Newspaper Page Text
4
I The Life and Times
I OF *
| THOMAS JEFFERSOM
* Being the First Part of a History of the United States
-I- Copyright, 1903, by That. E. Watittn—Jill Right! Reiervod
CHAPTER XI.I.
During this period of madness the fed
eralists took advantage of the opportu
nity to imitate Great Britain in another
direction. William Pitt had inaugurated
a reign of terror in England itself, crush
ing out all freedom of speech and of the
press. Over life and liberty the govern
ment exorcised almost despotic sway.
The federalists determined to enact ami
enforce similar laws here. There was
too much liberty of the press, too much
license of the tongue; republican ideas
w re a menace anil democratic dema
gogues must be put down. The outcome
of this demand was the alien and sedi
tion laws. Their essence was that for
eigners could live here only at the pt< si
dent’s pleasure, and that American citi
zens could not speak or write theii po
litieal sentiments without inverting t n
dangers of fine and imprisonment.
Had these famous enactments been
able to maintain their ground,
government would indeed n.i ''■ '*
an end. That the purpose of the all o s
of this legislation was the c<»mph » n'■'
throw of democracy was 11 ~U ‘
wards by the programme wlmh
ton mapped out. He adiise.i .bat a a,
standing arm; be maintained, that the
jurisdiction of the federal courts be ex
tended; that aliens objectionable to .he
government be sent away; that tb« I
blent be given power to appoint peace
officers in each county; that the s ares
should be ditided into small judicial dis
tricts with a federal judge In each ap
pointed by the president, and that larg
states be cut up into several divisions so
that they might be more effectually con
trolled by the general gov-rumen’
Against the mighty effort* ted'-ra srri
was making toward centralization .Jef
ferson and Madison hurled ill- ecblnatcd
Kentucky and Virgin! i resol r
Stripped of al! verbal drop-rv. th- do
trine set forth in these pap■ r.« wa> t.i’
!f congress made laws w.m h J
the compact between the -t.it-- 111,1
law's were not binding.
Thev set forth the Jeffers, mian t’ l '*'”' .
to-wit. that the union w..s th- result Os
voluntary < mipad bHw.-n froe. inde
pendent states; that (!”'■
pressed in writing iln* '•
granting to the g-n ral government and
tint the go’uial government ta-i-”
fore one of limit'd powers th- limit ■ be
in- prescribed in I’-'lf
For congress to go beyond th' ■•' limits
was usurpation.
It was during this period of excitement
when further ern rom-bm -nts upon the
power of the sta’. = was feared that \ ir
ginia, ah John Randolph d' ared. built
the great armory in Richmond in order I
that she might be prepared to defend her :
rights. 1 I
The opinion which Edmund Randolph ;
gave Ma ii mi »n this v. i question of ,
nullification is wry striking '
Randolph cor-.-d.-.i the; there mus
necessarily be. somewhere within the na- (
tion, an ultimate wv.-rci-n powt which .
could veto t’.i ■ usurpations of ;. lawless I
congress. He nrgu- d th.il the p- ople in >
each state in it the legi.'lot ir. i could de- l
ciare an uu -on.-'fiutiunal .aw lir.l and I
void, and that when thre--fourths of the I
ss th#
government would b» ov* rwiic-ned.
As vic - Vro'i'leii' Mr. Jefferson - post
tion was comparatively hupp' His du- j
ties were not ardit - is and his r’sponsi- ,
bilities were light > preside In the sen
ate. to prepare from his common
place book a ’ Manual of Parliamentary .
Practice;” to lo - p a close watch on (lie
movements of th- f-dvra lists, whila win
a judicious distribution of private let- ,
tors he kept the republicans in line—
these were tile easy tasks ot his period
of waiting for John Adams t. s ricin 1 his
vessel.
The salary of his office was w-i -m:"'
for read' cash was never too I
at Monticello. Where farming was ).;•
carious and hot:---building -lir-i.i
He was still at work on linn me. an
■which Mr. ’ ■ S says cost - - <
Fand and odd dollars.
His household Had now lost on- of its
treasur *- 1 , th ■ b. a tit . M- . >
married Iw i.* -sin, Jo— . 1 ;-p- -. mi
had gom ’■• : w home if Edgi-liil!
the v'- pr- si. ■- ' had in ide o'. - i tur- <
him seil iig ’-■ • u.k ur< itioii.- o;
dt.ility ami eon.id- . e. 'i ! ■ had w -ri.- <1
In harness together in th- early st ig-s
of the American struggle, had been con- ,
genial in Euro;.?. .i-.d M: J tt< rson, ’-in
most com diatory of men, wo »i.» have '■
been glad to r-.- me 'he o . fam!. >r iu
tercours. Mr V ..ms was not averse to
this. m-l M-. J-fferson’s advances cor- ;
dially and advised with him to the ■
Bending of > : v-.vs to Fran • Tiie presi- ;
dent was inc:; make up i non-
partisan ■: has-. .i-..t ■.. :a m • Mr. Mad
ison ns- ore- >f th.- rn -nt'.- .-. ills i-aui
n-t. however, oppos d c.h. threutened to
resign, carried tin r point-and tin s won
their first triumph over their president.
After this r- aliens btiw<»-n Mr.
Adams and Mr JciT-rson w-r • m-r-iy
formal As the p > icy of 'in- administra
tion developed it.-eif, Mr. .I-ff-rson’s po
sition .is i-.i-le- of op;-osi lion was
recognized. That bn would be tlie rival
candidate at the next el.--tion was i al-
Jzed by a'; partie- Th sag . of M-mi
ticelio, .-‘an-.i'ig the horizon from his
lofty outlo n -'-d fiiv political weather
p.s careful ■ s ,i.- r-‘< oided rain-fall,
snow-depth, and wind-cliange. Mr. i
Adams made n - n. 0,. which ids wary :
rival did nut .i; ” st -ly. The ini- !
proved plow turned Virginia sod. the new i
thresh took th" pirn e of hors.--hoop and ■
frails; the flowing p< n m-irk-d the lines I
of political battle, and his cone- I
rpondent-s tlir-.inrb.. , t the hind—the m--n ■
who guided r--;..ib: c.in legions in each
state- were pallet : dri.b din the art ot
separating political ch.-iff from wheat. I
During all the heat of licit pr- idontial
campaign Jeff-rson was- . ; d ami coura- .
genus. Not on. did he depart from
the even tenor of his way.
He entertained ; - fr>.- ever, and
not more s i He wrote .<-• opiously as
ever, not a pp: •■■■i:i I,'. - mor. so. lie was
as slent as ever under newspaper attacks;
and ail the tlvinders f N.-w England
preachers coi.ld ■■ k<cp him frem
going as usual, to h-.u Priestly, the Uni
tarian, o: ■ ould extort from him one
worn to n gili'e th. . .Ilion that he
was an ii.lid- l, and the father of mulatto
children
When Hnmi tor - frb-n.ts called him an
atheist in religion and i fanatic in polf
t; s he w.i- -ili'iil; «lu-ii he was accused
of denying th divinitr of Christ, he was
silent. Only om-< did in- over notice men
who abused him. -nd that was when
h,. w;-- charged .illi laving .-mbozzlcd
the property of the widow and orphan.
And his denial ot even tins foul state
ment was not wriHen for newspapers.
Historians Henry Adams, Henry Cabot
| Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt and other
writers who are modern outcroppings
of the old federalist vein, amuse one an
other by keeping alive the legend of Jef
ferson’s “timidity and vacillation.”
j Because he would not stoop to
. personal brawls, because lie would
i not lower himself to have a
• newspaper controversy with Hamilton,
: he has been pictured as a coward who
could be frightened from any position he
took and seared off from any route he
proposed to take. Political prejudice, par
tisan rancor, intemperate abuse could not
go much further than this in scouting
facts.
In his day. Mr. Jefferson combatted a
greater number of laws which were op
pressive, customs which were state, ten
dencies which were undemocratic and
lived opinions which were popular than
any other man in public life. He attack
ed systems of creeds where they were
most sensitive. He aroused vested inter
ests which were the most powerful, and
which were alarmed are the most vindic
tive.
Yet never once in all bls long life did
he falter, surrender or apostatize.
He took tin- unpopular side on slavery,
and held to it. He defl. d the religious
bigorty of bis times, and continued to
defy it. He challenged the. organized
power of land monopoly and class r .k.
in his own state and overthrew it He
dared to take issue with the great Wash
ington himself, in the .state where they
both lived, and into the ears of the dying
Washington rang the shouts of Jeffei
son’s victory as Virginia swung away
from federalism and marshaled her hosts
for Jefferson and democracy.
Do cowards raise and ride such storms
as these? , , ~
Do men who are "weak ami irresolute
pkm campaigns and win such IH
umphs as these?
One Is not much surprised that Henry
Adams should preserve in his books the
hereilitarv hatred of the Adamses for
Thomas Jefferson, but when Theodora
Roosevelt. In Ills “Winning of the West,"
refers to < ur great leaders as "politicians
of the Infamous stripe of Thomas Jefl.-i
son and James Madison” and alludes to
Jefferson, time and again, as timid, weak
and vacillating one Is pained, disappoint
ed. discouraged.
j Politicians o-f the infamous stripe of
j Thomas Jefferson!
I W.-ak, timid, vacillating! Was he, in
i deed, so despicable?
I Comparisons, if odious, are sometimes
i the only methods of measurement It
> So happens Hint since Mr. Roosevelt s
: book was written he himself has assumed
' the role of a great reformer. In New
i York state he was given power and op
-1 portunity to effect reforms, to destroy the
' wicked and to purify the political at
: rnosph'-ri . In bls state of New y ork he
had just the same chances to combat
I hoary wrongs as Jefferson enjoyed in
I Virginiia.
i As of the 1 nlte.l Sintis. ■ o,
■‘ Mr. Roosevelt has had the widest field.
the largest ojSportnnity to show his eour-
■ age and his ability.
i There was class greed to curb, as in
i Jefferson's day.
j Common humanity, sorely oppressed.
! called for a champion as it did in Jeffer
; son’s day.
The weak, trampled upon by the strong.
! cried aloud fur mercy- as In Jefferson's
'day.
Is Mr. Roosevelt a "politician of ths
i Infamous stripe?”
By no means.
Is he "weak, timid, vacillating?'
Fat from It.
1 Then, where are his trophies, such as
Jefferson won?
What battles has he fought for the
people-such as Jefferson fought? What
• ill-I wtongs li-is lie abolished, what
nl,!- - has he remedied, what evil laws
ms 1,,. repealed, what, unjust systems lias
-. reformed, what victim of social and
.trial tyranny has he freed.’
Where has lie confri nted class despot
ism and. with battle ax in hand, said;
i ' Turn loose!”
Y s. comparisons are odious.
Mr. RO‘-sevelt will be fortunate It. after
*: i reign Is over, posterity shall iorget
that he pilloried Thomas Jefferson as "a
0.,!1t i'-tan of the infamous stripe.'
CHAPTER XLH.
It would be difficult to name a period
In which partisan rancor raged in greater
violence. Nobody escaped, and slander
recognized no limit. George Washington,
was denounced as a defaulter, a man who
! had debauched his country, the tool of
: Great Britain, and the dupe of Hamil
ton; James Monroe was abused as a
fool an I n bribetaker; and Jefferson waa
as.-uiled as an atheist, a robber of the
widow and orphan, a fattier ot mulatto
children, an enemy to law, order and
property. Ab to Hamilton, it became nec
essary to prove that he was not a eor
: pt treasurer; and he did it by confess
ing a filthy, disgraceful amour with a
married ’ffmian named Marla Reynolds.
Maria's husband was a party to the in
trigue, and Hamilton's own residence
was often the place of assignation.
Tills violence of political passion seems
to have had Its origin in the Jay treaty
excitement. Riotous crowds thronged the
streets of Philadelphia, New York and
other large cities. Jay was burned in
effigy, and Hamilton was stoned. Nothing
but the unwearied efforts ot the mi-rchant
! class, tho strength of Washington and
I the alarm which friends of the govern
ment began to feel for its very existence,
(ever turned the tide and rammed that
odious treaty down Hie throats of the
i people.
i President Adams was inclined to take
' himself as seriously as Washington had
: done; and to affect an attitude of state
. liness. In George Washing'toii, form and
' ceremony and a pose of loftiness were
1 more or less natural People conceded all
; that to so great a man. Back of him
,-ind whatever be might choose to do was
i a record which said. "It Is my- right.”
Therefore, when George Washington's
cream-colored coach and his six mugnitl
; c. ut prancing horses passed through the
streets of Philadelphia, with liveried while
, servants, outriders, etc . nobody audibly
: lift'd the voice of lamentation. George
i Washington and “I.adv Wasbingtoii”
’were unique, a law unto themseives, a
■noble pair at whom “tlithy democrats"
must not rail -exceptHn newspapers, pli
cate letters and low-voiced conversation.
But when John Adams essayed to bend
' this particular bow of I'Jysses, the effect
' was not happy. In his way. John Adatns
was a worthy man. but he was not
I C-.-orge Washington. And Mrs. Abigail
Adams was a most estimable wife, moth-
■ er, neighbor, friend and Christian—but
| Mrs. Abigail was not “Lady Washing
i ton.”
I Therefore, at the very beginning of his
' administration President Adams collided
THE WEEKLY CONsiTTUTION: ATLANTA, OA., MONDAY AUGUST 31, 1903.
with the democratic sjiirit which 'Wash
ington bad only felt at tho close of his.
Andrew Jackson had stood against the
congressional vote of confidence in Wash
ington; and Matthew Lyon now began a
rebellion against the forms and ceremo
nials which Washington had established,
and which Adams wished to continue.
Congress was federalist, the fashions
of the time were federalist, and Lyon was
democratic'. Batteries of ridicule and
abuse were opened upon him, as is tho
case always. Lyon was not a scholar,
but he was far from being either fool
or vulgarian.
His father had lost his life resisting
British tyranny in Ireland, and Matthew
Lyon, at the age of 15, had fled to this
country for refuge. He had received
some schooling in Ireland and be seems
to have continued bls education in this
country. Marrying a niece of Ethan A‘-
lan, he settled In Vermont in 177-1.
His natural position, ns an Irishman,
was with the colonists In their rebellion,
and he was one of the Green Mouiit.iin
boys, who under Ethan Allen, made the
capture of Ticonderoga. He continued to
serve during the war ami distinguished
himself. He was promoted from grade
to grade until he became colonel; and
after tho war he was a leading man in
Vermont, both in business and polities.
His first, wife dying, he married the
daughter of Governor Thomas Chittenden
Serving constantly in the legislature, he
held high positions in the state adminis
tration. such as secretary of Hie board of
war and deputy secretary of the council.
He founded the town of Fair Haven, and
established manufactories on Poultney
river. He erected a paper mill, a print
ing press, corn mills, saw mills and iron
works. He was one of the first to make
paper from the bark of tho basswood
tree. ITider Ills practical touch this rural
wilderness which he had settled became
one of the most flourishing business cen
ters in New Englund.
From the bark of the forest tree the
Ingenious Irishman made paper, ami upon
this paper of bls own make he printed
the Farmers' Library, a small journal
edited by himself and bls son, James
who also set Hie type. lie also published
books at New Haven, one of these being
a life of Benjamin Franklin. In a sec
tion where federalism was intrenched,
Lyon made the tight tor democracy. He
met with all kinds of obstacles, other
papers would not publish his articles. To
g.-t a hearing he was compelled to run
paper of his own. Defeated time and
again for congress, b.c at length won the
s.-at, and so it was that Matthew Lyon
become a thorn in the flesh of John
Adams and to federalism generally.
When lie. asked to excused from the I
elillJ.tsh pageantry of parading through
Che streets to intend upon Hu- president,
lie was laughed at, and tie excuse con
tempt uously granted. But when m- per
slsted in his attitude, again sought ex
emption from the procession and ■on
gies.s realized Hint, public approval was
about to give its .support to icon, angry
debate took the place of ridicule.
From tills time on be was m id- the butt
for federalist sarcasm and abuse. Old
slanders, of the local envy type, were
raked up and circulated. The soldier of
Ticonderoga, Bennington and Saratoga,
was aceu-ed ot being a coward. A young
member named Griswold was put Im v.aid |
to publicly insult the offensive ltl.;;i|oi
He did so. and LyOn spat in Ills lac-.
I,liter Griswold armed himself with a
big stick, came to Lyon's desk in the
house, Just -Car prayers, and, while Lyon
wa B looking down at some papers, struck
him ov-r the head, yslning blow alter
blow upon him. Lyon, struggling from
amid seats and desks, sought to cluse in
with Griswold, but could not. Snatching
it; tho tongs from thy nearest tii.-pimc,
he struck Ills assailant with them, and
at this turn in the combat the speaker of
the house regained iiis parliamentary hab
it and lustily called for <“ordc r.”
Griswold <:i ught the tongs, .Lyon tho
stick, and down they went uu the floor,
Lyon nndet n»-.< th. Members rushed up.
Griswold's legs were gripped, and he was
pulled off, Lyon fighting all the time and
expres-'lng regrets that they had not been
allow I io light it out. Griswold had not
been hurt Lynn was bruised and bloody.
And the federalist party gathered all its
strength to expel from the house- -Gris
wold ?
No! Lyon and Griswold.
Bitter, acrimonious debates followed,
the question being made a party issue, but
Lyon held his seat. Griswold was not
even censured. Then Adams determined
to crush him with the power of tiie fed
eral judiciary. l'e was arrested, tried
and convicted under the sedition law for
an alleged libel which would now pass
any presidential target without scoring a
hit. Lyon had accused Adams us avarice,
vanity and childish Jove of, pomp. The
federal judge was so shocked at this lan
guage that he threw Lyon into jail and
lined him SI,OOO.
The prisoner was reelected to congress
while he lay In jail. After the expira
tion of his four months’ sentence he would
still have remained in custody had not
political and personal friends taken up a.
collection t o pay the tine. Apollos Aus
tin, of Vermont, gathered contiibutions
In silver and took them south; but Gen
eral Stevens Thompson Mason, of Lou
doun comity, Virginia, had ridden north,
his saddle bags stuffed with gold; and
it W'as Mason who paid the line. From
his cell the unconquerable Lyon, who h id
refused to ask Adams for clemency, went
back in triumph to congress. The very
school houses poured forth their chil
dren to swell the ovation which welcomed
the valiant democrat to liberty.
Bayard, of Delaware, renewed the effort
to expel Lyon from congress, but failed.
l.’nder the alien and sedition laws many
others beside J.yon were persecuted and
punished. Frightened foreigners, must of
whom were French refugees, fled in ter
ror to the ships, and put to sea. Federal
judges became hot partizans ami stump
speeches volleyed and thundered from the
bench.
The Father of his Country mentally laid
the farewell address upon the table, and
made his way into the thickest of the
party warfare. All of his influence was
exerted to bring Patrick Henry over to
the. federal side, and the last Hush o f the
cun of this great orator, who whs far
gene into the evening of life, was in be
half of the party of the alien and sedition
laws. Washington himsMf rode 10 miles
to vote.
it is a mournful fact that the last tlare
up of Washington's temper was aroused
by tUe mention of the name of James
Monroe, whose only sin was that he'could
pot hate the French as Hamilton bated
them.
In New York the struggle was one of
life and death between the factions of
Schuyle.-Hamilton and Clinton-Burr. The
republicans won. In his rage, Hamilton
1 t j w w i W W W w ,
I* i
I
proposed to Governor Jay to recall the
legislature, which had adjourned sine die,
and to so change the state laws as to set
aside Hie election just held. John Jay
was British, aristocratic, and partisan,
but he was honest, and lie scornfully re
fused to do Hamilton’s dirty work.
President Adams at length decided to
hav«i a cabinet he could control. He ask
ed Pickering to resign. Timothy said ho
was poor and needed the salary, therefore
he could not resign. Adams doubtless re
membered son in law Smith, whom Pick
ering had opposed on the score of his
poverty, and ho dismissed Timothy sum
marily. McHenry, secretary of war, also,
he forced to resign. To till these va
cancies, John Marshall was appointed
secretary of state and Samuel Dexter
secretary of war Oliver Wolcott, the
most arrant knave of Hie era, was able
to hoodwink Mr. Adams completely, and
his resignation was handed in at his own
time and on his own terms. He had act
ed as British spy in Washington's cabinet,
concerting with Hammond tho plot which
destroyed Randolph, and he now acted as
Hamilton's spy hi Adams cabinet, be
traying the secrets of his chief and plot
ting the ruin of that chief. For Hamil
ton. furlcus because of the peace with
France and the misearrfage of the Miran
da scheme, determined to destroy Adams.
From Wolcott he secured all the inside
facts which that traitor could give, and
Adams’ confidential adviser actually
helped to prepare, and did revise, the
secret pamphlet which was meant to
transfer federalist votes from Adams.
I presidential candidate, to Pinckney, the.
vice presidential candidate. Should the
people give a majority vote to the fed
eralist ticket, Hamilton’s scheme was to
put Into the presidency a man who had
not been chosen for that office, and to
degrade the man who had. Those people
who berate Aaron Burr for not having
shown more activity In working for Jef
ferson wlifii Here was a tie vote between
them should not overlook the contem
porary' standard of New York morality.
Hamilton, Clinton. Burr there wasn't a
trick in the game whk h either of these
political gamblers would not use to win
the stakes. Hamilton had intended his
stab ut John Adatns to be secret, but
Aaron Burr also knew bow to employ
spli-s. ’Wolcott was Hamilton’s spy on
Adams, and some equally trust'd traitor
was Burr's spy on Hamilton. Th" pam
phlet was no sooner printed than Burr
had a copy, and was using it with terrible
effect. The republicans It warned, en
couraged. solidified; the federalists it di"-
maved, divided, nv> rwl ■’lin' d with con
fusion.
I After the fiercest combat ever known,
Jefferson and Burr wore .luted The re
sult being largely d to Burr's splendid
victory over Hamill m In New York.
Mr. Jrfferson lias :ld that the federal
ists. routi d nt th" mils, retreated into
the judii l.iry
This P true. Mr ’.'"ins and his party
knew where their b. :. their sortie-s
was, and they ran h.to it. Congress in
creased the judgeships, established cir
cuits with three judges each, besides at
torneys, clerks and marshnls. These posts
Were hurriedly fill ■!
zans. Piesident x . uns kept on filling "p
th offii ■ « with federalists till 9 o'clock of
j the la i night of his term. The whole
administration was made a deep, solid
political color. No republican spot, si ripe,
or trimming appeared anywhere to re
lieve the dull monotony of federalism.
John Marshall, already secretary of
tale, was given an additional office. Ila
was appointed .-hi -f justiee, a place from
which he was to I'olndnat" rank federal
ism with authoritative voi-e for more
than a. generation.
The time being short and the object
worthy. Mr. Adams continued to sign
< ommissions. and John Marshall, by can
dle light, eontin.U'd to countersign. At
midnight, so the story goes, Levi Lincoln
stepped into the room, drew Jefferson’s
watch upon the Inditstriov.s Marshall, and
made him stop.
i ine i,i the '■ art happy of the men
must liavi been President John Adams!
Hi- adniiinstration c,m.lemu-d. bls parly
d'ad. bls secretary watched and arr-sted
like a. ti n f in the night.
It Imd been bad enough for him r.t
bis ina ugiira ‘ ion that the shouts should
be for George Washington- -not for
Adams; It would be infinitely worse now
at Ills rival’s Inauguration, when Hie
shouting would be for Thomas Jefferson.
AYlio would cheer for John Adams?
Not the republl ans. for they hated him;
not. the federalists, for they loved him
no more.
Hamilton had denounced him, and tho
Very men who hail slain the federalist
party accused Adams of the crime.
Why remain and face the humiliations
of .Inauguration Jay? Why not order the
carriage for an early hour and slip away
from John Randolph's “vast and deso
late city" before th< crowd: were churn
ing the mud'.’ In .short. was 11 not time
for John tdams to go?
Home home to Quincy and to Mistress
Ablnall. Not that he was scared, for fear
made no approaches to him; but because
he was not feeling well, because his heart
was sore and his terrq ■ r sour, and his
mind droopy; and because slianje. envy,
jealousy, rage and disappointment were
tearim* him like evil spirits, lie would ol
der bis horses for the early morning and
go upon an exhibit ion of petty spite and
childish petulance, for a similar display
of which the naughty urchin would be
pi’.nitively spanked.
CHAPTER NLHI.
L’nder the old system of conducting
presidential cleetlmij;. that candidate who
recelvid the highest number of votes be
came president. Hie next vie'? president.
Mr. Jefferson iff IHH had not been a
candidate for the second place; nobody
had voted for him to be vice president;
yet be took the vice presidency, because
that was the law. Hfi and Jojxp Adams
had each striven for the presidency,!
while other candidates contested the sec
ond place. .Y‘-'i neither of the candidates
whoil.i the people had voted for as vice
president was allowed to
•Such was the law. and it should be re
membered in gmißing the moral guilt of
Aaron Burr.
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in the
campaign of ISt'' l received 73 voles each;
John Adams, on the opposition ticket,
had 65.
The election was thrown into the house,
and the law plainly directed that a presi
dent should Ue chosen by the bouse from
the candidates who had received the
highest number of votes. Apparently the
makers of the constitution intended to
vest the house with some discretion. The
area, of this discretion wn s limited, but
It was there. Henry Clay and John
Quincy Adams acted upon tips idea when
they afterward comliULed to defeat the
j By *
THOMAS E. WATSON
i Author of
! Sttory 0./ France,” “Napoleon, Etc.
j DEDICATION
Because he lias consecrated his wealth, talent and energies to the Improvement of t,ie c "" £i i'e'h" BDdav working whh splendid
( cause he has shown an earnest, feerless and consistent Interest In the cause of the weak and theopp _ daNDOI PH HEARST this work.
J ability along the same lines which Mr. Jefferson marked out a hundred years ago, I dedicate to WILLIAM KAOI l.r - THOS. E. WATSON.
I Thomson, Ga.. June 17, root- ■
will of th? people, rind to oust the major
ity cayididslq, Andrew Jackson.
They were pqnished politically for this
combuiation, but. history has not plac'd
Clay arpd Adams in her rogues’ gallqry.
Now in 1800 the custom as to presidential
elections was not settled. Bv law, the
electoral colleges were vested wilh the
power of choosipg for president and vice
president men whose names had not been
before the people at. all. The Hamiltonian
anti-depipcratlc plan gave thorn this pow
er for the express purpose of depriving
"Hie great, beast" of tho right to choose
its rulers. Only by the irresistible force
of popular senl.iment have the electors
beetj.made the more registers of the will
of the people.
Tn 18(X) Hie ideas controlling the case
were so vague that nobody claimed the
election of Jefferson to Hie first place and
Burr to the second.
Ballots did not specify for which place
the presidential candidate had contested.
Therefore, the republican ticket of 1800
cd by 73 votes in the electoral c-ollcgci.
These two names being tho highejj,'. tho
iaw inquired that thgy should botb K”
before Jho house to be vpted for as can
didates for the presidency.
Now, then, what ought Burr to have
done?
His party had not intended him for the
presidency—no ..voter had so Intended.
Should he take the office by operation of
law? Jf congress chose to exercise its
discretion and make him the president,
should he accept.
That is the case, and the whole case.
Jefferson had taken the office of vice
president by operation of law, excluding
the candidate who had been chosen by r
the people for that lower place. Should
tin- rule work both ways?
A man of the nicest honor like John
Jay or James Madison would not have
lusltat'd. Ho would have spurned even
the’ appearance of evil, would not have
allowed his name used to defeat the will
of Hie people, would not have allowed
political enemies In. congress to thrust
upon him an office which political friends
had not intended to give. When federal
ism resorted to strategy to divide and
conquer the republicans bv elevating Burr
o\er Jefferson, the simplest dictates of
honor required that Burr should stand by
his friends and help to defeat the plots
of th" enemy.
That he did not do so was Ills unpardon
able sin unforgiven by bls party and by
the historian.
He did not actively aid the federalists,
lie stayed at Albany, where bis daughter
was about to marry, and where legislative
duties engaged him. lie wrote a letter
repudiating the plot of the federalists
and declining to give aid to tho intrigue.
His attitude was that, of "Hands off.
He may have meant that federalism
should consider him a Barkis who was
■willing, bul there is no proof that lie went
further than that.
•_C to Hamilton, the record is positive
ly painful. To see a really great man
degrade himself to gratify a personal
spleen is never an inspiring sight.
During Hi ■ previous campaign, Hamil
ton nad exerted hini’elf tn a most treach
erous. unscrupulous manner to have
Pinckney, the vice presidential candidate
on the federalist ticket, come in ahead of
John Adams
Now that federalism was snowed under,
he set himself to sow discord between
JefCerso and Burr.
He wrote to that wily knave Oliver
Wolcott a letter which is surely one of
tile meanest extant After denouncing
Burr for being bankrupt. Hamilton, who
was himself Insolvent, says in reference
to Burr’s supposed ambition to be presi
dent :
“Yet it may be well to throw out a lure
for him, In ordet to tempt him to start
forth" place, and then lay the foundation
of disunion between the two chiefs.” So
it would seem that. Burr needed tempt
ing. required a hire, and the federalists
were to lay the net In order to bring about
strife between Jefferson and Burr.
When it Is borne In mind that it was
the political strategy of the federalists
to play off one of these republican chiefs
against the other, and the only pretense
of evidence we have against. Burr as to
his conduct at this time comes from fed
eralist sources, the whole case assumes
a. new aspect.
Had Burr been willing to go to Wash
ington and canvass for the presidency,
had he made the pledges which the Bay
ards of federalism demanded, and which
Jefferson’s friends (unknown to Jefferson)
did make, there can be no doubt that he
would have been [-resident of the United
States. It only needed that be should
crook Ids finger In the way of active self
help.
And ha.d Aaron Burr become president
who enn say that he would not have
made a good one—as good as R. B.
Hayes, for example?
There were turns in the tide of na
tional fortunes during the next few years
when his indomitable courage, bis fer
tility of resource, his decision of char
acter, his address and firmness, might,
have been infinitely valuable to bls coun
try ns deal justly with this man.
His nature had in It the seeds of good,
and of evil, and when his fortunes be
came desperate he soured on a world
which he thought had been too hard on
him, and the evil of his nature devel
oped. It made him a criminal, an out
law, an Jshmaelite.
But who is so vary wise as to know
that, had success continued to reward his
ambition, he would not have identified
that ambition with the best. Interests of
his niatlve land?
Burr's ability was conceded. He had
been a brilliant soldier. As New York's
attorney general and as United States
senator his 1 ecord was so good that bis
name had been voted for in the electoral
college twice before this. By sheer force
of will and intellect he had wrested New
work from the Hamilton-Schuyler fac
tion, In defiance of the money power and
the ultra-British aristocracy. It was be
lieved that his morals were loose, but
there had been no sickening Maria Rey
nolds exposures about him, and his fam
ily relations were as beautiful as those
of Jefferson himself.
It was thought that he was politlcally
tricky, but nobody had accused him of be
traying his own party. His tricks were
weapons aimed at the opposition, and they
were popular with the republicans, for
they had gained New York. He had
never knifed a friend, as Hamilton and
Wolcott stabbed John Adams. He had not
tried to cut the ground from under the
feet of his chief, as Hamilton had done
in the recent campaign. He was a hard
fighter, a fertile schemer, a selfish office
hunter, a. man whose opinion of human
nature was low. In ether words, he was
the earliest specimen of what afterwards
became recognized as a distinct type—he
was a New York politician.
He founded Tammany, and set it going
upon its mission—heavenward .or hell
ward. according to the point of view.
Health and recreation were not his politi
cal objects. Patriotism and principles
were not supposed to be disturbers of his
slumbers. Politics was a game, its stakes
the spoils of office. The loser got. out; the
winner got in. Against one’s adversary
nil was fear-for It was war. Hard blows
were to be given and taken, mines to oe
sprung and counter-mines detected; nets
to be laid and snares avoided.
This was New York politics, mildly
drawn, and the record shows that Burr
was no whit worse than the average.
So immoral had become the tone that
Alexander Hamilton, wishing to shirk the
French treaty of 1778. had argued to
Washington that the change of govern
ment in France had annulled the con
tract, and wishing to set aside tin presi
dential candidate already virtually chosen
by the people of New York, had ap
plied to Governor Jay to reconvene the
old federalist legislature in extra session,
so that a new election by districts could
be ordered and the will of the people de
feated. So far had the feet ot reputable
statesmen wandered from the path of
common rectitude that Hamilton paid the
husband of his paramour almost as reg
ularly as he paid his cook, used olcott
as a spy upon Adams and entered upon a
secret league with Miranda to draw
Washington and the United States army
into wild expeditions of conquest. In
the Students’ History of the I nited
States the learned author (who makes a.
profession of history at Harvard) alludes
to Aaron Burr as “a disreputable poli
tician, who iiad been nominated for the
vico presidency because he controlled the
votes of New York.” It is a great pity
that American students should be taught
history in any such ramshackle style as
that.
Professor Channing ought to know that
at the lime Burr was nominated with Jef
ferson he was no more of a "disreputable
politician” than Jefferson himself. Burr’s
standing in the republic was absolutely
as good as Jefferson’s, and his elevation
to that, high office was less dreaded by
the opposition than that of Jefferson.
As proof of this, examine the letters and’
writings of one of the purest, ablest of
contemporary Americans Charles Car
roll. of Carrollton. The words of such a,
witness ought to be conclusive, for he had
every opportunity to know the men ai d
the circumstances, he was impartial as
between Burr and Jefferson, and there
was no possible motive for misLitement.
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, had long
known both Jefferson and Burr, he had
signed the Declaration with Jefferson, and
had continuously served in the highest
places with conspicuous patriotism and
ability.
With a "disreputable politician” it is
simply incredible that lie should have had j
| any sympathy.
If 1 ver there was a purist in politics and
religion, it was this old Roman of Mary
land. There was no hlghet type of citi
zen anywhere. Reputed to be the richest
man in America, he had studied and
traveled abroad, knew the leading men
of Europe almost, as well as he did those
of America, and bls record as a patriot,
a Christian, a statesman proud of his
country and anxious for its future, ren
ders It Impossible for him to have been
wiling to see "a disreputable politician’
president of the United States.
Yet In a letter to Alexander Hamilton,
dated August 27, 1800, Mr. Carroll states
his preference for Burr over Jefferson,
placing it upon Burr's decision of charac
ter.
Again, in February, 1801, Mr. Carroll
writes to his son, “1 hope Burr will be
chosen by the house of representatives.'
Further on, in the same letter, this
stanch federalist gives it. as his opinion
that Mr. Jefferson is unfit to govern this
or any other country.
'Burr, I suspect, is not less a hypocrite
than Jefferson, but he is a firm, steady
man. and possessed, it is said, of great
energy and decision."
Here we have Burr's reputation giv-n
by a contemporary. Shrewd Mr. Carroil
suspects that Burr may be as hypocritical
as Jefferson, but the reputation which
Burr has made convinces the Maryland
statesman that Burr Is "firm, steady, de
clsive, and energetic.” This is the testi
mony of a political enemy to both candi
dates. given in confidence to a son at the
time the two candidates are before the
people.
Is not this evidence more convincing as'
to how Burr stood in 1860 than the mere 1
word of a Harvard professor a. century j
afterwards? Later on, during the great
tight in Now York, when Hamilton, the
federalist, joined forces with the demo
cratic factions of Clinton and Livingston
to destroy Burr, Mr. Carroll disapproved
the course of his friend Hamilton. He
was evidently of the opinion that Hamil
ton, blinded by personal hatred to Burr,
was losing a great political opportunity.
The results vindicated Mr. Carroll's
foresight. Hamilton gratified his spleen
but lost his party ami his life.
If history be worth writing at all. it
ought to be written right—with a scorn
for false precedent, and a fearless deter
mination to find out the truth—and then
tell it. To jog along repeating statements
which owe their authority only to repeti
tion, Is slovenly, a wrong to the dead as
well as to the living and the unborn.
The present writer is not partisan of
Aaron Burr, and is making In his behalf
no special plea, but the author who says
that Burr’s standing as a man. a lawyer
and a politician was bad in the year 1800
simply shuts bis eyes to facts.
Turn now to tiie opinion of Gouverneur
Morris, senator from New York, a fed
eralist who knew all about both Jefferson
and Burr, in a letter to Hamilton, Jan
uary 26, 1801, Morris states that tiie fed
eralists after full consideration are in
clined to support Burr in preference to
Jefferson. Why? Because, as Bayard,
of Delaware, afterwards stated on the
floor of the house, they considered Burr
the best man of the two.
They believed Jefferson to be "infected
with all the cold-blooded vices,” and to
be full of “dangerous principles.” They l
looked “with abhorrence at a chief mag
istrate of America who shall be a slave
to Virginia. ’
As to Burr, they considered him "as
equal in worih to Jefferson, or equally
void of it.” The difference between the
two is that Burr’s “defeats do not arise
from want ot energy or vigor.”
They believe that “to courage Burt
adds generosity,” and that he “cannot
be branded with the charge of ingrati
tude.”
Thus we have the testimony of two of
the most prominent federalists in Amer
ica. No two men stood higher than Car
roll and Morris, and what they say in
confidence and without motive for mis
statement. is as convincing as it. is possi
ble for human evidence to be. Take
what they assert as true, and Dr. Chan
ning is wrong. His “disreputable poli
tician” comes in at a much later dale
Mr. Morris and Mr. Carroll viewed Burr
as a political enemy. How was he re
garded by his political friends? Thomas
Jefferson should be an authority on th:v
side, and his testimony given at the time
is precisely in line with that of Mr. Car
roll and Senator Morris.
In a letter to Burr .dated December I
1800. while congratulating the brill; nt
New Yorker on Ills election as vi< e pre;
ident, Jefferson expresses a regret tiie
he, Jefferson, will not have the bent lit ■'
Burr’s services In his admini-tra' ■■:
evidently meaning the cabinet. “I 71 1
endeavored to compose an administration
whose talents, integrit?. names and ■!,
positions should inspire unbounded < " .
fldence in the public mind, etc. I lo.n
you from my list, etc."
Mr. Jefferson classes Burr among those
men of integrity who inspired unbound
ed confidence in the public mind, and
with whom he had expo ted to comi se
his cabinet.
And there is nothing in Jeffeisons
writings, written at tills time or pre
vious to this time, which is in con ia
diction to what he wrote Burr.
CHAPTER XI,TV.
Remaining at Albany, and contenting
himself witlT a refusal to help the con
spirators at Washington, Burr did noth
ing to defeat them. This attitude appear
ed to give Mr. Jefferson satisfaction t
the time, for ho wrote to his daughter
that the federalists had not been able to
make a. tool of Burr, ami ’hat the con
duct of that gentleman had b-?n honor
able throughout.
As day after day passed in the house,
and no election resulted, excitement rose
higher and higher throughout the coun
try. It was the midme of February’. If
by March 4 here should have been no
choice of president, regular government
would be at an end There was no hold
over machinery which could be relied
' upon, A new convention of states won 1
1 have to be called, perhaps, and this new
j convention might make various changes
■ whjph numerous people did not desire.
; Fu” instan . the south might lose the
■ federal capital, and Delaware might lose
: her statehood. Evidently it was to the
1 interest of all parties that federalism
' should not defy the country.
i Hotheads began to talk of fighting and
I in one or two places preparations of a
. warlike character were made. Threats
j were li ard that no federalist should have
the presidency, and that Thomas Jefferson
should be seated.
If Burr had been chosen there would
have been no revolt; Mr. Jefferson sa s
this himself. But tho federalists couid
n,, more extract a pledge from him than
from Jefferson.
At this cris's three factions entered the
problem and influenced the federalists to
obey the people, and prefer Jefferson.
One was the fear of the south as to
the capital; another was tho feat of
Delaware that Pennsylvania would ab
sorb her; and the third was the fear of
Alexander Hamilton, that Burrs eleva
tion would mean his own extinction.
A student of the situation will be im
pressed with the fact that, Independent
of Hamilton, the other two considerations
would have compelled, the choice of Jef
ferson.
With Hamilton the least of his motives
was patriotic Tils Opinion of Jefferson
was as had a one as one man could,
have of another. But Jefferson did not
live in New . York; Burr did, and that
fact made a world of difference. It was
simply Intolerable to Hamilton to have
his detested local rivtil elected to tho
presidency, and We exerted what influ
ence he could to have Jefferson chosen.
What that Influence was is not so
clear.
Vermont, Delaware and Maryland were
the pivotal states, and it is not certain
that Hamilton controlled either. The
vote of any one of these would be
enough to elect Jefferson. Pugnacious
and Incorruptible Matthew Lyon was
one of ’he representatives from Vermont,
and the nephew of Gouverneur Morris
was the other. Gouverneur Morris was
senator from New York, and had b’s
own jealousy and dislike of Burr, his
own independent and honorable be!:-"
that the choice of the people should b»
respected by congress, and favored Jes
ferson from the first. That his nephew
absented hlms-“* and allowed Lyon t"
east the whole vote of Vermont for
Jefferson was probably due to the Influ
ence of the rich, adroit, powerful New
5 ork senator, Gouverneur Morris.
Maryland cast a blank ballot at the
final vote, and who knows that Hamil
ton s influence caused her to do it 7 The
fear of losing the capital bad intense!'
excited Baltimore, ami local Influences
of the strongest kind had been brought
’o bear. But when she erased to vo’u
against Jefferson, he no longer ne-1 J
ner support.
As to Bayard, of Delaware, he w-s
mephistopheles o f the whole episode Hs
extended bis open palms in both a, .
tions seeking gifts. B urr , O uM lm?e
bought, the presidency through 8.n,.t ■■
Jefferson could have airranged a <’
through Bayard. Neither vuuld triX
with hnn. Yet he voted for Burr thir’
five times and not once for j. ff -rs'ui ,'m
the final ballot, when his vote did 11 ,t ’
feet the result, he voted a blank piece M
paper. In 1 SO > h e explained his vote on
the floor of congress by saying that -■■
voting for Aaron Burr he was supporting
the o ne w hom he thought the g,-, i: -r
t'abo ,L ' '"’l man Yet Henry
‘. 1 and voluminous Historian
Hildreth allege that TUom as Jefferson
owed his election t 0 Bayr.rd.
Evidence of this federalist’s purltv if
furnished in a letter of his to Hamilton
H 801). in which he expresses contempt Ur
Burr because of his failure to “deceive
ne blockhead and buy two eorrupti.m
sts. It was the vote of Matthew Lx on.
throwing Vermont to .Mr, Jefferson, which
ended the long contest, and the fact that
Lyon would so 'ote was never doubtful
I ho decisive thing to do was to get Lewis
R. Monls, his colleague, out of the wav
so that Lyon could cast the whole vote’
and there is no evidence that cither Bay
ard or Hamilton controlled Dewis R. Mor
ris.
A new ei a had now opened. Mr. Jeffer
son came into his high office, not as Ons
candidate usually follows another, but as
a reformer chosen to make great changes
Ills campaign had been a protest against
a radically opposing creed, a revolt
against what he considered a subversion
of great principles.
Under Washington and Adams, mon-