THE LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA
THE COLLECTION OF
NORTH CAROLINLANA
PRESENTED BY
laughters of American Colonists
in honor of Lena ^ke Williams
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This book must not
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Form No. 471
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THE REPUBLIC:
OR,
A HISTORY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THE ADMINISTRATIONS,
From thk NIonarchic Colonial Days
TO THE PRESENX TIIvIKS.
JOHN ROBERT IRELAN, IVE. D.
IN EIGHTEEN VOLUIVIES.
Volume VII.
CHICAGO:
Fairbanks and Palivier Publishing Co.
Boston : Martin Garrison & Co. New York : John Cummings.
Washington, D. C: W. F. Morse. Cincinnati : The Cincinnati Publishing Co.
St. Louis: E. Holdoway. Minneapolis: Buckeye Publishing Co.
San Francisco : J. Dewing & Co.
1887.
COPYRIGHTED
BY L. T. F-ALIvlER,
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
HISTORY
LIFE, ADMINISTRATION,
AND TIMES
OF
Andrew Jackson.
Seventh ^reeibent of the WLniteii ^tate».
Indian Wars of the South, War of 1812,
AND
First Decade of the New Political Era.
JOHN ROBERT IRELAN, IVI. D.
CHICAGO:
Ra-irbanks and F*alivier Publishing Co.
1887.
COPYRIGHTED
BY li. T. PALIvIER,
1887.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PRKKACK.
MORE has been written, perhaps, in one way or
another, about General Jackson than any other
President of the United States ; and his name and
character still remain fruitful sources of speculation
and profit among political speakers and writers. Many
voluminous works which, by their titles, would indi-
cate wide fields of historic research, are largely taken
up with his good and evil deeds, and their relation to
national affairs and political organizations.
The newspapers and magazines of the country for
many years teemed with praises or abuses of him.
Scarcely a book of travels or reminiscences can be
found which does not contain something of this won-
derful person, who was said, by William Cobbett, to be
the greatest and bravest man who had ever lived in
this world, so far as he knew.
Many " lives " of General Jackson were written
during his three Presidential campaigns ; and most of
these were unreliable panegyrics. In later days more
able hands have written of this meaty subject with
great interest and fairness in respect to history and
fact without consulting party tendencies and preju-
6 PREFACE.
dices. Between them and the General's early biogra-
phers and eulogists lies a very considerable chasm,
which can not be obliterated. And, after all that has
been written by careful and careless hands, the di-
versity of opinion as to many of Jackson's acts remains
now nearly where it was at the end of his life. Even
about the place of his birth there is still some doubt.
There appear among historians and biographers
two quite opposite dispositions as to the birthplaces and
parentage of heroes. With one class the character
worthy of biographic distinction must be well born,
with fine, consequential, old, and wealthy ancestry.
With the other there is an equally determined effort
to make the greatest possible display of a "poor but
honest parentage," and the wonder, admiration, and
respect which should be attached to results so phe-
nomenal under circumstances so unlikely. Even among
the most democratic of these writers nationality cuts
no small figure. With an air of apology it may often
be found said that General Jackson came of " Irish "
parents, but who were themselves of " Scottish " origin,
as if this were the way out of a social and physical
misfortune.
In a political sense these capers are ludicrous and
contemptible enough, however vast, grand, potential,
and unavoidable to the scientist may be the question
of heredity. In poverty and wealth, of themselves,
there should be no honor or offense in the Republic.
And too great and uncertain have been the vicissi-
PREFACE. 7
tudes in the families of men who were themselves
distinguished for wisdom and virtue for an American
historian to intrench himself behind a position so
assailable.
Of this extraordinary character, his work, the party
he remodeled or organized, his times, his administra-
tion of the affairs of the Government, and of the
remains of his posthumous influence, I have written
without reference to the preferences or inclinations
of his political friends or enemies. Drawing from
every possible source, I have given credit where it was
feasible and proper, for what I have appropriated.
And whether the picture here drawn may or may not
be found everywhere acceptable, no effort or desire
has been spared to render it true to life.
CONTKNTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page.
Parentage, Relatives, and Ancestors of General
Jackson 15
CHAPTER II.
General Jackson's Birth and Education — Qui, Qu.t-:,
■ Quod — Labeled for a Preacher .... 23
CHAPTER III.
The Young Whig Soldier — AVas General Jackson a
Schoolmaster ? — Now and Then — A Picture . 32
CHAPTER IV.
Jackson becomes Attorney for the Western District —
Emigrates to Nashville — Marriage — The Duel-
ist — The State Constitution — A New Figure in
Congress 38
CHAPTER V.
Andrew Jackson at the Beginning of the Century —
Superior Judge — General of Militia — Trader and
Horse-racer 5-4
CHAPTER VI.
Jackson and the Bentons — Fights and Duels — A Na-
tional Disgrace — Wounded for Life at Last . 65
(9)
10 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Page.
General Jackson and Aaron Burr .... 82
CHAPTER VIII.
Creek War — General Jackson steps into Public Es-
teem — Expedition to Natchez — "Old Hickory" —
Jesse Benton, His Mark — Fort Mims — Coffee at
Talluschatches — The Story of Lincoyer . . 97
CHAPTER IX.
Battle of Talladega — General Cocke — Jackson con-
quers A Mutinous Army 122
CHAPTER X.
Creek War — Settling Mutiny with the Pistol — Gen-
eral Jackson gathers Doubtful Laurels at Emuck-
FAU AND EnOTACHOPCO FlOYD AND WeATHERSFORD
AT Calibee — Who was First, the Red or the
White Man? 136
CHAPTER XI.
End of the Creek War — Battle of Tohopeka — John
Woods — Red Eagle — The Conqueror becomes a
Major-General — Treaty of Fort Jackson . .166
CHAPTER XII.
The Governor of Florida hears from the New Rep-
resentative OF THE United States — Battle of
Fort Bowyer — Barataria — Jean Lafitte, the
Pirate and Patriot 190
CHAPTER XIII.
General Jackson visits Pensacola with Three Thou-
sand Men — Drives the British out of Florida —
The One Man at New Orleans — The British on
the Mississippi — Preparations for the Conflict 207
CONTENTS. 11
CHAPTER XIV.
Page.
Battle of the Night of the 23d— British Reconnois-
SANCE of the 28th— The Brave Baratarians — The
Story of the Cotton-bales 234
CHAPTER XV.
Battle of New Orleans— 8th of January, 1814 . 249
CHAPTER XVI.
General Jackson's Crown of Laurel — Judge Hall and
THE Fine of One Thousand Dollars — The Hero of
New Orleans at Home 268
CHAPTER XVII.
Execution of the Militia-men — The 8th of Jan-
uary AND THE Presidency— The Administration Ig-
nored — General Scott and Governor Adair . 282
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Seminole War— General Jackson and Governor
Rabun— Negro Fort— The Chief McIntosh . 309
CHAPTER XIX.
First Seminole War— General Jackson Visits Flor-
id ^ — A Wonderful Tragedy — Trial and Tri-
umph—On THE Way to the White House . . 324
CHAPTER XX.
The First Governor of Florida— Judge Fromentin
AND THE Dons—' ' Aunt Rachel " . . . .348
CHAPTER XXI.
General Jackson's New Dream— The White House in
the Distance — "Ways that are Dark" — The
Race— The Means— The Thwarted Wn.L of the
People
364
12 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXII.
Page.
"Bargain and Corruption" — Bitter Contest for the
Presidency — Successful this Time — Inauguration
OF General Jackson — Mr. Adams's Opinion — Gram-
mar NOT Counted 887
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Cabinet — Work of Reform — Reign of Terror —
The Scandal — All about Nothing — The Country
PUT TO Shame 405
CHAPTER XXIV.
President Jackson's First Annual Message — Acts of
Congress — The Veto breaks the Dream of Inter-
nal Improvements — Nullification Sanctioned in
Georgia 419
CHAPTER XXV.
General Jackson makes the First Thrust at Nullifi-
cation — " The Federal Union : It must be Pre-
served" — Bank of the United States — Mr. Cal-
houn — Plans FOR "Matty" — "The Globe" . . 454
CHAPTER XXVI.
President Jackson's Second Annual Message — Con-
gress EN THE Winter of 1830 — The President's
Legal Advisers — The Kitchen Cabinet . . 476
CHAPTER XXVII.
Third Annual Message — Mr. Van Buren and the
Senate — The Giant and the Bank — Disgraceful
Scenes at the National Capital .... 521
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Presidential Election of 1832 — Cholera Ravages —
Fourth Annual Message — Black Hawk — Nullifi-
cation ......... 549
CONTENTS. 13
CHAPTER XXIX.
Page
General Jackson and the Nullifiers— Nullification
Proclamation— A Compromise— Who triumphs ? .
580
616
626
CHAPTER XXX.
Electoral Count— President Jackson's Fourth Inau-
gural Address— Harvard makes another LL. D.
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Two Gdlnts, the Man and the Bank— Willl^m J.
DUANE ALSO FALLS— A WoNDERFUL CONTEST .
CHAPTER XXXII.
President Jackson's Fifth Annual Message — War
WITH THE Senate
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Bank Conflict goes on— Fierce Struggle be-
tween THE President and the Senate— Sixth An-
nual Message— Quarrel with France— Public Debt
liquidated ....••••
CHAPTER XXXIV.
President Jackson's Seventh Annual Message— Presi-
723
dential Election
CHAPTER XXXV.
Preshjent Jackson's Last Annual Message — Last ^
Pocket Veto — Final Triumphs . . • . <65
CHAPTER XXXVI.
End of General Jackson's Administration— Farewell
Address- Lshtates Washington— Reception by the
T> ... 799
People
14 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Page.
The Little Church at the Hermitage — The End —
Last Words — Death — The Grave of General
Jackson 821
CHAPTER XXXVm.
Andrew Jackson, the Man — His Character and Serv-
ices 834
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Rachel Jackson — The Hermitage — The White House —
Graves of the Happy Family — General Jackson
AND Swedenborg 845
LIFE, ADMINISTRATION. AND TIMES
OF
Andrew Jackson,
SEVENTH F»RESIDENX OE THE UNITED STATES,
March 4, 1829, to March 4, 1837.
CHARTER I.
PARENTAGE, RELATIVES, AND ANCESTORS OF •
GENERAL JACKSON.
THE ancestors of General Jackson, on both sides,
were doubtlessly of Scotch origin. At a time
when Great Britain gave a few privileges to settlers
in Ireland, some of these ancestors took up their
residence in the Province of Ulster. But there is not
the slightest evidence that any of them rose to special
note. The annals of Carrickfergus, where the Jack-
sons and the Hutchinsons lived, make little or no
mention of them.
The Jacksons, especially, seemed, like most of their
neighbors, to be improAddent and worthless. Hugh
Jackson, the grandfather of the General, was said to
have been a linen-draper ; and an apparent attempt
has been made to let this signify that he was the
15
16 LIFE AND TIMES OF
owner of looms, factory, and a business of consid-
erable extent. However much or little truth there is
in this, one thing is certain ; that is, that the great
masses of men and women, married and single, around
Belfast were engaged in the linen factories ; or the
women in these and the men on the farms at days' work,
or were living under the system of lordly tenantry.
Two of the sons of this Hugh, Samuel and Andrew,
came to America, the former settling in Philadelphia.
A daughter of another son of Hugh settled in New
York. Andrew, with his wife and two sons, born at
Carrickfergus (the Crag of Fergus), landed, with a
company of relatives and neighbors, at Charleston,
South Carolina. Five sisters of Elizabeth Hutchinson,
wife of this Andrew, also came over. Three Craw-
ford families were in this Charleston company, and
one of these Crawfords was married to a sister of
Mrs. Andrew Jackson. George McCamie (or Mc-
Kemey) was also married to one of these Hutchinson
sisters, and a Mr. Leslie to another, and these, at
least, of Mrs. Jackson's relatives were among her
neighbors in Carolina. There were also other rela-
tives ; and these emigrants already had relatives in what
was then knowm as the Waxhaws or Waxhaw settle-
ment about forty or fifty miles from Camden, and near
the boundary line of North Carolina, or partly in both
States. To these settlements Andrew Jackson and
the Crawfords went. The Crawfords bought land on
the Waxhaw Creek, a tributary of the Catawba. But
Andrew Jackson located on Twelve-Mile Creek,
another tributary of the Catawba, several miles away
in North Carolina, and not far from Monroe, the
present seat of Union County.
ANDREW JACKSON. 17
While it seems that Andrew Jackson was not so
thrifty as his wife's relatives, and that he had lived like
most of the wretched people of Ireland, perhaps, the
facts concerning his conduct in America do not
strengthen or establish the theory of his utter shift-
lessness, or that he came over here without any
" visible means of support." While the carelessly
kept old Carolina records do not show that he owned
the land on which he settled, or any other, indeed, it
is generally conceded that he treated it much as if it
had been his own. The value of the land was then
trifling, and the outlay to acquire the title would not
have been great. At any rate, he built the cabin in
which he lived, and went to work to clear and improve
the land. While he might have been a very poor
man, he was evidently not destitute of spirit or pur-
pose, and whether he was able to own the land or
not, it was the opinion of Amos Kendall, who had
more information from General Jackson than any
other man who^ has written about him, that Jackson
did own the land. But whether this is of any im-
portance or not, it is a question involved in some
uncertainty.
It was in 1765 that Andrew Jackson and his rela-
tives came to America, and in the spring of 1767, he
died. His body was carried by his family over to the
church-yard of the Waxhaw settlement, and there
buried. Mrs. Jackson did not return at once to her
cabin home, and, may be, never did return to it.
With George McCamie (or McKemey) she stayed for
a few weeks until after the birth of her son, whom
she named Andrew, in honor of his father. McCamie,
this relative, lived in North Carolina, also in a log
2— G
18 LIFE AND TIMES OF
cabin, within a few hundred yards of the South Caro-
lina line.
In due time after this event Mrs. Jackson went to
her sister's, Mrs. James Crawford's, in Lancaster Dis-
trict, South Carolina, where she made her home, at
least for a time, and probably for the rest of her life ;
although it seems quite likely that Mrs. Jackson held
some interest in the land on which she had lived, and
derived some benefit from that interest. She may
have returned to the place and lived on it for a time,
according to the opinion of most writers, who have
examined the subject, but this is extremely doubtful.
During the Revolutionary War she changed about
among her relatives and friends, as her condition
seemed to require. But this wandering period was
temporary, and was owing mainly to the character of
the warfare carried on in that region. The readiness
with which she made these trips and visited different
parts of the Waxhaw settlement, even at times going
to Camden and Charleston, would, perhaps, go far
towards proving that she was not wholly dependent
on her relatives. She was possessed of a sound,
strong body, not only fitting her for these rough trips,
however they were made, but also rendering her serv-
iceable in such trying times, among her relatives and
friends. She, at least, belonged to the useful class of
" poor kin." She hated a " red-coat," and was warmly
devoted to the cause of her adopted country. She
urged forward her children to engage in the great
struggle, which was brought to every door, and in
which all were alike concerned. Her eldest son,
Hugh, was in the engagement at Stono on June 20,
1779, under the patriotic and subsequently distin-
ANDREW JACKSON. 19
guished William Richardson Davie, and soon after-
wards died from the effects of his exertions in the
unsuccessful rencounter.
Mrs. Jackson traveled over to Camden, forty-five
miles, to become nurse to her two other sons in the
British small-pox prison; and by her exertions they
and some of their relatives were exchanged. But her
elder son, Robert, died of the disease. Andrew she
nursed safely through, and then hearing of the suffer-
ing of relatives and friends in the prison ships at
Charleston, she traveled down there in 1781, on foot,
perhaps, a hundred and sixty miles, to do what she
could to relieve their sufferings and hardships. While
thus engaged, she " took ship fever," and died at the
house of William Barton, a relative, two or three
miles from Charleston. Barton buried her remains, but
nobody now knows where. Nor did her son ever dis-
cover the place of her interment. All she had in the
world, her worthless clothes, it is said, were sent to
her remaining child, Andrew. Thus ended the career
of this unlettered, hardy, patriotic, persevering, and,
no doubt, worthy woman, one of the virtuous and best
of the Irish pioneers of Carolina.
All of these Hutchinson sisters were more than
ordinary among the uneducated of their country-
women. The Crawfords, McCamies, Bartons, Leslies,
and others of Mrs. Jackson's relatives were thrifty,
enterprising people, and of course, in the Revolution
were all good Whigs. A race of independent, free-
spirited people in Ireland, they could not have been
less here. For generations they had been Protestants
in religion, as had been the Jacksons, and the trials
through which they had passed for conscience' sake
20 LIFE AND TIMES OF
had invigorated their minds, improved their characters,
and made them a stirring, progressive, thinking, intel-
ligent race. Few of the early Irish emigrants to this
country surpassed them in the qualities and virtues
which are at once the great supports of human
liberty, and of just and stable government.
Of the Christian parents of Andrew Jackson about
all that is known has now been said here ; and prob-
ably as much that is favorable as the case will calmly
sustain. Yet the evidence is as clear and gratifying
that nothing worse can be said of them than has been
written in these lines.
Of the funeral of Andrew Jackson, Sen., and the
old grave-yard where his earthly body was deposited,
James Parton thus writes : —
" In a rude farm-wagon the corpse, accompanied, as it seems,
in the same vehicle by all the little family, was conveyed to the
old Waxhaw church-yard, and interred. No stone marks the
spot beneath which the bones have moldered ; but tradition points
it out. In thiat ancient place of burial, families sleep together,
and the place where Andrew Jackson lies is known by the grave-
stones which record the names of his wife's relations, the Craw-
fords, the McKemeys, and others.
"A strange and lonely place is that old grave-yard to this
day. A little church (the third that has stood near that spot)
having nothing whatever of the ecclesiastical in its appearance,
resembling rather a neat farm-house, stands, not in the church-
yard, but a short distance from it. Huge trees, with smaller
pines among them, rise singly and in clumps, as they were
originally left by those who first subdued the wilderness there.
Great roots of trees roughen the red clay roads. The church is
not now used, because of some schism respecting psalmody and
close communion ; and the interior, unpainted, unceiled, and
uncushioned, with straight-backed pews, and rough Sunday-
school benches, looks grimly wooden and desolate as the traveler
removes the chip that keeps the door from blowing open, and
peeps in. Old as the settlement is, the country is but thinly
ANDREW JACKSON. 21
inhabited, and the few houses near look like those of a just-peopled
country in the northern States. Miles and miles and miles, you
may ride in the pine woods and ' ' old fields " of that country,
without meeting a vehicle or seeing a living creature. So that
when the stranger stands in that church-yard among the old
graves, though there is a house or two not far off, but not in
sight, he has the feeling of one who comes upon the ancient
burial-place of a race extinct. Rude old stones are there that
were placed over graves when as yet a stone-cutter was not in the
Province ; stones upon which coats-of-arms were once engraved,
still partly decipherable ; stones which are modern compared with
these, yet record the exploits of revolutionary soldiers ; stones so
old that every trace of inscription is lost, and stones as new as
the new year. The inscriptions on the grave-stones are unusu-
ally simple and direct, and free from sniveling and cant."
Mr. Frost, one of General Jackson's biographers
says, in speaking of the death of Andrew, Sen.:
" By this sudden bereavement, the care of educating
the three boys devolved upon Mrs. Jackson, a lady
who appears to have been eminently qualified for the
task."
Just how Mr. Frost ascertained that Mrs. Jackson
was eminently qualified for such a task, or what the
evidences of the qualifications were, it is not easy to
say. It appears that she was called " good Aunt Betty,"
and "Aunt Betty" among her acquaintances. But
this could hardly be taken as a qualification for rear-
ing and educating boys. Most women who have been
unfortunate enough to be called " good Aunt Betty,"
"good Aunt Phyllis," etc., have been proverbially good
for no such thing. They have mainly been ignorant
old persons good for looking after stone-bruises, leg-
aches, small whims, tittle-tattle, patches and rents, and
preventing the growth of self-reliant, strong, manly
fellows.
22 LIFE AND TIMES OF
There is not the remotest evidence that Mrs. Jack-
son was endowed with many of the ordinarily highly
esteemed valuable traits as an educator of wise and
great children. The simple woman hardly knew
enough to tell her sons in what State they lived.
Nobody could, with truth or certainty, make any claims
for her accomplishments, or the many-sided culture
and wisdom that would peculiarly fit a mother to care
for the education of her children.
Still the mother of Jackson deserved the eulogy of
James Parton, who speaks, in the following style of
her and the place where her distinguished son was
born : —
"In a large field, near the edge of a wide, shallow ravine,
on the plantation of Mr. W. J. Cureton, there is to be seen a
great clump, or natural summer-house, of Catawba grape-vines.
Some remains of old fruit-trees near by, and a spring a little
way down the ravine, indicate that a human habitation once stood
near this spot. It is a still and solitary place, away from the
road, in a red, level region, where the young pines are in haste
to cover the well-worn cotton fields, and man seems half inclined
to let them do it, and move to Texas, Upon looking under the
masses of grape-vine, a heap of large stones showing traces of
fire is discovered. These stones once formed the chimney and
fire-place of the log house wherein George McKemey lived and
Andrew Jackson was born. On that old yellow hearth-stone
Mrs. Jackson lulled her infant to sleep, and brooded over her
sad bereavement, and thought anxiously respecting the future of
her fatherless boys. Sacred spot ! not so much because there a
hero was born, as because there a noble mother suflTered, sorrowed,
and accepted her new lot, and bravely bent herself to her more
than doubled weight of care and toil."
ANDREW JACKSON. 23
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL JACKSON'S BIRTH AND EDUCATION— QUI, QUM,
QUOD— LABELED FOR A PREACHER.
GENERAL JACKSON was born March 15, 1767,
in what is now Union County, North Carolina,
at the house of his uncle, George McKemey ; and a
few weeks subsequently was taken by his mother to
live at James Crawford's, in Lancaster District
(County), South Carolina. Here he liA'^ed, mainly,
until after the death of his mother. It must, how-
eA^er, be said that Jackson appeared to entertain the
belief that his native place was in South Carolina.
"With some degree of confidence he mentioned the
matter as a fact, and Mr. Kendall who got all his
information from the General, so believed.
It is said that Andrew was his mother's " darling
child." If Andrew was her darling, if mothers will
have special favorites in their flocks, what must have
been the other boys ? A more forbidding, dirty-
mouthed, freckled-faced, ill-tempered, ungainly little
fellow than Andrew Jackson it certainly would have
been difficult to find ; a careless, coarse, and reckless
boy. Mr. Parton tells that he found one of the old
Crawford negroes down in Carolina who helped doctor
Andrew for the " big-itch." This \yas the regular
" seven-years' itch," and everybody ought to know that
dirt, filthiness, is the main cause of this vile skin disease.
24 LIFE AND TIMES OF
What parents have not some early plans for their
children, careers usually mapped out without reference
to qualities ? Merely fancy schemes they are, espe-
cially for boys ; and seldom to be realized. As to
girls the case is much more simple and regular in
solution. They are to be nothing, and then to be
married and settle down to a routine, having as a
considerable part of its ingredients, dress and gossip,
if these grand objects of life have been even so long
neglected.
Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson was moderate in her am-
bition as to her three sons. Hugh and Robert were
to be tillers of the soil. But there must always be
one great man in every family ; at least, one in some
learned profession, which amounts to the same thing
with many simple people. So Mrs. Jackson decided
that Andrew should be a Presbyterian preacher. But
this summary disposition of him never could have been
to Andrew's taste.
"Andy " was a really naughty boy, a bad boy, and
carried with him throughout life, the qualities that
made him so. One of his bad traits was swearing.
At a very early age he was wont to strengthen his
choice and refined speech with oaths ; and during the
greater part of his life this senseless and villainous
habit stuck to him. But many a very respectable
preacher has at some period of his life been a " pro-
fane " swearer.
However, Andrew was sent to the country school,
beginning quite early, too, where, in the course of
time, he learned to " calculate," to write, and to read
or " say," but not to pronounce. Still, in this de-
ficiency was he much worse off' than children who attend
ANDREW JACKSON. 25
schools at this day ? Spelling was never an accom-
plishment with him; and during his races for a dis-
tinguished office, in after times, much sport was made
of his inability to manage this mysterious science.
Mrs. Jackson and her son were not pleased with
his advantages in the " old-field schools," a name once
employed in a great part of the South, and derived,
properly enough, from the locality of the school-house
in fields found to be worthless, or worn out and
thrown out to the sassafras, oak, and pine. Accord-
ingly he was sent to a higher school, called an acad-
emy, and kept in the Waxhaw Church, by a Mr.
Humphries. There, it is said, he was introduced to
the classics. With Mr. Humphries, it is claimed by
some, he acquired the rudiments of Latin and Greek,
and Mr. Frost goes so far as to assert that he pursued
these studies for some time " with ardor and success,"
all of which is doubtful, if not wholly unfounded in fact.
After stating that nothing whatever can now be
found concerning the school of this Presbyterian
preacher, Humphries, or of the character of the teacher,
Mr. Parton in his part of the education " boom " de-
liberately calls him " Dr." Humphries ; a ridiculous
performance, if not meant to be so. Mr. Parton evi-
dently forgot that Harvard College had not yet set
the doubtful example of conferring undeserved degrees
and titles, as she did long subsequently in the person
of Andrew Jackson. General Jackson, LL. D., or
Major-General Doctor Andrew Jackson, the Hero of
New Orleans !
Among some Christian denominations it is common
in these days to call their preacher " Doctor." Every
new preacher who comes to town is at once dubbed
26 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" Doctor," although he may possess unexemplary hab-
its, and be a novice or an old granny in theologic wis-
dom ; without his having passed a college door, and
even when his speech presents an open certificate to
any man of his .inability to speak correctly even his
mother tongue. The whole practice, besides being
unrepublican, unmanly, and disgusting, is insincere,
immodest, and unchristian. This preacher, Humphries,
a teacher of General Jackson, might have been a very
deserving man, and a wise theologian, but every thing
concerning him is now as much a matter of fable as
is the education of Jackson.
All this wonderful book-training occurred before
the Carolinas became seriously involved in the War of
the Revolution. After the peace, it is claimed that young
Andy attended other schools, that he " completed his
classical education " under a Mr. McCuUoch, who had
a school at Hill's Iron Works, and that he spent some
time in what was termed Queen's College, at Char-
lotte, North Carolina, or that he would have done so,
if it had not been for his squandering a patrimony
which never existed except in the imagination of a
fiction-liking people.
There seems to have been an impression pervading
the minds of most of General Jackson's earlier biog-
raphers that there could be little chance for him ever
to rise to eminence without classic lore, which meant
some knowledge of Latin and Greek ; and since he did
become greatly distinguished, of course he was a clas-
sical scholar. If General Jackson did any way get a
knowledge of these dead languages, " preliminary to
entering the University," as Goodwin says, it never
made much impression for the better in his use of the
ANDREW JACKSON. 27
English, nor did it crop out throughout his life as one
of his erudite acquisitions. But from his want of this
so-called ancient lore, or from the great practical bear-
ing of his mind, he was saved in his old age from
making foolish displays of what some of his predeces-
sors were unable to recognize as in bad taste, if not
extremely vulgar.
Still, General Jackson, at times, like some of his
biographers and many other people, seemed to labor
under the conviction that a little Latin and Greek now
and then were very good and essential things, if not
really significative of stupendous learning and over-
shadowing greatness. There is nothing that ignorant
and uneducated people dislike more than to be unable to
appear wise, or to know well, to all outward appear-
ances, the most recondite things, or to see an idol fall
below their standard of noncomprehensibility. Gen-
eral Jackson read poor human nature, and knew this
defect well; and often acted upon the knowledge in
the beautiful letters which gave him fame, and which
were, unfortunately for the old hero, written by Henry
Lee, William B. Lewis, and other friends. The story
is told that knowing how prone unlettered people are
to Latin, and grand, sounding, meaningless, and un-
fathomable speech, in closing one of his addresses to
a vast crowd, the General took occasion with powerful
tone and gesture, to sum up in overwhelming argu-
ment with about all the Latin he ever knew : ''Mulr
tum in parvo, vade mecum, sine qua non, ne plus^ ultra,
sine die, ad captandum vulgus, e plurihus unum." The
effect was astounding, and cheer after cheer indicated
how thoroughly convinced the people were that Gen-
eral Jackson was the noblest Roman of them all.
28 LIFE AND TIMES OF
It is a singular fact that even yet the greatest stress
is placed upon the least valuable things in the educa-
tion of public men. When Latin and Greek are men-
tioned they are taken for everything else. How little
true this ever was, especially under the old regime
where pupils were required to commit to memory the
Latin grammar, when they could not correctly write a
sentence in their own tongue ! Of the great mass of
men, and even of scholars, so-called, few know the
names and character of the grasses or plants in their
own yards and fields, or of the thousands of living
creatures, great and small, that surround them, or the
history of the earth and man, or of the State or coun-
try in which they were born, or have an intimate
knowledge of their own bodies, or any of their organs,
or have but the vaguest knowledge of the food
which sustains, or the foods and poisons which kill
them.
Yet many of these unknowing people, even in their
old age, when better things might well occupy their
minds, spend hours and days of precious life piddling
over the tongues of nations long extinct, and whose
examples have in them nothing of benefit to the living
world. There has ever been a charm about qui, quce,
quod, TtTUfcoQ, TETUfuTia, T^xbipoz, which may not soon dis-
appear, however ill we speak of them.
Without questioning a limited and proper use to
the Latin and Greek, it may be confidently claimed,
on general, practical principles, that an intimate history
of one of the least of God's living creatures, a plant, a
weed, a bacterium, an insignificant insect, a bee, an
ant, a flea, is of more interest and worth than that of
dead Greece and Rome.
ANDREW JACKSON. 29
But to end this matter as to General Jackson's lit-
erary acquirements. Most people in this country
knew long ago that Andrew Jackson was not a pro-
found scholar. He was never a reader. He was not
a correct writer or speaker. But he could often write
rapidly, and most frequently wrote with much force,
as he talked. Every one of his public papers was re-
vised by somebody before it was given to the world;
and few of his letters and speeches ever reached the
public without this supervision. Many of his letters
and public documents were the productions of other
men in grammar, language, and sentiment. But most
of his best letters, and most fiery and able public pa-
pers, were of his own dictation. Indeed, he was never
at a loss for ideas, good ideas, for every occasion ; nor
did he need to borrow force and appropriateness of
speech from any man. A great outcry was made
about Jackson's bad spelling ; but that was a less serious
matter at his day than it might possibly or well be
now. While many public characters were poor spell-
ers, it would, perhaps, be difficult to believe that Gen-
eral Jackson was as well up in this abstruse science
as so fastidious a person as George Washington, al-
though one of his biographers makes this extravagant
claim in his behalf. But all of this amounts to little,
especially considering the period in which these men
lived.
General Jackson was not what is usually termed
an educated man at all, and perhaps, no intelligent
person ever believed that he was. The particulars in
which he was one of the most remarkable and able
men, as well as the points from which he may be re-
garded as one of the most thoroughly educated of his
30 LIFE AND TIMES OF
countrymen, may be seen, to some extent, in the course
of this work.
The following letter, among the last written by the
General to his friend, Amos Kendall, and found in the
" Cincinnati Commercial," long since the foregoing
views were placed in form, is supposed to be in word
and letter as it came from the pen of its author, and
is meant to illustrate his style as it would appear
without the polish of a master : —
" Hermitage. Jan'ry 15th, 1845
"My Dear Sir: Your confidential letter of the 5tli instant
is received, and reaches me almost prostrate, so that I have
scarcely strength to wield my pen.
"I sincerely thank you for the date of Mr Munroe's letter to
me on the subject of the Florida treaty — his pacific course towards
Spain, and the extract of my reply. It proves one thing at least
that Mr J. Q,. Adams' diary is false, for if he had requested
Mr A. in February 1819 to consult me on the subject of the
treaty, Mr Munroe would not have wrote me on the subject in
1825. The truth is I never heard of the Treaty until whilst
under negotiation, or until long after I left the city in March
1819. The first I heard of it as I positively believe, was from
Mr Munroe, in the fall of 1819, as I was escorting him thro In-
diana & to Lexington Ky., when he applied to me to accept the
Government of Florida, which I positively refused, altho on a
third application and on condition that as soon as the country was
received & the Govt, organized, I should be permitted to resign
my military & civil oflSce. This was the way I got clear of my
military office, as the rules & regulations of the War Dept. pre-
vented an officer whilst under orders to resign, and from the close
of the war until this arrangement I was kept constantly under
orders. My answer was written before any information that a
larger boundary than the Sabine could be obtained. Whilst Mr
Munroe was under the abuse of Clay & others about this treaty,
and the country in the hands of Spain no danger could be ex-
pected from that quarter, whilst I knew from the projected inva-
sion of Britain, thro the Floridas as long as our Southern Coast
was open to British influence over our Indians, &c. &c., we were
ANDREW JACKSON. 31
vulnerable from that quarter. The Indians removed west Great
Britain gains an ascendancy in Texas, [&] the same danger arises,
as I apprehend from Florida. The moment I got hold of Mr
Erving's papers, and found that we could have got Texas as far
as the Colorado, or Rio grand, I was truly astounded, and at
once tried to obtain a retrocession & believed that Mr Munroe
had been imposed upon by Mr Adams witholding Erving's Com-
munication from him, &c. &c. Thus was my approval iu 1820
drew from me by Mr Muuroe's letter, which, if my recollection
don't fail me, will be found the only approval I ever gave to that
unfortunate & ill-advised treaty, under the circumstances it was
entered into. At that time Devries had alarmed the Executive
& the heads of Departments, until Mr Jefferson wrote Mr Mun-
roe that all my acts in Florida were Justifiable on the broad basis
of well acknowledged international law, and all he had to do to
satisfy all Europe on this point was to address a circular to our
Diplomatic Corps at all the Courts in Europe, that his command-
ing . General had done no act but those well warranted by the
laws of nations under the circumstances of the case. This was
done ; all clamour ceased ; the Executive got calm, and hence his
letter to me of the 23d of May, &c., this letter of Mr Jefferson's,
Mr Munroe shew me in '23 when I went to Congress as Senator.
"1 have wrote Major Lewis to apply to Mr Governeur for
copies of all Mr Munroes private letters to me & my answers, as
it is probable several of them got burnt with my House. I think
the one you have is the only one that treats upon the subject of
the Floridas and Texas.
"My family all Join me in kind salutations to you & yr
amiable family. Yr friend sincerely
"Andrew Jackson.
"P. S. I write from memory & only pretend to give the sub-
stance of Mr. Jefferson's letter.
"Amos Kendall, Esq."
32 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER III.
THE YOUNG WHIG SOLDIER— WAS GENERAL JACKSON A
SCHOOLMASTER ?— NOW AND THEN— A PICTURE.
BEFORE entering upon any statement touching
General Jackson's professional education, a very
important subject deserves some attention, the honor-
able part he took in the Revolutionary War, a more
congenial field for his talents. His mother and her
relatives stood firmly on the side of the Continental
Congress, and were staunch Whigs and patriots. They
remained in comparative peace, however, until 1779,
when the British began to turn their attention to the
South. In the winter of 1778 Savannah fell into
their hands, and early in the following spring they
invaded South Carolina. On the 20th of June an
assault was made upon the British at Stono. Hugh
Jackson, the oldest of Mrs. Jackson's sons, was in this
engagement, and died soon after from heat and fatigue.
On the 12th of May, 1780, Charleston and Gen-
eral Lincoln's army were captured, and Georgia and
South Carolina came under the authority of the British.
Over all this subjugated territory there was soon
inaugurated a dreadful partisan warfare. Many of the
supporters of the royal cause entered the British
service or banded themselves together to murder or
prey upon their patriot neighbors.
Opposed to these on the American side were such
ANDREW JACKSON. 33
leaders as Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, Peter
Horry, John A. Washington, William Richardson
Davie, and others. Besides becoming a terror to the
Tories throughout the country, these men and their
determined Whig followers distinguished themselves in
many a deadly conflict with the " Red Coats." But a
match for any of them was Banaster Tarleton, the
renegade son of an English preacher. Tarleton and
his men were as remorseless as were the Johnsons and
their Indians at the north. He hoisted the black flag,
and wherever he appeared, it came to be understood,
there would be no quarter. A similar spirit was
kindled in the Americans, and the result was a bloody
guerrilla warfare. The flames devoured what escaped
the sword.
On the 29th of May, 1780, a body of four or five
hundred men under Colonel Buford, who had failed in
their attempts to join General Lincoln at Charleston,
was attacked by Tarleton at the Waxhaw Settlement,
and two-thirds of them killed or wounded. One hun-
dred and fifteen of the Americans were actually killed
in this engagement, and here Andrew Jackson took his
first lesson in war. Soon after this aff'air, he and his
brother Robert entered the regiment of Colonel Davie,
or accompanied it, and were present at the battle of
Hanging Rock, on the 6th of August.
Andy was then certainly a very young soldier, and,
perhaps, did not participate in this engagement, al-
though he was present; nor does it appear that he
was at any time connected with any of the Whig par-
tisan organizations. Yet he had his gun and horse,
and was either traveling up and down the country with
his mother and other Waxhaw people, or was following
3— G
34 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Colonel Davie, who was his model soldier. Between
this course and that of taking the oath of allegiance
to the British Crown there was no alternative. But
the conquest was not effectual. The patriots fought
and fled, and returned to strike, when least expected.
Those who were not for them were against them.
Every man's hand was against his neighbor. Whigs
and Tories were bitter foes. No opportunity passed
without deadly conflict between them, or a race for life.
In this school young Andy was taking his first most
lasting and valuable lessons.
In several of these partisan conflicts he was directly
concerned, and in two or three instances was instru-
mental in saving the lives of Whigs, who only visited
their homes in the night, or under watchful escorts.
Some time in 1781, forty good Whigs, among whom
were Robert and Andrew Jackson, were surprised by a
squad of British at the Waxhaw meeting-house ; but
the Jackson boys managing to escape, were the next
day captured while getting food at a friendly house.
Soon after this event Andy was ordered by the officer
of the squad to clean his boots, but this service he
declined, pleading that he was a prisoner of war and
should be treated as such. This enraged the officer
who made a stroke with his sword, which the soldier
boy caught on his hand, leaving a mark that he always
carried. For a similar offense Andy received a slight
sword gash on his head.
The Jackson boys now spent some time in prison
at Camden, from which they were released finally,
partly by the interference of their mother. Here they
had the small-pox, through which Andrew was safely
nursed, but the scars of this disease remained to
ANDREW JACKSON. 35
remind him throughout life of the British prison pens at
Camden ; and, perhaps, his experiences at this time were
not forgotten in his dealings with the British many
years subsequently.
Although there is some diversity of opinion as to
incidents in General Jackson's Revolutionary War
record, the facts here given rest substantially upon
his own statements. The war had not benefited young
Jackson, nor advanced him in the estimation of his
mother's kindred. If he had exhibited spirit, bravery,
and patriotism, he had also been developing into an
ungovernable man of undesirable and evil habits.
For a time he lived with Thomas Crawford, but
having a quarrel with an officer stopping with the
family he was compelled to take up his residence with
Joseph White, another relative. He had now fallen
into gaming, cock-fighting, and other disgusting and
debasing practices, and to help him on in these accom-
plishments he spent a part of 1782, with "fine" war-
made acquaintances in Charleston.
Although greatly concerned, it is said, years after-
wards, about the burial-place of his mother, the subject
evidently did not occupy his mind at this time. Fool-
ish and immoral society was then of more importance.
He remained in Charleston until his money was gone,
and until he was in debt for his boarding, when he
staked his horse against two hundred dollars at a
gambling den ; won, got the money, played no more at
the time, Daid his debts, returned to the Waxhaws,,
and began to mend his ways.
While living at Joseph White's he had worked at
the saddler's trade, but apparently with no other object
than to be doing something. He now went to work
36 LIFE AND TIMES' OF
with some evidence of purpose, and, as unreasonable
as it may seem, probably spent a part of a year or two
in " teaching school." He had at least learned arith-
metic, and reading and writing, to some extent. But
not half a century ago in country schools and little
towns, grammar and geography and still more mysteri-
ous and far-fetched things were not requisite always
for schools. To the " Rule of Three " was absolute
greatness ; and even at this day, it is not impossible to
find windowless log school-houses where the only ac-
complishments of teacher and pupils are " spell'n,
read'n, writ'n, and cypher'n."
I have been on the spot on the bank of a certain
river where had stood a log school-house in which the
" master " and the men, women, and children of the
neighborhood had assembled for the last " spelling bee,"
and after spelling, drinking whisky, and having all the
" fun" they could think of otherwise, sagely concluded
that since they were all educated and needed no more
schooling, the temple of learning would henceforth be
useless, and therefore putting their shoulders together
threw it into the river. In 1859, in the same region,
I visited a school in session. The children ran to the
door and the cracks between the logs to see us hitch
our horses to the saplings. We entered and took seats
on a bench by the " master." On long, high b'enches,
sat the children, of all ages, from five to sixteen, with
dirty, .bare feet and legs dangling above the floor. The
" master's " tongue was loose. While he talked to us,
the children looked and listened. He finally said to a
big girl : " Caroline, you hear some of them little ones
say." Caroline was an assistant pupil for such press-
ing occasions, and doubtlessly became a teacher herself.
ANDREW JACKSON. 37
She immediately began the work, with her finger
motioning one little one after another to her side, and
having with great expedition, heard them all " say,"
she modestly resumed her occupation of looking and
listening. The " master " suddenly bethinking himself
called out : " Come, some of you, and say to me !
Have you all said ?" The general response was that
all had "said." The "master" appeared relieved, and
turning to us, made the following announcement and
proposition : " I '11 turn them out awhile, and if you
have some marbles with you we '11 take a game. I
do n't feel a bit well anyhow. I got drunk Sunday,
and have n't got over it yet."
They were turned out, but the game was not
played, as none of us had ever engaged in so groveling
and detestable a game. Examples of this kind, as
extreme as they may seem, are by no means confined
to the mountain regions of certain States.
While it is no part of the purpose here to show
that Andrew Jackson was really a " master " of this
type, or that he " kept a school " of this kind, yet to
those who have not been blessed with opportunities to
see these things, the illustration may serve to show
what it was to "teach school" ninety years ago in
the backwoods of the Carolinas.
General Jackson, as boy or man, in the capacity
of a school-teacher, could not possibly be looked upon
with any other sentiments that those of curiosity and
ridicule, if not disgust.
38 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTKR IV.
JACKSON BECOMES ATTORNEY FOR THE WESTERN DIS-
TRICT—EMIGRATES TO NASHVILLE— MARRIAGE—
THE DUELIST— THE STATE CONSTITUTION—
A NEW FIGURE IN CONGRESS.
IN the winter of 1784 Jackson began the study of
the law. The opportunities for this profession had
never been so great in the history of the American
Colonies. The close of the war created a new order
of things, and of necessity, opened a large field for
legal processes. It did two things especially beneficial
to good Whig lawyers, who had been tried in the fiery
ordeal, it threw the Tories out of practice mainly, and
laid the foundation for innumerable disputes which
could not be adjusted outside of the courts. Jackson
and his friends saw the rare opportunity, and of his
qualifications, fitness, and ability there never was a
period in his life, when he entertained any serious
doubts. Of his mother's design he lost sight, if he
had ever entertained a sober thought about it. As a
Presbyterian or Hardshell Baptist preacher, the figure
would have been still more ludicrous.
He decided to be a lawyer, and that was what
Andrew Jackson was going to be. Waightstill Avery,
of Burke County, North Carolina, was a lawyer of
repute at that day, and under his guidance, if possible,
Andy determined to gain the necessary knowledge to
ANDREW JACKSON. 39
set him up in the world as Andrew Jackson, Attorney
at Law. That would sound well enough ! It was
the way to a grand and entertaining future.
Accordingly, mounted on his horse, and carrying
with him all he owned in the world, he set out for
Burke County. To the Waxhaw Settlement he never
again returned ; nor did he ever afterwards visit the
numerous relatives of his mother in the Carolinas ;
nor, indeed, in any way, have any connection or asso-
ciation with them. In mutually ill-feelings they had
parted. They deemed themselves fortunately rid of a
" hard customer," and, perhaps, the most surprised
people on earth at his extraordinary successes through-
out life, were these Carolina relatives.
Not being able to make the arrangements he de-
sired with Mr. Avery, Jackson took up his residence
at Salisbury, an interesting old North Carolina town ;
and here in the office of Spruce McCay, with two
other young men, he read law for a time. But he fin-
ished his preparation for this learned profession at the
end of about two years, under John Stokes, who had
been a brave Whig soldier, and subsequently became
eminent as a lawyer. During this time he had sup-
ported himself by such means as came in his way, not
always, perhaps, to the advantage of his reputation.
Early in 1787, he was licensed to practice law in
North Carolina, and in the fall of that year, set out
to try his luck. His change of pursuit had not im-
proved his manners and reputation, and like the Wax-
haw people, the good citizens of Salisbury were glad
to get rid of a young man whose loose moral and
social practices were not beneficial to their community.
He was still a whisky-drinker, and had not abandoned
40 LIFE AND TIMES OF
cock-fighting and cards ; although, after winning the
two hundred dollars at Charleston in 1782, General
Jackson said that he never again played for stakes.
The exact facts about this matter he may have for-
gotten, as it is believed that he did not give up
betting, especially on horse-racing, until late in life.
At Salisbury he was distinguished, not as a hard
and successful student of law, but as a judge of
horses, a patron and agitator of racing, and a
leader in mischief of every kind. Indeed, he stood
at the head in these things. Although he had not a
free passport to good society, he was, for all that, a
great beau. He was then over six feet tall, and
almost as thin as a rail from head to foot, and was
unfortunate enough to have expressionless blue eyes.
But he was singularly graceful, dignified, and attractive
in his movements, and besides this actually had the
reputation of uncommon attainments for his neighbor-
hood and times. Many stories told about his doings
while " studying law " at Salisbury, are naughty in
the extreme, but even in these stories there runs
evidence of the strong traits which marked his char-
acter in after years.
He did not enter the law profession with profound
knowledge of any kind, but his other attainments
were more in harmony with the demands of the times.
Some of his qualities were in an eminent degree
suited to the period, if not to the law profession.
Vast or reliable legal lore is not absolutely essential
to superficial eminence among lawyers even at this
day. Jackson's bearing was magnificent and over-
powering. He was honorable in a high degree, as
honor went; was brave and adventurous; and always
ANDREW JACKSON. 41
had the unspeakable advantage and faculty of passing
for more than he was really worth. Yet few of his
■old Carolina friends were wise enough, and at heart
able, to say that this bad, daring, unlearned, attract-
ive, powerful, and worldly young limb of the law
would ever make his mark, and place his name among
the most distinguished and interesting in the history
of man.
After leaving Salisbury Jackson remained for some
time, it is believed, at Martinsville in Guilford County,
North Carolina, but made no headway in the law
practice, probably engaging in clerking in the store of
an acquaintance, or in other pursuits. North Carolina
then extended to the Mississippi River, and embraced
all of what is now Tennessee. The part west of the
mountains was called the Western District, and was
made of Washington County.
In the spring of 1788, John McNairy was ap-
pointed a judge of the Superior Court for this Western
District, and his friend, Andrew Jackson, was ap-
pointed attorney or solicitor for the same wild region.
There were few lawyers in all that region then, and
there had been little need for them. The position of
District Attorney for it was not only of little im-
portance, but few men could be found willing to risk
its dangers and privations. This was doubtless one
reason for the selection of Andrew Jackson.
But there must have been other reasons. Jack-
son's honorable Revolutionary record, the sufferings
and patriotism of his family, his known daring char-
acter, his high sense of honor, his unyielding and
positive nature, his fitness for hardship, his natural
adaptation to a stirring, active life, and his great
42 LIFE AND TIMES OF
natural ability to judge and control men, already well
understood traits in the character of Jackson, these
must have been the main causes for his appointment.-
Be this as it may, this appointment was the intro-
duction to his long and eventful career. It was the
very step he should have made had he been given his
choice among millions. He was no great lawyer, nor
did he ever become much of a lawyer, nor could he
ever have become such in any old community. His
was the character for a pioneer under rough circum-
stances, and few men could have been more useful as
such, and probably no other could so well have repre-
sented the times, the people, and the circumstances in
which he rose.
Early in the summer of 1788, Attorney Jackson
started from Morgantown in the company of Judge
McNairy and others to hold court at Jonesborough
across the mountains, a settlement then eight or ten
years old, and the principal one in East Tennessee,
and also at Nashville. Jonesboro (or Jonesborough)
was then a town of more than half a hundred log
cabins, and was the great starting point from the west
side of the Alleghanies to the settlements on the
Cumberland.
They remained at Jonesboro but a few weeks, when
with a company of emigrants they were escorted by a
military guard, one hundred and eighty miles to Nash-
ville. This beautiful region was then inhabited by
Indians who considered every step made by the white
race as aggressions on their ancient God-given domain.
On this perilous journey Attorney Jackson had the
good fortune to be of more than ordinary service.
One night after the camp had been placed under
ANDREW JACKSON. 43
guard and most of the women, children, and men had
gone to sleep, Jackson sat long alone, until having
fallen half asleep he was aroused by an incessant and
not unfamiliar hooting of the owls in all directions not
far from the camp. The sounds differed greatly, and
some of them, it struck him, were not exactly in keep-
ing with the regular sound he had often listened to
from these birds. At once his suspicion was aroused.
He believed these owls were Indians and that they had
one object in view. The guards had not been sharp
enough to detect this, but they were ready enough in
recognizing something wrong about the hooting when
their attention was called. At the suggestion of Jack-
son, the camp was at once broken up and the march re-
sumed at midnight. Shortly after a party of hunters
came upon their camp-fires, and while stretched out at
rest around them, were fallen upon by these owls and
all murdered but one. This was a valuable beginning,
and showed what kind of man the Indian was destined
to have mixed up in his affairs. The company reached
Nashville without accident, and Mr. Frost gives the
following view of Attorney Jackson's immediate pros-
pects and successes : —
" After having experienced considerable detention upon their
journey they arrived iu Nashville in October. He found the
community in a situation which .endered his arrival a most for-
tunate event. Many of the younger and more dissipated of the
settlers had become deeply indebted to the merchants and trades-
men, who were unable to obtain legal redress, because thedebtcjrs
had secured the only lawyer in the county to their interest. Ihe
defrauded ci editors hailed Jackson as a deliverer. They imme-
diately beset him with applications for his services; and on the
next morning after his arrival seventy writs were issued against
defaulters. His professional career, thus auspiciously commenced,
continued to be prosperous. The scoundrels, who had so long
44 LIFE AND TIMES OF
gone unpunished, attempted to intimidate him, but to no pur-
pose. Shortly after hia emigration to the West he was appointed
by the Governor of North Carolina attorney-general for the
western district. In this capacity he continued the same course
of practice which he had commenced. He executed the laws
with so much faithfulness that his life was more than once endan-
gered; by his firmness and fearless conduct, however, he awed
the cowardly ruffians who threatened to attack him, and brought
them to justice. His duties as prosecuting attorney obliged him
frequently to cross the wilderness between Jonesborough and
Nashville, a distance of more than two hundred miles, infested
with hostile Indians. Twenty-two times did he perform this haz-
ardous journey, with no other companion than his horse and rifle.
His eflbrts were rewarded by a lucrative practice, and an almost
unbounded popularity, which was evinced at every opportunity
by his elevation to offices of honorable trust."
Seventy writs issued the next morning ! This was
a wonderful leap into business, and may be taken as
Mr. Frost's way of saying that Jackson was soon
actively employed. Land claims, debts, and injuries
done in one way or another by men to one another
were the leading themes in the courts. With these
Solicitor Jackson had his hands full. His business
became extensive. Many times all, and always a large
proportion of the causes were given to him. His serv-
ices were soon called into requisition in every settle-
ment in the district. He was the first licensed lawyer
who practiced in Sumner County, and many were his
long dangerous journeys to the different parts of this
savage court circle. But he was the man for the occa-
sion. Everybody confided in him. Everybody wanted
him. Nothing turned up in which he was not in de-
mand. Everything was thrust upon him. And he
was equal to the emergency. Some ready resource
for every occasion he never lacked, nor did he lose
this faculty throughout his life.
ANDREW JACKSON. 45
No man has ever been more fortunate. The wild
active scene in which he was placed suited him so well,
he became immensely popular. Greatness began to
be thrust upon him, and it held to him. He rejected
nothing. This was early and always his principle.
Soon after reaching Nashville Jackson went to
board and live in the family of the Widow Donelson.
In her house were also her daughter Rachel Robards
and her husband. Robards left his wife, and, to
escape his persecutions, in the spring of 1791 she went
down to Natchez to live with friends for a time. Ro-
bards obtained a divorce, it was announced, and, as a
matter of course, everybody believed that he had
done so. Upon this information Solicitor Jackson, who
had become greatly attached to Mrs. Robards, and who
considered himself as the innocent cause of her trouble,
went to Natchez and asked her to marry him ; and,
accordingly, in the summer of 1791, they were mar-
ried, soon afterwards returning to Nashville, where they
lived justly respected and in great happiness. Yet
this marriage was the source of Jackson's most violent
spasms of temper and deepest feelings of pain, as may
appear in another chapter of this volume.
The country in which lawyer Jackson had settled
was now constantly involved in wars with the Indians.
In many of these conflicts Jackson took part, often as
a leader. This position he took naturally, and, as in
every thing else which he undertook, he made him-
self felt. He acquired a reputation even among the
Indians, at this time, which they never forgot. They
called him " Sharp Knife," " Long Arrow," or some-
thing of that kind; and came to know and- dread him
as did his white enemies. He had many narrow escapes,
46 LIFE AND TIMES OF
but was foremost in the risk of danger. The Indians
had no more dangerous and desperate foe in all Ten-
nessee. The most considerable expedition organized at
Nashville against the Indians was known as the Nick-
ajack expedition in the summer and fall of 1793.
Against the will of the General Government, in
the summer of that year, the Governor of Tennessee
and his general of militia undertook to punish the
Indians, whose main towns were along the south side
of the Tennessee River about the northern border of
Georgia and Alabama. Colonel William Whitley, of
Kentucky, was really the leader of this expedition,
but the command was ostensibly under Major Ore,
whose troops were embodied with the semblance of
regular authority.
William Brown, who owed these Indians a great
deal of ill-will, led the army across the Cumberland
Mountains by routes well known to him. Less than
three hundred of the men got across the Tennessee on
the night planned for the attack. But these surprised
the savages at day-break, and slaughtered many of
them, women and children being among the slain.
Two or three hundred of the helpless were taken pris-
oners, and Nickajack and other towns destroyed.
Ramsay, in his " Annals of Tennessee," says that
Jackson was a private in this expedition, and that he
really planned the attack on Nickajack. It is rare
that a " high private " even is called upon to lay plans
for the commander of an army. One thing Jackson
certainly did, he had the expedition recognized and
paid by the General Government, a thing which never
should hav'e been done. Although it has usually been
believed that Jackson was a private in this expedition,
ANDEEW JACKSON. 47
it is quite probable that this is an error. He had
acquired too much distinction as an Indian fighter to
be allowed to go in that capacity among his neighbors
and clients; and besides recognizing this fact himself,
he was Territorial Attorney, and, perhaps, for once in
his life, felt indisposed to be concerned directly in so
important an undertaking when it was without the
authority of the Government.
At this period Jackson began his duel-fighting
career. While it is the purpose to avoid in this work
any systematic display of this most reprehensible and
indefensible phase in the life of General Jackson, the
facts concerning it will be presented with that stint
which the moral bearing of the case seems to merit.
His first duel was fought with Waightstill Avery,
the old lawyer of Morgantown with whom he had
greatly desired to study law. They were both attend-
ing court at Jonesboro, and Avery happening to make
some remark about Jackson's course which was taken
as an insult, Jackson immediately wrote a challenge
to fight and sent it over to Avery in the court-room.
Although opposed to dueling Avery considered himself
forced to accept, and just after sundown on the same
evening, near Jonesboro, they exchanged shots with-
out effect, then shook hands and were friends ever
afterwards.
Jackson was always ready to fight in any way, at
a moment's notice, and notwithstanding the general
cut-throat character of the times, the worst of men
were afraid of him. This fact is well illustrated in
one of his extraordinary feats while sitting as judge
in court at Jonesboro. The constable had a writ for
the arrest of Russell Bean, one of the roughest but most
48 LIFE AND TIMES OF
physically powerful men in the country, and although
Bean was stalking about the town the officer reported
that he would not be arrested, and he was unable to
make the arrest by force. Judge Jackson was not the
man to submit long to such a state of affairs as that,
and at once causing himself to be summoned to make
the arrest, he quit the bench and started in search of
his man. At first sight of him Bean changed his
mind, and surrendered without a sign of resistance.
Lewis Robards had had Jackson arrested at Nash-
ville for threats upon his "peace and life, and he after-
wards chased Robards with a butcher-knife, and ran
him out of the settlement because Robards persisted
in regarding his conduct as dishonorable towards Mrs.
Robards.
After a few unsuccessful attacks upon Jackson by
the rough characters who were pushe'd by him in the
Courts, he was mainly allowed to pursue his course
without disturbance. Yet his professional troubles
were of great variety and almost constant occurrence.
Among other such marks of civilization introduced
in the West in the early settlements, was that of
cock-fighting. In this delightful and manly pastime,
Andrew Jackson, the future hero of New Orleans, led
the way, if he was not the originator of the business.
As late as the 4th of July, 1809, in a celebrated
chicken-fight at Nashville, he i« said to have won a
section of land in a bet. The young men of the set-
tlement, especially, followed him with great confidence,
but it was many a day after this chicken-fight before
he set many good examples for their imitation.
At the beginning of 1796, Tennessee, or the terri-
tory of which it was afterwards made, was found to
ANDREW JACKSON. 49
contain over seventy thousand people. A convention
for framing a State constitution was convened at
Knoxville, January 11, 1796. It was composed of
fifty-five members, five from each of the eleven
counties. From Davidson County Andrew Jackson
was one of the delegates.
In twenty-seven day§ a convention made what was
then considered an extremely republican constitution;
and after allowing each member a dollar and a half a
day, one dollar less than had been appropriated for
the purpose, and paying the secretary, door-keeper, and
other officers two dollars a day, nothing having been
provided for that purpose, the convention adjourned.
This was Attorney Jackson's first experience in a
legislative body. He and Judge John McNairy were
the two members from Davidson County on the com-
mittee for drafting the constitution. Jackson favored
the division of the Legislature into two bodies, and
supported the declaration as to the equal share to this
country in the navigation, of the Mississippi River,
and he never did cease to be an enemy to Spain. He
was certainly an important and influential member of
the convention, although it does not appear that he
took a leading part in its deliberations. On the first
of the following June, Tennessee was admitted to the
Union as the sixteenth State. The new State had but
one Representative in the Lower House of Congress,
and in the fall of 179G, Andrew Jackson was chosen
to fill that place. On the assembling, of Congress,
December 5th, at Philadelphia, he took his seat.
No man, perhaps, more honestly felt his unfitness
for this position than did General Jackson, and, to a
great extent, he avoided a display of his defects.
4— G
50 LIFE AND TIMES OF
During his short service in the National House of
Representatives he was mainly a silent member. His
votes on measures before the House very fully attest
his character, and his readiness at any time to oppose
what he thought wrong, no matter from what source
it came. The small minority which operated without
union, and with which he mg,inly v.oted, indicated his
natural independency. He had the pleasure or mor-
tification of hearing General Wfishington deliver his
last annual speech to Congress, and of seeing the
pompous ceremonies of that day on the retirement and
inauguration of a President. He was one of the
twelve who voted in the House against the eulogistic
response of that body to the President's speech, im-
plying a censure of his Administration. Although
this act denoted Mr. Jackson's independence of judg-
ment and feeling, probably, it was hardly commendable
or necessary to make the display of the quality on
that occasion. There were men all through the Revo-
lution, like Charles Lee and Aaron Burr, afterwards a
friend of Jackson, who pretended that they never saw
much to admire in General Washington, and some of
them, perhaps, unwhimsically opposed him on general
principles. Andrew Jackson, in the very nature of
the man, could never have been a warm admirer of
George Washington.
During the winter the subject of paying the men
who served in the Nickajack expedition came up by
Hugh L. White's sending his claim to Congress as a
test case. It now became necessary for Jackson, as
the only Representative from Tennessee, to present
and defend the claim. The troops had been called out
and the expedition undertaken without the consent of
ANDREW JACKSON. 51
the Government, and upon the necessity of the expe-
dition there was a division of opinion.
On the 29th of December, when White's petition
was introduced, Jackson made his first speech in Con-
gress ; and on the following day, when the question
was up, on his own resolution he offered some addi-
tional remarks to the point, which were characteristic
of the man, but in a limited sense.
The appropriation was made, but not without the
aid of such men as James Madison. Jackson voted
against buying peace or paying tribute to Algiers;
against an appropriation to re-furnish the President's
house ; in favor of restricting carefully all public ap-
propriations ; and in favor of completing the vessels
of war in process of construction. But the brief
speeches named here were about the extent of his
speaking during his service in the House, as with the
close of the session, March 3, 1797, he withdrew from
that body, with the approval of his constituents upon
the course he had taken. Tennessee was so republican
that the first governor was called " Citizen John Se-
vier," and Jackson had well maintained her republican
character. While she aped France in some respects
in her extreme democracy, in other respects she was
far too despotic for the straitest descendants of the
Federalists in 1876.
If Jackson had done nothing else while in the
House of Representatives than secure the payment of
the Tennesseeans for the expedition of 1793, it would
have been enough to make him immensely popular.
Whether this affair was right in itself, and whether
the Government "should have paid the soldiers for
their time, and defrayed the expenses and losses of
52 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the expedition, or whether it was not enough that the
country at large should have provisioned the expedi-
tion, are questions not necessary to be decided here.
A vacancy now occurring in the representation in
the Senate of the United States from Tennessee, and
notwithstanding the incongeniality of such employ-
ments to Jackson, and his unfitness for them, he was
elected to fill the place, and on the assembling of Con-
gress in the fall of 1797 took his seat in the Senate.
Little is recorded of his actions in this body. He was
mainly a voter, and a discontented looker-on. He was
one of the straight Jeffersonian opponents of the Ad-
ministration. Law-making never could have been to
his taste. He had neither the ability nor the inclina-
tion to exercise the patience and undergo the slow
processes of discussion and circumlocution in a legis-
lative assembly.
At the time of this visit to Philadelphia, Jackson
met Edward Livingston, with whom he remained on
intimate terms ever afterwards. He greatly admired
Livingston, who possessed none of his own qualities,
and Mr. Livingston fully and freely returned the
friendly feeling, affording one of the rare instances of
accommodation in very diverse characters.
At this time it was that Mr. Jefferson saw the dis-
plays of temper and want of reason in Jackson which,
in part, caused him to regard the General's elevation
to the Presidency with great concern. Mr. Jefferson
admired Jackson's soldierly qualities and republican
politics, and supported his course in the Indian and
Spanish difficulties in 1818 ; but the general make-up
of such a nature could not have much in it to the
taste of Mr. Jefferson. General Jackson, on his part,
ANDREW JACKSON. 53
was never a warm admirer of any of his predecessors
in the Presidency.
Tired of Congress, and impatient to be engaged in
matters more to his taste, in April, 1798, Jackson re-
turned to Nashville, and soon afterwards resigned his
seat in Congress. The great object he had, doubtlessly,
in quitting a position in which he very well knew he
could not shine, was the advancement of his pecuniary
interests. He was bent on making a fortune. He
knew how to take advantage of the opportunities then
so golden in Tennessee. His professional services
brought him large returns in land, especially. "A
mere song" obtained him the title to many a section
and quarter-section of land. After the Nickajack ex-
pedition Tennessee had little more serious trouble from
the Indians. The country improved rapidly and emi-
grants came in a continuous stream. Land advanced
in price, and Jackson's fortune expanded with extraor-
dinary rapidity. ^
54 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER V.
ANDREW JACKSON AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CENTURY-
SUPERIOR JUDGE— GENERAL OF MILITIA— TRADER
AND HORSE-RACER.
ALTHOUGH Andrew Jackson had now reached a
certain degree and kind of popularity in Tennes-
see, he had not held any important office in the new
State ; and it would be somewhat difficult to estimate
the good he had done it, or to strike a balance between
his good and bad. He was still Andrew Jackson, At-
torney at Law, trader, merchant, and farmer. In the
law itself he had made no reputation. Nor did he
ever do so. He was never a lawyer. His mind and
tastes were unsuited to the law or any other profes-
sion. What of law he knew, which was little, he
gathered from necessity, not from preference, and his
legal learning and pursuits had little influence on his
character. These were mere instruments in the hands
of a nature which they could not materially affect.
In his " History of Middle Tennessee," Mr. Putnam
says that as Prosecuting Attorney Jackson had the
reputation of doing things thoroughly. He was the
man to correct a wrong that lay in his way. The evil-
doer had little chance for escape if Mr. Jackson con-
sidered himself responsible for his punishment. For
such a community the office of District or Territorial
Attorney was in efficient hands. It was a position in
ANDREW JACKSON. 55
which personal force was often more eflTective than legal
lore. It had qualities which appealed to the nature
and tastes of the Prosecutor.
Jackson had helped, to some extent, in the produc-
tion of a constitution for the new State. He was then
honored by being made the first Representative of his
State in the Lower House of Congress, and his two
brief speeches in that body seemed to be of benefit in
throwing the expenses of the Nickajack expedition
from the State to the General Government. Of this
position he became weary before the expiration of his
term. When one of the first United States Senators
from the State had been expelled from his seat, Mr.
Jackson was given a trial as his successor; but this
still more important trust was .not to his liking, and
even before the end of the first session he returned
home, and never again resumed his seat. In this double
Congressional " service " or employment, he did nothing
to distinguish himself, but something to be remembered
against him in after times.
He first arrayed himself with the small faction
against the Administration of General Washington, and
voted against the kindly address, the last one to be
made, to the first President, who weary of the turmoil
which surrounded him, was about to withdraw forever
from public station, willing to intrust the Government
he had done so much to establish to the wisdom and
patriotism of his countrymen. Most of the twelve
men who voted against this address in the House, tried
then 'and afterwards to justify their course in an at-
tempt to distinguish between General Washington and
his Administration ; but in this they were not success-
ful, as time and history have not sanctioned the apology
56 LIFE AND TIMES OF
or the distinction. The stubborn William B. Giles, one
of the twelve, was perfectly willing to have it known
that he was opposed to General Washington in person,
and believed that the country could get on very well
without him, and that it would have been greatly
blessed by his earlier retirement.
The Administration was not a thing by itself, with-
out the President, to be opposed ; and if it had been,
time has not justified the wisdom of the opposition.
Even Mr. Hamilton's funding system and the assump-
tion of the State war debts, long, long ago ceased to
be regarded as doubtful measures. The financial policy
and the entire work of the Administration, excepting
the Bank, have, by the progress of events, been placed
beyond the domain of dispute among all grades of
statesmen and patriots. The verdict of history is
against the factious opponents to the Administration
of Washington, whether they were in Congress or in
the Jacobinic clubs.
In the Senate under a new, but still a Federal Ad-
ministration, Mr. Jackson was not more successful in
his course. Here, according to Mr. Jefferson, who
watched him from the chair of the Vice-President, he ap-
peared to sit in a constant state of wrath, so much so
that if he attempted to speak he was choked by anger.
But he was an unyielding Jeffersonian opponent to the
Administration, and usually voted with the opposition.
The Bank of the United States in the first, and the
Alien nnd Sedition Laws, in the second Administration
have always been debatable themes, and beyond these
the judgment of time has been, in the main, against
the Republican (Democratic) opposition. But both of
these measures seemed to be well founded on the
ANDREW JACKSON. 57 .
necessities of the times. These necessities arose again,
and Mr. Madison deemed it well to re-charter the Bank.
Nothing better had been devised, and its sudden death
was one of its greatest evils. Extraordinary emer-
gencies occurred under a Republican Administration for
the use of the Sedition Law, and such emergencies may
ever be possible.
At this date Attorney Jackson had done one other
thing which was of great benefit to him, while it never
ceased to be the source of most of his troubles ; he had
married the wife of Lewis Robards. That Jackson's skirts
were entirely clear in the circumstances which made
this marriage desirable, it may not be easy to demon-
strate ; but that his conduct was that of a lawyer, or
even of a person ordinarily considerate of consequences,
it would be useless to maintain. General Jackson's
mode of defense was not painstaking and fair argu-
ment, not a careful and wise provision against future
chances and evils ; it was fight and physical force, and
in this way he attempted throughout his life to correct
the misstep he had taken and to defend his wife's
character, which was all he represented it to be, from
the villainous tongue of slander, that reason and truth
could not silence. The provocation was very great,
and the case- was so peculiar that the slander always
started out with a truth, against which Jackson's flame
and character did not permit him to secure himself and
his wife from the evils to come. But a clear presen-
tation of this subject is reserved for another chapter.
One of Jackson's strange friendships, formed in
Philadelphia in the winter of 1797, was that with
Aaron Burr. Burr was one of the most fastidious
men in his tastes and habits who ever gained public
58 LIFE AND TIMES OF
recognition in this country. But his loose morals
enabled him to find something agreeable in the ways
of Jackson, and his attachment was increased by the
kind of heroic and dignified chivalry Jackson cast
around his own crookedness. Burr's friendship was
far-reaching. He rightly saw that this roughly hewn
stick was destined to be a power in the West. He
was always looking to the future, and this new acquaint-
ance was to serve him in a scheme about which he was
even then dreaming. But the selection of such a
character to be a tool was Burr's mistake, and this he
learned in the days when all men had deserted him.
Soon after resigning his seat in the Senate of the
United States, Governor Sevier appointed Jackson to be
a Judge of the Superior Court, and the Legislature con-
firmed the appointment. Notwithstanding the miser-
able salary of six hundred a year paid to this office,
he accepted it, and continued to discharge its duties
for six years.
In 1801, he was also elected commander of the
district militia, with the rank of major-general, a posi-
tion for which he was suited, and which he strongly
coveted. For this office his competitor was John
Sevier, one of the leaders in the famous battle of
King's Mountain, and one of the most woithy, as well
as brave, among all the early settlers of Tennessee ; a
man who had filled more public positions successfully,
and led more expeditions successfully against the
Indians than any other man in Tennessee ; physically,
socially, and morally, a model Western man. The
election for this position was made by the militia
officers. The vote was a tie between the two candi-
dates, and, strangely enough, the Governor was allowed
ANDREW JACKSON. 59
to cast a vote in the case, which he did in favor
of Jackson.
This incensed Governor Sevier, and presented a new
cause for the ill-feeling that existed between them. But
Jackson had been the means of exposing the extensive
frauds in land titles in Tennessee, and Sevier was rep-
resented as being concerned in these speculations.
As judge, some of these cases came before Jackson,
and here all the old troubles with Sevier were revived,
and an almost incessant war was waged between them.
They were ready to fight whenever they met, on
horse or in any condition.
Jackson, while holding court in East Tennessee,
where Sevier lived, challenged Sevier to fight a duel,
and then, because Sevier delayed making the arrange-
ments for it, advertised him as a coward, an act which
showed his foolhardy and inconsiderate way of doing
things, as everybody', including himself, very well
knew that what he had done was untrue.
This Judge of the Supreme Court, and ex-Governor,
Citizen John Sevier, then arranged to meet near
Knoxville and fight like cocks, the best they could
with their fists. Jackson went over to the spot near
the border of the State, and actually waited there two
days, it is said, for Sevier. He then set out on >is
return to Knoxville, at that time the Capital of the
State, determined to bring Sevier to a fight wherever
they should meet. He had not gone far until he dis-
covered Sevier approaching with a retinue of the
friends of both.
In the meantime he had made a statement in
writing touching the nature of the quarrel between
himself and the Governor, and this he sent forward,
60 LIFE AND TIMES OF
but Sevier declined to receive it. Smarting under
this new wound, Judge Jackson fixing himself in his
saddle and using his cane for a spear spurred forward
his horse with great impetuosity to the assault. The
Governor, unwilling to withstand the furious knight
on horseback, sprang to the ground, but in doing so
entangled himself in his military trappings. Friends
rushed in at this juncture and arrested further hos-
tility. They now became partly reconciled, and rode
in company back to Knoxville. This was the last
time these two belligerent spirits met in a hostile
manner, but no great degree of friendship was ever
restored between them. The mischief began in this
case by Jackson's revealing, about the close of his
"service" in the Senate, to the Governor of» North
Carolina, some fraudulent transactions in land titles in
which it was held that Sevier had been concerned.
The ill-feeling had been greatly aggravated by the*
race for the command of the militia in 1801, when
Sevier was temporarily out of office. Then Sevier
had committed the unpardonable sin of mouthing the
sacred name of Rachel. But a more disgraceful affair
never occurred, perhaps, in this country between men
occupying public stations, and possessing any right to
demand respectable consideration.
About this time Judge Jackson also fell out with
his old friend, John McNairy, from a trifling cause,
and this, like most of his quarrels, was never settled.
Weary of his legal pursuits he resigned his judgeship,
July 24, 1804, for the purpose of devoting his attention
to business, and the quiet of his home. He was, no
doubt, urged to this course by the incessant turmoil
in which he lived. It was impossible for such a man
ANDREW JACKSON. 61
were
to get along without trouble. His enemies
numerous, and of the most desperate kind. He had
made them by his impetuous and evil temper, and by
his honest and just rendering of the law in the cases
that came before him. In his time no record was
kept of the decisions of his Court, and consequently
none of his judgments are known now. He himself
kept no record of his own acts, or those of any other
man. It was not to his taste to do anything of the
kind, and he had serious doubts as to the use to which
such records could sometime be put. He once said
that J. Q. Adams's Diary would be the death of him.
But he was mistaken. Missiles false or true seemed
to strengthen him with the masses, some of whom vote
and swear by him even yet.
Judge Jackson was now without incumbrance by
public positions. The military office he held, besides
being to his taste exactly, did not, in the least, stand
in the way of his other pursuits. It was little more,
for years, than a matter of occasional parades and
displays of horsemanship and soldier's tinsel, of which
General Jackson, or as he still called himself, at times.
Judge Jackson, was as fond as he was of chicken-
fighting. He was now not Lawyer Jackson, he was
free from all his incongenial occupations. But he had
left the " Bench " and all his former pursuits, mainly
for the purpose of giving his attention without dis-
turbance to money-getting.
From the time of his settlement at Nashville he
had steadily had this object in view, and had not
hesitated to go outside of his "profession" m any
direction which promised success. In one way and
another at the time of his resignation of the judges
62 LIFE AND TIMES OF
position he owned between twenty-five and fifty thou-
sand acres of Tennessee land, a considerable portion
of which was near Nashville, and a part of which
afterwards became the "Hermitage." While in the
Senate he had sold some lands to David Allison, of
Philadelphia, and with the notes he bought a large
stock of dry-goods suited to his market. He followed
this to Nashville, and established a trading-post on his
own lands at Hunter's Hill, ten or twelve miles from
home. But Allison failed, and Jackson had to pay the
notes which he had exchanged for goods. This piece
of ill-fortune greatly embarrassed him, and was one
cause of his quitting the " Bench " in 1804, a posi-
tion for which he was, in most respects, totally unfit.
From this time forward he did not concern himself
about learned offices. He was general of the militia,
and that was enough. Farming, trading, selling goods,
raising and dealing in horses, etc., were his occupa-
tions. With him, in the mercantile branch of his
business was John Hutchings, and later both Hutch-
ings and John Coffee. Hutchings was a relative of
Mrs. Jackson's, and John Coffee, after this partnership
was formed, married her niece. Jackson now found
it necessary to sell a part of his land to pay his
Philadelphia debts, and in 1804 or the next year
moved onto that tract which became his permanent
home and which he called the " Hermitage."
Here for a long time, day after day, he sold goods
in a log store. Jackson, Coffee, and Hutchings for a
time engaged in flat-boat making, and themselves traded
largely down the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi.
In this appendage to their main business, as in every-
thing else, they got little ready cash. They merely
ANDREW JACKSON. 63
took in exchange for their commodities, cotton, furs,
grain, meat-, whisky, produce, everything that could
be turned into money, an exchange they made in New
Orleans. But their river traffic was difficult and not
very successful.
On his farm Jackson, in a way, kept fairly up with
the times, if such an expression may be deemed
applicable to that period and state of society, but he
did not make the remotest attempt to farm on scien-
tific principles. He simply kept up as well as he
could, with the condition of affairs as made by others.
When there were but a few cotton-gins in the State,
he owned one of them, and on it ginned his own
cotton, and that of his neighbors, and the unginned
material for which he traded in his store. He also
raised fine horses. During all this time he seldom
took a law case, and finally ceased to do so entirely.
He studied very little, and never did at any time
know or care a great deal about law.
Although living quietly and happily at home with
a wife whom he adored, and who, to a great extent,
managed the large number of negroes he collected
about him, his life at this time was reckless, dissi-
pated, and far from exemplary in most things. He
drank a great deal, even to the verge of booziness ;
played cards for money; engaged in horse-racing and
cock-fighting, and, in fact, in every wild, vulgar, or
disgusting practice of the locality. Considering the
positions he had held, and his age and business sur-
roundings, his course of life was remarkable, and up
to the beginning of the War of 1812, a strange medley
of good and evil.
Although withdrawn from pursuits for which he
64 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was not adapted, and holding no public position except
that of district commander of militia, yet in this blank
period of eight or nine years his career was not with-
out interest and example. In the main the example
was evil, and had these years been blotted out Gen-
eral Jackson's reputation would be more deserving to-
day, and, at least, less shameful to his countrymen.
There can be few palliating circumstances discovered
in this disgraceful period.
General Jackson usually carried a sword by his
side when in public, and this was deemed useful as
well as ornamental. But the great mass of Western
and Southern men stalked about armed at that enlight-
ened era. It was a rude, savage age, and on the bor-
der, especially, the men partook of the customs and
nature of the savages with whom they traded or
fought. To the savages they gave their evils, seldom
their virtues. Nashville was then one of those centers
of Western civilization which would have compared
in kind with Spain at any time since the days of Don
Quixote. Cock-fighting and man-fighting were as no-
table as bull-fighting in Spain, and often with worse
results. Unfortunately this kind of civilization has
always, in some degree, marred the border history of
the Nation.
ANDREW JACKSON. 65
CHAPTER VI.
JACKSON AND THE BENTONS— FIGHTS AND DUELS— A NA-
TIONAL DISGRACE— WOUNDED FOR LIFE AT LAST.
I
N one of his last panegyrics on Jackson, Amos
Kendall wrote as follows : —
"The event which established Jackson's reputation in Ten-
nessee was his duel with Dickinson. At the time of his advent
at Nashville there was in that place a club of profligate young
lawyers, who had entered into an agreement not to bring suits
against each other. The consequence was that other citizens were
without remedy when a lawyer was the debtor or offender. The
aggrieved citizens went to the new-comer, who did not hesitate
to take their cases. The conspirators found they were no longer
to contract debts and commit outrages with impunity, unless this
intruder were put out of the way. Their best shot was, there-
fore, put forward to insult and then shoot him in a duel. Jack-
son knew that he must kill or die. By the rules of this horrible
game, either party may reserve his fire for a definite period after
the word is given. Jackson reserved his fire, and Dickinson's
ball cut a furrow across his breast, nearly burying itself in its
passage. Without the change of a muscle Jackson buttoned up
his coat, leveled his pistol, and Dickinson was a corpse, being
shot through the head. Jackson's friend, afterwards Judge White,
did not know that he was wounded until they had ridden some miles
from the field, when he observed blood at the top of Jackson's
boot, where it had run down under his clothes from his breast.
These particulars I had from Judge White himself. After that
wonderful exhibition of nerve, no one ventured to insult the
young lawyer or doubted his courage."
A duel established his reputation! Perhaps no
man, friend or foe, savage or civilized, now living in
5— G
66 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the State of Tennessee, would attempt to justify this
duel with Dickinson. It is wonderful, too, that this
old defender of General Jackson would so misrepresent
the facts in the case, and at that late date contra-
dict his own former statements, as there are really
but two truths in the foregoing quotation, and those
are as to the mere occurrence of the duel, and the
spirit and character of the times.
General Jackson's most heinous and cold-blooded
duel was that in which he murdered Charles Dick-
inson, but his most ridiculous and disgusting " affairs "
were with John Sevier, a few additional remarks con-
cerning which may not be deemed amiss at this point.
In the fall of 1798 John Sevier, then Governor of
Tennessee, wrote to Jackson offering him the appoint-
ment of Judge of the " Superior Court of Law and
Equity," " with much respect and esteem." Hence, so
far as Governor Sevier was concerned, these two men
were friends at that time. Jackson subsequently de-
nounced Sevier as interested in the land frauds. How-
ever this may have been in fact, Sevier was again
elected Governor in 1803, and was subsequently a
member of Congress, so that the majority of his con-
stituents either did not believe this charge against him,
or did not regard it of consequence. Other causes of
their quarrel have been mentioned. Whatever the
causes were they were hostile as savages at the time
Sevier was making the race for Governor in 1803.
Judge Jackson was in Knoxville on official business
when Sevier happened to be there making a speech
in his own behalf, a practice pretty much always in
vogue in the South and West. The Judge entered
the crowd of listeners, and soon found himself receiving
ANDREW JACKSON. 67
a tongue-lashing from the speaker. He answered
back, and the Governor retorted ; and, finally, making
some reference to Mrs. Jackson, the Judge at once
rushed furiously through the crowd with drawn cane.
The Governor flourished his sword, and friends drew
their pistols, things these gentle Christian ancestors
always had about them ; but the future hero of many
battles was carried away, while the old soldier of
King's Mountain hurled defiances and challenges after
him with more pretension than he really felt disposed
to make good.
General Jackson's next " affair " of note was that
with the young lawyers, Thomas Swann and Charles
Dickinson.
The Dickinson duel created a deep and lasting
feeling in the community, and involved many other
persons. Its origin was laid in a proposed horse-race,
in which General Jackson was a principal actor. The
race was to be run by his horse, " Truxton," on a
wager of two thousand dollars, and a forfeit of eight
hundred. The other horse was owned by Dickinson's
father-in-law, Joseph Ervin. This horse was with-
drawn and the forfeit paid in notes. But Thomas
Swann, a reputable young lawyer whom General Jack-
son was disposed to call " no gentleman," a meaning-
less thing often coming from excited, foolish, and
thoughtless persons, put out the impression, as if from
Dickinson, that Jackson had said that the notes were
drawn in a form contrary to the original agreement.
This, of course, incensed Jackson with both men. But
it is usually believed that Dickinson had spoken with
disrespect of the "sacred name" of Mrs. Jackson.
This, however, he denied when accused of it by
68 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Jackson. There is some evidence of Jackson's having
visited Mr. Ervin on this delicate theme, and urged him
to check his son-in-law, and of having otherwise shown
a disposition to avoid extreme measures. At all events,
step by step, matters moved on to the fatal result.
This species of murder, " honorable " murder, was
by no means universally sanctioned in Tennessee even
at that day ; as it never has been over the South,
contrary to the wide-spread opinion. Some of General
Jackson's friends urged him to drop the practice, and
especially not to notice the indiscretions of these young
lawyers. But nothing materially affected him. Nor
does it appear that his conscience was ever disturbed
as this old friend knew his should be. Even when
President, General Jackson mentioned his duel with
Dickinson, as if he took a savage comfort in it. And
on several occasions he emphasized the act with a sort
of vicious delight. Still he made no parade of any of
these affairs, and probably did not often refer to them
unless when they were mentioned in a way to excite
his resentment. Nor did he until old age, when the
religious principles of his wife and mother had in some
degree taken control of his nature, change his opinion
as to dueling. While he was President he exhibited
to others the methods of seeking " honor and satisfac-
tion," and, it is said, would have been glad to fight
Mr. Clay. Strictly speaking, he had only two set
duels, but scores of rough-and-tumble and bloody
figbts. He was a dangerous man, and by nature pos-
sessed most of the elements of a bully. But when
undisturbed, and the acts of others harmonized with his
feelings and pride, he was one of the most dignified, gra-
cious, courtly, accommodating, and genial " gentlemen."
ANDREW JACKSON. 69
" Nashville, January 3, 1806.
"General Andrew Jackson, — Sir, I was last evening in-
formed by Mr. Dickinson that, when called on by Captain Eryin
and himself at Mr. Winn's tavern, on Saturday last, to say
whether the notes offered by them, or either of them, at the time
the forfeit was paid in the race between Truxton and Plow Boy,
were the same received at the time of making the race, you
acknowledged they were, and further asserted that whoever was
the author of a report that you had stated them to be different,
was a damned liar ! The harshness of this expression has deeply
wounded my feelings ; it is language to which I am a stranger,
which no man, acquainted with my character, would venture to
apply to me, and which, should the information of Mr. Dickin-
son be correct, I shall be under the necessity of taking proper
notice of. I shall be at Rutherford court before you will receive
this, from whence I shall not return to Nashville before Thursday
or Friday, at which time I shall expect an answer. I am, sir,
your obedient servant, "Thomas Swann."
" Hermitage, January 7, 1806.
"Thomas Swann, Esq., — Sir, late last evening was handed
me, among my returns from Haysborough, a letter from you, of
the 3d inst., stating information from Dickinson, etc., etc., etc.
Was it not for the attention due to a stranger, taking into view
its tenor and style, I should not notice its receipt. Had the in-
formation, stated to have been received from jNIr. Dickinson,
stated a direct application of harsh language to you; had you
not known that the statement, as stated in your letter, was not
correct; had it not taken place in the same house where you
then were ; had not Mr. Dickinson been applied to by me to
bring you forward when your name was mentioned, and he de-
clined ; had I not the next morning had a conversation with you
on the same subject, and, lastly, did not your letter hold forth a
threat of ' proper notice,' I should give your letter a direct an-
swer. Let me, sir, observe one thing: that I never wantonly
sport with the feelings of innocence, nor am I ever awed into
measures. If incautiously I inflict a Avound, I always hasten to
remove it ; if offense is taken where none is offered or intended,
it gives me no pain. If a tale is listened to many days after the
discourse should have taken place, when all parties are under
the same roof, I always leave the person to judge of the motives
that induced the information, and leave them to draw their own
70 LIFE AND TIMES OF
conclusions, and act accordingly. There are certain traits that
alwavs accompany the gentleman and man of truth. The mo-
ment he hears harsh expressions applied to a friend, he wiU im-
mediately communicate it, that explanation may take place ;
when the base poltroon and cowardly tale-bearer will always act in the
background. You can apply the latter to Mr. Dickinson, and see
which best fits him. I write it for his eye, and the latter I em-
phatically intend for him. But, sir, it is for you to judge for
yourself; draw your own conclusions, and, when your judgment
is matured, act accordingly. When the conversation dropt be-
tween Mr. Dickinson and myself, I thought it was at an end.
As he wishes to blow the coal, I am ready to light it to a blaze,
that it may be consumed at once, and finally extinguished. Mr.
Dickinson has given you the information, the subject of your
letter. In return, and in justice to him, I request you to show
him this. I set out this morning for South-west Point. I will
return at a short day, and, at all times, be assured I hold myself
answerable for any of my conduct, and should anything herein
contained give Mr. Dickinson the spleen, I will furnish him with an
anodine as soon as I return. I am, sir, your obedient servant,
"Andrew Jackson."
" P. S. — There were no notes delivered at the time of making
the race, as stated in your letter; nor was the meeting between
me and Mr. Dickinson at Mr. Winn's tavern on that subject.
The subject of the notes was introduced by Mr. Dickinson as an
apology for his conduct, the subject of conversation."
Swann now proceeded to handle General Jackson
very severely in the newspapers, and putting himself
into a great rage, wanted " satisfaction " at once. One
of his first objects was to prove that he was a " gen-
tleman," a point on which the General very positively
declared his doubts. This was, perhaps, not a difficult
task for Mr. Swann, but General Jackson adhered to
his original opinion, and treated him as if he did not
regard the proofs of the least value ; and accordingly
meeting him one day at a Nashville hotel, fell upon
him with his cane and gave .him a " good " beating.
ANDREW JACKSON. 71
and ever afterwards, in spite of all Swann's persistence,
refused to afford him the " satisfaction of a gentleman."
But Jackson also went to the " Impartial Review "
newspaper with his explanation, and in doing so, in
bringing in the affidavits of his friends, stirred up diffi-
culties among other men, resulting in at least one duel,
between Nathaniel A. McNairy and John Coffee, who
was the life-long friend of Jackson.
On the 10th of January, 1806, Dickinson first
wrote to Jackson, reviewing their relation at that
time, and intimating that on his return from New
Orleans to which he was then starting, he would hear
from him again. On the 21st of May another letter
appeared from him, to which the General replied.
This letter was carried by Overton, who, after
having advised Jackson to pay no attention to these
boys, as he termed them, now told him that he must
fight, and whose moral sense was as blunt as that of
.his principal.
Finally the answer came, and the time and place
were arranged upon. In Kentucky, a day's ride from
Nashville, near the Red River, near Harrison's Mills,
in Logan County, on the 30th of May, 1806, this
duel was fought.
In the whole history of the progress of civilization
few more cold-blooded and barbarous enactments can
be found than the terms of this rencounter : —
"It is agreed that the distance shall be twenty-four feet;
the parties to stand facing each other, Avith their pistols down
perpendicularly- When they are ready, the single word, fire, to
be given ; at which they are to fire as soon as they please. Should
either fire before the word is given, we pledge ourselves to shoot
him down instantly. The person to give the word to be deter-
mined by lot, as also the choice of position."
72 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The day before the duel, Dickinson left his young
wife with the assurance that he would return on the
following day, and without her suspecting the object
which called him away. That night he and his
friends slept in the house of William Harrison on the
Red River, and General Jackson with Thomas Over-
ton, his second, and a few friends, at the tavern of
David Miller, two miles up the river, and near the
fatal spot. The next morning, said to have been as
beautiful as nature ever bestowed on a delicious
climate, and one on which good, wise, honorable, and
true men would have found better work to do, these
men met. The following graphic account is from the
pen of Mr. Parton : —
" About the same hour the overseer and his gang of negroes
went to the fields to begin their daily toil ; he longing to venture
within sight of what he knew was about to take place.
"The horsemen rode about a mile along the river; then
turned down toward the river to a point on the bank where they
had expected to find a ferryman. No ferryman appearing, Jack-
son spurred his horse into the stream and dashed across, followed
by all his party. They rode into the poplar forest, two hundred
yards or less, to a spot near the center of a level platform or
river bottom, then covered with forest, now smiling with culti-
vated fields. The horsemen halted and dismounted just before
reaching the appointed place. Jackson, Overton, and a surgeon
who had come with them from home, walked on together, and
the rest led their horses a short distance in an opposite direction.
" 'How do you feel about it now. General?' asked one of
the party as Jackson turned to go.
" ' O, all right,' replied Jackson, gayly ; 'I shall wing him,
never fear.'
" Dickinson's second won the choice of position, and Jack-
son's the office of giving the word. The astute Overton con-
sidered this giving of the word a matter of great importance,
and he had already determined how he would give it, if the lot
fell to him. The eight paces were measured off', and the men
ANDREW JACKSON. • 73
placed. Both were perfectly collected. All the politenesses of
such occasions were very strictly and elegantly performed. Jack-
son was dressed in a loose frock-coat, buttoned carelessly over
his chest, and concealing in some degree the extreme slenderness
of his figure. Dickinson was the younger and handsomer man
of the two. But Jackson's tall, erect figure, and the still inten-
sity of his demeanor, it is said, gave him a most superior and
commanding air, as he stood under the tall poplars on this bright
May morning, silently awaiting the moment of doom.
" ' Are you ready !' said Overton.
" ' I am ready,' replied Dickinson.
" ' I am ready,' said Jackson.
"The words were no sooner pronounced than Overton, with a
sudden shout, cried, using his old-country pronunciation, ' Fere !'
" Dickinson raised his pistol quickly and fired. Overton, who
was looking with anxiety and dread at Jackson, saw a pufi* of
dust fly from the breast of his coat, and saw him raise his left
arm and place it tightly across his chest. He is surely hit,
thought Overton, and in a bad place too; but no; he does not
fall. Erect and grim as fate he stood, his teeth clinched, raising
his pistol. Overton glanced at Dickinson. Amazed at the un-
wonted failure of his aim, and apparently appalled at the awful
figure and face before him, Dickinson had unconsciously recoiled
a pace or two.
" ' Great God !' he faltered, ' have I missed him ?'
"'Back to the mark, sir!' shrieked Overton, with his hand
upon his pistol.
"Dickinson recovered his composure, stepped forward to the
peg, and stood with his eyes averted from his antagonist. All
this was the work of a moment, though it requires many words
to tell it.
" General Jackson took deliberate aim, and pulled the trigger.
The pistol neither snapped nor went oflT. He looked at the trigger
and discovered that it had stopped at half-cock. He drew it
back to its place, and took aim a second time. He fired. Dick-
inson's face blanched ; he reeled ; his friends rushed toward him,
caught him in their arms, and gently seated him on the ground,
leaning against a bush. His trousers reddened. They stripped
off his clothes. The blood was gushing from his side in a tor-
rent. And alas ! here is the ball, not near the wound, but above
the opposite hip, just under the skin. The ball had passed
74 XIFE AND TIMES OF
through the body below the ribs. Such a wound could not but
be fatal.
"Overton went forward and learned the condition of the
wounded man. Rejoining his principal, he said, ' He won't want
anything more of you. General,' and conducted him from the
ground. They had gone a hundred yards, Overton walking on
one side of Jackson, the surgeon on the other, and neither speak-
ing a word, when the surgeon observed that one of Jackson's
shoes was full of blood.
" 'My God! General Jackson, are you hit?' he exclaimed,
pointing to the blood.
" ' O, I believe,' replied Jackson, ' that he has pinked me a
little. Let 's look at it. But say nothing about it there,' point-
ing to the house.
" He opened his coat. Dickinson's aim had been perfect.
He had sent the ball precisely where he supposed Jackson's heart
was beating. But the thinness of his body and the looseness of
his coat, combining to deceive Dickinson, the ball had only
broken a rib or two, and raked the breast-bone. It was a some-
what painful, bad-looking wound, but neither severe nor danger-
ous, and he was able to ride to the tavern without much incon-
venience. Upon approaching the house he went up to one of the
negro women who was churning, and asked her if the butter
had come. She said it was just coming. He asked for some
buttermilk. While she was getting it for him, she observed him
furtively open his coat and look within it. She saw that his shirt
was soaked with blood, and she stood gazing in blank horror at
the sight, dipper in band. He caught her eye and hastily but-
toned his coat again. She dipped out a quart measure full of
buttermilk, and gave it to him. He drank it off at a draught ;
then went in, took off his coat, and had his wound carefully
examined and dressed. That done, he dispatched one of his ret-
inue to Dr. Catlett, to inquire respecting the condition of Dick-
inson, and to say that the surgeon attending himself would be
glad to contribute his aid toward Mr. Dickinson's relief. Polite
reply was returned that Mr. Dickinson's case was past surgery.
In the course of the day, General Jackson sent a bottle of wine
to Dr. Catlett for the use of his patient.
" But there was one gratification which Jackson could not,
even in such circumstances, grant him. A very old friend of
General Jackson writes to me thus : ' Although the General hud
ANDREW JACKSON. 75
been wounded, he did not desire it should be known until he
had left the neighborhood, and had therefore concealed it at first
from his own friends. His reason for this, as he once stated to
me was, that as Dickinson considered himself the best shot in the
world, and was certain of killing him at the first fire, he did not
want him to have the gratification even of knowing that he had
touched him.'
"Poor Dickinson bled to death. The flowing of blood was
stanched, but could not be stopped. He was conveyed to the
house in which he had passed the night, and placed upon a mat-
tress, which was soon drenched with blood. He suffered extreme
agony, and uttered horrible cries all that long day. At nine
o'clock in the evening he suddenly asked why they had put out
the light. The doctor knew then that the end was at hand ; that
the wife, who had been sent for in the morning, would not arrive
in time to close her husband's eyes. He died five minutes after,
cursing, it is said, with his last breath, the ball that had entered
his body. The poor wife hurried away on hearing that her hus-
band was ' dangerously wounded,' and met, as she rode toward
the scene of the duel, a procession of silent horsemen escorting a
rough emigrant wagon that contained her husband's remains."
Jackson remained a month or two inactive from the
effect of his wound, and never did recover from its
moral injury. Many men even at that day in Tennes-
see deplored this event, and the reputation of Jackson
suffered justly no little.
James Parton says that at no time between 1806
and 1812 could Jackson have been elected to any
office in Tennessee where a majority of the votes of
the people would have been required.
As disgusting and detestable as was this whole af-
fair, efforts were made then and at different periods
afterwards, to turn it to General Jackson's advantage
among the people.
While no great sympathy could ever be felt for the
fate of poor Dickinson by reason of his high moral
virtues, for like Jackson, he had few, or none, yet that
76 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he fell thus by the hand of a man who was made President
of the United States, and that, too, when he was still
ready on similar pretexts, to imbrue his hands in the
blood of his fellow-men, can never be forgotten, and
must always be a source of regret among refined and
intelligent Americans, no matter what their school of
politics or philosophy.
Although Jackson was often in difficulty with some-
body, and was always ready to " knock any m5,n's '
head off who says pshaw at me," yet his next and last
most serious fight occurred in 1813 with the Benton
brothers.
That this was the last, however, was not a fact for
which General Jackson deserved any credit. He could
not keep pace with the moral force of the country.
The Bentons, like Jackson, were natives of North
Carolina. Thomas Hart Benton settled in Franklin,
Tennessee, where he practiced law for some time, and
there he lived when the feud began with Jackson.
W. W. Carroll, a friend of Jackson, and Jesse Benton,
quarreled and attempted to kill each other with pistols.
In this "affair," politely termed a duel, General Jack-
son acted as a second in all the negotiations and in the
shooting.
During this time Thomas H. Benton was at Wash-
ington City attempting to induce the Administration to
refund to Jackson the money he had expended for
transporting the Tennessee troops home from Natchez
at the end of the fruitless expedition in 1812. Ben-
ton was successful, and Jackson was saved from great
embarrassment, if not ruin. The part Jackson took in
Carroll's fight with Jesse greatly incensed Benton, and
on his way home and after his return, he made many
ANDREW JACKSON. 77
bitter remarks about Jackson. This was something
that that person was not in the habit of tolerating, and
the result was a letter from him to Benton, which con-
tained this language : —
" You must either be sensible of having done me injustice and
acknowledge it, or make a demand upon me for such satisfaction
as one man of honor thinks he has a right to demand of another.
This, sir, I have a right to expect from the military commission
which you now hold. This, sir, comports with the magnanim-
ity of a soldier, if in error to say so ; if not, to promptly demand
of me satisfaction for any injury you may think I have done
you. . . . After this explanation, if it is explained, you will do me
the justice to believe that the harsh and indecorous language you
have thought proper to adopt, was unmerited, and that you will
retract it."
But Benton had in a fit of fury written to Jackson
about this matter before he left Washington, and the
General had given out that he was going to horsewhip
Tom Benton. Benton was, however, always prepared
for a meeting, and expected it to come sooner or later.
On the night of the 3d of September the Bentons
were in Nashville, stopping at the " City Hotel," and,
as it happened. General Jackson and John Coffee came
to town and staid the same night at the " Nashville
Inn," near by, across the square. On the following
morning in going from the post-office, Jackson and Cof-
fee took occasion to pass in front of the City Hotel.
Seeing Thomas H. Benton standing in the door Jackson
rushed upon him with his whip, at the same time noti-
fying him to defend himself.
But seeing Benton in the act of drawing a pistol, as he
thought, he presented his own with great dexterity to
Benton's breast, the latter backing toward the door lead-
ing to the rear porch of the house. At this juncture Jesse
•78 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Benton entered the hall, and observing the situation
at once, drew his pistol, loaded with balls and slugs,
and fired upon Jackson bringing him to the floor.
Coffee now rushed into the passage, and thinking that
Thomas Benton had done the shooting, instantly shot
at him, but missed, when clubbing his weapon he
rushed upon him. Benton stepped back and fell down
a stairway which he had not observed. Another blood-
thirsty character now came upon the scene in the per-
son of Stokely Hays, a relative of Mrs. Jackson, and
drawing his sword from a cane rushed like a fiend
upon Jesse Benton. But at the first thrust his sword
was broken on a button. He then drew a dirk. A
fearful contest ensued, in which he got Benton down,
and after stabbing him several times slightly, would
have cut his heart or head from his body had not dis-
interested persons now interfered. The Bentons then
went into the street, where Thomas broke Jackson's
sword which he carried as a trophy, and in his sten-
torian voice defied Jackson and his friends. Jackson
was badly wounded in the arm and shoulder, and was
not only unable for months to make much use of his arm,
but also suffered from the wound all his life, the ball
not being taken out until while he was President.
Thomas H. Benton soon after this affair entered
the army, and, at the close of the war, located in
Missouri. He did not meet General Jackson again
until 1823.
A few days after the fight Mr. Benton made the-
following statement : —
" Franklin, Tennessee, September 10, 1813.
" A difference which had been for some months brewing be-
tween General Jackson and myself, produced on Saturday, the
ANDREW JACKSON. 79
4th instant, in the town of Nashville, the most outrageous affray
ever witnessed in a civilized country. In communicating the
affair to my friends and fellow-citizens, I limit myself to the
statement of a few leading facts, the truth of which I am ready
to establish by judicial proofs.
"1. That myself and my brother, Jesse Benton, arriving in
Nashville on the morning of the affr-ay, and knowing of General
Jackson's threats, went and took lodgings in a different house
from the one in which he staid, on purpose to avoid him.
" 2. That the General and some of his friends came to the house
where we had put up, and commenced the attack by leveling a
pistol at me when I had no weapon drawn, and advancing upon
me at a quick pace, without giving me time to draw one.
"3. That seeing this, my brother fired upon General Jackson
when he had got within eight or ten feet of me.
"4. That four other pistols were fired in quick succession;
one by General Jackson at me, two by me at the General, and
one by Colonel Coffee at me. In the course of this firing,
General Jackson was brought to the ground, but received no hurt.
"5. That daggers were then drawn. Colonel Coffee and Mr.
Alexander Donaldson made at me, and gave me five slight
wounds. Captain Hammond and Mr. Stokely Hays engaged my
brother, who, still suffering from a severe wound he had lately
received in a duel, was not able to resist two men. They got
him down; and while Captain Hammond beat him on the head
to make him lie still, Mr. Hays attempted to stab him, and
wounded him in both arms as he lay on his back parrying the
thrusts with his naked hands. From this situation a generous-
hearted citizen of Nashville, Mr. Sumner, relieved him. Before
he came to the ground my brother clapped a pistol to the breast
of Mr. Hays to blow him through, but it missed fire.
"6. My own and my brother's pistols carried two balls each;
for it was our intention, if driven to arms, to have no child's
play. The pistols fired at me were so near that the blaze of the
muzzle of one of them burnt the sleeve of my coat, and the other
aimed at my head at a little more than arm's length from it.
"7. Captain Carroll was to have taken part in the aflTray, but
was absent by the permission of General Jackson, as he had proved
by the General's certificate, a certificate which reflects, I know
not, whether less honor upon the General or upon the Captain.
"8. That this attack was made upon me in the house where
-80 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the judge of the district, Mr. Searcy, had his lodgings ! Nor has
the civil authority yet taken cognizance of this horrible outrage.
"These facts are sufficient to fix the public opinion. For my
own part, I think it scandalous that such things should take place
at any time; but particulai'ly so at the present moment, when
the public service requires the aid of all its citizens. As for the
name of courage, God forbid that I should ever attempt to gain it
by becoming a bully. Those who know me, know full well that
I would give a thousand times more for the reputation of Cro-
ghan in defending his post, than I would for the reputation of all
the duelists and gladiators that ever appeared upon the face
of the earth. Thomas Hart Benton."
Time and other things had their influence, and Mr.
Benton was finally found among the foremost and most
unyielding supporters of General Jackson's Adminis-
tration, and a personal friend, if not a member of the
"Kitchen Cabinet." Later on Mr. Benton became
one of the General's apologizers and eulogists, and
made it a point to deny or defend his evil deeds, as
well as bestow extravagant praise upon the better
features of his life. But few more bitter enemies,
to the end of his days, had General Jackson than
Jesse Benton,
It does not appear that General Jackson made his
will, or even said good-bye to Mrs. Jackson before set-
ting out for these bloody affrays, any more than he
did when starting out for a horse-race or a cock-fight.
They were so frequent as to render the precaution
unnecessary or monotonous, and, no doubt, Mrs. Jack- .
son always expected the worst whenever he was out
of her sight.
There is hardly a period in the life of General
Jackson when he is not represented as carrying a
cane or a whip. On horseback, as well as on foot, he
was accompanied by the cane, and at the beginning as
ANDREW JACKSON. 81
well as at the end of life. To him, in the earlier days
at least, it was regarded as an instrument of defense,
to some extent. The cane is certainly not significant
of strength or manhood, but the opposite. It is a
help to old age, and may be a fit appendage to that in
man or woman. It is not an ornament. To young
women it might, at times, be useful as it was to Gen-
eral Jackson ; but, generally, does it not rather indi-
cate the presence of a mind fond of trifles and occupied
with little whims ?
To give a just impression of the character of Gen-
eral Jackson it has seemed necessary to make this
somewhat full outline sketch of his leading " affairs
of honor." Most of the unimportant accompaniments,
the disgusting profanity which always went along with
General Jackson's displays of chivalry and passion,
and other rougher features, have been omitted mainly
in the narrative. Other quarrels of General Jackson's,
as, for instance, with Samuel L. Southard, General
Winfield Scott, Governor John Adair, etc., may be
briefly referred to in the course of the work.
6— G
82 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER VII.
GENERAL JACKSON AND AARON BURR.
IN May, 1805, Aaron Burr made his first trip to
Nashville. Although he was an outcast in New
York and New Jersey, he was very popular in the
West, where, if his murder of Hamilton did not help
him on, it did not hurt his standing at Nashville. He
had left his boat down on the Ohio, and gone up to
Nashville to see how popular he was there, and his
reception was all he desired. He remained five days^
and was during that time a guest of Judge Jackson in the
old log Hermitage presided over by "Aunt Rachel,"
as Mrs. Jackson was even then called. Jackson had
been apprised of Burr's coming, and on the day of his
arrival had met him in Nashville, and after the "re-
ception " and dinner, had taken him home on one of
his finest horses ; and at the close of his visit sent him
in one of his own boats down the Cumberland. At the
Ohio he not only found the wonderful " Ark " safe, in
which he had floated down from Pittsburg, but he
also found General Wilkinson, another of his hospitable
admirers, who sent him on his way in an elegant barge.
On his return Burr was again at the Hermitage, in
August. For a week or more he remained this time
at the Hermitage, and was greatly pleased with his
visit. Judge Jackson was a thorough hater of Span-
iards and the Spanish Government, and to Burr's
ANDREW JACKSON. 83
enthusiasm on that point he gave full sanction. Too
well did the artful little man know Jackson's devotion
to the Union, to make any direct allusions to his
scheme, if he had one, of separating it.
Aaron Burr was not a friend to President Jefferson.
And from this visit to Nashville Jackson's decided op-
position to the Administration began. Burr wrote two
or more letters to him after this visit. Besides con-
taining an air of mystery and a sort of military aspect
squinting towards war with Spain, altogether pleasing
to the General, these letters referred to John Ran-
dolph's attack upon the President and other affairs
bearing upon the Administration, which were not
wholly disagreeable to his correspondent.
In one of these letters Burr spoke about the possi-
bility of two regiments of " choice spirits " being raised
in Tennessee, and recommended Jackson to send a list
of officers' names, men that could be trusted, and that
in case of war his influence with the War Department
would turn this to his benefit. Jackson sent the
names, and believed that Burr really was in the con-
fidence of the Administration in. this direction, at all
events, and that all of this mystery and quiet business
meant what he most desired, war with Spain.
In September, Burr again visited Nashville and re-
mained a few days with Judge Jackson. At the rec-
ommendation of Jackson a ball was given at Nashville
in his honor. At that ball Jackson in full military
dress appeared with Burr on his arm. They were the
lions of the occasion. Especially were the "ladies"
hardly able to decide as to their preference for these
magnificent and charming men.
One of the standing slanders and burlesques on the
84 LIFE AND TIMES OF
sex was the general attachment of women to Aaron
Burr, a man who despised alike the good and bad quali-
ties of woman, regarded as well her vices as virtues,
and held as unworthy of his concein, under any cir-
cumstances, any of her claims to manly respect or
honor. To this he made an exception in Theodosia,
his brilliant daughter. It may have been that more
than Burr's ordinary gallant feeling was entertained by
him for the woman who ministered to his pride and
his every want during his last deserted, hopeless, and
lonely hours on earth.
But at this visit, the last but one, which Burr
made to the Hermitage, some rumors were afloat in
Nashville as to the ambiguous character of his designs.
These rumors Jackson believed arose from partisan
considerations,^ and did not allow them to influence his
conduct. Burr considered his friendship and his
scheme secure at Nashville, and determined to make
that place a center of operations.
Accordingly in November, he sent thirty-five hun-
dred dollars to Jackson, or perhaps, more strictly
speaking, to Coffee and Hutchings, and an order for the
construction of five flat-boats, and the collection of a
considerable quantity of provisions.
Jackson, Coffee, and Hutchings, believing every
thing to be right, began to build the boats at Clover
Bottom.
Burr had made it appear at Nashville, as every
place else, that his object was the purchase and set-
tlement of a large tract of land on the Washita River.
He was going to establish there the center from which
all the culture and refinement of North America was
to flow, and, of course, if war with Spain was declared,
ANDREW JACKSON. 86
they would be ready for the fray. This was, no doubt,
exactly what Jackson believed to be Burr's purpose.
But there was a great deal of talk about Burr and his
projects, and the suspicion of Jackson was at last
aroused. Then followed Burr's arrest, trial, and ac-
quittal in Kentucky.
About the middle of December he again appeared,
for the last time, at Nashville, but, in the absence
of General Jackson, he was not well received at this
visit. He knew the reason, and was not slow in
declaring his innocence of any designs prejudicial to
the Government. Some of his boats were now com-
pleted, and having settled with the contractors, on the
22d of December, 1806, he left Nashville with the
few followers enlisted there. In a few days the Presi-
dent's proclamation was sent throughout the country,
the Ohio valley swarmed with armed patriots, and the
Quixotic adventure fell to pieces.
Attachment to the Federal Union was then at no
discount at Nashville. Burr was burned in effigy, and
a big blaze made over his villainous scheme of treason
against the country, as it was believed to be. General
Jackson was among the foremost in his efforts to
nip the movement in the bud. The militia of his
division were notified that their services might be
needed at any time, messengers were sent off with
notes of warning, and nobody added more to the gen-
eral commotion than Jackson. James Robertson, the
Tennessee Boone, and a number of Revolutionary
veterans offered their services to Jackson for the occa-
sion in a sentimental address, to which Jackson replied
in a style fully up to the heat of the occasion, and
the spread-eagle tone which characterized the procla-
86 LIFE AND TIMES OF
mations of the West and Northern border generals in
the war of 1812.
These old patriots and others of the militia rushed to
arms, Jackson reviewed them, Nashville was abhize
with enthusiasm. It was a grand time ! A momentous
occasion !
But Bissel, commanding at Fort Massac, on the
Ohio, sent back Jackson's messenger to him with the
stunning intelligence that the late Vice-President and
a few harmless people had passed unmolested down the
river. This took the spirit out of the war-panic at
Nashville. Major-General of militia, Jackson, issued
an address as a grand finale, and the soldiers were
dismissed. In this address are these words : —
Friends and Fellow-soldiers, — The President's proclama-
tion, as well as the Secretary of War's letter to me, dated on the
19th of last month, has given rise to the preparatory steps taken
to have the militia under my command in complete readiness.
These communications sound the tocsin of alai-m. They are suf-
ficient evidence to us that the repose of our country is about to be
interrupted ; that an illegal enterprise has been set on foot by
disappointed, unprincipled, ambitions, or misguided individuals; and
that they are about to be carried on against the Government of
Spain, contrary to the faith of treaties. Other reports state that
the adventurers in this enterprise were numerous; that they had
assembled at the mouth of Cumberland River, in considerable
force and hostile array ; that they had for their object a separa-
tion of the western from the eastern part of the United States;
and that an attack would, in the first place, be made on New
Orleans.
"When the insolence or vanity of the Spanish Government
shall dare to repeat their insults on our flag, or shall dare to
violate the sacred obligations of the good faith of our treaties
with them ; or should the disorganizing Traitor attempt the dis-
memberment of our country or criminal breach of our laws, let
me ask what will be the effects of the example given by a tender
of service made by such men as compose the Invincible Grays,
ANDREW JACKSON. 87
commanded, too, by the father of our infant State, General
James Robertson?
"It must and will produce effects like these: The youthful
patriot will be invigorated to a proper sense of duty and zeal,
and the vengeance of an insulted country will burst upon the
devoted heads of any foreign invaders, or the authors of such
diabolical plans. When we behold aged, deserving, and respect-
able men, whom the laws of their country exempt from common
military duty, the very first to come forward in the event of dan-
ger, and whose situation is every how comfortable at home, thus
to act, what must be the degree of feeling and seusilulity excited ?
It is beyond comprehension, but merits the highest encomium.
"Friends and fellow-soldiers, I can not dismiss you without
making honorable mention of the patriotism of Captain Thomas
Williamson, displayed on the present occasion, who, in twenty-
four hours after the receipt of my letter, notified me he was
ready to march at the head of a full company of volunteers.
Such promptness as this will be a fit example for the hardy sons
of freedom, should the constituted authorities require our service.
"Return, fellow-soldiers, to the bosom of your families, with
the best wishes of your General, until your country calls, and
then it is expected you will march on a moment's warning."
" Return, fellow-soldiers, to the bosom of your
families !" Stupendous sacrifice ! Worse than an In-
dian scare on the frontier ! " Woe unto the muUen-
stalks, which in our course we met !"
But if this was burlesque, it was also a first glimpse
of the dawn of something better in the life of General
Jackson than had yet occurred.
When Burr was lodged in state at Richmond for
trial, Jackson went on there as a witness. While there
he made a public speech in defense of Burr, and so
thoroughly satisfied was he, by this time, that Burr
was not guilty of treason, that he was unstinted in his
condemnation of Mr. Jefferson.
A demand for his testimony in the case was not
made. But General Jackson was not left unsinged.
88 LIFE AND TIMES OF
His associations had been bad, if nothing more. He
was suspected at Washington and in other parts of the
country, and was actually charged at home with hav-
ing been implicated in Burr's treasonable purposes.
Although Jackson was guilty of many foolish and one
diabolical practice, there never could be a greater piece
of injustice and folly than to Accuse him of treason.
Patriotism- was his first and most admirable quality.
With him it was a passion; in him it was great. His
patriotism was not bounded by State lines. This
mantle may well cover many of his " earlier indis-
cretions."
The following is the greater part of General Jack-
son's letter to George AV. Campbell, then in Congress
from Tennessee, dated January 15, 1807, reviewing,
to some extent, this Burr difficult}^ : —
" Sir, — The late denunciation of Aaron Burr as a traitor has
excited great surprise and general indignation. Still, from the
opinion possessed of the accuser, many there are who wait for the
proof, before they will pronounce him guilty of the charge. One
thing is generally believed, that if Burr is guilty, Wilkinson has
participated in the treason. The public mind has been agitated
from various reports of Burr having been met, at the mouth of
Cumberland River, with one hundred boats and one thousand
armed men ; and it was stated as a fact, that the captain at Mas-
sac, and all the men, were going with him. Subsequent reports
stated they had gone. An express which I started on the receipt
of the Secretary of War's letter, of the — ult., has returned, and
states that Burr left Massac on the 3d ult., in company with ten
boats, six men on board each, without arms, or any thing that
can afford suspicion ; and that Captain Bissell has been doing his
duty, as a vigilant officer. I had ordered out twelve companies
of volunteers, on the receipt of the Secretary of War's letter, to
check the adventurers, which on the return of express, I dismissed.
I have no doubt, but from the pains that have been taken to cir-
culate reports, it will be rumored that I am on full march, to
ANDREW JACKSON. 89
unite with Burr. This I know you never will believe, until you
hear it from myself; or from such a source that you know can
not err. Should you ever hear that I am embarked in a course
inimical to my country, believe it not. iShould you hear tliat any
treasonable intentions have come to my knowledge, and that I
have been silent, believe them not; or that I would not put any
man out of existence, who would name such a thing to me, with-
out on the grounds of discovering it to the proper authorities.
If Burr has any treasonable intentions in view, he is the basest
of all human beings ; I will tell you why, he always held out the
idea of settling Washita, unless a wav with Spain ; in that event,
he held out the idea, that from his intimacy with the Secretary
of War, he would obtain an appointment, and if he did, would
revolutionize Mexico.
" About the 10th of November, Captain called at my
house, and after the stay of a night and part of a day, intro-
duced the subject of the adventurers, and in part stated that their
intention was to divide the Union. I sternly asked how they
would effect it ; he replied, by seizing New Orleans and the bank,
shutting the port, conquering Mexico, and uniting the western
parts of the Union to the conquered country. I, perhaps with
warmth, asked him how this was to be effected ; he replied, by
the aid of the Federal troops with the General at their head. I
asked if he h^ad this from the General ; he said he had not.
I asked him if- Colonel Burr was in the scheme ; he answered, he
did not know, nor was he informed that he was ; that he barely
knew Colonel Burr, and never had any conversation with him.
I asked him how he knew this, and from whom he got his informa-
tion ; he said from in New York. Knowing that Colonel Burr
was well acquainted with , it rushed into my mind like light-
ning, that Burr was at the head, and from the colorings he had
held out to me. Generals Robertson, and Overton, and the hos-
pitality I had shown him, I viewed it as base conduct to us all ;
and heightened the baseness of his intended crimes, if he really
was about to become a traitor. I sat down and wrote to General
Smith and Dr. Dickinson ; I wrote to Governor Claiborne to put
his citadel in a state of defense, without naming any person ex-
cept General Wilkinson. When this was done, I wrote Colonel
Burr in strong terms my suspicious of him, and until they were
cleared from my mind, no further intimacy was to exist between
us. I made my suspicions known to Generals Robertson and
90 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Tatum, with some others. Not long after, I received his answer,
with the most sacred pledges, that he had not, nor never had, any
views inimical or hostile to the United States ; and whenever he
was charged with the intention of separating the Union, the idea
of insanity must be ascribed to him. After his acquittal in Ken-
tucky, he returned to this country, and to all who named the
subject, made the same pledge, and said he had no object in view,
but such as was sanctioned by legal authority ; and still said that,
when necessary, he would produce the Secretary of War's orders ;
that he wanted only young men of talents to go with him ; with
such he wished to make his settlement, as it would have a tend-
ency to draw to it wealth and character. For these reasons, from
the pledges made, if he is a traitor, he is the basest that ever did
commit treason ; and being torn to pieces and scattered to the four
winds of heaven, would be too good for him. But we will leave
him for time and evidence to verify his hue. I have given you
the outlines, and in a few weeks will give the proof.
"A. Jackson."
In 1828, this matter again came- up in the cam-
paign charges against General Jackson. Judge Will-
iams, of Tennessee, was then foremost in forwarding
the belief that Jackson was involved in the Burr
scheme. A committee was organized at Nashville,
composed of men of very honorable standing, which
undertook to correct many " errors " concerning the
General, that had become of national notoriety. And,
at this time, the Burr affair, so far as it could have
had any bearing upon Jackson, was thoroughly in-
vestigated.
In 1815, in the suit of Herman Blennerhassett
against General Jackson, at Natchez, Coffee there gave
this statement : —
"The report of his acting in opposition to the wishes of the
Government prevented his procuring supplies of provisions ; and
he had not use for all the boats that had been made for liim.
Two, I believe, was the number he made use of for himself and
ANDREW JACKSON. 91
those with him. The balance of the boats, the number I do not
recollect, were left by Mr. Burr ; and afterward, by virtue of his
order in favor of Patten Anderson, the boats, or the proceeds
thereof, were paid over to Mr. Anderson. When Mr. Burr was
at Clover Bottom, General Jackson and myself made a settle-
ment with him, the said Burr ; and, after charging him with the
boats and other articles furnished him for his voyage down the
river, I returned him all the balance of his money ($1,725.62)
in the very same notes first sent by him, and the accounts were
then completely closed and paid on both sides, as I understood."
Outside of the work of the Nashville committee,
called the " Whitewash Committee," there was evidence
enough to show that Jackson was in no sense impli-
cated with Burr. The facts, as may now be seen,
were simply these, that Jackson had received him
with great kindness at Nashville, as a friend to him-
self and the State, as he believed, and as a distin-
guished citizen and member of the party to which he
belonged ; that when he was discovered to be engaged,
as was supposed, in a scheme against the country, he
had done all he could to thwart it; that Burr never
submitted his treasonable purposes to him, but main-
tained the opposite to be his object; that he not only
did not receive him into cordial friendship on his last
trip to Nashville, but also did not ever afterwards
satisfy any of Burr's demands, or hold confidential
communications with him, even when Burr had ad-
vanced his Presidential interests all that it was in his
power to do from 1816 to the day of his success in
1828. Although he did not believe Burr designed to
divide the Union, General Jackson never had any
faith in him after the affair was finally disposed of,
and the world had entirely discarded him.
As to the participation of General Jackson in
92 . LIFE AND TIMES OF
building the boats and furnishing supplies and recruits
for Burr there are, perhaps, some irreconcilable discrep-
ancies in the records. In the Blennerhassett suit, in
1815, when the case was yet certainly fresh enough
in the minds of those who were concerned, John
Coflfee testified that General Jackson and himself did
make the settlement with Burr at Clover Bottom, in
December, 1806, and that they charged him for the
boats and other articles, and then that he returned
to Burr the balance of his money.
In his letter to the "Whitewash Committee," in
1828, after the lapse of years. General Coffee's memory
seemed to waA^er. Still he there says that the thirty-
five hundred dollars, and subsequently five hundred dol-
lars more, sent by Burr were put into his hands by
General Jackson. In this letter Coffee appears to be far
off in his recollections, was willing to advance himself
as the instrument, and lacked all that positiveness with
which he referred to General Jackson and himself as
making the settlement with Burr on his last visit in
1806. That he controlled the boat-building, etc., signi-
fied nothing. General Jackson was his partner, and had
received the money from Burr, had put the money into
his hands, as a matter of course, and being a partner had
received some of the benefits of the transaction. There
seemed no need of trying to slip around these facts.
But, in 1843, the General wrote to Amos Kendall
on this subject, and apparently flatly contradicts Cof-
fee's statement to the " Whitewash Committee," and
more flatly contradicts Coffee's statement in the Blen-
nerhassett suit, and says that he never saw or had in
his possession a dollar of Burr's money, and that he
had nothing whatever to do with the matter when
ANDREW JACKSON. 93
Coffee had sworn that the General and himself made
the settlement. There can be no doubt that the Gen-
eral knew every word that Coffee was to write and
did write for the " Whitewash Committee," and that
time had changed the picture in his memory in his
retrospective period, in 1843. While Jackson did not
mean to whitewash himself, perhaps, it would hardly
do to settle such a point by his memory at so
late a date.
General Jackson was now on the verge of an inter-
esting era in his life, one for which his former career
was in some sense preparatory. Up to this time he
had mainly shown himself to be a powerful animal ;
an uncultured, unrestrained, domineering will. Aver-
aging his deeds and traits, as to good and evil, at
this juncture would, perhaps, not be unattended with
difficulty from the story which has here been told. But
the picture has necessarily been incomplete, owing to
the difficulty of reaching the so-called small things of
his private life. He stood out among men as an ex-
traordinary friend. No amount of hardship, self-denial,
or danger would he allow to come in the way of his
friendship when once satisfactorily founded. Here he
was unselfish and untyrannical. The predominant fea-
tures of his influence in these friendships were, per-
haps, good. He expected a friend to be wholly devoted
to his interests, and not to stand in the way of his
will. On this ground his own feelings never faltered.
Forgiveness was not an element of his nature. An
enemy to him was always an enemy. To do good to
an enemy was among his impossibilities. To enemies
he aimed to do only evil. He had been alike a terror
and an example to evil-doers.
94 LIFE AND TIMES OF
His position as a judge had not helped him up.
He had not a judicial mind. What he had not, he
would never have by culture. He simply went on
developing and letting out his inherent traits as op-
portunities came. A cause, just or unjust, he could
not separate from a friend or a foe. If it was not
impossible, it certainly was difficult, for him to be im-
partial in his judgments. His will could not be sep-
arated from his verdicts. His personality was always
uppermost. His opinion could hardly be unbiased.
He was necessarily a partisan. His future experiences
and acts only precipitated and crystallized the traits
he had now exhibited. His defects, evils, and faults
could never become goods or virtues. But his great
powers were now to be utilized in a congenial field
where license was law; and where the country, while
realizing the benefits of his virtues, was also destined
to feel the evils of his riotous will.
The following borrowed picture may fitly end this
chapter and period : —
NASHVILLE CORRESPONDENCB NEW YORK HERALD.
"Many are the interesting scenes of Jackson's life which his
biographer, Parton, has omitted and not brought to light. When
a boy I saw him scare and put to flight twenty thousand men.
The occasion was this : Greyhound, a Kentucky horse, had
beaten Double-Head, a Tennessee horse, and they were afterward
matched for five thousand dollars a side, to be run on the Clover-
bottom Course. My uncle, Josephus H. Conn, carried me on
horseback behind him to see the race. He set me on the <?edar
fence and told me to remain till he returned. In those days not
only counties, but States, in full feather, attended the race-course
as a great national amusement, and the same is still kept up in
France and England, under the fostering care of each gov-
ernment.
"There must have been twenty thousand persons present. I
never witnessed such fierce betting between the States. Horses
ANDREW JACKSON. 95
and negroes were put up. A large pound was filled with horses
and negroes bet on the result of the race. The time had now
arrived for the competitors to appear on the track. I heard some
loud talking, and looking down the track, saw, for the first time.
General Jackson, riding slowly on a gray horse, with long pistols
held in each hand. I think they were as long as my arm, and had a
mouth that a ground-squirrel could enter. In his wake followed
my uncle Conn, Stokely, Donelson, Patton Anderson, and
several others, as fierce as bulldogs. As General Jackson led the
van and approached the judges' stand, he was rapidly talking
and gesticulating. As he came by me he said that he had irref-
ragable proof that this was to be a jockey race, that Greyhound
was seen in the wheat-field the night before, which disqualified
him for the race, and that his rider was to receive five hundred
dollars to throw it off, and ' by the eternal God,' he would shoot
the first man who brought his horse upon the track ; that the
people's money should not be stolen from them in this, manner.
He talked incessantly, while the spittle rolled from his mouth
and the fire from his eyes. I have seen bears and wolves at bay,
but he was certainly the most ferocious-looking animal that I had
ever seen. His appearance and manner struck terror to the
hearts of twenty thousand people. If they felt as I did, every
one expected to be slain. He announced to the parties if they
wanted some lead in their hides to first bring their horses on the
track, for ' by the eternal,' he would kill the first man that at-
tempted to do so. There was no response to this challenge, and,
after waiting some time, and they failing to appear, General
Jackson said it was a great mistake in the opinion of some, that
he had acted hastily, without consideration. He would give the
scoundrel a fair trial, and to that end he would constitute a
court to investigate this matter, who would hear the proof and
do justice to all parties. Thereupon he appointed a sheriff to
keep order and five judges to hear the case. Proclamation was
made that the court was open, and was ready to proceed to busi-
ness, and for the parties to appear and defend themselves, l^o
one appearing. General Jackson introduced the witnesses, proving
the bribery of Greyhound's rider, who was to receive five hun-
dred dollars to throw off the race, having received two hundred
and fifty dollars in advance, and that Greyhound had been
turned into the wheat-field the night before. He again called
on the parties to appear and contradict this proof and vmdicate
96 LIFE AND TIMES OF
their innocence. They failing to appear, General Jackson told
the court that the proof was closed, and for them to render their
judgment in the premises, which in a few moments was done in
accordance with the facts proved. I was still on the fence form-
ing one line of the large pound containing the property bet on
the race. Each man was anxious to get back his property.
"General Jackson waved his hand and announced the de-
cision and said, 'Now, gentlemen, go calmly and in order, and
each man take his own property.' When the word was given
the people came with a rush. It was more terrible than an army
with banners. They came bulging against the fence, and in the
struggle to get over they knocked it down for one hundred yards.
I was overturned and nearly trampled to death. Each man got
his property, and thus the fraudulent race was broken up by an
exhibition of the most extraordinary courage. He did that day
what it would have required two thousand armed men to have
effected. All this was effected by the presence and action of one
man, and without the drawing of one drop of blood. A certain
knowledge that in one event streams of blood would have flowed
effected this great and worthy object."
ANDREW JA0K6ON. 97
CHAPTER VIII.
CREEK WAR— GENERAL JACKSON STEPS INTO PUBLIC ES-
TEEM—EXPEDITION TO NATCHEZ— "OLD HICKORY"—
JESSE BENTON, HIS MARK — FORT MIMS—
COFFEE AT TALLUSCH ATCHES— THE
STORY OF LINCOYER.
SCARCELY had war with England been declared
before General Jackson offered his services to the
" Government," although he was not, by any means, a
favorite with the Administration, nor had Mr. Madison
been his choice for the Presidency. But Jackson was
fired with military ardor at the very name of war, and
besides being an enemy to Great Britain, he was de-
voted to his own country, and was ready to serve it.
He had had little military experience that could be
relied upon, but there were not wanting persons in his
State and out of it, who believed that he possessed
qualities requisite for a great emergency in which the
country found itself unready for war, and that he
would make a record honorable to all concerned, if he
had an opportunity.
But Mr. Madison and his Cabinet thought, wisely
enough, that men who had gained some distinction in
the service of their country, placed at the head of
affairs in the field, would give more confidence to the
people. While this was in fact true, such men did not
apparently exist, and in all the efforts to find them
there was no great degree of success.
7— G
98 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On the 25th of June, 1812, General Jackson through
Willie Blount, Governor of Tennessee, proffered his
own services and that of twenty -five hundred volunteers
to the Government. Sixteen days afterwards the Sec-
retary of War formally and in a highly complimentary
manner accepted the offer. It became a serious bar-
gain for many years both for the Administration and
the country, but in the end it proved successful.
No man in America, perhaps, had so many desirable
qualities for military command, and yet was so little to
be trusted as a responsible, safe, and reliable com-
mander. But this prompt, zealous patriotism could not
be overlooked when the country was in need. The
Administration had just passed through a serious ex-
perience with this pugnacious militia general. A great
feud had been for some time existing between Silas
Dinsmore, the very able and patriotic agent of the
Choctaw Indians, and General Jackson. Dinsmore's
crime consisted in carrying out the terms of the treaty
with these Indians, and requiring people going through
their country to have regular passes for themselves
and their servants. This became a source of great
annoyance to people who di'd not care to or had not
provided themselves with the necessary authority.
Jackson himself came against Dinsmore's regulations,
but, of course, rode them down. It was that or a fight
with him. He made many severe and rough threats
against the agent, and in his usually imperious style
urged his dismissal at Washington.
Poor Dinsmore ! this giant from Carrickfergus was
too much for him. He was soon summoned to Wash-
ington, lost his position, and was not otherwise treated
well by the Administration. He was a faithful and
ANDREW JACKSON. 99
true man, but he had to be sacrificed to this Western
despot. He made a manly effort to reconcile General
Jackson, but he was not successful. Nor did he know
for many years, not until 1828, who was the author
of his downfall. The Administration had, however,
taken its first lesson in learning to deal with this im-
perious, self-willed, daring republican, who was ready
to go to Pensacola, East Florida, anywhere, without
Constitutional or other scruples.
Jackson set about gathering volunteers at once, but
not until the 10th of December were they to rendezvous
at Nashville.
The chivalrous, patriotic Tennesseeans came as di-
rected to the rendezvous. But it was winter with
snow now, even at Nashville, and not until January 7,
1813, did the expedition start down the Cumber-
land in such miserable boats as were used for navi-
gating and trading at that time.
The Governor had reviewed the troops, and in a let-
ter to Jackson greatly complimented him. This brought
the following words from this new " son of Mars : —
"It is with the greatest pleasure and satisfaction that the
Major-General, in behalf of himself and the brave volunteers
whom he has the honor to command, acknowledges the receipt of
your Excellency's polite and highly flattering address, which he
has caused to be read in general orders on the 19th instant. They
feel much gratified that their conduct, both in camp and on
parade, has merited the approbation of your Excellency ; and they
cherish a belief that they never will so far forget themselves, the
State of which they have the honor to be citizens, and the cause
which has elicited the spark of patriotism from every bosom of
the volunteers, as to act in any way derogatory to the strictest
rules of military discipline and subordination. It is true that the
volunteers have experienced hardships and privations in camp,
and have been exposed to the 'severity of the severest cold
100 LIFE AND TIMES OF
weather ever known here for years past, and that, too, without a
murmur,' but these hardships, as great as they may seem to be,
are but inconsiderable, when compared to those wliich they are
willing to endure, when required, for the benefit of the service.
" We have changed the garb of citizens for that of soldiers.
In doing this, we hope none of us have changed our principles ;
for, let it be recollected, as an invariable rule, that good citizens
make good soldiers. The volunteers have drawn their swords and
shouldered their muskets for no other purpose than that of de-
fending their country against the hostile attacks of their enemies,
the British, and their barbarous allies, the Indians. May they
never be returned to the scabbard until the enemies of America,
of every denomination, be humbled in the dust and constrained
to yield that which, in vain, has been so often and so long de-
manded by amicable negotiation, Justice ! We flatter ourselves
that your Excellency will do us the justice to believe that there
is not an individual among the volunteers who would not prefer
perishing in the field of battle, who would not cheerfully yield
his life in the defense of his country, than return to the ' bosom
of his family' and his friends, covered with shame, ignominy,
and disgrace.
" Perish our friends, perish our wives, perish our children (the
dearest pledges of heaven), nay, perish all earthly considerations,
but let the honor and fame of a volunteer soldier be untarnished
and immaculate. We now enjoy liberties, political, civil, and re-
ligious, that no other nation on earth possesses. May we never
survive them ? No ; rather let us perish in maintaining them.
And if we must yield, where is the man that would not prefer be-
ing buried in the ruins of his country than live the ignominious
slave of haughty lords and unfeeling tyrants ? We hope that your
Excellency shall never blush for the honor of Tennessee. Your
Excellency will not call it presumption, when the volunteers say
that it is their full determination to return covered with laurels,
or die endeavoring to gather them in the bloody field of Mars !
"Accept from the General, for himself and the volunteers,
the homage of the highest confidence and respect.
"Andrew Jackson, Major General,
" For himself, and in behalf of the volunteers under his command."
Jackson also wrote to Secretary Eustis that he was
then starting with two thousand and seventy choice
ANDREW JACKSON. 101
citizen soldiers to execute the will of the Government,
free from scruples as to where he planted the American
standard. The mounted men crossed the country,
five hundred miles to Natchez, under the command of
John Coffee, a noble-hearted fellow, who made his will
and left his wife, Polly Donelson, and her infant child,
in a heroic deed, to his father-in-law, John Donelson,
brother of "Aunt Rachel."
Although fruitless, it was a brave, chivalrous, and
patriotic adventure on which they were going, and the
heart of Tennessee was big with hope and fear. About
fourteen hundred men, with General Jackson, made
this trip down the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mis-
sissippi, and landed at Natchez, where the cavalry
had arrived before them. General James Wilkinson,
then in command at New Orleans, thought it well to
stop this little army at Natchez. He saw no use to
which it could be turned, and had not the means for
subsisting it ; and, besides, he was not anxious to
come in contact with its fighting commander. The ques-
tion of who should be first was foremost with him then,
as it was mainly from the beginning to the end of his
public career, from Burgoyne's surrender to his own
utter failure on the St. Lawrence thirty-five years later.
Jackson's patriotism was of a different material. It car-
ried him above this feeling. He yearned to relieve his
country of her enemies. He was willing to obey just
and wise commands for that purpose. But there was
no man in the country, in public place at that time,
whom Jackson so perfectly detested as he did General
Wilkinson. It is said that he left Nashville on this
expedition with his dueling-pistols in his pocket,
under the impression that he would be unable to return
102 LIFE AND TIMES OF
without an " affair of honor " with Wilkinson. But
they did not meet.
On the 15th of February the command reached
Natchez, and went into camp. The time was passed
in drilling, and in a fruitless effort on the part of Gen-
eral Jackson to be sent into service with his men, in
whom he had unbounded faith. He was anxious to
go to Canada, to go anywhere for an opportunity to
fight. But this was denied him, and late in March an
order came from John Armstrong, then become Sec-
retary of War, dismissing his command on the spot.
This was not only a blast to the General's ambitious
hopes, but also gave further opportunity for him to
display his stubborn qualities to the Administration,
and his good ones to the people of his State.
The soldiers under his command and care, for
whom he was responsible to the people of the
State, were, to all appearances, to be dismissed with-
out pay, with a wilderness of five hundred miles be-
tween them and their homes, and without the means
of transportation. He at once determined to disobey
the order from the War Department, and keeping
the men in a body, take them home at his own ex-
pense. He called a council of his officers, all ardent
young men, like John Coffee, Thomas Hart Benton,
and William B. Lewis, to consult, that is, to hear and
warmly approve his determination. He set about pre-
paring the means of transportation for the long over-
land journey, and when the order did at last arrive
from Washington for the payment of the troops, he
would not accept it, as no provision was made for
their transportation to Tennessee.
On the 25th of April they were ready to begin
ANDREW JACKSON. 103
their tedious march for Nashville. The sick were placed
in the wagons and on the horses. General Jackson had
three of his fine horses along. On these sick soldiers
were placed, and he took his position on foot. He
proved himself to be a tough and hardy walker, and
by it walked into the affections of his men, and a
respectable nickname, which lasted him all his life.
Before leaving Natchez he wrote to General Wilkin-
son, that if the contractor did not feel himself at liberty
to provide for feeding and carrying his soldiers, the
sick should be carried on the horses of the cavalry,
and if necessary the horses should be used for food,
that the men had followed him to the field, that he
would see them safe home, and that the Government
must account to Tennessee for the mean treatment.
On the 22d of May the little army received a flag
from the " Ladies of East Tennessee," and was dis-
banded with great ceremony at Nashville.
So far as Tennessee was concerned, Jackson's repu-
tation as a military leader was forever fixed. Although
so tyrannical and severe in temper that people feared to
come in contact with him, he had, to the* men of his
command, assumed much of the manner of his conduct
in his own family. He had from the very outset taken
the warmest interest in their welfare, in every thing
belonging to them, even man by man, looking after their
health and comfort. Their hardships and interests he
had made his own, as he had done his clients', when
practicing law. He placed himself in every breach for
their defense, and finally, as the great test of his char-
acter and sincerity, had undertaken to carry them home
at his own expense, denying himself to save them hard-
ship on the long journey.
104 LIFE AND TIMES OF
It was during this trip as the soldiers saw the Gen-
eral trudging along on foot that they said he was tough
as hickory, and finally called him hickory^ and old hick-
ory, and " Old Hickory." Thus he received this ad-
mirable nickname from good circumstances. The term
ultimately spread out to include his general charac-
teristics and was forcibly applied to him especially as
a kind of pet term by his admirers and partisans
during life.
Mainly through the influence and perseverance of
Thomas H. Benton, who happened to be in Washing-
ton City, the debt Jackson had incurred was assumed
by the War Department, and all the benefits there
were in the expedition went to the credit of " Old
Hickory."
Jackson's patriotism and military ardor were little
affected by the ill-treatment of the Administration,
which, however, he interpreted in the worst possible
sense, as it was afterwards known to be true that
when the order for the dismissal of his troops was
issued at Washington it was believed there that he
had not yet left the State, or at most had not gone
down the Ohio River. But before his troops were
discharged one of his letters contained these words to
the Secretary of War : —
" Should Government have any orders to execute at Maiden,
or its vicinity, about the 30th proximo, I shall be happy to exe-
cute them, at the head of my detachment, provided I can be
informed of their wishes about the 25th instant, or before I am
discharged. My force can be augmented if necessary. I have a
few standards wearing the American eagle, that I should be
happy to place on the ramparts of Maiden."
The ring of this new metal was not unlike that
frequently heard in the East and on the Canadian
ANDREW JACKSON. 105
border, and the means of diagnosing between them had
not yet been supplied. " I have a few standards
wearing the American eagle, that I should be happy
to place on the ramparts of Maiden." This grand out-
burst had a chivalric grandiloquence about it which
was unfortunately not understood at Washington.
General Jackson did not stand very high with the
Administration. He had already disobeyed orders,
and although little notice was taken of this fact amidst
the excitements of the times, it was held against him
then, and used with some force to his disadvantage in
after years. Still he was not destined to remain long
inactive on his farm. If he could not have an oppor-
tunity to try his hand with the Red Coats, the Red
Skins, their allies, were soon to know something of
his qualities.
Tecumseh was now the most powerful and influen-
tial Indian in North America. He had risen since the
Revolution, and had distinguished himself in the bor-
der wars which had at times disturbed the country.
He was a full-blooded Indian, and an intense hater of
the white race. He had ties of family, so to speak,
among the Southern Indians, and long ago had spent
a year or two among them, greatly to the advantage
of his purposes now. In the spring of 1811, he had
made a visit to Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, as well
as to other parts of the border, then inhabited by
powerful Indian tribes. He was a man of stately pro-
portions and iron fiber, and without any other than
physical education, he exhibited the tact of a dema-
gogue and the tongue of an orator. This time he had
a mission to the South. His grand scheme was an
Indian confederacy from one end of the continent to
106 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the other against the American Anglo-Saxons. His
appeals were not fruitless.
When war was declared against England, he saw
the possibility of realizing his hopes by negotiations
with this old enemy on the basis of his project to
restore the Indian country to its original owners by a
general co-operation of all the interested tribes. The
agents of Great Britain favored his scheme, and held
out inducements which could not be expected from
the land-grasping Americans. Hull's surrender, and
the unfortunate beginning of the war with England
were greatly to his advantage. Still many of the
old chiefs refused to listen to him, and some of them
looked with great anxiety upon his bad purposes. But
he was not long in creating disciples. The younger
leaders fell into his spirit, and when he returned to
the North his work was accomplished. Proceeding in
great secrecy, in the summer of 1813, the greater part
of the Creek nation was in arms against this Govern-
ment. It is claimed that Tecumseh orioinated the
plan of this alliance of his people. Whether he was
aided by British ingenuity or was the author of it
himself, it was only worthy of respect as the act of a
mind of ability, on the supposition that the British
Government would give them all the aid promised and
would itself be successful. Unaided by England the
scheme was futile, and the mind that invented it was
wild and unreliable.
The Indians, all tribes of them, have always been
pitiable cowards, and never could contend against the
Americans in an open pitched battle. No people could
hope to succeed in any cause who could only support
it by the stealth and artifice of the cut-throat and
ANDREW JACKSON. 107
robber. But the blood of the red fiends was up. Their
prophets and soothsayers, always first in evil, mainly
embraced the scheme, and made great promises ; all
lies, but which served the same purpose as truths.
By them it was declared that Tecumseh was guided
by the Great Spirit, and could not be harmed by the
destructive arts of the white men ; that the warriors
who went forth in the great cause would be held up
by the same Being ; that their cause was His cause ;
and that these filthy, beastly hyenas were his chosen
subjects. But how like "civilization" and even
Christianization, so-called, is all of this ! The thought
of it tames the spirit of censure and comparison. No
nation has ever gone into war without hoping, if not
believing, that the same Great Spirit stood on its side,
and would lead it to ultimate success.
It is a charming hallucination allowed alike to all
grades of national and individual life. Men have been
raised up in all states of human society who have been
held as especially endowed, if not maintained, by the
Unseen Power, for the very emergency in which they
were to act. Yet the results have been so variable
and adverse as to shake the foundation of this unphi-
losophical superstition, if that were possible, or as to
suggest the possibility of the non-existence of such a
great facile Spirit, or that He took little interest in
the affairs of men.
No great city or community to-day in Christendom
is without its prophet, seer, or diviner of events. If
dress, business, or position constitutes respectabihty
and intelligence, then vast multitudes of wise and re-
spectable people are controlled in many steps of their
lives by these lying, and mostly uncultured and vulgar
108 LIFE AND TIMES OF
miscreants. A vast amount of the social and political
enthusiasm of the world is mean and contemptible
charlatanry. The prophets of Baal are not yet, un-
fortunately, peculiar to any nation or any so-called or
apparent stage of civilization. Only in Him whose
ways are not our ways is there no variableness or
shadow of turning. His hand covers all those who
strive. Within and above must be found the elements
which decide His approval; and generations may pass
away before it becomes apparent where He stood, or
on which side was the right.
From the British and the Spaniards the Indians
received arms and ammunition. And although the
people in Southern Alabama, then a part of Mississippi,
had long suspected their designs and had mainly col-
lected into block-houses and forts, yet so secret were
the savage preparations that no sign was cast before
the first blow. In what is now Baldwin County, Ala-
bama, on the shore of Lake Tensaw, Samuel Minis had
erected a house and surrounded it with palisades in-
closing an acre of ground. In this inclosure many of
the settlers with their families took refuge, and built
huts to shelter them, as did others in many similar
structures along the Alabama River. So that in a
distance of seventy miles along this stream most of
the whites had collected by the midsummer of 1813.
To the stockade of Mims, now called Fort Minis,
General F. L. Claiborne, of the army, sent one hun-
dred and seventy soldiers, under the command of Major
Daniel Beasley, to aid in the frontier defense.
A considerable number of friendly Indians and over
one hundred and fifty negroes were also assembled in
this fort. Seventy of the militia of the neighborhood
ANDREW JACKSON. 109
were also in it. Beasley built another line of palisades
taking in more territory at one end of the fort, but
leaving the former inclosure as it had been with its
five hundred port-holes and two gates. About five
hundred and fifty people were collected in this place,
and over a hundred of them were white women and
children. Beasley was a brave man, but unused to In-
dian strategy. He became so sensitive to reports of
the movements of Indians as to have a negro whipped
for imagining that he saw a company of savages a
short distance from the fort. A planter who refused
to have his negro whipped for the same offense was
ordered to leave the place with his whole family which
he was only prevented doing by having them all mas-
sacred where they were on the following day.
On the 30th of August, 1813, as the drum called
these poor people to dinner, with the gates wide open,
all unguarded and exposed, a thousand hideously
painted Creek savages, armed with British and Spanish
arms, rushed upon them. A terrible conflict ensued
which lasted nearly all the afternoon. Major Beasley
was one of the first to fall under the tomahawk, while
in the attempt to shut the gate. The women and
children were gathered in the inner inclosure, where
finally the whole remaining strength of the fort was
collected. The slaughter was not all on one side.
There was no cowardice in this little band, even the
women, while there was hope, acted with great bravery.
From the port-holes the savages were shot in con-
siderable numbers ; and their prophets, held to be im-
pervious to balls from the whites, were killed as they
boldly performed their diabolical incantations in front
of the warriors. But still Weathersford or Red Eagle,
110 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the commander of these red fiends, a man of great in-
fluence and physical strength, urged on his men. The
houses in the fort were fired with burning arrows. The
infuriated wretches fought on, and by sunset the bloody
work was done, only about seventeen of all the whites
escaping to tell the fearful story. Some negroes were
spared to become slaves to the conquerors ; and four
hundred of the garrison lay scalped and mangled,
heaped in death. Not a white child nor a white woman
could be found among the living.
The task had not been. easy for the Indians. Per-
haps nearly half of them were killed or wounded. For
this horrible deed, but one voice went up over the coun-
try, the voice of revenge. Whether this was right or
wrong, there seemed no other way ; and preparations
for revenge were hurried along tumultously.
When Tennessee was first explored by white men
it was uninhabited, and even at the time of the first
efforts towards permanent white settlements in its bor-
ders, little of its territory was actually in the posses-
sion of the savages. It had been a kind of neutral
region between unfriendly nations, which for ages,
perhaps, was not even used for a hunting-ground by
the cowardly sneaks.
As the adventurous white man began to appear, and
the sound of his ax and gun was heard, these worth-
less cumberers of the earth also began to show them-
selves. For twenty years before this territory became
a State of the Union a great part of it was a theater
of wars and murders. Among the worst of these sav-
ages were the Shawnees, who had lived on the Cum-
berland River, but driven out or slaughtered in wars
with the Cherokees and Chickasaws, they had relin-
ANDREW JACKSON. HI
quished the little hold they possessed upon the coun-
try, only appearing in it on occasional raids for murder
and plunder. The Chickasaws claimed the country
west of the Tennessee River, but their homes or sta-
tions were mainly to the south of the southern bound-
ary of the territory. They were, however, neither
numerous, nor inimical to the whites.
Most closely identified with the settlement of Ten-
nessee were the Cherokees, a tribe of considerable war
strength at the time, but they were located mainly on
the Tennessee east of the Cumberland Mountains, south
of the Little Tennessee River, and in Georgia and
Alabama. They were spread along the Tennessee in
many towns, from Chattanooga, with many mixed
settlements below, one of which was Nickajack, de-
stroyed by the Nashville expedition in 1793. To the
south, in Alabama and Georgia, and intermixed with
these Cherokees, were the Creeks, also a formidable
nation, who became the main aggressors in the war of
1812, on the southern border, having been fatally duped
by the pretensions and promises of Tecumseh and their
Spanish and British friends.
On the 18th of September, 1813, the citizens of
Nashville assembled to take some steps toward aveng-
ing the massacre at Fort Mims, and for the protection
of their own borders. The Legislature was to be urged
to take steps adequate to the emergency, and the Gov-
ernor and General Jackson were consulted and with
enthusiasm entered into the common feeling.
Jackson was still deservedly suffering from the
effects of the rencounter with the Bentons, but he could
carry his wounded left arm in a sling, and in that con-
dition he was willing to undertake the responsibility of
112 LIFE AND TIMES OF
leading an expedition against the Indians, according to
the general desire of the people. The Governor at
once ordered him to call out two thousand of the militia
of his division to meet at Fayetteville. Jackson issued
an exciting address or order to the volunteers, appeal-
ing to them to hasten, well equipped, to the rendez-
vous where he would meet them.
Of the way this call from General Jackson operated
on the women and other such unselfish patriots, Hugh
H. Garland, one of the most extravagant and unreli-
able writers, says : —
" He who had stood by them and brought them safely home
last spring, at the hazard of his own life and reputation, could
not fail to have their services whenever called on. We may well
imagine that the women vied with the men in their zeal and
alacrity. ' Go, my son ! go, my husband ! Jackson, your father
and friend, calls you; your country is in danger; go, help him
to chastise the savages ; he will take care of you, and bring you
safely back home. He did not forsake you ; do n't you forsake him. ' "
Modern Spartans ! Lively imagination, indeed !
The Legislature soon afterwards met, and, taking
the same view of the case as the people, authorized
the Governor to call out thirty-five hundred volun-
teers in addition, the State then having fifteen hun-
dred in the service, and voting pay and subsistence,
should the Government not become responsible.
General Jackson had appointed to meet the soldiers
at Fayetteville on the 4th of October, 1813 ; but yet
unable to carry his arm with satisfaction, and being a
man of words as well as of deeds, he sent Major John
Reid, his aid, forward with an address, which contained
this stirring language : —
"We are about to furnish these savages a lesson of admoni-
tion ; we are about to teach them that our long forbearance has
ANDREW JACKSON. 113
not proceeded from an insensibility to wrongs, or inability to
redress them. They stand in need of such warning. In propor-
tion as we have borne with their insults, and submitted to their
outrages, have they multiplied in number, and increased in
atrocity. But the measure of their offenses is at length filled.
The blood of our women and children, recently spilled at Fort
Mims, calls for our vengeance ; it must not call in vain. Our
borders must no longer be disturbed by the war-whoop of these
savages, or the cries of suffering victims. The torch that has
been lighted up must be made to blaze in the heart of their own
country. It is time they should be made to feel the weight of a
power, which, because it was merciful, they believed to be im-
potent. But how shall a war so long forborne, and so loudly
called for by retributive justice, be waged? Shall we imitate the
example of our enemies, in the disorder of their movements, and
the savageness of their dispositions ? Is it worthy the character
of American soldiers, who take up arms to redress the wrongs of
an injured country, to assume no better model than that fur-
nished them by barbarians ? No, fellow-soldiers ; great as are
the grievances that have called us from our homes, we must not
permit disorderly passions to tarnish the reputation we shall carry
along with us ; we must and will be victorious ; but we must
conquer as men who owe nothing to chance, and who, in the
midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due to humanity !
"We will commence the campaign by an inviolable attention
to subordination and discipline. Without a strict observance of
these, victory must ever be uncertain, and ought hardly to be
exulted in, even when gained. To what but the entire disregard
of order and subordination are we to ascribe the disasters which
have attended our arms in the North during the present war?
How glorious it will be to remove the blots which have tarnished
the fair character bequeathed us by the fathers of our Revolution !
The bosom of your General is full of hope. He knows the ardor
which animates you, and already exults in the triumph, which
your strict observance of discipline and good order will render
certain."
Three days later Jackson himself reached Fayette-
ville. Colonel John Coffee, with his mounted men,
was then in advance at Huntsville, thirty-two miles
distant. From him on the 11th of October there came
8— G
114 LIFE AND TIMES OF
a message announcing the approach of the enemy,
Jackson at once set forward with his force and reached
Huntsville in five hours, on the same day. Eager, in-
deed, were these men to meet' the red foe. The com-
manding General was not the only remarkable and in-
teresting character in this little army. One of the
number was David Crockett, one of the most eccentric
and noted of all the American backwoodsmen.
The arrangements to provision this considerable
body of men were not adequate or reliable, and now
General Jackson found that want was likely to become
his master, or, at least, greatly obstruct his plans. He
thus wrote of the wants of his army : " For a week's
subsistence they require a thousand bushels of grain,
twenty tons of flesh, a thousand gallons of whisky,
and many hundred-weight of miscellaneous stores."
And why did General Jackson and his eager Ten-
nesseeans want a thousand gallons of whisky weekly ?
Was it merely one of the strange errors which ever
mark the path of men ? In the War of the Rebellion,
in the swamps of Virginia, whisky was made a part of
the daily ration of the weary soldier to render him
less liable, it was said, to the influence of malaria.
But did it do this ? Was not this a repetition of the
old quackeries and superstitions which yet largely
control these matters in the world ? Did not the
whisky drive the already irregular and susceptible
life to still greater extremes, and render it more sub-
ject to climatic influences ?
However, the question of supplies now became the
most serious one to General Jackson, and so continued
to be throughout the campaign against the Indians.
At that time the army was supplied by contractors,
ANDREW JACKSON. 115
who were often powerless to do what they had under-
taken.
While lying at the Tennessee, waiting for supplies
which did not come, he received word through Path-
Killer, a friendly Cherokee chief, of the movements of
a body of hostile Creeks at the Ten Islands of the
Coosa.
He now made desperate efforts to obtain supplies,
took the responsibility of giving the contract to an-
other person, and determined, at all events, to set for-
ward. To Governor Blount the General wrote : —
' ' Indeed, sir, we have been very wretchedly supphed —
scarcely two rations in succession have been regularly drawn ;
yet we are not despondent. Whilst we can procure an ear of
corn apiece, or anything that will answer as a substitute for it,
we shall continue our exertions to accomplish the object for which
we were sent. The cheerfulness with which my men submit to
privations and are ready to encounter danger, does honor to the
Government whose rights they are defending.
"Every means within my power for procuring the requisite
supplies for my army I have taken, and am continuing to take.
East, West, North, and South have been applied to with the
most pressing solicitation. The Governor of Georgia, in a letter
received from him this evening, informs me that a sufficiency can
be had in his State ; but does not signify that he is about to
take any measures to procure it. My former contractor has been
superseded. No exertions were spared by him to fulfill his en-
gagements; yet the inconveniences under which he labored were
such as to render his best exertions unavailing. The contract
has been offered to one who will be able to execute it ; if he
accepts it, my apprehensions will be greatly diminished."
From the very free use General Jackson made of
the term " your General," in his numerous addresses
and orders throughout his military career, there can
be no doubt of his attachment to the title. The man-
ner in which it is often used, too, carries the air of
116 LIFE AND TIMES OF
superior patronage to helpless creatures, the air of
loftiness accommodating itself to inferior minds. To
be general of the militia of Mero District was gratify-
ing, no doubt, to General Jackson, but 4o be com-
mander of troops ready to execute his will in the
actual field of conflict, must have been extremely de-
lightful. He had evidently enjoyed the distinction of
Judge, however little he cared for the duties of the
bench. But now he was in his element, and it made
him exhibit his natural swagger. In the matter of
titles a Jefferson Republican and a Jackson Democrat
were never identical. Democracy, as a political sys-
tem, has, however, unfortunately, never greatly modi-
fied the passion for titles. Nor is this disgusting and
weak disposition a jot less prominent among latter-day
Democrats than it is among their enemies, and, in
many respect, antipodes, the Republicans. In all the
political factions of the Republic, republicanism is much
the same ; as Federalists and Republicans were all re-
publicans in the happiest moments of Thomas Jefferson.
Having gathered all the provisions possible, the
little army set forward on the 19th of October, de-
termined to strike the enemy in his own retreats. But
Jackson was again forced, for want of supplies, to halt
on Thompson's Creek, some distance up the Tennessee.
In the meantime Colonel Coffee had not been idle.
Besides capturing a few Indians, he had broken up
some of their stations, and gathered some supplies.
On the 25th, Jackson moved southward, and, in a few
days, reached the Coosa, thirteen miles from Tallu-
schatches, an Indian town, where had assembled a body
of the hostile Creeks.
On the afternoon of the 2d of November, Colonel
ANDREW JACKSON. 117
Coffee, with about a thousand mounted men, was
ordered to march against the town. He was guided
by friendly Indians, and that night crossed the river
four miles above the Ten Islands, where the savages
were encamped. The next morning, when he advanced
against them, he found that they knew of his ap-
proach, and were ready to receive him. The result
told plainly the character of the conflict, as not a
single Creek warrior was left to tell of the un-
equal struggle.
The following is Coffee's report and General Jack-
son's letter to Governor Blount concerning the battle :—
" Camp at Ten Islands, Nov. 4, 1813.
"Governor Blount:
^<Sm, — We have retaliated for the destruction of Fort Mims.
On the 2d inst., I detached General Coffee with a part of his
brigade of cavalry and mounted riflemen to destroy Talluschatches,
where a considerable force of the hostile Creeks were concentrated.
The General executed this in style. A hundred and eighty-six
of the enemy were found dead on the field, and eighty taken
prisoners, forty of whom have been brought here. In the number
left, there is a sufficiency but slightly wounded to take care of
those who are badly. I have to regret that five of my brave fel-
lows have been killed, and about thirty wounded; some badly,
but none, I hope, mortally. Both officers and men behaved with
the utmost bravery and deliberation. Captains Smith, Bradley,
and Winston are wounded, all slightly. No officer is killed. So
soon as General Coffee makes his report I shall inclose it. If we
had a sufficient supply of provisions we should, in a very short
time, accomplish the object of the expedition.
"I have the honor to be, with great respect, yours, etc.,
"Andrew Jackson."
" Camp at Ten Islands, Nov. 4, 1813.
" Major-General Jackson :
"Sir,— I had the honor yesterday of transmitting you a short
account of an engagement that took place between a detachment
of nine hundred men from my brigade, with the enemy at Tal-
118 LIFE AND TIMES OF
luschatches town ; the particulars whereof I beg leave herein to
recite to you. Pursuant to your order of the 2d, I detailed from
my brigade of cavalry and mounted riflemen, nine hundred men
and officers, and proceeded directly to the Talluschatches towns,
and crossed Coosa River at the Fish-dam ford, three or four
miles above this place. I arrived within one and a half miles
of the town, distant from this place south-east eight miles, on the
morning of the 3d, at which place I divided my detachment into
two columns, the right composed of the cavalry commanded
by Colonel Allcorn, to cross over a large creek that lay between
us and the towns ; the left column was mounted riflemen, under
the command of Colonel Cannon, with whom I marched myself.
Colonel Allcorn was ordered to march up on the right, and encir-
cle one-half of the town, and, at the same time, the left would
form a half circle on the left, and unite the head of the columns
in front of the town ; all of which was performed as I could wish.
When I arrived within half a mile of the town, the drums of the
enemy began to beat, mingled with their savage yells, preparing
for action. It was after sunrise an hour, when the action was
brought on by Captain Hammond's and Lieutenant Patterson's
companies, who had gone on with the circle of alignment for the
purpose of drawing out the enemy from their buildings, which
had the most happy effect. As soon as Captain Hammond exhib-
ited his front in view of the town, which stood in an open wood-
land, and gave a few scattering shot, the enemy formed and made
a violent charge on him ; he gave way as they advanced, until
they met our right column, which gave them a general fire and
then charged ; this changed the direction of charge completely ;
the enemy retreated firing, until they got around and in their
buildings, where they made all the resistance that an overpowered
soldier could do ; they fought as long as one existed, but their
destruction was verjj soon completed ; our men rushed up to the
doors of the houses, and in a few minutes killed the last warrior
of them ; the enemy fought with savage fury, and met death,
with all its horrors, without shrinking or complaining; not one
asked to be spared, but fought as long as they could stand
or sit. In consequence of their flying to their houses, and mix-
ing with their families, our men, in killing the males, without
intention killed and wounded a few of the squaws and children,
which was regretted by every officer and soldier of the detach-
ment, hut which could not be avoided.
ANDREW JACKSON. 119
"The number of the enemy killed was one hundred and
eighty-six that were counted, and a number of others killed in
the weeds not found. I think the calculation a reasonable
one to say two hundred of them were killed; and eighty-four
prisoners, of women and children, were taken ; not one of the
warriors escaped to carry the news, a circumstance unknown
heretofore. We lost five men killed and forty-one wounded, none
mortally, the greater part slightly, a number with arrows ; this
appears to form a very principal part of the enemy's arms for
warfare, every man having a bow with a bundle of arrows, which
is used after the first fire with the gun, until a leisure time for
loading ofiers. It is with pleasure I say that our men acted with
deliberation and firmness ; notwithstanding our numbers were su-
perior to those of the enemy, it was a circumstance *to us un-
known, and, from the parade of the enemy, we had every reason
to suppose them our equals in number ; but there appeared no
visible traces of alarm in any, but, on the contrary, all appeared
cool and determined, and, no doubt, when they face a foe of their
own or superior number they will show the same courage as on
this occasion.
".I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your obedient
servant, John Coffee,
"Brig. Gen. of Cavalry and Riflemen."
The women and children taken in this engagement
were sent to the white settlements to be cared for,
and the honors of the success were soon transferred
from the unpretentious Coffee to the credit side of
General Jackson's popularity account with the country.
Among the Indian captives was a boy babe whose
mother had been killed in the fight. General Jackson
asked some of the Indian mothers to take care of this
infant, but these refined and gentle creatures said :
"No, kill him, his relatives are all dead."
This kind of philosophy did not suit Jackson, and
he took the child into his own tent and fed it on
sweetened water, until he could send it to Huntsville,
where he had it cared for at his own expense. He
120 LIFE AND TIMES OF
afterwards sent it to the Hermitage, where he and
Mrs. Jackson raised it, and gave it an education, and
cared for it as if it had been their own child.
For no apparent reason whatever they named the
boy Lincoyer. When he became a wild, but not sav-
age big boy, the General took him to Nashville for
him to choose among all the shops what profession he
would follow. He selected the saddler's trade, which
might have brought to the General's mind a little similar
circumstance. Like other boys, so situated, Lincoyer
spent his Sundays at home and returned to his trade
on Monday mornings. But habit and blood would tell.
Lincoyer still liked the ways of his race, and the
poorly selected and contemptible trade did not agree
with him. How could such a contracted and mean
pursuit agree with this free child of the forest, born
in a climate where his parents had spent all their days
in the open air, unrestrained and uncramped.
They took poor Lincoyer home, and good "Aunt
Rachel " nursed him. But he actually had the consump-
tion, and before he was seventeen years of age died.
They buried his poor brown body, and long was his
memory kept green at the Hermitage. Who could
name a better and more interesting thing than the case
of this little Indian boy, in the life of General Jack-
son, up to that date, at all events ?
This wonderful battle, in which not a savage war-
rior survived, is thus spoken of by Mr. John A.
Bolles :—
" Talluschatches, a name that will ring sadly in the ear of
every surviving Creek to the end of time ; and yet, shall the
red man and the white remember the terrors of that field with
mingled emotions, » for it bears immortal testimony to the hu-
manity as well as the military genius of Jackson."
ANDREW JACKSON. 121
Discriminative stump-speaker's drivel ! What had
the genius of Jackson to do with it ? He was miles
away when the battle was fought. " We have retal-
iated for the destruction of Fort Mims." That was
the view of this genius.
No man's humanity or genius was especially con-
spicuous in a conflict in which not an Indian was left
to tell how no quarter was asked and none given.
In the case of the women and children General Jack-
son was just and humane, and around him centered
the melancholy interest of the event in the story of
Lincoyer.
122 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER IX.
BATTLE OF TALLADEGA— GENERAL COCKE— JACKSON CON-
QUERS A MUTINOUS ARMY.
GENERAL JACKSON was now busy in building
the fort on the Coosa, which was called Fort
Strother, and in fighting the contractors and waiting
for supplies, his troops being on merely living rations.
At this time he received word from a settlement
of friendly Indians thirty miles to the south, on a
branch of the Coosa, at the site of the present town
of Talladega, Alabama, that they were surrounded and
abqut to be attacked by a large body of hostile Creeks,
and urging him to come to their assistance. This he
at once determined to do. He had just been apprised
of the approach of General White with a part of the
East Tennessee troops belonging to the command of
General John Cocke, and wrote to White to advance
immediately to the protection of the sick, etc., at Fort
Strother during his absence.
On the morning of the 8th of November, 1813, Jack-
son, with two thousand men, eight hundred mounted
and twelve hundred foot, crossed the Coosa and started
for Talladega. In the evening of the same day he
halted for rest six miles from the Indian camp. He
had, in the meantime, been informed that White had
been commanded by General Cocke to rejoin him, and
deeming it his duty to obey, marched away instead of
ANDREW JACKSON. 123
coming to the protection of Fort Strother. But, not-
withstanding the danger and destitution in which his
camp would be left, Jackson determined to press for-
ward, strike the enemy, and return to the Coosa before
his absence would be known to the prowling bands
of savages. Accordingly, on the morning of the 9th,
he fell upon and defeated the Indians in a severe battle.
The following letters to Governor Blount fully de-
scribe the nature and results of this engagement :—
"Camp Strother, near Ten Islands of Coosa, \
November 11, 1813. f
" Sir, — I am just returned from an excursion which I took a
few days ago, and hasten to acquaint you with the result.
"Late on the evening of the 7th inst., a rumor arrived from
the friendly party at Lashley's Fort (Talladega), distant about
thirty miles below us, with the information that the hostile
Creeks, in great force, had encamped near the place, and were
preparing to destroy it ; and earnestly entreated that I would lose
no time in affording them relief. Urged by^ their situation, as
well as by a wish to meet the enemy as soon' as an opportunity
would offer, I determined upon commencing my march thither,
with all my disposable force, in the course of the night ; and im-
mediately dispatched an express to General White, advising him
of my intended movement, and urged him to hasten to this en-
campment by a forced march, in order to protect it in my absence.
I had repeatedly written to the General to form a junction with
me as speedily as practicable, and a few days before had received his
assurance, that on the 7th he would join me. I commenced crossing
the river at Ten Islands, leaving behind me my baggage-wagons, and
whatever might retard my progress, and encamped that night within
six miles of the fort I had set out to relieve. At midnight, I had re-
ceived by an Indian runner a letter from General White, informing
me that he had received my order, but that he had altered his course,
and was on his march backward to join Major-General Cocke, near
the mouth of the Chatuga. I will not now remark upon the
strangeness of this maneuver ; but it was now too late to cliange
my plan or make any new arrangements; and between three and
four o'clock, I recommenced my march to meet the enemy, who
were encamped within a quarter of a mile of the fort. At sun-
124 LIFE AND TIMES OF
rise we came within half a mile of them, and having formed my
men, I moved in order of battle. The infantry were in three lines,
the militia on the left, and the volunteers on the right. The cav-
alry formed the two extreme wings, and were ordered to advance
in a curve, keeping their rear connected with the advance of their
infantry lines, and inclose the enemy in a circle. The advanced
guard whom I sent forward to bring on the engagement, met the
attack of the enemy with great intrepidity ; and, having poured
upon them four or five very galling rounds, fell back, as they had
been previously ordered, to the army. The enemy pursued, and the
front line was now ordered to advance and meet him ; but, owing
to some misunderstanding, a few companies of militia, who com-
posed a part of it, commenced a retreat. At this moment, a corps
of cavalry, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Dyer, which I had
kept as a reserve, was ordered to dismount and fill up the vacancy
occasioned by the retreat. This order was executed with a great
deal of promptitude and eflfect. The militia, seeing this, speedily
rallied; and the fire became general along the front line, and on
that part of the wings which was contiguous. The enemy, unable
to stand it, began to retreat ; but were met at every turn, and re-
pulsed in every direction. The right wing chased them, with a
most destructive fire, to the mountains, a distance of about three
miles; and, had I not been compelled, by the faux pas of the mili-
tia, in the outset of the battle, to dismount my reserve, I believe
not a man of them would have escaped. The victory was, how-
ever, very decisive ; two hundred and ninety of the enemy were left
dead ; and there can be no doubt but many more were killed who
were not found. Wherever they ran, they left behind traces of
blood ; and it is believed that very few will return to their
villages in as sound a condition as they left them. I was com-
pelled to return to this place to protect the sick and wounded, and
get my baggage on.
"In the engagement we 'lost fifteen killed and eighty -five
wounded ; two of whom have since died. All the officers acted
with the utmost bravery, and so did all the privates, except that
part of the militia who retreated at the commencement of the
battle, and they hastened to atone for their error. Taking the
whole together, they have realized the high expectations I had
formed of them, and have fairly entitled themselves to the grati-
tude of their country. Andrew Jackson.
"His Excellency, Willie Blount, Nashville."
ANDREW JACKSON. 125
"Camp Strother, near Ten Islands,")
15th November, 1813. J
*' You wiU perceive from the draft which I shall send you, that
had there been no departure from the original order of battle, not
an Indian could have escaped ; and even as the battle did ter-
minate I believe that no impartial man can say that a more
splendid victory has in any instance attended our arms, on land,
since the commencement of the war. The force of the enemy is rep-
resented by themselves to have been ten hundred and eighty ; and it
does not appear from' their fire and the space of ground which they
occupied, that their number can have been less. Two hundred
and ninety-nine were left dead on the ground ; and no doubt
many more were killed who were not found. In a very tew
weeks, if I had a sufficiency of supplies, I am thoroughly con-
vinced, I should be able to put an end to the Creek hostdities.
"Too much praise can not be bestowed upon the advance, led
on by Colonel Carroll, for the spirited manner in which they com-
menced and sustained the attack; nor upon the reserve, com-
manded by Lieut. -Colonel Dyer, and composed of Captains Smith s,
Morton's, Axurn's, Edwards's, and Hammond's companies, tor the
gallantry with which they met and repulsed the enemy. In a
word, officers of every grade, as well as the privates, realized the
high expectations I had formed of them, and merit the gratitude
of their country. A/r„;^va
" I should be doing injustice to my staff, composed of Majors
Reid and Searcy; my aids, Colonel Sitler and Major Anthony,
Adjutant, and Assistant Adjutant-General; Colonel Carroll In-
spector-General ; Major Strother, Topographer; Mr^Cunningham,
my Secretary, and Colonel Stokey D. Haynes, Quartermaster-
General; not to say that they were everywhere in the midst ot
danger, circulating my orders. They deserve and receive my
thanks I bave the honor to be, etc.,
^'^^^^- .. Andrew Jackson."
Even " Old Hickory" now salutes us in a military
report with a faux pas, a little French to relieve the
mind of his amanuensis. The expression hardly placed
the case in its proper light, as three companies ot
Roberts's brigade simply became frightened and ran,
after the first fire from the Indians. " False step
126 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was a mild term, indeed. Nothing could be more dis-
agreeable to the eye and ear of the cultivated P\ench-
man than the presence, here and there, of English
words in his language ; and nothing can be more un-
called for, indelicate, if not decidedly disgusting and
vulgar, than the appearance of terms from any dead or
foreign tongue, mixed with the pure, -noble, expressive,
clean, clear-faced words of the English language. In
official reports and business the vulgarity becomes still
less excusable, and more reprehensible.
But, leaving out the fa u.v pas, it was, indeed, quite
a battle, and really placed the first twig in Jackson's
military crown of laurel. The friendly Indians, res-
cued from the jaws of death, were not the least satis-
fied people over this victory. Little mercy was shown
by these bloodthirsty monsters toward those of their
own race, who, believing the war with the whites
could have only a fatal result to the Indians, remained
inactive, or were friendly to the whites.
Before leaving Talladega, Jackson had purchased
with his own money all the corn and meat the friendly
Indians could spare, and divided it among his half-fed
men. His own pockets he filled with acorns which
he found under a tree on the way. During his march
back to Camp Strother he had occasion to use this
reserved food in a manner which materially helped his
extremely good fortune years afterwards. The mole-
hill became a mountain. A soldier seeing the General
eating, as he supposed, some of the good things which
it was believed the general of an army always had
somehow provided for himself, approached and asked
him for a morsel to check his hunger. " Certainly,"
said Jackson, "I will always share what I have with
ANDREW JACKSON. 127
a hungry man," and handed him a part of the delicious
acorns he was eating.
This, as an Englishman would say, was a " stun-
ner " to the soldier, and the story was spread through-
out the camp, and was no great while in spreading
throughout the country. If the General fed on such
food, why should the private soldiers complain of pri-
vation? This story took a hundred shapes, with
beautiful but unfortunately altogether fantastic color-
ings, yet all greatly to the General's advantage. That
handful of acorns made him many a vote when he
came to run for the Presidency. The fortunate fellow !
At Fort Strother the little army returned to star-
vation, to mutiny, and little more than shame to all but
General Jackson and a few of his devoted officers and
followers.
Talladega was a salutary lesson to the Indians.
Some of the defeated warriors applied to Jackson for
terms of peace shortly afterwards, and he immediately
replied in plain and just words.
A serious difficulty arose at this juncture between
Jackson and General Cocke. The latter had retired
with his force, and was preparing to strike for his own
honor. It was largely believed, at all events, that
Cocke's conduct was without patriotism, and purely
selfish. That it greatly changed the prospects, and
prolonged the Indian war with all its horrors, may be
more easily believed. See for a moment how the
matter stood. The Hillibee braves had sued to Jack-
son for peace. Cocke had put himself beyond the
possibility of knowing this, and had sent off' White
who destroyed several of their towns, laid waste their
country, took their women and children prisoners, and
128 LIFE AND TIMES OF
killed a number of their warriors who made no resist-
ance, from the fact that it had been decided to make
peace, and they were awaiting the result of the peace
messenger they had sent to General Jackson. This
unexpected stroke changed their good dispositions, and
no answer was returned to Jackson's ready acceptance
of their suit for peace. To the end of the war this
family of the hostile nation asked no quarter, and
fought stubbornly to the death. They believed that
General Jackson, with whom they were negotiating for
peace, had ordered this devastation and slaughter.
Had White obeyed Jackson instead of Cocke this
would not have been the result of the victory of Talla-
dega. Nor was General Cocke's argument a good one
as to the great cause for his not joining Jackson, that
if the whole force were united, starvation would be ab-
solutely certain. It would have been less difficult to
provide for five thousand men in one body than in two
widely separated forces. It is not easy to estimate the
evils which might have been avoided by the speedy
union of all these troops. The Indian war went on.
That Cocke was greatly influenced by a desire for
fame, which he very well knew would be denied him
if operating under General Jackson, may be questioned.
All attempts at immediately pushing the war to an
end were put at rest, and General Jackson's energies
were fully directed to two important objects, keeping
the wolf and the spirit of rebellion from his camp, and
devising measures for a new and more reliable force.
The course pursued from the outset for supplying
the army seemed the most practicable.
The Tennessee River, with its branches, ran through
the center of East Tennessee, and it furnished an easy
ANDREW JACKSON. 129
down-stream conveyance to the very seat of war in
Alabama. Nothing could have been more desirable
than this provision of nature to advance the interest
of this campaign, as it appeared. The matter of pro-
viding teams and building roads was out of the ques-
tion, comparatively. From the Tennessee River to
the Coosa would be about the extent of this overland
transportation. Thus situated, the great burden of
blame came upon the contractors. But after all re-
sorting to changes in these, and the exhaustion of per-
suasion by letter and personal messengers from the
army, little change was made for the better. The re-
sult was that a few days after Jackson returned to
Fort Strother actual hunger was driving his men to
mutiny. His force was made up of volunteers, who
had been called into service for one year from the
10th of December, 1812, and had made the expedition
with him to Natchez, and, dismissed in May, were
now serving out their time, which, they claimed, would
end December 10, 1813 ; and of militia drawn into
the field for the campaign, or for no definite period.
The militia were the first to lose their stomachs
for the war, and wanted to see their homes once more.
They contemplated marching in a body for the settle-
ments, a thing more easily talked than done, under
the circumstances. The man with whom they had to
contend was actuated by motives quite contrary to
their own. On the morning the militia had fixed to
leave camp, Jackson had the volunteers, on whom he
believed he could depend, drawn up in battle line to
resist the step the militia were about to make. This
unexpected movement staggered the mutineers, who
at once concluded to return to their quarters.
9— G
130 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On that very night the volunteers, who had been
urged by their wives, mothers, and " sweethearts " to
adhere to Jackson because he had been a father and
friend to them, decided themselves to desert. When
morning came and they were ready to start homeward,
they were surprised and shocked to find the militia
who took their turn the previous day, now drawn up
to dispute their passage. They too concluded discre-
tion the better part of valor, and returned to their
places. The cavalry, however, were sent to Huntsville
to recruit their horses, and provide new outfits for
themselves, on the condition that they should return
when these objects were accomplished. But this was
practically disbanding them, as they had caught the
general distemper of homesickness, and were of little
service afterwards. Nor was the discontentment al-
layed in the camp on the Coosa. To bring about this
result. General Jackson now resorted to another of his
life-long remedies, that is, addresses.
In one of these he said to the soldiers : —
"Some of our fellow-soldiers are wouuded and are unable to
take care of themselves. Shall it be said that we are so lost to
humanity as to leave them in that condition ? Can any one under
these circumstances and under these prospects, consent to an
abandonment of the camp ; of all that we have acquired in the
midst of so many difficulties, privations, and dangers ; of what it
will cost us so much to regain ; of what we never can regain, our
brave wounded companions who will be murdered by our unthink-
ing, unfeeling inhumanity ? Surely there can be none such ! No,
we will take with us, when we go, our wounded and sick. They
must not, shall not perish by our cold-blooded indifference. But
why should you despond? I do not, and yet your wants are not
greater than mine. To be sure, we do not live sumptuously ; but
no one has died of hunger, or is likely to die ; and then how an-
imating are our prospects ! Large supplies are at Deposit, and
already are officers dispatched to hasten them on. Wagons are
ANDREW JACKSON. 131
on the way ; a large number of beeves are in the neighborhood ;
and detachments are out to bring them in. All these resources
surely can not fail. I have no wish to starve you, none to de-
ceive you. Stay contentedly, and if supplies do not arrive in two
days, we will all march back together, and throw the blame of
our failure where it should properly lie ; until then, we certainly
have the means of subsisting ; and if we are compelled to bear
privations, let us remember that they are borne for our country,
and are not greater than many, perhaps most, armies have been
compelled to endure. I have called you together to tell you my
feelings and my wishes ; this evening think on them seriously,
and let me know yours in the morning."
The two days came and went, and no provisions
arrived. This disastrous turn in negotiations the Gen-
eral did not expect. But desperately he began to
prepare to carry out his proposal. In this strait, he
said that if two men would stay with him he would
not give up the fort. One hundred and nine men agreed
to remain. Jackson then induced the others to agree
to return and continue the campaign in case they met
provisions on their way ; and leaving the small garri-
son he set out toward the Tennessee River at the head
of the homeward-bound patriots, determined to see for
himself that they should not escape their part of the
contract.
These soldiers were now willing to travel without
food, and like a hungry and tired horse when his head
is turned for home, they were full of spirit; and the
only thing they now feared was that they would
actually meet the supplies for which all the troubles
had arisen ; and the great dread of the General was
that they would not meet them.
But they did that very day meet a drove of cattle
going to Fort Strother to be slaughtered for the army.
They came to a halt at once and went to killing, cook-
132 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ing, and eating. The next step, according to the con-
tract, was to march back to the fort. But this they
really had no notion of doing ; and before Jackson
was aware of it one company was on the move for
home. This was too much for " Old Hickory." He
started in pursuit, and with Coffee and a few trusty
men put himself across the route to await their coming,
Jackson was now hurling maledictions upon their heads.
His oaths and his fury were terrific. The company
of deserters faced about and returned to their places.
But the struggle was not yet over.
It was apparent that the whole force was deter-
mined to proceed on the way home. At this juncture
Jackson took a musket, and standing by his horse in
front of the rascals, declared that he would kill on the
spot the man who made the first step forward. His
staff" officers and a few faithful followers seeing the
perilous position he now occupied, came forward and
took positions behind him to await the result, and de-
fend him, if necessary. There was a pause. Not one
of the thousand men was ready to die in the last ditch.
Hickory had conquered. In anger and disappointment
the men returned to Fort Strother.
But the General went on to the Tennessee to look
after the supplies. The great outcry and all the exer-
tions put forth were not without avail. Soon abun-
dance reached the fort, and from this time forward the
question of feed for the army was not of serious
moment during the Creek war. But Jackson felt that
this little army would be of no great benefit in pushing
the war to a close, and set about making provisions for
a force of new men. It was now the first of Decem-
ber, and the question to be fought was as to the time
ANDREW JACKSON. 133
the term of one year expired in the service of the
volunteers. Jackson held that they volunteered for
three hundred and sixty-five days, and that the time
they spent at their homes after returning from Natchez
until the time of gathering at the rendezvous at Fay-
etteville, November 4th, was not to be put to their
credit. The volunteers, on the other hand, maintained
that it was from the 10th of December to the 10th of
December, and when that day came, as it would shortly,
they were going home. The militia also believed that
they were out only for three months, and at the end
of that term they intended to start home.
While determined, if possible, to hold these men,
and especially till new ones could be recruited to fill
their places. General Jackson immediately sent home
several of his reliable officers to hurry up the work of
gathering a new army.
A few days before the 10th of December, a letter
on the part of the volunteers was handed to Jackson,
in which their case was stated, their determination
expressed, and their confidence in him, and an appeal
to him to see that they were dealt with justly, as they
had faithfully and honorably served their country, etc.
To this appeal the General replied in a long and
spirited manner, reviewing the whole case, and closing
with these words : —
" Already have I sent to raise volunteers on my own respon-
sibility, lo complete a campaign which has been so happily begun,
and thus far, so fortunately prosecuted. The moment they arrive,
and I am assured tliat, fired by our exploits, they will hasten in
crowds on the first intimation that we need their services, they
will be substituted in the place of those who are discontented
here ; the latter will then be permitted to return to their homes
with all the honor which, under such circumstances, they can
134 LIFE AND TIMES OF
carry along with them. But I still cherish a hope that their dis-
satisfaction and complaints have been greatly exaggerated. I can
not, must not believe that the ' Volunteers of Tennessee,' a name
ever dear to fame, will disgrace themselves and a country which
they have honored, by abandoning her standard as mutineers and
deserters ; but should I be disappointed and be compelled to resign
this pleasing hope, one thing I would not resign, my duty.
Mutiny and sedition, so long as I possess the power of quelling
them, shall be put down ; and even when left destitute of this, I
will still be found, in the last extremity, endeavoring to discharge
the duty I owe to my country and myself."
No matter what was said or done, Jackson was to
have one more struggle with these mutinous troops.
They were going home, and it was not necessary to
put it off until the 10th. On the preceding day they
made ready to go, and Jackson issued this order : —
"The Commanding General being informed that an actual
mutiny exists in the camp, all officers and soldiers are commanded
to put it down. The officers and soldiers of the first brigade will,
without delay, parade on the west side of the fort, and await
further orders."
His two cannons were put in position for use, and
the militia were ordered to be drawn up across the
road to be taken by the departing volunteers. These
troops were in line ready to start on their journey
home. Jackson rode out before them. In this posi-
tion he addressed them with great vehemence. After
telling them that reinforcements were rapidly gather-
ing for their relief, and speaking of the nature of their
situation, and pledging himself to do his duty or die
in the attempt, he said : —
" I am, too, in daily expectation of receiving information
whether you may be discharged or not. Until then you must
not, and shall not retire. I have done with entreaty, it has been
used long enough. I will attempt it no more. You must now
ANDREW JACKSON. 135
determine whether you will go or peaceably remain. If you still
persist in your determination to move forcibly off, the point be-
tween us shall soon be decided."
The cannoneers were ready to apply the fire to
their pieces. Silence reigned. No one seemed pre-
pared to make the fatal step. A whisper ran down
the line of recreant volunteers ; the officers stepped
forward, and said they had concluded to await the
coming of other troops, or until the settlement of the
question of their discharge.
136 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER X.
CREEK WAR— SETTLING MUTINY WITH THE PISTOL— GEN-
ERAL JACKSON GATHERS DOUBTFUL LAURELS AT
EMUCKFAU AND ENOTACHOPCO — FLOYD
AND WEATHERSFORD AT CALIBEE—
WHO WAS FIRST, THE RED
OR THE WHITE MAN?
ALTHOUGH Jackson had conquered in this final
struggle, little good was expected from the con-
quest. His anxiety was now directed to the new
levy of troops, and the desire to close the campaign so
successfully begun. But he was also anxious to restore
a better state of feeling among the discontented troops,
and, if possible, induce many of them to remain till the
close of the war. On the 13th of December he caused
to be read to the soldiers the following address : —
" Volunteers of Tennessee! On the 10th of December, 1812,
you assembled at the call of your country. Your professions of
patriotism and ability to endure fatigue were at once tested by
the inclemency of the weather. Breaking your way through
sheets of ice, you descended the Mississippi, and reached the
point at which you were ordered to be halted and dismissed. All
this you bore without murmuring. Finding that your services
were not needed, the means for marching you back were pro-
cured ; every difficulty was surmounted, and as soon as the point
from which you eml)arked was regained, the order for your dis-
missal was carried into effect. The promptness with which you
assembled, the regularity of your conduct, your attention to your
duties, the determination manifested on every occasion to carry
into effect the wishes and will of your Government, placed you
ANDREW JACKSON. 137
on an elevated ground. You not only distinguished yourselves,
but o'ave to your State a distinguished rank with her sisters ; and
led your Government to believe that the honor of the Nation
would never be tarnished when intrusted to the holy keeping of
the 'Volunteers of Tennessee.' In the progress of a war, which
the implacable and eternal enemy of our independence induced
to be waged, we found that, without cause on our part, a portion
of the Creek nation was added to the number of our foes. To
put them down, the first glance of the Administration fell on
you, and you were again summoned to the field of honor. In
full possession of your former feelings, that summons was cheer-
fully obeyed. Before your enemy thought you in motion, you
were at Talluschatches and Talledaga. The thunder of your arras
was a signal to them, that the slaughter of your countrymen was
about to be avenged. You fought; you conquered; barely
enough of the foe escaped to recount to their savage associates
your deeds of valor. You returned to this place, loaded with
laurels and the applauses of your country.
"Can it be that these brave men are about to become the
tarnishers of their own reputation— the destroyers of a name
which does them so much honor? Yes, it is a truth too well
disclosed, that cheerfulness has been changed for complaints;
murmurings and discontents alone prevail. Men who a little
while since were oflfering up prayers for permission to chastise
the merciless savage, who turned with impatience to teach them
how much they had hitherto been indebted to our forbearance,
are now, when they could so easily attain their wishes, seeking
to be discharged."
But it was past the time to change the inclinations
of these men by patriotic appeals or anything else ;
and Cocke now having arrived with two thousand
men, Jackson wisely concluded to get rid of these
troublesome fellows. Accordingly, he ordered Gen-
eral Hall to march them back to Nashville, and de-
liver them to the Governor, to be treated as he saw fit.
Unfortunately, however, this did not greatly im-
prove the condition of things at Fort Strother. Cocke's
men were clamoring to be discharged, as their time
138 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was expiring. About half of them still had a month
or two to serve. The others Jackson sent home to
be disbanded at Knoxville; and urged Cocke to re-
cruit another corps as speedily as possible. Coffee's
mounted men were now in mutiny, and many of them
had gone home. The others refused to cross the Ten-
nessee River. Coffee was worn out with his trials
with them, and wrote to Jackson to that effect. The
men had sent him an address, which he also forwarded
to Fort Strother. Jackson sent back a long cutting
reply, and then added that they had his permission
to go and follow no more after him, and that he had
a letter from the Governor intimating the same senti-
ment on his part. They took him at his word and
went, with Colonel Allcorn at their head. According
to the general understanding of this case, and the pa-
rade of evidence on the Jackson side, the conduct of
this corps of volunteers was disgraceful enough.
Notwithstanding the assertions of most of General
Jackson's numerous biographers as to the great devo-
tion of his soldiers to him, the history of this cam-
paign, in the main, does not justify any such opinion.
There are few questions which are wholly one-sided.
Many of these volunteers were men of some character,
and once they had been called the flower of Tennessee,
and when they had set forward on the long winter
march to Natchez, the heart of Middle Tennessee had
gone with them. On the 4th of March, 1814, over
the signatures of General William Hall and seven
other volunteer officers of less rank, a statement was
made public, representing their side of the case, and
which did, to some extent, cast a glimmer of light
upon the whole troublesome affair.
ANDREW JACKSON. 139
The reader may be able to decide for himself, with-
out fuller statements from both sides, the merits of
this case between General Jackson and these soldiers.
That they had not been all the time in the service
from December 10, 1812, to December 10, 1813, was
no fault of theirs. That they might have been dis-
banded before their year had expired, and at any
emergency been called to complete it a score of years
afterwards, would have been looked upon as a matter
of great doubt, at least. But these men, it seems,
were apprised of the fact that they might be called to
serve out the year for which they had enlisted. The
biographers of General Jackson have usually main-
tained, as did especially all of his political defenders,
that his position was right, and that this Indian cam-
paign, on his part, was one of the most praiseworthy
and wonderful ever performed by any military leader
in the history of the world. There is a wide-spread
feeling in war that the private soldier has no right
which the general is bound to respect. This country
is no exception to the rule of European governments
as to the power of discipline in the army. And,
indeed, it may, at times, be a fortunate circumstance,
even in a republic, that the safety of the country is
not subject to the whim of the masses.
In the conflict between General Jackson and his
men, although he carried his point at the time, par-
tially by his exhibition of phenomenal, though fool-
hardy, daring, it could not be inferred that they were
cowards. They were, doubtlessly, actuated by better
motives. Their service had been one of starvation
and hardship, and, perhaps, their greatest trial was to
endure the violent temper and intolerant manner of
140 LIFE AND TIMES OF
their Commanding General. The experience must have
been a dreadful one to them. But the story has been
told in its leading points. The events yet to come
may, however, furnish some additional aids to a fair
view of this interesting episode in the war of 1812.
While these things were occurring under General
Jackson, from two other directions foes of equal de-
termination and skill were preparing to assail the
Indians. Peter Early, Governor of Georgia, had, by
act of the Legislature, equipped a considerable force
under the command of General Floyd. General Clai-
borne was also putting forth his exertions from the
direction of Louisiana and the Gulf.
On the Tallapoosa River General Floyd met the
Indians, and defeated them in an engagement which
was thus described in his report : —
"Having received information that numbers of the hostile
Indians were assembled at Autossee, a town on the southern
bank of the Tallapoosa, about eighteen miles from the Hickory
Ground, and twenty above the junction of that river with the
Coosa, I proceeded to its attack with nine hundred and fifty of
the Georgia militia, accompanied by between three and four hun-
dred friendly Indians. Having encamped within nine or ten
miles of the point of destination the preceding evening, we re-
sumed the march a few minutes before one on the morning of
the 29th (of November), and, at half-past six, were formed for
action in front of the town. Booth's battalion composed the
right column, and marched from its center ; Watson's battalion
composed the left, and marched from its right; Adams's rifle
company, and Merri wether's, under Lieutenant Hendon, were on
the flanks ; Captain Thomas's artillery marched in front of the
right column on the road.
"It was my intention to have completely surrounded the
enemy, by deploying the right wing of my force on Canlubee
Creek, at the mouth of which, I was informed, the town stood,
and resting the left on the river bank, below the town ; but, to
ANDREW JACKSON. 141
our surprise, as the day dawned, we perceived a second town about
five hundred yards below that which we had first viewed, and
were preparing to attack. The plan was immediately changed ;
three companies of infantry, on the left, were wheeled into echelon,
and advanced to the low town, accompanied by Merri wether's
rifle company, and two troops of light dragoons, under the com-
mand of Captains Irwin and Steele.
"The residue of the force approached the upper town, and
the battle soon became general. The Indians presented them-
selves at every point, and fought with the desperate bravery of real
fanatics. The well-directed fire, however, of the artillery, added
to the charge of the bayonet, soon forced them to take refuge in
the outhouses, thickets, and copses in rear of the town ; mauy, it
is believed, concealed themselves in caves previously formed for
the purpose of secure retreat, in the high bluff of the river,
which was thickly covered with reeds and brushwood. The In-
dians of the friendly party who accompanied us on the expedi-
tion were divided into four companies, and placed under the com-
mand of leaders of their selection. They were, by arrangement
entered into the day previous, to have crossed the river above
the town, and been posted on the opposite shore, during the
action, for the purpose of firing on such of the enemy as might
attempt to escape, or keep in check any reinforcement which
might probably be thrown in from the neighboring town ; but,
owing to the difliculty of the ford, and coldness of the weather,
and the lateness of the hour, this arrangement failed, and their
leaders were directed to cross Canlubee Creek, and occupy that
flank, to prevent escapes from the Tallassee town. Some time after
the action commenced our red friends thronged in disorder in the
rear of our lines. The Cowetams, under Mcintosh, and the
Lookaubatchians, under the Mad Dog's Son, fell in on our flanks,
and fought with an intrepidity worthy of any troops.
"At nine o'clock, the enemy was completely driven from the
plain, and the houses of both towns wrapped in flames. As we
were then sixty miles from any depot of provisions, and our five
days' rations pretty much reduced, in the heart of an enemy's
country, which, in a few moments, could have poured from its nu-
merous towns hosts of its fiercest warriors, as soon as the dead and
wounded were properly disposed of I ordered the place to be aban-
doned and the troops to commence their march to Chatahauchie.
"It is difficult to determine the strength of the enemy, but
142 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from the information of the chiefs, which it is said can be relied
upon, that at Autossee, warriors from eight towns were assem-
bled for its defense, it being their beloved ground, on which they
proclaimed no white man could approach without inevitable
destruction. It is difficult to give a precise account of the loss
of the enemy ; but from the number which were lying scattered
over the field, together with those destroyed in the towns, and
many slain on the bank of the river, which respectable officers
affirm they saw lying in heaps at the water's edge, where, they had
been precipitated by their surviving friends, their loss in killed, in-
dependent of their wounded, must have been at least two hun-
dred, among whom were the Autossee and Tallassee kings; and,
from the circumstance of their making no efforts to molest our
return, probably greater. The number of buildings burned, some
of a superior order for the dwellings of savages, and filled with
valuable articles, is supposed to be four hundred.
"Adjutant-General Newman rendered important services
during the action, by his cool and deliberate courage. My aid,
Major Crawford, discharged with promptitude the duties of a
brave and meritorious officer. Major Pace, who acted as field
aid, also distinguished himself ; both these gentlemen had their
horses shot under them. Doctor Williamson, hospital surgeon,
and Doctor Clopton, were prompt and attentive in the discharge
of their duty towards the wounded, during the action.
" Major Freeman, at the head of Gwin's troop of cavalry,
and part of Steele's, made a furious and successful charge upon a
body of Indians, sabered several, and completely defeated them.
Captain Thomas and his company, Captain Adams's, and Lieu-
tenant Hendou's rifle company, killed a great many Indians, and
deserve particular praise ; Captain Barton's company was in the
hottest of the battle, and fought like soldiers. Captains Myric,
Little, King, Broadnax, Cleveland, Joseph T. Cunningham, and
Lee, with their companies, distinguished themselves. Brigadier-
General Shackleford was of great service in bringing the troops
into action ; and Adjutant Broadnax, and Major Montgomery,
who acted as assistant adjutant, showed great activity and cour-
age. Major Booth used his best endeavors in bringing his
battalion to action, and Major Watson's battalion acted with
considerable spirit. Gwin's, Patterson's, and Steele's troops of
cavalry, wherever an opportunity presented, charged with spirit.
Lieutenant Strong had his horse shot, and narrowly escaped, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 143
Quartermaster Fennell displayed the greatest heroism, and
miraculously escaped, though badly wounded, after having his
horse shot from under him. The topographical engineer was
vigilant in his endeavors to render service. The troops deserve
the highest praise for their fortitude in enduring hunger, cold,
and fatigue, without a murmur, having marched one hundred
and twenty miles in seven days.
•'The friendly Indians lost several killed and wounded, the
number not exactly known."
But after all this fine report, it is a fact that the
Indians were not so badly whipped that they were
unable to pursue Floyd, and offer him battle. They
were, however, repulsed. Still General Floyd's great
Autossee victory would have been materially toned
down, no doubt, by the pen of an Indian historian. On
the 23d of December, 1813, General Ferdinand L. Clai-
borne, who had been sent over from the Mississippi with
several hundred regulars to look after the Indians, and
a part of whose command was destroyed at Fort Mims,
attacked the Indians on the Alabama River at Eccan-
achaca, the Holy Ground, and killed some of their
warriors, and burned this seat of the prophets. He
also destroyed other towns, and did much to distress
these wild and improvident creatures.
General Jackson was left at Fort Strother with a
few hundred dissatisfied men. He put forward every
possible effort to get a new army. The Governor and
influential friends at home were plied with letters by
himself and his officers ; and where gentle and earnest
terms would not do he scolded and begged, and urged
them to do something speedily, or finally the whole
work would have to be ignominiously abandoned.
Among Jackson's warmest and most efficient coadju-
tors in these trials was the Rev. Gideon Blackburn.
144 LIFE AND TIMES OF
When the cavalry abandoned the war, on the bank
of the Tennessee, in January, 1814, Mr. Blackburn
was present, and to the appeal of the brave and gen-
erous Coflfee, added his voice in an eloquent address
urging the soldiers to continue in the service. Earlier
he had offered his help, and to him General Jackson
wrote the following letter : —
" Reverend Sir, — Your letter has been just received ; I
thank you for it ; I thank you most sincerely. It arrived at a
moment when my spirits needed such a support.
" I left Tennessee with an army, brave, I believe, as any
general ever commanded. I have seen them in battle, and my
opinion of their bravery is not changed ; but their fortitude, on
this too I relied, has been too severely tested. Perhaps I was
wrong in believing that nothing, but death could conquer the
spirits of brave men. I am sure I was; for my men, I know, are
brave, yet privations have rendered them discontented ; that is
enough. The expedition must nevertheless be prosecuted to a
successful termination. New volunteers must be raised to con-
clude what has been so auspiciously begun by the old ones.
Gladly would I save these men from themselves, and insure
them a harvest which they have sown ; but if they will abandon
it to others, it must be so.
" You are good enough to say, if I need your assistance, it
will be cheerfully afforded. I do need it greatly. The influence
you possess over the minds of men is great and well founded,
and can never be better applied than in summoning volunteers
to the defense of their country, their liberty, and their religion.
While we fight the savage, who makes war only because he
delights in blood, and who has gotten his booty when he has
scalped his victim, we are through him contending against an
enemy of more inveterate character, and deeper design, who
would demolish a fabric cemented by the blood of our fathers,
and endeared to us by all the happiness we enjoy. So far as my
exertions can contribute, the purposes, both of the savage and
his instigator, shall be defeated ; and so far as yours can, I hope,
I know, they will be employed. I have said enough ; I want
men, and want them immediately."
ANDREW JACKSON. 145
Mrs. Jackson became, after a while, greatly at-
tached to the character of this good man, and was
accustomed to call him "dear parson Blackburn."
She was wont to say that she blessed Heaven that
. under Blackburn she had been led to see more beauty
and sense in being a reasonable and correct Christian
than in squandering her days in foolishness which had
not even the virtue of benefiting her merely as a
creature endowed with progressive mental faculties.
Blackburn was one of the most useful of the early
preachers of the wild West, a sterling character who
was not afraid of his own qualities or doubtful as to
his mission ; and, like brave old Peter Cartwright, was
ready, at all times, to assail the infernals wherever
they were displayed in or around men. He had no
scruples about giving his aid in building up the
affairs of this world in a safe and righteous manner.
There was no question of two masters about it with
him. He believed it was a part of a Christian's duty to
be a patriot. He seemed also to believe the soldier of
the Republic became the highest ideal of the brave
and patriotic man accordingly as he became a more
trustworthy soldier of the Cross.
General Jackson's difficulties were not all with the
soldiers, who could have done better than they did,
or the contractors, who, perhaps, did the best they
could under the circumstances. Governor Blount had
become discouraged over the prospects of continuing
the campaign without aid from the Government, and
actually recommended Jackson to give it up. Gov-
ernor Blount, of Tennessee, was neither a soldier nor
a statesman, although he was a patriot of the most
scrupulous exactness, and a man of many admirable
10— G
146 LIFE AND TIMES OF
traits. The following letter from him will give interest
to Jackson's reply : —
" Nashville, December 22, 1813.
" Dear Sir, — Since writing you fully of this date, I have re-
ceived, by Major David Smith, your very interesting letter, replete
with patriotic sentiments, dated the 15th inst. You will see by^
letter of the 10th, to the Secretary of War, how I am placed
with respect to instructions, which, as it relates to the good of
the service, and a most righteous cause, in support of which you
are most laudably and zealously engaged, I much regret. The
unfortunate construction given by the troops, so generally,
respecting their term of service, at this very interesting crisis in
public affairs, in this section of the Union, is to be lamented ;
but since it is the most general, and likely to become almost the
universal construction in the camp ; and since there is no authority
vested here, that can be interposed to give a counter current of
opinion, with the prospect of effecting any permanent good to
the service, or to the cause you are engaged in ; and as it is likely
that my letter of the 10th instant will produce new orders for a
term of service yet to commence, which, under all circumstances,
would be most judicious in Government to give, the better to
effect the objects of the campaign, more especially as there is
reason to believe that a British fleet has arrived at Pensacola ; I
can not doubt but that the Government will shortly give new
instructions to have a new force organized, to effect the objects
of the campaign, and to oppose the British ; and that the Presi-
dent will be satisfied to consider that the three months' tour per-
formed by your and by General Cocke's detachments, with so
much good to the service, and with so much credit to yourselves,
may terminate the present campaign. I can think of no better
plan to pursue, so as to keep up the spirits of all ; for, when
once militia, or any other troops, take it into their heads that
they have served their tour of duty, it is next to impossible to
convince them that to serve longer would be either just or lauda-
ble ; and to attempt to keep up a force by voluntary enrollment,
without the authority of Government, would, as I fear, be a vain
attempt, notwithstanding it would be highly laudable at this
time, if it were practicable; patching up an army that way,
would effect no permanent good. I am not at liberty as an
executive officer, to advise you, who hold a command in the
service of the United States. I am incapable of willingly saying
ANDREW JACKSON. 147
or doing anything to injure the service, or that which would
injuriously affect the reputation of deserving men, or the stand-
ing of au able and patriotic hero and general ; but, as a friend
to my Government, most ardently desirous that every step taken
in this quarter may promote the good of the service, and the
standing of those who deserve well of their country, I do not
see what important good can grow out of your continuing at an
advanced post, in an enemy's country, with a handful of brave
men. Would it not, under all circumstances, be most likely to
be attended with good consequences for you to return to the
frontier of Tennessee, and, with your patriotic force, defend our
frontier, where provision can be readily afforded on better terms
to Government, bringing with you your baggage and supplies ;
and there, on the frontier, await the order of Government, or
until I can be authorized to reinforce you, or to call a new force ?
At this time, I really do not feel authorized to order a draft, or
I would, with the greatest of all pleasures I could feel, do it.
Were I to attempt it in an unauthorized way, it would injure, as
I think, the public service, which I would rather die than do.
I could not positively assure the men that they would be paid.
"I send you a copy of the President's Message, and am grati-
fied to see the handsome terms he uses in speaking of your and
of General Coffee's battles. He seems to mean something about
Pensacola, and, to effect his object best, a new force should cer-
tainly be organized. Many who are now, and have been, on the
campaign, would go again on that business, if they are pleased
with the President's decision respecting their term of service,
under the late orders. I shall, from what I have said about the
propriety of your return to the Tennessee frontier, feel bound to
send a copy of this to the War Department, for the information
of Government, and by way of apology for offering such an
opinion to an officer in the service of the United States.
" I am, with highest respect and most sincere regard, your
friend, Willie Blount.
" Major-General Andrew Jackson, United States service. Creek
Nation."
The following is a part of General Jackson's reply
to this earnest letter : —
' ' Had your wish that I should discharge a part of my force
and retire with the residue into the settlements assumed the form
148 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of a positive order, it might have furnished me some apology for
pursuiug such a course ; but by no means a full justification.
As you would have no power to give such an order, I could not
be inculpable in obeying, with my eyes open to the fatal conse-
quences that would attend it. But a bare recommendation,
founded, as I am satisfied it must be, on the artful suggestions
of those fireside patriots who seek, in a failure of the expedi-
tions, an excuse for their own supineness; and upon the misrep-
resentations of the discontented from the army, who wish it to be
believed that the difficulties which overcame their patriotism are
wholly insurmountable, would afford me but a feeble shield
against the reproaches of my country, or my conscience. Believe
me, my respected friend, the remarks I make proceed from the
purest personal regard. If you would preserve your reputation,
or that of the State over which you preside, you must take a
straightforward, determined course ; regardless of the applause
or censure of the populace, and of the forebodings of that das-
tardly and designing crew, who, at a time like this, may be
expected to clamor continually in your ears. The very wretches
who now beset you with evil counsel will be the first, should
the measures which they recommend eventuate in disaster, to call
down imprecations on your head, and load you with reproaches.
Your country is in danger ; apply its resources to its defense !
Can any course be more plain? Do you, my, friend, at such a
moment as the present, sit with your arms folded, and your heart
at ease, waiting a solution of your doubts, and a definition of
your powers ? Do you wait for special instructions from the
Secretary of War, which it is impossible for you to receive in
time for the danger that threatens? How did the venerable
Shelby act under similar circumstances ; or rather, under circum-
stances by no means so critical? Did he wait for orders to do
what every man of sense knew, what every patriot felt to be
right? He did not; and yet how highly and justly did the
Government extol his manly and energetic conduct ! and how
dear has his name become to all the friends of their country !
"You say that, having given an order to General Cocke to
bring his quota of men into the field, your power ceases; and
that although you are made sensible that he has wholly neglected
that order, you can take no measure to remedy the omission.
Widely different, indeed, is my opinion. I consider it your im-
perious duty, when the men called for by your order, founded
ANDREW JACKSON. 149
upon that of the Government, are known not to be in the field,
to see that they be brought there, and to take immediate meas-
ures with the officer who, charged with the execution of your or-
der, omits or neglects to do it. As the Executive of the State,
it is your duty to see that the full quota of troops be constantly
kept in the field for the time they have been required. You
are responsible to the Government ; your officer to you. Of what
avail is it to give an order if it be never executed, and
may be disobeyed with impunity? Is it by empty orders that
we can hope to conquer our enemies, and save our defenseless
frontiers from butchery and devastation ? Believe me, my valued
friend, there are times when it is highly criminal to shrink
from i-esponsibility, or scruple about the exercise of our powers.
There are times when we must disregard punctilious etiquette,
and think only of serving our country. What is really our pres-
ent situation? The enemy we have been sent to subdue, may be
said, if we stop at this, to be only exasperated. The Commander-
in-chief, General Pinckney, who supposes me by this time pre-
pared for renewed operations, has ordered me to advance and
form a junction with the Georgia army ; and, upon the expecta-
tion that 1 will do so, are all his arrangements formed for the
prosecution of the campaign. Will it do to defeat his plans and
jeopardize the safety of the Georgia army? The General Gov-
ernment, too, believe, and have a right to believe, that Ave have
now not less than five thousand men in the heart of the enemy's
country; and, on this opinion, are all their calculations bot-
tomed. And must they all be frustrated, and I become the instru-
ment by which it is done ? God forbid !
"You advise me, too, to discharge or dismiss from service,
until the will of the President can be known, such a portion of
the militia as have rendered three months' service. This advice
astonishes me even more than the former. I have no such dis-
cretionary power ; and it would be impolitic and ruinous to use
it, if I had. I believed the militia, who were not specially re-
ceived for a shorter period, were engaged for six months, unless
the objects of the expedition should be sooner attained ; and in
this opioion I was greatly strengthened by your letter of the 15th,
in which you say, when answering my inquiry upon this subject,
'the militia are detached for six months' service;' nor did I
know or suppose you had a different opinion until the arrival of
your last letter. This opinion must, I suppose, agreeably to your
150 LIFE AND TIMES OF
request, be made known to General Roberts's brigade, and then
the consequences are not difficult to be foreseen. Every man
belonging to it will abandon me on the 4th of next month ; nor
shall I have the means of preventing it but by the application
of force, which under such circumstances I shall not be at liberty
to use. I have labored hard to reconcile these men to a con-
tinuance in service until they could be honorably discharged, and
had hoped I had in a great measure succeeded ; but your
opinion, operating with their own prejudices, will give a sanction
to their conduct, and render useless any further attempts. They
will go, but I can neither discharge nor dismiss them. Shall I
be told, that, as they will go, it may as well be peaceably per-
mitted? Can that be any good reason why I should do an
unauthorized act ? Is it a good reason why I should violate the
order of my superior officer, and evince a willingness to defeat
the purposes of my Government ? And wherein does the ' sound
policy ' of the measures that have been recommended consist ? or
in what way are they ' likely to promote the public good?' Is it
sound policy to abandon a conquest thus far made, and deliver
up to havoc, or add to the number of our enemies those frieudly
Creeks and Cherokees, who, relying on our protection, have
espoused our cause, and aided us with their arms ? Is it good
policy to turn loose upon our defenseless frontiers five thousand
exasperated savages, to imbrue their hands once more in the
blood of our citizens? What ! retrograde under such circum-
stances ! I will perish first. No, I will do my duty. I will
hold the posts I have established until ordered to abandon them
by the commanding general, or die in the struggle ; long since
have I determined not to seek the preservation of life at the
sacrifice of reputation.
"But our frontiers, it seems, are to be defended, and by
whom? By the very force that is now recommended to be dis-
missed ; for I am first told to retire into the settlements, and to
protect the frontiers ; next, to discharge my troops ; and then,
that no measures can be taken for raising others. No, my
friend, if troops be given me, it is not by loitering on the fron-
tiers that I will seek to give protection ; they are to be defended,
if defended at all, in a very different manner ; by carrying the
war into the heart of the enemy's country. All other hopes of
defense are more visionary than dreams. What then is to be
done ? I '11 tell you what. You have only to act with the
ANDREW JACKSON. 151
energy and decision the crisis demands, and all will be well.
Send me a force engaged for six months, and I will answer for
the result ; but withhold it, and all is lost ; the reputation of the
State, and yours and mine along with it."
This is certainly one of the finest papers ever
written or dictated by or founded on the spirit of
General Jackson. No partisan friend can read this
letter at this day without having his respect for the
memory of his hero greatly deepened and renewed ;
no student of history, no fair-minded man, no matter
what his political creed, can read this noble letter
without having excited warm sentiments of admiration
for its author, or having his own sentiments of patri-
otism elevated and strengthened. It exhibits General
Jackson in one of his supreme moments. The easy-
tempered Governor appeared as a child in the hands of
this stern patriot, who, exacting uncompromisingly of
himself what he believed to be his duty, could not
tolerate the thought even of less from other men.
This letter presents General Jackson in the finest
possible light in every sense, and was the crowning
feature in a campaign of wonderful trials, from which
he emerged more than a conqueror. It is one of the
finest bursts of wise valor and self-sacrifice to be
found among all the specimens of American patriot-
ism and heroism. Such a letter would to-day be con-
sidered excellent material for President-making. And
so it was in 1828, deservedly. It had the desired
eff'ect upon Governor Blount. He saw his duty now.
There was no more hesitation on his part. He
ordered, at once, twenty-five hundred new recruits to
be gathered at Fayetteville for the term of three
months, and in East Tennessee, the new corps ordered
152 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by General Jackson, was pushed forward with vigor.
At home affairs had taken a satisfactory turn.
But General Jackson was destined to have one
more passage with his two ever-ready weapons, words
and pistols, with the old levy, the militia and the
men remaining at Fort Strother, from Cocke's division.
Towards the close of the year some difficulty arose
with two hundred of the new recruits under Colonel
Roberts. Roberts left his troops at some distance
from camp while he went forward to see the General
as to the terms on which the men would be received
at the fort. When Roberts returned to his men they
had allowed all their valor to evaporate, and were on
the homeward march. By the order of General
Jackson many of them were arrested and brought to
Fort Strother. But it turned out that these valiant
fellows were influenced in their conduct by Roberts
himself, who was tried by a court-martial and cashiered.
On the first day of January, 1814, the force at
Fort Strother was made up of a small regiment under
Colonel Lilliard, with their time expiring on the 14th,
the artillery company, and two small companies of
spies. The spirit of dissatisfaction was becoming
quite apparent in this little force. So careless did
they become as to guard and other duties that, on one
occasion, Jackson was forced to order the arrest of
Lieutenant Kearley. But Kearley would not be ar-
rested. Jackson then ordered him to give, him his
sword. This the lieutenant refused to do also. Of
course, the next moment the General's pi'stol was
whipped out, and there being but two ways left the
fractious officer, to die or give up his sword, he pre-
ferred the latter. Kearley afterwards repented of his
ANDREW JACKSON. 153
bad conduct, and was restored to the friendship or
confidence of Jackson.
Now, uncertain as to the time the new levies of
troops would reach him. General Jackson determined
to make an effort to hold Lilliard's men long enough
to give him an opportunity to strike the enemy again.
To that end he had read to them a long, stirring
address. But four soldiers, Captain Hamilton and
three of his men, were willing to stay ; and a few days
afterwards the regiment started for Knoxville to be
discharged.
From Colonel Carroll Jackson heard, at last, that
about eight hundred volunteers, some of them enlisted
for only sixty days, were gathered at Huntsville. On
the spur of the moment the General wrote to Carroll :—
" I am happy to hear of your success in procuring volun-
teers I shall receive with open arras those who, in this hour of
need, so gallantly come forth to uphold the sinking reputation
of their State. I am more anxious than ever to recommence opera-
tions and, indeed, they have become more necessary than ever,
yet I can not move without supplies. As this will meet you near
where the contractors are, you will be better able to ascertain
than I can inform you, when that happy moment will arrive ;
and, I pray you, use your best exertions to have it brought about
with the least possible delay. Until supplies, and the means of
transportation can be furnished to justify another movement from
this place, it will be better that you remain where your horses can
be fed. i say this upon the supposition that this will be shortly
done; but were it certain that the same causes of delay which
have 'so long retarded our operations were still to continue, I
would, at every risk, and under every responsibility, take up the
march as soon as the troops now with you could arrive. For
such a measure I should seek my justification in the imperious-
ness of the circumstances by which I am surrounded ; and rely
for success upon Heaven and the enterprise of my followers.
"Partial supplies have arrived for my use at Fort Armstrong,
which will be ordered on to-morrow. This, with the scanty stock
154 LIFE AND TIMES OF
on hand will, at least, keep us from starving a few weeks, until
we can quarter upon the enemy, or gain assistance from the
country below. General Claiborne, who is encamped eighty-five
miles above Fort Stoddart, writes me, that arrangements are made
to send supplies up the Alabama to the junction of the Coosa
and Tallapoosa. Upon such resources will I depend, sooner than
wait until my army wastes away, or becomes, through inaction,
unfit for service."
The few hundred men assembled at Huntsville
were formed into two regiments, and reached Fort
Strother on the 13th of January, 1814. Jackson was
now to take direct, personal command of his little force.
The officers out of employment by this arrangement
formed themselves into a company of privates. The
General determined that they should not rust for the
want of service, and accordingly set out with his raw
troops, amounting to about a thousand men, on the 15th.
He had received word that a considerable body of In-
dians was encamped at the mouth of Emuckfau Creek,
on the Tallapoosa River. This was his objective
point. At Talladega he was joined by two or three
hundred friendly Indians, who were brave and faithful
fellows, and, in the battles which followed, one-third
of the killed and wounded belonged to this handful
of red men.
The following is General Jackson's report of this
expedition : —
"Head-quarters, Fort Strother, Jan. 29, 1814.
"Maj. Gen. Thomas Pinckney: -
"Sir, — I had the honor of informing you in a letter of the
31st ult. [express] of an excursion I contemplated making still
further in the enemy's country, with the new raised volunteers
from Tennessee. I had ordered those troops to form a junction
with me on the 10th inst., but they did not arrive until the
14th. Their number, including officers, was about eight hun-
ANDREW JACKSON. 155
dred, and on the 15th, I marched them across the river to graze
their horses. On the next day I followed with the remainder of
my force, consisting of the artillery company, with one six-
pounder, one company of infantry of forty-eight men, two com-
panies of spies, commanded by Captains Gordon and Russell, of
about thirty men each, and a company of volunteer officers,
headed by General Coffee, who had been abandoned by his men,
and who still remained in the field awaiting the orders of the
Government ; making my force, exclusive of Indians, nine hun-
dred and thirty.
"The motives which influenced me to penetrate still further
into the enemy's country, with this force, were many and urgent.
The terms of service of the new raised volunteers was short, and
a considerable part of it was expired ; they were expensive to the
Government ; and were full of ardor to meet the enemy. The
ill-effects of keeping soldiers of this description long stationary
and idle, I had been made to feel but too sensibly already. Other
causes concurred to make such a movement not only justifiable,
but absolutely necessary. I had received a letter from Captain
McAlpin, of the 5th inst., who commanded at Fort Armstrong,
in the absence of Colonel Snodgrass, informing me that fourteen
or fifteen towns of the enemy, situated on the waters of the Tal-
lapoosa, were about uniting their forces, and attacking that place,
which had been left in a very feeble state of defense. You had
in your letter of the 24th ult. informed me that General Floyd
was about to make a movement to the Tallapoosa, near its junc-
tion with the Coosa ; and in the same letter had recommended
temporary excursions against such of the enemy's towns, or set-
tlements, as might be within striking distance, as well to prevent
my men from becoming discontented, as to harass the enemy.
Your ideas corresponded exactly with my own, and I was happy
in the opportunity of keeping my men engaged, distressing the
enemy, and at the same time making a diversion to facilitate the
operations of General Floyd.
"Determined by these and other considerations, I took up
the line of march on the 17th inst., and on the 18th encamped
at Talladega fort, where I was joined by between two and three
hundred friendly Indians ; sixty-five of whom were Cherokees,
the balance Creeks. Here I received your letter of the 9th inst.,
stating that General Floyd was expected to make a movement
from Cowetau the next day, and that in ten days thereafter he
156 LIFE AND TIMES OF
would establish a firm position at Tuckbatchee ; and also a letter
from Colonel Snodgrass, who had returned to Fort Armstrong,
informing me that an attack was intended to be soon made on
that fort by nine hundred of the enemy. If I could have hesi-
tated before, I could now hesitate no longer. I resolved to lose
no time in meeting this force, which was understood to have
been collected from New Yorcau, Oakfuskie, and Ufauley towns,
and were concentrated in a bend of the Tallapoosa, near the
mouth of a creek, called Emuckfau, and on an island below
New Yorcau.
"On the morning of the 20th, your letter of the 10th inst.,
forwarded by McCandles, reached me at the Hillibee Creek ;
and that night I encamped at Enotachopco, a small Hillibee
village, about twelve miles from Emuckfau. Here I began to
perceive very plainly how little knowledge my spies had of the
country, of the situation of the enemy, or of the distance I was
from them. The insubordination of the new troops, and the
want of skill in most of their officers, also became more and
more apparent. But their ardor to meet the enemy was not
diminished ; and I had sure reliance upon the guards, and upon
the company of old volunteer officers, and upon the spies, in all
about one hundred and twenty-five. My wishes and my duty
remained united, and I was determined to efl^ect, if possible, the
objects for which the excursion had been principally undertaken.
" On the morning of the 21st, I marched from Enotachopco,
as direct as I could for the bend of the Tallapoosa, and about
two o'clock, P. M., my spies having discovered two of the enemy,
endeavored to overtake them, but failed. In the eveniug I fell
in upon a large trail, which led to a new road, much beaten and
lately traveled. Knowing that I must have arrived within the
neighborhood of a strong force, and it being late in the day, I
determined to encamp, and reconnoiter the country in the night.
I chose tlie best site the country would admit, encamped in a
hollow square, sent out my spies and pickets, doubled my
sentinels, and made the necessary arrangements before dark,
for a night attack. About ten o'clock at night, one of the
pickets fired at three of the enemy, and killed one, but he
was not found until the next day. At eleven o'clock, the spies
whom I had sent out, returned with the information that there
was a large encampment of Indians at the distance of about
three miles, who, from their whooping and dancing, seemed to be
ANDREW JACKSON. 157
apprised of our approach. One of these spies, an Indian in whom
I had great confidence, assured me that they were carrying off
their women and children, and that the warriors would either
make their escape, or attack me before day. Being prepared at
all points, nothing remained to be done but to await their ap-
proach, if they meditated an attack, or to be in readiness, if they
did not, to pursue and attack them at daylight. While we were
in this state of readiness, the enemy about six o'clock in the
morning commenced a vigorous attack on my left flank, which
was vigorously met ; the action continued to rage on my left
flank, and on the left of my rear, for about half an hour. The
brave Genei'al Coffee, with Colonel Sitler, the adjutant-general,
and Colonel Carroll, the inspector-general, the moment the firing
commenced, mounted their horses and repaired to the line, en-
couraging and animating the men to the performance of their
duty. So soon as it became light enough to pursue, the left
wing having sustained the heat of the action, and being some-
what weakened, was reinforced by Captain Ferrill's company of
infantry, and was ordered and led on to the charge by General
Coffee, who was well supported by Colonel Higgins and the
inspector-general, and by all the officers and privates who com-
posed that line. The enemy was completely routed at every
point, and, the friendly Indians joining in the pursuit, they were
chased about two miles with considerable slaughter.
"The chase being over, I immediately detached General
Coffee with four hundred men, and all the Indian force, to burn
their encampment; but it was said by some to be fortified. I
ordered him, in that event, not to attack it until the artillery
could be sent forward to reduce it. On viewing the encampment
and its strength, the General thought it most prudent to return
to my encampment, and guard the artillery thither. The wisdom
of this step was soon discovered — in half an hour after his return
to camp, a considerable force of the enemy made its appearance
on my right flank, and commenced a brisk fire on a party of
men, who had been on picket-guard the night before, and were
then in search of the Indians they had fired upon, some of whom
they believed had been killed. General Coffee immediately re-
quested me to let him take two hundred men, and turn their
left flank, which I accordingly ordered ; but, through some
mistake which I did not then observe, not more than fifty-four
followed him, among whom were the old volunteer officers. With
158 LIFE AND TIMES OF
these, however, he immediately commenced an attack on the left
flank of the enemy ; at which time I ordered two hundred of the
friendly Indians to fall fn upon the right flank of the enemy,
and co-operate with the General. This order was promptly
obeyed, and on the moment of its execution, what I expected
was realized. The enemy had intended the attack on the right
as a feint, and expecting to direct all my attention thither, meant
to attack me again, and with their main force on the left flank,
which they had hoped to find weakened and in disorder, they
were disappointed. I had ordered the left flank to remain firm
in its place, and the moment the alarm-gun was heard in that
quarter, I repaired thither, and ordered Captain Ferrill, part of
my reserve, to support it. The whole line met the approach of
the enemy with astonishing intrepidity, and having given a few
fires, they forthwith charged with great vigor — the effect was
immediate and inevitable. The enemy fled with precipitation,
and were pursued to a considerable distance, by the left flank
and the friendly Indians, with a galling and destructive fire.
Colonel Carroll, who ordered the charge, led on the pursuit, and
Colonel Higgins and his regiment again distinguished themselves.
"In the meantime. General Coffee was contending with a
superior force of the enemy. The Indians whom I had ordered to
his support, and who had set out for this purpose, hearing the
firing on the left, had returned to that quarter, and when the
enemy were routed there, entered into the chase. That being
now over, I forthwith ordered Jim Fife, who was one of the
principal commanders of the friendly Creeks, with one hundred
of his warriors, to execute my first order. So soon as he reached
General Coffee, the charge was made, and the enemy routed ;
they were pursued about three miles, and forty-five of them slain,
who were found. General Coffee was wounded in the body, and
his aid-de-camp, A. Donaldson, killed, together with three others.
Having brought in and buried the dead, and dressed the wounded,
I ordered my camp to be fortified, to be the better prepared to
repel any attack which might be made in the night, determined
to make a return march to Fort Strother the following day.
Many causes concurred to make such a measure necessary, as I
had not set out prepared, or with a view to make a permanent
establishment. I considered it worse than useless to advance
and destroy an empty encampment. I had, indeed, hoped to
have met the enemy there, but having met and beaten them a
ANDREW JACKSON. 159
little sooner, I did not think it necessary or prudent to proceed
any further — not necessary, because I had accomplished all I
could expect to effect by marching to their encampment; and
because if it was proper to contend with and weaken their forces
still farther, this object would be more certainly attained by
commencing a return, which having to them the appearance of a
retreat, would inspirit them to pursue me. Not prudent, because
of the number of my wounded ; of the reinforcements from be-
low, which the enemy might be expected to receive ; of the starv-
ing condition of my horses, they having had neither corn nor
cane for two days and nights ; of the scarcity of supplies for my
men, the Indians who joined me at Talladega having drawn
none, and being wholly destitute; and because if the enemy pur-
sued me, as it was likely they would, the diversion in favor of
General Floyd would be the more complete and effectual. In-
fluenced by these considerations, I commenced my return march,
at half after ten on the 23d, and was fortunate enough to reach
Enotachopco before night, having passed, without interruption, a
dangerous defile occasioned by a hurricane. I again fortified my
camp, and having another defile to pass in the morning, across a
deep creek, and between two hills which I had viewed with at-
tention as I passed on, and where I expected I might be attacked,
I determined to pass it at another point, and gave directions to
my guide and fatigue-men accordingly. My expectation of an
attack in the morning was increased by the signs of the night,
and with it my caution. Before I moved the wounded from the
interior of my camp, I had my front and rear guards formed, as
well as my right and left columns, and moved off my center in
regular order, leading down a handsome ridge to Enotachopco
Creek, at a point where it was clear of reed, except immediately
on its margin. I had previously issued a general order, pointing
out the manner in which the men should be formed in the event
of an attack on the front or rear, or on the flanks, and had par-
ticularly cautioned the officers to halt and form accordingly, the
instant the word should be given.
"The front guard had crossed with part of the flank columns,
the wounded were over, and the artillery in the act of entering
the creek, when an alarm-gun was heard in the rear. I heard
it without surprise, and even with pleasure, calculating with the
utmost confidence on the firmness of my troops, from the manner
in which I had seen them act on the 22d. I had placed Colonel
160 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Carroll at the head of the center column of the rear guard ; its
right column was commanded by Colonel Perkins, and its left by
Colonel Stump. Having chosen the ground, I expected there to
have entirely cut off the enemy, by wheeling the right and left
columns on their pivot, recrossing the creek above and below,
and falling in upon their flanks and rear. But to my astonish-
ment and mortification, when the word was given by Colonel
Carroll to halt and form, and a few guns had been fired, I beheld
the right and left columns of the rear guard precipitately give
way. This shameful retreat was disastrous in the extreme ; it
drew along with it the greater part of the center column, leaving
not more than twenty-five men, who being formed by Colonel
Carroll, maintained their ground as long as it was possible to
maintain it, and it brought consternation and confusion into the
center of the army ; a consternation which was not easily re-
moved, and a confusion which could not be soon restored to
order. There was then left to repulse the enemy, the few who
remained of the rear guard, the artillery company, and Captain
Russell's company of spies. They however realized and exceeded
my highest expectations. Lieutenant Armstrong, who com-
manded the artillery company in the absence of Captain Dead-
erick (confined by sickness), ordered them to form and advance
to the top of the hill, whilst he and a few others dragged up the
six-pounder. Never was more bravery displayed than on this
occasion. Amidst the most galling fire from the enemy, more
than ten times their number, they ascended the hill, and main-
tained their position until their piece was hauled up, when hav-
ing leveled it, they poured upon the enemy a fire of grape, re-
loaded and fired again, charged and repulsed them.
" The most deliberate bravery was displayed by Constantine
Perkins and Craven Jackson, of the artillery, acting as gunners.
In the hurry of the moment, in separating the gun from the
limbers, the rammer and picker of the cannon was left tied to the
limber. No sooner was this discovered, than Jackson, amidst
the galling fire of the enemy, pulled out the ramrod of his
musket and used it as a picker ; primed with a cartridge and
fired the cannon. Perkins having pulled off' his bayonet, used
his musket as a rammer, drove down the cartridge; and Jackson
using his former plan, again discharged her. The brave Lieu-
tenant Armstrong, just after the first fire of the cannon, with
Captain Hamilton, of East Tennessee, Bradford, and McGavock,
ANDREW JACKSON. 161
all fell, the lieutenant exclaiming as he lay, 'My brave fellows,
some of you may fall, but you must save the cannon,' About
this time, a number crossed the creek and entered into the chase.
The brave Captain Gordon, of the spies, who rushed from the
front, endeavored to turn the flank of the enemy, in which he
partially succeeded, and Colonel Carroll, Colonel Higgins, and
Captains Elliot and Pipkins, pursued the enemy for more than
two miles, who fled in consternation, throwing away their packs,
and leaving twenty-six of their warriors dead on the field. This
last defeat was decisive, and we were no more disturbed by their
yells. I should do injustice to my feelings if I omitted to men-
tion that the venerable Judge Cocke, at the age of sixty-five,
entered into engagement, continued the pursuit of the enemy
with youthful ardor, and saved the life of a fellow-soldier by
killing his savage antagonist.
" Our loss in this affair was — killed and wounded. Among
the former was the brave Captain Hamilton, from East Tennes>-
see, who had, with his aged father and two others of his com-
pany, after the period of his engagement had expired, volun-
teered his services for this excursion, and attached himself to the
artillery company. No man ever fought more bravely, or fell
more gloriously ; and by his side fell, with equal bravery and
glory. Bird Evans of the same company. Captain Quarles, who
commanded the center column of the rear guard, preferring
death to the abandonment of his post, having taken a firm stand
in which he was followed by twenty-five of his men, received a
wound in his head of which he has since died.
" In these several engagements, our loss was twenty killed
and seventy-five wounded, four of whom have since died. The
loss of the enemy can not be accurately ascertained ; one hun-
dred and eighty-nine of their warriors were found dead ; but this
must fall considerably short of the number really killed. Their
wounded can only be guessed at.
" Had it not been for the unfortunate retreat of the rear
guard in the affair of the 24th inst. I think I could safely have
said that no army of militia ever acted with more cool and
deliberate bravery ; undisciplined and inexperienced as they
were, their conduct in the several engagements of the 22d could
not have been surpassed by regulars. No men ever met the
approach of an enemy with more intrepidity, or repulsed them
with more energy. On the 24th, after the retreat of the rear
11— G
162 LIFE AND TIMES OF
guard, they seemed to have lost all their collectedness, and were
more difficult to be restored to order than any troops I had ever
seen. But this was no doubt owing in a great measure, or
altogether, to that very retreat, and ought rather to be ascribed
to the want of conduct in many of their officers, than any cow-
ardice in the men, who on every occasion have manifested a
willingness to perform their duty, so far as they knew it.
" All the effects which were designed to be produced by this
excursion, it is believed have been produced. If an attack was
meditated against Fort Armstrong, that has been prevented. If
General Floyd is operating on the east side of the Tallapoosa, as
I suppose him to be, a most fortunate diversion has been made
in his favor. The number of the enemy has been diminished,
and the confidence they may have derived from the delays I
have been made to experience, has been destroyed. Discontent
has been kept out of my army, while the troops who would have
been exposed to it, have been beneficially employed. The
enemy's country has been explored, and a road cut to the point
where their force will probably be concentrated, when they shall
be driven from the country below. But in a report of this kind,
and to you who will immediately perceive them, it is not neces-
sary to state the happy consequences which may be expected to
result from this excursion. Unless I am greatly mistaken, it will
be found to have hastened the termination of the Creek War,
more effectually than any measure I could have taken with the
troops under my command.
" I am, Sir, with sentiments of high respect,
" Your obedient servant,
"Andrew Jackson."
While this report claims a great deal for this ex-
pedition from Fort Strother, there is throughout it the
appearance of a strained effort on the part of Gen-
eral Jackson to make much out of little. The report,
especially towards the close, wears the face of an
argument and defense. Indeed, it must here again be
said, that if an Indian historian had been making a
report of this raid the crow would not have been on
General Jackson's side. In fact, the Indians always
ANDREW JACKSON. 163
did claim that they whipped Jackson both at Emuckfau
and Enotachopco.
They ran both times, it is true. But what does
that signify in looking at the matter from the Indian
side ? Running is a part of his war tactics. The In-
dian runs to fight again. General Jackson returned
to Fort Strother much after the manner of one who,
if he had not been whipped, was afraid that he
would be. The Indians were not only the assailants
in both cases, but they also harassed the retreating
Tennesseeans, and finally made a desperate assault
upon them which was disastrous enough, and about all
they could bear. General Jackson undoubtedly con-
ducted the expedition with the caution of an Indian
fighter, but his little force was not able to resist a
woods full of these savages, keen for the fray.
The General had, in this unexpectedly difficult
trip, another occasion to display his temper, and in it
more than intimated an inclination to kill Colonel
Stump on the spot, for cowardice. Several brave men
fell in the two engagements, and, altogether, the expe-
dition did not result as could have been desired,
although General Jackson had gratified his wish to
give the new recruits and the unoccupied officers some
employment.
John Coffee and several other brave fellows greatly
distinguished themselves. Coffee was wounded in the
first engagement, but at Enotachopco he rose from
the stretcher on which he was carried, and appeared
in the thickest of the fray. When Jackson saw him
urging forward the men, it is said that he shouted,
" We '11 conquer the enemy ; the dead have arisen and
come to our aid."
164 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On the 27th, Jackson reached Fort Strother, and
soon afterwards the sixty-day men were sent home.
Not, however, until Colonel Perkins and Lieutenant-
Colonel John Stump had been tried before a court-
martial, and the latter cashiered.
In the meantime General Floyd had not been idle.
On the 27th of January, while lying in camp (Camp
Defiance), some distance west of the Chattahoochee
River, near the Callibee Swamps, a large body of In-
dians fell upon him, and a desperate conflict ensued,
with the following result, as expressed in his report : —
' ' The steady firmness and incessant fire of Captain Thomas's
artillery and Captain Adams's riflemen preserved our front line;
both of these sufiered greatly. The enemy rushed within thirty
yards of the artillery, and Captain Bi'oadnax, who commanded
one of the picket guards, maintained his post with great bravery,
until the enemy gained his rear, and then cut his way through
them to the army. On this occasion, Timpoochie Barnuel, a
half-breed, at the head of the Uchies, distinguished himself, and
contributed to the retreat of the picket guard ; the other friendly
Indians took refuge within our lines and remained inactive, with
the exception of a few who joined our ranks. So soon as it be-
came light enough to distinguish objects, I ordered Major Wat- ■
son's and Freeman's battalions to wheel up to right angles, with
Majors Booth's and Cleveland's battalions, who formed the right
wing, to prepare for the charge. Captain Duke Hamilton's cav-
alry (who had reached me but the day before) was ordered to
form in the rear of the right wing, to act as circumstances should
dictate. The order for the charge was promptly obeyed, and the
enemy fled in every direction before the bayonet. The signal
was given for the charge of the cavalry, who pursued and sabered
fifteen of the enemy, who left thirty-seven dead on the field.
From the eff'usion of blood, and the number of head-dresses and
war-clubs found in various directions, their loss must have been
considerable, independent of the wounded.
**I directed the friendly Indians, with Merriwether's and
Ford's rifle companies, accompanied by Captain Hamilton's troop,
to pursue them through Callibee Swamp, where they were trailed
ANDREW JACKSON. 165
by their blood, but succeeded in overtaking but one of their
wounded.
"Colonel Newman received three balls in the commencement
of the action, which deprived me of the services of that gallant and
useful officer. The assistant Adjutant-General Narden was inde-
fatigable in the discharge of his duty, and rendered important
services ; his horse was wounded under him. The whole of the
staff was prompt, and discharged their duty with courage and
fidelity ; their vigilance, the intrepidity of the officers, and the
firmness of the men, meet my approbation, and deserve the
praise of their country. I have to regret the death of many of
my brave fellows, who have found honorable graves in the vol-
untary support of their country.
"My aid-de-camp, in executing my orders, had his horse
killed under him. General Lee and Major Pace, who acted as
additional aids, rendered me essential services, with honor to
themselves and usefulness to the cause in which they have em-
barked. Four wagon and several other horses were killed, and
two of the artillery horses wounded. While I deplore the losses
sustained on this occasion, I have the consolation to know
that the men whom I have the honor to command have done
their duty."
Floyd retreated after this engagement, in which
his losses had been considerable, under the impression
that his force was not sufficient ; and Red Eagle, or
Weathersford, who commanded the Indians in person,
claimed the Callibee as another score for them over
the pale-faces.
166 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XI.
END OF THE CREEK WAR— BATTLE OF TOHOPEKA— JOHN
WOODS— RED EAGLE— THE CONQUEROR BECOMES .
A MAJOR-GENERAL— TREATY OF
FORT JACKSON.
ALTHOUGH General Jackson had been left at
Fort Strother with a handful of men, his pros-
pects were brightening, and the Creek War was rap-
idly approaching an end.
Governor Blount had been supported in his course
by the Administration at Washington, and had used
every means to raise an army of sufficient strength to
bring the campaign to a speedy close. General Cocke
had succeeded in raising two thousand men in East
Tennessee, and more than that number were collected
at Fayetteville under General Johnston. But better
than all this. Judge Hugh L. White had succeeded in
securing the services of the 39th Regiment of United
States regulars, consisting of six hundred men under
Colonel John Williams. On the 6th of February, this
regiment reached Fort Strother, and by the close of
the month General Jackson had an army of over four
thousand men. The Choctaw Indians had also offered
their services to him.
The great desire to bring a speedy end to the war
had brought about this wonderful result. There were
yet difficulties in supplying the army, but this was
ANDREW JACKSON. 167
mainly overcome in Jackson ordering the quarter-
masters to secure provisions where they could, and
leave the contractors to settle the bills. In assembling
this force the final difficulty occurred with General
Cocke with the result as shown in a previous chapter.
Two things were especially prominent in this case,
the misrepresentations of persons in and out of
Cocke's command, and the outrageous fury and haste
with which Jackson acted. As to any lack of patriot-
ism, or any misconduct on the part of General Cocke
more than would arise from such irritating circum-
stances, the evidence is not so clear. The Court-
martial in acquitting him, did him only simple justice,
no doubt. In subsequent discussions of this affair,
the advantage was given to General Jackson, Nor
was he much to be blamed, as his actions were the
result of many very doubtful representations. The
whole contemptible difficulty with Cocke should be
put down as a Jackson '''' faux pas'' But one of Jack-
son's difficulties was hardly settled until another was
founded, and it would be useless for the reader to
look forward to a period in the General's career when
he could hope for a departure from this rule.
Before starting with this respectable army on his
last Creek expedition, an occurrence of some impor-
tance greatly disturbed General Jackson's camp at
Fort Strother. This was the execution of John
Woods, a private in the 28th regiment of West Ten-
nessee infantry. The company to which Woods
belonged had formally enlisted under Colonel Roberts
and rejecting what they believed to be General Jack-
son's determination to hold them for six months, when,
under a written agreement, they were to be discharged
168 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in three, they accordingly without leave or ceremony
had gone home. The biographers have erred in pal-
liating the case for Jackson, by saying that Woods
was a deserter. Woods did not belong to the com-
pany during its first organization under Colonel
Roberts, and only appeared in it at this time as a
substitute for his brother, who had been in the first
organization.
On arriving at Fort Strother, Woods being on
guard duty one cold rainy day, was given a few min-
utes to return to the quarters of his mess to eat the
meal left for him. While thus engaged an officer came
along and ordered him to clean up the untidy quarters.
Woods said he was a guard, and refused to do the
work. He was then ordered to return to his station,
and this he also declined to do. Words followed, and
Woods was ordered under arrest. But he resisted
this order too, and the cry of mutiny rang over the
camp. It is said that on hearing this cry Jackson ran
out of his tent hollooing : " Which is the rascal !
Shoot him ! Shoot him ! Blow ten balls through the
villain's body !"
Characteristic conduct, indeed, whether the Gen-
eral performed the undignified feat or not.
But poor Woods was tried by a court-martial and
sentenced to die ; and although nobody believed it
would come to that, he was actually shot dead by
General Jackson's order. Woods was only eighteen
years old. Jackson said that the army needed an
example of the kind to disprove the common impres-
sion that a militia officer could not or would not dare
to do such an act, and because the discipline of his
army would be improved by this systematic killing.
ANDREW JACKSON. 169
No man could ever have committed a greater mistake
than to suppose that General Jackson would not dare,
as a militia officer, to do such a thing. What would
he not dare in any capacity ? In 1828, this matter
became a theme of bitter partisan discussion, the
friends of General Jackson using every possible, rea-
sonable, and unreasonable ground of apology and jus-
tification. It was much easier at that day, perhaps,
to induce the people of this country to believe that
the nature of the offense and the discipline of the
army demanded the execution of the boy, than it
would be at this day. From one end of Jackson's
life to the other there were salient points which his
friends were often at their wits' end to defend or jus-
tify. It was easy for him to do what became more
than a Herculean task for his defenders to undo.
Both friends and enemies were ever on the alert for
some Jackson ^'faux pas" which they might at any
time expect.
After the army had the pleasure ( ! ) ^^ seeing the
execution of young Woods on the 14th of March, or-
ders were given to break camp. The General had
been for some time apprised that the Red Sticks were
gathering and fortifying at a great bend in the Talla-
poosa River, in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. At
that point the river makes a bend, shaped like a horse-
shoe, and for that reason was called Tohopeka. A
small body of a hundred acres of land with rocky and
woody heights, well suited to the Indian's idea of a
battle-field, was embraced in this bend, the neck lead-
ing into it not being over three hundred and fifty
yards long. Here the Indians had determined to for-
tify themselves, a strange step to be taken by them,
170 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and to make a last effort to recover their fortunes, of
which they felt more sanguine after the engagements
of Emuckfau, Enotachopco, and Callibee. They knew
how well the reports of those battles had been colored
in favor of the, whites. Unfortunately, the written
history of Indian wars, like everything else pertaining
to the red race, has always been the work of white
men. It was held that the Spanish and British were
concerned in the selection of the position at Horseshoe,
and that their agency was very apparent in the well-
built log breastworks extending entirely across the
neck from river to river. This breastwork was pierced
with two rows of port-holes, and was the most consid-
erable affair of the kind ever constructed by the sav-
ages in their wars with the whites. A thousand war-
riors with three hundred women and children were
gathered on this peninsula. Their prophets had led
them to believe that they would here be conquerors,
and that no harm could befall them, as the Great
Spirit would now revenge and uphold them. They
believed, too, that they would be put to death if they
were captured, and death being inevitable in any case,
they determined not to ask quarter nor to surrender.
If beaten at their breastworks they could retire into
the natural defenses of the " bend," and if forced to
the last resort they could take their canoes, arranged
in a great fleet in the river, and seek safety in the
wilderness on the opposite shore. But all of this calcula-
tion was faulty, and their position could not have been
better selected for their destruction, as will appear.
It was the 27th of the month before Jackson ar-
rived before Tohopeka, although it was but fifty-five
miles from Fort Strother. Much of this time was.
ANDREW JACKSON. 171
however, taken up in exploring the Coosa, in cutting
roads, and establishing forts. At the mouth of Cedar
Creek he built Fort Williams.
General Jackson gave the following account of the
battle of Tohopeka : —
" Battle Ground, Bend of Tallapoosa, 28th March, 1814.
•' Maj. Gen. Pinckney :
«. Sir,— I feel particularly happy in being able to communi-
cate to you the fortunate eventuation of my expedition to the
Tallapoosa. I reached the head, near the Emuckfau, called by
the whites the Horseshoe, about ten o'clock on the forenoon of
yesterday, where I found the strength of the neighboring towns
collected. Expecting our approach, they had gathered in from
Oakfuskie, Oakehoga, New Yorcau, Hillibees, the Fish Pond,
and Eufaulee towns, to the number, it is said, of one thousand.
It is difficult to conceive a situation more eligible for defense
than the one they had chosen, or one rendered more secure by
the skdl with which they had erected their breastwork. It was
from five to eight feet high, and extended across the point in
such a direction, as that a force approaching it would be exposed
to a double fire, while they lay in perfect security behind. A
cannon planted at one extremity could have raked it to no ad-
vantage.
"Determining to exterminate them, I detached General
Cofiee with the mounted men, and nearly the whole of the Indian
force,, early on the morning of yesterday, to cross the river about
two miles below their encampment, and to surround the bend in
such a manner, as that none of them should escape by attempt-
ing to cross the river. With the infantry, I proceeded slowly,
and in order, along the point of land which led to the front of
their breastwork ; having planted my cannon, one six and one
three pounder, on an eminence at the distance of one hundred
and fifty to two hundred yards from it, I opened a very brisk
fire, playing upon the enemy with muskets and rifles whenever
they showed themselves beyond it. This was kept up with short
interruptions for about two hours, when a part of the Indian
force, and Captain Russell's and Lieutenant Bean's company of
spies, who had accompanied General Coffee, crossed over in
canoes to the extremity of the bend, and set fire to a few of the
buildings which were there situated ;' they then advanced with
172 LIFE AND TIMES OF
great gallantry towards the breastwork, and commenced a spir-
ited fire upon the enemy behind it.
"Finding that this force, notwithstanding the bravery they
displayed, was wholly insufficient to dislodge them, and that
General Coffee had entirely secured the opposite bank of the
river, I now determined to take it by storm. The men by whom
this was to be effected, had been waiting with impatience to re-
ceive the order, and hailed it with acclamation.
"The spirit which animated them was a sure augury of the
success which was to follow. The history of warfare, I think,
furnishes few instances of a more brilliant attack. The regulars,
led on by their intrepid and skillful commander. Colonel Williams,
and by the gallant Major Montgomery, soon gained possession of
the works, in the midst of a most tremendous fire from behind
them ; and the militia of the venerable General Doherty's brigade
accompanied them in the charge with a vivacity and firmness
which would have done honor to regulars. The enemy were
completely routed. Five hundred and fifty-seven were left dead
on the peninsula, and a great number were killed by the horse-
men in attempting to cross the river ; it is believed that not more
than twenty have escaped.
" The fighting continued with some severity about five hours,
but we continued to destroy many of them who had concealed
themselves under the banks of the river, until we Avere prevented
by the night. This morning we killed sixteen who had been
concealed. We took about two hundred and fifty prisoners, all
women and children, except two or three. Our loss is one hun-
dred and sixty wounded, and twenty-five killed ; Major Mcin-
tosh (the Cowetau), who joined my army with a part of his
tribe, greatly distinguished himself. When I get an hour's
leisure, I will send you a more detailed account.
"According to my original purpose, I commenced my return
march to Fort Williams to-day, and shall, if I find sufficient sup-
plies there, hasten to the Hickory Ground. The power of the
Creeks is, I think, forever broken.
"I send you a hasty sketch, taken by the eye, of the situa-
tion on which the enemy were encamped, and of the manner in
which I approached them.
"I have the honor to be, etc.,
" Andrew Jackson.
" Maj. Gen. Pinckney."
ANDREW JACKSON. 173
This was a dreadful slaughter, indeed ; and although
Jackson did all he could, perhaps, to induce the In-
dians to surrender when the result was apparent, he
was severely condemned years afterwards for what
was termed the murder of these savages. For Talla-
dega he was more justly censurable, perhaps. What
could be done with an enemy that would not surrender,
and would only fire on messengers bearing flags of
truce and terms of mercy ?
One of the bravest men who fought at Tohopeka
was young Sam Houston, who subsequently cut a re-
markable and not uninteresting figure in the politics
of Tennessee, and in the affairs of Texas. Jackson
was fortunate enough to have something happen to
him at Tohopeka which was destined to be puffed into
a large item for his popularity account.
A manly young Indian wounded and captured, and
laboring under the impression which had taken posses-
sion of all these deluded people at Tohopeka, that they
would be put to death if they were captured, said in
the presence of General Jackson, while the surgeon
dressed his wound, " Cure him, kill him again." The
General assured him that such was not the design,
and then took such a fancy to him as to send him to
the Hermitage, where he lived as did Lencoyer. He
finally married a negro and learned a business in
Nashville.
After the army returned to Fort Williams the Gen-
eral issued the following address : —
"SoLDiEr.8 OF Tennessee, — You have entitled yourselves
to the gratitude of your country and your General. The expedi-
tion from which you have just returned has, by your good con-
duct, been rendered prosperous beyond any example in the history
of our warfare ; it has redeemed the character of our State, and
174 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of that description of troops of which the greater part of
you are.
"You have, within a few days, opened our way to Tallapoosa,
and destroyed a confederacy of the enemy, ferocious by nature,
and grown insolent from impunity. Relying on their numbers,
the security of their situation, and the assurances of their proph-
ets, they derided our approach, and already exulted in anticipa-
tion of the victory they expected to obtain. But they were
ignorant of the influence of government on the human powers,
nor knew what brave men and civilized force could effect. By
their yells they hoped to frighten us, and with their wooden
fortifications to oppose us. Stupid mortals! their yells but
designated their situation the more certainly, whilst their walls
became a snare for their own destruction. So will it ever be,
when presumption and ignorance contend against bravery and
prudence.
"The fiends of the Tallapoosa will no longer murder our
women and children, or disturb the quiet of our borders. Their
midnight flambeaux will no more illumine their council-house, or
shine upon the victim of their infernal orgies. In their places
a new generation will arise who will know their duty better.
The weapons of warfare will be exchanged for the utensils of
husbandry ; and the wilderness, which now withers in sterility,
and mourns the desolation which overspreads her, will blossom
as the rose, and become the nursery of the arts. But before this
happy day can arrive, other chastisements remain to be inflicted.
It is, indeed, lamentable that the path to peace should lead
through blood and over the bodies of the slain ; but it is a dis-
pensation of Providence, and, perhaps, a wise one, to inflict par-
tial evils that good may be produced.
"Our enemies are not sufficiently humbled; they do not sue
for peace. A collection of them await our approach, and remain
to be dispersed. Buried in ignorance and seduced by their
prophets, they have the weakness to believe they will still be
able to make a stand against us. They must be undeceived, and
made to atone their obstinacy and their crime by still further suflfer-
ing. The hopes which have so long deluded them, must be driven
from their last refuge. They must be made to know that their
prophets are impostors, and that our strength is mighty, and will
prevail. Then, and not till then, may we expect to make with
them a peace that shall be lasting."
ANDREW JACKSON. " 175
Most of General Jackson's biographers have omitted
from this address the words, "and, perhaps, a wise
one." It did, indeed, put the General in a ludicrous
light. His first venture in theology was not fortunate,
although, after his fashion in all other things, it was
strictly dogmatic. The weak point in the matter, with
his biographers, was the apparent doubt the giant cast
upon the wisdom of Providence. But the truth is
that it was the General's secretary who really slipped
in this case, as the stubborn old hero's theology, even
at that day, was more substantial and trustworthy
than that of some actual and eloquent blind leaders
of the blind at the present time.
" By the Eternal " was Jackson's constant and
highest authority in all circumstances, and that with-
out doubt or hesitancy. If any man had said " pshaw "
to Jackson's theology, he would have "blown his head
off" the same as for any thing of a more warlike
character.
Jackson now built a fort at the junction of the
Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, which he submitted to
have called Fort Jackson. But there was now little
left for him to do, as Tohopeka had broken the spirit
and destroyed the war power of the Indians. The
brave conflict was at an end.
Those who were yet disposed to fight fled to the
protection of the Spanish authorities in Florida, and
there found many British friends ready to advise them
in the way to ruin. The wiser among the hostile
leaders, yet left, sought the American camp and gave
themselves up, with prayers for the suffering and
starving of their misguided nation, but usually with-
out a word for mercy upon their own heads. All of
176 ' LIFE AND TIMES OF
the friendly Creeks, and those who now surrendered,
were sent north of Fort Williams, Jackson telling
them that all who gathered quietly in the northern
part of Alabama should be protected and fed until
they could again supply themselves. They were re-
quired by the General to deliver up Weathersford, the
leader of the massacre at Fort Minis, and the chief
who had stood at the head of the war party.
Weathersford was a half-breed, and bore the En-
glish name of his father, William Weathersford. His
father was a trader, and spent the greater part of his
life wandering among the Indians. Although he took
up his residence with the Creeks, he married a Semi-
nole woman. She was the mother of this chief, who
was by no means a savage. Weathersford's father
acquired considerable property, had negro slaves, and
was a person of some consequence among the wild
people with whom he had become identified. But it
is not meant here to put these facts to the credit of
Weathersford. Low, indeed, would be the spirit and
character of the white man who could deliberately
desert his own race and its elevating civilization to
adopt the society and manners of the savage.
A few men of some worth to the Government of
the United States in dealing with the Indians, men
of some standing in their own race, have married these
filthy squaws, and spent -most of their lives among
their beastly kindred.
The Chief Weathersford, or Red Eagle ( Lamo-
chattee), received from his father, it is but fair to
say, his humane character and other traits which
served to distinguish him from the worst of savages.
He had a large plantation down on the Alabama,
ANDREW JACKSON. 177
cultivated it with slaves, kept fine horses, and was the
most heroic character among the Creeks at the time
of this war. He was slow in embracing the doctrines
of Tecumseh, and did not do so until assured by Brit-
ish successes at the north-west, and the representations
of Spanish and British agents that the overthrow of
this Government was certain. This, it was believed,
would put an end to the advance of the white race
upon the ancient dominions of the Indians.
Weathersford led the attack upon Fort Mims at
the outset, and was to the Creeks throughout the war
what Jackson was to the Americans. The first battle
at Talluschatches was a most wonderful display of
deathless valor. There no warrior was left to tell the
story. On the part of the Creek it was to be a con-
flict of no quarter, and no surrender. At Talladega
they fought like fiends ; they followed General Jack-
son from Emuckfau on his retreat from a bare victory,
and fell upon him with great fury at Enotachopco ; at
Autossee Floyd's victory over them did not save him
from a violent assault when he was on the retreat to
safer grounds ; at Callibee Floyd felt their desperate
valor; and Tohopeka was one of the most wonderful
battles ever recorded in the annals of war. As the
balls from the American cannons were buried in the
wooden breastworks, the Indians laughed and believed
themselves safe from any force. With nine or ten
hundred men they fought without doubt or fear against
more than double that number. In all their engage-
ments after Fort Mims they contended against superior
numbers of Americans. Their defense of their Ala-
bama homes was far more determined, brave, and
praiseworthy than that made by the people of the
12— G
178 LIFE AND TIMES OF
United States for their country against its old enemy
in the War of 1812.
It is an interesting fact that the only place where
these people failed to display their usual bravery was
in the battle with General Claiborne towards the close
of 1813, on their Holy Ground, selected by Weathers-
ford to be a retreat for their warriors, flying from de-
feat, where the Great Spirit would not allow the
white man to come without death. After thirty or
forty of their warriors were slain here, they fled, and
Weathersford was the last to leave the field. He was
seen alone on his gray horse after the wounded had
been carried off, and all his braves had escaped in
safety. In sight of the Americans he passed along
the bluff a hundred feet above the surface of the Ala-
baiiia River, rushed headlong down a ravine worn in
it until it came out fifteen or twenty feet above the
water, and here wildly leaped into the river. Both
horse and rider went down, but they came up, and
again mounting the horse he swam to the opposite
shore. This wonderful leap is not a mere legend of
the Creek war, but is apparently well authenticated.
It was also fully proven that Weathersford made a
desperate effort, at the peril of his life, to save the
women and children from destruction at Fort Mims,
and only gave way when the tomahawks of his mad-
dened savages were raised over his own head.
One thing was now left to this fallen chief, to sur-
render to General Jackson, or fly to the Spanish
towns. He wisely took the former course. He did
not wait to be taken to the American camp, then at
Fort Jackson, on the site of Toulouse, built a hundred
years before by the French, at the junction of the two
» ANDREW JACKSON. 179
rivers forming the Alabama, but, without care for the
result, went forward and gave himself up. His ap-
pearance greatly surprised General Jackson, as it did
everybody in the American camp. Jackson is said to
have rushed in fury from his tent, and asked Weath-
ersford how he could dare to ride up to his tent after
the murder of the inhabitants of Fort Mims.
To this the chief boldly replied : —
"General Jackson, I am not afraid of you. I fear no man,
for I am a Creek warrior. I have nothing to request in behalf
of myself. You can kill me if you desire. But I come to beg
you to send for the women and children of the war party, who
are now starving in the woods. Their fields and cribs have been
destroyed by your people, who have driven them to the woods
without an ear of corn. I hope that you will send out parties
who will conduct them safely here, in order that they may be
fed. I exerted myself in vain to prevent the massacre of the
women and children at Fort Mims. I am now done fighting.
The Red Sticks are nearly all killed. If I could fight you any
longer, I would most heartily do so. Send for the women and
children. They never did you any harm. But kill me, if the
white people want it done."
This speech was of the style to excite the admira-
tion of General Jackson, which it would more readily
have done had he then known that Weathersford really
did all in his power to save the white women and
children at Fort Mims. But he told Weathersford
that his life should be spared, invited him into his
tent, and there gave him the present terms of peace
for his nation.
To these the chief said : —
"I have done the white people all the harm I could ; I have
fought them, and fought them bravely ; if I had an army, I
would yet fight and contend to the last, but I have none ; my
people are all gone. I can now do no more than weep over the
180 LIFE AND TIMES OF »
misfortunes of my nation. But I may be well addressed in such
language now. There was a time when I had a choice, and
could have answered you ; I have none now, even hope has
ended. Once I could animate my warriors to battle ; but I can
not animate the dead. My warriors can no longer hear my
voice ; their bones are at Talladega, Talluschatches, Emuckfau,
and Tohopeka. I have not surrendered myself thoughtlessly.
Whilst there were chances of success I never left my post nor
sujjplicated peace. But my people are gone, and I now ask it
for my nation and for myself. On the miseries and misfortunes
brought upon my country, I look back with the deepest regret,
and wish to avert still greater calamities. If I had been left to
contend with the Georgia army, I would have raised my corn on
one bank of the river, and fought them on the other ; but your
people have destroyed my nation. You are a brave man. I
rely upon your generosity. You will exact no terms of a con-
quered people but such as they should accede to ; whatever they
may be, it would now be madness and folly to oppose. If they
are opposed, you shall find me amongst the sternest enforcers of
obedience. Those who would still hold out, can be influenced
only by a mean spirit of revenge; and to this they must not and
shall not sacrifice the last remnant of their country. You have
told us where we might go and be safe. This is a good talk,
and my nation ought to listen to it. They shall listen to it."
This was true eloquence, distinguished by the sim-
ple sentiments of a patriot and hero. Weathersford
lived for several years in peace among the whites on
his farm in southern Alabama. He died in 1826, too
soon to see General Jackson in the Chair of the Great
Fathers at Washington.
The Georgia troops had united with those of Ten-
nessee at Fort Jackson, and on the 20th of April,
1814, General Pinckney arrived and took command of
them. Many congratulations were exchanged by the
general officers, and according to the custom of all
barbarous and semi-barbarous people in celebrating
fortunate events, sometimes even unfortunate ones,
ANDREW JACKSON. 181
two drinking feasts were given, one by General Pinck-
ney, and one by the militia General Jackson. The
philosophy or manliness of this custom is beyond
mortal ken.
That men should eat and drink themselves into
fools for their good luck, or into forgetfulness for their
misfortunes, is brutish. And yet in the very centers
of learning and refinement, so-called, at this day, the
vulgar and unreasonable practice prevails. Even in
the literary schools, and at the " commencements " of
medical colleges, among a class of men who should be
models of health-giving deportment, young men are
sent out with the last lesson one of incorrect and un-
seasonable eating and drinking, if no worse. These
are never feasts of reason, but of vulgar jests and
platitudes, and simpering and strained compliments.
On the 21st the Tennessee troops began their
homeward march. At Fort Williams Jackson wrote as
follows to Governor Blount : —
"Fort Williams, April 25tli, at night.
** Sm, — General Pinckney joined me at Fort Jackson on the
20th. The enemy continuing to come in from every quarter,
and it being now evident that the war was over, I received an
order at three o'clock P. M., on the 21st, to march my troops
back to Fort Williams, and after having dispersed any bodies of
the enemy who may have assembled on the Cahawba, or within
striking distance, and provided for the maintenance of posts
between Tennessee and Fort Jackson, to discharge the remainder.
Within two hours after receiving this order, I was on the line of
march ; and reached this place last evening, a distance of about
sixty miles.
"To Brigadier-General Doherty, I shall assign the duty of
keeping up the posts, which form the line of communication
between Tennessee and the confluence of the Coosa and Talla-
poosa, making the necessary arrangements to enable him to do
so. About four hundred ot the East Tennessee militia will be
182 LIFE AND TIMES OF
left at this place, two hundred and fifty at Fort Strother, and
seventy-five at Fort Armstrong and New Deposit. Old Deposit
will be maintained by Captain Hammond's company of rangers.
"To-morrow I detail five hundred of the militia, under the
command of Brigadier-General Johnson, to the Cahawba, with
instructions to unite with me at Fort Deposit, after having dis-
persed any bodies of the enemy they may find there assembled.
" The commissioners who have been appointed to make a
treaty with the Creeks, need have nothing to do but assign them
their proper limits. Those of the friendly party, who have asso-
ciated with me, will be easily satisfied ; and those of the hostile
party, they consider it a favor that their lives have been spared
them, and will look upon any space that may be allowed them
for their future settlement as a bounteous donation. I have
taken the liberty to point out what I think ought to be the
future line of separation, with which I will hereafter make you
acquainted. If they should be established, none of the Creeks
wiU be left on the west of the Coosa.
"Accompanying this, I send you a report made by the
adjutant-general, of the killed and wounded at the battle of
Tohopeka, which was omitted to be sent by the former express.
" I have the honor to be, etc. Andrew Jackson."
Early in May Jackson arrived at Nashville, where
he was met as the conqueror of a nation. Felix
Grundy received him in a speech on the part of the
citizens, and the General made this reply : —
"Gentlemen, — The favorable sentiment you have been
pleased to express, by authority of your fellow-citizens, of the
brave ofiicers and soldiers who composed my army in the late
expedition against the Creek Indians, are received with the live-
liest sensibility.
" We had indeed borne with many outrages from that bar-
barous and infatuated nation before the massacre at Fort Mims
raised our energies to revenge the wrongs we had sustained. I
participated in the common feeling, and my duty to my country
impelled me to take the field. > I endeavored to discharge that
duty faithfully ; my best exertions were used, my best judgment
exercised.
" In the prosecution of such a war difiiculties and privations
ANDREW JACKSON. 183
were to be expected. To meet and sustain these became the
duty of every officer and soldier ; and for the faithful per-
formance of this duty they are amply rewarded in the expression
of their country's approbation.
"The success which attended our exertions has indeed been
very great. We have laid the foundation of a lasting peace to
those frontiers which had been so long and so often infested by
the savages. We have conquered. We have added a country
to ours, which, by connecting the settlements of Georgia with
those of the Mississippi Territory, and both of them with our
own, will become a secure barrier against foreign invasion, or
the operation of foreign influence over our red neighbors in the
South, and we have furnished the means not only of defraying
the expenses of the war against the Creeks, but of that which is
carrying on against their ally Great Britain. How ardently,
therefore, is it to be wished that Government may take the
earliest opportunity, and devise the most effectual means, of pop-
ulating that section of the Union.
" In acquiring these advantages to our country it is true we
have lost some valuable citizens, some brave soldiers. But these
are misfortunes inseparable from a state of war ; and while I
mingle my regret with yours for the loss, I have this consolation,
in common with yourselves, that the sons of Tennessee who fell
contending for their rights have approved themselves worthy
the American name ; worthy descendants of their sires of the
Revolution."
This Creek war had lasted only a little more than
half a year, but its conclusion and results were of
great benefit to the country. By this war the dealings
of the Government with these Indians was much sim-
plified at later periods. But especially in view of the.
approaching conflict with the British on the Gulf was
this fortunate conclusion of the war and peace with
these Indians, of great value to this country.
Several remarkable things characterized this Indian
war : the inability of the States concerned to provide
even necessary food for the small armies sent into the
field ; the characteristic independence and insubordi-
184 LIFE AND TIMES OF
nation of the private soldiers; the want of co-o[)era-
tion between the different commanders ; the almost
constant quarrels between General Jackson and the
Tennessee general officers ; and the numerous difficul-
ties between Jackson and his troops, resulting finally
in the murder of John Woods as an example to stub-
born soldiers.
Notwithstanding these unfortunate, and, to a great
extent, unjustifiable and inexplicable things, the cam-
paign was of incalculable benefit to General Jackson.
While it allowed a complete exhibition of all the traits
long well known in him, it also furnished the oppor-
tunity for bringing out qualities before little or not
at all known in his character. He now appeared as
a man of extraordinary executive ability, and as a
soldier of superior merit. His national reputation
began with the close of the Creek war. Before, he
was known in Tennessee only, and that by his evil
deeds, perhaps, more than his good ones. But he had
turned a new leaf in his career which was attractive
reading to Western people, and the 8th of the next
January was all that was now lacking to complete his
capital stock in the race for the Presidency, of which,
however, he had no thought at that time. Indeed, no
man could say that Jackson conducted the Creek cam-
paign with a view to personal aggrandizement or fame.
He did not allow anything to come in the way of the ex-
ecution of what he believed to be his duty. Everything
he did, however bad it was, like his daring adventures
with his men, and his really praiseworthy acts, some-
how went in with the general facts to increase his
popularity. It would be utterly out of the question
to assign to Andrew Jackson a degree of prescience
ANDREW JACKSON. 185
which could enable him to so mix his good, evil, wise,
unwise, extraordinary, selfish, unselfish, tyrannical,
patriotic, and chivalrous deeds as to produce the pop-
ular turmoil which would carry him to every stage of
exaltation, politically, to which an American could
attain. At this time, and for years afterwards, he
simply acted out his vehement nature without refer-
ence to consequences, especially to himself.
Now, for the first time, the Administration showed
a disposition to take advantage of the qualities Jack-
son had recently displayed as a soldier. About the
time of his return to Nashville a brigadier-general's
vacancy occurred in the regular army, and this was
offered to him. This position he looked upon as below
his deserts and abilities, but while he was considering
the course to take in the case, on the last day of
May, 1814, he received notice from the Secretary of
War of his appointment as a major-general to fill the
place of General Wm. H. Harrison, resigned. This
he gladly accepted, although he was yet suffering from
the effects of his Indian campaign, and his dastardly
rencounter with the Bentons. It was, perhaps, a bold
experiment for the Administration to make this ap-
pointment, based upon the Creek campaign and what
was otherwise known of Jackson's character and tem-
per, and yet it was subsequently a cry of his advo-
cates that Mr. Madison was slow or willfully averse
to recognizing his military qualities. The material
for great soldiers was never more slowly developed in
this country than during the War of 1812. But no
appointment could have been more fortunate for the
United States than this one ; and had the Administra-
tion taken up with Jackson's suggestion and sent him
186 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to Canada after his return from Natchez in the spring
of 1813, the country would have been benefited
greatly by the step, in all probability. During the
summer of that year, with ten thousand soldiers
Jackson would have marched from Buffalo to the
mouth of the St. Lawrence and taken possession of
all Canada, although the really golden opportunity for
this master stroke was lost in the fall of 1812.
General Jackson was now ordered to take charge
of the southern division of the army, an assignment
which evidently signified at that moment how little
stress the authorities at Washington still placed upon
his military ability, or it showed that his appointment
had been submitted to from the pressing demands
of the General's friends rather than a conviction of his
superior suitableness. The assignment was little less
than an insult, to all appearances, as the Southern
Division, as it was called, contained only fragments
of three regiments, and was without an enemy to
fight. General Jackson was utterly unfit to be a
mere quiet post commander. In taking charge of this
division he was, however, authorized, in connection
with Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, who had lived with
the Creeks as their agent since the Presidency of
Washington, by whom he had been appointed, to form
a "treaty" with the Indians. But even with this the
prospect was dull enough for a man who, having found
the Red Sticks no match for himself, panted for the
opportunity to strike foes of better metal and more
worthy of the hate he had for them. There was no
telling what the future would bring forth.
On the 10th of July, General Jackson arrived at
Fort Jackson, and began what was called the " treaty."
ANDREW JACKSON. 1^7
He had received from Washington the general terras,
and very well knew in what sense it would be a treaty.
The Administration and its agents merely treated the
Indians to certain 'demands and conditions, and they,
poor, helpless people, submitted.
This has always been the method of making trea-
ties with the Indians. General Jackson fooled with
these people a whole month, and then told them to
sign what he had prepared as the treaty. But it all
looked like fairness to the Indian, and, humoring him
with the modes^ and rights of a free and equal party
to the discussion, was, perhaps, for the best. This de-
lusion the Government has always felt disposed to
keep up. While it has been politic, it has been a bit
of benevolence which the sad case has ever merited.
The commissioners, as they may be politely termed,
made known to the Indians the conditions of the
treaty, in other words, the demands of the United
States. A vast part of their territory was to be ceded
to the United States as indemnity for the war ; they
were to be denied all intercourse with the Spaniards
of Florida ; to have no traders or agents except those
authorized by the United States ; to have posts, roads,
etc., built anywhere in their own or reserved territory
at the discretion of the United States, and they were
to deliver up the instigators of the war.
All of this they could do except to part with so
much land, a matter they took into long consideration.
After all the speeches had been heard, and as much
time spent as was deemed necessary, General Jack-
son made the following cool and specious address :—
"You know that the portion of your country which you desire
to retain is that through which the intruders and mischief-makers
188 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from the lakes reached you, and urged your nation to those acts
of violence that have involved your people in wretchedness and
your country in ruin. Through it leads the path Tecumseh trod
when he came to visit you ; that path must be stopped. Until
this be done your nation can not expect happiness, nor mine
security. I have already told you the reasons for demanding it ;
they are such as ought not, can not be departed from. This
evening must determine whether or not you are disposed to be-
come friendly. Your rejecting the treaty will show you to be the
enemies of the United States, enemies even to yourselves.
"When our armies came here, the hostile party had even
stripped you of your country ; we retook it, and now offer it to
you ; theirs we propose to retain. Those who are disposed to
give effect to the treaty will sign it. They will be within our
territory, will be protected and fed, and no enemy of theirs or
ours shall molest them. Those who oppose it, shall have leave
to retire to Pensacola. Here is the paper, take it, and show the
President who are his friends. Consult, and this evening let me
know who will sign it, and who will not. I do not wish, nor will
I attempt to force any of you ; act as you think proper."
A strange feature of this Creek treaty was the
gift of lands to Jackson, Hawkins, George Mayfield,
and Alexander Cornells. In the point of generosity
the Indians were not disposed to be outdone. After
submitting to the cession of their lands, willing or
unwilling, they wanted to indicate their friendly feel-
ings towards Jackson, their affection for Hawkins and
Lavinia, his wife, and the two interpreters, one of
whom, Cornells, was a half-breed, by stipulating that
a part of the ceded lands should be deeded by the
United States to these friends. General Jackson and
Colonel Hawkins were to have, each, " three miles
square," and the others a mile square. In the imper-
fect language of the gift. Colonel Hawkins's " three
miles square " was defined as three square miles, for
it was to be taken in three bodies, each a mile square,
which really, but undesignedly, gave him six square
ANDREW JACKSON. 189
miles less than General Jackson was to receive. The
gifts were accepted, and two years afterwards, in a
message to Congress, Mr. Madison recommended that
provision be made, in this exceptional instance, for
carrying out this whim of the Indians. But Con-
gress deemed it dangerous, even in this case, to admit
presents to be made to agents and negotiators of
treaties, and after looking over the matter a little, it
was dropped, and no notice of it ever taken again.
190 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XII.
THE GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA HEARS FROM THE NEW REP-
RESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES— BATTLE
AT FORT BOWYER— BARATARIA— JEAN
LAFITTE, THE PIRATE AND
PATRIOT.
SOON after closing this Indian business, General
Jackson proceeded, with his staff, to Mobile,
which for a time became his head-quarters. His first
step was to ascertain the condition of affairs on the
Gulf, and especially did he make it his business to
find out what the Indians and their pretended friends,
the Spanish and British, were doing in Florida.
Mobile was in no state of defense, and the fort at
the Point thirty miles below, on the beautiful Bay,
was not in use, and was possessed of an old arma-
ment in no wise formidable. Jackson saw that this
fort, with its rusty cannon and piles of rusty cannon-
balls, was the point from which to make the defense.
Mobile itself, a town of only a few hundred people,
was not worth fighting for ; but it was then, as now,
a great cotton-market, and was extremely valuable as
a point of defensive operations to a vast extent ot
coast, and next to New Orleans would have been the
first object of interest to the British in carrying into
effect their scheme of invasion from the South, and
forming a connection with Canada by the Mississippi.
ANDREW JACKSON. 191
Jackson at once set about repairing Fort Bowyer,
since called Fort Morgan, at Mobile Point, and in it
he placed Major Wm. Lawrence, of the Second Regi-
j[ient of United States infantry, and one hundred and
sixty men. These soldiers knew nothing of artillery
fighting, and with them everything was to be learned
and to be done to make Fort Bowyer what it was
desired to be, a complete defense to the entrance of
Mobile Bay. ♦
General Jackson now occupied himself in putting
before the Administration the state of affairs at the
South, and in urging on the troops then collecting in
Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, for his army.
On the 12th of September, Colonel Edward Nich-
ols appeared before Fort Bowyer with a small body
of English and Indians, the latter actually having
submitted to be drilled as white soldiers at Pensacola.
On the same day four British war-vessels also ap-
peared, and a,nchored without the Point. A day or
two the enemy now spent in reconnoitering and firing
an occasional shot. On the 14th Major Lawrence sent
a messenger to General Jackson, notifying him of
the state of afl'airs. This messenger met the General
on his way to visit the fort. He returned in great
haste in his barge to Mobile, and in a few minutes
had Captain Laval with eighty men on his way down
to re-enforce Lawrence. Laval reached the neighbor-
hood of the fort when the fighting was going on, and
supposing himself too late to be of service, put back
to Mobile to tell the General the unwelcome news.
But Lawrence and his men took an oath to stand
by the post, and fight while there was any hope. The
whole British force, land and naval, was under the
192 LIFE AND TIMES OF
direction of Captain W. H. Percy, of the ship Hermes.
At 4 o'clock, on the 15th, the Hermes entered the
narrow channel leading to the bay, and anchored
within short range of the fort ; the other vessels
followed, and the battle began.
Broadside after broadside was poured into the
fort, and the inexperienced Americans answered back
as best they could. An occasional shot from them
kept the land force at a respectful distance, and the
battle was yet mainly with the ships, on the British
side. In an hour and a half the flag of the Hermes
went down, and Lawrence, thinking or hoping she had
struck, ceased firing ; but when the smoke cleared
away he saw his mistake, and resumed the contest.
A fortunate shot now cut the anchor of the Hermes,
when she became unmanageable and soon ran aground,
but not until most of her crew had been killed or
wounded. At this juncture the flag of the fort was
shot down, which discovery led Woodbine, who had
charge of the Indians, to think the garrison was
beaten, and the time had come for scalps and spoils ;
and accordingly, with a howl these gentle allies rushed
towards the fort. But a little grape and canister
speedily changed their view of the case, and sent
them behind the hills again. Another of the enemy's
vessels now appeared to be crippled, and showed a
disposition to give up the contest ; and soon the}'' all
moved out of the bay, and before midnight the Hermes
blew up. When morning dawned nothing could be
seen of the gallant Britons but their three ships, and
before night they too had disappeared.
On the same morning Laval arrived at Mobile with
the news Jackson was loath to receive. And what was
ANDREW JACKSON. 193
left for him to do ? Retake the fort, of course, and
restore the loss as well as possible. To this end he
began at once preparing to move his entire force. But
at this moment the right turn was given to affairs by a
courier from Major Lawrence bearing the following
information : —
"Fort Bowyer, September 15, 1814, 12 o'clock at night.
"Sm, — After writing the inclosed I was prevented by the ap-
proach of the enemy from sending it by express. At meridian
they were under full sail, with an easy and favorable breeze,
standing directly for the fort, and at 4 P. M. we opened our
battery, which was returned from two ships and two brigs as they
approached. The action became general at about twenty min-
utes past four, and was continued, without intermission on either
side, until seven, when one ship and two brigs were compelled to
retire. The leading ship, supposed to be the commodore, mount-
ing twenty-two thirty-two-pound carronades, having anchored
nearest our battery, was so much disabled, her cable being cut
by our shot, that she drifted on shore, within six hundred yards
of the battery, and the other vessels having got out of our reach,
we kept such a tremendous fire upon her, that she was set on
fire and abandoned by the few of the crew who survived. At
ten P. M. we had the pleasure of witnessing the explosion of her
magazine. The loss of lives on board must have been immense,
as we are certain no boats left her except three, which had pre-
viously gone to her assistance, and one of these I believe was
sunk ; in fact, one of her boats was burned alongside of her.
"The brig that followed her, I am certain, was much dam-
aged both in hull and rigging. The other two did not approach
near enough to be much injured, but I am confident they did
not escape, as a well-directed fire was kept on them during the
whole time.
' ' During the action a battery of a twelve-pounder and a
howitzer was opened on our rear, but without doing any execu-
tion, and was silenced by a few shot. Our loss is four privates
killed and five privates wounded.
"Towards the close of the action the flag-staff was shot away;
but the flag was immediately hoisted on a sponge-staff" above the
parapet. While the flag was down, the enemy kept up their
13— G
194 LIFE AND TIMES OF
most incessant and tremendous fire ; the men were withdrawn
from the curtains and north-east bastion, as the enemy's own shot
completely protected our rear, except the position they had chosen
for their battery.
"Where all behaved well, it is unnecessary to discriminate.
Suffice it to say, every officer and man did his duty; the whole
behaved with that coolness and intrepidity which is characteristic
of the true American, and which could scarcely have been ex-
pected from men, most of whom had never seen an enemy, and
were now, for the first time, exposed for nearly three hours to a
force of nearly or quite four guns to one.
"We fired during the action between four and five hundred
guns, most of them double shotted, and after the first half hour
but few missed effect.
"Upon an examination of our battery the following morn-
ing, we found upwards of three hundred shot and shot-holes in
the inside of the north and east curtains, and north-east bastions,
of all calibers, from musket-ball to thirty-two-pound shot. In
the north-east bastion there were three guns dismounted ; one of
which, a four-pounder, was broken off" near the trunnions by a
thirty-two pound shot, and another much battered. I regret to
say that both the twenty-four pounders are cracked in such a
manner as to render them unfit for service.
"I am informed by two deserl^ers from the land force, who
have just arrived here, and whom I send for your disposal, that a
re-enforcement is expected, when they will, doubtless, endeavor to
wipe off" the stain of yesterday.
"If you will send the Amelia down, we may probably save
most or all of the ship's guns, as her wreck is lying in six or seven
feet water, and some of them are just covered. They will not,
however, answer for the fort, as they are too short.
"By the deserters we learn that the ship we have destroyed
was the Hermes, but her commander's name they did not recollect.
It was the commodore, and he, doubtless, fell on his quarter-deck,
as we had a raking fire upon it, at about two hundred yards dis-
tance, for some time.
"To Captain Sands, who will have the honor of handing you
this dispatch, I refer you for a more particular account of the
movements of the enemy than may be contained in my letters;
his services, both before and during the action, were of great im-
portance, and I consider fully justify me in having detained him.
ANDREW JACKSON. 195
Captain Walsh and several men were much burned in the
accidental explosion of two or three cartridges. They are not
included in the list of the wounded heretofore given.
"The enemy's fleet, this morning at daybreak, were at anchor
in the channel, about four miles from the fort ; shortly after it
got under way and stood to sea ; after passing the bar they hove
to, and boats have been constantly passing between the disabled
brig and the others. I presume the former is so much injured as
to render it necessary to lighten her.
"At fifteen minutes after 1 P. M. the whole fleet made sail,
and stood to sea. I have the honor to be, etc.,
' ' William Lawrence.
"Major-General Andrew Jackson, etc."
General Jackson sent back a very complimentary
reply to Major Lawrence, and, on the 17th, started a
letter, setting forth the good news, on its long, doubt-
ful journey to the Secretary of War.
This was an important engagement for several
good reasons ; but one of its effects was to decide for
General Jackson a question which had, for a long
time, been uppermost in his mind, that was as to the
propriety of his marching to Pensacola, in the Spanish
territory, and breaking up the nest of British and
Indians collected there under the false neutrality of
Spain. The Creeks who refused to come under the
treaty of Fort Jackson, and who were yet hostile to
the United States, had taken refuge under the Spanish
flag at Pensacola, where they were not only supplied
with arms by the Spanish Governor, but also incited
to continue their warfare by promises of other aid.
Of this Jackson had early been convinced.
The following letter, written September 29, 1813, to
Weathersford and the other chiefs of the war party by
Gonzales Manxique, then Governor of Florida, which
fell into his hands, only confirmed him in what he
196 LIFE AND TIMES OF
had always felt to be true as to Spanish intrigue with
the Indians and hostility to the United States : —
"Gentlemen, — I received the letter that you wrote me in
the month of August, by which, and with great satisfaction, I was
informed of the advantages which your brave warriors obtained
over your enemies.
"I represented, as I promised you, to the Captain-General of
the Havana the request (which the last time I took you by the
hand) you made me of arms and ammunitions ; but until now I
can not yet have an answer. But I am in hopes that he will send
me the effects which I requested, and as soon as I receive them I
shall inform you.
"I am very thankful for your generous offers to procure to me
the provisions and warriors necessary in order to retake the post
of Mobile, and you ask me, at the same time, if we have given
up Mobile to the Americans? To which I answer, for the pres-
ent, I can not profit of your generous offer, not being at war with
the Americans, who did not take Mobile by force, since they pur-
chased it from the miserable oflBcer, destitute of honor, who com-
manded there, and delivered it without authority; by which
reasons the sale and delivery of that place is entirely void and
null, and I hope that the Americans will restore it again to us,
because nobody can dispose of a thing that is not his own prop-
erty ; in consequence of which the Spaniards have not lost their
right to it ; and I hope you will not put in execution the project
you tell me of, to burn the tmvn, since those houses and properties
do not belong to the Americans but to true Spaniards.
"To the bearers of your letter I have ordered some small
presents to be given, and I remain forever your good father
and friend. (Signed,) Manxique."
From Fort Jackson, soon after beginning the In-
dian Treaty, the General had sent responsible men, at
different times, to discover what was going on at Ap-
palachicola, Fort Barrancas, and Pensacola. The state
of the case was placed before the Secretary of War,
and finally in one of his letters he wrote : —
"If the hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida, and are
there fed, clothed, and protected ; if the British have landed a
ANDREW JACKSON. 197
large force, and munitions of war, and are fortifying and stirring
up the savages; will you only say to me, raise a few hundred
militia, which can be quickly done, and with such regular force
as can be conveniently collected, make a descent upon Pensacola,
and reduce it? If so, I promise you the war in the South shall
have a speedy termination, and English influence be forever
destroyed with the savages in this quarter."
But he got no answer from the Secretary. On the
15th of July a reply had been written by General
Armstrong, but it did not reach Jackson, for some
reason, until after the battle of New Orleans, and the
country was at peace with all her enemies. Although
it did not contain the authority for which General
Jackson asked, it did intimate what would have led
him to the step which Fort Bowyer settled as advisa-
ble for him. It acknowledged that if the Spanish
authorities were doing as he represented, and if the
Indians were gathering in force in Spanish territory
to fall upon the people of this country, and if the
British were using this neutral territory to organize
warfare on the United States, then he would be jus-
tified in entering Spanish territory with his army.
This was exactly what he discovered to be the state
of affairs, and would have acted on the argument as
authority for his course. But a hint would have been
enough for him.
But General Jackson first concluded, as he gener-
ally did, to try the virtue of words. He began an
interesting correspondence with the Governor of Pen-
sacola, now Maurequez, which lasted some time, and
resulted in nothing. The General wrote in his stiff,
dictatorial style, and the Spaniard just bubbled over
with dignity, contemptuousness, and warlike defiance.
He would not give up the Indians nor do anything
198 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that Jackson asked. Finally, to end the useless cor-
respondence, the General said : —
"Were I clothed with diplomatic power for the purpose of
discussing the topics embraced in the wide range of injuries of
which you complain, and which have long since been adjusted, I
could easily demonstrate that the United States have been always
faithful to their treaties, steadfast in their friendships, nor have
ever claimed anything that was not warranted by justice. They
have endured many insults from the governors . and other officers
of Spain, which, if sanctioned by their sovereign, amounted to
acts of war, without any previous declaration on • the subject.
They have excited the savages to war, and afforded them the
means of waging it; the property of our citizens has been cap-
tured at sea, and if compensation has not been refused, it has at
least been withheld. But as no such powers have been delegated
to me, I shall not assume them, but leave them to the represen-
tatives of our respective governments.
" I have the honor of being intrusted with the command of
this district. Charged with its protection and the safety of its
citizens, I feel my ability to discharge the task, and trust your
excellency will always find me ready and willing to go forward
in the performance of that duty, whenever circumstances shall
render it necessary. I agree with you, perfectly, that candor
and polite language should, at all times, characterize the commu-
nications between the officers of friendly sovereignties; and I
assert, without the fear of contradiction, that my former letters
were couched in terms the most respectful and unexceptionable.
I only requested, and did not demand, as you have asserted, the
ringleaders of the Creek confederacy, who had taken refuge in
your town, and who had violated all laws, moral, civil, and
divine. This I had a right to do, from the treaty which I sent
you, and which I now again inclose, with a request that you
will change your translation, believing, as I do, that your former
one was wrong, and has deceived you. What kind of an answer
you returned, a reference to your letter will explain. The whole
of it breathed nothing but hostility, grounded upon assumed
facts and false charges, and entirely evading the inquiries that
had been made.
' ' I can but express my astonishment at your protest against
the cession on the Alabama, lying within the acknowledged
ANDREW JACKSON. 199
jurisdiction of the United States, and which has been ratified in
due form by the principal chiefs and warriors of the nation.
But my astonishment subsides, when, on comparing it, I find it
upon a par with the rest of your letter and conduct; taken
together, they aflTord a sufiicient justification for any conse-
quences that may ensue. My Government will protect every
inch of her territory, her citizens, and their property, from insult
and depredation, regardless of the political revolutions of
Europe ; and although she has been at all times sedulous to pre-
serve a good understanding with all the world, yet she has sacred
rights that can not be trampled upon with impunity. Spain had
better look to her own intestine commotions, before she walks
forth in that majesty of strength and power which you threaten
to draw upon the United States.
"Your excellency has been candid enough to admit your
having supplied the Indians with arms. In addition to this, I
have learned that a British flag has been seen flying over one of
your forts. All this is done whilst you are pretending to be neu-
tral. You can not be surprised, then, but on the contrary will
provide a fort in your town for my soldiers and Indians, should
I take it in my head to pay you a visit.
" In future, I beg you, withhold your insulting charges
against my Government, for one more inclined to listen to slan-
der than I am ; nor consider me any more as a diplomatic
character, unless as proclaimed to you from the mouths of my
cannon."
Besides the testimony of the agents the General
had sent out, as to the conduct of the Spanish Gov-
ernor, the British officers made no secret of their
movements. At all events, Edward Nichols, the com-
mander of the land force, used every means under
his control to make his purposes generally known.
On the 25th of August several British war-ves-
sels arrived at Pensacola, and threw a strong garrison
into the fort below. A few days subsequently Nichols
issued a proclamation, which he desired to have cir-
culated throughout the country, addressed especially
to the people of Louisiana and Kentucky, and in
200 LIFE AND TIMES OF
which he made some wild promises in a kind of mean-
ingless verbosity.
Nichols's bombastic address to his soldiers was also
circulated through General Jackson's camp, and sent
throughout the country. But all of this folly had an
effect quite contrar}'- to his design. The Americans
were indignant, and a general desire arose in favor
of Jackson proceeding against this audacious fellow on
grounds that were very clearly neutral only in name.
At this time another name of some historic interest,
not wholly bad, became involved in the war on the Gulf.
It was that of Jean Lafitte, who was called the "Pi-
rate of the Gulf." Lafitte had been a blacksmith in
New Orleans, and was a Frenchman by birth. In
the general disorganization of the power of Europe
in the Western World, which followed the establish-
ment of the Republic of the United States, the waters
of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea espe-
cially became the center of a vast system of priva-
teering, which often degenerated into the worst kind
of piracy. When Colombia, South America, declared
her determination to be free from Spain, she issued
commissions to great numbers of adventurous men from
all parts of the United States to prey upon Spanish
commerce. Many of the citizens of New Orleans be-
came interested in this new road to fortune, and
many of the great estates of Louisiana were, perhaps,
founded on the results of this freebooting business.
Although it was contrary to the neutrality laws in
letter and spirit, and the rules regulating the reve-
nues of the Government, it is true that most of the
citizens of New Orleans who engaged in this piracy
forever went free of censure or condemnation.
ANDREW JACKSON. 201
Jean Lafitte and his brother Pierre early fell into
this contraband pursuit, at first acting only as agents
in New Orleans for the sale of the products of this
privateering. But the field was too inviting for men
of such character, and soon the blacksmith left his
anvil, and being a man of really fine parts and admi-
rable address, he was not long in becoming the leader
of a band of robbers on the Gulf. They established
their depot on the Island of Grande Terre, and called
it Barataria.
This "Home of the Pirates" was situated about
forty miles south of New Orleans, and was connected
with that city by a narrow, tortuous bayou, which
several times in its course expanded into lakes, at its
north end terminated a mile or two above New Or-
leans, and as far from the Mississippi, and at the
other end had two narrow entrances to the Gulf of
Mexico. The little bay of Barataria was secure from
the larger vessels of war, and had an admirably safe
retreat for the fleet, daring craft that operated from it.
At the time General Jackson took charge of the south-
western department the operations of these warlike
smugglers had become a matter of general concern.
The bayou terminating near New Orleans had be-
come a great thoroughfare of trade. People were
making fortunes trading with the " Pirates." But so
open was the violation of international laws and the
revenue laws of the Nation, that, for the honor of
Louisiana, only recently become a part of the Re-
public, it was deemed necessary to break up the retreat
at Barataria. Jean Lafitte's fame was already wide-
spread, and, although he was neither a soldier nor a
sailor, he was both feared and courted.
202 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On the second or third day of September, 1814,
Captain Lockyer with his vessel, the Sophia, appeared
off the entrance to Barataria. He was on a mission
to Lafitte, the " Pirate."' The British Government
never hesitated as to the manner of men she could
bring to the support of her cause.
In the Revolutionary war she had acquired this
reputation. In this war she had already fully main-
tained her former standing. On the Canadian border
the savage allies had sustained their place in the
esteem of their British friends. At this very time
Woodbine, at Pensacola, was drilling several hundred
Creeks, ridiculously incased in the red coats of the
British soldier, to form a corps of scalpers for the
royal army about to be transferred from the conquest
of Napoleon to the conquest of America. And now
they wanted to buy the services of a person whom
they deemed one of the most dangerous men of the
age. Captain Lockyer and two other officers held a
consultation on shore with Lafitte, and Percy offered
him a commission as captain in the British navy and
thirty thousand dollars, if he would enter their service
against the United States. Percy set forth the case
in a letter to him ; and he was given a copy of Nich-
ols's proclamation, and shown a letter from the redoubt-
able Irish knight.
Captain Lockyer also informed him of the British
designs as to the capture of New Orleans, etc., and
assured him that his rendezvous should be broken up if
he did not comply with the British demand. Lafitte
asked two weeks in which to decide and prepare, con-
veying the impression, however, that at that time he
would be ready to accept the offer. The sloop with
ANDREW JACKSON. 203
Lockyer then sailed away. with a promise to return
in fifteen days. How Lockyer and his vessel were
employed in the meantime has, to some extent,
been seen. .
Lafitte at once set a,bout putting his information
before Governor Claiborne, of Louisiana. Whatever
else Lafitte was, he was a friend of America. Not less
so perhaps, as he now showed by his actions, than
Edward Livingston, who had long been his attorney,
or than many others whose acts and conduct were
never suspected. Lafitte believed his pursuit was the
natural result of defective laws more than a crime
against his adopted country. He also operated under
a commission from a government that the Umted States
was greatly disposed to favor. At any rate he hoped
to recover his lost honor as a citizen by his patriotism
exhibited under circumstances furnishing enticing temp-
tations to a very opposite course.
He immediately sent to the Governor the papers he
had received from Captain Lockyer, and gave him all
other information as to the designs of the British.
And in his own defense he wrote to Blanque, a mem-
ber of the Louisiana Legislature :—
« You will see the advantages I might have derived from that
kind of association. I may have evaded the payment of dutie
to the custom-house, but I have never ceased to be a good citizen;
and all the offenses I have committed I was forced to by certain
vtes in our laws. In short, sir, I make you the depositary of
Te secret on which perhaps depends the tranquillity of our ccnin-
t;; ; please to make such use of it as y^-^^-^^^f.^^^^^^'X,
I might expatiate on this proof of patriotism, but I let the fact
spTak for itself. I presume, however, to hcpe that such proceed-
ngs may obtain amelioration of the situation of my unhappy
brother with which view I recommend him particularly to your
influen e. It is in the bosom of a just man, of a true American
204 LIFE AND TIMES OF
endowed with all other qualities that are honored in society, that
I think I am depositing the interests of our common country,
and what particularly concerns myself.
"Our enemies have endeavored to work on me by a motive
which few men would have resisted. They represented to me a
brother in irons — a brother who is to me very dear ; whose deliv-
erer I might become, and I declined the proposal. Well persuaded
of bis innocence, I am free from apprehension as to the issue of
a trial ; but he is sick, and not in a place where he can receive
the attention his state requires. I recommend him to you in the
name of humanity."
In his letter to the Governor, he said : —
* * In the firm persuasion that the choice made of you to fill the
office of first magistrate of this State was dictated by the esteem
of your fellow-citizens, and was conferred on merit, I confidently
address you on an affair on which may depend the safety of this
country.
"I offer to you to restore to this State several citizens, who,
perhaps, in your eyes have lost that sacred title. I offer you
them, however, such as you could wish to find them, ready to ex-
ert their utmost efforts in defense of the country. This point of
Louisiana which I occupy is of great importance in the present
crisis. I tender my services to defend it ; and the only reward I
ask is that a stop be put to the proscription against me and my
adherents, by an act of oblivion for all that has been done hitli-
erto. I am the stray sheep wishing to return to the sheepfold.
If you were thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offenses
I should appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to dis-
charge the duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed under
any flag but that of the republic of Carthagena, and my vessels
are perfectly regular in that respect. If I could have brought
my lawful prizes into the ports of this State I should not have
employed the illicit means that have caused me to be proscribed.
I decline saying more on the subject until I have the honor of
your excellency's answer, which I am persuaded can be dictated
only by wisdom. Should your answer not be favorable to my
ardent desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave the
country, to avoid tlie imputation of having co-operated towards
an invasion on this point which can not fail to take place, and to
rest secure in the acquittal of my own conscience."
ANDREW JACKSON.
205
Already one of Lafitte's brothers was in prison in
New Orleans, and indictments were pending against all
Barataria. Indeed, the authorities had determined to
break up the " Pirates' Retreat."
The letters and papers from the British officers,
and the whole case presented by Lafitte was generally
believed to be a scheme of his own to preserve his vast
ill-gotten gains, and restore himself to the favor of his
State. But Governor Claiborne believed Jean was
telling the exact truth, and accordingly placed the
matter before General Jackson, who took the same
view, but failed to see the virtues of the patriot pri-
vateer. The feeling against the pirates was too great
to be easily set aside. The expedition against Bara-
taria was sent under command of Commodore Patter-
son, who found his task an easy one. These bold,
fearless adventurers refused to fight against the flag of
their country. Some of them sought safety in flight,
others gave themselves up. The booty was immense,
but by no means such as had been set forth in the
many lying tales of the " Pirates' Retreat."
It has been held, unfortunately with no little show
of truth, that this expedition for the destruction of
Barataria was instigated more by cupidity than by
patriotism or any of the moral virtues ; more from the
desire to get possession of the fabulous wealth, how-
ever it may have been obtained, than from detestation
of the skill that evaded the law, or the sophistry
which attempted to reconcile the crime to the common
notion of citizenship, correct and well enough when
untried. Edward Livingston and others, who had full
confidence in the representations of Lafitte, finally suc-
ceeded in arousing the people of New Orleans to take
206 LIFE AND TIMES OF
steps for their defense. But Lafitte's good service in
this case brought him little benefit, although the trial
of the pirates left no certain evidence of the crime of
piracy. One thing, at least, may be said of Lafitte,
that however unfortunate the result of his case, and
however great his disappointments, with the destruc-
tion of all his cherished hope of restoration to honor-
able citizenship, he never ceased to be patriotically
devoted to his adopted country. Poor Jean was not
destitute of good qualities among his many bad ones.
In 1817, with all his earthly possessions, he left the
United States to seek a home where his name might
not be a source of terror to those around him ; but in
a great storm on the Gulf of Mexico, he lost his life.
Lafitte was not wicked from choice, nor did he exert
his ability to injure the world. The great evil the race
received from him was in the flood of infernal poison
in the shape of piratical romances to which his real,
supposed, and imaginary career gave rise.
ANDREW JACKSON. 207
CHAPTER XIII.
GENERAL JACKSON VISITS PENSACOLA WITH THREE THOU-
SAND MEN— DRIVES THE BRITISH OUT OF FLORIDA—
THE ONE MAN AT NEW ORLEANS— THE BRITISH
ON THE MISSISSIPPI -PREPARATIONS FOR
THE CONFLICT.
SOON after the battle of Fort Bowyer, General Jack-
son received Governor Claiborne's report of the dis-
closures of Lafitte ; and on the 21st of September he
issued a characteristic proclamation, in which he says : —
" Louisianians ! The Government of your choice is engaged
in a just and honorable contest for the security of your individual
and her national rights — on you, a part of America, the only
country on earth where every man enjoys freedom — where its
blessings are alike extended to the poor and the rich — she calls
to protect these rights from the invading usurpation of Britain ;
and she calls not in vain. I well know -that every man whose
soul beats high at the proud title of freeman ; that every Louis-
ianian, either by birth or adoption-, will promptly obey the voice
of his country, will rally round the eagle of Columbia, secure it
from the pending danger, or nobly die in the last ditch in its
defense."
This intense outburst of patriotism was not with-
out influence. The fiery soldier had not long to wait
for the gathering of troops. His appeals to Tennes-
seeans were everywhere heeded, but somehow the
men from the General's own State were greatly prone
to be mutinous. At this time while waiting for the
collection of an army occurred the notorious mutiny
208 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the Tennessee militia by which some of them
lost their lives, an event which many years afterwards
became the foundation of serious charges against the
conduct and character of Jackson.
On the 25th of October General John Coffee
arrived at Fort St. Stephen, on the Mobile River,
with 2.800 men. On the following day Jackson him-
self took command of this force. No word of instruc-
tion had yet come from the War Department. He
had now seen enough to convince him as to the step
he should take ; and accordingly determined to enter
Florida and rout the British and Indians, and bring
the pompous Spanish Governor to a sense of his duty
as the agent of an ostensibly neutral nation. He con-
cluded, very patriotically, that the worst that could
come of his assuming this responsibility would be to
suffer for it himself. That the Government could be
seriously involved by it with Spain, he did not believe.
In a spasm of wild enthusiasm one of General Jack-
son's biographers said of him in relation to this
matter : —
" Having been educated as a jurist, he was versed in princi-
ples of the law of nations. He had a knowledge of the obli-
gations which one government owes to another ; he was aware of
the acts which this code would justify in a belligerent power, and
the duty it enjoined upon a power that was professed a neutral
one.
Andrew Jackson educated as a jurist, and skilled in
the principles of the laws of nations ! ! The simple
state of the case was that General Jackson believed
the work he was about to undertake was right in itself,
and hoped the country would carry him out in it. His
knowledge of the laws of nations did not go further
than this, nor did he care to clog his steps with theories
ANDREW JACKSON. 209
and principles. Then, too, the people at the South
were clamoring for the execution of the purpose he
had in view.
On the 3d of November, with three thousand menj
General Jackson set out on a three days' march to
Pensacola, where he arrived on the evening of the
6th. But the Spanish Governor and his British
friends had heard of the approach of the Americans,
and were prepared to receive them, as they supposed.
General Jackson without delay sent Major Pierre with
a flag of truce, but the bearer was fired upon and not
allowed to deliver his message. Later in the night a
Spaniard who had fallen into the army the day before
was sent to the Governor whom he found in excite-
ment and doubt, and ready to save himself by any
proper course. It was also ascertained that the British
had fired on the flag of truce, although the Spanish
flag alone was displayed over Fort St. George. Major
Pierre was nov/ sent again, and this time succeeded in
reaching the Spanish Governor to inform him that the
American General had appeared before Pensacola, not as
an enemy to Spain, but for the purpose of ridding the
country of a treacherous foe, and to take charge of the
fort then in possession of the British with all muni-
tions of war, and that the fort and its arms would
be held to his advantage in preserving the neutrality
to which he pretended. The Governor was allowed an
hour in which to make his decision, and in order to
help him to a proper conclusion, he was reminded that
the blood shed would be upon his head, if the Ameri-
cans were compelled to resort to force. Late in the
night Pierre returned to General Jackson with the
answer that his terms were not acceptable.
14— G
210 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The following letter to Governor Blount will show
what then happened : —
" Head-quakters, 7th Military District, 1
"Tensaw, November, 1814. (
"Sir, — On last evening I returned from Pensacola to this
place. I reached that post on the evening of the 6th. On my
approach, I sent Major Pierre with a flag to communicate the
object of my visit to the Governor of Pensacola. He approached
Fort St. George, with his flag displayed, and was fired on by the
cannon from the fort ; he returned and made report thereof to
me. I immediately went with the adjutant-general and the
major, with a small escort, and viewed the fort, and found it
defended by both British and Spanish troops. I immediately
determined to storm the town ; retired and encamped my troops
for the night, and made the necessary arrangements, to carry my
determination into effect the next day.
" On the morning of the 7th, I marched with the effective
regulars of the 3d, 39th, and 4th Infantry ; part of General Cof-
fee's brigade; the Mississippi dragoons, and part of the West
Tennessee regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ham-
monds (Colonel Lowry having deserted and gone home), and
part of the Choctaws led by Major Blue, of the 39th, and Major
Kennedy, of Mississippi Territory. Being encamped on the west
of the town, I calculated they would expect the assault from
that quarter, and be prepared to rake me from the fort, and
the British armed vessels, seven in number, that lay in the
bay. To cherish this idea, I sent out part of the mounted men
to show themselves on the west, whilst I passed in rear of the
fort undiscovered to the east of the town. When I appeared
within a mile, I was in full view. My pride was never more
heightened than in viewing the uniform firmness of my troops,
and with what undaunted courage they advanced, with a strong
fort ready to assail them on the right, seven British armed ves-
sels on the left, strong block-houses and batteries of cannon in
their front; but they still advanced with unshaken firmness,
entered the town, when a battery of two cannon was opened
upon the center column, composed of regulars, with ball and
grape, and a shower of musketry from the houses and gardens.
The battery was immediately stormed by Captain Levall and
company, and carried, and the musketry was soon silenced by
the steady and well-directed fire of the regulars.
ANDREW JACKSON. 211
" The Governor met Colonels Williamson and Smith, who
led the dismounted volunteers, with a flag, begged for mercy,
and surrendered the town and fort, unconditionally. Mercy was
granted, and protection given to the citizens and their property,
and still Spanish treachery kept us out of possession of the fort,
until nearly twelve o'clock at night.
" Never was more cool determined bravery displayed by any
troops ; and the Choctaws advanced to the charge with equal
bravery.
" On the morning of the 8th, I prepared to march and storm
the Barrancas, but before I could move, tremendous explosions
told me that the Barrancas, with all its appendages, was blown
up. I dispatched a detachment of two hundred men to explore
it, who returned in the night with the information that it was
blown up ; all the combustible parts burnt, and the cannon
spiked and dismounted, except two. This being the case, I
determined to withdraw my troops ; but before I did, I had the
pleasure of seeing the British depart. Colonel Nichols abandoned
the fort on the night of the 6th, and betook himself to his
shipping, with his friend Captain Woodbine, and their red
friends.
"The steady firmness of my troops has drawn a just respect
from our enemies. It has convinced the Red Sticks, that they
have no strong hold or protection, only in the friendship of the
United States. The good order and conduct of my troops whilst
in Pensacola has convinced the Spaniards of our friendship and
our prowess, and has drawn from the citizens an expression that
our Choctaws are more civilized than the British.
" In great haste, I am, etc.,
" Andrew Jackson."
Fort Barrancas was at the entrance to the harbor,
six miles below Pensacola, and was wholly in the
hands of the English. When the fort was blown up
the British garrison and all their troops were carried
out in the ships under Percy. General Jackson not
knowing where they would next turn up, and fearing
they might direct their attention towards Mobile in
his absence, at once withdrew all his force from the
212 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Spanish territory, and on the evening of the 11th
reached Mobile.
He soon afterwards found that Nichols and all the
land troops had been conveyed to Appalachicola, which
they were preparing to make their base of operations.
Having taken one bold step, General Jackson was not
slow to take another. His education as a "jurist"
greatly helped him ! Accordingly a body of Indians
and Americans was sent immediately against Appa-
lachicola, and without much trouble the British In-
dians were dispersed, and Colonel Nichols driven from
Florida. A cry was now raised against Jackson for
this invasion of Florida, as being an unnecessary in-
fringement of the rights of peaceful neutral powers,
and as likely to involve the United States in a war
with Spain. And many years afterwards, in Presi-
dential campaigns, this so-called unwarranted and cer-
tainly unauthorized invasion of Florida was brought
with every possible show of censure before the public.
But little was accomplished by this. Jackson's popu-
larity appeared to increase by opposition. Nor did it
amount to any thing serious with Spain. And in all
probability General Jackson did right. One thing is
quite certain, it would be difficult to find an American
to-day who would deliberately pronounce this invasion
of Florida a Jackson faux pas.
It was directly urged and justified by the attack
on Fort Bowyer, and all the other circumstances in
the case rendered it the only course left for the safety
of the country. It was a necessity. The Spanish
Governor was not only powerless to prevent the Brit-
ish soldiers and adventurers from gathering in his ter-
ritory, but was also in sympathy with them, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 213
was aiding and abetting them in making it a safe
rendezvous for them to prepare for invading the United
States. If the British could not be dislodged from
this territory, they could safely make it the point of
organizing all their operations in the South. This
charge of wrong-doing against General Jackson long
ago justly fell to the ground. It never deserved se-
rious notice among Americans, and never could have
attracted any except in partisan conflicts where little
regard is paid to truth or patriotism.
On the 22d of November, General Jackson left
Mobile for New Orleans^ which place he now shrewdly
believed was to become the seat of war. On the 2d
of December, he reached that city, and at the resi-
dence of Daniel Clark, was introduced to committees
from the State and city authorities, headed by Gov-
ernor W. C. C. Claiborne. He was received in an
earnest and patriotic speech from the Governor, and
made a brief reply, which was translated and delivered
in French by Edward Livingston, a member of the
committee, and the first lawyer of New Orleans.
After this ceremony the General proceeded to a
building on Royal Street, which the appearance of the
stars and stripes soon showed to be the head-quarters
of the man who was to infuse life and harmony into
the conduct of a confused and divided community.
New Orleans then had a population of over twenty
thousand people, and was the most foreign-like of all
the cities of the United States. The majority spoke
the French language, and although largely American
born, were characterized by the French national traits.
The Spanish residents were those who had become
citizens under the old Spanish reign. There was also
214 LIFE AND TIMES OF
a considerable sprinkling of Irish, English, and other
nationalities, besides the Americans who had settled
there at times from various parts of the Union, and
who were at the head of the business, as well as of
the patriotism of the place.
Although immediately after the valuable disclosures
made by Jean Lafitte were publicly divulged, Septem-
ber 12th, Edward Livingston had called a public meet-
ing to devise means for the common defense, yet little
had been done. It was a community of suspicions and
dissensions. A majority of the Legislature was at war
with Governor Claiborne, and opposed all of his meas-
ures for the emergency ; not, perhaps, from a lack of
patriotism, but through intense, dastardly, personal ill-
will. Claiborne was a native of Virginia, a man of
energy and ability, and of undoubted devotion to the
cause of his country; bat had managed to gain the dis-
pleasure of many of these unreliable people.
The Legislature was largely composed of Creoles,
who were not legislators, nor were they endowed with
any qualities which especially adapted them to such
an emergency. Claiborne had succeeded in becoming
the first governor of the State, and had he possessed
the confidence of the people and Legislature, as he
deserved to do, no man in Louisiana could better
have filled the place he occupied at this important
crisis. But the old Creole and Spanish population
had no confidence in the new American or Yankee
element, and utterly lacked themselves the spirit and
faculty to accomplish any satisfactory results. The
Americans in turn distrusted the old European or
monarchic population, and did not believe that their
devotion to this Government was such as to make
ANDREW JACKSON. 215
them reliable in the day of need. In this wretched
state of affairs little could be accomplished. But the
efforts of Livingston and others had not been entirely
fruitless. And before the end of the extraordinary
campaign it was sufficiently proven that the people of
New Orleans, as a whole, were not wanting in devo-
tion to the cause of America.
The man above all others fit to make the most of
their qualities, and exactly suited to the emergency,
was now with them, and all classes of them were
eager to show him that they recognized these facts.
Their services were offered in every capacity that
suited their tastes. Jackson lost no time. Advantage
was taken of every circumstance in the good disposi-
tions of the people.
The first thing the General did was to make him-
self acquainted with the military and topographical
condition of the city and surrounding country. He
was soon able to see how defenseless the city was,
and how much devolved upon him. He had been led
by Governor Claiborne and others to entertain the
most unfavorable, but really advantageous, idea as to
the evil-disposed among the people. The military
organization consisted of two small militia regiments,
and a battalion of volunteers, the latter uniformed and
commanded by Major Planche. There were also some
new recruits, and a battalion of colored men, about two
thousand in all.
General Jackson had already sent Colonel A. P.
Hayne to examine the mouth of the Mississippi with
a view of making a defense at the Balize ; and on the
morning of the 3d of December, Jackson himself in a
large barge with his engineers and aids started down
216 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to Fort St. Philip, sixty miles below New Orleans,
This he decided at once to put in the best possible
condition. A mile above this fort, on the opposite
side of the river, where had stood Fort Bourbon, he
ordered a battery to be planted. Twelve miles below
the city he also ordered other works to be commenced.:
It was the 9th of the month before he returned from
this tour of inspection. The other great avenue to
New Orleans was by means of Borgne Bay, or Lake
Borgne, as it has for no apparent reason been called,
and Lake Pontchartrain, six or seven miles from the
city. These -are merely sounds too shallow for the
navigation of the largest vessels, and are connected by
a narrow strait, the outlet of Lake Pontchartrain.
These the General visited at once, and was then able
to take in the situation from his own view. This was,
perhaps, the best route of the British, considering the
defensible condition of the river. At all events, this
approach was to be defended, and steps towards that
end were at once begun.
On the passage from Lake Pontchartrain to Borgne,
Fort Petites Coquilles was built and manned. Six
gun-boats had been armed by Captain Patterson with
twenty-three guns and one hundred and eighty-two
men, under Lieutenant Thomas Ap-Catsby Jones, on
Lake Borgne, with orders to contest the entrance by the
British. But this precaution had been taken before
the General arrived to assume command at New Or-
leans. Various bayous leading to the Mississippi and
surrounding the city were filled with trees and other
debris, rendering their use by the enemy more diffi-
cult; and every means possible was provided to ob-
struct their movement. On the Mississippi were also
ANDREW JACKSON. 217
two armed vessels, the Caroline and Louisiana, under
Captain Daniel T. Patterson.
The army gathered at Mobile had melted away
after the return from Florida, only about sixteen hun-
dred men being left to follow the General to New
Orleans, and these were on the way under the brave
and faithful John Coffee. Tennessee was, however,
rapidly filling her quota for the campaign. Troops
from Kentucky and Mississippi were hastening on to
this strange, new seat of war.
In the meantime the British had been gathering at
the rendezvous fixed upon, in Negril Bay, Jamaica.
The fleet, under Admiral Alexander Cochrane, con-
veying the army of Ross from defeat at Baltimore,
and a considerable force from England under General
Edward Keane, had assembled at this place. To this
force was added Captain Percy's small fleet. Besides
the seven or eight thousand soldiers, and more than
that many sailors, there were actually accompanying
the expedition, men appointed to administer the affairs
of the territory which was to be conquered. Among
these was a collector for the port of New Orleans.
With them were their families, and many supernumer-
aries coming out to share in the rare, romantic adven-
ture which promised so much with so little hardship
or danger. A vast fleet transported this proud, glit-
tering, and undoubting host.
Some of the largest ships-of-the-line, huge war-
vessels of seventy or eighty guns, between fifty and
seventy vessels of all sizes, bearing a thousand guns,
made a brilliant and beautiful picture as they ap-
proached the American coast on the 10th of Decem-
ber 1814. In this great fleet were vessels especially
218 LIFE AND TIMES OF
designed for bearing to England the two or three millions
of dollars' worth of cotton and sugar stored in New Or-
leans, as well as the other rich booty of which the Brit-
ons even now felt themselves to be the owners. With
the secrecy with which the great expedition had been
managed, and now safe on the most remote and unpro-
tected coast of the United States, where immediate
succor would seem impossible to any small body of
undisciplined troops which might collect to oppose
their way, who in this great armada could have dreamed
of misfortune ?
The British fleet stood in for Lake Borgne, and
soon reaching a depth too shallow for their large ves-
sels, anchored on the 13th. The little fleet of five or
six gun-boats, under Captain Jones, was at this time
discovered, and to put this out of the way was the first
object of Admiral Cochrane. Twelve hundred men
were detailed from the vessels and placed in forty-three
open boats, with forty-three guns, under the command
of Captain Lockyer, to demolish the American gun-
boats. Jones had been ordered to fight and retreat, and,
finally, when pressed, to re-enter the Rigolets, enter-
ing to Lake Pontchartrain, and under the shelter of
the mud-fort of Petites Coquilles, fight to the last.
But change in the wind and water prevented Jones
from entering the strait, as he made every effort to
do, as he saw the force sent against him. He, accord-
ingl}'^, came to anchor in the channel between the main
land at Point Clear and Malheureux Island, and pre-
pared for battle.
On the following day his little squadron was
attacked, and, after a severe engagement of three
hours' duration, was surrendered, boat after boat, to
ANDREW JACKSON. - 219
the enemy. Captain Jones and most of his officers
in all the boats were wounded, and fifty or sixty of
the seamen were killed or wounded. The British loss
in killed and wounded was, probably, over twice
that number.
On that very day General Jackson had visited the
lakes, but before he reached the city he heard of the
loss of the little gun-boat fleet which was designed to
effect so much.
The news of the disaster soon reached New Or-
leans, and as soon threw it into commotion. And now
Jackson's rare ability to command and control an
incongruous, excited, and doubtful community in a
great emergency, for the first time, as well as to
organize an undisciplined army and fight against a
superior force of regulars culled from the British army,
was brought to the test. This was the most fortunate
occasion in his life. It presented the very conditions
designed to bring out his peculiar powers. General
Jackson could only be great on great occasions. Where
men ordinarily display great virtues or talents Jackson
appeared to no advantage.
His first thought was to send orders for the
strengthening of the fort in the passage from Lake
Pontchartrain to Borgne, and for the better defense
of Chef Menteur, a fine bayou terminating near the
rear of the city and opening into Lake Borgne, and
along which a road led to the city. His next busi-
ness was with the excited and divided people of New
Orleans. On all hands there came loud cries of dis-
satisfaction, of treason. The State Legislature was
in session, and a more careless, quarrelsome, unrelia-
ble legislative body, perhaps, never assembled in
220 LIFE AND TIMES OF
America. From these men the General had already
learned what to expect. It was now past the time
for dallying.
During the night of the 14th, Jackson wrote letters
and dispatched messengers to John Coffee to hasten
on, not stopping for night or sleep ; to General
Thomas on the way from Kentucky ; to Colonel Hinds,
of the Mississippi dragoons ; to General Winchester,
at Mobile, notifying him of the condition of affairs,
and urging him to the defense of Fort Bowyer, and
the protection of his posts.
He also wrote to the Secretary of War, sent a
steamboat up the river to hurry on General Carroll,
and to Fort St. Philip he sent a messenger with the
order to hold the fort to the last man.
Some desperate and uncommon measures seemed
now necessary. Commodore (Captain) Patterson was
unable to man his boats, although there were many
sailors unemployed in the city. The offer of large
bounties did not bring them. Appeals to the Legis-
lature only brought delay and dissensions. Patterson
in this extremity was bold enough to ask the Gover-
nor, who was only too glad to favor every proposition
which would advance the cause, to propose to the
Legislature the suspension of the writ of habeas cor-
pus. Among the American or Yankee population
especially, the probability and necessity of a declara-
tion of martial law was discussed. Edward Living-
ston had given his opinion as to the unlawfulness of
such a step, placing all the risk and responsibility on
the General. Jackson decided. That was sufficient.
No communication could be held with the Government,
to share or take away the responsibility, although it is
ANDREW JACKSON. 221
not evident that he believed the city to be liable to
attack for some time, considering the usual manner
of moving regular armies of great proportions.
On the 16th the following proclamation was
issued : —
" Major-General Andrew Jackson, commanding the Seventh
United States Military District, declares the city and environs of
New Orleans under strict martial law, and orders that in future
the following laws be rigidly enforced, viz.: —
" Every individual entering the city will report to the adju-
tant-general's office, and, on failure, to be arrested and held for
examination.
"No persons shall be permitted to leave the city without a
permission in writing, signed by the General or one of his staff.
"No vessels, boats, or other craft will be permitted to leave
New Orleans or Bayou St. John without a passport in writing
from the General or one of his staff, or the commander of the
naval forces of the United States on this station.
" The street lamps shall be extinguished at the hour of nine
at night, after which time persons of every description found in
the street, or not at their respective homes, without permission
in writing, as aforesaid, and not having the countersign, shall be
apprehended as spies and held for examination."
The Legislature had previously shown unanimity
enough to pass an unlawful embargo act, and now that
body, brought under the spirit of Jackson, and to
some extent, realizing the crisis, passed an act sus-
pending processes for debt for several months. The
Governor, wanting to devote his attention to the
defense of the country, urged the Legislature to
adjourn, but that was not agreeable to the majority
of its members. Nor would they consent to suspend
the habeas corpus. This Jackson now deemed it his
duty to take charge of, which he did by declaring the
writ suspended, and sending Judge Hall, who resisted,
out of the city.
222 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The city was now a military camp. Every man
who was able was put on some duty. The old men
who could do no better enrolled themselves for police
service. The women even became warlike, and many
of the spirited Creole beauties, who had heard the
altogether foundationless rumor that the British watch-
word was " Booty and beauty " armed themselves
with daggers.
One man controlled the city. Dissensions were
gone. Harmony prevailed. Great security was felt,
and with a remarkable spirit and readiness men rushed
to obey the demands of the hour. The prisons were
cleared. Criminals became patriots, and were mus-
tered into the service of their country. Jean Lafitte
now came forward and offered his services to General
Jackson, which were reluctantly received, and from
the swamps and the prisons two companies of his bold
Baratarinn buccaneers were formed and became among
the most efficient of the brave defenders of New Orleans.
Jackson no more called them the " hellish banditti."
General Jackson never neglected the pen, one of
his two great resources, and the more exciting and
desperate the occasion, the more he felt sure of this
method of accomplishing his purpose. His appeals
were mainly to the prejudices, passions, fears, pride,
and interests, and of the most warm, if not exagger-
ated, character. He now again resorted to this phin,
and on the 18th of December, assembled and reviewed
the troops then in New Orleans, and his volunteer aid
and secretary, Edward Livingston, read the following
addresses : —
" To THE Embodied Militia : Fellow-citixem and Soldiers, —
The General commanding in chief would not do justice to the
ANDKEW JACKSON. 223
noble ardor that has animated you in the hour of danger, he
would not do justice to his own feeling, if he suffered the ex-
ample you have shown to pass without public notice. Inhabit-
ants of an opulent and commercial town, you have, by a spon-
taneous effort, shaken off the habits which are created by wealth,
and shown that you are resolved to deserve the blessings of for-
tune by bravely defending them. Long strangers to the perils
of war, you have embodied yourselves to face them with the
cool countenance of veterans ; and with motives of disunion that
might operate on weak minds, you have forgotten the difference
of language and the prejudices of national pride, and united
with a cordiality that does honor to your understandings as well
as to your patriotism. Natives of the United States ! They
are the oppressors of your infant political existence with whom
you are to contend ; they are the men your fathers conquered
whom you are to oppose. Descendants of Frenchmen ! natives
of France ! they are English, the hereditary, the eternal enemies
of your ancient country, the invaders of that you have adopted,
who are your foes. Spaniards! remember the conduct of your
allies at St. Sebastian, and recently at Pensacola, and rejoice
that you have an opportunity of avenging the brutal injuries
inflicted by men who dishonor the human race.
"Fellow-citizens, of every description, remember for what
and against whom you contend. For all that can render life
desirable, for a country blessed with every gift of nature, for
property, for life, for those dearer than either, your wives and
children, and for liberty, without which, country, life, property,
are no longer worth possessing; as even the embraces of
wives and children become a reproach to the wretch who
would deprive them by his cowardice of those invaluable bless-
ings. You are to contend for all this against an enemy whose
continued effort is to deprive you of the least of these bless-
ings; who avows a war of vengeance and desolation, carried
on and marked by cruelty, lust, and horrors, unknown to civ-
ilized nations.
"Citizens of Louisiana! the General commanding in chief
rejoices to see the spirit that animates you, not only for your
honor but for your safety ; for, whatever had been your
conduct or wishes, his duty would have led, and will now lead
him to confound the citizen unmindful of his rights with the
enemy he ceases to oppose. Now, leading men who know their
224 LIFE AND TIMES OF
rights, who are determined to defend them, he salutes you, brave
Louisianians, as brethren in arms, and has now a new motive to
exert all his faculties, which shall be strained to the utmost in
your defense. Continue with the energy you have begun, and
he promises you not only safety, but victory over the insolent
enemy who insulted you by an affected doubt of your attachment
to the Coustitution of your country.
' ' To THE Battalion of Uniform Companies : When I
first looked at you on the day of my arrival I was satisfied with
your appearance, and every day's inspection since has confirmed
the opinion I then formed. Your numbers have increased with
the increase of danger, and your ardor has augmented since it
was known that your post would be one of perU and honor.
This is the true love of country ! You have added to it an exact
discipline, and a skill in evolutions rarely attained by veterans;
the state of your corps does equal honor to the skill of the
officers and the attention of the men. With such defenders, our
country has nothing to fear. Every thing I have said to the
body of militia applies equally to you ; you have made the same
sacrifices ; you have the same country to defend, the same motive
for exertion ; but I should have been unjust had I not noticed,
as it deserved, the excellence of your discipline and the martial
appearance of your corps.
"To the Men of Color — Soldiers! From the shores of
Mobile I collected you to arms ; I invited you to share in the
perils and to divide the glory of your white countrymen, I ex-
pected much from you, for I was not uninformed of those qualities
which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I
knew that you could endure hunger and thirst and all the hard-
ships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your nativity,
and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most dear
to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have found in you,
united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels to
great deeds.
"Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be in-
formed of your conduct on the present occasion, and the voice of
the Representatives of the American nation shall applaud your
valor, as your General now praises your ardor. The enemy is
near. His sails cover the lakes. But the brave are united ;
and if he finds us contending among ourselves, it will be for the
prize of valor, and fame its noblest reward."
ANDREW JACKSON. 225
Whether these colored men had any great aspira-
tions for acquiring this " noblest reward " or not, they
did exhibit an enthusiasm which excited admiration,
even in those who had more scruples than Jackson in
the means employed. The question of making soldiers
of negroes, free especially, was settled by him, as he
settled all other questions, by the present necessity of
the case. The negro battalion was commanded by
Major Daquin, a brave Creole, and they were among
the bravest of the defenders of New Orleans. There
was no disputing about their services, nor would it
have aifected Jackson in the least if there had been.
The brave were united. All of this had its effect.
Fear was banished. Jackson's warlike appearance was
not lost by his thinness of body, and his frail health.
His enthusiasm was contagious. As he rode in re-
view before the soldiers on the 18th, vast numbers of
the people saw him for the first time, and the very
sight of him renewed their confidence and courage.
Few soldiers ever appeared to better advantage than
General Jackson on horseback. His manners, too,
were attractive and courtly. Notwithstanding his at-
tenuated form, he could hardly suffer anywhere by
comparison.
Although the city was a military camp by the will
of one man, the fact decidedly increased military ardor
on every hand. Lawyers, judges, men of wealth and
leisure, formed themselves into companies, and strove
for the place of danger in the coming conflict. Nor
were these men fame-seekers. The " noblest reward
of valor" really had little charm for them. Patriotism
and duty were higher and truer motives. With all its
variable and treasonable population, no American city
15— G
226 LIFE AND TIMES OF
made a nobler record in the War of 1812 than this.
The infection of patriotism extended to the country
and far up the Mississippi River. It is said that
Madame Bienvenu, of Atakapas, was so imbued with
the general feeling that she sent her four sons into
the army, and then actually wrote to Governor Clai-
borne that regretting greatly that she had no more
sons to put in the service of the country on such a
perilous occasion, she was ready to come to the city
and give her own efforts to the care of the wounded,
if needed, notwithstanding her age.
After the capture of the gun-boats on Lake Borgne,
Patterson sent Shields, his purser, and Dr. Morrell
with a fl.a^ of truce to the British fleet to look after
Lieutenant Jones and his wounded. Although it did
not suit the British commander to allow them to re-
turn, their mission proved greatly beneficial to the
Americans. They took every occasion to converse
together concerning the vast army now collected at
New Orleans, and of the swarms of riflemen who were
daily pouring to the standard of Jackson, and of the
certain ruin that awaited the British. Although the
British had bought the friendship of some fishermen
with whom they had fallen in, and who had given
them the real strength of the Americans and the de-
fenseless condition of the city, they were now thrown
into great doubt, and from this time on their move-
ments were cautious and slow. A circumstance soon
occurred to strengthen their caution, and start fears
of the failure of the grand expedition which was to
march up the great river, and take possession of the
whole country to Canada.
The British army was landed on Pine Island, fifty
ANDREW JACKSON. 227
miles or more from the main-land where it had been
designed to disembark, and there reorganized. In the
meantime some officers had been sent in disguise to
determine the most desirable place to effect the land-
ing. These officers lauded at the mouth of Bayou
Bienvenu which extended nearly to New Orleans, and
was a good channel of over one hundred yards wide.
Of this bayou the British had previously been ap-
prised by some renegade Spaniards. They made their
way across the swamps by this shoot, and then pass-
ing over the belt of cultivated land, reached the Mis-
sissippi only nine miles below New Orleans, after
which they returned to pilot the expedition.
On the 22d a part of the British army landed at
the mouth of this bayou. " General " Villere, a
planter in the region of Bayou Bienvenu, had been
left by General Jackson to look after this passage to
the city. And although Villere had entertained some
idea of its importance, the little squad of guards he
had usually kept at its mouth became careless, and
the first detachment of English which landed had no
difficulty in capturing them. But the capture of these
careless soldiers was not especially unfortunate to the
Americans, as the information they could have carried
to New Orleans would have been of no benefit in bet-
tering the state of affairs. They had no true knowl-
edge of the strength of Jackson's farce, and their
loud and extravagant conversation among themselves
on this point was not gratifying to the British. They
thought the invaders were doomed, and were open in
asserting that Jackson had a force of twenty or
twenty-five thousand men, which was hourly increas-
ing. They were unaware, perhaps, of the service
228 LIFE AND TIMES OF
they were rendering their country by their extrava-
gant talk. Their stories only confirmed the represen-
tations of Dr. Morrill and purser Shields. In view
of these unfavorable reports, which they had no means
of disproving, the British became more cautious.
Indeed they were thus entirely misled, and based
their proceedings largely upon this cheat.
If the English commander had been favored by
any number of deserters and traitors from the Ameri-
can side at that time, it would have been impossible
to draw from them a reliable estimate of Jackson's
force and resources. It was a part of his policy to
conceal as well as exaggerate his true condition. As
the troops arrived most of them were halted at differ-
ent distances from the city, and every means taken
to fill the minds of the excited citizens, of the swarms
of soldiers that were, like magic, overflowing the
country. The citizens had themselves all been con-
verted into soldiers by military order. And the very
presence and enthusiasm of Jackson intensified the
imaginations of the people and soldiers as to the
invulnerability of their circumstances. The General's
faculty of making much out of little, in an extraor-
dinary emergency, was now fully exemplified.
Notwithstanding the distance of Pine Island from
the point of landing, and the difficulties of transferring
the troops, General Keane determined to push forward
with the sixteen hundred men landed as the first
detachment, and gain the Mississippi before his land-
ing even was known at New Orleans. He actually
performed this feat, and at noon on the 23d reached
the left bank of the river only about nine miles below
the city. On one side of this little army lay the
ANDREW JACKSON. 229
swamps through which it had passed, stretching away
to the lakes, and on the other was the Mississippi
River with its high levees and its surface above the
surrounding country, the drainage all being through
the ditches and bayous to the lakes. Between the
river and the swamps was a narrow belt of rich plan-
tations crossed in various ways by wide ditches. On
one of these plantations, that of General Villere,
under whom Jackson had placed the command of this
region, the British army was posted. " Major "
Gabriel Villere had been captured by them at his
father's house before it was known that they had left
their ships in Lake Borgne. The British had not
only landed, but had actually planted themselves on
the Mississippi within two hours' march of New
Orleans without the American commander having any
knowledge of their presence. There has been some dis-
puting about the trivial matter as to how the Ameri-
can General was first apprised of the presence of the
British. But the important factor in the case is that
General Jackson allowed the British to land any-
where on Lake Borgne without his knowing it, and
being ready to receive them. To this extent the
English commander had surprised and outgeneraled
him. A very romantic story is told by some of the
historians of New Orleans about the adventure of
young Major Gabriel Villere, who knocked down some
of the British soldiers, made his way among them
while they sent a volley of musket-balls after him,
gained the swamps, crossed the river, and with two
of his friends in broad day before the eyes of General
Keane galloped away to carry the news to New Orleans.
At half-past one o'clock they reached head-quarters c.i
230 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Royal Street, and when they had made known the
true state of the case, General Jackson is said to have
brought into requisition his favorite oath, and a very
extravagant assertion : " By the Eternal, they shall
not sleep on our soil ;" and adding to his aids that
they must fight the enemy that night.
It seems likely that others were on the way, or
actually did convey this information to General Jack-
son ; but the important point that it was done, is
about all there is certain in relation to it. No claim
to this honor, however ridiculous it might be, could
be set up without the support of perfectly reliable
witnesses.
Hinds, with his Mississippi dragoons, had arrived.
Coffee was lying five miles above the city, and Car-
roll, with the twenty-five hundred Tennesseeans and
a cargo of muskets, had also appeared. Carroll was
ordered to the Bienvenu, and did not participate with
any of his men in the engagement of the night of
the 23d.
From Coffee's brigade there were 663 men, and of
Hinds's dragoons 107 went down the river to engage
the enemy at this time. Of the plan of the battle
Walker says, in his florid, wordy style : —
" The soldiers had all moved out of sight; still Jackson main-
tained his position on the levee. It was evident that his pro-
gramme was not complete. The anxious glances which he threw
across the river betrayed some solicitude. At last, howevej, the
frown faded from his brow, as he observed a small dark schooner
cast off from the opposite bank of the river, and begin to float
slowly down with the current. This was the Carolina, with
Commodore Patterson, Captain Henly, and a gallant band of
seamen on board. Then Jackson put spurs to his charger, and
accompanied by his aids, . . . galloped rapidly down the
road which had been followed by his little army.
ANDREW JACKSON. 231
" Jackson's plan of attack was simple, judicious, and prac-
tical. The Carolina was ordered to drop down in front of the
British camp, and, anchoring at musket-shot, to open her batteries
on them at half-past seven o'clock. At this signal, the right, under
Jackson, consisting of the regulars, Planche and Daquin's battal-
ions, McRea's artillery, and the Marines, was to push forward,
being guided by Major Villere, who volunteered for the occasion,
and attacked the enemy's camp near the river. Whilst they
were thus engaged, Coffee, under the guidance of Colonel De la
Ronde, was ordered with his brigade, with Hinds's Dragoons,
and Beale's Rifles, to scout the edge of the swamp, and advanc-
ing as far as was safe, to endeavor to cut off the communications
of the enemy with the lake, and thus hem in, and, if possible,
capture or destroy them. Such was the simple plan of the battle
of the 23d of December, 1814."
Of course, with the information Jackson had at
this time, he could not have told with certainty the
intentions of the British, nor could he have known
what part of the enemy's force he was destined to en-
counter. There appeared then but one other course
for the British to take, considering the point from
which they had landed, and this Jackson provided for
the best he could, under the impression that the pres-
ence of the enemy on the river might be a feint to
cover the movement of his main force. For this rea-
son it was that he sent Carroll with all the troops at
his disposal to the head of Bayou Bienvenu, and Gov-
ernor Claiborne with his militia out on the Gentilly
road. But this precaution proved to be unnecessary.
Look for a moment at the wonderful spectacle as it
was now presented. In the British army gathering
below New Orleans were said to be some of the finest
troops England had ever sent to the battle-field. Some
of them had fought against the extraordinary modern
warrior, Napoleon, and the famous Ninety-third High-
land regiment was the pride and boast of England.
232 LIFE AND TIMES OF
And while all of this army had not covered itself
and its country with honor, as the excesses of the
Potomac and the Chesapeake would testify, it was
supposed to be especially adapted to a great and bold
adventure. In the way of equipments nothing was
wanting. Over a million dollars it had cost Britain to
organize and appoint this magnificent expedition. It
was not the odds and ends of a poor monarch's last
struggle. It was the glittering pageant of a proud,
wealthy nation. The dress and arms of the common
soldier, the style and pomp of the knighted officers,
the vast armament and the varied and perfect equip-
ment of the whole, were sources of wonder and
admiration.
In the fleet were some noble names, some of Eng-
land's best. Nor, perhaps, was the romantic expedi-
tion unfortunate in the temporary commander of its
land force, in the person of General John Keane, or
the really responsible commander, Sir Edward Pack-
enham. General Keane had certainly succeeded in
gaining, unmolested, the solid earth on the Mississippi
above its obstructions, and although he did not push
on to conquest, as some have claimed he should have
done as a wise general, his reasons for doing so were
sufficient, and he yet had maintained his fine reputa-
tion as a brave and daring soldier.
In some respects how changed is the picture in
looking on the American side ! Less than a thousand
regulars, and thes,e scarcely to be called such, were
found in the army of General Jackson. The brave
mounted riflemen under John Coffee wore slouch hats,
carried tomahawks and dirks in their belts, and had the
appearance of backwoodsmen returning from a long and
ANDREW JACKSON. 233
wearing journey. There were the Mississippi Dragoons,
the Louisiana militia, the variously clad Tennesseeans,
the Baratarians, and the negroes of Daquin, mainly
ununiformed, and armed with every kind of weapon.
The whole appointment of this motley crew was ridic-
ulous in comparison with that of the foe. Nor had
General Jackson or any of his soldiers ever met a
thoroughly equipped veteran enemy. It was a strange
collection of men whose qualities were unknown, com-
manded by a comparatively raw militia General. How-
ever, had the whole army of England been on the
bank of the Mississippi, it would have made no differ-
ence with " Andrew Jackson, Esquire," as the Britons
yet called him. He would have gone out to meet
them all the same. Nor would he have modified his
Quixotic assurance to the women of New Orleans,
that the British would never enter the city as con-
querors except over his dead body.
234 LIFE A^'D TIMES OF
CHAPTER XIV.
BATTLE OF THE NIGHT OF THE 230— BRITISH RECONNOIS-
SANCE OF THE 28th— THE BRAVE BARATARIANS—
THE STORY OF THE COTTON-BALES.
BEFORE Jackson reached the scene of action, the
Inspector-General, Colonel Hayne, had reconnoi-
tered the British position with a boldness that greatly
surprised them. In one of these reconnoissances a
squad of horsemen went so near the enemy's lines that
two of them were wounded, and the first blood was shed
in the campaign before New Orleans. With Hinds's
Dragoons, Hayne himself rode within pistol-shot of the
Britons, and, after viewing hastily their position, scam-
pered away unhurt amidst a shower of balls.
The night came on. The enemy's fires were
brightly burning. The camp-kettles held fresh, savory
morsels from the hen-roosts and store-houses of the
rich planters. But the security and quiet of the Brit-
ish army were those that night lends to the moment
in which no one can tell what the day may bring.
At seven o'clock a schooner was descried coming
slowly down the river. There were endless conjec-
tures as to her object. It is said that some even
hoped that she might be bringing provisions from the
city, and the information that no resistance would be
made at New Orleans. But conjecture was vain. She
glided on. She was hailed, but deigned no reply.
ANDREW JACKSON. 235
Her broadside was turned towards the British camp.
At about half-past seven torches were seen on the
vessel, and the silence was broken by the ominous
words : " Take that for the honor of America." Then
the wondering Britons knew the object of the myste-
rious vessel. From the mouths of half a score of
cannons from the Carolina Commodore Patterson had
given the signal for attack. The camp-fires of the
British told in the darkness the whereabouts of those
who had made them.
General Jackson had planned the attack to begin
at this moment. And he hoped to be able to com-
pletely surround and capture or destroy the British
army. He waited but a few minutes to impress the
enemy with the idea that no other foe would appear
that night. Coffee, who was pressing along the swamp
to fall on the enemy's rear, had not yet reached his
destination. The main force of the Americans ad-
vanced on the river road under Jackson himself, and
now so filled up the narrow slip between the river and
the swamp that Daquin's colored troops were pushed
out of the line and into the rear. But the darkness
concealed the break. The little army pressed forward.
Leaving a hundred men with his horses. Coffee dis-
mounted and rushed forward. A sharp firing in every
direction showed the British that they had work to
do besides hiding from the raking shots of the Caro-
lina. From behind the levee, where they had sought
shelter from the destructive fire of Patterson's boat,
they were now sent out to resist the attack of the
land force, which was as unexpected. The engage-
ment now became general. The dim moonlight was
of littfe service. The flashes of the guns and the
236 LIFE AND TIMES OF
musketry alone revealed the location of the enemy,
and even these failed at times. Every resource was
used to distinguish friends from foes. But, on several
occasions, the men on each side were found firing upon
their own comrades. The confusion was terrible. By
nine o'clock the fog had settled densely over the
field, and all firing had ceased. The British re-enforce-
ments had arrived by this time from the lake, hav-
ing been guided in their march by the sound of
the battle.
Instead of preparing to renew the contest at day-
break, General Jackson now determined to retire behind
Rodriguez Canal, secure his position as much as possible,
and await the movements of the enemy. • This was a
most fortunate position for defense. The solid plain
narrowed to less than a mile, having the river on one
side and the swamp on the other. The canal had
once been used as a mill-race, probably, and, although
now, to some extent, filled with dirt and grass, it was
readily turned to good use by the American army.
It is utterly impossible at this day to give an ac-
curate detailed account of this night engagement, if,
indeed, it ever was possible to do so. There are no
two accounts of it extant that do not differ in many
essentials. The following outline report of General
Jackson to the Secretary of War varies from all
others, and adds the General's honorable mention of
officers and men ; —
"The loss of our gun-boats near the pass of the Rigolets,
having given the enemy command of Lake Borgne, he was en-
abled to choose his point of attack. It became therefore an ob-
ject of importance, to obstruct the numerous bayous and canals,
leading from that lake to the highlands on the Mississippi. This
ANDREW JACKSON. 237
important service was committed, in the first instance, to a de-
tachment of the Seventh Regiment, afterwards to Col. De la Ronde,
of the Louisiana militia, and lastly, to make all sure, to Major
General Villere, commanding the district between the river and
the lakes, and who, being a native of the country, was presumed
to be best acquainted with all those passes. Unfortunately,
however, a picket which the General had established at the
mouth of the Bayou Bienvenu, and which, notwithstanding my
orders, had been left unobstructed, was completely surprised, and
the enemy penetrated through a canal leading to his farm, about
two leagues below the city, and succeeded in cutting off a com-
pany of militia stationed there. This intelligence was communi-
cated to me about twelve o'clock of the twenty-third. My force,
at this time, consisted of parts of the Seventh and Forty-fourth
Regiments, not exceeding six hundred together, the city militia,
a part of General Coffee's brigade of mounted gun men, and the
detached militia from the western division of Tennessee, under
the command of Major-General Carroll. These two last corps
were stationed four miles above the city. Apprehending a
double attack by the way of Chief-Menteur, I left General Car-
roll's force and the militia of the city posted on the Gentilly
Road ; and at five o'clock P. M. marched to meet the enemy,
whom I was resolved to attack in his first position, with Major
Hinds's dragoons, General Coffee's brigade, parts of the Seventh
and Forty-fourth Regiments, the uniformed companies of militia,
under the command of Major Planche, two hundred of color,
chiefly from St. Domingo, raised by Colonel Savery, and acting
under the command of Major Daquin, and a detachment of
artillery under the direction of Colonel McRhea, with two six-
pounders, under the command of Lieutenant Spotts ; not exceed-
ing, in all, fifteen hundred. I arrived near the enemy's encamp-
ment about seven, and immediately made my dispositions for the
attack. His forces, amounting at that time on land to about
three thousand, extended half a mile on that river, and in the rear
nearly tothe wood. General Coffee was ordered to turn their right,
while, with the residue of the force, I attacked his strongest position
on the left, near the river. Commodore Patterson, having dropped
down the river in the scht)oner Caroline, was directed to open
a fire upon their camp, which he executed at about half-past
seven. This being a signal of attack, General Coffee's men, with
their usual impetuosity, rushed on the enemy's right, and
238 LIFE AND TIMES OF
entered their camp, while our right advanced with equal ardor.
There can be but little doubt, that we should have succeeded on
that occasion, with our inferior force, in destroying or capturing
the enemy, had not a thick fog, which arose about eight o'clock,
occasioned some confusion among the difi'erent corps. Fearing
the consequence, under this circumstance, of the further prosecu-
tion of a night attack, with troops then acting together for the
first time, I contented myself with lying on the field that night ;
and at four in the morning assumed a stronger position, about
two miles nearer the city. At this position I remained encamped,
waiting the arrival of the Kentucky militia and other reinforce-
ments. As the safety of the city will depend on the fate of this
army, it must not be incautiously exposed.
"In this afl^air the whole corps under my command deserve
the greatest credit. The best compliment I can pay to General
CoflTee and his brigade, is to say, they have behaved as they have
always done, while under my command. The Seventh, led by
Major Pierre, and Forty-fourth, commanded by Colonel Ross,
distinguished themselves. The battalion of city militia, com-
manded by Major Planche, realized my anticipations, and behaved
like veterans. Savery's volunteers manifested great bravery ;
and the company of city riflemen, having penetrated into the
midst of the enemy's camp, were surrounded, and fought their
way out with the greatest heroism, bringing with them a number
of prisoners. The two field-pieces were well served by the officers
commanding them.
"All my officers in the line did their duty, and I have every
reason to be satisfied with the whole of my field and staff. Col-
onels Butler and Piatt, and Major Chotard, by their intrepidity,
saved the artillery. Colonel Hayne was everywhere that duty
or danger called. I was deprived of the services of one of my
aids, Captain Butler, whom I was obliged to station, to his great
regret, in town. Captain Reid, my other aid, and Messrs. Liv-
ingston, Duplissis, and Davizac, who had volunteered their serv-
ices, faced danger wherever it was to be met, and carried my
orders with the utmost promptitude.
" We made one major, two subalterns, and sixty-three pri-
vates, prisoners; and the enemy's loss, in killed and wounded,
must have been at least . My own loss I have not as yet
been able to ascertain with exactness, but suppose it to amount
to one hundred in killed, wounded, and missing. Among the
ANDREW JACKSON. 239
former, I have to lament the loss of Colouel Lauderdale, of Gen-
eral Coffee's brigade, who fell while bravely fighting. Colonels
Dyer and Gibson, of the same corps, were wounded, and Major
Kavanaugh taken prisoner.
"Colonel De la Ronde, Major Villere, of the Louisiana militia,
Major Latour, of engineers, having no command, volunteered
their services, as did Doctors Kerr and Hood, and were of great
assistance to me."
General Keane gave his loss in this night's battle,
forty-six killed, one hundred and sixty-seven wounded,
and sixty-four prisoners and missing. The Americans
generally made a much higher estimate for them.
Jackson's loss was twenty-four killed, one hundred
and fifteen wounded, seventy-four prisoners or missing.
Had Keane waited at the mouth of Bienvenu Bayou
for the landing of his entire army, this battle would
have been avoided, and his chances for the capture of
New Orleans would have been greatly increased, if
not assured beyond a doubt. The whole British army
could have been landed in perfect secrecy, and been
far on its way to New Orleans before General Jackson
was aware of its presence. The first step of the
British officer on American soil was a mistake. The
surprise in his camp at night-fall was not indicative
of generalship. The Irish- American was the superior
soldier ; and by the view of the over-generous English-
man, Cobbett, he was the most wonderful man and
soldier in the world then or at any other period.
Like most other night battles this was, in many
respects, a failure. But it was now only a failure to
the British. There is no question as to its benefits to
the American cause. It assured the British of the
fighting quality of the men with whom they had to
contend ; it satisfied those men of their own ability to
240 LIFE AND TIMES OF
resist ; it greatly exaggerated the resources and strength
of the American General; it stopped the advance of
the British at the best possible point for defense ; it
gave the Americans time for fortifying and preparation,
and the addition of the troops from Kentucky ; and
although the delay which followed this battle brought
re-enforcements to the British, it otherwise diminished
their chances of success.
Mr. Frost says : " This battle saved New Orleans.
It checked the treacherous, confirmed the wavering,
inspired the true." And Lewis says in his Eulogy on
Jackson : —
"The British had reached the Mississippi, and had encamped
upon its banks, as composedly as if they had been seated, on
their own soil, at a distance from all danger. They felt cer-
tain of success, and that the American troops, so easily routed at
Bladensburg, would scarcely venture to resist at New Orleans.
Resting thus confidently, they would have moved forward the
next day, and might have accomplished their designs. But 'Gen-
eral Jackson, with a force inferior by one-half to that of the
enemy, at an unexpected moment broke into the camp, and with
his undisciplined yeomanry, drove before him for nearly a mile,
the proud conquerors of Europe !"
At four o'clock on the morning of the 24th, the
Americans took their new position and began to in-
trench and fortify. From New Orleans was brought
every available instrument for the work. And strangely
enough this work was allowed to go on without much
interference from the British, until Jackson considered
himself proof against their guns. On the night of the
27th of December, the fortification, if such it could be
called, was finished from river to swamp. All of this
time, it is said, Jackson was constantly on the ground
watching every movement of the enemy, and pushing
ANDREW JACKSON. 241
forward the work at every step, often taking his food
on his horse as he rode from one part to another, and
passing four days and nights without sleep.
The old canal or ditch was dug four or five feet
deep, and the dirt used to enlarge the bank or parapet
to protect the little raw army. The canal was filled
with water and a part of the plain flooded two feet
deep by cutting the levee. An attempt was made to
cut the levee below the British camp, but the low stage
of water in the river prevented the success of this
scheme.
After the British reconnoissance of the 28th, which
the Americans chose to treat as of no benefit, or as
amuse'ment to them, bales of cotton were put into the
embankment behind the American ditch. It was found
that the heavy British guns tore up this mud and stick
structure wonderfully, and Jackson began to fear that
it might not stand more than dress reconnoissances.
But the cotton proved to be a failure, as it would take
fire, and from the smoke and otherwise annoy the men.
Before the 8th of January it was all removed, so that
the history of the wonderful cotton-bale fortification,
behind which Jackson fought the British, falls like
many other historic fictions. Like it, too, was the fine
story of the cotton-dealer and the General.
The cotton king came to Jackson and complained
that his cotton was used in the embankment, and he
wanted to see what protection he was to receive. Where-
upon the. General, finding that this man was not doing
any kind of military duty, ordered a soldier to bring
him a musket, and handing it to the patriot, told him to
take his post by his own cotton in the embankment,
saying that no man could take more interest in the
16— G
242 LIFE AND TIMES OF
protection of property than its owner. Now, although
this affair was rather Jacksonian in character, unfortu-
nately for the " Hero of New Orleans," it was Edward
Livingston who had the transaction with the cotton
merchant, and merely suggested that as the owner of
the property, he should take a gun and step into
the line.
On the 25th Sir Edward M. Packenham arrived
and took command of the British army. Although this
event greatly elevated the hopes of this fine force, it
had no such effect upon the young knight who came to
win and govern a province. When he had looked over
the ground he feared that his army had been placed in
a situation where it could not be successful. From this
fear he never recovered. It is held that at that time
he would have withdrawn to Lake Borgne, and made
the assault from some other direction. But from this
view he was dissuaded by the counsels of Cochrane
and other officers, who despised the American fortifi-
cations, and considered it shameful to talk of them
among men who had successfully carried at the bayo-
net's point some of the most scientifically constructed
military works.
With Packenham came also General Samuel Gibbs
to be second in command, who like Packenham had
distinguished himself in the war against Napoleon.
There had arisen general and loud complaint against
Keane, and the change in the command brought great
relief to the army of invasion. Nor was Keane less
indisposed to get rid of the responsibility. Before,
fortune had marked his way. In America, it appeared,
he had entered the road to ruin. His first step after
reaching the shore of Borgne was wrong, although he
ANDREW JACKSON. 243
had executed it with success. His next mistake never
was corrected, never could be. That was, in allowing
the Americans to build a breastwork from the river
into the swamp on the level plain, behind which they
could resist the advance of a vastly superior army
with little danger to themselves.
On the 24th of December, poor Keane with his
three or four thousand men should have moved on to
New Orleans. It was not improbable that he could
have driven the miscellaneous army before him. Al-
though it was composed of brave men, they were not
all Baratarians, and were subject to the inexplicable
chances that beset militia, and inexperienced and un-
soldierly men in great emergencies. General Keane
was a brave man, but no great general. Nor was Eng-
land at all fortunate in selecting general officers for
this grand expedition. Noble-spirited, brave men they
were, but not great leaders.
However, had it been the Duke of Wellington, who
arrived on the 25th, instead of Sir Edward Packen-
ham, there is no reason to suppose he would not have
pursued the same course with a similar result.
Wellington believed the soldiers sent on this expe-
dition were equal to any task. They would do what
was in the power of man if they were led. British
pride had much to do in the failure of this invasion.
In the conduct of General Braddock and his sad
defeat on the Monongahela in 1754, this pride was
the prominent factor. And until after the War of
1812, it stood at the head of all their dealings with
America. These proud naval and military heroes,
gathered in the swamp and on the plain below New
Orleans, while they really feared the uncertain force
244 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that obstructed their way to the city, affected to
despise any work they could erect for their own pro-
tection, as they did the undisciplined mob that com-
posed the American army. No such things were ever
to be considered in estimating British valor. No
Briton was less affected with this infatuation than
the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was not unwill-
ing to come over here to head this grand adventure.
But the British Cabinet decided that it was quite
sufficient for a man of less note to do this work in
America. It was the same towering spirit of pride.
All things here were underestimated. Nor is America
under any obligations of gratitude to the English
Ministry in withholding Wellington.
His fate would have been the same. His splendid
career would have had an inglorious ending on the
low plains of the Mississippi. As it was, he lived to
respect the name and character of Jackson, the rough
soldier who would have had the misfortune and honor
of defeating him at New Orleans. That other brave
and noble Englishmen fell here, is sad enough, and that
Wellington, in whom Englishmen and their descend-
ants in America all have a proud interest, escaped is
even now a source of gratulation.
On the night of the 26th the British erected a
battery on the levee for the purpose of destroying the
Carolina, and her companion, the Louisiana. Packen-
ham saw that these batteries in the river must first
be removed. At daylight on the morning of the
27th, some hot shots were thrown into the Carolina,
and she was set on fire, and, abandoned by her crew,
soon blew up. Three days before the Louisiana
had completed her armament and taken a position
ANDREW JACKSON. 245
above the Carolina^ and with great effort she was
got out of the way of the British battery, and an-
chored above Jackson's ditch, where she was soon
given an opportunity to try the skill of her inexpe-
rienced crew.
While affairs were progressing in this indecisive way
with the main army, Jackson was not unmindful of
other points. The right bank of the river was placed
in a state of defense sufficient for the demand, it was
thought. The swamp on that side approached nearer
the river, and a line of defense was constructed from
the river to it similar to that on the left bank. Com-
modore Patterson erected a battery on that side, too,
and took charge of it with the crew of the Carolina.
A small detachment under the guidance of Jean
Lafitte was sent to look after the bayous leading to
Barataria Bay through which it was thought the
British might attempt to steal upon the city. The
passages to the lakes were also carefully guarded.
By the destruction of the Carolina it became apparent
that the enemy was really clearing the way for an
advance on the American line. General Jackson
believed it was the intention of the British to try his
works on the following day.
And in this he was not mistaken. On the night
of the 23d Jackson had but two cannons, six pound-
ers, and one of these would have been lost had it not
been for his own efforts. These were planted in his
line of works, and on the night of the 27th a twelve
and a twenty-four pounder were also put in position,
and early the next morning another twenty-four
pounder. The Louisiana also had a good battery. On
this night all the available American force was ordered
246 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to join the main army. Amomg these were the crew
of the Carolina^ and the Baratarians.
These bold men since their release and pardon had
been at Fort St. John. Early on the morning of the
28th they came in, having run all the way, anxious to
have any opportunity to show their attachment to the
Government of the United States. They were given
charge of one of the twenty -four pounder guns, and were
soon in action. The Baratarians were among Jackson's
best soldiers, and none of the defenders of New Or-
leans would have sold their lives more dearly than
these men. Yet they were forever proscribed. They
had been guilty of two crimes, if they had not been
pirates. Pirates they hardly were, as they operated
under commissions of an organized government. But
they were smugglers, and they had made their ren-
dezvous in a part of the territory of this country when
at peace with the nation against which their depreda-
tions were mainly directed. But the kind of piracy
they had waged against Spain in favor of South Amer-
ica, was at this time authorized by the United States
against England. The Chesapeake Bay was called a
pirate nest from 1812 to 1815, and great fortunes were
smuggled into Baltimore. Old families now in that
city, as well as others on the Atlantic border, can trace
their wealth to this privateering and smuggling busi-
ness during the War of 1812, as could some of those
of New Orleans to the less respectable operations of
Jean Lafitte.
At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 28th, the British
army moved in two divisions under Gibbs and Keane.
Every means was taken to impress the Americans with
the grandness and vastness of the display. The whole
ANDREW JACKSON. 247
army was in full view on the plain. It was, indeed, a
glittering, thrilling sight. Keane's division on the left
moved forward partly protected by two farm-houses.
But these were soon in flames from hot American shot.
The Louisiana now made good use of her battery, and
the five guns in the earth-works poured shot after shot
into the advancing columns. From the sloop alone
eight hundred shots were fired.
The Britons were forced to take to the muddy
ditches that crossed the plain, and finally in broken
line, retreat to a safe distance. On the right, where
the fortification was yet low and incomplete, and the
ditch narrow, the British were more nearly successful
in this big reconnoisance, as they termed it. Here
the swamp was passable, and the American force was
weakest, and a desperate effort of the right division,
here at a moment would have changed the fortunes
of that day. But the opportunity was not taken for
some cause, and by three or four o'clock the whole
British army was drawn off and returned to camp, full
of mortification and disappointment, with a loss in
killed and wounded of two hundred men, perhaps.
The American loss on this day was nine killed and
eight wounded. Many of the Americans felt from
this day that they had whipped the British, and that
what was yet to come was certain victory and com-
parative safety to them. The British were corre-
spondingly depressed, and more than poor brave Keane
felt the shadows of utter ruin gathering about them.
Still these brave men began to remedy what they
found wanting, and prepare for the struggle they were
bound to make, and which they hoped would be suc-
cessful. As a matter of course the excitement had
248 LIFE AND TIMES OF
been very great in the city, on this day. Conflicting
rumors swayed the people from one thing to another.
The Legislature had sent to General Jackson to know
what course he would take, if forced from his position.
He had roughly answered that he did 'not know, and
that if the hair of his head could divine what he
should do he would cut it off, but if driven to the
city, they could expect a warm session. During the
day it was rumored in New Orleans that the British
had forced the line and were pushing forward. The
object of the Legislature was to save the city.
To General Jackson during the day was brought
the intelligence that the Legislature was preparing to
convey the city into the hands of the British. Al-
though he did not believe this report, and desired to
•treat that body with as much respect as possible, he
sent word to Governor Claiborne to look into the case,
and if he considered it necessary, to put a guard
around that body when in session to prevent any con-
nection from without to disturb them in their onerous
task of making good laws. Claiborne did not under-
stand the order, or did not care to understand it,
or it was in the confusion not conveyed to him
as given. At all events, he sent a squad of
militia to take charge of the State House in the ab-
sence of the Legislature, and when the members ap-
peared they were not allowed to enter. Although un-
designed by Jackson, this matter was long a source
of great annoyance to him. When martial law was
proclaimed he should have sent the members of the
Legislature to their homes. Law-making at such a
time was a farce, and would have been so even in a
harmonious and able body of patriotic men.
ANDREW JACKSON. 249
CHAPTER XV.
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS— 8th OF JANUARY, 1815.
THE British Generals now concluded that their
only alternative was in the way of regular siege,
that their first business was the destruction of the
American earth-bank. For three days they were en-
gaged in bringing heavy guns from the fleet, and by
the last night of the year, they had succeeded in erect-
ing six batteries or redoubts on the plain within from
three to six hundred yards of the American line,
mounting thirty pieces of eighteen and twenty-four-
pounder cannons.
Nor had General Jackson been idle. He had
strengthened his works, and especially on the left
leading to the swamp. The movements of the enemy
were everywhere closely watched. The Louisiana lost
no opportunity to use her big guns; and the batteries
in the long low line of defense, now and then, tried
their skill on a single Red Coat, when they could see
nothing better, with an accuracy that amazed and ter-
rified the enemy. On New-Year's morning, a dense
fog covered the plain. What the British had done in
the last twelve hours was a matter of doubt, but it
was quite certain that they had been at work a great
part of the night, not far from the line, and it was be-
lieved by many that there would be busy times on
New-Year's day. Notwithstanding this knowledge
250 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the American army was not ready when the moment
for action came.
In strange contrast with General Jackson's sleepless
watchfulness hitherto, was his conduct on this morning.
The fashion and folly of gallanting around on this day
could not be wholly dropped in this little, undrilled,
miserably equipped army in the face of a splendid foe
on the very point of attacking it. As the army could
not go to the town, the town was to come to the army.
Everybody was to appear in his best, and there was
to be a grand review by the General. This unaccount-
able folly would have been at great cost to Jackson
and New Orleans had there been more discernment
and skill in the British army, had Lord Cornwallis, or
the father of its chief engineer, Sir John Burgoyne,
been its commander. In the fog of that morning the
whole British army could have advanced to within
fifty yards of the American line without detection.
They knew every foot of the ground and what was
before them. Through the swamp or over the em-
bankment they could have entered the American camp
when the careless militia were preparing New-Year's
parade. Still it is of little matter to care for what
might have been, it is mainly with what was that it
is necessary to deal here.
The morning was far advanced before the fog cleared
away from the American camp. About ten o'clock it
moved off in a minute, and the sun shone warmly and
brightly on the holiday scene. The flags were flying,
the bands were playing, officers were moving in every
direction in gay attire, and the review was about to
take place. It was a gay scene from the British lines,
and one that many a subaltern officer thought they
ANDREW JACKSON. 251
ought to be improving in a different manner, to their
advantage. Jackson's review did not take place, and
many who came from town that day returned with sore
hearts to tell of the great artillery contest that shook
the low, baseless delta.
The fog had hardly moved from the scene until the
thirty British guns began a furious cannonade of the
American line. With much confusion the gay parade
was abandoned and the soldiers sought their places
where duty and safety required, behind the works.
Grreat showers of Congreve rockets filled the air and
fell about the American camp. The twenty-four
pounders buried their great shots in the mud wall and
fired the cotton bales or tore them to pieces at the
embrasures. Jackson walked from one end of the
fortifications to the other encouraging the men, and
observing the condition of the defenses. The moment
of panic had subsided. The men were eager for the
fray. So soon as the situation of affairs was seen,
and the bearings of the low batteries of the enemy
were taken, the American guns opened a terrific fire
from every part of the long line. Patterson from his
battery also joined in the fray. For an hour and a
half these conflicting thunders roared. The British
firing had not been without effect, but the result they
anticipated was never reached. In vain did more than
half of their grand army stand a few hundred yards
in the rear of the fated redoubts waiting and watching for
the contemptible mud-works and their contemptible
defenders to be scattered before the great guns, that
they might rush forward to complete the work.
But brave, unlucky Britons, the moment for their
services never came ! The firing ceased. The smoke
252 LIFE AND TIMES OF
slowly cleared away. The sailors who had worked the
six batteries were seen running to the ditches for pro-
tection. The redoubts were torn to pieces, and fhe
great guns lay broken and harmless on the plain. In
the ditches the anxious army also took refuge, and not
till night did they all re^ch their old, tentless, comfort-
less, provisionless camp, which now had but one source
of consolation in it, it was out of the reach of the
deadly Yankee guns. Most of their own guns were
hauled away that night. A few only of them were
left to fall into the hands of Jackson eight days after-
wards. Their loss had been thirty or forty killed and
as many wounded in this battle of the cannons, in
which they were again forced to acknowledge the
superiority of the American artillerists. The Amer-
ican loss was eleven killed and twenty-three wounded,
and the greater number of these was of the New-Year's
lookers-on.
On this first day of the " glad new year," there
came no joy to the British army. And a sad, gloomy
night closed over' the failure of their cherished scheme.
In speaking of this day, and its effects, one of the
fairest of the British writers said : —
" Of the fatigue undergone during these operations by the
whole army, from the general down to the meanest sentinel, it
would be difficult to form an adequate conception. For two
whole nights and days not a man had closed an eye, except such
as were cool enough to sleep amidst showers of cannon-ball ; and
during the day scarcely a moment had been allowed in which we
were able so much as to break our fast. We retired, therefore,
not only baffled and disappointed, but in some degree disheartened
and discontented. All our plans had as yet proved abortive;
even this, upon which so much reliance had been placed, was
found to be of no avail ; and it must be confessed that something
like murmuring began to be heard through the camp. And, in
ANDREW JACKSON. 253
truth, if ever an array might be permitted to murmur it was this.
In landing they had borne great hardships, not only without i-e-
pining, but with cheerfulness ; their hopes had been excited by
false reports as to the practicability of the attempt in which they
were embarked ;^ and now they found themselves entangled amidst
difficulties from which there appeared to be no escape, except by
victory.
" In their attempts upon the enemy's line, however, they had
been twice foiled ; in artillery they perceived themselves to be so
greatly overmatched that their own could hardly assist them ;
their provisions, being derived wholly from the fleet, were both
scanty and coarse ; and their rest was continually broken. For
not only did the cannon and mortars from the main of the enemy's
position play unremittingly upon them both by day and night,
but they were likewise exposed to a deadly fire from the opposite
bank of the river, where no less than eighteen pieces of artillery
were now mounted, and swept the entire line of our encampment.
Besides all this, to undertake the duty of a picket was as danger-
ous as to go into action. Parties of American sharpshooters
harassed and disturbed those appointed to that service, from the
time they took possession of their post until they were relieved ;
whilst to light fires at night was impossible, because they served
but as certain marks for the enemy's gunners. I repeat, there-
fore, that a little murmuring could not be wondered at. Be it
observed, however, that these were not the murmurs of men anx-
ious to escape from a disagreeable situation by_ any means. On
the contrary, they resembled rather the growling of a chained dog,
when he sees his adversary and can not reach him ; for in all their
complaints no man ever hinted at a retreat, whilst all were eager
to bring matters to the issue of a battle, at any sacrifice of lives."
This had been what is usually designated a glo-
rious day to the Americans. Some good men had
been killed or wounded, but a great victory had been
won. The long line of fortification had now stood the
severest test, and the weak points in it had been dis-
covered. More than all this, it established in the
Americans the absolute conviction of their final suc-
cess, and made them fearless and invincible in their
254 LIFE AND TIMES OF
determination. And now what was next to be done ?
Nearly a week passed before this question could be
answered in the American camp. Jackson was greatly
at a loss now to decide what course the, British would
pursue, as he could not believe they would again
attempt to storm his line of defenses. He accord-
ingly sent off a squad of men to Lake Borgne to dis-
coA^er, if possible, the movements of the enemy at
the mouth of Bienvenu Bayou, and also down the
west bank opposite the British camp every possible
effort was made to ascertain what might next be
expected.
One thing was, from the first, by all these recon-
noissances, quite certain, that the British were going to
fight it out on that line in some way. On the 4th,
twenty-two hundred and fifty Kentuckians, under
General James Thomas, arrived, two-thirds of them
without arms, and one-half of them without clothes
to keep them warm or to cover their bodies even. This
was deplorable. Jackson had expected much from
these troops, and they had expected to find arms and
clothes in abundance awaiting them at New Orleans.
Every body was disappointed. But the most was to
be made out of a hard case. The Legislature, which
had only been shut out of the State House for a
day, now came nobly forward and made an appropria-
tion to clothe these troops. The citizens of New Or-
leans and the soldiers in the camp subscribed a con-
siderable sum for the same purpose. The greater
part of the money was spent for blankets, and these
were, in an incredibly short time, made into coats and
pantaloons by an army of patriotic women at New
Orleans, and twelve hundred soldiers were soon sup-
ANDEEW JACKSON. 255
plied with these, as well as the needy with shoes and
other necessities.
On the evening of the 6th, Friday, Jackson began
to see the design of the British. Some efforts had
been made to put the right side of the river in a
more defensible condition. Men had, for several days,
been engaged fortifying and strengthening that position,
which had been erroneously and greatly neglected.
The batteries erected on that side by Commodore Pat-
terson had been more for operations against the enemy
on the left bank, and were hardly prepared for defense.
But every thing was done that could now be done.
Patterson had discovered, as he thought, that the
British were preparing to cross the river, and if they
could do that and drive Morgan before them, they
would turn his guns on Jackson, and there would
be but one result to this stratagem, defeat of the
Americans.
On Saturday it was decided to send four or five
hundred of the Kentuckians to the aid of Morgan and
Patterson. These troops rushed off to New Orleans
hoping to find arms collected by that time, but only
about two hundred of them were supplied, and these
crossed the river, and by four o'clock on the morning
of the 8th reached Morgan's line. About twelve hun-
dred of the poorest equipped soldiers were now on the
right bank of the river, with two cannons in their
whole line, besides Patterson's fine battery.
The great line on the left had been strengthened,
additional cannons mounted, every vestige of the
cotton-bales which had burned and smoked, and greatly
annoyed the soldiers on the 1st, had been removed,
and no matter what had been neglected, or what
256 LIFE AND TIMES OF
done on the west bank or anywhere, all was done
that could be now, and the result would soon be
known. The time had come. No man in the Amer-
ican army was more confident of the result than the
Commander-in-chief. To Governor John Adair, to
whom the command of the Kentuckians had fallen by
the sickness of General Thomas, Jackson appealed for
his opinion of the defensibility of the works he had in
so short a time erected. Adair was not lacking in
resources, and told him that they could only be held
against the desperate British assailants by having a
strong reserve to beat them off as they should fall on
one point or another.
Jackson approved this view, and put the service
into the hands of Adair and his unarmed Kentuckians.
Adair at once set about gathering arms in New Or-
leans, and prepared to do the work assigned him.
Thus matters stood in the American camp on Satur-
day evening before the final battle. All this night the
greater part of the men were in arms at their posts.
The morning was eagerly awaited, and no man could
tell what it had in store for him.
At one o'clock on the night of the 7th, General
Jackson was aroused from a short sleep, at his head-
quarters in McCarty's house, by a messenger from
General Morgan and Commodore Patterson to assure
him that the British were crossing troops to that side
of the river, that the main attack would be made over
there, and that it would be necessary for more men
to be sent to the aid of Morgan. To this request
Jackson replied : " Hurry back, and tell General
Morgan that he is mistaken. The main attack will be
on this side, and I have no men to spare. He must
ANDREW JACKSON. 257
maintain his position at all hazards." This Morgan
tried hard to do.
The General now called his aids, and by four
o'clock the entire- army was in line of battle. The
whole American force on the left side of the river was
formed into three divisions. On the right of the line
the command was given to Colonel Ross, and the left
division extending into the swamp to General Carroll.
Under Carroll was the brigade of Coffee and the great
part of his own corps from Tennessee. The Third Di-
vision consisted of a thousand Kentuckians with all
kinds of arms under General Adair and directly under
commands from Jackson. This corps was formed fifty
yards or so in the rear of Carroll as a reserve accord-
ing to Adair's suggestion. The entire army under
Jackson on the left bank of the Mississippi, on the
morning of the 8th, amounted to about 5,500 men.
But only about 3,000 of these could be placed in the
line, and less than 2,000 were actually engaged in the
battle. Of all these troops, less than a thousand were
of the regular branch of the service, and most of these
were new recruits. On the other side of the river
General Morgan had but 812 men. Hence, the per-
sistent misrepresentation of British writers in placing
the Americnn army at twice the strength of that under
Sir Edward Packenham. And several of them were
not content even with that, but actually declared that
General Jackson's force amounted to twenty-five or
thirty thousand men. ^
For the number of men engaged, Jackson's artillery
force was strong. In the line from the river to the
swamp and in the redoubt, constructed outside of his
breastworks, and across the ditch on the right he had
17— G
258 LIFE AND TIMES OF
sixteen guns of all kinds and sizes ; and to these
should be added Patterson's battery of nine guns, sit-
uated to give aid to Jackson. General Morgan had
three guns, making twenty-eight in all. Twenty-five
of these were used in the main engagement.
The British army was put into four divisions ; the
main assailing force into the right under Gibbs, the
left under Keane, and the reserve under General John
Lambert, who had recently arrived with about two
thousand troops, and a division of fourteen hundred
men under Colonel W. Thornton to be sent to the west
side of the river, about nine thousand in all.
Two of the British regiments were black men from
the West Indies, who proved to be much worse than
nothing. In this mild winter climate they were freez-
ing, and from cold and cowardice they were worthless.
Notwithstanding this one of these black cowardly regi-
ments was designated to carry ladders for scaling the
American parapet, and bundles of sticks for bridging
or filling the ditch, for the left division. Although
their fascines were not needed by this part of the
army, this black regiment marched behind and not
before, and never would have been able to get up with
their sticks. For nearly a week the British army
had been opening an old ditch from Bayou Bienvenu
to the river through which they expected to float and
drag boats in which to transport Thornton's division
to the other side of the river. This they had, after
great exertions, finished, but the river falling they
were not able to get into boats to carry over one-half
of the men designed for that part of the assault.
Thornton was delayed in getting over with even these,
so that Packenham determined to proceed with the
ANDREW JACKSON. 259
plan of attack he had already issued. At four o'clock
the British army marched out and took the positions
assigned them as nearly as possible in the fog, on the
plain a few hundred yards from the American lines.
In the early part of the night three or four batteries
had been erected at different distances from the Amer-
ican works, for protecting the advance.
The fog was slow in clearing away, and as day-
light approached, the British army with great difficulty
maintained its organization or was able to know what
was taking place. With great forebodings many of
these brave men went into this battle. They believed
that it would be their last. About six o'clock the
fog began to lift, and the red line of the enemy was
seen for the first from the American parapet. Cheers
went up from both sides. The cannons in the Ameri-
can line now began the work of death. As the ad-
vancing columns were rent asunder they were closed
up, and marched on. When the division of the right,
under Gibbs, came within two hundred yards of the
American line, Carroll opened with his rifles, and as
one column fired and withdrew from the breastworks,
another was ready to take its place, from the Ken-
tucky reserve as well as from the Tennesseeans. A
constant stream of fire and shot rolled from the low
works. When the British column slowly approached
it was observed by their officers that the Forty-fourth,
a good regiment, commanded by Colonel Mullens, a
soldier of family, which was to carry the ladders and
fascines for the right wing, was advancing without
them.
It was a terrible moment. The regiment was or-
dered back to stack their arms and bring their burdens
260 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from the place where they were deposited near the
American works beyond the picket line, early in the
night. The column again pressed forward after the
momentary pause. At this juncture Packenham came
up with the Forty-fourth, running with fascines and
ladders, but in great confusion. This brave General
cried to them to remember that they were British sol-
diers, and hasten forward. But it was too late. The
advancing column had halted and then given way
within a hundred yards of the American line. As
Packenham rushed towards the front he met General
Gibbs, who told him that the men would not obey or
follow him. Packenham waving his hat rode amidst
the shower of balls in front of the column and urged
the men forward, until a ball broke and shattered his
right arm, and his horse fell dead. On McDougal's
horse he rushed after the retreating column.
The Ninety-third Highlanders now came forward
under Keane to fill the place and renew the effort to
assault on the American left, where it was supposed to
be weakest. Both Packenham and Gibbs cheered for-
ward this body of noble men. But Packenham, with
his arm dangling at his side, seemed now to have a
premonition of what was coming, and ordered the Ad-
jutant-General, Sir John Tylden, to call up the reserve
under Lambert. At this moment a shot struck his
thigh and tore it open. McDougal was again at his
side, and as he bore him up another shot struck him in
the groin. He was borne to the rear, and under a live-
oak, a few minutes afterwards, he died. Colonel Dale
soon fell, as he had predicted, mortally wounded, at
the head of the Highlanders. General Gibbs was
borne from the field with a mortal wound, from which
ANDREW JACKSON. 261
he died the next day. This had scarcely occurred
until brave Keane was carried from the field with two
severe wounds.
In the meantime Sir John Tylden had given the
order to General Lambert, and the bugler was directed
to sound the advance to the reserve. But the poor
bugler was shot in the very act of giving the call.
The Highlanders never reached the ditch. When two-
thirds of their number were shot down they, too, took
to flight. All hope was now gone. But a few of the
brave Britons reached the ditch where they remained
under the protection of the parapet to be captured
when their friends had given up the dreadful struggle.
On the left of the line one British officer, Lieuten-
ant Lavack, actually gained the summit of the para-
pet unharmed, and coolly asked two American officers
to surrender to him, without knowing that his men
were not following him. On the American right.
Colonel Rennie, a daring Briton, drove the men on
the outposts before him with such rapidity that it was
impossible to fire upon him without wounding their
own soldiers. In this way he rushed after and among
them and entered the circular battery across the
ditch, and drove its defenders by the board walk to
the parapet, which he and two of his officers also
reached, and where they remained alive long enough to
cry out : " Hurrah, boys ! the day is ours." By eight
o'clock the living part of the British army had been
entirely withdrawn from the field. The plain was
covered with the dead and wounded. The firing
ceased along the American line. The smoke cleared
away. Through the American camp, and far to the
rear where hundreds of anxious listeners had gathered.
262 LIFE AND TIMES OF
shout after shout rent the air, and bore the glad
tidings to the saved city. The great work was done,
and with as little loss of life and as little occasion for
sorrow as history has anywhere recorded among great
events.
Now for the first Jackson began to think of the
other side of the river. From his position it was
soon discovered that there the British had been suc-
cessful. This was an unlooked-for state of affairs,
and at once changed the aspect of things in the vic-
torious camp. Sympathy and sorrow for the wounded
that lay on the plain before them was changed for the
moment to apprehension and anger. Something was
to be done. Morgan's men were flying towards the
city, and in a moment Patterson's great guns might be
turned to the destruction of his own countrymen.
This is the way matters went on the right side of
the river.
It was the wise plan of the British General to
carry first the right side of the river and with the
captured guns of the Americans and those accompany-
ing their own corps, thus readily clear the way for
his assailing main force on the east side. But Thorn-
ton had been delayed and could not get over to
accomplish his easy task at the time designated for
the assault on the main line, and Packenham deemed
it unnecessary for an army so superior and splendid
to be delayed in moving upon works so insignificant
defended by hunters and " chimney-sweeps." Getting
off with half the force designed for the expedition at
nearly four o'clock, Thornton set out in his boats for
the opposite side, and was carried a mile down the river
by the rapid current, but there landed without opposi-
ANDREW JACKSON. 263
tion. The great battle had begun before he had formed
his line and started for General Morgan's position.
Morgan had thrown out an advance column of
between two and three hundred men, mostly Kentuck-
ians, under Colonel Davis. These he routed without
hindrance. Davis halted his men and took position at
the poor line of defense behind which Morgan was
stationed with his main force, consisting of Louisiana
militia. Thornton extended his front so as to embrace
Morgan's entire line, which he charged at once. Mor-
gan made a vigorous defense for a few moments ; his
three cannons were handled with skill, and the British
were on the point of sharing the fate of their friends
on the east side of the river. But Thornton was
equal to the occasion. His three carronades were
immediately opened upon Morgan's batteries, and at
the head of a division of his men he soon put the
Kentuckians to flight, and forcing the Louisianians to
give way, took possession of their line of defenses.
In the meantime, Patterson seeing how things were
going, turned his guns to bear upon the advancing
British. But Davis's flying braves coming in the way,
he was compelled to spike his guns and retire on the
road towards the city. Morgan with his militia
retreated in body to the Louisiana, which they suc-
ceeded in hauling out of the reach of the enemy. At
this juncture Thornton, who had been wounded, received
the news of the great disaster to the main army, and,
although he had re(5eived several companies of re-en-
forcements, and was preparing to make the most of
the incalculable advantages he had gained, he was soon
afterwards ordered to abandon them and rejoin the
main force in the old camp. This was another of the
264 LIFE AND TIMES OF
chain of fatal steps taken by the British General in
this campaign. Thornton was now situated to scatter
the Americans from behind their breastworks on the
east side, and on an open field the poorly armed,
undisciplined army of Jackson could hardly have with-
stood the remaining British force under Lambert.
Two or three things combined to bring about the
fortunate turn for the Americans at this dangerous
crisis.
General Lambert, who had succeeded to the com-
mand of the British army, sent a flag of truce to
General Jackson asking for an armistice of twenty-
four hours. This Jackson granted on condition that
hostilities should cease on the east side of the river
only, and that no more troops from either army
should be sent to the other side. Lambert asked
until nine o'clock on the morning of the 9th to con-
sider these terms, and in the meantime brought
Thornton and his whole force across the Mississippi.
Jackson supposed, in making this offer, which resulted
so beneficially to him, that he had already sent
enough men over there to whip the British, and that
it could all be done before noon the next day. But
this was a mistake, as the re-enforcements for Morgan
had not crossed the river, the militia refusing to serve
under the old French officer, Humbert, whom Jackson
had appointed to command them.
But by the proposition itself Lambert was led to
believe that General Jackson had a sufficient force on
that side to crush Thornton. He also felt insecure in
his own position, and believed that his entire force
would be necessary to resist the Americans should
they now become the assailants. No sooner had Thorn-
ANDREW JACKSON. 265
ton decamped than Morgan and Patterson returned and
began to restore the recovered position. Thus was the
victory of New Orleans secured beyond a doubt.
On the morning of the 9th a line of pickets of both
armies was formed on the plain three hundred yards
in front of the American works, and to that line the
American soldiers carried the British dead and wounded
and gave them to their friends. Most of the dead
Britons were buried on one of the plantations, where
their remains have never been disturbed. The bodies
of Generals Packenham and Gibbs and several other
officers were put in casks of rum and carried to
England.
The British placed their loss in the battle of New
Orleans at about two thousand in killed, wounded, and
missing; but Colonel Hayne, Jackson's inspector-gen-
eral, estimated their loss at twenty-six hundred, which
was, perhaps, more nearly the correct figure. The
American loss was eight killed and thirteen wounded.
The British General now decided to abandon the
unfortunate expedition, and at once set to work in great
secrecy to build a road which would bear his army up
through the swamp to Lake Borgne, where he hoped
to be able to embark without hindrance. At noon on
the 9th the armistice was ended, and General Jackson
began to consider the propriety of attacking the enemy
in his camp and cutting off his retreat to Lake Borgne.
In Jackson's own mind at first view this was the thing
to be done. But he called a council of officers who
strongly and unanimously declared against leading out
a militia force to be attacked by a still strong army of
now desperate regulars. It was then decided to remain
behind the intrenchments, and continue the picket
266 LIFE AND TIMES OF
warfare, and the occasional cannonade which had before
rendered the condition of the British camp intolerable.
How effectual this kind of warfare was may be, to
some extent, estimated by the following extract from
the writing of a British officer : —
"We never closed our eyes in peace, for we were sure to be
awakened before many minutes elapsed by the splash of a round
shot or shell in the mud beside us. Tents we had none, but lay,
some in the open air, and some in huts made of boards, or any
materials that could be procured. From the first moment of our
landing, not a man had undressed excepting to bathe, and many
had worn the same shirt for weeks together. Besides all this,
heavy rains now set in, accompanied with violent storms of thun-
der and lightning, which, lasting during the entire day, usually
ceased towards dark, and gave place to keen frosts. Thus were
we alternately wet and frozen ; wet all day, and frozen all night.
With the outposts, again, there was constant skirmishing. With
what view the Americans wished to drive them in, I can not tell ;
but every day were they attacked and compelled to maintain
their ground by dint of hard fighting. In one word, none but
those who happened to belong to this army can form a notion of
the hardships which it endured, and the fatigue which it underwent.
' ' Nor were these the only evils which tended to lessen our
numbers. To our soldiers every inducement was held out by the
enemy to desert. Printed papers, offering lands and money as
the price of desertion, were thrown into the pickets, whilst indi-
viduals made a practice of approaching our posts, and endeavor-
ing to persuade the very sentinels to quit their stations. Nor
could it be expected that bribes so tempting would always be re-
fused. Many desertions began daily to take place, and became
before long so frequent that the evil rose to be of a serious nature."
It had, no doubt, been the design of the British to
co-operate with a part of their fleet in the assault on
New Orleans. Several of their vessels entered the
Mississippi, but were too slow in their movements to
be of any assistance in the decisive battle of the 8th,
even if they had been able to pass Fort St. Philip.
ANDREW JACKSON. 267
Not until the 9th did they arrive below that fort and
at a safe distance begin to bombard it. But they were
unsuccessful, and after throwing more than a thousand
shells at the fort, on the morning of the 18th they
gave up the undertaking, and sailed out of the river.
On the night of this very day, the road having been
finished to the lake by great labor and hardship, the
British camp in front of General Jackson was broken
up, and the whole army marched to Lake Borgne.
Without detection all the stores and munitions of war,
not abandoned, had been conveyed to the ships. A
strong picket force had been kept out on all possible
approaches to prevent their designs being known to
the Americans, and even in the place of their sentinels
at the old camp on the plain dummies or paddies had
been erected, and on the morning of the 19th, the
Americans from their lines still beheld the usual ap-
pearance of life at the British camp. The old French
officer, Humbert, who had seen such tricks, was the
first to detect the character of the motionless sentinels.
A part of the sick and wounded was left to the care
x)f the Americans.
An attempt was made by General Jackson to har-
ass the departing enemy, but this amounted to noth-
ing. The fact was that Jackson's men thought they
had accomplished enough for raw soldiers, many of
whom were impressed, or had volunteered merely to
defend New Orleans, and no great favor could have
been given to an order for moving in a body upon
the British. Not until the 27th of January did the
British army finally get off in their ships, thus ending
one of the saddest and most fruitless campaigns in the
history of modern wars.
268 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XVI
GENERAL JACKSON'S CROWN OF LAUREL— JUDGE HALL
AND THE FINE OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS—
THE HERO OF NEW ORLEANS
AT HOME.
IN the meantime some events of interest had oc-
curred in New Orleans. Demonstrations of joy
were unbounded. On the 20th or 21st General Jack-
son and the greater part of his staff returned to the
city. This was his first appearance since the afternoon
of the 23d of December. What he had promised, he
had done, and more. At his request the 23d of Jan-
uary was to be observed as a day of thanksgiving to
the Almighty Ruler of the worlds. In the midst of
this there was to be some extravagant praises and
caresses of the iron-willed man who had been mainly in-
strumental in saving the city and whipping the British.
The wildest enthusiasm had greeted the General on
his return to the city, nor was it then or at any time
afterwards any part of his thought or desire to oppose
or appear averse to any amount of praise bestowed
upon himself. Although a man of simple habits, his
political opinions were never of that leveling democ-
racy which would make heroes of all men, or spurn
the adulation and exaltation of a few.
At all events, on the 23d of January, which h;id
been ostensibly set aside as a day of thanksgiving to
ANDREW JACKSON. 269
the Almighty, General Jackson suffered himself to be
crowned by two young girls under an arch in the
Public Square. He then walked to the cathedral
amidst flowers strewn by children, and at the entrance
of this building, with the laurel wreath still on his
head, amidst showers of flowers, received a speech
from a young Creole beauty ; and was then addressed
by Abbe Dubourg, a patriotic priest, in very extrava-
gant eulogistic terms, to which the General replied in
his happiest strain, protesting that "for himself, to
have been instrumental in the deliverance of such a
country, is the greatest blessing that Heaven could
bestow."
That day and night were given to rejoicing, and
one of Jackson's biographers says that when the peo-
ple did at last " sink into slumbers they were no
longer disturbed by dreams of sack, ruin, bloodshed,
and devastation." After the end of these ceremonies
and the final departure of the British, Jackson next
bethought himself of his soldiers. The sword was
now laid aside for the pen, an instrument equally
exalted in his opinion, and the first result was an ad-
dress in review of events and praise of their conduct.
The British army was now landed on Dauphin
Island at the entrance to Mobile Bay, and there
went into regular camp. The purpose of the British
General was to capture Fort Bowyer and Mobile,
and partly compensate for the failure of the great
expedition,
He proceeded, however, with caution, and, indeed,
both in the British army and the American army
much of the spirit of conflict was gone. Jackson's
old troubles in dealing with discontented militia and
270 LIFE AND TIMES OF
volunteers returned, and some serious difficulties beset
him on this account, which helped to embitter his
memory of these grand moments in his life.
Lambert finally surrounded Fort Bowyer, and
Major Lawrence, seeing that . further resistance was
worse than useless, surrendered on the 11th of
February.
There was now a very strong belief in the British
army, as there was also a growing distaste for the
war, that peace was near at hand. Two days after
the surrender of Fort Bowyer Admiral Malcolm re-
ceived a slip of newspaper declaring that the negotia-
tions at Ghent had terminated favorably. At this
time Edward Livingston, Maunsel White, and Com-
modore Patterson's aid, R. D. Shepherd, were in the
British camp on a mission from Jackson as to exchange
of prisoners.
On the 19th they returned to the American camp
with this welcome news. Still the treaty had not
been ratified, and it was the 13th of March before
General Jackson received information from Washington
of the ratification. It now became his turn to an-
nounce this result to the British General, at Dauphin
Island. A messenger had indeed traveled all the way
from Washington, and reached New Orleans seven
days before for this purpose, but on opening his dis-
patch it was found to be an old letter from the War
Department, which had been carried instead of the
other through careless excitement in starting on the
long journey.
The whole country was now sounding the praises
of Jackson and New Orleans ; nor did it cease to do
so until it made him President, nor, in fact, has it yet
ANDREW JACKSON. 271
ceased to do so. New Orleans was the real beginning
of Jackson's overwhelming popularity. This campaign
at the South enabled the country to look up, after its
many defeats, and so astounding was the result as to
afford the Americans that prestige with which they
could welcome peace with pride.
The Legislatures of all the States but Louisiana
passed resolutions of thanks to Jackson. So did other
bodies, and almost everybody else. The Legislature
of Louisiana, however, had been, or considered itself
badly treated by General Jackson, and while it passed
honorable resolutions of respect for his officers and
men, his name was unmentioned. This might have
been expected, but it was shabby treatment.
Congress was then in session, and that body unan-
imously adopted the following resolutions : —
"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, given to Major-General
Jackson, and through him, to the oflficers and soldiers of the reg-
ular army, of the volunteers, and of the militia under his com-
mand, the greater portion of which troops consisted of militia and
volunteers, suddenly collected together, for their uniform gallantry
and good conduct conspicuously displayed against the enemy, from
the time of his landing before New Orleans until his final expul-
sion therefrom, and particularly for their valor, skill, and good
conduct on the 8th of January last, in repulsing, with great
slaughter, a numerous British army of chosen veteran troops,
when attempting by a bold and daring attack to carry by storm
the works hastily thrown up for the protection of New Orleans,
and thereby obtaining a most signal victory over the enemy with
a disparity of loss, on his part, unexampled in military annals.
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested
to cause to be struck a gold medal, with devices emblematical of
this splendid achievement, and presented to Major-General Jack-
son as a testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of
272 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his judicious and distinguished conduct on that memorable oc-
casion.
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested
to cause the foregoing resolutions to be communicated to Major-
General Jackson, in such terms as he may deem best calculated to
give effect to the objects thereof."
Arrangements were now made for dismissing the
army ; and civil law and the old order of things were
restored in New Orleans. Military offenses were for-
given on the part of the commander of the army, and
military prisoners released.
The following is Jackson's farewell address to the
army serving under him: —
"The Major-General is at length enabled to perform the pleas-
ing task of restoring to Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, and the
Territory of the Mississippi, the brave troops who have acted such
a distinguished part in the war which has just .terminated. In
restoring these brave men to their homes, much exertion is ex-
pected of, and great responsibility imposed on, the commanding
officers of the different corps. It is required of Major-Generals
Carroll and Thomas, and Brigadier-General Coffee, to march their
commands, without unnecessary delay, to their respective States.
The troops from the Mississippi Territory and State of Louisiana,
both militia and volunteers, will be immediately mustered out of
service, paid, and discharged.
" The Major-General has the satisfaction of announcing the
approbation of the President of the United States, to the conduct
of the troops under his command, expressed in flattering terms,
through the honorable the Secretary of War. In parting with
these brave men, whose destinies have been so long united with
his own, and in whose labors and glories it is his happiness and his
boast to have participated, the Commanding General can neither
suppress his feelings, nor give utterance to them as he ought.
In what terms can he bestow suitable praise on merit so extraor-
dinary, so unparalleled! Let him, in one burst of joy, gratitude,
and exultation, exclaim, These are the saviors of their country —
these the patriot soldiers who triumphed over the invincibles of
Wellington, and conquered the conquerors of Europe !
ANDREW JACKSON. 273
" With what patience did you submit to privations — with what
fortitude did you endure fatigue— what valor did you disphiy in
the day of battle ! You have secured to America a proud name
among the nations of the earth— a glory which will never perish.
Possessing those dispositions, which equally adorn the citizen and
the soldier, the expectations of your country will be met iu peace,
as her wishes have been gratified in war. Go, then, my brave
companions, to your homes; to those tender connections and
blissful scenes which render life so dear— full of honor, and
crowned with laurels which wiU never fade. When participating,
in the bosoms of your families, the enjoyment of peaceful life,
with what happiness will you not look back to the toUs you have
borne, to the dangers you have encountered ! How will all your
past exposures be converted into sour&es of inexpressible delight!
Who, that never experienced your sufferings, will be able to ap-
preciate your joys? The man who slumbered ingloriously at
home during your painful marches, your nights of watchfulness,
and your days of toil, will envy you the happiness which these
recollections will afford ; still more will he envy the gratitude of
that country which you have so eminently contributed to save.
Continue, fellow-soldiers, on your passage to your several destina-
tions, to preserve that subordination, that dignified and manly de-
portment, which have so ennobled your character.
" While the Commanding General is thus giving indulgence to
his feeliugs towards those brave companions who accompanied him
through difficulties and danger, he can not permit the names of
Blount, and Shelby, and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With what
generous ardor and patriotism have these distinguished governors
contributed all their exertions ! and the success which has resulted
will be to them a reward more grateful than any which the pomp
of title, or the splendor of wealth, can bestow.
" What happiness it is to the Commanding General, that while
danger was before him, he was, on no occasion, compelled to use
towards his companions in arms, either severity or rebuke ! If
after the enemy had retired, improper passions began their empire
in a few unworthy bosoms, and rendered a resort to energetic
measures necessary for their suppression, he has not confounded
the innocent with the guilty, the seduced with the seducers. To-
wards you, fellow-soldiers, the most cheering recollections exist,
blended, alas ! with regret that disease and war should have rav-
ished from us so many worthy companions. But the memory of
18-G
274 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the cause in which they perished, and of the virtues which ani-
mated them, while living, must occupy the place where sorrow
would claim to dwell.
"Farewell, fellow-soldiers. The expression of your General's
thanks is feeble, but the gratitude of a country of freemen is
yours — yours the applause of an admiring world."
On the very day on which the news was received as to
the ratification of the treaty of peace military restraints
were removed, and steps taken to disband the army,
as has been stated, but this was by no means the end
of Jackson's work and troubles at New Orleans. A
few events connected with the last days of his admin-
istration in the city remain to be briefly mentioned.
The news of peace brought from Dauphin Island,
on the 19th of February, was mere rumor, and, in
announcing it to the army, General Jackson took occa-
sion to urge the necessity of a generous devotion to
the service of the country, and the exertion of all due
watchfulness until the certainty of peace removed the
opportunity for British aggression, and rendered such
services unnecessary. But every indication of the
return of peace, and every thing said about it, and the
restraints and discipline of the military service only
further excited the people and fomented opposition to
military order. On the 21st of February, the "Lou-
isiana Gazette " stated that a flag of truce had been re-
ceived at head-quarters from the enemy, saying that
peace had been made, and asking a suspension of hos-
tilities. This mere rumor, which the editor doubtlessly
knew to be wholly without foundation, and which was
a part of the plan to break down military discipline,
brought the following order from General Jackson : —
"Sm, — The Commanding General having seen a publication
which issued from your press today, stating that 'a flag had just
ANDREW JACKSON. 275
arrived,' etc., etc., requires that you will hasten to remove any
improper impression which so unauthorized and incorrect a state-
ment may have made.
"No request, either direct or virtual, has been made to him
by the commander of either the land or naval forces of Great
Britain for a suspension of arms. The letter of 'Bathurst to the
Lord Mayor,' which furnishes the only oflScial information that
has been communicated, will not allow the supposition that a
suspension of hostilities is meant or expected, until the treaty
signed by the respective commissioners shall have received the
ratification of the Prince Regent and of the President of the
United States.
"The Commanding General again calls upon his fellow-
citizens and soldiers to recollect that it is yet uncertain whether
the articles which have been signed at Ghent for the re-establish-
ment of peace will be approved by those whose approbation is
necessary to give efficiency to them. Until that approbation is
given and properly announced, he would be wanting to the im-
portant interests which have been confided to his protection if
he permitted any relaxation in the army under his command.
How disgraceful, as well as disastrous, would it be, if, by surren-
dering ourselves credulously and weakly to newspaper publica-
tions, often proceeding from ignorance, but more frequently
from dishonest designs, we permitted an enemy, whom we have
so lately and so gloriously beaten, to regain the advantages he
has lost, and triumph over us in turn.
"The General Order issued on the 19th expresses the feel-
ings, the views, and the hopes which the Commanding General
still entertains.
"Henceforward it is expected that no publication of the
nature of that herein alluded to and censured will appear in any
paper of the city, unless the editor shall have previously ascer-
tained its correctness, and gained permission for its insertion from
the proper source."
This was considered a great piece of tyranny by
the rebellious spirits. The press was to be muzzled!
The order-hating, licentious, sensational scandal-mon-
gering, rumor-breeding press ! Of this order the editor
took occasion to say, that " every man may read
276 LIFE AND TIMES OF
for himself, and think for himself (thank God ! our
thoughts are yet unshackled !) but as we have been
officially informed that New Orleans is a camp, our
readers must not expect us to take the liberty of ex-
pressing our opinion as we might in a free city." And
more to the same effect. That this man was not justly
arrested as an exciter of discontent and desertion in the
army, was wholly owing to the moderation of General
Jackson and his disposition to cast no more restraint
on the people than the case absolutely demanded.
The fruit of this sort of muzzling of the press was
a very unwise and riotous article in the " Lou-
isiana Courier," for which the editor was immediately
required at head-quarters, and gave the name of Louis
Louaillier, a member of the Legislature, as the author
of this really evil and obnoxious article. On the
5th of March Mr. Louaillier was arrested and con-
fined by order of General Jackson. Through his attor-
ney, P. L. Morel, application was made to Judge
Dominick A. Hall, of the United States District Court,
for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus to bring this
case before his court and out of military authority.
Judge Hall issued the desired writ, and Morel sent
this note to General Jackson : —
"To HIS Excellency Major-Genkeal Jackson:
"Sir, — I have the honor to inform your excellency that, as
counsel, I have made application to his honor, Dom. A. Hall,
Judge of the District Court of the United States, for a writ of
habeas corpus in behalf of Mr. Louaillier, who conceived that he
was illegally arrested by order of your excellency ; and that the
said writ has been awarded, and is returnable to-morrow, 6th
instant, at eleven o'clock, A. M.
" I have the honor to be your excellency's most humble and
obedient servant, P. L. Morel, Counselor at Law."
ANDREW JACKSON. 277
The natural result of this note was the arrest of
Judge Hall. They had started up the wrong man.
When the habeas corpus writ was presented to Jackson
he snatched it from the officer, and gave him in return
a certified copy of it. Some other arrests were made
for similar offenses. On the 11th of February, Hall
was taken from the barracks where he had been con-
fined for several days, and escorted beyond the lines
with the advice from the General to remain there until
the British had left the southern coast, or the ratifi-
cation of peace was certainly known. But Hall's ban-
ishment was of short duration. On the 13th the right
messenger arrived from Washington, and Jackson pro-
ceeded gladly to remove martial rule and disband the
army.
It now became Judge Hall's turn to display his
authority and his spleen. On the 24th of March
Jackson was ordered to appear before Judge Hall, to
answer for contempt of court in taking forcible pos-
session of the order for the writ of habeas corpus, for
arresting the processes of the court, and imprisoning
and insulting the person of the judge. Jackson had
prepared a complete defense of his course, but Hall
refused to hear this, and issued an attachment to be
returned on the last day of the month. On that day
the General appeared in court. Of course this excit-
ing contest brought a crowd of the friends and oppo-
nents of Jackson to the court. As soon as he was
recognized in his citizen's dress, a wild demonstration
was made in his favor, which scared the Judge, and
caused him to order the court to be dismissed until a
time in which its proceedings would not be molested.
At this juncture the General rose and urged Hall to
278 LIFE AND TIMES OF
proceed with the business, saying that no harm should
be done, that he was as ready to defend the court in
the discharge of its duty as he had been in defending
the city from its enemies. A score of questions were
then announced to the General. Such as, " Did you
not seize the writ of habeas cor^msf' "Did you not
say a variety of disrespectful things of the Judge ?"
All this foolishness Jackson refused to tolerate,
and simply declined to answer anything, alleging that
he had presented a full defense which was not re-
spected, and now he waited for the A^erdict of the
court, and nothing else.
Hall then announced the decision that " Major-
General Andrew Jackson do pay a fine of one thousand
dollars to the United States."
Jackson was carried out of the court-room in great
triumph, and along the street, until the excited crowd
met a carriage with the owner in it, when they either
induced her to get out or lifted her out, and put the
General in, and proceeded with him to some drinking
saloon, where he made a fine speech, urging all his
friends to be law-abiding people, and be good boys, go
to their homes, and let the court pursue its course
with him.
He soon afterwards sent a check for the $1,000,
and paid the fine.
It is said that the people in a very short time
afterwards raised this amount by subscription, and
presented it to the General, but that he immediately
donated it to the benefit of the families of those who
had fallen in the defense of the city. This item,
however, is somewhat doubtful, as it is quite certain
that the matter preyed on the General's mind, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 279
the whole case was revived in every improbable shape
during his Presidential services. He was so sensitive
as to leaving anything against his military record that
towards the close of his life some of his friends re-
vived this matter, when Congress cleared it up and in
the celebrated " expunging resolutions," ordered the
money to be refunded, with interest from the time the
fine was imposed. Thus the Government was made
to pay dearly for this little work of revenge at New
Orleans. But this was not accomplished without a
struggle in Congress.
When the General had paid his fine there was
peace. The " muzzled press " and people who had
lost their freedom were vindicated ; and everybody
was happy, with the exception of a few individuals
who eould not agree with the stubborn soldier in the
settlements for property used during the campaign.
Some serious enemies Jackson had made in his short
and interesting sojourn at New Orleans, never forgot
nor forgave him, but most of the citizens upheld his
course, and others were willing to let the past go.
Edward Livingston drew up the defense which Judge
Hall rejected, and although it appeared in a dress
which would have been less polished from the Gen-
eral's own hand, it contained his sentiments.
On the 6th of April, Jackson with his wife and
adopted son, Andrew, left New Orleans for Tennessee.
At Natchez he was stopped a short time by Blenner-
hassett's attempt to recover from him over seventeen
hundred dollars which he believed Jackson yet owed
Aaron Burr on the unsettled account of 1806. But
this was a mistake, as has been already shown, Burr
having received this balance before starting down the
280 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Cumberland on his way to the ancient " throne of the
Montezumas."
General Jackson was already the " Hero of New
Orleans," and as such was received throughout his
journey home.
He reached Nashville in May, and there his recep-
tion was on a much grander scale than on his return
from conquering the Creeks. Felix Grundy addressed
him on the part of the people, and the General
replied : —
"Sir, — I am at a loss to express my feelings. The approba-
tion of my fellow-citizens is to me the richest reward. Through
you, sir, I beg leave to assure them that I am this day amply
compensated for every toil and labor.
"In a war forced upon us by the multiplied wrongs of a
nation who envied our increasing prosperity, important and diffi-
cult duties were assigned me. I have labored to discharge them
faithfully, having a single eye to the honor of my country.
"The bare consciousness of having performed my duty would
have been a source of great happiness ; but the assurance that
what I have done meets your approbation enhances that happi-
ness greatly."
At the Hermitage many of the General's neighbors
met to celebrate his return, and. strangely enough, the
receptions and honors terminated in what Mr. Parton
calls the " crowning event," an eating and drinking
feast at Nashville, in which the great qualities of man
gave way to the mere traits of animals. It was pitia-
ble and disgusting to end the great campaign in the
gullets and stomachs of its hero and his friends.
"And Jackson returned to his own fields and his own pur-
suits, to cherish his plantation, to care for his servants, to look
after his stud, to enjoy the affection of the most kind and devoted
wife, whom he respected with the gentlest deference, and loved
with an almost miraculous tenderness.
ANDREW JACKSON. 281
"And there he stood, like one of the mightiest forest trees of
his own West, vigorous and colossal, sending its summit to the
skies, and growing on its native soil in wild and inimitable mag-
nificence, careless of beholders. From all parts of the country
he received appeals to his political ambition, and the severe
modesty of his well-balanced mind turned them all aside. He
was happy in his farm, happy in seclusion, happy in his family,
happy within himself."
" To cherish his plantation, to care for his servants."
"And there he stood like one of the mightiest forest
trees of his own West !" Wonderful man ! More won-
derful orator ! Thus in the prime of life wrote George
Bancroft, a historian.
A few more specimens of this writer's " eloquence "
on General Jackson, at different stages of his career
may not be uninteresting here : —
"Far up on the forest-clad banks of the Catawba, in a region
where the settlers were just beginning to cluster, his eye first saw
the light. There his infancy sported in the ancient forests, and
his mind was nursed to freedom by their influence."
" The first great political truth that reached his heart was,
that all men are free and equal.
"Behold, then, our orphan hero, sternly earnest, consecrated
to humanity from childhood by sorrow, having neither father, nor
mother, nor sister, nor surviving brother; so young, and yet so
solitary, and therefore bound the more closely to collective man,
behold him elect for his lot, to go forth and assist in laying the
foundations of society in the great valley of the Mississippi.
" Behold, then, the unlettered man of the West, the nursling
of the wilds, the farmer of the Hermitage, little versed in books,
unconnected by science with the tradition of the past, raised by
the will of the people to the highest pinnacle of honor, to the
central post in the civilization of republican freedom, to the sta-
tion where all the nations of the earth would watch his actions,
where his words would vibrate through the civilized world, and
his spirit be the moving-star to guide the nations."
282 LIFE AiSD TIMES OF
CHAPTER XVII.
EXECUTION OF THE MILITIA-MEN— THE 8th OF JANUARY
AND THE PRESIDENCY— THE ADMINISTRATION IGNORED—
GENERAL SCOTT AND GOVERNOR ADAIR.
BEFORE Jackson left New Orleans the British
army had quit the Gulf coast, and was on its way
to the field of Waterloo. Lambert had exhibited some
ability as a military leader, and was undoubtedly a
man of admirable qualities. His skill, or what was
taken as his skill, in withdrawing the army from the
fatal field on the Mississippi, got for him a knight-
hood, certainly a thing of importance to an Englishman,
although it could not be so, perhaps, to a really great
mind anywhere in the world. While not being great
generals, the officers of this British force were mainly
brave soldiers and men of many exalted and admirable
qualities. That' part of the army which came from
the Chesapeake had suffered in reputation, to a great
extent, owing to its association with the marines.
Cockburn was the evil genius on the Potomac ; and in
the councils of war on the Mississippi, the stubborn
old Scotchman, Alexander Cochrane, seldom gave ad-
vice which benefited the cause he served. The repu-
tation of the British army on the Atlantic coast pre-
ceded it to the Gulf of Mexico, where it was an-
nounced that the battle-cry was to be " Beauty and
Booty." Nothing could have been more ridiculous
ANDREW JACKSON. 283
than this charge. Had such a sentiment been uttered
among soldiers in moments of hilarity or excitement,
there is no evidence to show that the officers shared
it, or would have tolerated it a moment in practice.
The British general officers and most of their subalterns
in this expedition were men of irreproachable char-
acter, and mainly their conduct was of the most hon-
orable kind. Like the Americans, the British were
not fortunate in the selection of commanders. A dis-
regard and contempt for American soldiers and a desire
to favor men of family distinction caused the British
Government to advance many young and incompetent
men, men of great bravery and experience often, but
not safe leaders. Of this class were the general officers
in the expedition to New Orleans, although they were
far in advance of any that had preceded them during
the war.
On the American side as the war progressed, the
men of the best qualities, and best suited to the emer-
gency were discovered, and the Administration was
wise enough to put them at the head of affairs. In the
South especially there were no mistakes. General
Jackson was extremely fortunate himself, and a great
cause of his good fortune at every step was found in
the fact that he made no mistakes in selecting his
subordinates. Although they were mainly taken from
his inexperienced personal friends, yet they seldom fell
below his expectations, or the demands of the moment.
At New Orleans all his aids and officers, from Edward
Livingston to old General Humbert, were deserving of
great praise. But, perhaps, the most noted military
characters connected with Jackson's two campaigns
were William Carroll and John Coffee. Carroll's conduct
284 LIFE AND TIMES OF
throughout the Creek war was highly praiseworthy,
and in the Louisiana campaign he was one of Jackson's
most efficient and gallant props. Like Jackson he had
some barbarous habits, but these did not disgrace him
in Tennessee. He served for a time as governor of
that State, but died prematurely.
Throughout Jackson's military services Coffee was
a second right arm to him. He too died early. If
Jackson had had a brush with the South Carolina nul-
lifiers in 1833, perhaps, these two trusted friends
would have been first in the execution of his wilL
When the great nullification bluster was at its fever
temperature Coffee was summoned to Washington to
consult with President Jackson, at all events, and did
not return to his Tennessee farm until there had been
another compromise fixed up.
About the close of the southern campaign and the
war an event occurred which was of no little trouble to
Jackson years subsequently, and especially in the
Presidential campaign of 1828. This was the execu-
tion of six Tennessee militia-men on the 21st of Feb-
ruary, at Mobile. On the 19th and 20th of September,
1814, there was a serious mutiny in the camp at Fort
Jackson. These six men were among the leaders of
the mutiny, and now at the dawn of peace they had to
suffer death for their offense. The main points in the
case, and the extent to which General Jackson was
connected with it may sufficiently appear from the fol-
lowing statement from Colonel P. Pipkin, commander
of the mutinous regiment : —
"The regiment which I commanded was mustered into service
under an act of Congress, for a term of six months' duty, on
the 20th of June, 1814, and ordered to garrison the different
ANDREW JACKSON. 285
posts in the Creek nation. In the latter end of August or the
1st of September, I discovered a mutinous disposition in my
regiment, as well at Fort Jackson, where I had established my
head-quarters, as at other posts ; but I had no proof that would
justify my preferring charges, until a soldier by the name of Hunt
made a public declaration that he would go home at the expira-
tion of three months, or die in the attempt. I then wrote to
General Jackson at Mobile, and requested him to order a court-
martial for the trial of said Hunt, which he did, but the order
did not come to hand until after the mutinous party of my regi-
ment 'had released him from under guard, who, with him, de-
serted on the 20th of September, 1814. A short time previous
to this the same party demolished the bake-house, destroyed the
oven, and did many other disorderly and mutinous acts. The
day previous to their desertion a large number paraded armed,
and marched towards the commissary's stores. I ordered them
to disperse, but my order was disregarded, and they forced the
guard stationed for the protection of the stores. The commis-
sary anticipating their design, closed and locked the door ; but
that did not restrain them, for one of the men (who was after-
wards shot by sentence of the court-martial) immediately snatched
up a pick-ax and cut the door off the hinges. They then en-
tered the house and took out eleven barrels of , flour, and made
public proclamation to all who intended going home to come
forward and draw rations, which they did. They afterwards pro-
ceeded to the bullock-pen and shot down two beeves, and the
balance taking fright, broke the pen and ran some distance,
where they killed a third. They then returned to the fort and
completed their arrangements to start home, as before stated, to
the number of about two hundred. I immediately reported to
General Jackson the situation of my command, and the manner
of my proceedings. Shortly after, I received orders from the
General directing me, that if I had not already arrested them, to
use every exertion in my power to do so, and have them brought
back for trial. A part of them were arrested, and a court-martial
ordered to be convened for their trial by Lieutenant-Colonel
Arbuckle (acting under the orders of General Jackson), at Mo-
bile, and to consist of five members and two supernumeraries.
Lieutenant-Colonel Perkins, of the Mississippi militia, was ap-
pointed president of the court, and Lieutenant Robeson judge-
advocate. I was ordered to detail the balance of the court from
286 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the militia troops of the State of Tennessee, and to order on the
witnesses for the trial of the prisoners of my regiment to Mo-
bile ; also, to make out charges and specifications against them,
which I did. On the 4th of December I received notice from
Colonel Perkins that the court-martial was organized. It com-
menced with the trial of Captain Strother, and continued from
day to day until all the prisoners were tried. In this busi-
ness General Jackson had but little to do. It is true that, at my
request, he ordered a court-martial, and appointed the president
and judge-advocate, who were both very respectable and intelli-
gent men ; but the balance of the court was detailed by me. Nor
was General Jackson present, or even in Mobile, at the time
the prisoners were tried or executed ; for I have always understood
and believed that he had reached the city of New Orleans before
the court was organized, where he remained until the restoration
of peace."
The court was in session two weeks, and resulted
in the acquittal of some, the dismissal from the service
of others, and the conviction and sentence to death
of the six men. This conclusion of the court was sent
to Jackson at New Orleans, and, after examining the
case, he ordered the sentence to be carried out at Mo-
bile, four days after the receipt of his decision.
The cause of all this business was the ever-
recurring misunderstanding as to the term of enlist-
ment, and, strictly speaking, the whole case was
narrowed down to this. Mutiny and what accompa-
nied it as criminal were proven, and the justification
of the execution, if there was any justification for it,
rested upon the facts as to the time of service due
from these men, whether it was three or six months.
General Jackson and most of his oflBcers held that the
mutineers had been called out for six months, and that
all of them knew this fully at the time of the call. But
many of them, with as apparent honesty, maintained
that the term was for three months only, and that the
ANDREW JACKSON. 287
State had no power to call out the militia for a greater
length of time, and that this fact was known at the
time of entering the service. The following is Jack-
son's order making this call : —
"Brave Tennesseeans of the Second Division, — The Creek
war, through the divine aid of Providence and the valor of those
engaged in the campaign in which you bore a conspicuous share,
has been brought to a happy termination. Good policy requires
that the territory conquered should be garrisoned and possession
retained until appropriated by the Government of the United
States. In pursuance of this policy, and to relieve the troops
now stationed at Forts Williams, Strother, and Armstrong, on the
Coosa River, as well as Old and New Deposit, I am commanded
by his excellency Governor Blount to call from my division one
thousand men in the service of the United States, for the pe-
riod OF SIX MONTHS, unless sooner discharged by order of the
President of the United States.
"The brigadier-generals or officers commanding the 4th, 5th,
6th, 7th, and 9th Brigades of the Second Division will forthwith
furnish from their brigades, respectively, by draft or voluntary en-
listment, two hundred men, with two captains, two first, two second,
and two third lieutenants, and two ensigns, well armed and
equipped for active service, to be rendezvoused at Fayetteville,
Lincoln County, in the State of Tennessee, on the 20th of June
next ; and then be organized into a regiment, at which place the
field-officers and muster-master will be ordered to meet them.
"Officers commanding the brigades composing the second
division of Tennessee militia are charged with the prompt and
due execution of this order."
Now, if the men knew the purport of this order,
that part of the case is settled at once, for the call
was evidently made for six months. It was a public
call, and hence this must be taken for granted. This
point the men could not escape. The legal power
vested in the Governor to authorize this call for a
longer term than three months is not so: easily set-
tled. From 1795 to 1812 the law provided that the
288 LIFE AND TIMES OF
militia should not be compelled to do military duty
more than three months in each year. Under this
law all military services were performed. In the
West, where the militia were so often called upon dur-
ing this period of Indian troubles, this became the
usage, and it was universally understood among the
people that they could be summoned only for three
months, and were liable to be discharged before the expi-
ration of that period, if their services were not needed.
In the spring of 1812 Congress enacted for the calling
out of one hundred thousand militia for six months,
which was styled a detachment from the militia. This
act, therefore, seemed only provided for the emer-
gency, and did not do away with the law of 1795, the
regular militia law. There constantly arose questions
now as to whether the militia ordered out in Ten-
nessee would be subject to this special regulation or
the law under which they had always acted. In one
case the Secretary of War gave notice that the troops
might be honorably mustered out at the end of three
months. In the spring of 1814 Congress again pro-
vided "that, if necessity required, the militia might be
held in service for six months if, in the opinion of the
President, the public good made it desirable. This
now was the point. But the President did not notify
Governor Blount, of Tennessee, that these men. Pip-
kins, or any others, should be held as a public necessity.
General Jackson gave his sanction to the execution
of these men on the strength of Blount's order to
him, and of his own in calling them into service under
the plain statement that it was to be for six months,
and he believed that the War Department had given
the Governor and himself the authority to fix this
ANDREW JACKSON. 289
time of service as well as the number of troops they
should call out. And thus he never took into con-
sideration his "right to act in the case, and deemed
himself fully justified in doing as he did. He was
farther influenced in his course by the experiences he
had had with the militia, and now he was feeling its
annoyances again. And at a time when the British
had just taken Fort Bowyer, and were threatening
Mobile, he felt that the example of the executions
would save to the service the troops so much needed.
Under the law of April, 1814, the court-martial
acted, and by this all the officers, and many of the
men formed their opinion. Some of the soldiers, too,
who were concerned in the mutiny of the 19th of
September, 1814, had not served even three months.
But the three months' law remained in force, and was
in fact, the militia law, and by it the men acted, and
really considered themselves right, and as in no sense
deserters, since those who had served three months
had served their time.
One of the men, John Harris, executed, was a
Baptist preacher, an ignorant, but well-meaning man,
and years afterwards his friends raised a great outcry
about his death. At the time little was said about
this affair, the people being too much occupied with
the successes of the army and the great boon of peace,
but the day of reckoning was to come. In 1828
the matter was brought before Congress, and that
body justified General Jackson's course in ordering
the executions.
These are the facts. The reader must judge. It
was a sad case, and as gentle Peace was then with
her white wings hovering over the Nation, perhaps a
19— G
290 LIFE AND TIMES OF
more lenient course would haA^e redounded more to
the honor of the Hero of New Orleans.
The 8th of January soon took its place among the
many memorable days in this country. In New
Orleans it is yet celebrated with great unanimity, as
it is in many parts of the country, but it has mainly
become a day devoted to partisan oratory and family
reminiscences. Eulogies on " Old Hickory " are turned
to the present advantage of the party of which he
was in some sense a founder, and always an aggres-
sive leader. And although the present Democratic
party has wandered from some of his most radical
practices and principles, it holds to him no less tena-
ciously. Jacksonian Democracy, strictly speaking,
however, was peculiar to an age now gone by.
Although the battle of New Orleans had no influ-
ence in terminating the War of 1812, few events in
the history of this country have been so fruitful, in
one way or another, as this. A month before it was
fought the Treaty of Ghent was signed by the com-
missioners, and a month afterwards was ratified by
this Government. But the battle was of no small
benefit in giving force and prestige to American arms,
and enabled us to close the war with a great crow,
which was heard all over the world, and has not yet
died away. Had the Atlantic telegraph been in exist-
ence on the 14th of December, 1814, this battle
would not have been fought. Had electricity been
converted to the purpose of conveying intelligence
with lightning speed throughout the civilized world
the life of many a noble Briton would have been
spared from the f;ital field of New Orleans.
And what else would not have been? The Creek
ANDREW JACKSON. 291
war alone, or this with all the other things in the life
of Andrew Jackson would not have made him Presi-
dent without the battle of New Orleans. Yet what
he did well at New Orleans, was, to a great extent,
counterbalanced by what he did badly there and else-
where. It was natural for him to breed quarrels.
He*lived in extremes ; and every step was one appeal-
ing to general admiration, or demanding the utmost
caution and most adroit defenses of his friends.
The regular army of the United States was now
composed of ten thousand men for the peace estab-
lishment, and the whole country was divided into two
military departments. The command of the Depart-
ment of the South was given to General Jackson, with
his head-quarters at Nashville. During the summer
of 1815, the General remained quiet at the Hermitage,
recruiting his health, and mourning the misfortunes
of Napoleon Bonaparte. So, at least, some of his
intimate friends have said. Jackson's republicanism
never stood in the way of his admiration of a great
soldier, and had Bonaparte conquered all Europe and
held it under his feet, he would have had no warmer
admirer in America than General Jackson.
In October he went to Washington City to look
after some military affairs, and as he rode through the
country from town to town, the people received him
with great favor. The soldier was taking his first
triumphal airing. It was, indeed, an " ovation," all
the way to the Capital. Although it has been fre-
quently said and written that this stern, soldierly
republican (democrat) put no stress on public demon-
strations in his favor, and rather sought to avoid
them, yet this is purely apologetic, as there is no
292 LIFE AND TIMES OF
evidence to sustain any such assertion. Both the
words and conduct of General Jackson go to show
that just the opposite is true of him. No public
character in American history hns been more appre-
ciative of popular esteem than Jackson, or more desir-
ous to see its manifestations. And no public charac-
ter has been so averse to submit to or tolerate any
kind of opposition, or so prone to resist it to the bit-
terest end. This, indeed, was one of his great defects.
At Lynchburg, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was in-
duced to come down a whole day's ride to be present
at a dinner in honor of Jackson, on this trip, and there
gave as a " toast :" " Honor and gratitude to those
who have filled the measure of their country's honor."
This sentiment has had several renderings, painting it
more directly as meant for the hero of this occasion.
But the form here is that in which the newspapers
of the time gave it, and is correct, as bungling and
evasive as it is, to say nothing of its doubtful pro-
priety as applying to anybody. Are honor and grati-
tude the things a great mind and heart would crave ?
Shall not virtue, somehow, with the true and the great,
ever be its own reward ? Must the thought or aspira-
tion for a good deed, or the execution of a good pur-
pose, always be associated with the condition of com-
pensation ? Venomous principle ! No man owes me
gratitude or honor for what it is my duty to do, or
the doing of which is my choice and delight. Much
less is he in debt to me for the good I am compelled
to do. Or are honesty, magnanimity, and virtue so
rare on this earth that a premium should be placed
upon them ? Shall a crown of laurel be a nation's
perpetual bid for bravery, patriotism, fidelity, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 293
wisdom ? Such a principle would damn a race of
seraphim.
During a great part of the winter of 1815, General
Jackson remained in Washington amidst a constant
round of festivities, much of which was said to be for
his honor. In the spring he returned to Nashville,
and soon afterwards went to New Orleans, where he
again came in for popular hurrah as the savior of the city.
He lent himself to the glorification of the occasion by
holding a review of the city militia and the few regulars
on the spot of his recent triumph over the British.
The regular troops stationed at New Orleans he
now removed to Alabama, and posted them at points
where they would be of most service in looking after
the Indians and their friends the Spaniards of Florida.
He had also engaged, while at Washington, to visit
the Indians who were not satisfied with the conditions
of their treaty. This he did, and with the Creeks,
Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws, he held some
negotiations which resulted to their satisfaction. By
this he removed the claim of the Chickasaws from a
large tract of land within the bounds of Tennessee,
which made him still more popular in that State. He
also caused the white squatters on the Cherokee lands
to abandon them.
Nothing could now arrest the current in the for-
tunes of Greneral Jackson. Even now he was talked
of as a candidate for the Presidency. This new pos-
sibility was sung in his ear at New Orleans. But it
does not appear that at this time he had for a moment
entertained such an idea. He rather looked upon the
mention of it as a joke. Unquestionably he did not
think himself fit for that office, and so expressed him-
294 LIFE AND TIMES OF
self in a way that caused his friends to feel perfectly
safe in saying nothing about it. But time is a won-
derful revolutionist. Probably he had the good sense
to be satisfied with the office he held, which was con-
genial to him, and also to feel safe in the amount of
favor he received from his countrymen.
While General Jackson took no interest at this
moment in any talk as to his becoming President, he
did think himself able to give some wholesome advice
to Mr. Monroe, to whom he wrote (or had written for
him) his famous letters as to the selection of Cabinet
ministers and the conduct of the Administration. These
letters may be found in the fifth volume of this work.
Like so many other things in the career of General
Jackson these letters of advice to Mr. Monroe were a
source of great good fortune to him in the course of
time. They were his first political essays, but they
were his purest and best. In fact, it so turned out
that these very letters, next to New Orleans and John
Quiucy Adams, were of the greatest consequence in
advancing him to the Presidency. For that purpose
they were shrewdly published in 1824; and that the
General did not compose or write them himself, was
not known to the public, and even had this fact been
known, it would have made little difference. The
letters recommended a Washingtonian policy to Mr.
Monroe, recommended him to make virtue, worth,
service to the country, not party, the standard of ap-
pointments to office ; and even urged him to make at
least one exception in the appointment of Colonel Will-
iam H. Drayton, a Federalist, to be Secretary of War.
At the moment, perhaps. General Jackson thought
these letters expressed his feelings and opinions ; and,
ANDREW JACKSON. 295
however this may have been, they never did at any
subsequent period in his life. The advice he gave
Mr. Monroe he never followed himself. He was the
last man who could have done anything of the kind.
His personal friends were his instruments, and to re-
ward them was his first thought. This system of
compensation was found to be in exact harmony with
his character. He it was who introduced a new era
in the conduct of the Presidency on this very point
of confining all appointments under the Government
to the narrow boundaries of personal friendships or
advocates, and party lines.
A rough outline of these celebrated Monroe letters
may have been made by General Jackson, but in elab-
oration, composition, and polish, they were the work
of William B. Lewis, an educated farmer, a man of
extraordinary judgment and shrewdness, who lived a
few miles from the " Hermitage," on the way to
Nashville. Mr. Lewis, this friend, who spent much
of his life in putting forward General Jackson, and de-
fending him and his wife, wrote much of the fine
Jacksonian literature, for which the General got the
name of being a finished writer and scholar.
Harry Lee, Henry M. Brackenridge, Edward Liv-
ingston, Amos Kendall, and others, not only did the
polished writing for General Jackson, but also often
furnished the thoughts wholly or in part. But all
these writers caught the spirit of their leader and
with wonderful success copied him better than he
could have done himself. But General Jackson did
not succeed in his purpose with Mr. Monroe, who,
while following, mainly, the course of his predecessor,
carried out his own convictions of right and duty
296 LIFE AND TIMES OF
uncontrolled by Jackson or anybody else. One of Jack-
son's biographers asserts that Mr. Monroe was as clay
in the hands of a molder like Andrew Jackson.
A serious mistake was this, indeed, proven to be
so by these very Jackson-Monroe letters. And shown
to be so by nearly all of Mr. Monroe's official career,
from the mission to France in 1794, to his final with-
drawal from public life. Although he was in the
habit of consulting Madison and Jefferson, he was, by
no means, led by them. General Jackson was des-
tined to lead a new generation of politicians, not his
predecessors in the Presidency and a host of their
contemporaries. This Monroe correspondence, the
most admirable of all General Jackson's political per-
formances, was not long passed until something of
quite a different character, and much more in keeping
with his intrinsic qualities, came up.
It has been truthfully said of him that he would
not tolerate personal restraint, nor the least degree of
infringement on his authority, and was unable to brook
opposition from any source. It is a reasonable and
well-known regulation of the" army that orders from
the Administration or the President shall pass through
the general in command. Since Jackson's connection
with the Government, in a military capacity, he had
been greatly disturbed by a departure from this usage
by the War Department. His remonstrance was of
no effect. He was still, after all that had happened,
not understood at Washington. He, accordingly,
finally concluded to do as he usually did on doubtful
and critical occasions, when his own feelings were
aroused, and take the case in his own hands with a
view of correcting the evil which he was not going to
ANDREW JACKSON. 297
endure. He had not long to wait for an opportunity
to put his determination to the test. In the fall of
1816 he sent a Mr. Long ( Major Long ), a trustworthy
engineer, up the Mississippi to make some surveys.
But Long was hunted up by the War Department and
sent to New York, and from that remote region the
General first heard of Long's surveys on the Missis-
sippi under his orders, from the newspapers, Long not
even thinking it necessary to apprise him of what he
had done. This was too much for Andrew Jacksqn.
He wrote at once to Mr. Monroe, but getting no an-
swer on the question, in less than two months of wait-
ing, issued to his division his famous characteristically
indiscreet order, dated Nashville, April, 22, 1817, and
reproduced in the fifth volume of this work.
This action on his part started general attention,
and a great deal of unfavorable criticism, even by army
officers. Still, the Department took no notice of his
conduct, and two months after he had issued this
noted edict, sent an order directly to the officer then
at New Orleans, General Ripley, which he refused to
obey, notifying Jackson of his action. Jackson sus-
tained him, of course, as he wanted this opportunity,
and wrote to the President that he would be responsi-
ble, and indicated his disposition to retire from the
army when the matter was settled. Mr. Monroe did
not reply. The case greatly annoyed him. He was
waiting for a way to prevent a rupture with Jackson.
This soon occurred. Mr. Calhoun now took charge
of the War Department, and not having been con-
cerned with this troublesome fellow, wrote Jackson a
letter, which while it gave away nothing, admitted the
necessity of the practice that the General insisted
298 LIFE AND TIMES OF
upon, which for the goveiament and discipline of the
army should be departed from only under special
emergencies. This satisfied the General, and ended
the matter with the Department. But, through the
anonymous gossip, the everlasting busybody, a letter
reached the irascible Jackson which stated that Gen-
eral Winfield Scott had. pronounced his extraordinary
order, never before or afterwards heard of in the his-
tory of the Government, an act of mutiny. This was
also too much for the man who would not allow
" pshaw " to be said of his sentiments and acts, and
the following correspondence was the result : —
''Head-quarters Division of the South,)
" Nashville, September 8, 1817. j
"Sir, — With that candor due the character you have sus-
tained as a soldier and a man of honor, and with the frankness
of the latter, I address you.
"Inclosed is a copy of an anonymous letter, postmarked
'New York, 14th August, 1817,' together with a publication
taken from the ' Columbian,' which accompanied the letter. I
have not permitted myself for a moment to believe that the con-
duct ascribed to you is correct. Candor, however, induces me
to lay them before you, that you may have it in your power to
say how far they be incorrectly stated.
" If ray order has been the subject of your animadversion, it
is believed you will at once admit it and the extent to which
you may have gone. •
" I am, sir, respectfully, your most obedient servant,
"Andrew Jackson.
"General W. Scott, U. S. Army."
"Head-quarters, 1st and 3d Military Departments,)
"New York, October 4, 1817. /
" Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 8th ultimo, together with the two papers therein
inclosed.
" I am not the author of the miserable and unmeaning
article copied from the ' Columbian,' and (not being a reader of
that gazette) should probably never have heard of it, but for the
ANDREW JACKSON. 299
copy you have sent me. And whilst on the subject of writing and
publishing, it may save time to say, at once, that with the excep-
tion of the substance of two articles which appeared in ' The
Enquirer' last fall, and a journal kept whilst a prisoner in the
hands of the enemy, I have not written, nor caused any other
to write, a single line for any gazette whatever, since the com-
mencement of the late war.
"Conversing with some two or three private gentlemen,
about as many times on the subject of the division order, dated
at Nashville, April 22, 1817 ; it is true that I gave it as ray
opinion that that paper was, as it respected the future, mutin-
ous in its character and tendency, and, as it respected the
past, a reprimand of the commander-in-chief, the President of
the United States ; for although the latter be not expressly
named, it is a principle well understood, that the War Depart-
ment, without at least his supposed sanction, can not give a valid
command to an ensign.
" I have thus, sir, frankly answered the queries addressed to
me, and which were suggested to you by the letter of your anon-
ymous correspondent; but on a question so important as that
which you have raised with the War Department, or in other
words with the President of the United States, and in which I
find myself incidentally involved, I must take leave to illustrate
my meaning a little ; in doing which, I shall employ almost the
precise language which was used on the occasions above alluded to.
"Take any three oflBcers ; let A be the common superior, B
the immediate commander, and C the common junior. A wishes
to make an order which shall affect C. The good of the serv-
ice, etiquette, and country, require, no doubt, that the order
should pass through B; or, if expedition and the dispersed situa-
tion of the parties make it necessary to send the order direct to
C (of which necessity A is the judge), the good of the service,
etiquette, and country require, with as little doubt that A notify
B thereof, as soon as practicable. Such notice, of itself, has
always been held sufficient, under the circumstances last stated.
But we will suppose that A sends the order direct to C, and
neglects to notify B thereof, and such appears to be the precise
case alluded to in the order before cited. Has B no redress
against this irregularity? He may unquestionably remonstrate
with A, in a respectful manner, and if remonstrance fails, and
there be a higher military authority than A, B may appeal to it
300 LIFE AND TIMES OF
for redress. Now in the case under consideration, there existed
no such higher authority ; the War Department, or in other
words, the President, being the common superior (A), and the
general of division, the intermediate commander (B). A pri-
vate and respectful remonstrance, therefore, appears to have been
the only mode of redress which circumstances admitted of. An
appeal to the army or the public, before or after such remon-
strance, seems to have been a greater irregularity than the meas-
ure complained of; to reprobate that measure publicly, as the
division (n-der does, was to mount still higher in the scale of inde-
corum, but when the order goes so far as to prohibit to all offi-
cers in the division an obedience to the commands of the Presi-
dent of the United States, unless received through division head-
quarters, it appears to me, that nothing but mutiny and defiance
can be understood or intended.
" There is another view of this subject, which must have
escaped you, as I am persuaded there is not a man in America
less disposed to shift responsibility from himself to a weaker party
than yourself. Suppose the War Department, by order of the
President, sends instructions direct to the commanding officers,
perhaps a captain, at Natchitoches (a post within your division)
to attack the body of Spanish royalists nearest to that frontier ;
if the captain obeys, you arrest him; but if, in compliance with
your prohibition, he sets the commands of the President at
naught, he would find himself in a direct conflict with the high-
est military authority under the Constitution, and thus would
have to maintain against that ' fearful odds,' the dangerous posi-
tion laid down in your order. Surely this consequence could not
have been foreseen by you, when you penned that order.
"I must pray you to believe, sir, that I have expressed my
opinion on this great question, without the least hostility to
yourself, personally, and without any view of making my court
in another quarter, as is insinuated by your anonymous corre-
spondent. I have nothing to fear or hope from either party. It
is not likely that the Executive will be offended, at the opinion,
that it has committed an irregularity in the transmission of one
of its orders ; and, as to yourself, although I cheerfully admit
that you are my superior, I deny that you are my commanding
officer, within the meaning of the 6th article of the rules and
articles of war. • Even if I belonged to your division, I should
not hesitate to repeat to you all that I have said, at any time, on
ANDREW JACKSON. 301
your subject, if a proper occasion offered; and what is more, I
should expect your approbation, as, in my humble judgment,
refutation is impossible. .
"As you do not doubt the imputations contamed in the
anonymous letter, a copy of which you inclosed me, I shall not
degrade myself by any further notice of it.
"I have just shown the article from 'The Columbian to
some military gentlemen of this place, from whom I learn, that
it was probably intended to be applied to a case which has
recently occurred at West Point. The writer is supposed to pro-
ceed upon a report (which is nevertheless believed to be errone-
ous) that Brigadier-General Swift had orders from the War
Department, more than twelve months since, to remove Captain
Partridge from the military academy, and that he suppressed
those orders, etc. The author is believed to be a young man of
the army, and was, at the time of publication, in this city ; but
not under my command, and with whom I never had the sma 1-
est intimacy ; I forbear to mention his name, because it is only
bv coniecture. I have the honor to be, etc.,
"(Signed,) ,W. Scott.
" To Major-Genekal Andrew Jackson, etc., etc."
" Head-qitarters, Division, of the South, )
" Nashville, December 3, 1817. j
"Sm,— I have been absent from this place a considerable
time, rendering the last friendly office I could, to a particular
friend, whose eyes I closed on the 20th ultimo. Owing to this,
your letter of the 4th of October was not received until the
1st inst. ,
" Upon the receipt of the anonymous communication made
me from New York, I hastened to lay it before you ; that course
was suggested to me, by the respect I felt for you as a man and
a soldier, and that you might have it in your power to answer
how far you had been guilty of so base and inexcusable conduct.
Independent of the services you had rendered your country, the
circumstance of your wearing the badge and insignia of a soldier,
led me to the conclusion, that I was addressing a gentleman.
With these feelings you were written to, and had an idea been for
a moment entertained, that you could have descended from the
high and dignified character of a major-general of the United
States, and used language so opprobious and insolent as you have
done, rest assured, I should have viewed you as rather too con-
302 LIFE AND TIMES OF
temptible to have held any converse with you on the subject.
If you have lived in the world thus long in the entire ignorance
of the obligations and duties which honor impose, you are indeed
past the time of learning; and surely he must be ignorant of
them, who seems so little to understand their influence.
"Pray, sir, does your recollection serve, in what school of
philosophy you were taught, that to a letter inquiring into the
nature of a supposed injury, and clothed in language decorous
and unexceptionable, an answer should be given, couched in
pompous insolence and bullying expressions? I had hoped that
what was charged upon you by my anonymous correspondent
was unfounded ; I had hoped so, from a belief that General
Scott was a soldier and a gentleman ; but when I see those state-
ments doubly confirmed by his own w^ords, it becomes a matter
of inquiry, how far a man of honorable feelings can reconcile
them to himself, or longer set up a claim to that character. Are
you ignorant, sir, that had my order, at which your refined judg-
ment is so extremely touched, been made the subject of inquiry,
you might, from your standing, not your character, been consti-
tuted one of my judges? How very proper then was it, thus
situated, and without a knowledge of any of the attendant cir-
cumstances, for you to have prejudged the whole matter? This
at different times, and in the circle of your friends, you could do ;
and yet had I been arraigned, and you detailed as one of my
judges, with the designs of an assassin lurking under a fair
exterior, you would have approached the holy sanctuary of
justice. Is conduct like this congenial with that high sense of
dignity which should be seated in a soldier's bosom ? Is it due
from a brother officer to assail in the dark the reputation of
another, and stab him at a moment when he can not expect it ?
I might insult an honorable man by questions such as these, but
shall not expect that they will harrow up one who must be dead
to all those feelings whicli are the characteristics of a gentleman.
"In terms polite as I was capable of noting, I asked you if
my informant had stated truly — if you were the author of the
publication and remarks charged against you, and to what ex-
tent ; a reference to your letter, without any comment of mine,
will inform how far you have pursued a similar course ; how little
of the gentleman, and how much of the hectoring bully you have
manifested. If nothing else would, the epaulets which grace your
shoulders, should have dictated to you a different course, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 303
have admonished you, that however small may have been your
respect for another, respect for yourself should have taujjht you
the necessity of replying, at least mildly, to the inquiries I sug-
gested ; and more especially should you have done this, when your
own convictions must have fixed you as guilty of the abominable
crime of detraction, of slandering, and behind his back, a brother
officer. But not content with answering to what was proposed,
your overweening vanity has led you to make an offering of your
advice. Believe me, sir, it is not in my power to render you my
thanks ; I think too highly of myself to suppose that I stand at
all in need of your admonitions, and too lightly of you to appre-
ciate them as useful. For good advice I am always thankful ;
but never fail to spurn it, when I know it to flow from an in-
competent or corrupt source ; the breast where base and guilty
passions dwell is not the place to look for virtue, or anything that
leads to virtue. My notions, sir, are not those now taught in
modern schools and in fashionable high life ; they were imbibed
in ancient days, and hitherto have, and yet bear me to the con-
clusion that he who can wantonly outrage the feelings of another,
who, without cause, can extend injury where none is done, is
capable of any crime, however detestable in its nature, and will
not fail to commit it, whenever it may be imposed by necessity.
" I shall not stoop, sir, to a justification of my order before
you, or to notice the weakness and absurdities of your tinsel rhet-
oric ; it may be quite conclusive with yourself, and I have no
disposition to attempt convincing you that your ingenuity is not
as profound as you have imagined it. To my Government, when-
ever it may please, I hold myself liable to answer, and to produce
the reasons which prompted me to the course I took ; and to tlie
intermeddling pimps and spies of the War Department, who are
in the garb of gentlemen, I hold myself responsible for any griev-
ance they may labor under on my account, with which you have
my permission to number yourself. For what I have said, I offer
no apology ; you have deserved it all, and more, were it neces-
sary to say more. I will barely remark in conclusion, that if
you feel yourself aggrieved at what is here said, any communica-
tion from you will reach me safely at this place.
"I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, (Signed,) Andrew Jackson.
" Brevet Major-General W. Scott,
United States Army, New York."
304 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" Head-quarters, 1st and 3d Military Departments, 1
New York, January 2, 1818. {
"Sir, — Your letter, of the 3d ultimo, was hauded me about
the 22d, and has not been read, I might say thought of, siuce.
These circumstances will show that it is mj wish to reply to you
dispassionately.
"I regret that I can not accept the challenge you offer me.
Perhaps I may be restrained from wishing to level a pistol at the
breast of a fellow-being, in private combat, by a sense of religion ;
but lest this motive should excite the ridicule of gentlemen of
liberal habits of thinking and acting, I beg leave to add that I
decline the honor of your invitation from patriotic scruples. My
ambition is not that of Erostratus. I should think it would be
easy for you to console yourself under this refusal, by the appli-
cation of a few epithets, us coward, etc. , to the object of your re-
sentment, and I here promise to leave you until the next war, to
persuade yourself of their truth.
"Your famous order bears date the 22d April, 1817. At in-
tervals of three or four months thereafter — that is, when it had
been officially published to the troops of your division, and printed
in almost every paper in the Union, as if to challenge discussion —
I found myself in company where it was the subject of conversa-
tion. Not being under your command, I was as free to give my
opinion on that public act as any one else ; for, I presume, you
will not assert that where an officer is not expressly restrained by
the military code, he has not all the rights of any other citizen.
For this fair expression of opinion, on a principle as universal as
the profession of arms, and which opinion I afterwards, at your
instance, stated to you, in all its detail, you are pleased to charge
me with having slandered you behind your back ! an accusation
which I consider the more amusing, as I never had the honor of
being in your presence in all my life ! I can assure you, sir, that
nothing but my great respect for your superior age and services
prevents me from indulging, also, in a little bitter pleasantry on
this point.
"It seems that you are under the further impression that if
you had been brought to trial for publishing that order (an idea
that I never heard any other suggest), and I appointed one of
your judges, that, assassin-like, I should have approached the holy
sanctuary of justice, etc. — such is, I think, your language. Now,
like you (without believing one word of it), it would be as easy
ANDREW JACKSON. 305
for me (manually) to retort all this abuse, as it was for you to
originate it; but I must inform you, sir, that however much I
may desire to emulate certain portions of your history, I am not
at all iuclined to follow the pernicious example that your letter
furnishes.
" You complain of harshness on my part. My letter to which
yours is a reply, is, doubtless, somewhat bold in its character;
but, believing that in an affair with you, it was necessary to have
right on one's side, in order to obtain approbation, I had no other
care in its composition than to avoid everything personally offen-
sive, as far as the truth and a fair discussion of the subject would
permit ; and I still rest persuaded that the fact corresponds with
my intention. It is true that I spoke of you and treated you as
a man, without the petty qualifications of common usages ; be-
cause, in addressing you, they were then considered as so many
diminutives, but I am now to apprehend that universal success
and applause have somewhat spoiled you ; and that I shall ulti-
mately be obliged to fall into the commonplace habit, observed
in respect to commonplace people, and consider you as nothing
more than a gentleman.
"Permit me to request — I think I have a right to demand —
a sight of the original anonymous letter which has given rise to
this discussion. If I mistake not, your correspondent is a greater
personage than you, perhaps, imagine ; nay, so high, that he has
once essayed to sit himself above the highest in our political
sphere. The letter shall be returned as soon as the hand is com-
pared with that of a certain agent of the personage alluded to.
"I can not close this letter without expressing a belief, that
on the return of your wonted magnanimity, I shall be requested
to burn the one which has elicited it, by way of apology for the
injury it does me. Accordingly, it has been seen, as yet, by but
one individual (of my staff), and shall be held in reserve, until a
certain time has elapsed, attending that just expectation. In the
meantime, I shall have the honor to remain, sir, very respectfully,
your most obedient servant,
" (Signed,) W. Scott.
" To Majcr-General Andrew Jackson."
It is not necessary to go behind this correspondence
to discover its spirit. The Hero of New Orleans here
returns to the cock-fighting period of his life. In his
20— G
306 LIFE AND TIMES OF
correspondence with Mr. Monroe he had struck out
like a political philosopher and statesman. But here
he was out again in his old dueling colors. A contrast
with the just and manly course of General Scott puts
him at great disadvantage. With General Scott's
faults, whatever they were, was not to be numbered
dueling. He was cast in a higher and better mold
than that. He considered Jackson's military order as
mutinous and reprehensible, as did most other people ;
although stiff West Pointers must have thanked Jack-
son for making a direct personal issue of this red-tape
matter, so greatly to their benefit. Jackson's way,
however, of arriving at a good result was one which
did not commend itself to the soldier, and was as un-
wise as it was unsoldierly and mischievous. But Gen-
eral Scott's aversion for insubordination and mutiny
did not last. Jackson's famous order was dwarfed to
insignificance by the side of Scott's direct disobedience,
and unworthy, unmanly, undignified, selfish, stubborn,
and pestiferous writings and acts years afterwards in
dealing with the War Department and the President,
as to his own position. He found how hard it is with
men of great wills to suffer infringements on what
they consider their rights, as well as what they know
are their fixed opinions. Most men of strongly molded
character experience their greatest hardship in having
their opinions contradicted and opposed in dealing with
their fellows. Few of these men even among the
learned and refined, or the good, will submit to be
crossed. But no man known in the history of Amer-
ica possessed this trait in so marked and reprehen-
sible a degree as General Jackson, who deemed
every man his mortal enemy who was opposed to
ANDKEW JACKSON. 307
him in principles and conduct, and who dared to ex-
press so much.
As Jackson could not draw General Scott to the
field of dishonor, the matter between them ended with
this correspondence, and for several years they did not
meet. In the meantime the country was not dis-
turbed by the question as to who was the coward or
who the "gentleman" in the case. This affair had
barely terminated when Jackson became involved in
another, not much more to his credit, with Governor
John Adair. In his report of the battle of the 8th
of January General Jackson had spoken of the " inglo-
rious flight" of the Kentuckians under Colonel Davis,
on the west side of the river. A military investiga-
tion had exculpated the Kentuckians, and General
Thomas's report justified the action of the troops from
his State. McAfee's "History of the War of 1812,"
published in 1817, somehow got Thomas's report twisted
into a statement from Jackson. This good turn in the
case was at once published in the newspapers. But
General Jackson proceeded indignantly to pronounce the
author of the misrepresentation a forger and a vil-
lain. Through one of his letters on the subject he
started a "misunderstanding" with Adair. Some long
and bitter letters passed between them, in which
Jackson held to his original statement as to the "in-
glorious flight" of the Kentuckians; but his memory
of events suffered greatly under the sharp criticism
of Adair, who believed the men of his State had been
slandered, and that this fact was in no way better proven
than by some of Jackson's own statements. Singularly
enough these two men became friends in the course
of time.
308 LIFE AND TIMES OF
General Jackson's conduct at New Orleans after
the battle, his famous order setting aside the authority
of the Administration, his attempt to draw General
Scott into a duel, his contemptible letters to Scott,
and this affair with General Adair, were certainly not
steps which would have been chosen in the career of
a seeker of public favor. At all events, if Jackson
believed that such a course would elevate him and
establish him in the esteem of his countrymen, the
opinion was as daring and extravagant as his success
was extraordinary and inexplicable.
ANDREW JACKSON. 309
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SEMINOLE WAR— GENERAL JACKSON AND GOVERNOR
RABUN— NEGRO FORT— THE CHIEF McINTOSH.
GENERAL JACKSON'S attention was now about
to be turned to more important business than
vindicating points of honor at the point of the pen,
one of the poorest and most doubtful ways of estab-
lishing character or bolstering a weak cause. Florida
was now the seat of no little annoyance to the United
States, as, indeed, had been the case since the begin-
ning of the century. This Spanish territory had
always been badly governed, and at no time worse
than at the beginning of the War of 1812. It had
always been a place of resort for men of doubtful and
adventurous character. Little opposition was made
or could be made by the Spanish authority to the in-
roads upon this unprotected territory by restless and
dangerous men of all colors and nations. Thus it
became a rendezvous for runaway negroes, cut-throats,
pirates, robbers, and seekers after doubtful military
glory. Here sought refuge the unconquered Creeks
who refused to submit, or agree to the " treaty " that
deprived them of homes to which they were attached,
and a land which they had inherited as children
of Nature ages before the coming of the grasping
white race.
The Seminoles of Florida were a mixed people,
310 LIFE AND TIMES OF
but were largely descended from the Creeks, and had
a common claim with the discontented warriors who
had recently joined them. Although not intermarried
to any great extent with the Seminoles, the negroes
who had, for a generation or so, been gathering here in
security from slavery in the United States, made com-
mon cause with them against all enemies. During the
War of 1812 the British made an attempt to turn the
mixed population of this desperate quarter to their
advantage. After General Jackson had broken up the
British, Spanish, and Indian nest at Pensacola, the
British agent and leader. Colonel Edward Nichols, had
established a depot on the Appalachicola River, about
sixty miles from its head. This he made a strong
post, and stocked it with the most wonderful array
of war munitions which had ever been collected in
this part of the continent, and called it the "British
Post on the Appalachicola." Nichols also formed what
he termed a treaty of alliance between Great Britain
and the Seminole Indians, which the Ministry did
not deem it necessary to accept or notice.
On sailing for England with Hillis Hajo, and some
other Indians bearing him company, Nichols left his
wonderful fort in the wilderness in the care of his In-
dian friends and allies. But it soon passed into the
hands of the negroes, who could better appreciate the
use of such a magnificently supplied work, and from
which they operated with some success in their
schemes of wickedness. At last the Government of
the United States determined to take some steps for
breaking up the rendezvous on the Appalachicola, and
otherwise producing a better state of affairs in this
region, which must soon come under her absolute
ANDREW JACKSON. 311
control. Negro Fort, as Nichols's British Post was now
called, had become a source of terror to planters and
settlers on the southern border. General Jackson, to
whose department this matter fell, sent a messenger
to Pensacola, but the Spanish Governor gave him little
satisfaction on the subject. Still he fell into the
notion that the helpless and worthless Spaniard would
not object to the United States breaking up the nui-
sance left by Nichols. In this view he asked instruc-
tions from the War Department. But Negro Fort was
destined to be disposed of without General Jackson's
personal interference, if not altogether in harmony with
his private sentiments, as may be seen in the fifth vol-
ume of this work.
After the destruction of Negro Fort, there was
comparative quiet in Florida for a short time. Sev-
eral things, however, were conspiring to lead on to a
crisis in affairs down there, as may be seen with suf-
ficient fullness in another volume of this history.
Early in the winter of 1817, this Government took
possession of Amelia Island and broke up the den of
Indian philanthropists and foreign adventurers in won-
derful republican schemes. This feat brought Florida
nearer into the possession of this country than it had
ever been ; and, indeed, many an impetuous Southerner
desired to end the piddling about the matter, and take
immediate possession of a region so essential to the well-
being of the United States, and which a little time
would make a part of this Nation. But the break-
ing-up of the rendezvous, at Fernandina, did not bring
peace among the Indians. The prophet, Francis, or
Hillis Hajo, had returned from England, filled with
bad notions, and while the Indians were committing
312 LIFE AND TIMES OF
murders and depredations wherever they could, their
general disposition was for war.
General Edmund P. Gaines, who had been man-
aging the difficulties with the Indians, was formally
ordered to look after matters on the Atlantic coast,
and the more direct control of the troublesome busi-
ness given to General Jackson, who had his own no-
tions about what should be done with Florida. Gaines,
who had held pretty closely to the Carolina and
Georgia border, had been informed by the Secretary
of War that if he found it necessary to follow the
Indians into Florida, to do so without coming into
conflict, in any way, with the Spaniards. Jackson
was to pursue the same course. But before his in-
structions reached him, he took occasion to write
President Monroe his views as to the case, and said
that if he were given the opportunity to do so, in
sixty days he would put all Florida into the posses-
sion of this Government. As will be shown hereafter,
this letter was destined to be of great importance in
deciding the course of events in Florida.
On the 11th of January, 1818, the orders from the
War Department to General Jackson reached Nash-
ville. He was told that eight hundred regulars were
at Fort Scott, and on the line of frontiers, and one
thousand Georgia militia were also in the field against
the Indians, and that if he deemed this force insuffi-
cient, he should call upon the governors of the adja-
cent States for more troops. He did deem the force
insufficient, and the very day on which the orders
were received, for him to proceed to the Seminole
country, the Governor being absent, he took the re-
sponsibility of calling a thousand volunteers from Ten-
ANDREW JACKSON. 313
nessee .and Kentucky, to rendezvous at the old point,
Fayetteville. He issued one of his spirited proclama-
tions, and in twenty days more than a thousand men
were ready to march fiom Fayetteville. The Gover-
nor approved the course he had taken, and the Ad-
ministration acquiesced, and in eleven days from the
time he received his orders, Jackson set out from
Nashville on horseback on his long journey of four
hundred and fifty miles to Fort Scott. At Hartford,
Georgia, he met General Gaines with some recently
collected militia, numbering, with his own guard, about
eleven hundred men. Hy the time he reached Che-
haw, sixty miles above Fort Scott, the Creek Chief,
Brigadier-General William Mcintosh, with a considera-
ble force of friendly Indians, had joined him. At the
Chehaw village the Indians left their women and chil-
dren and old people, among them Howard, the old
chief.
On account of depredations, supposed to have been
committed by Indians connected with the Chehaws,
by order of the Governor of Georgia, some militia from
that State fell upon the helpless town, not long after
the departure of General Jackson, and brutally mur-
dered the inhabitants, not sparing the women and
children, nor even the old chief, Howard, the uncle of
Mcintosh. The commander of this militia force had
previously been notified at Fort Early that the Che-
haw warriors were with Jackson, and, of course, that
they and all their people left behind were friendly In-
dians. This affair, like so many others against the In-
dians, without any apology, brought on a correspond-
ence between General Jackson and the Governor of
Georgia, in which Jackson uttered one of his most
314 LIFE AND TIMES OF
noted sayings, afterward much criticised by his ene-
mies, and, perhaps, not always afterwards supported
by his friends. Yet it was emphatically Jacksonian,
and was really one of the most admirable and tangible
things in his checkered career. The case was ex-
tremely aggravating, and General Jackson was justly
incensed, although the responsibility for the inhuman
mnssacre did not go beyond the commander of the
militia. To the Governor of Georgia, Jackson wrote
that the affair was "base and cowardly, and that a
governor of a State should make war against an Indian
tribe at peace with, and under the protection of, the
United States, is assuming a responsibility that I trust
you will be able to excuse to the United States, to
which you will have to answer. . . . You, as gov-
ernor of a State within my military division, have no right
to give a military order when I am in the fields
Of this position Mr. Goodwin, one of General Jack-
son's political friends and biographers says : —
"In this he was perfectly right, and evinced a disposition to
preserve rather than to disturb the harmony so desirable between
the States and the General Government. The power of making
war is vested exclusively by the Constitution in the Federal
Government, and the equivalent duty imposed on it of guaran-
teeing the integrity and independence of the several States.
This duty the Federal Government was then in the act of dis-
charging in favor of the State of Georgia."
But the following Jacksonian address to the Che-
haws, the General's order for the arrest of the leader
of the murderers, and a correspondence between him
and the Governor of Georgia, will throw some light on
this case, and give a very positive glimpse of the new
Jackson Democracy, soon to be set up in the country.
Although the General did not, perhaps, come out first
ANDREW JACKSON. 315
in this correspondence, yet it certainly illustrates his
character in a way to demand admiration.
GENERAL. JACKSON TO MAJOR DAVIS.
" Hkad-quakters Division of the South, \
" May 7, 1818. /
.<giK_You will send, or deliver personally, as you may
deem most advisable, the inclosed talk to Kanard, with instruc-
tions to explain the substance to the Chehaw warriors.
" You will proceed thence to Hartford, in Georgia, and use
your endeavors to arrest and deliver over, in irons, to the mili-
tary authority at Fort Hawkins, Captain Wright, of the Georgia
militia, who has been guilty of the outrage against the woman
and superannuated men of the Chehaw village. Should Wright
have left Hartford, you will call upon the Governor of Georgia
to aid you in his arrest.
"To enable you to execute the above, you are authorized
to take a company with you of the Tennesseeaus that went from
hence lately for Fort Scott, and await, if you think it necessary,
the arrival of the Georgians, now on march, under Major Porter.
" You will direct the officer commanding at Fort Hawkins to
keep Captain Wright in close confinement, until the will of the
President be known.
" The accompanying letters, for the Secretary of War and
Governor of Georgia, you will take charge of until you reach a
post-office. Andrew Jackson."
" To the (liiefs and Warriors of the Chehaw Village, on my March to the
West by the Appalachicola, May 7,1818.
" Friends and Brothers, — I have this moment received, by
express, the intelligence of the unwarrantable attack of a party
of Georgians on the Chehaw village, burning it, and killing six
men and one woman.
"Friends and brothers, the above news fills my heart with
regret and my eyes with tears. When I passed through your
village you treated me with friendship, and furnished my army
with all the supplies you could spare ; and your old chiefs sent
their young warriors with me to fight and put down our common
enemy. I promised you protection ; I promised you the protec-
tion and fostering friendship of the United States, so long as you
continue to hold your father, the President of the United States,
by the hand of friendship.
316 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"Friends and brothers, I did not suppose there was any
American so base as not to respect a flag, but I find I am mis-
taken. I find that Captain Wright, of Georgia, has not done it.
I can not bring your old men and women to life, but I have
written to your father, the President of the United States, the
whole circumstances of your case, and I have ordered Captain
Wright to be arrested and put in irons, until your father, the
President of the United States, makes known his will on this dis-
tressing subject.
"Friends and brothers, return to your village; there you
shall be protected, and Captain Wright will be tried and pun-
ished for this daring outrage of the treaty and murder of your
people ; and you shall also be paid for your houses and other
property that has been destroyed ; but you must not attempt to
take satisfaction yourselves. This is contrary to the treaty, and
you may rely on my friendship, and that of your father, the
President of the United States.
"I send you by my friend, Major Davis, who is accompanied
by a few of my people, and who is charged with the arrest and
confinement of Captain Wright. Treat them friendly, they are
your friends; you must not permit your people to kill any ot
the whites; they will bring down on you destruction. Justice
shall be done to you ; you must remain in peace and friendship
with the United States. The excuse that Captain Wright has
made for this attack on your village is, that some of your people
were concerned in some murders on the frontiers of Georgia;
this will not excuse him. I have ordered Captain Wright and
all the officers concerned in this transaction in confinement, if
found at Hartford. If you send some of your people with Major
Davis, you will see them put in irons. Let me hear from you at
Fort Montgomery. I am your friend and brother.
"Andrew Jackson."
general jackson to william rabun, governor of georgia.
" Seven Milks Advance of Fort Gadsden, "I
"May 7, 1818. /
" Sir, — I have this moment received by express the letter of
General Glascock (a copy of which is inclosed), detailing the
base, cowardly, and inhuman attack on the old women and men
of the Chehaw village, while the warriors of that village were
with me fighting the battles of our country against the common
enemy, and at a time, too, when undoubted testimony had been
ANDREW JACKSON. 317
obtained and was in my possession, and also in the possession of
General Glascock, of their innocence of the charge of killing
Leigh and the other Georgian at Cedar Creek.
" That a Governor of a State should aasume the right to make
war against an Indian tribe, in perfect peace with and under the
protection of the United States, is assuming a responsibility that
I trust you will be able to excuse to the Government of the United
States, to which you will have to answer, and through which I
had so recently passed, promising the aged that remained at home
my protection, and taking the warriors with me in the campaign,
is as unaccountable as it is strange. But it is still more strange
that there could exist within the United States a cowardly mon-
ster in human shape that could violate the sanctity of a flag when
borne by any person, but more particularly when in the hands
of a superannuated Indian chief, worn down with age. Such
base cowardice and murderous conduct as this transaction affords
has not its parallel in history, and shall meet with its merited
punishment.
"You, sir, as Governor of a State within my military division
have no right to give a military order whilst I am in the field ;
and this being an open and violent infringement of the treaty
with the Creek Indians, Captain Wright must be prosecuted and
punished for this outrageous murder, and I have ordered him to
be arrested and to be confined in irons until the pleasure of the
President of the United States is known upon the subject. If he
has left Hartford before my order reaches him, I call upon you
as Governor of Georgia to aid in carrying into effect my order
for his arrest and confinement, which I trust will be afforded, and
Captain Wright brought to condign punishment for this unpar-
alleled murder. It is strange that this hero had not followed the
trail of the murderers of your citizens; it would have led to
Mickasucky, where we found the bleeding scalps of your citizens ;
but there might have been more danger in this than attacking a
village containing a few superannuated women without arms or
protectors. This act will to the last age fix a stain upon the
character of Georgia. I have the honor, etc.,
"Andrew Jackson."
governor rabun to (jeneral jackson.
" MiLLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA, June 1, 1818.
" Sir, — I have lately had the honor to receive yours of the
7th ultimo, founded on a communication from General Glascock,
318 LIFE AND TIMES OF
relative to an attack recently made on the Chehaw village. Had
you, sir, or General Glascock been in possession of the facts
which produced the affair, it is to be presumed, at least, that you
would not have indulged in a strain so indecorous and unbecom-
ing. I had, on the 21st of March last, stated the situation of
our bleeding frontier to you, aud requested you in respectful
terms to detach a part of your overwhelming force for our pro-
tection, or that you would furuish supplies, and I would order
out more troops ; to which you have never yet deigned ever to
reply. You state in a very haughty tone that 'I, as Governor
of a State within your military division, have no right to give a
military order whilst you are in the field.' Wretched and con-
temptible, indeed, must be our situation, if that be the fact.
When the liberties of the people of Georgia shall have been pros-
trated at the feet of military despotism, then, and not till then,
will this imperious doctrine be tamely submitted to. You may
rest assured that if the savages continue their depredations on our
unprotected frontier, I shall think and act for myself in that
respect.
"You demand that Captain Wright be delivered in irons to
your agent, Major Davis. If you, sir, are unacquainted with the
fact, I beg leave to inform you that Captain Wright was not
under your command, for he had been appointed an officer in the
Chatham County militia, which had been drafted for the special
purpose of assisting General Gaines in reducing Amelia Island.
That object having been accomplished before our militia had taken
the field, General Gaines, as soon as their organization was com-
pleted, assumed the right to order them to the frontier, without
ever consulting the State authority on the subject. Captain
Wright, at that time being in a state of debility, failed to march,
and, of course, was not mustered into the service of the United
States. He, however, followed on to Hartford, where, finding
himself not likely to be received into the service of the United
States, tendered his services to command the contemplated expe-
dition ; which were accordingly accepted. Having violated his
orders by destroying the Chehaw village, instead of Hopounees
and Phelemmies towns, against which the expedition was directed,
I had, previous to receiving your demand, ordered him to be ar-
rested, but before he was apprehended agreeably to my orders, he
was taken by your agent, and afterwards liberated by the civil
authority. I have since had him arrested and confined, and shall
ANDREW JACKSON. 319
communicate the whole transaction to the President of the United
States, together with a copy of your letters.
" I have the honor to be, etc., William Rabun."
GENERAL JACKSON TO GOVERNOR RABUN.
"Nashville, Tennessee, August 1, 1818.
" Sir, — Your letter of the 1st of June was not received until
this day, though a gasconading notice of such a communication
having been written appeai-ed long since in the Georgia journals.
I am not disposed to enter into any controversy with you relative
to our respective duties, but would recommend an examination
of the laws of our country, before you hazard an opinion on the
subject. 'The liberties of the people prostrated at the feet of
military despotism' are cant expressions for political purposes.
The better part of the community know too well that they have
nothing to apprehend from that quarter. The military have rights
secured to them by the laws of our country as well as the civil,
and in my respect for those of the latter I will never permit those
of the former to be outraged with impunity.
"Your letter of the 21st of March, on which you and the
journalists dwell with so much force, you must have been aware
could not have reached me in time to produce the object required.
' The situation of our bleeding frontier ' at that period was mag-
nified by the apprehensions of a few frontier settlers, and those
who had not understanding enough to penetrate into the designs
of my operations. You have forgot that Colonel Hayne, with
three or four hundred Tennesseeaus, made a movement for the
security of the pretended assailed point of Georgia, and did not
pursue me until satisfied of the perfect security of that frontier.
"Whilst you are so tenacious of your own executive powers,
it may be necessary to explain upon what authority Captain
Wright received instructions to call for a re-enforcement from
Fort Early, garrisoned by militia who you will not deny were at
that time in the service of the United States, and under my com-
mand. Andrew Jackson."
GOVERNOR RABUN TO GENERAL JACKSON.
" Executive Department, Ga., Milledoeville, "(
September 1, 1818. J
'* Sir, — I have lately had the honor to receive your letter of
the 1st ultimo. I supposed that our correspondence on this
320 LIFE AND TIMES OF
subject had finally terminated ; but a renewal on your part has in-
duced me to make this short reply.
" I find that the same angry disposition which (no doubt) dic-
tated your letter of the 7th of May last is still rankling in your
breast.
"It is very certain that I have never intentionally assailed your
feelings, or wantonly provoked your frowns, and I flatter myself it
is equally certain that I shall never find it necessary to court your
smiles. ' You are not disposed to enter into a controversy with
me relative to our respective duties, but recommend au exam-
ination of the laws of our country before I again hazard au opinion
upon the subject.' Your advice is good, and should be attended
to (at least) by all public ofiicers. I hope you will now permit
me in turn to recommend to you that before you undertake to
prosecute another campaign, you examine the orders of your
superiors with more attention than usual.
"You assert that ' the better part of the community know
too well that they have nothing to apprehend from a military
despotism,' and in. proof of this assertion it might have been
well for you to have called my attention to your late proceedings
at St. Marks and Pensacola, as aflfbrding conclusive evidence on
that point.
"The situation of our bleeding frontier, you say, 'was mag-
nified by the apprehensions of a few frontier settlers and those
who had not understanding enough to penetrate into the design
of your operations.' Indeed, sir, we had expected that your pres-
ence at the head of an overwhelming force would have afforded
complete protection to our bleeding and distressed citizens, bor-
dering on an extensive and unprotected frontier; but our pros-
pects were only delusive; for it would seem that the laurels ex-
pected in Florida was the object that accelerated you more than
the protection of the ' ignorant ' Georgians.
" If ' Colonel Hayne and his three or four hundred Tennessee-
ans made a movement for the security of the pretended assailed
point of Georgia,' it certainly was a very unsuccessful one.
"When you shall have explained to me by what authority
you sent Major Davis into this State, with orders to apprehend
Captain Wright (who was not under your command), and place
him in irons, etc., then I shall explain to you the motives which
induced me to call for a re-enforcement from Fort Early.
" William Rabun."
ANDREW JACKSON. 321
During the Creek War there appeared among the
friendly Indians a young warrior whose attachment to
the American side, and whose qualities as a man and
soldier gained for him the friendship of General Jack-
son, and the favorable notice of the Government.
This was William Mcintosh. Mcintosh was a man
of mixed blood, and although he lacked the great
strength which marked the character of Weathersford,
yet his disposition was more pacific, and his ability to
grasp the true relation of his race to the advancing
civilization of the New World was superior. He led
the friendly Indians in the battle of Talladega, and
had before distinguished himself in his efforts against
the war. For his good conduct he had been given
the rank of brigadier-general, and allowed pay. And
now when the Seminoles became hostile, he was one
of the first to enter the field on the side of the Gov-
ernment. Before Jackson reached the scene of action
Mcintosh had joined him with between one and two
thousand men. His services were important during the
campaign. And at every step his good qualities became
more apparent. Subsequently he favored peace and
harmony in dealing with the whites, always appearing
able to see the powerless condition of his race. But
his stand against the passions of his people was not
always well received by them. In the efforts of the
General Government, and especially of the State of
Georgia, to get possession of all the Indian lands in
Georgia and Alabama, Mcintosh again became con-
spicuous. In February, 1825, he was induced to sign
a treaty with some Georgia commissioners, which
ceded all the lands of the Creeks and Cherokees in
Georgia and a part of their lands in Florida to the
21— G
322 LIFE AND TIMES OF
United States. The Indians opposed this treaty and
held that Mcintosh was not authorized to make it.
In their appeal to President Monroe they were not
very successful; and with a view of helping their des-
perate cause, they determined to take the life of
Mcintosh. This determination they carried out on
the last day of April, 1825, murdering him, and
laying waste his plantation. A full account of these
difficulties may be found in another volume of this
history.
General Gaines said the hostile Indians were able
to muster twenty-seven hundred warriors in Florida.
But even if they were so strong, what chance had
they against Jackson with his large force, and a war-
like army of friendly Indians ? Having ordered his
supplies to be sent from New Orleans by water up
the Appalachicola River, and without waiting for the
arrival of the Tennessee troops under Colonel Hayne,
Jackson marched from Fort Scott down to Prospect
Bluff, the site of Negro Fort. Here he awaited his
supply flotilla from New Orleans. In the meantime,
however, he rebuilt the fort, and called it Fort Gads-
den, in honor of one of his officers, who subsequently
acquired some distinction in politics.
While waiting at Fort Gadsden General Jackson
wrote two very characteristic letters to the Goverrior
of Pensacola, and received a reply, in which the Gov-
ernor called him "your excellency" and spoke as sau-
cily as if he did not know it was General Jackson to
whom he was writing. At last Captain McKeever
arrived with his flotilla bearing supplies, and General
Jackson determining to march directly for St. Marks,
on the Gulf, issued the following order to him, in which
ANDREW JACKSON, 323
he considered himself justified by the supposed facts
mentioned in the order : —
"It is reported to me that Frauds, or Hillis Hajo, and Peter
McQueen, prophets, who excited the Red Sticks in their late war
against the United States, and are now exciting the Seminoles
to similar acts of hostility, are at or in the neighborhood of St.
Marks. United with them it is stated that Woodbine, Arbuth-
not, and other foreigners have assembled a motley crew of brig-
ands — slaves enticed away from their masters, citizens of the
United States, or stolen during the late conflict with Great
Britain. It is all important that these men should be captured
and made examples of, and it is my belief that on the approach
of my army they will attempt to escape to some of the sea
islands, from whence they may be enabled for a time to continue
their excitement, and carry on a predatory war against the
United States. You will, therefore, cruise along the coast, east-
wardly, and, as I advance, capture and make prisoners all, or
every person, or description of persons, white, red, or black, with
all their goods, chattels, and effects, together with all crafts, ves-
sels, or means of transportation by water, which will be held
possession of for adjudication. Any of the subjects of his Cath-
olic Majesty, sailing to St. Marks, may be permitted freely to
enter the said river; but none to pass out, unless after an exam-
ination it may be made to appear that they have not been at-
tached to or in any wise aided and abetted our common enemy.
I shall march this day, and in eight days will reach St. Marks,
where I shall expect to communicate with you in the bay, and
from the transports receive the supplies for my army."
324 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XIX
FIRST SEMINOLE WAR— GENERAL JACKSON VISITS FLORIDA—
A WONDERFUL TRAGEDY— TRIAL AND TRIUMPH-
ON THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
ON the first day of April, the Tennessee volunteers
overtook General Jackson on his way to St.
Marks ; and on the same day a part of the invading
army fell upon a small body of Seminoles who were
quietly herding their cattle near a village. Several
of these Indians were killed, their town was burned,
and their corn and cattle were taken for the use of
the army. It was a brave and successful " engage-
ment" between desperate foes, and nobody was hurt
on the American side !
On the 6th of April, 1818, McKeever reached St.
Marks, carrying at the head of his fleet the British
flag. This very contemptible decoy trick, on the part
of McKeever, led to a sad and unjustifiable tragedy.
Hillis Hajo, and the bad chief, Himollemico, had just
come down to see if there was any news from their
English friends on the other side of the Atlantic, from
whom they believed they were soon to receive large
donations of arms, clothes, and other useful things,
which a knowledge of their situation would suggest.
They were soon made aware of the presence, at the
mouth of the harbor, of the supposed British vessels ;
and in a canoe these two chiefs glided out to the fleet,
ANDREW JACKSON. 325
where they were gladly received by McKeever, and
at once put under arrest.
On the same day, shortly after McKeever's ar-
rival, General Jackson appeared before St. Marks, and
immediately sent word to the Spanish Governor that
he had come with his army to whip the Indians, who
were enemies to the peace of the country, and this
course he was led to adopt from the ftict that the
Spanish authorities were unable to restrain the sav-
ages in their territory. He wrote to the Governor : —
"This measure is justifiable on the immutable principle of
self-defense, and can not but be satisfactory, under existing cir-
cumstances, to his Catholic Majesty, the King of Spain. Under
existing treaties between our two governments, the King of
Spain is bound to preserve in peace with the citizens of the
United States, not only his own subjects, but all Indian tribes
residing within his territory. When called upon to fulfill that
part of the treaty in relation to a savage tribe who have long
depredated with impunity on the American frontier, incompe-
tency is alleged, with an acknowledgment that the same tribe
have acted in open hostility to the laws, and invaded the rights
of his Catholic Majesty. As a m\^tual enemy, therefore, it is ex-
pected that every facility will be aflbrded by the agents of the
King of Spain to chastise these lawless and inhuman savages. In
this light is the possession of St. Marks by the American forces
to be viewed. I come not as. the enemy, but as the friend of
Spain. Spanish rights and property will be respected. The
property and rights of Spanish subjects will be guaranteed them.
An inventory of all public property, munitions of war, etc., shall
be made out, and certified by an officer appointed by each of us,
and a receipt given for the same, to be accounted for to his
Catholic Majesty by the United States. The subject of my pos-
session of the garrison of St. Marks will be referred to our re-
spective governments for amicable adjustment."
On the following morning the Governor indicated
his disposition not to comply with the General's de-
mand, nor to accept his presentation of the case, and
326 LIFE AND TIMES OF
asked time to place the matter before his government.
This proposition was very ridiculous to General Jack-
son, who did not do business in that way. He ac-
cordingly took charge of the post at once, leaving any
delicate points in the legality of the step to be amica-
bly adjusted, if possible, by his superiors at their
leisure. Do what was to be done, do it quickly, and
look up the law afterwards, was the method of Gen-
eral Jackson ; and this was, to a great extent, the
theory of the New Democracy, at least while he was
its acknowledged dictatorial leader.
On the day that Jackson took possession of St.
Marks, by his order Hillis Hajo ( Francis) and Him-
ollemico were hanged, without form or trial, and so
far as can very satisfactorily be seen, without cause.
Hillis Hajo had "white blood" in his veins, and was
really no savage. He possessed some admirable traits
of mind and character, and was a fine specimen of a
man physically. He was only forty-five year^ of age
at the time he was so unexpectedly killed. These
two Indians were very dissimilar in character and
person, and their friendship was little less remarkable
than that found in the white race, where great diversity
of tastes and intellectual culture are often most inti-
mately associated. Himollemico was a coarse, cruel
savage. It was held that he had led the Indians who mas-
sacred Lieutenant R. W. Scott and his company; and
that he was known to have been guilty of other atroci-
ties. This may be. The proof of it was not sought
for; and no other general of this country would, at all
events, have treated Francis, the prophet, as did Gen-
eral Jackson. He would have been treated as a pris-
oner of war, as he deserved to be, whatever disposition
ANDREW JACKSON. 327
could, with any show of justice, have been made of the
fierce flimollemico.
At St. Marks several other more or less important
characters were found, unfortunately for some of them,
if not for the reputation of General Jackson. Alex-
ander Arbuthnot, who had his trading-post near Su-
wanee, happened to be there as the guest of the Gov-
ernor. Duncan McKrimmon, William Hambly, and
Edmund Doyle were also there as prisoners from the
Indians in charge of the Spanish Governor. Hambly
was immediately brought into service as a translator
between General Jackson and the Spaniards. And
worse still, he was taken into the confidence of Gen-
eral Jackson, and by him believed implicitly. He it
was who first made known the fact that Arbuthnot,
the British trader, was at St. Marks. It appears that
Hambly was a scamp.
On the 9th of April, Jackson and Mcintosh were
on their way to Suwanee, the chief Indian town, over
a hundred miles from St. Marks. On the way Mcin-
tosh diverged for a fight with Peter McQueen, in
which, as usual, he was entirely successful. In this
engagement the woman saved from the massacre on
the Appalachicola was recovered and delivered to her
friends. (See fifth volume of this work.)
The army arrived before Suwanee in the evening,
and fearing the Indians would escape in the night,
Jackson prepared at once to make a night attack.
This was done, but the savages were gone. The town
was burned and the country plundered of all means
of support to the Indians. This was the seat of
Boleck or Bowlegs, a " great " chief, and was the
main rendezvous of negroes, Indians, and whites
328 LIFE AND TIMES OF
inimical to the United States. During the night, after
the flight of the Indians, Robert C. Ambrister, Peter
B. Cook, and some negroes who were making their
way into town under the impression that their friends
were yet there, were captured. This affair of Su-
wanee substantially closed the campaign, and only
leaves, to be disposed of, some of the characters
named, and the settlement of affairs at Pensacola,
where General Jackson thought his attention was
needed. His subsequent course will be sufficiently
clear from the appended account.
General Jackson's report says : —
"Fort Gadsden, 5th May, 1818.
" I returned to this post with my army on the evening of the
2d instant, and embrace an early opportunity of furnishing you
a detailed report of my operations to the east of the Appalachi-
cola River. In the several communications addressed you from
Hartford, Fort Scott, and this place, I have stated the condition
of the army on my assuming the immediate command ; the em-
barrassment occasioned from the want of provisions; the priva-
tions of my troops on their march from the frontiers of Georgia ;
and the circumstances which compelled me to move directly
down the Appalachicola River, to meet with and protect the
expected supplies from New Orleans. These were received on
the 25th of March, and on the next day I was prepared for
active operations. For a detailed account of ray movements
from that period to this day, you are respectfully referred to the
report prepared by my adjutant-general, accompanied with
Captain Hugh Young's topographical sketch of the route and
distance performed. This has been principally a war of move-
ments; the enemy, cut off from their strongholds, or deceived
in the promised foreign aid, have uniformly avoided a general
engagement. Their resistance has generally been feeble ; and in
the partial rencounters, into which they seem to have been in-
voluntarily forced, the regulars, volunteers, and militia, under
my command, realized my expectations ; every privation, fatigue,
and exposure, was encountered with the spirit of soldiers, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 329
danger was met with a degree of fortitude calculated to strengthen
the confidence I had reposed in them.
" On the commencement of my operations, I was strongly
impressed with a belief, that this Indian war had been excited by
some unprincipled foreign or private agents. The outlaws of the
old Red Stick party had been too severely convinced, and the
Seminoles were too weak in numbers to believe, that they could
possibly, alone, maintain a war with even partial success against
the United States. Firmly convinced, therefore, that succor had
been promised from some quarter, or that they had been deluded
into a belief that America dare not violate the neutrality of
Spain, by penetrating to their towns, I early determined to
ascertain these facts, and so direct my movements as to unde-
ceive the Indians. After the destruction of the Mickasukian
villages, I marched direct for St. Marks ; the correspondence
between myself and the Spanish commandant, in which I de-
manded the occupancy of that fortress with an American garri-
son, accompanies this. It had been reported to me, direct from
the Governor of Pensacola, that the Indians and negroes, un-
friendly to the United States, had demanded of the commandant
of St. Marks a supply of ammunition, munitions of war, etc.,
threatening in the event of a non-compliance to take possession
of the fort. The Spanish commandant acknowledged the defense-
less state of his fortress, and his inability to defend it ; and the
Governor of Pensacola expressed similar apprehensions. The
Spanish agents throughout the Floridas had uniformly disavowed
having any connection with the Indians, and acknowledged the
obligations of his Catholic Majesty, under existing treaties, to
restrain their outrages against the citizens of the United States.
Indeed they declared that the Seminole Indians were viewed as
alike hostile to the Spanish Government, and that the will re-
mained, though the power was wanting, to inflict merited chas-
tisement on this lawless tribe. It was, therefore, to be supposed,
that the American army, impelled by the immutable laws of
self-defense, to penetrate the territory of his -Catholic Majesty, to
fight his battles, and even to relieve from a cruel bondage some
of his own subjects, would have been received as allies, hailed as
deliverers, and every facility afforded to them to terminate
speedily and successfully this savage war. Fort St. Marks could
not be maintained by the Spanish force garrisoning it. The
Indians and negroes viewed it as an asvlum, if driven from their
330 LIFE AND TIMES OF
towns, and were preparing to occupy it in this event. It was
necessary to anticipate tlieir movements, independent of the posi-
tion being deemed essential as a depot, on which the success of
my future operations measurably depended. In the spirit of
friendship, therefore, I demanded its surrender to the army of
the United States, until the close of the Seminole war. The
Spanish commandant required time to reflect; it was granted ; a
negotiation ensued, and an effort was made to protract it to an un-
reasonable length. In the conversations between my aid-de-
camp, Lieutenant Gadsden, and the Spanish commandant, cir-
cumstances transpired, convicting him of a disposition to favor
the Indians, and of having taken an active part in aiding and
abetting them in this war. I hesitated, therefore, no longer, and
as I could not be received in friendship, I entered the fort by
violence. Two light companies of the 7th regiment infantry,
and one of the 4th, under the command of Major Twiggs, was
ordered to advance, lower the Spanish colors, and hoist the star-
spangled banner on the ramparts of Fort St. Marks. The order
was executed promptly, no resistance attempted on the part of
the Spanish garrison. The duplicity of the Spanish commandant
of St. Marks, in professing friendship towards the United States,
while he was actually aiding and supplying her savage enemies ;
throwing open the gates of his garrison- to their free access; ap-
propriating the king's stores to their use ; issuing ammunition and
munitions of war to them ; and knowingly purchasing of them
property plundered from the citizens of the United States, is
clearly evinced by the documents accompanying my correspond-
ence. In Fort St. Marks, as an inmate in the family of the
Spanish commandant, an Englishman, by the name of Arbuth-
not, was found. Unable satisfactorily to explain the objects of
his visiting this country, and there being a combination of cir-
cumstances to justify a suspicion that his views were not honest,
he was ordered in close confinement. The capture of his
schooner, near the mouth of Suwanee River, by my aid-de-camp,
Mr. Gadsden, and the papers found on board, unveiled his cor-
rupt transactions, as well as those of a Captain Ambrister, late
of the British Colonial INtarine Corps, taken as a prisoner
near Bowlegs's town. Those individuals were tried, under my
orders, by a special court of select officers, legally convicted as
exciters of this savage and negro war, legally condemned, and
most justly punished for their iniquities. The proceedings of the
ANDREW JACKSON. 331
court-martial in this case, with the volume of testimony, justify-
ing their condemnation, presents scenes of wickedness, corrup-
tion, and barbarity, at which the heart sickens, and in which,
in this enlightened age, it ought scarcely to be believed that
a Christian nation would have participated ; and yet the British
Government is involved in the agency. If Arbuthnot and Am-
brister are not convicted as the authorized agents of Great
Britain, there is no room to doubt but that that government
had a knowledge of their assumed character, and was well
advised of the measures which they had adopted to excite the
negroes and Indians in East Florida to war against the United
States. I hope the execution of these two unprincipled villains
will prove an awful example to the world, and convince the Gov-
ernment of Great Britain, as well as her subjects, that certain,
if slow, retribution awaits those unchristian wretches, who, by
false promises, delude and excite an Indian tribe to all the horrid
deeds of savage war.
"Previous to my leaving Fort Gadsden I had occasion to
address a communication to the Governor of Pensacola, on the
subject of permitting supplies to pass up the Escambia River to
Fort Crawford. This letter, with a second from St. Marks, on
the subject of some United States clothing, shipped in a vessel in
the employ of the Spanish Government, to that post, I now in-
close, with his reply. The Governor of Pensacola's refusal of my
demand can not but be viewed as evincing a hostile feeling on
his part, particularly in connection with some circumstances
reported to me from the most unquestionable authority. It has
been stated, that the Indians at war with the United States have
free access into Pensacola ; that they are kept advised from that
quarter of all our movements ; that they are supplied from thence
with ammunition and munitions of war, and that they are now
collecting in large bodies to the amount of four or five hun-
dred Avarriors in that city ; that inroads from thence have lately
been made on the Alabama, in one of which eighteen settlers fell by
the tomahawk. These statements compel me to make a move-
ment to the west of the Appalachicola, and should they prove
correct, Pensacola must be occupied with an American force, and
the governor treated according to his deserts, or as policy may
dictate. I shall leave strong garrisons in Fort St. Marks, Fort
Gadsden, and Fort Scott; and in Pensacola, should it become
necessary to possess it.
332 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" It becomes my duty to state it as my confirmed opinion that
so long as Spain has not the power or will to enforce the treaties by
which she is solemnly bound to preserve the Indians within her
territory at peace with the United States, no security can be
given to our southern frontier without occupying a cordon of
posts along the sea-shore. The moment the American army returns
from Florida the war-hatchet will again be raised, and the same
scenes of indiscriminate murder, with which our frontier settlers
have been visited, will be repeated. So long as the Indians within
the territory of Spain are exposed to the delusions of false
prophets and the poison of foreign intrigue ; so long as they can
receive ammunition, munitions of war, etc., from pretended trad-
ers or Spanish commandants, it will be impossible to restrain their
outrages. The burning of their towns, the destroying of their
stock and provisions will produce but temporary embarrassments;
re-supplied by Spanish authorities, they may concentrate or dis-
perse at will, and keep up a lasting predatory warfare against the
frontiers of the United States, as expensive as harassing to her
troops. The savages, therefore, must be made dependent on us,
and can not be kept at peace without being persuaded of the
certainty of chastisement being inflicted on the commission of
the first offense.
"I trust, therefore, that the measures which have been pur-
sued will meet the approbation of the President of the United
States. They have been adopted in pursuance of your instruc-
tions, under a firm conviction that they alone were calculated to
insure 'peace and security to the southern frontier of Georgia.'"
" Fort Montgomery, June 2, 1818.
" In a communication to you of the 5th of May, I detailed at
length the operations of my army up to that period. Leaving a
strong garrison of regulars in Forts Scott and Gadsden, I resumed
my march, with a small detachment of the Fourth Regiment of In-
fantry, one company of artillery, and the effectives of the Ten-
nessee volunteers, the whole not exceeding twelve hundred men,
to fulfill my intentions, communicated to you, of scouring the
country west of the Appalachicola River. On the 10th of May,
my army crossed that river at the Ochesee village, and, after a
fatiguing, tedious, and circuitous march of twelve days, misled by
the ignorance of our pilots, and exposed to the severest of priva-
tions, we finally reached and effected a passage over the Escambia.
ANDREW JACKSON. 333
On my march, on the 23d of May, a protest from the Governor
of Pensacola was delivered me by a Spauish soldier, remon-
strating in warm terms against my proceedings, and ordering me
and my forces instantly to quit the territory of his Catholic
Majesty, with a threat to apply force in the event of a non-
compliance. This was so open an indication of a hostile feeling
on his part, after having been early and well-advised of the object
of my operations, that I hesitated no longer ©n the measures to
be adopted. I marched for and entered Pensacola, with only
the show of resistance, on the 24th of May. The governor had
previously fled to Fort Carlos de Barrancas, where it was said he had
resolved upon a most desperate resistance. A correspondence en-
sued between us, detailing at length my motives for wisliing and
demanding that Pensacola and its dependencies be occupied with
an American garrison. The package, marked B, are documents
substantiating the charges, in part, against the conduct of the
Spanish Governor, having knowingly and willingly admitted the
savages, avowedly hostile to the United States, within the town
of Pensacola. The peaceable surrender of the fort at the Bar-
rancas was denied. I marched for and invested it on the even-
ing of the 25th of May, and, on the same night, pushed recon-
noitering parties under its very guns. On the morning of the
26th, a military reconnoissance was taken; and, on the same
night, a lodgment was made under a fire from the Spanish gar-
rison, by Captain Gadsden of the engineers, aided by Captains
Call and Young, on a commanding position within three hundred
and eighty-five yards of the Spanish work, and a nine-pounder
mounted. A howitzer battery was simultaneously established on
the capitol, and within seven hundred and sixty yards of the fort,
at daylight on the 27th. The Spanish garrison opened their
artillery on our batteries ; a parley was sounded, a flag sent in, and
the surrender of Fort Carlos de Barrancas again demanded ; the
favorable positions obtained were pointed out, and the inutility of
resistance urged. Anxious to avoid an open contest, and to save
the eff'usion of blood, the same terms previously offered were again
tendered. They were rejected, and offensive operations recom-
menced. A spirited and well-directed fire was kept up the greater
part of the morning, and at intervals during the afternoon. In
the evening a flag was sent from the Spanish commandant, offering
to capitulate, and a suspension of hostilities was granted until
eight o'clock next day, when articles ot capitulation were signed
334 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and agreed to. The terms are more favorable than a conquered
enemy would have merited ; but, under the peculiar circumstances
of the case, my object obtained, there was no motive for wounding
the feelings of those whose military pride or honor had prompted to
the resistance made. The articles, with but one condition, amount
to a complete cession to the United States of that portion of the
Floridas hitherto under the government of Don Jose Masot.
"The arrangements which I have made to secure Pensacola
and its dependencies are contained in the general orders. I
deemed it most advisable to retain, for the present, the same gov-
ernment to which the people had been accustomed, until such
time as the Executive of the United States may order otherwise.
It was necessary, however, to establish the revenue laws of the
United States, to check the smuggling which had been carried on
successfully in this quarter, for many years past, and to admit the
American merchant to an equal participation in a trade, which
would have been denied under the partial operations of the Span-
ish commercial code. Captain Gadsden was appointed by me col-
lector, and he has organized and left the department in the charge
of officers, on whom the greatest confidence may be reposed.
" Though the Seminole Indians have been scattered, and liter-
ally so divided and reduced as no longer to be viewed as a formi-
dable enemy, yet as there are still many small marauding parties,
supposed to be concealed in the swamps of the Perdido, Choctaw-
hatchee, and Chapouley, who might make occasional and sudden
inroads on our frontier settlers, massacring women and children,
I have deemed it advisable to call into service for six months, if
not sooner discharged, two companies of volunteer rangers, under
Captains McGird and Boyles, with instructions to scour the coun-
try between the Mobile and Appalachicola rivers, exterminating
every hostile party who dare resist, or will not surrender, and re-
move with their families above the 31st degree of latitude.
"The Seminole war may now be considered as at a close,
tranquillity again restored to the southern frontier of the United
States, and as long as a cordon of military posts is maintained
along the Gulf of Mexico, America has nothing to apprehend from
either foreign or Indian hostilities. Indeed, sir, to attempt to for-
tify, or protect an imaginary line, or to suppose that a frontier on
the 31st degree of latitude, in a wilderness, can be secured by a
cordon of military posts, while the Floridas lie open to an enemy,
is visionary in the extreme.
ANDREW JACKSON. 335
" Under this firm belief, I have bottomed all my operations.
Spain liad disregarded the treaties existing with the American
Government, or had not power to enforce them. The Indian
tribes within her territory, and which she was bound to keep at
peace, had visited our citizens with all the horrors of savage war ;
negro brigands were establishing themselves, when and where they
pleased ; and foreign agents were openly and knowingly practicing
their intrigues in this neutral territory.
"The immutable principles, therefore, of self-defense justified
the occupancy of the Floridas, aritl the same principles will war-
rant the American Government in holding it, until such time as
Spain can guaranty, by an adequate military force, the maintain-
ing her authority within the colony.
" At the close of a campaign which has terminated so honor-
ably and happily, it gives me pleasure to express my approbation,
generally, of the officers and soldiers of every species of corps,
which I have had the honor to command. The patience with
which they endured fatigue and submitted to privations, and the
determination with which they encountered and vanquished every
difficulty, is the strongest indication of the existence of that
patriotic feeling which no circumstances can change, and of that
irresistible ardor in the defense of his country, which will prove
her strength and bulwark under any experience. I should do
violence to my feelings if I did not particularly notice the exer-
tions of my quartermaster-general. Colonel George Gibson, who,
under the most embarrassing circumstances, relieved the necessities
of my army, and to whose exertions was I indebted for the sup-
plies received. His zeal and integrity in this campaign, as well
as in the uniform discharge of his duties since his connection
with my stafi*, merits the approbation and gratitude of his
country."
Having for a second time disposed of Pensacola
and the Spanish Governor, General Jackson prepared
to return to Tennessee. The campaign was terminated
by one of his characteristic addresses to the soldiers ;
and at Nashville the GenerS,! was received with greatly
increased respect ; and throughout the country " his
name was in every mouth." But how variably, may
readily be" imagined. This had been a wonderful
336 LIFE AND TIMES OF
campaign. Nothing like it has ever occurred in the his-
tory of the country. This remarkable man had here
outdone himself. Heretofore his life had been one of
constant surprises. From all the common standards
he had departed. His best friends had learned already
to look for the grounds of apology and defense in his
actions on the heels of every deed that needed no
excuse. Here his acts tequired all the skill of the
whole country and Administration to frame an apology
that an accommodating world could receive. Yet he
seemed to feel from the outset and always, that the
world would eventually stand on his side. And it did.
He was now the man of the age. But turn for a time
to a brief review of some of the startling features 'of
this wonderful expedition into Florida.
With Arbuthnot and Ambrister at St. Marks and
on the Suwanee, among others who fell into the hands
of General Jackson were William Hambly, Peter B.
Cook, and Edmund Doyle. Cook had been concerned
with the Indians, but some way fell into the good
graces of General Jackson, and escaped punishment.
Hambly and Doyle were enemies of Arbuthnot, and
yet the former was the main witness against him.
After dispersing the Indians at Boleck's town, General
Jackson returned to St. Marks, where he organized a
court for the " trial " of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, the
Englishmen. The "court" was composed of fourteen
officers, General Edmund P. Gaines, one of the num-
ber, presiding. Only three days were occupied in the
so-called trial and investigation of the important causes.
General Jackson, the sum and substance of the whole
business, had, perhaps, decided what should be the end,
before the " trial" began. Arbuthnot was accused of
ANDREW JACKSON. 337
urging the Creeks to war ; advising them not to adhere
to the treaty of Fort Jackson ; recommending the union
of all the Creeks for resistance ; advising them to refer
their aggravations to the Governor of New Providence,
who would represent them to the British Ministry ;
acting as a spy for the Indians ; writing a letter to his
son which apprised the Indians at Suwanee of the ap-
proach of General Jackson's army ; writing to the
British Minister at Washington and the Governor of
New Providence to interfere in behalf of these Indians ;
exciting the Indians to arrest and murder Hambly and
Doyle ; and writing letters threatening their death, be-
cause they were competing traders and friends of the
United States. Some of these charges were frivolous,
and most of them were foolish, and, perhaps, none of
them were criminal under the circumstances. The two
last items in the bill of items, the " court " dropped
without consideration. How could the man have been
a spy, when he remained among his friends ? He lived
in a territory subject to a foreign government, and had
he not a right to serve conscientiously the friends among
whom he lived ? In some respects, it is true, his advice
to the Indians, if the charges were not false, was un-
wise, but there is no evidence that he was not an up-
right man, with an Englishman's ill-will toward the
United States, and the well-founded belief that the In-
dian had few just and disinterested friends in America,
who were able to be of great benefit to him in the un-
equal struggle of life. The " court " found Arbuthnot
guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged. He made a
manly plea, but nothing was of any avail.
Ambrister was accused of levying war against the
United States ; of advising the Indians to fight ; of
338 LIFE AND TIMES OF
looking after the rights of the negroes (an unpardon-
able sin) ; soliciting arms for the Indians from his
uncle, the Governor of New Providence ; and of actu-
ally sending soldiers to resist the advance of the
Americans. Of all these charges he was declared to
be guilty. And, perhaps, he was guilty, but was there
nothing mitigating in the circumstances ? The " court"
evidently thought so. For after sentencing him to be
shot, the decision was reviewed, and deliberately
changed to fifty lashes to be laid on his bare back, and
twelve months' hard labor under ball and chain. This
was a strange decision, and suggests the idea that the
"court" was laboring under the impression that the
whole business was a bad farce, which merited a better
ending than it was likely to have. *
But this is the way General Jackson disposed of
the matter : —
"The Commanding General approves the finding and sentence
of the court in the case of A. Arbuthnot, and approves the find-
ing and first sentence of the court in the case of Robert C. Am-
brister, and disapproves the reconsideration of the sentence of
the honorable court in this case.
"It appears, from the evidence and pleading of the prisoner,
that he did lead and command within the Territory of Spain
(being a subject of Great Britain), the Indians in war against
the United States, those nations being at peace. It is an estab-
lished principle of the laws of nations, that any individual of a
nation making war against the citizens of any other nation, they
being at peace, forfeits his allegiance, and becomes an outlaw
and pirate. This is the case of Robert C. Ambrister, clearly
shown by the evidence adduced.
"The Commanding General orders that Brevet-Major A. C. "W.
Fanning, of the corps of artillery, will have, between the hours
of eight and nine o'clock, A. M., A, Arbuthnot suspended by
the neck with a rope until he is dead, and Robert C. Ambrister
to be shot to death, agreeable to the sentence of the court.
ANDREW JAUKSON. 339
"John James Arbuthnot (Arbuthnot's son) will be furnished
with a passage to Pensacola by the first vessel.
"The special court, of which Brevet Major-General E. P.
Gaines is president, is dissolved."
Amazing conduct ! No absolute monarch could
have done more than this would-be autocrat of America.
It would be hard, perhaps, for any sane .man at this
day, to believe that either of these Englishmen was
guilty of offenses for which he was deserving of death.
The order for the execution was issued and carried
into eflfect on the morning of the 29th of April, 1818.
Scarcely had the General started on his way to Pen-
sacola with his army before his orders were carried
out as to these unfortunate men, who believed to the
last moment, that as they were in the hands of Chris-
tian white men no great evil could befall them. At
the very time this horrid deed was about to be per-
petrated, gangs of " savages " were coming in to sue
for peace. The sight before them must have struck
them with terror. Even to these savages it must
have been an appalling specacle. Great must have
been their consternation, too, when they now heard,
for the first time, that their chiefs, Hillis Hajo and
Himollemico, had been hanged like vile dogs.
- With General Jackson, the lack of means and ability
was the only limit to the exercise of power. He never
stopped to consider consequences. Believing himself
that what he did was the thing to be done in every
case, and was in itself right, he acted, and believed
the world would take the same view. In every act
of this campaign he believed at the time, and always
did believe, that he was right. While this specious
fact is taken, to some extent, in all such instances, by
340 LIFE AND TIMES OF
friend and foe, as an apology for an excess or a wrong,
is it really so ? No man's belief merely in the cor-
rectness or justice of his own acts can or should ever
relieve him from responsibility for their results. This
dangerous principle was a feature of General Jackson's
character. The amazing transactions of this Seminole
campaign greatly perplexed the Administration at
Washington. Sufficient grounds had here been laid
for an immediate declaration of war against this coun-
try by England and Spain. What American was able
to prevent this calamity ? Would any man undertake
the Herculean task in a way to save the country and
the author of the mischief? It was a desperate
emergency in the national history, and it required a
desperate remedy. But there was a man for the oc-
casion. John Quincy Adams became the champion of
General Jackson ; and his success in browbeating
England into an acceptance of his peculiar reasoning,
much of which was fallacious, presents the most ex-
traordinary phenomenon in connection with this Sem-
inole war, and is certainly one of the most striking
diplomatic achievements in the annals of the Nation.
It would be useless to attempt to justify the killing
of the two chiefs, or the execution of the Englishmen.
If these foreigners had committed crimes against this
Government, they were not capital in character. Their
blood still cries against the perpetrator. Neither the
wonderful success of the Administration in the defense,
nor the acquiescence of England, nor the applause of
reckless friends, could ever remove the stain of these
unnecessary and evil acts from the life of General
Jackson, a stain which his country has been obliged
to share. The entire conduct of this wonderful cam-
ANDREW JACKSON. 341
paign in Florida came before Congress, and towards
the close of January, 1819, General Jackson deeming
his presence necessary, made his appearance in Wash-
ington. In taking this step, he acted as he always
had done when anything was in progress concerning
himself. No man had so much confidence in General
Jackson's power as Jackson himself had. Although
he did not visit the Capitol during the progress of
this trial, no doubt, his presence in Washington had
no little weight in the final result.
After a discussion, continuing nearly a month in
the House, that body decided by a vote of 90 to 54,
that it did not disapprove the execution of Arbuthnot
and Ambrister ; and by a vote of 91 against 65, that
the seizure of Pensacola was not contrary to the Con-
stitution of the United States. The case of the poor
Indians was not worth noticing. The Senate also dis-
cussed the subject, but the bill of censure was laid on
the table a few days before the end of the session. So
General Jackson was again triumphant.
For his invasion of Florida, and the general course
pursued by him there, he claimed that he had acted
under the instructions or sanction of the Administra-
tion. But both Mr. Monroe and Mr. Calhoun, the
Secretary of War, utterly disclaimed giving any
authority for such proceedings, .and while they assumed
that he had stepped entiiely out of the meaning of his
instructions, they were willing to undertake the sup-
port of his conduct, and to give him every possible
facility for his own defense. But Mr. Calhoun had,
from perfectly just and honorable motives, believed
that Jackson deserved to bear the evil of his own un-
justifiable conduct, and the resolutions of censure.
342 LIFE AND TIMES OF
introduced in part by Mr. Cobb in the House, were at
the suggestion of the Secretary of War.
The General had never been well disposed towards
Mr. Crawford, and now he believed that Crawford was
his great enemy in the Cabinet. But this belief sprang
out of one of the great defects of his nature. General
Jackson could not separate his person from his deeds. He
was unable to distinguish between an opinion touching
his deeds, and a general opinion of himself. Indeed,
he did not grant to any man the right to hold any
opinion of him or his acts which he did not himself
approve. And any man who was unfortunate enough
to entertain an opinion either of him or of anything
else which was not in exact harmony with his own
sentiments, he deemed his enemy. Out of this tyran-
nical and brute-like quality came his view of the
standing of the members of the Cabinet, his unmanly
and evil quarrel with Mr. Calhoun, which bore its
evil fruits to the Nation, his opposition to and advo-
cacy of measures of vast interest to the country, his
life-long bitterness towards Mr. Clay, and many of his
personal and other matters which were ever marring
his life and disturbing his fellow-countrymen. In the
Cabinet of Mr. Monroe he had no enemies. Mr. Mon-
roe and all his Constitutional advisers were just men,
looking to the best interests of the country. They
preferred the welfare of the country to that of the in-
dividual citizen, .while they were willing even to strain
their efforts to save him.
At the beginning of the session of 1820, General
Jackson forwarded to Washington a reply to the re-
port of the Senate committee, in which he reviewed at
great length his course in Florida. But this was
ANDREW JACKSON. 343
unnecessary labor on his part. He was too firmly es-
tablished with "the people." Nothing that he had
done, and nothing that he ever could do, could mate-
rially affect his standing with " the people." Jackson
had entered Florida on the grounds that British emis-
saries were there fomenting the Indians, and that both
Indians and their British friends were succored and
abetted by the Spaniards. On these scores he placed
his justification: In five months he had completed
the work, and for the time closed this Seminole War.
But how had he done it? In a way to bring the
country to the verge of another war with England, a
calamity from which the ability and ingenuity of Mr.
Adams were barely able to save it. Besides the mur-
ders committed by General Jackson's orders, the cam-
paign was marked by a wonderfully small loss of life.
Of the hostile Indians, perhaps, fewer than a hundred
were killed ; few of the friendly Indians were killed ;
and none of the whites.
Mcintosh was really the hero of the campaign, so
far as the fighting was concerned, he and his Indians
doing it pretty much all. And although Mr. Adams
and Mr. Rush succeeded in getting the British Minis-
try to take the view that Ambrister and Arbuthnot
were outlaws and should not receive their sympathy,
and many of the General's friends always tried to
make it appear that he was entirely correct in the
course he took in putting these men to death, nobody
said much about the two Indian chiefs, IlimoUemico
and Hillis Hajo, whom he caused to be killed without
ceremony. Perhaps, nobody ever saw any reason for
these murders, or would have attempted to justify the
act. Had these chiefs belonged to a race and nation
344 LIFE AND TIMES OF
as powerful as that to which Arbuthnot and Ambrister
belonged, the case would have given Mr. John Quincy
Adams much more trouble than theirs. What could
these poor Indians do ? Little else than mourn their
wrongs. But as few as they were, they were not
conquered at the end of General Jackson's campaign.
They did not forget, and the United States had yet to
pay dearly for Fowltown and the murder of the chiefs.
While his case was pending in Congress, General
Jackson made a trip to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
New York. In the last named city he had never been.
His reception wherever he went was, indeed, wonder-
ful. Addresses were made to him of the most eulo-
gistic character, to which he replied briefly and for-
tunately. And, as if all who participated in these
hero-worshiping demonstrations were great stomachs,
big dinners ended mo^t of them. These were accom-
panied by the usual " toasts," in which the General
was not always in harmony with the flow of spirits.
In New York he gave DeWitt Clinton for his " toast,"
and in so doing cast a shell among his admirers, who
were by no means unanimous on Mr. Clinton, who had
assumed the cloak of his uncle, Geoige, and wanted
to be President.
After the House had acquitted him, General Jack-
son also became the hero of the day at Washington.
While the case was before Congress, he declined all
marks of respect in a social way. Mr. Adams, who
really had nothing in his nature in common with Jack-
son, invited him to his house, but this invitation he
declined in a polite note from "Major-General Jack-
son." After the ban, self-imposed, was removed, how-
ever, he visited Mr. Adams's, and showed not the least
ANDREW JACKSON. 345
disinclination to accept all the praise the people were
willing to put upon him. Washington society was
what was called very gay and fashionable at that time,
especially in the kind of court circle into which im-
portant officials and other would-be great people formed
themselves. And with all of Jackson's backwoods
life, and want of education and culture, he was ex-
ceedingly dignified in his bearing, and when it suited
him to be so, few men in the country could appear to
better advantage at these courtly receptions.
In New Orleans he and Mrs. Jackson had cut a
very ridiculous figure on the dancing-floor, and at
Philadelphia, many years before, they had laughed at
his remarkable cue done up in an eel-skin, but now all
this was changed. Nothing was seen amiss in him.
His popularity with men and women took the place
of everything else. In 1824, his past career was
brought up in varied colors, but it was not until his
race in 1828, and during his first term in the White
House that the war upon him broke out in its greatest
bitterness. He had then made the discovery that Mr.
Calhoun had committed the unpardonable Jacksonian of-
fense, had not only not been his friend, but realW desired
his punishment for his Florida conduct. Mr. Clay and
General Harrison now came in to share his displeasure.
In this Seminole investigation began his life-long quar-
rel with Clay. He took Mr. Clay's opposition to his
acts as a personal matter. This he did in all cases,
and seemed unable to consider any man's honorable
convictions against his conduct, as anything different
from personal enmity. From this time forward, he
spared no means to put down his great antagonist.
He simply notified or ordered Nashville friends,
346 LIFE AND TIMES OF
newspapers, and those favorable to him in other parts of
the country to assail Mr. Clay in every possible way.
No word of apology can ever be offered for this trait
in the character of Andrew Jackson. The conflict
waged between these two men, Clay and Jackson, bit-
ter, unrelenting, ending only in the grave, is a blot
and shame on the character of both of them. While
such conduct never can attach to the lives of truly
great characters, their example demonstrates how en-
tirely men may be controlled by the world around
them, and how little able they are often to escape this
influence however much they may try. Had they ever
desired to bury the feud out of sight, they could not
have done so. The infernal partisan world urged them
forward. And as it was in most other instances, almost
everything in his life, Jackson triumphed. Mr. Clay
could never be President. He fell, the great orator,
before the iron will, the hate of Jackson. John C.
Calhoun, in like manner, fell far short of the Presi-
dency, and long before, sank from the struggle, involv-
ing the Nation with him. So fell all of General Jack-
son's fancied or real enemies, both in men and institu-
tions. When his evil rupture with Mr. Calhoun came,
in 1830, 1831, and 1832, the Seminole War difficulties
of 1818, again came before the public in all their rancor.
Nothing but grace, and amazing grace at that, in
men, could cause them to look with tolerance or for-
getfulness upon the evil conduct of a man who man-
aged to keep the country in an immoral foment during
the greater part of his life.
In the fifth volume of this work may be found a
more minute account of General Jackson's Seminole
campaign and its evil consequences, the troubles of
ANDREW JACKSON. ' 347
the Administration on his account, of his so-called
trial, of the mystical John Rhea letter, and many
other matters which gave the General his political
start in the world. The sixth volume also contains
no little in a documentary way and otherwise on this
ever-fruitful subject.
In 1831, General Jackson prepared a defense of
his Seminole campaign in answer to a pamphlet pub-
lished by Mr. Calhoun, but this unadmirable and
characteristic exposition did not appear in print until
after his death. A great part of this " exposition "
was made up of a statement of Mr. Calhoun's conduct
toward him, and a condemnfition of Mr. Calhoun's
character. This long defense was written, no doubt,
by the dissolute Henry Lee, the son of " Light Horse
Harry," who put in shape and language many of Gen-
eral Jackson's public documents.
348 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XX.
THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA— JUDGE FROMENTIN
AND THE DONS— "AUNT RACHEL."
GENERAL JACKSON was now again left in com-
parative quiet at the Hermitage. But this was
not of long continuance. Soon after the Florida raid
he was associated with Governor Isaac Shelby, of
Kentucky, to treat with the Chickasaw Indians for a
session of their land-claims in Kentucky and Tennes-
see. And in the fall of 1820, he was authorized, with
Major Hinds, of Mississippi, to " negotiate " with the
Choctaws for some of their ancient titles to certain
parts of this earth.
In the spring of 1821, there occurred a reduction
of the army, an event which rendered it necessary
for General Jackson to resign his commission, a step
he had before contemplated, although he was opposed
to the reduction. Jacob Brown now became general
of the army, and in his announcement was so unfor-
tunate as to say something displeasing to General
Jackson, who did not allow a man even to think
''^ pshaw'' of what he did, or of anything which
affected him, without a direct protest in some way.
He had already prepared his " farewell " to the
army in his division, but Brown's "general order"
induced him to attach what he called a note, longer
than the address, characteristic and reprehensible.
ANDREW JACKSON. 349
General Jackson's military career was now at an
end. It had been brilliant and fortunate, and much
in it was entirely out of the ordinary ways of sol-
diers. On what did his exceptional reputation de-
pend? In the Seminole campaign he had done no
fighting, but he managed to give the Government
more trouble than one man had ever before occasioned.
Nothing was permanently settled by the campaign.
The Creek War, lasting over a year, and marked
by some strange and extraordinary events, was in its
results very valuable to the country. New Orleans
was wonderfully beneficial to the General himself,
and, perhaps, not without benefits to the Nation.
One thing is quite marked in his military career ; that
while he exacted a relentless discipline on the part of
others, he was- utterly void of discipline or a disposi-
tion to regard it in himself, in dealing with his supe-
riors. Even his patriotic letter to Governor Blount,
deeply and boldly censured this earnest and patriotic
supporter; his letters to the President and the War
Department were of the same general dictatorial style;
and even in leaving the army he could not miss the
opportunity to assail the conduct of the Government
and the views of the general-in-chief.
He was now about to enter a new field, where he
was destined to distinguish himself in a characteristic
way. General Jackson to be the first Governor of
Florida ! A strange selection, indeed ! In his appoint-
ment Mr. Monroe had been influenced by motives
apparent enough, perhaps, the first of which was the
General's popularity. He believed this popularity
made the appointment necessary. The President was,
no doubt, also influenced by the desire to have a man
350 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in Florida who would see that the United States was
not the sufferer in taking the government out of its
old hands. Florida had some undesirable elements in
its population, and who was better fit to deal with
them at the outset than this tyrannical character?
The appointment, it was supposed, would in part,
compensate for the loss of the position the General
valued in the army. But on many accounts few men
could have been less fit to be governor of a territory,
and especially of such a community as that of
Florida, than was General Jackson. He was strong
in the belief of the intrinsic perfidy of the Spaniard,
and was no man to trifle with their crooked inclina-
tions. It had, indeed, tried the patience of this whole
country for twenty-five years, to deal with proud and
faithless Spain.
About the middle of April, 1821, General Jackson
with his family left Nashville to take up his residence
in Florida. Against this step he had been urged by
" Aunt Rachel," but he had a desire to gratify in
being present at the winding up of Spanish affairs.
On the 17th of July, 1821, Florida was formally
transferred to General Jackson for the United States.
Some account of this event may be found in the fifth
volume of this work.
The following letter, borrowed from Mr. Parton,
will throw a little light on the state of affairs at Pen-
sacola, at the time the Spaniards moved out, and
delivered their houses and territory for a song to the
United States : —
"Pensacola, 23d July, 1821.
"My Dear Friend, — I have been in this place four weeks.
The reason 1 have denied myself the pleasure of writing you is
ANDREW JACKSON. 351
that I was waiting for the great events which have taken place
in this our day. O that I had the pen of a ready writer that I
might give you a correct detail of the great transaction, but it is
as follows. We having a house prepared and furnished, the
General advised me to move down and remain until he could
with propriety niarcli in with the Fourth Regiment.
"Three weeks the transports were bringing the Spanish troops
from St. Marks in order that they should all sail to Cuba at the
same time. At length they arrived, but during all this time the
Governor of this place and the General had daily communica-
tions, yet his lordship never waited on the General in person.
After the vessels returned from St. Marks, the General came
within two miles of Pensacola. They were then one week finish-
ing the preliminaries and ceremonies to be observed on the day
of his entrance into the city. At length, last Tuesday was the
day. At seven o'clock, at the precise moment, they hove in view
under the American flag and a full band of music. The whole
town was in motion. Never did I see so many pale faces. I am
living on Main Street, which gave me an opportunity of seeing
a great deal from the upper galleries. They marched by to the
Government House, where the two Generals met in the manner
prescribed, then his Catholic Majesty's flag was lowered, and the
American hoisted high in air, not less than one hundred feet.
" O how they burst into tears to see the last ray of hope
departed of their devoted city and country ; delivering up the
keys of the archives, the vessels lying at anchor, in full view, to
waft them to their distant port. Next morning they set sail
under convoy of the Hornet sloop-of-war, Anne Maria, and the
Tom Shields. How did the city sit solitary and mourn ! Never
did my heart feel more for any people. Being present, I entered
immediately into their feelings. Their manners, laws, and cus-
toms, all changed ; and really a change was necessary. My pen
almost drops from my hand, the effort is so far short, so limited
to what it might be.
" Three Sabbaths I spent in this house before the country was
in possession under American government. In all that time I was
not an idle spectator. The Sabbath profanely kept; a great deal
of noise and swearing in the streets; shops kept open ; trade going
on, I think, more than on any other day. They were so boister-
ous on that day I sent Major Stanton to say to them that the ap-
proaching Sunday would be differently kept. And must I say
352 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the worst people here are the cast-out Americans and negroes ?
Yesterday I had the happiness of witnessing the truth of what I
had said. Great order was observed; the doors kept shut; the
gambling-houses demolished ; fiddling and dancing not heard any
more on the Lord's-day ; cursing not to be heard.
" What, what has been done in one week ! A province de-
livered to the American people ; the laws of the land we live in
they are now under.
' ' You can 't conceive what an important, arduous, laborious
work it has been and is. I had no idea of it until daily it
unfolded the mystery to view. I am convinced that no mortal
man could do this and suffer so many privations, unless the God
of our salvation was his help in every time of trouble. While
the General was in camp, fourteen miles from Pensacola, he was
very sick. I went to see him, and to try and persuade him to
come to his house. But, no. All his friends tried. He said
that when he came in it should be under his own standard, and
that would be the third time he had planted that flag on that
wall. And he has done so. O how solemn was his pale coun-
tenance when he dismounted from his horse! Recollections of
perils and scenes of war not to be dissevered presented them-
selves to view.
"There were no shouts of joy or exultation heard; but, on
the contrary, we sympathized with these people. Still, I think,
the Lord had a controversy with them. They were living far
from God. If they would have the Gospel of Jesus and his
apostles, it would have been otherwise, but they would not. The
field is white for harvest, but where are the laborers? Not one.
O, for one of our faithful ministers to come and impart the word
of life to them ! I have heard but one Gospel sermon since we left
home. But I know that my Redeemer liveth. He is my shield.
I shall not want. He will not leave me nor forsake me in all
my trials through this wilderness. O, pray for me ; I have need
of that aid from my dear Christian friends.
"I will give you a faint description of the country and of
this place, knowing that my dear friend will throw a veil over
my errors and imperfections. 1. Pensacola is a perfect plain ; the
land nearly as white as flour, yet productive of fine peach-trees,
oranges in abundance, grapes, figs, pomegranates, etc., etc. Fine
flowers growing spontaneously, for they have neglected the gar-
dens, expecting a change of government. The town is imme-
ANDREW JACKSON. 353
diately on the bay. The most beautiful water prospect I evej
saw ; and from ten o'clock in the morning until ten at night we
have the finest sea-breeze. There is something in it so exhilarat-
ing, so pure, so wholesome, it enlivens the whole system. All
the houses look in ruins, old as time. Many squares of the
town appear grown over with the thickest shrubs, weeping wil-
lows, and the pride of China ; all look neglected. The inhab-
itants all speak Spanish and French. Some speak four or five
languages. Such a mixed multitude you, nor any of us, ever had
an idea of. There are fewer white people far than any other,
mixed with all nations under the canopy of heaven, almost in
nature's darkness. But, thanks to the Lord that has put grace
in this his servant to issue his proclamation in a language they
all understand, I think the sanctuary is about to be purged for a
minister of the Gospel to come over to the help of the Lord in
this dark region.
"There is a Catholic church in the place, and the priest seems
a divine-looking man. He comes to see us. He dined with us
yesterday, the governor and secretary, French, Spanish, Amer-
ican ladies, and all. I have as pleasant a house as any in town.
"We have a handsome view of the bay on Main Street. You
will scarcely believe me, but it is a fact, the vessels are daily
coming in loaded with people. The place is nearly full ; a great
many come for their health. It is very healthy, so pure and
wholesome. No fields of corn or wheat in all ray travels, ex-
cept one place near Mount Pelier. The growth entirely pine,
some live-oak, magnolia, bay, which are all evergreens. The
weather is oppressively warm to me, and raining every day.
Sometimes the streets are two feet deep in water. But for the
sand we could not live. It has rained three months, almost every
day, since we left New Orleans. I have the society of Amanda
Grage, and the mother of Mr. Grage, and two more Christian
ladies. I fear I shall put your patience to the test. I pray you
bear with me a little. I have 'so many things to write you, and
it may be the last opportunity I shall have, and I know I have not
Jialf done justice to the picture. I hope you will see it from some
able penman. My dear husband is, I think, not any the better
as to his health. He has, indeed, performed a great work in his
day. Had I heard by the hearing of the ear I could not have
believed.
"Have we all gone from you so far that no intelligence can
2?— G
354 LIFE AND TIMES OF
reach our place of destination ? There is no mail, no post-office
here. All these inconveniences will be remedied shortly. Miss
Grage received a letter from Mrs. Berryhill, wherein she states
the illness of Mr. Campbell and several others in Nashville, but
some pleasing news of the Ciiurch. O, for Zion ! I am not at
rest, nor can I be, in a heathen land. Say to Captain Kingsley
the General sends his best wishes to you both. He will write
when he can have a moment. Remember me with much love to
all my friends. iSay to Mrs. Foster not to forget me, Mrs.
Judge Campbell, Miss P. Lewis, Miss Nancy Ayers, Mrs. Som-
erville, and all and every one. How happy and thankful should
you be in a land of Gospel light and liberty.
"O, rejoice and be glad; far more it is to be desired than al
the honor and riches in this vain world. Farewell, my dear
friend, and should the great Arbiter of fate order his servant not
to see her kindred and friends again, I hope to meet you in.
the realms of everlasting bliss. Then I shall weep no more
at parting.
"Do not be uneasy for me. 'Although the vine yield no
fruit, and the olive no oil, yet will I serve the Lord.'
"Adieu, adieu. Rachel Jackson.
"Mrs. Elizabeth Kingsley.
"Say to Mr. K., Andrew is learning Spanish."
The Andrew who was learning Spanish was An-
drew Jackson, Jr., the adopted son of the General.
Andrew Jackson Donelson, a nephew, was also a part
of Mrs. Jackson's family. There are really forty or
fifty bits of history in this letter, which place it on
an unusually high basis. It was historic ground, but
"Aunt Rachel" had gone in the way of most other
people in " hearing with their eyes."
The average letter runs about in this style : —
Where are you, and what are you doing? I have n't
heard from you for I do n't know how long. I thought
you were sick or dead. The weather is awful hot.
I have n't been well this summer. Are you going away
this season ? I have two lovely new dresses. When
ANDREW JACKSON. 355
did you hear from Jute? Dick and Nell were here
last week. And do you know, Nell paints and laces
like a flea. We had an immensely nice time at the
festival. I got a letter last month from Mirtie. She
has a baby. Ain't it awful ?
What could become of a world made of women
who write such letters ? Pensacola must have been a
Heaven-forsaken place, "so wholesome," and yet "two
feet deep in water," and, worse than all, the Amer-
icans and Indians who took possession of the town
were no better than those who had moved out. But
this very good letter from " Aunt Rachel " helps along
the history of the General, and is a large leaf in her
own biography. It tells plainly enough what a com-
monplace, every-day, kind, good. Christian, motherly
woman she was, and how useless it would be for an
enthusiast to attempt to paint her as possessing supe-
rior qualities of mind, as being a superb woman, a
pride to the Nation that honored her husband.
But Mrs. Jackson had some ideas of how a gov-
ernment should be conducted. Her wants were lim-
ited in this respect, and, although they might not
easily be carried out, the General was the man to
make an effort. His commission as governor gave him
extraordinary powers, and contained these words : —
"Know ye that, resposing special trust and confidence in the
integrity, patriotism, and abilities of Major-General Andrew Jack-
son, I do appoint him to exercise all the powers and authorities
heretofore exercised by the governor and captain-general and in-
tendant of Cuba, and by the governors of East and West Florida ;
provided, however, that the said Andrew Jackson, or any person
acting under him, or in the said territories, shall have no power
or authority to lay or collect any new or additional taxes, or to
grant or confirm to any person or persons, whomsoever, any title
or claims to land within the same."
356 LIFE AND TIMES OF
He was not to impose taxes or grant lands to his
followers. Little else was denied him. Of this ex-
traordinary trust the General thus wrote : —
"lam clothed with powers which uo one under a Republic
ought to possess, and which, I trust, will never again be given to
any man. Nothing will give me more happiness than to learn
that Congress, in its wisdom, shall have distributed them prop-
erly, and in such a manner as is consonant to our earliest and
deepest impressions. Yet, as I hold these powers by the authority
of an act of Congress, it becomes my duty to discharge the sa-
cred trust imposed upon me according to the best of my abili-
ties, even though the proper exercise of the powers given might
involve me in heavy personal responsibilities. It has been my mis-
fortune to be thus circumstanced in my various relations as a public
servant. Yet I never have, nor ever will I shrink from the dis-
charge of my public duties from any apprehension of personal
responsibility."
Notwithstanding this, he began at once to exceed
and disregard his authority. Especially charged to
levy no additional or new taxes, he immediately or-
dered large and minute assessments to be made for
keeping the machinery of his new government in the
towns running. It was impossible for General Jack-
son to engage in any public way without being em-
broiled, or without departing from the probable course
of other men. His brief governorship of Florida was
no exception. The long delay in getting affairs in
shape to have the government transferred from the
old masters, gave him time to arrange all his plans,
and when the transfer did at last come, he was ready
to set up the new government throughout the terri-
tory. Without reference to its former divisions, he
divided all Florida into two counties ; the country
west of the Suwanee River he named Escambia, and
that east of that river, St. John, County. On his way
ANDREW JACKSON. 357
to Pensacola, he fell in with Henry M. Brackenridge,
of Pennsylvania, the college companion and early
correspondent of James Madison, who was also going
to Pensacola, under promise from President Monroe
that something would be found for him. Mr. Brack-
enridge could speak the Spanish and French languages,
and was one of the first scholars of his day. The
meeting was considered fortunate by both men, and
Mr. Brackenridge became Jackson's secretary. By
him was written the proclamation to the people on
taking possession of the Territory, the General's last
proclamation or farewell statement, and most others
of the public documents in the organization and man-
agement of affairs in Florida by General Jackson. Mr.
Brackenridge was also made a kind of governor (Alcaid
or Alcalde) of Pensacola.
The other most noted character appearing in Florida
at this time was Judge Elijius Fromentin. Fromentin
had an unenviable history, but was a man of talents,
and was appointed as Judge for Florida by Mr. Mon-
roe, without his knowledge of his character beyond
the favorable representations of friends. But Fro-
mentin had committed no crime that would prevent
his being a wise and just judge.
The Spanish Governor, Don Jose Callava, and
many of his officers remained in Pensacola, after the
departure of the main effects of his government,
and the troops to Cuba, and these men proved of more
trouble to General Jackson than all the other popula-
tion of Florida, as piratical and heathenish as much of
it was. Callava still considered himself as standing
in the capacity of Spanish commissioner, if not gov-
ernor ; and Jackson esteemed those offices at an end
358 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with Callava, and looked upon him as any other per-
son sojourning in his Territory. It was true that
these Spanish officers tarried beyond the time desig-
nated for their departure in the treaty, and it was
through the courtesy of General Jackson that they
now remained at Pensacola. Complaint was made
against Callava, that he was preparing to carry away
some land records necessary to prove disputed titles.
A poor woman laid the information before Mr. Brack-
enridge, and he considering it of importance took it to
Jackson. Although there was found to be nothing in
the claim, it made a loud and ridiculous noise. Callava
refused to be treated with contempt, his lieutenant
refused to give up the papers, and after some evasions
they were arrested and confined in the old jail, by
order of General Jackson, a most stormy and ludicrous
scene having taken place at the General's office be-
tween Callava and himself, in which one spoke En-
glish because he could not speak anything else, and
not even that always well, and the other spoke Span-
ish because he would not speak anything else, and
Mr. Brackenridge was accused by both of translating
ver}' badly. Jackson never could stand a Spanish
Governor, and that this one crossed him now made
him furious. His display of temper was a sight that
these Spaniards had not " bargained for." The friends
of Callava applied to Fromentin for a writ of habeas
corpus. They were quick to learn the "inestimable
privilege" of this free country. The judge issued the
writ. The officer in charge of the calaboose paid no
attention to it, more than to send it to Jackson. In
the meantime the papers about which this tempest had
been raised were found and delivered to the " Alcalde/*
ANDREW JACKSON. 359
Brackenridge. Callava and the rest were at once lib-
erated. But this was not the end. Another had
committed an unpardonable sin. This priest-judge,
Fromentin, who would dare to interfere with the af-
fairs and will of Governor Jackson, was now to be
taught the error of his ways. General Jackson had a
case of this habeas corpus business in New Orleans.
Fromentin was summoned to appear before this in-
sulted dignitary, but played rheumatism, and could
not go until the Governor's passion had subsided to
some extent. He then appeared, and this is the way
it was, according to his own story : —
"The next day, about noon, Colonel Walton returned, and
observed that both the General and myself must be desirous of
making a report of this affair to the Government by the next
mail; that there was no time to be lost; and that it was the
General's wish that I should call at his office the next day, in
the morning. After the colonel had withdrawn, I reflected that
the state of things was now somewhat different from what it was
the day before ; a reason was assigned for my having an inter-
view with the General, the force of which I felt; and ultimately
a longer resistance would only end in affording General Jackson
the scandalous triumph of once more trampling upon the laws
of his country. I determined to go there that very afternoon,
and accordingly, at four o'clock P. M. , I went to the office of
General Jackson. The conversation, as you may suppose, was
nearly all on one side, not unmixed with threats of what he said
he had a right to do for my having dared to interfere with his
authority. He asked me whether I would dare to issue a writ
to be served upon the captain-general of the island of Cuba?
I told him, no ; but that if the case should require it, and I had
the necessary jurisdiction, I would issue one to be served upon
the President of the United States. Ultimately, he wished to
known the names of the persons who had applied for the writ of
habeas corpus. I unhesitatingly told them to him. Then he
wished to know whether they had made the usual affidavit, stat-
ing that they had been refused a copy of the warrant upon
which Colonel Callava was confined. I told him, no; that the
360 LIFE AND TIMES OF
application to me was a verbal one. General Jackson then re-
quired me to sign what I had just declared ; I told him I was
ready to do it, and I did it accordingly; Dr. Bronaugh, who
was present at the conversation, having reduced that part of it
to writing. Much more was said by the General respecting the
extent of his powers, the happy selection made of him by the
President, the hope that no living man should ever in future be
clothed with such extraordinary authority. How fortunate it
was for the poor that a man of his feelings had been placed at
the head of the Government, etc., etc., etc., etc., the whole in-
termixed with, or rather consisting altegether of the most ex-
travagant praises of himself, and the most savage and unmerited
abuse of Colonel Callava, and of myself for doing ray duty in
attempting to set him at liberty. The first time the authority
of General Jackson is contested, I should not be surprised if, to
all the pompous titles l)y him enumerated in his order to me, he
should superadd that of grand inquisitor, and if, finding in my
library many books formerly prohibited in Spain, and among
others the Constitution of the United States, he should send me
to the stake."
General Jackson and Judge Fromentin both put
this case in all its shades before the Department of
State, the former commenting with great severity on
the conduct of the latter, who had very limited
powers, and, perhaps, overstepped these, even in a land
where habeas corpus had not been acclimated. Callava
published his case, too, and afterwards went to Wash-
ington concerning it. All the Spaniards also had
their say. One of them thus wrote : —
" The Governor, Don Andrew Jackson, with turbulent and
violent actions, with disjointed reasonings, blows on the table,
his mouth foaming, and possessed with the furies, told the Span-
ish commissary to deliver the papers as a private individual ; and
the Spanish commissary, with the most forcible expresfsions,
answered him that he (the commissary) did not resist the delivery
of papers, because he still did not know what papers were de-
manded of him ; that, as soon as he could know it, if they were
to be delivered, he would deliver them most cheerfully; and
ANDREW JACKSON. 361
that, if papers were demanded of liim which he ought not to
deliver, he would resist it by the regular and prescribed means ;
that all these questions were not put to him in writing ; that his
answers were the same as he had given to every interrogatory
which had been put to him, because he was not permitted to
write in his own defense ; and also, that he would answer for the
future consistency of it, as well as what had been asked of him,
and all that had been done to him ; that he wished for this pro-
tection of the law to every man ; and that he would never yield.
"The Governor, Don Andrew Jackson, furious, did not per-
mit the interpreter to translate what the Spanish commissary
answered, that the bystanders, it appears, might not understand
it; and the interpreter made such sliort translations that what
the Spanish commissary took two minutes to explain he reduced
to only two words ; and that, when the Governor gave him time
enough (as has been since related by various persons who spoke
both languages), of what the Spanish commissary said, not even
half was interpreted, and that little not faithfully. Lastly, the
Governor, Don Andrew Jackson, after having insulted the
Spanish commissary with atrocious words, took out an order,
already written, and made the interpreter read it, and it con-
tained the order for his imprisonment.
"The Spanish commissary said that he obeyed it, but asked
if the Governor, Don Andrew Jackson, was not afraid to put in
execution deeds so unjust against a man like him ; and rising to
his feet, he addressed himself to the secretary, whom the Gover-
nor kept on his right hand, and said, in a loud voice, that he
protested solemnly, before the Government of the United States,
against the author of the violations of justice against his person
and public character.
" The Governor, Don Andrew Jackson, answered to tlie pro-
test that for his actions he was responsible to no other than to
his Government, and that it was of little importance to him
whatever might be the result, and that he might even protest
before God himself."
Pensacola. was overrun with adventurers, who be-
lieved it would at once spring into the proportions
of a great city. General Jackson hnd fostered this
chimera. Not a few who came were office-seekers.
362 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and most of this class were disappointed. General
Jackson had accepted the position, so Mrs. Jack-
son said, mainly for the purpose of putting his de-
voted friends into rich nests where they could take
advantage of rare circumstances. But this proved to
be a delusion. Mr. Monroe had, immediately after
appointing Jackson, filled all the other valuable places
in the territorial government. These appointees were
on the ground with their commissions as soon as the
General was. This unexpected turn in affairs dis-
gusted him. But his friends had here a foretaste of
what would be done for them if General Jackson had
the power. Here was a brief glimpse of the no dis-
tant future.
The General was not only disappointed, but he
was in bad health. Mrs. Jackson was worn out with
life in a heathen land, although the General had done
all he could consistently to gratify her in producing
outward respect for the Sabbath, stopping play-going,
grog-selling, and other diabolical practices on that day,
and producing some show of decent, Christian disci-
pline. But she yearned for Tennessee, and the Gen-
eral regretted that he had not taken her advice at the
outset, and not accepted the pestiferous business.
Nobody in all the Nation more sincerely wished this,
or had more need to wish it, perhaps, than John
Quincy Adams, the Secretary of State. He had once
put forth all his skill to rescue General Jackson, and
to prevent war with England and Spain by reason of
his startling and extravagant conduct; and now he
was forced to take up his pen again in his behalf
This is the way General Jackson said Mr. Adams
executed the task: "Mr. Adams's letter is just like
ANDREW JACKSON. 363
himself, a bold, manly, and dignified refutation of
falsehood, and justification of justice and moral rule."
That is, indeed, about what Mr. Adams was all his
life, but General Jackson would not have cared always
afterwards to say so. The General now felt as he had
never done before, perhaps, that he had enough of
public position, and wished to return to the Hermitage
where he could remain in quiet among his friends for
the rest of his life. This sentiment he freely ex-
pressed. At the approaching session of Congress his
term of appointment would expire, and he now deter-
mined to leave the affairs of the already organized
Territory in the care of his "alcaldes," return to
delightful Nashville, and send up to Washington his
resignation. This he did. In the sixth volume of
this work may be found some reference to Mr.
Adams's defense of Jackson's conduct in the governor-
ship of Florida. Mr. Adams was preparing the way
for General Jackson to beat him in a race for the
Presidency. But the General did not leave Florida
without a parting shot for himself in a very spirited
proclamation.
Early in November, 1821, General Jackson returned
to Nashville. His reception was as it always had been,
and always would be at Nashville. But his course in
Florida had been extraordinary beyond anything of
the kind which had even occurred in the history of the
United States. His popularity was, notwithstanding,
proof against anything however bad. Whatever his
rash conduct brought to the Administration, it mattered
little, his reputation went unsinged.
364 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXI.
GENERAL JACKSON'S NEW DREAM — THE WHITE HOUSE
IN THE DISTANCE— "WAYS THAT ARE DARK "—
THE RACE— THE MEANS— THE THWARTED
WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
GENERAL Jackson now enjoyed comparative quiet
on his farm. In farming, as in most other mat-
ters, he was successful. At this period he built the
new dwelling which has become the famous " Hermit-
age," as he called it. In 1825, when Lafayette visited
this country, he was for a time the guest of the Gen-
eral, who accompanied him on his tour through the
State. These were among Jackson's most happy days.
He and " Aunt Rachel " entertained their many friends,
educated their sons, smoked their pipes, and talked
over the past. The General's themes were mainly the
scenes in which he was the chief actor ; always first
and last among men who read little, and therefore
think to little advantage, and enjoy that cheap and
coarse refinement which bears them to the front in
every form of repetition.
Mr. Monroe still labored under the hallucination
that it was his duty to go on in further pampering
General Jackson. It was the popular demand, he be-
lieved ; and after all the mischief he had already done,
and in the face of his own experience and the warn-
ings of Mr. Jefferson and others, offered to send the
ANDREW JACKSON. 365
General as Minister to Mexico. This appointment
Jackson wisely declined, and, as usual with him, wrote
a letter showing why, in which he took occasion to
say that the mission should not be established, and
that the expense attaching to it should be avoided for
the country, thus very directly implying a censure of
the conduct of his patron, the President. But strangely
enough this performance went into his fast accumu-
lating stock of popularity.
Soon after the offer of this mission, for which he
was so utterly unfit in every sense, the General Wrote
the following letter to his friend, Edward Livingston : —
" Hermitage, March 24, 1823.
"My Dear Sir, — On the receipt of your letter of the 25th
ult., I had only time by the return mail to acknowledge its re-
ceipt ; and say to you that on the subject of the mission to Mexico
I had not been consulted, and that I had declined accepting of
this mission. It was* a just deduction of my friends to conclude
that I had been consulted before my nomination to the Senate,
and, of course, that I would accept the appointment ; and many
of them may conclude under this impression, that I am very
fickle, when they learn that I have declined ; for this reason, I
have thought it due to you that you should be informed truly on
this subject, and also my reasons for declining. The first I heard
of the intention of the President was in a letter from Major Eaton,
our Senator, who advised me that Mr. Monroe had sent for and
consulted him upon the subject, inquiring his opinion whether I
would accept, to which the Major replied that he could form no
opinion upon the subject. Mr. Monroe expressing a wish that he
would assure me of his friendly views in making this nomination,
I immediately answered that I would not accept, and a few days
after this answer to Major Eaton, I received Mr. Monroe's letter
advising me of his nomination and the approval of the Senate of
the United States, to which I replied that I could not accept for
the reasons following in substance. . . . Had I accepted the
mission, it would have been among the first of my wishes to have
had you with me. Should I ever be again brought by the unso-
licited call of my country on the public or political theater, I
366 LIFE AND TIMES OF
should calculate to have you near me ; but on such an event I do
not calculate. I am no intriguer. I would not act, in one single
instance, that character for all the public favors that could be
bestowed. My country has brought my name before the Amer-
ican Nation, and the people must decide. The Presidential chau*
is a situation that ought not to be sought for, nor ought it to be
declined when offered by the unsolicited voice of the people. To
their choice the Constitution has left it, and happy for the per-
manency of the Constitutional Government and the perpetuation
of the Union, if designing demagogues will let the people exercise
this, their Constitutional privilege, without attempting to thwart
it by subtle intrigue and management. On the receipt of this,
if leisure permit, I would thank you for your views of the cor-
rectness of my decision, and the ground I have assumed and on
which I have always practiced, and, I would add, I have grown
too old in the practice ever to change.
"Andrew Jackson."
But General Jackson was not altogether easy. A
new dream, once repugnant to him, had taken posses-
sion of his daily walks. He was a candidate for the
Presidency. All things have a beginning, and this
candidacy of General Jackson's was not his work, nor
was it the work of a day. Edward Livingston had
first discovered that Jackson would be an available
candidate for the Presidency, and had hinted as much
to him. He thought the 8th of January would win.
Not long after this light entered Livingston's mind, and
was for the time shut in by the disgust in which the
General received it, Aaron Burr, not behind any man
as a political discoverer, although under an eternal
cloud himself, revealed to his son-in-law, then Governor
of South Carolina, the same fact. But so far as it is
known now. Burr's view went no further at this time,
and had no part in hurrying forward coming events.
It is said that some mechanic in the great State
of Pennsylvania was the first to halloo, " Hurrah for
ANDREW JACKSON. 367
Jackson !" and the whole country heard it, and took up
the cry. But above all others the man who had put
him in the most flattering light before the people stood
John Quincy Adams. He had, in his zeal to serve the
country, greatly aided in establishing a reputation for
General Jackson in foreign nations, and the friends and
supporters of the General, everywhere in every emer-
gency, appealed to the double defense of Mr. Adams
for justifying the course of their hero. Even Mrs.
Adams did no little in introducing him to the people.
It is said that her famous 8th of January ball, in 1824,
settled his canidacy. But the political process, usually
necessary to make a Presidential candidate, like the
steps necessary to make a queen bee, had been going
on for several years in Tennessee.
After the sharp manipulations of Major Lewis and
others leading to the farcical election of General
Jackson as a Senator in Congress, the next step in
order was a formal nomination for the Presidency,
and a response from the General which could be util-
ized in a national way. In the winter of 1822,
Dauphin County, Tennessee, was made to " start the
ball." In the General's reply to this nomination, dated
February 23, 1823, from New Orleans, he said : —
"For the services which I may have rendered, and which, it
is hoped, proved in a degree beneficial to my country, I have
nothing to ask. They are richly repaid with the confidence and
good opinion of the virtuous and well-deserving part of the com-
munity. I have only essayed to discharge a debt which every
man owes his country when her rights are invaded ; and if twelve
years' exposure to fatigue and numerous privations can warrant
the assertion, I may venture to assert that my portion of public
service has been performed, and that with this impression I have
retired from the busy scenes of public life with a desire to be a
spectator merely of passing events.
368 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"The office of Chief Magistrate of the Union is one of great
responsibility. As it should not be sought by any one individual
of the Republic, so it can not with propriety be declined when
offered by those who have the power of selection. It is inter-
esting to the American people alone, and in the election they
should exercise their free and unbiased judgment. It was with these
impressions, I presume, and without any consultation with me,
that the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, as an additional
testimony of their confidence in me, thought proper to present my
name to the American community. My political creed prompts
me to leave the affair, uninfluenced by any expression on my part,
to the free will of those who have alone the right to decide."
This is a polished, diplomatic letter, and meant all
that an old, experienced political wire-puller could desire.
The sentiment as to the seeking or rejecting of the office
of President was by no means new, but the writer of
this letter knew its influence upon the people for whom
it was designed. "The virtuous and well-deserving"
recommended him. Those who opposed him could never
be virtuous nor well-deserving in his estimation. When
asked to become a President he put aside the offer by
the gentle reminder that he had already performed his
share of J-he public services, and now, for the rest of
his life, like the man in the bow-window, only desired
to look on the scenes as they rolled by ! This was a
wonderfullly innocent, modest, coquettish letter. Men
who expected to profit by it were now cautiously and
surely working in harmony with General Jackson to
train the people in his behalf.
This is the way the General accepted the election
to the Senate of the United States after he '" had per-
formed his share of the public services :" —
"Hermitage, 21st September, 1823.
"Your letter of yesterday has reached me, stating it to be the
desire of many members of the Legislature that my name may
ANDREW JACKSON. 369
be proposed for the appointment of Senator to Congress. It is
very true, as you remark, that I have not only said, but have, I
believe, through life acted upon the principle that office, in a
republican government like ours, should not be solicited, nor yet,
when conferred, declined ; still, I would suggest to my friends
whether they ought not to excuse me from accepting the appoint-
ment they have proposed. There are many better qualified to
meet the fatigues of the journey than myself, and on whose serv-
ices a reliance for a time to come, with a prospect of becoming
better as they advance, might be safely reposed ; whereas, from
health impaired and advancing age, neither the one nor the other
could be calculated upon from me; and, besides, it might be
thought, nay, would be said, that my State had conferred it upon
me with a view to other objects and for other purposes, which
are at present pending before the Nation. I have, therefore,
earnestly to request my friends, and beg of you, not to press me
to an acceptance of the appointment. If appointed, I could not
decline ; and yet, in accepting, I should do great violence to my
wishes and to my feelings. The length of time I have passed in
public service authorizes me to make this request, which, with my
friends, I trust will be considered reasonable and proper."
But the "friends" knew better than to excuse him,
and, of course, the General was elected. It was a
part of a scheme to which he was entirely cognizant.
The "friends" had been hard at work to destroy the
power of the Congressional Caucus, not that they had
any scruples about it, or that they had any great
degree of hatred for the Washington Caucus mode of
selecting a President for the people, but because it
was in the way of their scheme. A few unknown
men in Tennessee could not hope to control the " Cau-
cus." The " friends " very well knew that General
Jackson could not become the Caucus nominee, and
that they must kill the Caucus in order to make the
way possible for their man.
On the 5th of December, 1823, General Jackson,
for the second time, took his seat in the Senate of the
24— r.
370 LIFE AND TIMES OF
United States, to which the Tennessee Legislature
had elected him. Twenty-three members of that body
voted against him, and, for doing so, most of them lost
their places, the people declining to return to the
Legislature men who were reckless enough to oppose
the election of General Jackson to any position. His
career in the Senate is easily told, as it was before.
Four times he made brief speeches, and was usually
in his seat to cast his vote on all important measures.
He voted against the reduction of the duty on im-
ported iron, on cotton and woolen goods, and cotton-
bagging ; for abolishing imprisonment for debt, and for
lowering or removing duties on certain articles. He
favored the construction of a road by the Government
into Florida; favored appropriations for several similar
public improvements and voted for them, such as
making roads in Missouri and Arkansas, extending
the Cumberland Road through Ohio, improving the
Miss'issippi and Ohio, and for taking stock in the Chesa-
peake and Delaware and the Louisville Canals. This
was the General's tariff record, and of great value to
him did it become in the approaching Presidential con-
test. In fact, this record made him appear to be the
very kind of tariff man that Pennsylvania wanted in
the President's Chair.
The following letters, made public at the right
moment and in the right manner, settled the tariff"
question to the satisfaction of General Jackson's doubt-
ful supporters : —
DR. COLMAN TO GENERAL JACKSON.
" Warkenton, Va., April 21, 1824.
" Dear Sir, — Being one of the six members of the Virginia
Assembly in the caucus last winter who voted for you as a fit
and proper person to be supported by the people of the State
ANDREW JACKSON. 371
for the Presidency of the United States, and having since heard
that you are in favor of the ' protecting duty policy,' I take the
liberty of desiring you to inform me whether you intend voting
for the Tarifi" Bill now before Congress. I wish to have informa-
tion on the subject as soon as your convenience will permit, that
I may answer the Fredericksburg Committee, who invite my
co-operation in getting up a ticket for the Hero of New Orleans.
In this county you have many friends, and some think your sup-
port will be better in Petersburg than in any of the contiguous
counties. We are anti-tariff here ; and candor requires me to
say that should you be the advocate of a measure to which our
interest is evidently opposed, the zeal with which you have beea
hitherto supported will be relaxed. I am, etc.,
"L. H. COLMAN."
GENERAL JACKSON TO DR. COLMAN.
"Washington City, April 26, 1824.
" Sir, — I have had the honor this day to receive your letter
of the 21st instant, and with candor shall reply to it. My name
has been brought before the nation by the people themselves
without any agency of mine ; for I wish it not to be forgotten
that I have never solicited office, nor when called upon by the
constituted authorities have ever declined where I conceived
my services would be beneficial to my country. But as my
name has been brought before the nation for the first office in
the gift of the people, it is incumbent on me, when asked, frankly
• to declare my opinion upon any political or national question
pending before and about which the country feels an interest.
' ' You ask me ray opinion on the Tariff. I answer, that I
am in favor of a judicious examination and revision of it ; and
so far as the Tariff before us embraces the design of fostering,
protecting, and preserving within ourselves the means of national
defense and independence, particularly in a state of war, I would
advocate and support it. The experience of the late war ought
to teach us a lesson, and one never to be forgotten. If our
liberty and republican form of government, procured for us by
our Revolutionary fathers, are worth the blood and treasure at
which they were obtained, it surely is our duty to protect and
defend them. Can there be an American patriot, who saw the
privations, dangers, and difficulties experienced for the want of
a proper means of defense during the last war, who would be
372 LIFE AND TIMES OF
willing again to hazard the safety of our country if embroiled ;
or rest it for defense on the precarious means of national re-
sources to be derived tVom commerce, in a state of war with a
maritime power which might destroy that commerce to prevent
our obtaining the means of defense, and thereby subdue us? I
hope there is not ; and if there is, I am sure he does not deserve
to enjoy the blessing of freedom. ,
" Heaven smiled upon, and gave us liberty and independence.
That same Providence ha^ blessed us with the means of national
independence and national defense. If we omit or refuse to use
the gifts which He has extended to us, we deserve not the con-
tinuation of His blessings. He has filled our mountains and our
plains with minerals, with lead, iron, and copper, and given
us a climate and soil for the growing of hemp and wool. These
being the grand materials of our national defense, they ought to
have extended to them adequate and fair protection, that our
own manufactories and laborers may be placed on a fair competi-
tion with those of Europe ; and that we may have within our
own country a supply of those leading and important articles so
essential to war. Beyond this, I look at the Tariff with an eye
to the proper distribution of labor and revenue ; and with a view
to discharge our national debt. I am one of those who do not
believe that a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a
curse to a republic ; inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around
the Administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the lib-
erties of the country.
"This Tariff — I mean a judicious one — possesses more fanciful
than real dangers. I will ask what is the real situation of the
agriculturist? Where has the American farmer a market for his
surplus products? Except for cotton he has neither a foreign
nor a home market. Does not this clearly prove, when there is
no market either at home or abroad, that there is too much labor
employed in agriculture ? and that the channels of labor should
be multiplied ? Common sense points put at once the remedy.
Draw from agriculture the superabundant labor, employ it in
mechanism and manufactures, thereby creating a home market
for your breadstuffs, and distributing labor to a most profitable
account, and benefits to the country will result. Take from
agriculture in the United States six hundred thousand men,
women, and children, and you at once give a home market for
more breadstuffs than all Europe now furnishes us. In short.
ANDREW JACKSON. 373
sir, we have been too long subject to the policy of the British
merchants. It is time we should become a little more American-
ized, and instead of feeding the paupers and laborers of Europe,
feed our own, or else in a short time, by continuing our present
policy, we shall all be paupers ourselves.
"It is, therefore, my opinion that a careful Tariff is much
wanted to pay our national debt, and afford us the means of
that defense within ourselves on which the safety and liberty of
our country depend; and last, though not least, give a proper
distribution to our labor, which must prove beneficial to the
happiness, independence, and wealth of the community.
"This is a short outline of my opinions, generally, on the
subject of your inquiry, and believing them correct and calculated
to further the prosperity and happiness of my country, I declare
to you I would not barter them for any oflfice or situation of a
temporal character that could be given me.
"I have presented you my opinions freely, because I am with-
out concealment, and should indeed despise myself if I could be-
lieve myself capable of acquiring the confidence of any by means
80 ignoble.
" I am, sir, very respectfully your obedient servant,
"Andrew Jackson."
This Colman letter had a wide circulation in the
newspapers. Whether General Jackson believed in
its contents, or knew what extreme tariff doctrines it
contained, or knew it to be a sharp political adventure,
it is not necessary to speak at this time, but certain
it is that the letter was one of his fortunate hits. It
made many friends and votes then. At no distant
day, however, this letter began to be used as a sharp
weapon against him. There was really, or seemed to
be. more tariff in this letter, which Senator Jackson
was made to write, than President Jackson could
support.
The 8th of January had cropped out this year with
extraordinary splendor everywhere, and at Washington,
General Jackson was unquestionably the man of the
374 LIFE AND TIMES OF
moment. At this fortunate juncture another event
occurred which gave a tremendous impulse to Jackson's
prospects. Through Major Lewis, or one of the other
managers, it reached the public ear that in 1816 and
1817, a very praiseworthy and extraordinary corre-
spondence had taken place between President Monroe
and General Jackson, in which the latter appeared in
an attitude which would gladden the hearts of his
followers and stiffen the joints of his doubting ad-
herents. Of course, the next step was to publish
these Monroe-Jackson letters concerning the appoint-
ment of a Federalist to a position in the Cabinet, and
a more general disregard of party lines in the public
patronage. These letters, on the part of General
Jackson, had a Washingtonian civil-service ring about
them which greatly pleased many of the old Federal-
ists ; but which never did have the remotest degree
of consideration in the theory and practice of Jackson
when he reached the position in which he could verify
the principles and pretensions of the Monroe letters.
These celebrated letters which became so vast a ficti-
tious capital in Jackson's first races for the Presidency
may be found in a preceding volume of this work.
William B. Lewis had been the writer and polisher of
the letters, but the sentiments had undoubtedly been
the General's at the time. Hundreds of the old Fed-
eralists were captivated by these baseless letters, and
not only supported Jackson in the race of 1824,
but also adhered to him until after his election four
years later.
The Congress Caucus had now fallen into disfavor,
a large majority even of the members of Congress be-
ing opposed to it. Notwithstanding this fact, a call
ANDREW JACKSON. 375
was made to the Democratic Congressmen to meet in
the Representatives' Hall on the 14th of February,
1824, to select candidates to be supported for the
Presidency and Vice-Presidency at the approaching
election. Sixty-six members attended and two others
were represented. Of these Mr. Crawford received
sixty-four votes, John Quincy Adams, two, Nathaniel
Macon, one, and Andrew Jackson, one, for President;
and for Vice-President, Albert Gallatin received fifty-
seven, Mr. Adams, one, Erastus Root, two, and Samuel
Smith, William Eustis, Walter Lowrie, Richard Rush,
John Todd, and Rufus King, one each. Crawford
and Gallatin were, therefore, declared to be the Caucus
candidates, and a sort of official character was given
to their nomination.
On the 22d of February, 1824, the Federalists of
Pennsylvania formally nominated General Jackson for
the Presidency, in a meeting at Harrisburg.
On the fourth day of the following month a State
convention met at Harrisburg in the interests of Gen-
eral Jackson and Mr. Calhoun. Jackson received the
votes of all the delegates but one for the Presidency,
and Mr. Calhoun had eighty-seven votes for the Vice-
Presidency, and was nominated. Other candidates
brought before this convention were Henry Clay,
Albert Gallatin, William Findlay, John Tod, and
Daniel Montgomery. Up to this time Mr. Calhoun
had been a prominent candidate for the first place.
But it was deemed politic to lay him aside, for the
time, with the understanding that he should be brought
forward for the succession. ^ George M. Dallas, who
had previously supported him for the Presidency, came
out at this meeting in favor of General Jackson on
376 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the foregoing understanding. Mr. Calhoun thought
he was young enough and strong enough to submit to
this arrangement, and consequently there became one
less Presidential candidate in the field. Some other
States followed Tennessee and Pennsylvania in this
action, and the candidacy of General Jackson for the
Presidency became a fact, although some of his
friends or acquaintances still looked upon the whole
matter as a big joke.
There were now in the field for the Presidency
Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, William H. Craw-
ford, and Andrew Jackson, and De Witt Clinton had
not relinquished his claim to that office. All of these
men belonged to one party. They were all supposed
to be Republicans (Democrats), and the contest was
between men, not principles. There was only one
party, and a state of affairs existed which could never
again occur, perhaps. The race four years later was,
indeed, a similar conflict, or the sequel to this, mainly
narrowed down to Mr. Adams and General Jackson,
but there were some very decided differences of pub-
lic policy.
Jackson took as great interest in this race as he
did in the Seminole campaign. New Orleans, or any-
thing that concerned him. It was impossible for him
to be an idle spectator under such circumstances.
From Washington he wrote many letters to his friends.
Into their mouths he put words to be used for his
benefit, framed with a manager's skill, if not a wire-
puller's. He really stood at the head of the cohort
of zealous, able workers for his success. In the sum-
mer he returned home. The new dwelling or real
" Hermitage " was now a greater resort than ever. It
ANDREW JACKSON. 377
had become a political center. There was no rest
there now. He had known what personal hatred was,
and had felt how vulnerable some things in his life
could be made to appear, but he now for the first saw
them brought out in every possible shape. The pens
and tongues of his friends were all busy. Their task
was stupendous. Among his many assailants was
Jesse Benton. Benton came out in a pamphlet
attacking Jackson in great fury in a long array of
charges, among which was the execution of John
Woods and the Baptist preacher, with the other five
Tennessee militia. Yet it was not until four and
eight years later that all the sins of Jackson's life
were paraded in all their intensity against him. There
was more of the policy of the politician in his con-
duct during this campaign than he had ever been able
to show in all his career before. In mildness, toler-
ance, and even forgiveness he far outdid himself; show-
ing himself to his intimate friends in a light in which
they had never walked before, and never would have
an opportunity to do so again, to any great extent.
And while all this tended to exhibit him as a politi-
cian, it was to his advantage in every way. His con-
duct in the whole campaign was admirable, greatly
gratifying his friends, and increasing their number.
They believed he would triumph, as he always had
done, and he, sharing this belief, felt satisfied with
the world. One of the most wonderful things in this
wonderful man's career occurred during this campaign.
This was in his becoming reconciled to some of his
old enemies. General Scott was in Washington in
the spring of 1824, and not wishing to leave until he
had afforded Senator Jackson an opportunity to treat
378 LIFE AND TIMES OF
him as a friend or an enemy, sent him this brief and
somewhat ominous letter : —
"Sir, — One portion of the American community has long
attributed to you the most distinguished magnanimity, and the
other portion the greatest desperation in your resentments. Am
I to conclude that both are equally in error ? I allude to the
circumstances which have transpired between us, and which need
not here be recapitulated, and to the fact that I have now been
six days in your immediate vicinity without having attracted
your notice. As this is the first time in my life that I have been
within a hundred miles of you, and as it is barely possible that
you may be ignorant of my presence, I beg leave to state that I
shall not leave the District before the morning of the 14th instant."
It was no time for fighting duels. If it had been
a few years earlier, or the General had not become
suddenly politic, the answer to this bantering epistle
might have been quite different. The General merely
replied : —
"Sir, — Your letter of to-day has been received. Whether
the world are correct or in error, as regards my ' magnanimity,'
is for the world to decide. I am satisfied of one fact, that when
you shall know me better, you will not be disposed to harbor the
opinion, that anything like ' desperation in resentment ' attaches
to me. Your letter is ambiguous ; but, concluding from occur-
rences heretofore, that it was written with friendly views, I take
the liberty of saying to you, that whenever you shall feel dis-
posed to meet me on friendly terms, that disposition will not be
met by any other than a corresponding feeling on my part."
There was none of his former tone about this. A
duel would have been out of the question with him
then, although he yet believed in the brutal and infer-
nal method of settling disputes with pistols. In 1821,
while Governor of Florida, he had allowed a duel to be
fought at Pensacola in a most open manner, in which
his friend was killed, all of which he could have pre-
vented, by a word. This affair was always numbered
ANDREW JACKSON. 379
justly among the charges against him by his political
enemies. The result of this interchange of letters was
a tolerable degree of friendship between Scott and
Jackson for several years.
The next case was that of Thomas Hart Benton,
who from this time to the end of his life, remained the
friend, and, from the failure of Mr. Crawford in this
contest, the defender and supporter of General Jack-
son in every step and act.
But Mr. Benton must himself tell how this recon-
ciliation came about, making it appear much to the
praise of General Jackson.
Mr. Benton wrote : —
' ' Well, how many changes in this life ! General Jackson is
now sitting in the chair next to me. There was a vacant one
next to me, and he took it for the session. Several Senators saw
our situation, and offered mediation. I declined it upon the
ground that what had happened could neither be explained, re-
canted, nor denied. After this, we were put upon the same com-
mittee. Facing me one day, as we sat in our seats, he said to
me, ' Colonel, we are on the same committee ; I will give you
notice when it is necessary to attend.' (He was chairman, and
had the right to summon us.) I answered, ' General, make the
time suit yourself; it will be convenient for me to attend at any
time.' In committee we did business together just as other per-
sons. After that, he asked me how my wife was, and I asked
him how his was. Then he called and left his card at my lodg-
ings, ' Andrew Jackson for Colonel Benton and lady ;' forthwith
I called at his, and left mine, ' Colonel Benton for General Jack-
son.' Since then we have dined together at several places, and
yesterday, at the President's, I made him the first bow; he held
forth his hand, and we shook hands. I then introduced him to
my wife, and thus civil relations are established between us.
Jackson has gained since he has been here, by his mild and con-
ciliatory manner."
Friends had before tried to bring these men to-
gether, but it was of no use. There was nothing that
380 . LIFE AND TIMES OF
could be explained. The intervention of somebody
might make explanations necessary. The reconciliation
was now effected without a word to the past. The
strangest and most short-lived of all these reconciliations
was that with Henry Clay.
At last the election came, resulting in 99 electoral
votes for General Jackson, 84 for Mr. Adams, 41 for
Mr. Crawford, and 37 for Henry Clay. There not
having been a majority of all the votes for any candi-
date, there was no popular election ; and now for the
second time in the history of the country it devolved
upon the House of Representatives to choose a Presi-
dent. The Constitution provided that the choice should
be made from the, three candidates having the largest
number of electoral votes, and consequently the case was
simplified at least by the omission of Mr. Clay. This
unexpected and undesirable termination of the election
at the polls was extremely vexatious to the country,
and perplexing to the candidates themselves. Of the
261 electoral votes, Mr. Calhoun received 182, and was
duly elected Vice-President, as had been well known
from the first. For a time it was generally believed
that the House would elect General Jackson, and in
this belief, of course, the General shared. The belief
was well founded, as it was claimed that the States
giving their electoral votes to Jackson had mx)re popu-
lation than those voting for any one of the other can-
didates, and that he was the second choice of several
States in which Clay or Crawford had a majority.
General Jackson was himself so confident of a result
in his favor in the House that when he went to Wash-
ington to attend the session of Congress, in the fall
of 1824, he took Mrs. Jackson with him, with a
ANDREW JACKSON. 381
view of being ready to take possession of the White
House.
This short session of Congress was an exciting one.
With Congress, as with the people, little was thought
of but who should be the next President. As Mr.
Clay was left out, the friends of Mr. Crawford were
sanguine as to his success. They hoped, vainly hoped,
that the House being unable to agree on Jackson or
Adams, would compromise on him. The result nearly
broke the heart of some of Mr. Crawford's friends, who
were working night and day for him at the Capital, and
it was the end and death of all his hopes.
Mr. Clay was in the House, and was now at the
height of his influence there and throughout the coun-
try. Each State had but one vote on this important
question. All States were equal. Mr. Clay would
control and cast the vote of Kentucky. He never had
been a warm friend of Mr. Adams's. He had, indeed,
been averse to Mr. Adams. But he announced at once
that he could not vote for Jackson. He never could
believe General Jackson a fit man to be President of
the United States. This opinion was once Jackson's,
but he would not have shared such an opinion with
any man. Various attempts were made to induce Mr.
Clay to give his influence to Jackson. He was courted
by the friends of all of the candidates. It was even
said that he could name his position under any candi-
date he would favor. On the 9th of February, 1825,
the Senate and House assembled in the Representa-
tives' Hall, and after opening and counting the electoral
votes, the House proceeded alone to ballot for Presi-
dent, a crowded gallery looking anxiously on. To the
surprise of everybody the first ballot settled the matter,
382 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by giving .Mr. Adams thirteen votes, the votes of
thirteen States. Mr. Crawford received four, and Gen-
eral Jackson seven votes ; thus electing Mr. Adams by
a Constitutional majority, and in the way provided. It
was claimed that General Jackson received this un-
looked-for ending of the contest as a matter of little
importance to him, and was, to all appearances, the
coolest and most contented man in the country. For
this extraordinary tact and display of good sense, the
General received the highest praise of his friends, and
no small amount of admiration from some of his op-
ponents. But they were giving the man credit for
more than he deserved. They did not understand him.
Was it really in the nature of Andrew Jackson to be
contented or satisfied with his own defeat ? Was it
reasonable to suppose that he would or could entertain
good and manly feelings towards those who were the
authors of his defeat ?
The interior and real evidence in this case goes to
show that he did not, in the least, depart from what
might have been expected of him, from a knowledge of
his past conduct and acts. General Jackson was really
the most completely disappointed man in America. His
disappointment was of the worst kind. He despised
and hated those who were mainly the cause of his fail-
ure ; and notwithstanding his easy exterior, he set
about at once in directing the course to be pursued by
his friends in the case, by the Jackson newspapers, and
especially by the Tennessee papers.
His great themes, privately, at first, and finally in
public, became the " thwarted will of the people," the
assumed " bargain and sale," the " fraud and corrup-
tion " of Clay and Adams, by which the latter became
ANDREW JACKSON. 383
President against the will of the people, and the
former became prime minister of the new Cabinet.
To the end of his life this remained one of his most
constant and exciting subjects. He worked himself
into the opinion that Mr. Clay had, beforehand, bar-
gained his influence for the office of Secretary of
State, and nothing, not a voice from Heaven even,
could have changed him in this belief. If at first it
was for effect, a mere phantom in his mind, a piece
of demagogism, he finally believed in the truth of his
charges, and the more they became clearly untrue, the
more he clung to his faith and hated any show of
opposition. General Jackson was not wise or good
enough to be without or above prejudices. Preju-
dice, in the every-day, common acceptation, implies
ignorance, unfounded bias, or a disposition to judge
wrongly, unfairly, ungenerously, or unkindly and with
evil intent. The truly considerate, conscientious, and
intelligent can not be controlled or actuated by preju-
dice, no matter what the subject. But unfortunately
General Jackson did not belong to this broad-spirited,
delicately just, and refined class. He was a man of
deep, unyielding prejudices, and the country was made
to suffer egregiously by reason of them. Nothing was
easier than for him to think evil of men who opposed
him; and he generally did so. This was one of the
great defects in his life and character.
Senator Jackson left Washington in the spring of
1825, firmly persuaded that he had been cheated out
of the Presidency, that the people expected and de-
sired the House to choose him, that it was in the very
spirit and nature of the case that he should have been
chosen, that he deserved to be President, that he
384 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ought to be President, and that he should hold to the
opinion that the dishonesty of Clay and Adams was
the cause of his failure. Still at the President's re-
ception on the night of the day on which the House
decided who should be President for the next four
years, Jackson was one of the first to take the hand
of Mr. Adams and congratulate him. This apparent
act of generosity, his political opponents put down as
a marked display of insincerity. Was the charge not
well founded ? He was yet directly under the eye of
his managers. Before starting for Tennessee, he had
given life and strength to the cry of " bargain and
corruption " in the mouths of his friends, and put in
motion the bitter conflict which was to be waged for
four long years at least.
Samuel Swartwout, of New York, who had figured
in the affairs of Aaron Burr, was now a devoted and
favorite friend of General Jackson. To him the Gen-
eral wrote a few days after the House election, show-
ing himself to be a disappointed and bitter man, not
a philosopher and patriot. The letter was undoubt-
edly meant for the public, and had a very selfish and
reprehensible end in view, namely, to help on the cry
of " bargain and corruption," already beginning to fill
the Jacksonian newspapers, and to help the mass of
unreasonable and ignorant voters into the belief that
they had been cheated out of their President who was
the real friend and patron of the people. Of course
Swartwout soon had the letter in the newspapers.
On his way to Nashville, the General was every-
where received with boisterous demonstrations of re-
spect. The disappointed, especially those who ex-
pected to profit by his success, were profuse in their
ANDREW JACKSON. 335
sympathy, and urged him to talk. Clay, Adams, bar-
gain and corruption, and subversion of the will of the
people, were the themes. There was a cause for the
result reached. The General would not listen to foul
propositions from Mr. Clay and his friends ! He was
too honest and unsophisticated for that ! Mr Adams
. would listen. Hence the result was easily understood
On this trip, it was held, that the General more than
whispered his belief in the "bargain and corruption"
of Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams.
Although more was charged against him for the in-
discreet use of his tongue than was true, no doubt his
conduct throughout in this case was unfortunate for his
reputation, and must be taken with some grains of
charity as a part of his peculiar and wonderful organ-
ization. Not only through the following long campaign
was this " bargain and corruption " business the cry of
the followers of General Jackson, but ever afterwards
when occasion presented, he himself brought it for-
ward, and would not let it rest, although it had been
refuted killed, in fact, by every fair and open means.
When Mr. Clay was before the people a^ late as 1844
in the race with Polk, Jackson caused to be printed in
a JMashville newspaper, the following card :—
referrW rrM? ^^^^^^\^^"«^ *« -"ous newspaper articles,
reterr ng to a letter said to have been written by me to Genera
Hamilton, recanting the charge of bargain mide against Mr
Clay, when he voted for Mr. Adams in 1825
myself to^'sTat? fU^. t\'" '"'^ '""^"' ^ '''^ ^' '' ^^ ^^ to
^n fch? Pn' *^"*/,^^^^ ^« recollection of ever having writ-
GeVe^d HaS^^ '^ °'' '^"^^ *'^^^ '' ^ ^^"- ^^ -^ to
struction O^ r' t' '°^ T '^''' '^^' ^^^^ ^'^' «"«h a con- '
Mr cTav ^^I'^'^^^'fl^^ought against both Mr. Adams and
Mr. Clay, at that time I formed my opinion as the country at
25— G ^
386 LIFE AND TIMES OF
large did, from facts and circumstances that were indisputable
and conclusive ; and I may add, that this opinion has undergone
no change."
To the last he held out in his belief and his hate.
Notwithstanding the fact that this charge was as fully
and fairly disproved as any thing could be which
could never be absolutely known to the hearts of all
men, yet some of the political descendants of General
Jackson at this day retain the opiilion of the incon-
siderate and designing of that time. They are, how-
ever, less culpable than their predecessors, as the
"people" of this day really know little about it. Few
men now live who are not friendly to the memory of
General Jackson, and of all of these, partisans and
others, few, perhaps, do not now think that this was
one of the characteristically extravagant phases of his
public career which ought to be mentioned with com-
passion, or covered mainly by charity's great white
robe. While condemning and detesting many things
in the life of General Jackson, it would be difficult,
perhaps, for most Americans at this late date to hold
any thing very seriously against him. So much in his
life was admirable, and all of it was so unusual and
startling in kind, as to mark him forever as one of the
most unique and interesting figures in American his-
tory, however poorly his career may serve to illustrate
an ideal civilization.
ANDREW JACKSON. 387
CHAPTKR XXII.
"BARGAIN AND CORRUPTION "—BITTER CONTEST FOR THE
PRESIDENCY — SUCCESSFUL THIS TIME — INAUGURA-
TION OF GENERAL JACKSON — MR. ADAMS'S
OPINION— GRAMMAR NOT COUNTED.
IF there could have been any doubt about General
Jackson's tongue being engaged in putting forward
the scandalous fabrication in the spring of 1825, that
might have been allayed by his formally fathering
the charges two years later. He and his friends
when they would have gone into power, by hook or
by crook, were now trying to start the false proposi-
tion that the "will of the people" had been subverted
in the election. This was Jacksonian when Jackson
was at stake, but it was founded upon an utterly false
principle, and exhibited a dangerous practice. The
Constitution did not provide for this "will of the
people " of which they prated ; but it did simply and
plainly provide for the election of a President in the
very emergency which had occurred, and the pro-
vision was exactly carried out. The Constitution, for-
tunately, did not leave the matter to be settled by the
interests of party under the specious cry of the " will
of the people," or by any other species of trickery.
From the hour of General Jackson's defeat in the
House of Representatives, it was decided by his
friends to run him for the next term of the Presidency.
388 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Indeed, his candidacy was fixed upon even before the
question had been settled. This fact was to be at
once announced as the purpose of his supporters. Ten-
nessee was to take the first step. Accordingly, in
October, 1825, the Legislature of that State, then
meeting at Murfreesboro, again nominated him for the
Presidency, and recommended him to the general sup-
port of the people of the United States. On the
13th of October Jackson visited Murfreesboro, and,
on the following day, received addresses from both
branches of the Legislature. The whole plan of pro-
cedure had been arranged beforehand, and well under-
stood by all concerned. After the reception, the Gen-
eral tendered his resignation as Senator of the United
States. This act was accompanied by one of his many
noted writings. This paper had a wide circulation,
and was an early and direct appeal for the support of
the people, and became, in time, a source of some
of the most feasible and successful attacks upon him.
The means by which he was defeated, as he claimed,
were uppermost in this address. The thrust at Mr.
Clay was evident enough. The Legislature had taken
some steps towards favoring a Constitutional provision
to limit the election of a President to one term of four
or six years. This the General approved, and then
declared his opposition to the appointment of Congress-
men to place under the Administration.
In May, 1826, he was also nominated by a public
meeting in Philadelphia, and finally by meetings of his
advocates in most of the States. The General was
cautious as to his movements, and, to a great extent,
avoided public displays and utterances which might be
construed into efforts for his own success. But he was
ANDREW JACKSON. 389
at the head of all campaign work, and took occasion
to be present at a great number of public gatherings,
especially in his own State.
To an invitation to visit Kentucky, at this time,
he made the following admirable reply :
" Hermitage, July 31, 1826.
"My Dear Sir.— Your favor of the 21st instant is received
reassuring me of the wish of many of my friends in Kentucky
that I should visit the Harrodsburg Springs. I had spoken early
m the spring of this visit, because those waters had been recom-
mended as necessary to the restoration of Mrs. Jackson's health
and there was additional gratification derived from the hope that
I would see many of my old friends in Kentucky, whose company
at all times would be pleasing to me. But inasmuch as Mrs
Jackson IS lately so far improved as not to render this trip neces-
sary, It seems tome very questionable whether, without this neces-
sity, I ought to yield to the other considerations, at this juncture
1 know that so far as Kentucky is concerned, the unjust imputa-
tions which It IS my wish to avoid, would never be raised; or
rather, that a great proportion of her citizens would attribute to
their proper origin, the objects of my visit ; yet when I reflect
upon the management and intrigue which are operating abroad,
the magnitude of the principles which they are endeavoring to
supplant, and the many means which they can draw to their as-
sistance from the patronage of the Government, I feel it is not
less due to myself and to principle, than to the American people,
particularly so far as they have sanctioned my political creed, to
steer clear of every conduct out of which the idea might arise
that I was maneuvering for my own aggrandizement. If it be
true that the Administration have gone into power contrary to
the voice of the Nation, and are now expecting, by means of this
power thus acquired, to mold the public will into an acquiescence
with their authority, then is the issue fairly made out— shall the
O-overnment or the people rule? and it becomes the man whom
the people shall indicate as their rightful representative in this
solemn issue, so to have acquitted himself, that, while he displaces
these enemies of liberty, there will be nothing in his own ex-
ample to operate against the strength and durability of the Gov-
ernment.
390 LIFE AND TIMES OF
" With this candid expression of my feelings on this subject,
I hope you will recognize nothing inconsistent with the claims
which my friends in Kentucky have upon me. Were I uncon-
nected with the present contest, you may rest assured that
, wherever my presence or my labor would be useful in arresting
the efforts of intrigue and management, I should not hesitate to
repair to the post which my friends might indicate as the most
exposed. It is a source of much regret to disappoint your wishes,
and others, our mutual friends in Kentucky, but as things are,
unless Mrs. Jackson's health should render it necessary, I think
you will coincide with me, that a visit to Kentucky would be im-
proper at this period. I shall be happy to hear from you on the
receipt of this.
"Hastily, your friend, Andrew Jackson."
The Legislature of Louisiana invited the General
to be present at the celebration of the 8th of January,
1828, and this he accepted. Every effort was put
forth by party managers to make this the most noted
affair of the campaign. They succeeded. But from
this time forward the 8th of January was reduced
from a national to a party celebration, to a great ex-
tent, as the hero of the day became the oracle of the
party to which he belonged. At this celebration there
were delegations from most States of the Union. Sev-
eral persons, including Mrs. Jackson, accompanied the-
General from Nashville. They sailed down the Mis-
sissippi in the Pocahontas, and before reaching New
Orleans, were met by other boats, and with a great
squadron were accompanied from the city, without
landing, to the battle-ground. There the General was
received in an extravagant speech by John R. Grymes.
But it was left for Mr. Davezac to do the spread-eagle
part of this grand reception on the field of New Or-
leans. Mr. Davezac made a speech in which he told
the General that "the temples were opened, the incense
ANDREW JACKSON. 391
ascending to heaven, together with the blessings of a
grateful people." And then said : —
"Go, happy conqueror! Go, and hear the voice of mothers
greeting the hero who brought them back their sons. Go, and
hear the cheerings of the wives and daughters from whom you
averted the insults of a lawless soldiery. Go, and meet the kind,
the rapturous welcome of the new generation ; the children born
since 1815, the future men of Louisiana, await also the deliverer
of their fathers."
General Jackson, who was really fond of personal
praise and flattery, and was seldom known to think
too much of these things was bestowed upon him, evi-
dently suspected that the climate affected the tongue
and imagination of friend Davezac, for in his brief re-
ply he said : " Your language and imagination attest
the fervor of the climate you inhabit, and do justice to
the generous people you represent."
After the worshipful demonstration down at the old
battle-ground, the fleet and the vast concourse of people
returned to the city, where Jackson now landed, and
was escorted on foot to the Government quarters,
where he. made a brief and sensible speech to the
members of the Legislature and numerous citizens ;
and was afterwards " feasted," " toasted," and in every
conceivable way honored and served until the 12th,
when he started up the river on his return home. It
is much easier to imagine than it is to describe such
demonstrations in honor of a man, in a country where
every individual has become familiarized with them by
their numerous subjects and' almost endless, if not dis-
gusting, frequency.
The great contest for the Presidency was now at its
hottest. The evil passions of men were aroused. No
392 LIFE AND TIMES OF
stone was left unturned. Where truth would not suffice,
and it is seldom deemed sufficient in these cases, false-
hood and slander were made subservient. Not only
all the evil things and faux pas Jackson had done from
the time he became a " limb of the law " at Salisbury,
to the murder of old Hillis Hajo and the present time,
but all assailable points in his official, military, and
political life, his private affairs, and personal conduct,
down to his bad orthography and poor grammar, were
assailed with great virulence.
Nor were the friends and supporters of General
Jackson a whit behind in their attacks upon the char-
acter of Mr. Adams. Every false, improbable, and
wicked device was employed to injure him. But the
most prominent was the exploded charge of " bargain
and corruption."
The newspapers throughout the country were ar-
rayed on one side or the other. New ones, campaign
papers, were now for the first time started. In his
own State, especially. General Jackson controlled de-
cidedly all of those in his support. The worst feature,
perhaps, in the diabolical campaign, was the assault
made upon Mrs. Jackson. It was well known to all
intelligent people in the country that she had been
innocent of any offense to her first husband, Robards,
and that she had been, through all her life, one of the
most faithful and exemplary women. Then, too, she
was not a candidate, nor did she wish her husband to
be. Major Wm. B. Lewis devoted half of the year
1828 to a defense of her early marital conduct and
her after life. That such a thing was necessary is a
sad comment on the times. Still such has been the
course of rival parties since, and such unmanly and
ANDREW JACKSON. 393
mischievous means will continue to be employed until
a political millennium falls upon the Nation.
The people of Tennessee gave the cue to the cam-
paign, to a great extent. The vast array of charges
brought against Jackson led to the formation of a
committee at Nashville, composed of the leading men
of the State, whose business it was to prepare an
elaborate defense. This was done, and gave the foun-
dation to the line of proceeding throughout the country.
This committee took the name of "Jackson White-
washing Committee." The vote against General Jack-
son in Tennessee was very small, but it was composed
of some of the most refined and respectable of her
citizens. November came at last, and the muddy per-
sonal conflict was ended. Of the two hundred and
sixty-one electoral votes. General Jackson received
one hundred and seventy-eight, and Mr. Adams eighty-
three. Mr. Calhoun was again elected Vice-President.
The General had won. But see at what a cost. The
death of Mrs. Jackson. Death, General Jackson could
not conquer. From this stroke he never entirely re-
covered. But, in after years, he gained a new moral
strength, which enabled him to live out more firmly
and quietly the ever applicable " Thy will be done."
Towards the middle of January, General Jackson
started on his journey to Washington, down the Cum-
berland, and up the Ohio to Pittsburgh.
There was a very general feeling of satisfaction on
account of his election. Even the supporters of Mr.
Adams and Mr. Rush, many, or most of them, per-
haps, felt no great anxiety about the result. Office-
holders supposed the same course would be pursued,
which had been the custom from Washington to the
394 LIFE ANP TIMES OF
younger Adams. So the attention and respect shown
the General on his way to the Capital was, to a great
extent, the work of the whole people.
But recent events at the " Hermitage " were too
fresh in the mind of General Jackson to allow him to
become deeply absorbed in these demonstrations. In-
deed, at Harrisburg and several other important places
he declined accepting any formal attentions,- and hur-
ried on to Washington. He there took temporary
" quarters " at the " Indian Queen Hotel," where, con-
trary to his usual style, he kept so quiet and held his
tongue so well for nearly a month, till the 4th of
March, that little was known as to the formation of
his Cabinet.
When the electoral votes had been formally counted,
the committee of Congress waited upon him at his
hotel, and Mr. Tazewell, of Virginia, said : —
" Sni, — In obedience to the orders of the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States, and by the direction of
their joint committee, appointed for that special purpose, it is
my duty to notify you, that you have been duly elected Presi-
dent of the United States, for the term of four years, to com-
mence with the 4th day of March next. While performing this
act of duty, I beg leave to offer you my own and the cordial
congratulations of each of my associates of this committee, on
this event, an event which we all very confidently believe, will
redound not less to your fame, and to the future benefit of our
common country, than any other of those occurrences which have
signalized your past life, and secured to you that respect, and
esteem, and confidence of your fellow-citizens, which have been
so fully illustrated in your recent election. The particulars of
this election will be made known to you by the record which I
now have the honor to place in your hands."
To this General Jackson simply replied : —
" Sir, — The notification that I have been elected President
of the United States for four years from the fourth of March
ANDREW JACKSON. 395
next, by the directions of the Senate and House of Representa-
tives, you have so politely presented, is received with feelings of
the deepest sensibility.
" I desire you to communicate to the respective Houses of
Congress, my acceptance of the high trust which has been con-
ferred by my fellow-citizens, with an acknowledgment of the
responsibility which it enjoins ; and that I can make no suitable
return for so flattering a proof of their confidence and attach-
ment. All that I can offer is my willingness to enter upon the
duties which they have confided to me, with an earnest desire to
execute them in a manner the best calculated to promote the
prosperity and happiness of our common country, and to the at-
tainment of these objects shall my unceasing efforts be directed,
I beg you, sir, to convey to the Senate and House of Representa-
tives, assurances of my respect and regard."
Before the 4th of March came, Washington was full
of strangers, a strange motley crowd, faces that had
never been seen on the Potomac, all looking for a
" new deal."' They were not disappointed. One who
was present gave this description of the state of affairs
at the Capital on the morning of the inauguration : —
"No one who was at Washington at the time of General
Jackson's inauguration is likely to forget that period to the day
of his death. To us, who had witnessed the quiet and orderly
period of the Adams Administration, it seemed as if half the
Nation had rushed at once into the Capital. It was like the in-
undation of the northern barbarians into Rome, save that the
tumultuous tide came in from a different point of the compass.
The West and the South seemed to have precipitated themselves
upon the North and overwhelmed it. On that memorable oc-
casion you might tell a 'Jackson man' almost as far as you could
see him. Their every motion seemed to cry out 'victory!'
Strange faces filled every public place, and every face seemed to
bear defiance on its brow. It appeared to me that every Jackson
editor in the country was on the spot. They swarmed, especially
in the lobbies of the House, an expectant host, a sort of Praeto-
rian band, which, having borne in upon their shields their idol-
ized leader, claimed the reward of the hard-fought contest. His
quarters were assailed, surrounded, hemmed in, so that it was an
396 LIFE AND TIMES OF
achievement to get into his presence. On the morning of the
inauguration, the vicinity of the Capitol was like a great agi-
tated sea; every avenue to the fateful spot was blocked up with
people, in so much that the legitimate procession which accom-
panied the President-elect could scarce make its way to the east-
ern portico, where the ceremony was to be performed. To repress
the crowd in front, a ship's cable was stretched across about two-
thirds of the way up the long flight of steps by which the Capitol
is approached on that side, but it seemed, at times, as if even
this would scarce prove sufficient to restrain the eagerness of the
multitude, every man of whom seemed bent on the glory of shak-
ing the President's hand."
At this election the day of voting for President
was still not uniform, not the same in all. the States,
but ranged from the last day of October to the 19th
of November. Maine, New York, Maryland, and Ten-
nessee voted by districts, and the South Carolina and
Delaware Legislatures cast the Presidential votes in
those States. In the other States there was a general
popular vote. Adams got no electoral vote south of
the Potomac nor west of the mountains, and Jackson
got only one electoral vote in New England, in a dis-
trict of Maine. Jackson was elected as a reformer in
the interests of reform. An illusion that began in
1800, and has ever since been the pseudo-battle cry
of every party out of power. There was a widely
inculcated belief that the success of Jackson was the
overthrow of a corrupt Administration, at core intent
on old Federalist principles of sapping the foundations
of the people's rights. The uneducated, rough, care-
less people believed they had a personal success in
the election of General Jackson. The bad and disor-
derly shared this feeling. He was a man of their own
kind, they believed, with broad and magnanimous sym-
pathies on their side of life's struggle. Through him
ANDREW JACKSON. 397
the administration of the Government was to be re-
duced and adapted to their wants and benefit.
With his inauguration they thought that the Gov-
ernment would fall to them, that they would own it,
and when the day came a vast horde of them was
present at the Capital to take possession with him and
enter upon their new and stupendous acquisition. In
the main they were right. It was the inauguration
of the era of corruption and spoils in the politics of
the country and administration of public affairs. All
of the followers were to be rewarded, if possible. No
enemies were to be fostered in this new reign. The
pure, just, and disinterested principles of the former
Administrations had ended, if they lay across the will
of President Jackson and his friends. It was the
beginning of a new and untried era. How deeply
mistaken were those men who believed that the Wash-
ington age was about to be revived ! It was the
Jacksonian period, without a pattern before it or an
equal after it. Its evils have come down, but no suc-
cession could possibly be so bold as to lie in its tracks.
The following is General Jackson's first
INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
March 4, 1829.
Fellow-citizens, — About to undertake the arduous duties that
I have been appointed to perform by the choice of a free people,
I avail myself of this customary and solemn occasion to express
the gratitude which their confidence inspires, and to acknowledge
the accountability which my situation enjoins. While the mag-
nitude of their interests convinces me that no thanks can be
adequate to the honor they have conferred, it admonishes me that
the best return I can make is the zealous dedication of my hum-
ble abilities to their service and their good.
As the instrument of the Federal Constitution, it will devolve
398 LIFE AND TIMES OF
upon me, for a stated period, to execute the laws of the United
States ; to superintend their foreign and confederate relations ; to
manage their revenue ; to command their forces ; and, by com-
munications to the Legislature, to watch over and to promote
their interests generally. And the principles of action by which
I shall endeavor to accomplish this circle of duties, it is now
proper for me briefly to explain.
In administering the laws of Congress, I shall keep steadily
in view the limitations as well as the extent of the executive
power, trusting thereby to discharge the functions of my office
without transcending its authority. With foreign nations it will
be my study to preserve peace, and to cultivate friendship on
fair and honorable terms; and in the adjustment of any differ-
ences that may exist or arise, to exhibit the forbearance becoming
a powerful nation, rather than the sensibility belonging to a
gallant people.
In such measures as I may be called on to pursue, in regard
to the rights of the separate States, I hope to be animated by a
proper respect for those sovereign members of our Union ; taking
care not to confound the powers they have reserved to them-
selves with those they have granted to the confederacy.
The management of the public revenue, that searching opera-
tion in all governments, is among the most delicate and important
trusts in ours ; and it will, of course, demand no inconsiderable
share of my official solicitude. Under every aspect in which it'
can be considered, it would appear that advantage must result
from the observance of a strict and faithful economy. This I
shall aim at the more anxiously, both because it will facilitate
the extinguishment of the national debt, the unnecessary duration
of which is incompatible with real independence, and because it
will counteract that tendency to public and private profligacy
which a profuse expenditure of money by the Government is but
too apt to engender. Powerful auxiliaries to the attainment of
this desirable end are to be found in the regulations provided by
the wisdom of Congress for the specific appropriation of public
money, and the prompt accountability of public officers.
With regard to a proper selection of the subjects of impost,
with a view to revenue, it would seem to me that the spirit of
equity, caution, and compromise, in which the Constitution was
formed, requires that the great interests of agriculture, com-
merce, and manufactures should be equally favored; and that
ANDREW JACKSON. 399
perhaps the only exception to this rule should consist in the pe-
culiar encouragement of any products of either of them that may
be found essential to our national independence.
Internal improvement, and the diffusion of knowledge, so far
as they can be promoted by the Constitutional acts of the Federal
Government, are of high importance.
Considering standing armies as dangerous to free governments
in time of peace, I shall not seek to enlarge our present estab-
lishment, nor to disregard that salutary lesson of political expe-
rience which teaches that the military should be held subordinate
to the civil power. The gradual increase of our navy, whose
flag has displayed in distant climes our skill in navigation and
our fame in arras ; the preservation of our forts, arsenals, and
dock-yards ; and the introduction of progressive improvements in
the discipline and science of both branches of our military serv-
ice, are so plainly prescribed by prudence, that I should be ex-
cused for omitting their mention, sooner than enlarging on their
importance. But the bulwark of our defense is the national
militia, which, in the present state of our intelligence and pop-
ulation, must render us invincible. As long as our Government
is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by
their will ; as long as it secures to us the rights of person and
property, liberty of conscience and of the press, it will be
worth defending; and so long as it is worth defending, a patri-
otic militia will cover it with an impenetrable cegis. Partial
injuries and occasional mortifications we may be subject to; but
a million of armed freemen, possessed of the means of war, can
never be conquered by a foreign foe. To any just system, there-
fore, calculated to strengthen this natural safeguard of the coun-
try, I shall cheerfully lend all the aid in my power.
It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward
the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and
to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and
their wants which are consistent with the habits of our Govern-
ment and the feelings of our people.
The recent demonstration of public sentiment inscribes on the
list of executive duties, in characters too legible to be over-
looked, the task of reform ; which will require particularly the
correction of those abuses that have brought the patronage of
the Federal Government into conflict with the freedom of elec-
tions, and the counteraction of those causes which have disturbed
400 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the rightful course of appointment, and have placed or continued
power in unfaithful or incompetent hands.
In the performance of a task thus generally delineated, I
shall endeavor to select men whose diligence and talents will in-
sure, in their respective stations, able and faithful co-operation ;
depending, for the advancement of the public service, more on the
integrity and zeal of the public oflBcers than on their numbers.
A diffidence, perhaps too just, in my own qualifications, will
teach me to look with reverence to the examples of public vir-
tue left by my illustrious predecessors, and with veneration to
the lights that flow from the mind that founded, and the mind
that reformed, our system. The same diffidence induces me to
hope for instruction and aid from the co-ordinate branches of the
Government, and for the indulgence and support of my fellow-
citizens generally. And a firm reliance on the goodness of that
Power whose providence mercifully protected our national in-
fancy, and has since upheld our liberties in various vicissitudes,
encourages me to oflTer up my ardent supplications that he will
continue to make our beloved country the object of his divine
care and gracious benediction.
This address was constructed with more political
acumen than General Jackson possessed, and meant
more than it seemed to mean. Up to this time the
Administrations had never lent themselves to elec-
tioneering. The Executive had never tampered with
the elections. The friends of Mr. Adams were espe-
cially annoyed by the baseless and foolish attack the
Inaugural made upon the application of the "patron-
age of the Federal Government." Nobody knew what
this meant until the heads of office-holders of every
description began to fall as leaves in autumn. Then,
to some extent, they knew what the General meant
by "reform." At that moment that kind of "reform"
began in this Nation; and since that day party "re-
form" has mainly meant turning the full fat ins out,
and putting the hungry, lean outs in. " The correction
ANDREW JACKSON. 401
of those abuses that have brought the patronage of
the Federal Government into conflict with the free-
dom of elections." This was, indeed, a vicious and
truthless thrust. It is difficult to see, at this remote
period, how any man who had respect for the real
facts of the case, and an ordinary degree of intelli-
gence in the people, could have made such a state-
ment, especially in an official way. In this respect no
Administration in the history of the Government had
a purer and less impeachable record than Mr. Adams's.
If the patronage of the Federal Government had, in
any way, been involved in thet>last election, it had
been in favor of General Jackson, through the post-
office, and for this Mr. McLean was to be rewarded.
Those men who had looked at General Jackson and
supposed him to be George Washington, had now taken
the first prescription for their malady. The illusion
was fading. The plain backwoodsman had issued a
cunning political address, and had fully exhibited in it
his great faculty of exaggeration. From the founda-
tion of the Government useful and upright men had
been retained in office, no matter what had been the
color of their political opinions. This had especially
been true of all the lower grades of public places ;
and Mr. Adams had even retained his influential ene-
mies in office for fear the sin would be charged to him
of turning men out of position for their political opin-
ions. He even went so far as to invite William H.
Crawford to remain in his Cabinet ; and John McLean
had bitterly opposed his re-election, and had, for years,
used the department over which he presided for the
defeat of Mr. Adams, yet he would not dismiss him.
Mr. Adams honorably said that the country could not
26— G
402 LIFE AND TIMES OF
afford to lose the valuable labors of McLean in the
post-office service. His unfair machinations against
himself could much better be borne. But the custom
of continuance in office was considered so firmly estab-
lished that the members of Mr. Adams's Cabinet were
in doubt about sending in their resignations. Jack-
son's quietness on the subject had furnished them no
clue to his intentions. But the only important official
connected with Mr. Adams's Administration, who
remained to General- Jackson's, was John McLean.
His retention was owing mainly to the cause already
mentioned. McLean had raised the Post-office De-
partment to a high state of efficiency and respecta-
bility. He had been the most able and successful man
who had yet filled that position, and, being an out-
and-out Jackson man, he had turned the great strength
of his department to the benefit of his candidate as far
as he wished, which was the only abuse of the kind
yet known in the administration of the affairs of the
Government. For this help and friendship Mr. Mc-
Lean was to be retained in the new Administration ;
and, to satisfy his ambition, the position was to be
raised to a regular Cabinet office, which it never had
been. But more was meditated in the new deal than
Mr. McLean was conscientiously able to carry out,
and he did not become a member of the new Cnbinet.
When apprised by General Jackson of the real sig-
nification of the hickory-brooms, he emphatically de-
clined to be an instrument in the unreasonable removal
of men from the places they held. Many good men
held positions in the post-office, and he could not see
the propriety of dismissing them. The Department
had risen to great proportions and efficiency under
ANDREW JACKSON. 403
them. He -was, therefore, placed on the Supreme
Bench, where there was a vacancy which Mr. Adams
was not allowed to fill.
This was, indeed, a remarkable beginning for Gen-
eral Jackson's Administration. The Washingtonian
traits had not yet appeared. It was beginning in a
truly characteristic Jacksonian way, and nothing more.
It certainly should be supposed, however, that 'General
Jackson had left the "Hermitage" bent with his first
great misfortune, as he thought, meaning to be a good
President, to do the best he could for the whole
country, and bring about a happy state of affairs to be
felt, as such, by all its citizens. How well he suc-
ceeded in this laudable purpose the reader must de-
cide. He had, perhaps, made some reservations in
favor of himself in becoming the "Great Father" of
all the people. The Indians, the original proprietors
of the country, he hardly considered as having any
rights worthy of his respect. And those miscreants
whom he believed to have been concerned in slandering
and breaking the heart of poor "Aunt Rachel" were to
be the objects of his unalterable hatred. These last
he meant to pursue to the ends of the earth. Nor did
he fail or become weary in his purpose.
On the 11th of February, 1829, he had reached
Washington, but .believing that President Adams had
sanctioned the attacks upon the character of Mrs. Jack-
son, he positively refused to call on him, which it was his
duty to do according to all precedents. So offensive
and apparent was this conduct that some of the Jack-
son newspapers deemed it necessary to make some
defense of the General's course. This they did on the
utterly unfeasible and ftilse ground that it was Mr.
404 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Adams's duty to call first on the President-elect.
But this defense was foolish, if the whole business
was not, for the custom was fixed, and nobody knew
better what it was than did Mr. Adams, who had a
big grievance of his own, and did not go to see his
successor inaugurated, as, perhaps, he should have
done. He had better grounds, however, for his con-
duct than his father had before him. " Great " men
are much like other people.
Early in the winter of 1827, President Adams
made this record of his opinion as to the probable re-
sult of the race he was then running : —
"General Jackson will, therefore, be elected. But it is im-
possible that his Administration should give satisfaction to the
people of this Union. He is incompetent both by his ignorance
and by the fury of his passions."
Subsequently in speaking of what was published
as the General's elegant addresses at New Orleans, in
1828, where he went for a personal "boom," Mr.
Adams wrote : —
"These answers were all written by Harry Lee, who has be-
come an inmate of his family, and attended him to New Orleans.
As they were in an ambitious and court-dress style, some of his
impudent jackals fell into ecstasies in the newspapers at his elo-
quence and the fine literary composition, and they were boldly
claiming for him the reputation of an elegant writer. But the
General, in one of his raving fits, had sent one of his Nashville
white-washing committee's pamphlets on his matrimonial adven-
tures to Peter Force, editor of the ' National Journal,' and had
written with his own hand, though without signing his name, on
the title-page, about four lines, insulting to Force and grossly in-
solent to the Administration. Coarse, vulgar, and false in its
invective, it was couched in language worthy of ancient Pistol,
and set all grammar and spelling alike at defiance."
ANDREW JACKSON. 405
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE CABINET— WORK OF REFORM— REIGN OF TERROR—
THE SCANDAL— ALL ABOUT NOTHING— THE
COUNTRY PUT TO SHAME.
THE Cabinet of President Jackson was nominally
as follows : —
Martin Van Buren, of New York, Secretary of
State ; Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, Secretary
of the Treasury ; John H. Eaton, of Tennessee, Secre-
tary of War ; John Branch, of North Carolina, Secre-
tary of the Navy ; John McPherson Berrien, of
Georgia, Attorney-General ; and William Tecumseh
Barry, of Kentucky, Postmaster-General, the newly
established Cabinet office. One of General Jackson's
partial, partisan biographers plainly intimates that the
appointment of some of these men was mainly owing
to their ill-will towards Mr. Clay. Nobody ever main-
tained that this was a very brilliant Cabinet. Jtjiid
not compare favorably with the one that preceded it.
It was, however, the misfortune of the members of
this Cabinet to gain a notoriety which they did not
deserve, as will appear in the following pages.
General Jackson was beset by advisers from all
parts of the country, some of whom soon became of
more importance to him than his acknowledged
Cabinet. From Nashville, his friend and relative,
William B. Lewis, had accompanied him to the
406 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Capital, to see the inauguration and to see the Gen-
eral's family well organized, and affairs smoothly set
in motion; but he had been too much of a necessity
to Jackson to be dispensed with at this time. He
had been an unselfish friend. He believed in General
Jackson, and he was sufficiently compensated for all
his work, when, at last, he saw it well and safely
done. He needed no office, wanted none. But Jack-
son still needed him, and finally, with the same gen-
erosity that had characterized him in all his efforts in
behalf of his interesting friend, he consented to be-
come one of the auditors of the Treasury, a position
unequal to his abilities, yet having the virtue of giving
him all the time he needed for his more essential and
equally undignified services in the Administration.
The inaugural speech was partly his and partly the
production of the General, but Henry Lee had given
it the final polish. Lee had accompanied the General
to Washington to get an office, and he was nominated
for some unimportant foreign place, but the Senate
declined to confirm the appointment, and he died with-
out his reward.
With the exception of his wife, the best friend
General Jackson ever had was Wm. B. Lewis. Many
men were, strangely enough, attached to his person,
conduct, and good fortune, but in greater or less de-
grees all of these men, perhaps, like poor Lee, ex-
pected their reward ; whereas Lewis was simply and
unqualifiedly devoted to Jackson and his interests,
without the remotest thought or desire of compensa-
tion. His friendship was genuine, and well enough
exemplified the possibility of unselfish and disinter-
ested friendship among men. Among all General
ANDREW JACKSON. 407
Jackson's advisers, counselors, instigators, guides, and
helpers, Lewis really stood at the top as not only the
safest and most conscientious, but, perhaps, also, the
most able. His knowledge of men and the ways best
to lead and control them for political purposes was
extraordinary. He seldom, or never, made a misstep
in these things, and it would be difficult to estimate
the share his mind and hand took in shaping the for-
tunes of General Jackson.
President Jackson and his clans took possession of
the White House in an entirely characteristic manner.
Preparations had been made to receive " the people,"
who had won, at the White House, on the night of
the inauguration. Many barrels of " orange-punch "
were prepared for the occasion, to be distributed, with
some other things, to as disorderly and mob-like a
crowd as could assemble to introduce an Administra-
tion. By this strangely coarse and vulgar perform-
ance. General Jackson took charge of the stately resi-
dence of the Presidents, and a hitherto unknown order
of things began there, and in the conduct of public
affairs. Andrew Jackson Donelson was the private
secretary, and his wife was to be the " Lady of the
White House." The General's adopted son, Andrew
Jackson, Jr., was soon afterwards married, and his
wife shared the " honors " of the President's House.
The Senate adjourned on the 17th of March, and
the President and his advisers, public and private,
were left to start the great work of " reform " in their
own way, or more strictly speaking, in his way.
General Jackson followed in no man's tracks. He
proceeded at once to break down all standards. The
system of precedents, so laboriously arrived at by his
408 LIFE AND TIMES OF
predecessors, was of little note to him. Although
the Constitution had given the President absolute
power in removing individuals from office in the civil
employ of the Government, as was decided after no
little contention and anxiety, it did not appear by any
means, that this power would ever be exercised for
the mere purposes of friendship, or partisan advance-
ment ; nor could it at that early date be supposed that
it had entered the minds of the " Framers " that the
power should ever be employed otherwise than to
serve the most open, single, honorable business and
official interests of the Government. They did not
consider, or deem it worthy to consider, that this power
would be converted to personal aggrandizement, be
made the great engine of party conquest. Up to the
time of the inauguration of Andrew Jackson, in 1829,
the original design of this power had, in the main,
been most scrupulously maintained. So far was this
sentiment generally carried with General Jackson's
predecessors, that removal from office without good ap-
parent business cause, was considered slanderous and
disreputable to the Executive. And without excep-
tion down to this date the appointment of a friend or
relative to office, though he had all the requisite quali-
ties, was held as a matter of great delicacy and doubt
on the part of the President. Even the private sec-
retary was barely allowed to be a member of the
President's own family. So fearful was General Jack-
son's immediate predecessor of making a partial or
one-sided step that he could not carry out his own
principles, where such action was to be expected, by
reason of the enemies he kept everywhere in public
places.
ANDREW JACKSON. 409
The qualifications for position in the civil employ
up to March 4, 1829, were honesty, capacity, ability,
and the respect and confidence of men. Although Mr,
Jefiersiia had dismissed mare office-holders than all
other Presidents up to this date, he had, in the main,
held to the general and well-understood principle, and
stubbornly declined to admit that he h^d ever removed
men from office for partisan reasons, notwithstanding
his situation at the breaking up or overthrow of the
Federal party, after a most bitter party contest. It
was left for another age, and another class of public
men, to depart from this honorable and safe practice.
For a race of " strict constructionists," who, them-
selves, and their descendants, have held as peculiarly
their own property the cry of the " Constitution as it
is " with all its ancient landmarks, it was left strangely,
or perhaps naturally, enough to introduce the new re-
publican doctrine, " To the victor belongs the spoils."
The statesman, if there be such, pure and simple, in
America to-day, can but deplore this innovation, the
establishment of this vast, untold, unmitigated system
of political corruption in the very machinery of his
Government. Even the politician whose whole life has
not yet become a question of plunder, may turn with
disgust from a system which comes down to his pocket
and bowels at every turn, and is fostered by his lying
smiles and promises for the future. Read American
history, read American biography, and see where lies
the responsibility for this national calamity.
But to return to the story. It had been a serious
question with previous Administrations as to appointing
members of Congress to Cabinet and other places. But
notwithstanding his " ad hominem " announcement on
410 LIFE AND TIMES OF
this subject a few years before, General Jackson did
not allow it to bother him. Four or five members of
his Cabinet were, at the time of their appointment,
members of Congress, and a large number of his other
appointments, as collectors, foreign ministers, and dis-
trict attorneys, fell to members of Congress. In the
whole history of the Government before, all the ap-
pointments from this source did not equal in number
those made by General Jackson in a short time.
In Washington City the Jacksonian mode of " re-
form " amounted to a reign of terror. The General
forgot his advice to Mr. Monroe in 1816. Circum-
stances had altered the case. The departments were
soon swept, and none but the President's friends and
supporters were placed in office. One of his first steps
was to create a new Cabinet officer in the Postmaster-
General. Although this step was well enough in itself,
it was hastened forward at the time to accommodate
and honor John McLean, who had exerted the influence
of his position under Mr. Adams for the success of
General Jackson. But it turned out that Mr. McLean
did not favor the wholesale, indiscriminate dismissal
policy about to be entered upon, and of this fact he
duly notified the President. Mr. McLean did not, in
truth, believe in discharging competent and valuable
men from place for mere political or personal preference,
nor that such a practice could be safe and best for the
country. This was an unexpected turn, but it did not
check General Jackson. Mr. McLean was at once of-
fered the vacancy on the Supreme Bench, and readily
accepted it as his reward.
One of the first men removed from office without
cause was General William Henry Harrison, Minister
ANDREW JACKSON. 411
to Colombia, South America. General Harrison had
barely reached his post and entered upon his duties
with great satisfaction to the new republic. He had
mildly dissented from the course of General Jackson in
the Seminole campaign, but he had yet taken no official
steps which could have rendered him in any degree cen-
surable to General Jackson or the country, as may be
seen in a succeeding volume of this work. Washington
was now in a great hubbub. The permanent character
of life and business there was derived directly from
the permanence among the Government employes. No
man now knew what a day would bring forth.
The following taken from an old Washington news-
paper will give some idea of how the new order of
things was working : —
"Thirty-three houses which were to have been built this year
have, we learn, been stopped, in consequence of the unsettled and
uncertain state of things now existing here ; and the merchant
can not sell his goods or collect his debts from the same cause.
We have never known the city to be in a state like this before,
though we have known it for many years. The individual dis-
tress, too, produced, in many, cases, by the removal of the desti-
tute officers, ,is harrowing and painful to all who possess the or-
dinary sympathies of our nature, without regard to party feeling.
No man, not absolutely brutal, can be pleased to see his personal
friend or neighbor suddenly stripped of the means of support,
and cast upon the cold charity of the world without a shelter or a
home. Frigid and insensible must be the heart of that man who
could witness some of the scenes that have lately been exhibited
here, without a tear of compassion or a throb of sympathy. But
what is still more to be regretted is, that this system, having been
once introduced, must necessarily be kept up at the commence-
ment of every Presidential term ; and he who goes into office
knowing its limited and uncertain tenure, feels no disposition to
make permanent improvements or to form for himself a permanent
residence. He, therefore, takes care to lay up what he can dur-
ing his brief official existence, to carry off to some more congenial
412 LIFE AND TIMES OF
spot, where he means to spend his life, or re-enter into business.
All, therefore, that he might have expended in city improve-
ments is withdrawn, and the revenue of the corporation, as well
as the trade of the city, is so far lessened and decreased. It is
obviously a most injurious policy as it respects the interests of our
city. Many of the oldest and most respectable citizens of Wash-
ington, those who have adhered to its fortunes through all their
vicissitudes, who have ' grown with its growth and streugthened
with its strength,' have been cast off to make room for strangers
who feel no interest in the prosperity of our infant metropolis, and
who care not whether it advances or retrogrades."
Mr. Samuel Swartv^^out was among the new-comers
at the Capital, who expected to have their fortune bet-
tered by what Mr. Benton called " a revolution of
parties." Swartwout was singularly representative of
the class of men, as a rule, who have become the
scramblers for political office, and who now, for the
first time, appeared at the Nation's Capital. The fol-
lowing extract from a somewhat famous letter written
by him to a friend in New York contains the ring,
well known to everybody in these latter days : —
"I hold to your doctrine fully, that no rascal who made use
of his office or its profits for the purpose of keeping Mr. Adams
in, and General Jackson out of power, is entitled to the least
lenity or mercy, save that of hanging. So we think both alike
on that head. Whether or not I shall get anything in the gen-
eral scramble for plunder, remains to be proven ; but I rather
guess I shall. What it will be is not yet so certain ; perhaps
keeper of the Bergen light-house. I rather think Massa Pomp
stands a smart chance of going somewhere, perhaps to the place
you have named, or to the devil. Your man, if you want a
place, is Colonel Hamilton, he being now the second officer in
the Government of the Union, and in all probability our next
President. Make your suit to him, then, and you will get what
you want. I know Mr. Ingham slightly, and would recommend
you to push like a devil if you expect anything from that quar-
ter. I can do you no good in any quarter of the world, having
ANDREW JACKSON. 413
mighty little influence beyond Hoboken. The great goers are the
new men ; the old troopers being all spavined and ring-boned
from previous hard travel. I've got the bots, the fetlock, hip-
joint, gravel, halt, and founders ; and I assure you if I can only
keep my own legs, I shall do well ; but I 'ra darned if I can
carry any weight with me. When I left home, I thought my
nag sound and strong, but the beast is rather broken down here.
I'll tell you more about it when I see you in New York. In
seriousness, my dear sir, your support must come from Mr. Van
Buren and Mr. Colonel Hamilton ; I could not help you any
more than your clerk."
The great Colonel Hamilton mentioned in this let-
ter, was James A. Hamilton, son of Alexander Ham-
ilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, who was
acting as Secretary of State until the arrival of Mr.
Van Buren. But his greatness never reached that
elevation which Swartwout predicted. Swartwout him-
self fared much better than he expected, and he actu-
ally got the position for which he had the impudence
to apply.
Some of General Jackson's most intimate friends,
his confidential advisers, opposed this wholesale dis-
missal of office-holders, and advised him openly and
decidedly against it. But the General had his own
sentiments on the subject, mainly based upon his unal-
terable feelings against men who had opposed him or
stood in his way, and his strong desire to be of service
to his friends and admirers. The counsels of his
needy friends had great weight with him ; and not-
withstanding his hickory will and adventurous personal
strength, they often led him. Indeed, no other Presi-
dent of the United States has been so deeply and
dangerously influenced by his personal whims and at-
tachments as was Geneial Jackson in the exercise of
his official duties. While there may be something
414 LIFE AND TIMES OF
admirable in the mere animal trait of personal attach-
ments, as a dominant quality in a public functionary,
it is not fortunate.
Thomas H. Benton, who became General Jackson's
most undeviating defender under all circumstances,
right or wrong, thus talks of the removals : —
"Having vindicated General Jackson and Mr, Adams from
the reproach of Mons. de Tocqueville, and having shown that it
was neither a principle nor a practice of the Jefferson school to
remove officers for political opinions, I now feel bound to make the
declaration, that the doctrine of that school has been too much
departed from of late, and by both parties, and to the great
detriment of the right and proper working of the Government.
"The practice of removals for opinion's sake is becoming too
common, and is reducing our Presidential elections to what Mr.
Jefferson deprecated, 'a contest of office instead of principle,' and
converting the victories of each party, so far as office is concerned,
into the political extermination of the other ; as it was in Great
Britain between the Whigs and Tories in the bitter contests of
one hundred years ago, and when the victor made a ' clean sweep'
of the vanquished, leaving not a wreck behind."
Some of General Jackson's appointments were so
manifestly bad that the Senate never would confirm
them, and there was a wide feeling of regret and
shame over the existence of such sweeping changes in
office when the political sentiment of the country was
so largely unanimous.
Although there is a great variety of opinion as to
the number of removals made by President Jackson
during the first month and year of his Administration,
it may pretty safely be concluded that in the chief
places and their subordinate ones of all grades, great
and small, not less than two thousand office-holders lost
their positions the first year, to give way to friends and
supporters of the President.
ANDREW JACKSON. 415
The most scandalous affair ever connected with the
Presidential office of the United States was started
soon after the organization of General Jackson's Cab-
inet, and much of his time, during the summer of
1829, was spent in looking into the matter and using
his authority in attempts to correct the evil conse-
quences. The case was one of the few misfortunes
which befell General Jackson, but it was not numbered
among his faults.
John H. Eaton, the Secretary of War, had recently
married Margaret Timberlake, widow of John B. Tim-
berlake, an officer in the navy, who died of disease,
or according to common belief, committed suicide,
while serving on the Mediterranean Sea, in 1828.
Mrs. Timberlake lived with her father, " Mfijor "
O'Neal, who, like almost everybody else in Washing-
ton, kept a hotel or boarding-house. Here both Gen-
eral Jackson and Major Eaton were accustomed to stop
when serving as members of Congress from Tennessee.
Mrs. Timberlake assisted her parents in the care of
their business as she had done when she was "Peg"
O'Neal. She was exceedingly attractive, well edu-
cated, and had a remarkable tongue for " gab," which,
however, she used in such a way as to increase in-
stead of diminish her other attractive qualities. Her
position in her father's house, and her vivacious and
pleasant manners made her a favorite among the
boarders, and gained for her an unenviable reputation,
which she did not deserve. At least General Jackson
thought she did not. It would, perhaps, be ditficult
for any good-looking and sprightly woman to grow up
or live in a hotel or a boarding-house, without a social
or moral taint of some kind.
416 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The wives of the Vice-President, the Cabinet min-
isters, and several foreign representatives, as well as
some of the unofficial leaders of fashion at the Capital,
refused to associate with Secretary Eaton's wife.
Among the most stubborn of these persons, bent on
the utter excommunication of Mrs. Eaton, was the
"Lady of the White House," Mrs. A. J. Donelson.
J. N. Campbell, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
which was attended by General Jackson, and had
been attended by " Aunt Rachel " during the winter
she spent in Washington, was deeply concerned about
what he felt would soon come out as a public topic to
the great injury of the General. Among the friends
who came to see Jackson enter upon his " reign,"
as his Administration was not unfrequently called
by contemporary writers, was another Presbyterian
preacher from Philadelphia. To him Mr. Campbell
told all he knew about it, which, indeed, seemed to be
too much for a man of his profession to know or tell,
or anybody else, in fact ; and these two careful men
concluded that General Jackson ought, at least, to be
apprised of the nature of the case, that he might be
able to correct the error of appointing Mr. Eaton to
a place in the Cabinet.
After Mr. Ely returned to Philadelphia he divulged
the whole case in a letter to the President, who, at
once, assumed that all this story was without founda-
tion in truth, and espousing the cause of Major Eaton
and his wife, began himself an investigation*, which
resulted to his satisfaction in proving that this great
tempest raised in " high society " was as usual, " much
ado about nothing." Yet he found that to stop the
tongue of " society," and make the stubborn " fair
ANDREW JACKSON. 417
sex " take Mrs. Eaton into their " circle," or even re-
turn a call or invite her to a ball, was a more difficult
task than conquering Red Eagle or training obstreper-
ous Spanish governors. It was, indeed, the most diffi-
cult task he had ever undertaken. And in the main
he failed. It was pitiable to see the President of the
United States engaged in a great scandal, and making
himself the central figure. But he was not the
man to desert a friend. Then, he had two other
motives for his participation in this affair. . He saw in
it something similar to the case of his own wife, and
he felt that he was again fighting over her battles.
He believed Mr. Clay had some hand in that case,
and he now believed that his minions were at work in
this, to ruin his friends and injure his Administration.
Mr. Van Buren, who had no family, took an active
part with the President, and was successful in induc-
ing some of the bachelors in the diplomatic corps to
favor Mrs. Eaton. But the General broke with Mr.
Campbell, and stopped attending his church. Mrs.
Donelson held out so persistently that she had to be
sent home to Tennessee. Her husband also resigned
his place. But the Donelsons were both reinstated
in their positions, and in the old man's favor. Mrs.
Eaton had extraordinary tact. She had a giant on
her side. She would not be put down. Her success
was indeed very great. Men whd wanted the favor
of the President had to be her friends, to all appear-
ances. But after all was done, the affair proved dis-
astrous to General Jackson's first Cabinet. It was, at
all events, one of the great causes of its dissolution.
For many a year, if not forever, Mrs. Eaton kept her
place in the esteem of General Jackson.
27— Q
418 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Major Eaton died in 1856, but he had forfeited his
standing in the confidence and respect of the General
by his desertion of the Democracy, and by advocating
the claims of General Harrison in 1840. Although
Eaton still held his respect for his old friend, he was
guilty of this sin which Jackson never could forgive.
Mrs. Eaton, a brilliant woman, and a first-class
politician and diplomate, lived until 1879. The Major
left her a fortune, but she fell into bad hands and lost
most of it. She became attached to a musician, a
foreigner, and married him. But he converted much
of her fortune into money w^ith which he sailed for
Europe, leaving a bad reputation behind him, and
misfortune and regret to this once too gay and fasci-
nating woman.
ANDREW JACKSON. 419
CHAPTKR XXIV.
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE— ACTS OF
CONGRESS— THE VETO BREAKS THE DREAM OF
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT— NULLIFI-
CATION SANCTIONED IN
GEORGIA.
BUT more important events now demand attention.
On the 7th of December, 1829, Congress con-
vened, and remained in session until the last day
of May, 1830. In the Senate, Samuel Smith, of
Maryland, presided as president, in the absence of the
Vice-President. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, was
re-elected Speaker of the House, by 152 against 39
votes ; and in both Houses the Administration, what-
ever it might do or be, had a considerable majority.
FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December S, 1829.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives :
It affords me pleasure to tender my friendly greetings to you
on the occasion of your assembling at the seat of government, to
enter upon the important duties to which you have been called
by the voice of our countrymen. The task devolves on me,
under a provision of the Constitution, to present to you, as the
Federal Legislature of twenty-four sovereign States, and twelve
millions of happy people, a view of our affairs ; and to purpose
such measures as, in the discharge of my official functions, have
suggested themselves as necessary to promote the objects of our
Union.
In communicating with you for the first time, it is to me a
420 LIFE AND TIMES OF
source of unfeigned satisfaction, calling for mutual gratulation
and devout thanks to a benign Providence, that we are at peace
with all mankind, and that our country exhibits the most cheer-
ing evidence of general welfare and progressive improvement.
Turning our eyes to other nations, 'our great desire is to see our
brethren of the human race secured in the blessings enjoyed by
ourselves, and advancing in knowledge, in freedom, and in social
happiness.
Our foreign relations, although in their general character
pacific and friendly, present subjects of difference between us and
other powers, of deep interest, as well to the country at large as
to many of our citizens. To effect an adjustment of these shall
continue to be the object of my earnest endeavors ; and notwith-
standing the difficulties of the task, I do not allow myself to ap-
prehend unfavorable results. Blessed as our country is with
everything which constitutes national strength, she is fully ade-
quate to the maintenance of all her interests. In discharging
the responsible trust confided to the Executive in this respect, it
is my settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly right,
and to submit to nothing that is wrong ; and I flatter myself
that, supported by the other branches of the Government, and
by the intelligence and patriotism of the people, we shall be able,
under the protection of Providence, to. cause all our just rights
to be respected.
Of the unsettled matters between the United States and other
powers, the most prominent are those which have for years been
the subject of negotiation with England, France, and Spain.
The late periods at which our ministers to those governments
left the United States render it impossible, at this early day, to
inform you of what has been done on the subjects with which they
have been respectively charged. Relying upon the justice of our
views in relation to the points committed to negotiation, and the
reciprocal good-feeling which characterizes our intercourse with
those nations, we have the best reason to hope for a satisfactory
adjustment of existing differences.
With Great Britain, alike distinguished in peace and war,
we may look forward to years of peaceful, honorable, and ele-
vated competition. Everything in the condition and history of
the two nations is calculated to inspire sentiments of mutual
respect, and to carry conviction to the minds of both, that it is
their policy to preserve the most cordial relations. Such are my
ANDREW JACKSON. 421
own views, and it is not to be doubted that such are also the
prevailing sentiments of our constituents. Although neither time
nor opportunity has been afforded for a full development of the
policy which the present cabinet of Great Britain designs to
pursue toward this country, I indulge the hope that it will be of
a just and pacific character ; and if this anticipation be realized,
we may look with confidence to a speedy and acceptable adjust-
ment of our affairs.
Under the convention for regulating the reference to arbitra-
tion of the disputed points of boundary under the fifth article of
the Treaty of Ghent, the proceedings have hitherto been con-
ducted in that spirit of candor and liberality which ought ever
to characterize the acts of sovereign States, seeking to adjust, by
the most unexceptionable means, important and delicate subjects
of contention. The first statements of the parties have been ex-
changed, and the final replication, on our part, is in a course of
preparation. This subject has received the attention demanded
by its great and peculiar importance to a patriotic member of
this confederacy. The exposition of our rights, already made, is
such as, from the high reputation of the commissioners by whom
it has been prepared, we had a right to expect. Our interests at
the court of the sovereign who has evinced his friendly disposi-
tion by assuming the delicate task of arbitration, have been com-
mitted to a citizen of the State of Maine, whose character, talents,
and intimate acquaintance with the subject, eminently qualify
him for so responsible a trust. With full confidence in the jus-
tice of our cause, and in the probity, intelligence, and uncom-
promising independence of the illustrious arbitrator, we can have
nothing to apprehend from the result.
From France, our ancient ally, we have a right to expect
that justice which becomes the sovereign of a powerful, intelli-
gent, and magnanimous people. The beneficial effects produced
by the commercial convention of 1822, limited as are its pro-
visions, are too obvious not to make a salutary impression upon
the minds of those who are charged with the administration of
her government. Should this result induce a disposition to em-
brace, to their full extent, the wholesome principles which con-
stitute our commercial policy, our minister to that court will be
found instructed to cherish such a disposition, and to aid in con-
ducting it to useful practical conclusions. The claims of our
citizens for depredations upon their property, long since com-
422 LIFE AND TIMES OF
mitted under the authority, and, in many instances, by the ex-
press direction, of the then existing Government of France,
remain unsatisfied ; and must, therefore, continue to furnish
a subject of unpleasant discussion, and possible collision, between
the two goveruments. I cherish, however, a lively hope, founded
as well on the validity of those claims, and the established policy
of all enlightened governments, as on the known integrity of the
French monarch, that the injurious delays of the past will find
redress in the equity of the future. Our minister has been in-
structed to press these demands on the French Government with
all the earnestness which is called for by their importance and
irrefutable justice ; and in a spirit that will evince the respect
which is due to the feelings of those from whom the satisfaction
is required.
Our minister recently appointed to Spain has been authorized
to assist in removing evils alike injurious to both countries, either
by concluding a commercial convention, upon liberal and recip-
rocal terms; or by urging the acceptance, in their full extent,
of the mutually beneficial provisions of our navigation acts. He
has also been instructed to make a further appeal to the justice
of Spain, in behalf of our citizens, for indemnity for spoliations
upon our commerce, committed under her authority — an appeal
which the pacific and liberal course observed on our part, and a
due confidence in the honor of that government, authorize us to
expect will not be made in vain.
With other European powers, our intercourse is on the most
friendly footing. In Russia, placed by her territorial limits, ex-
tensive population, and great power, high in the rank of nations,
the United States have always found a steadfast friend. Although
her ^^recent invasion of Turkey awakened a lively sympathy for
those who were exposed to the desolations of war, we can not but
anticipate that the result will prove favorable to the cause of
civilization, and to the progress of human happiness. The treaty
of peace between these powers having been ratified, we can not
be insensible to the great benefit to be derived by the commerce
of the United States, from unlocking the navigation of the Black
Sea, a free passage into which is secured to all merchant vessels
bound to ports of Russia under a flag at peace with the Porte.
This advantage, enjoyed, upon conditions, by most of the powers
of Europe, has hitherto been withheld from us. During the
past summer, an antecedent, but unsuccessful attempt to obtain
ANDREW JACKSON. 423
it, was renewed under circumstances which promised the most
favorable results. Although these results have fortunately been
thus in part attained, further facilities to the enjoyment of this
new field for the enterprise of our citizens are, in my opinion,
sufficiently desirable to insure to them our most zealous
attention.
Our trade with Austria, although of secondary importance,
has been gradually increasing ; and is now so extended as to de-
serve the fostering care of the Government. A negotiation,
commenced and nearly completed with that power, by the late
Administration, has been consummated by a treaty of amity,
navigation, and commerce, which will be laid before the Senate.
During the recess of Congress, our diplomatic relations with
Portugal have been resumed. The peculiar state of things in
that country caused a suspension of the recognition of the repre-
sentative who presented himself until an opportunity was had
to obtain from our official organ there information regarding the
actual, and as far as practicable, prospective, condition of the
authority by which the representative in question was appointed.
This information being received, the application of the established
rule of our Government, in like cases, was no longer withheld.
Considerable advances have been made, during the present
year, in the adjustment of claims of our citizens upon Denmark
for spoliations ; but all that we have a right to demand from
that government, in their behalf, has not yet been conceded.
From the liberal footing, however, upon which this subject has,
with the approbation of the claimants, been placed by the Gov-
ernment, together with the uniformly just and friendly disposi-
tion which has been evinced by his Danish Majesty, there is a
reasonable ground to hope that this single subject of difference
will speedily be removed.
Our relations with the Barbary powers continue, as they have
long been, of the most favorable character. The policy of keep-
ing an adequate force in the Mediterranean, as security for the
continuance of this tranquillity, will be persevered in ; as well as
a similar one for the protection of our commerce and fisheries in
the Pacific.
The southern Republics, of our own hemisphere, have not
yet realized all the advantages for which they have been so long
struggling. We trust, however, that the day is not distant, when
the restoration of peace and internal quiet, under permanent
424 LIFE AND TIMES OF
systems of government, securing the liberty, and promoting the
happiness of the citizens, will crown, with complete success, their
long and arduous efforts in the cause of self-government, and
enable us to salute them as friendly rivals in all that is truly
great and glorious.
The recent invasion of Mexico, and the effect thereby pro-
duced upon her domestic policy, must have a controlling influence
upon the great question of South American emancipation. We
have seen the fell spirit of civil dissension rebuked and, perhaps,
forever stifled in that republic, by the love of independence. If
it be true, as appearances strongly indicate, that the spirit of in-
dependence is the master spirit, and if a corresponding sentiment
prevails in the other States, this devotion to liberty can not be
without a proper effect upon the counsels of the mother country.
The adoption, by Spain, of a pacific policy towards her former
Colonies — an event consoling to humanity, and a blessing to the
world, in which she, herself, can not fail largely to participate —
may be most reasonably expected.
The claims of our citizens upon the South American govern-
ments, generally, are in a train of settlement ; while the princi-
pal part of those upon Brazil have been adjusted, and a decree
in council, ordering bonds to be issued by the minister of the
treasury for their amount, has received the sanction of his im-
perial majesty. This event, together with the exchange of the
ratifications of the treaty negotiated and concluded in 1828, hap-
pily terminates all serious causes of difference with that power.
Measures have been taken to place our commercial relations
with Peru upon a better footing than that upon which they have
hitherto rested ; and if met by a proper disposition on the part
of that government, important benefits may be secured to both
countries.
Deeply interested as we are in the prosperity of our sister
republics, and more particularly in that of our immediate neigh-
bor, it would be most gratifying to me, were I permitted to say,
that the treatment which we have received at her hands has been
as universally friendly as the early and constant solicitude mani-
fested by the United States for her success gave us a right to
expect. But it becomes my duty to inform you that prejudices,
long indulged by a portion of the inhabitants of Mexico against
the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the
United States, have had an unfortunate influence upon the
ANDREW JACKSON. 425
affairs of the two countries, and iiave diminished that usefulness
to its own which was justly to be expected from his talents and
zeal. To this cause, in a great degree, is to be imputed the
failure of several measures equally interesting to both parties;
but particularly that of the Mexican Government to ratify a
treaty negotiated and concluded in its own capital and under its
own eye. Under these circumstances, it appeared expedient to
give to Mr. Poinsett the option either to return or not, as, in, his
judgment, the interest of his country might require; and in-
structions to that end were prepared ; but, before they could be
dispatched, a communication was received from the. Government
of Mexico, through its charge d'affaires here, requesting the recall
of our Minister. This was promptly complied with ; and a rep-
resentative of a rank corresponding with that of the Mexican
diplomatic agent near this Government was appointed. Our
conduct towards that republic has been uniformly of the most
friendly character; and having thus removed the only alleged
obstacle to harmonious intercourse, I can not but hope that an
advantageous change will occur in our affairs.
In justice to Mr. Poinsett, it is proper to say, that my imme-
diate compliance with the application for his recall, and the ap-
pointment of his successor, are not to be ascribed to any evidence
that the imputation of an improper interference by him in the
local politics of Mexico was well founded ; nor to a want of con-
fidence in his talents or integrity ; and to add, that the truth of
that charge has never been affirmed by the Federal Government
of Mexico, in its communication with this.
I consider it one of the most urgent of my duties to bring to
your attention the propriety of amending that part of our Con-
stitution which relates to the election of President and Vice-
President. Our system of Government was, by its framers,
deemed an experiment ; and they, therefore, consistently provided
a mode of remedying its defects.
To the people belongs the right of electing their Chief Magis-
trate ; it was never designed that their choice should, iu any
case, be defeated, either by the intervention of electoral colleges,
or by the agency confided, under certain contingencies, to the
House of Representatives. Experience proves, that, in propor-
tion as agents to execute the will of the people are multiplied,
there is danger of their wishes beiug frustrated. Some may be
unfaithful ; all are liable to err. So far, therefore, as the people
426 LIFE AND TIMES OF
can, with convenience, speak, it is safei- for them to express their
own will.
The number of aspirants to the Presidency, and the diversity
of the interests which may influence their claims, leave little
reason to expect a choice in the first instance ; and, in that
event, the election must devolve on the House of Representatives,
where, it is obvious, the will of the people may not be always
ascertained ; or, if ascertained, may not be regarded. From the
mode of voting by States, the choice is to be made by twenty-
four votes ; and it may often occur, that one of these may be
controlled by an individual representative. Honors and ofiices
are at the disposal of the successful candidate. Repeated ballot-
iugs may make it apparent that a single individual holds the
cast in his hand. May he not be tempted to name his reward?
But even without corruption — supposing the probity of the rep-
resentative to be proof against the powerful motives by which he
may be assailed — the will of the people is still constantly liable
to be misrepresented. One may err from ignorance of the wishes
of his constituents ; another, from a conviction that it is his duty
to .be governed by his own judgment of the fitness of the candi-
dates ; finally, although all were inflexibly honest — all accurately
informed of the wishes of their constituents — yet, under the present
mode of election, a minority may often elect a President ; and
when this happens, it may reasonably be expected that efforts will
be made on the part of the majority to rectify this injurious opera-
tion of their institutions. But although no evil of this character
should result from such a perversion of the first principle of our sys-
tem — that the majority is to govern — it must be very certain that
a President elected by a minority can not enjoy the confidence
necessary to the successful discharge of his duties. *
In this, as in all other matters of public concern, policy
requires that as few impediments as possible should exist to the
free operation of the public will. Let us, then, endeavor so to
amend our system, that the office of Chief Magistrate may not be
conferred upon any citizen but in pursuance of a fair expression
of the will of the majority.
I would, therefore, recommend such an amendment of the
Constitution as may remove all intermediate agency in the elec-
tion of President and Vice President. The mode may be so
regulated as to preserve to each State its present relative weight
in the election ; and a failure in the first attempt may be
ANDREW JACKSON. 427
provided for, by confining the second to a choice between the two
highest candidates. In connection with such an amendment,
it would seem advisable to limit the service of the Chief Mag-
istrate to a single term, of either four or six years. If, how-
ever, it should not be adopted, it is worthy of consideration
whether a provision disqualifying for office the representatives in
Congress on whom such an election may have devolved, would
not be proper.
While members of Congress can be Constitutionally appointed
to offices of trust and profit, it will be the practice, even under
the most conscientious adherence to duty, to select them for such
stations as they are believed to be better qualified to fill than other
citizens ; but the purity of our Government would, doubtless, be
promoted by their exclusion from all appointments in the gift of
the President, in whose election they may have been officially
concerned. The nature of the judicial office, and the necessity
of securing in the Cabinet and in diplomatic stations of the highest
rank, the best talents and political experience should, perhaps,
except these from the exclusion.
There are, perhaps, few men who can for any great length of
time enjoy office and power, without being more or less under the
influence of feelings unfavorable to a faithful discharge of their
public duties. Their integrity may be proof against improper
considerations immediately addressed to themselves ; but they are
apt to acquire a babit of looking with indifference upon the public
interests, and of tolerating conduct from which an unpracticed
man would revolt. Office is considered as a species of property;
and government rather as a means of promoting individual inter-
ests than as an instrument created solely for the service of the
people. Corruption in some, and, in others, a perversion of cor-
rect feelings and principles, divert government from its legitimate
ends, and make it an engine for the support of the few at the
expense of the many. The duties of all public officers are, or
at least admit of being made, so plain and simple that men of
intelligence may readily qualify themselves for the'ir performance ;
and I can not but believe that more is lost by the long con-
tinuance of men in office than is generally to be gained by their
experience. I submit, therefore, to your consideration, whether
the efficiency of the Government would not be promoted, and
official industry and integrity better secured, by a general exten-
sion of the law which limits appointments to four years.
428 LIFE AND TIMES OF
In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit
of the people, no one man has any more intrinsic right to official
station than another. Offices were not established to give sup-
port to particular men at the public expense. No individual
wrong is, therefore, done by removal, since neither appointment
to, nor continuance in office, is matter of right. The incumbent
became an officer with a view to public benefits, and, when these
require his removal, they are not to be sacrificed to private inter-
ests. It is the people, and they alone, who have a right to com-
plain when a bad officer is substituted for a good one. He who
is removed has the same means of obtaining a living that are
enjoyed by the millions who never held office. The proposed
limitation would destroy the idea of property, now so generally
connected with official station ; and, although individual distress
may be sometimes produced, it would, by promoting that rotation
which constitutes a leading principle in the republican creed, give
healthful action to the system.
No very considerable change has occurred, during the recess
of Congress, in the condition of either our agriculture, com-
merce, or manufactures. The operation of the tarifi" has not
proved so injurious to the two former, or as beneficial to the
latter, as was anticipated. Importations of foreign goods have
not been sensibly diminished, while domestic competition, under
an illusive excitement, has increased the production much be-
yond the demand for home consumption. The consequences
have been low prices, temporaiy embarrassment, and partial loss.
That such of our manufacturing establishments as are based upon
capital, and are prudently managed, will survive the shock, and
be ultimately profitable, there is no good reason to doubt.
To regulate its conduct, so as to promote equally the pros-
perity of these three cardinal interests, is one of the most dif-
ficult tasks of government; and it may be regretted that the
complicated restrictions which now embarrass the intercourse of
nations could not, by common consent, be abolished, and com-
merce allowed 'to flow in those channels to which individual enter-
prise, always its surest guide, might direct it. But we must ever
expect selfish legislation in other nations ; and are, therefore,
compelled to a(laj)t our own to their regulations, in the manner
best calculated to avoid serious injury, and to harmonize the con-
flicting interests of our agriculture, our commerce, and our
manufactures. Under these impressions, I invite your attention
ANDREW JACKSON. 429
to the existing tariff, believing that some of its provisions require
modification.
The general rule to be applied in graduating the duties upon
articles of foreign growth or manufacture, is that which will place
our own in fair competition with those of other countries; and the
inducements to advance even a step beyond this point, are con-
trolling in regard to those articles which are of primary neces-
sity in time of war. When we reflect upon the difficulty and
delicacy of this operation, it is important that it should never be
attempted but with the utmost caution. Frequent legislation in
regard to any branch of industry, aflfecting its value, and by
which its capital may be transferred to new channels, must
always be productive of hazardous speculation and loss.
In deliberating, therefore, on these interesting subjects, local
feelings and prejudices should be merged in the patriotic determi-
nation to promote the great interests of the whole. All attempts
to connect them with the party conflicts of the day are necessa-
rily injurious, and should be discountenanced. Our action upon
them should be under the control of higher and purer motives.
Legislation, subjected to such influence, can never be just, and
will not long retain the sanction of a people whose active patriot-
ism is not bounded by sectional limits, nor insensible to that spirit
of concession and forbearance, which gave lifie to our political
compact, and still sustains it. Discarding all calculations of po-
litical ascendancy, the North, the South, the East, and the West
should unite in diminishing any burthen of which either may
justly complain.
The agricultural interests of our country are so essentially
connected with every other, and so superior in importance to
them all, that it is scarcely necessary to invite to it your par-
ticular attention. It is principally as manufactures and com-
merce tend to increase the value of agricultural productions, and
to extend their application to the wants and comforts of society,
that they deserve the fostering care of Government.
Looking forward to the period, not far distant, when a sinking
fund will no longer be required, the duties on those articles of
importation which can not come in competition with our own
productions, are the first that should engage the attention of Con-
gress in the modification of the tariff. Of these, tea and coffee
are the most prominent ; they enter largely into the consumption
of the country, and have become articles of necessity to all
430 LIFE AND TIMES OF
classes. A reduction, therefore, of the existing duties will be felt
as a common benefit ; but, like all other legislation connected
with commerce, to be efficacious, and not injurious, it should be
gradual and certain.
The public prosperity is evinced in the increased revenue
arising from the sales of the public lands ; and in the steady
maintenance of that produced by imposts and tonnage, notwith-
standing the additi(>ual duties impqged by the act of 19th May,
1828, and the unusual importations in the early part of that year.
The balance in the Treasury, on the 1st of January, 1829, was
five millions nine hundred and seventy-two thousand four hundred
and thirty-five dollars and eighty-one cents. The receipts of
the current year are estimated at twenty-four millions six hun-
dred and two thousand two hundred and thirty dollars, and the
expenditures, for the same time, at twenty-six millions one hun-
dred and sixty-four thousand five hundred and ninety-five dol-
lars; leaving a balance in the Treasury, on the 1st of January
next, of four millions four hundred and ten thousand and seventy
dollars and eighty-one cents.
There will have been paid, on account of the public debt,
during the present year, the sum of twelve millions four hundred
and five thousand and five dollars and eighty cents ; reducing the
whole debt of the Government, on the 1st of January next, to
forty-eight millions five hundred and sixty-five thousand four
hundred and six dollars and fifty cents, including seven millions
of five per cent stock subscribed to the Bank of the United
States. The payment on account of the public debt, made on
the 1st of July last, was eight millions seven hundred and fifteen
thousand four hundred and sixty-two dollars and eighty-seven
cents. It was apprehended that the sudden withdrawal of so
large a sum from the banks in which it was deposited, at a time of
unusual pressure in the money market, might cause much injury
to the interests dependent on bank accommodations. But this
evil was wholly averted by an early anticipation of it at the
Treasury, aided by the judicious arrangements of the officers of
the Bank of the United States.
This state of the finances exhibits the resources of the Nation
in an aspect highly flattering to its industry; and auspicious of
the ability of Government, in a very sliort time, to extinguish
the public debt. When this shall be done, our population will be
relieved from a considerable portion of its present burthens; and
ANDREW JACKSON. 431
will find, not only new motives to pati'iotic affection, but addi-
tional means for the display of individual enterprise. The fiscal
power of the States will also be increased ; and may be more exten-
sively exerted in favor of education and other public objects ; while
ample means will remain in the Federal Government to promote
the general weal, in all the modes permitted to its authority.
After the extinction of the public debt, it is not probable
that any adjustment of the tariff, upon principles satisfactory to
the people of the Union, will, until a remote period, if ever,
leave the Government without a considerable surplus in the
Treasury, beyond what may be required for its current service.
As, then, the period approaches when the application of the rev-
enue to the payment of debt will cease, the disposition of the
surplus will present a subject for the serious deliberation of Con-
gress; and it may be fortunate for the country that it is yet to
be decided. Considered in connection with the difficulties which
have heretofore attended appropriations for purposes of internal
improvement ; and with those which this experience tells us will
certainly arise, whenever power over such subjects may be exer-
cised by the General Government ; it is hoped that it may lead to
the adoption of some plan which will reconcile the diversified
interests of the States, and strengthen the bonds which unite
them. Every member of the Union, in peace and in war, will
be benefited by the improvement of inland navigation and the
construction of highways in the several States. Let us, then,
endeavor to attain this benefit in a mode which will be satisfac-
tory to all. That hitherto adopted has, by many of our fellow-
citizens, been deprecated as an infraction of the Constitution;
while by others it has been viewed as inexpedient. All feel that
it has been employed at the expense of harmony in the legisla-
tive councils.
To avoid these evils, it appears to me that the most safe, just,
and federal disposition which could be made of the surplus rev-
enue, would be its apportionment among the several States ac-
cording to their ratio of representation ; and should this measure
not be found warranted by the Constitution, that it would be
expedient to propose to the States an amendment authorizing it.
I regard an appeal to the source of power, in cases of real doubt,
and where its exercise is deemed indispensable to the general
welfare, as among the most sacred of all our obligations. Upon
this country, more than any other, has, in the providence of
432 LIFE AND TIMES OF
God, been cast the special guardianship of the great principle of
adherence to written constitutions. If it fail here, all hope in
regard to it will be extinguished. That this was intended to be a
Government of limited and specific, aud not general powers,
must be admitted by all ; and it is our duty to preserve for it the
character intended by its framers. If experience points out the
necessity for an enlargement of these powers, let us apply for it
to those for whose benefit it is to be exercised ; and not under-
mine the whole system by a resort to overstrained constructions.
The scheme has worked well. It has exceeded the hopes of those
who devised it, and become an object of admiration to the world.
We are responsible for our country, and to the glorious cause of
self-government, for the preservation of so great a good. The
great mass of legislation relating to our internal affairs was in-
tended to be left Avhere the federal convention found it, in the
State governments. Nothing is clearer, in my view, than that
we are chiefly indebted for the success of the Constitution under
which we are now acting, to the watchful and auxiliary operation
of the State authorities. This is not the reflection of a day, but
belongs to the most deeply rooted convictions of my mind. I
can not, therefore, too strongly or too earnestly, for my own
sense of its importance, warn you against all encroachments upon
the legitimate sphere of State sovereignty. Sustained by its health-
ful and invigorating influence, the federal system can never fall.
In the collection of the revenue, the long credits authorized
on goods imported from beyond the Cape of Good Hope are the
chief cause of the losses at present sustained. If these were
shortened to six, nine, and twelve months, and warehouses pro-
vided by Government, sufficient to receive the goods oflfered in
deposit for security and for debenture; and if the right of the
United States to a priority of payment out of the estates of its
insolvent debtors were more efl^ectually secured, this evil would,
in a great measure, be obviated. An authority to construct such
houses is, therefore, with the proposed alteration of the credits,
recommended to your attention.
It is worthy of notice, that the laws for the collection and
security of the revenue arising from imposts, were chiefly framed
when the rates of duties on imported goods presented much less
temptation for illicit trade than at present exists. There is rea-
son to believe that these laws are, in some respects, quite insuffi-
cient for the proper security of the revenue, and the protection
ANDREW JACKSON. 433
of the interests of those who are disposed to observe them. The
injurious and demoralizing tendency of a successful system of
smuggling is so obvious as not to require comment, and can not
be too carefully guarded against. I therefore suggest to Con-
gress the propriety of adopting efficient measures to prevent this
evil, avoiding, however, as much as possible, every unnecessary
infringement of individual liberty, and embarrassment of fair and
lawful business.
On an examination of the rceords of the Treasury, I have
been forcibly struck with the large amount of public money
which appears to be outstanding. Of the sum thus due from
individuals to the Government, a considerable portion is un-
doubtedly desperate ; and, in many instances, has probably been
rendered so by remissness in the agents charged with its collection.
By proper exertions, a great part, however, may yet be recov-
ered ; and, whatever may be the portions respectively belonging
to these two classes, it behooves the Government to ascertain the
real state of the fact. This can be done only by the prompt
adoption of judicious measures for the collection of such as may
be made available. It is believed that a very large amount has
been lost through the inadequacy of the means provided for the
collection of debts due to the public ; and that this inadequacy
lies chiefly in the want of legal skill, habitually and constantly
employed in the direction of the agents engaged in the service.
It must, I think, be admitted, that the supervisory power over
suits brought by the public, which is now vested in an account-
ing officer of the Treasury, not selected with a view to his legal
knowledge, and encumbered as he is with numerous other duties,
operates unfavorably to the public interest.
It is important that this branch of the public service should
be subjected to the supervision of such professional skill as will
give it efficiency. The expense attendant upon such a modification
of the Executive Department, would be justified by the soundest
principles of economy. I would recommend, therefore, that the
duties now assigned to the agent of the Treasury, so far as they
relate to the superintendence and management of legal proceed-
ings on the part of the United States, be transferred to the
Attorney-General; and that this officer be placed on the same
footing, in all respects, as the heads of the other departments, re-
ceiving like compensation, and having such subordinate officers
provided for his department, as may be requisite for the discharge
28— G
434 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of these additional duties. The professional skill of the Attorney-
General, employed in directing the conduct of marshals and dis-
trict attorneys, would hasten the collection of debts now in suit,
and hereafter save much to the Government. It might be fur-
ther extended to the superintendence of all criminal proceedings
for offenses against the United States. In making this transfer,
great care should be taken, however, that the power necessary to
the Treasury Department be not impaired ; one of its greatest
securities consisting in a control over all accounts, until they are
audited or reported for suit.
In connection with the foregoing views, I would suggest, also,
an inquiry, whether the provisions of the act of Congress,
authorizing the discharge of the persons of debtors to the Gov-
ernment from imprisonment, may not, consistently with the
public interest, be extended to the release of the debt, where the
conduct of the debtor is wholly exempt from the imputation of
fraud. Some more liberal policy than that which now prevails,
in reference to this unfortunate class of citizens, is certainly due
to them, and would prove beneficial to the country. The con-
tinuance of the liability, after the means to discharge it have
been exhausted, can only serve to dispirit the debtor; or, where
his resources are but partial, the want of power in the Govern-
ment to compromise and release the demand, instigates to fraud,
as the only resource for securing a support to his family. He
thus sinks into a state of apathy, and becomes a useless drone in
society, or a vicious member of it, if not a feeling witness of the
rigor and inhumanity of his country. All experience proves
that oppressive debt is the bane of enterprise ; and it should be
the care of a republic not to exert a grinding power over mis-
fortune and poverty.
Since the last session of Congress, numerous frauds on the
Treasury have been discovered, which I thought it my duty to
bring under the cognizance of the United States Court for this
district, by a criminal prosecution. It was my opinion, and that
of able counsel who were consulted, that the cases came within
the penalties of the act of the Seventeenth Congress, approved 3d
March, 1823, providing for the punishment of frauds committed
on the Government of the United States. Either from some
defect in the law, or in its administration, every effort to bring
the accused to trial, under its provisions, proved ineffectual ; and
the Government was driven to the necessity of resorting to the
ANDREW JACKSON. 435
vague and inadequate provisions of the common law. It is
therefore my duty to call your attention to the laws which have
been passed for the protection of the Treasury. If, indeed,
there be no provision by which those who may be unworthily
intrusted with its guardianship can be punished for the most
flagrant violation of duty, extending even to the most fraudulent
appropriation of the public funds to their own use, it is time to
remedy so dangerous an omission. Or, if the law has been per-
verted from its original purposes, and criminals, deserving to be
punished under its provisions,, have been rescued by legal subtle-
ties, it ought to be made so plain, by amendatory provisions, as
to baffle the arts of perversion, and accomplish the ends of its
original enactment.
In one of the most flagrant cases, the court decided that the
prosecution was barred by the statute which limits prosecution for
fraud to two years. In this case all the evidences of the fraud,
and indeed all knowledge that a fraud had been committed, were
in possession of the party accused, until after the two years had
elapsed. Surely the statute ought not to run in favor of any
man while he retains all the evidences of his crime in his own
possession; and, least of all, in favor of a public officer who con-
tinues to defraud the Treasury, and conceal the transaction
for the brief term of two years. I would, therefore, recom-
mend such an alteration of the law as will give the injured
party and the Government two years after the disclosure of
the fraud, or after the accused is out of office, to commence
their prosecution.
In connection with this subject, I invite the attention of Con-
gress to a general and minute inquiry into the condition of the
Government, with a view to ascertain what offices can be dis-
pensed with, what expenses retrenched, and what improvements
may be made in the organization of its various parts, to secure
the proper responsibility of public agents, and promote efficiency
and justice in all its operations.
The report of the Secretary of War will make you acquainted
with the condition of our army, fortifications, arsenals, and Indian
affiiirs. The proper discipline of the army, the training and
equipment of the militia, the education bestowed at West Point,
and the accumulation of the means of defense, applicable to the
naval force, will tend to prolong the peace we now enjoy, and
which every good citizen — more especially those who have felt the
436 LIFE AND TIMES OF
miseries of even a successful warfare — must ardently desire to
perpetuate.
The returns from the subordinate branches of this service ex-
hibit a regularity and order highly creditable to its character ; both
officers and soldiers seem imbued with a proper sense of duty, and
conform to the restraints of exact discipline, with that cheerful-
ness which becomes the profession of arms. There is need, how-
ever, of further legislation, to obviate the inconveniences specified
in the report under consideration, to some of which it is proper
that I should call your particular attention.
The act of Congress of the 2d March, 1821, to reduce and fix
the military establishment, remaining unexecuted as it regards the
command of one of the regiments of artillery, can not now be
deemed a guide to the Executive in making the proper appoint-
ment. An explanatory act, designating the class of officers out
of which this grade is to be filled — ^whether from the military list
as existing prior to the act of 1821, or from it as it has been fixed
by that act — would remove this difficulty. It is also important
that the laws regulating the pay and emoluments of officers gener-
ally, should be more specific than they now are. Those, for ex-
ample, in relation to the paymaster and surgeon-general, assign
to them an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars,
but are silent as to allowances, which, in certain exigencies of the
service, may be deemed indispensable to the discharge of their
duties. This circumstance has been th*e authority for extending
to them various allowances, at different times, under former Ad-
ministrations ; but no uniform rule has been observed on the sub-
ject. Similar inconveniences exist in other cases, in which the
construction put upon the laws by the public accountants may
operate unequally, produce confusion, and expose officers to the
odium of claiming what is not their due.
I recommend to your fostering care, as one of your safest
means of national defense, the military academy. This institu-
tion has already exercised the happiest influence upon the moral
and intellectual character of our army ; and such of the graduates
as, from various causes, may not pursue the profession of arms,
will be scarcely less useful as citizens. Their knowledge of the
military art will be advantageously employed in the militia serv-
ice ; and, in a measure, secure to that class of troops the advan-
tages which, in this respect, belong to standing armies.
I would also suggest a review of the pension law, for the
ANDREW JACKSON. 437
purpose of extending its benefits to every Revolutionary soldier who
aided in establishing our liberties, and who is unable to maintain
himself in comfort. These relics of the War of Independence
have strong claims upon their country's gratitude and bounty.
The law is defective, in not embracing within its provisions all
those who were, during the last war, disabled from supporting
themselves by manual labor. Such an amendment would add but
little to the amount of pensions, and is called for by the sym-
pathies of the people, as well as by considerations of sound policy.
It will be perceived that a large addition to the list of pensioners
has been occasioned by an order of the late Administration, de-
parting materially from the rules which had previously prevailed.
Considering it an act of legislation, I suspended its operation as
soon as I was informed that it had commenced. Before this period,
however, applications under the new i-egulation had been preferred,
to the number of one hundred and fifty-four, of which, on the 27th
March, the date of its revocation, eighty-seven were admitted.
For the amount, there was neither estimate nor appropriation ;
and besides this deficiency, the regular allowances, according to
the rules which have heretofore governed the department, exceed
the estimate of its late secretary by about fifty thousand dollars,
for which an appropriation is asked.
Your particular attention is requested to that part of the re-
port of the Secretary of War which relates to the money held
in trust for the Seneca tribe of Indians. It will be perceived
that, without legislative aid, the Executive can not obviate the
embarrassments occasioned by the diminution of the dividends on
that fund, which originally amounted to one hundred thousand
dollars, and has recently been vested in United States three per
cent stock.
The condition and ulterior destiny of the Indian tribes within
the limits of some of our States, have become objects of much in-
terest and importance. It has long been the policy of Govern-
ment to introduce among them the arts of civilization, in the hope
of gradually reclaiming them from a wandering life. This policy
has, however, been coupled with another, wholly incompatible
with its success. Professing a desire to civilize and settle them,
we have, at the same time, lost no opportunity to purchase their
lauds, and thrust them further into the wilderness. By this
means they have not only been kept in a wandering state, but
been led to look upon us as unjust and indifferent to their fate.
438 LIFE AND TIMES OF
•
Thus, though lavish in its expenditures upon the subject, Gov-
ernment has constantly defeated its own policy ; and the Indians
in general, receding further and further to the west, have retained
their savage habits. A portion, however, of the southern tribes,
having mingled much with the whites, and made some progress
in the arts of civilized life, have lately attenipted to erect an in-
dependent government within the limits of Georgia and Alabama.
These States, claiming to be the only sovereigus within their ter-
ritories, extended their laws over the Indians, which induced the
latter to call upon the United States for protection.
Under these circumstances, the question presented was, whether
the General Government had a right to sustain those people in
their pretensions? The Constitution declares that "no new State
shall.be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other
State," without the consent of its Legislature. If the General
Government is not permitted to tolerate the erection of a confed-
erate State within the territory of one of the members of this
Union, against her consent, much less could it allow a foreign
and independent government to establish itself there. Georgia
became a member of the Confederacy which eventuated in our
Federal Union, as a sovereign State, always asserting her claim
to certain limits, which having been originally defined in her
Colonial charter, and subsequently recognized in the treaty of
peace, she has ever since continued to enjoy ,^ except as they have
been circumscribed by her own voluntary transfer of a portion of
her territory to the United States, in the articles of cession of
1802. Alabama was admitted into the Union, on the same foot-
ing with the original States, with boundaries which were prescribed
by Congress. There is no Constitutional, conventional, or legal
provision, which allows them less power over the Indians within
their borders, than is possessed by Maine or New York. Would
the people of Maine permit the Penobscot tribe to erect an inde-
pendent government within their State? and unless they did,
would it not be the duty of the General Government to support
them in resisting such a measure ? Would the people of New
York permit each remnant of the Six Nations within her borders
to declare itself an independent people under the protection of
the United States ? Could the Indians establish a separate repub-
lic on each of their reservations in Ohio? and if they were so dis-
posed, would it be the duty of this Government to protect them
in the attempt? If the principle involved in the obvious answer
ANDREW JACKSON. 439
to these questions be abandoned, it will follow that the objects of
this Government are reversed ; and that it has become a part of
its duty to aid in destroying the States which it was established to
protect.
Actuated by this view of the subject, I informed the Indians
inhabiting parts of Georgia and Alabama, that their attempt to
establish au independent government would not be countenanced
by the Executive of the United States, and advised them to emi-
grate beyond the Mississippi, or submit to the laws of those States.
Our conduct towards these people is deeply interesting to our
national character. Their present condition, contrasted with what
they once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our sympathies.
Our ancestors found them the uncontrolled possessors of these
vast regions. By persuasion and force, they have been made to
retire from river to river, and from mountain to mountain, until
some of the tribes have become extinct, and others have left but
remnants to preserve, for a while, their once terrible names. Sur-
rounded by the whites, with their arts of civilization, which, by
destroying the resources of the savage, doom him to weakness
and decay, the fate of the Mohegan, the Narragansett, and the
Delaware is fast overtaking the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the
Creek. That this fate surely awaits them, if they remain within
the limits of the States, does not admit of a doubt. Humanity
and national honor demand that every effort should be made to
avert so great a calamity. It is too late to inquire whether it
was just in the United States to include them and their territory
within the bounds of new States whose limits they could control.
That step can not be retraced. A State can not be dismembered
by Congress, or restricted in the exercise of her Constitutional
power. But the people of those States, and of every State, actu-
ated by feelings of justice and regard for our national honor, sub-
mit to you the interesting question, whether something can not
be done, consistently with the rights of the States, to preserve
this much injured race?
As a means of effecting this end, I suggest for your considera-
tion the propriety of setting apart an ample district west of the
Mississippi, and without the limits of any State or Territory, now
formed, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes, as long as they
shall occupy it ; each tribe having a distinct control over the por-
tion designated for its use. There they may be secured in the en-
joyment of governments of their own choice, subject to no other
440 LIFE AND TIMES OF
control from the United States than such as may be necessary to
preserve peace on the frontier, and between the several tribes.
There the benevolent may endeavor to teach them the arts of civ-
ilization ; and by promoting union and harmony among them, to
raise up an interesting commonwealth, destined to perpetuate the
race, and to attest the humanity and justice of this Government.
This emigration should be voluntary ; for it would be as cruel
as uujust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their
fathers, and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be
distinctly informed, that if they remain within the limits of the
States, they must be subject to their laws. In return for their
obedience, as individuals, they will, without doubt, be protected
in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved
by their industry. But it seems to me visionary to suppose, that,
in this state of things, claims can be allowed on tracts of country
on which they have neither dwelt nor made improvements, merely
because they have, seen them from the mountain, or passed them
in the chase. Submitting to the laws of the States, and receiving,
like other citizens, protection in their persons and property, they
will, erelong, become merged in the mass of our population.
The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Navy will
make you acquainted with the condition and useful employment
of that branch of our service, during the present year. Consti-
tuting, as it does, the best standing security of this country against
foreign aggression, it claims the especial attention of Government.
In this spirit, the measures which, since the termination of the
last war, have been in operation for its gradual enlargement, were
adopted ; and it should continue to be cherished as the offspring
of our national experience. It will be seen, however, that, not-
withstanding the great solicitude which has been manifested for
the perfect organization of this arm, and the liberality of the ap-
propriations which that solicitude has suggested, this object has,
in many important respects not been secured.
In time of peace, we have need of no more ships of war than
are requisite to the protection of our commerce. Those not
wanted for this object must lie in the harbors, where, witliout
proper covering, they rapidly decay ; and even under the best
precautions for their preservation, must soon become useless.
Such is already the case with many of our finest vessels ; which,
though unfinished, will now require immense sums of money to
be restored to the condition in which they were when com-
ANDREW JACKSON. 441
mitted to their proper element. On this subject there can be but
little doubt that our best policy would be to discontinue the build-
ing of ships of the first and second class, and look rather to the
possession of ample materials, prepared for the emergencies of
war, than to the number of vessels wliich we cau float in a season
of peace, as the Index of our naval power Judicious deposits in
navy-yards of timber and other materials, fashioned under the
hands of skillful workmen, and fitted for prompt application to
their various purposes, would enable us, at all times, to construct
vessels as fast as they cau be manned ; and save the heavy ex-
pense of repairs, except to such vessels as must be employed in
guarding our commerce. The proper points for the establishment
of these yards, are indicated with so much force in the report of
the navy board, that, in recommending it to your attention, I
deem it unnecessary to do more than express my hearty concur-
rence in their views. The yard in this district, being already
furnished with most of the machinery necessary for ship-building,
will be competent to the supply of the two selected by the board
as the best for the concentration of materials; and, from the
facility and certainty of communication between them, it will be
useless to incur, at these depots, the expense of similar machin-
ery, especially that used in preparing the usual metallic and
wooden furniture of vessels.
Another improvement would be effected by dispensing alto-
gether with the navy board, as now constituted, and substituting,
in its stead, bureaus similar to those already existing in the War
Department. Each member of the board, transferred to the
head of a separate bureau, charged with specific duties, would
feel, in its highest degree, that wholesome responsibility which
can not be divided without a far more than proportionate dimi-
nution of its force. Their valuable services would become still
more so, when separately appropriated to distinct portions of the
great interests of the navy ; to the prosperity of which each
would be impelled to devote himself by the strongest motives.
Under such an arrangement, every branch of this important
service would assume a more simple and precise character; its
efficiency would be increased, and scrupulous economy in the ex-
penditure of public money promoted.
I would also recommend that the marine corps be merged in
the artillery or infantry, as the best mode of curing the many
defects in its organization. But little exceeding in number any
442 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the regiments of infantry, that corps has, besides its lieutenant-
colonel commandant, five brevet lieutenant-colonels, who receive
the full pay and emoluments of their brevet rank, without ren-
dering proportionate service. Details for marine service could
as well be made from the infantry, or artillery — there being no
peculiar training requisite for it. •
With these improvements, and such others as zealous watch-
fulness and mature consideration may suggest, there can be little
doubt that, under an energetic administration of its affairs, the
navy may soon be made everything that the Nation wishes it
to be. Its efficiency in the suppression of piracy in the West
India seas, and wherever its squadrons have been employed in
securing the interests of the country, will appear from the report
of the Secretary, to which I refer you for other intei'esting details.
Among these, I would bespeak the attention of Congress for the
views presented in relation to the inequality between the army
and navy as to the pay of officers. No such inequality should
prevail between these brave defenders of their country ; and
where it does exist, it is submitted to Congress whether it ought
not to be rectified.
The report of the Postmaster-General is referred to as exhib-
iting a highly satisfactory administration of that Department.
Abuses have been reformed ; increased expedition in the trans-
mission of the mail secured ; and its revenue much improved. In
a political point of view, this Department is chiefly important as
affording the means of diff*using knowledge. It is to the body
politic what the veins and arteries are to the natural — conveying
rapidly and regularly, to the remotest parts of the system, correct
information of the operations of the Government, and bringing
back to it the wishes and feelings of the people. Through its
agency, we have secured to ourselves the full enjoyment of the
blessings of a free press.
In this general survey of our affairs, a subject of high impor-
tance presents itself in the present organization of the judiciary.
A uniform operation of the Federal Government in the different
States is certainly desirable ; and, existing as they do in the
Union on the basis of perfect equality, each State has a right to
expect that the benefits conferred on the citizens of others should
be extended to hers. The judicial system of the United States
exists in all its efficiency in only fifteen members of the Union ;
to three others, the circuit courts, which constitute an important
ANDREW JACKSON. 443
part of that system, have been imperfectly extended ; and to the
remaining six, altogether denied. The effect has been to with-
hold from the inhabitants of the latter the advantages afforded
(by the Supreme Court) to their fellow-citizens iu other States,
in the whole extent of the criminal, and much of the civil
authority of the federal judiciary. That this state of things
ought to be remedied, if it can be done consistently with the
public welfare, is not to be doubted ; neither is it to be disguised
that the organization of our judicial system is at once a difficult
and delicate task. To extend the circuit courts equally through-
out the different parts of the Union, and, at the same time, to
avoid such a multiplication of members as would encumber the
supreme appellate tribunal, is the object desired. Perhaps it
might be accomplished by dividing the circuit judges into two
classes, and providing that the Supreme Court should be held by
those classes alternately, the chief justice always presiding.
If an extension of the circuit court system to those States
which do not now enjoy its benefits, should be determined upon,
it would, of course, be necessary to revise the present arrange-
ment of the circuits ; and even if that system should not be en-
larged, such a revision is recommended.
A provision for taking the census of the people of the United
States will, to insure the completion of that work within a con-
venient time, claim the early attention of Congress.
The great and constant increase of business in the Depart-
ment of State, forced itself, at an early period, upon the attention
of the Executive. Thirteen years ago, it was, in Mr. Madison's
last message to Congress, made the subject of an earnest recom-
mendation, which has been repeated by both of his successors ;
and my comparatively limited experience has satisfied me of its
justness. It has arisen from many causes, not the least of which
is the large addition that has been made to the family of inde-
pendent nations, and the proportionate extension of our foreign
relations. The remedy proposed was the establishment of a home
department— a measure which does not appear to have met the
views of Congress, on account of its supposed tendency to increase
gradually, and imperceptibly, the already too strong bias of the
federal system towards the exercise of authority not delegated
to it. I am not, therefore, disposed to revive the recommendation ;
but am not the less impressed with the importance of so organ-
izing that department, that its secretary may devote more of its
444 LIFE AND TIMES OF
time to our foreign relations. Clearly satisfied that the public
good would be promoted by some suitable provision on the subject,
I respectfully invite your attention to it.
The charter of the Bank of the United States expires in 1836,
and its stockholders will ftiost probably apply for a renewal of
their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from pre-
cipitancy in a measure involving such important principles, and
such deep pecuniary interests, I feel that I can not, in justice to
the parties interested, too soon present it to the deliberate con-
sideration of the Legislature and the people. Both the Constitu-
tionality and the expediency of the law creating this bank, are
well questioned by a large portion of our fellow-citizens ; and it
must be admitted by all, that it has failed in the great end of
establishing a uniform and sound currency.
Under these circumstances, if such an institution is deemed
essential to the fiscal operations of the Government, I submit to
the wisdom of the Legislature, whether a national one, founded
upon the credit of the Government and its revenues, might not
be devised, which would avoid all Constitutional difiiculties, and
at the same time secure all the advantages to the Government
and country that were expected to result from the present bank.
I can not close this communication without bringing to your
view the just claim of the representatives of Commodore Decatur,
his ofl[icers and crew, arising from the re-capture of the frigate
Philadelphia, under the heavy batteries of Tripoli. Although
sensible, as a general rule, of the impropriety of executive inter-
ference under a Government like ours, where every individual
enjoys the right of directly petitioning Congress ; yet, viewing
this case as one of a very peculiar character, I deem it my duty
to recommend it to your favorable consideration. Besides the
justice of this claim, as corresponding to those which have been
since recognized and satisfied, it is the fruit of a deed of patriotic
and chivalrous daring, which infused life and confidence into our
infant navy, and contributed, as much as any exploit in its his-
tory, to elevate our national character. Public gratitude, there-
fore, stamps her seal upon it ; and the meed should not be with-
held which may hereafter operate as a stimulus to our gallant tars.
I now commend you, fellow-citizens, to the guidance of Al-
mighty God, with a full reliance on His merciful providence for
the maintenance of our free institutions; and with an earnest
supplication, that, whatever errors it may be my lot to commit,
ANDREW JACKSON. 445
in discharging the arduous duties which have devolved on me,
will find a remedy in the harmony and wisdom of your counsels.
Andrew Jackson.
This important but enormously long message fore-
shadowed the course which the new President meant
to pursue. Before long it became entirely apparent,
and well understood, that when General Jackson sug-
gested or intimated to Congress anything for its con-
sideration, it had already been carried into execution
in his mind, and its fulfillment was only a question of
time. Much space is consumed in this message in ar-
guments supporting the work he had already done, a
procedure which attached to almost every step in
General Jackson's career from childhood to the grave.
His defense of his system of removals is sharp and
decisive, however doubtful the character of the argu-
ment. Even the ethical standard which the argument
rears may well be questioned. This world was then,
and is now, full of honest men, honest this year, next
year, honest forever, under every circumstance, under
every temptation. As it was in this message, so it
has been always, to make news and traffic of the real
or supposed evil deeds and disposition of men rather
than of their good ones. But that honesty is the rule,
not the exception, among men and women throughout
the Nation, and always has been, in public place and
out of it, need not be matter of doubt. The contrary
view is neither just, wise, nor manly. To the one,
bruited about as having gone astray, ninety-nine re-
main unsinged, both among the tried and the untried.
Who would not to-day hurl back with scorn the
charge : " There are, perhaps, few men who can, for
any great length of time, enjoy office and power, with-
446 LIFE AND TIMES OF
out being more or less under the influence of feelings
unfavorable to a faithful discharge of their public
duties ?" This announcement was contrary to the ex-
perience of the past. Heresies and sophistries are
like weeds. Men strive to believe what they may
find it convenient and desirable to tolerate or regard
as true. Great ingenuity has been put forth even in
the effort to prove that black is white, that evil and
.good are relative and interchangeable terms, and that
the most ill-begotten, ill-formed, and most indifferent
or worst-behaved, will, in the end, share equally in the
blessings of being. " Well done, thou good and faith-
ful servant," can have no merit with these sophists.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The message struck at Mr. Clay when it said,
" May he not be tempted to name his reward ?" It
was General Jackson's way to strike when he could,
and the Nation must share his quarrels, and expe-
rience the evils of his personal hatreds. First his in-
augural address, and now his first message to Con-
gress, exhibit the same evil and un-President-like
spirit. It was the conduct of a fierce, relentless, un-
tamed, iron will, of which the country had now to
learn. The charge of fraud in the Administration of
a predecessor is here for the first time found in an
executive message. How far such a charge was jus-
tifiable against the pure Administration of Mr. Adams
may be seen in the next preceding volume of this
work. The one term of the Presidency to which
General Jackson had committed himself before his
election, is here reiterated. But how long was this
whim to stand ?
ANDREW JACKSON. 447
On the appointment of Congressmen to office,
against which he had also committed himself, he now
expressed greatly modified and apologetic views. He
had already departed from his prematurely announced
faith. In this message the strange, unstatesman-like,
but generous political idea is put forth of distributing
surplus revenue among the States. And here for the
first time it is officially and authoTitatively said of the
Bank of the United States, that "it must be admitted
by all, that it has failed, in the great end of estab-
lishing a uniform and sound currency."
This was the first thrust at the leviathan, which,
according to some, this giant had fully determined to
kill, even before he left Nashville. However, this and
other opinions expressed concerning the Bank were
not admitted by the majority of that Jacksonian Con-
gress. But this was the first assault, only meant to
be a mere feint.
Gne of Jackson's biographers thus writes of the
message before Congress : —
"Many of the recommendations contained in this message
were considered immediately ; but in some instances the views of
the President were not concurred in. Committees on retrench-
ment and reform made reports agreeably to the wishes of the
President, but they were coldly received in both Houses, and
little action was taken on them during the session. The recom-
mendations of amendments to the Constitution were passed over
as unimportant, and neglected. The recommendation on the sub-
ject of a revision of the tariff met with better treatment, and
several bills were introduced to diminish or repeal the duties on
various articles of general consumption.
" On the subject of a renewal of the charter of the Bank of
the United States, the standing committees of the Senate and the
House, to which it was retierred, made reports diametrically
opposite to the recommendation of the President. The friends
448 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the Administration formed a majority in both committees,
and the marked difference in the opinions entertained by them
from that expressed in the President's message, afforded a strik-
ing proof, that Jackson was already far in advance of the party
which had brought him into power, as the measures which he
recommended at that time have been nearly all subsequently car-
ried into effect."
The conduct of the Senate greatly excited and
enraged the General. He was in a new school. He
had not been used to have his opinions and desires
thwarted. "Who says pshaw to me?" was his prin-
ciple now as well as at any other moment of his life.
A little time and patience, on the part of the reader,
will show that the results reached, although delayed
more than in former days where the " iron will " was
concerned, were about the same. The " United States
Telegraph," a Washington newspaper, very friendly to
the interests of Mr. Calhoun, while its editor, Mr.
Duff Green, was still on confidential terms with Gen-
eral Jackson, gave this fine dialogue, as the substance
of an interview on the conduct of the Senate : —
"President. — I have sent for you that we may converse on the
subject of my nominations before the Senate. It is time that
you should let the people know that, instead of supporting me
and my measures. Congress is engaged in President making.
" Ed{t(n\ — I trust that you know that I would not hesitate to
say so if I believed the public interest required it; but excuse me
for saying that, before I can censure Congress for not supporting
your measures, I should be possessed of the views of the Admin-
istration, that I may be enabled to reply to those who ask to be
informed what those measures are.
"President (much excited). — Look at my message, sir; you
will find them there; in the message, sir.
" Editor. — Some of your best friends complain that your mes-
sage is so general in its terms, that no special measure is recom-
mended ; and I believe that the want of concert among your
ANDREW JACKSON. 449
friends is attributed to the fact that there is no concert in your
Cabinet. There being no Cabinet councils, there is no one who
feels authorized to recommend any measure upon the authority
of the Administration, because it is understood that no measures
are considered and adopted as such. Your friends in Congress
complain that you do not hold Cabinet councils.
" The President (more excited). — Let Congress go home, and
the people will teach them the consequence of neglecting my
measures and opposing my nominations. How did you obtain
your popularity, sir, as an editor? Was it not by opposing Con-
gress? Speak out to the people, sir, and tell them that Congress
are engaged in intrigues for the Presidency, instead of sup-
porting my measures, and the people will support you as they
have done.
" Editor. — You complain that the Senate have not approved
of your nominations. Will it not be unwise to anticipate the
objections of that body ? Your nominations may yet be ap-
proved; and if they should be rejected, there may be reasons
which would justify the Senate. If I were to assail the Senate,
it would be attributed to your influence, and thus array against
you the body itself, and those who deem it essential to preserve
its independence. I can not know what impediments lie in the
way of your nominations, and can not condemn until my judg-
ment disapproves.
" President. — The people, sir, the people will put these things
to rights, and teach them what it is to oppose my nominations !"
General Jackson was unable to see that Congress
was under no moral or Constitutional obligations to
support his measures or sanction his nominations, apart
from its sense of what was wise and best. Andrew
Jackson, as President, was quite a different person
from General Jackson, as commander of Tennessee
militia. But this he was utterly unable to realize.
Many of the President's appointments were not
confirmed for some time, and some of them were re-
jected entirely. One of the rejected appointments
was that of Editor Isaac Hill, of the "New Hampshire
Patriot." Hill had been made Second Comptroller of
29— G
450 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the Treasury, and he was now sent home, greatly to
the disgust of General Jackson. Hill had been of
immense service in the Presidential campaign, and be-
longed to the " northern horde " which rolled down
upon the National Capital at the inauguration of the
new Administration.
Jackson had great confidence in Hill, and wanted
him by his side.
"The tariff of 1828 became a law during the excitement of
the Presidential election, and in adjusting its details, more regard
had been paid to the political effect of the law than to the per-
manent interests of the country, or to the rules of political econ-
omy. Hostility to the tariff had been manifested early in the
session of 1829-30, by many of the friends of the Administration ;
but an equally strong feeling of dissatisfaction with the existing
law, on the ground of its inadequate protection to the woolen
manufactures, had induced the friends of the policy to bring foi'-
ward the subject with the view of obtaining a modification of the
law more favorable to their interests, and to prevent the frauds
which were alleged to be daily practiced on the revenue.
" A bill was accordingly reported in'^he House of Represen-
tatives, by Mr. Mallary, Chairman of the Committee on Manu-
factures, on the 27th of January, 1830, to regulate the entry of
importations of woolens. After much debate in both houses, it
was passed, and being sanctioned by the President, became a law
in May following.
"Several unsuccessful attempts were made to engraft upon
the above-mentioned bill amendments reducing the duties on
various articles. It was finally concluded to attack the tariff in
detail, and separate bills were introduced, providing for a reduc-
tion of duties on salt and molasses, both of which were passed by
considerable majorities. Another bill was passed, reducing the
duties on tea and coffee.
" The following laws, in addition to the foregoing, were the
most important which were passed during this session : For the
reappropriation of thirty thousand dollars for the suppression of
the slave-trade, which had been appropriated two years before,
but was not expended, and which was founded on an act of Con-
gress of 1819 ; for repealing an act imposing tonnage duties on
ANDREW JACKSON. 451
vessels of which the officers and two-thirds of the seamen were
citizens of the United States ; for the more effectual collection of
impost duties, appointing eight additional appraisers to examine
goods imported, but no new regulations to prevent defaults in the
officers of the customs ; for the appointment of an additional
officer to be attached to the' Treasury Department, called the so-
licitor of the Treasury ; for allowing a drawback on spirits ex-
ported, distilled from molasses, which the existing laws did not
permit ; for allowing a portion of. the claims of Massachusetts,
for services and expenses of the militia in 1812-14, in time of
war, and for which that State had not been reimbursed, the
amount allowed being four hundred and thirty thousand dollars,
about half the sum claimed ; for the removal of the Indians from
lands occupied by them within any State of the Union, to a ter-
ritory west of the Mississippi, and without the limits of any
State or organized territory, and belonging to the United States,
by purchase or relinquishment of the Indians, by treaty ; to divide
such territory into districts, for the reception and permanent set-
tlement of those who should consent to emigrate from their resi-
dence on the east of that river, they relinquishing all claims to
lands they then occupied; the tribes to have the solemn assurance
of Government that it will forever secure and guarantee to them
and their posterity, the tract of country so exchanged with them
for the lands they should quit in Georgia, Alabama, and any
other States ; and should they aban-don the territory at a future
time, the same to revert to the United States ; the Indians to
have the amount of their improvements made on the lands they
may leave ; to be aided in their removal, and supported for one
year by the Federal Government ; to be protected against assaults
from other tribes in the vicinity of their new residence ; and
five hundred thousand dollars were granted for carrying the act
into effect."
This act applied to all the Indians east of the Mis-
sissippi, but especially to those residing in Georgia and
Alabama. The consent of the Indians was, in form,
to be obtained to this exchange of homes. This was
not an easy matter. Some of them refused " to treat "
for removal, or to comply with the provisions of the
Government. They had set up forms of government
452 LIFE AND TIMES OF
within the States, and naturally enough, held with great
tenacity to their lands. The Governor of Georgia, like
all his predecessors, was a stubborn man, and stubbornly
adhered to what were termed the rights of his State.
The Legislature and the people backed him. This In-
dian territorial question at the South had been one of
the most vexatious connected with the Administrations
of Monroe and Adams. Indeed, the difficulty began
in the days of General Washington, and only came to
an end when all the Indians were forced to the west
of the Mississippi. The American mode of dealing
with the Indians always has been a matter of interest
to other nations, especially to England. More than
usual, at this time, was the sympathy of philanthropists
in this country and England aroused in their behalf.
Urged forward by these, and led by several able
chiefs, generally half-breeds, a great effort was made
to retain their lands. William Wirt was employed by
the Indians to conduct their cause. But Governor
Gilmer, of Georgia, declined to accept from Mr. Wirt
any terms for a full and fair presentation of the case
before the Supreme Court of the United States. It
was a cause which would not bear close scrutiny.
George Tassels, a half-breed, in resisting the laws of
Georgia, committed murder, for which he was tried
and sentenced to be hanged. A writ of error to bring
his case before the Supreme Court of the United
States, was unheeded or resisted by Judge Clayton
and the Georgia authorities, and Tassels was executed.
The National Executive stood out of the way, and
Georgia went on in her course, and the Indians finally
submitted to what they could not avoid, and consented
to remove to the present Indian Territory, where now
ANDREW JACKSON. 453
are the homes of all that are left of the once powerful
tribes, the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Seminoles, and others.
The Supreme Court had been ignored, the Govern-
ment defied, and Mr. Jefferson's doctrine of nullifica-
tion set up in Georgia without the least resistance
from President Jackson. Although he was deeply cen-
sured for the little interest he took in allowing the de-
crees of the Court to be set aside, and for his apparent
indisposition to maintain the authority of the General
Government in this whole Indian difficulty, for which
there was, perhaps, no apology or justification, yet
after all, the disposition made of the Indians was the
best that could be done under the circumstances.
Jackson knew and believed this, and hence his indif-
ference in resisting the course events were taking.
The advance of the white race could not be turned
back, nor could it be checked. The hunting-grounds
of these people would soon be gone, and surrounded
by the restless white race, their condition would be
hopeless, indeed. To-day there would be little division
of opinion on this question which created such feeling
in 1830. For fifty years these Indians have been
comparatively undisturbed in their western homes, but
what will fifty years more bring to them ?
454 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXV.
GENERAL JACKSON MAKES THE FIRST THRUST AT NULLTFI-
CATION— "THE FEDERAL UNION: IT MUST BE PRE-
SERVED"— BANK OF THE UNITED STATES—
CALHOUN— PLANS FOR "MATTY"—
"THE GLOBE."
ONE of the most exciting and important events of
this first session of Congress in the Jackson Ad-
ministration was the veto of the bill appropriating
money to the Maysville, Kentucky, road.
One of the General's biographers thus speaks of
this matter : —
** The question of internal improvements by the General Gov-
ernment was also discussed at tlie first session of the twenty-first
Congress, and a bill was passed in the House, by a vote 102 to
85, and in the Senate by 24 to 18, authorizing a subscription to
the stock of the Maysville and Lexington Road Company, in
Kentucky. The bill thus passed by so large a majority, was sent
to the President for his approval. After retaining it eight days,
he returned it to the House on the 27th of May, 1830, with his
objections.
"The reading of this veto message caused much excitement
in Congress. Many of the friends of the President from Pennsyl-
vania and from the West had relied upon his approbation of this
bill and of the system of internal improvements by Congress;
and this message first forced upon their minds a conviction as
unwelcome as it was unexpected. The question being taken upon
the passage of the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the
President, the vote stood yeas 96, nays 92. Two-thirds of the
House not agreeing to pass the bill, it was rejected ; though a
ANDREW JACKSON. 455
majority of the House thus refused to sustain the objections of
the President.
"Two days afterwards the House of Representatives took up
several bills, which had been sent to them from the Senate,
relating to internal improvements ; and, notwithstanding the veto
of the Maysville Road Bill, passed by large majorities, three acts,
the first of which authorized a subscription to the Washington
Turnpike Company, the second to the Louisville and Portland
Canal Company, and the third appropriating money for light-
houses, improving harbors, directing surveys, etc. The first bill
being similar to the one already rejected by the President, was
returned by him to the Senate, where it originated, with a refer-
ence to the message on the Maysville bill for his reasons. The
Senate then proceeded to reconsider the bill, and, on the ques-
tion of its passage, the vote stood yeas 21, nays 17 ; and the
majority being less than two-thirds, the bill was rejected. The
other two bills were retained by the President until after the
adjournment of Congress, May 31, 1830, and were conse-
quently lost."
This veto message early ended the dream of in-
ternal improvements under this Administration.
"The other two bills were retained by the President for further
consideration until the next session of Congress. This determi-
nation of the Executive against the system of internal improve-
ment gave great oflfense to many of his friends, and entirely alien-
ated some from his party. Even in Congress such an increasing
want of confidence was manifested, that the decided majorities
which the Administration possessed in both Houses at the com-
mencement of the session had dwindled before its close into feeble
and inefficient minorities. Nor was this the only difficulty in
which the Executive was involved by the course taken on inter-
nal improvement. He had sanctioned a bill for continuing the
Cumberland Road, and making other appropriations for roads and
surveys; and another for the improvement of harbors and rivers,
both of which were branches in the general system of internal
improvement. The former bill he approved of, with a qualifica-
tion, by referring to a message sent to the House, together with
the bill, wherein he declared that, as a section appropriating eight
thousand dollars for the road from Detroit to Chicago might be
construed to authorize the application of the appropriation to
456 LIFE AND TIMES OF
continue the road beyond the territory of Michigan, he desired
to be understood as having approved the bill, with the under-
standing that the road is not to be extended beyond the limits of
the said territory. The novelty of this act on the part of the
President attracted much attention, as the Constitution confines
the action of the President on the legislation of Congress to a
mere naked right of approval or disapproval."
During this session occurred the famous debate be-
between Daniel Webster and Robert Y. Hayne. " Col-
onel" Hayne, as he was called, here advanced the
doctrines of State supremacy and nullification ; that a
State could, at her pleasure, for her own protection,
place her authority before that of the General Gov-
ernment. On the other hand, Mr. Webster declared
that the Constitution and laws of the United States
were the supreme sovereign of the land, and that State
authority and enactments could have no power over the
General Government. In this speech of Mr. Hayne's,
universally admired and accepted by the South, it was
squarely declared that any act of Congress regarded
as prejudicial or disagreeable to the people of the
State, that State had the power, and ought to nullify
or declare void. So the dogma of State Rights or
Nullification, which had been wickedly, or, at least,
foolishly, announced in Kentucky, in 1799, as based
upon the dictum of Mr. Jefferson, and which had had a
vague existence, here and there, ever since the foun-
dation of the Government, from this moment became
a political theory, and was mainly made the property
of Southern politicians, who, to some extent, however,
forced their allies of the North to adopt it. Although
the experience of the past has fully demonstrated the
utter fallacy of this dogma, and the unmitigated evils
of its perpetuation, it is not only not yet dead, but
ANDREW JACKSON. 457
also, at times, assumes much of its ante helium impor-
tance. It is made to serve as a reserve stock in the
trade of political mountebanks and "great statesmen"
for times of need, when all other instrumentalities
fail them.
Although Mr. Webster's great speech laid bare the
doctrine of nullification, and, to some extent, checked
its march towards secession, yet with less effort and
fewer words. General Jackson probably accomplished
more to the same end; and, coming from the "Hero
of New Orleans" and the head of the Democratic
party, its force was not unfelt in the remotest corners
of the country. While the finished speech of Mr.
Webster long ago was forgotten, or became a mere
matter of reference to his political friends, the simple,
powerful sentiment of Jackson became a national
watch-word, and is, to-day, the common sentiment
everywhere of patriots in all parties.
No important event occurred at the Capitol which
was not known at once to President Jackson. At the
outset his feeling was with Hayne, who was a brother
of Arthur P. Hayne, his old inspector-general. But a
new doctrine, practically, was now announced from the
South, and this debate brought it out in an exag-
gerated form, and the President was not long in decid-
ing where he must stand in the case. Nor did the
winter pass without giving him an opportunity to
express himself on the subject in a characteristic way.
On the 13th of January, 1830, according to the cus-
tom in Washington at that time, steps were taken for
celebrating Mr. Jefferson's birth. The usual way among
civilized men, as among savages, of celebrating good or
noted events by feasts, was adopted on this occasion.
458 LIFE AND TIMES OF
There was to be a banquet, and the nullification leaders
hoped to be able to turn Mr. Jefferson to account in
advancing their dogma. The programme was pub-
lished on the previous day in the "Telegraph," whose
partisan editor was working for the succession to fall
to Mr. Calhoun in 1832. Jackson believed that this
banquet was designed to give nullification a send off in
the name of Thomas Jefferson, and in this belief he
was right. With him to believe was to do. He went
to the banquet with the object of throwing a shell into
the nest at once. Mr. Calhoun, as the leader of the
South Carolina faction, was there, also ready for the
emergency. This was one of those critical occasions
in which General Jackson needed no advice. The
"Kitchen Cabinet" was not essential in this instance.
It was one of the " by the Eternal " moments of Jack-
son's life. The country was at stake. Policy and
party were not to be considered. Patriotism had its
supreme moment. When the regular routine, which
was not untinctured with nullification, was disposed
of, President Jackson was called upon for a volunteer
"toast," and uttered his most memorable saying, the
only one destined to be eternal : " The Federal Union :
it must be preserved."
Mr. Calhoun then announced his carefully prepared
sentiment : " The Union ; next to Liberty, the most
dear; may we all remember that it can only be pre-
served by respecting the rights of the States, and dis-
tributing equally the benefit and burden of the Union."
These were opposing sentiments. One was open,
brief, untrammeled patriotism, and was received as a
direct announcement to the whole country. The new
dogma had received a fatal stab at the outset, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 459
from a source little expected. This was the moment
of the beginning of the decline of Mr. Calhoun. The
influence of the new dogma in carrying him to mis-
fortune was no more certain and direct than was the
power of General Jackson, the arbitrary expounder of
a safer and more durable democracy. The President's
memorable utterance, not only startled the friends of
nullification at the Capital, but it also spread conster-
nation in their ranks in South Carolina, where it orig-
inated, and in the other States giving their adherence
to it, and was taken by the especial friends and
mouthpieces of General Jackson everywhere, as his
word of warning to the country. This sentiment was
the premeditated act of Jackson, and was the most
noteworthy, admirable, and statesman-like utterance
of his life. If he had done nothing else, for this
alone he would deserve a monument among the dis-
tinguished men and patriots of the world. For this
alone the people of this now more than ever estab-
lished Union should honor his name. The sentiment
now lives in the heart of every true American. It
has, since the 13th night of January, 1830, rung
throughout the land; every pretext has brought it
out; the faith and fortitude of men have been in-
creased by its association with the memory of a man
who was successful beyond all other Americans in
the execution of his own will; and while this conti-
nent exists this remarkable sentiment will be a power
in politics, and an aid in keeping green the memory
of Andrew Jackson.
There has been a wide-spread opinion that General
Jackson began his Administration with a strong feel-
ing against the Bank of the United States, and a
460 LIFE AND TIMES OF
determination to break it down. This is a mistake,
although Mr. Bancroft holds to the belief that before
the General left Nashville, he had placed the Bank in
the list of his enemies and the enemies of the country,
which were to fall beneath his battle-ax. While
Jackson had had some dealings with the branch bank
at New Orleans, in 1818, which was not satisfactory
to him, yet he had probably forgotten that, or was
good enough, for once, not to consider this transaction
as meant to be personal. General Jackson laid no
vast schemes beforehand. That was not his way of
doing. His Administration had but fairly got under
way when he became involved in a quarrel with the
Bank. To this difficulty may certainly be traced the
origin of the paragraph in his first message to Con-
gress. Opposition to the will of General Jackson on
the part of the Bank was the foundation of his oppo-
sition to it. But when this opposition was once
started he found plenty of reasons to justify his
course, most of them good perhaps, although they
were not very apparent until a much later date. Yet
the dangers from the existence of the Bank were
prospective mainly, if not wholly. They were not
known to the country. The notes issued by the
Bank in 1830, were circulated from one end of the
land to the other without discount, as the greenbacks
are now, and were as good as gold. The credit of
the Bank was unlimited, and the confidence of the
business men of the country in it was equal to that
placed in the currency of the National Treasury at
this moment. A considerable part of its stock was
held by people of little wealth, widows, orphans,
and charitable institutions. The Bank seemed to be a
ANDREW JACKSON. 461
necessity to the country, and was almost universally
considered so. Until the people were told, in 1830,
that the Bank was a source of political corruption, was
partial in its favors, and used its power to influence
legislation, even among Congressmen, they did not
know it, and these things were then not believed by
any great number. During the first months of Jack-
son's Administration the Secretary of the Treasury
repeatedly acknowledged the obligation of the Gov-
ernment to the Bank for its successful and ready
execution of the wants of the Department.
The trouble about the Bank began away up in
New Hampshire. And the Second Comptroller of the
Treasury, until the Jacksonian Congress refused to
confirm him, Isaac Hill, of that State, was the direct
cause of it. The president of the branch at Ports-
mouth, Jeremiah Mason, was a Federalist, and had
been a supporter of Mr. Adams. Hill wanted him
out, and a good Jackson man put into his place. As
a first step in this laudable work, some petitions from
various persons were sent to the parent Bank at Phil-
adelphia, making sundry complaints of Mr. Mason.
Then followed several letters to the Secretary of the
Treasury. Then came letters between Nicholas Bid-
die, president of the Bank, and Secretary Ingham,
and even Mr. Hill wrote some letters on the subject.
The Secretary of War wrote to Mason that he had
appointed a pension agent at Concord, and ordered the
pension records in the bank at Portsmouth to be de-
livered up to him, which Mr. Mason refused to do.
All this fuss led to a thorough investigation by the
president and directors, of the conduct of Mr. Mason.
The charges against him were found to be utterly
462 LIFE AND TIMES OF
without foundation, and he was re-elected. In a letter
to the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Biddle uses
this language : —
" ' Presumiug,' said Mr. Biddle, 'that we have rightly appre-
hended your views, and fearful that the silence of the Bank
might be hereafter misconstrued into an acquiescence in them, I
deem it my duty to state to you in a manner perfectly respectful
to your official and personal character, yet so clear as to leave
no possibility of misconception, that the board of directors of the
Bank of the United States, and the boards of directors of the
branches of the Bank of the United States, acknowledge not the
slightest responsibility of any description whatsoever to the Secre-
tary of the Treasury touching the political opinions and conduct
of their officers, that being a subject on which they never consult,
and never desire to know, the views of any Administration. It
is with much reluctance the board of directors feel themselves
constrained to make this declaration. But charged as they are
by Congress with duties of great importance to the country,
which they can hope to execute only while they are exempted
from all influences not authorized by the laws, they deem it
most becoming to themselves, as well as to the Executive, to
state with perfect frankness their opinion of any interference in
the concerns of the institution confided to their care.'"
Mr. Ingham thus talks back in his reply: —
"The Administration is empowered to act upon the Bank in
various ways : in the appointment or removal of five of the di-
rectors ; in the withdrawing of the public deposits ; in the exac-
tion of weekly statements, and the inspection of its general ac-
counts ; and in all the modes incident to the management of the
pecuniary collections and disbursements of the Government.
That these opportunities of action might be perverted and abused
is conceivable, but, subjected to the principle on which we early
and cordially agreed, they become causes of security and benefit;
and before I dismiss this branch of the subject, I take the occa-
sion to say, if it should ever appear to the satisfaction of the
Secretary of the Treasury that the Bank used its pecuniary power
for purposes of injustice and oppression, he would be faithless to
his trust if he hesitated to lessen its capacity for such injury, by
withdrawing from its vaults the public deposits."
ANDREW JACKSON. 463
Anybody could predict the outcome of all this.
Mr. Biddle was too honest to understand the autocrat
of the White House. That kind of independence and
resistance could not be passed over by General Jack-
son. And soon, through confidential sources, it leaked
out, that the President would assail the Bank in his
first message.
The President's health was quite poor in the sum-
mer, fall, and part of the winter of 1829, and. some of
his friends despaired of his getting to the end of the
one term for which he had set out. Notwithstanding
this, and the declaration from him to the effect that
he was favorable to the single-term view, and that he
really made the race in that understanding with his
friends, there was an effort put forth early in the
spring of 1830 to prepare the people for a second term
for him. Mr. Calhoun was now not a favorite with
General Jackson, although there had yet been no open
break between them. But something was to be done
to put him aside, if his prospects for the Presidency
had not already been forever exploded, by his connec-
tion with nullification, and with the South Carolina op-
position to the tariff.
A singular party maneuver at this time gave rise
to the following paper, signed by sixty-eight members
of the Pennsylvania Legislature : —
" Harrisburg, March 20, 1830.
" To His Excellency Andrew Jackson, President of the United
States:
"Dear Sir, — The undersigned, members of the Legislature
of Pennsylvania, before closing the duties assigned them by their
constituents, beg leave to tender to you their best wishes for your
health and happiness, and to express to you the coufidence re-
posed by them in the sound republican principles which mark
464 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the course of your Administration. The second political revolu-
tion, effected in the year 1829, is progressing in a way to attain
those great results which were fondly anticipated, and which, in
the end, we ardently hope, will tend to cement in stronger bonds
the republican feelings of the country. In a free government
like ours, parties must and will exist; it should be so, inasmuch
as it serves to make those who are dominant vigilant and active
in the discharge of the important duties which give life, health,
and activity to the great principles by which, as a free people,
we should be governed. If the voice of Pennsylvania, which has
recently been prominently and effectively exerted in the election
of our present distinguished Chief Magistrate, can have influence,
it will, as heretofore, be exerted in inducing you to permit your
name and distinguished services again to be presented to the
American people. We deem it of importance to the maintenance
of correct republican principles that the country should not thus
early be again drawn into a warm and virulent contest as to who
shall be your successor.
"If the people can indulge a hope that, in acceding to their
wishes as heretofore, the warmth of former contests may be
spared, they will be able to repose in peace and quiet, and before
the end of your second term, will expect with confidence that the
great principle of governmental reform will be so harmonized
and arranged that the affairs of the Nation for the future Avill
move on certainly, peacefully, and happily. Expressing what
we feel and believe to be the language of our constituents, we
claim to indulge the expectation that your avowed principle,
' neither to seek nor to decline to serve your country in public
office,' will still be adhered to, that thereby the people may ob-
tain repose, and toward the termination of your second term be
better prepared to look around and ascertain into whose hands
can be best confided the care and guardianship of our dearest
rights, our happiness, and independence.
"This communication is not made with the intention of ob-
taining from you any declaration at this time upon this subject.
We are aware that persons would be found to call such a declara-
tion premature, before some general expression of satisfaction in
relation to the course you have pursued had been exhibited, and
time afforded for it to be evinced. Pennsylvania, heretofore first
to express her attachment upon this subject, seeks only to main-
tain the position she has assumed, and to express through her
ANDEEW JACKSON. 465
Representatives her continued confidence in your stern political
integrity, and the wise, judicious, republican measures of your
Administration, and to cherish the hope that the country may
again be afforded the opportunity of having those services, the
benefit of which she is now so happily enjoying. On this subject,
sir, we speak not only our own sentiments and opinions, but feel
that the people will accord to the suggestion, and everywhere
respond to what we have declared. Wishing you long life,
health, and happiness, we remain your friends and fellow-citizens."
One of the biographers of General Jackson was
fortunate enough to get the true secret history of this
document, which sadly deprives it of all its beauty
and romance. But it serves to introduce to the inno-
cent reader the way similar things have been done
ever since Andrew Jackson came to control the poli-
tics of the country. The ever considerate Wm. B.
Lewis happening to think that General Jackson might
die suddenly without satisfactory arrangements for a
successor, suggested to the General that he should
write a letter to one of his friends, highly recommend-
ing Van Buren to the country. The General took
kindly to the suggestion, believing that his voice in
this way might be sufficiently potent after his death,
and Lewis wrote the letter to Thomas Overton, of
Tennessee, and the General signed it. But this letter
was not to be used unless in case of the General's
sudden demise, as Judge Overton probably never knew.
When this much had been done, Lewis set to work to
devise the best plan for breaking over what had been
said about a single term, with the view of having the
General re- nominated at once. He thought that some
important State, in a respectable way, should take the
lead in the matter ; and, accordingly, himself wrote the
foregoing letter to General Jackson, and sent it to
30— G
466 LIFE AND TIMES OF
L. C. Stanbaugh, a politician of note in Pennsylvania,
who readily jumped into the scheme ; and without
waiting for the grass to grow under his feet, started
out to get the signatures of the members of the Legis-
lature. The appeal to the President, as given here,
was then published in the newspapers. Mr. Lewis
did not stop at this ; he wrote letters to men in other
States for furthering the plan, and soon Mr. Van Buren
was laid aside for the time. Seven years more he
must wait. Mr. Calhoun's chances were now forever
gone. As nullification grew, the Presidency departed
from him. The disgusting and infernal scheming went
on. It was the dawn of a new era of purity, prog-
ress, and reform ! ! To Mr. Parton is due the credit
of furnishing the facts, mainly, in this rare piece of
history.
One of the most active, lazy men in Congress at
this time was Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson, of
Kentucky. He was a " busybody." Throughout the
two preceding Administrations he was often met in
the capacity of an intercessor. Everybody was
friendly with Colonel Johnson, and liked him, but he
was really a Congressional " go-between." He was not
always choice or scrupulous as to the subjects which
enlisted his attention. In Mr. Monroe's time he had
interfered in behalf of Billy Duane, of the " Aurora,"
whom Mr. Monroe regarded as the most slanderous
and unreliable man in the country. Colonel Johnson
was one of the warm friends of General Jackson, and
in the winter of 1829, was very busy in trying to pro-
duce harmony -in the Cabinet. The President was
worn out with the dissensions, and Colonel Johnson
undertook to make peace.
ANDREW JACKSON. 467
Mr. Ingham says in his account of the case : —
"On AVeduesday, the 27th of January, 1830, Colonel R. M.
Johnson, of Kentucky, waited on me in the Treasury Depart-
ment, and after some preliminary conversation, in which he ex-
pressed his regret that my family and that of Mr. Branch and
Mr. Berrien did not visit Mrs. Eaton, he said that it had been a
subject of great excitement with the President, who had come to
the determination of having harmony in his Cabinet by some ac-
commodation of this matter. He, Colonel Johnson, was the friend
of us all, and had now come at the request of the President to
see whether any thing could be done ; who thought that when
our ladies gave parties, they ought to invite Mrs. Eaton ; and as
they had never returned her call, if they would leave the first
card and open a formal intercourse in that way, the President
would be satisfied ; but unless something was done of this nature,
he had no doubt, indeed he knew that the President was resolved
to have harmony, and would probably remove Mr. Branch, Mr.
Berrien, and myself. I replied to Colonel Johnson, that in all
matters of official business, or having any connection therewith,
I considered myself bound to maintain an open, frank, and har-
monious intercourse with the gentlemen I was associated with ;
that the President had a right to expect the exertion of my best
faculties, and the employment of my time, in the public service.
As to the family of Mr. Eaton, I felt an obligation on me not to
say any thing to aggravate the difficulties which he labored under,
but to observe a total silence and neutrality in relation to the re-
ports about his wife, and to inculcate the same course as to my
family, and if any other representations had been made to the
President they were false. Having prescribed to myself this rule,
and always acted upon it, I had done all that the President had
a right to expect. That the society of Washington was liberally
organized ; there was but one circle, into which every person of
respectable character, disposed" to be social, was readily admitted,
without reference to the circumstance of birth, fortune, or station,
which operated in many other places ; that we had no right to
exert official power to regulate its social intercourse ; that Mrs.
Eaton had never been received by the society here, and it did not
become us to force her upon it; that my family had, therefore,
not associated with her, and had done so with my approbation ;
and that the President ought not, for the sake of his own
468 LIFE AND TIMES OF
character, to interfere in such matters. But if he chose to exert his
power to force my family to visit anybody they did not choose to
visit, he was interfering with what belonged to me, and no human
power should regulate the social intercourse of my family, by
means of official or any other power which I could resist. If I
could submit to such control, I should be unworthy of my station,
and would despise myself. That it was eminently due to the
character of the President to have it known that he did not in-
terfere in such matters ; and that the course we had pursued was
preservative of his honor and political standing. I had taken my
ground on mature reflection as to what was due to my family,
my friends, and the Administration, without any prejudice to
Major Eaton or his wife, and had fully determined not to change
it, whatever might be the consequence.
" Colonel Johnson said that he had been requested by the
President to have a conversation with the Secretary of the Navy
and the Attorney-General also ; but, from what I had said, he
supposed it would be of no avail. The President expressed a
hope that our families would have been willing to invite Mrs.
Eaton to their large parties, to give the appearance of an osten-
sible intercourse, adding that he was so much excited that he was
like a roaring lion. He had heard that the lady of a foreign
minister had joined in the conspiracy against Mrs. Eaton, and he
had sworn that he would send her and her husband home if he
could not put an end to such doings. I replied, that it could
hardly be possible that the President contemplated such a step.
Colonel Johnson replied that he certainly did ; and again re-
marked that it seemed to be useless for him to see Mr. Branch
and Mr. Berrien. I told him that each of us had taken our course
upon our own views of the propriety without concert; and that
he ought not to consider me as answering for any but myself.
He then proposed that I should meet him at Mr. Branch's, and
invite Mr. Berrien, that evening at seven o'clock, which was
agreed to. Colonel Johnson came'to my house about six, and we
went up to Mr. Berrien's, having first sent for Mr. Branch. On
our way to Mr. Berrien's, Colonel Johnson remarked that the
President had informed him that he would invite Mr. Branch,
Mr. Berrien, and myself, to meet him on the next Friday, when
he would inform us, in the presence of Dr. Ely, of his determina-
tion ; and if we did not agree to comply with his wishes, he would
expect us to send in our resignations.
ANDREW JACKSON. 469
"Upon our arrival at Mr. Berrien's, ColonelJohnson renewed
the subject in presence of him and Governor Branch, and repeated
substantially, though I thought rather more qualifiedly, what he
had said to me. He did not go so much into detail, nor do I
recollect whether ne mentioned the President's remarks as to the
lady above mentioned and Dr. Ely ; those gentlemen will better
recollect. Mr. Branch and Mr. Berrien replied, as unequivocally
as I had done, that they would never consent to have the social
relations of their families controlled by any power whatever but
their own. Mr. Branch, Mr. Berrien, and myself went the same
evening to a party at Colonel Towson's, where a report was cur-
rent that we were to be removed forthwith, of which I had no
doubt at the time.
"The next morning. Colonel Johnson came to my house and
said that he ought, perhaps, to have been more frank last even-
ing, and told us positively that the President had finally deter-
mined on our removal from office, unless we agreed at once that
our families should visit Mrs. Eaton, and invite her to their large
parties ; and that he had made up his mind to designate Mr.
Dickins to take charge of the Treasury Department, and Mr.
Kendall to take charge of the Navy Department, and would find
an Attorney-General somewhere. I observed that my course was
fixed, and could not be changed for all the offices in the President's
gift; and it made no more difference to me than to any other per-
son wh<ini the President designated to take my place. In the
evening of the same day. Colonel Johnson called again, and in-
formed me that he had just been with the President, who had
drawn up a paper explanatory of what he had intended and ex-
pected of us ; that some of his Tennessee friends had been with
him for several hours ; that his passions had subsided, and he had
entirely changed his ground. He would not insist on our families
visiting Mrs. Eaton ; he only wished us to assist in putting down
the slanders against her ; that he believed her innocent, and he
thought our families ought to do what they could to sustain her,
if they could not visit her ; and that he wished to see me the
next day. Colonel Johnson added that the President had been
exceedingly excited for several days, but was now perfectly calm
and mild.
"The next day I waited on the President, and opened the
subject by stating that Colonel Johnson had informed me that
he "wished to see me, to which he assented, and went into a long
470 LIFE AND TIMES OF
argument to show how innocent a woman Mrs. Eaton was, and
how much she had been persecuted, and mentioned the names of
a number of ladies who had been active in this persecution, and
that the lady of a foreign minister was also one of the conspirators ;
adding that he would send her and her husband home, and teach
him and his master that a wife of a member of his Cabinet was
not to be thus treated ; that Mrs. Eaton was as pure and chaste
as Mrs. Douelson's iufant daughter, but there was a combination
here amoibg a number of ladies, not those of the heads of Depart-
ments, to drive her out of society, and to drive her husband out
of office ; but he would be cut into inch pieces on the rack before
he would suffer him or his wife to be injured by their vile calum-
nies ; that he was resolved to have harmony in his Cabinet, and
he wished us to join in putting down the slanders against Mrs.
Eaton. I observed to the President that I had never considered
it incumbent on me to investigate the character of Mrs. Eaton ;
such a service did not, in my judgment, come within the scope
of my duties to the Government ; it belonged to society alone to
determine such matters. The power of the Administration could
not change the opinion of the community, even if it could be
properly used to control the relations of domestic life in any case.
The society of Washington must be the best judges of whom it
ought to receive. I regretted the difficulties which Major Eaton
labored under, and had felt it to be my duty not to aggravate
them. I had intended at an early day to have had a conversa-
tion with him on the subject, with a view to have our social rela-
tions defined ; but no opportunity had offered without volunteer-
ing one, and it had not been done in that way. The course I
had taken was, however, adopted with great care, to save his
feelings as much as possible, consistent with what was due to my
family, and the community with which we were associated. I
consider the charge of my family to be a sacred trust, belonging ex-
clusively to myself as a member of society. The Administration
had nothing to do with it, more than with that of any other in-
dividual, and political power could not be properly exerted over
their social intercourse, and it was important to his reputation to
have it understood that he did not interfere in such matters.
That I was not aware of any want of harmony in the Cabinet ; I
had not seen the slightest symptom of such a feeling in its delib-
erations, and I was perfectly certain that my oflScial conduct had
never been influenced in the slightest degree by a feeling of that
ANDREW JACKSON. 471
nature. I saw no ground, therefore, for the least change on my
part in this respect.
"To which the President replied in a changed tone, that he
had the most entire confidence in my integrity and capacity in
executing the duties of the Department, and expressed his perfect
satisfaction, in that respect, with my whole conduct ; he had never
supposed for a moment that my official acts had been influenced
in the least degree by any unkind feeling toward Major Eaton ; and
he did not mean to insist on our families visiting Mrs. Eaton."
The result was a temporary truce ; but the days
of this Cabinet were numbered. Cabinet meetings
were seldom or never held, and the President relied
upon the unmarried members, " Van " and Barry, and
his "Kitchen Cabinet" was now in fair organization.
The Cabinet quarrel was barely quieted for a day,
when the President had another " friendship " matter
on his hands. This was the rupture with Mr. Calhoun,
which had been waiting for some time for a pretext.
From the outset it had been understood that Mr. Cal-
houn was to succeed the General at the end of four
years. But Jackson had never been a party to this
understanding, and soon after the Jefferson-Nullifica-
tion banquet, on the 13th of January, 1830, he began
to give a very different turn to affairs, which looked
to his own and Mr. Van Buren's interests. The
" cunning fox " from Kinderhook had become the
General's model; nor did he ever lose his esteem for
Van Buren.
Mr. Crawford, still the rival of everybody, and of
Mr. Calhoun in particular, for the Presidency, in the
spring of 1830, wrote a letter to John Forsyth, in
which he took occasion to do what few Cabinet min-
isters were ever recreant enough to do ; that is, reveal
some of the secrets of Mr. Monroe's Administration,
472 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and evidently for the purpose of injuring Mr. Calhoun
in the opinion of General Jackson, stated that Mr.
Calhoun, not himself, was the member of that Cabinet
who wanted Jackson punished for his conduct in the
Seminole War. Of course, this letter soon made its
way into the hands of General Jackson, and what did
he do ? Dismiss the whole matter in a manly way
from his notice or mind? No, indeed. He was not
the man to do anything of that kind. He informed
Mr. Calhoun by letter of the turn now given to his
mind on this old topic. Mr. Calhoun replied, acknowl-
edging the charge in a manly way, and putting the
whole matter on grounds which would have sfitisfied
anybody but General Jackson. The General notified
him at once, however, that their friendship was at an
end, and that the correspondence might be stopped.
This conduct drove Mr. Calhoun, as he erroneously
thought, to publish the whole case.
This " affair " with Mr. Calhoun may justly be
regarded as one of the worst and least defensible
points in the life of General Jackson, and wholly
separates from the count any ground of genuine great-
ness in his character. The case simply portrays a
condition usually assigned to mean, unrefined, selfish,
and vindictive natures. With some really admirable
traits, General Jackson was a combination of strange
and irreconcilable inconsistencies. For the startling
breaks in his character his friends were compelled
ever to be on the alert. Humiliation, or alarm, or
defense, or praise, or admiration was always on the
faces of his friends and managers. General Jackson
seemed to be unable to place his patriotism, or any-
thing else that was good attaching to him, above his
ANDREW JACKSON. 473
personal friendships. His likes and dislikes controlled
him. Devotion to him was above discharge of obli-
gations to country, or official rectitude. The great
burthen of his charges against men was their want of
attachment to him, or their opposition to his views or
measures. He made no distinction between himself
and his purposes and the country and its best inter-
ests. Of Mr. Calhoun he would have reasoned, or
more properly felt, for General Jackson hardly rea-
soned about anything, in this way: Mr. Calhoun is my
friend, therefore he never could do anything which
would be detrimental me ; I only work for the welfare
of my country, hence his duty to his country could
not in any way conflict with his shielding me ; my
ways are right, I make no mistakes, hence his friend-
ship for me should be superior to his official duties ;
and, any way, I am right, and " by the Eternal,"
no man has any right to, or shall oppose me with
impunity.
Mr. Calhoun was a friend to General Jackson, but
that fact neither caused him to lose his independence
or manhood, nor to forego his conscientious devotion
to the duties of his position and to his country. No
friendship but that of scoundrelism will ever shield a
man from the consequences of his own evil doings, if
to shield him would be detrimental to his, or the public
good, or would outrage the principles of moral recti-
tude. Mr. Calhoun believed that General Jackson had
done a wrong, and that the Nation's honor and wel-
fare, perhaps, rendered it proper that the Administra-
tion should take some disciplinary note of his conduct.
How nearly this course became a necessity on the
part of the Government is now well known. The
474 LIFE AND TIMES OF
movement of Lord Castlereagh's little finger would
have let loose the dogs of war, owing to Jackson's
unparalleled proceedings in Florida.
Mr. Calhoun did exactly right in the case, and had
no thought of this interfering with his friendly rela-
tions with General Jackson. That President Jackson,
when at the highest point of elevation in his country,
could have cared a moment for this matter at such a
late date, is almost beyond explicability even in his
case. The only person who did, or, perhaps, meant
any wrong in the quarrel, which became a matter of
so much importance in the politics of the country, was
he who revealed the private affairs, the secret counsels
of Mr. Monroe's Cabinet.
The "United States Telegraph" newspaper at
Washington had advocated the election of General Jack-
son, and was, for some time, the "organ" of the Admin-
istration after the quarrel began between the President
and Vice-President. Duff Green, its editor, an able
writer, after doing all he could to prevent the shameful
rupture, and to prevent its history reaching the public,
concluded to adhere to Mr. Calhoun, at the loss of the
patronage of the Administration. For some time the
President's secret advisers had urged him to take steps
to establish a strong partisan organ to support the Exec-
utive. He had had very confidential relations with
Green, and, besides, thought well of him, and for a time
believed that Green would turn out faithful to his friend-
ship. But Green gave, what was to him, the best
of reasons for not doing so, and became a losing oppo-
nent of the Administration of General Jackson. The
editor of the "Richmond Enquirer" was first offered
the new organ of the Administration, or of General
ANDREW JACKSON. 475
Jackson, but did not desire the honor. Through Amos
Kendall, Mr. Francis P. Blair, Sen., of Kentucky, was
discovered to be the man for the emergency. Mr.
Blair was then a man of broken fortune, and was only
too glad to accept the summons from Washington to
be the editor of the Court Journal. He was a little,
weak man in every thing except power as a writer, but
he also possessed a good stock of amiable traits. He
had a qualification which peculiarly suited him to
President Jackson. He bitterly opposed the Bank of
the United States, and hated nullification. The Gen-
eral took to him at once, revealed all his secrets to
him, and put him at his side at state dinners. Mr.
Blair was in luck. He was a "made man." The result
was that the "Globe" was established in 1831, and
employes of the Government and everybody else
notified that they must support the President's organ.
The President soon ordered a part of the Government
printing to be given to the "Globe," and its success
was assured from the outset. William B. Lewis was
mainly the manipulator of this new departure.
476
LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXVI.
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE— CON-
GRESS IN THE WINTER OF 1830— THE PRESIDENT'S
LEGAL ADVISERS— THE KITCHEN CABINET.
ON the 6th of December, 1830, Congress again
assembled. This was what was called the second
or short session of the Twenty-first Congress. Many
of its members had come in with the new Administra-
tion, on the 4th of March, 1829. In the Senate, among
the leaders and those afterwards distinguished, were
Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts ; Levi Woodbury,
of New Hampshire ; L. W. Tazewell and John Tyler,
of Virginia ; Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina ;
John Forsyth, of Georgia ; Hugh L. White and Felix
Grundy, of Tennessee ; Edward Livingston, of' Lou-
isiana ; William R. King, of Alabama ; and Thomas
Hart Benton, of Missouri. And in the House, among
others, were W. B. Crowninshield, Edward Everett,
and Benjamin Gorham, of Massachusetts ; C. C.
Cambreleng and John Taylor, of New York ; James
Buchanan, of Pennsylvania ; William S. Archer, Philip
P. Barbour, Charles Fenton Mercer, Andrew Steven-
son, and Alexander Smyth, of Virginia ; George Mc-
Duffie, of South Carolina ; R. M. Johnson and Robert
P. Letcher, of Kentucky ; and John Bell, James K.
Polk, Cave Johnson, and David Crockett, of Tennessee.
The President had been for some time engaged in
the preparation of his message. From time to time
ANDREW JACKSON. 477
he made such notes and memoranda as came to his
mind. These were on slips of paper, leaves of books,
or other such things as fell in his way. When he had
touched all the points that appeared to him, these
slips, without any effort at composition or arrange-
ment, were put into the hands of Donelson, the pri-
vate secretary, who made the best presentation of the
case he could in a written message. The members of
the Cabinet afterwards made additions of their parts
and suggestions.
On the 7th of December, 1830, the following mes-
sage, the longest ever presented to Congress, by a
President, was delivered to that body : —
SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
The pleasure I have in bongratulating you upon your return
to your Constitutional duties is much heightened by the satisfac-
tion which the condition of our beloved country at this period justly
inspires. The Beneficent Author of all good has granted to us,
during the present year, health, peace, and plenty, and numerous
causes for joy in the wonderful success which attends the progress
of our free institutions.
With a population unparalleled in its increase, and possessing
a character which combines the hardihood of enterprise with the
considerateness of wisdom, we see in every section of our happy
country a steady improvement in the means of social intercourse,
and correspondent effects upon the genius and laws of our ex-
tended republic.
The apparent exceptions to the harmony of the prospect are
to be referred rather to the inevitable diversities in the various
interests which enter into the composition of so extensive a whole,
than to any want of attachment to the Union — interests whose
collisions serve only, in the end, to foster the spirit of conciliation
and patriotism, so essential to the preservation of that Union,
which I most devoutly hope is destined to prove imperishable.
In the midst of these blessings, we have recently witnessed
changes in the condition of other nations which may, in their
478 LIFE AND TIMES OF
consequences, call for the utmost vigilance, wisdom, and una-
nimity, in our councils, and the exercise of all the moderation and
patriotism of our people.
The important modifications of their government, eifected
with so much courage and wisdom by the people of France, af-
ford a happy presage of their future course, and have naturally
elicited from the kindred feelings of this Nation that spontaneous
and universal burst of applause in which you have participated.
In congratulating you, my fellow-citizens, upon an event so
auspicious to the dearest interests of mankind, I do no more
than respond to the voice of my country, without transcending
in the slightest degree that salutary maxim of the illustrious
Washington, which enjoins an abstinence from all interference
with the internal affairs of other nations. From a people exer-
cising in the most unlimited degree the right of self-government,
and enjoying, as derived from this proud characteristic, under
the favor of Heaven, much of the happiness with which they are
blessed ; a people who can point in triumph to their free insti-
tutions, and challenge comparison with the fruits they bear, as
well as with the moderation, intelligence, and energy, with which
they are administered ; from such a people the deepest sympathy
was to be expected in a struggle for the sacred principles of
liberty conducted in a spirit every way worthy of the cause, and
crowned by a heroic moderation which has disarmed revolution
of its terrors. Notwithstanding the strong assurances which the
man whom we so sincerely love and justly admire has given to
the world of the high character of the present king of the French,
and which, if sustained to the end, will secure to him the proud
appellation of Patriot King, it is not in his success, but in that
of the great principle which has borne him to the throne — the
paramount authority of the public will — that the American
people rejoice.
I am happy to inform you that the anticipations which were
indulged at the date of my last communication on the subject of
our foreign affairs, have been fully realized in several important
particulars.
An arrangement has been effected with Great Britain, in
relation to the trade between the United States and her West
India and North American Colonies, which has settled a question
that has for years afforded matter for contention and almost un-
interrupted discussion, and has been the subject of no less than
ANDREW JACKSON. 479
six negotiations, in a manner which promises results highly
favorable to the parties.
The abstract right of Great Britain to monopolize the trade
with her Colonies, or to exclude us from a participation therein,
has never been denied by the United States. But we have con'-
tended, and with reason, that if, at any time, Great Britain may
desire the productions of this country as necessary to her Col-
onies, they must be received upon principles of just reciprocity ;
and further, that it is making an invidious and unfriendly distinc-
tion to open her Colonial ports to the vessels of other nations and
close them against those of the United States.
Antecedently to 1794, a portion of our productions was ad-
mitted into the Colonial islands of Great Britain, by particular
concessions, limited to the term of one year, but renewed from
year to year. In the transportation of these productions, how-
ever, our vessels were not allowed to engage; this being a priv-
ilege reserved to British shipping, by which alone our produce
could be taken to the islands, and theirs brought to us in return.
From Newfoundland and her continental possessions all our pro-
ductions, as well as our vessels, were excluded, with occasional
relaxations, by which, in seasons of distress, the former were
admitted in British bottoms.
By the Treaty of 1794 she offered to concede to us, for a lim-
ited time, the right of carrying to her West India possessions, in
our vessels not exceeding seventy tons burden, and upon the
same terms as British vessels, any productions of the United
States which British vessels might import therefrom. But this
privilege was coupled with conditions which are supposed to have
led to its rejection by the Senate ; that is, that American vessels
should land their return cargoes in the United States only ; and
moreover, that they should, during the continuance of the priv-
ilege, be precluded from carrying molasses, sugar, cocoa, or cotton,
either from those islands or from the United States, to any other
part of the world. Great Britain readily consented to expunge
this article from the treaty ; and subsequent attempts to arrange
the terms of trade either by treaty stipulations or concerted legis-
lation, having failed, it has been successively suspended and al-
lowed acording to the varying legislation of the parties.
The following are the prominent points which have in latter
years separated the two governments. Besides a restriction
whereby all importations into her Colonies in American vessels
480 LIFE AND TIMES OF
are confined to our own products carried hence, a restriction to
which it does not appear that we have ever objected, a leading
object on the part of Great Britain has been to prevent us from
becoming the carriers of British West India commodities to any
other country than our own. On the part of the United States,
it has been contended: 1st, that the subject should be regulated
by treaty stipulations in preference to separate legislation ; 2d,
that our productions, when imported into the Colonies in ques-
tion, should not be subject to higher duties than the productions
•of the mother country, or of her other Colonial possessions ; and
3d, that our vessels should be allowed to participate in the cir-
cuitous trade between the United States and different parts of the
British dominions.
The first point, after having been for a long time strenuously
insisted upon by Great Britain, was given up by the act of Par-
liament of July, 1825 ; all vessels suffered to trade with the Col-
onies being permitted to clear from thence with any articles
which British vessels might export, and proceed to any part of
the world, Great Britain and her dependencies alone excepted.
On our part, each of the above points had in succession been ex-
plicitly abandoned in negotiations preceding that of which the
result is now announced.
This arrangement secures to the United States every advan-
tage asked by them, and which the state of the negotiation al-
lowed us to insist upon. The trade will be placed upon a footing
decidedly more favorable to this country than any on which it
ever stood ; and our commerce and navigation will enjoy in the
Colonial ports of Great Britain every privilege allowed to other
nations. That the prosperity of the country, so far as it depends
on this trade, will be greatly promoted by the new arrangement,
there can be no doubt. Independently of the more obvious ad-
vantages of an open and direct intercourse, its establishment will
be attended with other consequences of a higher value. That
which has been carried on since the mutual interdict under all
the expenses and inconvenience unavoidably incident to it, would
have been insupportably onerous had it not been in a great de-
gree lightened by concerted evasions in the mode of making the
transhipments at what are called the neutral ports. These indi-
rections are inconsistent with the dignity of nations that have so
many motives not only to cherish feelings of mutual friendship,
but to maintain such relations as will stimulate their respective
ANDREW JACKSON. 481
citizens and subjects to efforts of direct, open, and honorable com-
petition only, and preserve them from the influence of seductive
and vitiating circumstances.
When your preliminary interposition was asked at the close
of the last session, a copy of the instructions under which Mr.
McLane has acted, together with the communications which had
at that time passed between him and the British Government,
was laid before you. Although there has not been anything in
the acts of the two governments which requires secrecy, it was
thought most proper, in the then state of the negotiation, to make
that communication a confidential one. So soon, however, as
the evidence of execution on the part of Great Britain is received,
the whole matter shall be laid before you, when it will be seen
that the apprehension which appears to have suggested one of
the provisions of the acts passed at your last session, that the
restoration of the trade in question might be connected with
other subjects, and was sought to be obtained at the sacrifice of
the public interest in other particulars, was wholly unfounded ;
and that the change which has taken place in the views of the
British Government has been induced by considerations as hon-
orable to both parties as I trust the result will prove beneficial.
This desirable result was, it will be seen, greatlv promoted by
the liberal and confiding provisions of the act of Congress of the
last session, by which our ports were, upon the reception and
annunciation by the President of the required assurance on the
part of Great Britain, forthwith opened to her vessels, before the
arrangement could be carried into effect on her part ; pursuing
in this act of prospective legislation a similar course to that
adopted by Great Britain in abolishing, by her act of Parliament
in 1825, a restriction then existing, and permitting our vessels
to clear from the Colonies on their return voyages for any for-
eign country whatever, before British vessels had been relieved
from the restriction imposed by our law, of returning directly
from the United States to the Colonies — a restriction which she
required and expected that we should abolish. Upon each oc-
casion a limited and temporary advantage has been given to the
opposite party, but an advantage of no importance in comparison
with the restoration of a mutual confidence and good feeling,
and the ultimate establishment of the trade upon fair principles.
It gives me unfeigned pleasure to assure you that this nego-
tiation has been throughout characterized by the most frank and
31— G
482 LIFE AND TIMES OF
friendly spirit on the part of Great Britain, and concluded in a
manner strongly indicative of a sincere desire to cultivate the
best relations with the United States. To reciprocate this dispo-
sition to the fullest extent of my ability is a duty which I shall
deem it a privilege to discharge.
Although the result is itself the best commentary on the serv-
ices rendered to his country by our Minister to the Court of St.
James, it would be doing violence to my feelings were I to dis-
miss the subject without expressing the very high sense I enter-
tain of the talent and exertion which have been displayed by
him on the occasion.
The injury to the commerce of the United States, .resulting
from the exclusion of our vessels from the Black Sea, and the
previous footing of mere sufferance upon which even the limited
trade enjoyed by us with Turkey has hitherto been placed, have
for a long time been a source of much solicitude to this Govern-
ment, and several endeavors have been made to obtain a better
state of things. Sensible of the importance of the object, I felt
it my duty to leave no proper means unemployed to acquire for
our flag the same privileges that are enjoyed by the principal
powers of Europe. Commissioners were consequently appointed
to open a negotiation with the Sublime Porte. Not long after
the members of the commission who went directly from the
United States had sailed, the account of the Treaty of Adrian-
ople, by which one of the objects in view was supposed to be se-
cured, reached this country. The Black Sea was understood to
be opened to us. Under the supposition that this was the case,
the additional facilities to be derived from the establishment of
commercial regulations with the Porte were deemed of sufficient
importance to require a prosecution of the negotiation as origi-
nally contemplated. It was therefore persevered in, and resulted
in a treaty, which will be forthwith laid before the Senate.
By its provision a free passage is secured, without limitation
of time, to the vessels of the United States to and from the
Black Sea, including the navigation thereof; and our trade with
Turkey is placed on the footing of the most favored nation. The
latter is an arrangement wholly independent of the Treaty of
Adrianople ; and the former derives much value, not only from
the increased security which, under any circumstances, it Avould
give to the right in question, but from the fact ascertained in
the course of the negotiation that, by the construction put upon
ANDREW JACKSON. 483
the treaty by Turkey, the article relating to the passage of the
Bosphorus is confined to nations having treaties with the Porte.
The most friendly feelings appear to be entertained by the Sultan,
and an enlightened disposition is evinced by him to foster the
intercourse between the two countries by the most liberal arrange-
ments. This disposition it will be our duty and interest to
cherish.
Our relations with Russia are of the most stable character.
Respect for that empire, and confidence in its friendship toward
the United States, have been so long entertained on our part,
and so carefully cherished by the present emperor and his illus-
trious predecessor, as to have become incorporated with the public
sentiment of the United States. No means will be left unem-
ployed on my part to promote these salutary feelings, and those
improvements of which the commercial intercourse between the
two countries is susceptible, and which have derived increased
importance from our treaty with the Sublime Porte.
I sincerely regret to inform you that our minister lately com-
missioned to that court, on whose distinguished talents and great
experience in public affairs I placed great reliance, has been
compelled, by extreme indisposition, to exercise a privilege
which, in consideration of the extent to which his constitution
had been impaired in the public service, was committed to his
discretion — of leaving temporarily his post for the advantage of
a more genial climate.
If, as is to be hoped, the improvement of his health should be
such as to justify him in doing so, he will repair to St. Peters-
burg, and resume the discharge of his oflScial duties. I have
received the most satisfactory assurance that, in the meantime,
the public interest in that quarter will be preserved from preju-
dice by the intercourse which he will continue, through the sec-
retary of legation, with the Russian cabinet.
You are apprised, although the fact has not been, officially
announced to the House of Representatives, that a treaty was, in
the month of March last, concluded between the United States
and Denmark, by which six hundred and fifty thousand dollars
are secured to our citizens as an indemnity for spoliations upon
their commerce in the years 1808, 1809, 1810, and 1811. This
treaty was sanctioned by the Senate at the close of its last ses-
sion, and it now becomes the duty of Congress to pass the neces-
sary laws for the organization of the board of comraissioijers to
484 LIFE AND TIMES OF
distribute the indemnity among the claimants. It is an agreeable
circumstance of this adjustment, that its terms are in conformity
with the previously ascertained views of the claimants themselves,
thus removing all pretense for a future agitation of the subject
in any form.
The negotiations in regard to such points in our foreign rela-
tions as remain to be adjusted, have been actively prosecuted
during the recess. Material advances have been made, which
are of a character to promise favorable results. Our country, by
the blessing of God, is not in a situation to invite aggression ;
and it wOl be our fault if she ever becomes so. Sincerely desir-
ous to cultivate the most liberal and friendly relations with all ;
ever ready to fulfill our engagements with scrupulous fidelity ;
limiting our demands upon others to mere justice ; holding our-
selves ever ready to do unto them as we would wish to be done
by ; and avoiding even the appearance of undue partiality to any
nation, it appears to me impossible that a simple and sincere ap-
plication of our principles to our foreign relations, can fail to
place them ultimately upon the footing on which it is our wish
they should rest.
Of the points referred to, the most prominent are our claims
upon France for spoliations upon our commerce ; similar claims
upon Spain, together with embarrassments in the commercial in-
tercourse between the two countries, which ought to be removed ;
the conclusion of the treaty of commerce and navigation with
Mexico, which has been so long in suspense, as well as the final
settlement of limits between ourselves and that republic ; and
finally, the arbitrament of the question between the United
States and Great Britain in regard to the north-eastern boundary.
The negotiation with France has been conducted by our min-
ister with zeal and ability, and in all respects to my entire satis-
faction. Although the prospect of a favorable termination was
occasionally dimmed by counter pretensions, to which the United
States could not assent, he yet had strong hopes of being able to
arrive at a satisfactory settlement with the late government.
The negotiation has been renewed with the present authorities ;
and, sensible of the general and lively confidence of our citizens
in the justice and magnanimity of regenerated France, I regret
the more, not to have it in my power yet to announce the result
so confidently anticipated. No grouud, however, inconsistent
with -this expectation has been taken, and I do not allow myself
ANDREW JACKSON. 485
to doubt that justice will soon be done to us. The amouut of
the claims, the length of time they have remained unsatisfied, and
their incontrovertible justice, make an earnest prosecution of
them by this Government an urgent duty. The illegality of the
seizures and confiscations out of which they have arisen is not
disputed ; and whatever distinctions may have heretofore been
set up in regard to the liability of the existing government, it is
quite clear that such considerations can not now be interposed.
The commercial intercourse between the two countries is sus-
ceptible of highly advantageous improvements; but the sense of
this injury has had, and must continue to have, a very unfavora-
ble influence upon them. From its satisfactory adjustment, not
only a firm and cordial friendship, but a progressive development
of all their, relations may be expected. It is therefore my earnest
hope that this old and vexatious subject of difference may be
speedily removed.
I feel that my confidence in our appeal to the motives which
should govern a just and magnanimous nation, is alike warranted
by the character of the French people, and by the high voucher
we possess for the enlarged views and pure integrity of the mon-
arch who now presides over their councils, and nothing shall be
wanting on my part to meet any manifestation of the spirit we
anticipate in one of corresponding frankness and liberality.
The subjects of difference with Spain have been brought to
the view of that government by our minister there, with much
force and propriety ; and the strongest assurances have been re-
ceived of their early and favorable consideration.
The steps which remained to place the matter in controversy
between Great Britain and the United States fairly before the
arbitrator have all been taken in the same liberal and friendly
spirit which characterized those before announced. Recent events
have doubtless served to delay the decision, but our minister at
the court of the distinguished arbitrator has been assured that
it will be made within the time contemplated by the treaty.
I am particularly gratified in being able to state that a de-
cidedly favorable, and, as I hope, lasting change has been effected
in our relations with the neighboring Republic of Mexico. The
unfortunate and unfounded suspicions in regard to our disposition,
which it became my painful duty to advert to on a former
occasion, have been, I believe, entirely removed ; and the Gov-
ernment of Mexico has been made to understand the real char-
486 LIFE AND TIMES OF
acter of the wishes and views of this in regard to that country.
The consequence is, the establishment of friendship and mutual
confidence. Such are the assurances which I have received, and
I see no cause to doubt their sincerity.
I had reason to expect the conclusion of a commercial treaty
with Mexico in season for communication on the present occasion.
Circumstances which are not explained, but which I am per-
suaded are not the result of an indisposition on her part to enter
into it, have produced the delay.
There was reason to fear, in the course of last summer, that
the harmony of our relations might be disturbed by the acts of
certain claimants, under Mexican grants, of territory which has
hitherto been under our jurisdiction. The co-operation of the
representative of Mexico near this Government was a§ked on the
occasion, and was readily aflbrded. Instructions and advice have
been given to the Governor of Arkansas and the officers in com-
mand in the adjoining Mexican State, by which it is hoped the
quiet of that frontier will be preserved, until a final settlement
of the dividing line shall have removed all ground of controversy.
The exchange of ratifications of the treaty concluded last
year Avith Austria has not yet taken place. The delay has been
occasioned by the non-arrival of the ratification of that govern-
ment within the time prescribed by the treaty. Renewed au-
thority has been asked for by the representative of Austria ; and,
in the meantime, the rapidly increasing trade and navigation
between the two countries have been placed upon the most
liberal footing of our navigation acts.
Several alleged depredations have been recently committed on
our commerce by the national vessels of Portugal. They have
been made the subject of immediate remonstrance and reclama-
tion. I am not yet possessed of sufficient information to express
a definitive opinion of their character, but expect soon to receive
it. No proper means shall be omitted to obtain for our citizens
all the redress to which they may appear to be entitled.
Almost at the moment of the adjournment of your last ses-
sion, two bills, the one entitled, " An act for making appropria-
tions for building light-houses, light-boats, beacons, and monu-
ments, placing buoys, and for improving harbors and directing
surveys," and the other, " An act to authorize a subscription for
stock in the Louisville and Portland Canal Company," were sub-
mitted for my approval. It was not possible, within the time
ANDREW JACKSON. 487
allowed me, before the close of the session, to give these bills the
consideration which was due to their character and importance,
and I was compelled to retain them for that purpose. I now
avail myself of this early opportunity to return them to the
Houses in which they respectively originated, with the reasons
W'hich, after mature deliberation, 'compel me to withhold my
approval.
The practice of defraying out of the Treasury of the United
States the expenses incurred by the establishment and support of
light-houses, beacons, buoys, and public piers, within the bays,
inlets, harbors, and ports, within the United States, to render
the navigation thereof safe and easy, is coeval with the adoption
of the Constitution, and has been continued without interruption
or dispute.
As our foreign commerce increased, and was extended into
the interior of the country, by the establishment of ports of
entry and delivery upon our navigable rivers, the sphere of those
expenditures received a corresponding enlargement. Light-houses,
beacons, buoys, public piers, and the removal of sand-bars, saw-
yers, and other partial or temporary impediments in the navi-
gable rivers and harbors, which were embraced in the revenue
districts from time to time established by law, were authorized
upon the same principle, and the expense defrayed in the same
manner. That these expenses have at times been extravagant
and disproportionate, it is very probable. The circumstances
under which they are incurred are well calculated to lead to such
a result, unless their application is subjected to the closest scru-
tiny. The local advantages arising from the disbursement of
public money too frequently, it is to be feared, invite appropria-
tions for objects of this character, that are neither necessary
nor useful.
The number of light-house keepers is already very large, and
the bill before me proposes to add to it fifty-one more, of various
descriptions. From representations upon the subject which are
understood to be entitled to respect, I am induced to believe that
there has not only been great improvidence in the past expendi-
tures of the Government upon these objects, but that the secu-
rity of navigation has, in some instances, been diminished by the
multiplication of light-houses, and consequent change of lights,
upon the coast. It is in this, as in other respects, our duty
to avoid all unnecessary expense, as well as every increase of
488 LIFE AND TIMES OF
patronage not called for by the public service. But, in the dis-
charge of that duty in this particular, it must not be forgotten
that, in relation to our foreign commerce, the burden and ben-
efit of protecting and accommodating it necessarily go together,
and must do so as long as the public revenue is drawn from the
people through the custorb-house. It is indisputable that what-
ever gives facility and security to navigation, cheapens imports ;
and all who consume them are alike interested in whatever pro-
duces this effect. If they consume, they ought, as they now do,
to pay ; otherwise they do not pay. The consumer, in the most
inland State, derives the same advantage from every necessary
and prudent expenditure for the facility and security of our for-
eign commerce and navigation, that he does who resides in a
maritime State. Local expenditures have not of themselves a
correspondent operation.
From a bill making direct appropriations for such objects, I
should not have withheld my assent. The one now returned
does so in several particulars, but it also contains appropriations
for surveys of a local character which I can not approve. It
gives me satisfaction to find that no serious inconvenience has
arisen from withholding my approval from this bill ; nor will it,
I trust, be cause of regret that an opportunity will be thereby
afforded for Congress to review its provisions under circumstances
better calculated for full investigation than those under which it
was passed.
In speaking of direct appropriations, I mean not to include
a practice which has obtained, to some extent, and to which I
have, in one instance, in a different capacity, given my assent,
that of subscribing to the stock of private associations. Positive
experience, and a more thorough consideration, of the subject,
have convinced me of the impropriety as well as inexpediency
of such investments. All improvements effected by the funds of
the Nation for general use should be open to the enjoyment of
all our fellow-citizens, exempt from the payment of tolls, or any
imposition of that character. The practice of thus mingling the
concerns of the Government with those of the States or of individ-
uals, is inconsistent with the object of its institution, and highly
impolitic. The successful operation of the federal system can
only be preserved by confining it to the few and simple, but yet
important, objects for which it was designed.
A different practice, if allowed to progress, would ultimately
ANDREW JACKSON. 489
change the character of this Government, by consolidating into
one the General and State Governments, which were intended to
be kept forever distinct. I can not perceive how bills author-
izing such subscriptions can be otherwise regarded than as bills
for revenue, and consequently subject to the rule in that respect
prescribed by the Constitution. If the interest of the Govern-
ment in private companies is subordinate to that of individuals,
the management and control of a portion of the public funds is
delegated to an authority unknown to the Constitution, and
beyond the supervision of our constituents; if superior, its
officers and agents will be constantly exposed to imputations of
favoritism and oppression. Direct prejudice to the public inter-
est, or an alienation of the affections and respect of portions of
the people, may, therefore, in addition to the general discredit
resulting to the Government from embarking with its constituents
in pecuniary speculations, be looked for as the probable fruit of
such associations. It is no answer to this objection to say that
the extent of consequences like these can not be great from a
limited and small number of investments; because experience in
other matters teaches us, and we are not at liberty to disregard
its admonitions, that, unless an entire stop be put to them, it will
soon be impossible to prevent their accumulation, until they are
spread over the whole country, and made to embrace many of
the private and appropriate concerns of individuals.
The power which the General Government would acquire
within the several States by becoming the principal stockholder
in corporations, controlling every canal and each sixty or hun-
dred miles of every important road, and giving a proportionate
vote in all their elections, is almost inconceivable, and, in my
view, dangerous to the liberties of the people.
This mode of aiding such works is, also, in its nature decep-
tive, and in many cases conductive to improvidence in the admin-
istration of the National funds. Appropriations will be obtained
with much greater facility, and granted with less security to the
public interest, when the measure is thus disguised, than when
definite and direct expenditures of money are asked for. The
interests of the Nation would doubtless be better served by avoid-
ing all such indirect modes of aiding particular objects. In a
Government like ours, more especially, should all public acts be,
as far as practicable, simple, undisguised, and intelligible, that
they may become fit subjects for the approbation or animadversion
490 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the people. The bill authorizing a silbscription to the
Louisville and Portland Canal affords a striking illustration of
the difficulty of withholding additional appropriations for the
same object, when the first erroneous step has been taken, by
instituting a partnership between the Government and private
companies. It proposes a third subscription on the part of the
United States, when each preceding one was at the time regarded
as the extent of the aid which Government was to render to that
work; and the accompanying bill for light-houses, etc., contains
an appropriation for the survey of the bed of the river, with a
view to its improvement, by removing the obstruction which the
canal is designed to avoid. This improvement, if successful,
would afford a free passage to the river, and render the canal
entirely useless. To such improvidence is the course of legisla-
tion subje6t, in relation to internal improvements on local mat-
ters, even with the best intentions on the part of Congress.
Although the motives which have influenced me in this
matter may be already sufficiently stated, I am nevertheless in-
duced by its importance to add a few observations of a general
character.
In my objections to the bills authorizing subscriptions to the
Maysville and Rockville Road Companies, I expressed my views
fully in regard to the power of Congress to construct roads and
canals within the State, or to appropriate money for improve-
ments of a local character. I at the same time intimated my
belief that the right to make appropriations for such as were of
a national character had been so generally acted upon, and so
long acquiesced in by the Federal and State Governments, and
the constituents of each, as to justify its exercise on the ground
of continued and uninterrupted usage ; but that it was, neverthe-
less, highly expedient that appropriations, even of that character,
should, with the exception made at the time, be deferred until
the national debt is paid, and that, in the meanwhile, some
general rule for the action of the Government in that respect
ought to be established.
These suggestions were not necessary to the decision of the
question then before me ; and were, I readily admit, intended to
awaken the attention and draw forth the opinions and observa-
tions of our constituents, upon a subject of the highest impor-
tance to their interests, and one destined to exert a powerful
influence upon the future operations of our political system. I
ANDREW JACKSON. 491
know of no tribunal to which a public man in this country, in a
case of doubt and difficulty, can appeal with greater advantage
or more propriety than the judgment of the people ; and although
I must necessarily, in the discharge of my official duties, be gov-
erned by the dictates of my own judgment, I have no desire to
conceal my anxious wish to conform, as far as I can, to the
views of those for whom I act.
All irregular expressions of public opinion ai'e of necessity
attended with some doubt as to their accuracy ; but making full
allowances on that account, I can not, I think, deceive myself in
believing that the acts referred to, as well as the suggestions
which I allowed myself to make in relation to their bearing upon
the future operations of the Government, have been approved
by the great body of the people. That those whose immediate
pecuniary interests are to be affected by proposed expenditures,
should shrink from the application of a rule which prefers their
more general and remote interests to those which are personal
and immediate, is to be expected. But even such objections
must, from the nature of our population, be but temporary in
their duration; and if it were otherwise, our course should be
the same ; for the time is yet, I hope, far distant, when those in-
trusted with power to be exercised for the good of the whole,
will consider it either honest or wise to purchase local favor at
the sacrifice of principle and general good.
So understanding public sentiment, and thoroughly satisfied
that the best interests of our common country imperiously require
that the course which I have recommended in this regard should
be adopted, I have, upon the most mature consideration, deter-
mined to pursue it.
It is due to candor, as well as to my own feelings, that I
should express the reluctance and anxiety which I must at all
times experience in exercising the undoubted right of the Exec-
utive to withhold his assent from bills on other grounds than
their unconstitutionality. That this right should not be exercised
on slight occasions, all will admit. It is only in matters of deep
interest, when the principle involved may be justly regarded as
next in importance to infractions of the Constitution itself, that
such a step can be expected to meet with the approbation of the
people. Such an occasion do I conscientiously believe the present
to be. In the discharge of this delicate and highly responsible duty,
I am sustained by the reflection that the exercise of this power has
492 LIFE AND TIMES OF
been deemed consistent with the obligations of official duty by
several of my predecessors; and by the persuasion, too, that
whatever liberal institutions may have to fear from the encroach-
ments of Executive power, which has been everywhere the cause
of so much strife and bloody contention, but little danger is to
be apprehended from a precedent by which the authority denies
to itself the exercise of powers that bring in their train iuflu-
ence and patronage of great extent; and thus excludes the
operation of personal interests, everywhere the bane of official
trust. I derive, too, no small degree of satisfaction from the
reflection that, if I have mistaken the interests and wishes of the
people, the Constitution aflbrds the means of soon redressing the
error, by selecting for the place their favor has bestowed upon
me a citizen whose opinions mfey accord with their own. I trust,
in the meantime, the interests of the Nation will be saved from
prejudice, by a rigid application of that portion of the public
funds which might otherwise be applied to different objects, to
that highest of all our obligations, the payment of the public
debt, and an opportunity be afforded for the adoption of some
better rule for the operations of the Government in this matter,
than any which has hitherto been acted upon.
Profoundly impressed with the importance of the subject, not
merely as it relates to the general prosperity of the country, but
to the safety of the federal system, I can not avoid repeating my
earnest hope that all good citizens, who take a proper interest in
the success and harmony of our admirable political institutions,
and who are incapable of desiring to convert an opposite state
of things into means for the gratification of personal ambition,
will, laying aside minor cousiderations, and discarding local
prejudices, unite their honest exertions to establish some fixed
general principle which shall be calculated to effect the greatest
extent of public good in regard to the subject of internal im-
provement, and afford the least ground for sectional discontent.
The general ground of my objection to local appropriations
has been heretofore expressed ; and I shall endeavor to avoid a
repetition of what has. been already urged, the importance of
sustaining the State sovereignties as far as is consistent with the
rightful action of the Federal Government, and of preserving
the greatest attainable harmony between them. I will now only
add an expression of my conviction, a conviction which every
day's experience serves to confirm, that the political creed which
ANDREW JACKSON. 493
inculcates the pursuit of those great objects as a paramount duty,
is the true faith, and one to which we are mainly indebted for
the present success of the entire system ; and to which we must
alone look for its future stability.
That there are diversities in the interests of the different States
which compose this extensive confederacy, must be admitted.
Those diversities arising from situation, climate, population, and
pursuits, are doubtless, as it is natural they should be, greatly
exaggerated by jealousies, and that spirit of rivalry so insepara-
ble from neighboring coijamunities. These circumstances make
it the duty of those who are intrusted with the management of
its affairs, to neutralize their effects as far as practicable, by
making the beneficial operation of the Federal Government as
equal and equitable among the several States as can be done con-
sistently with the great ends of its institution.
It is only necessary to refer to undoubted facts, to see how
far the past acts of the Government upon the subject under con-
sideration have fallen short of this object. The expenditures
heretofore made for internal improvements amount to upward of
five millions of dollars, and have been distributed in very un-
equal proportions among the States. The estimated expense of
works, of Avhich surveys have been made, together with that of
others projected and partially surveyed, amounts to more than
ninety-six millions of dollars.
That such improvements, on account of particular circum-
stances, may be more advantageously and beneficially made in
some States than in others, is doubtless true ; but that they
are of a character which should prevent an equitable distribu-
tion of the funds among the several States, is not to be conceded.
The want of this equitable distribution can not fail to prove a
prolific source of irritation among the States.
We have it constantly before our eyes, that profession of
superior zeal in the cause of internal improvement, and a dispo-
sition to lavish the public funds upon objects of this character,
are daily and earnestly put forth by aspirants to power, as con-
stituting the highest claims to the confidence of the people.
Would it be strange, under such circumstances, and in times of
great excitement, that grants of this description should find their
motives in objects which may not accord with the public good?
Those who have not had occasion to see and regret the indication
of a sinister influence in these matters in past times, have been
494 LIFE AND TIMES OF
more fortunate than myself in their observations of the course
of public affairs. If to these evils be added the combinations
and angry contentions to which such a course of things gives
rise, with their baleful influences upon the legislation of Con-
gress, touching the leading and appropriate duties of the Federal
Government, it was but doing justice to the character of our
people to expect the severe condemnation of the past, which the
recent exhibition of public sentiment has evinced.
Nothing short of a radical change in the action of the Gov-
ernment upon the subject can, in my opinion, remedy the evil.
If, as it would be natural to expect, the States which have been
least favored in past appropriations should insist on being re-
dressed in those hereafter to be made, at the expense of the
States which have so largely and disproportionately participated,
we have, as matters now stand, but little security that the
attempt would do more than change the inequality from one
quai'ter to another.
Thus viewing the subject, I have heretofore felt it my duty
to recommend the adoption of some plan for the distribution of
the surplus funds, which may at any time remain in the Treasury
after the national debt shall have been paid, among the States, in
proportion to the number of their representatives, to be applied
by them to objects of internal improvement.
Although this plan has met with favor in some portions of
the Union, it has also elicited objections which merit deliberate
consideration. A brief notice of these objections here will not
therefore, I trust, be regarded as out of place.
They rest, as far as they have come to my knowledge, on the
following grounds : 1st, an objection to the ratio of distribution ;
2d, an apprehension that the existence of such a regulation would
produce an improvident and oppressive taxation to raise the funds
for distribution ; 3d, that the mode proposed would lead to the
construction of works of a local nature, to the exclusion of such
as are general, and as would consequently be of a more useful
character ; and last, that it would create a discreditable and in-
jurious dependence on the part of the State governments upon the
Federal power. Of those who object to the ratio of representa-
tion as the basis of distribution, some insist that the importations
of the respective States would constitute one that would be more
equitable ; and others again, that the extent of their respective
territories would furnish a standard which would be more expe-
ANDREW JACKSON. 495
dient and sufficiently equitable. The ratio of representation pre-
sented itself to my mind, and it still does, as one of obvious
equity, because of its being the ratio of contribution, whether the
funds to be distributed be derived from the customs or from direct
taxation. It does not follow, however, that its adoption is indis-
pensable to the establishment of the system proposed. There
may be considerations appertaining to the subject which would
render a departure, to some extent, from the rule of contribution
proper. Nor is it absolutely necessary that the basis of distribu-
tion be confined to one ground. It may, if, in the judgment of
those whose right it is to fix it, it be deemed politic and just to
give it that character, have regard to several.
In my first message, I stated it to be my opinion that "it is
not probable that any adjustment of the tariff' upon principles
satisfactory to the people of the Union will, until a remote period,
if ever, leave the Government without a considerable surplus in
the treasury beyond what may be required for its current service."
I have had no cause to change that opinion, but much to confirm
it. Should these expectations be realized, a suitable fund would
thus be produced for the plan under consideration to operate
upon ; and if there be no such fund, its adoption will, in my
opinion, work no injury to any interest ; for I can not assent to
the justness of the apprehension that^ the establishment of the
proposed system would tend to the encouragement of improvident
legislation of the character supposed. Whatever the proper
authority in the exercise of Constitutional power shall at any
time hereafter decide to be for the general good, will, in that as
in other respects, deserve and receive the acquiescence and sup-
port of the whole country ; and we have ample security that every
abuse of power in that regard by the agents of the people will
receive a speedy and efiectual corrective at their hands. The
views which I take of the future, founded on the obvious and in-
creasing improvement of all classes of our fellow-citizens, in intel-
ligence, and in public and private virtue, leave me without much
apprehension on that head. I do not doubt that those who come
after us will be as much alive as we are to the obligation upon
all the trustees of political power to exempt those for whom they
act from all unnecessary burdens ; and as sensible of the great
truth, that the resources of the Nation, beyond those required for
the immediate and necessary purposes of Government, can no-
where be so well deposited as in the pockets of the people.
496 LIFE AND TIMES OF
It may sometimes happen that the interests of particular States
would not be deemed to coincide with the general interests in re-
lation to improvement within such State. But, if the danger to
be apprehended from this source is sufficient to require it, a dis-
cretion might be reserved to Congress to direct, to such improve-
ment of a general character as the States concerned might not be
disposed to unite in, the application of the quotas of those States,
under the restriction of confining to each State the expenditure
of its appropriate quota. It may, however, be assumed as a safe
general rule, that such improvements as serve to increase the pros-
perity of the respective States in which they are made, by giving
new facilities to trade, and thereby augmenting the wealth and
comfort of their inhabitants, constitute the surest mode of confer-
ring permanent and substantial advantages upon the whole. The
strength, as well as the true glory of the Confederacy, is founded
on the prosperity and power of the several independent sover-
eignties of which it is composed, and the certainty with which
they can be brought into successful active co-operation, through
the agency of the Federal Government.
It is, moreover, within the knowledge of such as are at all
conversant with public affairs, that schemes of internal improve-
ment have from time to time been proposed, which, from their
extent and seeming magnificence, were regarded as of national
concernment ; but which, upon fuller consideration and further
experience, would now be rejected with great unanimity.
That the plan under consideration would derive important ad-
vantages from its certainty ; and that the moneys set apart for
these purposes would be more judiciously applied and economically
expended under the direction of the State Legislatures, in which
every part of each State is immediately represented, can not, I
think, be doubted. In the new States particularly, where a com-
paratively small population is scattered over an extensive surface,
and the representation in Congress consequently very limited, it
is natural to expect that the appropriations made by the Federal
Government would be more likely to be expended in the vicinity
of those members through whose immediate agency they were ob-
tained, than if the funds were placed under the control of the
Legislature, in which every county of the State has its own rep-
resentative. This supposition does not necessarily impugn the
motives of such Congressional Representatives, nor is it so in-
tended. We are all sensible of the bias to which ike strone:est
ANDREW JACKSON. 497
minds and purest hearts are, under such circumstances, liable.
In respect to the last objection, its probable effect upon the dig-
nity and independence of the State governments, it appears to me
only necessary to state the case as it is, and as it would be if
the measures proposed were adopted, to show that the operation
is most likely to be the very reverse of that which the objection
supposes.
In the one case, the State would receive its quota of the na-
tional revenue for domestic use upon a fixed principle, as a matter
of right, and from a fund to the creation of which it had itself
contributed its fair proportion. Surely there could be nothing
derogatory in that. As matters now stand, the States themselves,
in their sovereign character, are not unfrequently petitioners at
the bar of the Federal Legislature for such allowances out of the
national treasury as it may comport with their pleasure or sense
of duty to bestow upon them. It can not require argument to
prove which of the two courses is most compatible with the effi-
ciency or respectability of the State governments.
But all these are matters for discussion and dispassionate con-
sideration. That the desired adjustment would be attended with
difficulty, affords no reason why it should not be attempted. The
effective operation of such motives would have prevented the
adoption of the Constitution under which we have so long lived,
and under the benign influence of which our beloved country has
so signally prospered. The framers of that sacred instrument had
greater difficulties to overcome; and they did overcome them.
The patriotism of the people, directed by a deep conviction of
the importance of the Union, produced mutual concession and
reciprocal forbearance. Strict right was merged in a spirit of
compromise, and the result has consecrated their disinterested de-
votion to the general weal. Unless the American people have
degenerated, the same result can be again effected, whenever ex-
perience points out the necessity of a resort to the same means to
uphold the fabric which their fathers had reared. It is beyond
the power of man to make a system of government like ours, or
any other, operate with precise equality upon States situated like
those which compose this Confederacy ; nor is inequality always
injustice. Every State can not expect to shape the measures of
the General Government to suit its own particular interests. The
causes which prevent it are seated in the nature of things, and
can not be entirely counteracted by human means. Mutual
32— G
498 LIFE AND TIMES OF
forbearance, therefore, becomes a duty obligatory upon all ; and wc
may, I am confident, count upon a cheerful compliance with this
high injunction on the part of our constituents. It is not to be
supposed that they will object to make such comparatively incon-
siderable sacrifices for the preservation of rights and privileges
which other less-favored portions of the world have in vain waded
through seas of blood to acquire.
Our course is a safe one, if it be but faithfully adhered to.
Acquiescence in the constitutionally expressed will of the majority,
and the exercise of that will in a spirit of moderation, justice,
and brotherly kindness, will constitute a cement which would for-
ever preserve our Union. Those who cherish and inculcate senti-
ments like these, render a most essential service to their country ;
while those who seek to weaken their influence are, however
conscientious and praiseworthy their intentions, in eflTect, its worst
enemies.
If the intelligence and influence of the country, instead of
laboring to foment sectional prejudices, to be made subservient to
party warfare, were in good faith applied to the eradication of
causes of local discontent, by the improvement of our institutions,
and by facilitating their adaptation to the condition of the times,
this task would prove one of less difficulty. May we not hope
that the obvious interests of our common country, and the dic-
tates of an enlightened patriotism, will, in the end, lead the pub-
lic mind in that direction.
After all, the nature of the subject does not admit of a plan
wholly free from objection. That which has for some time been
in operation, is, perhaps, the worst that could exist; and every
advance that can be made in its improvement is a matter emi-
nently worthy of your most deliberate attention.
It is very possible that one better calculated to effect the ob-
jects in view may yet be devised. If so, it is to be hoped that
those who disapprove of the past, and dissent from what is pro-
posed for the future, will feel it their duty to direct their atten-
tion to it, as they must be sensible that, unless some fixed rule
for the action of the Federal Government in this respect is estab-
lished, the course now attempted to he arrested will be again re-
sorted to. Any mode which is calculated to give the greatest
degree of eflfect and harmony to our legislaticm upon the subject ;
which shall best serve to keep the movements of the Federal
Government within the sphere intended by those who modeled
ANDREW JACKSON. 499
and those who adopted it ; which shall lead to the extinguishment
of the national debt in the shortest period, and impose the light-
est burdens upon our constituents, shall receive from me a cordial
and firm support.
Among the objects of great national concern, I can not omit
to press again upon your attention that part of the Constitution
which regulates the election of President and Vice-President. The
necessity for its amendment is made so clear to my mind by the
observation of its evils, and by the many able discussions which
they have elicited on the floor of Congress and elsewhere, that I
should be wanting in ray duty were I to withhold another ex-
pression of my deep solicitude upon the subject. Our system
fortunately contemplates a recurrence to first principles, differing
in this respect from all that have preceded it, and securing it, I
trust, equally against the decay and the commotions which have
marked the progress of other governments. Our fellow-citizens,
too, who, in proportion to their love of liberty, keep a steady eye
upon the means of sustaining it, do not require to be reminded of
the duty they owe to themselves, to remedy all essential defects
in so vital a part of their system. While they are sensible that
every evil attendant upon its operation is not necessarily indicative
of a bad organization, but may proceed from temporary causes,
yet the habitual presence, or even a single instance of evils which
can be clearly traced to an organic defect, will not, I trust, be
overlooked through a too scrupulous veneration for the work of
their ancestors. The Constitution was an experiment committed
to the virtue and intelligence of the great mass of our country-
men, in whose ranks the framers of it themselves were to perform
the part of patriotic observation and scrutiny ; and if they have
.passed from the stage of existence with an increased confidence
in its general adaptation to our condition, we should learn from
authority so high the duty of fortifying the points in it which
time proves to be exposed, rather than be deterred from approach-
ing them by the suggestions of fear, or the dictates of misplaced
reverence.
A provision which does not secure to the people a direct choice
of their Chief Magistrate, but has a tendency to defeat their will,
presented to my mind such an inconsistency with the general
spirit of our institutions, that I was induced to suggest for your
consideration the substitute which appeared to me, at the same
time, the most likely to correct the evil, and to meet the views
500 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of our constitueuts. The most mature reflection since has added
strength to the belief that the best interests of our country re-
quire the speedy adoption of some plan calculated to effect this
end. A contingency which sometimes places it iu the power of a
single member of the House of Representatives to decide an elec-
tion of so high and solemn a character, is unjust to the people ;
and becomes, when it occurs, a source of embarrassment to the
individuals thus brought into power, and a cause of distrust of
the representative body. Liable as the Confederacy is, from its
great extent, to parties founded upon sectional interests, and to
corresponding multiplication of candidates for the Presidency, the
tendency of the Constitutional reference to the House of Repre-
sentatives is to devolve the election upon that body in almost
every instance; and, whatever choice may then be made among
the candidates thus presented to them, to swell the influence of
particular interests to a degree inconsistent with the general good.
The consequences of this feature of the Constitution appear far
more threatening to the peace and integrity of the Union than
any which I can conceive as likely to result from the simple legis-
lative action of the Federal Government.
It was a leading object wuth the framers of the Constitution
to keep as separate as possible the action of the legislative and
executive branches of the Government. To secure this object,
nothing is more essential than to preserve the former from the
temptations of private interest, and therefore so to direct the pat-
ronage of the latter as not to permit such temptations to be
offered. Experience abundantly demonstrates that every precau-
tion in this respect is a valuable safeguard of liberty, and one
which my reflections upon the tendencies of our system incline
me to think should be made still stronger. It was for this reason-
that, in connection with an amendment of the Constitution re-
moving all intermediate agency in the choice of the President, I
recommended some restrictions upon the re-eligibility of that
officer and upon the tenure of officers generally. The reason still
exists; and I renew the recommendation, with an increased con-
fidence that this adoption will strengthen those checks by which
the Constitution designed to secure the independence of each de-
partment of the Government, and promote the healthful and
equitable administration of all the trusts which it has created.
The agent most likely to contravene this design of the Constitu-
tion is the Chief Magistrate. In order, particularly, that this
ANDREW JACKSON. 501
appointment may, us far as possible, be placed beyond the reacli of
any improper influences ; in order that he may approach the sol-
emu responsibilities of the highest office in the gift of a free
people, uncommitted to any other course than the strict line of
Constitutional duty ; and that the securities for this independence
may be rendered as strong as the nature of power, and the weak-
ness of its possessor, will admit, I can not too earnestly invite
your attention to the propriety of promoting such amendment of
the Constitution as will render him ineligible after one term of
service.
It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevo-
lent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty
years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white
settlements, is approaching to a happy consummation. Two im-
portant tribes have accepted the provision made for their removal
at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that their ex-
ample will induce the remaining tribes, also, to seek the same
obvious advantages.
The consequences of a speedy removal will be important to
the United States, to individual States, and to the Indians them-
selves. The pecuniary advantages which it promises to the Gov-
ernment are the least of its recommendations. It puts an end to
all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the Gen-
eral and State Governments, on account of the Indians. It will
place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country
now occupied by a few savage hunters. By opening the whole
territory between Tennessee on the north, and Louisiana on the
south, to the settlements of the whites, it will incalculably
strengthen the south-western frontier, and render the adjacent
States strong enough to repel future invasion without remote aid.
It will relieve the whole State of Mississippi, and the western part
of Alabama, of Indian occupancy, and enable those States to ad-
vance rapidly in population, wealth, and power. It will separate
the Indians from immediate contact with the settlements of the
* whites ; free them from the power of the States ; enable them to
pursue happiness in their own way, and under their own rude in-
stitutions ; will retard the progress of decay which is lessening
their numbers ; and perhaps cause them gradually, under the pro-
tection of the Government, and through the influence of good
counsels, to cast off* their savage habits, and become an interest-
ing, civilized, and Christian community. These consequences.
502 LIFE AND TIMES OF
some of them so certain, and the rest so probable, make the com-
plete execution of the plan sanctioned by Congress at their last
session, an object of much solicitude.
Toward the aborigines of the country no one can indulge a
more friendly feeling than myself, or would go further in attempt-
ing to reclaim them from their wandering habits, and make them
a happy and prosperous people. I have endeavored to impress
upon them my own solemn convictions of the duties and powers
of the General Government in relation to the State authorities.
For the justice of the laws passed by the States within the scope
of their reserved powers, they are not responsible to this Govern-
ment. As individuals, we may entertain and express our opinions
of their acts ; but as a Government, we have as little right to
control them as we have to prescribe laws to foreign nations.
With a full understanding of the subject, the Choctaw and
the Chickasaw tribes have, with great unanimity, determined to
avail themselves of the liberal offers presented by the act of Con-
gress, and have agreed to remove beyond the Mississippi River.
Treaties have been made with them, which, in due season, will
be submitted for consideration. In negotiating these treaties,
they were made to understand their true condition ; and they
have preferred maintaining their independence in the western for-
ests, to submitting to the laws of the State in which they now re-
side. These treaties bemg probably the last which will ever be
made with them, are characterized by great liberality on the part
of the Government. They give the Indians a liberal sum in con-
sideration of their removal, and comfortable subsistence on their
arrival at their new homes. If it be their real interest to main-
tain a separate existence, they will there be at liberty to do so
without the inconveniences and vexations to which they would
unavoidably have been subject in Alabama and Mississippi.
Humanity has often wept over the fate of the aborigines of
this country, and philanthropy has been long busily employed in
devising means to avert it. But its progress has never for a mo- ^
ment been arrested ; and, one by one, have many powerful tribes
disappeared from the earth. To follow to the tomb the last of
his race, and to tread on the graves of extinct nations, excite
melancholy reflections. But true philanthropy reconciles the
mind to these vicissitudes, as it does to tlie extinction of one gen-
eration to make room for another. In the monuments and for-
tresses of an unknown people, spread over the extensive regions
ANDREW JACKSON. 503
of the West, we behold the memorials of a once powerful race,
which was exterminated, or has disappeared, to make room for
the existing savage tribes. Nor is there anything in this, which,
upon a comprehensive view of the general interests of the human
race, is to be regretted. Philanthropy could not wish to see this
continent restored to the condition in which it was found by our
forefathers. What good man would prefer a country covered
with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages, to our exten-
sive republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms;
embellished with all the improvements which art can devise, or
industry execute ; occupied by more than twelve millions of happy
people, and filled with all the blessings of liberty, civilization,
and religion ?
The present policy of the Government is but a continuation
of the same progressive change, by a milder process. The tribes
which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States,
were annihilated, or have melted away, to make room for the
whites. The waves of population and civilization are rolling to
the westward ; and we now propose to acquire the countries occu-
pied by the red men of the South and West by a fair exchange,
and, at the expense of the United States, to send them to a land
where their existence may be prolonged, and perhaps made per-
petual. Doubtless it will be painful to leave the graves of their
fathers ; but what do they more than our ancestors did, or than
our children are now doing? To better their condition in an un-
known land, our forefathers left all that was dear in earthly ob-
jects. Our children, by thousands yearly leave the land of their
birth, to seek new homes in distant regions. Does humanity weep
at these painful separations from everything, animate and inan-
imate, with which the young heart has become entwined? Far
from it. It is rather a source of joy that our country affords
scope where our young population may range unconstrained in
body or in mind, developing the power and faculties of man in
their highest perfection. These remove hundreds, and almost
thousands of miles, at their own expense, purchase the lauds they
occupy, and support themselves at their new homes, from the
moment of their arrival. Can it be cruel in this Government,
when, by events which it can not control, the Indian is made dis-
contented in his ancient home, to purchase his lands, to give him
a new and extensive territory, to pay the expense of his removal,
and support him a year in his new abode ? How many thousands
504 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of our own people woulci gladly embrace the opportunity of re-
moving to the West on such conditions? If the offers made to
the Indians were extended to them, they would be hailed with
gratitude and joy.
And is it supposed that the wandering savage has a stronger
attachment to his home than the settled, civilized Christian? Is
it more afflicting to him to leave the graves of his fathers than it
is to our brothers and children? Rightly considered, the policy
of the General Government toward the red man is not only lib-
eral but generous. He is unwilling to submit to the laws of the
States and mingle with their population. To save him from this
alternative, or, perhaps, utter annihilation, the General Govern-
ment kindly offers him a new home, and proposes to pay the
whole expense of his removal and settlement.
In the consummation of a policy originating at an early
period, and steadily pursued by every Administration within the
present century, so just to the States and so generous to the In-
dians, the Executive feels it has a right to expect the co-operation
of Congress, and of all good and disinterested men. The States,
moreover, have a right to demand it. It was substantially a part
of the compact which made them members of our confederacy.
With Georgia there is an express contract ; with the new States
an implied one, of equal obligation. Why, in authorizing
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama to
form constitutions and become separate States, did Congress in-
clude within their limits extensive tracts of Indian lands, and,
in some instances, powerful Indian tribes? Was it not under-
stood by both parties that the power of the States was to be
coextensive with their limits, and that, with all convenient dis-
patch, the General Government should extinguish the Indian title,
and remove every obstruction to the complete jurisdiction of the
State governments over the soil? Probably not one of those
States would have accepted a separate existence ; certainly it
would never have been granted by Congress, had it been under-
stood that they were confined forever to those small portions of
their nominal territory, the Indian title to which had, at the
time, been extinguished.
It is, therefore, a duty which this Government owes to the
new States to extinguish, as soon as possible, the Indian title to
all lands which Congress themselves have included within their
limits. When this is done, the duties of the General Govern-
ANDREW JACKSON. 505
ment in relation to the States and the Indians within their limits
are at an end. The Indians may leave the State or not, as they
choose. The purchase of their lands does not alter, in the least,
their personal relations with the State government. No act of
the General Government has ever been deemed necessary to give
the States jurisdiction over the persons of the Indians ; that they
possess by virtue of their sovereign power within their own limits,
in as full a manner before as after the purchase of the Indian
lands, nor can this Government add to or diminish it.
May we not hope, therefore, that all good citizens, and none
more zealously than those who think the Indians oppressed by
subjection to the laws of the States, will unite in attempting to
open the eyes of these children of the forest to their true condi-
tion ; and, by a speedy removal, to relieve them from the evils,
real or imaginary, present or prospective, with which they may
be supposed to be threatened.
Among the numerous causes of congratulation, the con-
dition of our impost revenue deserves special mention, inas-
much as it promises the means of extinguishing the public debt
sooner than was anticipated, and furnishes a strong illustration
of the practical effects of the present tariff upon our commercial
interests.
The object of the tariff is objected to by some as uncon-
stitutional ; and it is considered by almost all as defective in
many of its parts.
The power to impose duties on imports originally belonged to
the several States. The right to adjust those duties with a view
to the encouragement of domestic branches of industry, is so
completely identical with that power, that it is difficult to sup-
pose the existence of the one without the other. The States have
delegated their whole authority over imports to the General Gov-
ernment, without limitation or restriction, saving the very incon-
siderable reservation relating to their inspection laws. This
authority having thus entirely passed from the States, the right to
exercise it for the purpose of protection does not exist in them ;
and, consequently, if it be not possessed by the General Govern-
ment, it must be extinct. Our political system would thus pre-
sent the anomaly of a people stripped of the right to foster their
own industry, and to counteract the most selfish and destructive
policy which might be adopted by foreign nations. This surely
can not be the case ; this indispensable power, thus surrendered
506 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by the States, must be within the scope of the authority on the
subject expressly delegated to Congress.
In this conclusion I am confirmed, as well by the opinions of
Presidents AVashington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, who
have each repeatedly recommended the exercise of this right under
the Constitution, as by the uniform practice of Congress, the
continued acquiescence of the States, and the general under-
standing of the people.
The difficulties of a more expedient adjustment of the present
tariff, although great, are far from being insurmountable. Some
are unwilling to improve any of its parts, because they would
destroy the whole ; others fear to touch the objectionable parts,
lest those they approve should be jeoparded. I am persuaded
that the advocates of these conflicting views do injustice to the
American people and to their representatives. The general in-
terest is the interest of each ; and my confidence is entire, that
to insure the adoption of such modifications of the tariff" as the
general interest requires, it is only necessary that that interest
should be understood.
It is an infirmity of our nature to mingle our interests and
prejudices with the operation of our reasoning powers, and attrib-
ute to the objects of our likes and dislikes qualities they do
not possess, and eflfects they can not produce. The effects of the
present tariflf are doubtless overrated, both in its evils and in its
advantages. By one class of reasoners the reduced price of cotton
and other agricultural products is ascribed wholly to its influence,
and by another, the reduced price of manufactured articles. The
probability is that neither opinion approaches the truth, and that
both are induced by that influence of interest and prejudices to
which I have referred. The decrease of prices extends through-
out the commercial world, embracing not only the raw material
and the manufactured article, but provisions and lands. The
cause must, therefore, be deeper and more pervading than the
tariff" of the United States. It may, in a measure, be attrib-
utable to the increased value of the precious metals, produced by
a diminution of the supply and an increase in the demand;
while commerce has rapidly extended itself, and population has
augmented. The supply of gold and silver, the general medium
of exchange, has been greatly interrupted by civil convulsions, in
the countries from which they are principally drawn. A part of
the eff*ect, too, is doubtless owing to an increase of operatives and
ANDREW JACKSON. 507
improvements in machinery. But, on the whole, it is question-
able whether the reduction in the price of lands, produce, and
manufactures has been greater than the appreciation of the
standard of value.
While the chief object of duties should be revenue, they may
be so adjusted as to encourage manufactures. In this adjustment,
however, it is the duty of the Government to be guided by the
general good. Objects of national importance alone ought to be
protected; of these, the productions of our soil, our mines, and
our workshops, essential to national defense, occupy the first rank.
Whatever other species of domestic industry, having the impor-
tance to which I have referred, may be expected, after temporary
protection, to compete with foreign labor on equal terms, merit
the same attention in a subordinate degree.
The present tariff taxes some of the comforts of life unneces-
sarily high ; it undertakes to protect interests too local and minute
to justify a general exaction ; and it also attempts to force some
kinds of manufactures for which the country is not ripe. Much
relief will be derived in some of these respects from the meas-
ures of your last session.
The best, as well as fairest, mode of determining whether,
from any just considerations, a particular interest ought to receive
protection, would be to submit the question singly for delibera-
tion. If, after due examination of its merits, unconnected with
extraneous considerations, such as a desire to sustain a general sys-
tem, or to purchase support for a different interest, it should en-
list in its favor a majority of the representatives of the people,
there can be little danger of wrong or injury in adjusting the
tariff" with reference to its protective effect. If this obviously
just principle were honestly adhered to, the branches of industry
which deserve protection would be saved from the prejudice ex-
cited against them, when that protection forms part of a system
by which portions of the country feel or conceive themselves to
be oppressed. What is incalculably more important, the vital
principle of our system, that principle which requires acqui-
escence in the will of the majority, would be secure from the
discredit and danger to which it is exposed by the acts of ma-
jorities, founded, not on identity of conviction, but on combina-
tions of small minorities, entered into for the purpose of mutual
assistance in measures which, resting solely on their own merits,
could never be carried.
508 LIFE AND TIMES OF
I am well aware that this is a subject of so much delicacy, on
account of the extended interests it involves, as to require that
it should be touched with the utmost caution ; and that while an
abandonment of the policy in which it originated, a policy coeval
with our Government, and pursued through successive Admin-
istrations, is neither to be expected nor desired, the people have
a right to demand, and have demanded, that it be so modified as
to correct abuses and obviate injustice.
That our deliberations on this interesting subject should be
uninfluenced by those partisan conflicts that are incident to free
institutions, is the fervent wish of my heart. To make this great
question, which unhappily so much divides and excites the public
mind, subservient to the short-sighted views of faction, must destroy
all hope of settling it satisfactorily to the great body of the people,
and for the general interest. I can not, therefore, on taking
leave of this subject, too earnestly for my own feelings or the
common good, warn you against the blighting consequences of
such a course.
According to the estimates at the Treasury Department, the
receipts in the Treasury during the present year will amount to
twenty-four millions one hundred and sixty-one thousand and
eightefen dollars, which will exceed, by about three hundred
thousand dollars, the estimate presented in the last annual report
of the Secretary of the Treasury. The total expenditure during
the year, exclusive of public debt, is estimated at thirteen mill-
ions seven hundred and forty-two thousand three hundred and
eleven dollars ; and the payment on account of public debt, for
the same period, will have been eleven millions three hundred
and fifty-four thousand six hundred and thirty dollars ; leaving a
balance in the Treasury, on the 1st of January, 1831, of four
millions eight hundred and nineteen thousand seven hundred and
eighty-one dollars.
In connection with the condition of our finances, it affords me
pleasure to remark that judicious and efficient arrangements
have been made by the Treasury Department for securing the
pecuniary responsibility of the public officers, and the more punc-
tual payment of the public dues. The revenue-cutter service has
been organized and placed on a good footing, and aided by an
increase of inspectors at exposed points; and the regulations
adopted under the act of May, 1830, for the inspection and ap-
praisement of merchandise, have produced much improvement in
ANDREW JACKSON. 509
the execution of the laws, and more security against the commis-
sion of frauds upon the revenue. Abuses in the allowances for
fishing bounties have also been corrected, and a material saving
in that branch of the service thereby effected. In addition to
these improvements, the system of expenditure for sick seamen
belonging to the merchant service has been revised ; and by
being rendered uniform and economical, the benefits of the fund
applicable to this object have been usefully extended.
The pi'osperity of our 'country is also further evinced by the
increased revenue arising from the sale of public lands, as will
appear from the report of the Commissioner of the General Land
Office and the documents accompanying it, which are herewith
transmitted. I beg leave to draw your attention to this report,
and to the propriety of making early appropriations for the
objects which it specifies.
Your attention is again invited to the subjects connected with
that portion of the public interests intrusted to the War Depart-
ment. .Some of them were referred to in my former message,
and they are presented in detail in the report of the Secretary
of War, herewith submitted. I refer you, also, to the report of
that officer, for a knowledge of the state of the army, fortifica-
tions, arsenals, and Indian affairs; all of which it will be per-
ceived have been guarded with zealous attention and care. It is
worthy of your consideration whether the armaments necessary
for the fortifications on our maritime frontier, which are now, or
shortly will be, completed, should not be in readiness sooner than
the customary appropriations will enable the Department to pro-
vide them. This precaution seems to be due to the general sys-
tem of fortification which has been sanctioned by Congress, and
is recommended by that maxim of wisdom which tells us in peace
to prepare for war.
I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Navy, for a
highly satisfactory account of the manner in which the concerns
of that Department have been conducted during the present year.
Our position in relation to the most powerful nations of the
earth, and the present condition of Europe, admonish us to cher-
ish this arm of our national defense with peculiar care. Sepa-
rated by wide seas from all those governments whose power we
might have reason to dread, we have nothing to apprehend from
attempts at conquest. It is chiefly attacks upon our commerce,
and harassing inroads upon our coast, against which we have to
510 LIFE AND TIMES OF
guard. A naval force adequate to the protection of our com-
merce, ahvays afloat, with an accumulation of the means to give
it a rapid extension in case of need, furnishes the power by which
all such aggressions may be prevented or repelled. The atten-
tion of the Government has, therefore, been recently directed
more to preserving the public vessels already built, and providing
materials to be placed in depot for future use, than to increasing
their number. With the aid of Congress, in a few years, the
Government will be prepared, in case of emergency, to put afloat
a powerful army of new ships almost as soon as old ones could
be repaired.
The modifications in this part of the service, suggested in my
last annual message, which are noticed more in detail in the re-
port of the Secretary of the Navy, are again recommended to
your serious attention.
The report of the Postmaster-General, in like manner, exhibits
a satisfactory view of the important branch of the Government
under his charge. In addition to the benefits already secured by
the operations of the Post-office Department, considerable im-
provements within the present year have been made by an in-
crease in the accommodation aflforded by stage-coaches, and in
the frequency and celerity of the mail between some of the most
important points of the Union.
Under the late contracts, improvements have been provided
for the southern section of the country, and at the same time an
annual saving made of upward of seventy-two thousand dollars.
Notwithstanding the excess of expenditure beyond the current
receipts for a few years past, necessarily incurred in the fulfill-
ment of existing contracts, and in the additional expenses, be-
tween the periods of contracting, to meet the demands created
by the rapid growth and extension of our flourishing country;
yet the satisfactory assurance is given that the future revenue of
the Department will be sufficient to meet its extensive engage-
ments. The system recently introduced, that subjects its receipts
and disbursements to strict regulation, has entirely fulfilled its
design. It gives full assurance of the punctual transmission, as
well as the security of the funds of the Department. The effi-
ciency and industry of its officers, and the ability and energy of
contractors, justify an increased confidence in its continued
prosperity.
The attention of Congress was called, on a former occasion,
ANDREW JACKSON. 511
to the necessity of such a modification of the office of Attorney-
General of the United States as would render it more adequate
to the waijts of the public service. This resulted in the estab-
lishment of the office of Solicitor of the Treasury, and the earliest
measures were taken to give eflTect to the provisions of the law
which authorized the appointment of that officer, and defined his
duties. But it is not believed that this provision, however useful
in itself, is calculated to supersede the necessity of extending the
duties and powers of the Attorney-General's office. On the con-
trary, I am convinced that the public interest would be greatly
promoted by giving to that officer the general superintendence
of the various law agents of the Government, and of all law pro-
ceedings, whether civil or criminal, in which the United States
may be interested, allowing to him at the same time such a com-
pensation as would enable him to devote his undivided attention
to the public business. I think such a provision is alike due to
the public and to the officer.
Occasions of reference from the different Executive Depart-
ments to the Attorney-General are of frequent occurrence ; and
the prompt decision of the questions so referred tends much to
facilitate the dispatch of business in those Departments. The
report of the Secretary of the Treasury, hereto a^ipended, shows
also a branch of the public service not specifically intrusted to
any officer which might be advantageously committed to the At-
torney-General.
But, independently of those considerations, this office is now
one of daily duty. It was originally organized, and its compen-
sation fixed, with a view to occasional service, leaving to the in-
cumbent time for the 'exercise of his profession in private prac-
tice. The state of things which warranted such an organization
no longer exists. The frequent claims upon the services of this
officer would render his absence from the seat of Government, in
professional attendance upon the courts, injurious to the public .
service ; and the interests of the Government could not fail to be
promoted by charging him with the general superintendence of
all its legal concerns.
Under a strong conviction of the justice of these suggestions,
I recommend it to Congress to make the necessary provisions for
giving effect to them, and to place the Attorney-General, in re-
gard to compensation, on the same footing with the heads of the
several Executive Departments. To this officer might also be
512 LIFE AND TIMES OF
intrusted a cognizance of the cases of insolvency in public debtors,
especially if the views which I submitted on this subject last
year should meet the approbation of Congress — to which I again
solicit your attention.
Your attention is respectfully invited to the situation of the
District of Columbia. Placed by the Constitution under the ex-
clusive jurisdiction and control of Congress, this district is cer-
tainly entitled to a much greater share of its consideration than
it has yet received. There is a want of uniformity in its laws,
particularly those of a penal character, which increases the ex-
pense of their administration, and subjects the people to all the
inconveniences which result from the operation of different codes
in so small a territory. On different sides of the Potomac, the
same offense is punishable in unequal degrees ; and the peculiari-
ties of many of the early laws of Maryland and Virginia remain
in force, notwithstanding their repugnance, in some cases, to the
improvements which have superseded them in those States.
Besides a remedy for these evils, which is loudly called for, it
is respectfully submitted whether a provision, authorizing the
election of a delegate to represent the wants of the citizens of
this district on the floor of Congress, is not due to them, and to
the character of our Government. No portion of our citizens
should be without a practical enjoyment of the principles of free-
dom ; and there is none more important than that which culti-
vates a proper relation between the governors and the governed.
Imperfect as this must be in this case, yet it is believed that it
would be greatly improved by a representation in Congress, with
the same privileges that are allowed to that of the other Territo-
ries of the United States.
The penitentiary is ready for the reception of convicts, and
only awaits the necessary legislation to put it into operation ; as
one object of which, I beg leave to recall your attention to the
propriety of providing suitable compensation for the officers
charged with its inspection.
The importance of the principle involved in the inquiry
whether it will be proper to re-charter the Bank of the United
States, requires that I should again call the attention of Congress
to the subject. Nothing has occurred to lessen in any degree the
dangers which many of our citizens apprehend from that institu-
tion, as at present organized. In the spirit of improvement and
compromise which distinguishes our country and its institutions, it
ANDKEW JACKSON. 513
«
becomes us to inquire whether it be not possible to secure the
advantages afforded by the present Bank, through the agency of
a Bank of the United States so modified in its principles and
structure as to obviate Constitutional and other objections.
It is thought practicable to organize such a bank with the
necessary officers, as a branch of the Treasury Department, based
on the public and individual deposits, without power to make
loans or purchase property, which shall remit the funds of the
Government, and the expenses of which may be paid, if thought
advisable, by allowing its officers to sell bills of exchange to pri-
vate individuals at a moderate premium. Not being a corporate
body, having no stockholders, debtors, or property, and but few
officers, it would not be obnoxious to the Constitutional objections
which are- urged against the present Bank ; and having no means
to operate on the hopes, fears, or interests of large masses of the
community, it would be shorn of the influence which makes that
Bank formidable. The States Avould be strengthened by having
in their hands the means of furnishing the local paper currency
through their own banks ; while the Bank of the United States,
though issuing no paper, would check the issues of the State
banks, by taking their notes in deposit, and for exchange only,
so long as they continue to be redeemed with specie. In times
of public emergency, the capacities of such an institution might
be enlarged by legislative provisions.
These suggestions are made, not so much as a recommendation,
as with a view of calling the attention of Congress to the possible
modifications of a system which can not continue to exist in its
present form without occasional collisions with the local authori-
ties, and perpetual apprehensions and discontent on the part of
the States and the people.
In conclusion, fellow-citizens, allow me to invoke in behalf
of your dehberations, that spirit of reconciliation and disinterest-
edness which is the gift of patriotism. Under an overruling and
merciful Providence, the agency of this spirit has thus far been
signalized in the prosperity and glory of our beloved country.
May its influence be eternal !
A great part of this well-written message is taken
up with a defense of various points in the conduct of
the Executive. The recommendation as to the single
term of the Presidency is again brought forward.
33— Cx
514 LIFE AND TIMES OF
But, as in many other things, General Jackson soon
had occasion to change his course in this matter. At
this moment he did not desire to continue in the office
beyond the end of the term he was then serving. He
had, in fact, never thought of nor desired that term
until it was forced upon him by his friends. Nor was
it, perhaps, with his knowledge and consent that the
intriguing for his re-nomination was begun.
This uneventful session of Congress ended on the
3d of March, 1831. "There were two or three acts
of Congress for the purpose of internal improvement,
passed at this session by such overwhelming majori-
ties, as to induce the President to yield his scruples
to the force of public opinion and sign the bills. The
principal acts of Congress of general interest, ap-
proved by the President during the second session of the
Twenty-first Congress were the following : Making ap-
propriations for the improvement of harbors, and remov-
ing obstructions in rivers ; to amend the copyright laws
by extending the term of copyright to authors and oth-
ers, to twenty-eight years, with the privilege of renew-
ing the same for the additional period of fourteen years ;
for the continuation of the Cumberland Road in Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois ; confirming certain grants of land
made by the United States in 1819, for the encourage-
ment of the culture of the vine and olive ; granting the
control of the National Road in Ohio to that State for
the purpose of erecting gates and toll-houses thereon ;
and an act allowing duties on imports to be paid at
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, N;ishville, and other ports on the
waters of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers."
During this session of Congress the great event
was the publication by Mr. Calhoun of his corre-
ANDREW JACKSON. 515
spondence and quarrel with the President. This move-
ment on the part of the Vice-President was soon
followed by the breaking up of the Cabinet. This was
the first occurrence of the kind in the history of the
Government. John Adams had had a very important
rupture in his Cabinet towards the close of his Ad-
ministration, but this was the first instance of a disso-
lution. Mr. Van Buren was to be the successor to
the Presidency. General Jackson had announced as
against the old Secretary system that no member of
his Cabinet could succeed him. Mr. Van Buren was,
therefore, to be otherwise provided for in the mean-
time. Branch, Berrien, and Ingham were friends of
Calhoun, and in favor of his succession to the Presi-
dency. With these statements and the preceding nar-
rative the reader can readily see the causes which led
to the dissolution of the first Cabinet.
The break was made by Mr. Eaton, who sent his
resignation to the President in a letter dated April 7,
1831, giving no definite reason for his course. On the
next day the President accepted the resignation in a
gushing letter; and this was followed by still more
gushing epistles, with the same result, between Mr.
Van Buren and the President, dated on the 11th and
12th of April, the Secretary basing his action appar-
ently on the desire to serve the President mainly in
the way of producing harmony in the Cabinet, and
making smooth the path of the Executive. There
now came a halt in the work of remodeling the Ad-
ministration. With Major Eaton and Mr. Van Buren
the understanding stopped. The President next hinted
to Mr. Ingham that there was a subject on which he
desired him to reflect in connection with the recent
516 LIFE AND TIMES OF
action of the Secretaries of War and State. But Mr.
Ingham wrote to him on the 18th of April that there
was some mystery about the subject of this medita-
tion, and, on the following day, he was enlightened by
an interview with the President, and his formal resig-
nation was entered on the same date. On the 19th
Mr. Branch also offered his resignation after having an
interview with the President. Not until the 15th of
June did Mr. Berrien take this desired step, this delay
having been caused, in part, by his absence from the
Capital, and partly by his misunderstanding of the
whole case, as well as the unfinished condition of the
affairs devolving upon him as Attorney-General.
Several of these men published statements con-
cerning the scandalous and disgraceful organization
of which they had been members, and the country was
greatly excited over the disreputable affair, which Mr.
Eaton tried his best to. have terminate in a duel be-
tween himself and Mr. Ingham. But Ingham, like the
Reverend Campbell, was above that mode of settling
disputes, and hastened his departure from the Capital,
to avoid other forms of insult. Ingham was a man
of ability, Branch was an honorable, correct man, and
all of these proscribed men were superior to the scenes
through which they had been forced to pass. Mr.
Berrien was, perhaps, the most able man in the dis-
banded Cabinet, " and deservedly ranked among the
first lawyers of the country. Van Buren returned to
New York, and was soon afterwards sent as Minister
to England to take the place of Mr. McLane, who had
been recalled to enter the new Cabinet. This had
been a part of the original design, as the best way of
keeping Mr. Van Buren in training for the Presidency.
ANDREW JACKSON. 517
The following men composed the new Cabinet :
Edward R. Livingston, of Louisiana, Secretary of
State ; Louis McLane, of Delaware, Secretary of the
Treasury ; Lewis Cass, nineteen years Governor of
Michigan, Secretary of War ; Levi Woodbury, of New
Hampshire, Secretary of the Navy ; Roger B. Taney,
of Maryland, Attorney-General ; and Mr, Barry was
retained as Postmaster-General.
Singularly enough Jackson's Cabinet, as first or-
ganized, was called the " Unit Cabinet." But it was
entirely destitute of any qualities entitling it to this
distinction. General Jackson did not call these " Con-
stitutional advisers " into council as his predecessors
had done, and the difficulty on account of Eaton and
his wife had never been settled satisfactorily to any-
body. The breaking up of the " Unit Cabinet," which,
like everything else pertaining to General Jackson, had
only one unit in it, and that was the General himself,
greatly augmented the White House scandal, and was
marked by some very ridiculous and disgusting things.
Mr. Ingham left Washington in great haste, after hav-
ing sent word to the President that he had been way-
laid by men mainly connected with the Departments
of the Government intending to assassinate him. He
was also followed by Major Eaton who had challenged
him, as he did the Reverend Campbell some time be-
fore, to fight a duel. Disgracefully, indeed, ended the
" Unit Cabinet," and few people regretted that its end
had come. The whole affair was severely and justly
criticised and caricatured in the newspapers.
President Jackson wanted Hugh L. White to be-
come a member of his second Cabinet, and personally
and through friends, pressed him to that end. But
518 LIFE AND TIMES OF
White declined. He knew the General's determination
to favor no member of his Cabinet as his successor, and
had some hope that the autocrat would name him.
White wanted to be President. He was unaware of
what had already been done for Martin Van Buren.
He did know well, however, much of the troubles of
the first Cabinet, and all of the temper of the man he
would have to serve. These latter facts had more
weight with him, no doubt, than the loss of his chances
of being set forward as the General's candidate for the
Presidency. President Jackson had been extremely
unfortunate in selecting his first Cabinet. But unfor-
tunate circumstances made its members appear at an
undeserved disadvantage.
This Cabinet did not lack in capacity or ability,
but it possessed, from the outset, two elements of self-
destruction. Berrien, Branch, and Ingham were ad-
mirers and supporters of Mr. Calhoun, a fact which in
itself would have rendered them unsatisfactory to Gen-
eral Jackson. However, the more important source of
dissension was, perhaps, the forced disreputable stand-
ing of the wife of the Secretary of ^ar. This was,
indeed, the ostensible cause of the final dissolution of
the " Unit Cabinet." Mr. Berrien went into the Whig
party ; Mr. Ingham never again appeared in public
position ; Mr. Eaton was made Governor of Florida ;
Mr. Van Buren went to England ; and in time, Mr.
Barry was also sent on a foreign mission.
The new Cabinet was a good one, although a sin-
gular thing connected with its history seemed to argue
that President Jackson was not in complete harmony
with its members. Years before, Levi Woodbury,
Louis McLane, Edward Livingston, Lewis Cass, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 519
R. B. Taney had been Federalists. They were, how-
ever, all men of ability ; and Amos Kendall was shrewd,
industrious, and skillful. It is a characteristic fact,
that while Mr. Kendall was, perhaps, the least able
and reliable member, he was the General's favorite.
He had one quality or more which won his place with
Jackson ; his absolute devotion to the will of his pa-
tron, and his wisdom and cunning as a partisan schemer.
Notwithstanding the high character of the Cabinet, as
a whole, it was generally believed at Washington that
most political and party schemes were decided on by
the President with other counsel before he introduced
them to his regularly constituted advisers. This led
to the belief in the existence of what was popularly
known as the " Back-stair Way " or " Kitchen Cab-
inet." This peculiar and ridiculous privy council was
founded upon the character of General Jackson and
the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the " Unit
Cabinet." Jackson could never be sure that it should
be reasonably supposed that men to be put forward as
the apparently responsible public servants could be so
wholly serviceable to his personal inclinations and in-
terests as more private, daring, and facile instruments.
Thus arose the " Kitchen Cabinet." At the outset this
back-door council was thought to be composed of Major
Eaton (a fighter and man after the General's heart),
Wm. B. Lewis, Duff Green, and Isaac Hill, of New
Hampshire, an extremely shrewd Jacksonian, who
would stop at nothing to win success. Subsequently
Amos Kendall took the head of this inner cabinet, and
Francis P. Blair took the place of Duff Green, who
determined to adhere to the sinking fortunes of Mr.
Calhoun. Other men may have entered the " Kitchen
520 • LIFE AND TIMES OF
Cabinet" at times, but they were all cringing syco-
phants to him who was. really the unit of all the Jack-
son Cabinets. This unique privy council did not en-
dure to the end of the General's reign.
The new Cabinet did not get fairly under way
until well on in the winter of 1831, the appointments
ranging along from May, 1831, to January of the next
year, the Departments being under the supervision of
acting secretaries or head clerks.
ANDREW JACKSON. 521
CHAPTER XXVII.
THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE— MR. VAN BUREN AND THE SEN-
ATE—THE GIANT AND THE BANK— DISGRACEFUL
SCENES AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.
ON the 5th of December, 1831, Congress again as-
sembled in one of the most important sessions in
its history. At the recent Congressional elections
some changes had occurred, and some new and valuable
members were added, men who had a national reputa-
tion. Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, had
for some time been a member of the Senate, a body
in which now appeared George M. Dallas, of Pennsyl-
vania ; Wm. L. Marcy, of New York; W. P. Mangum,
of North Carolina ; Henry Clay, of Kentucky ; and
Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. Besides these, Editor Isaac
Hill, of New Hampshire, took his seat, for the first
time, in the Senate, and also, the opposition said, in
the "Kitchen Cabinet" of the President. Mr. Hill
had appeared in Washington at the outset to be re-
warded for his services to General Jackson, but he
did not .wear longer than the Senate had an oppor-
tunity to decline to confirm his appointment. But it
was not in Andrew Jackson to be outdone in such a
way. He caused letters to be sent to members of the
New Hampshire Legislature recommending them to
elect Hill to the United States Senate, and this was
done, greatly to the delight of Hill, who had really
522 LIFE AND TIMES OF
been the instrument for setting in motion the weari-
some conflict between the President and the Bank of
the United States.
The most distinguished addition to the House was
in the person of ex-President John Quincy Adams.
From Massachusetts also came Rufus Choate ; John
Y. Mason, from Virginia; Thomas F. Marshall, from
Kentucky ; and Thomas Corwin, from Ohio. Andrew
Stevenson, a Jacksonian, was again elected Speaker of
the House, and in general terms, both Houses were
strongly Administration. The President's message
was now unusually short for him, and shorn of his for-
mer method of arguing in defense of his past and pro-
spective acts.
THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December 6, 1831.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : —
The representation of the people has been renewed for the
twenty-second time since the Constitution they formed has been
in force. For near half a century, the Chief Magistrates, who
have been successively chosen, have made their annual communi-
cations of the state of the Nation to its representatives. Gen-
erally, these communications have been of the most gratifying
nature, testifying an advance in all the improvements of social,
and all the securities of political, life. But, frequently and
justly as you have been called on to be grateful for the bounties
of Providence, at few periods have they been more abundantly
or extensively bestowed, than at the present; rarely, if ever,
have we had greater reason to congratulate each other (one
another) on the continued and increasing prosperity of our be-
loved country.
Agriculture, the first and most important occupation of man,
has compensated the labors of the husbandmen with plenti-
ful crops of all the varied products of our extensive country.
Manufactures have been established in which the funds of the
capitalist find a profitable investment, and which give employ-
ANDREW JACKSON. 523
ment and subsistence to a numerous and increasing body of indus-
trious and dexterous mechanics.
The laborer is rewarded by high wages in the construction of
works of internal improvements, which are extending with un-
precedented rapidity. Science is steadily penetrating the recesses
of nature, and disclosing her secrets, while the ingenuity of free
minds is subjecting the elements to the power of man, and mak-
ing each new conquest auxiliary to his comforts. By our mails,
whose spread is regularly increased, and whose routes are every
year extended, the communication of public intelligence and
private business is rendered frequent and safe ; the intercourse
between distant cities, which it formerly required weeks to accom-
plish, is now effected in a few days ; and in the construction of
railroads, and in the application of steam power, we have a rea-
sonable prospect that the extreme parts of our country will be so
much approximated, and those most isolated by the obstacles of
nature rendered so accessible, as to remove an apprehension some-
times entertained, that the great extent of the Union would
endanger its permanent existence.
If, from the satisfactory view of our agriculture, manufactures,
and internal improvements, we turn to the state of our navi-
gation and trade with foreign nations and between the States, we
shall scarcely find less cause for gratulation. A beneficent Prov-
idence has provided for their exercise and encouragement an
extensive coast, indented by capacious bays, noble rivers, inland
seas; with a country productive of every material for ship-build-
ing, and every commodity for gainful commerce, and filled with
a population, active, intelligent, well-informed, and fearless of
danger. These advantages are not neglected; and an impulse
has lately been given to commercial enterprise, which fills our
ship-yards with new constructions, encourages all the arts and
branches of industry connected with them, crowds the wharves
of our cities with vessels, and covers the most distant seas with
our canvas.
Let us be grateful for these blessings to the beneficent Being
who has conferred them, and who suffers us to indulge a reason-
able hope of their continuance and extension, while we neglect
not the means by which they may be preserved. If we may
dare to judge of his future designs by the manner in which his
past favors have been bestowed, he has made our national pros-
perity to depend on the preservation of our liberties, our national
524 LIFE AND TIMES OF
force on our Federal Union, and our individual happiness on the
maintenance of our State rights and wise institutions. If we are
prosperous at home, and respected abroad, it is because we are
free, united, industrious, and obedient to the laws. While we
continue so, we shall, by the blessing of Heaven, go on in the
happy career we have begun, and which has brought us, in the
short period of our political existence, from a population of three
to thirteen millions, from thirteen separate Colonies to twenty-
four United States, from weakness to strength, from a rank
scarcely marked in the scale of nations to a high place in their
respect.
This last advantage is one that has resulted, in a great
degree, from the principles which have guided our intercourse
with foreign powers, since we have assumed an equal station
among them ; and hence the annual account which the Executive
renders to the country of the manner in which that branch of
his duties has been fulfilled, proves instructive and salutary.
Th^ pacific and Avise policy of our Government kept us in a
state of neutrality during the wars that have, at different periods
since our political existence, been carried on by other powers ; but
this policy, while it gave activity and extent to our commerce,
exposed it in the same proportion to injuries from the belligerent
nations. Hence have arisen claims of indemnity for those in-
juries. England, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, Denmark,
Naples, and lately Portugal, had all, in a greater or less degree,
infringed our neutral rights. Demands for reparation were made
upon all. They have had in all, and continued to have, in some
cases, a leading influence on the nature of our relations with the
powers on whom they were made.
Of our claims upon England, it is unnecessary to speak, fur-
ther than to say, that the state of things to which their prosecu-
tion and denial gave rise has been succeeded by arrangements
productive of mutual good-feeling and amicable relati(5ns between
the two countries, which it is hoped will not be interrupted.
One of these arrangements is that relating to the Colonial trade,
which was communicated to Congress at the last session; and
although the short period during which it has been in force will
not enable me to form an accurate judgment of its operation, there
is every reason to believe that it will prove highly beneficial.
The trade thereby authorized has employed, to the 30th of Sep-
tember last, upward of thirty thousand tons of American, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 525
fifteen thousand tons of foreign shipping in the outward voyages ;
and in the inward, nearly an equal amount of American, and
twenty thousand only of foreign tonnage. Advantages, too,
have resulted to our agricultural interests from the state of the
trade between Canada and our Territories and States borderiug
on the St. Lawrence and the lakes, which may prove more than
equivalent to the loss sustained by the discrimination made to
favor the trade of the northern Colonies with the West Indies.
After our transition from the state of Colonies to that of an
independent Nation, many points were found necessary to be
settled between us and Great Britain. Among them was the
demarkation of boundaries, not described with sufficient pre-
cision in the treaty of peace. Some of the lines that divide
the States and Territories of the United States from the British
Provinces have been definitively fixed. That, however, which
separates us from the Provinces of Canada and New Brunswick
to the north and the east, was still in dispute when I came into
office. But I found arrangements made for its settlement over
which I had no control. The commissioners who had been ap-
pointed under the provisions of the Treaty of Ghent having been
unable to agree, a convention was made with Great Britain by
my immediate predecessor in office, with the advice and consent
of the Senate, by which it was agreed " that the points of dif-
ference which have arisen in the settlement of the boundary-line
between the American and British dominions, as described in
the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, shall be referred, as
therein provided, to some friendly sovereign or State, who shall
be invited to investigate and make a decision upon such points
of difference," and the King of the Netherlands having, by the
late President and his Britannic Majesty, been designated as such
friendly sovereign, it became my duty to carry, with good faith,
the agreement so made into full effect. To this end, I caused
all the measures to be taken which were necessary to a full ex-
position of our case to the sovereign arbiter; and 'nominated as
minister plenipotentiary to his Court, a distinguished citizen of
the State most interested in the question, and who had been
one of the agents previously employed for settling the contro-
versy. On the tenth day of January last, his majesty, the King
of the Netherlands, delivered to the plenipotentiaries of the
United States and of Great Britain, his written opinion on the
case referred to him. The papers in relation to the subject will
526 LIFE AND TIMES OF
be communicated, by a special message, to the proper branch of
the Government, with the perfect confidence that its wisdom
■will adopt such measures as will secure an amicable settlement
of the controversy, without infringing any Constitutional righ t of
the States immediately interested.
It affords me satisfaction to inform you that suggestions made
by my direction to the charge d'affaires of his Britannic Majesty
to this Government, have had their desired effect in producing
the release of certain American citizens, who were imprisoned for
setting up the authority of the State of Maine at a place in the
disputed territory under the actual jurisdiction of his Britannic
Majesty. From this, and the assurances I have received of the
desire of the local authorities to avoid any cause of collision, I
have the best hopes that a good understanding Avill be kept up
until it is confirmed by the final disposition of the subject.
The amicable relations which now subsist between the United
States and Great Britain, the increasing intercourse between
their citizens, and the rapid obliteration of unfriendly prejudices
to which former events very naturally gave rise, concurred to
present this as a fit period for renewing our endeavors to provide
against the recurrence of causes of irritation which, in the event
of war between Great Britian and any other power, would inev-
itably endanger our peace. Animated by the sincerest desire to
avoid such a state of things, and peacefully to secure, under all
possible circumstances, the rights and honor of the country, I
have given such instructions to the minister lately sent to the
Court of London, as will evince that desire ; and if met by a
correspondent disposition, which we can not doubt, will put an
end to the causes of collision which, without advantage to either,
tend to estrange from each other two nations who have every
motive to preserve, not only peace, but an intercourse of the
most amicable nature.
In my message at the opening of the last session of Congress,
I expressed a, confident hope that the justice of our claims upon
France, urged as they were with perseverance and signal ability
by our minister there, would finally be acknowledged. This
hope has been realized. A treaty has been signed which will
immediately be laid before the Senate for its approbation; and
which, containing stipulations that require legislative acts, must
have the concurrence of both Houses before it can be carried
into efl^ect. By it, the French Government engaged to pay a
ANDREW JACKSON. 527
sum, which, if not quite equal to that which may be found due
to our citizens, will yet, it is believed, under all circumstances,
be deemed satisfactory by those interested. The offer of a gross
sum instead of the satisfaction of each individual claim, was ac-
cepted, because the only alternatives were a rigorous exaction of
the whole amount stated to be due on each claim, which might
in some instances, be exaggerated by design, in others overrated
through error, and which, therefore, it would have been both
ungracious and unjust to have insisted on; or a settlement by a
mixed commission, to which the French negotiators were very
averse, and which experience in other cases had shown to be
dilatory and often wholly inadequate to the end. A compara-
tively small sum is stipulated on our part, to go to the extinction
of all claims by French citizens on our Government; and a
reduction of duties on our cotton, and their wines, has been
agreed on, as a consideration for the renunciation of an important
claim for commercial privileges, under the construction they gave
to the treaty for the cession of Louisiana.
Should this treaty receive the proper sanction, a source of
irritation will be stopped, that has, for so many years, in some
degree, alienated from each other two nations who, from interest
as well as the remembrance of early associations, ought to cherish
the most friendly relations; an encouragement will be given for
perseverance in the demands of justice, by this new proof, that if
steadily pursued, they will be listened to; and admonition will be
offered to those powers, if any, which may be inclined to evade
them, that they will never be abandoned. Above all, a just
confidence will be inspired in our fellow-citizens, that their Gov-
ernment will exert all the powers with which they have invested
it, in support of their just claims upon foreign nations; at the
same time that the frank acknowledgment and provision for the
payment of those which are addressed to our equity, although
unsupported by legal proof, affords a pi'actical illustration of our
submission to the divine rule of doing to others what we desire
they should do unto us.
Sweden and Denmark, having made compensation for the
irregularities committed by their vessels, or in their ports, to the
perfect satisfaction of the parties concerned, and having renewed
the treaties of commerce entered into with them, our political and
commercial relations with those powers continue to be on the
most friendly footing.
528 LIFE AND TIMES OF
With Spain our differences, up to the 22d February, 1819,
were settled by the Treaty of Washington of that date ; but at a
subsequent period our commerce with the States, formerly Colo-
nies of Spain on the continent of America, was annoyed and fre-
quently interrupted by her public and private armed ships ; they
captured many of our vessels prosecuting a lawful commerce, and
sold them and their cargoes; and at one time, to our demands
for restoration and indemnity, opposed the allegation, that they
were taken in the violation of a blockade of all the ports of those
States. This blockade was declaratory only, and the inadequacy
of the force to maintain it was so manifest that this allegation
was varied to a charge of trade in contraband of war. This, in
its turn, was also found untenable, and the minister whom I sent
with instructions to press for the reparation that was due to our
injured fellow-citizens, has transmitted an answer to his demand,
by which the captures are declared to have been legal, and are
justified, because the independence of the States of America
never having been acknowledged by Spain, she had a right to
prohibit trade with them under her old Colonial laws. This
ground of defense was contradictory, not only to those which had
been formerly alleged, but to the uniform practice and estab-
lished laws of nations, and had been abandoned by Spain her-
self in the convention which granted indemnity to British
subjects, for captures made at the same time, under the same
circumstances, and for the same allegations with those of which
we complain.
I, however, indulge the hx>pe that further reflection will lead
to other views, and feel confident that when his Catholic Majesty
shall be convinced of the justice of the claim, his desire to pre-
serve friendly relations between the two countries, which it is my
earnest endeavor to maintain, will induce him to accede to our
demand. I have, therefore, dispatched a special messenger with
instructions to our minister to bring the case once more to his
consideration ; to the end that if, which I can not bring myself
to believe, the same decision, that can not but be deemed an
unfriendly denial of justice, should be persisted in, the matter
may, before your adjournment, be laid before you, the Constitu-
tional judges of what is proper to be done when negotiation for
redress of injury fails.
The conclusion of a treaty for indemnity with France, seemed
to present a favorable opportunity to renew our claims of a similar
ANDREW JACKSON. 529
nature on other powers; and particularly in the case of those
upon Naples, more especially as in the course of former negotia-
tious with that power, our failure to induce France to render us
justice was used as an argument against us. The desires of the
merchants, who were the principal sufferers, have therefore been
acceded to, and a mission has been instituted for the special pur-
pose of obtaining for them a reparation already too long delayed.
This measure having been resolved on, it was put in execution
without waiting for the meeting of Congress, because the state
of Europe created an apprehension of events that might have
rendered our application ineffectual.
Our demands upon the Government of the two Sicilies are of
a peculiar nature. The injuries on which they are founded are
not denied, nor are the atrocity and perfidy under which those
injuries were perpetrated, attempted to be extenuated. The sole
ground on which indemnity has been refused is the alleged ille-
gality of the tenure by which the monarch who made the seizures
held his crown. This defense, always unfounded in any principle
of the law of nations — now universally abandoned even by those
powers upon whom the responsibility for acts of past rulers bore
the most heavily — will unquestionably be given up by his Sicilian
Majesty, whose councils will receive an impulse from that high
sense of honor and regard to justice, which are said to characterize
him ; and I feel the fullest confidence that the talents of the citi-
zens commissioned for that purpose will place before him the just
claims of our injured citizens in such a light as will enable me,
before your adjournment, to announce that they have been ad-
justed and secured. Precise instructions to the eflfect of bringing
the negotiation to a speedy issue, have been given and will be
obeyed.
In the late blockade of Terceira, some of the Portuguese fleet
captured several of our vessels and committed other excesses,
for which reparation was demanded, and I was on the point of
dispatching an armed force to prevent any recurrence of a similar
violence, and protect our citizens in the prosecution of their law-
ful commerce, when official assurances, on which I relied, made
the sailing of the ships unnecessary. Since that period frequent
promises have been made, that full indemnity shall be given for
the injuries inflicted and the losses sustained. In the performance
there has been some, perhaps unavoidable, delay ; but I have the
fullest confidence that my earnest desire that this business may
34— G
530 LIFE AND TIMES OF
at once be closed, which our minister has been instructed strongly
to express, will very soon be gratified. I have the better ground
for this hope, from the evidence of a friendly disposition which
that government has shown by an actual reduction in the duty
on rice, the produce of our Southern States, authorizing the an-
ticipation that this important article of our export will soon be
admitted on the same footing with that produced by the most
favored nation.
With the other powers of Europe we have fortunately had
no cause of discussions for the redress of injuries. With the em-
pire of the Russias, our political connection is of the most friendly,
and our commercial of the most liberal kind. We enjoy the ad-
vantages of navigation and trade, given to the most favored
nation ; but it has not yet suited their policy, or perhaps has not
been found convenient from other considerations, to give stability
and reciprocity to those privileges by a commercial treaty. The
ill-health of the minister last year, charged with making a propo-
sition for that arrangement, did not permit him to remain at St.
Petersburg ; and the attention of that government during the
whole of the period since his departure having been occupied by
the war in which it was engaged, we have been assured that
nothing could have been effected by his . presence. A minister
will soon be nominated, as well to effect this important object, as
to keep up the relations of amity and good understanding, of
which we have received so many assurances and proofs from his
imperial majesty, and the emperor his predecessor.
The treaty with Austria is opening to us an important trade
with the hereditary dominions of the emperor, the value of which
has been hitherto little known, and of course not sufficiently ap-
preciated. While our commerce finds an entrance into the south
of Germany by means of this treaty, those we have formed with
the Hanseatic towns and Prussia, and others now in negotiation,
will open that vast country to the enterprising spirit of our mer-
chants on the north; a country abounding in all the materials
for a mutually beneficial commerce, filled with enlightened and
industrious inhabitants, holding an important place in the politics
of Europe, and to which we owe so many valuable citizens. The
ratification of the treaty with the Porte was sent to be exchanged,
by the gentleman appointed our charge d'affaires to that court.
Some difficulties occurred on his arrival ; but at the date of his
last official dispatch he supposed they had been obviated, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 531
that there was every prospect of the exchange being speedily
effected.
This finishes the connected view I have thought proper to
give of our political and commercial relations in Europe. Every
effort in my power will be continued to strengthen and extend
them by treaties founded on principles of the most perfect reci-
procity of interest, neither asking nor conceding any exclusive ad-
vantage, but liberating, as far as it lies in my power, the activity
and industry of our fellow-citizens from the shackles which foreign
restrictions may impose.
To China and the East Indies, our commerce continues in its
usual extent, and with increased facilities, which the credit and
capital of our merchants afford, by substituting bills for payments
in specie. A daring outrage having been committed in those
seas by the plunder of one of our merchantmen engaged in the
pepper trade, at a port in Sumatra, and the piratical perpetrators
belonging to tribes in such a state of society that the usual course
of proceedings between civilized nations could not be pursued, I
forthwish dispatched a frigate with orders to require immediate
satisfaction for the injury, and indemnity to the sufferers.
Few changes have taken place in our connections with the
independent States of America, since my last communication to
Congress. The ratification of a commercial treaty with the United
Republics of Mexico has been for some time under deliberation
in their Congress, but was still undecided at the date of our last
dispatches. The unhappy civil commotions that have prevailed
there were undoubtedly the cause of the delay ; but as the gov-
ernment is now said to be tranquillized, we may hope soon to re-
ceive the ratification of the treaty, and an arrangement for the
demarkation of the boundaries between us. In the meantime an
important trade has been opened, with mutual benefit, from St.
Louis, in the State of Missouri, by caravans, to the interior prov-
inces of Mexico. This commerce is protected in its progress
through the Indian countries by the troops of the United States,
which have been permitted to escort the caravans beyond our
boundaries to the settled part of the Mexican territory.
From Central America I have received assurances of the most
friendly kind, and a gratifying application for our good oflices to re-
move a supposed indisposition toward that government in a neigh-
boring State ; this application was immediately and successfully
complied with. They gave us also the pleasing intelligence that
532 LIFE AND TIMES OF
differences which had prevaUed in their internal affairs had been
peaceably adjusted. Our treaty with this republic continues to
be faithfully observed, and promises a great and beneficial com-
merce between the two countries ; a commerce of the greatest
importance, if the magnificent project of a ship-canal through the
dominions of that State, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean,
now in serious contemplation, shall be executed.
I have great satisfaction in communicating the success which
has attended the exertions of our minister in Colombia, to procure
a very considerable reduction in the duties on our flour in that
republic. Indemnity, also, has been stipulated for injuries re-
ceived by our merchants from Ulegal seizures ; and renewed assur-
ances are given that the treaty between the two countries shall
be faithfully observed.
Chili and Peru seem to be still threatened with civil commo-
tions ; and until they shall be settled, disorders may naturally be
apprehended, requiring the constant presence of a naval force
in the Pacific Ocean, to protect our fisheries and guard our
commerce.
The disturbances that took place in the empire of Brazil, pre-
viously to and immediately consequent upon the abdication of
the late emperor, necessarily suspended any effectual application
for the redress of some past injuries suffered by our citizens from
that government, while they have been the cause of others, in
which all foreigners seem to have participated. Instructions have
been given to our minister there, to press for indemnity due for
losses occasioned by these irregularities ; and to take care that our
fellow-citizens shall enjoy all the privileges stipulated in their
favor by the treaty lately made between the two powers, all of
which the good intelligence that prevails between our minister at
Rio Janeiro and the Regency, gives us the best reason to expect.
I should have placed Buenos Ayres in the list of South Amer-
ican powers, in respect to which nothing of importance affecting
us was to be communicated, but for occurrences which have lately
taken place at the Falkland Islands, in which the name of that
republic has been used to cover, with a show of authority, acts
injurious to our commerce and to the property and liberty of our
fellow-citizens. In the course of the present year, one of our ves-
sels engaged in the pursuit of a trade which we have always en-
joyed without molestation, has been captured by a band acting,
as they pretend, under the authority of the government of Buenos
ANDREW JACKSON. 533
Ayres. I have, therefore, given orders for the dispatch of an
armed vessel to join our squadron in those seas, and aid in afford-
ing all lawful protection to our trade which shall be necessary ;
and shall without delay send a minister to inquire into the nature
of the circumstances, and also of the claim, if any, that is set up
by that government to those islands. In the meantime I submit
the case to the consideration of Congress, to the end that they may
clothe the Executive with such authority and means as they may
deem necessary, for providing a force adequate to the complete
protection of our fellow-citizens fishing and trading in those seas.
This rapid sketch of our foreign relations, it is hoped, fellow-
citizens, may be of some use in so much of your legislation as
may bear on that important subject ; while it affords to the coun-
try at large a source of high gratification in the contemplation of
our political and commercial connection with the rest of the world.
At peace with all — having subjects of future difference with few,
and those susceptible of easy adjustment — extending our commerce
gradually on all sides, and on none by any but the most liberal
and mutually beneficial means — we may, by the blessing of Provi-
dence, hope for all that national prosperity which can be derived
from an intercourse with foreign nations, guided by those eternal
principles of justice and reciprocal good-will, which are binding
as well upon States as the individuals of whom they are composed.
I have great satisfaction in making this statement of our affairs,
because the course of our national policy enables me to do it with-
out any indiscreet exposure of what iu other governments is
usually concealed from the people. Having none but a straight-
forward, open course to pursue, guided by a single principle that
will bear the strongest light, we have happily no political combi-
nations to form, no alliances to entangle us, no complicated in-
terests to consult ; and in subjecting all we have done to the con-
sideration of our citizens, and to the inspection of the world, we
give no advantage to other nations, and lay ourselves open to no
injury.
It may not be improper to add, that to preserve this state of
things and give confidence to the world in the integrity of our
designs, all our consular and diplomatic agents are strictly en-
joined to examine well every cause of complaint preferred by
our citizens ; and while they urge with proper earnestness those that
are well founded, to countenance none that are unreasonable or
unjust, and to enjoin on our merchants and navigators the strictest
534 LIFE AND TIMES OF
obedience to the laws of the countries to which they resort,
and a course of conduct in their dealings that may support the
character of our Nation, and render us respected abroad.
Connected with this subject, I must recommend a revisal of
our consular laws. Defects and omissions have been discovered
in their operation that ought to be remedied and supplied. For
your further information on this subject I have directed a report
to be made by the Secretary of State, which I shall hereafter
submit to your consideration.
The internal peace and security of our confederated States is
the next principal object of the General Government. Time and
experience have proved that the abode of the native Indian
within their limits is dangerous to their peace and injurious to
himself. In accordance with my recommendation at a former
session of Congress, an appropriation of half a 'million of dollars
was made to aid the voluntary removal of the various tribes be-
yond the limits of the States. At the last session I had the hap-
piness to announce that the Chickasaws and Choctawshad accepted
the generous offer of the Government, and agreed to remove be-
yond the Mississippi River, by which the whole o/ the State of
Mississippi and the western part of Alabama will be freed from
Indian occupancy, and opened to a civilized population. The
treaties with these tribes are in course of execution, and their re-
moval, it is hoped, will be completed in the course of 1832.
At the request of the authorities of Georgia, the registration
of Cherokee Indians for emigration has been resumed, and it is
confidently expected that one-half, if not two-thirds of that tribe,
will follow the wise example of their more westerly brethren.
Those who prefer remaining at their present homes will hereafter
be governed by the laws of Georgia, as all her citizens are, and
cease to be the objects of peculiar care on the part of the General
Government. •
During the present year the attention of the Government has
been particularly directed to those tribes in the powerful and
growing State of Ohio, where considerable tracts of the finest
lands were still occupied by the aboriginal proprietors. Treaties,
either absolute or conditional, have been made, extinguishinti the
whole Indian title to the reservations in that State ; and the time
is not distant, it is hoped, when Ohio will be no longer embar-
rassed by the Indian jjopulation. The same measure will be ex-
tended to Indiana, as soon as there is reason to anticipate success.
ANDREW JACKSON. 535
It is confidently believed that perseverance for a few years in the
present policy of the Government will extinguish the Indian title
to all lands lying within the States composing our Federal Union,
and remove beyond their limits every Indian who is not willing to
submit to their laws. Thus will all conflicting claims to jurisdic-
tion between the States and the Indian tribes be put to rest. It
is pleasing to reflect that results so beneficial, not only to the
States immediately concerned, but to the harmony of the Union,
will have been accomplished by measures equally advantageous
to the Indians. What the native savages become when sur-
rounded by a dense population and by mixing with the whites,
may be seen in the miserable remnants of a few eastern tribes,
deprived of political and civil rights, forbidden to make contracts,
and subjected to guardians, dragging out a wretched existence,
without excitement, without hope, and almost without thought.
But the removal of the Indians beyond the limits and juris-
diction of the States does not place them beyond the reach of
philanthropic aid and Christian instruction. On the contrary,
those whom philanthropy or religion may induce to live among
them in their new abode, will be more free in the exercise of their
benevolent functions than if they had remained within the limits
of the States, embarrassed by their internal regulations. Now
subject to no control but the superintending agency of the Gen-
eral Government, exercised with the sole view of preserving
peace, they may proceeed unmolested in the interesting experi-
ment of gradually advancing a community of American Indians
from barbarism to the habits and enjoyments of civilized life.
Among the happiest eflfects of the improved relations of our
Republic has been an increase of trade, producing a correspond-
ing increase of revenue beyond the most sanguine anticipations
of the Treasury Department.
The state of the public finances wiU be fully shown by the
Secretary of the Treasury, in the report which he will presently
lay before you. I will here, however, congratulate you upon
their prosperous condition. The revenue received in the present
year will not fall short of twenty-seven millions seven hundred
thousand dollars, and the expenditures for all objects other than
the public debt will not exceed fourteen millions seven hundred
thousand dollars. The payment on account of the principal and
interest of the debt during the year will exceed sixteen millions
five hundred thousand dollars ; a greater sum than has been
536 LIFE AND TIMES OF
applied to that object out of the revenue in any year since the
enlargement of the sinking fund, except the two years following
immediately thereafter. The amount which will have been ap-
plied to the public debt from the 4th of March, 1829, to the 1st
of January next, which is less than three years since the Admin-
istration has been placed in my hands, will exceed forty millions
of dollars.
From the large importations of the present year, it may be-
safely estimated that the revenue which will be received into the
Treasury from that source during the next year, with the aid of
that received from the public lands, will considerably exceed the
amount of the receipts of the present year; and it is believed
that, with the means which the Government will have at its dis-
posal from various sources, which will be fully stated by the
proper department, the whole of the public debt may be extin-
guished, either by redemption or purchase within the four years
of my Administration. We shall then exhibit the rare example
of a great Nation, abounding in all the means of happiness and
security, altogether free from debt.
The confidence with which the extinguishment of the public
debt may be anticipated, presents an opportunity for carrying
into effect more fully the policy in relation to import duties,
which has been recommended in my former messages. A modifi-
cation of the tariflT, which shall produce a reduction of our reve-
nue to the wants of the Government, and an adjustment of the
duties on imports with a view to equal justice in relation to all
our national interests, and to the counteraction of foreign policy,
so far as it may be injurious to those interests, is deemed to be
one of the principal objects which demand the consideration of
the present Congress. Justice to the interests of the merchant as
well as the manufacturer, requires that material reductions in the
import duties be prospective; and unless the present Congress
shall dispose of the subject, the proposed reductions can not
properly be made to take effect at the period when the necessity
for the revenue arising from present rates shall cease. It is,
therefore, desirable that arrangements be adopted at your present
session to relieve the people from unnecessary taxation after the
extinguishment of the public debt. In the exercise of that spirit
of concession and conciliation which has distinguished the friends
of our Union in all great emergencies, it is believed that this
object may be effected without injury to any national interest.
ANDREW JACKSON. 537
In my annual message of December, 1829, I had the honor
to recommend the adoption of a more liberal policy than that
which then prevailed toward unfortunate debtors to the Govern-
ment, and I deem it my duty again to invite your attention to
this subject.
Actuated by similar views Congress, at their last session,
passed an act for the relief of certain insolvent debtors of the
United States ; but the provisions of that law have not been
deemed such as were adequate to that relief to this unfortunate class
of our fellow-citizens which may be safely extended to them. The
points in which the law appears to be defective will be particularly
communicated by the Secretary of the Treasury ; and I take pleas-
ure in recommending such an extension of its provisions as will
unfetter the enterprise of a valuable portion of our citizens, and
restore to them the means of usefulness to themselves and the
community. While deliberating upon this subject, I would also
recommend to your consideration the propriety of so modifying
the laws for enforcing the payment of debts due either to the
public or to individuals suing in the courts of the United States
as to restrict the imprisonment of the person to cases of fraudu-
lent concealment of property. The personal liberty of the citi-
zen seems too sacred to be held, as in many cases it now is, at
the will of a creditor to whom he is willing to surrender all the
means he has of discharging his debt.
The reports from the Secretaries of the War and Navy De-
partments, and from the Postmaster-General, which accompany
this message, present satisfactory views of the operations of the
departments respectively under their charge, and suggest im-
provements which are worthy of, and to which I invite, the se-
rious attention of Congress. Certain defects and omissions having
been discovered in the operation of the laws respecting patents,
they are pointed out in the accompanying report from the Sec-
retary of State.
I have heretofore recommended amendments of the Federal
Constitution giving the election of President and Vice-President
to the people, and limiting the service of the former to a single
term. So important do I consider these changes in our funda-
mental law, that I can not, in accordance with my sense of duty,
omit to press them upon the consideration of a new Congress.
For my views more at large, as well in relation to these points
as to the disqualification of members of Congress to receive an
538 LIFE AND TIMES OF
office from a President in whose election they have had an official
agency, which I proposed as a substitute, I refer you to my
former messages.
Our system of public accounts is extremely complicated, and,
it is believed, may be much improved. Much of the present
machinery, and a considerable portion of the expenditure of
public money may be dispensed with, while greater facilities can
be afforded to the liquidation of claims upon the Government,
and an examination into their justice and legality, quite as
efficient as the present, secured. With a view to a general
reform in the system I recommend the subject to the attention
of Congress.
I deem it my duty again to call your attention to the condi-
tion of the District of Columbia. It was, doubtless, wise in the
framers of our Constitution to place the people of this district
under the jurisdiction of the General Government; but, to ac-
complish the objects they had in view, it is not necessary that this
people should be deprived of all the privileges of self-govern-
ment. Independently of the difficulty of inducing the repre-
sentatives of distant States to turn their attention to projects
of laws which are not of the highest interest to their constit-
uents, they are not individually nor, in Congress, collectively
well qualified to legislate over the local concerns of this District.
Consequently, its interests are much neglected, and the people
are almost afraid to present their grievances lest a body, in which
they are not represented, and which feels little sympathy in
their local relations, should, in its attempt to make laws for
them, do more harm than good. Governed by the laws of the
States whence they were severed, the two shores of the Potomac,
within the ten miles square, have different penal codes; not the
present codes of Virginia and Maryland, but such as existed in
those States at the time of the cession to the United States. As
Congress will not form a new code, and as the people of the dis-
trict can not make one for themselves, they are virtually under
two governments. Is it not just to allow them at least a dele-
gate in Congress, if not a local Legislature to make laws for the
District, subject to the approval or rejection of Congress? I ear-
nestly recommend the extension to them of every political right
which their interests require, and which may be compatible with
the Constitution.
The extension of the judiciary system of the United States is
ANDREW JACKSON. 539
deemed to be one of the duties of Government. One-fourth of
the States in the Union do not participate in the benefits of a
circuit court. To the States of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, admitted into the Union
since the present judicial system was organized, only a district
court has been allowed. If this be sufficient, then the circuit
courts, already existing in eighteen States, ought to be abolished ;
» if it be not sufficient, the defect ought to be remedied, and
these States placed on the same footing with the other members
of the Union. It was on this condition, and on this footing,
that they entered the Union ; and they may demand circuit
courts as a matter, not of concession, but of right. I trust that
Congress will not adjourn leaving this anomaly in our system.
Entertaining the opinions heretofore expressed in relation to
the Bank of the United States, as at present organized, I felt it
my duty, in my former messages, frankly to disclose them, in
order that the attention of the Legislature and the people should
be seasonably directed to that important subject, and that it
might be considered and finally disposed of in a manner best cal-
culated to promote the ends of the Constitution and subserve the
public interests. Having thus conscientiously discharged a Con-
stitutional duty, I deem it proper, on this occasion, without a
more particular reference to the views of the subject then ex-
pressed, to leave it for the present to the investigation of an
enlightened people and their representatives.
In conclusion, permit me to invoke that power which superin-
tends all governments to infuse into your deliberations, at this im-
portant crisis of our history, a spirit of mutual forbearance and
conciliation. In that spirit was our Union formed, and in that
spirit must it be preserved.
In this, as in his former annual messages, the Pres-
ident renewed his recommendation for amending the
Constitution to take the election of President and
Vice-President directly to the people, and doing away
with the Electoral College. The message extols the
Indian policy, and shows its progress. The Bank of
the United States is again brought to the notice of
Congress, and it is clearly stated that the Executive
540 LIFE AND TIMES OF
is only resting in his opposition to the Bank. The
Senate now confirmed the members of the new Cabinet
without opposition, and most of the other appointments.
But after spending a great part of two months in dis-
cussing the appointment of Mr. Van Buren, as Minis-
ter to England, the Senate rejected him. He had
only recently arrived in London and presented his
credentials. Mr. Calhoun and his friends opposed the
confirmation of Van Buren on both personal and polit-
ical grounds ; and while little else was to be expected
of them, the course of the Senate in the case was cen-
surable in a high degree, as needlessly placing the
country in an unfavorable and ridiculous light in Eng-
land. The conduct of the Senate was mean and in-
defensible in the whole matter. On the part of the
opponents of the Administration and the adherents of
Mr. Calhoun, this affair was designed to spite and en-
rage the President, and insult and put down Mr. Van
Buren, but in the latter purpose especially, they sig-
nally failed. The rejection of Mr. Van Buren led di-
rectly to his nomination for the Vice-Presidency, and
his easy approach to the higher place in which the
Man, the political Autocrat of the Nation, had deter-
mined to put him.
Although the charter of the Bank of the United
States would not expire until 1836, having been
granted in 1816, for twenty years, it was decided by
the leaders among its managers and friends to bring
the subject of a renewal of the charter before Congress
at this time. It was confidently believed that a re-
issue of the charter was certain, and that Jackson's
veto would only do what the friends of the Bank
mainly desired, defeat him in the approaching race
ANDREW JACKSON. 541
for the Presidency. On the 9th of January, 1832,
George M. Dallas presented to the Senate the memo-
rial asking the renewal of the charter, and although
believing himself that it was the wrong time to spring
this great question, he was an advocate of the Bank.
A committee, consisting of John Quincy Adams, George
McDuffie, John G. Watmough, C. C. Cambreleng, Fran-
cis Thomas, R. M. Johnson, and A. S. Clayton, was
sent to Philadelphia to investigate the affairs of the
Bank. This committee spent some time in making a
thorough examination of the condition and manage-
ment, and made three reports, two of them favorable
to the Bank, having found no charge of consequence
sustained against it; and Mr. Adams, who himself
made one of the reports, declared that it was the most
satisfactorily and perfectly conducted institution in the
world. Nearly all of this long session was taken up
in the discussion of this subject, the debates being at
times very bitter and personal. Thomas H. Benton
led the Administration opposition against the Bank
giants, and did it with great skill,, if not always with
fairness. At last, on the 11th of June, a bill was
passed in the Senate, and on the 3d of July, in the
House, providing for re-chartering the Bank, by a vote
of twenty-eight to twenty in the former, and one hun-
dred and nine to seventy-six in the latter, body. On
the 10th of July, six days after it was presented to
the President for his signature, he returned it with
his veto.
There was a great variety of opinion as to the ef-
fect of this act on the final result touching the Bank,
and on the Presidential election. The Jackson or
Democratic party considered it as settling the matter
542 LIFE AND TIMES OF
virtually, forever, and the friends of the Bank pre-
tended to believe that it would do the Bank no great
harm, but forever kill Jackson. Men who counted on
the success of any cause espoused by General Jackson
were safe. Altjiough the opponents of the ' Bank
meanly and without a shadow of foundation attacked
the management of that institution, and brought con-
temptible charges, which were unnecessary and dis-
graceful, yet it was now as they believed but a ques-
tion of time. Nor were they mistaken as to their
estimates of the good influence of the veto on the
Presidential election. Although men are still divided
as to the virtue of this Herculean feat, of killing the
Bank, on the part of General Jackson, it long ago
ceased to be a matter of much moment. Jackson's
strong point, demagogue-like, appealing to the passions
of the masses, was that the Bank was a tyrannical
monopoly, a fortunate partisan term which ncA^er could
be tolerated by the people, who shouted for him. Al-
though the fall of the Bank of the United States
brought temporary ruin to the country, its overthrow
was, perhaps, for the best in the end, and this is the
general verdict of America to-day.
Whoever wrote the veto message, Mr. Livingston
certainly had no part in it, as he was not a warm
supporter of the President's opposition to the Bank.
In the fall of 1832, Mr. Livingston wrote to a friend : —
"The veto, I find, is well received. The measure could not
have been avoided ; the managers of the Bank drew it on them-
selves, and they were forwarded by those who thought the insti-
tution necessary, and who feared, what has come to pass, that the
pressure of the question would endanger it in any shape. As to
the message, I will say no more of it than that no part of it is
mine. This is a great piece of self-denial, considering the
ANDREW JACKSON. 543
extravagant applause with which it has been received ; but I prefer
my own plain feathers to those of any peacock, and I, therefure,
to you disavow any participation in framing this splendid pro-
duction, which has received the title of the Secoud Declaration of
Independence; but, wonderful as the production i,s, I am aston-
ished (since the best composition, and the best arguments are
frequently assailed), I am astonished, I say, that this has escaped
so well. There are arguments in it that an ingenious critic might
plausibly expose, and I am glad that it has only been nibbled at
by the editors. Is this concert? Or what can be the rea.son of
this forbearance? I dreaded an immediate attack. Our friends
have lost no time in taking off its force, by anticipating the
public opinion."
Of the Bank legislation and other features of this
session of Congress, Edwin Williams, one of the fairest
and most accurate of political writers, says : —
" This veto message having been read, Mr. Webster moved
that the Senate should proceed to reconsider the bill the next
day. At tjie appointed hour, the bill being again brought under
the consideration of the Senate, Mr. Webster reviewed the rea-
sons and arguments of the Executive at length, to which Mr.
White, of Tennessee, replied ; and the discussion was continued
until the 13th of July, when 'the question being taken on the
passage of the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the President,
the Senate divided — yeas twenty-two, nays nineteen ; and the
bill, not having received two-thirds of the votes, was of course
rejected.
"The President's Bank-veto message was circulated exten-
sively throughout the Union, and proved a popular document in
his favor in its effects on the public mind, wherever the Bank
was but little known, or in ill-favor. Many of the political
friends of the President, however, as well among the people, as
in Congress, differed in opinion from him on the subject of the
Bank. In the State of Pennsylvania, where the Bank was lo-
cated, and where the institution was popular, the President's
course was severely censured, and the strength of the Adminis-
tration so much diminished, as at one period to make its success
doubtful. At a very large meeting of citizens of Philadelphia,
composed of his former political friends, in July, 1832, soon after
644 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the veto of the President, resolutions were adopted disapproving
of his course with regard to the Bank and other public measures,
and deprecating his re-election to the Presidency as a national
calamity, which they pledge themselves ' to use all lawful and
honorable means to avert, by opposing the re-election of Andrew
Jackson.'
"The subject of the public lands was another matter of im-
portance which was agitated. The investigations which were or-
dered preliminary to modifying the tariff, afforded an occasion to
urge an inquiry into the expediency of reducing the price of the
public lands, as connected with the revenue. On the 22d of
March, 1832, Mr. Bibb, of Kentucky, an Administration Senator,
moved a resolution to that effect, and the Committee on Manu-
factures in the Senate was directed to make the inquiry.
" The subject of internal improvement was discussed at length
during this session. The members from the South, and the sup-
porters of the Administration from the Eastern States, and from
New York, were decidedly opposed to appropriations of this
character; and a systematic effort was generally made by them
to defeat the bill introduced making appropriations for that ob-
ject, including the improvement of certain rivers and harbors,
the Cumberland and other roads, surveys, etc. The bill finally
passed both Houses, and having received the sanction of the
President, became a law. By the act, as amended in its passage,
various appropriations were made for works not enumerated ; it
having been extended by these amendments to an amount ex-
ceeding one million two hundred thousand dollars, and altogether
beyond its original scope, adding thus an additional sanction to
the policy of internal improvement.
"The other appropriations for internal improvement were
contained in a bill for the improvement of certain harbors and
rivers, which was not taken up in the House until the 25th of
May. Certain amendments were then made; and on the 1st of
June, a motion by Mr. Polk, of Tennessee, to strike out the en-
acting clause, was lost — yeas seventy-two, nays one hundred and
one — and the bill finally passed, ninety-five to sixty-seven. In
the Senate, it was taken up on the 3d of July, and in the course
of the discussion which ensued, Mr. Clay ' expressed his extreme
surprise that the President, after putting his veto on the appro-
priations for works of such public utility as the Maysville and
Rockville Roads, should have sanctioned the Internal Improve-
ANDREW JACKSON. 545
ment Bill, in which appropriations were made to a very large
amount, and which differed in principle not one particle from
the one he had rejected. What had been the course of the
present Administration? They first held appropriations for cer-
tain objects of internal improvement to be unconstitutional, and
then sanctioned appropriations for other objects depending en-
tirely on the same principles with those held to be unconstitu-
tional ; and the result has been to open an entire new field of
internal improvement. Favorite objects had been considered
Constitutional, while objects in States not so much cherished had
been held to be local.' Mr. Miller, of South Carolina, said: ' We
have just heard that the President has signed the Internal Im-
provement Bill, containing appropriations for the most limited
and local purposes. I hope we shall never again be referred to
the veto of the Maysville and Rockville Roads, as a security
against this system. The Senate and House of Representatives,
and the President, all concur in this power.'
"The Harbor Bill, as it was called, passed the Senate, and
was sent to the President for his approbation, on the 13th of
July, three days before the close of the session. This bill, which
did not differ in principle from the Internal Improvement Bill
which he had signed, the President resolved not to sanction, but
retained the bill until after the adjournment of Congress, and
thus prevented it from becoming a law.
"The same course was adopted by the President in relation
to a bill providing for the repayment to the respective States of
all interest actually paid, for moneys borrowed by them on ac-
count of the Federal Government, and expended in the service of
the United States. This bill was passed by both Houses at this
session, but when it came into the hands of the President, it was
doomed to the fate of the Harbor BiU, and was negatived in this
novel and indirect manner, to which the opposition gave the
name of ' a pocket veto.'
" The President having, in his annual message, recommended
a modification of the tariff" of duties on imports, the subject was
referred to the Committee on Manufactures, which, as well as
the Committee of Ways and Means, had been selected by the
Speaker (who was hostile to the protective system) with a view
to a reduction of the tariff*. Mr. John Quincy Adams was placed
at the head of the Committee on Manufactures, which, on the 23d
of May, reported a new tariff" bill. Mr. McDuffie, chairman of
.S5— G
546 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the Committee of Ways and Means, had, at an earlier period of
the session, namely, on the 8th of February, reported a bill in-
tended to meet the ultra opponents of the protective system, and
the report which accompanied it denounced the tarifl' system as
imposing a tax upon the South for the benefit of the North,
The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. McLane, on the 27th of
April, also transmitted to Congress, in compliance with a resolu-
tion of the House, a bill for a reduction of the tariff, with a report
giving his views on this topic.
" Before the report of the Secretary was printed Mr. McDufRe
brought on the discussion of the bill reported by him. On the
1st of June a motion was made to strike out the first section,
■which was carried — eighty-one yeas to forty-one nays.
"Mr. Adams's bill was then taken up, and after a long and
animated discussion, it passed the House, with few amendments,
by one hundred and thirty-two yeas to sixty-five nays, many of
the opponents of protection voting in the afiirmative. The bill
finally passed the Senate on the 9th of July, yeas thirty-two,
nays sixteen, and, receiving the sanction of the President, became
a law.
" This act provided for a grtat reduction of the revenue, and
for no small diminution of the duties on the protected articles of
domestic manufacture, but it was a direct admission of the prin-
ciple of protection, and it was so regarded by all parties. It was,
however, a great concession on the part of the friends of the pro-
tective system to the advocates of ' free trade,' and as such, a
general expectation prevailed that it w^ould be received by the
dominant party in South Carolina, and that a temporary calm
at least would succeed the agitafton upon this exciting topic.
" Difi'erent views, it appeared, were entertained by the leaders
of that party, and the very day after the passage of this act, the
Kepresentatives of South Carolina, who thought nullification the
rightful remedy, met at Washington, and published an address
to the people of South Carolina on the subject of the tariff. In
that address they assert, that in the act just passed the duties
upon' the protected articles Avere augmented, while the diminu-
tion was made only in the duties upon the unprotected articles ;
that in this manner the burden of supporting the Government
was thrown exclusively on the Southern States, and the other
States gained more than they lost by the operations of the revenue
system.
ANDREW JACKSON. 547
"The address concludes thus: 'They will not pretend to sug-
gest the appropriate remedy, but after expressing their solemn
and deliberate conviction that the protective system must uow be
regarded as the settled policy of the country, and that all hope
of relief from Congress is irrecoverably gone, they leave it with
you, the sovereign power of the State, to determine whether the
rights and liberties which you received as a precious inheritance
from an illustrious ancestry, shall be tamely surrendered without
a struggle, or transmitted undiminished to your posterity."
Out of the heated debates of this session some
shameful difficulties arose, in which, as usual, the
President was, to some extent, concerned. To Thomas
H. Benton has been attributed these words, uttered
when the rencounter of 1813 was fresh in his mind :—
"If General Jackson shall be elected, he wiU surround him-
self with a pack of political bull-dogs, to bark at all who oppose
his measures. For myself, as I can not think of legislating with
a brace of pistols in my belt, I shall, in the event of the election
01 Oreneral Jackson, resign my seat in the Senate, as every inde-
pendent man will have to do, or risk his life or honor."
Whether Mr. Benton gave utterance to this hope-
ful sentiment or not, during this session of Congress
things were squally enough. Sam Houston, one of
the finest specimens of a Western fighter, wanted the
contract for furnishing the supplies for the Indians,
then preparing to move to their new home on the
other side of the Mississippi, and put in his bid at
about twice what it was believed the amount should
be. General Jackson at once espoused Houston's
cause, and was extremely anxious that the contract
should be awarded to him at his own figures. Hous-
ton was not successful, but the case brought out warm
words in the House, Mr. William Stanberry, of Ohio,
having referred to the attempt to give Houston the
contract, as fraudulent. For this Houston fell upon
548 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Stanberry in the street, and beat him shamefully.
Houston was brought before the House, of which lie
was a member, and gently reprimanded by sympa-
thetic Andrew Stevenson. He was, however, subse-
quently tried and fined in a Washington Court.
Thomas D. Arnold, another member, for speaking of
the outrage on Stanberry, was attacked and shot at
in the Capitol, by a friend of Houston.
The President not only very decidedly approved
the shameful and brutal conduct of Houston and his
friend, and expressed himself in favor of that method
of keeping quiet the officious and unruly tongues of
Congressmen, but also a year or two afterwards re-
mitted the fine, by proclamation, which had been
imposed on Houston by the District Court. Although
General Jackson still adhered to this unchristian and
brutal way of settling differences, and never did be-
come able to look with moderation or reason upon
opposition to his will or acts, the " bull-dog " traits of
his times at Washington were, perhaps, little more
apparent than formerly. Dueling had always dis-
graced the Capital of the 'Nation, and in the very
Halls of Congress equally disreputable scenes had
been witnessed. And during the Administration of
John Quincy Adams that model Executive and man
would take no direct part in the many attempts
to put down the unmanly and infernal practice of
dueling in the District, believing, he said, that noth-
ing could then be done, and objecting himself to the
methods proposed. Congress adjourned on the 16th
of July, 1832, and from this time until November
little was thought of or talked about throughout the
country but the Presidential election.
ANDREW JACKSON. 549
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1832— CHOLERA RAVAGES-
FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE— BLACK HAWK-
NULLIFICATION.
AH ! yes. There was one other thing which more
deeply concerned the people of the United States
during the sad summer of 1832, than the strife for the
Presidency. In June, the " cholera," which had raged
in Europe the year before, reached this continent, and
soon spread from Quebec to New Orleans, strangely
skipping some localities where its ravages were nat-
urally most to be expected, and " attacking " other
places endowed with peculiarly favorable health-con-
ditions, as it was supposed. Thousands fell before the
unmanageable scourge, whose track was marked by
desolation and sorrow. In spite of all this, however,
the Presidential contest went on with great spirit and
bitterness. Soon after the beginning of the last ses-
sion of Congress numerous petitions were presented
by Mr. Adams in the House asking the abolition of
the slave-trade, and of slavery itself in the District
of Columbia. A somewhat extended account of the
slavery issue has been attempted in other volumes of
this work. Although this evil question had little
prominence at this time, yet it was not without its
influence in the election of 1832. Nothing was more
apparent than the disposition of the South to give
550 LIFE AND TIMES OF
preference to Southern men over Northern men of
Southern policy. New issues were arising. Jackson's
Administration had already furnished plentiful ma-
terial for conflict ; the United States Bank, the tariff,
the revenues, nullification, and other subjects which
were of great importance to the country. The ex-
traordinary course of the new Administration, of the
Jacksonian "reign," had led to a reformation of the
old dominant Democratic or Republican party, and also
given rise to the new party, the Whig or National
Republican. Nullification had yet not been quieted.
Irreconcilable difficulties appeared in the way of the
Government ; and there were men in and out of Con-
gress at that very time who believed, or pretended to
believe, that the way to solve the troubles of the
country was to divide it into two governments. Even
General Samuel Smith, of Baltimore, whose own for-
tunes were bankrupt, in perfect calmness and good
humor, advocated the separation of the Union, with
the Potomac as the boundary between the two parts.
On the 9th of August, 1831, at the Broadway
House in New York, John C. Calhoun was nominated
for the Presidency by a very respectable company of
men. In September of the same year, the Anti-Masons
met in convention at Baltimore, where it was previously
designed to nominate Judge John McLean as their can-
didate for that office. But Mr. McLean declined the
honor, and William Wirt was unfortunately induced to
accept the nomination for the Presidency, while Amos
EUmaker, of Pennsylvania, was selected as the candi-
date for the Vice-Presidency. The Whigs greatly re-
gretted this event, as Mr. Wirt was a Whig, and few
men in the new party stood higher than did he. Then,
ANDREW JACKSON. 551
too, a large majority of the Anti-Masons were Whigs
or National Republicans. It was fully understood that
Mr. Clay was to be the Whig candidate, and as he
was a Mason, nominally, at least, the Anti-Masons
could not support him, although they were mainly op-
ponents of the Administration. The Anti-Masons had
met in the previous September, at Philadelphia, but
about all they had accomplished at that time was pro-
viding for this convention, in 1831. At the former
meeting ninety-six delegates were present, and although
little was done .by them, they constituted really the
first National Convention of a strictly partisan char-
acter which had ever assembled in the country. On the
12th of December, 1831, the Whigs, or National Re-
publicans, as they were sometimes called, in contradis-
tinction to the Jacksonian Republicans or Democrats,
met in convention at Baltimore. One hundred and
fifty-soA^en delegates were present, representing seven-
teen States and the District of Columbia. Mr. Clay
was unanimously nominated for the Presidency by this
convention, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, was
chosen for the Vice-Presidency.
General Jackson had indicated his willingness to
serve for another term, and early in the summer of
1831, it was well understood that he was to be the
candidate of his own party. The " Kitchen Cabinet "
had the entire management of the case, and the leaders
throughout the country moved as directed by this
privy council. Four Such men as Wm. B. Lewis,
Isaac Hill, Amos Kendall, and Francis P. Blair, as
cunning and skillful political managers, can nowhere else
be seen in the history of the country. And when
General Jackson is placed behind this rare quartet of
552 LIFE AND TIMES OF
artful manipulators, the picture becomes complete.
The " Kitchen Cabinet" decided that the convention
should not be held until in May, 1832, and the only
thing for it to do was the formal nomination. They
had so managed the matter that even as to the Vice-
Presidency there could be no mistake. Mr. Van Buren
was to be nominated, and then, it was the will of Gen-
eral Jackson that " Matty " was to succeed him in the
White House. Accordingly the convention assembled
on the 21st of May, 1832, in Baltimore. Judge Thomas
Overton was to be the presiding officer, but illness
kept him away, and the next best man, William Car-
roll, of Tennessee, was put in the chair. With all the
authoritative management beforehand, it was found
that entire unanimity did not prevail as to the Vice-
Presidency. Colonel Richard M. Johnson and Philip
P. Barbour were brought out, and a small vote divided
between them, but Mr. Van Buren had more than the
requisite number provided for in this convention, and
was nominated.
Mr. Calhoun was dropped from the race, and the
nullifiers of South Carolina gave the vote of that
State to John Floyd, of Virginia, and Henry Lee, of
Massachusetts. The " Kitchen Cabinet " took the lead
in the management on the Jacksonian side, and a hot
campaign it was. In these Jackson campaigns the
name of " Old Hickory " was turned to every possible
advantage. As the General had sailed up the Ohio
on his way to the Capital in 1829, the steamboat was
strangely decorated with new split hickory brooms.
This idea extended to hickory poles which long ago
became the exclusive property of the Democratic
party. These hickory poles were finally mounted by
ANDREW JACKSON. 553
roosters, appropriate and plucky emblems for General
Jackson and his party, the selection of which came
naturally enough perhaps, from the General's early
practice of cock-fighting. While this campaign was in
full blast President Jackson took occasion to visit Ten-
nessee, and remained at the Hermitage several weeks.
On this trip the General turned his popularity to good
account in every way possible. He talked of Nicholas
Biddle, " Old Nick," as he was familiarly called in the
newspapers, and on the banners in the Jackson pro-
cessions, and of the monster monopoly that he was
determined to crush. He also displayed his golden
coin, the hard hickory money which he was fighting
to put into the hands and pockets of the people, whose
servant he was. The style of General Jackson was
always more or less that of the demagogue ; but his
fondest sentiment was involved in the belief that he
was the embodiment of the " will of the people."
After his extraordinary success at this election, this
theory became still more absolute with him.
The supporters of General Jackson had now many
arguments in his favor which they lacked in the former
races. They claimed, without proper respect for truth
in all cases, that Jackson had restored the management
of governmental affairs to the simplicity and principles
of Thomas Jefferson ; that he had stopped corruption
in the public expenditures and given a general direc-
tion to affairs in favor of the people ; that he was op-
posed to great monopolies in general, and the Bank of
the United States in particular; that he had greatly
increased the foreign trade of the country, and man-
aged the foreign relations with unusual success ; that
he was safe on tariffs, internal improvements, and
554 LIFE AND TIMES OF
distribution of revenue ; and, above all, that he was one
of the people, sprang from the people, represented the
people, was the great defender of the people, the Hero
of New Orleans ; and it was the business of the people
to shout for him, and elect him, because he was a part
of themselves, a man of passions and qualities not
unlike the lowest of them, or the highest of them ;
and in his triumph they would be individually and
collectively triumphant.
Some efforts were made to unite the interests of
the small faction of nullifiers with the Whigs, with
the hope of serving Mr. Calhoun, but nothing came of
this, and out of South Carolina, these mainly became
identified with the opposition to Jackson. The Whigs
had now not only the bank, tariff, internal improve-
ment, and several other important issues which they
set forward in great strength with the very consider-
able personal account against General Jackson, utilized
in 1824 and 1828 ; but also no little additional matter
gathered from his career at the head of the Govern-
ment. The Whig press was wonderfully active. The
opportunity for caricature was supposed to be extraor-
dinarily good, and advantage was taken of it in every
conceivable way. The main figure in these caricatures,
of course, was General Jackson ; but he was often
very ludicrously associated with the Bank of the
United States, the " Kitchen Cabinet," Mr. Van Buren,
the Devil, the " Pocket Veto," etc. One of the most
harmless but ludicrous of these caricatures represented
Van Buren as a baby in the arms of the General, who
was fondly engaged in giving him pap from a spoon.
The old ground was gone over, back to the Creek
war, and even to Jackson's youth in Carolina.
ANDREW JACKSON. 555
But some of the old scores were not repeated at
this time. For instance, the celebrated " coffin hand-
bills " of John Binns, in 1824, were not now brought
forward. Poor Binns was a Democrat of the straitest
sect, but he believed General Jackson was entirely
unfit to be President, and hence he gave the earnest
efforts of the " Democratic Press " to the support of
Mr. Crawford in 1824, and Mr. Adams in 1828. In
this course he was greatly the loser. Who ever op-
posed General Jackson without being a loser? Binns
says on this point : " My opposition to General Jackson
had great influence, not only upon my editorial and po-
litical position in the United States, but it and my op-
position to Governor Findlay, in Pennsylvania, in 1819
and 1820, sadly affected my pecuniary affairs."
But he manfully adds : " I have, however, never
regretted that I adhered to what I believed to be the
truth, even though my determination not only shut
me out from all approach to the public crib, but was
the cause of my never recovering thousands which I
had honestly earned."
Of General Jackson's efforts to enlist him and his
paper in his cause, at his second race, Mr. Binns
says : —
"Soon after General Jackson's nomination by the party,
General Eaton, then the special confidant and political friend of
General Jackson, and one with whom I had had some previous
personal intercourse, called on me, with the declaration that he
was authorized by General Jackson to assure me that, ' if I would
advocate the election of.the General, when he was elected Presi-
dent, I should, if I thought well of it, remove to Washington
City, become the editor aud proprietor of the Government news-
paper, and do as much as I chose of the public printing ; or, if
I did not wish to leave Philadelphia, as much of the ptiblic print-
ing as I desired should be forwarded to Philadelphia for me to
556 LIFE AND TIMES OF
do, at the Government prices.' I assured General Eaton that ' I
was as grateful as any man could be for the distinguished services
which General Jackson had rendered the United States, but that,
after what I had Avritten and published in relation to the Gen-
eral, I could not, from self-respect, give myself the lie direct, as I
must do, if I were now to advocate his election.' Two or three
weeks after this interview with General Eaton, I was called upon
by three gentlemen, of high standing in the Democratic party :
Thomas Leiper, James Ronaldson, and Samuel Carswell. To all
these gentlemen I had, for many years, had the honor to be per-
sonally known, and had frequently served on Democratic com-
mittees with them ; I was sensible of their zeal and influence, of
their liberality and their services, as members of the party, and
of their personal good-will toward myself. Their business was
in substance, and opened in language very much the same as
that which had been used by General Eaton. I listened with at-
tention and respect, expressed my thanks for their visit, was sure
it was consequent upon their desire to serve me, and regretted
that I was unable to see any honorable way in which I could
follow their advice, and advocate the election of General Jackson.
I represented how impossible it was, with a proper sense of self-
respect, to act as they were desirous I should act. I believed
that the objections I had alleged against General Jackson were
founded on fact, and for me to turn such a somerset as they pro-
posed, must inevitably disgrace myself, without reflecting honor
upon or doing service to the General. I have never doubted
but (that) General Jackson would have fulfilled all the promises
made by his friends. He was so much a man of impulse, so
anxious to succeed, and so grateful to his partisans, that he would
have labored hard to serve them, even beyond his promises. All
the world are aware how much the General labored to overpay
his friends and partisans at the public expense."
In this campaign the Whigs (" Democratic Whigs,"
or National Republicans) made great use of the fact
that the Jacksonian party had not sent out a state-
ment of principles, had not deigned to do more than
merely recommend the public defenders to make such
explanations to the people as they should deem neces-
sary from the circumstances. This was a wide field,
ANDREW JACKSON. 557
indeed. But platforms were not suited to the case.
General Jackson was the beginning and the end of all
arguments. He was not a man of " platforms," and it
was enough for his supporters to say Jackson, and
" Hurrah for Jackson " rang from one end of the coun-
try to the other. But the fine Whig " platform," the
great '' Commoner " at the head of the Whig ticket,
and all the efforts of the Whig party, were trifles in
the way of General Jackson, whose success was even
beyond his own expectations. Prophets had announced
that the Bank A^eto would kill Jackson and prevent
his election, if nothing else could. It was a mistake.
Every adverse precjiction as to General Jackson was
a mistake. Nothing could kill him. Everything he
did, right or wrong, advanced him in the public favor.
During the summer of 1832 occurred the war with
Black Hawk, the courageous chief who resisted the
purposes of the United States in removing him and his
people from their old homes on the east of the Missis-
sippi. A full account of this war may be found in a
succeeding volume of this work. The following state-
ment will place the matter in sufficient prominence in
connection with this Administration : —
"Some difficulties occurred with the Indian tribes on the
north-western frontier of the United States during the year 1832.
A treaty had been made in 1830 with the Sacs and Foxes, by
which they agreed to cede their lands to the United States, and
to remove beyond the Mississippi. As they did not promptly
comply with the treaty, and one band, under a noted chief named
Black Hawk, evinced a determination to maintain possession of
their old village, John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois, chose to
construe their continued residence in the ceded territory as an
invasion of the State ; and, under his authority to protect the
State from invasion, he ordered out seven hundred militia to re-
move the Indians beyond the Mississippi, according to the treaty.
558 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"This interference with the peculiar duties of the Federal
Government compelled the officer commanding the United States
troops in that quarter to co-operate with him, in order to prevent
a collision between the State militia and the Indians. Overawed
by the imposing force brought against them, they yielded to ne-
cessity, and crossed the Mississippi, but gathering strength on
the western bank of the river, and exasperated at the harsh
treatment they had received, Black Hawk and his party resolved
on commencing a predatory war on the frontier settlements. In
the month of March, 1832, Black Hawk assembled a band of Sacs
and Foxes, which, united with the Winnebagoes, under the con-
trol of their prophet, were about one thousand in number, and
crossed the Mississippi in a hostile manner. They afterward an-
noyed the people in the mining district of Wisconsin, and mur-
dered a number of defenseless families. The alarm became gen-
eral on the frontier, and many settlers fled from their farms.
The militia were called out, and, joined with about four hundred
United States regular troops, under the command of General At-
kinson, pursued the Indians ; and after a campaign of about two
months, during which two engagements were fought, and the In-
dians lost over two hundred men killed, the war was brought to
an end. Black Hawk was taken prisoner by a party of friendly
Indians, and he, with the prophet and other leaders, was taken,
by order of the Government, through the principal cities and
towns on the seaboard, to show them the power of the United
States, after which they gave no further trouble. Treaties were
made with the offending tribes, by which they agreed to com-
pensate for the expense of the war by a cession of a valuable
part of their territory, and to immediately remove to the west
bank of the Mississippi. The United States stipulated to pay
thirty thousand dollars annually to the three tribes for twenty-
seven years, and other provisions were made for their improve-
ment and civilization."
On the 3d of December, 1832, Congress convened
for the short session ending March 3d, 1833. Hugh
L. White, of Tennessee, was elected president of the
Senate, jcro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-Presi-
dent. Mr. Calhoun had been elected to the Senate in
the place of R. Y. Hayne, who had become Governor
ANDREW JACKSON. 559
of South Carolina, and soon after the opening of the
session, took his seat in that body under the most
unfortunate, suspicious, and unfavorable conditions in
the course of his history.
President Jackson now sent to Congress his
FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December 4, 1S32.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Eepeesentatives : —
It gives me pleasure to congratulate you upou your return to
the seat of government, for the purpose of discharging your
duties to the people of the United States. Although the pesti-
lence which had traversed the Old World has entered our limits,
and extended its ravages over much of our land, it has pleased
Almighty God to mitigate its severity, and lessen the number of
victims, compared with those who have fallen in most other coun-
tries over which it has spread its terrors. Notwithstanding this
visitation, our country presents on every side marks of pros-
perity and happiness, unequaled, perhaps, in any other portion
of the world. If we fully appreciate our comparative condition,
existing causes of discontent will appear unworthy of attention,
and with hearts of thankfulness to that Divine Being who has
filled our cup of prosperity we shall feel our resolution strength-
ened to preserve and hand down to posterity that liberty and that
Union which we have received from our fathers, and which con-
stitute the sources and the shield of our blessings.
The relations of ovir country continue to present the same
picture of amicable intercourse that I had the satisfaction to hold
up to your view at the opening of your last session. The same
friendly professions, the same desire to participate in our flourish-
ing commerce, the same disposition to refrain from injuries unin-
tentionally offered, are, with few exceptions, evinced by all
nations with Whom we have any intercourse. This desirable state
of things may be mainly ascribed to our undeviating practice of
the rule which has long guided our national policy, to require no
exclusive privileges in commerce, and to grant none. It is daily
producing its beneficial efl'ect in the respect shown to our flag,
the protection of our citizens and their property abroad, and in
the increase of our navigation, and the extension of our mercantile
operations. The returns which have been made out since we last
560 LIFE AND TIMES OF
met, will show an increase, during the last preceding year, of
more that 80,000 tons in our shipping, and of near forty millions
of dollars in the aggregate of our imports and exports.
Nor have we less reason to felicitate ourselves on the position
of our jDolitical than of our commercial concerns. They remain
in the state in which they were when I last addressed you, a
state of prosperity and peace, the effect of a wise attention to the
parting advice of the revered Father of his Country on this sub-
ject, condensed into a maxim for the use of posterity, by one of
his most distinguished successors, to cultivate free commerce and
honest friendship with all nations, but to make entangling alli-
ances with none. A strict adherence to this policy has kept us
aloof from the perplexing questions that now agitate the Eu-
ropean world, and have more than once deluged those countries
with blood. Should those scenes unfortunately recur, the par-
ties to the contest may count on a faithful performance of the
duties incumbent on us as a neutral nation, and our own citizens
may equally rely on the firm assertion of their neutral rights.
With the nation that was our earliest friend and ally in the
infancy of our political existence, the most friendly relations
have subsisted through the late revolutions of its government;
and from the events of the last, promise a permanent duration.
It has made an approximation in some of its political institutions
to our own, and raised a monarch to the throne who preserves,
it is said, a friendly recollection of the period during which he
acquired among our citizens the high consideration that could
then have been produced by his personal qualifications alone.
Our commerce with that nation is gradually assuming a mutu-
ally beneficial character, and the adjustment of the claims of
our citizens has removed the only obstacle there was to an inter-
course not only lucrative, but productive of literary and scientific
improvement.
From Great Britain, I have the satisfaction to inform you
that I continue to receive assurances of the most amicable dispo-
sition, which have, on my part on all proper occasions been
promptly and sincerely reciprocated. The attention of that gov-
ernment has latterly been so much engrossed by matters of a
deeply interesting domestic character, that we could not press
upon it the renewal of negotiations which had been unfortu-
nately broken off by the unexpected recall of our minister, who
had commenced them with some hopes of success. My great
ANDKEW JACKSON. 561
object was the settlement of questions which, though now dor-
mant, might hereafter be revived under circumstances that would
endanger the good understanding which it is the interest of both
parties to preserve inviolate, cemented as it is by a community
of language, manners, and social habits, and by the high obliga-
tions we owe to our British ancestors for many of our most val-
uable institutions, and for that system of representative govern-
ment which has enabled us to preserve and improve them.
The question of our north-eastern boundary still remains unset-
tled. In my last annual message, I explained to you the situa-
tion in which I found that business on my coming into office, and
the measures I thought it my duty to pursue for asserting the
rights of the United States, before the sovereign who had been
chosen by my predecessor to determine the question ; and also the
manner in which he disposed of it. A special message to the
Senate, in their executive capacity, afterward brought before
them the question, whether they would advise a submission to
the opinion of the sovereign arbiter. That body having consid-
ered the award as not obligatory, and advised me to open a further
negotiation, the proposition was immediately made to the British
Government ; but the circumstances to which I have alluded
have hitherto prevented any answer being given to the overture.
Early attention, however, has been promised to the subject, and
every effort on my part will be made for a satisfactory settle-
ment of this question, interesting to the Union generally, and par-
ticularly so to one of its members.
The claims of our citizens on Spain are not yet acknowledged.
On a closer investigation of them than appears to have hereto-
fore taken place it was discovered that some of these demands,
however strong they might be upon the equity of that govern-
ment, Avere not such as could be made the subject of national
interference. And, faithful to the principle of asking nothing
but what was clearly right, additional instructions have been sent
to modify our demands so as to embrace those only on which,
according to the laws of nations, we had a strict right to insist.
An inevitable delay in procuring the documents necessary for
this review of the merits of these claims, retarded this operation,'
until an unfortunate malady which has afflicted his Catholic
Majesty, prevented an examination of them. Being now for the
first time presented in an unexceptionable form, it is confidently
hoped the application will be successful.
36— G
562 LIFE AND TIMES OF
I have the satisfaction to inform you that the application I
directed to be made for the delivery of a part of the archives of
Florida, which had been carried to the Havana, has produced a
royal order for their delivery, and that measures have been taken
to procure its execution.
By the report of the Secretary of State, communicated to you
on the 25th of June last, you Avere informed of the conditional
reduction obtained by the Minister of the United States at
Madrid, of the duties on tonnage levied on American shipping
in the ports of Spain. The condition of that reduction having
been complied with on our part, by the act passed on the 13th
of July last, I have the satisfaction to inform you that our ships
now pay no higher nor other duties, in the continental ports of
Spain, than are levied on their national vessels.
The demands against Portugal for illegal captures in the
blockade of Terceira have been allowed to the full amount of
the accounts presented by the claimants, and payment was prom-
ised to be made in three installments. The first of these has
been paid; the second, although due, had not, at the date of our
last advices, been received, owing, it was alleged, to embarrass-
ments in the finances, consequent on the civil war in which the
nation is engaged.
The payments stipulated by the convention with Denmark
have been punctually made, and the amount is ready for distri-
bution among the claimants as soon as the board, now sitting,
shall have performed their functions.
I regret that, by the last advices from our charge d'affaires
at Naples, that government had still delayed the satisfaction due
to our citizens; but, at that date, the effect of the last instruc-
tions was not known. Dispatches from thence are hourly ex-
pected and the result will be communicated to you without delay.
With the rest of Europe our relations, political and commer-
cial, remain unchanged. Negotiations are going on, to put on a
permanent basis the liberal system of commerce now carried on
between us and the Empire of Russia. The treaty concluded
with Austria is executed by his Imperial Majesty with the most
perfect good faith ; and as we have no diplomatic agent at his
Court, he personally inquired into, and corrected a proceeding
of some of his subaltern officers, to the injury of our consul in
one of his ports.
Our treaty with the Sublime Porte is producing its expected
ANDREW JACKSON. 563
effects on our commerce. New markets are opening for our
commodities, and a more extensive range for the employment of
our ships. A slight augmentation of the duties on our com-
merce, inconsistent with the spirit of the treaty, had been im-
posed; but, on the representation of our charge d'affaires, it has
been promptly withdrawn, and we now enjoy the trade and
navigation of the Black Sea, and of all the ports belonging to the
Turkish empire and Asia, on the most perfect equality with all
foreign nations.
I wish earnestly that, in announcing to you the continuance
of friendship, and the increase of a profitable commercial inter-
course with Mexico, with Central America, and the States of
the South, I could accompany it with the assurance that they all
are blessed with that internal tranquillity, and foreign peace,
which their heroic devotion to the cause of their independence
merits. In Mexico, a sanguinary struggle is now carried on,
which has caused some embarrassment to our commerce; but
both parties profess the most friendly disposition toward us. To
the termination of this contest, we look for the establishment of
that secure intercourse, so necessary to nations whose territories
are contiguous. HoW important it will be to us, we may calcu-
late from the fact that, even in this unfavorable state of things,
our maritime commerce has increased, and an internal trade, by
caravans, from St. Louis to Santa Fe, under the protection of
escorts furnished by the Government, is carried on to great
advantage, and is daily increasing. The agents provided for by
the treaty with this power, to designate the boundary which is
established, have been named on our part ; but one of the evils
of the civil war now raging there, has been, that the appoint-
ment of those with whom they were to co-operate has not yet
been announced to us.
The government of Central America has expelled from its
territory the party which some time since disturbed its peace.
Desirous of fostering a favorable disposition toward us, which has
on more than one occasion been evinced by this interesting
country, I made a second attempt in this year to establish a di-
plomatic intercourse with them ; but the death of the distin-
guished citizen whom I had appointed for that purpose has
retarded the execution of measures from which I hoped much
advantage to our commerce. The union of the three States which
formed the Republic of Colombia has been dissolved, but they
564 LIFE AND TIMES OF
all, it is believed, consider themselves as separately bound by the
treaty which was made in their federal capacity. The minister ac-
credited to the federation continues in that character near the Gov-
ernment of New Grenada ; and hopes were entertained that a new
union would be formed between the separate States, at least for the
purposes of foreign intercourse. Our minister has been instructed
to use his good offices, whenever they shall be desired, to produce
the reunion so much to be wished for the domestic tranquillity of
the parties, and the security and facility of foreign commerce.
Some agitations, naturally attendant on an infant reign, have
prevailed in the Empire of Brazil, which have had the usual
effect upon commercial operations ; and while they suspended the
consideration of claims created on similar occasions, they have
given rise to new complaints on the part of our citizens. A
proper consideration for calamities and difficulties of this nature
has made us less urgent and peremptory in our demands for jus-
tice than duty to our fellow-citizens would, under other circum-
stances have required. But their claims are not neglected, and
will, on all proper occasions, be urged and, it is hoped, with effect.
I refrain from making any communication on the subject of
our affairs with Buenos Ayres, because the negotiation commu-
nicated to you in my last annual message was, at the date of our
last advices, still pending, and in a state that would render a
publication of the details inexpedient.
A treaty of amity and commerce has been formed with the
Republic of Chili, which, if approved by the Senate, will be laid
before you. That government seems to be established, and at
peace with its neighbors ; and its ports being the resort of our
ships, which are employed in the highly important trade of the
fisheries, this commercial convention can not but be of great ad-
vantage to our fellow-citizens engaged in that perilous but profit-
able business.
Our commerce with the neighboring State of Peru, owing to
the onerous duties levied on our principal articles of export, has
been on the decline, and all endeavors to procure an alteration
have hitherto proved fruitless. With Bolivia we have yet no dip-
lomatic intercourse, and the continual contests carried on between
it and Peru have made me defer, until a more favorable period,
the appointment of any agent for that purpose.
An act of atrocious piracy having been committed on one
of our trading ships by the inhabitants of a settlement on the
ANDREW JACKSON. 565
west coast of Sumatra, a frigate was dispatched with orders to
demand satisfaction for the injury, if those who committed it
should be found members of a regular government, capable of
maintaining the usual relations with foreign nations ; but if, as
it was supposed, and as they proved to be, they were a band of law
less pirates, to inflict such a chastisement as would deter them
and others from like aggressions. This last was done, and the
efect has been an increased respect for our flag in those distant
seas, and additional security for our commerce.
In the view I have given of our connections with foreign
powers, allusions have been made to their domestic disturbances or
foreign wars, to their revolutions or dissensions. It may be
proper to observe that this is done solely in cases where those
events afiect our political relations with them, or to show their
operation on our commerce. Further than this, it is neither our
policy nor our right to interfere. Our best wishes on all occa-
sions, our good offices when required, will be afforded to promote
the domestic tranquillity and foreign peace of all nations with
whom we have any intercourse. Any intervention in their affairs
further than this, even by the expression of an official opinion, is
contrary to our principles of international policy, and will always
be avoided.
The report which the Secretary of the Treasury will, in due
time, lay before you, will exhibit the national finances in a highly
prosperous state. Owing to the continued success of our com-
mercial enterprise, Avhich has enabled the merchants to fulfiU
their engagements with the Government, the receipts from cus-
toms during the year will exceed the estimate presented at the
last session ; and, with the other means of the Treasury, will
prove fully adequate, not only to meet the increased expenditures
resulting from the large appropriations made by Congress, but to
provide for the payment of all the public debt which is at pres-
ent redeemable. It is now estimated that the customs will yield
to the Treasury, during the present year, upward of twenty-eight
millions of dollars. The public lands, however, have proved less
productive than was anticipated ; and, according to present infor-
mation, will fall short of two millions. The expenditures for all
objects other than the public debt, are estimated to amount, dur-
ing the year, to about sixteen millions of dollars, while a still
larger sum, viz., eighteen millions of dollars, will have been
applied to the principal and interest of the public debt.
566 LIFE AND TIMES OF
It is expected, however, that in consequence of the reduced
rates of duty, which will take effect after the 3d of March next,
there will be a considerable falling off in the revenue from the
customs in the year 1833. It will, nevertheless, be amply suf-
ficient to provide for all the wants of the public service, esti-
mated even upon a liberal scale, and for the redemption and pur-
chase of the remainder of the public debt. On the 1st of January
next, the entire public debt of the United States, funded and
unfunded, will be reduced to within a fraction of seven millions
of dollars ; of which two millions two hundred and twenty-seven
thousand three hundred and sixty-three dollars are not, of right,
redeemable until the 1st of January, 1834, and four millions seven
hundred and thirty-five thousand two hundred and ninety-six
dollars, not until the 2d of January, 1835. The Commissioners
of the Sinking Fund, however, being invested with full authority
to purchase the debt at the market price, and the means of the
Treasury being ample, it may be hoped that the whole will be
extinguished within the year 1833.
I can not too cordially congratulate Congress and my fellow-
citizens on the near approach of that memorable ^and happy
event, the extinction of the public debt of this great and free
Nation. Faithful to the wise and patriotic policy mai-ked out by
the legislation of the country for this object, the present Admin-
istration has devoted to it all the means which a flourishing com-
merce has supplied, and a prudent economy preserved for the
public Treasury. Within the four years for which the people
have confided the Executive power to my charge, fifty-eight mill-
ions of dollars will have been applied to the payment of the pub-
lic debt. That this has been accomplished without stinting the
expenditures for all other proper objects, will be seen by refer-
ring to the liberal provision made, during the same period, for
the support and increase of our means of maritime and military
defense, for internal improvements of a national character, for
the removal and preservation of the Indians, and, lastly, for the
gallant veterans of the Revolution.
The final removal of this great burthen from our resources
affords the means of further provision for all the objects of general
welfare and public defense which the Constitution authorizes,
and presents the occasion for such further reduction in the rev-
enue as may not be required for them. From the report of the
Secretary of the Treasury, it will be seen that, after the present
ANDREW JACKSON. 667
year, such a reduction may be made to a considerable extent;
and tlie subject is earnestly recommended to the consideration of
Congress in the hope that the combined wisdom of the represen-
tatives of the people will devise such means of effecting that
salutary object, as may remove those burthens which shall be
found to fall unequally upon any, and as may promote all the
great interests of the community.
Long and patient reflection has strengthened the opinions I
have heretofore expressed to Congress on this subject ; and I
deem it my duty, on the present occasion, again to urge them
upon the attention of the Legislature. The soundest maxims of
public policy, and the principles upon which our republican in-
stitutions are founded, recommend a proper adaptation of the
revenue to the expenditure, and they also require that the ex-
penditure shall be limited to what, by an economical administra-
tion, shall be consistent with the simplicity of the Government,
and necessary to an efficient public service. In effecting this
adjustment, it is due, in justice to the interests of the different
States, and even to the preservation of the Union itself, that the
protection afforded by existing laws to any branches of the
national industry should not exceed what may be necessary to
counteract the regulations of foreign nations, and to secure a
supply of those articles of manufacture essential to the national
independence and safety in time of war. If, upon investigation,
it shall be found, as it is believed it will be, that the legislative
protection granted to any particular interest is greater than is
indispensably requisite for these objects, I recommend that it be
gradually diminished, and that, as far as may be consistent with
these objects, the whole scheme of duties be reduced to the reve-
nue standard as soon as a just regard to the faith of the Govern-
ment, and to the preservation of the large capital invested in
establishments of domestic industry will permit.
That manufactures adequate to the supply of our domestic
consumption would, in the abstract, be beneficial to our country,
there is no reason to doubt; and, to effect their establishment,
there- is, perhaps, no American citizen who would not, for a
while, be willing to pay a higher price for them. But, for this
purpose, it is presumed that a tariff" of high duties, designed for
perpetual protection, has entered into the minds of but few of our
statesmen. The most they have anticipated is a temporary and,
generally, incidental protection, which they maintain has the
568 LIFE AND TIMES OF
effect to reduce the price by domestic competition below that of
the foreign article. Experience, however, our best guide on this
as on other subjects, makes it doubtful whether the advantages
of this system are not counterbalanced by many evils, and whether
it does not tend to beget, in the minds of a large portion of our
countrymen a spirit of discontent and jealousy dangerous to the
stability of the Union. *
AVhat then shall be done? Large interests have grown up
under the implied pledge of our national legislation, which it
would seem a violation of public faith suddenly to abandon.
Nothing could justify it but the public safety, which is the
supreme law. But those who have vested their capital in manu-
facturing establishments can not expect that the people will con-
tinue permanently to pay high taxes for their benefit, when the
money is not required for any legitimate purpose in the adminis-
tration of the Government. Is it not enough that the high
duties have been paid as long as the money arising from them
could be applied to the common benefit in the extinguishment
of the public debt?
Those who take an enlarged view of the condition of our
country must be satisfied that the policy of protection must be
ultimately limited to those articles of domestic manufacture which
are indispensable to our safety in time of war. Within this
scope, on a reasonable scale, it is recommended by every consid-
ation of patriotism and duty, which will, doubtless, always secure
to it a liberal and efficieut support. But, beyond this object, we
have already seen the operation of the system productive of dis-
content. In some sections of the Republic its influence is depre-
cated as tending to concentrate wealth into a few hands, and as
creating those germs of dependence and vice which, in other
countries, have characterized the existence of monopolies, and
proved so destructive of liberty and the general good. A large
portion of the people, in one section of the Republic, de-
clares it not only inexpedient on these grounds, but as disturbing
the equal relations of property by legislation, and therefore
unconstitutional and unjust.
Doubtless these effects are, in a great degree, exaggerated,
and may be ascribed to a mistaken view of the considerations
which led to the adoption of the tariff system ; but they are,
nevertheless, important in enabling us to review the subject with
a more thorough knowledge of all its bearings upon the great
ANDREW JACKSON. 569
interests of the republic, and with a determination to dispose of it
so that none can with justice complain.
It is my painful duty to state, that in one quarter of the
United States, opposition to the revenue laws has arisen to a
height which threatens to thwart their execution, if not to en-
danger the integrity of the Union. Whatever obstructions may
be thrown in the way of the judicial authorities of the General
Government, it is hoped they will be able peaceably to overcome
them by the prudence of their own officers and the patriotism of
the people. But should this reasonable reliance on the moderation
and good sense of all portions of our fellow-citizens be disappointed,
it is believed that the laws themselves are fully adequate to the
suppression of such attempts as may be immediately made.
Should the exigency arise, rendering the execution of the existing
laws impracticable, from any cause whatever, prompt notice of it
will be given to Congress, with a suggestion of such views and
measures as may be deemed necessary to meet it.
lu conformity with principles heretofore explained, and with
the hope of reducing the General Government to that simple
machine which the Constitution created, and of withdrawing from
the States all other influence than that of its universal beneficence
in preserving peace, affording a uniform currency, maintaining
the inviolability of contracts, diffiisiug intelligence, and discharg-
ing unfelt its other superintending functions, I recommend that
provision be made to dispose of all stocks now held by it in cor-
porations, whether created by the General or State Governments,
and placing the proceeds in the treasury. As a source of profit,
these stocks are of little or no value ; as a means of influence
among the States, they are adverse to the purity of our institu-
tions. The whole principle on which they are based is deemed
by many unconstitutional, and to persist in the policy which they
indicate is considered wholly inexpedient.
It is my duty to acquaint you with an arrangement made by
the Bank of the United States with a portion of the holders of
the three per cent stock, by which the Government will be de-
prived of the use of the public funds longer than was anticipated.
By this arrangement, which will be particularly explained by the
Secretary of the Treasury, a surrender of the certificates of this
stock may be postponed until October, 1833 ; and thus the liability
of the Government, after its ability to discharge the debt, may be
continued by the failure of the bank to perform its duties.
670 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Such measures as are within the reach of the Secretary of the
Treasury have been taken, to enable him to judge whether the
public deposits in that institution may be regarded as entirely
safe ; but as his limited power may prove inadequate to this ob-
ject, I recommend the subject to the attention of Congress, under
the firm belief that it is worthy of their serious investigation.
An inquiry into the transactions of the institution, embracing the
branches as well as the principal bank, seems called for by the
credit which is given throughout the country to many serious
charges impeaching its character, and which, if true, may justly
excite the apprehension that it is no longer a safe depository of
the money of the people.
Among the interests which merit the consideration of Con-
gress after the payment of the public debt, one of the most im-
portant, in my view, is that of the public lands. Previous to the
formation of our present Constitution, it was recommended by
Congress that a portion of the waste lands owned by the States
should be ceded to the United States for the purposes of general
harmony, and as a fund to meet the expenses of the war. The
recommendation was adopted, and, at different periods of time,
the States of Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, North and
South Carolina, and Georgia, granted their vacant soil for the
uses for which they had been asked. As the lands may now be
considered as relieved from this pledge, the object for which they
were ceded having been accomplished, it is in the discretion of
Congress to dispose of them in such way as best to conduce to
the quiet harmony and general interest of the American people.
In examining this question, all local and sectional feelings should
be discarded, and the whole United States regarded as one people
interested alike in the prosperity of their common country.
It can not be doubted that the speedy settlement of these
lands constitutes the true interest of the repul)lic. The wealth
and strength of a country are its population, and the best part of
that population are the cultivators of the soil. Independent
farmers are everywhere the basis of society, and true friends of
liberty.
In addition to these considerations, questions have already
arisen, and may be expected hereafter to grow out of the public
lands, which involve the rights of the new States and the powers
of the General Government; and unless a liberal policy ))e now
adopted, there is danger that these questions may speedily assume
ANDREW JACKSON. 571
an importance not now generally anticipated. The influence of a
great sectional interest, when brought into full action, will be
found more dangerous to the harmony and union of the States
than any other cause of discontent ; and it is the part of wisdom
and sound policy to foresee its approaches, and endeavor, if pos-
sible, to counteract them.
Of the various schemes which have been hitherto proposed in
regard to the disposal of the public lands, none has yet received
the entire approbation of the National Legislature. Deeply im-
pressed with the importance of a speedy and satisfactory arrange-
ment of the subject, I deem it my duty on this occasion to urge
it upon your consideration, and, to the propositions which have
been heretofore suggested by others, to contribute those reflections
which have occurred to me, in the hope that they may assist you
in your future deliberations.
It seems to me to be our true policy that the public lands shall
cease, as soon as practicable, to be a source of revenue, and that
they be sold to settlers in limited parcels, at a price barely suffi-
cient to reimburse to the United States the expense of the present
system, and the cost arising under our Indian compacts. The
advantages of accurate surveys and undoubted titles, now se-
cured to purchasers, seem to forbid the abolition of the present
system, because none can be substituted which Avill more perfectly
accomplish these important ends. It is desirable, however, that
in convenient time this machinery be withdrawn from the States,
and that the right of soil and the future disposition of it, be sur-
rendered to the States, respectively, in which it lies.
The adventurous and hardy population of the West, besides
contributing their equal share of taxation under our impost sys-
tem, have, in the progress of our Government, for the lands they
occupy, paid into the treasury a large proportion of forty millions
of dollars, and, of the revenue received therefrom but a small
part has been expended among them. When, to the disadvantage
of their situation in this respect, we add the consideration that it
is their labor alone which gives real value to the lands, and that
the proceeds arising from their sale are distributed chiefly among
States which had not originally any claim to them, and which
had enjoyed the undivided emolument arising from the sale of
their own lands, it can not be expected that the new States will
remain longer contented with the present policy after the payment
of the public debt. To avert the consequences which may be
572 LIFE AND TIMES OF
apprehended from this course, to put an end forever to all partial
and interested legislation on this subject, and to afford to every
American citizen of enterprise the opportunity of securing an in-
dependent freehold, it seems to me, therefore, best to abandon the
idea of raising a future revenue out of the public lands.
In former messages I have expressed my conviction that the
Constitution does not warrant the application of the funds of the
General Government to objects of internal improvement which
are not national in their character, and both as a means of doing
justice to all interests, and putting an end to a course of legisla-
tion calculated to destroy the purity of the Government, have
urged the necessity of reducing the whole subject to some fixed
and certain rule. As there never will occur a period, perhaps,
more propitious than the present to the accomplishment of this
object, I beg leave to press the subject again upon your attention.
Without some general and well-defined principles ascertaining
those objects of internal improvement to which the means of the
Nation may be Constitutionally applied, it is obvious that the ex-
ercise of the power can never be satisfactory. Besides the danger
to which it exposes Congress, of making hasty appropriations to
works of the character of which they may be frequently ignorant,
it promotes a mischievous and corrupting influence upon elec-
tions, by holding out to the people the fallacious hope that the
success of a certain candidate will make navigable their neighbor-
ing creek or river, bring commerce to their doors, and increase
the value of their property. It thus favors combinations to
squander the treasure of the country upon a multitude of local
objects, as fatal to just legislation as to the purity of public men.
If a system compatible with the Constitution can not be de-
vised, which is free from such tendencies, we should recollect that
that instrument provides within kself the mode of its amend-
ment, and that there is, therefore, no excuse for the assumption
of doubtful powers by the General Government. If those which
are clearly granted shall be found incompetent to the ends of its
creatioij, it can at any time apply for their enlargement ; and
there is no probability tliat such an application, if founded on the
public interest, will ever be refused. If the propriety of the pro-
posed grant be not sufiiciently apparent to command the assent
of three-fourths of the States, the best possible reason why the
power should not be assumed on doubtful authority is afforded ;
for if more than one-fourth of the States are unwilling to make
ANDREW JACKSON. 573
the grant, its exercise will be productive of discontents which
will far overbalance any advantages that could be derived from
it. All must admit that there is nothing so worthy of the con-
stant solicitude of this Government as the harmony and union of
the people.
Being solemnly impressed with the conviction that the exten-
sion of the power to make internal improvements beyond the
limits I have suggested, even if it be deemed Constitutional, is
subversive of the best interests of our country, I earnestly recom-
mend to Congress to refrain from its exercise in doubtful cases,
except in relation to improvements already begun, unless they
shall first procure from the States such an amendment of the
Constitution as will define its character and prescribe its bounds.
If the States feel' themselves competent to these objects, why
should this Government wish to assume the power? If they do
not, then they will not hesitate to make the grant. Both gov-
ernments are the governments of the people ; improvements must
be made with the money of the people ; and if the money can be
collected and applied by those more simple and economical polit-
ical machines, the State governments, it will unquestionably be
safer and better for the people than to add to the splendor, the
patronage, and the power of the General Government. But if
the people of the States think otherwise, they will amend the
Constitution, and in their decision all ought cheerfully to
acquiesce.
For a detailed and highly satisfactory view of the operations
of the War Department, I refer you to the accompanying report
of the Secretary of War.
The hostile incursions of the Sac and Fox Indians necessarily
led to the interposition of the Government. A portion of the
troops, under Generals Scott and Atkinson, and of the militia of
the State of Illinois, were called into the field. After a harassing
warfare, prolonged by the nature of the country, and by the dif-
ficulty of procuring subsistence, the Indians were entirely defeated,
and the disaffected band dispersed or destroyed. The result has
been creditable to the troops engaged in the service. Severe as
is the lescon to the Indians, it was rendered necessary by their
unprovoked aggressions ; and it is to be hoped that its impression
will be permanent and salutary.
This campaign has evinced the efficient organization of the
army, and its capacity for prompt and active service. Its several
574 LIFE AND TIMES OF
departments have performed their functions with energy and dis-
patch, and the general movement was satisfactory.
Our fellow-citizens upon the frontiers were ready, as they
always are, in the tender of their services in the hour of danger.
But a more efficient organization of our militia is essential to that
security which is one of the principal objects of all governments.
Neither our situation, nor our institutions, require or permit the
maintenance of a large regular force. History offers too many
lessons of the fatal results of such a measure, not to warn us
against its adoption here. The expense which attends it, the
obvious tendency to employ it, because it exists, and thus to en-
gage in unnecessary wars, and its ultimate danger to public lib-
erty, will lead us, I trust, to place our principal dependence for
protection upon the great body of the citizens- of the republic.
If, in asserting rights, or in repelling wrongs, war should come
upon us, our regular force should be increased to an extent pro-
portioned to the emergency, and our present small army is a
nucleus around which such force could be formed and embodied.
But for the purposes of defense, under ordinary circumstances, we
must rely upon the electors of the country. Those by whom, and
for whom, the Government was instituted and is supported, will
constitute its protection in the hour of danger, as they do its
check in the hour of safety.
But it is obvious that the militia system is imperfect. Much
time is lost, much unnecessary expense incurred, and much public
property wasted, under the present arrangement. Little useful
knowledge is gained by the musters and drills as now established,
and the whole subject evidently requires a thorough examination.
Whether a plan of classification, remedying these defects, and
providing for a system of instruction, might not be adopted, is
submitted to the consideration of Congress. The Constitution
has vested in the General Government an independent authority
upon the subject of the militia, which renders its action essential
to the establishment or improvement of the system, and I recom-
mend the matter to your consideration, in the conviction that
the state of this important arm of the public defense requires
your attention.
I am happy to inform you that the wise and humane policy
of transferring from the eastern to the western side of the Missis-
sippi the remnants of our aboriginal tribes, with their own con-
sent, and upon just terms, has been steadily pursued, and is
ANDREW JACKSON. 575
approaching, I trust, its consunimatiou. By reference to the report
of the Secretary of War, and to the documents submitted with it,
vou will see the progress which has been made, since your last
session, in the arrangement of the various matters connected with
our Indian relations. With one exception, every subject involving
any question of conflicting jurisdiction, or of peculiar difficulty,
has been happily disposed of; and the conviction evidently gains
ground among the Indians, that their removal to the country as-
signed by the United States for their permanent residence, fur-
nishes the only hope of their ultimate prosperity.
With that portion of the Cherokees, however, living within
the State of Georgia, it has been found impracticable as yet to
make a satisfactory adjustment. Such was my anxiety to remove
all the grounds of complaint, and to bring to a termination the
difficulties in which they are involved, that I directed the very
liberal propositions to be made to them which accompany the
documents herewith submitted. They can not but have seen in
these offers the evidence of the strongest disposition on the part
of the Government to deal justly and liberally with them. An
ample indemnity was offered for their present possessions, a liberal
provision for their future support and improvement, and full
security for their private and political rights. Whatever differ-
ence of opinion may have prevailed respecting the just claims of
these people, there will probably be none respecting the liberality
of the propositions, and very little respecting the expediency
of their immediate acceptance. They were, however, rejected,
and thus the position of these Indians remains unchanged, as
do the views communicated in my message to the Senate, in
February, 1830.
I refer you to the annual report of the Secretary of the Navy,
which accompanies this message, for a detail of the operations of
that branch of the service during the present year.
Besides the general remarks on some of the transactions of
our navy, presented in the view which has been taken of our
foreign relations, I seize this occasion to invite to your notice the
increased protection which it has affin-ded to our commerce and
citizens on distant seas, without any augmentation of the force in
commission. In the gradual improvement of its pecuniary con-
cerns, in the constant progress in the collection of materials suit-
able for use during future emergencies, and in the construction
of vessels, and the buildings necessary to their preservation and
576 LIFE AND TIMES OF
repair, the present state of this branch of the service exhibits the
fruits of that vigilance and care which are so indispensable to its
efficiency. Various new suggestions, contained in the annexed
report, as well as others heretofore submitted to Congress, are
worthy of your attention ; but none more so than that urging the
renewal, for another term of six years, of the general appropria-
tion for the gradual improvement of the navy.
From the accompanying report of the Postmaster-General,
you will also perceive that that Department continues to extend
its usefulness, without impairing its resources, or lessening the
accommodations which it affords in the secure and rapid trans-
portation of the mail.
I beg leave to call the attention of Congress to the views
heretofore expressed in relation to the mode of choosing the Pres-
ident and Vice-President of the United States, and to those re-
specting the tenure of office generally. Still impressed with the
justness of those views, and with the belief that the modifications
suggested on those subjects, if adopted, will contribute to the
prosperity and harmony of the country, I earnestly recommend
them to your consideration at this time.
I have heretofore pointed out defects in the law for punishing
official frauds, especially within the District of Columbia. It has
been found almost impossible to bring notorious culprits to pun-
ishment, and, according to the decision of the court for this Dis-
trict, the prosecution is barred by the lapse of two years after
the fraud has been committed. It may happen again, as it has
already happened, that, during the whole two years, all the evi-
dences of the fraud may be in the possession of the culprit him-
self. However proper the limitation may be in relation to
private citizens, it would seem that it ought not to commence
running in favor of public officers until they go out of office.
The judiciary system of the United States remains imperfect.
Of the nine Western and South-western States, three only enjoy
the benefits of a Circuit Court. Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee,
are embraced in the general system ; but Indiana, Illinois, Mis-
souri, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, have only district
courts. If the existing system be a good one, why should it not
be extended? If it be a bad one, why is it suffered to exist?
•The new States were promised equal rights and privileges when
they came into the Union, and such are the guaranties of the
Constitution. Nothing can be more obvious than the obligation
ANDREW JACKSON. 577
of the General Government to place all the States on the same
footing in relation to the administration of justice, and I trust
this duty will be neglected no longer.
On many of the subjects to which your attention is invited in
this communication, it is a source of gratification to reflect, that
the steps to be now adopted are uninfluenced by the embarrass-
ments entailed upon the country by the wars through which it
has passed. In regard to most of our great interests, we may
consider ourselves as just starting in our career, and, after a salu-
tary experience, about to fix upon a permanent basis the policy
best calculated to promote the happiness of the people, and facili-
tate their progress toward the most' complete enjoyment of civil
liberty. On an occasion so interesting and important in our his-
tory, and of such anxious concern to the friends of freedom through-
out the world, it is our imperious duty to lay aside all selfish and
local considerations, and be guided by a lofty spirit of devotion
to the great principles on which our institutions are founded.
That this Government may be so administered as to preserve
its efiiciency in promoting and securing these general objects,
should be the only aim of our ambition, and we can not, there-
fore, too carefully examine its structure, in order that we may
not mistake its powers, or assume those which the people have
reserved to themselves, or have preferred to assign to other
agents. We should bear constantly in mind the fact, that the
considerations which induced the framers of the Constitution to
withhold from the General Government the power to regulate
the great mass of the business and concerns of the people have
been fully justified by experience ; and that it can not now be
doubted, that the genius of all our institutions prescribes sim-
plicity and economy as the characteristics of the reform which is
yet to be eflfected in the present and future execution of the
functions bestowed on us by the Constitution.
Limited to a general superintending power, to maintain peace
at home and abroad, and to prescribe laws on a few subjects of
general interest, not calculated to restricf human liberty, but to
enforce human rights, this Government will find its strength and
its glory in ihe faithful discharge of these plain and simple duties.
Relieved by its protecting shield from the fear of war and the
apprehension of oppression, the free enterprise of our citizens,
aided by the State sovereignties, will work out improvements and
ameliorations, which can not fail to demonstrate that the great
37— G
578 LIFE AND TIMES OF
^ truth, that the people, can govern themselves, is not only realized
in our example, but that it is done by a machinery in government
so simple and economical as scarcely to be felt. That the Al-
mighty Ruler of the universe may so direct our deliberations, and
overrule our acts as to make us instrumental in securing a result
so dear to mankind, is my most earnest and sincere prayer.
This interesting message contains some sentiments
not in keeping with General Jackson's former views,
but, in the main, are their natural consequence. The
liquidation of the public debt was deservedly a source
of pride to the President. The Jacksonian disposition
to speak out is everywhere apparent in this message,
even in praise of his own Administration and the un-
precedented happy results it was bringing to the coun-
try. That the Nation was just starting in its career,
and was only about settling upon a permanent policy,
best designed to promote the happiness of the people,
after long and varied experiences, seemed hardly sus-
tained by the actual events of the day. By a remark-
able consistency the President again, after having de-
parted from his former principle, calls the attention
of Congress to his previous recommendation as to the
mode of electing the President and Vice-President and
the single term of service. The Bank again came in
for a share of attention. He wanted it to die as hard
and with as much public effect as possible. The hint
as to the probability of its not being a safe depository
for the Government funds indicated his purpose, as to
the future. The question of the public lands is fully
presented and the plan suggested, which was finally
adopted and is now in practice, of turning the public
lands to the actual benefit of poor settlers, by selling
them at a price to cover the expenses of the Govern-
ment in disposing of them.
ANDREW JACKSON. 579
The doctrine of internal improvements is here ef-
fectually disposed of so far as General Jackson was
concerned. Notwithstanding the caution with which
the old Republican Presidents approached this subject,
and the great and positive efforts of General Jackson,
the founder of more modern Democracy, to put down
entirely internal improvements under the direct patron-
age of the General Government, long ago it was adopted
as an undisputed doctrine of both parties; the only
question left in connection with the question being as
to which party should gain the most public patronage
by its advocacy of appropriations. The tariff question
here takes a new phase with the President. Before,
he had recommended an arrangement for dividing the
accumulated revenue among the States, after the public
debt was paid ; but now he recommends a reduction
of the sources of revenue to a basis of the actual ex-
penses of the Government, and a plan of taxation and
revenue is recomm-ended which seemed especially
meant to reach the wants of the nullifiers of the South.
580 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXIX.
GENERAL JACKSON AND THE NULLIFIERS— NULLIFICATION
PROCLAMATION— A COMPROMISE— WHO TRIUMPHS?
THE great subject now occupying the attention of
the President and the country was nullification.
Since the General had given utterance to the famous
sentiment, •' The Federal Union : it must be preserved,"
he had been watching the advocates of this new doc-
trine, new at least, in the extent to which it was meant
to be carried, and he had come to hate its supporters,
and is said to have regretted all the rest of his days
that he did not, at that very time, hang its most able
champion, J. C. Calhoun, as an example for future
ages, as he had done Hillis Hajo and Alexander Ar-
buthnot, in 1818. But unfortunately neither the efforts
of this giant, nor the great war against slavery with its
evil teachings, entirely uprooted this baneful doctrine.
At the time of the meeting of Congress, South Carolina,
by the acts of her Legislature and governor, was in the
attitude of direct and determined opposition to the
Federal Government. No more revenues under the
very tariff which Mr. Calhoun and other Southerners
had advocated, were to be collected in South Carolina
after February 1, 1833 ; the Supreme Court of the
United States was to have no more authority over that
State ; null and void was to be any tariff law ; South
Carolinians were only to obey the State authority ; and
ANDREW JACKSON. 581
in case the United States attempted to oppose her will
as thus expressed, she would proceed to do those things
which any sovereign and independent country should
do. So said the Nullification Convention of November,
.1832, And so said the Legislature and Governor of
that State. From the beginning of the disaffection
with Mr. Calhoun and his Southern friends, there had
been a determination to make this doctrine of nullifica-
tion rest on the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of
1798 and 1799, and be supported by the name of Mr.
Jefferson, at least. It was natural enough to trace this
doctrine to those resolutions. In them it had founda-
tion enough. But to make Mr. Jefferson responsible
for the present idea and purposes of nullification was
not an easy task. Mr. Madison was yet left to speak
for himself, which he did with great minuteness, de-
stroying all hopes of the nullifiers as to his own posi-
tion, as well as removing some of the odium from the
Resolutions of 1798.
No man can doubt the patriotism of General Jack-
son, or believe that it was of that kind which could
be limited to a State or a section. But how far his
hatred of nullification at that time and throughout his
life was colored and intensified by his hatred of Mr.
Calhoun, who was really the beginning and the ending
of nullification, it is not necessary to speculate here.
ThisJ[ourth message granted, or laid the foundation
for granting, all that South Carolina asked, but her
conduct was in opposition to the will of General
Jackson. To oppose the Government was to op-
pose him. And even while Congress was reading
this mild message, he was preparing, or having pre-
pared, a very different document. No public man in
582 LIFE AND TIMES OF
this country relied so much on the pen as did Jackson.
This fact becomes more a matter of note since he was
not educated in books, nor was he a reader of books,
to any great extent. But if Jackson could gain his
object in no other way, he would resort to the pen.
Nor did he ever seem to fear that these pen attacks
would be handled to his disadvantage at some other
time. He often preferred to risk the address or
proclamation rather than to resort to other means.
This effective instrument he now took up to remind the
nullifiers of what they might next expect from him.
On the 11th of December, 1832, he issued the
following, his most celebrated public paper: —
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, a Convention assembled in the State of South Car-
olina, have passed an Ordinance, by which they declare, "That
the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United
States, purporting to be laws for imposing of duties and imposts
on the importation of foreign commodities, and now having
actual operation and effect within the United States, and more
especially," two acts for the same purposes passed on the 29th of
May, 1828, and on the 14th of July, 1832, "are unauthorized
by the Constitution of the United States, and violate the true
meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void, and no law,"
nor binding on the citizens of that State or its officers; and by
the said Ordinance, it is further declared to be unlawful for any
of the constituted authorities of the State or of the United
States to enforce the payment of the duties imposed by the said
acts within the same State, and that it is the duty of the Legis-
lature to pass such laws as may be necessary to give full effect to
the said Ordinance ;
And whereas, by the said Ordinance it is further ordained,
that in no case of law or equity, decided in the courts of said
State, wherein shall be drawn in question the validity of the said
Ordinance, or of the acts of the Legislature that may be passed
to give it effect, or of the said laws of the United States, no
appeal shall be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United
ANDREW JACKSON. 583
States, nor shall any copy of the record be permitted or allowed
for that purpose, and that any person attempting to take such
appeal shall be punished as for a contempt of court;
And, finally, the said Ordinance declares, that the people of
South Carolina will maintain the said Ordinance at every
hazard; and that they will consider the passage of any act by
Congress abolishing or closing the ports of the said State, or
otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels to and
from the said ports, or any other act of the Federal Govern-
ment to coerce the State, shut up her ports, destroy or harass
her commerce, or to enforce the said acts otherwise than through
the civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent with the longer
continuance of South Carolina in the Union ; and that the peo-
ple of the said State will thenceforth hold themselves absolved
from all further obligation to maintain or preserve their political
connection with the people of the other States, and will forthwith
proceed to organize a separate government, and do all other acts
and things which sovereign and independent States may of right do ;
And whereas, the said Ordinance prescribes to the people of
South Carolina a course of conduct, in direct violation of their
duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws of
their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for its
object the destruction of the Union ; that Union which, coeval
with our political existence, led our fathers, without any other
ties to unite them than those of patriotism and a common cause,
through a sanguinary struggle to a glorious independence ; that
sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, perfected by our happy
Constitution, has brought us by the favor of Heaven to a state
of prosperity at home, and high consideration abroad, rarely, if
ever, equaled in the history of nations : To preserve this bond
of our political existence from destruction, to maintain inviolate
this state of national honor and prosperity, and to justify the
confidence my fellow-citizens have reposed in me, I, Andrew
Jackson, President of the United States, have thought proper to
issue this my proclamation, stating my views of the Constitution
and laws applicable to the measures adopted by the Convention
of South Carolina, and to the reasons they have put forth to
sustain them, declaring the course which duty will require me to
pursue, and, appealing to the understanding and patriotism of
the people, warn them of the consequences that must inevitably
result from an observance of the dictates of the Convention.
584 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Strict duty would require of me nothing more than the ex-
ercise of those powers with which I am now or may hereafter be
invested, for preserving the peace of the Union and for the
execution of the laws. But the imposing aspect which opposition
has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with State authority,
and the deep interest which the people of the United States must
all feel in preventing a resort to stronger measures, while there
is a hope that anything will be yielded to reasoning and remon-
strance, perhaps demand, and will certainly justify, a full exposi-
tion to South Carolina and the Nation of the views I entertain
of this important question, as well as a distinct enunciation of the
course which my sense of duty will require me to pursue.
The Ordinance is founded not on the indefeasible right of
resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutional and too oppress-
ive to be endured; but on the strange position that any one
State may not only declare an act of Congress void, but pro-
hibit its execution, that they may do this consistently with the
Constitution, that the true construction of that instrument per-
mits a State to retain its place in the Union, and yet be bound
by no other of its laws than those it may choose to consider as
Constitutional. It is true they add, that to justify this abrogation
of a law, it must be palpably contrary to the Constitution ; but
it is evident, that to give the right of resisting laws of that
description, coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what
laws deserve that character, is to give the power of resisting all
laws. For, as by the theory there is no appeal, the reasons
alleged by the State, good or bad, must prevail. If it should be
said that public opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse of
this power, it may be asked why it is not deemed a sufficient
guard against the passage of an unconstitutional act by Con-
gress. There is, however, a restraint in this last case, which
makes the assumed power of a State more indefensible, and
which does not exist in the other. There are two appeals from
an unconstitutional act passed by Congress, one to the Judi-
ciary, the other to the People and the States. There is no appeal
from the State decision in theory, and the practical illustration
shows that the Courts are closed against an application to review
it, both judges and jurors being sworn to decide in its favor.
But reasoning on this subject is superfluous when our social
compact in express terms declares, that the laws of the United
States, its Constitution, and treaties made under it, are the
ANDREW JACKSON. 585
supreme law of the land, and for greater caution adds, " that the
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the
constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstand-
ing." And it may be asserted without fear of refutation, that
no federative government could exist without a similar provision.
Look for a moment to the consequence. If South Carolina con-
siders the revenue laws unconstitutional, and has a right to pre-
vent their execution in the port of Charleston, there would be a
clear Constitutional objection to their collection in every other
port, and no revenue could be collected anywhere ; for all imposts
must be equal. It is no answer to repeat, that an unconstitu-
tional law is no law, so long as the question of its legality is to
be decided by the State itself; for every law operating injuri-
ously upon any local interest will be perhaps thought, and cer-
tainly represented, as- unconstitutional, and, as has been shown,
there is no appeal.
If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the
Union would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law
in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse law in the
Eastern States, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deemed
unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation than
any of the laws now complained of; but fortunately none of
these States discovered that they had the right now claimed by
South Carolina. The war into which we were forced to support
the dignity of the Nation and the rights of our citizens, might
have ended in defeat and disgrace instead of victory and honor,
if the States who supposed it a ruinous and unconstitutional
measure had thought they possessed the right of nullifying the
act by which it was declared, and denying supplies for its prose-
cution. Hardly and unequally as those measures bore upon
several members of the Union, to the Legislatures of none did
this efficient and peaceable remedy, as it is called, suggest itself.
The discovery of this important feature in our Constitution was
reserved to the present day. To the statesmen of South Caro-
lina belongs the invention, and upon the citizens of that State
will unfortunately fall the evils of reducing it to practice.
If the doctrine of a State veto upon the laws of the Union
carries with it internal evidence of its impracticable absurdity,
our Constitutional history will also afford abundant proof that
it would have been repudiated with indignation had it been pro-
posed to form a feature in our Government.
586 LIFE AND TIMES OF
In our Colonial state, althougli dependent on another power,
we very early considered ourselves as connected by common
interest with each other. Leagues were formed for common
defense, and before the Declaration of Independence we were
known in our aggregate character, as the United Colonies of
America. That decisive and important step was taken jointly.
We declared ourselves a Nation by joint, not by several acts, and
when the terms of our Confederation were reduced to form, it was
in that of a solemn league of several States, by which they agreed
that they would collectively form one nation for the purpose of
conducting some certain domestic concerns and all foreign rela-
tions. In the instrument forming that union is found an article,
which declares, "that every State shall abide by the determina-
tions of Congress on all questions which by that Confederation
should be submitted to them."
Under the Confederation, then, no State could legally annul a
decision of the Congress, or refuse to submit to its execution ; but
no provision was made to enforce these decisions. Congress made
requisitions, but they were not complied with. The Government
could not operate on individuals. They had no judiciary, no
means of collecting revenue.
But the defects of the Confederation need not be detailed.
Under its operation we could scarcely be called a nation. We
had neither prosperity at home nor consideration abroad. This
state of things could not be endured, and our present happy
Constitution was formed, but formed in vain, if this fatal doc-
trine prevails. It was formed for important objects that are
announced in the preamble, made in the name and by the au-
thority of the people of the United States, whose delegates
framed, and whose conventions approved it. The most important
among these objects, that which is placed first in rank, on which
all the others rest, is, " to form a more perfect Union." Now, is
it possible that even if there were no express provision giving
supremacy to the Constitution and laws of the United States
over those of the States, can it be conceived, that an instrument
made for the purpose of "forming a more perfect Union" than
that of the Confederation, could be so constructed by the assem-
bled wisdom of our country, as to substitute for that Confedera-
tion a form of government dependent for its existence on the
local interest, the party spirit of a State, or of a prevailing
faction in a State? Every man of plain, unsophisticated under-
ANDREW JACKSON. 587
Standing, who hears the question, will give such an answer as
will preserve the Union. Metaphysical subtlety, in pursuit of an
impracticable theory, could alone have devised one that is calcu-
lated to destroy it.
I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the United
States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the e:S;istence of
the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitu-
tion, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle
on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for
which it was formed.
After this general view of the leading principle, we must
examine the particular application of it which is made in the
Ordinance.
The preamble rests its justification on these grounds: It as-
sumes as a fact, that the obnoxious laws, although they purport
to be laws for raising revenue, were in reality intended for the
protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to be uncon*
stitutional ; that the operation of these laws is unequal; that the
amount raised by them is greater than is required by the wants
of the Government ; and finally, that the proceeds are to be ap-
plied to objects unauthorized by the Constitution. These are the
only causes alleged to justify an open opposition to the laws of
the country, and a threat of seceding from the Union, if any
attempt should be made to enforce them. The first virtually
acknowledges, that the law in question was passed under a power
expressly given by the Constitution, to lay and collect imposts;
but its Constitutionality is drawn in question from the motive of
those who passed it. However apparent this purpose may be in
the present case, nothing can be more dangerous than to admit
the position that an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the
members who assent to a law enacted under a Constitutional
power, shall make that law void; for how is that purpose to be
ascertained? Who is to make the scrutiny? How often may
bad purposes be falsely imputed, in how many cases are they
concealed by false professions, in how many is no declaration of
motive made? Admit this doctrine, and you give to the States
an uncontrolled right to decide, and every law may be annulled
under this pretext. If, therefore, the absurd and dangerous doc-
trine should be admitted, that a State may annul an unconstitu-
tional law, or one that it deems such, it will not apply to the
present case.
588 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The next objection is, that the laws in question operate un-
equally. This objection may be made with truth, to every law
that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man never yet
contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect
equality. If the unequal operation of a law makes it unconstitu-
tional, and if all laws of that description may be abrogated by
any State for that cause, then, indeed, is the Federal Constitution
unworthy of the slightest effort for its preservation. We have
hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our Union. We
have received it as the work of the assembled wisdom of the Na-
tion. We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor of our safety
in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe.
We have looked to it with sacred awe as the palladium of our
liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion have pledged to
each other our lives and fortunes here, and our hopes of happi-
ness hereafter, in its defense and support. Were we mistaken,
my countrymen, in attaching this importance to the Constitution
of our country ? Was our devotion paid to the wretched, inef-
ficient, clumsy contrivance, which this new doctrine would make
it ? Did we pledge ourselves to the support of an airy nothing,
a bubble that must be blown away by the first breath of disaf-
fection ? Was this self-destroying, visionary theory, the work of
the profound statesmen, the exalted patriots, to whom the task
of constitutional reform was intrusted ? Did the name of Wash-
ington sanction, did the States deliberately ratify, such an anom-
aly in the history of fundamental legislation ? No ! We were
not mistaken. The letter of this great instrument is free from
this radical fault; its language directly contradicts the imputa-
tion ; its spirit, its evident intent, contradicts it. No, we did
not err! Our Constitution does not contain the absurdity of
giving power to make laws and another power to resist them.
The sages, whose memory will always be reverenced, have given
us a practical, and, as they hoped, a permanent Constitutional
compact. The Father of his Country did not aftix his revered
name to so palpable an absurdity. Nor did the States, when
they severally ratified it, do so under the impression that a veto
on the laws of the United States was reserved to them, or that
they could exercise it by implication. Search the debates in all
their conventions ; examine the speeches of the most zealous op-
posers of Federal authority ; look at the amendments that were
proposed ; they are all silent ; not a syllable uttered, not a vote
ANDREW JACKSON. 589
given, not a motion made, to correct the explicit supremacy given
to the laws of ihe Union over those of the States, or to show that
implication, as is now contended, could defeat it. No ; we have
not erred! The Constitution is still the object of our reverence,
the bond of our Union, our defense in danger, the source of our
prosperity in peace. It shall descend as we have received it, un-
corrupted by sophistical construction, to our posterity ; and the
sacrifices of local interest, of State prejudices, or personal ani-
mosities, that were made to bring it into existence, will again be
patriotically offered for its support.
The two remaining objections made by the Ordinance to these
laws are, that the sums intended to be raised by them are greater
than are required, and that the proceeds will be unconstitutionally
employed.
The Constitution has given expressly to Congress the right of
raising revenue, and of determining the sum the public exigen-
cies will require. The States have no control over the exercise
of this right, other than that which results from the power of
changing the Representatives who abuse it, and thus procure re-
dress. Congress may undoubtedly abuse this discretionary poAver,
but the same may be said of others with which they are vested.
Yet the discretion must exist somewhere. The Constitution has
given it to the Representatives of all the people, checked by the
Representatives of the States, and by the Executive power. The
South Carolina construction gives it to the Legislature or the
convention of a single State, where neither the people of the
different States, nor the States in their separate capacity, nor the
Chief Magistrate elected by the people have any representation.
Which is the most discreet disposition of the power? I do not
ask you, fellow-citizens, which is the Constitutional disposition —
that instrument speaks a language not to be misunderstood. But
if you were assembled in general convention, which would you
think the safest depository of this discretionary power in the last
resort ? Would you add a clause, giving it to each of the States,
or would you sanction the wise provisions already made by your
Constitution ? If this should be the result of your deliberations
when providing for the future, are you, can you be ready, to
risk all that we hold dear, to establish, for a temporary and a
local purpose, that which you must acknowledge to be destruc-
tive and even absurd as a general provision? Carry out the
consequences of this right vested in the different States, and you
590 LIFE AND TIMES OF
must perceive that the crisis your conduct presents at this day
would recur whenever any law of the United States displeased
any of the States, and that we should soon cease to be a nation.
The Ordinance, with the same knowledge of the future that
characterizes a former objection, tells you that the proceeds of
the tax will be unconstitutionally applied. If this could be as-
certained with certainty, the objection would, with more pro-
priety, be reserved for the law so applying the proceeds, but
surely can not be urged against the laws levying the duty.
These are the allegations contained in the Ordinance. Ex-
amine them seriously, my fellow-citizens — judge for yourselves.
I appeal to you to determine whether they are so clear, so con-
vincing, as to leave no doubt of their correctness ; and even if
you should come to the conclusion, how far they justify the reck-
less, destructive course, which you are directed to pursue. Re-
view these objections, and the conclusions drawn from them,
once more. What are they? Every law, then, for raising reve-
nue, according to the South Carolina Ordinance, may be right-
fully annulled, unless it be so framed as no law ever will or
can be framed. Congress has a right to pass laws for raising
revenue, and each State has a right to oppose their execution-
two rights directly opposed to each other; and yet is this ab-
surdity supposed to be contained in an instrument drawn for the
express purpose of avoiding collisions between the States and the
General Government, by an assembly of the most enlightened
statesmen and purest patriots ever embodied for a similar
purpose.
In vain have these sages declared that Congress shall have
power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; in
vain have they provided that they shall have power to pass laws
which shall be necessary and proper to carry those powers into
execution, that those laws and that Constitution shall be the su-
preme law of the land, and that the judges in every State shall
be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any
State to the "contrary notwithstanding." In vain have the peo-
ple of the several States solemnly sanctioned these provisions,
made them their paramount law, and individually sworn to sup-
port them whenever they were called on to execute any office.
Vain provisions ! ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation of
oaths ! miserable mockery of legislation ! — if a bare majority of
the voters in any one State may, on a real or supposed knowl-
ANDREW JACKSON. 591
edge of the intent with which a law has been passed, declare
themselves free from its operation ; say here it gives too little,
there too much, and operates unequally ; here it suffers ar-
ticles to be free that ought to be taxed ; there it taxes those
that ought to be free ; in this case the proceeds are intended to
be applied to purposes which we do not approve ; in that, the
amount raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true, are
vested by the Constitution with the right of deciding these ques-
tions according to their sound discretion. Congress is composed
of the Representatives of all the States, and of all the people of
all the States ; but Ave, part of the people of one State, to whom
the Constitution has given no power on the subject, from whom
it has expressly taken it away ; we, who have solemnly agreed
that this Constitution shall be our law ; we, most of whom have
sworn to support it ; we, now abrogate this law, and swear,
and force others to swear, that it shall not be obeyed ; and we
do this, not because Congress have no right to pass such laws
(this we do not allege), but because they have passed them with
improper views. They are unconstitutional from the motives of
those who passed them, which we can never with certainty know ;
from their unequal operation, although it is impossible from the
nature of things that they should be equal ; and from the disposi-
tion which we presume may be made of their proceeds, although
that disposition has not been declared. This is the plain meaning
of the Ordinance in relation to laws which it abrogates for al-
leged unconstitutionality. But it does not stop there. It repeals,
in express terms, an important part of the Constitution itself,
and of laws passed to give it effect, which have never been al-
leged to be unconstitutional. The Constitution declares that the
judicial powers of the United States extend to cases arising under
the laws of the United States, and that such laws, the Constitu-
tion, and treaties, shall be paramount to the State constitutions
and laws. The judiciary act prescribes the mode by which the
case may be brought before a court of the United States, by ap-
peal, when a State tribunal shall decide against this provision of
the Constitution. The Ordinance declares there shall be no ap-
peal ; makes the State law paramount to the Constitution and
laws of the United States ; forces judges and jurors to swear that
they will disregard their provisions, and even makes it penal in
a suitor to attempt relief by appeal. It further declares that it
shall not be lawful for the authorities of the United States, or of
592 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that State, to enforce the payment of duties imposed by the rev-
enue laws within its limits.
Here is a law of the United States, not even pretended to be
unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority of
the voters of a single State. Here is a provision of the Consti-
tution, which is solemnly abrogated by the same authority.
On such expositions and reasonings the Ordinance grounds
not only an assertion of the right to annul the laws of which it
complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seceding from the
Union if any attempt is made to execute them.
This right to secede is deduced from the nature of the Con-
stitution, which, they say, is a compact between the sovereign
States, who have preserved their whole sovereignty, and there-
fore are subject to no superior ; that because they made the com-
pact they can break it, when, in their opinion, it has been de-
parted from by the other States. Fallacious as this course of
reasoning is, it enlists State pride, and finds advocates in the
honest prejudices of those who have not studied the nature of our
Government sufficiently to see the radical error on which it rests.
The people of the United States formed the Constitution, act-
ing through the State Legislatures in making the compact, to
meet and discuss its provisions, and acting in separate conven-
tions when they ratified those provisions; but the terms used in
its construction show it to be a Government in which the people
of all the States, collectively, are represented. We are one people
in the choice of the President and Vice-President. Here the
States have no other agency than to direct the mode in which
the votes shall be given. The candidates having the majority
of all the votes are chosen. The electors of a majority of the
States may have given their votes for one candidate, and yet
another may be chosen. The people, then, and not the States,
are represented in the Executive branch.
In the House of Kepresentatives there is this difierence, that
the people of one State do not, as in the case of President and
Vice-President, all vote for the same officers. The people of all
the States do not vote for all the members, each State electing
only its own Representatives. But this creates no material dis-
tinction. . When chosen they are all Representatives of the United
States, not Representatives of the particular State from which
they come. They are paid by the United States, not by the
State, nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the per-
ANDREW JACKSON. 593
formance of their legislative functions ; and however they may
in practice, as it is their duty to do, consult, and prefer the in-
terests of their particular constituents when they come in conflict
with any other partial or local interest, yet it is their first and
highest duty, as Representatives of the United States, to promote
the general good.
The Constitution of the United States, then, forms a Govern-
ment, not a league, and whether it be formed by compact between
the States, or in any other manner, its character is the same.
It is a GovernSaent in which all the people are represented,
which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the
States ; they retained all the power they did not grant. But each
State having expressly parted with so many poAvers as to consti-
tute jointly with the other States a single Nation, can not, from
that period, possess any right to secede, because such secession does
not break a league, but destroys the unity of a Nation, and any
injury to that unity is not only a breach which would result from
the contravention of a compact, but it is an offense against the
whole Union. To say that any State may, at pleasure, secede
from the Union, is to say that the United States are not a Na-
tion ; because it will be a solecism to contend that one part
of the Nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts,
to their injury and ruin, without committing any offense. Seces-
sion, like any other revolutionary act, may be morally justified
by the extremity of oppression ; but to call it a Constitutional
right, is confounding the meaning of terms, and can only be done
through gross error, or to deceive those who are willing to assert
a right, but would pause before they made a revolution, or incur
the penalties consequent on a failure.
Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the par-
ties to the compact may, when they feel themselves aggrieved,
depart from it ; but it is precisely because it is a compact that
they can not. A compact is an agreement or binding obligation.
It may by its terms have a sanction or penalty for its breach, or
it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may be broken with
no other consequence than moral guilt; if it have a sanction,
then the breach incurs the designated or implied penalty. A
league between independent nations, generally, has no other
sanction than a moral one ; or if it should contain a penalty, as
there is no common superior, it can not be enforced. A govern-
ment, on the contrary, always has a sanction, express or implied ;
694 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and, in our case, it is both necessarily implied and expressly
given. An attempt by force of arms to destroy a government is
an offense, by whatever 'means the constitutional compact may
have been formed ; and such government has the right, by the
law of self-defense, to pass acts for punishing the offender, unless
the right is modified, restrained, or resumed by the constitutional
act. In our system, although it is modified in the case of trea-
son, yet authority is expressly given to pass all laws necessary to
carry its powers into effect, and under this grant provision has
been made for punishing acts which obstruct the* due administra-
tion of the laws.
It would seem superfluous to add anything to show the
nature of that union which connects us ; but as erroneous opin-
ions on this subject are the foundation of doctrines the most
destructive to our peace, I must give some further development
to my views on this subject. No one, fellow-citizens, has a higher
reverence for the reserved rights of the States than the Magis-
trate who now addresses you ; no one Avould make greater personal
sacrifices of official exertions to defend them from violation ; but
equal care must be taken to prevent, on their part, an improper
interference with, or resumption of, the rights they have vested in
the Nation. The line has been so distinctly drawn as to avoid
doubts in some cases of the exercise of power. Men of the best
intentions and soundest views may differ in their construction of
some parts of the Constitution ; but there are others on which
dispassionate reflection can leave no doubt. Of this nature ap-
pears to be the assumed right of secession. It rests, as we have
seen, on the alleged undivided sovereignty of the States, and, on
their having formed, in this sovereign capacity, a compact, which
is called the Constitution, from which, because they made it, they
have a right to secede. Both of these positions are erroneous, and
some of the arguments to prove them so have been anticipated.
The States severally have not retained their entire sover-
eignty. It has been shown that in becoming parts of a Nation,
not members of a league, they surrendered many of their essen-
tial parts of sovereignty. The right to make treaties, declare
war, levy taxes, exercise exclusive judicial and legislative powers,
were all of them functions of sovereign power. The States,
then, for all these important purposes, were no longer sovereign.
The allegiance of their citizens was transferred, in the first
instance, to the Government of the United States; they became
ANDREW JACKSON. 595
American citizens, and owed obedience to the Constitution of the
United States, and to laws made in conformity with the powers
it vested in Congress. This last position has not been, and can
not be, denied. How, then, can that State be said to be sovereign
and independent, whose citizens owe obedience to laws not made
by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to disregard those laws
when they come in conflict with those passed by another ? What
shows conclusively that the States can not be said to have
reserved an undivided sovereignty is, that they expressly ceded
the right to punish treason, not treason against their separate
power, but treason against the United States. Treason is an
oflTense against sovereignty, and sovereignty must reside with the
power to punish it. But the reserved rights of the States are
not less sacred because they have for their common interest made
the General. Government the depository of these powers. The
unity of our political character (as has been shown for another
purpose) commenced with its A'^ery existence. Under the Royal
Government we had no separate character ; but opposition to its
oppressions began as United Colonies. We were the United
States under the Confederation ; and the name was perpetuated,
and the Union rendered more perfect by the Federal Constitu-
tion. In none of these stages did we consider ourselves in any
other light than as forming one Nation. Treaties and alliances
were made in the name of all. Troops were raised for the joint
defense. How, then, with all these proofs, that under all changes
of our position, we had, for designated purposes, and with
defined powers, created national Governments, how is it that the
most perfect of those several modes of union should now be con-
sidered as a mere league that may be dissolved at pleasure ? It
is from an abuse of terms. Compact is used as synonymous with
league, although the true term is not employed, because it would
at once show the fallacy of the reasoning. It would not do to
say that our Constitution was only a league, but it is labored to
prove it a compact (which, in one sense, it is), and then to argue
that, as a league is a compact, every compact between nations
must, of course, be a league, and that from such an engagement
every sovereign power has a right to secede. But it has been
shown that, in this sense, the States are not sovereign, and that
even if they and the National Constitution had been formed by
compact, there would be no right in any one State to exonerate
itself from its obligations.
596 LIFE AND TIMES OF
So obvious are the reasons which forbid this secession, that it
is necessary only to allude to them. The Union was formed for
the benefit of all. It was produced by mutual sacrifices of inter-
ests, and opinions. Can those sacrifices be recalled? Can the
States, who magnanimously surrendered their title to the territo-
ries of the West, recall the grant? WUl the inhabitants of the
inland States agree to pay the duties that may be imposed with-
out their assent by those on the Atlantic or the Gulf for their
own benefit ? Shall there be a free port in one State and oner-
ous duties in another ? No one believes that any right exists in
a single State to involve all the others in these and countless
other evils contrary to engagements solemnly made. Every one
must see that the other States, in self-defense, must oppose it at
all hazards.
These are the alternatives that are presented by the Conven-
tion : A repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leaving the
Government without the means of support ; or an acquiescence in
the dissolution of our Union by the secession of one of its mem-
bers. When the first was proposed it was known that it could
not be listened to for a moment. It was known if force was ap-
plied to oppose the execution of the laws, that it must be repelled
by force; that Congress could not, without involving itself in
disgrace and the country in ruin, accede to the proposition ; and
yet if this is not done in a given day, or if any attempt is made
to execute the laws, the State is, by the Ordinance, declared to
be out of the Union. The majority of a Convention assembled
for the purpose have dictated these terms, or rather this rejection
of all terms, in the name of the people of South Carolina. It is
true, that the Governor of the State speaks of the submission of
their grievances to a convention of all the States ; which, he
says, they "sincerely and anxiously seek and desire." Yet this
obvious and Constitutional mode of obtaining the sense of the
other States on the construction of the federal compact, and
amending it, if necessary, has never been attempted by those
who have urged the State on to this destructive measure. The
State might have proposed the call for a general convention to
the other States ; and Congress, if a sufiicient number of them
concurred, must have called it. But the first magistrate of
South Carolina, when he expressed a hope that, "on a review
by Congress and the functionaries of the General Government
of the merits of the controversy," such a convention will be
ANDREW JACKSON. 597
accorded to them, must have known that neither Congress nor
any functionary of the General Government has authority to
call such a convention, unless it be demanded by two-thirds of
the States.
This suggestion, then, is another instance of the reckless in-
attention to the provisions of the Constitution with which this
crisis has been madly hurried on ; or of the attempt to persuade
the people that a Constitutional remedy had been sought and re-
fused. If the Legislature of South Carolina " anxiously desired"
a General Convention to consider their complaints, why have
they not made application for it in the way the Constitution
points out. The assertion that they "earnestly seek" it is com-
pletely negatived by the omission.
This, then, is the position in which we stand. A small ma-
jority of the citizens of one State in the Union have elected
delegates to a State Convention ; that Convention has ordained
that all the revenue laws of the United States must be repealed,
or that they are no longer a member of the Union. The Gov-
ernor of that State has recommended to the Legislature the rais-
ing of an army to carry the secession into effect, and that he may
be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of the
State. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet been com-
mitted, but such a state of things is hourly apprehended, and it
is the intent of this instrument to proclaim not only that the duty
imposed on me by the Constitution, to "take care that the laws
be faithfully executed," shall be performed to the extent of the
powers already vested in me by law, or of such others as the wis-
dom of Congress shall devise and intrust to me for that purpose ;
but to warn the citizens of South Carolina, .who have been de-
luded into an opposition to the laws, of the danger they will in-
cur by obedience to the illegal and disorganizing Ordinance of the
convention ; to exhort those who have refused to support it to
persevere in their determination to uphold the Constitution and
laws of their country, and to point out to all the perilous situation
into which the good people of that State have been led, and that
the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin and disgrace
to the very State whose rights they affect to support.
Fellow-citizens of my native State, let me not only admonish
you, as the first Magistrate of our common country, not to incur
the penalty of its laws, but use the influence that a father would
over his children whom he saw rushing to certain ruin. In that
598 LIFE AND TIMES OF
paternal language, with that paternal feeling, let me tell you, my
countrymen, that you are deluded by men who are either deceived
themselves or wish to deceive you. Mark under what pretenses
you have been led on the brink of insurrection and treason, on
which you stand ! First a diminution of the value of your staple
commodity, lowered by over-production in other quarters, and
the consequent diminution in the value of your lands, were the
sole effect of the tariff laws. The effect of those laws was con-
fessedly injurious, but the evil was greatly exaggerated by the
unfounded theory you were taught to believe, that its burthens
were in proportion to your exports, not to your consumption of
imported articles. Your pride was roused by the assertion that a
submission to those laws was a state of vassalage, and that resist-
ance to them was equal in patriotic merit to the opposition of our
fathers offered to the oppressive laws of Great Britain. You were
told that this opposition might be peaceably, might be Constitu-
tionally made, that you might enjoy all the advantages of the
Union and bear none of its burthens. Eloquent appeals to your
passions, to your State pride, to your native courage, to your
sense of real injury, were used to prepare you for the period when
the mask which concealed the hideous features of disunion should
be taken off. It fell, and you were made to look with compla-
cency on objects which not long since you would have regarded
with horror. Look back to the arts which have brought you to
this state ; look forward to the consequences to which it must in-
evitably lead ! Look back to what was first told you as an induce-
ment to enter into this dangerous course. The great political
truth was repeated to you, that you had the revolutionary right
of resisting all laws that were palpably unconstitutional and intol-
erably oppressive ; it was added, that the right to nullify a law
rested on the same principle, but that it was a peaceable remedy !
This character which was given to it made you receive with too
much confidence the assertions that were made of the unconstitu-
tionality of the law and its oppressive effects. Mark, my fellow-
citizens, that by the admission of "your leaders the unconstitution-
ality must be palpable, or it will not justify either resistance or
nullification ! What is the meaning of the word palpable in the
sense in which it is here used ? That which is apparent to every
one, that which no man of ordinary intellect will fail to perceive.
Is the unconstitutionality of these of that description ? Let those
among your leaders who once approved and advocated the prin-
ANDREW JACKSON. 699
ciple of protective duties, answer the question; and let them
choose whether they will be considered as incapable, then, of per-
ceiving that which must have been apparent to every man of
common understanding, or as imposing upon your confidence and
endeavoring to mislead you now. In either case they are unsafe
guides in the perilous path they urge you to tread. Ponder well
on this circumstance, and you will know how to appreciate the
exaggerated language they address to you. They are not cham-
pions of liberty, emulating the fame of our Revolutionary fathers,
nor are you an oppressed people contending, as they repeat to
you, against worse than Colonial vassalage. You are free mem-
bers of a flourishing and happy Union. There is no settled de-
sign to oppress you. You have inde'ed felt the unequal operation
of laws which may have been unwisely, not unconstitutionally
passed; but that inequality must necessarily be removed. At
the very moment when you were madly urged on to the unfortu-
nate course you have begun, a change in public opinion had com-
menced. The nearly approaching payment of the public debt,
and the consequent necessity of a diminution of duties, had
already produced a considerable reduction, and that too on some
articles of general consumption in your State,
The importance of this change was underrated, and you were
authoritatively told that no further alleviation of your burthens
was to be expected, at the very time when the condition of the
country imperiously demanded such a modification of the duties
as should reduce them to a just and equitable scale. But, as if
apprehensive of the effect of this change in allaying your discon-
tents, you were precipitated into the fearful state in which you
now find yourselves.
I have urged you to look back to the means that were used
to hurry you on to the position you have now assumed, and for-
ward to the consequences it will produce. Something more is
necessary. Contemplate the condition of that country of which
you still form an important part; consider its Government,
uniting in one bond of common interest and general protection
so many diflferent States, giving to all their inhabitants the proud
title of American citizen, protecting their commerce, securing their
literature and their arts, facilitating their intercommunication,
defending their frontiers, and making their name respected in the
remotest parts of the earth ! Consider the extent of their terri-
tory, its increasing and happy population, its advance in arts.
600 LIFE AND TIMES OF
which render life agreeable, and the sciences which elevate the
mind ! See education spreading the lights of religion, morality,
and general information, into every cottage in this wide extent
of Territories and States ! Behold it as the asylum where the
wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and support ! Look on
this picture of happiness and honor, and say, We, too, are citizens
of America ; Carolina is one of these proud States ; her arms
have defended, her best blood has cemented this happy Union !
And then add, if you can, without horror and remorse, This
happy Union we will dissolve, this picture of peace and pros-
perity we will deface, this free intercourse we will interrupt, these
fertile fields we will deluge with blood, the protection of that
glorious flag we renounce, the very name of Americans we discard.
And for what, mistaken men! for what do you throw away
these inestimable blessings ? for what would you exchange your
share in the advantages and honor of the Union ? For the dream
of a separate independence, a dream interrupted by bloody con-
flicts with your neighbors, and a vile dependence on a foreign
power. If your leaders could succeed in establishing a separa-
tion, what would be your situation? Are you united at home,
are you free from the apprehension of civil discord, with all its
fearful consequences? Do our neighboring republics, every day
suffering some new revolution or contending with some new in-
surrection, do they excite your envy? But the dictates of a high
duty oblige me solemnly to announce that you can not succeed.
The laws of the United States must be executed. I have no dis-
cretionary power on the subject; my duty is emphatically pro-
nounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you
might peaceably prevent their execution, deceived you; they
could not have been deceived themselves. They know that a
forcible opposition could alone prevent the execution of the laws,
and they know that such opposition must be repelled. Their
object is disunion; but be not deceived by names; disunion, by
armed force, is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt?
If you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act be the
dreadful consequences, on their heads be the dishonor, but on
yours may fall the punishment, on your unhappy State will in-
evitably fall all the evils of the conflict you force upon the Gov-
ernment of your country. It can not accede to the mad project
of disunion of which you would be the first victims; its first
Magistrate can not, if he would, avoid the performance of his
ANDREW JACKSON. 601
duty; the consequence must be fearful for you, distressing to
your fellow-citizens here, and to the friends of good government
throughout the world. Its enemies have beheld our prosperity
w'ith a vexation they could not conceal ; it was a standing refuta-
tion of their slavish doctrines, and they will point to our discord
with the triumph of malignant joy. It is yet in your power to
disappoint them. There is yet time to show that the descendants
of the Pinckneys, the Sumters, the Rutledges, and of the thou-
sand other names which adorn the pages of your Revolutionary
history, will not abandon that Union, to support which, so many
of them fought, and bled, and died. I adjure you, as you honor
their memory, as you love the cause of freedom to which they
dedicated their lives, as you prize the peace of your country, the
lives of its best citizens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your
steps. Snatch from the archives of your State the disorganizing
edict of its convention, bid its members to reassemble and pro-
mulgate the decided expressions of your will to remain in the
path which alone can conduct you to safety, prosperity, and
honor; tell them that compared with disunion, all other evils are
light, because that brings with it an accumulation of all ; declare
that you will never take the field unless the star-spangled banner
of your country shall float over you ; that you will not be stig-
matized when dead, and dishonored and scorned while you live,
as the authors of the first attack on the Constitution of your
country ! Its destroyers you can not be. You may disturb its
peace, you may interrupt the course of its prosperity, you may
cloud its reputation for stability, but its tranquillity will be
restored, its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its
national character will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot
on the memory of those who caused the disorder.
Fellow-citizens of the United States ! The threat of unhal-
lowed disunion, the names of those, once respected, by whom it
is uttered, the array of military force to support it, denote the
approach of a crisis in our affairs on which the continuance of
our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps
that of all free governments, may depend. The conjecture de-
manded a free, a full, and explicit enunciation, not only of my
intentions but of my principles of action; and as the claim was
asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws of the Union,
and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my
opinions in relation to the origin and form of our Government,
602 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and the construction I give to the instrument by which it was
created, seemed to be proper. Having the fullest confidence in
the justness of the legal and Constitutional opinion of my duties
which has been expressed, I rely with equal confidence on your
undivided support in my determination to execute the laws, to
preserve the Union by all Constitutional means, to arrest, if
possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a re-
course to force; and, if it be the will of Heaven that the recur-
rence of its primeval curse on man for the shedding of a broth-
er's blood should fall upon our laud, that it be not called down
by any offensive act on the part of the United States.
Fellow-citizens! the momentous case is before you. On
your undivided support of your Government depends the de-
cision of the great question it involves, whether your sacred
Union will be preserved, and the blessing it secures to us as one
people shall be perpetuated. No one can doubt that the una-
nimity with which that decision will be expressed, will be such as
to inspire new confidence in republican institutions, and that the
prudence, the wisdom, and the courage which it will bring to
their defense, will transmit them unimpaired and invigorated to
our children.
May the great Ruler of nations grant that the signal blessings
with which He has favored ours, may not, by the madness of
party or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost; and may His
wise providence bring those who have produced this crisis, to see
the folly before they feel the misery of civil strife; and inspire
a returning veneration for that Union, which, if we may dare to
penetrate His designs, he has chosen as the only means of attain-
ing the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire !
In testimony, whereof, I have caused the seal of the United
States to be hereunto aflSxed, having signed the same with
my hand.
Done at the City of Washington, this 10th day of Decem-
ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-two, and of the Independence of the United
State the fifty-seventh.
By the President: Andrew Jackson.
Edwabd Livingston, Secretary of State.
Although there has been some variety of opinion
as to how far General Jackson himself furnished the
ANDREW. JACKSON. 603
substance and language of this paper, his biographers
have mainly held to the idea that to his pen (one of
prodigious size) was due the first draft, and that Mr.
Livingston then gave it the finish. And, no doubt, he
did furnish many a well-inked page of his intense and
fiery ideas which gave spirit to the work in the hands
of its real author. Charles H. Hunt, in his " Life of
Edward Livingston," gives the following account,
mainly correct, no doubt, of the origin of the Procla-
mation : —
"Among the private papers which the writer has examined
in the course of preparing this volume, is the original draught
of the celebrated Proclamation of the 10th of December, 1832,
entirely in Livingston's handwriting, much amended by erasures
and interlineations, according to his invariable habit in all but
epistolary correspondence. During the progress of the task, he
received from the President the two following notes : —
" ' FOR THE CONCLUSION OF THE PROCLAMATION.
" ' Seduced as you have been, my fellow-countrymen, by the
delusive theories and misrepresentations of ambitious, deluded,
and designing men, I call upon you in the language of truth, and
with the feelings of a father, to retrace your steps. As you value
liberty and the blessings of peace, blot out from the page of your
history a record so fatal to their security as this Ordinance will
become, if it be obeyed. Eally again under the banners of the
Union, whose obligations you, in common with all your country-
men, have, with an appeal to Heaven, sworn to support, and
which must be indissoluble as long as we are capable of enjoying
freedom.
'" Recollect that the first act of resistance to the laws which
have been denounced as void by those who abuse your confidence
and falsify your hopes in treason, subjects you to all the pains
and penalties that are provided for the highest offense against
your country. Can the descendants of the Rutledges, the Pinck-
neys, the Richardsons, the Middletons, the Sumters, the Marions,
the Pickenses, the Bratons, the Taylors, the Haynes, the Gads-
dens, the Winns, the Hills, the Henshaws, and the Crawfords,
with the descendants of thousands more of the patriots of the
604 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Kevolution that might be named, consent to become traitors?
Forbid it, Heaven !'
" ' Dear Sir, — I submit the above as the conclusion of the
Proclamation, for your amendment and revision. Let it receive
your best flight of eloquence, to strike to the heart and speak to
the feelings of my deluded countrymen of South Carolina. The
Union must be preserved without blood, if this be possible ; but
it must be preserved at all hazards and at any price.
, " ' Yours with high regard, Andrew Jackson.
" * Edward Livingston, Esq.
" ' December 4, 1832, 11 o'clock P. M.'
Friday, at night, Dec. 7th.
"*My Dear Sir, — Major Donelson, having finished copying
the sheets handed by you about 4 o'clock P. M. to-day, is waiting
for the balance. Such as are ready, please send, sealed, by the
bearer. The message having been made public on the 4th, it is
desirable, whilst it is drawing the attention of the people in South
Carolina, that their minds should be drawn to their real situation,
before their leaders can, by false theories, delude them again.
Therefore it is to prevent blood from being shed and positive
treason committed, that I wish to draw the attention of the people
of South Carolina to the danger, that no blame can attach to me
by being silent. From these reasons you can judge of my anxiety
to have this to follow the message.
" ' Yours respectfully, Andrew Jackson.
" ' E. Livingston, Esq., Secretary of State.'
"The sentences above proposed as hints for the conclusion of
the Proclamation were, I think, the only suggestion made in
writing by General Jackson in relation to the form of this cele-
brated State paper, though he did not fail orally and repeatedly
to impress upon Mr. Livingston his own views of the subject in
characteristically concise and emphatic terms. The few phrases
conceived by the President were not used by the Secretary. The
thoughts they embody appear here and there in the following
closing paragraphs of the proclamation : . . .
"The amendments on the face of the manuscript are all
purely philological, and such as Mr. Livingston habitually and
constantly made, as has been before stated. ... As to what
might be the final issue of tlie controversy between South Carolina
ANDREW JACKSON. 605
and the Federal Government, as influenced by the possible public
opinion of the country, the mind of the Secretary could contem-
plate and state two opposite hypotheses, while the more dogmatic
intellect of the President could neither imagine npr admit
but one."
Throughout the North this Proclamation was re-
ceived with great favor, without respect to party, and
many who had opposed Jackson and his Administra-
tion were now loud in his praise. Still many Northern
people deplored or regretted the turn the big tempest
took, as they felt that some time a conflict would take
place which this temporizing policy could not avert. The
Legislature and Governor of South Carolina made a
great show of resistance to this Proclamation. But
Jackson went on his way. On the 16th of January,
1833, he sent another message to Congress, in which
he reviewed the case of the nuUifiers as it then stood,
gave additional views against them, and asked for
necessary provisions to enable him to act efficiently
and decisively in suppressing the rebellion. This
message resulted in the passage of what was known as
the " Force Bill," authorizing the President to act, but
which was not brought into requisition. General Jack-
son was not the man to be behind in a business for
which he was eminently fitted. Before the nullification
message of the 16th, and even before the proclamation,
he had begun to send troops to the South, and a con-
siderable force was gathered in Charleston Harbor
ready for the crisis which was to come on Febru-
ary 1st. But the contest was fought and settled in
Congress.
Of this troublesome afiair, and some other impor-
tant matters brought before Congress at this session,
606 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the author of the " Statesman's Manual " says briefly
and to the point : —
"The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. McLane, in his report
to Congress, urged upon that body a reduction of duty to the
revenue standard, and declared that ' there was not the same
necessity for high protecting duties as that which was consulted
in our past legislation.'
"It was now distinctly foreseen that the final contest relating
to a protecting tariff was about to be decided. Upon distribut-
ing the various subjects recommended to the consideration of
Congress, this was referred in the House, to the Committee of
Ways and Means, of which Mr. Verplanck, of New York, was
chairman.
"Notwithstanding a new tariff had been adopted at the last
session, after a lengthened discussion, and by large majorities, it
was now determined to remodel the whole, to conciliate its oppo-
nents at the South, and on the 27th of December a bill was re-
ported by the Committee of Ways and Means, which was under-
stood to embody the views of the Administration.
"In the Senate, also, the subject was taken up at an early
period, and on the 13th of December, the chairman of the Com-
mittee of Finance presented a resolution calling on the Secretary
of the Treasury for the plan and details of a bill in conformity
with his suggestions. After some debate as to the propriety of
calling on a branch of the Executive Department for an opinion,
instead of facts or information, the resolution was adopted.
"The bill reported in the House by Mr. Verplanck, proposed
a diminution on all the protected articles, to take effect imme-
diately, and a further diminution on the 2d of March, 1834.
By this bill, a great and immediate reduction was contemplated
upon the chief manufactures of the country, and a further re-
duction to the revenue standard in 1834. This would afford to
the domestic manufacturer a protecting duty from fifteen to
twfenty per cent, and with this advantage, the opponents of high
duties argued that he should be content. On the other side, it
was contended that the diminution was too great, and that by
suddenly bringing the duties down to the minimum point, the
Government would violate its faith with those who had been
induced to embark in manufacturing, by the adoption of what
was declared to be the settled policy of the country, and who
ANDREW JACKSON. 607
would be ruined by a sudden and unexpected withdrawal of the
protection they enjoyed,
"The bill of last session which was framed with the view of
settling the question, had not yet been fairly tested, and it was
insisted that such a vacillating course on the part of the Govern-
ment, was positive injustice to those who had vested their capital
under the existing laws.
"While the discussion on the bill was going on, new interest
was imparted to the subject by a message from the President to
Congress, on the 16th of January, communicating the South
Carolina ordinance and nullifying laws, together with his own
views as to what should be done under the existing state ot
affairs. Upon the message being read in the Senate, Mr. Cal-
houn repelled, in the most earnest manner, the imputation of any
hostile feeling or intentions against the Union on the part of
South Carolina. The State authorities, he asserted, had looked
only to a judicial decision upon the question, until the concen-
tration of the United States troops at Charleston and Augusta
had compelled them to make provision to defend themselves.
"The judiciary committee, to whom the message was referred,
reported a bill to enforce the collection of the revenue where any
obstructions were offered to the officers employed in that duty.
It vested full power in the President to employ the land and
naval forces of the United States, if necessary, to carry the rev-
enue laws into effect.
"After the bill was reported to the Senate, Mr. Calhoun
offered a series of resolutions, embodying his views and those
who sustained the doctrines of nullification, with regard to the
powers of the General Government and the rights of the States.
Mr. Grundy, of Tennessee, offered other resolutions as substitutes
for Mr. Calhoun's, and which set forth the views of the Admin-
istration. The latter were not deemed, by a portion of the Sen-
ate, fully to set forth the character of the Government, inasmuch
as while they declare the several acts of Congress laying duties on
imports to be Constitutional, and deny the power of a single State
to annul them or any other Constitutional law, they tacitly yield
the whole doctrine of nullification, by the implied admission that
any unconstitutional law may be judged of by the State in the
last resort, and annulled by the same authority. With the view
of having placed upon record his opinions upon that point, Mr.
Clayton, of Delaware, an opposition Senator, proposed a resolution,
608 LIFE AND TIMES OF
setting them forth, and declaring that ' the Senate will not fail,
in the faithful discharge of its most solemn duty, to support
the Executive in the just administration of the Government, and
clothe it with all Constitutional power necessary to the faithful
execution of the laws and the preservation of the Union.'
"The whole subject was now before Congress; and the State
Legislatures, being generally in session, passed resolutions ex-
pressing their opinions as to the course which that body ought
to adopt.
"In the Legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York, Delaware, Tennessee, Indiana, and Missouri, the doctrines
of nullification were entirely disclaimed, as destructive to 'the
Constitution. Those of North Carolina and Alabama were no
less explicit in condemning nullification, but they also expressed
an opinion that the tariff was unconstitutional and inexpedient.
"The State of Georgia also reprobated the doctrine of nullifi-
cation as unconstitutional, by a vote of 102 to 51 in her Legisla-
ture ; but it denounced the tariff in decided terms, and proposed
a convention of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, to devise
measures to obtain relief from that system.
"The Legislature of Virginia assumed a more extraordinary
ground. The subject was referred to a committee on federal
relations, and a general discussion was had on the powers of the
Government; and finally resolutions were passed, earnestly re-
questing South Carolina not to proceed further under the Ordi-
nance of their convention to reduce the import duties to a revenue
standard, and declaring that the people of Virginia expect that
the General Government and the government of South Carolina
will carefully abstain from all acts calculated to disturb the tran-
quillity of the country.
"After further resolving that they adhere to the principles
of the Virginia Resolutions of 1798, but that they do not con-
sider them as sanctioning the proceedings of South Carolina, or
the President's Proclamation, they proceeded to appoint Benjamin'
W. Leigh, as a commissioner on the part of the State, to pro-
ceed to South Carolina, to communicate the resolutions of Vir-
ginia, and to express their good-will to the people of that State,
and their anxious solicitude for an accommodation between them
and the General Government.
"The State of New Hampshire expressed no opinion as to
ANDREW JACKSON. 609
the doctrines of South Carolina, but the Legislature passed reso-
lutions in favor of reducing the tariff to the revenue standard.
"On the other hand, the Legislatures of Massachusetts, Ver-
mont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, declared
themselves to be opposed to any modification of the tariff.
"While the States were thus sustaining their respective views
and interests. Congress was slowly proceeding in the discussion
of the questions belonging to the subject. In the House, the bill
for reducing the tariff was subjected to an ordeal that threatened
to prove fatal to its passage through that body. The discussion
upon its general principles occupied the House for two weeks
after its introduction, and was resumed from time to time, during
the examination of its details, for the purpose of amendment;
and but little prospect appeared of bringing about any satisfac-
tory termination of this long-disputed question.
"The authorities of South Carolina, in the meantime, ex-
erted themselves to increase the military force of the State.
Munitions were provided, depots formed, and the militia in the
nullifying districts were called upon to volunteer in her defense.
On the other hand, the minority of the people, who called them-
selves the Union party, were equally determined not to submit
to the nullifying ordinance and laws, and prepared themselves
with equal firmness and zeal to sustain the Federal authorities.
A spark was sufficient to kindle the flame of civil war, but for-
tunately no accident occurred to bring about a collision. The
reveuue laws, under the protection of the forces of the General
Government, were carried into effect without any opposition by
violence. No attempt was made to enforce the laws under the
Ordinance of the State convention, and on the 31st of January,
at a meeting of the leading nullifiers at Charleston, after reiter- *
ating their determination to maintain their principles, and ex-
pressing their satisfaction at the proposition to modify the tariff,
it was resolved that during the session of Congress, all collision
be avoided between the State and Federal authorities, in the hope
that the controversy might be satisfactorily adjusted.
" During these proceedings in South Carolina, the enforcing
bill, providing for the collection of duties, was pressed forward
to a vote. It was, however, delayed in the Senate, by a length-
ened discussion, until the 20th of February, when it passed that
body by a vote of 32 ayes ; Mr. Tyler, only, voting in the nega-
tive, the opponents of the bill generally having withdrawn. It also
39— G
610 LIFE AND TIMES OF
passed the House on the 28th of February, 150 to 35, and be-
came a law.
"The tariff" bill reported by Mr. Verplanck, and sustained by
the friends of the Administration in the House of Representa-
tives, was delayed in that body until the 12th of February;
when Mr. Clay, of the Senate, apprehending either the passage
of that bill, which he considered would be destructive to the
manufacturing interests, or that Congress would adjourn, leaving
the matter unsettled, and the country in danger of a civil war,
introduced, pursuant to notice, a measure of compromise in the
Senate. This was a bill which had been prepared, after much
consultation, for the permanent adjustment of the tariff". It pro-
vided, that where the duties exceeded twenty per cent, there
should be one-tenth part of the excess deducted after December
30, 1833, and one-tenth each alternate year, until the 31st of
December, 1841, when one-half of the residue was to be de-
ducted, and after the 30th of June, 1842, the duties on all goods
were to be reduced to twenty per cent on a home valuation, and
were to be paid in cash.
"After Mr. Clay had stated that his views in introducing the
bill were to preserve the protective tariff" for a length of time,
and to restore good feelings and tranquillity among the people, he
explained the proposed measure and its probable operation. Mr.
Calhoun expressed his approbation of the bill; and it was dis-
cussed by various Senators until the 23d of February, when it
was ordered to a third reading. On the 25th, Mr. Clay stated
that a bill identical in its provisions to the one before the Senate,
had just passed the House, and would probably be presented the
next day to the Senate for approval. The Senate, on his motion,
therefore adjourned.
"In the House of Representatives, Mr. Verplanck's bill was
taken up for discussion, when, on motion of Mr. Letcher, of
Kentucky, it was recommitted, with instructions to report Mr.
Clay's bill. The bill being referred to the committee, the substi-
tute was agreed to, forthwith reported to the House, and the fol-
lowing day passed, by a vote of 119 to 85. In the Senate, after
some further discussion, it passed, ayes 29, noes 16, and received
the signature of the President on the 2d of March, 1833.
"The passage of this bill was regarded by all as a concession
to South Carolina, and many considered it as sanctioning the
ultimate triumph of the principles advanced by that State.
ANDREW JACKSON. 611
"The supporters of the bill who were friendly to the system
of protection insisted, on the contrary, that this was the only
mode of preventing an entire and immediate destruction of the
manufacturing interests ; that the Administration had a decided
majority in the next Congress; and if the question was not set-
tled now, the manufacturers would be entirely at the mercy of
their enemies.
"Those who looked to the ultimate results of this compro-
mise, preferred to test, rather than to surrender, the powers of
the Government, and they strongly reprobated the idea of aban-
doning the policy of the Government upon the demand of a
single State.
"The leaders of the nullifying party, on their part, affected
to regard the compromise as an unqualified triumph. The con-
vention of South Carolina assembled at Columbia, at the call of
the Governor, on the 11th of March, and, deeming it expedient
to consider the compromise tariff as satisfactory, they repealed,
the Ordinance nullifying the revenue laws, and nullified the
enforcing law. After this the tarifi* controversy in South Caro-
lina ended.
' ' The bill providing for the distribution of the proceeds of
the sales of the public lands among the States, was again intro-
duced by Mr. Clay, at an early period of this session. After
much discussion, it passed that body on the 25th of January,
ayes 24, noes 20. It was not taken up in the House until the
1st of March, when, after being amended, it was passed, ayes 96,
nays 40, and sent back to the Senate. The amendment of the
House was concurred in by the Senate, 23 to 5. These votes
indicated that two-thirds of both Houses were in favor of
the policy proposed to be established by Mr. Clay's bill; and if
the President had returned the bill with his objections, it was
understood that it would have become a law, notwithstanding
the veto.
"This opportunity, however, was not given to them, as the
President retained the bill until after the adjournment, which
took place at the termination of their Constitutional term on the
3d of March, and thus prevented Congress from expressing its
opinion upon his objections. The bill was thus defeated by the
Executive, who in this manner assumed an absolute instead of a
qualified veto upon the acts of Congress, which was confided to
him by the Constitution. The reason of the President for his
612 LIFE AND TIMES OF
course in this matter, as given to the next Congress, was want
of time for a due consideration of this important measure.
"Among the subjects recommended by the President in his
annual message in December, 1832, was the propriety of remov-
ing the public moneys from the United States Bank. The Sec-
retary of the Treasury, who had hitherto advocated the re-charter
of the Bank, followed up the President's recommendation by the
expression of his doubts as to their safety, if continued in its
custody. An agent appointed by the Treasury to investigate the
actual condition of the Bank, shortly after made his report, and
it appeared that this institution had an excess of funds of more
than seven millions of dollars over its liabilities, besides its
capital of $35,000,000.
"The President also recommended a sale of the stock of the
bank belonging to the United States. A proposition to that effect,
reported by Mr. Polk from the Committee of Ways and Means
in the House, was rejected on the first reading, 102 to 91.
"The subject of the public deposits w^as referred to the same
committee, who, through Mr. Verplanck, made a report stating
the situation of the Bank. They consequently recommended a
resolution that the Government deposits may, in the opinion of
the House, be safely continued in the Bank of the United States.
This resolution was adopted by the House — ayes, 109; noes, 46."
When the result was reached in the Senate, Mr.
Benton who, of course, voted with the minority, said :
"And thus a new principle of protection, never before
engrafted upon the American system, and to get at
which the Constitution had to be violated in the article
of the uniformity of duties, was established ! and
established by the aid of those who declared all protec-
tion to be unconstitutional, and just cause for the
secession of a State from the Union ! and were then
acting on that assumption."
The tariff of 1828 was justly complained of by the
South, and the argument against the complaint and
resistance, to the effect that the tariff was a beneficial
national measure, was hardly fair or sufficient. The
ANDREW JACKSON. 613
tariff did, perhaps, bear unequally on the South, and
only Louisiana had assented to it. The evil was not
in opposition to the tariff, but in the remedy of nulli-
fication adopted by South Carolina, and supported by
many of the Southern leaders. Nullification was a
Jacobinic falsehood. And however much it was in
harmony with the character of General Jackson, it was
not in keeping with his position as President to let it
control the Government. Besides this, there was a
personal, or another personal, consideration in the case.
General Jackson could not dismiss from his acts or
opinions on public matters, his personal identity, his
private animosities. He suspected and then hated Mr.
Calhoun, and this hatred destroyed Mr. Calhoun's
chances for the Presidency. His quarral with Cal-
houn based upon the most trifling and unmanly foun-
dation, exerted a marked influence on national affairs,
as did several other matters, which should have had
no place in the moral and civil history of the times.
How far he was influenced in his opposition to nulli-
fication by his personal animosity towards Mr. Calhoun,
who had become the apostle of the false prijiciple, it
would, perhaps, not be easy to say. That Calhoun
had fallen from his pinnacle, and become the champion
of this hapless dogma, on account of this personal
quarrel, for which he was not responsible or blamable,
with General Jackson, there need be no dispute.
The South was, however, disappointed in Jackson.
The leaders in that section had reason to suppose
that he would side with them, and ignore the authority
and dignity of the Government. He had done so
in the Georgia Indian difficulties. But whatever were
the motives and causes, fortunately General Jackson
614 LIFE AND TIMES OF
took a stand against nullification. That he would do
so was plainly enough announced in the Jefferson
birthday banquet, April 30, 1830, at Washington.
He did not stop with his celebrated " toast." In a
letter dated June 14, 1831, he notified the South
Carolinians that a force policy against nullification
might be expected of him. The nullifiers started out
with what they believed to be a non-impeachable
backing. Thomas Jefferson was their oracle. But
this authority was never especially great with Gen-
eral Jackson.
During the Administration of John Adams the
Alien and Sedition Laws were passed, and, although
Mr. Adams did not originate these acts, yet they have
always been charged as his great political sin. A hue
and cry went from the mouths of the opposition about
these famous acts at the time, which have never been
allowed to die. But these measures were, in them-
selves, proper enough, and, at the moment, entirely
necessary. They were brave, manly, patriotic laws,
and their leading opponents saw occasions for their
salutary application in after times.
The Alien and Sedition Laws were really a credit
to the wisdom and patriotism of the Federalists. But
of nullification what can be said ? Yet Mr. Jefferson
was its author. In his famous Kentucky Resolutions
the doctrine was distinctly and simply announced.
That the Legislature of that State omitted the doc-
trine in the resolutions as adopted in 1798, did not
change the fact, it was in Mr. Jefferson's writing ; and
in the additional resolutions of the following year,
goaded by the sting of failure, the Kentucky Legisla-
ture merely introduced the nullification theory, which
ANDREW JACKSON. 615
it had not been desperate enough to do before.
There can be no comparison between the ground-
lessness and folly of nullification and the salutary
and proper purposes of the " Alien and Sedition
Laws." The opposition to them at the outset was
factious and mean, and since it has been factious
and foolish. For the last fifty years, few of those
w^ho have cried "Alien and Sedition Laws" have, per-
haps, understood their character, or known the des-
perate necessity on which they were founded.
All of the rest of the Union opposed the nullifi-
cation action of South Carolina, and some of the States
favored no tariff, most of them favored a reduction,
some of them opposed any reduction, and were unwill-
ing to treat with or pamper as pirit so dangerous as to
give rise to nullification, and, more ridiculous than any
other State, Virginia wanted to appear as a mediator
between the Government and the rebellious State.
South Carolina, in an authoritative and formal way
called General Jackson a usurper and a tyrant, and
this so aroused the "bull-dog" in him that he medi-
tated making characteristic examples of some of the
nullifiers. No man could call General Jackson names
with impunity. At all events, the experiment was
dangerous. Nothing that Jackson ever did added
justly so much to his political fame as this Proclama-
tion and his opposition to nullification.
616 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CMAPTER XXX.
ELECTORAL COUNT— PRESIDENT JACKSON'S SECOND INAU-
GURAL ADDRESS— HARVARD MAKES ANOTHER LL. D.
ANOTHER exciting Presidential election had re-
sulted in a conquest for the Hero of New Or-
leans. He had put his greatest enemy under his feet.
To do this it was not necessary to hurl at him the
old exploded charge of "bargain and corruption," but
even this he had not neglected. His adversaries,
however, had no conscientious qualms, and his conduct
of public and private matters since he had been a
resident of the White House gave them a rich, new
field, which they explored with vigor.
He was held up as the man who had positively led
the people to think that he was unalterably opposed to
a second term, and now he had ignored all his promises
and pretensions on this point. He had even proceeded,
through the machinations of his " Kitchen Cabinet," to
have his re-election made to appear as a necessity be-
fore his first term was half gone, and had set willing
instruments in Tennessee to crying this necessity to
the country. He had opposed the appointment of
Congressmen to places in the control of the President,
and at once had taken from Congress four members
of his Cabinet, and had, in the first six months, ap-
pointed more Congressmen to office, all taken together,
than had been done from the formation of the Govern-
ANDREW JACKSON. 617
ment to the time of his own Administration. Instead
of reforming the public Administration, it had for
the first time been prostituted, throughout the entire
country, to party and personal purposes, and at greatly
increased expense and loss to the people. Instead of
being the head of the Nation, as he had proclaimed
that he ought to be, he had turned the wealth and
vast machinery of the Government to advancing the
interest of his friends. His hostility to the Bank of
the United States was ruining the country. And
finally, they said that his partisan preferences, bad
temper, intolerance, and support of bullying and cor-
ruption had spread immorality and viciousness through-
out the country, and established rudeness, corruption,
and insecurity in the halls of Congress. This was a
deep-dyed catalogue, indeed. But the hickory poles
were raised, the roosters crowed, and the people
shouted " Hurrah for Jackson," all the same, and when
the votes came to be counted, Mr. Clay was farther
from the Presidency than he ever had been.
In the course of the hot debates in the winter of
1832, or about this time, William L. Marcy gave utter-
ance to the sentiment, which was held up as a natural
outbirth of the era of political corruption now intro-
duced, that the politicians of New York " saw nothing
wrong in the rule, that to the victors belong the spoils
of the enemy." It has been said of Mr. Marcy that
this evil utterance, throwing aside the virtue of prin-
ciple or integrity in the administration of public affairs,
was the only one he ever made which will live. Are
the evil deeds and sayings of men more prolific and
longer lived than their good ones ? However doubtful
this may be, as a general principle, Mr. Marcy 's
618 LIFE AND TIMES OF
sentiment had already been introduced by General Jack-
son, and from that day to this the vile principle has
been, to a great extent, the practice of the party in
power whatever its general political character.
In the election of 1832, all the States gave popular
votes except South Carolina. In Alabama there was
no Clay or Wirt ticket in the field, and hence there
was no vote cast in that State against General Jackson.
On the 13th of February, 1833, the electoral votes
were counted in joint session of the two branches of
Congress, in the Hall of the House. Of the 288 votes,
Andrew Jackson had 219
Henry Clay 49
John. Floyd 11
William Wirt 7
For the Presidency. In Maryland there were two
vacancies.
FOR THE VICE-PRESIDENCY.
Martin Van Buren received 189
John Sergeant 49
William AVilkins 30
Henry Lee 11
Amos Ellmaker 7
Mr. Wilkins got his Azotes from the Jackson men
of Pennsylvania, who would not support Van Buren ;
the Legislature of South Carolina cast the vote of that
State, and, of course, was expected to do some char-
acteristic thing, which was effected in giving the dis-
tinction of her eleven votes to Floyd and Lee ; and
Vermont made an everlasting mark for herself in the
Electoral College by casting her seven votes for Wirt
and Ellmaker, against Free Masonry.
The States whose electoral votes were civen to
ANDREW JACKSON. 619
General Jackson were Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, In-
diana, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Mary-
land also gave him three of her eleven electoral votes,
but Mr. Clay had a majority of four votes at the polls
in that State. The electoral votes of Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, and Ken-
tucky were cast for Mr. Clay. Maryland also gave
him five of the eight votes which she cast.
The popular vote for Mr. Clay was 530,189, while
that for General Jackson, with his enormous electoral
vote, was only 157,313 more. Mr. Wirt received over
33,000 votes at the polls.
At 12 o'clock on the 4th of March, 1833, the
President, and Vice-President elect, entered the House
of Representatives. With them were Cabinet minis-
ters, ministers of foreign governments, judges of the
Supreme Court, Senators, and members of the House.
A vast concourse of people, citizens and strangers, had
assembled to see the second inauguration of Andrew
Jackson as President. The President took the chair
of the Speaker, and Mr. Van Buren sat on his left,
and Donelson, his secretary, on his right. The Presi-
dent rose, and after the cheers of the assembly had
subsided, read his inaugural address in a good, audible
tone. He was again cheered. The Chief Justice then
administered the oath of office to him.
The following is his
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
March 4, 1833.
Fellow-citizens, — The will of the American people, ex-
pressed through their unsolicited suffrages, calls me before you to
620 LIFE AND TIMES OF
pass through the solemnities preparatory to taking upon myself
the duties of President of the United States for another term.
For their approbation of my public conduct, through a period
which has not been without its difficulties, and for this renewed
expression of their confidence in my good intentions, I am at a
loss for terras adequate to the expression of my gratitude. It
shall be displayed, to the extent of my humble abilities, in con-
tinued efforts so to administer the Government as to preserve
their liberty and promote their happiness.
So many events have occurred within the last four years,
which have necessarily called forth, sometimes under circumstances
the most delicate and painful, my views of the principles and
policy which ought to be pursued by the General Government,
that I need, on this occasion, but allude to a few leading consid-
erations connected with some of them.
The foreign policy adopted by our Government soon after the
formation of our present Constitution, and very generally pursued
by successive Administrations, has been crowned with almost com-
plete success, and has elevated our character among the nations
of the earth. To do justice to all, and to submit to wrong from
none, has been, during my Administration, its governing maxim ;
and so happy have been its results, that we are not only at peace
with all the world, but have few causes of controversy, and those
of minor importance, remaining unadjusted.
In the domestic policy of this Government there are two
objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and
their Representatives, and which have been, and will continue to
be, the subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are, the pres-
ervation of the rights of the States and the integrity of the Union.
These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be
attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within
its appropriate sphere, in conformity with the public will Consti-
tutionally exj^ressed. To this end, it becomes the duty of all to
yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws Constitutionally
enacted, and thereby promote and strengthen a proper confidence
in those institutions of the several States and of the United
States, which the people themselves have ordained for their own
Government.
My experience in public concerns, and the observation of a
life somewhat advanced, confirm the opinions long since imbibed
by me, that the destruction of our State Governments or the
ANDREW JACKSON. 621
annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people,
would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to
despotism and military domination. In proportion, therefore,
as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the
States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and
detract from its ability to fulfill the purposes of its creation. Sol-
emnly impressed with these considerations, my countrymen will
ever find me ready to exercise my Constitutional powers in
arresting measures which may directly or indirectly encroach
upon the rights of these States, or tend to consolidate a political
power in the General Government. But of equal, and, indeed,
of incalculable importance, is the Union of these States, and the
sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal
support of the General Government in the exercise of its just
powers. You have been wisely admonished to "accustom your-
selves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of
your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation
with jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest
even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be abandoned, and
indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to
alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble
the sacred ties which now link together the various parts."
Without union our independence and liberty would never have
been achieved, without union they can never be maintained.
Divided in twenty-four, or even a smaller number of separate
communities, we shall see our internal trade burthened with num-
berless restraints and exactions, communications between distant
points and sections obstructed or cut off; our sons made sol-
diers, to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace ; the
mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to
support armies and navies ; and military leaders at the head of
their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The
loss of liberty, of all good Government, of peace, plenty, and
happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union. In
supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the free-
man and the philanthropist.
The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. The
eyes of all nations are fixed on our Republic. The event of the
existing crisis will be decisive, in the opinion of mankind, of the
practicability of our Federal system of Government. Great is
the stake placed in our hands ; great is the responsibility which
622 LIFE AND TIMES OF
must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize
the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the
world. Let us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extri-
cate our country from the dangers which surround it, and learn
wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.
Deeply impressed with the truth of these observations, and
under the obligation of that solemn oath which I am about
to take, I shall continue to exert all my faculties to maintain
the just powers of the Constitution, and to transmit unimpaired
to posterity the blessings of our Federal Union. At the same
time it will be my aim to inculcate, by my official acts, the neces-
sity of exercising, by the General Government, those powers only
that are clearly delegated ; to encourage a simplicity and economy
in the expenditures of the Government ; to raise no more money
from the people than may be requisite for these objects, and in a
manner that will best promote the interests of all classes of the
community, and of all portions of the Union. Constantly bear-
•ing in mind that, in entering into society, "individuals must
give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," it will be my de-
sire so to discharge my duties as to foster with our brethren in all
parts of the country, a spirit of liberal concession and compro-
mise; and by reconciling our fellow-citizens to those partial sac-
rifices which they must unavoidably make for the preservation of
a greater good, to recommend our invaluable Government and
Union to the confidence and affections of the American people.
Finally, it is my most fervent prayer to that Almighty Being
before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in his hands
from the infancy of our Republic to the present day, that He
will so overrule all my intentions and actions, and inspire the
hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dan-
gers of all kinds, and continue forever a united and happy
PEOPLE.
There was little disposition to complain of this
short and peaceful address, and, in fact, it was pre-
dicted that General Jackson's second term would be a
comparatively harmonious and happy period. A mon-
strous delusion. It was hardly in the nature of An-
drew Jackson to be quiet ; it was absolutely impossible
while anything was left for him to fight. The Bank
ANDREW JACKSON. 623
•
of the United States was not yet dead, nor was it
going to give up life without another struggle. Gen-
eral Jackson could not let this " monster " rest, even in
his happiest moments.
In May, President Jackson went down to Freder-
icksburg to be present at the laying of the foundation
of the projected monument at the grave of the mother
of Washington. His brief, beautiful address on this
occasion is found in another part of this work.
On the steamboat, on the way down the Potomac,
he was assaulted while the boat was lying at Alex-
andria, by a discharged lieutenant of the naval service.
This man came upon him without the least notice
of his intention, and, it is said, deliberately pulled the
General's nose. After which he escaped from the
boat, and was never prosecuted for his villainy. The
President did not know him, and had never had any
kind of dealing with him.
* On the 29th of May Mr. Livingston left the De-
partment of State to become Minister to France, the
President believing that he could be more successful
in settling the difficulties with that nation on the spo-
liation question. This step fortunately relieved the
amiable Livingston, the man who is said never to have
been angry, from the great turmoil that again arose
in the Cabinet and the country. The President knew
Livingston's want of sympathy with his Bank fight.
Mr. McLane was transferred to the State Depart-
ment. He was unfavorable to some of the President's
financial plans. William J. Duane, an able and honest
lawyer of Philadelphia, son of William Duane of the
"Aurora," who was a great favorite of General Jack-
son's, but who did not enjoy the reputation of his son
624 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with a very respectable class of people, in which was
President Monroe, unfortunately accepted the position
of Secretary of the Treasury, without knowing what
the President designed him to do. One thing the
President knew, and that was that Mr. Duane was,
from his own convictions, opposed to the Bank.
This summer General Jackson made a journey to
the North ; and in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York,
Boston, Providence, and other places he was received
with extraordinary warmth by all the citizens without
respect to party. It is easier to imagine the wonder-
ful, wild demonstrations of respect paid the Chief
Magistrate on this visit than to write of them. It
would only repeat the picture which is in every
American's eye. No man could bear foolish adulation
better than General Jackson. But few Presidents
since his time have indicated any great repugnance to
"public honors." Boston outdid herself on this tour
of the President's. Not satisfied with cannons, flags,
speeches, grand receptions, dinners, and every common
device to please him and herself, it was actually sug-
gested as proper for old Harvard College to confer on
General Jackson the degree of LL. D. And this was
really done, although greatly against the will of at
least one of the directors who regretted that in a wild
fit of enthusiasm, the institution should be prostituted
to political sycophancy, in throwing the privileges
w^hich demanded years of toil, upon men of no liter-
ary, or even legal, attainments. On this interesting
occasion an address was delivered to the General in
Latin. After this, it is said, that Major Jack Down-
ing, or some other wag, called upon him for some
Latin, when, with his usual politeness and readiness,
ANDREW JACKSON. 625
he stepped forward, and said : " E plurihiis Unum, my
friends, sine qua non /" This was very good, and well
sustained the sentiment then uppermost with General
Jackson, and which was giving him some deserved
fame among patriots. At Concord the tour was cut
short by the President's illness, and by way of Prov-
idence and Newport he hastened back to Washington.
Although John Quincy Adams was at Quincy and
could hear the firing of cannon at Boston, he was un-
willing to be present at any of the demonstrations in
honor of President Jackson. Mr. Quincy had called
upon him to see what he would think of the project
of conferring the degree on Jackson, and to find if he
would accept an invitation to be present at the cere-
mony, when the following remarks passed between
them, as Mr. Adams recorded in his Diary : —
"I said that the personal relations in which President Jack-
son had chosen to place himself with me were such that I could
hold no intercourse of a friendly character with him. I could,
therefore, not accept an invitation to attend upon this occasion.
And, independent of that, as myself an affectionate child of our
alma mater, I would not be present to witness her disgrace in
conferring her highest literary honors upon a barbarian who could
not write a sentence of grammar, and hardly could spell his own
name. Mr. Quincy said he Avas sensible how utterly unworthy
of literary honors Jackson was, but the Corporation thought it
was necessary to follow the precedent, and treat him precisely as
Mr. Monroe, his predecessor, had been treated. As the people
of the United States had seen fit to make him their President,
the Corporation thought the honors which they conferred upon
him were compliments due to the station, by whomsoever it was
occupied."
40— <3
626 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE TWO GIANTS, THE MAN AND THE BANK— WILLIAM J.
DUANE ALSO FALLS— A WONDERFUL CONTEST.
GENERAL JACKSON was now bent on removing
the Government deposits from the Bank of the
United States. He had given this institution a mortal
stab, and without feeling it yet, the people had ap-
plauded. He knew the Bank would again apply for
a charter, notwithstanding its failure at first. When
he should have entirely destroyed this great " monop-
oly" his work would mainly be done, his Administra-
tion at an end. Unattractive, indeed, is the history
of this Bank conflict. It is hard for any calm, sound-
minded person to view the monetary history of this
country even, let alone that of the rest of the world,
without wearisomeness and disgust; or to have but a
timid confidence in any man's plans, theories, or sys-
tems of finance ; to have any respect for his own, if
he should be unfortunate enough to have a money
theory; to have any patience with the cry concerning
the too limited supply or circulation, or of its unequal
distribution ; to have any respect for the men who
cry these things, or anything else about money. No
man's misfortunes, or wants, or fancies can possibly
be a standard for judgment in this difficult field. The
general, continued activity and prosperity of a great
community may well be taken as an indication that
ANDREW JACKSON. 627
its money is comparatively sound and reliable. The
subject of money, in one form and another, as to
nations and individuals, has troubled or cursed a great
part of the world, since the beginning of human
affairs, and, perhaps, will continue to do so forever.
It may be doubted whether the " wise men," who
treat this subject with such confidence in their own
ability to set the world right, are more worthy of
respect than the strange genius who, ages ago, wrote
a pamphlet, much like many written at this day, in
which he attempted to explain that gold, that money,
could be made out of anything, and the only thing he
yet lacked to make his discovery complete and the
world absolutely happy, was the trifling matter of
knowing how to do it.
General Jackson had a monetary system, he
thought, or an idea, at least, and really believed that
he understood money as well as anybody. Perhaps he
did. He did not believe in paper as money. He hated
it. He said it would ruin the country. During his
Administration it was rags ; a few years ago it was
"rag baby." But, at this later period, it was fondly
cherished by some of his political descendants. With
this statement I would drop the Bank topic and every-
thing connected with it, and burn the files of old
records, pamphlets, books, speeches, debates, reports,
and what not, which lie around me on the subject,
but conscientiously I can not. The whole matter is
too intimately associated with the history of the won-
derful man and his times. The cry of fraud and cor-
ruption was again howled against the Bank in the
summer of 1833. The Bank was lending money
to Congressmen, to influential newspapers, to various
628 LIFE AND TIMES OF
persons in a strange way, for an honorable and wisely
conducted institution. Men were borrowing money
without the formality of notes. This great " monopoly"
was corrupting the country. Bribery was in the very
atmosphere. It was read in men's eyes. So it was
said. But the directors of the Bank were mainly men
of high reputation, and Mr. Biddle, its president, was
a man of undoubted standing, and the prince of all
American bankers. Future investigations, as former
ones, did not sustain the sweeping charges against the
Bank. Since the days of Andrew Jackson the cry
of fraud and corruption and reform has been made to
do service on every possible occasion. When nothing
else could be found this cry has been appropriate. Its
great virtue has been that, being inexplicable, it seems
to imply so much, and appeal so shamefully to the
better feelings of men who would prefer to be classed
as respectable.
General Jackson and his supporters raised this cry
on frivolous and fictitious grounds, the very men who
could not afford, by their conduct, to make pretensions
of purity, the men whose example, to a great extent,
fashioned the real political corruptions of after times.
During the summer of 1833, President Jackson him-
self started the unwarranted rumor that kills banks
and men financially, and which he would not relin-
quish, that the Bank of the United States "was
broken." This fancy he took from the fact that the
" proud Mr. Biddle " had condescended to make a trip
to Washington in March to induce Mr. McLane not to
carry out his design of liquidating six and a half
millions of the Government three per cent bonds.
But the measure would not benefit the Government,
ANDREW JACKSON. 629
and would ruin many " business men," and Mr. Biddle
desired to prevent the evil step, his motive being much
higher than General Jackson was willing to assign to
him. But to him it meant failure merely ; and now
he had another inducement for carrying on the work
which was destined to bring general calamity to the
country as the price of better things.
As the Bank did not break fast enough by reason
of Mr. Biddle's trip to Washington, to suit General
Jackson, he was accused of devising a remarkable
method of hastening the desired result, that was to
break one of its branches. The one at Savannah,
Georgia, was selected as doing the least business, and
as being farthest removed from the timely aid of the
parent bank at Philadelphia. A broker in New York
was put in management of the rascally scheme. He
gathered more than a hundred and fifty thousand dol-
lars in the notes of the Savannah Branch, which had
not half so much specie in its vaults, and then went
down there to have his paper redeemed. In the mean-
time, however, Nicholas Biddle, suspecting the designs
of the great enemy, by the small returns made of the
notes of the Savannah Branch in various bank reports,
sent to Savannah two hundred thousand dollars in
specie. Accordingly, when the Jacksonian broker ap-
peared at the Savannah Bank and demanded specie,
the president told him that they were glad to get rid
of it, that they had more than they wanted. And,
greatly to the amazement of Mr. Broker, keg after
keg was rolled out, and he was made to take them,
and convey them at expense and loss to New York.
Nicholas Biddle was too smart a man to be allowed to
live in the same country with Andrew Jackson.
630 LIFE AND TIMES OF
General Jackson's "Unit Cabinet" would have been
quite differently organized if its members had known,
and they would have known if the General had had
a sentiment against the Bank, of what they would be
called upon to do in reference to the Bank. Mr.
Ingham entertained this opinion : —
"The Bank has purified one of the worst currencies that ever
infested any country or people. It consisted of mere paper,
of no definite value, accompanied by worthless tickets issued from
broken banks, petty corporations, and partnerships, in almost
every village. Instead of this the United States Bank has given
us the best currency known among nations. It supplies a me-
dium equal in value to gold and silver in every part of the
Union. Yet General Jackson would destroy this institution, and
expose the country to all the evils from which it has so happily
but just recovered."
It was, indeed, to the country then much the same
as the "greenback," the national currency, is to-day.
It was received with as great confidence in one part
of the Nation as another, and that the country was
able, after a great struggle, to come safely out of the
calamitous overthrow of that currency is one of the
great points of admiration in its character, a fact which
demonstrates, to some extent, too, the truth that
money is not the greatest thing on this earth, or the
best subject of human contemplation. Any one who
will stop to imagine what would be the consequences
to-day if some self-willed political giant in the seat of
the Presidents would undertake to, and actually suc-
ceed in overthrowing the present national currency
and put nothing in its place, can have some adequate
notion of the state of affairs following the downfall
of the Bank of the United States. The recuperative
power of the country no one could doubt. Some new
ANDREW JACKSON. 631
order of things would eventually take the place of
the ohl. The country would, in time, adapt itself to
the changed circumstances, whatever they should be.
This is all that can be argued, perhaps, in support of
General Jackson's feat of destroying the Bank of the
United States. Men may now generously console
themselves with the reflection that that result would
eventually have come anyhow ; that it was necessary
that it should go down, and that it was a fortunate
circumstance that there was a strong man, willing to
venture at the head of affairs. That the calamity to
the country by the downfall of the great institution
could have been more complete at any later date, may
be held as extremely doubtful. The undertaking, on
the part of General Jackson, was not well based on
facts against the management of the Bank nor against
its usefulness to the country. It was mainly a per-
sonal contest with him, resting on personal grounds.
If there was virtue in the performance, on account of
the final results, the nature of the contest, on the
part of President Jackson, tended greatly to lift any
credit concerning it from his shoulders. It is a char-
acteristic, if not a virtue, of time to relent. It is
easy to say now that whatever may have been the
benefits or evils of the Bank, and the praise or cen-
sure due him who worked its downfall, we are glad we
have not the Bank of Nicholas Biddle to-day ; we are
almost unanimous in our satisfaction with what stands
in its place.
It was claimed, with great strength, by John Quincy
Adams, and a host of others, that General Jackson's
enmity to the Bank came from the fact that it was
not a Jacksonian institution, that it was not officered
632 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and conducted to further his political and personal in-
terests. Jackson was utterly unable to give his sup-
port to anything on earth which did not appear for
him or friendly to him. The Bank was not a political
or partisan institution, but it was claimed that General
Jackson was sorry that it was not, and that he could
not turn it to his purposes. He seemed to spurn the
idea that any man, or anything, had the right to live
and be prosperous and beneficial unless it was in keep-
ing with his way. On this principle he acted, to a
great extent, in war, in politics, in the Presidency,
and in public and private life. Somebody had started
the view that the public or Government funds should
be removed from the Bank and placed in State and
other banks to be selected here and there over the
country. Most of the President's advisers were op-
posed to this measure. Even the " Kitchen Cabinet "
was not a unit on it. It was beyond the depth of
that able council. Most of the friends of the Presi-
dent were opposed to the removal of the deposits from
the Bank unless it should be done by act of Congress ;
and some of them said that there was no other power
for doing such a thing ; and that if it was done, it would
ruin many business men and greatly injure the coun-
try. This opposition at once fixed Jackson's purpose.
His mind was then made up, and it did not matter as
to anybody's opinion, or the evils of the act. He
would assume the responsibility. The next thing was
to have a medium for carrying out his will. It should
evidently be the Secretary of the Treasury. There
was, however, another matter of moment to General
Jackson at this time, connected with the Bank ques-
tion. Several members of the Cabinet were not sat-
ANDREW JACKSON. 633
isfied with the course about to be taken as to the re-
moval of the deposits, and were considering the
necessity of withdrawing from the position.
In his last annual message the President had rec-
ommended an investigation of the affairs of the Bank
with relation to the Government, with the hope of
finding some tangible excuse for the step he was about
to take. Mr. McLane, accordingly, appointed an hon-
est Jackson man, Henry Toland, to make the examina-
tion, and the result was that the Bank's assets amounted
to forty-two millions of dollars more than its liabilities,
and nothing of any importance could be found against
it. Mr. McLane was, consequently, unwilling to order
the removal of the deposits; in fact, he was opposed
to such a step being taken at all. For this reason he
was transferred to the head of the State Department,
which had been vacated by the sending of Mr. Living-
ston to France. William J. Duane, of Philadelphia,
was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. These
changes occurred on the 29th of May, 1833. But
Mr. Duane also refused to order the removal of the
deposits, even after the President had read a paper in
his Cabinet assuring the members that he had decided
to be entirely responsible himself for the removal.
Mr. Duane was at once dismissed, and on the 23d of
September, Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, was put into
the difficult office. Although Mr. Taney filled this
place acceptably to the President, the Senate declined
to confirm the appointment. Indeed, the Cabinet had
to be remodeled again. Mr. McLane resigned ; Mr.
Woodbury was placed at the head of the Treasury De-
partment, ■ the dirty work having now been done
through Mr. Taney ; Mahlon Dickerson was appointed
634 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Secretary of the Navy ; and John Forsyth was made
Secretary of State. Mr. Duane had not been consulted
as to his views touching the removal before his ap-
pointment.
Governor Cass was, at the outset, unfavorable to
the President's project of removing the deposits, but
gradually modified his views on the subject. Jackson
had a strong inclination to agree with Cass, or to have
Cass agree with him. The most confidential and know-
ing of General Jackson's friends, Wm. B. Lewis, was
emphatically opposed to the step. Taney and Barry
were on the side of the President, as were the two
astute political managers, Kendall and Blair. Gener;il
Jackson was now fighting the whole Bank difficulty in
his Cabinet. The record of Mr. Duane's dealing with
the President is one of the most painfully interesting
passages in the political history of the country.
In 1838 Mr. Duane published a narrative of his
brief connection with the Cabinet of General Jackson.
The following extract will sufficiently show his reason
and apology for that performance : —
"lu May, 1833, I was appointed Secretary of the Treasury;
and in September following was removed from office, because I
would not, prior to the meeting of Congress, transfer the public
deposits from the United States Bank to State banks. As I had
not sought office, as my appointment had been generally approved
of, and as it was doubtful whether public opinion would sanction
my dismissal for not removing the deposits, the true reason for
the change was not avowed ; and even the fact, that I had been
removed, was suppressed in the official annuncation of my suc-
cessor's appointment. Pains, however, were taken by partisans
of the Executive to prepare the public for the change or to rec-
oncile them to it, by exciting suspicions as to the purity of my
motives for resisting him. Nevertheless, I rested in silence upon
my official acts and personal reputation; especially as I supjwsed
ANDREW JACKSON. 635
that Congress would institute an inquiry concerning the removal
of the deposits. And I would have remained silent if the Presi-
dent himself had not become my assailant on the 19th of Novem-
ber, 1833. On that occasion, instead of laying before the public
the whole of the correspondence which had passed between us, he
caused detached passages only to be published in the official paper ;
and in consequence I then briefly addressed my fellow-citizens.
"Having been again assailed in the official paper of the 7th
of February, 1834, and then concluding that an inquiiy would
not be made by Congress, I addressed a series of letters to the
people of the United States, in vindication of my conduct. At
that time I would have published the whole of the correspondence,
between the President and myself, if all the letters composing it
had been in my possession. It was not, however, until July,
1837, that I obtained at the Treasury Department, copies of such
of them as were deficient ; and, justified by the example of the
Executive, I now present them all in the succeeding pages."
After stating how he was visited by Mr. McLane
and invited and urged by him, and afterwards by his
own friends, to accept the position of Secretary of the
Treasury, Mr. Duane says : —
"My commission bore the date of the 29th of that mouth
(May), and on the 30th I reached Washington. After waiting
upon the President, on the next day, I went to the Treasury De-
partment, and took the oath of office on the 1st of June. On
the evening of that day Mr. Reuben M. Whitney called upon
me at my lodgings, at the desire, as he said, of the Presi-
dent, to make known to me what had been done, and what was
contemplated, in relation to the United States Bank. He stated
that the President had concluded to take upon himself the respoa-
sibility.of directing the Secretary of the Treasury to remove the
public deposits from that bank, and to transfer them to State
banks ; that he had asked the members of the Cabinet to give
him their opinions on the subject; that the President had said,
* Mr. Taney and Mr. Barry had come out like men for the re-
moval ;' that Mr. McLane had given a long opinion against it ;
that Mr. Cass was supposed to be against it, but had given no
written opinion ; that Mr. Woodbury had given an opinion which
was ' yes ' and ' no ;' that the President would make the act his
636 LIFE AND TIMES OF
own, by addressing a paper or order to the Secretary of the
Treasury ; that Mr. Amos Kendall, who was high in the Presi-
dent's confidence, was now preparing that paper; that there had
been delay owing to the affair at Alexandria ; but, no doubt, the
President would soon speak to me on the subject ; that the paper
referred to would be put lorth as the pi'oclamation had been, and
would be made a rallying point ; that he (Mr. Whitney) had, at the
desire of the President, drawn up a memoir or exposition, showing
that the measure might be safely adopted, and that the State
banks would be fully adequate to all the purposes of Government.
He then read the exposition to me; and, as I desired to under-
stand matters so important and so singularly presented, I asked
him to leave the paper with me, which he accordingly did. He
also read to me divers letters from individuals connected with
State banks. The drift of his further observations was to satisfy
me that the Executive arm alone could be relied on to prevent a
renewal of the United States Bank charter.
"The communication thus made to me created surprise and
mortification. I was surprised at the position of afl^airs which it
revealed ; and mortified at the low estimate which had been formed
of the independence of my character. I listened, however, re-
spectfully, to one who gave such evidence of the confidence re-
posed in him; and awaited the explanation, which he intimated
the President would give. Soon after this interview, I took occa-
sion to express my mortification at my position, to the member
of the Cabinet who had represented the President in asking me to
accept office. On the next evening (Sunday), Mr. Whitney again
called on me, in company with a stranger, whom he introduced
as Mr. Amos Kendall, a gentleman in the President's confidence,
who would give me any further explanations that I might desire,
as to what was meditated in relation to the United States Bank,
and who then called on me, because he was about to proceed
forthwith to Baltimore. I did not invite nor check comyiunica-
tiou. Very little was said, and, perhaps, because I could not
wholly conceal my mortification at an attempt apparently made
with the sanction of the President, to reduce me to a mere cipher
in the Administration.
"The next morning, June 3d, I waited upon the President,
and, as I had been apprised by Mr. Wliitney would be the case,
he soon introduced the subject of the. Bank. I stated that Mr.
Whitney had made known to me what had been done, and what
ANDREW JACKSON. 637
was intended, and had intimated that his communication was
made at the President's desire. The President replied, in a tone
of dissatisfaction, that it was true he had conferred with Mr.
Whitney, and obtained information irom him as to the Bank, but
that he did not make him his confidant, nor had he told him to
call on me. I enumerated the representations which Mr. Whit-
ney had made, and their correctness was admitted. I said I
feared that I should not be able to see the subject in the light in
which the President viewed it; to which he remai-ked, that he
liked frankness; that my predecessor and himself had sometimes
differed in opinion, but it had made no difference iu feeling, and
should not in my case; that the matter under consideration was
of vast consequence to the country; that unless the Bank was
broken down, it would break us down; that if the last Congress
had remained a week longer in session, two-thirds would have
been secured for the Bank by corrupt means; and that the like
result might be apprehended at the next Congress; that such a
State Bank agency must be put in operation, before the meeting
of Congress, as would show that the United States Bank was not
necessary, and thus some members would have no excuse for vot-
ing for it. My suggestions as to an inquiry by Congress (as in
December, 1832), or a recourse to the judiciary, the President
repelled, saying it would be idle to rely upon either; referring as
to the judiciary to decisions already made, as indications of what
would be the effect of an appeal to them in future. After men-
tioning that he would speak to me again, before his departure to
the eastward, the President said he would take with him the
opinions of the members of the Cabinet, but would send them to
me from New York, along with his views; and, on his return,
would expect me to give him my sentiments frankly and fully.
"On the 5th of June, the day before his departure, we
accordingly had another conversation, which he ended by saying,
he did not wish any one to conceal his opinions, and that all he
asked was, that I should reflect with a view to the public good.
"I had heard rumors of the existence of an influence at
Washington, unknown to the Constitution and to the country ;
and the conviction that they were well founded, now became
irresistible. I knew that four of the six members of the last
Cabinet, and that four of the members of the present Cabinet,
opposed a removal of the deposits; and yet their exertions were
nullified by individuals, whose intercourse with the President was
638 LIFE AND TIMES OF
clandestine. During his absence, several of those individuals
called on me, and made many of the identical observations, in
the identical language, used by himself. They represented Con-
gress as corruptible, and the new members as in need of especial
guidance. They pointed out the importance of a test question,
at the opening of a new Congress, for party purposes. They
argued that the exercise of the veto power must be secured ; that
it could be in no other way so effectually attained as by at once
removing the deposits; and that unless they were removed, the
President would be thwarted by Congress. In short, I felt satis-
fied, from all that I saw and heard, that factions and selfish views
alone guided those who had influence with the Executive ; and
that the true welfare and honor of the country constituted no
part of their objects. I Avas painfully impressed with these con-
victions, and also mortified that I should have been considered
capable of entering into schemes like these; when, on the 1st of
July, I received from the President, the letter and views."
The "letter" and "views" here mentioned were
pretentious documents. The "views" was no doubt
the work of Amos Kendall, if the " letter " was
not also. It went into a very full statement of the
case, beginning with the first message to Congress in
1829, touching the Bank. And by a careful and art-
ful exhibit showing that "by these misrepresentations
and acts, on the part of the Bank, the President
thinks it has forfeited all claim to the confidence of
the Government, and ought not to be longer retained
in its service." And argues the necessity and pro-
priety of placing the deposits in various State banks.
It also disposes, in a summary way, of all arguments
in favor of re-chartering the Bank, of continuing the
Government deposits in it, and of its advantages at
any time to the country. This extensive statement
terminates in these words, after mentioning that the
President would much prefer to leave this whole sub-
ject in the hands of others, if his duty to the country
ANDREW JACKSON. 639
could admit of such a course: "As the subject, of
this letter, belongs principally to your department,
the President has thought it proper to communicate to
you, in writing, the course of policy, appertaining to
it, which he desires to have pursued ; as well as to
enable you, thoroughly to understand it, as to take
upon himself the responsibility of a course, which
involves much private interest, and public considera-
tions of the greatest magnitude."
The followin": is the President's letter, dated at
Boston while on his Northern tour: —
" Boston, June 26, 1833.
" W. J. DuANE, Esq., Secretary of the Treasury :
" My Dear Sm, — I send you herewith a paper containing my
views upon the subject of a discontinuance of the Government
deposits in the Bank of the United States, and the substitution
of certain State banks, as the fiscal agents of the United States
so far as those duties are performed by that institution.
"The only difficulty I have for some time had upon the sub-
ject, has been as it respects the time when this change should
commence. Upon a careful review of the subject in all its bear-
ings, I have come to the conclusion, that it ought to be done as
soon as we can get ready, and at furthest by the 1st or 15th
of September next, so that we may have it in our power to pre-
sent the new system to Congress, in complete and successful
operation at the commencement of the session.
" In the furtherance of this object, it is, in my opinion, desir-
able that you should appoint a discreet agent to proceed forth-
with, with proper credentials from your department, to the cities of
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston, to consult with the presi-
dents and directors of State banks, in those cities, upon the
practicability of making an arrangement with them, or some of
them, upon something like the following terms, viz.: —
" 1st. That one bank be selected in Baltimore, one in Phila-
delphia, two in New York, and one in Boston, with a right, on
the part of the Government, to add one in Savannah, one in
Charleston, S. C, one in the State of Alabama, one in New
Orleans, and one in Norfolk, upon their acceding to the terms
640 LIFE AND TIMES OF
proposed, which shall receive the deposits in those places re-
spectively, and be responsible to the Government for the whole
public deposits of the United States.
"2d. That these banks shall have the right, by a convention
<jf their presidents or otherwise, to select all the banks, at other
points throughout the United States, in which the public money
shall be deposited, with an absolute negative by the Secretary of
the Treasury.
"3d. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall have power to
discontinue the deposits in any bank or banks, or break up the
whole arrangement, whenever he may think proper ; he giving, in
such case, the longest notice of his intention to do so which the
public interest may admit of.
' ' 4th. That the primary and secondary banks shall make re-
turns of their entire condition to the Secretary of the Treasury,
monthly, and as much oftener as he may require, and report to
the Treasurer weekly the state of his deposits ; and that they will
also submit themselves to a critical examiuation of their books
and transactions by the Secretary of the Treasury, or an author-
ized agent, whenever the Secretary may require it.
"5th. That the arrangement of the Government be only with
the primary bauks, which shall be responsible to it, not only for
the safety of the entire deposits, wherever made, but for making
payments at any places in the United States, without charge to
the Government, in gold and silver, or its equivalent, of any sum
which may be required there to be paid by the Secretary of the
Treasury ; that they shall also pay any expenses that may attend
the removal of the deposits, as also the compensation and ex-
penses of any agent, temporary or permanent, whom the Sec-
retary may appoint to examine into their affairs.
"6th. That they will render, or cause to be rendered, without
charge, any service which can now be lawfully required of the
Bank of the United States.
"7th. It would be inconvenient to employ all the State banks
iu good credit, at the places designated for the location of the
primary banks ; but it is, nevertheless, extremely desirable to
secure their good-will and friendly co-operation. The importance
of that object is too obvious to require elucidation. It is sup-
posed it might be accomplished by an arrangement between the
primary banks and the other institutions in their immediate
vicinity, by which, iu consideration of an assumption by them of
ANDREW JACKSON. 641
a share of the responsibilities assumed by the primary banks, an
equitable share, all circumstances considered, of the benefits of
the public deposits, would be secured to the institutions referred
to. This might be done by allowing them, respectively, a credit
at the selected banks equal to their share of the deposits, taking
into view the amount of capital, the trouble of the primary
banks, and all other circumstances entitled to consideration. If
such an arrangement could be made it would increase the actual
security of the Government, consolidate the entire mass of
the mercantile community of the principal cities in favor of
the system, and place its success and permanency beyond
contingency.
"You will at once perceive that it is not my wish to remove
from the Bank of the United States the funds of the Govern-
ment, which may happen to be on deposit there when the pro-
posed change takes place, otherwise than as they may be wanted
for the service of the Government; but that they be exclusively
drawn upon for that object until they are exhausted.
"In making to you, my dear sir, this frank and explicit
avowal of my opinions and feelings, it is not my intention to in-
terfere with the independent exercise of the discretion, committed
to you by law, over the subject. I have thought it, however,
due to you, under the circumstances, to place before you, with
this restriction, my sentiments upon the subject, to the end that
you may, upon my responsibility, allow them to enter into your
decision upon the subject, and into any further exposition of it,
as far as you may deem it proper.
" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedi-
ent servant and friend, Andrew Jackson."
With these strange and artful papers were also
sent the opinions of McLane, Woodbury, Taney, and
Barry.
Under date of July 10th Mr. Duane replied at great
length, believing that the President desired frankness
on his part, and that he recognized the fact that the
Secretary of the Treasury only could remove the de-
posits according to law. In this letter Mr. Duane
used this harmless language, which proved to be very
41— G
642 LIFE AND TIMES OF
objectionable as were all his ideas about the removal
of the deposits to the President : " This information
was communicated by Mr. R. M. Whitney, who called
to speak to the undersigned on the subject ; and who
was listened to attentively, as well in consideration of
the importance of the communication, as of the respect
due to an individual apparently in the President's
confidence."
This direct reference to a member of the shameful
and unheard-of " Kitchen Cabinet " did not strike Gen-
eral Jackson favorably, and he asked it to be left out
of the letter. Had Mr. Duane understood his man
he could have saved himself from further trouble and
anxiety, as all this maneuvering and show of this
ductile reasoning on the part of the President would
never save him from his fate. He had already exhib-
ited an opposition which it was not in General Jack-
son to bear. It was the old " pshaw ! to me " again.
There must be a new Secretary of the Treasury who
would recognize but one will, the President's, in the
affairs of the Government. Honest scruples, judg-
ment, opinions of law or public good need not come
into the consideration, as the President was more than
ready to assume the responsibility.
Mr. Duane thus continues his narrative : —
" Agreeably to appointment, I waited on the President on the
15th of July. He commenced the conversation by saying that
lie had read my letter of the 10th of July (then lying on the
table before him), and feared we did not understand each other.
"'My object, sir,' said he, 'is to save the country; and it
will be lost if we permit the Bank to exist. We must prepare a
substitute, or our friends in Congress will not know what to do.
I do justice to your motives, but. some parts of your letter gave
me uneasiness. One part only I will mention ; that referring to
ANDREW JACKSON. 643
Mr. Whitney. I am sorry you put that in, for he is not in my
confidence. He is an abused man, sir, and has much information
of which Mr. Polk and I have availed ourselves, but he can not
be called my confidant. I was sorry to see his name introduced,
and don't see that your argument needed it.'
" I replied that I had been accustomed to write freely and
without disguise ; that, in the present instance, I had barely stated
facts ; that I had been unused to official correspondence ; that, I
confessed, I had been mortified at the approaches of Mr. Whitney,
and when I felt strongly I wrote so ; that I meant no disrespect
to the President, however, and as its omission would not affect
the rest of my letter, I would at once strike out the passage re-
lating to Mr. Whitney. Suiting the action to the word, I took
up a pen and struck out two or three lines.
"'Now,' said the President, 'we are friends, and should be
so. If we diflfer in opinion, what of it? It is but opinion, after
all ; and I like you the better for telling me frankly what you
think.'
" He then alluded to passages in my letter which had a refer-
ence to Congress and the judiciary, and deprecated any reliance
whatever upon either. He said it would be idle to resort to a
court which had decided that the very bills which Congress had
prohibited were legal ; that there was but one course, to use the
power possessed by the Executive.
"I replied that we differed upon one point only. That he
had asked me, upon my responsibility to Congress, to remove the
deposits; and that I could not remove them without violating
what I considered my duty; that on all other points I agreed
with him, and was ready to go hand in hand to provide a sub-
stitute for the United States Bank.
" ' Sir,' said he, ' I addressed you as Secretary of the Treasury,
and told you to use my letter as your shield.'
" 'You called on me, sir,' I replied, 'to exercise a power con-
ferred on me by law; and you said you did not mean to interfere
with the independent exercise of it. You called on me to do an
act for which I might be impeached ; and if I comply, your letter
will be no protection, for, in effect, it tells me I may do as I
please. The very circumstance that you disclaim the exercise of
control over me, would forbid my holding your letter up as a
shield.'
"The President here remarked that I did not understand that
644 LIFE AND TIMES OF
part of his letter to which I alluded, but, instead of explaining
it, he said :
"'I am preparing a reply to your communication, and ask
you to read it attentively. I am disposed to confide in you, and
to be your friend, and if anybody tells you otherwise, don't be-
lieve him.'
"I said I felt myself worthy of his confidence; that I had
come to speak of a substitute for the present fiscal agent ; that if
the United States Bank were to be soon closed, I did not appre-
hend evil as to the public funds or operations ; that the funds of
the Government in the former United States Bank remained
there until a few days before it expired ; that nearly three years
must elapse ere the doors of the present bank would be shut ;
that, in my letter, I had suggested a relinquishment of aU bank
agency, but that time for inquiry and reflection, as to the plan
of a substitute, was indispensable ; that I doubted whether a pro-
vision for fiscal operations could or ought to be made, without
inquiry into the condition of the general currency ; that a regu-
lation of commerce, and a control over bank paper, seemed to be
demanded; that legislators alone could duly investigate such im-
portant subjects ; that I had no confidence in the competency
of State banks for fiscal purposes ; and that an extension of patron-
age to them would only increase evils already too great.
"The President said he had already declared against delay,
and why there should be none ; that there might be, as I sup-
posed, abuses, but there were other and greater abuses ; that to
wait for inquiry would give a triumph to the bank ; that State
institutions were now our only resource ; that he had himself
asked Congress so to organize the Treasury Department as to dis-
pense with banks, but that he had not been attended to by Con-
gress or the people."
On the 17th of July another long letter, signed
Andrew Jackson, was addressed to Mr. Duane. Al-
though these letters were all sanctioned by the Greneral
and suited him, they were so un-Jacksonian as to make
it clear to Mr. Duane that he had to contend with
other men, and that the President did not, or would
not, perhaps, reflect upon arguments made by him.
The scheme of the President and a small part of
ANDREW JACKSON. 645
his Cabinet and the greater part of his "Back-door
Cabinet," to send out an agent to " sound " the banks,
as to taking the deposits, was carried out. Mr. Ken-
dall, in the opinion of the President, was the person
to undertake this mission. Instructions were drawn up
contrary to the plan of the Secretary, and according
to the desire of the President and his unconstitutional
advisers, and Mr. Kendall was sent out. The Presi-
dent now more than ever, adopted the plan of writing
(having written) his opinions and " feelings " to Mr.
Duane, even when he had promised personal interviews.
In a letter dated July 22d, the President says : —
"Previously to inquiry, however, you declare that nothing
has yet occurred to render necessary the movement anticipated by
it, and thus leave me to infer that should the inquiry establish the
competency of the State banks to perform the agency proposed to
them, you will not feel yourself at liberty to carry into effect the
decision transferring the public deposits to them, which the Presi-
dent, on advisement with his Cabinet, may make. Please inform
me whether I am correct in supposing that this is your determi-
nation. If I am, it will then be my duty in frankness and can-
dor to suggest the course which will be necessary on my part."
Mr. Duane considered this letter as violating the
assurances of the Boston letter and at other times,
that the President would not interfere with his ultimate
conclusion and function. " The question of the actual
removal of the deposits had been reserved," said Mr.
Duane, " and yet the above letter demanded a commit-
ment at once. These and other manifestations of bad
faith, gave me much uneasiness."
At last Mr. Kendall returned, and Mr. Duane found
on examination of his report these facts, namely, that
several of the most reliable State banks refused to act
as fiscal agents for the Government ; that some of them
646 LIFE AND TIMES OF
considered the plan of the Executive impracticable;
that others denied that the State banks could give the
facilities the Government needed ; and that those that
were most anxious to become depositories seemed, from
the evidence given, to be the most unfit to be trusted.
But all this did not disturb the purpose of the Presi-
dent. In his opinion the banks were under the shadow
of the " Monster." That would soon change. He
knew more about it than Mr. Duane did, or at least
Mr. Kendall did. On the 10th of September a Cabinet
meeting was called. That is, the members of the Cab-
inet came to see what the President was going to do,
what had been agreed upon in the " Kitchen."
Mr. Duane says this is what was done : —
"Gentlemen, — I have got here (holding up a paper) the re-
port of the agent on the deposit question, and I want to call
your attention to it. The first question is, whether the State
banks are safe places to put the public moneys in. The next is,
whether, if they are, it is not our duty to put them there ;
whether we are not called upon, by the late disclosures of the
corrupt conduct of the United States Bank, to cast off the con-
nection at once. This is an important business. You know I
have long had it in agitation, and what took place in Congress.
I deemed it my duty to ask your opinions; and, ahhough I men-
tioned to Mr. Duane that the subject was under consideration, I
must, in justice to myself, as well as to him, say, I did not think
it proper, before his appointment, to explain to him my views.
But after doing so, I did think it due to our country that we
should go on. The present is a most serious state of things.
How shall we answer to God, our country, or ourselves, if we
permit the public money to be thus used to corrupt the people ?
Observe, I do not Avant immediate action, but I. desire a day to
be fixed. Nor do I want to touch a dollar of the money that is
in the Bank; but I do want that the money coming in may be
put where it will be safe, and not used for purposes of so infa-
mous a kind. I want harmony in my Cabinet. I am well
pleased with you all. I want to go unitedly in this solemn duty.
ANDREW JACKSON. 647
The former conduct of the Bauk, in its corrupt loans, in its
attempts to depreciate the credit of the country, in its whole cor-
rupt state, justified our acting; hut the last disclosures leave us
no excuse for further delay. The country will reproach us if we
'do not go on. By the last resolution of the Bank, the whole of
its funds may be employed for corrupt purposes ; and remember,
that, for a part of the sum spent, no explanation or voucher is
given ; that it was by accident one of the directors, Mr. Wager,
noticed this monstrous abuse. And give me leave to tell you
that this is a small part, could the truth be got at. I anxiously
desire, then, that we should at least do something. This report,
if you put confidence in it, and I think you may, shows the
readiness of the State banks to take the public money, and their
ability and safety as substitutes for the present agent. Why,
then, should we hesitate? Why not proceed, I say, as the
country expects us to do? Here are the papers. When you
have read them let us come to an understanding."
After this meeting Mr. Duane says that his confi-
dence in the sincerity of the President began to
waver, and he was now assailed in the leading news-
papers in the confidence of the President, directly
through the agency of Amos Kendall, he was led to
believe. He saw that it was designed to remove him,
but means were to be used, and they were used, to pre-
vent his expulsion from office raising a clamor, or in-
terfering with the President's plans as to the Bank.
On the 17th of September, there was a Cabinet meet-
ing with this result : The Secretary of State gave his
opinion at length against the removal; Mr. Duane
wished to defer the whole matter to Congress, and
believed the step would be calamitous to the country ;
the Secretary of War said that his opinion was the
same as always, that the Secretary of the Treasury
only, had power to remove the deposits, and that the
whole matter rested with him; the Secretary of the
Navy said he had now fallen in with the President ;
648 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Mr. Taney had always been there. Mr. Barry
was not present. After hearing these views the Pres-
ident merely said : " Gentlemen, I desire to meet you
to-morrow, and will then make known my own views."
When the Cabinet had assembled accordingly, the
President caused to be read the document called after-
wards in the newspapers " the paper read to the Cab-
inet on the 18th of September." This noted paper
simply reviewed the whole case, and ended by saying
that the decision was made, the deposits would be re-
moved, and that the President would shoulder the
responsibility. When this was heard the Cabinet with-
drew, the President remarking to Mr. Duane that he
expected him to order the removal of the deposits on
his responsibility, and adding that if he would stand
by him it would be the happiest day of his life. That
all the earnestness and determination of the President
were fully aroused at the time, nobody can doubt.
He had to deal with a conscientious man who would
not yield to friendship merely, and he had had little
beyond a struggle yet with his Cabinet.
On the 19th Mr. Donelson called on Mr. Duane to
notify him that the President was going to announce
his decision on the removal of the deposits in " The
Globe " on the following day, and actually began to
read to him a paper prepared for that purpose. ^Ir.
Duane refused to hear the paper, and declared that
the whole proceeding was an insult to him as a man
and as Secretary of the Treasury, and that he was
preparing a defense and would give the President his
answer on the 21st. On the 20th the President made
the announcement, however, in the official paper. Mr.
Duane at once decided not to resign as he had prom-
ANDREW JACKSON. 649
ised, and also decided not to remove the deposits, and
on the 21st delivered his letter personally to the
President, when a very pointed interview took place
between them. But nothing good came of it.
How could anything good come of it? It was a
struggle, it must be believed, between two honest
men. Who could have doubted, from the moment it
first began, what the result would be ? When General
Jackson had put on Thor's belt, no one could doubt
the result of a conflict with him.
On the 23d of September, 1833, this letter was
sent to Mr. Duane : —
"To THE Secretary of the Treasury:
"Sir, — Since I returned your first letter of September 21st,
and since the receipt of your second letter of the same day,
which was sent back to you at your own request, I have received
your third and fourth letters of the same date. The two last, as well
as the first, contain sentiments that are inaccurate ; and as I have
already indicated in my last note to you, that a correspondence of
this description is inadmissible, your two last letters are herewith re-
turned. But from your recent communications, as well as your re-
cent conduct, your feelings and sentiments seem to be of such a
character that, after your letter of July last, in which you say,
should your views not accord with mine ' I will, from respect to you
and for myself, afibrd you an opportunity to select a successor whose
views may accord with your own on the important matter in con-
templation ;' and your determination now to disregard the pledge
you then gave, I feel myself constrained to notify you that your
further services as Secretary of the Treasury are no longer
required. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
"Andrew Jackson."
"The Globe" soon after attacked the character of
Mr. Duane, and the "refrain" was taken up by papers
that followed its lead. Of this he complained bit-
terly to Mr. Donelson, hoping that the President
would have it stopped ; but Mr. Donelson, who really
650 LIFE AND TIMES OF
desired the friendship of Mr. Duane, and wanted the
President and him to be reconciled to each other,
wrote him that the President could not control " The
Globe," and had no right to interfere with the course
pursued by its editors. But every body knew that " The
Globe" expressed the President's will, and that he
only needed to speak a word, if it did not. It was
established for that purpose and on that basis. But
when these attacks at last drove Mr. Duane, in the
following year, to write some letters to the public, the
case took quite a different aspect. In various locali-
ties in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Ala-
bama, Ohio, and other States, meetings were held, and
resolutions passed highly commending Mr. Duane's
course in his contest with General Jackson, and let-
ters were sent to him expressing the greatest admira-
tion of his conduct and sympathy on account of the
villainous treatment he received. The kind of heroic
virtue displayed by Mr. Duane will never want for
admirers. Although there may still reasonably be a
division of opinion as to the conduct of the two lead-
ing characters in this political drama, and while popular
sentiment has, on many accounts, justly placed the
name of General Jackson high on the doubtful pinnacle
of fame, yet the name of William J. Duane deserves
an eternal place in the memory of his countrymen, as
one who, without reaching great distinction by his
brilliant traits, was endowed with incorruptible virtue.
On the spotted pages of American political history
his name may well be set among the most worthy.
"Bull-dog" courage General Jackson had often encoun-
tered, but seldom such great moral strength. Before
dropping Mr. Duane from sight some reference should.
ANDREW JACKSON.
651
perhaps, be made to two things in his conduct which
appeared erroneous in judgment, and probably were
indicative of weakness, but which were not without
palliating circumstances. These were his appeal to his
ftither to aid in extricating him from the difficulty,
and his correspondence with Mr. Donelson, the Presi-
dent's secretary, after his dismissal. For the latter
act Mr. Duane had this ground of defense, he had
worked hard for the election of General Jackson from
1823, believing that the General was a plain, honest man,
free from political scheming, and was one who could
be relied on as caring in all his acts only for the best
interests of the country ; Mr. Duane also entertained
the mistaken fancy that for what the General had
done the people of the United States owed him a
great debt of gratitude; and now, after all, he really
had no desire to be on bad terms with Jackson. He
also wished to see the assaults upon himself in the
official paper stopped by the President, who held that
under his finger. When he could not communicate
with the President, to take up the private secretary
was hardly in keeping with the position even of an
ex-member of the Cabinet. But no sense of dignity
merely could ever stand in a great man's way to a just
act or the discharge of duty.
On the 18th or 19th of September Mr. Duane
wrote to his father, and asked him to come imme-
diately to the Capital. He wished to avail himself
of his advice. When pressed by the President for his
decision, on the 19th, he sent this note him: —
"To THE President of the United States:
<<Snt, — Upon a matter that deeply concerns, not only my-
self, but all whoare dear to me, I have deemed it right, as I
652 LIFE AND TIMES OF
have not a friend here to advise with, to ask the counsel of my
father at this crisis. I wrote to him last night, and am sure that
nothing but sickness will prevent his presence to-morrow night;
on the next day I trust that I shall be able to make a commu-
nication to you.
"With the utmost respect, your obedient servant,
"W. J. DUANE.
" September 19, 1833."
Mr. Duane gives, perhaps, in this note the best
reason for this appeal to his father, having no friends
by him in whose opinion he could receive benefit. It
may be a strange and undignified thing for the Secre-
tary of the Treasury of the United States, in a great
quarrel with the President, to ask the counsel of his
father as a last or only resort. Nothing anywhere to
be found so completely falsifies the statements made
against, and defends the character of his father, Wm.
Duane, the old editor of " The Aurora," as this frank
note to the President. That such a son could, in his
utmost strait, ask the advice of his father, must go far
towards establishing the character of the father, if the
very existence of such a son did not of itself put the
father's character on the highest possible ground.
Perhaps, his making known to the President that he
had sent for his father, was the smallest or the only
small feature of this case. But even this had a good
quality to defend it. That a wise and upright son
should appeal to the opinion of his father, in an ex-
treme case, would justify the conclusion that the father
was wise and upright. This act of W. J. Duane, more
than the friendship of Andrew Jackson, must furnish a
strong prop, at all events, to any reasonable estimate
of "Billy" Duane's character.
ANDREW JACKSON. 653
CHAPTER XXXII.
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE— WAR WITH
THE SENATE.
AFTER the expulsion of Mr. Duane, Roger B.
Taney, the Attorney-General, was transferred to
the Treasury Department, as has been mentioned, and
Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, a pupil of Mr. Van
Buren, was appointed to Mr. Taney's former place in
the Cabinet. In a few days Mr. Taney issued the
order for- the removal of the deposits. Although the
days of the Bank were now numbered, yet the war
was not ended, nor was the infernal affair disposed of
for many years. . General Jackson was yet to have a
bout with Congress and the people. Nor was the Bank
powerless. But to render it so, the President resorted
to the despicable expedient of trying to ruin its credit.
The Bank was forced to retrench its operations. The
deposits of the Government, amounting to nearly ten
millions of dollars, were withdrawn within nine months,
from October 1st, 1833, most of the amount in the first
four months. The new order of things shook public
confidence, individual credit was impaired, business was
checked or stopped throughout the country, and in a
few short months the whole Nation was turned into a
state of great financial distress.
In this condition of things Congress convened on
the second day of December, 1833. Congress was
654 LIFE AND TIMES OF
especially noted at this time for the number of men
who were afterwards distinguished in public affairs. A
new member in the House at the beginning of this
session was Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire. An-
drew Stevfenson, a Jacksonian, was again elected
Speaker of the House, by a large majority, a vote of
more than two to one, showing the strength of the
President in that body. Mr. Van Buren took his seat
as President of the Senate. In that branch Mr. Cal-
houn and his friends, to a great extent, acting with the
opposition, the Administration was left in the minority.
Members of the Lower House of Congress being elected
or changed every two years, carelessness or convenience
started the custom of calling this term, a Congress,
although it only applied to the length of time for
which members of the House of Representatives were
elected. Senators serving six years, that term might
"have been called a Congress, as well. The members
of both branches are changed, but Congress is a fixed
body. The terms of members are expiring at dif-
ferent times, and the Congressional elections are not
held at the same time in all the States.
The following is President Jackson's
FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December 3, 1S33.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Repkesentatives : —
On your assembling to perform the high trusts which the peo-
ple of the United States have confided to you, of legislating for
their common welfare, it gives me pleasure to congratulate you
upon the happy condition of our beloved country. By the favor
of Divine Providence, health is again restored to us; peace
reigns within our borders; abundance crowns the labors of our
fields ; commerce and domestic industry flourish and increase ; and
individual happiness rewards the private virtue and enterprise of
our citizens.
ANDREW JACKSON. 655
Our condition abroad is no less honorable than it is prosper-
ous' at home. Seeking nothing that is not right, and determined
to submit to nothing that is wrong, but desiring honest friend-
ships and liberal intercourse with all nations, the United States
have gained throughout the world the confidence and respect
which are due to the character of the American people, and to
a policy so just, and so congenial to the spirit of their institutions.
In bringing to your notice the particular state of our foreign
affairs, it affords me high gratification to inform you that they
are in a condition which promises the continuance of friendship
with all nations.
With Great Britain, the interesting question of our north-
eastern boundary remains still undecided. A negotiation, how-
ever, upon that subject, has been renewed since the close of the
last Congress, and a proposition has been submitted to the
British Government, with the view of establishing, in conformity
with the resolution of the Senate, the line designated by the
treaty of 1783. Though no definitive answer has been received,
it may be daily looked for, and I entertain a hope that the over-
ture may ultimately lead to a satisfactory adjustment of this im-
portant matter.
I have the satisfaction to inform you that a negotiation,
which, by desire of the House of Representatives, was opened
some years ago with the British Government, for the erection of
light-houses on the Bahamas, has been successful. Those works,
when completed, together with those which the United States
have constructed on the western side of the Gulf of Florida, will
contribute essentially to the safety of navigation in that sea.
This joint participation in establishments, interesting to humanity
and beneficial to commerce, is worthy of two enlightened nations,
and indicates feelings which can not fail to have a happy influ-
ence upon their political relations. It is gratifying to the friends
of both, to perceive that the intercourse between the two people
is becoming daily more extensive, and that sentiments of mutual
good-will have grown up, befitting their common origin, justify-
ing the hope that, by wise counsels on each side, not only unset-
tled questions may be satisfactorily terminated, but new causes
of misunderstanding prevented.
Notwithstanding that I continue to receive the most amicable
assurances from the Government of France, and that in all other
respects the most friendly relations exist between the United
656 LIFE AND TIMES OF
States and that government, it is to be regretted that the stipu-
lations of the convention, concluded on the 4th of July, 1831,
remain in some important parts unfulfilled.
By the second article of that convention, it was stipulated
that the sum payable to the United States should be paid at
Paris, in six annual installments, into the hands of such person or
persons as should be authorized by the Government of the United
States to receive it ; and by the same article, the first installment
was payable on the 2d day of February, 1833. By the act of
Congress of the 13th July, 1832, it was made the duty of the
Secretary of the Treasury to cause the several installments, with
the interest thereon, to be received from the French Government,
and transferred to the United States, in such manner as he may
deem best; and by the same act of Congress, the stipulations on
the part of the United States, in the convention, were in all re-
spects fulfilled. Not doubting that a treaty thus made and rati-
fied by the two governments, and faithfully executed by the
United States, would be promptly complied with by the other
party, and desiring to avoid the risk and expense of intermediate
agencies, the Secretary of the Treasury deemed it advisable to
receive and transfer the first installment by means of a draft upon
the French Minister of Finance. A draft for this purpose was
accordingly drawn in favor of the cashier of the Bank of the
United States, for the amount accruing to the United States out
of the first installment, and the interest payable with it. This
bill was not drawn at Washington until five days after the in-
stallment was payable at Paris, and was accompanied by a special
authority from the President, authorizing the cashier, or his
assigns, to receive the amount. The mode thus adopted, of re-
ceiving the installment, was officially made known to the French
Government by the American charge d'aflfaires at Paris, pursuant
to instructions from the Department of State. The bill, how-
ever, though not presented for payment until the 23d day of
March, was not paid, and for the reasons assigned by the French
Minister of Finance, that no appropriation liad been made by the
French Chambers. It is not known to me, that, up to that
period, any appropriation had been required of the Chambers;
and although a communication was subsequently made to the
Chambers, by direction of the king, recommending that the
necessary provision should be made for carrying the convention
into effect, it was at an advanced period of the session, and
ANDREW JACKSON. 657
the subject was finally postponed until the next meeting of the
Chambers.
Notwithstanding it has been supposed by the French ministry,
that the financial stipulation of the treaty can not be carried into
eflfect without an appropriation by the Chambers, it appears to
me to be not only consistent with the character of France, but
due to the character of both governments, as well as to the rights
of our citizens, to treat the convention, made and ratified in
proper form, as pledging the good faith of the French Govern-
ment for its execution, and as imposing upon each departmept an
obligation to fulfill it; and I have received assurances through
our charge d'affaires at Paris, and the French Minister Plenipo-
tentiary at Washington, and more recently through the Minister
of the United States at Paris, that the delay has not proceeded
from any indisposition on the part of the king and his ministers
to fulfill the treaty, and that measures will be presented at the
next meeting of the Chambers, and with a reasonable hope of
success, to obtain the necessary appropriation.
It is necessary to state, however, that the documents, except
certain lists of vessels captured, condemned, or burnt at sea,
proper to facilitate the examination and liquidation of the recla-
mations comprised in the stipulations of the convention, and
which, by the six articles, France engaged to communicate to
the United States by the intermediary of the legation, though re-
peatedly applied for by the American charge d'afl^aires, under in-
structions from this Government, have not yet been communi-
cated ; and this delay, it is apprehended, will necessarily prevent
the completion of the duties assigned to the commissioners within
the time at present prescribed by law.
The reasons for delaying to communicate these documents
have not yet been explicitly stated, and this is the more to be
regretted, as it is not understood that the interposition of the
Chambers is in any manner required for the delivery of those
papers.
Under these circumstances, in a case so important to the in-
terests of our citizens and to the character of our country, and
under disappointments so unexpected, I deem it my duty, how-
ever I might respect the general assurances to which I have
adverted, no longer to delay the appointment of a minister plen-
ipotentiary to Paris, but to dispatch him in season to communi-
cate the result of his application to the French Government at
42— G
658 LIFE AND TIMES OF
an early period of your session. I accordingly appointed a dis-
tinguished citizen for this purpose, who proceeded on his mission
in August last, and was presented to the king early in the month
of October, He is particularly instructed as to all matters con-
nected with the present posture of affairs ; and I indulge the hope
that, with the representations he is instructed to make, and from
the disposition manifested by the king and his ministers in their
recent assurances to our minister at Paris, the subject will be
early considered and satisfactorily disposed of at the next meet-
ing of the Chambers.
As this subject involves important interests, and has attracted
a considerable share of the public attention, I have deemed it
proper to make this explicit statement of its actual condition;
and should I be disappointed in the hope now entertained, the
subject will be again brought to the notice of Congress in such a
manner as the occasion may require.
The friendly relations which have always been maintained be-
tween the United States and Russia have been further extended
and strengthened by the treaty of navigation and commerce, con-
cluded on the 6th of December last, and sanctioned by the Senate
before the close of its last session. The ratifications having been
since exchanged, the liberal provisions of the treaty are now in
full force ; and, under the encouragement which they have re-
ceived, a flourishing and increasing commerce, yielding its bene-
fits to the enterprise of both nations, affords to each the just
recompense of wise measures, and adds new motives for that
mutual friendship which the two countries have hitherto cherished
toward each other.
It affords me pecular satisfaction to state that the Govern-
ment of Spain has at length yielded to the justice of the claims
which have been so long urged in behalf of our citizens, and has
expressed a willingness to provide an indemnification as soon as
the proper amount can be agreed upon. Upon this latter point,
it is probable an understanding had taken place between the
Minister of the United States and the Spanish Government before
the decease of the late king of Spain ; and unless that event may
have delayed its completion, there is reason to hope that it may
be in my power to announce to you, early in your present session,
the conclusion of a convention upon terms not less favorable than
those entered into for similar objects with other nations. That
act of justice would well accord with the character of Spain, and
ANDEEW JACKSON. 659
is due to the United States from their ancient friend. It could
not fail to strengthen the sentiments of amity. and good-will be-
tween the two nations which it is so much the wish of the
United States to cherish, and so truly the interest of both to
maintain.
By the first section of an act of Congress passed on the 13th
of July, 1832, the tonnage duty on Spanish ships arriving from
the ports of Spain, was limited to the duty payable on American
vessels in the ports of Spain, previous to the 20th of October,
1817, being five cents per ton. The act was intended to give
effect, on our side, to an arrangement made with the Spanish
Government, by which discriminating duties of tonnage were to
be abolished in the ports of the United States and Spain, on the
vessels of the two nations. Pursuant to that arrangement, which
was carried into effect on the part of Spain, on the 20th of May,
1832, by a royal order dated the 20th of April, 1832, American
vessels in the ports of Spain have paid five cents per ton, which
rate of duty is also paid in those ports by Spanish ships; but, as
American vessels pay no tonnage duty in the ports of the United
States, the duty of five cents payable in our ports by Spanish
vessels under the act above mentioned, is really a discriminating
duty operating to the disadvantage of Spain. Though no com-
plaint has yet been made on the part of Spain, we are not the
less bound by the obligations of good faith to remove the dis-
crimination ; and I recommend that the act be amended accord-
ingly. As the royal order above alluded to includes the ports of
the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as those of Spain, it
would seem that the provisions of the act of Congress should be
equally extensive; and that, for the repayment of such duties as
may have been improperly received, an addition should be made
to the sum appropriated at the last session of Congress for refund-
ing discriminating duties.
As the arrangement referred to, however, did not embrace
the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, discriminating duties, to the
prejudice of American shipping, continue to be levied there.
From the extent of the commerce carried on between the United
States and those islands, particularly the former, this discrimina-
tion causes serious injury to one of those great national interests
which, it has been considered an essential part of our policy to
cherish, and has given rise to complaints on the part of our mer-
chants. Under instructions given to our minister at Madrid,
660 LIFE AND TIMES OF
earnest representations have been made by him to the Spanish
Government upon this subject, and there is reason to expect,
from the friendly disposition which is entertained toward this
country, that a beneficial change will be produced. The disad-
vantage, however, to which our shipping is subjected by the
operation of these discriminating duties, requires that they be
met by suitable countervailing duties during your present session,
power being at the same time vested in the President to modify
or discontinue them as the discriminating duties on American
vessels or their cargoes may be modified or discontinued at those
islands. Intimations have been given to the Spanish Govern-
ment, that the United States may be obliged to resort to such
measures as are of necessary self-defense, and there is no reason
to apprehend that it would be unfavorably received. The pro-
posed proceedings, if adopted, would not be permitted, however,
in any degree to induce a relaxation in the eflforts of our minister
to eflfect a repeal of this irregularity by friendly negotiation, and
it might serve to give force to his representations by showing the
dangers to which that valuable trade is exposed by the obstruc-
tions and burdens which a system of discriminating and counter-
vailing duties necessarily produces.
The selection and preparation of the Florida archives for the
purpose of being delivered over to the United States, in confor-
mity with the royal order, as mentioned in my last annual mes-
sage, though in progress, has not yet been completed. This delay
has been produced, partly by causes which were unavoidable,
particularly the prevalence of cholera at Havana ; but measures
have been taken which it is believed will expedite the delivery
of those important records.
Congress were informed at the opening of the last session,
that, "owing, as was alleged, to embarrassments in the finances
of Portugal, consequent upon the civil war in which that nation
was engaged," payment had been made of only one installment
of the amount which the Portuguese Government had stipulated
to pay for indemnifying our citizens for property illegally cap-
tured in the blockade of Terceira. Since that time, a postpone-
ment for two years, with interest, of the two remaining install-
ments, was requested by the Portuguese Government; and as a
consideration, it offered to stipulate that rice of the United
States should be admitted into Portugal at the same duties as
Brazilian rice. Being satisfied that no better arrangement could
ANDREW JACKSON. 661
be made, my consent was given ; and a royal order of the king
of Portugal was accordingly issued, on the 4th of February
last, for the reduction of the duty on rice of the United States.
It would give me great pleasure, if, in speaking of that country,
in whose prosperity the United States are so much interested, and
with whom a long-subsisting, extensive, and mutually advanta-
geous commercial intercourse has strengthened the relations of
friendship, I could announce to you the restoration of its internal
tranquillity.
Subsequently to the commencement of the last session of
Congress, the final installment payable by Denmark under the
convention of the 28th day of March, 1830, was received. The
commissioners for examining the claims have since terminated
their labors, and their awards have been paid at the treasury as
they have been called for. The justice rendered to our citizens
by that government is thus completed, and a pledge is thereby
afforded for the maintenance of that friendly intercourse becom-
ing the relations that the two nations mutually bear to each other.
It is satisfactory to inform you that the Danish Government
has recently issued an ordinance by which the commerce with
the Island of St. Croix is placed on a more liberal footing than
heretofore. This change can not fail to prove beneficial to the
trade between the United States and that Colony; and the ad-
vantages likely to flow from it may lead to greater relaxations in
the Colonial systems of other nations.
The ratifications of the convention with the king of the two
Sicilies have been duly exchanged, and the commissioners ap-
pointed for examining the claims under it have entei'ed upon the
duties assigned to them by law. The friendship that the inter-
ests of the two nations require of them being now established, it
may be hoped that each will enjoy the benefits which a liberal
commerce should yield to both.
A treaty of amity and commerce between the United States
and Belgium was concluded during the last winter, and received
the sanction of the Senate ; but the exchange of the ratifications
has been hitherto delayed, in consequence, in the first instance,
of some delay in the reception of the treaty at Brussels, and,
subsequently, of the absence of the Belgian Minister of Foreign
Affairs, at the important conference in which his Government is
engaged at London. That treaty does but embody those enlarged
principles of friendly policy which, it is sincerely hoped, will
662 LIFE AND TIMES OF
always regulate the conduct of the two nations, having such mo-
tives to maintain amicable relations toward each other, and so
sincerely desirous to cherish them.
With all the other European powers with whom the United
States have formed diplomatic relations, and with the Sublime
Porte, the best understanding prevails. From all I continue to
receive assurances of good-will toward the United States, assur-
ances which Jit gives me no less pleasure to reciprocate than
to receive. With all, the engagements which have been en-
tered into are fulfilled with good faith on both sides. Measures
have also been taken to enlarge our friendly relations and ex-
tend our commercial intercourse with other States. The system
we have pursued of aiming at no exclusive advantages, of deal-
ing with all on terms of fair and equal reciprocity, and of adher-
ing scrupulously to all our engagements, is well calculated to give
success to efforts intended to be mutually beneficial.
The wars of which the southern part of this Continent was
so long the theater, and which were carried on either by the
mother country against the States which had formerly been her
Colonies, or by the States against each other, having terminated,
and their civil dissensions having so far subsided as, with few
exceptions, no longer to disturb the public tranquillity, it is "ear-
nestly hoped that those States will be able to employ themselves
without interruption in perfecting their institutions, cultivating
the arts of peace, and promoting, by wise councils and able exer-
tions, the public and private prosperity which their patriotic
struggles so well entitle them to enjoy.
With those States our relations have undergone but little
change during the present year. No reunion having yet taken
place between the States which compose the Republic of Colom-
bia, our charge d'afllaires at Bogota has been accredited to the
Government of New Grenada, and we have, therefore, no diplo-
matic relations with Venezuela and Ecuador, except as they may
be included in those heretofore formed with the Colombian
Republic.
It is understood that representatives from three States were
about to assemble at Bogota, to confer on the subject of their
mutual interests, particularly that of their union ; and, if the
result should render it necessary, measures will be taken on our
part to preserve with each that friendship and those liberal com-
mercial connections which it has been the constant desire of the
ANDREW JACKSON. 663
United States to cultivate with their sister Republics of this hem-
isphere. Until the important question of reunion shall be set-
tled, however, the different matters which have been under dis-
cussion between the United States and the Republic of Colombia,
or either of the States which composed it, are not likely to be
brought to a satisfactory issue.
In consequence of the illness of the charge d'affaires ap-
pointed to Central America at the last session of Congress, he
was prevented from proceeding on his mission until the month
of October, It is hoped, however, that he is, by this time, at his
post, and that the official intercourse, unfortunately so long inter-
rupted, has been thus renewed on the part of the two nations,
so amicably and advantageously connected by engagements
founded on the most enlarged principles of commercial reciprocity.
It is gratifying to state that, since my last annual message,
some of the most important claims of our fellow-citizens upon the
Government of Brazil have been satisfactorily adjusted, and a
reliance is placed on the friendly dispositions manifested by it,
that justice will also be done in others. No new causes of com-
plaint have arisen ; and the trade between the two countries
flourishes under the encouragement secured to it by the liberal
provisions of the treaty.
It is cause of regret that, owing probably to the civil dissen-
sions which have occupied the attention of the Mexican Govern-
ment, the time fixed by the treaty of limits with the United
States for the meeting of the commissioners to define the bounda-
ries between the two nations, has been suffered to .expire without
the appointment of any commissioners on the part of that Gov-
ernment. While the true boundary remains in doubt by either
party it is difficult to give ..effect to those measures which are
necessary to the protection and quiet of our numerous citizens
residing near that frontier. The subject is one of great solicitude
to the United States, and will not fail to receive my earnest
attention.
The treaty concluded with Chili, and approved by the Senate
at its last session, was also ratified by the Chilian Government,
but with certain additional and explanatory articles of a nature to
have required it to be again submitted to the Senate. The time
limited for the exchange of the ratifications, however, having
since expired, the action of both Governments on the treaty will
again become necessary.
664 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The negotiations commenced with the Argentine Republic,
relative to the outrages committed on our vessels engaged in the
fisheries at the Falkland Islands, by persons acting under the
color of its authority, as well as the other matters in controversy be-
tween the two governments have been suspended by the depart-
ure of the charge d'affaires of the United States from Buenos
Ayres. It is understood, however, that a minister was subse-
quently appointed by that government to renew the negotiation
in the United States, but, though daily expected, he has not yet
arrived in this country.
"With Peru no treaty has yet been formed, and with Bolivia
no diplomatic intercourse has yet been established. It will be my
endeavor to encourage those sentiments of amity, and that liberal
commerce which belong to the relations in which all the inde-
pendent States of this Continent stand toward each other.
I deem it proper to recommend to your notice the revision of
our consular system. This has become an important branch
of the public service, inasmuch as it is intimately connected with
the preservation of our national character abroad, with the inter-
est of our citizens in foreign countries, with the regulation and'
care of our commerce, and with the protection of our seamen.
At the close of the last session of Congress, I communicated a re-
port from the Secretary of State upon the subject, to which I
now refer, as containing information which may be useful in any
inquiries that Congress may see fit to institute, with a view to a
salutary reform of the system.
It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you upon the pros-
perous condition of the finances of the country, as will appear
from the report the Secretary of the Treasury will in due time
lay before you. The receipts into the Treasury during the present
year will amount to more than thirty-two millions of dollars. The
revenue derived from customs will, it is believed, be more than
twenty-eight millions, and the public land will yield about three
millions of dollars. The expenditures within the year, for all ob-
jects, including two million five hundred and seventy-two thou
sand two hundred and forty dollars, ninety-nine cents, on account
of the public debt, will not amount to twenty-five millions of
dollars, and a large balance will remain in the Treasury, after
satisfying all the appropriations chargeable on the revenue for the
present year.
The measures taken by the Secretary of the Treasury will
ANDREW JACKSON. 665
probably enable him to pay off, in the course of the present year,
the residue of the exchanged four and a half per cent stock, re-
deemable on the first day of January next ; it has, therefore,
been included in the estimated expenditures of this year, and
forms a part of the sum above stated to have been paid on account
of the public debt; the payment of this stock will reduce the
whole debt of the United States, funded and unfunded, to the
sum of four millions seven hundred and sixty thousand eighty-
two dollars, eight cents ; and, as provision has already been made
for the four and a half per cent above mentioned, and charged
in the expenses of the present year, the sum last stated is all that
now remains of the national debt ; and the revenue of the coming
year, together with the balance now in the Treasury, will be suf-
ficient to discharge it, after meeting the current expenses of the
Government. Under the power given to the commissioners of
the sinking fund, it will, I have no doubt, be purchased on favor-
able terms within the year.
From this view of the state of the finances, and the public
engagements yet to be fulfilled, you will perceive that, if Provi-
dence permits me to meet you at another session, I shall have the
high gratification of announcing to you that the national debt is
extinguished. I can not refrain from expressing the pleasure I
feel at the near approach of that desirable event. The short
period of time within which the public debt will have been dis-
charged, is strong evidence of the abundant resources of the coun-
try, and of the prudence and economy with which the Govern-
ment has heretofore been administered. We have waged two wars
since we became a nation, Avith one of the most powerful king-
doms in the world ; both of them undertaken in defense of our
dearest rights — both successfully prosecuted and honorably termi-
nated ; and many of those who partook in the first struggle, as
well as the second, will have lived to see the last item of the debt
incurred in these necessary but expensive conflicts, faithfully and
honestly discharged ; and we shall have the proud satisfaction of
bequeathing to the public servants who follow us in the adminis-
tration of the Government, the rare blessings of a revenue suffi-
ciently abundant, raised without injustice or oppression to our
citizens, and uninqumbered with any burdens but what they
themselves shall think proper to impose upon it.
The flourishing state of the finances ought not, however, to
encourage us to indulge in a lavish expenditure of the public
666 LIFE AND TIMES OF
treasure. The receipts of the present year do not furnish the test
by which we are to estimate the income of the next. The changes
made in our revenue system by the acts of Congress of 1832 and
1833, and more especially by the former, have swelled the receipts
of the present year far beyond the amount to be expected in
future years upon the reduced tariff of duties. The shortened
credits on revenue bonds, and the cash duties on woolens, which
were introduced by the act of 1832, and took effect on the 4th of
March last, have brought large sums into the Treasury in 1833,
which, according to the credits formerly given, would not have
been payable until 1834, and would have formed a part of the
income of that year. These causes would of themselves produce
a great diminution of the receipts in the year 1834, as compared
with the present one, and they will be still more diminished by
the reduced rates of duties which take place on the 1st of January
next, on some of the most important and productive articles.
Upon the best estimates that can be made, the receipts of the
next year, with the aid of the unappropriated amount now in the
Treasury, will not be much more than sufficient to meet the ex-
penses of the year, and pay the small remnant of the national
debt which yet remains unsatisfied. I can not, therefore, recom-
mend to you any alteration in the present tariff of duties. The
rate as now fixed by law, on the various articles, was adopted at
the last session of Congress as a matter of compromise, with un-
usual unanimity ; and unless it is found to produce more than
the necessities of the Government call for, there would seem to
be no reason at this time to justify a change.
But while I forbear to recommend any further reductions of
the duties, beyond that already provided for by the existing laws,
I must earnestly and respectfully press upon Congress the im-
portance of abstaining from all appropriations which are not ab-
solutely required for the public interests, and authorized by the
powers clearly delegated to the United States. We are beginning
a new era in our Government. The national debt, which has so
long been a burden on the Treasury, will be finally discharged in
the course of the ensuing year. No more money will afterward
be needed than what may be necessary to meet the ordinary ex-
penses of the Government. Now, then, is the proper moment to
fix our system of expenditure on firm and durable principles;
and I can not too strongly urge the necessity of a rigid economy,
and an inflexible determination not to enlarge the income beyond
ANDREW JACKSON. 667
the real necessities of the Government, and not to increase the
wants of the Government by unnecessary and profuse expendi-
tures. If a contrary course should be pursued, it may happen
that the revenue of 1834 will fall short of the demands upou it,
and after reducing the tariff in order to lighten the burdens of
the people, and providing for a still further reduction to take ef-
fect hereafter, it would be much to be deplored if, at the end of
another year, we should find ourselves obliged to retrace our steps,
and impose additional taxes to meet unnecessary expenditures.
It is my duty, on this occasion, to call your attention to the
destruction of the public building occupied by the Treasury De-
partment, which happened since the last adjournment of Congress.
A thorough inquiry into the causes of this loss was directed and
made at the time, the result of which will be duly communicated
to you. I take pleasure, however, in stating here, that by the
laudable exertions of the officers of the Department, and many
of the citizens of the district, but few papers were lost, and none
that will materially affect the public interest.
The public convenience requires that another building should
be erected as soon as practicable ; and in providing for it, it will
be advisable to enlarge in some manner the accommodations for
the public officers of the several departments, and to authorize
the erection of suitable depositories for the safe keeping of the
public documents and records.
Since the last adjournment of Congress, the Secretary of the
Treasury has directed the money of the United States to be de-
posited in certain State banks, designated by him, and he will
immediately lay before you his reasons for this direction. I con-
cur with him entirely in the view he has taken of the subject ;
and some months before the removal, I urged upon the Depart-
ment the propriety of taking that step. The near approach of the
day on which the charter will expire, as well as the conduct of
the Bank, appeared to me to .call for this measure, upon the high
considerations of publip interest and public duty. The extent of
its misconduct, however, although known to be great, was not at
the time fully developed by proof. It was not until late in the
month of August, that I received from the Government directora
an official report, establishing beyond question that this great and
powerful institution had been actively engaged in attempting to
influence the elections of the public officers by means of its
money ; and that, in violation of the express provisions of its
668 LIFE AND TIMES OF
charter, it had by a formal resolution placed its funds at the dis-
position of its president, to be employed in sustaining the political
power of the Bank. A copy of this resolution is contained in the
report of the Government directors before referred to ; and how-
ever the objects may be disguised by cautious language, no one
can doubt that this money was in truth intended for electioneer-
ing purposes, and the particular uses to which it was proved to
have been applied, abundantly show that it was so understood.
Not only was the evidence complete, as to the past application
of the money and power of the Bank to electioneering purposes,
but that the resolution of the board of directors authorized the
same course to be pursued in future.
It being thus established by unquestionable proof that the
Bank of the United States was converted into a permanent elec-
tioneering engine, it appeared to me that the path of duty which
the Executive Department of the Government ought to pursue
was not doubtful. As by the terms of the Bank charter, no of-
ficer but the Secretary of the Treasury could remove the deposits,
it seemed to me that this authority ought to be at once exerted to
deprive that great corporation of the support and countenance of
the Government, in such a use of its funds and such an exertion
of its power. In this point of the case the question is distinctly
presented whether the people of the United States are to govern
through representatives chosen by their unbiased suffrages, or
.whether the power and money of a great corporation are to be
secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their de-
cisions. It must now be determined whether the Bank is to have
its candidates for all officers in the country, from the highest to the
lowest, or whether candidates on both sides of political questions
shall be brought forward as heretofore, and supported by the
usual means.
At this time the efforts of the Bank to control public opinion
through the distresses of some and the fears of others, are equally
apparent, and if possible more objectionable. By a curtailment
of its accommodations, more rapid than any emergency requires,
and even while it retains specie to an almost unprecedented amount
in its vaults, it is attempting to produce great embarrassment in
one portion of the community, while through presses known to
have been sustained by its money, it attempts by unfounded
alarms to create a panic in all.
These are the means by which it seems to expect that it can
ANDREW JACKSON. 669
force a restoration of the deposits, and, as a necessary conse-
quence, extort from Congress a renewal of its charter. I am
happy to know that, through the good sense of our people, tlie
effort to get up a panic has hitherto failed, and that through the
increased accommodations which the State banks have been en-
abled to afford, no public distress has followed the exertions of
the Bank ; and it can not be doubted that the exercise of its power
and the expenditure of its money, as well as its efforts to spread
groundless alarm, will be met aud rebuked as they deserve. In
my own sphere of duty, I should feel myself called on by the facts
disclosed, to order a scire facias against the Bank, with a view to
put an end to the chartered rights it has so palpably violated,
were it not that the charter itself will expire as soon as a decision
would probably be obtained from the court of last resort.
I called the attention of Congress to this subject in my last
annual message, aud informed them that such measures as were
within the reach of the Secretary of the Treasury had been taken
to enable him to judge whether the public deposits in the Bank
of the United States were entirely safe ; but that, as his single
powers might be inadequate to the object, I recommended the
subject to Congress, as worthy of their serious investigation; de-
claring it as my opinion that an inquiry into the transactions of
that institution, embracing the branches as well as the principal
bank, was called for by the credit which was given throughout
the country to many serious charges impeaching their character,
and which, if true, might justly excite the apprehension that they
were no longer a safe depository for the public money. The ex-
tent to which the examination, thus recommended, was gone into,
is spread upon your journals, and is too well known to require to
be stated. Such as was made resulted in a report from a majority
of the Committee of Ways and Means, touching certain specified
points only, concluding with a resolution that the Government de-
posits might safely be continued in the Bank of the United States.
This resolution was adopted at the close of the session, by the
vote of a majority of the House of Representatives.
Although I may not always be able to concur in the views of
the public interest or the duties of its agents, which may be taken
by the other departments of the Government, or either of its
branches, I am, notwithstanding, wholly incapable of receiving,
otherwise than with the most sincere respect, all opinions or sug-
gestions proceeding from such a source; and in respect to none
670 LIFE AND TIMES OF
am I more inclined to do so than to the House of Representa-
tives. But it will be seen from the brief views at this time taken
of *the subject by myself, as well as the more ample ones presented
by the Secretary of the Treasury, that the change in the deposits
which has been ordei'ed, has been deemed to be called for by con-
siderations which are not affected by the proceedings referred to,
and which, if correctly viewed by that Department, rendered its
act a matter of imperious duty.
Coming, as you do, for the most part, immediately from the
people and the States, by election, and possessing the fullest op-
portunity to know their sentiments, the present Congress will be
sincerely solicitous to carry into full and fair effect the will of
their constituents in regard to this institution. It will be for those
in whose behalf we all act, to decide whether the Executive De-
partment of the Government, in the steps which it has taken on
this subject, has been found in the line of its duty.
The accompanying report of the Secretary of War, with the
documents annexed to it, exhibits the operations of the War
Department for the past year, and the condition of the various
subjects intrusted to its administration.
It will be seen from them that the army maintains the char-
acter it has heretofore acquired for efficiency and military knowl-
edge. Nothing has occurred since your last session to require its
services beyond the ordinary routine of duties, which upon the
sea-board and the inland frontier devolve upon it in a time of
peace. The system, so wisely adopted and so long pursued, of
constructing fortifications at exposed points, and of preparing
and collecting the supplies necessary for the military defense of
the country, and thus providently furnishing in peace the means
of defense in war, has been continued with the usual results. I
recommend to your consideration the various subjects suggested
in the report of the Secretary of War, Their adoption would pro-
mote the public service, and meliorate the condition of the army.
Our relations with the various Indian tribes have been undis-
turbed since the termination of the difficulties growing out of the
hostile aggressions of the Sac and Fox Indians. Several treaties
have been formed for the relinquishment of territory to the
United States, and for the migration of the occupants to the
regions assigned for their residence west of the Mississippi.
Should these treaties be ratified by the Senate, provision will
have been made for the removal of almost all the tribes now
ANDREW JACKSON. 671
remaining east of that river, and for the termination of many dif-
ficult and embarrassing questions arising out of their anomalous
political condition. It is to be hoped that those portions of two
of the southern tribes, which in that event will present the only
remaining difficulties, will realize the necessity of emigration, and
will speedily resort to it. My original convictions upon this sub-
ject have been confirmed by the course of events for several
years, and experience is every day adding to their strength.
That those tribes can not exist, surrounded by our settlements,
and in continual contact with our citizens, is certain. They have
neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the
desire of improvement, which are essential to any favorable change
in their condition. Established in the midst of another^and a
superior race, and without appreciating the causes of their infe-
riority, or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to
the force of circumstances, and erelong disappear. Such has
been their fate heretofore, and if it is to be averted, and it is, it
can only be done by a general removal beyond our boundary,
and by the reorganization of their political system upon princi-
ples adapted to the new relations in which they will be placed.
The experiment which has been recently made, has so far proved
successful. The emigrants are generally represented to be pros-
perous and contented, the country suitable to their wants and
habits, and the essential articles of subsistence easily procured.
When the report of the commissioners now engaged in investi-
gating the condition and prospects of these Indians, and in de-
vising a plan for their intercourse and government, is received,
I trust ample means of information will be in possession of the
Government for adjusting all the unsettled questions connected
with this interesting subject.
The operations of the navy during the year, and its present
condition, are fully exhibited in the annual report from the
Navy Department.
Suggestions are made by the Secretary, of various improve-
ments, which deserve careful consideration, and most of which,
if adopted, bid fair to promote the efficiency of this important
branch of the public service. Among these are the new organi-
zation of the navy board, the revision of the pay to officers, and
a change in the period of time, or in the manner of making the
annual appropriations, to which I beg leave to call your particu-
lar attention.
672 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The views which are presented on almost every portion of our
naval concerns, and especially on the amount of force and the
number of officers, and the general course of policy appropriate
in the present state of our country, for securing the great and
useful purposes of naval protection in peace, and due prepara-
tion for the contingencies of war, meet with my entire approbation.
It will be perceived, from the report referred to, that the fiscal
concerns of the establishment are in an excellent condition; and
it is hoped that Congress may feel disposed to make promptly
every suitable provision desired, either for preserving or improv-
ing the system.
The General Post-office Department has. continued, upon the
strength of its own resources, to facilitate the means of com-
munication between the various portions of the Union with
increased activity. The method, however, in Vv'hich the accounts
of the transportation of the mail have always been kept, appears
to have presented an imperfect view of its expenses. It has re-
cently been discovered that, from the earliest records of the
Department, the annual statements have been calculated to
exhibit an amount coHsiderably short of the actual expenses
incurred for that service. These illusory statements, together
with the expense of carrying into effect the law of the last
session of Congress, establishing new mail-routes, and a dispo-
sition on the part of the head of the Department to gratify the
wishes of the public in the extension of mail facilities, have
induced him to incur responsibilities for their improvement,
beyond what the current resources of the Department would sus-
tain. As soon as he had discovered the imperfection of the
method, he caused an investigation to be made of its results, and
applied the proper remedy to correct the evil. It became neces-
sary for him to withdraw some of the improvements which he
had made, to bring the expenses of the Department Avithin its
own resources. These expenses were incurred for the public
good, and the public have enjoyed their benefit. They are now
but partially suspended, and that where they may be discon-
tinued with the least inconvenience to the country.
The progressive increase in the income from postages has
equaled the highest expectations, and it affords demonstrative
evidence of the growing importance and great utility of this
Department. The details are exhibited in the accompanying re-
port of the Postmaster-General.
ANDREW JACKSON. 673
The many distressing accidents which have, of late, occurred
in that portion of our navigation carried on by the use of steam
power, deserve the immediate and unremitting attention of the
constituted authorities of the country. The fact that the number
of these fatal disasters is constantly increasing, notwithstanding
the great improvements which are everywhere made in the
machinery employed, and in the rapid advances which have been
made in that branch of science, show very clearly that they are, in
a great degree, the result of criminal negligence on the part of
those by whom the vessels are navigated, and to whose care and
attention the lives and property of our citizens are so extensively
intrusted.
That these evils may be greatly lessened, if not substantially
removed, by means of precautionary and penal legislation, seems
to be highly probable ; so far, therefore, as the subject can be
regarded as within the Constitutional purview of Congress, I ear-
nestly recommend it to your prompt and serious consideration.
I would also call your attention to the views I have hereto-
fore expressed of the propriety of amending the Constitution, in
relation to the mode of electing the President and Vice-President
of the United States. Regarding it as all-important to the
future quiet and harmony of the people, that every intermediate
agency in the election of these officers should be removed, and
that their eligibility should be limited to one term of either four
or six years, I can not too earnestly invite your consideration of
the subject.
Trusting that your deliberations on all the topics of general
interest to which I have adverted, and such others as your more
extensive knowledge of the wants of our beloved country may
suggest, may be crowned with success, I tender you, in con-
clusion, the co-operation which it may be in my power to afford
them.
The President here presents his views of the
Bank, and no power on earth could have changed
him, no matter what had been the facts. His war on
the Bank had been fierce and unyielding, both from
personal and public considerations, and his only regret
now was that there was no more he could do against
it. The usual recommendation as to the amendment
43— G
674 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the Constitution to do away with the Electoral Col-
lege is made ; nor is the single term of four or six years
for a President neglected. This was called the " Panic
Session," and was largely taken up in quarrels and
speeches that led to quarrels, and when the end came
on the last day of June, 1834, little had been done
which was beneficial to the country. On the 4th of
December, the President returned to Congress Mr-
Clay's land bill, which had been retained at the close
of the last session. The practice of retaining bills
until the adjournment of Congress was peculiar to
General Jackson, and this was called his "pocket
veto." The President now fully displayed his reasons
for retaining this bill, and his objections to it. His
views as to the distribution of the public lands were
correct, and on them the lands have since been turned,
with satisfaction, to actual settlement.
Early in this session the Senate passed a resolution
calling on the President for a copy of his 18th of
September paper, read before his Cabinet, but he de-
clined to comply with this demand, or any other giv-
ing information as to what occurred in his Cabinet.
This resolution sprang from Mr. Clay, and two things
should have prevented his introducing it; his knowl-
edge of the character of President Jackson, and the
privilege formerly exerted by the Executive on this
point.
The President sent to the Senate the names of five
men for confirmation as the Government directors of
the Bank, but they were immediately rejected. They
were again sent in, and again rejected. Andrew Jack-
son then yielded ! and sent to the Senate such names
as that body saw fit to confirm. Early in the session
ANDREW JACKSON. 675
a resolution was introduced in the Senate to censure
the President for the removal of William J. Duane,
and the deposits from the Bank of the United States.
In the original form there were two resolutions, one
relating to the case of Mr. Duane and the powers
assumed by the President in dealing with the Bank,
and the other to the reasons given for the removal of
the deposits, but these were finally passed and entered
on the Senate record in the following form : —
^'Resolved, That the President, in the late executive proceed-
ings, in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon himself
authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws,
but in derogation of both."
676 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE BANK CONFLICT GOES ON— FIERCE STRUGGLE BE-
TWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE SENATE-
SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE— QUARREL
WITH FRANCE— PUBLIC DEBT
LIQUIDATED.
IN speaking of the dismissal of Mr. Duane, and the
report of the new Secretary, Mr. Taney, Mr. Cal-
houn said : —
"The Senator from Kentucky, in connection with this part
of his argument, read a striking passage from one of the most
pleasing and instructive writers in any language (Plutarch), the
description of Csesar forcing himself, sword in hand, into the
Treasury of the Roman Commonwealth. We are at the same
stage of our political revolution, and the analogy between the
two cases is complete, varied only by the character of the actors
and the circumstances of the times. That was the case of an in-
trepid and bold warrior, as an open plunderer, seizing forcibly the
Treasury of the country, which, in that Republic, as well as
ours, was confined to the custody of the legislative department
of the government. The actors in our case are of a different
character, artful, cunning, and corrupt politicians, and not fear-
less warriors. They have entered the Treasury, not sword in hand,
as public plunderers, but, with the false keys of sophistry, as pil-
ferers, under the silence of midnight. The motive and the object
are the same, varied in like manner by circumstances and char-
acter. 'With money I will get men, and with men money,' was
the maxim of the Roman plunderer. With money we will get
partisans, with partisans votes, and with votes money, is the
maxim of our public pilferers. With men and money Csesar
struck down Roman liberty, at the fatal battle of Pharsalia,
ANDREW JACKSON. 677
never to rise again; from which disastrous hour all the powers
of the Roman Republic were consolidated in the person of Csesar,
and perpetuated in his line. With money and corrupt partisans
a great effort is now making to choke and stifle the voice of
American liberty, through all its natural organs; by corrupting
the press; by overawing the other departments; and, finally, by
setting up a new and polluted organ, composed of office-holders
and corrupt partisans, under the name of a National Convention,
which, counterfeiting the voice of the people, will, if not re-
sisted, in their name dictate the succession ; when the deed will
be done, the revolution be completed, and all the powers of our
Republic, in like manner, be consolidated in the President, and
perpetuated by his dictation."
No man who reads the life of General Jackson
could think that it was in his nature not to be exas-
perated, furious, over these terrible assaults, and in an
especial manner was he incensed at Mr. Clay. It is
said that at this time he raged with fury, and wished
to be free from official restraint that he might resort to
the old beloved "code" in Mr. Clay's case. Thomas
H. Benton, the Constitutional defender of General
Jackson, made an able and untiring defense of the
whole course of the President, fought manfully against
the resolution of censure, and when it was passed, an-
nounced his determination to pursue it until it should
be erased from the record of the Senate.
Hundreds of petitions from all parts of the country
now were flowing into Congress, and letters of every
description to the President concerning the removal
of the deposits. Three-fourths of these called for a
restoration of the deposits. Many of the petitions
were brought by large and influential committees, and
the greatest excitement and consternation reigned
everywhere. Influential committees visited the Presi-
dent, whose petitions he commonly treated with perfect
678 LIFE AND TIMES OF
contempt, and most generally in their presence often
flew into a great rage, and furiously berated them.
His universal panacea offered for all proposed evils,
was, "Go to Nicholas Biddle; he has all the money."
A childish whim. Of the petitions he was accustomed
to say : " If they send ten thousand of them signed
by all the men, women, and children in the land, and
bearing the names of all on the grave-stones, I will
not relax a particle from my position." And this
after all his talk about the will of the people ! He
was teaching the whole country the lesson that small
communities and bodies of men had been compelled
to learn at different times in his life. It was the
most noted case of the will of one man that the
Republic has ever felt. The General was accustomed
to say : " I told them, and I now tell you, I never
will restore the deposits; I never will re-charter the
United States Bank, or sign a charter for any bank so
long as my name is Andrew Jackson."
The House appointed a committee to go to Phila-
delphia, to investigate the books and affairs of the
Bank to ascertain if the charges preferred by the
President were true. But the Bank directors had had
enough of this business, and resisted the course of the
committee. However, five members of the committee
made a report to Congress, in every way unfavorable
to the Bank, and asked the arrest of all its directors,
to be brought before the House. Edward Everett and
W. W. Ellsworth, of the committee, made a minority
report, in every way justifying the course of the Bank
directors. Nothing came of this affair.
On the 15th of April, 1834, the President sent to
the Senate a long protest against the resolution and
ANDREW JACKSON. 679
other acts of that body, a proceeding on the part of
the Executive, hitherto unknown in the history of the
country. This long message came into the Senate as
a bomb-shell. The annual message had insulted the
Senators, this protest enraged them. Of it, Mr. George
Poindexter, of Mississippi, one of the most respectable
members of the Senate, rose in his place, and in great
excitement, said : — ,
"I will not dignify this paper by considering it in the light of
an Executive message ; it is no such thing. I regard it simply as
a paper, with the signature of Andrew Jackson ; and should the
Senate refuse to receive it, it will not be the first paper with the
same signature which has been refused a hearing in this body, on
the ground of the abusive and vituperative language which it
contained. This effort to denounce and overawe the deliberations
of the Senate may properly be regarded as capping the climax of
that systematic plan of operations which had for several years been
in progress, designed to bring this body into disrepute among the
people, and thereby remove the only existing barrier to the arbi-
trary encroachments and usurpations of Executive power."
Mr. Poindexter then moved that this counter-blast
from the Executive should not be received. And the
Senate acted according to his motion by the usual
majority of 27 to 20. So it was not, as the President
requested, placed among the records of that body.
I have not been able to trace the authorship of the
" Protest," perhaps, an ill-advised, but certainly a
wonderful paper. But according to the assertion of
Mr. Benton, " the Senate had no privilege to vote on
impeachment ; and, therefore, it was no breach of
privilege to impugn the act which they had no priv-
ilege to commit."
Not until towards the end of the session did the
President send to the Senate the names of Cabinet
ministers, under his new arrangement. Mr. Taney
680 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was rejected, as has been mentioned, and Mr. Forsyth,
Senator from Georgia, Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jer-
sey, and Mr. Woodbury were confirmed.
On the 2d of June, Andrew Stevenson resigned his
place as Speaker of the House, to accept the nomina-
tion as Minister to England ; but the Senate rejected
him. Strangely enough after the rejection of Martin
Van Buren, in 1832, no minister was sent to England,
Aaron Vail, former Secretary of Legation, having had
charge of affairs in London. Nor was a minister ap-
pointed until 1836, when Andrew Stevenson was again
reappointed and confirmed. The Senate had based his
rejection on the belief that his naming of committees
in the House, wholly favorable to the President, had
been done with this mission in view.
" An important act respecting the coinage of the United States
■was passed at this session. By this law the weight of the gold
eagle of the United States was reduced twelve grains, being equal
to Q6h cents less in value than the old coin of that denomination.
Two other acts were passed, regulating the value of certain for-
eign gold and silver coins. The object of these several acts was
to infuse a larger proportion of gold and silver into the currency
of the United States than had been used ; and this became a
favorite project of the President and his supporters in the Cabinet
and in Congress. Increased activity was given to the mint, and
the display of the new gold coin among the people had an im-
portant bearing on the elections in the different States, and oper-
ated favorably to the Administration.
" Among the other acts passed at this long and arduous ses-
sion, those of most general interest were as follows: Making ap-
propriations for certain harbors and rivers ; for completing a road
from Memphis to Little Rock, in Arkansas; authorizing certain
roads in Arkansas ; aiding roads in Michigan ; continuing the
Cumberland Road ; appropriations for light-houses ; for improve-
ment of the Hudson River ; authorizing the purchase of the papers
and books of General Washington.
"The course of the President with regard to the Bank of the
ANDREW JACKSON. 681
United States, although it was popular with the mass of the people
in some sections of the country, caused a considerable diminution
of the strength of the Administration in the commercial States, as
evinced by the elections in 183-4."
And although for a time General Jackson's star
seemed to decline, and many did actually leave the
Jacksonian ranks to which they never returned, this
was of but short duration. His name had lost noth-
ing by his Bank conflict among the masses who could
appreciate the specious cry of "monopoly" and
" money monster," and soon it acquired its old luster.
Before the next session of Congress the excitement
and the public opposition had mainly died away. A
new sort of prosperity, short-lived indeed, took the
country by storm.
At first hardly enough State banks could be in-
duced to take the money to enable the Government to
carry on the public business. But an era of inflation
soon sprang up. The "pet banks," as the deposit
banks were termed, enlarged their business. Hun-
dreds of new institutions, on foundations of sand and
wind, sprang up. Inflation was the rage in every-
thing. General Jackson would not charter any bank.
No, never ! He was opposed to paper money as he
was to Henry Clay, as he was to anything op-
posed to him. He was unalterably a hard-money
man. Yet in the next few years, as the result of the
overthrow of the Bank of the United States, and
General Jackson's financial policy, the country was
flooded with worthless paper currency. The like had
never been before. The calamity was yet to come.
And to his unfortunate financial meddlings must that
calamity be charged, with all the demoralizing moral
682 LIFE AND TIMES OF
conditions to the country. The Bank never had been
a power for political corruption, and was only a force
in politics when driven into the struggle for life.
Although the destruction of the Bank was one of
Jackson's Herculean feats, the history of the whole
affair is not conducive to quietness of mind, nor in
the main, to admiration for the hero, nor is it a clear
source from which to draw precedents for the admin-
istration of republican government. Much of Presi-
dent Jackson's conduct throughout this Bank conflict
was that of a madman. Among the many delegations
that visited him on the subject most distressing the
country, was one from New York, headed by James
G. King. When Mr. King had barely started in his
address, the President stopped him and said: —
" Mr. King, you are the son of Rufus King, I
believe?"
When answered in the affirmative he broke out : —
" Well, sir, Rufus King was always a Federalist,
and I suppose you take after him. Insolvent! What
do you come to me for, then ? Go to Nicholas Biddle.
We have no money here. He has millions in his
vaults, and yet you come to me to save you from
breaking."
The Bank had a new advocate in the person of
Henry A. Wise, who now first appeared in Congress
as the successor of a still more remarkable and ec-
centric character, John Randolph of Roanoke, who
had died the previous summer.
During this summer, as usual, General Jackson
made a visit to the Hermitage, and was received
everywhere on his journey with great respect. The
old " hurrah for Jackson " sentiment was as vigorous
ANDREW JACKSON. 683
as ever. On the first Monday, happening this time to
be the first day of December, 1834, Congress again
met for the short session ending March 3d, 1835, and
on the next day the President sent in his
SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December 2, 1S34-
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Eepresentatives : —
In performing my duty at the opening of your present ses-
sion, it gives me pleasure to congratulate you again upon the
prosperous condition of our beloved country. Divine Providence
has favored us with general health, with rich rewards in the
fields of agriculture and in every branch of labor, and with peace
to cultivate and extend the various resources which employ the
virtue and enterprise of our citizens. Let us trust that in sur-
veying a scene so flattering to our free institutions, our joint
deliberations to preserve them may be crowned with success.
Our foreign relations continue, with but few exceptions, to
maintain the favorable aspect which they bore in my last annual
message, and promise to extend those advantages which the prin-
ciples that regulate our intercourse with other nations are so well
calculated to secure.
The question of the north-eastern boundary is still pending
with Great Britain, and the proposition made in accordance with
the resolution of the Senate for the establishment of a line ac-
cording to the treaty of 1783, has not been accepted by that
government. Believing that every disposition is felt on both
sides to adjust this perplexing question to the satisfaction of all
the parties interested in it, the hope is yet indulged that it may
be effected on the basis of that proposition.
"With the Governments of Austria, Russia, Prussia, Holland,
Sweden, and Denmark, the best understanding exists. Com-
merce with all is fostered and protected by reciprocal good-will,
under the sanction of liberal conventional or legal provisions.
In the midst of her internal difficulties, the queen of Spain
has ratified the convention for the payment of the claims of our
citizens arising since 1819. It is in the course of execution on
her part, and a copy of it is now laid before you for such legis-
lation as may be found necessary to enable those interested to
derive the benefits of it.
684 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Yielding to the force of circumstances, and to the wise coun-
sels of time and experience, that power has finally resolved no
longer to occupy the unnatural position in which she stood to the
new governments established in this hemisphere. I have the
great satisfaction of stating to you that, in preparing the way for
the restoration of harmony between those who have sprung from
the same ancestors, who are allied by common interests, profess
the same religion, and speak the same language, the United
States have been actively instrumental. Our efforts to effect this
good work will be persevered in while they are deemed useful to
the parties, and our entire disinterestedness continues to be felt
and understood. The act of Congress to countervail the discrim-
inating duties levied to the prejudice of our navigation, in Cuba
and Porto Rico, has been transmitted to the Minister of the
United States at Madrid, to be communicated to the government
of the queen. No intelligence of its receipt has yet reached the
Department of State. If the present condition of the country
permits the government to make a careful and enlarged exami-
nation of the true interests of these important portions of its domin-
ions, no doubt is entertained that their future intercourse with the
United States will be placed upon a more just and liberal basis.
The Florida archives have not yet been selected and delivered.
Recent orders have been sent to the agent of the United States
at Havana, to return with all that he can obtain, so that they
may be in Washington before the session of the Supreme Court,
to be used in the legal questions there pending, to which the
Government is a party.
Internal tranquillity is happily restored to Portugal. The dis-
tracted state of the country rendered unavoidable the postpone-
ment of a final payment of the just claims of our citizens. Our
diplomatic relation will be soon resumed, and the long subsisting
friendship with that power affords the strongest guarantee that
the balance due will receive prompt attention.
The first installment due under the convention ' of indemnity
with the king of the Two Sicilies has been duly received, and an
offer has been made to extinguish the whole by a prompt pay-
ment; an offer I did not consider myself authorized to accept, as
the indemnification provided is the exclusive property of individ-
ual citizens of the United States. The original adjustment of
our claims, and the anxiety displayed to fulfill at once the stipu-
lations made for the payment of them, are highly honorable to
ANDREW JACKSON. 685
the Government of the Two Sicilies. When it is recollected that
they were the result of the injustice of an intrusive power, tem-
porarily dominant in its territory, a repugnance to acknowledge
and to pay which would have been neither unnatural nor unex-
pected, the circumstances can not fail to exalt its character for
justice and good faith in the eyes of all nations.
The treaty of amity and commerce between the United States
and Belgium, brought to your notice in my last annual message,
as sanctioned by the Senate, but the ratifications of which had not
been exchanged, owing to a delay in its reception at Brussels,
and a subsequent absence of the Belgian Minister of Foreign
Affairs, has been, after mature deliberation, finally disavowed by
that government as inconsistent with the powers and instructions
given to their minister who negotiated it. This disavowal was
entirely unexpected, as the liberal principles embodied in the
convention, and which form the groundwork of the objections to
it, were perfectly satisfactory to the Belgian representative, and
were supposed to be not only within the powers granted, but
expressly com form able to the instructions given to him. An
ofier, not yet accepted, has been made by Belgium to renew ne-
gotiations for a treaty less liberal in its provisions, on questions
of general maritime law.
Our newly established relations with the Sublime Porte prom-
ise to be useful to our commerce, and satisfactory in every respect
to this Government. Our intercourse with the Barbary powers
continues without important change, except that the present
political state of Algiers has induced me to terminate the resi-
dence there of a salaried consul, and to substitute an ordinary
consulate, to remain so long as the place continues in the posses-
sion of France. Our first treaty with one of these powers, the
Emperor of Morocco, was formed in 1786, and was limited to fifty
years. That period has almost expired. I shall take measures
to renew it with the greater satisfaction as its stipulations are
just and liberal, and have been, with mutual fidelity and recip-
rocal advantage, scrupulously fulfilled.
Intestine dissensions have too freqently occurred to mar the
prosperity, interrupt the commerce, and distract the governments
of most of the nations of this hemisphere, which have separated
themselves from Spain. When a firm and permanent under-
standing with the parent country shall have produced a formal
acknowledgment of their independence, and the idea of danger
686 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from that quarter can be no longer entertained, the friends of
freedom expect that those countries, so favored by nature, will
be distinguished for their love of justice and their devotion to
those peaceful arts, the assiduous cultivation of which confers
honor upon nations, and gives value to human life. In the
meantime, I confidently hope that the apprehensions entertained
that some of the people of these luxuriant regions may be
tempted, in a moment of unworthy distrust of their own capacity
for enjoyment of liberty, to commit the too common error of
purchasing present repose by bestowing on some favorite leaders
the fatal gift of irresponsible power, will not be realized. With
all these governments, and with that of Brazil, no unexpected
changes in our relations have occurred during the present year.
Frequent causes of just complaint have arisen upon the part of
the citizens of the United States, sometimes from the irregular
action of the constituted subordinate authorities of the maritime
regions, and sometimes from the leaders or partisans of those
in arms against the established governments. In all cases,
representations have been or will be made; and as soon
as their political affairs are in a settled position, it is expected
that our friendly remonstrances will be followed by adequate
redress.
The Government of Mexico made known, in December last,
the appointment of commissioners and surveyors on its part, to
run, in conjunction with ours, the boundary-line between its ter-
ritories and the United States, and excused the delay for the
reasons anticipated — the prevalence of civil war. The commis-
sioners and surveyors not having met within the time stipulated
by the treaty, a new arrangement became necessary, and our
charge d'affaires was instructed in January last, to negotiate in
Mexico an article additional to the pre-existing treaty. This in-
struction was acknowledged, and no difficulty was apprehended in
the accomplishment of that object. By information just received,
that additional article to the treaty will be obtained and trans-
mitted to this country, as soon as it can receive the ratification
of the Mexican Congress.
The reunion of the three States of New Grenada, Venezuela,
and Ecuador, forming the republic of Colombia, seems every day
to become more improbable. The commissioners of the first two
are understood to be now negotiating a just division of the obli-
gations contracted by them -when united under one government.
ANDREW JACKSON. 687
The civil war in Ecuador, it is believed, has prevented even the
appointment of a commissioner on its part.
I propose, at an early day, to submit, in the proper form, the
appointment of a diplomatic agent to Venezuela; the importance
of the commerce of that country to the United States,- and the
large claims of our citizens upon the Government, arising before
and since the division of Colombia, rendering it, in my judgment,
improper longer to delay the step.
Our representatives to Central America, Peru, and Brazil, are
either at, or on their way, to their respective posts.
From the Argentine Republic, from which a minister was ex-
pected to this Government, nothing further has been heard.
Occasion has been taken, on the departure of a new consul to
Buenos Ayres, to remind that government that its long-delayed
minister, whose appointment has laeen made known to us, had
not arrived.
It becomes my unpleasant duty to inform you that this specific
and highly gratifying picture of our foreign relations does not in-
clude those with France at this time. It is not possible that any
government and people could be more sincerely desirous of con-,
ciliating a just and friendly intercourse with another nation than
are those of the United States with their ancient ally and friend.
This disposition is founded, as well on the most grateful and hon-
orable recollections associated with our struggle for independence,
as upon a well-grounded conviction that it is consonant with the
true policy of both. The people of the United States could not,
therefore, see, without the deepest regret, even a temporary inter-
ruption of the friendly relations between the two countries — a re-
gret which would, I am sure, be greatly aggravated, if there
should turn out to be any reasonable ground foi* attributing such
a result to any act of omission or commission on our part. I de-
rive, therefore, the highest satisfaction from being able to assure
you that the whole course of this Government has been charac-
terized by a spirit so conciliatory and forbearing, as to make it
impossible that our justice and moderation should be questioned,
whatever may be the consequences of a longer perseverance, on
the part of the French Government, in her omission to satisfy the
conceded claims of our citizens.
The history of the accumulated and unprovoked aggressions
upon our commerce, committed by authority of the existing gov-
ernments of France, between the years 1800 and 1817, has been
688 LIFE AND TIMES OF
rendered too painfully familiar to Americans to make its repeti-
tion either necessary or desirable. It will be sufficient here to
remark that there has for many years been scarcely a single Ad-
ministration of the French Government by whom the justice and
legality of the claims of our citizens to indemnity were not, to a
very considerable extent, admitted ; and yet near a quarter of a
century has been wasted in ineffectual negotiations to secure it.
Deeply sensible of the injurious effects resulting from this state
of things upon the interests and character of both nations, I re-
garded it as among my first duties to cause one more effort to be
made to satisfy France that a just and liberal settlement of our
'claims was as well due to her own honor as to their incontestable
validity. The negotiation for this purpose was commenced with
the late government of France, and was prosecuted Avith such
success as to leave no reasonable ground to doubt that a settlement
of a character quite as liberal as that which was subsequently
made, would have been effected, had not the revolution, by which
the negotiation was cut off, taken place. The discussions were re-
sumed with the present government, and the result showed that
.we were not wrong in supposing that an event by which the two
governments were made to approach each other so much nearer
in their political principles, and by which the motives for the
most liberal and friendly intercourse were so greatly multiplied,
could exercise no other than a salutary influence upon the nego-
tiation. After the most deliberate and thorough examination of
the whole subject, a treaty between the two governments was con-
cluded and signed at Paris on the 4th of July, 1831, by which it
was stipulated that " the French Government, in order to liberate
itself from all the reclamations preferred against it by citizens of
the United States for unlawful seizures, captures, sequestrations,
confiscations, or destruction of their vessels, cargoes, or other
property, engages to pay a sum of twenty-five millions of francs
to the United States, who shall distribute it among those entitled,
in the manner and according to the rules it shall determine ;" and
it Was also stipulated, on the part of the French Government, that
this twenty -five millions of francs should *' be paid at Paris in six
annual installments of four millions one hundred and sixty-six
thousand six hundred and sixty-six francs and sixty-six centimes
each, into the hands of such person or persons as shall be author-
ized by the Government of the United States to receive it ;" the
first installment to be paid "at the expiration of one year next
ANDREW JACKSON. 689
following the exchange of the ratifications of this convention, and
the others at successive intervals of a year, one after another, till
the whole shall be paid. To the amount of each of the said in-
stallments shall be added interest at four per cent thereupon, as
upon the other installments then remaining unpaid, the said in-
terest to be computed from the day of the exchange of the pres-
ent convention."
It was also stipulated, on the part of the United States, for
the purpose of being completely liberated from all the reclama-
tions presented by France on behalf of its citizens, that the sum
of one million five hundred thousand francs should be paid to the
government of France, in six annual installments, to be deducted
out of the annual sums which France had agreed to pay, interest
thereupon being in like manner computed from the day of the
exchange of the ratifications. In addition to this stipulation, im-
portant advantages were secured to France by the following
articles, viz.: "The wines of France, from and after the ex-
change of the ratifications of the present convention, shall be ad-
mitted to consumption in the States of the Union, at duties which
shall not exceed the following rates by the gallon (such as is used
at present for wines in the United States) , to wit : six cents for
red wines in casks ; ten cents for white wines in casks ; and
twenty-two cents for wines of all sorts in bottles. The propor-
tions existing between the duties on French wines thus reduced,
and the general rates of the tariff* which went into operation the
first of January, 1829, shall be maintained in case the Govern-
ment of the United States should think proper to diminish those
general rates in a new tariff!
"In consideration of this stipulation, which shall be binding
on the United States for ten years, the French Government
abandons the reclamations which it had formed in relation to the
eighth article of the treaty of cession of Louisiana. It en-
gages, moreover, to establish on the long staple cottons of the
United States, which, after the exchange of the ratifications of
the present convention, shall be brought directly thence to France
by the vessels of the United States, or by French vessels, the
same duties as on short staple cottons."
This treaty was duly ratified in the manner prescribed by the
constitutions of both countries, and the ratifications were ex-
changed at the city of Washington on the 2d of February, 1832.
On account of its commercial stipulations, it was, within five days
44— G
690 LIFE AND TIMES OF
thereafter, laid before the Congress of the United States, which
proceeded to enact such laws favorable to the commerce of France
as were necessary to carry it into full execution ; and France has,
from that period to the present, been in the unrestricted enjoy-
ment of the valuable privileges that were thus secured to her.
The faith of the French nation having been thus solemnly pledged,
through its constitutional organ, for the liquidation and ultimate
payment of the long-deferred claims of our citizens, as also for
the adjustment of other points of great and reciprocal benefits to
both countries, and the United States having, with a fidelity and
promptitude by which their conduct will, I trust, be always char-
acterized, done everything that was necessary to carry the treaty
into full and fair eflfect on their part, counted, with the most per-
fect confidence, on equal fidelity and promptitude on the part of
the French Government. In this reasonable expectation we have
been, I regret to inform you, wholly disappointed. No legislative
provision has been made by France for the execution of the
treaty, either as it respects the indemnities to be paid, or the
commercial benefits to be secured to the United States, and the
relations between the United States and that power, in conse-
quence thereof, are placed in a situation threatening to interrupt
the good understanding which has so long and so happily existed
between the two nations.
Not only has the French Government been thus wanting in
the performance of the stipulations it has so solemnly entered
into with the United States, but its omissions have been marked
by circumstances which would seem to leave us without satisfac-
tory evidences that such performance will certainly take place at
a future period. Advice of the exchange of ratifications reached
Paris prior to the 8th of April, 1832. The French Chambers
were then sitting, and continued in session until the 21st of that
month ; and although one installment of the indemnity was pay-
able on the 2d of February, 1833, one year after the exchange
of ratifications, no application was made to the chambers for the
required appropriation, and, in consequence of no api)ropriation
having then been made, the draft of the United States Govern-
ment for that installment was dishonored by the Minister of Fi-
nance, and the United States thereby involved in much contro-
versy. The next session of the Chambers commenced on the 19th
of November, 1832, and continued until the 25th of April, 1833.
Notwithstanding the omission to pay the first installment had been
ANDREW JACKSON. 691
made the subject of earnest remonstrance on our part, the treaty
with the United States, and a bill making the necessary appro-
priations to execute it, were not laid before the Chamber of
Deputies until the 6th of April, nearly five months after its
meeting, and only nineteen days before the close of the session.
The bill was read and referred to a committee, but there was no
further action upon it. The next session of the Chambers com-
menced on the 26th of April, 1833, and continued until the 25th
of June following. A new bill was introduced on the 11th of
June, but nothing important was done in relation to it during the
session. In the month of April, 1834, nearly three years after
the signature of the treaty, the final action of the French Cham-
bers upon the bill to carry the treaty into effect was obtained,
and resulted in a refusal of the necessary appropriations. The
avowed grounds upon which the bill was rejected, are to be found
in the published debates of that body, and no observations of
mine can be necessary to satisfy Congress of their utter insuffi-
ciency. Although the gross amount of the claims of our citizens
is probably greater than will be ultimately allowed by the com-
missioners, sufiicient is, nevertheless, shown, to render it absolutely
certain that the indemnity falls far short of the actual amount
of our just claims, independently of the question of damages and
interest for the detention. That the settlement involved a sacri-
fice in this respect, was well known at the time — a sacrifice which
was cheerfully acquiesced in by the diflferent branches of the Fed-
eral Government, whose action upon the treaty was required,
from a sincere desire to avoid further collision upon tjiis old and
disturbed subject, and in the confident expectation that the gen-
eral relations between the two countries would be improved
thereby.
The refusal to vote the appropriation, the news of which was
received from our Minister in Paris, about the 15th day of May
last, might have been considered the final determination of the
French Government not to execute the stipulations of the treaty,
and would have justified an immediate communication of the facts
to Congress, with a recommendation of such ultimate measures as
the interest and honor of the United States might seem to require.
But with the news of the refusal of the Chambers to make the
appropriation, were conveyed the regrets of the king, and a dec-
laration that a national vessel should be forthwith sent out, with
instructions to the French Minister to give the most ample expla-
692 LIFE AND TIMES OF
nations of the past, and the strongest assurances for the future.
After a long passage, the promised dispatch vessel arrived. The
pledges given by the French Minister, upon receipt of his instruc-
tions, were, that as soon after the election of the new members as
the charter would permit, the Legislative Chambers of France
should be called together, and the proposition for an appropriation
laid before them ; that all the constitutional powers of the king and
his cabinet should be exerted to accomplish the object ; and that
the result should be made known early enough to be communicated
to Congress at the commencement of the present session. Kelying
upon these pledges, and not doubting that the acknowledged jus-
tice of our claims, the promised exertions of the king and his
cabinet, and above all, that sacred regard for the national faith
and honor for Which the French character has been so distin-
guished, would secure an early execution of the treaty in all its
parts, I did not deem it necessary to call the attention of Con-
gress tp the subject at the last session.
I regret to say that the pledges made through the Minister of
France have not been redeemed. The new Chambers met on
the 31st of July last, and although the subject of fulfilling treaties
was alluded to in the speech from the throne, no attempt was
made by the king or his cabinet to procure an appropriation to
carry it into execution. The reasons given for this omission,
although they might be considered sufficient in an ordinary case,
are not consistent with the expectations founded upon the assur-
ances given here, for there is no constitutional obstacle to enter-
ing into legislative business at the first meeting of the Chambers.
This point, however, might have been overlooked, had not the
Chambers, instead of being called to meet at so early a day that
the result of their deliberations might be communicated to me
before the meeting of Congress, been prorogued to the 29th of
the present month — a period so late that their decision can scarcely
be made known to the present Congress prior to its dissolution.
To avoid this delay, our Minister in Paris, in virtue of the assur-
ance given by the French Minister in the United States, strongly
urged the convocation of the Chambers at an, earlier day, but
without success. It is proper to remark, however, that this re-
fusal has been accompanied with the most positive assurances, on
the part of the Executive Government of France, of their inten-
tion to press the appropriation at the ensuing session of the
Chambers.
ANDREW JACKSON. 693
The Executive branch of this Government has, as matters
stand, exhausted all the authority upon the subject with which it
is invested, and which it had any reason to believe could be
beneficially employed.
The idea of acquiescing in the refusal to execute the treaty
will not, I am confident, be for a moment entertained by any
branch of this Government ; and further negotiation upon the
subject is equally out of the question.
- If it shall be the pleasure of Congress to await the further ac-
tion of the French Chambers, no further consideration of the sub-
ject will, at this session, probably be required at your hands.
But if, from the original delay in asking for an appropriation;
from the refusal of the Chambers to grant it when asked ; from
the omission to bring the subject before the Chambers at their
last session ; from the fact that, including that session, there have
been five diflTerent occasions when the appropriation might have
been made ; and from the delay in convoking the Chambers until
some weeks after the meeting of Congress, when it was well known
that a communication of the whole subject to Congress at the last
session was prevented by assurances that it should be disposed of
before its present meeting, you should feel yourselves constrained
to doubt whether it be the intention of the French Government
in all its branches, to carry the treaty into effect, and think that
such measures as the occasion may be deemed to call for should
be now adopted, the important question arises, what those meas-
ures shall be.
Our institutions are essentially pacific. Peace and friendly
intercourse with all nations are as much the desire of our Govern-
ment as they are the interest of our people. But these objects
are not to be permanently secured, by surrendering the rights ot
our citizens, or permitting solemn treaties for their indemnity, in
cases of flagrant wrong, to be abrogated or set aside.
It is undoubtedly in the power of Congress seriously to affect
the agricultural and manufacturing interests of France, by the
passage of laws relating to her trade with the United States.
Her products, manufactures, and tonnage may be subjected to
heavy duties in our ports, or all commercial intercourse with her
may be suspended. But there are powerful, and to my mind
conclusive objections to this mode of proceeding. We can not
embarrass or cut off the trade of France, without at the same
time, in some degree, embarrassing or cutting off our own trade.
694 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The injury of such a warfare must fall, though unequally, upon
our own citizens, and could not but impair the means of the Gov-
ernment, and weaken that united sentiment in support of the
rights and honor of the Nation which must now pervade every
bosom. Nor is it impossible that such a course of legislation
would introduce once more into our national councils those dis-
turbing questions in relation to the tariff of duties which have
been so recently put to rest. Besides, by every measure adopted
by the Government of the United States, with the view of injur-
ing France, the clear perception of right which will induce our
own people, and the rulers and people of all other nations, even
of France herself, to pronounce our quarrel just, will be obscured,
and the support rendered to us, in a final resort to more decisive
measures, will be more limited and equivocal. There is but one
point in the controversy, and upon that the whole civilized world
must pronounce France to be in the wrong. We insist that she
shall pay us a sum of money, which she has acknowledged to be
due ; and of the justice of this demand there can be but one
opinion among mankind. True policy would seem to dictate that
the question at issue should be kept thus disencumbered, and that
not the slightest pretense should be given to France to persist in
her refusal to make payment, by any act on our part affecting
the interests of her people. The question should be left as it is
now, in such an attitude that, when France fulfills her treaty
stipulations, all controversy will be at an end.
It is my conviction that the United States ought to insist on a
prompt execution of the treaty, and in case it be refused, or longer
delayed, take redress into their own hands. After the delay on
the part of France, of a quarter of a century, in acknowledging
these claims by treaty, it is not to be tolerated that another quarter
of a century is to be wasted in negotiating about the payment.
The laws of nations provide a remedy for such occasions. It is a
well-settled principle of the international code, that where one
nation owes another a liquidated debt, which it refuses or neglects
to pay, the aggrieved party may seize on the property belonging
to the other, its citizens or subjects, sufficient to pay the debt,
without giving just cause of war. This remedy has been repeat-
edly resorted to, and recently by France herself toward Portugal,
under circumstances less unquestionable.
The time at which resort should be had to this, or any other
mode of redress, is a point to be decided by Congress. If an
ANDKEW JACKSON. G95
appropriation shall not be made by the French Chambers at their
next session, it may justly be concluded that the Government of
France has finally determined to disregard its own solemn under-
taking, and refuse to pay an acknowledged debt. In that event,
every day's delay on our part will be a stain upon our national
honor, as well as a denial of justice to our injured citizens.
Prompt measures, when the refusal of France shall be complete,
will not only be most honorable and just, but will have the best
effect upon our national character.
Since France, in violation of the pledges given through her
minister here, has delayed her final action so long that her de-
cision will not probably be known in time to be communicated to
this Congress, I recommend that a law be passed authorizing re-
prisals upon French property, in case provision shall not be made
for the payment of the debt at the approaching session of the
French Chambers. Such a measure ought not to be considered
by France as a menace. Her pride and power are too well known
to expect anything from her fears, and preclude the necessity of
a declaration that nothing partaking of the character of intimida-
tion is intended by us. She ought to look upon it only as the
evidence of an inflexible determination on the part of the United
States to insist on their rights. That government, by doing only
what it has itself acknowledged to be just, will be able to spare
the United States the necessity of taking redress into their own
hands, and save the property of French citizens from that seizure
and sequestration which American citizens so long endured with-
out retaliation or redress. If she should continue to refuse that
act of acknowledged justice, and, in violation of the law of na-
tions, make reprisals on our part the occasion of hostilities against
the United States, she would but add violence to injustice, and
could not fail to expose herself to the just censure of civilized
nations, and to the retributive judgments of Heaven.
Collision with France is the more to be regretted, on account
of the position she occupies in Europe in relation to liberal insti-
tutions. But, in maintaining our national rights and honor, all
governments are alike to us. If, by a collision with France, in a
case where she is clearly in the wrong, the march of liberal prin-
ciples shall be impeded, the responsibility for that result, as well
as every other, will rest on her own head.
Having submitted these considerations, it belongs to Congress
to decide whether, after what has taken plaee, it will still await
696 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the further action of the French Chambers, or now adopt such
provisional measures as it may deem necessary, and best adapted
to protect the rights and maintain the honor of the country.
Whatever that decision may be, it will be faithfully enforced by
the Executive, as far as he is authorized so to do.
According to the estimates of the Treasury Department, the
revenue accruing from all sources, during the present year, will
amount to twenty millions six hundred and twenty-four thousand
seven hundred and seventeen dollars, which, with the balance re-
maining in the Treasury on the 1st of January last, eleven millions
seven hundred and two thousand nine hundred and five dollars,
produces an aggregate of thirty-two millions three hundred and
twenty-seven thousand six hundred and twenty-three dollars. The
total expenditure during the year for all objects, including the
public debt, is estimated at twenty-five millions five hundred and
ninety-one thousand three hundred and ninety dollars, which will
leave a balance in the Treasury on the 1st of January, 1835, of
six millions seven hundred and thirty-six thousand two hundred
and thirty-two dollars. In this balance, however, will be included
about one million one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of what
was heretofore reported by the Department as not effective.
Of former appropriations it is estimated that there will remain
unexpended at the close of the year, eight millions and two thou-
sand nine hundred and twenty-five dollars, and that of this sum
there will not be required more than five millions one hundred
and forty-one thousand nine hundred and sixty-four dollars, to ac-
complish the objects of all the current appropriations. Thus it
appears that, after satisfying all those appropriations, and after
discharging the last item of our public debt, which will be done
on the 1st of January next, there will remain unexpended in the
Treasury an effective balance of about four hundred and forty
thousand dollars. That such should be the aspect of our finances,
is highly flattering to the industry and enterprise of our popula-
tion, and auspicious of the wealth and prosperity which await the
future cultivation of their growing resources. It is not deemed
prudent, however, to recommend any change for the present in
our impost rates, the effect of the gradual reduction now in pro-
gress in many of them not being sufficiently tested to guide us
in determining the precise amount of revenue which they will
produce.
Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with
ANDREW JACKSON. 697
no complicated interest to consult in our intercourse with foreign
powers, the present may be hailed as that epoch in our history
the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our
domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to
our republic, and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.
Among these principles, from our past experience it can not be
doubted that simplicity in the character of the Federal Govern-
ment, and a rigid economy in its administration, should be re-
garded as fundamental and sacred. All must be sensible that the
existence of the public debt, by rendering taxation necessary for
its extinguishment, has increased the difficulties which are insepa-
rable from every exercise of the taxing power ; and that it was, in
this respect, a remote agent in producing those disturbing ques-
tions which grew out of the discussions relating to the tariff. If
such has been the tendency of a debt incurred in the acquisition
and maintenance of our national rights and liberties, the obliga-
tions of which all portions of the Union cheerfully acknowledged,
it must be obvious that whatever is calculated to increase the
burdens of Government without necessity, must be fatal to all our
hopes of preserving its true character. While we are felicitating
ourselves, therefore, upon the extinguishment of the national debt,
and the prosperous state of our finances, let us not be tempted to
depart from those sound maxims of public policy which enjoin a
just adaptation of the revenue to the expenditures that are con-
sistent with a rigid economy, and an entire abstinence from all topics
of legislation that are not clearly within the Constitutional powers
of the Government, and suggested by the wants of the country.
Properly regarded under such a policy, every diminution of the
public burdens, arising from taxation, gives to individual enter-
prise increased power, and furnishes to all the members of our
happy confederacy new motives for patriotic affection and sup-
port. But, above all, its most important effect will be found in
its influence upon the character of the Government, by coufiuiug
its action to those objects which will be sure to secure to it the
attachment and support of our fellow-citizeus.
Circumstances make it my duty to call the attention of Con-
gress to the Bank of the United States. Created for the con-
venience of the Government, that institution has become the
scourge of the people. Its interference to postpone the payment
of a portion of the national debt, that it might retain the public
money appropriated for that purpose, to strengthen it in a polit-
698 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ical contest; the extraordinary extension and contraction of its
accommodations to the community ; its corrupt and partisan loans;
its exclusion of the public directors from a knowledge of its most
important proceedings; the unlimited authority conferred on the
president to expend its funds in hiring writers, and procuring the
execution of printing, and the use made of that authority ; the
retention of the pension money and books after the selection of
new agents; the groundless claim to heavy damages, in conse-
quence of the protest of the bill drawn on the French Govern-
ment, have, through various channels, been laid before Congress.
Immediately after the close of the last session, the Bank, through
its president, announced its ability and readiness to abandon the
system of unparalleled curtailment, and the interruption of do-
mestic exchanges, which it had practiced upon from the 1st of
August, 1833, to the 30th of June, 1834, and to extend its ac-
commodations to the community. The grounds assumed in this
renunciation amounted to an acknowledgment that the curtail-
ment, in the extent to which it had been carried, was not neces-
sary to the safety of the Bank, and had been persisted in merely
to induce Congress to grant the prayer of the Bank in its memo-
rial relative to the removal of the deposits, and to give it a new
charter. They were substantially a confession that all the real
distresses which individuals and the country had endured for the
preceding six or eight months had been needlessly produced by
it, with the view of affecting, through the sufferings of the peo-
ple, the legislative action of Congress. It is a subject of con-
gratulation that Congress and the country had the virtue and
firmness to bear the affliction; that the energies of our people
soon found relief from this wanton tyranny, in vast importations
of the precious metals from almost every part of the world ; aud
that, at the close of this tremendous effort to control our Gov-
ernment, the Bank found itself powerless, and no longer able to
loan out its surplus means. The community had learned to
manage its affairs without its assistance, and trade had already
found new auxiliaries; so that, on the 1st of October last, the
extraordinary spectacle was presented of a national bank, more
than one-half of whose capital was either lying unproductive in
its vaults, or in the hands of foreign bankers.
To the needless distresses brought on the country during the
last session of Congress has since been added the open seizure of
the dividends on the public stock, to the amount of one hundred
ANDREW JACKSON. 699
and seventy thousand and forty-one dollars, under pretense of
paying damages, cost, and interest, upon the protested French
bill. This sum constituted a portion of the estimated revenues for
the year 1834, upon which the appropriations made by Congress
were based. It would as soon have been expected that our -col-
lectors would seize on the customs, or the receivers of our land
offices on the moneys arising from the sale of public lands, under
pretenses of claims against the United States, as that the Bank
would have retained the dividends. Indeed, if the principle be
established that any one who chooses to set up a claim against
the United States may, without authority of law, seize on the
public property or money wherever he can find it, to pay the
claim, there will remain no assurance that our revenue will reach
the Treasury, or that it will be applied after the appropriation to
the purposes designated in the law. The paymasters of our
army and the pursers of our navy may, under like pretenses,
apply to their own use moneys appropriated to set in motion the
public force, and in time of war leave the country without de-
fense. This measure resorted to by the Bank is disorganizing
and revolutionary, and, if generally resorted to by private citi-
zens in like cases, would fill the land with anarchy and violence.
It is a Constitutional provision, that "no money shall be
drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations
made by law." The palpable object of this provision is to pre-
vent the expenditure of the public money for any purpose what-
soever, which shall not have been first approved by the represen-
tatives of the people and the States in Congress assembled. It
vests the power of declaring for what purpose the public money
shall be expended in the Legislative Department of the Govern-
ment, to the exclusion of the Executive and Judicial, and it is
not within the Constitutional authority of either of those de-
partments to pay it away without law, or to sanction its pay-
ment. According to this plain Constitutional provision, the
claim of the Bank can never be paid without an appropriation
by act of Congress. But the Bank has never asked for an ap-
propriation. It attempts to defeat the provisions of the Consti-
tution, and obtain payment without an act of Congress. Instead
of awaiting an appropriation passed by both Houses, and ap-
proved by the President, it makes an appropriation for itself, and
invites an appeal to the Judiciary to sanction it. That the
money has not technically been paid into the Treasury, does not
700 LIFE AND TIMES OF
affect the principle intended to be established by the Constitution.
The Exective and Judiciary have as little right to appropriate
and expend the public money without authority or law, before it
is placed to the credit of the Treasurer, as to take it from the
Treasury. In the annual report of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, and in his correspondence with the president of the Bank,
and the opinion of the Attorney-General accompanying it, you
will find a further examination of the claim of the Bank, and the
course it has pursued.
It seems due to the safety of the public funds remaining in
that Bank, and to the honor of the American people, that meas-
ures be taken to separate the Government entirely from an in-
stitution so mischievous to the public prosperity, and so regard-
less of the Constitution and laws. By transferring the public
deposits, by appointing other pension agents, as far as it had the
power, by ordering the discontinuance of the receipt of Bank
checks in payment of the public dues after the first day of Jan-
nuary next, the Executive has exerted all its lawful authority to
sever the connection between the Government and this faithless
corporation.
The high-handed career of this institution imposes upon the
Constitutional functionaries of this Government, duties of the
gravest and most imperative character, duties which they can not
avoid, and from which I trust there will be no inclination on the
part of any of them to shrink. My own sense of them is most
clear, as is also my readiness to discharge those which may right-
fully fall on me. To continue any business relations with the
Bank of the United States, that may be avoided without a vio-
lation of the national faith, after that institution has set at open
defiance the conceded right of the Government to examine its
affairs; after it has done all in its power to deride the public
authority in other respects, and to bring it into disrepute at home
and abroad ; after it has attempted to defeat the clearly expressed
will of the people, by turning against them the immense power
intrusted to its hands, and by involving a country otherwise
peaceful, flourishing, and happy, in dissension, embarrassment,
and distress; would make the Nation itself a party to the degra-
dation so sedulously prepared for its public agents, and do much
to destroy the confidence of mankind in popular governments,
and to bring into contempt their authority and eflSciency. In
guarding against an evil of such magnitude, considerations of
ANDREW JACKSON. 701
temporary convenience should be thrown out of the question, and
•we should be influenced by such motives only as look to the honor
and preservation of the republican system. Deeply and solemnly
impressed with the justice of these views, I feel it to be my duty
to recommend to you that a law be passed authorizing the sale
of the public stocK ; that the provisions of the charter requiring
the receipt of notes of the Bank in payment of public dues,
shall, in accordance with the power reserved to Congress in the
fourteenth section of the charter, be suspended until the Bank
pays to the Treasury the dividends withheld ; and that all laws
connecting the Government or its ofiicers with the Bank, directly
or indirectly, be repealed ; and that the institution be left here-
after to its own resources and means.
Events have satisfied my mind, and I think the minds of the
American people, that the mischiefs and dangers which flow from
a national bank far overbalance all its advantages. The bold
effort the present Bank has made to control the Government,
the distresses it has wantonly produced, the violence of which it
has been the occasion in one of our cities famed for its observ-
ance of law and order, are but premonitions of the fate which
awaits the American people, should they be deluded into a per-
petuation of this institution, or the establishment of another like
it. It is fervently hoped that, thus admonished, those who have
heretofore favored the establishment of a substitute for the pres-
ent Bank, will be induced to abandon it, as it is evidently
better to incur any inconvenience that may be reasonably ex-
pected, than to concentrate the whole moneyed power of the
Eepublic, in any form whatsoever, under any restrictions.
Happily, it is already illustrated that the agency of such an
institution is not necessary to the fiscal operations of the Govern-
ment. The State banks are found fully adequate to the per-
formance of all services which were required of the Bank of the
United States, quite as promptly and with the same cheapness.
They have maintained themselves, and discharged all these
duties, while the Bank of the United States was still powerful,
and in the field as an open enemy ; and it is not possible to con-
ceive that they will find greater diflftculties in their operations
when that enemy shall cease to exist.
The attention of Congress is earnestly invited to the regulation
of the deposits in the State banks by law. Although the power
now exercised by the Executive Department in this behalf, is
702 LIFE AND TIMES OF
only such as was uniformly exerted through every Adminis-
tration, from the origin of the Government up to the estab-
lishment of the present Bank, yet it is one which is susceptible
of regulation by law, and therefore ought so to be regulated.
The power of Congress to direct in what places the Treasurer
shall keep the moneys in the Treasury, and to impose restric-
tions upon the Executive authority in relation to their custody
and removal, is unlimited, and its exercise will rather be courted
than discouraged by those public officers and agents on whom
rests the responsibility for their safety. It is desirable that as
little power as possible should be left to the President or Secre-
tary of the Treasury over those institutions which, being thus
freed from Executive influence, and without a common head to
direct their operations, would have neither the temptation nor the
ability to interfere in the political conflicts of the country. Not
deriving their charters from the national authorities, they would
never have those inducements to meddle in general elections
which have led the Bank of the United States to agitate and
convulse the country for upward of two years.
The progress of our gold coinage is creditable to the officers
of the mint, and promises in a short period to furnish the coun-
try with a sound and portable currency, which will much diminish
the inconvenience to travelers of the want of a general paper
currency, should the State banks be incapable of furnishing it.
Those institutions have already shown themselves competent to
purchase and furnish domestic exchange for the convenience of
trade, at reasonable rates, and not a doubt is entertained that in
a short period, all the wants of the country, in bank accommo-
dations and in exchange, will be supplied as promptly and
cheaply as they have heretofore been by the Bank of the United
States. If the several States shall be induced gradually to
reform their banking systems, and prohibit the issue of all small
notes, we shall, in a few years, have a currency as sound, and as
little liable to fluctuations, as any other commercial country.
The report of the Secretary of War, together with accompa-
nying documents from the several bureaus of that Department,
will exhibit the situation of the various objects committed to its
administration.
No event has occurred since your last session, rendering
necessary any movements of the army, with the exception of the
expedition of the regiment of dragoons into the territory of the
ANDREW JACKSON. 703
■wandering and predatory tribes inhabiting the western frontier,
and living adjacent to the Mexican boundary. These tribes have
been heretofore known to us principally by their attacks upon
our own citizens, and upon other Indians entitled to the protec-
tion of the United States. It became necessary for the peace of
the frontiers, to check these habitual inroads, and I am happy to
inform you that the object has been effected without the commis-
sion of any act of hostility. Colonel Dodge and the troops
under his command have acted with equal firmness and human-
ity, and an arrangement has been made with those Indians,
which it is hoped will insure their permanent pacific relations
with the United States, and, the other tribes of Indians upon
that border.
It is to be regretted that the prevalence of sickness in that
quarter has deprived the country of a number of valuable lives,
and particularly that of General Leavenworth, an officer well
known and esteemed for his gallant services during the late war,
and for subsequent good conduct, who has fallen a victim to his
zeal and exertions in the discharge of his duty.
The army is in a high state of discipline. Its moral condi-
tion, so far as that is known here, is good, and the various
branches of the public service are carefully attended to. It is
amply sufficient, under its present organization, for providing the
necessary garrisons for the sea-board, and for the defense of the
internal frontier, and also for preserving the elements of military
knowledge, and for keeping pace with those improvements which
modern experience is continually making. And these objects
appear to me to embrace all the legitimate purposes for which a
permanent military force should be maintained in our country.
The lessons of history teach us its danger, and the tendency
which exists to an increase. This can be best met and averted
by a just caution on the part of the public itself, and of those
who represent them in Congress.
From the duties which devolve on the Engineer Department,
and upon the topographical engineers, a different organization
seems to be demanded by the public interest, and I recommend
the subject to your consideration.
No important change has, during this season, taken place in
the condition of the Indians. Arrangements are in progress for
the removal of the Creeks, and will soon be for the removal of
the Seminoles. I regret that the Cherokees east of the Mississippi
704 LIFE AND TIMES OF
have not yet determined as a community to remove. How long
the personal causes which have hitherto retarded that ultimately
inevitable measure will continue to operate, I am unable to con-
jecture. It is certain, however, that delay will bring with it ac-
cumulated evils, which will render their condition more and more
unpleasant. The experience of every year adds to the conviction
that emigration, and that alone, can preserve from destruction
the remnant of tribes yet living among us. The facility with
which the necessaries of life are procured, and the treaty stipula-
tions providing aid for the emigrant Indians in their agricultural
pursuits and in the important concern of education, and their re-
moval from those causes which havg heretofore depressed all, and
destroyed many of the tribes, can not fail to stimulate their exer-
tions, and to reward their industry.
The two laws passed at the last session of Congress on the
subject of Indian affairs, have been carried into effect, and de-
tailed instructions for their administration have been given. It
will be seen by the estimates for the present session, that a great
reduction will take place in the expenditures of the Department
in consequence of these laws. And there is reason to believe
that their operation will be salutary, and that the colonization of
the Indian on the western frontier, together with a judicious sys-
tem of administration, will stiU further reduce the expenses of
this branch of the public service, and at the same time promote
its usefulness and efficiency.
Circumstances have been recently developed, showing the ex-
istence of extensive frauds under the various laws granting pen-
sions and gi'atuities for Revolutionary services. It is impossible to
estimate the amount which may have been thus fraudulently ob-
tained from the National Treasury. I am satisfied, however, that
it has been such as to justify a re-examination of the system, and
the adoption of the necessary checks in its administration. All
will agree that the services and sufferings of the remnant of our
Revolutionary baud should be fully compensated; but while this
is done, every proper precaution should be taken to prevent the
admission of fabricated and fraudulent claims. In the present
mode of proceeding, the attestations and certificates of judicial
officers of the various States form a considerable portion of the
checks which are interposed against the commission of frauds.
These, however, have been and may be fabricated, and in such a
way as to elude detection at the examining offices ; and iudepend-
ANDREW JACKSON. 705
ently of this practical difficulty, it is ascertained that these
documents are often loosely granted ; sometimes even blank cer-
tificates have been issued ; sometimes prepared papers have been
signed without inquiry ; and in one instance, at least, the seal of
the court has been within reach of a person most interested in its
improper application. It is obvious that, under such circum-
stances, no severity of administration can check the abuse of the
law ; and information has from time to time been communicated
to the pension office, questioning or denying the right of persons
placed upon the pension list to the bounty of the country. Such
cautions are always attended to, and examined, but a far more
general investigation is called for ; and I therefore recommend, in
conformity with the suggestion of the Secretary of War, that an
actual inspection should be made in each State, into the circum-
stances and claims of every person now drawing a pension. The
honest veteran has nothing to fear from such a scrutiny, while the
fraudulent claimant will be detected, and the public treasury re-
lieved to an amount, I have reason to believe, far greater than
has heretofore been suspected. The details of such a plan could
be so regulated as to interpose the necessary checks without any
burdensome operation upon the pensioners. The object should be
twofold : —
1. To look into the original justice of the claims, so far as this
can be done under a proper system of regulations, by an exami-
nation of the claimants themselves, and by inquiring in the vicinity
of their residence into their history, and into the opinion enter-
tained of their Kevolutionary services.
2. To ascertain, in all cases, whether the original claimant is
living, and this by actual personal inspection.
This measure will, if adopted, be productive, I think, of the
desired results, and I therefore recommend it to your consideration,
with the further suggestion, that all payments should be suspended
till the necessary reports are received.
It will be seen by a tabular statement annexed to the docu-
ments transmitted to Congress, that the appropriations for objects
connected with the War Department, made at the last session,
for the service of the year 1834, excluding the permanent appro-
priation for the payment of military gratuities under the act of
June 7, 1832, the appropriation of two hundred thousand dollars
for arming and equipping the militia, and the appropriation of ten
thousand dollars for the civilization of the Indians, which are not
45— H
706 LIFE AND TIMES OF
annually renewed, amounted to the sum of nine millions three
thousand two hundred and sixty-one dollars, and that the estimates
of appropriations necessary for the same branches of service for
the year 1835, amount to the sum of five millions seven hundred
and seventj'-eight thousand nine hundred and sixty-four dollars,
making a difference in the appropriations of the current year over
the estimates of the appropriations for the next, of three millions
two hundred and twenty-four thousand two hundred and ninety-
seven dollars.
The principal causes which have operated at this time to pro-
duce this great difference, are shown in the reports and documents
and in the detailed estimates. Some of these causes are accidental
and temporary, while others are permanent, and, aided by a just
course of administration, may continue to operate beneficially
upon the public expenditures.
A just economy, expending where the public service requires,
and withholding where it does not, is among the indispensable
duties of the Government.
I refer you to the accompanying report of the Secretary of the
Navy, and to the documents Avith it, for a full view of the opera-
tions of that important branch of our service during the present
year. It will be seen that the wisdom and liberality with which
Congress have provided for the gradual increase of our navy ma-
terial, have been seconded by a corresponding zeal and fidelity on
the part of those to whom has been confided the execution of the
laws on the subject ; and that but a short period would be now re-
quired to put in commission a force large enough for any exigency
into which the country may be thrown.
When we reflect upon our position in relation to other nations,
it must be apparent that, in the event of conflicts with them, we
must look chiefly to our navy for the protection of our national
rights. The wide seas which separate us from other governments,
must of necessity be the theater on which an enemy will aim to
assail us, and unless we are prepared to meet him on his element,
we can not be said to possess the power requisite to repel or pre-
vent aggressions. We can not, therefore, watch with too much
attention this arm of our defense, or cherish with too much care
the means by which it can possess the necessary efficiency and
extension. To this end our policy has been heretofore wisely
directed to the constant employment of a force suflficient to guard
our commerce, and to the rapid accumulation of the materials
ANDREW JACKSON. • 707
which are necessary to repair our vessels, and construct with ease
such new ones as may be required in a state of war.
In accordance with this policy, I recommend to your consid-
eration the erection of the additional dry-dock described by the
Secretary of the Navy, and also the construction of the steam
batteries to which he has referred, for the purpose of testing their
efficiency as auxiliaries to the system of defense now in use.
The report of the Postmaster-General, herewith submitted,
exhibits the condition and prospects of that Department. From
that document it appears that there was a deficit in the funds of
the Department, at the commencement of the present year, be-
yond its available means, of three hundred and fifteen thousand
five hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-eight cents,
which, on the 1st of July last, had been reduced to two hundred
and sixty-eight thousand and ninety-two dollars and seventy-four
cents. It appears, also, that the revenues for the coming year
will exceed the expenditures about two hundred and seventy thou-
sand dollars, which, with the excess of the revenue which will re-
sult from the operations of the current half-year, may be expected,
independently of any increase in the gross amount of postages, to
supply the entire deficit before the end of 1835. But as this cal-
culation is based on the gross amount of postages which have
accrued within the period embraced by the times of striking the
balances, it is obvious that, without a progressive increase in the
amount of postages, the existing retrenchments must be perse-
vered in through the year 1836, that the Department may ac-
cumulate a surplus fund sufficient to place it in a condition of
perfect ease.
It will be observed that the revenues of the Post-office Depart-
ment, though they have increased, and their amount is above that
of any former year, have yet fallen short of the estimates more
than a hundred thousand dollars. This is attributed, in a great
degree, to the increase of free letters growing out of the exten-
sion and abuse of the franking privilege. There has been a
gradual increase in the number of executive officers to which it
has been granted; and by an act passed in March, 1833, it was
extended to members of Congress throughout the whole year. It
is believed that a revision of the laws relative to the franking
privilege, with some enactments to enforce more rigidly the re-
strictions under which it is granted, would operate beneficially to
the country, by enabling the Department at an early period to
708 LIFE AND TIMES OF
restore the mail facilities which have been withdrawn, and to ex-
tend them more widely, as the growing settlement of the country-
may require.
To a measure so important to the Government, and so just to
our constituents, who ask no exclusive privileges for themselves,
and are not willing to concede them to others, I earnestly recom-
mend the serious attention of Congress.
The importance of the Post-office Department, and the magni-
tude to which it has grown, both in its revenues and in its opera-
tions, seem to demand its reorganisation by law. The whole of
its receipts and disbursements have hitherto been left entirely to
executive control and individual discretion. The principle is as
sound in relation to this as to any other Department of the Gov-
ernment, that as little discretion should be confided to the execu-
tive officer who controls it as is compatible with its efficiency.
It is therefore earnestly recommended that it be organized with
an auditor and treasury of its own, appointed by the President
and Senate, who shall be branches of the Treasury Department.
Your attention is again respectfully invited to the defect which
exists in the judicial system of the United States. Nothing can
be more desirable than the uniform operation of the Federal
judiciary throughout the several States, all of which, standing on
the same footing as members of the Union, have equal rights to
the advantages and benefits resulting from its laws. This object
is not attained by the judicial acts now in force, because they
leave one-fourth of the States without circuit courts.
It is undoubtedly the duty of Congress to place all the States
on the same footing in this respect, either by the creation of an
additional number of associate judges, or by an enlargement of
the circuits assigned to those already appointed, so as to include
the new States. Whatever may be the difficulty in a proper or-
ganization of the judicial system, so as to secure its efficiency and
uniformity in all parts of the Union, and at the same time to avoid
such an increase of judges as would encumber the supreme appel-
late tribunal, it should not be allowed to weigh against the great
injustice which the present operation of the system produces.
I trust that I may be also pardoned for renewing the recom-
mendations I have so often submitted to your attention, in regard
to the mode of electing the President and Vice-President of the
United States. All the reflection I have been able to bestow
upon the subject increases my conviction that the best interests
ANDREW JACKSON, 709
of the country will be promoted by the adoption of some plan
which will secure, in all contingencies, that important right of
sovereignty to the direct control of the people. Could this be at-
tained, and the terras of those officers be limited to a single period
of either four or six years, I think our liberties would possess an
additional safeguard.
At your last session I called the attention of Congress to the
destruction of the public building occupied by the Treasury De-
partment. As the public interest requires that another building
should be erected with as little delay as possible, it is hoped that
the means will be seasonably provided, and that they will be ample
enough to authorize such an enlargement and improvement in the
plan of the building as will more effectually accommodate the
public officers, and secure the public documents deposited in it
■ from the casualties of fire.
I have not been able to satisfy myself that the bill entitled
"An act to improve the navigation of the Wabash River," which
was sent to me at the close of your last session, ought to pass, and
I have therefore withheld from it my approval, and now return
it to the Senate, the body in which it originated.
There can be no question connected with the administration
of public affairs, more important, or more difficult to be satisfac-
torily dealt with, than that which relates to the rightful author-
ity and proper action of the Federal Government upon the
subject of internal improvements. To inherent embarrassments
have been added others resulting from the course of our legisla-
tion concerning it.
I have heretofore communicated freely with Congress upon
this subject, and, in adverting to it again, I can not refrain from
expressing my increased conviction of its extreme importance, as
well in regard to its bearing upon the maintenance of the Con-
stitution, and the prudent management of the public revenue,
as on account of its disturbing effect upon the harmony of the
Union.
We are in no danger from violations of the Constitution, by
which encroachments are made upon the personal rights of the
citizens. The sentence of condemnation long since pronounced
by the American people upon acts of that character, will, I
doubt not, continue to prove as salutary in its effects as it is irre-
versible in its nature. But against the dangers of unconstitu-
tional acts which, instead of menacing the vengeance of offended
710 LIFE AND TIMES OF
authority, proffer local advantages, and bring in their train the
patronage of the Government, we are, I fear, not so safe. To
suppose that, because our Government has been instituted for the
benefit of the people, it must therefore have the power to do
whatever may seem to conduce to the public good, is an error
into which even honest minds are loo apt to fall. In yielding
themselves to this fallacy, they overlook the great considerations
in which the Federal Constitution was founded. They forget that,
in consequence of the conceded diversities in the interest and
condition of the different States, it was foreseen, at the period of
its adoption, that, although a particular measure of the Govern-
ment might be beneficial and proper in one State, it might be
the reverse in another; that it was for this reason the States
would not consent to make a grant to the Federal Government
of the general and usual powers of government, but of such only
as were, specifically enumerated, and the probable effects of which
they could, as they thought, safely anticipate; and they forget
also the paramount obligation upon all to abide by the compact,
then so solemnly, and, as it was hoped, so firmly established. In
addition to the dangers to the Constitution springing from the
sources I have stated, there has been one which was perhaps
greater than all. I allude to the materials which this subject has
afforded for sinister appeals to selfish feelings, and the opinion
heretofore so extensively entertained of its adaptation to the pur-
poses of personal ambition. With such stimulants, it is not
surprising that the acts and pretensions of the Federal Govern-
ment, in this behalf, should sometimes have been carried to an
alarming extent. The questions which have arisen upon this
subject have related: —
1. To the power of making internal improvements within the
limits of a State, with the right of territorial jurisdiction, suffi-
cient at least for their preservation and use;
2. To the right of appropriating money in aid of such works
when carried on by a State, or by a company in virtue of State
authority, surrendering the claim of jurisdiction ; and,
3. To the propriety of appropriations for improvements of a
particular class; viz., for light-houses, beacons, buoys, public
piers, and for the removal of sand-bars, sawyers, and other tem-
porary and partial impediments in our navigable rivers and
harbors.
The claims of power for the General Government upon each
ANDREW JACKSON. 711
of these points certainly present matter of the deepest interest.
The first is, however, of much the greatest importance, inasmuch
as, in addition to the dangers of unequal and improvident expen-
ditures of public moneys, common to all, there is superadded
to that the conflicting jurisdictions of the respective govern-
ments. Federal jurisdiction, at least to the extent I have stated,
has been justly regarded by its advocates as necessarily appurte-
nant to the power in question, if that exists by the Constitu-
tion. That the most injurious conflicts would unavoidably arise
between the respective jurisdictions of the State and Federal
Governments, in the absence of a Constitutional provision mark-
ing out their respective boundaries, can not be doubted. The
local advantages to be obtained would induce the States to over-
look in the beginning the dangers and difficulties to which they
might ultimately be exposed. The powers exercised by the Fed-
eral Government would soon be regarded with jealousy by the
State authorities, and originating, as they must, from implication
or assumption, it would be impossible to affix to them certain
and safe limits. Opportunities and temptations to the assumption
of power incompatible with State sovereignty, would be increased,
and those barriers which resist the tendency of our system toward
consolidation, greatly weakened. The officers and agents of the
General Government might not always have the discretion to
abstain from intermeddling with State concerns ; and if they did,
they would not ahvays escape the suspicion of having done so.
Collisions and consequent irritations would spring up; that har-
mony which should ever exist between the General Government
and each member of the Confederacy, would be frequently inter-
rupted; a spirit of contention would be engendered; and the
dangers of division greatly multiplied.
Yet we all know that, notwithstanding these grave objections,
this dangerous doctrine was at one time, apparently, proceeding
to its final establishment with fearful rapidity. The desire to
embark the Federal Government in works of internal improve-
ment prevailed, in the highest degree, dujing the first session of
the first Congress that I had the honor to meet in my present
situation. When the bill authorizing a subscription on the part
of the United States for stock in the Maysville and Lexington
Turnpike Company, passed the two Houses, there had been
reported by the Committees on Internal Improvements, bills con-
taining appropriations for such objects, exclusive of those for the
712 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Cnmberland Road, and for harbors and light-houses, to the
amount of about one hundred and six millions of dollars. In
this amount was included authority to the Secretary of the
Treasury to subscribe for the stock of different companies to a
great extent, and the residue was principally for the direct con-
struction of roads by this Government. In addition to these
projects, which have been presented to the two Houses under the
sanction and recommendation of their respective Committees on
Internal Improvements, there were then still pending before the
committees, and in memorials to Congress, presented but not
referred, different projects for works of a similar character, the
expense of which can not be estimated with certainty, but must
have exceeded one hundred millions of dollars.
Regarding the bill authorizing a subscription to the stock of
the Maysville and Lexington Turnpike Company as the entering
wedge of a system which, however weak at first, might soon
become strong enough to rive the bands of the Union asunder;
and believing that, if its passage was acquiesced in by the Exec-
utive and the people, there Avould no longer be any limitation
upon the authority of the General Government in respect to the
appropriation of money for such objects, I deemed it an impera-
tive duty to withhold from it the Executive approval. Although,
from the obviously local character of that work, I might well
have contented myself with a refusal to approve the bill upon
that ground, yet, sensible of the vital importance of the subject,
and anxious that my views and opinions in regard to the whole
matter should be fully understood by Congress, and by my con-
stituents, I felt it my duty to go further. I therefore embraced
that early occasion to apprise Congress that, in my opinion, the
Constitution did not confer upon it the power to authorize the
construction of ordinary roads and canals within the limits of a
State, and to say, respectfully, that no bill admitting such a
poAver could receive my official sanction. I did so in the confi-
dent expectation that the speedy settlement of the public mind
upon the whole subject would be greatly facilitated by the differ-
ence between the two Houses and myself, and that the harmo-
nious action of the several departments of the Federal Govern-
ment in regai'd to it would be ultimately secured.
So far, at least, as it regards this branch of the subject, my
best hopes have been realized. Nearly four years have elapsed,
and several sessions of Congress have intervened, and no attempt
ANDREW JACKSON. 713
•within niT recollection has been made to induce Congress to ex-
ercise this power. The applications for the Construction of roads
and canals, which were formerly multiplied upon your files, are
no longer presented; and we have good reason to infer that
the current of public sentiment has become so decided against
the pretension as effectually to discourage its reassertion. So
thinking, I derive the greatest satisfaction from the conviction
that thus much at least has been secured upon this important
and embarrassing subject.
From attempts to appropriate the national funds to objects
which are confessedly of a local character, we can not, I trust,
have anything further to apprehend. My views in regard to the
expediency of making appropriations for works which are claimed
to be of a national character, and prosecuted under State au-
thority, assuming that Congress have the right to do so, were
stated in my annual message to Congress in 1830, and also in
that containing my objections to the Maysville Road Bill.
So thoroughly convinced am I that no such appropriations
ought to be made by Congress, until a suitable Constitutional pro-
vision is made upon the subject, and so essential do I regard the
point to the highest interests of our country, that I could not
consider myself as discharging my duty to my constituents in giv-
ing the executive sanction to any bill containing such an appro-
priation. If the people of the United States desire that the pub-
lic treasury shall be resorted to for the means to prosecute such
works, they will concur in an amendment of the Constitution,
prescribing a rule by which the national character of the works is
to be tested, and by which the greatest practicable equality of
benefits may be secured to each member of the confederacy. The
eflPects of such a regulation would be most salutary in preventing
unprofitable expenditures, in securing our legislation from the
pernicious consequences of a scramble for the favors of Govern-
ment, and in repressing the spirit of discontent which must in-
evitably arise from an unequal distribution of treasures which
belong alike to all.
There is another class of appropriations for what may be called,
without impropriety, internal improvements, which have always
been regarded as standing upon different grounds from those to
which I have referred. I allude to such as have for their object
the improvement of our harbors, the removal of partial and tem-
porary obstructions in our navigable rivers, for the facility and
714 LIFE AND TIMES OF
security of our foreign commerce. The grounds upon which I
distinguished appropriations of this character from others have
already been stated to Congress. I will now only add that, at
the first session of Congress under the new Constitution, it was
provided by law, that all expenses which should accrue from and
after the 15th day of August, 1789, in the necessary support and
maintenance and repairs of all light-houses, beacons, buoys, and
public piers, erected, placed, or sunk, before the passage of the
act, within any bay, inlet, harbor, or port of the United States,
for rendering the navigation thereof easy and safe, should be de-
frayed out of the Treasury of the United States; and further,
that it be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to provide
by contracts, with the approbation of the President, for rebuilding
when necessary and keeping in good repair the light-houses, bea-
cons, buoys, and public piers, in the several States, and for fur-
nishing them with supplies. Appropriations for similar objects
have been continued from that time to the present without inter-
ruption or dispute. As a natural consequence of the increase and
extension of our foreign commerce, ports of entry and delivery
have been multiplied and established, not only upon our sea-board,
but in the interior of the country, upon our lakes and navigable
rivers. The convenience and safety of this commerce have led to
the gradual extension of these expenditures ; to the erection of
light-houses, the placing, planting, and sinking of buoys, beacons,
and piers, and to the removal of partial and temporary obstruc-
tions in our navigable rivers, and the harbors upon our great
lakes, as well as on the sea-board. Although I expressed to Con-
gress my apprehension that these expenditures have sometimes
been extravagant and disproportionate to the advantages to be
derived from them, I have not felt it to be my duty to refuse my
assent to bills containing them, and have contented myself to fol-
low, in this respect, in the footsteps of all my predecessors. Sen-
sible, however, from experience and observation, of the great
abuses to which the unrestricted exercise of this authority by
Congress was exposed, I have prescribed a limitation for the gov-
ernment of my own conduct, by which expenditures of this
character are confined to places below the ports of entry or deliv-
ery established by law. I am very sensible that this restriction
is not as satisfactory as could be desired, and that much embar-
rassment may be caused to the Executive Department in its
execution, by appropriations for remote and not well-understoud
ANDREW JACKSON. 715
objects. But as neither my own reflections, nor the lights which
I may properly derive from other sources, have supplied me with
a better, I shall continue to apply my best exertions to a faitliful
application of the rule upon which it is founded. I sincerely re-
gret that I could not give my assent to the bill entitled "An act
to improve the navigation of the Tf'abash River ;" but I could not
have done so without receding from the ground which I have, upon
the fullest consideration, taken upon this subject, and of Avhich
Congress has been heretofore apprised, and without throwing the
subject again open to abuses which no good citizen, entertaining
my opinions, could desire.
I rely upon the intelligence and candor of my fellow-citizens,
in whose liberal indulgence I have already so largely participated,
for a correct appreciation of my motives in interposing, as I have
done, on this, and other occasions, checks to a course of legisla-
tion which, without, in the slightest degree, calling in question
the motives of others, I consider as sanctioning improper and un-
constitutional expenditures of public treasure.
I am not hostile to internal improvements, and wish to see
them extended to every part of the country. But I am fully
persuaded if they are not commenced iu a proper manner, con-
fined to proper objects, and conducted under an authority gener-
ally conceded to be rightful, that a successful prosecution of them
can not be reasonably expected. The attempt will meet with re-
sistance where it might otherwise receive support ; and instead of
strengthening the bonds of our confederacy, it will only multiply
and aggravate the 'causes of disunion.
This is a fine message, and maintains well the
usually high standard of the American executive
papers. The most important subject in the message is
the relations with France, which the President fully
and clearly states. The main points of the difficulty
are readily seen from this statement. The spoliations
on our commerce began under the Administration of
John Adams, and were especially aggravated and ex-
tended under the following Administrations. In 1806
and 1807 the decrees of Berlin and Milan, by order
of Napoleon Bonaparte, to counteract the influence of
716 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the equally prejudicial British " orders in Council,"
nearly paralyzed the maritime trade of this country.
The war of 1812, and the downfall of Napoleon, cor-
rected the evil with England, but no attempt at re-
covery of damages had ever been successful with
France, although negotiations on the subject had been
maintained through every Administration. At last in
1831, Wm. C. Rives, Minister to France, effected an
arrangement by which the French Government ac-
knowledged the debt, and obligated itself to pay five
million dollars to this Government as stated in the
President's message. When the first payment was
due in the Spring of 1833, no provision had been made
for its payment. General Jackson had no minister in
France to press the claim. Aroused by the effect of
his culpable neglect, Edward Livingston was sent to
France, but was not successful in inducing the Chamber
of Deputies to make the appropriation to pay the
American debt. King Louis Philippe assured Mr. Liv-
ingston from the first that the debt was just and
should be paid. And had it been in his power his
promise would have been made good. Louis Philippe's
friendly disposition towards the United States induced
him, unfortunately for himself, to tell Mr. Livingston
to request General Jackson in his next message to
Congress to use some threatening language for the
purpose of stirring the indifferent Deputies to pay
their debts. General Jackson acted on the suggestion
with a vengeance, as appears in the foregoing message.
The King was not only surprised and the Deputies
enraged, but the people of France were furious, and
clamorous for war. The matter was greatly aggra-
vated by the publication in America of extracts from
ANDREW JACKSON. 717
Mr. Livingston's letters, showing the part the king
had in the matter. This was a severe trial to the
friendly Philippe, and was, indeed, embarrassing to
Mr. Livingston. This piece of despicable, impolitic,
bad faith had its origin in the " Kitchen Cabinet," in
all probability. But it is chargeable to General Jack-
son, and no matter whence it originated, there is no
apology for it. Necessarily much of the diplomatic cor-
respondence between governments is not matter for
public gaze, and must in honor be inviolable. Minis-
terial relations were at once broken off between the
two nations, and Mr. Livingston retuwned home, leav-
ing affairs in the hands of his Secretary of Legation,
who was also soon recalled. War seemed to be inev-
itable, and steps were taken on both sides of the ocean
looking to that result. The French Government wanted
President Jackson to apologize for the insulting mes-
sage, but this he declined to do. The world did not yet
understand the man. He never did a wrong, and never
apologized. No American would have desired him to
do so in this case. But England stepped in at this
moment and offered her friendly mediation, which was
accepted, and the difficulty was amicably adjusted in
1836, the French-American debt paid, and friendly dip-
lomatic relations again established. President Jackson
received a vast amount of adulation for this favorable
ending of a very warlike explosion. After years of
effort under other Administrations, the spoliation claims
were finally admitted under the peculiar, persuasive
methods of General Jackson. But his extravagance
had again brought the country to the verge of war.
His acceptance of British mediation was a praiseworthy
step, but in this he had precedents enough. Much of
718 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the praise bestowed on the General for the outcome in
this case was of doubtful propriety.
It may well be doubted whether adoration, or even
gratitude, is, in any marked manner, due any man for
doing what is both his interest and his duty. Every
man owes to the world and himself his best efforts.
If he falls below his highest possibilities, it is a fault ;
if he rises to these it is what should be expected of
him, and adulation and flattery then become unneces-
sary, if they are not mean and contemptible. The
military chief has almost invariably come into politics
from the grandeur or benefit of his exploits on the
field, and he has been taught to think and act as if
the country owes him a debt of gratitude which it
must pay in political preferment, or easy retirement.
No falser doctrine ever actuated human conduct. That
character is despicable that would save a life, and then
ask the life in compensation for the deed. The nature
which exacts gratitude for a kind or good act is selfish
and unreliable, if not dangerous. Great hearts can not
be impelled by motives so unworthy. But the country
rang with the praise of General Jackson, and when the
8th of January, 1835, came, it was claimed that a
new incentive had been added to this phantom of the
breath.
On the first day of the new year arrangements were
made for paying the last installment of the public debt.
This was, indeed, a rare and delightful spectacle. A
nation out of debt ! And now the 8th of January was
to be dedicated to the worship of the Hero of New Or-
leans, and the advancement of the interest of a great
political party. There was to be a banquet of extraor-
dinary proportions and splendor at the Capital. The
ANDREW JACKSON. 719
President did not attend. He was too modest ! He
sent a " toast :" " The Payment of the Public Debt.
Let us commemorate it as an event which gives us
increased power as a nation, and reflects luster on our
Federal Union, of whose justice, fidelity, arid wisdom
it is a glorious illustration." Thomas H. Benton pre-
sided, and a host of the party leaders were vice-presi-
dents. The " Heir Apparent," Mr. Van Buren, was
the favored guest. A vast number of " toasts " was
brought into requisition, and more than one-half of
them were devoted to the praise of General Jackson.
The extravagance, if not decided insincerity and syco-
phancy, of most of them may be seen from this one
from Mr. Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy : " The
Eighth of January, 1815. An important era in the
history of America — second only to the Fourth of
July, 1776."
It was not Mr. Dickerson's ignorance, it was his
anxiety to flatter General Jackson. Can there be found
an event in American history comparable with the
Declaration of Independence ? No sentence or page
will do it justice. The Battle of New Orleans unfor-
tunately came after the end, after the peace was signed
in England, and it only served for foreign prestige,
besides giving the United States the last and the end-
less hurrah.
The burthen of Colonel R. M. Johnson's sentiment
was also " Andrew Jackson who prevented booty, and
protected beauty." Unworthy of anybody but an old
grandam ! The British army was not a vandal mob.
Liverpool or Oxford would, in all probability, have
been no less safe under General Jackson and his citizen
soldiers, than New Orleans under Packenham or Lambert.
720 LIFE AND TIMES OF
About the payment of the public debt President
Jackson was persistent and determined. By his veto
he put a stop to all expenditures for internal improve-
ments, in part that the surplus revenue might go to
the discharge of the debt. But under Monroe or Ad-
ams or another President the same result would have
been reached in a little longer time, with the public
improvements added. Still it is not what might have
been that affects popular sentiment. And it was right
to point to General Jackson as the man.
During this session of Congress, on January 30th,
while President Jackson was attending the funeral of
Congressman Warren R. Davis, an insane wretch at-
tempted to assassinate him in the vestibule of the ro-
tunda at the Capitol. After snapping two pistols the
would-be assassin was knocked down by Lieutenant
Gedney, a naval officer. He was taken to jail, but was
not punished, as it was quite clear that he was insane.
General Jackson was furious over this affair, and at-
tributed the attempt upon his life to his political
enemies. When a fancy of this kind took possession
of him it was no easy matter for him to be persuaded
out of it, and he seldom, to all appearances, made an
attempt to disabuse his own mind. A year or two
before, when Randolph had ridiculously tweaked the
General's nose, Mr. Adams wrote in his Diary : *' A
President of the United States pulled by the nose is
a new incident in the history of the country, and as
he himself has countenanced personal violence against
members of Congress, he will not meet with much
sympathy."
In his last message the President, as usual, recom-
mended an amendment of the Constitution to provide for
ANDREW JACKSON. 721
the election of President and Vice-President by the
direct vote of the people, and for fixing four or six
years as the term of service. But, as usual, Congress
took no note of this chronic recommendation. In this
message, after quite fully and fairly reviewing the mat-
ter of public expenditures, the President declares that
he is in favor of internal improvements. Some appro-
priations were made for improving certain harbors and
rivers, for the Cumberland Road, and other roads and
surveys ; branch mints were established at New Or-
leans, and in .Georgia and North Carolina ; an act was
passed to regulate the deposits of the United States
in the banks, and note was taken of the death of
Charles Carroll of CarroUton, John Randolph of
Roanoke, and William Wirt, who had died in 1834.
On the 14th of January, 1835, the Senate unanimously
passed a resolution declaring it inexpedient to take any
note of affairs between the United States and France,
notwithstanding the President's message. In May Mr.
Barry resigned his position as Postmaster-General, and
was sent as- Minister to Spain. Amos Kendall was
appointed as his successor, but his nomination was not
confirmed until 1836.
During the summer of 1835, the candidates for
President and Vice-President were put in the field.
Edwin Williams says : —
"There was an impression at this time that General Jackson
contemplated retiring from the Presidency, leaving the reins of
Government in the hands of Mr. Van Buren for the remainder
of his term ; but if he had such an intention it was abandoned.
He was, however, anxious that Mr. Van Buren should be his
successor in the Presidency, and in February, 1835, he came out
with a letter to a friend, in which he expresses himself in favor
of a National Democratic Convention, to nominate a President
46— G
722 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Vice-President. The Convention was a favorite project of
Mr. Van Buren, and it soon appeared that all the supporters of
the Administration who were in favor of Mr. Van Buren as suc-
cessor to General Jackson, advocated a nomination by a conven-
tion, while the opponents of Mr. Van Buren, in the same ranks,
denounced that mode of nomination. A large section of the Jack-
son party gave early indications of an intention to support Hugh
L. White, one of the Tennessee Senators, for President, and in
January, 1835, he was nominated by the Legislature of Alabama,
and, about the same time, by the people of Tennessee, and by
the Tennessee delegation in the House of Representatives, all of
whom signed a letter in his favor, except James K. Polk and
Cave Johnson. Mr. Van Buren was already nominated for the
Presidency by a State Convention in Mississippi. Three candi-
dates had been named by the Whig opposition ; namely. General
AVilliam H. Harrison, of Ohio, by a meeting at Harrisburg ;
John McLean, of Ohio, by a Legislative caucus in that State ; and
Daniel Webster, by the Whigs in the Legislature of Massachusetts.
"The National Democratic Convention for the nomination of
President and Vice-President of the United States, met at Balti-
more on the 20th of May, 1835. More than six hundred dele-
gates were in attendance, and twenty-two States were represented.
Upon the first ballot, Martin Van Buren received the unanimous
vote of the Convention for President. This was expected, as none
but the friends of Mr. Van Buren took part in the Convention.
Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received the nomi-
nation for Vice-President, by 178 votes, to 87 for William C.
Rives, of Virginia. The delegates from Virginia protested against
the nomination of Colonel Johnson, declaring that he could not
receive the vote of that State."
ANDREW JACKSON. 723
CHAPTKR XXXIV.
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE— PRESI-
DENTIAL ELECTION.
ON the 7th of December, 1835, Congress again
convened, and did not adjourn until the 4th of
July, 1836. This time Mr. Polk was successful in the
race for Speaker of the House, receiving 132 votes to
84 for John Bell, Speaker for the last two sessions or
the " 24th Congress." Bell represented the opposition
and the friends of Hugh L. White. The following is
President Jackson's
SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : —
In discharge of my official duty, the task again devolves upon
me of communicating with a new Congress. The reflection that
the representation of the Union has been recently renewed, and
that the Constitutional term of its service will expire with my
own, heightens the solicitude with which il shall attempt to lay be-
fore it the state of our national concerns, and the devout hope
which I cherish that its labors to improve them may be crowned
with success.
You are assembled at a period of profound interest to the
American patriot. The unexampled growth and prosperity of our
country having given us a rank in the scale of nations which re-
moves all apprehension of danger to our integrity and independ-
ence from external foes, the career of freedom is before us, with
an earnest of the past, that, if true to ourselves, there can be no
formidable obstacle in the future to its peaceful and uninterrupted
pursuit. Yet, in proportion to the disappearance of those appre-
hensions which attended our weakness, as once contrasted with
724 LIFE AND TIMES OF
*tlie power of some of the States of the Old World, should we now
be solicitous as to those which belong to the conviction that it is
to our own conduct we must look for the preservation of those
causes on which depend the excellence and the duration of our
happy system of government.
In the example of other systems founded on the will of the
people, we trace to internal dissension the influences which have
so often blasted the hopes of the friends of freedom. The social
elements, which were strong and successful when united against
external danger, failed in the more difficult task of properly
adjusting their own internal organization, and thus gave way the
great principle of self-government. Let us trust that this admo-
nition will never be forgotten by the Government or the people of
the United States ; and that the testimony which our experience
thus far holds out to the great human family, of the practicabil-
ity and blessings of free government, will be confirmed in aU
time to come.
We have but to look at the state of our agriculture, manu-
factures, and commerce, and the unexampled increase of our
population, to feel the magnitude of the trust committed to us.
Never, in any former period of our history, have we had greater
reason than we now have to be thankful to Divine Providence for
the blessings of health and general prosperity. Every branch of
labor we see crowned with the most abundant rewards; in every
element of national resources and wealth, and of individual com-
fort, we witness the most rapid and solid improvements. With
no interruptions of this pleasing prospect at home, which will not
yield to the spirit of harmony and good-will that so strikingly
pervade the mass of the people in every quarter, amid all the
diversity of interest and pursuits to which they are attached ; and
with no cause of solicitude in regard to our external affairs,
which will not, it is lioped, disappear before the principles of
simple justice and forbearance that mark our intercourse with
foreign powers, we have every reason to feel proud of our be-
loved country.
The general state of our foreign relations has not materially
changed since my last annual message.
In the settlement of the question of the north-eastern bound-
ary, little progress has been made. Great Britain has declined
acceding to the proposition of the United States, presented
in accordance with the resolution of the Senate, unless certain
ANDREW JACKSON. 725
preliminary conditions were admitted, which I deemed incompat-
ible with a satisfactory and rightful adjustment of the contro-
versy. Waiting for some distinct proposal from the Government
of Great Britain, which has been invited, I can only repeat the
expression of my confidence that, with the strong mutual dispo-
sition which I believe exists to make a just arrangement, this
perplexing question can be settled with a due regard to the well-
founded pretensions and pacific policy of all the parties to it.
Events are frequently occurring on the north-eastern frontier, of
a character to impress upon all the necessity of a speedy and
definitive termination of the dispute. This consideration, added
to the desire common to both, to relieve the liberal and friendly
relations so happily existing between the two countries from all
embarrassment, will, no doubt, have its just influence upon both.
Our diplomatic intercourse with Portugal has been renewed,
and it is expected that the claims of our citizens, j)artially paid,
will be fully satisfied as soon as the condition of the queen's gov-
ernment will permit the proper attention to the subject of them.
That government has, I am happy to inform you, manifested a
determination to act upon the liberal principles which have
marked our commercial policy; the happiest effects upon the
future trade between the United States and Portugal are antici-
pated from it, and the time is not thought to be remote when a
system of perfect reciprocity will be established.
The installments due under the convention with the king of
the Two Sicilies, have been paid with that scrupulous fidelity by
which his whole conduct has been characterized, and the hope is
indulged that the adjustment of the vexed question of our claims
will be followed by a more extended and mutually beneficial in-
tercourse between the two countries.
The internal contest still continues in Spain. Distinguished
as this struggle has unhappily been, by* incidents of. the most
sanguinary character, the obligations of the late treaty of indem-
nification with us have been, nevertheless, faithfully executed by
the Spanish Government.
No provision having been made at the last session of Congress
for the ascertainment of the claims to be paid, and the appor-
tionment of the funds, under the convention made with Spain, I
invite your early attention to the subject. The public evidences
of the debt have, according to the terms of the convention, and
in the forms prescribed by it, been placed in the possession of
726 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the United States, and the interest, as it fell due, has been regu-
larly paid upon them. Our commercial intercourse with Cuba
Btands as regulated by the act of Congress. No recent informa-
tion has been received as to the disposition of the Government
of Madrid on this subject, and the lamented death of our re-
cently appointed minister on his way to Spain, with the pressure
of their affairs at home, render it scarcely probable that any
change is to be looked for during the coming year. Further
portions of the Florida archives have been sent to the United
States, although the death of one of the commissioners, at a
critical moment, embarrassed the progress of the delivery of them.
The higher officers of the local government have recently shown
an anxious desire, in compliance with the orders from the parent
government, to facilitate the selection and delivery of all we have
a right to claim.
Negotiations have been opened at Madrid, for the establish-
ment of a lasting peace between Spain and such of the Spanish
American Governments of this hemisphere as have availed them-
selves of the intimation given to all of them, of the disposition
of Spain to treat upon the basis of their entire independence.
It is to be regretted, that simultaneous appointments, by all, of
ministers to negotiate with Spain, had not been made; the nego-
tiation itself would have been simplified, and this long-standing
dispute, spreading over a large portion of the world, would have
been brought to a more speedy conclusion.
Our political and commercial relations with Austria, Prussia,
Sweden, and Denmark, stand on the usual favorable basis.
One of the articles of our treaty with Russia, in relation to the
trade on the north-west coast of America having expired, in-
structions have been given to our minister at St. Petersburg to
negotiate a renewal of it. The long unbroken amity between the
two governments gives every reason for supposing the article will
be renewed, if stronger motives do not exist to prevent it than,
Avith our view of the subject, can be anticipated here.
I ask your attention to the message of my predecessor at the
opening of the second session of the Nineteenth Congress, relative
to our commercial intercourse with Holland, and to the docu-
ments connected with that subject, communicated to the House
of Representatives on the 10th of January, 1825, and the 18th
January, 1827. Coinciding in the opinion of my predecessor,
that Holland is not, under the regulations of her present S3^stem,
ANDREW JACKSON. 727
entitled to have her vessels and their cargoes received into the
United States on the footing of American vessels and cargoes, as
regards duties of tonnage and impost, a respect for his reference
of it to the Legislature has long prevented me from acting on
the subject. I should still have waited, without comment, for
the action of Congress, but recently a claim has been made by
Belgian subjects to admission into our ports for their ships and
cargoes on the same footing as American, with the allegation we
could not dispute, that our vessels received in their ports the
identical treatment shown to them in the ports of Holland, upon
whose vessels no discrimination is made in the ports of the
United States. Giving the same privileges, the Belgians ex-
pect the same benefits, benefits that were in fact enjoyed when
Belgium and Holland were united under one government. Sat-
isfied with the justice of their pretension to be placed on the
same footing with Holland, I could not, nevertheless, without
disregard to the principle of our laws, admit their claim to be
treated as Americans ; and at the same time a respect for Con-
gress, to whom the subject had long since been referred, has pre-
vented me from producing a just equality, by taking from the
vessels of Holland privileges conditionally granted by acts of
Congress, although the condition upon which the grant was
made has in my judgment failed since 1822. I recommend,
therefore, a review of the act of 1824, on such a modification
of it as will produce an equality, on such terms as Congress
shall think best comports with our settled policy, and the obliga-
tions of justice to two friendly powers.
With the Sublime Porte, and all the governments on the
coast of Barbary, our relations continue to be friendly. The
proper steps have been taken to renew our treaty with Morocco.
The Argentine Republic has again promised to send, within
the current year, a minister to the United States.
A convention with Mexico for extending the time for the ap-
pointment of commissioners to run the boundary line has been
concluded, and will be submitted to the Senate. Recent events
in that country have awakened the liveliest solicitude in the
United States. Aware of the strong temptations existing, and
powerful inducements held out to the citizens of the United
States, to mingle in the dissensions of our immediate neighbors,
instructions have been given to the District Attorney of the
United States where indications warranted, to prosecute, without
728 LIFE AND TIMES OF
respect to persons, all who might attempt to violate the obliga-
tion of our neutrality ; while at the same time it has been
thought necessary to apprise the Government of Mexico that we
should require the integrity of our territory to be scrupulously
respected by both parties.
From our diplomatic agents in Brazil, Chili, Peru, Central
America, Venezuela, and New Grenada, constant assurances are
received of the continued good understanding with the govern-
ments to which they are severally accredited. With those gov-
ernments upon which our citizens have valid and accumulating
claims, scarcely an advance toward the settlement of them is
made, owing mainly to their distracted state, or to the pressure
of imperative domestic questions. Our patience has been, and
will probably be still further, severely tried; but our fellow-citi-
zens whose interests are involved, may confide in the determina-
tion of the Government to obtain for them eventually ample
retribution.
Unfortunately, many of the nations of this hemisphere are
still self-tortured by domestic dissensions. Revolution succeeds
revolution, injuries are committed upon foreigners engaged in
lawful pursuits, much time elapses before a government suffi-
ciently stable is erected to justify expectation of redress; minis-
ters are sent and received, and before the discussions of past in-
juries are fairly begun, fresh troubles arise ; but too frequently
new injuries are added to the old, to be discussed together with
the existing government, after it has proved its ability to sustain
the assaults made upon it, or with its successor, if overthrown.
If this unhappy condition of things continue much longer, other
nations will be under the painful necessity of deciding whether
justice to their suffering citizens does not require a prompt re-
dress of injuries by their own power, without waiting for the
establishment of a government competent and enduring enough
to discuss and make satisfaction for them.
Since the last session of Congress, the validity of our claims
upon France, as liquidated by the treaty of 1831, has been
acknowledged by both branches of her Legislature, and the
money has been appropriated for their discharge; but the pay-
ment is, I regret to inform you, still withheld.
A brief recapitulation of the most important incidents in this
protracted controversy, will show how utterly untenable are the
grounds upon which this course is attempted to be justified.
ANDREW JACKSON. 729
On entering upon the duties of my station, I found the
United States an unsuccessful applicant to the justice of France,
for the satisfaction of claims the validity of which was never
questionable, and has now been most solemnly admitted by
France herself. The antiquity of these claims, their high justice,
and the aggravating circumstance out of which they arose, are
too familiar to the American people to require description. It is
sufficient to say, that for a period of ten years and upward, our
commerce was, with but little interruption, the subject of con-
stant aggressions on the part of France ; aggressions, the ordi-
nary features of which were condemnation of vessels a;nd cargoes,
under arbitrary decrees, adopted in contravention as well of
the laws of nations as of treaty stipulations; burnings on the
high seas; and seizures and confiscations, under special imperial
rescripts, in the ports of other nations occupied by the armies or
under the control of France. Such, it is now conceded, is the
character of the wrongs Ave suffered, wrongs in many cases
so flagrant that even their authors never denied our right to
reparation.
Of the extent of these injuries, some conception may be
formed from the fact that, after the burning of a large amount
at sea, and the necessary deterioration in other cases by long
detention, the American property so seized and sacrificed at
forced sales, excluding what was adjudged to privateers, before
or without condemnation, brought into the French treasury up-
ward of twenty-four millions of francs, besides large custom-
house duties.
The subject has already been an aflTair of twenty years' unin-
terrupted negotiation, except for a short time when France was
overwhelmed by the military power of united Europe. During
this period, when other nations were extorting from her pay-
ment of their claims at the point of the bayonet, the United
States intermitted their demand for justice, out of respect to the
oppressed condition of a gallant people, to whom they felt under
obligations for fraternal assistance in their own days of suflfering
and of peril. The bad eflfects of these protracted and unavailing
discussions, as well upon our relations with France as upon our
national character, were obvious; and the line of duty was to
my mind equally so. This was, either to insist upon the adjust-
ment of our claims within a reasonable period, or to abandon
them altogether. I could not doubt that, by this course, the
730 LIFE AND TIMES OF
interests and honor of both countries would be best consulted.
Instructions were therefore given in this spirit to the minister
who was sent out once more to demand reparation. Upon the
meeting of Congress in December, 1829, I felt it my duty to
speak of these claims, and the delays of France, in terms calcu-
lated to call the serious attention of both countries to the subject.
The then French Ministry took exception to the message, on the
ground of its containing a menace, under"which it was not agree-
able to the French Government to negotiate. The American
Minister, of his own accord, refuted the construction which was
attempted to be put upon the message, and at the same time
called to the recollection of the French Ministry, that the Presi-
dent's message was a communication addressed, not to foreign
governments, but to the Congress of the United States, in which
it was enjoined upon him by the Constitution, to lay before that
bodj^ information of the state of the Union, comprehending its
foreign .as well as domestic relations; and that if, in the dis-
charge of this duty, he felt it incumbent upon him to summon
the attention of Congress, in due time, to what might be the
possible consequences of existing difficulties with any foreign
government, he might fairly be supposed to do so under a sense
of what was due from him, in a frank communication with
another branch of his own government, and not from any inten-
tion of holding a menace over a foreign power.
The views taken by him received my approbation, the French
Government was satisfied, and the negotiation was continued. It
terminated in the treaty of July 4, 1831, recognizing the justness
of our claims, in part, and promising payment to the amount of
tweuty-five millions of francs, in six annual installments.
The ratifications of this treaty were exchanged in Washington
on the 2d of February, 1832 ; and in five days thereafter it was
laid before Congress, who immediately passed the acts necessary,
on our part, to secure to France the commercial advantages con-
ceded to her in the compact. The treaty had previously been
solemnly ratified by the king of the French, in terms which are
certainly not mere matters of form, and of which the translation
is as follows: "We, approving the above convention, in all and
each of the dispositions which are contained in it, do declare, by
ourselves, as well as by our heirs and successors, that it is ac-
cepted, approved, ratified, and confirmed ; and by these presents,
signed l)y our hand, we do accept, approve, ratify, and confirm
ANDREW JACKSON. 731
it ; promising, on the faith and ^vol•c^ of a king, to observe it, and
to cause it to be observed inviolably, without ever contravening
it, or suffering it to be contravened, directly or indirectly, for
any cause or under any pretense whatsoever."
Official information of the exchange of ratifications in the
United States reached Paris while the Chambers were in session.
The extraordinary, and to us injurious, delays of the French Gov-
ernment, in their action upon the subject of its fulfillment, have
been heretofore stated to Congress, and I have no disposition to
enlarge upon them here. It is sufficient to observe that the then
pending session was allowed to expire without even an effoi't to ob-
tain the necessary appropriations ; that the two succeeding ones
were also suffered to pass away without anything like a serious
attempt to obtain a decision upon the subject ; and that it was
not until the fourth session, almost three years after the conclusion
of the treaty, and more than two years after the exchange of
ratifications, that the bill for the execution of the treaty was
pressed to a vote and rejected.
In the meantime, the Government of the United States having
full confidence that a treaty entered into and so solemnly ratified
by the French king, would be executed in good faith, and not
doubting that provision would be made for the payment of the
first installment, which was to become due on the second day of
February, 1833, negotiated a draft for the amount through the
Bank of the United States. When this draft was presented by
the holder, with the credentials required by the treaty to authorize
him to receive the money, the Government of France allowed it to
be protested. In addition to the injury in the non-payment of the
money by France, conformably to her agreement, the United
States were exposed to a heavy claim on the part of the bank,
under pretense of damages, in satisfaction of which that institu
tion seized upon, and still retains, an equal amount of the public
moneys. Congress was in session when the decision of the Cham-
bers reached Washington ; and an immediate communication of
this apparently final decision of France not to fulfill the stipula-
tions of the treaty, was the course naturally to be expected from
the President. The deep tone of dissatisfaction which pervaded
the public mind, and the correspondent excitement produced in
Congress by only a general knowledge of the result, rendered it
more than probable that a resort to immediate measures of re-
dress would be the consequence of calling the attention of that
732 LIFE AND TIMES OF
body to the subject. Sincerely desirous of preserving the pacific
relations which had so long existed between the two countries, I
was anxious to avoid this course if I could be satisfied that, by do-
ing so, neither the interest nor the honor of my country would be
compromitted. Without the fullest assurances upon that point, I
could not hope to acquit myself of the responsibility to be incurred
in suflferiug Congress to adjourn without laying the subject before
them. Those received by me were believed to be of that
character.
That the feelings produced in the United States by the news of
the rejection of the appropriation, would be such as I have desci-ibed
them to have been, was foreseen by the French Government, and
prompt measures were taken by it to prevent the consequences.
The king in person expressed, through our ^Minister in Paris, his
profound regret at the decision of the Chambers, and promised to
send, forthwith, a national ship with dispatches to his minister
here, authorizing him to give such assurances as would satisfy the
Government and people of the United States that the treaty
would yet be faithfully executed by France. The national ship
arrived, and the minister received his instructions.
Claiming to act under the authority derived from them, he
gave to this Government, in the name of his, the most solemn
assurances that, as soon after the "new elections as the charter
would permit, the French Chambers would be convened, and the
attempt to procure the necessary appropriations renewed ; that all
the constitutional powers of the king and his ministers should be
put in requisition to accomplish the object; and he was under-
stood, and so expressly informed by this Government at the time,
to engage that the question should be pressed to a decision at a
period sufficiently early to permit information of the result to be
communicated to Congress at the commencement of their next
session. Relying upon these assurances, I incurred the responsi-
bility, great as I regarded it to be, of suffering Congress to sep-
arate without communicating with them upon the subject.
The expectations justly founded upon the promise thus sol-
emnly made to this Government by that of France, were not
realized. The French Chambers met on the 31st of July, 1834,
soon after the election ; and although our Minister in Paris urged
the French Ministry to bring the subject before them, they de-
clined doing so. He next insisted that the Chambers, if pro-
rogued Avithout acting on the subject, should be reassembled at a
ANDREW JACKSON. 733
period so early that their action on the treaty might be known in
AVashingtou prior to the meeting of Congress. This reasonable
request was not only declined, but the Chambers were prorogued
to the 29th of December, a day so late, that their decision, how-
ever urgently pressed, could not, in all probability, be obtained
in time to reach AVashington before the necessary adjournment
of Congress, by the Constitution. The reasons given by the Min-
istry for refusing to convoke the Chambers at an earlier period,
were afterward shown not to be insuperable, by their actual con-
vocation on the 1st of December, under a special call for domestic
purposes; which fact, however, did not become known to this
Government until after the commencement of the last session of
Congress.
Thus disappointed in our just expectations, it became my im-
perative duty to consult with Congress in regard to the expediency
of a resort to retaliatory measures, in case the stipulations of the
treaty should not be speedily complied with ; and to recommend
such as, in my judgment, the occasion called for. To this end an
unreserved communication of the case, in all its aspects, became
indispensable. To have shrunk, in making it, from saying all
that was necessary to its correct understanding, and that the truth
would justify, for fear of giving offense to others would have been
unworthy of us. To have gone, on the other hand, a single step
further, for the purpose of wounding the pride of a government
and people with whom we had so many motives for cultivating
relations of amity and reciprocal advantage, would have been un-
wise and improper. Admonished, by the past, of the difficulty
of making even the simplest statement of our wrongs without dis-
turbing the sensibilities of those, who had by their position be-
come responsible for their redress, and earnestly desirous of pre-
venting further obstacles from that source, I went out of my way
to preclude a construction of the message, by which the recom-
mendation that was made to Congress might be regarded as a
menace to France, in not only disavowing such a design, but in
declaring that her pride and her power were too well known to
expect anything from her fears. The message did not reach Paris
until more than a month after the Chambers had been in session ;
and such was the insensibility of the Ministry to our^ rightful
claims and just expectations, that our minister had been infqrmed
that the matter, when introduced, would not be pressed as a cab-
inet measure.
734 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Although the message was not officially communicated to the
French Government, and notwithstanding the declaration to the
contrary which it contained, the French Ministry decided to con-
sider the conditional recommendation of reprisals a menace and
an insult, which the honor of the nation made it incumbent on
them to resent. The measures resorted to by them to evince their
sense of the supposed indignity, were the immediate recall of their
Minister at Washington, the offer of passports to the American
Minister at Paris, and a public notice to the Legislative Chambers
that all diplomatic intercourse with the United States had been
suspended. Having in this manner vindicated the dignity of
France, they next proceeded to illustrate her justice. To this
end a bill was immediately introduced into the Chamber of
Deputies, proposing to make the appropriations necessary to carry
into effect the treaty. As this bill subsequently passed into a
law, the provisions of which now constitute the main subject of
difficulty between the two nations, it becomes my duty, in order
to place the subject before you in a clear light, to trace the his-
tory of its passage, and to refer with some particularity to the
proceedings and discussions in regard to it.
The Minister of Finance, in his opening speech, alluded to
the measures which had been adopted to resent the supposed in-
dignity, and recommended the execution of the treaty as a meas-
ure required by the honor and justice of France. He, as the
organ of the Ministry, declared the message, so long as it had not
received the sanction of Congress, a mere expression of the per-
sonal opinion of the President, for which neither the Government
nor people of the United States were responsible, and that an en-
gagement had been entered into, for the fulfillment of which the
honor of France was pledged. Entertaining these views, the
single condition which the French Ministry proposed to annex to
the payment of the money was, that it should not be made until it
was ascertained that the Government of the United States had
done nothing to injure the interests of France, or, in other words,
that no steps had been authorized by Congress of a hostile charac-
ter toward France.
What the disposition or action of Congress might be was then
unknown to the French Cabinet. But on the 14th of January,
the Senate resolved that it was at that time inexpedient to adopt
any legislative measures in regard to the state of affairs between
the United States and France, and no action on the subject had
ANDREW JACKSON. 735
occurred in the House of Representatives. These facts were
known in Paris prior to the 28th of March, 1835, when the com-
mittee to whom the bill of indemnification had been referred re-
ported it to the Chamber of Deputies. That committee substan-
tially re-echoed the sentiments of the Ministry, declared that Con-
gress had set aside the proposition of the President, and recom-
mended the passage of the bill without any other restriction than
that originally proposed. Thus was it known to the French
Ministry and Chambers, that if the position assumed by them,
and which had been so frequently and solemnly announced as the
only one compatible with the honor of France, was maintained,
and the bill passed as orignally proposed, the money would be
paid and there would be an end of this vmfortunate controversy.
But this cheering prospect was soon destroyed by an amend-
ment introduced into the bill at the moment of its passage, provid-
ing that the money should not be paid until the French Govern-
ment had received satisfactory explanations of the President's
message of the 2d of December, 1834; and what is still more ex-
traordinary, the President of the Council of Ministers adopted
this amendment and consented to its incorporation in the bill. In
regard to a supposed insult which had been formally resented by
the recall of their minister, and the offer of passports to ours,
they now for the first time proposed to ask explanations. Senti-
ments and propositions which, they had declared, could not justly
be imputed to the Government or people of the United States,
are set up as obstacles to the performance of an act of conceded
justice to that Government and people. They had declared that
the honor of France required the fulfillment of the engagement
into which the king had entered, unless Congress adopted the rec-
ommendations of the message. They ascertained that Congress
did not adopt them, and yet that fulfillment is refused, unless they
first obtain from the President explanations of an opinion charac-
terized by themselves as personal and imperative.
The conception that it was my intention to menace or insult
the Government of France, is as unfounded as the attempt to ex-
tort from the fears of that nation what her sense of justice may
deny, would be vain and ridiculous. But the Constitution of the
United States imposes on the President the duty of laying before
Congress the condition of the country in its foreign and domestic '
relations, and of recommending such measures as may in his
opinion be required by its interests. From the performance of
736 LIFE AND TIMES OF
this duty he can not be deterred by the fear of wounding the sen-
sibilities of the people or government of whom it may become
necessary to speak — and the American people are incapable of
submitting to an interference by any government on earth, how-
ever powerful, with the free performance of the domestic duties
which the Constitution has imposed on their public functionaries.
The discussions which intervene between the several Departments
of our Government belong to ourselves, and for anything said in
them, our public servants are only responsible to their own con-
stituents and to each other. If, in the course of their consulta-
tions, facts are erroneously stated, or unjust deductions are made,
they require no other inducement to correct them, however in-
formed of their error, than their love of justice, and what is due
to their own character ; but they can never submit to be interro-
gated upon the subject, as a matter of right, by a foreign power.
When our discussions terminate in acts, our responsibility to for-
eign powers commences, not as individuals, but as a nation. The
principle which calls in question the President for the language
of his message, would equally justify a foreign power in demand-
ing explanation of the language used in the report of a commit-
tee, or by a member in debate.
This is not the first time that the Government of France has
taken exception to the messages of American Presidents. Presi-
dent Washington and the first President Adams, in the perform-
ance of their duties to the American people, fell under the ani-
madversions of the French Directory. The objection taken by the
Ministry of Charles X, and removed by the explanations made
by our Minister upon the spot, has already been adverted to.
When it was understood that the Ministry of the present king
took exception to my message of last year, putting a construction
upon it which was disavowed on its face, our late ]Minister at
Paris, in answer to the note which first announced a dissatisfac-
tion with the language used in the message, made a communica-
tion to the French Government under date of the 29th of Janu-
ary, 1835, calculated to remove all impressions which an unrea-
sonable susceptibility had created. He repeated and called the
attention of the French Government to the disavowal contained
in the message itself, of any intention to intimidate by menace ;
he truly declared that it contained, and was intended to contain,
no charge of ill faith against the king of the French, and prop-
erly distinguished between the right to complain, in unexception-
ANDREW JACKSON. 737
able terms, of the omission to execute an agreement, and an ac-
cusation of bad motives in withholding such execution; and
demonstrated that the necessary use of that right ought not to be
considered as an offensive imputation. Although this communi-
cation was made without instructions, and entirely on the minis-
ter's own responsibility, yet it was afterward made the act of this
Government by my full approbation, and that approbation was
officially made known on the 25th of April, 1835, to the French
Government. It, however, failed to have any effect. The law,
after this friendly explanation, passed with the obnoxious amend-
ment, supported by the king's ministers, and was finally approved
by the king.
The people of the United States are justly attached to a pa-
cific system in their intercourse with foreign nations. It is proper,
therefore, that' they should know whether their Government has
adhered to it. In the present instance it has been carried to the
utmost extent that was consistent with a becoming self-respect.
The note on the 29th of January, to which I have before alluded,
was not the only one which our minister took upon himself the
responsibility of presenting on the same subject, and in the same
spirit. Finding that it was intended to make the payment of a
just debt dependent on the performance of a condition which he
knew could never be complied with, he thought it a duty to make
another attempt to convince the French Government, that while
self-respect and regard to the dignity of other nations would al-
ways prevent us from using any language that ought to give of-
fense, yet we could never admit a right in any foreign government
to ask explanations of or interfere in any manner in tlie commu-
nications which one branch of our public councils made with
another ; that in the present case no such language had been used,
and that this had, in a former note, been fully and voluntarily
stated before it was contemplated to make the explanation a con-
dition ; and that there might be no misapprehension, he stated
the terms used in that note, and he officially informed them that
it had been approved by the President, and that therefore every
explanation which could reasonably be asked, or honorably given,
had been already made ; that the contemplated measure had been
anticipated by a voluntaiy and friendly declaration, and was,
therefore, not only useless, but might be deemed offensive, and
certainly would not be complied with, if annexed as a condition.
When this latter communication, to which I specially invite
738 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the attention of Congress, was laid before me, I entertained the
hope that the means it was obviously intended to afford, of an
honorable and speedy adjustment of the difficulties between the
two nations, would have been accepted ; and I therefore did not
hesitate to give it my sanction and full approbation. This was
due to the minister who had made himself responsible for the act ;
and it was published to the people of the United States, and is
now laid before their representatives, to show how far their Exec-
utive has gone in its endeavors to restore a good understanding be-
tween the two countries. It would have been at any time communi-
cated to the Government of France, had it been officially requested.
The French Government having received all the explanation
which honor and principle permitted, and which could in reason
be asked, it was hoped it would no longer hesitate to pay the in-
stallments now due. The agent authorized to receive the money
was instructed to inform the French Ministry of his readiness to
do so. In reply to this notice, he was told that the money could
not then be paid, because the formalities required by the act of
the Chambers had not been arranged.
Not having received any official communication of the inten-
tions of the French Government, and anxious to bring, as far as
practicable, this unpleasant affair to a close before the meeting of
Congress, that you might have the whole subject before you, I
caused our charge d'affaires at Paris to be instructed to ask for
the final determination of the French Government; and, in the
event of their refusal to pay the installments now due, without
further explanations to return to the United States.
The result of this last application has not yet reached us, but
is daily expected. That it may be favorable is my sincere wish.
France having now, through all the branches of her government,
acknowledged the validity of our claims, and the obligation of
the treaty of 1831, and there really, existing no adequate cause
for further delay, will at length, it may be hoped, adopt the
course which the interests of both nations, not less than the prin-
ciples of justice, so imperiously require. The treaty being once
executed on her part, little will remain to disturb the friendly
relations of the two countries; nothing indeed which will not
yield to the suggestions of a pacific and enlightened policy, and
to the influence of that mutual good-will and of those generous
recollections which we may confidently expect-will then be revived
in all their ancient force. In any event, however, the principle
ANDREW JACKSON. 739
involved in the new aspect which has been given to the contro-
versy, is so vitally important to the independent administration of
the Government, that it can neither be surrendered nor compro-
mitted, without national degradation. I hope it is unnecessary
for me to say that such a sacrifice will not be made through any
agency of mine. The honor of my country shall never be stained
by an apology from me, for the statement of truth and the per-
formance of duty ; nor can I give any explanation of my official
acts, except such as is due to integrity and justice, and consistent
with the principles on which our institutions have been framed.
This determination will, I am confident, be approved by my con-
stituents. I have, indeed, studied their character to but little pur-
pose, if the sum of twenty-five millions of francs will have the
weight of a feather, in the estimation of what appertains to their
national independence, and if, unhappily, a different impression
should at any time obtain in any quarter, they will, I am sure,
rally around the Government of their choice with alacrity and
unanimity, and silence forever the degrading imputation.
Having thus frankly presented to you the circumstances which,
since the last session of Congress, have occurred in this interesting
and important matter, with the views of the Executive in regard
to them, it is at this time only necessary to add, that whenever
the advices now daily expected from our charge d'afl^aires shall
have been received, they will be made the subject of a special
communication.
The condition of the public finances was never more flattering
than at the present period.
Since my last annual communication, all the remains of the
public debt have been redeemed, or money has been placed in
deposit for this purpose, whenever the creditors choose to receive
it. All the other pecuniary engagements of the Government
have been honorably and promptly fulfilled, and there will be a
balance in the Treasury at the close of the present year of about
nineteen millions of dollars. It is believed that, after meeting all
outstanding and unexpended appropriations, there will remain
near eleven millions of dollars to be applied to any new objects
which Congress may designate, or to the more rapid execution of
the works already in progress. In aid of these objects and to sat-
isfy the current expenditures of the ensuing year, it is estimated
that there will be received, from various sources, twenty millions
of dollars more, in 1836.
740 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Should Congress make new appropriations, in conformity with
the estimates which will be submitted from the proper depart-
ments, amounting to about twenty-four millions of dollars, still
the available surplus, at the close of the next year, after deduct-
ing all unexpended appropriations, will probably be not less than
six millions of dollars. This sum can, in my judgment, be now
usefully applied to proposed improvements in our navy-yards, and
to new national works, which are not enumerated in the present
estimates, or to the more rapid completion of those already be-
gun. Either would be Constitutional and useful, and would ren-
der unnecessary any attempt in our present and peculiar condition,
to divide the surplus revenue, or to reduce it any faster than will
be effected by the existing laws. In any event, as the annual
report from the Secretary of the Treasury will enter into details,
showing the probability of some decrease in the revenue during
the next seven years, and a very considerable deduction in 1842,
it is not recommended that Congress should undertake to modify
the present tariff so as to disturb the principles on which the com-
promise act was passed. Taxation on some of the articles of gen-
eral consumption, which are not in competition with our own
productions, may be, no doubt, so diminished as to lessen to some
extent the source of this revenue ; and the same object can also
be assisted by more liberal provisions for the subjects of public
defense, which, in the present state of our prosperity and wealth,
may be expected to engage your attention. If, however, after
satisfying all the demands which can arise from these sources, the
unexpended balance in the Treasury should still continue to in-
crease, it would be better to bear with the evil until the great
changes contemplated in our tariff laws have occurred, and shall
enable us to revise the system with that care and circumspection
which are due to so delicate and important a subject.
It is certainly our duty to diminish, as far as we can, the
burdens of taxation, and to regard all the restrictions which are
imposed on the trade and navigation of our citizens as evils which
we shall mitigate whenever we are not prevented by the adverse
legislation and policy of foreign nations, or those primary duties
which the defense and independence of our country enjoiu upon
us. That we have accomplished much toward the relief of our
citizens by the changes which have accompanied the payment of
the pu])lic debt, and the adoption of the present revenue laws, is
manifest from the fact that, compared with 1833, there is a
ANDREW JACKSON. 741
diminution of near twenty-five millions of dollars in the last two
years, and that our expenditures, independently of those for the
public debt, have been reduced near nine millions of dollars dur-
ing the same period. Let us trust that, by the continued observ-
ance of economy and by harmonizing the great interests of agri-
culture, manufactures, and commerce, much more may be accom-
plished to diminish the burdens of Government, and to increase
still further the enterprise and patriotic affection of all classes of
our citizens, and all the members of our happy confederacy. As
the data which the Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you,
in regard to our financial resources, are full and extended, and
•will afford a safe guide in our future calculations, I think it un-
necessary to oflfer any further observations on that subject here.
Among the evidences of the increasing prosperity of the coun-
try, not the least gratifying is that afforded by the receipts from
the sales of the public lands, which amount, in the present year,
to the unexpected sum of eleven millions of dollars. This cir-
cumstance attests the rapidity with which agriculture, the first
and most important occupation of man, advances, and contributes
to the wealth and power of our extended territory. Being still
of the opinion that it is our best policy, as far as we can, consist-
ently with the obligations under which those lands were ceded to
the United States, to promote their speedy settlement, I beg
leave to call the attention of the present Congress to the sugges-
tions I have offered respecting it, in ray former messages.
The extraordinary receipts from the sales of public lands in-
vite you to consider what improvements the land system, and
particularly the condition of the general land office may require.
At the time this institution was organized, near a quarter of a
century ago, it would probably be thought extravagant to antici-
pate, for this period, such an addition to its business as has been
produced by the vast increase of those sales during the past and
present years. It may also be observed that, since the year 1812,
the land offices and surveying districts have been greatly multi-
plied, and that numerous legislative enactments, from year to
year since that time, have imposed a great amount of new and
additional duties upon that office, while the want of a timely ap-
plication of force, commensurate with the care and labor required,
has caused the increasing embarrassment of accumulated arrears
in the different branches of the establishment.
These impediments to the expedition of much duty in the
742 LIFE AND TIMES OF
General Land Office, induce me to submit to your judgment,
whether some modification of the laws relating to its organization,
or an organization of a new character be not called for at the
present juncture, to enable the office to accomplish all the ends
of its institution with a greater degree of facility and prompti-
tude than experience has proved to be practicable under existing
regulations. The variety of the concerns, and the magnitude
and complexity of the details occupying and dividing the atten-
tion of the commissioners, appear to render it difficult, if not
impracticable for that officer, by any possible assiduity, to bestow
on all the multifarious subjects, upon which he is called to act,
the ready and careful attention due to their respective import-
ance, unless the Legislature shall assist him by a law providing,
or enabling him to provide, for a more regular and economical
distribution of labor, with the incident responsibility among those
employed under his direction. The mere manual operation of
affixing his signature to the vast number of documents issuing
from his office, subtracts so largely from the time and attention
claimed by the weighty and complicated subjects daily accumu-
lating in that branch of the public service, as to indicate the
strong necessity of revising the organic law of the establishment.
It will be easy for Congress, hereafter, to proportion the expen-
diture on account of this branch of the service to its real wants,
by abolishing from time to time the offices which can be dis-
pensed with.
The extinction of the public debt having taken place, there
is no longer any use for the offices of commissioners of loans and
of the sinking fund. I recommend, therefore, that they be abol-
ished, and that proper measures be taken for the transfer to the
Treasury Department of any funds, books, and papers, connected
with the operations of these officers ; and that the proper power
be given to that department for closing finally any portion of
their business which may remain to be settled.
It is also incumbent on Congress, in guarding the pecuniary
interests of the country, to discontinue, by such a law as was
passed in 1812, the receipt of the bills ot the Bank of the
United States in payment of the public revenue; and to provide
for the designation of an agent whose duty it shall be to take
charge of the books and stock of the United States in that
institution, and to close all connection with it after the 3d
of March, 1836, when its charter expires. In making provision
ANDREW JACKSON. 743
in regard to the disposition of this stock, it will be essential to
define clearly and strictly the duties and powers of the officers
charged with tliat "branch of the public service.
It will be seen from the correspondence which the Secretary
of the Treasury will lay before you, that, notwithstanding the
large amount of the stock which the United States hold in that
institution, no information has yet been communicated which will
enable the Government to anticipate when it can receive any
dividends, or derive any benefit from it.
Connected with the condition of the finances, and the flour-
ishing state of the country in all its branches of industry, it is
pleasing to witness the advantages which have been already de-
rived from the recent laws regulating the value of the gold coin-
age. These advantages will be more apparent in the course of
the next year, when the branch mints authorized to be established
in North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, shall have gone into
operation. Aided, as it is hoped they will be, by further reforms
in the banking system of the States, and by judicious regula-
tions on the part of Congress, in relation to the custody of the
public moneys, it may be confidently anticipated that the use of
gold and silver, as a circulating medium, will become general in
the ordinary transactions connected with the labor of the coun-
try. . The great desideratum, in modern times, is an efficient
check upon the power of banks, preventing that excessive issue
of paper, whence arise those fluctuations in the standard of value
which render uncertain the rewards of labor. It was supposed
by those who established the Bank of the United States, that
from the credit given to it from the custody of the public moneys,
and other privileges, and the precautions taken to guard against
the evils which the country had sufiered in the bankruptcy of
many of the State institutions at that period, we should derive
from that institution all the security and benefits of a sound cur-
rency, and every good end that was attainable under that pro-
vision of the Constitution which authorizes Congress alone to coin
money and regulate the value thereof. But it is scarcely neces-
sary now to say that these anticipations have not been realized.
After the extensive embarrassment and distress recently pro-
duced by the Bank of the United States, from which the country
is now recovering, aggravated as they were by pretensions to
power which defied the public authority, and which, if acquiesced
in by the people, would have changed the whole character
744 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of our Government, every candid and intelligent individual must
admit that, for the attainment of the great advantages of a sound
currency, we must look to a course of legislation radically differ-
ent from that which created such an institution.
In considering the means of obtaining so important an end,
we must set aside all calculations of temporary convenience, and
be influenced by those only which are in harmony with the true
character and the permanent interests of the republic. We must
recur to first principles, and see what it is that has prevented the
legislation of Congress and the States, on the subject of cur-
rency, from satisfying the public expectation, and realizing re-
sults corresponding to those which have attended the action of
our system when truly consistent with the great principle of
equality upon which it rests, and with that spirit of forbearance
and mutual concession, and generous patriotism, which was
originally, and must ever continue to be, the vital element of
our Union.
On this subject, I am sure that I can not be mistaken, in
ascribing our want of success to the undue continuance which
has been afforded to the spirit of monopoly. All the serious dan-
gers which our system has yet encountered may be traced to the
resort to implied powers, and the use of corporations clothed
with privileges, the effect of which is to advance the interests of
the few at the expense of the many. We have felt but one
class of these dangers exhibited in the contest waged by the Bank
of the United States against the Government, for the last four
years. Happily they have been obviated for the pi-esent by the
indignant resistance of the people ; but we should recollect that
the principle whence they sprung is an ever-active one, which will
not fail to renew its efforts in the same and in other forms, so
long as there is a hope of success, founded either on the inatten-
tion of the people, or the treachery of their representatives, to
the subtle progress of its influence.
The Bank is, in fact, but one of the fruits of a system at war
with the genius of all our institutions, a system founded upon a
political creed, the fundamental principle of which is a distrust
of the popular will as a safe regulator of political power, and
whose great ultimate object, and inevitable result, should it pre-
vail, is the consolidation of all power in our system in one cen-
tral government. Lavish public disbursements, and corporations
with exclusive privileges, would be its substitutes for the original
ANDREW JACKSON. 745
and as yet sound checks and balances of the Constitution, the
means by whose silent and secret operation, a control would be
exercised by a few over the political conduct of the many, by
first acquiring that control over the labor and earnings of the
great body of the people. Wherever this spirit has effected an
alliance with political power, tyranny and despotism have been
the fruit. If it is ever used for the ends of government, it has
to be incessantly watched, or it corrupts the sources of the pub-
lic virtue, and agitates the country with questions unfavorable to
the harmonious and steady pursuit of its true interests.
We are now to see whether, in the present favorable condi-
tion of the country, we can not take an effectual stand against
this spirit of monopoly, and practically prove, in respect to the
currency as well as other important interests, that there is no
necessity for so extensive a resort to it as that which has been
heretofore practiced. The experience of another year has con-
firmed the utter fallacy of the idea that the Bank of the United
States was necessary as a fiscal agent of the Government.
Without its aid, as such, indeed, in despite of all th« embarrass-
ments it was in its power to create, the revenue has been paid
with punctuality by our citizens; the business of exchange, both
foreign and domestic, has been conducted with convenience, and
the circulating medium has been greatly improved. By the use
of the State banks, which do not derive their charters from the
General Government, and are not controlled by its authority, it
is ascertained that the moneys of the United States can be col-
lected and disbursed without loss or inconvenience, and that all
the wants of the community, in relation to exchange and cur-
rency, are supplied as well as they have ever been before. If,
under circumstances the most unfavoraTale to the steadiness of
the 'money market, it has been found that the considerations on
which the Bank of the United States rested its claims to the
public favor, were imaginary and groundless, it can not be
doubted that the experience of the future will be more decisive
against them.
It has been seen that, without the agency of a great moneyed
monopoly, the revenue can be collected, and conveniently and
safely applied to all the purposes of the public expenditure. It is
also ascertained that, instead of being necessarily made to pro-
mote the evils of an unchecked paper system, the management
of the revenue can be made auxiliary to the reform which the
746 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Legislatures of several of the States have already commenced in
regard to the suppression of small bills; and which has only to
be fostered by proper regulations on the part of Congress to se-
cure a practical return, to the extent required for the security of
the currency, to the Constitutional medium. Severed from the
Government as political engines, and not susceptible of danger-
ous extension and combination, the State banks will not be
tempted, nor will they have the power which we have seen exer-
cised, to divert the public funds from the legitimate purposes of
the Government. The collection and custody of the revenue
being, on the contrary, a source of credit to them, will increase
the security which the States provide for a faithful execution of
their trusts, by multiplying the scrutinies to which their opera-
tions and accounts will be subjected.
Thus disposed, as well from interest as the obligations of their
charters, it can not be doubted that such conditions as Congress
may see fit to adopt respecting the deposits in these institutions,
with a view to the gradual disuse of the small bills, will be
cheerfully complied with, and that we shall soon gain, in place
of the Bank of the United States, a practical reform in the
whole paper system of the country. If, by this policy, we can
ultimately witness the suppression of all bank bills below twenty
dollars, it is apparent that gold and silver will take their place,
and become the principal circulating medium in the common
business of the farmers and mechanics of the country. The at-
tainment of such a result will form an era in the history of our
country which will be dwelt upon with delight by every true
friend of its liberty and independence. It will lighten the great
tax which our paper system has so long collected from the earn-
ings of labor, and do moVe to revive and perpetuate those habits
of economy and simplicity which are so congenial to the charac-
ter of republicans, than all the legislation which has yet been
attempted.
To this subject I feel that I can not too earnestly invite tlie
special attention of Congress, without the exercise of whose
authority the opportunity to accomplish so much public good
must pass unimproved. Deeply impressed with its vital impor-
tance, the Executive has taken all the steps within his Constitu-
tional power, to guard the public revenue, and defeat the
expectations which the Bank of the United States indulged, of
renewing and perpetuating its monopoly, on the ground of its
ANDREW JACKSON. 747
necessity as a fiscal agent, aud as affording a sounder currency
than could be obtained without such an institution. In the per-
formance of this duty, much responsibility was incurred which
would have been gladly avoided, if the stake which the public
had in the question could have been otherwise preserved. Al-
though clothed with the legal authority, and supported by prece-
dent, I was aware that there was in the act of the removal of the
deposits a liability to excite that sensitiveness to executive power
which it is the characteristic and the duty of freemen to indulge ;
but I relied on this feeling also, directed by patriotism and intel-
ligence, to vindicate the conduct which in the end would appear
to have been called for by the best interests of my country. The
apprehensions natural to this, feeling, that there may have been a
desire, through the instrumentality of that measure, to extend
the Executive influence,or that it may have been prompted by
motives not sufficiently free from ambition, were not overlooked.
Under the operation of our institutions, the public servant
who is called on to take a step of high responsibility, should feel
in the freedom which gives rise to such apprehensions, his high-
est security. When unfounded, the attention which they arouse
and the discussions they excite, deprive those who indulge them
of the power to do harm; when just, they but hasten the cer-
tainty with which the great body of our citizens never fail to
repel an attempt to procure their sanction to any exercise of
power inconsistent with the jealous maintenance of their rights.
Under such convictions, and entertaining no doubt that my Con-
stitutional obligations demanded the steps which were taken in
reference to the removal of the deposits, it was impossible for me
to be deterred from the path of duty by a fear that ray motives
could be misjudged, or that political prejudices could defeat the
just considerations of the merits of my conduct. The result has
shown how safe is this reliance upon the patriotic temper and
enlightened discernment of the people. That measure has now
been before them, and has stood the test of all the severe
analysis which its general importance, the interests it affected, and
the apprehensions it excited, were calculated to produce; and it
now remains for Congress to consider what legislation has become
necessary in consequence.
I need only add, to what I have on former occasions said on
this subject generally, that in the regulations which Congress may
prescribe respecting the custody of the public moneys, it is desir-
748 LIFE AND TIMES OF
able that as little discretion as may be deemed consistent with their
safekeeping should be given to the executive agents. No one can
be more deeply impressed than I am with the soundness of the
doctrine which restrains and limits, by specific provisions, executive
discretion, as far as it can be done consistently with the preserva-
tion of its constitutional character. In respect to the control over
the public money, this doctrine is peculiarly applicable, and is in
harmony with the great principle which I felt I was sustaining in
the controversy with the Bank of the United States, which has
resulted in severing, to some extent, a dangerous connection be-
tween a moneyed and political power. The duty of the Legisla-
ture to define, by clear and positive enactment, the nature and
extent of the action which it belongs to the Executive to super-
intend, springs out of a policy analogous to that which enjoins
upon all the branches of the Federal Government an abstinence
from the exercise of powers not clearly granted.
In such a Government, possessing only limited and specific
powers, the spirit of its general administration can not be wise or
just, when it opposes the reference of all doubtful points to the
great source of authority, the States and the people, whose num-
ber and diversified relations, securing them against the influences
and excitements which may mislead their agents, make them the
safest depository of power. In its application to the Executive,
with reference to the legislative branch of the Government, the
same rule of action should make the President ever anxious to
avoid the exercise of any discretionary authority which can be
regulated by Congress. The biases which may operate upon him
will not be so likely to extend to the representatives of the people
in that body.
In my former messages to Congress, I have repeatedly urged
the propriety of lessening the discretionary authority lodged in
the various departments, but it has produced no efiect as yet, ex-
cept the discontinuance of extra allowances in the army and navy,
and the substitution of fixed salaries in the latter. It is believed
that the same principle could be advantageously applied in all
cases, and would promote the efficiency and economy of the pub-
lic service, and at the same time that greater satisfaction and
more equal justice would be secured to the public officers generally.
The accompanying report of the Secretary of War will put
you in possession of the operations of the Department confided to
his care, in all its diversified relations, during the past year.
ANDREW JACKSON. 749
I am gratified in being able to inform you that no occurrence
has required any movement of the military force, except such as
is common to a state of peace. The services of the army have
been limited to their usual duties at the various garrisons upon
the Atlantic and inland frontiers, with the exceptions stated by
the Secretary of War. Our small military establishment appears
to be adequate to the purposes for which it is maintained, and it
forms a nucleus around which any additional force may be col-
lected, should the public exigencies unfortunately require any in-
crease of our military means.
The various acts of Congress which have been recently passed
in relation to the army, have improved its condition, and have
rendered its organization more useful and efficient. It is at all
times in a state for prompt and vigorous action, and it contains
within itself the power of extension to any useful limit, while at
the same time it preserves that knowledge, both theoretical and
practical, which education and experience alone can give, and
which, if not acquired and preserved in time of peace, must be
sought under great disadvantages in time of war.
The duties of the engineer corps press heavily upon that
branch of the service ; and the public interest requires an addition
to its strength. The nature of the works in which the officers are
engaged render necessary professsional knowledge and experience,
and there is no economy in committing to them more duties than
they can perform, or in assigning these to other persons temporarily
employed, and too often, of necessity, without all the qualifica-
tions which such service demands. I recommend this subject to
your attention, and also the proposition submitted at the last ses-
sion of Congress, and now renewed, for a reorganization of the
topographical corps. This reorganization can be efl[ected without
any addition to the present expenditure, and with much advan-
tage to the public service. The branch of duties which devolves
upon these officers is at all times interesting to the community,
and the information furnished by them is useful in peace and
in war.
Much loss and inconvenience have been experienced in con-
sequence of the failure of the bill containing the ordinary appro-
priations for fortifications which passed one branch of the National
Legislature at the last session, but was lost in the other. This
failure was the more regretted, not only because it necessarily in-
terrupted and delayed the progress of a system of national
750 LIFE AND TIMES OF
defense, projected immediately after the last war, and since steadily
pursued, but also because it contained a contingent appropriation,
inserted in accordance with the views of the Executive in aid of
this important object, and other branches of the national defense,
some portions of which might have been most usefully applied
during the past season. I invite your early attention to that part
of the report of the Secretary of War, which relates to this sub-
ject, and recommend an appropriation sufficiently liberal to accel-
erate the armament of the fortifications, agreeably to the propo-
sition submitted by him, and to place our whole Atlantic sea-
board in a complete state of defense. A just regard to the
permanent- interests of the country evidently requires this meas-
ure ; but there are also other reasons which at the present juncture
give it peculiar force, and make it my duty to call to the subject
your special consideration.
The present §ystem of military education has been in operation
sufficiently long to test its usefulness, and it has given to the
army a valuable body of officers. It is not alone in the improve-
ment, discipline, and operation of the troops, that these officers
are employed. They are also extensively engaged in the admin-
istrative and fiscal concerns of the various matters confided to the
War Department ; in the execution of the staff duties usually ap-
pertaining to the military organization ; in the removal of the
Indians, and in the disbursement of the various expenditures
growing out of our Indian relations; in the formation of roads,
and in the improvement of harbors and rivers ; in the construc-
tion of fortifications, in the fabrication of much of the material
required for the public defense, and in the preservation, distribu-
tion, and accountability of the whole, and in other miscellaneous
duties not admitting of classification.
These diversified functions embrace very heavy expenditures
of public money, and require fidelity, science,^and business habits,
in their execution ; aud a system which shall secure these qualifi-
cations is demanded by the public interest. That this object has
been in a great measure obtained by the military academy is shown
by the state of the service, and by the prompt accountability
which has generally followed the necessary advances. Like all
other political systems, the present mode of military education,
no doubt, has its imperfections, both of principle and practice ;
but I trust these can be improved by rigid inspections and by
legislative scrutiny, without destroying the institution itself.
ANDREW JACKSON. 751
Occurrences to which we, as well as all other nations, are liable,
both in our internal and external relations, poiiit to the necessity
of an efficient organization of the militia. I am again induced
by the importance of the subject to bring it to your attention. To
suppress domestic violence, and to repel foreign invasion, should
these calamities overtake us, we must rely in the first instance
upon the great body of the community, whose will has instituted,
and whose power must support, the Government.
A large standing military force is not consonant to the spirit of
our institutions, nor to the feelings of our countrymen ; and the
lessons of former days, and those also of our own times, show the
danger as well as the enormous expense of these permanent and
extensive military organizations. That just medium which avoids
an inadequate preparation on one hand, and the danger and ex-
pense of a large force on the other, is what our constituents have
a right to expect from their Government. This object can be at-
tained only by the maintenance of a small military force, and by
such an organization of the physical strength of the country
as may bring this power into operation, whenever its services are
required.
A classification of the population ofiers the most obvious means
of effecting this organization. Such a division may be made as
will be just to all, by transferring each at a proper period of life
from one class to another, and by calling first for the services of
that class, whether for instruction or action, which, from age, is
qualified for the duty, and may be called to perform it with least
injury to themselves or to the public. Should the danger ever be-
come so imminent as to require additional force, the other classes
in succession would be ready for the call. And if, in addition to
this organization, voluntary associations were encouraged, and in-
ducements held out for their formation, our militia would be in a
state of efficient service.
Now, when we are at peace, is the proper time to digest and
establish a practicable system. The object is certainly worth the
experiment, and worth the expense. No one, appreciating the
benefits of a republican Government, can object to his share of
the burden which such a plan may impose. Indeed a moderate
portion of the national funds could scarcely be better applied
than carrying into effect and continuing such an arrangement,
and in giving the necessary elementary instruction. We are
happily at peace with all the world. A sincere desire to continue
752 LIFE AND TIMES OF
so, and a fixed determination to give no just cause of offense to
other nations, furnish, unfortunately, no certain grounds of ex-
pectation that this relation will be uninterrupted. With this de-
termination to give no offense is associated a resolution, equally
decided, tamely to submit to none. The armor and the attitude
of defense afford the best security against those collisions which
the ambition, or interest, or some other passion of nations, not
more justifiable, is liable to produce. In many countries it is
considered unsafe to put arms into the hands of the people, and
to instruct them in the elements of military knowledge. That fear
can have no place here, when it is recollected that the people are
the sovereign power. Our Government was instituted and is sup-
ported by the ballot-box, not by the musket. Whatever changes
await us, still greater changes must be made in our social insti-
tutions, before our political system can yield to physical force.
In every aspect, therefore, in which I can view the subject, I am
impressed with the importance of a prompt and efficient organiza-
tion of the militia.
The plan of removing the aboriginal people who yet remain
within the settled portions of the United States, to the country
west of the Mississippi River, approaches its consummation. It
was adopted on the most mature consideration of the condition
of this race, and ought to be persisted in till the object is accom-
plished, and prosecuted with as much vigor as a just regard to
their circumstances will permit, and as fast as their consent can
be obtained. All preceding experiments for the improvement of
the Indians have failed. It seems now to be an established fact
that they can not live in contact with a civilized community and
prosper. Ages of fruitless endeavors have at length brought us
to a knowledge of this principle of intercommunication with them.
The past we can not recall, but the future we can provide for.
Independently of the treaty stipulations into which we have en-
tered with the various tribes, for the usufructory rights they have
ceded to us, no one can doubt the moral duty of the Government
of the United States to protect, and, if possible, to preserve and
perpetuate the scattered remnants of this race which are left
within our borders. In the discharge of this duty, an extensive
region in the West has been assigned for their permanent resi-
dence. It has been divided into districts, and allotted among
them. Many have already removed, and others are preparing to
go; and with the exception of two small bands, living in Ohio
ANDREW JACKSON. 753
and Indiana, not exceeding one thousand five hundred persons,
and of the Cherokees, all the tribes on the east side of the Missis-
sissippi, and extending from Lake Michigan to Florida, have
entered into engagements which will lead to their transplantation.
The plan for their removal and re-establishment is founded
upon the knowledge we have gained of their character and habits,
and has been dictated by a spirit of enlarged liberality. A terri-
tory exceeding in extent that relinquished, has been granted to
each tribe. Of its climate, fertility, and capacity to support an
Indian population, the representations are highly favorable. To
these districts the Indians are removed at the expense of the
United States, and with certain supplies of clothing, arms, ammu-
nition, and other indispensable articles, they are also furnished
gratuitously with provisions for the period of a year after their ar-
rival at their new homes. In that time, from the nature of the
country, and of the products raised by them, they can subsist
themselves by agricultural labor, if they choose to resort to that
mode of life ; if they do not, they are upon the skirts of the great
prairies, where countless herds of buffalo roam, and a short time
suffices to adapt their own habits to the changes which a change
of the animals destined for their food may require.
Ample arrangements have also been made for the support of
schools; in some instances, council-houses and churches are to be
erected, dwellings constructed for the chiefs, and mills for com-
mon use. Funds have been set apart for the maintenance of the
poor ; the most necessary mechanical arts have been introduced,
and blacksmiths, gunsmiths, wheelwrights, millwrights, etc., are
supported among them. Steel and iron, and sometimes salt, are
purchased for them ; and plows, and other farming utensils, do-
mestic animals, looms, spinning-wheels, cards, etc., are presented
to them. And besides these beneficial arrangements, annuities
are, in all cases, paid, amounting, in some instances, to more than
thirty dollars for each individual of the tribe, and in all cases
sufficiently great, if justly divided, and prudently expended, to
enable them, in addition to their own exertions, to live comfort-
ably. And as a stimulus for exertions, it is now provided by
law that "in all cases of the appointment of interpreters, or
other persons employed for the benefit of the Indians, a prefer-
ence shall be given to persons of Indian descent, if such can
be found, who are properly qualified for the discharge of the
duties."
48— fi
754 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Such are the arrangements for the physical comfort, and for
the moral improvement of the Indians. The necessary measures
for their political advancement, and for their separation from our
citizens, have not been neglected. The pledge of the United
States has been given by Congress, that the country destined for
the residence of this people shall be forever " secured and guar-
antied to them."
A country west of the Missouri and Arkansas, has been as-
signed to them, into which the white settlements are not to be
pushed. No political communities can be formed in that exten-
sive region, except those which are established by the Indians
themselves, or by the United States for them, with their concur-
rence. A barrier has thus been raised for their protection
against the encroachments of our citizens, and guarding the
Indians, as far as possible, from those evils which have brought
them to their present condition. Summary authority has been
given by law, to destroy all ardent spirits found in their country,
without waiting the doubtful result and slow process of a legal
seizure. I consider the absolute and unconditional interdiction
of this article among these people, as the first and great step in
their melioration. Half-way measures will answer no purpose.
These can not successfully contend against the cupidity of the
seller, and the overpowering appetite of the buyer. And the
destructive effects of the traffic are marked in every page of the
history of our Indian intercourse.
Some general legislation seems necessary for the regulation of
the relations which will exist in this new state of things, between
the Government and people of the United States and these trans-
planted Indian tribes ; and for the establishment among the lat-
ter, and with their own consent, of some principles of intercom-
munication, which their juxtaposition will call for; that moral
may be substituted for physical force, the authority of a few and
simple laws for the tomahawk, and that an end may be put to
those bloody wars, whose prosecution seems to have made part
of their social system.
After the further details of this arrangement are completed,
■with a very general supervision over them, they ought to be left
to the progress of events. These, I indulge the hope, will secure
their prosperity and improvement, and a large portion of the
moral debt we owe them will be paid.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy, showing the condi-
ANDREW JACKSON. 755
tion of that branch of the public service, is recommenderl to
your special attention. It appears from it, that our naval force
at present in commission, with all the activity which can be
given to it, is inadequate to the protection of our rapidly increas-
ing commerce. This consideration, and a more general one
which regards this arm of the national defense as our best secu-
rity against foreign aggression, strongly urge the continuance of
the measures which promote its gradual enlargement, and speedy
increase of the force which has been hitherto employed abroad
and at home. You will perceive from the estimates which ap-
pear in the report of the Secretary of the Navy, that the expen-
ditures necessary to this increase of its force, though of consid-
erable amount, are small, compared with the benefits which they
will secure to the country.
As a means of strengthening this national arm, I also recom-
mend to your particular attention the propriety of the sugges-
tion which attracted the consideration of Congress at its last ses-
sion, respecting the enlistment of boys at a suitable age in the
service. In this manner, a nursery of skilful and able-bodied sea-
men can be established, which will be of the greatest importance.
Next to the capacity to put afloat and arm the requisite number
of ships, is the possession of the means to man them efficiently;
and nothing seems better calculated to aid this object than the
measure proposed. As an auxiliary to the advantages derived
from our extensive commercial marine, it would furnish us with
a resource ample enough for all the exigencies which can be
anticipated. Considering the state of our resources, it can not
be doubted that whatever provision the liberality and wisdom of
Congress may now adopt, with a view to the perfect organization
of this branch of our service, will meet the approbation of all
classes of our citizens.
By the report of the Postmaster-General, it appears that the
revenue of that Department during the year ending on the 30th
day of June last, exceeded its accruing responsibilities, two hun-
dred and thirty-six thousand two hundred and six dollars; and
that the surplus of the present fiscal year is estimated at four
hundred and seventy-six thousand two hundred and twenty-seven
dollars. It further appears that the debt of the Department, on
the 1st day of July last, including the amount due to contractors
for the quarter then just expired, was about one million and
sixty-four thousand three hundred and eighty-one dollars, exceeding
756 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the available means about twenty-three thousand and seven
huudred dollars ; and that on the 1st instant, about five hundred
and ninety-seven thousand and seventy-seven dollars of this debt
had been paid; four hundred and nine thousand nine hundred
and ninety-one dollars of the postages accruing before July, and
one hundred and eighty-seven thousand and eighty-six dollars out
of postages accruing since. In these payments are included sixty-
seven thousand dollars of the old debt due to banks. After
making these payments, the Department had seventy-three thou-
sand dollars in bank on the 1st instant. The pleasing assurance
is given that the Department is entirely free from embarrassment,
and that by collections of outstanding balances, and using the
current surplus, the remaining portion of the bank debt, and
most of the other debt, will probably be paid in April next,
leaving thereafter a heavy amount to be applied in extending the
mail facilities of the country. Reserving a considerable sum for
the improvement of existing mail-routes, it is stated that the
Department will be able to sustain with perfect convenience an
annual charge of three hundred thousand dollars for the support
of new routes, to commence as soon as they can be established
and put in operation.
The measures adopted by the Postmaster-General to bring the
means of the Department into action, and to effect a speedy ex-
tinguishment of its debt, as well as to produce an efficient admin-
istration of its affairs, will be found detailed at length in his able
and luminous report. Aided by a reorganization on the prin-
ciples suggested, and such salutary provisions in the laws regu-
lating its administrative duties as the wisdom of Congress may
devise or approve, that important Department will soon attain a
degree of usefulness proportioned to the increase of our popula-
tion and the extension of our settlements.
Particular attention is solicited to that portion of the report
of the Postmaster-General which relates to the carriage of mails
of the United States upon railroads constructed by private cor-
porations under the authority of the several States. The reliance
which the General Government can place on those roads as a
means of carrying on its operations, and the principles on which
the use of them is to be obtained, can not too soon be considered
and settled.
Already does the spirit of monopoly begin to exhibit its natu-
ral propensities in attempts to exact from the public,- for services
ANDREW JACKSON. 757
which it supposes can not be obtained on other terms, the most
extravagant compensation.
If these claims be persisted in, the question may arise whether
a combination of citizens, acting under charters of incorporation
from the States, can, by a direct refusal or the demand of an
exorbitant price, exclude the United States from the use of the
established channels of communication between the different sec-
tions of the country, and whether the United States can not,
without transcending their Constitutional powers, secure to the
Post-office Department the use of those roads, by an act of Con-
gress which shall provide within itself some equitable mode of
adjusting the amount of compensation.
To obviate, if possible, the necessity of considering this ques-
tion, it is suggested whether it be not expedient to fix by law
the amounts which shall be offered to railroad companies for the
conveyance of the mails, graduated according to their average
weight, to be ascertained and declared by the Postmaster-Gen-
eral. It is probable that a liberal proposition of that sort would
be accepted.
In connection with these provisions in relation to the Post-
effice Department, I must also invite your attention to the pain-
ful excitement produced in the South, by attempts to circulate,
through the mails, inflammatory appeals addressed to the passions
of the slaves, in prints, and in various sorts of publications, cal-
culated to stimulate them to insurrection, and to produce all the
horrors of a servile war.
There is, doubtless, no respectable portion of our countrymen
who can be so far misled as to feel any other sentiment than that
of indignant regret at conduct so destructive of the harmony and
peace of the country, and so repugnant to the principles of our
national compact, and to the dictates of humanity and religion.
Our happiness and prosperity essentially depend upon peace
within our borders, and peace depends upon the maintenance, in
good faith, of those compromises of the Constitution upon which
the Union is founded. It is fortunate for the country that the
good sense, the generous feeling, and the deep-rooted attachment
of the people of the non-slaveholding States to the Union, and
to their fellow-citizens of the same blood in the South, have
given so strong and impressive a tone to the sentiments entertained
against the proceedings of the misguided persons who have
engaged in these unconstitutional and wicked attempts, and
758 LIFE AND TIMES OF
especially against the emissaries from foreign parts who have dared
to interfere in this matter, as to authorize the hope that those
attempts will no longer be persisted in. But if these expressions
of the public will shall not be sufficient to effect so desirable a
result, not a doubt can be entertained that the non-slaveholding
States, so far fi-om countenancing the slightest interference with
the Constitutional rights of the South, will be 2:)rompt to exercise
their authority in suppressing, so far as in them lies, whatever is
calculated to produce this evil.
In leaving the care of other branches of this interesting sul3-
jeet to the State authorities, to whom they properly belong, it is
nevertheless proper for Congress to take such measures as will
prevent the Post-office Department, which was designed to foster an
amicable intercourse and correspondence between all the members
of the Confederacy, from being used as an instrument of an op-
posite character. The General Government, to which the great
trust is confided of preserving inviolate the relati(ms created
among the States by the Constitution, is especially bound to
avoid, in its own action, anything that may disturb them. I
would, therefore, call the special attention of Congress to the
subject, and respectfully suggest the propriety of passing such a
law as will prohibit, under severe penalties, the circulation in the
Southern States, through the mail, of incendiary publications in-
tended to instigate the slaves to insurrection.
I felt it to be my duty, in the first message which I commu-
nicated to Congress, to urge upon its attention the propriety of
amending that part of the Constitution which provides for the
election of the President and Vice-President of the United States.
The leading object which I had in view was the adoption of some
new provisions which would secure to the people the performance
of this high duty without any intermediate agency. In my annual
communications since, I have enforced the same views, from a
sincere conviction that the best interests of the country would be
promoted by their adoption. If the subject were an ordinary
one, I should have regarded the failure of Congress to act upon
it as an indication of their judgment that the disadvantages which
belong to the present system were not so great as those which
would result from any attainable substitute that had been sub-
mitted to their consideration. Recollecting, however, that prop-
ositions to introduce a new feature in our fundamental laws can
not be too patiently examined, and ought not to be received
ANDREW JACKSON. " 759
with favor until the great body of the people are thoroughly im-
pressed with their necessity and value as a remedy for real evils,
I feel that in renewing the recommendation I have heretofore
made on this subject, I am not transcending the bounds of a just
deference to the sense of Congress, or to the disposition of the
people. However much we may differ in the choice of the
measures which should guide the Administration of the Govern-
ment, there can be but little doubt in the minds of those who
are really friendly to the republican features of our system, that
one of its most important securities consists in the separation of
the legislative and the Executive powers, at the same time that
each is held responsible to the great source of authority, which is
acknowledged to be supreme, in the will of the people Constitu-
tionally expressed. My reflection and experience satisfy me that
the framers of the Constitution, although they were anxious to
mark this feature as a settled and fixed principle in the structure
of the Government, did not adopt all the precautions that were
necessary to secure its practical observance, and that we can uot
be said to have carried into complete effect their intentions until
the evils which arise from this organic defect are remedied.
Considering the great extent of our Confederacy, the rapid
increase of its population, and the diversity of their interests and
pursuits, it can not be disguised that, the contingency by which
one branch of the Legislature is to form itself into an electoral
college, can not become one of ordinary occurrence without pro-
ducing incalculable mischief. AVhat was intended as the medi-
cine of the Constitution in extreme cases, can not be frequently
used without changing its character, and sooner or later produc-
ing incurable disorder.
Every election by the House of Representatives is calculated to
lessen the force of that security which is derived from the distinct
and separate character of the legislative and Executive function,
and while it exposes each to temptations adverse to their efficiency
as organs of the Constitution and laws, its tendency will be to
unite both in resisting the will of the people, and thus give a di-
rection to the Government anti-republican and dangerous. All
history tells ms that a free people should be watchful of delegated
power, and should never acquiesce in a practice which shall dimin-
ish their control over it. This obligation, so universal in its
application to all the principles of a republic, is peculiarly so in
ours, where the formation of parties, founded on sectional interests,
760 LIFE AND TIMES OF
is so much fostered by the extent of our territory. These inter-
ests, represented by candidates for the Presidency, are constantly
prone, in the zeal of party and selfish objects, to generate influ-
ences unmindful of the general good, and forgetful of the re-
straints which the great body of the people would enforce, if they
were in no contingency to use the right of expressing their will.
The experience of our country, from the formation of the Gov-
ernment to the present day, demonstrates that the people can not
too soon adopt some stronger safeguard for their right to elect the
highest officers known to the Constitution, than is contained in
that sacred instrument as it now stands.
It is my duty to call the particular attention or Congress to
the pi'esent condition of the District of Columbia. From what-
ever cause the great depression has arisen which now exists in the
pecuniary concerns of this district, it is proper that its situation
should be fully understood, and such relief or remedies provided
as are consistent with the powers of Congress. I earnestly recom-
mend the extension of every political right to the citizens of the
District which their true interests require, and which does not con-
flict with the provisions of the Constitution. It is believed that
the laws for the government of the District require revisal and
amendment, and that much good may be done by modifying the
penal code, so as to give uniformity to its provisions.
Your attention is also invited to the defects which exist in the
judicial system of the United States. As at present organized,
the States of the Union derive unequal advantages from the Fed-
eral judiciary, which have been so often pointed out, that I deem
it unnecessary to repeat them here. It is hoped that the present
Congress will extend to all the States that equality in respect to
the benefits of the laws of the Union which can only be secured
by the unifi)rmity and efficiency of the judicial system.
With these observations on the topics of general interest which
are deemed worthy of your consideration, I leave them to your
care, trusting that the legislative measures they call for will be
met as the wants and the best interests of our beloved country
demand.
Like nearly all the other messages of General Jack-
son, this one is mainly made up of arguments, defenses,
and explanations of his past or intended acts. But
this is certainly a very interesting and valuable
ANDREW JACKSON. 761
message. Its style is simple and easy, and hence pecul-
iarly admirable. The French spoliations history is very
full, and it must have seemed very satisfactory and
honorable to the President from what may be deemed
a fair American point of view. The President's French
message to Congress was dated January 15, 1836.
And it was during this year that relations were again
established with France, and Lewis Cass resigned his
place as Secretary of War to become Minister to that
country. The President reviews at length Indian af-
fairs and shows the progress made in removing nearly
all of the Indians to the West. He again recommends
the change in the mode of conducting Presidential
elections. Public land questions again receive his at-
tention, in the wise and just line formerly pursued.
The financial condition of the Government appears ex-
tremely gratifying from the President's statement.
The whole financial question is discussed fearlessly,
and the Bank of the United States comes in, of course,
for his usual severe assault. The strangest part of
this message is that relating to the circulation of
abolition matter through the mails in the South. There
is nothing Jacksonian about this part of the message,
at all events. It is weak, timid, and truculent. But
it was up to the standard of public sentiment on this
subject at that day. This affair brought on a bitter
discussion in Congress, in which Mr. Calhoun revived
the dogma of nullification, and a distinct issue on the
slavery question began for the first to be made in
national politics.
In May, 1835, Mr. Barry had resigned, and Mr.
Kendall, who had before been Fourth Auditor of the
Treasury, was appointed Postmaster-General. This
762 LIFE AND TIMES OF
appointment was not confirmed till the following spring.
Although Mr. Barry had remained longer than any
other member of the Cabinet, his management of the
Department was not very successful. His executive
skill was not great, although he was a good lawyer and
an eloquent speaker. He died at Liverpool, before
reaching his destination. The death of Chief-Justice
Marshall made a vacancy in the Supreme Court, and
President Jackson appointed Roger B. Taney to this
important place, and perhaps, contrary to his expecta-
tions, the Senate confirmed the appointment.' John H.
Eaton was confirmed as Minister to Spain, in place of
Mr. Barry.
The great ambition of General Jackson was to pay
off the public debt, and cut down all possible sources
of taxation offensive to the people. The income from
the sales of public lands was very large, as there was
yet no check to speculations. Jackson's desire was to
turn these lands to the advantage of actual settlers.
And in order to check speculation in lands it was pro-
posed to require payments to be made in specie.
The most important matters before Congress at this
session were connected with the disposition of the sur-
plus funds of the United States Treasury after the pay-
ment of the "public debt. There seemed to be great
fears that the Government would become too wealthy.
This whole matter of reducing the Treasury to the
mere ability to pay the present running expenses of
the Government was unwise in the extreme, and all
its evil results go to show how little General Jackson
and his friends, and enemies, for that matter, deserve
respect as financiers.
Mr. Clay introduced a bill for the distribution of
ANDREW JACKSON. 763
the proceeds of land sales among the States, which
looked more like a President-making scheme than any-
thing else, or would look so at this day. The Senate
passed this bill, but the House did not act on it at
all. In place of this, however, a bill was passed called
the " distribution act," which was a loan of surplus rev-
enue to the States according to the representation in
Congress, and proved to be a gift, one of the most
frivolous, unstatesman-like, and ridiculous transactions
in the history of our national legislation. This bill
became a law in June, 1836, and provided that the
money in the Treasury on the 1st of January, 1837,
after reserving $5,000,000, should be deposited in
the several States, in quarterly sums beginning January
1, 1837, and regulated by the Congressional represen-
tation ; $28,000,000 were thus to be divided among
the States. The great panic which had been provided
for by all the financial schemes since the beginning of
the attack on the United States Bank, came at last in
1837, and then when the General Government became
a beggar for money without resources. Congress
stopped the payment of the fourth installment of this
deposit. None of it that had been put into the hands
of the States was ever heard of again. Nobody ever
believed that it would return to the Government Treas-
ury, where it should have been kept.
Arkansas was admitted to the Union during this
session ; also Michigan conditionally, but the condi-
tions not being fulfilled she was not admitted till the
following year. At the close of this session the Ad-
ministration had a majority in each branch of Congress.
Some account of the Seminole War, beginning under
this Administration, in 1835 and 1836, is reserved for
764 LIFE AND TIMES OF
another volume of this work. The great question be-
fore the country in the summer of 1836 was the Pres-
idential election. Although on the point of going into
retirement " Old Hickory " was at the head of the
Jacksonian, or new Democratic party in this election.
The nominee of the party was his nominee. The
country knew his wish and had to respect it. He
had dictated all the movements of the party. His
will was its will, and his name now gave the party
success.
ANDREW JACKSON. 765
CHAPTER XXXV.
PRESIDENT JACKSON'S LAST ANNUAL MESSAGE— LAST
POCKET VETO— FINAL TRIUMPHS.
ON the 5th of December, 1836, Congress convened
for the alternate short session, and on the next
day the President delivered his
EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
December 6, 1S36.
Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : —
Addressing to you the last annual message I shall ever pre-
sent to the Congress of the United States, it is a source of the
most heart-felt satisfaction to be able to congratulate you on the
high state of prosperity which our beloved country has attained.
With no causes at home or abroad to lessen the confidence with
which we look to the future for continuing proofs of the capacity
of our free institutions to produce all the fruits of good govern-
ment, the general condition of our affairs may well excite our
national pride.
I can not avoid congratulating you and my country particu-
larly on the success of the eflbrts made during my Administra-
tion by the Executive and Legislature, in conformity with the
sincere, constant, and earnest, desire of the people, to maintain
peace, and establish cordial' relations with all foreign powers.
Our gratitude is due to the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and
I invite you to unite with me in offering to Him fervent suppli-
cations, that his providential care may ever be extended to those
who follow us, enabling them to avoid the dangers and the hor-
rors of war, consistently with a just and indispensable regard to
the rights and honor of our country. But although the present
state of our foreign affairs, standing without important change as
766 LIFE AND TIMES OF
they did when you separated in July last, is flattering in the ex-
treme, I regret to say that many questions of an interesting
nature, at issue with other powers, are yet unadjusted. Among
the most prominent of these is that of the north-eastern boundary.
With an undiminished confidence in the sincere desire of His
Britannic Majesty's Government to adjust that question, I am
not yet in possession of the precise grounds upon which it pro-
poses a satisfactory adjustment.
With France, our diplomatic relations have been resumed,
and under circumstances which attest the disposition of both
governments to preserve a mutually beneficial intercourse,
and foster those amicable feelings which are so strongly required
by the true interests of the two countries. With Russia, Austria,
Prussia, Naples, Sweden, and Denmark, the best understanding
exists, and our commercial intercourse is gradually expanding
itself with them. It is encouraged in all these countries, except
Naples, by their mutually advantageous and liberal treaty stipu-
lations with us.
The claims of our citizens on Portugal are admitted to be
just, but provision for the payment of them has been unfortu-
nately delayed by frequent political changes in that kingdom.
The blessings of peace have not been secured by Spain. Our
connections with that country are on the best footing, with the
exception of the burdens still imposed upon our commerce with
her possessions out of Europe.
The claims of American citizens for losses sustained at the
bombardment of Antwerp, have been presented to the govern-
ments of Holland and Belgium, and will be pressed, in due sea-
son, to settlement.
With Brazil, and all our neighbors of this continent, we con-
tinue to maintain relations of amity and concord, extending our
commerce with them as far as the resources of the people and
the policy of their governments will permit us. The just and
long-standing claims of our citizens upon some of them are yet
sources of dissatisfaction and complaint. No danger is appre-
hended, however, that they will not be peacefully, although
tardily, acknowledged and paid by all, unless the irritating effect
of her struggle with Texas should unfortunately make our imme-
diate neighbor, Mexico, an exception.
It is already known to you, by the correspondence between
the two governments communicated at your last session, that our
ANDREW JACKSON. 767
conduct in relation to that struggle is regulated by the same
principles that governed us in the dispute between Spain and
Mexico herself, and I trust that it will be found, on the most
severe scrutiny, that our acts have strictly corresponded with our
professions. That the inhabitants of the United States should
feel strong prepossessions for the one party is not surprising.
But this circumstance should, of itself, teach us great caution,
lest it lead us into the great error of suffering public policy to be
regulated by partiality or prejudice ; and there are considerations
connected with the possible result of this contest between the two
parties of so much delicacy and importance to the United States,
that our character requires that we should neither anticipate
events nor attempt to control them. The known desire of the
Texans to become a part of our system, although its gratification
depends upon the reconcilement of various and conflicting inter-
ests, necessarily a work of time, and uncertain in itself, is calcu-
lated to expose our conduct to misconstruction in the eyes of the
world. There are already those who, indifferent to principle
themselves, and prone to suspect the want of it in others, charge
us with ambitious designs and insidious policy.
You will perceive by the accompanying documents, that the
extraordinary mission from Mexico has been terminated, on the
sole grounds that the obligations of this Government to itself and
to Mexico, under treaty stipulations, have compelled me to trust
a discretionary authority to a high officer of our army to advance
into territory claimed as part of Texas, if necessary to protect
our own or the neighboring frontier from Indian depredation.
In the opinion of the Mexican functionary who has just left us,
the honor of his country will be wounded by American soldiers
entering, with the most amicable avowed purposes, upon ground
from which the followers of his government have been expelled,
and over which there is at present no certainty of a serious effort
on its part being made to re-establish its dominion. The depart-
ure of this minister was the more singular, as he was apprised
that the sufficiency of the causes assigned for the advance of our
troops by the commanding general had been seriously doubted by
me, and that there was every reason to suppose that the troops
of the United States — their commander having had time to ascer-
tain the truth or falsehood of the information upon which they
had been marched to Nacogdoches — would be either there in per-
fect accordance with the principles admitted to be just in his
768 LIFE AND TIMES OF
conference with the Secretary of State, by the Mexican Minister
himself, or were already withdrawn in consequence of the im-
pressive warnings their commanding officer had received from the
Department of War. It is ho^ed and believed that his govern-
ment will take a more dispassionate and just view of this subject,
and not be disposed to construe a measure of justifiable precau-
tion, made necessary by its known inability, in execution of the
stipulations of our treaty, to act upon the frontier, into an en-
croachment upon its rights or a stain upon its honor.
In the meantime the ancient complaints of injustice, made on
behalf of our citizens, are disregarded, and new causes of dissat-
isfaction have arisen, some of them of a character requiring
prompt remonstrance, and ample immediate redress. I trust,
however, by tempering firmness with courtesy, and acting with
great forbearance upon every incident that has occurred, or that
may happen, to do and to obtain justice, and thus avoid the
necessity of again bringing this subject to the view of Congress.
It is my duty to remind you that no provision has been made
to execute our treaty with Mexico for tracing the boundary line
between the two countries. Whatever may be the prospect of
Mexico's being soon able to execute the treaty on its part, it is
proper that we should be in anticipation prepared at all times to
perform our obligations without regard to the probable condition
of those with whom we have contracted them.
The result of the confidential inquiries made into the condition
and prospects of the newly declared Texan Government, will l)e
communicated to you in the course of the session.
Commercial treaties, promising great advantages to our enter-
prising merchants and navigators, have been formed with the dis-
tant governments of Muscat and Siam. The ratifications have
been exchanged, but have not reached the Department of State.
Copies of the treaties will be transmitted to you if received be-
fore, or published, if arriving after the close of the present session
of Congress.
Nothing has occurred to interrupt the good understanding that
has long existed with the Barbary powers, nor to check the good
will which is gradually growing up in our intercourse with the
dominions of the government of the distinguished chief of the
Ottoman Empire.
Information has been received at the Department of Slate
that a treaty with the Emperor of Morocco has just been nego-
ANDREW JACKSON. 769
tiated, wliich, I hope, will be received in time to be laid before
the Senate previous to the close of the session.
You will perceive, from the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, that the financial means of the country continue to
keep pace with its improvement in all other respects. The re-
ceipts into the Treasury during the present year will amount to
about forty-seven millions six hundred and ninety-one thousand
eight hundred and ninety-eight dollars; those from customs being
estimated at twenty-two millions five hundred and twenty-three
thousand one hundred and fifty-one dollars; those from lauds at
about twenty-four millions of dollars ; and the residue from mis-
cellaneous sources. The expenditures for all objects, during the
year, are estimated not to exceed twenty-three millions of dollars,
which will leave a balance in the Treasury for public purposes,
on the 1st day of January next, of about forty-one millions seven
hundred and tVenty-three thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine
dollars. This sum, with the exception of five millions, will be
transferred to the several States, in accordance with the provisions
of the act regulating the deposits of the public money.
The unexpended balances of appropriations on the 1st day of
January next, are estimated at fourteen millions six hundred and
thirty-six thousand and sixty-two dollars, exceeding, by nine mill-
ions six hundred and thirty-six thousand and sixty-two dollars,
the amount which will be left in the deposit banks, subject to the
draft of the Treasurer of the United States, after the contem-
plated transfers to the several States are made. If, therefore, the
future receipts should not be sufficient to meet those outstanding
and future appropriations, there may be soon a necessity to use a
portion of the funds deposited with the States.
The consequences apprehended when the deposit act of the
last session received a reluctant approval, have been measurably
realized. Though an act merely for the deposit of the surplus
moneys of the United States in the State treasuries for safe-keep-
ing, until they may be wanted for the service of the General Gov-
ernment, it has been extensively spoken of as an act to give the
money to the several States ; and they have been advised to use it
as a gift, without regard to the means of refunding it when called
for. Such a suggestion has doubtless been made without a due
consideration of the obligation of the deposit act, and without a
proper attention to the various principles and interests which are
affected by it. It is manifest that the law itself can not sanction
49— G
770 LIFE AND TIMES OF
such a suggestion, and that, as it now stands, the States have no
more authority to receive and use these deposits without intend-
ino- to return them, than any deposit bank, or any individual tem-
porarily charged with the safe-keeping or application of the public
moiiev, would now have for converting the same to their private
use, without the consent and against the will of the Government.
But independently of the violation of the public faith and moral
obligation which are involved in this suggestion, when examined
in reference to the terms of the present deposit act, it is believed
that the considerations Avhich should govern the future legislation
of Congress on this subject, will be equally conclusive against the
adoption of any measure recognizing the principles on which the
suggestion has been made.
Considering the intimate connection of the subject with the
financial interests of the country, and its great importance in
"whatever aspect it can be viewed, I have bestowed upon it the
most anxious reflection, and feel it to be my duty to state to
Congress such thoughts as have occurred to me, to aid their de-
liberation in treating it in the manner best calculated to conduce
to the common good.
The experience of other nations admonished us to hasten the
extinguishment of the public debt ; but it will be in vain that we
have congratulated each other upon the disappearance of this evil,
if we do not guard against the equally great one of promoting the
unnecessary accumulation of public revenue. No political maxim
is better established than that which tells us that an improvident
expenditure of money is the parent of profligacy, and that no
people can hope to perpetuate their liberties who long acquiesce
in a policy wliich taxes them for objects not necessary to the
legitimate and real wants of their Government. Flattering as is
the condition of our country at the present period, because of its
unexampled advance in all the steps of social and political im-
provement, it can not be disguised that there is a lurking danger
already apparent in the neglect of this warning truth, and that
the time has arrived when the representatives of the people should
be employed in devising some more appropriate remedy than now
exists to avert it.
Under our present revenue system, there is every probability
that there will continue to be a surplus beyond the wants of the
Government ; and it has become our duty to decide whether such
a result be consistent with the true objects of our Government.
ANDREW JACKSON. 771
Should a surplus be permitted to accumulate beyond the ap-
propriations, it must be retained in the Treasury as it now is, or
distributed among the people or the States.
To retain it in the Treasury unemployed in any way, is im-
practicable. It is, besides, against the genius of our free institu-
tions to lock up in vaults the treasure of the Nation. To take
from the people the right of bearing arms, and put their weapons
of defense in the hands of a standing army, would be scarcely
more dangerous to their liberties, than to permit the Government
to accumulate immense amounts of treasure beyond the supplies
necessary to its legitimate wants. Such a treasure would doubt-
less be employed at some time, as it has been in other countries,
when opportunity tempted ambition.
To collect it merely for distribution to the States would seem
to be highly impolitic, if not as dangerous as the proposition to
retain it in the Treasury. The shortest reflection must satisfy
every one, that to require the people to pay taxes to the Govern-
ment, merely that they may be paid back again, is sporting with
the substantial interests of the country, and no system which pro-
duces such a result can be expected to receive the public counte-
nance. Nothing could be gained by it, even if each individual who
contributed a portion of the tax could receive back promptly the
same portion. But it is apparent that no system of the kind can
ever be enforced which will not absorb a considerable portion of
the money to be distributed in salaries and commissions to the
agents employed in the process, and in the various losses and de-
preciations which arise from other causes ; and the practical effect
of such an attempt must ever be to burden the people with taxes,
not for purposes beneficial to them, but to swell the profits of de-
posit banks and support a band of useless public officers.
A distribution to the people is impracticable and unjust in
other respects. It would be taking one man's property and giv-
ing it to another. Such would be the unavoidable result of a
rule of equality (and none other is spoken of, or would be likely
to be adopted) inasmuch as there is no mode by which the amount
of the individual contributions of our citizens to the public reve-
nue can be ascertained. We know that they contribute unequally,
and a rule, therefore, that would distribute to them equally
would be liable to all the objections which apply to the principle
of an equal division of property. To make the General Govern-
ment the instrument of carrying this odious principle into effect,
772 LIFE AND TIMES OF
would be at once to destroy the means of its usefulness, and
change the character designed for it by the framers of the Con-
stitution.
But the more extended and injurious consequences likely to re-
sult from a policy which would collect a surplus revenue for the
purpose of distributing it, may be forcibly illustrated by an ex-
amination of the effects already produced by the present deposit
act. This act, although certainly designed to secure the safe-
keeping of the public revenue, is not entirely free in its tenden-
cies from many of the objections which apply to this principle of
distribution. The Government had, without necessity, received
from the people a large surplus, which, instead of being employed
as heretofore, and returned to them by means of the public ex-
penditure, was deposited, with sundry banks. The banks pro-
ceeded to make loans upon this surplus, and thus converted it into
banking capital ; and in this manner it has tended to multiply
bank charters, and has had a great agency in producing a spirit
of wild speculation. The possession and use of the property out
of which this surplus was created, belonged to the people ; but
the Government h^s transferred its possession to incorporated
banks, whose interest and effort it is to make large profits out of
its use. This process needs only be stated to show its injustice
and bad policy.
And the same observations apply to the influence which is pro-
duced by the steps necessary to collect as well as to distribute such
a revenue. About three-fifths of all the duties on imports are paid
in the city of New York ; but it is obvious that the means to pay
those duties are drawn from every quarter of the Union. Every
citizen in every State, who purchases and consumes an article
which has paid a duty at that port^ contributes to the accumulating
mass. The surplus collected there must, therefore, be made up
of moneys or property withdrawn from other points and other
States. Thus the wealth and business of every region from which
these surplus funds proceed must be to some extent injured, while
that of the place where the funds are concentrated and are em-
ployed in banking, are proportionably extended. But both in
making the transfer of the funds which are first necessary to pay
the duties and collect the surplus, and in making the re-transfer
which becomes necessary wheb the time arrives for the distribu-
tion of that surplus, there is a considerable period when the funds
can not be brought into use ; and it is manifest that, besides the
ANDREW JACKSON. 773
loss inevitable from such an operation, its tendency is to produce
fluctuations in the business of the country, which are always pro-
ductive of speculation, and detrimental to the interests of regular
trade. Argument can scarcely be necessary to show that a meas-
ure of this character ought not to receive further legislative en-
couragement.
By examining the practical operation of the ratio for distribu-
tion adopted in the deposit bill of the last session, we shall dis-
cover other features that appear equally objectionable. Let it be
assumed, for the sake of argument, that the surplus moneys to
be deposited with the States have been collected and belong to
them in the ratio of their federal representative population, an
assumption founded upon the fact that any deficiencies in our
future revenue, from imposts and public lands, must be made up
by direct taxes collected from the States in that ratio. It is pro-
posed to distribute the surplus, say thirty millions of dollars, not
according to the ratio in which it has been collected, and belongs
to the people of the States, but in that of their votes in the
colleges of electors for President and Vice-President. The effect
of a distribution upon that ratio is shown by the annexed table,
marked A.
By an examination of that table, it will be preceived that in
the distribution of a surplus of thirty millions of dollars upon
that basis, there is a great departure from the principle which
regards representation as the true measure of taxation ; and it
will be found that the tendency of that departure will be to in-
crease whatever inequalities have been supposed to attend the
operation of our federal system in respect to its bearings upon
the different interests of the Union. In making the basis of rep-
resentation the basis of taxation, the framers of the Constitution
intended to equalize the burdens which are necessary to support
the Government ; and the adoption of that ratio, while it accom-
plished this object, was also the means of adjusting other great
topics arising out of the conflicting views respecting the political
equality of the various members of the Confederacy. Whatever,
therefore, disturbs the liberal spirit of the compromises which
established a rule of taxation so just and equitable, and which
experience has proved to be so well adapted to the genius and
habits of our people, should be received with the greatest caution
and distrust.
A bare inspection, in the annexed table, of the differences
774 LIFE AND TIMES OF
produced by the ratio used in the deposit act, compared with the
results of a distribution according to the ratio of direct taxation,
must satisfy every unprejudiced mind, that the former ratio con-
travenes the spirit of the Constitution, and produces a degree of
injustice in the operation of the Federal Government which
would be fatal to the hope of perpetuating it. By the ratio of
direct taxation, for example, the State of Delaware, in the col-
lection of thirty millions of dollars of revenue, would pay into
the Treasury one hundred and eighty-eight thousand seven hun-
dred and sixteen dollars; and in the distribution of thirty mill-
ions of dollars, she would receive back from the Government,
according to the ratio of the deposit bill, the sum of three hun-
dred and six thousand one hundred and twenty-two dollars; and
similar results would follow the comparison between the small
and large States throughout the Union; thus realizing to the
small States an advantage which would be doubtless as unac-
ceptable to them as a motive for incorporating the principle in
any system which would produce it, as it would be inconsistent
with the rights and expectations of the large States. It was cer-
tainly the intention of that provision of the Constitution which
declares that all "duties, imposts, and excises" shall "he
uniform throughout the United States," to make the burdens of
taxation fall equally upon the people in whatever State of the
Union they may reside. But what would be the value of such
a uniform rule, if the moneys raised by it could be immediately
returned by a different one, which will give to the people of some
States much more, and to those of others much less than their
fair proportions? Were the Federal Government to exempt, in
express terms, the imports, products, and manufactures of some
portions of the country from all duties, while it imposes heavy
ones on others, the injustice could not be greater. It would be
easy to show how, by the operation of such a principle, the large
States of the Union would not only have to contribute their just
share toward the support of the Federal Government, but also
have to bear in some degree the taxes necessary to support the
governments of their smaller sisters ; but it is deemed unneces-
sary to state the details where the general principle is so obvious.
A system liable to such objections can never be supposed to
have been sanctioned by the framers of the Constitution, when
they conferred on Congress the taxing power; and I feel per-
suaded that a mature examination of the subject will satisfy
ANDREW JACKSON. 775
every one that there are insurmountable difficulties in the ope-
ration of any plan which can be devised, of collecting reve-
nue for the purpose of distributing it. Cougress is only author-
ized to levy taxes, "to pay the debts and provide for the common
defense and general welfare of the United States." There is no
such provision as would authorize Congress to collect together the
property of the country, under the name of revenue, for the
purpose of dividing it equally or unequally among the States or
the people. Indeed, iV is not probable that such an idea ever
occurred to the States when they adopted the Constitution. But,
however this may be, the only safe rule for us in interpreting the
powers granted to the Federal Government, is to regard the
absence of express authority to touch a subject so important and
delicate as this is, as equivalent to a prohibition.
Even if our powers were less doubtful in this respect, as the
Constitution now stands, there are considerations afforded by re-
cent experience which would seem to make it our duty to avoid
a resort to such a system.
All will admit that the simplicity and economy of the State
governments mainly depend on the fact that money has to be
supplied to support them by the same men, or their agents, who
vote it away in appropriations. Hence, when there are extrava-
gant and wasteful appropriations, there must be a corresponding
increase of taxes; and the people, becoming awakened, will
necessarily scrutinize the character of measures which thus in-
crease their burdens. By the watchful eye of self-interest, the
agents of the people in the State governments are repressed, and
kept within the limits of a just economy. But if the necessity
of levying the taxes be taken from those who make the appro-
priations, and thrown upon a more distant and less responsible
set of public agents, who have power to approach the people by
an indirect and stealthy taxation, there is reason to fear that
prodigality will soon supersede those characteristics which have
thus far made us look with so much pride and confidence to the
State governments as the mainstay of our Union and liberties.
The State Legislatures, instead of studying to restrict their State
expenditures to the smallest possible sum, will claim credit for
their profusion, and harass the General Government for increased
supplies. Practically, there would soon be but one taxing power,
and that vested in a body of men far removed from the people,
in which the farming and mechanic interests would scarcelv be
776 LIFE AND TIMES OF
represented. The States would gradually lose their purity as
well as their independence; they would not dare to murmur at
the proceedings of the General Government, lest they should
lose their supplies; all would be merged in a practical consolida-
tion, cemented by wide-spread corruption, which would only be
eradicated by one of those bloody revolutious which occasionally
overthrow the despotic systems of the Old World. In all the
other aspects in which I have been able to look at the effect of
such a principle of distribution upon the best interests of the
country, I can see nothing to compensate for the disadvantages
to which I have adverted. If we consider the protective duties,
■ which are in a great degree the source of the surplus revenue,
beneficial to one section of the Union and prejudicial to another,
there is no corrective for the evil in such a plan of distribution.
On the contrary, there is reason to fear that all the complaints
which have sprung from this cause would be aggravated. Every
one must be sensible that a distribution of the surplus must
beget a disposition to cherish the means which create it; and any
system, therefore, into which it enters, must have a powerful
tendency to increase, rather than diminish the tariff. If it were
even admitted that the advantages of such a system could be
made equal to all the sections of the Union, the reasons already
so urgently calling for a reduction of the revenue would never-
theless lose none of their force ; for it will always be improbable
that an intelligent and virtuous community can consent to raise
a surplus for the mere purpose of dividing it, diminished as it
must inevitably be by the expenses of the various machinery
necessary to the process.
The safest and simplest mode of obviating all the difficulties
which have been mentioned, is to collect only revenue enough to
meet the wants of the Government, and let the people keep the
balance of the property in their own hands, to be used for their
own profit. Each State will then support its own government,
and contribute its due share toward the support of the General
Government. There would be no surplus to cramp and lessen
the resources of individual wealth and enterprise, and the banks
would be left to their ordinary means. Whatever agitations and
fluctuations might arise from our unfortunate papet system, they
could never be attributed, justly or unjustly, to the action of the
Federal Government. There would be some guarantee that the
spirit of wild speculation which seeks to convert the surplus
ANDREW JACKSON. 777
revenue into banking capital, would be effectually checked, and that
the scenes of demoralization which are now so prevalent through
the laud would disappear.
Without desiring to conceal that the experience and observa-
tion of the last two years have operated a partial chauge in my
views upon this interesting subject, it is nevertheless regretted
that the suggestions made by me in my annual messages of 1829
and 1830, have been greatly misunderstood. At that time the
great struggle was begun against that latitudinarian construction
of the Constitution .which authorizes the unlimited appropriation
of the revenues of the Union to internal improvements within
the States, tending to invest in the hands, and place under
the control of the General Government, all the principal roads
and canals of the country, in violation of State rights, and in
derogation of State authority. At the same time, the condition
of the manufacturing interests was such as to create an appre-
hension that the duties on imports could not, without extensive
mischief, be reduced in season to prevent the accumulation of a
considerable surplus, after the payment of the national debt. In
view of the dangers of such a surplus, and in preference to its
application to internal improvements, in derogation of the rights
and powers of the States, the suggestion of an amendment of
the Constitution to authorize its distribution was made. It was
an alternative for what were deemed greater evils, a temporary re-
sort to relieve an overburdened Treasury, until the Government
could, without a sudden and destructive revulsion in the business
of the country, gradually return to the just principle of raising
no more revenue from the people in taxes than is necessary for
its economical support. Even that alternative was not spoken
of but in connection with an amendment of the Constitution.
No temporary inconvenience can justify the exercise of a pro-
hibited power, or a power not granted by that instrument; and
it was from a conviction that the power to distribute even a tem-
porary surplus of revenue is of that character, that it was sug-
gested only in connection with an appeal to the source of all
legal power in the General Government, the States which have
established it. No such appeal has been taken; and, in my
opinion, a distribution of the surplus revenue by Congress, either
to the States or the people, is to be considered as among the pro-
hibitions of the Constitution. As already intimated, my views
have undergone a change, so far as to be convinced that no
778 LIFE AND TIMES OF
alteration of the Coustitution in this respect is wise or expedient.
The influence of an accumulating surplus upon the legislation of
the General Government and the States, its effects upon the
credit system of the country, producing dangerous extensions and
ruinous contractions, fluctuations in the price of property, rash
speculations, idleness, extravagance, and a deterioration of mor-
als, have taught us the important lesson, that any transient
mischief which may attend the reduction of our revenue to the
wants of our Government, is to be borne in preference to an
overflowing Treasury.
I beg leave to call your attention to another subject inti-
mately associated with the preceding one, the currency of the
country.
It is apparent from the whole context of the Constituion, as
well as the history of the times which gave birth to it, that it
was the purpose of the convention to establish a currency con-
sisting of the precious metals. These, from their peculiar prop-
erties, which rendered them the standard of value in all other
countries, were adopted in this, as well to establish its commer-
cial standard, in reference to foreign countries, by a permanent
rule, as to exclude the use of a mutual medium of exchange, such
as of certain agricultural commodities, recognized by the stat-
utes of some States, as a tender for debts, or the still more per-
nicious expedient of a paper currency. The last,, from the
experience of the evils of the issues of paper during the Revolu-
tion, had become so justly obnoxious as not only to suggest the
clause in the Constitution forbidding the emission of bills of
credit by the States, but also to produce that vote in the conven-
tion which negatived the proposition to grant power to Congress
to charter corporations; a proposition well understood at the
time, as intended to authorize the establishment of a national
bank, which was to issue a currency of bank-notes, on a capital
to be created to some extent out of Government stocks. Al-
though this proposition was refused by a direct vote of the con-
vention, the object was afterward in effect obtained by its ingenious
advocates through a strained construction of the Constitution.
The debts of the Revolution were funded at prices which formed
no equivalent, compared with the nominal amount of the stock,
and under circumstances which exposed the motives of some of
those who participated in the passage of the act, to distrust.
The facts that the value of the stock was greatly enhanced
ANDREW JACKSON. 779
by the creation of the Bank, that it was well understood that
such would be the case, and that some of the advocates of the
measure were largely benefited by it, belong to the history of
the times, and are well calculated to diminish the respect which
might otherwise have been due to the action of the Congress
which created the institution.
On the establishment of a National Bank, it became the in-
terest of its creditors that gold should be superseded by the paper
of the Bank as a general currency. A value was soon attached
to the gold coins, which made their exportation to foreign coun-
tries, as a mercantile commodity, more profitable than their reten-
tion and use at home as money. It followed, as a matter of
course, if not designed by those who established the bank, that
the Bank became, in effect, a substitute for the mint of the
United States.
Such was the origin of a National Bank currency, and such
the beginning of those difficulties which now appear in the ex-
cessive issues of the banks incorporated by the various States.
Although it may not be possible, by any legislative means
within our power, to change at once the system which has thus
been introduced, and has received the acquiescence of all portions
of the country, it is certainly our duty to do all that is consistent
with our Constitutional obligations in preventing the mischiefs
which are threatened by its undue extension. That the efforts of
the fathers of our Government to guard against it by a Constitu-
tional provision were founded on an intimate knowledge of the
subject, has been frequently attested by the better experience of
the country. The same causes which led them to refuse their
sanction to a power authorizing the establishment of incorpora-
tions for banking purposes, now exist in a piuch stronger degree
to urge us to exert the utmost vigilance in calling into action the
means necessary to correct the evils resulting from the unfortu-
nate exercise of the power ; and it is to be hoped that the oppor-
tunity for effecting this great good will be improved, before the
country witnesses new scenes of embarrassment and distress.
Variableness must ever be the characteristic of a currency of
"which the precious metals are not the chief ingredient, or which
can be expanded or contracted without regard to the principles
that regulate the value of those metals as a standard in the gen-
eral trade of the world. With us, bank issues constitute a cur-
rency, and must ever do so until they are made dependent on
780 LIFE AND TIMES OF
those just proportions of gold and silver, as a circulating medium,
which experience has proved to be necessary, not only in this,
but in all other commercial countries. Where those proportions
are not infused into the circulation, and do not control it, it is
manifest that prices must vary according to the tide of bank
issues, and the value and stability of property must stand exposed
to all the uncertainty which attends the administration of institu-
tions that are constantly liable to the temptation of an interest
distinct from that of the community in which they are established.
The progress of an expansion, or rather a depreciation of the
currency, by excessive bank issues, is always attended by a loss
to the laboring classes. This portion of the community have
neither time nor opportunity to watch the ebbs and flows of the
money market. Engaged from day to day in their useful toils,
they do not perceive that, although their wages are nominally
the same, or even somewhat higher, they are greatly reduced, in
fact, by the rapid increase of a spurious currency, which, as it
appears to make money abound, they are at first inclined to con-
sider a blessing. It is not so with the speculator, by whom this
operation is better understood, and is made to contribute to his
advantage. It is not until the prices of the necessaries of life
become so dear that the laboring classes can not supply their
wants out of their wages, that the wages rise, and gradually reach
a justly proportioned rate to that of the products of their labor.
When thus, by the depreciation in consequence of the quantity
of paper in circulation, wages as well as prices become exorbitant,
it is soon found that the whole effect of adulteration is a tariff on
our home industry for the benefit of the countries where gold
and silver circulate and maintain uniformity and moderation in
prices. It is then perceived that the enhancement of the price
of land and labor produces a corresponding increase in the price
of products, until these products do not sustain a competition
wMth similar ones in other countries, and thus both manufactured
and agricultural productions cease to bear exportation from the
country of the spurious currency, because 'they can not be sold
for cost. This is the process by which specie is banished by the
paper of the banks. Their vaults are soon exhausted to pay for
foreign commodities ; the next step is a stoppage of specie pay-
ment — a total degradation of paper as a currency — unusual de-
pression of prices, the ruin of debtors, and the accumulation of
property in the hands of creditors and cautious capitalists.
ANDREW JACKSON. 781
It was in view of these evils, together with the dangerous power
wielded by the Bank of the United States, and its repugnance to our
Constitution, that I was induced to exert the power conferred
upon rae by the American people to prevent the continuance of
that institution. But although various dangers to our republican
institutions have been obviated by the failure of that Bank to
extort from tlje Government a renewal of its charter, it is obvious
that little has been accomplished, except a salutary change of
public opinion, toward restoring to the country the sound currency
provided for in the Constitution. In the acts of several of the
States prohibiting circulation of small notes, and the auxiliary
enactments of Congress at the last session, forbidding their re-
ception or payment on public account, the true policy of the
country has been advanced, and a larger portion of the precious
metals infused into our circulating medium. These measures
will probably be followed up in due time by the enactments of
State laws banishing from circulation bank-notes of still higher
denominations ; and the object may be materially promoted by
further acts of Congress, forbidding the employment, as fiscal
agents, of such banks as continue to issue notes of low denomina-
tions, and throw impediments in the way of the circulation of
gold and silver.
The effects of an extension of bank credit and over-issues of
bank paper have been strikingly illustrated in the sales of the
public lands. From the returns made by the various registers
and receivers in the early part of last summer, it was perceived
that the receipts arising from the sales of the public lands were
increasing to an unprecedented amount. In effect, however,
these receipts amounted to nothing more than credits in banks.
The banks lent out their notes to speculators ; they were paid to
the receivers, and immediately returned to the banks to be lent
out again and again, being mere instruments to transfer to specu-
lators the most valuable public land, and pay the Government by
a credit on the books of the banks. Those credits on the books
of some of the Western banks, usually called deposits, were
already greatly beyond their immediate means of payment, and
were rapidly increasing. Indeed, each speculation furnished
means for another ; for no sooner had one individual or company
paid in the notes, than they were immediately lent to another
for a like purpose ; and the banks were extending their business
and their issues so largely, as to alarm considerate men, and
782 LIFE AND TIMES OF
render it doubtful whether these bank credits, if permitted to
accumulate, would ultimately be of the least value to the Gov-
ernment. The spirit of expansion and speculation was not con-
fined to deposit banks, but pervaded the whole multitude of
banks throughout the Union, and was giving rise to new institu-
tions to aggravate the evil.
The safety of the public funds and the interest of the people
generally, required that these operations should be checked ; and
it became the duty of every branch of the General and State
Governments to adopt all legitimate and proper means to produce
the salutary effect. Under this view of my duty, I directed the
issuing of the order which will be laid before you by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, requiring payment for the public lands to
be sold, to be made in specie, with an exception, until the fifteenth
of the present month, in favor of actual settlers. This measure
has produced many salutary consequences. It checked the career
of the Western banks and gave them additional strength, in an-
ticipation of the pressure which has since pervaded our Eastern
as well as the European commercial cities. By preventing the
extension of the credit system, it measurably cut off the means
of speculation, and retarded its progress in monopolizing the
most valuable of the public lands. It has tended to save the
new States from a non-resident proprietorship, one of the greatest
obstacles to the advancement of a new country, and the prosperity
of an old one. It has tended to keep open the public lands for
entry by emigrants at government prices, instead of their being
compelled to purchase of speculators at double or treble prices.
And it is conveying into the interior large sums in silver and
gold, there to enter permanently into the currency of the country,
and place it on a firmer foundation. It is confidently believed
that the country will find, in the motives which induced that
order, and the happy consequences which will have ensued, much
to commend and nothing to condemn.
It remains for Congress, if they approve the policy which dic-
tated this order, to follow it up in its various bearings. INIuch
good, in my judgment, would be produced by prohibiting sales
of the public lands, except to actual settlers at a reasonable re-
duction of price, and to limit the quantity which shall be sold to
them. Although it is believed the General Government never
ought to receive any thing but the Constitutional currency in ex-
change for the public lands, that point would be of less impor-
ANDREW JACKSON. 783
tauce if the lands were sold for immediate settlement and culti-
vation. Indeed, there is scarcely a mischief arising out of our
present land system, including the accumulating surplus of
revenue, which would not be remedied at once by a restriction
on land sales to actual settlers ; and it promises other advantages
to the country in general, and to the new States in particular,
which can not fail to receive the most profound consideration of
Congress. *
Experience continues to realize the expectations entertained
as to the capacity of the State banks to perform the duties of
fiscal agents for the Government, at the time of the removal of
the deposits. It was alleged by the advocates of the Bank of
the United States that the State banks, whatever might be the
regulations of the Treasury Department, could not make the
transfers required by the Government, or negotiate the domestic
exchanges of the country. It is now well ascertained that
the real domestic exchanges, performed through discounts
by the United States Bank and its twenty-five branches,
were at least one-third less than those of the deposit banks for an
equal period of time ; and if a comparison be instituted between
the amounts of service rendered by these institutions on the
broader basis which has been used by the advocates of the United
States Bank, in estimating what they consider the domestic ex-
changes transacted by it, the result will be still more favorable to
the deposit banks.
The whole amount of public money transferred by the Bank
of the United States in 1832 was sixteen millions of dollars.
The amount transferred and actually paid by the deposit banks
in the year ending the 1st of October last was thii'ty-nine mill-
ions three hundred and nineteen thousand eight hundred and
ninety-nine dollars ; the amount transferred and paid between
that period and the 6th of November was five millions three
hundred and ninety-nine thousand dollars ; and the amount of
transfer warrants outstanding on that day was fourteen millions
four hundred and fifty thousand dollars; making an aggregate
of fifty-nine millions one hundred and sixty-eight thousand eight
hundred and ninety-four dollars. These enormous sums of money
first mentioned, have been transferred with the greatest prompti-
tude and regularity ; and the rates at which the exchanges have
been negotiated previously to the passage of the deposit act, were
generally below those charged by the Bank of the United States.
784 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Independently of these services, whicli are far greater than those
rendered by the United States Bank and its twenty-five branches,
a number of deposit banks have, with a commendable zeal to aid
in the improvement of the currency, imported from abroad, at
their own expense, large sums of the precious metals for coinage
and circulation.
In the same manner have nearly all the predictions turned
out in respect to the effect of the removal of the deposits — a step
unquestionably necessary to prevent the evils which it was fore-
seen the Bank itself would endeavor to create in a final struggle
to procure the renewal of its charter. It may be thus, too, in
some degree, with the further steps which may be taken to pre-
vent the excessive issues of other bank paper ; but it is to be
hoped that nothing will now deter the Federal and State author-
ities from the firm and vigorous performance of their duties to
themselves and to the people in this respect.
In reducing the revenue to the wants of the Government,
your particular attention is invited to those articles which consti-
tute the necessaries of life. The duty on salt was laid as a war
tax, and was no doubt continued to assist iu providing for the
payment of the war debt. There is no article the release of
which from taxation would be felt so generally and so beneficially.
To this may be added all kinds of fuel and provisions. Justice
and benevolence unite in favor of releasing the poor of our
cities from burdens which are not necessary to the support of
our Government, and tend only to increase the wants of the
destitute.
It will be seen by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury,
and the accompanying documents, that the Bank of the United
States has made no payment on account of the stock held by the
Government in that institution, although urged to pay any por-
tion which might suit its convenience ; and that it has given no
information when payment may be expected. Nor, although re-
peatedly requested, has it furnished the information in relation
to its condition, which Congress authorized the Secretary to collect
at their last session. Such measures as are within the power of
the Executive have been taken to ascertain the value of the
stock, and procure the payment as early as possible.
The conduct and present condition of that Bank, and the
great amount of capital vested in it by the United States, require
your careful attention. Its charter expired on the 3d day of
ANDRP:W JACKSON. 785
March last, and it has now no power but that given in the 21st
section, to use " the corporate name, style, and capacity, for the
purpose of suits for the final settlement and liquidation of the
affairs and accounts of the corporation, and for the sale and dis-
position of their estate, real, personal, and mixed, but not for any
other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever, nor for a period
exceeding two years after the expiration of the said term of in-
corporation." Before the expiration of the charter, the stock-
holders of the Bank obtained an act of incorporation from the
Legislature of Pennsylvania, excluding only the United States.
Instead of proceeding to wind up their concerns, and pay over to
the United States the amount due on account of the stock held
by them, the president and directors of the old Bank appear to
have transferred the books, papers, notes, obligations, and most
or all of its property, to this new corporation, which entered upon
business as a continuation of the old concern. Among other acts
of questionable validity, the notes of the expired corporation are
known to have been used as its own, and again put in circula-
tion. That the old Bank had no right to issue or reissue its notes
after the expiration of its charter, can not be denied ; and that
it could not confer any such right on its substitute any more than
exercise it itself, is equally plain. In law and honesty, the notes
of the Bank in circulation, at the expiration of its charter, should
have been called in by public advertisement, paid up as presented,
and, together with those on hand, canceled and destroyed. Their
reissue is sanctioned by no law, and warranted by no necessity.
If the United States be responsible in their stock for the payment
of these notes, their reissue by the new corporation, for their own
profit, is a fraud on the Government. If the United States is not
responsible, then there is no legal responsibility in any quarter,
and it is a fraud on the country. They are the redeemed notes
of a dissolved partnership, but, contrary to the wishes of the re-
tiring partner, and without his consent, are again reissued and
circulated.
It is the high and peculiar duty of Congress to decide whether
any further legislation be necessary for the security of the large
amount of public property now held and in use by the new Bank,
and for vindicating the rights of the Government, and compelling
a speedy and honest settlement with all the creditors of the old
Bank, public and private ; or whether the subject shall be left to
the power now possessed by the Executive and judiciary. It
50-G
786 LIFE AXD TIMES OF
remains to be seen whether the persons who, as managers of tte old
Bank, undertook to control the Government, retained the public
dividends, shut their doors upon a committee of the House of
Representatives, and filled the country with panic to accomplish
their own sinister objects, may now, as managers of a new Bank,
continue with impunity to flood the country with a spurious cur-
rency, use the seven millions of Government stock for their own
profit, and refuse to the United States all information as to the
present condition of their own property, and the prospect of re-
covering it into their own possession.
The lesson taught by the Bank of the United States can not
well be lost upon the American people. They will take care never
again to place so tremendous a power in irresponsible hands ;
and it will be fortunate if they seriously consider the conse-
quences which are likely to result on a smaller scale, from the
facility with which corporate powers are granted by their State
governments.
It is believed that the laAV of the last session, regulating the
deposit banks, operates onerously and unjustly upon them in
many respects; and it is hoped that Congress, on proper repre-
sentation, will adopt the modifications which are necessary to pre-
vent this consequence.
The report of the Secretary of War ad interim, and the accom-
panying documents, all of which are herewith laid before you,
will give you a full view of the diversified and important opera-
tions of that Department during the past year.
The military movements rendered necessary by the aggressions
of the hostile portions of the Seminole and Creek tribes of In-
dians, and by other circumstances, have required the active em-
ployment of nearly our whole regular force, including the marine
corps, and of large bodies of militia and volunteers. With all
these events, so far as they were known at the seat of Govern-
ment before the termination of your last session, you are already
acquainted ; and it is therefore only needful in this place to lay
before you a brief summary of what has since occurred.
The war with the Semiuoles during the summer, was on our
part chiefly confined to the protection of our frontier settlements
from the incursions of the enemy ; and, as a necessary and impor-
tant means for the accomplishment of that end, to the mainten-
ance of the posts previously established. In the course of this
duty, several actions took place, in which the bravery and dis-
ANDREW JACKSON. 787
cipline of both officers and men were conspicuously displayed, and
which I have deemed it proper to notice, in respect to the former,
by the granting of brevet rank for gallant services in the field.
But as the force of the Indians was not so far weakened by these
partial successes as to lead them to submit, and as their savage in-
roads were frequently repeated, early measures were taken for
placing at the disposal of Governor Call, who, as commander-in-
chief of the Territorial militia, had been temporarily invested with
the command, an ample force for the purpose of resuming offen-
sive operations in the most efficient manner so soon as the season
should permit. Major-General Jesup was also directed, on the
conclusion of his duties in the Creek country, to repair to Florida
and assume the commaud.
The result of the first movement made by the forces under
the direction of Governor Call, in October last, as detailed in the
accompanying papers, excited much surprise and disappointment.
A full explanation has been required of the causes which led to
the failure of that movement, but has not yet been received. In
the meantime it was feared that the health of Governor Call, who
was understood to have suffered much from sickness, might not
be adequate to the crisis, and as Major-General Jesup was known
to have reached Florida, that officer was directed to assume the
command, and to prosecute all needful operations with the utmost
promptitude and vigor. From the force at his disposal, and the
dispositions he has made, and is instructed to make, and from the
very efficient measures which it is since ascertained have been
taken by Governor Call, there is reason to hope that they will
soon be enabled to reduce the enemy to subjection. In the mean-
time, as you will perceive from the report of the Secretary, there
is urgent necessity for further appropriations to suppress these
hostilities.
Happily for the interests of humanity, the hostilities with
the Creeks have been brought to a close soon after your adjourn-
ment, without that effusion of blood which at one time was ap-
prehended as inevitable. The unconditional submission of the
hostile party was followed by their speedy removal to the country
assigned them west of the Mississippi. The inquiry as to al-
leged frauds in the purchase of the reservations of these Indians,
and the causes of these hostilities, requested by the resolution of
the House of Representatives of the 1st of July last, to be made
to the President, is now going on, through the agency of commis-
788 LIFE AND TIMES OF
sioners appointed for that purpose. Their report may be expected
during the present session.
The difficulties apprehended in the Cherokee country have
been prevented, and the peace and safety of that region and its
vicinity effectually secured, by the timely measures taken by the
War Department, and still continued.
The discretionary authority given to General Gaines to cross
the Sabine, and to occupy a position as far west as Nacogdoches,
in case he should deem such a step necessary to the protection of
the frontier, and to the fulfillment of the stipulations contained
in our treaty with Mexico, and the movement subsequently made
by that officer, have been alluded to in a former part of this
message. At the date of the latest intelligence from Nacogdoches,
our troops were yet at that station, but the officer who has suc-
ceeded General Gaines has recently been advised, that, from the
facts known at the seat of Government, there would seem to be
no adequate cause for any longer maintaining that position ; and
he was accordingly instructed, in case the troops were not already
withdrawn under the discretionary powers before possessed by
him, to give the requisite orders for that purpose, on the receipt
of the instructions, unless he shall then have in his possession
such information as shall satisfy him that the maintenance of the
post is essential to the protection of our frontiers, and to the
due execution of our treaty stipulations, as previously explained
to him.
While the necessities existing during the present year, for the
service of militia and volunteers, have furnished new proofs of
the patriotism of our fellow-citizens, they have also strongly illus-
trated the importance of an increase in the rank and file of the
regular army. The views of this subject, submitted by the Secre-
tary of War in his report, meet my entire concurrence, and are
earnestly commended to the deliberate attention of Congress. In
this connection it is also proper to remind you that the defects in
our present militia system are every day rendered more apparent.
The duty of making further provision by law for organizing, arm-
ing, and disciplining this armed defense, has been so repeatedly
presented to Congress, by myself and my predecessors, that I deem
it sufficient on this occasion to refer to the last annual message
and to former Executive communications, in which the subject
has been discussed.
It appears from the reports of the officers charged with muster-
ANDREW JACKSON. 789
ing into service the volunteers called for under the act of Congress
of the last session, that more presented themselves at the place of
rendezvous in Tennessee than were sufficient to meet the requisi-
tion which had been made by the Secretary of War upon the Gov-
ernor of that State. This was occasioned by the omission of the
Governor to apportion the requisition to the different regiments of
militia, so as to obtain the proper number of troops and no more.
It seems but just to the patriotic citizens who repaired to the gen-
eral rendezvous, under circumstances authorizing them to believe
that their services were needed, and would be accepted, that the
expenses incurred by them, while absent from their homes, should
be paid by the. Government. I accordingly recommend that a law
to this effect be passed by Congress, giving them a compensation
which will cover their expenses on the march to and from the
place of rendezvous, and while there; in connection with which,
it will also be proper to make provision for such other equitable
claims, growing out of the service of the militia, as may not be
embraced in the existing laws.
On the unexpected breaking out of hostilities in Florida, Ala-
bama, and Georgia, it became necessary, in some cases, to take
the property of individuals for public use. Provision should be
made by law for indemnifying the owners; and I would also re-
spectfully suggest whether some provision may not be made, con-
sistently with the principles of our Government, for' the relief of
the sufferers by Indian depredations, or by the operations of our
own troops.
No time was lost after the making of the requisite appropria-
tions, in resuming the great national work of completing the un-
finished fortificatifjus on our sea-board, and of placing them in a
proper state of defense. In consequence, however, of the very
late day at which those bills were passed, but little progress could
be made during the season which has just closed. A very large
amount of the moneys granted at your last session accordingly
remains unexpended ; but as the work will be again resumed at
the earliest moment in the coming spring, the balance of the exist-
iig appropriations, and in several cases which will be laid before
you, with the proper estimates, further sums for the like objects,
may be usefully expended during the next year.
The recommendations of an increase in the engineer corps,
and for a reorganization of the topographical corps, submitted to
you in my last annual message, derive additional strength from
790 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the great embarrassments experienced during the present year in
those branches of the service, and under which they are now suf-
fering. Several of the most important surveys and constructions,
directed by recent laws, have been suspended in consequence of
the want of adequate force in these corps.
The like observations may be applied to the ordnance corps
and the general staff, the operations of which, as they are now or-
ganized, must either be frequently interrupted, or performed by
officers taken from the line of the army, to the great prejudice of
the service.
For a general view of the condition of the military academy,
and of other branches of the military service not already noticed,
as well as for fuller illustrations of those which have been men-
tioned, I refer you to the accompanying documents ; and among
the various proposals contained therein, for legislative action, I
would particularly notice the suggestion of the Secretary of
War, for the revision of the pay of the army, as entitled to your
favorable regard.
The national policy, founded alike in interest and in humanity,
so long and so steadily pursued by this Government, for the re-
moval of the Indian tribes originally settled on this side of the
Mississippi, to the west of that river, may be said to have been
consummated by the conclusion of the late treaty with the Chero-
kees. The measures taken in the execution of that treaty, and in
relation to our Indian affairs generally, will fully appear by refer-
ring to the accompanying papers. Witho.ut dwelling on the nu-
merous and important topics embraced in them, I again invite your
attention to the importance of providing a well-digested and com-
prehensive system for the protection, supervision, and improve-
ment of the various tribes now planted in the Indian country.
The suggestions submitted by the Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, and enforced by the Secretary on this subject, and also in
regard to the establishment of additional military posts in the
Indian country, are entitled to your profound consideration.
Both measures are necessary, for the double purpose of protecting
the Indians from intestine war, and in other respects complying
with our engagements to them, and of securing our western
frontier against incursions which otherwise will assuredly be made
on it. The best hopes of humanity in regard to the aboriginal
race, the welfare of our rapidly extending settlements, and the
honor of the United States, are all deeply involved in the rela-
ANDREW JACKSON. 791
tions existing between this Government and the emigrating tribes.
I trust, therefore, that the various matters submitted in the ac-
companyiug documents in respect to those relations, will receive
your early and mature deliberations ; and that it may issue in the
adoption of legislative measures adapted to the circumstances
and duties of the present crisis.
You are referred to the report of the Secretary of the Navy
for a satisfactory view of the operations of the Department under
his charge, during the present year. In the construction of ves-
sels at the different navy-yards, and in the employment of our
ships and squadrons at sea, that branch of the service has been
actively and usefully employed. While the situation of our
commercial interests in the West Indies required a greater num-
ber than usual of armed vessels to be kept on that station, it is
gratifying to perceive that the protection due to our commerce in
other quarters of the world has not proved insufficient. Every
effort has been made to facilitate the equipment of the exploring
expedition authorized by the act of the last session, but all the
preparation necessary to enable it to sail has not yet been com-
pleted. No means will be spared by the Government to fit out
the expedition on a scale corresponding with the liberal appro-
priation for the purpose, and with the elevated character of the
objects which are to be effected by it.
I beg leave to renew the recommendation made in my last
annual message, respecting the enlistment of boys in our naval
service ; and to urge upon your attention the necessity of further
appropriations to increase the number of ships afloat, and to en-
large generally the capacity and force of the navy. The increase
of our commerce, and our position in regard to the other powers
of the world, will always make it our policy and interest to cher-
ish the great naval resources of our country.
The report of the Postmaster-General presents a gratifying
picture of the condition of the Post-office Department. Its reve-
nues for the year ending the 30th of June last were three mill-
ions three hundred and ninety-eight thousand four hundred and
fifty-five dollars and nineteen- cents, showing an increase of reve-
nue over that of the preceding year, of four hundred and four
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight dollars and fifty-three
cents, or more than thirteen per cent. The expenditures for the
same year were two millions seven hundred and fifty-five thousand
six hundred and twenty-three dollars and seventy-six cents,
792 LIFE AND TIMES OF
exhibiting a surplus of six hundred and forty-two thousand eight
hundred and thirty-one dollars forty-three cents. The Depart-
ment has been redeemed from embarrassment and debt; has ac-
cumulated a surplus exceeding half a million of dollars; has
largely extended, and is preparing still further to extend, the
mail service ; and recommends a reduction of postages equal to
about twenty per cent. It is practicing upon the great principle
which should control every branch of our Government, of ren-
dering to the public the greatest good possible with the least
possible taxation to the people.
The scale of postages suggested by the Postmaster-General,
recommends itself, not only by the reduction it proposes, but by
the simplicity of its arrangement, its conformity with the Federal
currency, and the improvement it will introduce into the accounts
of the Department and its agents.
Your particular attention is invited to the subject of mail con-
tracts with railroad companies. The present laws providing for
the making of contracts are based upon the presumption that compe-
tition among bidders will secure the service at a fair price. But
on most of the railroad lines, there is no competition in that kind
of transportation, and advertising is therefore useless. No con-
tract can now be made with them, except such as shall be nego-
tiated before the time of offering or afterward, and the power of
the Postmaster-General to pay them high prices is practically
without limitation. It would be a relief to him, and no doubt
would conduce to the public interest, to prescribe by law some
equitable basis upon which such contracts shall rest, and restrict
him by a fixed rule of allowance. Under a liberal act of that
sort, he would undoubtedly be able to secure the services of most
of the railroad companies, and the interest of the Department
would be thus advanced.
The correspondence between the people of the United States
and the European nations, and particularly with the British
Islands, has become very extensive, and requires the interposition
of Congress to give it security. No obstacle is perceived to an
interchange of mails between New York and Liverpool, or other
foreign ports, as proposed by the Postmaster-General. On the
contrary it promises, by the security it will afford, to facili-
tate commercial transactions, and give rise to an enlarged
intercourse among the people of different nations, which can not
but have a happy effect. Through the city of New York most
ANDREW JACKSON. 793
of the corresjiondence between the Canadas and Europe is now
carried on, and urgent representations have been received from
the head of the provincial post-office, asking the interposition of
the United States to guard it from the accidents and losses to
which it is now subjected. Some legislation appears to be called
for, as well by our own interest, as by comity to the adjoining
British provinces.
The expediency of providing a fire-proof building for the im-
portant books and papers of the .Post-office Department is worthy
of consideration. In the present condition of our Treasury it is
neither necessary nor wise to leave essential public interests ex-
posed to so much danger, when they can so readily be made se-
cure. There are weighty considerations in the location of a new
building for that department, in favor of placing it near the
other executive buildings.
The important subjects of a survey of the coast, and the man-
ufacture of a standai'd of weights and measures for the different
custom-houses, have been in progress for some years, under the
general direction of the Executive, and the immediate superin-
tendence of a gentleman possessing high scientific attainments.
At the last session of Congress, the making of a set of weights
and measures for each State in the Union was added to the
others by a joint resolution.
The care and correspondence as to all these subjects have
been devolved on the Treasury Department during the last year.
A special report from the Secretary of the Treasury will soon be
communicated to Congress, which will show what has been ac-
complished as to the whole — the number and compensation of
the persons now employed in these duties, and the progress ex-
pected to be made during the ensuing year — with a copy of the
various correspondence deemed necessary to throw light on the
subjects which seem to require additional legislation. Claims
have been made for retrospective allowances in behalf of the
superintendent and some of his assistants, which I did not feel
justified in granting ; other claims have been made for large in-
creases in compensation, which, under all the circumstances of
the several cases, I declined making without the express sanction
of Congress. In order to obtain that sanction, the subject was,
at the last session, on my suggestion, and by request of the im-
mediate superintendent, submitted by the Treasury Department
to the Committee of Commerce of the House of Representatives.
794 LIFE AND TIMES OF
But no legislative action having taken place, the early attention
of Congress is now invited to the enactment of some express and
detailed provisions in relation to the various claims made for the
past, and to the compensation and allowances deemed proper for
the future.
It is further respectfully recommended that, such being the
inconvenience of attention to these duties by. the Chief Magistrate,
and such the great pressure of business on the Treasury Depart-
ment, the general supervision of the coast survey, and the com-
pletion of the weights and measures,* if the works are kept united,
should be devolved on a board of officers organized especially
for that purpose, or on the navy board attached to the Navy
Department.
All my experience and reflection confirm the conviction I
have so often expressed to Congress in favor of an amendment
of the Constitution which will prevent, in any event, the election
of the President and Vice-Pi-esident of the United States devolv-
ing on the House of Representatives and the Senate ; and I
therefore beg leave again to solicit your attention to the subject.
There were various other suggestions in my last annual message
not acted upon, particularly that relating to the want of uni-
formity in the laws of the District of Columbia, that are deemed
worthy of your favorable consideration.
Before concluding this paper, I think it due to the various
Executive Departments to bear testimony to their prosperous
condition, and to the ability and integrity with which they have
been conducted. It has been my aim to enforce in all of them
a vigilant and faithful discharge of the public business, and it is
gratifying to me to believe that there is no just cause of com-
plaint from any quarter at the manner in which they have ful-
filled the objects of their creation.
Having now finished the observations deemed proper on this,
the last occasion I shall have of communicating with the two
Houses of Congress at their meeting, I can not omit an expression
of the gratitude which is due to the great body of my fellow-
citizens, in whose partiality and indulgence I have found encour-
agement and support in the many difficult and trying scenes
through wiiich it has been ray lot to pass during my public
career. Though deeply sensible that my exertions have not been
crowned with a success corresponding to the degree of favor be-
stowed upon me, I am sure that .they will be considered as having
ANDREW JAUKSON. 795
been directed by an earnest desire to promote the good of my
country ; and I am consoled by the persuasion, that whatever
errors have been committed, will find a corrective in the intelli-
gence and patriotism of those who will succeed us. All that has
occurred during my Administration is calculated to inspire me
with increased confidence in the stability of our institutions; and
should I be spared to enter upon that retirement which is so
suitable to my age and infirm health, and so much desired by
me in other respects, I shall not cease to invoke that beneficent
Being, to whose providence we are already so signally indebted,
for the continuance of his blessings on our beloved country.
The President puts great stress upon what had
been accomplished especially under his Administration
in bringing about cordial relations with foreign gov-
ernments. He now recognized the lurking danger per-
ceivable in the financial condition of the country, and
admits a change in his mind. For General Jackson to
admit that he ever could be wrong in anything, was
enough to throw the country into a panic. He now
opposed the plan of distributing surplus revenue,
either among the people or the States, and argued
that the way out of the whole difficulty was to ar-
range the revenue systena so that the income would
merely defray the necessary expenses of the Govern-
ment. He again defends his course as to the Bank of
the United States, but acknowledges that no great
good had yet been effected, and deplores the great
evils arising from the excessive paper circulation from
the State deposit and other banks, and clearly indi-
cates that the great work before Congress was to
provide a remedy for this unfortunate state of affairs.
He recommends his specie order to Congress, and
shows how the land speculations had been arrested, to
ponie extent, by it. It was one of his first and last
thoughts that the public land sliould be turned to
796 LIFE AND TIMES OF
actual settlement ; that men who wanted to live on the
lands and cultivate them should be benefited by them;
hence the clause of his specie circular making an ex-
ception in favor of actual settlers against speculators,
as to the payment of specie for lands.
Under his leadership a system of banking, of
finances, had come into existence which had filled the
country with paper currency, with the wildest and
most ruinous speculation and inflation, and which now
seriously threatened the overthrow of business and
social prosperity. His great desire now was to crush
the new and more powerful monster which was rap-
idly coiling itself around the country. He saw too
plainly the unfortunate result of his good purposes.
But it was too late to avert the calamity, if the way
had been clear. The basis of all his arguments now
was gold, gold, silver, silver. In all the latter day
financial troubles, and all other fancied troubles, and
the thousand elaborate and wise panaceas, no better
presentation of the case can be found than is given in
this message. Some of the wild political heirs of
General Jackson, and the descendants of the inflation-
ists of the last term of his Presidency have never
been answered more ably and honestly than is done
in this message, one of the most remarkable of all the
Executive papers. The President takes occasion to
extol all the Departments of his Administration, ac-
cording to an old army practice with him, and com-
mit the whole, with confidence to the country. It
must not be overlooked that now for the eighth time
he did not neglect to press upon Congress the neces-
sity of removing all possibilities of having a Presi-
dential election thrown into that body. The idea of
ANDREW JACKSON. 797
having either House resolved into an uncertain Elec-
toral College was never to his taste after 1825.
President Jackson's long term of office had been
stormy. There had not been a solitary moment of
peace to him, and little to the country from the day
he took the oath of office to the present time, nor was
he destined to see any now. The very things he con-
gratulated himself and the country upon, were excep-
tionable to Congress. The integrity and ability of
the employes under him were questioned, and bitter
investigations ordered. The condition of the country
was too feverish to be peaceful. It was not the
nature of the elements concerned to be peaceful before
a storm, if it ever is so.
The old quarrel between Calhoun and the Presi-
dent broke out towards the close of this session. Mr.
Calhoun had been charged with including him among the
land speculators. It was a rule of Jackson's life to
allow nothing to go unanswered or unpunished. He
wrote a long letter to Mr. Calhoun telling him to have
justice done or he would take the matter into his own
hands, and publish that letter, again exposing him
before leaving the city. Mr. Calhoun treated the
whole matter in a way, he said, to show his pity and
contempt for the old man. The letter was read to the
Senate, and the matter was never heard of again.
The great event of this session to Jackson was his
final triumph over the Senate in having the act of
1834, censuring his conduct in removing the deposits
from the Bank, and treatment of W. J. Duane, " ex-
punged " from the record of that body. Soon after
the act of censure was passed Mr. Benton had started
the movement for its repeal or expurgation, and now,
798 LIFE AND TIMES OF
as the end approached, he pushed his purpose with
great skill and determination. At last, on the 16th
of Jannary, 1837, the opposition becoming indifferent,
and seeing that the friends of the President would
win, gave way, and amidst the groans and hisses from
the galleries the sentence of censure was canceled on
the Senate record by a vote of 24 to 19.
The President's, or what was the same thing, the
Treasury, specie circular of the last year was not at
all satisfactory to Congress; and notwithstanding the
majority of Administration members, towards the end
of the session a bill was passed by a large majority
rescinding the specie circular, and providing that bank
bills be a legal tender under certain conditions. At
quarter before 12 o'clock on the night of the 3d of
March, 1837, the President virtually killed the meas-
ure by briefly stating to Congress that he did not
deem the bill wise, and hence retained it without
further action. This was General Jackson's last offi-
cial act, a " pocket veto."
ANDREW JACKSON. 799
CHAPTER XXXVI.
END OF GENERAL JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION— FAREWELL
ADDRESS— IMITATES WASHINGTON— RECEPTION
BY THE PEOPLE.
ON the 4th, General Jackson attended the inaugu-
ration of Mr. Van Buren, and three days after-
wards started for his home in Tennessee. He was
not the man to lose an opportunity to make himself
felt at all times. He thought as well of his own
career as did his most enthusiastic admirers. If abil-
ity to execute his own will, and be almost absolute in
bending men and things to his purposes constitute
greatness, then he was great, and the only great man
known in the history of this country. He had claimed
great devotion to the people. His career had been
varied, and valuable, and at every point remarkable.
He had really founded a party of which he was
yet the oracle. He had introduced politics directly
into the affairs of the National Administration, and
laid tte foundation for the everlasting contest of par-
ties for the spoils of office. The adulations of his
friends favored his own inclinations to imitate one who
had gone before him, and believing that his principles
should be eternally practiced in this country, having
great faith in the permanent attachment of the people
to himself, and believing that his voice would be
heeded then and in after times, he prepared and issued
800 LIFE AND TIMES OF
on the last day of his official career an address to the
people of the United States. Much of this document
may be found substantially in his messages and other
papers, and is a statement of the Jacksonian principles
of government, and of the sentiments which had
actuated him in the administration of the affairs of the
country. The following is the
FAREWELL ADDRESS.
March 3, 1837.
Fellow-citizens, — Being about to retire finally from public
life, I beg leave to offer you my grateful thanks for the many
proofs of kindness and confidence which I have received at your
hands. It has been my fortune, in the discharge of public
duties, civil and military, frequently to have found myself in
difiicult and trying situations, where prompt decision and ener-
getic action were necessary, and where the interest of the coun-
try required that high responsibilities should be fearlessly encoun-
tered ; and it is with the deepest emotions of gratitude that I
acknowledge the continued and unbroken confidence with which
you have sustained me in every trial. My public life has been
a long one, and I can not hope that it has at all times been free
from errors. But I have the consolation of knowing that if mis-
takes have been committed, they have not seriously injured the
country I so anxiously endeavored to serve; and at the moment
when I surrender my last public trust, I leave this great peo-
ple prosperous and happy ; in the full enjoyment of liberty and
peace ; and'honored and respected by every nation in the world.
If my humble efforts have, in any degree, contributed to pre-
serve to you these blessings, I have been more than rewarded by
honors you have heaped upon me ; and, above all, by the generous
confidence with which you have supported me in every peril, and
with which you have continued to animate and cheer my path to
the closing hour of my political life. The time has now come
when advanced age and a broken frame warn me to retire from
public concerns ; but the recollection of the many favors you have
bestowed upon me is engraven upon my heart, and I have felt
that I could not part from your service without making this
public acknowledgment of the gratitude I owe you. And if I
ANDREW JACKSON. 801
use the occasion to offer to you the counsels of age and expe-
rience, you will, I trust, receive them with the same indulgent
kindness which you have so often extended to me; and will, at
least, see in them an earnest desire to perpetuate, in this favored
land, the blessings of liberty and equal laws.
We have now lived almost fifty years under the Constitutiou
framed by the sages and patriots of the Revolution. The con-
flicts in which the nations of Europe were engaged during a great
pai't of this period; the spirit in which they waged war against
each other; and our intimate commercial connections with every
part of the civilized world, rendered it a time of much difficulty
for the Government of the United States. We have had our
seasons of peace and of war, with all the evils which precede or
follow a state of hostility with powerful nations. We encoun-
tered these trials with our Constitution yet in its infancy, and
under the disadvantages which a new and Untried government
must always feel, when it is called upon to put fortK its whole
strength, without the lights of experience to guide it, or the
weight of precedents to justify its measures. But we have
passed triumphantly through all these difficulties. Our Constitu-
tion is no longer a doubtful experiment; and at the end of nearly
half a century, we find that it has preserved unimpaired the lib-
erties of the people, secured the rights of property, and that our
country has improved, and is flourishing beyond any former ex-
ample in the history of nations.
In our domestic concerns, there is everything to encourage us ;
and if you are true to yourselves, nothing can impede your
march to the highest point of national prosperity. The States
which had so long been retarded in their improvements by the
Indian tribes residing in the midst of them, are at length relieved
from the evil ; and this unhappy race, the original dwellers in
our land, are now placed in a situation where we may well hope
that they will share in the blessings of civilization, and be saved
from that degradation and destruction to which they were rapidly
hastening while they remained in the States; and while the safety
and comfort of our own citizens have been greatly promoted by
their removal, the philanthropist will rejoice that the remnant of
this ill-fated race has been at length placed beyond the reach of
injury or oppression, and that the paternal care of the General
Government will hereafter watch over them and protect them.
If we turn to our relations with foreign powers, we find our
51— G
802 LIFE AND TIMES OF
condition equally gratifying. Actuated by the sincere desire to
do justice to every nation, and to preserve the blessings of peace,
our intercourse with them has been conducted on the part of this
Government in the spirit of frankness, and I take pleasure in
saying that it has generally been met in a corresponding temper.
Difficulties of old standing have been surmounted by friendly
discussion, and a mutual desire to be just; and the claims of our
citizens, which had been long withheld, have at length been
acknowledged and adjusted, and satisfactory arrangements made
for their final payment; and with a limited, and I trust a tempo-
rary exception, our relations with every foreign power are now
of the most friendly character, our commerce continually expand-
ing, and our flag respected in every quarter of the world.
These cheering and grateful prospects, and these multiplied
favors, we owe, under Providence, to the adoption of the Fed-
eral Constitution, It is no longer a q^uestion whether this great
country can remain happily united, and flourish under our
present form of government. Experience, the unerring test of
all human undertakings, has shown the wisdom and foresight of
those who formed it; and has proved, that in the Union of
these States there is a sure foundation for the brightest hopes of
freedom, and for the happiness of the people. At every hazard,
and by every sacrifice, this Union must be preserved.
The necessity of watching with jealous anxiety for the pres-
ervation of the Union, was earnestly pressed upon his fellow-citi-
zens by the father of his country, in his Farewell Address. He
has there told us, that "while experience shall not have demon-
strated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust
the patriotism of those who, in any quarter, may endeavor to
weaken its bonds;" and he has cautioned us in the strongest
terms against the formation of parties on geographical discrim-
inations, as one of the means which might disturb our Union,
and to which designing men would be likely to resort.
The lessons contained in this invaluable legacy of Washington
to his countrymen, should be cherished in the heart of every
citizen to the latest generation ; and, perhaps, at no period of
time could they be more usefully remembered than at the present
moment. For when we look upon the scenes that are passing
around us, and dwell upon the pages of his parting address, his
paternal counsels would seem to be, not merely the offspring of
wisdom and foresight, but the voice of prophecy foretelling
ANDREW JACKSON. 803
events and warning us of the evil to come. Forty years liave
passed since this imperishable document was given to his coun-
trymen. The Federal Constitution was then regarded by him as
an experiment, and he so speaks of it in his address, but an ex-
periment upon the success of which the best hopes of his country
depended, and we all know that he was prepared to lay down
his life, if necessary, to secure to it a full and fair trial. The
trial has been made. It has succeeded beyond the proudest
hopes of those who framed it. Every quarter of this widely ex-
tended Nation has felt its blessings, and shared in the general
prosperity produced by its adoption. But amid this general
prosperity and splendid success, the dangers of which he warned
us are becoming every day more evident, and the signs of evil
are sufficiently apparent to awaken the deepest anxiety in the
bosom of the patriot. We behold systematic efforts publicly
made to sow the seeds of discord between different parts of
the United States, and to place party divisions directly upon
geographical distinctions; to excite the South against the North,
and the North against the South, and to force into the controversy
the most delicate and exciting topics upon which it is impossible
that a large portion of the Union can ever speak without strong
emotions. Appeals, tbo, are constantly made to sectional interests,
in order to influence the election of the Chief Magistrate, as if
it were desired that he should favor a particular quarter of the
country, instead of fulfilling the duties of his station with impar-
tial justice to all ; and the possible dissolution of the Union has
at length become an ordinary and familiar subject of discussion.
Has the warning voice of Washington been forgotten ? or have
designs already been formed to sever the Union? Let it not be
supposed that I impute to all of those who have taken an active
part in these unwise and unprofitable discussions, a want of
patriotism or of public virtue. The honorable feelings of State
pride and local attachment find a place in the bosoms of the most
enlightened and pure. But while such men are conscious of
their own integrity and honesty of purpose, they ought never to
forget that the citizens of other States are their political breth-
ren ; and that, however mistaken they may be in their views, the
great body of them are equally honest and upright with them-
selves. Mutual suspicion and reproaches may in time create
mutual hostility, and artful and designing men will always be
found, who are ready to foment these fatal divisions, and to
804 LIFE AND TIMES OF
inflame the natural jealousies of different sections of the country.
The history of the world is full of such examples, and especially
the history of republics.
What have you to gain by division and dissension? Delude
not yourselves with the belief that a breach once made may be
afterward repaired. If the Union is once severed, the line of
separation will grow wider and wider, and the controversies
which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation,
will then be tried in fields of battle, and determined by the
sword. Neither should you deceive yourselves with the hope
that the first line of separation would be the permanent one, and
that nothing but harmony and concord would be found in the
new associations formed upon the dissolution of the Union. Local
interests would still be found there, and unchastened ambition.
And if the recollection of common dangers, in which the people
of these United States stood side by side against the common
foe; the memory of victories won by their united valor; the
prosperity and happiness they have enjoyed under the present
Constitution ; the proud name they bear as citizens of this great
Republic ; if all these recollections and proofs of common interest
are not strong enough to bind us together as one people, what tie
will hold united the new divisions of empire when these bonds
have been broken, and this Union dissevered ? The first line of
separation would not last for a single generation ; new fragments
would be torn off; new leaders would spring up ; and this great
and glorious Republic would soon be broken into a multitude of
petty States, without commerce, without credit, jealous of one
another, armed for mutual aggressions, loaded with taxes to pay
armies and leaders, seeking aid against each other from foreign
powers, insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe,
until, harassed with conflicts and humbled and debased in spirit,
they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any
military adventurer, and surrender their liberty for the sake of
repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that would
inevitably follow the destruction of this Government, and not
feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about the value of
the Union, and have so constantly before us a line of conduct so
well calculated to weaken its ties.
There is too much at stake to allow pride or passion to influ-
ence your decision. Never for a moment believe that the great
body of the citizens of any State or States can deliberately intend to
ANDREW JACKSON. 805
do wrong. They may, under the influence of temporary excite-
ment or misguided opinions, commit mistakes ; they may be mis-
led for a time by the suggestions of self-interest ; but in a com-
munity so enlightened and patriotic as the people of the United
States, argument will soon make them sensible of their errors,
and when convinced, they will be ready to repair them. If they
have no higher or better motives to govern them, they will at
least perceive that their own interest requires them to be just to
others as they hope to receive justice at their hands.
But in order to maintain the Union unimpaired, it is abso-
lutely necessary that the laws passed by the constituted authori-
ties should be faithfully executed in every part of the country,
and that every good citizen should, at all times stand ready to
put down, with the combined force of the Nation, every attempt
at unlawful resistance, under whatever pretext it may be made,
or whatever shape it may assume. Unconstitutional or oppress-
ive laws may no doubt be passed by Congress, either from
erroneous views or the want of due consideration ; if they are
within reach of judicial authority, the remedy is easy and
peaceful ; and if, from the character of the law, it is an abuse
of power not within the control of the judiciary, then free dis-
cussion and calm appeals to reason and to the justice of the people
will not fail to redress the wrong. But until the law shall be
declared void by the courts, or repealed by Congress, no individ-
ual or combination of individuals can be justified in forcibly
resisting its execution. It is impossible that any government
can continue to exist upon any other principles. It would cease
to be a government and be unworthy of the name, if it had not
the power to enforce the execution of its own laws within its own
sphere of action.
It is true that cases may be imagined disclosing such a settled
purpose of usurpation and oppression, on the part of the govern-
ment, as would justify an appeal to arms. These, however, are
extreme cases, which we have no reason to apprehend in a gov-
ernment where the power is in the hands of a patriotic people ;
and no citizen who loves his country would, in any case what-
ever, resort to forcible resistance, unless he clearly saw that the
time had come when a freeman should prefer death to submission ;
for if such a struggle is once begun, and the citizens of one sec-
tion of the country arrayed in arms against those of another, in
doubtful conflict, let the battle result as it may, there will be an
806 LIFE AND TIMES OF
end of the Union, and with it an end of the hopes of freedom.
The victory of the injured would not secure to them the blessings
of liberty ; it would avenge their wrongs, but they would them-
selves share in the common ruin.
But the Constitution can not be maintained, nor the Union
preserved, in opposition to public feeling, by the mere exertion
of the coercive powers confided to the General Government. The
foundations must be laid in the affections of the people ; in the
security it gives to life, liberty, character, and property, in every
quarter of the country ; and in the fraternal attachments which
the citizens of the several States bear to one another, as members
of one political family, mutually contributing to promote the haji-
piness of each other. Hence the citizens of every State should
studiously avoid everything calculated to wound the sensibility
or offend the just pride of the people of other States; and they
should frown upon any proceedings within their own borders likely
to disturb the tranquillity of their political brethren in other por-
tions of the Union. In a country so extensive as the United
States, and with pursuits so varied, the internal regulations of the
several States must frequently differ from one another in important
particulars ; and this difference is unavoidably increased by the
varying principles upon which the American colonies were origi-
nally planted ; principles which had taken deep root in their social
relations before the Revolution, and therefore, of necessity, influ-
encing their policy since they became free and independent States.
But each State has the unquestionable right to regulate its own in-
ternal concerns according to its own pleasure ; and while it does
not interfere with the rights of the people of other States, or the
rights of the Union, every State must be the sole judge of the
measures proper to secure the safety of its citizens and promote
their happiness ; and all efforts on the part of the people of other
States to cast odium upon their institutions, and all measures cal-
culated to disturb their rights of property, or to put in jeopardy
their peace and internal tranquillity, are in direct opposition to the
spirit in which the Union was formed, and must endanger its
safety. Motives of philanthropy may be assigned for this unwar-
rantable interference ; and weak men may persuade themselves for
a moment that they are laboring in the cause of humanity, and
asserting the rights of the human race ; but every one, upon sober
reflection, will see that nothing but mischief can come from these
improper assaults upon the feelings and rights of others. Rest
ANDREW JACKSON.* 807
assured, that the men found busy in this work of discord are
not worthy of your confidence, and deserve your strongest repro-
bation.
In the legislation of Congress, also, and in every measure of
the General Government, justice to every portion of the United
States should be faithfully observed. No free government can
stand without virtue in the people, and a lofty spirit of patriot-
ism ; and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness shall usurp the
place which ought to be filled with public spirit, the legislation
of Congress will soon be converted into a scramble for personal
and sectional advantages. Under our free institutions, the citi-
zens of every quarter of our country are capable of attaining a
high degree of prosperity and happiness, without seeking to profit
themselves at the expense of others ; and every such attempt
must in the end fail to succeed, for the people in every part of
the United States are too enlightened not to understand their
own rights and interests, and to detect and defeat every effort to
gain undue advantages over them; and when such designs are
discovered, it naturally provokes resentments which can not al-
ways be allayed. Justice, full and ample justice, to every portion
of the United States, should be the ruling principle of every free-
man, and should guide the deliberations of every public body,
whether it be State or national.
It is well known that there have always been those among us
who wish to enlarge the powers of the General Government ; and
experience would seem to indicate that there is a tendency on the
part of this Government to overstep the boundaries marked out
for it by the Constitution. Its legitimate authority is abundantly
sufficient for all the purposes for which it was created ; and its
powers being expressly enumerated, there can be no justification
for claiming anything beyond them. Every attempt to exercise
power beyond these limits should be promptly and firmly opposed.
For one evil example will lead to other measures still more mis-
chievous ; and if the principle of constructive powers, or supposed
advantages, or temporary circumstances, shall ever be permitted
to justify the assumption of a power not given by the Constitu-
tion, the General Government will before long absorb all the
powers of legislation, and you will have, in effect, but one con-
solidated Government. From the extent of our country, its di-
versified interests, different pursuits, and diflferent habits, it is too
obvious for argument that a single consolidated Government
808 "LIFE AND TIMES OF
would be wholly inadequate to watch over and protect its inter-
ests ; and every friend of our free institutions should be always
prepared to maintain unimpaired and in full vigor the rights and
sovereignty of the States, and to confine the action of the Gen-
eral Government strictly to the sphere of its appropriate duties.
There is, perhaps, no one of the powers conferred on the Fed-
eral Government so liable to abuse as the taxing power. The
most productive and convenient sources of revenue were neces-
sarily given to it, that it might be able to perform the important
duties imposed upon it; and the taxes which it lays upon com-
merce being concealed from the real payer in the price of the
article, they do not so readily attract the attention of the people
as smaller sums demanded from them directly by the tax-gatherer.
But the tax imposed on goods, enhances by so much the price of
the commodity to the consumer ; and as many of these duties are
imposed on articles of necessity which are daily used by the great
body of the people, the money raised by these imposts is drawn
from their pockets. Congress has no right under the Constitution
to take money from the people unless it is required to execute
some one of the specific powers intrusted to the Government ; and
if they raise more than is necessary for such purposes, it is an
abuse of the power of taxation, and unjust and oppressive. It
may indeed happen that the revenue will sometimes exceed the
amount anticipated when the taxes were laid. When, however,
this is ascertained, it is easy to reduce them ; and, in such a case,
it is unquestionably the duty of the Government to reduce them,
for no circumstances can justify it in assuming a power not
given to it by the Constitution, nor in taking away the money
of the people when it is not needed for the legitimate wants of
the Government.
Plain as these principles appear to be, you will yet find that
there is a constant eflfbrt to induce the General Government to go
beyond the limits of its taxing power, and to impose unnecessary
burdens upon the people. Many powerful interests are continu-
ally at work to procure heavy duties on commerce, and to swell
the revenue beyond the real necessities of the public service ; and
the country has already felt the injurious effects of their combined
influence. They succeeded in obtaining a tarilf of duties bearing
most oppressively on the agricultural and laboring classes of so-
ciety, and producing a revenue that could not be usefully em-
ployed within the range of the powers conferred upon Congress ;
ANDREW JACKSON. 809
and, in order to fasten upon the people this unjust and unequal
system of taxation, extravagant schemes of internal improvement
were got up in various quarters, to squander the money and to
purchase support. Thus, one unconstitutional measure was in-
tended to be upheld by another, and the abuse of the power of
taxation was to be maintained by usurping the power of expend-
ing the money in internal improvements. You can not have for-
gotten the severe and doubtful struggle through which we passed
when the Executive Department of the Government, by its veto,
endeavored to arrest the prodigal scheme of injustice, and to bring
back the legislation of Congress to the boundaries prescribed by
the Constitution. The good sense and practical judgment of the
people, when the subject was brought before them, sustained the
course of the Executive, and this plan of unconstitutional expen-
diture for the purposes of corrupt influence is, I trust, finally
overthrown.
The result of this decision has been felt in the rapid extin-
guishment of the public debt, and the large accumulation of a
surplus in the Treasury, notwithstanding the tariff" was reduced,
and is now far below the amount originally contemplated by its
advocates. But, rely upon it, the design to collect an extrava-
gant revenue, and to burden you with taxes beyond the econom-
ical wants of the Government, is not yet abandoned. The various
interests which have combined together to impose a heavy tariff",
and to produce an overflowing Treasury, are too strong, and have
too much at stake, to surrender the contest. The corporations
and wealthy individuals who are engaged in large manufacturing
establishments, desire a high tariff* to increase their gains. De-
signing politicians will support it, to conciliate their favor, and
to obtain the means of profuse expenditure, for the purpose of
purchasing influence in other quarters ; and since the people have
decided that the Federal Government can not be permitted to
employ its income in internal improvements, efforts will be made
to seduce and mislead the citizens of the several States, by hold-
ing out to them the deceitful prospect of benefits to be derived
from a surplus revenue collected by the General Government,
and annually divided among the States. And if, encouraged by
these fallacious hopes, the States should disregard the principles
of economy which ought to characterize every republican Govern-
ment, and should indulge in lavish expenditures exceeding their
resources, they will, before long, find themselves oppressed with
810 LIFE AND TIMES OF
debts which they are unable to pay, and the temptation will be-
come irresistible to support a high tariff, in order to obtain a sur-
plus distribution. Do not allow yourselves, my fellow-citizens, to
be misled on this subject. The Federal Government can not col-
lect a surplus for such purposes, without violating the principles
of the Constitution, and assuming powers which have not been
granted. It is, moreover, a system of injustice, and, if persisted
in, will inevitably lead to corruption, and must end in ruin. The
surplus revenue will be drawn from the pockets of the people —
from the farmer, the mechanic, and the laboring classes of society ;
but who will receive it when distributed among the States, where
it is to be disposed of by leading State politicians, who have
friends to favor, and political partisans to gratify? It will cer-
tainly not be returned to those who paid it, and who have most
need of it, and are honestly entitled to it. There is but one safe
rule, and that is, to confine the General Government rigidly
within the sphere of its appropriate duties. It has no power to
raise a revenue, or impose taxes, except for the purposes enu-
merated in the Constitution ; and if its income is found to exceed
these wanfs, it should be forthwith reduced, and the burdens of
the people so far lightened.
In reviewing the conflicts which have taken place between
different interests in the United States, and the policy pursued
since the adoption of our present form of Government, we find
nothing that has produced such deep-seated evil as the course of
legislation in relation to the currency. The Constitution of the
United States unquestionably intended to secure the people a cir-
culating medium of gold and silver. But the establishment of a
National Bank by Congress, with the privilege of issuing paper
money receivable in payment of the public dues, and the unfortu-
nate cause of legislation in the several States upon the same sub-
ject, drove from general circulation the Constitutional currency,
and substituted one of paper in its place.
It was not easy for men engaged in the ordinary pursuits of
business, whose attention had not been particularly drawn to the
subject, to foresee all the consequences of a currency exclusively
of paper ; and we ought not, on that account, to be surprised at
tlie fixcility with which laws were obtained to carry into effect the
paper system. Honest, and even enlightened men, are sometimes
misled by the specious and plausible statements of the designing.
But experience has now proved the mischiefs and dangers of a
ANDREW JACKSON. 811
paper currency, and it rests with you to determine whether the
proper remedy shall be applied.
The paper system being founded on public confidence, and
having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sud-
den fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure, and the
wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations which
create the paper money can not be relied upon to keep the circu-
lating medium uniform in amount. In times of prosperity, when
confidence is high, they are tempted by the prospect of gain, or
by the influence of those who hope to profit by it, to extend their
issues of paper beyond the bounds of discretion and the reason-
able demands of business. And when these issues have been
pushed on from day to day, until public confidence is at length
shaken, then a reaction takes place, and they immediately with-
draw the credits they have given ; suddenly curtail their issues,
and produce an unexpected and ruinous contraction of the circu-
lating medium, which is felt by the whole community. The banks
by this means save themselves, and the mischievous consequences
of their imprudence or cupidity are visited upon the public. Nor
does the evil stop here. These ebbs and flows of the currency, and
these indiscreet extensions of credit, naturally engender a spirit
of 'speculation injurious to the habits and character of the people.
We have already seen its effects in the wild spirit of speculation
in the public lands, and various kinds of stock, which, within the
last year or two, seized upon such a multitude of our citizens,
and threatened to pervade all classes of society, and to withdraw
their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry. It is
not by encouraging this spirit that we shall preserve public vir-
tue, and promote the true interests of our country. But if your
currency continues as exclusively paper as it now is, it will fos-
ter this eager desire to amass wealth without labor ; it will mul-
tiply the number of dependents on bank accommodations and bank
favors ; the temptation to obtain money at any sacrifice will be-
come stronger and stronger, and inevitably lead to corruption,
which will find its way into your public councils, and destroy,
at no distant day, the purity of your Government. Some of
the evils which arise from this system of paper press with peculiar
hardship upon the class of society least able to bear it. A por-
tion of this currency frequently becomes depreciated or worth-
less, and all of it is easily counterfeited, in such a manner as
to require peculiar skill and much experience to distinguish the
counterfeit from the genuine notes.
812 LIFE AND TIMES OF
These frauds are most generally perpetrated in the smaller
notes, which are used in the daily transactions of ordinary busi-
ness ; and the losses occasioned by them are commonly thrown
upon the laboring classes of society, whose situation and pursuits
put it out of their power to guard themselves from these imposi-
tions, and whose daily wages are necessary for their subsistence.
It is the duty of every government so to regulate its currency as
to protect this numerous class, as far as practicable, from the
impositions of avarice and fraud. It is more especially the duty
of the United States, where the Government is emphatically the
government of the people, and where this respectable portion of
our citizens are so proudly distinguished from the laboring classes
of all other nations by their independent spirit, their love of
liberty, their intelligence, and their high tone of moral character.
Their industry in peace is the source of our wealth, their bravery
in war has covered us with glory ; and the Government of the
United States will but ill discharge its duties, if it leaves them a
prey to such dishonest impositions. Yet it is evident that their
interests can not be effectually protected, unless silver and gold
are restored to circulation.
These views alone of the paper currency are sufficient to call
for immediate reform; but there is another consideration which
should still more strongly press it upon your attention.
Recent events have proved that the paper-money system of
this country may be used as an engine to undermine your free in-
stitutions ; and that those who desire to engross all power in the
hands of the few, and to govern by corruption or force, are aware
of its power, and prepared to employ it. Your banks now furnish
your only circulating medium, and money is plenty or scarce, ac-
cording to the quantity of notes issued by them. While they
have capitals not greatly disproportionate to each other, they are
competitors in business, and no one of them can exercise dominion
over the rest ; and although, in the present state of the currency,
these banks may and do operate injuriously upon the habits of
business, the pecuniary concerns, and the moral tone of society,
yet, from their number and dispersed situation, they can not
combine for the purposes of political influence ; and whatever may
be the dispositions of some of them, their power of mischief must
necessarily be confined to a narrow space, and felt only in their
immediate neighborhoods.
But when the charter for the Bank of the United States was
ANDREW JACKSON. 813
obtained from Congress, it perfected the schemes of the paper
system, and gave to its advocates the position they have struggled
to obtain from the commencement of the Federal Government
down to the present hour. The immense capital and peculiar
privileges bestowed upon it enabled it to exercise despotic sway
over the other banks in every part of the country. From its
superior strength, it could seriously injure, if not destroy, the
business of any one of them which might incur its resentment ;
and it openly claimed for itself the power of regulating the cur-
rency throughout the United States! In other words, it asserted
(and undoubtedly possessed) the power to make money plenty
or scarce at its pleasure, at any time and in any quarter of the
Union, by controlling the issues of other banks, and permitting
an expansion, or compelling a general contraction, of the circu-
lating medium, according to its own will. The other banking
institutions were sensible of its strength, and they soon generally
became its obedient instruments, ready at all times to execute its
mandates; and with the banks, necessarily, went also that nu-
merous class of persons in our commercial cities who depend alto-
gether on bank credits for their solvency and means of business ;
and who are, therefore, obliged, for their own safety, to propitiate
the favor of the money power by distinguished zeal and devotion
in its service. The result of the ill-advised legislation which es-
tablished this great monopoly was to concentrate the whole
moneyed power of the Union, with its boundless means of cor-
ruption, and its numerous dependents, under the direction and
command of one acknowledged head ; thus organizing this par-
ticular interest as one body, and securing to it unity and concert
of action throughout the United States, and enabling it to bring
forward, upon any occasion, its entire and undivided strength to
support or defeat any measure of the Government. In the hands
of this formidable power, thus perfectly organized, w\as also
placed unlimited dominion over the amount of the circulating
medium, giving it the power to regulate the value of property
and the fruits of labor in every quarter of the Union ; and to
bestow prosperity, or bring ruin upon any city or section of the
country, as might best comport with its own interest or policy.
We are not left to conjecture how the moneyed power, thus
organized, and with such a weapon in its hands, would be likely
to use it. The distress and alarm which pervaded and agitated
the whole country, when the Bank of the United States waged
814 LIFE AND TIMES OF
war upon the people in order to compel them to submit to its
demands, can not yet be forgotten. The ruthless and unsparing
temper with which whole cities and communities were oppressed,
individuals impoverished and ruined, and a scene of cheerful
prosperity suddenly changed into one of gloom and despondency,
ought to be indelibly impressed on the memory of the people of
the United States. If such was its power in a time of peace,
what would it not have been in a season of war, with an enemy
at your doors ? No nation but the freemen of the United States
could have come out victorioiis from such a contest ; yet, if you
had not conquered, the Government would have passed from the
hands of the many to the hands of the few ; and this organized
money power, from its secret conclave, would have dictated the
choice of your highest officers, and compelled you to make peace
or war, as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your
Government might for a time have remained, but its living
spirit would have departed from it.
The distress and sufferings inflicted on the people by the Bank
are some of the fruits of that system of policy which is continu-
ally striving to enlarge the authority of the Federal Government
beyond the limits fixed by the Constitution. The powers enu-
merated in that instrument do not confer on Congress the right
to establish such a corporation as the Bank of the United States ;
and the evil consequences which followed may warn us of the
danger of departing from the true rule of construction, and of
permitting temporary circumstances, or the hope of better pro-
moting the public w'elfare, to influence in any degree our de-
cisions upon the extent of the authority of the General Govern-
ment. Let us abide by the Constitution as it is written, or
amend it in the Constitutional mode, if it is found to be
defective.
The severe lessons of experience will, I doubt not, be sufficient
to prevent Congress from again chartering such a monopoly,
even if the Constitution did not present an insuperable objection
to it. But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal
vigilance by the people is the price of liberty; and that you
must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It be-
hooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States, as well as
in the Federal Government. The power which the moneyed in-
terest can exercise, when concentrated under a single head and
■with our present system of currency, was sufficiently demon-
ANDREW JACKSON. 815
strated in the struggle made by the Bank of the United States.
Defeated in the General Government, the same class of intriguers
and politicians will now resort to the States, and endeavor to
obtain there the same organization, which they failed to perpetuate
in the Union ; and with specious and deceitful plans of public ad-
vantages, and State interests, and State pride, they will endeavor
to establish, in the different States, one moneyed institution with
overgrown capital, and exclusive privileges sufficient to enable it
to control the operations of the other banks. Such an institution
will be pregnant with the same evils produced by the Bank of
the United States, although its sphere of action is more confined;
and in the State in which it is chartered, the money power will
be able to embody its whole strength, and to move together with
undivided force, to accomplish any object it may wish to attain.
You have already had abundant evidence of its power to inflict
injury upon the agricultural, mechanical, and laboring classes of
society; and over those whose engagements in trade or specula-
tion render them dependent on bank facilities, the dominion of
the State monopoly will be absolute, and their obedience un-
limited. With such a bank, and a paper currency, the money
power would in a few years govern the State and control its
measures ; and if a sufficient number of States can be induced to
create such establishments, the time will soon come when it will
again take the field against the United States, and succeed in
perfecting and perpetuating its organization by a charter from
Congress.
It is one of the serious evils of our present system of banking,
that it enables one class of society — and that by no means a nu-
merous one — by its control over the currency, to act injuriously
upon the interests of all the others, and to exercise more than its
just proportion of influence in political afl^airs. The agricultural,
the mechanical, and the laboring classes have little or no share
in the direction of the great moneyed corporations; and from
their habits and the nature of their pursuits, they are incapable
of forming extensive combinations to act together with united
force. Such concert of action may sometimes be produced in a
single city, or in a small district of country, by means of personal
communications with each other; but they have no regular or
active correspondence with those who are engaged in similar pur-
suits in distant places ; they have but little patronage to give to
the press, and exercise but a small share of influence over it ;
816 LIFE AND TIMES OF
they have no crowd of dependents about them, who hope to grow
rich without labor, by their countenance and favor, and who are,
therefore, always ready to execute their wishes. The planter,
the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer, all know that their suc-
cess depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they
must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their
toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the
people of the United States ; they are the bone and sinew of the
country ; men who love liberty, and desire nothing but equal
rights and equal laws, and who, moreover, hold the great mass
of our National wealth, although it is distributed in moderate
amounts among the millions of freemen who possess it. But
with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side, they are in
constant danger of losing their fair influence in the Government,
and with difficulty maintain their just rights against the incessant
efforts daily made to encroach upon them.
The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed in-
terest derives from a paper currency which they are able to
control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privi-
leges, which they have succeeded in obtaining in the different
States, and which are employed altogether for their benefit ; and
unless you become more watchful in your States, and check this
spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges, you will, in
the end, find that the most important powers of Government
have been given or bartered away, and the control over your
dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations.
The paper-money system, and its natural associates, monopoly
and exclusive privileges, have already struck their roots deep in
the soil ; and it will require all your efl^orts to check its further
growth, and to eradicate the evil. The men who profit by the
abuses, and desire to perpetuate them, will continue to besiege
the halls of legislation in the General Government, as well as in
the States, and will seek, by every artifice, to mislead and deceive
the public servants. It is to yourselves that you must look for
safety and the means of guarding and perpetuating your free in-
stitutions. In your hands is rightfully placed the sovereignty of
the country, and to you, every one placed in authority is ulti-
mately responsible. It is always in your power to see that the
wishes of the people are carried into faithful execution, and their
will, when once made known, must sooner or later be obeyed.
And while the people remain, as I trust they ever will, uncor-
ANDREW JACKSON. 817
rupted and incorruptible, and continue watchful and jealous of
their rights, the Government is safe, and the cause of freedom
will continue to triumph over all its enemies.
But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your
part to rid yourself of the iniquities and mischiefs of the paper
system, and to check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses
which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support.
So many interests are united to resist all reform on this subject,
that you most not hope the conflict will be a short one, nor success
easy. My humble efforts have not been spared, during my ad-
ministration of the Government, to restore the Constitutional
currency of gold and silver; and something, I trust, has been
done toward the accomplishment of this most desirable object.
But enough yet remains to require all your energy and perse-
verance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the remedy
must and will be applied, if you determine upon it.
While I am thus endeavoring to press upon your attention
the principles which I deem of vital importance to the domestic
concerns of the country, I ought not to pass over without notice
the important considerations which should govern your policy
toward foreign powers. It is unquestionably our true interest to
cultivate the most friendly understanding with every nation, and
to avoid, by every honorable means, the calamities of war; and
we shall best attain this object by frankness and sincerity in our
foreign intercourse, by the prompt and faithful execution of
treaties, and by justice and impartiality in our conduct to all.
But no nation, however desirous of peace, can hope to escape
collisions with other powers; and the soundest dictates of policy
require that we should place ourselves in a condition to assert our
rights, if a resort to force should ever become necessary. Our
local situation, our long line of sea-coast, indented by numerous
bays, with deep rivers opening into the interior, as well as our
extended and still increasing commerce, point to the navy as our
natural means of defense. It will, in the end, be found to be
the cheapest and most effectual ; and now is the time, in the
season of peace, and with an overflowing revenue, that we can,
year after year, add to its strength, without increasing the bur-
dens of the people. It is your true policy. For your navy will
not only protect your rich and flourishing commerce in distant
seas, but enable you to reach and annoy the enemy, and will
give to defense its greatest eflSciency, by meeting danger at a
52— G
818 LIFE AND TIMES OF
distance from home. It is impossible, by any line of fortifications,
to guard every point from attack against a hostile force advanc-
ing from the ocean and selecting its object; but they are indis-
pensable to protect cities from bombardment ; dock-yards and navy
arsenals from destruction ; to give shelter to merchant-vessels in
time of war, and to single ships or weaker squadrons Avhen
pressed by superior force. Fortifications of this description can
not be too soon completed and armed, and placed in a condition
of the most perfeet preparation. The abundant means we now
possess can not be applied in any manner more useful to the
country ; and when this is done, and our naval force sufficiently
strengthened, and our militia armed, we need not fear that any
nation will wantonly insult us, or needlessly provoke hostilities.
We shall more certainly preserve peace, when it is well under-
stood that we are prepared for war.
In presenting to you, my fellow-citizens, these parting coun-
sels, I have brought before you the leading principles upon which
I endeavored to administer the Government in the high office
with which you twice honored me. Knowing that the path
of freedom is continually beset by enemies, who often assume
the disguise of friends, I have devoted the last hours of my
public life to warn you of the dangers. The progress of the
United States, under our free and happy institutions, has sur-
passed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the Republic.
Our growth has been rapid beyond all former example, in num-
bers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the useful arts which con-
tribute to the comforts and convenience of man ; and from the
earliest ages of history to the present day, there never have been
thirteen millions of people associated together in one political
body who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people
of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear
danger from abroad ; your strength and power are well known
throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant
bearing of your sons. It is from within, among yourselves, from
cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordi-
nate thirst for power, that factions will be formed and liberty endan-
gered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may
assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the
highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has
showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has
chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit
ANDREW JACKSON. 819
of the human race. May He who holds in his hands the destinies
of nations make you worthy of the favors he has bestowed, and
enable you, with pure hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigi-
lance, to guard and defend, to the end of time, the great charge
he has committed to your keeping.
My own race is nearly run ; advanced age and failing health
warn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of human
events, and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. I
thank God that my life has been spent in a land of liberty, and
that he has given me a heart to love my country with the affec-
tion of a son. And filled with gratitude for your constant and
unwavering kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate farewell.
On a former page it is said that there was no peace
for General Jackson as President. But only in a
political sense was this true. He was not the kind
of man to be weighed down by public turmoil, and he
was too generally a conqueror to feel the effects of
disappointments in his private hours. He was not a
philosopher, in any sense, yet in his family relations
he was fortunate, and was nearly always happy. The
attentions shown to General Jackson on quitting the
White House were as marked as had distinguished his
entrance. His journey to Tennessee was made agree-
able by the public demonstrations of respect which
he knew so well how to bear. His reception in his
own State was all the old patriot could have desired
with all his abnormal faculty for flattery and praise.
But there the praise was, no doubt, most sincere, and
accordingly was felt most deeply by him. He had
come to the end of all public turmoil, and nearly to
the end of life, and full of pains and weakness, he felt
that the last scene was not far distant. His official
salary had not met his expenses at the White House,
and he now returned to the Hermitage a poorer man
than when he had left it eight years before. Yet he
820 ' LIFE AND TIMES OF
had a fine, productive farm and one hundred and fifty
negroes, and poverty never stood in the way of his
making the Hermitage a noted seat of hospitality,
which it continued to be long after his death. After
his retirement this place became almost as noted as
Mount Vernon. He had gathered about it many
objects of peculiar interest to visitors and travelers,
and although some of these were destroyed by a fire
in 1836, yet it always was rich with strange and valu-
able relics of his wonderful life. It is a singular fact
that after he became a Christian and was tottering to
the grave, he exhibited among the objects of interest
to strangers at the Hermitage, his dueling pistols.
Nor does it appear that the sight of them ever sad-
dened his memory of the past. If it did he had lived
it down quietly in the new life. To forgive his ene-
mies was perhaps the hardest and most unreasonable
requisition ever made upon Andrew Jackson. It was
only through the kind sophistry that Thy ways are
my ways, that Andrew Jackson began to see and
feel that " My ways are not thy way." But of this
again.
Politics did not lose their charm to General Jack-
son. He wrote many letters to President Van Buren,
and did all he could to secure his re-election in 1840.
He wrote a letter in favor of Mr. Van Buren at this
time, which was widely published, with the hope of
advancing the interests of his favorite.
ANDREW JACKSON. 821
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE LITTLE CHURCH AT THE HERMITAGE-THE END-LAST
WORDS-DEATH-THE GRAVE OF GENERAL JACKSON.
MR. Polk was strongly in favor of annexation, and
the General's influence was exerted for his suc-
cess. So gratified was he with the result of the
election in 1844 that he gave a great out-door
feast near the Hermitage in honor of it. Although
the elevation of his little friend was a source of
great pleasure to him, he was not at all satisfied
with the course of some events, or the unceremonious
manner in which some of his friends were treated. He
never did understand why Mr. Blair and " The Globe "
ceased immediately to be the tongue of the Polk Ad-
ministration. To Mr. Blair he wrote : " How loath-
some it is to me to see an old friend laid aside, prin-
ciples of justice and friendship forgotten, and all for the
sake of policy, and the great Democratic party divided
or endangered for policy!" The General forgot that
he had introduced this loathsome laying aside of trusted
officers, and that the whole country was filled with a
wail of the same kind in 1829.
Blair had, indeed, been a faithful friend to him.
Blair went to Washington broken in fortune, and the
name and power of Jackson had turned everything he
touched into gold, and when the General was hard
pressed by the ruinous speculations of Andrew, Jr., in
822 LIFE AND TIMES OF
1842, Blair and Rives came to his assistance with
$10,000, and even desired to make it a gift. But to
this the old man would not listen, and although he did
not live to repay this money, he made provision for it
in his will.
Two or three years after the expiration of his official
career. General Jackson joined the Presbyterian Church.
His parents and relatives in the Carolinas were Pres-
byterians, and he had always been a Presbyterian on
general principles himself. In his most extravagant
and reckless moments these principles often asserted
themselves. In fact he would swear for his religion,
and was as determined about that as any thing else, at
all times of his life. As he considered himself per-
fectly competent to manage the finances of a great
country, and exercised not the least degree of hesitancy
on the difficult subject, so he was a theologian, and
decided the most stupendous points of interest with the
same autocratic irrevocability which he assumed in
politics and war. On a certain occasion in his own
house when a young would-be infidel sprig of the law
was attempting to draw Peter Cartwright into an un-
timely wrangle on the future of the wicked, Jackson
furiously stepped in with the declaration that he be-
lieved in a hell, and thanked God for it. Being asked
in a bantering way by the young lawyer why he wanted
such a place of torment, he answered : " To put such
rascals as you are in, that oppose and vilify the Chris-
tian religion." The reason was valid. That, of course,
settled the controversy, greatly to the amusement of
Cartwright, who was not at all averse to the General's
way of putting to flight his theological enemies. That
lawyer never could have gotten an office under Jackson.
ANDREW JACKSON. 823
A young clerk belonging to the State Department was
about to be selected as a secretary to a foreign mission,
when the General interposed his objection. He said
the young man had sat near him in a Methodist church
while one of the best sermons was preached that he
ever heard, and on his asking the young man when on
an errand to the White House one day, how he liked
the sermon, he had gone into a great tirade on its ut-
ter worthlessness and falsity, and the inability of the
preacher, and although he had said and done nothing
at the time, he now took the opportunity to say that
a person who could not tell a good sermon when he
heard one should not be attached to a foreign legation.
Then, too, he thought if Mr. Van Buren had recom-
mended the fellow to be taken from his Department
while he asserted that his services were so valuable,
there must be some reason to suspect that he was unfit
even for the place he had. Before 1820, the General
had built the little church on the Hermitage farm for
his wife, who had found the better way under the guid-
ance of the "dear Mr. Blackburn." He kept up this
little church mainly at his own expense, and when at
home he always attended preaching in it on Sabbath
morning, by the side of "Aunt Rachel." He never
had a compunction about her becoming too " religious "
for him. He encouraged her at every step, nor was it
possible for her to be too radical for him in the path
she had chosen ; thus presenting one of the most ad-
mirable pictures in his life. He even promised her
that when he was free from politics, in which, of course,
there was no God, he would follow her in the " strait
and narrow way." When he was in Washington, the
little church was neglected, but, not long after his
824 LIFE AND TIMES OF
retirement, it was again put in order, and preaching
and Sunday-school regularly held in it.
In 1839 or 1840, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., be-
coming actively concerned about her spiritual interests,
the Hermitage became more of a resort of ministers
of the Gospel, as it had been in the days of " Aunt
Rachel." At a "revival" meeting held in the little
church about this time, the General came to the con-
clusion that no political fuss could be made over the
step he had long contemplated, of joining the Church.
Mr. Edgar, of the Presbyterian Church at Nashville,
was conducting the meeting, and observing that Gen-
eral Jackson was more than commonly earnest for him,
turned his illustrations mainly upon the varied and
successful career of the old hero in a manner too clear
for the General not to see the application. The sub-
ject had been chosen for the purpose, the hand of
Providence in the affairs of men. Whether from habit
or a sort of extraneous faith, the General had always
attributed his escapes and successes to that Hand,
while he thought, or felt rather, for he was hardly a
reasoning man, that Andrew Jackson was at any rate
the next most important factor in the many good
events connected with him and his country. Yet this
feeling of personal power never conflicted with his
reverence for the Omnipotent One. If it ever ap-
peared to do so, it was one of his misfortunes of lan-
guage and temper. He was always reverent in a
high degree. He would have suffered the loss of his
right hand or right eye before even seeming to show
irreverence for the Providence that doeth all things
well. Profanity never meant irreverence with Andrew
Jackson, even at his worst stages.
ANDREW JACKSON. 825
Mr. Edgar instanced the career of just such a man
as General Jackson, whose escapes had been wonder-
ful, and whose life had been a miracle at almost every
point. God had been on his side. His ways were
identical with the ways of God. If God had been
such a friend to him, why, he would give his life to
Him. That was Jacksonian. The meeting drew to a
close. On the walk home the General invited the
clergyman, with peculiar emphasis, to stay with him
that night. Not being able to do this the preacher
promised to return to the Hermitage the next morning.
That night, the General fought, single-handed, appar-
ently, with his greatest enemy, the individual and
aggregate evils of his life, the devil. And when the
preacher came on Sunday morning, as in everything
else, he found that the old man had been successful.
But the way of this warfare was new to him. To
conquer an enemy by repenting of his own misdeeds,
his hatreds, his prejudices, his passions, his enmities,
was hard and exceptional to him. His daughter,
Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., had passed some part of
the night with the old man in his sorrow, and they
had actually prayed together. He proposed to be ad-
mitted to the Church that day with his daughter, as
he called the wife of his adopted son. It has been
said that the most impossible and unreasonable thing
that Andrew Jackson could ev-er be asked to do was
to forgive his enemies. This good preacher, laboring
under the conviction that the General's greatest burden
lay in th?,t direction, asked him at once, if he was
ready to forgive his enemies. He thought he was, at
all events certain classes of them, political enemies
very readily; but others, those who had abused his
826 LIFE AND TIMES OF
well-meant services to his country on the field of bat-
tle and elsewhere, he was not so ready on that point.
But he finally came up to this, and thought he could for-
give all of them, the whole dirty race, without exception.
The little plain Hermitage church was crowded
that day. It was to be its greatest day. When the
time came, the General stood up, and leaning on his
long cane, with tears streaming from his eyes, made
the necessary public declaration. His noble daughter
stood by his side for the same purpose, and when the
word was spoken that proclaimed him a member of the
Church, the people in the house, the negroes in the
door and windows, wept and shouted for joy. It was
the supreme moment of General Jackson's life. He
had, it must be supposed, now conquered himself, a
thing all other men had failed to do, and until now
he had failed to do it himself. This has always been
the most difficult of all earthly feats. How far the
General was absolutely successful the reader must de-
cide from what followed that moment to the end of
his life. He made the Bible his daily companion, and
read it twice through before he died, which is more
than can be said of any other book, and of most other
distinguished men. Of the Bible, he left this testi-
mony : " This book, sir, is the bulwark of our repub-
lican institutions, the anchor of our present and future
safety. . . . The Bible is true. Upon that sacred
volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation." So must
every man, if he has, indubitably, any such hope.
Not long after this greatest event in Jackson's life, he
made a new will, to correspond better, as he felt, with
the misfortunes of his adopted son, giving him nearly
all of his property.
ANDREW JACKSON. 827
Not one of all the faithful negroes was to be free,
not even George and Hannah were mentioned. If there
was a great moral question in slavery, General Jack-
son had never perceived it. He never passed an
hour's reflection on the subject. He bought and sold
negroes as he did horses, but treated them well.
Beyond this he never got. That was well enough for
him. The change in the General's life did not prevent
his taking a very active interest in the Presidential
campaign of 1844. Nor could he forget his old foe,
Henry Clay.
Although John Q. Adams had declared that, before
Heaven, Mr. Clay was clear of any bargain or crime
in the election in the House in 1825, and although
the most direct and open defense had been made by
Mr. Clay, and the whole exploded slander had long
ago been set down as merely an electioneering scheme,
yet the General now published anew his old cry of
bargain and corruption against Mr. Clay.
He gave a great deal of his time to aiding Mr.
Kendall on his history of Jackson. Mr. Kendall was
publishing it in numbers, and becoming interested in
telegraphy, finally abandoned the work, after issuing
about seven numbers. At least five of these were
published before the death of the General. These he
read, and many of his letters written at this period
were concerning the points in his life which Mr. Ken-
dall needed to have elucidated. He was greatly beset
by office-seekers after the election, for his good word
to Mr. Polk. This he most frequently refused to
give. But politics he never abandoned. Only a few
days before his death, when asked what he would have
done with Calhoun and other leading nullifiers, if
828 LIFE AND TIMES OF
things had come to the worst, he answered that he
would have hanged them. He would have made their
fate a terror to all traitors, in all time. This the
General then thought, but it is a point about which
there may well be some doubt.
The end was now at hand. For many years he
had had bleeding of the lungs. One of his lungs was
entirely wasted away. He coughed continually. He
had the "consumption." The last months of his life
he was dropsical, and had other complications. His
medical practice was simply abominable and suicidal.
For every difficulty he resorted to blood-letting, and
when he could not get a physician to bleed him, he
did it himself. He thus sapped the little strength of
his declining days. Calomel was his alternate panacea.
With these and all the other evils, his gaunt body
puffed up like a bladder, his cough, and his number-
less pains, with 'all of these, the last days of the
courageous old man were dreadful enough. But he
bore up under it as a soldier, a soldier of the Cross.
Sunday morning, the 8th of June, 1845, came at last.
The day passed slowly and hardly away. The mo-
ment had arrived. At a little after five o'clock, his
family, friends, and servants were weeping around
him. He had already talked with and blessed all his
family. In answer to the foolish question, " Do you
know me?" he said, "Yes, I know you," and added:
"God will take care of you for me. I am my God's.
I belong to him. I go but a short time before you,
and I want to meet you all, white and black, in
Heaven." He then said, " What is the matter with
my dear children ? Have I alarmed you? Oh ! do not
cry ! Be good children, and we shall all meet in
ANDREW JACKSON. 829
Heaven." These were the last words of General Jack-
son. Were they not his best, however often similar
ones are in the mouths of others, at the same inter-
esting moment? At six o'clock his head fell, he
breathed for the last time, and without an effort was
gone.
On the 10th they laid his decayed and now worth-
less body in the garden by that of his best earthly
friend. Shortly afterwards one of his eulogists
said : —
"He was always a brave man, but he achieved his greatest
triumph when he humbled his pride at the foot of the cross, and
gained a hope which gave him victory over death.
"His civil and military renown may fade amid the mists of
coming ages ; but God grant that his noble and impressive testi-
mony to the truth and value of the Christian religion may live
in the hearts of men until the pillars of this great globe shall
crumble, and time itself be no more! Amen."
So say I. The following description, found re-
cently in the columns of " The Cincinnati Enquirer,"
is from the pen of a well-known and ready writer: —
" The President's tomb is said to have been a copy of some
mausoleum left by the Romans. It is made of limestone, and is
in effect a stone circular dome, supported on columns. Beneath
the tomb is a kind of pedestal containing no inscription ; on each
side of it is a limestone slab, the one to Jackson and the other to
his wife. His adopted son is buried under a plain, upright slab
near by. Old Earl, the painter, also lies there. There are
graves of some infants.
"Just over the fence is a field of cotton in full bloom. Some
magnolia-trees, with varnished, shining leaves surround the place.
Having read the inscriptions, I looked with some pity on the lit-
tleness of the associations of so great fame. Here were dusty
walks,, stony soil, the want of vegetable bloom, flat ground,
and decaying fences. Here was no stewardship, scarcely any
ownership.
" In the general political decay of the once strong and hearty
830 LIFE AND TIMES OF
State which produced three of our Presidents, Jackson seemed to
be disassociated, almost forgotten, alid a very humble object.
"The following are the inscriptions; —
GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON,
Born March 15, 1767.
Died June 8. 1845.
'"Here lie the remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, who died the
22d of December, 1828, aged 61.
" ' Her face M'as fair, her person pleasing, her temper amiable, and
her heart kind. She delighted in relieving the wants of her fellow-
creatures, and cultivated that Divine pleasure by the most liberal and
unpretending methods. To the poor she was a benefactor, to the rich
an example, to the wretched a comforter, to the prosperous an orna-
ment ; her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she
thanked her Creator for being permitted to do good. A being so
gentle, and yet so virtuous, slander might wound but could not dis-
honor. Even Death, when he tore her from the arms of her husband,
could but transport her to the bosom of her God.'
Andrew Jackson,
Adopted Son of General Andrew Jackson,
Who died at the Hermitage,
April 17, 1865,
In the fifty-seventh year of his age.
Thou hast gained a brighter land.
And death's cold stream is past;
These are the joys at God's right hand
That shall forever last.
[Erected by his wife.]
In Memory of R. E. W. Earl,
Artist, Friend, and Companion of General Andrew Jackson,
Who died at the Hermitage the 16th of September, 1837.
Captain Samuel Jackson,
Son of Andrew and Sarah Jackson,
Born at the Hermitage, June 9, 1837.
Died September 29, 1863,
Of wounds received at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Mrs. Marian Adams,
Born Philadelphia, Pa., July 23, 1805.
Died June 28, 1877. Gath."
Among the last letters written by General Jackson
was the following drawn out by the enthusiasm of old
ANDREW JACKSON. 831
Commodore Elliott, who had brought from Palestine a
sarcophagus, which he believed had once contained the
body of Alexander Severus, a Roman emperor.
Elliott wanted the General to consent, to have his
remains deposited in this sarcophagus, and wrote : " I
pray you. General, to live on in the fear of the Lord ;
dying the death of a Roman soldier, an emperor's
coffin awaits you."
The General replied : —
"Hermitage, March 27, 1845.
"Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 18th instant, together with
the copy of the proceedings of the National Institute, furnished
me by their Corresponding Secretary, on the presentation, by
you, of the sarcophagus for their acceptance on condition it shall
be preserved in honor of my memory, have been received, and
are now before me.
" Although laboring under great debility and affliction, from
a severe attack from which I may not recover, I raise my pen
and endeavor to reply. The steadiness of my nerves may per-
haps lead you to conclude my prostration of strength is not so
great as is here expressed. Strange as it may appear, my nerves
are as steady as they were forty years gone by ; whilst, from de-
bility and affliction, I am gasping for breath.
"I have read the whole proceedings of the presentation, by
you, of the sarcophagus, and the resolutions passed by the Board
of Directors, so honorable to my fame, with sensations and feel-
ings more easily to be conjectured than by me expressed. The
whole proceedings call for my most grateful thanks, which are
hereby tendered to you, and through you to the president and
directors of the National Institute. But with the warmest sen-
sations that can inspire a grateful heart, I must decline accepting
the honor intended to be bestowed. I can not consent that my
mortal body shall be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor
or king. My republican feelings and principles forbid it; the
simplicity of our system of government forbids it. Every monu-
ment erected to perpetuate the memory of our heroes and states-
men ought to bear evidence of the economy and simplicity of our
republican institutions, and the plainness of our republican citizens,
who are the sovereigns of our glorious Union, and whose virtue
832 LIFE AND TIMES OF
it is to perpetuate it. True virtue can not exist where pomp and
parade are the governing passions; it can only dwell with the
people, the great laboring and producing classes that form the
bone and sinew of our Confederacy.
' ' For these reasons I can not accept the honor you and the
president and directors of the National Institute intended to be-
stow. I can not permit my remains to be the first in these
United States to be deposited in a sarcophagus made for an em-
peror or king. I again repeat, please accept for yourself, and
convey to the president and directors of the National Institute,
my most profound respects for the honor you and they intended
to bestow. I have prepared an humble depository for my mortal
body beside that wherein lies my beloved wife, where, without
any pomp or parade, I have requested, when my God calls me to
sleep with my fathers, to be laid; for both of us there to remain
until the last trump sounds to call the dead to judgment, when
we, I hope, shall rise together, clothed with that heavenly body
promised to all who believe in our glorious Redeemer, who died
for us that we might live, and by whose atonement I hope for a
blessed immortality.
"I am, with great respect, your friend and fellow-citizen,
"Andrew Jackson.
" To Commodore J. D. Elliott, United States Navy."
When the General's death was announced in Wash-
ington City, the President ordered the departments to
be closed, and in the army and navy the occasion was
especially honored.
In the chief towns of the United States there were
orations and other ceremonies in his memory. In
many of the large cities the ceremonies were very ex-
tensive ; and some of the most noted orations pro-
nounced on this occasion were published in book form,
and hundreds in the newspapers. But the sorrow by
reason of his death was by no means general. Nor
did the opposition party papers refrain from a free and
not very favorable expression of their opinions.
General Jackson had attacked them until he had
ANDREW JACKSON. 833
approached the very gates of death, and now they
continued to strike back when no reply was returned.
Mr. Parton gives the following colloquy between a
New York broker and a merchant, which very well
illustrates the General's posthumous standing:
''Merchant (with a sigh)— Well, the old General is
dead.
''Broker (with a shrug)— Yes, he 's gone at last.
"Merchant (not appreciating the shrug) — Well, sir,
he was a good man.
"Broker (with shrug more pronounced) — I don't
know about that.
"Merchant (energetically) — He was a good man, sir.
If any man has gone to heaven, General Jackson has
gone to heaven.
"Broker (doggedly) — I do n't know about that.
"Merchant — Well, sir, I tell you that if Andrew
Jackson had made up his mind to go to heaven, you
may depend upon it he's there."
53— G
834 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN— HIS CHARACTER AND
SERVICES.
ROBERT MAYO says, in his " Political Sketches
of Eight Years in Washington," in speaking of
a portentous list of calamities which had recently
befallen the country : —
"I do not pretend to attribute these consequences to the de-
liberate purposes with which General Jackson commenced his
official career; that would be to disrobe him entirely of the ex-
tenuating grace of ' good intentions/ which I would gladly award
him on all occasions, were it not impossible." "But," Mr. Mayo
continues, " whoever Avill make a dispassionate survey of General
Jackson's Administration, in contrast with others, will be con-
vinced, with irresistible force, that he set out with the invidious,
not to say malignant, ambition to cast all his predecessors into
the shades of obscurity, by the dazzling effulgence of his own
meteoric projections. The inflated air and confidence of his first
inaugural address, and of all his annual messages, his vetoes,
and his protests, fully attest this. Their enormous length, with-
out a single exception, is another proof of this engrossing emu-
lation. Take his first or his second annual, and either of them
will be found to be more wordy than all the eight annuals of
General Washington, and within a fraction of the eight annuals
of Mr. JeflTerson, or the annuals of Mr. Adams. And his Farewell
Address, patterning after that of General Washington only in name,
is more than double its volume. But the vast range of measures
he urged upon Congress, with the circumstantiality, almost, of
bills reported for law, is still more striking than the unmerciful
length of all his State papers."
ANDREW JACKSON. 835
Mr. Mayo accuses General Jackson of insincerity
in all his diplomatic affairs, and especially in reference
to Mexico. General Jackson's letter to Wm. Fulton,
December 10, 1830, denies his knowledge of any in-
tention on the part of Houston against Mexico, and
although the evidence is not entirely favorable to that
view, certainly not at a later date, it may be held as
a matter of little doubt that the General knew com-
paratively nothing of Houston's plans in 1830, and was
only anxious about his friend's welfare, and ready to
do any thing in justice to forward it.
Of Jackson and his Administration John Quincy
Adams wrote : —
"Jackson came in on the trumpet tongue of military achieve-
ment. His Presidency has been the reign of subaltern knaves,
fattening upon land jobs and money jobs, who have made him
believe that it was a heroic conception of his own to destroy the
Bank of the United States, and who under color of this, have got
into their own hands the use of the public moneys, at a time
when there is a surplus of forty millions of dollars in the Treasury.
Two political swindlers, Amos Kendall and Reuben M. Whitney,
were the Erapson and Dudley of our Solomon, and, by playing
upon his vanity and his thirst of petty revenge, have got into
their own hands the overflowing revenue of the country; with
the temporary and illegal use of which they are replenishing their
own coffers and making princely fortunes. Jackson has wearied
out the sordid subserviency of his supporters, and Van Buren has
had the address to persuade him that he (Van Buren) is the only
man who can preserve and perpetuate the principles of liis Ad-
ministration."
" Oliver Oldschool," one of the most attractive po-
litical writers of his day, says of this remarkable man : —
" General Jackson's whole Presidential term of eight years
was an unceasing conflict with Henry Clay, the Bank of the
United States, or, more accurately speaking, Nicholas Biddle,
and John C. Calhoun ; each and all of whom he overcame,
836 LIFE AND TIMES OF
attaining every object he aimed at, even the election of a successor
designated by himself, and the expunging from the records of the
Senate of the resolution of censure introduced by Mr. Clay, sup-
ported by Mr. Webster and Mr. Calhoun, and passed by the Sen-
ate, so obnoxious to him.
"It may be said that every principle which General Jackson
announced before his election as President, namely, that of ' de-
stroying the monster, party,' by selecting members of the Cabinet
from both parties indiscriminately, that of holding the office of
President for one term only, that of the non-appointment of mem-
bers of Congress to office during the term for which they were
elected and for two years thereafter, and that of not seeking the
office of President, was, after his election, cast aside and utterly
disregarded."
On the other hand, one of his most devoted and
obsequious friends, Amos Kendall, wrote this opinion
of General Jackson to A. P. Hayne, a United States
Senator, in 1858 : —
"No man ever excelled General Jackson in integrity and pa-
triotism. To save his country by honest means was the height
of his ambition. On every subject which required his official
action, he sought for information in any and every quarter from
which it could be obtained, and listened with attention to every
opinion. Upon facts and opinions thus collected, or circumstances
within his own knowledge, no mind was ever more prompt in ar-
riving at correct and safe conclusions. He never stopped to cal-
culate political consequences."
General Jackson had a heroic way of putting an
enemy beneath his feet. It was the method of the
prize-ring, by conquest, not compromise or forgiveness.
Never, perhaps, by magnanimity. He possessed little
of that quality. He took no delight in forgiving an
enemy, but only in conquering him. This " the people "
admired. It was his unconquerable heroism which
bound the " masses " to him. He knew them well,
knew how to captivate them. He never addressed
ANDREW JACKSON. 837
" the people " but through their prejudices and pas-
sions, but through those forms and terms which pointed
to these defects of human nature, or tended to inflame
them. No political conjurer stood above him in this
species of contemptible demagogism. With all his
startling aggressiveness and bold measures, he was
certainly a skillful politician. With all the traits
which made him the man of " the people," he was still
not lost in the President's Mansion. If he was not
always dignified, he prided himself on his ability to be
so, and from a, lack of courtly manners and ceremony,
the country did not suffer much at his hand. He en-
tered every position, and undertook every task, with
the same self-confidence. Whatever he did " the
people" applauded. He taught them to think and act
as if it was dangerous to stand against him. Politi-
cians, merely, took his side for safety as well as gain.
The spoils system which he inaugurated, ever since the
most corrupting engine of party, was his most direct
road to the support and affection of politicians. He
struck the State Rights dogma its first stab, but he
could not kill it. It was the only thing that ever es-
caped him. But his heart was not so deeply enlisted
in this abstraction, this phantasm. The Bank was a
tangible object, and Nicholas Biddle was his enemy.
He killed them both. In the spring of 1839, poor
Biddle resigned his connection with the sinking institu-
tion, and after failing twice the Bank itself finally went
down in February, 1841.
On paDer General Jackson usually looked well. He
knew how to touch the most accessible points in the
people. His cry of reform was addressed to them with
great adroitness. He called every thing by a name
838 LIFE AND TIMES OF
suited to the popular whim. Monopoly has always
been a monster to the people. He said the Bank was
a monopoly. When the people complained of hard
times, and were catching at straws, he said the Bank
did it. " Go to Nicholas Biddle, go to Nicholas Biddle !
He has all the money." Although this was villainous
quackery, the people believed it, as they do all other
kinds of quackery. The " Pet Banks " were notably
a failure, and the country hardly recovered in a quarter
of a century from the great crash that followed the
stream of irredeemable paper which they and their allies
p.oured upon it. The awful crash came quickly, and
by his own act. He cast out his specie circular, mak-
ing payment of Grovernment claims, especially for lands,
except to actual settlers, payable in specie. He was
dealing with the present. The future he took no note
of. He was unable to see or think far ahead. The
specie circular checked speculation, stopped the tide of
inflation. Specie could not be paid. The whole system
was foundationless and rotten. Ruin was inevitable.
At the Hermitage the old man's power soon waned.
The first Presidential election revealed this fact too
plainly. " The people " were giving up their old idol,
and wanted a change. The whole country went wild
over something new. The hickory brooms of 1828
were not comparable with the coon-skins and hard
cider. The log-cabin campaign disgusted him. He
raised his feeble voice against it. But it had lost its
old ring and power. With amazement he saw the de-
feat of his friend, that is, of himself. Even at Nash-
ville, Mr. Clay had borne off the plaudits of his old
adherents. His power was virtually gone. The world
was bowing to a new image.
ANDREW JACKSON. 839
It has been claimed that General Jackson did all
that he did alone, that he was peculiarly the builder
of his own fortune at every step. But in a great
sense, this is a mistake. No President of the United
States, who lived to execute a measure, was ever so
dependent upon his friends at all times. He taught
his friends to be dependent upon himself, and he ex-
pected them to serve him to the death. This was an
animal instinct. There was no question of right or
wrong in it. He never could forgive a friend who for-
sook him ; enemies, perhaps, sometimes, but friends
never. When Major Eaton and others left him in 1840
and at a later date, in politics, the burden of his mourn-
ful story became friendship, friendship, friendship, dis-
carded friendship, the trials of deserted friendship. At
every step of his life his friends kept their tongues
and pens sharpened for his defense. Adams defended
his outlandish conduct in the Seminole campaign, and
again in his brief, mad career as organizer of the Ter-
ritory of Florida, and in the defense laid the founda-
tion for his Presidency. His very army reports and
orders, his public letters, his magnificent messages,
even his Nullification Proclamation, and Farewell Ad-
dress, every thing, every thing, were the works of his
friends. Alone with his sword, or, more especially,
his pen, Andrew Jackson was and would have been a
vastly different man. More than any other distin-
guished man, he operated by mediums. He did not
come directly, with his own colors, upon the public
mind. He was absolutely dependent on his friends,
into whom he infused his own daring and energy. But
even this was a wonderful performance. Here was his
greatness, if such a power may be called greatness.
840 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Accident achieved little or nothing for him. It was
will, energy, power to handle men for his purposes,
and their willingness to be used in the way which led
most certainly to their own advantage or advancement,
by a man who staked on faithfulness, and whose
friendship was deathless. Thus situated he founded a
new party, or added new and unheard-of things to the
old one. He pushed this party forward in a long ca-
reer, and lives in it to-day with greater strength than
Jefferson.
As a public man, his life was largely made up of
extremes, of evils and their antidotes. Whatever of
evil there was in his career was largely compensated
for by his conduct of the Creek war ; his immortal sen-
timent, " The Federal Union : it must be preserved ;"
and his Nullification Proclamation, to say nothing of
many other things, if the doubtful doctrine of compen-
sations be admitted at all.
Although General Jackson was in a certain remark-
able way greatly subject to the influence of personal
friends, in the end, at all times, his domineering will
was uppermost ; and especially was the last term of his
Presidency an autocratic reign. Napoleon Bonaparte
was his model. It was a period of almost absolute
tyranny in the administration of national affairs. Most
of those who exercised any control over his actions,
did so through an easy sycophancy, from Isaac Hill
and Roger B. Taney down to Amos Kendall and Fran-
cis P. Blair. It was utterly impossible to have influ-
ence with General Jackson on any other ground. His
second election to the Presidency gave universal license
to his disposition. He took it as the direct and abso-
lute indorsement by the people of his character and
ANDREW JACKSON. 841
conduct as a whole, of his mode of administering pub-
lic affairs, and of every act, good and bad, of his life,
from his cock-fighting days down to his quarrel with
Mr. Calhoun and support of Mrs. Eaton. A belief
like this was dangerous and fatal with Andrew Jack-
son, in determining his course of action. He now
deemed himself the will and right hand of the people,
and set about doing with vehemence what was ad-
dressed to his will, his passion, his enmity, his pique,
his vanity, his whim, his prejudice, his wisdom, and
his goodness. The good he did can barely be sepa-
rated, at any rate not without the greatest difficulty,
from his vengeful prejudice, his satanic will, his fiery
impetuosity, his savage animosities, his selfish friend-
ships, and his chance thrusts among all these domineer-
ing elements.
One of the new and utterly evil things established
in his Presidency was an " official organ," a newspaper
presenting and reflecting his will, and giving the cue for
the line of obedience to his followers throughout the
country. This Administration organ was, to a great
extent, the mere will of the President, and exerted an
enormous power throughout the Republic. Indeed the
corrupting influence of this organ was one of the evils
from which the country has never recovered. It was
the natural outcome of that strange democracy which
was based upon the absolute will of this American
Napoleon, and the open and avowed adulation of his
character and acts. That this man was idolized by the
majority of his countrymen is an interesting comment
on human nature, which is made still more noticeable
in the fact that the party and generation of to-day
have inherited most of the adulatory devotion which
842 LIFE AND TIMES OF
characterized his followers. He himself seldom or
never forgot an enemy or a friend. An enemy he
never, perhaps, forgave. In a general way he might
have done so, but as individuals it is extremely doubt-
ful, akhough in the last two years of his life the heroic
Christianity he acknowledged softened his stern nature
somewhat. That he ever reflected about his evil deeds
much, or that he ever deemed himself guilty of any
towards individuals or society as a whole, there appears
little or no evidence.
But after all has been written and said which may
be, there will ever, perhaps, be a diversity of opinion
as to the character, life, and services of Andrew Jack-
son. Richard Cobbett and Francis P. Blair said, and
perhaps believed, that General Jackson was the great-
est man who had ever lived in the world. Few of his
respectable political followers at this day would, in all
probability, be forward in subscribing to this extrava-
gant opinion. Neither his habits, outlandish practices,
ignorance, nor great rough-hewn natural forces, pre-
vented some of the most scholarly, brilliant, and per-
haps, refined men of the times, becoming attached to
his person ; and the great masses of those called " the
people" were devoted unalterably to his fortunes, and
their descendants to-day allow no name to stand above
his, among men. It has been claimed that the best
proof of General Jackson's worth, as well as his fitness
for public place, was in the fact that he was the pride,
favorite, and choice of " the people." This is a doubt-
ful standard, and the people themselves are not unan-
imous in its use. An old man in New York, who was
accustomed to go to the polls among the last voters at
the close of the day, said he pursued that course in
ANDREW JACKSON. 843
the hope of finding out how the majority had voted,
as he always voted against the majority, however the
case stood for or against any predilection he may have
had, having found by a long experience that the ma-
jorities are usually wrong in all things. But laying
aside extremes, it is not an easy undertaking to make
a fair and just estimate of General Jackson. He was
one of the most illiterate men who ever rose to such
prominence in this country. After he became President,
however, he read the newspapers, at least, quite exten-
sively, and was kept well informed especially as to po-
litical news and the proceedings of Congress. The
course of Congress he watched like a hawk, with a
view of knowing if his will was done, or if his protest
would be required. In books and the knowledge to be
derived from them he had no great interest. The edu-
cation derived from the study of books may, however,
be education only on one side of life. Few men knew
mankind better than did General Jackson, or was bet-
ter able, at least, to turn them to his own account.
He was, by no means, an ignorant man, as compared
with those among whom he lived and associated, in
the ordinary matters of intelligence ; and Josiah Quincy
said that he was the most polished, the most courtly
"gentleman " he had ever seen.
The Reverend Mr. Edgar told General Jackson that
the country would blame him most for his proscription
of men for opinion's sake. But in the face of all the
facts, the General denied that he had done so. While
the assailable points in his life are numerous, there are
many things that go on the other side of the scale,
which met with an enthusiastic approval at the time,
and which are taken as matters of course to-day. It
844 LIFE AND TIMES OF
required rare circumstances, indeed, to put his absolute
will in a subordinate attitude, but he never could be-
lieve that he was a tyrant. Many of his acts startled
and amazed men ; many of them shocked. No Amer-
ican would have followed in his tracks, or escaped the
abjuration of mankind, if he had done so. In private
life, unlike most men, he exhibited his finest qualities,
while he also made use of his unattractive ones. No
patriarch could have surpassed him in some of these
private traits. As a neighbor he was a model. If he
was not a statesman, in a true and elevated sense, his
political career was at least striking and wonderful,
having the peculiar property of absorbing and reflect-
ing all the brilliancy of the bold, able men who lived
in his shadow.
If the reader should take the position that it was,
on the whole, a mistake that General Jackson was ever
elevated to any public position, and especially that of
the Presidency, he will find himself with some respect-
able companions ; or if he assume that the General
was great, wise, good, and especially fitted for all the
places which he ever filled as lawyer, judge, legislator,
soldier, and politician, even to the extent of being
Providentially raised up for them, he will still find
himself in a large, enthusiastic, and respectable com-
pany of his fellow-men. How well, in either case, his
position will stand the test of history, he must judge.
Fortunate will be the nation whose rulers are its wisest,
most upright, and able citizens. When " the people "
select their heroes and guides by reason of their in-
telligence and virtue the Republic is safe.
ANDREW JACKSON. 845
CHAPTER XXXIX.
RACHEL JACKSON— THE HERMITAGE— THE WHITE HOUSE-
GRAVES OF THE HAPPY FAMILY— GENERAL JACKSON
AND SWEDENBORG.
AMONG the emigrants who arrived on the 24th of
April, 1780, at the spot now occupied by the
city of Nashville, was the family of John Donelson.
Donelson, or Donaldson, had been a man of some con-
sequence in Virginia. At all events he had carried on
some iron works in Pittsylvania County, and had been
a member of the old House of Burgesses. But not
long after his arrival in Tennessee, Donelson was mur-
dered by the Indians, perhaps, and the interest attach-
ing to his name was centered in that of his vivacious
and beautiful daughter, Rachel. During a season of
scarcity on the Cumberland, Donelson went with his
family to Kentucky, and while there Rachel was mar-
ried to Lewis Robards, a worthless fellow to whom
she gave her affection. She was a sprightly girl, and
attractive in person at this age, although very dark in
complexion, and was highly valued for her good quali-
ties, among a rude people where the ordinary means
of refinement were quite limited. After a short and
unsatisfactory married life she returned to Nashville,
where Solicitor Andrew Jackson found her when he
went to live in the boarding-house kept by her mother,
the widow Donelson. In the course of . time Mrs.
846 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Robards was joined by her husband, who soon crossed
the path of the chivakous lawyer, Mr. Jackson, whom
he accused of being unnecessarily concerned in the wel-
fare of his wife. This suspicion had barely reached
the ears of Attorney Jackson, when Mr. Robards
found it to his interest to leave Nashville suddenly,
under circumstances before described, and return to
Kentucky, then a part of Virginia. Robards some
time afterwards applied for a divorce from his deserted
wife, and the Legislature of Virginia provided for a
trial of the case, but Robards proceeded no farther
until 1793, when she had actually been married to
General Jackson for two years.
The fact of Robards's application to the Legisla-
ture of Virginia was announced at the time as a
divorce, and was so distinctly understood in Kentucky
and at Nashville. It was under .this state of affairs
exactly that Jackson sought Mrs. Robards or Miss
Donelson at Natchez, and she was married to him in
1791 ; and after living near that place for a time, they
returned to Nashville in the fall of that year. Two
years subsequently, hearing of the true state of the
case, and with great mortification, finding that they
had been married while Mrs. Jackson was yet the
legal wife of Robards, Jackson at once obtained a
license and they were again married in January, 1794,
at Nashville. While the circumstances were unfortu-
nate, the case was entirely destitute of evil intentions
on the part of General Jackson and his wife, as every-
body at Nashville knew. But from this simple story,
painted readily in various false colors, sprang the
scandal which gave the General many an uneasy mo-
ment, and was the cause of many a vengeful fit of
ANDREW JACKSON. 847
passion until the grave shut the mouth of slander.
Nothing ever made such impression on General Jack-
son as this scandal. All the passion and frenzy of
his nature were aroused by the mention of her name
with disrespect, and the man who was rash enough to
call in question her honor or his in the matter of
their courtship and marriage, did it at the risk of his
life, on the spot. Any man was Jackson's enemy for
life who made the slightest reference to this matter,
or cast the shadow of suspicion upon her character or
name. On the other hand, kindness or admiration
for her secured for any one the General's warmest
friendship.
The following is the step authorized in the Vir-
ginia Legislature in the winter of 1790: —
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That
it shall and may be lawful for Lewis Robards to sue out of the
office of the Supreme Court of the district of Kentucky, a writ
against Rachel Robards, which writ shall be framed by the clerk,
and express the nature of the case, and shall be published for
eight weeks successively, in the ' Kentucky Gazette ;' whereupon
the plaintiff may file his declaration in the same cause, and the
defendant may appear and plead to issue, in which case, or if
she does not appear within two months after such publication, it
shall be set for trial by the clerk on some day in the succeeding
court, but may, for good cause shown to the court, be continued
until the succeeding term.
" Sec. 2. Commissions to take depositions, and subpoenas
to summon witnesses, shall issue as in other cases.
"Sec. 3. Notice of taking depositions, published in the
'Kentucky Gazette,' shall be sufficient.
"Sec. 4. A jury shall be summoned, who shall be sworn well
and truly to inquire into the allegations contained in the decla-
ration, or to try the issue joined, as the case may be, and shall
find a verdict according to the usual mode ; and if the jury, in
case of issue joined, shall find for the plaintiff, or in case of in-
quiry into the truth of the allegations contained in the declaration.
848 LIFE AND TIMES OF
shall find in substance, that the defendant hath deserted the
plaintiff, and that she hath lived in adultery with another man
since such desertion, the said verdict shall be recorded, and,
Thereupon, the marriage between the said Lewis Robards and
Rachel shall be totally dissolved."
The following record of the trial was left at Har-
rodsburg, Kentucky : —
" At a Court of Quarter Sessions, held for Mercer County, at
the court-house in Harrodsburg, on the 27th day of September,
1793, this day came the plaintiff, by his attorney, and thereupon
came also a jury, to wit: James Bradsbery, Thomas Smith, Ga-
briel Slaughter, John Lightfoot, Samuel Work, Harrison Davis,
John Ray, Obediah Wright, John Miles, John Means, Joseph
Thomas, and Benjamim Sanless, who, being elected, tried, and
sworn, well and truly to inquire into the allegation in the plain-
tiff's declaration, specified upon oath, do say, that the defendant,
Rachel Robards, hath deserted the plaintiff, Lewis Robards, and
bath and still doth live in adultery with another man. It is,
therefore, considered by the court that the marriage between the
plaintiff and defendant be dissolved."
So far as this jury was concerned the ground of
this verdict was certainly true. Mrs. Robards was
married to General Jackson while she was the legal
wife of another. How this came about, and how, in
intention, she was wholly free from offense, has been
stated according to the plain facts in the case.
In General Jackson's happy home there were no
children, although he and his wife were very fond of the
society and care of children, and young people of all
ages. In 1809, they took into their care and adopted
an infant son of Savern Donelson, a brother of Mrs.
Jackson. This child they named Andrew Jackson,
and made him their heir. Not many years after-
wards another nephew of Mrs. Jackson's, Andrew
Jackson Donelson, was taken into their family, and he
ANDREW JACKSON. 849
was raised and educated by the side of the adopted
son. The story of Lincoyer and the other Indian boy
may not be forgotten.
While General Jackson was one of the kindest and
best of men to his wife, children, and servants, yet he
was master in his own home. Nobody ever ventured
to dispute his position there. His spasms of rage
were, however, reserved for the outside world. At
home there were seen no displays of his fiery temper.
He was, from the beginning to the end, devoted to his
wife absolutely, with the dignity of a knight, and
without the vulgar pretense often exhibited in such
matters.
Mrs. Jackson was a short, heavy woman with a
thick neck, and double-chin, and strangely contrasted
with her tall, gaunt husband, so attenuated at times
that an enemy's bullet could not find him in a loose-
fitting coat. But their congenial tempers and other
adaptable qualities more than compensated for phys-
ical discrepancies. In youth, and for many years after
her marriage, Mrs. Jackson was " quite gay." She and
the General were fond of dancing, and an interesting
figure they must have cut in one of the old-time
dances. She was fond of horse-racing, too, and usually
attended at the exciting, inhumane, and demoralizing
races, especially if the General was in any way inter-
ested. She was a fine horseback rider, and every-
body knows that General Jackson was a model of
elegance on a horse, even in a race of men bred to
the saddle. In time Mrs. Jackson discarded all accom-
plishments of this kind, and although the General did
not keep pace with her in the way of reform, her
course only more deeply established her in his esteem
54— Q
850 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and affection. It has been said that only as a gay,
tale-telling, reel-dancing, jolly, young blade, was Mrs.
Jackson a source of joy to everybody she met. But
this is a mistake. She was really always this, as far
as a non-reading, uneducated woman could be. She
had little of the refinement which comes from book
education, but she could read and write. Accomplish-
ments, so-called, are not to be considered. She was
simply a plain, open-hearted, true, good woman of the
rough type, little less frequently met in these days
than in the log-cabin times of the long ago. She was
singularly adapted to the tastes and wants of her hus-
band; and the great harmony of their lives showed
how well he was adapted to her. Life under the best
circumstances brought them both that kind of culture
they appreciated ; and the ease and superiority of po-
sition which slavery afforded, aided in establishing a
dignity of manners which could not have belonged
to either of them under other conditions. There was
no disparity in their education and tastes. And while
the Greneral exhibited to the world some great, and
many exciting and remarkable traits, in their own
home he and his wife stood on the same level. And
often an uninteresting, unlovable picture did they
make as they sat by the great log fire in the rude
log cabin smoking their cob-pipes with long cane
handles. Many a careless and unrefined old couple in
whom the world could never dream of taking any in-
terest, pass their lives and debauch their bodies in the
same way, even at this day.
Not long after Mrs. Jackson's connection with the
Church, the General built a small brick church for her
on the Hermitage farm, and here she attended the
ANDREW JACKSON. 861
preaching of the Gospel with great regularity. She
did not wish the General to go to Florida, and hoped
when they got back to their home, to which she was
so deeply attached, that an end had come to all pub-
lic turmoil. When the plans were laid to make him
President, and the playing at United States Senator
was declared to be a necessary preparatory step, she
submitted only because she thought it was the Gen-
eral's will for her to do so. In the fall of 1824, with
great reluctance, she went with him to Washington
City. Although she had the appearance of being a
strong, vigorous, healthy woman, Mrs. Jackson did not
enjoy good health while she was at the National Cap-
ital. She w^as disturbed by a disease of the heart.
This was her only visit to Washington, and the winter
she mainly occupied in Church-going and religious
matters, a course which met the hearty approval of
the General. On their way home in the spring of
1825, she received almost as much attention from
" the people " and " the nobility " as did the General,
and however she chose to deport herself she never
could displease him. Her religious scruples and prin-
ciples were in exact accord with his own life-long sen-
timents, and no one sympathized with her so much in
her determination to carry them out as did he. From
the first, and always, his conduct in reference to this
matter was exceedingly praiseworthy, both as to his
good sense and his good heart. No eulogy ever passed
upon General Jackson is equal to or contains such
deep and real meaning as the little old church built
for Mrs. Jackson at the Hermitage. After their
return home at this time she urged the General to
join the Church, and forsake the world, the flesh, and
852 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the devil ; and as they walked to the little church one
Sunday morning, he promised that so soon as he got
out of politics this time he would carry out her wish,
that if he took the step then his enemies would ac-
cuse him of being insincere and doing it for effect.
This promise he kept.
In 1828, all the partisan rascality of the country
was brought into requisition, and this poor woman
whose name was unrighteously dragged into the con-
flict, came out broken-hearted, with but one thought
which gave her a grain of satisfaction, her husband
had succeeded in his greatest adventure. Had General
Jackson known that she would suffer and her life be
cut short by this struggle, it is safe to say, that noth-
ing under heaven could have induced him to make the
race for the Presidency, Although she was nobly
defended by her neighbor and relative, William B.
Lewis, the slanderous assault upon her in 1828 was
more than she could bear. The excitement greatly
aggravated her heart disease. Every effort was made
by the General and his friends to prevent the worst
forms of the newspaper attacks upon her from reach-
ing her ears, but in this they were not successful.
What the newspapers lacked her gossip-adoring sex
supplied. In the parlor of the hotel at Nashville,
where she went to rest when on one of her "shop-
ping" tours in 1828, from an adjoining room she caught
the sweet strains which told her listening heart how the
world was stabbing her, how the whole race of red-
tongued scandal-mongers reveled in her early history.
On the 17th of December, 1828, the first fatal notice
of the inroad of the disease was given. On that day,
while as usual walking about the house, she felt a
ANDREW JACKSON. 853
sudden pang, and struggling for breath fell into the
arms of her old servant, Hannah. The General hur-
ried from the field, and physicians, friends, neighbors,
and servants were soon at her side. From that time
until the end, the General hardly left her for a mo-
ment. On the night of the 22d, she seemed much
improved, and urged him to go into another room and
sleep and rest to be ready for the banquet to be given
in his honor on the following day at Nashville. After
he had left the room, she was removed to the lap of
old Hannah to have her bed rearranged, but this ex-
ertion was all that was required to bring on another
suffocating attack, in which her head sank upon the
old colored woman's shoulder, and in a moment she
was dead. What followed this event at the Hermitage,
may be imagined. All that night by the side of the
dead body of this best and truest of all his earthly
friends, sat the President elect of the United States.
In the morning the following announcement was made
at Nashville : —
"The committee appointed by the citizens of Nashville to
superintend the reception of General Jackson on this day, with
feelings of deep regx-et announce to the public that Mrs. Jack-
son departed this life last night, between the hours of 10 and 11
o'clock.
" Respect for the memory of the deceased, and a sincere
condolence with him on whom this providential affliction has
fallen, forbid the manifestation of public regard intended for
the day.
" In the further consideration of the painful and unexpected
occasion which has brought them together, the committee feel
that it is due to the exemplary virtues and exalted character of
the deceased, that some public token should be given of the
high regard entertained toward her while living. They have,
therefore,
"Resolved, That it be respectfully recommended to their
854 LIFE AND TIMES OF
fellow-citizens of Nashville, in evidence of this feeling, to refrain
on to-morrow from the ordinary pursuits of life."
The board of aldermen also resolved that
"The committee on behalf of the citizens, having determined
that it is proper to abstain from business on to-morrow ; therefore,
''Resolved, That the inhabitants of Nashville are respectfully
invited to abstain from their ordinary business on to-morrow, as
a mark of respect for the memory of Mrs. Jackson, and that the
church bells be tolled from one until two o'clock, being the hour
of her funeral."
From Nashville and the surrounding country a vast
number of people gathered at the Hermitage, and the
remains were laid in a corner of the garden, where
years afterwards her husband's were placed by her
side. The honest people who knew this good woman
greatly esteemed her, and throughout the country the
better-minded saw the entire political character of the
story that had been told of her. Many of the true
American women deeply sympathized with the Gen-
eral in his bereavement, and from these came many
letters of condolence, touching the tenderest chord in
his feelings. The newspapers, many of them, con-
tained highly eulogistic statements touching her
character, and some of them went into mourning for
her. Quite a number of poems were made commem-
orating her virtues, memorial sermons were preached,
and for a year or two her name was mentioned gal-
lantly and honorably, on the 8th of January celebra-
tions and festivals. General Jackson wore concealed
on his neck a miniature likeness of his wife. This he
did until a few days before his death, when he placed
the chain bearing it on the neck of his granddaugh-
ter, Uachel Jackson, the child of his adopted son, and
asked her to wear it. He survived his wife more
ANDREW JACKSON. 855
than sixteen years, but he never wavered in his affec-
tion for her. This was one of the most admirable
features in his remarkable career. When General
Jackson went to Washington City to enter upon his
duties as President, he appeared to be a broken-down
old man, so broken in body and spirit that some of
his intimate friends did not believe, for a time, that he
M^ould be able to get to the end of a single term. But
he soon rallied, and became the power behind the most
extraordinary Administration of this Government. His
friends gathered around him, and from them the White
House soon resumed much of its former fashion and folly.
Amos Kendall gave the following reasons for his
failure to finish his " Life " of General Jackson :—
"I have sent for you, Mr. Stickney, because I want the pub-
lic to know the reasons why I never finished the Life of Jackson.
The first was my poverty. I was too poor to collect information
from all over the country. Second, every person, with one ex-
ception, who had promised material for the work, disappointed
me. I could only write what I knew from personal knowledge."
Mr. Kendall considered James Parton's "Life" of
Jackson a caricature, and so late as 1862, wrote to H.
S. Randall, that he still hoped to put Jackson's case
right and do justice to Mrs. Jackson in his completed
" Life " of Jackson. Mr. Kendall's idea of doing justice
was certainly not that of James Parton. The latter
deemed it simple truth-telling, while the former con-
sidered it the rejection of all truth which was not
admirable, and fulsome eulogy of the rest. This prin-
ciple Mr. Kendall formulated as applying to himself
from the outset of his own career in these words : —
"I would not mention these trifles, were it not my intention
to relate everything now, that I have started in the world, which
may give a color to my reputation."
856 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The old slave in whose arms Mrs. Jackson died,
and who nursed the General in his last illness, and
who bears the name of Hannah Jackson, deserves a
passing notice here. I found this old woman on South
Summer Street, Nashville, and according to her own
statement she was eighty-nine years old in 1880, She
is the mother of numerous children, and although she
is evidently very old, she is sprightly as a woman of
fifty. She is actually a midwife, " practices " on both
races, and claims that she would do " right well " if
she could only get people to pay her. Her husband,
Aaron Jackson, as he was called, was a Baptist
preacher, and Hannah says a good one, although he
never could read a word in the Sacred Book. He also
bore the name of General Jackson, whose slave he
was. Hannah is very aristocratic and prides herself
on her "profession" and her family. She has a son
living with her who is a drunkard, and who, she said,
is very low down, " lowest trash." Hannah thinks
that the General said just before his death that he
had provided for her, but that was a sad mistake.
About the close of the Rebellion, Andrew Jackson,
Jr., called the negroes, then left at the Hermitage,
around him, and told them that they were free, and at
liberty to go where they chose, or that if they were
so disposed they could remain with him. Most of
them remained for a time at the Hermitage. But long
before the war most of the two hundred and fourteen
slaves, left by the General, had been put on young
Andrew's plantation in Mississippi. Hannah says she
never heard General Jackson speak of slavery in any
way, only that on his last bed she thinks he told
some friends that there would some time be an end to
ANDREW JACKSON. 857
the institution in this country. In this item Hannah,
no doubt, drew entirely upon her imagination.
" Aunt " Hannah says that although the old General
used filthy tobacco in all its forms, yet he was not quite
so bad as some of his biographers represent. Aunt
Rachel was also good at a smoke, and many a time
did Hannah light her pipe and carry it to her. This
old woman, although for seventy years a slave in a
race of slaves without culture or education, has never
used tobacco nor whisky in any shape, but says she
has seen many a white and many a black " lady " do
so. Hannah maintains that the General was, in his
swearing, as he was in most other things, very choice
and dignified. When he was crossed he seldom said
any thing else than " By the Eternal God !" This was
giving the habit a lofty Jacksonian air. Although the
old General did not free any of his slaves, or leave
Hannah provided for, as she had reason to expect, she
holds that he was a " Christian, if there ever was one,"
and in every other way, perhaps, the greatest man
who ever lived. Not even Amos Kendall could out-
rank Hannah as a devoted, unqualified admirer and de-
fender of General Jackson,
Andrew Jackson Donelson married his cousin, Emily
Donelson, the daughter of Captain John Donelson,
brother of Mrs. Jackson. This beautiful young woman
became the " Lady of the White House " under Gen-
eral Jackson, while her husband was the President's
private secretary. Mrs. Donelson had been reared
under circumstances which qualified her, to some ex-
tent, to make a favorable impression in the society at
the Capital, then especially a Southern city, as well as
to enable her to fill her place at the head of the Presi-
858 LIFE AND TIMES OF
dent's family with dignity and propriety. The General
was devoted to her. Called her his daughter, and ex-
cepting in one naughty, or knotty case, that of Mrs.
Eaton, she was autocrat in her department at the White
House. She was one of those stubborn women who
would not associate with Mrs. Eaton. The General
tried his persuasive powers, but she was unalterable,
and the result was a temporary estrangement, in which
she returned to Tennessee. But the General soon re-
pented, and she again took her place at the head of
affairs in his house. Her four children were born at
the White House, the General making the occasions
quite notable. He had them christened ceremoniously,
in two instances being himself godfather, and in one
having " Matty," as he familiarly called Mr. Van Buren,
stand in that capacity. In the spring of 1836, ill-
health induced Mrs. Donelson to return to Tennessee,
where she hoped to recover. Delusive hope ! how
many of earth's sojourners have entertained it! She
had " consumption," synonym for death, in all these
cold, changeable, damp climates. This young mother's
life had not all been fashion and folly, a remark well
founded upon a few words uttered by her not long be-
fore her death. When sitting alone with one of her
children one day, a little bird entered the room, and
perched a moment on the back of her chair. To her
child she said, as she gazed upon the little winged
messenger : —
" Do not disturb it, darling ; may be it comes to bid
me prepare for my flight to another world. I leave
you here, but the Heavenly Father, who shelters and
provides for this poor little bird this wintry day, will
also watch and take care of you all, when I am gone.
ANDREW JACKSON. 859
Don't forget mamma ; love her always, and try to live
so that we may all meet again in Heaven."
Mary Easton, a niece of Mrs. Jackson, was a com-
panion of Mrs. Donelson at the White House. Mary
was a tall, stately, beautiful, and intellectual woman,
and was greatly admired at Washington. She married
one of the Polks, but died long ago. Soon after Gen-
eral Jackson became President, his adopted son, An-
drew Jackson, Jr., was married to Miss Sarah Yorke,
of Philadelphia. This young woman now also became
an inmate of the White House, and that there should
be no question about the first person there, the Gen-
eral told her that Emily was mistress of the White
House, and she was mistress of the Hermitage. When
General Jackson went to Tennessee in the spring of
1837, she was accordingly duly installed at the head
of his family. He was deeply attached to her, and in
his last days she was his greatest comfort. With him
she joined the church, and as the end came, no one
did so much to make it painless to the old hero. The
change from the Hermitage to the White House made
no change in the General's backwoods or inelegant
habits. He chewed tobacco and smoked his pipe in
the same stolid way. Mr. Parton tells that some ridic-
ulous women wanted to have n picture painted of an
imaginary or every-day scene at the White House.
The President was to sit in the chimney-corner smoking
an old pipe, while courtly Edward Livingston was
whispering in his ear, and Mrs. Donelson and her happy
children were to finish the domestic scene. The intel-
lectual Livingston and the good Mrs. Donelson and her
children taken from this picture, and the remainder
would have been a bar-room caricature. It requires
860 LIFE AND TIMES OF
little stretch of the imagination to place General Jack-
son in enough high, manly, dignified attitudes, and such
rude specimens of art and life a refined age can well
dispense with.
General Jackson always had his " artist " with him
in the person of the painter. Earl, Earl married a
niece of Mrs. Jackson's, and besides the General was
greatly attached to him ; a friendship which Earl re-
turned with warmth. At the Hermitage they were
constant companions, and when Mrs. Jackson died Earl
gathered into a scrap-book all the sermons and eulo-
giums of every description, in prose and verse, printed
and manuscript, that had been made on her, which he
could find. The portrait of her in the gay gown in
which she appeared on the 8th of January, 1828, at
New Orleans, was painted by Earl. At the Hermitage
he executed all orders for pictures of the General ; and
when they removed to the White House, he became,
by right, the " Court Artist." But Earl was not a
member of the '' Kitchen Cabinet," and perhaps, took
little interest in politics.
The General did not give up his taste for horse-
racing after becoming President. He even had some
of his own fine stock taken to Washington, and often
rode out to see the races.
General Jackson was well disposed towards plans
for improving the Capital, and in this respect his Ad-
ministration was beneficial to Washington. But that
his " reign," as the opposition frequently called it, added
much to the moral advancement of the Capital or the
Nation at large, may well be a matter of doubt. An-
drew Jackson, the adopted son of General Jackson,
died April 17, 1865, in his 57th year, and was buried
ANDREW JACKSON. 861
at the Hermitage, where his widow still lives at the
pleasure of the State of Tennessee. R. E. W. Earl,
the artist friend and companion of General Jackson,
died at the Hermitage, September 16, 1837, and was
also buried there.
Mrs. Maria (Yorke) Adams, a sister of Mrs. An-
drew Jackson, Jr., spent her last years at the Hermitage,
and died there in 1877.
Andrew Jackson Donelson was born in Sumner
County, Tennessee, August 25, 1799, and was the son
of Samuel Donelson. He graduated at West Point.
His wife, who was " Mistress of the White House,"
died in 1836 ; and in 1841 Donelson married Mrs. E.
A. Randolph. In the fall of 1844, under* Tyler, he
was sent to Texas. Under Polk he was sent as Min-
ister to Russia, and was subsequently Minister to Ger-
many. He became editor of the " Washington Union"
in 1851. In 1856, he was on the ticket with Fillmore
for the Vice-Presidency. In the Rebellion he would
not fight against the old flag. He died at Memphis,
June 26, 1871.
In 1855, the Legislature of Tennessee passed an act
authorizing the Governor to purchase five hundred
acres of the old farm of General Jackson, including the
house and the tomb. Andrew Jackson, Jr., had been
unfortunate in his business adventures, and to prevent
his creditors getting possession of the Hermitage, the
Legislature came to the rescue, and made the purchase
for $48,000 ; and although it has been reduced by sell-
ing oflr parts of it at diff'erent times, the Hermitage,
the tomb, and the little brick church, and a small tract
of fifty acres surrounding them belong to the State of
Tennessee.
862 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Although General Jackson was a stiff Presbyterian
he actually had to go to another fountain for his spiritual
light, stealthily to slake his thirst at an inexhaustible
well, which in common theology has never been con-
sidered very orthodox. The strange Henry A. Wise,
who went down to Nashville in 1828, to be married to the
daughter of the Rev. 0. Jennings, the Presbyterian
pastor of Mrs. Jackson, spent a day with his bride at
the Hermitage by invitation of the General, and he is re-
sponsible for the following interesting passage on this
point. He says that while he was trying to occupy
the attention of Mrs. Jackson, the General, the Rev.
0. Jennings, Judge Overton, and others in conversation
in another part of the room, Mrs. Jackson becoming
apparently tired of him and Old Virginia, suddenly
turned to Jennings saying : —
"Doctor, a short time ago I came near sending for
you on a very important concern to me."
" Indeed, madam !" said the doctor, " I should have
been pleased to obey your call, and duty permitting,
would have come with pleasure to serve you in any
way I could. Pray, what was the occasion? Perhaps,
if permitted, I may still render you a service."
" Oh, Doctor ! at a time lately, but for a moment,
I feared the General was giving way to the Sweden-
borgian doctrines. I wished you to talk to him on
the subject, and to counsel me."
This brought up the old hero, who never declined
a combat in any field, who at once threw this bomb
into the face of the startled preacher : —
" Pooh, pooh, madam ! your anxiety was vain. I
was in no danger of giving way to the Swedenborgian
doctrines ; all I said was that some of Swedenborg's
ANDREW JACKSON. 863
conceptions of Deity were the most sublime (the Gen-
eral's schooling taught him to pronounce this elegant
word soo-blime) that tapped the drum ecclesiastic."
At this the good preacher exclaimed : —
" What ! do you pretend to compare the crudities
of Swedenborg with the Divine conceptions of David,
or, Job, or Isaiah ?"
" Yes," snapped the General, " yes, sir ; Sweden-
borg's conceptions, by being among the most sublime,
only prove that the Almighty Creator has at all times,
among all nations, inspired the souls of men with im-
ages of Himself, and the original inspirations are in
some instances as sublime as are the revelations of
Divinity ; both come from God."
This was, indeed, too much. The spirit of New
Orleans was up. The courageous parson stood forward
to the conflict. Mr. Wise says that " the discussion
which ensued was rich and rare. It was the scim-
itar of Saladin against the battle-axe of Coeur de
Lion ! The doctor exact, a fencer poised, quick,
steady, skilled, with weapons keen enough to cut
eiderdown ; he would seem to run in the Damascus
blade and turn the point coolly to feel for the vital
point, but Richard did not fall nor faint, but thrashed
about him with his massive axe as a harvest-man
would wield the flail. It was sharp science against a
strong arm which wanted not natural ' cunning.' " The
combat deepened. Jackson was on his mettle. Among
all the spectators toothless old Judge Overton was the
most interested. He believed in Jackson. He thought
hi§ theology was as good as his politics. His glory was
to see his champion enter the lists. He knew before-,
hand what the result would be. In his vain attempt
864 ANDREW JACKSON.
to throw in an occasional argument he could do no
more than to sanction the General in an undertone
with " By G— d " and " By G— Jupiter." But the
strange, doubtful conflict was brought to a ludicrous
end, Mr. Wise says, by Mrs. Jackson (who could not
remove religion so far from common and creature com-
forts as did Swedenborg) exclaiming: "Mr. Baldwin,
dear, you are sleepy." Had the great Swedish philos-
opher and seer, who has been a thousand-fold less
understood and more misrepresented than has any
mere politician, statesman, or reformer, looked upon
this scene it would have startled in him strange re-
flections. From the schools and colleges, he thought,
should come his expounders and defenders. But here
was a man, commonly supposed to be one of the most
worldly minded, with the same vigor and success that
distinguished him on other fields, not only defending
his teachings, but also placing them on the high foun-
dation which he quietly claimed for them himself.
INDKX.
Acts, Alien and Sedition — their
origin, character, and wisdom,
614 — character of opposition to,
615 — compared with Nullification
and the Resolutions of 1798, 614,
615.
Adair, General John — takes com-
mand of the Kentuckians, his
advice taken by Jackson, 256 —
the service allotted him and his
unarmed Kentuckians, 256, 257^
his defense of his men, difficulty
with General Jackson, 307.
Adams, J. Q. — influence of his
Diary on General Jackson, 61 —
becomes the champion of Jack-
son, his success, 340 — the Gen-
eral's opinion of his success, 362,
363 — his part in making Jackson
President, 367 — candidate for the
Presidency, 376— vote for in 1828,
393 — his course toward political
and personal enemies, 401, 402 —
his view of General Jackson, 404,
835 — enters the House of Repre-
sentatives, 522— put on the com-
mittee to investigate the Bank
of the United States, 541 — his
course as to dueling, 548 — pre-
sents abolition petitions, 549 —
his course as to General Jack-
son's LL. D., 625 — his Bank
charges, 631, 632— his opinion of
the pulling of General Jackson's
nose, 720 — his declaration as
to the bargain and corruption
charge, 827.
55-
Adams, Mrs.— her famous ball, her
part in introducing General Jack-
son to fortune, 3()7.
Adams, John — his part in the
Alien and Sedition Laws, 614.
Address — Jackson's, to his soldiers,
86, 112, 130, 133, 136, 173, 222,
287 — General Jackson's first in-
augural, 397 — Jackson's second
inaugural, 619— Jackson's Fare-
well, 800.
Administration — takes Amelia Isl-
and, 311 — at last disposed to
put a value upon Jackson, gives
him a major-generalship, 185 —
greatly disturbed by Jackson's
conduct in Florida, 339, 340, 341—
the Jacksonian begins, 401, 402,
403, 405, 407 — a President first
charges fraud against, in his
message, 446 — charges against
General Jackson's, 616, 617.
Ambrister, Robert C.^falls into the
hands of General Jackson, .328 —
his trial, findings against, 336,
.337, 338— shot to death, 339.
Amelia Island — taken possession
of by the United States, 311.
Anti-Masons — hold the first na-
tional Presidential convention,
nominate candidates, 551 — their
votes, carry one State, 618,
619.
Arbuthnot, Alexander — arrested
by General Jackson, .327 — his
trial, .3.36, 337, 338— hanged, 339.
Avery, Waightstill — fights M'itb
General Jackson, 47.
-G
866
INDEX.
B
Bancroft, George — specimens of
his Jacksonian eloquence, 280,
281.
Bank of the United States — first
assailed by General Jackson,
447. — its standing and beneficial
character in 1830, 460— the be-
ginning of Jackson's opposition
to, 460, 461 — applies for a new
charter, 540, 541 — the bill for it
vetoed, 541 — the good and bad
of its fall, 542, 630, 631— in the
election of 1832, 557 — charges
against, 627, 628— efforts to break,
628, 629 — its standing and worth,
630, 632, 633— in the Cabinet and
the Senate, 634 to 652, 674, 675,
676, 677, 678, 679.
Barrancas, Fort — spies sent^against,
196 — destroyed by the British,
its location, 211.
Barataria, " The Pirate's Retreat " —
its location, 201 — expedition
against, 205.
Baratarians — join the main army
below New Orleans, their brav-
ery and patriotism, their crimes,
246.
Barry, AVilliam T. — becomes Post-
master-General, 405 — continued
in the new Cabinet, 517 — stands
on the President's side in the
Bank fight, 634 — resigns, is sent
to Spain, 721— his death, 762.
Bargain and Corruption — the storv
of, 382, 383, 384, 385 — again
brought forward in 1832, 554,
516.
Battles — of Talluschatches, 117— of
Talladega, 123— of Autossee, 140,
1 43 — of Eccanachaca, 143 — of
Emuckfau and Enotachopco, 154,
162, 163 — of Callibee, 164 — of
Tohopeka, 171, 173— of FortBow-
yer, 192, 193— of Lake Borgne,
218— of the Night of the 23d, 234,
235, 236, 239, 240— of the 28th of
December, 246, 247— of New
Year's, 250, 251, 252— of the 8th
of January, 258, 259, 260, 261,
262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 290.
Beasley, INIajor Daniel — sent to
Fort Mims, 108 — the slaughter
of himself and all the garrison,
109, 110.
Bell, John — defeated for Speaker
of the House by Mr. Polk, 723.
Benton, Thomas Hart — his services
to Jackson, 76, 104 — his fight
with Jackson, 77, 78, 79, 80 — be-
comes a defender of Jackson, 80,
797 — becomes reconciled to Jack-
son, 379 — his views of removals
from office, 414 — opinion of,
concerning General Jackson,
547 — his opinion of the nullifica-
tion compromise tariff, 612 —
presides on the 8th of Januarj'-,
719 — succeeds with his expung-
ing act, 797, 798.
Benton, Jesse — fights Carroll, fights
Jackson, 76, 77 — remains a bit-
ter enemy to Jackson, SO — as-
sails Jackson as a Presidential
candidate, 377.
Berrien, John McPherson — be-
comes Attorney-General, 405 — •
supports Calhoun, 515 — resigns,
his qualities, 516 — becomes a
Whig, 518.
Biddle, Nicholas — writes to the
Secretary of the Treasury, 461,
462— his character, 463, 628— his
skill and integrity, 628, 629.
Binns, John — editor of "Demo-
cratic Press," his " coffin hand-
bills," 555 — explains his course
and its consequences, 555, 556.
Blackburn, Pev. Gideon — his pa-
triotic efforts, 143— receives a let-
ter from General Jackson, 144 —
his character, 145.
Blair, Francis P.— invited to AVash-
ington City, becomes the editor
of the President's organ, 475 —
INDEX.
867
member of the "Kitchen Cabi-
net," 519 — on the President's
side in the Bank contest, 634.
Blount, (Tovernor Wilhe — orders
General Jackson to call out the
militia, 112 — becomes discour-
aged, 145 — his letter to Jackson,
14() — rebuked by General Jack-
son, 149 — his character, orders
out a new militia force, 151.
Booty and Beauty — fictitious Brit-
ish battle-cry at New Orleans,
222 — groundlessness of the
charge, 282, 283 — again made, 719.
Borgne, Lake— its location and im-
portance, 216.
Bowyer, Fort (Morgan) — its loca-
tion, assailed by the British,
191^battle of, 192, 193.
Brackenridge, Henry M. — meets
General Jackson, becomes his
secretary and Alcalde, 357 —
translates badly, 358.
Branch, John — becomes Secretary
of the Navy, 405 — supports Cal-
houn, 515 — resigns, 516.
Burr, Aaron — his character and
early friendship for General
Jackson, 57, 58 — visits Nashville,
82 — his course with Jackson, 83,
84, 85 — wanted to make Jack-
son President, 366.
Butler, Benj. F. — becomes Attor-
ney-General, 653.
Cabinet — General Jackson's Unit,
405— difficulties in, 466, 467, 468,
469, 471 — few meetings of,
patched for a day, 471 — begin-
ning and causes of its dissolution,
515, 516, 517 — its character, 517,
518 — members of the new, 517,
520 — character of new, 518, 519 —
other changes in, 623, 633, 634,
653, 721, 761, 762— its opinion of
no moment, 646, 647, 648.
Cabinet, Kitchen — organized, 471,
519 — its foundation, character,
members, 519, 551 — manages the
election, 551, 552 — was not
united on the Bank figlit, 632—
publishes the diplomatic letters,
717.
Calhoun, J. C. — Minister of War
under Mr. Monroe, appeases
Creneral Jackson, 297— believed
that Jackson should bear the
consequences of his conduct,
341 — nominated for the Vice-
Presidency, 375 — elected Vice-
President, 380 — re-elected Vice-
President, 393 — prepares to send
off the new dogma, 457 — his an-
nouncement met by General
Jackson, 458 — his chances for
the Presidency depart, 466 — the
man in the Cabinet of IVIr. Mon-
roe who would hold Jackson re-
sponsible for his conduct, his
manly reply to Jackson's letter,
472 — a friend to Jackson, 473,
474 — publishes his quarrel with
Jackson, 515 — nominated for the
Presidency, 550 — dropped from
the race, 552 — becomes United
States Senator, 558— his fall, 613—
his view of General Jackson and
the Bank fight, 676— revives his
new dogma, 761 — his contempt
for General Jackson, 797.
Callava, Don Jose — last Spanish
Governor of Florida, his conduct,
357, 358 — arrested, sues for a
writ of habeas corpus, 358 — lays
his case before the authorities
at AVashington, 360, 361.
Carroll, W. W.— General Jackson
stands up for him, 76— appears
at the head of the Tennesseeans
at New Orleans, 230— ordered to
the Bienvenu, 230, 231— his char-
acter and militarj^ qualities, 283,
284 — chairman of the Democratic
convention, 552.
Carolina, The— be\ow New Orleans,
868
INDEX.
under Captain Patterson, 217 —
begins the battle of the night of
the 23d, 234 — burned by the
British, 244.
Caucus — the last, its candidates,
374, 375.
Cass, General Lewis — becomes Sec-
retary of War, 517 — falls into the
President's ^^ews as to the Bank,
634 — resigns to become Minister
to France, 761.
City, Washington — a reign of ter-
ror in, 410 — source of its business
permanence, scenes in, 411, 412.
Cholera — in 1832, its freaks and
ravages in the United States, 549.
Claiborne, General F. L. — sends
soldiers to Fort Mims, 108 —
makes steps against the Indians,
140 — attacks the Indians, 143,
178.
Claiborne, Governor Wm. C. C. —
receives a revelation from Lafitte,
203 — believes Lafitte and lays his
case before General Jackson,
205 — receives Jackson in a
speech, 213 — his character and
conduct, first Governor of Louis-
iana, 214, 215 — works in harmony
with Jackson, 220 — marches at
the head of the militia, 231 — takes
charge of the State House, 248.
Clay, Henry — condemns General
Jackson's Florida campaign,
starts the enmity of Jackson,
345, .346 — a candidate for the
Presidency, 376 — dropped from
the House election, 380— his in-
fluence in the final result, 381,
383, 385 — nominated for the
Presidency, 551— votes for, 618,
619 — his improper resolution,-
674 — his plan for distributing the
surplus funds, 762— his defense
against the charge of corruption,
827.
Cocke, General John — orders
White to join him, 122 — orders
the destruction of the Hillibee
towns, 127 — his conduct and
dealings with Jackson, 127, 128 —
arrives at Fort Strother, 137.
Coffee, John — a partner of General
Jackson, 62 — his part in the
Burr case, 84, 90, 92 — goes to the
wars, 101 — at Huntsville, 113 —
attacks and destroys the Indians,
117, 118, 119 — his men in mutiny,
138 — his brave conduct, 163 —
leads an army to Mobile, 208 —
marches to New Orleans, 217 —
marches down the Mississippi,
230— his military standing, 283—
summoned to Washington to pre-
pare for a brush with South
Carolina, 284.
Coleman, Dr. L. H. — writes to Gen-
eral Jackson on the tariff, 370.
Congress — declines to recognize the
Indian gifts to Jackson and Haw-
kins, 189 — pays General Jack-
son's New Orleans fine, 279 — acts
of as to time of calling out the
militia, 287, 288, 289 — acquits
General Jackson of blame in the
seizure of Pensacola and the ex-
ecution of the Englishmen, 341 —
assembles in 1829, 419 — its acts,
45P — assembles in 1830, its new
members, 476 — its acts, 514 —
assembles in 1831, its neM' and
distinguished members, 521,
522 — bad conduct of one of its
branches, 540 — its acts, 543, 544,
545, 546— assembles in 1832, 558—
its acts, 606, 607, 608— its com-
promise with South Carolina, 608,
609, 610, 611, 612, 613, 614— con-
venes in 1833, 654 — censures the
President, 674, 675— investigates
the Bank again, 678— acts, 680.
681 — convenes in 1835, organizes,
723 — disposes foolishly of the
surplus revenue, 762, 763 — con-
venes in 1836, 765 — rescinds the
specie circular, 798.
INDEX.
869
Convention, Presidential — in 1824,
374, 375— in 1828, 388— in 1832,
550, 551, 552— in 1835, 721, 722.
Crawford, W. H. — his relations
with General Jackson, 342 — nom-
inated for the Presidency, 375 —
his votes, 380— defeated in the
House, 382 — reveals a secret, 471.
Crockett, David — appears in the
Creek War, 114.
Davis, Colonel — in the battle of
the 8th of January, 263,
Dinsmore, Silas — Indian agent
crosses the path of General Jack=-
son, 98, 99.
Donelson, A. J. — becomes private
secretary, 407 — his temporary
suspension, 417 — his efforts with
Mr. Duane, 650, 651 — becomes a
member of General Jackson's
family, 848 — his marriage, 857 —
his public services, runs for the
Yice-Presidency, remained true
to the Union, 861 — his death,
861.
Donelson, Emily — becomes " Lady
of the White House," 407 — re-
I'ects Mrs. Eaton, 416— is sent
home, taken back to her place
in the General's esteem, 417 —
marries her cousin, A. J. Don-
elson, 857 — become " Lady of the
White House," 857— her troubles
on account of the Eaton scandal,
her family, her character, her
death, 858', 861.
Donelson, John — his character,
family, death, 845.
Duane, William J.— becomes Sec-
retary of the Treasury, 623, 633—
declines to remove the deposits,
his removal, 633— story of his
quarrel and contest with Presi-
dent Jackson, 634 to 652 — his
admirable character, 650, 651,
652.
Earl, R. E. W.— his grave, 830—
Court Artist, his paintings of
Jackson and his wife, not a mem-
ber of the " Kitchen Cabinet,"
860— his death, 861.
Eaton, John H.— becomes Secre-
tary of War, 405 — marries Mrs.
Eaton, 415— the President es-
pouses his cause, 416 — his deser-
tion of Jackson Democracy, his
death, 418 — resigns his i)lace in
the Cabinet, 515— chullengt'.s tlie
Reverend Mr. Campbell to figlit,
517 — ajipointed Governor of
Florida, 518 — was a member of
the "Kitchen Cabinet," 519 —
sent to Spain, 762,
Eaton, Mrs. jNIargaret — becomes
the wife of Major Eaton, her
qualities, 415 — her social ostra-
cism, 415, 416, 417 — her misfor-
tunes and end, 418.
Election, Presidential — in 1824,
380 — thrown into the House,
380 — the House, 381, 382 — in
1828, 391, 392, 393, 394, .396 —
in 1832, 552, 553, 554, 555, 556,
557, 616, 617, 618, 619— in 1836,
764.
Elliott, J. D. — asks General Jack-
son to accept the coffin of Alex-
ander Severus, 830, 831.
England — her troops gather in Ne-
gril Bay for the expedition
against New Orleans, her grand
and costly preparations, 217,
218- — lessons and fears of her
troops, 226, 227 — her army landed
at the mouth of Bayou Bien-
venu, 227 — her army on the
Mississippi, 228, 231, 232 — her
troops engaged on the night of
the 23d of December, 2.34, 235—
her force and officers on the
Mississippi, 242, 243, 244 — causes
of her failure, 243, 244, 282— the
failure of her army on the 28th
870
INDEX.
of December, 1814, 247, 248— her
generals prepare for a final ef-
fort, 249 — their attack of the
Americans on New Year's day,
250, 251, 252, 253 — her force on
the battle of the 8th, 257, 258—
defeat of her great army, 259,
260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266,
267 — her officers at New Orleans,
243, 258, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 267,
282, 283 — two of her citizens ex-
ecuted by General Jackson, 339 —
on the point of declaring war
with the United States, 340, 343—
mediates between France and
the United States, 717 — foolish
crj' of " booty and beauty "
against, 719.
Enquirer, The Cincinnati — quota-
tion from, 826.
Florida — becomes a British and
Indian nest, 195 — her Spanish
Governors, 196, 197, 198, 199, 311—
her wretched condition, 309, 310,
311 — invaded by General Jack-
son, 325, 328 — transferred to the
United States, her first governor,
350.
Floyd, General John — meets the
Indians, his report, 140 — his
doubtful victory, 143 — again
fights the Indians, 164.
Fort, Negro — its location, origin,
character, destiny, 310, 311.
France — claims of the United
States against, 715 — her in-
justice, the President acts on
the suggestions of her king,
716 — prepares for war with
this country, England mediates,
717.
Fromentin, Elijius — becomes the
first Florida judicial officer, 357—
issues a writ of habeas corpus,
358 — summoned to appear before
Governor Jackson, tells his story,
359, 360.
Frost J. — his opinion of Andrew
Jackson's mother, 21 — tells how
Jackson began his law practice
at Nashville, 43, 44 — his opinion
of the night battle below New
Orleans, 240.
Gaines, General E. P. — in Florida,
312 — joins Jackson, 313 — his es-
timate of the Seminole force,
322 — at the head of the Ar-
buthnot Court, 338, 339.
Georgia — her fight with the In-
dians, resists the authority of
the Supreme Court, 452 — sets
up the doctrine of nullification,
453.
Gibbs, General Samuel — second in
command of the British army on
the INIississippi, 242 — his com-
mand in the great battle, 258 —
his conduct, his death, 259, 260.
" Globe, The " — established to be
the mouth-ijiece of the Presi-
dent, 475 — assails the character
of Mr. Duane, 649, 650 — ceases
to be the Administration organ,
821.
Goodwin, Mr. — a biographer of
General Jackson, defends a new
doctrine of the General's, 314.
Government, The — set at naught
by Georgia, 452 — the President
stands aside for its disgrace, 452,
453 — advocates for its dissolution
in 1832, 550.
Green, Duff— reports his plain con-
versation wdth President Jackson,
448 — chooses between General
Jackson and INFr. Calhoun, 474 —
member of the " Kitchen Cabi-
net," 519.
Grundy, Felix — addresses General
Jackson, 280.
INDEX.
871
Habeas Corpus— Legislature de-
clines to suspend the, 220, 221 —
set aside by General Jackson,
277 — history of, at New Orleans,
27(), 277, 278 — history of, in Flor-
ida, 358, 359.
Hamilton, James A. — acts as Sec-
retary of State, 413.
Hall, Judge Dominick — his diffi-
culty with General Jackson,
276 — his arrest, 277 — arrests
and fines General Jackson, 277,
278.
Harrison, General William H. —
resigns his position in the army,
185 — gets the ill-will of General
Jackson, 345 — turned out of of-
fice, 410, 411.
Hawkins, Benjamin— Indian agent,
treats at Fort Jackson, 186 — ac-
cepts a land gift, 188.
Hayne, Colonel Arthur P. — ex-
amines the mouth of the Missis-
sippi, 215 — reconnoiters the
British position, 234.
Hayne, Robert Y. — advances the
dogma of State supremacy and
nullification, 456, 457.
Hermitage — name given to the
home of General Jackson, 62 —
its last mistress, 858, 859 — its
present ownership, 861.
Hickory, Old — origin and applica-
tion of the term, 103, 104.
Hillis Hajo — Seminole prophet,
goes to England, 310 — returns
full of mischief, 311 — deceived
and captured, 324 — hanged, his
character, 326.
Hill, Isaac— editor of "" The Pa-
triot," rejected by the Senate,
449 — causes the Bank war, 461 —
member of the " Kitchen Cabi-
net," 519.
Himollemico — captured by a trick,
324 — hanged, his character and
crimes, 326.
Houston, Sam— appears in the bat-
tle of Tohopeka, 173— his shame-
ful conduct in "Washington,
approved by President Jackson,
547, 548.
Huntsville— in Alabama, a station
on General Jackson's line to the
Creek War, 113— Jackson's In-
dian boy sent to, 119— more re-
cruits gather at, 153.
Indians — outwitted by Lawyer
Jackson, their great enemy in
Tennessee, 45— their destruction
at Nickajack, 46- the Creeks, led
by Tecumseh, the British, and
Spaniards to war with the TTnited
States, 106 — their soothsayers,
107— aided by the Spaniards and
British, begin the Creek War at
Fort Mims, 108, 109, 110— Shaw-
nee, Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Creek, 110, 111 — gathering on.
the Coosa, 115, 116— character
of their women, 119— defeated at
Talluschatches, 117— defeated at
Talladega, 123 — some sue for
peace, 127 — bad treatment of the
Hillibee, 127, 128— defeated, 140,
143— defeated may be, by Gen-
eral Jackson, 154, 162, 163 —
claimed a victory, 163 — claimed
a victory at Callibee, 165 —
they make the last stand at
Tohopeka, 169, 170, 171, 173^
their surrender, 175 — treat at
Fort Jackson, 187 — their gen-
erosity, 188— with tlie British at
Fort Bowyer, 191, 192 — seek
refuge in Florida, 195— treat with
General Jackson, 293— in Florida,
309, 310, 311— the Chehaws mur-
dered, 313— their war with Gen-
eral Jackson in Florida, 324 to
347 — negotiate with Jackson,
348— one of, executed in Georgia,
their fight for their homes,
872
INDEX.
receive no help from the Admin-
istration, 452, 453 — their Black
Hawk War, 557.
Ingham, Samuel D. — becomes
Secretary of the Treasury, 405 —
corresponds with N. Biddle,
461— his view of the Bank, 462,
630 — his account of the trouble
in the Cabinet, 467 — supports
Mr. Calhoun, gets a hint from
the President, 515 — the Presi-
dent clears up his mystery, re-
signs his place in the Cabinet,
his qualities, 516 — manner of his
leaving Washington, 517 — disap-
pears from public, 518.
Internal Improvements — strangled
by General Jackson, 455 — dis-
posed of, 579.
Jackson, General — his origin,
family, parentage, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 20, 21, 22— his birth, birth-
place, 22, 23— what he was as a
boy, 23 — his mother's designs for
him, 24— his education, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28, 29, 30— the origin of his
beautiful letters, and addre^es,
27 — his experience in the Kev-
olutionary War, marked by a
British officer, 33, 34, 35— has
the small-pox, 34 — his early oc-
cupations and character, 35, 36,
37 — was he a school teacher?
37 — would not be a Presbyterian
preacher, begins the study of
the law, 38, 39— begins life, 39, 40,
41— appointed attorney for Ten-
nessee, 41 — crosses the mount-
ains into the Western District,
42 — his services on the way
to Nashville, 43 — a business
ready for him, 44 — his early
popularity, his Indian fighting,
his early dueling, 45, 46, 47— his
marriage, 45, 57— his first duel,
47 — leaves the Bench to arrest a
criminal, 48 — memlier of the
State constitutional convention,
49 — appointed the first Repre-
sentative in Congress from Ten-
nessee, takes his seat, 49^ his
services and acquaintances in
Congress at this early day, 50,
51, 52, 55, 56, 57^ — votes against the
friendly response to Washing-
ton's last speech to Congress,
50 — elected Senator, resigns, 52,
53 — his standing as a lawyer,
54 — his character, 37, 47, 48, 54,
57, 61, 63, 64, 68, 76, 80, 93, 94,
95, 98, 103, 126, 129, 132, 168, 175,
184, 185, 208, 209, 248, 274, 275,
• 276, 277, 278, 279, 291, 292, 308,
339, 341, 344, 345, 346, 349, 362,
363, 378, 383, 384, 386, 400, 401,
413, 446, 472, 473, 474, 548, 624,
626, 681, 682, 717, 797, 799, 819,
820, 821, 822, 825, 826, 836, 837,
838, 839, 840, 843, 844, 849, 857,
863, 864 — appointed Judge,
elected commander of the mili-
tia, 58 — challenges Governor
Sevier, 59 — quarrels with John
McNairy, resigns his judgeship,
60, 61 — his occupations, mer-
chant, etc., 62, 63, 64— his fights
with Sevier, 66 — his duel with
Dickerson, 67, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74,
75 — whips Thomas Swann, 69,
70 — his fight with the Bentons,
76, 77, 78, 79, 80 — always carries
a cane, 80, 81 — his dealings with
Aaron Burr, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86—
goes to Richmond as a Burr wit-
ness, condemns the Adminis-
tion, 87 — charged with con-
spiracy with Burr, 88, 90, 91,
92 — reviews his part in the mat-
ter, 88, 89 — offers his services to
the Government in the war
against England, quarrels with
Silas Dinsmore, 98, 99 — marshals
his volunteers, addresses tlie
Governor, 99 — his expedition to
INDEX.
873
Natchez, 101, 102, 103— his desire
to go to Canada, 102, 104 — ac-
quires an appropriate nickname,
10-1 — calls the militia to meet at
Fayetteville, 112 — addresses the
soldiers, 113 — calls for whisky
rations, 114 — his attachment to
his military title, 115, 116 —
moves into the Indian country,
116 — adopts an Indian boy and
calls him Lincoyer, his good
deed, 119, 120, 121— builds Fort
Strother, moves against the In-
dians at Talladega, 122 — makes
a faux pas, 125 — the first twig in
his croAvn, the General and the
acorns, 126, 127 — his difficulty
with General Cocke, offers pro-
tection to the Hillibees, 127, 128,
167 — his contests with the mili-
tia, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134,
135, 136, 138, 139, 152, 168 —
writes a noble letter to Governor
Blount, 148, 151— fights the In-
dians at Emuckfau and Enota-
chopco, 154 — makes a great ef-
fort to close the Creek War,
167 — executes John "Woods,
168 — marches against the In-
dians, 169 — arrives at Tohopeka,
170 — fights and defeats the In-
dians, 171, 173 — adopts another
Creek, 173 — a slip in his theol-
ogy, 175 — builds Fort Jackson,
175 — meets Weathersford, 179 —
celebrates the ending of the
Creek War, 181 — his reception
at Xashville, 182 — how benefited
by the Creek War, 184, 185— ap-
pointed a major-general in the
regular army, 185 — at the head
of the " Southern Department,"
treats with the Indians, 186,
187 — accepts a gift of land from
the Indians, 188 — makes his
head-quarters at Mobile, 190 —
repairs and garrisons Fort
Bowyer, proceeds to gather an
array, 191 — meditates on a raid
into Florida, writes to the Sec-
retary of War for a hint, 195,
196, 197 — his sharp correspon-
dence with the Governor of
Florida, 197, 198^ — appeals to the
Louisianians, 207 — gathers a con-
siderable force at Mobile, deter-
mines to enter Florida, 208 — ap-
pears at Pensacola with his
army, 209, 210, 211— drives the
British out of Florida, 212 — goes
to New Orleans, 213 — his great
exertions, 215 — goes down the
river to Fort St. Philip, visits
Lake Pontchartrain and other
avenues of approach, 21() — his
activity and power, takes abso-
lute control of New Orleans,
219, 220, 221— suspends the writ
of habeas corpus, sends the judge
out of the city, 221 — addresses
the people and soldiers, 222 — his
negro soldiers, 224 — his appear-
ance and force as a soldier, 225 —
declares by his great oath that
the British should not sleep on
our soil, marshals his motley
army, 230, 231 — his army compar-
ed with that of England, 231 , 232—
fights the British on the night of
the 23d of December, 234, 235,
336 — continues to fortify, aban-
dons the cotton bales, 240, 241 —
loses the benefit of a good story,
241 — strengthens his position,
245 — whips the British on the
28th of December, 1814, 247—
his course with the peojjle of
New Orleans, 248 — shuts out
the Legislature, 248 — prepares
to have a holiday review,
which never takes place, re-
pels the British on New Year's,
249, 250, 251, 252— waits, and
watches, 254 — prepares for the
final conflict, 255, 256, 257 —
grants an armistice, 264 — his
874
INDEX.
losses, 265 — attempts to harass
the British, 267 — enters New
Orleans in a blaze of glory, 268 —
269, 278 — receives the news of
peace, 270 — thanked by the
States, by Congress, 271 — his
farewell to the army, 272 — his
troubles in closing affairs in
New Orleans, "muzzles the
press," 274, 275, 276, 277— diffi-
culty with Judge Hall, 276, 277,
278, 279 — his reception at Nash-
ville, 280 — delayed by Blenner-
hassett, 279 — becomes the "Hero
of New Orleans," 280 — his army
and officers at New Orleans,
283, 284 — his connection with
the mutiny and execution of the
Tennessee militia, 284, 285, 286,
287, 288, 289— influence of the
battle of New Orleans on his ad-
vancement, 290, 291— at Nash-
ville, admires Bonaparte, takes
a triumph, 291, 292, 293— becomes
a candidate for the Presidency,
293, 294— treats with the Indians,
293 — his Monroe letters and
their use in making him Presi-
dent, 294— does not put in prac-
tice his ad\ace to Monroe, 295 —
he sets aside the War Depart-
ment, his famous military order,
296, 297— his best letters, 296—
his correspondence with Gen-
eral Scott, wants to fight, 298—
his difficulty with Governor
Adair, 307 — his impolitic course,
308 — ordered to Florida, calls
for volunteers, 312 — sets out on
his famous Seminole campaign,
313— announces a new doctrine,
314 — his correspondence with
the Governor of Georgia, 314,
315, 316, 317 — rebuilds Negro
Fort, his order to McKeever,
322, 323 — appears with his army
at St. Marks, 325— takes the post,
hangs two Indian chiefs, 326 —
destroys Suwanee, 327 — captures
Arbuthnot and Ambrister, 327,
328 — marches to Pensacola, his
report, 328 — returns to Tennes-
see, 335 — his wonderful course
in Florida, drives the Nation to
the verge of war, his defense,
336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342,
343, 344, 345, 346, 347 — visits
New York, 344 — his praises and
flatteries, 344, 345 — begins his
quarrel with Clay and Calhoun,
345, 346 — negotiates with the
Indians, resigns his commission
in the army, 348 — his military
ser^■ices, 349 — appointed Gover-
nor of Florida, 349, 350 — his
authority, how he used it, 355,
356 — falls in with Henry M.
Brackenridge, his quarrel with
Callava and Judge Fromentin,
357, 358, 359— his defense, 360—
his disappointments in Florida
and their causes, 362 — his opinion
of Mr. Adams's defense of his
course in Florida, 362, 363 — re-
signs and returns to Nash^alle,
363 — builds the new Hermitage,
entertains La Fayette, 364 — of-
fered the mission to Mexico, 364,
565 — writes to Mr. Livingston
about the Presidency, 365 — be-
comes a candidate for the Presi-
dency, how it was done, 366,
367, 368 — becomes a United
States Senator, 368 — his sen^-
ices, his votes, his tariff Anews,
his Coleman letter, 370, 371,
373 — publishes his early patriotic
Monroe letters, 374 — nominated
for the Presidency, 375 — his con-
duct during the campaign. 376,
377 — makes friends with General
Scott and Thomas H. Benton,
378, 379— his electoral vote, 380—
fails in the House, 381, 382 — his
disai)pointment, starts the story
of "fraud and corruption," 382,
INDEX.
875
383, 3R4, 585, 386— his part in this
story, 387, 554 — again a candi-
date for the Presidency, who led
in the movement, 388 — his resig-
nation as Senator, 388 — declines
to visit Kentucky, 389 — goes to
celebrate the 8th of January at
New Orleans, 390 — his honors,
391 — in the campaign of 1828,
392, 393 — his election to the
Presidency, 393 — his journey to
Washington, 393, 394 — his reply
to the election committee, 394^
the public misconception of,
396, 397 — his Inaugural Address
in 1829, 397, 400— he begins the
work of partisan "reform" or
corruption, 400, 401, 409, 410—
he strikes the previous Admin-
istration, 400 — organizes his Cab-
inet, 405 — authors of his Inaugu-
ral, his friends, 406 — takes
possession of the White House,
starts his Administration, 407,
408 — introduces the new doc-
trine, " To the victor belongs the
spoils," 409 — what his " reform,"
meant, 410 — appoints members
of Congress, 410 — recalls Gen-
eral Harrison, 411 — his course,
413, 414 — his appointments re-
jected, number of his remoA'als,
414 — his Eaton scandal, 415, 416,
417, 418 — his first annual mes-
sage, 419, 445, 446, 447— defends
himself beforehand, 445 — strikes
at his enemies, 446 — makes his
first thrust at the P>ank, 447 —
enraged at the course of the Sen-
ate, talks about it, 448 — his views
of the duties of Congress, 449 — de-
clines to interfere in support of
the dignity of the Government,
453 — vetoes the Maysville bill,
454 — ends the dream of internal
improvements, 455 — his opposi-
tion to nullification, 457, 458,
459, 580, 581, 582, 613, 614 —
utters his most memorable patri-
otic sentiment, 458 — begins his
quarrel with Calhoun, 458 — his
most statesman-like utterance,
his greatest deed, 459 — beginning
of his quarrel with the Bank,
460, 461 — movement to jjrepare
for his second term, 464, 465,
466 — his personal foundation for
his quarrel with Mr. Calhoun,
his bad conduct, 471, 472, 473,
474 — establishes a new organ,
474, 475 — his second annual mes-
sage, 477, 513 — his part in schem-
ing for the Presidency, 514 — his
Unit Cabinet, dissolved, 515,
516, 517, 518, 519 — appoints a
new Cabinet, 517 — his " Kitchen
Cabinet," 519, 521— his tight for
Isaac Hill, 521 — his third annual
message, 522, 539 — his great feat
of kiUing the Bank, 542, 578,
626, 631, 681, 682— authorship of
his Bank veto message, 542,
543 — protects the uncivilized
conduct of Sam Houston, 548 —
his fourth annual message, 559,
578, 579 — his nullification pro-
clamation, 582 — wanted to hang
Mr. Calhoun, 580 — sends troops
to South Carolina, 605 — makes
the whole country feel the effect
of his temper and quarrels,
613 — charges against in the race
of 1832, 616, 617 — re-elected
President, his vote, 618, 619 — his
second inaugural, 619, 622 — his
address at the grave of IMary
AVashington, 623 — his nose pulled
at Alexandria, 623 — changes in
his Cabinet, 623 — makes a tour
to the North, becomes an LL. D.,
tries some Latin, 624, 625 — his
monetary system, 627 — founda-
tion of his cry against the Bank,
627, 628, 631, 632, his contest
with his Cabinet, Mr. Duane,
and the Senate on the Bank,
876
INDEX.
634 to 652, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678,
679, 681, 682— his fifth annual
message, 654, 673, 674 — his
pocket veto, 674 — yields to the
Senate, 674 — enraged at Clay and
Calhoun, 677 — petitioned to re-
store the deposits, 677, 678 —
protests against the acts of the
Senate, rejected, 679— his star
declines and rises, effects of his
policy, 681, 682 — his sixth an-
nual message, 683, 715, 716 —
threatens France, 716, 717 — set-
tles the old claims against
France, 717, 718 — liquidates the
public debt, 718, 719, 720— at-
tempt upon his life, 720 — his
seventh annual message, 723,
761 — his course wdth the Aboli-
tionist mails in the South, 761 —
appoints Mr. Taney to the Su-
preme Bench, his efforts to pay
the public debts, begins the
Seminole War, 762, 763 — his part
in the Presidential race of 1836,
764 — his last annual message,
765, 795 — defends his course in
oflBce, 796, 797 — renews his quar-
rel with ]\Ir. Calhoun, 797 — tri-
umphs finally over the Senate
in the expunging act, 797, 798 —
his last " pocket veto," 798 — at-
tends Mr. Van Buren's inaugu-
ration, 799— his Administration,
795, 796, 797, 799, 834, 836, 837,
838, 839, 840, 841, 843, 844— his
Farewell Address, 800 — his life
at the Hermitage, 819, 820— ex-
erts himself in belialf of his
friends, 821— he joins Church,
his good reasons for a hell, his
religion, his will, his reverence,
822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 862— his
greatest achievement. 826 — his
views of slavery, holds to the old
story of bargain and corru])tion,
helps Mr. Kendall on his biogra-
phy, 827 — would have hanged Mr.
Calhoun, 827, 828 — his disease,
his death, 828, 829, 831, 832— his
tomb described, 829, 830— his
posthumous standing, 833 — his
way of conquering enemies,
836 — meets Mrs. Robards, his
conduct towards her and her
husband, 845, 846 — his marriage,
second marriage to his wife, 846,
847, 848 — his adopted children,
848, 849— his dispute with the
Rev. O. Jennings on the teach-
ings of Swedenborg, believes in
and defends the great philoso-
pher and seer, 862, 863, 864.
Jackson, General — letters of, to
Mr. Kendall, .30 — to Thomas
Swann, 69 — to Governor Blount,
115, 117, 123, 125, 147, 181, 210—
to the Rev. Gideon Blackburn,
144 — to Carroll, 153 — to the Gov-
ernor of St. Marks, 325 — to Mr.
Livingston, 365, 604 — to Dr.
Coleman, 371— to G. W. Camp-
bell, 88— to General Scott, 298,
301 — to Governor Rabun, 316,
319— to William J. Duane, 639,
649 — to Commodore Elliott, 831.
Jackson, Andrew, Jr. — becomes an
occiipant of the White House,
407 — become the son of General
Jackson by adoption, 848 — his
treatment of the slaves at the
Hermitage, 856 — his marriage,
residence at the White House,
859— his death, 860.
Jackson, Mrs. Andrew, Jr. — prays
with the General, 825 — becomes
mistress of the Hermitage, her
residence at the White House,
859— joins the Church with the
General, 859.
Jackson, Rachel — was Mrs. Ro-
bards, marries General Jackson,
45, 846 — her friendship for
"dear parson Blackburn," 145 —
goes to New Orleans, 279 — letter
from, 350, 354 — her character,
INDEX.
877
355 — her life in Florida, 362,
363 — goes to AVashington City,
380 — visits New Orieans, 390 —
assaults upon her character, de-
fended by William B. Lewis,
392— her death, 393, 852, 853—
her appearance in Tennessee,
her marriage to Robards, 845 —
her innocence, 840, 847, 848 —
she had no children, 848 — her
character, habits, 849, 850 — visits
Washington City, honors paid
her, 851 — her broken heart, 852 —
honors to her memory, 853,
854 — her needless concern about
the General's religious views,
862— its result, 863, 864.
Jackson, Fort — its name and loca-
tion, 175 — in command of
General Pinekney, 180 — treaty of,
187, 188.
January, 8th of — a memorable
day, becomes a partisan anni-
versary, 290, 718 — called next in
importance to the 4th of July,
719.
Jefferson, Thomas ^ — his view of
Jackson and his conduct in Con-
gress, 52, 56 — gives a doubtful
"toast" in honor of General
Jackson, 292 — gives Kentucky
the dogmas of State Rights and
Nullication, 456 — his birthday
turned to the pyrposes of the
dangerous doctrine, 457 — the
difficulty of making him respon-
sible for the doctrine of nullifi-
cation and secession, 581.
Jennings, The Rev. O. — discusses
the doctrines and character of
Swedenborg ineffectually with
General Jackson, 862, 863.
Johnson, Colonel Richard M. —
member of Congress, a go-be-
tween, tries to patch the Presi-
dent's Cabinet, 466, 467 — goes to
investigate the Bank of the
United States, 541 — candidate
for the Vice-Presidency, 652 —
gives a sentiment, 719.
Jones, Lieutenant Thomas Ap-
Catsby — in command on Lake
Borgne, 216 — his little fleet
pressed, 218 — defeated in battle,
218, 219.
K
Keane, General Edward — in com-
mand of the British expedition,
217 — reaches the Mississippi, and
outgenerals Jackson, 228, 229 —
his temporary success, 232 — his
losses in the battle of the 23d,
his mistake, 239, 242, 24.3— his
command in the battle of the
8th, 258— wounded, 261.
Kendall, Amos — his opinion about
the wealth of Andrew Jackson,
Sen., 17 — his belief about Gen-
eral Jackson's birthplace, 23 —
his story of the duel, 65, 66 — dis-
covers an editor for General
Jackson, 475 — becomes head of
the "Kitchen Cabinet," 519—
supports the President in the
Bank fight, 634, 638— sent to con-
sult with the banks, 645 — be-
comes Postmaster-General, 721,
761 — writes a biography of Gen-
eral Jackson, 827 — his views of
Jackson, 836, 840 — reasons for
his failure to complete his
" Life of Jackson," his views of
historic justice and accuracy,
855.
Kentuckians— their condition on
arriving at New Orleans, what
was done for them, 254 — some
of them sent to the east side of
the Mississippi, 255— constitute
a reserve force, 256, 257— charge
of cowardice against, 307.
La Fayette, General — becomes
the guest of General Jackson, 364.
878
INDEX.
Lafitte, Jean—" The Pirate of the
Gulf," his character and opera-
tions, 200, 201, 246— visited by a
British officer, offered a commis-
sion, 202 — lays the case before
Governor Claiborne, his defense,
203, 204 — his treatment, his good
services, his evils, his end, 205,
206 — offers his service? to Gen-
eral Jackson, 222 — looks after
the British at the entrance to
Barataria Bay, 245.
Lambert, General John — arrives
with an additional force, 258 —
takes command of the British
army, asks a truce, 264 — escapes
with his defeated Britons, 267 —
' goes into camp with the remain-
der of the army, 269 — captures
Fort Bowyer, 270 — receives news
of the Treaty of Ghent, 270 — his
character and good fortune, 282.
Lawrence, Major William — in com-
mand at Fort Bowyer, jirepares
to hold the place, 191 — whips
the British, 192, 193.
Lee, Henry — the writer of some
of General Jackson's letters, 27 —
writes the General's Seminole
AVar defense, 347 — writes a part
of the Inaugural, dies without
his reward, 406.
Lewis, William B.— the writer of
many of General Jackson's fine
letters and addresses, 27 — accom-
panies the expedition to Natchez,
102 — has General Jackson elected
Senator in Congress, 367 — writes
General Jackson's famous Mon-
roe letters of 1816 and 1817, 374—
defends Mrs. Jackson, 392 — ac-
companies Jackson to Washing-
ton, accepts an office, his char-
acter and friendship, 406, 407 —
induces General Jackson to pro-
vide for a successor, devises a
plan for the second term, 465,
466 — opposes the President's
Bank views, 634 — defends ^Irs.
Jackson, 852.
Lincoyer — a baby captured at Tal-
luschatches, 119 — cared for by
General Jackson, 119, 120 — his life
at the Hermitage, his death, 120.
Livingston, Edward — attorney for
Lafitte, 203 — has confidence in
Lafitte, 205^translates General
Jackson's sjieech, 213 — calls a
meeting for defense, 214 — gives
his opinion against suspending
the writ of habeas coi-pus, 220 —
reads addresses to the citizens
and soldiers, 222 — makes a good
suggestion to a cotton-planter,
242— goes to the British to ar-
range an exchange of prisoners,
270 — draws up Jackson's de-
fense, 279 — discovers a President,
366— becomes Secretary of State,
517 — did not write the Bank
veto message, 542 — real author
of the Nullification Proclama-
tion, 003, 604 — becomes Minister
to France, 623 — his course, 716,
717.
Lockyer, Captain — visits Barataria
in his vessel, makes an offer to
Lafitte, 202 — his papers go to the
Governor of Louisiana, 203 —
whips the Americans on Lake
Borgne, 218, 219.
Louisiana — course of her Legisla-
ture, its composition, 214 — course
of her first governor, 214 — char-
acter of her Legislature, 219,
220, 254— its acts, 221, 254— her
State House closed, 254 — her
Legislature does no honor to
General Jackson, 217 — her hon-
ors to him, 390, 391 .
Louisiana, The — in the river below
New Orleans, 271 — completes her
armament and takes a position,
244 — tries her guns on the Red
Coats, 249 — escapes the enemy
in the battle of the 8th, 263.
INDEX.
879
M
Madison, President — recommends
Congress to confirm the gift of
land made by the Indians to
General Jackson, 189 — speaks
in defense of himself and Mr.
Jefferson, 581.
Man, Savage and Civilized — a
comparison, 107, 108 — revenge
with, 110— habits of, 181.
Manxique, Gonzales — Governor of
Florida, in league with the In-
dians, 196.
ISIarcy, William L. — pnts forward
a new doctrine, the spoils, 617.
Maurequez — new Governor of
Florida, his correspondence and
dealings with General Jackson,
197, 198 — declines to surrender
Pensacola, 209 — sues for mercy,
210.
jSIayo, Robert his charges against
General Jackson, 834, 885.
McAfee, R. B. — an error in his his-
tory assailed by General Jack-
son, .307.
Mcintosh, General William — a
Creek chief, joins General Jack-
son in Florida, 313 — his origin,
character, services to the United
States, 321 — his murder, 321,
322 — whips McQueen, 327 — was
the hero of Jackson's Seminole
campaign, 343.
McKeever, Captain — brings sup-
plies to Jackson, goes to St.
Marks, 322, 323 — sails under the
British flag, captures Hillis Hajo,
324.
McLean, John — under ^Ir. Adams,
his reprehensible conduct, 401,
402 — becomes Postmaster-Gen-
eral, declines to serve General
Jackson. 402 — appointed to the
Supreme Bench, 403, 410 — de-
• clines the Anti-ilasonic nomina-
tion for the Presidency, 550.
McLane, Louis — Minister to
England, 516 — becomes Secretary
of the Treasury, 517 — becomes
Secretary of State, 023 — investi-
gates the Bank, and finds no flaw,
633^ — would not order the re-
moval of the deposits, changed
to the State Department therefor,
633.
McNairy, John — appointed Judge
of the Western District of North
Carolina, 41 — member of the
first Tennessee constitutional
convention, 49.
Message — President Jackson's first
annual, 419 — his second annual,
477, 513 — his third annual, 522,
5.39— his fourth annual, 559— his
fifth annual, 654 — his sixth an-
nual, 683 — his seventh annual,
723 — his eighth annual message,
765.
Militia — their conduct and conflict
with General Jackson, 129 to
168 — causes of their course, 129,
133, 138, 139, 140, 152, 168— ex-
ecution of the Tennessee, 284,
285, 286, 287, 289.
Mims, Fort — location and name of,
108 — massacre of the whites in,
109, 110.
Mobile — its location and condition,
Jackson makes it his head-quar-
ters, 307.
Monroe, President — gets advice of
General Jackson as to the Cab-
inet appointments, 294 — Jack-
son's fictitious influence over
him, 296 — denied giving Jackson
authority for his Florida cam-
paign, 341— his reasons for ap-
pointing General Jackson first
Governor of Florida, 349, 350.
Morgan, General — commands on
the east side of the Mississipi)i,
255 — sends to Jackson for aid,
256 — his force, 257 — whipped by
the British, 262, 263.
Mutiny — cause of, in Jackson's
880
INDEX.
army, first conflict in, 129, 130 —
temporary settlement of, 131 —
its movers conquered, 132, 133,
134— of Tennessee militia, 284,
285, 286, 287, 288, 289.
N
Nichols, Colonel Edward — ap-
pears at Fort Bow yer with a
body of English and Indians,
191 — publishes his purposes in
Florida, his proclamation to the
people of Louisiana and Ken-
tucky, 199 — addresses his insig-
nificant army, 200 — driven out
of Florida, 212 — establishes the
Indians and negroes on the Ap-
palachicola, takes Francis to
England, 310.
Nickajack — expedition against,
who composed it, 46.
Negroes — made soldiers by Gen-
eral Jackson, 224 — their conduct
at New Orleans, 225.
Nullification — practically exempli-
fied in Georgia, 452, 453 — an-
nounced and defended, 456, 457 —
throttled by two giants, 456, 457,
458— becomes a party and sec-
tional issue, 550 — General Jack-
son's fight against, 580, 581, 582—
proclamation against, 582 — com-
promise with, 611, 612, its tri-
umph, 614, 615.
Orleans, New— receives the bene-
fits of Lafitte's " piracy," 201,
246— saved by the night battle
of the 23d of December, 240—
intense excitement in, 248 — her
citizens visit the camp of Jack-
son on New Year's day, 251 —
her women aid the meanly clad
Kentuckians, 254— rejoices, 2()8,
269— her honors to General Jack-
son, ?/.n.
Overton, Thomas — becomes a
figure in the political schemes at
Washington, 465 — designated for
chairman of the Jackson con-
vention, 552 — believed in Jack-
son's religion, glories in his
vanquishing the anti-Sweden-
borgian, preacher, 863, 864.
Packenham, Sir Edward — the re-
sponsible commander of the
British army, 232 — takes com-
mand on the Mississippi, 242 —
his efi'orts to destroy the Ameri-
can gunboats, 244 — his conduct
in the battle of the 8th of Jan-
uary, 260— his death, 260— his
remains, 265.
Parton, James — describes the fu-
neral of General Jackson's
father, 20 — describes the birth-
place of General Jackson, 22 —
says the General had the itch
when he was a boy, 23 — gives an
account of the Dickinson duel,
72, 75 — letter quoted from, 350,
351— credited, 466 — gives a strik-
ing example of General Jack-
son's posthumous fame, 833 —
his view of historic justice and
truth, 855 — his story of a pro-
posed picture of Jackson, 859.
Patterson, Captain Daniel T. —
breaks up " The Pirates' Re-
treat," 205^— puts a force on
Lake Borgne, 216 — his two war
vessels on the Mississippi, 217 —
unable to man his vessels, 220 —
sends a flag of truce to the
British fleet, 226 — begins the
battle of the night of the 23d,
234, 235 — erects a battery on the
right side of the river, 245 — joins
in the aflfair of the 1st of Jan-
uary, 251 — his jiart in the battle
of the 8th of January, 263, 265..
Pierce, Franklin — appears in Con-
gress, 654.
INDEX.
881
Pierre, ]Major — bears General
Jackson's flag and message to
the (Toveruor of Florida, 20H.
Pinckney, General Thomas — takes
charge of the forces at Fort
Jackson, 180 — celebrates the
close of the Creek War, 181.
Pipkin, Colonel P. — gives an ac-
count of General Jackson's part
in the execution of the Tennes-
see militia, 284, 285.
Pensacola — a British and Indian
rendezvous, 191, 195 — taken by
General Jackson, 209— virtually
under the British, 310 — again
visited by General Jackson, 328.
Percy, Captain, W. H. — attacks
Fort BoM'yer, defeated, 192 — of-
fers Lafitte a commission, 202—
carries the British garrison away
from Fort Barrancas, 211 — his
small force unites with the main
fleet, 217.
Philip, Fort St. — its location, its
defensive state, 216.
Polk, James K. — elected Speaker,
723 — favors annexation, 821.
Pontchartrain, Lake — location and
importance of, 216.
Eeports— Coffee's, of the battle of
Talluschatches, 117 — Jackson's,
of Talladega, 123— Floyd's, of the
battle of Autossee, 140 — Jack-
son's, of the battles of Emuckfau
and Enotachopco, 154 — Floyd's,
of the battle of Callibee Swamps,
164 — Jackson's, of the battle of
Tohopeka, 171^Lawrence's, of
Fort Bowyer, 193 — Jackson's, of
his raid into Florida and capture
of Pensacola, 210 — Jackson's, of
the battle of the night of the
23d, 236, 237— Jackson's, of his
Seminole expedition, 328, 329,
330, 331, 332.
Bipley, General E. W. — disobeys
56-
the War Department, pleases
General Jackson, 297.
Kobards, Lewis — marries Rachel
Donelson, 845 — his flight from
Nashville, applies for a divorce,
846, 847 — obtains a divorce, 848.
Rush, Richard — his part in the de-
fense of Jackson, and preventing
war with England, 344.
Sargent, Nathan ("Oliver Old-
school") — his views of Jackson
and his Administration, 835, 836.
Seminoles — their origin, character,
and leaders, 309, 310, 311— their
strength, 322— General Jackson
visits* them, their people killed,
country laid waste, 324 — two of
their chiefs hanged, 324, 326 —
defeated by Mcintosh, their sub-
stance and homes destroyed,
327.
Sergeant, John — nominated for the
Vice-Presidency, 551 — votes for,
618, 619.
Sevier, General John — appoints
General Jackson to the Superior
Bench, defeated as general of
militia, 58 — accused of fraud,
fights General Jackson, 59, 60.
Scandal, The Eaton — its causes, its
character, its influence, 415, 416,
417— results of, 515, 517.
Schools — in the early days, now
and then, a picture, 36, 37.
Scott, General Winfield — criticises
General Jackson and is taken
up for it, 298 — his letters to
Jackson, 298, 304, 306— his own
bad conduct, 306— his brief, omi-
nous letter to .Jackson, 378.
Spain — her bad government in
Florida, 309 — her governor at
Pensacola gets a letter from Gen-
eral Jackson, 311 — invasion of
her territory by the United
States, 325, 326.
-G
882
INDEX.
State Eights— illustrated, 452, 453—
dogma of, announced and de-
fended, assailed and stabbed,
456, 457, 458— receives the first
blow from General Jackson, 837.
St. Marks— captured by General
Jackson, 325, 326.
Stevenson, Andrew — elected
Speaker of the House, 419— re-
elected, 522, 654— resigns to be-
come Minister to England, re-
jected and confirmed, 680.
Strother, Fort— built on the Coosa,
122 — condition of the army at,
127— mutiny at, 129, 132— new
recruits reach, 154, 166.
Suwanee — Indian^town, destroyed
by General Jackson, 327.
Swartwout, Samuel — gets a letter
from General Jackson on the
bargain and corruption, pub-
lishes the letter, 384 — w^rites a
letter, gets an office, 412, 413.
Swedenborg, Emanuel— his teach-
ings attract the attention of
General Jackson, 862 — his teach-
ings claimed by the General to
be Divine, 863 — strongly de-
fended by Jackson, the way he
predicted mainly for the spread
of his teachings, 864.
Talladega — location of, 122, 123 —
battle of, 123, 126, 127.
Talluschatches — location of, battle
of, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120.
Taney, Roger B. — becomes Attor-
ney-General, 517 — becomes Sec-
retary of the Treasury, rejected
in the Senate, 634.
Tariff— question of, new turn in,
579 — new nullification compro-
mise of, 606 to 612— in 1828, a
just cause of complaint at the
South, 612, 613.
Tazewell, L. W. — his address to
General Jackson, 394.
Tecumseh — his family, character,
visits the South, his work, 105,
106, 107 — his scheme wants the
mark of greatness, 106.
Tennessee — is the Western Dis-
trict of North Carolina, 41 —
forms a constitution, becomes the
sixteenth State, 49 — extreme re-
publicanism in, at the outset, 51 —
becomes the devoted patron of
Jackson, 103 — prepares to avenge
Fort Mims, and carry on the
war against the Creeks, 111,
112 — starts the movement to
make Jackson President, 367,
368 — her Legislature renomi-
nates him, 388 — her Legislature
buys the Hermitage, 861.
Thomas, General James — arrives
at Jackson's camp with an army
of unarmed Kentuckians, 254 —
taken ill, 256.
Thornton, Colonel W. — British of-
ficer commanding on east side
of the river, 258 — whips Mor-
gan and Patterson, 263, 264.
Titles — General Jackson's attach-
ment to, 115 — party principles
involved in, 116.
Townsend, George A. — describes
the Hermitage and the tomb of
General Jackson, 829, 830.
Van Buren, Martin — becomes
Secretary of State, 405— becomes
Jackson's model, selected for the
succession, 471, 519 — resigns his
place in the Cabinet, 515 — sent
as Minister to England, 516,
518 — rejected by the Senate,
540 — nominated for the Vice-
Presidency, 552 — elected, 618 —
enters upon his office, 619 — nom-
inated for the Presidency, 722 —
his inauguration, 799.
Villere, Major Gabriel — performs
■ a daring feat, and bears the
INDEX.
883
tidings of the presence of the
British to General Jackson, 229,
230 — acts as a guide to the
army, 231.
W
Wak, Ckeek — causes of, 105, 106,
107, 108 — beginning of, 109 —
events in, and character of, 108
to 189.
War of 1812 — operations on the
Gulf of Mexico, Fort Boyer, 191,
192, 193.
War, Black Hawk — in the summer
of 1832, 557 — some account of,
557, 558.
Weathersford, William— The In-
dian chief commanding in the
Fort Mims battle, 109, 110— com-
mands the Indians at Callibee,
and claims a victory, 165 — sketch
of, 176 to 180— his surrender,
178— his death, 180.
Webster, Daniel — declares the su-
premacy of the Government and
assails nullification, 456, 457.
Whigs — arise in 1832, party foun-
dations, 550, 554 — their course
in the campaign of 1832, 554,
556, 557.
White, Hugh L. — sends his Nick-
ajack claim to Congress, 50 — se-
cures the 39th regular regiment,
166 — elected president of the
Senate, 558. I
AMiite, General— proposes to join
Jackson, fails, 122, 123— destroys
the Ilillibee towns, 127, 128.
White House — how General Jack-
son took charge of, 407 — scandal
in, 517 — its occupants under
General Jackson, 857, 859, 860,
861 — children born in, 858.
Wilkinson, General James— stops
Jackson at Natchez, detested by
Jackson, 101.
Williams, Edwin — quoted, 605,
606 — his account of the conven-
tions of 1835, 721, 722.
Wirt, William — defends the In-
dians against the injustice of
Georgia, 452 — nominated for the
Presidency by the xVnti-Masons,
550— votes for, 618, 619.
Wise, Henry A. — describes a won-
derful religious discussion be-
tween General Jackson and Mr.
Jennings, 862, 863, 864.
Woodbine, Captain — commands
the Indians against Fort Bowyer,
192 — tries to make soldiers of
Indians, 202.
Woodbury, Levi — becomes Secre-
tary of the Navy, 517 — becomes
Secretary of the Treasury, 633.
Woods, John — his case, 167, 168 —
his trial and execution, 168,
169.
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