercise it with firmness 
 and with inflexible adherence to your own principles. The 
 people will support you, notwithstanding the bowlings of 
 the ravenous crew from whose jaws they are escaping. It 
 will be a great blessing to our country^ if ive can once more 
 restore harmony and social love among its citizens. I con- 
 fess, as to myself, it is almost the first object of my heart, 
 and one to which I would sacrifice every thing but principle. 
 With the people I have hopes of effecting it. But their 
 coRYPH^i are incurables. I expect little from them." 
 "I was not deluded by the eulogiums of the public pa^ 
 
 * Let the reader contrast this picture of the people of NeW Eng- 
 land, with that in a preceding letter, to John Jay, where they are 
 painted as the Jews of America, and the natural opponents of the 
 people of the south. 
 
280 THE LIFE OF 
 
 p€rs in the first moments of change. If they could have 
 continued to get all the loaves and fishes, that is, if I would 
 have gone over to them, they would continue to eulogise. 
 But I well knew that the moment that such removals should 
 take place, as the justice of the preceding administration 
 ought to have executed, their hue and cry would be set up, 
 and they would take their old stand. I shall disregard 
 that also. Mr. Adams's last appointments, w hen he knew 
 he was naming counsellors and aids for me, and not for 
 himself, I set aside as far as depends on me. Officers who 
 have been guilty of gross abuses of office, such asmarshalls 
 packing juries, &c. I shall now remove, as my predecessor 
 ouffht in justice to have done. The instances Avill be few, 
 ftnd governed by strict rule, not party passion. The right 
 of opinion shall suffer no invasion from 7ne. Those who 
 have acted well have nothing to fear, however they may 
 have differed from me in opinion ^ those who have done ill, 
 however, have nothing to hope: nor shall I fail to do jus- 
 tice, lest it should be ascribed to that difference of opinion. 
 A coalition of sentiments is not for the interest of the 
 printers. They, like the clergy, live by the zeal they can 
 kindle, and the schisms they can create. It is contest of 
 opinion in politics, as well as religion, which rnakes us take 
 great interest in them, and bestow our money liberally on 
 those who furnish aliment to our appetite. The mild and 
 simple principles of the Christian philosophy would produce 
 too much calm, too much regularity of good, to extract 
 from its disciples a support for a numerous priesthood, 
 were they not to sophisticate it, ramify it, split it into hairs, 
 and twist its texts till they cover the divine morality of its 
 author with mysteries, and require a priesthood to explain 
 them.* The quakers seem to have discovered this. They 
 have no priests, therefore no schisms. They judge of the 
 text by the dictates of common sense and common morality. 
 So the printers can never have us in a state of perfect rest 
 and union of opinion. They would be no longer useful, 
 
 * If I can understand Mr. Jefferson, he accuses the priesthood of 
 a crafty fraud, to extort a hving" from the over-heated zeal of in- 
 fatuated big"ots. Is this just, or liberal? He then compares priit- 
 TEns to PRIESTS, and charg^esthem with the same crafty fraud! ! Yet 
 Mr. J. professed to espouse the liberty of the press, and to vindicate 
 the freedom of religious opinions! ! — both of which he here violates 
 and denounces ! Alas for poor human nature. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 281 
 
 and would have to go to the plough.* In the first moments 
 of quietude which have succeeded the election, they seem 
 to have aroused their lying faculties beyond their ordinary 
 state, to re-agitate the public mind." 
 
 Three months after this, his appetite for harmony sud- 
 denly changed into a thirst for war, and he thus wrote to 
 Gideon Granger, on the 3d of May, 1801 — " I never 
 dreamed that all opposition was to cease. The clergy, who 
 have missed their union with the State, the Anglomen who 
 have missed their union with England, and the political 
 adventurers who have lost the chance of swindling and 
 plunder in the waste of public money, will never cease to 
 bawl, on the breaking up of their sanctuary." 
 
 An important event in the political life of Mr. Jefferson 
 now occurred. This was the acquisition of Louisiana, by 
 purchase, /ro?7i France; to accomplish which object, Mr. 
 Monroe was commissioned, as minister extraordinary, with 
 Chancellor Livingston, to proceed to Paris, and negociate 
 for the cession. The^foUowing letter to General Gates, who, 
 being the enemy of Washington naturally became the 
 friend of Jefferson, will display the feelings and views of 
 the latter upon this occasion. 
 
 TO GENERAL GATES. 
 
 Washixgtok, July 11, 1803. 
 '' Dear General — I accept with pleasure, and with plea- 
 sure reciprocate your congratulations on the acquisition of 
 Louisiana; for it is a subject of mutual congratulation, as 
 it interests every man of the nation. The territory ac- 
 quired, as it includes all the waters of the Missouri and 
 Mississippi, has more than doubled the area of the United 
 States, and the new part is not inferior to the old in soil, 
 climate, productions, and important communications. If 
 our legislature dispose of it with the wisdom we have a 
 right to expect, they may make it i\\Q^ means of tempting all 
 our Indians, on the east side of the Mississippi, to remove 
 
 * Would Mr. J. have ventured on this proscription of the freedom 
 of the press prior to his election > AVe tl^ink not. He only hated 
 the means by wliich he rose to power, when he felt himself no longer 
 in need of its assistance: — a littleness of soul which we would hardly 
 expect to find in one of his enlarged powers of intellect. But per- 
 haps his hatred against the press was excited by its prostitution to 
 ignorant mechanics, and its utter destitution of science, genius and 
 IjterMure! 
 
 Z 2. 
 
282 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to the west, and of condensing, instead of scattering, our 
 population. I find our opposition is very willing to pluck 
 feathers from Monroe, although not fond of sticking them 
 into Livingston's coat. The truth is, both have a just por- 
 tion of merit; and were it necessary, or proper, it would be 
 shown that each has rendered peculiar services.-' 
 
 In another letter, to Judge Breckenridge, he thus follows 
 up his ideas of exultation at this bright achievement of his 
 administration: — *' Objections are raising to the eastward 
 against the vast extent of our boundaries, and propositions 
 are made to exchange Louisiana, or a part of it, for the 
 Floridas. But, as I have said, we shall get the Floridas 
 without, and I would not give one inch of the waters of 
 the Mississippi to any nation; because I see, in a light very- 
 important to our peace, the exclusive right to its naviga- 
 tion, and the admission of no nation into it, but as into the 
 Potomac or Delaware, with our consent, and under our 
 police. These federalists see in this acquisition the forma- 
 tion of a new confederacy, embracing all the waters of the 
 Mississippi, on both sides of it, and a separation of its east- 
 ern waters from us." 
 
 One of the most efficient virtues, as well as chief beauties 
 of the character of Mr. Jefferson, consisted in the simplicity 
 of his mind, that influenced him to avoid ostentation, pomp, 
 ceremony, and vain parade, and inclined him to give a pre- 
 ference to every 7node of performing an action, which com- 
 bined the greatest convenience, and avoided the least dis- 
 play. An application having been made to him by some of 
 the citizens of Boston, in August, 1803, to ascertain the 
 date of his birth, in order to celebrate his birth-day, he de- 
 clined to communicate the information in a letter to Levi 
 Lincoln, couched in the following words: "With respect to 
 the day on which they wish to fix their anniversary, they 
 may be told, that disapproving myself of transferring the 
 honours and veneration for the ^reat birth-day of our republic 
 to any individual, or of dividing them with individuals, / 
 have declined letting 7ny own birth-day be known, and have 
 engaged my family not to communicate it. This has been 
 the uniform answer to every application of the kind. " 
 
 Here we behold a sacrifice of personal vanity to prin- 
 ciple, which is worthy of unqualified praise and admiration; 
 which has few examples in history, and which is apt to be 
 too little appreciated by the people. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 283 
 
 His Constitutional integrity was equally striking. In a 
 letter to Wilson C. Nicholas, he resisted all arguments to 
 induce him to acquiesce in the construction of the Constitu- 
 tion, in order to bring Louisiana into the Union, contrary 
 to his idea of procuring a special grant of power from the 
 States, for that purpose. He says, '« When an instrument 
 admits two constructions, the one safe, the other dangerous, 
 the one precise, the other indefinite, I prefer that which is 
 safe and precise. I had rather ask an enlargement of power 
 from the nation, where it is found necessary, than to assume 
 it by a construction which ivould make our poivers bound- 
 less. Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written 
 Constitution. Let us not m,ake it a blank paper by construc- 
 tion. I say the same as to the opinions of those who con- 
 sider the grant of the treaty making power as boundless. If 
 it is, then we have no Constitution. If it has bounds, they 
 can be no others than the definitions of the powers which 
 that instrument gives. It specifies and delineates the ope- 
 rations permitted to the federal government," &c. "I 
 confess, then, I think it important, in the present case, to 
 set an example against 6ro«f/ construction^ by appealing for 
 new power to the people." 
 
 In a note to Mr. Gallatin, directing a non-interference in 
 the choice of directors for the Branclies of the Bank of the 
 United States, Mr. Jefterson expresses himself in the fol- 
 lowing manner: '' From a passage in the letter of the Pre- 
 sident [of the Bank,] I observe an idea of establishing a 
 branch bank of the United States in New Orleans. This 
 institution is one of the tnost deadly hostility existing 
 against the principles and form of our Constitution. The 
 Elation is, at this time, so stroyig and united in its sentiments, 
 that it cannot be shaken at this moment. But suppose a 
 series of untoward events should occur, sufficient to bring 
 into doubt the competency of a republican government to 
 meet a crisis of great danger, or to unhinge the confidence 
 of the people in the public functionaries; an institution like 
 this, penetrating by its branches every part of the Union, 
 acting by command and in phalanx, may, in a critical mo- 
 ment, upset the government. I deem no government safe 
 which is under the vassalage of any self-constituted antho' 
 rities, or any other authority than that of the nation, or its 
 regular functionaries. What an obstruction could not this 
 bank of tlie United States, with all its branch banks, be in 
 
284 THE LIFE OF 
 
 time of war? It might dictate to us the peace we should 
 accept, or withdraw its aids? Ought we, then, to give fur- 
 ther growth to an institution so powerful, so hostile? That 
 it is so hostile we know, first, from a knowledge of the 
 principle of the persons composing the body of directors in 
 every bank, principal, or branch, and those of most of the 
 stockholders: second^ from their opposition to the measures 
 and principles of the government, and to the election of 
 those friendly to them; and third, from the sentiments of 
 the newspapers they support. Now, while we are strong, 
 it is the greatest duty we owe to the safety of our Consti- 
 tution, to bring this powerful enemy to a perfect subordina- 
 tion under its authorities. The first measure would be to 
 reduce them to an equal footing only with other banks, as 
 to the favours of the government. But, in order to be able 
 to meet a general combination of the banks against us, in a 
 critical emergency, could we not make a beginni^ig towards 
 an independent use of our own money towards holding our 
 own bank in all the deposits where it is received, and let- 
 ting the treasurer give his draft or note, for payment at any 
 particular place, which, in a well conducted government, 
 ought to have as much credit as any private draft, or bank 
 note, or bill, and would give us the same facilities which 
 we derive from the banks?" 
 
 His first term having nearly expired, Mr. Jefterson was> 
 again placed in nomination for a second period, and re- 
 elected by an increased majority. In a letter to Mr. Gerry 
 upon this subject, he expresses his feelings in the following 
 terms: "I sincerely regret that the unbounded calumnies 
 of the federal party have obliged me to throw myself on the 
 verdict of my country i^yr trial, my great desire having been 
 to retire at the end of the present term, to a life of tran- 
 quillity; and it was my decided purpose when I entered into 
 office. They force my continuance. If we can keep the 
 vessel of State as steadily in her course for another four 
 years, my earthly purposes will be accomplished, and I 
 shall be free to enjoy, as you are doing, my family, mj 
 farm, and my books." When it is considered that Mr. 
 Jefferson was a zealous and primitive dissenter from the 
 unlimited re-eligibility of the executive; and that he 
 espoused with ardour short terms of office, and had origi- 
 nally intended to hold the office but four years, it must be 
 deeply lamented, that he suffered the clamour of enemies to 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 285 
 
 divert him from establishing a precedent of so much vital con- 
 sequence to the purity and duration of our free institutions. 
 The reasons he adduces for this dereliction are such as 
 might with equal force be alleged for a continuance in the 
 office for life. How much of real glory he lost, by missing 
 this opportunity of putting the seal of sincerity, and the test 
 of consistency on his original professions, can only be esti- 
 mated by a full and just consideration of the difficulty 
 attending the sacrifice of ambition to principle: of resisting 
 the temptation of personal vanity, for the enduring future 
 applause of mankind. Had he now retired, how perfect 
 would have been his fame? How transcendent his patri- 
 otism ! how pure his democracy ! how dazzling the lustre of 
 his renown ! 
 
 In the spring of 1804, he suffered a heavy bereavement 
 in the death of one of his daughters, Mrs. Eppes, which 
 caused him much affliction. On this melancholy occasion, 
 Mrs. John Adams, the wife of the Ex-President of that 
 name, addressed him a letter of condolence, to which he 
 responded in a spirit of cordiality and reconciliation with 
 
 her husband, and which correspondence was afterwards 
 continued, until it ended in a renewal of friendly commu- 
 nications with Mr. Adams himself. In his letters to Mrs. 
 Adams, he entered fully into an explanation of all his con- 
 duct and measures, disclaiming all unfriendly feelings to- 
 wards the Ex-President^ making a full acknowledgment of 
 his integrity of purpose, and resolving their long estrange- 
 ment to mere difference of opinion! Upon this subject, it 
 is worth while to quote a passage from oneof September 11, 
 1804. '' Both of our political parties, at least the honest 
 part of them, agree conscientiously in the same object, the 
 PUBLIC good: but they differ essentially in what they deem 
 the means of promoting that good." Thus conceding to 
 Mr. Adams, what he had so often denied, integrity and 
 patriotism! 
 
 Devoted to science, and at all times intent on improve^ 
 ments in literature and knowledge, as well as politics and 
 government, Mr. Jefferson now projected the expedition 
 of Lewis and Clarke to the Columbia river, for the pur- 
 pose of exploring and ascertaining the geograpliy, natural 
 history, climate, riches, resources, and peculiarities of the 
 new purchase of the Territory of Louisiana. 
 
 A schism among the more rigid republicans having oc- 
 
286 THE LIFE OF 
 
 curred in the party, Mr. Jefferson addressed a letter of 
 vindication to Mr. Duane, dated March 22, 1806. John 
 Randolph had raised the banner of opposition, under the 
 plea of dereliction from the true faith. In his letter to 
 Duane, Mr. Jefterson says: '' In the first place, then, I have 
 had less communication, directly, or indirectly, with the 
 republicans of the^^.s^ this session, than I ever had before. 
 This has proceeded from accidental circumstances, not 
 from design. And if there be any coolness between those 
 of the South and myself, it has not been from me towards 
 them. That Mr. R. has openly attacked the administration 
 is sufficiently known. We were not disposed to join the 
 league with Britain, under any belief that she is fighting for 
 the liberties of mankind, and to enter into war with Spain, 
 and consequently France. The House of Representatives 
 were in the same sentiment, when they rejected Mr. R's 
 resolutions for raising a body of regular troops for the 
 western service. We are for a peaceable accommodation 
 with all those nations, if it can be effected honourably. 
 This, perhaps, is not the only ground of his alienation; but 
 which side retains its orthodoxy, the vote of eightj-scvcii 
 to eleven republicans, may satisfy you. 
 
 Another charge was discord in the cabinet. Mr. J. af- 
 firms that there existed perfect harmony. 
 
 Another was — ' that there was an ostensible cabinet and 
 a concealed one;' which Mr. J. denied!! 
 
 Another, that he had denounced republicans as jacobins.' 
 And that he would appoint none but moderates to office, 
 of both parties! This he pronounced false and unfounded. 
 
 Another, that he patronised the expedition of Miranda! 
 which he also pronounced false; yet adds — 'To know as 
 much ofitaswe could was our duty, but not to encourage it.'* 
 
 * The practice of men elected in virtue of party violence, of throw- 
 ing themselves into the arms of moderate men of both parties, as an 
 atonement for tlieir aggressions, and to conciliate their former op- 
 ponents, is one of those traits of depraved policy, which the unprin- 
 eipled and profligate politicians of all ages and countries, have acted 
 on with impunity to themselves, and apparently without instructing 
 the people in the wisdom of moderation, when espousing the cause 
 of the hypocritical demagogues in whose behalf they are always so 
 eager to enlist themselves. It was an indignant repudiation of such 
 baseness which prompted Mr. Jefferson to reply to theletter of Duane; 
 for, however he might have possessed those politic views which mo- 
 dulate the tone of the skilful statesman, on critical occasions, Mr. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 287 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1806, he addressed a long letter to 
 Mr. Monroe on the subject, in which he severely denounces 
 John Rardolph for having abandoned the party 5 that gen- 
 tleman being a friend of Mr. Monroe, whom Mr. Jeflferson 
 conjures to cast him off. 
 
 The next important event 0/ Jefferson's administration 
 was the explosion of the conspiracy of Aaron Budr. In 
 a letter to Mr. Bowdoin, of April 2, 1807, he thus speaks 
 of this extraordinary event—-" No better proof of the good 
 faith of the United States could have been given, than the 
 vigour with which we have acted, and the expense incurred, 
 in suppressing the enterprize meditated lately by Burr, 
 against Mexico. Although, at first, he proposed a separa- 
 tion of the western countr}^, and on that ground received 
 encouragement and aid from Yrujo, according to the usual 
 spirit of his government towards us, yet he very early saw 
 that the fidelity of the western country was not to be 
 shaken, and turned himself wholly towards Mexico. And 
 so popular is an enterprise on that country, in this, that we 
 had only to lie still, and he would have had followers 
 enough to have been in the city of Mexico in six weeks. 
 
 Jefferson was never known to prove treacherous to his friends, or 
 faithless to his adherents: and if he sometimes held out the hand of 
 fellowship to the moderate men, of the federal party, it was rather 
 with a view to conciliate them into his support, than to reward them 
 with favours, or to advance them over the heads of his ancient and 
 tried friends. In party fidelity, he never stopped half-way, or left 
 his open and avowed friends, to sneak into corners, and hold intrig-ue 
 with the moderators, who content themselves with whispering- cen- 
 sure, and nodding- and shaking- the head, as a means of secret assas- 
 sination, against those bold and fearless spirits, whose virtues they are 
 too depraved to envy, and whose talents they are too stupid to ap- 
 preciate. Party fidelity was a laudable trait in the character of Mr. 
 Jefferson; and althoug-hhe lived at a critical time, when the popular 
 delusion of party receded before the daily demonstration of facts, 
 that Presidents must be Presidents, no matter from what party they 
 are elected; yet he maintained his republican integrity more than any 
 other of his successors, who made party distinctions the cause of 
 exclusive merit in their candidatesliip. He lived to see and to hear 
 the federal party loud in his praise, and warm in his support; and yet 
 never returned the compliment by patronage or encomiums. They 
 were sincere and consistent, because they admired him for having 
 finally embraced all the measures of federal policy; and he was honest, 
 because he remained true to those who had originally sustained him 
 through the storm and tempest of the conflict. 
 
288 THE LIFE OF 
 
 You have doubtless seen my several messages to Congress, 
 wliich give a faithful narrative of that conspiracy. Burr, 
 himself, after being disarmed, by our endeavours, of all 
 his followers, escaped from the custody of the court of Mis- 
 sissippi, but was taken near Fort Stoddart, making his way 
 to Mobile, by some country people, who brought him on as 
 a prisoner to Richmond, where he is now under a course for 
 trial." 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's eagerness to procure the infliction of 
 punishment on Burr, for treason^ is not exactly consistent 
 with his own belief, that the object of Burr was Mexico, 
 and not the dismemberment of the western States from the 
 Union. In the progress of this trial, Mr. Jefferson suffered 
 himself to become highly excited against Chief Justice 
 Marshall, and the Supreme Court, and the federalists, 
 v/hom he accused of an intention to shelter and protect 
 Burr; but without any shadow of proof, or even probability. 
 Mr. Jefferson, while he disclaimed all hatred of Burr, 
 acknowledged that he had always cherished a prejudice 
 against him: but there is no reason to believe that private 
 enmity stimulated him to any additional zeal to prosecute 
 this guilty man, when his public duty furnished such abun- 
 dant motive to urge him to an assiduous prosecution of this 
 mysterious and daring conspiracy, its actors, agents and 
 instruments. In one of his letters to George Hay, he calls 
 Burr an ' impudent federal bull-dog. ' 
 
 Having been invited by some officious and flattering 
 friends, to undertake ?i pilgrimage of popularity through the 
 Eastern States, Mr. Jefferson with that genuine and unaf- 
 fected simplicity that at all times distinguished him from 
 inferior men, and that true sense of personal dignity which 
 revolts from being made a ' public spectacle' for the curi- 
 ous to gaze at, positively declined the offer. He says, " I 
 confess that I am not reconciled to the idea of a chief ma- 
 gistrate jo«r«c/m^ /i^mse//* through the several States, as an 
 object of public gaze, and in quest of an applause which, to 
 be valuable, should be purely voluntary. / had rather ac- 
 quire silent good ivill by a faithful discharge of my duties, 
 than any expressions of it to my putting myself in the way 
 of receiving them. As I have never yet seen the time when 
 the public business would have permitted me to be so long 
 in a situation in which I could not carry it on, so I have no 
 reason to expect that such a time will come while I remain 
 in office." 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 289 
 
 This is a severe satire on the practice of his successors, 
 who found more time to travel^ the more the public business 
 increased upon their hands ! A sure proof that the era of 
 our public virtue has nearly passed awayj and that the vir- 
 tues of the men of the revolution, are not to be found in the 
 breasts of their descendants. 
 
 A similar display of republican heroism he also made, on 
 the subject of an application made to him, to appoint a day 
 of fasting and prayer. In answer to this request, he ob- 
 served: ''I consider the government of the United States 
 as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with 
 religious institutions, their doctrines^ discipline or exercises. 
 This results not only from the provision that no law shall be 
 made respecting the establishment or free exercise of reli- 
 gion, but from that also which reserves to the States the 
 powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly no 
 power to prescribe any religious exercise, or to assume 
 authority in religious discipline, has been delegated to the 
 general government. It must then rest with the States, as 
 far as it can be in any human authority. But it is only 
 proposed that I should recommend, not prescribe, a day of 
 fasting and prayer; that is, that I should ijidirectly assume 
 to the United States an authority over religious exercises, 
 which the Constitution has directly precluded them from. 
 It must be meant, too, to be sanctioned by some penalty on 
 those who disregard it; not indeed of fine and imprisonment, 
 but of some degree of proscription, perhaps in public opi- 
 nion. And does the change in the nature of the penalty 
 make the recommendation the less a law of conduct for 
 those to whom it is directed? I do not believe it is for the 
 interest of religion to invite the civil magistrate to direct its 
 exercises, its discipline, or its doctrines; nor of t\\e reli- 
 gious societies, that the general government should be in- 
 vested wit^i the power of effecting any uniformity of time 
 or matter among them. Fasting and prayer are religious 
 exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every 
 religious society has a right to determine for itself the times 
 for these exercises, and the objects proper for them accord- 
 ing to their own particular tenets; and this right con never 
 be safer than in their own hands, where the Constitution 
 has deposited it." 
 
 The operation of the Berlin and Milan Decrees on the part 
 of France, and of the Orders of Council on the part of Great 
 
 Aa 
 
^90 TrtE LIFfi 01' 
 
 Britain, now began to be felt as serious aggressions oh the 
 commerce and revenue of the United States. The licen- 
 tious and preposterous doctrines of blockade, proclaimed by 
 France, and the retaliation of so monstrous a violation of 
 the laws of nations, by England, soon inflicted the most fatal 
 wounds upon neutral commerce, insulting and degrading the 
 national character, at the same time that it cut up its re- 
 sources, plundered its wealth, and mutilated its marine: for 
 impressment was added to robbery and confiscation, our flag 
 being unable to protect the persons of our citizens from the 
 power of insolent England, or secure their property from 
 the rapacity of libertine France. Unhappily for this coun- 
 ti-y and its national character, the feuds engendered by the 
 collisions betv/een those two countries among our citizens, 
 during the French revolution, had enlisted the democratic 
 and federal parties under the banners of the two European 
 belligerents. It was known that Mr. Jeff*erson w as partial 
 to France and hated England; and as he always preferred 
 peace to war, a disposition to negociate for a redress of 
 wrongs of this heinous character, was construed by some 
 into a pusillanimous submission to the despotism of France; 
 and by the adverse party, into a degrading acquiescence in 
 the wrongs of England. The democrats called for a war 
 with Great Britain; the federalists, and those who opposed 
 French tyranny, called for a war against France. Mr. 
 Jeft'erson desired peace, and disregarding the clamours of 
 both, proceeded to negociation. In a letter to Lafayette in 
 1807, he thus pictures our distressful and embarrassing 
 situation: — " I encloseyou a proclamation, which will show 
 you the critical footing on which we stand at present with 
 England. Never since the battle of Lexington, have I seen 
 tliis country in such a state of exasperation as at present. 
 And even that did not produce such unanimity. The fe- 
 deralists themselves coalesce with us as to the object, 
 although they will return to their old trade of condemning 
 every step we take towards obtaining it. ' Reparation for 
 tlie past, and security for the future,' is our motto. Whe- 
 ther these will be yielded freely, or will require resort to 
 non -intercourse, or to war, is yet to be seen. We have 
 actually near two thousand men in the field, covering the 
 exposed parts of the coast, and cutting oft'supplies from the 
 British vessels." 
 
 The attack, at once wanton, cowardly, and insulting, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 291 
 
 made on the frigateChesapeake, by the British admiral; the 
 Non-Importation Act; and finally, the Embargo — all pre- 
 monished of a state of approaching hostilities: for, without 
 displaying strength, they manifested weakness, as well as 
 timidity, and exhibited a temper more disposed to endure 
 insult, than redress wrong. At the same time, the violation 
 of the laws of nations committed by France against neutral 
 commerce, not being resented by the United States, Eng- 
 land issued a retaliatory order of Council, prohibiting all 
 commerce between America and the ports of her enemies in 
 Europe, unless the merchandise was first landed in Eng- 
 land, and the duties paid for re-exportation. The effect was 
 total ruin to American commerce, which must thus become 
 the certain prey, to one or the other of the belligerent 
 powers. To save us from this gulf of ruin, Mr. Jefterson 
 recommended, and Congress passed on the 22d December, 
 1807, an embargo law. 
 
 This w as the last important act of Mr. Jefferson's politi- 
 cal life. His administration was now drawing to a close, 
 after forty years of public service, and twenty of party tur- 
 moil. He had now attained the age of sixty-five, and if the 
 enjoyment of power had not produced satiety, the charms 
 of retirement must at least have promised the delight of 
 novelty. His annual message to Congress this year, 1808, 
 spoke of this event in a strain of unafiected modesty, dig- 
 nified feeling, and patriotic eloquence every way creditable 
 to his head and his heart. " Availing myself of this, the 
 last occasion which will occur of addressing the two houses 
 of the Legislature at their meeting, I cannot omit the ex- 
 pression of my sincere gratitude for the repeated proofs of 
 confidence manifested to me by themselves and their prede-- 
 cessors, since my call to the administration, and the many 
 indulgences experienced at their hands. The same grateful 
 acknowledgments are due to my fellow citizens generally, 
 whose support has been my great encouragement under all 
 embarrassments. In the transaction of their business I can- 
 not have escaped error — it is incident to our imperfect 
 nature. But I may say with truth my errors have been of 
 the understanding, not of intention, and that the advance- 
 ment of their rights and interests has been the constant 
 motive for every measure. On these considerations I solicit 
 their indulgence. Looking forward with anxiety to their 
 future destinies, I trust, that in their steady character, un-? 
 
292 THE LIFE OF 
 
 shaken by difficulties, in their love of liberty, obedience to 
 law, and support of public authorities, I see a sure guarantee 
 of the permanence of our republic; and retiring from the 
 charge of their aftairs, I carry with me the consolation of a 
 firm persuasion, that Heaven has in store for our beloved 
 country, long ages to come of prosperity and happiness." 
 
 No administration of any President of the United States, 
 has been so frequently, and so severely criticised as that of 
 Mr. Jefterson; and it has received from his friends encomi- 
 ums as extravagant, as it has from his opponents, censures 
 unmeasured, bitter and unqualified. The truth, no doubt, 
 lies between the reprobation of the one, and the flattery of 
 the other. He tried to the fullest extent, the experiment of 
 his own policy, and failed — signally and ingloriou sly failed. 
 His anti-naval system exploded itself in the puerility of the 
 gun-boat system; and his Chinese policy <, or as it was sarcas- 
 tically termed the ' terrapin policy,'' of withdrawing from 
 all FOREIGN COMMERCE — of bccomlug produccrs without 
 being exporters^— ioW, not less emphatically, and exploded 
 in its own delusions. On other points, however, he esta- 
 blished salutary precedents; especially in the articles of 
 economy; a limited diplomatic list; and an accelerated 
 extinguishment of the public debt. At the same time, the 
 Republic suifered indignities and disgrace, without atone- 
 ment, that it had never before endured; among which was 
 the attack on the Chesapeake; and the insults and pillage 
 of Napoleon, on our commerce; to avoid which partial evil, 
 Mr. Jefferson unwisely resorted to its prostration by our- 
 selves, in preference to its plunder by the French. His 
 natural want of courage, moral as well as physical, neces- 
 sarily led to this suicidal policy. Still his administration, 
 on the whole, was creditable and prosperous — and, though 
 we were neither respected abroad, nor contented at home, 
 yet we were prosperous and happy — the Union was secure 
 and firm — the States, with the exception of those of New 
 England, were quiet; and the Treasury was full. In what 
 light his administration was viewed by his native State, 
 under the influence of enthusiastic admiration, will appear 
 from the following ' Farewell Address' to him, which 
 was agreed to by both houses of the Virginia Legislature, 
 February 7, 1809. 
 
 ''Sir, — The General Assembly of your native State can- 
 not close their session, without acknowledging your services 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 293 
 
 in the office which you are just about to lay down, and bid- 
 ding you a respectful and aft'ectionate farewell. 
 
 '' We have to thank you for the model of an administra- 
 tion conducted on the purest principles of republicanismj 
 for pomp and state laid aside; patronage discarded; internal 
 taxes abolished; a host of superfluous officers disbanded; 
 the monarchic maxim, ' that a national debt is a national 
 blessing,' renounced, and more than thirty-three mil- 
 lions of our debt discharged; the native right to nearly one 
 hundred millions of acres of our national domain extin- 
 guished; and without the guilt, or calamities of conquest, a 
 vast and fertile region added to our country, far more ex- 
 tensive than her original possessions, bringing along M^th 
 it the Mississippi and the port of Orleans, the trade of the 
 west to the Pacific ocean, and in the intrinsic value of the 
 land itself, a source of permanent and almost inexhaustible 
 revenue. These are points in your administration which 
 the historian will not fail to seize, to expand, and teach 
 posterity to dwell upon with delight. Nor will he forget our 
 peace with the civilised world, preserved through a season 
 of uncommon difficulty and trial; the good-will cultivated 
 with the unfortunate aborigines of our country, and the 
 civilisation Immanely extended among them; the lesson 
 taught the inhabitants of the coast of Barbary, that we have 
 the means of chastising their piratical encroachments, and 
 awing them into justice; and that theme, on which above 
 all, the historic genius will hang with rapture, the liberty 
 of speech and of the press preserved inviolate, without 
 which genius and science are given to man in vain. 
 
 In the principles on which you have administered the 
 government, we see only the continuation and maturity of 
 the same virtues and abilities, which drew upon you in your 
 youth the resentment of Dunmore. From the first brilliant 
 and happy moment of your resistance to foreign t;y^ranny, 
 until the present day, we mark with pleasure and with gra- 
 titude the same uniform, consistent character, the same 
 warm and devoted attachment to liberty and the republic, 
 the same Roman love of your country, her rights, her 
 peace, her honour, her prosperity. How blessed will be the 
 retirement into whicli you are about to go ! How deservedly 
 blessed will it be ! For you carry with you the richest of 
 all rewards, the recollection of a life well spent in the ser=. 
 Aa 2 
 
294 THE LIFE OF 
 
 vice of your country, and proofs the most decisive of the 
 love, the gratitude, the veneration of your countrymen." 
 
 In a letter to a friend, he thus pictures his return to 
 private life : — '^Within a few days I retire to my family, 
 my books and farms ^ and having gained the harbour myself, 
 I shall look on my friends still buffeting the storm, with 
 anxiety, indeed, but not with envy. Never did a prisoner, 
 released from his chains, feel such relief as I shall on shak- 
 ing off the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the 
 tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme 
 delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have 
 lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them,* and 
 to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political pas- 
 sions. 1 thank God for the opportunity of retiring from 
 them without censure, and carrying with me the most con- 
 soling proofs of public approbation." 
 
 He retired to Monticello, about the middle of March, 
 1809; and gives the following account of his journey: — '' I 
 had a very fatiguing journey, having found the roads exces- 
 sively bad, although I have seen them worse. The last three 
 days I found it better to be on horseback, and travelled 
 eight hours through as disagreeable a snow-storm as I was 
 ever in. Feeling no inconvenience from the expedition 
 but fatigue, I have more confidence in my vis vitss than I 
 had before entertained. The spring is remarkably back- 
 ward." Having been welcomed home by the citizens of 
 his county, he addressed them in the following strain of 
 pious affection: — 
 
 " Returning to the scenes of my birth and early life, to 
 the society of those with whom I was raised, and who have 
 been ever dear to me, I receive, fellow citizens and neigh- 
 bours, with inexpressible pleasure, the cordial welcome you 
 are so good as to give me. Long absent on duties which 
 the history of a wonderful era made incumbent on those 
 called to them, the pomp, the turmoil, the bustle and splen- 
 dour of office, have drawn but deeper sighs for the tranquil 
 and irresponsible occupations of private life, for the enjoy- 
 ment of an affectionate intercourse with you, my neigh- 
 
 * There is an obvious error here. Mr. Jefferson having commenced 
 his pohtical career before the revokition, and continued it through 
 the administration of George Washington, which presented no enor- 
 mities. The enormities began in 1792-3, with the French Revokition. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 295 
 
 bours and ^friends, and the endearments of family love, 
 which nature has given us all, as the sweetener of every 
 hour. For these 1 gladly lay down the distressing burden 
 of power, and seek, with my fellow citizens, repose and 
 safety under the watchful cares, the labours and perplexi- 
 ties of younger and abler minds. The anxieties you express 
 to administer to my happiness, do, of themselves, confer 
 that happiness; and the measure will be complete, if my 
 endeavours to fulfil my duties in the several public stations 
 to which I have been called, have obtained for me the ap- 
 probation of my country. The part which I have acted on 
 the theatre of public life, has been before them; and to their 
 sentence I submit it: but the testimony of my native coun- 
 ty, of the individuals who have known me in private life, 
 to my conduct in its various duties and relations, is the 
 more grateful, as proceeding from eye witnesses and ob- 
 servers — from triers of the vicinage. Of you, then, my neigh- 
 bours, I may ask in the face of the world, ' whose ox have I 
 taken, or whom have I defrauded.^ Whom have I oppressed, 
 or of whose hand have I received a bribe to blind mine eyes 
 therewith?' On your verdict I rest with conscious security. 
 Your wishes for my happiness are received with just sensi- 
 bility, and I offer sincere prayers for your own welfare and 
 prosperity.-' 
 
 In this letter to his neighbours, Ave behold what may be 
 considered as an official induction into the pursuits and 
 enjoyments of private life; and certainly few men who have 
 occupied the lofty stations of supreme power, have ever 
 been better qualified to adorn with usefulness, or enjoy 
 with reason, the calm avocations of a planter, a citizen, and 
 a gentleman. Being a practical, as well as a theoretical 
 farmer, his knowledge and skill admirably qualified him for 
 the profitable cultivation of his estate. Deeply embued with 
 a fine literary taste, profoundly versed in the sciences, and 
 a complete master of mathematics, as well as an erudite 
 Greek scholar, besides being conversant with most of the 
 ancient and modern languages, he combined resources for 
 an elegant literary retirement, seldom equalled, and never 
 surpassed. His correspondence, too, of a literary, scientific, 
 political, and friendly character, was diffused throughout 
 every civilised country of Europe, as well as America. An 
 object of rational curiosity to all strangers of distinction, 
 and a fountain of literary refreshment to all travelling lite- 
 
296 THE LIFE OF 
 
 rati, his mansion of course, soon attracted successive crowds 
 of Americans, and foreigners, to enliven his retirement, 
 and tax his hospitality: so that the Ex-President of the 
 United States, in his residence at Monticello, appeared ra- 
 ther to have acquired splendour, eclat, and followers, by 
 his retirement, than to have sunk from a state of public 
 magnificence to a condition of private obscurity. Such is 
 the force of intrinsic merit over the adventitious and tran- 
 sient glare of external greatness. The Presidency could 
 add nothing to the inherent greatness of Jefferson, but the 
 genius of Jefferson ennobled with lustre the chair that had 
 been consecrated to renown, by the virtues and greatness 
 of Washington. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson now occupied his leisure in the pursuits to 
 which I have just alluded: — the management of his farms — . 
 the comfort of his guests — the demands of his correspondents 
 —the novelties of science — the beauties of literature — and 
 the free dispensation of advice and patronage to all useful 
 enterprises, or learned experiments^ never forgetting his 
 darliyig passion of politics, to which he always recurred with 
 delight, and in which he excelled to such perfection. 
 
 In a letter to a friend, he thus describes the employment 
 of his time:— '* My mornings are devoted to correspon- 
 dence. From breakfast to dinner I am in my shops,* my 
 garden, or on horseback among my farms | from dinner to 
 dark I give to society and recreation with my neighbours 
 and friends; and from candle-light to early bed-time, I read. 
 My health is perfect, and my strength considerably rein-- 
 forced by the activity of the course I pursue; perhaps it is 
 as great as usually falls to the lot of men sixty -seven years 
 of age. I talk of ploughs and harrows, seeding and har^ 
 vesting, with my neighbours, and of politics too, if they 
 choose, with as little reserve as the rest of my fellow citi- 
 zens, and feel, at length, the blessing of being free to say 
 and do what I please, without being responsible for it to 
 any mortal. A part of my occupation, and by no means 
 the least pleasing, is the direction of the studies of such 
 
 * He was always devotedly fond of mechanics, find worked like a 
 journeyman in what he called his shops; constructing various articles 
 of utility, or decoration, for his farm, his house, or his chamber; be- 
 sides those philosophical instruments and nick-nacks which men of 
 curious minds are attached to. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 297 
 
 young men as ask it. They place themselves in the neigh- 
 bouring village, and have the use of my library and counsel, 
 and make a part of my society." This was in February, 
 1810. 
 
 Curious to know his opinions on all subjects, we feel 
 more peculiarly so to hear them on the great leading ques- 
 tions and events of the day. In 1810, some apprehension 
 was entertained that Napoleon would, at no distant day, 
 meditate the invasion and conquest of the United States. 
 One of his correspondents having expressed this fear to 
 him, Mr. Jefterson not only ridiculed it as a chimera, but 
 demonstrated its impossibility, in the following singular 
 strain of party delusion, and political sagacity:-—" For five- 
 and-thirty years w^e have walked together through a land 
 of tribulations 5 yet these have passed away, and so, I trust, 
 will those of the present day. The toryism with which we 
 struggled in '77, diiFered but in name from the federalism 
 of '99, wdth which we struggled also; and the Anglicism of 
 1808, against which we are now struggling, is but the same 
 thing still, in another form. It is a longing for a king, and 
 an English king rather than any other. This is the true 
 source of their sorrows and wailings." 
 
 *'The fear that Buonaparte will come over to us, and 
 conquer us also, is too chimerical to be genuine. Supposing 
 him to have finished Spain and Portugal, he has yet England 
 and Russia to subdue. The maxim of war was never sounder 
 than in this case, not to leave an enemy in the rear, and 
 especially where an insurrectionary flame is known to be 
 under the embers, merely smothered, and ready to burst at 
 every point. These two subdued, (and surely the Anglo- 
 men will not think the conquest of England alone a short 
 work) ancient Greece and Macedonia, the cradle of Alex- 
 ander, his prototype, and Constantinople, the seat of empire 
 for the world, would glitter more in his eye than our bleak 
 mountains and rugged forests. Egypt, too, and the golden 
 apples of Mauritania, have for more than half a century, 
 fixed the longing eyes of France; and with Syria, you know, 
 he has an old affront to wipe out. Then come Pontus and 
 Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, the five countries 
 on the Euphrates and Tigris, the Oxus and Indus, and all 
 beyond the Hyphasis, which bounded the glories of his Ma- 
 cedonian rival; with the invitations of his new British sub- 
 jects on the banks of the Ganges, whom, after receiving 
 
298 THE LIFE OF 
 
 under his protection the mother country, he cannot refuse 
 to visit, \yhen all this is done and settled, and nothing of 
 the old world remains unsubdued, he may turn to the new 
 one; but will he attack us first, from whom he will get but 
 hard knocks and no money? Or will he first lay hold of the 
 gold and silver of Mexico and Peru, and the diamonds of 
 Brazil? A republican emperor, from his aftection to repub- 
 lics, independent of motives of expediency, must grant to 
 ours the Cyclop's boon of being the last devoured. While 
 all this is doing, we are to suppose the chapter of accidents 
 read out, and that nothing can happen to cut short or to 
 disturb his enterprises." From this view of the aftairs of 
 Napoleon,\\e turns to a dissertation on t\\Q. fatuity of kings, 
 which will interest the reader. " When I observed that 
 the king of England was a cypher, I did not mean to con- 
 fine the observation to the mere individual now on that 
 throne. The practice of kings marrying only into the fa- 
 milies of kings has been that of Europe for some centuries. 
 Now, take any race of animals, confine them in idleness 
 and inaction, whether in a stye, a stable, or a state room, 
 pamper them with high diet, gratify all their sexual appe- 
 tites, immerse them in sensualities, nourish their passions, 
 let every thing bend before them, and banish whatever 
 might lead them to think, and in a few generations they 
 become all body and no mind; and this, too, by a law of 
 nature, by that very law by which we are in the constant 
 practice of changing the characters and propensities of the 
 animals we raise for our own purposes. Such is the regi- 
 men in raising kings; and in this way they have gone on for 
 centuries. While in Europe, I often amused myself with 
 contemplating the characters of the then reigning sovereigns 
 of Europe. Louis the XVI. was a fool, of m}^ own know- 
 ledge, and in despite of the answers made for him at his 
 trial. The king of Spain was a fool, and of Naples the 
 same. They passed their lives in hunting, and despatched 
 two couriers a week one thousand miles to let each other 
 know what game they had killed the preceding days. The 
 king of Sardinia was a fool. All these were Bourbons. The 
 queen of Portugal, a Braganza, was an idiot by nature. 
 And so was the king of Denmark. Their sons, as regents, 
 exercised the powers of government. Tlie king of Prussia, 
 successor to the great Frederick, was a mere hog in body, 
 as well as in mind. Gustavus, of Sweden, and Joseph of 
 
Thomas jefferson. 299 
 
 Austria, were really crazy; and George of England, you 
 know, was in a straight waistcoat. There remained, then, 
 none but old Catharine, who had been too lately picked up 
 to have lost her common sense. In this state Buonaparte 
 found Europe; and it was this state of its rulers which lost 
 it with scarce a struggle. These animals had become with- 
 out mind and powerless; and so will every hereditary mo- 
 narch be after a few generations. Alexander, the grandson 
 of Catharine, is as yet an exception. He is able to hold his 
 own. But he is only of the third generation. His race is 
 not yet worn out. And so endeth the Book of Kings, from 
 all of whom the Lord deliver us, and have you, my friend, 
 and all such good men and true, in his holy keeping." 
 
 Although he admired the religion of the Quakers, yet 
 he most heartily detested their politics: for in writing to 
 Lafayette in 1817, he thus severely portrays them: — " That 
 ^Delaware) is essentially a Quaker State, the fragment of 
 a religious sect, which there, as in the other States in Eng- 
 land, are a homogeneous mass, acting with one mind, and 
 that directed by the mother society in England. Dispersed, 
 as the Jews, they still form, as those do, one nation, foreign 
 to the land they live in. They are Protestant Jesuits, im- 
 plicitly devoted to the will of their superior, and forgetting 
 all duties to their country, in the execution of the policy 
 of their order. When war is proposed with England, they 
 have religious scruples; but when with France, these are 
 laid by, and they become clamorous for it. They are, how- 
 ever, silent, passive, and give no other trouble than of 
 whipping them along." 
 
 I have enumerated, among Mr. Jefferson's frailties his 
 want of moral courage, which kept him from that candid 
 avowal of his political opinions in the presence of his oppo- 
 nents, which appeared almost in the light of an act of 
 treachery towards his friends, his party and his principles. 
 The following account from his own pen of his alienation 
 from Mr. Adams, will not only illustrate this feature of 
 his character, but will also show the feeble texture of that 
 discrepancy of opinion, which seperated him even from the 
 father of the alien and sedition laws, when tliose opinions 
 were pressed home to their testing points' 'You remember 
 the machinery, says Mr. Jefferson, which the federalists 
 played off, about that time, to beat down the friends to the 
 real principles of our Constitution, to silence by terror 
 
300 THE LIFE OF 
 
 every expression in their favour, to bring us into war with 
 France, and alliance with England, and finally to homolo- 
 gise our constitution with that of England. Mr. Adams, 
 you know, was overwhelmed with feverish addresses, dic- 
 tated by the fear, and often by the pen of the bloody buoy; 
 and was seduced by them into some open indications of his 
 new principles of government, and in fact was so elated as 
 to mix with his kindness a little superciliousness towards 
 me. Even Mrs. Adams, with all her good sense and pru- 
 dence, was sensibly flushed. And you recollect the short 
 suspension of our intercourse, and the circumstance which 
 gave rise to it, which you were so good as to bring to an 
 early explanation, and have set to rights, to the cordial 
 satisfaction of us all. The nation at length passed con- 
 demnation on the political principles of the federalists,* by 
 refusing to continue Mr. Adams in the Presidency. On 
 the day on which we learned in Philadelphia, the vote of 
 the city of New York, which it was well known would de- 
 cide the vote of the State, and that, again, the vote of the 
 Union, I called on Mr. Adams on some official business. 
 He was very sensibly aft'ected, and accosted me with these 
 words — ' Well, I understand you are to beat me in this 
 contest, and I will only say that I will be as faithful a sub- 
 ject as any you will have.' •• Mr. Adams, said I, this is no 
 personal contest between you and me. Two systems of 
 principles, on the subject of government, divide our fellow 
 citizens into two parties. With one of these you concur, 
 and I with the other. As we have been longer on the pub- 
 lic stage than most of tliose now living, our names happen 
 to be more generally known. One of these parties, there- 
 
 * There is a gi'eat fallacy in this idea, which Jefferson himself has 
 exploded in another letter, where he acknowledg-es that the mad 
 measures of Adams g-ave the republicans the victory. It was on those 
 mad measui'es that the nation passed sentence of exclusion against 
 Mr. Adams. If we are to understand by federal principles, federal 
 poUc}^, such as it was estabhshed by Washington, it never suffered 
 any change, and of course, never incurred condemnation. What 
 Jefferson calls ' the real principles of the Constitution,' did not ex- 
 tend to the frame of government, but related merely to moulding its 
 administration to an accordance with public opinion; as contradis- 
 tinguished from the policy of John Adams, who was for fohcing pub- 
 lic opinion to an implicit approbation and support of every measure 
 of government, right or wrong, expedient or pernicious. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 30l 
 
 tore, has put your name at its head, the other mine. Were 
 we both to die to-day, to-morrow two other names v/ould 
 be in the place of ours, without any change in the motion 
 of the machine.* Its motion is from its principle, not from 
 you or myself. ' « I believe you are right, said he that we 
 are but passive instruments, [what wretched delusion, or 
 odious hypocricy ! Mr. Adams a passive instrument!] and 
 should not suffer this matter to aff'ect our personal dispo- 
 sitions.' But he did not long retain this just view of the 
 subject. I have always believed that the thousand calum- 
 nies which the federalists, in bitterness of heart and morti- 
 fication of their ejection, daily invented against me, were 
 carried to him by their busy intriguers, and made some im- 
 pression. When the election between Burr and myself 
 was kept in suspense by the federalists, and they were me- 
 ditating to place the president of the Senate at the head of 
 the government, I called on Mr. Adams, with a view to 
 have this desperate measure prevented by his negative. He 
 grew warm in an instant, and said with a vehemence he 
 had not used towards me before, ' Sir, the event of the 
 election is within your own power. You have only to say 
 you will do justice to the public creditors, maintain the 
 navy, and not disturb those holding offices, and the 
 government will instantly be put into your hands. We 
 know it is the wish of the people it should be so. ' * Mr. 
 Adams, said I, I know not what part of my conduct, in 
 either public or private life, can have authorised a doubt of 
 my fidelity to the public engagements. I say, however, I 
 will not come into the government by capitulation. I will 
 not enter on it, but in perfect freedom to follow the dic- 
 tates of my own judgment. ' I had before given the same 
 answer to the same intimation from Governeur Morris. 
 * Then, said he, things must take their course.' I turned 
 the conversation to something else, and soon took my leave. 
 It was the first time in our lives we had ever parted with 
 
 * In this opinion few will be found to concur. I think the two 
 conflicting- parties would never have existed, but for Mr. Adams and 
 Mr. Jefferson. The federal party died with the contests of these 
 embittered rivals; and will never be revived. This is historical truth. 
 The ascendant party, since the era of Madison's rule, has compre- 
 hended more of federalism, federal doctrine, federal policy and fede- 
 ral men, than any of the ingredients of the opposite party; while 
 Madison himself revived the Nationai Bask! 
 
 Bb 
 
302 THE Li^E OW 
 
 any thing like dissatisfaction. And then followed those 
 scenes of midnight appointment, which have been con- 
 demned by all men. The last day of his political power, 
 the last hours, and even beyond the midnight, were employ- 
 ed in filling all offices, and especially permanent ones, with 
 the bitterest federalists, and providing for me the alterna- 
 tive, either to execute the government by my enemies, 
 whose study it would be to thwart and defeat all my mea- 
 sures, or to incur the odium of such numerous removals 
 from office, as might bear me down. A little time and re- 
 flection effaced in my mind this temporary dissatisfaction 
 with Mr. Adams, and restored me to that just estimate of 
 his virtues and passions, which a long acquaintance had 
 enabled me to fix. And my first wish became that of 
 making his retirement easy, by any means in my power 5 
 for it was understood he was not rich. I suggested to some 
 republican members of the delegation from his State, the 
 giving him, either directly or indirectly, an office, the most 
 lucrative in that State, and then offered to be resigned, if 
 they thought he would not deem it affrontive. They were 
 of opinion he would take great offence at the offer; and 
 moreover, that the body of republicans would consider such 
 a step in the outset as auguring very ill of the course I 
 meant to pursue. * I dropped the idea, therefore, but did 
 not cease to wish for some opportunity of renewing our 
 friendly understanding." 
 
 " Two or three years after, having had the misfortune to 
 lose a daughter, between whom and Mrs. Adams, there 
 had been a considerable attachment, she made it the occa- 
 sion of writing me a letter, in which with the tenderest 
 expressions of concern at this event, she carefully avoided 
 a single one of friendship towards myself, and even con- 
 cluded it with the wishes of ' her who once took pleasure in 
 subscribing herself your friend, Abigail Adams.' Unpromis- 
 ing as was the complexion of this letter, I determined to 
 make an effort towards removing the clouds from between 
 
 * What an admirable commentary on the chicanery of party in the 
 higher order of politicians, would it have been to have seen Mr. 
 Jefferson appoint John Adams to be Attorney General of the United 
 States, for Massachusetts; and at the same time removing the collec- 
 tor of Boston, because he was a bisciple of John Adams! ! ! Yet such 
 things have been done by others, as well as projected by Mr. Jef- 
 ferson ! ! ! 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 303 
 
 US. This brought on a correspondence which I now enclose 
 for your perusal, after which be so good as to return it to 
 me, as I have never communicated it to any mortal breath- 
 ing before. I send it to you to convince you I have not been 
 wanting either in the desire, or the endeavour to remove 
 this misunderstanding. Indeed, I thought it highly dis- 
 graceful to us both, as indicating minds not sufficiently 
 elevated to prevent a public competition from affecting 
 our personal friendship. I soon found, from the corres- 
 pondence, that conciliation was desperate, and yielding to 
 an intimation in her last letter, I ceased from turther ex- 
 planation. / have the same good opinion of Mr. Adams 
 which I ever had. I know him to be an honest man, an 
 able one with his pen, and he was a powerful advocate on 
 the floor of Congress.* He has been alienated from me by 
 belief in the lying suggestions contrived for electioneering 
 purposes, that I perhaps mixed in the activity and intrigues 
 of the occasion. My most intimate friends can testify that 
 I was perfectly passive. t They would sometimes, indeed, 
 tell me what was going on; but no man ever heard me take 
 part in such conversations; and none ever misrepresented 
 Mr. Adams in my presence, without my asserting his just 
 character. With very confidential persons I have doubt- 
 less disapproved of the principles and practices of his ad- 
 ministration. This was unavoidable. JBut never with 
 
 * If thus honest, good and able, why should he have been pro- 
 scribed, particularly by Mr. J? The truth is, Mr. Jefferson here 
 sacrifices truth to benevolence, and sincerity to a supposed magna- 
 nimity, incumbent on the higher order of politicians towards one 
 another. To suppose Adams honest in the alien and sedition 
 laws, was to suppose him a fool; but he was not a fool, therefore he 
 was not honest! Can despotism be honest? Can a tyrant be 
 good? Can a violator of his country's constitution be equal to a 
 patriot, who devotes a life to its observance? This is the logic of 
 Mr. Jefferson, which we are to refer to that lamentable weakness of 
 his nature, which so utterly destroyed his moral courage. 
 
 f Admitting personal passiveness, it does not necessarily include 
 moral or intellectual passiveness. It is well known that Mr. J. 
 spared no labour of mind to stimulate the people against Mr. Adams? 
 as we have seen in his letters already quoted; besides, it is the very 
 quibbling of ethetical sophistry to say that he was not instrumental 
 in the contest, because he was not personally active! A man may 
 be a principal in a murder, and yet a thousand miles from the scene 
 of blood! 
 
304 THE LIFE OF 
 
 those with whom it could do him any injury. Decency 
 would have required this conduct from me, if disposition 
 had notj and I am satisfied Mr. Adams' conduct was 
 equally honourable towards me. But I think it part of his 
 character to suspect foul play in those of whom he is jea- 
 lous, and not easily to relinquish his suspicions." 
 
 This letter is so pregnant with important reflections, 
 that we must now submit it to the reader without further 
 comment. It is of the highest order of those epistles, 
 which reveal the mysteries of the higher order of politicians , 
 showing that the people are legitimate objects of specula- 
 tion to the polished leaders, wlio remain behind the curtain, 
 or in the green room, while the farce of party is enacting 
 for their benefit. 
 
 In 1812, he renewed his correspondence with John 
 Adams, and became a convert from the free trade to the 
 restrictive system, and advocated with zeal the protection 
 of American inanufactures. Perfect friendship and esteem, 
 was now restored between these two great ex-belligerents ! 
 The purpose of both had been answered by their schism, 
 and they now returned to the enjoyment of benevolence 
 and love! 
 
 Having now become reconciled to Mr. Adams, he shifted 
 all the crime of intended monarchy upon a dead opponent; 
 and made Alexander Hamilton the grand conspirator 
 against the system of our federal republican government. 
 Hamilton had been many years at rest in his bloody grave 
 — a grave dug by the ferocity of party and blood shed by 
 the malignity of Aaron Burr; and he had suffered his ashes 
 to rest in peace, up to the moment of his reconciliation 
 with John Adams! Believing Adams to be honest, whom 
 should he now stigmatise as the traitor from republican- 
 ism to monarchy? Who but Hamilton — that Hamilton, 
 whose fame is made up of the Constitution of the Uni- 
 ted States, and the policy which it framed to the hands 
 of its first and immortal Executive officer! Mr. Jefferson's 
 letter to * Mellish' in 1813, would open space for a volume 
 of comment upon the weakness of human nature; but he was 
 then seventy, and age, he himself confesses, had impaired 
 his faculties, prostrated his memory, and benumbed his 
 intellect. 
 
 Among other singular and fallacious ideas adopted by 
 Mr. Jefferson, was that respecting Napoleon Buonaparte — - 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 305 
 
 that he was a great scoundrel only — was no statesman, but 
 an ignorant pretender, destitute equally of genius, talents, 
 and learning! Such are the unaccountable delusions and 
 prejudices of great minds. 
 
 During the progress of the war with England, although 
 in retirement, he was sensibly alive to our defeats and our 
 victories; our disgraces and our glories; and lived to hail 
 with pride and exultation the brilliant victories of that navy^ 
 which he had once so zealously opposed, and furiously 
 denounced. 
 
 On the subject of the Hartford Convention, his opinions 
 were as decisive as his feelings were ardent in its reproba- 
 tion. On this subject, he said, ''The cement of this Union 
 is in the heart blood of every American. I do not believe 
 there is on earth a government established on so immovable 
 a basis. Let them, in any State, even in Massachusetts 
 itself, raise the standard of sefiaratioyi, and its citizens will 
 rise in mass, and do justice themselves on their own incen^ 
 diaries.^^ 
 
 Having become embarrassed by his extended hospitalities 
 to an endless crowd of curious visitors or ancient friends, 
 Congress in 1815, agreed to purchase his extensive and 
 valuable library, for the sum of fifty thousand dollars, 
 which afforded him some temporary relief from the exigent 
 eies that pressed upon him. 
 
 He appears to have enjoyed the long life to which he 
 attained with unalloyed zest; for, in a letter to Mr. Adams, 
 he thus observes: — " You ask me if I would agree to live 
 my seventy, or rather seventy-three years over again .? To 
 which I say, yea. I think with you, that it is a good world 
 on the whole; that it has been framed on a principle of 
 benevolence, and more pleasure than pain dealt out to us. 
 There are, indeed, (who might say nay,) gloomy and hypo- 
 chondriac minds, inhabitants of diseased bodies, disgusted 
 with the present, and despairing of the future; always 
 counting that the worst will happen, because it may happen. 
 To these I say, how much pain have the evils cost us which 
 have never happened? My temperament is sanguine. I 
 steer my bark with hope in the head, leaving fear asternc 
 My hopes, indeed, sometimes fail, but not oftener than the 
 forebodings of the gloomy. There are, I acknowledge, even 
 in the happiest life, some terrible convulsions, heavy set-offs 
 against the opposite page of the account. I have often won- 
 
306 THE LIFE OF 
 
 dered for what good end the sensations of grief could be 
 intended."* 
 
 In 1819, he gave the following account of the encroach- 
 ments of age upon his constitution, and the manner of his 
 living, which shows the powerful animal frame with which 
 he had been blessed by nature. '' I live so much like other 
 people, that I might refer to ordinary life as the history of 
 my own. Like my friend, the Doctor, I have lived tem- 
 perately, eating little animal food, and that not as an ali- 
 ment, so much as a condiment for the vegetables, which 
 constitute my principal diet. I double, however, the Doc- 
 tor's glass and a half of wine,t and even treble it with a 
 friend, but halve its effect by drinking the weak wines only. 
 The ardent wines I cannot drink, nor do I use ardent spirits 
 in any form. Malt liquors and cider are my table drinks; 
 and my breakfast, like that also of my friend, is of tea and 
 coffee. I have been blest with organs of digestion which 
 accept and concoct, without ever murmuring, whatever the 
 palate chooses to consign to them, and I have not yet lost a 
 tooth by age. I was a hard student until I entered on the 
 business of life, the duties of which leave no idle time to 
 those disposed to fulfil them; and now, tired, and at the 
 age of seventy-six, I am again a hard student. Indeed, my 
 fondness for reading and study revolts me from the drud- 
 gery of letter writing; and a stiff wrist, the consequence 
 of an early dislocation, makes writing both slow and painful. 
 I am not so regular in my sleep, as the Doctor says he was, 
 devoting to it from five to eight hours, according as my 
 company or the book I am reading, interests me; and I never 
 go to bed without an hour, or half an hour's previous reading 
 of something moral, whereon to ruminate in the intervals of 
 sleep. But, whether I retire to bed, early or late, I rise 
 with the Sun. I use spectacles at night, but not necessarily 
 in the day, unless in reading small print. My hearing is 
 distinct in particular conversation, but confused when seve- 
 ral voices cross each other, which unfits me for the society 
 of the table. I have been more fortunate than my friend 
 m the article of health. So free from catarrhs that I have 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson here forgot his philosophy— without grief, how 
 should we experience joy> without pain, how should we feel plea- 
 sure? ^ 
 
 t Dr. Rush. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 307 
 
 not had one, (in the breast I mean) on an average of eight, 
 or ten years through life. I ascribe this exemption partly to 
 the habit of bathing my feet in cold water for sixty years past. 
 A fever of more than twenty-four hours I have not had 
 above two or three times in my life. A periodical head -ache 
 has afflicted me occasionally, once perhaps in six or eight 
 years, for two or three weeks at a time, wliich seems now 
 to have left me; and, except on a late occasion of indisposi- 
 tion, I enjoy good liealth;too feeble, indeed, to walk much, 
 but riding without fatigue six or eight miles a day, and 
 sometimes thirty or forty. I may end these egotisms, 
 therefore, as I began, by saying, that my life has been so 
 much like that of other people, that I might say with Horace, 
 to every one, ' nomine mufato, narratur fahnla de te.'' I 
 must not end, however, without due thanks," &c. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson has been much censured for his ideas on 
 religion, as if he possessed the power to believe whatever 
 he might will to believe, without reference to the verdict of 
 his understanding. Fortunately, his sentiments have not 
 been left to surmise and suspicion, for he has himself told 
 us what he believed, which completely refutes the com- 
 monly received opinion that he was an Atheist. In order 
 that we may not run the risk of misrepresenting him on this 
 momentous topic, I shall quote his own words; "I have to 
 thank you for your pamphlets on the subjects of Unitari- 
 ANisM, and to express my gratification with your efforts for 
 the revival oi primitive Christianity in your quarter. No 
 historical fact is better established, than that the doctrine 
 o{ one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early 
 ages of Christianity; and was among the efficacious doc- 
 trines which gave it triumph over the Polytheistn of the 
 ancients, sickened with the absurdities of their own theology. 
 Nor was the unity of the Supreme Being ousted from the 
 Christian creed by the force of reason, but by the sword of 
 civil government, wielded at the will of the fanatic Atha- 
 nasius. The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another 
 Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and 
 growth in the blood of thousands and thousands of martyrs. 
 And a strong proof of the solidity of the primitive faith, is 
 it's restoration, as soon as a nation arises which vindicates 
 to itself the freedom of religious opinion, and its external 
 divorce from the civil authority. The pure and simple unity 
 of the Creator of the universe, is now all but ascendant in 
 
508 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the Eastern States; it is dawning in the west, and advan- 
 cing towards the South; and I confidently expect that the 
 present generation will seeUnitarianism become the general 
 religion of the United States. The eastern presses are 
 giving us many excellent pieces on the subject, and Priest- 
 ley's learned writings on it are, or should be, in every 
 hand. In fact, the Athanasian paradox that one is three, 
 and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human 
 mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it, 
 and how can he believe what presents no idea.^ He who 
 thinks he does, only deceives himself. He proves, also, 
 that man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining 
 guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and, like a 
 ship without a rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such 
 persons, guUability which they call faith, takes the helm 
 from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck." 
 In another place he says: — ''The doctrines of Jesus are 
 simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. 
 
 "1. That there is one only God, and he all perfect. 
 
 " 2. That there is a future state of rewards and punish* 
 ments. 
 
 " 3. That to love God with all thy heart, and thy neigh- 
 bor as thyself, is the sum of religion. These are the great 
 points on which he endeavoured to reform the religion of 
 the Jews. " He then compares these with the doctrines of 
 Calvin., and adds, " Now, which of these is the true and 
 charitable Christian.^ He who believes and acts on the 
 simple doctrines of Jesus, or the impious dogmatists, as 
 Athanasius and Calvin.^ Verily, I say these are the false 
 shepherds foretold us to enter not by the door into the 
 sheepfold, but to climb up some other way. They are mere 
 usurpers of the Christian name, teaching a counter religion 
 made up of the deleria of crazy imaginations, as foreign from 
 Christianity as is that of Mahomet, Their blasphemies have 
 driven thinking man into infidelity, who have too hastily 
 rejected the supposed author himself, with the horrors so 
 falsely imputed to him. Had the doctrines of Jesus been 
 preached always as pure as they came froin his lips, the 
 whole civilised world would now have been Christians. I 
 rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and be- 
 lief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to 
 neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only 
 God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 309 
 
 now living in the United States who will not die an Unita- 
 rian." 
 
 That he believed in a future state is evident from the 
 following passage of a letter addressed to John Adams:— 
 " It is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very 
 distant, at which we are to deposit in the same cerement, 
 our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend in essence 
 to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and 
 lost, and whom we- shall still love rmr/ never lose again." 
 He also believed in a superintending Providence. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson had at all times shown more or less of a 
 hostile feeling, if not an exterminating spirit, against the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, which he par- 
 ticularly manifested during Burr's Trial. This feeling 
 he still cherished as late as 1822, when he lamented that 
 the judges were appointed for life, and advocated their de- 
 pendence on the President and Senate, for the renewal of 
 their commissions every four or six years. But why did he 
 not commence this reform in the States.^ Even democratic 
 Pennsylvania has her judges for a life-term! On this sub- 
 ject he says «* That there should be public functionaries 
 independent of the nation [people !] whatever may be their 
 demerit, is a solecism in a republic of the first order of ab- 
 surdity and inconsistency." 
 
 In 1823, at the age oi eighty, he still retained all his fer- 
 vor of feeling and animation of passion; and, in a letter to 
 Mr. Madison, he uttered one of his most violent and bitter 
 phillipics against Timothy Pickering, the government of 
 England, and the party ot Anglomen. His vigour of con- 
 stitution, and force of mind, \vere indeed wonderful. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson had now for some years been active as the 
 patron of a new College, or university, at Charlotteville, 
 to which he devoted much of his time, intellect, taste, 
 learning, and toleration. 
 
 In 1820, he states that he received 1267 letters, * many 
 of them requiring answers of elaborate research, and all 
 to be answered with due attention and consideration.' At 
 his advanced age this was certainly a laborious and oppres- 
 sive performance. 
 
 The extensive scale of magnificent hospitality which Mr. 
 Jefferson conceived himself bound to practise, towards the 
 crowd of visitors who at all times clustered round him, 
 from the different countries of Europe as well as the States, 
 
310 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and whom lie entertained in a style which would have re- 
 quired a regal income to defray without embarrassment, 
 again reduced him to those streights and difficulties wkich 
 had, on a prior occasion, compelled him to dispose of his 
 valuable library to Congress. To relieve him from this 
 pressure, consistently with the puritanical austerity of his 
 own republican principles, was extremely difficult, if not 
 impossible. The introduction of a pension list would have 
 been worse than ^funded debt or the nationcd bank; to be- 
 stow gratuities was equally exceptionable; to create sine- 
 cures was worse than all. His estates were valuable, pro- 
 vided an equitable price could be obtained for them; and 
 to enable him to pi'ocure their full value, the Legislature 
 of Virginia passed a law in the year 1826, authorising him 
 to dispose of them by lottery. This remedy was cer- 
 tainly a severe one. It might afford him relief from debt, 
 but it would also leave him destitute of property; and its 
 preamble might, without exaggeration, have been couched 
 in the following words — 'An Act to enable Thomas Jeffer- 
 son to pay his debts by the sale of his estate, and retire to 
 the county poor-house to end his old age.' Virginia, lofty 
 and chivalrous Virginia, always proud, like Cornelia, to 
 boast of her sons as i\\^ jewels of Rome ^ ought not to have 
 sunk the generosity of her character in the cold austerity of 
 the rigid republican, when she beheld the honourable po- 
 verty of her public benefactor invoking succour in his help- 
 less age; especially when that poverty was caused by his 
 desire to preserve the dignity of his former station, and the 
 eclat of his native State for southern hospitality. W^hen 
 we look back to that period of Mr. Jefferson's life, we are 
 struck with astonishment at the caprice that distinguished 
 the course of the United States, which could refuse a muni- 
 ficent grant of Icmd to one of her own most eminent citizens, 
 and yQ,i grant the same to a foreigner, who, whatever may 
 have been his military merits, never possessed the same 
 genius, or had rendered to the country any services that 
 would bear a comparison with those of the sage of Monti- 
 cello. 
 
 Struck with surprise and sympathy for this extraordinary 
 penury of a man whom all had supposed to be opulent, be- 
 cause none had reflected on the liberal scale of his hospitali- 
 ty, the people in many States spontaneously rushed to his 
 relief, and calling public meetings, made voluntary contri- 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 311 
 
 butions, to enable him to extricate himself from his embar- 
 rassments. The laudable and noble character of this sym- 
 pathy, however, was more precious, as it respected the 
 virtue of the people, and the veneration in which the illus- 
 trious object of its concern was held, than for the efficacious 
 nature oit' the succour it afforded. It could hardly be ex- 
 pected that any plan of this kind could be devised which 
 would result in an adequate product — if the subscriptions 
 were large, they would be confined to a class of society 
 whose dislike of Mr. Jefferson would restrain them from 
 contributing; and if small, the aggregate could not become 
 an object worth the acceptance. From these causes the 
 popular mode of succour entirely failed; and the more eligi- 
 ble one of compounding with his creditors was adopted; a 
 proposition which, having originated with them, was the 
 more honourable to both parties. 
 
 His own account of this state of his affairs, will, how- 
 ever, be most satisfactory. In a letter to Mr. Madison, he 
 says — ''You will have seen in the newspapers some pro- 
 ceedings in the Legislature, which have cost me much 
 mortification. My own debts had become considerable, 
 but not beyond the effect of some lopping of property, 
 which would have been little felt, when our friend * * * * 
 gave me the coup de grace. Ever since that I have been 
 paying twelve hundred dollars a year interest on his debt, 
 which, with my own, was absorbing so much of my annual 
 income as that the maintenance of my family was making 
 deep and rapid inroads on my capital, and had already 
 done it. Still, sales at a fair price would leave me com- 
 pletely provided. Had crops and prices for several years 
 been such as to maintain a steady competition of substan- 
 tial bidders at market, all would have been safe. But the 
 long succession of years of stunted crops, of reduced prices, 
 the general prostration of the farming business, under le- 
 vies for the support of manufactures, &c.* with the calami- 
 tous fluctuations of value in our paper medium, have kept 
 agriculture in a state of abject depression, which has peo- 
 pled the western states by silently breaking up those on the 
 Atlantic, and glutted the land market, while it drew off" its 
 bidders. In such a state of things property has lost its 
 
 * I consider aU this as a fallacious account of the true causes of 
 his ruin, which was obviously produced by his princely hospitality ! 
 
S12 THE LIFE OF 
 
 character of being a resource for debts. Highland, in 
 Bedford, which, in the days of our plethory, sold readily 
 for from fifty to one hundred dollars the acre, (and such 
 sales were many then,) would not now sell for more than 
 from ten to twenty dollars, or one quarter, or one-fifth of 
 its former price. Reflecting on these things, the practice 
 occurred to me, of selling, on fair valuation, and by way of 
 lottery, often resorted to before the revolution to effect 
 large sales, and still in constant usage in every State for 
 individual as well as corporation purposes. If it is per- 
 mitted in my case, my lands here alone, with the mills, 
 &c. will pay every thing, and leave me Monti cello and a 
 farm free. If refused, I must sell every thing here, per- 
 haps considerably in Bedford, move thither with my family, 
 where I have not even a log hut to put my head into, 
 and whether the ground for burial will depend on the 
 depredations which, under the form of sales, shall have 
 been committed on my property. The question then with 
 me was tdtriim horimi? But why afflict you with these 
 details ^ Indeed I cannot tell, unless pains are lessened 
 by communication with a friend. The friendship which 
 has subsisted between us, now half a century, and the 
 harmony of our political principles and pursuits, have been 
 sources of constant happiness to me through that long 
 period." 
 
 It was amidst all the deep afflictions caused by these 
 embarrassments, that Mr. Jefferson still found inclination 
 and intellect enough at his command, even at that great 
 age to which he had advanced, to write the following beau- 
 tiful effusion of patriotism to Mr. Giles; which, while it 
 exhibits a firm attachment to the Union, also indicates that 
 invincible spirit of republican liberty, which would resist 
 to tlie death every encroachment upon the Constitution, 
 every infringement of the rights of the people, and every 
 usurpation upon the sovereignty of the States. I shall make 
 no apology for quoting it entire. 
 
 TO WILLIAM B. GILES. 
 
 MoNTicELLo, Dec. 26, 1825. 
 "Dear Sir — I w^rote you a letter yesterday, of which 
 you will be free to make what use you please. This will 
 contain matters not intended for the public eye. I see, as 
 you do, and witli the deepest affliction, the rapid stride* 
 with which the federal branch of our government is advanc*^ 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 313 
 
 iiig towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the 
 States, and the consolidation in itself of all powers foreign 
 and domestic; and that too by constructions, wiiich, if 
 legitimate, leave no limits to their power. Take together 
 the decisions of the Federal Court, the doctrines of the 
 President,'^ a.nd the misconstructions of the constitutional 
 compact, acted on by the Legislature of the Federal branch; 
 and it is but too evident that the three ruling branches of 
 tliat department, are in combination to strip their col- 
 leagues, the State authorities, of the powers reserved 
 by tliem, and to exercise themselves all functions, foreign 
 and domestic. Under the power to regulate commerce, 
 they assume indefinitely that also over agriculture and 
 manufactures, and call it « regulation^ to take the earnings 
 of one of these branches of industry, and that too the most 
 depressed, and put them into the pockets of the other, the 
 most flourishing of all. Under the authority to establish 
 post roads, they claim that of cutting down mountains for 
 the construction of roads, of digging canals, and aided by a 
 little sophistry of the words * general welfare;' a right to do 
 not only the acts to effect that, which are specifically 
 enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think, 
 or pretend will be for the general welfare. _ And what is 
 our resource for the preservation of the constitution? Rea- 
 son and argument? You might as well reason and argue 
 with tlie marble columns encircling them. The representa- 
 tives chosen by ourselves.? They are joined in the combi- 
 nation, some from incorrect views of government, some 
 from corrupt ones, sufficient voting together to outnumber 
 the sound parts; and with majorities only of one, two, or 
 three, bold enough to go forward in defiance. Are we then 
 to stand with the hot-headed Georgian .? No. That must 
 be the last resource, not to be thought of until much longer 
 and greater sufferings. If every infraction of a 
 compact of so many parties is to be resisted at once, as a 
 dissolution of it, none can ever by. formed which would 
 last one year. We must have patience and longer en- 
 durance, then, with our brethren while under delusion; give 
 
 * A democratic President, an admirer of the French revolution! 
 a minister recalled by AVashington, and a Secretary of State recom- 
 mended by Jefferson himself! A legitimate heir to the dynasty of 
 the democrats ! ! 
 
 C c 
 
314 THE LIFE OF 
 
 them time for reflection and experience of consequences; 
 keep ourselves in a situation to profit by the chapter of acci- 
 dents; and separate from our companions only when the sole 
 alternatives left, are the dissolution of the Union with them, 
 or submission to a government without limitation of powers. 
 Between these two evils, when we must make a choice, 
 there can be no hesitation. But in the meanwhile, the 
 States should be watchful to note every material usurpation 
 on their rights, to denounce them as they occur in the most 
 peremptory terms; to protest against them as wrongs to 
 which our present submission shall be considered, not as 
 acknowledgments or precedents of right, but as a tempo- 
 I'ary yielding to the lesser evil, until their accumulation 
 shall overweigh that of separation. I would go still fur- 
 tlier, and give to the federal member, by a regular amend- 
 'inent of the Constitution, a right to make roads and 
 CANALS OF INTERCOMMUNICATION betwccn the Statcs, pro- 
 viding sufficiently against corrupt practices in Congress, 
 (log-rolling, &c.) by declaring that the federal proportion 
 of each State, of the monies so employed, shall be in works 
 within the State, or elsewhere with its consent, and with a 
 due salvo of jurisdiction. This is the course which I think 
 safest and best as yet." 
 
 Here was due reverence for the Union, mixed with a 
 proper regard for the rights of the States. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson had now been anxiously devoting the last 
 fifteen, or eighteen years of his life, to reconcile ancient 
 quarrels, heal lacerated friendships, and conciliate political 
 animosity; but it does not appear that he was always suc- 
 cessful in this benevolent inclination of his amiable feelings. 
 With John Adams, he appears to liave concluded something 
 like a dubious reconciliation; sincere no doubt on the part 
 of Jefferson; but deceitful and hollow, on that of his ancient 
 rival. In this particular, Mr. Jefferson betrayed a lust of 
 popular esteem, which his fame could have dispensed with, 
 and which his character and station ought to have restrained 
 him from; but the motive was sound; his feelings were de- 
 cidedly benevolent, and he no doubt experienced pain, as 
 long as he thouglit occasion of enmity existed between him 
 and others. 
 
 It was on such an occasion, that in 1824, he addressed a 
 letter to a man conspicuous in the annals of intrigue, cele- 
 brated for the arts of party management and renowned for 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 315 
 
 the expertness and address of the managing politician.* 
 This man had, it seems, taken occasion to transmit to Mr. 
 Jefferson, the phillipic of Timothy Pickering against John 
 Adams: in which he had given a faithful portrait of the 
 father of the alien and sedition laws; but which he had 
 mixed up along with some strictures against Mr. Jefferson. 
 In the answer of the latter to Van Buren, many admissions 
 are made by the writer, which go to recal former charges 
 made by him against Washington, among which I shall 
 quote the following: — "My last parting with General 
 Washington, was at the Inauguration of Mr. Adams, in 
 March 1797, and was warmly affectionate; and I never had 
 any reason to believe any change on his part, as there 
 certainly was none on mine. But one session of Congress 
 intervened between that and his death, the year following, 
 in my passage to and from which, as it happened to be not 
 convenient to call on him, I never had another opportunity; 
 and as to the cessation of correspondence observed during 
 that short interval, no particular circumstance occurred for 
 epistolary communication, and both of us were too much 
 oppressed with letter writing, to trouble either the other, 
 with a letter about nothing." 
 
 *' The truth is, that the federalists, pretending to be the 
 exclusive friends of General Washington, have ever done 
 what they could to sink his characte'i*, by hanging theirs on 
 it, and by representing as the enemy of republicans him, 
 who, of all men, is best entitled to the appellation of the 
 Father of that Republic, which they were endeavouring to 
 subvert, and the republicans to maintain." 
 
 Here is an evident contradiction, which it is impossible 
 to understand. Although Washington belonged to no party, 
 yet it is certain that the party of the federalists was formed 
 
 * It must certainly be esteemed a very sing'ular circumstance that 
 a modern politician should have had the temerity to place himself in 
 an attitude that would serve to give a sanction to the libels heaped 
 upon the head of the great and pure Washington, by enticing- from 
 Mr. Jefferson a history of political errors, of which he had before 
 made ample atonement, by the strong" avowal of his regret for their 
 commission, as well as his full confession of their fallacy! It is, how- 
 erer, still more astonishing-, that Mr. Jefferson should ever have be- 
 come involved in a common censure on John Adams, from a disposi- 
 tion inherent in both those ancient enemies, and octog-enerian 
 fiiends, to pull down the father of his country to a level with their 
 own passions and envy ! 
 
316 THE LIFE OF 
 
 on his prmciples, his policy, and his views of the Constitu- 
 tion: and that the adverse party arose from causes entirely 
 opposite, headed by Mr. Jefferson ! Washington belonged 
 to the nation; but he was emphatically supported by the fe- 
 deral party, whose fundamental policy was afterwards 
 adopted in toto by the republicans. This view of the ques- 
 tion is acknowledged by Jefferson himself, in another part 
 of this letter. " General Washington, after the retirement 
 of his first cabinet, and the composition of his second, en- 
 tirely federal, and at the head of which was Mr. Pickering 
 himself, had no opportunity of hearing both sides of any 
 question. His measures, consequently, took more the hue 
 of the party in whose hands he was." Mr. Jefferson hence 
 proceeds to argue, that General Washington was more of a 
 republican than a federalist ! ! although he had before accused 
 him not only of federalism but m,o?iarchy! " April 9, 1792. 
 The President asked me, if the treaty stipulating a sum, 
 and ratified by him, with the advice of the Senate, would 
 not be good under the Constitution and obligatory on the 
 representatives to furnish the money? I answered it certainly 
 would, and that it would be the duty of the representatives 
 to raise the money; but, that they might decline to do what 
 was their duty, and I thought it miglit be incautious to com- 
 mit himself by a ratification with a foreign nation, where he 
 might be left in the lurch in the execution: it was possible 
 too, to conceive a treaty, which it would not be their duty 
 to provide for. He said that he did not like throwing too 
 much into democratic hands, that if they would not do what 
 the Constitution called on them to do, the government 
 WOULD BE AT AN END, and must then assume another 
 FORM. He stopped here; and I kept silence to see whether 
 he would say any thing more in the same line, or add any 
 qualifying expression to soften what he had said: but he did 
 neither, "^^ 
 
 So early as 1823, Mr. Jefferson defined the principles, 
 and predicted the importance of the Nullification, or 
 State Rights party, in a letter to Lafayette, from which I 
 select a pertinent passage. " We are all in agitation even 
 in our peaceful country. For in peace as well as in war, 
 the mind must be kept in motion. Who is to be the next 
 President, is the topic here of every conversation. My 
 opinion on that subject is what I expressed to you in my 
 last letter: the question will be ultimately reduced to the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 317 
 
 northernmost and southernmost candidates. The former 
 will get every federal vote in the Union, and many repub- 
 licans; the latter all those denominated of the old school; for 
 you are not to believe that these two parties are amalga- 
 mated 5 that the lion and the lamb are lying down together. 
 The Hartford Convention, the victory of Orleans, the peace 
 of Ghent, prostrated the name of federalism. Its votaries 
 abandoned it through shame and mortification, and now 
 call themselves republicans. But the name alone is changed, 
 the principles are the same. For in truth, the parties of 
 whig and tory, are those of nature. They exist in all coun- 
 tries, whether called by these names, or by those of aristo- 
 crats and democrats. Cote Droite and Cote Gauche, Ultras 
 and Radicals, Serviles and Liberals. The sickly, weakly, 
 timid man, fears the people, and is a tory by nature. The 
 healthy, strong and bold, cherishes them, and is formed a 
 whig by nature. On the eclipse of federalism with us, 
 although not its extinction, its leaders got up the Missouri 
 question, under the false front of lessening the measures of 
 slavery, but with the real view of producing a geographical 
 division of parties, which might ensure them the next Pre- 
 sident. The people of the north went blindfold into the 
 snare, followed their leaders for a while with a zeal truly 
 noble and laudable, until they became sensible that they 
 were injuring instead of aiding the real interests of the 
 slaves, that they had been used merely as tools for election- 
 eering purposes; and that trick of hypocrisy then fell as 
 quickly as it had been got up. To that is now succeeding 
 a distinction, which, like that of republican and federal, or 
 whig and tory, being equally intermixed through every 
 State, threatens none of those geographical schisms which 
 go immediately to a separation. The line of division now, 
 
 IS THE PRESERVATION OF STATE RIGHTS «S reseVVecl 171 the 
 
 Constitution, or by strained constructions of that instru- 
 ment, to merge all into a consolidated government. 
 The TORIES are for strengthening the executive and ge- 
 neral government; the whigs cherish the representative 
 branch, and the rights reserved by the States,* as the bul-. 
 
 * Had Jefferson lived to the year 1832, what would he have said 
 of the two parties whom he has here desig-nated as Whigs and To. 
 ries; seeing- thatthev could change their principles and position, and 
 yet still retain their names ! ! ! What would he have said of his native 
 
 Cc 2 
 
318 THE LIFE OF 
 
 wark against consolidation, which must immediately gene- 
 rate MONARCHY. And although this division excites, as yet, 
 no warmth, yet it exists, is well understood, and will be a 
 principle of voting at the ensuing election, with the reflect- 
 ing men of both parties." 
 
 Thus Mr. Jeft'erson lived to acknowledge under his own 
 name, that the only point of division between the two great 
 parties of the country, was the advocacy of state rights 
 by one, and federal consolidation by the other: and 
 although a deep seated and early prejudice still determined 
 him to insinuate a charge of establishing monarchy against 
 the federalists, in which it was impossible he could have 
 been logically sincere, yet when free from the visitation of 
 this Constitutional fanaticism, he could clearly discern, 
 and candidly acknowledge, that there existed no difterence 
 between democracy and federalism, but that radical and 
 original point of contention, which had existed even under 
 the old confederacy^ which led to the adoption of the pre- 
 sent constitution^ and which had been so triumphant in the 
 rejection of the ultra doctrines of John Adams. True, this 
 was a prolific parental question, involving numberless 
 others of great moment, touching the Supreme Court, the 
 Bank of the United States, the Tariff, and Internal Im- 
 provements; comprehending, too, a system of policy vital in 
 its principles, and extensive in its effects; but it is worthy of 
 remark, that, after the lapse of half a century, the varia- 
 tions of party controversies revolving through the entire 
 circle of new interests, should return round to the point 
 from which they originally started, more distinctly marked, 
 and emphatically important, than when first made the bat- 
 tle ground of liberty, by the advocates of restricted autho- 
 rity and limited power. 
 
 The infirmities of age, and the maladies incident to the 
 gradual breaking up of a vigorous constitution, now began 
 to make a sensible impression upon the health of this great 
 man. For several years he had been gradually sinking under 
 the weight of age; like some towering and ancient oak, 
 once the monarch of the woods in bloom, bulk and vigour; 
 but now withering in its topmost branches; worm-eaten in 
 
 State, sustaining- a federal executive on the principles of consolida- 
 tion; and provnig recreant to State rig-hts? «^ Tempora mutaniur, 
 et nos mutantur in illis," 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 319 
 
 its trunk; and limb after limb stripped of its accustomed ver- 
 dure, till every blast threatened its prostration, as it bent 
 and groaned beneath the surges of time. These infirmities, 
 which for the last two years had been heavily pressing on him, 
 reached their crisis on the 26th of June, 1826, when the 
 severity of his pains compelled him to confine himself to 
 bed. Still, his constitution being powerful, impressed the 
 idea among his friends that his illness was not serious, and 
 w^ouldnot prove fatal; but his own conviction was different; 
 he felt that his last moments were near, and prepared his 
 mind with the calm resignation of a philosopher, to meet the 
 awful event as became a man, who had lived beyond the 
 usual term allotted to his kind; and whom nature, by the 
 decay of his faculties, had been gradually weaning, like a 
 kind and merciful mother, from the joys of life. For some 
 time preceding his illness, his conversation had instinctively 
 turned in the channel of the approaching end of his mortal 
 career, as if warned by an inward monitor of the doom to 
 which he was shortly destined. But, amidst all his obser- 
 vations upon the coming event, he indulged in no fears, and 
 vented no repinings. ' I do not wish to die,' said he, ad- 
 dressing those around him, 'but I do not fear to die — ac- 
 quiescence is a duty under circumstances not placed among 
 those we are permitted to control.' The only source of 
 anxiety which appeared to exist arose from his desire to 
 behold his favourite university at Charlotteville, firmly 
 established on a prosperous and reputable basis. Having 
 called in a physician, his malady yielded to the skill of art; 
 but the Doctor expressed his apprehensions'that the extreme 
 debility to which it had reduced him, might prevent his 
 recovery. Mr. Jefferson himself had no doubt on the sub- 
 ject — in the full consciousness of approaching dissolution, 
 although entirely free from bodily pain. Serene and com- 
 posed in his mind, he issued his directions with the greatest 
 calmness respecting his burial, requesting his coffin to be 
 plain, and his body to be interred at Monticello, without 
 pomp or parade; thus evincing in his last hours, that love of 
 simplicity, and republican frugality which had distinguished 
 him so conspicuously through a long life. Having completed 
 his orders for his funeral, he called the members of his 
 family around his couch, conversing separately with each 
 one, and presenting to his favourite daughter, Mrs. 
 Randolph, a small morocco case, with a request that 
 
320 THE LIFE OF 
 
 she would not open it until after his demise, and which con- 
 tained a poetic effusion in praise of her virtues and affection, 
 from his own elegant and tasteful pen. This was on Sunday; 
 and continuing to linger over to the succeeding day, he then 
 enquired, with some anxiety, what was the day of the month, 
 and being answered the 3d of July, he expressed a strong 
 desire that he might be permitted to survive another day, to 
 breathe the Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence. 
 The strength of the desire perhaps led to the fruition of his 
 wishes; for nature continued to sustain him up to the longed 
 for hour, when expiring with a gentle sigh, his spirit was 
 
 fathered to the abode of his fathers. Thus died Thomas 
 EFFERSON, the author of tllC DECLARATION OF AMERICAN 
 
 Independence, ruling whose passion through a long life 
 never left him, even at the moment when exhausted nature 
 eclipsed the flame of his spirit in the night of the grave, on 
 the day which his pen had made memorable in the annals of 
 nations. 
 
 This extraordinary death of an illustrious man produced 
 a deep sensation on the public mind; and all parties united 
 in paying the tribute of praise and honour to his splendid 
 talents, his patriotic achievements, and his public services; 
 and {{popular superstition gave some addition to the force 
 of the catastrophe, by its occurring on i\\Q fiftieth anniversarr/ 
 of independence, the virtue of the feeling may justly excuse 
 the extravagance of the idea, which so extraordinary an 
 association of pride, patriotism and love of liberty conspired 
 to produce. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, at the period of his death, had attained to 
 the age of eighty-three years, two months and twenty-one 
 days! 
 
 His personal endowments, like his political attributes, 
 were beyond the ordinary dimensions, being six feet two 
 inches high, thin, but well formed in his person, erect in 
 his carriage, and imposing in his appearance. His complec- 
 tion was fair, his hair red and luxuriant, with light eyes 
 that sparkled with intelligence, and beamed with philan- 
 thropy, which gave to his countenance an expression at 
 once peculiar and remarkable, corresponding to his square 
 face, his expansive forehead and large nose, whose dilated 
 nostril denoted the high spirit of the generous steed, and 
 which, in man, indicates deep passion, lively sensibility 
 and profound thought. His visage was of that class, 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 321 
 
 which, to behold, instinctively produces the feeling, while 
 it prompts to the exclamation, ♦ that is the head of a great 
 tnan.^ 
 
 An unaffected simplicity of manners v/as mixed with a 
 native dignity which was inseparable from his personal ad- 
 vantages of stature and form^ but which was always re- 
 strained to unobtrusive bounds by his republican habits; so 
 that all who approached him were perfectly at ease. His 
 disposition being cheerful, his conversation was lively and 
 enthusiastic, remarkable for the chastity of his colloquial 
 diction, and the correctness of his phraseology. 
 
 Benevolence and liberality were prominent traits of his 
 excellent disposition. To his slaves he was an indulgent 
 master, always sacrificing his own interests to their com- 
 forts. As a neighbour, his liberality and friendly offices 
 extorted universal esteem. As a friend he was ardent and 
 unchangeable; and as a host, the munificence of his hospi- 
 tality was carried to the culpable excess of self-impoverish- 
 ment ! 
 
 In forming his opinions, he is represented to have been 
 deliberate, cautious and circumspect; and to have been as 
 tenacious of their retention, as he was slow to adopt them. 
 His temper was even; and he possessed so much command 
 over it, that his most intimate friends have declared they 
 never beheld him give way to passion, petulence, or anger; 
 in proof of which his servants always regarded him with 
 the ardour of filial affection. 
 
 We have already seen, from his own account, that his 
 domestic habits were simple and unostentatious; that he 
 was a hard student; a persevering labourer; a vigilant over- 
 seer; a faithful correspondent; and a successful farmer. 
 
 As a man of letters, and a votary of science, few Ameri- 
 cans have risen to higher distinction, or displayed more 
 liberal patronage. As a profound Greek scholar he had few 
 equals; and in the mathematics, he attained a proficiency 
 not common to American students. But he did not con- 
 fine his powerful intellect to any particular branch of sci- 
 ence and literature, but roamed over all, without impairing 
 its vigour by the diffusiveness of his attention, or the 
 variety of his knowledge. He is said to have bestowed 
 much attention upon the northern languages of Europe, as 
 being powerful auxiliaries to the study of our own. Like 
 all philosophers, however, a great portion of his knowledge 
 
322 THE LIFE OF 
 
 was rather curious than useful, and acquired more with a 
 view to the fame of erudition, than the natural and whole- 
 some appetite for learning, rendered eager by rational curi- 
 osity. 
 
 In forming a just appreciation of the character of Thomas 
 Jefferson, the American patriot will cast aside the narrow 
 prejudices of party, which embittered the times in which 
 he flourished 5 and soaring to the higher grounds of national 
 feeling, contempLite him as he appeared to the eye of the 
 republic, in the character of the patriot, the philosopher 
 and the statesman. In the first named capacity, we have 
 beheld him occupy a prominent station in the Legislature of 
 Virginia, until elected a delegate to Congress^ he became 
 illustrious for the production of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, as well as distinguished for the prominent and 
 efficient manner in which he urged the adoption of that 
 measure upon those who were more reluctant to cut oif the 
 last hope of reconciliation with the mother country. In this 
 earlier period of his history, up to the unhappy era of the 
 French revolution, Mr. Jefterson stands in bold relief, as 
 an active, zealous, talented and disinterested patriot^ who 
 sacrificed his days and nights to the emancipation of his 
 country from the fetters of monarchical dependence, to 
 redeem her from the feudal thraldom of the laws of entail 
 and primogeniture, and to advance to a state of practical 
 utility the equal rights of man, to secure tiie diftusion of 
 the greatest sum of human happiness. It was in this period 
 of his career, that he made a bold and decided stand for 
 
 those FUNDAMENTAL POINTS of FREEDOM, Vv^hich liaVC im- 
 
 mortalised his fiime among republicans, and embalmed his 
 
 name in the hearts of the people. It was then that he so 
 
 ably contended for — 
 
 First — The reserved rights of the States, and the non -con- 
 struction of the Constitution — by implication, derivation 
 and analogy. 
 
 Second — That he opposed the power to incorporate a bank, 
 because not authorised by the constitution. 
 
 Third — That he advocated economy in expenditures, rota- 
 tion in office, the extinguishment of the funded debt, and 
 the abolishmennt of all pomp, parade and ceremony in 
 government. 
 
 Fourth — That he contended for the neutral policy of the 
 nation, under the motto of ' friendship with all nations, 
 alliances with none.' 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 523 
 
 Fifth- — Tlie repeal of internal taxes, and all excise laws. 
 We are to consider him as a philosopher during the period 
 of his retirement, from 1793 to the epoch of his election as 
 President; for, although much of his time was spent in po- 
 litical correspondence, yet as he professed retirement, and 
 took no prominent part in the contests of the day, we must 
 regard him as exclusively occupied in the pursuits of litera- 
 ture, the study of science, the practice ot husbandry, and 
 the knowledge of government. It is to be lamented, that 
 during this period of his retirement, he could not find lei- 
 sure to compose some elaborate work, that might have been 
 worthy of the fame of the author of the Notes on Virginia. 
 
 As a statesman, Mr. Jefferson's character beams in full 
 effulgence upon us, from the time of his election as Presi- 
 dent, to the period of his death; and here he exhibits an 
 excellence of character, not indeed without blemish, but so 
 pure, so vast, so exalted, as to extort our hearty and un- 
 qualified admiration. To detail the peculiar merits of his 
 Presidentship, in this place, would be to indulge in a repe- 
 tition of what we have already related. But a synopsis 
 of his political creed, such as he illustrated it by his course 
 of administration, will be necessary to make up a just esti- 
 mation of his political merits, in contradistinction to the 
 administration of John Adams: — 
 
 1. An administration conducted on the pure principles of 
 constitutional republicanism — pomp, state and ceremony 
 laid aside. 
 
 2. Patronage discarded, or reduced. 
 
 3. Internal taxes abolished, and superfluous officers dis- 
 banded. 
 
 4. Thirty-three millions of the national debt liquidated. 
 
 5. The liberty of speech and of the press maintained. 
 
 6. Peace with all nations; alliances with none. 
 
 But Mr. Jefferson has, himself, given so particular and 
 lucid an account of his public services, that I cannot do 
 better than conclude this sketch of his character by a quo- 
 tation from his own article. He says, **^I may, however, 
 more readily than others, suggest the offices in which I 
 have served. I came of age in 1764, and was soon put into 
 the nomination of justices of the county in which I live, and 
 at the first election following, I became one of its repre- 
 sentatives in the Legislature.' 
 
 "I was thence sent to the old Congress. 
 
324 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " Then employed two years with Mr. Pendleton and Mr 
 Wythe-, on the revisal and reduction to a single code of the 
 whole body of the British statutes, the acts of our Assem- 
 bly, and certain parts of the common law. 
 
 *' Then elected Governor. 
 
 "Next to the Legislature, and to Congress again. 
 
 *' Sent to Europe as Minister Plenipotentiary. 
 
 '' Appointed Secretary of State to the new government. 
 
 "Elected Vice President, and President. And, lastly, 
 a Visitor and Rector of the University. In these different 
 offices, with scarcely any interval between them, I have 
 been in the public service now sixty-one years; and during 
 the far greater part of the time, in foreign countries, or in 
 otlier States." 
 
 *'If it were thought worth while to specify any particu- 
 lar services rendered, I would refer to the specification of 
 them made by the Legislature itself in their farewell ad- 
 dress, on my retiring from the Presidency, February, 1809. 
 There is one, however, not therein specified, the most im- 
 portant in its consequences, of any transaction in any por- 
 tion of my life; to wit, the head I personally made against 
 the federal principles and proceedings, during the adminis- 
 tration of Mr. Adams. Their usurpations and violations 
 of tlie Constitution at that period, and their majority in 
 botli Houses of Congress, were so great, so decided, and 
 so daring, that after combating their aggressions, inch by 
 indi, without being able in the least to check their career, 
 the republican leaders thought it would be best for them to 
 give up their useless eftbrts there, go home, get into their 
 respective legislatures, embody whatever of resistance they 
 could be formed into, and, if ineffectual, to perish there as 
 in the last ditch. All, therefore, retired, leaving Mr. Gal- 
 latin alone in the House of Representatives, and myself in 
 the Senate, where I then presided as Vice President. Re- 
 maining at our posts, and bidding defiance to the brow- 
 beatings and insults by which they endeavoured to drive 
 us off also, we kept the mass of Republicans in phalanx to- 
 getlier, until the Legislatures could be brought up to the 
 charge; and nothing on earth is more certain, than if myself 
 particularly, placed by my office of Vice President at the 
 head of the Republicans, had given way, and withdrawn 
 from my post, the Republicans throughout the Union would 
 have given up in despair, and the cause would have been 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 325 
 
 lost forever. By holding on, we obtained time for the 
 Legislatures to come up with their weight; and those of 
 Virginia and Kentucky particularly, but more especially 
 the former, by their celebrated resolutions, saved the Con- 
 stitution at its last gasp. No person who was not a witness 
 of tlie scenes of that gloomy period, can form any idea of 
 the afflicting persecutions and personal indignities we had 
 to brook. They saved our country however. The spirits 
 of the people were so much subdued, that they would have 
 sunk into apathy and Monarchy as the only form of go- 
 vernment which could maintain itself. 
 
 '' If legislative services are worth mentioning, and the 
 stamp of liberality and equality, which was necessary to be 
 impressed on our laws, in the first crisis of our birtli as a 
 nation, was of any value, they will find that the leading 
 and m.ost important laws of that day were prepared by my- 
 self, and carried chiefly by my efforts, supported, indeed, 
 by able and faithful coadjutors from the ranks of the House, 
 very effective as seconds, but who would not have taken 
 the field as leaders. 
 
 " The prohibition of the further importation of slaves 
 was tlie first of these measures in time. 
 
 " This was followed by the abolition of entails, which 
 broke up the hereditary and high-handed aristocracy 
 which, by accumulating immense masses of property in sin- 
 gle LINES OF families, had divided our country into two 
 distinct orders of nobles and plebeians.* 
 
 " But, further, to complete the equality among our citi- 
 zens so essential to the maintainance of republican govern- 
 ment, it was necessary to abolish the principle q^ primoge- 
 niture. I drew the law of descents, giving equal inherit- 
 ance to sons and daughters, which made a part of the re- 
 vised code. 
 
 '' The attack on the establishment of a dominant reli- 
 gion was first made by myself. It could be carried at first 
 only by a suspension of salaries for one year, by battling 
 it again at the next session for another year, and so from 
 
 The distribution of Federal Patronage in single lines of fami- 
 riES, by the national executive, has produced the same effect. Sosrs 
 inherit the offices of their fathers with as much regularity and cer- 
 tainty as they did their estates, under the law of Primogeniture ! ! 
 and this, too, under the reformed dynasty of the immaculate Repub- 
 licans, of whom Mr. Jefferson was the model and the father! ! ! 
 
 D d 
 
326 THE LIFE OF 
 
 year to year until the public mind was ripened for the bill 
 for establishing religious freedom, which I had prepared 
 for the revised code also. This was at length established 
 permanently^ and by the efforts chiefly of Mr. Madison, 
 being myself in Europe at the time that work was brought 
 forward* 
 
 "To these particular services^ I think I might add the 
 establishment of our university, as principally my work, 
 acknowledging at the same time, as I do, the great assist- 
 ance received from my able colleagues of the visitation. 
 But my residence in the vicinity, threw, of course, on me 
 the chief burthen of the enterprise, as well of the buildings, 
 as of the general organisation and care of the whole. The 
 effect of this institution on the future fame, fortune, and 
 prosperity of our country, can as yet be seen but at a 
 distance. But an hundred well educated youths, which it 
 will turn out annually, and ere long, will fill all its offices 
 with men of superior qualifications, and raise it from its 
 humble state to an eminence among its associates which it 
 has never yet known; no, not in its brightest days. That 
 institution is now qualified to raise its youth to an order of 
 science unequalled in any other State; and this superiority 
 will be the greater from the/re6 range of 7nmd encouraged 
 there, and the restraint imposed at other Seminaries by the 
 shackles of a domineering hierarchy, and a bigoted 
 ADHESION TO ANCIENT HABITS. Those HOW OH the theatre 
 of affairs, will enjoy the ineffable happiness of seeing them- 
 selves succeeded by sons of a grade of science beyond their 
 own ken. Our sister States will also be repairing to the 
 same fountains of instruction, will bring hither their genius 
 to be kindled at our fire, and will carry back the fraternal 
 affections, which, nourished by the same alma mater, will 
 knit us to them by the indissoluble bands of early personal 
 friendships. The good old dominion, the blessed mother 
 of us all, will then raise her head with pride among the 
 nations, will present to them that splendour of genius 
 which she has ever possessed, but has too long suftered to 
 rest uncultivated and unknown, and will become a centre 
 of ralliance to the States whose youth she has instructed, 
 and as it were adopted. I claim some share in the merits 
 of this great work of regeneration." 
 
 We may consider as among Mr. Jefferson's last acts, the 
 publication of his ^Memoirs,'^ ^finas,^ and 'Correspondence,'^ 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 327 
 
 which we have understood, that he marked for publication, 
 previous to his demise, with his own hand. * That his mind 
 was sound and sane at that period, will not admit of a 
 doubt. The works, therefore, which he thus ordered to be 
 placed before the people, must be estimated as perfor- 
 mances published by the author during his life-time 5 and 
 not as posthumous productions, for the publicity of which 
 he was not responsible. The fact that he arranged and di- 
 rected their publication, is sufficient to stamp them with 
 the character of his living works, as much so, as if he had 
 corrected the proof-sheets, as they fell from the press. 
 Why he did so direct their publication, will admit of vari- 
 ous constructions. My hypothesis is this — that he designed 
 the volumes published by his grandson as materials for a 
 biography, or history, from the time he ceased his Memoirs 
 up to the period immediately preceding his death; and cer- 
 tainly the character of the papers thus published, are every 
 way calculated to carry out the idea of their publicity, as 
 here suggested; being every way competent to furnish ample 
 materials for a history of his life. How far thej influence 
 the moral hues of his character, is another question, which 
 perhaps, in the enthusiasm of literary vanity, and the fulness 
 of political fame, he entirely omitted to consider. Censure, 
 heavy and inconsiderate, has already been his portion for 
 this redeeming act of political justice; for which, in our 
 opinion, he deserves more encomium, than for any other act 
 of his retirement. By giving the public these documents, 
 he kas placed them in possession of the truth, reckless of 
 the consequences to his own glory, and in defiance of the 
 vulgar prejudices of a narrow minded policy. But why 
 should the disclosure of the truth, depreciate the fame of 
 Mr. Jefferson? Such a position is neither consistent with 
 sound ethics, nor compatible with political justice. What- 
 ever Mr. Jefferson has avouched for under his own hand, 
 touching himself, 7mist be received as historical truth: and 
 if such averments be not favourable to his fame, who shall 
 say, he had not aright to delineate himself as he really was, 
 without being controlled, or restri cted by any artificial 
 
 * I have this fact from Robert*, Vaux, Esq. who derived his infor- 
 mation from the grandson of Mr. Jefferson; and which is important, 
 as it dispels a g-eneral error of opinion, that his grandson acted with 
 iiTDiscKETioif in making the pubhcation, when, in fact, he had nq 
 jioBAL agency whatever in the act. 
 
328 THE LIFE OF 
 
 standard of his character which may have been adopted b^ 
 the public under the delusion of appearances, or the fanati' 
 cism of faction. His character was certainly best known 
 to himself — his motives were truly known to no otherj and 
 his sentiments respecting his cotemporaries, could only 
 flow in the limpid streams of truth from his own lips; 
 and besides, his fame was his own property; if it had been 
 overrated by those who knew him not, it was competent for 
 him to present the people with a faithful likeness of himself, 
 by which they might correct the error. I do not know, that 
 Mr. Jefferson has disclosed any thing but what might not 
 have been reasonably inferred from his conduct, or deduced 
 from his principles — so that his testimony has only placed 
 beyond doubt, what might have been otherwise open to 
 dispute, controversy and doubt. 
 
 The first motive which actuated Mr. Jefferson to order 
 this posthumous publication, was, without doubt, literary 
 vanity — the ruling passion strong in its approach to the 
 grave: the second motive was to solve political problems, 
 which, if not untied, might blur his fame; and to blacken by 
 the worst imputations, the glory of men, whose renown, 
 unless destroyed might equal his own, or perhaps eclipse 
 him. These three motives are evident on the face of these 
 volumes. His ' Anas,' blacken Washington, Adams, and 
 Hamilton, as monarchists. Math slight shades of difference 
 in their opinions, on trivial subjects. Yiisletters solve many 
 curious problems, among which, and not the least, is his own 
 conduct towards the great federal triumvirate just named. 
 His ^Memoirs,'' gratify his literary vanity, and indicate 
 the extent of fame to which he was destined. I can readily 
 imagine, that Mr. Jefferson might suppose all these publica- 
 tions would redound to his glory and fame — that his Me- 
 moir would be venerated by the people, with an enthusi- 
 astic devotion in virtue of his services — ^that his '.-^nrts,' 
 would manifest a patriotism and love of liberty which would 
 make up for calumny, mendacity and fiction; and that the 
 benevolence and American spirit, which breathes through his 
 « Epistles,^ would more than compensate for their insince- 
 rity, want of coherence, consistence and harmony, as well 
 as candour, rectitude and trut^/. And as will always be the 
 case in such w^orks, the good will predominate, and thus 
 snatch them as a ivhole, from that perdition, to which, if 
 totally evil, they must inevitably be doomed. Thus, it is 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 329 
 
 after all, but a sprinkling of evil that we can detect in the 
 post mortem publications of his grandson, as it respects his 
 own character, as a politician and a statesman. How far 
 these documents may affect his party is another question; 
 and I must here candidly acknowledge, that Mr. Jefferson 
 has said enough in these volumes, to overthrow the entire 
 foundation and superstructure of the democratic partyj not 
 leaving one stone upon another, or cement enough to bind 
 together a fragment of principle to a pebble of policy! 
 They have wrought a total subversion of the great land- 
 marks, which were supposed to divide the two parties. As 
 the grand magician of his party, who conjured it out of the 
 vices of the French effervescence of Ninety-Three; he has, 
 by a single wave of his wand, dispelled the whole illusion; 
 and the cheating scene vanishes from our view, with the 
 same apparition-like celerity that it first made its appear- 
 ance; and we stand paralysed with amazement, at the ex- 
 traordinary fact, of so large a portion of mankind having 
 given way to a delusion, which eludes the grasp of reason, 
 defies the definition of logic, and bafiles the mightiest efforts 
 of the great genius of its author, to reduce it to the palpable 
 form and tangible proportions of reality. Who, in the con- 
 templation of such a picture, can abstain from venting a 
 sigh over the frailty of genius, and indulging in a smile, 
 when he reflects on the easy credulity of the world, that 
 not only swallows with avidity, but invites by eager solicir 
 tation, the fiction that enslaves, and the illusion that 
 degi-ades it! 
 
 From a careful investigation of the writings of Mr. Jef' 
 ferson, published since his demise, we deduce the following 
 three causes of party distinction, between federalists and 
 republicans; most of which, as characterising the former, 
 have been fully adopted and confirmed by the latter. 
 
 First. — English Monarchists, who adopted the Bri- 
 tish Constitution as the model of perfection, and desired to 
 introduce it in the United States: the proof being in the 
 desire of the Eastern States to dissolve the Union. This 
 was a fiction of fanaticism, and of course, not to be adopted 
 by any party. 
 
 ' Second, — The Monied Aristocracy, revolving round 
 the Bank af the United States, and the Funded Debt. 
 
 Third,-^T\\e friends of the Union of the States, as 
 contending for the supremacy of the United States over the 
 
 Dd 2 
 
330 THE LIFE OF 
 
 States, in opposition to those who espouse State Rights, 
 on the ground that the Sovereignty of the latter is para- 
 mount to the authority and power of the former! 
 
 These may be termed the substantive grounds of party 
 distinction, as ayowed by Mr. Jefterson, omitting personal 
 and minor considerations, incidental to, or growing out of 
 them. 
 
 Now, the first has been fully exploded as a vision of 
 fanatacism, unworthy the serious attention of any rational 
 being; in itself ridiculous, and completely refuted by the 
 change of the scene of Sedition from the North to the 
 South,: the federalists having become republicans — and 
 the republicans of the South being transformed into English 
 monarchists; yet at the same time being friends of state 
 RIGHTS, as well as champions of the bank of the united 
 states — comprehending the singular contradiction of being 
 the largest stockholders in that institution — the essence of 
 tlie monied aristocracy, and according to Mr. Jefterson's 
 theory, not omitting even Virginia ! the admirers of the 
 British Constitution, who desire the restoration of the 
 English Monarchy! 
 
 In the second point, we have an ample refutation in the 
 historical fact, that the present Bank of the United States, 
 was incorporated by a Congress unanimously Democratic 
 — and that it was approved and suggested by Mr. Jef- 
 ferson's favorite democratic disciple, James Madison^ 
 as well as its stock being owned, and its management con- 
 trolled by democrats — enemies of England, and champions 
 of State Rights I At a time too, when the Funded Debt 
 liad nearly all got into the hands of the republican party. 
 
 His third point of distinction is not much sounder: and car- 
 ries more of specious pretence to liberty, than true devotion 
 to constitutional law. As the author of the Kentucky and 
 Virginia resolutions, nullifying the alien and sedition 
 LAWS, Mr. Jeft'erson is justly considered as the father of this 
 false doctrine, of oppugnation to federal laws, in virtue of re- 
 served riglits, not because there do not exist reserved rights, 
 but because, to exercise them in the mode here meditated, 
 would be to destroy the end of government, and prostrate 
 the ichole system of rights belongino; to the majority; for a 
 few reserved rights, supposed to be infringed by an excited 
 minority. Mr. Jefterson has himself confuted this doctrine 
 oi forcible resistance of the laws of the Union in his letter 
 to Judge Johnson, where, in criticisino- MarshaWs decision 
 
THOMAS jEFFfiRSON'. 531 
 
 in the case of Cohen, he remarks — •• But the chief justice 
 says, ' there must be an xdtimate arbiter somewhere.' True, 
 there must, but does that prove it is either party? Th£ 
 xdtimate arbiter is the people of the uxiox, assembled 
 BY THEIR deputies IX coxvExTiox, ot the Call of Con- 
 gress, or of two-thirds of the States. Let them decide to 
 Which thev mean to give an authority chiimed by two of 
 their organs. And it has been the peculiar wisdom and 
 felicity of our Constitution, to have provided this peaceable 
 appeal, where that of other nations is at once to force.'' 
 Thus emphatically did Mr. Jefterson confute all the dif- 
 ferences, which remained for the ingenuity of party to 
 draw a line of hostile separation between nominal federal- 
 ists and professing republicans. So much for those sub- 
 statitive grounds of difference, which can only be relied on 
 to justify pretensions to superior political virtue in either 
 party. 
 
 In the same letter to Judge Johnson, he justifies his 
 publication of his ' Letters' and * Anas' by the following 
 observations — ^ History may distort truth, and will distort 
 it for a time, by the superior efforts at justification of those 
 who are conscious of needing it most. Aor tvill the open- 
 ing scenes of our present government be seen in their true 
 aspect, nntil the letters of the day, now held in private 
 hoards, shall be broken up, and laid open to public view.- 
 It was, no doubt, to facilitate this object of historical truth, 
 tthich impelled him to order those publications which have 
 so astonished and electrified some, and so enlightened and 
 undeceived all ! 
 
 It was doubtless with a view to clear up. the opening 
 scenes of the government, that Mr. Jefferson gave his pri- 
 vate letters to the gaze of the public eye; and to this lau- 
 dable motive, blended with that literary vanity, which is 
 so common to all, and so harmless in itself, are we indebted 
 to him for that rich repast Mhich his writings furnish to 
 the curious politician, and the patriotic American. 
 
 Whether all has been published from his pen, however, 
 that would throw light on the opening schemes of the po- 
 litical drama of his day, is a question which yet remains to 
 be answered: and which time only can disclose. It seems 
 to be probable that little more remains behind, with the 
 single exception of that full correspondence which took 
 place between him and John Adams, during his retirement; 
 and which naturallv excites a desire that those, to whom 
 
332 LIFE OF JEFFERSON. 
 
 the papers of the latter statesman have been confided, will 
 co-operate in clearing up the mystery of the melo-drama 
 of party which has been acted for the amusement of the 
 people, and the profit of the managers, by giving to the 
 public a full and exact edition of his letters, papers and 
 memoirs. 
 
 Mr. Jefterson's style of composition will compare with 
 the best authors of the English language, being at once 
 energetic, harmonious, flowing and elegant. His diction 
 was highly expressive, his choice of words copious, and his 
 command of language wonderful ^ but he sometimes degene- 
 rated into the French structure of phrase; and sometimes 
 became feeble and obscure from too much diftuseness. On 
 the whole, however, his composition is equally remarkable 
 for strength, purity and elegance; and he is one of the few 
 of our public men who may take rank by the side of Wash- 
 ington, Hamilton, Marshall, and Jay, for the eloquence 
 of their style, and the force and energy of their diction. 
 
 On the whole, viewing his character in every light in 
 which it presents itself, and contemplating him in the 
 aggregate of his greatness, history presents us with few 
 men endowed with greater abilities, or better calculated to 
 promote the happiness of mankind. Fulfilling this desti- 
 nation of his genius and his learning, he carried out into 
 practice the plans suggested by his benevolence for the 
 EQUALIZATION of human rights and human enjoyments; and 
 became, not only one of the founders of this great repub- 
 lic, but the special apostle of liberty, in opposition to 
 those systems of aristocracy which seek to grind the peo- 
 ple to the lowest point of human imperfection and enjoy- 
 ment, in order to make them the more passive and unresistt 
 ing victims to the fetters of power, and the schemes of am- 
 bition. With a heart always alive to the inherent claim 
 of the great family of his fellow beings to life, liberty and 
 property, on the principles of equity and equal rights, he 
 possessed a head endowed with sagacity to penetrate to the 
 causes of human oppression, and resolution sufficient to 
 undertake their removal; nor did he pause in this glorious 
 work of political reformation, until, by patient persever- 
 ance, and unremitting labour, he succeeded in the consum- 
 mation of a system of principles which have secured to the 
 people of the United States the greatest sum of political 
 happiness, which seems compatible with the exercise of 
 universal liberty. 
 
WASHIUGTOKr AND JEPFBIlSOMr 
 
 Among the people of antiquitj, it was esteemed almost 
 miraculous for men to rise to supreme power in virtue of 
 their genius and merit, independent of those adventitious 
 aids at that period so much resorted to: such as force, fraud, 
 fortune, or some other accident, distinct from native vigor 
 of mind, and felicity of genius, on the one hand, and the 
 beauty and harmony of the elective franchise on the other; 
 by which a free people spontaneously confer sovereign 
 authority as a reward to merit, or a token of gratitude for 
 public services. 
 
 In modern ages, but especially in this happy country, we 
 have become so accustomed to this imposing spectacle, as 
 no longer to behold it with surprise; and it therefore ex- 
 cites little emotion, although worthy of the highest admira- 
 tion, as a circumstance ennobling to human nature, to be- 
 hold Washington and Jefferson springing up from the ob- 
 scure condition of plebeian rusticity, to occupy the chair of 
 supreme power, arrayed in all the attributes of kings, and 
 armed with the mighty energies of empire. Yet this fact 
 illustrates with so much force, the most beautiful feature of 
 our free and equal government, where all native Americans 
 are eligible to the highest post of honour, that we may rea- 
 sonably pause for a moment to moralise on this resemblance 
 in their humble origin, and splendid fortunes — to contem- 
 plate in the young Surveyor of Lord Fairfax, the renowned 
 FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY^ and to tracc in the Village Law- 
 yer, of a small town in Virginia, the future author of the 
 Declaration of American Independence, and the third Pre- 
 sident of the United States — one of whom, by his achieve- 
 ments in arms shook the British empire to its centre; while 
 the other, by his masterly exposition of human rights, scat- 
 tered the seeds of revolution over every soil cursed by the 
 hand of oppression, or blighted by the shade of tyranny. 
 
334 PARALLEL. 
 
 It was for the poets of antiquity to sing of the creative 
 powers of genius, and to invent monstrous fables to illus- 
 trate its transcendfint career j but it was left for American 
 history to exhibit in the common occurrences of real life, 
 the force of superior intellect to mould for itself that'high 
 destiny for which nature had c|ualified it at its birth, by 
 endowing it with faculties to overturn the mighty fabric of 
 feudal ages, consolidated by tyranny, and cemented by 
 time. It was left for Washington in the field, and Jef- 
 ferson in the cabinet, to accomplish a revolution without 
 a parallel in history for its grandeur, and which may chal- 
 lenge the wisdom and judgment of mankind to surpass it in 
 the wholesome principles it has established for the govern- 
 ment, or the mass of happiness it lias secured for the en- 
 joyment of the human family. 
 
 An excess of glory is highly injurious to a just apprecia- 
 tion of character; for, while greatness intoxicates the mind, 
 virtue is sure to captivate the judgment: and the lustre of 
 both combined, are naturally calculated to lead to adulation 
 on the one hand, or give birth to envious detraction on the 
 other. 
 
 The unanimous award of mankind in favour of the genius 
 and honesty, purity and patriotism of the character of 
 George Washington, while it furnishes ample reason to 
 abstain from an indiscriminate indulgence in panegyric, 
 which his greatness can well dispense with, presents us, 
 on that account, with sufficient inducements to analyse the 
 peculiar traits of his great mind, with an impartial freedom, 
 which, being equally removed from servile flattery, and 
 rigid justice, may preserve that happy medium, in which 
 truth, softened by benevolence, may draw a faithful picture, 
 without deepening the shadows by malice, or flinging the 
 lustre of fiction over the bright and smiling features of its 
 virtues. 
 
 Genius, like Nature, combines such opposite qualities, 
 as either to kindle enthusiasm, or excite incredulity and 
 dislike. Hence men, too great, are equally liable to be- 
 come objects of adoration to some, and of abhorrence to 
 others. In this manner, it is always more difficult to dis- 
 sect than to appreciate the concentrated merits of one who 
 is alike distinguished in opposite professions, than another 
 who is merely noted for excellence, however transcendant, 
 in a single pursuit. 
 
PARALLEL. 335 
 
 Thus, where the glory of tlie statesman and the warrior 
 unite, the glare and ettulgence of his entire fame, will 
 scarcely permit us to survey with cool and impartial reason 
 the qualities and deeds of the one, separate and apart from 
 the talents and achievements of the other, so as to arrive at 
 an exact knowledge of the principles and views of the poli- 
 tician, distinct from the honesty and zeal of the patriot; or 
 the courage, skill, and prudence of the military commander* 
 We all know that Jove has his thunders; but it is permitted 
 to few only to trace the mysterious course of his wisdom, 
 or admire the infinite beneficence of his decrees, that govern 
 and control the harmony of nature. 
 
 In the same manner, the verdict of the public has attested, 
 in a voice too emphatic to admit of a doubt, to the genius, 
 learning, statesmanship, and patriotism of Thomas Jef- 
 ferson, so as to dispense with that spirit of adulation, 
 which we are so prone to fall into when engaged in an in- 
 vestigation of the merits, or a comparison of the characters 
 of individuals, prominent on the page of history, for their 
 virtues, talents, and public services: for, true greatness, 
 like Nature in her majesty, is ' when unadorned adorned 
 the most.' The statue of Jupiter does not require to have 
 its brows entwined with roses, in order to add to its sub- 
 lime proportions, or deepen the veneration felt for the god. 
 
 But here again a fresh difficulty arises 5 for genius in 
 one branch of greatness only, however resplendent, must 
 suffer disparagement when brought into contrast with con- 
 centrated greatness, that glows with equal lustre in every 
 path of duty. Apollo may captivate the hosts of heaven 
 witli his lyre^ but it is for Jove only equally to excite affec- 
 tion, admiration and awe. 
 
 This contrast of their characters and career, however, 
 is not only natural, but unavoidable. Both were the found- 
 ers of the republic — both flourished in the same administra- 
 tion — both co-operated to produce the same revolution, and 
 establish the same government — both acted as Presidents 
 of the republic — both headed antagonist parties — both con- 
 fen-ed unbounded benefits on the same age, and on posterity 
 -—both interwove their minds in the government, and infused 
 their principles into the people. To brin^ two such charac- 
 ters into comparison appears inevitable; if that comparison 
 results in contrast, it is still more extraordinaiy, but equally 
 unavoidable. 
 
536 PARALLEL. 
 
 It will scarcely be denied, that a man may be honest in 
 his views of State policy, and firm in his political prin- 
 ciples of constitutional liberty; that he may love his coun- 
 try with an unalloyed and holy love, seeking to promote 
 its welfare and happiness, with a single eye to its glory 
 and freedom; and yet, that his principles may be inva- 
 lidated or impaired by a constitutional moral weakness 
 that gives the hue of truth to his fallacious impressions, or 
 arrests his best judgment by the irresistible force ot a pre- 
 dominant passion. The history of man proves him a crea- 
 ture of delusions, by showing his convictions to be the off- 
 spring of his passions rather than the effects of his reason. 
 This, indeed, is more or less the fallible tenure of all great- 
 ness; even the highest intellect and genius, to which every 
 man, however he may rise in the scale of superiority or 
 perfection is liable; but which is too frequently confounded 
 with a total exemption from error, in the general glare of 
 renown which encircles a great and a good name. 
 
 As time rolls on, and the experience of new generations 
 reveals discrepancies of opinion, or starts doubts of princi- 
 ples and powers, in relation to the organic structure of our 
 government: — or conflicting interests give birth to fresh 
 questions of right, or novel propositions of liberty; the 
 authority of great names, as well as the force of illustrious 
 examples, as additional inducements arise to recur to them, 
 become of the most essential importance, and not only ex- 
 cite an intense interest and curiosity, but prompt us, from 
 a regard to our own rights, to ascertain the principles and 
 opinions of those eminent men who were instrumental in 
 forming the government, or achieving the independence of 
 the nation; and thus beget an additional curiosity, of a cha- 
 racter pecuKar to itself, to pry into the motives of their 
 conduct, and compare the merits of their deeds, as well as 
 the soundness of their principles, the sincerity of their 
 opinions, and the honesty of their professions. 
 
 Among the events within the compass of the present age, 
 which have thrown a new and exciting interest over the 
 lives, deeds and opinions of these two extraordinary men, 
 the animated and still protracted discussion of the rights of 
 the individual States, and the controlling power of the 
 Union — stand prominent for their formidable consequences, 
 and maintain a fearful attitude, both in respect to the per- 
 manence of the Union, and the popular fame of its two 
 
PARALLEL. 
 
 most distinguished founders. Tke reference that has so 
 frequently been made to the opinions of INIr. Jefterson, to 
 sustain the doctrines of the party in favour of State supre- 
 macy; and the implied sanction of Washington to principles 
 of an opposite tendency, seem to have invested those emi- 
 nent patriots with a responsibility for modern opinions, 
 which an investigation of facts will scarcely warrant. Yet, 
 how far these presumptions are justified by historical events 
 and political testimony, presents a subject for curious in- 
 vestigation, at the same time that it gives rise to another, 
 still more deeply interesting, because involving considera- 
 tions of the highest moment to the rights, liberties and hap- 
 piness of tlie human family, not only in respect to their 
 populai' appreciation, and the true value which we ought to 
 place on their respective characters, but whether their 
 principles, attributes and achievements, as statesmen, poli- 
 ticians and Presidents, were truly modelled on the frame 
 of the Constitution, or the Constitution modelled on the 
 frame of their opinions and principles? And it will appear 
 strange, if, in the progress of this investigation, we should 
 arrive at the extraordinary fact, that the mind of TVash- 
 ington was the fountain whence flowed the wisdom and 
 beauty of the federal Constitution — and that Constitution 
 became the fountain of Mr. Jefferson's political principles; 
 so that instead of bringing them into conflict, upon this vexed 
 and litigated question, we reduce them to harmony by 
 showing that while both were republicans, both were at the 
 same time federalists: the only difference between them 
 consisting in this — that Washington, as the Father of the 
 Constitution, viewed it with the eye of knowledge — and 
 that Jefferson, as its disciple, surveyed it with the prying 
 glance of criticism, content to acquiesce in its doctrines, 
 yet as captious, to question its wisdom, as he felt disposed 
 to acquire celebrity by pointing out its defects, or suggest- 
 ing improvements, which might fortify liberty in impreg- 
 nable strength or diff*use its blessings to the more universal 
 enjoyment and happiness of mankind. 
 
 It is a striking circumstance, in the history of these dis- 
 tinguished men, that the most ardent friendship should have 
 subsisted between them from the year '76 to '93; and that 
 on the part of Jefferson it never abated up to the day of his 
 death, as far as professions serve to indicate affection and 
 esteem; while as it respects W^ashington, he seems suddenly 
 E e 
 
338 PARALLEL. 
 
 to have dropped all intercourse with the former from the 
 period of that popular commotion which followed the ratifi- 
 cation of Jay's treaty, when Mr. Jefferson took so decided 
 a part against the father of his country. True, Jefferson 
 always contended that no coolness existed between them; 
 but as it respected Washington, this -was an error. On the 
 part of Jefferson, it must ever be regretted that political 
 management should have brought him into collision with 
 Washington; for no man was better calculated for ardent 
 and lasting friendship than Jefferson — whose heart on all 
 occasions seems to flow into his pen, and spread over his 
 paper, in the most captivating language of affection. His 
 letter to Washington, accepting the State Department, is 
 the purest effusion of devoted friendship, that, perhaps, ever 
 was penned by one statesman to another! Who was to 
 blame for the rupture of this amity? He who changed his 
 opinions and his deportment, or he who remained stedfast 
 and unwavering in his ancient creed and patriotic demea' 
 nor? Unquestionably, he who changed with the times, and 
 preferred ambition to fixed principles, was more open to 
 censure for ruptured friendship, than the man, who clinging 
 to the Constitution of his country, resisted the allurements 
 of foreign factions, in order the more securely to establish 
 tlie independence of his country. The moment that Jef- 
 ferson left the Washington Cabinet, even overlooking his 
 assaults on its chief and its measures, whilst a member of 
 it— that moment, he ceased to be a friend to the great man 
 at the head of the nation. It did not necessarily follow, 
 however, that he should become his enemy; yet he did be- 
 come his enemy, by secret imputations of monarchical pro- 
 pensities, and avowed impeachment of the vigor of his un- 
 derstanding, by representing him as the dupe of those 
 around him: playing on his character, the insidious artillery 
 oi insinuation — vouching for his honesty, but lamenting his 
 delusion — confessing to his patriotism, yet weeping over the 
 infatuations that were pushing the country to ruin ! The 
 crime of Washington was his abstinence from the French 
 Revolution; and that he gave the preference to Hamilton as 
 a counsellor, than to Jefferson! Hence the self-love of the 
 latter was wounded; and under the mortification of this ap- 
 parent neglect, he felt resentment against one, whose great- 
 ness he envied; at the same time that he resolved to detract 
 from his virtue, in order to lessen his influence, which 
 
PARALLEL. 339 
 
 must otherwise place Adams, or Hamilton, as his successor 
 in the Presidential chair. 
 
 But before I enter fuUj into a review of their deeds, it 
 ma J here be proper to meet, and obviate an objection to 
 bringing them into comparison, or juxtaposition, which has 
 so often been alleged, as to merit a special remark. In 
 forming a comparison between the characters of these emi- 
 nent men, we naturally entertain an apprehension of bring- 
 ing them into conflict, by a supposed hostility of principles 
 and of genius, of party attachments and national policy, 
 which is calculated to throw them into such decided con- 
 trast, as necessarily to create a mutual disparagement; as 
 if the merit of one was the demerit of the other; and that 
 there existed some malign spirit, which flaring the torch of 
 demoniac rage over their ashes, would render the excel- 
 lence of both entirely incompatible with truth, and offeu' 
 sively repugnant to justice. 
 
 Happily for the cause of history and public virtue, these 
 apprehensions are found to be as fallacious, as they appear 
 at first sight to be illiberal; for the mist of party passion 
 having been blown off by the winds of time, we can now 
 analyse their virtues and talents, without having our per- 
 ceptions distorted by the lens of faction, or our feelings 
 embittered by that rage of collision which is so apt to excite 
 resentment, and so often festers into malignity. Besides 
 this reason, which in itself is amply sufficient, the virtues 
 of Washington have left nothing in the power of history 
 to disparage — while the public services of Jefferson, 
 are more than adequate to counteract any possible frailty 
 of character, which the most fastidious virtue, or sharp- 
 sighted malignity could detect, amidst the varied mass of 
 opinions and principles, that constitute his political, literary, 
 scientific, and philosophical character. 
 
 In the dift'erent bent of their genius, and their opposite 
 pursuits in life, we may discover ample and adequate cause 
 to account for all those features of contrariety, which dis- 
 tinguished and marked their respective characters: and 
 which, throwing one into a splendid eminence, which the 
 civic talents of the other caused him to despair of attain- 
 ing, naturally infused a feeling of envy, which in time in- 
 duced those collisions, that terminated in an attitude of 
 unfriendly disparagement. The instinctive propensity of 
 Washington to the occupation, and his powerful ability to 
 
340 PARALLEL. 
 
 achieve the conquests of war, forms a beautiful contrast to 
 the equally decided bias of the mind of Jefferson to civil 
 and pacific pursuits^ and not only explains the disparity in 
 their characters, but accounts, in some measure, for the 
 discrepancy of their views, principles and policy. But it 
 was certainly a misfortune in Jefterson, that he possessed 
 but 0726 of the attributes of greatness, and that one the least 
 obtrusive, and the least glaring, which naturally seeks the 
 shade of the grotto, or the quiet repose of the study, achiev- 
 ing its intellectual conquests in tranquil labour, and denied 
 all that eclat and renown, which attends upon ' the pride, 
 pomp and circumstance of glorious war.' This deprivation 
 of military talent, was itself a cause of inferiority, which 
 no acquirements of science, or vigour of genius could com- 
 pensate; and which must necessarily depress him below 
 Washington, unless the latter had been, in like manner, as 
 destitute of civil greatness as Jefferson was of military ta- 
 lents. 
 
 On the other hand, it was the good fortune of Washington, 
 to combine all the great, and to be disfigured by none of the 
 little, or mean qualities of the statesman and the soldier; 
 but to rise to the highest degree of perfection in both, as his 
 genius qualified him to shine with equal lustre in both- — an 
 endov/ment so rare as to furnish us with but two or three 
 similar examples throughout the whole range of history. 
 This combination of civil and military talent, called into 
 action at a peculiar period of the revolution of the govern- 
 ment from dependence to liberty — exalted him to the head 
 of the nation, by those natural and imposing circumstances, 
 v/hich invests a father with authority over his children, by 
 inspiring that unbounded confidence, which flows from gra- 
 titude for that safety and protection, which a general only 
 can give to a people in time of war, when pillage, devasta- 
 tion, ravage and flames, aggravate the horrors of the sword. 
 It was equally fortunate, that his military station was so 
 intimately connected with, and dependent on his civil du- 
 ties, so that he could not fail to become proficient in both at 
 the same time, in a path peculiar to himself — clear and un- 
 obstructed by the labours of others, without precedents to 
 embarrass him, or counteracting power to perplex his en- 
 terprises, or check and defeat his plans. By this means, 
 the force of his genius had full play, and increased the na- 
 tural weight of his character to a gigantic magnitude, 
 
PARALLEL. 341 
 
 opening a wide field for the exhibition of virtues, and the 
 display of talents, which showing him to be superior to the 
 abuse of power, and competent to all the duties of both civil 
 and military 'government, gave him a complete command of 
 public opinion, by having possessed himself of the hearts 
 and confidence of the people. Thus, he rose to the supreme 
 magistracy, by the natural force of his virtues, the vigour 
 of his genius, the vastness of his services, and the extent 
 and solidity of his patriotism, without resorting to intrigue 
 or management. He did not require, and he did not pos- 
 sess, the art, finesse and stratagems of the professional po- 
 litician; and was, therefore, untarnished by those vices, 
 which, politically, passions generate, to soil the character by 
 sores, as fevers deface the complexion by unsightly erup- 
 tions. He had no rival — -no competitor, because no man of 
 his age united in himself the same qualities, or had per- 
 formed the same services to his country: hence, no man 
 thought of attempting to rival one, to whom all bowed with 
 deference, as to a being of acknowledged superiority— and 
 to whom all were equally contented and proud to owe alle- 
 giance, as the virtuous and incomparable chief of their free 
 and unbiassed choice. 
 
 Less commanding in the scope of his public services, less 
 exalted in his political attitude, and less brillant in his ce- 
 lebrity, Mr. Jefferson was still equally transcendent in the 
 grasp of his mind, and equally distinguished for the value 
 of his public performances; intrinsically equal as a states- 
 man, though externally inferior to Washington in the attri- 
 butes of heroic splendour. To Thomas Jefferson we are 
 indebted for that great and magnificent creed of civil 
 LIBERTY which noM' defiues, secures, and protects our rights, 
 as men born equally free, equally entitled to the pursuit 
 and enjoyment of happiness, and equally qualified for the 
 exalted task of self-government. The Declaration of 
 Independence, which drew its existence from the lucid 
 force of his eloquent pen, inspired by the genuine spirit of 
 liberty, as well as sustained by the soundest doctrines of 
 philosophical truth, must ever be estimated as a production 
 sufficient to entitle him to the admiration and gratitude of 
 all people in all ages; and yet great as it intrinsically is, 
 as the special testament of American liberty, it is only to 
 be adequately appreciated by viewing it as the fountain of 
 human rights in every clime — as the grand foundation upon 
 E e2 
 
342 PARALLEL. 
 
 which every nation might erect the superstructure of Free- 
 dom — as the great root of human rights, from which grew 
 the branches of universal liberty, under whose shade every 
 man could enjoy his own vine, and his own fig-tree. Such, 
 rationally appreciated, is the inherent merit of that memo- 
 rable paper. 
 
 But its preciousness did not terminate in its production^ 
 nor was its great author to be satisfied with the mere pro- 
 mulgation of abstract principles, without feeling an ambi- 
 tion to give them a practical illustration which should de- 
 monstrate that they were adapted to the increase and 
 diftusion of human happiness. It was reserved for Jeffer- 
 son to direct the administration of the federal government 
 according to the Declaration of Indepeiidence, and to have 
 established in its principles the great landmarks of the 
 Constitution that was subsequently adopted; and which, 
 although not present in person, to influence, he was present 
 in spirit, speaking through the truths of that document all 
 that liberty and wisdom could have enunciated from the 
 glowing language of his tongue, had he been on the floor of 
 the Convention. In this there is a striking similitude be- 
 tween him and Washington; the two greatest documents of 
 the republic, the Farewell Address, and the Declara- 
 tion OF Independence, having been produced by them; 
 both invaluable, as containing the imperishable creed of 
 American Liberty, but produced under circumstances the 
 very opposite of each other, and for purposes wholly dis- 
 similar; the Declaration of Lidependeyice leading the way 
 to a separate government in a republican form, and the 
 Farewell Address being designed to perpetuate the Union, 
 and preserve liberty, by lessons derived from the experi- 
 ence of its great author. And fortune, as if to compen- 
 sate to Jefterson, for the superior glory of Washington, 
 had decreed that his name should not be appended to the 
 Declaration of Independence; so she equally favoured 
 Washington, in turn, by denying Jefferson the fame of sit- 
 ting in the Federal Convention. Here again, however, 
 Washington soars superior to the sage of Slonticello; for 
 Fortune, having given him an opportunity to compose his 
 Valedictory, as a set-off to the eclat of the Declaration; 
 while, on the part of Jefferson, he had not the power to over- 
 come the disadvantage of being excluded from tiie Conven- 
 tion of States that framed the Constitution! 
 
PARALLEL. 343 
 
 As it respects the comparative merits of the Declaration 
 and the Valedictory, it is difficult to determine which can 
 boast the superiority. It was the peculiar fortune of Jef- 
 ferson, and the peculiar felicity of his genius, incident to 
 the active benevolence of his heart, to establish in the De- 
 claration a radical principle of civil liberty, which, having 
 extorted the universal assent of mankind, has caused it to 
 be viewed as a standard of free government, which equally 
 defies tyranny to extinguish, and reason to controvert. 
 That standard consists in the defined and acknowledged 
 SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE, and their inalienable equal- 
 ity OF RIGHTS^ which, at that period, made a bold and dar- 
 ing inroad on established opinions, and inflicted on anti- 
 quated prejudices a startling and mortal shock, which ran 
 with the quickness of electricity through the nerves of man- 
 kind, waking nations from the death-slumber of despotism, 
 and causing thrones to totter, and empires to quake to their 
 centre. It was universal in its sweep — it was local in its 
 efficacy. In the radical principle it defines, we possess an 
 invaluable test of political justice, by which we may ad- 
 just all controversies in collateral questions of government, 
 or abuses of powers for it establishes points of policy as cer- 
 tain and as irrefragible as the axioms of mathematical truth, 
 or the unvarying principles of logic. Starting on the prin- 
 ciple of inherent sovereignty and inalienable rights in the 
 people, Jeff'erson furnished us with materials for that beau- 
 tiful theory and practice of government, whose power 
 extends only to the limit of expressly delegated authority, 
 which never can encroach upon the rights reserved by tlie 
 people, or pass beyond the reach of their control and final 
 recal; for it settled the responsibility of all public officers 
 to their principals, the people, at the same time that it 
 secured a recurrence to first principles to correct abuses; 
 which principles were rendered so obvious and just, as to 
 defy tyrants to obscure, suffi)cate, pollute or destroy them. 
 There is a merit in such an achievement which few states- 
 men can boast of; and yet this w^as not all, for to Jefterson 
 belongs the peculiar and undivided glory of not only the 
 origin, and the daring enterprize of the primary announce- 
 ment of the truths of the Declaration to the world, but the 
 higher merit of acting on them as the primary elements of 
 liberty, of deeper authority than the constitution itself. 
 The original suggestion, or authorship of this paper, there- 
 
344 PARALLEL. 
 
 fore, was not the eclipsing point of merit, belonging to his 
 genius and patriotism. When invested with the supreme 
 tunctions of government, it was his fortune to carry out, 
 into pracice, those radical doctrines of liberty which he had 
 so skilfully incorporated in the Declaration, thus giving 
 birth to a school rather than a party, who were wedded to 
 a consistent adherence to the practice of doctrines of re- 
 publican liberty, which that document had maintained in 
 theory with such captivating eloquence and resistless effect. 
 This was a high merit in Jetterson and his school, because 
 of tlie existence of an adverse party, which, while it tacitly 
 granted the eternal truths of the Declaration, yet felt dis- 
 posed to recede in practice from those grounds of right 
 which made power responsible to the people, reduced it to 
 the minimum of energy necessary to order, and lopped off 
 all excrescences of pomp, expense and perpetuity, which 
 might seduce it into extravagance, or inflate it with despo- 
 tism. Such were some of the peculiar beauties and merits 
 of the Declaration of Independence, which, in the thunders 
 of Washington's cannon, unrolled the scroll of human rights 
 to the delighted gaze of an astonished world, surprised at 
 tlieir own freedom, and bewildered with the consciousness 
 of their own power. 
 
 The Valedictory of Washington, with less of universal 
 interest, comprises infinitely more of domestic utility and 
 merit. It is the solemn record of wisdom, drawing its im- 
 portant truths from the infallible texts of history and eX' 
 perience; and announcing its precepts of public virtue, in 
 tlie hallowed tones of pure and disinterested patriotism. 
 It is the chart of that eternal ocean of time through which 
 the ship of our liberty is to be steered, on which is painted 
 the safe passage of the broad sea, the whirling pools and 
 eddies that engulph and drift the vessel into dangerous cur- 
 rents, and the rocks above, and the shoals beneath the waves, 
 which, when once touched, wreck her forever; at one spot 
 marking the cape of storms, and at another denoting the 
 treacherous silver of the surface, which tempts only to 
 destroy. It is the work of the greatest political pilot that 
 ever explored unknown regions for the happiness of man; 
 of the most able commander, that ever recorded the experi- 
 ence and observation of genius, for the benefit of his succes- 
 sors, and the safety of the republic, through all the tempests 
 of time, the changes of men, the vicissitudes of fortune. 
 
PARALLEL. 345 
 
 To the statesman, as well as to the people, it is more per- 
 manently valuable than the Declaration^ for whilst the vale- 
 dictory is read and reverenced, the public virtue will re- 
 main uncorrupted, the public liberty secure from encroach- 
 ment, the constitution safe from violation, faction will be 
 rebuked into something like decency even in its prostitu- 
 tions, and demagogues will tremble at the shadow of their 
 own vices, lest the voice of Washington, rising as it were 
 from the sepulchre, to swell the blast of the trump of liber- 
 ty, should rouse the just indignation of the people, to hurl 
 tliem to merited destruction. 
 
 The merit of these two papers are invaluable and pecu- 
 liar; and scarcely admit of that preference which would 
 decree superiority to either. One teaches all people to 
 attain freedom; the other teaches all free people how to pre- 
 serve their liberties, rights and prosperity, by virtue, mo- 
 deration and firmness. 
 
 The style of composition which marks the two papers is 
 admirably adapted to each, but that of the Valedictory is 
 more impressive, pleasing and opulent — being more rich, 
 full and flowing; whilst that of the Declaration is more con- 
 cise and formal, agreeably to its character; one was the 
 Corinthian, the other the Ionic temple. The style of Wash- 
 ington was easy yet dignified, lofty yet familiar; that of 
 Jefferson was more elaborate, learned and artificial, and 
 excites more admiration than^pleasure. In their epistolary 
 composition, Washington is superior, because less stiff and 
 more elegant. The letters of Jefferson smell of the lamp, 
 those of Washington are the graceful effusions of an ac- 
 complished mind, pouring out its spontaneous riches in a 
 stream of npttive eloquence, not solicitous of parade and 
 display, but intent on the single purpose before him; yet so 
 polished and refined as always to escape either error, or 
 negligence; being chaste without labour and beautiful with- 
 out art. In this respect Washington may be compared to 
 Caesar, and Jefferson to Cicero; except that the former had 
 less art than his Roman prototype; and the latter less elo- 
 quence, though equally figurative and rhetorical. And 
 here I will observe that the style of Mr. Jefferson partakes 
 largely of the exuberance and fertility of his noble imagina- 
 tion, while that of W^ashington seems more imbued with 
 good sense and fine feeling, than vivid fancy or glowing 
 sentiment; yet the power of composition, which distinguish- 
 
346 PARALLEL. 
 
 ed the latter, was truly surprising for a military man, 
 whose education had been so limited, and whose active 
 pursuits in life had been so far removed from the studies 
 of the closet, and the taste of the belles letters; a circum- 
 stance, however, which denotes the extraordinary genius 
 of the man, and which can alone account for that wonder- 
 ful career of distinguished success which attended all his 
 undertakings. 
 
 It is to be lamented that Jefferson ever questioned the 
 authorship of the Valedictory by Washington, by ascribing 
 it to Hamilton and Madison; because it betrays a feeling to 
 which Jefterson ought to have been superior, witliout the 
 ability to substantiate the fact alleged, which is reduced to 
 a pure fiction. Jefterson had enough of literary fame to 
 satisfy him, without wishing to deprive his great predeces- 
 sor of this wreath of his civic glory. Neither Madison nor 
 Hamiltoyi ever made pretensions to any share in the merit 
 of this transcendent production; which affords internal evi- 
 dence that it came from the same mind, the same pen 
 tliroughout; every part bearing testimony to the peculiar 
 train of thinking and style for which "Washington was so 
 distinguished; and which bears not the most remote affini- 
 ty to any thing that ever flowed from the nervous and con- 
 cise pens of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. 
 
 It may safely be alleged, that every hour that adds age 
 and vigour to the federal government, will add glory and 
 applause to this precious valedictory document; and that 
 as the people daily become more enlightened and virtuous, 
 more weaned from factions fomented by the passions of 
 other countries, and having no connection with our own, 
 tliey will also become daily converts to its sterling doc- 
 trines of republican virtue, and holding it not less sacred 
 than the constitution which it so beautifully expounds and 
 efficiently fortifies, they will cling to it as the ark of pO' 
 litical inspiration, from the true prophet of liberty. It is 
 utterly impossible to appreciate this state paper beyond its 
 real merits. Penetrating to the future with that extraordi- 
 nary prescience that distinguished this extraordinary man, 
 he has anticipated and portrayed every variety of political 
 crime — every feature of depraved demagogism — every dis- 
 tortion of factious lubricity, and feverish ambition, that 
 could arise to debauch our liberties, or, under the specious 
 professions of hollow patriotism, destroy our constitution. 
 
PARALLEL. 347 
 
 No events of our history — -no eras of our partieS"-no ex- 
 tended measures-^no novel policies of our country — no 
 fresh complexion newly laid on by upstart demagogues, or 
 frog-mire candidates— but will here be found depicted in 
 their true colours, by the admonishing voice of the paternal 
 Washington^ whose' purity of precept is only equalled by 
 his soundness of principle; and whose jealous solicitude for 
 the rights of the people has no parallel, but in the exalted 
 wisdom of his care that government should act v/ithout 
 impediment or obstruction, from the combinations of parties, 
 or false principles of resistance, disguised under colour of 
 right and freedom. 
 
 Free governments not only being established on the virtue 
 of the people, but depending for their permanency on the 
 culture and preservation of their moral purity, it has ever 
 been esteemed a source of great calamity, to have their 
 ideas of political morality depraved by bad examples; and 
 on the other hand, it has ever been thought a proportionate 
 blessing when the chiefs and leaders in a popular govern- 
 ment have deported themselves with a strict regard to truth, 
 candour, sincerity and justice. By observing an elevated 
 course of politioal morality; by never professing what there 
 is no intention to fulfil; by never feigning impracticable 
 reforms; and never fabricating fictitious and unfounded 
 charges against antagonist parties; but always acting on the 
 principle of truth, justice, and sincerity — a statesman may 
 do more to cement the liberties of his country, than by a 
 hundred battles, or the extermination of a thousand foes, or 
 myriads of hostile invaders. This was the peculiar merit 
 of George Washington; he was an honest and virtuous 
 statesman; who has left in his example, as well as his pre- 
 cepts, a model of public virtue, more precious to our liber- 
 ties, and more calculated to ensure the permanency of our 
 free institutions, than the capture of Forkloivn, or the victory 
 of Saratoga. Contrasted with Washington in this feature 
 of his character, Mr. Jefterson presents us with a display 
 of European finesse and insincerity in his political course, 
 which, as his admirer on the sound points of his mind, we 
 would fain behold buried in oblivion; but which his own 
 testimony has recorded on the page of history in features 
 too prominent to be either overlooked, or approved. This 
 is the more to be regretted, as he had so much in his power 
 of a contrary nature; being so pre-eminently qualified both 
 
348 PARALLEL. 
 
 bj genius and education, to exhibit to the people in the 
 beautiful language of eloquence, the advantages of public 
 virtue, and the true glory which attends upon a strict ad- 
 herence to truth, and a rigid practice of sincerity, honesty, 
 and candour, which in all ages have extorted the applause 
 and veneration of mankind. By pursuing such a course, he 
 would have saved his country from that deluge of foreign 
 passions which infuriate factions let loose upon us; and he 
 would have abstained from that fabrication of monarchical 
 plots and designs, in which no sane mind could believe with- 
 out supposing a weakness of reason, and a force of passion, 
 wholly repugnant to his philosophical habits of enquiry and 
 reflection. But, by depraving the political morality of the 
 people by fiction and intrigue, he laid the foundation of 
 those violent struggles of party which have gone so near 
 breaking up this happy confederacy into discordant frag- 
 ments, and tearing society in pieces by civil commotion, 
 and factious brawls. In this respect, therefore, Washing- 
 ton was the very opposite of his successor: for the former 
 was truly the SOUL of honour, candour, andxRUXHi who 
 never feigned what he did not feel — and never felt but at 
 the impulse of honesty and justice. 
 
 There was no one point of perfect equality between 
 the external advcmtages of these two transcendant men ', 
 in every position of fortune, JeiFerson being the inferior; 
 nor was it possible to alter this relation of their destiny. 
 When the commander in chief of the armies of a nation 
 combines in himself virtue, public spirit, and splendid ge- 
 nius, together with the high functions of the supreme head 
 of the government, his superiority becomes too manifest to 
 be disputed, if the people are universally satisfied with his 
 rule; and this was in an eminent manner the case with 
 Washington, who was thus compelled to shun, instead of 
 coveting, the burden of public honors. The situation of Jef- 
 ferson was precisely the reverse; and hence much of that 
 diversity which marked their respective characters. 
 
 Both were equally ardent, and honorably distinguished 
 in their espousal of the principles of Liberty, and the De- 
 claration ot Independence: — both were equally devoted to 
 human rights and to human happiness, as the only just and 
 rational end of all good government. At the commence- 
 ment of the revolution, and up to the era of the adoption 
 of the Constitution, both agreed harmoniously upon the 
 
PARALLEL. 349 
 
 means necessary to ensure that object; and Mr. Jefterson 
 went so far as to proclaim himself a disciple of consolida- 
 tion, from which he afterwards dissented, on the power to 
 incorporate a bank, and some minor points of the organic 
 laws. It was the French revolution that came with an awful 
 thunder-clap upon their harmony, when the banner of blood 
 terrified Washington from democratic anarchy, and nerved 
 the ambition of Jefferson to ride on the whirlwind and direct 
 the storm. 
 
 From the earliest date of American politics, there is no 
 reason to believe that any essential difference of opinion 
 existed between Washington and Jefferson, until the fer- 
 ment produced by the French revolution acted so violently 
 on public opinion in the United States, as to attempt io force 
 an ALLIANCE with France, in the cause of Liberty, and in- 
 duce a war with England, as a test of the sincerity of our 
 republicanism. At this time, when we can calmly take a 
 retrospection of the fallacious feelings of that era, we can 
 smile with philosophical coolness at the mistaken ideas that 
 then fomented illusions so gross, and led to prejudices so 
 totally unfounded. It was destined, however, that tlie cool 
 penetration and unperturbed sagacity of W^ashington should 
 detect the true character of the sanguinary assassins of 
 France, and resist all allurements, arguments, and intimi- 
 dations, to become a party to the battles of European cor- 
 ruption, and maintain the integrity of American policy, on 
 the pure and independent basis of American principles. 
 In this abstraction from the quarrels and intrigues of Eu- 
 rope, Mr. Jefferson not only then concurred, but continued 
 to enforce it up to the latest day of his existence; whilst, 
 during his administration, he successfully parried the cross- 
 thrusts of the belligerents, without resorting to war: and, 
 making due allowance for his partiality to France, and his 
 antipathy to England, he certainly managed to avoid hos- 
 tilities with signal address, admirable management, and 
 much diplomatic skill. But this is rather digressing from 
 the point immediately before us. 
 
 There was some exception, however, to this unison of 
 opinion between them on minor points of national policy 
 —•such as the Bank of the United States, the Funded Debt 
 and the Protective System; but this variation of views did 
 not beget that discordant hostility which results from colli- 
 sions generated by popula i passions, and tlie inflammatory 
 
350 PARALLEL* 
 
 feelings of party. On these questions of constitutional 
 right, or State expediency, no passion was agitated, no 
 pride wounded, no vanity ruffled, no interest blasted, no 
 ambition baffled, no feeling chafed. It was a mere differ- 
 ence of abstract opinion, and ended with the expression of 
 dissent. Far otherwise was that generated by the question 
 of the French Revolution, which caused every heart to leap, 
 and every vein to swell with passion, which seized on the 
 minds of the people like a raging fire, warming them with 
 enthusiastic devotion towards souls of congenial liberty, 
 and kindling implacable hate against all who would not 
 mingle in the madness of the hour. Political friendship 
 might live and flourish in the first named atmosphere of 
 honest difference of opiyiion, but was wholly incompatible 
 with the scorching heat of that era, whose volcanic eruptions 
 of blood and anarchy threatened to sweep to destruction 
 every opposing sentiment, and to immolate on the altar of 
 popular vengeance, all who should dare to pause ere they 
 yielded their plaudits to the blood smeared actors in the 
 Tragedy of Mankiiid. Humanity would instinctively 
 hesitate to contemplate the consequences. Interest would 
 boldly dash into the current^ and secure the effect of popu- 
 larity, by sharing in the common infatuation of the hour. 
 
 Whether it was owing to superior felicity of fortune or 
 genius, or greater power of penetrating to the final result 
 of principles and events, may be doubtful; but it is certain 
 that Washington was guilty of little, or no inconsistency, 
 while Mr. Jefferson's course is marked by a constant suc- 
 cession of fluctuating opinions and opposite views. Thus, 
 we are presented in the old age of Jeflerson with the singular 
 spectacle of his denunciation of the French revolution, and 
 his exulting joy produced by the restoration of the Bour- 
 bons! The period of this change of opinion was February 
 14, 1815, which will be found tully expressed in his letter 
 to Lafayette of that date; and which manifests a contra- 
 diction of views, in regard to foreign politics, not less re* 
 markable, than he displayed in relation to our domestic 
 policy, during the course of his administration. It may be 
 asked, if he is to be denied the privilege of correcting his 
 opinions by the lights of history, and gaining increase of 
 wisdom from the voice of time? Assuredly not. But 
 our position is this, that it was the peculiar fortune of 
 Washington never to miscalculate events, or to embrace 
 
PARALLEL. 351 
 
 novelties as blessings, which the course of experience de- 
 monstrated as calamitous and afflicting; while on the con- 
 trary, it was the misfortune of Mr. Jefferson to be a perpe- 
 tual victim to change, deluded by the glare of every novelty. 
 It was doubly a misfortune in this instance, however, that 
 Jefferson should have made so great a transition from the 
 extreme of jPrenc/i liberty to the opposite extreme of Bour- 
 bon despotism. 
 
 All men are honest, frank, sincere, and free from dissi- 
 mulation, when their ambition and interest, maintaining an 
 even pace, leaves them under the just influence of their 
 passions, on the commonly received opinions of right and 
 wrong. It is only when some great and extraordinary 
 object of interest, or ambition interposes, to tempt integrity 
 from its high-road, that the mind begins to entangle its 
 thoughts and principles into a shape the best calculated to 
 attain a desired end; and insensibly loses its candour and 
 sincerity in the windings of finesse and the mesches of in- 
 trigue. It was unfortunate for the fame of Mr. Jefferson that 
 the French revolution ever existed; and on the contrary, it 
 was fortunate for "Washington that it arose to test his firm- 
 ness, and illustrate his total independence and purity of 
 character. It was unfortunate for Jefferson, because it 
 tempted him to change the character of the statesman for 
 the politician, and to stir those waters which are always 
 fraught with bitterness, and too often impregnated with 
 poison to him who slakes the thirst of ambition at their 
 fountains. 
 
 Washington having no motive to court the people, by 
 whom he was idolised before there existed any office to con- 
 fer upon him, save his military command, of no profit, of 
 tast peril and doubtful honour! was frank, plain and ho- 
 nest in all his opinions and dealings with the public, and 
 could afford to even sacrifice his popularity to his duty. 
 Nor was he only frank; he was courageously just, obsti- 
 nately right, sternly honest by nature; and as it respected 
 the weight of his popular infiuence, this rather required to 
 be tamed, than stimulated or increased by artificial means. 
 Jefferson, on the contrary, who at the bloody dawn of the 
 French revolution got a glimpse of power, had to work his 
 way to supreme authority, through a host of rivals, who 
 were the declared friends, par excellence^ of Washington; 
 and who, while they equalled, or surpassed him in civil 
 
S3^ PARALLEL. 
 
 qualifications, overtopped him at that period in popular 
 esteem: besides, he had but one branch of talent to move 
 in, and was to depend solely on his genius, which was cer- 
 tainly great; on his science, which was profound and vari- 
 ous; and on his tact and management as a politician, in 
 which he was excelled by none, to make his way to popular 
 favour, so as to enable him to gain the Presidential Chair. 
 I say, he had but one field of talent to operate in to gain 
 popularity, because his philosophical attainments could not 
 be appreciated by the great mass of the population; and 
 however they might fix him in the esteem of tiie learned, 
 they could not promote his popularity with the people. He 
 was accordingly thrown on his diplomatic resources; and if 
 he lost some of his sincerity in being compelled to finesse 
 for the game, he had the consolation of success to reconcile 
 him to the censure of honest men. Compelled, therefore, 
 to resort to someof/c«_/j^«n(/?wimethodof winning the favor 
 and applause of the million, he seized on the first popular 
 effervescence to launch his bark upon the current; and when 
 the French revolution broke out with such a buist of flame, 
 such clouds of smoke, and sucli torrents of bluud, iind he 
 perceived that Washington was too sternly honest, as well 
 as literally sincere, even to colour his Neutral Policy with 
 one aftected tinge of the gore of France, lest he should be 
 swayed from his duty by the impulses of feeling — that he 
 would not even pretend to feel a sympathy for our ancient 
 ally in arms, when she flung herself to bathe in the ocean 
 blood of liberty — 'when she got drunk with blood to vomit 
 crime;' but that he remained strictly and honestly consis- 
 tent, with what both Jefterson and himself believed to be 
 the true policy of the nation; when Jefterson saw this, 
 he discovered at a glance, that the pathway to power had at 
 last opened to him, in a burst of popularity never before 
 equalled; for the people, more prone to feel than to think, 
 and more apt to think erroneously than right, unless they 
 do feel y had embraced the cause of France, because it was 
 the cause of liberty, without knowing how it might tarnish 
 the faith, or injure the interest of the nation. On this occa- 
 sion it was, that Jefferson began to aberrate from that high 
 principle of sincerity, which reduced him to an inferiority 
 to Washington, by practising on the distinction between the 
 character of the politician and that of the statesman; and to 
 ^ct a part in the former capacity, which was inconsistent 
 
PARALLEL. 353 
 
 with his principles and opinions, in the latter: for he fully 
 agreed with Wasliington, that it was the true policy of the 
 United States, not to involve her interests in the quarrels 
 of Europe. But the flood of liberty, as it bore public opi- 
 nion whirling on its bosom, was too tempting to be resisted 
 either by a laudable or a prurient ambition. It opened on 
 him a light somewhat analogous to the glare of military 
 renown, in its bloody and ferocious beamsj that shed on his 
 philosophical garments some of the reflected blaze of the 
 heroes of the Guillotine and the Martyrs of Monarchy! To 
 stand aloof on such a tempting crisis, would have shown a 
 degree of prudery that his public character did not require j 
 and which would have been as much out of place, as it 
 would have been for Washington to assume the attitude of 
 a demagogue, by plunging the nation into an alliance with 
 France, and a wanton war against England. Their positions 
 and their characters, their objects and their interests, were 
 diametrically opposite. One was President, the other but 
 a candidate in imagination 5 whose hopes of power at some 
 future day, were but just expanding into blossom, and 
 shooting forth those green buds of glory that carry so sweet 
 a perfume to the heart. Yet Washington, in the same cir- 
 cumstances, would not so have acted 5 for he disliked the 
 glare of public lifej and always retreated from, instead of 
 wooing honors; while Jefterson, though averse to public 
 ceremony, exact forms, and ostentatious displays, was yet 
 fond of the possession of power, and took great pleasure in 
 its exercise, though opposed to its parade and display. In 
 this latter quality, there was a close resemblance between 
 them; for Jefferson himself informs us that all of the cere- 
 monies which distinguished the administration of Washing- 
 ton, were forced upon him by Colonel Humphreys and Ge- 
 neral Knox, much to his own mortification, as he always had 
 an invincible repugnance to public parade. 
 
 Here again, however, we are presented with a perfect 
 parallel between the conduct of Washington towards 
 France, in resisting an alliance and preserving neutrality, 
 and that of Jefferson, when President, in steering clear of 
 any alliance with her or England, during the times of the 
 paper blockades, and the Berlin and Milan decrees; which 
 proves how strictly Jeft'erson imitated W^ashington, when 
 placed in power, though he affected to censure him with 
 such severity, when that great and pure Chief, saved us 
 Ff2 
 
354 PARALLEL. 
 
 from the stain of a concurrence in the bloody forms, and 
 wild excesses of the French revolution: and which absti- 
 nence the people sanctioned, as was shown by the election 
 of John Adams, on whom had fallen the mantle of Wash- 
 ington; but who so little knew how to preserve its purity 
 unblemished, or to appreciate its real intrinsic virtues, in 
 the spirit of the first wearer. 
 
 But it is remarkable, that two great revolutions, the two 
 greatest of modern times, and ancient history presents us 
 with none similar, were the occasions of exalting Washing- 
 ton and Jefferson to the Presidential chair; for it was indu- 
 bitably the French revolution that opened to Jefferson the 
 door of the palace, and prepared the way far his future en- 
 trance. It is the more extraordinary, because Jefferson thus 
 derived all the advantage of military achievements, without 
 drawing a sword; his mere approbation of the civil commo- 
 tion of France, having procured him the support of all its 
 votaries, admirers and disciples in this country, as the vic- 
 tories of Washington had done in respect to all the lovers 
 of American independence. Thus, the moment that John 
 Adams had abused the strong government of Washington, 
 by drawing the cords too tight, which caused so powerful 
 a reaction of public opinion, Jefferson stood ready, fully 
 attired in the robes of liberty, to enter the Presidential 
 chair, merely in virtue of his sympathy for France, bloody 
 and reckless and tyrannical as she was, and without having 
 changed essentially any of those principles and opinions 
 which had qualified him to act in concert with Washington, 
 in his cabinet, on all great national questions, with the 
 exception of the Bank of the United States and the 
 Funded Debt: two measures, which, although deemed 
 monarchical by Jefferson, have received the deliberate 
 sanction of his ultra democratic successors, Madison and 
 Monroe. * 
 
 * As late as 1813, Mr. Jefferson declared, that he held no diffe- 
 rence of pohtical principle with Washington; that it was a mere dif- 
 ference of sentiment or idea. He says — ' The only point in which 
 he and I ever differed in opinion, was, that I had more confidence 
 than he had in the natural integrity and discretion of the people, 
 and in the safety and extent to which they might trust themselves 
 with a control over their government. He has asseverated to me a 
 thousand times his determination that the existing government 
 should have a fair trial, and that in support of it he would spend the 
 
PARALLEL. 
 
 555 
 
 After all motive for finesse and management was re- 
 moved by the induction of Jefterson into power, the course 
 of his administration fully demonstrated this identity of 
 principle and policy with that of Washington, exhibiting 
 that remarkable fact, which establishes a radical difference 
 of perceptions and principles between the higher order of 
 politicians, and those who move with the multitude, under 
 a fallacious and delusive faith in the infallibility and honesty 
 of those they worship; the remarkable fact to which I make 
 allusion is this: that his administration differed in no essen- 
 tial point of PRINCIPLE from that of Washington; thus 
 showing, that liberty as understood by the multitude, never 
 can enter into the elements of government, notwithstanding 
 the words, 'Democracy,' 'Freedom,' 'Equality,' may 
 be rung through all their changes by leaders or dema- 
 gogues, in order to deceive the people into a happy submis- 
 sion to the yoke which they must bear, no matter who ad- 
 ministers the laws which compel them to obedience, as the 
 laws must be administered by all in the same way; and the 
 Constitution is not so flexible as to admit of gross usurpa- 
 tions, without exposing the outrage to popular correction. 
 But Jefferson was every way favoured by fortune, as a Pre- 
 sident — first, in having Washington to precede him in 
 power, with whose main policy he co-operated and coincided 
 in; and secondly, in having Adams to violate the Constitu- 
 tion by the Alien and Sedition Laws, which brought into 
 splendid contrast, the republican professions of Jefferson, 
 
 last drop of his blood.' 'It is a mere calumny, therefore, in the 
 monarchists to associate General Wsshington with their principles. 
 But that may have happened in this case, wliich has been often seen 
 in ordinary cases, that, by often repeating- an untruth, men come to 
 believe it themselves. It is a mere artifice in this party to bolster 
 themselves up on the revered name of that first of our worthies.' 
 Yet Mr. Jefferson certainly orig-inated *the calumny,' and repeated 
 *the untruth!' But giil this he had forgotten, when he denounced 
 its author as a monarchist! 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Madison, written in 1788, he furnishes ample 
 proof, by the hig-h encomiums he passed on the * Federalist,' as * the 
 best commentary on the principles of government which ever was 
 written,' that he differed in no fundamental maxims from Washing- 
 ton. In the same letter, too, he shows that he distrusted the people 
 quite as much as Washington, for he joins Mr, Madison in deprecat- 
 ing a convention to revise the Constitution, which he then so cor- 
 dially approved; and indeed at no period ever condemned. 
 
356 PARALLEL. 
 
 which then covered him with one dazzling and effulgent 
 glow of liberty. 
 
 Jefferson possessed another advantage over Washington, 
 which gave liim an eclat with the people, out of all propor- 
 tion to the real measure of their respective merits on the 
 score of liberty, for no republican ever breathed more ardent 
 devotion to true liberty than Washington, every fibre of 
 whose heart vibrated to the wind of freedom, and beat re- 
 sponsive throbs of sympathy to the Rights of Man. This 
 advantage in Jefferson, was his having the ivorst President 
 as his immediate predecessor. It was in fact, the vice of 
 John Adams' administration, which proved so fortunate for 
 Mr. Jefferson; which enabled him to relieve an oppressed 
 people from the persecution of Mien and Sediti07i Laws^ 
 and the burden of Excise and Stam/i Acts^ with all the 
 train of evils consequent upon the total perversion of the 
 government, to say nothing of the projected Union of 
 Church and State, as alleged by Jefferson to be meditated 
 by his predecessor, John Adams. In these particulars, Jef- 
 ferson possessed many brilliant advantages over Washing- 
 ton, who had no wicked administration to bring in contrast 
 to his pure, virtuous and patriotic government: and it must 
 be observed, that the greatest impressions are always made 
 on the mass of the community, by contrasts, and not by the 
 intrinsic merit of positive virtue and talent. 
 
 An essential difference marked their various genius, in 
 its active power; Washington's inclining more to repose, 
 tranquillity, and acquiescence, and that of Jefferson being 
 active, belligerent, revolutionary, seditious, agitating, and 
 enterprising, and of course, capable of greater benefits to 
 mankind. But, unfortunately, this superiority of volition 
 in Jefferson was rendered in a great degree nugatory, by 
 that visionary temper of his mind, which, always rioting in 
 hypothesis, too often left him a victim to chimeras, when 
 he ought to have been projecting jorrtc/ica/ benefits for socie- 
 ty; in whicli Washington, tliough less active in intellect, 
 was more fortunate and successful. 
 
 It is not one of the least interesting traits common to 
 these two illustrious men, that they should both be engaged 
 at the same time in the attainment of the revolution, by 
 opposite, but not less important, or less efficacious means — 
 one by military movements, and the other by civil reforma- 
 tions; for, while Washington was giving all the energies of 
 
PARALLEL. 357 
 
 his mind to vanquish or extirpate the mercenary troops of 
 Britain, Jefferson was devoting his davs and nights to pull- 
 ing down the gothic strong holds ot'English judicial tyranny, 
 and demolishing those feudal citadels of oppression, injus- 
 tice, and superstition, which were entrenched by a system 
 of laws, founded in the individual caprice of the tyrants of 
 a barbarous age. By revising the civil and criminal code 
 of Virginia, and substituting ordinances emanating from 
 the principles of liberty, and based on the rock of equity 
 and right, for laws founded in regal caprice, or military 
 despotism, Mr. Jefferson rose to an elevation not inferior 
 to the fame of Solon, or Lycurgus; for his success in abol- 
 ishing the law of Entails'" and Primogeniture, alone, 
 will forever immortalise him as a patriot, and cause him to 
 be held in veneration as a philanthropist and statesman of 
 the highest grade. Perhaps no country has ever before been 
 so signally blessed, bv having two such great minds occu- 
 pied at the same time"^ in the discharge of military and civil 
 functions, so indispensable to the completion and confirma- 
 tion of its liberties. 
 
 Through every \icissitude of the revolution, destiny still 
 assigned to both the most responsible stations of usefulness 
 to their country; and it was a remarkable circumstance in 
 their history, that while the signature of Washington is 
 wanting to the Declaration of Independence, owing to his 
 being at the head of the army prior to that event, that Jef- 
 ferson should have been absent from the Convention which 
 adopted the Constitution, under the Presidentship of the 
 former. At this latter period, however, Jefferson was as 
 usefully employed in his peculiar element, negociating 
 loans and treaties of commerce with the powers of Europe, 
 and winning for his country that moral and political weight 
 of charactei-^which always attends a nation from the genius, 
 learning, tact, and philosophy of its ambassadors; so that, 
 in respect to the moral elevation of the United States in the 
 eyes of Europe, Jefterson contributed by his talents of di- 
 plomacy, and his literary acquirements, as Washington did 
 at home by his military deeds and civil services. Three 
 such men' as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and 
 John Adams, representing us in Europe, would cause the 
 country to be as much respected as the capture of a British 
 army of ten thousand men. When John Jay returned 
 from Europe, he declared that the man who stood highest 
 
358 PARALLEL. 
 
 on the roll of fame, among the Americans, after Washing- 
 ton, was Alexander Hamilton; so, we may add, that the 
 third was Thomas Jefterson. 
 
 It is on many accounts to be lamented, that Jefterson 
 was absent from the country during the session of the Fe- 
 deral Convention, and that he had not a seat in it when 
 the Constitution was adopted: for it is highly probable, that 
 his being away may have kindled that jealousy of its provi- 
 sions, and that envy of the fame of its authors, which were 
 a part of his nature, and which caused him to feel more dis- 
 satisfied with their work than he otherwise would have 
 been, from a pure intellectual review of its merits and de- 
 fects. This is manifested by his letters, approving of all 
 its provisions at the time, and suggesting tlie amendments 
 which were subsequently appended to it. Had he been one 
 of its authors, the croakings of his criticisms would have 
 been silenced; for in that case, the discrepancy of his views 
 touching the tiational bank, the funding system, and the 
 rights of the States, would have been compromised, or set- 
 tled and adjusted to a distinct understanding; besides, the 
 force of his genius, the extent of his Icai-nlng, and the per- 
 spicacity of his intellect, brought directly to bear upon the 
 subject, would no doubt have suggested improvements, 
 which, when not excited by the imposing dignity and im- 
 portance of the occasion, would not be so likely to occur 
 to him. So that, considered in any light, his presence in 
 the Convention would probably have prevented all those 
 party feuds which were afterwards engendered under the 
 pressure, or the pretence of those discrepancies. 
 
 A disposition prone to jealousy, and envious of others, 
 seems, in some measure, natural to genius when combined 
 with literature; which, as it gives birth to criticism, is sure 
 to engender captiousness. Washington, exempt from these 
 frailties, because not possessing the propensity that gave 
 them birth, appears in a more amiable, if not a more exalted 
 light than Jefterson, the controversial action of whose mind 
 constantly exposed him to the influence of passions embit- 
 tered by the infusion of jealous ideas, or disturbed by the 
 irritation of envious feelings. Yet this jealous propensity 
 had nothing abasingly little about it; for a great mind is 
 only jealous of great objects; and what excited the envy 
 of Jefferson would have exacted the veneration of inferior 
 beings. 
 
PARALLEL. 359 
 
 In another respect, this literary passion of Jefterson proved 
 of serious disadvantage to his fame, by realising the excla- 
 mation of the ancient prophet, ' Oh ! that mine enemy had 
 written a book!' But who can resist the impulse of ge- 
 nius? — who can escape the decree of destiny! It was suffi- 
 cient that his mind was imbued with '- the divine fir e^ — that 
 it was filled with the love of antiquity, garnished with mo- 
 dern science, and fermented by the true spirit of philoso- 
 phical improvement. Such being the facts, it followed al- 
 most as a necessary consequence, that Jefferson should 
 leave belund him a voluminous production of 'Memoirs,' 
 'State Papers,' 'Anas,' 'Correspondence,' and other 
 works, in which the secret thoughts of his heart were re- 
 corded, his motives revealed, his springs of action con- 
 fessed, and the whole moral economy of the man and the 
 statesman laid bare to our view by the skilful operation of 
 his own dissecting knife; and which, while it casts a glare 
 of light upon the track of his political pilgrimage, for which 
 history must ever stand indebted to his candour, at the 
 same time enters a powerful plea of extenuation for much 
 of the frailty that it unconsciously exposes. In this, Jef- 
 ferson differed essentially from Washington, who, besides 
 that he had no literary passion, or ambition to gratify, had 
 no secret history to endite. It is our peculiar genius that 
 creates the necessity for its exercise, or makes the meat it 
 feeds on. Jefferson was scientific, inventive, literary; 
 hence he was led into theories; these seduced him to simu- 
 lation; hypotheses gave birth to plots and schemes, which 
 all required literary talent and tact to conceal, shadow, 
 expand, manage, direct, digest, and eventually explain, 
 reconcile, harmonise, excuse, palliate or justify. Washing- 
 ton, if he was destitute of the charms and flowers and graces 
 of mere literature, or philosophy, was of course without 
 the schemes it engenders, and free from the intrigues that 
 mark the career of the profound theorist and speculator. 
 Above the entanglements of party — exempt from the 
 mesches of personal politics, and exalted above the schemes 
 and plots of rivals, he had no history of his heart to reveal^ 
 distinct from the history of his country — he had used no 
 management to explain away, and devised no plots to be 
 cleared up — he had inflicted no wounds on the reputations 
 of others, whose smartings called for balm to be poured 
 into them before they would close and heal. Thus, if he 
 
360 PARALLEL* 
 
 left no volumes to record his own glory of private genius 
 by his own pen, he left no deeds that might obscure that 
 glory, by the efforts used to palliate, excuse, or defend 
 them. If, therefore, as a philosopher and an author, Wash- 
 ington left no works behind him, the disadvantage is more 
 than made up by his single hearted sincerity, and honoura- 
 ble confidence, which never suspected depravity of another, 
 never designed evil to those around him, and never recorded 
 the poisonous whisperings of any against the fame and in- 
 tegrity of his friends. 
 
 It must not be understood, however, that I mean to dis- 
 parage those beautiful productions of the pen of Washing- 
 ton, which, in the form of his ' Valedictory,' of his let- 
 ters, of his MESSAGES, and other public documents, carry 
 about them all those native charms of style, and unaffected 
 elegance of composition, which, without being laboured, 
 always please, and without foppishness, always shine: con- 
 genial to the character of their author, combining majesty 
 with grace, and uniting elegance to manly vigour. 
 
 The minds of both were constructed on the heroic model; 
 soaring to great ideas, and rejecting all that was grovelling 
 or derogatory, while the circle of their perceptions was as 
 unlimited as the range of their thoughts, and as universal 
 as the bounds of science. The mind of Jeff*erson, however, 
 was made up more artificially from the stores of learning 5 
 while that of Washington was replete with the spontaneous 
 riches of an exuberant and creating genius, sprouting into 
 verdure, buds, and blossoms, whenever touched by the 
 dews of reflection, or warmed by the vivid glow of duty, 
 excitement, patriotism, or glory. 
 
 The nice shades of diff*erence, and beautiful diversity 
 existing between two illustrious minds, constitutes the most 
 pleasing theme of history; and while it prompts us to bow 
 to the majesty of virtue, which shines forth in the character 
 of Washington, it extorts no less reverence and admiration 
 for the colossal frame of the intellect of Jefferson; which 
 was evidently organised on a system of more exact science, 
 and purer ratiocination, than that of the first President. 
 The propensity of Jeff*erson was to the closet, to deep re- 
 search, pure science, profound metaphysics, elaborate phi- 
 losophy, strict analysis, undaunted reason, mixed with a 
 chastened but vivid imagination, rife with creations, but 
 never rioting in profuse fertility. Jefferson was all per- 
 
, PARALLEL. 361 
 
 spicacity, acuteness, system, principle, resting on the regu- 
 lar gradation of abstract truth, branching out into beautiful, 
 and often fanciful theories, such as we behold in his Notes 
 071 Virginia^ connected with the improvement and happi- 
 ness of mankind, and directed to the perfectability of free 
 government and the human mind. Yet his literary in- 
 tegrity was not encircled, like that of Washington, by the 
 splendour of unvaried truth; and his propensity to mystiji' 
 cation, too often obscured his meaning, enveloped his senti- 
 ments in doubt, and curtained, amidst clouds of sophistry, 
 the real features of his opinions. This defect probably 
 arose from the perversion of the moral faculty caused 
 originally by his study and practice of law, and afterwards 
 confirmed by the habits of equivocation, subterfuge and 
 finesse, incident to the science and art of diplomacy; for 
 a negociator is but a lawyer pleading with nations, reserv- 
 ing points for equivocation, and retreating behind verbal 
 distinctions, to escape the award of truth, or the mortifi- 
 cation of confessing to injustice. On the contrary, the 
 intellect of Washington resembled the pure azure of the 
 heavens, which sparkled with truth, and was undimned by 
 a cloud; and yet in force, in art, in finesse, in imagination, 
 in science, was inferior, on the whole, to that of the sage 
 of Monticello. Though not irregular, or eccentric, it was 
 more desultory and less classical than that of Jefferson; it 
 was self -formed^ had not been so strictly disciplined by a 
 rigid education, and was more made up from observation, 
 experience, living wisdom and actual knowledge of the 
 world. Although capable of great volition and pregnant 
 with vast ideas, the leading trait of his mind was the un- 
 mixed gravity of wisdom, the dignified conception of truth, 
 the lofty contemplation of principles self-evidently true, 
 or established by facts, on the system of Bacon's philoso- 
 phy of induction; so that he was inferior to Jefferson in 
 that vivacity of imagination which caused that philosopher 
 to sport so often on the wings of speculation, theory, and 
 abstract systems. In this consisted the great difference 
 between them. Had Jefferson been educated to war, he 
 would have made a very enterprising, but not a safe gene- 
 ral; and had Washington devoted his mind to philosophy, 
 he would have rejected all error, however specious or bril- 
 liant, and established on a foundation not to be shaken, the 
 inductive philosophy of Bacon, where the apex of theory 
 
363 PARALLEL* 
 
 should tower, like the pyramids of Egypt, gradually from 
 the expansive base of facts, in all the beauty and grandeur 
 of indestructible truth. 
 
 Washington was magnanimous and unsuspecting, be- 
 cause intrepid, honest and fearless. Jefferson rather in- 
 clined to the opposite qualities, for he was deficient in that 
 high degree of physical as well as moral courage that we 
 look for in great men, as well as suspicious, for he seems 
 to have been really of the belief that his opponents desired 
 to overturn the republic, and erect on its ruins the splen- 
 dours of monarchy^ a belief so monstrous as to class itself 
 among the most gross infatuations of the bewildered fana- 
 ticks of any age. And here I must remark a contradiction 
 in Jefferson's philosophy, which did not tend to elevate 
 him above his illustrious model 3 for with all his vigour of 
 reason, he fell into the weakness of politiccd fanaticism, if 
 he was sincere in his suspicions of monarchical designs on 
 the part of Hamilton and Adams ^ and if he only affected 
 that belief for joar/?/ purposes^ he became equally culpable 
 on another score. Yet in politics, he was, at all periods 
 of his life, inclined to politiccd fanaticism, consulting pas- 
 sion instead of reason, and looking to monstrous crimes in 
 his opponents with a full belief, without reference to mo- 
 tive, object, or consequences. Credulity ought not to have 
 led him to keep a journcd of slanderous imputations against 
 the first patriots of the republic, nor ought passion to have 
 stamped such atrocious aspersions with the hue of proba- 
 bility. This political yVmw/rtcism could not be ascribed to 
 his ambition, for he retained its weakness to the day of his 
 death, and when he was induced to acquit John Adams of 
 all designs of monarchy, he was still ready to lay the same 
 treason at the door of Pickering. Now Washington was 
 too truly philosophical to fall into i\\\^ fanaticism; \\e never 
 believed the plot of monarchy, and Jefferson did not crimi- 
 nate him for his scepticism! Why? Because Jefferson 
 did not believe it to the conviction of his reason, and never 
 adduced the charge, but in moments of political excite- 
 ment, vf\\^n passion, not judgment, stood at the helm; and 
 when at a loss for a reason to justify his political dislikes 
 and antipathies, he could, in an ad-captandum way, allege 
 the plot of monarchy, which, like the old cabalistic terms 
 of faction in Great Britain, silenced all opposition, and 
 superceded all argument, by the cry of ' Popery! Popery 1 
 Popery!" 
 
PARALLEL. oDo 
 
 I repeat, that when compared to Jefferson, on this score, 
 Washington rises to a decided superiority; for he was even 
 more exposed than the former, to all those temptations 
 which shake reason from her centre, to the weakness of 
 political fanatacismi He was more exposed in 1793, dur- 
 ing the French revolution, and might, with equal reason, 
 have charged the democrats with Jacobinical designs, but 
 he did not; he knew their motives to be pure, and though 
 his well-poised mind would not permit him to fall into the 
 popular enthusiasm for French liberty, still he favoured 
 her revolution, up to the time when it became dangerous to 
 the peace of the country to give it positive encouragement; 
 and if he warned the people against the perils of self-created 
 societies, 'his candour proved his conviction of their honesty, 
 as it showed the obligation of duty, under which he thought 
 he was acting in making the admonishment. 
 
 As the father of the protective system to American manu- 
 factures, to Washington belongs the exclusive merit of 
 founding that system, which has so exuberantly contributed 
 to the wealth, vigour and resources of the country; while 
 to Jefferson belongs whatever merit may attach to the doc- 
 trines oi free-trade, connected with the principles of State 
 rights^ as an agent by which to resist the protective policy. 
 Yet, in some measure, Mr. Jefferson's domestic system of 
 non-intercourse with foreign nations, involves the principle 
 of encouragement of home industry, without a resort to 
 protective revenue. This system of protection, as one of 
 the collateral branches of 7iationcd independence, received 
 the decided approbation of Washington, as a prominent 
 feature of the federal policy, naturally growing out of the 
 Constitution, and formed a prominent object of contention 
 between the two chiefs, Hamilton reporting in favour of 
 protection, and sustained by Congress; and Jefferson, sus- 
 tained by Madison, reporting for general free trade, and 
 partial protection, as a measure of retaliation only, but 
 never sustained by Congress. So that, when we contrast 
 this part of their policy, that of Washington, as it respects 
 the wealth of the nation, is superior; while that of Jeffer- 
 son, as it respects the local interests and individual liber- 
 ties of the States, has its peculiar merit. But here, as in 
 every other difference between them, the policy of Wash- 
 ington was of great practical utility to his country, and 
 that of Jefferson of great theoretical freedom. Washington 
 
364 PARALLEL. 
 
 was exceedingly wise, or uncommonly fortunate, for what- 
 ever be patronised, or projected, contributed to swell the 
 prosperity and affluence of the country^ while the systems 
 of Jefferson, though more refined and metaphysical, rather 
 retarded, or were calculated to retard, or arrest, the 
 growth and wealth of the nation. 
 
 Thus his domestic system — his Chinese policy — his non- 
 intercourse — his abstraction of the republic from the com- 
 merce of the world, all tended to produce the opposite 
 effects of that expansive and liberal policy of commerce and 
 manufactures, which stamped the administration of George 
 Washington with the bold, magnificent and colossal fea- 
 tures of American genius, industry and enterprize. 
 
 On the other hand, Jefferson's genius shines forth in his 
 favourite system of a frugal government — small revenue — 
 limited expenditures — no taxes — no public debt — no super- 
 fluity of public officers — no internal improvements, so that 
 power may be kept down to the standard of pure republi- 
 can symplicity; prefering poverty with freedom, to opu- 
 lence under the temptation of losing it; stinting the growth 
 of the nation, in order to preserve it from the perils of cor- 
 ruption. For this system Jefferson was highly extolled by 
 his admirers; yet it seems inconsistent with his predomi- 
 nant notion of the perfectability of man, and his daily- 
 march to improvement, which would rather suggest the 
 expansion of the government functions in proportion to the 
 growth of the country, than the contraction of its prosperity 
 to the ancient measure of its original organic limitations. 
 Thus 'economy,' * economy,' was the cry of Jefferson; 
 commerce, revenue, prosperity and improvement, was the 
 motto of the Washington cabinet; the latter has prevailed 
 in practice — the former is only heard in theory; the coun- 
 try has expanded, the policy of Washington has prevailed 
 through all administrations under the appellation of ule- 
 mocracy,^ and the special magic of the powerful name of 
 J efferson ! 
 
 Both were ambitious; but they differed as much in their 
 ambition, as in the other passions of their minds, that of 
 Washington being inflexibly directed to the performance of 
 just actions, indifferent of praise or censure; and that of 
 Jefferson, being directed to just actions, with, an immediate 
 view to popular applause, the appetite for which formed at 
 once the great feature, as it proved the only vice of his public 
 
PARALLEL. 365 
 
 character, if it can be said to have had a vice. It cannot 
 be dissembled that the ambition of Jefferson, although pure 
 and moderate, was yet diluted, if not turned from its noblest 
 channel, bj that weak benevolence which covets universal 
 praise, which caused him to tremble at the whisperings of 
 censure, and inclined him too often to compromise his 
 principles and opinions, in order to avert criticism, or 
 escape controversy and condemnation. When he retired 
 from the cabinet of General Washington, he alleged to 
 that chief, as the leading cause of his resignation, the pain 
 it gave him to be among aristocrats, who viewed him with a 
 glance of hatred, or surveyed him with the leer of scorn, 
 instead of returning hate for hate, and scorn for scorn, 
 which the goodness of his heart would not allow. He also 
 spoke of the public papers, in a manner that betrayed the 
 anguish which their censure inflicted, by an acrimonious 
 denunciation of their licentiousness; instead of being satis- 
 fied with the approbation of the President, and the voice 
 of a self-applauding conscience. There is reason too, to 
 believe, that his conciliatory phrase, ' we are all republi- 
 cans — we are all federalists,' had its source in this defi. 
 ciency of moral courage; which, however, is always more 
 or less allied to benevolence, and the amiable weaknesses of 
 our nature. So that, after all, this defect of character carr 
 ried with it a beauty, which did not shine so conspicuously 
 in Washington, who was too lofty to be merely amiable, 
 and too stern to be actively benevolent; and whose ambition 
 was so chastened down to a passive and exalted form, as 
 to be wholly indifferent to immediate gratification, partak- 
 ing of that comparative repose which always characterises 
 gigantic natures. True, he was not insensible to the cen^ 
 sure or praise of men, for he felt reproach acutely, but he 
 could endure it and depise it, and sought not by concessions 
 to avert or mollify it; and he did endure reproof and con- 
 demnation, for the sake of final and future encomium, re- 
 nown and glory. His whole career, throughout the revo- 
 lution, was a sacrifice of present praise, and an endurance 
 of unjust obloquy and sarcasm, for the sake of his country 
 —^^or the sake of final glory; and here he realised the highest 
 fortitude and greatness of the human soul; for it was the 
 safety of the republic which sealed his lips as to the cause 
 of his abstaining from battle, and reconciled him to bear 
 
 Gg2 
 
366 PARALLEL. 
 
 the most cutting reproaches, equally derogatory to his 
 honour and patriotism. 
 
 Jefferson, endowed with a more delicate sensibility, and 
 a softer shade of character, presents us with less inflexible 
 and courageous traits of mind, being eager to snatch the 
 applause of the moment, and ever alive to the task of avert- 
 ing censure and deprecating condemnation, without looking 
 to the grand result of his actions, when the time should 
 come for settling the true sum of his glory — at the period of 
 calmjudgment,when the passions, laid asleep by time, would 
 permit the verdict of reason to be heard and recorded, un- 
 mixed with prejudice, interest, or excitement. For, after 
 all, to that period must all living fame be referred for just 
 and final adjudication. But this seems to have been impos- 
 sible to Mr. Jefferson, who was evidently endow^ed with a 
 quicker sensibility than Washington; not, perhaps, a greater 
 sum of it, but a greater susceptibility of excitement; and 
 one reason of this difference between them is to be found in 
 the fact, of the greatness of Washington having operated 
 upon Jefferson as a sort of exampler to glory, inspiring him 
 with an emulation of greatness, and whetting his appetite 
 for distinction; which always produces more or less of that 
 nervous anxiety for the issue, which ever attends an intense 
 desire of success. That this kind of emulation was deeply 
 seated in his mind, he has himself told us, in a letter to his 
 grandson, where he thus expresses himself: "I had the good 
 fortune to become acquainted very early with some charac- 
 ters of very high standing, and to feel the incessant ivish that 
 I could ever become ivhat they loereP No doubt but he had 
 this same feeling in relation to Washington, whose superior 
 renown operated on his mind to produce the twin passions 
 of emulation and envy; and thus to make him as morbidly 
 sensitive to abuse, or censure, as he was anxiously covetous 
 of approbation and encomium. It was the repulsion between 
 his ambition and his benevolence, that naturally reduced the 
 tone of his moral courage, and deprived'him of some portion 
 of that tenacity of principle and opinion, which forms so 
 bold a feature in the character of greatness, and M'ithout 
 which it exhibits a deficiency of what is essential to firmness 
 of purpose, consistency of principle, and fidelity to profes- 
 sions, as well as that true dignity of mind, which is itself a 
 virtue, and which bears about it such an indescribable charm 
 and beauty, that it wins universal admiration and esteem. 
 
PARALLEL. 367 
 
 Nor is this quality incompatible witk a due deference for 
 the opinions of others; on the contrary, it implies the right 
 of freedom of opinion to all, and extends no further than to 
 insist on our own right, while we grant the same liberty to 
 those who differ from us. No man was further elevated 
 above all thoughts of proscribing freedom of opinion than 
 Washington; yet he always maintained his principles with 
 firmness, defended them with zeal, and practised them 
 with energy. 
 
 There are many acts of his life which seem to impress 
 the idea, that he possessed moral courage in its greatest 
 extent, especially his authorship of the Declaratioii of Inde- 
 pendence; which long perplexed me to decide on those other 
 events of his life, which denoted a deficiency of that great 
 quality. But it must be remembered, that the most timid 
 men will act with apparent courage and decision when their 
 individuality is lost, or obscured in the general responsibi- 
 lity of a public body; and that Mr. Jefferson, as one of a 
 committee of Congress^ would have moral courage to com- 
 pose the Declaration for that committee and that Congress , 
 which would entirely fail him when placed to the score of 
 his own personal account. So it was with the reform of the 
 Civil and Criminal Code of Virginia^ when he expunged 
 the laws of Primogeniture and Entail, and that which 
 bound the mind to religious observances — ^lie acted as one 
 of a Committee, and thus avoided individual responsibility 
 for the obnoxiousness of the act. 
 
 It must not, however, be understood, that I mean to 
 deny to Mr. Jefferson all moral courage; for he possessed 
 and displayed it on some occasions to a considerable ex- 
 tent; but did not manifest it on so great a scale as to qua- 
 lify him for those striking deeds which constitute heroism 
 of character. 
 
 In accordance \vith this temper of his mind, he never 
 ventured on any measure that could excite the discord of 
 his cabinet, or bring him in collision with the heads of de- 
 partments; to whose opinions, promises and arrangements, 
 he even sacrificed his own pledges, and, on some occasions, 
 his own convictions. This disposition made him skilful in the 
 practice of evasion, equivocation, and sometimes of duplicity. 
 
 When we contemplate the productions of Mr. Jefferson's 
 pen, he does not appear so wanting in moral courage, as 
 when we compare his actions in public life, with his theories 
 
368 PARALLEL. 
 
 on paper: yet even his correspondence exhibits a perpetual 
 desire to explain, harmonise and reconcile points of discre- 
 pancy, which are obviously too discordant ever to admit of 
 concord. Thus, what he had condemned Mr. Adams for in 
 1798, and politically counteracted in 1801, he absolves him 
 from in 1813, in order to consummate a reconciliation | and 
 by a method which was as easy in 1801, or '98, as in 1813, 
 that is, by shifting off the responsibility from Mr. Adams, 
 071 his cabinet, for all his pernicious and obnoxious acts, 
 leaving to him only the responsibility of all his good mea- 
 sures, a species of sophistication which Mr. Jefferson must 
 have been fully sensible of, at the very time that he- coni' 
 mitted it. 
 
 Washington was more fortunate, at least, if not more 
 highly endowed. He had no opinions to modify, no political 
 antipathies to explain, no party quarrels to reconcile! no re- 
 sponsibility to shift from one agent to another, in order to 
 escape the pangs of controversy, or the shock of contradic- 
 tion, which always carried horror and dismay to Mr. Jef^ 
 ferson; who, even on the topic of religion, where he was 
 apparently most dauntless, shrunk from the publicity of 
 his opinions, always enjoining secrecy on his correspond- 
 ents, and ever indulging in lamentations, because his con- 
 fidence was betrayed! He was evidently afraid of the 
 clergy; but when he found the clergy did not attack him, 
 he returned to the charge, and made another conjidential 
 attack on the clergy. 
 
 It was unfortunate for Mr. Jefferson, that his peculiar 
 position having excited and developed a propensity to agi- 
 tate all questions as a politician, instead of composing dif- 
 ferences of opinion, that it should have led to establish a 
 corresponding habit of his mind as a statesman, to unsettle 
 all principles of government, in direct opposition to the con- 
 trary temper of Washington, whose object appears to have 
 been to settle and establish the government, its principles, 
 its powers, and its functions on a foundation of permanency 
 not to be shaken by doubts, or overturned by sedition as 
 well as to concentrate public opinion to this point. To have 
 government established on a solid basis, where its principles 
 secure equal freedom and happiness to the people, seems 
 infinitely preferable to its perpetual oscillation and the 
 continued agitation of its powers without bringing the dis- 
 cussion to a practicable issue or a more beneficial practice. 
 
PARALLEL. - 369 
 
 It was unfortunate for Jefferson, that he bequeathed as a 
 legacy to the people, doubts never to be dispelled by con- 
 troversy, and broached principles that, while they cannot 
 add to liberty or happiness, interrupt the calm enjoyment 
 of both, by inspiring fallacious hopes and visionary dreams 
 of political bliss, that never can be realised under a system 
 of civil law, and a voluntary Constitution. Viewed in his 
 character of agitator^ Mr. Jefferson sinks to an inferiority 
 to Washington, which we cannot but deplore, as not only 
 unnecessary in a country which enjoyed the maxi'inuin of 
 liberty, but as derogatory to his elevated character as a 
 statesman, and his rational dignity as a philosopher. What 
 more can government give than an eqicality of right and 
 happiness to every citizen? In vain would sophistry labour 
 to disguise the fact, that by pursuing this course, Mr. Jef- 
 ferson has proved the founder of a school of agitators, who, 
 without having for their object any tangible measure of na- 
 tional good, were prodigal of professions of liberty that 
 meant nothing, and unceasing in exciting the people against 
 chimerical grievances and unfounded wrongs; the fallacy of 
 which being constantly liable to detection, created a kind 
 of moral necessity for deceit; thus creating what their foun- 
 der never intended, a distinct class of political demagogues, 
 who in a free country had the audacity to proclaim to the 
 people that they were slaves, in order that in virtue of the 
 deceit, they might ride into office, on their credulity and 
 fanaticism. On this point Washington was far above his 
 successor; for he was only solicitous to secure to the go- 
 vernment the faithful exercise of its legitimate powers; and 
 to conciliate and confirm public opinion in support of a sys- 
 tem, based on the rights of man, and operating to protect 
 the property and promote the happiness of every republican, 
 who could boast of the title of ' citizen,'^ In a despotic 
 government, the merit of Mr. Jefferson's conduct would 
 have been transcendent; but under a free Constitution, 
 w^hich dispensed even a prodigal measure of liberty to all, 
 it was mischievous, as well as unmeaning, and led to those 
 turbulent associations and clubs, which fermenting by the 
 imported passions of Paris, Dublin and London, had to re- 
 sort to the wretched fiction of a plot of monarchy, in order 
 to give plausibility to the wild chimera, wliich formed the 
 ground-work of their tesselated party. 
 
 All differences of opinion that ever existed between these 
 
370 PARALLEL. 
 
 great men, appear at various periods, to have been recon- 
 ciled, removed, or superceded bj coincident sentiments, or 
 waivers of the question, on the part of Mr. Jeftersonj so that 
 in the end, it would appear really difficult to tell, whether 
 he, or Mr. Adams, had been the author of the Alien and 
 Sedition laws, or the father of the State Rights doctrine. 
 
 The same remark will apply to Jefterson and Washing- 
 ton 5 but here there was not the same reason for hostile views 
 or political hatred, and of course, no difficulty of reconcilia- 
 tion, even under the fanatical charge of monarchical de- 
 signs alleged against him^ for the allegation not being sin- 
 cere, the recantation cost nothing. 
 
 The moment that Jefferson commenced acting in a mili- 
 tary capacity as Governor of Virginia, he bowed at once 
 with reverence and affection to the acknowledged supre- 
 macy of the genius of Washington, and joined in the uni- 
 versal sentiment of veneration which at all times attached 
 to the person and character of the great chief. Personally 
 and politically intimate, as they were, at a subsequent 
 period, wlien tlie glory of Washington was in its full blos- 
 som, it is scarcely possible that they should ever have che- 
 rished a misunderstanding of the genius and motives of one 
 another: and once conceding the point of mutual patriotism 
 and integrity, in which belief both were sincere, it is incon- 
 ceivable that difference of opinion should have led to an 
 alienation of friendship. Rivalry could not enter between 
 men of such dissimilar genius, at least not on the part of 
 Washington; and although it is possible that Jefferson may 
 sometimes have contemplated the fame of the former with 
 a jealous feeling, yet the object of his emulation was too 
 highly exalted in glory and power, to permit any permanent 
 emotions of envy to take root in his bosom. The attempt 
 to pull him down, therefore, by Frenau, Callender, Bache, 
 and Duane, was soon abandoned; for it was quickly found 
 to react against themselves: it was the Lilliputians attempt- 
 ing to bind Gulliver, to use a favorite comparison of Mr. 
 Jefferson, and overwhelmed them in disgrace, for having 
 attempted to destroy a man whose virtues made him inde- 
 structible. 
 
 Although it is more a circumstance of fortune than a trait 
 of individual merit, yet Jefferson possessed an advantage 
 over Washington in having the sympathies of his nature 
 fully developed by the parental affections. A man, in ge^ 
 
PARALLEL. 371 
 
 ileral, who has no children, is but an imperfect being, de- 
 fective in the noblest and most amiable feelings of the 
 heart. Had Washington been a father, he might have been 
 less austere^ but he could not have been more virtuous j he 
 might have been more amiable and accessible, but not more 
 benevolent. This circumstance threw a softer and warmer 
 colouring over the character of Jefferson, which displayed 
 him to advantage, when contrasted with the cold and repul- 
 sive dignity of Washington; but, perhaps the want of pro- 
 geny in the latter, caused no material reduction in the 
 splendour of his character, or the perfection of his heart 
 and mind; as he seemed to have been in so great a degree 
 elevated above the common failings and weaknesses of our 
 nature; yet to Jefferson, this circumstance must have been 
 highly favourable to the bland and amiable cast of his tern* 
 perament, inclining him to affection, benignity, and friend- 
 ship. 
 
 As a statesman, the palm of superiority must certainly 
 be awarded to Washington, who gave the flesh and muscle, 
 and animation of practice, to the new theoretical skeleton 
 of an untried constitution; and whose execution of it being 
 afterwards confirmed by all his successors, attested to its 
 wisdom; for the few exceptions^ in which they departed 
 from his precedents, were so immaterial, as not to constitute 
 a difference of judgment as to the main policy of the na- 
 tion. Mr. Adams' misrule is always to be considered as 
 anomalous; and when we compare Mr. Jefferson's policy 
 of the anti- commercial system, with that of his successors, 
 his was in that respect likewise anomalous. Mr. Adams' 
 precedent misrule, was unfavourable to the full displaj^ of 
 Mr. Jefferson's statesmanship, as it gave him a propensity 
 to ultraism, or a radical policy, too much in the extreme of 
 his views; but this was corrected by his successors, and 
 commerce was reinstated in her just rights. 
 
 In comparing their peculiar merits as statesmen, we 
 ought of course to include the views and doctrines of each, 
 in relation to the Constitution, and the extent of its powers 
 over the States. And here Washington shines in the lus- 
 tre of transcendent superiority, not so much because he 
 manifested superior talents, as superior rectitude and con- 
 sistency. As the father of the Constitution, we have seen 
 W^ashington stimulate the States, and appeal to the people, 
 for its formation, on the broad ground of giving efficiency 
 
372 PARALLEL. 
 
 and vigour to the general government, as a fundamental 
 desideratum. We have seen him preside and act in the 
 CONVENTION of delegates, during their deliberations, when 
 the only question was, shall the United States possess 
 
 the CONTROLING POWER of a SUPREME GOVERNMENT? and 
 
 when, in answer to that question, the controling power was 
 distinctly invested in the general government, subject only 
 to the limitations imposed by the Constitution! We have 
 seen the States individually pause upon its adoption, on the 
 broad ground of the expediency of parting with this specific 
 portion of their sovereignty, previous to their ratification of 
 its provisions. We have seen Washington devote his days 
 and nights to the obtainment of a constitution that would 
 vest in the Union powers of sufficient energy to all the pur- 
 poses of national supremacy, independent of the mere will 
 and consent of the States, and superceding the right of their 
 veto, non-concurrence, or reluctant and tardy compliance. 
 We have seen such a constitution framed and adopted^ we 
 have seen Washington chosen to carry it into execution, 
 with a special reference to his qualifications, to give it a 
 practical shape corresponding to his ideas of energy, and 
 to the inherent virtues of the instrument, to supply that 
 energy. We have seen him accomplish that object, with- 
 out exciting the opposition of any one State, or producing 
 a murmur of discontent, grounded on the suspicion of hav- 
 ing transcended the powers lodged in the government by 
 the Constitution. We have seen all his cotemporaries con- 
 cur in and sanction this course of exalted patriotism and 
 political virtue; thus presenting a consistent career of in- 
 variable views in relation to Constitutioncd law, which com- 
 mands our reverence for his wisdom as a statesman, and 
 extorts our applause for his integrity as a politician, demon- 
 strating his sagacity to have been unequalled and his 
 honesty incorruptible. 
 
 Contrasted with this attitude of unalterable advocacy of 
 a controling power in the Union, Mr. Jefterson is dis- 
 tinguished for a fickleness of opinion, which leaves him 
 deficient in that stability of character, which we naturally 
 expect from one of his complete education and profound 
 legal acquirements. He had studied the Constitution in 
 Paris, and had avowed himself a federalist; he had studied 
 it at home, and his approbation of it continued unaltered; 
 he came into the new government to administer it, and still 
 
PARALLEL. 373 
 
 asseverated that the Constitutioi;! was perfect, and intended 
 for absolute federal power within the limits of the authori- 
 ties delegated. Nor did he change his opinion until he 
 saw that the presidency was within his grasp, and yet that 
 others, more specially patronised by Washington, had the 
 best chance of plucking the golden fruit. This develope- 
 ment of ambition being coincident to the era of the French 
 reA'olution, caused Mr. Jefferson to rally a party under the 
 flaunting banner of State rights and French liberty; even 
 then, however, conceding a controling attribute to the go* 
 vernment of the Union; for it was not until the epoch of 
 the ALIEN and sedition laws, that he reached the verge of 
 ultra-democracy in the promulgation of nullification doc- 
 trines, subversive of that controling virtue of the Union, 
 which, at an anterior date, he had admitted as the legiti- 
 mate line of federal power. Yet, even on this point, he 
 was rather doubtful than heterodox, inclining more to theo- 
 retical, and always deprecating practical nullification, and 
 evincing more of the character of a visionary, than an ultra. 
 This want of stability, however, was a source of serious 
 disparagement to him as a statesman, which gave to Wash- 
 ington every advantage which attends upon a consistent and 
 lofty course of action, unvaried by times, uninfluenced by 
 circumstances. Indeed, Jefferson's frequent change of senti- 
 ment in respect to the Constitution, has even confused his 
 disciples, who are yet undetermined whether to range them- 
 selves as federalists, or rally as democrats. As late as 1813, 
 in a letter to Melish, he declares that — ' The party called 
 republican is steadily for the support of the present con- 
 stitution. They obtained, at the commencement, all the 
 amendments to it they desired. These reconciled themselves 
 to it perfectly, and if they have any ulterior view, it is only, 
 perhaps, to joojow/rtme it further ,hy shortening the senatorial 
 term, and devising a process for the responsibility of jiidfres, 
 more practicable than that of impeachment.* In these few 
 lines more doubt, instability, and contradiction obtains, 
 than is to be discovered in the entire course of Washing- 
 ton's life, and certainly indicate a looseness of views not 
 altogether reconcilable to our ideas of a first rate states- 
 man. In looking for the cause of this oscillation, we 
 must advert to the unfortunate position he assumed of ultra- 
 liberty, which almost necessarily forced him into visionary 
 ideas of government, on the one hand, and of derojiatory 
 
 H h 
 
574 PARALLEL* 
 
 imputations against the antagonist party on the other; and 
 it was still more unfortunate that he should live to see his- 
 tory record the fallacy of all his promised views of ulterior 
 good, as well as the falsity of all his predictions of a mon- 
 archical evil, made for the purpose of throwing into odious 
 contrast the character of the adverse party. The felicity 
 of position, on the contrary, occupied by Washington, 
 saved him from all those tortious paths which fictitious 
 devices compel a resort to; so that his course, as a states- 
 man, was uniform, consistent, honest, unchangeable and 
 enlightened, based on practicable principles, and profess- 
 ing to do no more than what was fully warranted by the 
 obvious letter, and defined powers of the Constitution. 
 
 In the bold and striking achievements of his administra- 
 tion, however, Jefferson approached very near to the great- 
 ness of Washington. The acquisition of Louisiana, which 
 doubled the domains of the republic, was a master-stroke 
 of statesmanship, an enlargement of empire by a movement 
 of diplomacy, a bloodless victory, attended by all the con- 
 sequences of a martial triumph through fields of carnage; 
 and the credit of it was certainly very distinguished and 
 remarkable: in his ordinary negociations, however, he does 
 not appear to have been so successful. 
 
 The statesmanship of Washington commenced long prior 
 to his filling the presidential chair; and the very day that 
 he accepted the station of commander in chief was he com- 
 pelled to devote his attention to those civil and political 
 movements on which depended the eflicient organization of 
 the army. The loose texture of the old confederation, impos- 
 ed upon him the arduous duties of a supreme magistrate. His 
 elaborate correspondence with the Congress displays those 
 high civil attributes which mark the eminent statesman, 
 and exceed in bulk and difficulty the duties of a President 
 under the federal union; whilst his letters to the States 
 manifest that enlarged, vigilant and profound view of the 
 national relations, that admit of no scope for rivalry or 
 competition* Acting at once as the promptor to Congress 
 — as the guardian of the confederacy — as the stimulator 
 and exhorter of the States— as commander of the army, 
 and the parent of the people, it excites unqualified admira- 
 tion at the prodigious extent of his talents, the fecundity 
 of his genius, the solidity of his judgment, the abundance 
 of his resources; and in fine of all those qualities which 
 
PARALLEL. 375 
 
 contribute to form the active, practical and consummate 
 STATESMAN. And it was this immense stock of reputation^ 
 as a civil magistrate, that he brought into view of public 
 opinion, when it concentrated with spontaneous enthusiasm 
 upon his name as the first President under the Federal 
 Constitution. It was not the eclat of his military deeds, 
 which pointed all minds towards him as the man pre-emi- 
 nently qualified to administer the civil functions of a new 
 government, in a crisis of unexampled peril to the liberties 
 of the people, and the safety of the country; but his es- 
 tablished fame as a statesman, his resplendent labours as 
 a legislator, and an executive, as one who could give effi- 
 cient motion to the immense machine of government, di- 
 recting its energies to the proper objects, and even origi- 
 nating and maturing the laws necessary for the general 
 welfare, and indispensable to the common defence. As a 
 statesman, therefore, Washington rises to the highest point 
 of glory and of greatness. 
 
 The superiority of Washington's statesmanship seems to 
 be shown in the peculiar adaptation of his policy to the 
 special object of the Federal Constitution, which was the 
 vigor and efficiency of the government, in contradistinction 
 to the laxity of principle and looseness of the parts in the 
 old confederacy. Let us suppose that Mr. Jeiferson had 
 been chosen to carry into practice the first experiment of 
 the government, instead of Washington, and that he had 
 applied his system of State rights and popular interference 
 to the new machine which the Federal Convention had just 
 placed in the hands of the Executive.^ Is it not self-evi- 
 dent, that, for want of vigour and energy, the Constitution 
 'would have crumbled to pieces in his hands, and left him 
 in possession only of the fragments of the old confederacy? 
 For that is certainly the true system of the government 
 which fulfils its great ends; and that, of course, must be 
 the spurious doctrine which baffles and defeats the object 
 had in view by those who framed it.^ The dift'erence in the 
 crisis, and the remote stages of the two administrations, 
 cannot affect the principle. A government of laws must 
 have the principle of energy and coercion; and it was the 
 concentration of this energy in a federal government which 
 the Convention gave, and which, to carry out into perfec- 
 tion, induced the Washington policy. It does appear, 
 therefore, that Mr. Jeffefferson's was anomalous, and not 
 
376 PARALLEL. 
 
 congenial to the Constitution, but a policy formed in ac- 
 cordance with the constant and livino; current of /io/)w/ar 
 opinion, a policy for the people, not for the Constitution; 
 a policy framed to gain popularity, not to cement, fulfil 
 or consummate the fabric and purposes of government. It 
 appears, therefore, to be rather the policy of the politician 
 than the policy of the statesman — the legislator — the law- 
 giver or the patriot, who looks beyond the bounds of pre- 
 sent praise, to the final consequences of civilization and 
 liberty. Yet even this anomalous policy of Mr. Jefferson, 
 so far from being incompatible with human happiness and 
 permanent freedom, is admirably calculated to secure those 
 objects, provided the people are sufficiently virtuous to 
 be governed by opinioti instead of law! It implies, in the 
 people, the highest perfection of virtue and intelligence^ 
 and leaving nothing to coercion, leaves the safety of society 
 at the mercy of their discretion, wisdom, prudence and vir- 
 tue. It implies that power will be so honest as to commit 
 710 usurpation, and that the people will be so virtuous as 
 to abstain from all violence, licentiousness and disorder? 
 but this is supposing the very effect that government is in- 
 stituted to secure. Hence the discrepancy between Mr. 
 Jefferson's system and the highest attributes of the states- 
 man: for he does not himself appear to have discovered the 
 real nature and direct tendency of his own principles, hav- 
 ing been driven into them without due consideration, by 
 the impulse of French liberty, on the one hand, and the 
 force of Mr. Adams' tory despotism on the otlier. In proof 
 of this, we have many declarations under Mr. Jefferson's 
 pen, which show that he had not considered the scientific 
 principles of his system so profoundly as he had studied its 
 impression on the minds of the people, and, seeing it well 
 received by them, he determined to adhere to it. Washing- 
 ton, on the contrary, only looked to the adaptation of his 
 policy to the Constitution, and never, for a moment, sus- 
 pected that the people could desire what the legitimate 
 ends of government would not gratify or sanction; at least 
 he never suspected it anterior to the French revolution; 
 and when he did behold this new idea of government, he 
 instantly resisted it, as subversive of law, order and secu- 
 rity. So that, in effect, there was this diffierence between 
 Washington and Jefferson, as statesmen, that the former 
 rescued the republic from the chaos of the old confede- 
 
PARALLEL. 377 
 
 RACY to the coercive government of the Federal Consti- 
 tution, and the latter re-conducted us to the chaos of the 
 confederacy through the currents of popular opinion, ideas 
 of unbounded liberty, implicit confidence in the virtues of 
 the people, and an unlimited faith in their intelligence and 
 capacity for self-government. 
 
 It is apparent that mere party differences would never 
 have severed these eminent men. By party differences, I 
 mean those which grew out of difference of opinion upon 
 constitutional principles, or points of national policy. In 
 this respect, very little essential variation of sentiment ob- 
 tained between them. It was faction, not sound, whole- 
 some and legitimate party, which fomented the mind of 
 Jefferson against his great predecessor. It was the fermen- 
 tation of passions wholly extraneous to our government, 
 constitution and country, adopted by the latter in obedi- 
 ence to the popular impulse, or at the dict^ite of his own 
 antipathies. It is, therefore, to the greater credit of Wash- 
 ington, that he never fell into the delu«ons, errors, or vices 
 of faction; but kept his mind well poised upon great prin- 
 ciples inherent in the Consti^ion, or substantial measures 
 demonstrated by experience, to promote the prosperity and 
 develope the resources o{ the nation; without heeding the 
 voice of faction, whe-^fter it assumed tlie conciliatory tone 
 of soft adulation, or the harsh sound of intimidating reproof; 
 and his credit for this elevation of conduct is the greater, 
 because tbe temptation to court popular favour was so 
 powerful, and the consequence of losing it was so apt to 
 terrify the juf^gment from its propriety. By thus resisting 
 the lust of popularity, on the one hand, and the fear of pub- 
 lic denupciation, on the other, he displayed the most sub- 
 lime iroral grandeur of which the human mind is capable, 
 whe-i it sacrifices to the stern dictates of duty every con- 
 sideration of interest, ambition, fame, power and flattery. 
 It was in this lofty disregard of all consequences, that 
 Washington shone, on all occasions, with a lustre so su- 
 perior to other men. 
 
 How far Mr. Jefferson was correct in drawing the line 
 of discrimination between physical and moral liberty, and 
 striking at the emancipation of the human mind from the 
 fetters of prejudice, interest, selfishness and other unworthy 
 passions, it is not my present purpose to enquire; but it is 
 a fact, that the great point of difference between him and 
 Hh2 
 
378 PARALLEL. 
 
 Washington, laj in this trait of his character, which carried 
 him into theories and experiments, positions and principles, 
 that involved him in a perpetual warfare of politics, religion, 
 morals, and metaphysics. 
 
 It cannot be doubted but that Jefferson lived into an era 
 very different in its predominant characteristics from the 
 political age in which Washington flourished as President. 
 The epoch of Jeflerson was the second stage in our national 
 existence, a stage of more refinement and luxury than that 
 of Washington's time, a middle epoch between honesty and 
 corruption which favoured duplicity and finesse, without 
 plunging into open political debaucheries. Jefferson too, 
 having been so long at the French court, assisted to pro- 
 duce this lamentable laxity of the political moral sentiment 
 of the people; and it is to this trait of his character that we 
 are, perhaps, to refer his change of opinion as to the honesty 
 of John Adan^i, when, with a credulity not common to old 
 age, he believed A\ the palavering of that ' Mngloman,'' in 
 vindication of his clwracter from the authorship of the alien 
 and sedition laws; as it, as President, he could divest him- 
 self of his constitutional responsibility for the measures of 
 his administration. It must ev^r excite astonishment, that 
 Jefferson could for a moment toUrate the idea of the irre- 
 sponsibility of the Executive, by giVi-ag John Adams credit 
 for his interested expurgation from l'i>e turpitude of the 
 obnoxious laws of his Presidentship; receivinfr^is {pgg dixit 
 in a matter where the strongest testimony woulA naturally 
 become liable to cross examination, and reasonable distrust* 
 but thus to admit Mr. Adams' pleading in his. own favour 
 and in crimination of others unjustly, betrayed i^ Jefterson 
 a credulity, or a lust of conciliating the good opin'i'^n of his 
 rivals, which it is difficult to reconcile either to his ijhilo- 
 sophical acumen, or to his sense of justice. True, he loHs 
 us his motive, that he would not have the world think thewt 
 political competition could beget personal hostility between 
 him and a rival! Yet if it did produce personal feelings, 
 it mattered not what the world should think of it, even sup- 
 posing it possible to deceive ike world by such an artifice. 
 But still there must always remain left a number of indi- 
 viduals in the opposite party, with whom reconciliation is 
 hopeless. Thus, though Jefferson became nominally re- 
 conciled to John Adams, yet he died full of indignation and 
 hatred against Timothy Pickering, and opened the grave 
 
PARALLEL. 
 
 379 
 
 of HamiltGYi to give a last blow to the dead lion. It was 
 impossible to make the world believe what he did not be- 
 lieve himself, that he cherished no personal animosity 
 against his greatest political enemy and rival. The ferocity 
 of party hatred between rivals has no limits but the gravej 
 it assassinated Alexander Hamilton, it persecuted De Witt 
 Clinton to death, it ostracised John C. Calhoun and Henry 
 Clay, it did attempt to destroy Washington himself; and 
 never will become less bitter while men are actuated by 
 the passions that destroy their greatness. 
 
 Both understood human nature well, and had studied 
 man with success; but Washington had a peculiar intuition 
 for penetrating to the true characters of men, and ascer- 
 taining at a glance what objects they were best adapted to 
 accomplish. His first cabinet has never been equalled in 
 talent by any subsequent one; and his selection of Jef- 
 ferson, as Secretary of State, evinces his extraordinary 
 sagacity in immediately penetrating to the strong bias of 
 men, and finding out for what station their talents best 
 qualified them. In this faculty Washington was superior 
 to Jefferson, although the latter was largely gifted with the 
 same instinct of genius. 
 
 A command over the passions of men — an intimate know- 
 ledge with the springs of human actions — a power to stimu- 
 late or restrain, direct, or control, the judgments and con- 
 duct of others, has always been thought to imply the high- 
 est scope of genius. This constituted a peculiar charm in 
 the character of Washington, while Mr. Jefferson could 
 boast of very little of it. It was this gift of genius which 
 enabled Washington to keep his troops together, when with- 
 out pay, provision, clothing or shelter, and thus save his 
 country! Jefferson, in a certain measure possessed some 
 of the same genius, but not of that exalted quality which 
 distinguished the first President, who could reconcile men 
 to the extreme of suffering from affection to his person, and 
 reverence for his virtues. Mr. Jeff*erson's control and in- 
 fluence was of rather an opposite character, as they followed 
 him from motives of interest; and yet, in both cases, the 
 object to be obtained was much the same, though the feel- 
 ing of personal veneration may have been different. But 
 this power over others in Washington, extended to all oc- 
 casions, and all men, under every variety of situation, 
 which was not the case with Mr, Jefferson. 
 
;8o 
 
 PARALLEL. 
 
 To counterbalance this disadvantage, Mr. Jefferson was 
 more social, more companionable, more colloquial than his 
 great predecessor: and hence he entertained a greater va- 
 riety of guests, and practised a more extended hospitality: 
 being not only the Magnus Apollo of all politicians of every 
 grade, but the oracle of authors, schoolmasters, book-ma- 
 kers, inventors, dreamers, schemers, and the whole tribe 
 of those who claim affinity to Apollo, Minerva, Mercury, 
 or Mammon. But this disposition had its attendant evilsj 
 it seduced him into expenditures not justified by the in- 
 come of his estate, and left him in his old age poor and 
 embarrassed; when his political doctrines had, in a great 
 measure, grown out of fashion, and his services to his 
 country had to be recalled to the recollection of the age by 
 the vigour and pathos of his own pen, in order to procure a 
 law to dispose of his estate by lottery; a favour granted to 
 all others, almost without solicitation, and for objects of the 
 most frivolous nature. 
 
 In respect to their personal economy, therefore. Wash' 
 ington had more wisdom and prudence, and perhaps less 
 hospitality and warmth of friendship; but he manifested his 
 wisdom, in not leaving himself naked, to the cold ingrati- 
 tude of a selfish world, and compelled to make appeals to 
 his country, when that country had become deaf to his 
 claims: and in this sense, the verdict of history seems to 
 have ratified the distrust of Washington in the virtue of the 
 people. There was this difference too, between them on 
 this point, that Washington never received a cent of the 
 people's money for his public services; while Mr. Jeff*erson 
 obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from the national 
 treasury for his services to government; and which rendered 
 his want of economy a perfect contrast to the wise liberality 
 of expenditure practised by the father of his country. 
 
 Without supposing Jefferson to have been actuated by 
 sordid motives, which would be to suppose him divested of 
 all laudable ambition, in his pursuit of the highest honours 
 of the nation, it may be esteemed a reasonable cause of 
 regret, that, like Washington, he did not decline all com- 
 pensation: and yet a doubt may be started whether that 
 country will not be less liable to corruption, that allows a 
 liberal compensation to its public officers, instead of tempt- 
 ing the rich to serve the people for nothing, and eventually 
 subjecting the public honours to ht purchased by the opulent. 
 
PARALLEL. 381 
 
 It was worthy of remark, even to the generations in 
 which these great men flourished, that they diiiered as 
 much in their exteriors as in their minds ; the apparel 
 of Wasliington being adapted to his station and rank in 
 life, equally free from ostentatious display and inappro- 
 priate meanness; while that of Jefferson was far inferior 
 to his rank, as if he even courted the applause of the 
 people by seeming to approach to the condition of tlie la- 
 bouring classes, by his coarse and plain clothes, often in 
 direct contradiction to his rank, and obviously in designed 
 contrast to the dresses of those whom he stigmatised as 
 monarchists. In this fashion of extreme humility, he was 
 imitated by other prominent men of the party, who were 
 rallying their strength in opposition to TVashingion^ espe- 
 cially by Albert Gcdfatin, and all those demagogues who 
 hoped to make up for the hollowness of their hearts, by 
 the popular cut and colour of tlieir garments; as if political 
 orthodoxy resided in the texture of the cloth, and the folds 
 of their mantles, instead of the texture of their miud^, and 
 the honesty of their principles. Whatever virtue, however, 
 resided in these plain republican coats, no affectation of it 
 was attempted by Washington and his friends, who seemed 
 perfectly willing to be judged by the virtues of the inward 
 man; leaving their garments to the taste of the mercer and 
 the skill of the taylor, with such criticisms as little minds 
 might feel disposed to make on so small a subject. 
 
 That Mr. Jefferson was deficient in that energy of cha- 
 racter, which characterised his great predecessor, was shown 
 by his forbearance to resent in a proper manner, the insult- 
 ing aggressions of France and England, during the period 
 of the Berlin and Milan decrees, and the attack on the 
 Chesapeake; when the character of the republic sunk in his 
 hands to the lowest point of pusillanimous dejection; and 
 when a proper degree of vigour would have restored it to 
 its wonted honour and fame. Washin<»ton, thouo-h careful 
 at all times to shun war, never failed to extort the respect 
 of foreign powers. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was more fortunate than W^ashington, in 
 having his life protracted to an old age, which introduced 
 him, as it were into the company oi' posterity, to behold the 
 effects of tiie two systems of government which he had 
 opposed as monarchiccd^ and which he had practised as re- 
 publican; but which were, in tact, only two modes of the 
 
582 PARALLEL. 
 
 same federal government! It was also his fortune to live 
 to behold the victories on sea and land of the war of 1812; 
 but he seems to have been insensible to his own agency in 
 the production of many of the disasters which that war 
 brought upon the country, and which were clearly to be 
 traced to his system of depending on the militia in time 
 of war, and his favourite theory of non-taxation^ and a total 
 independence of the monied influence. As democrats were 
 pledged by Jefferson, never to tax the people, the first con- 
 sequence of the war was the prostration of public credit^ 
 and the result of that was universal defeat on every quar- 
 ter; while, at the same time, his State right doctrine found 
 a practical illustration in the Hartford Convention, that 
 struck oft* one-half of the fiscal resources and moral weight 
 of the empire, from co-operating in the war. But, although 
 Mr. Jeff'erson lived through all these bitter fruits of his 
 erroneous policy, yet he does not appear to have been sen- 
 sible that he was instrumental, as he indubitably was, in 
 producing them: for they were the inevitable effects of the 
 great democratic system which he so proudly displayed to 
 the world, in his eloquent pen. But his correspondence 
 furnishes no gleam of suspicion, that the force of such la- 
 mentable experience ever shook the scales of political fana- . 
 ticism from his eyes; for though he exults much in the 
 splendour of our naval victories that wreathed gems of glory 
 round the brows of our Bainhridge, our Decatur, and our 
 Hull, yet he never seemed conscious of his own error of 
 policy, in respect to our naval system, which would have 
 reduced its actions to our harbours, and its seventy-fours 
 to the cockle-shell dimensions of a gun-boat. 
 
 How superior in this respect was Washington! — 'who 
 founded public credit on a just system of taxation, as a 
 source o^ revenue to pay the interest, and redeem the />nn- 
 cipal — who, from experience, pronounced militia to be in- 
 capable of waging protracted war — and who consolidated 
 into a system that fisccd power without which war wants 
 its sinews, and government its wheels. 
 
 Thus the reaction caused by the Jefferson system only 
 confirmed the wisdom of the Washington policy: and in 
 the last extremity of disgrace and poverty, Madison was 
 compelled to plan a nationcd bank of fifty millions capi- 
 tal, to raise an army of 50,000 men, and to increase the 
 navy to royal power and splendour; besides resorting to 
 
PARALLEL. 383 
 
 STAMP ACTSj EXCISE LAWS, the FUNDING SYSTEM, national 
 depreciated paper^ immense bands of government officers, 
 and, in fine, with the exception of the alien and sedition 
 laws, every feature of the federal policy. Thus, Jefferson 
 lived to see Madison practise all that he had denounced as 
 monarchy, corruption, and tyranny, in his federal prede- 
 cessors. 
 
 The great traits of Mr. Jefferson's character were deci- 
 dedly modern; and he had nothing of the gothic left in his 
 mind, after the era of 1793. Washington, on the contrary, 
 evinced a disposition to cling to what was established; while 
 Jefferson was at all times on the alert for revolution, inven- 
 tion, improvement, looking to the intellectual perfectability 
 of man; while the eyes of Washington were alone fixed upon 
 the virtue and iiappiness of the human family. The mind of 
 Jefferson was more active, more inquisitive, more exploring, 
 more philosopliic, and aimed to abolish every abuse, civil 
 and religious, which obstructed the march of the intellect to 
 unshackled perfection. Learning more profound, and spe- 
 culation more excursive, distinguished Jefferson, and opened 
 to his view avenues for doubt, knowledge, abuse, and men- 
 tal bondage than Washington ever dreamed of; for, as a 
 philosopher, or a mere literary man, the great chief of the 
 republic cannot compare with the sage of Monticello. Nor 
 does the hero of Mount Vernon require any of the eclat of 
 philosophy, or the schools, or unversities, or philosophical 
 societies, to add to the unfading lustre of his imperishable 
 name, or swell the limits of his boundless glory. 
 
 The animosity of Jefferson towards every thing in any 
 manner connected with kingcraft, or priestcraft, was one 
 of the ruling passions of his mind, that never suffered 
 change, or underwent mitigation. Had he lived in the 
 time of Luther, he would have instigated to a schism in the 
 church, or a total renunciation of Christianity; and had he 
 been a subject of English King John, he would have stimu- 
 lated the people to extort the Magna Charta from the king, 
 or excited them to abolish the throne and forfeit the head 
 of the monarch. There was that in him which, in any 
 country, and any age, would never have remained quiet 
 while power abused right, or oppression laughed at justice: 
 and there was, too, within him that which prompted him to 
 aspire to rule men, in virtue of having been gifted by na- 
 ture with the requisite talents for their government. In all 
 
184 
 
 PARALLEL* 
 
 these traits of his mind, he differed essentially irom Wash- 
 ington, who was disposed to acquiesce in systems already 
 established; and who was wholly indifferent to the preva- 
 lence of priestcraft, or the abuses of religion to the sinister 
 purposes of human passion. The active spirit of the Re- 
 former had no place in the nature of the hero of Mount 
 Vernon, who being firmly attached to the democratical prin- 
 ciples of the Constitution — which he had himself mainly as- 
 sisted to establish, v/hich recognised the exercise of the 
 equal rights of the people, and which brought the govern- 
 ment into the very focus of the popular sovereignty — he 
 seems to have been satisfied to promote the general happi- 
 ness of mankind, through the regular medium which the 
 people had devised and adopted for that purpose, in the 
 plenary and unlimited exercise of their power. 
 
 Aspiring to do something more for the people than the 
 Constitution warranted, and imputing to the democratic 
 federalists designs inimical to liberty, Mr. Jefferson pro- 
 fessed to give the people a degree of freedom incompatible 
 with government, and to assume the exclusive merit to 
 himself of being a friend to the exercise of equal rights, 
 and the enjoyment of human happiness. In the calm mo- 
 ments of sober enquiry, and impartial reflection, he recalled 
 the stigma, and disclaimed the arrogation, conceding to all 
 his oppopents the merit of honest intentions, and the pos- 
 session of principles favourable to human liberty, and con- 
 servative of our republican constitution. 
 
 In maintaining his judgment in the cool equipoise of 
 reason, and his mind free from the fever of political fanati- 
 cism, Washington was far superior to Jefferson, who on 
 his part, fell irom the true glory of philosophy into all 
 the cant, bigotry, and delusion of a vulgar enthusiast for 
 the destruction of law and order. To have attained the 
 standard of true philosophical dignity, which in general 
 belonged to Washington, in virtue of his admirable mind, 
 Jef!erson ought to have felt and practised the same political 
 tolerance that he espoused in matters of religious opinions, 
 and abstained equally from the fire and faggots of the poli- 
 tical as he did of the religious fanatic: for a fanatic in party 
 passions is far less excusable than a fimatic in religion — 
 the former resembling a horse-jockey, and the latter a poor 
 besotted monk. 
 
 In this respect, when we contemplate the character of 
 
PARALLEL. 385 
 
 Washington, we bow with instinctive reverence to the ma- 
 jesty of reason, as well as virtue; and venerate the heart 
 of that man who could modulate its tumultuous throbbings 
 at the suggestion of patriotism and philosophy, rebuking 
 faction from his presence, spurning from him its venom, 
 its poison, and its vengeance — its degrading passions, and 
 its debasing instruments — its insincere doublings — its si- 
 mulating tortuosities — its unmanly deception — its fawning 
 meanness, and its sycophantic adulation. Enthroned in 
 truth, virtue, and patriotism, he required no altar of vulgar 
 prejudices to smoke with the sacrifice of honesty and truth, 
 to conciliate his pleasure, or appease his resentment — too 
 strong in virtue, and too conscious of justice, to give favour 
 as a boon, or receive flattery in commutation of right. 
 
 It is, after all, in the moral grandeur of character that 
 we are to look for that superiority, which entitles heroes and 
 statesmen to the lasting esteem, applause and veneration 
 of mankind, through all changes of time, and through all 
 revolutions of empires. The system of government, or the 
 mode of polity popular in one age may be execrated in ano- 
 ther, as men sink to degeneracy, or soar higher in the scale 
 of perfection; as taste varies, or fashions alter: but in Vir- 
 tue there is a truth and a beauty that endures forever, the 
 graces of which never fade, but charm all tastes in all ages, 
 among all nations. Here we are constrained to confess 
 that Washington bears away the palm from all competitors 
 in the race of glory, being equally exempt from ambition 
 and envy, avarice and hatred, revenge and cruelty, and 
 free from all those personal vices whicli degrade our being, 
 and detract from the intellectual excellence of man. It can 
 be said of few men, as it may of Washington, that he never 
 traduced another's fame, envied another's greatness, or at- 
 tempted to pull down a rival, or obstruct his advancement 
 by intrigue, fiction, insinuation, falsehood, or calumny; 
 being not only negatively, but positively virtuous — uniting 
 benevolence to justice, and doing in all cases to others as 
 he would that others should do unto him. An empire lay 
 at his command, but he disdained it at the price of virtue: 
 a crown might have glittered on his brows, but he trampled 
 the meretricious gem beneath his feet. A free people invited 
 him to authority for life, but he rejected the offer, and re- 
 tired to the quiet enjoyment of private life, presenting in 
 every feature of his character that moderation, humility, 
 
886 PARALLEL. 
 
 modesty, virtue, clemency^ and firmness, which constitutes 
 the moral grandeur of genius^ and extorts the universal 
 homage of mankind. 
 
 From as full an investigation of the respective merits of 
 these distinguished men as our limited talents would permit 
 us to make^ and from as impartial an estimate of their prin- 
 ciples and public services, as a total exemption from motive 
 allows to the frailty of our nature — we are constrained to 
 acknowledge that, in point of genius, wisdom, patriotism, 
 and service to his country, Washington soars to a height of 
 superiority that admits of no competitor, no rival, no equal; 
 while Mr. Jefferson presents so many striking points of cha- 
 racter, mingled with great genius, various erudition, expert 
 statesmanship, and eccentric opinion, as at once to command 
 admiration, and induce esteem; at the same time that his 
 Versatile character, and singular doctrines, will lead to 
 the interminable animosity, and inapppeasable dislike of a 
 vast portion of mankind. In all stations, Washington Was 
 incomparably great: in the range of his civil duties, Jeffer- 
 son was always able. Both achieved great blessings for 
 mankind : but Washington achieved greater for his country. 
 In intellect, both were beyond the common standard of 
 great men — in patriotism, both were undoubted- — in princi- 
 ple, both were sound — in opinion, Washington was sincere, 
 and Jefferson equivocal. Leisure and education made Jef- 
 ferson a philosopher t business, and the calls of his country 
 compelled Washington to keep the field of active life, and 
 denied him the speculations of the closet; so that his entire 
 existence was devoted to the practical labours of beneficent 
 government. Envying no man, and coveting no power, he 
 never rose by the fall of others; for fortune threw author- 
 ity and honours into his lap, even contrary to his desire; 
 and he was naturally prone to add to, instead of detracting 
 from, the merits of others. As it relates to their political 
 doctrines, I have been unable to discover that Jefferson 
 was more of a democrat than Washington, or that Washino-- 
 ton was more of a federalist than Jefferson, accordino- to the 
 Constitution, as it was administered under their respective 
 administrations. 
 
 I now speak of them as statesmen — Washington was not 
 a politician; and Jefferson was an ultra politician, who made 
 a clamour about liberty when, Washington being in power, 
 no want of it was experienced, and in a country where it was 
 
PARALLEL. 387 
 
 enjoyed to the utmost extent of popular sovereignty. This 
 was a mere personal, not a political difference between them. 
 It w?is personal in Jefferson, in order to court the people to 
 his support; but it meant nothing, and it could give them 
 nothing but what they possessed; for how could he add to 
 the FULLNESS OF LIBERTY.^ How could he fill a measure 
 already overflowing? The difference between them was in 
 iheinotive, not in the principle. It was necessary to impeach 
 the patriotism of Washington in order to give himself merit; 
 but the contrast produced was opposite to that which was 
 desired; and but for, to him, the saving folly of John Adams, 
 the reaction would have been fatal to the fame of Jefferson. 
 
 Adams more than realised the fiction which Jefferson had 
 created against his predecessor; and what was illusion in 
 1793, became fact — palpable and tangible fact in 17981 
 Adams, too, was an ultra politician, and he was the natural 
 foil of another ultra politician of the radical school, who had 
 only to restore the Constitution to its Washingtonian in^ 
 tegrity, and his fallacies of liberty were supposed to have 
 produced a revolution, which was solely accomplished by 
 the simple operation of the national charter, in its legiti- 
 mate rectitude- The non-ahusp. of the Constitution pro- 
 duced universal exuberance of freedom; and fidelity to the 
 principles of the revolution, constituted equally the merit 
 of Washington and Jefferson. 
 
 It was this fidelty which caused them both to administer 
 the government to the satisfaction of the people, and the 
 prosperity of the country; so that, in the lapse of time, and 
 on mature reflection, it became difficult to detect those 
 minute points of difference which had been engendered by 
 the interference of foreign politics, having no relation to 
 our Constitution and government; but which merely served 
 as machines of detraction, by which parties could depre- 
 ciate and criminate one another, without having any foun- 
 dation beyond the inflamed passions of the moment. It 
 was incident to the great mind of Washington, that he 
 rejected the use, and repelled the intrusion of these foreign 
 topics of incendiary faction, his sagacity having penetrated 
 to their fallacious character, and his rigid sense of honesty 
 and justice, having repudiated the use of all means to ac- 
 complish an end not sanctified by morality and truth. On 
 the other hand, every true American must lament, that it 
 was incident to the peculiar situation and circumstances of 
 
388 PARALLEL. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, to harbour, cherish and apply to political 
 purposes, a delusion too gross to receive the countenance of 
 a philosopher J and to foment a foreign fanatacism, too pe- 
 culiar to the country in which it originated, to permit its 
 adoption without betraying an extravagance and inconsis- 
 tency unbecoming an American statesman. But the lesson 
 to be derived from the example, creates the clemency that 
 extends a liberal indulgence to the error; while the efful- 
 gence of his talents and patriotism throws into obscurity 
 those minor spots of character which are lost in the blaze of 
 the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 In nothing is the human judgment so wanting in discri- 
 mination, as in its proper appreciation of personal charac- 
 ter. We are all prone to idolise those we admire, as per- 
 fect beings, or to denounce those we dislike as monsters of 
 deformity, whose blemishes are unredeemed by one beauty, 
 or a solitary excellence. It is needless to observe that such 
 a course wars equally against philosophy, common sense, 
 and the obligations of justice between man and man; but 
 we are bound to declare, that he who aspires to the dignity 
 of a rational being, can only evince his title to that honour 
 by learning to place a juster estimate upon human fallibility, 
 and to confess that a man may be great without being fault- 
 less, and that the splendour^ of his genius may justify all 
 our admiration, without permitting us to fall into idolatry, 
 or maintaining the preposterous idea of his infallible virtue. 
 
 It is in this spirit of philosophical truth tliat I have en- 
 deavoured to analyse the character of Jefferson; conscious 
 that his intrinsic greatness was more than sufficient to com- 
 pensate for his casual inconsistencies, or occasional dere- 
 lictions; and confident that the affection of his devotees, 
 however ardent, could not interpose the plea of perfection 
 against the confession of frailty flowing from his own lips. 
 History deals in facts, not affections; and, in all cases of 
 controverted character, we appeal for a verdict to the head, 
 even though the heart bleeds in announcing the sentence. 
 While the same principle has regulated our estimate of the 
 qualities of Washington, the absence of the same inconsis- 
 tencies averted conclusions equally detractive, though still 
 adverse to that superlative point of transcendent perfection 
 which the votary claims for the idol of his devotion. Still, 
 however, we behold, in the character of Washington, a 
 man less imperfect than any other man, whom history has 
 
PARALLEL. 389 
 
 delineated as the chief agent of sovereign power, as one 
 who made up for the w ant of effulgent genius by the steady- 
 splendour of his virtues, and the undeviating rectitude of 
 his understanding! 
 
 Admitting both to be men who had human frailties, man- 
 kind must always concede them to have been very extra- 
 ordinary models of their kind, not excelled by any whom 
 ancient superstition has deified, or modern enthusiasm 
 extolled as the prodigy of ag-es; and he, who calls himself 
 an American, and does not feel his heart expand, and his 
 chest swell with the just pride of a patriot, when he hears 
 the name of irashington, or recals to mind the services of 
 Jefferson^ must have a bosom too callous to be excited by 
 greatness to admiration, or impressed by virtue to grati- 
 tude, love and veneration. 
 
 The American who loves his country, and feels conscious 
 of the pride of patriotism, in the glory of its achievements, 
 and the virtues of its fiithers, will exalt his views above the 
 mists o{ party when he contemplates the greatness of these 
 two illustrious founders of the republic, and decree them, 
 accordingly, that ample and unmixed measure of fame to 
 which they'are both entitled as American statesmen; who, 
 inhaling the breath o^ genius at their birth, gave more than 
 royal dignity to the obscure cradles of the cottages in -which 
 they were born, and from which they emerged to supreme 
 power, by the force of virtue and talents pre-eminent among 
 men, through the spontaneous suffrages of a free and en- 
 lightened people. Upheld by principles of eternal truth, 
 and made memorable by deeds of lasting utility, their 
 names are consecrated to perpetual veneration in the hearts 
 of a grateful posterity, who never can forget their virtues 
 "while they enjoy its fruits, nor cease to emulate as long as 
 they continue to appreciate their patriotism. 
 
 THE END. 
 

 ■'! 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 96, third paragraph, ' Virginia' is added erroneously to the 
 
 five States that originally appointed delegates to the Convention. 
 
 The next paragraph will lead the reader to correct the error. 
 Page 315, in note, fourth line from bottom, for ' ox John Adams,' 
 
 read 'with John Adams.' 
 Page 320, fourteenth line, for 'ruling whose passion,' read 'whose 
 
 ruling passion.' 
 
UBB^OFCONGBESS 
 
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