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GEORGE WASHINGTON.
31
Martha Parke Custis, who died in the seventeenth year of her
age, was known as the "dark lady," on account of her bru-
nette complexion, and was greatly loved by the neighboring
poor, to whom she frequently ministered. On her well pre-
served portrait, painted by Charles Wilson Peale, is inscribed
" A Virginia Beauty."
Mrs. Washington ardently sympathized with her husband in
his patriotic measures. To a kinswoman, who deprecated
what she called "his folly," Mrs. Washington wrote in 1774:
" Yes, I foresee consequences — dark days, domestic happiness
suspended, social enjoyments abandoned, and eternal separa-
tions on earth possible. But my mind is made up, my heart is in
the cause. George is right ; he is always right. God has prom-
ised to protect the righteous, and I will trust him." Patrick
Henry and Edmund Pendleton spent a day and night at Mount
Vernon in August, 1774, on their way to congress. Pendleton
afterward wrote to a friend : " Mrs. Washington talked like a
Spartan to her son on his going to battle. ' I hope you will all
stand firm,' she said ; ' I know George will.' " After her husband
became commander-in-chief she was burdened with many cares.
He visited Mount Vernon only twice during the war. She
joined him at Cambridge, Mass., in 1775, subsequently accom-
panying Gen. Washington to New York and Philadelphia, and
whenever it was possible joined him in camp. During the win-
ter at Valley Forge she suffered every privation m common with
the officers, and " was busy from morning till night providing
comforts for the sick soldiers." Although previous to the war
she had paid much attention to her attire, as became her wealth
and station, while it continued she dressed only in garments
that were spun and woven by her servants at Mount Vernon.
At a ball in New Jersey that was given in her honor she wore
one of these simple gowns and a white kerchief, "as an exam-
ple of economy to the women of the Revolution." Her last
surviving child, John Parke Custis, died in November, 1781,
leaving four children. The two younger, Eleanor Parke Custis
and George Washington Parke Custis, Gen. Washington at
once adopted. After Mrs. Washington left headquarters at
Newburgh in 1782, she did not again return to camp life. She
was residing at Mount Vernon (see illustration) at the time
Washington was chosen president of the United States. When
she assumed the duties of mistress of the executive mansion in
32
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
^f^::^4'll^^r^^i!.^^^^f1^^^^c'^^-^ -
New York she was fifty-seven years old, but still retained
traces of beauty, and bore herself with great personal dignity.
She instituted levees, that she ever afterward continued, on
Friday evening of each week from eight to nine o'clock.
" None were admit-
ted but those who
had a right of en-
trance by official sta-
tion or established
character," and full
dress was required.
During the second
term of the president
they resided in Phila-
delphia, where their
public receptions were conducted as those in New York had
been. An English gentleman, describing her at her own table
in 1794, says : " Mrs. Washington struck me as being older than
the president. She was extremely simple in dress, and wore
her gray hair turned up under a very plain cap." She greatly
disliked official life, and rejoiced when her husband refused a
third term in 1796. She resided at Mount Vernon during the re-
mainder of her life, occupied with her domestic duties, of which
she was fond, and in entertaining the numerous guests that
visited her husband. She survived him two and a half years.
Before her death she destroyed her entire correspondence with
Gen. Washington. "Thus," says her grandson and biographer,
George Washington Parke Custis, "proving her love for him,
for she would not permit that the confidence they had shared
together should be made public." See " Memoirs of the Mother
and Wife of Washington," by Margaret C. Conkling (Auburn,
N. Y., 185 1), " Mary and Martha," by Benson J. Lossing (New
York, 1887), and "The Story of Mary Washington," by Marion
Harland (Boston, 1892).
His adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis,
author, born at Mount Airy, Md., 30 April, 1781 ; died at Ar-
lington House, Fairfax co., Va., 10 Oct., 1857. His father,
Col. John Parke Custis, the son of Mrs. Washington by her
first husband, was aide-de-camp to Washington at the siege of
Yorktown, and died 5 Nov., 1781, aged twenty-eight. The
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
33
son had his early home at Mount Vernon, pursued his classical
studies at St. John's College and at Princeton, and remained a
member of Washington's family until the death of Mrs. Wash-
ington in 1802, when he built Arlington House on an estate of
1,000 acres near Washington, which he had inherited from his
father. After the death in 1852 of his sister, Eleanor Parke
Custis, wife of Major Lawrence Lewis, he was the sole surviving
member of Washington's family, and his residence was for
many years a favorite resort, owing to the interesting relics of
that family which it contained. Mr. Custis married in early
life Mary Lee Fitzhugh, of Virginia, and left a daughter, who
married Robert E. Lee. The Arlington estate was confiscated
during the civil war, and is now held as national property and
is the site of a national soldiers' cemetery. The house is rep-
resented in the accompanying illustration. Mr. Custis was in
his early days an elo-
quent and effective ^_,^rf*.&.-s> ji^A'^'-
speaker. He wrote
orations and plays,
and during his lat-
ter years executed
a number of large
paintings of Revolu-
tionary battles. His
" Recollections of
Washington," origin-
ally contributed to the " National Intelligencer," was published
in book-form, with a memoir by his daughter and numerous
notes by Benson J. Lossing (New York, i860).
Washington's brother-in-law. Fielding Lewis, patriot,
born in Spottsylvania county, Va., in 1726; died in Fredericks-
burg, Va., in December, 1781. He was the proprietor of half
the town of Fredericksburg, Va., of which he was the first
mayor, and of much of the adjoining territory, and during the
Revolution he was an ardent patriot, superintending a large
manufactory of arms in that neighborhood; the site of this
establishment is still known as " Gunny Green." He was a
magistrate and a member of the Virginia legislature for many
years. He married Elizabeth, sister of George Washington,
and built for her a mansion that is still standing, called Ken-
34
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
more House, which was handsomely constructed and orna-
mented with carvings that were brought from England for
the purpose. His wife was majestic in person and lovely
in mental and moral attributes. Later in life she so much
resembled her brother George that, by putting on his long
military coat and his hat, she could easily have been mis-
taken for the general. Mary, the mother of Washington, died
on Mr. Lewis's farm and is buried there. Of their sons, George
was a captain in Washington's life-guard, Robert one of his
private secretaries, and Andrew was aide to Gen. Daniel Mor-
gan in suppressmg the whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania.
Another son, Lawrence, was Washington's favorite nephew.
His wife, Eleanor Parke Custis, born at Abingdon, Fair-
fax CO., Va., in March, 1779 ; died at Audley, Clarke co., Va.,
15 July, 1852, was the daughter of John Parke Custis, the son
of Martha Washington. At the death
of her father, in 1781, she, with her
brother George, was adopted by Gen.
Washington, and lived at Mount Ver-
non. Eleanor was regarded as the most
brilliant and beautiful young woman of
her day, the pride of her grandmother,
and the favorite of Washington, who
was the playmate of her childhood and
the confidant of her girlhood. How-
ever abstracted, she could always com-
mand his attention, and he would put
aside the most important matter to at-
tend to her demands. She was accom-
plished in drawing, and a good musi-
cian. Washington presented her with a
harpsichord at the cost of a thousand dollars. Irving relates an
anecdote that illustrates their relations: "She was romantic,
and fond of wandering in the moonlight alone in the woods.
Mrs. Washington thought this unsafe, and forced from her a
promise that she would not visit the woods again unaccompa-
nied, but she was brought one evening into the drawing-room
where her grandmother, seated in her arm-chair, began in the
presence of the general a severe reproof. Poor Nellie was re-
minded of her promise, and taxed with her delinquency. She
L .^ /^^^S-'^^^-"'^^*^
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
35
admitted her fault and essayed no excuse, moving to retire
from the room. She was just closing the door when she over-
heard Washington attempting in a lo^.' voice to intercede in
her behalf. ' My dear,' he observed, ' 1 would say no more —
perhaps she was not alone.' His intercession stopped Miss
Nellie in her retreat. She reopened the aoor and advanced up
to the general with a firm step. 'Sir,' s .id she, 'you brought
me up to speak the truth, and, when I toU' grandmamma I was
alone, I hope you believe I was alone.' U ishington made one
of his most magnanimous bows. ' My chiU; ' he replied, * I beg
your pardon.'" In February, 1799, she n-arried his nephew,
Lawrence Lewis, the son of his sister Elizab«;th. Young Lewis,
after Washington's retirement from public -ife, had resided at
Mount Vernon, and after their marriage u cy continued there
till the death of Mrs. Washington in May, f8o2. The portrait
of Mrs. Lewis is from the picture by Gilbert Stuart, and is now
in the possession of her descendant, Edwin A. Stevens Lewis,
who is also the owner of the valuable silver service presented
to her by Gen. Washington.
Their grandson, Edward Parke Custis Lewis, diploma-
tist, born in Audley, Clarke co., Va., 7 Feb., 1337 ; died in Ho-
boken, N. J., 3 Sept., 1892. He was educated at the University
of Virginia, and studied law, but subsequently became a
planter. He served throughout the War of the Rebellion in
the Confederate army, rising to the rank of colonel, and for
fifteen months was a prisoner of war. He settled in Hoboken,
in 1875, having previously married Mrs. Mary Garnett, eldest
daughter of Edwin A. Stevens, of New Jersey, and widow of
Muscoe R. H. Garnett, Member of Congress from Virginia,
served in the New Jersey legislature in 1877, was a delegate to
the Democratic national convention in 1880, and in 1885 was
appointed by President Cleveland United States minister to
Portugal.
JOHN ADAMS.
John Adams, second president of the United States, born
in that part of the t>Hvn of Braintree, Mass., which has since
been set off as the town of Quincy. 31 Oct., 1735 ; died there,
4 July, 1826. His great-grandfather, Henry Adams, received
a grant of about 40 acres of land in Braintree in 1636, and soon
afterward emigrate! from Devonshire, England, with his eight
sons. John Adams, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest
son of John Adam.^ and Susanna Boylston, daughter of Peter
Boylston, of Bro'-klme. His father, one of the selectmen of
Braintree and a deacon of the church, was a thrifty farmer, and
at his death in i'6c his estate was appraised at ;!^i,33o 9s. 6d.,
which in those days
might have been re-
garded as a moderate
competence. It was
the custom of the
family to send the
eldest son to col-
lege, and according-
ly John was gradu-
ated at Harvard in
1755. Previous to
1773 the graduates
of Harvard were arranged in lists, not alphabetically or in order
of merit, but according to the social standing of their parents.
In a class of twenty-four members John thus stood fourteenth.
One of his classmates was John Wentworth, afterward royal
governor of New Hampshire, and then of Nova Scotia. After
taking his degree and while waiting to make his choice of a
profession, Adams took charge of the grammar school at
Worcester. It was the year of Braddock's defeat, when the
smouldering fires of a century of rivalry between France and
^m Jd^w
JOHN ADAMS. yj
England broke out in a blaze of war which was forever to
settle the question of the primacy of the English race in the
modern world. Adams took an intense interest in the struggle,
and predicted that if we could only drive out " these turbulent
Gallics," our numbers would in another century exceed those
of the British, and all Europe would be unable to subdue us.
In sending him to college his family seem to have hoped that
he would become a clergyman; but he soon found himself too
much of a free thinker to feel at home in the pulpit of that
day. When accused of Arminianism, he cheerfully admitted
the charge. Later in life he was sometimes called a Unitarian,
but of dogmatic Christianity he seems to have had as little as
Franklin or Jefferson. "Where do we find," he asks, "a pre-
cept in the gospel requiring ecclesiastical synods, convocations,
councils, decrees, creeds, confessions, oaths, subscriptions, and
whole cart-loads of other trumpery that we find religion en-
cumbered with in these days ? " In this mood he turned from
the ministry and began the study of law at Worcester. There
was then a strong prejudice against lawyers in New England,
but the profession throve lustily nevertheless, so litigious were
the people. In 1758 Adams began the practice of his profes-
sion in Suffolk CO., having his residence in Braintree. In 1764
he was married to Abigail Smith, of Weymouth, a lady of social
position higher than his own and endowed with most rare and
admirable qualities of head and heart. In this same year the
agitation over the proposed stamp act was begun, and on the
burning questions raised by this ill-considered measure Adams
had already taken sides. When James Otis in 1761 delivered
his memorable argument against writs of assistance, John
Adams was present in the court-room, and the fiery eloquence
of Otis wrought a wonderful effect upon him. As his son after-
ward said, " it was like the oath of Hamilcar administered to
Hannibal." In his old age John Adams wrote, with reference
to this scene, " Every man of an immense crowded audience
appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take arms against
writs of assistance. Then and there was the first scene of the
first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain.
Then and there the child Independence was born." When the
stamp act was passed, in 1765, Adams took a prominent part in
a town-meeting at Braintree, where he presented resolutions
which were adopted word for word by more than forty towns
38
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in Massachusetts. The people refused to make use of stamps,
and the business of the inferior courts was carried on without
them, judges and lawyers agreeing to connive at the absence
of the stamps. In the supreme court, however, where Thomas
Hutchinson was chief justice, the judges refused to transact
any business without stamps. This
threatened serious interruption to
business, and the town of Boston
addressed a memorial to the gov-
ernor and council, praying that the
supreme court might overlook the
absence of stamps. John Adams
was unexpectedly chosen, along
with Jeremiah Gridley and James
Otis, as -counsel for the town, to
argue the case in favor of the me-
morial. Adams delivered the open-
ing argument, and took the decisive
ground that the stamp act was ipso
facto null and void, since it was a
measure of taxation which the peo-
ple of the colony had taken no share in passing. No such
measure, he declared, could be held as binding in America, and
parliament had no right to tax the colonies. The governor
and council refused to act in the matter, but presently the
repeal of the stamp act put an end to the disturbance for a
while. About this time Mr. Adams began writing articles for
the Boston " Gazette." Four of these articles, dealing with the
constitutional rights of the people of New England, were
afterward republished under the somewhat curious title of
"An Essay on the Canon and Feudal Law." After ten years
of practice, Mr. Adams's business had become quite extensive,
and in 1768 he moved into Boston. The attorney-general of
Massachusetts, Jonathan Sewall, now offered him the lucrative
office of advocate-general in the court of admiralty. This was
intended to operate as an indirect bribe by putting Mr. Adams
into a position in which he could not feel free to oppose the
policy of the crown ; such insidious methods were systematic-
ally pursued by Gov. Bernard, and after him by Hutchinson.
But Mr. Adams was too wary to swallow the bait, and he
stubbornly refused the pressing offer.
JOHN ADAMS. 30
In 1770 came the first in the series of great acts that made
Mr. Adams's career illustrious. In the midst of the terrible
excitement aroused by the " Boston Massacre " he served as
counsel for Capt. Preston and his seven soldiers when they
were tried for murder. His friend and kinsman, Josiah Quincy,
assisted him in this invidious task. The trial was judiciously
postponed for seven months until the popular fury had abated.
Preston and five soldiers were acquitted ; the other two soldiers
were found guilty of manslaughter, and were barbarously
branded on the hand with a hot iron. The verdict seems to
have been strictly just according to the evidence presented.
For his services to his eight clients Mr. Adams received a fee
of nineteen guineas, but never got so much as a word of thanks
from the churlish Preston. An ordinary American politician
would have shrunk from the task of defending these men, for
fear of losing favor with the people. The course pursued by
Mr. Adams showed great moral courage ; and the people of
Boston proved themselves able to appreciate true manliness by
electing him as representative to the legislature. This was in
June, 1770, after he had undertaken the case of the soldiers,
but before the trial. Mr. Adams now speedily became the
principal legal adviser of the patriot party, and among its fore-
most leaders was only less conspicuous than Samuel Adams,
Hancock, and Warren. In all matters of legal controversy
between these leaders and Gov. Hutchinson his advice proved
invaluable. During the next two years there was something
of a lull in the political excitement ; Mr. Adams resigned his
place in the legislature and moved his residence to Braintree,
still keeping his office in Boston. In the summer of 1772 the
British government ventured upon an act that went further
than anything which had yet occurred toward driving the
colonies into rebellion. It was ordered that all the Massa-
chusetts judges holding their places during the king's pleasure
should henceforth have their salaries paid by the crown and
not by the colony. This act, which aimed directly at the in-
dependence of the judiciary, aroused intense indignation, not
only in Massachusetts, but in the other colonies, which felt
their liberties threatened by such a measure. It called forth
from Mr. Adams a series of powerful articles, which have been
republished in the 3d volume of his collected works. About
this time he was chosen member of the council, but he at
40
LIVES OF THE PRESIDEiVTS.
choice was negatived by Gov. Hutchinson. The five acts of
parliament in April, 1774, including the regulating act and
the Boston port bill, led to the calling of the first continental
congress, to which Mr. Adams was chosen as one of the five
delegates from Massachusetts. The resolutions passed by this
congress on the subject of colonial rights were drafted by him,
and his diary and letters contain a vivid account of some of
the proceedings. On his return to Braintree he was chosen a
member of the revolutionary provincial congress of Massachu-
setts, then assembled at Concord. This revolutionary body
had already seized the revenues of the colony, appointed a
committee of safety, and begun to organize an army and col-
lect arms and ammunition. During the following winter the
views of the loyalist party were set forth with great ability and
eloquence in a series of newspaper articles by Daniel Leonard,
under the signature of " Massachusettensis." He was answered
most effectively by Mr. Adams, whose articles, signed " No-
vanglus," appeared weekly in the Boston " Gazette " until the
battle of Lexington. The last of these articles, which was
actually in type in that wild week, was not published. The
series, which has been reprinted in the 4th volume of Mr.
Adams's works, contains a valuable review of the policy of
Bernard and Hutchinson, and a powerful statement of the
rights of the colonies.
In the second continental congress, which assembled May
loth, Mr. Adams played a very important part. Of all the
delegates present he was probably the only one, except his
cousin, Samuel Adams, who was convinced that matters had
gone too far for any reconciliation with the mother country,
and that there was no use in sending any more petitions to the
king. As there was a strong prejudice against Massachusetts
on the part of the middle and southern colonies, it was desir-
able that her delegates should avoid all appearance of undue
haste in precipitating an armed conflict. Nevertheless, the
•circumstances under which an army of 16,000 New England
men had been gathered to besiege the British in Boston were
such as to make it seem advisable for the congress to adopt it
as a continental army ; and here John Adams did the second
notable deed of his career. He proposed Washington for the
chief command of this army, and thus, by putting Virginia in
the foreground, succeeded in committing that great colony to
JOHN ADAMS. 4 1
a course of action calculated to end in independence. This
move not only put the army in charge of the only commander
capable of winning independence for the American people in
the field, but its political importance was great and obvious.
Afterward in some dark moments of the revolutionary war,
Mr. Adams seems almost to have regretted his part in this
selection of a commander. He understood little or nothing of
military affairs, and was incapable of appreciating General
Washington's transcendent ability. The results of the war,
however, justified in every respect his action in the second ^
continental congress.
During the summer recess taken by congress Mr. Adams
sat as a member of the Massachusetts council, which declared
the office of governor vacant and assumed executive authority.
Under the new provisional government of Massachusetts, Mr.
Adams was made chief justice, but never took his seat, as
continental affairs more pressingly demanded his attention.
He was always loquacious, often too ready to express his
opinions, whether with tongue or pen, and this trait got him
more than once into trouble, especially as he was inclined to
be sharp and censorious. For John Dickinson, the leader of
the moderate and temporizing party in congress, who had just
prevailed upon that body to send another petition to the king,
he seems to have entertained at this time no very high regard,
and he gave vent to some contemptuous expressions in a
confidential letter, which was captured by the British and
published. This led to a quarrel with Dickinson, and made
Mr. Adams very unpopular in Philadelphia. When congress
reassembled in the autumn, Mr. Adams, as member of a com-
mittee for fitting out cruisers, drew up a body of regulations,
which came to form the basis of the American naval code.
The royal governor. Sir John Wentworth, fled from New
Hampshire about this time, and the people sought the advice of
congress as to the form of government which it should seem
most advisable to adopt. Similar applications presently came
from South Carolina and Virginia. Mr. Adams prevailed upon
congress to recommend to these colonies to form for them-
selves new governments based entirely upon popular suffrage;
and about the same time he published a pamphlet entitled
"Thoughts on Government, Applicable to the Present State of
the American Colonies." By the spring of 1776 the popular
42
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
//
feeling had become so strongly inclined toward independence
that, on the 15th of May, Mr. Adams was able to carry through
congress a resolution that all the colonies should be invited
to form independent governments. In the preamble to this
resolution it was declared that the American people could no
longer conscientiously take oath to support any government
deriving its authority from the crown ; all such governments
must now be suppressed, since the king had withdrawn
his protection from the inhabitants of the united colonies.
Like the famous preamble to Townshend's act of 1767, this
Adams preamble contained within itself the gist of the whole
matter. To adopt it was to cross the Rubicon, and it gave
rise to a hot debate in congress. Against the opposition of
most of the delegates from the middle states the resolution
was finally carried; "and now," exclaimed Mr. Adams, "the
Gordian knot is cut." Events came quickly to maturity. On
the 7th of June the declaration of independence was moved by
Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, and seconded by John Adams.
The motion was allowed to lie on the table for three weeks,
in order to hear from the colonies of Connecticut, New Hamp-
shire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New
York, which had not yet declared their position with regard to
independence. Meanwhile three committees were appointed,
one on a declaration of independence, a second on confedera-
tion, and a third on foreign relations ; and Mr. Adams was a
member of the first and third of these committees. On the ist
of July Mr, Lee's motion was taken up by congress sitting as
a committee of the whole ; and as Mr. Lee was absent, the
task of defending it devolved upon Mr. Adams, who, as usual,
was opposed by Dickinson. Adams's speech on that occasion
was probably the finest he ever delivered. Jefferson called
him "the colossus of that debate"; and indeed his labors in
bringing about the declaration of independence must be con-
sidered as the third signal event of his career.
On the i2th of June congress established a board of war
and ordnance, with Mr. Adams for its chairman, and he dis-
charged the arduous duties of this office until after the sur-
render of Burgoyne. After the battle of Long Island, Lord
Howe sent the captured Gen. Sullivan to Philadelphia, solicit-
ing a conference with some of the members of the congress.
Adams opposed the conference, and with characteristic petu-
JOHN ADAMS. 43
lance alluded to the unfortunate Sullivan as a decoy duck who
had much better have been shot in the battle than sent on
such a business. Congress, however, consented to the confer-
ence, and Adams was chosen as a commissioner, along with
Franklin and Rutledge. Toward the end of the year 1777
Mr. Adams was appointed to supersede Silas Deane as com-
missioner to France. He sailed 12 Feb., 1778, in the frigate
"Boston," and after a stormy passage, in which he ran no
little risk of capture by British cruisers, he landed at Bordeaux,
and reached Paris on the 8th of April. Long before his arrival
the alliance with France had been consummated. He found a
wretched state of things in Paris, our three commissioners
there at loggerheads, one of them dabbling in the British funds
and making a fortune by privateering, while the public ac-
counts were kept in the laxest manner. All sorts of agents
were drawing bills upon the United States, and commanders of
war vessels were setting up their claims for expenses and sup-
plies that had never been ordered. Mr. Adams, whose habits
of business were extremely strict and methodical, was shocked
at this confusion, and he took hold of the matter with such
vigor as to put an end to it. He also recommended that the
representation of the United States at the French court should
be intrusted to a single minister instead of three commis-
sioners. As a result of this advice, Franklin was retained at
Paris, Arthur Lee was sent to Madrid, and Adams, being left
without any instructions, returned to America, reaching Boston
2 Aug., 1779. He came home with a curious theory of the
decadence of Great Britain, which he had learned in France,
and which serves well to illustrate the mood in which France
had undertaken to assist the United States. England, he said,
"loses every day her consideration, and runs toward her ruin.
Her riches, in which her power consisted, she has lost with us
and never can regain. She resembles the melancholy spectacle
of a great, wide-spreading tree that has been girdled at the
root." Such absurd notions were quite commonly entertained
at that time on the continent of Europe, and such calamities
were seriously dreaded by many Englishmen in the event of
the success of the Americans.
Immediately on reaching home Mr. Adams was chosen
delegate from Braintree to the convention for framing a new
constitution for Massachusetts; but before the work of the
44
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
convention was finished he was appointed commissioner to
treat for peace with Great Britain, and sailed for France in the
same French frigate in which he had come home. But Lord
North's government was not ready to make peace, and, more-
over. Count Vergennes contrived to prevent Adams from mak-
ing any official communication to Great Britain of the extent
of his powers. During Adams's stay in Paris a mutual dislike
and distrust grew up between himself and Vergennes. The
latter feared that if negotiations were to begin between the
British government and the United States, they might lead to
a reconciliation and reunion of the two branches of the English
race, and thus ward off that decadence of England for which
France was so eagerly hoping. On the other hand, Adams
quite correctly believed that it was the intention of Vergennes
to sacrifice the interests of the Americans, especially as con-
cerned with the Newfoundland fisheries and the territory be-
tween the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, in favor of Spain,
with which country France was then in close alliance. Amer-
icans must always owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Adams for
the clear-sightedness with which he thus read the designs of
Vergennes and estimated at its true value the purely selfish
intervention of France in behalf of the United States. This
clearness of insight was soon to bear good fruit in the manage-
ment of the treaty of 1783. For the present, Adams found
himself uncomfortable in Paris, as his too ready tongue wrought
unpleasantness both with Vergennes and with Franklin, who
was too much under the French minister's influence. On his
first arrival in Paris, society there had been greatly excited
about him, as it was supposed that he was " the famous Mr.
Adams " who had ordered the British troops out of Boston in
March, 1770, and had thrown down the glove of defiance to
George III. on the great day of the Boston tea-party. When
he explained that he was only a cousin of that grand and
picturesque personage, he found that fashionable society thence-
forth took less interest in him.
In the summer of 1780 Mr. Adams was charged by congress
with the business of negotiating a Dutch loan. In order to
give the good people of Holland some correct ideas as to
American affairs, he published a number of articles in the Ley-
den " Gazette " and in a magazine entitled " La politique
hollandaise " ; also "Twenty-six Letters upon Interesting Sub-
JOHN ADAMS. ^c
jects respecting the Revolution in America," now reprinted in
the 7th volume of his works. Soon after Adams's arrival in
Holland, England declared war against the Dutch, ostensibly
because of a proposed treaty of commerce with the United
States in which the burgomaster of Amsterdam was implicated
with Henry Laurens, but really because Holland had joined
the league headed by the empress Catharine of Russia, de-
signed to protect the commerce of neutral nations and known
as the armed neutrality. Laurens had been sent out by con-
gress as minister to Holland ; but, as he had been captured
by a British cruiser and taken to the tower of London, Mr.
Adams was appointed minister in his place. His first duty was
to sign, as representing the United States, the articles of the
armed neutrality. Before he had got any further, indeed be-
fore he had been recognized as minister by the Dutch govern-
ment, he was called back to Paris, in July, 1781, in order to be
ready to enter upon negotiations for peace with the British
government. Russia and Austria had volunteered their serv-
ices as mediators between George HL and the Americans;
but Lord North's government rejected the offer, so that Mr.
Adams had his journey for nothing, and presently went back
to Holland. His first and most arduous task was to persuade
the Dutch government to recognize him as minister from the
independent United States. In this he was covertly opposed
by Vergennes, who wished the Americans to feel exclusively
dependent upon France, and to have no other friendships or
alliances. From first to last the aid extended by France to
the Americans in the revolutionary war was purely selfish.
That despotic government wished no good to a people strug-
gling to preserve the immemorial principles of English liberty,
and the policy of Vergennes was to extend just enough aid to
us to enable us to prolong the war, so that colonies and mother
country might alike be weakened. When he pretended to be
the disinterested friend of the Americans, he professed to be
under the influence of sentiments that he did not really feel ;
and he thus succeeded in winning from congress a confidence
to which he was in no wise entitled. But he could not hood-
wink John Adams, who wrote home that the duke de la Vau-
guyon, the French ambassador at the Hague, was doing every-
thing in his power to obstruct the progress of the negotiations ;
and in this, Adams correctly inferred, he was acting under
46 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
secret instructions from Vergennes. As a diplomatist Adams
was in a certain sense Napoleonic ; he introduced new and
strange methods of warfare, which disconcerted the perfidious
intriguers of the old school, of which Vergennes and Talley-
rand were typical examples. Instead of beating about the
bush and seeking to foil trickery by trickery (a business in
which the wily Frenchman would doubtless have proved more
than his match), he went straight to the duke de la Vauguyon
and bluntly told him that he saw plainly what he was up to,
and that it was of no use, since " no advice of his or of the
count de Vergennes, nor even a requisition from the king, should
restrain me." The duke saw that Adams meant exactly what he
said, and, finding that it was useless to oppose the negotiations,
" fell in with me, in order to give the air of French influence "
to them. Events worked steadily and rapidly in Adams's favor.
The plunder of St. Eustatius early in 1781 had raised the
wrath of the Dutch against Great Britain to fever heat.
In November came tidings of the surrender of Lord Corn-
wallis. By this time Adams had published so many articles as
to have given the Dutch some idea as to what sort of people
the Americans were. He had some months before presented a
petition to the states general, asking them to recognize him as
minister from an independent nation. With his wonted bold-
ness he now demanded a plain and unambiguous answer to this
petition, and followed up the demand by visiting the represent-
atives of the several cities in person and arguing his case. As
the reward of this persistent energy, Mr. Adams had the pleas-
ure of seeing the independence of the United States formally
recognized by Holland on the 19th of April, 1782. This suc-
cess was vigorously followed up. A Dutch loan of $2,000,000
was soon negotiated, and on the 7th of October a treaty of
amity and commerce, the second which was ratified with the
United States as an independent nation, was signed at the
Hague This work in Holland was the fourth signal event in
John Adams's career, and, in view of the many obstacles over-
come, he was himself in the habit of referring to it as the great-
est triumph of his life. " One thing, thank God ! is certain," he
wrote; "I have planted the American standard at the Hague.
There let it wave and fly in trumph over Sir Joseph Yorke and
British pride. I shall look down upon the flag-staff with pleas-
ure from the other world."
JOHN ADAMS. ^y
Mr. Adams had hardly time to finish this work when his
presence was required m Paris. Negotiations for peace with
Great Britain had begun some time before in conversations be-
tween Franklin and Richard Oswald, a gentleman whom Lord
Shelburne had sent to Paris for the purpose. One British min-
istry had already been wrecked through these negotiations,
and affairs had dragged along slowly amid endless difficulties.
The situation was one of the most complicated in the history of
diplomacy. France was in alliance at once with Spain and
with the United States, and her treaty obligations to the one
were in some respects inconsistent with her treaty obligations
to the other. The feeling of Spain toward the United States
was intensely hostile, and the French government was much
more in sympathy with the former than with the latter. On
the other hand, the new British government was not ill-dis-
posed toward the Americans, and was extremely ready to make
liberal concessions to them for the sake of thwarting the
schemes of France. In the background stood George III.,
surly and irreconcilable, hoping that the negotiations would
fail ; and amid these difficulties they doubtless would have
failed had not all the parties by this time had a surfeit of
bloodshed. The designs of the French government were first
suspected by John Jay, soon after his arrival in Paris. He
found that Vergennes was sending a secret emissary to Lord
Shelburne under an assumed name; he ascertained that the
right of the United States to the Mississippi valley was to be
denied ; and he got hold of a despatch from Marbois, the
French secretary of legation at Philadelphia, to Vergennes^
opposing the American claim to the Newfoundland fisheries.
As soon as Jay learned these facts he proceeded, without the
knowledge of Franklin, to take steps toward a separate nego-
tiation between Great Britain and the United States. When
Adams arrived in Paris, Oct. 26th, he coincided with Jay's
views, and the two together overruled Franklin. Mr. Adams's
behavior at this time was quite characteristic. It is said that
he left Vergennes to learn of his arrival through the newspa-
pers. It was certainly some time before he called upon him,
and he took occasion, besides, to express his opinions about
republics and monarchies in terms that courtly Frenchman
thought very rude. Adams agreed with Jay that Vergennes
should be kept as far as possible in the dark until everything
48
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
was completed, and so the negotiation with Great Britain went
on separately. The annals of modern diplomacy have afforded
few stranger spectacles. With the indispensable aid of France
we had just got the better of England in fight, and now we
proceeded amicably to divide territory and commercial privi-
leges with the enemy, and to make arrangements in which our
not too friendly ally was virtually ignored. In this way the
United States secured the Mississippi valley, and a share in the
Newfoundland fisheries, not as a privilege but as a right, the
latter result being mainly due to the persistence of Mr. Adams.
The point upon which the British Commissioners most strongly
insisted was the compensation of the American loyalists for
the hardships they had suffered during the war; but this the
American commissioners resolutely refused. The most they
could be prevailed upon to allow was the insertion in the
treaty of a clause to the effect that congress should recommend
to the several state governments to reconsider their laws
against the tories and to give these unfortunate persons a
chance to recover their property. In the treaty, as finally
arranged, all the disputed points were settled in favor of the
Americans; and, the United States being thus virtually de-
tached from the alliance, the British government was enabled
to turn a deaf ear to the demands of France and Spain for the
surrender of Gibraltar. Vergennes was outgeneralled at every
turn. On the part of the Americans the treaty of 1783 de-
serves to be ranked as one of the most brilliant triumphs of mod-
ern diplomacy. Its success was about equally due to Adams
and to Jay, whose courage in the affair was equal to their
skill, for they took it upon themselves to disregard the explicit
instructions of congress. Ever since March, 1781, Vergennes
had been intriguing with congress through his minister at
Philadelphia, the chevalier de la Euzerne. First he had tried
to get Mr. Adams recalled to America. Failing in this, he had
played his part with such dexterous persistence as to prevail
upon congress to send most pusillanimous instructions to its
peace commissioners. They were instructed to undertake
nothing whatever in the negotiations without the knowledge
and concurrence of " the ministers of our generous ally, the
king of France," that is to say, of the count de Vergennes ; and
they were to govern themselves entirely by his advice and
opinion. Franklin would have followed these instructions;
JOHX ADAMS. 4Q
Adams and Jay deliberately disobeyed them, and earned the
gratitude of their countrymen for all coming time. For Ad-
ams's share in this grand achievement it must certainly be cited
as the fifth signal event in his career.
By this time he had become excessively home-sick, and as
soon as the treaty was arranged he asked leave to resign his
commissions and return to America. He declared he would
rather be " carting street-dust and marsh-mud " than waiting
where he was. But business would not let him go. In Sep-
tember, 1783, he was commissioned, along with Franklin and
Jay, to negotiate a commercial treaty with Great Britain. A
sudden and violent fever prostrated him for several weeks,
after which he visited London and Bath. Before he had fully
recovered his health he learned that his presence was required
in Holland. In those days, when we lived under the articles
of confederation, and congress found it impossible to raise
money enough to meet its current expenses, it was by no
means unusual for the superintendent of finance to draw upon
our foreign ministers and then sell the drafts for cash. This
was done again and again, when there was not the smallest
ground for supposing that the minister upon whom the draft
was made would have any funds wherewith to meet it. It was
part of his duty as envoy to go and beg the money. Early in
the winter Mr. Adams learned that drafts upon him had been
presented to his bankers in Amsterdam to the amount of more
than a million florins. Less than half a million florins were on
hand to meet these demands, and, unless something were done
at once, the greater part of this paper would go back to Amer-
ica protested. Mr. Adams lost not a moment in starting for
Holland, but he was delayed by a succession of terrible storms
on the German ocean, and it was only after fifty-four days of
difficulty and danger that he reached Amsterdam. The bank-
ers had contrived ta keep the drafts from going to protest, but
news of the bickerings between the thirteen states had reached
Holland. It was believed that the new nation was going to
pieces, and the regency of Amsterdam had no money to lend
it. The promise of the American government was not regarded
as valid security for a sum equivalent to about $300,000.
Adams was obliged to apply to professional usurers, from
whom, after more humiliating perplexity, he succeeded in ob-
taining a loan at exorbitant interest. In the meantime he had
50
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
been appointed commissioner, along with Franklin and Jeffer-
son, for the general purpose of negotiating commercial treaties
with foreign powers. As his return to America was thus in-
definitely postponed, he sent for his wife, with their only
daughter and youngest son, to come and join him in France,
where the two elder sons were already with him. In the sum
mer of 1784 the family was thus re-united, and began house-
keeping at Auteuil, near Paris. A treaty was successfully
negotiated with Prussia, but, before it was ready to be signed,
Mr. Adams was appointed minister to the court of St. James,
1/ and arrived in London in May, 1785. He was at first politely
received by George III., upon whom his bluff and fearless dig-
nity of manner made a considerable impression. His stay in
England was, however, far from pleasant. The king came to
treat him with coldness, sometimes with rudeness, and the royal
example was followed by fashionable society. The American
government was losing credit at home and abroad. It was
unable to fulfill its treaty engagements as to the payment of
private debts due to British creditors, and as to the protection
of the loyalists. The British Government, in retaliation, re-
fused to surrender the western posts of Ogdensburg, Oswego,
Niagara, Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, and Mackinaw, which by the
treaty were to be promptly given up to the United States.
Still more, it refused to make any treaty of commerce with the
United States, and neglected to send any minister to represent
Great Britain in this country. It was generally supposed in
Europe that the American government would presently come
to an end in general anarchy and bloodshed; and it was be-
lieved by George III. and the narrow-minded politicians, such
as Lord Sheffield, upon whose cooperation he relied, that, if
sufficient obstacles could be thrown in the way of American
commerce to cause serious distress in this country, the United
States would repent of their independence and come straggling
back, one after another, to their old allegiance. Under such
circumstances it was impossible for Mr. Adams to accomplish
much as minister in England. During his stay there he wrote
his " Defence of the American Constitutions," a work which aft-
erward subjected him at home to ridiculous charges of monarch-
ical and anti-republican sympathies. The object of the book
was to set forth the advantages of a division of the powers of
government, and especially of the legislative body, as opposed
JOHN ADAMS. ci
to the scheme of a single legislative chamber, which was advo-
cated by many writers on the continent of Europe. The argu-
ment is encumbered by needlessly long and sometimes hardly
relevant discussions on the history of the Italian republics.
Finding the British government utterly stubborn and im-
practicable, Mr. Adams asked to be recalled, and his request
was granted in February, 1788. For the "patriotism, persever-
ance, integrity, and diligence " displayed in his ten years of serv-
ice abroad he received the public thanks of congress. He had
no sooner reached home than he was elected a delegate from
Massachusetts to the moribund continental congress, but that
body expired before he had taken his seat in it. During the
summer the ratification of the new constitution was so far com-
pleted that it could be put into operation, and public attention
was absorbed in the work of organizing the new government.
As Washington was unanimously selected for the office of
president, it was natural that the vice-president should be
taken from Massachusetts. The candidates for the presidency
and vice-presidency were voted for without any separate speci-
fication, the second office falling to the candidate who obtained
the second highest number of votes in the electoral college.
Of the 69 electoral votes, all were registered for Washington,
34 for John Adams, who stood second on the list; the other 35
votes were scattered among a number of candidates. Adams
was somewhat chagrined at this marked preference shown for
Washington. His chief foible was enormous personal vanity,
besides which he was much better fitted by temperament and
training to appreciate the kind of work that he had himself
done than the military work by which Washington had won in-
dependence for the United States. He never could quite under-
stand how or why the services rendered by Washington were so
much more important than his own. The office of vice-president
was then more highly esteemed than it afterward came to be,
but it was hardly suited to a man of Mr. Adams's vigorous and
aggressive temper. In one respect, however, he performed a
more important part while holding that office than any of his
successors. In the earlier sessions of the senate there was hot
debate over the vigorous measures by which Washington's
administration was seeking to reestablish American credit and
enlist the conservative interests of the wealthier citizens in be-
half of the stability of the government. These measures were
5
52
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
for the most part opposed by the persons who were rapidly be-
coming organized under Jefferson's leadership into the repub-
lican party, the opposition being mainly due to dread of the
possible evil consequences that might flow from too great an
increase of power in the federal government. In these debates
the senate was very evenly divided, and Mr. Adams, as presid-
ing officer of that body, was often enabled to decide the ques-
tion by his casting vote. In the first congress he gave as
many as twenty casting votes upon questions of most vital
importance to the whole subsequent history of the American
people, and on all these occasions he supported President
Washington's policy.
During Washington's administration grew up the division
into the two great parties which have remained to this day in
American politics — the one known as federalist, afterward as
whig, then as republican ; the other known at first as repub-
lican and afterward as democratic. John Adams was by his
mental and moral constitution a federalist. He believed in
strong government. To the opposite party he seemed much
less a democrat than an aristocrat. In one of his essays he
provoked great popular wrath by using the phrase "the well-
born." He knew very well that in point of hereditary capacity
and advantages men are not equal and never will be. His
notion of democratic equality meant that all men should have
equal rights in the eye of the law. There was nothing of the
communist or leveller about him. He believed in the rightful
existence of a governing class, which ought to be kept at the
head of affairs ; and he was supposed, probably with some truth,
to have a predilection for etiquette, titles, gentlemen-in-waiting,
and such things. Such views did not make him an aristocrat
in the true sense of the word, for in nowise did he believe that
the right to a place in the governing class should be heritable;
it was something to be won by personal merit, and should not
be withheld by any artificial enactments from the lowliest of
men, to whom the chance of an illustrious career ought to be
just as much open as to "the well-born." At the same time
John Adams differed from Jefferson and from his cousin,
Samuel Adams, in distrusting the masses. All the federalist
leaders shared this feeling more or less, and it presently be-
came the chief source of weakness to the party. The disagree-
ment between John Adams and Jefferson was first brought
JOHN ADAMS. 5^
into prominence by the breaking out of the French revolution.
Mr. Adams expected little or no good from this movement,
which was like the American movement in no respect whatever
except in being called a revolution. He set forth his views- on
this subject in his " Discourses on Davila," which were pub-
lished in a Philadelphia newspaper. Taking as his text Davila's
history of the civil wars in France in the i6th century, he
argued powerfully that a pure democracy was not the best
form of government, but that a certain mixture of the aristo-
cratic and monarchical elements was necessary to the perma-
nent maintenance of free government. Such a mixture really
exists in the constitution of the United States, and, in the
opinion of many able thinkers, constitutes its peculiar excel-
lence and the best guarantee of its stability. These views
gave great umbrage to the extreme democrats, and in the elec-
tion of 1792 they set up George Clinton, of New York, as a
rival candidate for the vice-presidency ; but when the votes
were counted Adams had 77, Clinton 50, Jefferson 4, and Aaron
Burr I. During this administration Adams, by his casting
vote, defeated the attempt of the republicans to balk Jay's
mission to England in advance by a resolution entirely pro-
hibiting trade with that country. For a time Adams quite for-
got his jealousy of Washington in admiration for the heroic
strength of purpose with which he pursued his policy of neu-
trality amid the furious efforts of political partisans to drag the
United States into a rash and desperate armed struggle in sup-
port either of France or of England.
In 1796, as Washington refused to serve for a third term
John Adams seemed clearly marked out as federalist candidate
for the succession. Hamilton and Jay were in a certain sense
his rivals; but Jay was for the moment unpopular because of
the famous treaty that he had lately negotiated with England,
and Hamilton, although the ablest man in the federalist party,
was still not so conspicuous in the eyes of the masses of voters
as Adams, who besides was surer than any one else of the in-
dispensable New England vote. Having decided upon Adams
as first candidate, it seemed desirable to take the other from a
southern state, and the choice fell upon Thomas Pinckney,
of South Carolina, a younger brother of Charles Cotesworth
Pinckney. Hamilton now began to scheme against Mr. Adams in
a manner not at all to his credit. He had always been jealous
54
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
of Adams because of his stubborn and independent character,
which made it impossible for him to be subservient to a leader.
There was not room enough in one political party for two
such positive and aggressive characters. Already in the elec-
tion of 1788 Hamilton had contrived to diminish Adams's vote
by persuading some electors of the possible danger of a unani-
mous and therefore equal vote for him and Washington. Such
advice could not have been candid, for there was never the
smallest possibility of a unanimous vote for Mr. Adams. Now
in 1796 he resorted to a similar stratagem. The federalists
were likely to win the election, but had not many votes to
spare ; the contest was evidently going to be close. Hamilton
accordingly urged the federalist electors, especially in New
England, to cast all their votes alike for Adams and Pinckney,
lest the loss of a single vote by either one should give the
victory to Jefferson, upon whom the opposite party was clearly
united. Should Adams and Pinckney receive an exactly equal
number of votes, it would remain for a federalist congress to
decide which should be president. The result of the election
showed 71 votes for John Adams, 68 for Jefferson, 59 for
Pinckney, 30 for Burr, 15 for Samuel Adams, and the rest scat-
tering. Two electors obstinately persisted in voting for Wash-
ington. When it appeared that Adams had only three more
votes than Jefferson, who secured the second place instead of
Pinckney, it seemed on the surface as if Hamilton's advice had
been sound. But from the outset it had been clear (and no
one knew it better than Hamilton) that several southern feder-
alists would withhold their votes from Adams in order to give
the presidency to Pinckney, always supposing that the New
England electors could be depended upon to vote equally for
both. The purpose of Hamilton's advice was to make Pinck-
ney president and Adams vice-president, in opposition to the
wishes of their party. This purpose was suspected in New
England, and while some of the southern federalists voted for
Pinckney and Jefferson, eighteen New Englanders, in voting
for Adams, withheld their votes from Pinckney. The result
was the election of a federalist president with a republican
vice-president. In case of the death, disability, or removal of
the president, the administration would fall into the hands of
the opposite party. Clearly a mode of election that presented
such temptations to intrigue, and left so much to accident, was
''tJUy^i^
% l?^44/^ ^^ X*^ ^' ^/^>^^^ 7^ ^^ ^2^^
JOHN ADAMS. 55
vicious and could not last long. These proceedings gave rise
to a violent feud between John Adams and Alexander Hamilton,
which ended in breaking up the federalist party, and has left a
legacy of bitter feelings to the many descendants of those two
illustrious men.
The presidency of John Adams was stormy. We were en-
tering upon that period when our party strife was determined
rather by foreign than by American political issues, when Eng-
land and France, engaged in a warfare of Titans, took every
occasion to browbeat and insult us because we were supposed
to be too feeble to resent such treatment. The revolutionary
government of France had claimed that, in accordance with
our treaty with that country, we were bound to support her
against Great Britain, at least so far as concerned the defence
of the French West Indies. The republican party went almost
far enough in their sympathy with the French to concede these
claims, which, if admitted by our government, would imme-
diately have got us into war with England. On the other
hand, the hatred felt toward France by the extreme federalists
was so bitter that any insult from that power was enough to
incline them to advocate war against her and in behalf of Eng-
land. Washington, in defiance of all popular clamor, adhered
to a policy of strict neutrality, and in this he was resolutely
followed by Adams. The American government was thus
obliged carefully and with infinite difficulty to steer between
Scylla and Charybdis until the overthrow of Napoleon and our
naval victories over England in i8i2-'i4 put an end to this
humiliating state of things. Under Washington's administra-
tion Gouverneur Morris had been for some time minister to
France, but he was greatly disliked by the anarchical group
that then misruled that country. To avoid giving offence to
the French republic, Washington had recalled Morris and sent
James Monroe m his place, with instructions to try to reconcile
the French to Jay's mission to England. Instead of doing this,
Monroe encouraged the French to hope that Jay's treaty would
not be ratified, and Washington accordingly recalled him and
sent Cotesworth Pinckney in his place. Enraged at the ratifi-
cation of Jay's treaty, the French government not only gave a
brilliant ovation to Monroe, but refused to receive Pinckney,
and would not even allow him to stay in Paris. At the same
time, decrees were passed discriminating against American
56
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
commerce. Mr. Adams was no sooner inaugurated as presi-
dent than he called an extra session of congress, to consider
how war with France should be avoided. It was decided to
send a special commission to France, consisting of Cotesworth
Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry. The directory
would not acknowledge these commissioners and treat with
them openly ; but Talleyrand, who was then secretary for for-
eign affairs, sent some of his creatures to intrigue with them
behind the scenes. It was proposed that the envoys should
pay large sums of money to Talleyrand and two or three of
the directors, as bribes, for dealing politely with the United
States and refraining from locking up American ships and
stealing American goods. When the envoys scornfully re-
jected this proposal, a new decree was forthwith issued against
American commerce. The envoys drew up an indignant re-
monstrance, which Gerry hesitated to sign. Wearied with their
fruitless efforts, Marshall and Pinckney left Paris. But, as
Gerry was a republican, Talleyrand thought it worth while to
persuade him to stay, hoping that he might prove more com-
pliant than his colleagues. In March, 1798, Mr. Adams an-
nounced to congress the failure of the mission, and advised
that the preparations already begun should be kept up in view
of the war that now seemed almost inevitable. A furious de-
bate ensued, which was interrupted by a motion from the fed-
eralist side, calling on the president for full copies of the de-
spatches. Nothing could have suited Mr. Adams better. He
immediately sent in copies complete in everything except that
the letters X., Y., and Z. were substituted for the names of
Talleyrand's emissaries. Hence these papers have ever since
been known as the " X. Y. Z. despatches." On the 8th of April
the senate voted to publish these despatches, and they aroused
great excitement both in Europe and in America. The British
government scattered them broadcast over Europe, to stir up
indignation against France. In America a great storm of
wrath seemed for the moment to have wrecked the repupican
party. Those who were not converted to federalism were for
the moment silenced. From all quarters came up the war-cry,
''Millions for defence; not one cent for tribute." A few ex-
cellent frigates were built, the nucleus of the gallant little navy
that was by and by to win such triumphs over England. An
army was raised, and Washington was placed in command,
JOHN ADAMS. 57
with the rank of lieutenant-general. Gerry was recalled from
France, and the press roundly berated him for showing less
firmness than his colleagues, though indeed he had not done
anything dishonorable. During this excitement the song of
" Hail Columbia " was published and became popular. On the
4th of July the efifigy of Talleyrand, who had once been bishop
of Autun, was arrayed in a surplice and burned at the stake.
The president was authorized to issue letters of marque and
reprisal, and for a time war with France actually existed,
though it was never declared. In February, 1799, Capt. Trux-
tun, in the frigate " Constellation," defeated and captured the
French frigate " LTnsurgente " near the island of St. Christo-
pher. In February, 1800, the same gallant officer in a desper-
ate battle destroyed the frigate " La Vengeance," which was
much his superior in strength of armament. When the direct-
ory found that their silly and infamous policy was likely to
drive the United States into alliance with Great Britain, they
began to change their tactics. Talleyrand tried to crawl out
by disavowing his emissaries X. Y. Z., and pretending that the
American envoys had been imposed upon by irresponsible ad-
venturers. He made overtures to Vans Murray, the American
minister at the Hague, tending toward reconciliation. Mr.
Adams, while sharing the federalist indignation at the behavior
of France, was too clear-headed not to see that the only safe
policy for the United States was one of strict neutrality. He
was resolutely determined to avoid war if possible, and to meet
France half-way the moment she should show symptoms of a
return to reason. His cabinet were so far under Hamilton's
influence that he could not rely upon them; indeed, he had
good reason to suspect them of working against him. Accord-
ingly, without consulting his cabinet, on 18 Feb., 1799, he sent
to the senate the nomination of Vans Murray as minister to
France. This bold step precipitated the quarrel between Mr.
Adams and his party, and during the year it grew fiercer and
fiercer. He joined Ellsworth, of Connecticut, and Davie, of
North Carolina, to Vans Murray as commissioners, and awaited
the assurance of Talleyrand that they would be properly re-
ceived at Paris. On receiving this assurance, though it was
couched in rather insolent language by the baffled Frenchman,
the commissioners sailed Nov. 5. On reaching Paris, they
found the directory overturned by Napoleon, with whom as
58 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
first consul they succeeded in adjusting the difficulties. This
French mission completed the split in the federalist party, and
made Mr. Adams's re-election impossible. The quarrel with the
Hamiltonians had been further embittered by Adams's foolish
attempt to prevent Hamilton's obtaining the rank of senior
major-general, for which Washington had designated him, and
it rose to fever-heat in the spring of 1800, when Mr. Adams
dismissed his cabinet and selected a new one.
Another affair contributed largely to the downfall of the
federalist party. In 1798, during the height of the popular
ifury against France, the federalists in congress presumed too
much upon their strength, and passed the famous alien and
sedition acts. By the first of these acts, aliens were rendered
liable to summary banishment from the United States at the
sole discretion of the president; and any alien who should
venture to return from such banishment was liable to im-
prisonment at hard labor for life. By the sedition act, any
scandalous or malicious writing against the president or either
house of congress was liable to be dealt with in the United
States courts and punished by fine and imprisonment. This
act contravened the constitutional amendment that forbids all
infringement of freedom of speech and of the press, and both
acts aroused more widespread indignation than any others
that have ever passed m congress. They called forth from the
southern republicans the famous Kentucky and Virginia reso-
lutions of i798-'99, which assert, though in language open to
some latitude of interpretation, the right of a state to " nullify "
or impede the execution of a law deemed unconstitutional.
In the election of 1800 the federalist votes were given to
John Adams and Cotesworth Pinckney, and the republican
votes to Jefferson and Burr. The count showed 65 votes for
Adams, 64 for Pinckney, and i for Jay, while Jefferson and
Burr had each 73, and the election was thus thrown into the
house of representatives. Mr. Adams took no part in the
intrigues that followed. His last considerable public act, in
appointing John Marshall to the chief justiceship of the United
States, turned out to be of inestimable value to the country,
and was a worthy end to a great public career. Very different,
and quite unworthy of such a man as John Adams, was the
silly and puerile fit of rage in which he got up before daybreak
of the 4th of March and started in his coach for Massachusetts,
JOHN ADAMS. jg
instead of waiting to see the inauguration of his successful
rival. On several occasions John Adams's career shows us
striking examples of the demoralizing effects of stupendous
personal vanity, but on no occasion more strikingly than this.
He went home with a feeling that he had been disgraced by/
his failure to secure a re-election. Yet m estimating his char-
acter we must not forget that in his resolute insistence upon
the French mission of 1799 he did not stop for a moment to
weigh the probable effect of his action upon his chances for
reelection. He acted as a true patriot, ready to sacrifice him- I
self for the welfare of his country, never regretted the act, and 1
always maintained that it was the most meritorious of his life. '
" I desire," he said, "no other inscription over my grave-stone
than this : Here lies John Adams, who took upon himself the
responsibility of the peace with France in the year 1800." He
was entirely right, as all disinterested writers now agree.
After so long and brilliant a career, he now passed a quarter
of a century in his home at Quincy (as that part of Braintree
was now called) in peaceful and happy seclusion, devoting
himself to literary work relating to the history of his times.
In 1820 the aged statesman was chosen delegate to the con-
vention for revising the constitution of Massachusetts, and
labored unsuccessfully to obtain an acknowledgment of the
equal rights, political and religious, of others than so-called
Christians. His friendship with Jefferson, which had been
broken off by their political differences, was resumed in
his old age, and an interesting correspondence was kept up
between the two. As a writer of English, John Adams in
many respects surpassed all his American contemporaries ; his
style was crisp, pungent, and vivacious. In person he was of
middle height, vigorous, florid, and somewhat corpulent, quite
like the typical John Bull. He was always truthful and out-
spoken, often vehement and brusque. Vanity and loquacity,
as he freely admitted, were his chief foibles. Without being
quarrelsome, he had little or none of the tact that avoids
quarrels ; but he harbored no malice, and his anger, though
violent, was short-lived. Among American public men there
has been none more upright and honorable. He lived to see
his son president of the United States, and died on the fiftieth
anniversary of the declaration of independence and in the
ninety-first year of his age. His last words were, " Thomas
6o
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Jefferson still survives." But by a remarkable coincidence,
Jefferson had died a few hours earlier the same day. See
" Life and Works of John Adams," by Charles Francis Adams
(lo vols., Boston, i85o-'56); "Life of John Adams," by J.
Q. and C. F. Adams (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1871); and "John
Adams," by J. T. Morse, Jr. (Boston, 1885).
The portrait that accompanies this article is copied from a
paintmg by Gilbert Stuart, which was executed while Mr.
Adams was president, and is now in the possession of a great-
grandson. The one on page 38 was taken when he was a
youth. The houses represented on page 36 are those in which
John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams were born.
Abigail Adams (Smith), wife of John Adams, born in
Weymouth, Mass., 23 Nov., 1744; died in Quincy, Mass., 28
Oct., 1818. Her father, the Rev. William Smith, was for more
than forty years minister of the Con-
gregational church in Weymouth. Her
mother, Elizabeth Quincy, was a great-
great - granddaughter of the eminent
Puritan divine, Thomas Shepard, of
Cambridge, and great-grandniece of the
Rev. John Norton, of Boston. She was
among the most remarkable women of
the revolutionary period. Her educa-
tion, so far as books were concerned,
was but scanty. Of delicate and nerv-
ous organization, she was so frequently
ill during childhood and youth that she
was never sent to any school ; but her
loss in this respect was not so great as
might appear; for, while the New England clergymen at that
time were usually men of great learning, the education of their
daughters seldom went further than writing or arithmetic,
with now and then a smattering of what passed current as
music. In the course of her long life she became exten-
sively acquainted with the best English literature, and she
wrote in a terse, vigorous, and often elegant style. Her case
may well be cited by those who protest against the exagger-
ated value commonly ascribed to the routine of a school edu-
cation. Her early years were spent in seclusion, but among
J M>
ao^\j
JOHN ADAMS. 6 1
people of learning and political sagacity. On 25 Oct., 1764,
she was married to John Adams, then a young lawyer practis-
ing in Boston, and for the next ten years her life was quiet and
happy, though she shared the intense interest of her husband
in the fierce disputes that were so soon to culminate in war.
During this period she became the mother of a daughter and
three sons. Ten years of doubt and anxiety followed during
which Mrs. Adams was left at home in Braintree, while her
husband was absent, first as a delegate to the continental con-
gress, afterward on diplomatic business in Europe. In the
zeal and determination with which John Adams urged on the
declaration of independence he was staunchly supported by
his brave wife, a circumstance that used sometimes to be
jocosely alleged in explanation of his superiority in boldness
to John Dickinson, the women of whose household were per-
petually conjuring up visions of the headsman's block. In
1784 Mrs. Adams joined her husband in France, and early in
the following year she accompanied him to London. With the
recent loss of the American colonies rankling in the minds of
George III. and his queen, it was hardly to be expected that
much courtesy would be shown to the first minister from the
United States or to his wife. Mrs. Adams was treated with
rudeness, which she seems to have remembered vindictively.
" Humiliation for Charlotte," she wrote some years later, " is
no sorrow for me." From 1789 to 1801 her residence was at
the seat of our federal government. The remainder of her life
was passed in Braintree (in the part called Quincy), and her
lively interest in public affairs was kept up till the day of her
death. Mrs. Adams was a woman of sunny disposition, and
great keenness and sagacity. Her letters are extremely valu-
able for the light they throw upon the life of the times. See
" Familiar Letters of John Adams and his Wife, Abigail Adams,
during the Revolution," with a memoir by Charles Francis
Adams (New York, 1876).
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States,
born in Shadwell, Albemarle co., Va., 2 April, 1743; died at
Monticello, in the same county, 4 July, 1826. His father was
Peter Jefferson, who, with the aid of thirty slaves, tilled a
tobacco and wheat farm of 1,900 acres; a man physically
strong, a good mathematician, skilled in surveying, fond of
standard literature, and in politics a British Whig. Like his
fathers before him, Peter Jefferson was a justice of the peace,
a vestryman of his parish, and a member of the colonial legis-
lature. The first of the Virginia Jeffersons, who were of
Welsh extraction, was a member of the Virginia legislature of
1619, noted as the first legislative body ever convened on the
western continent. Peter married in 1738 Jane, daughter of
Isham Randolph, a wealthy and conspicuous member of the
family of that name. Of their ten children, Thomas was the
third, born in a plain, spacious farm-house, traces of which still
exist. He inherited a full measure of his father's bodily
strength and stature, both having been esteemed in their prime
the strongest men of their county. He inherited also his
father's inclination to liberal politics, his taste for literature,
and his aptitude for mathematics. Peter Jefferson died in
1757, when his son Thomas was fourteen years of age. On his
death-bed he left an injunction that the education of his son,
already well advanced in a preparatory school, should be com-
pleted at the College of William and Mary, a circumstance
which his son always remembered with gratitude, saying that
if he had to choose between the education and the estate his
father left him, he would choose the education. His school-
mates reported that at school he was noted for good scholar-
ship, industry, and shyness. Without leaving his father's land
he could shoot turkeys, deer, foxes, and other game. His
father in his last hours had specially charged his mother not to
D Ap-plefon &Co.
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 63
permit him to neglect the exercise requisite for health and
strength ; but the admonition was scarcely necessary, for the
youth was a keen hunter and had been taught by his father to
swim his horse over the Rivanna, a tributary of the James,
which flowed by the estate. The Jeffersons were a musical
family ; the girls sang the songs of the time, and Thomas, prac-
tising the violin assiduously from boyhood, became an excellent
performer. At seventeen, when he entered the College of
William and Mary, he was tall, raw-boned, freckled, and sandy-
haired, with large feet and hands, thick wrists, and prominent
cheek-bones and chin. His comrades described him as far
from handsome, a fresh, healthy-looking youth, very erect,
agile, and strong, with something of rusticity in his air and de-
meanor. The college was not then efficient nor well equipped,
but there was one true educator connected with it. Dr. William
Small, of Scotland, professor of mathematics. Jefferson grate-
fully remembered him as an ardent student of science, who
possessed a happy talent for communicating knowledge, a man
of agreeable manners and enlightened mind. He goes so far
as to say in his autobiography that his coming under the in-
fluence of Dr. Small "probably fixed the destinies of my life."
The learned and genial professor became attached to his re-
ceptive pupil, made him the daily companion of his walks, and
gave him those views of the connection of the sciences and of
the system of things of which man is a part which then pre-
vailed in the advanced scientific circles of Europe. Prof.
Small was a friend of the poet Erasmus Darwin, progenitor of
an illustrious line of learned men. Jefferson was a hard stu-
dent in college, and at times forgot his father's dying injunc-
tion as to exercise. He kept horses at Williamsburg, but as
his love of knowledge increased his rides became shorter and
less frequent, and even his beloved violin was neglected.
There was a time, as he remembered, when he studied fifteen
hours a day. Once a week the lieutenant-governor, Francis
Fauquier, had a musical party at the "palace," to which the
guests, in the good old style of that century, brought their in-
struments. Jefferson was always present at these parties with
his violin, and participated in the concert, the governor him-
self being also a performer. From Fauquier, a man of the
world of the period, he learned much of the social, political,
and parliamentary life of the Old World. George Wythe,
64
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
afterward chancellor, was then a young lawyer of Williams-
burg. He was one of the highly gifted men that frequented
the governor's table, and contributed essentially to the form-
ing of Jefferson's mind.
On his graduation, Jefferson entered upon the study of
law, under the guidance of George Wythe. As his father's
estate was charged with the maintenance of a large family, a
profession was necessary to the student, and he entered upon
his preparation for the bar with all his energy and resolution.
On coming of age, in April, 1764, he assumed the management
of the estate, and was appointed to two of his father's offices —
justice of the peace and vestryman. He gave much attention
to the cultivation of his lands, and remained always an atten-
tive, zealous, and improving farmer. He attached importance
all his life to the fact that his legal training was based upon
the works of Lord Coke, of whom he said that "a sounder
Whig never wrote, nor one of profounder learning in the or-
thodox doctrines of the British constitution, or in what were
called British liberties." It was his settled conviction that the
early drill of the colonial lawyers in " Coke upon Lyttleton "
prepared them for the part they took in resisting the uncon-
stitutional acts of the British government. Lawyers formed
by Coke, he would say, were all good Whigs; but from the
time that Blackstone became the leading text-book "the pro-
fession began to slide into Toryism." His own study of Coke
led him to extend his researches into the origins of British law,
and led him also to the rejection of the maxim of Sir Matthew
Hale, that Christianity is parcel of the laws of England. His
youthful treatise on this complex and difficult point shows us
at once the minuteness and the extent of his legal studies.
While he was a student of law, he was an eye-witness of those
memorable scenes in the Virginia legislature which followed
the passage of the stamp-act. He was present as a spectator
in the house when Patrick Henry read his five resolutions,
written upon a blank leaf torn from a " Coke upon Lyttleton,"
enunciating the principle that Englishmen living in America
had all the rights of Englishmen living in England, the chief
of which was, that they could only be taxed by their own
representatives. When he was an old man, seated at his table
at Monticello, he loved to speak of that great day, and to de-
scribe the thrill and ecstasy of the moment when the wonderful
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 65
orator, interrupted by cries of " Treason," uttered the well-
known words of defiance : " If this be treason, make the most
of it!" Early in 1767, about his twenty-fourth birthday, Jef-
ferson was admitted to the bar of Virginia, and entered at once
upon the practice of his profession. Connected through his
father with the yeomen of the western counties, and through
his mother with the wealthier planters of the eastern, he had
not long to wait for business. His first account-book, which
still exists, shows that in the first year of his practice he was
employed in sixty-eight cases before the general court of the
province, besides county and office business. He was an ac-
curate, painstaking, and laborious practitioner, and his business
increased until he was employed in nearly five hundred cases
in a single year, which yielded an average profit of about one
pound sterling each. He was not a fluent nor a forcible
speaker, and his voice soon became husky as he proceeded;
but James Madison, who heard him try a cause, reports that
he acquitted himself well, and spoke fluently enough for his
purpose. He loved the erudition of the law, and attached
great importance to the laws of a country as the best source
of its history. It was he who suggested and promoted the
collection of Virginia laws known as " Henning's Statutes at
Large," to which he contributed the most rare and valuable
part of the contents. He practised law for nearly eight years,
until the Revolutionary contest summoned him to other labors.
His public life began 11 May, 1769, when he took his seat
as a member of the Virginia house of burgesses, Washington
being also a member. Jefferson was then twenty-six years old.
On becoming a public man he made a resolution " never to
engage, while in public office, in any kind of enterprise for the
improvement of my fortune, nor to wear any other character
than that of a farmer." At the close of his public career of
nearly half a century he could say that he had kept this resolu-
tion, and he often found the benefit of it in being able to con-
sider public questions free from the bias of self-interest. This
session of the burgesses was short. On the third day were
introduced the famous four resolutions, to the effect that the
colonies could not be lawfully taxed by a body in which they
were not represented, and that they might concur, cooperate,
and practically unite in seeking a redress of grievances. On
the fifth day of the session the royal governor. Lord Botetourt,
66 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
dissolved the house ; but the members speedily reassembled in
the great room of the Raleigh tavern, where similar resolutions,
with others more pointed, were passed. The decency and
firmness of these proceedings had their effect. Before many
months had passed the governor summoned the assembly and
greeted them with the news that parliament had abandoned
the system of taxing the colonies — a delusive statement, which
he, however, fully believed himself authorized to make. Amid
the joy — too brief — of this supposed change of policy, Jeffer-
son made his first important speech in the house, in which he
advocated the repeal of the law that obliged a master who
wished to free his slaves to send them out of the colony. The
motion was promptly rejected, and the mover, Mr. Bland, was
denounced as an enemy to his country.
On I Jan., 1772, Jefferson married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a
beautiful and childless young widow, daughter of John Wayles,
a lawyer in large practice at the Williamsburg bar. His new
house at Monticello, a view of which is given on page 72,
was then just habitable, and he took his wife home to it a few
days after the ceremony. Next year the death of his wife's
father brought them a great increase of fortune — 40,000 acres
of land and 135 slaves, which, when the encumbrances were
discharged, doubled Jefferson's estate. He was now a fortu-
nate man indeed ; opulent in his circumstances, happily mar-
ried, and soon a father. We see him busied in the most pleas-
ing kinds of agriculture, laying out gardens, introducing new
products, arranging his farms, completing and furnishing his
house, and making every effort to convert his little mountain,
covered with primeval forest, into an agreeable and accessible
park. After numerous experiments he domesticated almost
every tree and shrub, native and foreign, that could survive
the severe Virginia winter.
The contest with the king was soon renewed, and the de-
cisive year, 1774, opened. It found Thomas Jefferson a thriv-
ing and busy young lawyer and farmer, not known beyond
Virginia; but when it closed he was a person of note among
the patriots of America, and was proscribed in England. It
was he who prepared the " Draught of Instructions " for Vir-
ginia's Delegation to the Congress which met at Philadelphia
in September. That congress, he thought, should unite in a
solemn address to the king; but they should speak to him in a
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 67
frank and manly way, informing him, as the chief magistrate
of an empire governed by many legislatures, that one of those
legislatures — namely, the British parliament — had encroached
upon the rights of thirteen others. They were also to say to
the king that he was no more than the chief officer of the peo-
ple, appointed by the laws and circumscribed with definite
powers. He also spoke, in this very radical draught, of "the
lat^ deposition of his majesty, King Charles, by the Common-
wealth of England" as a thing obviously right. He maintained
that the parliament of Virginia had as much right to pass laws
for the government of the people of England as the British
legislature had to pass laws for the government of the people of
Virginia. " Can any one reason be assigned," he asked, "why a
hundred and sixty thousand electors in the island of Great Brit-
ain should give law to four millions in the states of America ? "
The draught, indeed, was so radical on every point that it
seemed to the ruling British mind of that day mere insolent
burlesque. It was written, however, by Jefferson in the most
modest and earnest spirit, showing that, at the age of thirty-
one, his radical opinions were fully formed, and their expres-
sion was wholly unqualified by a knowledge of the world be-
yond the sea. This draught, though not accepted by the con-
vention, was published in a pamphlet, copies of which were
sent to England, where Edmund Burke caused it to be repub-
lished with emendations and additions of his own. It procured
for the author, to use his own language, " the honor of having
his name inserted in a long list of proscriptions enrolled in a
bill ot attainder." The whole truth of the controversy was
given in this pamphlet, without any politic reserves.
In March, 1775, Jefferson, who had been kept at Monticello
for some time by illness, was in Richmond as a member of the
convention which assembled in the parish church of St. John
to consider what course Virginia should take in the crisis. It
was as a member of this body that Patrick Henry, to an
audience of 150 persons, spoke the prophetic words in solemn
tones as the key to the enigma: "We must fight! The next
gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash
of resounding arms." These sentences, spoken twenty-seven
days before the affair of Lexington, convinced the convention,
and it was agreed that Virginia should arm. A committee of
thirteen was appointed to arrange a plan, among the members
68 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
of which were Patrick Henry, George Washington, Richard
Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, the speaker, Edmund Pendle-
ton, and Thomas Jefferson. The plan they agreed upon was
this: The populous counties to raise and drill infantry com-
panies; the other counties horsemen, and both to wear the
hunting-shirt, which Col. Washington told them was the best
field uniform he knew of. The last act of this convention was
to appoint that, in case a vacancy should occur in the delega-
tion of Virginia to congress, Thomas Jefferson should supply the
place. A vacancy occurred, and on 20 June, 1775. the day on
which Washington received his commission as commander-in-
chief, Jefferson reached Philadelphia, and took his seat the next
morning in congress. Before the sun set that day congress re-
ceived news of the stirring battle of Bunker Hill.
Jefferson was an earnest, diligent, and useful member of the
congress. John Adams, his fellow-member, describes him as
" so prompt, frank, explicit, and decisive upon committees and
in conversation that he soon seized upon my heart." His readi-
ness in composition, his profound knowledge of British law,
and his innate love of freedom and justice, gave him solid
standing in the body. On his return to Virginia he was re-
elected by a majority that placed him third in the list of seven
members. After ten days' vacation at home, where he then
had a house undergoing enlargement, and a household of thirty-
four whites and eighty-three blacks, with farms in three coun-
ties to superintend, he returned to congress to take his part in
the events that led to the complete and formal separation of
the colonies from the mother-country. In May, 1776, the news
reached congress that the Virginia convention were unanimous
for independence, and on 7 June Richard Henry Lee obeyed
the instructions of the Virginia legislature by moving that in-
dependence should be declared. On 10 June a committee of
five was appointed to prepare a draught of the Declaration —
Jefferson, Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert
R. Livingston. Mr. Jefferson, being the chairman of the com-
mittee, was naturally asked to write the document. He then
lived near what is now the corner of Market and Seventh
streets. The paper was written in a room of the second floor,
upon a little writing-desk three inches high, of his own con-
triving, which still exists. Congress subjected his draught to a
severe and prolonged revision, making many suppressions, ad-
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 60
ditions, and alterations, most of which were improvements.
One passage was suppressed in which he gave expression to the
wounded feelings of the American people in being so unworthi-
ly treated by brethren and fellow-citizens. The document was
debated in congress on 2, 3, and 4 July. Thursday, the 4th,
was a warm day, and the members in the afternoon became
weary and impatient with the long strain upon their nerves.
Jefferson used to relate with much merriment that the final vote
upon the Declaration was hastened by swarms of flies, which
came from a neighboring stable, and added to the discomfort
of the members. A few days afterward he was one of a com-
mittee to devise a seal for the new-born power. Among their
suggestions (and this was the only one accepted by congress)
was the best legend ever appropriated, E pluribus unum, a
phrase that had served as a motto on the cover of the "Gen-
tleman's Magazine " for many years. It was originally bor-
rowed from a humorous poem of Virgil's.
Having thus linked his name imperishably with the birth-
day of the nation, Jefferson resigned his seat in congress, on
the ground that the health of his wife and the condition of his
household made his presence in Virginia indispensable. He had
also been again elected a member of the Virginia legislature, and
his heart was set upon the work of purging the statute-books
of unsuitable laws, and bringing up Virginia to the level of the
Declaration. He had formed a high conception of the excel-
lence of the New England governments, and wished to intro-
duce into his native state the local institutions that had enabled
those states to act with such efficiency during the war. After
some stay at home he entered upon this work at Williamsburg,
where, 8 Oct., 1776, a messenger from congress informed him
that he had been elected joint commissioner, with Franklin and
Deane, to represent the United States at Paris. After three
days of consideration, he resisted the temptation to go abroad,
feeling that his obligations to his family and his state made it
his duty to remain at home. In reorganizing Virginia, Jefferson
and his friends struck first at the system of entail, which, after
three weeks' earnest debate, was totally destroyed, so that all
property in Virginia was held in fee simple and could be sold
for debt. He next attempted, by a short and simple enactment,
to abolish the connection between church and state. He was
able to accomplish but a small portion of this reform at that
70
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
session, but the work was begun, and nine years later the law
drawn by Jefferson, entitled " An Act for establishing Religious
Freedom," completed the severance. This triumph of equal
rights over ancient prejudices and restriction Jefferson always
regarded as one of his most important contributions to the
happiness of his country. Some of his utterances on this sub-
ject have passed into familiar proverbs : " Government has
nothing to do with opinion," " Compulsion makes hypocrites,
not converts," " It is error alone which needs the support of
government; truth can stand by itself." It was he who drew
the bill for establishing courts of law in the state, and for pre-
scribing their powers and methods. It was he also who caused
the removal of the capital to Richmond. He carried the bill
extirpating the principle of primogeniture. It was the com-
mittee of which he was chairman that abolished the cruel pen-
alties of the ancient code, and he made a most earnest attempt
to establish a system of public education in the state. During
two years he and his colleagues, Hamiliton, Wythe, Mason, and
Francis Lightfoot Lee, toiled at the reconstruction of Virginia
law, during which they accomplished all that was then possible,
besides proposing many measures that were passed at a later
day. He could write to Dr. Franklin in 1777 that the people
of Virginia had " laid aside the monarchical and taken up the
republican government with as much ease as would have at-
tended their throwing off an old and putting on a new suit of
clothes." It was Jefferson and his friends who wrought this
salutary change, and they were able to effect it because, during
the first three years of the war, Virginia was almost exempt
from disturbance. In the spring of 1779, when Burgoyne's
army, as prisoners of war, were encamped near Monticello, Jef-
fersonn was assiduous in friendly attentions both to the British
and the Hessians, throwing open his house and grounds to
them, and arranging many agreeable concerts for their enter-
tainment. A British captain, himself a good violinist, who
played duets with Jefferson at this time, told the late Gen. John
A. Dix, of New York, that Thomas Jefferson was the best ama-
teur he had ever heard.
In January, 1779, the Virginia legislature elected Jefferson
governor of the state, to succeed Patrick Henry, whose third
term ended on i June. The two years of his governorship
proved to be the severest trial of his life. With slender and
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 7 1
fast diminishing resources, he had to keep up the Virginia regi-
ments in the army of Washington, and at the same time to send
all possible supplies to the support of Gen. Gates in his south-
ern campaign. The western Indians were a source of con-
stant solicitude, and they were held in check by that brave and
energetic neighbor of Gov. Jefferson, George Rogers Clarke.
The British and Hessian prisoners also had to be supplied and
guarded. In the midst of his first anxieties he began the re-
organization that he had long desired of the College of Wil-
liam and Mary. Soon, however, his attention was wholly ab-
sorbed by the events of the war. On 16 Aug., 1780, occurred
the disastrous defeat of Gates at Camden, which destroyed in a
day all that Jefferson had toiled to accumulate in warlike ma-
terial during eight agonizmg weeks. On the last day of 1780,
Arnold's fleet of twenty-seven sail anchored in Chesapeake bay,
and Arnold, with nine hundred men, penetrated as far as Rich-
mond ; but Jefferson had acted with so much promptitude, and
was so ably seconded by the county militia, that the traitor
held Richmond but twenty-three hours, and escaped total de-
struction only through a timely change in the wind, which bore
him down the river with extraordinary swiftness. In five days
from the first summons twenty-five hundred militia were in
pursuit of Arnold, and hundreds more were coming in every
hour. For eighty-four hours Gov. Jefferson was almost con-
tinuously in the saddle; and for many months after Arnold's
first repulse, not only the governor, but all that Virginia had
left of manhood, resources, and credit were absorbed in the
contest. Four times in the spring of 1781 the legislature of
A^irginia was obliged to adjourn and fly before the approach
or the threat of an enemy. Monticello was captured by a troop
of horse, and Jefferson himself narrowly escaped. Cornw^llis
lived for ten days in the governor's house at Elk Hill, a hun-
dred miles down the James, where he destroyed all the grow-
ing crops, burned the barns, carried off the horses, killed the
colts, and took away twenty-seven slaves. During the public
disasters of that time there was the usual disposition among a
portion of the people to cast the blame upon the administration
and Jefferson himself was of the opinion that, in such a des-
perate crisis, it was best that the civil and the military power
should be intrusted to the same hand. He therefore declined
a re-election to a third term, and induced his friends to support
72
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Gen. Thomas Nelson, commander-in-chief of the militia, who
was elected. The capture of Cornwallis in November, 1781,
atoned for all the previous suffering and disaster. A month
later Jefferson rose in his place in the legislature and declared
his readiness to answer any charges that might be brought
against his administration of the government ; but no one re-
sponded. After a pause, a member offered a resolution thank-
ing him for his impartial, upright, and attentive discharge of
his duty, which was passed without a dissenting voice.
On 6 Sept., 1782, Jefferson's wife died, to his unspeakable
and lasting sorrow, leaving three daughters, the youngest four
months old. During the stupor caused by this event he was
elected by a unanimous vote of congress, and, as Madison re-
ports, "without a single adverse remark," plenipotentiary to
France, to treat for peace. He gladly accepted ; but, before he
sailed, the joyful news came that preliminaries of peace had
been agreed to, and he returned to Monticello. In June, 1783,
he was elected to congress, and in November took his seat at
Annapolis. Here, as chairman of a committee on the currency,
he assisted to give
U^, us the decimal cur-
rency now in use.
The happy idea orig-
inated with Gouver-
neur Morris, of New
York, but with de-
tails too cumbrous
for common use
Jefferson proposed
" ''■'^^r^*_ rix/wv >.lk,. H«..*A-
^tf-/v>v«« /isXi~o^»lCi/0*^ lf^.a**^ <-fc*«.*^ ^rf<^-c^ it.tf-»M«J>«/t-*-i*.^**fc-.
5 a^u^lU^ \^L.c*4^iJ\^ O^M/^ Uy^^e/i/U^u%. yc-A^.^^^-^M tffi
JAMES MADISON. lOi
and no doubt it was just this attitude that Mr. Madison took
in the early sessions of congress. The occasions on which he
assumed it were, moreover, eminently proper, and afford an ad-
mirable illustration of the difference in temper and mental
habit between himself and Hamilton. The latter had always
more faith in the heroic treatment of political questions than
Madison. The restoration of American credit in 1790 was a
task that demanded heroic measures, and it was fortunate that
we had such a man as Hamilton to undertake it. But undoubt-
edly the assumption of state debts by the Federal government,
however admirably it met the emergency of the moment, was
such a measure as might easily create a dangerous precedent,
and there was certainly nothing strange or inconsistent in Mad-
ison's opposition to it. A similar explanation will cover his
opposition to Hamilton's national bank; and indeed, with the
considerations here given as a clew, there is little or nothing in
Mr. Madison's career in congress that is not thoroughly intelli-
gible. At the time, however, the Federalists, disappointed at
losing a man of so much power, misunderstood his acts and
misrepresented his motives, and the old friendship between him
and Hamilton gave way to mutual distrust and dislike. Mr.
Madison sympathized with the French revolutionists, though
he did not go so far in this direction as Jefferson. In the de-
bates upon Jay's treaty with Great Britain he led the opposi-
tion, and supported the resolution asking President Washing-
ton to submit to the house of representatives copies of the
papers relating to the negotiation. The resolution was passed,
but Washington refused on the ground that the making of trea-
ties was intrusted by the constitution to the president and the
senate, and that the lower house was not entitled to meddle
with their work.
At the close of Washington's second administration Mr.
Madison retired for a brief season from public life. During
this difficult period the country had been fortunate in having,
as leader of the opposition in congress, a man so wise in coun-
sel, so temperate in spirit, and so courteous in demeanor. What-
ever else might be said of Madison's conduct in opposition, it
could never be called factious; it was calm, generous, and dis-
interested. About two years before the close of his career in
congress he married Mrs. Dolly Payne Todd, a beautiful widow,
much younger than himself; and about this time he seems to
I02
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
have built the house at Montpelier, which was to be his home
during his later years. But retirement from public life, in any
real sense of the phrase, was not yet possible for such a man.
The wrath of the French government over Jay's treaty led to
depredations upon American shipping, to the sending of com-
missioners to Paris, and to the blackmailing attempts of Tal-
leyrand, as shown
up in the X. Y. Z.
despatches. In the
fierce outbursts of
indignation that in
America greeted
these disclosures, in
the sudden desire for
war with France,
which went so far as
to vent itself in ac-
tual fighting on the sea, though war was never declared, the
Federalist party believed itself to be so strong that it proceeded
at once to make one of the greatest blunders ever made by a
political party, in passing the alien and sedition acts. This high-
handed legislation caused a sudden revulsion of feeling in favor
of the Republicans, and called forth vigorous remonstrance.
Party feeling has, perhaps, never in this country been so bitter,
except just before the civil war. A series of resolutions, drawn
up by Mr. Madison, was adopted in 1798 by the legislature of
Virginia, while a similar series, still more pronounced, drawn up
by Mr. Jefferson, was adopted in the same year by the legisla-
ture of Kentucky. The Virginia resolutions asserted with truth
that, in adopting the Federal constitution, the states had sur-
rendered only a limited portion of their powers ; and went on to
declare that, whenever the Federal government should exceed its
constitutional authority, it was the business of the state govern-
ments to interfere and pronounce such action unconstitutional.
Accordingly, Virginia declared the alien and sedition laws un-
constitutional, and invited the other states to join in the decla-
ration. Not meeting with a favorable response, Virginia re-
newed these resolutions the next year. There was nothing
necessarily seditious, or tending toward secession, in the Vir-
ginia resolutions; but the attitude assumed in them was un-
called for on the part of any state, inasmuch as there existed,
JAMES MADISON. I03
in the Federal supreme court, a tribunal competent to decide
upon the constitutionality of acts of congress. The Kentucky-
resolutions went further. They declared that our Federal con-
stitution was a compact, to which the several states were the
one party and the Federal government was the other, and each
party must decide for itself as to when the compact was in-
fringed, and as to the proper remedy to be adopted. When the
resolutions were repeated in 1799, a clause was added, which
went still further and mentioned " nullification " as the suitable
remedy, and one that any state might employ. In the Virginia
resolutions there was neither mention nor intention of nullifi-
cation as a remedy. Mr. Madison lived to witness South Caro-
lina's attempt at nullification in 1832, and in a very able paper,
written in the last year of his life, he conclusively refuted the idea
that his resolutions of 1798 afforded any justification for such
an attempt, and showed that what they really contemplated was
a protest on the part of all the state governments in common.
Doubtless such a remedy was clumsy and impracticable, and the
suggestion of it does not deserve to be ranked along with Mr.
Madison's best work in constructive statesmanship ; but it cer-
tainly contained no logical basis for what its author unsparingly
denounced as the '* twin heresies " of nullification and secession.
In 1799 Mr. Madison was again elected a member of the
Virginia assembly, and in 1801, at Mr. Jefferson's urgent de-
sire, he became secretary of state. In accepting this appoint-
ment, he entered upon a new career, in many respects different
from that which he had hitherto followed. His work as a con-
structive statesman, which was so great as to place him in the
foremost rank among the men that have built up nations, was
by this time substantially completed. During the next few years
the constitutional questions that had hitherto occupied him
played a part subordinate to that played by questions of foreign
policy, and in this new sphere Mr. Madison was not, by nature
or training, fitted to exercise such a controlling influence as he
had formerly brought to bear in the framing of our Federal
government. As secretary of state, he was an able lieutenant
to Mr. Jefferson, but his genius was not that of an executive
officer so much as that of a law-giver. He brought his great
historical and legal learning to bear in a paper entitled " An
Examination of the British Doctrine which subjects to Capture
a Neutral Trade not open in the Time of Peace." But the
I04
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
troubled period that followed the rupture of the treaty of
Amiens was not one in which legal arguments, however mas-
terly, counted for much in bringmg angry and insolent com-
batants to terms. In the gigantic struggle between England
and Napoleon the commerce of the United States was ground
to pieces as between the upper and the nether millstone, and in
some respects there is no chapter in American history more
painful for an American citizen to read. The outrageous affair
of the " Leopard " and the " Chesapeake " was but the most fla-
grant of a series of wrongs and insults, against which Jeffer-
son's embargo was doubtless an absurd and feeble protest, but
perhaps at the same time pardonable as the only weapon left
us in that period of national weakness.
Affairs were drawing slowly toward some kind of crisis
when, at the expiration of Jefferson's second term, Mr. Madi-
son was elected president of the United States by 122 electoral
votes against 47 for Cotesworth Pinckney, and 6 for George
Clinton, who received 113 votes for the vice-presidency, and was
elected to that ofifice. The opposition of the New England
states to the embargo had by this time brought about its repeal,
and the substitution for it of the act declaring non-intercourse
with England and France. By this time many of the most in-
telligent Federalists, including John Quincy Adams, had gone
over to the Republicans. In 1810 congress repealed the non-
intercourse act, which, as a measure of intimidation, had proved
ineffectual. Congress now sought to use the threat of non-in-
tercourse as a kind of bribe, and informed England and France
that if either nation would repeal its obnoxious edicts, the non-
intercourse act would be revived against the other. Napoleon
took prompt advantage of this, and informed Mr. Madison's
government that he had revoked his Berlin and Milan decrees
as far as American ships were concerned ; but at the same time
he gave secret orders by which the decrees were to be practi-
cally enforced as harshly as ever. The lie served its purpose,
and congress revived the non-intercourse act as against Great
Britain alone. In 181 1 hostilities began on sea and land, in
the affair of Tippecanoe and of the " President " and " Little
Belt." The growing desire for war was shown in the choice of
Henry Clay for speaker of the house of representatives, and
Mr. Madison was nominated for a second term, on condition of
adopting the war policy. On 18 June, 181 2, war was declared,
JAMES MADISON. I05
and before the autumn election a series of remarkable naval
victories had made it popular. Mr. Madison was re-elected by
128 electoral votes against 89 for DeWitt Clinton, of New York.
The one absorbing event, which filled the greater part of his
second term, was the war with Great Britain, which was marked
by some brilliant victories and some grave disasters, including
the capture of Washington by British troops, and the flight of
the government from the national capital. Whatever opinjon
may be held as to the character of the war and its results, there
is a general agreement that its management, on the part of the
United States, was feeble. Mr. Madison was essentially a man
of peace, and as the manager of a great war he was conspicu-
ously out of his element. The history of that war plays a great
part in the biographies of the military and naval heroes that
figured in it ; it is a cardinal event in the career of Andrew
Jackson or Isaac Hull. In the biography of Madison it is an
episode which may be passed over briefly. The greatest part
of his career was finished before he held the highest offices ; his
renown will rest chiefly or entirely upon what he did before the
beginning of the 19th century.
After the close of his second term in 1817, Mr. Madison re-
tired to his estate at Montpelier, where he spent nearly twenty
happy years with books and friends. This sweet and tranquil
old age he had well earned by services to his fellow-creatures
such as it is given to but few men to render. Among the found-
ers of our nation, his place is beside that of Washington, Ham-
ilton, Jefferson, and Marshall ; but his part was peculiar. He
was pre-eminently the scholar, the profound, constructive think-
er, and his limitations, were such as belong to that character. He
was modest, quiet, and reserved in manner, small in stature,
neat and refined, courteous and amiable. In rough party strife
there were many who could for the moment outshine him. He
was not the sort of hero for whom people throw up their caps
and shout themselves hoarse, like Andrew Jackson, for example;
but his work was of a kind that will be powerful for good in
the world long after the work of the men of Jackson's type
shall have been forgotten. The portrait on steel is from a
painting by Gilbert Stuart, and the vignette is copied from a
drawing by Longacre made at Montpelier in July, 1833, when
Mr. Madison was in his eighty-third year. The view on page
102 represents his residence.
io6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
A satisfactory biography of Madison and a complete edition
of his writings are things still to be desired. His interesting
account of the Federal convention is published in Elliot's " De-
bates on the State Conventions" (4 vols., 8vo., Philadelphia,
ig6i). See also the " Madison Papers" (3 vols., Washington,
1840), and the " History of the United States by Henry Adams.
Vols. V to IX, Madison's Administration, 1809-1817 " (New
York, 1890, 1891). For biographies there is the cumbrous
work of William C. Rives (3 vols., Boston, i859-'68) and the
sketch by Sydney Howard Gay in the " American Statesmen "
series (Boston, 1884).
His wife, Dorothy Payne, born in North Carolina, 20 May,
1772; died in Washington, D. C, 12 July, 1849, was a grand-
daughter of John Payne, an English gentleman who migrated
to Virginia early in the i8th century.
He married Anna Fleming, granddaugh-
ter of Sir Thomas Fleming, one of the
early settlers of Jamestown. His son,
the second John Payne, Dorothy's fa-
ther, married Mary Coles, first cousin to
Patrick Henry. Dorothy was brought
up as a Quaker, and at the age of nine-
teen married John Todd, a Pennsyl-
vania lawyer and member of the Soci-
ety of Friends. Mr. Todd died in the
dreadful yellow - fever pestilence at
Philadelphia in 1793. Some time in
1794 Mrs. Todd met Mr. Madison, and
in September of that year they were married, to the delight
of President Washington and his wife, who felt a keen interest
in both. Their married life of forty-two years was one of un-
clouded happiness. Mrs. Madison was a lady of extraordinary
beauty and rare accomplishments. Her " Memoirs and Let-
ters" (Boston, 1887) make a very interesting book.
^.§^^^^^1.^971^-^
T) /LiDlF.f.nri H C,
JAMES MONROE.
James Monroe, fifth president of the United States, born
in Westmoreland county, Va., 28 April, 1758 ; died in New York
city, 4 July, 1831. Although the attempts to trace his pedigree
have not been successful, it appears certain that the Monroe
family came to Virginia as early as 1650, and that they were of
Scottish origin. James Monroe's father was Spence Monroe,
and his mother was Eliza, sister of Judge Joseph Jones, twice
a delegate from Virginia to the Continental congress. The
boyhood of the future president was passed in his native county,
a neighborhood famous for early manifestations of patriotic
fervor. His earliest recollections must have been associated
with public remonstrances against the stamp-act (in 1766), and
with the reception (in 1769) of a portrait of Lord Chatham,
which was sent to the gentlemen of Westmoreland, from Lon-
don, by one of their correspondents, Edmund Jennings, of Lin-
coln's Inn. To the College of William and Mary, then rich
and prosperous, James Monroe was sent; but soon after his
student life began it was interrupted by the Revolutionary
war. Three members of the faculty and twenty-five or thirty
students, Monroe among them, entered the military service.
He joined the army in 1776 at the headquarters of Washington
in New York, as a lieutenant in the 3d Virginia regiment under
Col. Hugh Mercer. He was with the troops at Harlem, at
White Plains, and at Trenton, where, in leading the advance
guard, he was wounded in the shoulder. During ijjj-'S he
served as a volunteer aide, with the rank of major, on the staff
of the Earl of Stirling, and took part in the battles of the
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. After these serv-
ices he was commended by Washington for a commission in
the state troops of Virginia, but without success. He formed
the acquaintance of Gov. Jefferson, and was sent by him as a
,08 Lll'ES OF THE PJfESIDEXTS.
military commissioner to collect information in regard to the
condition and prospects of the southern army. He thus at-
tained the rank of lieutenant-colonel ; but his services in the
field were completely interrupted, to his disappointment and
chagrin. His uncle. Judge Jones, at all times a trusted and
intimate counsellor, then wrote to him : " Vou do well to culti-
vate the friendship of Mr. Jefferson . . . and while you con-
tinue to deserve his esteem, he will not withdraw his counte-
nance." The future proved the sagacity of this advice, for
Monroe's intimacy with Jefferson, which was then established,
continued through life, and was the key to his early advance-
ment, and perhaps his ultimate success. The civil life of Mon-
roe began on his election in 17S2 to a seat in the assembly of
Virginia, and his appointment as a member of the executive
council. He was next a delegate to the 4th. 5th, and 6th con-
gresses of the confederation, where, notwithstanding his youth,
he was active and influential. Bancroft says of him that when
Jefferson embarked for France, Monroe remained " not the
ablest but the most conspicuous representative of Virginia on
the floor of congress. He sought the friendship of nearly
everv leading statesman of his commonwealth, and every one
seemed glad to call him a friend." On i March, 1784, the Vir-
ginia delegates presented to congress a deed that ceded to
the United States Virginia's claim to the northwest territory,
and soon afterward Jefferson presented his memorable plan
for the temporarv government of all the western possessions
of the United States from the southern boundary (lat. 31° X.)
to the Lake of the Woods. From that time until its settlement
by the ordinance of 13 July. 1787. this question was of para-
mount importance. Twice within a few months Monroe crossed
the Alleghanies for the purpose of becoming acquainted with
the actual condition of the country. One of the fruits of his
western observations was a memoir, written in 1786. to prove
the rights of the people of the west to the free navigation of
the Mississippi. Toward the close of 1784 Monroe was selected
as one of nine judges to decide the boundary dispute between
Massachusetts and New Vork. He resigned this place in May,
1786, in consequence of an acrimonious controversy in which
he became involved. Both the states that were at difference
with each other were at variance with Monroe in respect to
the right to navigate the Mississippi, and he thought himself
JAMES MONROE. IO9
thus debarred from being acceptable as an umpire to either of
the contending parties to whom he owed his appointment.
In the congress of 1785 Monroe was interested in the regu-
lation of commerce by the confederation, and he certainly de-
sired to secure that result ; but he was also jealous of the rights
of the southern states, and afraid that their interests would be
overbalanced by those of the north. His policy was therefore
timid and dilatory. A report upon the subject by the commit-
tee, of which he was chairman, was presented to congress, 28
March, 1785, and led to a long discussion, but nothing came of
it. The weakness of the confederacy grew more and more
obvious, and the country was drifting toward a stronger gov-
ernment. But the measures proposed by Monroe were not en-
tirely abortive. Says John Q. Adams: " They led first to the
partial convention of delegates from five states at Annapolis in
September, 1786, and then to the general convention at Phila-
delphia in 1787, which prepared and proposed the constitution
of the United States. Whoever contributed to that event is
justly entitled to the gratitude of the present age as'a public
benefactor, and among them the name of Monroe should be
conspicuously enrolled."
According to the principle of rotation then in force, Mon-
roe's congressional service expired in 1786, at the end of a
three years' term. He then intended to make his home in
Fredericksburg, and to practise law, though he said he should
be happy to keep clear of the bar if possible. But it was not
long before he was again called into public life. He was
chosen at once a delegate to the assembly, and soon afterward
became a member of the Virginia convention to consider the
ratification of the proposed constitution of the United States,
which assembled at Richmond in 1788. In this convention the
friends of the new constitution were led by James Madison,
John Marshall, and Edmund Randolph. Patrick Henry was
their chief opponent, and James Monroe was by his side, in
company with William Grayson and George Mason.
In one of his speeches, Monroe made an elaborate historical
argument, based on the experience of Greece, Germany, Switzer-
land, and New England, against too firm consolidation, and he
predicted conflict between the state and national authorities,
and the possibility that a president once elected might be
elected for life. In another speech he endeavored to show
1 lO
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
^ J.
that the rights of the western territory would be less secure
under the new constitution than they were under the confedera-
tion. He finally assented to the ratification on condition that
certain amendments should be adopted. As late as 1816 he
recurred to the fears of a monarchy, which he had entertained in
1788, and endeavored to show that they were not unreasonable.
Under the new constitution the first choice of Virginia for sen-
ators fell upon Richard Henry Lee and William Grayson. The
latter died soon afterward, and Monroe was selected by the
legislature to fill the vacant place. He took his seat in the
senate, 6 Dec, 1790, and held the office until May, 1794, when
he was sent as envoy to France. Among the Anti-Federalists
he took a prominent stand, and was one of the most determined
opponents of the administration of Washington. To Hamilton
he was especially hostile. The appointment of Gouverneur
Morris to be minister to France, and of John Jay to be minister
to England, seemed to
^ " him most objectiona-
ble. Indeed, he met
all the Federalist at-
tempts to organize a
strong and efficient
government with in-
credulity or with ad-
verse criticism. It was
therefore a great sur-
prise to him, as well as
to the public, that, while still a senator, he was designated the
successor of Morris as minister to France. For this difficult
place he was not the first choice of the president, nor the second ;
but he was known to be favorably disposed toward the French
government, and it was thought that he might lead to the es-
tablishment of friendly relations with that power, and, besides,
there is no room to doubt that Washington desired, as John
Quincy Adams has said, to hold the balance between the par-
ties at home by appointing Jay, the Federalist, to the English
mission, and Monroe, the Republican, to the French mission.
It was the intent of the United States to avoid a collision with
any foreign power, but neutrality was in danger of being con-
sidered an offence by either France or England at any moment.
Monroe arrived in Paris just after the fall of Robespierre, and
JAMES MONROE. HI
in the excitement of the day he did not at once receive recog-
nition from the committee of public safety. He therefore sent
a letter to the president of the convention, and arrangements
were made for his official reception, 15 Aug., 1794. At that
time he addressed the convention in terms of great cordiality,
but his enthusiasm led him beyond his discretion. He tran-
scended the authority that had been given to him, and when his
report reached the government at home Randolph sent him a
despatch, "m the frankness of friendship," criticising severely
the course that the plenipotentiary had pursued. A little later
the secretary took a more conciliatory tone, and Monroe be-
lieved he never would have spoken so severely if all the de-
spatches from Paris had reached the United States in due
order. The residence of Monroe in France was a period of
anxious responsibility, during which he did not succeed in
recovering the confidence of the authorities at home. When
Pickering succeeded Randolph in the department of state,
Monroe was informed that he was superseded by the appoint-
ment of Charles C. Pinckney. The letter of recall was dated
22 Aug., 1796. On his return he published a pamphlet of 500
pages, entitled "A View of the Conduct of the Executive"
(Philadelphia, 1797), in which he printed his instructions, cor-
respondence with the French and United States governments,
speeches, and letters received from American residents in Paris.
This publication made a great stir. Washington, who had then
retired from public life, appears to have remained quiet under
the provocation, but he wrote upon his copy of the "View"
animadversions that have since been published. Party feeling,
already excited, became fiercer when Monroe's book appeared,
and personalities that have now lost their force were freely
uttered on both sides. Under these circumstances Monroe
became the hero of the Anti-Federalists, and was at once
elected governor of Virginia. He held the office from 1799 till
1802. The most noteworthy occurrence during his administra-
tion was the suppression of a servile insurrection by which the
city of Richmond was threatened. Monroe's star continued in
the ascendant. After Thomas Jefferson's election to the presi-
dency in 1801, an opportunity occurred for returning Mr. Mon-
roe to the French mission, from which he had been recalled a
few years previously. There were many reasons for believing
that the United States could secure possession of the territory
112 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
beyond the Mississippi belonging to France. The American
minister in Paris, Robert R. Livingston, had already opened
the negotiations, and Monroe was sent as an additional pleni-
potentiary to second, with his enthusiasm and energy, the effort
that had been begun. By their joint efforts it came to pass that
in the spring of 1803 a treaty was signed by which France gave
up to the United States for a pecuniary consideration the vast
region then known as Louisiana. Livingston remarked to the
plenipotentiaries after the treaty was signed: "We have lived
long, but this is the noblest work of our lives." The story of
the negotiations that terminated in this sale is full of romance.
Bonaparte, Talleyrand, and Marbois were the representatives
of France; Jefferson, Livingston, and Monroe guided the in-
terests of the United States. The French were in need of
money and the Americans could afford to pay well for the con-
trol of the entrance to the Mississippi. England stood ready
to seize the coveted prize. The moment was opportune ; the
negotiators on both sides were eager for the transfer. It did
not take long to agree upon the consideration of 80,000,000
francs as the purchase-money, and the assent of Bonaparte was
secured. "I have given to England," he said, exultingly, " a
maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride." It
is evident that the history of the United States has been largely
influenced by this transaction, which virtually extended the
national domain from the mouth of the Mississippi river to the
mouth of the Columbia. Monroe went from Paris to London,
where he was accredited to the court of St. James, and subse-
quently went to Spain in order to negotiate for the cession of
Florida to the United States. But he was not successful in
this, and returned to London, where, with the aid of William
Pinckney, who was sent to re-enforce his efforts, he concluded
a treaty with Great Britain after long negotiations frequently
interrupted. This treaty failed to meet the expectations of the
United States in two important particulars — it made no provi-
sions against the impressment of seamen, and it secured no
indemnity for loss that Americans had incurred in the seizure
of their goods and vessels. Jefferson was so dissatisfied that
he would not send the treaty to the senate. Monroe returned
home in 1807 and at once drew up an elaborate defence of his
political conduct. Matters were evidently drifting toward war
between Great Britain and the United States. Again the dis-
• JAMES MONROE. H^
appointed and discredited diplomatist received a token of pop-
ular approbation. He was for the third time elected to the
assembly, and in 1811 was chosen for the second time governor
of Virginia. He remained in this office but a short time, for he
was soon called by Madison to the office of secretary of state.
He held the portfolio durmg the next six years, from 181 1 to
1817. In i8i4-'i5 he also acted as secretary of war. While he
was a member of the cabinet of Madison, hostilities were begun
between the United States and England. The public buildings
in Washington were burned, and it was only by the most strenu-
ous measures that the progress of the British was interrupted.
Monroe gained much popularity by the measures that he took
for the protection of the capital, and for the enthusiasm with
which he prosecuted the war measures of the government.
Monroe had now held almost every important station except
that of president to which a politician could aspire. He had
served in the legislature of Virginia, in the Continental con-
gress, and in the senate of the United States. He had been
a member of the convention that considered the ratification of
the constitution, twice he had served as governor, twice he had
been sent abroad as a minister, and he had been accredited to
three great powers. He had held two places in the cabinet of
Madison. With the traditions of those days, which regarded
experience in political affairs a qualification for an exalted
station, it was most natural that Monroe should become a can-
didate for the presidency. Eight years previously his fitness
for the office had been often discussed. Now, in 1816, at the
age of fifty-nine years, almost exactly the age at which Jeffer-
son and Madison attained the same position, he was elected
president of the United States, receiving 183 votes in the elec-
toral college against 34 that were given for Rufus King, the
candidate of the Federalists. He continued in this office until
1825. His second election in 1821 was made with almost com-
plete unanimity, but one electoral vote being given against
him. Daniel D. Tompkins was vice-president during both
presidential terms. John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun,
William H. Crawford, and William Wirt, were members of the
cabinet during his entire administration. The principal sub-
jects that engaged the attention of the president were the
defences of the Atlantic seaboard, the promotion of internal
improvements, the conduct of the Seminole war, the acquisition
114
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
of Florida, the Missouri compromise, and the resistance to for-
eign interference in American affairs, formulated in a declara-
tion that is called the " Monroe doctrine." Two social events
marked the beginning and the end of his administration : first,
his ceremonious visit to the principal cities of the north and
south; and second, the national reception of the Marquis de
Lafayette, who came to this country as the nation's guest. The
purchase of the Floridas was brought to a successful issue, 22
Feb., 1819, by a treaty with Spain, concluded at Washington,
and thus the control of the entire Atlantic and Gulf seaboard,
from the St. Croix to the Sabine, was secured to the United
States. Monroe's influence in the controversies that preceded
the Missouri compromise does not appear to have been very
strong. He showed none of the boldness which Jefferson
would have exhibited under similar circumstances. He took
more interest in guiding the national policy with respect to
internal improvements and the defence of the seaboard. He
vetoed the Cumberland road bill, 4 May, 1822, on the ground
that congress had no right to execute a system of internal im-
provement ; but he held that if such powers could be secured
by constitutional amendment good results would follow. Even
then he held that the general government should undertake
only works of national significance, and should leave all minor
improvements to the separate states. There is no measure
with which the name of Monroe is connected so important as
his enunciation of "the Monroe doctrine." The words of this
famous utterance constitute two paragraphs in the president's
message of 2 Dec, 1823. In the first of these paragraphs he
declares that the governments of Russia and Great Britain
have been informed that the American continents henceforth
are not to be considered subjects for future colonization by
any European powers. In the second paragraph he says that
the United States would consider any attempt on the part of
the European powers to extend their system to any portion of
this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. He goes
further, and says that if the governments established in North
and South America who have declared their independence of
European control should be interfered with by any European
power, this interference would be regarded as the manifestation
of unfriendly disposition to the United States. These utter-
ances were addressed especially to Spain and Portugal. They
JAMES MONROE. II5
undoubtedly expressed the dominant sentiments of the people
of the United States at the time they were uttered, and, more-
over, they embodied a doctrine which had been vaguely held in
the days of Washington, and from that time to the administra-
tion of Monroe had been more and more clearly avowed. It
has received the approval of successive administrations and of
the foremost publicists and statesmen. The peace and pros-
perity of America have been greatly promoted by the declara-
tion, almost universally assented to, that European states are
not to gain new dominion in America. For convenience of
reference the two passages of the message are here quoted :
"At the proposal of the Russian imperial government, made
through the minister of the emperor residing here, full power
and instructions have been transmitted to the minister of the
United States at St. Petersburg, to arrange, by amicable nego-
tiation, the respective rights and interests of the two nations
on the northwest coast of this continent. A similar proposal
had been made by his imperial majesty to the government of
Great Britain, which has likewise been acceded to. The gov-
ernment of the United States has been desirous, by this friendly
proceeding, of manifesting the great value which they have
invariably attached to the friendship of the emperor, and their
solicitude to cultivate the best understanding with his govern-
ment. In the discussions to which this interest has given rise,
and in the arrangements by which they may terminate, the oc-
casion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in
which the rights and interests of the United States are involved,
that the American continents, by the free and independent con-
dition which they have assumed and maintain, ^are henceforth
not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any
European power. . . . We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to
the amicable relations existing between the United States and
those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt
on their part to extend their system to any portion of this
hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the
existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we
have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the
governments who have declared their independence and main-
tained it, and whose independence we have, on great considera-
tion and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view
any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or con-
9
Il6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
trolling in any other manner their destiny, by any European
power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an
unfriendly disposition toward the United States."
At the close of Monroe's second term as president he re-
tired to private life, and during the seven years that remained
to him resided part of the time at Oak Hill, Loudon co., Va.,
and part of the time in the city of New York. The illustration
on page no represents both the old and the new Oak Hill
mansions. He accepted the office of regent in the University
of Virginia in 1826 with Jefferson and Madison. He was asked
to serve on the electoral ticket of Virginia in 1828, but declined
on the ground that an ex-president should not be a party-
leader. He consented to act as a local magistrate, however,
and to become a member of the Virginia constitutional conven-
tion. The administration of Monroe has often been designated
as the "era of good feeling." Schouler, the historian, has
found this heading on an article that appeared in the Boston
"Centiner'of 12 July, 1817. It is, on the whole, a suitable
phrase to indicate the state of political affairs that succeeded
to the troublesome period of organization and preceded the
fearful strains of threatened disruption and of civil war. One
idea is consistently represented by Monroe from the beginning
to the end of his public life — the idea that America is for
Americans, that the territory of the United States is to be pro-
tected and enlarged, and that foreign intervention will never
be permitted. In his early youth Monroe enlisted for the de-
fence of American independence. He was one of the first to
perceive the importance of free navigation upon the Missis-
sippi ; he negotiated with France and Spain for the acquisition
of Louisiana and Florida; he gave a vigorous impulse to the
second war with Great Britain in defence of our maritime
rights when the rights of a neutral power were endangered ;
and he enunciated a dictum against foreign interference which
has now the force of international law. Judged by the high
stations he was called upon to fill, his career was brilliant ; but
the writings he has left in state papers and correspondence are
inferior to those of Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and others
of his contemporaries. He is rather to be honored as an up-
right and patriotic citizen who served his party with fidelity
and never condescended to low and unworthy measures. He
deserved well of the country, which he served faithfully during
JAMES MONROE.
117
his career. After his retirement from the office of president
he urged upon the government the judgment of unsettled
claims which he presented for outlays made during his pro-
longed political services abroad, and for which he had never
received adequate remuneration. During the advance of old
age his time was largely occupied in correspondence, and he
undertook to write a philosophical history of the origin of free
governments, which was published long after his decease.
While attending congress, Monroe married, in 1786, a daughter
of Lawrence Kortright, of New York. One of his two daugh-
ters, Eliza, married George Hay, of Virginia, and the other,
Maria, married Samuel L. Gouverneur, of New York.
A large number of manuscripts, including drafts of state
papers, letters addressed to Monroe, and letters from him, have
been preserved. Most of these have been purchased by con-
gress and are preserved in the archives of the state depart-
ment ; others are still held by his descendants. Schouler, in
his " History of the United States," has made use of this mate-
rial to advantage, particularly in his account of the administra-
tions of Madison and Monroe, which he has treated in detail.
Bancroft, in his " History of the Constitution," draws largely
upon the Monroe papers, many of which he prints for the first
time. The eulogy of John Quincy
Adams (Boston, 1831) and his diary
afford the best contemporary view of
Monroe's characteristics as a states-
man. Jefferson, Madison, Webster,
Calhoun, and Colonel Benton have
each left their appreciative esti-
mates of his character.
The remains of James Monroe
were buried in Marble cemetery^
Second street, between First and
Second avenues, New York, but in
1858 were taken to Richmond, Va.,
and there reinterred on the 28th
of April, in Hollywood Cemetery.
(See illustration.) See Samuel P. Waldo's "Tour of James
Monroe through the Northern and Eastern States, with a
Sketch of his Life" (Hartford, 1819); "Life of James Monroe,
with a Notice of his Administration," by John Quincy Adams
ii8
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
(Buffalo, 1850); "Concise History of the Monroe Doctrine,"
by George F. Tucker (Boston, 1885) ; and Daniel C. Oilman's
life of Monroe, in the "American Statesmen " series (Boston,
1883). In the volume last named is an appendix by J. F. Jame-
son, which gives a list of writings pertaining to Monroe's
career and to the Monroe doctrine. President Monroe's por-
trait by Gilbert Stuart is in the possession of Thomas J. Coo-
lidge, of Massachusetts, late American minister to France, and
that by John Vanderlyn is in the City-hall, New York, both of
which have been engraved.
His wife, Elizabeth Kortright, born in New York city
in 1768; died in Loudon county, Va., in 1830, was the daugh-
ter of Lawrence Kortright, a captain
in the British army. She married
James Monroe in 1786, accompanied
him in his missions abroad in 1794
and 1803, and while he was U. S.
minister to France she effected the
release of Madame de Lafayette,
who was confined in the prison of
La Force, hourly expecting to be
executed. On the accession of her
husband to the presidency Mrs.
Monroe became the mistress of the
White House ; but she mingled lit-
tle in society on account of her
delicate health. She is described by
a contemporary writer as " an ele-
gant and accomplished woman, with a dignity of manner that
peculiarly fitted her for the station." The accompanying vi-
gnette is copied from the only portrait that was ever made of
Mrs. Monroe, which was executed in Paris in 1796.
His nephew, James, soldier, born in Albemarle county, Va.,
10 Sept., 1799; died in Orange, N. J., 7 Sept., 1870, was a son
of the president's elder brother, Andrew. He was graduated
at the U. S. military academy in 1815, assigned to the artillery
corps, and served in the war with Algiers, in which he was
wounded while directing part of the quarter-deck guns of the
** Guerriere " in an action with the " Mashouda " off Cape de
Gata, Spain. He was aide to Gen. Winfield Scott in i8i7-'22,
became ist lieutenant of the 4th artillery on the reorganization
(^£it^-^:fi%i
'•TW-^'^-C-p.
JAMES MONROE. HO
of the army in 1821, and served on garrison and commissary
duty till 1832, when he was again appointed Gen. Scott's aide
on the Black Hawk expedition, but did not reach the seat of
war, owing to illness. He resigned his commission on 30 Sept.,
1832, and entered politics, becoming an alderman of New York
city in 1833, and president of the board in 1834. In 1836 he
declined the appointment of aide to Gov. William L. Marcy.
He was in congress in i839-'4i, and was chosen again in 1846,
but his seat was contested, and congress ordered a new elec-
tion, at which he refused to be a candidate. During the Mexi-
can war he was active in urging the retention in command of
Gen. Scott. In i85o-'2 he was in the New York legislature,
and in 1852 was an earnest supporter of his old chief for the
presidency. After the death of his wife in that year he retired
from politics, and spent much of his time at the Union club, of
which he was one of the earliest and most popular members.
Just before the civil war he visited Richmond, and, by public
speeches and private effort, tried to prevent the secession of
Virginia, and in the struggle that followed he remained a firm
supporter of the National government. He much resembled
his uncle in personal appearance
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States,
born in Braintree, Mass., ii July, 1767; died in Washington,
D. C, 23 Feb., 1848. He was named for his mother's grandfather,
John Quincy. In his eleventh year he accompanied his father
"T to France, and was sent to school near Paris, where his pro-
ficiency in the French language and other studies soon became
conspicuous. In the following year he returned to America, and
back again to France with his father, whom, in August, 1780, he
accompanied to Holland. After a few months at school in Am-
• sterdam, he entered the university of Leyden. Two years after-
ward John Adams's secretary of legation, Francis Dana, was
appointed minister to Russia, and the boy accompanied him as
private secretary. After a stay of fourteen months, as Catha-
rine's government refused to recognize Mr. Dana as minister,
young Adams left St. Petersburg and travelled alone through
Sweden, Denmark, and northern Germany to France, spending
six months in the journey. Arriving in Paris, he found his father
busy with the negotiation of the treaty of peace between Great
Britain and the United States, and was immediately set to work
as secretary, and aided in drafting the papers that "dispersed
all possible doubt of the independence of his country." In
1785, when his father was appointed minister to England, he
decided not to stay with him in London, but to return at once
to Massachusetts in order to complete his education at Harvard
college. For an American career he believed an American edu-
V cation to be best fitted. Considering the immediate sacrifice of
pleasure involved, it was a remarkably wise decision in a lad of
eighteen. But Adams's character was already fully formed ; he
was what he remained throughout his life, a Puritan of the
sternest and most uncompromising sort, who seemed to take a
grim enjoyment in the performance of duty, especially when
3. §L^ ^dcxA^rU,
11 Appleiori & Gu
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. I2i
disagreeable. Returning home, he was graduated at Harvard
college in 1788, and then studied law in the ofifice of Theophiius
Parsons, afterward chief justice of Massachusetts. In 1791 he
was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and began the practice of law,
the tedium of which he relieved by writing occasional articles
for the papers. Under the signature of "Publicola" he criti-
cised some positions taken by Thomas Paine in his " Rights of
Man "; and these articles, when republished in England, were
generally attributed to his father. In a further series of papers,
signed " Marcellus," he defended Washington's policy of neu-
trality ; and in a third series, signed "Columbus," he discussed
the extraordinary behavior of Citizen Genet, whom the Jaco-
bins had sent over to browbeat the Americans into joining
France in hurling defiance at the world. These writings made
him so conspicuous that in 1794 Washington appointed him
minister to Holland, and two years later made an appointment
transferring him to Portugal. Before he had started for the
latter country his father became president of the United States,
and asked Washington's advice as to the propriety of promoting
his own son by sending him to Berlin. Washington in strong
terms recommended the promotion, declaring that in his opin-
ion the young man would prove to be the ablest diplomat in
the American service. In the fall of 1797 Mr. Adams accord-
ingly took up his residence at the capital of Prussia. Shortly
before this he had married Miss Louisa Johnson, a niece of
Thomas Johnson, of Maryland. During his residence at Berlin
Mr. Adams translated Wieland's " Oberon " into English. In
1798 he was commissioned to make a commercial treaty with
Sweden. In 1800 he made a journey through Silesia, and wrote
an account of it, which was published in London and afterward
translated into German and French. When Jefferson became
president, Mr, Adams's mission terminated. He resumed the
practice of law in Boston, but in 1802 was elected to the Massa-
chusetts senate, and next year was chosen to the senate of the
United States instead of Timothy Pickering. The federalist
party was then rent in twain by the feud between the partisans
of John Adams and those of Hamilton, and the reception of
the younger Adams in the senate was far from flattering. Af-
fairs grew worse when, at the next vacancy, Pickering was
chosen to be his uncongenial colleague. Mr. Adams was
grossly and repeatedly insulted. Any motion he might make
^
122 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
was sure to be rejected by the combined votes of republicans
and Hamiltonians, though frequently the same motion, made
soon afterward by somebody else, would be carried by a large
majority. A committee of which he was a member would make
and send in its report without even notifying him of its time
and place of meeting. At first Mr. Adams was subjected to
such treatment merely because he was the son of his father ;
but presently he rendered himself more and more amenable to
it by manifesting the same independence of party ties that had
made his father so unpopular. Independence in politics has
always been characteristic of the Adams family, and in none
has this been more strongly marked than in John Quincy
Adams. His first serious difference with the federalist party
was occasioned by his qualified approval of Jefferson's purchase
of Louisiana, a measure that was bitterly opposed and fiercely
censured by nearly all the federalists, because it was feared it
would add too much strength to the south. A much more seri-
ous difference arose somewhat later, on the question of the em-
bargo. Questions of foreign rather than of domestic policy
then furnished the burning subjects of contention in the United
States. Our neutral commerce on the high seas, which had
risen to very considerable proportions, was plundered in turn
by England and by France, until its very existence was threat-
ened. In May, 1806, the British government declared the
northern coast of Europe, from Brest to the mouth of the Elbe,
to be blockaded. By the Russian proclamation of 1780, which
was then accepted by all civilized nations except Great Britain,
such paper blockades were illegal; but British ships none the
less seized and confiscated American vessels bound to any port
on that coast. In November Napoleon issued his Berlin decree
making a paper blockade of the whole British coast, whereupon
French cruisers began seizing and confiscating American ves-
sels on their way from British to French ports. Two months
later England issued an order in council, forbidding neutrals to
trade between any of her enemy's ports; and this was followed
by orders decreeing fines or confiscation to all neutral ships
daring to violate the edict. In December, 1807, Napoleon re-
plied with the Milan decree, threatening to confiscate all ships
bound to England, or which should have paid a fine to the
British government or submitted to search at the hands of a
British commander.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 1 23
All these decrees and orders were in flagrant violation of
international law, and for a time they made the ocean a pan-
demonium of robbery and murder. Their effect upon Ameri-
can commerce was about the same as if both England and
France had declared war against the United States. Their
natural and proper effect upon the American people would
have been seen in an immediate declaration of war against
both England and France, save that our military weakness was
then too manifest to make such a course anything but ridicu-
lous. Between the animus of the two bullies by whom we
were thus tormented there was little to choose; but in two re-
spects England's capacity for injuring us was the greater. In
the first place, she had more ships engaged in this highway
robbery than France, and stronger ones ; in the second place,
owing to the difficulty of distinguishing between Americans
and Englishmen, she was able to add the crowning wickedness
of kidnapping American seamen. The wrath of the Americans
was thus turned more against England than against France;
and never perhaps in the revolutionary war had it waxed
stronger than in the summer of 1807, when, in full sight of the
American coast, the "Leopard" fired upon the ''Chesapeake,"
killed and wounded several of her crew, and violently carried
away four of them. For this outrage the commander of the
" Leopard " was promoted in the British service. In spite of
all these things, the hatred of the federalists for France was so
great that they were ready to put up with insult added to in-
jury rather than attack the power that was warring against
Napoleon. So far did these feelings carry them that Mr. John
Lowell, a prominent federalist of Boston, was actually heard
to defend the action of the " Leopard." Such pusillanimity
incensed Mr. Adams. " This was the cause," he afterward
said, " which alienated me from that day and forever from the
councils of the federal party." He tried to persuade the fed-
eralists of Boston to hold a meeting and pledge their support
to the government in any measures, however serious, that it
might see fit to adopt in order to curb the insolence of Great
Britain. But these gentlemen were too far blinded by party
feeling to respond to the call ; whereupon Mr. Adams attended
a republican meeting, at which he was put upon a committee
to draft and report such resolutions. Presently the federalists
bowed to the storm of popular feeling and held their meeting,
124
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
at which Mr. Adams was also present and drafted resolutions.
For his share in the proceedings of the republicans it was
threatened that he should " have his head taken off for apos-
tasy." It was never of much use to threaten Mr. Adams.
An extra session of congress was called in October to consider
what was to be done. Mr. Jefferson's government was averse
to war, for which the country was ill prepared, and it was
thought that somewhat milder measures might harass England
until she would submit to reason. For a year and a half a
non-importation act had been in force ; but it had proved no
more effective than the non-importation agreements of 1768
and 1774. Now an embargo was laid upon all the shipping in
American ports. The advantage of such a measure was very
doubtful ; it was damaging ourselves in the hope of damaging
the enemy. The greatest damage fell upon the maritime states
of New England, and there the vials of federalist wrath were
poured forth with terrible fury upon Mr. Jefferson and the em-
bargo. But the full measure of their ferocity was reserved for
Mr. Adams, who had actually been a member of the committee
that reported the bill, and had given it his most earnest sup-
port. All the choicest epithets of abuse were showered upon
him; few men in our history have been more fiercely berated
and reviled. His term of service in the senate was to expire
on 3 March, 1809. In the preceding June the Massachusetts
legislature chose Mr. Lloyd to succeed him, a proceeding that
was intended and accepted as an insult. Mr. Adams instantly
resigned, and Mr. Lloyd was chosen to fill the remainder of his
term. In the course of the next month the republicans of his
congressional district wished to elect him to the house of rep-
resentatives, but he refused. In 1806 Mr. Adams had been
appointed professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres at Harvard
college, and in the intervals of his public duties had delivered
lectures there, which were published in 1810, and for a time
were held in esteem.
One of Mr. Madison's first acts on succeeding to the presi-
dency in 1809 was to nominate Mr. Adams minister to Russia.
Since Mr. Dana's failure to secure recognition in 1782, the
United States had had no minister in that country, and the new-
mission was now to be created. The senate at first declined to
concur in creating the mission, but a few months later the object-
ors yielded, and Mr. Adams's nomination was confirmed. He
3-
3
i
^
4 ■if -^ ^ 1 1
^ ^ %^ sT^
fi
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 1 25
was very courteously received by Alexander I., and his four
years and a half in Russia passed very pleasantly. His diary
gives us a vivid account of the Napoleonic invasion and its disas-
trous ending. In the autumn of 1812 the czar offered his serv-
ices as mediator between the United States and Great Brit-
ain. War had only been declared between these powers three
months before, but the American government promptly ac-
cepted the proposal, and, in the height of the popular enthusi-
asm over the naval victories of Hull and Decatur, sent Messrs.
Gallatin and Bayard to St. Petersburg to act as commissioners
with Mr. Adams. The British government refused to accept
the mediation of Russia, but proposed instead an independent
negotiation, to which the United States agreed, and the com-
missioners were directed to meet at Ghent. Much time was
consumed in these arrangements, while we were defeating
England again and again on the sea, and suffering in return
some humiliating reverses on land, until at last the commis-
sioners met at Ghent, in August, 1814. Henry Clay and Jona-
than Russell were added to the American commission, while
England was represented by Lord Gambler, Dr. Adams, and
Mr. Goulburn. After four months of bitter wrangling, from
which no good result could have been expected, terms of peace
were suddenly agreed upon in December. In warding off the
British attempts to limit our rights in the fisheries Mr. Adams
played an important part, as his father had done in 1782. The
war had been a drawn game, neither side was decisively vic-
torious, and the treaty apparently left things much as before.
Nothing was explicitly done to end the pretensions of England
to the right of search and the impressment of seamen, yet the
naval victories of the United States had taught the British a
lesson, and these pretensions were never renewed. The treaty
was a great disappointment to the British people, who had
hoped to obtain some advantages, and Mr. Adams, for his
share in it, was reviled by the London press in a tone which
could not but be regarded as a compliment to his powers. After
the conclusion of the treaty he visited Paris and witnessed the
return of Napoleon from Elba and the exciting events that
followed up to the eve of Waterloo. Here his wife and chil-
dren joined him, after a tedious journey from St. Petersburg,
not without distress and peril by the way. By this time Mr.
Adams had been appointed commissioner, with Clay and Gal-
126
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
latin, to negotiate a new commercial treaty with England.
This treaty was completed on 13 July, 1815 ; but already, on
26 May, when Mr. Adams arrived in London, he had received
the news of his appointment as minister to England. The
series of double coincidences in the Adams family between
missions to England and treaties with that power is curious.
First John Adams is minister, just after his share in the treaty
that concluded the revolutionary war, then his son, just after
the treaty that conclud-
ed the war of i8i2-'i5,
and then the grandson
is minister during the
civil war and afterward
takes part in the treaty
that disposed of the Ala-
bama question.
After an absence of
eight years, John Quin-
cy Adams was called
back to his native land to serve as secretary of state under
President Monroe. A new era in American politics was dawn-
ing. The war which had just been concluded has sometimes
been called our second war of independence; certainly the
year 1815, which saw the end of the long strife between
France and England, marks an important era in American his-
tory. Our politics ceased to be concerned mainly with foreign
affairs. So suddenly were men's bones of political contention
taken away from them that Monroe's presidency is traditionally
remembered as the "era of good feeling." So far as political
parties were concerned, such an epithet is well applied ; but as
between prominent individuals struggling covertly to supplant
one another, it was anything rather than an era of good feel-
ing. Mr. Adams's principal achievement as secretary of state
was the treaty with Spain, whereby Florida was ceded to the
United States in consideration of $5,000,000, to be applied to
the liquidation of outstanding claims of American merchants
against Spain. By the same treaty the boundary between
Louisiana and Mexico was established as running along the
Sabine and Red rivers, the upper Arkansas, the crest of the
Rocky mountains, and the 42d parallel. Mr. Adams defended
the conduct of Gen. Jackson in invading Spanish Florida and
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 12/
hanging Arbuthnot and Ambrister. He supported the poUcy
of recognizing the independence of the revolted colonies of
Spanish America, and he was the principal author of what is
known as the " Monroe Doctrine," that the American continent
is no longer open to colonization by European powers. His
ofificial report on weights and measures showed remarkable
scientific knowledge. Toward the close of Monroe's first term
came up the first great political question growing out of the
purchase of Louisiana: Should Missouri be admitted to the
union as a slave-state, and should slavery be allowed or pro-
hibited in the vast territory beyond ? After the Missouri com-
promise had passed through congress, and been submitted to
President Monroe for his signature, two questions were laid
before the cabinet. First, had congress the constitutional right
to prohibit slavery in a territory ? and, secondly, in prohibit-
ing slavery " forever " in the territory north of Mason and
Dixon's line, as prolonged beyond the Mississippi river, did the
Missouri bill refer to this district only so long as it should re-
main under territorial government, or did it apply to such
states as might in future be formed from it ? To the first ques-
tion the cabinet replied unanimously in the affirmative. To the
second question Mr. Adams replied that the term " forever "
really meant forever ; but all his colleagues replied that it
only meant so long as the district in question should remain
under territorial government. Here for the first time we see
Mr. Adams taking that firm stand m opposition to slavery
which hereafter was to make him so famous.
Mr. Monroe's second term of office had scarcely begun
when the question of the succession came into the foreground.
The candidates were John Quincy Adams, secretary of state ;
William H. Crawford, secretary of the treasury ; John C. Cal-
houn, secretary of war; and Henry Clay, speaker of the
house of representatives. Shortly before the election Gen.
Jackson's strength began to loom up as more formidable than
the other competitors had supposed. Jackson was then at the
height of his popularity as a military hero, Crawford was the
most dexterous political manager in the couutry. Clay was per-
haps the most persuasive orator. Far superior to these three in
intelligence and character, Mr. Adams was in no sense a popu-
lar favorite. His manners were stiff and disagreeable; he told
the truth bluntly, whether it hurt or not ; and he never took
128 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
pains to conciliate any one. The best of men in his domestic
circle, outside of it he had few warm friends, but he seemed to
have a talent for making enemies. When Edward Everett
asked him if he was "determined to do nothing with a view to
promote his future election to the presidency as the successor
of Mr. Monroe," he replied that he " should do absolutely
nothing," and from this resolution he never swerved. He de-
sired the presidency as much as any one who was ever chosen
to that high office; but his nature was such that unless it
should come to him without scheming of his own, and as the
unsolicited expression of popular trust in him, all its value
would be lost. Under the circumstances, it was a remarkable
evidence of the respect felt for his lofty character and dis-
tinguished services that he should have obtained the presi-
dency at all. The result of the election showed 99 votes for
Jackson, 84 for Adams, 41 for Crawford, 37 for Clay. Mr.
Calhoun, who had withdrawn from the contest for the presi-
dency, received 182 votes for the vice-presidency, and was
elected. The choice of the president was thrown into the
house of representatives, and Mr. Clay now used his great in-
fluence in favor of Mr. Adams, who was forthwith elected.
When Adams afterward made Clay his secretary of state, the
disappointed partisans of Jackson pretended that there had
been a bargain between the two, that Adams had secured
Clay's assistance by promising him the first place in the cabi-
net, and thus, according to a usage that seemed to be estab-
lishing itself, placing him in the line of succession for the next
presidency. The peppery John Randolph characterized this
supposed bargain as "a coalition between Blifil and Black
George, the Puritan and the Blackleg." There never was a
particle of foundation for this reckless charge, and it has long
since been disproved.
During Monroe's administration the Federalist party had
become extinct. In the course of John Quincy Adams's ad-
ministration the new division of parties into Whigs and Dem-
ocrats began to grow up, the Whigs favoring internal improve-
ments, the national bank, and a high tariff on importations,
while the Democrats opposed all such measures on the ground
that they were incompatible with a strict construction of the
constitution. In its relation to such questions Mr. Adams's
administration was Whig, and thus arrayed against itself not
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
129
(j a/ulju\j~jy\jc yLcLa/v\/\^
only all the southern planters, but also the ship-owners of New
England and the importers of New York. But a new and
powerful tendency now came in to overwhelm such an admin-
istration as that of Adams. The so-called " spoils system "
was already germinating, and the
time had come when it could be put
into operation. Mr. Adams would
have nothing to say to such a sys-
tem. He would not reward the men
who worked for him, and he would
not remove from office the men
who most vigorously opposed him.
He stood on his merits, asked no
favors and granted none; and was,
on the whole, the most independent
president we have had since Wash-
ington. Jackson and his friends
promised their supporters a share
in the government offices, in which
a "clean sweep" was to be made by turning out the present
mcumbents. The result of the election of 1828 showed that for
the time Jackson's method was altogether the more potent ;
since he obtained 178 electoral votes, against 83 for Adams.
The close of his career as president was marked by an inci-
dent that increased the odium in which Mr. Adams was held
by so many of the old federalist families of Boston. In the
excitement of the election the newspapers devoted to Jackson
swarmed with mischievous paragraphs designed to injure
Adams's reputation. Among other things it was said that, in
1808, he had suspected some of the federalist leaders of enter-
taining a scheme for carrying New England out of the union,
and, fearing that such a scheme would be promoted by hatred
of the embargo, and that in case of its success the seceded
states would almost inevitably be driven into alliance with
Great Britain, he communicated his suspicions to President
Jefferson and other leadmg republicans. These tales, published
by unscrupulous newspapers twenty years after the event,
grossly distorted what Mr. Adams had actually said and done;
and thirteen eminent Massachusetts federalists addressed to
him an open letter, demanding that he should bring in a bill of
particulars supported by evidence. Adams replied by stating
I30
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the substance of what he had really said, but declining to
mention names or to point out the circumstances upon which
his suspicion had been based. In preserving this reticence he
was actuated mainly by unwillingness to stir up a furious con-
troversy under circumstances in which it could do no good.
But his adversaries made the mistake of attributing his for-
bearance to dread of ill consequences to himself — a motive by
which, It is safe to say, Mr. Adams was never influenced on
any occasion whatever. So the thirteen gentlemen returned
to the attack. Mr. Adams then wrote out a full statement of
the case, completely vindicating himself, and bringing forward
more than enough evidence to justify any such suspicions as
he had entertained and guardedly stated. After finishing this
pamphlet he concluded not to issue it, but left it among his
papers. It has been published by Prof. Henry Adams, in his
" Documents relating to New England Federalism," and is not
only of great historical importance, but is one of the finest speci-
mens of political writing to be found in the English language.
Although now an ex-president, Mr. Adams did not long
remain in private life. The greatest part of his career still lay
before him. Owing to the mysterious disappearance of William
Morgan, who had betrayed some of the secrets of the Masonic
order, there was in some of the northern states a sudden and
violent prejudice against the Freemasons and secret societies
in general. An " anti-mason party " was formed, and by its
votes Mr. Adams was, in 1831, elected to congress, where he
remained, representing the same district of Massachusetts
until his death in 1848. He was shortly afterward nominated
by the anti-masons for the governorship of Massachusetts, but
was defeated in the legislature, there being no choice by the
people. In congress he occupied a perfectly independent atti-
tude. He was one of those who opposed President Jackson's
high-handed treatment of the bank, but he supported the presi-
dent in his firm attitude toward the South Carolina nullifiers
and toward France. In 1835, ^s the French government de-
layed in paying over the indemnity of $5,000,000 which had
been agreed upon by the treaty of 1831 for plunder of Amer-
ican shipping in the Napoleonic wars, Jackson threatened, in
case payment should be any longer deferred, to issue letters of
marque and reprisal agamst French commerce. This bold
policy, which was successful in obtaining the money, enlisted
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. I^I
Mr. Adams's hearty support. He defended Jackson as he had
defended Jefferson on the occasion of the embargo ; and this
time, as before, his course was disapproved in Massachusetts,
and he lost a seat in the U. S. senate. He had been chosen to
that office by the state senate, but the lower house did not
concur, and before the question was decided the news of his
speech in favor of reprisals turned his supporters against him.
He was thus left in the house of representatives more inde-
pendent of party ties than ever, and was accordingly enabled
to devote his energies to the aid of the abolitionists, who were
now beginning to appear conspicuously upon the scene. At
that time it was impossible for the opponents of slavery to
effect much. The only way in which they could get their case
before congress was by presenting petitions for the abolition
of slavery in the District of Columbia. Unwilling to receive
such petitions, or to allow any discussion on the dreaded ques-
tion, congress in 1836 enacted the cowardly " gag rule," that
"all petitions, memorials, resolutions, or papers relating in any
way or to any extent whatsoever to the subject of slavery or
the abolition of slavery, shall, without being either printed or
referred, be laid upon the table; and that no further action
whatever shall be had thereon." After the yeas and nays had
been ordered on this, when Mr. Adams's name was called he
rose and said : " I hold the resolution to be a direct violation
of the constitution of the United States, the rules of this house,
and the rights of my constituents." The house sought to
drown his words with loud shrieks and yells of "Order!"
" Order ! " but he raised his voice to a shout and defiantly
finished his sentence. The rule was adopted by a vote of 117
to 68, but it did more harm than good to the pro-slavery party.
They had put themselves in an untenable position, and fur-
nished Mr. Adams with a powerful weapon which he used
against them without mercy. As a parliamentary debater he
has had few if any superiors ; in knowledge and dexterity there
was no one in the house who could be compared with him; he
was always master of himself, even at the white heat of anger
to which he often rose ; he was terrible in invective, matchless
at repartee, and insensible to fear. A single-handed fight
against all the slave-holders in the house was something upon
which he was always ready to enter, and he usually came off
with the last word. Though the vituperative vocabulary of
132
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the English language seemed inadequate to express the hatred
and loathing with which the pro-slavery party regarded him,
though he was more than once threatened with assassination,
nevertheless his dauntless bearing and boundless resources
compelled the respect of his bitterest opponents, and members
from the south, with true chivalry, sometimes confessed it.
Every session he returned to the assault upon the gag-rule,
until the disgraceful measure was rescinded in 1845. This part
of Mr. Adams's career consisted of a vast number of small
incidents, which make a very interesting and instructive chapter
in American history, but can not well be epitomized. He came
to serve as the rallying-point in congress for the ever-growing
anti-slavery sentiment, and may be regarded, in a certain
sense, as the first founder of the new republican party. He
seems to have been the first to enunciate the doctrine upon
which Mr. Lincoln afterward rested his great proclamation of
emancipation. In a speech in congress in 1836 he said: "From
the instant that your slave-holding states become the theatre
of war — civil, servile, or foreign — from that instant the war
powers of the constitution extend to interference with the insti-
tution of slavery in every way in which it can be interfered
with." As this principle was attacked by the southern mem-
bers, Mr. Adams from time to time reiterated it, especially in
his speech of 14 April, 1842, on the question of war with Eng-
land and Mexico, when he said : " Whether the war be civil,
servile, or foreign, I lay this down as the law of nations: I say
that the military authority takes for the time the place of all
municipal institutions, slavery among the rest. Under that
state of things, so far from its being true that the states where
slavery exists have the exclusive management of the subject,
not only the president of the United States, but the commander
of the army unquestionably has power to order the universal
emancipation of the slaves."
After the rescinding of the gag-rule Mr. Adams spoke less
frequently. In November, 1846, he had a shock of paralysis,
which kept him at home four months. On 21 Feb., 1848, while
he was sitting in the house of representatives, came the second
shock. He was carried into the speaker's room, where he lay
two days, and died on the 23d. His last words were : " This is
the last of earth ; I am content." See " Life and Public Serv-
ices of John Quincy Adams," by William H. Seward (Auburn,
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
133
1849) ; " Life of John Quincy Adams," by Josiah Quincy (Bos-
ton, 1858) ; " Diary of John Quincy Adams," edited by Charles
F. Adams, 12 vols., 8vo (Philadelphia, i874-'7) ; and " John
Quincy Adams," by John T. Morse, Jr. (Boston, 1882).
The steel portrait of Mr. Adams, facing page 120, is from a
picture by Marchant, in the possession of the New York His-
torical Society. The mansion represented on page 126 is the
Adams homestead at Quincy, in which the two presidents lived,
was the summer residence of Charles Francis Adams, and is
now occupied by his oldest son, John Quincy Adams.
Charles Francis Adams, diplomatist, son of John Quincy
Adams, born in Boston, 18 Aug., 1807; died there, 21 Nov.,
1886. When two years old he was taken by his father to St.
Petersburg, where he learned German, French, and Russian.
Early in 1815 he travelled all the way from St. Petersburg to
Paris with his mother in a private
carriage, a difficult journey at that
time, and not unattended with dan-
ger. His father was soon after-
ward appointed minister to Eng-
land, and the little boy was placed
at an English boarding - school.
The feelings between British and
Americans was then more hostile
than ever before or since, and
young Adams was frequently called
upon to defend with his fists the
good name of his country. When
he returned after two years to
America, his father placed him in the Boston Latin school, and
he was graduated at Harvard college in 1825, shortly after his
father's inauguration as president of the United States. He
spent two years in Washington, and then returned to Boston,
where he studied law in the office of Daniel Webster, and was
admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1828. The next year he married
the youngest daughter of Peter Chardon Brooks, whose elder
daughters were married to Edward Everett and Rev. Nathaniel
L. Frothingham. From 1831 to 1836 Mr. Adams served in the
Massachusetts legislature. He was a member of the whig party,
but, like all the rest of his vigorous and free-thinking family, he
was extremely independent in politics and inclined to strike out
■&Ka/i^ t7r J^ayryx^,
134
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
into new paths in advance of the public sentiment. After 1836
he came to differ more and more widely with the leaders of the
whig party with whom he had hitherto acted. In 1848 the newly
organized free-soil party, consisting largely of democrats, held
its convention at Buffalo and nommated Martin Van Buren for
president and Charles Francis Adams for vice-president. There
was no hope of electing these candidates, but this little party
grew, six years later, into the great republican party. In 1858
he was elected to congress by the republicans of the 3d district
of Massachusetts, and in i860 he was reelected. In the spring
of 1861 President Lincoln appointed him minister to England,
a place which both his father and his grandfather had filled
before him. Mr. Adams had now to fight with tongue and
pen for his country as in school-boy days he had fought with
fists. It was an exceedingly difficult time for an American
minister in England. Though there was much sympathy for
the U. S. government on the part of the workmen in the manu-
facturing districts and of many of the liberal constituencies, es-
pecially in Scotland, on the other hand the feeling of the gov-
erning classes and of polite society in London was either ac-
tively hostile to us or coldly indifferent. Even those students
of history and politics who were most friendly to us failed
utterly to comprehend the true character of the sublime strug-
gle in which we were engaged — as may be seen in reading the
introduction to Mr. E. A. Freeman's elaborate " History of
Federal Government from the Formation of the Achaean League
to the Disruption of the United States" (London, 1862). Dif-
ficult and embarrassing questions arose in connection with the
capture of the confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell,
the negligence of Lord Palmerston's government in allowing
the " Alabama " and other confederate cruisers to sail from
British ports to prey upon American commerce, and the ever
manifest desire of Napoleon III. to persuade Great Britain to
join him in an acknowledgment of the independence of the
confederacy. The duties of this difficult diplomatic mission
were discharged by Mr. Adams with such consummate ability
as to win universal admiration. No more than his father or
grandfather did he belong to the school of suave and crafty,
intriguing diplomats. He pursued his ends with dogged de-
termination and little or no attempt at concealment, while his
demeanor was haughty and often defiant. His unflinching
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 1 35
firmness bore down all opposition, and his perfect self-control
made it difficult for an antagonist to gain any advantage over
him. His career in England from 1861 to 1868 must be cited
among the foremost triumphs of American diplomacy. In 1872
it was attempted to nominate him for the presidency of the
United States, as the candidate of the liberal republicans, but
Horace Greeley secured the nomination. He was elected in
1869 a member of the board of overseers of Harvard univer-
sity, and was for several years president of the board. Mr.
Adams was a prominent member of the Geneva board of arbi-
tration. He edited the works and wrote the memoirs of his
father and grandfather, in 22 octavo volumes; the Familiar
Letters of John Adams and his Wife, Abigail Adams, during
the Revolution, with a Memoir of Mrs. Adams (New York,
1876), a volume which takes its place by the side of the most
valuable documents of that period, and published many of his
addresses and orations. (See article on Mr. Adams by Dr.
John G. Palfrey, in Lippincott's Magazine, vol. vii.)
John Quincy, lawyer, eldest son of Charles Francis Adams,
born in Boston, 22 Sept., 1833. He was graduated at Harvard
college in 1853, and admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1855. Dur-
ing the civil war he was on Gov. Andrew's staff. He was
elected to the legislature by the town of Quincy in 1866, but
failed to secure a reelection the following year because he had
declared his approval of Andrew Johnson's policy. In 1869
and 1870 he was again a member of the legislature. In 1867
and 1871 he was democratic candidate for governor of Massa-
chusetts, and was defeated. In 1877 he was chosen a member
of the corporation of Harvard. Mr. Adams died 14 Aug., 1894,
Charles Francis, lawyer, second son of Charles Francis
Adams, born in Boston, 27 May, 1835. He was graduated at
Harvard in 1856, and admitted to the bar in 1858. He served
through almost the whole of the civil war, bemg commissioned
lieutenant of the First Massachusetts cavalry in November,
1861, and resigning as colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts
Cavalry (colored), with the brevet of brigadier-general, in July,
1865. In 1869 he was appointed a member of the board of
railroad commissioners of Massachusetts, and continued in that
office by successive reappointments until 1879, when he re-
tired. He was then selected as one of the board of arbitra-
tors for the executive committee of eastern trunk lines and
136
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
western roads, and subsequently as sole arbitrator, which posi-
tion he resigned in June, 1884, when he became president of
the Union Pacific Railway Company. He continued president
of that company until November, 1890. He then retired from
all connection with railroad matters, and has since devoted
himself to historical and literary pursuits. In 1882 he was
elected a member of the board of overseers of Harvard uni-
versity, and re-elected in 1888. In connection with his brother,
Henry Adams, he prepared " Chapters of Erie and other Es-
says " (Boston, 1871). He subsequently published a treatise
entitled "Railroads; their Origin and Problems" (New York,
1878); a work on "Railroad Accidents" (1879); "Life of
Richard H. Dana (Boston, 1890); "Three Episodes in Massa-
chusetts History " (1892) ; and " Massachusetts : Its Histori-
ans and its History " (1893). He has also delivered a number
of occasional addresses, and been a frequent contributor to
the North American Review, the Forum, and the Proceedings of
the Massachusetts Historical Society, in which last he has printed
several monographs on historical subjects.
Henry, author, another son of Charles Francis Adams, born
in Boston, 16 Feb., 1838. He was graduated at Harvard in
1858, and was his father's private secretary in London from
1861 to 1868. From 1870 till 1877 he was assistant professor
of history in Harvard college, and was one of the ablest m-
structors the university has known during the present gener-
ation, possessing to an extraordinary degree the power of
inciting his pupils to original work. He again resided in Lon-
don for a few years, and is now living in Washington. He
has published "Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law " (Boston, 1876);
"Documents relating to New England Federalism, 1800-1815 "
(1877) ; " Life of Albert Gallatin " (Philadelphia, 1879) ; " Writ-
ings of Albert Gallatin," edited (3 vols., 1879); "John Ran-
dolph!' (Boston, 1882), and "History of the United States
during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison," 9 vols.
(New York, 1889-1891).
Brooks, lawyer, youngest son of Charles Francis Adams,
born in Quincy, Mass., 24 June, 1848, graduated at Harvard
university in 1870, and was admitted to the Suffolk bar in
1873. He has published articles in the "Atlantic Monthly"
and other periodicals, and is the author of " The Emancipation
of Massachusetts" (Boston, 1886).
D.'uppleton 8; Co
ANDREW JACKSON.
Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States,
born in the Waxhaw settlement on the border between North
and South Carolina, 15 March, 1767 ; died at the Hermitage,
near Nashville, Tenn., 8 June, 1845. His father, Andrew Jack-
son, came over from Carrickfergus, on the north coast of Ire-
land, in 1765. His grandfather, Hugh Jackson, had been a
linen-draper. His mother's name was Elizabeth Hutchinson,
and her family were linen-weavers. Andrew Jackson, the
father, died a few days before the birth of his son. The log
cabin in which the future president was born was situated
within a quarter of a mile of the boundary between the two
Carolinas, and the people of the neighborhood do not seem to
have had a clear idea as to which province it belonged. In a
letter of 24 Dec, 1830, in the proclamation addressed to the
nullifiers, in 1832, and again in his will. Gen. Jackson speaks of
himself as a native of South Carolina ; but the evidence adduced
by Parton seems to show that the birthplace was north of the
border. Three weeks after the birth of her son Mrs. Jackson
moved to the house of her brother-in-law, Mr. Crawford, just
over the border in South Carolina, near the Waxhaw creek, and
there his early years were passed. His education, obtained in
an "old-field school," consisted of little more than the " three ^
R's," and even in that limited sphere his attainments were but
scanty. He never learned, in the course of his life, to write
English correctly. His career as a fighter began early. In the
spring and early summer of 1780, after the disastrous surrender
of Lincoln's army at Charleston, the whole of South Carolina
was overrun by the British. On 6 Aug. Jackson was present
at Hanging Rock when Sumter surprised and destroyed a
British regiment. Two of his brothers, as well as his mother,
died from hardships sustained in the war. In after years he
138 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
could remember how he had been carried as prisoner to Cam-
den and nearly starved there, and how a brutal officer had cut
him with a sword because he refused to clean his boots ; these
reminiscences kept alive his hatred for the British, and doubt-
less gave unction to the tremendous blow dealt them at New
Orleans. In 1781, left quite alone in the world, he was appren-
ticed for a while to a saddler. At one time he is said to have
done a little teaching in an " old-field school." At the age of
eighteen he entered the law-office of Spruce McCay, in Salis-
bury. While there he was said to have been " the most roar-
ing, rollicking, gamecocking, horse-racing, card-playing, mis-
chievous fellow" that had ever been seen in that town. Many
and plentiful were the wild-oat crops sown at that time and in
that part of the country ; and in such sort of agriculture young
Jackson was much more proficient than in the study of juris-
prudence. He never had a legal tone of mind, or any but the
crudest knowledge of law ; but in that frontier society a small
amount of legal knowledge went a good way, and in 1788 he
was appointed public prosecutor for the western district of
North Carolina, the district since erected into the state of
Tennessee. The emigrant wagon-train in which Jackson jour-
neyed to Nashville carried news of the ratification of the Fed-
eral constitution by the requisite two thirds of the states. He
seems soon to have found business enough. In the April term
of 1790, out of 192 cases on the dockets of the county court at
Nashville, Jackson was employed as counsel in 42 ; in the year
1794, out of 397 cases he acted as counsel in 228 ; while at the
same time he was practising his profession in the courts of
other counties. The great number of these cases is an indica-
tion of their trivial character. As a general rule they were
either actions growing out of disputed land-claims or simple
cases of assault and battery. Court day was a great occasion
in that wild community, bringing crowds of men into the
county town to exchange gossip, discuss politics, drink whis-
key, and break heads. Probably each court day produced as
many new cases as it settled. Amid such a turbulent popula-
tion the public prosecutor must needs be a man of nerve and
resource. It was a state of chronic riot, in which he must be
ever ready to court danger. Jackson proved himself quite
equal to the task of introducing law and order in so far as
it depended on him. " Just inform Mr. Jackson," said Gov.
A NDRE W J A CKSON. \ 39
Blount when sundry malfeasances were reported to him ; " he
will be sure to do his duty, and the offenders will be punished."
Besides the lawlessness of the white pioneer population, there
was the enmity of the Indians to be reckoned with. In the im-
mediate neighborhood of Nashville the Indians murdered, on
the average, one person every ten days. From 1788 till 1795
Jackson performed the journey of nearly two hundred miles
between Nashville and Jonesboro twenty-two times; and on
these occasions there were many alarms from Indians, which
sometimes grew into a forest campaign. In one of these
affairs, having nearly lost his life in an adventurous feat, Jack-
son made the characteristic remark : " A miss is as good as a
mile; you see how near I can graze danger." It was this wild
experience that prepared the way for Jackson's eminence as an
Indian-fighter. In the autumn of 1794 the Cherokees were so
thoroughly punished by Gen. Robertson's famous Nickajack
expedition that henceforth they thought it best to leave the
Tennessee settlements in peace. With the rapid increase of
the white population which soon followed, the community be-
came more prosperous and more orderly. In the general pros-
perity Jackson had an ample share, partly through the diligent
practice of his profession, partly through judicious purchases
and sales of land.
With most men marriage is the most important event of
their life ; in Jackson's career his marriage was peculiarly im-
portant. Rachel Donelson was a native of North Carolina,
daughter of Col. John Donelson, a Virginia surveyor in good
circumstances, who in 1780 migrated to the neighborhood of
Nashville in a very remarkable boat-journey of 2,000 miles
down the Holston and Tennessee rivers and up the Cumber-
land. During an expedition to Kentucky some time afterward,
the blooming Rachel was wooed and won by Capt. Lewis
Robards. She was an active, sprightly, and interesting girl,
the best horsewoman and best dancer in that country ; her
husband seems to have been a young man of tyrannical and
unreasonably jealous disposition. In Kentucky they lived with
Mrs. Robards, the husband's mother ; and, as was common in
a new society where houses were too few and far between, there
were other boarders in the family — among them the late Judge
Overton, of Tennessee, and a Mr. Stone. Presently Robards
made complaints against his wife, in which he implicated Stone.
I40
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
According to Overton and the elder Mrs. Robards, these com-
plaints were unreasonable and groundless, but the affair ended
in Robards sending his wife home to her mother in Tennessee.
This was in 1788. Col. Donelson had been murdered, either by
Indians or by white desperadoes, and his widow, albeit in easy
circumstances, felt it desirable to keep boarders as a means of
protection against the Indians. To her house came Andrew
Jackson on his arrival at Nashville, and thither about the same
time came Overton, also fresh from his law studies. These two
young men were boarded in the house and lodged in a cabin
hard by. At about the same time Robards became reconciled
with his wife, and, having bought land in the neighborhood,
came to dwell for a while at Mrs. Donelson's. Throughout life
Jackson was noted alike for spotless purity and for a romantic
and chivalrous respect for the female sex. In the presence of
women his manner was always distinguished for grave and
courtly politeness. This involuntary homage to woman was
one of the finest and most winsome features in his character.
As unconsciously rendered to Mrs. Robards, it was enough to
revive the slumbering demon of jealousy in her husband.
According to Overton's testimony, Jackson's conduct was irre-
proachable, but there were high words between him and Ro-
bards, and, not wishing to make further trouble, he changed his
place of abode. After some months Capt. Robards left his
wife and went to Kentucky, threatening by and by to return
and "haunt her" and make her miserable. In the autumn of
1790 rumors of his intended return frightened Mrs. Robards,
and determined her to visit some friends at distant Natchez in
order to avoid him. In pursuance of this plan, with which the
whole neighborhood seems to have concurred, she went down
the river in company with the venerable Col. Stark and his
family. As the Indians were just then on the war-path, Jack-
son accompanied the party with an armed escort, returning to
Nashville as soon as he had seen his friends safely deposited
at Natchez. While these things were going on, the proceed-
ings of Capt. Robards were characterized by a sort of Machia-
velian astuteness. In 1791 Kentucky was still a part of Vir-
gmia, and, according to the code of the Old Dominion, if a hus-
band wished to obtain a divorce on account of his wife's alleged
unfaithfulness, he must procure an act of the legislature em-
powering him to bring the case before a jury, and authorizing
A NDRE W J A CKSON. 1 4 j
a divorce conditionally upon the jury's finding a verdict of
guilty. Early in 1791 Robards obtained the preliminary act of
the legislature upon his declaration, then false, that his wife
had gone to live with Jackson. Robards deferred further ac-
tion for more than two years. Meanwhile it was reported and
believed in the west that a divorce had been granted, and, act-
ing upon this report, Jackson, whose chivalrous interest in
Mrs. Robards's misfortunes had ripened into sincere affection,
went, in the summer of 1791, to Natchez and married her there,
and brought her to his home at Nashville. In the autumn of
1793 Capt. Robards, on the strength of the facts that undeni-
ably existed since the act of the Virginia legislature, brought
his case into court and obtained the verdict completing the
divorce. On hearmg of this, to his great surprise, in Decem-
ber, Jackson concluded that the best method of preventing
future cavil was to procure a new license and have the mar-
riage ceremony performed again ; and this was done in Janu-
ary. Jackson was certainly to blame for not taking more care
to ascertain the import of the act of the Virginia legislature.
By a carelessness peculiarly striking in a lawyer, he allowed his
wife to be placed in a false position. The irregularity of the
marriage was indeed atoned by forty years of honorable and
happy wedlock, ending only with Mrs. Jackson's death in De-
cember, 1828; and no blame was attached to the parties in
Nashville, where the circumstances were well known. But the
story, half understood and maliciously warped, grew into scan-
dal as it was passed about among Jackson's personal enemies
or political opponents; and herein some of the bitterest of his
many quarrels had their source. His devotion to Mrs. Jackson
was intense, and his pistol was always ready for the rash man
who should dare to speak of her slightingly.
In January, 1796, we find Jackson sitting in the conven-
tion assembled at Knoxville for making a constitution for
Tennessee, and tradition has it that he proposed the name of
the " Great Crooked River " as the name for the new state.
Among the rules adopted by the convention, one is quaintly
significant : " He that digresseth from the subject to fall on
the person of any member shall be suppressed by the speaker."
The admission of Tennessee to the Union was effected in June,
1796, in spite of earnest opposition from the Federalists, and
in the autumn Jackson was chosen as the single representative
142
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in congress. When the house had assembled, he heard Presi-
dent Washmgton deliver in person his last message to congress.
He was one of twelve who voted against the adoption of the
address to Washington in approval of his administration.
Jackson's chief objections to Washington's government were
directed against two of its most salutary and admirable acts —
the Jay treaty with Great Britain, and Hamilton's financial
measures. His feeling toward the Jay treaty was that of a
man who could not bear to see anything but blows dealt to
Great Britain. His condemnation of Hamilton's policy was
mingled with the not unreasonable feeling of distrust which he
had already begun to harbor against a national bank. The
year 1797 was a season of financial depression, and the general
paralysis of business was ascribed — no doubt too exclusively —
to the over-issue of notes by the national bank. Jackson's
antipathy to such an institution would seem to have begun
thus early to show itself. Of his other votes in this congress,
one was for an appropriation to defray the expenses of Sevier's
expedition against the Cherokees, which was carried ; three
others were eminently wise and characteristic of the man : i.
For finishing the three frigates then building and destined
to such renown — the "Constitution," "Constellation," and
"United States." 2. Against the further payment of black-
mail to Algiers. 3. Against removing " the restriction which
confined the expenditure of public money to the specific objects
for which each sum was appropriated." Another vote, silly in
itself, was characteristic of the representative from a rough
frontier community; it was against the presumed extravagance
of appropriating $14,000 to buy furniture for the newly built
White House. Jackson's course was warmly approved by his
constituents, and in the following summer he was chosen to fill
a vacancy in the Federal senate. Of his conduct as senator
nothing is known beyond the remark, made by Jefferson in
1824 to Daniel Webster, that he had often, when presiding in
the senate, seen the passionate Jackson get up to speak and
then choke with rage so that he could not utter a word. As
Parton very happily suggests, one need not wonder at this if
one remembers what was the subject chiefly before the senate
during the winter of i797-'8. The outrageous insolence of the
French Directory was enough to arouse the wrath of far tamer
and less patriotic spirits than Jackson's. Yet in a letter writ-
A NDRE W J A CKSON. 1 43
ten at that time he seems eager to see the British throne over-
turned by Bonaparte. In April, 1798, he resigned his seat in
the senate, and was appomted judge in the supreme court of
Tennessee. He retained this office for six years, but nothing
is known of his decisions, as the practice of recording de-
cisions began only with his successor, Judge Overton. During
this period he was much harassed by business troubles arising
from the decline in the value of land consequent upon the
financial crisis of 1798. At length, in 1804, he resigned his
judgeship in order to devote his attention exclusively to his
private affairs. He paid up all his debts, and engaged exten-
sively both in planting and in trade. He was noted for fair
and honorable dealing, his credit was always excellent, and a
note with his name on it was considered as good as gold. He
had a clear head for business, and was never led astray by the
delusions about paper money by which American frontier com-
munities have so often been infected. His plantation was well
managed, and his slaves kindly and considerately treated.
But while genial and kind toward his inferiors, he was
among his fellow-citizens apt to be rough and quarrelsome.
In 1795 he fought a duel with Avery, an opposing counsel,
over some hasty words that had passed in the court-room.
Next year he quarrelled with John Sevier, governor of Ten-
nessee, and came near shooting him "at sight." Sevier had
alluded to the circumstances of his marriage. Ten years after-
ward, for a similar offence, though complicated with other
matters in the course of a long and extremely silly quarrel, he
fought a duel with Charles Dickinson. The circumstances
were revolting, but showed Jackson's wonderful nerve and
rare skill in " grazing danger." Dickinson was killed, and
Jackson received a wound from the effects of which he never
recovered. In later years, when he was a candidate for the
presidency, the number of his violent quarrels was variously
reckoned by his enemies at from a dozen to a hundred. In 1805
Jackson was visited by Aaron Burr, who was then preparing
his mysterious southwestern expedition. Burr seems to have
wished, if possible, to make use of Jackson's influence in rais-
ing troops, but without indicating his purpose. In this he
was unsuccessful, but Jackson appears to have regarded the
charge of treason brought against Burr as ill-founded. At
Richmond, while Burr's trial was going on, Jackson made a
144
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
speech attacking Jefferson. He thus made himself obnoxious
to Madison, then secretary of state, and afterward, in 1808, he
declared his preference for Monroe over Madison as candidate
for the presidency. He was known as unfriendly to Madison's
administration, but this did not prevent him from offering his
services, with those of 2,500 men, as soon as war was declared
against Great Britain in 1812. Since 1801 he had been com-
mander-in-chief of the Tennessee militia, but there had been
no occasion for him to take the field. Late in 1812, after the
disasters in the northwest, it was feared that the British might
make an attempt upon New Orleans, and Jackson was ordered
down to Natchez, at the head of 2,000 men. He went in high
spirits, promising to plant the American eagle upon the ram-
parts of Mobile, Pensacola, and St. Augustine, if so directed.
On 6 Feb., as it had become evident that the British were not
meditating a southward expedition, the new secretary of war,
Armstrong, sent word to Jackson to disband his troops. This
stupid order reached the general at Natchez toward the end
of March, and inflamed his wrath. He took upon himself the
responsibility of marching his men home in a body, an act in
which the government afterward acquiesced and reimbursed
Jackson for the expense involved. During this march Jackson
became the idol of his troops, and his sturdiness won him the
nickname of " Old Hickory," by which he was affectionately
known among his friends and followers for the rest of his life.
Shortly after his arrival at Nashville there occurred an
affray between Jackson and Thomas H. Benton, growing out
of an unusually silly duel in which Jackson had acted as second
to the antagonist of Benton's brother. In a tavern at Nash-
ville, Jackson undertook to horsewhip Benton, and in the en-
suing scufile the latter was pitched down-stairs, while Jackson
got a bullet in his left shoulder which he carried for more than
twenty years. Jackson and Benton had formerly been friends.
After this affair they did not meet again until 1823, when both
were in the U. S. senate. Their friendship was then renewed.
The war with Great Britain was complicated with an Indian
war which could not in any case have been avoided. The west-
ward progress of the white settlers toward the Mississippi river
was gradually driving the red man from his hunting-grounds;
and the celebrated Tecumseh had formed a scheme, quite simi-
lar to that of Pontiac fifty years earlier, of uniting all the
A NDRE I V J A CKSON. 1 4 5
tribes between Florida and the Great Lakes in a grand attempt
to drive back the white men. This scheme was partially frus-
trated in the autuma of 181 1 while Tecumseh was preaching
his crusade among the Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles.
During his absence his brother, known as the Prophet, attacked
Gen. Harrison at Tippecanoe and was overwhelmingly de-
feated. The war with Great Britain renewed Tecumseh's op-
portunity, and his services to the enemy were extremely valu-
able until his death in the battle of the Thames. Tecumseh's
principal ally in the south was a half-breed Creek chieftain
named Weathersford. On the shore of Lake Tensaw, in the
southern part of what is now Alabama, was a stockaded fortress
known as Fort Mimms. There many of the settlers had taken
refuge. On 30 Aug., 1813, this stronghold was surprised by
Weathersford at the head of 1,000 Creek warriors, and more
than 400 men, women, and children were massacred. The news
of this dreadful affair aroused the people of the southwest to
vengeance. Men and money were raised by the state of Ten-
nessee, and, before he had fully recovered from the wound
received in the Benton affray, Jackson took the field at the
head of 2,500 men. Now for the first time he had a chance to
show his wonderful military capacity, his sleepless vigilance,
untiring patience, and unrivalled talent as a leader of men.
The difificulties encountered were formidable in the extreme.
In that frontier wilderness the business of the commissariat
was naturally ill managed, and the men, who under the most
favorable circumstances had little idea of military subordina-
tion, were part of the time mutinous from hunger. More than
once Jackson was obliged to use one half of his army to keep
the other half from disbanding. In view of these difificulties,
the celerity of his movements and the force with which he
struck the enemy were truly marvellous. The Indians were
defeated at Talluschatches and Talladega. At length, on 27
March, 1814, having been re-enforced by a regiment of U. S.
infantry, Jackson .struck the decisive blow at Tohopeka, other-
wise known as the Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa river.
In this bloody battle no quarter was given, and the strength
of the Creek nation was finally broken. Jackson pursued the
remnant to their place of refuge called the Holy Ground,
upon which the medicine-men had declared that no white man
could set foot and live. Such of the Creek chieftains as had
146
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
not fled to Florida now surrendered. The American soldiers
were ready to kill Weathersford in revenge for Fort Mimms;
but Jackson, who was by no means wanting in magnanimity,
spared his life and treated him so well that henceforth he and
his people remained on good terms with the white men.
Among the officers who served under Jackson in this remark-
able campaign were two who in later years played an important
part in the history of the southwest — Samuel Houston and
David Crockett. The Creek war was one of critical impor-
tance. It was the last occasion on which the red men could
put forth sufificient power to embarrass the U. S. government.
More than any other
single battle that of
Tohopeka marks the
downfall of Indian
power. Its immedi-
ate effects upon the
war with Great Brit-
ain were very great.
By destroying the
only hostile power within the southwestern territory it made it
possible to concentrate the military force of the border states
upon any point, however remote, that might be threatened by
the British. More specifically, it made possible the great vic-
tory at New Orleans. Throughout the whole of this campaign,
in which Jackson showed such indomitable energy, he was suf-
fering from illness such as would have kept any ordinary man
groaning in bed, besides that for most of the time his left arm
had to be supported in a sling. The tremendous pluck ex-
hibited by William of Orange at Neerwinden, and so justly
celebrated by Macaulay, was no greater than Jackson showed
in Alabama. His pluck was equalled by his thoroughness.
Many generals after victory are inclined to relax their efforts.
Not so Jackson, who followed up every success with furious
persistence, and whose admirable maxim was that in war " until
all is done, nothing is done."
On 31 May, 1814, Jackson was made major-general in the
regular army, and was appointed to command the Department
of the South. It was then a matter of dispute whether Mobile
belonged to Spain or to the United States. In August, Jack-
son occupied the town and made his headquarters there. With
A NDRE IV J A CKSON. 1 47
the consent of Spain the British used Florida as a base of
operations and established themselves at Pensacola. Jackson
wrote to Washington for permission to attack them there ; but
the government was loth to sanction an invasion of Spanish
territory until the complicity of Spain with our enemy should
be proved beyond cavil. The letter from Sec. Armstrong to
this effect did not reach Jackson. The capture of Washington
by the British prevented his receiving orders and left him to
act upon his own responsibility, a kind of situation from which
he was never known to flinch.
On 14 Sept. the British advanced against Mobile; but in
their attack upon the outwork, Fort Bowyer, they met with a
disastrous repulse. They retreated to Pensacola, whither Jack-
son followed them with 3,000 men. On 7 Nov. he stormed the
town. His next move would have been against Fort Barran-
cas, six miles distant at the mouth of the harbor. By capturing
this post he would have entrapped the British fleet and might
have forced it to surrender ; but the enemy forestalled him by
blowing up the fort and beating a precipitate retreat. By thus
driving the British from Florida — an act for which he was
stupidly blamed by the Federalist press — Jackson now found
himself free to devote all his energies to the task of defending
New Orleans, and there, after an arduous journey, he arrived
on 2 Dec. The British expedition directed against that city
was more formidable than any other that we had to encounter
during that war. Its purpose was also more deadly. In the
north the British warfare had been directed chiefly toward de-
fending Canada and gaining such a foothold upon our frontier
as might be useful in making terms at the end of the war.
The burning of Washington was intended chiefly for an insult,
and had but slight military significance ; but the expedition
against New Orleans was intended to make a permanent con-
quest of the lower Mississippi valley and to secure for Great
Britain the western bank of the river. The fall of Napoleon
had set free some of Wellington's finest troops for service in
America, and in December a force of 12,000 men, under com-
mand of Wellington's brother-in-law, the gallant Sir Edward
Pakenham, was landed below New Orleans. To oppose these
veterans of the Spanish peninsula, Jackson had 6,000 of that
sturdy race whose fathers had vanquished Ferguson at King's
Mountain, and whose children so nearly vanquished Grant at
II
148 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Shiloh. After considerable preliminary manoeuvring and skir-
mishing, Jackson intrenched himself in a strong position near
the Bienvenu and Chalmette plantations and awaited the ap-
proach of the enemy. His headquarters, the McCarte mansion,
are shown in the illustration on page 146. On 8 Jan., Paken-
ham was unwise enough to try to overwhelm him by a direct
assault. In less than half an hour the British were in full
retreat, leavmg 2,600 of their number killed and wounded.
Among the slain was Pakenham. The American loss was eight
killed and thirteen wounded. Never, perhaps, in the history of
the world has a battle been fought between armies of civilized
men with so great a disparity of loss. It was also the most com-
plete and overwhelming defeat that any English army has ever
experienced. News travelled so slowly then that this great
victory, like the three last naval victories of the war, occurred
after peace had been made by the commissioners at Ghent.
Nevertheless, no American can regret that the battle was
fought. The insolence and rapacity of Great Britain had richly
deserved such castigation. Moreover, if she once gained a
foothold in the Mississippi valley, it might have taken an armed
force to dislodge her in spite of the treaty, for in the matter of
the western frontier posts after 1783 she had by no means acted
in good faith Jackson's victory decided that henceforth the
Mississippi valley belonged indisputably to the people of the
United States. It was the recollection of that victory, along
with the exploits of Hull and Decatur, Perry and McDonough,
which caused the Holy Alliance to look upon the Monroe doc-
trine as something more than an idle threat. All over the
United States the immediate effect of the news was electric,
and it was enhanced by the news of peace which arrived a few
days later. By this " almost incredible victory," as the " Na-
tional Intelligencer " called it, the credit of the American arms
upon land was fully restored. Not only did the administration
glory in it, as was natural, but the opposition lauded it for a
different reason, as an example of what American military hero-
ism could do in spite of inadequate support from government.
Thus praised by all parties, Jackson, who before the Creek war
had been little known outside of Tennessee, became at once the
foremost man in the United States. People in the north, while
throwing up their hats for him, were sometimes heard to ask :
" Who is this Gen. Jackson ? To what state does he belong ? "
^^^'^^-^e^^^y^ ^^^^^
^^^^
-c— ^
ANDRE W J A CKSON. I ^g
Henceforth until the civil war he occupied the most prominent
place in the popular mind.
After his victory Jackson remained three months in New
Orleans, in some conflict with the civil authorities of the town,
which he found it necessary to hold under martial law. In
April he returned to Nashville, still retaining his military com-
mand of the southwest. He soon became involved in a quarrel
with Mr. Crawford, the secretary of war, who had undertaken
to modify some provisions in his treaty with the Creeks. Jack-
son was also justly incensed by the occasional issue of orders
from the war department directly to his subordinate officers;
such orders sometimes stupidly thwarted his plans. The usual
course for a commanding general thus annoyed would be to
make a private representation to the government ; but here, as
ordinarily, while quite right in his position, Jackson was violent
and overbearing in his methods. He published, 22 April, 1817,
an order forbidding his subordinate officers to pay heed to any
order from the war department unless issued through him.
Mr. Calhoun, who in October succeeded Crawford as secretary
of war, gracefully yielded the point; but the public had mean-
while been somewhat scandalized by the collision of authorities.
In private conversation Gen. Scott had alluded to Jackson's
conduct as savoring ot mutiny. This led to an angry corre-
spondence between the two generals, ending in a challenge
from Jackson, which Scott declined on the ground that duel-
ling is a wicked and unchristian custom.
Affairs in Florida now demanded attention. That country
had become a nest of outlaws, and chaos reigned supreme
there. Many of the defeated Creeks had found a refuge in
Florida, and runaway negroes from the plantations of Georgia
and South Carolina were continually escaping thither. During
the late war British officers and adventurers, acting on their
own responsibility upon this neutral soil, committed many acts
which their government would never have sanctioned. They
stirred up Indians and negroes to commit atrocities on the
United States frontier. The Spanish government was at that
time engaged in warfare with its revolted colonies in South
America, and the coasts of Florida became a haunt for contra-
band traders, privateers, and filibusters. One adventurer would
announce his intention to make Florida a free republic ; another
would go about committing robbery on his own account ; a third
I50
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
would set up an agency for kidnapping negroes on speculation.
The disorder was hideous. On the Appalachicola river the
British had built a fort, and amply stocked it with arms and
ammunition, to serve as a base of operations against the United
States. On the departure of the British the fort was seized
and held by negroes. This alarmed the slave-owners of Georgia,
and in July, 1816, United States troops, with permission from
the Spanish authorities, marched in and bombarded the negro
fort. A hot shot found its way into the magazine, three hun-
dred negroes were blown into fragments, and the fort was de-
molished. In this case the Spaniards were ready to leave to
United States troops a disagreeable work, for which their own
force was incompetent. Every day made it plainer that Spain
was quite unable to preserve order in Florida, and for this rea-
son the United States entered upon negotiations for the pur-
chase of that country. Meanwhile the turmoil increased.
White men were murdered by Indians, and United States troops,
under Col. Twiggs, captured and burned a considerable Semi-
nole village, known as Fowltown. The Indians retorted by the
massacre of fifty people who were ascending the Appalachicola
river in boats ; some of the victims were tortured with fire-
brands. Jackson was now ordered to the frontier. He wrote
at once to President Monroe : " Let it be signified to me through
any channel (say Mr. John Rhea) that the possession of the
Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty
days it will be accomplished." Mr. Rhea was a representative
from Tennessee, a confidential friend of both Jackson and Mon-
roe. The president was ill when Jackson's letter reached him,
and does not seem to have given it due consideration. On re-
ferring to it a year later he could not remember that he had
ever seen it before. Rhea, however, seems to have written a
letter to Jackson, telling him that the president approved of
his suggestion. As to this point the united testimony of Jack-
son, Rhea, and Judge Overton seems conclusive. Afterward
Mr. Monroe, through Rhea, seems to have requested Jackson
to burn this letter, and an entry on the general's letter-book
shows that it was accordingly burned, 12 April, 1819. There
can be no doubt that, whatever the president's intention may
have been, or how far it may have been correctly interpreted
by Rhea, the general honestly considered himself authorized to
take possession of Florida on the ground that the Spanish gov-
ANDRE W J A CKSON. 1 5 I
ernment had shown itself incompetent to prevent the denizens
of that country from engaging in hostilities against the United
States. Jackson acted upon this belief with his accustomed
promptness. He raised troops in Tennessee and neighboring
states, invaded Florida in March, 1818, captured St. Marks, and
pushed on to the Seminole headquarters on the Suwanee river.
In less than three months from this time he had overthrown the
Indians and brought order out of chaos. His measures were
praised by his friends as vigorous, while his enemies stigma-
tized them as high-handed. In one mstauce his conduct was
open to serious question. At St. Marks his troops captured an
aged Scotch trader and friend of the Indians, named Alexander
Arbuthnot ; near Suwanee, some time afterward, they seized
Robert Ambrister, a young English lieutenant of marines,
nephew of the governor of New Providence. Jackson believed
that these men had incited the Indians to make war upon the
United States, and were now engaged in aiding and abetting
them in their hostilities. They were tried by a court-martial
at St. Marks. On very insufficient evidence Arbuthnot was
found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. Appearances were
somewhat more strongly against Ambrister. He did not make
it clear what his business was in Florida, and threw himself
upon the mercy of the court, which at first condemned him to
be shot, but on further consideration commuted the sentence to
fifty lashes and a year's imprisonment. Jackson arbitrarily re-
vived the first sentence, and Ambrister was accordingly shot.
A few minutes afterward Arbuthnot was hanged from the yard-
arm of his own ship, declaring with his last breath that his
country would avenge him. In this lamentable affair Jackson
doubtless acted from a sense of duty ; as he himself said, " My
God would not have smiled on me, had I punished only the
poor ignorant savages, and spared the white men who set them
on." Here, as elsewhere, however, when under the influence of
strong feeling, he showed himself utterly incapable of estimat-
ing evidence. The case against both the victims was so weak
that a fair-minded and prudent commander would surely have
pardoned them ; while the interference with the final sentence of
the court, in Ambrister's case, was an act that can hardly be jus-
tified. Throughout life Jackson was perpetually acting with
violent energy upon the strength of opinions hastily formed
and based upon inadequate data. Fortunately, his instincts
152
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
were apt to be sound, and in many most important instances
his violent action was highly beneficial to his country; but a
man of such temperament is liable to make serious mistakes.
On his way home, hearing that some Indians had sought
refuge in Pensacola, Jackson captured the town, turned out the
Spanish governor, and left a garrison of his own there. He
had now virtually conquered Florida, but he had moved too
fast for the government at Washington. He had gone further,
perhaps, than was permissible in trespassing upon neutral terri-
tory ; and his summary execution of two British subjects
aroused furious excitement in England. For a moment we
seemed on the verge of war with Great Britain and Spain at
once. Whatever authority President Monroe may have intend-
ed, through the Rhea letter, to confer upon Jackson, he certainly
felt that the general had gone too far. With one exception, all
his cabinet agreed with him that it would be best to disavow
Jackson's acts and make reparation for them. But John Quincy
Adams, secretary of state, felt equal to the task of dealing
with the two foreign powers, and upon his advice the adminis-
tration decided to assume the responsibility for what Jackson
had done. Pensacola and St. Marks were restored to Spain,
and an order of Jackson's for the seizing of St. Augustine was
countermanded by the president. But Adams represented to
Spain that the American general, in his invasion of Florida,
was virtually assisting the Spanish government in maintaining
order there; and to Great Britain he justified the execution of
Arbuthnot and Ambrister on the ground that their conduct had
been such that they had forfeited their allegiance and become
virtual outlaws. Spain and Great Britain accepted the expla-
nations ; had either nation felt in the mood for war with the
United States, it might have been otherwise. As soon as the
administration had adopted Jackson's measures, they were for
that reason attacked in Congress by Clay, and this was the
beginning of the bitter and lifelong feud between Jackson
and Clay. In 1819 the purchase of Florida from Spain was
effected, and in 1821 Jackson was appointed governor of that
territory. In 1823 he was elected to the U. S. senate. Some
of his friends, under the lead of William B. Lewis, had already
conceived the idea of making him president. At first Gen.
Jackson cast ridicule upon the idea. " Do they suppose," said
he, " that I am such a d — d fool as to think myself fit for presi-
A NDRE IV J A CKSON. I 5 ^
dent of the United States ? No, sir, I know what I am fit for.
I can command a body of men in a rough way, but I am not fit
to be president." Such is the anecdote told by H. M. Bracken-
ridge, who was Jackson's secretary in Florida. In 1821 the
general felt old and weak, and had made up his mind to spend
his remaining days in peace on his farm. Of personal ambi-
tion, as ordinarily understood, Jackson had much less than
many other men. But he was, like most men, susceptible to
flattery, and the discovery of his immense popularity no doubt
went far to persuade him that he might do credit to himself as
president. On 20 July, 1822, he was nominated for that office
by the legislature of Tennessee. On 22 Feb., 1824, he was nomi-
nated by a Federalist convention at Harrisburg, Pa., and on 4
March following by a Republican convention at the same place.
The regular nominee of the congressional caucus was William H.
Crawford, of Georgia. The other candidates were John Quincy
Adams and Henry Clay, There was a general agreement upon
Calhoun for the vice-presidency. All the candidates belonged
to the Republican party, which had kept the presidency since
Jefferson's election in 1800. The Federalists were hopelessly
discredited by their course in the war of i8i2-'i5. Of the four
candidates Adams and Clay were loose constructionists, while
Crawford and Jackson were strict constructionists, and in this
difference was foreshadowed a new division of parties. At
the election in November, 1824, there were 99 electoral votes
for Jackson, 84 for Adams, 41 for Crawford, and 37 for Clay.
As none of the candidates had a majority, it was left for the
house of representatives to choose a president from the three
highest names on the list, in accordance with the twelfth
amendment to the constitution. As Clay was thus rendered
ineligible, there was naturally some scheming among the friends
of the other candidates to secure his powerful co-operation.
Clay and his friends quite naturally supported the other loose-
constructionist candidate, Adams, with the result that 13 states
voted for Adams, 7 for Jackson, and 4 for Crawford. Adams
thus became president, and Jackson's friends, in their disap-
pointment, hungered for a " grievance " upon which they might
vent their displeasure, and which might serve as a "rallying
cry " for the next campaign. Benton, who was now one of
Jackson's foremost supporters, went so far as to maintain that,
because Jackson had a greater number of electoral votes than
154 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
any other candidate, the house was virtually "defying the will
of the people " in choosing any name but his. To this it was
easily answered that in any case our electoral college, which
was one of the most deliberately framed devices of the consti-
tution, gives but a very indirect and partial expression of the
" will of the people " ; and furthermore, if Benton's argument
was sound, why should the constitution have provided for an
election by congress, instead of allowing a simple plurality in
the college to decide the election ? The extravagance of Ben-
ton's objection, coming from so able a source, is an index to
the bitter disappointment of Jackson's followers. The needed
" grievance " was furnished when Adams selected Clay as his
secretary of state. Many of Jackson's friends mterpreted this
appointment as the result of a bargain whereby Clay had made
Adams president in consideration of obtaining the first place in
the cabinet, carrying with it. according to the notion then preva-
lent, a fair prospect of the succession to the presidency. It
was natural enough for the friends of a disappointed candidate
to make such a charge. It was to Benton's credit that he al-
ways scouted the idea of a corrupt bargain between Adams and
Clay. Many people, however, believed it. In congress, John
Randolph's famous allusion to the "coalition between Blifil and
Black George — the Puritan and the blackleg" — led to a duel
between Randolph and Clay, which served to impress the mat-
ter upon the popular mind without enlightening it ; the pistol
is of small value as an agent of enlightenment. The charge
was utterly without support and in every way improbable. The
excellence, of the appointment of Clay was beyond cavil, and
the sternly upright Adams was less influenced by what people
might think of his actions than any other president since Wash-
ington. But the appointment was no doubt ill-considered. It
made it necessary for Clay, in many a public speech, to defend
himself against the cruel imputation. To mention the charge
to Jackson, whose course in Florida had been severely censured
by Clay, was enough to make him believe it ; and he did so to
his dying day.
It is not likely that the use made of this "grievance " had
much to do with Jackson's victory in 1828. The causes at
work lay far deeper. The population west of the Alleghanies
was now beginning to count for much in politics. Jackson was
our first western president, and his election marks the rise of
ANDRE IV JACKSON. jce
that section of our country. The democratic tendency was
moreover a growing one. Heretofore our presidents had been
men of aristocratic type, with advantages of wealth, or educa-
tion, or social training. A stronger contrast to them than Jack-
son afforded cannot well be imagined. A man with less train-
ing in statesmanship would have been hard to find. In his de-
fects he represented average humanity, while his excellences
were such as the most illiterate citizen could appreciate. In
such a man the ploughboy and the blacksmith could feel that
in some essential respects they had for president one of their
own sort. Above all, he was the great military hero of the day,
and as such he came to the presidency as naturally as Taylor
and Grant in later days, as naturally as his contemporary Wel-
lington became prime minister of England. A man far more
politic and complaisant than Adams could not have won the
election of 1828 against such odds. He obtained 83 electoral
votes against. 178 for Jackson. Calhoun was re-elected vice-
president. Jackson came to the presidency with a feeling that
he had at length succeeded in making good his claim to a vio-
lated right, and he showed this feeling in his refusal to call on
his illustrious predecessor, who he declared had got the presi-
dency by bargain and sale.
In Jackson's cabinet, as first constituted, Martin Van Buren,
of New York, was secretary of state ; Samuel D. Ingham, of
Pennsylvania, secretary of the treasury ; John H. Eaton, of
Tennessee, secretary of war ; John Branch, of North Carolina,
secretary of the navy ; John M. Berrien, of Georgia, attorney-
general ; William T. Barry, of Kentucky, postmaster-general.
As compared with earlier cabinets — not merely with such men
as Hamilton, Madison, or Gallatin, but with Pickering, Wolcott,
Monroe, or even Crawford — these were obscure names. The
innovation in the personal character of the cabinet was even
more marked than the innovation in the presidency. The au-
tocratic Jackson employed his secretaries as clerks. His con-
fidential advisers were a few intimate friends who held no im-
portant oiifices. These men — William B. Lewis, Amos Kendall,
Duff Green, and Isaac Hill — came to be known as the " kitchen
cabinet." Lewis had had much to do with bringing Jackson
forward as a candidate for the presidency in 182 1. Green and
Hill were editors of partisan newspapers. Kendall was a man
of considerable ability and many good qualities, but a " machine
156
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
politician " of the worst sort. He was on many occasions the
ruling spirit of the administration, and the cause of some of its
most serious mistakes. Jackson's career as president cannot
be fully understood without taking mto account the agency of
Kendall ; yet it is not always easy to assign the character and
extent of the influence which he exerted.
A yet more notable innovation was Jackson's treatment of
the civil service. The earlier presidents had proceeded upon
the theory that public office is a public trust, and not a reward
for partisan services. They conducted the business of govern-
ment upon business principles, and as long as a postmaster
showed himself efficient in distributing the mail they did not
turn him out of office because of his vote. Between 30 April,
1789, and 4 March, 1829, the total number of removals from
office was seventy-four, and out of this number five were de-
faulters. Between 4 March, 1829, and 22 March, 1830, the
number of changes made in the civil service was about 2,000.
This was the inauguration upon a national scale of the so-called
" spoils system." The phrase originated with William L. Marcy,
of New York, who in a speech in the senate in 1831 declared
that " to the victors belong the spoils." The system had been
perfected in the state politics of New York and Pennsylvania,
and it was probably inevitable that it should sooner or later be
introduced uito the sphere of national politics. The way was
prepared in 1820 by Crawford, when he succeeded in getting
the law passed that limits the tenure of office to four years.
This dangerous measure excited very little discussion at the
time. People could not understand the evil until taught by
hard experience. Jackson did not understand that he was lay-
ing the foundations of a gigantic system of corruption, which
within a few years would develop into the most serious of the
dangers threatening the continuance of American freedom.
He was very ready to believe ill of political opponents, and
to make generalizations from extremely inadequate data.
Democratic newspapers, while the campaign frenzy was on
them, were full of windy declamation about the wholesale cor-
ruption introduced into all parts of the government by Adams
and Clay. Nothing was too bad for Jackson to believe of these
two men, and when the fourth auditor of the treasury was
found to be delinquent in his accounts it was easy to suppose
that many others were, in one way or another, just as bad. In
ANDREW JACKSON. 1 57
his wholesale removals Jackson doubtless supposed he was do-
ing the country a service by "turning the rascals out." The
immediate consequence of this demoralizing policy was a strug-
gle for control of the patronage between Calhoun and Van
Buren, who were rival aspirants for the succession to the presi-
dency. A curious affair now came in to influence Jackson's
personal relations to these men. Early in 1829 Eaton, secre-
tary of war, married a Mrs. Timberlake, with whose reputation
gossip had been busy. It was said that he had shown her too
much attention during the lifetime of her first husband. Jack-
son was always slow to believe charges against a woman. His
own wife, who had been outrageously maligned by the Whig
newspapers during the campaign, had lately died, and there
was just enough outward similarity between Eaton's marriage
and his own to make him take Mrs. Eaton's part with more
than his customary vehemence. Mrs. Calhoun and the wives
of the secretaries would not recognize Mrs. Eaton. Mrs, Don-
elson, wife of the president's nephew, and mistress of ceremo-
nies at the White House, took a similar stand. Jackson scolded
his secretaries and sent Mrs. Donelson home to Tennessee; but
all in vain. He found that vanquishing Wellington's veterans
was a light task compared with that of contending against the
ladies in an affair of this sort. Foremost among those who
frowned Mrs. Eaton out of society was Mrs. Calhoun. On the
other hand, Van Buren, a widower, found himself able to be
somewhat more complaisant, and accordingly rose in Jackson's
esteem. The fires were fanned by Lewis and Kendall, who saw
in Van Buren a more eligible ally than Calhoun. Presently
intelligence was obtained from Crawford, who hated Calhoun,
to the effect that the latter, as member of Monroe's cabinet,
had disapproved of Jackson's conduct in Florida. This was
quite true, but Calhoun had discreetly yielded his judgment to
that of the cabinet led by Adams, and thus had officially sanc-
tioned Jackson's conduct. These facts, as handled by Eaton
and Lewis, led Jackson to suspect Calhoun of treacherous
double-dealing, and the result was a quarrel which broke up the
cabinet. In order to get Calhoun's friends — Ingham, Branch,
and Berrien — out of the cabinet, the other secretaries began by
resigning. This device did not succeed, and the ousting of the
three secretaries entailed further quarrelling, in the course of
which the Eaton affair and the Florida business were beaten
158
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
threadbare in the newspapers, and evoked sundry challenges to
deadly combat. In the spring and summer of 183 1 the new
cabinet was formed, consisting of Edward Livingston, secre-
tary of state ; Louis McLane, treasury ; Lewis Cass, war; Levi
Woodbury, navy ; Roger B. Taney, attorney-general ; in post-
ofifice no change. On Van Buren's resignation, Jackson at once
appointed him minister to England, but there was a warm dis-
pute in the senate over his confirmation, and it was defeated
at length by the casting-vote of Calhoun. This check only
strengthened Jackson's determination to have Van Buren for
his successor in the presidency. The progress of this quarrel
entailed a break in the " kitchen cabinet," in which Duff Green,
editor of the " Telegraph " and friend of Calhoun, was thrown
out. His place was taken by Francis Preston Blair, of Ken-
tucky, a man of eminent ability and earnest patriotism. To
him and his sons, as energetic opponents of nullification and
secession, our country owes a debt of gratitude which can
hardly be overstated. Blair's indignant attitude toward nulli-
fication brought him at once into earnest sympathy with Jack-
son. In December, 1830, Blair began publishing the "Globe,"
the organ henceforth of Jackson's party. For a period of ten
years, until the defeat of the Democrats in 1840, Blair and
Kendall were the ruling spirits in the administration. Their
policy was to re-elect Jackson to the presidency in 1832, and
make Van Buren his successor in 1836.
During Jackson's administration there came about a new
division of parties. The strict constructionists, opposing inter-
nal improvements, protective tariff, and national banks, retained
the name of Democrats, which had long been applied to mem-
bers of the old Republican party. The term Republican fell
into disuse. The loose constructionists, under the lead of
Clay, took the name of Whigs, as it suited their purposes to de-
scribe Jackson as a kind of tyrant ; and they tried to dis-
credit their antagonists by calling them Tories, but the device
found little favor. On strict constructionist grounds Jackson
in 1829 vetoed the bill for a government subscription to the
stock of the Maysville turnpike in Kentucky, and two other
similar bills he disposed of by a new method, which the W^higs
indignantly dubbed a " pocket veto." The struggle over the
tariff was especially important as bringing out a clear expres-
sion of the doctrine of nullification on the part of South Caro-
ANDREW JACKSON.
'59
His feelings toward Indians
Una. Practically, however, nullification was first attempted by-
Georgia in the case of the disputes with the Cherokee Indians.
Under treaties with the Federal government these Indians oc-
cupied lands that were coveted by the white people. Adams
had made himself very unpopular in Georgia by resolutely de-
fending the treaty rights of these Indians. Immediately upon
Jackson's election, the state government assumed jurisdiction
over their lands, and proceeded to legislate for them, passing
laws that discriminated against
them. Disputes at once arose,
in the course of which Georgia
twice refused to obey the su-
preme court of the United
States. At the request of the
governor of Georgia, Jackson
withdrew the Federal troops
from the Cherokee country, and
refused to enforce the rights
that had been guaranteed to the
Indians by the United States.
were those of a frontier fighter, and he asked, with telling force,
whether an eastern state, such as New York, would endure the
nuisance of an independent Indian state within her own bound-
aries. In his sympathy with the people of Georgia on the par-
ticular question at issue, he seemed to be conniving at the dan-
gerous principle of nullification. These events were carefully
noted by the politicians of South Carolina. The protectionist
policy, which since the peace of 1815 had been growing in favor
at the north, had culminated in 1828 in the so-called "tariff of
abominations." This tariff, the result of a wild helter-skelter
scramble of rival interests, deserved its name on many accounts.
It discriminated, with especial unfairness, against the southern
people, who were very naturally and properly enraged by it. A
new tariff, passed in 1832, modified some of the most objection-
able features of the old one, but still failed of justice to the
southerners. Jackson was opposed to the principle of protective
tariffs, and from his course with Georgia it might be argued
that he would not interfere with extreme measures on the part
of the south. During the whole of Jackson's first term there
was more or less vague talk about nullification. The subject
had a way of obtruding itself upon all sorts of discussions, as
l6o LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in the famous debates on Foot's resolutions, which lasted over
five months in 1830, and called forth Webster's immortal speech
in reply to Hayne. A few weeks after this speech, at a public
dmner in commemoration of Jefferson's birthday, after sundry
regular toasts had seemed to indicate a drift of sentiment in
approval of nullification, Jackson suddenly arose with a volun-
teer toast : " Our Federal Union : it must be preserved." Cal-
houn was prompt to reply with a toast and a speech in be-
half of " Liberty, dearer than the Union," but the nullifiers
were greatly disappointed and chagrined. In spite of this
warning. South Carolina held a convention, 19 Nov., 1832, and
declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 to be null and void in
South Carolina ; all state officers and jurors were required to
take an oath of obedience to this edict ; appeals to the Federal
supreme court were prohibited under penalties ; and the Fed-
eral government was warned that an attempt on its part to en-
force the revenue laws would immediately provoke South Caro-
lina to secede from the Union. The ordinance of nullification
was to take effect on i Feb., 1833, and preparations for war were
begun at once. On 16 Dec. the [)resident issued a proclamation,
in which he declared that he should enforce the laws in spite of
any and all resistance that might be made, and he showed that
he was in earnest by forthwith sending Lieut. Farragut with a
naval force to Charleston harbor, and ordering Gen. Scott to
have troops ready to enter South Carolina if necessary. In the
proclamation, which was written by Livingston, the president
thus defined his position: "I consider the power to annul a law
of the United States, assumed by one state, incompatible with
the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter
of the constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with
every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the
great object for which it was formed." Gov. Hayne, of South
Carolina, issued a counter-proclamation, and a few days after-
ward Calhoun resigned the vice-presidency, and was chosen to
succeed Hayne in the senate. Jackson's determined attitude
was approved by public opinion throughout the country. By
the southern people generally the action of South Carolina was
regarded as precipitate and unconstitutional. Even in that
state a Union convention met at Columbia, and announced its
intention of supporting the president. In January, Calhoun
declared in the senate that his state was not hostile to the
ANDREW JACKSON. l6i
Union, and had not meditated an armed resistance ; a " peace-
able secession," to be accomplished by threats, was probably
the ultimatum really contemplated. In spite of Jackson's
warning, the nullifiers were surprised by his unflinching atti-
tude, and quite naturally regarded it as inconsistent with his
treatment of Georgia. When the ist of February came the
nullifiers deferred action. In the course of that month a bill
for enforcing the tariff passed both houses of congress, and at
the same time Clay's compromise tariff was adopted, providing
for the gradual reduction of the duties until 1842, after which
all duties were to be kept at 20 percent. This compromise en-
abled the nullifiers to claim a victory, and retreat from their
position with colors flying.
During the nullification controversy Jackson kept up the at-
tacks upon the United States bank which he had begun in his first
annual message to congress in 1829. The charter of the bank
would expire in 1836, and Jackson was opposed to its renewal.
The grounds of his opposition were partly sound, partly fanci-
ful. There was a wholesome opposition to paper currency,
combined with great ignorance of the natural principles of
money and trade, as illustrated in a willingness to tolerate
the notes of local banks, according to the chaotic system preva-
lent between Jackson's time and Lincoln's. There was some-
thing of the demagogue's appeal to the prejudice that igno-
rant people are apt to cherish against capitalists and corpo-
rations, though Jackson cannot be accused of demagogy in this
regard, because he shared the prejudice. Then there was good
reason for believing that the bank was in some respects mis-
managed, and for fearing that a great financial institution, so
intimately related to the government, might be made an engine
of political corruption. Furthermore, the correspondence be-
tween Sec. Ingham and Nicholas Biddle, president of the bank,
in the summer of 1829, shows that some of Jackson's friends
wished to use the bank for political purposes, and were enraged
at Biddle's determination in pursuing an independent course.
The occasion was duly improved by the " kitchen cabinet " to
fill Jackson's ears with stories tending to show that the influ-
ence of the bank was secretly exerted in favor of the opposite
party. Jackson's suggestions with reference to the bank in his
first message met with little favor, especially as he coupled
them with suggestions for the distribution of the surplus reve-
1 62 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
nue among the states. He returned to the attack in his two
following messages, until in 1832 the bank felt obliged in self-
defence to apply, somewhat prematurely, for a renewal of its
charter on the expiration of its term. Charges brought against
the bank by Democratic representatives were investigated by a
committee, which returned a majority report in favor of the
bank. A minority report sustained the charges. After pro-
longed discussion, the bill to renew the charter passed both
houses, and on 10 July, 1832, was vetoed by the president. An
attempt to pass the bill over the veto failed of the requisite
two-third majority.
Circumstances had already given a flavor of personal con-
test to Jackson's assaults upon the bank. There was no man
whom he hated so fiercely as Clay, who was at the same time
his chief political rival. Clay made the mistake of forcing the
bank question into the foreground, in the belief that it was an
issue upon which he was likely to win in the coming presidential
campaign. Clay's movement was an invitation to the people
to defeat Jackson in order to save the bank ; and this naturally
aroused all the combativeness in Jackson's nature. His deter-
mined stand impressed upon the popular imagination the pic-
ture of a dauntless " tribune of the people " fighting against the
"monster monopoly." Clay unwisely attacked the veto power
of the president, and thus gave Benton an opportunity to de-
fend it by analogies drawn from the veto power of the ancient
Roman tribune ; which in point of fact it does not at all re-
semble. The discussion helped Jackson more than Clay. It
was also a mistake on the part of the Whig leader to risk the
permanence of such an institution as the U. S. bank upon the
fortunes of a presidential canvass. It dragged the bank into
politics in spite of itself, and, by thus affording justification for
the fears to which Jackson had appealed, played directly into
his hands. In this canvass all the candidates were for the first
time nominated in national conventions. There were three
conventions — all held at Baltimore In September, 1831, the
Anti-Masons nominated William Wirt, of Virginia, in the hope
of getting the national Republicans or Whigs to unite with
them ; but the latter, in December, nominated Clay. In the fol-
lowing March the Democrats nominated Jackson, with Van
Buren for vice-president. During the year 1832 the action of
congress and president with regard to the bank charter was
ANDREW JACKSON. 1 63
virtually a part of the campaign. In the election South Caro-
lina voted for candidates of her own — John Floyd, of Virginia,
and Henry Lee, of Massachusetts. There were 219 electoral
votes for Jackson, 49 for Clay, 11 for Floyd, and 7 for Wirt.
Jackson interpreted this overwhelming victory as a popular
condemnation of the bank and approval of all his actions as
president. The enthusiastic applause from all quarters which
now greeted his rebuke of the nullifiers served still further to
strengthen his belief in himself as a " saviour of sociecy " and
champion of " the people." Men were getting into a state of
mind in which questions of public policy were no longer argued
upon their merits, but all discussion was drowned in cheers for
Jackson. Such a state of things was not calculated to check
his natural vehemence and disposition to override all obstacles
in carrying his point. He now felt it to be his sacred duty to
demolish the bank. In his next message to congress he created
some alarm by expressing doubts as to the bank's solvency and
recommending an investigation to see if the deposits of public
money were safe. In some parts of the country there were
indications of a run upon the branches of the bank. The
committee of ways and means investigated the matter, and re-
ported the bank as safe and sound, but a minority report threw
doubt upon these conclusions, so that the public uneasiness
was not allayed. The conclusions of the members of the com-
mittee, indeed, bore little reference to the evidence before
them, and were determined purely by political partisanship.
Jackson made up his mind that the deposits must be removed
from the bank. The act of 1816, which created that institution,
provided that the public funds might be removed from it by
order of the secretary of the treasury, who must, however, in-
form congress of his reasons for the removal. As congress re-
solved, by heavy majorities, that the deposits were safe in the
bank, the spring of 1833 was hardly a time when a secretary of
the treasury would feel himself warranted, in accordance with
the provisions of the act, to order their removal. Sec. Mc-
Lane was accordingly unwilling to issue such an order. In
what followed, Jackson had the zealous co-operation of Ken-
dall and Blair. In May, McLane was transferred to the state
department, and was succeeded in the treasury by William J.
Duane, of Pennsylvania. The new secretary, however, was
convinced that the removal was neither necessary nor wise, and,
12
164 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in spite of the president's utmost efforts, refused either to issue
the order or to resign his office. In September, accordingly,
Duane was removed, and Roger B. Taney was appointed in his
place. Taney at once ordered that after the ist of October
the public revenues should no longer be deposited with the na-
tional bank, but with sundry state banks, which soon came to
be known as the "pet banks." Jackson alleged, as one chief
reason for this proceeding, that if the bank were to continue to
receive public revenues on deposit, it would unscrupulously
use them in buying up all the members of congress and thus
securing an indefinite renewal of its charter. This, he thought,
would be a death-blow to free government in America. His
action caused intense excitement and some commefcial distress,
and prepared the way for further disturbance. In the next
session of the senate Clay introduced a resolution of censure,
which was carried after a debate which lasted all winter. It
contained a declaration that the president had assumed "au-
thority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws,
but in derogation of both." Jackson protested against the reso-
lution, but the senate refused to receive his protest. Many of
his appointments were rejected by the senate, especially those
of the directors of the bank, and of Taney as secretary of the
treasury. An attempt was made to curtail the president's ap-
pointing power. On the other hand, many of the president's
friends declaimed against the senate as an aristocratic institu-
tion, which ought to be abolished. Benton was Jackson's most
powerful and steadfast ally in the senate. Benton was deter-
mined that the resolution of censure should be expunged from
the records of the senate, and his motion continued to be the
subject of acrimonious debate for two years. The contest was
carried into the state elections, and some senators resigned in
consequence of instructions received from their state legisla-
tures. At length, on 16 Jan., 1837, a few weeks before Jack-
son's retirement from office, Benton's persistency triumphed,
and the resolution of censure was expunged. Meanwhile the
consequence of the violent method with which the finances had
been handled were rapidly developing. Many state banks, in-
cluding not a few of the "wildcat " species, had been formed,
to supply the paper currency that was supposed to be needed.
The abundance of paper, together with the rapid westward
movement of population, caused reckless speculation and an
ANDREW JACKSON.
165
a^^2^~f^Ac±^ ^^^L«^<
inflation of values. Extensive purchases of public lands were
paid for in paper until the treasury scented danger, and by the
president's order in July, 1836, the " specie circular " was issued,
directing that only gold or silver should
be received for public lands. This
caused a demand for coin, which none
but the " pet banks " could hope to
succeed in meeting. But these banks
were at the same time crippled by or-
ders to surrender, on the following
New- Year's day, one fourth of the sur-
plus revenues deposited with them, as
it was to be distributed as a loan
among the states. The " pet banks"
had regarded the deposits as capital to
be used in loans, and they were now
suddenly obliged to call in these loans.
These events led to the great panic of 1837, which not only
scattered thousands of private fortunes to the winds, but
wrecked Van Buren's administration and prepared the way for
the Whig victory of 1840.
In foreign affairs Jackson's administration won great credit
through its enforcement of the French spoliation claims. Eu-
ropean nations which had claims for damages against France
on account of spoliations committed by French cruisers during^
the Napoleonic wars had found no difficulty after the peace of
1815 in obtaining payment ; but the claims of the United States
had been superciliously neglected. In 1831, after much fruit-
less negotiation, a treaty was made by which France agreed to
pay the United States $5,000,000 in six annual instalments.
The first payment was due on 2 Feb., 1833. A draft for the
amount was presented to the French minister of finance, and
payment was refused on the ground that no appropriation for
that purpose had been made by the chambers. Louis Philippe
brought the matter before the chambers, but no appropriation
was made. Jackson was not the man to be trifled with in this
way. In his message of December, 1834, he gravely recom-
mended to congress that a law be passed authorizing the cap-
ture of French vessels enough to make up the amount due.
The French government was enraged, and threatened war
unless the president should apologize — not a hopeful sort of
J 56 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
demand to make of Andrew Jackson. Here Great Britain in-
terposed with good advice to France, which led to the payment
of the claim without further delay. The effect of Jackson's
attitude was not lost upon European governments, while at
home the hurrahs for "Old Hickory " were louder than ever.
The days when foreign powers could safely insult us were evi-
dently gone by.
The period of Jackson's presidency was one of the most re-
markable in the history of the world, and nowhere more remark-
able than in the United States. It was signalized by the intro-
duction and rapid development of railroads, of ocean naviga-
tion through Ericsson's invention of the screw-propeller, of
agricultural machines, anthracite coal, and friction matches, of
the modern type of daily newspaper, of the beginnings of such
cities as Chicago, of the steady immigration from Europe, of
the rise of the Abolitionists and other reformers, and of the
blooming of American literature when to the names of Bryant,
Cooper, and Irving were added those of Longfellow, Whittier,
Prescott, Holmes, and Hawthorne. The rapid expansion of the
country and the extensive changes in ideas and modes of living
brought to the surface much crudeness of thought and action.
As the typical popular hero of such a period, Andrew Jackson
must always remain one of the most picturesque and interest-
ing figures in American history. His ignorance of the princi-
ples of statesmanship, the crudeness of his methods, and the
evils that have followed from some of his measures, are obvious
enough and have often been remarked upon. But in having a
president of this type and at such a time we were fortunate in
securing a man so sound in most of his impulses, of such abso-
lute probity, truthfulness, and courage, and such unflinching
loyalty to the Union. Jackson's death, in the year in which
Texas was annexed to the United States, marks in a certain
sense the close of the political era in which he had played so
great a part. From the year 1845 the Calhoun element in the
Democratic party became more and more dominant until i860,
while the elements more congenial with Jackson and variously
represented by Benton, Blair, and Van Buren, went to form an
important part of the force of Republicans and War Democrats
that finally silenced the nullifiers and illustrated the maxim
that the Union must be preserved.
Jackson died at his home, " The Hermitage," near Nashville,
ANDREW JACKSON. 1 6?
a view of which is given on page 159. The principal biogra-
phies of him are by James Parton (3 vols., New York, 1861) and
William G. Sumner (Boston, 1882) ; also General Jackson (New
York, 1892), contributed by James Parton to the " Great Com-
manders " series. Other biographies are by John H. Eaton
(Philadelphia, 1817); P. A. Goodwin (Hartford, 1832) ; William
Cobbett (New York, 1834) ; Amos Kendall (1843) ; Oliver Dyer
(New York, 1891). For accounts of his administration, see, in
general, Benton's "Thirty Years' View," the memoirs of John
Q. Adams, the histories of the United States by Schooler and
Von Hoist, and the biographies of Clay, Webster, Adams, Cal-
houn, Benton, and Edward Livingston. See, also, Mayo's
" Political Sketches of Eight Years in Washington " (Baltimore,
1839). The famous " Letters of Major Jack Downing" (New
York, 1834), a burlesque on Jackson's administration, were
wonderfully popular in their day. The picture on page 165,
taken from a miniature made much earlier in life than the steel
portrait that appears with this article, was pamted by Valle, a
French artist, and presented by Jackson to his friend Living-
ston, with the following note, written at his headquarters, New
Orleans, i May, 1815 : "Mr. E. Livingston is requested to ac-
cept this picture as a mark of the sense I entertain of his public
services, and as a token of my private friendship and esteem."
The full-length portrait from a painting by Earle, prefixed to
Parton's third volume, is said to be the best representation of
Jackson as he appeared upon the street.
His wife, Rachel, born in 1767 ; died at the Hermitage,
Tenn., 22 Dec, 1828, was the daughter of Col. John Donelson,
a wealthy Virginia surveyor, who owned extensive iron-works
in Pittsylvania county, Va., but sold them in 1779 and settled
in French Salt Springs, where the city of Nashville now stands.
He kept an account of his journey thither, entitled "Journal
of a Voyage, intended by God's Permission, in the Good Boat
'Adventure,' from Fort Patrick Henry, on Holston River, to
the French Salt Springs, on Cumberland River, kept by John
Donelson." Subsequently he removed to Kentucky, where he
had several land-claims, and, after his daughter's marriage to
Capt. Lewis Robards, he returned to Tennessee, where he was
murdered by unknown persons in the autumn of 1785. (For
an account of the peculiar circumstances of her marriage to
i68
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Jackson, see page 139.) Mrs. Jackson went to New Orleans
after the battle, and was presented by the ladies of that city
with a set of topaz jewelry. In her portrait at the Hermitage,
painted by Earle, she wears the dress in which she appeared at
the ball that was given in New Or-
leans in honor of her husband, and
of which the accompanying vignette
is a copy. She went with Gen. Jack-
son to Florida in 182 1, to Washing-
ton and Charleston in 1824, and to
New Orleans in 1828. For many
years she had suffered from an af-
fection of the heart, which was aug-
mented by various reports that were
in circulation regarding her previous
career, and her death was hastened
by overhearing a magnified account
of her experiences. She was pos-
sessed of a kind and attractive manner, was deeply religious
and charitable, and adverse to public life. — Their niece, Emily,
born in Tennessee ; died there in December, 1836, was the
youngest daughter of Capt. John Donelson and the wife of An-
drew J. Donelson. She presided in the White House during the
administration of President Jackson, who always spoke of her
as " my daughter." During the Eaton controversy she received
Mrs. Eaton on public occasions, but refused to recognize her
socially. — His daughter-in-law, Sarah York, the wife of his
adopted son, Andrew Jackson, born in 1806; died at the Her-
mitage, Nashville, Tenn., 23 Aug., 1887, also presided at the
White House during President Jackson's administration. Her
son, Andrew, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in
1858, and served in the Confederate army, in which he was
colonel of the First Regiment of Tennessee Artillery.
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MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States,
born in Kinderhook, Columbia co., N. Y., 5 Dec, 1782; died
there, 24 July, 1862. He was the eldest son of Abraham Van
Buren, a small farmer, and of Mary Hoes (originally spelled
Goes), whose first husband was named Van Alen. Martin stud-
ied the rudiments of English and Latin in the schools of his
native village, and read law in the office of Francis Sylvester at
the age of fourteen years. Rising as a student by slow grada-
tions from office-boy to lawyer's clerk, copyist of pleas, and
finally to the rank of special pleader in the constables' courts, he
patiently pursued his legal novitiate through the term of seven
years and familiarized himself with the technique of the bar
and with the elements of common law. Combining with these
professional studies a fondness for extemporaneous debate, he
was early noted for his intelligent observation of public events
and for his interest in politics. He was chosen to participate
in a nominating convention when he was only eighteen years
old. In 1802 he went to New York and there studied law with
William P. Van Ness, a friend of Aaron Burr. He was admitted
to the bar in 1803, returned to Kinderhook, and associated him-
self in practice with his half-brother, James J. Van Alen.
Van Buren was a zealous adherent of Jefferson, and sup-
ported Morgan Lewis for governor of New York in 1803 against
Aaron Burr. In February, 1807, he married Hannah Hoes, a
distant kinswoman, and in the winter of i8o6-'7 he removed to
Hudson, the county-seat of Columbia county, and in the same
year was admitted to practice in the supreme court. In the
state election of 1807 he supported Daniel D. Tompkins for
governor against Morgan Lewis, the latter, in the factional
changes of New York politics, having come to be considered
less true than the former to the measures of Jefferson. In 1808
Van Buren became surrogate of Columbia county, displacing
170 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
his half-brother and partner, who belonged to the defeated fac-
tion. He held his office till 1813, when, on a change of party
predominance at Albany, his half-brother was restored. Atten-
tively watching the drift of political events, he figured in the
councils of his party at a convention held in Albany early in
181 1, when the proposed recharter of the United States bank
was the leading question of Federal politics. Though Albert
Gallatin, secretary of the treasury, had recommended a rechar-
ter, the predominant sentiment of the Republican party was
adverse to the measure. Van Buren shared in this hostility and
publicly lauded the "Spartan firmness" of George Clinton
when as vice-president he gave his casting-vote in the U. S.
senate against the bank bill, 20 Feb., 181 1.
In 181 2 Van Buren was elected to the senate of New York
from the middle district as a Clinton Republican, defeating
Edward P. Livingston, the candidate of the "Quids," by a ma-
jority of 200. He took his seat in November of that year and
became thereby a member of the court of errors, then com-
posed of senators in connection with the chancellor and the
supreme court. As senator he strenuously opposed the charter
of " the Bank of America," which, with a large capital and with
the promise of liberal subsidies to the state treasury, was then
seeking to establish itself in New York and to take the place
of the United States bank. He upheld Gov. Tompkins when,
exercising his extreme prerogative, he prorogued the legislature
on 27 March, 1812, to prevent the passage of the bill. Though
counted among the adherents of the administration of Madison,
and though committed to the policy of declaring war against
Great Britain, he sided with the Republican members of the
New York legislature when in 181 2 they determined to break
from "the Virginia dynasty " and to support De Witt Clinton
for the presidency. In the following year, however, he dis-
solved his political relations with Clinton and resumed the en-
tente cordiale vi'Mh. Madison's administration. In 1814 he carried
through the legislature an effective war-measure known as
" the classification bill," providing for the levy of 12,000 men,
to be placed at the disposal of the government for two years.
He drew up the resolution of thanks voted by the legislature
to Gen. Jackson for the victory of New Orleans. In 1815,
while still a member of the state senate, he was appointed
attorney-general of the state, superseding the venerable Abra-
MARTIN VAN BUREN.
171
ham Van Vechten. In this same year De Witt Clinton, falling
a prey to factional rivalries in his own party, was removed
by the Albany council from the mayoralty of New York city —
an act of petty proscription in which Van Buren sympathized,
according to the " spoils system "'then in vogue. In 1816 he
was re-elected to the state senate for a further term of four
years, and, removing to Albany, formed a partnership with his
life-long friend, Benjamin F. Butler. In the same year he was
appointed a regent of the University of New York. In the
legislative discussions of 1816 he advocated the surveys pre-
liminary to Clinton's scheme for uniting the waters of the great
lakes with the Hudson.
The election of Gov. Tompkins as vice-president of the
United States had left the " Bucktails " of the Republican
party without their natural leader. The people, moreover, in
just resentment at the indignity done to Clinton by his removal
from the New York mayoralty, were now spontaneously minded
to make him governor that he might preside over the execution
of the Erie canal which he had projected. Van Buren acqui-
esced in a drift of opinion that he was powerless to check, and,
on the election of Clinton, supported the canal policy; but he
soon came to an open rupture with the governor on questions
of public patronage, and, arraying himself in active opposition
to Clinton's re-election, he was in turn subjected to the pro-
scription of the Albany council acting in Clinton's interest. He
was removed from the office of attorney-general in 1819. He
opposed the election of Clinton in 1820. Clinton was re-elect-
ed by a small majority, but both houses of the legislature and
the council of appointment fell into the hands of the anti-Clin-
ton Republicans. The office of attorney-general was now ten-
dered anew to Van Buren, but he declined it. The politics of
New York, a mesh of factions from the beginning of the century,
were in a constant state of swirl and eddy from 1819 till 1821.
The old party-formations were dissolved in the "era of good
feeling." What with "Simon-pure" Republicans, Clintonian
Republicans, Clintonian Federalists, "high-minded" Federal-
ists cleaving to Monroe, and Federalists pure and simple, the
points of crystallization were too many to admit of forming a
strong or compact body around any centre. No party could
combine votes enough in the legislature of i8i8-'i9 to elect its
candidate for U. S. senator. Yet out of this medley of factions
1/2
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
and muddle of opinions Van Buren, by his moderation and his
genius for political organization, evolved order and harmony
at the election for senator in the following year. Under his
lead all parties united on Rufus King, a Federalist of the old
school, who had patriotically supported the war against Great
Britain after it was declared, and who by his candor had won
the confidence of President Monroe ; and Rufus King was re-
elected with practical unanimity at a time when he was fresh
from the hot debate in the U. S. senate against the admission
of Missouri without a restriction on slavery. His anti-slavery
views on that question were held by Van Buren to " conceal no
plot " against the Republicans, who, he engaged, would give
** a true direction " to that momentous issue. What the " true
direction " was to be he did not say, except as it might be in-
ferred from his concurrence in a resolution of the legislature
of New York instructing the senators of that state " to oppose
the admission, as a state in the Union, of any territory not com-
prised within the original boundaries of the United States with-
out making the prohibition of slavery therein an indispensable
condition of admission." In that Republican resolution of
1820 "the Wilmot proviso" of 1847 appeared above our polit-
ical horizon, but soon vanished from sight on the passage of
the Missouri compromise in 1821.
On 6 Feb., 182 1, Van Buren was elected U. S. senator, re-
ceiving in both houses of the legislature a majority of twenty-
five over Nathan Sanford, the Clintonian candidate, for whom
the Federalists also voted. In the same year he was chosen
from Otsego county as a member of the convention to revise
the constitution of the state. In that convention he met in de-
bate Chancellor Kent, Chief-Justice Ambrose Spencer, and
others. Against innovations his attitude was here conservative.
He advocated the executive veto. He opposed manhood suf-
frage, seeking to limit the elective franchise to householders,
that this "invaluable right" might not be " cheapened " and
that the rural districts might not be overborne by the cities.
He favored negro suffrage if negroes were taxed. With offence
to party friends, he vehemently resisted the eviction by con-
stitutional change of the existing supreme court, though its
members were his bitter political enemies. He opposed an
elective judiciary and the choice of minor offices by the people,
as swamping the right it pretended to exalt.
MARTIN VAN BUREN. Ijrj
He took his seat in the U. S. senate, 3 Dec, 182 1, and was
at once made a member of its committees on the judiciary and
finance. For many years he was chairman of the former. In
March, 1822, he voted, on the bill to provide a territorial gov-
ernment for Florida, that no slave should be directly or indi-
rectly imported into that territory " except by a citizen re-
moving into it for actual settlement and being at the time a
bona-fide owner of such slave." Van Buren voted with the
northern senators for the retention of this clause; but its exclu-
sion by the vote of the southern senators did not import any
countenance to the introduction of slaves into Florida from
abroad, as such introduction was already prohibited by a Fed-
eral statute which in another part of the bill was extended to
Florida. Always averse to imprisonment for debt as the result
of misfortune, Van Buren took an early opportunity to advo-
cate its abolition as a feature of Federal jurisprudence. He
opposed in 1824 the ratification of the convention with England
for the suppression of the slave-trade (perhaps because a quali-
fied right of search was annexed to it), though the convention
was urgently pressed on the senate by President Monroe. He
supported William H.Crawford for the presidency in 1824, both
in the congressional caucus and be-
fore the people. He voted for the
protective tariff of 1824 and for that
of 1828, though he took no part in
the discussion of the economic prin-
ciples underlying either. He voted
for the latter under instructions,
maintaining a politic silence as to
his personal opinions, which seem to
have favored a revenue tariff with
incidental protection. He vainly ad-
vocated an amendment of the con-
stitution for the election of president ^^^^^^T^^^^i^^^iy^U^ce-^^--^
by the intervention of an electoral
college to be specially chosen from as many separate districts
as would comprise the whole country while representing the
electoral power of all the states. The measure was designed to
appease the jealousy of the small states by practically wiping
out state lines in presidential electioris and at the same time
proposed to guard against elections by the house of representa-
174
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
tives, as in case of no choice at a first scrutiny the electoral col-
leges were to be reconvened. After voting for a few '' internal
improvements," he opposed them as unconstitutional in the
shape then given to them, and proposed in 1824 and again in 1825
to bring them within the power of congress by a constitutional
amendment that should protect the " sovereignty of the states "
while equally distributing these benefits of the government.
In a debate on the Federal judiciary in 1826 he took high
ground in favor of "state rights" as against the umpirage of
the supreme court on political questions, and deplored the pow-
er of that court to arraign sovereign states at its bar for the
passage of laws alleged to impair" the obligation of contracts."
He confessed admiration for the Republicans of 1802 who had
repealed "the midnight judiciary act." He opposed the Pana-
ma mission, and reduced the " Monroe doctrine " to its true his-
torical proportions as a caveat and not a " pledge." On all
questions he was strenuous for a " strict construction of the
constitution." He favored in 1826 the passage of a general
bankrupt law, but, in opposing the pending measure, sharply
accentuated the technical distinction of English law between
"bankrupt" and "insolvent" acts — a distinction which, in the
complexity of modern business transactions, Chief-Justice Mar-
shall had pronounced to be more metaphysical than real, but
which to Van Buren was vital because the constitution says
nothing about "insolvent laws."
He was re-elected to the senate in 1827, but soon resigned
his seat to accept the office of governor of New York, to which
he was elected in 1828. As governor he opposed free banking
and advocated the "safety-fund system," making all the banks
of the state mutual insurers of each other's soundness. He
vainly recommended the policy of separating state from Fed-
eral elections. After entering on the ofifice of governor he
never resumed the practice of law. Van Buren was a zealous
supporter of Andrew Jackson in the presidential election of
1828, and was called in 1829 to be the premier of the new ad-
ministration. As secretary of state he brought to a favorable
close the long-standmg feud between the United States and
England with regard to the West India trade. Having an eye
to the presidential succession after Jackson's second term,
and not wishing meanwhile to compromise the administration
or himself, he resigned his secretaryship in June, 1831, and was
MARTIN VAN BUREN.
175
sent as minister to England. The senate refused in 1832 to
confirm his nomination, by the casting-vote of John C. Cal-
houn, the vice-president. Conscientious Whigs, like Theodore
Frelinghuysen, confessed in after days the reluctance with
which they consented to this doubtful act. A clause in one of
Van Buren's despatches while secretary, containing an invidi-
ous reference to the preceding administration, was alleged as
the ground of his rejection. The offence was venial, com-
pared with the license taken by Robert R. Livingston when,
in negotiating the Louisiana purchase, he cited the spectre of
a Federalist administration playing into the hands of "the
British faction." Moreover, the pretext was an afterthought,
as the clause had excited no remark when first published, and,
when the outcry was raised, Jackson " took the responsibility "
for it. The tactical blunder of the Whigs soon avenged itself by
bringing increased popularity to Van Buren. He became, with
Jackson, the symbol of his party, and, elected vice-president in
1832, he came in 1833 to preside over the body which a year
before had rejected him as foreign minister. He presided with
unvarying suavity and fairness. Taking no public part in the
envenomed discussions of the time, he was known to sympa-
thize with Jackson in his warfare on the United States bank,
and soon came to be generally regarded by his party as the
lineal successor of that popular leader.
He was formally nominated for the presidency on 20 May,
1835, and was elected in 1836 over his three competitors, Wil-
liam H. Harrison, Hugh L. White, and Daniel Webster, by a
majority of 57 in the electoral college, but of only 25,000 in
the popular vote. The tide of Jacksonism was beginning to
ebb. South Carolina, choosing her electors by state legislature
and transferring to Van Buren her hatred of Jackson, voted
for Willie P. Mangum. During the canvass Van Buren had been
opposed at the north and championed at the south as " a north-
ern man with southern principles." As vice-president, he had
in 1835 given a casting-vote for the bill to prohibit the circula-
tion of " incendiary documents " through the mails, and as a
candidate for the presidency he had pledged himself to resist
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia without
the consent of the slave-states and to oppose the " slightest in-
terference " with slavery in the states. He had also pledged
himself against the distribution of surplus revenues among the
176 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
States, against internal improvements at Federal expense, and
against a national bank.
Compelled by the fiscal embarrassments of the government,
in the financial crash of 1837, to summon congress to meet in
special session, 4 Sept., 1837, he struck in his first message the
key-note of his whole administration. After a detailed analy-
sis of the financial situation, and of the causes in trade and
speculation that had led to it, he proceeded to develop his
favorite idea of an independent treasury for the safe-keeping
and disbursement of the public moneys. This idea was not
new. It was as old as the constitution. The practice of the
government had departed from it only by insensible degrees,
until at length, in spite of the protests of Jefferson, it had been
consolidated into a formal order of congress that the revenues
of the government should be deposited in the United States
bank. On the removal of the deposits by Jackson in 1833,
they had been placed in the custody of " the pet banks," and
had here been used to stimulate private trade and speculation,
until the crisis in 1837 necessitated a change of fiscal policy.
By every consideration of public duty and safety, conspiring
with what he believed to be economic advantage to the people,
Van Buren enforced the policy of an independent treasury on
a reluctant congress. There was here no bating of breath or
mincing of words ; but it was not until near the close of his ad-
ministration that he succeeded in procuring the assent of con-
gress to the radical measure that divorced the treasury from
private banking and trade. The measure was formally repealed
by the Whig congress of 1842, after which the public moneys
were again deposited in selected banks until 1846, when the
independent treasury was reinstalled and has ever since held
its place under all changes of administration. He signed the
independent treasury bill on 4 July, 1840, as being a sort of
"second Declaration of Independence," in his own idea and in
that of his party. Von Hoist, the sternest of Van Buren's
critics, awards to him on " this one question " the credit of
" courage, firmness, and statesman-like insight." It was the
chef amivre of his public career. He also deserves credit for
the fidelity with which, at the evident sacrifice of popularity
with a certain class of voters, he adhered to neutral obligations
on the outbreak of the Canada rebellion late in 1837.
The administration of Van Buren, beginning and ending
MARTIN VAN BUR EN.
177
with financial panic, went down under the cloud rising on the
country in 1840. The enemies and the friends of the United
States bank had equally sown the wmd during Jackson's ad-
ministration. Van Buren was left to reap the whirlwind, which
in the "political hurricane" of 1840 lifted Gen. Harrison into
the presidential chair. The Democratic defeat was overwhelm-
ing. Harrison received 234 electoral votes, and Van Buren
only 60. The majority for Harrison in the popular vote was
nearly 140,000. Retiring after this overthrow to the shades of
Lindenwald, a beautiful country-seat which he had purchased
in his native county, Van Buren gave no vent to repinings. In
1842 he made a tour through the southern states, visiting
Henry Clay at Ashland. In 1843 he came to the front with
clear-cut views in favor of a tariff for revenue only. But on
the newly emergent question of Texas annexation he took a
decided stand in the negative, and on this rock of offence to
the southern wing of his party his candidature was wrecked in
the Democratic national convention of 1844, which met at Bal-
timore on 27 May. He refused to palter with this issue, on the
ground of our neutral obligations to Mexico, and when the
nomination went to James K. Polk, of Tennessee, he gave no
sign of resentment. His friends brought to Polk a loyal sup-
port, and secured his election by carrying for him the decisive
vote of the State of New York.
Van Buren continued to take an interest in public affairs,
and when in 1847 the acquisition of new territory from Mexico
raised anew the vexed question of slavery m the territories, he
gave in his adhesion to the "Wilmot proviso." In the new
elective affinities produced by this " burning question" a re-
distribution of political elements took place in the chaos of
New York politics. The " Barnburner " and the "Hunker"
factions came to a sharp cleavage on this line of division. The
former declared their " uncompromising hostility to the exten-
sion of slavery." In the Herkimer Democratic convention of
26 Oct., 1847, the Free-soil banner was openly displayed, and
delegates were sent to the Democratic national convention.
From this convention, assembled at Baltimore in May, 1848,
the Herkimer delegates seceded before any presidential nomi-
nation was made. In June, 1848, a Barnburner convention
met at Utica to organize resistance to the nomination of Gen.
Lewis Cass, who, in his " Nicholson letter," had disavowed the
178
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
"Wilmot proviso." To this convention Van Buren addressed
a letter, declining in advance a nomination for the presidency,
but pledging opposition to the new party shibboleth. In spite of
his refusal, he was nominated, and this nomination was reaffirmed
by the Freesoil national convention of Buffalo, 9 Aug., 1848,
when Charles Francis Adams was associated with him as candi-
date for the vice-presidency. In the ensuing presidential elec-
tion this ticket received only 291,263 votes, but, as the result
of the triangular duel. Gen. Cass was defeated and Gen. Zach-
ary Taylor, the Whig candidate, was elected. The precipitate
annexation of Texas and its natural sequel, the war with Mexi-
co, had brought their Nemesis in the utter confusion of national
politics. Van Buren received no electoral votes, but his popu-
lar Democratic vote in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York
exceeded that of Cass. Henceforth he was simply a spectator
in the political arena. On all public questions save that of
slavery he remained an unfaltering Democrat, and when it was
fondly supposed that "the slavery issue " had been forever ex-
orcised by the compromise measures of 1850, he returned in
full faith and communion to his old party allegiance. In 1852
Tie began to write his " Inquiry into the Origin and Course of
Political Parties in the United States" (New York, 1867), but
it was never finished and was published as a fragment. He
supported Franklin Pierce for the presidency in 1852, and, after
spending two years in Europe, returned in time to vote for
James Buchanan in 1856. In i860 he voted for the combined
electoral ticket against Lincoln, but when the civil war began
he gave to the administration his zealous support.
Van Buren was the target of political accusation during his
whole public career, but kept his private character free from
reproach. In his domestic life he was as happy as he was ex-
emplary. Always prudent in his habits and economical in his
tastes, he none the less maintained in his style of living the
easy state of a gentleman, whether in public station at Albany
and Washington, or at Lindenwald in his retirement. As a man
of the world he was singularly affable and courteous, blending
formal deference with natural dignity and genuine cordiality.
Intensely partisan in his opinions and easily startled by the
red rag of " Hamiltonian Federalism," he never carried the
contentions of the political arena into the social sphere. The
asperities of personal rivalry estranged him for a time from
MARTIN VAN BUREN.
179
Calhoun, after the latter denounced him in the senate in 1837
as "a practical politician, ' with whom "justice, right, patriot-
ism, etc., were mere vague phrases," but with his great Whig
rival, Henry Clay, he maintained unbroken relations of friend-
ship through all vicissitudes of political fortune. As a lawyer
his rank was eminent. Though never rising in speech to the
heights of oratory, he was equally fluent and facile before bench
or jury, and equally felicitous whether expounding the intrica-
cies of fact or of law in a case. His manner was mild and in-
sinuating, never declamatory. Without carrying his juridical
studies into the realm of jurisprudence, he yet had a knowledge
of law that fitted him to cope with the greatest advocates of
the New York bar. The evidences of his legal learning and
acute dialectics are still preserved in the New York reports
of Cowen, Johnson, and Wendell. As a debater in the sen-
ate, he always went to the pith of questions, disdaining the
arts of rhetoric. As a writer of political letters or of state pa-
pers, he carried diffusiveness to a fault, which sometimes hinted
at a weakness in positions requiring so much defence. As a
politician he was masterful in leadership — so much so that,
alike by friends and foes, he was credited with reducing its
practices to a fine art. He was a member of the famous Albany
regency which for so many years controlled the politics of New
York, and was long popularly known as its " director." Fertile
in the contrivance of means for the attainment of the public
ends which he deemed desirable, he was called "the little ma-
gician," from the deftness of his touch in politics. But com-
bining the statesman's foresight with the politician's tact, he
showed his sagacity rather by seeking a majority for his views
than by following the views of a majority. Accused of " non-
committalism," and with some show of reason in the early
stages of his career, it was only as to men and minor measures
of policy that he practised a prudent reticence. On questions of
deeper principle — an elective judiciary, negro suffrage, univer-
sal suffrage, etc. — he boldly took the unpopular side. In a day
of unexampled political giddiness he stood firmly for his sub-
treasury system against the doubts of friends, the assaults of
enemies, and the combined pressure of wealth and culture in
the country. Dispensing patronage according to the received
custom of his times, he yet maintained a high standard of ap-
pointment. That he could rise above selfish considerations
13
l8o LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
was shown when he promoted the elevation of Rufus King in
1820, or when he strove in 1838 to bring Washington Irving
into his cabinet with small promise of gain to his doubtful po-
litical fortunes by such an " unpractical " appointment. As a
statesman he had his compact fagot of opinions, to which he
adhered in evil or good report. It might seem that the logic
of his principles in 1848, combined with the subsequent drift of
events, should have landed him in the Free-soil party that
Abraham Lincoln led to victory in i860; but it is to be re-
membered that, while Van Buren's political opinions were in a
fluid state, they had been cast in the doctrinal moulds of Jeffer-
son, and had there taken rigid form and pressure. In the nat-
ural history of American party-formations he supposed that an
enduring antithesis had always been discernible between the
"money power" and the "farming interest" of the land. In
his annual message of December, 1838, holding language very
modern in its emphasis, he counted " the anti-republican tend-
encies of associated wealth " as among the strains that had
been put upon our government. This is indeed the main thesis
of his " Inquiry," a book which is more an apologia than a his-
tory. In that chronicle of his life-long antipathy to a splendid
consolidated government, with its imperial judiciary, funding
systems, high tariffs, and internal improvements — the whole
surmounted by a powerful national bank as the " regulator "
of finance and politics — he has left an outlined sketch of the
only dramatic unity that can be found for his eventful career.
Confessing in 1848 that he had gone further in concession to
slavery than many of his friends at the north had approved,
he satisfied himself with a formal protest against the repeal of
the Missouri compromise, carried through congress while he
was travelling in Europe, and against the policy of making the
Dred Scott decision a rule of Democratic politics, though he
thought the decision sound in point of technical law. With
these reservations, avowedly made in the interest of " strict
construction " and of " old-time Republicanism " rather than of
Free-soil or National reformation, he maintained his allegiance
to the party with which his fame was identified, and which he
was perhaps the more unwilling to leave because of the many
sacrifices he had made in its service. The biography of Van
Buren has been written by William H. Holland (Hartford,
1835) ; Francis J. Grund (in German, 1835) ; William Emmons
MARTIN VAN BUREN. igl
(Washington, 1835) ; David Crockett (Philadelphia, 1836) ; Wil-
liam L. Mackenzie (Boston, 1846); William Allen Butler (New
York, 1862) ; and Edward M. Shepard (Boston, 1888). Mac-
kenzie's book is compiled in part from surreptitious letters,
shedding a lurid light on the " practical politics " of the times.
Butler's sketch was published immediately after the ex-presi-
dent's death. Shepard's biography is written with adequate
learning and in a philosophical spirit, which may also be said
of a brief and appreciative biography that appeared from the
practiced pen of the venerable historian of the United States,
in his ninetieth year, entitled " Martin Van Buren to the End
of his Public Career, by George Bancroft" (New York, 1889).
His wife, Hannah, born in Kinderhook, N. Y., in 1782 ; died
in Albany, N. Y., 5 Feb., 1819, was of Dutch descent, and her
maiden name was Hoes. She was educated in the schools of
her native village, and was the classmate of Mr. Van Buren,
whom she married in 1807. She was devoted to her domestic
cares and duties, and took little interest in social affairs, but
was greatly beloved by the poor. When Mrs. Van Buren
learned that she could live but a few days, she expressed a
desire that her funeral be conducted with the utmost simplic-
ity, and the money that would otherwise have been devoted to
mourning emblems be given to the poor and needy.
Their son, Abraham, soldier, born in Kinderhook, N. Y.,
27 Nov., 1807; died in New York city, 15 March, 1873, was
graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1827, and attached
to the 2d infantry as 2d lieutenant. He served for two years
on the western frontier, and for the next seven years as aide-
de-camp to the general-in-chief, Alexander Macomb, except
during several months in 1836, when he accompanied Gen. Win-
field Scott as a volunteer aide in the expedition against the
Seminole Indians. He was commissioned as a captain in the
ist dragoons on 4 July, 1836, resigning on 3 March, 1837, to
become his father's private secretary. He brought daily re-
ports of the proceedings of congress to President Van Buren^
who was often influenced by his suggestions. At the begin-
ning of the war with Mexico he re-entered the army as major
and paymaster, his commission dating from 26 June, 1846. He
served on the staff of Gen. Zachary Taylor at Monterey, and
I82
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
subsequently joined the staff of Gen. Scott as a volunteer,
and participated in every engagement from Vera Cruz to the
capture of the city of Mexico, being brevetted lieutenant-
colonel for bravery at Contreras and Churubusco on 20 Aug.,
1847. He served in the paymaster's department after the
war till I June, 1854, when he again resigned, after which he
resided for a part of the time in Columbia, S. C. (where his
wife inherited a plantation), till 1859, and afterward for four-
teen years leading a life of leisure in New York city.
Another son, John, lawyer, born in Hudson, N. Y., 18 Feb.,
1810; died at sea, 13 Oct., 1866, was graduated at Yale in 1828,
studied law with Benjamin F. Butler,
and was admitted to the bar at Al-
bany in 1830. In the following year
he accompanied his father to London
as an attache of the legation. In Feb-
ruary, 1845, he was elected attorney-
general of the state of New York,
serving till 31 Dec, 1846. He took
an active part in the political canvass
of 1848 as an advocate of the exclu-
sion of slavery from the territories,
but did not remain with the Free-soil
party in its later developments. He
held high rank as a lawyer, appearing in the Edwin Forrest
and many other important cases, was an eloquent pleader, and
an effective political speaker. He died on the voyage from
Liverpool to New York. He was popularly known as " Prince
John"* after his travels abroad during his father's presidency,
j^d^rr^M^^^
* Walking in Broadway with Fitz-Greene Halleck the year before the war,
he exclaimed, "Ah! there's Little Van and Prince John!" when I saw ap-
proaching arm-in-arm the silvery-haired ex-president and his handsome son.
The former was perhaps the smallest, physically, of our chief magistrates, and
it was a constant delight to his political opponents to designate him as " Little
Van." In this respect, however, he in no way differed from the other twenty-
two presidents, who without exception were labelled with more or less inim-
ical or popular nicknames. Washington was called the " Father of his Coun-
try" and the "American Fabius " ; John Adams, the "Colossus of Independ-
ence" ; Jefferson, the " Sage of Monticello," and " Long Tom " by his political
opponents; Madison, " Father of the Constitution"; Monroe, "Last Cocked
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 1 83
was tall and handsome, of elegant manners and appearance, a
charming conversationalist, and an admirable raconteur. The
accompanying excellent vignette is copied from a photograph
by Brady, presented, in 1865, to the editor by Mr. Van Buren.
Hat," from the circumstance of his being the last of the revolutionary presi-
dents to wear the cocked hat of that period ; John Quincy Adams, the " Old
Man Eloquent " ; Jackson, the " Hero of New Orleans " and " Old Hickory " \
Van Buren, the "Little Magician," in allusion to his political sagacity and
astuteness, " King Martin the First," and " Little Van " ; Harrison, the " Wash-
ington of the West " and " Old Tippecanoe " ; Tyler, "Accidental President " ;
Polk, " Young Hickory," so christened by his admiring adherents of the presi-
dential campaign ; Taylor, " Rough and Ready " and " Old Zach " ; Fillmore,
the "American Louis Philippe," owing to his dignified, courteous manners and
supposed resemblance to the French king ; Pierce, " Poor Pierce," pronounced
Purse; Buchanan, " Old Public Functionary" and "Old Buck"; Lincoln,
" Honest Old Abe " and " Father Abraham," used in the famous war-song,
" We're coming. Father Abra'am, three hundred thousand strong " ; Johnson,
" Sir Veto " and the " Tailor President " ; Grant, " Unconditional Surrender,"
and by his political adversaries the " American Caesar," in allusion to his third-
term candidacy and their claim that Grantism was a synonym of Caesarism ;
Hayes, " President de facto " ; Garfield, the " Teacher President " and " Martyr
President " ; Arthur, " The First Gentleman in the Land," and by his New
York admirers " Our Chet," a contraction of Chester ; Cleveland, the " Man of
Destiny" and "Old Grover"; and Benjamin Harrison, "Backbone Ben" and
the " Son of his Grandfather," the latter's hat being a conspicuous object in the
campaign cartoons of i388 and afterward.
At the Broadway meeting referred to, the poet mentioned a pleasant visit
to Van Buren at Lindenwald, where he had met Washington Irving, and that
the latter had written the concluding chapters of his " History of New York "
when in retirement there for two months after the death of his betrothed, Miss
Matilda Hoffman. At that time (1809) it was the estate of Irving's intimate
friend, William P. Van Ness, an eminent lawyer and jurist, who acted as Burr's
second in his duel with Hamilton. The ex-president purchased the property,
Halleck informed me, from the heirs of Judge Van Ness, and incidentally re-
marked that he had seen all the presidents except Washington, and had known
most of them. The poet also alluded to the circumstance of Ii-ving having
been offered by President Van Buren the portfolio of the secretary of the navy,
which, on his declining its acceptance, was conferred on the amiable author's
friend and literary partner, James K. Paulding. Halleck on several occasions
introduced the name of Van Buren in his poems, and in " Fanny," which first
appeared in 18 19, he remarks :
" What, Egypt, was thy magic, to the tricks
Of Mr. Charles, Judge Spencer, or Van Buren?
The first with cards, the last in politics,
A conjurer's fame for years has been securing."
— Editor.
1 84
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Abraham's wife, Angelica, born in Sumter district, S. C,
about 1820; died in New York city, 29 Dec, 1878, was a
daughter of Richard Singleton, a planter, and a cousin of Will-
iam C. Preston and of Mrs. James
Madison, who, while her kinswoman
was completing her education in
Philadelphia, presented her to Presi-
dent Van Buren. A year later she
married Maj. Van Buren, in No-
vember, 1838, and on the following
New-Year's-day she made her first
appearance as mistress of the White
House. With her husband she vis-
ited England (where her uncle, An-
drew Stevenson, was U. S. minis-
ter) and other countries of Europe,
in the spring of 1839, returning in
the autumn to resume her place as
hostess of the presidential mansion. The accompanying vi-
gnette is from a portrait painted by Henry Inman.
Engily E H I&i^ JWBrk
D.Appleton. & Co.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United
States, born in Berkeley, Charles City co., Va., 9 Feb., 1773 ; died
in Washington, D. C, 4 April, i84i,was the third and youngest
son of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, born in Berkeley, Charles City co., Va., about 1740; died
in April, 1791. He was a descendant of Colonel John Harri-
son, a distinguished officer during the civil wars of England,
and one of the judges who tried and condemned the unfortu-
nate Charles the First, for which, and for his active participation
in the affairs of the commonwealth under Cromwell, he was
himself tried and executed after the restoration. As a mem-
ber of the burgesses in 1764 he served on the committee
that prepared the memorials to the king, lords, and commons ;
but in 1765, with many other prominent men, opposed the
stamp act resolutions of Henry as impolitic. He was chosen
in 1773 one of the committee of correspondence which united
the colonies against Great Britain in 1774, appointed one of
the delegates to congress, and four times re-elected to a seat
in that body. As a member of all the Virginia conventions
to organize resistance, he acted with the party led by Pendle-
ton in favor of "general united opposition." On 10 June,
1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house of
congress, he introduced the resolution that had been offered
three days before by Richard Henry Lee, declaring the inde-
pendence of the American colonies, and on 4 July he reported
the Declaration of Independence, of which he was one of the
signers. On his return from congress he became a member
of the Virginia house of delegates under the new constitu-
tion, was chosen speaker, filling that office until 1781, when
he was twice elected governor of the commonwealth. As a
delegate to the Virginia convention of 1788, he opposed the
ratification of the Federal constitution, taking the ground of
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
S^
Patrick Henry, James Monroe, and others, that it was a na-
tional and not a Federal government, though when the instru-
ment was adopted he gave it his hearty support. At the time
of his death he was a member of the Virginia legislature. In
person Benjamin Harrison was large
and fleshy ; and, in spite of his suf-
fering from gout, of unfailing good
humor. Although without conspicu-
ous intellectual endowments, he was
a man of excellent judgment and
the highest sense of honor, with a
courage and cheerfulness that never
faltered, and a "downright candor"
and sincerity of character which con-
ciliated the affection and respect of
all who knew him.
William Henry was educated at
Hampden Sidney college, Virginia, and began the study of
medicine, but before he had finished it accounts of the Indian
outrages that had been committed on the western frontier
raised in him a desire to enter the army for its defence. Rob-
ert Morris, who had been appointed his guardian on the death
of his father in 1791, endeavored to dissuade him, but his pur-
pose being approved by Washington, who had been his father's
friend, he was commissioned ensign in the ist infantry on 16
Aug., 1791. He joined his regiment at Fort Washington, Ohio,
was appointed lieutenant of the ist sub-legion, to rank from
June, 1792, and afterward united with the army under Gen,
Anthony Wayne. Being made aide-de-camp to the command-
ing officer, he took part, in December, 1793, in the expedition
that erected Fort Recovery on the battle field where St. Clair
had been defeated two years before, and, with others, received
thanks by name in general orders for his services. He parti-
cipated in the engagements with the Indians that began on
30 June, 1794, and on 19 Aug., at a council of war, submitted
a plan of march, which was adopted and led to the victory on
the Miami on the following day.
Lieut. Harrison was specially complimented by Gen. Wayne,
in his despatch to the secretary of war, for gallantry in this
fight, and in May, 1797, was made captain, and given command
of Fort Washington. Here he was intrusted with the duty of
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
187
receiving and forwarding troops, arms, and provisions to the
forts in the northwest that had been evacuated by the British
in obedience to the Jay treaty of 1794, and also instructed to
report to the commanding general on all movements in the
south, and to prevent the passage of French agents with mili-
tary stores intended for an invasion of Louisiana. While in
command of this fort he formed an attachment for Anna,
youngest daughter of John Cleves Symmes, one of the judges
of the northwest territory, and the founder of the Miami set-
tlement in Ohio. Peace having been made with the Indians,
Capt. Harrison resigned his commission on i June, 1798, and
was immediately appointed by President John Adams secre-
tary of the northwest territory, under Gen. Arthur St. Clair
as governor, but in October, 1799, resigned to take his seat as
territorial delegate in congress. In his one year of service,
though he was opposed by speculators, he secured the sub-
division of the public lands into small tracts, and the passage
of other measures for the welfare of the settlers. During the
session, part of the northwest territory was formed into the
territory of Indiana, including the present states of Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and Harrison was made its
governor and superintendent of Indian affairs. Resigning his
seat in congress, he entered on the duties of his office, which
included the confirmation of land-grants, the defining of town-
ships, and others that were equally important. Gov. Harrison
was reappointed successively by President Jefferson and Presi-
dent Madison. He organized the legislature at Vincennes in
1805, and applied himself especially to improving the condition
of the Indians, trying to prevent the sale of intoxicating liquors
among them, and to introduce inoculation for the small-pox.
He frequently held councils with them, and, although his life
was sometimes endangered, succeeded by his calmness and
courage in averting many outbreaks. On 30 Sept., i8og, he
concluded a treaty with several tribes by which they sold to the
United States about 3,000,000 acres of land on Wabash and
White rivers. This, and the former treaties of cession that had
been made, were condemned by Tecumseh and other chiefs on
the ground that the consent of all the tribes was necessary to a
legal sale. The discontent was increased by the action of specu-
lators in ejecting Indians from the lands, by agents of the Brit-
ish government, and by the preaching of Tecumseh's brother,
1 88 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the " prophet," and it was evident that an outbreak was at hand.
The governor pursued a conciliatory course, gave to needy In-
dians provisions from the public stores, and in July, 1810, invited
Tecumseh and his brother, the prophet, to a council at Vincen-
nes, requesting them to bring with them not more than thirty
men. In response, the chief, accompanied by 400 fully armed
warriors, arrived at Vincennes on 12 Aug. The council, held
under the trees in front of the governor's house, was nearly
terminated by bloodshed on the first day, but Harrison, who
foresaw the importance of conciliating Tecumseh, prevented,
by his coolness, a conflict that almost had been precipitated by
the latter. The discussion was resumed on the next day, but
with no result, the Indians insisting on the return of all the
lands that had recently been acquired by treaty. On the day
after the council Harrison visited Tecumseh at his camp, ac-
companied only by an interpreter, but without success. In the
following spring depredations by the savages were frequent,
and the governor sent word to Tecumseh that, unless they
should cease, the Indians would be punished. The chief prom-
ised another interview, and appeared at Vincennes on 27 July,
181 1, with 300 followers, but, awed probably by the presence
of 750 militia, professed to be friendly. Soon afterward, Harri-
son, convinced of the chief's insincerity, but not approving the
plan of the government to seize him as a hostage, proposed,
instead, the establishment of a military post near Tippecanoe, a
town that had been established by the prophet on the upper
Wabash. The news that the government had given assent to
this scheme was received with joy, and volunteers flocked to
Vincennes. Harrison marched from that town on 26 Sept.,
with about 900 men, including 350 regular infantry, completed
Fort Harrison, near the site of Terre Haute, Ind., on 28 Oct.,
and, leaving a garrison there, pressed forward toward Tippe-
canoe. On 6 Nov., when the army had reached a point a mile
and a half distant from the town, it was met by messengers
demanding a parley. A council being proposed for the next
day, Harrison at once went into camp, taking, however, every
precaution against a surprise. At four o'clock on the following
morning a fierce attack was made on the camp by the savages,
and the fighting continued till daylight, when the Indians were
driven from the field by a cavalry charge. During the battle,
in which the American loss was 108 killed and wounded, the
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
189
governor directed the movements of the troops. He was
highly complimented by President Madison in his message of
18 Dec, 181 1, and also received the thanks of the legislatures
of Kentucky and Indiana.
On 18 June, 1812, war was declared between Great Britain
and the United States. On 25 Aug., Gov. Harrison, although
not a citizen of Kentucky, was commissioned major-general
of the militia of that state, and given command of a detach-
ment that was sent to re-enforce Gen. William Hull, the news
of whose surrender had not yet reached Kentucky. On 2
Sept., while on the march, he received a brigadier-general's
commission in the regular army, but withheld his acceptance
till he could learn whether or not he was to be subordinate
to Gen. James Winchester, who had been appointed to the
command of the northwestern army. After relieving Fort
Wayne, which had been invested by the Indians, he turned
over his force to Gen. Winchester, and was returning to his
home in Indiana when he met an express with a letter from
the secretary of war, appointing him to the chief command in
the northwest. "You will exercise," said the letter, "your
own discretion, and act in all cases according to your own
judgment." No latitude as great as this had been given to
any commander sines Washington. Harrison now prepared to
concentrate his force on the rapids of the Maumee, and thence
to move on Maiden and Detroit. Various difficulties, however,
prevented him from carrying out his design immediately.
Forts were erected and supplies forwarded, but, with the ex-
ception of a few minor engagements with Indians, the remain-
der of the year was occupied merely in preparation for the
coming campaign. Winchester had been ordered by Harrison
to advance to the rapids, but the order was countermanded on
receipt of information that Tecumseh, with a large force, was
at the head-waters of the Wabash. Through a misunderstand-
ing, however, Winchester continued, and on 18 Jan. captured
Frenchtown (now Monroe, Mich.), but three days later met
with a bloody repulse on the river Raisin fron Col. Henry Proc-
tor. Harrison hastened to his aid, but was too late. After
establishing a fortified camp, which he named Fort Meigs,
after the governor of Ohio, the commander visited Cincinnati
to obtain supplies, and while there urged the construction of a
fleet on Lake Erie. On 2 March, 1813, he was given a major-
190
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
general's commission. Shortly afterward, having heard that
the British were preparing to attack Fort Meigs, he hastened
thither, arriving on 12 April. On 28 April it was ascertained
that the enemy under Proctor was advancmg in force, and on i
May siege was laid to the fort. While a heavy fire was kept
up on both sides for five days, re-enforcements under Gen.
Green Clay were hurried forward and came to the relief of the
Americans in two bodies, one on each side of Maumee river.
Those on the opposite side from the fort put the enemy to
flight, but, disregarding Harrison's signals, allowed themselves
to be drawn into the woods, and were finally dispersed or cap-
tured. The other detachment fought their way to the fort, and
at the same time the garrison made a sortie and spiked the
enemy's guns. Three days later Proctor raised the siege. He
renewed his attack in July with 5,000 men, but after a few days
again withdrew.
On 10 Sept. Com. Oliver H. Perry gained his victory on
Lake Erie, and on 16 Sept. Harrison embarked his artillery
and supplies for a descent on Canada. The troops followed
between the 20th and 24th, and on the 27th the army landed
on the enemy's territory. Proctor burned the fort and navy-
yard at Maiden and retreated, and Harrison followed on the
next day. Proctor was overtaken on 5 Oct., and took position
with his left flanked by the Thames, and a swamp covering his
right, which was still further protected by Tecumseh and his
Indians. He had made the mistake of forming his men in open
order, which was the plan that was adopted in Indian fighting,
and Harrison, taking advantage of the error, ordered Col.
Richard M. Johnson to lead a cavalry charge, which broke
through the British lines, and virtually ended the battle. With-
in five minutes almost the entire British force was captured,
and Proctor escaped only by abandoning his carriage and tak-
ing to the woods. Another band of cavalry charged the In-
dians, who lost their leader, Tecumseh, in the beginning of the
fight, and afterward made no great resistance. This battle,
which, if mere numbers alone be considered, was insignificant,
was most important in its results. Together with Perry's vic-
tory it gave the United States possession of the chain of lakes
above Erie, and put an end to the war in uppermost Canada.
Harrison's praises were sung in the president's message, in
congress, and in the legislatures of the different states. Cele-
^
} ^
h
i
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
191
brations in honor of his victory were held in the principal cities
of the Union, and he was one of the heroes of the hour. He
now sent his troops to Niagara, and proceeded to Washington,
where he was ordered by the president to Cincinnati to devise
means of protection for the Indiana border. Gen. John Arm-
strong, who was at this time secretary of war, in planning the
campaign of 1814 assigned Harrison to the 8th military district,
including only western states, where he could see no active
service, and on 25 April issued an order to Maj. Holmes, one
of Harrison's subordinates, without consulting the latter. Har-
rison thereupon tendered his resignation, which, President
Madison being absent, was accepted by Armstrong. This ter-
minated Harrison's military career. In 1814, and again in 1815,
he was appointed on commissions that concluded satisfactory
Indian treaties, and m 1816 chosen to congress to fill a vacan-
cy, serving till 1819. While in congress he was charged by a
dissatisfied contractor with misuse of the public money when
in command of the northwestern army, but was completely
exonerated by an investigating committee of the house. At
this time his opponents succeeded, by a vote of 13 to 11 in the
senate, in striking his name from a resolution that had already
passed the house, directing gold medals to be struck in honor
of Gov. Shelby, of Kentucky, and himself, for the victory of the
Thames. The resolution was passed unanimously two years
later, on 24 March, 1818, and Harrison received the medal.
Among the charges made against him was this one, that he
would not have pursued Proctor at all, after the latter's aban-
donment of Maiden, had it not been for Gov. Shelby; but the
latter denied it in a letter read before the senate, and gave Gen.
Harrison the highest praise for his promptitude and vigilance.
While in congress, Harrison drew up and advocated a general
militia bill, which was not successful, and also proposed an ad-
mirable measure for the relief of soldiers, which was passed.
In 1819 Gen. Harrison was chosen to the senate of Ohio,
and in 1822 was a candidate for congress, but defeated on
account of his vote against the admission of Missouri to the
Union with the restriction that slavery should be prohibited
there. In 1824 he was a presidential elector, voting for Henry
Clay, and in the same year sent to the U. S. senate, where he
succeeded Andrew Jackson as chairman of the committee on
military affairs, introduced a bill to prevent desertions, and
192
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
exerted himself to obtain pensions for old soldiers. He re-
signed in 1828, having been appointed by President John
Quincy Adams U. S. minister to the United States of Colom-
bia. While there he wrote a letter to Gen. Simon Bolivar urg-
ing him not to accept dictatorial powers. He was recalled at
the outset of Jackson's administration, as is asserted by some,
at the demand of Gen. Bolivar, and retired to his farm at
North Bend, near Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lived quietly, fill-
ing the offices of clerk of the county court and president of
the county agricultural society. In 1835 Gen. Harrison was
nominated for the presidency by meetings in Pennsylvania,
New York, Ohio, and other states; but the opposition to Van
Buren was not united on him, and he received only 73 electoral
votes to the former's 170. Four years later the National Whig
convention, which was called at Harrisburg, Pa., for 4 Dec,
1839, to decide between the claims of several rival candidates,
nominated him for the same office, with John Tyler, of Virginia,
for vice-president. The Democrats renominated President Van
Buren. The canvass that followed has been often called the
"Log-cabin and hard-cider campaign." The eastern end of
Gen. Harrison's house at North Bend consisted of a log-cabin
that had been built
by one of the first
settlers of Ohio, but
which had long since
been covered with
clapboards. The re-
publican simplicity
of his home was ex-
tolled by his admir-
ers, and a political biography of that time says that " his table,
instead of being covered with exciting wines, is well supplied
with the best cider." Log-cabins and hard cider, then, became
the party emblems, and both were features of all the political
demonstrations of the canvass, which witnessed the introduc-
tion of the enormous mass-meetings and processions that have
since been common just before presidential elections. The re-
sult of the contest was the choice of Harrison, who received
234 electoral votes to Van Buren's 60. He was inaugurated at
Washington on 4 March, 1841, and immediately sent to the
senate his nominations for cabinet officers, which were con-
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. Iq.,
firmed. They were Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, secre-
tary of state ; Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, secretary of the treas-
ury ; John Bell, of Tennessee, secretary of war; George E.
Badger, of North Carolina, secretary of the navy ; Francis
Granger, of New York, postmaster-general; and John J. Crit-
tenden, of Kentucky, attorney-general. The senate adjourned
on 15 March, and two days afterward tRe president called
congress together in extra session to consider financial meas-
ures. On 27 March, after several days of indisposition, he
was prostrated by a chill, which was followed by bilious pneu-
monia, and on Sunday morning, 4 April, he died. Amid the
shadows of approachmg death, he imagined he was addressing
his successor, and exclaimed : " Sir, I wish you to understand
the principles of the government. I desire them carried out.
I ask nothing more." The end came so suddenly that his wife,
who had remained at North Bend on account of illness, was
unable to be present at his death-bed. The event was a shock
to the country, the more so that a chief magistrate had never
before died in office, and especially to the Whig party, who had
formed high hopes of his administration. His body was in-
terred in the congressional cemetery at Washington ; but on
7 July of the same year, at the request of his family, removed
to North Bend, where it was placed in a tomb overlooking the
Ohio river. This was subsequently allowed to fall into ne-
glect, and afterward Gen. Harrison's son, John Scott, offered
it and the surrounding land to the state of Ohio, on condition
that it should be kept in repair. Several unsuccessful efforts
have been made to induce the state to raise money by taxation
for the purpose of erecting a monument to Gen. Harrison's
memory. "He was not," it has been well said, "a great man,
but he had lived in a great time, and had been a leader in
great things." Harrison's inaugural address is the longest
ever delivered by any of our presidents (the shortest is Wash-
ington's second address, consisting of but 134 words, while
Harrison's is 8,578), and he was also the author of a " Discourse
on the Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio " (Cincinnati,
1838). His life has been written by Moses Dawson (Cincin-
nati, 1834); by James Hall (Philadelphia, 1836); by Richard
Hildreth (1839); by Samuel J. Burr (New York, 1840); by
Isaac R. Jackson; and by Henry Montgomery (New York,
1853).
194
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
His wife, Anna, born near Morristown, N. J., 25 July, 1775 \
died near North Bend, Ohio, 25 Feb., 1864, was a daughter of
John Cleves Symmes, and married Gen.
Harrison 22 Nov., 1795. After her hus-
band's death she lived at North Bend
till 1855, when she went to the house
of her son, John Scott Harrison, a few
miles distant. Her funeral sermon was
preached by Rev. Dr. Horace Bushnell,
and her body lies by the side of her hus-
band at North Bend.
Their son, John Scott, born in Vin-
cennes, Ind., 4 Oct., 1804; died near
C^ytx '^^sc-if-w^ '^"'^ North Bend, Ohio, 26 May, 1878, received
a liberal education, and was elected to
congress as a Whig, serving from 5 Dec, 1853, till 3 March,
1857. His third son, Benjamin, became the twenty-third presi-
dent of the United States.
A daughter, Lucy, born in Richmond, Va., in 1798; died in
Cincinnati, Ohio, 7 April, 1826, became the wife of David K.
Este, an eminent lawyer and jurist of the latter city, and was
noted for her piety and benevolence.
-O.APrLKTOM & C?
JOHN TYLER.
John Tyler, tenth president of the United States, born at
Greenway, Charles City co., Va., 29 March, 1790 ; died in Rich-
mond, Va., 18 Jan., 1862. He was the second son of Judge
John Tyler and Mary Armistead. In early boyhood he attend-
ed the small school kept by John McMurdo, who was so dili-
gent in his use of the birch that in later years Mr. Tyler said i/'
" it was a wonder he did not whip all the sense out of his schol-
ars." At the age of eleven young Tyler was one of the ring-
leaders in a rebellion in which the despotic McMurdo was over-
powered by numbers, tied hand and foot, and left locked up in
the school-house until late at night, when a passing traveller
effected an entrance and released him. On complaining to
Judge Tyler, the indignant school-master was met with the apt
reply, " Sic semper tyrannts ! " The future president was gradu-
ated at William and Mary in 1807. At college he showed a
strong interest in ancient history. He was also fond of poetry
and music, and, like Thomas Jefferson, was a skilful performer
on the violin. In 1809 he was admitted to the bar, and had al-
ready begun to obtain a good practice when he was elected to
the legislature, and took his seat in that body in December,
181 1. He was here a firm supporter of Mr. Madison's adminis-
tration, and the war with Great Britain, which soon followed,
afforded him an opportunity to become conspicuous as a forci-
ble and persuasive orator. One of his earliest public acts is
especially interesting in view of the famous struggle with the
Whigs, which in later years he conducted as president. The
charter of the first Bank of the United States, established in
1791, was to expire in twenty years; and m 181 1 the question
of renewing the charter came before congress. The bank was
very unpopular in Virginia, and the assembly of that state, by
a vote of 125 to 35, instructed its senators at Washington, Rich-
14
196
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
arc! Brent and William B. Giles, to vote against a recharter.
The instructions denounced the bank as an institution in the
founding of which congress had exceeded its powers and grossly
violated state rights. Yet there were many in congress who,
without approving the principle upon which the bank was
founded, thought the eve of war an inopportune season for
making a radical change in the financial system of the nation.
Of the two Virginia senators, Brent voted in favor of the re-
charter, and Giles spoke on the same side, and although, in
obedience to instructions, he voted contrary to his own opinion,
he did so under protest. On 14 Jan., 1812, Mr. Tyler, m the
Virginia legislature, introduced resolutions of censure, in which
the senators were taken to task, while the Virginia doctrines, as
to the unconstitutional character of the bank and the binding
force of instructions, were formally asserted.
Mr. Tyler married, 29 March, 1813, Letitia, daughter of
Robert Christian, and a few weeks afterward was called into
the field at the head of a company of militia to take part in the
defence of Richmond and its neighborhood, now threatened by
the British. This military service lasted for a month, during
which Mr. Tyler's company was not called into action. He
was re-elected to the legislature annually, until in November,
1816, he was chosen to fill a vacancy in the U. S. house of rep-
resentatives. In the regular election to the next congress, out
of 200 votes given in his native county, he received all but one.
As a member of congress he soon made himself conspicuous as
a strict constructionist. When Mr. Calhoun introduced his bill
in favor of internal improvements, Mr. Tyler voted against it.
He opposed the bill for changing the per diem allowance of
members of congress to an annual salary of $1,500. He
opposed, as premature, Mr. Clay's proposal to add to the
general appropriation bill a provision for $18,000 for a min-
ister to the provinces of the La Plata, thus committnig the
United States to a recognition of the independence of those
revolted provinces. He also voted against the proposal for a
national bankrupt act. He condemned, as arbitrary and in-
subordinate, the course of Gen. Jackson in Florida, and con-
tributed an able speech to the long debate over the question as
to censuring that gallant commander. He was a member of a
committee for inquiring into the affairs of the national bank,
and his most elaborate speech was in favor of Mr. Trimble's
JOHN TYLER. igj
motion to issue a scire facias against that institution. On all
these points Mr. Tyler's course seems to have pleased his con-
stituents ; in the spring election of 1819 he did not consider it
necessary to issue the usual circular address, or in any way to
engage in a personal canvass. He simply distributed copies
of his speech against the bank, and was re-elected to congress
unanimously.
The most important question that came before the i6th
congress related to the admission of Missouri to the Union.
In the debates over this question Mr. Tyler took ground
against the imposition of any restrictions upon the extension
of slavery. At the same time he declared himself on principle
opposed to the perpetuation of slavery, and he sought to recon-
cile these positions by the argument that in diffusing the slave
population over a wide area the evils of the institution would
bfe diminished and the prospects of ultimate emancipation in-
creased. " Slavery," said he, " has been represented on all
hands as a dark cloud, and the candor of the gentleman from
Massachusetts [Mr. Whitman] drove him to the admission that
it would be well to disperse this cloud. In this sentiment I en-
tirely concur with him. How can you otherwise disarm it ?
Will you suffer it to increase in its darkness over one particular
portion of this land till its horrors shall burst upon it ? Will
you permit the lightnings of its wrath to break upon the
south, when by the interposition of a wise system of legislation
you may reduce it to a summer's cloud ? " New York and
Pennsylvania, he argued, had been able to emancipate their
slaves only by reducing their number by exportation. Disper-
sion, moreover, would be likely to ameliorate the condition of
the black man, for by making his labor scarce in each particu-
lar locality it would increase the demand for it and would thus
make it the interest of the master to deal fairly and generously
with his slaves. To the objection that the increase of the slave
population would fully keep up with its territorial expansion,
he replied by denying that such would be the case. His next
argument was that if an old state, such as Virginia, could have
slaves, while a new state, such as Missouri, was to be prevented
by Federal authority from having them, then the old and new
states would at once be placed upon a different footing, which
was contrary to the spirit of the constitution. If congress
could thus impose one restriction upon a state, where was the
198
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
exercise of such a power to end ? Once grant such a power,
and what was to prevent a slave-holding majority in congress
from forcing slavery upon some territory where it was not want-
ed ? Mr. Tyler pursued the argument so far as to deny "that
congress, under its constitutional authority to establish rules
and regulations for the territories, had any control whatever
over slavery in the territorial domam." (See life, by Lyon G.
Tyler, vol. i., p. 319.) Mr. Tyler was unquestionably foremost
among the members of congress in occupying this position.
When the Missouri compromise bill was adopted by a vote of
134 to 42, all but five of the nays were from the south, and
from Virginia alone there were seventeen, of which Mr. Tyler's
vote was one. The Richmond " Enquirer" of 7 March, 1820,
in denouncing the compromise, observed, in language of pro-
phetic interest, that the southern and western representatives
now " owe it to themselves to keep their eyes firmly fixed on
Texas ; if we are cooped up on the north, we must have elbow-
room to the west."
Mr. Tyler's further action in this congress related chiefly to
the question of a protective tariff, of which he was an unflinch-
ing opponent. In 1821, finding his health seriously impaired,
he declined a re-election, and returned to private life. His
retirement, however, was of short duration, for in 1823 he was
again elected to the Virginia legislature. Here, as' a friend to
the candidacy of William H. Crawford for the presidency, he
disapproved the attacks upon the congressional caucus begun
by the legislature of Tennessee in the interests of Andrew
Jackson. The next year he was nominated to fill the vacancy
in the United States senate created by the death of John Tay-
lor ; but Littleton W. Tazewell was elected over him. He op-
posed the attempt to remove William and Mary college to
Richmond, and was afterward made successively rector and
chancellor of the college, which prospered signally under his
management. In December, 1825, he was chosen by the legis-
lature to the governorship of Virginia, and in the following
year he was re-elected by a unanimous vote. A new division
of parties was now beginning to show itself in national politics.
The administration of John Quincy Adams had pronounced
itself in favor of what was then, without much regard to history,
■described as the " American system " of government banking,
high tariffsj and internal improvements. Those persons who
JOHN TYLER. I^q
were inclined to a loose construction of the constitution were
soon drawn to the side of the administration, while the strict
constructionists were gradually united in opposition. Many
members of Crawford's party, under the lead of John Ran-
dolph, became thus united with the Jacksonians, while others,
of whom Mr. Tyler was one of the most distinguished, main-
tained a certain independence in opposition. It is to be set
down to Mr. Tyler's credit that he never attached any impor-
tance to the malicious story, believed by so many Jacksonians,
of a corrupt bargain between Adams and Clay. Soon after
the meeting of the Virginia legislature, in December, 1826, the
friends of Clay and Adams combined with the opposite party
who were dissatisfied with Randolph, and thus Mr. Tyler was
elected to the U. S. senate by a majority of 115 votes to no.
Some indiscreet friends of Jackson now attempted to show
that there must have been some secret and reprehensible
understanding between Tyler and Clay ; but this scheme failed
completely. In the senate Mr. Tyler took a conspicuous stand
against the so-called '• tariff of abominations " enacted in 1828,
which Benton, Van Buren, and other prominent Jacksonians,
not yet quite clear as to their proper attitude, were induced to
support. There was thus some ground for the opinion enter-
tained at this time by Tyler, that the Jacksonians were not
really strict constructionists. In February, 1830, after taking
part in the Virginia convention for revising the state constitu-
tion, Mr. Tyler returned to his seat in the senate, and found
himself first drawn toward Jackson by the veto message of the
latter, 27 May, upon the Maysville turnpike bill. He attacked
the irregularity of Jackson's appointment of commissioners to
negotiate a commercial treaty with Turkey without duly inform-
ing the senate. On the other hand, he voted m favor of con-
firming the appointment of Van Buren as minister to Great
Britain. In the presidential election of 1832 he supported
Jackson as a less objectionable candidate than the others, Clay,
Wirt, and Floyd. Mr. Tyler disapproved of nullification, and
condemned the course of South Carolina as both unconstitu-
tional and impolitic. At the same time he objected to Presi-
dent Jackson's famous proclamation of 10 Dec, 1832, as a "tre-
mendous engine of federalism," tending to the " consolidation "
of the states into a single political body. Under the influence
of these feelings he undertook to play the part of mediator be-
200 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
tween Clay and Calhoun, and in that capacity earnestly sup-
ported the compromise tariff mtroduced by the former in the
senate, 12 Feb., 1833. On the so-called "force bill," clothing
the president with extraordinary powers for the purpose of en-
forcing the tariff law, Mr. Tyler showed that he had the cour-
age of his convictions. When the bill was put to vote, 20 Feb.,
1833, some of its opponents happened to be absent ; others
got up and went out in order to avoid putting themselves on
record. The vote, as then taken, stood : yeas, thirty-two ; nay,
one (John Tyler).
As President Jackson's first term had witnessed a division
in the Democratic party between the nullifiers led by Calhoun
and the unconditional upholders of the Union, led by the
president himself, with Benton, Blair, and Van Buren, so his
second term witnessed a somewhat similar division arising out
of the war upon the United States bank. The tendency of this
fresh division was to bring Mr. Tyler and his friends nearer to
co-operation with Mr. Calhoun, while at the same time it fur-
nished points of contact that might, if occasion should offer, be
laid hold of for the purpose of forming a temporary alliance
with Mr. Clay and the National Republicans. The origin of
the name "Whig," in its strange and anomalous application to
the combination in 1834, is to be found in the fact that it
pleased the fancy of President Jackson's opponents to repre-
sent him as a kind of arbitrary tyrant. On this view it seemed
proper that they should be designated " Whigs," and at first
there were some attempts to discredit the supporters of the
administration by calling them "Tories." On the question of
the bank, when it came to the removal of the deposits, Mr.
Tyler broke with the administration. Against the bank he had
fought, on every fitting occasion, since the beginning of his
public career. In 1834 he declared emphatically: " I believe
the bank to be the original sin against the constitution, which,
in the progress of our history, has called into existence a nu-
merous progeny of usurpations. Shall I permit this serpent,
however bright its scales or erect its mien, to exist by and
through my vote ?" Nevertheless, strongly as he disapproved
of the bank, Mr. Tyler disapproved still more strongly of the
methods by which President Jackson assailed it. There seemed
at that time to be growing up in the United States a spirit of
extreme unbridled democracy quite foreign to the spirit in
JOHN TYLER. 20I
which our constitutional government, with its carefully arranged
checks and limitations, was founded. It was a spirit that
prompted mere majorities to insist upon having their way, even
at the cost of overriding all constitutional checks and limits.
This spirit possessed many members of Jackson's party, and it
found expression in what Benton grotesquely called the"^cl^ ^.
ing no children, Mrs. Polk devoted
herself entirely to her duties as mistress of the White House.
She held weekly receptions, and alDolished the custom of giving
refreshments to the guests. She also forbade dancing, as out
of keeping with the character of these entertainments. In spite
of her reforms, Mrs. Polk was extremely popular. " Madam,"
said a prominent South Carolinian, at one of her receptions,
" there is a woe pronounced against you in the Bible." On
232
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
her inquiring his meaning, he added: "The Bible says, 'Woe
unto you when all men shall speak well of you.' " An English
lady visiting Washington thus described the president's wife :
"Mrs. Polk is a very handsome woman. Her hair is very black,
and her dark eyes and complexion remind one of the Spanish
donnas. She is well read, has much talent for conversation,
and is highly popular. Her excellent taste in dress preserves
the subdued though elegant costume that characterizes the
lady." Mrs. Polk became a communicant of the Presbyterian
church in 1834, and maintained her connection with that de-
nomination until the close of her long life. After the death
of her husband she continued to reside at Nashville, in the
house seen in the illustration on another page and known as
" Polk Place." In the foreground is the tomb of her hus-
band, by whose side she was buried. The courts, in 1891,
having decided that Mr. Polk's will, leaving his estate "to the
worthiest of the name forever," was void, as constituting a per-
petuity, the tomb, with the remains of President and Mrs.
Polk, were removed by the State and reinterred with appro-
priate public ceremonies on Capitol Hill, Nashville, 19 Sept.,
1893, with a view to the division of the land among the heirs.
OUy^c
D A??I£TON & C?
ZACHARY TAYLOR.
Zachary Taylor, twelfth president of the United States,
born in Orange county, Va., 24 Sept., 1784; died in the ex-
ecutive mansion, Washington, D. C, 9 July, 1850. He was
fifth in descent from James Taylor, who came to this country
from Carlisle, on the English border, in 1658. His father.
Col. Richard Taylor, an officer in the war of the Revolution,
was conspicuous for zeal and daring among men in whom
personal gallantry was the rule. After the war he retired to
private life, and in 1785 removed to Kentucky, then a sparsely
occupied county of Virginia, and made his home near the
present city of Louisville, where he died. Zachary was the
third son. Brought up on a farm in a new settlement, he had
few scholastic opportunities; but in the thrift, industry, self-
denial, and forethought required by the circumstances, he
learned such lessons as were well adapted to form the character
illustrated by his eventful career. Yet he had also another
form of education. The liberal grants of land that Virginia
made to her soldiers caused many of them, after the peace of
1783, to remove to the west; thus Col. Taylor's neighbors in-
cluded many who had been his fellow-soldiers, and these often
met around his wide hearth. Their conversation would natu-
rally be reminiscences of their military life, and all the sons of
Col. Taylor, save one, Hancock, entered the U. S. army. The
rapid extension of settlements on the border was productive of
frequent collision with the Indians, and almost constantly re-
quired the protection of a military force.
In 1808, on the recommendation of President Jefferson,
congress authorized the raising of five regiments of infantry,
one of riflemen, one of light artillery, and one of light dragoons.
From the terms of the act it was understood that this was not
to be a permanent increase of the U. S. army, and many of
234
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the officers of the " old army " declined to seek promotion in
the new regiments. At this period questions had arisen be-
tween the United States and Great Britain which caused serious
anticipations of a war with that power, and led many to regard
the additional force authorized as a preliminary step in prepa-
ration for such a war. Zachary Taylor, then in his twenty-
fourth year, applied for a commission, and was appointed a ist
lieutenant in the yth infantry, one of the new regiments, and in
1810 was promoted to the grade of captain in the same regi-
ment, according to the regulations of the service. He was
happily married in 1810 to Miss Margaret Smith, of Calvert
county, Md., who shared with him the privations and dangers
of his many years of frontier service, and survived him but
a short time. The troubles on the frontier continued to
increase until 181 1, when Gen. William H. Harrison, afterward
president of the United States, marched against the stronghold
of the Shawnees and fought the battle of Tippecanoe.
In June, 181 2, war was declared against England, and this
increased the widespread and not unfounded fears of Indian
invasion in the valley of the Wabash. To protect Vincennes
from sudden assault, Capt. Taylor was ordered to Fort Harrison,
a stockade on the river above Vincennes, and with his company
ofinfantry, about fifty strong, made, preparations to defend the
place. He had not long to wait. A large body of Indians,
knowing the smallness of the garrison, came, confidently count-
ing on its capture; but as it is a rule in their warfare to seek
by stratagem to avoid equal risk and probable loss, they tried
various expedients, which were foiled by the judgment, vigi-
lance, and courage of the commander, and when the final attack
was made, the brave little garrison repelled it with such loss to
the assailants that when, in the following October, Gen. Hop-
kins came to support Fort Harrison, no Indians were to be
found thereabout. For the defence of Fort Harrison, Capt.
Taylor received the brevet of major, an honor that had seldom,
if ever before, been conferred for service in Indian war. In the
following November, Maj. Taylor, with a battalion of regulars,
formed a part of the command of Gen. Hopkins in the expe-
dition against the hostile Indians at the head-waters of the
Wabash. In 1814, with his separate command, he being then a
major by commission, he made a campaign against the hostile
Indians and their British allies on Rock river, which was so
ZA CHAR V TA YLOR.
235
successful as to give subsequent security to that immediate
frontier. In such service, not the less hazardous or indicative
of merit because on a small scale, he passed the period of his
employment on that frontier until the treaty of peace with
Great Britain disposed the Indians to be quiet.
After the war, 3 March, 1815, a law was enacted to fix the
military peace establishment of the United States. By this act
the whole force was to be reduced to 10,000 men, with such
proportions of artillery, infantry, and riflemen as the president
should judge proper. The president was to cause the officers
and men of the existing army to be arranged, by unrestricted
transfers, so as to form the corps authorized by the recent act,
and the supernumeraries were to be discharged. Maj. Taylor
had borne the responsibilities and performed the duties of a
battalion commander so long and successfully that when the
arranging board reduced him to the rank of captain in the new
organization he felt the injustice, but resigned from the army
without complaint, returned home, and proceeded, as he said
in after-years, "to make a crop of corn." Influences that were
certainly not employed by him, and are unknown to the writer
of this sketch, caused his restoration to the grade of major,
and he resumed his place in the army, there to continue until
the voice of the people called him to the highest office within
their gift. Under the rules that governed promotion in the
army, Maj. Taylor became lieutenant-colonel of the ist infantry,
and for a period commanded at Fort Snelling, then the ad-
vanced post in the northwest.
In 1832 he became colonel of the ist infantry, with head-
quarters at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien. The barracks
were unfinished, and his practical mind and conscientious at-
tention to every duty were manifest in the progress and com-
pletion of the work. The second Black Hawk campaign
occurred this year, and Col. Taylor, with the greater part of
his regiment, joined the army commanded by Gen. Henry At-
kinson, and with it moved from Rock Island up the valley of
Rock river, following Black Hawk, who had gone to make a
junction with the Pottawattamie band of the Prophet, a nephew
of Black Hawk. This was in violation of the treaty he had
made with Gen. Edmund P. Gaines in 1831, by which he was
required to remove to the west of the Mississippi, relinquishing
all claim to the Rock river villages. It was assumed that his
236 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
purpose in returning to the east side of tiie river was hostile,
and, from the defenceless condition of the settlers and the
horror of savage atrocity, great excitement was created, due
rather to his fame as a warrior than to the number of his fol-
lowers. If, as he subsequently declared, his design was to go
and live peaceably with his nephew, the Prophet, rather than
with the Foxes, of whom Keokuk was the chief, that design
may have been frustrated by the lamentable mistake of some
mounted volunteers in hastening forward in pursuit of Black
Hawk, who with his band — men, women, and children — was
going up on the south side of the Rock river. The pursuers
fell mto an ambuscade, and were routed with some loss and
in great confusion. The event will be remembered by the men
of that day as " Stillman's run."
The vanity of the young Indians was inflated by their
success, as was shown by some exultant messages ; and the
sagacious old chief, whatever he may have previously calculated
upon, now saw that war was inevitable and immediate. With
his band, recruited by warriors from the Prophet's band, he
crossed to the north side of Rock river, and, passing through
the swamp Koshkenong, fled over the prairies west of the Four
Lakes, toward Wisconsin river. Gen. Henry Dodge, with a
battalion of mounted miners, overtook the Indians while they
were crossing the Wisconsin and attacked their rear-guard,
which, when the main body had crossed, swam the river and
joined the retreat over the Kickapoo hills toward the Missis-
sippi. Gen. Atkinson, with his whole army, continued the pur-
suit, and, after a toilsome march, overtook the Indians north
of Prairie du Chien, on the bank of the Mississippi, to the west
side of which they were preparing to cross in bark canoes made
on the spot. That purpose was foiled by the accidental arrival
of a steamboat with a small gun on board. The Indians took
cover in a willow marsh, and there was fought the battle of the
Bad Axe. The Indians were defeated and dispersed, and the
campaign ended. In the mean time. Gen. Winfield Scott, with
troops from the east, took chief command and established his
headquarters at Rock Island, and thither Gen. Atkinson went
with the regular troops, except that part of the ist infantry
which constituted the garrison of Fort Crawford. With these
Col. Taylor returned to Prairie du Chien. When it was re-
ported that the Indians were on an island above the prairie, he
ZA CHA RY TAYL OR.
237
sent a lieutenant with an appropriate command to explore the
island, where unmistakable evidence was found of the recent
presence of the Indians and of their departure. Immediately
thereafter a group of Indians appeared on the east bank of the
river under a white flag, who proved to be Black Hawk, with a
remnant of his band and a few friendly Winnebagoes. The
lieutenant went with them to the fort, where Col. Taylor
received them, except the Winnebagoes, as prisoners. A lieu-
tenant and a guard were sent with them, sixty in number —
men, women, and children — by steamboat, to Rock Island,
there to report to Gen. Scott for orders in regard to the
prisoners. Col. Taylor actively participated in the campaign
up to its close, and to him was surrendered the chief who had
most illustrated the warlike instincts of the Indian race, to
whom history must fairly accord the credit of having done
much under the most disadvantageous circumstances. In 1836
Col. Taylor was ordered to Florida for service in the Seminole
war, and the next year he defeated the Indians in the decisive
battle of Okechobee, for which he received the brevet of
brigadier-general, and in 1838 was appointed to the chief com-
mand in Florida. In 1840 he was assigned to command the
southern division of the western department of the army.
Though Gen. Taylor had for many years been a cotton-planter,
his family had lived with him at his military station, but, when
ordered for an indefinite time on field service, he made his
family home at Baton Rouge, La.
Texas having been annexed to the United States in 1845,
Mexico threatened to invade Texas with the avowed purpose to
recover the territory, and Gen. Taylor was ordered to defend
it as a part of the United States. He proceeded with all his
available force, about 1,500 men, to Corpus Christi, where he
was joined by re-enforcements of regulars and volunteers.
Discussion had arisen as to whether the Nueces or the Rio
Grande was the proper boundary of Texas. His political
opinions, whatever they might be, were subordinate to the
duty of a soldier to execute the orders of his government, and,
without uttering it, he acted on the apophthegm of Decatur :
" My country, right or wrong, my country." Texas claimed pro-
tection for her frontier, the president recognized the fact that
Texas had been admitted to the Union with the Rio Grande
as her boundary, and Gen. Taylor was instructed to advance to
238
LIVES OF THE PKESIDENTS.
that river. His force had been increased to about 4,000, when,
on 8 March, 1846, he marched from Corpus Christi. He was of
course conscious of the inadequacy of his division to resist such
an army as Mexico might send against it, but when ordered by
superior authority it was not his to remonstrate. Gen. Gaines,
commanding the western department, had made requisitions for
a sufficient number of volunteers to join Taylor, but the secre-
tary of war countermanded them, except as to such as had al-
ready joined. Gen. Taylor, with a main depot at Point Isabel,
advanced to the bank of the Rio Grande, opposite to Mata-
moras, and there made provision for defence of the place called
Fort Brown. Soon after his arrival, Ampudia, the Mexican
general at Matamoras, made a threatening demand that Gen.
Taylor should withdraw his troops beyond the Nueces, to
which he replied that his position had been taken by order of
his government, and would be maintained. Having completed
the intrenchment, and being short of supplies, he left a garri-
son to hold it, and marched with an aggregate force of 2,288
men to obtain additional supplies from Point Isabel, about
thirty miles distant. Gen. Arista, the new Mexican command-
er, availing himself of the opportunity to interpose, crossed
the river below Fort Brown with a force estimated at 6,000
regular troops, 10 pieces of artillery, and a considerable amount
of auxiliaries. In the afternoon of the second day's march
from Point Isabel these were reported by Gen. Taylor's cavalry
to be in his front, and he halted to allow the command to rest
and for the needful dispositions for battle. In the evening a
request was made that a council of war should be held, to which
Gen. Taylor assented. The prevalent opinion was in favor of
falling back to Point Isabel, there to intrench and wait for re-
enforcements. After listening to a full expression of views,
the general announced : " I shall go to Fort Brown or stay in
my shoes," a western expression equivalent to " or die in the
attempt." He then notified the officers to prepare to attack
the enemy at dawn of day. In the morning of 8 May the ad-
vance was made by columns until the enemy's batteries opened,
when line of battle was formed and Taylor's artillery, inferior
in number but otherwise superior, was brought fully into action
and soon dispersed the mass of the enemy's cavalry. The
chaparral, dense copses of thorn-bushes, served both to con-
ceal the position of the enemy and to impede the movements
*A»
ZA CHARY TAYLOR. 239
of the attacking force. The action closed at night, when the
enemy retired, and Gen. Taylor bivouacked on the field. Early
in the morning of 9 May he resumed his march, and in the
afternoon encountered Gen. Arista in a strong position with
artillery advantageously posted. Taylor's infantry pushed
through the chaparral lining both sides of the road, and drove
the enemy's infantry before them ; but the batteries held their
position, and were so fatally used that it was an absolute neces-
sity to capture them. For this purpose the general ordered a
squadron of dragoons to charge them. The enemy's gunners
were cut down at their pieces, the commandmg officer was
captured, and the infantry soon made the victory complete.
The Mexican loss in the two battles was estimated at a thou-
sand; the American, killed, forty-nine. The enemy precipi-
tately recrossed the Rio Grande, leaving the usual evidence of
a routed army. Gen. Taylor then proceeded to Fort Brown.
During his absence it had been heavily bombarded, and the
commander, Maj. Brown, had been killed. The Mexicans evac-
uated Matamoras, and Gen. Taylor took possession, 18 May.
The Rio Grande, except at time of flood, offered little
obstacle to predatory incursions, and it was obviously sound
policy to press the enemy back from the border. Gen. Taylor,
therefore, moved forward to Camargo, on the San Juan, a tribu-
tary of the Rio Grande. This last-named river rose so as to
enable steamboats to transport troops and supplies, and by
September a sufificiently large force of volunteers had reported
at Gen. Taylor's headquarters to justify a further march into
the interior, but the move must be by land, and for that there
was far from adequate transportation. Hiring Mexican pack-
ers to supplement the little transportation on hand, he was able
to add one division of volunteers to the regulars of his com-
mand, and with a force of 6,625 "^^n of all arms he marched
against Monterey, a fortified town of great natural strength,
garrisoned by 10,000 men under Gen. Ampudia. On 19 Sept. he
encamped before the town, and on the 21st began the attack.
On the third day Gen. Ampudia proposed to surrender, com-
missioners were appointed, and terms of capitulation agreed
upon, by which the enemy were to retire beyond a specified
line, and the United States forces were not to advance beyond
that line during the next eight weeks or until the pleasure of
the respective governments should be known. By some strange
240
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
misconception, the U. S. government disapproved the arrange-
ment, and ordered that the armistice should be terminated, by
which we lost whatever had been gained in the interests of
peace by the generous terms of the capitulation, and got noth-
ing, for, during the short time that remained unexpired, no
provision had been or could be made to enable Gen. Taylor to
advance into the heart of Mexico. Presuming that such must
be the purpose of the government, he assiduously strove to
collect the means for that object. When his preparations
were well-nigh perfected. Gen. Scott was sent to Mexico with
orders that enabled him at discretion to strip Gen. Taylor of
both troops and material of war, to be used on another line of
operations. The projected campaign against the capital of
Mexico was to be from Vera Cruz, up the steppes, and against
the fortifications that had been built to resist any probable in-
vasion, instead of from Saltillo, across the plains to the com-
paratively undefended capital. The difficulty on this route was
the waterless space to be crossed, and against that Gen. Taylor
had ingeniously provided. According to instructions, he went
to Victoria, Mexico, turned over his troops, except a proper
escort to return through a country of hostiles to Monterey,
and then went to Agua Nueva, beyond Saltillo, where he was
joined by Gen. Wool with his command from Chihuahua.
Gen. Santa-Anna saw the invitation offered by the with-
drawal of Gen. Taylor's troops, and with a well-appointed army,
20,000 strong, marched with the assurance of easily recovering
their lost territory. Gen. Taylor fell back to the narrow pass
in front of the hacienda of Buena Vista, and here stood on the
defensive. His force was 5,400 of all arms; but of these only
three batteries of artillery, one squadron of dragoons, one
mounted company of Texans, and one regiment of Mississippi
riflemen had ever been under fire. Some skirmishing occurred
on 22 Feb., and a general assault along the whole line was
made on the morning of the 23d. The battle, with varying
fortune, continued throughout the day ; at evening the enemy
retired, and during the night retreated by the route on which
he had advanced, having suffered much by the casualties of
battle, but still more by desertions. So Santa-Anna returned
with but a remnant of the regular army of Mexico, on which
reliance had been placed to repel invasion, and thenceforward
peace was undisturbed in the valley of the Rio Grande. At
ZA CHA R V TA YL OR.
241
that time Gen. Taylor's capacity was not justly estimated, his
golden silence being often misunderstood. His reply to Sec.
Marcy's strictures in regard to the capitulation of Monterey
exhibited such vigor of thought and grace of expression that
many attributed it to a member of his staff who had a literary
reputation. It was written by Gen. Taylor's own hand, in the
open air, by his camp-fire at Victoria, Mexico.
Many years of military routine had not dulled his desire for
knowledge; he had extensively studied both ancient and mod-
ern history, especially the English. Unpretending, meditative,
observant, and conclusive, he was best understood and most
appreciated by those who had known him long and intimately.
In a campaign he gathered information from all who approached
him, however sinister their motive might be. By comparison
and elimination he gained a knowledge that was often surpris-
ing as to the position and designs of the enemy. In battle he
was vigilantly active, though quiet in bearing ; calm and consid-
erate, though stern and
inflexible; butwhen the
excitement of danger
and strife had subsided,
he had a father's ten-
derness for the wound-
ed, and none more
sincerely mourned for
those who had bravely
fallen in the line of
their duty.
Before his nomina-
tion for the presidency
Gen. Taylor had no political aspirations and looked forward to
the time when he should retire from the army as the beginning
of a farmer's life. He had planned for his retreat a stock-farm
in the hills of Jefferson county, behind his cotton-plantation
on the Mississippi river. In his case, as in some other notable
instances, the fact of not desiring office rather increased than
diminished popular confidence, so that unseeking he was sought.
From early manhood he had served continually in theU. S. army.
His duties had led him to consider the welfare of the country
as one and indivisible, and his opinions were free from party or
sectional intensity. Conscious of his want of knowledge of
242 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the machinery of the civil service, he formed his cabinet to
supplement his own information. They were men well known
to the public by the eminent civil stations they had occupied,
and were only thus known to Gen. Taylor, who as president
had literally no friends to reward and no enemies to punish.
The cabinet was constituted as follows : John M. Clayton, of
Delaware, secretary of state; William M. Meredith, of Penn-
sylvania, secretary of the treasury ; George W. Crawford, of
Georgia, secretary of war ; W. Ballard Preston, of Virginia,
secretary of the navy; Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, attor-
ney-general; Alexander H. H. Stuart, of Virginia, secretary
of the interior. All these had served in the U. S. senate or the
house of representatives, and all were lawyers. Taylor was
the popular hero of a foreign war which had been victoriously
ended, bringing to the United States a large acquisition of ter-
ritory with an alluring harvest of gold, but, all unheeded,
bringing also a large addition to the elements of sectional con-
tention. These were soon developed, and while the upper air
was calm and the sun of prosperity shone brightly on the land,
the attentive listener could hear the rumbling sound of ap-
proaching convulsion. President Taylor, with the keen watch-
fulness and intuitive perception that had characterized him as
a commander in the field, easily saw and appreciated the dan-
ger ; but before it had reached the stage for official action he
died. His party and local relations, being a Whig and a south-
ern planter, gave him the vantage-ground for the exercise of
a restraining influence in the threatened contest. His views,
matured under former responsibilities, were tersely given to
confidential friends, but as none of his cabinet are living
(Stuart was the last survivor), their consultations cannot be
learned unless from preserved manuscript. During the brief
period of his administration the rules that would govern it were
made manifest, and no law for civil-service reform was need-
ful for his guidance. With him the bestowal of office was a
trust held for the people ; it was not to be gained by proof of
party zeal and labor. The fact of holding Democratic opinions
was not a disqualification for the office. Nepotism had with
him no quarter. Gen. Winfield Scott related to the writer an
anecdote that may appropriately close this sketch. He said he
had remarked to his wife that Gen. Taylor was an upright man,
to which she replied: "He is not "; that he insisted his long
ZA CHA RY TAYL OR.
243
acquaintance should enable him to judge better than she. But
she persisted in her denial, and he asked : " Then what man-
ner of man is he ? " when she said : " He
is a downright man."
As president he had purity, patriot-
ism, and discretion to guide him in his
new field of duty, and had he lived
long enough to stamp his character on
his administration', it would have been
found that the great soldier was equally
fitted to be the head of a government.
He was buried in the family cemetery,
five miles from Louisville. The accom-
panying illustration is a representation
of his monument. It is a granite shaft
surmounted by a marble statue, in full
uniform, and was erected by the State
of Kentucky. The height, including
the statue, is thirty-seven feet. The
illustration on page 241 is a picture of
Gen. Taylor's home, and the birthplace
of several of his children. Gen. Taylor's life was written by
Joseph R. Fry and Robert T. Conrad (Philadelphia, 1848), by
John Frost (New York, 1848), and by Gen. O. O. Howard, in
the "Great Commanders" series (1892).
His wife, Margaret, born in Calvert county, Md., in 1790;
died near Pascagoula, La., 18 Aug., 1852, was the daughter of
Walter Smith, a Maryland planter. He was descended from
Richard Smith, who was appointed Attorney-General of Mary-
land by Oliver Cromwell. She received a home education,
married early in life, and, until her husband's election to the
presidency, resided with him chiefly in garrisons or on the
frontier. During the Florida war she established herself at
Tampa bay, and did good service among the sick and wounded
in the hospitals there. Mrs. Taylor was without social ambi-
tion, and when Gen. Taylor became president she reluctantly
accepted her responsibilities, regarding the office as a "plot to
deprive her of her husband's society and to shorten his life by
unnecessary care." She surrendered to her youngest daughter
the superintendence of the household, and took no part in
17
244 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
social duties. Her eldest daughter, Ann, married Dr. Rob-
ert Wood, Assistant-Surge.on-General of the Army. Another
daughter, Sarah Knox, became the wife of Jefferson Davis,
the marriage taking place near Louisville, Ky., the bride's uncle,
Hancock Taylor, acting for her father, who was then with his
command on the frontier.
Another daughter, Elizabeth, born in Jefferson county,
Ky., in 1824, was educated in Philadelphia, married Maj. Wil-
liam W. S. Bliss in her nineteenth year, and, on her father's
inauguration, became mistress of the White House. Mrs. Bliss,
or Miss Betty, as she was popularly called, was a graceful and
accomplished hostess, and, it is said, " did the honors of the
establishment with the artlessness of a rustic belle and the grace
of a duchess." After the death of her distinguished father in
1850, and her husband in 1853, she spent several years in re-
tirement, subsequently marrying Philip Pendleton Dandridge,
of Winchester, Va., whom she survives.
His only son, Richard, soldier, born in Jefferson county,
Ky., 27 Jan., 1826; died in New York city, 12 April, 1879, was
sent to Edinburgh when thirteen years old, where he spent
three years in studying the classics, and then a year in France.
He entered the junior class at Yale in 1843, ^^id was graduated
there in 1845. He was a wide and voracious though a desultory
reader. From college he went to his father's camp on the Rio
Grande, and he was present at Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma. His health then became impaired, and he returned
home. He resided on a cotton-plantation in Jefferson county,
Miss., until 1849, when he removed to a sugar-estate in St.
Charles parish, Louisiana, about twenty miles above New
Orleans, where he was residing when the civil war began. He
was in the state senate from 1856 to i860, was a delegate to
the Charleston Democratic convention in i860, and afterward
to that at Baltimore, and was a member of the Secession con-
vention of Louisiana. As a member of the military committee,
he aided the governor in organizing troops, and in June, 1861,
went to Virginia as colonel of the 9th Louisiana volunteers.
The day he reached Richmond he left for Manassas, arriving
there at dusk on the day of the battle. In the autumn he was
made a brigadier-general, and in the spring of 1862 he led his
ZA CHAR V TA YLOR.
245
brigade in the valley campaign under " Stonewall " Jackson.
He distinguished himself at Front Royal, Middletown, Win-
chester, Strasburg, Cross Keys, and Port Republic, and Jackson
recommended him for promotion. Taylor was also with Jack-
son in the seven days' battles before Richmond. He was pro-
moted to major-general, and assigned to the command of Lou-
isiana. The fatigues and exposures of his campaigns there
brought on a partial and temporary paralysis of the lower
limbs; but in August he assumed command. The only com-
munication across the Mississippi retained by the Confederates
was between Vicksburg and Port Hudson; but Taylor showed
great ability in raising, organizing, supplying, and handling an
army, and he gradually won back the state west of the Missis-
sippi from the National forces. He had reclaimed the whole
of this when Vicksburg fell, 4 July, 1863, and was then com-
pelled to fall back west of Berwick's bay. Gen. Taylor's prin-
cipal achievement during the war was his defeat of Gen. Na-
thaniel P. Banks at Sabine Cross-Roads, near Mansfield, De
Soto parish. La., 8 April, 1864. With 8,000 men he attacked the
advance of the northern army and routed it, capturing twenty-
two guns and a large number of prisoners. He followed
Banks, who fell back to Pleasant Hill, and on the next day
again attacked him, when Taylor was defeated, losing the
fruits of the first day's victory. These two days' fighting have
been frequently compared to that of Shiloh — a surprise and
defeat on the first day, followed by a substantial victory of
the National forces on the second. In the summer of 1864
Taylor was promoted to be a lieutenant-general, and ordered
to the command of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi,
etc. Here he was able merely to protract the contest, while
the great armies decided it. After Lee and Johnston capitu-
lated there was nothing for him, and he surrendered to Gen.
Edward R. S. Canby, at Citronelle, 8 May, 1865. The war left
Taylor ruined in fortune, and he soon went abroad. Return-
ing home, he took part in politics as an adviser, and his counsel
was held in esteem by Samuel J. Tilden in his presidential can-
vass. During this period he wrote his memoir of the war,
entitled "Destruction and Reconstruction" (New York, 1879).
MILLARD FILLMORE.
Millard Fillmore, thirteenth president of the United
States, born in the township of Locke (now Summerhill), Ca-
yuga county, N. Y., 7 Jan., 1800; died in Buffalo, N. Y., 7
March, 1874. The name of Fillmore is of English origin, and at
different periods has been variously written. Including the son
of the ex-president, the family can be traced through six gener-
ations, and, as has been said of that of Washington, its history
gives proof "of the lineal and enduring worth of race." The
first of the family to appear in the New World was a certain
John Fillmore, who, in a conveyance of two acres of land dated
24 Nov., 1704, is described as a "mariner of Ipswich," Mass.
His eldest son, of the same name, born two years before the
purchase of the real estate in Beverly, also became a sea-faring
man, and while on a voyage in the sloop " Dolphin," of Cape
Ann, was captured with all on board by the pirate Capt. John
Phillips. For nearly nine months Fillmore and his three com-
panions in captivity were compelled to serve on the pirate ship
and to submit, during that long period, to many hardships and
much cruel treatment. After watching and waiting for an
opportunity to obtain their freedom, their hour at length came.
While Fillmore sent an axe crashing through the skull of Bur-
rail, the boatswain, the captain and other officers were de-
spatched by his companions, and the ship was won. They
sailed her into Boston harbor, and the same court which con-
demned the brigands of the sea presented John Fillmore with
the captain's silver-hilted sword and other articles, which are
preserved to this day by his descendants. The sword was in-
herited by his son, .Nathaniel, and was made good use of in
both the French and Revolutionary wars. Lieut. Fillmore's
second son, who also bore the name Nathaniel, and who was
the father of the president, went with his young wife, Phebe
i"hyH3HanJr,WfwTjr
^C
D-Applefoi. *
MILLARD FILLMORE.
247
Millard, to what at the close of the past century was the " far
west," where he and a younger brother built a log cabin in the
wilderness, and there his second son, Millard, was born. Na-
thaniel Fillmore was one of '* God Almighty's gentlemen,"
whose creed was contained in two words, '* do right," and who
lived to see his son elevated to the highest position in his
native land. Of the president's mother, who died in the sum-
mer of 1831, little is known beyond the fact that she was a sen-
sible and, in her later years, a sickly woman ; with a sunny
nature that enabled her to endure uncomplainingly the many
hardships of a frontier life, and that her closing days were
gladdened by the frequent visits of her son, who was then in
public life, with every prospect of a successful professional
and political career.
From a brief manuscript autobiography prepared by " worthy
Mr. Fillmore," as Washington Irving described him, we learn
that, owing to a defective title, his father lost his property on
what was called the "military tract," and removed to another
part of the same county, now known as Niles, where he took a
perpetual lease of 130 acres, wholly unimproved and covered
with heavy timber. It was here that the future president first
knew anything of life. Working for nine months on the farm,
and attending such primitive schools as then existed in that
neighborhood for the other three months of the year, he had
an opportunity of forgetting during the summer what he ac-
quired in the winter, for in those days there were no news-
papers and magazines to be found in pioneers' cabins, and his
father's library consisted of but two books — the Bible and a
collection of hymns. He never saw a copy of " Shakespeare "
or " Robinson Crusoe," a history of the United States, or even
a map of his own country, till he was nineteen years of age I
Nathaniel Fillmore's misfortunes in losing his land through a
defective title, and again in taking another tract of exceedingly
poor soil, gave him a distaste for farming, and made him de-
sirous that his sons should follow other occupations. As his
means did not justify him or them in aspiring to any profes-
sion, he wished them to learn trades, and accordingly Millard,
then a sturdy youth of fourteen, was apprenticed for a few
months on trial to the business of carding wool and dressing
cloth. During his apprenticeship he was, as the youngest,
treated with great injustice, and on one occasion his employer^
248 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
for some expression of righteous resentment, threatened to
chastise him, when the young woodsman, burning with indig-
nation, raised the axe with which he was at work, and told him
the attempt would cost him his life. Most fortunate for both,
the attempt was not made, and at the close of his term he
shouldered his knapsack, containing a few clothes and a supply
of bread and dried venison, and set out on foot and alone for
his father's house, a distance of something more than a hun-
dred miles through the primeval forests. Mr. Fillmore in his
autobiography remarks: "I think that this injustice — which
was no more than other apprentices have suffered and will suf-
fer — had a marked effect on my character. It made me feel
for the weak and unprotected, and to hate the insolent tyrant
in every station of life."
In 1815 the youth again began the business of carding and
cloth-dressing, which was carried on from June to December
of each year. The first book that he purchased or owned
was a small English dictionary, which he diligently studied
while attending the carding machine. In 1819 he conceived
the design of becoming a lawyer. Fillmore, who had yet two
years of his apprenticeship to serve, agreed with his employer
to relinquish his wages for the last year's services, and promised
to pay thirty dollars for his time. Making an arrangement
with a retired country lawyer, by which he was to receive his
board in payment for his services in the office, he began the
study of law, a part of the time teaching school, and so strug-
gling on, overcoming almost insurmountable difficulties, till at
length, in the spring of 1823, he was, at the intercession of
several leading members of the Buffalo bar, whose confidence
he had won, admitted as an attorney by the court of common
pleas of Erie county, although he had not completed the
course of study usually required. The writer has recently seen
the dilapidated one-story building in Buffalo where Mr. Fill-
more closed his career as a school-master, and has also con-
versed with one of his pupils of sixty-five years ago. The wis-
dom of his youth and early manhood gave presage of all that
was witnessed and admired in the maturity of his character.
Nature laid on him, in the kindly phrase of Wordsworth, " the
strong hand of her purity," and even then he was remarked for
that sweet courtesy of manner which accompanied him through
life. Millard Fillmore began practice at Aurora, where his
MILLARD FILLMORE.
249
father then resided, and fortunately won his first case and a fee
offour dollars. In 1827 he was admitted as an attorney, and
two years later as counsellor of the supreme court of the state.
In 1830 he removed to Buffalo, and after a brief period formed
a partnership with Nathan K. Hall, to which Solomon G. Haven
was soon afterward admitted.
By hard study and the closest application, combined with
honesty and fidelity, Mr. Fillmore soon became a sound and
successful lawyer, attaining a highly honorable position in the
profession. The law-firm of Fillmore, Hall & Haven, which
continued till 1847, was perhaps the most prominent in western
New York, and was usually engaged in every important suit
occurring in that portion of the state. In 1853, while still in
Washington, Mr. Fillmore made an arrangement with Henry E.
Davies to renew, on retiring from the presidency, the practice
of his profession in New York in partnership with that gentle-
man, who, after occupying a judge's seat in the court of appeals,
returned to the bar. Family afflictions, however, combined
with other causes, induced the ex-president to abandon his
purpose. There were doubtless at that time men of more
genius and greater eloquence at the bar of the great city ; but
we can not doubt that Mr. Fillmore's solid legal learning, and
the weight of his personal character, would have won for him
the highest professional honors in the new field of action.
Mr. Fillmore's political career began and ended with the
birth and extinction of the great Whig party. In 1828 he was
elected by Erie county to the state legislature of New York,
serving for three terms, and retiring with a reputation for
ability, integrity, and a conscientious performance of his public
duties. He distinguished himself by his advocacy of the act to
abolish imprisonment for debt, which was passed in 1831. The
bill was drafted by Fillmore, excepting the portion relative to
proceedings in courts of record, which were drawn by John C.
Spencer. In 1832 he was elected to congress, and, after serv-
ing for one term, retired until 1836, when he was re-elected, and
again returned in 1838 and 1840, declining a renomination in
1842. In the 27th congress Mr. Fillmore, as chairman of the
committee on ways and means — a committee performing at that
period not only the duties now devolving upon it, but those
also which belong to the committee on appropriations — had
herculean labors to perform. Day after day, for weeks and
250
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
months, Fillmore had to encounter many of the ablest debaters
of the house, but on all occasions he proved himself equal to
the emergency. It should not be forgotten that, in the opinion
of John Quincy Adams, there were more men of talent and a
larger aggregate of ability in that congress than he had ever
known. Although Mr, Fillmore did not claim to have discov-
ered any original system of revenue, still the tariff of 1842 was
a new creation, and he is most justly entitled to the distinction
of being its author. It operated successfully, giving immedi-
ate life to our languishing industries and national credit. At
the same time Mr. Fillmore, with great labor, prepared a digest
of the laws authorizing all appropriations reported by him to
the house as chairman of the committee on ways and means,
so that on the instant he could produce the legal authority for
every expenditure which he recommended. Sensible that this
was a great safeguard against improper expenditures, he pro-
cured the passage of a resolution requiring the departments,
when they submitted estimates of expenses, to accompany them
with a reference to the laws authorizing them in each and
every instance. This has ever since been the practice of the
United States government.
Mr. Fillmore retired from congress in 1843, and was a can-
didate for the office of vice-president, supported by his own
and several of the western states, in the Whig convention that
met at Baltimore in May, 1844. In the following September
he was nominated by acclamation for governor, but was de-
feated by Silas Wright, his illustrious contemporary, Henry
Clay, being vanquished at the same time in the presidential
contest by James K. Polk. In 1847 Fillmore was elected comp-
troller of the state of New York, an office which then included
many duties now distributed among other departments. In
his report of i Jan., 1849, he suggested that a national bank,
with the stocks of the United States as the sole basis upon
which to issue its currency, might be established and carried
on, so as to prove a great convenience to the government, with
perfect safety to the people. This idea involves the essential
principle of our present system of national banks.
In June, 1848, Millard Fillmore was nominated by the Whig
national convention for vice-president, with Gen. Taylor, who
had recently won military renown in Mexico, as president, and
was in the following November elected, making, with the late
MILLARD FILLMORE.
251
occupant of the office, seven vice-presidents of the United
States from New York, a greater number than has been yet
furnished by any other state. In February, 1849, Fillmore re-
signed the comptrollership, and on 5 March he v^^as inaugurat-
ed as vice-president. In 1826 Calhoun, of South Carolina, then
vice-president, established the rule that that officer had no au-
thority to call senators to order. During the heated contro-
versies in the sessions of i849-'5o, occasioned by the applica-
tion of California for admission into the Union, the vexed ques-
tion of slavery in the new territories, and that of the rendition
of fugitive slaves, in which the most acrimonious language
was used, Mr. Fillmore, in a forcible speech to the senate, an-
nounced his determination to maintain order, and that, should
occasion require, he should resume the usage of his predeces-
sors upon that point. This announcement met with unanimous
approval of the senate, which directed the vice-president's re-
marks to be entered in full on its journal. He presided during
the exciting controversy on Clay's " omnibus bill " with his
usual impartiality, and so perfectly even did he hold the scales
that no one knew which policy he approved excepting the
president, to whom he privately stated that, should he be re-
quired to deposit a casting vote, it would be in favor of Henry
Clay's bill. More than seven months of the session had been
exhausted in angry controversy, when, on 9 July, 1850, the
country was startled by the news of President Taylor's death.
He passed away in the second year of his presidency, suddenly
and most unexpectedly, of a violent fever, which was brought
on by long exposure to the excessive heat of a fourth of July
sun, while he was attending the public ceremonies of the day.
It was a critical moment in the history of our country
when Millard Fillmore was on Wednesday, 10 July, 1850, made
president of the United States. With great propriety he re-
duced the ceremony of his inauguration to an official act to be
marked by solemnity without joy; and so, with an absence of
the usual heralding of trumpet and shawm, he was unostenta-
tiously sworn into his great office in the hall of representatives,
in the presence of both houses. The chief justice of the- cir-
cuit court of the District of Columbia — the venerable William
Cranch, appointed fifty years before by President John Adams
— administered the oath, which being done, the new president
bowed and retired, and the ceremony was at an end. Mr. Fill-
252
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
more was then in the prime of life, possessing that which to the
heathen philosopher seemed the greatest of all blessings — a
sound mind in a sound body. The accompanying vignette
portrait was taken at this time, while the large steel engraving
is from a picture made some twenty
years later. Of Fillmore's keen ap-
preciation of the responsibility devolv-
ing on him we have the evidence of
letters written at that time, in which
he says he should despair but for his
humble reliance on God to help him
in the honest, fearless, and faithful
discharge of his great duties. Presi-
dent Taylor's cabinet immediately re-
signed, and a new and exceedingly
^^y^ic^CaciXj yC^(-i-yuru> able one was selected by Mr. Fillmore,
with Daniel Webster as secretary of
state; Thomas Corwin, secretary of the treasury; William A.
Graham, secretary of the navy ; Charles M. Conrad, secretary
of war ; Alexander H. H. Stuart, secretary of the interior ;
John J. Crittenden, attorney-general ; and Nathan K. Hall,
postmaster-general.* Of these, Mr. Webster died, and Messrs.
Graham and Hall retired in 1852, and were respectively re-
placed by Edward Everett, John P. Kennedy, and Samuel D.
Hubbard. Stuart, of Virginia, who died 13 Feb., 1891, was the
last survivor of the illustrious men who aided Mr. Fillmore in
guiding the ship of state during the most appalling political
tempest, save one, which ever visited this fair land.
It is certainly not the writer's wish to reawaken party feel-
ings or party prejudice or to recall those great questions of
pith and moment which so seriously disturbed congress and
the country in the first days of Fillmore's administration, but
* Buffalo enjoys the distinction of being the only city in the United States
that has given the country two presidents. It is a singular coihcidence that
both these chief magistrates should appoint their former law partners to the
office of postmaster-general. Mr. Fillmore selected his partner, Judge Nathan
Kelsey Hall, for that office. Judge Hall studied law in the office of Mr. Fill-
more at Aurora. He was admitted to the bar in 1832, and became a copartner
with his preceptor, who in the meantime had removed to Buffalo. For post-
master-general in his second administration, Mr. Cleveland selected Wilson
Shannon Bissell, for many years his law partner in Buffalo.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
253
yet, even in so cursory a glance as we are now taking of his
career, some comment would seem to be called for in respect
to those public acts connected with slavery which appear to
have most unreasonably and unjustly lost him the support of
a large proportion of his party in the northern states. What-
ever the wisdom of Mr. Fillmore's course may have been, it is
impossible to doubt his patriotism or his honest belief that he
was acting in accordance with his oath to obey the constitution
of his country. The president's dream was peace — to preserve
without hatred and without war tranquillity throughout the
length and breadth of our broad land, and if in indulging this
delusive dream he erred, it was surely an error that leaned to
virtue's side. There is a legend that " he serves his party best
who serves his country best." In Mr. Fillmore's action it is
confidently believed that he thought not of party or of per-
sonal interests, but only of his bounden duty to his country
and her sacred constitution.
One of the president's earliest official acts was to send a
military force to New Mexico to protect that territory from
invasion by Texas on account of its disputed boundary. Then
followed the passage by a large majority of the celebrated
compromise measures, mcluding the fugitive-slave law. The
president referred to the attorney-general the question of its
constitutionality, and that officer in a written opinion decided
that it was constitutional. Fillmore and the strong cabinet
that he had called around him concurred unanimously in this
opinion, and the act was signed, together with the other com-
promise measures. The fugitive-slave law was exceedingly
obnoxious to a large portion of the Whig party of the north,
as well as to the anti-slavery men, and its execution was re-
sisted. Slaves in several .instances were rescued from the
custody of the United States marshals, and a few citizens of
Christiana, in Pennsylvania, were killed. Although it was
admitted that Fillmore's administration as a whole was able,
useful, and patriotic, although his purity as a public man was
above suspicion, and no other act of his administration could
be called unpopular, still, by the signing and attempted en-
forcement of the fugitive-slave law and some of its unfortunate
provisions, of which even Mr. Webster did not approve, the
president, as has been already stated, lost the friendship and
support of a large portion of his party in the north.
254
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Mr. Fillmore's administration being in a political minority
in both houses of congress, many wise and admirable measures
recommended by him failed of adoption ; nevertheless we are
indebted to him for cheap postage; for the extension of the
national capitol, the corner-stone of which he laid 4 July, 185 1 ;
for the Perry treaty, opening the ports of Japan, and for various
valuable exploring expeditions. When South Carolina in one
of her indignant utterances took Mr. Fillmore to task for send-
ing a fleet to Charleston harbor, and he was ofificially ques-
tioned as to his object and authority, the answer came promptly
and to the purpose, *' By authority of the constitution of the
United States, which has made the president commander-in-
chief of the army and navy, and who recognizes no responsi-
bility for his official action to the governor of South Carolina."
With stern measures he repressed filibustering, and with equal
firmness exacted from other countries respect for our flag. Mr.
Fillmore carried out strictly the doctrine of non-intervention
in the affairs of foreign nations, and frankly stated his policy
to the highly-gifted Kossuth, who won all hearts by his sur-
passing eloquence. At the same time, however, it was clearly
shown how little the administration sympathized with Austria
by the celebrated letter addressed to her ambassador, Hulse-
mann, by Daniel Webster, who died soon after. His successor
as secretary of state was Edward Everett, whose brief term of
office was distinguished by his letter declining the proposition
for a treaty by which England, France, and the United States
were to disclaim then and for the future all intention to obtain
possession of Cuba. In his last message, however, the presi-
dent expressed an opinion against the incorporation of the
island with this Union.
Nothing in Mr. Fillmore's presidential career was, during
the closing years of his life, regarded by himself with greater
satisfaction than the suppressed portion of his last message of
6 Dec, 1852. It was suppressed by the advice of the cabinet,
all of whom concurred in the belief that, if sent in, it would
precipitate an armed collision, and he readily acquiesced in
their views. It related to the great political problem of the
period — the balance of power between the free and the slave
states. He fully and clearly appreciated the magnitude of the
then approaching crisis, and in the document now under consid-
eration proposed a judicious scheme of rescuing the country
MILLARD FILLMORE.
255
from the horrors of a civil war, which soon after desolated so
large a portion of the land. His perfectly practicable plan was
one of African colonization, somewhat similar to one seriously
entertained by his successor, Mr. Lincoln. Had President Fill-
more's scheme been adopted, there are some who think that it
would have been successful, and that our country might have
been blessed with peace and prosperity, in lieu of the late war
with its loss of half a million of precious lives and a debt of
more than double the amount of the estimated cost of his plan
of colonization. Mr. Fillmore retired from the presidency, 4
March, 1853, leaving the country at peace with other lands and
within her own borders, and in the enjoyment of a high degree
of prosperity in all the various departments of industry. In
his cabinet there had never been a dissenting voice in regard
to any important measure of his administration, and, upon his
retiring from office, a letter was addressed to him by all its
members, expressing their united appreciation of his ability,
his integrity, and his single-hearted and sincere devotion to
the public service.
The last surviving member of Fillmore's cabinet, who also
sat in the 27th congress with him, m a communication, with
which he favored the writer, says : " Mr. Fillmore was a man of
decided opinions, buu he was always open to conviction. His
aim was truth, and whenever he was convinced by reasoning
that his first impressions were wrong, he had the moral courage
to surrender them. But, when he had carefully examined a
question and had satisfied himself that he was right, no power
on earth could induce him to swerve from what he believed to
be the line of duty. . . . There were many things about Mr.
Fillmore, aside from his public character, which often filled me
with surprise. While he enjoyed none of the advantages of early
association with cultivated society, he possessed a grace and
polish of manner which fitted him for the most refined circles
of the metropolis. You saw, too, at a glance, that there was
nothing in it which was assumed, but that it was the natural out-
ward expression of inward refinement and dignity of character.
I have witnessed, on several occasions, the display by him
of attributes apparently of the most opposite character. When
assailed in congress he exhibited a manly self-reliance and a
lofty courage which commanded the admiration of every specta-
tor, and yet no one ever manifested deeper sensibility, or more
256 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
tender sympathy, with a friend in affliction. . . . He seemed to
have the peculiar faculty of adapting himself to every position
in which he was called to serve his country. When he was chair-
man of the committee of ways and means, members of congress
expressed their sense of his fitness by declaring that he was born
to fill it. When he was elected vice-president, it was predicted
that he would fail as the presiding officer of the senate, yet he
acquitted himself in this new and untried position in such a
manner as to command the applause of senators. And when
advanced to the highest office of our country, he so fulfilled
his duties as to draw forth the commendation of the ablest men
of the opposite party. . . . For the last two years of my official
association with Mr. Fillmore," adds Mr. Stuart, " our relations,
both personal and political, were of an intimate and confiden-
tial character. He knew that I was his steadfast friend, and
he reciprocated the feeling. He talked with me freely and
without reserve about men and measures, and I take pleasure
in saying that in all my intercourse with him I never knew him
to utter a sentiment or do an act which, in my judgment, would
have been unworthy of Washington."
His gifted contemporary, Henry Clay, thought highly of
Fillmore's moderation and wisdom, said his administration was
an able and honorable one, and on his death-bed recommended
his nomination for the presidency (by the Baltimore conven-
tion of 1852), as being a statesman of large civil experience,
and one in whose career there was nothing inconsistent with
the highest purity and patriotism. After leaving Washington
for the last time, Webster said to a friend that Fillmore's admin-
istration — leaving out of the question his own share of its work
— was no doubt the ablest the country had possessed for many
years. The same great statesman, in his speech at the laying of
the corner-stone of the capitol extension, said: "President Fill-
more, it is your singularly good fortune to perform an act such
as that which the earliest of your predecessors performed fifty-
eight years ago. You stand where he stood ; you lay your hand
on the corner-stone he laid. Changed, changed is everything
around. The same sun, indeed, shone upon his head which
shines upon yours. The same broad river rolled at his feet,
and now bathes his last resting-place, which now rolls at yours.
But the site of this city was then mainly an open field. Streets
and avenues have since been laid out and completed, squares
MILLARD FILLMORE.
257
and public grounds inclosed and ornamented, until the city,
which bears his name, although comparatively inconsiderable
in numbers and wealth, has become quite fit to be the seat of
government of a great and united people. Sir, may the con-
sequences of the duty which you perform so auspiciously
to-day equal those which flowed from his act. Nor this only:
may the principles of your administration and the wisdom of
your political conduct be such that the world of the present day
and all history hereafter may be at no loss to perceive what
example you made your study."
It should be stated as a part of Mr. Fillmore's public record
that he was a candidate for nomination as president at the
Whig convention of 1852 ; but although his policy, the fugitive-
slave law included, was approved by a vote of 227 against 60,
he could not command 20 votes from the free states. Four
years later, while at Rome, he received the news of his nomi-
nation for the presidency by the American party. He accepted
the nomination, but before the close of the campaign it became
evident that the real struggle was between the Republicans
and Democrats. Many, with whom Fillmore was the first
choice for president, cast their votes for Gen. Fremont or James
Buchanan, believing that there was no hope of his election, and,
although he received the support of large numbers in all the
states, Maryland alone gave him her electoral vote. In the
summer of 1864 Col. Ogle Tayloe, of Washington, wrote to Mr.
Fillmore on the subject of the presidential nomination, and
his response was : " I can assure you in all sincerity that I
have no desire ever to occupy that exalted station again, and
more especially at a time like this." Apropos of letters, the
writer had the privilege of perusing a collection of confidential
correspondence written by President Fillmore during a score
of years while in public life ; and, after a most careful examina-
tion, failed to find a single passage that would not stand the
light of day, not a word of ignoble office-seeking, no paltry
tricks to gain notoriety, no base designs of fattening upon
public plunder.
Having thus glanced at the professional and political career
of Mr. Fillmore, it now only remains to allude very briefly to
his private life from 1853 onward. "The circles of our felici-
ties make short arches." Who shall question the wise axiom
of Sir Thomas Browne, the brave old knight of Norwich, a
258
LI FES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
favorite author with the president ? Three weeks after the
close of his administration he sustained a severe affliction in the
loss of his wife, Abigail Powers, the daughter of a clergyman,
whom he married 5 Feb., 1826, and who was emphatically her
husband's " right-hand." She had long been a sufferer from
ill health and was looking forward most eagerly to a return to
her old home, when she was taken away to those temples not
made with hands. Irving says that she received her death-
warrant while standing by his side on the cold marble terrace
of the capitol, listening to the inaugural address of Mr. Fill-
more's successor. To this Christian lady the White House is
indebted for the books which to-day
make the library one of the most at-
tractive rooms in the presidential man-
sion. In the following year their only
daughter, who had grown to woman-
hood, also passed away, leaving a mem-
ory precious to all who had the privi-
lege of her acquaintance. His home,
now lonely from the loss of those who
spread around it sunshine and happi-
ness, induced Mr. Fillmore to carry
out a long-cherished project of visit-
ing the Old World, and in May, 1855,
he sailed in the steamer "Atlantic." During his visit to Eng-
land he received numerous and gratifying attentions from the
queen and her cabinet ministers, and was proffered the degree
of D. C. L. by the University of Oxford, through its chancellor,
the Earl of Derby, the gifted orator who was known as the
" Rupert of debate." This honor he however declined, as did
Charles Francis Adams a few years later while American min-
ister to the court of St. James. They were alike indisposed to
submit to the scenes usual on such occasions.
We can not dwell as we could wish on Mr. Fillmore's pa-
triotic attitude during the early years of the late war; of his
warm interest in all the charitable Christian work of the city in
which he passed nearly half a century ; of his establishing the
Buffalo historical society ; how, as the first citizen of Buffalo,
he was called upon to welcome distinguished visitors, including
Mr. Lincoln, when on his way to Washington in 1861, and
frequently to preside over conventions and other public gather-
MILLARD FILLMORE.
259
ings, for the control of which he was so admirably qualified by
his thorough parliamentary abilities, his widely extended knowl-
edge, his broad views, and a personal urbanity which nothing
could disturb ; of the method and exactness, the precision and
punctuality, with which he conducted his private affairs, as in
earlier years he had performed his professional and public
duties; of another visit to Europe in 1866, accompanied by his
second wife, Caroline C. Mcintosh, who survived him for seven
years ; of his manner of life in dignified retirement, surrounded
by all the comfort and luxuries of a beautiful and well-appoint-
ed mansion, including a large library, and with an attached
wife to share his happy home (see accompanying illustration).
In a letter written to his friend Mr. Corcoran, of Washington,
but a few weeks before the inevitable hour came, he remarks:
" I am happy to say that my health is perfect. I eat, drink, and
sleep as well as ever, and take a deep but silent interest in
public affairs, and if Mrs. Fillmore's health can be restored, I
should feel that I was in the enjoyment of an earthly paradise."
The ex-president accepted an invitation to meet the surviv-
ing members of his cabinet and a few other valued friends at
the residence of Mr. Corcoran. The month of January, 1874,
was designated as the date of the meeting, but was afterward
changed to April, by Mr. Fillmore's request. Before that time
he was no longer among the living. After a short illness, at
ten minutes past eleven o'clock, on Sunday evening, 8 March,
Millard Fillmore
*' Gave his honors to the world again,
His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace."
He was gathered to his fathers at the ripe age of seventy-
four years, and passed away without the knowledge that his
former partner, Judge Hall, with whom he had been so long
and so closely united in the bonds of friendship, as well as in
professional and political life, had also, a few days previous,
rested from his labors, and was then lying in the Forest Lawn
cemetery, where the ex-president now sleeps by his side.
A phenomenal instance of literary vandalism occured in the
city of Buffalo, early in 1891, when all the valuable letters and
documents relating to the administration of Millard Fillmore
were destroyed by the executor of the ex-president's only son,
Millard Powers Fillmore, whose will contained a mandate to
18
26o
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
m/^'
that effect. Why he should have wished in this way to destroy
an important part of the history of his country, as well as of his
father's honorable career, or why any intelligent lawyer should
have consigned to the flames thousands of papers by Webster
and other illustrious men without at
least causing copies of the most valu-
able of them to be made, is entire-
ly beyond the comprehension of or-
dinary mortals. To the writer, in
pointing out his carefully preserved
papers, contained in the library of
his beautiful home in Buffalo, repre-
sented in the accompanying vignette,
the ex-president said : " In those cases
can be found every important letter
and document which I received dur-
ing my administration, and which will
enable the future historian or biog-
rapher to prepare an authentic ac-
~~ ' ^ count of that period of our country's
history." The only opportunity probably that ever would pre-
sent itself for properly defending and explaining the signing of
the fugitive-slave bill; the existence of an unquestioned and
strong public sentiment in favor of the president's doing so;
the recommendations that the act be done, made by Mr. Fill-
more's most eminent advisers — the proof of all these thmgs
unquestionably would have been presented by the letters and
documents referred to ; and now every one of these is gone.
Among the chief magistrates of our country there appear
more brilliant names than Fillmore's, yet none who more wisely
led on the nation to progress and prosperity, making her name
great and preserving peace in most perilous times, without in-
voking the power of the sword, or one who could more truth-
fully say, " These hands are clean." Without being a genius
like Webster or Hamilton, he was a safe and sagacious states-
man. He possessed a mind so nicely adjusted and well bal-
anced that he was fitted for the fulfilment of any duty which
he was called to perform. He was always ready to give up
everything but conviction when once convinced. A single
public act honestly and unflinchingly performed cost him his
popularity. Posterity, looking from a distance, will perhaps be
MILLARD FILLMORE. 26 1
more just. All his acts, whether daily and common or deliberate
and well-considered, were marked with modesty, justice, and
sincerity. What Speaker Onslow said of Sir Robert Walpole
was equally true of President Fillmore : " He was the best man
from, the goodness of his heart, to live with and under, of any
great man I ever knew." His was an eminently kindly nature,
and the last time the writer saw him, in 1873, he was relieving,
with a liberal hand, the necessities of an old and unfortunate
friend. He was a sound, practical Christian " without knowing
it," as Pope remarked of a contemporary. His temper was
perfect, and it is doubtful if he left an enemy on earth. Fred-
erick the Great announced with energy that " Peter the First
of Russia, to govern his nation, worked upon it like aquafortis
upon iron." Fillmore, to win his way, like Lincoln and Gar-
field, from almost hopeless poverty to one of the most eminent
positions of the world, showed equal determination, oftentimes
working, for weeks and months together, till long past mid-
night, which happily his powers of physical endurance permit-
ted him to do with impunity, and affording a fine illustration of
the proud boast of our country, that its loftiest honors are the
legitimate objects of ambition to the humblest in the land, as
well as to those favored by the gifts of fortune and high birth.
See Chamberlain's " Biography of Millard Fillmore " (Buffalo,
1856) ; Benton's " Abridgment of the Debates of Congress from
1789 to 1856," vol. xvi. (New York, 1861) ; Thompson's "The
Presidents and their Administrations" (Indianapolis, 1873);
Address before the Buffalo Historical Society, by James Grant
Wilson (Buffalo, 1878) ; Von Hoist's " Constitutional and Po-
litical History of the United States," vol. iv. (Chicago. 1885).
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
Franklin Pierce, fourteenth president of the United
States, born in Hillsborough, N. H., 23 Nov., 1804; died in
Concord, N. H., 8 Oct., 1869. His father, Benjamin Pierce
(born in Chelmsford, Mass., 25 Dec, 1757 ; died in Hills-
borough, N. H., I April, 1839), on the day of the battle of Lex-
ington enlisted in the patriot army and served until its disband-
ment in 1784, attaining the rank of captain and brevet major.
He had intense political convictions, was a Republican of the
school of Jefferson, an ardent admirer of Jackson, and the
leader of his party in New Hampshire, of which he was elected
governor in 1827 and 1829. He was a farmer, and trained his
children in his own simple and laborious habits. Discerning
signs of future distinction in his son Franklin, he gave him an
academical education in well-known institutions at Hancock,
Francestown, and Exeter, and in 1820 sent him to Bowdoin
college, Brunswick, Me. His college-mates there were John P.
Hale, his future political rival. Prof. Calvin E. Stowe, Sergeant
S. Prentiss, the distinguished orator, Henry W. Longfellow, and
Nathaniel Hawthorne, his future biographer and life-long per-
sonal friend. His ambition was then of a martial cast, and as
an officer in a company of college students he enthusiastically
devoted himself to the study of military tactics. This is one
reason why he found himself at the foot of his class at the end
of two years in college. Stung by a sense of disgrace, he de-
voted the two remaining years to hard study, and when he was
graduated in 1824 he was third in his class. While in college,
like many other eminent Americans, he taught in winter. After
taking his degree he began the study of law at Portsmouth, in
the office of Levi Woodbury, where he remained about a year.
He afterward spent two years in the law-school at Northamp-
ton, Mass., and in the office of Judge Edmund Parker at Am-
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
263
herst, N. H. In 1827 he was admitted to the bar and began
practice in his native town. Soon afterward he argued his first
jury cause in the court-house at Amherst. This effort (as is
often the case with eminent orators) was a failure. But he
was not despondent. He replied to the sympathetic expres-
sions of a friend : " I will try nine hundred and ninety-nme
cases, if clients continue to trust me, and if I fail just as I
have to-day, I will try the thousandth. I shall live to argue
cases in this court-house in a manner that will mortify neither
myself nor my friends."
With his popular qualities it was inevitable that he should
take a prominent part in the sharp political contests of his na-
tive state. He espoused the cause of Gen. Jackson with ardor,
and in 1829 was elected to represent his native town in the
legislature, where, by three subsequent elections, he served four
years, the last two as speaker, for which office he received
three fourths of all the votes of the house. In 1833 he was
elected to represent his native district in the lower house of
congress, where he remained four years. He served on the
judiciary and other important committees, but did not partici-
pate largely in the debates. That could not be expected of so
young a man in a body containing so many veteran politicians
and statesmen who had already acquired a national reputa-
tion. But in February, 1834, he made a vigorous and sensible
speech against the Revolutionary claims bill, condemning it as
opening the door to fraud. In December, 1835, he spoke and
voted against receiving petitions for the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia. In June, 1836, he spoke against a
bill making appropriations for the military academy at West
Point. He contended that that institution was aristocratic in
its tendencies, that a professional soldiery and standing armies
are always dangerous to the liberties of the people, and that
in war the republic must rely upon her citizen militia. His
experience in the Mexican war afterward convinced him that
such an institution is necessary, and he frankly acknowledged
his error. It is hardly necessary to add that while in congress
Mr. Pierce sustained President Jackson in opposing the so-
called internal improvement policy. In 1837 he was elected to
the U. S. senate. He was the youngest member of that body,
and had barely arrived at the legal age for that office when he
took his seat. In January, 1840, he spoke upon the Indian war
264 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in Florida, defending the secretary of war from the attacks of
his political opponents. In December of the same year he ad-
vocated and carried through the senate a bill granting a pen-
sion to an aged woman whose husband, Isaac Davis, had been
among the first to fall at Concord bridge on 19 April, 1775-
In July, 1841, he spoke against the fiscal bank bill, and in favor
of an amendment prohibiting members of congress from bor-
rowing money of the bank. At the same session he made a
strong speech against the removal of government officials for
their political opinions, in violation of the pledges to the con-
trary which the Whig leaders had given to the country in the
canvass of 1840. During the five years that he remained in the
senate it numbered among its members Benton, Buchanan,
Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Woodbury, and Silas Wright, an array
of veteran statesmen and intellectual giants who had long been
party leaders, and who occupied the whole field of debate.
Among such men the young, modest, and comparatively ob-
scure member from New Hampshire could not, with what his
biographer calls " his exquisite sense of propriety," force him-
self into a conspicuous position. There is abundant proof,
however, that he won the friendship of his eminent associates.
In 1842 he resigned his seat in the senate, with the intention
of permanently withdrawing from public life. He again re'
turned to the practice of law, settling in Concord, N. H.,
whither he had removed his family in 1838, and where he ever
afterward resided. In 1845 he was tendered by the governor
of New Hampshire, but declined, an appointment to the U. S.
senate to fill the vacancy occasioned by the appointment of
Levi Woodbury to the U. S. supreme bench. He also declined
the nomination for governor tendered to him by the Democratic
state convention. He declined, too, an appointment to the
office of U. S. attorney-general, offered to him in 1845 by
President Polk, by a letter in which he said that when he left
the senate he did so " with the fixed purpose never again to be
voluntarily separated from his family for any considerable
time, except at the call of his country in time of war." But
while thus evincing his determination to remain in private life,
he did not lose his interest in political affairs. In the councils
of his party in New Hampshire he exercised a very great influ-
ence. He zealously advocated the annexation of Texas, de-
claring that, while he preferred it free, he would take it with
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
265
ii-~'M^
slavery rather than not have it at all. When John P. Hale, in
1845, accepted a Democratic renomination to congress, in a let-
ter denouncing annexation, the Democratic leaders called an-
other convention, which repudiated him and nominated another
candidate. Through the long struggle that followed. Pierce
led the Democrats of
his state with great .iJj^^l
skill and unfaltering
courage, though not
always to success He
found in Hale a rival
worthy of his steel.
A debate between the
two champions, in the
old North church at
Concord, aroused the
keenest interest throughout the state. Each party was satisfied
with its own advocate; but to contend against the rising anti-
slavery sentiment of the north was a hopeless struggle. The
stars in their courses fought against slavery. Hale was elected
to the U. S. senate in 1846 by a coalition of Whigs and Freesoil-
ers, and several advocates of free-soil principles were elected
to congress from New Hampshire before 1850.
In 1846 the war with Mexico began, and New Hampshire
was called on for a battalion of troops. Pierce's military,
ardor was rekindled. He immediately enrolled himself as a
private in a volunteer company that was organized at Con-
cord, enthusiastically began studying tactics and drilling in the
ranks, and was soon appointed colonel of the 9th regiment of
infantry. On 3 March, 1847, he received from President Polk
the commission of brigadier-general in the volunteer army.
On 27 May, 1847, he embarked at Newport, R. I., in the bark
"Kepler," with Col. Ransom, three companies of the 9th regi-
ment of infantry, and the officers of that detachment, arriving
at Vera Cruz on 28 June. Much difficulty was experienced in
procuring mules for transportation, and the brigade was de-
tained in that unhealthful locality, exposed to the ravages of
yellow fever, until 14 July, when it began its march to join the
main army under Gen. Winfield Scott at Puebla. The junction
was effected (after a toilsome march and several encounters
with guerillas) on 6 Aug., and the next day Gen. Scott began
266 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
his advance on the city of Mexico. On 19 Aug. the battle of
Contreras was fought. The Mexican General Valencia, with
7,000 troops, occupied a strongly intrenched camp. Gen.
Scott's plan was to divert the attention of the enemy by a
feigned attack on his front, while his flank could be turned and
his retreat cut off. But the flanking movement being much de-
layed, the attack in front (in which Gen. Pierce led his brigade)
became a desperate struggle, in which 4,000 raw recruits, who
could not use their artillery, fought 7,000 disciplined soldiers,
strongly intrenched and raining round shot and shells upon
their assailants. To reach the enemy, the Americans who at-
tacked in front were obliged to cross the pedregal, or lava-bed,
the crater of an extinct volcano, bristling with sharp, jagged,
splintered rocks, which afforded shelter to the Mexican skir-
mishers. Gen. Pierce's horse stepped into a cleft between two
rocks and fell, breaking his own leg and throwing his rider,
whose knee was seriously injured. Though suffering severely,
and urged by the surgeon to withdraw. Gen. Pierce refused to
leave his troops. Mounting the horse of an officer who had
just been mortally wounded, he rode forward and remained in
the saddle until eleven o'clock at night. The next morning
Gen. Pierce was in the saddle at daylight, but the enemy's camp
was stormed in the rear by the flanking party, and those of its
defenders who escaped death or capture fled in confusion
toward Churubusco, where Santa-Anna had concentrated his
forces. Though Gen. Pierce's injuries were intensely painful,
and though Gen. Scott advised him to leave the field, he insist-
ed on remaining. His brigade and that of Gen. James Shields,
in obeying an order to make a detour and attack the enemy in
the rear, struck the Mexican reserves, by whom they were
largely outnumbered, and a bloody and obstinate struggle fol-
lowed. By this diversion Gens. Worth and Pillow were en-
abled to carry the head of the bridge at the front, and relieve
Pierce and Shields from the pressure of overwhelming numbers.
In the advance of Pierce's brigade his horse was unable to
cross a ditch or ravine, and he was compelled to dismount and
proceed on foot. Overcome by the pain of his injured knee,
he sank to the ground, unable to proceed, but refused to be
taken from the field, and remained under fire until the enemy
were routed. After these defeats, Santa-Anna, to gain time,
opened negotiations for peace, and Gen. Scott appointed Gen.
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
267
Pierce one of the commissioners to agree upon terms of
armistice. The truce lasted a fortnight, when Gen. Scott, dis-
coving Santa-Anna's insincerity, again began hostilities. The
sanguinary battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec soon
followed, on 14 Sept., 1847, the city of Mexico capitulated, and
the war was virtually over. Though Gen. Pierce had little
opportunity to distinguish himself as a general in this brief
war, he displayed a personal bravery and a regard for the wel-
fare of his men that won him the highest credit. He also
gained the ardent friendship of those with whom he came in
contact, and that friendship did much for his future elevation.
On the return of peace in December, 1847, Gen. Pierce returned
to his home and to the practice of his profession. Soon after
this the New Hampshire legislature presented him, in behalf of
the state, with a fine sword.
In 1850 Gen. Pierce was elected to represent the city of
Concord in a constitutional convention, and when that body
met he was chosen its president by a nearly unanimous
vote. During its session he made strenuous and successful
efforts to procure the adoption of an amendment abolish-
ing the religious test that made none but Protestants eli-
gible to office. But that amendment failed of adoption by
the people, though practically and by common consent the
restriction was disregarded. From 1847 till 1852 Gen. Pierce
was arduously engaged in his profession. As an advocate he
was never surpassed, if ever equalled, at the New Hampshire
bar. He had the external advantages of an orator, a hand-
some, expressive face, an elegant figure, graceful and impressive
gesticulation, and a clear, musical voice, which kindled the
blood of his hearers like the notes of a trumpet, or melted
them to tears by its pathos. His manner had a courtesy
that sprang from the kindness of his heart and contributed
much to his political and professional success. His perceptions
were keen, and his mind seized at once the vital points of a
case, while his ready command of language enabled him to
present them to an audience so clearly that they could not be
misunderstood. He had an intuitive knowledge of human
nature, and the numerous illustrations that he drew from the
daily lives of his strong-minded auditors made his speeches
doubly effective. He was not a diligent student, nor a reader
of many books, yet the keenness of his intellect and his natural
268 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
capacity for reasoning often enabled him, with but little prepa-
ration, to argue successfully intricate questions of law.
The masses of the Democratic party in the free states so
strongly favored the exclusion of slavery from the territory
ceded by Mexico that their leaders were compelled to yield, and
from 1847 till 1850 their resolutions and platforms advocated
free-soil principles. This was especially the case in New
Hampshire, and even Gen. Pierce's great popularity could not
stem the tide. But in 1850 the passage of the so-called "com-
promise measures " by congress, the chief of which were the
fugitive-slave law and the admission of California as a free
state, raised a new issue. Adherence to those measures became
to a great extent a test of party fidelity in both the Whig and
Democratic parties. Gen. Pierce zealously championed them
in New Hampshire, and at a dinner given to him and other
personal friends by Daniel Webster at his farm-house in
Franklin, N. H., Pierce, in an eloquent speech, assured the great
Whig statesman that if his own party rejected him for his 7th
of March speech, the Democracy would " lift him so high that
his feet would not touch the stars." Finally the masses of
both the great parties gave to the compromise measures a sullen
acquiescence, on the ground that they were a final settlement
of the slavery question. The Democratic national convention
met at Baltimore, 12 June, 1852. After thirty-five ballotings
for a candidate for president, in which Gen. Pierce's name did
not appear, the Virginia delegation brought it forward, and on
the 49th ballot he was nominated by 282 votes to 11 for all
others. James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass,
and William L. Marcy were his chief rivals. Gen. Winfield
Scott, the Whig candidate, was unsatisfactory both to the north
and to the south. Webster and his friends leaned toward
Pierce, and in the election in November, Scott carried only
Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with 42
votes, while Pierce carried all the other states with 254 votes.
The Whig party had received its death-stroke, and dissolved.
In his inaugural address, 4 March, 1853, President Pierce
maintained the constitutionality of slavery and the fugitive-
slave law, denounced slavery agitation, and hoped that " no
sectional or ambitious or fanatical excitement might again
threaten the durability of our institutions, or obscure the light
of our prosperity." On 7 March he announced as his cabinet
^^C ./Vy ^ ^ /^^L(<-
5- ^
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
269
William L. Marcy, of New York, secretary of state; James
Guthrie, of Kentucky, secretary of the treasury; Jefferson
Davis, of Mississippi, secretary of war ; James C. Dobbin, of
North Carolina, secretary of the navy; Robert McClelland, of
Michigan, secretary of the interior; James Campbell, of Penn-
sylvania, postmaster-general ; and Caleb Cushing, of Mas-
sachusetts, attorney-general. This cabmet was one of eminent
ability, and is the only one in our history that remained
unchanged for four years. In 1853 a boundary dispute arose
between the United States and Mexico, which was settled by
negotiation and resulted in the acquisition of a part of the ter-
ritory, which was organized under the name of Arizona in 1863.
Proposed routes for a railroad to the Pacific were explored and
voluminous reports thereon published under the direction of
the war department. A controversy with Great Britain respect-
ing the fisheries was adjusted by mutual concessions. The
affair of Martin Koszta, a Hungarian refugee, who was seized
at Smyrna by an Austrian vessel and given up on the demand
of the captain of an American ship-of-war, excited great inter-
est in Europe and redounded to the credit of our government. X
In 1854 a treaty was negotiated at Washington between the
United States and Great Britain providing for commerical
reciprocity for ten years between the former country and the
Canadian provinces. That treaty and one negotiated by Com.
Matthew C. Perry with Japan, which opened the ports of that
hitherto unknown country to commerce, were ratified at the
same session of the senate. In the spring of 1854, Greytown
in Nicaragua was bombarded and mostly burned by the U. S.
frigate " Cyane," in retaliation for the refusal of the authori-
ties to make reparation for the property of American citizens
residing there, which had been stolen. In the following year
William Walker, with a party of filibusters, invaded Nicaragua,
and in the autumn of 1856 won an ephemeral success, which
induced President Pierce to recognize the minister sent by
him to Washington. In the winter of i854-'5, and in the
spring of the latter year, by the sanction of Mr. Crampton,
the British minister at Washington, recruits for the British
army in the Crimea were secretl}' enlisted in this country.
President Pierce demanded Mr. Crampton's recall, which be-
ing refused, the president dismissed not only the minister,
but also the British consuls at New York, Philadelphia, and
270
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Cincinnati, for their complicity in sucli enlistments. The dif-
ficulty was finally adjusted by negotiation, and a new British
legation was sent to Washington. In 1855 President Pierce
signed bills to reorganize the diplomatic and consular system
of the United States, to organize the court of claims, to provide
a retired list for the navy, and to confer the title of lieutenant-
general on Winfield Scott. President Pierce adhered to that
strict construction of the constitution which Jefferson and
Jackson had insisted on. In 1854 he vetoed a bill making
appropriations for public works, and another granting 10,-
000,000 acres of public lands to the states for relief of
indigent insane. In February, 1855, he vetoed a bill for pay-
ment of the French spoliation claims, and in the following
month another increasing the appropriation for the Edward K.
Collins line of Atlantic steamers.
The policy of Pierce's administration upon the question of
slavery evoked an extraordinary amount of popular excitement,
and led to tremendous and lasting results. That policy was
based on the theory that the institution of slavery was imbed-
ded in and guaranteed by the constitution of the United States,
and that therefore it was the duty of the National government
to protect it. The two chief measures in support of such a
policy, which originated with and were supported by Pierce's
administration, were the conference of American diplomatists
that promulgated the " Ostend manifesto," and opening of the
the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to slavery. Filibuster-
ing expeditions from the United States to Cuba under Lopez,
in 1850 and 185 1, aroused anxiety in Europe as to the attitude
of our government toward such enterprises. In 1852 Great
Britain and France proposed to the United States a tripartite
treaty by which the three powers should disclaim all intention
of acquiring Cuba, and discountenance such an attempt by any
power. On i Dec, 1852, Edward Everett, who was then secre-
tary of state, declined to act, declaring, however, that our gov-
ernment would never question Spain's title to the island. On
16 Aug., 1854, President Pierce directed James Buchanan, John
Y. Mason, and Pierre Soule, the American ministers to Great
Britain, France, and Spain, to meet and discuss the Cuban
question. They met at Ostend, 9 Oct., and afterward at Aix
la Chapelle, and sent to their government that famous despatch
known as the " Ostend manifesto." It declared that if Spain
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
271
should obstinately refuse to sell Cuba, self-preservation would
make it incumbent on the United States to wrest it from her
and prevent it from being Africanized into a second Santo Do-
mingo. But the hostile attitude of the great European powers,
and the Kansas and Nebraska excitement, shelved the Cuban
question till 1858, when a feeble and abortive attempt was
made in congress to authorize its purchase for $30,000,000.
President Pierce, in his first message to congress, December,
1853, spoke of the repose that had followed the compromises
of 1850, and said : " That this repose is to suffer no shock during
my official term if I have power to prevent it, those who placed
me here may be assured." Doubtless such was then his hope
and belief. In the following January, Mr. Douglas, chairman
of the senate committee on the territories, introduced a bill to
organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which permit-
ted slavery north of the parallel of 36° 30' in a region from
which it had been forever excluded by the Missouri compromise
of 1820. That bill was Mr. Douglas's bid for the presidency.
Southern politicians could not reject it and retain their influence
at home. Northern politicians who opposed it gave up all
hope of national preferment, which then seemed to depend on
southern support. The defeat of the bill seemed likely to
sever and destroy the Democratic organization, a result which
many believed would lead to civil war and the dissolution of
the Union. Borne onward by the aggressive spirit of slavery,
by political ambition, by the force of party discipline, and the
dread of sectional discord, the bill was passed by congress, and
on 31 May received the signature of the president. Slavery had
won, but there never was a more costly victory. The remain-
der of Pierce's term was embittered by civil war in Kansas and
the disasters of his party in the free states. In 1854, with a
Democratic majority in both houses of the New Hampshire
legislature, the influence of the national administration could
not secure the election of a Democratic U. S. senator, and at
the next election in 1855 the Democracy lost control of the
state. The repeal of the Missouri compromise was soon fol-
lowed by organized efforts in the free states to fill Kansas with
anti-slavery settlers. To such movements the south responded
by armed invasions. On 30 March, 1855, a territorial legis-
lature was elected in Kansas by armed bands from Missouri,
who crossed the border to vote and then returned to their
272
LIVES OF THE PRESIDE.VTS.
homes. That initiative gave to the pro-slavery men a tech-
nical advantage, which the Democratic leaders were swift to
recognize. The pro-slavery legislature thus elected met at
Pawnee on 2 July, 1855, and enacted an intolerant and oppres-
sive slave code, which was mainly a transcript of the laws of
Missouri. The free-state settlers thereupon called a con-
stitutional convention, which met on 23 Oct., 1855, and framed
a state constitution, which was adopted by the people by a vote
of 1,731 to 46. A general assembly was then elected under
such constitution, which, after passing some
preliminary acts, appointed a committee to
frame a code of laws, and took measures to
apply to congress for the admission of Kan-
sas mto the Union as a state. Andrew H.
Reeder was elected by the free-state men
their delegate to congress. A majority of
the actual settlers of Kansas were in favor
of her admission into the Union as a free
state; but all their efforts to that end were
treated by their opponents in the territory,
and by the Democratic national administra-
tion, as rebellion against lawful authority.
This conflict kept the territory in a state of confusion and
bloodshed, and excited party feeling throughout the country to
fever heat. It remained unsettled, to vex Buchanan's admin-
istration and further develop the germs of disunion and san-
guinary civil war.
On 2 June, 1856, the National Democratic convention met
at Cincinnati to nominate a candidate for president. On the
first ballot James Buchanan had 135 votes, Pierce 122, Douglas
33, Cass 6, Pierce's vote gradually diminished, and on the 17th
ballot Buchanan was nominated unanimously. In August the
house of representatives attached to the army appropriation
bill a proviso that no part of the army should be employed to
enforce the laws of the Kansas territorial legislature until con-
gress should have declared its validity. The senate refused to
concur, and congress adjourned without passing the bill. It
was immediately convened by proclamation, and passed the
bill without the proviso. The president's message in December
following was mainly devoted to Kansas affairs, and was in-
tensely hostile to the free-state party. His term ended on 4
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
273
March, 1857, and he returned to his home in Concord. Soon
afterward he visited Madeira, and extended his travels to
Great Britain and the continent of 'Europe. He remained
abroad nearly three years, returning to Concord early in i860.
In the presidential election of that year he took no active part,
but his influence was cast against Stephen A. Douglas and in
favor of John C. Breckinridge.
In a letter addressed to Jefferson Davis, under date of 6
Jan., i860, he wrote : " Without discussing the question of right,
of abstract power to secede, I have never believed that actual
disruption of the Union can occur without bloodshed ; and if,
through the madness of northern Abolitionists, that dire
calamity must come, the fighting will not be along Mason and
Dixon's line merely. It will be within our own borders, in our
own streets, between the two classes of citizens to whom I
have referred. Those who defy law and scout constitutional
obligations will, if we ever reach the arbitrament of arms, find
occupation enough at home. ... I have tried to impress upon
our own people, especially in New Hampshire and Connecticut,
where the only elections are to take place during the coming
spring, that, while our Union meetings are all in the right
direction and well enough for the present, they will not be
worth the paper upon v/hich their resolutions are written unless
we can overthrow abolitionism at the polls and repeal the
unconstitutional and obnoxious laws which in the cause of
'personal liberty ' have been placed upon our statute-books."
On 21 April, 1861, nine days after the disunionists had begun
civil war by firing on Fort Sumter, he addressed a Union
mass-meeting at Concord, and urged the people to sustain the
government against the southern Confederacy. From that
time until his death he lived in retirement at Concord. To the
last he retained his hold upon the hearts of his personal friends,
and the exquisite urbanity of his earlier days. His wife and
his three children had preceded him to the tomb.
Some years after Pierce's death the legislature of New
Hampshire, in behalf of the state, placed his portrait beside the
speaker's desk in the hall of the house of representatives at
Concord. Time has softened the harsh judgment that his
political foes passed upon him in the heat of party strife and
civil war. His generosity and kindness of heart are gratefully
remembered by those who knew him, and particularly by the
274
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS,
younger members of his profession, whom he was always ready
to aid and advise. It is remembered that in his professional
career he was ever willing, at whatever risk to his fortune or
popularity, to shield the poor and obscure from oppression and
injustice. It is remembered, too, that he sought in public life
no opportunities for personal gain. His integrity was above
suspicion. After nine years' service in congress and in the sen-
ate of the United States, after a brilliant and successful pro-
fessional career and four years in the presidency, his estate
hardly amounted to $72,000. In his whole political career he
always stood for a strict construction of the constitution, for
economy and frugality in public affairs, and for a strict account-
ability of public officials to their constituents. No political or
personal influence could induce him to shield those whom he
believed to have defrauded the government. Pierce had am-
bition, but greed for public office was foreign to his nature.
Few, if any, instances can be found in our history where a man
of thirty-eight, in the full vigor of health, voluntarily gave up
a seat in the U. S. senate, which he was apparently sure to re-
tain as long as he wished. His refusal at the age of forty-one
to leave his law-practice for the place of attorney-general in
Polk's cabinet is almost without a parallel. Franklin Pierce,
too, was a true patriot and a sincere lover of his country. The
Revolutionary services of a father whom he revered were con-
stantly in his thoughts. Two of his brothers, with that
father's consent, took an honorable part in the war of 1812.
His only sister was the wife of Gen. John H. McNeil, as gal-
lant an officer as ever fought for his country. To decline a
cabinet appointment and enlist as a private soldier in the army
of his country were acts which one who knew his early train-
ing and his chivalrous character might reasonably expect of
him. But for slavery and the questions growing out of it, his
administration would have passed into history as one of the
most successful in our national life. To judge him justly, his
political training and the circumstances that environed him
must be taken into account. Like his honored father, he be-
lieved that the statesmen of the Revolution had agreed to
maintain the legal rights of the slave-holders, and that without
such agreement we should have had no Federal constitution or
Union. He believed that good faith required that agreement
to be performed. In that belief all or nearly all the leaders of
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
275
both the great parties concurred. However divided on other
questions, on that the south was a unit. The price of its po-
litical support was compliance with its demands, and both the
old parties (however reluctantly) paid the price. Political lead-
ers believed that, unless it was paid, civil war and disunion
would result, and their patriotism re-enforced their party spirit
and personal ambition. Among them all there were probably
few whose conduct would have been essentially different from
that of Pierce had they been in the same situation. He gave
his support to the repeal of the Missouri compromise with
great reluctance, and in the belief that the measure would
satisfy the south and thus avert from the country the doom of
civil war and disunion. See the lives by Nathaniel Hawthorne
(Boston, 1852) and David W. Bartlett (Auburn, 1852), and " Re-
view of Pierce's Administration," by Arthur E. Carroll (Boston,
1856). The steel plate is from a portrait by George P. A.
Healy. The vignette on page 265 is a view of President Pierce's
birthplace, and that on page 272 represents his grave, which is
in the Minot cemetery at Concord, N. H.
His wife Jane Means Appleton, born in Hampton, N. H.,
12 March, 1806; died in Andover, Mass., 2 Dec, 1863, was a
daughter of the Rev. Jesse Appleton, D. D., president of
Bowdoin college. She was brought up
in an atmosphere of cultivated and re-
fined Christian influences, was thorough-
ly educated, and grew to womanhood
surrounded by most congenial circum-
stances. She was married in 1834. Pub-
lic observation was extremely painful
to her, and she always preferred the
quiet of her New England home to the
glare and glitter of fashionable life in
Washington. A friend said of her: ^ ., ^ ^. -,,^
" How well she filled her station as wife,
mother, daughter, sister, and friend, those only can tell who
knew her in these private relations. In this quiet sphere she
found her joy, and here her gentle but powerful influence was
deeply and constantly felt, through wise counsels and delicate
suggestions, the purest, finest tastes, and a devoted life.'' She
was the mother of three children, all boys, but none survived
19
276
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
her. Two died in early youth, and the youngest, Benjamin,
was killed in an accident on the Boston and Maine railroad
while travelling from Andover to Lawrence, Mass., on 6 Jan.,
1853, only two months before his father's inauguration as
president. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce were with him at the time, and
the boy, a bright lad of thirteen years, had been amusing them
with his conversation just before the accident. The car was
thrown from the track and dashed against the rocks, and the
lad met his death instantly. Both parents were long deeply
affected by the shock of the accident, and Mrs. Pierce never
recovered from it. The sudden bereavement shattered the
small remnant of her remaining health, yet she performed her
task at the White House nobly, and sustained the dignity of
her husband's office. Mrs. Robert E. Lee wrote in a private
letter : " I have known many of the ladies of the White House,
none more truly excellent than the afflicted wife of President
Pierce. Her health was a bar to any great effort on her part
to meet the expectations of the public in her high position,
but she was a refined, extremely religious, and well-educated
lady." She was buried by the side of her three children, in the
cemetery at Concord, New Hampshire.
z2y7ZLcj ^2y2y2c
D. /v-cple toil & Co.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
James Buchanan, fifteenth president of the United States,
born near Mercersburg, Pa., 23 April, 1791 ; died in Lancaster",
Pa., I June, 1868. The days of his youth were those of the
nation's youth ; his public career of forty years saw all our
great extensions of boundary on the south and west, acquired
from foreign powers, the admission of thirteen new states, the
development of many important questions of internal and
foreign policy, and the gradual rise and final culmination of a
great and disastrous insurrection. He was educated at a school y
in Mercersburg and at Dickmson college, Pa., where he was
graduated in 1809. He began to practise law in Lancaster in
181 2. His early political principles were those of the feder-
alists, who disapproved of the war; yet, as he himself said, "he
thought it was the duty of every patriot to defend the country,
while the war was raging, against a foreign enemy." His first
public address was made at the age of twenty-three, on the
occasion of a popular meeting in Lancaster after the capture
of Washington by the British in 1814. He urged the enlist-
ment of volunteers for the defence of Baltimore, and was
among the first to enroll his name. In October of the same
year he was elected to the house of representatives in the
legislature of Pennsylvania for Lancaster county. Peace was
proclaimed early in 1815, and on 4 July Mr. Buchanan delivered
an oration before the Washington association of Lancaster. In
it he spoke of the war as " glorious, in the highest degree, to the
American character, but disgraceful in the extreme to the ad-
ministration." The speech excited much criticism, and in later
life he said that " it contained many sentiments which he re-
gretted, but that at the same time it could not be denied that
the country was wholly unprepared for war at the period of its
declaration, and the attempt to carry it on by means of loans,
2/8 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
without any resort to taxation, had well nigh made the govern-
ment bankrupt." He was again elected to the legislature in
October, 1815, and at the close of that session he retired to the
practice of his profession, in which he gained early distinction,
especially in the impeachment of a judge, whom he successfully
defended. His intention at this time was not to re-enter public
life, but the death of a young lady to whom he was engaged
caused him to seek change and distraction of thought, and he
accepted a nomination to congress, and was elected in 1820 for
a district composed of the counties of Lancaster, York, and
Dauphin, taking his seat in December, 1821. He was called a
federalist, but the party distinctions of that time were not very
clearly defined, and Mr. Buchanan's political principles, as a
national statesman, were yet to be formed. Mr. Monroe had
become president in 1817, and held that ofifice during two terms,
his administration being called " the era of good feeling." The
excitement and animosities of the war of 1812 had subsided,
and when Mr. Buchanan entered congress there was no section-
alism to disturb the repose of the country. Questions of
internal policy soon arose, however, and he took an able part
in many important debates. Mr. Monroe's veto of a bill impos-
ing tolls for the support of the Cumberland road, for which
Mr. Buchanan had voted, produced a strong effect upon the
latter's constitutional views. It was the first time that his
mind had been brought sharply to the consideration of the
question in what mode " internal improvements " can be effected
by the general government, and consequently he began to per-
ceive the dividing line between the federal and the state pow-
ers. Mr. Buchanan remained in the house of representatives
ten years — during Mr. Monroe's second term, through the
administration of John Quincy Adams, and during the first two
years of Jackson's administration. In December, 1829, he be-
came chairman of the judiciary committee of the house, and as
such introduced a bill to amend and extend the judicial system
of the United States, by including in the circuit-court system
six new states, and by increasing the number of judges of the
supreme court to nine. His speech in explanation of this
measure — which was not adopted at the time — was as impor-
tant as any that has been made upon the subject. Another
measure, evincing a thorough knowledge and very accurate
views of the nature of our mixed system of government, was a
JAMES BUCHANAN. 270
minority report, presented by him as chairman of this com-
mittee, against a proposition to repeal the 25th section of the
Judiciary act of 1789, which gave the supreme court appellate
jurisdiction, by writ of error to the state courts, in cases where
the constitution, treaties, and laws of the United States are
drawn in question. This report caused the rejection of the bill
by a vote of 138 to 51. During Mr. Adams's term the friends
of the administration began to take the name of national
republicans, while the opposing party assumed the name of
democrats. Mr. Buchanan was one of the leaders of the
opposition in the house of representatives. He was always a
strong supporter and warm personal friend of Gen. Jackson.
At the close of the 21st congress in March, 1831, it was
Buchanan's wish to retire from public life, but, at the request
of Gen. Jackson (who had become president in 1829), he
accepted the mission to Russia. He embarked from New York
in a sailing-vessel on 8 April, 1832, and arrived at St. Peters-
burg about the middle of June. The chief objects of his mis-
sion were the negotiation of a commercial treaty that should
promote an increase of the commerce between Russia and the
United States by regulating the duties to be levied on the
merchandise of each country by the other so far as to prevent
undue discrimination in favor of the products of other coun-
tries ; to provide for the residence and functions of consuls,
etc. ; and also the negotiation of a treaty respecting the mari-
time rights of neutral nations on the principle that " free ships
make free goods." The Russian minister for foreign affairs at
this time was Count Nesselrode. He favored the treaty of
commerce, and, though there was much opposition to it from
some members of the Russian ministry, it was finally concluded
on 18 Dec, 1832. The negotiation concerning a treaty on mari-
time rights was not successful, because, as Mr. Buchanan wrote,
" Russia is endeavoring to manage England at present, and
this is an unpropitious moment to urge her to adopt principles
of public law which would give offence to that nation, and
which would in any way abridge her own belligerent rights."
His attractive manners and evident sincerity of character
produced their effect on the Russians, especially the emperor
and empress; and he wrote home: "I flatter myself that a
favorable change has been effected in his [the emperor's] feel-
ings toward the United States since my arrival " ; and at his
28o LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
audience of leave the emperor told him to tell Gen. Jackson to
send him another minister exactly like himself. He wrote to
President Jackson : " Your foreign policy has had no small
influence on public opinion throughout Europe." Of Russia
and the emperor Mr. Buchanan wrote : " There is no freedom
of the press, no public opinion, and but little political conversa-
tion, and that very much guarded ; in short, we live in the calm
of despotism, though the Emperor Nicholas [I.] is one of the
best of despots. Coming abroad can teach an American no
other lesson but to love his country, its institutions, and its
laws better, much better that he did before. I have not yet
learned to submit patiently to the drudgery of etiquette.
Foreign ministers must drive a carriage and four with a pos-
tilion." He left St. Petersburg on 8 Aug., 1833, spent a short
time in Paris and London, and reached home in November. The
next year was spent in private occupations in Lancaster, except
that he was one of the commissioners appointed by Pennsyl-
vania to arrange with commissioners from New Jersey concern-
ing the use of the waters of Delaware river. On 6 Dec, 1834,
the legislature of Pennsylvania elected him to the U. S. senate
to succeed Mr. Wilkins, who had been appointed minister to
Russia. This office was acknowledged by Mr. Buchanan after-
ward to be " the only public station he desired to occupy." He
took his seat 15 Dec. He held very strongly the doctrine of
instruction — that is, the right of a state legislature to direct the
vote of a senator of the state in congress, and the duty of the
senator to obey. There has never been a period in the history
of the senate when more real power of debate was displayed, or
when public measures were more thoroughly considered, than
at this time. President Jackson's celebrated proclamation
against nullification, and his removal of the public deposits
from the bank of the United States into certain selected state
banks, had been made during Mr. Buchanan's residence abroad.
Jackson enjoyed great popularity and influence throughout
the country, but a large majority of the senate were opposed
to his financial measures. This opposing party, the old "na-
tional republicans " of John Quincy Adams's administration,
were now called whigs, and included Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster,
Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, Mr. Ewing, of Ohio, and Mr. Fre-
linghuysen and Mr. Southard, of New Jersey. Among the
Jackson men, or democrats, were Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Wright, of
JAMES BUCHANAN. 28 1
New York, Mr. Benton, of Missouri, and Mr. King, of Alabama.
Mr. Calhoun stood apart from both the political parties, a
great and powerful debater who had been vice-president, and
who was now senator from the " nullifying " state of South
Carolina. One of the first debates in which Mr. Buchanan took
part in the senate (and one that has not yet lost its interest)
was upon a bill requiring the president, when making a nomi-
nation to fill a vacancy occasioned by the removal of any
officer, to state the fact of such removal and to render reasons
for it. Mr. Buchanan opposed it. He contended that the
constitution only made the consent of the senate necessary in
the appointment of officers by the executive, not in their re-
moval, that, if such consent were required, long and dangerous
delays might occur when the senate was not in session ; and
that, if the president must assign reasons for removals, these
reasons must be investigated, much time would be consumed,
and the legislative branch of the government would thus
exercise functions to which it has no claim. Another great
discussion into which Mr. Buchanan entered related to the
refusal of the legislative chambers of France to pay a certain
sum that had been promised in 1831 by a convention between
the United States and the government of King Louis Philippe
for the liquidation of certain claims of American citizens
against France. The United States waited three years in vain
for the payment of this money; and finally, in January, 1836,
the president recommended to congress a partial non-inter-
course with France. Mr. Buchanan made a long and earnest
speech, contending against Webster and Clay, in support of
this measure, insisting that "there is a point in the intercourse
between nations at which diplomacy must end and a nation
must either consent to abandon her rights or assert them by
force." There was some danger for a time of war with France,
but eventually Great Britain made an offer of mediation and
the difficulty was amicably adjusted. In January, 1837, Mr.
Buchanan delivered a speech that may be regarded as his ablest
effort in the senate. It was in support of Col. Benton's " ex-
punging " resolution, which proposed to cancel in the journal
of the senate Mr. Clay's resolution of censure against Presi-
dent Jackson for his removal of the public deposits from the
bank of the United States. In this argument Mr. Buchanan
separated, in a remarkable degree, that which was personal and
282 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
partisan in the controversy from the serious questions involved.
He contended that the censure passed by the senate in 1834
upon the president was unjust, because he had violated no law ;
and that the senate, in recording such a mere censure, adopted
in its legislative capacity, had rendered itself incompetent to
perform its high judicial function of impeachment. He con-
cluded with a very ingenious and elaborate criticism of the
word "expunge." The "expunging" resolution was adopted
by a party vote.
Toward the end of Jackson's administration the subject
of slavery began to be pressed upon the attention of con-
gress by petitions for its abolition in the District of Colum-
bia. One memorial on this subject was presented by Mr. Buch-
hanan himself from some Quakers in his own state. Mr. Cal-
houn and others objected to the reception of these petitions.
Mr. Buchanan, though he disapproved of slavery, yet contended
that congress had no power under the constitution to interfere
with slavery within those states where it existed, and that it
would be very unwise to abolish it in the District of Columbia
— " a district carved out of two slave-holding states and sur-
rounded by them on all sides " ; but, nevertheless, he also con-
tended, in a long and forcible speech, for the people's right of
petition and the duty of congress, save under exceptional
circumstances, to receive their petitions. In June, 1836, Mr.
Buchanan argued, against Mr. Webster, for a bill, introduced
in conformity with a special recommendation from President
Jackson, prohibiting the circulation through the mails of
incendiary publications on the subject of slavery. In a very
sarcastic speech against a bill to prevent the interference of
certain federal officers with elections, even in conversation, Mr.
Buchanan thus expressed his political faith : " I support the
president because he is in favor of a strict and limited construc-
tion of the constitution, according to the true spirit of the
Virginia and Kentucky resolutions. I firmly believe that if
this government is to remain powerful and permanent it can
only be by never assuming doubtful powers which must neces-
sarily bring it into collision with the states. I oppose the whig
party, because, according to their reading of the constitution,
congress possesses, and they think ought to exercise, powers
which would endanger the rights of the states and the liberties
of the people." The most important and far-reaching of Presi-
JAMES BUCHANAN. 283
dent Jackson's executive measures was his veto in 1832 of a
bill for renewing the charter of the bank of the United States.
Jackson removed the national deposits into certani state banks,
which produced financial distress throughout the land. Mr.
Buchanan was conspicuous in the senate as a supporter of
Jackson's financial policy throughout his administration and
that of his successor, Mr. Van Buren, of the same party.
Mr. Buchanan had been re-elected to the senate in January,
1837, by a very large vote and for a full term, his first
election having been to a vacancy, and he was the first person
that had ever received a second election from the legisla-
ture of Pennsylvania. In 1839 Mr. Van Buren offered Mr.
Buchanan the attorney-generalship, which Mr. Grundy had
resigned. Mr. Buchanan answered that he " preferred his po-
sition as a senator from Pennsylvania; that nothing could
induce him to waive this preference except a sense of public
duty, and that he felt that he could render a more efficient sup-
port to the principles " of the administration " on the floor
of the senate than he could in an executive office." The great
commercial distress of the country produced, in the elections of
1840, a political revolution, and on 4 March, 1841, the whigs
came into power under President Harrison. His death in
April placed in the executive chair Mr. Tyler, who proved to
be opposed to a national bank, and vetoed two bills : the first
for a national bank, and the second for a " Fiscal Corporation
of the United States." Mr. Clay made frequent attacks upon
Mr. Tyler's vetoes, and even proposed a joint resolution for an
amendment of the constitution requiring but a bare majority,
instead of two thirds, of each house of congress to pass a bill
over the president's objections. Mr. Buchanan, on 2 Feb., 1842,
replied to Mr. Clay in a speech that may be ranked very high
as an exposition of one of the most important parts of our po-
litical system. He showed that the president's veto was the
people's safeguard, through the officer who "more nearly
represents a majority of the whole people than any other
branch of the government," against the encroachments of the
senate. The veto power "owes its existence," said he, "to a
revolt of the people of Rome against the tyrannical decrees of
the Roman senate. The president of the United States, elected
by his fellow-citizens to the highest official trust in the country,
is directly responsible to them for the manner in which he
284 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
shall discharge his duties ; and he will not array himself, by the
exercise of the vet.o power, against a majority in both houses
of congress, unless in extreme cases, where, from strong con-
victions of public duty, he may be willing to draw down upon
himself their hostility." Mr. Buchanan was one of those that
opposed the ratification of the treaty with England negotiated
by Mr. Webster and Lord Ashburton in 1842. In 1843 he was
elected to the senate for a third term, and in 1844 his name
was brought forward as the democratic candidate of Pennsyl-
vania for the presidential nomination ; but before the national
convention met he withdrew in order that the whole strength
of the party might be concentrated upon one candidate. James
K. Polk was elected ; he asked Mr. Buchanan to become his
secretary of state, and the invitation was accepted.
In this responsible position Mr. Buchanan had two very
important questions to deal with, and they required the exer-
cise of all his political tact and indefatigable industry. One
was the settlement of the boundary between the territory of
Oregon and the British possessions. The other was the an-
nexation of Texas, which resulted in the Mexican war. Texas
had been for nine years independent of Mexico, and now
sought admission into our union. The difficulties that at-
tended this question were, on the one hand, the danger of in-
creasing the excitement, already considerable, against slavery
(for Texas would be a slave-holding state) ; and, on the other,
the danger of interference on the part of England if Texas
should remain independent and resume her war with Mexico.
The adoption by Texas of the basis of annexation proposed
by the United States was followed by the refusal of the Mexi-
can government to receive Mr. Slidell, sent by Mr. Polk as
envoy extraordinary, with the object of avoiding a war and to
settle all questions between the two countries, including the
western boundary of Texas. The result of the Mexican war
was the cession to the United States of California and New
Mexico and the final settlement of the Texan boundary. The
policy of Mr. Polk's administration toward the states of Cen-
tral America and on the subject of the Monroe doctrine was
shaped by Mr. Buchanan very differently from that adopted by
the succeeding administration of Gen. Taylor, whose secretary
of state was Mr. Clayton, the American negotiator of the Clay-
ton-Bulwer treaty with Great Britain. Acting under Mr.
JAMES BUCHANAN. 285
Buchanan's advice, President Polk, in his first annual message,
in December, 1845, reasserted the Monroe doctrine that no
European nation should henceforth be allowed by the United
States to plant any colony on the American continent or to
interfere in any way in American affairs. This declaration was
intended to frustrate the attempts of England to obtain a foot-
ing in the then Mexican province of California by an exten-
sive system of colonization. England's aims were defeated for
the time. Two years afterward, when the Mexican war was
drawing to a close, Mr. Buchanan turned the attention of
President Polk to the encroachments of the British government
in Central America, under the operation of a protectorate over
the kingdom of the Mosquito Indians. Great disturbances fol-
lowed in Yucatan, and the Indians began a war of extermina-
tion against the whites. If not actually incited by the British
authorities, the savages were known to be supplied with British
muskets. The whites were reduced to such extremities that
the authorities of Yucatan offered to transfer the dommionand
sovereignty of the peninsula to the United States, as a consid-
eration for defending it against the Indians, at the same time
giving notice that if this offer should be declined they would
make the same proposition to England and Spain. The presi-
dent recommended to congress the appeal of Yucatan, but de-
clined to recommend the adoption of any measure with a view
to acquire the dominion and sovereignty over the peninsula.
In April, 1847, the United States appointed a charge d'affaires
to Guatemala, and Mr. Buchanan instructed him to "promote,
by his counsel and advice, should suitable occasions offer, the
reunion of the states that formed the federation of Central
America ; to cultivate the most friendly relations with Guate-
mala and the other states of Central America ; and to commu-
nicate to the state department all the information obtainable
concerning the British encroachments upon the Mosquito king-
dom." The new charge was prevented from reaching Guate-
mala until late in Mr. Polk's administration, and the plan wisely
conceived by Mr. Buchanan was not carried out. In the mean
time the British government seized upon the port of San Juan
de Nicaragua, the only good harbor along the coast. Instead
of carrying out the policy of President Polk and Mr. Buchanan,
the administration of President Taylor, without consulting the
states of Central America, entered in 1850 into the Clayton-
.286 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Bulwer treaty, the ambiguous language of which soon gave rise
to such complications and misunderstandings between England
and the United States that Mr. Buchanan was obliged to go,
subsequently, as minister to London, to endeavor to unravel
them. Instead of a simple provision requiring Great Britain
absolutely to recede from the Mosquito protectorate, and to
restore to Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica their respec-
tive territories, the treaty declared that neither of the parties
should "make use of any protection which either affords or
may afford, or any alliance which either has or may have, to or
with any state or people, for the purpose of erecting or main-
taining any fortifications, or of occupying, fortifying, or colo-
nizing any part of Central America, or of assuming or exercis-
ing any dominion over the same." It soon became the British
construction of this clause that it recognized the existence of
the Mosquito protectorate for all purposes other than those
expressly prohibited ; and down to the time when Mr. Buch-
anan was sent by President Pierce as minister to England this
claim was still maintained.
On the accession of the whig party to power under Taylor,
in March, 1849, Mr. Buchanan retired for a time from official
life. His home, from the age of eighteen, had been the city of
Lancaster, where he owned a house. In the autumn of 1848 he
purchased a small estate of twenty-two acres, known as Wheat-
land, about a mile from the town. The house was a substan-
tial brick mansion, and, on Mr. Buchanan's retirement from
the cabinet, this became his permanent abode when he was not
occupying an ofificial residence in London or in Washington.
Mr. Buchanan never married. The death of the lady whom he
had intended to marry was a deep and lasting sorrow. The
loss of his sister, Mrs. Lane, in 1839, and of her husband two
years later, gave him the care of their four children ; and the
youngest of these, afterward widely known as Miss Harriet
Lane, became an inmate of his household. James Buchanan
Henry, the son of another sister, who died about the same time,
was also taken into his family ; and these two cousins were
brought up by their uncle with the most wise and affectionate
care. Mr. Buchanan's letters to his niece, begun when she was
a school-girl, and, after Miss Lane had grown up, written al-
most daily during her absences from him, give a charming pic-
ture of his private life. During the few years of Mr. Buchanan's
JAMES BUCHANAN.
287
unofificial life, passed chiefly at Wlieatland, he does not appear
to have devoted much time to the law. His correspondence
was large ; and this, with a constant and lively interest in pub-
lic affairs, rendered him, even in retirement, very busy. He
lent considerable influence to his party as a private individual ;
but his exertions were not marked by purely partisan feel-
ing. He strenuously
opposed the Wilmot
proviso, which aimed
at excluding slavery
from all newly ac-
quired territory; and
favored Mr. Clay's
" Compromise Meas-
ures of 1850," which
provided for the ad-
mission of California
as a free state, and the abolition of the slave-trade in the
District of Columbia ; but, by the fugitive slave law, secured
the return to their owners of slaves that had escaped into
free states. He wrote many influential public letters, in one
of which he declared that " two things are necessary to pre-
serve the union from danger : i. Agitation in the north on
the subject of southern slavery must be rebuked and put
down by a strong and enlightened public opinion ; 2. The
fugitive slave law must be enforced in its spirit." In the
presidential election of 1852 Mr. Buchanan was a candidate
for the democratic nomination ; but Gen. Franklin Pierce re-
ceived the nomination and was elected. The most impor-
tant service rendered by Mr. Buchanan to his party in this
election — and with him a service to his party was alike a serv-
ice to his country — was a speech made at Greensburgh, Pa.,
in October, 1852, in opposition to the election of Gen. Scott,
the whig candidate. This speech exhibited in a very clear light
the whole political history of that period, and asserted a princi-
ple which he said ought to be an article of democratic faith :
"Beware of elevating to the highest civil trust the commander
of your victorious armies," drawing a distinction between one
"who had been a man of war, and nothing but a man of war
from his youth upward," and such as had been " soldiers only
in the day and hour of danger, when the country had demanded
288 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
their services, and who had already illustrated high civil ap-
pointments " ; and then criticising exhaustively each of Gen.
Scott's avowed political opinions, and quoting Mr. Thurlow
Weed, " one of Gen. Scott's most able supporters," as acknowl-
edging that " there was weakness in all Scott said or did
about the presidency." When, in 1853, Franklin Pierce be-
came president, he appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Eng-
land. Buchanan, though social in his nature, was a man of
simple republican tastes, and the formality and etiquette of life
at a foreign court, never agreeable, now, at the age of sixty-
two, appeared to him particularly distasteful ; besides, he con-
sidered that his duty to his young relatives as well as to his
only surviving brother, a clergyman in delicate health, required
his presence at home. But with Mr. Buchanan duty to his
country always outweighed every other consideration, and Mr.
Pierce's urgent appeal to him to accept what was at that time
a very important mission, at length prevailed. Mr. Buchanan
sailed for England from New York on 5 Aug., 1853, and landed in
Liverpool on the 17th. There were three important questions
to be settled with England at this time : the first related to the
fisheries ; the second was the desire of England to establish
reciprocal free trade in certain enumerated articles between the
United States and the British North American provinces, and
thus preserve their allegiance and ward off the danger of their
annexation to the United States ; and this Mr. Buchanan was
very desirous to use as a powerful lever to secure the third
point, which the United States earnestly desired, viz., the with-
drawal of all British dominion in Central America, and the rec-
ognition of the Monroe doctrine, which the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty had not firmly established. President Pierce considered
it best that the reciprocity and fishery questions should be set-
tled at Washington ; but Mr. Buchanan was intrusted with the
negotiation of the Central American question in London. Mr.
Buchanan's main object was to develop and ascertain the pre-
cise differences between the two governments in regard to the
construction of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, but the Crimean war
so long delayed the negotiations with this country that nothing
could be accomplished while he remained in England. As
the war approached and when it was finally declared, the
principles of neutrality, privateering, and many other topics
came within the range of the discussion ; and it was very much
JAMES BUCHANAN. 289
in consequence of the views expressed by Mr. Buchanan to
Lord Clarendon, and by the latter communicated to the Brit-
ish cabinet, that the course of England toward neutrals during
that war became what it was. When Lord Clarendon, in 1854,
presented to Mr. Buchanan a projet for a treaty between Great
Britain, France, and the United States, making it piracy for
neutrals to serve on board of privateers cruising against the
commerce of either of the three nations when such nation was
a belligerent, the very impressive reasons that Mr. Buchanan
opposed to it caused it to be abandoned. An American minis-
ter at the English court, at periods of exciting and critical ques-
tions between the two nations, is very likely to experience a con-
siderable variation in the social barometer. But the strength of
Mr. Buchanan's character, and the agreeable personal qualities
which were in him united with the gravity of years and an ex-
perience of a very uncommon kind, overcame at all times any
tendency to social unpleasantness that might have been caused
by national feelings excited by temporary causes. Throughout
his residence in England Mr. Buchanan was treated with marked
attention, not only by society in general, but by the queen
and the prince consort. Miss Lane joined him in the spring
of 1854, and remained with him until the autumn of 1855.
Mr. Buchanan arrived in New York in April, 1856, and
there met with a public reception from the authorities and
people of the city, that evinced the interest that now began to
be everywhere manifested in him as the probable future presi-
dent. Prior to the meeting of the national democratic conven-
tion at Cincinnati in June, 1856, there was lack of organization
on the part of Mr. Buchanan's political friends; and Mr. Buch-
anan himself, though willing to accept the nomination, made
no efforts to secure it, and did not believe that he would re-
ceive it. The rival claimants were President Pierce and Sena-
tor Douglas, of Illinois. Chiefly through the efforts of Mr.
Slidell, Mr. Buchanan was nominated. By this time the whig
party had disappeared, the old party lines were obliterated,
and the main political issue had come to be the question of
slavery or no slavery in the territories. The anti-slavery party
now called themselves republicans, and their candidate was
Gen. Fremont. The result of the election shows, with great
distinctness, the following facts: i. That Mr. Buchanan was
chosen president because he received the electoral votes of the
290
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
five free states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois,
and California (sixty-two in all), and that without them he
could not have been elected. 2. That his southern vote (that
of every slave-holding state excepting Maryland) was partly
given to him because of his conservative opinions and position,
and partly because the candidate for the vice-presidency, Mr.
Breckinridge, was a southern man. 3. That Gen. Fremont
received the electoral vote of no southern state, and that this
was due partly to the character of the republican party, and
partly to the fact that the republican candidate for the vice-
presidency, Mr. Dayton, of New Jersey, was a citizen of a non-
slave-holding state. Gen. Fremont himself was nominally a
citizen of California. This election, therefore, foreshadowed
the sectional division that would be almost certain to happen
in the next one if the four years of Mr. Buchanan's administra-
tion should not witness a subsidence in the sectional feelings
between the north and the south. It would only be necessary
for the republicans to wrest from the democratic party the
five free states that had voted for Mr. Buchanan, and they
would elect the president in i860. Whether this was to hap-
pen would depend upon the ability of the democratic party to
avoid a rupture into factions that would themselves be repre-
sentatives of irreconcilable dogmas on the subject of slavery
in the territories. Hence it is that Mr. Buchanan's course as
president, for the first three years of his term, is to be judged
with reference to the responsibility that was upon him so to
conduct the government as to disarm, if possible, the antago-
nism of section to section. His administration of affairs after
the election of Mr. Lincoln is to be judged simply by his duty
as the executive in the most extraordinary and anomalous
crisis in which the country had ever been placed.
Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated on 4 March, 1857. The
cabinet, which was confirmed by the senate on 6 March, con-
sisted of Lewis Cass, of Michigan, secretary of state: Howell
Cobb, of Georgia, secretary of the treasury ; John B. Floyd, of
Virginia, secretary of war; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, sec-
retary of the navy ; Aaron V. Brown, of Tennessee, postmaster-
general ; Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, secretary of the in-
terior ; and Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, attorney-gen-
eral. The internal affairs of the country during Buchanan's
administration occupied so much of the public attention at the
JAMES BUCHANAN. 2QI
time, and have since been a subject of so much interest, that
his management of our foreign relations has been quite ob-
scured. The wisdom displayed in this branch of his duties was
such as might have been expected from one who had had his
previous experience in the state department and in important
diplomatic posts. His only equals in the executive office in this
respect have been Mr. Jefferson and Mr. John Quincy Adams.
During an administration fraught with the most serious hazards
to the internal relations of the states with each other, he kept
steadily in view the preservation of peace and good will be-
tween the United States and Great Britain, while he abated
nothing from our just claims or our national dignity. He
left to his successor no unsettled question between these two
nations that was of any immediate importance, and he also
left the feeling between them and their respective governments
in a far better condition than he found it on his accession to
the presidency. The long-standing and dangerous question of
British dominion in Central America, in the hope of settling
which Mr. Buchanan had accepted the mission to England, was
still pending, but it was at length amicably and honorably
settled, under his advice and approbation after he became
president, by treaties between Great Britain and the two Cen-
tral American states, in accordance with the American con-
struction of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. Another subject of
contention that had long existed between the two countries
was removed by President Buchanan in a summary and dig-
nified way. The belligerent right of search had been exer- ^
cised by Great Britain in the maritime war of 1812. In pro-
cess of time she undertook to assert a right to detain and
search, on the high seas, in time of peace, merchantmen sus-
pected of being engaged in the slave-trade. In 1858 she de-
spatched some cruisers with such orders to the coast of Cuba
and the Gulf of Mexico. President Buchanan, always vigilant
in protecting the commerce of the country, but mindful of the
importance of preventing any necessity for war, remonstrated
to the English government against this violation of the free-
dom of the seas. Then he sent a large naval force to the
neighborhood of Cuba with instructions " to protect all vessels
of the United States on the high seas from search or detention
by the vessels of war of any other nation." The effect was ^
most salutary. The British government receded, abandoned
292
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the claim of the right of search, and recognized the principle
of international law in favor of the freedom of the seas. Dur-
ing the whole of Mr. Buchanan's administration our relations
with Mexico were in a complicated and critical position, in con-
sequence of the internal condition of that country and of the
danger of interference by European powers. Great outrages
were committed in Mexico upon our citizens and their property,
and their claims against that government exceeded $10,000,000.
Mr. Buchanan recommended to congress to send assistance
to the constitutional government in Mexico, which had been
forcibly superseded by military rule, but which still held the
allegiance of the majority of the people, and to enforce redress
for the wrongs of our citizens. He saw very clearly that, un-
less active measures should be taken by the government of the
United States to reach a power with which a settlement of all
claims and difificulties could be effected, some other nation
would undertake to establish a government in Mexico, and the
United States would then have to interfere, not only to secure
the rights of their citizens, but to assert the principle of the
Monroe doctrine. He also instructed the Mexican minister, Mr.
McLane, to make a " Treaty of Transit and Commerce " and a
"convention to enforce treaty stipulations, and to maintain or-
der and security in the territory of the republics of Mexico and
the United States." But congress took no notice of the presi-
dent's recommendation, and refused to ratify the treaty and the
convention. Mexico was left to the interference of Louis Napo-
leon ; the establishment of an empire, under Maximilian, fol-
lowed,' for the erhbarrassment of President Lincoln's adminis-
tration while we were in the throes of our civil war, and the
claims of American citizens were to all appearance indefinitely
postponed. Our relations with Spain were also in a very un-
satisfactory condition at the beginning of Mr. Buchanan's term.
There were many just claims of our citizens against the Span-
ish government for injuries received in Cuba, and Mr. Buchan-
an succeeded in having a " convention concluded at Madrid in
i860, establishing a joint commission for the final adjudication
and payment of all the claims of the respective parties." The
senate refused to ratify this convention also, probably because
of the intense excitement against slavery, the convention hav-
ing authorized the presenting before the commissioners of a
Spanish claim against the United States for the value of certain
JAMES BUCHANAN. 293
slaves. In the settlement of claims against the government of
Paraguay the president's firm policy was seconded by congress,
and he was authorized to send a commissioner to that country
accompanied by " a naval force sufficient to exact justice should
negotiation fail." This was entirely successful ; full indemnifi-
cation was obtained without any resort to arms. Mr. Buchanan's
negotiations with China, conducted through William B. Reed as
minister, were also successful ; a treaty was concluded in 1858,
which established very satisfactory commercial relations with
that country and secured the liquidation of all claims. June v^
22, i860, Mr. Buchanan vetoed a bill " to secure homesteads to
actual settlers in the public domain, and for other purposes."
The other purposes contemplated donations to the states. The
ground of the veto was that the power "to dispose of " the
territory of the United States did not authorize congress to
donate public lands to the states for their domestic purposes.
In the senate the bill failed to receive the two thirds majority
necessary to pass it over the veto. In internal affairs the pre-
ceding administration of President Pierce had left a legacy of
trouble to his successor in the repeal of the Missouri compro-
mise, which was followed by a terrible period of lawlessness and
bloodshed in Kansas, under what was called " squatter sover-
eignty," the slavery and the anti-slavery parties among the
settlers struggling for supremacy. The pro-slavery party sus-
tained the territorial government and obtained control of its
legislature. The anti-slavery party repudiated this legislature
and held a convention at Topeka to institute an opposition
government. Congress had recognized the authority of the
territorial government, and Mr. Buchanan, as president, had
no alternative but to recognize and uphold it also. The fact
that the legislature of that government was in the hands of the
pro-slavery party made the course he adopted seem as if he
favored their pro-slavery designs, while, in truth, he had no
object to subserve but to sustain, as he was officially obliged
to sustain, the government that congress had recognized as the
lawful government of the territory. Now, throughout the
north, the press and the pulpit began to teem with denuncia-
tions of the new president, who had not allowed revolutionary
violence to prevail over the law of the land, and this was kept
up throughout his administration. The anti-slavery party
gained ground, and the election of i860 resulted in the tri-
294
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
umph of Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan was a conservative and
far-seeing man, who, though opposed to slavery, believed that
the blind and fanatical interference of the northern abolitionists
in the domestic affairs of the southern states would excite the
latter in a manner dangerous to the peace and prosperity of
the union. His messages constantly recommended conciliatory
legislative measures; but congress paid no attention to his ad-
vice. Finally the election of Mr. Lincoln was seized upon as
the signal in South Carolina for the breaking out of her old
doctrine of secession. She passed her ordinance of secession
on 20 Dec, i860. Mr. Buchanan never for a moment admitted
that a state had any power to secede from the union. South
Carolina had once and forever adopted and ratified the consti-
tution of the United States, and he maintained that she had by
this act permanently resigned certain powers to the federal gov-
ernment, and that she could not, by her own will and without the
consent of the other states, resume those powers and declare her-
self independent. She could, if actually oppressed by the gen-
eral government, seek to redress her wrongs by revolution; but
never by secession. He refused to receive, in their assumed
official capacity, the commissioners sent by South Carolina, in
December, i860, to treat with him as with a foreign power. In
October, i860, before the election, Mr. Buchanan received
from Gen. Scott, the general-in-chief of the army, a communi-
cation saying that, in the event of Mr. Lincoln's election, Gen.
Scott anticipated that there would be a secession of one or
more of the southern states ; and that, from the general rash-
ness of the southern character, there was danger of a "prelim-
inary " seizure of certain southern forts. This paper became
known as " General Scott's Views." It was the foundation, at
a later period, of a charge that President Buchanan had been
warned by Gen. Scott of the danger of leaving the southern
forts without sufficient garrisons to prevent surprises, and that
he had neglected this warning. Mr. Buchanan, who had pub-
licly denied the right of secession, could not furnish the southern
states with any justification of such a proceeding by prematurely
re-enforcing the forts as if he anticipated secession. But, even
if the president had wished to adopt such a measure, there
were, as Gen. Scott himself said, but five companies of regular
troops, or 400 men, available for the garrisoning of nine forti-
fications in six highly excited southern states. The remain-
JAMES BUCHANAN. 295
der of the army was scattered over the western plains. Scott's
views were clearly impracticable, and produced no impression
upon the president's mind.
Mr. Buchanan has been often and severely reproached for
a "temporizing policy" and a want of such vigor as might
have averted the civil war; but the policy of Mr. Lincoln's
administration, until after the attack on Fort Sumter, was
identical with that of Mr. Buchanan. In his annual message
of 5 Dec, i860, Mr. Buchanan stated clearly and forcibly his
denial of the right of secession, and also his conviction that if
a state should adopt such an unconstitutional measure the
federal government had no power, under the constitution, to
make aggressive war upon her to compel her to remain in the
union ; but at the same time drawing a definite distinction be-
tween this and the right of the use of force against individuals,
in spite of secession, in enforcing the execution of federal laws
and in the preservation of federal property. This doctrine met
the secessionists upon their own ground ; for it denied that a
state ordinance of secession could absolve its people from
obeying the laws of the United States. Mr. Buchanan thus
framed the only justifiable basis of a civil war, and left upon
the records of the country the clear line of demarcation that
would have to be observed by his successor and would make
the use of force, if force must be used, a war, not of aggression,
but of defence. In order to disarm all unreasonable opposi-
tion from the south, Mr. Buchanan urged upon congress the
adoption of an " explanatory amendment " of the constitution,
which should effectually secure to slave-holders all their con-
stitutional rights. From all parts of the country, north and
south, he received private letters approving, on various
grounds, the tone of the message; but nearly the whole of the
republican party saw fit to treat it as a denial by the president
of any power to enforce the laws against the citizens of a state
after secession, and even after actual rebellion ; while this very
power, emphatically stated as it was in the message, was made
by the secessionists their ground of attack. It was the great
misfortune of Mr. Buchanan's position that he had to appeal
to a congress in which there were two sectional parties breath-
ing mutual defiance ; in which broad and patriotic statesman-
ship was confined to a small body of men, who could not win
over to their views a sufficient number from either of the
296
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
parties to make up a majority upon any proposition whatever.
In the hope of preventing the secession of South Carolina, the
president sent Caleb Cushing to Charleston, with a letter to
Gov. Pickens, urging the people of the state to await the ac-
tion of congress.
After the actual secession of South Carolina, Mr. Buch-
anan's two great objects were: i. To confine the area of se-
cession, so that if there was to be a southern confederacy it
might comprehend only the cotton states, which were most
likely to act together. 2. To induce congress to prepare for
a civil war in case one should be precipitated. While he made
it apparent to congress that at that time he was without the
necessary executive powers to enforce the collection of the
revenue in South Carolina, he did not fail to call for the ap-
propriate powers and means. But at no time during that ses-
sion did a single republican senator (and the republicans had a
majority in the senate), in any form whatever, give his vote or
his influence for any measure that would strengthen the hands
of the president either in maintaining peace or in executing the
laws of the United States. Whatever was the governing mo-
tive for their inaction, it never can be said that they were not
seasonably warned by the president that a policy of inaction
would be fatal. That policy not only crippled him, but crip-
pled his successor. When Mr. Lincoln came into office, seven
states had already seceded, and not a single law had been put
upon the statute-book that would enable the executive to
meet such a condition of the union. Mr. Crittenden, of Ken-
tucky, had introduced into the senate a resolution, which be-
came known as the "Crittenden Compromise," providing in
substance for a restoration of the Missouri compromise-line of
36° 30' ; and it was proposed that this question should be re-
ferred to a direct vote of the people in the several states. On
8 Jan., 1861, Mr. Buchanan sent a special message to congress,
strongly recommending the adoption of this measure; but it
produced no effect. During the last three months of his term
there were several changes m his cabinet. Mr. Cobb resigned
his portfolio on 8 Dec, i860, and Mr. Thomas, who succeeded
him as secretary of the treasury, also resigned on 11 Jan.,
their sympathies being with the secessionists. This depart-
ment was then taken by Gen. John A. Dix. Mr. Thompson,
secretary of the interior, resigned on 8 Jan., also because he
s
1
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JAMES BUCHANAN. 297
was a southern man, and the duties of this ofifice were subse-
quently performed by Moses Kelly, chief clerk. Gen. Cass
and Gov. Floyd resigned their offices in December; Judge
Black was transferred from the attorney-generalship to the
state department, and Edwin M. Stanton became attorney-
general. Joseph Holt succeeded Secretary Floyd in the war
department.
The two critical questions which it was important that
the president should correctly and consistently decide were,
whether he was to receive in their assumed official character
any commissioners sent by the southern states as to a foreign
power, and whether re-enforcements should be sent to Maj.
Anderson at Fort Sumter, or to any other southern fort. Mr.
Buchanan always refused to receive both the South Carolina
commissioners and also Mr. Crawford, the first of the commis-
sioners from the confederate government at Montgomery, who
arrived in Washington just before the close of his term; he
thus left the new president entirely free to act as he saw best,
and entirely untrammelled by any previous pledges. As to re-
enforcements for southern forts, Maj. Anderson was instructed
to report to the government any necessity for assistance, and
in the mean time an expedition was fitted out at New York and
held in readiness to sail at an hour's notice. Until the close of
Mr. Buchanan's administration, Maj. Anderson considered him-
self sufficiently strong, and agreed with the president that any
unnecessary movement of troops would be regarded by the
south as a menace and would provoke hostilities. Mr. Buch-
anan would not initiate a civil war; his policy was entirely
defensivd ; and yet he did all that he could, constitutionally, to
avert a war. It has often been asked, Why did Mr. Buchanan
suffer state after state to go out of the union ? Why did he
not call on the north for volunteers, and put down rebel-
lion in its first stage ? The president had no power to call for
volunteers under any existing law; congress, during the whole
winter, refused to pass any law to provide him with men or
money. In the application of all the means that he had for
protecting the public property, he omitted no step that could
have been taken with safety, and, at the inauguration of Mr.
Lincoln, Maj. Anderson not only held Fort Sumter, but had
held it down to that time in perfect confidence that he could
maintain his position.
298 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
On 9 March, 1861, Mr. Buchanan returned to his home at
Wheatland, a view of which appears on page 287, rejoicing to
be free from the cares of a long and responsible public life, and
welcomed by an immense gathering of his neighbors and the
citizens of Lancaster. Here he lived quietly for the remaining
seven years of his life, taking, however, a lively interest in pub-
lic affairs, and always supporting, with his influence as a pri-
vate citizen, the maintenance of the war for the restoration of
the union. His health was generally good throughout his
whole life. After his final return to Wheatland he began to be
attacked occasionally by rheumatic gout, and this malady at
last terminated his life in his seventy-eighth year. His remains
were interred in a cemetery near Lancaster. No man was ever
treated with greater injustice than he was during the last seven
years of his life by a large part of the public. Men said he
was a secessionist; he was a traitor; he had given away the
authority of the government; he had been weak and vacillat-
ing; he had shut his eyes when men about him, the very minis-
ters of his cabinet, were plotting the destruction of the union ;
he was old and timid ; he might have crushed an incipient re-
bellion, and he had encouraged it. But he bore all this with
patience and dignity, forbearing to say anything against the
new administration, and confident that posterity would ac-
knowledge that he had done his duty. In 1862 he was at-
tacked by Gen. Scott, who made several statements concerning
the president's management of the Fort Sumter affairs during
the last winter of his administration, which Mr. Buchanan suc-
cessfully refuted. Mr. Buchanan's loyalty to the constitution
of the United States was unbounded. He was not a man of
brilliant genius, nor did he ever do any one thing to make his
name illustrious and immortal, as Webster did when he de-
fended the constitution against the heresy of nullification. But
in the course of a long, useful, and consistent life, filled with
the exercise of talents of a fine order and uniform ability, he
had made the constitution of his country the object of his deep-
est affection, the constant guide of all his public acts. He pub-
lished a vindication of the policy of his administration during
the last months of his term, " Buchanan's Administration "
(New York, 1866). See "Life of President Buchanan," by
George Ticknor Curtis (2 vols.. New York, 1883).
JAMES BUCHANAN.
299
Harriet Lane Johnston was born in Mercersburg, Pa.,
in 1833. She is the daughter of Elliott T. Lane and his wife,
June Buchanan, who, dying, left her to the care of her uncle,
James Buchanan. She was educated
at the Roman Catholic convent in
Georgetown, D. C, and, on the appoint-
ment of Mr. Buchanan to the English
mission in 1853, accompanied him to
London, where she dispensed the hos-
pitalities of the embassy. During his
term as chief magistrate she was mis-
tress of the White House, over which
she presided with grace and dignity, <^^ n f4^
receiving, among other distinguished ' ' '
guests, the Prince of Wales and his
party. In 1866 she married Henry Elliott Johnston, of Mary-
land, and since that event has resided in Baltimore, Washington,
and at Wheatland, surviving her husband and their two sons.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United
States, born in Hardin county, Ky., 12 Feb., 1809; died in
Washington, D. C, 15 April, 1865. His earliest ancestor in
America seems to have been Samuel Lincoln, of Norwich, Eng-
land, who settled in Hingham, Mass., where he died, leaving a
son, Mordecai, whose son of the same name removed to Mon-
mouth, N. J., and thence to Berks county. Pa., dying there in
1735. He was a man of some property, which at his death was
divided among his sons and daughters, one of whom, John Lin-
coln, having disposed of his land in Pennsylvania and New-
Jersey, established himself in Rockingham county, Va. The
records of that county show that he was possessed of a valu-
able estate, which was divided among five sons, one of whom,
named Abraham, emigrated to Kentucky about 1780. At this
time Daniel Boone was engaged in those labors and exploits in
the new country of Kentucky that have rendered his name illus-
trious ; and there is no doubt that Abraham Lincoln was in-
duced by his friendship for Boone to give up what seems to
have been an assured social position in Virginia and take his
family to share with him the risks and hardships of life in the
new territory. The families of Boone and Lincoln had been
closely allied for many years. Several marriages had taken
place between them, and their names occur in each other's wills
as friends and executors. The pioneer Lincoln, who took with
him what for the time and place was a sufficient provision in
money, the result of the sale of his property in Virginia, ac-
quired by means of cash and land-warrants a large estate in
Kentucky, as is shown by the records of Jefferson and Camp-
bell counties. About 1784 he was killed by Indians while work-
ing with his three sons — Mordecai, Josiah, and Thomas — in
clearing the forest. His widow removed after his death to
Jjij' m A B Holi !'•■•'
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D.Appletoa & Co
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
301
Washington county, and there brought up her family. The two
elder sons became reputable citizens, and the two daughters
married in a decent condition of life. Thomas, the youngest
son, seems to have been below the average of the family in en-
terprise and other qualities that command success. He learned
the trade of a carpenter, and married, 12 June, 1806, Nancy
Hanks, a niece of the man with whom he learned his trade.
She is represented, by those who knew her at the time of her
marriage, as a handsome young woman of twenty-three, of ap-
pearance and intellect superior to her lowly fortunes. The
young couple began housekeeping with little means. Three
children were born to them ; the first, a girl, who grew to ma-
turity, married, and died, leaving no children ; the third, a boy,
who died in infancy; the second was Abraham Lincoln.
Thomas Lincoln remained in Kentucky until 1816, when he re-
solved to remove to the still newer country of Indiana, and set-
tled in a rich and fertile forest country near Little Pigeon creek,
not far distant from the Ohio river. The family suffered from
diseases incident to pioneer life, and
Mrs. Lincoln died in 1818 at the age
of thirty-five. Thomas Lincoln, while
on a visit to Kentucky, married a
worthy, industrious, and intelligent
widow named Sarah Bush Johnston.
She was a woman of admirable order
and system in her habits, and brought
to the home of the pioneer in the Lidi-
ana timber many of the comforts of
civilized life. The neighborhood was
one of the roughest. The president
once said of it : " It was a wild region,
with many bears and other wild ani-
mals still in the woods, and there were
some schools, so called ; but no qualification was ever required
of a teacher beyond readin', writin', and cipherin' to the rule of
three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened
to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wiz-
ard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for edu-
cation." But in spite of this the boy Abraham made the best
use of the limited opportunities afforded him, and learned all
that the half-educated backwoods teachers could impart ; and
y
\/
302
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
besides this he read over and over all the books he could find.
He practised constantly the rules of arithmetic, which he had
acquired at school, and began, even in his early childhood, to
put in writing his recollections of what he had read and his
impressions of what he saw about him. By the time he was
nineteen years of age he h. d acquired a remarkably clear and
serviceable handwriting, and showed sufficient business capacity
to be intrusted with a cargo of farm products, which he took to
New Orleans and sold. In 1830 his father emigrated once
more, to Macon county, 111. Lincoln had by this time attained
his extraordinary stature of six feet four inches, and with it
enormous muscular strength, which was at once put at the dis-
posal of his father in building his cabin, clearing the field, and
splitting from the walnut forests, which were plentiful in that
county, the rails with which the farm was fenced. Thomas
Lincoln, however, soon deserted this new home, his last migra-
tion being to Goose Nest Prairie, in Coles county, where he died
in 185 1, seventy-three years of age. In his last days he was
tenderly cared for by his son.
Abraham Lincoln left his father's house as soon as the farm
was fenced and cleared, hired himself to a man named Denton
Offutt, in Sangamon county, assisted him to build a flat-boat,
accompanied him to New Orleans on a trading voyage, and re-
turned with him to New Salem, in Menard county, where
Offutt opened a store for the sale of general merchandise.
Little was accomplished in this way, and Lincoln employed his
too abundant leisure in constant reading and study. He
learned during this time the elements of English grammar, and
made a beginning in the study of surveying and the principles
of law. But the next year an Indian war began, occasioned by
the return of Black Hawk with his bands of Sacs and Foxes
from Iowa to Illinois. Lincoln volunteered in a company
raised in Sangamon county, and was immediately elected cap-
tain. His company was organized at Richland on 21 April,
1832 ; but his service in command of it was brief, for it was
mustered out on 27 May. Lincoln immediately re-enlisted as
a private, and served for several weeks in that capacity, being
finally mustered out on 16 June, 1832, by Lieut. Robert Ander-
son, who afterward commanded Fort Sumter at the beginning
of the civil war. He returned home and began a hasty canvass
for election to the legislature. His name had been announced
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
303
in the spring before his enlistment ; but now only ten days
were left before the election, which took place in August. In
spite of these disadvantages, he made a good race and was far
from the foot of the poll. Although he was defeated, he gained
the almost unanimous vote of his own neighborhood, New
Salem giving him 277 votes against 3. He now began to look
about him for employment, and for a time thought seriously of
learning the trade of a blacksmith; but an opportunity pre-
sented itself to buy the only store in the settlement, which he
did, giving his notes for the whole amount involved. He was
associated with an idle and dissolute partner, and the busi-
ness soon went to wreck, leaving Lincoln burdened with a debt
which it required several years of frugality and industry for
him to meet ; but it was finally paid in full. After this failure
he devoted himself with the greatest earnestness and industry
to the study of law. He was appointed postmaster of New
Salem in 1833, an office which he held for three years. The
emoluments of the place were very slight, but it gave him op-
portunities for reading. At the same time he was appointed
deputy to John Calhoun, the county surveyor, and, his modest
wants being supplied by these two functions, he gave his re-
maining leisure unreservedly to the study of law and politics.
He was a candidate for the legislature in August, 1834, and was
elected this time at the head of the list. He was re-elected in
1836, 1838, and 1840, after which he declined further election.
After entering the legislature he did not return to New Salem,
but, having by this time attained some proficiency in the law,
he removed to Springfield, where he went into partnership with
John T. Stuart, whose acquaintance he had begun in the Black
Hawk war and continued atVandalia. He took rank from the
first among the leading members of the legislature. He was
instrumental in having the state capital removed from Van-
dalia to Springfield, and during his eight years of service his
ability, industry, and weight of character gained him such stand-
ing among his associates that in his last two terms he was the
candidate of his party for the speakership of the house of rep-
resentatives. In 1846 he was elected to congress, his opponent
being the Rev. Peter Cartwright. The most important con-
gressional measure with which his name was associated during
his single term of service was a scheme for the emancipation
of the slaves in the District of Columbia, which in the prevail-
304
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ing temper of the time was refused consideration by congress.
He was not a candidate for re-election, but for the first and
only time in his life he applied for an executive appointment,
the commissionership of the general land-office. The place
was given to another man, but President Taylor's administra-
tion offered Mr. Lincoln the governorship of the territory of
Oregon, which he declined.
Mr. Lmcoln had by this time become the most influential
exponent of the principles of the Whig party in Illinois, and
his services were in request in every campaign. After his re-
turn from congress he devoted himself with great assiduity and
success to the practice of law, and speedily gained a command-
ing position at the bar. As he says himself, he was losing his
interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri compromise
aroused him again. The profound agitation of the question
of slavery, which in 1854 followed the repeal of the Missouri
compromise, awakened all the energies of Lincoln's nature.
He regarded this act, in which Senator Douglas was the most
prominent agent of the reactionary party, as a gross breach of
faith, and began at once a series of earnest political discussions
which immediately placed him at the head of the party that,
not only in Illinois but throughout the west, was speedily
formed to protest against and oppose the throwing open of the
territories to the encroachments of slavery. The legislature
elected in Illinois in the heat of
this discussion contained a ma-
jority of members opposed to
the policy of Douglas. The
duty of selecting a senator in
place of Gen. Shields, whose term
was closing, devolved upon this
legislature, and Mr. Lincoln was
the unanimous choice of the
Whig members. But they did
not command a clear majority of the legislature. There were
four members of Democratic antecedents who, while they were
ardently opposed to the extension of slavery, were not willing
to cast their votes for a Whig candidate, and adhered tena-
ciously through several ballots to Lyman Trumbull, a Democrat
of their own way of thinking. Lincoln, fearing that this dis-
sension among the anti-slavery men might result in the elec-
ABRAHAM LIXCOLX.
305
tion of a supporter of Douglas, urged his friends to go over in
a body to the support of Trumbull, and his influence was suffi-
cient to accomplish this result. Trumbull was elected, and for
many years served the Republican cause in the senate with
ability and zeal.
As soon as the Republican party became fully organized in
the nation, embracing in its ranks the anti-slavery members of
the old Whig and Democratic parties, Mr, Lincoln, by general
consent, took his place at the head of the party in Illinois; and
when, in 1858, Senator Douglas sought a re-election to the sen-
ate, the Republicans with one voice selected Mr. Lincoln as his
antagonist. He had already made several speeches of remark-
able eloquence and power against the pro-slavery reaction of
which the Nebraska bill was the significant beginning, and when
Mr. Douglas returned to Illinois to begin his canvass for the
senate, he was challenged by Mr. Lincoln to a series of joint
discussions. The challenge was accepted, and the most re-
markable oratorical combat the state has ever witnessed took
place between them during the summer. Mr. Douglas defend-
ed his thesis of non-intervention with slavery in the territories
(the doctrine known as "popular sovereignty," and derided as
" squatter sovereignty ") with remarkable adroitness and
energy. The ground that Mr. Lincoln took was higher and
bolder than had yet been assumed by any American statesman
of his time. In the brief and sententious speech in which he
accepted the championship of his party, before the Republican
convention of 16 June, 1858, he uttered the following pregnant
and prophetic words : " A house divided against itself cannot
stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently
half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dis-
solved ; I do not expect the house to fall ; but I do expect that
it will cease to be divided. It will become all the one thing or
all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the
further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall
rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction, or
its advocates will push it forward until it shall become alike
lawful in all the states, old as well as new, north as well as
south." This bold utterance excited the fears of his timid
friends, and laid him open to the hackneyed and conventional
attacks of the supporters of slavery ; but throughout the con-
test, while he did not for an instant lower this lofty tone of op-
3o6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
position to slavery and hope of its extinction, he refused to be
crowded by the fears of his friends or the denunciations of his
enemies away from the strictly constitutional ground upon
which his opposition was made. The debates between him and
Senator Douglas aroused extraordinary interest throughout
the state and the country. The men were perhaps, equally
matched in oratorical ability and adroitness in debate, but Lin-
coln's superiority in moral insight, and especially in far-seeing
political sagacity, soon became apparent. The most important
and significant of the debates was that which took place at Free-
port. Mr. Douglas had previously asked Mr. Lincoln a series
of questions intended to embarrass him, which Lincoln without
the slightest reserve answered by a categorical yes or no. At
Freeport, Lincoln, taking his turn, inquired of Douglas whether
the people of a territory could in any lawful way, against the
wish of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery
from its limits prior to the formation of a state constitution.
By his reply, intimating that slavery might be excluded by
unfriendly territorial legislation, Douglas gained a momentary
advantage in the anti-slavery region in which he spoke, but
dealt a fatal blow to his popularity in the south, the result of
which was seen two years afterward at the Charleston conven-
tion. The ground assumed by Senator Douglas was, in fact,
utterly untenable, and Lincoln showed this in one of his terse
sentences. "Judge Douglas holds," he said, "that a thing
may lawfully be driven away from a place where it has a law-
ful right to go."
This debate established the reputation of Mr. Lincoln as
one of the leading orators of the Republican party of the
Union, and a speech that he delivered at Cooper Institute, in
New York, on 27 Feb., i860, in which he showed that the un-
broken record of the founders of the republic was in favor of
the restriction of slavery and against its extension, widened
and confirmed his reputation ; so that when the Republican con-
vention came together in Chicago in May, i860, he was nomi-
nated for the presidency on the third ballot, over William H.
Seward, who was his principal compeftitor. The Democratic
convention, which met in Charleston, S. C, broke up after
numerous fruitless ballotings, and divided into two sections.
The southern half, unable to trust Mr. Douglas with the inter-
ests of slavery after his Freeport speech, first adjourned to
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
307
Richmond, but again joined the other half at Baltimore, where
a second disruption took place, after which the southern half
nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and the northern
portion nominated Mr. Douglas. John Bell, of Tennessee, was
nominated by the so-called Constitutional Union party. Lin-
coln, therefore, supported by the entire anti-slavery sentiment
of the north, gained an easy victory over the three other par-
ties. The election took place on 6 Nov., and when the elec-
toral college cast their votes Lincoln was found to have 180,
Breckinridge 72, Bell 39, and Douglas 12. The popular vote
stood: for Lincoln, 1,866,462; for Douglas, 1,375,157; for
Breckinridge, 847,953; for Bell, 590,631.
The extreme partisans of slavery had not even waited for
the election of Lincoln, to begin their preparations for an in-
surrection, and as soon as the result was declared a movement
for separation was begun in South Carolina, and it carried
along with her the states of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Missis-
sippi, Louisiana, and Texas. A provisional government, styled
the " Confederate States of America," of which Jefferson Davis,
of Mississippi, was made president, was promptly organized,
and seized, with few exceptions, all the posts, arsenals, and
public property of the United States within their limits. Con-
fronted by this extraordinary crisis, Mr. Lincoln kept his own
counsel, and made no public expression of his intentions or his
policy until he was inaugurated on 4 March, 1861.
He called about him a cabinet of the most prominent mem-
bers of the anti-slavery parties of the nation, giving no prefer-
ence to any special faction. His secretary of state was William
H. Seward, of New York, who had been his principal rival for
the nomination, and whose eminence and abilities designated
him as the leading member of the administration ; the secre-
tary of the treasury was Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, whose
pre-eminence in the west was as unquestioned as Seward's in
the east ; of war, Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, the most
influential politician of that state; of the navy, Gideon Welles,
of Connecticut; of the interior, Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana;
the border slave-states were represented in the government by
Edward Bates, of Missouri, attorney-general, and Montgomery
Blair, of Maryland, postmaster-general — both of -them men of
great distinction of character and high standing as lawyers.
Seward, Smith, and Bates were of Whig antecedents; all the
21
3o8
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
rest of Democratic. The cabinet underwent, in the course of
Mr. Lincoln's term, the following modifications: Sec. Chase,
after a brilliant administration of the finances, resigned in 1864
from personal reasons, and was succeeded by William P. Fessen-
den, of Maine; Sec. Cameron left the war department at the
close of the year 1861, and was appointed minister to Russia,
and his place was taken by Edwin M. Stanton, a war Democrat
of singular energy and vigor, and equal ability and devotion ;
Sec. Smith, accepting a judgeship, gave way to John P. Usher,
of Indiana ; Attorney-General
Bates resigned in the last year
of the administration, and was
succeeded by James Speed, of
Kentucky; and Postmaster-Gen-
eral Blair about the same time
gave way to William Dennison,
of Ohio.
In his inaugural address Presi-
dent Lmcoln treated the acts of
secession as a nullity. He de-
clared the Union perpetual and
inviolate, and announced with
perfect firmness, though with the
greatest moderation of speech
and feeling, the intention of the
government to maintain its au-
thority and to hold the places
under its jurisdiction. He made
an elaborate and unanswerable
argument against the legality as well as the justice of se-
cession, and further showed, with convincing clearness, that
peaceful secession was impossible. " Can aliens make treaties,"
he said, " easier than friends can make laws ? Can treaties be
more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among
friends ? Suppose you go to war ; you cannot fight always,
and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on either,
you cease fighting, the identical old questions as to terms of
intercourse are again upon you." He pleaded for peace in a
strain of equal tenderness and dignity, and in closing he said :
" In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in
mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
309
not assail you. You can have no conflict without being your-
selves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven
to destroy the government, while I shall have a most solemn
one to preserve, protect, and defend it." This speech pro-
foundly affected the public opinion of the north; but in the
excited state of sentiment that then controlled the south it
naturally met only contempt and defiance in that section. A
few weeks later the inevitable war began, in an attack upon
Fort Sumter by the secessionists of South Carolina under Gen.
P. G. T. Beauregard, and after a long bombardment the fort sur-
rendered on 13 April, 1861. The president instantly called for
a force of 75,000 three-months' militiamen, and three weeks later
ordered the enlistment of 64,000 soldiers and 18,000 seamen for
three years. He set on foot a blockade of the southern ports,
and called congress together in special session, choosing for
their day of meeting the 4th of July. The rernaining states of
the south rapidly arrayed themselves on one side or the other;
all except Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were drawn into
the secession movement, and the western part of Virginia, ad-
hering to the Union, under the name of West Virginia, sepa-
rated itself from that ancient commonwealth.
The first important battle of the war took place at Bull
Run, near Manassas station, Va., 21 July, 1861, and resulted in
the defeat of the National troops under Gen. Irwin McDowell
by a somewhat larger force of the Confederates under Gens.
Joseph E. Johnston and Beauregard. Though the loss in killed
and wounded was not great, and was about the same on both
sides, the victory was still one of the utmost importance for the
Confederates, and gave them a great increase of prestige on
both sides of the Atlantic. They were not, however, able to
pursue their advantage. The summer was passed in enlisting,
drilling, and equipping a formidable National army on the
banks of the Potomac, which was given in charge of Gen.
George B. McClellan, a young officer who had distinguished
himself by a successful campaign in western Virginia. In spite
of the urgency of the government, which was increased by the
earnestness of the people and their representatives in congress,
Gen. McClellan made no advance until the sprmg of 1862,
when Gen. Johnston, in command of the Confederate army,
evacuated the position which, with about 45,000 men, he had
held during the autumn and winter against the Army of the
3IO
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Potomac, amounting to about 177,000 effectives. Gen. McClel-
lan then transferred his army to the peninsula between the
James and York rivers. Although there was but a force of
16,000 opposed to him when he landed, he spent a month be-
fore the works at Yorktown, and when he was prepared to open
fire upon them they were evacuated, and Gen. Johnston re-
treated to the neighborhood of Richmond. The battle of
Seven Pines, in which the Confederates, successful in their first
attack, were afterward repelled, was fought on 31 May, 1862.
Johnston was wounded, and the command devolved upon Gen.
Robert E. Lee, who in the latter part of June moved out from
his position before Richmond and attacked McClellan's right
flank, under Gen. Fitz-John Porter, at Gaines's Mills, north of
the Chickahominy. Porter, with one corps, resisted the Con-
federate army all day with great gallantry, unassisted by the
main army under McClellan, but withdrew in the evening, and
McClellan at once began his retreat to the James river. Sev-
eral battles were fought on the way, in which the Confederates
were checked ; but the retreat continued until the National
army reached the James. Taking position at Malvern Hill,
they inflicted a severe defeat upon Gen. Lee, but were immedi-
ately after withdrawn by Gen. McClellan to Harrison's Land-
ing. Here, as at other times during his career, McClellan la-
bored under a strange hallucination as to the numbers of his
enemy. He generally estimated them at not less than twice
their actual force, and continually reproached the president for
not giving him impossible re-enforcements to equal the imagi-
nary numbers he thought opposed to him. Li point of fact, his
army was always in excess of that of Johnston or Lee. The
continual disasters in the east were somewhat compensated by
a series of brilliant successes in the west. Li February, 1862,
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had captured the Confederate forts
Henry and Donelson, thus laying open the great strategic lines
of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and, moving south-
ward, had fought (6 and 7 April) the battle of Shiloh, with un-
favorable results on the first day, which were turned to a vic-
tory on the second with the aid of Gen. D. C. Buell and his
army, a battle in which Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was killed
and the Confederate invasion of Kentucky baffled. Farragut,
on 24 April, had won a brilliant naval victory, over the twin
forts above the mouths of the Mississippi, which resulted in
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
311
the capture of New Orleans and the control of the lower Mis-
sissippi. After Gen. McClellan's retreat to the James, the
president visited the army at Harrison's Landing (8 July), and,
after careful consultations with the corps commanders, became
convinced that in the actual disposition of the officers and the
troops there was no reasonable expectation of a successful
movement upon Richmond by McClellan. An order was there-
fore issued for the withdrawal of the army from the James,
and, Gen. Halleck having been appointed general-in-chief,
Gen. Pope was sent forward from Washington with a small
force to delay the Confederate army under Gen. Lee until the
Army of the Potomac could arrive and be concentrated to sup-
port him. McClellan's movements, however, were so deliber-
ate, and there was such a want of confidence and co-operation
on the part of his officers toward Gen. Pope, that the National
army met with a decisive defeat on the same battle-field of
Bull Run that saw their first disaster. Gen. Pope, disheartened
by the lack of sympathy and support that he discerned among
the most eminent officers of the Army of the Potomac, retreat-
ed upon Washington, and Gen. McClellan, who seemed to be
the only officer under whom the army was at the moment will-
ing to serve, was placed in command of it. Gen. Lee, elated
with his success, crossed the Potomac, but was met by the army
under McClellan at South Mountain and Antietam, and after
two days of great slaughter Lee retreated into Virgmia.
President Lincoln availed himself of this occasion to give
effect to a resolve that had long been maturing in his mind in
an act the most momentous in its significance and results that
the century has witnessed. For a year and a half he had been
subjected to urgent solicitations from the two great political
parties of the country, the one side appealing to him to take
decided measures against slavery, and the other imploring him
to pursue a conservative course in regard to that institution.
His deep-rooted detestation of the system of domestic servi-
tude was no secret to any one; but his reverence for the law,
his regard for vested interests, and his anxiety to do nothing
that should alienate any considerable body of the supporters of
the government, had thus far induced him to pursue a middle
course between the two extremes. Meanwhile the power of
events had compelled a steady progress in the direction of
emancipation. So early as August, 1861, congress had passed
312
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
an act to confiscate the rights of slave-owners in slaves em-
ployed in a manner hostile to the Union, and Gen. Fremont had
seized the occasion of the passage of this act to issue an order
to confiscate and emancipate the slaves of rebels in the state of
Missouri. President Lincoln, unwilling, in a matter of such
transcendent importance, to leave the initiative to any subor-
dinate, revoked this order, and di-
rected Gen. Fremont to modify it
so that it should conform to the
confiscation act of congress. This
excited violent opposition to the
president among the radical anti-
slavery men in Missouri and else-
where, while it drew upon him the
scarcely less embarassing impor-
tunities of the conservatives, who
wished him to take still more de-
cided ground against the radicals.
On 6 March, 1S62, he sent a spe-
cial message to congress inclosing
a resolution, the passage of which
he recommended, to offer pecuni-
ary aid from the general govern-
ment to states that should adopt
the gradual abolishment of slav-
ery. This resolution was prompt-
ly passed by congress ; but in
none of the slave-states was public
sentiment sufificiently advanced to permit them to avail them-
selves of it. The next month, however, congress passed a law
emancipating slaves in the District of Columbia, with compen-
sation to owners, and President Lincoln had the happiness of
affixing his signature to a measure that he had many years be-
fore, while a representative from Illinois, fruitlessly urged upon
the notice of congress. As the war went on, wherever the Na-
tional armies penetrated there was a constant stream of fugitive
slaves from the adjoining regions, and the commanders of each
department treated the complicated questions arising from this
body of " contrabands," as they came to be called, in their camps,
according to their own judgment of the necessities or the expe-
diencies of each case, a discretion which the president thought
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
313
best to tolerate. But on 9 May, 1862, Gen. David Hunter, an
intimate and esteemed friend of Mr. Lincoln's, saw proper,
without consultation with him, to issue a military order declar-
ing all persons theretofore held as slaves in Georgia, Florida,
and South Carolina forever free. The president, as soon as he
received this order, issued a proclamation declaring it void, and
reserving to himself the decision of the question whether it was
competent for him, as commander-in-chief of the army and
navy, to declare the slaves of any state or states free, and
whether at any time or in any case it should have become a
necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the government
to exercise such supposed power, and prohibiting to command-
ers in the field the decision of such questions. But he added
in his proclamation a significant warning and appeal to the
slave-holding states, urging once more upon them the policy of
emancipation by state action. " I do not argue," he said ; "I
beseech you to make the argument for yourselves. You can-
not, if you would, be blind to the signs of the times. I beg of
you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, ranging, if it
may be, far above personal and partisan politics. This pro-
posal makes common cause for a common object, casting no
reproaches upon any. . . . Will you not embrace it ? So much
good has not been done, by one effort, in all past time, as in
the providence of God it is now your high privilege to do.
May the vast future not have cause to lament that you have
neglected it." He had several times endeavored to bring this
proposition before the members of congress from the loyal
slave-holding states, and on 12 July he invited them to meet
him at the executive mansion, and submitted to them a power-
ful and urgent appeal to induce their states to adopt the
policy of compensated emancipation. He told them, with-
out reproach or complaint, that he believed that if they had
all voted for the resolution in the gradual emancipation mes-
sage of the preceding March, the war would now have been
substantially ended, and that the plan therein proposed was
still one of the most potent and swift means of ending it.
" Let the states," he said, " which are in rebellion see definitely
and certainly that m no event will the states you represent
ever join their proposed confederacy, and they cannot much
longer maintain the contest " While urging this policy upon
the conservatives, and while resolved in his own mind upon
314
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
emancipation by decree as a last resource, he was the subject
of vehement attacks from the more radical anti-slavery sup-
porters of the government, to which he replied with unfailing
moderation and good temper. Although in July he had re-
solved upon his course, and had read to his cabinet a draft of a
proclamation of emancipation which he had then laid aside for
a more fitting occasion (on the suggestion from Mr. Seward
that its issue in the disastrous condition of our military affairs
would be interpreted as a sign of desperation), he met the re-
proaches of the radical Republicans, the entreaties of visiting
delegations, and the persuasions of his eager friends with argu-
ments showing both sides of the question of which they persist-
ed in seeing only one. To Horace Greeley, on 22 Aug., Mr.
Lincoln said: " My paramount object is to save the Union,
and not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the
Union without freeing any slave, 1 would do it; if I could save
it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it ; and if I could do it
by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."
And even so late as 13 Sept. he said to a delegation of a re-
ligious society, who were urging immediate action : " I do not
want to issue a document that the whole world will see must
necessarily be inoperative, like the pope's bull against the
comet. . . . I view this matter as a practical war measure, to be
decided on according to the advantages or disadvantages it may
offer to the suppression of the rebellion." Still, he assured them
that he had not decided against a proclamation of liberty to
the slaves, but that the matter occupied his deepest thoughts.
The retreat of Lee from Maryland after his defeat at Antietam
seemed to the president to afford a proper occasion for the
execution of his long-matured resolve, and on 22 Sept. he is-
sued his preliminary proclamation, giving notice to the states in
rebellion that, on i Jan., 1863, all persons held as slaves within
any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof
should then be in rebellion against the United States, should
be then, thenceforward, and forever free. When congress
came together on i Dec. he urged them to supplement what had
already been done by constitutional action, concluding his
message with this impassioned appeal : " Fellow-citizens, we
cannot escape history. We of this congress and this adminis-
tration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal
significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
315
The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in
honor or in dishonor to the latest generation. We — even we
here — hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving
freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honor-
able alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall
nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth. Other
means may succeed ; this could not fail. The way is plain,
peaceful, generous, just — a way which, if followed, the world
3i6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
will forever applaud, and God must forever bless." It was
hardly to be expected, however, that any action would be taken
by congress before the lapse of the hundred days that the presi-
dent had left between his warning and its execution. On i Jan.,
1863, the final proclamation of emancipation was issued. It re-
cited the preliminary document, and then designated the states in
rebellion against the United States. They were Arkansas, Tex-
as, a part of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, excepting certain
counties. The proclamation then continued : " I do order and
declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated
states and parts of states are, and henceforward shall be,
free; and that the executive government of the United States,
including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recog-
nize and maintain the freedom of said persons." The criti-
cisms and forebodings of the opponents of emancipation had
well-nigh been exhausted during the previous three months,
and the definitive proclamation was received with general en-
thusiasm throughout the loyal states. The dissatisfaction with
which this important measure was regarded in the border
states gradually died away, as did also the opposition in con-
servative quarters to the enlistment of negro soldiers. Their
good conduct, their quick submission to discipline, and their
excellent behavior in several battles, rapidly made an end of
the prejudice against them; and when, in the winter session of
congress of i863-'4, Mr. Lincoln again urged upon the atten-
tion of that body the passage of a constitutional amendment
abolishing slavery, his proposition met with the concurrence of
a majority of congress, though it failed of the necessary two-
third vote in the house of representatives. During the follow-
ing year, however, public opinion made rapid progress, and the
influence of the president with congress was largely increased
after his triumphant re-election. In his annual message of 6
Dec, 1864, he once more pleaded, this time with irresistible
force, in favor of constitutional emancipation in all the states.
As there had been much controversy during the year in regard
to the president's anti-slavery convictions, and the suggestion
had been made in many quarters that, for the sake of peace, he
might be induced to withdraw the proclamation, he repeated
the declaration made the year before : " While I remain in my
present position I shall not attempt to retract or modify the
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. ^I?
emancipation proclamation ; nor shall I return to slavery any
person who is free by the terms of that proclamation or by any
of the acts of congress. If the people should, by whatever
mode or means, make it an executive duty to re-enslave such
persons, another, and not I, must be their instrument to per-
form it." This time congress acted with alacrity, and on 31 Jan.,
1865, proposed to the states the 13th amendment to the consti-
tution, providing that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or
any place subject to their jurisdiction. The states rapidly
adopted the amendment by the action of their legislatures, and
the president was especially pleased that his own state of Illi-
nois led the van, having passed the necessary resolution within
twenty-four hours. Before the year ended twenty-seven of the
thirty-six states (being the necessary three fourths) had rati-
fied the amendment, and President Johnson, on 18 Dec, 1865,
ofhcially proclaimed its adoption.
While the energies of the government and of the people
were most strenuously occupied with the war and the questions
immediately concernmg it, the four years of Mr. Lincoln's ad-
ministration had their full share of complicated and difficult
questions of domestic and foreign concern. The interior and
post-office departments made great progress in developing the
means of communication throughout the country. Mr. Chase,
as secretary of the treasury, performed, with prodigious ability
and remarkable success, the enormous duties devolving upon
him of providing funds to supply the army at an expense
amounting at certain periods to $3,000,000 a day ; and Mr.
Seward, in charge of the state department, held at bay the sup-
pressed hostility of European nations. Of all his cabinet, the
president sustained with Mr. Seward relations of the closest
intimacy, and for that reason, perhaps, shared more directly in
the labors of his department. He revised the first draft of
most of Seward's important despatches, and changed and
amended their language with remarkable wisdom and skill.
He was careful to avoid all sources of controversy or ill-feeling
with foreign nations, and when they occurred he did his best to
settle them in the interests of peace, without a sacrifice of na-
tional dignity.
At the end of the year 1861 the friendly relations between
31!
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
England and the United States were seriously threatened by
the capture of the confederate envoys, James Murray Mason
and John Slidell, on board a British merchant-ship. Public
sentiment approved the capture, and, as far as could be judged
by every manifestation in the press and in congress, was in
favor of retaining the prisoners and defiantly refusing the de-
mand of England for their return. But when the president,
after mature deliberation, decided that the capture was against
American precedents, and directed their return to British cus-
tody, the second thought of the country was with him. His
prudence and moderation were also conspicuously displayed
in his treatment of the question of the invasion of Mexico by
France, and the establishment by military power of the em-
peror Maximilian in that country. Accepting as genuine the
protestations of the emperor of the French, that he intended no
interference with the will of the people of Mexico, he took no
measures unfriendly to France or the empire, except those
involved in the maintenance of unbroken friendship with the
republican government under President Juarez, a proceeding
that, although severely criticised by the more ardent spirits in
congress, ended, after the president's death, in the triumph of
the National party in Mexico and the downfall of the invaders.
He left no doubt, however, at any time, in regard to his own
conviction that " the safety of the people of the United States
and the cheerful destiny to which they aspire are intimately
dependent upon the maintenance of free republican institutions
throughout Mexico." He dealt in a sterner spirit with the
proposition for foreign mediation that the emperor of the
French, after seeking in vain the concurrence of other Euro-
pean powers, at last presented singly at the beginning of 1863.
This proposition, under the orders of the president, was de-
clined by Mr. Seward on 6 Feb., in a despatch of remarkable
ability and dignity, which put an end to all discussion of over-
tures of intervention from European powers. The diplomatic
relations with England were exceedingly strained at several
periods during the war. The building and fitting out of Con-
federate cruisers in English ports, and their escape, after their
construction and its purpose had been made known by the
American minister, more than once brought the two nations to
the verge of war; but the moderation with which the claims of
the United States were made by Mr. Lincoln, the energy and
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
319
ability displayed by Sec. Seward and by Mr. Cliarles Francis
Adams in presenting these claims, and, it must now be recog-
nized, the candor and honesty with which the matter was
treated by Earl Russell, the British minister for foreign affairs,
saved the two countries from that irreparable disaster ; and the
British government at last took such measures as were neces-
sary to put an end to this indirect war from the shores of Eng-
land upon American commerce. In the course of two years
the war attained such proportions that volunteering was no
longer a sufficient resource to keep the army, consisting at that
time of nearly a million men, at its full fighting strength. Con-
gress therefore authorized, and the departments executed, a
scheme of enrolment and draft of the arms-bearing population
of the loyal states. Violent opposition arose to this measure
in many parts of the country, which was stimulated by the
speeches of orators of the opposition, and led, in many in-
stances, to serious breaches of the public peace. A frightful
riot, beginning among the foreign population of New York,
kept that city in disorder and terror
for three days in July, 1863. But
the riots were suppressed, the dis-
turbances quieted at last, and the
draft was executed throughout the
country. Clement L. Vallandigham,
of Ohio, one of the most eloquent
and influential orators of the Demo-
cratic party, was arrested in Ohio
by Gen. Burnside for his violent pub-
lic utterances in opposition to the
war, tried by a military court, and
sentenced to imprisonment during
the continuance of the war. The
president changed his sentence to
that of transportation within the lines of the rebellion. These
proceedings caused a great ferment among his party in Ohio,
who, by way of challenge to the government, nominated him
for governor of that state. A committee of its prominent
politicians demanded from the president his restoration to his
political rights, and a correspondence took place between them
and the president, in which the rights and powers of the gov-
ernment in case of rebellion were set forth by him with great
ilfA
320
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
lucidity and force. His letters exercised an important influ-
ence in the political discussions of the year, and Mr. Vallan-
digham was defeated in his candidacy by John Brough by a
majority of 100,000 votes.
The war still continued at a rate that appears rapid enough
in retrospect, but seemed slow to the eager spirits watching its
course. The disasters of the Army of the Potomac did not
end with the removal of Gen. McClellan, which took place in
November, 1862, as a consequence of his persistent delay in
pursuing Lee's retreating army after the battle of Antietam.
Gen. Burnside, who succeeded him, suffered a humiliating defeat
in his attack upon the intrenched position of the Confederates
at Fredericksburg. Gen. Hooker, who next took command,
after opening his campaign by crossing the Rapidan in a march
of extraordinary brilliancy, was defeated at Chancellorsville, in
a battle where both sides lost severely, and then retired again
north of the river. Gen. Lee, leaving the National army
on his right flank, crossed the Potomac, and Hooker having, at
his own request, been relieved and succeeded by Gen. Meade,
the two armies met in a three days' battle at Gettysburg, Pa.,
where Gen. Lee sustained a decisive defeat, and was driven
back into Virginia. His flight from Gettysburg began on the
evenmg of the 4th of July, a day that in this year doubled its
lustre as a historic anniversary. For on this day Vicksburg,
the most important Confederate stronghold in the west, sur-
rendered to Gen. Grant. He had spent the early months of
1863 in successive attempts to take that fortress, all of which
had failed ; but on the last day of April he crossed the river at
Grand Gulf, and within a few days fought the successful bat-
tles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, and
the Big Black river, and shut up the army of Pemberton in
close siege in the city of Vicksburg, which he finally captured
with about 30,000 men on the 4th of July.
The speech that Mr. Lincoln delivered at the dedication of
the National cemetery on the battle-field of Gettysburg, 19
Nov., 1863, was at once recognized as the philosophy in brief
of the whole great struggle, and has already become classic.
There are slightly differing versions; the one that is here given
is a literal transcript of the speech as he afterward wrote it out
for a fair in Baltimore :
" Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth
A BRA HA M LINCOLN:
321
on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedi-
cated to tlie proposition that all men are created equal. Now
we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can
long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final rest-
ing-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation
might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should
do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we can-
not consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated
it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world
will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it
can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living,
rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which
they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is
rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us — that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure
of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have
a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Gen. Grant was transferred to Chattanooga, where, in No-
vember, with the troops of Thomas, Hooker, and Sherman, he
won the important victory of Missionary Ridge; and then, be-
ing appointed lieutenant-general and general-in-chief of the
armies of the United States, he went to Washington and en-
tered upon the memorable campaign of 1864. This campaign
began with revived hopes on the part of the government, the
people, and'the army. The president, glad that the army had
now at its head a general in whose ability and enterprise he
could thoroughly confide, ceased from that moment to exercise
any active influence on its movements. He wrote, on 30 April,
to Gen. Grant: "The particulars of your plans I neither know
nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant, and,
pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or re-
straints upon you. ... If there is anything wanting which is
in my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now,
with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you."
Grant crossed the Rapidan on 4 May, intending to move by
322
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the right flank of Gen. Lee ; but the two armies came together
in a gloomy forest called the Wilderness, where, from the 5th
to the 7th of May, one of the most sanguinary battles known
to modern warfare was fought. Neither side having gained
any decisive advantage in this deadly struggle, Grant moved
to the left, and Lee met him again at Spottsylvania Court-
House, where for ten days a series of destructive contests took
place, in which both sides were alternately successful. Still
moving to the left, Grant again encountered the enemy at the
crossing of North Anna river, and still later at Cold Harbor, a
few miles northeast of Richmond, where, assaulting Gen. Lee's
army in a fortified position, he met with a bloody repulse. He
then crossed the James river, intending by a rapid movement to
seize Petersburg and the Confederate Imes of communication
south of Richmond, but was baffled in this purpose, and forced
to enter upon a regular siege of Petersburg, which occupied the
summer and autumn. While these operations were in progress,
Gen. Philip H. Sheridan had made one of the most brilliant
cavalry raids in the war, threatening Richmond and defeating
the Confederate cavalry under Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, and killing
that famous leader. While Grant lay before Richmond, Gen.
Lee, hoping to induce him to attack his works, despatched a
force under Gen. Early to threaten Washington ; but Grant
sent two corps of his army northward, and Early — after a sharp
skirmish under the fortifications of Washmgton, where Mr.
Lincoln was personally present — was driven back through the
Shenandoah valley, and on two occasions, in September and
October, was signally defeated by Gen. Sheridan.
Gen. William T. Sherman, who had been left in command
of the western district formerly commanded by Grant, moved
southward at the same time that Grant crossed the Rapidan.
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, one of the ablest of the Confederate
generals, retired gradually before him, defending himself at
every halt with the greatest skill and address ; but his move-
ments not proving satisfactory to the Richmond governnient,
he was removed, and Gen. John B. Hood appointed in his place.
After a summer of hard fighting, Sherman, on i Sept., captured
Atlanta, one of the chief manufacturing and railroad centres of
the south, and later in the autumn organized and executed a
magnificent march to the seaboard, which proved that the mili-
tary power of the Confederacy had been concentrated at a few
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
323
points on the frontier, and that the interior was little more than
an empty shell. He reached the sea-coast early in December,
investing Savannah on the loth, and capturing the city on the
2ist. He then marched northward with the intention of assist-
ing Gen. Grant in the closing scenes of the war. The army
under Gen. George H. Thomas, who had been left in Tennessee
to hold Hood m check while this movement was going on,
after severely handling the Confederates in the preliminary
battle of Franklin, 30 Nov., inflicted upon General Hood a
crushing and final defeat in the battle of Nashville, 16 Dec,
routing and driving him from the state.
During the summer, while Grant was engaged in the des-
perate and indecisive series of battles that marked his south-
ward progress in Virginia, and Sherman had not yet set out
upon his march to the sea, one of the most ardent political
canvasses the country had ever seen was in progress at the
north. Mr. Lincoln, on 8 June, had been unanimously renom-
inated for the presidency by the Republican convention at
Baltimore. The Democratic leaders had postponed their con-
vention to a date unusually late, in the hope that some advan-
tage might be reaped from the events of the summer. The
convention came together on 29 Aug. in Chicago. Mr. Vallan-
digham, who had returned from his banishment, and whom the
government had sagaciously declined to rearrest, led the ex-
treme peace party in the convention. Prominent politicians of
New York were present in the interest of Gen. McClellan.
Both sections of the convention gained their point. Gen,
McClellan was nominated for the presidency, and Mr. Vallan-
digham succeeded in imposing upon his party a platform declar-
ing that the war had been a failure, and demanding a cessation
of hostilities. The capture of Atlanta on the day the conven-
tion adjourned seemed to the Unionists a providential answer
to the opposition. Republicans, who had been somewhat dis-
heartened by the slow progress of military events and by the
open and energetic agitation that the peace 'party had con-
tinued through the summer at the north, now took heart again,
and the canvass proceeded with the greatest spirit to the close.
Sheridan's victory over Early in the Shenandoah valley gave
an added impulse to the general enthusiasm, and in the
October elections it was shown that the name of Mr. Lincoln
was more popular, and his influence more powerful, than any
22
324
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
one had anticipated. In the election that took place on 8 Nov.,
1864, he received 2,216,000 votes, and Gen. McClellan 1,800,000.
The difference in the electoral vote was still greater, Mr.
Lincoln being supported by 212 of the presidential electors,
while only 21 voted for McClellan.
President Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered on
4 March, 1865, will forever remain not only one of the most
remarkable of all his public utterances, but will also hold a
high rank among the greatest state papers that history has
preserved. As he neared the end of his career, and saw plainly
outlined before him the dimensions of the vast moral and
material success that the nation was about to achieve, his
thoughts, always predisposed to an earnest and serious view of
life, assumed a fervor and exaltation like that of the ancient
seers and prophets. The speech that he delivered to the vast
concourse at the eastern front of the capitol is the briefest of
all the presidential addresses in our annals ; but it has not its
equal in lofty eloquence and austere
morality. The usual historical view
of the situation, the ordinary present-
ment of the intentions of the govern-
ment, seemed matters too trivial to
engage the concern of a mind stand-
ing, as Lincoln's apparently did at
this moment, face to face with the
most tremendous problems of fate
and moral responsibility. In the
briefest words he announced what
had been the cause of the war, and
how the government had hoped to
bring it to an earlier close. With passionless candor he ad-
mitted that neither party expected for the war the magnitude
or the duration it had attained. " Each looked for an easier
triumph and a result less fundamental and astounding"; and,
passing into a strain of rhapsody, which no lesser mind and
character could ever dare to imitate, he said : " Both read the
same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid
against the other. It may seem strange that any men should
dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from
the sweat of other men's faces. But let us judge not, that we
be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered;
4
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1^
4 111 «
^
Js -is
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
325
that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his
own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come ; but woe to that man by
whom the offence cometh.' If we shall suppose that American
slavery is one of those offences, which, in the providence of
God, must needs come, but which, having continued through
His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives
to both north and south this terrible war, as the woe due to
those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any
departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a
living God always ascribe to Him ? Fondly do we hope, fer-
vently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speed-
ily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the
wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of
unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood
drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the
sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must
be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.' With malice toward none, with charity for all,
with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let
us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's
wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and
for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and
cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with
all nations."
The triumphant election of Mr. Lincoln, no less than the
steady progress of the National armies, convinced some of the
more intelligent of the southern leaders that their cause was
hopeless, and that it would be prudent to ascertain what terms
of peace could be made before the utter destruction of their
military power. There had been already several futile at-
tempts at opening negotiations ; but they had all failed of
necessity, because neither side was willing even to consider the
only terms that the other side would offer. There had never
been a moment when Mr. Lincoln would have been willing to
receive propositions of peace on any other basis than the
recognition of the national integrity, and Mr. Davis steadfastly
refused to the end to admit the possibility of the restoration of
the national authority. In July, certain unauthorized persons
in Canada, having persuaded Horace Greeley that negotiations
might be opened through them with the Confederate authorities,
326
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Mr. Lincoln despatched the great editor to Niagara Falls, and
sent an open letter addressed, "To whom it may concern."
It is in the possession of Mr. William H. Appleton, of New
York. This document put an end to the negotiation. The
Confederate emissaries in Canada and their principals in Rich-
mond, made no use of this incident except to employ the presi-
dent's letter as a text for denunciation of the National govern-
ment. But later in the year, the hopelessness of the struggle
having become apparent to some of the Confederate leaders,
Mr. Davis was at last induced to send an embassy to Fortress
Monroe, to inquire what terms of adjustment were possible.
They were met by President Lincoln and the secretary of state in
person. The plan proposed was one that had been suggested, on
his own responsibility, by Mr. Francis Preston Blair, of Washing-
ton, in an interview he had been permitted to hold with Mr.
Davis in Richmond, that the two armies should unite in a cam-
paign against the French in Mexico for the enforcement of the
Monroe doctrine, and that the issues of the war should be post-
poned for future settlement. The president declined perempto-
rily to entertain this scheme, and repeated again the only condi-
tions to which he could listen : The restoration of the national
authority throughout all the states, the maintenance and
execution of all the acts of the general government in regard
to slavery, the cessation of hostilities, and the disbanding of
the insurgent forces as a necessary prerequisite to the ending
of the war. The Confederate agents reported at Richmond
the failure of their embassy, and Mr. Davis denounced the
conduct of President Lincoln in a public address full of des-
perate defiance. Neverthless, it was evident even to the most
prejudiced observers that the war could not continue much
longer. Sherman's march had demonstrated the essential
weakness of the Confederate cause ; the soldiers of the Confed-
eracy — who for four years, with the most stubborn gallantry,
had maintained a losing fight— began to show signs of danger-
ous discouragement and insubordination ; recruiting had ceased
some time before, and desertion was going on rapidly. The
army of Gen. Lee, which was the last bulwark of the Confeder-
acy, still held its lines stoutly against the gradually enveloping
lines of Grant; but their valiant commander knew it was only
a question of how many days he could hold his works, and
repeatedly counselled the government at Richmond to evacu-
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
327
ate that city, and allow the army to take up a more tenable
position in the mountains. Gen. Grant's only anxiety each
morning was lest he should find the army of Gen. Lee moving
away from him, and late in March he determined to strike the
final blow at the rebellion. Moving for the last time by the
left flank, his forces under Sheridan fought and gained a
brilliant victory over the Confederate left at Five Forks, and
at the same time Gens. Humphreys, Wright, and Parke moved
against the Confederate works, breaking their lines and cap-
turing many prisoners and guns. Petersburg was evacuated
on 2 April. The Confederate government fled from Richmond
the same afternoon and evening, and Grant, pursuing the
broken and shattered remnant of Lee's army, received their sur-
render at Appomattox Court-House on 9 April. About 28,000
Confederates signed the parole, and an equal number had been
killed, captured, and dispersed in the operations immediately
preceding the surrender. Gen. Sherman, a few days afterward,
received the surrender of Johnston, and the last Confederate
army, under Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, west of the Missis-
sippi, laid down its arms.
President Lincoln had himself accompanied the army in its
last triumphant campaign, and had entered Richmond imme-
diately after its surrender, receiving the cheers and benedic-
tions not only of the negroes whom he had set free, but of a
great number of white people, who were weary of the war and
welcomed the advent of peace. Returning to Washington with
his mind filled with plans for the restoration of peace and or-
derly government throughout the south, he seized the occa- /
sion of a serenade, on 11 April, to deliver to the people who
gathered in front of the executive mansion his last speech on
public affairs, in which he discussed with unusual dignity and
force the problems of reconstruction, then crowding upon
public consideration. As his second inaugural was the greatest
of all his rhetorical compositions, so this brief political address,
which closed his public career, is unsurpassed among his
speeches for clearness and wisdom, and for a certain tone of
gentle but unmistakable authority, which shows to what a mas-
tery of statecraft he had attained. He congratulated the coun-
try upon the decisive victories of the last week ; he expressly
asserted that, although he had been present in the final opera-
tions, "no part of the honor, for plan or execution, was his";
^
328 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
and then, with equal boldness and discretion, announced the
principles in accordance with which he should deal with the
restoration of the states. He refused to be provoked into con-
troversy, which he held wouJd be purely academic, over the ques-
tion whether the insurrectionary states were in or out of the
Union. "As appears to me," he said, "that question has not
been, nor yet is, a practically material one, and any discussion
of it, while it thus remains practically immaterial, could have no
effect other than the mischievous one of dividing our friends.
As yet, whatever it may hereafter become, that question is bad,
as the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all — a
merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded
states, so-called, are out of their proper practical relation with
the Union, and that the sole object of the government, civil and
military, in regard to those states, is to again get them into
that proper practical relation. I believe it is not only possible,
but in fact easier, to do this without deciding, or even consid-
ering, whether these states have ever been out of the Union
than with it. Finding themselves safely at home, it would be
utterly immaterial whether they had ever been abroad. Let
us all join in doing the acts necessary to restoring the proper
practical relations between these states and the Union, and
each forever after innocently indulge his own opinion whether
in doing the acts he brought the states from without into the
Union, or only gave them proper assistance, they never having
been out of it." In this temper he discussed the recent action
of the Unionists of Louisiana, where 12,000 voters had sworn
allegiance, giving his full approval to their course, but not
committing himself to any similar method in other cases; "any
exclusive and inflexible plan would surely become a new entan-
glement. ... If we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost
to disorganize and disperse them. We, in effect, say to the
white men, 'You are worthless or worse, we will neither help
you, nor be helped by you.' To the blacks we say, 'This cup
of liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips, we
will dash from you and leave you to the chances of gather-
ing the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and un-
defined when, where, and how. ... If, on the contrary, we
sustain the new government of Louisiana, the converse is
made true. Concede that it is only to what it should be as the
t%% is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
329
the egg than by smashing it." These words were the last he
uttered in public; on 14 April, at a cabinet meeting, he devel-
oped these views in detail, and found no difference of opinion
among his advisers. The same evening he attended a perform-
ance of " Our American Cousin " at Ford's theatre, in Tenth
street. He was accompanied by Mrs. Lincoln and two friends
— Miss Harris, a daughter of Senator Ira Harris, of New York,
and Maj. Henry R. Rathbone. In the midst of the play a shot
was heard, and a man was seen to leap from the president's
box to the stage. Brandishing a dripping knife, with which,
after shooting the president, he had stabbed Maj. Rathbone,
and shouting, " Sic semper tyrannis ! — the south is avenged ! "
he rushed to the rear of the building, leaped upon a horse,
which was held there in readiness for him, and made his escape.
The president was carried to a small house on the opposite
side of the street, where, surrounded by his family and the
principal officers of the government, he breathed his last at 7
o'clock on the morning of 15 April. The assassin was found
by a squadron of troops twelve days afterward, and shot in a
barn in which he had taken refuge. The illustration on page
319 represents the house where Mr. Lincoln passed away.
The body of the president lay in state at the Capitol on 20
April and was viewed by a great concourse of people; the
next day the funeral train
set out for Springfield, 111.
The cortege halted at all the
principal cities on the way,
and the remains of the presi-
dent lay in state in Balti-
more, Harrisburg, Philadel-
phia, New York, Albany,
Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chi-
cago, being received every-
where with extraordinary
demonstrations of respect
and sorrow. The joy over
the return of peace was for a fortnight eclipsed by the universal
grief for the dead leader. He was buried, amid the mourning
of the whole nation, at Oak Ridge, near Springfield, on 4 May,
and there on 15 Oct., 1874, an imposing monument — the work
of the sculptor Larkin G. Mead — was dedicated to his memory.
330
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
The monument is of white marble, with a portrait-statue of
Lincoln in bronze, and four bronze groups at the corners, rep-
resenting the infantry, cavalry, and artillery arms of the service
and the navy. (See illustration on previous page.)
The death of President Lincoln, in the moment of the great
national victory that he had done more than any other to gain,,
caused a movement of sympathy throughout the world. The
expressions of grief and condolence that were sent to the gov-
ernment at Washington, from national, provincial, and munici-
pal bodies all over the globe, were afterward published by the
state department in a quarto volume of nearly a thousand
pages, called " The Tribute of the Nations to Abraham Lin-
coln." After the lapse of thirty years, the high estimate of
him that the world appears instinctively to have formed at the
moment of his death seems to have been increased rather than
diminished, as his participation in the great events of his time
has been more thoroughly studied and understood. His good-
ness of heart, his abounding charity, his quick wit and over-
flowing humor, which made him the hero of many true stories
and a thousand legends, are not less valued in themselves ;
but they are cast in the shade by the evidences that continually
appear of his extraordinary qualities of mind and of character.
His powerful grasp of details, his analytic capacity, his unerring
logic, his perception of human nature, would have made him
unusual in any age of the world, while the quality that, in the
opinion of many, made him the specially fitted agent of Provi-
dence in the salvation of the country, his absolute freedom
from prejudice or passion in weighing the motives of his con-
temporaries and the deepest problems of state gives him pre-
eminence even among the illustrious men that have preceded
and followed him in his great office. Simple and modest as he
was in his demeanor, he was one of the most self-respecting
of rulers. Although his kindness of heart was proverbial,
although he was always glad to please and unwilling to offend,
few presidents have been more sensible of the dignity of their
office, and more prompt to maintain it against encroachments.
He was at all times unquestionably the head of the government,
and though not inclined to interfere with the routine business
of the departments, he tolerated no insubordination in impor-
tant matters. At one time, being conscious that there^was an
effort inside of his government to force the resignation of one
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. -i-i^
of its members, he read in open cabinet a severe reprimand of
what was going on, mentioning no names, and ordering per-
emptorily that no question should be asked, and no allusions
be made to the incident then or thereafter. He did not except
his most trusted friends or his most powerful generals from this
strict subordination. When Mr. Seward went before him to
meet the Confederate envoys at Hampton Roads, Mr. Lincoln
gave him this written injunction: "You will not assume to
definitely consummate anything " ; and on 3 March, 1865, when
Gen. Grant was about to set out on his campaige of final vic-
tory, the secretary of war gave him, by the president's order,
this imperative instruction : "The president directs me to say
to you that he wishes you to have no.conference with Gen. Lee,
unless it be for the capitulation of Gen. Lee's army, or on some
other minor and purely military matter. He instructs me to
say that you are not to decide, discuss, or to confer upon any
political question. Such questions the president holds in his
own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or
conventions. Meanwhile, you are to press to the utmost your
military advantages." When he refused to comply with the
desire of the more radical Republicans in congress to take
Draconian measures of retaliation against the Confederates for
their treatment of black soldiers, he was accused by them of
weakness and languor. They never seemed to perceive that
to withstand an angry congress in Washington required more
vigor of character than to launch a threatening decree against
the Confederate government in Richmond. Mr. Lincoln was
as unusual in personal appearance as in character. His stature
was almost gigantic, six feet and four inches; he was muscular
but spare of frame, weighing about 180 pounds. His hair was
strong and luxuriant in growth, and stood out straight from
his head; it began to be touched with gray in his last years.
His eyes, a grayish brown, were deeply set, and were filled, in
repose, with an expression of profound melancholy, which
easily changed to one of uproarious mirth at the provocation
of a humorous anecdote, told by himself or another. His nose
was long and slightly curved, his mouth large and singularly
mobile. Up to the time of his election he was clean-shaven,
but during his presidency the fine outline of his face was
marred by a thin and straggling beard. His demeanor was, in
general, extremely simple and careless, but he was not without
332 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
a native dignity that always protected him from anything like
presumption or impertinence.
Mr. Lincoln married, on 4 Nov., 1842, Miss Mary Todd,
daughter of Robert S. Todd, of Kentucky. There were born
of this marriage four sons. One, Edward Baker, died in in-
fancy; another, William Wallace, died at the age of twelve,
during the presidency of Mr. Lincoln ; and still another,
Thomas, at the age of eighteen, several years after his father's
death. The only one that grew to maturity was his eldest son,
Robert, who married and has children. The house in which
Mr. Lincoln lived when he was elected president, in Spring-
field, 111., was conveyed to the state of Illinois in 1887 by his
son, and a collection of memorials of him is to be preserved
there perpetually. (See illustration on page 304.)
There were few portraits of Mr. Lincoln painted in his life-
time ; the vast number of engravings that have made his face
one of the most familiar of all time have been mostly copied
from photographs. The one on page 301 is from a photograph
taken in 1858. There are portraits from life by Frank B. Car-
penter, by Matthew Wilson, by Thomas Hicks, and an excellent
crayon drawing by Barry. Since his death G. P. A. Healy, Wil-
liam Page, and others have painted portraits of him. There
are two authentic life-masks: one made in 1858 by Leonard
W. Volk (see illustration on page 324), who also executed a
bust of Mr. Lincoln before kis election in i860, and another by
Clark Mills shortly before the assassination. There are already
a number of statues: one by Henry Kirke Brown in Union
square. New York (see page 312); another by the same artist
in Brooklyn ; one in the group called " Emancipation," by
Thomas Ball, in Lmcoln Park, Washington, D. C, a work
which has especial interest as having been paid for by the con-
tributions of the freed people; one by Mrs. Vinnie Ream Hoxie
in the Capitol; one by Augustus St. Gaudens in Chicago, set
up in Chicago, 22 Oct., 1887 ; and one by Randolph Rogers in
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia (see illustration on page 315).
There is a bust by Thomas D. Jones, modelled from life in i860.
The Lincoln bibliography is enormous, comprising thou-
sands of volumes. See John Russell Bartlett's " Catalogue of
Books and Pamphlets relating to the Civil War in the United
States" (Boston, 1866). The most noteworthy of the lives of
Lincoln already published are those of Joseph H. Barrett
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
333
(Cincinnati, 1865); Linus P. Brockett (Philadelphia, 1865);
Henry J. Raymond (New York, 1865) ; Josiah G. Holland
(Springfield, Mass.. 1866) ; Ward H. Lamon (only the first vol-
ume, Boston, 1872); William O. Stoddard (New York, 1884);
Isaac N. Arnold (Chicago, 1885); William H. Herndon (New
York, 1889); and John T. Morse, Jr. (Boston, 1893). Briefer
lives have also been written by William D. Howells, Mrs. Har-
riet Beecher Stowe, Charles G. Leland, John Carroll Power,
Carl Schurz, and others. The most extensive work upon his
life and times yet attempted is by his private secretaries,
John G. Nicolay and John Hay, m ten volumes (New York,
1890.) Four years later the same writers prepared a com-
plete edition in two volumes of Lmcoln's Works, comprismg
his Speeches, Letters, State Papers, and Miscellaneous Writ-
ings (New York, 1894).
His wife, M.arv Todd, born in Lexington, Ky., 12 Dec,
1818; died in Springfield, 111., 16 July, 1882, was the daughter
,of Robert S. Todd, whose family were among the most influ-
ential of the pioneers of Kentucky and Illinois. Her great-
uncle, John Todd, was one of the associates of Gen. George
Rogers Clark, in his campaign of 1778, and took part in the
capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. Being appointed county
lieutenant by Patrick Henry, at that time governor of Virginia,
he organized the civil government of what became afterward
the state of Illinois. He was killed in
the battle of Blue Licks, 18 Aug., 1782,
of which his brother Levi, Mrs. Lin-
coln's grandfather, who also accom-
panied Clark's expedition as a lieuten-
ant, was one of the few survivors. Mary
Todd was carefully educated in Lexing-
ton. When twenty-one years of age
she went to Springfield to visi't her sis-
ter, who had married Ninian W. Ed-
wards, a son of Xinian Edwards, gov- ^^ ^jf
ernor of the state. While there she be- ^^^^'^-^ <^^^r^:.^>^
came engaged to Mr. Lincoln, whom
she married, 4 Nov., 1842. Her family was divided by the civil
war; several of them were killed in battle; and devoted as
Mrs. Lincoln was to her husband and the National cause, this
334
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
division among her nearest kindred caused her much suffering.
The death of her son, William Wallace, in 1862, was an endur-
ing sorrow to her. One of her principal occupations was visit-
ing the hospitals and camps of the soldiers about Washington.
She never recovered from the shock of seeing her husband
shot down before her eyes; her youngest son, Thomas, died a
few years later, and her reason suffered from these repeated
blows. She lived in strict retirement during her later years,
spending part of her time with her son in Chicago, a portion in
Europe, and the rest with her sister, Mrs. Edwards, in Spring-
field, Illinois, where she died of paralysis.
Their son, Robert Todd, lawyer, born in Springfield, 111.,
I Aug., 1843, was prepared for college at Phillips Exeter
academy, and graduated at Harvard
in 1864. He entered Harvard law-
school, but after a short stay applied
for admission to the military service,
and his father suggested his appoint-
ment on the staff of Gen. Grant, as a
volunteer aide-de-camp without pay
or allowances. This exceptional posi-
tion did not meet with Gen. Grant's
approval, and at his suggestion young
Lincoln was regularly commissioned
(5\~^^ /\ as a captain, and entered the service
^ oTkOtI^ on the same footing with others of his
grade. He served with zeal and effi-
ciency throughout the final campaign, which ended at Appo-
mattox. At the close of the war he resumed the study of law,
was admitted to the bar in Illinois, and practised his profes-
sion with success in Chicago until 1881, with an interval of a
visit to Europe in 1872 ; he steadily refused the offers that
were repeatedly made him to enter public life, though taking
part, from time to time, in political work and discussion. In
1881, at the invitation of President Garfield, he entered his
cabinet as secretary of war. Mr. Lincoln, who, sixteen years
before, had returned from the field just in time to stand by the
death-bed of his father, assassinated while president, now had
his strange experience repeated upon the assassination of Presi-
dent Garfield, a few months after his inauguration. On the
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
335
accession of Vice-President Arthur to the Presidency, Mr. Lin-
coln was the only member of the former cabinet who was re-
quested to retain his portfolio, and he did so to the end of the
administration. He performed the duties of the place with
such ability and fairness, and with such knowledge of the law
and appreciation of the needs of the army, as to gain the
warmest approbation of its officers and its friends. Note-
worthy incidents of his administration of the civil duties of
the department were his report to the house of representa-
tives upon its challenge to him to justify President Arthur's
veto of the river and harbor bill of 1882, and the thoroughness
and promptness of the relief given, from Wheeling to New
Orleans, to those suffering from the great floods of the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers in February, 1884. In the latter year Mr.
Lincoln was prominently spoken of for the presidency ; but as
President Arthur was a candidate before the Republican conven-
tion, Lincoln refused to allow his name to be presented for either
place on the ticket. He returned to Chicago, and in the spring
of 1889 he was appointed minister to Great Britain. He was
succeeded in June, 1893, by Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware,
as ambassador, and resumed his law practice in Chicago.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Andrew Johnson, seventeenth president of the United
States, born in Raleigh, N. C, 29 Dec, 1808 ; died near Carter's
Station, Tenn., 31 July, 1875. His parents were very poor,
and when he was four years old his father died of injuries re-
ceived in saving another from drowning. At the age of ten
Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. A natural craving to
learn was fostered by hearing a gentleman read from " The
American Speaker." The boy was taught the alphabet by
•/ fellow-workmen, borrowed the book and learned to read. In
1824 he removed to Laurens Court-House, S. C, where he
worked as a journeyman tailor. The illustration on page 337
represents the small shop in which he pursued the calling that
is announced on the sign over the door. In May, 1826, he re-
turned to Raleigh, and in September, with his mother and step-
father, he set out in a two-wheeled cart, drawn by a blind pony,
for Greenville, Tenn. Here he married Eliza McCardle, a
woman of refinement, who taught him to write, and read to
him while he was at work during the day. It was not until he
had been in congress that he learned to write with ease. From
Greenville he went to the west, but returned after the lapse of
a year. In those days Tennessee was controlled by landholders,
whose interests were fostered by the state constitution, and
Greenville was ruled by what was called an " aristocratic co-
terie of the quality." Johnson resisted their supremacy, and
made himself a leader of the opposition. In 1828 he was
elected alderman, in 1829 and 1830 was re-elected, and in 1830
was advanced to the mayoralty, which office he held for three
years. In 1831 the county court appointed him a trustee of
Rhea academy, and about this time he took part in the debates
of a society at Greenville college. In 1834 he advocated the
adoption of the new state constitution, by which the influence
ANDRE IV JOHNSON.
337
of the large landholders was abridged. In 1835 he represented
Greene and Washington counties in the legislature. He resisted
the popular mania for internal improvements, which caused his
defeat in 1837, but the reaction justified his foresight, strength-
ened his influence, and restored his popularity. In 1839 he
was returned. In 1836 he supported Hugh L. White for the
presidency, and was a Bell man in the warm personal and
political altercations between John Bell and James K. Polk,
which distracted Tennessee at this time. Johnson was the only
ardent follower of Bell that failed to go over to the Whig party.
In 1840 he was an elector for the state-at-large on Van Buren's
ticket, and made a state reputation by the force of his oratory.
In 1841 he was elected to the state senate from Greene and
Hawkins counties, and while in that body he was one of the
"immortal 13" Democrats who, having it in their power to
prevent the election of a Whig senator, did so by refusing to
meet the house in joint convention. He also proposed that
the basis of representation should rest upon the white votes,
without regard to the ownership of slaves.
In 1843 he was elected to congress over John A. Asken, a
U. S. bank Democrat, who was supported by the Whigs. His
first speech was in support of the
resolution to restore to Gen. Jack-
son the fine imposed upon him at
New Orleans. He supported the
annexation of Texas. In 1845 he
was re-elected, and sustained Polk's
administration. He opposed all ex-
penditures for internal improve-
ments that were not general, and
resisted and defeated the proposed
contingent tax of ten per cent, on
tea and coffee. He was regularly
re-elected until 1853. During this
period he made his celebrated de-
fence of the veto power, and urged the adoption of the home-
stead law, which was obnoxious to the slave-holding power of
the south. He supported the compromise measures of 1850 as
a matter of expediency, but opposed compromises in general
as a sacrifice of principle. In 1853 the district lines were so
"gerrymandered " as to throw him into a district in which the
338 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Whigs had an overwhelming majority. Johnson at once an-
nounced himself a candidate for the governorship, and was
elected by a fair majority. In his message to the legislature
he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures for the
benefit of the working-classes, and earned the title of the " me-
chanic governor." He opposed the Know-nothing movement
with characteristic vehemence. In 1S55 he was opposed by
Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig candidate, and defeated him after
a canvass remarkable for the feeling displayed. Mr. Johnson
earnestly supported the Kansas-Nebraska bill.
In 1857 he was elected to the U. S. senate, where be urged
the passage of the homestead bill, and on 20 May, 1858, made
his greatest speech on this subject. Finally, in i860, he had
the momentary gratification of seeing his favorite bill pass both
houses of congress, but President Buchanan vetoed it, and the
veto was sustained. Johnson revived it at the next session,
and also introduced a resolution looking to a retrenchment in
the expenditures of the government, and on constitutional
grounds opposed the grant of aid for the construction of a
Pacific railroad. He was prominent in debate, and frequently
clashed with southern supporters of the administration. His
pronounced Unionism estranged him from the slave-holders
on the one side, while his acceptance of slavery as an institution
guaranteed by the constitution caused him to hold aloof from
the Republicans on the other. This intermediate position
suggested his availability as a popular candidate for the presi-
dency ; but in the Democratic convention he received only the
vote of Tennessee, and when the convention reassembled in
Baltimore he withdrew his name. In the canvass that fol-
lowed, he supported the extreme pro-slavery candidate, Breck-
inridge. Johnson had never believed it possible that any
organized attempt to dissolve the Union could be made;
but the events preceding the session of congress beginning in
December, i860, convinced him of his error. When congress
met, he took decided and unequivocal grounds in opposition
to secession, and on 13 Dec. introduced a joint resolution,
proposing to amend the constitution so as to elect the presi-
dent and vice-president by district votes, to elect senators by
a direct popular vote, and to limit the terms of P'ederal
judges to twenty years, half of them to be from slave-holding
and half from non-slave-holding states. In his speech on this
'-iE'B^
ANDREW JOHNSON. 33Q
resolution, 18 and 19 Dec, he declared his unyielding oppo-
sition to secession and announced his intention to stand by
and act in and under the constitution. The southern states
were then in the act of seceding, and every word uttered in
congress was read and discussed with eagerness by thirty mil-
lions of people. Johnson's speech, coming from a southern
man, thrilled the popular heart ; but his popularity in the north
was offset by the virulence with which he was assailed in the
south. In a speech delivered 2 March, 1861, he said, referring
to the secessionists : " I would have them arrested and tried for
treason, and, if convicted, by the eternal God, they should
suffer the penalty of the law at the hands of the executioner."
Returning to Tennessee from Washington, he was attacked at
Liberty, Va., by a mob, but drove them back with his pistol.
At Lynchburg he was hooted and hissed, and at various places
burned in effigy. He attended the East Tennessee union con-
vention, in Cincinnati, 30 May, and again on 19 June he visited
the same place and was received with enthusiasm. Here he
declared for a vigorous prosecution of the war.
He retained his seat in the senate until appointed by Presi-
dent Lincoln military governor of Tennessee, 4 March, 1862,
On 12 March he reached Nashville, and organized a provisional
government for the state. On 18 March he issued a proclama-
tion, in which he appealed to the people to return to their alle-
giance, to uphold the law, and to accept "a full and competent
amnesty for all past acts and declarations." He required the
city council to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
They refused, and he removed them and appointed others. He
urged the holding of Union meetings throughout the state, and
frequently attended them in person. It was chiefly due to his
courage that Nashville was held against a Confederate force.
He completed the railroad from Nashville to Tennessee river,
and raised 25 regiments for service in the state. On 8 Dec,
1862, he issued a proclamation ordering congressir -il elec-
tions, and on the 15th levied an assessment upon .le richer
southern sympathizers, '' in behalf of the many helf s widows,
wives, and children in the city of Nashville w' have been
reduced to poverty and wretchedness in consey .nee of their
husbands, sons, and fathers having been forced/ ito the armies
of this unholy and nefarious rebellion." Oif 20 Feb., 1863,
Gov. Johnson issued a proclamation warning the agents of all
23
340
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
" traitors " to retain their collections until some person should
be appointed to receive them for the United States. During
the term of his service, Gov. Johnson exercised absolute and
autocratic powers, but with singular moderation and discretion,
and his course strengthened the Union cause in Tennessee.
The Republican convention assembled in Baltimore, 6 June,
1864, and renominated Mr. Lincoln for the presidency by
acclamation. There was a strong sentiment in favor of recog-
nizing the political sacrifices made for the cause of the Union
by the war Democrats, and it was generally conceded that
New York should decide who was to be the individual. Daniel
S. Dickinson, of that state, was most prominent in this conec-
tion ; but internal factional divisions made it impossible for
him to obtain the solid vote of that state, and Sec. Seward's
friends feared this nomination would force him from the
cabinet. Henry J. Raymond urged the name of Andrew
Johnson, and he was accordingly selected. Johnson, in his
letter of acceptance, virtually disclaimed any departure from
his principles as a Democrat, but placed his acceptance upon
the ground of "the higher duty of first preserving the govern-
ment." He accepted the emancipation proclamation as a war
measure, to be subsequently ratified by constitutional amend-
ment. In his inaugural address as vice-president, 4 March,
1865, a lack of dignity in his bearing and an incoherency in his
speech were attributed to the influence of strong drink. As a
matter of fact, the Vice-President was much worn by disease,
and had taken a little stimulant to aid him in the ordeal of
inauguration, and in his weakened condition the effect was
much more decided than he anticipated. This explanation
was very generally accepted by the country.
On 14 April, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated, and
Mr. Johnson was at once sworn in as president, at his rooms in
the Kirkwood house, by Chief-Justice Chase. In his remarks
to those present Mr. Johnson said : " As to an indication of any
policy which may be pursued by me in the administration of
the government, I have to say that that must be left for
development as the administration progresses. The message
or declaration must be made by the acts as they transpire. The
only assurance I can now give of the future is reference to the
past." In his addresses to various delegations that called upon
him, he emphasized the fact that he advocated a course of for-
ANDREW JOHNSON. 34!
bearance toward the mass of the southern people, but demand-
ed punishment for those who had been leaders. " Treason is a
crime," he said to the Illinois delegation, " and must be pun-
ished." At the time it was generally supposed that Johnson,
who was known to be personally embittered against the
dominant classes in the south, would inaugurate a reign of
terror and decimate those who had taken up arms against the
national authority. His protest against the terms of surrender
granted to Gen. Lee by Gen. Grant, and utterances in private
conversation, strengthened the fear that he would be too bloody
and vindictive. He was supposed not to have been in accord
with the humane policy that Lincoln had foreshadowed, and
his silence in reference to Lincoln's policy, which amounted to
ignoring it, was accepted as a proof that he did not intend to
follow this course. On one occasion he said : " In regard to
my future course, I will now make no professions, no pledges."
And again : " My past life, especially my course during the
present unholy rebellion, is before you. I have no principles
to retract. I defy any one to point to any of my public acts
at variance with the fixed principles which have guided me
through life." It was evident that the difference in views of
public policy, which were kept in abeyance during the war,
would now come to the surface. The surrender of Gen. Joseph
E. Johnston's army, 26 April, 1865, was practically the end of the
war (although 20 Aug., 1866, was officially fixed as the close of
the civil war by the second section of the act of 2 March, 1867),
and on 29 April President Johnson issued a proclamation for
the removal of trade restrictions in most of the insurrectionary
states, which, being in contravention of an act of congress, was
subsequently modified. On 9 May, 1865, he issued a proclama-
tion restoring Virginia to the Union, and on 22 May all ports
except four in Texas were opened to foreign commerce. On
29 May a general amnesty was declared to all except fourteen
specified classes of citizens. Among the number excepted were
" (all participants in the rebellion the estimated value of whose
taxable property is over twenty thousand dollars." This excep-
tion was undoubtedly the result of personal feeling on the part
of the president. It began to be perceived that a change was
taking place in his sentiments, and this was attributed to the
influence of Sec. Seward, who was popularly supposed to
perpetuate the humane spirit of the dead president. Those
342
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
who had fears of too great severity now anticipated too great
leniency. After the amnesty proclamation, the fundamental
and irreconcilable difference between President Johnson and
the party that had elevated him to power became more apparent.
The constitution made no provision for the readmission of a
state that had withdrawn from the Union, and Mr. Johnson, as
a state-rights Democrat, held that the southern states had
never been out of the Union; that the leaders were solely re-
sponsible ; that as soon as the seceded states applied for
readmission under such a form of government as complied
with the requirements of the constitution, the Federal govern-
ment had no power to refuse them admission, or to make any
conditions upon subjects over which the constitution had not
expressly given congress jurisdiction. The Republican leaders
held that the action of the seceded states had deprived them of
their rights as members of the Union ; that in any event they
were conquered, and as such at the mercy of the conqueror;
and that, at best, they stood in the category of territories seek-
ing admission to the Union, in which case congress could admit
or reject them at will. The particular question that brought on
a clash between these principles was the civil status of the
negro. The 13th amendment became a law, 18 Dec, 1865,
with Johnson's concurrence. The Republicans held that
slavery had been the cause of the war; that only by giving the
freedman the right to vote could he be protected, and the
results of the war secured ; and that no state should be ad-
mitted until it had granted the right of suffrage to the negroes
within its borders. Johnson held this to be a matter of internal
regulation, beyond the control of congress. From 9 May till
13 July he appointed provisional governors for seven states,
whose duties were to reorganize the governments. The state
governments were organized, but passed such stringent laws in
reference to the negroes that the Republicans declared it was a
worse form of slavery than the old. When congress met in
December, 1865, it was overwhelmingly Republican and firmly
determined to protect the negro against outrage and oppression.
The first breach between the president and the party in power
was the veto of the freedman's bureau bill in February, 1866,
which was designed to protect the negroes. One of the grounds
of the veto was, that it had been passed by a congress in
which the southern states had no representatives. On 27
ANDREW JOHNSON. 343
March the president vetoed the civil rights bill, which made
freedmen citizens without the right of suffrage. The chief
ground of objection was the interference with the rights of the
states. This bill was passed over the veto.
On 16 June the 14th amendment to the constitution, which
contained the principle of the civil rights bill, was proposed,
disapproved by the president, but ratified and declared in
force, 28 July, 1868. Both houses of congress passed a joint
resolution that the delegation from a state lately in rebellion
should not be received by either the senate or the house until
both united in declaring said state a member of the Union.
In July the second freedman's bureau bill was passed, vetoed,
and passed over the veto. In June, 1866, the Republicans m
congress brought forward their plan of reconstruction, which was
called the "congressional plan," m contradistinction to the
president's plan, of which he spoke as "my policy." The chief
features of the congressional plan were, to give the negroes
the right to vote, to protect them in this right, and to prevent
the Confederate leaders from voting. Congress met on 3 Dec,
1866. The bill giving negroes the right of suffrage in the Dis-
trict of Columbia was passed over a veto. An attempt was
made to impeach the president, but it failed. In January,
1867, a bill was passed to deprive the president of the power to
proclaim general amnesty, which he disregarded. Measures
were adopted looking to the meeting of the 40th and all subse-
quent congresses immediately upon the adjournment of the
predecessor. The president was deprived of the command of
the army by a " rider " to the army appropriation bill, which
provided that his orders should only be given through the gen-
eral, who was not to be removed without the previous consent
of the senate. The bill admitting Nebraska provided that no
law should ever be passed in that state denying the right of
suffrage to any person because of his color or race. This was
vetoed, and passed over the veto. On 2 March, 1867, the "bill
to provide efficient governments for the insurrectionary states,"
which embodied the congressional plan of reconstruction, was
passed, vetoed, and passed over the veto. This divided the
southern states into military districts, each under a brigadier-
general, who was to preserve order and exercise all the func-
tions of government until the citizens had formed a state gov-
ernment, ratified the amendments, and been admitted to the
344 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Union. On 2 March, 1867, the tenure-of-office bill was passed
over the veto. This provided that civil officers should remain
in office until the confirmation of their successors; that the
members of the cabinet should be removed only with the con-
sent of the senate; and that when congress was not in session,
the president could suspend, but not remove, any official, and
in case the senate at the next session should not ratify the
suspension, the suspended official should be reinducted into his
office. The elections of 1866 were uniformly favorable to the
Republicans, and gave them a two-third majority in both house
and senate. On 5 Aug., 1867, the president requested Edwin
M. Stanton to resign his office as secretary of war. Mr. Stan-
ton refused, was suspended, and Gen. Grant was appointed in
his place. When congress met, it refused to ratify the sus-
pension. Gen. Grant then resigned, and Mr. Stanton again
entered upon the duties of his office. The president removed
him, and appointed Lorenzo Thomas, adjutant-general, U. S.
army. The senate declared this act illegal, and Mr. Stanton
refused to comply, and notified the speaker of the house. On
24 Feb., 1868, the house passed a resolution for the imoeach-
ment oi the president. The trial began on 5 March. The
main articles of impeachment were for violating the provisions
of the tenure-of-office act, which it was claimed he had done
in order to test its constitutionality. After the trial began,
the president made a tour through the northwest, which was
called " swinging round the circle," because in his speeches he
declared that he had swung around the entire circle of offices,
from alderman to president. He made many violent and intem-
perate speeches to the crowds that assembled to meet him, and
denounced the congress then sitting as "no congress," because
of its refusal to admit the representatives and senators from
the south, and on these speeches were based additional articles
of impeachment. On 16 May the test vote was had. Thirty-five
senators were for conviction and nineteen for acquittal. A
change of one vote would have carried conviction. The senate
adjourned sine die, and a verdict of acquittal was entered.
After the expiration of his term the president returned to Ten-
nessee. He was a candidate for the U. S. senate, but was
defeated. In 1872 he was a candidate for congressman from
the state-at-large, and, though defeated, he regained his hold
upon the people of the state, and in January, 1875, was elected
ANDREW JOHA'SON.
345
to the senate, taking his seat at the extra session of 1875.
Two weeks after the session began he made a speech which
was a skilful but bitter attack upon Gen. Grant. He returned
home at the end of the session, and in July visited his daughter,
who lived near Carter's station in east Tennessee. There he
was stricken with paralysis, 29 July, and died the next day.
He was buried at Greenville. His "Speeches" were published
with a biographical introduction by Frank Moore (Boston,
1865), and his " Life and Times " were written by the late John
Savage (New York, 1866). See also "The Tailor Boy" (Bos-
ton, 1865), and "The Trial of Andrew Johnson on Impeach-
ment" (3 vols., Washington, 1868).
His wife, Eliza McCardle, b. in Leesburg, Washington
CO., Tenn., 4 Oct., 1810; d. in Home, Greene co., Tenn., 15 Jan.,
1876, was the only daughter of a widow in Greenville, Tenn.
On 27 May, 1826, she married Andrew Johnson, and devoted
herself to his interest and education,
contributing effectually toward his fu-
ture career. She remained in Green-
ville while he served in the legislature,
and in 1861 spent two months in Wash-
ington while Mr. Johnson' was in the
senate. Owing to impaired health she
returned to Greenville, and while there
received an order, dated 24 April, 1862,
requiring her to pass beyond the Con-
federate lines through Nashville in
thirty-six hours. This was impossible,
owmg to her illness, and she therefore
remained in Greenville all summer, hearing constantly rumors
of Mr. Johnson's murder. In September she applied for per-
mission to cross the line, and, accompanied by her children and
Mr. Daniel Stover, she began her journey to Nashville. At
Murfreesboro they were met by Gen. Forrest, who detained
them until Isham G. Harris and Andrew Ewing obtained per-
mission from the authorities at Richmond for them to pass.
Mrs. Johnson joined her husband at Nashville. During her
residence in Washington Mrs. Johnson appeared in society as
little as possible.
^/Ci^ayyo--^z^>Tyi-cryT^
346
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Their daughter, Martha, born in Greenville, Tenn., 25
Oct., 1828, was educated in Georgetown, D. C., and during her
school-life was a frequent guest in the White House in Presi-
dent Polk's administration. She returned to east Tennessee in
1851, and on 13 Dec, 1857, married Judge David T. Patterson.
She presided at the White House in place of her invalid mother,
and, with her sister, assisted in the first reception that was
held by President Johnson, i Jan., 1866. During the early
sprmg an appropriation of $30,000 was made by congress to
refurnish the executive mansion, and Mrs. Patterson super-
intended the purchases. Another daughter, Mary, born in
Greenville, Tenn., 8 May, 1832 ; died in Bluff City, Tenn., 19
April, 1883, married Daniel Stover, of Carter county, who died
in 1862, and in 1869 she married William R. Brown, of Green-
ville, Tenn. The president had three sons, Charles {1830-
'63), Robert (i834-'69), who was his secretary, and Andrew
(i852-'79).
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
Ulysses Simpson Grant, eighteenth president of the United
States, born at Point Pleasant, Clermont co., Ohio, 27 April,
1822; died on Mount McGregor, near Saratoga, N. Y., 23 July,
1885. (See view of Grant's birthplace on the next page.) He
was of Scottish ancestry, but his family had been American in
all its branches for eight generations. He was a descendant of
Matthew Grant, who arrived at Dorchester, Mass., in May, 1630.
His father was Jesse R. Grant, and his mother Hannah Simpson.
They were married in June, 1821, in Clermont county, Ohio.
Ulysses, the oldest of six children, spent his boyhood in assist-
ing his father on the farm, a work more congenial to his tastes
than working in the tannery of which his father was proprietor.
He attended the village school, and in the spring of 1839 was
appointed to a cadetship in the U. S. military academy by
Thomas L. Hamer, M. C. The name given him at birth was
Hiram Ulysses, but he was always called by his middle name.
Mr. Hamer, thinking this his first name, and that his middle
name was probably that of his mother's family, inserted in the
official appointment the name of Ulysses S. The ofificials at
West Point were notified by Cadet Grant of the error, but they
did not feel authorized to correct it, and it was acquiesced in
and became the name by which he was always known. As a
student Grant showed the greatest proficiency in mathematics,
but he gained a fair standing in most of his studies, and at
cavalry-drill he proved himself the best horseman in his class,
and afterward was one of the best in the army. He was
graduated in 1843, standing twenty-first in a class of thirty-
nine. He was commissioned, on graduation, as a brevet 2d
lieutenant, and was attached to the 4th infantry and assigned to
duty at Jefferson barracks, near St. Louis. (See portrait taken
at this period on page 352.) In May, 1844, he accompanied
348
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
his regiment to Camp Salubrity, Louisiana. He was commis-
sioned 2d lieutenant in September, 1845. That month he went
with his regiment to Corpus Christi (now in Texas) to join the
army of occupation, under command of Gen. Zachary Taylor.
He participated in the battle of Palo Alto, 8 May, 1846;
and in that of Resaca de la Palma, 9 May, he commanded his
company. On 19 Aug. he set out with the army for Monterey,
Mexico, which was reached on 19 Sept. He had been appointed
regimental quartermaster of the 4th infantry, and was placed
in charge of the wagons and pack-train on this march. Dur-
ing the assault of the 21st on Black Fort, one of the works
protecting Monterey, instead of remaining in camp in charge
of the quartermaster's stores, he charged with his regiment, on
horseback, being almost the only officer in the regiment that
was mounted. The adjutant was killed in the charge, and
Lieut. Grant was des-
fe:^<- - ignated to take his
place. On the 23d,
when the troops had
gained a position in
the city of Monterey,
a volunteer was called
for, to make his way
to the rear under a
heavy fire, to order up
ammunition, Lieut.
Grant volunteered, and ran the gantlet in safety, accomplishing
his mission. Garland's brigade, to which the 4th infantry be-
longed, was transferred from Twiggs's to Worth's division, and
ordered back to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where it embarked
for Vera Cruz, to join the army under Gen. Scott. It landed near
that city on 9 March, 1847, and the investment was immediately
begun. Lieut. Grant served with his regiment during the siege,
until the capture of the place, 29 March, 1847. On 13 April his
division began its march toward the city of Mexico ; and he
participated in the battle of Cerro Gordo, 17 and 18 April. The
troops entered Pueblo on 15 May, and Lieut. Grant was there
ordered to take charge of a large train of wagons, with an
escort of fewer than a thousand men, to obtain forage. He
made a two days' march, and procured the necessary supplies.
He participated in the capture of San Antonio and the battle of
:"^iS'-
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
349
Churubusco, 20 Aug., and the battle of Molino del Rey, 8 Sept.,
1847. In the latter engagement he was with the first troops
that entered the mills. Seeing some of the enemy on the top
of a building, he took a few men, climbed to the roof, received
the surrender of six officers and quite a number of men. For
this service he was brevetted a ist lieutenant. He was engaged
in the storming of Chapultepec on 13 Sept., distinguished him-
self by conspicuous services, was highly commended in the
reports of his superior officers, and brevetted captain. While
the troops were advancing against the city of Mexico on the
14th, observing a church from the top of which he believed the
enemy could be dislodged from a defensive work, he called for
volunteers, and with twelve men of the 4th infantry, who were
afterward joined by a detachment of artillery, he made a flank
movement, gained the church, mounted a howitzer in the
belfry, using it with such effect that Gen. Worth sent for him
and complimented him in person. He entered the city of
Mexico with the army, 14 Sept., and a few days afterward was
promoted to be ist lieutenant. He remained with the army in
the city of Mexico till the withdrawal of the troops in the sum-
mer of 1848, and then accompanied his regiment to Pascagoula,
Miss. He there obtained leave of absence and went to St.
Louis, where, on 22 Aug., 1848, he married Miss Julia B. Dent,
sister of one of his classmates. He was soon afterward ordered
to Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., and in April following to Detroit,
Mich. In the spring of 185 1 he was again transferred to
Sackett's Harbor, and on 5 July, 1852, he sailed from New
York with his regiment for California via the Isthmus of
Panama. While the troops were crossing the isthmus, cholera
carried off one seventh of the command. Lieut. Grant was left
behind in charge of the sick, on Chagres river, and displayed
great skill and devotion in caring for them and supplying
means of transportation. On arriving in California, he spent
a few weeks with his regiment at Benicia barracks, and then
accompanied it to Fort Vancouver, Oregon. On 5 Aug., 1853,
he was promoted to the captaincy of a company stationed at
Humboldt bay, Cal., and in September he went to that post.
He resigned his commission, 31 July, 1854, and settled on a
small farm near St. Louis. He was engaged in farming and in
the real-estate business in St. Louis until May, i860, when he
removed to Galena, 111., and there became a clerk in the hard-
350 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ware and leather store of his father, who in a letter to Gen Jas.
Grant Wilson, dated 20 March, 1868, writes: "After Ulysses's
farming and real-estate experiments in St. Louis county, Mo.,
failed to be self-supporting, he came to me at this place [Cov-
ington, Ky.] for advice and assistance. I referred him to Simp-
son, my next oldest son, who had charge of my Galena business,
and who was staying with me on account of ill health. Simp-
son sent him to the Galena store, to stay until something else
might turn up in his favor, and told him he must confine his
wants within $800 a year. That if that would not support him
he must draw what it lacked from the rent of his house and the
hire of his negroes in St. Louis. He went to Galena in April,
i860, about one year before the capture of Sumter; then he
left. That amount would have supported his family then, but
he owed debts at St. Louis, and did draw $1,500 in the year,
but he paid back the balance after he went into the army."
When news was received of the beginning of the civil war, a
public meeting was called in Galena, and Capt. Grant was
chosen to preside. He took a pronounced stand in favor of
the Union cause and a vigorous prosecution of the war. A
company of volunteers was raised, which he drilled and accom-
panied to Springfield, 111. Gov. Yates, of that state, employed
Capt. Grant in the adjutant-general's department, and appoint-
ed him mustering officer. He offered his services to the
National government in a letter written on 24 May, 1861, but
no answer was ever made to it. On 17 June he was appointed
colonel of the 21st Illinois regiment of infantry, which had
been mustered in at Mattoon. The regiment was transferred
to Springfield, and on 3 July he went with it from that place to
Palmyra, Mo., thence to Salt River, where it guarded a portion
of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, and thence to the town
of Mexico, where Gen. Pope was stationed as commander of
the military district. On 31 July, Grant was assigned to the
command of a sub-district under Gen. Pope, his troops consist-
ing of three regiments of infantry and a section of artillery.
He was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers on 7 Aug.,
the commission being dated back to 17 May, and was ordered
to Ironton, Mo., to take command of a district in that part
of the state, where he arrived 8 Aug. Ten days afterward
he was ordered to St. Louis, and thence to Jefferson City.
Eight days later he was directed to report in person at St.
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. 351
Louis, and on reaching there found that he had been assigned
to the command of the district of southeastern Missouri,
embracing all the territory in Missouri south of St. Louis, and
all southern Illinois, with permanent headquarters at Cairo.
He established temporary headquarters at Cape Girardeau, on
the Mississippi, to superintend the fitting out of an expedition
against the Confederate Col. Jeff. Thompson, and arrived at
Cairo on 4 Sept. The next day he received information that
the enemy was about to seize Paducah, Ky., at the mouth of
the Tennessee, having aready occupied Columbus and Hickman.
He moved that night with two regiments of infantry and one
battery of artillery, and occupied Paducah the next morning.
He issued a proclamation to the citizens, saying, " I have noth-
ing to do with opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebel-
lion and its aiders and abettors." Kentucky had declared an
intention to remain neutral in the war, and this prompt occu-
pation of Paducah prevented the Confederates from getting a
foothold there, and did much toward retaining the state within
the Union lines. Gen. Sterling Price was advancing into Missouri
with a Confederate force, and Grant was ordered, i Nov., to
make a demonstration on both sides of the Mississippi, to prevent
troops from being sent from Columbus and other points to re-
enforce Price. On 6 Nov., Grant moved down the river with
about 3,000 men on steamboats, accompanied by two gun-boats,
debarked a few men on the Kentucky side that night, and
learned that troops of the enemy were being ferried across from
Columbus to re-enforce those on the west side of the river. A
Confederate camp was established opposite, at Belmont, and
Grant decided to attack it. On the morning of the 7th he
debarked his troops three miles above the place, left a strong
guard near the landing, and marched to the attack with about
2,500 men. A spirited engagement took place, in which Grant's
horse was shot under him. The enemy was routed and his
camp captured, but he soon rallied, and was re-enforced by
detachments ferried across from Columbus, and Grant fell
back and re-embarked. He got his men safely on the steam-
boats, and was himself the last one in the command to step
aboard. He captured 175 prisoners and two guns, and spiked
four other pieces, and lost 485 men. The Confederates lost
642. The opposing troops, including re-enforcements sent from
Columbus, numbered about 7,000.
352
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
In January, 1S62, he made a reconnoissance in force toward
Columbus. He was struck with the advantage possessed by
the enemy in holding Fort Henry on Tennessee river, and Fort
Donelson on the Cumberland, and conceived the idea of captur-
ing them before they could be further strengthened, by means
of an expedition composed of the troops under his command,
assisted by the gun-boats. He went to St. Louis and submitted
his proposition to the department commander, Gen. Halleck,
but was listened to with impatience, and his views were not
approved. On 28 Jan. he telegraphed Halleck, renewing the
suggestion, and saying, *' If permitted, I could take and hold
Fort Henry on the Tennessee." Com. Foote, commanding the
gun-boats, sent a similar despatch.
On the 29th Grant also wrote urg-
ing the expedition. Assent was
obtained on i Feb., and the expe-
dition moved the next day. Gen.
Tilghman surrendered Fort Henry
on the 6th, after a bombardment
by the gun-boats. He with his
staff and ninety men were cap-
tured, but most of the garrison
escaped and joined the troops in
^^ Fort Donelson, eleven miles dis-
C^. ^ >nfederatc» would
seem to have lost nearly twice that number.
After the battle of Corinth, Grant proposed to Halleck, in
the latter part of October, a movement looking to the capture
of Vicksburg. On 3 Nov. he left Jackson, Tenn., and made a
movement with 30,000 men against Grand Junction, and- on
the 4th he had seized this place and La Grange. The force
opposing him was about equal to his own. On the 13th hig
cavalry occupied Holly Springs; on i Dec. he advanced against
the enemy's works on the Tallahatchie, which were hastily
evacuated, and on the 5th reached Oxford. On the 8th he
ordered Sherman to move down the Mississippi from Memphis
to attack V^icksburg, Grant's column to co-operate with him by
land. On 20 Dec. the enemy captured Holly Springs, which
had been made a secondary base of supplies, and seized a large
amount of stores. Col. Murphy, who surrendered the post
without having taken any proper measures of defence, was dis-
missed the service. The difficulties of protecting the long line
of communication necessary for furnishing supplies, as well as
other considerations, induced Grant to abandon the land expe-
dition, and take command in person of the movement down
the Mississippi. Sherman had reached Milliken's Bend, on the
west side of the river, twenty miles above Vicksburg, on the
24th, with about 32,000 men. He crossed the river, ascended
the Yazoo to a point below Haines's Bluff, landed his forces,
and made an assault upon the enemy's strongly fortified posi-
tion at that place on the 29th, but was repelled with a loss of
175 killed, 930 wounded, and 743 missing. The enemy reported
63 killed, 134 wounded, and 10 missing. Grant's headquarters
were established at Memphis on 10 Jan., and preparations were
24
356
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
made for a concentrated movement against Vicksburg. On
the 29th he arrived at Young's Point, opposite the mouth of
the Yazoo, above Vicksburg, and took command in person of
the operations against that city, his force numbering 50,000
men. Admiral Porter's co-operating fleet was composed of
gun-boats of all classes, carrying 280 guns and 800 men. Three
plans suggested themselves for reaching the high ground be-
hind Vicksburg, the only position from which it could be be-
sieged : First, to march the army down the west bank of the
river, cross over below Vicksburg, and co-operate with Gen.
Banks, who was in command of an expedition ascending the
river from New Orleans, with a view to capturing Port Hudson
and opening up a line for supplies from below. The high
water and the condition of the country made this plan imprac-
ticable at that time. Second, to construct a canal a cross the pen-
insula opposite Vicksburg, through which the fleet of gun-boats
and transports could pass, and which could be held open as a
line of communication for supplies. This plan was favored at
Washington, and was put into execution at once; but the
high water broke the levees, drowned out the camps, and flood-
ed the country, and after two months of laborious effort Grant
reported it impracticable. Third, to turn the Mississippi from
its course by opening a new channel via Lake Providence and
through various bayous to Red river. A force was set to work
to develop this plan ; but the way was tortuous and choked
with timber, and by March it was found impossible to open a
practicable channel. In the mean time an expedition was sent
to the east side of the river to open a route via Yazoo pass, the
Tallahatchie, the Yalabusha, and the Yazoo rivers; but insur-
mountable difficulties were encountered, and this attempt also
had to be abandoned. Grant, having thoroughly tested all the
safer plans, now determined to try a bolder and more hazardous
one, which he had long had in contemplation, but which the
high water had precluded. This was, to run the batteries with
the gun-boats and transports loaded with supplies, to march
his troops down the west side of the river from Milliken's Bend
to the vicinity of New Carthage, and there ferry them across
to the east bank. The movement of the troops was begun on
29 March. They were marched to New Carthage and Hard
Times. On the night of 16 April the fleet ran the batteries
under a severe fire. On 29 April the gun-boats attacked the
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
357
works al Grand Gulf, but made little impression, and that night
ran the batteries to a point below. On 30 April the advance
of the army was ferried across to Bruinsburg, below Grand
Gulf and 30 miles south of Vicksburg, and marched out m the
direction of Port Gibson. Everything was made subordinate
to the celerity of the movement. The men had no supplies
except such as they carried on their persons. Grant himself
crossed the river with no personal baggage, and without even
a horse ; but obtained one raggedly equipped horse on the east
side. The advance encountered the enemy, under Gen. Bowen,
numbering between 7,000 and 8,000, on i May, near Port Gib-
son, routed him, and drove him in full retreat till nightfall.
Grant's loss was 131 killed and 719 wounded. The Confeder-
ates reported their loss at 448 killed and wounded, and 384
missing; but it was somewhat larger, as Grant captured 650
prisoners. At Port Gibson he learned of the success of Grier-
son, whom he had despatched from La Grange, 17 April, and
who had moved southward with 1,000 cavalry, torn up many
miles of railroad, destroyed large amounts of supplies, and
arrived, with but slight loss, at Baton Rouge, La., 2 May. On 3
May, Grant entered Grand Gulf, which had been evacuated.
He was now opposed by two armies — one commanded by Gen.
John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg, numbering about 52,000 men ;
the other by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Jackson, 50 miles east
of Vicksburg, who was being rapidly re-enforced. Gen. Sher-
man had been ordered to make a demonstration against
Haines's Bluff, to compel the enemy to detach troops for its
defence and withhold them from Grant's front ; and this feint
was successfully executed, 30 April and i May, when Sherman
received orders to retire and join the main army. Grant deter-
mined to move with celerity, place his force between the two
armies of the enemy, and defeat them in detail before they
could unite against him. He cut loose from his base, and
ordered that the three days' rations issued to the men should
be made to last five days. Sherman's command reached Grand
Gulf on the 6th. On the 12th, Grant's advance, near Raymond,
encountered the enemy approaching from Jackson, and de-
feated and drove him from the field with a loss of 100 killed,
305 wounded, 415 prisoners, and 2 guns. Grant's loss was 66
killed, 339 wounded, and 37 missing. He pushed on to Jackson,
and captured it on the 14th, with a loss of 42 killed, and 251
358
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS,
wounded and missing. The enemy lost 845 in killed, wounded,
and missing, and 17 guns. Grant now moved rapidly toward
Vicksburg, and attacked Pemberton in a strong position at
Champion Hill. After a hotly contested battle, the enemy
was completely routed, with a loss of between 3,000 and 4,000
killed and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, and 30 guns; Grant's loss
being 410 killed, 1,844 wounded, and 187 missing. The enemy
made a stand at Big Black river bridge on the 17th, holding a
strongly intrenched position ; but by a vigorous assault the
place was carried, and the enemy was driven across the river
in great confusion, with the loss of many killed, 1,751 prisoners,
and 18 guns. Grant's loss was but 39 killed, 237 wounded,
and 3 missing. On the i8th the National army closed up
against the outworks of Vicksburg, driving the enemy inside
his fortifications. Sherman took possession of Haines's Bluff,
a base for supplies was established at Chickasaw Landing,
and on the 21st the army was once more supplied with full
rations. On 19 and 22 May assaults were made upon the
enemy's lines, but only a few outworks were carried, and on
the 23d the siege was regularly begun. By 30 June there were
220 guns in position, all light field-pieces except six 32-pound-
ers and a battery of heavy guns supplied by the navy. Grant
now had 71,000 men to conduct the siege and defend his posi-
tion against Johnston's army threatening him in the rear.
The operations were pressed day and night; there was mining
and countermining; and the lines were pushed closer and
closer, until the garrison abandoned all hope. On 3 July, Pem-
berton asked for an armistice, and proposed the appointment
of commissioners to arrange terms of capitulation. Grant re-
plied that there would be no terms but unconditional surren-
der ; and this was made on the 4th of July. He permitted the
officers and men to be paroled, the officers to retain their private
baggage and side-arms, and each mounted officer one horse.
Grant showed every consideration to the vanquished, supplied
them with full rations, and, when they marched out, issued an
order saying, " Instruct the commands to be orderly and quiet
as these prisoners pass, and to make no offensive remarks."
The surrender included 31,600 prisoners, 172 cannon, 60,000
muskets, and a large amount of ammunition. Grant's total
loss in the Vicksburg campaign was 8,873 ; that of the enemy
nearly 60,000. Port Hudson now surrendered to Banks, and
ULYSSES SIMFSOX GRANT.
359
the Mississippi was opened from its source to its mouth.
Grant was made a major-general in the regular army ; and con-
gress, when it assembled, passed a resolution ordering a gold
medal to be presented to him (see illustration on page 379), and
returning thanks to him and his army.
He soon recommended a movement against Mobile, but it
was not approved. He went to New Orleans, 30 Aug., to con-
fer with Banks, and while there was severely injured by a fall
from his horse, during a trial of speed with Col. Wilson, the
editor of this work. For nearly three months he was unable to
walk unaided, but on 16 Sept. set out for Vicksburg, being
carried on board the steamboat. He received orders from
Washington on the 27th to send all available forces to the
vicinity of Chattanooga, to co-operate with Rosecrans. While
personally superintending the carrying out of this order, he
received instructions, 10 Oct., to report at Cairo. He arrived
there on the i6th, and was directed to proceed to Louisville.
At Indianapolis he was met by Mr. Stanton, secretary of war,
who accompanied him to Louisville and delivered an order to
him placing him in command of the military division of the
Mississippi, which was to embrace the departments and armies
of the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Ohio. He at once
went to Chattanooga, arriving on the 23d, and took command
there in person. On 29 Oct. the battle of Wauhatchie was
fought, and a much-needed line of communication for supplies
was opened to the troops in and around Chattanooga, besieged
by Bragg's army, which held a strongly fortified position.
Thomas commanded the Army of the Cumberland, which held
Chattanooga; Sherman, who had succeeded Grant in command
of the Army of the Tennessee, was ordered to bring all his
available troops to join Thomas; and Burnside, who was in
Knoxville, in command of the Army of the Ohio, besieged by
Longstreet's corps, was ordered to hold his position at all
hazards till Bragg should be crushed and a force could be sent
to the relief of Knoxville. Grant, having concentrated his
troops near Chattanooga, made an assault upon the enemy's
lines on the 23d, which resulted in carrying important positions.
The attack was continued on the 24th and 25th, when the
enemy's entire line was captured, and his army completely
routed and driven out of Tennessee. Grant's forces consisted
of 60,000 men ; those of the Confederates, 45,000. The enemy's
36o
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
losses were reported at 361 killed and 2,180 wounded, but were
undoubtedly greater. There were captured 6,442 men, 40
pieces of artillery, and 7,000 stands of small-arms. Grant's
losses were 757 killed, 4,529 wounded, and 330 missing. On
the 28th a force was despatched to Knoxville, the command of
the expedition being given to Sherman. On the 29th Long-
street assaulted Knoxville before the arrival of the troops sent
for its relief, but was repelled by Burnside, and retreated.
Grant visited Knoxville the last week in December, and went
from there to Nashville, where he established his headquarters,
13 Jan., 1864. He now ordered Sherman to march a force
from Vicksburg into the interior to destroy the enemy's com-
munications and supplies. It moved on 3 Feb., went as far as
Meridian, reaching there 14 Feb., and, after destroying rail-
roads and great quantities of supplies, returned to Vicksburg.
The grade of lieutenant-general was revived by act of congress
in February, and Grant was nominated for that office on i
March, and confirmed by the senate on the 2d. He left Nash-
ville on the 4th, in obedience to an order calling him to Wash-
ington, arrived there on the 8th, and received his commission
from the president on the 9th. He was assigned to the com-
mand of all the armies on the 12th (Sherman being given the
command of the military division of the Mississippi on the i8th),
and established his headquarters with the Army of the Poto-
mac at Culpepper, Va., on 26 March, 1864.
Grant now determined to concentrate all the National forces
into several distinct armies, which should move simultaneously
against the opposing Confederate armies, operate vigorously
and continuously, and prevent them from detaching forces to
strengthen threatened points, or for the purpose of making
raids. He announced that the Confederate armies would be
the only objective points in the coming campaigns. Sherman
was to move toward Atlanta against Johnston. Banks's army,
after it could be withdrawn from the Red river expedition,
was to operate against Mobile. Sigel was to move down the
valley of Virginia against Breckenridge to destroy communica-
tions and supplies, and prevent raids from that quarter. But-
ler was to ascend the James river and threaten Richmond.
The Army of the Potomac, re-enforced by Burnside's troops
and commanded by Meade, was to cover Washington, and
assume the offensive against the Army of northern Virginia,
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
361
commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Orders were issued for
a general movement of all the armies in the field on 4 May.
During the night of the 4th and 5th Grant crossed the Rapidan
and encountered Lee in the Wilderness, where a desperate
battle was fought on the 5th, 6th, and 7th. Grant's loss was
2,261 killed, 8,7^5 wounded, and 2,902 missing. Lee's losses
have never been reported; but, as he was generally the attack-
ing party, he probably lost more. He fell back on the 7th,
and on that day and the next took up a strong defensive posi-
tion at Spottsylvania. Grant moved forward on the night of
the 7th. As he rode through the
troops, the men greeted him as their
new commander with an extraordi-
nary demonstration in recognition of
the victory, shouting, cheering, and
kindling bonfires by the road-side as
he passed. The 8th and 9th were
spent by both armies in skirmishing
and manoeuvring for position. Sher-
idan's cavalry was despatched on
the 9th to make a raid in rear of the
enemy and threaten Richmond. On
the loth there was heavy fighting,
with no decisive results, and on the nth skirmishing and re-
connoitring. On the morning of this day Grant sent a let-
ter to Washington containing the famous sentence, " I pro-
pose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer." On
the 12th a heavy assault was made on Lee's line, near the
centre, in which he lost nearly 4,000 prisoners and 30 guns.
Violent storms now caused a cessation in the fighting for
several days. On the 19th, Ewell's corps, of Lee's army,
moved around Grant's right flank and attacked, but was re-
pelled after hard fighting. Grant's losses from the 8th to the
2ist of May, around Spottsylvania, were 2,271 killed, 9,360
wounded, and 1,970 missing. The estimate of the enemy's loss
in killed and wounded was nearly as great as that of the Na-
tional army, besides about 4,000 prisoners and 30 cannon cap-
tured. In the mean time Butler had occupied Bermuda Hun-
dred, below Richmond. Sherman had reached Dalton, Ga.,
and was steadily driving Johnston's army toward Atlanta. But
Sigel had been forced to retreat before Breckenridge. On the
362 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
2ist, Grant moved by the left flank to North Anna river, where
he again encountered Lee, and after several engagements
moved again by the left from that position on the 27th toward
Cold Harbor. Grant's losses between the 20th and 26th were
186 killed, 792 wounded, and 165 missing. Lee's losses during
this period have never been fully ascertained. After much
fighting by detached portions of the two armies. Grant made a
general assault upon Lee's heavily intrenched position at Cold
Harbor on 3 June, but did not succeed in carrying it, being
repelled with a loss of about 7,000 in killed, wounded, and
missing, while Lee's loss was probably not more than 2,500.
The campaign had now lasted thirty days. Grant had received
during this time about 40,000 re-enforcements, and had lost
39,259 men — 6,586 killed, 26,047 wounded, and 6,626 missing.
Lee had received about 30,000 re-enforcements. There are no
official figures as to his exact losses, but they have been esti-
mated at about equal to his re-enforcements. Sherman had
now reached Kenesaw, within thirty miles of Atlanta; and on
the 7th news arrived that Hunter, who had succeeded Sigel,
had gamed a victory and had seized Staunton, on the Virginia
Central railroad. Grant made preparations for transferring
the Army of the Potomac to the south side of James river, to
operate against Petersburg and Richmond from a more advan-
tageous position. The army was withdrawn from the enemy's
front on the night of 12 June, and the crossing of the river
began on the 13th, and occupied three days. A force had also
been sent around by water, by York and James rivers to City
Point, to move against Petersburg. On the 15th the advanced
troops attacked the works in front of that place ; but, night
coming on, the successes gained were not followed up by the
commanders, and the next morning the position had been re-
enforced and strengthened. An assault was made on the after-
noon of the i6th, which was followed up on the 17th and i8th,
and the result was the capture of important outworks, and the
possession of a line closer to Petersburg. Lee's army had
arrived, and again confronted the Army of the Potomac.
Grant's headquarters had been established at City Point. On
22 and 23 June he made a movement from the left toward the
Weldon railroad, and heavy fighting took place, with but little
result, except to render Lee's use of that line of communication
more precarious. Sheridan had set out on a raid from Pamun-
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
363
key river, 7 June, and, after defeating the enemy's cavalry, in
the battle of Trevilian Station, destroying portions of the Vir-
ginia railroad, and inflicting other damage, he returned to
White House, on York river, on the 20th. From there he
crossed the James and rejoined the Army of the Potomac. A
cavalry force under Gen. James H. Wilson had also been sent
to the south and west of Petersburg, which destroyed railroad
property, and for a time seriously interrupted the enemy's com-
munications via the Danville and South-side railroads. Hun-
ter, in the valley of Virginia, had destroyed the stores captured
at Staunton and Lexington, and moved to Lynchburg. This
place was re-enforced, and, after sharp fighting. Hunter fell
back, pursued by a heavy force, to Kanawha river. Early's
army drove the National, troops out of Martinsburg, crossed
the upper Potomac, and moved upon Hagerstown and Freder-
ick. There was great consternation in Washington, and Grant
was harassed by many anxieties. On 11 July, Early advanced
against the fortifications on the north side of Washington ; but
Grant had sent the 6th corps there, which arrived opportunely,
and the enemy did not attack. Sherman had outflanked John-
ston at Kenesaw, crossed the Chattahoochee on 17 July, driven
the enemy into his works around Atlanta, and destroyed a
portion of the railroad in his rear. In Burnside's front, before
Petersburg, a large mine had been constructed beneath the
enemy's works. Many of Lee's troops had been decoyed to
the north side of the James by feints made upon the lines
there. The mine was fired at daylight on the morning of 30
July. A defective fuse caused a delay in the explosion, and
when it occurred the assault ordered was badly executed by
the officers in charge of it. Confusion arose, the place was
re-enforced, and the National troops had to be withdrawn,
after sustaining a heavy loss. Grant, in his anxiety to correct
the errors of his subordinates, dismounted and made his way
to the extreme front, giving directions in person, and exposing
himself to a most destructive fire. He went to Monocacy 5
Aug., had Sheridan meet him there on the 6th, and placed him
in command of all the forces concentrated in Maryland, with
directions to operate against Early's command. On 14 Aug.,
Hancock's corps was sent to the north side of the James, and
made a demonstration against the enemy at Deep Bottom, to de-
velop his strength and prevent him from detaching troops to
364
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
send against Sheridan. This resulted in the capture of six
pieces of artillery and a few prisoners. On 18 Aug., Warren's
corps moved out and, after heavy fighting, seized and held a
position on the Weldon railroad. Fighting continued on the
19th, with Warren's troops re-enforced by part of the 9th
corps. Lee attempted to recover the Weldon road by an
assault on the 21st, but was repelled. On the 23d, Ream's
Station was occupied by the National troops, and the enemy
attacked them in this place in force. Two assaults were suc-
cessfully met, but the place was finally captured, and the Na-
tional troops were compelled to fall back. Sherman's series of
brilliant battles and manoeuvres around Atlanta had forced Gen.
Hood to evacuate that place, and his troops entered the city
on 2 Sept. Sheridan attacked Early's army on 19 Sept., and in
the battle of Winchester completely routed him. He pursued
the enemy to Fisher's Hill, and on the 22d gained another
signal victory. Grant now made several movements against
Richmond and Petersburg, intended to keep Lee from detach-
ing troops, to extend the National lines, and to take advantage
of any weak spot in the enemy's front, with a view to penetrate
it. On 29 Sept., Butler's forces were ordered to make an ad-
vance upon the works at Deep Bottom. Fort Harrison, the
strongest work north of the James, was captured, with 15 guns
and several hundred prisoners. On the 30th the enemy made
three attempts to retake it by assault, but was each time re-
pelled with heavy loss. On the same day Meade moved out
and carried two redoubts and a line of rifle-pits at Peebles's
farm, two miles west of the Weldon railroad. On i Oct.,
Meade's left was attacked; but it successfully repelled the
assault, and he advanced his line on the 2d. Butler lost, in
the engagements of the 29th and 30th, 394 killed, 1,554 wounded,
and 324 missing. Meade lost, from 30th Sept. to 2 Oct., 151
killed, 510 wounded, and 1,348 missing. On 19 Oct., Sheridan's
army was attacked by Early at Cedar Creek. Sheridan, who
was on his return from Washington, rode twenty miles from
Winchester, turned a defeat into a decisive victory, captured
24 guns, 1,600 prisoners, and 300 wagons, and left the enemy
a complete wreck. On 27 Oct., Butler was ordered to make a
demonstration against the enemy's line in his front, and had
some fighting. At the same time, Meade moved out to Hatch-
er's run ; but Gen. Lee was found strongly intrenched, the
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. 365
ground very difficult, and no assault was attempted. In the
afternoon a heavy attack was made by the enemy, but was
successfully resisted. That night the National forces were
withdrawn to their former positions. Meade's loss was 143
killed, 653 wounded, and 488 missing; the enemy's was greater,
as he lost in prisoners alone about 1,300 men. Butler's loss
on this day was 700 in killed and wounded, and 400 missing.
Sherman destroyed the railroad in his rear, cut loose from
his base, and set out from Atlanta, 16 Nov., on his march to
Savannah. Gen. John D. Hood, who had superseded John-
ston, instead of following Sherman, turned northward and
moved his army against Thomas, who had been placed in com-
mand of the troops left for the defence of Tennessee. Thomas
concentrated his forces in the vicinity of Nashville. Schofield
was at Franklin, twenty-five miles from Nashville, with about
26,000 men. Hood attacked him on 30 Nov.. but after a hotly
contested battle was repelled with heavy loss. Thomas, with
his entire army, attacked Hood, and in the battle of Nashville,
15 and 16 Dec, completely defeated the enemy, capturing 53
guns and 4,462 prisoners, and drove him south of Tennessee
river. Sherman reached the sea-coast near Savannah on 14
Dec, after destroying about 200 miles of railroad and $100,-
000,000 worth of property. He invested Savannah, and forced
the enemy to evacuate it on the night of 20 Dec. Grant had
sent Butler in charge of an expedition against Fort Fisher, at
the mouth of Cape Fear river, to act in conjunction with the
naval fleet under Admiral Porter. He sailed from Fort Mon-
roe, 14 Dec, landed his troops 25 Dec, and advanced against
the fort, which had been vigorously shelled by the navy ; but,
while the assaulting party had every prospect of entering the
work, they received an order to fall back and re-embark.
The expedition reached Fort Monroe, on its return, 27 Dec.
Butler was relieved, and Gen. E. O. C. Ord was assigned to the
command of the Army of the James. Grant fitted out another
expedition against Fort Fisher, under Gen. Alfred H. Terry,
which sailed from Fort Monroe on 6 Jan., 1865. On the 13th
the navy directed a heavy fire against the fort. Terry landed
his troops, intrenched against a force of the enemy threatening
him from the direction of Wilmington, and on the 15th made
a vigorous assault, capturing the fort with its garrison and
169 heavy guns, and a large quantity of ammunition. It was
366
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
at first thought best to transfer Sherman's army by sea to Vir-
ginia, but this plan was abandoned, and on 27 Dec. he was
ordered to move north by land. His army numbered 60,000
men, and was accompanied by 68 guns and 2,500 wagons.
On 7 Jan., Schofield was directed to bring his army, then at
Clifton, Tenn., to the sea-coast. It reached Washington and
Alexandria, 31 Jan., and on 9 Feb. arrived at the mouth of
Cape Fear river, with instructions to operate against Wilming-
ton and penetrate the interior. He entered Wilmington on 22
Feb., it having been evacuated by the enemy, and took 51
heavy guns, 15 light guns, and 800 prisoners. His own loss in
these operations was about 200 in killed and wounded. He
moved thence to Goldsboro, where it was intended he should
form a junction with Sherman. On 2 March, Lee addressed a
letter to Grant, suggesting a personal meeting with a view to
arranging subjects of controversy between the belligerents to
a convention ; but Grant replied that he had no authority to
accede to the proposition ; that he had a right to act only on
subjects of a purely military character.
Sheridan moved down the valley of Virginia, from Winches-
ter, 27 Feb., and defeated Early at Waynesboro, 2 March, cap-
turing and scattering nearly his entire command. He then
turned eastward, destroyed many miles of the James river
canal, passed around the north side of Richmond, and tore up
the railroads, arrived at White House on the 19th, and from
there joined the Army of the Potomac. Grant had been anx-
ious for some time lest Lee should suddenly abandon his works
and fall back to unite with Johnston's forces in an attempt to
crush Sherman and force Grant to pursue Lee to a point that
would compel the Army of the Potomac to maintain a long
line of communications with its base, as there would be noth-
ing left in Virginia to subsist on after Lee had traversed it.
Sleepless vigilance was enjoined on all commanders, with
orders to report promptly any movement looking to a retreat.
Sherman captured Columbia on 17 Feb., and destroyed large
arsenals, railroad establishments, and forty-three cannon.
The enemy was compelled to evacuate Charleston. On 3
March, Sherman struck Cheraw, and seized a large quantity of
material of war, including 25 guns and 3,600 barrels of powder.
At Fayetteville, on the nth, he captured the finely equipped
arsenal and twenty guns. On the i6th he struck the enemy at
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
367
Averysboro, and after a stubborn fight drove him from his
position, losing 554 men. The Confederates reported their
loss at 500. On the 19th Johnston's army attacked a portion
of Sherman's forces at Bentonville, and made six heavy as-
saults, which were all successfully met, and on the night of the
2ist the enemy fell back. The National loss was 191 killed
and 1,455 wounded and missing; that of the Confederates was
reported at 223 killed, 1,467 wounded, 653 missing, but Sher-
man reports his captures of prisoners at 1,621. On the 23d
Sherman reached Goldsboro, where Schofield had arrived two
days before, and was again in communication with the sea-coast,
and able to draw supplies. On 20 March, Gen George Stone-
man set out to march eastward from east Tennessee, toward
Lynchburg, and on the same day Gen. E. R. S. Canby moved
against Mobile. Gen. Pope, who had succeeded Rosecrans in
Missouri, was ordered to drive Price beyond Red river. Han-
cock had been assigned to command the middle division when
Sheridan joined the Army of the Potomac, and the troops
under him near Washington were held in readiness to move.
All was now in readiness for the spring campaign, which
Grant intended should be the last. President Lincoln, be-
tween whom and Grant had sprung up a strong personal attach-
ment, visited him at City Point on 22 March, and Sherman
came there on the 27th. They, with Grant and Admiral Por-
ter, held an informal conference, and on the 28th Sherman set
out again to join his army. At daylight, on 25 March, Lee
had made a determined assault on Grant's right, capturing
Fort Steadman, breaking through the National lines, and gain-
ing possession of several batteries. In a few hours he was
driven back, and all the captured positions were regained.
Lee took this step to endeavor to force the withdrawal of
troops in front of his left, and enable him to leave his intrench-
ments and retreat toward Danville. Its failure prevented the
attempt. The country roads being considered sufficiently dry,
Grant had issued orders for a general advance on the 29th, and
these were carried out at the appointed time. Sheridan, with
his cavalry, was sent in advance to Dinwiddie Court-House.
The 5th corps had some fighting on the 29th, and in moving
forward on the 31st was attacked and driven back a mile.
Supported by a part of the 2d corps, it made a counter-attack,
drove the enemy back into his breastworks, and secured an
368
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
advanced position. Sheridan had pushed on to Five Forks,
but his command encountered a strong force of infantry and
cavalry, and after heavy fighting all day he fell back to Din-
widdle Court-House, where he repelled the repeated assaults
made upon him, and held the place. The 5th corps was that
night ordered to report to Sheridan. The enemy, on the morn-
ing of I April, fell back toward Five Forks, closely followed
by the cavalry, which pressed him closely. In the afternoon
he had taken up a strongly intrenched position at Five Forks,
on Lee's extreme right. The 5th corps having joined Sheridan,
he made a combined attack, with infantry and cavalry, and
by nightfall had gained a brilliant victory, capturing the Con-
federate works, 6 guns, and nearly 6,000 prisoners. His cavalry
pursued the broken and flying enemy for six miles beyond the
field of battle. That night, after getting the full details of
Sheridan's success. Grant determined to make a vigorous as-
sault the next day, with all his troops, upon the lines around
Petersburg. It began at daylight, 2 April ; the works were
carried, and in a few hours Grant was closing in upon the
inner defences of the city. Two of the forts, Gregg and Whit-
worth, were secured m the afternoon. The former was cap-
tured by assault, the latter was evacuated; 12,000 prisoners
and over fifty guns were already in Grant's hands. Richmond
and Petersburg were evacuated that night, and the National
forces entered and took possession on the morning of the 3d.
Grant, anticipating this, had begun a movement westward dur-
ing the night, to head off Lee from Danville, and a vigorous
pursuit by the whole army was ordered. It became evident
that Lee was moving toward Amelia Court-House, and a force
was urged forward to Jetersville, on the Danville railroad, to
get between him and Danville. Part of Sheridan's cavalry
and the head of the 5th corps reached there on the afternoon
of the 4th and intrenched. The Army of the Potomac arrived
by forced marches on the 5th, while the Army of the James,
under Ord, pushed on toward Burkesville. An attack was
ordered upon Lee on the morning of the 6th, but he had left
Amelia Court-House during the night, and was pushing on
toward Farmville by the Deatonsville road. He was closely
pursued, and on the afternoon of the 6th, Sheridan, with his
cavalry and the 6th corps, attacked him at Sailor's Creek, cap-
turing 7 general ofificers, about 7,000 men, and 14 guns. The
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
369
2d corps had kept up a running fight with the enemy all day,
and had captured 4 guns, 17,000 prisoners, 13 flags, and 300
wagons. Lee was continuing his retreat through Farmville,
and Grant urged troops to that place by forced marches on
the 7th. The 2d corps and a portion of the cavalry had been
repelled in their attacks on Lee, north of the Appomattox, and
the 6th corps crossed from Farmville on the evening of the
7th to re-enforce them. That night Grant sent a note from
Farmville to Lee, calling his attention to the hopelessness of
further resistance, and asking the surrender of his army. He
received a reply from Lee on the morning of the 8th, saying
he was not entirely of Grant's opinion as to the hopelessness
of further resistance, but asking what terms would be offered.
Grant, who was still at Farmville, immediately replied, saying
that, as peace was his great desire, he would insist on but one
condition — that the men and officers surrendered should be
disqualified from taking up arms again until properly ex-
changed. On the 8th Lee's troops were in full retreat on the
north side of the Appomattox. The 2d and 6th corps followed
in hot pursuit on that side, while Sheridan, Ord, and the 5th
corps were pushed forward with all speed on the south side to
head off Lee from Lynchburg. Near midnight on the night of
the 8th Grant received another note from Lee, saying he had
not intended to propose the surrender of his army, but desired to
know whether Grant's proposals would lead to peace, and sug-
gested a meeting at 10 a. m. the next morning. Grant replied
that such a meeting could lead to no good, as he had no authority
to treat on the subject of peace, but suggested that the south's
laying down their arms would hasten the event and save thou-
sands of lives and hundreds of millions of property. Early on
the morning of 9 April, Lee's advance arrived at Appomattox
Court-House ; but by extraordinary forced marches, Sheridan,
Ord, and Griffin reached that place at the same time. Lee
attacked the cavalry; but, when he found infantry in his front,
he sent in a flag of truce, and forwarded a note to Grant, ask-
ing an interview in accordance with the offer contained in
Grant's letter of the day before. Grant received it on the
road while riding toward Appomattox Court-House, and sent
a reply saying he would move forward and meet Lee at any
place he might select. They met in the McLean house, in
Appomattox (see accompanying illustration) on the afternoon
370
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
of the 9th, and the terms of surrender were drawn up by Grant
and accepted by Lee. The conference lasted about three
hours. The men and officers were paroled and allowed to
return to their homes; all public property was to be turned
over, but the officers were allowed to keep their side-arms, and
both officers and men to retain their private horses and bag-
gage. These terms were so magnanimous, and the treatment
of Lee and his officers so considerate, that the effect was to
. s^ , induce other Confed-
.-. /'-.y\-'3k,. >.^J.-- . erates to seek the
same terms and bring
the rebellion to a
speedy close. In rid-
ing to his camp after
the surrender. Grant
heard the firing of
salutes. He sent at
once to suppress
them, and said : " The
war is over ; the reb-
els are again our
countrymen, and the best sign of rejoicing after the victory
will be to abstain from all demonstrations in the field." The
number paroled was 28,356. In addition to these, 19,132 had
been captured during the campaign since 29 March. The killed
were estimated at 5,000. After 9 April, over 20,000 stragglers
and deserters besides came in and surrendered. The National
losses during this period were 2,000 killed, 6,500 wounded, and
2,500 missing. Grant's losses, including those of Butler's
army, during the year beginning with the battle of the Wilder-
ness, were 12,663 killed, 49,559 wounded, and 20,498 missing;
total, 82,720. No accurate reports of the Confederate losses
can be obtained; but Grant's captures in battle during this
year were 66,512.
On 10 April, Grant went to Washington to hasten the dis-
banding of the armies, stop purchases of supplies, and save
expense to the government. He did not stop to visit Rich-
mond. President Lincoln was assassinated on the 14th, and
Grant would probably have shared the same fate but for his
having left Washington that day. On 18 April, Sherman re-
ceived the surrender of Johnston's army, but on terms that the
ULYSSES SIMPSOA' GRANT.
371
government did not approve, and Grant was sent to North
Carolina to conduct further negotiations. On the 26th John-
ston surrendered to Sherman on terms similar to those given
to Lee, and 31,243 men were paroled. Grant remained at
Raleigh and avoided being present at the interview, leaving to
Sherman the full credit of the capture. Canby's force ap-
peared before Mobile on 27 March, the principal defensive
works were captured on 9 April, and Mobile was evacuated on
the nth, when 200 guns and 4,000 prisoners were captured, but
about 9,000 of the garrison escaped. Wilson's cavalry com-
mand captured Selma, Ala., on 2 April, and Tuscaloosa on the
4th, occupied Montgomery on the 14th, and took West Point
and Columbus, Ga., on the i6th. Macon surrendered on the
2ist. Kirby Smith surrendered his command, west of the Mis-
sissippi, on the 26th. There was then not an armed enemy left
in the country, and the rebellion was ended. Grant established
his headquarters in Washington. He was greeted with ova-
tions wherever he went, honors were heaped upon him in every
part of the land, and he was universally hailed as the country's
deliverer. In June, July, and August, 1865, he made a tour
through the northern States and Canada. In November he
was welcomed in New York by a demonstration that exceeded
all previous efforts. It consisted of a banquet and reception,
and the manifestations of the people in their greetings knew
no bounds. Immediately after the war. Grant sent Gen. Sheri-
dan with an army corps to the Rio Grande river to observe the
movements of the French, who were then in Mexico supporting
the Imperial government there in violation of the Monroe doc-
trine. This demonstration was the chief cause of the with-
drawal of the French. Maximilian, being left without assist-
ance from a European power, was soon driven from his throne,
and the republic of Mexico was re-established.
The U. S. court in Virginia had found indictments against
Gen. Lee and other officers prominent in the rebellion, and much
anxiety was manifested by them on this account. Two months
after the war, Lee applied by letter to be permitted to enjoy
privileges extended to those included in a proclamation of
amnesty, which had been issued by the president. Grant put
an indorsement on the letter, which began as follows : " Re-
spectfully forwarded through the secretary of war to the presi-
dent, with the earnest recommendation that the application of
25
17^
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Gen. Robert E. Lee for amnesty and pardon be granted him."
But President Johnson was at that time embittered against all
participants in the rebellion, and seemed determined to have
Lee and others punished for the crime of treason. Lee after-
ward made a strong appeal by letter to Grant for protection.
Grant put a long and emphatic endorsement upon this letter,
in which he used the following language : " In my opinion, the
officers and men paroled at Appomattox Court-House, and
since upon the same terms given to Lee, can not be tried for
treason so long as they preserve the terms of their parole. . . .
The action of Judge Underwood in Norfolk has already had
an injurious effect, and I would ask that he be ordered to quash
all indictments found against paroled prisoners of war, and to
desist from further prosecution of them." Grant insisted that
he had the power to accord the terms he granted at Appomat-
tox, and that the president was bound to respect the agree-
ments there entered into unless they should be abrogated by
the prisoners violating their paroles. He went so far as to
declare that he would resign his commission if so gross a
breach of good faith should be perpetrated by the executive.
The result was the abandonment of the prosecutions. This
was the first of a series of contests between Grant and Presi-
dent Johnson, which finally resulted in their entire estrange-
ment. In December, Grant made a tour of inspection through
the south. His report upon affairs in that section of the coun-
try was submitted to congress by the president, and became
the basis of important reconstruction laws. In May, 1866, he
wrote a letter to the secretary of war, which was submitted to
congress, and became the basis for the reorganization of the
army, and also for the distribution of troops through the
south during the process of reconstruction. The Fenians were
now giving the government much trouble, and, in consequence
of their acts, the relations between the United States and Great
Britain were becoming strained. They had organized a raid into
Canada to take place during the summer; but Grant visited
Buffalo in June, took effective measures to stop them, and pre-
vented all further unlawful acts on their part. Congress had
passed an act creating the grade of general, a higher rank than
had before existed in the army, to be conferred on Grant as a
reward for his illustrious services in the field, and on 25 July,
1866, he received his commission.
ULYSSES SIMPSOiV GRANT.
373
In the autumn of 1866, President Johnson having changed
his policy toward the south, finding that Grant refused to sup-
port him in his intentions to assume powers that Grant beheved
were vested only in congress, ordered him out of the country,
with directions to proceed on a special mission to Mexico.
Grant refused, saying that this was not a military service but
a diplomatic mission, and that he claimed the right possessed
by every citizen to decline a civil appointment. An effort was
afterward made to send him west, to prevent his presence in
Washington, but it was soon abandoned. The 39th congress,
fearing the result of this action on the part of the president,
attached a clause to the army appropriation bill, passed on 4
March, 1867, providing that "all orders and instructions relat-
ing to military operations shall be issued through the general
of the army," and added that he should " not be removed, sus-
pended, or relieved from command, or assigned to duty else-
where than at the headquarters in Washington, except at his
own request, without the previous approval of the senate."
The president signed the bill, with a protest against this clause,
and soon obtained an opinion from his attorney-general that it
was unconstitutional. The president then undertook to send
this opinion to the district commanders, but, finding the secre-
tary of war in opposition, he issued it through the adjutant-
general's office. Gen. Sheridan, then at New Orleans, in com-
mand of the fifth military district, inquired what to do, and
Grant replied that a " legal opinion was not entitled to the
-force of an order," and "to enforce his own construction of
the law until otherwise ordered." This brought on a crisis.
The president claimed that under the constitution he could
direct the district commanders to issue such orders as he dic-
tated, and was met by an act of congress, passed in July, mak-
ing the orders of the district commanders " subject to the
disapproval of the general of the army." Thus Grant was
given chief control of affairs relating to the reconstruction of
the southern states. The president still retained the power of
removal, and on the adjournment of congress he removed
Sheridan and placed Gen. Hancock in command of the fifth
military district. Some of Hancock's orders were revoked by
Grant, which caused not a little bitterness of feeling between
these officers, and provoked opposition from the Democratic
party. Subsequently, when a bill was before congress to mus-
374
LIVES OF THE PRESIDEXTS.
ter Gen. Hancock out of the service for his acts in Louisiana,
Grant opposed it, and it was defeated. Soon afterward he
recommended Hancock for a major-generalship in the regular
army, to which he was appointed.
The " tenure-of-office " act forbade the president from re-
moving a cabinet officer without the consent of the senate;
but President Johnson suspended Sec. Stanton, and appointed
Grant secretary of war ad interim on 12 Aug., 1867. Grant
protested against this action, but retained the office until 14
Jan., 1868, when the senate refused to confirm the suspension
of Stanton. Grant immediately notified the president, who>
finding that the general of the army would not retain the place
in opposition to the will of congress, and that Sec. Stanton had
re-entered upon his office, ordered Grant verbally to disregard
Stanton's orders. Grant declined to do so unless he received
instructions in writing. This led to an acrimonious corre-
spondence. The president claimed that Grant had promised
to sustain him. This Grant emphatically denied, and in a long
letter reviewing his action said : " The course you would have
it understood I agreed to pursue, was in violation of law, and
was without orders from you, while the course I did pursue,
and which I never doubted you understood, was in accordance
with law. . . . And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a
soldier and integrity as a man have been so violently assailed,
pardon me for saying that I regard this whole matter, from
the beginning to the end, as an attempt to involve me in the
resistance of law for which you hesitate to assume the re-
sponsibility in orders." On 21 Feb. the president appointed
Lorenzo Thomas adjutant-general of the arm}-, secretarv of
war, and ordered him to take possession of the office. On 24
Feb. articles of impeachment were passed by the house of rep-
resentatives. Throughout these years of contest between the
executive and congress. Grant's position became very delicate
and embarrassing. He was compelled to execute the laws of
congress at the risk of appearing insubordinate to his official
chief, but his course was commended by the people, his popu-
larity increased, and when the Republican convention met in
Chicago, 20 May, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the
presidency on the first ballot. In his letter of acceptance,
dated nine days after, he made use of the famous phrase, " Let
us have peace." The Democratic party nominated Horatio
ULYSSES SIMPSOiV GRANT.
375
Seymour, of New York. When the election occurred, Grant
carried twenty-six states with a popular vote of 3,015,071,
while Seymour carried eight states with a popular vote of 2,-
709,613. It was claimed that the state of New York was
really carried by Grant, but fraudulently counted for Seymour.
Out of the 294 electoral votes cast for president. Grant re-
ceived 214 and Seymour 80, three States — Mississippi, Texas,
and Virginia — not voting.
Grant possessed in a striking degree the essential charac-
teristics of a successful soldier. His self-reliance was one of
his most pronounced traits, and enabled him at critical mo-
ments to decide promptly the most important questions with-
out useless delay in seeking advice from others, and to assume
the gravest responsibilities without asking any one to share
them. He had a fertility of resource and a faculty of adapt-
ing the means at hand to the accomplishment of his purposes,
which contributed no small share to his success. His moral
and physical courage were equal to every emergency in which
he was placed. His unassuming manner, purity of character,
and absolute loyalty to his superiors and to the work in which he
was engaged, mspired loyalty in others and gained him the de-
votion of the humblest of his subordinates. He was singularly
^ calm and patient under all circumstances, was never unduly
elated by victory or depressed by defeat, never became excited,
and never uttered an oath or imprecation. His habits of life
were simple, and he was possessed of a physical constitution
that enabled him to endure every form of fatigue arid privation
incident to milieu./ service in the field. He had an intuitive
knowledge of topography, and never became confused as to
locality in directing the movements of large bodies of men.
He exhibited a rapidity of thought and action on the field that
enabled him to move troops in the presence of an enemy with
a promptness that has rarely been equalled. He had no hobby
as to the use of any particular arm of the service. He natu-
rally placed his main reliance on his infantry, but made a more
vigorous use of cavalry than any of the generals of his day,
and was judicious in apportioning the amount of his artillery
to the character of the country in which he was operating.
While his achievements in actual battle eclipse by their bril-
liance the strategy and grand tactics employed in his cam-
paigns, yet the extraordinary combinations effected and the
376
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
skill and boldness exhibited in moving large armies into posi-
tion entitle him, perhaps, to as much credit as the qualities he
displayed in the face of the enemy. On 4 March, 1869, Grant
was inaugurated the eighteenth president of the United States.
Gen. Grant had never taken an active part in politics, and
had voted for a presidential candidate but once. In 1856, al-
though his early associations had been with the Whigs, he cast
his vote for James Buchanan, the Democratic candidate ; but
this was on personal rather than political grounds, as he be-
lieved that the Republican candidate did not possess the requi-
site qualifications for the office. So much doubt existed as to
his political proclivities that prominent Democrats had made
overtures to him to accept a nomination from their party only
a few months before the nominating conventions were held.
But he was at heart ui thorougli accord with the principles of
the Republican party. He believed in a national banking
system, a tariff that would fairly protect American industries,
in the fostering of such internal improvements as would unite
our two seaboards and give the eastern and western sections
of the country mutual support and protection, in the dignifymg
of labor, and in laws that would secure equal justice to all
citizens, regardless of race, color, or previous condition.
As early as August, 1863, he had written a letter to Elihu
B. Washburne, member of congress, in which he said: "It be-
came patent to my mind early in the rebellion that the north
and south could never live at peace with each other except as
one nation, and that without slavery. As anxious as I am to
see peace established, I would not, therefore, be willing to see
any settlement until this question is forever settled." In his
inaugural address he declared that the government bonds
should be paid in gold, advocated a speedy return to specie
payments, and made many important recommendations in
reference to public affairs. Regarding the good faith of the
nation he said : " To protect the national honor, every dollar
of government indebtedness should be paid in gold, unless
otherwise expressly stipulated m the contract. . . . Let it be
understood that no repudiator of one farthing of our public
debt will be trusted in public place, and it will go far toward
strengthening a credit which ought to be the best in the world,
and will ultimately enable us to replace the debt with bonds
bearing less interest than we now pay." Congress acted
_^1_, ./i^^.-.^^^
Q
^-^ ^^ ,^ ^^ .^^1__
ULYSSES S/MFSOA^ GRANT.
377
promptly upon his recommendation, and on i8 March, 1869,
an act was passed entitled '* An act to strengthen the public
credit." Its language gave a pledge to the world that the
debts of the country would be paid in coin unless there were
in the obligations express stipulations to the contrary. Both
in his inaugural address and in his first annual message to
congress he took strong ground in favor of an effort to "civ-
ilize and Christianize" the Indians, and fit them ultimately for
citizenship. His early experience among these people, while
serving on the frontier, had eminently fitted him for inaugurat-
ing practical methods for improving their condition. He ap-
pointed as commissioner of Indian affairs the chief of the Six
Nations, Gen. Ely S. Parker, a highly educated Indian, who
had served on his staff, and selected as members of the board
of Indian commissioners gentlemen named by the various re-
ligious denominations throughout the country. Although such
men were not always practical in their views, and many obsta-
cles had to be overcome in working out this difficult problem,
great good resulted in the end; public attention was attracted
to the amelioration of the condition of our savage tribes ; they
came to be treated more like wards of the nation, were gath-
ered upon government reservations, where they could be more
economically provided for, the number of Indian wars was
reduced, and large amounts were saved to the government.
The 15th amendment to the constitution, adopted 26 Feb.,
1869, guaranteed the right of suffrage without regard to race,
color, or previous condition of servitude. It was ratified by the
requisite three fourths of the states, and declared in force, 30
March, 1870. The adoption of this amendment had been rec-
ommended by President Grant, and had had his active sup-
port throughout, and it is largely due to his efforts that it is
now a part of the constitution. He proclaimed its adoption
by the somewhat unusual course of sending a special message
to congress, in which he said : " I regard it as a measure of
grander importance than any other one act of the kind from
the foundation of the government to the present day." He
also urged in this message that congress should encourage
popular education, in order that the negro might become better
fitted for the exercise of the privileges conferred upon him by
this important amendment.
In the summer of 1869 a representative from Santo Do-
3;8
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
mingo informed the president that the government and people
of that republic favored annexation to the United States.
The president sent several officers of the government to in-
vestigate the condition of affairs there, and became so clearly
impressed with the advantages that would result from the
acquisition of that country that he negotiated a treaty of an-
nexation, and submitted it to the senate at the next meeting of
congress. In May, 1870, he urged favorable action on the
part of that body in a message in which he set forth the rea-
sons that had governed him, and again called attention to it in
his second annual message. He claimed, among other things,
that its admission into the Union as a territory would open up
a large trade between the two lands, furnish desirable harbors
for naval stations, and a place of refuge for negroes in the
south who found themselves persecuted in their old homes;
would favor the abolition of slavery in the West Indies, would
be in harmony with the Monroe doctrine, and would redound
to the great benefit of both countries and to civilization, and
that there was danger, if we failed to receive it, that it would
be taken by some European power, and add another to the list
of islands off our coast controlled by European powers, and
likely to give us trouble in case we became engaged in
war. The measure was debated for a long time, but the senate
did not act favorably upon it. In 1871 a commission of dis-
tinguished citizens was sent to investigate and report upon all
matters relating to Santo Domingo and the proposed treaty.
They visited that country, and made an exhaustive report,
which was highly favorable to the plan of annexation ; but the
treaty was constitutionally rejected, having failed to receive
the necessary two-third vote, and was never brought up again.
The president declared that he had no policy to enforce against
the will of the people. He referred to the subject in his last
annual message to congress, and reviewed the grounds of his
action, not in order to renew the project, but, as he expressed
it, "to vindicate my previous action in regard to it." Many
outrages had been committed in the south against the freed-
men, and congress spent much time in considering measures
for the suppression of these crimes. On 31 May, 1870, a bill
was passed, called the Enforcement act, which empowered the
president to protect the freedmen in their newly acquired
rights, and punish the perpetrators of the outrages. Several
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
379
supplements to this were subsequently enacted, and a most
onerous and exacting duty was imposed upon the executive in
enforcing their provisions.
The reconstruction of the states recently in rebellion now
progressed rapidly under the 14th amendment, which guaran-
teed equal civil rights to all citizens, and in July, 1870, all the
states had ratified this amendment and been readmitted to the
Union. The votes of Arkansas and Louisiana were not re-
ceived by congress in the presidential election of 1872; but
this was on account of fraud and illegal practices at the polls.
In the president's annual message to congress, December, 1869,
he recommended the passage of an act authorizing the funding
of the public debt at a lower rate of interest. This was fol-
lowed by the passing of an act, approved 14 July, 1870, which
authorized the secretary of the treasury to issue bonds to the
amount of $200,000,000, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per
cent., $300,000,000 at the rate of 4^/2 per cent., and $ 1,000,000,-
000 at the rate of 4 per cent. Under this act, and subsequent
amendments thereto, the national debt has been refunded from
time to time, until the average rate of actual interest does not
exceed 3% per cent.
In 1870 President Grant sent special messages to congress
urging upon that body the necessity of building up our mer-
chant marine, and the adopting of methods for increasing
our foreign commerce, and regarding our relations with Spain,
which had become
strained in conse-
quence of the action
of Spanish oiificials
in Cuba. In August
of this year, soon
after the beginning
of the war between
France and Ger-
many, he issued a proclamation of neutrality as to both of
those nations, and defined the duties of Americans toward the
belligerents. He directed the U. S. minister to France, Elihu
B. Washburne, to remain at his post in Paris, and extend the
protection of the American flag to peoples of all nationalities
who were without the protection of their own flag — an act that
saved much suffering and loss to individuals.
38o
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
In his annual message in 1870, the president took strong
ground in favor of civil service reform, saying: "J would
have it govern, not the tenure, but the manner of making all
appointments," and " The present system does not secure the
best men, and not even fit men, for public place." This sub-
ject gave rise to a spirited controversy in congress, many de-
claring the principle to be wholly un-American, and calculated
to build up a favored class, who would be in great measure
independent of their executive chiefs, etc. But on 3 March,
187 1, an act was passed authorizing the president to appoint a
civil service commission, and to prescribe rules and regula-
tions governing the appointments of civil officers. He ap-
pointed seven gentlemen on this commission, selecting those
who had been most prominent in advocating the measure, and
transmitted their report to congress, with a special message
urging favorable action. The plan recommended, which pro-
vided for competitive examinations, was approved, and was
put into operation i Jan., 1872. An appropriation was pro-
cured for the expenses of the commission and the carrying out
of the plan, but congress gave little countenance to the
measure. Up to 1874 the president continued to urge that
body to give legislative sanction to the rules and methods pro-
posed, and declared that it was impossible to maintain the sys-
tem without the "positive support of congress." He finally
notified congress that if it adjourned without action he would
regard it as a disapproval of the system, and would abandon
it ; but he continued it until its expenses were no longer pro-
vided for. The agitation of the question had been productive
of much good. The seeds thus sown had taken deep root in
the minds of the people, and bore good fruit in after years.
In March, 1871, the disorders in the southern states, growing
out of conflicts between the whites and the blacks, had as-
sumed such proportions that the president sent a special mes-
sage to congress requesting "such legislation as shall effect-
ually secure life, liberty, and property, and the enforcement
of law in all parts of the United States." On 20 April con-
gress passed an act that authorized the president to suspend,
under certain defined circumstances, the writ of habeas corpus
in any district, and to use the army and navy in suppressing
insurrections. He issued a proclamation, 4 May, ordering all
unlawful armed bands to disperse, and, after expressing his
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT. 381
reluctance to use the extraordinary power conferred upon him,
said he would " not hesitate to exhaust the power thus vested
in the executive, whenever and wherever it shall become
necessary to do so for the purpose of securing to all citizens
of the United States the peaceful enjoyment of the rights
guaranteed to them by the constitution and the laws." As
this did not produce the desired effect, he issued a proclama-
tion of warning, 12 Oct., and on the 17th suspended the writ
of habeas corpus in parts of North and South CaroHna. He
followed this by vigorous prosecutions, which resulted in send-
ing a number of prominent offenders to prison, and the out-
rages soon ceased. The most important measure of foreign
policy during President Grant's administration was the treaty
with Great Britain of 8 May, 1871, known as the treaty of Wash-
ington. Early in his administration the president had begun
negotiations looking to the settlement of the claims made by
the United States against Great Britain, arising from the dep-
redations upon American vessels and commerce by Confederate
cruisers that had been fitted out or obtained supplies in British
ports, and the questions growing out of the Canadian fishery
disputes and the location of our northern boundary-luie at its
junction with the Pacific ocean, which left the jurisdiction of
the island of San Juan in controversy. Neither of the two
last-mentioned questions had been settled by the treaty of
peace of 1783, or any subsequent treaties. The fishery ques-
tion was referred to arbitration by three commissioners, one to
be chosen by the United States, one by Great Britain, and the
third by the other two, provided they should make a choice
within a stated time, otherwise the selection to be made by the
Emperor of Austria. The two commissioners having failed to
agree, the third was named by the Austrian emperor. The
aw-ard was unsatisfactory to the United States, the decision of
the commission was severely criticised, and the dispute has
from time to time been reopened to the detriment of both
countries. The San Juan question was referred to the em-
peror of Germany as arbitrator, with sole power. His award
fully sustained the claim of the United States. A high joint
commission had assembled at Washington, composed of Amer-
ican and English statesmen, which formulated the treaty of
Washington, and by its terms the claims against Great Britain
growing out of the operations of the Confederate cruisers,
382
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
commonly known as the " Alabama claims," were referred to
a court of arbitration, which held its session at Geneva, Swit-
zerland. In September, 1872, it awarded the United States
the sum of $15,500,000, which was subsequently paid by the
British government. War had at one time seemed imminent,
on account of the bitterness felt against Great Britain in con-
sequence of her unfriendly acts during our civil war; but the
president was a man who had seen so much of the evils of war
that he became a confirmed believer in pacific measures as
long as there was hope through such means. In his inaugural
address he said : " In regard to foreign policy, I would deal
with nations as equitable law requires individuals to deal with
each other. ... I would respect the rights of all nations,
demanding equal respect for our own. If others depart from
this rule in their dealings with us, we may be compelled to
follow their precedent." The adoption of the treaty was a
signal triumph for those who advocated the settlement of in-
ternational disputes by peaceful methods. The adoption of
the rules contained in the treaty for the government of
neutral nations was of far more importance than the money
award. These rules were to govern the action of the two con-
tracting parties, and they agreed to bring them to the notice
of other nations, and invite them to follow the precedent thus
established. The rules stipulated that a neutral shall not per-
mit a belligerent to fit out, arm, or equip in its ports any vessel
that it has reasonable ground to believe is intended to cruise
or carry on war agamst a nation with which it is at peace
and that neither of the contracting parties shall permit a bel-
ligerent to make use of its ports or waters as a base of opera-
tions against the other. The two nations also agreed to use
due diligence to prevent any infraction of these rules.
On 22 May, 1872, the amnesty bill was passed by congress,
restoring their civil rights to all but about 350 persons in the
south who had held conspicuous positions under the Confed-
erate government. President Grant's first administration had
been vigorous and progressive. Important reforms had been
inaugurated, and measures of vital moment to the nation,
both at home and abroad, had been carried to a successful
conclusion in the face of opposition from some of the most
prominent men of his own political party. Not a few Repub-
licans became estranged, feeling that they were being ignored
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
383
by the executive, and formed themselves into an organization
under the name of " Liberal Republicans." This opposition
resulted in the holding of a convention in Cincinnati, and the
nomination of Horace Greeley as its candidate for the presi-
dency, which nomination was afterward adopted by the Demo-
cratic party. The Republican convention met in Philadelphia,
5 June, 1872, renominated President Grant, and adopted a
platform approving the principles advocated by him in his
previous administration. When the election took place, he
carried 31 states, with a popular vote of 3,597,070, the largest
that had ever been given for any president, while Greeley
carried 6 states with a popular vote of 2,834,079. Grant re-
ceived 286 electoral votes against 66 that would have been
cast for Mr. Greeley if he had lived. The 14 votes of Arkan-
sas and Louisiana were not counted, because of fraud and
illegality in the election. The canvass had been one of the
most aggressive and exciting in the history of the country,
and abounded in personal attacks upon the candidates. Gen.
Grant, in his inaugural address on 4 March, 1S73, said, in allud-
ing to the personal abuse that had been aimed at him : " To-
day I feel that I can disregard it, in view of your verdict,
which I gratefully accept as my vmdication." His second
term was a continuation of the policy that had characterized
his first. His foreign policy was steadfast, dignified, and just,
always exhibiting a conscientious regard for the rights of for-
eign nations, and at the same time maintaming the rights of
our own. He instructed the ministers to China and Japan to
deal with those powers as " we would wish a strong nation to
deal with us if we were weak." During the insurrection in the
island of Cuba, which had lasted for several years, a number
of American citizens had been arrested by the Spanish authori-
ties, under the pretence that they had been furnishing aid to
the insurgents, and American vessels plying in Cuban waters
had at times been subjected to much mconvenience. Then
matters culminated in the seizure by Spam, without justifica-
tion, of an American vessel named the "Virginius." The
excitement created in the United States by this outrage was
intense, and many statesmen were clamorous for war. But the
president believed that pacific measures would accomplish a
better result, and, by acting with promptness and firmness, he
soon wrung from Spain ample apology and full reparation.
384
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENT'S.
Political troubles were still rife in certain states of the
south. The result of the election in Louisiana in 1872 was in
dispute, and armed violence was threatened in that state.
Early in 1873 the president called the attention of congress to
the inadequacy of the laws applying to such cases, saying that
he had recognized the officers installed by the decision of the
returning-board as representing the de facto government, and
added : " I am extremely anxious to avoid any appearance of
undue interference in state affairs, and if congress differs
from me as to what ought to be done, I respectfully urge its
immediate decision to
that effect." Con-
gress, however, took
no action, and left
with the executive the
sole responsibility of
dealing with this deli-
cate question. The
next year the trouble
was renewed, and the
fierce contest that was
waged between the Republicans under Kellogg, and the Demo-
crats under McEnery, their respective candidates for the gov-
ernorship, resulted in armed hostilities. Kellogg, the de facto
governor, called upon the Federal authority for protection, and
Gen. Emory was sent to New Orleans with U. S. troops, and
the outbreak was for a time suppressed. But difficulties arose
again, and the president sent Gen. Sheridan to Louisiana to
report upon the situation of affairs, and, if necessary, to take
command of the troops and adopt vigorous measures to pre-
serve the peace. Gen. Sheridan became convinced that his duty
was to sustain the government organized by Kellogg, and, on
the demand of the governor, he ejected some of McEnery's ad-
herents from the state capitol. The president submitted the
whole history of the case to congress, asking for legislation
defining his duties in the emergency. Getting no legislation
on the subject, he continued his recognition of the govern-
ment of which Kellogg was the head, until the election of a
new governor; but there was afterward no serious trouble in
Louisiana. Difficulties of the same nature arose in Arkansas
and Texas, which were almost as perplexing to the executive;
ULYSSES SIMPSON' GRANT.
385
but these attracted less attention before the public. Difficul-
ties of a somewhat similar kind were encountered also in Mis-
sissippi, but the president in this case avoided interference on
the part of the general government.
In April, 1874, congress passed what was known as the
** Inflation bill," which increased the paper currency of the
country, and was contrary to the financial principles that the
president had always entertained and advocated in his state
papers. Many of his warmest political supporters had ap-
proved the measure, and unusual efforts were made to con-
vince him that it was wise financially and expedient polit-
ically. The president gave much thought and study to the
question, and at one time wrote out the draft of a message in
which he set forth all the arguments that could be made in its
favor, in order that he might fully weigh them; but, on read-
mg it over, he became convinced that the reasons advanced
were not satisfactory, and that the measure would in the end
be injurious to the true business interests of the country, and
delay the resumption of specie payment. He therefore re-
turned the bill to congress, with his veto, 22 April. The argu-
ments contained in his message were unanswerable, the bill
was not passed over his veto, and his course was sustained by
the whole country. Perhaps no act of his administration was
more highly approved by the people at large, and the result
amply proved the wisdom of the firmness he exhibited at this
crisis. About two months after this, in a conversation at the
executive mansion with Senator Roscoe Conkling, of New
York, and Senator John P. Jones, of Nevada, the president
entered at length upon his views concerning the duty of the
government to take steps looking to the return to specie pay-
ment. His earnestness on this subject, and the advantages of
the methods proposed, so impressed the senators that they
asked him to commit his views to writing. He complied with
this request by writing a letter addressed to Senator Jones,
dated 4 June, 1874, in which he began by saying: "I believe
it a high and plain duty to return to a specie basis at the earli-
est practical day, not only in compliance with legislative and
party pledges, but as a step indispensable to national lasting
prosperity." Then followed his views at length. This letter
was made public, and attracted much attention, and in Jan-
uary, 1875, the " Resumption act " was passed, which, to a
386
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
large extent, embodied the views that had been suggested by
the president. There were doubts in the minds of many as to
the ability of the government to carry it into effect ; but it
proved entirely successful, and the country was finally relieved
from the stigma of circulating an irredeemable paper currency.
Durmg 1875 the president had reason to suspect that frauds
were being practised by government officials in certain states
in collecting the revenue derived from the manufacture of
whiskey. He at once took active measures for their detection,
and the vigorous pursuit and punishment of the offenders. He
issued a stringent order for their prosecution, closing with the
famous words, " Let no guilty man escape." Many indict-
ments soon followed, the ringleaders were sent to the peniten-
tiary, and an honest collection of the revenue was secured.
Some of the revenue officials were men of much political influ-
ence, and had powerful friends. The year for nominating a
president was at hand, and the excitement ran high. Friends
of the convicted, political enemies and rivals for the succes-
sion in his own party, resorted to the most desperate means to
break the president's power and diminish his popularity. The
grossest misrepresentations were practised, first in trying to
bring into question the honesty of his purpose in the prose-
cution of offenders, and afterward in endeavoring to rob him
of the credit of his labors after they had purified the revenue-
service. But these efforts signally failed.
In September, 1875, Gen. Grant, while attending an army
reunion in Iowa, offered three resolutions on the subject of
education, and made a speech in which he used this language :
" Let us labor for the security of free thought, free speech, free
press, pure morals, unfettered religious sentiments, and equal
rights and privileges for all men, irrespective of nationality,
color, or religion ; encourage free schools ; resolve that not
one dollar appropriated to them shall go to the support of any
sectarian school ; resolve that neither state nor nation shall
support any institution save those where every child may get
a common-school education, unmixed with any atheistic, pagan,
or sectarian teaching ; leave the matter of religious teaching
to the family altar, and keep church and state forever separate."
This was published broadcast, and was received with marked
favor by the press and people.
In 1876 Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, was nominated for
ULYSSES SIMPSOiV GRANT. 387
the presidency by the Democrats, and Gen. Rutherford B.
Hayes, of Ohio, by the Republicans. When the election was
held in November, the result was in dispute, and a bitter con-
test was likely to follow in determining which was the legally
elected candidate. After an exciting debate in congress, a bill
was passed providing for an electoral commission, to whose deci-
sion the question was to be referred. It decided in favor of Gen.
Hayes, and he was inaugurated on 4 March, 1877. During all
this time the political passions of the people were raised to
fever-heat, serious threats of violence were made, and the
business interests of the country were greatly disturbed. Presi-
dent Grant took no active part in the determination of the
question, but devoted himself to measures to preserve the
peace. There were many changes in the cabinet during Grant's
two administrations. The following is a list of its members,
giving the order in which they served : Secretaries of state,
Elihu B. Washburne, of Illinois; Hamilton Fish, of New York.
Secretaries of the treasury, Alexander T. Stewart, of New
York (appointed, but not confirmed, on account of the discov-
ery of an old law rendering him ineligible because of his being*
engaged in the business of an importing merchant) ; George S.
Boutwell, of Massachusetts; William M. Richardson, of Mas-
sachusetts; Benjamin H. Bristow, of Kentucky; Lot M. Mor-
rill, of Maine. Secretaries of war. Gen. John M. Schofield,
U. S. army ; John A. Rawlins, of Illinois ; William W. Belknap, of
Iowa; Alonzo Taft, of Ohio; J. Donald Cameron, of Pennsyl-
vania. Secretaries of the navy, Adolph E. Borie, of Pennsyl-
vania ; George M. Robeson, of New Jersey. Postmasters-
General, John A. J. Creswell, of Maryland ; Marshall Jewell,
of Connecticut ; James A. Tyner, of Indiana. Attorneys-Gen-
eral, Ebenezer R. Hoar, of Massachusetts; Amos T. Akerman,
of Georgia ; George H. Williams, of Oregon ; Edwards Pierre-
pont, of New York ; Alonzo Taft, of Ohio. Secretaries of the
interior, Gen. Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio ; Columbus Delano, of
Ohio ; Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan.
During President Grant's administrations the taxes had been
reduced over $300,000,000, the national debt over $450,000,-
000, the interest on the debt from $160,000,000 to $100,000,000 ;
the balance of trade had changed from $130,000,000 against
this country to $130,000,000 in its favor ; the reconstruction
of the southern states had been completed; the first trans-
26
388
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
continental railroad had been finished ; all threatening for-
eign complications had been satisfactorily settled; and all
exciting national questions seemed to have been determined
and removed from the arena of political contests. Gen. Grant,
while president, exhibited the same executive ability as in the
army, msisting upon a proper division of labor among the dif-
ferent branches of the government, leaving the head of each
department great freedom of action, and holding him to a strict
accountability for the conduct of the affairs of his office. He
decided with great promptness all questions referred to him,
and suggested many measures for improving the government
service, but left the carrying out of details to the proper chiefs.
While positive in his views, and tenacious of his opinions when
they had once been formed after due reflection, he listened
patiently to suggestions and arguments, and had no pride of
opinion as to changing his mind, if convincing reasons were
presented to him. He was generally a patient listener while
others presented their views, and seldom gave his opinions until
they were thoroughly matured ; then he talked freely and with
great force and effect. He was one of the most accessible of
all the presidents. He reserved no hours that he could call
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
389
his own, but was ready to see all classes of people at all times,
whether they were high in position or from the ranks of the
plain people. His patience was one of the most characteristic
traits of his character, and his treatment of those who came in
contact with him was frank and cordial to the highest degree.
His devotion to his friends was proverbial, and his loyalty to
others commanded loyalty from them, and accounted, in great
measure, for the warmth and devotion of his followers. Where-
ever he placed trust he reposed rare confidence, until it was
shaken by actual proofs of betrayal. This characteristic, of his
nature led him at times to be imposed upon by those who were
not worthy of the faith he placed in them ; but persons that
once lost his confidence never regained it.
After retiring from the presidency, 4 March, 1877, Gen.
Grant decided to visit the countries of the Old World, and
on 17 May he sailed from Philadelphia for Liverpool on the
steamer " Indiana," accompanied by his wife and one son.
His departure was the occasion for a memorable demonstra-
tion on the Delaware, Distinguished men from all parts of the
country had assembled to bid him good-by, and accompanied
him down the river. A fleet of naval and commercial vessels
and river boats, decorated with brilliant banners, convoyed his
steamer, crowds lined the shores greeting him with cheers,
bells rang, whistles sounded from mills and factories, and in-
numerable flags saluted as he passed. On his arrival in Liv-
erpool, 28 May, he received the first of a series of ovations
in foreign lands scarcely less cordial and enthusiatsic than
those which had been accorded him in his own country. The
river Mersey was covered with vessels displaying the flags of
all nations, and all vied with each other in their demonstrations
of welcome. He visited the places of greatest interest in Great
Britain, and was accorded the freedom of her chief cities, which
means the granting of citizenship. He received a greater
number of such honors than had ever been bestowed even upon
the most illustrious Englishman. In London he was received
by the queen and the Prince of Wales, and afterward visited
her majesty at Windsor Castle. While he was entertained in a
princely manner by royalty, the most enthusiastic greetings
came from the masses of the people, who everywhere turned
out to welcome him. His replies to the numerous addresses
of welcome were marked by exceeding good taste, and were
,no LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
read with much favor by his own countrymen. Upon leaving
England he visited the continent, and the greetings there from
crowned heads and common people were repetitions of the re-
ceptions he had met ever since he landed in Europe. The
United States man-of-war " Vandalia " had been put at his
disposal, and on board that vessel he made a cruise in the
^[editerranean, visiting Italy, Egypt, and the Holy Land. He
sailed from Marseilles for India, 23 Jan., 1879, arrived at Bom-
bay, 12 Feb., and from there visited Calcutta and many other
places of interest. His journey through the country called
forth a series of demonstrations which resembled the greetings
to an emperor passing through his own realms. He sailed in
the latter part of March for Burmah, and afterward visited the
Malacca peninsula, Siam, Cochin China, and Hong-Kong, arriv-
ing at the latter place on 30 April. He made a tour into the
interior of China, and was everywhere received with honors
greater than had ever been bestowed upon a foreigner. At
Pekin, Prince Kung requested him to act as sole arbitrator in
the settlement of the dispute between that country and Japan
concerning the Loo Choo islands. His plans prevented him
from entering upon the duties of arbitrator, but he studied the
questions involved and gave his advice on the subject, and the
matters in dispute were afterward settled without war. On
21 June he reached Nagasaki, where he was received by the
imperial officials and became the guest of the mikado. The
attention shown him while in Japan exceeded in some of
its features that which he had received in any of the other
countries included in his tour. The entertainments prepared
in his honor were memorable in the history of that empire. He
sailed from Yokohama, 3 Sept., and reached San Francisco on
the 20th. He had not visited the Pacific coast since he had
served there as a lieutenant of infantry. Preparations had
been made for a reception that should surpass any ever accorded
to a public man in that part of the country, and the demonstra-
tion in the harbor of San Francisco on his arrival formed a
pageant equal to anything of the kind seen in modern times.
On his journey east he was tendered banquets and public recep-
tions, and greeted with every manifestation of welcome in the
different cities at which he stopped. Early in 1880 he trav-
elled through some of the southern states and visited Cuba and
Mexico. In the latter country he was hailed as its staunchest
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
391
and most pronounced friend in the days of its struggle against
foreign usurpation, and the people testified their gratitude by
extending to him every possible act of personal and official
courtesy. On his return he took his family to his old home in
Galena, 111. A popular movement had begun looking to his
renomination that year for the presidency, and overtures were
made to him to draw him into an active canvass for the purpose
of accomplishing this result; but he declined to take any part
in the movement, and preferred that the nomination should
392
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
either come to him unsolicited or not at all. When the Repub-
lican convention met in Chicago in June, 1880, his name was
presented, and for thirty-six ballots he received a vote that
only varied between 302 and 313. Many of his warmest ad-
mirers were influenced against his nomination by a traditional
sentiment against a third presidential term, and after a long
and exciting session the delegates to the convention compro-
mised by nominating Gen. James A. Garfield. Gen. Grant de-
voted himself loyally during this political canvass to the suc-
cess of the party that had so often honored him, and contrib-
uted largely by his efforts to the election of the candidate.
In August, 1881, Gen. Grant bought a house in New York,
where he afterward spent his winters, while his summers were
passed at his cottage at Long Branch. On Christmas eve, 1883,
he slipped and fell upon the icy sidewalk in front of his house,
and received an injury to his hip, which proved so severe that
he never afterward walked without the aid of a crutch. Find-
ing himself unable with his income to support his family prop-
erly, he had become a partner in a banking-house in which one
of his sons and others were interested, bearing the name of
Grant and Ward, and invested all his available capital in the
business. He took no part in the management, and the affairs
of the firm were left almost entirely in the hands of the junior
partner. In May, 1884, the firm without warning suspended.
It was found that two of the partners had been practising a
series of unblushing frauds, and had robbed the general and
his family of all they possessed, and left them hopelessly bank-
rupt. Until this time he had refused all solicitations to write
the history of his military career for publication, intending to
leave it to the official records and the historians of the war.
Almost his only contribution to literatupe was an article entitled
" An Undeserved Stigma," in the " North American Review "
for December, 1882, which he wrote as an act of justice to Gen.
Fitz-John Porter, whose case he had personally mvestigated.
But now he was approached by the conductors of the " Century "
magazine with an invitation to write a series of articles on his
principal campaigns, which he accepted, for the purpose of
earning money, of which he was then greatly in need, and he
accordingly produced four articles for that periodical. Find-
ing this a congenial occupation, and receiving handsome offers
from several publishers, he set himself to the task of preparing
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
393
two volumes of personal memoirs, in which he told the story
of his life down to the close of the war, and proved himself a
natural and charming writer, and a valuable contributor to
history. The contract for the publication of the book was
made on 27 Feb., 1885, and the work appeared about a year
afterward. The sales were enormous, having reached up to
this time 312,000 sets. The amount that Mrs. Grant has already
(July, 1894) received as her share of the profits is upwards of
$440,000, paid in two checks, of $200,000 and $150,000, and
several smaller amounts, the largest sum ever received by an
author or his representatives from the sale of any single work.
It is expected by the publishers that the amount of half a
million of dollars will be ultimately paid to the general's family.
In the summer of 1884 Gen. Grant complained of a soreness in
the throat and roof of the mouth. In August he consulted a
physician, and a short time afterward the disease was pro-
nounced to be cancer at the root of the tongue. The sym-
pathies of the entire nation were now aroused, messages of
hope and compassion poured in from every quarter, and on 4
March, 1885, congress passed a bill creating him a general on
the retired list, thus restoring him to his former rank in the
army. He knew that his disease would soon prove fatal. He
now bent all his energies to the completing of his "Memoirs,"
in order that the money realized from the sale might provide
for his family. He summoned all his will power to this task,
and nothing in his career was more heroic than the literary
labor he now performed. Hovering between life and death,
suffering almost constant agony, and speechless from disease,
he struggled through his daily task, and laid down his pen only
four days before his death. At this time the last portrait was
made of the great soldier, which appears on page 361.
On 16 June, 1885, he was removed to Mount McGregor, near
Saratoga, N. Y., where he passed the remaining five weeks of
his life. (See illustration on page 384.) On Thursday, 23 July,
at eight o'clock in the morning. Grant passed away, surrounded
by his family. A public funeral was held in New York on Sat-
urday, 8 Aug., which was the most magnificent spectacle of the
kind ever witnessed in this country. The body was deposited
in a temporary tomb in Riverside park, overlooking the Hud-
son river, until the tomb seen in the illustration on the following
page was completed and formally dedicated with imposing cere-
394
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
monies, 27 April, 1897. In Chicago a bronze equestrian statue
of the general has been erected in Lincoln park, overlooking
Lake Michigan. The illustration on page 388 is a representa-
tion of the statue, and following on page 391 is a view of the
eastern facade of the structure which is surmounted by the
statue. The large collection of swords, gold-headed canes,
medals, rare coins, and other articles that had been presented
to Gen. Grant passed into the possession of William H. Van-
derbilt as security in a financial transaction shortly before the
general's death. After that event Mr. Vanderbilt returned the
articles to Mrs. Grant, by whom they were given to the United
States government,
and the entire col-
lection is now in the
National museum at
Washington. Among
the many portraits
of the great soldier,
perhaps the best are
those painted by
Healy for the Union
league club about
1865, and another
executed in Paris in
1877, now in the pos-
session of the family,
those painted in 1882
by Le Clear for the White House at Washington and the Calu-
met club of Chicago, and one executed by Ulke for the U. S.
war department, where is also to be seen a fine marble bust,
executed in i872-'3, by Hiram Powers. General Grant's birth-
day is now celebrated by public dinners and other entertain-
ments in many of the principal cities of the country, like those
of Washington and Lincoln. See " Military History of Ulysses
S. Grant, from April, 1861, to April, 1865," by Adam Badeau (3
vols.. New York, i867-'8i) ; "Around the World with General
Grant," by John Russell Young (1880) ; " Personal Memoirs of
U. S. Grant," written by himself (2 vols., i885-'6; revised and
enlarged edition, 1895) ; " General Grant "(Great Commanders
Series), by James Grant Wilson (1897) ; and "General Grant's
Letters to a Friend " (Boston, 1897).
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
395
His wife, Julia Dent, born in St. Louis, Mo., 26 Jan., 1826,
is the daughter of Frederick and Ellen Wrenshall Dent. At the
age of ten years she was sent to Miss Moreau's boarding-school,
where she remained for eight years. Soon after her return home
she met Lieut. Grant, then of the 4th infantry, stationed at Jef-
ferson barracks at St. Louis, and in the spring of 1844 became
engaged to him. Their marriage,
deferred by the war with Mexico,
took place on 22 Aug., 1848. The
first four years of her married life
were spent at Detroit, Mich., and at
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., where Capt.
Grant was stationed. In 1852 Mrs.
Grant returned to her father's home
in St. Louis, her health not being
sufficiently strong to accompany her
husband to California, whither his
command had been ordered. Two
years later he resigned from the
army and joined his family in St.
Louis. During the civil war Mrs. Grant passed much of the
time with Gen. Grant, or near the scene of action, he sending
for her whenever opportunity permitted. She was with him
at City Point in the winter of i864-'5, and accompanied him
to Washington when he returned with his victorious army.
She saw her husband twice inaugurated president of the
United States, and was his companion in his journey around
the world. She herself has said : " Having learned a lesson
from her predecessor, Penelope, she accompanied her Ulysses
in his wanderings around the world." After Gen. Grant's death
a bill was passed by congress giving his widow a pension of
$5,000 a year. She is the fourth to whom such a pension has
been granted, the others being Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Polk, and Mrs.
Garfield. Four children were born to her — three sons, Freder-
ick Dent, Ulysses, Jr., and Jesse, and one daughter, Nellie,
who, in 1874, married Algernon Sartoris, and went with him to
live in his English home near Southampton. Since his death
Mrs. Sartoris, with her three children, has returned to her native
land. Mrs. Grant resides in Washington, D. C.
Their eldest son, Frederick Dent, born in St. Louis, Mo.,
30 May, 1850, accompanied his father during the Vicksburg
396
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
campaign, and was in five battles before he was tliirteen years
of age. In 1867 he entered the U. S. military academy, where
he was graduated in 187 1 and assigned to the 4th cavalry.
During the summer of 1871 he was employed on the Union
Pacific and Colorado Central railroads as an engineer. Late
in 1871 he visited Europe with Gen. Sherman, and in 1872 was
detailed to command the escort to the party that was making
the preliminary survey for the Southern Pacific railroad. In
1873 he was assigned to the staff of Gen. Sherman as lieuten-
ant-colonel, in which capacity he served eight years, accom-
panying nearly every expedition against the Indians. He was
with his father in 1879 in the oriental part of the journey round
the world, and in 1881 resigned his commission in the army.
During Harrison's administration (1889-1893) Col. Grant was
minister to Austria and afterward a police commissioner of
New York, in which city he resides with his family. His son,
Ulysses, has been appointed by President McKinley a cadet at
the U. S. military academy, his grandfather having but a few
days before his death written a letter, addressed to his suc-
cessor who should be President of the United States at the
time his namesake attained the necessary age, requesting the
appointment for him.
'b,-HBHn]]JrNewT
D Appleton & Co.
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES.
Rutherford Birchard Hayes, nineteenth president of the
United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio, 4 Oct., 1822. His
father had died in July, 1822, leaving his mother in modest but
easy circumstances. The boy received his first education in the
common schools, and began early the study of Latin and Greek
with Judge Sherman Finch, of Delaware. Then he was sent to
an academy at Norwalk, Ohio, and in 1837 to Isaac Webb's »^
school, at Middletown, Conn., to prepare for college. In the au-
tumn of 1838 he entered Kenyon college, at Gambler, Ohio.
He excelled in logic, mental and moral philosophy, and mathe-
matics, and also made his mark as a debater in the literary so-
cieties. On his graduation in August, 1842, he was awarded the
valedictory oration, with which he won much praise. Soon
afterward he began to study law in the office of Thomas Spar-
row, at Columbus, Ohio, and then attended a course of law
lectures at Harvard university, entering the law-school on 22
Aug., 1843, and finishing his studies there in January, 1845. As
a law student he had the advantage of friendly intercourse with
Judge Story and Prof. Greenleaf, and he also attended the lec-
tures of Longfellow on literature and of Agassiz on natural sci-
ence, prosecuting at the same time the study of French and Ger-
man. On 10 May, 1845, after due examination, he was admitted
to practice in the courts of Ohio as an attorney and counsellor at
law. He established himself first at Lower Sandusky (now Fre-
mont), where, in April, 1846, he formed a law partnership with
Ralph P. Buckland, then a member of congress. In Novem-
ber, 1848, having suffered from bleeding in the throat, Mr.
Hayes went to spend the winter in the milder climate of Texas,
where his health was completely restored. Encouraged by the
good opinion and advice of professional friends to seek a larger
field of activity, he established himself, in the winter of i849-'5o,
398
LIVES OF THE PRESIDEN'J'S.
in Cincinnati. His practice at first being light, he earnestly and
systematically continued his studies in law and literature, also
enlarging the circle of his acquaintance by becoming a member
of various societies, among others the literary club of Cincin-
nati, in the social and literary entertainments of which at that
time such men as Salmon P. Chase, Thomas Ewing, Thomas
Corwin, Stanley Matthews, Moncure D. Conway, Manning F.
Force, and others of note, were active participants. He won
the respect of the profession, and attracted the attention of the
public as attorney in several criminal cases which gained some
celebrity, and gradually increased his practice.
On 30 Dec, 1852, he married Miss Lucy W. Webb, daughter
of Dr. James Webb, a physician of high standing in Chillicothe,
Ohio. In January, 1854, he formed a law partnership with H.
W. Corwine and William K. Rogers. In 1856 he was nominated
for the office of common pleas judge, but declined. In 1858
the city council of Cincinnati appomted him city solicitor, to
fill a vacancy caused by death, and in the following year he was
elected to the same office at a popular election by a majority of
over 2,500 votes. Although he performed his duties to the
general satisfaction of the public, he was, in April, 1861, de-
feated for re-election as solicitor, together with the whole
ticket. Mr. Hayes, ever since he was a voter, had acted with
the Whig party, voting for Henry Clay in 1844, for Gen. Taylor
in 1848, and for Gen. Scott in 1852. Having from his youth
always cherished anti-slavery feelings, he jomed the Republican
party as soon as it was organized, and earnestly advocated the
election of Fremont in 1856, and of Abraham Lincoln in i860.
At a great mass-meeting, held in Cincinnati immediately after
the arrival of the news that the flag of the United States had
been fired upon at Fort Sumter, he was made chairman of a
committee on resolutions to give voice to the feelings of the
loyal people. His literary club formed a military company, of
which he was elected captain, and this club subsequently fur-
nished to the National army more than forty officers, of whom
several became generals. On 7 June, 1861, the governor of
Ohio appointed Mr. Hayes a major of the 23d regiment of Ohio
volunteer infantry, and in July the regiment was ordered into
West Virginia. On 19 Sept., 1861, Maj. Hayes was appointed
by Gen. Rosecrans judge advocate of the Department of Ohio,
the duties of which office he performed for about two months.
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD MAYES.
399
On 24 Oct., 1861, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel. On 14 Sept., 1862, in the battle of South Mountain,
he distinguished himself by gallant conduct in leading a charge
and in holding his position at the head of his men, after being
severely wounded in his left arm, until he was carried from the
field. His regiment lost nearly half its effective force in the
action. On 24 Oct., 1862, he was appointed colonel of the
same regiment. He spent some time at his home while under
medical treatment, and returned to the field as soon as his
wound was healed. In July, 1863, while taking part in the
operations of the National army in southwestern Virginia, Col.
Hayes caused an expedition of two regiments and a section of
artillery, under his own command, to be despatched to Ohio for
the purpose of checking the raid of the Confederate Gen. John
Morgan, and he aided materially in preventing the raiders from
recrossing the Ohio river and in compelling Morgan to surren-
der. In the spring of 1864 Col. Hayes commanded a brigade
in Gen. Crook's expedition to cut the principal lines of com-
munication between Richmond and the southwest. He again
distinguished himself by conspicuous bravery at the head of
his brigade in storming a fortified position on the crest of
Cloyd mountain. In the first battle of Winchester, 24 July,
1864, commandmg a brigade in Gen. Crook's division, Col.
Hayes was ordered, together with Col. James Mulligan, to
charge what proved to be a greatly superior force. Col. Mul-
ligan fell, and Col. Hayes, flanked and pressed in front by
overwhelming numbers, conducted the retreat of his brigade
with great intrepidity and skill, checking the pursuit as soon
as he had gained a tenable position. He took a creditable
part in the engagement at Berryville and in the second
battle of Winchester, 19 Sept., 1864, where he performed a
feat of extraordinary bravery. Leading an assault upon a bat-
tery on an emnience, he found in his way a morass over fifty
yards wide. Advancing at the head of his brigade, he plunged
in first, and, his horse becoming mired at once, he dismounted
and waded across alone under the enemy's fire. Waving his
cap, he signalled to his men to come over, and, when about
forty had joined him, he rushed upon the battery and took it
after a hand-to-hand fight with the gunners, the enemy having
deemed the battery so secure that no infantry supports had
been placed near it. At Fisher's Hill, in pursuing Gen. Early,
400
LIVES OF THE FRESIDEiVTS.
on 22 Sept., 1864, Col. Hayes, then in command of a division,
executed a brilliant flank movement over mountains and
through woods difificult of access, took many pieces of artil-
lery, and routed the enemy's forces in his front.
At the battle of Cedar Creek, 19 Oct., 1864, the conduct of
Col. Hayes attracted so much attention that his commander.
Gen. Crook, on the battle-field took him by the hand, saying :
"Colonel, from this day you will be a brigadier-general."
The commission arrived a few days afterward, and on 13
March, 1865, he received the rank of brevet major-general
" for gallant and distinguished services during the campaign
of 1864 in West Virginia, and particularly at the battles of
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, Va." Of his military services
Gen. Grant, in the second volume of his memoirs, says : " On
more than one occasion in these engagements Gen. R. B.
Hayes, who succeeded me as president of the United States,
bore a very honorable part. His conduct on the field was
marked by conspicuous gallantry, as well as the display of
qualities of a higher order than mere personal daring. Hav-
ing entered the army as a major of volunteers at the begin-
ning of the war. Gen. Hayes attained, by his meritorious serv-
ice, the rank of brevet major-general before its close." While
Gen. Hayes was in the field, in August, 1864, he was nomi-
nated by a Republican district convention at Cincinnati, in the
second district of Ohio, as a candidate for congress. When a
friend suggested to him that he should take leave of absence
from the army in the field for the purpose of canvassing the
district, he answered: ''Your suggestion about getting a fur-
lough to take the stump was certainly made without reflection.
An officer fit for duty, who at this crisis would abandon his
post to electioneer for a seat in congress, ought to be scalped."
He was elected by a majority of 2,400. The Ohio soldiers in
the field nominated him also for the governorship of his state.
After the war Gen. Hayes returned to civil life, and took
his seat in congress on 4 Dec, 1865. He was appointed chair-
man of the committee on the library. On questions connected
with the reconstruction of the states lately in rebellion he
voted with his party. He earnestly supported a resolution
declaring the sacredness of the public debt and denouncing
repudiation in any form; also a resolution commending Presi-
dent Johnson for declining to accept presents, and condemn-
RUTHERFORD B IRC HARD HAYES.
401
ing the practice as demoralizing in its tendencies. He op-
posed a resolution favoring an increase of the pay of members.
He also introduced in the Republican caucus a set of resolu-
tions declaring that the only mode of obtaining from the
states lately in rebellion irreversible guarantees was by consti-
tutional amendment, and that an amendment basing representa-
tion upon the number of voters, instead of population, ought to
be acted upon without delay. These resolutions marked the
line of action of the Republicans. In August, 1866, Gen. Hayes
was renominated for congress by acclamation, and, after an
active canvass, was re-elected by the same majority as before.
He supported the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. In the
house of representatives he won the reputation, not of an orator,
but of a working legislator and a man of calm, sound judgment.
In June, 1867, the Republican convention of Ohio nominated
him for the governorship. The Democrats had nominated Judge
Allen G. Thurman. The question of negro suffrage was boldly
pushed to the foreground by Gen. Hayes in an animated can-
vass, which ended in his election, and that of his associates on
the Republican ticket. But the negro-suffrage amendment to
the state constitution was defeated at the same time by 50,000
majority, and the Democrats carried the legislature, which
elected Judge Thurman to the United States senate. In his
inaugural address Gov. Hayes laid especial stress upon the
desirability of taxation in proportion to the actual value of
property, the evils of too much legislation, the obligation to
establish equal rights without regard to color, and the neces-
sity of ratifying the 14th amendment to the federal constitu-
tion. In his message to the legislature, delivered in November,
1868, he recommended amendments to the election laws, pro-
viding for the representation of minorities in the boards of the
judges and clerks of election, and for the registration of all the
lawful voters prior to an election. He also recommended a
comprehensive geological survey of the state, which was
promptly begun. In his second annual message he warmly
urged such changes in the penal laws, as well as in prison dis-
cipline, as would tend to promote the moral reformation of
the culprit together with the punishment due to his crime.
In June, 1869, Gov. Hayes was again nominated by the
Republican state convention for the governorship, there being
no competitor for the nomination. The Democratic candidate
402
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
was George H. Pendleton. The platform adopted by the
Democratic state convention advocated the repudiation of the
interest on the U. S. bonds unless they be subjected to tax-
ation, and the payment of the national debt in greenbacks.
In the discussions preceding the election, Gov. Hayes pro-
nounced himself unequivocally in favor of honestly paying the
national debt and of an honest money system. He was elected
by a majority of 7,500. In his second inaugural address, de-
livered on 10 Jan., 1870, he expressed himself earnestly against
the use of public offices as party spoils, and suggested that the
constitution of the state be so amended as to secure the intro-
duction of a system making qualification, and not political
services and influence, the chief test in determining appoint-
ments, and giving subordinates in the civil service the same
permanence of place that is enjoyed by officers of the army
and navy. He also advocated the appointment of judges, by
the executive, for long terms, with adequate salaries, as best
calculated to " afford to the citizen the amplest possible secu-
rity that impartial justice will be administered by an independ-
ent judiciary." In his correspondence with members of con-
gress, he urged a monthly reduction of the national debt as
more important than a reduction of taxation, the abolition of
the franking privilege, and the passage of a civil-service-re-
form law. In his message addressed to the legislature on 3 Jan.,
187 1, he recommended that the policy embodied in that pro-
vision of the state constitution which prohibited the state from
creating any debt, save in a few exceptional cases, be extended
to the creation of public debts by county, city, and other local
authorities, and further that for the remuneration of public
officers a system of fixed salaries, without fees and perqui-
sites be adopted. Complaint having been made by the state
commissioner of railroads and telegraphs that many " clear
and palpable violations of law " had been committed by rail-
road companies, Gov. Hayes asked, in his message of 1872,
that a commission of five citizens be organized, with ample
power to investigate the management of railroad companies,
and to report the information acquired with a recommendation
of such measures as they might deem expedient. He also, be-
lieving that " publicity is a great corrector of official abuses,"
recommended that it be made the duty of the governor, on
satisfactory information that the public good required an in-
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HA YES,
403
vestigation of the affairs of any public office or the conduct of
any public officer, whether state or local, to appoint one or
more citizens, who should have ample powers to make such
investigation. Gov. Hayes's admmistration of the executive
office of his state won general approval, without distinction of
party. At the expiration of his term, when a senator of the
United States was to be elected, and several Republican mem-
bers of the legislature were disinclined to vote for John Sher-
man, who controlled a majority of the Republican votes. Gov.
Hayes was approached with the assurance that he could be
elect-ed senator by the anti-Sherman Republicans with the aid
of the Democrats in the legislature; but he positively declined.
In July, 1872, Gov. Hayes was strongly urged by many Re-
publicans in Cincinnati to accept a nomination for congress.
Wishing to retire permanently from political life, he declined ;
but when he was nominated in spite of his protests, he finally
yielded his consent. In his speeches during the canvass he put
forward as the principal issues an honest financial policy and
civil-service reform. Several sentences on civil-service reform
that he pronounced
in a speech at Glen-
dale, on 4 Sept., 1872,
were to appear again
in his letter accept-
ing the nomination
for the presidency
four years later. In
1872 the current
of public sentiment
in Cincinnati ran
against the Republican party, and Gov. Hayes was defeated in
the election by a majority of 1,500. President Grant offered him
the ofifice of assistant treasurer of the United States at Cincin-
nati, which he declined. In 1873 he established his home at
Fremont, in the northern part of Ohio, with the firm intention of
final retirement from public life. (The accompanying illustration
is a view of his home in Fremont.) In 1874 he came into posses-
sion of a considerable estate as the heir of his uncle, Sardis
Birchard. In 1S75 the Republican state convention again nomi-
nated him for the governorship. He not only had not desired
that nomination, but whenever spoken or written to about it,
27
404
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
uniformly replied that his retirement was absolute, and that
neither his interests nor his tastes permitted him to accept. But
the circumstances were such as to overcome his reluctance. In
1873 the Democratic candidate, William Allen, was elected gov-
ernor of Ohio. His administration was honest and economi-
cal, he was personally popular, and his renomination by the
Democratic party in 1875 seemed to be a foregone conclu-
sion. It was equally certain that the Democratic convention
would declare itself in favor of a circulation of irredeemable
paper money, and against the resumption of specie payments.
Under such circumstances the Republicans felt themselves
compelled to put into the field against him the strongest
available candidate they had, and a large majority of them
turned at once to Gov. Hayes. But he had expressed himself
in favor of Judge Taft, of Cincinnati, and urged the delegates
from his county to vote for that gentleman, which they did.
Notwithstanding this, the convention nommated Hayes on the
first ballot by an overwhelming majority. When he, at Fre-
mont, received the telegraphic announcement of his nomina-
tion, he at once wrote a letter declinmg the honor ; but upon
the further information that Judge Taft's son, withdrawing the
name of his father, had moved in the convention to make the
nomination unanimous, he accepted. Thus he became the
leader of the advocates of a sound and stable currency in that
memorable state canvass, the public discussions in which did
so much to mould the sentiments of the people, especially
in the western states, with regard to that important subject.
The Democratic convention adopted a platform declaring that
the volume of the currency (meaning the irredeemable paper
currency of the United States) should be made and kept equal
to the wants of trade ; that the national bank currency
should be retired, and greenbacks issued in its stead ; and that
at least half of the customs duties should be made payable in
the government paper money. The Republicans were by no
means as united in favor of honest money as might have been
desired, and Gov. Hayes was appealed to by many of his party
friends not to oppose an increase of the paper currency ; but he
resolutely declared his opinions in favor of honest money in a
series of speeches, appealing to the honor and sober judgment
of the people with that warmth of patriotic feeling and that good
sense in the statement of political issues which, uttered in
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES. 405
language always temperate and kindly, gave him the ear of
opponents as well as friends. The canvass, on account of the
national questions involved in it, attracted attention in all
parts of the country, and Gov. Hayes was well supported by
speakers from other states. Another subject had been thrust
upon the people of Ohio by a legislative attempt to divide
the school fund between Catholics and Protestants, and Hayes
vigorously advocated the cause of secular education. After
a spirited struggle he carried the election by a majority of
5,500. He had thus not only won the distinction of being
elected three times governor of his state, but, as the success-
ful leader in a campaign for an honest money system, he was
advanced to a very prominent position among the public men
of the country, and his name appeared at once among those of
possible candidates for the presidency.
While thus spoken of and written to, he earnestly insisted
upon the maintenance by his party of an uncompromising po-
sition concerning the money question. To James A. Garfield
he wrote in March, 1876 : " The principal question will again be
irredeemable paper as a permanent policy, or a policy which
seeks a return to coin. My opinion is decidedly against yield-
ing a hair's-breadth." On 29 March, 1876, the Republican state
convention of Ohio passed a resolution to present Rutherford
B. Hayes to the National Republican convention for the nomi-
nation for president, and instructing the state delegation to
support him. The National Republican convention met at
Cincinnati on 14 June, 1876. The principal candidates before
it were James G. Blaine, Oliver P. Morton, Benjamin H. Bris-
tow, Roscoe Conkling, Gov. Hayes, and John F. Hartranft.
The name of Hayes was presented to the convention by Gen.
Noyes in an exceedingly judicious and well-tempered speech,
dwelling not only upon his high personal character, but upon
the fact that he had no enemies and possessed peculiarly the
qualities " calculated best to compromise all difficulties and to
soften all antagonisms." Hayes had sixty-one votes on the
first ballot, 378 being necessary to a choice, and his support
slowly but steadily grew until on the seventh ballot the oppo-
sition to Mr. Blaine, who had been the leading candidate,
concentrated upon Hayes, and gave him the nomination,
which, on motion of William P. Frye, of Maine, was made
unanimous.
4o6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
In his letter of acceptance, dated 8 July, 1876, Mr. Hayes
laid especial stress upon three points, civil-service reform, the
currency, and the pacification of the south. As to the civil
service, he denounced the use of public offices for the purpose
of rewarding party services, and especially for services rendered
to party leaders, as destroying the independence of the separate
departments of the government, as leading directly to extrava-
gance and official incapacity, and as a temptation to dishonesty.
He declared that a reform, "thorough, radical, and complete,"
should lead us back to the principles and practices of the
founders of the government, who " neither expected nor de-
sired from the public officer any partisan service," who meant
"that public officers should owe their whole service to the
government and to the people," and that "the officer should
be secure in his tenure so long as his personal character re-
mained untarnished, and the performance of his duties satis-
factory." As to the currency, he regarded " all the laws of the
United States relating to the payment of the public indebted-
ness, the legal-tender notes included, as constituting a pledge
and moral obligation of the government, which must in good
faith be kept." He therefore insisted upon as early as possible
a resumption of specie payments, pledging himself to " approve
every appropriate measure to accomplish the desired end," and
to "oppose any step backward." As to the pacification of the
south, he pointed out, as the first necessity, " an intelligent
and honest administration of the government, which will pro-
tect all classes of citizens in all their political and private
rights." He deprecated "a division of political parties resting
merely upon distinctions of race, or upon sectional lines," as
always unfortunate and apt to become disastrous. He ex-
pressed the hope that with "a hearty and generous recognition
of the rights of all by all," it would be "practicable to pro-
mote, by the influence of all legitimate agencies of the general
government, the efforts of the people of those states to obtain
for themselves the blessings of honest and capable local gov-
ernment." He also declared his " inflexible purpose," if elected,
not to be a candidate for election to a second term — a pledge
which he never thought of breaking.
The Democrats nominated for the presidency Samuel J.
Tilden, who, having, as governor of New York, won the repu-
tation of a reformer, attracted the support of many Republi-
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HAYES.
407
cans who were dissatisfied with their party. The result of the
election became the subject of acrimonious dispute. Both
parties claimed to have carried the states of Louisiana, South
Carolina, and Florida. Each charged fraud upon the other,
the Republicans affirming that Republican voters, especially-
colored men, all over the south had been deprived of their
rights by intimidation or actual force, and that ballot-boxes
had been foully dealt with, and the Democrats insisting that
their candidates in Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina had
received a majority of the votes actually cast, and that the Re-
publican canvassing boards were preparing to falsify the result
in making up the returns. The friends of both the candidates
for the presidency sent prominent men into the states in dis-
pute, for the purpose of watching the proceedings of the can-
vassing boards. The attitude maintained by Mr. Hayes per-
sonally was illustrated by a letter addressed by John Sherman
at New Orleans, which was brought to light by a subsequent
congressional investigation. It was dated at Columbus, Ohio,
27 Nov., 1876, and said : " I am greatly obliged for your letter
of the 23d. You feel, I am sure, as I do about this whole
business. A fair election would have given us about forty
electoral votes at the south — at least that many. But we are
not to allow our friends to defeat one outrage and fraud by
another. There must be nothmg crooked on our part. Let
Mr. Tilden have the place by violence, intimidation, and fraud,
rather than undertake to prevent it by means that will not
bear the severest scrutiny." The canvassing boards of the
states in question declared the Republican electors chosen,
which gave Mr. Hayes a majority of one vote in the electoral
college, and certifications of these results were sent to Wash-
ington by the governors of the states. But the Democrats
persisted in charging fraud; and other sets of certificates,
certifying the Democratic electors to have been elected, ar-
rived at Washington. To avoid a deadlock, which might have
happened if the canvass of the electoral votes had been left to
the two houses of congress (the senate having a Republican
and the house of representatives a Democratic majority), an
act, advocated by members of both parties, was passed to refer
all contested cases to a commission composed of five senators,
five representatives, and five judges of the supreme court; the
decision of this commission to be final, unless set aside by a
4o8 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
concurrent vote of the two houses of congress. The commis-
sion, refusing to go behind the certified returns, decided in each
contested case by a vote of eight to seven in favor of the Re-
publican electors, beginning with Florida on 7 Feb., and Ruth-
erford B. Hayes was at last, on 2 March, declared duly elected
president of the United States. Thus ended the long and
painful suspense. The decision was generally acquiesced in,
and the popular excitement subsided quickly.
President Hayes was inaugurated on 5 March, 1877. In
his inaugural address he substantially restated the principles
and views of policy set forth in his letter of acceptance, adding
that, while the president of necessity owes his election to the
suffrage and zealous labors of a party, he should be always
mindful that " he serves his party best who serves his country
best," and declaring also, referring to the contested election,
that the general acceptance of the settlement by the two great
parties of a dispute, " in regard to which good men differ as to
the facts and the law, no less than as to the proper course to
be pursued in solving the question in controversy," was an
"occasion for general rejoicing." The cabinet that he ap-
pointed consisted of William M. Evarts, secretary of state ;
John Sherman, secretary of the treasury; George W. McCrary,
secretary of war ; Richard W. Thompson, secretary of the
navy; David M. Key, postmaster-general; Charles Devens,
attorney-general ; and Carl Schurz, secretary of the interior.
The administration began under very unfavorable circum-
stances, as general business stagnation and severe distress had
prevailed throughout the country since the crisis of 1873. As
soon as the cabinet was organized, the new president addressed
himself to the composition of difficulties in several southern
states. He had given evidence of his conciliatory disposition
by taking into his cabinet a prominent citizen of the south
who had been an officer in the Confederate army and had
actively opposed his election. In both South Carolina and
Louisiana there were two sets of state officers and two legis-
latures, one Republican and the other Democratic, each claim-
ing to have been elected by a majority of the popular vote.
The presence of Federal troops at or near the respective state-
houses had so far told in favor of the Republican claimants,
while the Democratic claimants had the preponderance of sup-
port from the citizens of substance and influence. President
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HAYES.
409
Hayes was resolved that the upholding of local governments
in the southern states by the armed forces of the United States
must come to an end, and that, therefore, the Federal troops
should be withdrawn from the positions they then occupied ;
but he was at the same time anxious to have the change ef-
fected without any disturbance of the peace, and without im-
perilling the security or rights of any class of citizens. His
plan was to put an end by conciliatory measures to the lawless
commotions and distracting excitements which, ever since the
close of the war, had kept a large part of the south in constant
turmoil, and thus to open to that section a new career of peace
and prosperity. He obtained from the southern leaders in
congress assurances that they would use their whole influence
for the maintenance of good order and the protection of the
rights and security of all, and for a union of the people in a
mutual understanding that, as to their former antagonisms, by-
gones should be treated as by-gones. To the same end he in-
vited the rival governors of South Carolina, Daniel H. Cham-
berlain and Wade Hampton, to meet him in conference at
Washington ; and he appointed a commission composed of
eminent gentlemen, Democrats as well as Republicans — Gen.
Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut ; Charles B. Lawrence, of
Illinois; John M. Harlan, of Kentucky; Ex-Gov. John C.
Brown, of Tennessee ; and Wayne McVeagh, of Pennsylvania
— to go to Louisiana and there to ascertain what were " the
real impediments to regular, loyal, and peaceful procedures
under the laws and constitution of Louisiana," and further, by
conciliatory influences to endeavor to remove " the obstacles
to an acknowledgment of one government within the state,"
or, if that were found impracticable, at least "to accomplish
the recognition of a single legislature as the depositary of the
representative will of the people of Louisiana." The two rival
governors — S. B. Packard, Republican, and Francis T. Nichols,
Democrat — stoutly maintained their respective claims; but the
two legislatures united into one, a majority of the members of
both houses, whose election was conceded on both sides meet-
ing and organizing under the auspices of the Nichols govern-
ment. President Hayes, having received the necessary assur-
ances of peace and good will, issued instructions to withdraw
the troops of the United States from the state-house of South
Carolina on 10 April, 1877, and from the State-house of Louisi-
4IO
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ana on 20 April, 1877, whereupon in South Carolina the state
government passed peaceably into the hands of Wade Hamp-
ton, and in Louisiana into those of Francis T. Nichols. The
course thus pursued by President Hayes was, in the north as
well as in the south, heartily approved by a large majority of the
people, to whom the many scandals springing from the inter-
ference of the general government in the internal affairs of the
southern states had become very obnoxious, and who desired
the southern states to be permitted to work out their own
salvation. But this policy was also calculated to loosen the
hold that the Republican party had upon the southern states,
and was therefore disliked by many Republican politicians.
President Hayes began his administration with earnest ef-
forts for the reform of the civil service. In some of the de-
partments competitive examinations were resumed for the ap-
pointment of clerks. In filling other offices, political influence
found much less regard than had been the custom before.
The pretension of senators and representatives that the " pat-
ronage " in their respective states and districts belonged to
them was not recognized, although in many cases their advice
was taken. The president's appointments were generally ap-
proved by public opinion, but he was blamed for appointing
persons connected with the Louisiana returning-board. On 26
May, 1877, he addressed a letter to the secretary of the treas-
ury, expressing the wish "that the collection of the revenues
should be free from partisan control, and organized on a
strictly business basis, with the same guarantees for efficiency
and fidelity in the selection of the chief and subordinate officers
that would be required by a prudent merchant," and that
" party leaders should have no more influence in appointments
than other equally respectable citizens." On 22 June, 1877, he
issued the following executive order: "No officer should be
required or permitted to take part in the management of politi-
cal organizations, caucuses, conventions, or election campaigns.
Their right to vote or to exoress their views on public
questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied,
provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their
official duties. No assessment for political purposes, on of-
ficers or subordinates, should be allowed. This rule is ap-
plicable to every department of the civil service. It should
be understood by every officer of the general government that
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HAYES. 411
he is expected to conform his conduct to its requirements."
The policy thus indicated found much favor with the people
generally, and not a few men in public life heartily approved of
it. But the bulk of the professional politicians, who saw them-
selves threatened in their livelihood, and many members of
congress, who looked upon government patronage as a part of
their perquisites, and the distribution of ofifices among their
adherents as the means by which to hold the party together
and to maintain themselves in public place, became seriously
alarmed and began a systematic warfare upon the president
and his cabinet.
The administration was from the beginning surrounded
with a variety of perplexities. Congress had adjourned on 3
March, 1877, without making the necessary appropriations for
the support of the army, so that from 30 June the army would
remain without pay until new provision could be made. The
president, therefore, on 5 May, 1877, called an extra session of
congress to meet on 15 Oct. But in the mean time a part of
the army was needed for active service of a peculiarly trying
kind. In July strikes broke out among the men employed
upon railroads, beginning on the line of the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad and then rapidly spreading over a large part of
the northern states. It is estimated that at one time more
than 100,000 men were out. Grave disorders occurred, and
the president found himself appealed to by the governors of
West Virginia, of Maryland, and of Pennsylvania to aid them
with the Federal power in suppressing domestic violence,
which the authorities of their respective states were not able
to master. He issued his proclamations on 18, 21, and 23 July,
and sent into the above-mentioned states such detachments of
the Federal army as were available. Other detachments were
ordered to Chicago. Wherever the troops of the United States
appeared, however small the force, they succeeded in restoring
order without bloodshed — in fact, without meeting with any
resistance, while the state militia in many instances had bloody
encounters with the rioters, sometimes with doubtful result.
In his first annual message, 3 Dec, 1877, President Hayes
congratulated the country upon the results of the policy he had
followed with regard to the south. He said : " All apprehen-
sion of danger from remitting those states to local self-govern-
ment is dispelled, and a most salutary change in the minds of
412
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the people has begun and is in progress in every part of that
section of the country once the theatre of unhappy civil strife ;
substituting for suspicion, distrust, and aversion, concord, friend-
ship, and patriotic attachment to the Union. No unprejudiced
mind will deny that the terrible and often fatal collisions which
for several years have been of frequent occurrence, and have
agitated and alarmed the public mind, have almost entirely
ceased, and that a spirit of mutual forbearance and hearty
national interest has succeeded. There has been a general re-
establishment of order, and of the orderly administration of
justice; instances of remaining lawlessness have become of
rare occurrence ; political turmoil and turbulence have disap-
peared; useful industries have been resumed ; public credit in
the southern states has been greatly strengthened and the en-
couraging benefit of a revival of commerce between the sec-
tions of country lately embroiled in civil war are fully enjoyed."
He also strongly urged the resumption of specie payments. As
to the difficulties to be met in this respect he said : " I must
adhere to my most earnest conviction that any wavering in
purpose or unsteadiness in methods, so far from avoiding or
reducing the inconvenience inseparable from the transition
from an irredeemable to a redeemable paper currency, would
only tend to increased and prolonged disturbance in values,
and, unless retrieved, must end in serious disorder, dishonor,
and disaster in the financial affairs of the government and of
the people." As to the restoration of silver as a legal tender,
which was at the time being agitated, he insisted that " all the
bonds issued since 12 Feb., 1873, when gold became the only
unlimited legal-tender metallic currency of the country, are
justly payable in gold coin, or in coin of equal value"; and
that "the bonds issued prior to 1873 were issued at a time
when the gold dollar was the only coin in circulation or con-
templated by either the government or the holders of the bonds
as the coin in which they were to be paid." He added : " It is
far better to pay these bonds in that coin than to seem to take
advantage of the unforeseen fall in silver bullion to pay in a
new issue of silver coin thus made so much less valuable. The
power of the United States to coin money and to regulate the
value thereof ought never to be exercised for the purpose of
enabling the government to pay its obligations in a coin of less
value than that contemplated by the parties when the bonds
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HA YES.
413
were issued." He favored the coinage of silver, but only in a
limited quantity, as a legal tender to a limited amount. He
expressed the fear " that only mischief and misfortune would
flow from a coinage of silver dollars with the quality of un-
limited legal tender, even in private transactions. Any expec-
tation of temporary ease from an issue of silver coinage to
pass as a legal tender, at a rate materially above its commer-
cial value, is, I am persuaded, a delusion." As to the reform
of the civil service he reiterated what he had said in his letter
of acceptance and inaugural address, and insisted that the con-
stitution imposed upon the executive the sole duty and respon-
sibility of the selection of Federal officers who, by law, are
appointed, not elected ; he deprecated the practical confusion,
in this respect, of the duties assigned to the several depart-
ments of the government, and earnestly recommended that
congress make a suitable appropriation to be immediately avail-
able for the civil service commission, which was still in legal
existence, but had become inactive because no money had been
provided for its expenses. He also recommended efficient leg-
islation for the work of civilization among the Indian tribes,
and for the prevention of the destruction of the forests on lands
of the United States.
The recommendations thus made by President Hayes were
not heeded by congress. No appropriation was made for the
civil-service commission ; on the contrary, the dissatisfaction
of Republican senators and representatives with the endeav-
ors of the administration in the direction of civil-service re-
form found vent in various attacks upon the president and the
heads of departments. The nomination of one of the foremost
citizens of New York for the office of collector of customs at
that port was rejected by the senate. The efforts of the ad-
ministration to check depredations on the timber-lands of the
United States, and to prevent the destruction of the forests,
were denounced as an outlandish policy. Instead of facilitat-
ing the resumption of specie payments, the house of represent-
atives passed a bill substantially repealing the resumption act.
A resolution was offered by a Republican senator, and adopted
by the senate, declaring that to restore the coinage of 412'/^-
grain silver dollars and to pay the government bonds, principal
and interest, in such silver coin, was "not in violation of the
public faith, nor in derogation of the rights of the public cred-
414
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
itor." A " silver bill" passed both houses providing that a
silver dollar should be coined at the several mints of the United
States, of the weight of 412% grains, which, together with all
silver dollars of like weight and fineness coined theretofore by
the United States, should be a full legal tender for all debts
and dues, public and private, except where otherwise expressly
stipulated in the contract, and directing the secretary of the
treasury to buy not less than two million dollars' worth of silver
bullion a month, and cause it to be coined into dollars as fast as
purchased. President Hayes returned this bill with his veto,
mainly on the ground that the commercial value of the silver
dollar was then worth eight to ten per cent, less than its nom-
inal value, and that its use as a legal tender for the payment of
pre-existing debts would be an act of bad faith. He said : " As
to all debts heretofore contracted, the silver dollar should be
made a legal tender only at its market value. The standard
of value should not be changed without the consent of both
parties to the contract. National promises should be kept with
unflinching fidelity. There is no power to compel a nation to
pay its just debts. Its credit depends on its honor. A nation
owes what it has led or allowed its creditors to expect. I can-
not approve a bill which in my judgment authorizes the viola-
tion of sacred obligations." But the bill was passed over the
veto in both houses by majorities exceeding two thirds. During
the same session the house of representatives, which had a
Democratic majority, on motion of Clarkson N. Potter, of New
York, resolved to make an inquiry into the allegations of
fraud said to have been committed in Louisiana and Florida in
making the returns of the votes cast for presidential electors
at the election of 1876. The Republicans charged that the in-
vestigation was set on foot for the purpose of ousting Mr.
Hayes from the presidency and putting in Mr. Tilden. The
Democrats disclaimed any such intention. The result of the
investigation was an elaborate report from the Democratic
majority of the committee, impugning the action of the return-
ing boards in Louisiana and Florida as fraudulent, and a report
from the Republican minority dissenting from the conclusions
of the majority as unwarranted by the evidence, and alleging
that the famous "cipher despatches" sent to the south by
friends of Mr. Tilden showed " that the charges of corruption
were but the slanders of foiled suborners of corruption." The
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HAYES.
415
investigation led to no further action, the people acquiescing
in the decision of the electoral commission, and the counting
of the electoral vote by congress based thereon, as irreversible.
President Hayes was again obliged to resort to the employ-
ment of force by the outbreak of serious disturbances caused
by bands of desperadoes in the territory of New Mexico, which
amounted to organized resistance to the enforcement of the laws.
He issued, on 7 Oct., 1878, a proclamation substantially putting
the disturbed portion of New Mexico under martial law, and
directing the U. S. forces stationed there to restore and main-
tain peace and order, which was speedily accomplished.
In his message of 2 Dec, 1878, President Hayes found him-
self obliged to say that in Louisiana and South Carolina, and
in some districts outside of those states, " the records of the
recent [congressional] elections compelled the conclusion that
the rights of the colored voters had been overridden, and their
participation in the elections not been permitted to be either
general or free." He added that, while it would be for con-
gress to examine into the validity of the claims of members to
their seats, it became the duty of the executive and judicial
departments of the government to inquire into and punish
violations of the laws, and that every means in his power would
be exerted to that end. At the same time he expressed his
" absolute assurance that, while the country had not yet reached
complete unity of feeling and confidence between the com-
munities so lately and so seriously estranged, the tendencies
were in that direction, and with increasing force." He depre-
cated all interference by congress with existing financial legis-
lation, with the confident expectation that the resumption of
specie payments would be " successfully and easily maintained,"
and would be " followed by a healthful and enduring revival of
business prosperity." On i Jan., 1879, the resumption act
went into operation without any difficulty. No preparation
had been made for that event until the beginning of the Hayes
administration. The secretary of the treasury, in 1877, began
to accumulate coin, and, notwithstanding the opposition it
found, even among Republicans, this policy was firmly pursued
by the administration until the coin reserve held against the
legal-tender notes was sufficient to meet all probable demands.
Thus the country was lifted out of the bbg of an irredeemable
paper currency. The operation was facilitated by increased
4i6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
exports and a general revival of business. Although his first
nominee for the office of collector of customs in New York had
been rejected by the senate, President Hayes made a second
nomination for the same place, as well as for that of naval
officer of the same port, and in a special message addressed to
the senate on 31 Jan., 1879, he gave the following reasons for
the suspension of the incumbents, Chester A. Arthur and
Alonzo B. Cornell, who had failed to conform their conduct to
the executive order of 22 June, 1877: "For a long period of
time it [the New York custom-house] has been used to manage
and control political affairs. The officers suspended by me
are, and for several years have been, engaged in the active
personal management of the party politics of the city and state
of New York. The duties of the offices held by them have
been regarded as of subordinate importance to their partisan
work. Their offices have been conducted as part of the politi-
cal machinery under their control. They have made the cus-
tom-house a centre of partisan political management." For like
reasons, President Hayes removed an influential party manager
in the west, the postmaster of St. Louis. With the aid of Demo-
cratic votes in the senate, the new nominations were confirmed.
President Hayes then addressed a letter to the new collector of
customs at New York, Gen. Edwin A. Merritt, instructing him to
conduct his office " on strictly business principles, and according
to the rules which were adopted, on the recommendation of the
civil-service commission, by the administration of Gen. Grant."
He added : " Neither my recommendation, nor that of the secre-
tary of the treasury, nor the recommendation of any member of
congress, or other influential person, should be specially regarded.
Let appointments and removals be made on business principles,
and by fixed rules." Thus the system of competitive examina-
tions, which under the preceding admniistration had been aban-
doned upon the failure of congress to make appropriations for
the civil-service commission, was, by direction of President
Hayes, restored in the custom-house of New York. A like sys-
tem was introduced in the New York post-office under the
postmaster, Thomas L. James.
Congress passed a bill " to restrict the immigration of
Chinese to the United States," requiring the president immedi-
ately to give notice to the government of China of the abro-
gation of certain articles of the treaty of 1858 between the
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HA YES.
417
United States and China, which recognized " the inherent and
inalienable right of a man to change his home and allegiance,"
and provided that " the citizens of the United States visiting or
residing in China shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities,
or exemptions, in respect to travel or residence, as may there
be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored
nation," and reciprocally that Chinese subjects should enjoy
the same advantages in the United States. The bill further
limited the number of Chinese passengers that might be
brought to this country by any one vessel to fifteen. President
Hayes, on i March, 1879, returned the bill to congress with his
veto. While recognizing some of the difficulties created by
the immigration of the Chinese as worthy of consideration, he
objected to the bill mainly on the ground that it was incon-
sistent with existing treaty relations between the United States
and China; that a treaty could be abrogated or modified by
the treaty-making power, and not, under the constitution, by
act of congress; and that "the abrogation of a treaty by one
of the contracting parties is justifiable only upon reasons both
of the highest justice and of the highest necessity " ; and " to
do this without notice, without fixing a day in advance when
the act shall take effect, without affording an opportunity to
China to be heard, and without the happening of any grave un-
foreseen emergency, would be regarded by the enlightened
judgment of mankind as the denial of the obligation of the
national faith."
The 45th congress adjourned on 4 March, 1879, without
making the usual and necessary appropriations for the expen-
ses of the government. The house, controlled by a Democratic
majority, attached to the army appropriation bill a legislative
provision substantially repealing a law passed in 1865, under
President Lincoln, which permitted the use of troops " to keep
the peace at the polls " on election-days. The house also at-
tached to the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation
bill a repeal of existing laws providing for the appointment of
supervisors of election and special deputy marshals to act at
elections of members of congress. The Republican majority
of the senate struck out these legislative provisions, and, the
two houses disagreeing, the appropriation bills failed. Presi-
dent Hayes, on 4 March, 1879, called an extra session of con-
gress to meet on 18 March. The Democrats then had a major-
4i8
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ity in the senate as well as in the house, and attached to the
army appropriation bill the same legislative provision on which
in the preceding congress the two houses had disagreed.
President Hayes returned the bill with his veto on 29 April,
1879. He took the ground that there was ample legislation to
prevent military interference at elections ; that there never had
been any such interference since the passage of the act of
1865, and there was no danger of any ; that if the proposed leg-
islation should become law, there would be no power vested
in any officer of the government to protect from violence the
officers of the United States engaged in the discharge of their
duties ; that the states may employ both military and civil
power to keep the peace, and to enforce the laws at state elec-
tions, but that it was now proposed to deny to the United
States even the necessary civil authority to protect the national
elections. He pointed out also that the tacking of legislative
provisions to appropriation bills was a practice calculated to
be used as a means of coercion as to the other branches of the
government, and to make the house of representatives a despotic
power. Congress then passed the army appropriation bill with-
out the obnoxious clause, but containing the provision that no
money appropriated should be paid for the subsistence, equip-
ment, transportation, or compensation of any portion of the
army of the United States " to be used as a police force to
keep the peace at the polls at any election held within any
state." This President Hayes approved. The two houses
then passed a separate bill, substantially embodying the provi-
sion objected to by the president in the vetoed army-appropria-
tion bill. This " act to prohibit military interference at elec-
tions" President Hayes returned with his veto. He said :
" The true rule as to the employment of military force at the
elections is not doubtful. No intimidation or coercion should
be allowed to influence citizens in the exercise of their right to
vote, whether it appears in the shape of combinations, of evil-
disposed persons, or of armed bodies of the militia of a state,
or of the military force of the United States. The elections
should be free from all forcible interference, and, as far as
practicable, from all apprehension of such interference. No
soldiery, either of the United States or of the state militia,
should be present at the polls to perform the duties of the
ordinary civil police force. There has been and will be no
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HA YES.
419
violation of this rule under orders from me during this admin-
istration. But there should be no denial of the right of the
national government to employ its military force on any day
and at any place in case such employment is necessary to en-
force the constitution and laws of the United States." The
legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill passed by
congress contained a legislative provision not, indeed, abolish-
ing the supervisors of election, but divesting the government
of the power to protect them, or to prevent interference with
their duties, or to punish any violation of the law from which
their power was derived. President Hayes returned this bill
also with his veto, referring to his preceding veto message as
to the impropriety of tacking general legislation to appropria-
tion bills. He further pointed out that, in the various legal
proceedings under the law sought to be repealed, its constitu-
tionality had never been questioned ; and that the necessity of
such a law had been amply demonstrated by the great election
frauds in New York city in 1868. He added: "The great
body of the people of all parties want free and fair elections.
They do not think that a free election means freedom from the
wholesome restraints of law, or that the place of an election
should be a sanctuary for lawlessness and crime." If any op-
pression, any partisan partiality, had been shown in the execu-
tion of the existing law, he added, efficient correctives of the
mischief should be applied ; but as no congressional election
was immediately impending, the matter might properly be re-
ferred to the regular session of congress.
In a bill "making appropriations for certain judicial ex-
penses," passed by congress, it was attempted, not indeed to re-
peal the election laws, but to make their enforcement impossible
by prohibiting the payment of any salaries, fees, or expenses
under or in virtue of them, and providing also that no contract
should be made, and no liability incurred, under any of their
provisions. President Hayes vetoed this bill, 23 June, 1879,
on the ground that as no bill repealing the election laws had
been passed over his veto, those laws were still in existence,
and the present bill, if it became a law, would make it impos-
sible for the executive to perform his constitutional duty to
see to it that the laws be faithfully executed. On the same
ground the president returned with his veto a bill making ap-
propriations to pay fees of United States marshals and their
28
420
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
general deputies, in which the same attempt was made to de-
feat the execution of the election laws by withholding the
necessary funds as well as the power to incur liabilities under
them. All the appropriation bills were passed without the ob-
noxious provisions except the last. President Hayes appealed
to congress in a special message on 30 June, 1879, the end of
the fiscal year, not to permit the marshals and their general
deputies, officers so necessary to the administration of justice,
to go unprovided for, but in vain. The attorney-general then
admonished the marshals to continue in the performance of
their duties, and to rely upon future legislation by congress,
which would be just to them.
In his annual message of i Dec, 1879, President Hayes
found occasion to congratulate the country upon the success-
ful resumption of specie payments and upon "a very great
revival of business." He announced a most gratifying reduc-
tion of the interest on the public debt by refunding at lower
rates. He strongly urged congress to authorize the secretary
of the treasury to suspend the silver coinage, as the cheaper
coin, if forced into circulation, would eventually become the sole
standard of value. He also recommended the retirement of
United States notes with the capacity of legal tender in private
contracts, it being his " firm conviction that the issue of legal-
tender paper money based wholly upon the authority and
credit of the government, except in extreme emergency, is
without warrant in the constitution, and a violation of sound
financial principles." He recommended a vigorous enforce-
ment of the laws against polygamy in the territory of Utah.
He presented a strong argument in favor of civil-service re-
form, pointed out the successful trial of the competitive
system in the interior department, the post-office department,
and the post-office and the custom-house in New York, and
once more earnestly urged that an appropriation be made for
the civil-service commission, and that all persons in the public
service be protected by law against assessments for party ends.
But these recommendations remained without effect.
On 12 Feb., 1880, President Hayes issued a second proclama-
tion — the first having been put forth in April, 1879 — against
the attempts made by lawless persons to possess themselves
for settlement of lands within the Indian territory, and effect-
ive measures were taken to expel the invaders. On 8 March,
RUTHERFORD BIRCH ARD HAYES.
421
1880, he sent to the house of representatives a special message
communicating correspondence in relation to the interoceanic
canal, which had passed between the American and foreign
governments, and expressing his own opinion on the subject
as follows : " The policy of this country is a canal under Amer-
ican control. The United States cannot consent to the sur-
render of this control to any European power, or to any com-
bination of European powers. If existing treaties between
the United States and other nations, or if the rights of sover-
eignty or property of other nations, stand in the way of this
policy — a contingency which is not apprehended — suitable steps
should be taken by just and liberal negotiations to promote
and establish the American policy on this subject, consistently
with the rights of the nations to be affected by it. An inter-
oceanic canal across the American isthmus will be the great
ocean thoroughfare between our Atlantic and our Pacific
shores, and virtually a part of the coast-line of the United
States. No other great power would, under similar circum-
stances, fail to assert a rightful control over a work so closely
and vitally affecting its interest and welfare." Congress passed
a deficiency appropriation bill, which contained provisions ma-
terially changing, and, by implication, repealing certain im-
portant parts of the election laws. President Hayes, on 4 May,
1880, returned the bill with his veto, whereupon congress made
the appropriation without re-enacting the obnoxious clauses.
In November, 1880, was held the election that put James
A. Garfield into the presidential chair and proved conclusively
that the Republican party had gained largely in the confidence
of the public during the Hayes administration. In his last an-
nual message, 6 Dec, 1880, President Hayes again mentioned
the occurrence of election disorders in a part of the Union,
and the necessity of their repression and correction, but de-
clared himself satisfied, at the same time, that the evil was
diminishing. Again he argued in favor of civil-service reform,
especially competitive examinations, which had been conducted
with great success in some of the executive departments and
adopted by his direction in the larger custom-houses and post-
offices. He reiterated his recommendation of an appropriation
for the civil-service commission,' and of a law against political
assessments. He also, to stop the interference of members of
congress with the civil service, suggested that an act be passed
422
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
"defining the relations of members of congress with regard to
appointments to office by the president," and that the tenure-
of'-office act be repealed. He recommended " that congress
provide for the government of Utah by a governor and judges,
or commissioners, appointed by the president and confirmed by
the senate — a government analogous to the provisional gov-
ernment established for the territory northwest of the Ohio, by
the ordinance of 1787," dispensing with an elected territorial
legislature. He announced that on 17 Nov. two treaties had
been signed at Peking by the commissioners of the United
States and the plenipotentiaries of the emperor of China — one
purely commercial, and the other authorizing the government
of the United States, whenever the immigration of Chinese
laborers threatened to affect the interests of the country, to
regulate, limit, or suspend such immigration, but not alto-
gether to prohibit it, said government at the same time promis-
ing to secure to Chinese permanently or temporarily residing
in the United States the same protection and rights as to citi-
zens or subjects of the most favored nation. President Hayes
further suggested the importance of making provision for
regular steam postal communication with the Central and
South American states ; he recommended that congress, by
suitable legislation and with proper safeguards, supplement the
local educational funds in the several states where the grave
duties and responsibilities of citizenship had been devolved
upon uneducated people, by devoting to the purpose grants of
lands, and, if necessary, by appropriations from the treasury of
the United States; he repeated his recommendations as to the
suspension of the silver coinage, and as to the retirement from
circulation of the United States notes, and added one that
provision be made by law to put Gen. Grant upon the retired
list of the army, with rank and pay befitting the great services
he had rendered to the country.
On I Feb., 1880, he addressed a special message to congress
in relation to the Ponca Indians, in which he pointed out the
principles that should guide our Indian policy: preparation for
citizenship by industrial and general education ; allotment of
land in severalty, inalienable for a certain period ; fair com-
pensation for Indian lands not required for allotment ; and,
finally, investment of the Indians, so educated and provided
for, with the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. His
(n-=^^z^:Li />4x«x<^/l (^z-^-^-^--^
'0<^^y^ /
dL,
RUTHERFORD BIRCH A RD HAYES.
423
last communication to congress, 3 March, 1881, was a message
returning with his veto a bill " to facilitate the refunding of
the national debt," which contained a provision seriously im-
pairing the value and tending to the destruction of the national
banking system. On the following day he assisted at the
inauguration of his successor.
The administration of President Hayes, although much at-
tacked by the politicians of both parties, was on the whole
very satisfactory to the people at large. By withdrawing the
Federal troops from the southern state-houses, and restoring
to the people of those states practical self-government, it pre-
pared the way for that revival of patriotism among those late-
ly estranged from the Union, that fraternal feeling between
the two sections of the country, and the wonderful material
advancement of the south which we now witness. It con-
ducted with wisdom and firmness the preparations for the re-
sumption of specie payments, as well as the funding of the
public debt at lower rates of interest, and thus facilitated the
development of the remarkable business prosperity that con-
tinued to its close. While in its endeavors to effect a thorough
and permanent reform of the civil service there were conspic-
uous lapses and inconsistencies, it accomplished important
and lasting results. Not only without any appropriations of
money and without encouragement of any kind from congress,
but in the face of the decided hostility of a large majority of
its members, the system of competitive examinations was suc-
cessfully applied in some of the executive departments at
Washington, and in the great government offices at New York,
thus proving its practicability and usefulness. The removal
by President Hayes of some of the most powerful party mana-
gers from their offices, avowedly on the ground that the offices
had been used as a part of the political machinery, was an
act of high courage, and during his administration there was
far less meddling with party politics on the part of officers of
the government than at any period since Andrew Jackson's
time. The success of the Republican party in the election of
1880 was largely due to the general satisfaction among the
people with the Hayes administration.
On the expiration of his term, ex-President Hayes retired
to his home at Fremont, Ohio. He was the recipient of vari-
ous distinctions. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon
424
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
him by Kenyon college, Harvard University, Yale college, and
Johns Hopkins university. He was made commander of the
military order of the Loyal legion, the first president of the
Society of the Army of West Virginia, and president of the
23d regiment Ohio volunteers association. Much of his time
was devoted to benevolent and useful enterprises. He was
president of the trustees of the John F. Slater education-fund,
one of the trustees of the Peabody education fund, president
of the National prison-reform association, an active member of
the National conference of corrections and charities, a trustee
of the Western Reserve university at Cleveland, Ohio, of the
Wesleyan university of Delaware, Ohio, of Mount Union col-
lege, at Alliance, Ohio, and of several other charitable and
educational institutions. On the occasion of a meeting of the
National prison-reform association, held at Atlanta, Ga., in
November, 1886, he was received with much popular enthusi-
asm, and greeted by an ex-governor of Georgia as one to
whom, more than to any other, the people were indebted for
the era of peace and union which they now enjoyed, and by
the governor. Gen. John B. Gordon, as the man who had
"made a true and noble effort to complete the restoration of
the Union by restoring fraternal feeling between the estranged
sections." Thus he devoted the last years of his life to digni-
fied occupations and endeavors, mostly of a philanthropic
character, which were congenial to his nature and kept him in
active contact with public-spirited men, by whom he was highly
esteemed. He died after a short illness at his home in Fre-
mont, Ohio, 17 Jan., 1893. While he lived, the prejudice against
him among some of his fellow-citizens, owing to the cloud which
hung over his title to the presidency, had never entirely disap-
peared ; but after his death even his former opponents ad-
mitted that there had never been the slightest reason for hold-
ing him responsible for the conduct of the returning boards in
the southern states, or for the decision of the electoral com-
mission which awarded the presidency to him, and that, when he
had been declared elected by the competent authority, it was
not only his right but his duty as a good citizen to accept the
presidential office, and thus to put an end to one of the most
perilous crises in the history of the republic. It was also uni-
versally recognized that the conduct of his administration had
been conspicuously clean and blameless, as well as fruitful of
RUTHERFORD BIR CHARD HA YES.
425
good results, and that he rendered the country especially valu-
able service by the statesmanlike wisdom of his conciliatory
course toward the south, by the unflinching and defiant firm-
ness with which he upheld sound principles of national finance,
and by his efforts in the line of civil-service reform, after his
predecessor, yielding to the impetuous pressure of his party
friends, had abandoned the whole system. He was not a man
of genius, but of a strong and clear intellect, quick perceptions,
and far more than ordinary acquirements, animated with the
most conscientious conceptions of duty and the highest patri-
otic motives. The uprightness of his character and the ex-
quisite purity of his life, public as well as domestic, exercised a
conspicuously wholesome influence not only upon ihe. personnel
of the governmental machinery, but also upon the social atmos-
phere of the national capital while he occupied the White
House. See " Life, Public Services, and Select Speeches of
Rutherford B. Hayes," by James Quay Howard (Cincinnati,
1876). Campaign lives were also written
by William D. Howells (New York, 1876)
and Russell H. Conwell (Boston, 1876).
His wife, Lucy Ware Webb, born in
Chillicothe, Ohio, 28 Aug., 1831 ; died
in Fremont, Ohio, 25 June, 1889. She
was the daughter of a physician, and
married in 1852. Of eight children,
four sons and one daughter are living.
Mrs. Hayes was noted for her devotion
to the wounded soldiers during the war.
She refused to permit wine to be served
on the White House table, and for this
innovation incurred much censure in some political circles, but
received high praise from the advocates of total abstinence,
who, on the expiration of her husband's term of office, pre-
sented her with various testimonials, including an album filled
with autographic expressions of approval from many promi-
nent persons, and an association of prominent ladies presented
her portrait, to be added to the collection at the White House.
Her high character, her frankness and sincerity, as well as the
rare charm of her being, won her in an uncommon degree the
affection and esteem of all who came into contact with her.
Q^^osy ^ ■»»*
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 5OI
principal actor in the conspiracy, were pulverized by his cross-
examination. It was not his plan to confuse or persecute a
witness, but to quietly, persistently, and courteously press for
a full disclosure of the facts. He never attempted to brow-
beat a witness, never excited the sympathy of a jury for a
witness by any show of unfairness. His skill as a nisi prius
lawyer was surpassed by his power before the higher and
appellate courts. He put himself on paper admirably, and his
briefs are models of strength and conciseness. He was def-
erential to the courts, courteous to his opponents, generous to
his colleagues. He showed no fussy fear that he would be
shouldered to the rear. It was not necessary. It soon became
evident to his opponents and associates that he was the con-
spicuous figure in the fight. Unlike many able attorneys, he
cared more for success than for an exhibition of his own
powers. Lawyers who had never met him were sometimes
led to think that his abilities had been overrated ; no lawyer
who ever encountered him in a forensic fight came out of it
with such an opinion. His commanding abilities as a lawyer
stood him in good stead in his political career, which began
with the organization of the Republican party. He became
conspicuous in Indiana politics m i860, when, as a candidate
for the ofifice of reporter of the Supreme Court, he made a
thorough canvass of the State. His first debate with Gov.
Hendricks was in that year. By some mistake of the campaign
committees he and Hendricks were announced to speak the
same day in Rockville. Hendricks was then the Demo-
cratic candidate for governor, and was in the zenith of his
fame as stump speaker. He courteously invited Harrison
to divide time with him and made the opening speech. The
local Republican managers were amazed at the temerity of a
stripling who dared to measure strength with the Goliath of
the Indiana Democracy, and showed their distrust of his abil-
ity by leaving the courthouse. Harrison, who had been sea-
soned and warmed for the work by speaking every day for
weeks, assumed the aggressive, and as his few political friends
began to show their appreciation by applause, the audience
increased until the courtroom was packed with enthusiastic
Republicans, who crowded about the speaker when he closed
and showered their congratulations upon him. Mr. Voorhees
was present, and, feeling the force of the impression made by
502
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Harrison, arose when the speech was finished and said he
would answer the speech that night in the same place.
Since i860 he has taken an active part in every political
canvass in Indiana. In that year he was elected reporter of
the Supreme Court, and his official work may be found in ten
volumes of the Indiana reports. His official and professional
labors were onerous, but the tasks were lightened by the
thought that he was paying for the modest cottage home
which he had bought on credit. Then came the war, and
Gov. Morton's call upon him to raise a regiment of volunteers.
He enlisted, and in a few weeks was commissioned colonel of
the 70th Indiana infantry. He made arrangements to have
the duties of his office of reporter performed in his absence,
several of his professional brethren undertaking to do the
work without cost to him, so that his home could be paid for.
The Democrats put the name of a candidate for the office on
their State ticket in 1862. The Republicans, supposing that
Harrison would be allowed to serve out his term, made no
nomination. No votes were cast except for the Democrat,
and in a mandamus suit brought by him to compel the clerk
to give him the manuscript opinions of the judges, the Supreme
Court, composed of Democrats, decided that Harrison's en-
listment vacated the office, and that the Democrat who was
elected by default should fill it for the unexpired term. At
the next election, in 1864, while Harrison was still in the field,
he was re-elected by an overwhelming majority, and after the
close of the war assumed the office and served out his full term.
The following is a brief summary of his military record:
Benjamin Harrison was mustered into service as colonel of
the 70th regiment of Indiana infantry volunteers with the
field and staff of that regiment at Indianapolis, Ind., to date
from 7 Aug., 1862, to serve three years. The following re-
marks appear opposite his name on the muster-in roll of the
field and staff : " Mustered into service as 2d lieutenant, 14
July, 1862; as captain, 22 July, 1862; and as colonel, 7 Aug.,
1862." He was in command of his regiment from date of
muster-in to 20 Aug., 1863; of the 2d brigade, 3d division,
reserve corps, to about 20 Sept., 1863; of his regiment to 9
Jan., 1864; of the ist brigade, ist division, nth army corps,
to 18 April, 1864; of his regiment to 29 June, 1864; and of
the ist brigade, 3d division, 20th army corps, to 23 Sept., 1864,
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 503
when he was detailed for special duty in the State of Indiana.
The exact date that he returned to duty in the field is not
shown; but on 12 Nov., 1864, he was directed to report in
person to the general commanding at Nashville, Tenn., and
subsequently commanded the ist brigade, provisional divi-
sion, army of the Cumberland, to 16 Jan., 1865, when, upon
his own application, he was relieved and directed to re-
join his proper command for duty in Gen. Sherman's army
at Savannah, Ga. On his way via New York to rejoin his
command at Savannah, he was stricken down with a severe
fever and lay for several weeks at Narrowsburg, N. Y. When
able to leave his bed he started for Savannah, but arrived too
late to join Gen. Sherman, and was assigned to command the
camp of convalescents and recruits at Blair's Landing, S. C.,
on the Pocotaligo river, and soon after joined Gen. Sherman's
army at Raleigh. He resumed command of the ist brigade,
3d division, 20th army corps, 21 April, 1865; was relieved
therefrom 8 June, 1865, upon the discontinuance of the bri-
gade by reason of the muster out of the troops composing it;
and on the same date, 8 June, 1865, was mustered out and
honorably discharged as colonel with the field and staff of his
regiment, near Washington, D. C. He was brevetted brigadier-
general of volunteers, 23 Jan., 1865, "for ability and manifest
energy and gallantry in command of brigade." As a regi-
mental commander he was in action at Russellville, Ky., 30
Sept., 1862 ; in the Atlanta campaign, at Resaca, Ga., 14-15
May, 1864; at Cassville, Ga., 24 May, 1864; at New Hope,
Ga., 25 May, 1864; at Dallas, Ga., 27-28 May, 1864; and at
Kenesaw Mountain, Ga., 10-28 June, 1864. As a brigade
commander he participated in the operations at Kenesaw
Mountain, Ga., 29 June to 3 July, 1864; in the battle of Peach
Tree creek, Ga., 20 July, 1864; in the siege of Atlanta, Ga.,
21 July to 2 Sept., 1864; and in the battle of Nashville, Tenn.,
15-16 Dec, 1864; and was present at the surrender of Gen.
Johnston's army at Durham's Station, N. C., 26 April, 1865.
At the close of his term of office as reporter of the Supreme
Court he resumed the law practice and soon had his hands full
of work, being retained in almost every important case in the
Federal and State courts at Indianapolis. In 1876 Godlove
S. Orth, the Republican candidate for governor, withdrew
from the canvass while Gen. Harrison was taking a vacation
504
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
on the north shore of Lake Superior. Without consulting him,
his name was put upon the ticket as candidate for governor,
and when he arrived from the North an enthusiastic crowd
met him at the station and escorted him to his home. The
trading of horses while crossing the river did not work
well, and though Gen. Harrison made a splendid canvass,
running two thousand ahead of his ticket, the popularity of
Gov. Hendricks, who was on the National ticket, pulled the
whole Democratic State ticket through by a plurality of three
thousand. The gallant fight made by Gen. Harrison in that
losing battle imposed a debt of gratitude upon his party which
has not been forgotten. In 1879 President Hayes appointed
him a member of the Mississippi River Commission. In 1880
he was chairman of the Indiana delegation in the convention
which nominated James A. Garfield. Some of his friends
presented his name for the nomination in that convention, but
he insisted that it should be withdrawn. His canvass of Indi-
ana and other States during the campaign of 1880 was brilliant
and effective. President Garfield offered him a place in his
cabinet, which he declined. He was chosen United States
senator in 1881, and served until 1887. His course in the
senate was such as to win the esteem and friendship of his
Republican colleagues and to command the respect of his po-
litical opponents. This was his first experience in a legislative
body, but he soon took rank among the foremost debaters of
the senate. Chairman of the Committee on Territories, he
was persistent in his demand for the admission to statehood
of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, and
Idaho, and though not succeeding at the time, he had the
pleasure afterward of putting his presidential signature to the
laws making them all States of the Union. In his speeches in
the senate he criticised Mr. Cleveland's vetoes of the pension
bills, voted and spoke in favor of an increase of the navy,
the reform of the civil service, a judicious tariff reform; he
favored every measure of public policy which had received the
approval of his party. He has always been a strong partisan,
and has believed and acted in the belief that since the Repub-
lican party was organized it has done nothing of which Re-
publicans should be ashamed, or at least nothing to justify
a change of allegiance from it to the Democratic party. From
one point of view, such a course in a public man may be criti-
EXECUTIVE MANSION.
WASHINGTON
'^^^^iU^ ^^,
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 505
cised. It may be doubted, however, if any Indiana Repub-
lican who has been confronted with the type of Democrats
which have dominated that party for the last thirty years is
to be censured for standing by his own party.
The Republican party leaders saw in 1888 that the only
hope of winning against Cleveland was to put up a candidate
who could carry some of the doubtful States. Early in the
year the Republican leaders in Indiana and almost the entire
Republican press of the State pronounced in favor of Harrison,
and his name was presented by the solid delegation to the
convention at Chicago. On the first ballot he received 83
votes, standing fifth on the list, John Sherman standing first
with 225. Seven more ballots were taken, during which
Chauncey M. Depew withdrew and his supporters went to
Harrison, giving him the nomination on the eighth ballot by a
vote of 544. There was great rejoicing on the part of his
friends in Indiana, and as soon as the result was known there
began a series of demonstrations which are without parallel
in the history of presidential campaigns. On the day of the
nomination a large delegation came to Indianapolis from
Hendricks county in a special train and proceeded at once to
Gen. Harrison's residence and called him out for a speech, and
from that day until the election delegations kept coming from
different parts of Indiana, from Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan,
Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, and other States, all of which were re-
ceived and welcomed by him in impromptu speeches which, by
their appropriateness, variety, force, and elegance of style, won
the approval of our best literary critics as well as of the pub-
lic. In these ninety-four speeches he made no slip. He said
nothing that needed apology or explanation from his friends.
Verbatim reports of the addresses were printed from day to
day in all the leading papers of the country, and he never in
anything he said gave his political opponents ground for un-
friendly criticism. It is an open secret that some of the mem-
bers of the National Republican committee were terrified when
they learned that the " Hoosier " candidate had commenced
the campaign by these free-spoken, off-hand talks with his
neighbors. They proposed that some one should go to In-
dianapolis and put a stop to the business. A gentleman who
knew Gen. Harrison's ability told them not to be alarmed, and
at the end of a week the fearful gentlemen had changed their
5o6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
minds and said that if they would allow Gen. Harrison to go
on in that way he would elect himself in spite of any blunder-
ing of the committee or campaign managers.
A few extracts from some of these speeches may give an
idea of their quality. To the California delegation the day
after the nomination he said : " I feel sure, too, my fellow-
citizens, that we have joined now a contest of great principles,
and that the armies which are to fight out this great contest
before the American people will encamp upon the high plains
of principle and not in the low swamps of personal defamation
or detraction." To a number of veterans of the Union army :
"We went not as partisans but patriots into the strife which
involved the national life. . . . The army was great in its
assembling. It came with an
impulse that was majestic and
terrible. It was as great in its
muster out as in the brilliant
work which it had done in the
field. . . . When the war was
over . , . every man had in some
humble place a chair by some
fireside where he was loved and
toward which his heart went for-
ward with a quick step." To
the Tippecanoe club, composed of men who had voted for his
grandfather in 1840: "I came among you with the heritage, I
trust, of a good name, such as all of you enjoy. It is the only
inheritance that has been transmitted in our family." Gen. Har-
rison was not in the habit of boasting of his lineage, of which he
had reason to be proud. If it was ever the subject of conver-
sation in his presence he never introduced it. To a delegation
of farmers : " The law throws the aegis of its protection over
us all. It stands sentinel about your country homes; ... it
comes into our more thickly populated community and speaks
its mandate for individual security and public order. There
is an open avenue through the ballot for the modification or
repeal of laws which are unjust or oppressive. To the law we
bow with reverence. It is the one king that commands our
allegiance." To a delegation of railway employees : " Heroism
has been found at the throttle and brake as well as upon the
battlefield, and as well worthy of song and marble. The train-
rV;8rif- #ifi(J«t»'WS'^
BENJAMIX HARRISON. 507
man crushed between the platforms, who used his last breath
not for prayer or messages of love, but to say to the panic-
stricken who gathered around him, ' Put out the red light fur
the other train,' inscribed his name very high upon the shaft
where the names of the faithful and brave are written." To
an Illinois delegation : " It was on the soil of Illinois that
Lovejoy died, a martyr to free speech. . . . Another great
epoch in the march of liberty found on the soil of Illinois the
theatre of its most influential event. I refer to that high
debate in the presence of your people, but before the world
in which Douglas won the senatorship and Lincoln the presi-
dency and immortal fame. . . . The wise work of our fathers
in constituting this Government will stand all tests of internal
dissension and revolution and all tests of external assault, if
we can only preserve a pure, free ballot." To a delegation of
coal-miners : " I do not care now to deal with statistics. One
fact is enough for me. The tide of emigration from all
European countries has been and is toward our shores. The
gates of Castle Garden swing inward; they do not swing out-
ward to any American laborer seeking a better country than
this. . . . Here there are better conditions, wider and more
hopeful prospects for workmen than in any other land. . . .
The more work there is to do in this country the higher the
wages that will be paid for the doing of it. . . . A policy which
will transfer work from our mines and our factories to for-
eign mines and foreign factories inevitably tends to a depres-
sion of wages here. These are truths that do not require
profound study." To an Indiana delegation : " I hope the
time is coming, and has even now arrived, when the great
sense of justice which possesses our people will teach men of
all parties that party success is not to be promoted at the
expense of an injustice to any of our citizens." As early as
31 July, 1888, he said: "But we do not mean to be content
with our own market ; we should seek to promote closer and
more friendly commercial relations with the Central and South
American states, . . . those friendly political and commercial
relations which shall promote their interests equally with ours."
Addressing a company of survivors of his own regiment, he
said: "It is no time now to use an apothecary's scale to
weigh the rewards of the men who saved the country." To
a club of railroad employees: " The laboring men of this land
5o8
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
may safely trust every just reform in which they are interested
to public discussion and to the tests of reason ; they may
surely hope upon these lines, which are open to them, to ac-
complish, under our American institutions, all those right
things they have conceived to be necessary to their highest
success and well-being." Addressing a meeting on the day
of Sheridan's funeral : " He was one of those great command-
ers who, upon the field of battle, towered a very god of war.
. . He rested and refreshed his command with the wine of
victory, and found recuperation in the dispersion of the enemy
that confronted him." To a delegation of farmers: "I con-
gratulate you not so much upon the rich farms of your country
as upon your virtuous and happy homes. The home is the
best, as it is the first, school of citizenship."
All these campaign speeches, with a description of the cir-
cumstances of their delivery, are collected in a volume pub-
lished by Lovell & Co., of New York. But more remarkable
than these are the one hundred and forty addresses delivered
during his trip to the Pacific coast and back — a journey of
10,000 miles, which was accomplished in thirty-one days, from
15 April to 15 May, 1890, without the variation of one minute
from -the prearranged schedule for arriving and departing
from the hundreds of stations on the way. These addresses
were non-political, and breathe throughout a spirit of high
patriotism and a call to the high responsibilities of citizenship.
In a letter to an American friend who had sent him the volume
containing these speeches, the late Lord Coleridge says: "The
speeches give me a very high idea of Mr. Harrison. We know
very little here of your politicians, and it is pleasant to be
brought face to face with any one so manly and high-minded
as Mr. Harrison shows himself in the book you sent me. The
perpetual demand which American customs make upon anyone
of the least position in the way of speech-making must be
very trying. In a degree (not within 1,000 miles of the presi-
dent) I found it so myself when I was in America. But a
private foreigner may say what he likes; a president, of course,
must watch his words."
It was assumed that with Mr. Blaine in the cabinet Presi-
dent Harrison would be a very inconspicuous and unimpor-
tant person in the administration. It is one of the marked
characteristics of the man that when he is assigned to a place
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 509
he assumes all its responsibilities. As a lawyer he never
shouldered himself to the front, but when placed in the lead
he was the leader. The simple fact is, he was not for a moment
overshadowed by any member of his cabinet. He insisted
upon knowing what was going on in each department and
maintained an intelligent supervision of them all. Nor is
it detracting from the just fame of Mr. Blaine to say thai
by reason of that gentleman's failing health the work of the
State Department was much more than usual the work of the
president. Those who have known him long did not fail to
see his hand in the discussion of the legal rights of aliens domi-
ciled here, contained in the dignified note to the Italian gov-
ernment concerning the New Orleans massacre. The state-
ment of the basis of our liability for wrong inflicted upon the
subjects of friendly nations when they are the result of derelic-
tion of duty by the local authorities was masterly, and the dig-
nified manner in which that government was informed that the
United States would be just, but would not be forced to a
hasty decision, was admirable. In the Chile affair, in which
that government denied its responsibility for the assaults upon
our sailors at Santiago and refused safe conduct to some of
the members of the Balmaceda administration who had' taken
refuge at the United States legation, President Harrison was
earnest and persistent in his demands, and, as the correspond-
ence shows, after waiting patiently for a response, and becom-
ing weary at last of the vacillating conduct of the Chilian
government, made a peremptory request, which was promptly
and satisfactorily answered. It is due to the republic of Chile
to say that during the whole of the controversy the rival
parties in that country kept it in a state of constant revolu-
tion. The evidence in the case showed that our sailors were
outraged because they belonged to the U. S. navy, and that
the authorities of Chile permitted, if they did not connive at
it. In such a case it would have been pusillanimous on the
part of the Government to have failed to demand reparation.
The Bering sea controversy, now happily in settlement by
arbitration, was full of difficulty when Mr. Blaine's sudden
illness threw the burden of the matter for a time upon Presi-
dent Harrison. Lord Salisbury was delaying, the season for
pelagic sealing was coming on, no modus vivendi had been
agreed upon. President Harrison took measures for inter-
5 TO
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
cepting the Canadian sealers, and it was not long until the
terms of the treaty were arranged. The statement of the " five
points " submitted to the arbitrators by the treaty is a good
specimen of President Harrison's thorough and comprehensive
work. Eastern journals that were not friendly to President
Harrison have generously united in endorsing the conduct of
the State Department during his administration, and have
especially commended it for being thoroughly patriotic and
American. And it may be said from the time of his nomi-
nation until he retired from the presidential ofifice he sustained
himself with a dignity and ability commensurate with the
responsibilities of his exalted station. His policy in regard
to the tariff has been censured, but he simply maintained
the views held by the majority of the Republican party, with
which he has always been in sympathy. He is what may
properly be called an out-and-out protectionist. His firm
stand in favor of honest money gave confidence to the busi-
ness interests of the country when they were imperilled by
the wild schemes of the advocates of free-silver coinage. He
was renominated for the presidency by the Republican na-
tional convention at Minneapolis without serious opposition.
He failed of re-election. Public opinion has been much divided
as to the causes of this result. It was certainly not on ac-
count of any failure upon the part of President Harrison to
carry out the policy of his party, or to realize the expectation
of his friends in the ability shown by him in performing the
duties of his station. The fatal illness of Mrs. Harrison, and
her death a few days before the election, cast a shadow over
the closing months of his ofticial life. His administration as
a whole was business-like in its management of our domestic
affairs, dignified, firm, and patriotic in its foreign polic}', pro-
moting the prosperity of our people at home and keeping
peace with all nations. In his last message to congress, on
6 Dec, 1892, after giving a summary of the operations of the
different departments, he said : " This exhibit of the work of
the executive departments is submitted to congress and to the
public in the hope that there will be found in it a due sense of
responsibility, and an earnest purpose to maintain the national
honor and to promote the happiness and prosperity of all our
people. And this brief exhibit of the growth and prosperity
of the country will give us a level from which to note the
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 5II
increase or decadence that new legislative policies may bring
to us. There is no reason why the national influence, power,
and prosperity should not observe the same rates of increase
that have characterized the past thirty years. We carry the
great impulse and increase of these years into the future.
There is no reason why, in many lines of production, we
should not surpass all other nations, as we have already done
in some. There are no near frontiers to our possible develop-
ment. Retrogression would be a crime."
Upon retiring from the presidency, Gen. Harrison was en-
gaged by the late Senator Stanford, to deliver a course of
lectures at the Leland Stanford, Jr., university, in California,
on constitutional law. These were delivered during the early
months of 1894. Foreigners who have studied our institutions
have expressed regrets that in America no provision is made
for the dignified retirement of our ex-presidents, and they have
suggested that some office with a life tenure be bestowed upon
them with a suitable provision for their support out of the pub-
lic treasury. The temper of our people and the genius of our
institutions are not in accord with any such desire. The great
volunteer generals of the war came back to the ranks and took
their places with their fellow-citizens in the walks of private life.
So our great political leaders, from the senate and from the
presidency, when their term of office is over, come back to their
homes and ordinary pursuits without any impairment of their
dignity or their self-respect. In his retirement from the labors
of his official station Gen. Harrison can realize the truth of
what he said in a speech on the day of his nomination in 1888:
" Kings sometimes bestow decorations upon those whom they
desire to honor, but that man is most highly decorated who
has the affectionate regard of his neighbors and friends."
This he has in full measure. Judged by the standards of a
few unprincipled and disappointed politicians who expected to
thrive on the use and abuse of public patronage. Gen. Harrison
is a cold-blooded man. But it is possible that such men are
not as well qualified to judge of the temperature of a man's
blood as his friends and intimates who have seen him in all
the vicissitudes of his daily life, ministering with sympathy
and self-sacrifice to relatives and friends who, overtaken by
some great calamity, have found his heart as tender as a child's.
The country takes little note of the petulant criticisms of its
512
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
public servants, but it will hold at their true worth the great
and useful virtues of ability, wisdom, integrity, courage, and
patriotism whenever they are exhibited by men in high offi-
cial station. The picture on another page shows his home in
Indianapolis. In April, 1896, the ex-president married Mrs.
Mary Scott Lord Dimmock, and three years later he appeared
as counsel in the Anglo- Venezuelan boundary arbitration
commission, concluding his argument in Paris, 27 Sept., 1899.
He is the author of "This Country of Ours" (New York,
1897). His life has been written by Gen. Lewis Wallace
(Philadelphia, 1888). A selection of Gen. Harrison's speeches,
edited by Charles Hedges, appeared in 1888, and another col-
lection was published four years later.
His wife, Caroline Lavinia Scott, born in Oxford, Ohio,
I Oct., 1832; died in Washington, D. C, 25 Oct., 1892, was
the daughter of John W. Scott, who was a professor in Miami
university at the time of her birth,
and afterward became president of
the seminary in Oxford. She was
graduated at the seminary in 1852,
the same year that Gen. Harrison
took his degree at the university,
and was married to him on 20 Oct.,
1853. She was a musician, and was
also devoted to painting, besides
which she was a diligent reader, and
gave part of her time to literary
clubs, of several of which she was
a member. Mrs. Harrison was a
manager of the orphan asylum in
Indianapolis and a member of the Presbyterian church in that
city, and until her removal to Washington taught a class in
Sunday-school. They had two children. The son, Russell,
was graduated at Lafayette in 1877 as a mining engineer, and
served in Cuba in the war with Spain with the rank of major
in the volunteers. The daughter, Mary, married James R.
McKee, a prosperous merchant of Indianapolis, Ind., who has
since removed to New York.
C^ii^ryUr i?f «^Vt2,'?-7.-z-.^<>7o
D,Appl6ton &:. Co,
WILLIAM McKINLEY.
William McKinley, twenty-fourth president of the United
States, was born in Niles, Trumbull co., Ohio, 29 Jan., 1843.
On his father's side his ancestry is Scotch-Irish ; his fore-
fathers came to America one hundred and fifty years ago.
Authentic records trace the McKinlays in Scotland back to
1547, and it is claimed by students that James McKinlay, "the
trooper," was one of William's ancestors. About 1743 one of
the Scotch-Irish McKinleys settled in Chanceford township,
York CO., Pa., where his son David, great-grandfather of the
president, was born in May, 1755. After serving in the revo-
lution David resided in Pennsylvania until 1814, when he went
to Ohio, where he died in 1840, at the age of eighty-five.
James McKinley, son of David, moved to Columbiana co.,
Ohio, in 1809, when William, father of the president, was not
yet two years old. The grandmother of the president, Mary
Rose, came from a Puritan family that fled from England to
Holland and emigrated to Pennsylvania with William Penn.
William McKinley, Sr., father of the president, born in Pine
township, Mercer co., Pa., in 1807, married in 1829 Nancy
Campbell Allison, of Columbiana co., Ohio, whose father, Abner
Allison, was of English extraction, and her mother, Ann Camp-
bell, of Scotch-German. Four of their nine children are now
living, William being the seventh. Both the grandfather and
the father of the president were iron manufacturers, or furnace
men. His father was a devout Methodist, a stanch whig and
republican, and an ardent advocate of a protective tariff. He
died during William's first term as governor of Ohio, in
November, 1892. The mother of the president died in De-
cember, 1897, at the age of eighty-nine.
William received his first education in the public schools of /
Niles, but when he was nine years old the family removed to
514
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Poland, Mahoning co., Ohio, where he was at once admitted
into Union seminary and pursued his studies until he was
seventeen. He excelled in mathematics and the languages,
and was the best equipped of all the students in debate. In
i860 he entered the junior class of Allegheny college, Mead-
ville. Pa., where he would have been graduated in the follow-
ing year but for the failure of his health, owing to which, as
soon as he was able, he sought a change by engaging as a
teacher in the pub-
lic schools. He was
fond of athletic
sports, and was
a good horseman.
At the age of six-
teen he became a
member of the
Methodist Episco-
pal church, and was
noted for his dili-
gent study of the
Bible. When the
civil war broke
out, in the spring of 1861, he was a clerk in the Poland post-
office. Young McKinley volunteered, and, going with the re-
cruits to Columbus, was there enlisted as a private in Company
E, of the 23d Ohio volunteer infantry, 11 June, 1861. This
regiment is one of the most famous of Ohio organizations,
including an unusually large number of noted men, among
them Gen. W. S. Rosecrans and President Hayes. He partici-
pated in all the early engagements in West Virginia, the first
being at Carnifex Ferry, 10 Sept., 1861, and in the winter's
camp at Fayetteville he earned and received his first pro-
motion, commissary sergeant, 15 April, 1862. "Young as
McKinley was," said ex-President Hayes at Lakeside in 1891,
" we soon found that in business and executive ability he was
of rare capacity, of unusual and surpassing capacity, for a boy
of his age. When battles were fought or a service to be per-
formed in warlike things, he always took his place." At An-
tietam Sergeant McKinley, when in charge of the commissary
department of his brigade, filled two wagons with coffee and
other supplies, and in the midst of the desperate fight hurried
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
515
them to his dispirited comrades, who took new courage after
the refreshment. For this service he was promoted from ser-
geant to Heutenant, his commission dating from 24 Sept., 1862.
While at Camp Piatt he was promoted to ist Heutenant,
7 Feb.. 1863, and under his leadership his company was first to
scramble over the enemy's fortifications and silence their guns.
Later, in the retreat that began on 19 June, near Lynchburg,
and continued until 27 June, the 23d marched 180 miles,
fighting nearly all the time, with scarcely any rest or food.
Lieut. McKinley conducted himself with gallantry in every
emergency, and at Winchester won additional honors. The
13th West Virginia regiment failed to retire when the rest of
Hayes's brigade fell back, and was in imminent danger of cap-
ture. McKinley was directed to go and bring it away, if it
had not already fallen, and did so safely, after riding through
a heavy fire. " He was greeted by a cheer," says a witness of
the incident, "for all of us felt and knew one of the most gal-
lant acts of the war had been performed." During the retreat
they came upon a battery of four guns which had been left in
the way, an easy capture for the enemy. McKinley asked
permission to bring it off, but his superior officers thought it
impossible, owing to the exhausted condition of the men.
" The 23d will do it," said McKinley, and, at his call for volun-
teers, every man of his company stepped out, and the guns
were hauled off to a place of safety. The next day, 25 July,
1864, at the age of twenty-one, McKinley was promoted to
the rank of captain. The brigade continued its fighting up
and down the Shenandoah valley. At Berryville, 3 Sept., 1864,
Capt. McKinley's horse was shot under him.
After service on Gen. Ci'ook's staff and that of Gen. Han-
cock, McKinley was assigned as acting assistant adjutant-gen-
eral on the staff of Gen. Samuel S. Carroll, commanding the
veteran reserve corps at Washington; where he remained
through that exciting period which included the surrender of
Lee to Grant at Appomattox and the assassination of Lincoln.
Just a month before this tragedy, or on 14 March, 1865, he had
received from the president a commission as major by brevet
in the volunteer U. S. army, " for gallant and meritorious serv-
ices at the battles of Opequan, Cedar Creek, and Fisher's Hill."
At the close of the war he was urged to remain in the army, but,
deferring to the judgment of his father, he was mustered out
34
5i6
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
with his regiment, 26 July, 1865, and returned to Poland. He
had never been absent a day from his command on sick leave,
had only one short furlough in his four years of service, never
asked or sought promotion, and was present and active in
every engagement in which his regiment participated. On his
return to Poland with his old company, a complimentary din-
ner was given them, and he was selected to respond to the
welcoming address, which he did with great acceptability.
He at once began the study of law under the preceptorship
of Judge Charles E. Glidden and his partner, David M. Wilson,
of Youngstown, Ohio, and after a year of drill completed his
course at the law-school in Albany, N. Y. In March, 1867, he
was admitted to the bar at Warren, Ohio. On. the advice of
his elder sister, Anna, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where she
was then and for many years after a teacher in the public
schools. He was already an ardent republican, and did not
forsake his party because he was now a resident of an opposi-
tion county. On the contrary, in the autumn of 1867 he made
his first political speeches in favor of negro suffrage, a most
unpopular doctrine throughout the state. Nominations on
the republican ticket in Stark county were considered empty
honors; but when, in 1869, he was placed on the ticket for
prosecuting attorney he made so energetic a canvass that he
was elected. He discharged the duties of his trust with fidel-
ity and fearlessness, but in 187 1 he failed of re-election by 45
votes. He thereupon resumed his increasing private practice,
but continued his interest in politics, and his services as a
speaker were eagerly sought. In the gubernatorial campaign
between Hayes and Allen, in 1875, at the height of the green-
back craze, he made numerous effective speeches in favor of
honest money and the resumption of specie payments. Stewart
L. Woodford, of New York, spoke at Canton that autumn, and
on his return to Columbus Mr. Woodford made it a point to
see the state committee and urge them to put McKinley upon
their list of speakers. They had not heard of him before, but
they put him on the list, and he has never been off it since.
The next year, 1876, McKinley was nominated for congress
over several older competitors, on the first ballot, and was
elected in October over Leslie L. Lanborn by 3,300 majority.
During the progress of the canvass, while visiting the centen-
nial exposition in Philadelphia, he was introduced by James G.
WILLIAM Mckinley,
517
Blaine to a great audience which Blaine had been addressing
at the Union league club, and scored so signal a success that
he was at once in demand throughout the country.
Entering congress on the day when his old colonel assumed
the presidency, and in high favor with him, McKinley was not
without influence even during his first term. On 15 April,
1878, he made a speech in opposition to what was known as
" the Wood tariff bill," from its author, Fernando Wood, of
New York. His speech was published and widely circulated
by the republican congressional committee, and otherwise at-
tracted much attention.
In 1877 Ohio went strongly democratic, and the legislature
gerrymandered the state, so that McKinley found himself
confronted by 2,580 adverse majority in a new district. His
opponent was Gen. Aquila Wiley, who had lost a leg in the
national army, and was competent and worthy. Not deterred,
McKinley entered the canvass with great energy, and after a
thorough discussion of the issues in every part of the district,
was re-elected to the 46th congress by 1,234 majority. At the
extra session, 18 April, 1879, he opposed the repeal of the
federal election laws in a speech that was issued as a campaign
document by the republican national committee of that and
the following year. As chairman of the republican state con-
vention of Ohio, of 1880, he made another address devoted
principally to the same issue. Speaker Randall gave him a
place on the judiciary committee, and in December, :88o,
appointed him to succeed President Garfield as a member of
the ways and means committee. The same congress made him
one of the house committee of visitors to West Point military
academy, and he was also chairman of the committee having
in charge the Garfield memorial exercises in the house in 1881.
The Ohio legislature of 1880 restored his old congressional
district, and he was unanimously nominated to the 47th con-
gress. His election was assured, but he made a vigorous can-
vass, and was chosen over Leroy D. Thoman by 3,571 majority.
He was chosen by the Chicago convention as the Ohio member
of the republican national committee, and accompanied Gen.
Garfield on his tour through New York, speaking also in Maine,
Indiana, Illinois, and other states.
The 47th congress was republican, and, acting on the rec-
ommendation of President Arthur, it proceeded to revise the
5l8 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
tariff. After much discussion it was agreed to constitute a
commission who should prepare such bill or bills as were neces-
sary and report at the next session. In the debate on this
project McKinley delivered an interesting speech, 6 April, 1882,
in which, while not giving his unqualified approval to the crea-
tion of a commission, he insisted that a protective policy should
never for an instant be abandoned or impaired.
The elections of 1882 occurred while the tariff commission
was still holding its sessions, and the republicans were every-
where most disastrously defeated. The democracy carried Ohio,
by 19,000, and elected 13 of the 21 congressmen. McKinley
had been nominated, after a sharp contest, for a fourth term,
and was elected in October by the narrow margin of eight
votes over his democratic competitor, Jonathan H. Wallace.
At the short session an exhaustive report by the tariff commis-
sion was submitted, and from this the ways and means commit-
tee framed and promptly introduced a bill reducing existing
duties, on an average, about 20 per cent. McKinley supported
this measure in an explanatory and argumentative speech of
some length, 27 Jan., 1883, but it was evident from the start
that it could not become a law, and the senate substitute was
enacted instead. Although his seat in the 48th congress was
contested, he continued to serve in the house until well toward
the close of the long session. In this interval he delivered his
speech on the Morrison tariff bill, 30 April, 1884, which was
everywhere accepted as the strongest and most effective argu-
ment made against it. At the conclusion of the general debate,
6 May, 41 democrats, under the leadership of Mr. Randall, voted
with the republicans to defeat the bill.
At the Ohio republican state convention of that year, 1884,
McKinley presided, and he was unanimously elected a delegate
at large to the national convention. He was an avowed and
well-known supporter of Mr. Blaine for the presidency, and
did much to further his nomination. Several delegates gave
him their votes in the balloting for the presidential nomination.
In the campaign he was equally active. The democrats had
carried the Ohio legislature in 1883, and he was again gerry-
mandered into a district supposed to be strongly against him.
He accepted a renomination, made a diligent canvass, and was
again elected, defeating David R. Paige, then in congress, by
2,000 majority. But his energies were by no means confined
EXECUTIVE MANSION
WASHINGTON
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%j4^ a^-pt^^'^^^
ii
WILLIAM MCKINLE V.
519
to his own district. He accompanied Mr. Blaine on his cele-
brated western tour, and afterward spoke in the states of West
Virginia and Xew York.
In the Ohio gubernatorial canvass of 1885 Major McKinley
was equally active. His district had been restored in 1886, and
he was elected by 2,550 majority over Wallace H. Phelps, the
democratic candidate. In the state campaigns of 1881, 1883,
and 1885, and again in 1887, he was on the stump in all parts
of Ohio. In the 49th congress, 2 April, 1886, he made a nota-
ble speech on arbitration as the best means of settling labor
disputes. He spoke at this session on the payment of pensions
and the surplus in the treasury, and both speeches merit atten-
tion as forcible statements of the position of his party on those
questions.
Major McKinley delivered a memorial address on the pres-
entation to congress of a statue of Garfield, 19 Jan., 1886. He
also advocated the passage of the so-called dependent pension
bill, 24 Feb., over the president's veto, as a "simple act of
justice," and "the instinct of a decent humanity and our Chris-
tian civilization."
In accordance with Mr. Cleveland's third annual message,
6 Dec, 1887, which attacked the protective tariff laws, a bill
was prepared and introduced in the house by Mr. Mills,
embodying the president's views and policy, and the two
parties were arrayed in support or opposition. Then occurred
one of the most remarkable debates, under the inspiration and
encouragement of the presidential canvass already pending, in
the history of congress. It may be classed as the opportunity
of McKinley's congressional life, and never was such an oppor-
tunity more splendidly improved. Absenting himself from
congress a few days, he returned to Canton, 13 Dec, 1887, and
delivered a masterly address before the Ohio state grange on
"The American farm.er," in which he declared against alien
landholding, and advised his hearers to remain true to their
faith in protection. He also went to Boston and discussed
before the Home market club, 9 Feb., 1888, the question of
"free raw material," upon which the majority in the house
counted so confidently to divide their republican opponents,
with such breadth and force that the doctrine was abandoned
in New England, where it was supposed to be strongest.
On 29 Feb. he addressed the house on the bill to regulate
520
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
the purchase of government bonds, not so much in opposition
to the measure, as because he believed that the president and
the secretary of the treasury had been " piling up a surplus "
of $60,000,000 in the treasury, without retiring any of the
bonds, " for the purpose of creating a condition of things in the
country which would get up a scare and stampede against the
protective system."
On 2 April he presented to the house the views of the
minority of the ways and means committee on the Mills tariff
bill. On 18 May, the day the general debate was to close,
McKinley delivered what was described at the time as "the
most effective and eloquent tariff speech ever heard in con-
gress." The scenes attending its delivery were full of dramatic
interest. The speaker who immediately preceded him was
Samuel J. Randall, who had insisted on being brought from
what proved his deathbed to protest against the passage of
the proposed law. He spoke slowly and with great difficulty,
and his time expiring before his argument was concluded,
McKinley yielded to Randall from his own time all that he
needed to finish his speech. It was a graceful act, and the
speech that followed fully justified the high expectations that
the incident naturally aroused. In it he showed that no single
interest or individual anywhere was suffering either from high
taxes or high prices, but that all who tried to be were busy
and thrifty in the general prosperity of the times. In a well-
turned illustration, at the expense of his colleague, Mr. Morse,
of Boston, he showed, by exhibiting to the house a suit of
clothes purchased at the latter's store, that the claims of Mills
as to the prices of woollens were absurd. His refutation of
some current theories concerning " the world's markets" and
the effect of protective laws upon trusts was widely applauded.
He held that protection was from first to last a contention for
labor. Both congress and the country heartily applauded this
speech. The press of the country gave it unusual attention,
republican committees scattered millions of copies of it, and it
everywhere became a text-book of the campaign.
McKinley was a delegate at large to the republican national
■convention of this year, and took an active part in its proceed-
ings, as chairman of the committee on resolutions. He was
the choice of many delegates for president, and when it was
definitely ascertained that Mr. Blaine would not accept the
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
521
nomination, a movement in his favor began th^t would doubt-
less have been successful had he permitted it to be encouraged.
When during the balloting it was evident that sentiment was
rapidly centring upon him, McKinley rose and said: "I can
not with honorable fidelity to John Sherman, who has trusted
me in his cause and with his cause; I can not consistently with
my own views of personal integrity, consent, or seem to con-
sent, to permit my name to be used as a candidate before this
convention. ... I do not request, I demand, that no delegate
who would not cast reflection upon me shall cast a ballot for
me." The effect on the convention was as he intended. His
labors for Sherman were incessant and effective, but while he
could not accomplish his friend's nomination, he did preserve
his own integrity and increase the general respect and con-
fidence of the people in himself.
He was for the seventh time nominated and elected to con-
gress in the following November, defeating George P. Ikert
by 4,100 votes. At the organization of the 51st congress he
was a candidate for speaker, but, although strongly supported,
he was beaten on the third ballot in the republican caucus
by Thomas B. Reed. He resumed his place on the ways and
means committee, and on the death of Judge Kelley, soon
afterward, became its chairman. Thus devolved upon him, at
a most critical juncture, the leadership of the house, under cir-
cumstances of peculiar dilTiculty, his party having only a nomi-
nal majority, and it requiring always hearty concord and co-
operation to pass any important measure. The minority had
resolved upon a policy of obstruction and delay, but Major
McKinley supported Speaker Reed with his usual effectiveness,
and the speaker himself heartily thanked him for his great and
timely assistance. On 24 April, 1890, he spoke in favor of sus-
taining the civil-service law, to which there was decided oppo-
sition. "The republican party," said he, "must take no step
backward. The merit system is here, and it is here to stay."
On 17 Dec, 1889, he introduced the first important tariff
measure of the session — a bill " to simplify the laws in relation
to the collection of the revenue." The bill passed the house,
5 March, and the senate, as amended, 20 March, went to a
conference committee, who agreed upon a report that was con-
curred in, and was approved 10 June, 1890. It is known as the
" customs administration bill," is similar in its provisions to a
522
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
bill introduced in the 50th congress, as the outgrowth of a
careful, non-partisan investigation by the senate committee on
finance, and has proved a wise and salutary law. Meanwhile
(16 April, 1890) he introduced the general tariff measure that
has since borne his name, and that for four months had been
under constant consideration by the ways and means com-
mittee. His speech in support of the measure, 7 May, fully
sustained his high reputation as an orator. Seldom, if ever, in
the annals of congress, has such hearty applause been given
to any leader as that which greeted him at the conclusion of
this address. The bill was passed by the house on 21 May,
but was debated for months in the senate, that body finally
passing it on 11 Sept., with some changes, notably the reciprocity
amendment, which McKinley had unavailingly supported before
the house committee. The bill, having received the approval
of the president, became a law 6 Oct., 1890.
The passage of the bill was hardly effected before the gen-
eral election occurred, and in this the republicans were, as
anticipated, badly defeated. His own district had been gerry-
mandered again, so that he had 3,000 majority to overcome.
Never was a congressional campaign more fiercely fought, the
contest attracting attention everywhere. His competitor was
John G. Warwick, recently lieutenant-governor, a wealthy
merchant and coal operator of his own county. McKinley
ran largely ahead of his ticket, but was defeated by 300 votes.
No republican had ever received nearly so many votes in the
counties composing the district, his vote exceeding by 1,250
that of Harrison in the previous presidential campaign. Im-
mediately after the election a popular movement began in
Ohio for his nomination for governor, and the state convention
in June, 1891, made him its candidate by acclamation. Mean-
while in congress he spoke and voted for the eight-hour law ;
he advocated efficient antitrust and antioption laws; he sup-
ported the direct-tax refunding law in an argument that
abounds with pertinent information ; and he presented and
advised the adoption of a resolution declaring that nothing in
the new tariff law should be held to invalidate our treaty with
Hawaii. On the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the
birth of Judge Thurman, at Columbus, in November, 1890, Mr.
Cleveland spoke upon " American citizenship," and " made
cheapness the theme of his discourse, counting it one of the
WILLIAM MCKINLE V.
523
highest aspirations of American life." Major McKinley,
replying to this address at the Lincoln banquet in I'oledo, 12
Feb., J891, to the contrary held that such a boon as "cheap
coats " meant inevitably " cheap men."
At Niles, on 22 Aug., he opened the Ohio campaign. In
this speech, as in every other of the 134 made by him in that
wonderful canvass, he declared his unalterable opposition both
to free trade and free silver. The campaign was earnest and
spirited ; both he and his opponent, Gov. Campbell, made a
thorough canvass, and met once in joint debate at Ada, Hardin
county, in September. McKinley won a decisive victory,
polling the largest vote so far cast for governor in the history
of Ohio. Campbell had been elected in 1889 by 11,000 plural-
ity in a vote of 775,000; McKinley now defeated him by 21,-
500 in a total of 795,000. His inaugural address, 11 Jan., 1892,
was devoted exclusively to state topics, except in its reference
to congressional redistricting, in which he advised that " par-
tisanship should be avoided."
Soon after his inauguration as governor the presidential
campaign began, and when importuned by friends to allow the
use of his name as a candidate, he promptly replied that he
believed Gen. Harrison justly entitled to another term. He
was again elected a delegate at large from Ohio to the national
convention, and was by it selected permanent chairman. He
asked his friends not to vote for him, but urged them to sup-
port Harrison. Still, when the ballot was taken many persisted
in voting for him, though his name had not been formally pre-
sented, the Ohio delegation responding 44 to 2 for him. He at
once challenged this vote, from the chair, and put himself on
record for Harrison, who on the entire roll call received 535
votes; Blaine, 182; McKinley, 182; Reed, 4 ; and Lincoln, i.
Leaving the chair, he moved to make the nomination unani-
mous, and it prevailed without objection. He was chairman
of the committee to notify the president of his renomination,
20 June, and from that time until the campaign closed was
more busily engaged than perhaps any other national leader of
the republican party. After the loss of the fight he gave up
neither courage nor confidence. He had no apologies or ex-
cuses to offer. In responding to the toast " The republican
party," at the Lincoln banquet in Columbus, in 1893, he again
manifested the same high spirit.
524
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
In his first annual message, 3 Jan., 1893, Gov. McKinley
called attention to the financial condition of the state, and
enjoined economy in appropriations. His sympathy with
laboring men is apparent in his recommendation of additional
protection to steam and electric railroad employees, and his
interest in the problems of municipal government by his ap-
proval of what is called the " federal plan " of administration.
At the republican convention in Ohio he was unanimously
renominated for governor, and he was re-elected by an over-
whelming majority, the greatest ever recorded, with a single
exception during the war, for any candidate up to that time in
the history of the state — his vote aggregating 433,000 and his
plurality 80,995. His competitor was Lawrence T. Neal. The
issues discussed were national, and McKinley's voice was again
heard in every locality in the state in earnest condemnation of
"those twin heresies, free trade and free silver." The country
viewed this result as indicative of the next national election,
and he was everywhere hailed as the most prominent repub-
lican aspirant for president. In his second annual message
Gov. McKinley recommended biennial sessions of the legisla-
ture; suggested a revision of the tax laws by a commission
created for the purpose ; and condemned any increase of local
taxation and indebtedness.
On 22 Feb., 1894, McKinley delivered an address on the
life and public services of George Washington, under the
auspices of the Union league club, Chicago, which gave much
gratification to his friends and admirers. Beginning at Bangor,
Me., 8 Sept., and continuing through the next two months, he
was constantly on the platform. The Wilson-Gorman tariff
law had just been enacted, and to this he devoted his chief
attention. After returning to Ohio to open the state campaign
at Findlay, Gov. McKinley set out for the west. Travelling
in special trains, under the auspices of state committees, his
meetings began at daybreak and continued until nightfall or
later from his car, or from adjacent platforms. For over eight
weeks he averaged seven speeches a day, ranging in length
from ten minutes to an hour ; and in this time he travelled over
16,000 miles and addressed fully 2,000,000 people.
During the ensuing winter there was great distress in the
mining districts of the Hocking valley. Gov. McKinley, by
appeals to the generous people of the state, raised sufificient
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
525
funds and provisions to meet every case of actual privation,
the bulk of the work being done under his personal direction
at Columbus. Several serious outbreaks occurred during his
administration, at one time requiring the presence of 3,000 of
the national guard in the field. On three occasions prisoners
were saved from mobs and safely incarcerated in the state
prison. His declaration that " lynchings must not be tolerated
in Ohio " was literally made good for the first time in any state
administration.
On the expiration of his term as governor he returned to
his old home at Canton. Already throughout the country had
begun a movement in his favor that proved almost irresistible
in every popular
convention. State
after state and dis-
trict after district
declared for him, un-
til, when at length
the national con-
vention assembled,
he was the choice
of more than two
thirds of the dele-
gates for president.
In the republican
national conven-
tion held in St. Louis in June, 1896, he was nominated on the
first ballot, receiving 661 >^ out of 922 votes, and in the ensuing
election he received a popular vote of 7,104,779, a plurality
of 601,854 over his principal opponent, William J. Bryan. In
the electoral college McKinley received 271 votes, against 176
for Bryan. The prominent issues in the canvass were the
questions of free coinage of silver and restoration of the pro-
tective tariff system. Early in the contest he announced his
determination not to engage in the speaking campaign. Real-
izing that they could not induce him to set out on what he
thought an undignified vote-seeking tour of the country, the
people immediately began to flock by the thousand to Can-
ton, and here from his doorstep he welcomed and spoke to
them. In this manner more than 300 speeches were made
from 19 June to 2 Nov., 1896, to more than 750,000 strangers
526 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
from all parts of the country. Nothing like it was ever before
known in the United States.
Besides the pilgrimages to Canton already mentioned, the
canvass was marked by the fact that Major McKinley's chief
opponent, Mr. Bryan, was the nominee of both the democratic
and the populist parties, and by the widespread revolt in the
democratic party caused by this alliance. Within ten days
after the adoption of the democratic platform more than loo
daily papers that had been accustomed to support the nominees
of the democratic party announced their opposition to both
ticket and platform, and Major McKinley was vigorously sup-
ported by many who disagreed totally with him on the tariff
question. The campaign was in some respects more thor-
oughly one of education than any that had been known, and
its closing weeks were filled with activity and excitement,
being especially marked by the display of the national flag.
Chairman Hanna, of the republican national committee, recom-
mended that on the Saturday preceding election day the flag
should be displayed by all friends of sound finance and good
government, and the democratic committee, unwilling to seem
less patriotic, issued a similar recommendation. Thus a special
" flag day " was generally observed, and political parades of
unusual size added to the excitement. The result of the con-
test was breathlessly awaited and received with unusual dem-
onstrations of joy.
On 4 March, 1897, Major McKinley took the oath of oflfice
at Washington in the presence of an unusually large number
of people and with great military and civic display. Immedi-
ately afterward he sent to the senate the names of the follow-
ing persons to constitute his cabinet, and they were promptly
confirmed by that body : Secretary of state, John Sherman, of
Ohio; secretary of the treasury, Lyman J. Gage, of Illinois;
secretary of war, Gen. Russell A. Alger, of Michigan ; attorney-
general, Joseph McKenna, of California ; postmaster-general,
James A. Gary, of Maryland; secretary of the navy, John D.
Long, of Massachusetts; secretary of the interior, Cornelius
N. Bliss, of New York ; secretary of agriculture, James Wilson,
of Iowa. Mr. Sherman was subsequently succeeded by Will-
iam R. Day, of Ohio, and John Hay, of the District of Colum-
bia ; Elihu Root, of New York, was appointed secretary of
war, to succeed Gen. Alger; John W. Griggs, of New Jersey,
WILLIAM Mckinley.
527
became the successor of Mr. McKenna in the office of attorney-
general ; Charles Emory Smith, of Pennsylvania, followed Mr.
Gary as postmaster-general ; Ethan Allen Hitchcock, of Mis-
souri, was appointed to take the place of Mr. Bliss.
On 6 March the president issued a proclamation calling an
extra session of congress for 15 March. On that date both
branches met and listened to a special presidential message on
the subject of the tariff. The result was the drafting of the
bill called "The Dingley bill," after Chairman Nelson Dingley
of the ways and means committee, and in the course of the
summer this passed both branches of congress, and by the sig-
nature of the president became a law.
It was expected that the election of President McKinley
would put an end to the hard times that had prevailed for
many years in the country, which, as was believed, were due
to the tariff policy of the Democratic party and to apprehen-
sion regarding the possible adoption of free coinage of silver.
After the passage of the Dingley tariff bill there was a decided
revival of prosperity. Many mills that had been closed re-
sumed work, and there were other indications of returning
confidence in the business world. On 17 May the president
sent to congress a special message, asking for an appropria-
tion for the aid of suffering Americans in Cuba, and in accord-
ance therewith the sum of $50,000 was appropriated for that
humane purpose.
The policy of the new administration toward Spain on the
Cuban question had been a matter of much speculation, and
there were those who expected that it would be aggressive.
But it soon became evident that it was to be marked by calm-
ness and moderation. The president retained in office Consul-
General Fitzhugh Lee, who had been appointed to his post by
President Cleveland, although he sent a commissioner to Cuba
to report to him on special cases; and the policy of the gov-
ernment in relation to the suppression of filibustering remained
unchanged. Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, the new minister to
Spain, was instructed to deliver to the Spanish government a
message in which the United States expressed its desire that
an end should be put to the disastrous conflict in Cuba, and
tendered its good offices toward the accomplishment of such a
result. To this message the Spanish government returned a
conciliatory reply, to the effect that it had ordered adminis-
528
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
trative reforms to be carried out on the island, and expected
soon to put an end to the unfortunate war, at the same time
begging the United States to renew its efforts for the suppres-
sion of filibustering.
As was generally expected, the opening of the adminis-
tration was marked by a fresh agitation of the question of
Hawaiian annexation. A new treaty of annexation was nego-
tiated and sent by the president to the senate, but action upon
it was postponed. Meanwhile the Japanese government lodged
a remonstrance against any such action on the part of the
United States as might be deemed to prejudice the permanent
rights alleged in favor of the Japanese under the terms of the
treaty between Japan and the republic of Hawaii or adversely
affect the settlement of the diplomatic dispute then pending in
regard to the charged violation by Hawaii of the provisions
of that treaty. The Japanese minister having disclaimed any
ulterior unfriendly purpose of Japan, either in respect to the
dispute or to the proposed annexation, the good offices of the
United States were successfully employed with the Hawaiian
republic to compose the controversy by the payment of a
money indemnity to Japan, which amicably closed the incident
before the final annexation of the islands to the United States.
This was effected on 12 Aug., 1898, by the act of the Hawaiian
president in yielding up to the representative of the govern-
ment of the United States the sovereignty and property of the
Hawaiian islands, in accordance with the terms of a joint reso-
lution of congress, approved 7 July, 1898, whereby the purpose
of the annexation treaty was accomplished by statutory ac-
ceptance of the offered cession and incorporation of the ceded
territory into the Union.
A prominent incident in foreign affairs was a despatch sent
by Secretary Sherman to Ambassador Hay regarding the
Bering sea seal question, which was criticised because of the
recital of the facts of the preceding award of the Paris Bering
sea commission and the discussion which followed in order to
show that Great Britain stood committed to a revision of the
Paris rules for the regulation of seal-catching. On 15 July it
was announced that Great Britain had finally consented to
take part, with the United States, Russia, and Japan, in a seal-
ing conference in Washington in the autumn of 1897 ; but later
Lord Salisbury declared that he had been misunderstood, and
WILLIAM Mckinley.
529
the conference convened in November without British dele-
gates, although Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian premier, was
present unofificially. The passing misunderstanding was speed-
ily assuaged by the course of the administration in sending a
special ambassador to Great Britain on the occasion of Queen
Victoria's diamond jubilee. For this purpose the president
selected Whitelaw Reid.
In the summer following the president's inauguration the
reports of great gold discoveries on the Klondike river in Brit-
ish territory near the Alaskan boundary caused much excite-
ment, recalling especially on the Pacific coast the days of the
early California gold fever. So many expeditions set off almost
at once for the north that the administration found it necessary
to warn persons of the danger of visiting the arctic regions
except at the proper season and with careful preparation ; and
to preserve order in Alaskan territory near the scene of the
discoveries the president at once established a military post on
the upper Yukon river. On 7 April, in response to a message
from the president asking relief for the sufferers by flood in
the Mississippi valley, both houses of congress voted to appro-
priate the sum of $200,000 for this purpose. Much favorable
comment was caused at the beginning of the administration by
President McKinley's evident desire to make himself accessi-
ble to the public. On 27 April, accompanied by his cabinet,
he attended the ceremonies connected with the dedication of
the Grant monument in Riverside park, New York. Immedi-
ately afterward he was present at the dedication of the Wash-
ington monument in Philadelphia.
President Cleveland, in his last annual message, had stated
plainly the position of the United States on the Cuban ques-
tion, saying that the suppression of the insurrection was essen-
tially a matter for Spain, that this country would not fail to
make every effort to prevent filibustering expeditions and
unlawful aid of any kind for the rebels, but adding the warning
note that there might come a time when intervention would
be demanded in the name of humanity, and that it behooved
Spain to end the struggle before this should become necessary.
This was hardly a statement of party policy, but rather the
expression of the sentiment of the whole country, and after
the close of the first year of the new administration it was
seen that its policy had been much along these lines. In his
530
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
note of 23 Sept., 1897, Gen. Woodford had assured the Spanish
minister of foreign affairs, the Duke of Tetuan, that all the
United States asked was that some lasting settlement might be
found which Spain could accept with self-respect, and to this
end the United States offered its kindly offices, hoping that dur-
ing the coming month Spain might be able to formulate some
proposal under which this tender of good offices might become
effective, or else that she might give satisfactory assurances
that the insurrection would be promptly and finally put down.
A change in ministry took place in Spain, and the liberals
succeeded to power. The new foreign minister, Senor Gullon,
replied to the American note on 23 Oct., suggesting more strin-
gent application of the neutrality laws on the part of the
United States, and asserting that conditions in the island
would change for the better when the new autonomous institu-
tions could go into effect. This measure of self-government
was proclaimed by Spain on 23 Nov., 1897. The insurgents
rejected it in advance ; the Spanish Cubans who upheld Wey-
ler's policy were equally vigorous in denouncing it; the
remainder of the population was inclined to accept it, as it was
in lieu of anything better, although it fell far short of what
they had been led to hope for. It stipulated, among other
things, that no law might be enacted by the new legislature
without the approval of the governor-general; Spain was to
fix the amount to be paid by Cuba for the maintenance of the
rights of the crown, nor could the Cuban chamber discuss the
estimates for the colonial budget until this sum had been voted
first; furthermore, perpetual preferential duties in favor of
Spanish trade and manufactures were provided for. The form-
al inauguration of the system took place in the beginning of
January, 1898, but from the first it was evident that there were
irreconcilable differences between the members of the ministry
as well as between their followers, although there was mani-
fested a certain well-wishing toward the new measure on the
part of the insurgent party, many of them returning from the
United States or coming from the field of hostilities to submit
themselves under Marshal Blanco's proclamation of amnesty;
yet early in January, 1898, the Spanish party broke out in such
serious demonstrations and rioting against the autonomists
and the Americans in Cuba that Consul-General Lee was in-
duced to recommend the sending of an American man-of-war
WILLIAM MCKINLEY. 53 I
to Havana, as much for the moral effect of its presence as for
the protection of American property there in the imminent
and unfortunate contingency of disturbance.
The tone of the press in the United States had been grow-
ing more serious. The failure of the autonomous constitution
was evident, the military situation was growing worse, the loss
of life on the part of the helpless non-combatants caused by
the reconcentration policy of Weyler was daily growing more
appalling; it was clear that the whole situation was nearing a
crisis. Senor Canalejas, the editor of a Madrid paper, made a
journey to Cuba at this time to see the actual position with
his own eyes. On his way he stopped in the United States,
called on his friend Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish minister at
Washington, and then went on to Havana. Soon after the
departure of Canalejas, de Lome wrote him a private letter, in
which he criticised severely the policy of the president in regard
to the Cuban question, and characterized him as a vacillating
and time-serving politician.
The letter was surreptitiously secured, and published widely
in the press on 8 Feb. ; later the original letter was communi-
cated to the department of state. The following day, the 9th,
Senor de Lome admitted the genuineness of the letter in a per-
sonal conference with Assistant Secretary Day, stating that he
recognized the impossibility of continuing to hold official rela-
tions with this government after the unfortunate disclosures,
and adding that he had on the evening of the 8th, and again
on the morning of the 9th, telegraphed to his government
asking to be relieved of his mission. Immediately after this
conference a telegraphic instruction was sent to Gen. Wood-
ford to inform the government of Spain that the publication
in question had ended the Spanish minister's usefulness, and
expressing the president's expectation that he would be imme-
diately recalled. Before Gen. Woodford could present this
instruction, however, the cabinet had accepted the minister's
resignation, putting the legation in charge of the secretary.
Three days later Gen. Woodford telegraphed to the depart-
ment a communication from the minister of state expressing
the sincere regret of his government and entire disauthoriza-
tion of the act of its representative. On 17 Feb. Senor Polo
y Bernabe was appointed to succeed Senor Dupuy de Lome
as the Spanish minister to the United States.
35
532
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
The excitement caused in the United States by this inci-
dent was still fresh when it was quickened into deeper and
graver feeling by the destruction of the U. S. battle-ship
" Maine " in the harbor of Havana. After the riots in January,
1898, Consul-General Lee had, as already stated, asked for an
American man-of-war to protect the interests of this country.
The Spanish authorities were advised that the government
intended to resume friendly naval visits to Cuban ports; they
replied, acknowledging the courtesy, and announcing their
intention of sending in return Spanish vessels to the principal
ports of the United States. The " Maine " reached Havana
on 25 Jan., and was anchored to a buoy assigned by the
authorities of the harbor. She lay there for three weeks.
Her officers received the usual formal courtesies from the
Spanish authorities; Consul-General Lee tendered them a din-
ner. The sailors of the " Maine " were not given shore liberty
owing to the ill-disguised aversion shown to the few officers
who went ashore. The treatment of officers and crew by the
Spanish authorities was perfectly proper outwardly, although
no effusive cordiality was shown them.
At forty minutes past nine o'clock on the evening of 15
Feb., while the greater part of the crew was asleep, a double
explosion occurred forward, rending the ship in two and caus-
ing her to sink instantly. Out of a complement of 355 officers
and men, 2 officers and 258 men were drowned or killed and
58 were taken out wounded. Capt. Sigsbee telegraphed a
report of the occurrence to Washington, and asked that public
opinion be suspended until further details were known. Mar-
shal Blanco informed Madrid that the explosion was due to an
accident caused by the bursting of a dynamo engine, or com-
bustion in the coal-bunkers. The Queen Regent expressed
her sympathy to Gen. Woodford, and the civil authorities of
Havana sent messages of condolence, but no official expres-
sion of regret was then made by the Spanish government.
When the naval court of inquiry reached Havana the local
naval authorities offered to act with them in investigating the
explosion, but the offer was declined. Thereupon Spain made
an independent investigation. The conclusions of the Ameri-
can court of inquiry were that the explosion was not due to
the officers or crew, but that it was caused by a submarine
mine underneath the port side of the ship. The court found
WILLIAM Mckinley.
533
no evidence fixing the responsibility upon any person or per-
sons. It was not until several weeks later, when the findings
of the American court had been announced, and the heat of
popular sentiment made war inevitable, that the Spanish gov-
ernment protested to Gen. Woodford against our ex parte inves-
tigation, alleging that a verdict so rendered was unfriendly,
and asked that a joint investigation or else a neutral exam-
ination by expert arbitrators should be made to determine
whether the explosion was due to internal or external causes.
This proposal was declined by President McKinley. The
investigation conducted independently by the Spanish gov-
ernment found that the explosion on the " Maine " was acci-
dental and internal.
War was now only a question of time. On 7 March two
new regiments of artillery were authorized by congress, and on
9 March $50,000,000 f.or national defence, to be expended at
his discretion, was placed at the disposal of the president.
This spectacle was remarkable, almost unique, was hailed with
enthusiasm throughout the country and commanded wide-
spread attention and admiration abroad. The speeches of
Senator Proctor and others who had visited Cuba carried great
weight. The president asked for a bill providing a contingent
increase of the army to 100,000 men, which was passed at once.
Spain on her part put forth every effort to re-enforce the army
in Cuba and to strengthen the navy. On 23 March, after the
president had received the report of the naval court of inquiry.
Gen. Woodford presented a formal note to the Spanish minis-
ter warning him that unless an agreement assuring permanent,
immediate, and honorable peace in Cuba was reached within
a few days the president would feel constrained to submit the
whole question to Congress. Various other notes were passed
in the next few days, but they were regarded by the president
as dilatory and entirely unsatisfactory.
On 7 April the ambassadors or envoys of Great Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Russia called on the
president and addressed to him a joint note expressing the
hope that humanity and moderation might mark the course of
the United States government and people, and that further
negotiations would lead to an agreement which, while assuring
the maintenance of peace, would afford all necessary guaran-
tees for the re-establishment of order in Cuba. The president.
534
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
in response, said that he shared the hope the envoys had
expressed that peace might be preserved in a manner to ter-
minate the chronic condition of disturbance in Cuba so injurious
and menacing to our interests and tranquillity as well as shock-
ing to our sentiments of humanity, and while appreciating the
humanitarian and disinterested character of the communication
they had made on behalf of the powers, stated the confidence
of this government for its part, that equal appreciation would
be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfil
a duty to humanity by ending a situation the indefinite prolon-
gation of which had become insufferable.
The Queen Regent directed that Gen. Blanco should be
authorized to grant a suspension of hostilities, the form and
duration being left to his discretion, to enable the insurgents
to submit and confer as to the measure of autonomy to be
granted to them. This was a very different thing from assent
to the president's demand for an armistice from April to Oc-
tober, with an assurance that negotiations for independence
should be opened with the insurgents. No real armistice being
offered them, there was nothing for the Cubans to decline.
It was this evasive outcome of the labors of the president for
the past two months that caused him to abandon all hope of
an adequate settlement by negotiation and to send in his mes-
sage of II April, which reviewed at length the negotiations and
ended by leaving the issue with congress.
On 13 April a resolution was passed by the house author-
izing the president to intervene to pacify Cuba. On 16 April
the senate amended the house resolution by striking out all
except the number, and substituting a resolution recognizing
Cuba's independence. April 19 these two resolutions were
combined in a joint resolution which was adopted by both
houses, after a bitter struggle. This resolution was approved
by the executive on the next day. Spain assumed to treat the
joint resolution of 20 April as a declaration of war, and sent
Gen. Woodford his passports about seven o'clock on the morn-
ing of the 2 1 St, before he could communicate the demands of
the resolution. In the United States it was assumed that by
dismissing Gen. Woodford Spain initiated actual war, where-
fore congress, by an act approved 25 April, declared " that war
exists and that war has existed since the 21st day of April, a.d.
1898, including said day, between the United States of Amer-
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
535
ica and the kingdom of Spain." In like manner the Spanish
decree of 23 April simply recites in article one " the state of
war existing between Spain and the United States," without
assigning a date for its beginning. The president's proclama-
tion of 26 April coincided with the Spanish decree of 23 April
in adopting for the war the maritime rules of the declaration
of Paris.
By the end of the month the troops called for under the
act of 23 April, authorizing the president to call for 125,000
volunteers, had begun to concentrate at Tampa, Fla. On 30
April congress authorized a bond issue of $200,000,000, and a
circular was issued the same day inviting subscriptions. The
total of subscriptions of $500 and less was $100,444,560, and
the total in greater amounts than $500, including certain pro-
posals guaranteeing the loan, amounted in the aggregate to
more than $1,400,000,000.
The navy took the first steps in actual hostilities; orders
for a blockade of Cuba were issued on 21 April, and the block-
ade was established and proclaimed on 22 April ; in his procla-
mation of 26 April the president set forth at length the prin-
ciples that would govern the conduct of the government with
regard to the rights of neutrals and the other points of naval
warfare. The nation had scarcely felt a realizing sense of the
existence of war before there came news of Dewey's magnifi-
cent victory at Manila. This event, coming at a comparatively
early date in the war, fired the national heart with great enthu-
siasm, and added immensely to the prestige of our navy
abroad. The country's elation over such an unprecedented
victory caused the people to wait with eager expectation for
news from the operations in Cuban waters. On 4 May Ad-
miral Sampson's squadron sailed from Key West; on the 12th
it engaged the forts at San Juan de Puerto Rico. This was
but a reconnoissance to discover whether or not the fleet
under Admiral Cervera was in port ; for the main object of the
navy was to engage and destroy the Spanish fleet, which had
left the Cape Verde islands on 29 April. On 19 May Commo-
dore Schley's flying squadron sailed from Key West for Cien-
fuegos. On the same day the navy department was informed
of Cervera's presence at Santiago, and this information was
transmitted to Commodore Schley at Cienfuegos through
Admiral Sampson. Commodore Schley then proceeded to San-
536 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
tiago. Sampson joined Schley on i June, and assumed com-
mand of the entire fleet.
Naval operations against Santiago had as a prelude the
landing on 10 June of 600 marines, who intrenched themselves
near the harbor of Guantanamo, and successfully repulsed
repeated attacks by the Spaniards. The army that had been
collecting at Tampa was now ready for action, and on 14 June
Gen. Shafter with 16,000 men embarked for Cuba, under escort
of II war-ships. The troops arrived off Guantanamo Bay on
the 20th, and began landing on the 22d at Daiquiri, 17 miles east
of Santiago, the entire army being disembarked by the 23d
with only two casualties. The forward movement was begun
at once ; after a sharp action near La Quasima on the 24th, in
which the Americans under Gen. Wheeler lost 16 killed and 52
wounded, came on i July the storming of the heights of El
Caney and San Juan near Santiago. In the two days' fighting
at this point the loss for the U. S. troops was 230 killed, 1,284
wounded, and 79 missing. Gen. Shafter found Santiago so
well defended that he feared he could take it only with a
serious loss of life; he must have re-enforcements. The
situation rested thus on the morning of 3 July, but by night of
the same day it had changed completely. On that morning
Cervera, after peremptory orders from Gen. Blanco, ordered
his fleet to sea from its sheltered position in the harbor. The
blockading vessels closed in upon the Spanish ships immedi-
ately upon their appearance, following them closely as they
turned in flight to the west, and by evening had sunk or dis-
abled every one of them, losing but i man killed and 10
wounded, as compared with a loss to the enemy of about 350
killed and 1,670 prisoners.
On the morning of the 3d Gen. Shafter sent a flag of truce
into Santiago, demanding immediate surrender on pain of bom-
bardment. This was refused, but at the request of the foreign
consuls Shafter agreed to postpone bombardment until ten
o'clock on 5 July. On the 5th, at a conference with Capt.
Chadwick, representing Admiral Sampson, it was agreed that
the army and navy should make a joint attack on the city at
noon of the 9th. A truce was arranged until that date, when
Gen. Shafter repeated his demand and the threat of bombard-
ment. Unconditional surrender was refused, which the presi-
dent demanded.
WILLIAM Mckinley.
537
On the loth and nth firing went on from the trenches and
the ships, and by evening of the latter day all the Spanish
artillery had been silenced. A truce was arranged as a pre-
liminary to surrender. Gen. Miles arrived at Gen. Shafter's
headquarters on the 12th. Terms were finally settled on the
17th, when the U. S. troops took possession of the city. On
the 2ist Gen. Miles sailed with an expedition to Puerto Rico,
where he landed on the 25th. His progress through the island
met with little resistance, the inhabitants turning out to wel-
come the invading troops as deliverers. In less than three
weeks the forces of the United States rendered untenable
every Spanish position outside of San Juan ; the Spaniards
were defeated in six engagements, with a loss to the invaders
of only 3 killed and 40 wounded, about one-tenth of the Span-
ish loss.
After the fall of Santiago it was evident at Madrid that
further resistance was useless, and that a prolongation of the
war would mean only more severe terms. On 26 July Jules
Cambon, the French ambassador at Washington, was requested
to inquire if peace negotiations might be opened. President
McKinley replied to the note on the 30th, stating the prelimi-
nary conditions that the United States would insist upon as a
basis of negotiations. A protocol of agreement was signed on
12 Aug. by Secretary Day and Ambassador Cambon, in which
the stipulations were embodied in six articles, fixing, besides,
a term of evacuation for the West Indian islands, and settling
I Oct. following as the date of meeting of commissioners to
settle the terms of peace between this country and Spain.
Now that the war was practically over, it became necessary
to withdraw as many of the U. S. troops as possible from the
unhealthy situation in Cuba. A camp was hastily provided at
Montauk Point, Long Island, and hither the troops were hur-
ried from Cuba. Suffering could not be avoided, of course,
and from Camp Wikoff at Montauk Point, and from the twelve
other chief army camps as well as the smaller ones, went up a
cry that the troops were not receiving the careful attention
they deserved. President McKinley made a personal visit to
Montauk Point in August to satisfy himself as to the actual
state of affairs. In September he appointed a commission to
investigate the charges of criminal neglect of the soldiers in
camp, field, hospital, and transport, and to examine the admin-
538
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
istration of the war department in all its branches. The com-
mission met first on 27 Sept., sat in many places, and heard
witnesses in city and camp. Gen. Miles, in his testimony,
described the beef furnished the troops as " embalmed," and
in reply on 12 Jan., 1899, Commissary-Gen. Eagan denied the
charge, and made such a bitter personal attack upon Gen. Miles
that the president ordered his trial by court-martial, with the
result that he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming an
officer and a gentleman, and sentenced to dismissal from the
army. This was commuted by the president on 7 Feb. to sus-
pension for six years. The commission made its report on 8
Feb., and on 9 Feb. an army court of inquiry was appointed
by the president to investigate the charges of Gen. Miles in
relation to the beef-supply. The court found that the allega-
tions were not sustained.
On 26 Aug. President McKinley appointed William R. Day,
Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye, Whitelaw Reid, and
George Gray as peace commissioners. John Bassett Moore
was appointed secretary and counsel. The commissioners
met the Spanish commissioners in Paris on i Oct. Negotia-
tions continued until 10 Dec, when the treaty was signed. It
provided for the relinquishment by Spain of all claims of sov-
ereignty over and title to Cuba; the cession of all other Span-
ish West India islands, and of Guam in the Ladrone group;
the cession of the Philippines to the United States, and the
payment to Spain by the United States of $20,000,000 within
three months after the exchange of ratifications of the treaty;
Spanish soldiers were to be repatriated at the expense of the
United States. Other details settling property rights were
also included ; ratifications were to be exchanged at Washing-
ton within six months, or earlier, if possible. The commis-
sioners returned to the United States late in December, and
submitted the official text of the treaty to the president, who
retained it for consideration until 4 Jan., 1899, and then trans-
mitted it to the senate, where it was at once referred to the
committee on foreign relations. In his annual message to
congress on 5 Dec. the president had contented himself largely
with a simple narrative of events that led up to the war, sug-
gesting his own theory as to its causes, and deferring all dis-
cussion of the future government of the new territories until
after the ratification of the treaty of peace. He recommended
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
539
also careful consideration of the provisions suggested by Sec-
retary Alger and Mr. Hull, chairman of the house committee
on military affairs, for the enlargement of the regular army.
The president was given opportunity to impress his views upon
the country less formally, but none the less effectively, in his
speeches and addresses on his trip to the Omaha Exposition in
October and visit to the Atlanta peace jubilee during Decem-
ber, 1898. Nevertheless, there were anxious weeks of waiting
after the treaty had been given to the senate for consideration,
weeks in which little was certain, except that there was a
strong, forceful opposition in that body to its ratification,
urged on by various motives, but nevertheless united suffi-
ciently to make the friends of the treaty anxious for its fate,
and, to the relief of the president and the country, the treaty
was duly ratified. It is not probable that the war in the
Philippines, precipitated by the night attacks of the insurgents
upon the U. S. forces on 4 Feb , had any great weight in influ-
encing the voting upon the treaty ; there can be little doubt,
however, that the insurgent leaders, ignorant of the real feel-
ings of the people at large, did draw encouragement for them-
selves from the reports of opposition to the treaty.
The question of peace with Spain once settled, the out-
break in the Philippines opened a new problem to the presi-
dent. Anxious for information on the situation in those
islands, he had appointed in January a commission of five,
consisting of Admiral Dewey, Gen. Otis, President J. G.
Schurmann, of Cornell, Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, and Col, Charles Denby, for many years
U. S. minister to China, to study the general situation in the
Philippines and to act in an advisory capacity. In this step
the president had shown his desire to act only upon ample
information. When actual hostilities broke out, however, there
was left to him but one thing to do : the insurrection must be
put down. For this reason he gave Gen. Otis, in his policy of
vigorous action, all the support possible.
Another difficulty for his solution arose in the condition of
affairs in the Samoan islands. After the death in 1898 of
Malietoa, King of Samoa, a struggle for the succession took
place in the islands between the followers of Mataafa and of
young Malietoa. For ten years Germany, Great Britain, and
the United States had exercised joint control over the islands.
540
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
This position of the three powers, coupled with the continuous
fighting among the natives, seemed to promise a serious prob-
lem for the president, but by perfect coolness and uniform
good judgment he brought the matter to a satisfactory issue.
On the proposal of Germany, each of the three powers ap-
pointed one member of a commission to visit the islands and
to investigate the entire question, beginning with the return
of Mataafa and the election of 1898. Bartlett Tripp was
appointed by the United States, Baron Speck von Sternberg
by Germany, and C. N. E. Eliot by Great Britain. The com-
mission unanimously recommended the abolition of the king-
ship and radical changes in the administration of Samoa. The
three powers, however, recognizing the inexpediency of con-
tinuing any tripartite government of the islands, agreed upon
an arrangement by which England retired from Samoa in view
of compensation made by Germany in other quarters, and
both powers renounced in favor of the United States all their
rights and claims to the islands east of 171°, including Tutuila,
with the fine harbor of Pago-Pago.
The president's appointments for the delegation to repre-
sent the United States at the peace conference called by the
czar of Russia in 1898, which assembled at The Hague in
May, 1899, were most favorably received. The delegation
consisted of Andrew D. White, ambassador at Berlin ; Stan-
ford Newel, minister to Holland; Seth Low, president of
Columbia university; Capt. Alfred T. Mahan, U. S. navy
(retired) ; and Capt. William Crozier, U. S. army. Frederick
W. Holls, of New York, was appointed secretary.
Of domestic events in the latter months of the first half of
1899 one of the most important was the order of 29 May, in
which the president withdrew a number of places in the civil
service of the government from the operation of the system of
appointment on the result of examinations conducted by the
civil service commission. The president found a strong sup-
porter and defender in the secretary of the treasury, who con-
tended that the order was a beneficial step for the reform of
the civil service; that only those positions had been exempted
that experience had shown could be filled best without exami-
nation, and that the change had not been made in the slightest
degree at the instance of the spoilsmen. The president and
Mrs. McKinley spent the summers of 1897 and 1899 at a pop-
WILLIAM Mckinley. 541
ular resort on Lake Champlain, and in August of the latter
year the president made an eloquent address at the Catholic
summer school, Cliff Haven, N. Y., in the course of which, re-
ferring to the condition of affairs in the Philippine islands, he
said : " Rebellion may delay, but it can never defeat the Amer-
ican flag's blessed mission of liberty and humanity." Later, at
the Ocean Grove Assembly, New Jersey, McKinley remarked :
" There has been doubt expressed in some quarters as to the
purpose of the government respecting the Philippines. I can
see no harm in stating it in this presence. Peace first, then,
with charity for all, the establishment of a government of law
and order, protecting life and property and occupation for the
well-being of the people, in which they will participate under
the Stars and Stripes." The president's message to congress
in December, 1899, was cordially received and very generally
commended throughout the country.
During the year 1900 the volume of currency per capita
was the greatest in the history of the nation ; the total money
of the country on i Sept. amounted to over two billions and
ninety-six millions of dollars. Industrial and agricultural
conditions advanced in prosperity in every section of the
United States. Under these benign conditions the nation has
also become a money-lending instead of a money-borrowing
country. The national and international questions which arose
during the year were of a most serious nature, but were solved
by President McKinley and his cabinet with unusual sagacity,
and with results of the highest importance to the United States
and to the world at large.
The original Philippine commission, headed by President
Jacob G. Schurman, submitted its full report on 31 Jan.,
1900. On 6 Feb. President McKinley selected Judge William
H. Taft to head a new commission, which was completed by
16 March, and reached Manila on 3 June. The laborious en-
deavors of the Taft commission began to bear fruit, and on
I Sept., under its direction, civil government was inaugurated
in the archipelago. A vital death-stroke was dealt the insur-
rectionists by the capture of the rebel dictator, Aguinaldo, in
March, 1901, by Gen. Funston and a small band of men, who
achieved success through stratagem and disguise.
Early in the summer of 1900 the civilized world was startled
by news that the foreign legations at Pekin, China, were be-
542
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
sieged by an angry horde of celestials. A secret society, com-
monly known as " Boxers," determined upon the extermination
of all foreigners in the Chinese empire. For a time wild
reports were current that the entire legationers and their
charges had been massacred. On 20 July the first ofificial news
to the contrary was received at Washington from United
States Mmister Conger. Europe doubted its authenticity, but
further developments showed it to be genuine. The events
which began with the destruction of the forts at Taku and
ended with the capture of Pekin by the allied forces of Europe
and the United States in August are a matter of contemporary
history, in the making of which President McKinley and the
United States played a conspicuous part. The president's
moral influence for justice and fairness to China in her difficul-
ties, resulting from the rashness of her misguided rulers and
people, has been second to none among the leaders of the
world's great nations.
Among the more important measures which Mr. McKinley
forwarded during 1900 and early in 1901 the following maybe
mentioned : An established government for Porto Rico and
the Philippines; the redemption of the pledge of the United
States to Cuba for the inauguration of independent civil rule
in the island ; a reorganization of the army of the United
States; extension of the American merchant marine; the con-
struction of the Nicaragua Canal ; and the signing of reci-
procity treaties with various European powers.
At the Republican National Convention which was held in
Philadelphia in June, 1900, President McKinley was unani-
mously renominated for a second term, and Theodore Roose-
velt, then governor of New York, was likewise nominated
unanimously for the vice - presidency. Their Democratic
opponents were, respectively, William Jennings Bryan and
Adlai E. Stevenson. At the election on 6 Nov. the Repub-
lican candidates were elected, having carried twenty-eight
states with 292 electoral votes. Their plurality of the popu-
lar vote was nearly a quarter of a million greater than in 1896.
The members of the cabinet were all reappointed, but in
March, 1901, Mr. Griggs resigned, and was succeeded by
Philander C. Knox, of Pennsylvania, as attorney general. On
29 April, accompanied by Mrs. McKinley, his cabinet, and
other officials, the president left Washington on an excursion
WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
543
to the Pacific coast via New Orleans. On the day following,
speaking at Memphis, Mr. McKinley said :
"What a mighty, resistless power for good is a united nation
of free men ! It makes for peace and prestige, for progress and
liberty. It conserves the rights of the people and strengthens
the pillars of the government, and is a fulfillment of that more
perfect union for which our Revolutionary fathers strove, and
for which the constitution was made. No citizen of the republic
rejoices more than I do at this happy state, and none will do
more within his sphere to continue and strengthen it. Our past
has gone into history. No brighter one adorns the annals of
mankind. Our task is for the future. We leave the old cen-
tury behind us, holding on to its achievements and cherishing
its memories, and turn with hope to the new, with its opportu-
nities and obligations. These we must meet, men of the South,
men of the North, with high purpose and resolution. With-
out internal troubles to distract us or jealousies to disturb our
judgment, we will solve the problems which confront us un-
trammeled by the past, and wisely and courageously pursue a
policy of right and justice in all things, making the future, un-
der God, even more glorious than the past."
Early in the autumn of 1901 the president, accompanied
by Mrs. McKinley and several members of his cabinet, visited
the Buffalo (N. Y.) exposition. On Thursday, 5 Sept., he deliv-
ered an address embodying the ripest wisdom of his long and
prosperous political career. It gathered together the experi-
ence of his many years of service to the country, and announced
in clear, strong language the policy which was to guide him in
the future, and which his successor afterward publicly adopted
as his own. The speech is not merely an expression of the per-
sonal views of the president, however statesmanlike these may
be; it is more than that • it is a sound statement of the actual
problems involved in the new position which, under his own
wise guidance, our country has assumed in the world. It is
in a sense Mr. McKinley's legacy to his native land, and as
such it should be appreciated and preserved by every patriotic
American. On Friday afternoon, in the music hall of the expo-
sition, while receiving his fellow-citizens, he was twice shot by
an assassin, who was executed for the crime during the follow-
ing month. The president lingered until early on Saturday
morning, 14 Sept. Funeral services were held in Buffalo, and
544
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
on Thursday, 19 Sept., which was by President Roosevelt ap-
pointed a day of mourning and prayer throughout the United
States. On that day the body laid in state in the national
Capitol, and was followed by a public funeral. At the same
time unprecedented honors were paid to the memory of Mc-
Kinley in St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, London,
as well as in other parts of the Old World. The dead presi-
dent's body was temporarily laid to rest in Canton, Ohio, where
his widow resides. Probably none of his predecessors during
their terms of office enjoyed as great popularity as William
McKinley, and it may be safely asserted that the death of no
other president was so universally mourned among his coun-
trymen. At least two noble national monuments are to be
erected to his memory in the city of Washington and in Can-
ton. See " Speeches and Ad-
dresses of William McKinley,"
compiled by Joseph P. Smith
(New York, 1893) ; the " Life of
Major McKinley," by Robert P.
Porter (Cleveland, 1896) ; and
" Speeches and Addresses of
William McKinley, from 1897
' to 1901 " (New York, 1900).
Major McKinley married, 25
Jan., 1871, Miss Ida Saxton,
daughter of James A. and Cath-
erine Dewalt Saxton. Her
Ut.*^n,X*^ grandparents were among the
founders of Canton; her father
was a banker, who after giving his eldest daughter many
advantages of education and travel, began her business train-
ing as cashier in his bank, that she might be fitted for any
change in fortune. Two daughters were born to them, but
both died in early childhood. Mrs. McKinley's health, not
robust at any time, never completely rallied from these deaths
in quick succession. Although not strong, she successfully
discharged the social obligations demanded by her position and
her husband's prominence in public affairs.*
* The author of the original notice of President McKinley having died in
February, 1898, the additions covering the period since that date and earlier
hi^ve been made by the editor of this volume.
^-Pxji,o--cr^^-eAy^€^.^^
D.APPLETON&C?
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Until the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt, forty-seven
was the age of our youngest president, General Grant. With
the further exceptions of Polk, Pierce, and Cleveland, no other
had been under fifty. Roosevelt was not quite forty-three.
Of twenty-five presidents, he is the fifth whom death, instead
of election, has placed in the White House.
Theodore Roosevelt was born 27 Oct., 1858, in his father's
house, which was No. 28 East 20th Street, New York city.
Like most of his predecessors in office, he comes of a family
which has been American since early colonial times. For two
hundred and fifty years New York has been the native soil of
the Roosevelts. Since they made their beginnings in the colo-
nies, they have been plentifully represented in public life and
in good works; and a study of former Roosevelts shows them
to have attained distinction as fighters, as writers, in politics,
and in philanthropy. It would seem that President Roosevelt
drew from all these ancestral sources the qualities that have
so forcibly marked his career.
His boyhood was passed chiefly in the city of his birth, and
it was here that he received his early schooling. In that day
the health of his body seems to have been fragile ; the ordinary
games of boys were beyond his strength. But it is evident
there could have been no weakness in the health of his mind.
Perceiving the necessity for a vigorous constitution, he set
himself to the getting of one. From this purpose he seems
never to have swerved, and by the time he was ready to enter
Harvard College he had begun to be robust.
His four years of college life show his character and ten-
dencies as completely as does any period which has followed
them. His energies were directed to bodily exercise, to study,
and to all the social advantages that Boston afforded him.
546
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Although conspicuous in no single athletic sport, he was ener-
getic in a variety, sparring and horsemanship being among
them. His knowledge of sparring, besides the general benefit
that it was to him, proved at least upon one later occasion in
the West of particular service, and enabled him most success-
fully to surprise a typical saloon bully who had attempted to
take liberties with him. As a student, he was as attentive and
energetic as in muscular exercise; and here also, though not
conspicuous in any one branch, he devoted himself with indus-
try to several, political history being perhaps the chief of
these. He read " The Federalist " with especial interest and
attention, and his mind evidently turned as by instinct to such
questions and problems as our republic has solved already, or
has still to solve. During his college course he was an editor
of the " Harvard Advocate," in whose columns he made his
first appearances in print. Besides political history, he con-
tinued an interest in natural history, which had been begun in
those boyhood days when he was in search of health, and stud-
ied the birds of his country neighborhood near Oyster Bay.
He was graduated in 1880, a student of sufficiently high rank
to make him a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society.
Upon leaving college he traveled in Europe, and here also
his time may be said to have been divided between study and
hard physical exercise. This latter was mainly in Switzerland,
where he climbed, among other peaks, the Matterhorn. Upon
his return from Europe, where he had been absent for about a
year, he studied law for a time in the office of his uncle, Rob-
ert B. Roosevelt. This was in the year 1881, which saw him
attend his first primary and also write his first book, "A His-
tory of the War of 181 2." The book was the beginning of
an eminent literary career, as the primary was the beginning
of a political career still more eminent.
It is said that applause was the only result of Roosevelt's
first political speech, somewhat to his surprise. His entire
inexperience led him to mistake the clapping of hands for a
conversion of morals; but the approval was only a good-
natured and half-ironic encouragement to a young beginner
who seemed in his innocence to be advocating reform, and it
went no further — the morals and the votes remained as if
Mr. Roosevelt had not existed. Nevertheless, he had made
an impression. Very soon after this first attempt there was
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
547
a revolt in his district, the Twenty-first. Dissatisfaction with
some of the leaders led to a split, and the party in revolt chose
Roosevelt as their candidate to the assembly.
The close of 1881 saw Theodore Roosevelt a member of
the New York Assembly from the Twenty-first district, and
identified so closely with the cause of decent politics, and so
plainly a type of clean patriot, as to win from his opponents,
the routine politicians, the men with no creed save their pocket,
the name of Silk Stockings.
With such a name the politicians of the pocket expected
that the young reformer's career would be short-lived. To
their somewhat limited vision he had everything against him.
He was highly educated ; he came of a line of forefathers who
had been well-to-do, and also public spirited for the sake of the
common welfare instead of for their own ; and he belonged to
what is called Society. These were heavy odds, in their opin-
ion, against a man's being useful to his country and harmful
to themselves, and so they dismissed
him with the term Silk Stockings.
But they reckoned without the Amer-
ican people, who, when it comes to
the point, are fond of honesty. The
young reformer had a strong equip-
ment. He had made himself phys-
ically vigorous. His determination
was implacable. He had studied gov-
ernment with all the earnestness of
his character. He had visited for-
eign places and returned possessing /^g^^,,,^,^ X'^^.^^oeer-
a knowledge of other countries, and
hence, through power to make practical comparisons, the key
to a proper understanding of his own. And to this very rich
equipment he added the true spirit of democracy, recognizing
merit wherever he met it. Such a man was Theodore Roose-
velt when he went to Albany at the age of twenty-three, the
youngest assemblyman in New York. To the surprise and
distaste of the purse politicians he was twice re-elected to
the legislature, serving the terms of 1882, 1883, and 1884, and
coming to be the leader of the minority.
One of the chief measures for cleanliness in which he played
a leading part was abolishing the fees in the office of the regis-
36
548 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ter and county clerk. Through the investigation which he then
originated, it came to Hght that the county clerk took $82,000
a year in fees, and that the sheriff pocketed about $100,-
000. These traditional thefts were ended through Mr. Roose-
velt's agency. Through him was abolished the power of the
New York board of aldermen to confirm or reject the mayor's
appointments. He also secured the passage of the civil-ser-
vice reform law of 1884. Besides these achievements he put
through the anti-tenement cigar-factory bill. A police in-
vestigation would have been instituted under his inspiration
had he longer remained an assemblyman. Such an activity as
this naturally got him many enemies among the purse poli-
ticians; nevertheless, in 1884 he had made such strong friends
that he was sent to the republican national convention. It
was as a supporter of Mr. Edmunds in opposition to Mr. Blaine
that he went to Chicago.
In this same year of 1884 he joined the National Guard of
New York, beginning as lieutenant in the Eighth regiment, and
ending as captain. His service in the militia somewhat exceeded
four years in duration, and was most useful to him as a prepara-
tion for his more important activity in the Spanish war of 1898.
The year of 1884 also saw an important crisis in Mr. Roose-
velt's career. Upon Mr. Blaine's becoming the republican
candidate for president, those friends of Mr. Roosevelt whose
faith in him had been based upon his political independence
were turned against him because of his adherence to his party's
choice. Although he has been known to say that he does not
count party allegiance among the Ten Commandments, it is
nevertheless his belief that breaking with one's party should
be a step of the last resort; that in nine cases out of ten more
effective good can be rendered by remaining with one's party even
while not in total agreement with it. Mr. Roosevelt declined
to join that movement of republicans which elected Mr. Cleve-
land. The enmity from former friends which he incurred by
this has been as bitter, and sometimes almost as harmful, as
the enmity which he has always had from purse politicians.
Before this time Roosevelt had traveled in the West. He
now returned there and became a ranchman at Medora on the
Little Missouri. Of his experiences in the Rocky Mountains
much has been said ; it is enough to say here that they made a
picturesque episode in Roosevelt's life, added to his knowledge
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
549
and his love of the American people and to their knowledge
and love of him. From these years he also drew the inspira-
tion and the material for his books about western life, which
were the first complete picture of this life that had appeared
in literature. Mr. Roosevelt returned East in 1886.
He was now again called into the world of politics, and
became a candidate for mayor of New York. He had accepted
an independent nomination, and upon this was indorsed by
the republican party. He was defeated by Mr. Hewitt, but
he polled relatively a larger vote than any republican candi-
date had done up to that time. As usual, no activities, whether
those of a wilderness hunter or those of a republican candi-
date for office, caused his pen to be idle. In this year he wrote
his "Life of Thomas H. Benton," and in the following year his
" Life of Gouverneur Morris." As to his literary style, it should
perhaps be remarked that the themes which he has usually
chosen do not call for all the resources of expression that he
has at command. Force, simplicity, clearness, and, when neces-
sary, incisive satire, are the qualities which his historic, politi-
cal, and critical writings reveal; but besides these characteris-
tics he can use, when he wants it, considerable poetic subtlety.
No man who had not in him somewhere a strain of the artist
could have made the remark which he did about the Western
Bad Lands, that they resembled in appearance the sound of
the language used by Edgar Allan Poe.
After his contest for the mayoralty of New York, though he
was to be nine years in the public service, no elective office
was offered him until he ran for governor of the state. In
1889 he was appointed by President Harrison a member of the
United States civil service commission.
As his life had been at Albany, so it now was in Washing-
ton — a struggle for honesty against the purse politicians. His
methods here were the same as those which had surprised and
dismayed the legislatures of New York. They were (as they
have always been) characterized by a directness and candor
which on the face of them appeared to be based upon inex-
perience or ignorance, but which were in reality based upon
extremely shrewd and adroit observation. Mr. Roosevelt
added twenty thousand places to the scope of the reform law,
and so admirable was his work altogether that President Har-
rison has said of it : " If he had no other record than his service
550
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
as an employee of the civil service commission, he would be
deserving of the nation's gratitude and confidence." Mr. Cleve-
land, upon succeeding Mr. Harrison as president, retained
Roosevelt, and thus his work continued for two years more,
until I May, 1895, when he resigned to become president of
the Police board of New York city.
Besides his other labors, while in Washington, he had begun
what he considers his most important literary work, "The
Winning of the West," and had also written many fugitive
articles upon the subjects of natural history and politics.
For nearly two years he was president of the Police board
of New York city, where, as usual, he set himself to the clean-
ing of the corruption and the blackmail with which he found
the entire department rotten. His measures produced the
natural outcry of rage from the politicians with whose pock-
ets he began mate-
rially to interfere,
and his enforce-
ment of the excise
law was for a while
unfavorably looked
upon by many of
his friends. But
he was of Presi-
dent Grant's opin-
ion, that if you de-
sire the repealing
of a bad law you
had better enforce it; and enforce the excise law he did. But
his new ways, which so disgusted the politicians, delighted the
policemen, who soon recognized in him their best friend. His
midnight visits to all sorts of streets and haunts in a sort of incog-
nito in order that he might be able to see with his own eyes how
his orders were being carried out, came to be liked more than
they were feared; while his instant recognition and rewarding
of any bravery shown by a policeman while in the course of
duty still more endeared him to the force. It is recorded that
until Roosevelt's time if any policeman happened to ruin his
clothes through the process of making an arrest the price of a
new suit came out of his own pocket. Roosevelt remedied this
injustice, and a new suit was furnished at the public expense.
WHITE HOUSE,
WASHINGTON.
/f^CTO- Z. S~ '^ / ^ o/
^i^ir%^^ ''fiuZ^€>< *-^r-<^, /^-^S^^.*-^
^jCo^" '*^*-w<'
— «^-er»--i.
Ui^J^^ yyjt^.^!t^c<
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
551
On 6 April, 1897, he was again called to Washington, this
time to serve as assistant secretary of the navy. In this
office he spent just one year and one month. To his immense
energy and intelligent knowledge of what was required to make
a navy efficient in time of war are largely due the successes
which attended our captains in 1898. In that year, and on the
6th of May, Theodore Roosevelt resigned his position as assist-
ant secretary of the navy. War had been declared against
Spain, and for every reason he was moved to take a personal
part in the contest. He felt that any man who had talked so
much and written so much about the duty and the necessity of
defending one's country should make good his words by deeds.
His apprenticeship in the New York militia now served him
in good stead. With Leonard Wood as colonel and himself as
lieutenant-colonel the first cavalry regiment of United States
volunteers was organized. Owing partly to the unusual and
picturesque personnel of the enlisted men, comprising young
fellows from Newport and cowboys from the West, united in a
brotherhood of patriotism and adventure, each discovering that
one was as good as the other, and also partly owing to the per-
sonality and the capabilities of Roosevelt and Wood, this regi-
ment became undoubtedly one of the popular heroes of the
Spanish war. Even the name of Dewey will hardly live more
upon the lips and in the hearts of the people than the name of
the Rough Riders. Their part at San Juan was an unusually
brilliant one for a volunteer regiment in its first campaign ; and
when the war was over Mr. Roosevelt found himself a national
figure, and also the center of popular enthusiasm in his own
state. It was not possible for his political enemies to stand
up against the fervor which the name of Roosevelt instantly
aroused upon any occasion; and little to the relish of these
politicians, they were obliged to accept him as the candi-
date of the republican party for governor of New York. In
the fall of 1898, at the age of thirty-nine, Theodore Roose-
velt was chosen to this office. It is singular to contemplate
his two kinds of enemies. These were, on the one hand, the
rabble of dishonesty and ring politics that he had been suc-
cessfully fighting and thwarting since the beginning of his
career, and, on the other, certain supercivilized citizens of
Boston and New York, whose inflamed consciences had devel-
oped into tumors. The " New York Journal " and the " Even-
552
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
ing Post" have at various times denounced Mr. Roosevelt with
equal bitterness, concealing as much as possible his successes
and exaggerating as much as possible his failures.
No one knew better than the governor that his work in the
cause of honesty in New York was scarcely begun in the spring
of 1900. Some things he had certainly accomplished, and in
some efforts he had distinctly failed. These events draw too
near the present time to demand recapitulation. But it must
be stated by way of reminder how greatly he deprecated the
notion of being taken from his work in New York for any
reason whatever. Events, however, are stronger than any
man's opinion; and in looking back upon the popular deter-
mination that Theodore Roosevelt should be the next vice-
president, the religious mind is tempted to see in this the hand
of a foreseeing and guiding Providence. The attention of our
country has too often been careless in the choice of a vice-
president. Totally against his will, therefore, but entirely
beyond his control, the sweep of his popularity brought him
the republican nomination.
On 4 March, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became Vice-Presi-
dent of the United States. He held this office six months and
ten days. On Friday, 6 Sept., 1901, President McKinley was
shot at Buffalo; he died on Saturday, the 14th of the same
month. This tragedy brought upon Roosevelt suddenly the
greatest responsibilities which a man's shoulders can be called
upon to bear. At Buffalo, upon that day, at the residence of
Mr. Wilcox, Elihu Root, the secretary of war, requested, for
reasons of weight connected with the administration of the
government, that Mr. Roosevelt take the oath as president at
once. Mr. Roosevelt replied: "I shall take the oath of office
in obedience to your request, sir, and in doing so it shall
be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy of
President McKinley, which has given peace, prosperity, and
honor to our beloved country." These words were not long
in spreading far and wide, and their effect produced at once
a confidence as far and wide. In the presence of all the
cabinet, save the secretary of state and the secretary of the
navy, the oath was taken. Judge Hazel of the United States
District Court administering it. The new president hereupon
said: "In order to help me keep the promise I have taken,
I would ask all the cabinet to retain their positions at least for
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
553
some months to come. I shall rely upon you, gentlemen, upon
your loyalty and fidelity to help me." The sentiment of these
words also produced a happy effect upon the nation ; and a few
days later, in Washington, President Roosevelt made clear his
desire that no changes should occur in the cabinet. The mem-
bers of it were John Hay, secretary of state ; Lyman J. Gage,
secretary of the treasury; Elihu Root, secretary of war; John
D. Long, secretary of the navy ; Ethan A. Hitchcock, secre-
tary of the interior; James Wilson, secretary of agriculture;
Philander C. Knox, attorney-general ; Charles Emory Smith,
postmaster-general. Upon the same Saturday that he took
the oath. President Roosevelt issued the following:
" MiLBURN House, Buffalo, Sept. 14, igoi.
" By the President of the United States, A Proclamation :
"A terrible bereavement has befallen our people.
" The President of the United States has been struck down ;
a crime committed not only against the chief magistrate but
against every law-abiding and liberty-loving citizen.
"President McKinley crowned a life of largest love for his
fellow-men, of most earnest endeavor for their welfare, by a
death of Christian fortitude ; and both the way in which he
lived his life and the way in which, in the supreme hour of trial,
he met his death will remain forever a precious heritage of our
people. It is meet that we, as a nation, express our abiding
love and reverence for his life, our deep sorrow for his untime-
ly death.
" Now, therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the
United States of America, do appoint Thursday next, Septem-
ber 19th, the day in which the body of the dead president will be
laid in its last earthly resting-place, as a day of mourning and
prayer throughout the United States. I earnestly recommend
all the people to assemble in that day in their respective places
of divine worship, there to bow down in submission to the will
of Almighty God, and to pay out of full hearts their homage of
love and reverence to the great and good president, whose
death has smitten the nation with bitter grief."
The acts of President Roosevelt since the date of his oath
belong with his acts before his last exalted office came to him.
The best comment upon them is the confidence in his adminis-
554
LIVES OF THE PRESIDEXTS.
tration already shown throughout the country. Whatever dis-
pleasure political circles may have taken in learning Theodore
Roosevelt's determination to exclude political influence from
the army, the navy, and the colonies, must resemble the dis-
pleasure that political circles have invariably taken at every
step in his career at learning that he proposed, so far as lay
withm the scope of his power, to see that merit, and merit only,
was rewarded, and that honesty, and honesty only, was prac-
tised. His intentions regarding rural free delivery service in
the post-otfice department correspond with his well-known views
as to civil service reform.
It may be said that his most important acts have not been
those to create the greatest comment. One of his least impor-
tant acts, namely, inviting as a guest to his table a distin-
guished and honorable member of the colored race, occasioned
an outburst of temper from southern newspapers the folly of
which reaches such dimensions as to be historical.
It should be mentioned that Yale, in celebrating her Bi-Cen-
tennial,in October, 1901, distinguished that memorable occasion
by conferring upon President Roosevelt the degree of LL. D.
This academic honor suggests his literary work again ; and
of his writings the following is as complete a list as can readily
be made : *' The Naval War of 1812," 2 volumes, 1882 ; " Hunt-
ing Trips of a Ranchman," 1885; " Thomas Hart Benton," 1887;
" Gouverneur Morris," 1888; "Essays on Practical Politics,"
1888; " Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," 188S; "The Win-
ning of the West," 4 volumes, 18S9-1896; " Brief History of New
York City," 1891 ; " The Wilderness Hunter," 1893 ; " American
Ideals, and Other Essays," 1897; "The Rough Riders," 1899;
"Oliver Cromwell," 1900; "The Strenuous Life," 1901. Besides
these seventeen volumes, published in nineteen years, are numer-
ous occasional articles contributed to other volumes, or to pe-
riodicals. These deal with matters of citizenship, of history, of
literature, and of zoology. It is not the least remarkable trait
of the president that in many matters of natural history he
keeps almost as minutely informed of the latest thought con-
cerning them as if he were himself a specialist.
His first annual message to Congress, 3 Dec, 1901, was, as
could be expected, entirely like himself and wholly unlike most
of the preceding documents of this class. Abstract sentiments
were few ; concrete convictions were many and unequivocally
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
555
expressed. Its length was immediately forgotten in its interest.
Its style was of a very close texture; it was the number and
importance of its topics that made it long. Among the many
vital themes for legislative attention, such as anarchy, the
so-called trusts, the army, the navy, the tariff, and civil-service
reform — to mention no more — there was vagueness in only
one, namely, the question of ship subsidy. Perhaps no human
mind could achieve so much expression of opinion about exist-
ing conditions and future policy without some slight disloca-
tion of logic somewhere. In speaking of the Philippines, the
message says : *' What has taken us thirty generations to
achieve we can not expect to see another race accomplish out
of hand." This is surely true. But in speaking of the Indian
tribes, the message says: "The Indian should be treated as an
individual, like the white man." Placed next to each other,
these two statements contain elements of humor; perhaps had
they been called to his attention, Mr. Roosevelt would have
expressed them differently.
To describe Theodore Roosevelt as a man of action is true,
but is not the whole truth ; to describe him as a man of letters
is equally true, but is not the whole truth. It is not possi-
ble for contemporary judgment
adequately to estimate him ;
to esteem him is easy indeed.
It should not go unremarked
that he stood on 14 Sept. more
unshackled by prejudice than
has generally been possible for
one in his position. For him
the way was unimpeded by ex-
torted promises, and lay clear
to work out his duties and his
aspirations. It was a day to be
full of hope.
In 1881 Mr. Roosevelt mar-
ried Miss Alice Lee, of Boston.
After being a widower for several years he married Miss Edith
Kermit Carow, whose portrait appears on this page. The presi-
dent is the father of six children — Alice, Theodore, Jr., Ethel,
Quentin, Kermit, and Archibald. The illustration on page 550
represents his summer home at Oyster Bay, Long Island.
From a copjiighted photograph by R. \V, Thatcher.
APPENDIX.
PRESIDENTS, VICE-PRESIDENTS,
AND CANDIDATES FOR THESE OFFICES,
AND CABINET OFFICERS,
FROM THE ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Thomas Jefferson, Sec. State.
Samuel Osgood, I p^.t. Gen.
Timothy Pickenng, )
GEORGE WASHINGTON, F.
* George Clinton, R.
Thomas Jefferson, R.
Thomas Jefferson, \
Edmund Randolph, > Sec State.
Timothy Pickering, )
Edmund Randolph, )
William Bradford, >• Att. Gen.
Charles Lee, )
JOHN ADAMS, /^.
Thomas Pinckney, F.
Aaron Burr, R.
Timothy Pickering, { ^ ^
John Marshall, J ^^'^^ ^^^^^•
Oliver Wolcott, ) r, ™
Samuel Dexter, \ S^*^- ^reas.
1789.
John Adams.
Alexander Hamilton, Sec. Treas.
Henry Knox, Sec. War.
Edmund Randolph, Att. Gen.
1793.
John Adams, F.
Aaron Burr, R.
Alexander Hamilton, } ^ x
Oliver Wolcott, ^ ^^^- ^ '■^^^•
Henry Knox, )
Timothy Pickering, > Sec. War.
James McHenrj', )
Timothy Pickering, ) p ^
Joseph Habersham, \ ^^^^- '^^"•
1797.
Thomas Jefferson, R.
Samuel Adams, R.
Sec. War.
James McHenry, [
Samuel Dexter, )
Benjamin Stoddert, Sec. Navy.
Charles Lee, Att. Gen.
Joseph Habersham, Post. Gen.
* The names of unsuccessful candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency are
printed in italics.
557
558
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, R.
John Adams, F.
James Madison, Sec. State.
Henry Dearborn, Sec. War.
Levi Lincoln, Att. Gen.
Joseph Habersliam,
Gideon Granger,
Post. Gen.
1801.
Aaron Burr, R.
Charles C. Pinckney, F.
Samuel Dexter, \ .
Albert Gallatin, j '""
Benjamin Stoddert,
Robert Smith,
Sec. Treas.
|- Sec. Navy.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, R.
C. C. Pinckney, F.
James Madison, Sec. State.
Albert Gallatin, Sec. Treas.
Henry Dearborn, / c- it-
William Eustis, j-^ec. War.
Gideon Granger, Post. Gen.
1805.
George Clinton, R.
Rufus King, F.
Robert Smith, ) „
J. Crowninshield, [ ^^'^^ ^^^y-
Levi Lincoln, 1
Robert Smith,
J. Breckenridge,
Caesar A. Rodney,
■ Att. Gen.
JAMES MADISON, R.
C. C. Pinckney, F.
Robert Smith, / r- o
James Monroe, )" ^^'^^ ^tate.
William Eustis, Sec. War.
Caesar A. Rodney, Att. Gen.
1809.
George Clinton, R.
Rufus King, F.
Albert Gallatin, Sec. Treas.
Paul Hamilton, Sec. Navy.
Gideon Granger, Post. Gen.
JAMES MADISON, Z>.
De Witt Clinton, F.
James Monroe, Sec. State.
George W. Campbell.
Alexander J. Dallas, )■ Sec.
William H." Crawford.
Treas
1813.
William Jones, ) _ .^
B. W. Crowninshield, f ^^^- ^^^^y-
Elbridge Gerry, Z>.
Jared Ingersoll, F.
John Armstrong, ) „ „,
James Monroe, \ ^^^- ^ar.
Gen.
William Pinkney, ,
Richard Rush, \ ^"•
Gideon Granger, ) „ _
Return J. Meigs, \ ^°''- ^^n-
JAMES MONROE, D.
Rufus King, F.
John Quincy Adams, Sec. State.
John C. Calhoun, Sec. War.
William Wirt, Att. Gen.
Return J. Meigs, Post Gen.
1817.
Daniel D. Tompkins, D.
J. E. Howard, F.
William H. Crawford, Sec. Treas.
B. W. Crowninshield, ) ^ xt
Smith Thompson, [ ^^'^^ ^^'^■
JAMES MONROE, D.
John Q. Adams, Sec. State.
William H. Crawford, Sec. Treas.
William Wirt, Att. Gen.
R. J. Meigs, \
John McLean, [
Post. Gen.
1821
Daniel D. Tompkins, D.
John C. Calhoun, Sec. War.
Smith Thompson, / c. .,.
Samuel L. Southard, \ '^^'=- ^avy.
APPENDIX.
559
182S.
JOHN Q. ADAMS, D.
Andrew Jackson.
William H. Crawford.
Henry Clay.
Henry Clay, Sec. State.
James Barbour, \ ^ ^
P. B. Porter, \^^^- ^'^■^•
Samuel L. Southard, Sec. Navy.
John C. Calhoun, £>.
Nathan San ford.
Nathati Macon.
Andrew Jackson.
Richard Rush, Sec. Treas.
William Wirt, Att. Gen.
J. McLean, Post. Gen.
1829.
ANDREW JACKSON, D.
John Q. Adams.
Martin Van Buren, ^ o o* f.
Edward Livingston, )
John H. Eaton, } g^^ ^^^
Lewis Cass, )' '
John McPherson Berrien, / . ,^ ^
^ ' [• Att. Gen.
John C. Calhoun, D.
Richard Rush.
William Smith.
Sec. Treas.
Roger B. Taney,
ANDREW JACKSON, D.
Henry Clay.
John Floyd.
William. Wirt.
Edward Livingston, \
Louis McLane, > Sec. State.
John Forsyth, J
Lewis Cass, / q ,,,
B. F. Butler, j ^^^- ^^^'"•
Levi Woodbury, ) (_. -^j
Mahlon Dickerson, ] ^^^"
MARTIN VAN BUREN, D.
William H. Harrison, W.
Hugh L. White, W.
Daniel Webster, W.
Willie P. Mangum, W.
John Forsyth, Sec. State.
Joel R. Poinsett, Sec. War.
Benj. F. Butler,
Felix Grundy, }■ Att. Gen.
Henry D. Gilpin,
WILLIAM H. HARRISON, W
Martin Van Buren, D.
James G. Birney, L. P.
Daniel Webster, Sec. State.
Thomas Ewing, Sec. Treas.
John Bell, Sec. War.
Samuel D. Ingram, )
Louis McLane, )
John Branch, ) c, t.,
Levi WoodbuiT, \ ^^''- ^^^y-
William T. Barry, Post. Gen.
1833.
Martin Van Buren, D.
John Sergeant.
Henry Lee.
Amos Ellmaker.
William Wilkins.
Att. Gen.
Sec. Treas.
Roger B. Taney, |
Benj. F. Butler, |
Louis McLane,
William J. Duane,
Roger B. Taney,
Levi Woodbury,
William T. Barry, / r> , „
Amos Kendall, f P^^^" ^en.
1837.
Richard M. Johnson, D.
Francis Granger, W.
John Tjiler, W.
Levi Woodbury, Sec. Treas.
Mahlon Dickerson, ) ^ -vt
James K. Paulding, f ^ec Navy.
Amos Kendall, /
John M. Niles,
Post. Gen.
1841
John Tyler, W.
Richard M. Johnson, D.
Littleton W. Taze7vell, D.
James Knox Polk, D.
Thomas Earl, L. P.
John J. Crittenden, Att. Gen.
George E. Badger, Sec. Navy.
Francis Granger, Post. Gen.
S6o
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
1841.
JOHN TYLER, W.
Daniel Webster, ^
Hugh S. Legare, I
Abel P. Upsnur, |
John C. Calhoun, J
Thomas Ewing, i
Walter Forward, !
John C. Spencer, (
George M. Bibb, J
John J. Crittenden,
Hugh S. Legare,
John Nelson,
Sec. State.
Sec. Treas.
Att. Gen.
Sec. War.
\ Sec. Navy.
J
Post. Gen.
JAMES K. POLK, D.
Henry Clay, W.
James G. Birney, L. P.
James Buchanan, Sec. State.
John Y. Mason, )
Nathan Clifford, )■ Att. Gen.
Isaac Toucey, J
Cave Johnson, Post. Gen.
ZACHARY TAYLOR, W.
Lewis Cass, D.
John P. Hale (— ).
Martin Van Buren, F. S.
John M. Clayton, Sec. State.
George W. Crawford, Sec. War.
Thomas Ewing, Sec. Interior.
Jacob Collamer, Post. Gen.
John Bell, 1
James M. Porter, !
John C. Spencer, \
William Wilkins, j
George E. Badger, ~|
Abel P. Upshur,
David Henshaw,
Thos. W. Gilmer,
John Y. Mason,
Francis Granger,
Charles A. Wickliffe
1845.
George M. Dallas, D.
Theodore Frelinghuysen, W.
Thomas Morris, L. P.
Robert J. Walker, Sec. Treas.
George Bancroft, / ^ ^
John Y. Mason, f ^^ec. JNavy.
William L. Marcy, Sec. War.
1849.
Millard Fillmore, W.
William 0. Butler, D.
Leicester King ( — ).
Charles Francis Adams, F. S.
William M. Meredith, Sec. Treas.
William B. Preston, Sec. Navy.
Reverdy Johnson, Att. Gen.
18SO.
MILLARD FILLMORE, IV.
Sec. State.
Daniel Webster, )
Edward Everett, [
Charles M. Conrad, Sec. War.
William A. Graham, ) g^^ ^
John P. Kennedy, f ' ■''
FRANKLIN PIERCE, D.
Winjield Scott, IV.
John P. Hale, L. P.
William L. Marcy, Sec. State.
Jefferson Davis, Sec. War.
Robert McClelland, Sec. Interior.
James Campbell, Post. Gen.
JAMES BUCHAN.\N, D.
John C. Fremont, P.
Millard Fillmore, A.
Lewis Cass, ) g^^ g^^^^
Jeremiah S. Black, )
Howell Cobb, )
Philip F. Thomas, >■ Sec. Treas.
John A. Dix, )
John B. Floyd, ) g ^
Joseph Holt, ^^^^- ^^'^•
Nathan K. Hall, ) p^^^ ^^^
Samuel D. Hubbard, )
Thomas Corwin, Sec. Treas.
Alex. H. H. Stuart, Sec. Interior.
John J. Crittenden, Att. Gen.
18S3.
William R. King, D.
JVilliam A. Graham, W.
George IV. Julian, L. P.
James Guthrie, Sec. Treas.
James C. Dobbin, Sec. Navy.
Caleb Gushing, Att. Gen.
18S7.
John C. Breckenridge, D.
William L. Dayton, R.
Andrew J. Donelson, A.
Isaac Toucey, Sec. Navy.
Jacob Thompson, Sec. Interior.
Jeremiah S. Black, ^ .»* Cpn
Edwin M. Stanton, f "^"^ ^^''•
Aaron V. Brown,
Joseph Holt, y Post. Gen.
Horatio King,
APPENDIX.
561
1861.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, R.
Stephen A. Douglas, D.
John C. Breckenridge, D.
John Bell, a U.
William H. Seward, Sec. State.
Simon Cameron, ( g^^ ^^^^
Edwin M. Stanton, f
Caleb B. Smith, ) r~ t » •
John P. Usher, peclntenor.
Gideon Welles, Sec. Navy.
Hannibal Hamlin, R.
Herschel V. Johnson, D.
Joseph Lane, D.
Edward Everett, C. U.
Sec. Treas.
Salmon P. Chase, \ ^
Wm. P. Fessenden, f
Edward Bates, / . ^^ r-
T c J ■ Att. Gen.
James Speed, \
Montgomery Blair, \ -r, . r
William Dennison, C ^°^'- ^^'^•
1865.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, R.
George B. McClellan, D.
William H. Seward, Sec. State.
Edwin M. Stanton, Sec. War.
John P. Usher, ^ g Interior
ames Harlan, \
Andrew Johnson, R.
George H. Pendleton, D.
Hugh McCulloch, Sec. Treas.
Gideon Welles, Sec. Navy.
James Speed, Att. Gen.
William Dennison, Post. Gen.
State
William H. Reward, Sec
Edwin M. Stanton,^
Ulysses S Grant. ^g^^ ^ar.
Lorenzo 1 homas, .'
John M. Schofield, J
186S.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
James Harlan, )
Orville H. Browning, )
James Speed,
Henry Stanbery, )■ Att. Gen
William M. Evarts,
Hugh McCulloch, Sec. Treas.
Gideon Welles, Sec. Navy.
Sec. Interior.
William Dennison, ) ^ ^ ^
Alex. W. Randall, \ ^^^^^ G^""
ULYSSES S. GRANT, R.
Horatio Seymour, D.
E. B. Washbume, ) g^^ g^^^^
Hamilton Fish, V
George S. Boutwell, Sec. Treas.
John A. Rawlins, ) g ,y
Wm. W. Belknap, j ^^'^- ^^•
1869.
Schuyler Colfax, R.
Francis P. Blair, Jr., D.
Jacob D. Cox,
Columbus Delan
,o,f
Sec. Interior.
Adolph E. Borie, \ g ^
George M. Robeson, S ^'
George H. Williams, Att. Gen.
John A. J. Creswell, Post. Gen.
ULYSSES S. GRANT, R.
Horace Greelev, D.
Charles 0' Conor, S. 0. D.
James Black, P.
Hamilton Fish, Sec. State.
William W^ Belknap, |
Alphonso Taft, \ Sec,
J. Donald Cameron, )
John A. J. Creswell, 1
Marshall Jewell, |- Post.
James N. Tyner, )
George M. Robeson, Sec. Navy,
37
War.
Gen.
1873.
Henry Wilson, R.
Benjamin Gratz Brown, D.
John Q. Adams, S. 0. D.
Columbus Delano, )
Zachariah Chandler, \
W^m. A. Richardson,
Benj. H. Bristow,
Lot M. Morrill,
George H. Williams,
Edward Pierrepont,
Alphonso Taft,
Sec. Interior.
Sec. Treas.
Att. Gen.
562
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES,
Samuel J. Tilden, D.
Peter Cooper, I. N. P.
Green C. Smith, P.
William M. Evarts, Sec. State.
S\Y-'^nTPT°"'f Sec. Navy.
Nathan Goff, Jr., )
David M. Key U^.t. Gen.
Horace Maynard, \
1877.
R. William A. Wheeler, R.
Ihomas A. Hendricks, D.
G. T. Stewart, P.
John Sherman, Sec. Treas.
George W. McCrary, [ ^
Alexander Ramsey, \
Carl Schurz, Sec. Interior.
Charles Devens, Att. Gen.
War.
JAMES A. GARFIELD, R.
Winfield S. Hancock, D.
James B. Weaver, G. B.
Neal Dow, P.
James G. Blaine, Sec. State.
R. T. Lincoln, Sec. War.
W. H. Hunt, Sec. Navy.
Wayne MacVeagh, Att. Gen.
1881.
Chester A. Arthur, R.
William H. English, D.
William Windom, Sec. Treas.
S. J. Kirkwood, Sec. Interior.
Thomas L. James, Post. Gen.
1881.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR, R.
Sec. State.
James G. Blaine, )
F. T. Frelinghuysen, )
Robert T. Lincoln, Sec. War.
William H. Hunt, ) g ^
W. E. Chandler, pec. i^avy.
WayneMacVeagh, >^tt. Gen.
Benj. H. Brewster, )
GROVER CLEVELAND, D.
James G. Blaine, R.
Benjamin F. Butler, L.
John P. St. John, P.
Thomas F. Bayard, Sec. State.
William C. Endicott, Sec. War.
William C. Whitney, Sec. Navy.
William F. Vilas, ) p . n^^
Don M. Dickinson, \
;:}
William Windom,
Charles J. Folger,
S. J. Kirkwood, ) g interior
H. M. Teller, f *^^- -^^^enor.
T. L. James, )
Timothy O. Howe, \
Sec. Treas.
Post. Gen.
1885.
Thomas A. Hendricks, D.
John A. Logan, R.
William Daniels, P.
Daniel Manning I gee. Treas.
Charles S. rairchild, )
Augustus H. Garland, Att. Gen.
Lucius Q.C Lamar, ) g^^ j^^^^j^^_
W illiam F. Vilas, )
BENJAMIN HARRISON, R.
Graver Cleveland, D.
Clinton P. Fisk, P.
Belva A. B. Lockwood, N. E. R.
James G. Blaine, )
John W. Foster, \
Redfield Proctor, I gee. War.
Stephen B. Elkms, )
Benjamin F. Tracy, Sec. Navy.
John Wanamaker, Post. Gen.
Sec. State.
1889.
Levi Parsons Morton, R.
Allen Granbery Thurman, D.
Sec. Treas.
William Windom, )
Charles Foster, f
William H. H. Miller, Att. Gen.
John W. Noble, Sec. Interior.
Jeremiah M. Rusk, Sec. Agric.
APPENDIX.
563
^ GROVER CLEVELAND, D.
Benjamin Harrison, R.
James B. Weaver, Peo. P.
John Bidwell, P.
Walter QGresham. \ g^^^ g^^^^^
Richard Olney, )
Daniel S. Lamont, Sec. War.
Hilary A, Herbert, Sec. Navy.
Wilson S. Bissell, \ rj^^f /-„„
William L. Wilson, \ ^^^^^ ^^°-
189S.
Adlai E. Stevenson, D.
IVhitelaw Reid, R.
James G. Field, Peo. P.
James B. Cranjil, P.
John G. Carlisle, Sec. Treas.
Richard Olney, / Af* r
Judson Harmon, [ ^"- '^^"•
Hoke Smith, ) ^ t . •
David R. Francis, [ ^^^^ ^"'^"°''-
J. Sterling Morton, Sec. Agric.
WILLIAM Mckinley, r.
William J. Bryan, D., Pop., and
John M. Palmer, N. D.
Joshua Levering, Pro.
Charles E, Bent ley, Nat. Pro.
Charles H. Matchett, S. L.
John Sherman, )
William R. Day, [■ Sec. State.
John Hay, )
Russell A. Alger, ) g ^
Elihu Root, \^^^- ^"•
James A. Gary, )
lith, f
Charles E. Smith,
Post Gen,
1897.
Garret A. Hobart, R.
Silv. Arthur Sewall, D. a?id Silv.
Thomas E. Watson, Pop.
Simon B. Buckner, N. D.
Hale Johnson, Pro.
James //. Southgate, N^at. PfO.
Matthezu Maguire, S. L.
Lyman J. Gage, Sec. Treas.
John D. Long, Sec. Navy.
Joseph McKenna, ^ . ,^ ^^
John W. Griggs, [ A". Gen.
Cornelius N. Bliss, ] „ _
Ethan Allen Hitchcock, \ ^^<=- Intenor.
James Wilson, Sec. Agric.
1901.
WILLIAM McKINLEY, i?.
William J. Bryan, D. and Pop.
John G. Woolley, Pro.
Wharton Barker, Middle of Road Pop.
Eugene V. Debs, S. D.
Joseph F. Malloney, S. L.
J. F. R. Leonard, United Christian.
Seth H. Ellis, Union Reform.
John Hay, Sec. State.
Lyman J. Gage, Sec. Treas.
Elihu Root, Sec. War.
Charles E. Smith, Post. Geu.
Theodore Roosevelt, R.
Adlai E. Stevenson, D. and Pop.
Henry B. Me tea If Pro.
Ignatius Donnelly, Middle of Road Pop.
Job Harriman, S. D.
Valentine Remmel, S. L.
John G. Woolley, United Christian.
Samuel T. Nicholas, Union Reform.
John D. Long, Sec. Navy.
Philander C. Knox, Att. Gen.
Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Sec. Interior.
James Wilson, Sec. Agric.
1901.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, R.
John Hay, Sec. State.
Lyman J. Gage, Sec. Treas.
Elihu Root, Sec. War,
Henry C. Payne, Post. Gen.
John D. Long, Sec. Navy.
Philander C. Knox, Att. Gen.
Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Sec. Interior.
James Wilson, Sec. Agric.
INDEX.
Adam and Eve, 76.
Adams, Abigail, 60, 61, 87.
Charles Francis, 60, 61, 133, 134, 135,
178, 258, 319.
Henry, 36, 130, 136.
John, biography of, 36-60 ; mentioned,
10, 20, 23, 60, 61, 68, 72, 84, 121, 187,
251-
John Quincy, biography of, 120-133 ;
mentioned, 60, 78, 109, no, 113, 117,
152. 153. 154, 159, 167, 198, 199, 209,
219, 228, 250, 278, 279, 291.
Samuel, 39, 52, 54, 79, 442.
African colonization, 255.
Agassiz, Professor Louis, 397.
Akerman, Amos T., 387.
Alabama claims, 382.
Albany regency, 179.
Alexander of Russia, 125.
Alexandria, Va., 25, 26.
Alfred the Great, 27.
Alleghany mountains, 13.
Allen, Lewis F., 468.
William, 404.
Ambassador to England, 335.
Ambrister, Robert, 127, 151.
Amelia Court-House, Va., 368.
American college, Rome, 458.
constitutions, 50.
credit, 51.
Herd book, 468.
loyalists, 48.
merchant marine, 459.
system, 198.
Speaker, 336.
Ames, Oakes, 437.
Amiens, treaty of, 104.
Ampudia, General, 238, 239.
Anderson, Major Robert, 297, 302.
Andrew, John A., 135.
Anti-masons, the, 130, 162.
Antietam, battle of, 311, 319.
Appalachicola massacre, 150.
Appleton, William H., 326.
Appomattox Court-House, 327, 370, 372.
Arbuthnot, Alexander, 127, 151.
Arctic expedition, 461.
Arista, General, 223, 238, 239,
Arlington estate, Va., 23'
Armistead, Miss Mary, 195.
Armstrong, General John, 144, 147, 191.
Army of the Cumberland, 359, 432, 442,
Northern Virginia, 360.
the Potomac, 311, 319, 359, 360, 362,
366, 447.
Arnold, Benedict, 14, 71.
Isaac N., 333.
of Rugby, 441.
Arthur, Chester Alan, biography of,
444-467 ; mentioned, 335, 416, 447.
Mrs. Ellen Herndon, 464.
Rev. William, 444, 467.
Ashburton, Lord, 284.
treaty, 210.
Asken, John A., 337.
Atkinson, General Henry, 235.
Atlanta captured, 322.
Atlanta, siege of, 497.
Bacon, Edmund, 85.
William R., 346.
Bad Axe, battle of, 236.
Badeau's Life of Grant, 394.
Badger, George E., 193, 207.
Ball, Thomas, 29, 332.
Ballou, Miss Eliza, 426.
Bancroft, George, 19, 85, 108, 117, 181,
222, 230.
565
566
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Banks, Nathaniel P., 245, 358, 359, 360.
Barbary pirates, 80.
Barnburner faction, 117.
Barry, William T., 155.
Bass, Lyman K., 469.
Bates, Edward, 307.
Bayard, James A., 125.
Richard H., 205.
Thomas F., 335, 475.
Beaumarchais, P. A. C. de, 73.
Beauregard, Pierre G. T., 309, 354.
Beecher, Henry Ward, 394.
Belknap, William W., 387.
Bell, John, 193, 219, 307, 337.
Belmont, battle of, 351.
Benicia barracks, 349.
Benton, Thomas H., 117, 144, 153, 154,
162, 164, 166, 199, 200, 204, 261, 281.
Bering sea case, 503.
Berlin decrees, 104.
Bermuda Hundred, 361.
Bernard, Governor, 38.
Berrien, John M., 155.
Biddle, Nicholas, 161.
Bienvenu plantation, 148.
Big Bethel, battle of, 431.
Birney, James G., 211.
Bissell, Wilson S., 252, 482.
Black Hawk, 119, 235, 236, 237, 302.
Black, Jeremiah S., 290.
Blair, Francis P., 158, 163, 166, 200, 326.
Montgomery, 200, 307.
Blaine, James G., 405, 435, 438, 439, 440,
448, 464, 467, 473. 502, 503.
Blatchford, Samuel, 462.
Bliss, Miss Elizabeth, 244.
Blount, James H., 483.
Boice, Adolph E., 387.
Bolivar, General Simon, 192.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 27, 80, 112,
Boone, Daniel, 300.
Boston Athenaeum, 29.
Gazette, 38, 40.
Latin school, 133.
Massacre, 39.
Public Library, 12.
Tea-party, 44.
United States frigate, 43.
Botetourt, Lord, 65.
Botts, John Minor, 206.
Boutwell, George S., 387.
Bowdoin, James, 22.
Bowen, General, 357.
Boylston, Miss Susannah, 36.
Braddock, General, 7, 36.
Brady, John R., 452.
Branch, John, 155.
Brandywine, battle of, 14.
Breckinridge, John C, 273, 290, 307, 360,
361.
Brent, Richard, 196, 202.
Brewster, Benjamin H., 454.
Bridport, Lord, 27.
Bristow, Benjamin H., 387, 405, 448.
Commercial treaty, 49.
British flag honored, 454.
and Hessian prisoners, 71.
Brooks, Peter C, 133.
Brougham, Lord, 27.
Brown, Aaron V., 217, 290.
Henry K., 29, 332.
Major Jacob, 239.
Matthew, 85.
Browne, Sir Thomas, 257.
Bryant, William C, 166.
Buchanan, James, biography of, 277-
299; mentioned, 17S, 212, 222, 257,
270, 272, 338.
Buckland, Ralph P., 397.
Buckner, General Simon B., 353.
Bucktails, the, 171.
Buell, General Don Carlos, 310, 353, 354,
430, 431- 432.
Buena Vista, battle of, 240.
Buffalo Historical Society, 261.
Bull Run, battle of, 309, 460.
Bunker Hill, battle of, 12.
Burgoyne's army, 70.
surrender, 42.
Burke, Edmund, Reflections, 75.
Bumside, General Ambrose E., 318, 320.
in Knoxville, 359.
monument, 464.
Burr, Colonel Aaron, 53, 54, 58, 78, 143,
169.
Samuel J., 193.
Burt, Silas W. , 449, 450.
Bushnell, Dr. Horace, 194.
Butler, Benjamin F., 171, 182, 473.
General Benjamin F., 360.
William Allen, 181.
Cabell, Joseph C, 83. 85.
Calhoun, John C, mentioned, 113, 117,
127, 128, 149, 157, 158, 160, 166, 17s,
179, 196, 201, 211, 251, 282.
*
INDEX.
567
Calhoun, Mrs. John C, 157.
John, surveyor, 303.
Calumet Club, Chicago, 394.
Cameron, J. Donald, 387.
Simon, 307.
Campbell, James, 269.
Canada rebellion, 176.
Canadian sealers, 503.
Canby, General E. R. S., 245, 367.
Cannon, Newton, 219.
Carleton House, New York, 211.
Carlisle, John G., 482.
Carpenter, Frank B., 332.
Carpenter's Hall, 10, 11.
Carroll, Arthur E., 275.
Cartwright, Rev. Peter, 303.
Cass, General Lewis, mentioned, 158, 177,
178, 268, 272, 290.
Catherine of Russia, 45.
Cedar Creek, battle of, 400.
Central American affairs, 285, 286,
Cerro Gordo, battle of, 348.
Chalmette plantation, 147.
Chamberlain, Daniel H., 409.
Chamberlayne, William, 30.
Champion Hill, battle of, 358.
Chancellorsville, battle of, 320.
Chandler, William E., 454.
Zachary, 387.
Chantrey, Sir Francis, 29.
Chapultepec, battle of, 267, 349.
Charles the First, 185.
Charlotte, Queen, 61.
Chase, Salmon P., 307, 317, 340.
Chatham, Earl of, 8, 10, 107.
Chattanooga, battle of, 359.
Chegary institute, N. Y., 214.
Cherokees and Creeks, 145, 159.
Chesapeake and Ohio canal, 93.
Chesapeake, United States frigate, 81,
104.
Chester, Thomas L., i.
Chicago conventions, 451, 464, 499.
Chickamauga, battle of, 432.
Childress, Joel and Elizabeth, 231.
Choate, Rufus, 205.
Christian, Letitia, 196.
Robert, 196, 214.
Churubusco, battle of, 349.
Cipher despatches, 414.
Civil-service reform, 380, 406, 410, 421,
442.
Clarendon, Lord, 289.
Clarke, George Rogers, 71, 333.
Clay, General Green, 190.
Henry, mentioned, 104, 125, 127, 128,
152, 153. 154, 158, 177. 179. 191. 196,
199, 201, 202, 204, 206, 22 1, 222, 224,
225, 250, 256.
Claypole, the printer, 24.
Clayton-Bulwer treaty, 284, 286, 288, 291,
456-
John Middleton, 242.
Clem murder case, 494.
Cleveland, Grover, biography of, 468-
496 ; mentioned, 35, 252, 466, 498.
Moses, 468.
Mrs. Frances, 496.
Richard Falley, 468.
Rose Elizabeth, 497.
Clifford, Nathan, 462.
Clinton, DeWitt, 105, 170, 171.
George, 17, 53, 104, 170.
Henry L., 445.
Clintonian Federalists, 171.
Republicans, 171.
Cobb, Howell, 290.
Cobbett, William, 167.
Coke upon Lyttleton, 64.
Cold Harbor, battle of, 322.
Coleridge, Chief-Justice, 502.
Coles, Miss Mary, 106.
Colfax, Schuyler, 433.
Commercial treaties, 453.
Compromise measures, 268, 271, 287, 493.
Confederate envoys, 326, 331.
States, 307.
Congressional nullification, 442.
Conkling, Mrs. Margaret C, 32.
Roscoe, 385, 405, 439, 448, 449, 452,
462.
Conrad, Charles M., 252.
Robert T., 243.
Constellation, United States frigate, 57.
Constitution, History of the, 117.
Constitutional amendment, 343.
Conway, Miss Nelly, 88.
Moncure, D., i.
Coolidge, Thomas J., 118.
Cooper Institute, New York, 306.
Cooper, J. Fenimore, 166.
Thomas Apthorpe, 214.
Corcoran, W^illiam Wilson, 259.
Corinth, battle of, 355.
Cornell, Alonzo B., 416, 448, 450.
Cornwallis, Lord, 14, 46, 71, 72, go, 454.
568
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Corporal's guard, the, 209.
Corwin, Thomas, 252.
Cowen's law reports, 179.
Cox, General Jacob D., 387.
Craig^e mansion, 12.
Craik, Dr. James, 17, 25, 26,
Crampton's dismissal, 269.
Cranch, Judge William, 251.
Crawford, George W., 242.
Thomas, 29.
William H., 113, 127, 128, 149, 153,
156, 157, 173. 198.
Credit Mobilier, 437.
Creek Indian treaty, 149.
Creswell, John A. J., 387.
Crittenden compromise, 296.
John J., 193, 207, 252, 296.
Crockett, Colonel Uavid, 146, t8i.
Cromwell, Oliver, 185, 243.
Crook, General George, 398.
Culver, Erastus D., 444.
Cumberland Gap, Va., 432.
road bill, 114.
Curtis, George Ticknor, 298.
George William, 448.
Gushing, Caleb, 269, 296.
Custis, Eleanor Parke, 31, 34, 35.
George W. P., 31, 32.
John Parke, 9, 31, 34.
Martha Parke, 9, 31.
Dallas, George M., 221, 230.
Dana, Francis, 120, 124.
Richard H., 136.
Dandridge, John, 9, 29.
Mrs. Elizabeth, 244.
Darwin, Erasmus, 63.
Davie, William R., 57.
Da vies, Henry E., 249.
Rev. Samuel, 8.
Davis, Judge David, 452.
Henry Winter, 433.
Jefferson, 269, 273, 307, 325, 326.
Mrs. Sarah K., 244.
Rev. Thomas, 26.
Davila, Discourses on, 53.
Dawson, Moses, 193.
Deane, Silas, 43, 69.
Dearborn, Henry, 79.
Decatur, Commodore Stephen, 80.
Decatur's apophthegm, 237.
Declaration of Independence, 13, 69, 492.
De Golyer contract, 437.
Delano, Columbus, 387.
Democratic party, 442.
Dennison, William, 308, 430.
Dent, Captain George, 395.
Ellen Wrenshall, 395.
Frederick, 395.
Miss Julia, 395.
Miss Julia B., 349.
Depew, Chauncey M., 499.
Derby, Earl of, 258.
Devens, General Charles, 408.
Dickinson, Charles, 143.
college, Pennsylvania, 277.
Daniel S., 340.
John, 41, 42, 61.
Dix, General John A., 296.
Dobbin, James C, 269.
Dodge, General Henry, 236.
Donelson, Andrew J., 168.
Colonel John, 139, 140, 167.
Fort, capture of, 352.
Mrs. Emily, 168.
Rachel, 139.
Douglas, Stephen A., 268, 271, 272, 273,
289, 304, 305, 306.
Downing, Major Jack, 167.
Draper, Lyman C, 88.
Dred Scott decision, 180.
Drexel, Joseph W., 393.
Duane, William J., 163, 164.
Duche, Rev. Dr. Jacob, 11.
Du Simitiere, Pierre Eugene, 29.
Dutch government, the, 45.
Early, General Jubal, 322, 363, 364.
Eaton, John H., and wife, 155, 157, 168.
Edward, Ninian W., and wife, 333, 334.
Edwards, Dr. Jonathan, 8.
Elberon, N. J., 440.
Elliot's Debates, 106.
Ellsworth, Oliver, 57, 89.
Emancipation proclamation, 316.
Embargo act of 1807, 82.
Emmons, William, 180. .
Emory, General William H., 384.
Endicott, William C, 475.
Enforcement act, 378, 380.
Epaminondas, 27.
Eppes, Francis, 82.
John Wayles, 87.
Era of good feeling, 116, 126.
Ericsson's inventions, 166.
Este, Judge David K., 194.
INDEX.
569
Evarts, William M., 3, 408, 446.
Everett, Edward, 28, 128, 133, 252, 270.
Ewell's army corps, 361.
Ewing, Andrew, 345.
Thomas, 193, 205, 207.
Fairfax of Belvoir, 4, 5, 26.
William, 5.
Faneuil HaU, Boston, 434, 463.
Farrag^ut, Admiral D. G., 160, 310.
Fauquier, Governor Francis, 63.
Federal taxation, 90.
Federalists, the, 128, 153.
Fenian outbreaks, 372.
Fessenden, William P., 308.
Fifty-four forty, or fight, 212.
Filibustering expeditions, 270.
Fillmore, Millard, biography of, 246-
261 ; mentioned, 183, 466, 490.
Millard Powers, 259,
Mrs. Abigail, 258.
Mrs. Caroline C, 259.
Nathaniel, 246, 247.
Finch, Judge Sherman, 397.
Fish, Hamilton, 387.
Fishback, William P., 493.
Fisher's Hill, battle of, 399.
Fiske, Professor John, 28.
Fitzhugh, Mary Lee, 33.
Five Forks, battle of, 327, 368.
Fleming, Miss Anna, 106.
Sir Thomas, 106.
Florida acquired, 126, 152.
Floyd, General John B., 163, 290, 353.
Folger, Charles J., 454, 470.
Folsom, Miss Frances, 491.
Foot's resolutions, 160.
Foote, Admiral, 352.
Force bill, the, 199.
Ford, Worthington C, i, 28, 84.
Ford's theater, Washington, 329.
Forest Lawn cemetery, 259.
Forrest, Edwin, 182.
General N. B., 345, 353.
Fort Barrancas, 147.
Bowyer, 147.
Crawford, 235, 236.
Donelson, 310.
Duquesne, 8.
Harrison, 234.
Henry, 310, 352.
Mimms, 145.
Necessity, 6.
Fort Pitt, 8.
Sumter, 273.
Forward, Walter, 208.
Franklin, Benjamin, 37, 43, 47, 48, 50, 68,
69, 70, 72, 73-
Square, New York, 21.
Fraunce's Tavern, New York, 17.
Frederick the Great, 13, 261.
Fredericksburg, battle of, 320.
Freeman, Edward A., 134.
Freemasons, the, 130.
Freesoil banner, 177.
party, 180.
Frehnghuysen, Frederick T., 454.
Theodore, 175, 280.
Fremont, General John C, 257, 2S9, 290,
312, 430, 446.
French Directory, the, 142.
indemnity, 130.
in Mexico, 326.
spoliation claims, 165, 462.
West Indies, 55.
Frothingham, Rev. N. L., 133.
Fry, Colonel Joshua, 6.
Joseph R., 243.
Frye, William, 405.
Fug^itive slave law, 253, 268.
Fuller, Chief-Justice, 482.
Gag rule in Congress, 131, 132.
Gaines, General Edmund P., 235, 238.
Gallatin, Albert, 79, 125, 136, 170.
Gambier, Lord, 125.
Gardiner, Miss Julia, 214, 215.
Gardiners of Gardiner's island, 214.
Gardner, Henry G., 447.
Garfield, Abram, and wife, 426.
Garfield, James Abram, biography cf,
426-443 ; mentioned, 261, 334, 392,
421, 451, 465, 498.
Mrs. Lucretia R., 443.
Garland, Augustus H., 348, 475.
Mrs. Mary S., 35.
Garnett, Muscoe R. H., 35.
Garrison, William Lloyd, 445.
Gates, General Horatio, 15, 17.
Gay, Sidney Howard, 106.
Geauga seminary, 427.
Genet, Edmund Charles, 24, 96, 121.
Geneva arbitration, the, 135.
Gentleman's Magazine, the, 69.
Gentr)% Meredith P., 338.
George the Third, 44, 45, 50, 61.
570
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Germantown, battle of, 14.
Gerry, Elbridg^e, 56, 57.
Gettysburg, battle of, 320.
Gibraltar, surrender of, 48.
Giddings, Joshua R., 432, 442.
Giles, William B., 196, 202.
Gilman, Daniel C, 118.
Goose Nest Prairie, 302.
Gordon, General John B., 424.
Gouverneur, Samuel L., 117.
Graham, William A., 252.
Granger, Francis, 193, 207.
Gideon, 79.
Grant Club, New York, 447.
Frederick D., 395, 396.
Jesse R., 347.
Monument, 394.
Mrs. Julia D., 395.
Grant, Ulysses Simpson, biography of,
347-394 ; mentioned, 155, 310, 320,
321, 334, 341, 396, 400, 403, 416, 438,
447-
Gray, Judge Horace, 462.
Grayson, William, 99, 109, no.
Greeley, Horace, 135, 326, 382.
Lieutenant A. W., 461.
Green, General Duff, 155, 158.
Greenough, Horatio, 29.
Gresham, Walter Q., 454, 482.
Greytown bombarded, 269.
Gridley, Jeremiah, 38.
Grierson's raid, 359.
Grinnell Land, 461.
Grover, Rev. Stephen, 468.
Grund, Francis J., 180.
Grundy, Felix, 217, 283.
Gun-foundry board, 459.
Guthrie, James, 269.
Haines's Bluff, battle of, 355.
Hale, Edward Everett, 28.
John P., 262, 265.
Sir Matthew, 2, 64.
Hall, Nathan K., 249, 252.
Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 182, 183.
General Henry W., 311, 352, 354.
Hanier, Thomas L., 347.
Hamilton, Alexander, 22, 23, 24, 25, 53,
54, 55, 58, 70, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 89,
94, 95, 97, 98, no, 116, 260.
Hamiltonian Federalism, 178.
Hammond, George, 76.
Hampden bidney college, 186.
Hampton Roads, 331.
General Wade, 409, 410.
Hancock, John, 39.
General Wiufield S., 363, 373, 374,
439-
Harris, Isham G., 345.
Senator Ira, 329.
Harrison, Benjamin, of Virginia, 68, 69,
185, 186, 492.
Harrison, Benjamin, biography of, 498-
512 ; mentioned, 396, 479, 482.
Colonel John, 185.
gold medal, 191.
John Scott, 193, 194, 498.
Landing, Va., 310.
Mrs. Anna, 194.
Mrs. Caroline L., 512.
the Regicide, 498.
Harrison, William Henry, biography
of, 185-193 ; mentioned, 175, 177, 202,
204, 207, 220, 283, 334.
Hartranft, General John T., 405.
Harvard university, 36, 133, 136.
Hatton, Frank, 454.
Haven, Solomon G., 249.
Hawaiian Islands, 482.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 166, 262, 275.
Hayes, Rutherford B., biography of,
379-425 ; mentioned, 387, 448, 467.
Mrs. Lucy Ware, 425.
Hayne, Robert T., 160.
Healy, George P. A., 275, 332.
Hendricks, Thomas A., 472, 494, 495,
498.
Henry, James B., 286.
Patrick, 10, 31, 64, 67, 68, 74, 99, 106,
1 86, 333.
Herbert, Hilary A., 482.
Hermitage, the, 137, 166.
Herndon, Ellen Lewis, 464.
Captain William L., 464.
Hessians and British, 70.
Hoar, Ebenezer, 337.
George F., 435.
Hoes, Hannah and Mary, 169.
Hoffman, Miss Matilda, 183.
Ogden, 446.
Holland, William H.. 180.
Hollywood Cemetery, 117, 213, 215.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 166.
Holy Alliance, the, 147.
Holt, Judge Joseph, 297.
Hone, Mayor Philip, 84.
INDEX.
571
Hood, General John B., 322, 365.
Hooker, General Joseph, 320.
Hopkins, General, 234.
President, 429.
Horseshoe Bend, 145.
Houdon, Jean Antoine, 29.
Houston, General Samuel, 146.
Howard, General Oliver O., 243.
Howe, Lord William, 42.
Timothy O., 454.
Howells, William D., 333, 425.
Hubbard, Samuel D., 252.
Hull and Decatur, 125.
Captain Isaac, 105, 148.
General William, 189.
Hulseman letter, the, 254.
Humphrey, General David, 18.
Hunker faction, the, 177.
Hunt, Judge Ward, 462.
William H., 439.
Hunter, General David, 313, 362, 363.
Hutchinson, Elizabeth, 137.
Governor, 39, 40.
Inaugural addresses, 193.
Indian legislation, 462.
Territory, 475, 476.
Inflation bill, the, 385.
Ingham, Samuel D., 155.
Inman, Henry, 184.
Insolvent laws, 174.
Instructions, draft of, 66.
Irving, Washington, 6, 17, 34, 166, 174,
180, 183, 247.
Italian republics, 51.
Jackson, Andrew, biography of, 137-
167 ; mentioned, 105, 126, 127, 128,
129, 130, 131, 170, 191, 198, 200, 201,
' 202, 204, 213, 217, 218, 263, 279, 280,
282, 283, 337.
Hugh, 137.
Isaac R., 193.
Mrs. Rachel, 141, 167, 168.
Mrs. Sarah T., 168.
Thomas J., 245.
Jacksonians, 175, 199.
James, Thomas L., 416, 439, 452.
Japanese treaty, the, 254.
Jay, John, 23, 47, 49, 53, 55, 58, 73, 78,
90, 97, 98, no.
Jay's English treaty, 77, loi, 102, 142,
187.
Jefferson, Thomas, biography of, 62-
85 ; mentioned, 22, 23, 37, 50, 52, 54,
58, 59, 60, 86, 87, loi, 102, 107, 108,
112, 114, 115, 117, 124, 142, 169, 176,
180, 187, 195, 291, T,2;>,-
Lucy Elizabeth, 86.
Mary and Martha, 74, 86.
Peter, 62.
portraits, 85.
Jewell, Marshall, 387.
Johnson, Andrew, biography of, 336-
346 ; mentioned, 135, 317, 372, 374,435.
Louisa, 121.
Thomas, 121.
Mrs. Andrew, 345.
Reverdy, 242.
Richard M., 202, 220.
Sarah Bush, 301.
Johnson's law reports, 179.
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 310, 353, 354.
Harriet L., 299.
Henry E., 299.
Joseph E., 309, 322, 327, 341, 357, 360,
361, 365, 367. 370.
Jones, James C., 220.
John P., 385.
Joseph, 167.
Juarez, President, 318.
Jumonville, death of, 6.
Kansas and Nebraska, 270, 271, 272, 338.
Kendall, Amos, 155, 156, 157, 158, 163.
Kennedy, John P., 252.
Kent, James, 172.
Kenyon college, Ohio, 397, 424.
Keokuk, Indian chief, 236.
Key, David M., 408.
King, Rufus, 97, 113, 172, 180.
King's Mountain, battle of, 147.
Kirkland, Mrs. Caroline M., 28.
Kirkwood, Thomas J., 439.
Kitchen cabinet, the, 155, 158, 161.
Knox, General Henry, 15, 22, 25, 74, 75,
James and Samuel, 216.
Kortright, Elizabeth and Lawrence, 117,
118.
Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 79.
Kossuth, General Louis, 254.
Koszta, Martin, 269.
Lady Franklin bay, 461.
Lafayette, General, 74, 75, 114, 118.
Madame, 118.
572
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
La Force, prison of, ii8.
Lake of the Woods, io8.
Lamar, Lucius Q. C, 475.
Lamont, Daniel S., 482.
Lane, Elliott T., 299.
Miss Harriet, 286, 289.
Laurens Court-House, 336.
Henry, 45.
La Vengeance, frigate, 56.
Lear, Colonel Tobias, 26.
Lee, Fitzhugh, 527.
Francis Lightfoot, 70.
General Robert E., 33, 311, 314, 322,
326, 341. 361, 366, 369, 370, 371.
Henry, of Massachusetts, 163.
Mrs. Robert E., 276.
Richard Henry, 26, 42, 68, 99, 110, 185.
Legare, Hugh S., 208, 211.
Leigh, Benjamin Watkins, 203.
Lemmon, Jonathan, 445.
Lenox Library, 24.
Leonard, Daniel, 40.
Leopard and Chesapeake, 81, 104, 123.
Lewis, Andrew, 34.
Captain George, 34.
Edward P. C, 35.
Fielding, 33.
Lawrence, XS^ 34. 35-
Morgan, 169.
William B., 152, 155, 157.
Lexington, battle of, 16.
Leyden, ministry of, 120.
Lincoln, Abraham, biography of, 303-
335; mentioned, 132, 134, 161, 178,
180, 255, 258, 261, 290, 293, 294, 297,
339. 367. 370, 431. 442, 443. 460.
John, 300.
Levi, 79.
Mordecai, 300.
Mrs. Mary, 333, 334.
Park, Chicago, 394.
Robert T., 332, 334, 439, 454.
Samuel, 300.
Thomas, 301.
William W., 332, 334.
Lindenwald, 177, 178, 183.
L'Insurgente, frigate, 57.
Lippincott's Magazine, 135.
Literary vandalism, 259, 260,
Little Belt, sloop of war, 104,
Livingston, Edward, 158, 160.
Edward P., 170.
Robert R., 20, 68, 112, 175.
Longacre, James B., 104.
Longfellow, Henry W., 12, 166, 262, 397.
Long Island, battle of, 13.
Longstreet, General James, 359, 360.
Lossing, Benson J., 2, 13, 28, 32, 33.
Louisiana difficulties, 384.
Loyal legion, order of, 424.
Luzerne, Chevalier de la, 48.
McCardle, Miss Eliza, 336, 345.
McCarte mansion, 148.
McCay, Spruce, 138.
McClellan, General George B., 309, 311,
323, 324-
McClelland, Robert, 269.
McCloskey, Cardinal, 458.
McCrary, George, 408.
McCulloch, Hugh, 454.
McDowell, General Irwin, 309.
McDuffie, George, 219.
McKiNLEY, William, biography of, 513-
544-
Mrs. Ida Saxton, 544.
Scotch ancestry, 513.
McLane, Louis, 158, 163.
McLean, John, 208.
House, Virginia, 369.
McMurdo, John, 195.
McNeil, General John H., 274.
Macaulay, Lord, 28.
Mackenzie, William L., 181,
Maclay, William, 20.
Macomb, General Alexander, 181.
MacVeagh, Wayne, 439.
Madison, Ambrose, 88.
and Jefferson, 136.
Captain Isaac, 88.
Madison, James, biography of, 88, 106;
mentioned, 14, 24, 65, 73, 79, 81, 82,
109, 113, 115, 116, 117, 170, 187, 189,
191, 195.
Mrs. Dolly, 184.
Madison Square Garden, 480.
Mahone, Senator, 452.
Malvern Hill, battle of, 310.
Mangum, Willie P., 175, 202.
Manning, Daniel, 475.
Marble cemetery, New York, 117.
Marbois, Count F. Barbe-, 81, 112.
Marcellus, a signature, 121.
Marcy, William L., 119, 156, 222, 268, 269.
Marshall, General Humphrey, 431.
Chief -Justice, 26, 28, 56, 58, 99, 109, 174.
INDEX.
573
Marshall's Life of Washington, 73, 76.
Martin, Rev. Thomas, 88.
Mason and Dixon's line, 127, 273.
Mason, George, 70, 94, 99, 109.
James M,, 318.
John Y., 270.
Mason and Slidell, 134.
Massachusetts cavalry, 135.
Historical Society, 15.
Matthews, Senator, 435.
Maximilian, Emperor, 292, 318.
Mayo, Robert, 167.
Mead, Larkin G., sculptor, 329.
Meade, General George G., 320, 360, 365.
Meadows, Great, battle of, 6, 7.
Meikleham, Mrs. S. R., 87.
Mercer, Colonel Hugh, 107.
Merchant marine, the, 379.
Meredith, William M., 242.
Merritt, General Edwin A., 416, 449,450.
Mexican boundary, 126, 435.
treaty of 1883, 455.
Milan decrees, the, 104, 122.
Miller, William H. H., 439.
Millions for defence, 56.
Missionary Ridge, battle of, 321.
Mississippi valley, the, 48, 90.
Missouri compromise, the, 127, 198, 212,
293-
Mobile evacuated, 371.
Molino del Rey, battle of, 267, 349.
Monmouth, battle of, 14.
Monroe, Colonel James, 118.
doctrine, the, 114, 115, 127, 147, 174,
285, 292, 326, 378, 456, 475.
Mrs. Elizabeth, 118.
Monroe, James, biography of, 107-118;
mentioned, 55, 81, 99, 150, 171, 172,
186, 213, 278, 414.
Spence, 107.
Montgomery, Henry, 193.
Monticello, Va., 64, 66, 67, 70, 71, 72, 74,
82, 83.
Montpelier, Va., 102, 104.
Morgan, General John, 399.
Governor Edwin D., 446, 447, 454,
William, 130.
Mormon polygamy, 475, 476.
Morrill, Lot M., 387.
Morris, Gouverneur, 55, 72, 93, no.
Robert, 186.
Morse and Henry, 442.
John T., Jr., 60, 84, 133.
Morse, Mrs. S. F. B., 2.
Morton, J. Sterling, 482.
Oliver P., 405, 496.
Mosquito Indians, 285, 286.
Mount McGregor, 393.
Mount Vernon, 7, 9, 10, 17, 19, 35, 26, 28,
29. 31, 35-
Moustier, Count, quoted, 20.
Mulligan, Colonel James, 399.
Murphy, Colonel, dismissed, 355,
Murray, William Vans, 57.
Napoleon, Emperor, 57, 104, 122, 123,
143. 147-
the Third, 134, 292, 318.
Nashville, battle of, 323, 365, 497.
National United States banks, 458.
debt reduced, 387.
republicans, 201, 202.
Nebraska bill, the, 305.
Nelson, General Thomas, 72.
Nesselrode, Count, 279.
New England governments, 69.
New Orleans, battle of, 147.
New Orleans expedition, 463.
New York city riots, 319.
New York Historical Society, 85.
Newfoundland fisheries, 44, 48.
Nicholas, Colonel W. C, 78.
of Russia, 280.
Nichols, Francis T., 409, 410.
Nicholson, A. O. P., 177, 231.
Nickajack expedition, 139.
Nicola, Colonel Lewis, 14.
Nicolay, John G., j,t,2,.
North, Lord, government of, 44, 45,
Northwest Territory, 187.
Norton, Rev. John, 60.
Notes on Virginia, 73.
O'Conor, Charles, 446.
Offensive partisanship, 476.
Offutt, Denton, 302.
Okechobee, battle of, 237.
Old Hickory, 144, 166.
Old Point Comfort, 8\.
Olney, Richard, 482.
Omnibus bill, the, 251.
Ord, General E. O. C, 365.
Oregon question, the, 210, 224.
Orne, Colonel, 7.
Orth, Godlove S., 497.
Ostend manifesto, the, 270.
574
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Oswald, Richard, 47.
Otis, James, eloquence of, 37, 38.
Overton, Judge Thomas, 139, 143, 150.
Page, WilHam, 332.
Paine, Judge Elijah, 445.
Paine's Rights of Man, 75,
Thomas, yg, 121, 137.
Pakenham, Sir Edward, 147.
Palfrey, John G., 135.
Palmerston, Lord, 134.
Palo Alto, battle of, 244, 348.
Panic of 1837, 165.
Panthemont, convent of, 87,
Parker, Edmund, 262.
General Ely S., 377.
Parsons, Theophilus, 121.
Parton, James, 84, 137, 167.
Patterson, David T., 346.
Mrs. Martha, 346.
Paulding, James Kirke, 28, 183.
Payne, John, 106.
Miss Dorothy, 106.
Peace Congress, the, 1882, 455.
Peale, Charles Wilson, 29, 31.
Rembrandt, 29, 85.
Pemberton, General John C, 320, 357.
Pendleton, Edmund, 10, 31, 68, 99.
George H., 4O2, 434.
Perkins, Charles C, 3, 29.
Perry's Japanese treaty, 269.
Peter the Great, 261.
Petersburg evacuated, 327, 328.
Philippe, Louis, 281.
Phillips, Captain John, 246.
Exeter academy, 334.
Pickens, Governor, 296.
Pickering, Thomas, iii, 121.
Pierce, Benjamin, 262.
Pierce, Franklin, biography of, 262-
276; mentioned, 178, 287, 289.
Mrs. Jane A., 275.
Pierrepont, Edwards, 387.
Pierson, Hamilton W., 85.
Pillow, Gideon J., 217, 266, 353.
Pinckney, Charles C, 53, 55, 58, 78, 104,
III.
Thomas, 53, 54.
Pinkney, William, 112.
Pitt, William, 89.
Piatt, Thomas C, 439, 452.
Pleasant Hill, battle of, 245.
Pocahontcis of Virginia, 492.
Pocket veto, 158.
Polk, Colonel Thomas, 216.
Polk, James Knox, biography of, 216-
232; mentioned, 177, 211, 250, 264,
284, 337-
Mrs. Sarah C, 231, 232.
Samuel, 216.
Pollock or Polk, Robert, 216.
Polygamy in Utah, 420, 462.
Ponca Indians, 422.
Pontiac, Indian chief, 144.
Pope, General John, 311, 350, 367.
Pope's Creek, Va., i, 3.
Popular sovereignty, 305.
Port Hudson surrendered, 358.
Porter, Admiral David, 365, 367.
General Fitz-John, 310, 392, 460.
Postage, reduction of, 461.
Potter, Clarkson N., 414,
Prentiss. Sergeant S., 262.
Prescott, William H., 166.
President, United States frigate, 104.
Presidential nicknames, 182.
Preston, Captain, 39.
W. Ballard, 242.
William C, 184, 209.
Price, General Sterling, 351.
Priestly, Dr. Joseph, 79.
Prince of Wales, 299, 389.
Prince, John, 182.
L. Bradford, 449.
Princeton College, 33.
Princeton, United States steamer, 214.
Proctor, Colonel Henry, 189.
Prophet, the Indian, 188.
Public debt, the, 379, 420.
Publicola, a signature, 121.
Puritan and Blackleg, 128.
Putnam, General Israel, 15.
Quincy, John, 120.
Josiah, 39, 133.
Railway strikes, 411, 489,
Raleigh tavern, the, 66.
Ramsay, David, 28.
Randall, Henry S., 84.
Randolph, Edmund, 74, 94, 95, 109, iji.
I?ham, 62.
John, 128, 136, 154, 199.
Mrs. Maria, 87.
Sarah N., 85, 87.
Thomas J., 85.
INDEX.
575
Randolph, Thomas M., 74, 86.
Ransom, Colonel, 265.
Rathbone, Major Henry R., 329.
Rawlings, John A., 387.
Raymond, Henry J., 340.
Red river expedition, 360.
Reed, William B., 293.
Reeder, Andrew H., 272.
Religious Freedom act, 70.
Resaca de la Palma, 244, 348.
Resumption act, 415.
Richardson, William M., 387.
Richmond captured, 327.
Inquirer, 198, 212.
evacuated, 368.
Riverside park. New York, 394.
Rives, William C, 106, 203, 205, 207.
Robards, Captain Lewis, 139, 140, 141,
167.
Robertson, Donald, 88.
General, 139.
William H., 439, 452.
Robeson, George M., 387.
Robinson, Wyndham, 492.
Rogers, Randolph, 332.
William K., 398.
Rolfe. John, Gentleman, 492.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 449, 545-555-
Rosecrans, General W. S.. 355, 359, 398,
433-
Rudolph, Miss Lucretia, 443.
Rupert of debate, 258.
Rutledge, John, 11, 43, 97.
Russell, Jonathan, 125.
Lord John, 319.
Sabine Cross-Roads, battle of, 245.
St. Augustine, seizure of, 151.
St. Clair, General Arthur, 186.
St. Eustatius, plunder of, 46.
St. Gaudens, Augustus, 332.
St. John, John P., 473.
St. John's church, 67.
college, 33.
Salisbury, Marquis of, 503.
Sanford, Nathan. 172.
Santa Anna, General, 240, 266.
Santo Domingo treaty, 378, 455.
Sartoris, Mrs. Algernon, 395.
Saviour of society, 163.
Schell, Augustus, 450.
Schley, Captain W. S.,461.
Schofield, General John M., 387, 467.
Schouler, James, 116, 117, 167.
Schurz, General Carl, 408.
Scott, Miss Caroline L., 498, 512.
John W., 506.
General Winfield, 118, 149, 160, 181,
182, 236, 237, 240, 242, 266, 268, 270,
288, 294, 298. ,
Scylla and Charybdis, 55.
Seminole Indians, 145, 181.
Semple, Mrs. Letitia, 214.
Seneca Indians, i.
Seven Pines, battle of, 310.
Sevier, General John, 143.
Sewall, Jonathan, 38.
Seward, William H., 132, 306, 307, 317,
331. 341.
Seymour, Horatio, 375, 447.
Sharpe, Governor, 7.
Shaw, Major, quoted, 15.
Shays's rebellion, 18.
Sheffield, Lord, 50.
Shelbume, Lord, 47.
Shelby, Governor William, 191.
Shepard, Edward M., 181.
Rev. Thomas, 60.
Sheridan, General Philip H., 322, 323,
361, 362, 364, 366, 368, 371, 373, 384,
457. 467. 476, 497-
Sherman, General William T., 3, 29, 322,
360, 362, 363, 366, 370, 396.
Roger, 68.
Senator John, 403, 407, 435, 438, 449,
499.
Sherwood Forest, 212, 213, 215.
Shields, General James, 266, 304.
Shiloh, battle of, 148, 310, 353, 354.
Shirley, Governor, 8.
Sigel, General Franz, 360, 361.
Silver coinage, 413, 414, 458, 480, 486, 504.
Simpson, Miss Hannah, 347.
Singleton, Richard, 184.
Skelton, Bathurst, 86.
Mrs. Martha, 66, 86.
Slater education fund, 424.
Slidell, John, 284, 318.
Small, Dr. William, 63.
Smith, Caleb B. , 307.
General E. Kirby, 327, 371.
Gerrit, 445.
Hoke, of Georgia, 482.
Miss Abigail, 37.
Richard, 243.
Robert, 79.
576
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Smith, William, 60, 202, 207.
Soule, Pierre, 270.
Southard, William L., 207, 280.
South Mountain, battle of, 311.
Spanish reciprocity, 475.
Sparks, Dr. Jared, 2, 9, 28.
Spartan firmness, 170.
Specie payments, 385, 420.
Speed, James, 308.
Spencer, Ambrose, 172.
John C, 249.
Spoils system, 129, 156.
Squatter sovereignty, 293.
Stalwart Republicans, 440.
Stanford university, 505.
Stanton, Edwin M., 297, 308, 344.
Stark, Colonel John, 140.
State department, 503, 504.
rights, 202.
sovereignty, 436.
Stevens, Edwin A., 35.
Stevenson, Andrew, 184.
Stewart, Alexander T., 387.
Stirhng, Earl of, 107.
Stone, Uriah, pioneer, 444.
Stoneman, General George S., 367.
Stowe, Mrs. Harriet B., 333.
Professor Calvin E., 262.
Story, Judge Joseph, 397.
Strikes in Illinois, 489.
Stuart, Alexander H. H., 242, 252, 256.
General J. E. B., 322.
Gilbert, 29, 35, 60, 105, 118.
John T., 303.
Sullivan, General, 42.
Sumner, William G., 167.
Sumter, Fort, attack on, 295, 297.
General, 137.
Swing, Professor David, 493.
Symmes, Miss Anna, 187.
John Cleves, 187.
Taft, Judge Alonzo, 387, 404.
Talcott, General S. V., 447.
Talleyrand, Marquis, 46, 56, 57, 102, 112.
Talmadge, Nathaniel P., 209.
Taney, Roger B., 158, 164.
Tariff biU, 1884, 488.
of abominations, 159.
reform, 481.
Tayloe, Colonel Ogle, 257.
Taylor, Colonel Richard, 333.
General Richard, 244, 245.
Taylor, Hancock, 233, 244.
James,
Mrs. Margaret, 243.
Taylor Zachary, 233-245 ; mentioned,
155, 178, 222, 250, 251, 304, 348.
Tazewell, Littleton W., 198.
Tecumseh, 144, 145, 187, 188, 189.
Teller, Henry M., 454.
Tennessee legislature, 153.
Tenure-of-office bill, 374.
Terry, General Alfred H., 365.
Thames, battle of the, 190, 191.
Thomas, General George H., 323, 359,
365, 431 > 432, 442, 443-
General Lorenzo, 344.
Thompson, Colonel Jeff., 351.
Jacob, 290.
Richard W., 408.
Thompson's Presidents, 261.
Thurman, Allen G., 401.
Tilden, Samuel J., 245, 386, 406, 414.
Timberlake, Mrs., 157.
Tippecanoe, battle of, 189, 234.
Todd, John, 333.
Mrs. Dorothy P., loi, 106.
Miss Mary, 332.
Robert S., 333, 334.
Tompkins, Daniel D., 113, 169, 170.
Topeka convention, 293.
Toucey, Isaac, 290.
Trumbell, John, 29.
Lyman, 304.
Truxton, Captain, 57.
Tucker, George P., 118.
Professor George, 84.
Twiggs, Colonel David E., 150.
Tyler, Judge John, 94, 99, 195.
Tyler, John, 195-213 ; mentioned, 192,
222, 283.
Lyon Gardiner, 198, 213, 215.
Mrs. Julia Gardiner, 213-214.
Mrs. Letitia, 214.
Mrs. Priscilla, 214.
Tyner, James A., 387.
Underwood, Judge, 372.
Union Club, New York, 119.
Pacific railway, 136, 437.
United States bank, 161, 162, 170, 195,
200, 203, 205.
navy, 461.
University of New York, 171.
Upham, Charles W., 28.
INDEX.
577
Upshur, Abel Parker, 208.
Usher, John Palmer, 308.
Utah commission, 462.
Valentia, General, 266.
Vallandigham, Clement L., 319, 323.
Valley Forge, sufferings of, 14.
Van Alen, James J., i6g.
Van Buren, Abraham, i6g, 181, 182, 183.
John, 181, 182.
Van Buren, Martin, biography of, 169-
181 ; mentioned, 134, 155, 157, 162,
166, 192, 199, 200, 203, 205, 211, 219,
221, 283.
Mrs. Angelica, 184.
Mrs. Hannah, 181.
Vanderbilt, William H., 394.
Vanderlyn, John, 118.
Van Ness, William P., 169, 183.
Van Vechten, Abraham, 171.
Vassall mansion, the, 12.
Vauguyon, Due de la, 45, 46.
Vergennes, Count, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 73.
Vernon, Admiral, 4.
Vicksburg, siege of, 320, 356, 358.
Victoria, Queen, 3S9.
Vilas, William T., 475.
Virgil, the poet, 69.
Virginia dynasty, the, 170. ^
Jefferson's, 62, 63.
University Magazine, 215.
University of, 35.
Virginius outrage, the, 383.
Volk, Leonard W., 332.
Volney, Count C. F., 79.
Von Hoist, Herman E., 167, 176, 261.
Voorhees, Senator, 495.
Waite, Chief-Justice, 452, 466, 475.
Waldo, Samuel P., 117.
Wales, Prince of, 299, 389.
Walker, Robert J., 222.
William, 269.
Wallace, General Lewis, 261, 512.
War Democrats, 166.
War of 1S12, the, 104.
Ward, John Q. A., 443.
Warren, General Gouverneur K. , 364.
General Joseph, 39.
Washburne, Elihu B., 376, 3S7, 561.
Washington, Andrew, i.
Augustine, 3.
Bushrod, 28.
Washington, capture of, 147.
Washington, Elizabeth, 33.
Washington, George, biography of,
1-29 ; mentioned, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,
35, 41, 52, 68, 74, 76, 83, 93, 97, 101,
106, 107, 142.
Henry A., 84.
John, I.
Lawrence, 4, 5.
Levi, 158.
Mrs. Martha, 29, 31, 32, 35.
Mrs. Mary, 2, 34.
Washington treaty, 3S1, 457.
Waters, Henry F., i.
Wayles, John, 66, 86.
Martha, 86.
Wayne, General Anthony, 186.
Waxham settlement, 137.
Webb, Miss Lucy Ware, 425.
Webster, Daniel, 85, 117, 133, 142, i6o,
175, 193, 201, 202, 205, 207, 2c8, 210,
2521 253, 256, 260, 268, 284, 436.
Historical society, 463.
Weed, Thurlow, 288.
Weems, Mason L., 28.
Welles, Gideon, 307, 561.
WeUington, Duke of, 147, 155, 157.
Wentworth, John, 36, 41.
Wertmuller, Adolph U., 29.
Western Reserve, the, 426.
West India trade, 174.
Westminster Abbey, London, 544.
West Point military academy, 347, 431,
517-
West Virginia engagements, 514.
Wheatland, Pa., 2S6, 29S, 299.
Wheeler, General Joseph, 536.
Whisky frauds, 3S6.
White, Andrew D., 486.
White House, the, 86, 142, 215, 276, 346,
425. 467, 491. 545-
White, Hugh L., 175, 202, 219, 337.
Whitney, William C, 475, 562.
Whittier, John G., 166.
Whittle, J. Lowr}^, 496.
Wickliffe, Charles S., 208.
Wikoff Camp, Long Island, 537.
Wilderness, battle of, 322, 361, 467.
VVileland's Oberon, 121.
Wiley, General Aquila, 517.
Wilkins, William, 558.
William and Mary college, 5, 62, 63, 71,
107, 195, 198, 215.
578
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS.
Williams college, 428, 429.
Williams, George H., 387, 561.
Ramon O., 485.
Wilmot proviso, 172, 177, 178, 223, 227.
Wilson, James, 526, 563.
James Grant, 261, 350, 359, 394.
James M., 437.
William L., 563.
Winchester, battle of, 364, 369, 515.
Winchester, General James, iSS, 189.
Windom, William, 439, 454, 562.
Windsor Castle, England, 3S9.
" Winning of the West, The," 550, 554.
Winthrop, John, statue, 442.
Wirt, William, 113, 162, 163, 199.
Wise, Henry A., 213.
Wister, Owen, author Roosevelt article,
545-
Wolcott, Oliver, 557.
Woodbury, Dr. Robert, 244.
Levi, 262, 264, 559.
Woodford, Stewart L., 527, 530-534.
Wood, General Leonard, 551.
Wood tariff bill, 517.
Woolly, John G., 563.
Worcester, Professor Dean C, 539.
Worth, General William J., 266, 348.
Wright, Silas, 250, 264.
Wythe, George, 63, 64, 70, 99.
X. Y. Z. despatches, 56, 57, 102.
Yates, Governor Richard, 350.
York, Sir Joseph, 46.
Yorktown, battle of, 14.
monument, 454.
surrender of, 454.
Young, John Russell, 394.
Yucatan's appeal, 284.
Yucon river, Alaska, 529.
Zollicoffer, General F. K., killed, 431.
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