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diff --git a/38073.txt b/38073.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9bb83ea --- /dev/null +++ b/38073.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20194 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thomas Jefferson, by Gilbert Chinard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thomas Jefferson + The Apostle of Americanism + +Author: Gilbert Chinard + +Release Date: November 21, 2011 [EBook #38073] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOMAS JEFFERSON *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Cicconetti and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + [Transcriber's note: The second edition is still under copyright, + but contained a few corrections. The quote attributed to Jefferson + on pages 80-82 is from Thomas Paine and has a different plate. + The text on pages 82-85 and in the introduction were significantly + revised. The last paragraph on page 375 was reworded to be less + critical of John Adams. + + The original text includes Greek characters, which have been replaced + with transliterations for this text version. Also, certain words use + "oe" ligature in the original. Carat (^) character has been used to + represent subscript in this text version.] + + + + + THOMAS JEFFERSON + + _The Apostle of Americanism_ + + + + + Books by Gilbert Chinard + + VOLNEY ET L'AMERIQUE + JEFFERSON ET LES IDEOLOGUES + LES REFUGIES HUGUENOTS EN AMERIQUE + THE COMMONPLACE BOOK OF THOMAS JEFFERSON + LES AMITIES FRANCAISES DE JEFFERSON + THE LITERARY BIBLE OF JEFFERSON + + + + + [Illustration: BUST OF THOMAS JEFFERSON BY HOUDON + + _In the possession of the New York Historical Society_] + + + + + THOMAS + JEFFERSON + + THE APOSTLE OF AMERICANISM + + _By_ + + GILBERT CHINARD + + + _With Illustrations_ + + BOSTON + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + 1929 + + + _Copyright, 1929_, + BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + + _All rights reserved_ + + Published September, 1929 + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +This study of Jefferson's mind is the indirect outcome of an ambitious +undertaking on which I launched about ten years ago. My original purpose +had been to determine more exactly than had heretofore been done the +contribution of the French thinkers to the political philosophy of +Thomas Jefferson. + +The points of similarity were obvious: the parallelism between the +theory of natural rights and the _Declaration des droits de l'homme_ is +patent; the American statesman shared with the French "doctrinaires" the +same faith in the ultimate wisdom of the people, the same belief in the +necessity of a free press and religious freedom. Many of his utterances +had a sort of French ring and countless Gallicisms could be discovered +in his letters. He spent in France the five years immediately preceding +the Revolution of 1789; he knew Madame d'Houdetot, Madame Helvetius, +Lafayette, Condorcet, Cabanis, Du Pont de Nemours, l'Abbe Morellet and +Destutt de Tracy. He was accused of bringing back from France the +"infidel doctrines" of the philosophers and to some of his +contemporaries he appeared as the embodiment of Jacobinism. How could +such a man have failed to be influenced by the political, social and +economic theories which brought about the great upheaval of the end of +the eighteenth century? + +A rapid survey of the Jefferson papers in the Library of Congress and in +the Massachusetts Historical Society soon convinced me that the subject +had scarcely been touched, notwithstanding the controversy that had been +raging about the origin of Jefferson's political ideas for more than a +century. Hundreds of letters written to Jefferson by French +correspondents were preserved in the precious archives, and had +apparently never been consulted. Many days were spent in the rotunda of +the Manuscript Division, turning the leaves of the two hundred and +thirty volumes of the Jefferson papers. Documents after documents threw +a new light on the mind of the great American--letters hastily written, +rough drafts corrected and recorrected, press copies blurred and hardly +decipherable, yellowed scraps of paper crumbling to pieces but piously +restored; more letters in a regular, precise hand, the hand of a man who +had been a surveyor and who drew rather than wrote. Fifty years of the +most eventful period of American history, told by the chief +participants, rose from the old documents, and day by day was revealed +more clearly the clean-cut figure of Jefferson the American. + +First of all, the tall, lanky boy, born in a frame dwelling by the +Rivanna,--not a farmer boy by any means, but the son of an ambitious, +energetic and respected surveyor, a landowner and a colonel in the +militia, and of a mother in whose veins ran the best blood of Virginia. +The stern and pious education received in the family, the reading of the +Bible and Shakespeare, the lessons of Reverend Maury, the son of a +Huguenot who took the boy as a boarding student, the years at William +and Mary College in the brilliant, animated, but small capital of +Virginia, the conversations with Mr. Small, Mr. Wythe and Governor +Fauquier, the Apollo tavern, the first love affair, and the long +roamings in the hills surrounding Shadwell. More years as a student of +law and as a law practitioner, quickly followed by his marriage with a +Virginia "belle", and Thomas Jefferson had settled down, a promising +young man, a talented lawyer, a respectable landowner, an omnivorous +reader who culled from hundreds of authors moral maxims, bits of poetry, +historical, legal and philosophical disquisitions and copied them in a +neat hand in his commonplace books. But curiously enough during these +formative years, the direct influence of the French philosophers was +almost negligible. He knew Montesquieu's "Esprit des Lois" and +Voltaire's "Essai sur les moeurs", but he used both books as +repertories of facts rather than as founts of ideas. His masters were +the Greeks of old, Homer and Euripides, then Cicero and Horace, finally +Bolingbroke and above all the historians of the English law in whose +works he studied the principles, development and degeneration of free +institutions. + +The choice of the abstracts made by this young Virginian who was still +in his twenties already reveals an extraordinary capacity for absorbing +knowledge and a most remarkable independence of thought. As he had +planned to build a house according to his own plans, he had likewise +decided to construct for himself, with material just as carefully +chosen, the intellectual house in which he intended to live. Had not the +Revolution intervened, Thomas Jefferson would probably have spent his +years in his native colony, become a successful member of the Virginia +bar, perhaps a judge learned and respected, a wealthy landowner adding +constantly to the paternal acres. He had no ambition and little +suspected his own latent genius, and yet, during all these years which +he might have passed in leisurely and pleasant idleness, he never +ceased, unknowingly as it were, to prepare himself for the great part he +was to play. + +When the call came he was ready. The ideas expressed in the Declaration +of Independence were common property, but their felicitous wording was +not due to a sudden and feverish inspiration. The young Virginian +expressed only the definite conclusions he had slowly reached in reading +the historians and the old lawyers. The principles there proclaimed were +not abstract and _a priori_ principles; they were distinctly the +principles that had directed his Saxon forefathers in their "settlement" +of England. They were the legitimate inheritance of their descendants +and continuators who had brought over with them to America the rights +of their ancestors to settle in sparsely inhabited land, there to live +freely and happily under institutions chosen by themselves. To go back +to a primitive past, to the good old times, had been the dream of many +political philosophers; but Jefferson's vision of that ancestral past +was no dream, for it had originated in the only part of the inhabited +earth where it could become a reality. This was the true background of +the Declaration of Independence, the background of Jeffersonian +democracy--a curious justification of the pioneer spirit by a student of +history who cared little for abstract reasoning and philosophical +constructions. + +Thus far the national consciousness of Thomas Jefferson had been +somewhat hazy. Born in Virginia and intensely devoted to the Old +Dominion, he had never left his native habitat until he was sent as a +delegate to Congress. There only did he realize the divergences of the +different colonies and the imperious necessity for them to organize +their life and to agree to some sort of a permanent compact. No dealings +with foreign nations could be transacted, no efficient measures of +protection against the common foe could be devised, unless the several +States were held together by some sort of a common bond and had achieved +some sort of a unity. While the Articles of Confederation were being +discussed, he puzzled over the essence and meaning of these "natural +rights" so often mentioned in the different committees on which he sat, +and he preserved the result of his meditations in an unpublished +document I had the good fortune to discover in the Library of Congress. +First of all, he was led to establish a distinction between the +fundamental natural rights, which the individual can exercise by +himself, and another class of rights which cannot be safely enjoyed +unless society provides adequate protection. In forming a society and in +accepting a social compact, the first rights were to be reserved and to +remain inalienable; rights of the second class, on the contrary, were +partly given up in exchange for more security. This very simple +distinction enabled the young delegate to do away with the old antinomy +so perplexing to many political philosophers and to solve the difficulty +against which Rousseau had vainly struggled in his _Contrat social_. The +individual remained in full possession of certain rights; society was +granted only part of the others, a part to be determined strictly in +forming a social compact: the citizen no longer had to sacrifice all his +rights on the altar of the country; he remained sovereign in a sovereign +society. + +What was true of individuals was true of the States coalescing to form a +union or confederation. Each individual State remained sovereign and +yielded only part of certain rights in order to obtain more security +against foreign aggressors. To the right of expatriation for the +individual corresponded the right of secession for the State. But from +this recognition of the right to denounce the compact, it did not follow +that Jefferson would have encouraged either the individual or the States +to withdraw from the society thus formed in order to resume a precarious +life by themselves. Even if he had been an anarchistic instead of being +a truly "socialistic" political thinker, a few meetings of the +committees on which he sat would have sufficed to demonstrate that, to +the necessity of society for the individuals, corresponded the necessity +of a union for the individual States. The Virginian had developed into a +true American. Jefferson was thinking nationally and not sectionally; he +was ready for the great role he was about to assume. + +His five-year stay in Europe confirmed him in the opinion that there +existed in America the germ of something infinitely precious, if +somewhat precarious, and he realized that his country had really become +the hope of the world. He was too fond of good music, good architecture, +good dinners, good wines and long conversations not to appreciate fully +the good points of life while in Paris. He praised the French for their +achievements in the arts and sciences, and formed with many of them +long-enduring friendships; but neither France, nor England, and even +less Italy or Spain, were countries toward which men could turn their +eyes when looking for a political "polar star." Traditions were too +deeply rooted, prejudices of too long standing, class distinctions too +sharply defined to leave room for any hope of ever seeing them establish +within a reasonable time a tolerable form of government. On the +contrary, unhampered by such hoary traditionalism and free to shape her +destinies, America, provided she carefully avoided the dangers under +which Europe was laboring, could not only establish the best possible +form of government, but set an example to be followed by the rest of +mankind. + +These dangers were patent; they resulted from the existence of +privileged classes or hereditary aristocracies, of State religions, +censorship of the press and books, centralization and concentration in a +few hands of all the financial and economic resources of the country. +Anything that smacked of the European system was to be fought with the +utmost energy, not only for the sake of America, but for the sake of the +world. Such were the real reasons that justify the fight waged by +Jefferson after his return from Europe against the tendencies +represented by Hamilton. Not out of any sympathy for the Jacobins did he +seem to favor the French Revolution; but, since America herself had +become the battlefield of two opposed ideals, he sided with the one +which, in his opinion, presented the smaller danger for the existence of +his country. + +Throughout the long-drawn-out battle, he remained convinced that only by +avoiding any entanglement with European politics could America fulfill +her destiny. The great obstacle to such an isolation was foreign +commerce, for Jefferson clearly understood that economic and commercial +bonds or dependence would necessarily entail political bonds and +political dependence. America was to live in her own world, to pay her +debts as soon as possible, to become industrially independent of +Europe, to manufacture at home enough for her own consumption "and no +more." She was also to seize every opportunity to eliminate dangerous +neighbors, not that she really coveted any territory or colony held by +foreign powers, not that she needed new land for a surplus of +population; but she could not keep out of European politics if Europe +remained at her doors and used her colonies as a "fulcrum for her +intrigues." Spain was so weak that nothing had to be feared directly +from her, but her colonies could be seized at any time by more powerful +enemies; France should not be permitted again to set her foot on the +American continent. As to England, she was to be expelled from her +continental dominions whenever America would be strong enough to enforce +the "_American jus gentium_", and the sea was to be neutralized. + +Having removed all causes for foreign frictions and aggressions, America +would be free to develop along her own lines. She was to remain for long +years to come an agricultural nation; she would grow towards the west by +attaching to herself new territories as their population increased. The +Federal Government was to retain a minimum of power and attributions. It +was to be carefully and constantly watched for fear of concentrating too +much power in a few hands and in one place. Federal legislation was to +be kept down, for the more laws, the worse the republic--"_plurimae +leges, pessima republica_." There was nothing intangible, however, in +the government which had been hastily put together at the close of the +Revolution. It was desirable and necessary to preserve the main +principles embodied in the Constitution in so far as they expressed the +permanent and inalienable rights of the people and the States, but each +generation had a right to determine anew the details of the legislation +and how they chose to be governed. The different articles adopted in +1787 were not to be considered as sacred as the Tables of the Law, they +were the work of fallible and changing human beings, and the essence of +the American government did not rest on a written document but on the +dispositions of the individual citizens and on enlightened public +opinion. + +This being the case, it became necessary to prepare each citizen for the +part he was called upon to play in the life of the country. The great +mass of the American people had a "cool common sense" and a certain +degree of instruction which fitted all of them to do certain things, but +not everything. A farmer could not overnight and by virtue of the +popular choice become qualified to judge of fine legal points, to settle +complicated economic problems, or to conduct difficult diplomatic +negotiations with foreign courts. All this required more than ordinary +common sense and ordinary education: the country needed leaders and +experts to be carefully trained in special institutions--in a national +university or, if this proved impossible, in State universities. As to +the great mass of the common people, they could be trusted to judge of +facts and to sit on a jury; they were also good judges of men and +properly could choose between candidates for the different offices. A +free press would keep them informed of the conduct of the men thus +selected; primary and secondary schools would help in the diffusion of +knowledge, and enlightened self-interest would prevent them at any time +from making grievous mistakes. + +Such a system constituted the best form of government ever established +by man; but it did not ensue that it was immediately to be adopted by +all the nations of the earth. It embodied certain permanent principles +susceptible of general application, for they did nothing but express the +unalienable rights of man. All men, however, were not to be intrusted at +once with the full enjoyment of their rights. There were certain +countries which for generations had been priest-ridden and king-ridden +and in which men unaccustomed to use their judgment were swayed by +emotions, hatreds and prejudices. A time might come when the sacred +contagion of liberty would spread to these unfortunate populations, but +it would take many revolutions, much bloodshed and a slow and painful +process of education to enable them to shake off their shackles and to +enjoy the full benefits of self-government. America, on the contrary, +because of her geographical remoteness from Europe, because of the +quality of the people who had settled in the English colonies, had +fought, not to destroy an old order of things, but to preserve and to +extend already existing liberties. Among the nations of the world she +stood as an example and a hope. She was the living evidence that under a +free government a large nation could grow prosperous and powerful, +simply by existing, and without preaching any new gospel she fulfilled +her duty to mankind. + +Whatever may be the shortcomings of this political philosophy, it was +distinctly an American doctrine; one cannot imagine it to have +originated in any European country, for what would have been a Utopian +and chimerical dream in the Old World was within the reach of man in +America. Whether it corresponds to present conditions is still another +question; it is nevertheless true that by emphasizing the uniqueness of +America and the political superiority of his native land for more than +fifty years, Thomas Jefferson did more than any other man of his +generation to formulate the creed of Americanism. The man who was +accused of being denationalized stands as the most integrally and truly +American among his contemporaries. + +This does not mean, however, that Jefferson did not occasionally depart +from the policies he had thus drawn. No man can remain in public life +for half a century without ever falling into contradictions and +inconsistencies. Only "closet politicians" and mere theorists never +accept any compromise, and Jefferson was a very practical politician +with a keen sense of possibilities and realities. Trained as a +small-town lawyer, then placed on many committees in Congress, forced to +wrest war measures out of a reluctant Assembly, even managing to hold +his own with the resourceful diplomats of Europe, Thomas Jefferson knew +how to handle men and how "to take things by their smooth handle." There +was nothing quixotic about him and he never tried to fight against +windmills, nor did he break his head against blank walls. But he was +singularly apt to bide his time, to wait for a favorable opportunity +and, whenever he saw a chance, he never failed to come back to his +original line of conduct and to his original policies. + +He seldom indulged in undue display of emotions and personal feelings, +but he was no mere thinking machine. In his youth he loved and suffered; +later he was perplexed by the riddle of the world; he studied the old +philosophers in order to find the moral props which religion could no +longer give him and, in his older age, came back to the morals of Jesus. +His encyclopedic curiosity and the versatility of his mind won for him +the admiration of his contemporaries, and, in that sense--the +eighteenth-century sense--he was truly "a philosopher." But he was too +practical-minded to waste much time in mere theorizing or in theological +and metaphysical "disquisitions." Firmly convinced that the business of +life was with matter, he considered science as an instrument and a tool +to master the blind forces of nature. He was more interested in +applications than in disinterested research, and in that respect, as in +many others, he was not only an American, but, above all, an +eighteenth-century man. Intensely nationalistic as he was when it came +to politics, he was truly cosmopolitan in the realm of intellectual +achievements, and thus was created the legend of a denationalized +Jefferson; for the popular mind, fond of generalizations, is unable to +recognize such distinctions. Among his friends he counted all the +leading scientists of the time and through them--particularly through +his French friends of the Museum--he exerted an influence of which he +himself was perhaps not fully aware. To his European correspondents he +appeared the embodiment of what was best in the American character. His +influence on the development of liberalism and democratic ideas +throughout the world can hardly be estimated, and separate +investigations will have to be carried out before his exact contribution +to the growth of democracy can be rightly estimated. Through his letters +he encouraged his friends to keep their faith, but better still he +demonstrated that self-government and democracy, as he understood it, +were practical and workable schemes and not the idle dreams of +philosophers shut in their closets. + +I hardly dare mention here the names of the many friends and colleagues +who gave me most generously their assistance and encouragement. To +Doctor J. C. Fitzpatrick, untiring, most patient and helpful in his +suggestions, I owe a particular debt. Mr. W. C. Ford afforded me all +possible facilities for consulting the letters of Jefferson in the +Jefferson Coolidge Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. I +discussed more than once with Professors Willoughby, Latane and Lovejoy +and with President Goodnow of the Johns Hopkins University the +perplexing problems that confronted me, and submitted several hypotheses +to the History of Ideas Club of the University. Doctor L. P. Shanks gave +me his time and friendly assistance in the revision of the manuscript. +But none of my counselors and friends are to be held responsible for the +ideas here expressed, some of which they would probably refuse to +indorse. + +In the course of this investigation I consulted too many books to list +them all. Randall is still very useful and has not been completely +superseded by more modern biographies. I found the books of Beveridge +fascinating though having somewhat of a tendency, and could not +completely agree with Mr. Beard on the economic origins of the +Jeffersonian democracy. I naturally made use of Mr. Becker's study of +the Declaration of Independence. I read the biography of Mr. Hirst with +great interest, though our points of view were very different, and I +almost decided to abandon my undertaking when the more recent work of +Mr. Nock appeared. Incomplete and unsatisfactory as they are in some +respects, the Ford Edition and the Memorial Edition are very useful +tools, the best available at the present time. Much to my regret, I had +to omit many documents still unpublished which are preserved in the +Jefferson papers. + +The collections of the Library of Congress and the Massachusetts +Historical Society constitute the richest treasure house of historical +information ever left by a single man. It would take several lives and a +fortune to edit them properly; but since Monticello has now become again +a national shrine and will be safely preserved, it may not be out of +place to express the wish that the day will soon come when a national +association will undertake to publish an integral edition of the +Jefferson papers,--a most fitting monument to the greatest political +philosopher of America and one of her greatest sons. + + GILBERT CHINARD + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + +BOOK ONE: _The Virginian_ + + I A VIRGINIA BOYHOOD 3 + II AN AMERICAN DISCIPLE OF GREECE AND OLD ENGLAND 19 + III A VIRGINIA LAWYER 34 + +BOOK TWO: _Jefferson and the American Revolution_ + + I THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 59 + II THE REVISION OF THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA 86 + III GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA--THE "NOTES ON VIRGINIA" 108 + IV A STATESMAN'S APPRENTICESHIP 137 + +BOOK THREE: _An American View of Europe_ + + I SOCIETY AND TRAVEL 159 + II GALLO-AMERICAN COMMERCE AND THE DEBT QUESTION 176 + III UNION AND ISOLATION 194 + IV JEFFERSON AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 215 + +BOOK FOUR: _Monocrats and Republicans_ + + I THE QUARREL WITH HAMILTON 245 + II JACOBIN OR AMERICAN? 274 + III MONTICELLO--AGRICULTURE AND POLITICS 298 + IV "THE DICTATES OF REASON AND PURE AMERICANISM" 321 + V POLITICAL LEADER AND STRATEGIST 343 + +BOOK FIVE: _The Presidency_ + + I "ALL REPUBLICANS, ALL FEDERALISTS" 379 + II PROTECTIVE IMPERIALISM AND TERRITORIAL EXPANSION 396 + III "SELF-PRESERVATION IS PARAMOUNT TO ALL LAW" 425 + IV "PEACE AND COMMERCE WITH EVERY NATION" 440 + +BOOK SIX: _The Sage of Monticello_ + + I "AMERICA HAS A HEMISPHERE TO ITSELF" 467 + II DEMOCRATIC AMERICA 489 + III THE PHILOSOPHY OF OLD AGE 513 + + INDEX 533 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + BUST OF THOMAS JEFFERSON BY HOUDON _Frontispiece_ + _In the possession of the New York Historical Society_ + + A PAGE OF JEFFERSON'S REFLECTIONS ON THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 80 + _From the manuscript in the possession of the Library + of Congress_ + + A PAGE FROM JEFFERSON'S "COMMONPLACE BOOK" 102 + _From the manuscript in the possession of the Library + of Congress_ + + LAFAYETTE 206 + _After a lithograph from the portrait by Grevedon_ + + ALEXANDER HAMILTON 256 + _From the painting by John Trumbull in the possession + of the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass._ + + THOMAS JEFFERSON 290 + _From the portrait by Rembrandt Peale_ + + MONTICELLO AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY 314 + + THOMAS JEFFERSON 468 + _From the portrait by Kosciuszko_ + + + + +BOOK ONE + +_The Virginian_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A VIRGINIA BOYHOOD + + +The peoples of the Old World worship at the birthplaces of their +national heroes and bury their mortal remains in splendid mausoleums, +pantheons or Westminster Abbeys. By a significant and symbolic contrast, +the memories of Washington and Jefferson are enshrined in no ancestral +homes, but in the mansions planned with loving care, in which they so +expressed themselves that their very spirit seems to haunt the deserted +rooms of Mount Vernon and Monticello. They are buried according to their +wishes on their own land, at the very center of the acres they had +themselves surveyed and reclaimed from the wilderness, close to nature +and Mother Earth. However great may be their debt to the past and their +remote ancestors, they stand by themselves at the threshold of America's +national history,--master builders who wrestled with gigantic tasks and +first thought of their country as the future home of unborn millions. + +The boy who was born on April 2, 1743, in the recently erected farmhouse +at Shadwell, on the bank of the Rivanna, never gave much thought to his +lineage in his later life. Yet Virginians of good stock were always +proud of their ancestry, and more than once he was told by his mother +that the Randolphs could "trace their pedigree far back in England and +Scotland." Jefferson's mother and John Marshall's grandmother were +descended from William Randolph and Mary Isham, both of the English +gentry, and Jane Randolph, issued from the best blood in the Old +Dominion, had married when she was nineteen a man without means, whose +education had been neglected, but sturdy and industrious and belonging +to one of the proudest and most aristocratic lines of old Virginians. + +Of his mother, Jefferson has told us very little either in his letters +or in his "Autobiography." We may surmise she had the refined, modest, +unobtrusive and yet efficient qualities so marked in the Virginia girls +of the Colonial days and so often noticed by travelers. Sons are apt to +mold their feminine ideal on the memory of their mother, and Jefferson +may have been thinking both of her and of his wife when, many years +later, he contrasted French frivolity with Virginian virtues: + + In America, the society of your husband, the fond cares for the + children, the arrangements of the house, the improvements of the + grounds, fill every moment with a useful and healthy activity.... + The intervals of leisure are filled by the society of real friends, + whose affections are not thinned to cobweb, by being spread over a + thousand objects. This is the picture, in the light it is presented + to my mind.[1] + +The fond cares for her children would have been ample to fill all the +minutes of Jefferson's mother. Large families were the rule in Virginia; +fifteen children were born to Thomas Marshall and Mary Keith, and +Jefferson's family was no exception to the rule. Between 1740 and 1755, +Jane Randolph gave ten children to Peter Jefferson; Thomas was the third +child and the first son. + +What information he gave about his father has to be completed from other +sources. The tradition in the family was that "the first paternal +ancestor came from Wales, and from near the mountain of Snowdon, the +highest in Great Britain." Peter Jefferson, landowner, practical +surveyor, of gigantic stature and strength, had the sturdy qualities and +ambition of the pioneer. He received a colonelcy in the militia, became +a member of the House of Burgesses in 1755, and in 1749 had been chosen +with Joshua Fry, professor of mathematics in William and Mary College, +to continue the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. "He +was afterwards employed with the same Mr. Fry to make the first map of +Virginia which was ever made." Besides his association with Fry, from +whom he drew the theoretical knowledge of mathematics in which he was +lacking, Peter Jefferson improved himself by much reading, not novels, +but the serious and sound books which constituted the ordinary family +library in colonial Virginia,--historians, essayists, and most of all +Shakespeare. For in Virginia as well as in New England, Shakespeare and +the Bible were the two books found in every household, the two richest +springs of the modern English language. Religion took up as much of +their life as in New England. Prayers were said three and sometimes four +times a day, and from his earliest infancy, Jefferson became familiar +with the liturgy of the Church of England, and had stamped in his memory +the strong old words, vigorous phrases and noble speech of King James' +version. + +He was only five years old when his father, already planning to give him +the education of which he himself had been deprived, decided to send the +boy to the best school in the neighborhood. He stayed two years at the +English school; then, when nine, he went to the school of Mr. Douglas, a +Scotch clergyman, who taught him French and the rudiments of Latin and +Greek. Most of his childhood was spent away from home, as a boarding +student, and the silence maintained by Jefferson with reference to his +parents is thus easily explained. It explains also the lack of +spontaneity and the awkwardness which always prevented him from +expressing freely his emotions and sentiments. What may seem in him a +national characteristic was largely a matter of training and early +discipline. + +He was fourteen when his father died, with a last recommendation that +his son be given a classical education. Still a mere boy, Thomas +Jefferson had become the oldest living male of the family and to a +certain extent its head. Whether he was at first fully aware of his new +responsibility is very doubtful. He could not remember without a +retrospective fear in his later years how close he had come to wasting +his whole life: + + When I recollect that at fourteen years of age, the whole care and + direction of myself was thrown on myself entirely, without a relation + or friend, qualified to advise or guide me, and recollect the various + sorts of bad company with which I associated from time to time, I am + astonished I did not turn off with some of them, and become as + worthless to society as they were.[2] + +The next two years were spent as a boarding student with Reverend Mr. +Maury, "a correct classical scholar"--probably not a very inspiring one, +if we interpret rightly the adjective used by Jefferson. We may well +imagine him at sixteen, a tall, slim boy, with auburn hair and clear +eyes, fond of fowling, horse-riding and outdoors, fond of reading also, +but disposing of very few books; for his father's library was not large +and, if the Reverend Mr. Maury followed the tradition of many old +schoolmasters, he seldom opened his library to his students. Still, he +knew his Bible, had read a few English classics, was well grounded in +Greek and Latin, and had perfected his knowledge of French; but it is +doubtful whether he was acquainted with any French writer except the old +standard authors--"Telemaque", Berquin, perhaps "Gil Blas" and Pascal's +"Pensees." But, even at that age, Jefferson necessarily knew something +of the many duties of a landowner; for the slaves he was the young +master, and during the summer he had to become somewhat acquainted with +the management of a large estate. The education he had received was not +exactly a frontier education with the usual connotations of that word. +He had not been brought up in a log cabin, he had never engaged in +back-breaking tasks of felling trees or of splitting rails; he probably +had never put his hand to the plow except as an experiment. + +He had heard his father tell of long journeys in the wilderness and of +treacherous Indians, but no Red Men roamed the forests near Shadwell. +The only Indians he knew were peaceful, almost romantic characters who +stopped at the house of Colonel Jefferson on their way to Williamsburg. + + I knew much--he said--of the great Ontassere, the warrior and orator + of the Cherokees; he was always the guest of my father on his + journeys to and from Williamsburg. I was in his camp when he made + his great farewell oration to his people, the evening before his + departure for England. The moon was in full splendor, and to her he + seemed to address himself in his prayers for his own safety on the + voyage, and that of his people during his absence; his sounding + voice, distinct articulation, animated action, and the solemn silence + of his people at their several fires, filled me with awe and + admiration.[3] + +This youthful impression left an indelible mark on his mind and was not +without some influence on the "Notes on Virginia" as well as on the +letters he wrote to Indian chiefs when he was President. + +Nor was Shadwell exactly in the "howling wilderness", even if there was +no large city near it. It was located on the road to Williamsburg, and +many travelers stopped at the house on their way to the capital. +Hospitality to friends and strangers was a sacred rite and most +scrupulously observed. Much visiting was done in Virginia, and men +particularly spent considerable time traveling from house to house; +slaves were put up, horses were sent to the stable, while the best was +spread on the table for the master. During the summer months, when roads +were not made impassable by deep mudholes, one visitor had hardly left +when another came. They had to be entertained, sometimes at a +considerable expense, always at a considerable loss of time. Young +Jefferson soon realized, after returning to Shadwell, that he would +never amount to much and would probably become an idler, if he stayed on +the estate like so many of his young friends. The wasting of precious +moments irritated and disturbed him when he wanted to do some reading or +some study, and he felt that the condition of the estate hardly +warranted such a generous hospitality. He therefore decided to leave, +and the letter he wrote on this occasion to his guardian, Mr. John +Hervey of Bellemont, shows him fully aware of his responsibilities and +perfectly definite in his plans.[4] + +In the spring of 1760, the young man, then exactly seventeen, went to +Williamsburg and enrolled in the College of William and Mary. Quite +possibly it was his first visit to the capital of Virginia, his first +contact with urban life. It was, for the time, a place of very +respectable size and considerable activity. Old Professor Hugh Jones, a +man much traveled and much read, described it enthusiastically in his +"Present State of Virginia", published in London in 1724: + + Williamsburg is a market town, and is governed by a mayor and + aldermen. It is a town well stocked with rich stores, all sorts of + goods, and well furnished with the best provisions and liquors. Here + dwell several good families, and more reside here in their own houses + at publick times. They live in the same neat manner, dress after the + same modes, and behave themselves exactly as the Gentry in London; + most families of note having a coach, chariot, Berlin, or chaize.... + Thus they dwell comfortably, genteely, pleasantly, and plentifully in + this delightful, healthful, and (I hope) pleasant city of Virginia. + +Great occasions were receptions given by the Governor, meetings of the +Assembly, occasional performances by regular companies from New York, +semi-professional players and later, by the Virginian Company of +Comedians. Horse races attracted every year a large concourse of +people, for every true Virginian is a lover of horseflesh. Betting was +active and large sums of money changed hands, particularly for the +four-mile heat race given each year on the course adjoining the town. + +Ladies in all the glory of their imported dresses, gentlemen in +brilliantly colored knee breeches and coats, with elegantly chased +swords at their sides and the best beaver hats made in London under +their arms, attended the receptions, the dances, the theater, and more +than once adjourned to the famous Apollo room in the Raleigh Tavern, +where they indulged in much drinking of "punch, beer, Nantes rum, +brandy, Madeira and French claret." The first time young Jefferson went +to the Raleigh he was probably shown the largest punch bowl in the +house, which had played a part in the purchase of Shadwell, for had not +Colonel Jefferson bought the site from William Randolph of Tuckahoe, for +"Henry Weatherbourne's biggest bowl of arrack punch"? + +The college itself was no less an attraction than the town. Built +originally on the plans of Christopher Wren, it had unfortunately been +remodeled after a fire, "a rude, misshapen pile, which but it had a roof +would be taken for a brick-kiln", wrote Jefferson in his "Notes on +Virginia." Such as it was, however, with the Capitol, of much better +style, it was the first large building and monument the young man had +ever seen and he probably admired it at the time as much as most +Virginians did. + +It was by no means a university, not even a real college. Like most +institutions of learning in the colonies, it had been established "to +the end that the church of Virginia may be furnished with a seminary for +ministers of the gospel, and that the youth may be piously educated in +good letters and manners, and that the Christian faith may be propagated +amongst the Western Indians, to the glory of the Almighty." + +The lack of preparation of the students, the fact that the sons of the +wealthiest were sent to England to finish their education, perhaps also +an aristocratic scorn for specialized and intensive learning among the +gentry of Virginia, all had contributed to keep down the standards of +the institution. Much to his disgust, Jefferson found + + ... that the admission of the learners of Latin and Greek had filled + the college with children. This rendering it disagreeable and + degrading to young gentlemen, already prepared for entering on the + sciences, they were discouraged from resorting to it, and thus the + schools for mathematics and moral philosophy, which might have been + of some service, became of very little. The revenues, too, were + exhausted in accommodating those who came only to acquire the + rudiments of the sciences.[5] + +Thus the problem of caring for the many, the danger of keeping together +in college the prepared and the unprepared students, which is still with +us, existed already in America one hundred and fifty years ago. +Evidently Jefferson considered himself as one of those young gentlemen +who were prepared for entering upon the study of the sciences; he was +certainly more mature for his years than most of his fellow students and +looked down upon them as well, we may surmise, as upon the teachers +themselves. On the other hand, the town offered many temptations and he +probably yielded to some of them. He was often thrown into the society +of horse-racers, card-players, fox-hunters, and at the end of his first +year in college it appeared to him that he had spent more than his share +of the income of the estate. He therefore wrote to his guardian to +charge his expenses to his share of the property: "No," Colonel Walker +is reported to have said,--"if you have sowed your wild oats thus, the +estate may well afford to pay the bill." + +We possess no precise information upon the amount spent by Jefferson nor +any account book for that year, but we may surmise that Colonel Walker +would not have been so lenient if the total sum had been spent in +reprehensible dissipations. Williamsburg boasted of a large bookstore, +and in 1775 Dixon and Hunter published a list of more than three hundred +titles in their stock. Book lovers are born and not made. Jefferson had +never been able to satisfy fully his passion for books, and as the +college library offered him only very meager resources, he must have +plunged with delight in the bookshop of Williamsburg and bought +extravagantly, an expense the estate "could well afford to pay." But the +fact remained that what he had learned he had learned by himself, and +that college life had not furnished him the guidance and direction he +was looking for. + +It was at this juncture that Doctor Small, professor of mathematics, was +appointed _ad interim_ professor of philosophy and soon developed an +interest in the young Virginian. Jefferson himself paid a grateful +tribute to the man who just in time rescued him from his frivolous +companions and brought back to his mind the serious purpose he had +entertained when he entered William and Mary. + + It was my good fortune and that probably fixed the destinies of my + life, that Doctor William Small of Scotland was then Professor of + Mathematics, a man profound in most of the useful branches of + science, with a happy talent of communication, correct and + gentlemanly manners, and an enlarged and liberal mind. He, most + happily for me, became soon attached to me, and made me his daily + companion when not engaged in the school; and from his conversation I + got my first views of the expansion of science, and of the system of + things in which we are placed. Fortunately, the philosophical chair + became vacant soon after my arrival at college, and he was appointed + to fill it _per interim_: and he was the first who ever gave, in that + college, regular lectures in Ethics, Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres.[6] + +For Jefferson Doctor Small was the prime awakener and inspirer. Through +him the young man was introduced to George Wythe who soon accepted him +as a student of law, and through him again he was received by Governor +Fauquier. + +Such were the first really cultured men with whom Jefferson ever came in +contact: William Small, the mathematician and philosopher, would not +have been a true Scot if he had not had that passionate love for +discussion and logic which seems the innate gift of so many sons of the +Highlands. Francis Fauquier, "the ornament and delight of Virginia", +generous, liberal, elegant in his manners and requirements, was the son +of Doctor Fauquier of Floirac, near Bordeaux, who had worked under +Newton in the mint and become a director of the Bank of England. His +early biographer Burke, the Virginia historian, has chiefly emphasized +his propensity to gaming. But Fauquier was an economist of no mean +distinction and had written an important tract on the basis of taxation. +He was interested in physics or natural philosophy and had become a +Fellow of the Royal Society. He was a student of natural phenomena and +sent to the Society the description of a hail-storm in Virginia. +Finally, there was George Wythe, whose virtue was of the purest tint, +his integrity inflexible, and his justice exact. Last and most important +of all his qualities, perhaps, was the characteristic peculiarity +mentioned by Jefferson in the sketch he wrote after the death of his old +master: "he was firm in his philosophy, and neither troubling, nor +perhaps trusting any one with his religion." + +Such were the true masters of Thomas Jefferson, and from their +conversations around the table, after bottles of port had been brought, +he learned more than any student at William and Mary ever acquired in +college. It was a rare privilege for a young man of Jefferson's age to +be admitted to the "_parties carrees_", and he must have already given +singular promise to have been invited at all into the society of these +three luminaries of Virginia. What topics were discussed among them can +easily be imagined. Fauquier would speak of old England, the theaters of +London, the monuments and works of art, of his colleagues of the Royal +Society, or discuss a problem of taxation or a recent meteorological +phenomenon. A man of the world, a friend of Admiral Anson whom he had +met after his circumnavigation of the globe, a director of the South Sea +Company, he would speak of ships, strange lands, and reveal to the young +man the existence of a world extending far beyond his native Virginia. +Thus was born in Jefferson that ardent desire to travel and most of all +to see England which appears in some letters written in the early +sixties. + +Philosophical and religious subjects perhaps were introduced, although +that is rather doubtful, in my opinion. The passage on George Wythe, +already quoted, mentions his reticence on religion. Whatever may have +been the propensity of Fauquier to gaming, he was never accused by his +contemporaries of being a religious libertine. It is also very doubtful +whether any of the group would naturally have discussed such subjects, +particularly in the presence of a young student whose education had been +deeply religious. Finally it must be remembered that in Virginia, as +well as in New England, there always existed some "reserved questions", +that it was not good form to criticize established institutions and +current beliefs. It is quite possible that Fauquier may have lent to +Jefferson certain volumes of Shaftesbury and Bolingbroke, but in spite +of the contrary opinion expressed by some biographers of Jefferson, it +seems very unlikely that any of the three older men should have +undertaken to shake the foundations of his faith. The "_parties +carrees_" could not have lasted very long, since William Small went back +to Scotland in 1762. But Jefferson's acquaintance with Fauquier and +Wythe was continued for many years after the departure of the +philosopher and, in both cases, until the death of the older men. + +The master of Shadwell had sown his wild oats; he had had his brief +flight of dissipation and had reformed; but he had by no means become a +hermit. He had not entirely given up attending horse races and fox +hunts. + + Many a time--he wrote in 1808--have I asked myself, in the + enthusiastic moment of the death of a fox, the victory of a favorite + horse, the issue of a question eloquently argued at the bar, or in + the great councils of the nation. Well, which of these kinds of + reputation would I prefer? That of a horse jockey? a fox hunter? an + orator? or the finest advocate of my country's rights?[7] + +What young man has not thus dreamed of serving his country and devoting +himself to some noble cause, what student preparing for the bar has not +pictured himself winning a difficult case, forcing the judge's attention +and swaying a reluctant jury? The ambition to become an orator may have +been awakened in his mind by the acquaintance he had made of the +"uncultured Demosthenes" of the Old Dominion. In the winter of +1759-1760, he had met at the house of Mr. Dandrige, in Hanover, a tall, +ascetic-looking fellow, rather disdainful of finery and careless in his +wearing apparel, but "with such strains of native eloquence as Homer +wrote in"--"I never heard anything that deserved to be called by the +same name with what flowed from him," wrote Jefferson later, "and where +he got that torrent of language is unconceivable. I have frequently shut +my eyes while he spoke, and, when he was done, asked myself what he had +said, without being able to recollect a word of it. He was no logician. +He was truly a great man, however--one of enlarged views." + +His name was Patrick Henry. Far less uncultured than Jefferson's +portrait would lead us to believe, related to very good families, +although poor and a complete failure as a merchant, Patrick Henry had +suddenly decided to enter the legal profession, and after borrowing a +"Coke upon Littleton" and a "Digest of the Virginia Acts", he had +appeared after six weeks' preparation before the board of examiners. He +won his diploma through logic, clear presentation and common sense +rather than through his knowledge of the law, and commenced practicing +in the fall of the same year. Whenever a case appeared before the +General Court sitting at Williamsburg and consisting of the Governor and +his council, "he used to put up" with Jefferson, borrowing books which +he seldom read, always ready with stories of the backwoods. Fame came to +him soon after, when his fiery eloquence in the "parson's case" drew +down upon him clerical hostility and public admiration. "Instead of +feeding the hungry and clothing the naked," he cried out in the +courtroom, "these religious harpies would, were their powers equal to +their will, snatch from the hearth of their honest parishioner his last +hoe-cake, from the widow and her orphan children their last milch cow, +the last bed, nay, the last blanket, from the lying-in woman."[8] Not +even in the days of the Convention did the halls of Paris echo with more +vehement vituperations and more indignant denunciations. A magnetic +power, an emotional appeal to elementary passion, to a sense of justice +in the mass rather than to the letter of the law fitted him for +political life. He was soon to have his opportunity; in the meantime he +awoke in Jefferson a revolt against clerical usurpations that was to +bear its fruit in time. Usually passed over by Jefferson's biographers, +the plea made by Patrick Henry in the "parson's case" seems to have been +the incident that called the young man's attention to the position +occupied by the established Church in its relations to the civil power. +It started in him the train of thought that culminated in the "Bill for +religious freedom." + +It has been sometimes said that Jefferson used to spend fourteen hours a +day in study when he was at Williamsburg; his correspondence with John +Page shows him in a very different light. He was not in any sense a +bookworm, even though he read enormously, but he played as strenuously +as he studied. A good horseman, a good violin player, a good dancer, he +was a much-sought-after young man. He had a keen eye for the ladies, and +very early in 1762 he had fallen in love with Miss Rebecca Burwell, the +_Bell-in-day, Belinda, campana in die, Adnileb_ of his letters to Page. +The young lady had given him her profile cut in black paper which he +carried in his watch case. Far from her, life lost all interest: "all +things appear to me to trudge in one and the same round: we rise in the +morning that we may eat breakfast, dinner and supper, and to go to bed +again, that we may get up the next morning and do the same, so that you +never saw two peas more alike than our yesterday and to-day." He had in +mind to go back to Williamsburg, to propose, receive his sentence and be +no longer in suspense: "but reason says, if you go, and your attempts +prove unsuccessful, you will be ten times more wretched than ever."[9] +Spring, then summer came, and he could not muster up enough courage to +declare himself. Madly in love as he was, he was not intending to marry +at once. He had formed great plans for traveling. He was dreaming of +hoisting his sail and visiting England, Holland, France, Spain, Italy +(where I would buy me a good fiddle), and Egypt, and return home through +the British provinces to the northward. This would take him two or three +years. Was it fair to ask Belinda to wait so long for him? And yet he +could not leave without speaking and remain in suspense and cruel +uncertainty during the whole trip. "If I am to meet with a +disappointment, the sooner I know it, the more of life I shall have to +wear if off ... If Belinda will not accept of my service, it will never +be offered to another. That she may I pray most sincerely: but that she +will, she never gave me reason to hope."[10] + +When college opened again at the beginning of October, he had made up +his mind to make his position clear. A dance was to be given in the +Apollo room of the Raleigh Tavern. He dressed up in all his finery, he +rehearsed in his head such thoughts as occurred to him and made a +complete fiasco. "A few broken sentences, uttered in great disorder, and +interrupted with pauses of uncommon length were the too visible marks of +my strange confusion" (October 7, 1763). Belinda did not say a word to +relieve him in his embarrassment, did not manifest in any way that she +understood his purpose, and several months were to elapse before +Jefferson had another opportunity to express himself. This time he had +learnt his piece perfectly, and from what we know of him already it is +probable that he made a very clear presentation of his case, too clear +and too logical even, for he concluded by saying that the decision +rested with her and that a new interview would not serve any purpose. A +strange lover indeed, apparently as madly in love as a young man could +be, and yet too respectful of the free will of his beloved to attempt to +sweep her off her feet by too frequent interviews and too passionate +pleas! Belinda listened attentively but did not give any indication that +Jefferson's speech had convinced her and won her heart. A few weeks +later the bashful suitor heard indirectly of her answer when she +announced her marriage to Mr. B ... Whether it was "for money, beauty, +or principle will be so nice a dispute, that no one will venture to +pronounce", wrote Jefferson at the time. To crown the joke, his happy +rival, who evidently had been kept in blissful ignorance of Jefferson's +sentiments, asked him to act as a best man at the wedding. A more +ironical trick of fate could scarcely be imagined; but, all considered, +Belinda was not altogether to blame. + +Thomas Jefferson did not think of committing suicide, he did not swear +revenge, nor did he curse the ungrateful one in any of his letters. We +have some reason to believe, however, that his affair with Belinda +marked a decisive turn in his life. It killed whatever romantic strains +may have existed in his heart; it matured him, and it was probably at +that time that the long-belated metaphysical crisis took place, the +disappointed lover evolving a certain philosophy of life which he was to +retain to the end of his days. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +AN AMERICAN DISCIPLE OF GREECE AND OLD ENGLAND + + +Until very recently the material for a study of the formative years of +Thomas Jefferson was very scanty. Many of his earliest letters have +disappeared and he always felt a strong disinclination to analyze +himself in writing. It was also contrary to his training and to the +customs of his milieu to discuss personal matters too frankly and too +openly. An American Jean-Jacques Rousseau baring his heart to posterity +would have been as out of place as a man from the moon in New England or +Virginia. But what he did not express as his personal feelings, he +copied from the philosophers and poets he read during his studious +nights or when resting under a tree on one of the hills surrounding +Shadwell. The two commonplace books I have recently published, written +by Jefferson during his student days and consulted by him throughout his +life, could rightly be called "Jefferson self-revealed."[11] They enable +us at any rate to determine with a fair degree of certainty the +sentimental and intellectual preoccupations that filled his mind when +examining the problems of society and the universe. + +It does not seem that, until 1764, that is to say until the unfortunate +ending of his love affair with Belinda, Jefferson had ever been touched +by any religious doubt. When, in July, 1763, he foresaw the possibility +of being rejected, he wrote to Page a long letter in which he appears +still strongly marked by the Christian training he had received in his +family and at the hand of Mr. Douglas and the Reverend Mr. Maury: + + Perfect happiness, I believe, was never intended by the Deity to be + the lot of one of his creatures in this world; but that he has very + much put in our power the nearness of our approaches to it, is what I + have steadfastly believed. + + The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently + meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; + and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and + misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of + our lives. The only method of doing this is to assume a perfect + resignation to the Divine will, to consider that whatever does + happen, must happen; and that, by our uneasiness, we cannot prevent + the blow before it does fall, but we may add to its force after it + has fallen. These considerations, and such others as these, may + enable us in some measure to surmount the difficulties thrown in our + way; to bear up with a tolerable degree of patience under this burden + of life; and to proceed with a pious and unshaken resignation, till + we arrive at our journey's end, when we may deliver up our trust into + the hands of him who gave it, and receive such reward as to him shall + seem proportioned to our merit. Such, dear Page, will be the language + of the man who considers his situation in life, and such should be + the language of every man who would wish to render that situation as + easy as the nature of it will admit. Few things will disturb him at + all: nothing will disturb him much.[12] + +This note of Christian stoicism is exactly what might be expected from a +young Protestant whose mind was not particularly perturbed by +metaphysical problems. At that time Jefferson did not even conceive that +there might exist a code of ethics resting on a different basis. If +Doctor Small had helped him to find his exact relation to "the system of +things in which we are placed", he was satisfied that complete +resignation to Divine Will was the only wisdom. It may be safely +assumed that three years after meeting Governor Fauquier, Thomas +Jefferson had retained intact the faith of his youth. + +What brought a change in his attitude and disturbed his equilibrium is +certainly not the influence of the "infidel French philosophers." The +volume of extracts which I published under the title of "The Literary +Bible of Thomas Jefferson" does not contain a single quotation from +Voltaire, Diderot, or Rousseau, and French literature is represented +only by a few insignificant lines from Racine. It is more likely that +the first doubts were injected into his mind by the reading of +Bolingbroke. He did not even need the assistance of Fauquier to lead him +to the English philosopher. The catalogues of the old libraries of +Virginia frequently mention Shaftesbury's "Characteristics" and +Bolingbroke's "Works."[13] + +Whether it was from the town bookstore or from Fauquier's own library, +the fact remains that sometime, when still a student, but certainly +after 1764, Jefferson obtained a copy of Bolingbroke and came to +question the authenticity of the Bible as a historical document. It may +have been due to the sentimental shock he had suffered, or simply to the +critical attitude developed in him by his study of legal texts and +decisions, but there is little doubt that he put into practice at that +time the advice he gave later to Peter Carr, when he told him to +"question with boldness the existence of a God; because, if there be +one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of +blindfold fear. You will naturally examine first, the religion of your +own country. Read the Bible, then, as you would read Livy or +Tacitus."[14] He therefore went systematically through Bolingbroke, +learned from him methods of historical criticism and scientific doubt, +weighed the evidence with a legal mind and came to very definite +conclusions. At this decisive turn in his life, Jefferson might easily +have become a sceptic and a cynic, like so many men of the eighteenth +century. As a matter of fact, a careful study of his "Literary Bible" +indicates that at least for a time he was extremely cynical in his +attitude towards women. This may have been due to the cruelty of +Belinda, but it was more than a passing mood, for as late as 1770, two +years before his marriage, he scribbled on the margin of his account +book a Latin doggerel clearly indicating his distrust of the female +kind: + + _Crede ratem ventis, animum ne crede puellis + Namque est foeminea tutior unda fide. + Foemina nulla bona est, sed si bona contigit ulla + Nescio quo fato mala facta bona est._ + +From Euripides particularly he collected with a sort of waggish pleasure +the strongest denunciations of women in the old poet and repeated with +him "Mortals should beget children from some other sources, and there +should be no woman-kind: thus there would be no ill for man"--and again, +"O Zeus, why hast thou established women, a curse deceiving men, in the +light of the sun?" + +In Milton he found an echo of Euripides' misogynism and from "Paradise +Lost" and "Samson Agonistes", he compiled a pretty set of accusations +against female usurpations. His conclusion at that time was probably +that of the old English poet, and he affirmed his superiority over the +treacherous sex by repeating after him: + + Therefore God's universal law + Gave to man despotic power + Over his female in due awe.[15] + +His outlook on life must have been very gloomy, if we are to trust +certain quotations from Greek and Latin authors. To matters of +mythology, descriptions of battles, and grandiose comparisons in Homer, +Jefferson apparently paid no attention. He saw in the old poet a +repository of ancient wisdom and the ancient philosophy of life. From +him he collected verses in which he found expressed views on human +destiny,--a courageous, stoic, yet disenchanted philosophy, summed up in +two lines from Pope's translation: + + To labour is the lot of man below + And when Jove gave us life, he gave us woe. + +When he read from Cicero's "Tusculanae" he selected passages with a view +to confirm the deistic and materialistic principles towards which he was +leaning at the time: "All must die; if only there should be an end to +misery in death. What is there agreeable in life, when we must reflect +that, at some time or other we must die." This particular piece of +reasoning seems to have struck Jefferson quite forcibly, for he repeated +it again and again fifty years later in his letters to John Adams: "For +if either the heart, or the blood, or the brains, is the soul, then +certainly the soul, being corporeal, must perish with the rest of the +body; if it is air, it will perhaps be dissolved; if it is fire, it will +be extinguished."[16] + +It was then that he copied and evidently accepted the statement of +Bolingbroke that "it is not true that Christ revealed an entire body of +ethics, proved to be the law of nature." + +The "law of nature"--what was meant by the word? Was it the Epicurean +maxim of Horace,--"enjoy to-day and put as little trust as possible in +the morrow?" If such had been the conclusion reached by Jefferson he +could have followed the line of least resistance and enjoyed the good +things of life, the good wines of the Raleigh Tavern, the pretty girls +and all the social dissipations of many of his contemporaries. Such +would have been Jefferson's destiny, had he been born in the Old World. +Had he been made of weaker stuff he would have become one of the +fox-hunters, horse-racers and card-players of the Virginian gentry. But +he was saved by his aristocratic pride and the stern teaching of the old +Stoics. + +He was conscious that he was of good stock, and he had read in Euripides +that "to be of the noble born gives a peculiar distinction clearly +marked among men, and the noble name increases in lustre in those who +are worthy."[17] + +To be ever upright and to be worthy of one's good blood, this was the +simplest, most obvious and most imperious duty. It would have been very +difficult for Jefferson to believe any longer that "at the end of the +journey we shall deliver up our trust into the hands of him who gave it +and receive such reward as to him shall seem proportionate to our +merit", which was his belief in 1763. There was not even much to obtain +in our life as a reward, for most societies are so organized that +"whenever a man is noble and zealous, he wins no higher prize than baser +men."[18] Still the fact remained that, after the collapse of all the +religious superstructure, the foundations of morality were left +unshaken, so Jefferson undertook to rebuild his own philosophy of life +according to Bolingbroke's advice, with the material at hand. For it was +evident that "a system thus collected from the writings of ancient +heathen moralists, of Tully and Seneca, of Epictetus, and others, would +be more full, more entire, more coherent, and more clearly deduced from +unquestionable principles of knowledge."[19] + +But he would take nobody's word for it, he would accept the teachings of +no professor of moral philosophy; every man had to think for himself and +to formulate once for all his own philosophy. When writing to his +nephew, who he thought might go through the same crisis, Jefferson +declared some forty years later that: + + Man was destined for society. His morality, therefore, was to be + formed to this object. He was endowed with a sense of right and + wrong, merely relative to this. This sense is as much part of his + nature, as the sense of hearing, seeing, feeling; it is the true + foundation of morality and not the TO KALON, truth, etc. as fanciful + writers have imagined. The moral sense, or conscience is as much a + part of man, as his leg or arm. + +But this is the Jefferson of 1808, the mature man, almost the aged sage +of Monticello. How far he was from having reached that poise and that +clear vision of the moral world, appears in the confusion and +contradictions of the abstracts collected in the "Literary Bible." Yet +when he read Homer, Euripides, Cicero, Shakespeare, and even Buchanan, +Jefferson had a clear and single purpose. He was reading more for profit +than for pleasure, to gather material with which to build anew, by +himself and for himself, a moral shelter in which he could find refuge +for the rest of his days. He was not thinking then of devoting his life +to his country; if he had any patriotism, it was dormant, and if he had +any sense of abstract justice it is nowhere manifest. And yet, quite in +contrast with the general run of quotations in the "Literary Bible" are +some maxims scribbled in one of his unpublished Memorandum books under +the year 1770. He had already levelled the top of the hill on which he +was to build Monticello and was digging the cellar. But one day, after +noting carefully that "4 good fellows, a lad and two girls, of about 16 +each, have dug in my cellar a place in 8 hrs. 1/2, 3 feet deep, 8 feet +wide and 161/2 feet long," he stopped to recapitulate the most striking +maxims by which he intended to regulate his life: + + ... no liberty no life--endure and abstain--_bonum est quod honestum, + macte virtute esto, nil desperandum, faber suae quisque fortunae, + fari quae sentiat_, what is, is right--_ex recto decus_--_ne cede + malis sed contra audientior ito_--long life, long health, long + pleasure and a friend--_non votum nobis sed patriae_--_fiat justitia + ruat coelum_. + +Clearly between the time he compiled his "Literary Bible" and this entry +in the Memorandum book, a considerable change had taken place in +Jefferson's mental world. What was dormant had been awakened, what was +non-existent had been created. Let those who are looking for influences +hunt for pale reflections of these maxims in the writings of the French +philosophers. I cannot perceive any. I would even say that there is no +distinct influence of Bolingbroke, for Jefferson borrowed from +Bolingbroke methods of approaching certain problems rather than definite +ideas. The young Virginian made use, for a short time only, of the +critical reasoning employed by the English philosopher, but when it came +to building anew, he gathered all the material, stone by stone and maxim +by maxim, from the old Greek Stoics. It was a pessimistic yet courageous +philosophy of life, far different from eighteenth-century optimism. By a +strange anomaly, the son of the pioneer, the young man supposedly +brought up under frontier influence, felt more kinship with Greece and +republican Rome than with the philosophers of London, Paris or Geneva. +During this early period of his life and when he had rejected the +Christian system of ethics, the young Virginian found the moral props he +needed in Homer's simple code of honor and friendship; in echoes from +the Greek Stoics discovered in Cicero; and through them also was +revealed to him a conception of patriotism and devotion to public duty +which was to mold the rest of his life. + +In the transformation that took place in Jefferson's attitude towards +life, it would be unjust to leave out the influence exerted by Patrick +Henry. The young student was present when Henry delivered his famous +speech in the House of Burgesses in 1765 and ended the speech with the +defiant declaration, "If this be treason make the most of it." "He +appeared to me," wrote Jefferson, "to speak as Homer wrote; his talents +were great indeed, such as I never heard from any man." From Henry he +did not receive any particular political philosophy, but from him he +learned the value of those striking formulas which remain in the memory +of men, become mottoes and battle cries of political campaigns. He liked +the vehemence and completeness of Henry's affirmation and when, in 1770, +he wrote in his memorandum that maxim of all revolutionists and radicals +of every age--_fiat justitia ruat coelum_, let there be justice, even +if the heavens should crumble down--he was thinking as much of the +Virginia orator as of the Romans of old. + +A last item in the same memorandum book of 1770 may justify the +supposition that still another influence had entered Jefferson's life. +By that time he had forgotten the fickle Belinda who had played with his +heart, but he was no longer a woman-hater. When he quoted from Pope "the +sleepy eye that speaks to the melting soul", he was already thinking of +the young and attractive widow he was to marry two years later. + +In the meantime he had been pursuing assiduously his law studies and his +readings of political philosophers. Very early after entering college, +he had decided that he would not be satisfied with the study of +belles-lettres, or the life of a gentleman managing a large country +estate. The clergy and the law were the only two professions open to a +young man of distinctly aristocratic tendencies. He chose the law and +began his training under the direction of Mr. Wythe. This training was +markedly different from the instruction he would have received in +Europe. There was no regularly organized law school at Williamsburg; +candidates for the Bar had to prepare themselves under the direction of +an old practitioner; they attended the sessions of the court and +prepared briefs for their master; they studied by themselves and +consequently were much more familiar with the practice than with the +theory of jurisprudence. No examination was given by a regular faculty; +but a license to practice law and to hang out his shingle was obtained +by the candidate after appearing before a special board of examiners. In +the case of Patrick Henry, the examiners had been John Randolph, +afterward Attorney-general for the Colony, Peyton Randolph, Mr. Wythe +and perhaps Robert C. Nicholas. If Henry "got by" after six months' +study, thanks to his phenomenal fluency and "aplomb", it took Jefferson +six years before he considered himself sufficiently prepared to appear +before the examiners. A large part of his time however was spent at +Shadwell in agricultural pursuits and independent study; but he came +regularly to Williamsburg to consult Mr. Wythe, to attend the sessions +of the Court, to buy books, and also to attend during the winter the +many functions given by the brilliant society of the capital of +Virginia. These years, the most important of all in the formation of +Jefferson's political theories, can now be studied in the "Commonplace +Book", long thought destroyed, which even Randall had not been able to +find, but which is now safely deposited in the Library of Congress. It +is a most revealing compilation and throws an unexpected light on the +origin of Jefferson's political doctrines. + +It contains first of all no less than five hundred fifty-six articles +analyzing special cases from the Reports of Cases in the King's Bench, +George Andrews, Robert Raymond, William Salkeld and Coke's "Institutes", +for in a colony where no attempt had been made to codify the body of +existing laws, and where the common law was the supreme law of the land, +the first prerequisite to becoming a good lawyer was to assimilate an +enormous number of cases and precedents. Jefferson proceeded, like all +the law students of his time, to dig in "Coke upon Littleton" and +others, putting down in his "Commonplace Book" decisions, discussions, +definitions, matters of importance to a country lawyer, such as wills, +devises, commercial contracts, cases on larceny, trespassing, debts, +damages, bankruptcy, leases, libels; and he did it with his customary +thoroughness and clarity. A detailed study of the "Commonplace Book" +would be most illuminating for those who, in spite of all evidence to +the contrary, still maintain that Jefferson was an impractical +philosopher, interested only in abstract principles and in theory. On +the other hand, he was not simply a country lawyer, either. If he had +not seemed to manifest any interest in the abstract study of the +principles of law, in what he used to call "metaphysical disquisitions", +he was keenly interested in the historical development of the legal +structure on which rested modern society and particularly the colonial +society of Virginia. + +He carefully went through Lord Kames' "Historical Law Tracts" and +studied from him the history of criminal law, promises and covenant, +property, securities upon land, courts, briefs. It is in Kames that he +found a definition of society which he could have written himself and +which expresses his political individualism and subordination to law: + + Mutual defence against a more powerful neighbor being in early times + the chief, or sole motive for joining society, individuals never + thought of surrendering any of their natural rights which could be + retained consistently with their great aim of mutual defence. + +This is elaborated upon in the passage quoted from the "History of +Property": + + Man, by his nature, is fitted for society, and society by its + conveniences is fitted for man. The perfection of human society + consists in that just degree of union among the individuals, which to + each reserves freedom and independency, as far as is consistent with + peace and good order. The bonds of society where every man shall be + bound to dedicate the whole of his industry to the common interest + would be of the strictest kind, but it would be unnatural and + uncomfortable, because destructive of liberty and independence; + so would be the enjoyment of the goods of fortune in common. + +I am perfectly aware of the undeniable influence of Locke upon the +theory of Kames; and it would be very unlikely that Jefferson had not +read at that date Locke's "Treatise on Civil Government." The fact +remains, however, that neither Locke, nor so far as I know any political +thinker of the period, had yet so clearly defined that particular +combination of individualism and respect for peace and order so +characteristic of American democracy. We shall see in one of the +following chapters how Jefferson, elaborating on this statement of +Kames, derived from it all his conception of natural rights. The +Scottish Lord was for him a master and a guide. + +In Sir John Dalrymple, author of an "Essay Towards a General History of +Feudal Property", in Francis Stoughton Sullivan's "An Historical +Treatise of the Feudal Laws and the Constitution of the Laws of +England", Jefferson studied the history of primogeniture and of entails +and came to the conclusion that both of them had foundation neither in +nature nor in law, and certainly did not appear in England before the +Norman Conquest. He reached to the same finding in his long dissertation +on the original common law, and thus we can trace directly through the +"Commonplace Book" the sources of the Bill on Primogeniture, of the Bill +for Religious Freedom, and of the Law to Abolish Entails, which +Jefferson considered as forming a system "which would eradicate every +fibre of ancient or future aristocracy and lay a foundation for a +government truly republican." + +Some of the entries in the "Commonplace Book" were evidently made after +the period with which we are dealing in this chapter, although most of +them can be dated before 1776. We have no means of determining whether +Jefferson had undertaken a systematic study of federative governments +when he was still a student, or at what time he copied the many extracts +and quotations from Montesquieu. Nor can we enter here into a detailed +discussion of all the articles. One or two facts, however, stand out +even after a superficial glimpse of this repertory of ideas on +government and society. The first is that Jefferson at that date, and +indeed during most of his life, was not interested in abstract +principles or in theoretical discussions. His was eminently the mind of +a lawyer, and it is not for a lawyer to arrive at a definition of +justice but to determine what the law says on a particular point. Yet in +a country where law is not codified and the common law is the basis of +the legal structure, it is impossible to find out what the law is +without undertaking a historical study of the cases at hand in the +different repertories. Men are either fallible or dishonest, false +interpretations creep in, texts are distorted from their original +meaning, and thus it becomes necessary to apply to legal decisions the +rules of historical evidence formulated by Bolingbroke. + +After undertaking such a study, Jefferson arrived at a very curious +conclusion; that at a time which was not buried in a mythological past, +the Anglo-Saxons had lived under customs and unwritten laws based upon +the natural rights of man and permitting the individual to develop +freely, normally and happily. In the course of time, these free +institutions deteriorated through the nefarious influences of several +agencies. Unwritten law became written law and jurists succeeded in +concealing under their sophistry and verbiage the primitive intent of +natural legislation. Priests, striving to extend their domination over a +realm which primitively was foreign to them, introduced religious +prescriptions into civil laws and thus diminished the rights of the +individual. Conquerors and a long lineage of hereditary kings further +modified primitive institutions in order to provide an apparently legal +foundation for their usurpations, until the people, no longer able to +withstand patiently the evils of tyranny, arose and recovered at least +some of their rights. + +Such a conspectus of the history of England was neither new nor +original; it was one of the favorite contentions of English jurists +during the eighteenth century, and nowhere perhaps is it more forcibly +developed than in the last chapter of Blackstone's "Commentaries", "Of +the rise, progress and gradual improvements of the laws of England." It +is fundamentally also the doctrine of Jefferson, who went much farther +than any of the English political thinkers in his revindication of the +Saxon liberties. + +One may see already how such a conception differs from the theories of +Rousseau and the French philosophers, and indeed from those of the +English philosophers. And this is easily explained, even if too seldom +realized. Born in the eighteenth century, Jefferson is in some respects +a man of the eighteenth century, but no greater mistake could be made +than to apply to him the same standards that apply to European political +thinkers. The very fact that he was born and grew up in a remote colony +prevented him from joining any particular school of political +philosophy. He had comparatively few books at his disposal, certainly +fewer gazettes, and only faint echoes of the philosophical battles +raging in Europe reached the capital of Virginia. During the long winter +evenings at Shadwell, he had ample time to think, to sift from the books +he was reading, not matter of passing interest, but matter of practical +value and principles susceptible of being applied to the society which +he knew and in which he lived. He could not have the cosmopolitan and +universal outlook of thinkers who had traveled and met with +representatives of many nationalities. His "Literary Bible", as well as +his "Commonplace Book", contains many examples which might be used to +illustrate his provincialism or, if one prefers, his regionalism. + +No man can become genuinely interested in things he has never seen and +cannot imagine. He had never seen the English countryside and so, when +he copied from Thomson's description of spring, he selected only +passages that could apply as well to the landscape of Virginia as to the +scenery of old England. Even when he read Horace he eliminated verses +with too much local color, unknown plants, unfamiliar dishes and +beverages, until the descriptions of a Roman farm by the old poet would +fit a typical Virginia plantation with the slaves singing in the great +courtyard after the day's work is done. He knew Latin and Greek, French +and Italian, and perhaps even German; for the time and place his library +was rich and varied. He had read Milton, Shakespeare, Dryden, Buchanan, +Thomson, Thomas Moss; he had studied Kames, Pelloutier, Stanyan, Eden, +Baccaria, Montesquieu and possibly Voltaire's "Essai sur les Moeurs", +but from each of these he had culled facts and definitions rather than +principles and theories. He had read some books of travel and listened +with enjoyment to Fauquier's accounts of his long voyages. He was +dreaming of visiting England, the continent and the Mediterranean, but +the only form of society he knew was the colonial society of Virginia. +No cosmopolitan tendencies would develop in such surroundings. Superior +as he was in intelligence and culture to his fellow students and to the +young gentry of Williamsburg, Jefferson, at the age of twenty-five, was +not yet an American; he was distinctly a Virginian. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A VIRGINIA LAWYER + + +In 1767, Thomas Jefferson, then twenty-four years of age, was "led into +the practice of the law at the bar of the General Court" by his friend +and mentor, Mr. Wythe. He was the owner of a substantial estate +inherited from his father, and he managed the family property of +Shadwell, but he had already formed plans for an establishment of his +own and begun preparations to build Monticello on the other side of the +Rivanna. The only future open to him seemed to be that of any young +Virginian of his social class. He occasionally joined them in +fox-hunting and attended the races, enjoyed a dance, a concert, and a +good play at the theater. The following year was particularly brilliant +at Williamsburg. The governor held stately receptions and the Virginian +Company of Comedians presented a rich program: "The Constant Couple or a +Trip to Jubilee", a farce called "The Miller of Mansfield", "The +Beggar's Opera", "The Anatomist or Sham Doctor", besides the ordinary +plays of the repertory, were given during the spring and summer of that +year.[20] + +Jefferson had his share of all these social pleasures, together with +others, but there were also simpler and more austere occupations. First +of all he had to look after his plantation. Agriculture, so long a +haphazard and empirical affair, was making great strides in Europe, +particularly in England. Treatises on the subject and special magazines +were read eagerly in Virginia; the choice of cultures, the improvement +of seeds, the introduction of new crops greatly concerned the minds of +progressive planters like Colonel Washington and the young master of +Shadwell. + +The "Garden Books" kept by Jefferson and now published only in part, +reveal him as a forerunner of modern efficiency engineers. Fences, +walls, roads and bridges had to be built on the 1900-acre estate left +him by his father; trees had to be planted and vegetables raised for the +large family at Shadwell, for the slaves and for the many travelers and +visitors who continued to drop in. If all the seeds planted in +Jefferson's vegetable garden and orchards did well, he must have had an +extraordinary variety of produce, considerably larger than is to be +found on the best appointed farms of to-day. For he was not satisfied +with the staple vegetables which appear on the American table with +clocklike regularity; he sowed "salsifia, peppergrass, sorrel, salmon +radishes, nasturtium, asparagus, all sorts of lettuce, cresses, celery, +strawberries, snap-beans, purple beans, white beans, sugar beans, +cucumbers, watermelons, cherries, olive stones, raspberries, turnips", +and--horrors!--garlic. He was led into many such experiments by his +neighbor and friend Philip Mazzei, formerly of Tuscany and now of +Albemarle County, for many of the entries in the Garden Book are in +Italian and "_aglio de Terracina_ (_vulgo_ garlic), _radiocchio di +Pistoia_ (succory or wild endive), _cavolo broccolo Francese di Pisa, +fragole Maggese_ (May strawberries)" and dozens of other imported +varieties appear in his garden lists. Then there were the horses, for, +true to the Virginia tradition, Jefferson kept no less than half a dozen +blood mares of good pedigree. Above all, the regular crops of wheat, +corn and especially tobacco had to be looked after; for tobacco was the +only crop that could be marketed for solid cash or sent to London to be +exchanged for books, furniture, fine clothes, musical instruments, and +the choice wines of Europe. As a practical farmer Jefferson was rather +successful, since during these early years his land brought him an +average return of two thousand dollars. This was ample for his needs. +But his main resources were procured from the practice of law. + +He kept a complete memorandum of all the cases in which he appeared +before the courts of Virginia and opposite each case entered the fee +received for his professional services.[21] These fees would seem very +moderate to the least ambitious practitioner of our days. In many cases +no fee is mentioned at all, and we are at liberty to suppose that +Jefferson took some charity cases, or that the defendants were not +always scrupulous in paying their bills. Yet, altogether, the total +averaged close to three thousand dollars a year, a nice fat addition to +the income from Shadwell and Monticello. Starting with one hundred and +fifteen cases in 1768, Jefferson was retained as attorney or counsel in +no less than four hundred thirty cases in 1771, and it is no +exaggeration to state that no day passed during the twelve years he +remained engaged in the practice of law without his giving considerable +time to his profession. The moderate amount of these fees and the large +number of cases indicate the kind of practice in which Jefferson was +employed. Trespassing of cattle on a neighbor's field, destruction of +fences, robbery committed by a clerk, wills, administration of estates, +interest, quarrels between two goodwives, with a lively exchange of +actionable words, assault and battery, all the seamy, sordid, petty side +of life, constituted for these twelve years the daily practice of Thomas +Jefferson, an apprenticeship of life and a training in the knowledge of +human nature enjoyed by very few abstract philosophers. + +In the old days of the bar, one of the earmarks of most lawyers was a +fluency of speech, unsurpassed except perhaps by the ministers. But +words never came easily to Jefferson, or in great abundance. His voice, +pleasant and modulated in ordinary conversation, "sank in his throat", +if raised higher, and became husky. He was clearly a business lawyer, +an office lawyer, whose clear, precise, meticulous presentation of facts +fitted him particularly for appearing before a court of appeals like the +General Court, rather than for moving and emotionally convincing a jury +of twelve men good and true. + +His scorn for oratory, long sentences, images, apostrophes may have been +a case of sour grapes, for in his youth he admired tremendously Patrick +Henry. As we have seen, he was wise enough not to aim higher than he +could reach. Not only did he never crave the fame of the popular orator, +but, conscious of his limitations, he always showed a real repugnance to +addressing a large assembly. Particularly brilliant in conversation, he +was destined to be a committee man, to win his ends by the pen rather +than by the silver tongue of the politician. Yet if he had been fond of +rhetoric, rhetoric would have found its way into his writings, but no +man of the period wrote less figuratively, employed fewer artifices of +style; metaphors, comparisons were unknown to him. Ideas remained ideas +and were never clad in the flowing garments of mythology; facts remained +facts and never became allegories. Liberty never appeared before his +eyes and was never represented by him as a goddess, and neither America +nor Britannia were majestic figures of heroic size that passed in his +dreams. He was neither emotional nor imaginative, yet his eyes were keen +and quick to note and establish distinctions between different varieties +of plants or animals. His mind was alert and always on the lookout for +new facts to add to his store of knowledge, after proper cataloguing. +Surely he was not the man to make startling discoveries in the realm of +natural history, or to propose a new system of the universe, nor was he +one to conceive, in a moment of inspiration, a new political gospel and +a new system of society; when he took up the practice of law in +Williamsburg, the greatest future that destiny had in store for him, +promising as he was, seemed to become as upright and sound a lawyer as +Mr. Wythe, and a legal authority as good and learned as Mr. Pendleton. + +He was admitted to the Bar in 1767, and two years later was chosen as a +member of the House of Burgesses and placed on the committee appointed +to draw up an answer to the Governor's speech. His draft was rejected, +however, and Colonel Nicholas' address substituted.[22] A few days later +Governor Botetourt, unable to endorse the spirited remonstrance to the +King on the subject of taxation, dissolved the Assembly. + + The next day--wrote Jefferson--we met in the Apollo of the Raleigh + Tavern, formed ourselves into a voluntary convention, drew up + articles of association against the use of any merchandise imported + from Great Britain, signed and recommended them to the people, + repaired to our several counties, and were re-elected without any + other exception than of the very few who had declined to follow our + proceedings.[23] + +A spirit of discontent was abroad and had spread throughout the +colonies, but it was neither disloyalty nor rebellion. Easily satisfied +with this gesture, which for many remained a mere gesture, the +Virginians paid little attention to public affairs during the next two +years. In the words of Jefferson "nothing of particular excitement +occurring for a considerable time, our countrymen seemed to fall into a +state of insensibility and inaction." His private life was more +eventful. The first of February, 1770, the house at Shadwell in which he +lived with his mother, his brother and his unmarried sisters, was burnt +to the ground, and with it every paper he had and almost every book. + +On reasonable estimate--he wrote to Page--I calculate the _cost_ of the +books burned to have been L200 sterling. Would to God it had been the +money, then it had never cost me a sigh. To make the loss more sensible, +it fell principally on my books of Common law, of which I have but one +left, at that time lent out. Of papers too of every kind I am utterly +destitute. All of these whether public or private, of business or of +amusement, have perished in the flames. + +The disaster had not been quite so complete as Jefferson indicates. His +"Commonplace Book" was saved, his account books, garden books and many +memoranda and family papers escaped the flames and were discovered again +in 1851 at the bottom of an old trunk.[24] Even as far as books were +concerned, the loss was not altogether irretrievable. Jefferson wrote at +once to Skipwith for a catalogue of books, sent orders to London, and +two years later he could proudly enter in a diary not yet published that +his library consisted on August 1, 1773, of twelve hundred and fifty +books, not including volumes of music or "his books in Williamsburg." A +very substantial store of printed matter for the time. + +Another event of quite a different order took place in his life. +Jefferson had lost a home, but he was building another, soon to be ready +for occupancy, on the hill of Monticello, and he already knew that the +house would not be left long without a mistress. On the third day of +December, 1771, he filled out a formal application for a marriage +license in the court of Charles City County and on the first of January +he was married to Martha Skelton, widow of Bathurst Skelton, and +daughter of John Wayles, then twenty-three years old. John Wayles of +"The Forest" was a lawyer with a large practice, a man of worth if not +of eminence, a boon companion welcomed in every society, who had amassed +quite a large fortune. His daughter Martha, a true type of Virginia +girl, of medium height and well-formed figure, had been well educated +and possessed all the social accomplishments of the time. She danced +gracefully, played the harpsichord and the spinet, was well read and, +above all, was a very efficient housekeeper, for she knew how to manage +the slaves and care for them in their illnesses, knew how to keep +accounts and to arrange for a reception. If the family tradition is +true, she was receptive to music, for Jefferson had won out over two +rivals because of his talent on the violin and his ability to sing +duets. It was a _mariage de raison_, to be sure, and two years later +Jefferson noted with undisguised satisfaction that, following the death +of his father-in-law, the portion that came to Martha was equal to his +own patrimony and consequently "doubled the ease of our circumstances." +But it was also a marriage of love, not without romantic color, with a +wedding trip from Charles City to Monticello through a snowstorm, and a +late arrival at night in the cold new house. Jefferson did not take any +of his friends into his confidence and did not celebrate his connubial +bliss; but at the very end of the pages given to Milton in his "Literary +Bible", as an afterthought and a recantation from his misogynism, are +found the following lines copied, we may surmise, during his honeymoon: + + Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles + Wanted, nor youthful dalliance, as beseems + Fair couple, linkt in happy league + Alone as they....[25] + +Belinda had been forgotten, and the young woman-hater had found his fair +conqueror. + +But death again took its toll and cast its cloud over Monticello. With +Page, Dabney Carr, Jefferson's fellow student at William and Mary, had +been his closest friend. Carr, a frequent visitor at Shadwell, had +married in 1764 Jefferson's sister Martha. Not a wealthy man, he was +described by his brother-in-law as living in a very small house, with a +table, half a dozen chairs, and one or two servants, but the happiest +man in the universe.[26] He died when hardly thirty and Jefferson had +him buried beneath the shade of their favorite tree at Monticello under +which they had so often read, dreamed and discussed; and such was the +origin of the little cemetery in which Jefferson was to bury so many of +his dear ones before he joined them himself in his last sleep. For Carr +he went to his "Literary Bible", as he himself felt unable to write a +fitting tribute, and copied from Mallet's "Excursion" an inscription to +nail on the tree, by the grave of the friend "who of all men living +loved him most." + +Honored by the Royal Government and made by Botetourt "Lieutenant of the +County of Albemarle, and Chief Commander of all His Majesty's Militia, +Horse and Foot in the said county of Albemarle"; honored also by his +Alma Mater and appointed by the President of William and Mary "Surveyor +of Albemarle County",[27] a member of the Assembly, one of the richest +landowners of his county, one of the most successful lawyers of +Virginia, happily married, busy with his estate, his books, his violin, +his law practice, Jefferson could look forward to a long, quiet and +moderate life, the ideal life of a farmer, a gentleman and a scholar. +For a man who took his duties seriously it was by no means an existence +of idleness, in nowise to be compared with the life of an English +gentleman farmer. Every planter was to some extent a captain, and every +plantation was to a large extent self-sufficient and self-supporting. In +the case of Jefferson, who had recently increased his domain, +difficulties and new problems requiring inventiveness, resourcefulness +and ingenuity arose every day. Slaves had to be taught new trades and +trained, the wilderness had to be reclaimed. Thus were developed +qualities of leadership and qualities of class pride. A young planter +related to the best families of the colony felt that he belonged to a +ruling class, above which could only exist the remote power of the +British Parliament and the majesty of the king represented by a governor +who never really belonged, and who in spite of his exalted position, +always remained a stranger. + +An English tourist, Burnaby, traveling in Virginia in 1760, had already +noted signs of impatience and restlessness among the colonists of +Virginia. "They are haughty," he wrote, "and jealous of their liberties; +impatient of restraint and can scarcely bear the thought of being +controlled by superior power. Many of them consider the Colonies as +independent states, not connected with Great Britain otherwise than by +having the same common King."[28] + +When the delegates from Virginia were sent to the first Continental +Congress, Silas Deane noted that "the Virginia, and indeed all the +Southern delegates appear like men of importance...they are sociable, +sensible, and spirited men. Not a milksop among them."[29] + +They were aristocrats wont to give orders and resentful of any +interference; they were lords and almost supreme rulers on their +plantations; they were owners of many slaves and they had been +accustomed to call no man master; and Jefferson was one of them. + +The change in the situation had come very abruptly. It is not the +purpose of this book to present an elaborate discussion of the causes of +the American Revolution, whether they were economic or political or +philosophical, or whether they were of mixed motives, varying with each +colony and in each colony with every man, did not impel the colonies to +revolt against the mother country. I am aware of the present tendency to +attribute most of the agitation preceding the revolution to purely +economic causes; it must be remembered however, that, if the ulterior +motives of the promoters of the American Revolution were selfish and +interested, Jefferson was one of those who were moved by entirely +different considerations, as were, as a matter of fact, most of the +members of the First Continental Congress. + +While life was still moving easily and happily in Virginia, where in +1772 the theatrical season had been particularly brilliant, things were +coming to a head in New England. News of the Bill closing the Port of +Boston on the first of June, 1774, reached the Virginia Assembly during +the spring session; how it was received had better be told in the words +of Jefferson. As so often happens in history at the decisive turn of +events, the leadership was taken by a very small group of men who made +up their minds at once, assumed responsibility and changed the course of +the ship of state. So far no strong protest had been made by Virginia to +the British Government. Dunmore was far from being tyrannical; the order +imposing duties on many English products had been largely rescinded, +except on tea, but it may not be sacrilegious to state that the Virginia +gentry were more partial to French wines, Madeira and Nantes rum than to +the English national beverage. If Virginia had not declared at that +particular time her solidarity, if Jefferson and his friends had not +taken the right steps and found the right words to "arouse the people +from the lethargy into which they had fallen", even New England +steadfastness and stanchness of heart would have been unequal to the +task. It was on this occasion, rather than on the Fourth of July, 1776, +that the fate of the British colonies of America was decided. + +According to Jefferson's own statement, leadership in these subjects was +no longer left to the old members of the Assembly, but Patrick Henry, R. +H. Lee, F. L. Lee, three or four other members and he himself met in the +library after agreeing that they must take "an unequivocal stand in the +line with Massachusetts." They decided that the best means of calling +the seriousness of the situation to the attention of the public was to +appoint a day of general fasting and prayer, quite an unprecedented +measure in Virginia; but they rummaged in old books "for revolutionary +precedents and forms of the Puritans", and they finally "cooked up a +resolution, somewhat modernizing their phrases, for appointing the 1st +day of June on which the port-bill was to commence, for a day of +fasting, humiliation, and prayer, to implore Heaven to avert from us the +evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in support of our +rights, and to turn the hearts of the King and Parliament to moderation +and justice."[30] Clearly the day of fasting and prayer did not appear +to any of the members of the unofficial committee as springing from a +profound religious sentiment, but they knew how strong over the people +was the power of the Church, and how impossible it was to unite them +except by giving a religious appearance to a purely political +manifestation. These young Virginia lawyers knew their people and were +not totally unacquainted with mass psychology; they knew how to play the +game of practical politics, despite their high and disinterested ideal. + +The next day Governor Dunmore pronounced the usual English remedy in +such circumstances: the dissolution of the Assembly. Once more the +members met in the Apollo room, and "they agreed to an association, and +instructed the committee of correspondence to propose to the +corresponding committees of the other colonies to appoint deputies to +meet in Congress at such place _annually_ as would be convenient, to +direct, from time to time, the measures required by the general +interest." + +This passage in the "Autobiography" has led historians into a spirited +controversy as to whether the proposal to form a Congress originated in +Virginia or in Massachusetts, and whether such a plan had not been +discussed in Boston as early as 1770. Whatever the case may be, the most +important part of the resolution passed in the Raleigh Tavern was not +the establishment of a cooerdinating organism; it was the declaration +recorded by Jefferson, "that an attack on any one colony should be +considered as an attack on the whole." This last part was not a simple +administrative provision, it was more than a promise of a union; it was +the constitution of a new society, since according to Kames as quoted by +Jefferson in his "Commonplace Book" "mutual defence against a more +powerful neighbor is in early times the chief, or sole motive for +joining society." + +The deputies went back home and, on the first of June, met the +assemblies of the people "to perform ceremonies of the day and to +address to them discourses suited to the occasion. The people met +generally, with anxiety and alarm in their countenance, and the effect +of the day, through the whole colony was like a shock of electricity, +arousing every man and placing him erect and solid on his centre."[31] + +As a result of the train of thought started by the meeting, the +freeholders of Albemarle County adopted on June 26 a series of +resolutions evidently written by Jefferson. Here for the first time +Jefferson declared that: + + The inhabitants of the several States of British America are subject + to the laws which they adopted at their first settlement, and to such + others as have been since made by their respective Legislatures, duly + constituted and appointed with their own consent. That no other + Legislature whatever can rightly exercise authority over them; and + that these privileges they as the common rights of mankind, confirmed + by the political constitutions they have respectively assumed, and + also by several charters of compact from the Crown. + +The originality of this theory cannot be determined without comparison +with the resolutions adopted a few days before by the Assembly of +Fairfax County presided over by Colonel George Washington. These came +from the pen of George Mason and they stated with equal emphasis the +contractual theory of the government of the British colonies. Whether +Jefferson knew them or not, the similarity with the views expressed by +the freeholders of Albemarle is most striking. + +The first article averred the principle also found in Jefferson's +"Commonplace Book" that "this colony and Dominion of Virginia cannot be +considered as a conquered country, and as it was, that the present +inhabitants are not of the conquered, but of the conquerors." It added +that: + + Our ancestors, when they left their native land, and settled in + America, brought over with them, even if the same is not confirmed by + Charters, the civil constitution and form of Government of the + country they came from and were by the laws of nature and nations + entitled to all its privileges, immunities and advantages, which have + descended to us, their posterity, and ought of right to be as fully + enjoyed as if we had still continued with the realm of England. + +The second article enunciated the most essential and "fundamental +principle of government", that the people "could be governed by no laws +to which they had not given their consent by Representatives freely +chosen by themselves." + +The third article declared that the colonies had some duty to fulfill +towards the mother country and admitted that the British Parliament +might, "directed with wisdom and moderation", take measures to regulate +"American commerce", although such action was in some degree repugnant +to the principles of the Constitution.[32] + +Whether or not Jefferson had received the Fairfax resolutions before +writing the Albemarle declaration, this is the capital difference +between the two documents and the two doctrines. On the one hand, George +Mason accepted the theory that the first settlers had brought over with +them the civil constitution and form of government of the mother +country, and consequently admitted a permanent connection between the +colony and the metropolis. Jefferson, on the contrary, asserted with +great strength and clarity the complete independence of the colonists +from the British constitution. They were subject to no laws except those +they had freely adopted when they had consented to a new compact and +formed a new society. He was perfectly justified when he declared in his +"Autobiography": + + Our other patriots, Randolph, the Lees, Nicholas, Pendleton, stopped + at the half-way house of John Dickinson, who admitted that England + had a right to regulate our commerce, and to lay duties on it for the + purpose of regulation, but not of raising revenue. But for this + ground there was no foundation in compact, in any acknowledged + principles of colonisation, nor in reason; expatriation being a + natural right, and acted on as such by all nations, in all ages. + +This was really the core of the question. Jefferson had reached that +conclusion, not from following a certain line of abstract reasoning, but +after studying the history of the Greek colonies in Stanyan, and the +history of the Saxon settlement of Great Britain in many authors, as may +be seen in his "Commonplace Book", and he was soon to reaffirm the +doctrine of expatriation as the fundamental principle on which rested +all the claims of the American colonies. + +The Virginia Convention was to meet at Williamsburg on August 1, to +select delegates to a General Congress of the colonies. With all his +books at hand, all his legal authorities, the precious "Commonplace +Book" and all the repertories he had gathered in his library, Jefferson +proceeded to draft a project of instructions for the future delegates. +He was taken ill on his way to Williamsburg but forwarded the plan to +Peyton Randolph and Patrick Henry. Henry never mentioned it; Randolph +informed the convention that he had received such a paper from a +member, prevented by sickness from offering it, and laid it on the table +for perusal. It was read generally by the members, approved by many, +though thought too bold for use at that time; but they printed it in +pamphlet form, under the title of "A Summary View of the Rights of +British America." + +In some respects it is a more original and more important document than +the Declaration of Independence itself. With the detailed account of the +grievances enumerated by Jefferson we cannot deal here. A few points, +however, deserve special attention. The difficulties that had arisen +between the colonies and the home government had occasioned the +publication of many pamphlets dealing with the situation. Most of +Jefferson's predecessors, however, had attempted to define _in jure_ the +rights of the British colonies. Thus George Mason had made his +"Extracts" from the Virginia charters, "with some remarks on them" in +1773, and he had come to the conclusion already given in the "Fairfax +resolves", that "the ancestors of the colonists when they had left their +native land and settled in America had brought with them, although not +confirmed by Charters, the civil government and form of government of +the country they came from."[33] But he had gone back no farther in +history and had not formulated the principles of the "constitution" of +England. Not so with Jefferson, who emphatically denied that the +colonists had anything to do with the British constitution or with its +form of government. He had studied the history of the settlement of +England in Molesworth, in Pelloutier, in Sir William Temple, in +Dalrymple, and had come to the conclusion enunciated in the "Rights of +British America": + + That our ancestors, before their emigration to America, were the free + inhabitants of the British Dominions in Europe, and possessed a right + which nature has given to all men of leaving the country in which + chance, not choice, had placed them, and of seeking out new + habitations, and there establishing new societies, under such laws + and regulations as, to them, shall seem most likely to promote public + happiness. + + That their Saxon ancestors had, under this universal law, in like + manner, left their native wilds and woods in the North of Europe, + possessed themselves of the Island of Britain, then less charged with + inhabitants, and established there a system of laws which has been so + long the glory and protection of that country. + +On another and not less important point, Jefferson was indebted to his +"Commonplace Book." He had taken great care to determine through +historical and judicial authorities the origin of land tenures in the +kingdom of England and he had found that in the good old Saxon times, +"upon settling in the countries which they subdued, the victorious army +divided the conquered lands. That portion which fell to every soldier he +seized as a recompense due to his valour, as a settlement acquired by +his own sword. He took possession of it as a freeman in full property. +He enjoyed it during his own life and could dispose of it at pleasure, +or transmit it as an inheritance to his children." It was not until +after the fifth century that the king, because as general he was thought +fittest to distribute the conquered lands to each according to his +merits, assumed to himself and was quietly allowed the entire power of +the partition of lands. This abominable system however was not +introduced into England before the Norman Conquest, and thus was spread +the false notion that all lands belonged to the crown.[34] Against this +last claim, which he believed to rest on a false conception of history, +Jefferson raises an emphatic protest. Backed by his knowledge of the +gradual encroachment of the feudal system on the natural rights of his +Anglo-Saxon ancestors, he claimed for the American colonists the same +rights as belonged in the good old Anglo-Saxon days to those who had +acquired a settlement by their own sword. + + It is time for us to lay this matter before his Majesty, and to + declare, that he has no right to grant lands of himself. From the + nature and purpose of civil institutions, all the lands within the + limits, which any particular party has circumscribed around itself, + are assumed by that society, and subject to their allotment; this may + be done by themselves assembled collectively, or by their + legislature, to whom they may have delegated sovereign authority; + and, if they are alloted in neither of these ways, each individual of + the society, may appropriate to himself such lands as he finds + vacant, and occupancy will give him title. + +According to this theory, one of the mainstays of the doctrine of +Americanism, of which Jefferson made himself the advocate, is the right +of conquest. But here Jefferson would have introduced a distinction +borrowed from Lord Kames, for "the northern nations who overran Europe +fought not for glory or dominion but for habitation" and invaded only +countries which were sparsely populated.[35] Whether such a position was +tenable historically is quite another matter. The important point +maintained by Jefferson is that when the first settlers left Great +Britain for the shores of America, they were not colonists but free +agents. By the mere fact of expatriating themselves they had severed all +ties with the mother country, they had recovered full possession of all +their natural rights and were at liberty to agree on a new social +compact; they derived their rights of property not from the king but +from their occupancy of a new and unsettled territory. All considered, +this curious doctrine was nothing but a sort of sublimation and legal +justification of the pioneer spirit. + +This historical and legal demonstration, in which Jefferson had gone +back to the very beginnings of Anglo-Saxon society, transcended all +contemporary discussions on the Rights of the British Parliament. +Jefferson was perfectly aware of its originality and not a little proud +of it. It was in his opinion + + the only orthodox or tenable doctrine--that our emigration from + England to this country gave her no more rights over us, than the + emigration of the Danes and Saxons gave to the present authorities of + the mother country, over England. In this doctrine, however, I have + never been able to get any one to agree with me but Mr. Wythe. He + concurred in it from the first dawn of the question, What was the + political relation between us and England? + +Once the question was clearly put, Jefferson went at it with the methods +used by a lawyer to prove the title to a piece of property. The first +point to be settled was to determine who was the legitimate owner of the +territory occupied by the American "colonists", the king or the +colonists themselves; thus presented, the question became very simple: + + For it is thought that no circumstance has occurred to distinguish + materially, the British from the Saxon emigration. America was + conquered, and her settlements made and firmly established, at the + expense of individuals, and not of the British public. Their own + blood was spilt in acquiring lands for their settlement, their own + fortunes expanded in making this settlement effectual. For themselves + they fought, for themselves they conquered, and for themselves alone + they have a right to hold. + +This was the keystone of Jefferson's social system at that time. It is +not unimportant to note that it was a doctrine that could apply only to +Anglo-Saxon colonies, more particularly to American colonies, and not a +doctrine susceptible of universal application. Whether or not the +principle might also be advanced by other peoples or nations, Jefferson +did not state and did not care. His was not a mind to generalize and to +extend universally any given principle. For the present, at least, he +was satisfied to claim for the American settlers not the rights of man, +but the rights of their Saxon ancestors. His position was legal and +historical, not philosophical. + +It was also to some extent an aristocratic position. Since the land was +theirs by right of conquest, it almost necessarily ensued that only +landowners, or to use the old colonial word, freeholders, were entitled +to the rights, privileges, and happiness of self-government. The +consequence was not expressed but it was implied. The analogy with the +doctrine of the Physiocrats strikes one at first; but this analogy is +only superficial. True enough, only freeholders are really worth +considering and can raise a legitimate protest; but in a country as new +and as extensive as America, it is within the power of every inhabitant +to become a freeholder. For it is another iniquity to suppose that the +Crown has the right to give grants of land: + + It is time for us to lay this matter before his Majesty, and to + declare, that he has no right to grant lands of himself. From the + nature and purpose of civil institutions, all the lands within the + limits, which any particular party has circumscribed around itself, + are assumed by that society, and subject to their allotment; this may + be done by themselves assembled collectively, or by their + legislature, to whom they may have delegated sovereign authority; + and, if they are alloted in neither of these ways, each individual of + the society may appropriate to himself such lands as he finds vacant, + and occupancy gives him title. + +Thus spoke the pioneer, a pioneer who had studied law and history and +could express in clear and forcible terms what the pioneers had felt +only confusedly. Unless I am much mistaken, it is the first enunciation +of one of the cardinal principles of Americanism; but, as far as +Jefferson is concerned, it did not rest upon any political philosophy, +either Hooker's or Locke's. The American settlers resumed and +resurrected on a new soil the tradition interrupted by Parliamentary and +kingly usurpations. By a sort of curious primitivism they renounced +their immediate and degraded British forbears to claim as their true +ancestors the Saxon conquerors of the British Isles. Can any one imagine +anything farther from the theory of Rousseau in the "Discourse on the +Origin of Inequality", or in the "Social Contract", anything farther +from the universal humanitarianism of the French philosophers? In a last +analysis, American society as it existed, and as it expressed its will +to exist through its young spokesman, rested essentially not on an _a +priori_ principle but on the right of conquest, or more exactly, of +discovery. + +The best student of William and Mary, the young artist who wanted to +make Monticello a thing of beauty, the lover of the literature of Greece +and Rome, proclaimed loudly that "our ancestors who migrated hither were +laborers, not lawyers." His was not a political philosophy dealing with +"fictitious principles", it was the harsh, hard-headed, practical and +fierce determination of the pioneer who stakes out a piece of land in +the wilderness, ready to hold it against all claim jumpers. + +The Virginia convention dominated by "Randolph, the Lees, Nicholas, +Pendleton" was not ready to go so far as the young master of Monticello. +The instructions to the delegates finally adopted and printed in an +appendix to Jefferson's own "Autobiography" were exceedingly tame, but +his declaration was printed, widely circulated among the people, and +even reached England. It was just what was needed to set afire the +public mind, for no people will rise, fight and die for an economic +doctrine or in defense of its commercial interests. They have to be +provided with mottoes which appeal to their imagination, they have to be +raised above the ordinary trend of things; they must have a banner, a +flag and a battle cry, and such was the object of Jefferson's +peroration, which no Pendleton and no Lee could have written: + + That these are our grievances, which we have just laid before his + Majesty, with that freedom of language and sentiment which becomes a + free people claiming their rights as derived from the laws of nature, + and not as the gift of their Chief Magistrate. Let those flatter, who + fear: it is not an American art. To give praise where it is not due + might be well from the venal, but it would ill beseem those who are + asserting the rights of human nature. They know and will, therefore, + say, that Kings are the servants, not the proprietors of the people. + +Congress assembled at Philadelphia on September 4, 1774, under the +presidency of Peyton Randolph of Virginia and adjourned in October, not +without a recommendation "to discountenance every species of +extravagance and dissipation, especially all horse racing, all kinds of +gaming, cock-fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays and other diversions +and entertainments."[36] The colonies were girding their loins for the +fight, society life came to a standstill; the brilliant days of the +little capital of Virginia were over. + +When the counties organized committees of safety, Jefferson was at the +top of the list of appointees in his county. He was again sent to the +second convention of Virginia as representative from Albemarle. The +convention met in Richmond, March 20, 1775, and it was then that Patrick +Henry poured out in a fierce outburst the famous speech ending with the +war cry of "Give me liberty or give me death." The resolution to arm +passed with a decided majority and a plan of defense was adopted. +Collisions threatened between the militia and the regulars on several +occasions. But when Lord North's "Conciliatory Proposition" was +received, Lord Dunmore convened the House of Burgesses on the first of +July to take it into consideration. Peyton Randolph was then recalled +from Congress and Jefferson appointed to succeed him. He did not leave, +however, before an answer to the proposition had been drafted. The +Virginians did not close the door to a compromise, but insisted that the +final answer did not depend on them, for they considered that they were +"bound in honor as well as interest, to share their general fate with +their sister Colonies, and should hold themselves base deserters of that +Union to which they had acceeded, were they to agree to any measure +distinct and apart from them." + +A few days later Lord Dunmore left the city and took refuge on board a +man-of-war lying at York, declaring he had taken this step for his +safety. Jefferson departed from Williamsburg for Philadelphia on the +eleventh of June, 1775, and reached the capital of Pennsylvania on the +twentieth. The national role of the young Virginia lawyer and landowner +was about to begin. + + + + +BOOK TWO + +_Jefferson and the American Revolution_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE + + +When Thomas Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia and took lodgings with +"Ben Randolph" on Chestnut Street, he was only thirty-three years old, +"the youngest member of Congress but one." But he was already known as +the author of the "Summary View of the Rights of British America", he +was bringing with him Virginia's answer to Lord North's "Conciliatory +Proposition," and he had been appointed to succeed as delegate the +former President of Congress. Most of all he had behind him, not only +the first colony in population, but also, to a large extent, all the +Southern colonies, which were bound to follow the course of Virginia. + +Unassuming and straightforward, he was at once welcomed with open arms +by the New England leaders, and years later John Adams still remembered +the first impression he made upon him: + + Mr. Jefferson came into Congress in June 1775, and brought with + him a reputation for literature, science and a happy talent of + composition.... Though a silent member in Congress, he was so prompt, + frank, explicit and decisive upon committees and in conversation--not + even Samuel Adams was more so--that he soon seized upon my heart. + +Five days later, he was placed on the committee appointed to draw up a +"Declaration of the Causes of Taking Up Arms." Through deference for the +authority of Dickinson, leader of the conservative party, he withdrew a +draft he had prepared and in the final text he claimed as his only the +last four paragraphs. But these last paragraphs contained some of the +sharply coined sentences that impress themselves on the mind, the final +expression of so many ideas ever since repeated in political speeches +whenever an attempt is made to define America's ideal policies. To a +certain extent Jefferson, as well as most of his contemporaries, may +have been influenced by Thomas Paine, whose "Common Sense", a pamphlet +addressed to the inhabitants of America, had taken the city by fire. For +the first time the colonists had been told that "the cause of America is +in a great measure the cause of all _Mankind_. Many circumstances, have +and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which +the Principles of all lovers of mankind are affected and in the event of +which this affection is interested." It also contained a rather vague +plan for a confederation, a "Continental charter", but Paine's pamphlet +was essentially an eloquent appeal to elemental feelings; it exalted the +cause of the colonists calling on them as the last defenders of +oppressed liberty; it had all the fire and passion of an evangelical +message: + + O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny, but + the tyrant, stand forth. Every spot of the old world is over-run with + oppression. Freedom hath been hunted around the globe. Asia and + Africa have long expelled her.--Europe regards her like a stranger; + and England hath given her warning to depart. O receive the fugitive, + and prepare in time an asylum for mankind! + +But greatly as he admired Paine's eloquence, Jefferson did not try to +emulate it; impassioned as it was, his appeal to the inhabitants of the +British colonies sounded more like the summing-up of a lawyer before the +jury than an emotional sermon. + + Our cause is just. Our union is perfect--our internal resources are + great.... We fight not for glory or for conquest. We exhibit to + mankind the remarkable spectacle of a people attacked by provoked + enemies, without any imputation or even suspicion of offense. They + boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet proffer no milder + condition than servitude or death. + +Thus was the uniqueness of America's position emphasized and called to +the attention of her own people. Nor was it forgotten that the country +was particularly favored by God, for it declared that: + + We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instance of the Divine towards + us, that His providence would not permit us to be called into this + severe controversy, until we were grown up to our present strength, + had been previously exercised in warlike apparatus, and possessed of + the means of defending ourselves. + +Finally, Jefferson reiterated once more his favorite contention, the +theory which has become one of the fundamental axioms of the doctrine of +Americanism: that America did not owe anything to the older civilization +of Europe, and was a self-made country: + + In our native land, in defence of the freedom that is our birthright, + and which we ever enjoyed until the late violation of it; for the + protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of + our forefathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, we + have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall + cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being + renewed shall be removed, and not before. + +Then came a perfunctory appeal to conciliation, and a final religious +note strictly nonsectarian; for of his religious faith the young +delegate had retained the form and the tone which scarcely concealed his +deism: + + With an humble confidence in the mercies of the supreme and impartial + Judge and Ruler of the Universe, we most devoutly implore his divine + goodness to conduct us happily through this great conflict, to + dispose our adversaries to reconciliation on reasonable terms, and + thereby to relieve the empire from the calamity of civil war. + +No wonder this "Declaration" was read amid thundering huzzas in every +market place and amid fervent prayers in nearly every pulpit in the +colonies. With an extraordinary "felicity of expression", with a unique +sense of fitness, Jefferson had struck every chord susceptible of +response in every American heart. He had drawn for the people an ideal +picture of the nation and themselves, he had portrayed them as they +yearned to be looked upon by posterity and the nations of the world: he +had formulated the creed of Americanism. + +Far more judicial in tone was the neat state paper prepared by Jefferson +to answer Lord North's "Conciliatory Proposition." The committee +appointed consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams +and Richard H. Lee. The youngest member of the committee was chosen to +draw up the document, the answer of the Virginia Assembly he had brought +with him having been approved. Not for nothing had Jefferson attended +the courts of justice of Albemarle County and Williamsburg for more than +ten years and listened to decisions from the bench. The answer strives +to be a cold, dispassionate enumeration of facts, with its short +paragraphs beginning: "we are of opinion"--recalling the "Whereases" of +legal documents. But there is an undertone of indignation, cropping up +in every sentence, which belies the studied reserve. The conclusion, one +might call it a peroration, is a genuine specimen of revolutionary +eloquence: + + When it considers the great armaments with which they have invaded + us, and the circumstances of cruelty with which these have commenced + and prosecuted hostilities; when these things, we say, are laid + together and attentively considered, can the world be deceived into + an opinion that we are unreasonable? Or can it hesitate to believe + with us, that nothing but our own exertions may defeat the + ministerial sentence of death or abject submission? + +Truly Jefferson might have become a great orator had he chosen to +correct his handicap in speech and train his voice. Historians who +attribute much importance to racial traits and inherited characteristics +may believe that this was due to the Welshman that reappeared in him at +times; but the Welsh temperament was suppressed and checked by the +puritanical restraint of Mr. Small, Mr. Maury, the judicial reserve of +Mr. Wythe, the example of Mr. Peyton Randolph; and, carried away as he +was by Patrick Henry's oratory, Jefferson saw in him impulsive and +emotional qualities to be admired but to be shunned. More than any of +his contemporaries, however, he was unconsciously influenced by +reminiscences of speeches he had read and memorized in Livy, Cicero and +perhaps Demosthenes. These sentences have a classical ring; his true +models were the Greek and Latin orators, and if a critical edition of +Jefferson's early papers were ever attempted, a careful investigation +could not fail to bring to light the classical sources of his +inspiration. + +The report was adopted on July 31, and Congress adjourned the next day. +Jefferson returned at once to Monticello, to stay in Virginia until the +opening of Congress. In spite of the fiery tone of the answer to Lord +North's proposition, it seems that neither he nor any of his friends +seriously entertained nor even considered the possibility of the +colonies separating entirely from the mother country. War had already +begun, but it was a civil war. There still remained some hope that an +"everlasting avulsion from Great Britain would be avoided." Yet it could +be avoided only on one condition: that the British Government should +accept, without reservation or restriction, the minimum terms of +Congress. Jefferson then wrote to his friend, John Randolph, who had +decided to remove to England: + + I would rather be in dependence on Great Britain, properly limited, + than on any nation upon earth, or than on no nation. But I am one of + those, too, who, rather than submit to the rights of legislation for + us, assumed by the British Parliament, and which late experience has + shown they will so cruelly exercise, would lend my hand to sink the + whole island in the ocean.[37] + +The manuscript letter in the Library of Congress is not the one that was +used in the different editions of Jefferson's "Works." It is a much +corrected and written-over draft, containing several passages which have +disappeared in the published text.[38] It contained particularly a +request to John Randolph who was going to "the hub of literature", to +buy him "books of parliamentary learning." It also included a request to +Randolph to sell him his fine violin, to which Randolph acceded, +averring that "Tho we _may politically_ differ in sentiments, yet I see +no reason, why _privately_ we may not cherish the same esteem for each +other which formerly I believe subsisted between us. We both of us seem +to be steering opposite courses: the success of either lies in the womb +of Time."[39] + +Such letters are very significant, for they express better than long +dissertations the state of mind of the leading men of the day. The +question at issue was still a political question; it was a question of +internal politics on which men could differ without necessarily becoming +enemies or losing each other's esteem and affection. Less than a year +before the Declaration of Independence, independence seemed to Jefferson +the worst possible solution, to be delayed and avoided if it were +possible. + +Chosen again as delegate to Congress, but delayed by the illness and +death of his second child, Jefferson reached Philadelphia on September +25, twenty days after the opening of the session. He stayed only until +the twenty-eighth of December, and resumed his seat on May 13 of the +following year. In the meantime events were moving rapidly. Congress had +been advised of the king's refusal even to notice their second petition; +and Jefferson, writing a second time to John Randolph, could declare: + + Believe me, my dear sir, there is not in the British empire, a man + who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But + by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a + connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in + this I think I speak the sentiment of America. We want neither + inducement nor power, to declare and assert a separation. It is will + alone which is wanting, and that is growing apace under the fostering + hand of our King.[40] + +On the sixth of December, a declaration was adopted repudiating +allegiance to the king, and the British Constitution was proclaimed "our +best inheritance." Four days previously Jefferson had drafted a +declaration concerning Ethan Allen, when news arrived of his being +arrested and sent to Britain in irons to be punished for pretended +treason. For the first time the delegate from Virginia referred to the +British as "our enemies" and called upon them to respect "the rights of +nations." + +At this juncture and shortly after being appointed on an important +committee, Jefferson abruptly left Congress and set out for home. The +reason for his sudden departure has never been satisfactorily explained. +It may have been due to news of the bad health of his mother: she died +on March 31, 1776, and this is the only explanation that Randall could +offer. It was more probably due to his anxiety about the fate of his +family. Communications with Virginia were rare and difficult. He wrote +home regularly every week, but on October 31 he had not yet received a +word "from any mortal breathing", and on November 7 he repeated: + +"I have never received the script of a pen from any mortal in Virginia +since I left it, nor been able by any inquiries I could make to hear of +my family. I had hoped that when Mrs. Byrd came I could have heard +something of them. The suspense under which I am is too terrible to be +endured. If anything has happened, for God's sake let me know it!" Two +weeks later he urged his wife to keep herself "at a distance from Ld. +Dunmore", and he was planning to meet Eppes "as proposed." + +There seems to be very little doubt that he yielded to his anxiety and +to the entreaties of Eppes who seems to have urged him to come back. He +had left at Monticello a sick mother, his sisters, a wife who had +recently lost a child and had hardly recovered from the blow, and he was +in constant fear that a raid from the British troops, who had already +burnt Norfolk, should endanger the lives of his dear ones. Furthermore +he believed that his presence in Philadelphia was not indispensable; for +he was never one who overrated himself. Finally, a document overlooked +by his biographers informs us that on September 26, 1775, he had been +appointed by the Committee of Safety for the Colony of Virginia, +Lieutenant and Commander in chief of the Militia of the County of +Albemarle.[41] In view of Lord Dunmore's impending attacks his presence +was evidently required to organize local forces. All these are reasons +enough to explain why he left Philadelphia. We do not even know that he +hesitated at all or experienced any conflict of duties. National +patriotism was still limited by family duty, and local patriotism was +stronger in him than obligations to a country which did not yet exist. + +So it happened that the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence +was to miss many of the preliminary steps and discussions that preceded +it. He did not resume his seat in Congress until May 14, 1776. Five days +before, a resolution framed by Adams and R. H. Lee had been adopted, +instructing the colonies to form governments. It was passed the very day +Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia. Not only had he come back rather +reluctantly, but he was anxious to return to Virginia in order to +participate in the work of the Colonial Convention, as appears from his +letter to Thomas Nelson, Junior: + + Should our Convention propose to establish now a form of government, + perhaps it might be agreeable to recall for a short time their + delegates. It is a work of the most interesting nature and such as + every individual would wish to have his voice in.... But this I + mention to you in confidence, as in our situation, a hint to any + other is too delicate however anxiously interesting the subject is to + our feelings. + +With all his attention turned towards the Old Dominion and in his +anxiety to participate in establishing a model form of government for +his "country", he then decided to send to Pendleton, President of the +Assembly, the draft of a proposed constitution for Virginia, or rather, +as he termed it, "A Bill for new modelling the form of government and +for establishing the Fundamental principles of our future +constitution."[42] This is a capital document for the history of +Jefferson's political thought. For the first time he had the opportunity +to develop fully his views on society and government. How clear in his +mind were the theories of which he later became the advocate will be +easily perceived. The draft started with a recital of the grievances of +the colony against "George Guelph King of Great Britain", which +Jefferson was to utilize in the Declaration of Independence. It declared +that "The Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary shall be forever +separate" and continued with a description of the three branches of +government. For the Legislative, Jefferson proposed a bicameral system, +consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The House was to +be elected by "all male persons of full age and sane mind having a +freehold estate in (one fourth of an acre) of land in any town or in 25 +acres of land in the county and all persons resident in the colony who +shall have paid scot and lot to government the last two years." The +Senate was to be appointed by the House of Representatives. The death +penalty was abolished for all crimes except murder and offences in the +military service; torture was abolished in all cases whatsoever. Some of +these provisions were incorporated later in the "Bill for Apportioning +Crimes and Punishment." The Administrator was to be appointed by the +House of Representatives, as well as the Attorney-general and the Privy +Council. Judges were to be appointed by the Administrator and Privy +Council; the High Sheriffs and Coroners of counties were to be elected +annually by the voters, but all other officers, civil and military, to +be appointed by the Administrator. The bill proposed that "descents +shall go according to the laws of Gavelkind, save only that females +shall have equal rights with males."--"All persons shall have full and +free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to support +or maintain any religious institution." "Printing presses shall be free +except so far as by commission of private injury cause may be given of +private action. There shall be no standing army but in time of actual +war." The introduction of slaves into the State was forbidden. Finally +provisions were made for the revision of the Constitution. + +Truly most of the reforms advocated by Jefferson are already contained +in this document, not implicitly but explicitly: religious freedom, +freedom of the press, abolition of slavery, the laws of descent and the +bill to abolish entail, the "Bill for Proportioning Crimes and +Punishment" are all here. It was a bold and radical proposal, and no +wonder the young delegate from Virginia was anxious to go home in order +to defend it before his colleagues of the Assembly. The delegates, after +much wrangling, had come to practical agreement on the most important +points. It was too late and they were too "tired" of the subject to +resume the discussion. From Jefferson's plan they simply borrowed the +long recital of grievances which became the preamble to the Virginia +Constitution.[43] + +As finally adopted, the Constitution was far less liberal than the plan +proposed by Jefferson, and this may explain his severe criticism of it +in his "Notes on Virginia" (Query XIII). It embodied, however, some of +the same essential principles; it proclaimed the separation of powers +and established two Chambers. It retained the name of governor, redolent +of the English regime, instead of "administrator"; it made no mention of +slavery, entails, descents and freedom of the press, but in some +respects it was even more democratic than the Jefferson plan since both +houses were directly elected. In the meantime things were coming to a +head in Philadelphia, and on June 7 certain resolutions concerning +independence being moved and adopted, it was + + _Resolved_, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, + free and independent States, that they are absolved from all + allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection + between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, + totally dissolved. + + That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures + for forming foreign Alliances. + + That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the + respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.[44] + +On June 10, it was + + _Resolved_, That the consideration of the first resolution be + postponed to this day, three weeks (July 1), and in the meanwhile, + that no time be lost in case the Congress agree thereto, that a + committee be appointed to prepare a declaration to the effect of the + said first resolution. + + The next day it was resolved, That the committee to prepare the + declaration consist of five members: The members chosen, Mr. [Thomas] + Jefferson, Mr. J[ohn] Adams, Mr. [Benjamin] Franklin, Mr. [Roger] + Sherman, and Mr. R[obert] R. Livingston.[45] + +Jefferson's biographers have indulged in a great many discussions about +the reasons which determined the selection of the committee. Jefferson +certainly did not seek the honor, and little did he dream at the time +that it would bring him such fame. Without renewing the old controversy +on the participation of the other members of the committee in the +drawing up of the famous document, a few facts have to be considered. +First of all it was not an improvisation. The committee appointed on +June 10 reported only on June 28. A written draft was submitted to Adams +and Franklin, whose advice could not be neglected, and they suggested +several modifications, additions and corrections. Furthermore, Jefferson +was too good a harmonizer not to discuss many points with his colleagues +of the committee, so as to ascertain their views before writing down the +first draft. Even the desirability of having a declaration was a highly +controversial question, and Jefferson himself, in the detailed notes he +took of the preliminary discussion, indicates that when the committee +was appointed "the colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, +Delaware and South Carolina were not yet matured for falling from the +parent stem."[46] + +On June 28, the committee appointed to prepare a declaration brought in +a draft which was read and "_Ordered_ to lie on the table." On July 2, +Congress resumed the consideration of the resolution agreed to by and +reported from the committee of the whole; and the same being read, was +agreed to as follows. + + _Resolved_, That these United Colonies are, and, of right, ought to + be Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from + allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connexion + between them, and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, + totally dissolved. + +Properly speaking this is, as Mr. Becker has remarked, the real +Declaration of Independence. But the principle once adopted, it remained +to proclaim and explain the action taken by Congress not only to the +people of the Free and Independent States, but to the world at large. +Congress then resolved itself into a committee of the whole, only to +decide that it was too late in the day to take up such a momentous +question. The discussion continued on the next day but Harrison reported +that the committee, not having finished, desired leave to sit again. On +July 4, Congress resolved itself into a committee of the whole to take +into further consideration the Declaration; and after some time, the +president resumed the chair. "Mr. (Benjamin) Harrison reported, that the +committee of the whole Congress have agreed to a Declaration, which he +delivered in. The Declaration being again read, was agreed to." Congress +then ordered that the Declaration be authenticated and printed, and the +committee appointed to prepare the Declaration "to superintend and +correct the press." + +Such is briefly told from the "Journals of Congress" the story of the +momentous document in its external details. It has been too well related +by Mr. Becker and Mr. Fitzpatrick to leave any excuse for a new account. +Writing many years later, John Adams declared "there is not an idea in +it but what had been hackneyed in Congress two years before," and +replying to Adams' insinuations, Jefferson admitted that: + + Pickering's observations, and Mr. Adams' in addition, that it + contained no new ideas, that it is a commonplace compilation, its + sentiments hacknied in Congress for two years before ... may be all + true. Of that I am not judge. Richard H. Lee charged it as copied + from Locke's treatise on Government ... I only know that I turned to + neither book nor pamphlet while writing it. I did not consider it as + any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether and to offer no + sentiment which had never been expressed before. + +In another letter to Lee, written in 1825, a year before his death, +Jefferson had given, as his last and final statement on the subject: + + Not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before + thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said + before; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, + in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent.... Neither + aiming at originality of principles or sentiments, nor yet copied + from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an + expression of the American mind.... All its authority rests on the + harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, + in letters, printed essays, on the elementary books of public right, + as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc. + +Two phrases in this letter deserve particular notice, "an expression of +the American mind" and "the harmonizing sentiments of the day." This is +truly what Jefferson had attempted to express in his "felicitous +language"--the confused yearnings, the inarticulate aspirations, the +indefinite ideals of the speechless and awkward masses. He did it in +words so simple that no man could fail to understand it, in sentences so +well balanced and so rhythmic that no artist in style could improve upon +them. The Declaration of Independence is not only a historical document, +it is the first and to this day the most outstanding monument in +American literature. It does not follow, however, that Jefferson had no +model. Mr. Becker in his masterly study has demonstrated that it was the +final development of a whole current of thought, the origins of which +can be traced back in history even farther than he has done. The +Declaration of Independence is essentially of Lockian origin, but it +does not ensue that Jefferson had memorized Locke, nor even that he was +conscious, when he wrote the document, that he was using a Lockian +phraseology. As a matter of fact, even if he remembered Locke, it is +more than probable that reminiscences from two other more modern +expressions of the same idea haunted his mind. The first was a pamphlet +of James Wilson, written in 1770, published in Philadelphia in 1774 and +entitled "Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative +Authority of the British Parliament." Mr. Becker has pointed out the +similarity between a passage in Wilson and the preamble. Since then I +have found that, in his "Commonplace Book", Jefferson copied passages +from Wilson's pamphlet, although for reasons which I could not determine +he omitted the very passage which presents the most striking +resemblance: + + All men are, by nature, equal and free: No one has a right to any + authority over another without his consent: All lawful government is + founded on the consent of those who are subject to it: Such consent + was given with a view to ensure and to increase the happiness of + the governed above what they could enjoy in an independent and + unconnected state of nature. The consequence is, that the happiness + of the society is the First law of every government. + +A Lockian theory to be sure, but Wilson in the footnote to this +paragraph quoted Burlamaqui to the effect that "This right of +sovereignty is that of commanding finally but in order to procure real +felicity; for if this end is not obtained, sovereignty ceases to be +legitimate authority." But this is not all! The Declaration of Rights of +1774 ("Journal of Congress", I, 373) stated in somewhat similar terms +the rights of the inhabitants of the English colonies. Finally the +"Virginia Bill of Rights" written by George Mason, adopted by the +Virginia Assembly on June 12 and necessarily forwarded to the delegates +in Congress, contained articles resembling more closely those of the +Declaration of Independence: + + I. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have + certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of + society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive their posterity; + namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of + acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining + happiness and safety. + + II. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from the + people; that Magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all + times amenable to them. + + III. That government is or ought to be, instituted for the common + benefit, protection and security of the people, nation, or community; + of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best, which + is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, + and is most effectually secured against the danger of + mal-administration; and that when any government shall be found + inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community + has the undubitable, unalienable right, to reform, alter, or abolish + it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public + weal.[47] + +This time it is no longer a question of analogy, or similarity of +thought--the very words are identical, "Unalienable rights" is the +expression which finally replaced "undeniable" in the final form--and +"pursuing and obtaining happiness" has become the well-known "pursuit of +happiness." Does it mean that Jefferson should be accused of plagiarism? +Not in the least, since, as the French author said, "_l'arrangement est +nouveau_", and, in a work of art, "_l'arrangement_" constitutes true +originality, according to the formula of the classical school. +Furthermore, it was clearly Jefferson's role and duty as a delegate from +Virginia to incorporate in the Declaration as much as he could of the +"Bill of Rights" recently adopted by his native dominion. The only fault +that could be found is that he did not more clearly acknowledge his +indebtedness to George Mason. But his contemporaries, and particularly +the Virginians, could not fail to recognize in the national document the +spirit and expression of the State document. Jefferson had expressed the +American mind but he had above all expressed the mind of his fellow +Virginians. + +Whether the doctrine enunciated in the Declaration of Independence is +founded in fact and is beyond question "undeniable", is a problem which +cannot even be touched upon here. We cannot dismiss it, however, without +mentioning a feature which seems to have escaped most American students +of political philosophy, probably because it has become such an integral +part of American life that it is not even noticed. I do not believe that +any other State paper in any nation had ever proclaimed so emphatically +and with such finality that one of the essential functions of government +is to make man happy, or that one of his essential natural rights is +"the pursuit of happiness." This was more than a new principle of +government, it was a new principle of life which was thus proposed and +officially indorsed. The most that could be asked from governments of +the Old World was to promote virtue and to maintain justice; honor, +"_amor patriae_" and fear were the essential principles on which rested +the governments described by Montesquieu. But in spite of the eternal +and unquenchable thirst for happiness in the heart of every man, what +European, what Frenchman particularly, could openly and officially +maintain that the "pursuit of happiness" was a right, and that happiness +could be reached and truly enjoyed. This quest of happiness had been the +main preoccupation of French philosophers during the eighteenth century, +but in spite of their philosophical optimism, they were too thoroughly +imbued with pessimism ever to think that it was possible to be happy; +the most they could hope for was to become less unhappy. The whole +Christian civilization had been built on the idea that happiness is +neither desirable nor obtainable in this vale of tears and affliction, +but as a compensation Christianity offered eternal life and eternal +bliss. The Declaration of Independence, on the contrary, placed human +life on a new axis by maintaining that happiness is a natural right of +the individual and the whole end of government. To be sure, the idea was +not original with Jefferson, it had been mentioned more than once in +official or semi-official documents, it was in James Wilson, as in the +Bill of Rights, but I cannot quite conceive that such a formula could +have originated in New England. I cannot conceive either that it could +have been proclaimed at that date anywhere except in a new country where +the pioneer spirit dominated, where men felt that they could live +without being crowded or hampered by fierce competition, traditions, and +iron-bound social laws. + +In his plan for a _Declaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen_, +Lafayette some twelve years later included "_la recherche du bonheur_", +in memory of the American Declaration of Independence, but "_la +recherche du bonheur_" disappeared in the committee and was never +mentioned again in any of the three Declarations of the French +Revolution. The nearest approach to it is found in the first article of +the Declaration of June 23, 1793; but it simply states that the aim of +society is common happiness--and this is quite a different idea. Whether +it was right or not, Jefferson, when he reproduced the terms used by +George Mason in the Virginia Bill of Rights, gave currency to an +expression which was to influence deeply and even to mold American life. + +In that sense, it may be said that the Declaration of Independence +represents the highest achievement of eighteenth-century philosophy, but +of one aspect of that philosophy that could not develop fully in Europe. +Trees that are transplanted sometimes thrive better under new skies than +in their native habitat and may reach proportions wholly unforeseen. + +Thus the Declaration of Independence written to express the sentiments +of the day probably shaped the American mind in an unexpected manner. It +was essentially a popular document planned to impress the masses, to +place before the young nation at its birth a certain ideal and a certain +political faith, but it was also a legal and judicial document intended +to make more precise the reasons why the united American colonies had +finally resolved to separate from the mother country. + +For this part of the Declaration Jefferson drew largely from the +"Constitution" he had drafted for Virginia and sent to Randolph by Mr. +Wythe. He was his own source--the more so as he substantially repeated +many of the grievances enumerated two years earlier in the "Rights of +British America." But here again he markedly improved the first version, +which was a monotonous recital of dry facts, starting with a legal +"Whereas" and beginning each article with a clumsy participle. "By +denying his Governor permission:... By refusing to pass certain other +laws ... By dissolving Legislative Assemblies," became in the +Declaration the dramatic presentation of facts by a prosecuting attorney +and not the summing-up of a case by a judge. But the final renunciation +of the mother country has an unsurpassed dignity, a finality more +terrible in its lofty and dispassionate tone than any curse: + +"We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our +Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in +War, in Peace Friends." There again one is reminded of the well-known +French formula: "_beau comme l'antique_." Twice in its history the +supposedly young and uncultured people had the rare fortune to find +spokesmen who, without effort and laborious preparation, reached the +utmost heights. The Declaration of Independence, with its solemn +renunciation of ties of consanguinity, reminds one of the tone of the +Greek tragedy; while the only parallel to the Gettysburg address is the +oration pronounced by Pericles over the warriors who had laid down their +lives during the first war of Peloponnesus. + +Such heights can only be reached if the author is moved to his innermost +depths. Singularly unimaginative in ordinary circumstances, for once in +his life Jefferson was superior to himself: the student of Greece, the +refined Virginian, became truly the voice of the people. But great +effects often have small causes. We may wonder if he would have spoken +with that same suppressed emotion, fiercely burning and yet controlled, +if at that very time he had not been laboring under an emotional stress +that never recurred in his life. + +While he was in Philadelphia, writing the first draft in which he opened +to the people of America "the road to glory and happiness", he could +well wonder whether his personal happiness was not about to be +destroyed.--His mother had recently died, he had just lost a child and +had left in Monticello a beloved companion dangerously ill. "Every +letter brings me such an account of the state of her health, that it is +with great pain I can stay here," he wrote to Page (July 20, 1776), and +for those who knew how reserved he was in the expression of personal +feelings, the restraint in his expression hardly conceals the anxiety +and distress by which he was torn. + +There were also other reasons for his desiring to go home. Jefferson had +always understood that as a delegate to Congress his duty was not so +much to make a record for himself as to voice the _sentiments of the +people he represented and to carry out their instructions_.[48] He was +much worried about his standing with the Virginia Convention and +suspected that some members were trying to knife him in the back. The +Convention had just proceeded to elect delegates for the next Congress. +Harrison and Braxton had failed to be reappointed, and Jefferson was +"next to the lag."--"It is a painful situation," he wrote to William +Fleming, on July first, "to be 300 miles from one's county, and thereby +opened to secret assassination without a possibility of +self-defence."[49] + +A week later, he wrote to Edmund Pendleton to decline his new +appointment as a delegate to Congress: + + I am sorry that the situation of my domestic affairs, renders it + indispensably necessary that I should solicit the substitution of + some other person here in my room. The delicacy of the House will not + require me to enter minutely into the private causes which render + this necessary. I trust they will be satisfied. I would not urge it + again, were it not unavoidable.[50] + +On July 8 he announced to R. H. Lee that he would return to Virginia +after the eleventh of August. It was not until September 2 that, his +successor having arrived, he considered himself as free to go. His final +reason, possibly not the least important, is given by Jefferson himself +in his "Autobiography": + + Our delegation had been renewed for the ensuing year, commencing + August 11; but the new government was now organized, a meeting of the + legislature was to be held in October, and I had been elected a + member by my county. I knew that our legislation, under the regal + government, had many vicious points which urgently required + reformation, and I thought I could be of more use in forwarding that + work. I therefore retired from my seat in Congress on the 2d of + September, resigned it and took my place in the Legislature of my + State, on the 7th of October. + +"My state," wrote Jefferson in 1818, but in his letters to William +Fleming he was speaking of Virginia as his "country", and at that time +constantly referred to the colonies and not the United States. + +The necessity of some sort of a union or confederacy had been keenly +realized for a long time, but the ways and means were far from receiving +unanimous support. As a matter of fact, union had been obtained just on +the point of secession, or as Jefferson had it "avulsion from Great +Britain"; but the consciousness of solidarity, the community of ideals +and interests which constitute an essential part of patriotism hardly +existed at that date. Thus the man who had just been the voice of +America probably felt himself more of a Virginian than of an American, +for local patriotism was very strong, while national patriotism was +still in a larval stage. Curiously enough the independence of the +_United States_ had been proclaimed before the Articles of +Confederation, which really constituted the United States, had been +adopted or even reported. When they were drafted the name "colonies" was +used and this was not changed to "states" until the second printing.[51] +The only official bond that united the colonies was loyalty to the +Crown. That bond once severed, each of them became a separate unit and +returned to a sort of "state of nature." For a student of government +this was the most fascinating situation that could be devised, since he +was going to witness the actual formation of a new society and the +signing of a social compact. Jefferson attended all the meetings of +Congress in which the Articles of Confederation were discussed, without +actively participating in the debates. He took copious notes and +inserted them in his "Autobiography" but for reasons presently to be +seen, he refrained from expressing his own opinion on the matter. Only +when he was back in Virginia could he collect his ideas and formulate to +his own satisfaction a theory on the formation of society. He then sat +at his table and sent to a friend his reflections on the debates he had +just attended. I had the good fortune to discover this document in the +Library of Congress. It is of such importance that it must be given here +in full. + +[Illustration: A PAGE OF JEFFERSON'S REFLECTIONS ON THE ARTICLES OF +CONFEDERATION + +_From the manuscript in the possession of the Library of Congress_] + + After I got home, being alone and wanting amusement I sat down to + explain to myself (for there is such a thing) my Ideas of natural and + civil rights and the distinction between them--I send them to you to + see how nearly we agree. + + Suppose 20 persons, strangers to each other, to meet in a country not + before inhabited. Each would be a sovereign in his own natural right. + His will would be his Law,--but his power, in many cases, inadequate + to his right, and the consequence would be that each might be + exposed, not only to each other but to the other nineteen. + + It would then occur to them that their condition would be much + improved, if a way could be devised to exchange that quantity of + danger into so much protection, so that each individual should + possess the strength of the whole number. As all their rights, in the + first case are natural rights, and the exercise of those rights + supported only by their own natural individual power, they would + begin by distinguishing between these rights they could individually + exercise fully and perfectly and those they could not. + + Of the first kind are the rights of thinking, speaking, forming and + giving opinions, and perhaps all those which can be fully exercised + by the individual without the aid of exterior assistance--or in other + words, rights of personal competency--Of the second kind are those of + personal protection of acquiring and possessing property, in the + exercise of which the individual natural power is less than the + natural right. + + Having drawn this line they agree to retain individually the first + Class of Rights or those of personal Competency; and to detach from + their personal possession the second Class, or those of defective + power and to accept in lieu thereof a right to the whole power + produced by a condensation of all the parts. These I conceive to be + civil rights or rights of Compact, and are distinguishable from + Natural rights, because in the one we act wholly in our own person, + in the other we agree not to do so, but act under the guarantee of + society. + + It therefore follows that the more of those imperfect natural rights, + or rights of imperfect power we give up and thus exchange the more + securely we possess, and as the word liberty is often mistakenly put + for security M^r Wilson has confused his Argument by confounding the + terms. + + But it does not follow that the more natural rights of _every kind_ + we resign the more securely we possess,--because if we resign those + of the first class we may suffer much by the exchange, for where the + right and the power are equal with each other in the individual + naturally they ought to rest there. + + M^r Wilson must have some allusion to this distinction or his + position would be subject to the inference you draw from it. + + I consider the individual sovereignty of the States retained under + the Act of Confederation to be of the second Class of rights. It + becomes dangerous because it is defective in the power necessary to + support it. It answers the pride and purpose of a few men in each + state--but the State collectively is injured by it. + +Unless I am much mistaken we have here the key to the whole democratic +system of government evolved by Jefferson and the solution of the +apparent contradictions often pointed out in his system. Starting from +the hypothesis of Hobbes that in a state of nature men are free agents +and have no other law but their own will, Jefferson attributes to the +surrounding dangers the urge to form some sort of a society, a theory +also found in Locke. But what follows is more original: in forming a +social compact, men do not abdicate all their sovereignty as in the +hypothesis of Rousseau; they do not even abdicate a certain portion of +all their rights. On the contrary, they reserve entire a certain class +of rights, all those they can exercise fully without the aid of exterior +assistance, and they exchange for more security those they cannot +exercise themselves. Thus the social compact is no longer a _pactum +subjectionis_. It is no longer a question of deciding whether in a +society the individual or the society are sovereign, since both are +sovereign in their respective domains. How far Jefferson was from being +a demagogue is clearly indicated by the sentence in which he refers to +James Wilson. Liberty, except liberty of speech and thought, cannot be +unlimited and unrestricted in any society; it is a matter of bargain and +exchange. Thus Jefferson proposed a definition of liberty entirely +different from the French conception as found in Rousseau and reproduced +in the "Declaration des droits de l'homme" of May 29, 1793: "_La liberte +consiste a pouvoir faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas a autrui._" With him, +on the contrary, liberty consists in the free enjoyment of our will +except in certain specific cases, to be enumerated at the time we form a +social compact. Hence the necessity of a Bill of Rights, in which the +individual accepts certain limitations in order to obtain a +corresponding amount of security, and specifically denominates those of +his natural rights he means to keep integrally and wholly. + +This explains clearly why Jefferson, who is represented as the champion +of State rights, not only accepted the abridgment of State sovereignty +but declared that the retention by the States of certain rights was +dangerous and illogical. One of the first cases arises when dealing with +foreign nations. Here the individual State is clearly unable to protect +itself against foreign aggressions and foreign encroachments, and +foreign policies must properly be placed in the hands of the Federal +Government. This applies not only to questions of protection, but to +questions of commerce, and for two reasons, both of them practical and +not theoretical. Commerce is one of the great causes of war. In order to +protect the confederation the government has the right to levy taxes, +and the most convenient form is that of imposts or taxes on +importations. Secondly, the Federal Government is evidently in a better +situation than the individual States for obtaining favorable treatment +of their commerce by foreign nations. Hence the insistence of Jefferson +throughout his life on the prerogatives of the Federal Government in all +matters referring to foreign policies, and his reiterated declarations +in favor of State rights. + +Incidentally, this document explains two otherwise unexplainable +incidents in Jefferson's career. + +The Declaration on Violation of Rights adopted by the First Continental +Congress had specified the rights of the inhabitants of the British +colonies: + +"_Resolved_, That they are entitled to life, liberty, & property, and +they have never ceded to any sovereign power whatever, a right to +dispose of either without their consent."[52] The Virginia Bill of +Rights had similarly declared that among the inherent natural rights +was the means of acquiring and possessing property. + +Now, in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, which follows +so closely the Bill of Rights, the word "property" does not appear, +while the other rights are reasserted. + +Nor was this an unintentional omission, for when Lafayette submitted to +Jefferson his "Declaration des droits de l'homme", Jefferson put in +brackets the words "droit a la propriete", thus suggesting their +elimination from the list of natural rights. + +Yet he was not in any way a communist, and it would be a serious error +to see in that systematic omission the influence of Rousseau's "Discours +sur l'Origine de l'Inegalite." The fact is that, with his mind +accustomed to draw fine legal distinctions, he had come to the +conclusion that the right of possessing and acquiring property had to be +protected by society in order to be enjoyed securely. It is one of those +rights which are at the same time abridged and made more secure by +society, since in any society it may be found necessary to levy taxes on +the property of any citizen and even to condemn his property in the +interests of the community. + +Such a philosophy of natural rights had never before been expressed by +any political philosopher I have been able to refer to, with one +possible exception. While Locke had said that one divests oneself of his +liberty in assuming the bonds of civil society--while Rousseau had +declared that man sacrifices all his natural rights on the altar of +society--a Scottish jurist had maintained that "Mutual defence against a +more powerful neighbor being in early times the chief, or sole motive +for joining in society, individuals never thought of surrendering any of +their natural rights which could be retained consistently with their +great aim of mutual defence." Not only had Jefferson read Kames, but he +had copied extensively from his "Historical Law" tracts in his +"Commonplace Book", where this very passage is to be found. He had also +seen in the tract on history of property the fine distinction +established by Kames between possession and property, the two terms +being coextensive among savages, while in more refined society the +relation of property was gradually evolved and disjoined from +possession.[53] + +Thus if Jefferson borrowed from any one the main principles of his +philosophy, it was not from any of the eloquent and famous thinkers of +France and England. Locke he had certainly read, he had abstracted +Montesquieu, he may have known Rousseau's theory, although this is +doubtful, but he had read and summarized the tracts of a Scottish jurist +whom he had probably discovered through Doctor Small. His conception of +the social compact is not the conception of a philosopher; it is +essentially the conception of a jurist and a lawyer. The social compact +is not a metaphysical hypothesis, nebulous and lost in the night of +ages, it is a very specific and very precise convention to be entered +into or to be denounced by men who retain their "rights inherent and +unalienable", who remain free and yet agree to submit themselves to +certain rules and a certain discipline in order to obtain more security. +And thus was evolved and defined by Jefferson a combination of liberty +and order, individualism and discipline which lies at the basis of +American civilization, an object of wonder to most foreigners, often +discussed but never so satisfactorily elucidated as in the document +written by Jefferson when, "wanting amusement", he sat down to explain +to himself his ideas of natural and civil rights and the distinction +between them. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE REVISION OF THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA + + +At the meeting of July 4, 1776, Congress, after adopting the Declaration +of Independence, + + "_Resolved_, That Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. Jefferson, be a + committee, to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of + America."[54] + +Among the several suggestions made in the committee, the one proposed by +Jefferson, according to John Adams, deserves particular attention: "Mr. +Jefferson proposed, the children of Israel in the wilderness led by a +cloud by day, and a pillar by night--and on the other side, Hengist and +Horsa, the Saxon chiefs, from whom we claim the honor of being +descended, and whose political principles and form of government we have +assumed." + +None of the suggestions made by the committee, or their final report, +was ever adopted, but the device proposed by Jefferson is a significant +indication that his thoughts were still running in the same channel. +"The children of Israel" would remind one of the favorite contention of +the settlers, piously preserved by their descendants to this day, that +they were a chosen people; but the other side of the seal reminds one +that Jefferson's great ambition at that time was to promote a +renaissance of Anglo-Saxon primitive institutions on the new continent. +Thus presented, the American Revolution was nothing but the reclamation +of the Anglo-Saxon birthright of which the colonists had been deprived +by "a long trend of abuses." Nor does it appear that there was anything +in this theory which surprised or shocked his contemporaries; Adams +apparently did not disapprove of it, and it would be easy to bring in +many similar expressions of the same idea in documents of the time. + +The principle once established, there remained to put it into effect, +and to make a beginning in Virginia. This was the thought uppermost in +Jefferson's mind when he went back to the Old Dominion. "Are we not the +better for what we have hitherto abolished of the feudal system," he +wrote to Edmund Pendleton. "Has not every restitution of the ancient +Saxon laws had happy effects? Is it not better now that we return at +once into that happy system of our ancestors, the wisest and most +perfect ever yet devised by the wit of man, as it stood before the 8th +century?"[55] This is the true foundation of Jefferson's political +philosophy. No greater mistake could be made than to look for his +sources in Locke, Montesquieu, or Rousseau. The Jeffersonian democracy +was born under the sign of Hengist and Horsa, not of the Goddess Reason. + +On September 26, 1776, Congress proceeded to the election of +commissioners to the Court of France, and the ballots being taken, Mr. +Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Silas Deane, and Mr. Thomas Jefferson were +chosen. This was a signal recognition of the prestige of the young +author of the Declaration of Independence. An express was sent at once +to Jefferson to inform him of his appointment. For the first time he was +offered an opportunity to visit the Old World. His desire to go was so +strong that he remained undecided for three days before he made up his +mind to decline the nomination and to send his refusal to Hancock. In +the letter he then wrote, he alleged that "circumstances very peculiar +in the situation of my family, such as neither permit me to leave nor to +carry it compel me to ask leave to decline a service so honorable and at +the same time so important to the American cause."[56] His biographer +Randall observes on this occasion that "the private causes" were the +precarious situation of his wife's health. The family record contains +the following entry: "a son born May 28th, 1777, 10 h. P.M."[57] The +true reason, however, is to be found in the "Autobiography", as given +before. + +The very day Jefferson answered Hancock, he was put on several +committees, and the next day he obtained leave to bring in a bill "To +enable tenants in taille to convey their land in fee simple." The Bill +to Abolish Entails was reported on October 14, and after discussion and +amendments passed by the House on October 23, and approved by the Senate +on November first. + +The bill was no improvisation and Jefferson intended by it "to strike at +the very root of feudalism in Virginia." On August 13, 1776, he had +already written to an anonymous correspondent, probably Edmund +Pendleton: + + The opinion that our lands were allodial possessions is one which I + have very long held, and had in my eye during a pretty considerable + part of my law reading which I found always strengthened it.... This + opinion I have thought and still think to prove if ever I should have + time to look into books again.... Was not the separation of the + property from the perpetual use of lands a mere fiction? Is not it's + history well known, and the purposes for which it was introduced, to + wit, the establishment of a military system of defense? Was it not + afterwards made an engine of immense oppression?... Has it not been + the practice of all other nations to hold their lands as their + personal estate in absolute dominion? Are we not the better for what + we have hitherto abolished of the feudal system?[58] + +It was the first great blow at the landed hereditary aristocracy of +Virginia. The abolition of patrimonial estates, rendering them subject +to all the obligations of personal property "susceptible to be sold, +conveyed, seized, exchanged and willed" as ordinary property, meant the +rapid abolition of that refined class of Virginia planters which +constituted such a distinguished feature of colonial life. It was a bold +step to take, since it meant the antagonism of a powerful class, the +beginning of hatred that pursued Jefferson during his whole life and +long after his death. Yet he had the courage to do it and was no little +proud of it.[59] He was opposed by both Mr. Pendleton and Patrick Henry, +"but the bill passed finally for entire abolition." + +With the Bill to Abolish Entails Jefferson introduced another bill on +the naturalization of foreigners, containing an expressed recognition of +the right of expatriation already defended in the "Summary View" of +1774,--another remarkable instance of Jefferson's persistency and +relentless efforts to win his point by legal means. + +Simultaneously a committee on religion had been appointed "to meet and +adjourn from day to day, and to take into their consideration all +matters and things relating to religion and religious morality." Besides +Jefferson, there were seventeen members on the committee, including +Fleming, Page, and Nicholas. Being in a minority, Jefferson began the +struggle which was to end in the famous Bill for Religious Freedom,--a +long hard fight of which more will be said later. For the time being, +however, Jefferson had to be satisfied with a partial success: + + We prevailed so far only, as to repeal the laws which rendered + criminal the maintenance of any religious opinions, the forbearance + of repairing to church, or the exercise of any mode of worship; and + further, to exempt dissenters from contributing to the support of the + established church; and to suspend, only until next session, levies + on the members of that church for the salaries of their own + incumbents.[60] + +Yet this was a very significant victory since, from the days of Sir +Walter Raleigh, there had been an express proviso that the laws of the +colony "should not be against the true Christian faith, now professed in +the Church of England." Dissenters as well as members of the Established +Church were assessed for the support of the Anglican ministers, and +although other denominations, particularly Presbyterians, had succeeded +in gaining more than a foothold in some parishes, a majority of +dissenters were still obliged to pay for the support of the minority. + +But important as they were, these constituted only minor points. The +whole structure of laws had to be remodelled to fit new conditions; a +new legal monument had to be erected. Jefferson's practice of law had +convinced him of the obscurities, contradictions, absurdities, and +iniquities of the assemblage of English laws on top of which had been +superimposed local regulations. The Bill for a General Revision of the +Laws passed October 26. The fifth of November five revisors were +appointed by ballot in the following order: Thomas Jefferson, Edmund +Pendleton, George Wythe, George Mason, Thomas Ludwell Lee. As this is a +more important contribution of Jefferson, we may omit here the part he +played on many committees of the House, drafting and reporting on +"Declaring what shall be treason"; bills "For raising six additional +battalions of infantry", "For establishing a Court of Appeals", "For +establishing a High Court of Chancery", "For establishing a General +Court and Courts of Assize", "For establishing a Court of Admiralty", +"For better regulating the proceedings of the County Courts." He plunged +into the work of the complete reorganization of the State judicial +machinery, with all the enthusiastic zeal of a born jurist, and his +capacity for precise, minute work was once more brought into play. + +The committee of revisors met at Fredericksburg to determine on a manner +of procedure and to distribute the work between the five members. First +of all a question of methods had to be settled: "It had to be determined +whether we should propose to abolish the whole existing system of laws, +and prepare a new and complete Institute, or preserve the general +system, and only modify it to the present state of things." + +Pendleton and Lee stood for the former methods, Wythe, Mason, and +Jefferson for the latter, and this was the procedure finally adopted. +Rather than the account given by Jefferson in his "Autobiography" we +shall follow the contemporary account drawn up at the time by George +Mason. + + Plan settled by the committee of Revisors in Fredericksburg, January, + 1777. + + (1) The common law not to be meddled with, except where alterations + are necessary. The statutes to be revised and digested, alterations + proper for us to be made; the diction where obsolete or redundant, to + be reformed; but otherwise to undergo as few changes as possible. The + acts of the English Commonwealth to be examined. The statutes to be + divided into periods; the acts of Assembly made on the same subject + to be incorporated into them. The laws of other colonies to be + examined, and any good ones to be adopted. + +In the margin is here written: + + General rules in drawing provisions &c., which would do only what the + law would do without them, to be omitted. Bills to be short; not to + include matters of different natures; not to insert an unnecessary + word; nor omit a useful one. Laws to be made on the spur of the + present occasion, and all innovating laws to be limited in their + duration.[61] + +Truly an admirable plan! Not the scheme of rash reformers, of _a +priori_-minded legislators, deriving a code of laws from a certain +number of abstract principles. It was not their purpose to make a +_tabula rasa_ of the old structure which had slowly grown stone by +stone, statute by statute and to rebuild entirely on new plans. The old +house resting on solid Anglo-Saxon foundations was still substantial +and safe and it could serve its purpose if only a few partitions were +torn down, a few useless annexes demolished, and better ventilation +provided. Nothing was farther from the mind of the committee than to +erect in Virginia a Greek or Roman temple of Themis. + +The statutes were divided into five parts. Jefferson was to take "the +first period in the division of statutes to end with 25th, H. 8th"; +Pendleton the second period "to end at the Revolution"; Wythe the third +"to come to the present day"; G. Mason the fourth, "to consist of the +residuary part of the Virginia laws to which is added the criminal law +and land law." The fifth, attributed to Lee, "to be the regulation of +property in slaves, and their condition; and also the examination of the +laws of the other colonies."[62] Mason soon retired, "being no lawyer", +and Lee having died, the work was redistributed which explains the +somewhat different allotment indicated by Jefferson in the +"Autobiography." On the other hand, he seems to have claimed for himself +in the "Autobiography" an honor and an attitude that really belonged to +the committee: + + I thought it would be useful, also, in new draughts to reform the + style of the later British statutes, and of our own arts of Assembly; + which, from their verbosity, their endless tautologies, their + involution of case within case, and parenthesis within parenthesis, + and their multiplied efforts at certainty, by _saids_ and + _aforesaids_, by _ors_ and by _ands_, to make them more plain, are + really rendered more perplexed and incomprehensible, not only to + common readers, but to the lawyers themselves. + +The notes taken by G. Mason leave no doubt that this was also the +attitude of the committee and their definite policy. It was a slow, +painstaking, meticulous task, requiring common sense, good judgment, a +good sense for words and erudition. To make laws intelligible and clear +is no small achievement. But certainly it was not the sort of work that +an _a priori_ philosopher, fond of generalizations and universal +principles, would have relished, or would have been willing to submit +himself to for more than two years. If in some political matters +Jefferson differed from Mr. Pendleton, he admired him and later paid him +a handsome tribute in the "Autobiography." Pendleton--cool, smooth and +persuasive, quick, acute and resourceful--was a remarkable debater. + + George Mason, a man of the first order of wisdom, of expansive mind, + profound judgment, cogent in argument, learned in the lore of our + former constitution, and earnest for the republican change on + democratic principles ... his virtue was of the purest tint; his + integrity inflexible, and his justice exact; of warm patriotism, and, + devoted as he was to liberty, and to the natural and equal rights of + man, he might truly be called the Cato of his country without the + avarice of the Roman.[63] + +When the preliminary work was done, the reviewers met at Williamsburg in +February, 1779, and "day by day" they examined critically their several +parts, sentence by sentence, scrutinizing and amending, "until they had +agreed on the whole." "The Revised Laws", comprehending one hundred and +twenty-six bills, were reported to the General Assembly June 18, 1779; +bills were taken out occasionally from time to time, and because of +Madison's efforts fifty-six out of the one hundred and twenty-six were +after amendments made laws at the sessions of 1785, 1786. Among the +bills reworded or initiated by Jefferson several stood out +conspicuously. + +The Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments is a particularly good +example of the methods used by Jefferson in rewriting the old +legislation. On sending it to George Wythe he wrote: + + I wished to exhibit a sample of reformation in the barbarous style + into which our modern statutes have degenerated from their ancient + simplicity. In its style, I have aimed at accuracy, brevity, + simplicity, preserving however the words of the established law, + wherever their meaning had been sanctioned by judicial decision, as + rendered technical by usage.[64] + +The transformation undergone by the old statutes can more easily be +observed because Jefferson was careful to indicate in footnotes his +authorities from the old texts, in Latin, and even in French and +Anglo-Saxon. But the very title of the bill indicates that Jefferson's +purpose went farther than a mere codification of the old law. He could +not be entirely satisfied with the scale of punishments determined by +the committee; he regretted particularly the maintainance of the _Lex +Talionis_, "an eye for an eye and a hand for a hand" (Section XV), and +he attempted to restrict the penalty of death to a few limited cases, +for it was "the last melancholy resource against those whose existence +is become inconsistent with the safety of their fellow citizens." His +preamble reflects to a large extent the views of Montesquieu and +Beccaria which he copied in the "Commonplace Book." But it could hardly +be called humanitarian in the modern and sometimes derogatory sense of +the word. The provisions of the code itself are far from showing any +weakness or sentimentality: the death penalty is provided for treason +against the Commonwealth and for whomsoever committeth murder by way of +duel; manslaughter, previously "punishable at law by burning in the +hands, and forfeiture of chattels", is punished by hard labor for seven +years in the public works, and the murderer "shall forfeit one half of +his lands and goods to the next of kin of the person slain, the other +half to be sequestered during such times, in the hands, and to the use, +of the commonwealth." Rape, polygamy, or sodomy "shall be punished if a +man by castration, if a woman by boring through the cartilage of her +nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at least." Witchcraft, +conjuration, or sorcery "shall be punished by ducking and whipping, at +the discretion of a jury, not exceeding fifteen stripes", and, most +extraordinary for modern readers, "Whenever sentences of death shall be +pronounced against any person for treason or murder, execution thereof +shall be done on the next day but one, after such sentence, unless it be +Sunday, and then on Monday following" (Section XIII). Truly enough the +law of nature is once mentioned in a footnote to the effect that if a +prisoner tries to escape from prison he shall not be considered as a +capital offender. "The law of nature impels every one to escape from +confinement; he should not therefore be subjected to punishment. Let the +legislature restrain his criminal by walls, not by parchment." If there +is "philosophy" in this statement it is common sense and certainly not +sentimentality. + +The Bill for the more General Diffusion of Knowledge is far more +philosophical in its terms. There for the first time will be found a +picture of democracy as Jefferson pictured it to himself at that date. +The general statement at the beginning may be an echo from Montesquieu; +but while the French philosopher had not indicated any remedy for such a +situation, Jefferson was interested in it only in so far as it could be +amended. + + Experience has shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted + with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into + tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of + preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the + minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them + knowledge of those facts, which history exhibiteth,... and whereas it + is generally true that people will be happiest whose laws are best, + and are best administered, and that laws will be wisely formed, and + honestly administered, in proportion as those who form and administer + them are wise and honest; whence it becomes expedient for promoting + the publick happiness that those persons, whom nature hath endowed + with genius and virtue, should be rendered by liberal education + worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the + rights and liberties of their fellow citizens, and that they should + be called to that charge without regard to wealth, birth or other + accidental condition or circumstance; but the indigence of the + greater number disabling them from so educating, at their own + expence, those of their children whom nature hath fitly formed and + disposed to become useful instruments for the public, it is better + that such should be sought for and educated at the common expence of + all, than that the happiness of all should be confined to the weak or + wicked. + +Is this a democratic view in the modern sense of the word? At any rate +it is not the democratic phraseology of a modern politician. There is no +protest at all in the name of immanent justice against the unequality of +conditions, there is no desire to give every boy a fair chance in life, +no indication that men being born equal, all children should have equal +opportunities. We are perfectly free to believe that Jefferson +entertained such sentiments at that date. Historically, however, there +is no evidence that he did so. All we have here is a hard-headed +proposition with the corrective that, under the new system, a child of +genius or great talent was to be given an opportunity to develop his +native qualities, for it was both the duty and the interest of society +to prevent such a waste of intellectual potentialities. Furthermore, +Jefferson was manifestly of the opinion that no man could properly +participate in the government of society unless he had been rendered +worthy to receive and able to guard the _sacred_ deposit of the rights +and liberties of his fellow citizens. Neither wealth, birth, nor +accidental circumstances should determine who is fit for public office, +but education should be the criterion. As he was doing his utmost to +abolish the last privileges and prestige of the landed hereditary +aristocracy of Virginia, Jefferson was striving to constitute and to get +recognition for another aristocracy, an aristocracy of learning and +intelligence, a true ruling class, or more exactly a governing and +legislative class; for he was persuaded that the business of the +legislator cannot be learned in a day, that it requires, besides native +qualities of mind, a certain expert knowledge of the subject. + +The provisions of the bill are most extraordinary for the time. +Jefferson provided for the division of the State into a certain number +of districts or hundreds; in each hundred a schoolhouse was to be built +and so located that all the children within it might daily attend the +school. + + In each of the schools shall be taught reading, writing, and common + arithmetick, and the books which shall be used therein for + instructing the children to read shall be such as will at the same + time make them acquainted with Graecian, Roman, English and American + history. At these schools all the free children, male and female, + resident within the respective hundred, shall be entitled to receive + tuition gratis for the term of three years. + +In addition, the bill provided that a certain number of grammar schools +would be erected, "their situation to be as central as possible for the +inhabitants of the said counties, the schools to be furnished with good +water, convenient to plentiful supplies of provision and fuel and above +all things that it be healthy." In all of these grammar schools, which +shall receive boarders + + shall be taught the Latin and Greek languages, English Grammar, + geography, and the higher part of numerical arithmetick, to wit., + vulgar and decimal fractions, and the extrication of the square and + cube roots. In order to provide proper facilities for children of + particular ability, the overseer of the hundred schools (one for ten + schools) shall appoint from among the boys who shall have been two + years at the least at some one of the schools under his + superintendance and whose parents are too poor to give them farther + education some one of the best and most promising genius and + dispositions to proceed to the grammar schools. + +At the end of the first year one third of the boys shall be discontinued +as public foundations after examination; "all shall be discontinued at +the end of two years save one only, the best in genius and disposition, +who shall be at liberty to continue there four years longer on the +public foundation, and shall thence forward be deemed a senior." +Finally, "the visitors will select one among the said seniors of the +best learning and most hopeful genius and disposition who shall be +authorized by them to proceed to William and Mary College; there to be +educated, boarded, and clothed three years: the expense of which shall +be paid by the Treasurer." + +This rigorous selective process looks very familiar to any one +acquainted with the modern French system of free elementary schools, +boarding _colleges_ and _lycees_, and the system of competitive +scholarships and fellowships of the French. But it was not fully +developed in France before the Third Republic and it was not even +dreamed of before the Revolution. Many times the French have been +criticized for the undemocratic features of an educational system which +reserves secondary education to those who are able to pay and to the +small number of children who win scholarships. There is no possibility +that this scheme was ever borrowed by Jefferson from any French +theorician, and there is, on the contrary, some reason to believe that +in France it owes its beginning to the publication of Jefferson's plan +in the "Notes on Virginia" printed in Paris and in French in 1786. + +The educational structure of the State would not have been complete if +Jefferson had not provided for a reorganization of William and Mary +College. Such is the purpose of the next bill (Bill LXXX) in the Report +of the Committee of Revisors. There he was more ruthless and more +radical. After a first section which recounts the foundation of the +college and its history, Jefferson concluded that "the said college, +thus amply endowed by the public has not answered their expectation, and +there is reason to hope, that it would become more useful, if certain +articles in its constitution were altered and amended." By one stroke +of the pen, Jefferson abolished the school of theology, took the +administration out of the hands of the former trustees to place it in +the hands of visitors appointed by the Legislature and "not to be +restrained in their legislation by the royal prerogatives, or the laws +of the kingdom of England, or the canons of the constitution of the +English Church, as enjoined in the Charter." The president and faculty +were to be dismissed, and six professorships created; to wit, one of +moral law and police; one of history, civil and ecclesiastical; one of +anatomy and medicine; one of natural philosophy and natural history; one +of the ancient languages Oriental and northern; and one of modern +languages.-- + + A missionary will be appointed to the several tribes of the Indians, + whose business will be to investigate their laws, customs, religion, + traditions, and more particularly their languages, constructing + grammar thereof, as well as may be, and copious vocabularies, and on + oath to communicate, from time to time, to the said President and + Professors the material he collects. + +Thus the college was to become the training school in which "those who +are to be the future guardians of the rights and liberties of their +country may be endowed with science and virtue, to watch and preserve +the sacred deposit." It was not a democratic institution, but the +finishing school of the future legislators and experts in the science of +government. + +As to disinterested "researches of the learned and curious", they were +to be encouraged by the establishment at Richmond of a Free Public +Library with yearly appropriation of two thousand pounds for the +purchase of books and maps. + +One may state here without any fear of contradiction that no system so +complete, so logically constructed and so well articulated had ever been +proposed in any country in the world. It already embodied the ideas for +which Jefferson stood during all his life, it preceded by more than +fifteen years the plans of the French Convention. As the first charter +of American public education it is an astonishing document and deserves +more attention than it has hitherto received. + +The Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Jefferson's opinion +ranked in importance with the Declaration of Independence. It was not +intended to be a revolutionary document, but simply a common-sense +adjustment of the situation brought about by the repeal of several +provisions of the old Virginia laws. Jefferson took care to explain the +true purpose of the bill in the "Notes on Virginia" (Query XVII). The +Virginia Bill of Rights had proclaimed "it to be a truth, and a natural +right that the exercise of religion should be free." On the other hand, +no mention of it had been made in the Convention and no measure had been +adopted to protect religious freedom. The Assembly, however, had +repealed, in 1776, "all _acts_ of Parliament which had rendered criminal +the maintaining any opinion in matters of religion", and suspended the +laws giving salaries to the clergy. This suspension was made perpetual +in October, 1779. But religious matters still remained subject to common +law and to acts passed by the Assembly. At Common Law, heresy was a +capital offence, punishable by burning, according to the writ _de +haeretico comburando_. Furthermore, by an act of the Assembly of 1705, +"if a person brought up in the Christian religion denies the being of a +God, or the Trinity, or asserts there are more gods than one, or denies +the Christian religion to be true, or the Scriptures to be of divine +authority, he is punishable on the first offence by incapacity to hold +any office or employment ecclesiastical, civil, or military: on the +second by disability to sue, to take any gift or legacy, to be guardian, +executor, or administrator, and by three years' imprisonment without +bail."[65] + +This being the situation, the article of the Bill of Rights concerning +religious freedom remained a dead letter until provisions could be made +to take religious matters out of the jurisdiction of the Common Law. + +Historians seem to have been somewhat misled both by the lofty and +philosophical tone of the Bill for Religious Freedom and the comments +made by Jefferson in the "Notes on Virginia", specially written by him, +as we always must remember, for a group of French philosophers and the +French public. A philosopher he was, but before all he was a purist and +a historian of law. For him the main question was first to determine +whether the jurisdiction of the Common Law in matters of religion was +founded in law. He had already studied minutely the history of Common +Law and made copious extracts in his "Commonplace Book"; he had noticed +in Houard's "Coutumes Anglo-Normandes" that some pious copyist had +prefixed to the laws of Alfred four chapters of Jewish law. "This +awkward Monkish fabrication makes the preface to Alfred's genuine laws +stand in the body of the Work; and the very words of Alfred himself form +the frauds, for he declares in that preface that he has collected these +laws from those of Ina, of Offa, Ethelbert, and his ancestors, saying +nothing of any of them being taken from the scripture." Consequently the +pretended laws of Alfred were a forgery. + + Yet, palpable as it must be to a lawyer, our judges have piously + avoided lifting the veil under which it was shrouded. In truth, the + alliance between Church and State in England, has ever made their + judges accomplices in the frauds of the clergy; and even bolder + than they are: for, instead of being contented with these four + surreptitious chapters of _Exodus_, they have taken the whole leap, + and declared at once, that the whole Bible and Testament, in a lump, + make part, of the Common law.... Finally in answer to Fortescue + Aland's question why the Common law of England should not now be a + part of the Common law of England? We may say that they are not, + because they never were made so by legislative authority; the + document which imposed that doubt on him being a manifest + forgery.[66] + +[Illustration: A PAGE FROM JEFFERSON'S "COMMONPLACE BOOK" + +_From the manuscript in the possession of the Library of Congress_] + +Bolstered up with his texts, references, and authorities, Jefferson +could now, if need be, confute the redoubtable Mr. Pendleton in the +Committee of Revisors, but such a legal technical presentation of the +facts would evidently not appeal either to the Assembly at large or to +the public. These had to be approached in an entirely different way; for +to speak of frauds, forgeries, and monkish fabrication would not do at +all in a public document and, on the contrary, might create a revulsion +of feeling. It became necessary to present the reform in an entirely +different light and Jefferson did so in the first section of the bill. + +The phrasing of these lofty principles is well known; still it may not +be out of place to reproduce them once more: + + Well aware that the opinions of belief of men depend not on their own + will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds; + that Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his + supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether + susceptible of restraint; that all attempts to influence it by + temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend + only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness ... to compel a man to + furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which + he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical;... that our + civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more + than our opinions in physics or geometry;... that the opinions of men + are not the object of civil government. + +In Section II, after that preamble, the religious independence of the +individual was proclaimed: + + We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact that no man shall be + compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or + ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, + or burthened in his body or goods, or shall otherwise suffer, on + account of his religious opinions or beliefs; but that all men shall + be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in + matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, + enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. + +Furthermore, in the first section, Jefferson gave the first and final +expression of his understanding of freedom of thought: + + That it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government + for its offices to interfere when principles break out into overt + acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great + and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and + sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the + conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural + weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous + when it is permitted freely to contradict them. + +It is not surprising that the bill was savagely attacked in the Assembly +and did not pass until 1786. It simply shows that the Church of England +had more supporters than Jefferson led us to believe, when he wrote in +the "Notes on Virginia" that "two-thirds of the people had become +dissenters at the commencement of the present revolution." The remaining +third, if such was the proportion, were at least well organized and +offered a strong resistance. This bill marked the beginning of the +accusations of impiety and infidelity so often launched at Jefferson. +Whatever his private sentiments on the matter may have been, he was not +the man to discriminate against any one because of religious beliefs; +and at the very time when he was engaged in preparing his bill, he took +the initiative of starting a subscription towards the support of the +Reverend Mr. Charles Clay of Williamsburg. The document, never before +published, is entirely written in his hand and is of such importance +that I may be permitted to reproduce it here: + + Whereas, by an act of General assembly, freedom of Religious opinion + and worship is restored to all, and it is left to the members of + each religious society to employ such Teachers they think fit for + their own Spiritual comfort and instruction and to maintain the same + by their free and voluntary contributions. We the subscribers + (professing the most Catholic affection for other religious sectaries + who happen to differ from us in points of conscience,) yet desirous + of encouraging and supporting (a church in our opinion so truly + Apostolick as) the Protestant Episcopalian Church, and of deriving to + ourselves, through the ministry of it's teachers, the benefits of + Gospel-knowledge and Religious improvement, and at the same time of + supporting those, who, having been at considerable expence in + qualifying themselves by regular education for explaining the holy + scriptures, have dedicated their time and labor to the service of the + said church (and moreover approving highly the conduct of the rev^d + Charles Clay, who early rejecting the tyrant and tyranny of Britain, + proved his religion genuine by its harmony with the liberties of + mankind and conforming his public prayers to the spirit and the + injured rights of his country, addressed the god of battles for + victory to our arms, while others impiously prayed that our enemies + might vainquish and overcome us) do hereby oblige ourselves our heirs + executors and administrators on or before the 25th day of December in + this present year 1777, and likewise on or before the 25th day of + December in every year following until we shall withdraw our + subscription in open vestry, or until the legislature shall make + other provision for the support of the said clergy, to pay to the + (reverend) said Charles Clay of Albemarle his executor or + administrators the several sums affixed to our respective names: in + Consideration whereof we expect that the said Charles Clay shall + perform divine service and preach a sermon in the town of + Charlottesville on every fourth Sunday, or oftener, if a regular + rotation with the other churches that shall have put themselves under + his care will admit a more frequent attendence. + + And we further mutually agree with each other that we will meet at + Charlottesville on the 1^{st} day of March in the present year, and + on the second Thursday in ---- in every year following so long as we + continue our subscriptions and there make choice by ballot of three + wardens to collect our said subscriptions, to take care of such books + and vestments as shall be provided for the use of our church, to + call meetings of our Congregation when necessary, and to transact + such other business relating to our Congregation as we shall + hereafter confide to them. + + Th. Jefferson, six pounds; Jno Harvie, four pounds; Randolph + Jefferson, two pounds ten schillings; Thos. Garth, fifteen + schillings; Philip Mazzei, sixteen schillings eight pence.[67] + +Far more important than the local reception of the revised laws, since +most of them were adopted only years later, and thanks to the efforts of +Madison, during the sessions of 1785 and 1786, is the fact that +Jefferson had already formulated at that time for himself and his fellow +citizens the most essential principles of his doctrine. He was not +unaware of this, and stated it himself in his "Autobiography" when he +declared: "I considered four of these bills, passed or reported as +forming a system by which every fibre would be eradicated of ancient or +future aristocracy; and a foundation laid for a government truly +republican."[68] + +The ideal government he had in mind at the time could perhaps be +described as a democracy, but he did not use the word himself, not even +many years later in his "Autobiography" where he simply spoke of "a +government truly republican." He was much opposed to the perpetuation of +an hereditary landed gentry, but I do not see that he would have +approved or even conceived the possibility of a government placed +entirely under the control of unenlightened men. The Bill for the more +General Diffusion of Knowledge makes clear that only through a liberal +education can men be "rendered worthy to receive and able to guard the +sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens", +and the Bill for Amending the Charter of William and Mary proclaims +even more emphatically that the old college must "become the seminary, +in which those who are to be the future guardians of the rights of +liberty of their country may be endowed with science and virtue, to +watch and preserve the sacred deposit." Jefferson was a friend of the +people, but no admirer and no flatterer of the "plain people", nor did +he entertain any illusion about their participation in all the forms of +government. For the present it was enough, as he wrote in the +"Autobiography", if they were qualified through elementary education "to +exercise with intelligence _their_ parts in self-Government." If he +rebelled against aristocracy of wealth, he would have reacted with equal +vehemence against mob tyranny. Neither was he radical enough to admit +_propagandistes par le fait_ and to forbid society the right to +intervene "when principles break out into overt acts against peace and +good order." (Bill for Religious Freedom.) For freedom of speech does +not entail freedom of action: and the civil rights or rights of compacts +are necessarily subject to civil regulations. + +It is easily seen now that Jefferson so far remained perfectly +consistent, and followed in practice the distinction between natural +rights and rights of compact he had established in order to clarify his +own mind, in the meditation quoted at the end of the preceding chapter. +If this theory is accepted, it is evident that society being founded +upon a legal compact, the ideal form of government is one in which both +parties, the individual on the one hand and society on the other, +scrupulously live up to its terms. A breach of contract can no more be +condoned in the individual than in society. On the other hand, natural +rights remain always truly "inalienable" and apart from civil rights. +When any individual comes to the conclusion that the sacrifice he has +made of certain rights in order to enjoy more security is not +compensated for by sufficient advantages, he has the right to denounce +the compact: hence the right of expatriation always so energetically +maintained by Jefferson. This is the very reason why Jefferson could not +and did not blame John Randolph for going to England in August, 1775, +since "the situation of the country had rendered it not eligible to him +to remain longer in it." Thus the conflict seen by so many political +philosophers between man and society disappears entirely. The individual +cannot stand against society when he is free to break the social bond at +any time--nor can society oppress the individual without endangering its +very existence. Such a theory was more than a "philosophical +construction." It was largely based upon facts and observation; it +expressed the current political philosophy of the colonies. It was +eminently the juridistic explanation of the pioneer spirit. + +Granting what is undoubtedly true, that Jefferson aroused antagonism and +enmities in the Assembly, he certainly had also his admirers and +followers. If the prophet had preached in the desert, he would not have +gained the prompt recognition that came to him when he was chosen +Governor of Virginia, the first of June, 1779, to succeed Patrick Henry. +He was then thirty-six years old. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA--THE "NOTES ON VIRGINIA" + + +Jefferson served two years as Governor of the Commonwealth and when he +wrote his "Autobiography" he gave only a short paragraph to this episode +of his eventful career, referring for more details to Girardin's +continuation of Burk's "History of Virginia." The student of law, the +erudite jurist, and classical scholar was by the choice of the Assembly +entrusted with the duties and responsibilities of a war chief, and it +cannot be said that Jefferson enjoyed the experience. The duties of +governor were not only exacting but almost impossible to fulfill +satisfactorily. For more than two years, Virginia, without money, with a +poorly equipped militia reenforced with an inadequate number of Federal +troops, had been overrun by the enemy and had known all the atrocities +of the war. The governor had to honor the continuous requests of the +general in chief for more ammunition, more equipment and provision, and +at the same time had to keep under arms, and as much as possible in +fighting condition, militiamen anxious to go back to their farms for the +harvest or the plowing, so as to protect the territory of the State +against the raids of the invader and prevent Indian uprisings on the +western border. Last, but not least, he had to take into consideration +the general attitude of the people of the State and the measures adopted +by the legislature. Jefferson's correspondence with Lafayette during the +first months of 1781 is most illuminating in this respect. When, after +Arnold's treason, Lafayette was sent by Washington to apprehend the +traitor and give some assistance to the Old Dominion, he found that +there were neither boats, wagons, nor horses to carry his equipment from +Head of Elk to the siege of operations. The treasury was empty, the +Assembly most chary in granting impressment warrants, and practically +all the governor could offer in the way of help was his unlimited good +will. Lafayette had to use oxen for his artillery and to mount cannon on +barges; but even after powers of impressment were granted to the +Marquis, Jefferson had to remind him of the necessity of not impressing +stallions or brood mares, so as not to kill the "goose with the golden +eggs."[69] + +Jefferson's attitude in these critical circumstances reveal his true +character to a degree, and without entering into a detailed account of +the campaign, a few illustrations may be included here. It may be +remembered that four thousand British troops, taken prisoners at the +battle of Saratoga, had been ordered by Congress to Charlottesville. The +problem of housing and feeding them soon became acute, and Jefferson was +called upon to assist in finding a proper solution. The life imposed +upon the captive soldiers was comparatively mild. Barracks were erected, +while the officers, well provided with money, rented houses in the +vicinity of the camp and bought some of the finest horses in Virginia. +For most of them the Charlottesville captivity was a very pleasant +_villegiature_. On the other hand, some of the inhabitants did not view +without alarm this sudden increase in the population of the county, and +application was made to Governor Patrick Henry to have at least part of +the prisoners removed to another section of the State. This, according +to Jefferson, would have been a breach of faith, since the articles of +capitulation provided that the officers should not be separated from +their men. On this occasion he wrote a very vehement letter to the +governor, March 27, 1779, protesting that such a measure "would suppose +a possibility that humanity was kicked out of doors in America, and +interest only attended to." Yet the governor could not entirely neglect +interested consideration, and Jefferson once more revealed that curious +mixture of high principles and hard, practical common sense, to which we +already called attention. He was aware that the circulation of money was +increased by the presence of these troops "at the rate of $30,000 a week +at least." The rich planters, "being more generally sellers than +buyers", were greatly benefited by these unexpected customers, although +the poor people were much displeased by inroads made by them upon the +amount of supplies and provisions available in the county. + +Never were prisoners better treated or made more welcome, and if +Jefferson reflected the feelings of his neighbors there was no animosity +against the soldiers in the field: + + The great cause which divides our countries is not to be decided by + individual animosities. The harmony of private societies cannot + weaken national efforts. To contribute by neighbourly intercourse and + attention to make others happy is the shortest and surest way of + being happy ourselves. As these sentiments seem to have directed your + conduct, we should be as unwise as illiberal, were we not to preserve + the same temper of mind.[70] + +Truly this was a war of philosophers and gentlemen, and the courtly +generals of Louis XV would not have expressed more elegantly their +consideration for the enemy. Jefferson's declaration was no mere +gesture, for he struck up lasting friendships with several of the +prisoners. He was particularly interested in a young German officer, +Louis de Unger, who showed a remarkable talent for philosophy, in Baron +de Geismer with whom he kept up a correspondence for more than ten +years,[71] and in Major General Baron de Riedesel who, with his wife, +was a frequent guest at Monticello. To many of them Jefferson opened +his house, his library, and his dining room. He discussed philosophy and +agriculture with them, played duets on his violin, and sincerely +regretted the loss of that pleasant society when he had to leave after +his appointment as governor.[72] + +Yet a sterner trait in his character was soon to be revealed. While the +British prisoners were described as "having thus found the art of +rendering captivity itself comfortable, and carried to execution, at +their own great expense and labor, their spirits sustained by the +prospect of gratifications rising before their eyes", the American +prisoners and noncombatants were receiving harsher treatment at the +hands of the British. War had become particularly atrocious after Indian +tribes had been encouraged to attack the insurgents, and this was an +offense that Jefferson could not condone. When Governor Hamilton of +Kaskakias, with his two lieutenants, Dejean and Lamothe, who had +distinguished themselves by their harsh policy, surrendered to Clark and +were brought to Virginia, Jefferson ordered them confined in the dungeon +of the public jail, put in irons and kept incommunicado. On General +Philips' protest Jefferson wrote to Washington to ask him for advice, +but added that in his opinion these prisoners were common criminals and +that he could "find nothing in Books usually recurred to as testimonials +of the Laws and usages of nature and nations which convicts the opinion +I have above expressed of error."[73] To Guy Carleton, Governor of +Canada, he answered that "we think ourselves justified in Governor +Hamilton's strick confinement on the general principle of National +retaliation", and no punishment was too severe for a man who had +employed "Indian savages whose known rule of warfare is an +indiscriminate butchery of men, women and children."[74] + +When a few weeks later, upon Washington's request, the irons were taken +from the prisoners and a parole offered to them, Jefferson obeyed very +reluctantly and informed the general that "they objected to that part of +it which restrained them from _saying_ anything to the prejudice of the +United States" and insisted on "freedom of speech"; they were in +consequence remanded to their confinement in the jail, "which must be +considered as a voluntary one until they can determine with themselves +to be inoffensive in words as well as deeds."[75] + +Even when the prisoners were freed, Jefferson wrote again to Washington: + + I shall give immediate orders for having in readiness every engine + which the Enemy have contrived for the destruction of our unhappy + citizens captivated by them. The presentiment of these operations is + shocking beyond expression. I pray heaven to avert them: but nothing + in this world will do it but a proper conduct in the Enemy. In every + event I shall resign myself to the hard necessity under which I shall + act.[76] + +Writing the same day to Colonel George Mathews, Jefferson defined with +more precision what he understood by these "operations" when he declared +that "iron will be retaliated by iron, prison ships by prison ships, and +like for like in general."[77] + +The faults of his own people did not find him any weaker, for he +declared: "I would use any powers I have for the punishment of any +officer of our own who should be guilty of excesses injustifiable under +the usages of civilized nations." He was not slow either in punishing +mutineers, in having the ringleaders seized in their beds "singly and +without noise" and in recommending cavalry, "as men on horseback have +been found the most certain Instrument of public punishment."[78] + +This trait of Jefferson's character, hardly ever noticed, was no passing +mood. It was little apparent in ordinary circumstances, but it was to +reappear with the same stern inflexibility during the prosecution of +Aaron Burr twenty-five years later. The dreamer, the theorist, the +"philosopher" does not appear in the letters written by Jefferson during +his governorship. He was punctual, attentive to details and careful to +abide by the measures taken by the legislature. Yet he was subjected to +bitter criticism and a sort of legend grew up about his lack of +efficiency. He was approaching the end of his second term, which expired +on June 2, 1781, and the legislature, feeling that the present danger +required desperate action, was thinking of appointing a temporary +dictator. Although most decidedly opposed to the creation of such an +office, Jefferson believed that the appointment of a military leader was +highly desirable (Letter to Washington, May 28), and according to his +wishes General Nelson in command of the State troops was elected in his +place. But before the Assembly could come to a decision an unexpected +incident happened. It has been related at great length, and I am afraid +with some embellishments, by Randall, who reconstructed it from +Jefferson's papers and from the family traditions. Virginia was +literally overrun by the enemy, and the raids of the British cavalry +were a common occurrence. During one of these raids Tarleton attempted +to capture the legislature and almost succeeded in taking the governor. +The account of the incident, as I found it written by Jefferson, is far +less picturesque, but probably more reliable than the highly colored +narration of the biographer: + + This was the state of things when, his office having expired on the + 2^d June, & his successor not yet in place, Col. Tarlton, with his + regiment of horse, was detached by L. Cornwallis, to surprise him + (supposed to be still governor) & the legislature now sitting in + Charlottesville, the Speakers of the two houses, & some other members + of the legislature, were lodging with him at Monticello. Tarleton, + early in the morning of June 4. when within 10 miles of that place, + detached a company of horse to secure him & his guests, & proceeded + himself rapidly with his main body to Charlottesville, where he hoped + to find the legislature unapprised of his movement. notice of it + however had been brought both to Monticello & Charlottesville about + sunrise, by a Mr Jouett from Louisa, who seeing them pass his + father's house in the evening of the 3.^d and riding through the + night along by-ways, brought the notice. The Speakers, with their + Colleagues returned to Charlottesville, & with the other members of + the legislature, had barely time to get out of the way.[79] + +A few days later Jefferson left Amherst and returned to Monticello which +he found practically undamaged; it was then that, riding to Poplar +Forest, he was thrown from his horse and so seriously hurt that he could +not ride horseback for several months. Shortly afterwards he learned +that some members of the legislature, probably irked by the humiliation +of having fled before the British raiders, not once, but several times, +were not unwilling to accuse the governor of having neglected to take +proper measures of defense. As I have found nowhere any indication to +contradict Jefferson's account of the incident, it had better be given +here in his simple words: + + I returned to Monticello July 26. & learning some time after that Mr + George Nicholas, than a young man, just entered into the legislature + proposed to institute some enquiry into my conduct before the + legislature, a member from my county vacated his seat, & the county + elected me, in his room, that I might vindicate myself on the floor + of the house. thro' the intervention of a friend, I obtained from Mr. + Nicholas a written note of the charges he proposed to bring forward & + I furnished him in return the heads of the answers I should make. on + the day appointed for hearing his charges he withdrew from the house; + & no other undertaking to bring them forward, I did it myself in my + place, from his paper, answering them verbatim to the house. the + members had been witnesses themselves to all the material facts, and + passed an unanimous vote of approbation, which may be seen on their + journals. Mr. Nicholas was an honest and honorable man, & took a + conspicuous occasion, many years after, of his own free will, & when + the matter was entirely at rest, to retract publicly the erroneous + opinions he had been led into on that occasion, and to make just + reparation by a candid acknowledgment of them.[80] + +This unfortunate incident revealed another fundamental trait of +Jefferson's character,--his total incapacity to accept public criticism +with equanimity. It was not until December 19, 1781, that he had the +opportunity of presenting his case before the legislature and of +receiving the vote of thanks intended "to obviate and remove all +unmerited censure." In the meantime, and because he did not wish to +leave a free field to his enemies, he had to decline a new appointment +from Congress, when on the fifteenth of June he was designated to join +the four American plenipotentiaries already in Europe. The letter was +transmitted through Lafayette, and to Lafayette alone Jefferson confided +his deep mortification at having to + + lose an opportunity, the only one I ever had and perhaps ever shall + have, of combining public service with public gratification, of + seeing countries whose improvements in science, in arts and + civilization it has been my fortune to admire at a distance but never + to see and at the same time of lending further aid to a cause which + has been handed on from it's first organization to its present stage + by every effort of which my poor faculties were capable. These + however have not been such as to give satisfaction to some of my + countrymen & it has become necessary for me to remain in the state + till a later period, in the present year than is consistent with an + acceptance of what has been offered me.[81] + +A letter written to Edmund Randolph hints at other considerations which +"that one being removed, might prevent my acceptance." The family +record shows that Mrs. Jefferson was then expecting a child who was born +on November, 1781, and died in April of the following year. Jefferson +himself was far from being well and had not yet recovered from his +accident; but there is little doubt that he would have gladly seized the +opportunity to fulfill one of his earliest dreams and to visit Europe, +had he been free to go. However this may be, it was on this occasion +that he reiterated once more, but not for the last time, his wish to +return entirely and definitively to private life: + + Were it possible for me to determine again to enter into public + business there is no appointment whatever which would have been so + agreeable to me. But I have taken my final leave of everything of + that nature. I have retired to my farm, my family and books from + which I think nothing will evermore separate me. A desire to leave + public office with a reputation not more blotted than it deserved + will oblige me to emerge at the next session of our assembly & + perhaps to accept of a seat in it, but as I go with a single object, + I shall withdraw when that has been accomplished.[82] + +I must confess that Jefferson's determination can scarcely be understood +or excused. He was not yet forty and, for a man of that age, his +achievements were unusual and many, but he had by no means outlived his +usefulness or fulfilled the tasks he had mapped out for himself. Even +supposing he had done enough for the United States and did not feel any +ambition to return to Congress, there was much to be done in Virginia. +For one thing the war was not over and the situation of his native +State, his "country", as he still called it, was as precarious as ever. +Even supposing the war to be of short duration and destined to end in +victory, the work of reconstruction loomed considerable upon the +horizon. Not only had plantations been burned, houses destroyed, cattle +killed off, Negroes decimated in many places, but the financial +resources of Virginia were nil, the currency depreciated and valueless. +Above all, republican institutions were far from secure, Jefferson was +not at all satisfied with the Constitution as adopted, there remained +many bills on the Revised Laws to be presented, defended, and approved. +The laws adopted so far might have laid the foundations of true +republican government, but the task was still enormous. Was Jefferson +irritated and despondent at the ingratitude of his fellow citizens who +had not rejected at once the charges made by Nicholas? Was he so alarmed +by the health of his wife that he did not feel that he could leave her +even for a few days? Was he not rather a victim of overwork and +overexertion? He had been severely shaken by his accident and seems to +have suffered at the time a sort of nervous breakdown, for on October +28, 1781, when writing to Washington to congratulate him on Cornwallis' +capitulation at Yorktown he deplores the "state of perpetual +decrepitude" to which he is unfortunately reduced and which prevents him +from greeting Washington personally. + +Several of his best friends were unable to understand or condone his +retirement. Madison himself wrote to Edmund Randolph:[83] + + Great as my partiality is to Mr. Jefferson, the mode in which he + seems determined to revenge the wrong received from his country does + not appear to me to be dictated either by philosophy or patriotism. + It argues, indeed, a keen sensibility and strong consciousness of + rectitude. But his sensibility ought to be as great towards the + relenting as the misdoings of the Legislature, not to mention the + injustice of visiting the faults of this body on their innocent + constituents. + +Monroe, ardent friend and admirer of Jefferson's, was even more direct +when writing to acquaint his "master" with the criticism aroused by his +retirement. To which Jefferson answered with a letter in which he poured +out the bitterness of his heart. He first recited all his different +reasons for making his choice; the fact that after scrutinizing his +heart he had found that every fiber of political ambition had been +eradicated; that he had the right to withdraw after having been engaged +thirteen years in public service; that his family required his +attention; that he had to attend to his private affairs. But the true +reasons came only in the next paragraph: + + That however I might have comforted myself under the disapprobation + of the well-meaning but uninformed people, yet that of their + representatives was a shock on which I had not calculated.... I felt + that these injuries, for such they have been since acknowledged, had + inflicted a wound on my spirit which only will be cured by the + all-healing grave. + +The man who wrote these lines had an epidermis far too sensitive to +permit him to engage in politics and least of all in local politics. +Jefferson in these particular circumstances forgot the lesson of his old +friends the Greek and Latin philosophers--truly he was no Roman. + +Yet we cannot regret very deeply Jefferson's determination to retire +from public life at that time, since to his retirement we owe his most +extensive literary composition, one of the first masterpieces of +American literature. During the spring of 1781 he had received from the +secretary of the French legation, Barbe-Marbois, a long questionnaire on +the present conditions of Virginia. During his forced inactivity, he +drew up a first draft which was sent to Marbois, but extensively +corrected and enlarged during the following winter. A few manuscript +copies were distributed to close friends, but the "Notes on Virginia" +were not published until 1787 and after they had been rather poorly +translated into French by Abbe Morellet.[84] + +No other document is so valuable for a complete conspectus of +Jefferson's mind and theories at that time. But two important +observations must be made at the very outset. First of all the "Notes" +were not intended for publication, and as late as 1785 Jefferson wrote +to Chastellux that: + + the strictures on slavery and on the constitution of Virginia ... are + the parts I do not wish to have made public, at least till I know + whether their publication would do most harm or good. It is possible + that in my own country these strictures might produce an irritation + which would indispose the people towards the two great objects I have + in view, that is the emancipation of their slaves & the settlement of + their constitution on a firmer and more permanent basis.[85] + +The second point is that the "Notes" were written for the use of a +foreigner of distinction, in answer to certain queries proposed by him. +Jefferson, therefore, is not responsible either for the plan of the +work, or the distribution into chapters, and he necessarily had to go +into more details than if he had written solely for his fellow +countrymen. + +The twenty-three Queries cover such an enormous range of information and +contain such a mass of facts that it would have been physically +impossible for any one to complete the work in so short a time, if it +had been an impromptu investigation. We can accept without hesitation +the statement of the "Autobiography" on the methods of composition +employed in the "Notes": + + I had always made a practice whenever an opportunity occurred of + obtaining any information of our country, which might be of use + in any station public or private to commit it to writing. These + memoranda were on loose papers, bundled up without order, and + difficult of recurrence when I had occasion for a particular one. + I thought this a good occasion to embody their substance, which I + did in the order of Mr. Marbois' queries, so as to answer his wish + and to arrange them for my own use. + +The book was printed in France, in England, in Germany, and went through +many editions in America. It probably did more than any other +publication to propagate the doctrine of Americanism, for, in his +retreat of Monticello, Jefferson formulated the creed and gave final +expression to the hopes, aspirations, and feelings that were to govern +his country for several generations. It also gives a complete picture of +the mind of Jefferson at that date, when he thought he had accomplished +the task assigned to him and felt he could stop to take stock, not +merely of his native "country", but of the whole United States of +America. + +Unimaginative, unpoetical, unwilling to express personal emotions as he +was, he had always been deeply moved by certain natural scenes. His +description of the Natural Bridge, the site of which he owned, is well +remembered. + + You involuntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, + and peep over it. Looking down from this height about a minute, gave + me a violent head ache. If the view from the top be painful and + intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is + impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime to be felt + beyond what they are here; so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so + light, and springing as it were up to heaven, the rapture of the + spectator is really indescribable! + +The "passage of the Patowmac through the Blue ridge" is even more +famous, and the broad, peaceful, almost infinite scene is painted by the +hand of a master: + + It is a true contrast to the foreground. It is as placid and + delightful as that is wild and tremendous. For the mountain being + cloven asunder, she presents to your eye, through the cleft, a small + catch of small blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain + country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult roaring + around, to pass through the breach to the calm below. + +Only Bartram a few years later, and Chateaubriand at the beginning of +the next century, with much longer and more elaborate descriptions, +could equal or surpass these few strokes of description. Jefferson was +truly the first to discover and depict to Europeans the beauty of +American natural scenery, and to proclaim with genuine American pride +that "this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic--and is perhaps +one of the most stupendous in nature." It matters little that he +followed Voltaire in the origin of fossils, to decide timidly in 1787 +that we must be contented to acknowledge that "this great phenomenon is +as yet unsolved." I shall not even remark on the completeness and +exactness of his list of plants, "medicinal, esculent, ornamental or +useful for fabrication", of which he gives the popular names as well as +the _Linnaean_, "as the latter might not convey precise information to a +foreigner", or on his list "of the quadrupeds of North America"; nor +shall I mention his long dissertation on "the bones of Mamoths" found on +the North American continent and his refutation of Buffon. Far more +interesting is his protest against the assertion of the great French +naturalist that "the animals common both to the old and new world are +smaller in the latter, that those peculiar to the new are in a smaller +scale, that those which have been domesticated in both have degenerated +in America." He composed with much tabulation a complete refutation of +Buffon's error, and demonstrated that plants as well as animals reached +a development hitherto unknown under the new conditions and the +favorable circumstances of the American climate. + +When it came to the aborigines, he had little to say of the South +American Indians, but of North American Indians he could speak "somewhat +from his own knowledge" as well as from the observations of others +better acquainted with them and on whose truth and judgment he could +rely. + + Not only they are well formed in body and in mind as the _homo + sapiens Europaeus_, but from what we know of their eloquence it is of + a superior lustre.... I may challenge the whole orations of + Demosthenes and Cicero, and of many more prominent orators, if + Europe has furnished any more eminent, to produce a single passage, + superior to the speech of Logan, a Mingo chief, to Lord Dunmore when + Governor of this State. + +But his temper was thoroughly aroused when he discovered that Abbe +Raynal had undertaken to apply the theory of Buffon to the white men who +had settled in America. + + If this were true and if climateric conditions were such as to + prevent mental and physical growth there would be little hope for the + newly constituted country to ever become a great nation. Nature + itself pronouncing against the Americans what chance could they have + to be able to ever come up to the level of the older nations. + Sentenced to remain forever an inferior race, this struggle to + conquer independence would have proved futile, and sooner or later, + they would fall the prey of superior people. + +Never before had Jefferson been so deeply stirred and moved, never +before had he felt so thoroughly American as in his spirited answer to +Raynal, when he claimed for the new-born country not only unlimited +potentialities, but actual superiority over the mother country: + + "America has not yet produced one good poet." When we shall have + existed as a people as long as the Greeks did before they produced a + Homer, the Romans a Virgil, the French a Racine and Voltaire, the + English a Shakespeare and Milton, should this reproach be still true, + we will inquire from what unfriendly causes it has proceeded, that + the other countries of Europe and quarters of the earth shall not + have inscribed any name in the roll of poet. But neither has America + produced "one able mathematician, one man of genius in a single art + or science." In war we have produced a Washington, whose memory will + be adored while liberty shall have votaries, whose name will triumph + over time, and will in future ages assume its just station among the + most celebrated worthies of the world, when that wretched philosophy + shall be forgotten which would have arranged him among the + degeneracies of nature. In Physics we have produced a Franklin, than + whom no one of the present age has made more important discoveries, + nor has enriched philosophy with more, or more ingenious solutions of + the phaenomena of nature.... As in philosophy and war, so in + government, in oratory, in painting, in the plastic arts, we might + show that America, though but a child of yesterday, has already given + hopeful proofs of genius, as well as of the nobler kinds, which + arouse the best feelings of man, which call him into action, which + substantiate his freedom, and conduct him to happiness, as of the + subordinate, which serve to amuse him only. We therefore suppose that + this reproach is as unjust as it is unkind: and that, of the geniuses + which adorn the present age, America contributes her full share.... + The present war having so long cut off all communications with Great + Britain, we are not able to make a fair estimate of the state of + science in the country. The spirit in which she wages war, is the + only sample before our eyes, and that does not seem the legitimate + offspring either of science or civilization. The sun of her glory is + fast descending to the horizon. Her Philosophy has crossed her + channel, her freedom the Atlantic, and herself seems passing to that + awful dissolution whose issue is not given human foresight to scan. + +This is the fullest and most complete expression of national +consciousness and national pride yet uttered by Jefferson. The American +eagle was spreading her wing and preparing to fly by herself. The +American transcended the Virginian and looked confidently at the future. + +In Query VIII, we come again to a question of national importance. The +country being what it is, it would take at least one hundred years for +Virginia to reach the present square-mile population of Great Britain. +The question then arises whether a larger population being desirable, +the State should not encourage foreigners to settle in as large numbers +as possible. To unrestricted immigration, Jefferson, fearful for the +integrity of the racial stock, fearful also for the maintenance of +institutions so hardly won and yet so precariously established, was +unequivocally opposed. In a most remarkable passage he stated the very +reasons that after him were to be put forth again and again, until a +policy of selective and restrictive immigration was finally adopted. I +would not say that he was a hundred and fifty years ahead of his time, +but a hundred and fifty years ago he formulated with his usual "felicity +of expression", feelings and forebodings which existed more or less +confusedly in many minds. When he spoke thus he was more of a spokesman +than a prophet of America: + + Every species of government has its specific principles. Ours perhaps + are more peculiar than those of any other in the universe. It is a + composition of the freest principles of the English constitution, + with others derived from natural right and natural reason. To these + nothing can be more opposed than the maxims of absolute monarchies. + Yet from such we are to expect the greatest number of immigrants. + They will bring with them the principles of the governments they + leave, imbibed in their early youth; or, if able to throw them off, + it will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiousness, passing, as + is usual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle were + they to stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty. These + principles, with their language, they will transmit to their + children. In proportion to their numbers, they will share with us the + legislation. They will infuse into it their spirit, warp and bias its + directions, and render it a heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted + mass.... Is it not safer to wait with patience 27 years and three + months longer for the attainment of any degree of population desired + or expected? May not our government be more homogeneous, more + peaceable, more durable? Suppose 20 millions of republican Americans + [were] thrown all of a sudden into France, what would be the + condition of that kingdom? If it would be more turbulent, less happy, + less strong, we may believe that the addition of half a million of + foreigners to our present numbers would produce a similar effect + here.... I mean not that these doubts should be extended to the + importation of useful artificers.... Spare no expence in obtaining + them. They will after a time go to the plough and to the hoe; but in + the mean time they will teach us something we do not know. + +Everything is there! That America is essentially and should remain an +Anglo-Saxon civilization; the fear that unassimilated immigration may +corrupt the institutions of the country and bring into it uneradicable +germs of absolutism; the admission even that America needs a certain +class of immigrants, of specialists to develop new arts and new +industries. In 1781, Jefferson was not only an American, but a hundred +per cent. American, and the sentiments he expressed then were to reecho +in the halls of Congress through the following generations whenever the +question was discussed. + +The government as it was presently organized was far from perfect--it +even had "very capital defects in it." First of all, it was not a truly +representative government since, owing to the representation by +counties, it happened that fourteen thousand men living in one part of +the country gave law to upwards of thirty thousand living in another; in +spite of the theoretical separation of powers, all the powers of +government, legislature, executive, and judiciary, were vested in the +legislative body. "The concentrating these in the same hands is +precisely the definition of despotic government." Assuming that the +present legislators of Virginia were perfectly honest and disinterested, +it would not be very long before a change might come, for "mankind soon +learn to make interested uses of every right and power which they +possess, or may assume." + + "With money we will get men," said Caesar, "and with men we will get + money." ... They should look forward to a time, and that not a + distant one, when a corruption in this, as in the country from which + we derive our origin, will have seized the heads of the government, + and be spread by them through the body of the people; when they will + purchase the voices of the people, and make them pay the price. Human + nature is the same in every side of the Atlantic and will be alike + influenced by the same causes. The time to guard against corruptions + and tyranny, is before they shall have gotten hold of us. + +Before proceeding any further, it may be well to pause, in order to +analyze more carefully these statements of Jefferson's. It will soon +appear that they do not form a perfectly logical construction and are +not part of an _a priori_ system. He had proclaimed his faith in the +ultimate recognition of truth, but he did not believe that unaided truth +should necessarily prevail, for human nature being very imperfect, very +narrow and very selfish, the best institutions have a permanent tendency +to degenerate. Jefferson had already clearly in mind the famous maxim +"eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." It is this curious +combination of unshakable faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and +healthy pessimism as to the present possibilities, that distinguishes +Jefferson from the "closet politicians" and theoretical philosophers. It +is an alliance of the contraries which seems absurd to many Frenchmen, +but is often found in English statesmen, and is probably more common in +America than in any other nation. In this respect as in many others +Jefferson was typically American. + +His criticism of the legislature came clearly from two different +motives. He attempted first of all to demonstrate to himself that the +Assembly that had listened to charges against him was not a truly +representative body, not only because the attribution of two delegates +to each county, irrespective of the population, was iniquitous, but also +because, owing to emergencies, the Assembly had come to decide +themselves what number would constitute a quorum. Thus an oligarchy or +even a monarchy could finally be substituted for a regular assembly by +almost imperceptible transitions. "_Omnia mala exempla a bonis orta +sunt; sed ubi imperium ad ignaros aut minus bonos pervenit novum illud +exemplum ab dignis et idoneis ad indignos et non idoneos fertur._" + +This is nothing but a re-affirmation of the aristocratic doctrine of the +"Literary Bible." Once more, the aristocrat of mind revolts, for "when +power is placed in the hands of men who are ignorant or not so good, it +may be taken from those who are deserving and truly noble to be +transferred to unworthy and ignoble men." This is the constant +undercurrent which runs through Jefferson's political theories and +unexpectedly reappears at the surface from time to time. A government of +the best minds, elected by a populace sufficiently enlightened to select +the best minds,--such is at that time Jefferson's ideal of government. + +On the other hand his attitude towards dictatorship, as it appears in +the "Notes on Virginia", is no less significant for a true estimate of +his character. Unless the views expressed there are carefully considered +and kept well in mind, we might fall into the common error of +attributing to some mysterious influence of the French Revolution and +the French philosophers the opinions expressed by Jefferson on +presidential tenure, during the debate on the Constitution and his +famous quarrel with Hamilton. As a matter of fact, he had expressed the +very same views already and even more emphatically on a previous +occasion, when George Nicholas had proposed in the Assembly "that a +Dictator be appointed in this Commonwealth who should have the power of +disposing of the lives and fortunes of the Citizens thereof without +being subject to account"; the motion seconded by Patrick Henry "been +lost only by a few votes."[86] One may even wonder if the accusation of +inefficiency against Jefferson had not been introduced by the same +George Nicholas, in order to clear the way for the appointment of a +dictator. Hence the impassioned tone of Jefferson's refutation. Deeply +stirred and deeply hurt in his _amour-propre_, Jefferson incorporated in +the "Notes on Virginia" the speech he would have made on the occasion +had he been an orator. + + How must we find our efforts and sacrifices abused and baffled, if + we may still, by a single vote, be laid prostrate at the feet of + one man. In God's name, from whence have they derived this power? + Is it from any principle in our new constitution expressed or + implied? Every lineament of that expressed or implied, is in full + opposition to it.... Necessities which dissolve a government, do not + convey its authority to an oligarchy or monarchy. They throw back + into the hands of the people the powers they had delegated, and leave + them as individuals to shift for themselves. A leader may offer, but + not impose himself, nor be imposed on them. Much less can their necks + be submitted to his sword, their breath be held at his will or + caprice.... The very thought alone was treason against the people; + was treason against mankind in general; as rivetting forever the + chains which bow down their necks, by giving to their oppressors a + proof which they would have trumpetted through the universe, of the + imbecillity of republican government, in times of pressing danger, to + shield them from harm. Those who assume the right of giving away the + reins of government in any case, must be sure that the herd, whom + they hand on to the rods and hatchet of the dictator, will lay their + necks on the block when he shall nod to them. But if our assemblies + supposed such a resignation in the people, I hope they mistook their + character.... Searching for the foundations of this proposition, I + can find none which may pretend a colour of right or reason, but the + defect before developed, that there is no barrier between the + legislative, executive, and judiciary departments.... Our situation + is indeed perilous, and I hope my countrymen will be sensible of it, + and will apply, at a proper season, the proper remedy; which is a + convention to fix the constitution, to amend its defects, to bind up + the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they + transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary + an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every + infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence + shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights. + +This is much more than an occasional outburst written under a strong +emotional stress. Jefferson had discovered in his own country the +existence of a group of men stanchly opposed to the republican form of +government, ready in an emergency to go beyond the powers that had been +delegated to them--not necessarily dishonest men, but dangerous because +they did not have a correct conception of their rights and duties. All +the controversy with the Federalists already exists in germ, in this +declaration, and Jefferson from the very first had taken his position. +The immediate effect was to sever the last bonds which still tied him to +the aristocratic spirit of the social class to which he belonged by +birth, and to make him raise a protest against the fact that, "the +majority of men in the state, who pay and fight for its support are +unrepresented in the legislature, the roll of freeholders entitled to +vote, not including generally the half of those on the roll of militia, +or of the tax gatherers." + +"It has been thought that corruption is restrained by confining the +right of suffrage to a few of the wealthier people"; but experience has +shown, irrespective of any consideration of justice or right, that a +truly republican form of government is not safe in their hands. What +will be the conclusion? That suffrage must be extended so as to become +universal. The people themselves are the only safe depositories of +government. "If every individual which composes this mass participates +of the ultimate authority, the government will be safe; because the +corruption of the whole mass will exceed any private resources of +wealth." But if the people are the ultimate guardians of their +liberties, they must also be rendered the safe guardians of it. Hence +the necessity of providing for them an education adapted to the years, +the capacity, and the conditions of every one, and directed toward their +freedom and happiness. On this occasion Jefferson reproduced the view +already expressed in the Bill for the More General Diffusion of +Knowledge, as well as the tenor of the first section of the Bill for +Religious Freedom, but with new considerations which could scarcely be +incorporated in a statute. + +Then comes a conclusion unexpected and revealing, a sort of pessimism +little in accordance with the supposed democratic faith of the writer; +there is no inherent superior wisdom in the people, but it happens that +under stress they so rise as to be superior to themselves, and it is for +those who direct the course of the State to make the best of this +fugitive opportunity: + + The spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become + corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence + persecutions, and better men be his victims. It can never be too + often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a + legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united. + From the conclusion of this war we shall go down hill. It will not + then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. + They will be forgotten therefore and their rights disregarded. They + will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and + will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. + The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the + conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier + and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion. + +Is this a dreamer, a philosopher, a mere theorician, or a very alert and +keen politician with a high ideal and an exact realization of the +people's limitations? This pessimistic view of human nature and human +society did not make Jefferson entirely cynical, since he kept his faith +in his ideal and never questioned the eminent superiority of the +republican form of government. But he knew men too well to have faith in +their collective intelligence and disinterestedness, the naive faith of +so many French philosophers. If in this passage Jefferson reminds one of +any French writers, it is not Rousseau, nor Helvetius, nor even +Montesquieu, but of Montaigne, the Mayor of Bordeaux, who after the +pestilence retired to his "Library" and composed his famous "Essais." +One may well understand why Jefferson took such care to recommend his +friends not to let the "Notes" out of their hands, and not to permit it +to be published in any circumstances. The French like to say "_toutes +les verites ne sont pas bonnes a dire_"--these were truths that should +not be permitted to leak out and to circulate broadcast among the +people: at most they were good only to be disclosed to this elite who +had at heart the gradual betterment of the "plain people." + +Jefferson's opposition to slavery rests on the same calculating motives. +The existence of slavery is as degrading for the master as for the +slave; it is destructive of the morals of the people, and of industry. + + And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have + removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the + people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to + be violated but with his wrath?... It is impossible to be temperate + and to pursue this subject through the various considerations of + policy, of morals, of history natural and civil. + +But it does not ensue that Negroes should ever be placed on a footing of +equality with the whites. To pronounce that they are decidedly inferior +would require long observation, and we must hesitate + + to degrade a whole race of men from the work in the scale of beings + which their Creator may _perhaps_ have given them.... I advance it + therefore, as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a + distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstance, are + inferior to the whites in the endowment both of body and mind. It is + not against experience to suppose that different species of the same + genus, or varieties of the same species, may possess different + qualifications. Will not a lover of natural history then, one who + views the gradations in all the races of animals with the eye of + philosophy, excuse an effort to keep those in the department of man + as distinct as nature has formed them. + +However the case may be, the blacks cannot be incorporated into the +State, and the only solution after they are emancipated and educated is +to "colonize them to such places as the circumstances of the time shall +render most proper, sending them out with arms, implements of household +and of the handicraft arts, seeds, pairs of the useful animals, etc., +to declare them a free and independent people, and extend to them our +alliance and protection, till they shall have acquired strength." But +the freed slave "is to be removed beyond the reach of mixture", and the +purity of the white stock must be preserved. + +Throughout the book Jefferson untiringly harps on the fact that American +civilization is different from any other that has developed in Europe, +and that principles of "economy" which apply to European nations should +not be transferred "without calculating the difference of circumstance +which should often produce a difference of results." The main difference +lies in the fact that while in Europe "the lands are already cultivated, +or locked up against the cultivator, we have an immensity of land +courting the industry of the husbandman." America is essentially +agricultural, and agricultural it must remain: + + Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever + he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar + deposit for substantial and genuine virtue. It is the focus in which + he keeps alive that sacred fire, which otherwise might escape from + the face of the earth. Corruption of morals in the mass of + cultivators is a phaenomenon of which no age nor nation has furnished + an example.... While we have land to labour then, let us never wish + to see our citizens occupied at a work-bench, or twirling a distaff. + Carpenters, masons, smiths, are wanting in husbandry: but, for the + general operations of manufacture, let our work-shops remain in + Europe. It is better to carry provisions and materials to work men + there, than bring them to the provisions and materials, and with them + their manners and principles. + +This vision of an American entirely given to agricultural pursuits may +look Utopian in the extreme, and would be Utopian if Jefferson had +really believed that it was susceptible of becoming an actual fact. But, +in practice, this ideal was on the contrary subject to many adjustments +and modifications. + +Jefferson's relativism is even more clearly marked in the last chapter, +which forms the real conclusion of the book. It outlines the future +policy of the United States with regard to foreign nations; it +formulates a peaceful ideal which has remained on the whole the ideal of +America. Once more it illustrates that curious balancing of two contrary +principles so characteristic of the philosopher of Americanism as well +as of the country itself. + + Young as we are, and with such a country before us to fill with + people and with happiness, we should point in that direction the + whole generative force of nature, wasting none of it in efforts of + mutual destruction. It should be our endeavour to cultivate the peace + and friendship of every nation, even of that which has injured us + most, when we shall have carried our point against her. Our interest + will be to open the doors of commerce, and to knock off all its + shackles, giving perfect freedom to all persons for the want of + whatever they may choose to bring into our ports, and asking the same + in theirs. Never was so much false arithmetic employed on any + subject, as that which has been employed to persuade nations that it + is their interest to go to war. Were the money which it has cost to + gain, at the close of a long war, a little town, or a little + territory, the right to cut wood here, to catch fish there, expended + in improving what we already possess, in making roads, opening + rivers, building ports, improving the arts and finding employment for + their idle poor, it would render them much stronger, much wealthier + and happier. + +"This," adds Jefferson, "I hope will be our wisdom." But it is only a +hope and circumstances which cannot be changed by pious hopes exist and +have to be confronted. In order to avoid every cause of conflict it +would be necessary to abandon the ocean altogether, and "to leave to +others to bring what we shall want, and to carry what we shall spare." +This unfortunately is impossible, since a large portion of the American +people are attached to commerce and insist on following the sea. What +then is the answer?--Preparedness.--"Wars then must sometimes be our +lot; and all the wise can do, will be to avoid that half of them which +would be produced by our own follies, and our own acts of injustice; and +to make for the other half the best preparations one can." + +One would not have to search long in the speeches of Woodrow Wilson to +find the same idea expressed in almost identical terms. Even a +Republican president such as Mr. Coolidge did not speak differently, +when he simultaneously proposed conferences of disarmament and +recommended that appropriation for the navy be enormously increased. +This combination of will to peace, these reiterations of the pacific +policies of the United States have been since the early days combined +with the fixed determination to maintain a naval force adequate to cope +with any attacking force. For such is the policy advocated by Jefferson. +One should not be deceived by his very modest statement, "the sea is the +field on which we should meet an European enemy. On that element it is +necessary that we should possess some power." What he proposes is simply +the building in one year of a fleet of thirty ships, eighteen of which +might be ships of the line, and twelve frigates, with eighteen hundred +guns. And he significantly adds, "I state this only as one year's +possible exertion, without deciding whether more or less than a year +should be thus applied." But, so as not to leave any potential aggressor +in doubt as to the resources of America, he mentions that this naval +force should by no means be "so great as we are able to make it." + +After stating categorically his principles, Jefferson did not object to +minor modifications when it came to practice. As early as the winter of +1781 he had found and determined the main tenets of his political +philosophy. It was essentially American and practical. The idea never +entered his mind that in order to establish an American government it +was necessary to make a _tabula rasa_ of what existed before. As a +matter of fact, Americans had certain vested rights through several +charters enumerated by Jefferson in answer to Query XIII; they had +revolted in defense of these rights, but the principles of their +government, "perhaps more peculiar than those of any other in the +universe", were simply "a composition of the freest principles of the +English constitution, with others derived from natural right and natural +reason." Essentially "founded in common law as well as common right", it +was not necessarily the best possible form of government or the only one +imaginable, "for every species of government has its specific +principle." But despite its imperfections, it was better adapted to +American conditions than any other that could be devised. At that time, +at least, Jefferson did not seem to suspect that it could be taken as a +model by any other nations, or that its main principles would prove so +"contagious." The situation of America was unique. Unlimited +agricultural lands extended to the west, and one could estimate that it +would take at least a century to reach a density of population +comparable to that of the British Isles. For a long time America would +remain mainly agricultural, with a population scattered in farms instead +of being concentrated in large cities, and would keep many of the +virtues inherent in country life. In addition, the country would be +practically free from any attack by land, as she had no powerful +neighbors. She was geographically isolated from the rest of the world, +and even if she were attacked by sea, it would be by a fleet operating +far from its base and therefore at a disadvantage. No permanent army had +to be maintained and a comparatively small fleet would suffice for +protection. Free from the ordinary "sores" of civilization, not yet +wealthy but prosperous, for, says Jefferson "I never saw a native +American begging in the streets or highways", a country peaceful and +with hatred towards none, not even to "that nation which has injured us +most",--such is the ideal picture of America drawn by Jefferson for +himself and his French correspondent during the winter of 1781-1782. + +Whatever faults existed would be corrected in time. If slavery could be +abolished and the last vestiges of an hereditary aristocracy eradicated, +little would be left to be desired. Yet it would not be a complete +Arcadia, for Jefferson did not believe that a state of perfection once +reached could be maintained without effort. Several dangers would always +threaten America. The influx of foreigners might alter the character of +her institutions. In spite of her peaceful ideals, dangers from the +outside might threaten her prosperity. But on the whole, the country, +even in its "infant state", was in no wise inferior to any European +nation. In all the sciences it gave promise of extraordinary +achievements. In architecture, to be sure, it seemed that "a genius has +shed its malediction over this land", but artists and artisans could be +induced to come, and even if America never reached the artistic +proficiency of some European nations, it was and would remain more +simple, more frugal, more virtuous than nations whose population +congregate in large cities. + +Such, briefly told, is the conception of Americanism reached by +Jefferson when he wrote the "Notes on Virginia." He had not had any +direct contact with Europe, but he had read enormously and he had come +to the conclusion that, reasonably secure against foreign aggressions, +keeping her commerce at a minimum, America could develop along her own +lines and, reviving on a new land the old Anglo-Saxon principles +thwarted by kingly usurpations and church fabrications, bring about an +Anglo-Saxon millennium which no other country might ever dream of +reaching. It now remains to see to what extent and under what influences +Jefferson came to modify certain of his conclusions, following his +prolonged contact with Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A STATESMAN'S APPRENTICESHIP + + +The year 1782 was for Jefferson a year of trial and suffering. A child +was born to Mrs. Jefferson on May 8; she never recovered fully and soon +it appeared that she was irrevocably doomed. This tragic, touching story +had better be told in the simple words of his daughter Martha, then nine +years of age: + + As a nurse no female had ever more tenderness nor anxiety. He nursed + my poor mother in turn with aunt Carr and her own sister--sitting up + with her and administering her medicines and drink to the last. For + four months that she lingered he was never out of calling; when not + at her bed-side, he was writing in a small room which opened + immediately at the head of her bed. A moment before the closing + scene, he was led from the room in a state of insensibility by his + sister, Mrs. Carr, who with great difficulty, got him into the + library, where he fainted, and remained so long insensible that they + feared he never would revive. The scene that followed I did not + witness, but the violence of his emotion, when, almost by stealth, I + entered his room by night, to this day I dare not describe to myself. + He kept his room three weeks, and I was never a moment from his side. + He walked almost incessantly night and day, only lying down + occasionally, when nature was completely exhausted, on a pallet that + had been brought in during his long fainting fit. My aunts remained + constantly with him for some weeks--I do not remember how many. When + at last he left his room, he rode out, and from that time he was + incessantly on horseback, rambling about the mountain, in the least + frequented roads, and just as often through the woods. In those + melancholy rambles I was his constant companion--a solitary witness + to many a burst of grief, the remembrance of which has consecrated + particular scenes of that lost home beyond the power to obliterate. + +In Jefferson's prayer book is found this simple entry: + +"Martha Wayles Jefferson died September 6, 1782, at 11 o'clock 45 +minutes A.M." + +She was buried in the little enclosure in which rested already three of +her children; on a simple slab of white marble her husband had the +following inscription engraved: + + To the memory of + Martha Jefferson, + Daughter of John Wayles: + Born October 19th, 1748 O.S. + Intermarried with + Thomas Jefferson + January 1st 1772; + Torn from him by death + September 6th 1782 + This monument of his love is inscribed + + [Greek: Ei de thanonton per katalethont' ein Haidao, + Autar ego kakeithi philou memnesom' hetairou.][87] + + If in the house of Hades men forget their dead + Yet will I even there remember my dear companion. + +Whether, as Tucker thought, Jefferson selected a Greek quotation so as +not to make any display of his feelings to the casual passer-by, or +whether Greek had so really become his own habit of thought that he +could not think of any better way to express his grief, is a matter of +conjecture. He was not the man to speak of himself and his sorrows, even +to his closest friends. But it was probably at this time that he wrote +these lines found after his death in his pocketbook: "There is a time in +human suffering when exceeding sorrows are but like snow falling on an +iceberg", and in Latin, "_Heu quanto minus est cum reliquis versari quam +tui meminisse._" + +At thirty-nine he was left a widower with a house full of children. +Martha, born in 1772, Mary born in 1778, Lucy Elizabeth, the baby just +born, who was to die two years later, and in addition the children of +his friend and brother-in-law Carr, whom he had adopted at the death of +their father. As soon as he had recovered from the first shock, +Jefferson went with the children to the house of Colonel Archibald Cary, +at Ampthill, in Chesterfield County, where he had them inoculated for +the smallpox. "While engaged as their chief nurse on the occasion, he +received notice of his appointment by Congress as Plenipotentiary to +Europe, to be associated with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams in negotiating +peace (November 13,1782)."[88] + +He was just emerging from the stupor of mind which had rendered him "as +dead to the world as she whose loss occasioned it."[89] It appeared to +him that "public interest and the state of his mind concurred in +recommending the change of scene proposed; and he accepted the +appointment."[90] + +The next three months were spent in preparing for the journey. He made +arrangements for his children and wrote a very touching letter to +Washington, evincing once more that reluctance to express affectionate +feeling so often found in Americans, a result of early education and +training as much as of the national temperament: "Were I to indulge +myself in those warm effusions which this subject forever prompts, they +would wear an appearance of adulation very foreign to my nature; for +such is the prostitution of language, that sincerity has no longer +distinct terms in which to express her own truths."[91] + +The ship that was to carry him to France was caught in the ice at the +entrance of the Chesapeake, with no prospect of sailing before the +beginning of March. When news came early in February that the +negotiations were making satisfactory progress, he felt some doubts +about the desirability of a voyage which entailed so much expense, and +placed the matter in the hands of Congress. It was not until April 1, +however, that he was informed that the object of his appointment was "so +far advanced as to render [it] unnecessary for him to pursue his +voyage." He left for Virginia a few days afterwards. For the third time +his plans for visiting Europe had been thwarted, but he does not seem to +have resented it so deeply as previously. + +The wounds inflicted to his _amour-propre_ by the Virginia Assembly were +healing. He had renewed his contact with public affairs, and when, on +June 6, he was chosen as delegate to Congress, with Samuel Hardy, John +F. Mercer, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, he accepted without hesitation. +The two years which were to elapse between June, 1782, and July 5, 1784, +the date of his final departure from France on the _Ceres_, are not the +most eventful or the most picturesque of Jefferson's career. In many +respects, however, they are the fullest and the most important for a +true understanding of his mind and character. In the absence of Franklin +and Adams he stood out in Congress, head and shoulders above his +colleagues; he was placed on most of the important committees, he +completed his acquaintance with the internal and foreign policies of the +United States, he reported on measures of vital importance and +crystallized his opinion on fundamental problems. + +Before being chosen as a delegate to Congress, Jefferson had already +decided "to lend a hand to the laboring oar" and to participate in the +affairs of his State, if not as a legislator at least as an adviser and +counsellor. From the conversation he had held in Richmond with "as many +members" of the Assembly "as he could",[92] he had concluded that +Virginia was ready to call a convention to revise the Constitution of +1776. On June 17 he wrote again to Madison, inclosing his ideas on the +"amendments necessary." No convention was called at that time, but +Jefferson's memorandum was printed in pamphlet form later in Paris, and +he added it to his "Notes on Virginia." First of all he reassured that +the Constitution of 1776 had no legal permanent value, being simply the +result of the deliberation of a General Assembly, in no way different +from the succeeding Assemblies. A power superior to that of the ordinary +legislature could alone have authority to decide on a constitution. This +could only be done by recommending "the good people of the State" to +choose delegates "with powers to form a constitution of government for +them, and to declare those fundamentals to which all our laws present +and future shall be subordinate." Many of the provisions of the proposed +constitution were not original and, as indicated by Jefferson himself in +his letter to Madison, had been tried in other States. The document, +however, may serve to illustrate the progress accomplished by Jefferson +in the science of government since he had written his first State paper, +and to show how far he still remained from his reputed views on +democracy. + +Although still a free State, Virginia was no longer completely +independent, since she had entered a society of States, and it was +acknowledged that: "The confederation is made a part of this +constitution, subject to such future alterations as shall be agreed to +by the legislature of this State, and by all the other confederating +States." + +Almost universal suffrage was granted, the vote being given to "All free +male citizens of full age, and sane mind, who for one year before shall +have been resident in the country, or shall through the whole of that +time have possessed therein real property to the value of ----, or shall +for the same time have been enrolled in the militia." + +This was an immediate consequence of the contractual concept of society +and it is not without some interest to remark that this principle stood +in direct contradiction to the physiocratic doctrine; for it was the +contention of the Physiocrats that, society resting essentially on real +property, those who own the land can alone participate in the government +of the country. If, on the contrary, society is considered as an +association of men who agree to live together in order to secure fuller +enjoyment of their fundamental rights, all the signatories to the +compact must have the same rights as well as the same obligations in the +government of the association thus formed.[93] + +Yet it remained understood that the voters were not to be intrusted with +all the details of government, and Jefferson thought it desirable to +establish certain safeguards against the possible lack of knowledge of +the electors. They chose delegates and senators, but the governor was to +be appointed by joint ballot of both houses of the Assembly, and the +same procedure was to be followed in choosing a Council of State to +advise the governor, the judges of the High Court of Chancery, the +General Court and Court of Admiralty, while the judges of inferior +courts were to be appointed by the governor on recommendation of the +Council of State. The powers of the governor were to be strictly limited +and it was made clear that although the old English title was preserved, +the chief executive of the State had "none of the powers exercised under +our former government by the Crown": "We give him those powers only +which are necessary to execute the laws (and administer the government), +and which are not in their nature either legislative or judiciary." The +governor had a sort of suspensive veto. The military was to be +subordinate to the civil power, and the printing press to be subject to +no other restraint but liability to legal prosecution for false facts +printed and published. The plan provided also for the gradual abolition +of slavery after the year 1800. + +The most remarkable feature of this scheme was the strict imitation of +popular participation in the government. The only power recognized as +belonging to the people was that of selecting delegates to both Houses, +and of appointing delegates to a constitutional convention whenever "any +of the three branches of the government, concurring in opinion each by +the voice of two-thirds of their existing number, decided that such a +convention is necessary for amending the constitution." We are very far +from government by referendum and even by periodic elections, since none +of the State officials were directly appointed by the people. Jefferson +had not at that time departed from his fundamental idea that government +must be placed in the hands of well-qualified experts, carefully +selected and appointed. The "Constitution of Virginia" was a "true form +of Republican government", but by no means demagogical or even truly +democratic. Curiously enough, and through mere coincidence, the +essential features of the present constitution of France closely +resemble the general outline of the plan proposed by Jefferson. This +alone should suffice to demonstrate how far he was at that time from +accepting and propounding some of the main tenets of the so-called +Jeffersonian democracy. But Virginia was not yet ready for a change; the +constitutional convention was not called, and nothing had been done when +Jefferson left the State late in November, arriving at Annapolis on the +twenty-fourth. + +Much to his disgust, he found that, after a fortnight, the delegates +from only six States had appeared and that it was impossible to transact +any serious business. The Treaty of Commerce had been received and was +referred to a committee of which Jefferson was chairman, but a bare +quorum was not assembled until December 13, and on the twenty-third, +according to the "Autobiography", it was necessary to send to several +governors a letter "stating the receipt of the definitive treaty; that +seven States only were in attendance, while nine were necessary to its +ratification." + +In the meantime Washington had come to Annapolis to resign his +commission, in circumstances which can scarcely have been as impressive +as is generally related, since the whole program carefully laid out by +Jefferson took place before a bare majority of Congress. The rest of the +month was spent in discussing whether the treaty could be ratified by +less than nine states. It soon appeared that "there now remained but +scanty sixty-seven days for the ratification, for its passage across the +Atlantic and its exchange. There was no hope of our soon having nine +States present; in fact that this was the ultimate point of time to +which we could venture to wait; that if the ratification was not in +Paris by the time stipulated, the treaty would become void...."--On +January 13, delegates from Connecticut attended, and the next day a +delegate from Carolina having arrived, "the treaty was ratified without +a dissenting vote." + +This was for Jefferson a most profitable experience. As chairman of the +committee, he had to familiarize himself with questions of foreign +policies and foreign commerce. He had also to put aside whatever +remnants of sectionalism and provincialism he unconsciously retained and +he realized that "Those United States being by their constitution +consolidated into one federal republic, they be considered in all such +treaties & in every case arising under them as one nation under the +principles of the Federal Constitution."[94] + +The same principle is reasserted more strongly in the "Draft for +proclamation announcing ratification of definitive treaties", in which +all the good citizens of the United States are enjoined to reverence +"those stipulations entered into on their behalf under the authority of +that federal (moral, political and legal bond) whereby they are called, +by which their existence as an independent people is bound up together, +and is known and acknowledged by the nations of the world."[95] + +On January 16, Jefferson wrote to Governor Harrison enumerating the +important objects before Congress: + + 1. Authorizing our Foreign minister to enter into treaties of + alliance and commerce with the several nations who have deserved it; + 2. Arranging the domestic administration; 3. Establishing arsenals & + ports on our frontiers; 4. Disposing of Western Territory; 5. + Treaties of peace and purchase with the Indians; 6. Money. + +A full program, requiring for the adoption of any measure the +concurrence of nine States, while barely nine were present, seven of +which were represented only by two members each; "any of these fourteen +gentlemen differing from the rest would stay the proceedings", and it +seemed very doubtful whether anything could be achieved during the +session. + +This brought home to Jefferson the fact that the concentration of the +executive functions in Congress was an obstacle to carrying out +effectively the business of the Confederation, and he thought it his +duty to point out this defect in his "draft of the report on a committee +of the States", January 30, 1784. It was a lengthy report, not very +accurately summed up in the "Autobiography", authorizing a permanent +Committee of the States to act as executive during the recess of +Congress, and enumerating very minutely the powers that such a committee +might exercise and those from which it would be excluded. The plan as +adopted was somewhat different and it was resolved: "That the Committee +should possess all the powers which may be exercised by the seven States +in Congress assembled", except concerning foreign relations. + +Jefferson recalled in the "Autobiography" that during the following +recess the committee quarrelled, split into two parties, "abandoned +their posts, and left the government without any visible head, until the +next meeting of Congress." He significantly added: "We have since seen +the same thing take place in the Directory of France; and I believe it +will forever take place in any executive consisting of a plurality. Our +plan,--best, I believe,--combines wisdom and practicality; by providing +a plurality of Counsellors, but a single Arbiter for ultimate decision." +This conclusion was already reached in 1784, not following a logical +reasoning, or because of an innate need of unity, but as a result of +experience. Very early in his life Jefferson became convinced that the +country could not be properly administered unless the executive powers +were concentrated in one responsible person, with powers strictly +defined, but left free to act and to act rapidly within that field. This +explains, among other things, not only Jefferson's approval of the +powers granted to the Executive under the Constitution, but also his +conduct during his two terms as President. + +He soon had an opportunity to study the financial problems of the +Confederation, when a "grand Committee of Congress" was appointed to +take up the Federal expenses for the current year, inclusive of articles +of interest on the public debts foreign and domestic.[96] He presented +on March 22 a "Report on the Arrears of Interest", in which were +carefully tabulated not only the interest on sums due on account of the +national debts but an estimate of the expenses for the year 1784,--in +other words a budget. An outgrowth of the work assigned to the Committee +was the _establishment of a money unit, and of a coinage for the United +States_. The report of Jefferson retained some of the essential +provisions of the proposal drawn up by the "Financier of the U.S." +(Robert Morris, assisted by Governor Morris), and Jefferson himself did +not claim so much originality for it as has been given him by some of +his biographers. The report of the financier proposed that the new +coins "should be in decimal proportions to one another", and this was +retained. On the other hand, Morris had proposed as a unit "the 1440th +part of a dollar", after taking into consideration the old currencies, +"all of which this unit measures without leaving a fraction." Jefferson +pointed out that, although theoretically perfect, the unit was much too +complicated and too small, and he maintained that the unit should be the +Spanish dollar "a known coin, and the most familiar of all to the minds +of the people." ... "It is already adopted from South to North," he +added, "has identified our currency, and therefore happily offers itself +as a Unit already introduced." + +In spite of the financier's opposition, the plan as amended by Jefferson +was finally adopted and still constitutes the essential foundation of +the American monetary system. To the student of psychology this incident +affords another illustration of Jefferson's practical-mindedness. Having +to choose between two solutions, one mathematically perfect, and another +one simply regulating and organizing what already existed, he did not +hesitate a minute and practical considerations prevailed at once in his +mind. + +In the meantime he was working on one of his most important State +papers. Randall called attention to it and P. L. Ford maintained that +"next to the Declaration of Independence (if indeed standing second to +that) this document ranks in historical importance of all those drawn by +Jefferson; and, but for its being superseded by the 'Ordinance of 1787', +would rank among all American state papers immediately after the +National Constitution."[97] Yet it does not seem that its value is +generally recognized and it is but seldom listed as one of the +outstanding achievements of Jefferson. For reasons that will shortly +appear, Jefferson himself neglected to mention it in his +"Autobiography." It is a capital document by which to understand the +growth of the Jeffersonian doctrine. + +First of all, it resolved that "so much of the territory ceded or to be +ceded by individual States to the United States as is already purchased +or shall be purchased of the Indian inhabitants & offered for sale by +Congress, shall be divided into distinct states." Which simply meant +that the westward growth of the country, instead of being left to the +initiative of the individual States, was placed under the aegis of the +Confederation and thus became a matter of national importance and +significance. It provided for a practically unlimited expansion of the +United States by the establishment of States analogous to the already +existing Confederacy. It also insisted strongly that all such territory +be connected as closely as possible with the already existing Union. +Settlers in any of the territories thus organized, had authority to +establish a temporary government, adopting with due modification the +constitution and laws of any of the original States. A permanent +government was to be established in any State as soon as it should have +acquired a population of twenty thousand free inhabitants, provided, and +here we probably have the most important provisions: + + 1. That they shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the + United States of America. 2. That in their persons, property and + territory they shall be subject to the Government of the United + States in Congress assembled & to the articles of confederation.... + 4. That their respective Governments shall be in republican forms and + shall admit no person to be a citizen who holds any hereditary title. + 5. That after the year 1800 of the Christian aera, there shall be + neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the said states. + +Finally, "whenever any of the said States shall have, of free +inhabitants, as many as shall then be in any one of the least numerous, +of the thirteen original States, such State will be admitted by it's +delegates into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing +with the said United States." + +This report, submitted March 1, recommitted to the committee March 17, +was considered again by Congress on April 19, 21, 23, and adopted after +amendment by every State except one. But the amendment took the teeth +out of the report, since the clause referring to slavery was struck out, +as well as that concerning the admission of persons holding hereditary +titles. Other provisions concerning the names to be given to the new +States were also eliminated. The scholar reappeared in these +suggestions. If Jefferson's original motion had been accepted, the +present State of Michigan would wear the name of _Chersonesus_ and on +the map of the United States would appear such designations as +_Metropotamia_, _Polypotamia_, and _Pilisipia_.[98] + +Finally Jefferson intended to complete the organization and expansion of +the United States with "An ordinance establishing a Land Office" for the +United States "to give sure title to the settlers and determine the +division and subdivision into lots" which was defeated, an entirely new +ordinance being adopted April 26, 1785.[99] + +The most striking feature of all these bills was the eagerness of +Jefferson to consolidate the Union and to strengthen Federal bonds. With +a common monetary unit, common interest in a large territory just +acquired by cession from Virginia, one more thing remained to be +settled: the organization of permanent relations with foreign nations, +that is to say, the conclusion of commercial treaties. + +It had appeared very soon to Jefferson that if such treaties were to be +concluded it was desirable to adopt a working policy outlined in his +"Resolves on European Treaties."[100] To have foreign plenipotentiaries +come to the United States, discuss with the badly organized body called +the Continental Congress, whose members would have to report to their +legislatures and after interminable delays accept or reject the +proposal, was an impossible procedure. This distrust of Congress was +amply justified at the time, and one may wonder whether satisfactory +treaties could ever have been concluded under the supervision of +Congress; Jefferson therefore proposed that ministers be sent to Europe +to negotiate with the old and established nations, who could not be +expected to cross the Atlantic. + +On May 7, Congress agreed on _Instructions to the Ministers +Plenipotentiary appointed to negotiate treaties of Commerce with the +European Nations_. Once more it was proclaimed: + +"That these United Sates be considered in all such treaties, and in +every case arising under them, as one nation, upon the principle of the +Federal constitution." + +It was also deemed "advantageous that treaties be concluded with Russia, +the Court of Vienna, Prussia, Denmark, Saxony, Hamburg, Great Britain, +Spain, Portugal, Genoa, Tuscany, Rome, Naples, Venice, Sardinia and the +Ottoman Porte. That treaties of amity and commerce be entered into with +Morocco, and the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. To have +supplementary treaties with France, the United Netherlands and Sweden in +order to incorporate the new policies of the United States." + +The plan of treaties contained some remarkable provisions; they were +clear departures, not from the theory of international law and _droit +des gens_, as Jefferson had found it in the authorities consulted, but +from the actual policy of the European nations. + +Thus it was proposed that in case of war between the two contracting +parties, + + The merchants of either country, then residing in the other shall be + allowed to remain nine months to collect their debts and settle their + affairs, and may depart freely, carrying off all their effects, + without molestation or hinderance, and all fishermen, all cultivators + of the earth, and all artisans or manufacturers, unarmed and + inhabiting unfortified towns, villages or places, who labor for the + common subsistence and benefit of mankind, and peaceably follow + their respective employments, shall be allowed to continue the same. + +That "neither of the contracting powers shall grant or issue any +commission to any private armed vessels, empowering them to take or +destroy such trading ships, or interrupt such commerce." + +In case of war with another nation, "no merchandize heretofore called +contraband, such as arms, ammunition and military stores of all +kinds,... shall, on any account, be deemed contraband, so as to induce +confiscation, and a loss of property to individuals." The right to +detain vessels carrying such goods a reasonable length of time was +granted, as well as the right not to seize, but "to purchase" military +stores with a reasonable compensation to the proprietors; in all cases +the owners of the ships delayed were to receive a compensation. But all +vessels not carrying contraband were to be entirely free, adding that a +blockade in order to be recognized had to be effectual, but even in that +case "no vessel of the party who is not engaged in the said war, shall +be stopped without a material and well-grounded cause." + +Besides these general provisions, it was recommended that "each party +shall have a right to carry their own produce, manufactures, and +merchandise in their own bottoms to the ports of the others, and thence +the produce and merchandise of the other, paying, in both cases, such +duties only as are paid by the most favored nations." + +A paragraph was intended specially for the commerce with the West +Indies, "desiring that a direct and similar intercourse be admitted +between the United States and possessions of the nations holding +territorial possessions in America." + +Finally, as Jefferson as well as his contemporaries were already fearful +of seeing any influx of foreigners settle in their country and dominate +the infant government, it was stipulated that no right be accorded to +aliens to hold real property within these States, this being "utterly +inadmissible by their several laws and policy." + +From the European point of view many things were inadmissible in the +plan of treaties. To request the nations of the Old World not only to +abandon privateering, but to relinquish their definitions of contraband +and their commercial monopolies with their own colonies, was something +which must have appeared as the wild dream of a people unexperienced in +the handling of foreign relations. As a matter of fact, the treaties +were never signed. But if the principles formulated by Jefferson were +not accepted by the European powers, they remained nevertheless an +essential part of the foreign policy of the United States. + +On the very day the "Instructions" were adopted, Jefferson was appointed +Minister Plenipotentiary to "negotiate treaties of commerce with foreign +nations in conjunction with Mr. John Adams and Dr. Franklin." No man in +Congress was better qualified for such a mission. His work for two years +on several important committees had acquainted him with the main +problems of the Union. He had demonstrated his ability to present clear +reports on the most intricate questions. He had completed his +apprenticeship of men and things; but it may be wondered whether the +delegates who recommended his appointment were not impelled by ulterior +motives. The stand taken by Jefferson on slavery had made him decidedly +unpopular with the Southern delegates. He had opposed the original +statutes of the Order of Cincinnati, in which he saw the beginnings of a +new aristocracy. He had made enemies as well as friends and could write +to Washington that an experience of twenty years had taught him "that +few friendships stand this test, & that public assemblies, where +everyone is free to act & to speak, are the most powerful looseners of +private friendship." The petty discussions in Congress, the long +speeches he had to listen to, the quibbling, lack of initiative and +lack of national spirit of the delegates had thoroughly disgusted him. +Before receiving his appointment he had already repented of his return +to public life and had signified his intention of going back to his +beloved Monticello. + + I have determined--he wrote to Washington--to take no active part in + this or anything else, which may lead to altercation, or disturb that + quiet & tranquillity of mind to which I consign the remaining portion + of my life. I have been thrown back by events on a stage where I had + never more thought to appear. It is but for a time, however, & as a + day laborer, free to withdraw, or be withdrawn at will.[101] + +He seized with eagerness the opportunity of visiting older civilizations +and enjoying a change of scenes. Having hastily cancelled his order for +printing a few copies of the "Notes on Virginia", he at once made +preparations for his departure. + +The new plenipotentiary decided to take with him his older daughter +Martha, then in Philadelphia at Mrs. Hopkinson's, and to leave the two +younger ones with their maternal aunt, Mrs. Eppes, in Virginia. William +Short, his "_eleve_" and friend, accompanied him as private secretary +and Colonel David Humphreys as secretary of the legation.[102] From +Philadelphia he went to Boston, visiting Connecticut, Rhode Island, and +the principal towns on his way, in order to acquire "what knowledge he +could of their commerce and other circumstances." He sailed from Boston +on the _Ceres_, Captain Sainte-Barbe, bound to Cowes. + +Jefferson was then forty-one years old. He knew life and men and had no +illusions; he had experienced happiness and sorrow; he had had moments +of exaltation, of hot patriotic fever; he had occupied the front of the +stage in several circumstances never to be forgotten; he had aroused +enmities and made devoted and faithful friends, among them Monroe, +Madison, and Short whom he was taking along with him. But neither his +disappointments nor his sorrows had made him a misanthrope. Not an +orator, he liked to talk, and he could not live without society. The +tall spare man in black was no longer able to feel his heart moved by +the early emotions of his youth. Next to Washington, who remained in +America, and to Doctor Franklin, a debonair patriarch, he was the most +famous national figure of America. None was better qualified by his +former life and studies to represent America and to speak for his +country. Whatever sectionalism he may have had in him had disappeared in +these last two years of Congress, when he had striven so strenuously to +make the Union an actual fact and to consolidate the loose Federal +fabric, for only there could men "See the affairs of the Confederacy +from a high ground; they learn the importance of the Union & befriend +federal measures when they return. Those who never come here, see our +affairs insulated, pursue a system of jealousy and self interest, and +distract the Union as much as they can." + +Of Europe he knew little, except what he had been able to absorb from +books. It was a country of great artistic productivity, of enviable +social life. Towards England he was not particularly attracted; towards +France he felt much more favorably inclined. He had met many Frenchmen; +some of them already had become his close friends, two particularly, the +Chevalier de Chastellux and especially the youthful, impulsive, and +charming Lafayette, who in a parting note had asked him to consider his +house as his and to take the little motherless girl to Madame de +Lafayette. He knew he would not be without friends, without society, +that he would have an unique chance to meet the best minds of Europe. +This practical American, so little given to the "_joie de vivre_" and +without _abandon_, wanted primarily to increase his knowledge, to gather +facts, to make comparisons. He had retained the taste for society, the +good breeding, the polite manners, the artistic tendencies of the +Virginian, but in him the American was already fully grown. He felt also +that he had a certain mission and intended to fulfill it: it was to +convey to the European statesmen whose wiles he distrusted the +impression that the United States existed as a country, that they did +not form a loose and temporary confederation of States, but a nation to +be reckoned with and respected. His country was no longer his native +Virginia alone: he was thinking nationally and not sectionally. For the +French Jefferson was already a great American figure; he was going to +embody the best there was in the newly constituted Union. + + + + +BOOK THREE + +_An American View of Europe_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +SOCIETY AND TRAVEL + + +The _Ceres_ reached Portsmouth nineteen days after leaving Boston, a +remarkably swift passage, without incident, except for three days spent +in fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland, while the ship was becalmed. +Jefferson and his companions were delayed a week in Portsmouth by +Martha's slight illness, and then went directly to Paris, where he +arrived on August 6, 1784. Jefferson was to remain in France till the +fall of 1789--five years crowded with pleasures, social duties, +political duties, and hard work. His activities were so varied and his +interests so diversified that it is no longer possible to follow any +chronological order; we must establish arbitrary divisions, though +Jefferson passed at all times from one subject to another and was +incessantly busy with undertakings and plans truly encyclopedic. + +First of all, he had to find quarters. He had put up at the Hotel +d'Orleans, Rue des Petits Augustins, then he had rented "Hotel +Tete-Bout, cul-de-sac Tete-Bout", and a year later moved to a house +belonging to M. le Comte de L'Avongeac "at the corner of the Grande +Route des Champs Elysees and Rue Neuve de Berry", where he continued to +live as long as he remained in Paris. His secretary Short and Colonel +Humphreys, secretary to the legation, lived with him. It was "a very +elegant house, even for Paris, with an extensive garden, court and +outbuildings, in the handsomest style." + +Of Jefferson's first impressions after landing in France we +unfortunately know nothing. Not until a full year had elapsed did he +express his personal views in writing. Although he deplored the +wretched condition of the larger mass of the people, he had already come +to the conclusion, probably correct, that life in Paris was more +pleasant than anywhere else on earth: "The roughnesses of the human mind +are so thoroughly rubbed off with them, that it seems as if one might +glide through a whole life without a jostle."[103] It was some time, +however, before he felt entirely at home in Parisian society. He was +somewhat handicapped and humiliated at first because of lack of means at +the disposal of the Minister of the United States for maintaining his +rank. In his report on the reduction of the civil list (March 5, 1784), +Jefferson, animated with a fine republican zeal, had fixed the +compensation of American representatives abroad at ten thousand dollars. +Now that he was in Paris he found the allowance very inadequate. A proud +Virginian, accustomed to entertain generously, he considered hospitality +an imperious duty as well as a pleasure, and his letters to Congress are +filled with complaints on the niggardliness of his resources. However, +he procured a good French cook in the person of the worthy Petit, who +became quite attached to him, and wrote for him recipes for "_poulet en +casserole_" and "_cafe a la francaise_." He informed himself concerning +the best French wines, some of which he already knew, and made a +thorough and scientific study of the different vintages, recording the +result of his observations in unpublished notes. Nor was he so selfish +as to keep all his knowledge to himself. Adams and Washington used his +good offices to keep their cellars well stocked in champagne and +sauternes. For them and for Madison he subscribed to "L'Encyclopedie +Methodique", he bought new French books, engravings, plaster casts, and +medals, and his willingness to oblige his friends and to go shopping for +them was so well known that Mrs. Adams asked him to buy for her daughter +"two pairs of corsets", much to his distress, since she had omitted to +send him the measure. For Mrs. Bingham he filled boxes with "caps and +bonnets"; for Madison he bought a pocket telescope, a walking stick, a +chemical box, for poor little Polly who had remained with her aunt at +Eppington "sashes" and Parisian dolls. + +Through Franklin, Jefferson was introduced to Madame d'Houdetot, who had +unlimited admiration for a man who not only was an American and a +philosopher, but who also knew the names of American plants and trees +much more thoroughly than her dear Doctor. He obtained for her seeds, +bulbs, and trees to be planted in the park of Sannois.[104] Through +Franklin also he met Madame Helvetius and her two abbes, who always +wrote jointly to Jefferson.[105] At her house, he saw Cabanis, then a +very young man, Destutt de Tracy and abbe Morellet. He attended concerts +at Madame d'Houdetot's brother's house, but above all he was attracted +by Lafayette's family and friends. It was large enough for a man of more +leisure and more worldly tendencies. There was the Marquis himself and +his charming wife, who befriended Martha and wrote Jefferson several +notes filled with that delightful eighteenth-century "_sensibilite_" and +amiability of which we have lost the secret. There was also Madame de +Tesse, Lafayette's cousin, who was, however, considerably older than the +Marquis and whom he called "aunt." Jefferson saw her in Paris and +visited her often at Chaville, where Short stayed for weeks at a time, +perfecting himself in the French language and the ways of French +society. She loved trees, good paintings, fine buildings, statues, and +music, and did much to educate Jefferson's taste in these matters. Not +mentioned by his biographers, Madame de Corny played a not +inconsiderable part in Jefferson's sentimental life. Young, pretty, +witty, and married to a husband much older than herself, she enjoyed +Jefferson's company, took with him many walks in the Bois de Boulogne +and perhaps, secretly, found him too scrupulously polite and too +respectful.[106] There were also several other women, Madame de Tott, a +distinguished painter, the vivacious and charming Lucy Paradise, +Comtesse Barziza, a real "_enfant terrible_", irresponsible, outspoken, +who in her letters to Jefferson listed all the scandals of the +days.[107] And one must not forget among Jefferson's feminine +acquaintances the old Comtesse de la Rochefoucauld, dignified, +sarcastic, a terrible bore at times, whom on many occasions he vainly +tried to avoid. + +But when all is told, it does not appear that the circle of Jefferson's +friends was ever very large. During his first year in Paris he did his +best to keep in the background. To Franklin he owed deference, because +of his age and the position of the Doctor as the only accredited +representative to the Court of Versailles. Adams, the other +plenipotentiary, was older than Jefferson, who on every occasion +insisted that his colleagues should have precedence over him. A good +listener, he was much more reserved than Franklin and always remained +somewhat self-conscious when he spoke or wrote French. If the Doctor +spoke French as badly as he wrote it, his conversation must have been an +extraordinary jargon; but Jefferson was too sensitive and had too much +_amour-propre_ to venture upon long discussions and conversations with +people he did not know intimately. Most of his French letters were +written by Short, who became rapidly a master of the language, and we +may presume that Jefferson never really felt at home in a purely French +circle. + +This was true at least of his first year in Paris. He had many fits of +despondency and wondered at times whether he was not too old to accustom +himself to strange people and to strange manners. He often experienced +the usual longing of the traveler for his native land: "I am now of an +age which does not easily accommodate itself to new modes of living and +new manners," he wrote to Baron Geismer, the former prisoner of +Charlottesville; "and I am savage enough to prefer the woods, the wilds +and independence of Monticello, to all the brilliant pleasures of this +gay capital. I shall therefore, rejoin myself to my native country with +new attachments and exaggerated esteem for its advantages."[108] It was +probably on these occasions that he took refuge in the most silent of +all places, a Carthusian monastery, a very strange abode for one who has +been accused of being a fierce anti-clerical: + + He also had rooms in the Carthusian Monastery on Mount Calvary; the + boarders, of whom I think there were forty, carried their own + servants, and took their breakfasts in their own rooms. They + assembled to dinner only. They had the privilege of walking in the + gardens, but as it was a hermitage, it was against the rules of the + house for any voices to be heard outside of their own rooms, hence + the most profound silence. The author of "Anarcharsis" was a boarder + at the time, and many others who had reasons for a temporary + retirement from the world. Whenever he had a press of business, he + was in the habit of taking his papers and going to the hermitage, + where he spent sometimes a week or more till he had finished his + work. The hermits visited him occasionally in Paris, and the Superior + made him a present of an ivory broom that was turned by one of the + brothers.[109] + +From time to time this same mood recurred: + + I am burning the candle of life without present pleasure or future + object--he wrote to Mrs. Trist in 1786.--A dozen or twenty years ago + this scene would have amused me; but I am past the age for changing + habits. I take all the fault on myself, as it is impossible to be + among a people who wish more to make one happy--a people of the very + best character it is possible for one to have. We have no idea in + America of the real French character.[110] + +Not foreign to this despondency was the bad news that came from America. +His youngest daughter Lucy died in the fall of 1784 and he was not +satisfied until he had his remaining daughter near him in Paris, and +Mary, familiarly called Polly, had joined her sister in the best convent +of the French capital. + +Between social duties and pleasures, dinners at the house of Lafayette, +meetings of the Committees of Commerce, interviews with Vergennes, +preparation of long letters to be sent home to keep his Government +informed of the situation in Europe, correction of the proofs of the +"Notes on Virginia", interviews with former French volunteers clamoring +for their back pay, visits to shops and factories, Jefferson was a very +busy man indeed. But exacting as his occupations were, he found time to +escape from Paris on three different occasions to see something of +France and Europe. In 1786 he journeyed to England, traveled in France +and Italy in the spring of the following year, and visited Holland and +the Rhine shortly before leaving for home. The diaries he kept during +these trips are both revealing and disappointing. They demonstrate how +little of European culture had penetrated his American mind, how +carefully he preserved himself from the contamination of European +manners and ways of thinking. In some respects it must be confessed that +Jefferson remained very narrow and provincial, and almost a Philistine +in his outlook. + +The most damning document is the outline he made for Rutledge and +Shippen on June 3, 1788, though in some respects it shows good judgment, +as when Jefferson recommends "not to judge of the manners of the people +from the people you will naturally see the most of: tavern keepers, +_valets de place_, and postillions."--"These are the hackneyed rascals +of every country. Of course they must never be considered when we +calculate the national character." He manifested the same good sense in +recommending always to ask for the _vin du pays_ when traveling. But the +worst comes in his enumeration of the "Objects of Attention for an +American." It has to be read to be believed and should be transcribed +here almost in full: + + 1. Agriculture. Everything belonging to this art, and whatever has a + near relation to it.... 2. Mechanical arts, so far as they respect + things necessary in America, and inconvenient to be transported + thither ready-made, such as forges, stone quarries, boat bridges, + etc. 3. Lighter mechanical arts, and manufactures. Some of these will + be worth a superficial view; but circumstances rendering it + impossible that America should become a manufacturing country during + the time of any man now living, it would be a waste of attention to + examine these minutely. 4. Gardens peculiarly worth the attention of + an American, because it is the country of all others where the + noblest gardens may be made without expense.... 5. Architecture worth + a great attention. As we double our numbers every twenty years, we + must double our houses.... It is, then, among the most important + arts; it is desirable to introduce taste into an art which shows so + much. 6. Painting, Statuary. Too expensive for the state of wealth + among us. It would be useless, therefore, and preposterous, for us to + make ourselves connoisseurs in those arts. They are worth seeing, but + not studying. 7. Politics of each country, well worth studying so far + as respects internal affairs. Examine their influence on the + happiness of the people. Take every possible occasion for entering + into the houses of the laborers, and especially at the moment of + their repast; see what they eat, how they are clothed, whether they + are obliged to work too hard.... 8. Courts. To be seen as you would + see the tower of London or menagerie of Versailles with their lions, + tigers, hyenas, and other beasts of prey, standing in the same + relation to their fellows.... Their manners, could you ape them, + would not make you beloved in your own country, nor would they + improve it could you introduce them there to the exclusion of that + honest simplicity now prevailing in America, and worthy of being + cherished. + +The man who wrote these lines was certainly not denationalized; the +emancipated Virginian had unconsciously retained a puritanical distrust +of purely aesthetic enjoyments. He seems to have taken a sort of wicked +pleasure in denying himself the disinterested joys of the artist and +philosopher and his travels in Europe were no "sentimental journey." It +cannot even be maintained that the views expressed in the letter to +Shippen were a paradox and that he felt free to enjoy the pleasures from +which he strove to protect his fellow countrymen. Most revealing in this +respect is the following passage from a letter written to Lafayette, +when he was traveling along the Riviera: + + In the great cities I go to see, what travellers think alone worthy + of being seen; but I make a job of it, and generally gulp it all down + in a day. On the other hand, I am never satisfied with rambling + through the fields and farms, examining the culture and cultivators, + with a degree of curiosity which makes some take me to be a fool, and + others to be much wiser than I am.[111] + +He seems to have been dominated by the same utilitarian preoccupations +during his English journey. There he noted carefully all the +peculiarities of English gardens, visiting all the show places with +Whateley's book on gardening in his pocket: "My inquiries," he himself +said, "were directed chiefly to such practical things as might enable me +to estimate the expense of making and maintaining a garden in that +style." This is why the only thing worth noticing at Kew was an +Archimedes screw for raising water, of which he made a sketch. His +conclusions were summed up in a letter to John Page after he came back +to Paris. England had totally disappointed him. The "pleasure gardens", +to be sure, went far beyond his ideas, but the city of London, though +handsomer than Paris, was not so handsome as Philadelphia: "Their +architecture is in the most wretched style I ever saw, not meaning to +except America, where it is bad, not even Virginia, where it is worse +than in any other part of America which I have seen." On the other +hand, the mechanical arts were carried to a wonderful perfection, but +he took no joy in visiting manufactures and shops, since the view +reminded him that the frivolity of his fellow countrymen made them +import many articles from London and thus pay tribute to a foreign +nation.[112] + +When he left Paris for the South of France he was in no more amiable +mood. It was his first real contact with the French countryside and he +was shocked beyond words at the sight of the first villages he passed +through from Sens to Vermanton. He could not understand why the French +peasants insisted on living close together in villages instead of +building their houses on the grounds they cultivated. He racked his +brains for an explanation and could find no better one than to suppose +that they were "collected by that dogma of their religion which makes +them believe, that to keep the Creator in good humor with His own works, +they must mumble a mass every day." The people were illy clothed; the +sight of women and children carrying heavy burdens and laboring with the +hoe made the Virginian slave-owner conclude that "in a civilized +country, men never expose their wives and children to labor above their +force and sex, as long as their own labor can protect them from it." But +he nowhere expressed any emotional distress nor heartfelt sympathy for +these poor wretches and concluded that if there were no beggars it was +probably an effect of the police.[113] + +On the other hand, he noted every detail of the fabrication of Burgundy +wine, enumerated the different vintages, the cost of casks, bottles, +methods of transportation and marketing, the price of "_vin ordinaire_", +of oil, butter, cattle, the cultivation of olive trees and fig trees and +capers. Monuments are described with a mathematical eye, many small +points noted, columns described, ornaments studied, but the only +personal impression elicited by Arles is that "The principal monument +here, is an amphitheatre, the external portico of which is tolerably +complete." + +What is true of France is even more true of Italy. At Milan the +cathedral is not even mentioned, but "the salon of the Casa Belgiosa is +superior to anything I have ever seen." And he adds immediately, "The +mixture called Scaiola, of which they make their walls and floors, is so +like the finest marble as to be scarcely distinguishable from it." Pages +are given to the fabrication of Parmesan cheese. Once, however, in +walking along the shore from Louano to Alberga, he could not resist the +enchantment of the landscape. There he noted the remarkable coloration +of the Mediterranean and was puzzled by it, but he also added, let it be +marked to his credit: + + If any person wished to retire from his acquaintances, to live + absolutely unknown, and yet in the midst of physical enjoyments, it + should be in some of the little villages of this coast, where air, + water and earth concur to offer what each has most precious. Here are + nightingales, beccaficas, ortolans, pheasants, partridges, quails, a + superb climate, and the power of changing it from summer to winter at + any moment, by ascending the mountains. The earth furnishes wine, + oil, figs, oranges, and every production of the garden, in every + season. The sea yields lobsters, crabs, oysters, thunny, sardines, + anchovies etc. Ortolans sell at this time at thirty sous, equal to + one shilling sterling, the dozen. + +A queer mixture of suppressed artistic emotions and avowed culinary +preoccupations. Shades of Rousseau and Wordsworth, to mention the +nightingale and the ortolans in one breath! But one thing at least we +must be thankful for is his lack of pretence and conventional +admiration. It is, after all, refreshing to find a traveler who does not +copy from his guidebook and does not fall into raptures and worked-up +ecstasies. He came back through "Luc, Brignolles, Avignon, Vaucluse", +simply noting that "there are fine trout in the stream of Vaucluse and +the valley abounds particularly with nightingales." He saw Nimes, +Montpellier, Frontignan, where he discussed the manufacture and price of +wine; he passed through Carcassonne and was much interested in the canal +and "the carp caught there", but did not mention the walls; he stayed +several days at Bordeaux, measured the remains of a Roman amphitheater +and made a thorough study of the wines; "Chateau Margau, La Tour de +Segur, Hautbrion, Chateau de la Fite, Pontac, Sauternes, Barsac." He +visited Nantes, Rennes, Angers, Tours, and ascertained the truth of the +allegations of the famous "growth of shells unconnected with animal +bodies" mentioned by Voltaire and discussed in the "Notes on Virginia." +He saw Chanteloup and heard a nightingale there, but was far more +interested in "an ingenious contrivance to hide the projecting steps of +a stair-case." + +The same utilitarian preoccupation reappears most conspicuously in his +"Memorandums on a Tour from Paris to Amsterdam, Strasburg, and back to +Paris" (March, 1788). At Amsterdam he studied the Dutch wheelbarrow, the +canal to raise ships over the Pampus, joists of houses, the aviary of +Mr. Ameshoff near Harlem; he made a sketch of the Hope's House "of a +capricious appearance yet a pleasant one"--an architectural atrocity if +ever there was one. At Duesseldorf "the gallery of paintings is sublime", +but equally interesting is the hog of this country (Westphalia) "of +which the celebrated ham is made which sells at eight and a half pence +sterling the pound." If he saw the cathedral at Cologne he forbore to +mention it, but at Coblenz he had his first taste of the Moselle wine. +It would be cruel to reproduce his description of the "clever ruin at +Hanau, with the hermitage in which is a good figure of a hermit in +plaster, colored to the life, with a table and a book before him, in the +attitude of contemplation." + +And yet, when the worst is told, one may wonder whether there would not +be some unfairness in judging Jefferson merely from these memoranda. +There he noted information for which he foresaw some further use, +interesting knowledge which could be utilized at Monticello or for the +benefit of his fellow countrymen. How to plant and prune the vines and +the olive trees; how to make cheese and oil; how to introduce the "St. +Foin", new vegetables, new crops such as rice, new industries such as +the silkworm and mulberry tree; how to build a house; all this required +exactness and precision and could scarcely be trusted to memory. +Pleasant impressions of travel, on the contrary, could always be evoked +through the imagination and would lose very little of their charm and +value with time. Furthermore to put down these impressions in black and +white would have required a certain process of analysis entirely foreign +to Puritan consciousness, and a Puritan Jefferson had remained in his +speech and manners far more than he himself believed. There was in these +purely aesthetic pleasures something really too personal to be indulged +in, at least in writing. Once, however, he did away with all the +restraint imposed upon him by education and the "habits of his country"; +it is in the well-known letter written from Nimes to Madame de Tesse. +Parts of it at least, in all fairness to Jefferson, have to be quoted +here as a contrast to the dryness and objectiveness of the notes on +travel.... + + Here I am, Madam, gazing whole hours at the Maison Quarree, like a + lover at his mistress.... This is the second time I have been in love + since I left Paris. The first was with a Diana at the Chateau de + Laye-Epinaye in Beaujolais, a delicious morsel of sculpture, by M. A. + Slodtz. This, you will say, was in rule, to fall in love with a + female beauty; but with a house, it is out of all precedent. No, + Madam, it is not without a precedent in my own history. While in + Paris, I was violently smitten with the Hotel de Salm, and used to go + to the Tuileries almost daily to look at it. The loueuse des + chaises--inattentive to my passion--never had the complaisance to + place a chair there, so that sitting on the parapet, and twisting my + neck around to see the object of my admiration, I generally left with + a torti-colli. + + From Lyons to Nismes I have been nourished with the remains of Roman + grandeur. They have always brought you to my mind, because I know + your affection for whatever is Roman and noble. At Vienna I thought + of you. But I am glad you were not here; for you would have seen me + more angry than, I hope, you will ever see me. The Praetorian palace, + as it is called--comparable, for its fine proportions, to the Maison + Quarree--defaced by the barbarians who have converted it to its + present purpose, its beautiful fluted Corinthian columns cut out, in + parts, to make space for Gothic windows, and hewed down, in the + residue, to the plane of the buildings, was enough, you must admit, + to disturb my composure. At Orange too, I thought of you. I was sure + you had seen with pleasure the sublime triumphal arch of Marius at + the entrance of the city. I went then to the Arenae. Would you + believe, Madam, that in this eighteenth century, in France, under the + reign of Louis XVI, they are at this moment pulling down the circular + wall of this superb remain, to pave a road? And that too, from a hill + which is itself en entire mass of stone, just as fit, and more + accessible.[114] + +This is indeed a charming letter; but why did he not write more often in +this vein? Why did he send to Martha moralizing and edifying letters +when he was traveling in Southern France and Italy? His latent +puritanism, as already shown, may partly account for this reticence, but +this came from a deeper feeling. He had already protested in his "Notes +on Virginia" against the claim made by Europe to intellectual supremacy. +He realized, however, how powerful was the attraction of the great +centers of European culture on young America, and was afraid that the +introduction of foreign arts, foreign literature, foreign customs, and +"mode" might corrupt the very springs of American life. This blind +admiration of everything European constituted one of the greatest +dangers if America wished to develop on her own soil a civilization of +her own. Friends in Virginia had to be convinced that an American youth, +brought up on a strictly American diet, would in nowise be inferior to +most Europeans. If one insisted upon sending a young man to Europe, the +chances were that he would learn nothing essential, that on the contrary +he would lose many of his native qualities and at any rate his native +innocence and purity of mind. This appears most conspicuously in a +letter written to J. B. Bannister, Junior, who had manifested the +intention of sending his son to Europe. There Jefferson proceeded to +denounce the features of European civilization as vehemently as any +Puritan preacher and with the same frankness of expression. To enumerate +the disadvantages of sending a youth to Europe "would require a volume", +so he had to select a few. England is shortly disposed of: "If he goes +to England, he learns drinking, horse racing, and boxing," for those are +the peculiarities of English education. If he goes to the continent he +will acquire a fondness for luxury and dissipation, he will contract a +partiality for aristocracy and monarchy; he will soon be led to consider +"fidelity to the marriage bed as an ungentlemanly practice." He will +become denationalized and recollecting "the voluptuary dress and arts of +the European women, will pity and despise the chaste affections and +simplicity of those of his own country." He will return to America "a +foreigner", speaking and writing his own tongue "like a foreigner", and +therefore unqualified to obtain those distinctions, which eloquence of +the pen and tongue ensures in a free country. There can be only one +conclusion after such a fierce denunciation of Europe: + + It appears to me, then, that an American, coming to Europe for + education, loses in his knowledge, in his morals, in his health, in + his habits, and in his happiness. I had entertained only doubts on + this head before I came to Europe: what I see and hear, since I came + here proves more than I had expected. Cast your eye over America: who + are the men of most learning, of most eloquence, most beloved by + their countrymen and most trusted and promoted by them? They are + those who have been educated among them, and whose manners, morals, + and habits, are perfectly homogeneous with those of the country.[115] + +Very bold indeed would have been the American father who, with such a +frightful picture before his eyes, would have sent his son to Europe. + +Thus we are led to a very unexpected conclusion. There is little doubt +that Jefferson's democratic theories were confirmed and clarified by his +prolonged stay in Europe. But this was not due to the lessons he +received from the French philosophers. He had gone to France under the +misapprehension that he would be considered there as a "savage from the +mountains of America"; he had been dazzled at first by the splendor of +the old world, but he had soon overcome his admiration and arrived at +the conclusion that the game was not worth the candle. Life in Paris was +very pleasant, but some one had to foot the bill, and the general fate +of humanity was most deplorable in Europe. Such are the general +impressions he sent to his friend Bellini one year after arriving in +Paris: + + It is a true picture of that country to which they say we shall pass + hereafter; and where we are to see God and his angels in splendor, + and crowds of the damned trampled under their feet. The great mass of + the people suffer under physical and moral oppression; but the + condition of the great if more closely observed cannot compare with + the degree of happiness which is enjoyed in America. Among them there + is no family life, no conjugal love, no domestic happiness; intrigues + of love occupy the young and those of ambition, the elder part of the + great. + +Much, very much inferior, this, to the tranquil, permanent felicity with +which domestic society in America blesses most of its inhabitants; +leaving them to follow steadily those pursuits which health and reason +approve, and rendering truly delicious the intervals of those pursuits! + +If one looks to another field, the situation is very similar. "In +science, the mass of the people are two centuries behind ours; their +literature half a dozen years before us." But that is no serious +inconvenience; books which are really good acquire a reputation in that +lapse of time and then pass over to America, while poor books, +controversial and uncertain knowledge are naturally weeded out, so that +America is not bothered with that "swarm of nonsensical publications +which issue daily from a thousand presses, and perishes almost in +issuing." + +On some points, however, Europeans have a decided superiority over the +Americans: they have more amiable manners, they are more polite, more +temperate, "they do not terminate the most sociable meals by +transforming themselves into brutes. I have never seen a man drunk in +France, even among the lowest of the people." + +Finally in the arts there is no possible comparison: + + Were I to proceed to tell you how much I enjoy their architecture, + sculpture, painting, music, I should want words. It is in these arts + they shine. The last of them particularly, is an enjoyment the + deprivation of which with us, cannot be calculated. I am almost ready + to say, it is the only thing which from my heart I envy them, and + which, in spite of all the authority of the Decalogue, I do + covet.[116] + +Nor are we to believe that in Jefferson's opinion this was a small +achievement. Had he been more poetically inclined he might have repeated +the apostrophe of the old poet: "France mother of all the arts." But +when all is told, the fact remained that Europe had more to learn from +America than she could possibly give to the new nation, and thereupon +Jefferson started to "boost" his own country. Protesting against a +pseudo-discovery of an English wheelwright, he declared that the idea +had been stolen from Doctor Franklin who had observed it in +Pennsylvania, Delaware and Jersey, and the Jersey farmers might have +borrowed it from Homer, "for ours are the only farmers who can read +Homer."[117] Against the architectural feats of the Europeans it is not +unfair to claim the superiority of American scenery, particularly of the +Virginia marvels, such as the Natural Bridge, for "that kind of pleasure +surpasses much in my estimation, whatever I find on this side of the +Atlantic."[118] + +At the end of his journey in France and Italy he conceded that there are +indeed in these countries "things worth our imitation." But he +immediately added, "the accounts from our country give me to believe +that we are not in a condition to hope of the imitation of anything +good."[119] In the meantime it is better for the Americans to stay at +home, for "travelling makes men wiser, but less happy"; and he wrote to +Peter Carr, whose education he had undertaken to direct: "There is no +place where your pursuit of knowledge will be so little obstructed by +foreign objects, as your own country, nor any, wherein the virtues of +the heart will be less exposed to be weakened."[120] + + + + +CHAPTER II + +GALLO-AMERICAN COMMERCE AND THE DEBT QUESTION + + +After Franklin's departure from Paris, Jefferson was left officially in +charge of the diplomatic relations of the United States with the French +Court. Adams was in London and Carmichael in Madrid, and with them he +exchanged extensive communications. But the Paris legation was really +the headquarters of American diplomacy, and the problems that came up +taxed the ingenuity and all the intellectual resources Jefferson could +command. + +Summing up his activities in Paris, he declared with too much modesty in +his "Autobiography": + + My duties, at Paris, were confined to a few objects; the receipts of + our whale oils, salted fish, and salt meat, on favorable terms; the + admission of our rice on equal terms with that of Piedmont, Egypt and + the Levant; a mitigation of the monopolies of our tobacco by the + Farmers-general, and a free admission of our productions into their + islands, were the principal commercial objects which required + attention; and on these occasions, I was powerfully aided by all the + influence and the energies of the Marquis de LaFayette, who proved + himself equally zealous for the friendship and welfare of both + nations. + +As a matter of fact, Jefferson's duties extended to many other subjects, +of which the most important and at any rate the most perplexing may have +been the settlement of the debt question. This problem, as we shall +presently see, haunted Jefferson's mind and was never separated by him +from the purely commercial questions. In many respects the situation +then existing between the United States and France was very similar to +the present situation and certainly not easier to solve. An estimate of +Jefferson's career that would leave out this particular side of his +activities when in France, would necessarily be incomplete, if not +misleading. A large part of the minister's time was devoted, not to +philosophical conversations with Helvetius' friends but to obstinate, +patient, and harassing endeavor to obtain for his country commercial +rights and even privileges that would enable her to pay off her debt to +Europe. In spite of his affected scorn for figures and statistics, the +"philosopher" demonstrated an unusual business ability. + +The tobacco trade in which the Southern States and particularly Virginia +were vitally interested was at that time entirely in the hands of the +Farmers-general, whose monopoly was not administered to the best +interests of either the American growers or the French consumers. Being +closely allied with some of the prominent economists and entirely in +sympathy with their views, Lafayette was naturally against the farming +of taxes on tobacco. But as he realized that there was very little hope +of doing away entirely with the system, he contented himself at first +with employing his best efforts to facilitate the direct importation of +tobacco into France. As early as May, 1785, he managed to obtain a copy +of a document indicating that some London dealers were offering to the +Farmers-general large quantities of Virginia tobacco. He communicated +the document at once to Jefferson, and suggested that it was important +for both countries to eliminate the London middlemen. Direct commercial +relations should be established between France and America, not only as +a matter of patriotism, but also as a matter of interest.[121] + +This proposed change in the traditional policy of the Farmers-general, +who were accustomed to deal with British intermediaries, met with a +strong opposition from the Farmers-general. For reasons which they did +not state openly, they refused either to deal with independent American +growers, or to buy from a new and strictly American company planned by +Jefferson.[122] + +Unable to overcome the resistance of the Farmers-general, Jefferson +decided that the next step would be to fight the monopoly and to +persuade the Court to do away with it. It was a logical more than a +truly diplomatic procedure, since Jefferson took upon himself to meddle +in the internal affairs of the government to which he was accredited. +But Jefferson, without being the originator of the famous "shirt-sleeve" +diplomacy, was not the man to let diplomatic proprieties stand in the +way of the best interests of his country. Furthermore, he was quite +sincere in his belief that he was acting to the greatest advantage of +both France and America. He therefore wrote to Vergennes a long letter, +in which he stated the advantages which would accrue to the royal +treasury from the abolition of the tobacco monopoly.[123] + +There is no indication that Vergennes resented in any way Jefferson's +suggestion; but there is no evidence either that he paid any attention +to it. Things remained in the same condition to the end of the year. Up +to that date, Lafayette had fought as a free lance the commercial battle +of the United States, using his personal influence and family +connections to undermine the prestige of the Farmers-general. At the +beginning of 1786, Calonne, yielding to his solicitations, formed the +Comite du Commerce composed of Farmers-general, inspectors of commerce, +and members of the council, in order to study the future of the +commercial relations between France and the United States. Lafayette was +appointed to the committee on February 9, 1786. He had very little +training in economics and had never displayed any particular aptitude +for financial problems. But back of him was Jefferson, and on the +committee Lafayette was nothing but the spokesman of the American +Plenipotentiary. The account of his speeches before the committee, given +by Brissot, and reprinted in a note to the "Memoirs of General +Lafayette", is simply the resume of a letter sent by Jefferson to +Vergennes six months earlier. Jefferson prompted him, furnished him with +figures and statistics, and in a letter written at the eleventh hour +urged him to expose the fundamental dishonesty of the Farmers-general. +Since, according to their own figures, said Jefferson, they lose +annually over four million livres by the farming of tobacco "the king, +in favor to them, should discontinue the bail; and they cannot ask its +continuance without acknowledging they have given in a false state of +quantities and sums."[124] + +Standing alone in the committee against a strong combination of skilled +financiers, Lafayette was fighting for a lost cause without any profit +to himself or any visible hope of success.[125] + +Both Lafayette and Jefferson were outmaneuvered by the financiers. They +professed that they were willing to denounce their contracts with the +London merchants, and thus seemed to accomplish a grand patriotic +gesture, but they granted to the American financier, Robert Morris, the +exclusive privilege of buying tobacco for them and thus defeated the +main purpose of Jefferson. The minister had to confess that he was +beaten, although he had spared no pains to strike at the root of the +monopoly. "The persons interested in it are too powerful to be opposed, +even by the interest of the whole country."[126] + +But it was not in his character ever to give up; he soon renewed the +attack at another point. First he succeeded in postponing for six months +the effect of the new lease to Morris, and thus permitted American +importers who had accumulated stocks in Lorient to sell them directly +to the Farmers-general. Some time later he partially nullified the +concession to Morris by obtaining an order from the council "obliging +the Farmers-general to purchase from such other merchants as shall offer +fifteen thousand hogshead of tobacco", and to grant to the sellers in +other respects the same terms as they had granted Robert Morris. + +Thus, indirectly but very effectively, Jefferson finally achieved his +purpose: to undermine an odious monopoly which caused a great loss to +the planters of his country; to enable the American consumers to buy +directly from France manufactured products, or at least those +"commodities which it is more advantageous to us to buy here than in +England, or elsewhere"; finally "to reinforce the motives for a +friendship from this country towards ours.--This friendship we ought to +cultivate closely, considering the present dispositions of England +towards us."[127] + +In addition, he flattered himself that he had taught the French some +sound economic principles: + + I have been for some time occupied in endeavouring to destroy the + root of the evils which the tobacco trade encounters in this country, + by making the ministers sensible that merchants will not bring a + commodity to a market, where but one person is allowed to buy it; and + that so long as that single purchaser is obliged to go to foreign + markets for it, he must pay for it in coin and not in commodities. + These truths have made their way to the mind of the ministry + insomuch, as to have delayed the execution of the new lease of the + farms, six months. It is renewed, however, for three years, but so as + not to render impossible a reformation of the great evil. They are + sensible to the evil, but it is so interwoven with their fiscal + system, that they find it hazardous to disentangle. The temporary + distress, too, of the revenue, they are not prepared to meet. My + hopes, therefore, are weak, though not quite desperate.[128] + +One might well wonder to what extent these "truths" were as new to the +French as Jefferson seemed to believe, and to what extent he was +operative in strengthening the opposition to the Farmers-general, +already very strong in France. However that may be, the American +minister learned from the French example as much as he taught the +members of the committee. The tobacco monopoly was to him another object +lesson on the danger of farming taxes, and he did not forget it. + +Even greater obstacles were encountered by Jefferson and Lafayette in +their effort to develop commercial transactions with New England. The +negotiations extended over three years and would be worth relating in +detail.[129] Jefferson, bent on breaking customs barriers and obtaining +free entrance for the products of New England fisheries, brought forward +every possible argument to fight the doctrine of commercialism and +summed up his case in a letter sent to Lafayette, but evidently intended +for the committee. There for the first time he pointed out the necessary +connection existing between the tariff question and the repayment of the +French debt. The problem of "transfers" is not a new one, and +Jefferson's reasoning sounds strangely familiar to all those who have +paid any attention to our present problems of debt settlement, +reparations, and tariff. The following passage seems particularly worth +quoting: + + On running over the catalogue of American imports, France will + naturally mark out those articles which she could supply us to + advantage; and she may safely calculate, that, after a little time + shall have enabled us to get rid of our present incumbrances, and + some remains of attachment to the particular forms of manufacture to + which we have been habituated, we shall take those articles which she + can furnish, on as good terms as other nations, to whatever extent + she will enable us to pay for them. It is her interest therefore, as + well as ours, to multiply the means of payment. These must be found + in the catalogue of our exports, and among these will be seen neither + gold nor silver. We have no mines of either of those metals. Produce + therefore is all we can offer.[130] + +The conclusion was that it was imperative to obtain such abatement of +duties and even such exemptions as the importance of the article might +justify, in the hope that his country would be enabled to build up a +commercial credit of about 275,000 louis, which would provide for the +service and amortization of the American debt to France. + +Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Lafayette and also to the +sympathetic attitude of the committee, a series of _arrets du conseil_ +listed in a letter to Monroe was finally obtained.[131] There was little +hope at first that they would be countersigned, but in October of the +same year Jefferson, with evident satisfaction, was able to inform Jay +of the new regulations granting free ports to America, abolishing export +taxes on brandies, and for a year the tax on whale oil and spermaceti, +on potash, furs, leather, timber, trees, and shrubbery, brought either +in American or French bottoms. Every effort had been made not only to +place the United States on the footing of the most favored nation, but +to encourage her infant industries and manufactures. The new regulations +approved by Calonne did much to free America from her commercial +subservience to Great Britain and also reinforce, according to +Jefferson's wishes, the motives for a "friendship from France towards +America." + +This was by no means the end of all difficulties; the abatement on whale +oil was only temporary and Jefferson was never able to obtain entire +satisfaction in respect to the tobacco trade, but there is no doubt that +the situation had greatly improved. + +Even during the last months of his stay in France he never overlooked an +opportunity to further the commercial interests of the United States. +His fear to see his fellow countrymen "over-trade themselves and embark +into the ocean of speculation" had not abated. He still believed that +"we have no occasion for more commerce than to take off our superfluous +produce", and tobacco was clearly in that class.[132] But at that time +there arose an opportunity both to develop commercial relations and to +be of distinct service to France. The years that immediately precede the +French Revolution were marked by a very distressing food shortage in +France and particularly in the capital. This was one of the most +disquieting problems confronting the Committee of Commerce and the city +syndics. Jefferson, because of his connections with Lafayette, Du Pont +de Nemours, and Mr. Ethis de Corny, was particularly well informed on +the situation and he turned his best efforts to induce the government to +remedy it through the importation of American products. He thought that +besides the salt fish from New England, salt meat and corn beef would +constitute a desirable addition to the French diet and he undertook a +campaign to convert the French to the idea. One of his last letters to +Necker, on September 26, 1789, was to recommend the importation of +salted provisions from the United States, appraising the quality of +American salt meat, for "the experience of a great part of America, +which is fed almost entirely on it, proves it to be as wholesome as +fresh meat."[133] + +In spite of all the obstacles to the development of the Gallo-American +commerce because of the deep-rooted French horror of innovations and +changes, the efforts of Jefferson and his friends were not wholly +unavailing. According to Mr. Woolery, in 1789 importations from the +United States amounted to 140,959 barrels of flour, 3,664,576 bushels of +wheat and 12,340,000 pounds of rice. Vessels coming from the United +States to French ports in this year included thirteen French, +forty-three English and one hundred and sixty-three American; the +tonnage of American vessels was 19,173 in 1788 and 24,173 in 1789. +Exports to France in 1788 were valued at $1,384,246; to French +possessions in America $3,284,656; and from them, $155,136 and +$1,913,212 respectively. In this trade the American tonnage engaged was +approximately ten times that of the French. The philosopher had proved +himself a first-class commercial agent. He had built up trade relations +which would have consolidated the friendship between the two countries +if the Revolution had not intervened. But no real friendship can exist +between creditor and debtor; the debt problem was no less important than +the commercial problem, and Jefferson displayed on this occasion an +ingenuity and a diplomatic skill no less worthy of commendation. + +When he took charge of the legation at Paris the finances of the United +States were in a deplorable condition. Loans made by the +Farmers-general, by Beaumarchais, by the King of France, and loans +contracted in Holland and in Spain, constituted the most important +outstanding liabilities of the American Government. In 1783 the +situation as reported to Congress was as follows: + + To the Farmers-general of France, livres 1,000,000 + To Beaumarchais 3,000,000 + To King of France, to the end of 1782 28,000,000 + To same for 1783 6,000,000 + +To this total was to be added a loan from Holland for $671,200, and +$150,000 borrowed from Spain by Jay. Interest was coming in at the rate +of four per cent. on the French loan, making it a total of approximately +$7,885,000. The domestic situation was far worse; the States had plunged +into issues of paper money: $241,552,780 had been issued in bills of +credit by Congress, and $209,524,776 by the States. + +If it is remembered that private investors had bought American paper +rather recklessly, that important sums were due to England, and that +the United States could not even meet the interest on the debts without +further borrowing, it is small wonder that European creditors began to +wonder whether they would ever be repaid. The first task confronting the +new Minister Plenipotentiary was to convince them that the United States +as then organized had a sufficient stability to allay all fears. +Jefferson undertook at once to clarify the situation. In a letter to the +Dutch bankers, N. and J. Van Staphorst, he asserted that no man in +America had ever entertained any doubt that "our foreign debt is to be +paid fully." He significantly added: "Were I the holder of any of them, +I should not have the least fear of their full payment." But he had to +call the attention of the bankers to the fact that some international +notes were issued for paper money debts, and those of course would be +subject to a certain depreciation, to be settled by Congress according +to carefully worked out tables. The safer thing, therefore, for European +investors was to beware of and to avoid any speculation on American +bills and "foreigners should be sure that they are well advised, before +they meddle with them, or they may suffer."[134] He repeated the same +advice on October 25: "It is a science which bids defiance to the powers +of reason." + +With the particulars of the different loans obtained by Jefferson while +he was in France, and with the transactions that took place in Holland, +we cannot deal here. It would be a study well worth undertaking +separately, and one for which there is abundant material not yet +utilized in the Jefferson papers, particularly in his correspondence +with Dumas, the agent at the Hague. We shall restrict ourselves, +however, to the political aspect of the debt settlement during +Jefferson's mission. + +The French were at first very polite about it; without insisting in any +way on the question of payment, Vergennes simply asked Jefferson whether +"the condition of American finances was improving." The French minister +did not even mention the possibilities of the United States paying the +arrears of the interest; but Jefferson suffered and irked, thinking that +he was probably expected to mention it first, while he could not do so +without instructions and there were "no visible means to pay anything +for the present."[135] + +Curiously enough, the matter came to a head with England during the trip +made by Jefferson in the spring of 1786. He held several conferences +with the British merchants and tried to obtain with them a sort of +compromise by which American merchants would repay in full the capital +of debts contracted before and after the war, but withdrawing payment of +the interest for the period of the war. It was then that Jefferson put +forth the principle he was to maintain persistently with the +French,--namely that the matter of commerce and the question of the +debts could not be separated, "were it only as a means of enabling our +country to pay its debts."[136] + +The chief fault of Jefferson's solution, however, was that there was +very little America could sell to England, while the Americans +themselves were eagerly buying goods manufactured in England. There was +great danger of seeing that economic vassalage perpetuated, for "instead +of a proper equilibrium, everything at present lies all in the British +scale."[137] Importations being permitted, fashion and folly requiring +English products, the country was sinking deeper and deeper into +poverty, and all the news on the matter received by Jefferson "filled +him with despair." + +However, something had to be done at once in the case of the French +debt, as Jefferson knew that the French Minister of Finance was "at his +wit's end to raise supplies for the ensuing year."[138] It does not +appear that the French Court had made any representation on the debt to +the American Plenipotentiary, but Jefferson fully realized that he was +placed in a position of inferiority as long as the vexing question +remained unsettled and payments on the interest were overdue. This was +the more deplorable, as France was the only European nation with which +the United States could hope to develop really satisfactory relations. +It was at this juncture that a very interesting proposition was made +through Dumas by the Dutch bankers. The French debt's most objectionable +feature was that it placed the American Government under direct +obligation to the French; in other words, as we would say now, it was a +political debt, but means might be found to change it into a purely +commercial debt. If a company of bankers were formed to pay off France +at once, the American Government would be able to treat with them on a +business basis, the greatest advantage being that in case of delayed +payments, no political pressure could be exerted or political advantage +claimed. + +The only objection to such a combination was that it could not be made +without the consent of both the French and American governments, and +negotiations to that effect would necessarily take a long time. To +provide for the most pressing needs, Jefferson proposed to raise +directly in Holland the four and twenty millions due to France as +accrued interest. This would make a beginning and create a precedent. In +the meantime Adams was urged to go to Holland to acquaint himself with +the situation, so as to be able to present a definite solution to +Congress on his return to America.[139] The French court remained very +considerate and did not make any formal representations; but very harsh +criticism of the failure of America to meet her obligations were heard +during the Assemblee des Notables. The funds were so low that the +American Government could not even pay its debts to the French officers +who, because of their influence with the Court, should have received +special consideration. Yet Congress did not seem to realize how pressing +the matter was, and Jefferson could only repeat with real despair and +disgust: "Would to heaven they would authorize you to take measures for +transferring the debt of this country to Holland before you leave +Europe."[140] + +On their side, the French Court did their best to reassure the French +creditors, and when the written report of the Assemblees des Notables +appeared it had been considerably toned down, simply stating that: + + ... the interest of the claims of His Majesty on the United States of + America, cannot be drawn out for the present, except as a document. + The recovery of these claims, as well as principal as perhaps even + interest, although they appear to rest on the most solid security, + may, nevertheless, be long delayed, and should not consequently, be + taken into account in estimating the annual revenue. + +But even that mention seemed to Jefferson a reflection on the national +honor of his country. He was harassed by French claimants; Beaumarchais +had just placed in his hands a memorial to Congress; French officers +were writing to him and calling on him, threatening to sell their claims +to a single creditor, or to ask the court to intervene in their favor. +But all the unfortunate American minister could answer was that Congress +"would do in that business, what justice would require, and their means +enable them."[141] + +At the end of the same year he learned that Congress had rejected the +proposition of the Dutch bankers, and he could not help expressing deep +disappointment. One hope was left however: the sale of western lands +then going on which would provide Congress with important liquid +assets. + + I turn to this precious resource--he wrote to a friend--as that which + will, in every event, liberate us from our domestic debt, and perhaps + too, from our foreign one; and this much sooner than I had expected. + I do not think anything could have been done with them in Europe. + Individual speculators and sharpers had duped so many with their + unlocated land-warrants, that every offer would be suspected.[142] + +In the meantime something had to be done to reassure the creditors of +the United States, and Jefferson pressed Dumas to publish a series of +articles in the _Gazette of Leyden_ to demonstrate the financial +stability of his country. The situation had to be presented as follows: +two sales of five million and two million acres respectively had been +made, another for four million was in process and Jefferson considered +that these sales had absorbed seven million dollars of the domestic +Federal debt. The States had absorbed by taxation and otherwise about +ten million dollars, so "that the debt stands now at about ten millions +of dollars, and will probably be all absorbed in the course of next +year. There will remain then our foreign debt, between ten and twelve +millions, including interest. The sale of land will then go on for +payment of this."[143] But in spite of this official optimism the +Commissioners of the Treasury had informed Willincks and Van Staphorsts +that they should "not be able to remit one shilling till the New +Government gets into action" and that consequently they were not to pay +anything towards the interest of the Dutch loan except out of the +proceeds of the last loan. To which the Dutch bankers had answered that +"there was not much prospect to raise as much on that new loan as would +cover the next June interest and that the credit of the United States +was in danger of being wiped off."[144] As Adams was about to leave for +America, Jefferson, at the request of the Dutch bankers, met him at +Amsterdam and for several days the two American envoys did their best to +convince close-fisted financiers, who had speculated in American bonds +and refused to do anything until paid for the interest on the domestic +bonds they held. They finally yielded, but to avoid further +embarrassment Jefferson and Adams decided to provide at one stroke for +the years 1789 and 1790 by signing new bonds for a million florins, +subject to approval of Congress.[145] + +The real danger, as both Adams and Jefferson saw it, came from unwise +speculation in American domestic bonds, since the bankers had tried to +use these bonds as a sort of lever; consequently the transfer of +domestic bonds to Europe was to be discouraged by every possible means. +"If the transfer of these debts to Europe, meet with any encouragement +from us, we can no more borrow money here, let our necessities be what +they will."[146] + +How desperate the situation was at that date appears in two letters +written to General Washington May 2, 1788, and to James Madison, May 3, +1788.[147] Jefferson's visit at Amsterdam had convinced him that the +credit of the United States was at its lowest ebb and in great danger of +being reduced to nil. The nation with the highest credit was Great +Britain, because the English never asked for a loan without providing by +new taxes for the repayment of it. He indicated that no doubt was +entertained by any one in Holland about the ultimate repayment of the +capital, but that repeated failures to pay the interest on the old loans +had stopped any further borrowing. As to the French debt, the Court had +carefully avoided any public mention of it, "the government here, saying +nothing about it, the public have supposed they wished to leave us at +our ease as to the payment. It is now seen that they call for it, and +they will publish annually the effect of that call." The most pressing +need was an order from the Treasury to pay the arrears for the last +three years to the French officers. With much difficulty Jefferson had +prevented them from holding a meeting to agree on concerted action on +the matter, and when he came back he prevented them from taking +"desperate measures" till July. But a solution could not be deferred +much longer. The necessary sum was comparatively small: twenty thousand +florins a year would have sufficed "to suppress these clamors", and +through diplomacy he finally succeeded in staying the address they +intended to send to Congress and to the king, asking him to intervene on +their behalf.[148] + +Fortunately the loan launched in Holland to meet the payment of the June +interest had succeeded and had been finally ratified by Congress.[149] +It was a beginning that brought some respite to Jefferson, but he +insisted again that the next step to take was the funding of the foreign +debt, for the French Government expected "a very satisfactory provision +for the payment of their debt, from the first session of the new +Congress."[150] He was enclosing two tables "showing what fund will +suffice to discharge the principal and interest, as it shall become due +aided by occasional loans, which the same fund will repay." This very +detailed and technical proposal now preserved in the Jefferson papers of +the Library of Congress would repay careful study. + +During the spring of the same year, however, Jefferson made a startling +discovery which added to his distress. The international bankers of +Amsterdam were not as politically disinterested as he had thought at +first. He even suspected that, by careful manipulations, they intended +to keep control of the credit of the United States. + + I have observed--wrote Jefferson--that as soon as a sum of interest + is becoming due, they are able to borrow just that, and no more; or, + at least, only so much more as may pay our salaries and keep us + quiet.... I think it possible, they may choose to support our credit + to a certain point, and let it go no further, but at their will; to + keep it poised, as that it may be at their mercy. By this, they may + be sure to keep us in their own hands.[151] + +This had to be remedied at once; energetic representations were sent to +the bankers and an order of the Treasury was obtained deciding that +"money for the captives and foreign affairs was to be furnished before +any other payment of interest."[152] + +In spite of these tremendous handicaps, due to the apathy of Congress, +to the "stagnation" of American affairs, Jefferson succeeded, through +sheer persistency and hard work, in gaining at least a few points. The +history of his negotiations concerning the debt and the commerce of the +United States may not be so dramatic and picturesque as some other +episodes of his long career; but it cannot be neglected without doing +injustice to his sense of duty, to his industry and above all to his +political vision and understanding of international psychology. The +application to the present situation is so obvious that it needs not to +be elaborated upon. More fortunate than many recent negotiators, +Jefferson had been able to obtain a settlement of the debt question +satisfactory to both parties, and succeeded in eliminating the political +factor from the situation; the debt to France was no longer an obstacle +to the maintenance of friendly relations between the two countries. He +was not the man to boast of his achievements but the legitimate pride he +felt at having done his work to the best of his ability appears in the +letter he wrote to John Jay shortly before his departure from France: + + I am well informed that our credit is now the first at that exchange + (Amsterdam), (England not borrowing at present). Our five per cent. + bonds have risen to ninety-seven and ninety-nine. They have been + heretofore at ninety-three. There are, at this time, several + companies and individuals here, in England and Holland, negotiating + to sell large parcels of our _liquidated debt_. A bargain was + concluded by one of these the other day, for six hundred thousand + dollars. In the present state of our credit, every dollar of this + debt will probably be transferred to Europe within a short time.[153] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +UNION AND ISOLATION + + +Even an incomplete survey of Jefferson's activities in Paris would +convince any one that at all times the preoccupation uppermost in his +mind was to defend and further the interests of the United States. He +shared practically without any reservation the commonly accepted theory +of his time that self-interest is the most powerful motive of human +actions, and that enlightened self-interest is the true foundation of +morality. Never a sentimentalist, he felt it his duty to put all the +questions he had to discuss on a purely practical basis, neglecting +every other consideration. He had been welcomed enthusiastically and +would have been lionized if he had permitted it. But in the midst of the +adulation showered upon him by Madame d'Houdetot, Madame de Tesse and +the friends of liberty, he endeavored to keep a cool head; and at the +end of his first year in France, he summed up as follows his views of +the situation: + + The body of the people of this country love us cordially. But + ministers and merchants love nobody. The merchants here, are + endeavoring to exclude us from their islands, the ministers will be + governed in it by their political motives, and will do it or not do + it, as these shall appear to dictate, without love or hatred to + anybody. It were to be wished that they were able to combine better, + the various circumstances which prove, beyond a doubt, that all the + advantages of their colonies result in the end, to the mother + country.[154] + +Representing a country hardly organized, without any diplomatic +traditions, and inexperienced in dealing with foreign affairs, Jefferson +had no easy task. One of his first duties was to convince the diplomats +he was dealing with that America was a country to be trusted, in which +existed a certain permanency and some sort of responsible organization +with which it was possible to deal. This preoccupation influenced to +such an extent his views on the American Constitution that they can be +considered to a large extent a result of his experiences in Europe. + +As chairman of the committee on the ratification of the peace treaties, +as plenipotentiary entrusted with the negotiations of the treaties of +commerce, Jefferson had more than once felt how insufficient were the +Articles of Confederation. He had repeatedly proclaimed that to all +intents and purposes the United States were to be regarded as one +nation; but as long as treaties with foreign powers had to be ratified +not only by Congress but by the different States, as long as delegates +had to refer constantly to the particular States they represented, the +Federal organization remained a very clumsy, inefficient piece of +machinery, and business could not be transacted. He never thought for an +instant that it was possible or desirable for the former colonies to +remain completely independent; they had at least to form a society of +nations in order to insure their very existence and their development. +His first months in Europe could only confirm him in these views, and he +wrote to Madison at the end of 1786: "To make us one nation as to +foreign concerns, and keep us distinct in domestic ones, gives the +outlines of the proper division of powers between the general and +particular governments. But to enable the federal head to exercise the +powers given it to best advantage, it should be organized as the +particular ones are, into legislative, executive and judiciary." + +At that date, however, he had not admitted the desirability of +appointing a single executive and came back to all his proposals of +vesting the executive powers in a committee of the States, leaving to +Congress the legislative authority. + +To Adams, who saw in Congress "not a legislative but a diplomatic +assembly", he protested that it was an opinion not entirely correct and +not likely to do good. As a matter of fact, in forming a confederation, +the individual States yielded some parts of their sovereignty to +Congress, and these parts were both legislative and executive. The +confederation was part of the law of the land, and "superior in +authority to the ordinary laws, because it cannot be altered by the +legislature of any one State." It is not without piquancy to remark here +that the man who was to become the champion of State rights and +decentralization was advocating a strong Federal bond, while the future +Federalist was in favor of a very loose association of States, truly a +sort of League of Nations. In Jefferson's view, on the contrary, the +United States as such were endowed with a sort of super-power, while the +independent States retained only those rights which they were able to +exercise fully.[155] On the other hand, Congress should have absolutely +no authority over acts which do not concern the confederacy. In case of +conflict an appeal could be made "from a state judicature to a Federal +court", in other words to a Supreme Court, and there again Jefferson +takes the position which his enemies were fifteen years later to defend +against him, namely that there ought to be some power above Congress to +restrain it. + + It will be said that this court may encroach over the jurisdiction of + the State courts. It may. But there will be a power, to wit, + Congress, to watch and restrain them. But place the same authority in + Congress itself, and there will be no power above them, to perform + the same office. They will restrain within due bounds a jurisdiction + exercised by others, much more rigourously than if exercised by + themselves.[156] + +In a letter to Edward Carrington he summed up his views even more +clearly. Reforms are necessary, although with all its defects the +present government of the United States is so far superior to any +monarchy that its defects must be viewed with indulgence. If any change +is to be made, the general principle ought to be + + to make the States one as to everything connected with foreign + nations, and several as to everything purely domestic. Then to + separate the executive from the legislative in order to avoid the + terrible delays which are bound to happen with a large assembly and + to have the most important propositions hanging over, from week to + week and month to month, till the occasions have passed them, and the + things never done.[157] + +Even if originally Jefferson had been of another opinion, the situation +in Europe would have rapidly brought him to the same conclusion. For the +credit of the United States could only be maintained on the condition +that the newly formed confederation gave guarantees of permanency and +stability. In his letters to foreign correspondents, such as Dumas, +financial agent of the United States in Holland, he consequently +affected more confidence in the wisdom of the convention than he perhaps +felt at heart: + + No trouble of any sort is to be anticipated. Happily for us that when + we find our constitutions defective and insufficient, to secure the + happiness of our people, we can assemble with all the coolness of + philosophers, and set it to rights, while every other nation on earth + must have recourse to arms to amend or restore their + constitutions.[158] + +The main principle to observe is a separation of powers into +"legislative, executive and judiciary" as complete as possible, and the +rest will follow of itself. + +Yet as the convention approached, he favored less than ever the +possibility of trusting any individual with the executive power for an +indefinite length of time. "There are things in it which stagger all my +dispositions to subscribe to what such an Assembly has proposed," he +wrote to Adams. His chief objection to the Constitution was the +appointment of a President who would be a sort of Polish king. If they +wanted a President they could have it, provided they should make him +ineligible at the end of four years. He even came to wonder whether too +much ado was not made by the convention, for all the good that was in +the new Constitution "could have been couched in three or four new +articles added to the old articles of confederation." Far from being a +radical and one of these reformers who first think of destroying the old +order of things in order to build anew, Jefferson proposed to keep as +much as possible "the good old and venerable fabric which should have +been preserved, even as a religious relic."[159] + +At that time Jefferson had not yet received the text of the Constitution +and had only vaguely heard of the discussion in the convention. When the +newspapers brought him more details, he acquainted Carmichael with his +views on the situation. This time his objection to the proposed scheme +was more specific. It bore not only on the presidency but on the absence +of a Bill of Rights; the thirteen States could not be melted into one +government without guarantees to the people, and particularly without +the recognition of the freedom of the press. The subordination of the +laws of the States to Federal legislation was equally objectionable and +he predicted that many States, among them Virginia, would reject several +articles, making it necessary to assemble another convention to reach a +better agreement.[160] + +But it was reserved for Madison finally to become his confident on this +question, and Jefferson's letter to him is both a capital document for +the history of Jeffersonian democracy and a discussion of the first +rank on the science of government. The good things Jefferson saw in the +Constitution were many: the division of powers; the election of a +greater House by the people directly; the negative given to the +executive by a third of either Houses, and many others of less moment. +But the absence of a Bill of Rights could not be condoned, for it was a +sacred palladium of liberty, nor the abandonment of rotation in office, +particularly in the case of the President. He did not despair of the +Commonwealth, but he foresaw the necessity of calling another convention +to agree on an explicit Bill of Rights and to change the objectionable +features of the convention. In a postscript, he made one of those +curious proposals which would be disconcerting if it were not remembered +that his faith in democracy and representative government was tempered +with a great deal of common sense. The people are right most of the +time, the people are right in most cases, but the people are not right +in all cases: they are apt to be swayed by temporary interests and +considerations and they are apt also to pass contradictory laws from day +to day. In order to remedy this instability of legislation, Jefferson +did not hesitate to recommend that there should always be "a twelvemonth +between the engrossing a bill and passing it", adding that if +circumstances required a speedier passage, it should take "two thirds of +both Houses instead of a bare majority."[161] + +Having thus defined his position with regard to the Constitution, he +thought it necessary to qualify it. Despite its imperfections, it +contained many excellent points; and if it were felt that insistence on +a Bill of Rights, or on the principle of rotation for the presidency +should cause dissensions between the States, Jefferson declared himself +ready "to swallow the two bitter pills" in order to avoid a schism in +the Union. For that would be "the incurable evil" because near friends, +falling out, never re-united cordially; "whereas, all of us going +together, we shall be sure to cure the evils of our new Constitution +before they do great harm."[162] + +The unlimited confidence he had in the ultimate wisdom of the people +convinced him that if they went wrong for a time they would soon admit +their mistakes, for there was in America a "good sense and a free +spirit" which was the safest guarantee that things will right themselves +in time. First ratify and amend afterwards, such was therefore the best +procedure to follow, and he prayed heartily that a sufficient number of +States would ratify, even Virgina and obstinate little Rhode Island! For +after all there was no immediate danger, and the character of Washington +was such that nobody could suspect him of coveting a life tenure for +himself.[163] + +Following anxiously and almost day by day the progress of the +ratification, he declared himself perfectly satisfied with the +successful result obtained in August, 1788, and was confident that the +two main defects would be remedied, the first one, the lack of a Bill of +Rights, very soon, the other as soon as General Washington should retire +from office. Jefferson had come gradually to this stand, to a large +extent under the influence of the _Federalist_, which had "rectified him +on several points" and which he considered the "best commentary on the +principles of government ever written."[164] + +The most complete expression of Jefferson's views at that time is found +in a letter to Francis Hopkinson, written at the beginning of 1789. He +had been informed that both his friends and his enemies were trying to +put a definite label on him and protested on that occasion that he was +not a Federalist, because, he said, "I never submitted the whole system +of my opinions to the creed of any party whatever, in religion, in +politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for +myself. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not be +there at all." But he added at once, "I am even farther from the +anti-federalists." Neither a Federalist, nor an anti-Federalist, nor "a +trimmer between parties", he absolutely refused at that date to take +sides, for he would have been sure to draw criticism from the other side +and to see his name in the papers. This was to be avoided at any cost, +for "the pain of a little censure, even when it is unfounded, is more +acute than the pleasure of much praise." As a matter of fact, Jefferson +was already preparing to become the leader of a new party whose program +would combine elements borrowed from the Federalists as well as from +their opponents, but which would rest essentially upon principles +apparently overlooked by both sides. These principles had already been +enunciated in the document written by Jefferson concerning the Articles +of Confederation; they are really the key to his political philosophy. + +In forming a society of States, as well as in forming a society of men, +there are rights "which it is useless to surrender to the government, +and which governments have yet always been found to invade." These +rights which cannot be abridged or alienated are "the rights of thinking +and publishing our thoughts by speaking or writing; the right of free +commerce; the right of personal freedom." In a similar way, there are +some instruments of government which are so trustworthy that they ought +to be placed beyond the power of any legislature to alter; the most +important of these is probably trial by jury. Scarcely less essential to +the permanency of a free government is the absence of a standing army, +for such a body of men whether placed at the disposal of the executive +or of the legislative power, may always become an instrument of +oppression. Hence the necessity of a separate instrument, a Bill of +Rights, to secure and protect these fundamental principles of free +government. On the whole, Jefferson declared himself well pleased with +the Constitution "unquestionably the wisest ever yet presented to men"; +its obvious defects would be remedied in the near future, and in the +meantime it had effected its main object, the consolidation of the +thirteen States into a Union.[165] + +Whether Jefferson would have reached that lofty and disinterested +attitude if he had remained in America is quite another question. He was +placed in a situation entirely different from that of his countrymen who +could not help being influenced by party politics and sectionalism. But +it is a fact worth remembering that before the Constitution was adopted, +the only men who constantly had to think of the United States as one +nation were the American ministers abroad. The very fact that Jefferson +was in Paris not only put him above all parties, but brought home to him +the fact that the United States could not hope to face successfully +external dangers or even survive unless they gave up some of their +liberty for more security, while reserving some of their unalienable +rights. In his views on the Constitution, Jefferson remained perfectly +consistent and followed very closely the principles he had formulated in +1776. + +On the other hand, he had found in Europe an opportunity to test his +principles by facts and direct observation. He was opposed to monarchy +on general grounds, but he had seen in France monarchy and absolutism at +their worst. A well-meaning king, not by any means a tyrant, unable to +prevent the dissolution of the nation, a corrupt hereditary aristocracy, +in the main narrow and selfish, a State religion, monopolies, a standing +army, "_lettres de cachet_", no freedom of the press, everywhere +ignorance and misery; such was the picture of France that presented +itself to his eyes; and conditions were such that they could not be +remedied effectively except through a bloody revolution, a last and +desperate resort, to be dreaded as much as monarchical oppression. In +many respects the same situation prevailed all over Europe, +demonstrating beyond the possibility of a doubt that absolutism does not +pay, that it fails to procure the maximum of happiness to the largest +number of inhabitants, that it is wasteful, inefficient and leads +nations to follies, ruin, and war. America was free from all these +evils, but every precaution had to be used lest they should take root +there. + +This task naturally required constant vigilance, for everywhere men in +power have a tendency to continue in power, and to extend the limits of +their attributions; some safeguards against these encroachments could be +provided, the greatest safeguard being the pressure of public opinion. +Public opinion could be misled temporarily; but after a time, in a +country where the citizens were reasonably educated, and knowledge more +diffused than in any other country, the chances were that in most cases +the citizens would see where their true interest lay and correct such +evils. This could be achieved only if the citizens were in a position to +collect information on the true state of affairs, to discuss freely with +their neighbors, and communicate their opinion so as to make that +pressure felt. A free press, therefore, was one of the most essential +features of a republican government, for one might conceive a modern +nation existing without a legislature, but it was impossible even to +think of a free government existing without the control of the men who +had subscribed to the social compact. Public opinion and a free press +were not a fourth estate, they were the true source of all three powers, +and superior to all. + +Thus, after more than fifteen years of personal reflection aided by +direct observation, Jefferson came to formulate very clearly in his own +mind a certain number of principles founded on reason and verified by +facts. Whether he was at that time under the influence of any particular +philosopher cannot be proved satisfactorily. It may even be said that it +is very improbable, for he was not a man "to submit the whole system of +his opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever." Elements of +different origins can be recognized in his political philosophy: the +theory of natural rights was perhaps Lockian in its principle, but it +had been developed by many philosophers, incorporated in the Virginia +Bill of Rights and thus naturalized as American even before the +Declaration of Independence. The theory of the social compact, too, may +have come from Locke; certainly it did not come from Rousseau; but +Jefferson introduced into it a fundamental modification when he +distinguished between real natural rights and the civil rights +guaranteed by society but limited in order to provide for more safety. +At any rate, Jefferson's conception of the social compact was far more +rigorous, precise, and specific than any that had been proposed before. +A man who had been trained as a lawyer knew exactly what a contract was, +and how necessary it is, in such an instrument, to write clauses +safeguarding both parties. The Bill of Rights was to serve that very +purpose: it was nothing but a document enumerating, defining, and +recognizing once for all a certain number of rights that every +individual specifically reserved in joining a new society. The +constitution on the contrary was purely an instrument of government, +susceptible of all sorts of amendments from time to time, and certainly +from generation to generation. Public opinion was set up as a court of +last resort in all cases; for public opinion, not necessarily right in +all cases, is always right ultimately in a nation where people have +received a minimum of education and are kept informed by a free press. + +Such were the essential lines of Jefferson's political philosophy on the +eve of his departure from France. It does not appear that there was in +it anything particularly English or particularly French, although the +remote source of some ideas may be traced to English and French +political thinkers. His principles, as a matter of fact, belonged to the +common fund of political thought drawn upon by all the liberal thinkers +of the eighteenth century, and Jefferson, calling no man his master, +simply reflected the general trend of his time. But whatever may have +been the primary origin of some of his ideas, he was fully convinced +that they corresponded to conditions existing in America and nowhere +else on earth, that in America alone were they susceptible of immediate +application and extensive development. + +These views on the uniqueness of America's position among the nations of +the world contributed to the crystallization of certain principles which +Jefferson enunciated when he was sent to Paris and endeavored to apply +when Secretary of State and President. They were to exert a tremendous +influence upon the destiny of the nation and to a certain extent are +still to-day the directing principles of America's foreign policy. + +If Jefferson had ever believed that it was possible for the United +States to cooeperate effectively and satisfactorily with Europe in any +common undertaking, after his failure to organize a confederacy of the +European States against the Barbary pirates, he soon came to the +conclusion that such a hope was chimerical. The question of the +navigation of the Mediterranean was not the least complicated of the +puzzles that confronted the American minister in Paris. After long +hesitations the European powers had finally adopted a _modus vivendi_ +with the Barbary pirates--a solution far from satisfactory, since it +meant the paying of a regular tribute to the Dey of Algiers, the Regency +of Tunis, and the Sultan of Morocco. Was the young republic of the +United States to follow in their steps and accept such a humiliating +compromise? If they refused, their commerce with the Near East was +placed on a very precarious foundation. On the other hand, they could +hardly maintain a sufficient fleet in the Mediterranean to insure the +safety of their merchantmen. To pay tribute, or to give efficient +protection to the merchant marine entailing expenditure of sums easily +as large as the tribute, or else to give up the Mediterranean trade, +were the only solutions to be considered.[166] + +[Illustration: LAFAYETTE + +_After a lithograph from the portrait by Grevedon_] + +The first solution was absolutely repugnant to Jefferson. "When this +idea comes across my mind, my faculties are absolutely suspended between +indignation and impatience."[167] + +He therefore approached Vergennes to sound him on his intention and to +determine whether it would not be possible to establish a permanent +blockade of Algiers. Although Admiral d'Estaing was in favor of the plan +and thought it perfectly feasible, the prudent diplomat did not give +Jefferson much encouragement. But in spite of the instructions sent by +his government and the pressure exerted by Adams, who thought it cheaper +to buy peace, Jefferson's preference for war remained entire. With his +characteristic obstinacy, he tried another approach and thought it +possible to organize a confederation of all the nations interested in +the Mediterranean trade, in order to maintain an international blockade +before the ports of the pirates and thus paralyze their operations. He +explained his plan in detail to Adams and even drew up the articles of +confederation.[168] + +At this juncture he took Lafayette into his confidence as he had already +done so many times, and discussed the situation with him. The Marquis +saw at once another opportunity to be of service to America. He had +hardly left Jefferson's house before the idea came to his mind that he +could offer his services as chief of the operations against the Barbary +pirates, and he wrote at once to Jefferson to that effect.[169] That the +project did not come to completion was due to many causes and to a large +extent to Adams' opposition, as may be inferred from a letter written +by Lafayette to his "Dear General" during the fall of 1786,[170] but +most of all to lack of cooeperation between the European powers; and +during the rest of his mission Jefferson had to restrict himself to +making arrangements in order to obtain the release of the American +captives. + +On the other hand, if it was evident that Europe was unwilling to +cooeperate with America in the Mediterranean, it was not so certain that +France, England, and Spain had given up their ambitious designs on the +New World, and Jefferson considered it his duty to forestall any attempt +of theirs to develop or reestablish colonies on the American continent. + +As far as France was concerned, she had given up all claims to her +former colonies by the Treaty of Alliance signed on February 6, 1778, +but there always remained the possibility that she might attempt to +settle on the western coast of the American continent and thus take +possession of the back door of the country. The preparations made for +"La Peyrouse's voyage to the South Seas" aroused strong suspicions in +Jefferson's mind. He could not be persuaded that the French were in a +position to spend so much money "merely for the improvement of the +geography of that part of the globe." They certainly had some ulterior +aims, at least that of establishing fur-trading stations on the western +coast, as a first step towards regular colonization; and "if they should +desire a colony on the western side of America, I should not be quite +satisfied that they would refuse one which should offer itself on the +eastern side," wrote Jefferson to Jay. So, to ascertain the true nature +of the expedition, he commissioned Paul Jones to go to Brest "to satisfy +himself of the nature of the expedition; conducting himself so as to +excite no suspicion."[171] This was not a very important incident in +itself, but it is not impossible that it attracted Jefferson's attention +to the western coast fifteen years before he sent out the Lewis and +Clarke Expedition; and his unwillingness to permit France to obtain a +footing even in a very remote part of the continent is quite +significant. + +His fears of the colonizing designs of France were soon allayed, but +there remained England to consider, and England still constituted the +greatest potential danger for the United States. While in America, +Jefferson never manifested any strong animosity against the British as a +people, and even expressed the hope that a reconciliation would follow +the victory of American arms. Soon after coming to Europe, however, he +had to admit that the commercial policy of Great Britain was so +obnoxious that the American hatred "against Great Britain having lately +received from that nation new cause and new aliment, had taken a new +spring."[172] Thus, added Jefferson, "in spite of treaties, England is +still our enemy. Her hatred is deep rooted and cordial, and nothing is +wanting with her but the power to wipe us, and the land which we live on +out of existence." The only hope of avoiding a new war was to make Great +Britain realize that her true interest lay in some compromise, and that +America had more energy than she suspected. But all told it was "a +conflict of dirty passions."[173] Unfortunately the British were +absolutely unrelenting in their hostility: + + ... they keep a standing army of newswriters formally engaged in war + against America. They dwell very much on American bankruptcies--and + thus worked to such good effect that by destroying America's credit + they checked her disposition to luxury; and forcing our merchants to + buy no more than they have ready money to pay for, they force them to + go to those markets where that money will buy most.[174] + +Jefferson's tour in England only confirmed him in his views, for + + that nation hate us, their ministers hate us, and their King more + than all other men. They have the impudence to avow this, though they + acknowledge our trade important to them.... They say they will pocket + our carrying trade as well as their own. Our overtures of commercial + arrangements have been treated with a derision, which shows their + firm persuasion, that we shall never unite to suppress their + commerce, or even to impede it. I think their hostility towards us is + much more deeply rooted at present than during the war.[175] + +To Dumas, the financial agent at the Hague, he reiterated his views that +"the English are still our enemies." He even predicted war, a war which +would renew the scenes of Rome and Carthage: "Peace and friendship with +all mankind is our wisest policy; and I wish we may be permitted to +pursue it. But the temper and folly of our enemies may not leave this in +our choice."[176] + +Finally the Spanish colonies in America constituted another source of +danger. Jefferson was confident that Spain would never be in a position +to conduct a war of aggression against the United States; but being a +weak country and embroiled in European affairs, her colonies might be +used at any time as mere pawns in the unscrupulous game of European +politics. In these circumstances the attitude the United States should +observe in their relations with the Spanish colonies was to be seriously +considered. A curious illustration of the fears and schemes which passed +at that time through Jefferson's mind is found in an episode of his +Southern journey during the preceding year. The gist of his conversation +with a Brazilian he met at Montpellier was that an important group of +colonists were ready to follow the example of the United States and +proclaim their independence of the mother country. But as Portugal was +certain to join forces with Spain in repressing such a revolution, the +Brazilian patriots had decided not to undertake anything before securing +the assistance of some other country. The thinking part of the +population had naturally thought of the United States. "They would want +cannons, ammunition, ships, sailors, soldiers and officers, for which +they are disposed to look to the United States, it being always +understood that every service and furniture will be well paid." The +answer of Jefferson to that alluring proposition, contains more than one +interesting point: + + I took care to impress on him, through the whole of our conversation, + that I had neither instructions nor authority to say a word to + anybody on this subject, and that I could only give him my own ideas, + as a single individual; which were, that we were not in a condition + at present to meddle nationally in any war; that we wished + particularly to cultivate the friendship of Portugal, with whom we + have an advantageous commerce. That yet a successful revolution in + Brazil could not be uninteresting to us. That prospects of lucre + might possibly draw numbers of individuals to their aid, and purer + motives our officers, among whom are many excellent. That our + citizens being free to leave their own country individually, without + the consent of their governments, are equally free to go to any + other.[177] + +Amusingly enough, Jefferson evidently believed that he had displayed a +remarkable caution during the whole conversation. It is doubtful that +such would have been the opinion of the Portuguese Government had his +letter to Jay been intercepted, and one may wonder what he would have +said if he had really intended to encourage a revolution in the +Portuguese colonies. With a Mexican who made a similar inquiry he was +somewhat more reserved. He had observed that the gentleman was "intimate +at the Spanish Ambassador's" and suspected that he might be a spy. He +was therefore "still more cautious with him than with the Brazilian"; +mentioning simply that "a successful revolution was still at a distance +with them": that he feared "they must begin by enlightening and +emancipating the minds of their people." He finally recalled that the +British papers had mentioned during the late war an insurrection in Peru +"which had cost two hundred thousand lives, on both sides!"--a figure +not to be taken too literally. + +During the course of a year, however, Jefferson's views underwent a +remarkable change. In May, 1788, he mentioned to Carmichael his +suspicions that a Spanish squadron had been sent to South America in +order to quell an incipient revolt started at the instigation of the +British. This placed the situation in an entirely different light. The +United States would have very little to gain if a weak neighbor were +displaced by a powerful and treacherous nation. He consequently +requested his colleagues to reassure the Spanish Court that the United +States would not favor in any way a revolt of the Spanish colonies in +the New World, for "those who look into futurity farther than the +present moment or age, and who combine well what is, with what is to be, +must see that our interests, well understood, and our wishes are, that +Spain shall (not forever, but) very long retain her possessions in that +quarter; and that her views and ours must, in a good degree, and for a +long time concur."[178] + +This is the more important as it already defines the position taken by +Jefferson twelve years later during the negotiations concerning the +Louisiana Purchase. It is also a reiteration of that desire of isolation +which constituted the cardinal principle of American foreign policies +and which had been enunciated in the Treaty of Alliance concluded with +France in 1778. Jefferson had not originated the principle, since this +article of the Treaty of Alliance was due to Adams, but his direct and +prolonged contact with European affairs had strengthened in him the +instinctive conviction that it was the only wise course for America to +follow. If he had felt free to indulge in his own theory, he would have +gone even further than any of his contemporaries for, as he wrote in +1785, "I should wish the United States to practice neither commerce, nor +navigation, but to stand, with respect to Europe, precisely on the +footing of China." Unfortunately, this was only a theory and the +servants of the country were not at liberty to follow it, since +"Americans have a decided taste for navigation and commerce." Being on a +mission to protect and further the commerce of his fellow countrymen, +Jefferson consequently thought it his duty to forget for the time being +his personal preferences. In a similar way, although he strongly +believed in free trade and would have seen no objection to "throwing +open all the doors of commerce, and knocking its shackles", he realized +that such an ideal condition could not be reached unless the European +powers granted similar treatment to American goods. He therefore came to +the conclusion that, "as this cannot be done for others, unless they +will do it for us, and there is no great probability that Europe will do +this, we shall be obliged to adopt a system which may shackle them in +our ports, as they do in theirs."[179] + +We have here another striking instance of the close partitioning +established by Jefferson between theory and practice, between his wishes +as a political philosopher, and his conception of his duties as a public +servant. Far from being a single-track mind, his was decidedly a +double-track intellect, with two lines of thought running parallel +without any apparent contradiction, for theory never seemed to have +interfered with his practice. When a month later he wrote to W. W. +Seward about the future of commercial relations between Ireland and +America, he excellently defined his position by saying that "the system +into which the United States wishes to go, was that of freeing commerce +from every shackle. A contrary conduct in Great Britain will occasion +them to adopt a contrary system, at least as to that island."[180] + +There is probably nothing in this to astonish the man in the street, +either in Washington or in London, for it seems to be a curious quality +of the Anglo-Saxon mind to be able to pursue a very practical and +hard-headed policy, while keeping its belief in disinterested and +idealistic principles. Yet it may not be out of place to mention that +this is the very reason why both England and America have so often been +accused of hypocrisy by European public opinion. Without attempting to +justify all the foreign policies of the United States on that score, it +may be said that in this particular case there was no hypocrisy. +Jefferson made no attempt whatever to conceal the difference that +existed between his theory and his practice; he even called attention to +it. He did not attempt to color unpleasant reality with idealistic +camouflage, and gave the European nations a chance to choose between two +entirely different courses. He would rather have chosen to follow the +more liberal system, but he gave due notice that if it came to playing +the game of real politics, America could be just as practical and firm +in insisting upon her rights as any nation of the Old World. + +The millennium had not yet arrived; and America, in spite of her +peaceful attitude, might be caught at any time in European "commotions." +While maintaining a policy of strict aloofness, it would have been +foolish and ostrich-like for her to ignore that danger, and it became +the strict duty of those in power to keep close watch on political +developments in the Old World. Such is the conclusion reached by +Jefferson as a result of his observations, and in a letter to E. +Carrington he outlined a policy of watchful waiting to which Woodrow +Wilson himself would have subscribed: + + I often doubt whether I should trouble Congress or my friends with + these details of European politics. I know they do not excite that + interest in America, of which it is impossible for one to divest + himself here. I know, too, that it is a maxim with us, and I think it + is a wise one, not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of Europe. + Still I think, we should know them. The Turks have practiced the same + maxim of not meddling in the complicated wrangles of this continent. + But they have unwisely chosen to be ignorant of them also, and it is + this total ignorance of Europe, its combinations and its movements, + which exposes them to that annihilation possibly about to take place. + While there are powers in Europe which fear our views, or have views + on us, we should keep an eye on them, their connections and + opposition, that in a moment of need, we may avail ourselves of their + weakness with respect to others as well as ourselves, and calculate + their designs and movements, on all the circumstances under which + they exist. Though I am persuaded, therefore, that these details are + read by many with great indifference, yet I think it my duty to enter + into them, and to run the risk of giving too much, rather than too + little information.[181] + +Watchful waiting, no political entanglements, unofficial +observers--everything is here and this page could have been written ten +years ago or yesterday. It is sometimes said that America, being a young +and inexperienced nation, has had no time to develop traditions, but it +may be wondered whether any other nation could be found which, after +defining so clearly the essentials of a policy, has adhered to them so +persistently for a century and a half. There is no doubt, at any rate, +that once again Jefferson, although he did not originate the theory, +formulated it with his usual felicity of expression, and thus +contributed toward giving America what Descartes would have called her +"maxims of action." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +JEFFERSON AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION + + +Jefferson has often been represented, both by his enemies and friends, +as the American exponent of the theories of the French Revolution. The +possible influence exerted upon the development of his political +philosophy by French thought has been the subject of lengthy discussions +and probably will never be determined with any degree of exactness. It +is very difficult to see how a man of his character could have remained +in Paris for more than five years without participating in some manner +in the great battle of theories which preceded the French Revolution. He +associated with Lafayette and his group of "republicans", exchanged some +correspondence with Condorcet, frequently saw Abbe Morellet, was +introduced by Benjamin Franklin to Madame Helvetius and her coterie; he +worked with Du Pont de Nemours on commercial questions, subscribed to +papers and gazettes and to the "Encyclopedie Methodique", a continuation +and systematization of Diderot's "Encyclopedie." + +But when all is said, the most careful scrutiny of the letters he wrote +during that period fails to reveal any enthusiasm or even any +endorsement of the many and somewhat contradictory political doctrines +which were preached in France at the time. I do not even see that his +prolonged sojourn in France modified to any extent the conclusions he +had already reached independently in the "Notes on Virginia." When he +arrived in Paris he was over forty and had been in public life for +almost fifteen years; he had written not only the Declaration of +Independence but many reports on vital questions; he had participated +actively and for several years in the deliberations of the Virginia +Assembly and of the Congress of the United States and he had been chief +executive of his native State. Such a man was not a student coming to +Paris to sit at the feet of French masters; he was considered by the +French themselves, not only as a master but as the apostle of the +religion of liberty.[182] They looked up to him for advice and help, for +he had over them the great superiority of having been more than a simple +theorizer; he had contributed to a great movement of liberation; he was +the promoter of the Bill for Religious Freedom; he had proposed a +complete plan of public education and he had proclaimed in a national +document the inviolable rights of man. They had much to learn from +Jefferson and he was not reluctant to teach them, but he never felt that +his French friends could repay him in kind. On the other hand, it cannot +be denied that he was very happy to find enunciated in a very clear and +logical way some of his favorite ideas; it is equally certain that +France was to him a living demonstration and a sort of horrible example +of all the evils caused by aristocratic, monarchical, and ecclesiastical +oppressions. His sojourn in France had at least the effect of making him +more intensely, more proudly American than he was before sailing, and +more convinced than ever of the unsurpassed superiority of the +civilization which had already developed on the northern continent of +the New World. + +This sentiment appears even during the first year of his stay in Paris +in a letter to Mrs. Trist: + + It is difficult to conceive how so good a people, with so good a + king, so well-disposed rulers in general, so genial a climate, so + fertile a soil, should be rendered so ineffectual for producing human + happiness by one single curse--that of a bad form of government. But + it is a fact in spite of the mildness of their governors, the people + are ground to powder by the vices of the form of government. Of + twenty millions of people supposed to be in France, I am of opinion + there are nineteen millions more wretched, more accursed, in every + circumstance of human existence, than the most conspicuously wretched + individual of the whole United States.... Nourish peace with their + persons, but war against their manners. Every step we take towards + the adoption of their manners is a step to perfect misery.[183] + +This was no passing mood: a few weeks earlier he had written much more +vehemently to his friend and "_eleve_", James Monroe, engaging him to +come to France in order to see for himself the extraordinary superiority +of America over Europe and particularly France. + + It will make you adore your own country, it's soil, it's climate, + it's equality, liberty, laws, people & manners. My God! how little do + my country men know what precious blessings they are in possession + of, and which no other people on earth enjoy. I confess I had no idea + of it myself. While we shall see multiplied instances of Europeans + going to live in America, I will venture to say no man now living + will ever see an instance of an American removing to settle in + Europe & continuing there.[184] + +But unhappy as they are, the French are lovable, for he loved them with +all his heart and thought that, "with a better religion, a better form +of government and their present Governors, their condition and country +would be most enviable." At any rate they were to be preferred to the +"rich, proud, hectoring, swearing, squibbling, carnivorous animals who +lived on the other side of the Channel."[185] + +At the beginning of his stay, Jefferson paid little attention to the +internal affairs of the country; the only incident worth comment during +his first year in Paris was the imprisonment of the chief editor of the +_Journal de Paris_ who was sent to the Bastille, perhaps to end his days +there: + + Thus--wrote he--you see the value of energy in Government for + such a measure, which would have been wrapt in the flames of war + and desolation in America, ends without creating the slightest + disturbance. Every attempt to criticize even mildly the government + is followed immediately by stern measures, suppressing the London + papers, suppressing the _Leyden Gazette_, imprisoning Beaumarchais, + and imprisoning the editor of the _Journal_, the author of the + _Mercure_, etc.[186] + +It is not until February, 1786, that he gave hints, quite incidentally, +that the situation might become critical and that serious disturbances +might be feared for the future. + +But he did not see anywhere any immediate danger of a political +commotion and during that year he continued to repeat in his letters +that "Europe was very quiet for the present." As a matter of fact, he +had come to the conclusion that the case of the Old World was hopeless; +they were past redemption and, "if the Almighty had begotten a thousand +sons, instead of one, they would not have sufficed for this task. If all +the sovereigns of Europe undertook to emancipate the minds of their +subjects, a thousand years would not place them on that high ground on +which our common people are now setting out." France has become a +horrible example to place constantly before the eyes of America, to +remind her that the most important factor for the happiness of the +people is the diffusion of common knowledge that will enable them to +preserve themselves from kings, nobles, and priests, for it is +impossible to imagine a people of more pleasant dispositions, more made +for happiness, surrounded by so many blessings of nature, and yet +"loaded with misery by kings, nobles, and priests, and by them +alone."[187] + +Never before had Jefferson been so vehement in his denunciations of +kingly and priestly usurpations, never had he been so positive of the +necessity of preserving American civilization from any foreign +influences. But again this is not with him an _a priori_ view, it is the +result of his observations more than of his theories. + +He was confirmed in his hatred of the French regime by his conversations +with Latude, who "comes sometimes to take family soup with me, & +entertains me with anecdotes of his five & thirty years imprisonment, +all of which for having written four lines on Madame de Pompadour."[188] + +In a letter to Washington already quoted, but capital for the history of +his mind, he remarked that before coming to Europe he had not even begun +to suspect the evils of monarchical government; what he saw there +brought home to him the conviction that "as long as a single fibre of it +would remain in America, the scourge that is rendering existence a +scourge to 24 out of 25 parts of the inhabitants of this country might +break out."[189] + +As late as 1787 he was still persuaded that under pretence of governing, +the ruling classes have divided the nations into two classes, wolves and +sheep: "But what can the sheep do against the wolves except to submit, +to suffer without any hope of ever changing the established order."[190] + +His first mention of the possibility of introducing some modification in +the existing order does not occur before he heard of the convocation of +the Assembly of the Notables "which had not been done for one hundred +and sixty years"; but this interests him only mildly at the beginning, +as nothing certain could be known about the program of the +Assembly.[191] A few days later he admitted to Colonel Edward Carrington +that "this event which will hardly excite any attention in America is +deemed here the most important one which has taken place in their civil +life during the present century." But his only real interest in it was +that Lafayette had finally been put on the list and was the youngest of +the Notables but one.[192] He felt that it was his duty to attend the +first meeting of the Notables, and still more to pay his call to the new +minister Montmorin--the only thing that detained him in Paris, and when +he wrote to John Adams and Jay to describe the inaugural session opened +by the king, he restricted himself to a dry recital of facts. With a +prince of the blood at the head of each committee, he did not expect +great results from the convocation and was skeptical about the +efficiency of the members.[193] Just as he was leaving Paris for his +long extensive trip to the South of France, he thought, however, of +sending a last word of advice to Lafayette whose republican ideas he +evidently feared. It was a counsel of prudence. Whatever may have been +his sympathies for the republicans, in his opinion France was not ready +for a complete change in her system of government. + +Least of all was she ready for a democratic experiment. Consequently +Jefferson, the American patriot, the enemy of England, the alleged hater +of aristocracies, advised his friend "to proceed step by step, towards a +good constitution, keeping the good model of your neighboring country +before your eyes. Though that model is not perfect, yet, as it would +unite more suffrages than any new one which could be proposed, it is +better to make that the object. + +"You see how we Republicans are apt to preach", he said in conclusion; +but his letter was more than a sermon; it contained also the advice of a +shrewd and very practical politician who recommended that every possible +effort be made to give the king what he wanted in the way of personal +expenses. "If every advance is to be purchased by filling the royal +coffers with gold, it will be gold well employed. The King who means so +well, should be encouraged to repeat those Assemblies."[194] + +That was all he could say, and even so he had probably said too much, +for it was a risky thing for a diplomat to write about or to discuss at +all. Jefferson was certainly guilty of trespassing on a province that +constituted an essential part of the internal politics of the kingdom. +And yet the charge of plotting against the existing government cannot be +laid at his door. As long as he remained in France, and I believe, even +after he came back to America, he carefully refrained from giving any +encouragement to those of his French friends who held radical views. He +was caught in the torrent and, as we shall see later, did not always +observe the reticence of an old-fashioned diplomat; but whatever +influence he exerted was exerted in order to maintain rather than to +overthrow the existing order of things. + +During his trip he observed the condition of the peasants and, much to +his surprise, found among them a smaller degree of poverty than he had +expected; but if he made observations and entered many minute facts in +his diary, he did not come to any conclusion nor did he seem to have +been interested by the state of mind of the people. He had judged them +once for all, he knew that they were priest-ridden and lord-ridden and +did not see how any real reform might originate from them. Once, +however, but only once, did he indicate that he had paid serious +attention to the work before the Assembly. Writing to Lafayette's aunt, +Madame de Tesse, in the evident expectation that she would communicate +his ideas to the proper persons, he drew up an almost complete plan of +administrative reforms: To have frequent meetings of the Assembly of +Notables; the Assembly to be divided into two houses--the Noblesse and +the Commons; the Commons to be taken from those chosen by the people for +provincial administrations; the number of deputies for the Nobility to +be reduced. These two Houses so elected "would make the King great and +the people happy." And the next sentence expresses very cleverly, too +cleverly perhaps, that this innocuous reform would in fact be a sort of +revolution, the name of which would be avoided. "They would thus put +themselves in the track of the best guide they can follow (the king); +they would soon overtake it, become its guide in turn, and lead to the +wholesome modifications wanting in that model, and necessary to +constitute a rational government." What he had in mind at the time was a +sort of government following very closely the lines of the British, not +as an ideal but as a temporary measure; for before the eyes of his +friends he held another prospect. But for the present that was the +maximum they could wisely expect; "should they attempt more than the +established habits of the people are ripe for, they may lose all, and +retard indefinitely the ultimate object of their aim."[195] + +Commerce more than politics absorbed all his attention when he came back +from his trip. He found time, however, to send to Madison his first +estimate of the king and queen, a most unflattering portrait of poor +Louis XVI. + + The King loves business, economy, order, and justice, and wishes + sincerely the good of his people; but he is irascible and rude, very + limited in his understanding, and religious, bordering on bigotry. He + has no mistress, loves his queen, and is too much governed by her. + She is capricious like her brother, and governed by him: devoted to + pleasure and expense; and not remarkable for any other vices or + virtues. Unhappily the King shows a propensity for the pleasures of + the table. That for drink has increased lately, or, at least, it has + become more known.[196] + +It was not until August that he summed up in a letter to Monroe the +great improvements in the constitution of the French effected by the +Assemblees des Notables. He was surprised at the great explosion of +joy, which he thought unwarranted; for after all, even the unexampled +boldness of the enemies of the regime was nothing but the "follies of +nations in their dotage."[197] Yet writing to John Jay the next day he +took a more serious view of things and declared "It is evident, I think, +that a spirit of this country is advancing towards a revolution in their +constitution. There are not wanting persons at the helm, friends to the +progress of this spirit. The Provincial Assemblies will be the most +probable instrument of effecting it."[198] + +But it is primarily from the American point of view that he continues to +be interested, and he becomes more and more convinced that, "with all +its defects, and with all those of our particular governments, the +inconveniences resulting from them, are so light in comparison with +those existing in every other government on earth that our citizens may +certainly be considered as in the happiest political situation which +exists."[199] With more intimate friends he was far more violent and +outspoken, as in the letter he wrote the same day to Colonel Humphreys. +It is seldom he indulges in these outbursts of passionate invective, so +seldom that it may be wondered whether his expression is not stronger +than his thought: + + From these events, our young Republic may learn useful lessons, never + to call on foreign powers to settle their differences, to guard + against hereditary magistrates, to prevent their citizens from + becoming so established in wealth and power, as to be thought worthy + of alliance ... in short to besiege the throne of heaven with eternal + prayers, to extirpate from creation this class of human lions, + tigers, and mammoths called Kings; from whom, let him perish who does + not say, "good Lord deliver us!"[200] + +He had caught something of the general fever, and he drew a vivid +picture of Paris with crowds surrounding the "Parliament House", +stopping carriages in the queen's livery, indulging in _bons mots_, +caricatures, "collecting in mobs, and yet the King, long in the habit of +drowning his cares in wine, plunges deeper and deeper. The Queen cries, +but sins on", and the only practical result one can see is that "all +tongues in Paris and in France have been let loose."[201] The same note +is given six weeks later in a letter to John Jay. "The King goes for +nothing. He hunts one half of the day, is drunk the other, and signs +whatever he is bid."[202] Even the reforms, the most important from the +point of view of the French, seem to him insignificant, and when the +edict on the Protestants appears, it is cruelly analyzed by the American +minister: + + It is an acknowledgement that Protestants can beget children, and + that they can die, and be offensive unless buried. It does not give + them permission to think, to speak, or to worship.... What are we to + think of the condition of the human mind in a country, where such a + wretched thing as this throws the State into convulsions, and how + must we bless our own situation in a country, the most illiterate + peasant of which is a Solon, compared with the authors of this + law.[203] + +When he wrote his "Autobiography", Jefferson used very extensively not +only the notes he had taken when in Paris but the press copies of his +correspondence, and on the whole gave an accurate picture of the events +that immediately preceded the French Revolution--those he had witnessed +before his departure from Paris, in October, 1789. But, true as the +picture may be, it is not progressive, and here we aim not to trace +again the main episodes of the French Revolution, but the development of +Jefferson's mind, his reaction towards the events. Most of all we must +seek to find out from contemporary evidence whether the old accusation +launched by Gouverneur Morris, seized upon eagerly by Jefferson's +enemies, and since repeated again and again, is in any way justified. + +We have already seen that, with a corrupted court, a weak king, a +selfish and ignorant queen, the only remedy he recommended at first was +for the French not to reconquer their liberties by force and by a +revolution, but gradually to buy them from the king. Yet he foresaw that +the nobility would make a sort of alliance with the people, that is to +say the _tiers etat_, in order to get money from them, and he held the +rather cynical view that "Courtiers had rather give up power than +pleasures; they will barter, therefore, the usurped prerogatives of the +King, for the money of the people. This is the agent by which modern +nations will recover their rights."[204] This is written, not to Jay in +a confidential letter, but to a French liberal of his acquaintance, and +that practical piece of advice cannot be called philosophical. +Altogether the results reached by the Assemblee des Notables were small +and the king terribly slow to see the light. So for a long time +Jefferson refused not only to encourage but even to admit that he was +witnessing the beginnings of a true revolution. Writing to Rutledge in +July, 1788, he declared "That the struggle in this country is, as yet, +of doubtful issue. It is, in fact, between the monarchy and the +parliaments. The nation is no otherwise concerned, but as both parties +may be induced to let go some of its abuses, to court the public favor. +The danger, is that the people deceived by a false cry of liberty, may +be led to take sides with one party, and thus give the other a pretext +for crushing them still more."[205] Writing to Cutting a few days later +he was more optimistic. Most of the late innovations had been much for +the better; a convocation of the States-General could not be avoided; +"it will produce a national assembly meeting at certain epochs, +possessing at first a negative on the laws, but which will grow into the +right of original legislation. Much could be hoped from the +States-General and it was also to be hoped that all this will be +effected without convulsion."[206] + +Such was his confident expectation. He foresaw "that within two or three +years this country will be in the enjoyment of a tolerably free +constitution, and that without its having cost them a drop of +blood."[207] + +To Carmichael he described his own attitude as that of a bystander, not +otherwise interested, but entertaining a sincere love for the nation in +general and a wish to see their happiness promoted, "keeping myself +clear of the particular views and passions of individuals."[208] Had he +felt differently he would not have taken into his confidence a man for +whom he felt no particular friendship; but, at that date at least, he +could make that statement without departing from the exact truth. As far +as contemporary evidence is concerned, it does not seem that he ever +urged his friends forward, but on the contrary he always advised them to +play a waiting game, and to keep from having recourse to violence. About +the middle of that year, 1788, he toned down his severe estimate of the +king, to whom he attributed "no foible which will enlist him against the +good of his people."[209] Calonne had been removed and Necker called in +as Director General of finance; things were looking decidedly better, a +convocation of the States-General had been decided upon; the issue +depended largely on three possible solutions: whether the three orders +would meet separately; whether the clergy and the nobility would form a +house and the Commons a second one; or finally whether the three orders +would meet in one house which would give the majority to the Commons. +The choice was really thought incumbent upon the king, who thus had the +power to place the people on his side if he was wise enough to prefer +to have on his side twenty-three millions and a half instead of the +other half million.[210] + +At the end of 1788, with the convocation of the States-General announced +for the beginning of the following year, he was still very optimistic, +but he had not departed from his cautious and reserved recommendations. +The States could not succeed if they asked too much, for the Commons +would frighten and shock the court and even alarm the public mind. If +any durable progress was to be accomplished, it would have to be by +degrees and successive improvements. Such probably would be the course +followed, unless an influence unaccountable, impossible to measure, and +yet powerful entirely changed the situation: "The fact that women visit +alone persons in office, solicit in defiance of laws and regulations, is +an extraordinary obstacle to the betterment of things, unbelieveable as +it may be to the inhabitant of a country where the sex does not +endeavour to extend itself beyond the domestic line."[211] + +He did not even believe that any real reform could be accomplished +beyond fixing periodical meetings of the States-General and giving them +the right to participate in the legislation and to decide on taxes. They +did not seem to be unanimously in favor of the _habeas corpus_; as for +the freedom of the press,--"I hardly think the nation itself ripe to +accept it."[212] This was his prophecy at the beginning of 1789, and +during the first month of the year he had no occasion to express new +views, since everybody was in the provinces "electioneering, choosing or +being chosen." With his experience of Assemblies, however, he could not +help wondering how any result could be accomplished with a body which +was to include some twelve hundred persons and moreover to consist of +Frenchmen, among whom are always more speakers than listeners.[213] In a +letter to Thomas Paine we find the first intimation that Jefferson +began to be influenced by the political thinkers of France or rather to +discover in them a certain quality of thought and presentation that make +their work of some use for the American people. They were at any rate +much preferable to the Englishman, who "slumbering under a kind of half +reformation in politics and religion, is not excited by anything he sees +or feels, to question the remains of prejudice. The writers of this +country, now taking the field freely and unrestrained, or rather +involved by prejudice, will rouse us all from the errors in which we +have been hitherto rocked."[214] Taken in itself and without the context +this sentence would tend to indicate in Jefferson an almost unreserved +approval of the doctrines of the radical reformers and of the very +spirit of the French Revolution, but as is so often the case with him, +the real meaning is hidden in the last part. It was not so much in their +theoretical views he was interested as in the fact that "their logical +presentation, might be used in America to overcome the last resistance +to the establishment of a true republican regime free from any vestige +of monarchical order." But that he hoped that such radical reforms could +succeed in France is not indicated. His complete thought is far better +expressed in the letter written the next day to Humphreys: + + The writings published on this occasion are, some of them, very + valuable; because, unfettered by the prejudices under which + Englishmen labor, they give a full scope to reason, and strike out + truths, as yet unperceived and unacknowledged on the other side of + the channel.... In fine, I believe this nation will, in the course of + the present year, have as full a portion of liberality dealt out to + them, as the nation can bear at present, considering how uninformed + the mass of their people is.[215] + +On the other hand, to believe that they would be able to establish a +truly representative and free government was certainly inconceivable to +him at this date. To the last moment he hoped that some sort of an +agreement would be possible between the nobility and the Commons, for he +had decided very early that no confidence should be placed in the +clergy. He was looking forward to a close cooeperation between the +younger part of the nobility and the Commons, who, working together with +the king, would seek the support of the people and accomplish important +reforms. No fundamental change however could be expected, since the +French refused to show any interest in the most vital question of trial +by jury. + +But as soon as the States-General were opened he realized that he had +been too optimistic. Since the "_Noblesse_" would not yield and wanted +their delegates to do their dirty work for them, the only manly stand to +take for a man like Lafayette, who although of liberal opinion had +solicited and obtained a mandate from the nobility, was to go over +wholly to the _tiers etat_. The opening of the States-General was as +imposing as an opera but it was poor business,[216] and even at that +time Jefferson placed his confidence in the king who grew astonishingly +in his estimation during this year: "Happy that he is an honest, +unambitious man who desires neither money nor power for himself; and +that his most operative minister (Necker), though he has appeared to +trim a little, is still, in the main, a friend to public liberty."[217] + +As the deadlock continued, the three orders sitting separately without +being able to settle the "great parliamentary question whether they +would vote by orders or by persons", Jefferson favored more and more the +only solution which, in his opinion, could prevent complete failure,--a +triumph of despotism or a sort of civil war: + + This third hypothesis which I shall develop, because I like it, and + wish it, and hope it, is that as soon as it shall be manifest that + the committees of conciliation, now appointed by the three chambers, + shall be able to agree in nothing, the Tiers will invite the other + two orders to come and take their seats in the common chamber. A + majority of the Clergy will come, and the minority of the Noblesse. + The chamber thus composed, will declare that the States General are + now constituted, will notify it to the King, and propose to do + business.[218] + +At this juncture, Jefferson, in his anxiety to effect a satisfactory +compromise, broke all diplomatic precedence; he could not and did not +wish to write a French Declaration of Independence; but he could at +least propose some form of government which would recognize the +fundamental rights of the French citizen while preserving the appearance +of the old monarchy. He therefore drew up a "Charter of Rights for the +King and Nation" and sent it, not only to Lafayette, but also to Rabaud +de Saint Etienne, a prominent defender of the newly reinstated +Protestants. In view of the developments that took place later, +Jefferson's proposal does not seem revolutionary. At that time, however +(June 3, 1789), it went much farther than the Court was willing to go. +No appeal to abstract principle and no mention of rights was made. The +main provisions consisted of an annual meeting of the States-General, +which alone had the right to levy taxes and to appropriate money; the +abolishment of all privileges, a sort of _habeas corpus_, the +subordination of the military to the civil authority and liberty of the +press. In order to induce the king to accept these new charters, all +debts already contracted by him became the debts of the nation, and he +was to receive a sum of eighty million livres to be raised by a loan. +Thus Jefferson was attempting to put into effect the advice he had +several times given his French friends: to buy their liberty from the +king rather than bring about a revolution. I leave it to others to judge +of the morality of the expedient. Certainly it was not in accord with +the old battle cry of Patrick Henry. But once more Jefferson was +consistent in so much as he had always maintained that what was good for +America was not necessarily good for France. Moreover, he knew there was +no need to stir up the spirit of the Assembly by inflammatory +declarations. More than any incitement to take radical steps they needed +a dose of cool common sense. + +Unfortunately the man at the helm (Necker) "had neither skill nor +courage; ambition was his first passion, virtue his second, his +judgement was not of the first order not even of the second", and the +ship continued to drift in the storm. On June 18, 1789, Jefferson wrote +a long letter to Madison, to indicate the situation of the different +parties after the Commons had proclaimed themselves the National +Assembly on the fifteenth. His characterization even to-day seems +remarkably clear and disinterested. He sided decidedly with the Commons +who had in their chamber almost all the talents of the nation; + + They are firm, bold, yet moderate. There is, indeed, among them, a + number of very hot-headed members; but those of most influence are + cool, temperate and sagacious.... The Noblesse on the contrary, are + absolutely out of their senses. They are so furious, they can seldom + debate at all.... The Clergy are waiting to profit by every incident, + to secure themselves, and have no other object in view. + +Jefferson, however, paid tribute to the _cures_ who, throughout the +kingdom, formed the mass of the clergy: "they are the only part +favorably known to the people, because solely charged with the duties of +baptism, burials, confession, visitation of the sick, instruction of the +children, and aiding the poor, they are themselves of the people, and +united with them."[219] The letter to Jay of June 24 is a day-by-day +recital of the succession of events, the suspension of the meetings of +the National Assembly, the _serment_ of Jeu de Paume on the twentieth, +the _seance royale_ of June 23 and the refusal of the _tiers etat_ to +deliberate separately. + +Jefferson could not help admiring the tenacity of the Assemblee +Nationale, but at the same time estimated that they were going too far +and had formed projects that were decidedly too ambitious. "Instead of +being dismayed with what has passed, they seem to rise in their demands, +and some of them to consider the erasing of every vestige of a +difference of order as indispensable to the establishment and +preservation of a good constitution. I apprehend there is more courage +than calculation in this project."[220] + +A letter of Lafayette to Jefferson dated Versailles, July 4, contains an +interesting postscriptum: "Will you send me the bill of Rights with your +notes." A subsequent letter is even more pressing: "To-morrow I propose +my bill of rights about the middle of the sitting; be pleased to +consider it again and make your observations." As Lafayette introduced +his "Declaration Europeenne des droits de l'homme et du citoyen" on July +11, 1789, the latter may be dated July 10. I had the good fortune to +find in the Jefferson papers not one text but two of the Declaration. + +One of the versions probably antedated by several months the meeting of +the National Assembly. Jefferson had it in his hands as early as the +beginning of 1799 and he even sent a copy of it to Madison on January +12.[221] The second text, far more important, was annotated by Jefferson +in pencil. Although the handwriting is faint, it is perfectly legible. +The emendations and corrections he suggested are quite characteristic, +and are studied more in detail in the text I have published +elsewhere.[222] + +Some of the modifications suggested by Jefferson do not require any +comment; they are mere verbal changes such as the substitution of "_tels +sont_" for "_tels que_". But as Lafayette had enumerated among the +essential rights of man "_le soin de son honneur_" and "_la propriete_", +Jefferson put both terms in brackets, thus indicating that they should +be taken out. The elimination of the first term is probably due to the +fact that Montesquieu had indicated that "_honneur_" is the main +principle on which rests monarchical government and is easily +understandable. The elimination of the "_droit de propriete_" can only +be explained if we refer to the document in which Jefferson had +"explained to himself" his theory of natural rights, and established a +distinction between the natural rights and the civil rights. Lafayette +accepted the first correction but not the second; he was too much under +the influence of his physiocratic friends even to understand the much +more advanced theory of Jefferson. The project he submitted to the +Assembly, as well as the three "Declarations des droits de l'homme", +consequently followed on this point the Virginia Bill of Rights rather +than the Declaration of Independence. + +In a similar way, Lafayette had listed the powers constituting the +government in the following order: "_executif, legislatif et +judiciaire_", and refused to follow the order suggested by Jefferson's +"_legislatif, executif, judiciaire_". This was more than a mere question +of arrangement; there was evidently in the minds of both Jefferson and +his French friend a question of hierarchy and almost subordination; if +it is a mere nuance, the nuance was very significant. The last paragraph +deserves even more careful consideration. In the January version it +read: "_Et comme le progres des lumieres, et l'introduction des abus +necessitent de temps en temps une revision de la constitution_...." The +second edition annotated by Jefferson expressed the same idea in much +more definite terms: "_Et comme le progres des lumieres, l'introduction +des abus et le droit des generations qui se succedent necessitent la +revision de tout etablissement humain, il doit etre indique des moyens +constitutionnels qui assurent dans certain cas une convocation +extraordinaire de representants dont le seul objet soit d'examiner et +modifier, s'il le faut, la forme du Gouvernement_." This mention of the +"_droit des generations qui se succedent_" seems a typically +Jeffersonian idea. The same theory will be found fully developed in a +letter to Samuel Kercheval written in 1816 and dealing with the revision +of the Constitution of Virginia. It was expressed originally in a letter +to James Madison, written from Paris on September 9, 1789. Curiously +enough, Jefferson declared then that this theory had never been proposed +before: "The question whether one generation of men has a right to bind +another, seems never to have been started on this or on our side of the +water. Yet it is a question of such consequence as not only to merit +decision, but places also the fundamental principles of every +government."[223] It is true that this special point was not retained in +the "Declaration des droits de l'homme" as finally adopted by the +Assemblee Nationale in its sessions of August, 1789, although it was +proposed by Montmorency and reappeared as the last article of the +"Declaration" of the Convention Nationale of May 29, 1793. But one may +wonder how Jefferson could overlook the fact that the same principle was +embodied in Lafayette's "Declaration." It is very unlikely that he would +have claimed credit for the idea if it had been originated by his +friend. A more acceptable explanation would be to admit that having +suggested to Lafayette a theory which was not retained by the committee, +he felt perfectly free to state that "the question had never been +started." + +The American plenipotentiary was not an eye-witness of the famous scenes +of the fourteenth of July, or as he calls it "the tumult of Paris", but +he learned about it fully from M. de Corny, and wrote to Jay a long and +interesting account (July 19) of the capture of La Bastille, the return +of the king to Paris and the presentation of the national cockade.[224] + +In the meantime he was placed in a very embarrassing situation by his +French admirers. The prestige of the author of the Declaration of +Independence was such that the committee in charge of a plan of +constitution thought they could do no better than to call into +consultation the Minister of the United States. Champion de Cice, +Archbishop of Bordeaux and chairman of the committee, sent him an urgent +appeal to attend one of the first meetings, so that they might profit by +the light of his reason and experience.[225] Jefferson, after mentioning +the invitation, relates the incident in his "Autobiography" as follows: +"I excused myself on the obvious considerations that my mission was to +the King, as chief magistrate of the nation, that my duties were limited +to the concerns of my own country, and forbade me to intermeddle with +the internal transactions of that, in which I had been received under a +specific charter." This may be the sense he wished to convey to Champion +de Cice but the actual letter is far less categorical. Contrary to his +custom he wrote it himself, although it is in French, alleging that the +dispatches for America took all his time and adding that the committee +would lay themselves open to criticism if they invited to their +deliberations a foreigner accredited to the head of the nation, when the +very question under discussion was a modification and abridgement of his +powers. But he assured the archbishop of his most sincere and most +passionate wishes for the complete success of the undertaking, which was +certainly stretching diplomatic proprieties to the limit. + +The deliberations of the committee went on without Jefferson's official +assistance; but shortly after the project of the constitution was +presented, the deputies came to a deadlock on the veto power to be +given to the king. After some stormy meetings, Lafayette conceived the +idea that the house of the Minister of the United States was the only +place near Versailles where some tranquillity could be obtained. He +consequently invited eight of his friends to take dinner at the house of +Jefferson, and having no time to consult him on the matter, scribbled a +note in great hurry to ask Jefferson to make the necessary preparations +for the unexpected guests: "Those gentlemen wish to consult with you and +me; they will dine to-morrow at your house, as mine is always +full."[226] + +Jefferson has given a somewhat embellished account of the memorable +dinner in his "Autobiography." The mention of it in a letter to John Jay +a few weeks later is less florid and probably more accurate.[227] The +members of the committee discussed together their points of difference +for six hours, and in the course of the discussion agreed on mutual +sacrifices. Writing from memory, at the age of seventy-seven, Jefferson +added: "I was a silent witness to a coolness and candor of argument, +unusual in the conflicts of political opinion; to a logical reasoning, +and chaste eloquence, disfigured by no gaudy tinsel of rhetoric or +declamation, and truly worthy of being placed in parallel with the +finest dialogues of antiquity, as handed to us by Xenophon, by Plato and +Cicero."[228] + +Whether Jefferson remained a silent witness during these six hours is +not so improbable as it would seem. It may well be doubted whether his +knowledge of French was sufficient to enable him to participate in an +animated discussion with eight Frenchmen. Under the circumstances +silence was as much a necessity as a virtue. But when the American +minister woke up the next morning he realized that it was impossible to +keep the thing secret and that the French Government had every right to +blame him for lending his house for a discussion of French internal +politics. Unpleasant as it was, the only thing to do was to make a clean +breast of it. He went at once to Montmorin to tell him "with truth and +candor how it happened that my house had been made the scene of +conferences of such a character."--"He told me," Jefferson continued, +"that he already knew everything which had passed," which is the stock +answer of the professional diplomat, whether he wishes to appear +well-informed or wants to draw some further information from his +interlocutor. Jefferson opened his heart, and if Montmorin did not know +everything before giving audience to the American minister, there was +little he did not know after hearing his account of the dinner. + +With this curious incident, Jefferson ends his account of the French +Revolution. During the year, he had complained on several occasions that +his French friends seemed unable to realize the importance of insisting +on trial by jury in criminal cases. He finally persuaded one of the +"abbes" to study the question thoroughly and on that occasion indicated +exactly how he stood in matters of government. All told, his views had +not changed much, and at that time he would not have accepted without +reservations and qualifications the famous principle of "government by +the people." There was still in his mind, if not in all his formulas, a +tacit admission that all the people could not unreservedly participate +in all branches of government. Nothing could be clearer than the +distinctions he established and nothing could be less demagogical. + +"We think, in America, that it is necessary to introduce the people into +every department of government, as far as they are capable of exercising +it; and that this is the only way to insure a long-continued and honest +administration of its power." Then he proceeded to define, point by +point, the extent to which the people could safely be allowed to +participate in the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the +government. + + 1. They are not qualified to exercise themselves the executive + department, but they are qualified to name the person who shall + exercise it. With us, therefore, they choose this officer every four + years. 2. They are not qualified to legislate. With us therefore, + they only choose the legislators. 3. They are not qualified to + _judge_ questions of _law_, but they are very capable of judging + questions of _fact_. In the form of juries, therefore, they determine + all matters of fact, leaving to the permanent judges to decide the + law resulting from those facts.[229] + +Thus spoke the champion of democracy at the beginning of the French +Revolution, after spending five years in Paris and supposedly permeating +his mind with the wild theories of the French philosophers. And what he +said of the people on this occasion did not apply to the French people +alone, for he made it clear that it was the political theory applied "in +America." It was essentially the theory of government by experts which +he already had in mind when he proposed the reorganization of the +College of William and Mary. In 1778, as well as in 1789, Jefferson did +not hesitate to proclaim that if the source of all power was in the +people, the people could not exercise their power in all circumstances, +that they had to delegate their authority to men really qualified, +retaining only the right to select them. This may not be the common +acceptation of the term "Jeffersonian democracy", but I have a strong +suspicion that on the whole Jefferson never changed much in this +respect. He certainly never stood for mob rule, nor for direct +government by the masses, and he knew too much about the delicate and +complicated wheels of government to believe that the running of such a +tremendous machine could be intrusted to untrained hands. + +As for the French, he trusted them even less, and never believed, as +long as he remained in France, that they were prepared for +self-government. He refused to consider that a real revolution had +started before his eyes or was even in sight. "Upon the whole," he wrote +to Madison shortly before his departure from Paris, "I do not see yet +probable that any actual commotion will take place; and if it does take +place, I have strong confidence that the patriotic party will hold +together, and their party in the nation be what I have ascribed it." Up +to the last moment he held the belief that the king, "the substantial +people of the whole country, the army, and the influential part of the +clergy, formed a firm phalanx which must prevail."[230] The analysis of +the situation sent to Jay just as he was about to leave Paris does not +indicate even the possibility of establishing a republic, since the only +parties he distinguished were: + + ... the aristocrats, comprehending the higher members of the clergy, + military, nobility, and the parliaments of the whole kingdom; the + moderate royalists who wish for a constitution nearly similar to that + of England; the republicans who are willing to let their first + magistracy be hereditary, but to make it very subordinate to the + legislature, and to have that legislature consist of a single + chamber.[231] + +Jefferson was not the man to indulge in effusions even when he was +deeply moved and throughout his mission in France he deliberately +refrained from any expression of personal feelings. But the love and +friendship of the French for the United States was so general and so +genuine, it formed such a contrast with the cold and tenacious enmity of +Great Britain, that the American minister was won and conquered by it +and had to come to the conclusion that "nothing should be spared to +attach this country to us. It is the only one on which we can rely for +support, under every event. Its inhabitants love us more, I think, than +they do any other nation on earth. This is very much the effect of the +good dispositions with which the French officers returned."[232] +Everybody is familiar with the closing lines of Jefferson's account of +his mission to France: "So, ask the traveller inhabitant of any nation, +in what country would you rather live?--Certainly, in my own, where are +all my friends, my relations, and the earliest and sweetest affections +and recollections of my life. Which would be your second choice? +France." + +These lines were written at the twilight of his life, when his memory +took him back to the wonderful days he had lived in Paris, while the old +regime was shedding the last rays of its evanescent glory. Less known, +but far more revealing of his true feelings at the time, is a passage in +one of his letters to James Madison. It is one of the very few times, +and as a matter of fact, the first time when he declared that the +nations of the world had to abandon their old code of selfishness and +that a new principle of international life had to be recognized. For +there is only one standard of morality, one code of conduct between +nations as between individuals. + + It is impossible--he wrote--to desire better dispositions towards us + than prevail in this Assembly. Our proceedings have been viewed as a + model for them on every occasion; and though in the heat of debate, + men are generally disposed to contradict every authority urged by + their opponents, ours has been treated like that of the Bible, open + to explanation, but not to question. I am sorry that in the moment of + such a disposition, anything should come from us to check it. The + placing them on a mere footing with the English, will have this + effect. When of two nations, the one has engaged herself in a ruinous + war for us, has spent her blood and money to save us, has opened her + bosom to us in peace, and received us almost on the footing of her + own citizens, while the other has moved heaven, earth, and hell to + exterminate us in war, has insulted us in all her councils in peace, + shut her doors to us in every part where her interests would admit + it, libelled us in foreign nations, endeavoured to poison them + against the reception of our most precious commodities; to place + these two nations on a footing, is to give a great deal more to one + than to the other, if the maxim be true, that to make unequal + quantities equal, you must add more to one than the other. To say, in + excuse, that gratitude is never to enter into the motives of national + conduct, is to revive a principle which has been buried for centuries + with its kindred principles of the lawfulness of assassination, + poison, perjury, etc. All of these were legitimate principles in the + dark ages which intervened between ancient and modern civilization, + but exploded and held in just horror in the eighteenth century. I + know but one code of morality for men, whether acting singly or + collectively.... Let us hope that our government will take some other + occasions to show, that they proscribe no virtue from the canons of + their conduct with other nations.[233] + + + + +BOOK FOUR + +_Monocrats and Republicans_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE QUARREL WITH HAMILTON + + +For more than two years Jefferson had repeatedly expressed the wish to +be allowed to return to his native country, at least for a short visit. +When he finally received official notification that his request had been +granted, he departed from Paris rather abruptly and even without taking +leave of his best friends. "Adieus are painful," he wrote to Madame de +Corny, "therefore I left Paris without bidding one to you."[234] This is +a naive and quite significant confession of the difficulty he +experienced in maintaining his puritanical restraint and impassibility +at that time. He went with his two daughters from Le Havre to Cowes, and +waited there till October 14 for favorable winds. After a rapid crossing +on the _Montgomery_ they sighted the "Capes" on November 13, and barely +escaped being shipwrecked in the bay. Although damaged by fire and +stripped of part of her rigging, the ship was able to reach Norfolk, and +Jefferson promptly set out for Richmond and Monticello, stopping however +on the way at Eppington with the Eppes. It was there that he received +two letters from President Washington, one dated October 13, the other +November 30, asking him to accept the post of Secretary of State in the +newly formed cabinet. The President's letters were most flattering and +indicated that he had been "determined, as well by motives of private +regard, as a conviction of public propriety" to nominate him for the +office. + +Jefferson at first experienced the natural repugnance of a man who had +put his heart into an important undertaking and was asked suddenly to +abandon it. He was better acquainted with the situation in Paris than +any man he could think of: it had taken him several years of constant +work and patient efforts to bring the French officials over to his +views. His best friends were in the new government and would help him to +obtain for the United States better commercial terms and a more +satisfactory debt settlement. Let us add that for a philosophical +observer France offered the most fascinating spectacle, and Jefferson +did not feel that life in Philadelphia could bring him the same social +and intellectual pleasures as Paris. Quite significantly he wrote to +Washington: "as far as my fears, my hopes, or my inclination enter into +this question, I confess that they would not lead me to prefer a +change." On the other hand, he did not make a categorical refusal, in +case he should be "drafted", and the President formally nominated him. + +Nothing else was done in the matter until Madison visited him at +Monticello and acquainted him with the situation. But even Madison could +not win his consent,[235] and the President had to assure Jefferson that +the duties of his office would probably not be quite so complicated and +hard to execute as he might have been led at the first moment to +imagine.[236] It was not a command, but while the President left him +free to decide he expressed a strong hope and wish that Jefferson would +accept. So, on February 14 he sent his letter of acceptance. + +In the meantime he had married Martha to Thomas Mann Randolph, Junior, +"a young gentleman of genius, science, and honorable mind", who +afterwards filled "a dignified station in the General Government, and +the most dignified in his own State."[237] Although Jefferson had wished +for such a marriage, he had left Martha free to make her own choice, as +he explained in a letter to Madame de Corny: "Tho' his talents, +disposition, connections, fortune, were such as would have made him my +first choice, yet according to the usage of my country, I scrupulously +suppressed my wishes, that my daughter might indulge in her own +sentiments freely."[238] The marriage took place on April 2, 1790, and +on the next day Jefferson set out for New York to take his place in the +Cabinet. He reached Philadelphia on the twelfth. There he stopped to pay +his respects to the man "he has succeeded but not replaced", old Doctor +Franklin then on the sick bed from which he never arose. "My recent +return from a country in which he had left so many friends, and the +perilous convulsions to which they had been exposed, revived all his +anxieties to know what part they had taken, what had been their course, +and what their fate. He went over all in succession with a rapidity and +animation almost too much for his strength." It was on this occasion +that Franklin put in his hands a paper containing an account of his +negotiations with Lord Howe to prevent a war between the colonies and +their mother country, papers which, unfortunately, Jefferson entrusted +later to William Temple Franklin, who "delayed the publication for more +than twenty years."[239] Jefferson arrived in New York on the +twenty-first, took his lodgings at the City Tavern, and finally rented a +small house in Maiden Lane. + +Congress was in session and business had accumulated on the desk of the +new secretary: he plunged at once into work. All his colleagues had +already taken charge of their respective departments: Colonel Alexander +Hamilton was in charge of the Treasury, General Henry Knox of the War +Department, Edmund Randolph, Attorney-general. Those were the only +departments thus far created and among them the four secretaries divided +all the different attributions of the executive power. With them he was +to sit in Cabinet meetings presided over by Washington until his +retirement from office, in December, 1793. + +The distinction usually established between domestic and foreign +politics is obviously an arbitrary one and does not correspond to +reality. This was particularly true of an age when the attributes of +the Secretary of State were far less specialized than in our day. +Even if he had been inclined to neglect the questions of internal +administration--to give himself entirely to foreign affairs--Jefferson +would have been constantly reminded of the existence of many other +problems of equal importance to the future of the nation by his +colleagues and the President himself. In addition, it was Washington's +ordinary practice not only to discuss all important measures in a +Cabinet council, but often to request each member of his official family +to give his opinion in writing on these questions. Such documents as +have been preserved constitute a most precious source of information for +the history of the period; they are usefully supplemented by the notes +that Jefferson took at the time and transcribed "twenty five years or +more" afterwards for the use of posterity. The three volumes "bound in +marbled paper" in which Jefferson copied these notes, taken on loose +scraps of paper, are the famous "Anas" which he collected to justify +himself against the accusations that biographers of Washington--such as +Marshall--had already launched against him. Although there is no reason +to believe that Jefferson deliberately altered the old records, it is +certain that they were edited, that many scraps of papers were +discarded, although not destroyed, and that a "critical" edition of the +"Anas" would not be without interest. They are preceded by an +introduction in which, more than twenty-five years later, Jefferson gave +an estimate of his former opponents, Hamilton and John Adams. This final +judgment can in no way be used in discussing events that took place +between 1790 and 1793, and it contains no indication worth retaining +about Jefferson's attitude at that time towards his colleagues and the +Vice President. The man who wrote this introduction in February, 1818, +was really another Jefferson. He may tell us that he arrived in the +midst of a bitter contest, "But a stranger to the ground, a stranger to +the actors on it, so long absent as to have lost all familiarity with +the subject, and as yet unaware of its object, I took no concern in +it."[240] It must be admitted at the outset that such is not the +impression one can gather from the correspondence. + +That the financial structure of the Continental Congress had collapsed +and that immediate remedies were necessary Jefferson knew as well and +probably better than any other member of the Cabinet. He had not the +expert knowledge of Hamilton, but more than once he had had to deal with +financial questions, and when in Paris had displayed considerable skill +in dealing with the members of the Committee of Commerce. He had +prepared schedules for the payment of the French and Dutch loans and +discussed finances with Dutch bankers in Amsterdam. Furthermore, his +governorship of Virginia during the war had acquainted him with the +question of State debts. If he could be tricked and made to hold the +candle, as he said, there was no man who could resist the superior +genius and Machiavellism of the arch financier of the United States. As +a matter of fact, if he was hoodwinked, he was not at the beginning, at +least, a blind or an unwilling victim. + +Following the financial reorganization defined by the Constitution and +the appointment of a Secretary of the Treasury, according to the Act of +1789, Hamilton prepared for the period under consideration four +documents: Report on Public Credit, January 9, 1790; Report on a +National Bank, December 5, 1790; Report on the Establishment of a Mint, +May 1, 1791; Report on Manufactures, December 5, 1791. + +The first subject for consideration was the national debt. The foreign +debt was unquestionably a matter of national honor and had to be paid in +full, according to the terms of contract: with the arrears of interest +it amounted to $11,710,000. The domestic debt was estimated at +$27,383,000 for the principal, $13,030,000 for accrued interest and +$2,000,000 for unliquidated debt. After some opposition it was finally +decided that holders of certificates would receive their face value with +interest. But there remained the question of States debts which was +hopelessly confused and destined to lead to a bitter controversy. The +reorganization plan proposed that repayment could be made in a more +orderly way through some sort of a central organization rather than +through the States, and outlined the famous "Assumption" by which the +Federal Government would "assume", with a discount to be determined, the +debts incurred by the several States during the course of the war. It +naturally meant that additional revenue had to be raised by Federal +measures and consequently distributed between all the States, whose +debts varied in nature and amount from State to State, some of which +having already proceeded to a semi-reorganization, while others, having +not suffered from the war, were financially in good condition. The +opposition came naturally from the Southern States, whose population was +smaller in comparison with the Northern States. + +The opponents of the measure objected very strenuously at first, arguing +that it would give an unfair advantage to those that had contracted +debts too freely during the war, and would penalize those who had +already set their financial house in order; and also that it would be a +usurpation of powers not conferred by the Constitution to the Federal +Government. + +First defeated in Congress, the "Assumption" was finally adopted under +circumstances now to be related. Jefferson's unofficial representative +in Congress, Madison, had already strenuously opposed the measure +proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury. When Jefferson arrived in +New York to take possession of his office, the battle had been going on +for some time, and four days later he wrote to T. M. Randolph that +"Congress is principally occupied with the treasury report. The +assumption of the State debts has been voted affirmatively in the first +instance, but it is not certain that it will hold its ground through all +the changes of the bill when it shall be brought in."[241] There is +little doubt that Madison had already acquainted him with his views of +the situation, but it is also probable that Jefferson paid small heed to +them for the time being. He suffered for several weeks from severe +headaches, he had to write many letters of farewell to his French +friends, and the accumulation of reports and papers he found on his desk +required all his attention. + +In June, however, he expressed to George Mason his doubts that the +"Assumption" would be finally adopted. But, far from siding with the +out-and-out opponents of the measure, he thought it would be wiser to +compromise, so he added, "my duties preventing me from mingling in these +questions, I do not pretend to be very competent to their decision. In +general, I think it necessary to give as well as take in a government +like ours."[242] + +As a matter of fact, it was already patent that an almost irreconcilable +difference of opinion on the matter existed between Hamilton and the +Virginians, and, a week later, Jefferson himself invited the Secretary +of the Treasury to take dinner at his house with a few friends in order +to hold an informal conference; for he thought it impossible that +"reasonable men, consulting together coolly, could fail, by some mutual +sacrifices of opinion to form a compromise which was to save the Union." +Jefferson has related the scene in the "Anas", but a somewhat different +account is given in his letter to James Monroe, written June 20, 1790, +from New York, in which he outlined the compromise. He mentioned that +two considerations had impelled him to discuss it; first the fact that +if some funding bill were not agreed to, the credit of the United States +at Amsterdam would collapse and vanish and each State be left alone to +take care of itself. Although he was not enthusiastic about the means to +be employed and foresaw that the United States would have difficulties +in raising the necessary money by Federal taxation instead of letting +the States raise it themselves, he accepted the solution with open eyes: +"In the present instance, I see the necessity of yielding to cries of +the creditors in certain parts of the Union; for the sake of the Union, +and to save us from the greatest of all calamities, the total extinction +of our credit in Europe." More than any member of the Cabinet he was +aware of the imminence of this danger. On the other hand, and in order +to give some satisfaction to the Southern States, it would be agreed +that Congress would be transferred to Philadelphia for a period of +twelve to fifteen years, and thereafter, without further declaration, to +Georgetown. This was clearly a "deal", and Jefferson knew it so well +that he denied that it was one. "The Pennsylvania and Virginia delegates +have conducted themselves honorably, on the question of residence. +Without descending to talk about bargains, they have seen that their +true interests lay in not listening to the insidious propositions made, +to divide and defect them, and we have seen them at times voting against +their respective wishes rather than separate." Whether the word bargain +had been used or not is immaterial. Gentlemen sitting around a table +after the cloth has been removed and the punch bowl brought in can come +to an understanding "_a demi mot_."[243] Nothing official had been done +yet, but writing to Dumas, the financial agent at Amsterdam, Jefferson, +in order to maintain the credit of the country, put his best foot +forward and solemnly declared "that there is not one single individual +in the United States, whether in or out of office, who supposes they can +ever do anything which might impair their foreign contracts." With +respect to domestic paper, Dumas could rest assured that "justice would +be done" and, although the question was terribly complicated, it was +"possible that modifications may be proposed which may bring the +measure, yet into an acceptable form."[244] + +With Gilmer, he was more frank and indicated clearly that among the +possible ways in which the conflict in Congress might yet terminate, the +best probably would be "a _bargain_ between the eastern members who have +it so much at heart, and the Middle members who are indifferent about +it, to adopt these debts without modification, on condition of removing +the seat of government to Philadelphia or Baltimore." The third +solution, which Jefferson preferred, would have proposed to divide the +total sum between all the States in proportion to their census, and to +establish the national capital first and temporarily at Philadelphia, +then, and permanently at Georgetown.[245] This was not an ideal +solution; it was a compromise which would at least present the advantage +of giving new life to the agriculture and commerce of the South. The +main objection, however, still remained, for the Federal Government +would have to raise the imposts and overburden that source of revenue, +but it seemed that "some sacrifice was necessary for the sake of +peace."[246] Once again, but not for the last time, Jefferson saw +himself in a dilemma. He was too far-sighted not to understand that the +individual States would have to abandon some of their rights and a +portion of their sovereignty in order to acquire more financial +stability, and that more power would be concentrated in the hands of the +Federal Government. On the other hand, he was no less firmly convinced +that a secession would unavoidably result from a rejection of the +"Assumption", and he was ready to sacrifice his most cherished +preferences on the altar of the Union. + +On August 14, Jefferson could announce to Randolph that Congress had +separated + + the day before yesterday, having reacquired the harmony which always + distinguished their proceedings before the two disagreeable questions + of assumption and residence were introduced.... It is not foreseen + that anything so generative of dissention can arise again, and + therefore the friends of the government hope that this difficulty + once surmounted in the States, everything will work well. I am + principally afraid that commerce will be over loaded by the + assumption, believing that it would be better that property should be + duly taxed. + +He discussed for the first time the exact ways and means in a letter to +Gouverneur Morris on November 26, 1790, and indicated that additional +funds would be provided by a tax on spirituous liquors, foreign and +homemade, that the whole interest would be raised by taxes on +consumption.... "Add to this what may be done by throwing in the aid of +western lands and other articles as a sinking fund, and our prospect is +really a bright one."[247] + +It is perfectly true that the letter to Morris was to a great extent for +publicity purposes, yet we do not find in it the slightest mark of +disapproval of the tax itself, nor do we find it in a letter written to +De Moustier[248] in which, on the contrary, Jefferson mentioned the +advantages of duties on consumption, which fall principally on the rich; +for it is "a general desire to make them contribute the whole money we +want, if possible." It was not until February that doubts began to +percolate into his mind, and he inquired from Colonel Mason "what was +said in our country (Virginia), of the fiscal arrangements now going +on." But he did not yet take the question really to heart: + + Whether these measures be right or wrong abstractedly, more attention + should be paid to the general opinion. However, all will pass,--the + excise will pass--the bank will pass. The only corrective of what is + corrupt in our present form of government will be the augmentation of + the numbers in the lower House, so as to get more agricultural + representation, which may put that interest above that of the + stock-jobbers.[249] + +This is the first indication of a rift between Jefferson and Hamilton. + +Yet Jefferson was willing to yield more ground in order to avoid an open +break. The Bank Bill of Hamilton had passed the Senate without +difficulty; in the House it had been opposed on constitutional grounds +by Madison but had finally obtained a majority. When the bill was sent +to the President, Washington, unwilling to do anything unconstitutional, +asked both the Attorney-general Randolph and Jefferson to give their +opinion on the matter in writing. The report written on this occasion by +the Secretary of State is a psychological document both interesting and +revealing. + +Jefferson started out by enumerating the different measures included in +the Bank Bill, pointing out _en passant_ that they were intended to +break down the most ancient and fundamental laws of several States, such +as those against mortmain, the laws of alienage, the rules of descent, +the acts of distribution, the laws of escheat and forfeiture, the laws +of monopoly. He then demonstrated to his own satisfaction that power to +establish such an institution was neither specifically declared nor +implied in any article of the Constitution. The only general statement +that could be construed as authorizing it was a mention "to make all +laws _necessary_ and proper for carrying into execution the enumerated +powers." Finally he undertook to prove that the bank might be +convenient but was in nowise necessary. The conclusion was obvious after +these very closely knitted pieces of legal reasoning: "Nothing but a +necessity inevitable by any other means can justify such a prostitution +of laws, which constitute the pillars of our whole system of +jurisprudence." The President's veto could clearly be used in that case, +since that was the buckler provided by the Constitution to protect it +against the invasions of the legislature. + +[Illustration: ALEXANDER HAMILTON + +_From the painting by John Trumbull in the possession of the Essex +Institute, Salem, Mass._] + +Jefferson could and perhaps should have stopped there. But he was far +from certain that Hamilton's views would not prevail, and in that case +he would have committed himself irrevocably. This he did not wish to do. +He consequently provided at the end a way of escape for himself as well +as for the President: + + It must be added, however, that unless the President's mind on a view + of everything which is urged for and against this bill, is tolerably + clear that it is unauthorized by the Constitution; if the pro and the + con hang so even as to balance his judgment, a just respect for the + wisdom of the legislature would naturally decide the balance in favor + of their opinion. It is chiefly for cases where they are clearly + misled by error, ambition, or interest, that the Constitution has + placed a check in the negative of the President. + +This was very adroit, almost too adroit. It was the answer of a master +politician. Whether it was absolutely straightforward is a very +different question. Jefferson, who so often accused others of being +"trimmers", was undoubtedly open to such an accusation himself. + +With the opinion of Randolph and Jefferson before him, the President +asked Hamilton, as sponsor of the bill, to present his rejoinder in +writing. On the twenty-third he submitted his famous "Opinion as to the +Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States" in which he +developed the doctrine of "implied powers." + + Now it appears--said Hamilton--to the Secretary of the Treasury + that this general principle is inherent in the very definition of + government and essential to every step of the progress to be made + by that of the United States, namely: That every power vested in a + government is in its nature sovereign, and includes, by force of the + term, a right to employ all the means requisite and fairly applicable + to the attainment of the ends of such power, and which are not + precluded by restrictions and exceptions specified in the + Constitutions, or not immoral, or not contrary to the essential + ends of political society. + +As a matter of fact, the question at the bottom of the controversy was +the question of State rights; but, curiously enough, it is indicated +only incidentally in Jefferson's opinion. He was not ready to join +issues on that question, much more clearly brought forward by Madison in +his speeches before the House, when he said: + + I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: + That all powers not delegated to the United States, by the + Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the United States, are reserved + to the States or to the people (XIIth amendment). To take a single + step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the power + of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no + longer susceptible of definition.[250] + +This was exactly the question, for to accept Hamilton's theory was to +open the way to countless encroachments of the Federal Government on +State rights. Washington's administration had come to its most momentous +decision for the future of the government of the United States. This was +really the parting of the ways. Jefferson knew it and saw it; it was +obvious that, with a centralized financial organization, a central +political organization would develop. All sorts of practical +considerations may be brought in and nice legal points drawn, but the +fact remains that when the representatives of the different States not +only permitted but were eager to see the Federal Government assume the +responsibility of State debts, they sold their birthright for the not +unconsiderable sum of $21,500,000. Perhaps it was the only possible +solution at the time. Perhaps Jefferson showed wisdom and political +sense in not getting up and fighting to the last ditch. He registered as +strong a protest as he could without burning his bridges. He knew from +the temper of the House that there was no hope of making them accept any +other solution. He knew that against the strongly organized Federalists +he could not muster any well-disciplined troops. He feared the immediate +dissolution of the Union and temporized; but all the rest of his life +was to be spent in trying to recover the ground lost on that day. + +Jefferson was soon to realize how poorly equipped and seconded he was +when he had to take up the battle practically single-handed. + +In the spring of 1791 Madison had loaned him a copy of Thomas Paine's +pamphlet, "The Rights of Man", written in answer to Burke's denunciation +of the French Revolution. When the owner of the pamphlet requested that +it be returned, for it was the only copy at his disposal and he intended +to have it reprinted in Philadelphia, Jefferson courteously returned it, +and added a short note in which he expressed his satisfaction that such +a valuable work would appear in America: "I am extremely pleased to find +it will be reprinted here, and that something is at length to be +publicly said against the political heresies which have sprung up among +us. I have no doubt our citizens will rally a second time round the +standard of 'Common Sense.'" There is no indication whatever that +Jefferson intended the note for publication, but the printer thought it +would help the success of the pamphlet if Jefferson's letter were +printed as a preface. All the peaceful intentions of the Secretary of +State had come to naught. The word heresies could apply only to the +Federalists, and among the Federalists to John Adams, whose "Discourse +on Davila" had been appearing in Fenno's paper. Jefferson could declare +that nothing was further from his intentions than to appear as a +contradictor of Mr. Adams in public; very few men would believe it and +Jefferson himself realized it so well that he wrote at once to +Washington to explain his position: + + Mr. Adams will unquestionably take to himself the charge of political + heresy, as conscious of his own views of drawing the present + government to the form of the English constitution, and, I fear, will + consider me as meaning to injure him in the public eye. I learnt that + some Anglomen have, censured it in another point of view, as a + sanction of Paine's principles tend to give offence to the British + government. Their real fear, however, is that this popular and + republican pamphlet, taking wonderfully, is likely at a single + stroke, to wipe out all the unconstitutional doctrines which their + bell wether Davila has been preaching for a twelvemonth. I certainly + never made a secret of my being anti-monarchical, and + anti-aristocratical; but I am sincerely mortified to be thus brought + forward on the public stage, where to remain, to advance or to + retire, will be equally against my love of silence and quiet and my + abhorrence of dispute.[251] + +His abhorrence of dispute was so real that, at this juncture, he decided +to leave Philadelphia for a trip north, staying two days in New York, +visiting the battlefield of Saratoga, Lake George, Lake Champlain, and +coming back through the Connecticut valley. Madison accompanied him on +the trip, and Mr. Bowers has advanced the hypothesis that it was during +the long conversations the two friends had during a whole month alone +together that the plans were formulated for establishing a separate +party to defend the republican ideals. This may have been the result of +the journey, but I doubt very much that such was the purpose of +Jefferson when he set out from Philadelphia. A more simple explanation +is that, having written his letter to Washington and made, as he +thought, his position clear, he hoped that the President would not fail +to communicate its contents to Adams if any unpleasant situation should +develop; and he simply withdrew from the battlefield in order not to +enter into a public controversy. But he counted without Adams' temper. +The Vice President considered Jefferson's short sentence as a challenge +and proceeded promptly to have it answered. A series of articles signed +"Publicola" began to appear in the _Centinel_, denouncing not only +Paine, but Jefferson himself. "Brutus" took up the cudgels in favor of +Jefferson and the newspaper battle was on. The public, always eager to +identify anonymous writers, did not fail to attribute to Adams the +articles signed "Publicola", while to Jefferson were attributed the +answers written by Agricola, Brutus, and Philodemus. When Jefferson came +back from his trip the controversy was raging, and soon he began to +enjoy the conflict. + +On July 10 he sent to Colonel Monroe a bundle of papers showing "what a +dust Paine's pamphlet has kicked up here", and he reiterated his +approval of the book: + + A writer under the name of Publicola, in attacking Paine's + principles, is very desirous of involving me in the same censure with + the author. I certainly merit the same, for I profess the same + principles; but it is equally certain I never meant to have entered + as a volunteer into the cause. My occupations do not permit it. Some + persons here are insinuating that I am Brutus, that I am Agricola, + that I am Philodemus, etc., etc. I am none of them, being decided not + to write a word on the subject, unless any printed imputation should + call for a printed disavowal, to which I should put my name. + +On the other hand he refused to take seriously the denial that Adams +"has no more concern in the publication of the writings of Publicola, +than the author of the 'Rights of Man' himself." But he saw with +satisfaction that Hamilton had taxed Adams with imprudence in stirring +up the question and agreed that "his business was done." What was far +more serious was the fury of gambling that had arisen at the opening of +the bank: "the land office, the federal town, certain schemes of +manufactures, are likely to be converted into aliment for that +rage."[252] + +In a last effort to placate Adams, however, and chiefly in order to +avoid having his name dragged into a public controversy, he wrote to the +Vice President "from the conviction that truth, between candid minds can +never do harm." He assured him that he had not written "a line for the +newspapers." He declared "with truth in the presence of the Almighty +that nothing was further from his intention or his expectations than to +have either his own or Adams' name brought before the public on this +occasion." This was perfectly true, but at the same time he was +proposing to appoint Paine Postmaster, and on July 29 he wrote to +congratulate him, for, thanks to his little book, the general opinion +seemed to rally against a sect high in name but small in number. "They +are checked at least by your pamphlet, and the people confirmed in their +good old faith."[253] The fact that Adams accepted Jefferson's +explanation more gracefully than was to be expected did not prevent the +fight from going on. It had already been taken out of the hands of the +leaders and the controversy was raging in the papers. At this juncture +Jefferson realized that the republicans were very poorly armed in the +capital and that they had no paper in which their views could be +expressed so as to counteract the pernicious propaganda of Fenno's +paper. Thus the result brought about was the foundation of the _National +Gazette_, Philip Freneau's paper, in which Jefferson had a great part. +The story has never been told completely and deserves more than passing +attention, since Jefferson was soon to be attacked by his enemies for +the interest he took in the _Gazette_. Several documents heretofore +neglected allow us to reconstruct exactly the part played by Jefferson +in the undertaking, and particularly to settle a few questions of +chronology which are not without importance. + +It does not appear that Jefferson had any ulterior motives when, on +February 28, 1791, he offered to Freneau, then living miserably in New +York, the clerkship for foreign languages in the Department of State. +"The salary indeed is very low," he wrote, "being but two hundred and +fifty dollars a year; but also it gives so little to do, as not to +interfere with any other calling the person may choose.... I was told a +few days ago that it might perhaps be convenient to you to accept it. If +so, it is at your service." Freneau answered promptly, on March 5, that, +having been for some time engaged in endeavouring to establish a Weekly +Gazette in Monmouth County and having at present a prospect of +succeeding in a tolerable subscription, he found himself under the +necessity of declining the acceptance of this "generous unsolicited +proposal." On May 15, 1791, Jefferson, writing to T. M. Randolph, +expressed his discontent at the attitude of the two leading papers of +Philadelphia and added: + + We have been trying to get another weekly or half weekly paper set up + excluding advertisements so that it might go through the States and + furnish a right vehicle of intelligence. We hoped at one time to have + persuaded Freneau to set up here, but failed--in the meantime Bache's + paper, the principles of which were always republican improve it's + matter. + +Not until August 4 did Freneau write to Jefferson that, after discussing +the matter with Madison and Colonel Lee, he had succeeded in making +arrangements with a printer in Philadelphia and would submit proposals +for the publication of a newspaper. Freneau moved to Philadelphia, was +appointed clerk for foreign languages on August 16, and took oath of +office the next day. There is consequently no doubt that Freneau was +induced to leave New York by the double prospect of working in +Jefferson's office and at the same time establishing a republican +newspaper. On November 20, Jefferson sent some sample copies to Randolph +and wrote again on January 22 to ask his son-in-law to find subscribers +to the _Gazette_. He sent to Freneau a list of subscribers from +Charlottesville (March 23, 1792) and wrote to his friends that it was +the best paper ever published in America. On November 16, 1792, he +announced to Randolph that Freneau's paper was getting into +Massachusetts under the patronage of "Hancock, Sam. Adams, Mr. Ames, the +colossus of the monocrats and paper men will either be left out or hard +run. The people of that State are republican; but hitherto they have +heard nothing but the hymns and lauds chaunted by Fenno." + +When Freneau was vehemently accused by Hamilton of attacking members of +the government while in the pay of the government, Jefferson took up his +defense and wrote to the speaker of the House to point out that Freneau +received a nominal salary and had even "to pay himself special +translators for languages with which he was unacquainted."[254] Finally, +on October 11, Freneau sent in his resignation to date from October 1, +1793. Such are the bare facts and as Freneau's paper was to play an +important part in the quarrel with Hamilton, it is important to state +them exactly. + +The battle did not begin in earnest until the first months of 1792. But +Jefferson's distaste for the financial structure erected by Hamilton +increased during the summer and fall of that year. To Carmichael he +grudgingly admitted that the domestic debt "funded at six per cent., is +twelve and a half per cent. above par." "But," he added, "a spirit of +gambling, in our public paper has seized too many of our citizens, and +we fear it will check our commerce, arts, manufactures, and agriculture +unless stopped."[255] To Gouverneur Morris he declared that the fever +of gambling on government funds has seized everybody, "has laid up our +ships at the wharves, as too slow instruments of profit, and has even +disarmed the hand of the tailor of his needle and thimble. They say the +evil will cure itself. I wish it may; but I have rarely seen a gamester +cured, even by the disasters of his vocation."[256] + +One may wonder at this point what course of conduct was open to +Jefferson. He might have placed his views of the situation before +Washington and tried to open his eyes to the danger of the Republic. He +might have broken completely with Hamilton and declared to the President +that he had to decide between the Secretary of the Treasury and the +Secretary of State, but as a matter of fact his hands were tied since he +had accepted the "Assumption" and had not dared categorically to decide +against the Bank Bill. Apparently he had reached an impasse. But it was +not in Jefferson's temperament to try to overcome insuperable obstacles +or stay very long in a blind alley. Since experience had shown that the +general government "tended to monarchy" and this tendency strengthened +itself from day to day, the only remedy was for the States to erect +"such barriers at the constitutional line as cannot be surmounted either +by themselves or by the General Government."[257] An opportunity +presented itself to experiment with the idea in a proposed convocation +of a convention in Virginia to amend the Constitution. Jefferson, +consulted on this occasion, sent to Archibald Stuart his ideas on the +modifications desirable; to lengthen the term of the representatives and +diminish their number; to strengthen the Executive by making it more +independent of the legislature. + + Responsibility is a tremendous engine in a free government. Let him + feel the whole weight of it then, by taking away the shelter of his + executive council. Experience both ways has already established the + superiority of this measure. Render the judiciary respectable by + every possible means, to wit, firm tenure in office, competent + salaries, and reduction of their numbers. + +This was quite characteristic of Jefferson and of his extraordinary +tenacity. It was also very good strategy. Since the strengthening of the +Federal Government could not be avoided, the only way to avoid a rapid +absorption of local government by the Federal machine was to strengthen +in a parallel way the State governments. It was an unexpected +application of Montesquieu's theory of checks and balances.[258] + +Soon afterwards, however, in February, 1792, Jefferson found a favorable +opportunity to reveal his ideas to Washington. The occasion that offered +itself was the post-office, just reorganized as an independent and +self-supporting branch of the government, thus removing it from the +tutelage of the Treasury Department. Jefferson at once claimed it for +the Department of State, not out of any appetite for power, "his real +wish" being to avail the public of every occasion, during the residue of +the President's period, to place things on a safe footing. By this he +meant that the usurpations of the Treasury Department should be brought +to a stop. In a long conversation the next morning after breakfast +Jefferson opened his heart, indicating that he would resign before long, +to which Washington answered that he could not resign when there were +certain signs of dissatisfaction among the public, and that none could +foresee what too great a change in the administration might bring about. +This was the opening awaited by Jefferson. No wonder the public was +dissatisfied, but whose fault was it! There was only one source of +discontent, the Department of the Treasury. Then he launched forth on a +passionate indictment of the system developed by Hamilton, contrived for +deluging the States with paper money instead of gold and silver, "for +withdrawing our citizens from the pursuits of commerce, manufactures, +buildings, and other branches of useful industry, to occupy themselves +and their capitals in a species of gambling, destructive of morality, +and which had introduced its poison in the government itself." He +indicated that members of Congress had been gambling in stocks and +consequently could no longer be depended upon to vote in a disinterested +way, for they had "feathered their nests with paper." Finally Jefferson +let the cat out of the bag and told the President that the public were +awaiting with anxiety his decision with respect to a certain +proposition, to find out whether they lived under a limited or an +unlimited government. The report on manufactures which had not +heretofore drawn particular attention meant to establish the doctrine +that the power given by the Constitution to collect taxes to provide for +the "_general welfare_ of the United States, permitted Congress to take +everything under their management which _they_ should deem _public +welfare_, and which is susceptible of the application of money." He +added that his decision was therefore expected with far greater anxiety +than that felt over the proposed establishment of the Bank of the United +States.[259] + +On May 23, Jefferson had found it impossible to have again a +heart-to-heart talk with the President, and we may well imagine that +Washington rather avoided giving him another opportunity to express +himself again so freely with reference to the policy of the Treasury +Department. The object of the letter he wrote on that day was twofold; +first of all it was to persuade Washington that in spite of his so often +manifested intention to retire at the end of his first term, it was his +imperious duty to the nation to remain in office. There existed, in +Jefferson's opinion, a real emergency and he pointed out at length the +dissatisfaction of the South, the separatist tendencies appearing in +that quarter, upon seeing what they considered an unfair share of the +Federal taxes placed on their shoulders, not only in order to pay the +national debt, but also to encourage the Northern industries with +bounties. Rumors were circulating everywhere that new measures were on +foot to increase the mass of the debts; industry was encouraged at the +expense of agriculture; the legislature itself had been corrupted. The +only hope of salvation lay in the coming election and in an increase in +the number of representatives following the census. But everything would +be in question if the President did not run. "The confidence of the +whole Union is centered in you. Your being at the helm will be more than +an answer to every argument which can be used to alarm and lead the +people in any quarter, into violence and secession. North and South will +hang together if they have you to hang on." + +This incidentally does not sound like a man who was trying to organize a +strong political party for his own benefit, and I cannot believe that +Jefferson was as deep a politician as Mr. Bowers has made him. He was +quite sincere in his desire to retire from office "after the first +periodical renovation of the government." He was tired and sick at +heart, and his one inclination was "bent irresistibly on the tranquil +enjoyment of his family, his farm and his books."[260] On the other +hand, he was firmly convinced that the coming elections might change +favorably the majority in Congress. They had no chance to be held +fairly, however, unless the people had an opportunity to select as +President a man who would be above all suspicion, a really national +figure enjoying the confidence of every man in every section of the +country, such as was Washington alone. Had Washington followed his +inclination at that time; had he withdrawn at the end of his first term +and left the field free to other candidates, there is no way of +surmising what the issue of the campaign of 1792 would have been. Truly +Jefferson was right: the fate of the republic was at stake. + +Shortly after, Hamilton, who had not yet attacked Jefferson personally, +led an offensive against Freneau who was accused by the _Gazette of the +United States_ of using his salary for publications, "the design of +which is to villify those to whom the voice of the people has committed +the administration of our public affairs." But Freneau, in Hamilton's +opinion, was only the puppet whose strings were pulled by an arch +plotter, and soon the _Gazette_ started direct attacks against +Jefferson, asserting that while a member of the Cabinet he had +undertaken to undermine the government. Freneau, in an affidavit, denied +that Jefferson had any connection with his paper or had dictated or +written a single line in it, and at the same time hinted that, on the +contrary, the authorship of many articles published in Fenno's _Gazette_ +could clearly be attributed to Hamilton. This denial had precisely the +value of any such statement issued during political campaigns. It was +literally true that Jefferson had never written a line in Freneau's +paper, but he had an opportunity to see Freneau every day, since "clerk +for foreign languages" had to report to him. He was requesting all his +friends to subscribe to Freneau's papers, he was following anxiously the +progress of the _Gazette_ in all parts of the Union, and one word from +him would have stopped all attacks against Hamilton. In fact, Freneau's +paper was just as much Jefferson's paper as if the Secretary of State +had written all the articles in it and had owned all the stock. + +Hamilton's attacks, however, had a very important and unexpected result. +Whether Jefferson had serious political ambitions or not, he was not the +man to come out in the open and proclaim himself the leader of a new +party. Of a retiring disposition, fearful of public criticism although +thirsty for public praise, he was not ready at that time to assume the +part and the duties of a political chief. But the savage attacks of the +Federalists attracted public attention to him, he was represented so +often by them as the champion of republicanism, that discontented +republicans began to rally round him and Jefferson was thus invested +with the leadership of the new party as much by his enemies as by his +friends. + +During the summer of 1792, when he was at Monticello, he received from +Washington a letter in which the President expressed his distress at the +dissensions that had taken place within the government, and once more +attempted to bring about a reconciliation between the two secretaries +(August 23). Jefferson answered in a long letter. This time his temper +had been thoroughly aroused. He had seen articles signed "An American" +in Fenno's _Gazette_, accusing him on three counts: "with having written +letters to his friends in Europe to oppose the present constitution; +with a desire of repudiating the public debt; with setting up a paper to +decry and slander the government." Jefferson had no difficulty in +proving the first two accusations absolutely untrue. On the third charge +he admitted and even boasted of having given a poet a miserable +appointment at a salary of $250 a year, while Hamilton had filled the +administration with his creatures. He protested in the name of Heaven +that "I never did, by myself, or any other, directly or indirectly, +write, dictate, or procure any one sentence of sentiment to be inserted +in _his_, or any other gazette, to which my name was not affixed or that +of my office." He confessed, however, that he had always taken it for +granted, from his knowledge of Freneau's character, "that he would give +free place to pieces written against the aristocratical and monarchical +principles these papers had inculcated." He again protested against +Hamilton's insinuation that Freneau had received his salary before +removing to Philadelphia, and on this point he is supported by the +evidence published above. In a very dignified way he assured Washington +that he would refrain from engaging in any controversy while in office +and that he wished to concentrate all his efforts on the last of his +official tasks. He added, however, that he reserved the right to answer +later, for, he said: "I will not suffer my retirement to be clouded by +the slanders of a man whose history, from the moment at which history +can stoop to notice him, is a tissue of machinations against the liberty +of the country which has not only received and given him bread, but +heaped honors on his head." + +Jefferson has sometimes been reproached for having attacked in the +"Anas" a dead enemy, but this was no posthumous attack. In one sentence +he had expressed not only condemnation of Hamilton's policies but all +the scorn of a Virginian, of the old stock, for the immigrant of +doubtful birth, who was almost an alien. He knew full well the weight +that such a consideration might have on the mind of Washington; it was a +subtle but potent appeal to the solidarity of the old Americans against +the newcomer. Truly, Jefferson was no mean adversary, and the rapier may +be more deadly than the battle-ax. Having thus parried and thrust, he +expressed the pious wish that the coming elections would probably +vindicate his point of view and that it would not be necessary to make a +further appeal to public opinion. He was tired and wished to retire from +office at the earliest opportunity, and certainly no clique would +receive any support from him during the short space he had to remain in +Philadelphia. Monticello was calling him and his most earnest hope was +that he would be permitted to forget all political strife in a bucolic +retirement.[261] + +On his way back to Philadelphia he stopped at Mount Vernon (October 1, +1792) and found Washington still undecided whether he would be a +candidate for a second term. The General was not certain that the +emergency was such that he must sacrifice his personal preferences. He +had consulted Lear about opinion in the North; Jefferson could tell him +something about the South. When he was assured that he alone could save +the Republic, it was his turn to argue that Jefferson ought to remain +in office as long as he himself would be President. Washington said that +until very recently he had been unaware that such personal differences +existed between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the +Treasury. The old General gently reminded Jefferson that the best way to +counteract the action of Hamilton was to remain in office, in order "to +keep things in their proper channel, and prevent them from going too +far." Finally the President refused to accept wholly the pessimistic +forecasts of Jefferson and declared: "That as to the idea of +transforming this Government into a monarchy, he did not believe there +were ten men in the United States whose opinions were worth attention, +who entertained such a thought." He refused to take seriously +Jefferson's accusation that Hamilton would have said that "this +Constitution was a shilly-shally thing, of mere milk and water, which +could not last, and was only good as a step to something better." That +as far as corruption in the legislature was concerned, the term was +probably too severe; it was simply a manifestation of "interested +spirit"; it was what could not be avoided in any government, unless we +were to exclude from all office particular descriptions of men, such as +the holders of the funds. "For the rest he only knew that before the +funding operations he had seen our affairs desperate and our credit +lost, and that this was in a sudden and extraordinary degree raised to +the highest pitch." With the common sense and poise that were his +outstanding qualities, Washington refused to inquire into the ultimate +motives of Hamilton. The Secretary of the Treasury had rescued the +finances of the country from bankruptcy; he was a good, efficient, and +personally honest administrator, and it was Washington's hope that he +would be able to keep with him two useful collaborators whom he could +not easily replace. + +Shall I confess that, in my humble opinion, and in spite of the contrary +judgment of several American historians, Washington was probably right. +The quarrel between Hamilton and Jefferson is undoubtedly of +considerable importance in the history of political parties in the +United States. I am not so certain that it exerted so tremendous an +influence on the destinies of the nation. Whatever may have been the +ambitious schemes of Hamilton, the theoretical preferences of John +Adams, it is difficult to see how any one could have succeeded at that +time in establishing overnight an hereditary monarchy in the United +States. Such a _"coup d'etat"_ is always a possibility in the old +countries of Europe, all of them more or less centralized and controlled +from a national capital; but in 1793 there was no national capital in +America, loyalty to the Federal Government was scarcely nascent, +citizens had not been accustomed to look to Congress for bounties, +assistance, and subsidies. The vastness of the country would have +offered insuperable obstacles, even to the genius of a Bonaparte. No +real danger existed because, as Montesquieu would have said, a monarchy +was not in the nature of things, and both Hamilton and Jefferson would +have realized it, if they had not been caught in the maelstrom of +political and personal passions. + +When Jefferson left Mount Vernon, Washington was still undecided whether +he would accept a second term, but Jefferson had determined that he +would not stay in office any longer than he could help; and on November +8, he wrote to Humphreys to send all further communications not to him +personally, but to the Secretary of State, by title and not by name. +News of election was coming slowly, winter had already begun in the +northern States. But the news that did arrive was reassuring and +Jefferson was able to write on November 16, "the event has been +generally in favor of republican, and against the aristocratical +candidates." By the beginning of December, the reelection of Washington +being conceded, it appeared that the election of the Vice President "had +been seized as a proper one for expressing the public sense on the +doctrine of the monocrats." It was already apparent that Adams would be +reelected in spite of a strong vote against him, but Jefferson +discounted the significance of the election and attributed it to "the +strength of his personal worth and his services, rather than to the +merits of his political creed."[262] It seemed that the anti-Federalists +had gained control of the lower House and this was a most significant +victory. + +Then as more news of the election came, telling of the victory of the +republicans or, as they were called by derision, the Jacobins, other +news arrived from France. The army of the Duke of Brunswick had been +forced to retreat and had failed in crushing the republican army of +France. "This news," wrote Jefferson, "has given wry faces to our +monocrats here, but sincere joy to the great body of the citizens. It +arrived only in the afternoon of yesterday, and the bells were rung and +some illuminations took place in the evening."[263] Four days later the +conviction that a disaster had overcome Brunswick had made great +progress, although no other news had been received, and Jefferson had +anxiously awaited the arrival of ships from France. But the tide had +turned and he wrote to Mercer: "The monocrats here still affect to +disbelieve all this, while the republicans are rejoicing and taking to +themselves the name of Jacobins which two months ago was fixed on them +by way of stigma."[264] The first victory of the republicans coincided +with the first victory of the Revolution against the coalition of kings. +The French Revolution itself had become a domestic issue and was to +inject more passion into the strife between the monocrats and the +republicans. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +JACOBIN OR AMERICAN? + + +One of the first duties of Jefferson in taking charge of foreign affairs +was to explain to his French friends, who on the other side of the +Atlantic had been accustomed to look up to him as a guide and +counsellor, the reasons which had determined his choice to remain in +America. To Madame de Corny, the Duchesse Danville, the Duc de La +Rochefoucauld, Madame d'Houdetot, he wrote gracefully worded notes, in +the best style of the society of the time. In France, among other +things, he had learned how to turn a charming compliment. More official +but still very graceful is the letter he sent to Montmorin to take +formal leave of the French Court and at the same time introduce himself +in his new capacity. But besides the compliments, there appears in the +letter a reaffirmation that the best foundation for international +friendship lay in satisfactory commercial relations. "May this union of +interests forever be the patriotic creed of both countries."[265] The +new Secretary of State had not forgotten that the most important +questions relative to Gallo-American commerce had not yet been settled, +and that it would be no negligible part of his duties to carry out the +principles he had always defended when in Paris. + +To Lafayette, closer to his heart than any other Frenchman, he explained +more fully his view of the situation and stated once more the principles +which would direct him in his policy towards France: + + Wherever I am, or ever shall be, I shall be sincere in my friendship + to you and to your nation. I think with others, that nations are to + be governed with regard to their own interests, but I am convinced + that it is their interests, in the long run, to be grateful, faithful + to their engagements, even in the worst of circumstances, and + honorable and generous always. If I had not known that the head of + our government was in these sentiments, and that his national and + private ethics were the same, I would never have been where I + am.[266] + +This was more than a banal compliment. To the homely wisdom of Doctor +Franklin that honesty is the best policy, Jefferson had added a new +element. He had combined in one formula two principles which often seem +contradictory and which at any rate are difficult to reconcile. Not a +mere idealist, nor simply a practical politician, he was, during the +rest of his political life, to make persistent efforts to propagate that +gospel of practical idealism which remains to this day one of the +fundamental tenets of Americanism. In that respect, party lines count +little, and Lincoln was quite as much a disciple and a continuator of +Jefferson as Woodrow Wilson. + +On the other hand, it cannot be denied that in many circumstances it +would take more than superhuman virtue and intelligence rightly to +operate that ideal combination and maintain an equal balance between +national selfishness and philosophical idealism. When it came to +practice, Jefferson showed himself just as canny as any European +diplomat and never neglected an opportunity to further the interests of +his country. This appeared in the very first letters he sent to Europe +after taking charge of the foreign policies of the United States. + +Communications were slow at the time. Jefferson was kept regularly +informed of developments in France by Short, his former secretary, left +in charge in Paris, who sent him weekly letters; but they averaged +eleven weeks and a half in transit, while of his answers "the quickest +were of nine weeks and the longest of near eighteen weeks coming." +Information through the British papers took about five or six weeks to +reach America but was not to be relied upon, and Jefferson gave definite +instructions to Short for "news from Europe is very interesting at this +moment, when it is so doubtful whether a war will take place between our +two neighbors."[267] + +This was indeed at the time his main preoccupation. War between Spain +and England seemed not only possible but probable, and Jefferson saw in +it an opportunity to press the claims of the United States to the +navigation of the Mississippi. The question was not "the claims of Spain +to our territory north of the thirty first degree and east of the +Mississippi (they never merited the respect of an answer), but the +navigation of the Mississippi and that was not simply to recognize the +American rights on the river." Navigation "cannot be practiced without a +port, where the sea and river vessels may meet and exchange loads, where +those employed about them may be safe and unmolested." The right to use +a thing comprehends a right to the means necessary to its use, and +without which it would be useless. Jefferson added that he could not +answer that "the forbearance of our western citizens would last +indefinitely, and that a moment of impatience, hazard or other +considerations might precipitate action on their part." On the other +hand, the United States were in no position to antagonize openly even +weak Spain, and in case nothing should develop Carmichael was instructed +to bide his time: + + You will be pleased to observe, that we press these matters warmly + and firmly, under this idea, that the war between Spain and Great + Britain will be begun before you receive this; and such a moment must + not be lost. But should an accommodation take place, we retain, + indeed, the same object and the same resolutions unalterably; but + your discretion will suggest, that patience and persuasion must + temper your conferences, till either of these may prevail, or some + other circumstances turn up, which may enable us to use other means + for the attainment of an object which we are determined, in the end, + to obtain at every risk.[268] + +Naturally this is no worse than the ordinary run of instructions sent at +that time to diplomatic agents by other foreign secretaries, and +Jefferson's policy was no more underhanded than the policies of any +other nation of the Old World. It cannot be said, however, that it +rested upon higher and nobler moral principles. Perhaps America had no +diplomatic tradition at that time, but she was not deficient in tactics, +and neither Jefferson nor his agents were exactly innocent tools in the +hands of wily European diplomats. + +But this is not all. Jefferson unfolded his whole plan in a letter to +Short written a week later. In case of a war between England and Spain, +France would be called into the war as an ally on the side of Spain. She +would have a right to insist that Spain should do everything in her +power to lessen the number of her potential enemies and to eliminate +every cause of friction with the United States. "She cannot doubt that +we shall be of that number, if she does not yield our right to common +use of the Mississippi, and the means of using and securing it." The +point made by the United States was that "they should have a port near +the mouth of the river, so well separated from the territories of Spain +and her jurisdiction, as not to engender daily disputes and broils +between us." Such a claim was not an arbitrary one, but resulted from +the configuration of the land. "Nature has decided what shall be the +geography of that in the end, whatever it might be in the beginning, by +cutting off from the adjacent countries of Florida and Louisiana, and +enclosing between two of its channels, a long and narrow slip of land, +called the Island of New Orleans." Jefferson conceded that the idea of +ceding that territory might be disagreeable to Spain at first, because +it constituted their principal settlement in those parts, with a +population of ten thousand white inhabitants, but "reason, and events, +however, may, by little and little, familiarize them to it." The idea, +however, might seem excessive to Montmorin, particularly as it was +thought that France had not entirely given up the project of recovering +the country along the Mississippi. But fortunately the National Assembly +seemed opposed to conquest and the subject might be broached merely in +general terms at the beginning. Furthermore, Lafayette could be used +once more as an intermediary without officially compromising the United +States.[269] + +Finally Gouverneur Morris was told to warn England that should they +entertain any design against any Spanish colony, the United States would +contemplate a change of neighbors with extreme uneasiness. While the +United States would remain neutral if "they execute the treaty fairly +and attempt no conquests adjoining us," Jefferson added, "it will be +proper that these ideas be conveyed in delicate and friendly terms; but +that they be conveyed, if the war takes place; for it is in this case +alone, and not till it be begun, that we should wish our dispositions to +be known."[270] That question being disposed of satisfactorily, at least +in theory, for after all, the war did not break out, Jefferson abandoned +temporarily his plans to obtain New Orleans. How he resumed them and +pushed them to a successful conclusion ten years later is too well known +to need recalling here. + +It is not until February 4, 1791, that Jefferson expressed in writing +his hope to see a republican form of government established in France. +This was in direct contradiction with all the advice and counsel he had +given to his French friends when he was in Paris, with his repeated +affirmations that the French were not ready for self-government, and +with the conclusions contained in his letter written to Jay in the +summer of 1789. None of the developments that had taken place in France +was of such a character as to change Jefferson's attitude on the +matter. But in the meantime, he had come to the conclusion that the fate +of the republican government in the United States depended largely on +the failure or success of the French Revolution. If it proved impossible +for the French to establish a stable form of self-government, if they +could not withstand the attacks of their foreign enemies, the conclusion +would inevitably be drawn in America that there was an inherent defect +and weakness in all republican governments. Thus the French Revolution +had already become an international issue, for the cause of liberty +could not remain secure for any length of time in America if it were +crushed in Europe. On that particular point Jefferson himself was very +explicit: + + I look with great anxiety for the firm establishment of the new + government in France, being perfectly convinced that if it takes + place there, it will spread sooner or later all over Europe. On the + contrary, a check there would retard the revival of liberty in other + countries. I consider the establishment and success of their + government as necessary to stay up our own, and to prevent it from + falling back to that kind of half-way house, the English + constitution. It cannot be denied that we have among us a sect who + believe that to contain whatever is perfect in human institutions; + that the members of this sect have, many of them, names and offices + which stand high in the estimation of our countrymen. I still rely + that the great mass of our community is untainted with these + heresies, as is its head. On this I build my hope that we have not + labored in vain, and that our experiment will still prove that men + can be governed by reason.[271] + +On receiving the news that the National Assembly of France had gone into +mourning over the death of Franklin, Jefferson sent to its President one +of those letters worded in the "felicitous style" which he had perfected +in France. His feelings were sincere, he had great respect and affection +for the Doctor, but he knew what was expected of him, and with great +skill, without promising anything, or using any expression that might be +taken as a definite promise and turned against him later, he made a +vague but satisfactory appeal to a sort of international friendship, +praising the Assembly for having set the first example and brought "into +our fraternity the good and the great wherever they have lived or died." +He ended with a reaffirmation of the good dispositions of his government +towards France: "That these separations may disappear between us in all +times and circumstances, and that the union of sentiment which mingles +our sorrows on this occasion, may continue long to cement the friendship +and interests of our two nations, is our constant prayer."[272] + +This openly declared sympathy for France and his hopes for a new form of +government did not in the least obscure his views on the commercial +difficulties between the two countries. The bone of contention was still +the question of commerce with the West Indies. The National Assembly, on +ratifying the consular conventions, had showed little disposition to +admit the right of the United States to send consular agents to the West +Indies. In his opinion the word _"Etats du roi"_ did not mean merely +France, but all colonial possessions of France as indicated in the +translation "French dominions." He was not ready officially to press the +matter so as to cause difficulties between the two nations and was +willing to have the two agents already appointed, "Skipwith at +Martinique and Bourne at St. Dominique", ask for a regular +exequatur.[273] + +He elaborated on his policy with reference to the West Indies in another +letter to Short, written three months later. In it will be found +expressed more discreetly, but no less firmly, the philosophy outlined +already with reference to Spain and the Mississippi. He maintained first +of all that the United States had no design whatever on the West +Indies, for "If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other +in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do +with conquest." This principle once established, he proceeded to examine +the situation from a practical point of view. The regulations imposed by +the French on their colonies are such that they cannot trade directly +with their neighbors; for the supplies necessary to relieve their mutual +wants have to be carried first to France in order to be exported either +to the colonies or to the American continent. This is contrary to the +natural order of things: "An exchange of surplusses and wants between +neighbor nations, is both a right and a duty under the moral law, and +measures against right should be mollified in their exercise, if it be +wished to lengthen them to the greatest term possible." It seemed to +Jefferson that such a right ought to be recognized by any unprejudiced +mind; but, unfortunately, "Europeans in general have been too long in +the habit of confounding force with right with respect to America." +Circumstances are such that these rights cannot be pressed very strongly +and "can be advanced only with delicacy", but what the United States +cannot do themselves, Lafayette perhaps can present informally to his +friends. He alone can make them understand that, while they are +establishing a new regime for their colonial possessions of the West +Indies, "in policy, if not in justice, they should be disposed to avoid +oppression, which, falling on us, as well as on their colonies, might +tempt us to act together."[274] + +Was this a veiled threat? Not exactly. It was an extension of +Montesquieu's theory of laws to international relations, an application +of the theories of the French economists on free trade. But even +supposing that the theory itself had some remote French origin, to a +large extent it was new and typically American. Only former colonies +which had won their complete independence could maintain that, in +matters of trade, the colonies were completely independent of the +metropolis, and that commercial and geographical considerations should +outweigh political regulations. The United States were strongly inclined +to use every favorable opportunity to make this principle obtain in +their relations with their neighbors, and what was a far more dangerous +thing, they considered this policy both "a right and a duty under the +moral law." It was not political imperialism to be sure, but in our days +it certainly would be called commercial imperialism under a moral +disguise. At that time, it was really a theory far in advance of both +the theory and practice of any European nation, and it is very doubtful +whether Jefferson would have found justification for it in any of the +authorities on the law of nations he had consulted with reference to the +navigation of the Mississippi.[275] + +There is no doubt that Jefferson fully realized all the implications of +his doctrine, for he submitted it to the President before sending it to +Short in cipher; but he insisted that, if the contents of his letter +were permitted to leak out at a favorable opportunity, "the National +Assembly might see the impolicy of insisting on particular conditions, +which, operating as grievances on us, as well as on their colonists, +might produce a concert of action."[276] + +The news of the flight of the king was for him another evidence of the +"fruits of that form of government, which heaps importance on idiots, +and which the Tories of the present day are trying to preach into our +favor." Then he added significantly: "I still hope the French revolution +will issue happily. I feel that the permanence of our own leans in some +degree on that; and that a failure there would be a powerful argument to +prove there would be a failure here."[277] + +Meanwhile his actions were far more cautious than his theories would +lead one to believe. When the Santo Domingo Assembly placed their +situation before the Government of the United States, asking for +ammunition, arms, and provisions to be charged against the money owed +France by the United States, Jefferson answered that although the United +States had with them "some common points of union in matters of +commerce" he could not do anything without the approbation of Ternant. +When the colonists asked him what would be the attitude of the United +States in case they became independent, Jefferson did not conceal the +fact that they would lay themselves open to any attack by a strong +nation and that their interest, as well as the interests of the United +States, was to see them retain their connection with their mother +country; and he finally decided to give them such small supplies from +time to time "as will keep them from real distress, and to wait with +patience for what would be a surplus, till M. Ternant can receive +instructions from France.... It would be unwise in the highest degree, +that the colonists should be disgusted with either France or us."[278] + +He was soon to be deprived, however, of direct news from France, for +Short was transferred from Paris to the Hague and Gouverneur Morris +appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to France.[279] He had to explain his +policy to the new minister, which he did on March 10, 1792, this time +insisting that nothing in the conduct or the views of the United States +should cause any apprehension to the French Government and that he +should allay all fears on that score.[280] But with Lafayette he still +insisted that if he did not mention the point again, it was largely +because he considered that it had been won: + + We have been less zealous in aiding them, lest your government should + feel any jealousy on our account. But, in truth, we as sincerely + wish their restoration and connection with you, as you do yourselves. + We are satisfied that neither your justice nor their distresses will + ever again permit their being forced to seek at dear and distant + markets those first necessaries of life which they may have at + cheaper markets, placed by nature at their door, and formed by her + for their support.[281] + +It was not until the latter part of 1792 that reiterated letters from +Morris, describing the situation and asking for instructions, forced +Jefferson to make a very important declaration on relations that could +be transacted with revolutionary governments. There again he displayed +the resourcefulness of a good lawyer combined with the idealism of a +political philosopher. Having no hint of the form of government that the +French were to adopt, he thought it necessary to lay down certain +principles to direct the conduct of the American plenipotentiary in +Paris. They were substantially as follows: The permanent principle of +the United States was to recognize any government "which is formed by +the will of the nation substantially declared." If the government to be +formed by the French presented such a character, there was no reason to +doubt that the United States would grant recognition, and Morris could +proceed without further ado to transact with them "every kind of +business." On the other hand, the government established might present +an entirely different complexion and in that case the recognition might +be more doubtful; but even then it was to be considered as a _de facto_, +if not a _de jure_ government, and it was the duty of the American +minister to discuss some matters with them in order to obtain +concessions "reforming the unfriendly restrictions on our commerce and +navigation."[282] The question as to Morris' safety was left entirely to +him to determine and could not very well be the object of precise +instructions. + +Two weeks later, Jefferson himself had an opportunity to make a +practical application of his policy. Although they had received no +formal authority from the National Assembly, the United States were +willing to contribute aids from time to time to Santo Domingo, and were +placing at their disposal for December the sum of forty thousand +dollars. But Jefferson insisted that such moneys as were thus obtained +were to be spent in America where supplies could be had cheapest, "and +where the same sum would consequently effect the greatest measure of +relief to the colony." Incidentally, it was spent also for the greatest +benefit of the American merchants, and strengthened the commercial +connection between the islands and the American continent, a point not +to be mentioned to the French envoy, but well worth keeping in +mind.[283] + +At the beginning of 1793, Jefferson was not only inclined to treat +favorably the new French Government but resented strongly any criticism +of it. When he discovered that in several letters his friend and +disciple Short had censured the proceedings of the French Jacobins, +Jefferson, fearing that he had been corrupted by aristocratic +friendships, undertook to set him right on the matter. He took the +following view of the situation: + + The contest had been between the Feuillant patriots favoring a free + constitution with an hereditary executive and the Jacobins who + thought that expunging that office was an absolute necessity. The + Feuillants had their day and their experiment had failed miserably. + The nation was with them in opinion and had finally won. Certainly in + the struggle many guilty persons fell without the forms of trial and + innocents with them. But altogether they are to be considered as + soldiers who have fallen during a battle; their memory will be + embalmed by truth and time. + +Meanwhile the only thing to consider was that the liberty of the whole +world depended on the issue of the contest: + + Was ever such a prize won with so little innocent blood? My own + affections have been deeply wounded by some of the martyrs to this + cause, but rather than it should have failed I would have seen half + the earth desolated; were there but an Adam and an Eve left in every + country, and left free, it would be better than as it is now. + +Short was then severely rebuked for having expressed in conversations +sentiments offensive to the French patriots. He was reminded that there +were in the United States "some characters of opposite principles +hostile to France, and fondly looking to England as the staff of their +hopes. Their prospects have certainly not brightened.... The successes +of republicanism in France have given the _coup de grace_ to their +prospects, and I hope to their projects." This was to be kept in mind by +Short, and, as Jefferson intended to retire at an early date, he called +his attention to the fact that not knowing who his successor would be +and into whose hands his further communications would fall, he had +better be prudent and not let his "too great sensibility to the +misfortunes of some dear friends obscure his republicanism."[284] + +In a communication to Gouverneur Morris, Jefferson was more reserved but +no less insistent upon the principle that the French Government was a +government _de jure_ as well as _de facto_: + + We surely cannot deny to any nation that right whereon our own + government is founded, that every one may govern itself according to + whatever form it pleases, and change these forms at its own will; and + that it may transact its business with foreign nations through + whatever organ it thinks proper, whether King, Convention, Assembly, + Committee, President, or anything else it may choose. The will of the + nation is the only essential thing to be regarded. Such being the + case, the United States not only should continue to pay the + installment on the debt but use their utmost endeavors to make + punctual payments. Urged by the strongest attachment to that country, + and thinking it is even providential that moneys lent to us in + distress could be repaid under like circumstances, we had no + hesitation to comply with the application, and arrangements are + accordingly taken, for furnishing this sum at epochs accommodated to + the demands and our means of paying it. + +This was the doctrine of national gratitude reaffirmed and illustrated, +but naturally relations could not be placed on an entirely sentimental +basis. Morris was instructed at the same time "to use and improve every +possible opportunity which may occur in the changeable scenes which are +passing, and to seize them as they occur, for placing our commerce with +that nation and its dependencies, on the freest and most encouraging +footing possible."[285] + +A week later news of the execution of the king arrived at Philadelphia. +For the fate of Louis XVI, Jefferson felt and expressed little personal +regret. He never held the monarch in high esteem: furthermore, the +example set by France might teach a good lesson to other autocrats and +"soften the monarchical governments, by rendering monarchs amenable to +punishment like other criminals, and doing away with that rage of +insolence and oppression, the inviolability of the King's person."[286] +Here again it is evident that domestic considerations were uppermost in +Jefferson's mind. Never could one correct too vigorously those who +wished to establish a monarchy in the United States. Whether he was +justified or not, Jefferson sincerely believed that the American +republic was in danger, and his attitude at that time reflects his fear +of the monocrats more than any real sympathy for the French Terrorists. + +Thus spoke Jefferson, the party man, and he made no mystery of his +sentiments either in his conversations or in his private letters. The +Secretary of State, however, could not easily afford to adopt publicly +the same attitude. Early in February Colonel W. S. Smith had brought the +intelligence that the French Minister Ternant, whose royalist opinions +shocked the French sympathizers in Philadelphia, would be recalled and +Citizen Genet would be sent in his place by the Republic. It was already +known that Genet would bring very advantageous propositions to the +United States, for he would come + + with full powers to give us all the privileges we can desire in their + countries, and particularly in the West Indies; that they even + contemplate to set them free the next summer; that they proposed to + emancipate South America, and will send forty-five ships of the line + there next spring, and Miranda at the head of the expedition; that + they desire our debt to be paid them in provisions, and have + authorized him to negotiate this.[287] + +On the other hand it was to be feared that Genet would remind the +American Government of the existence of the Treaty of 1778, by which the +United States agreed to give distinct advantages to French privateers +and to guarantee the integrity of the French West Indies. It was not +until April that it was known war had been declared between France and +England. Were the United States going to be dragged into the European +convulsions and would they have to side openly with their former ally? +Acting on the information received from Colonel Smith, Jefferson quickly +wrote to Carmichael and Short, asking them to refrain from mentioning +the Louisiana question to Spain, and chiefly to be very careful not to +"bind us to guarantee any of the Spanish colonies against their own +independence, nor indeed against any other nation." Jefferson believed +that there was a possibility of seeing France encourage the Spanish +colonies to revolt and would not have objected "to the receiving those +on the east side into our confederation." This was an eventuality not to +be lightly dismissed, and once more Jefferson's uppermost preoccupation +was not to please the French Revolutionists but to further the interests +of his country.[288] But before deciding upon any course of action it +was advisable to temporize and to find out from what quarter the wind +was about to blow. The only thing to do for the present was to wait and +to avoid any unpleasant complications with the powers at war; and first +of all to see to it that the United States should enjoy the rights and +privileges of a complete neutrality. Jefferson began sending +instructions to that effect to Samuel Shaw, consul at Canton, +China.[289] Two days later he wrote even more explicitly to Dumas: "We +wish not to meddle with the internal affairs of any country, nor with +the general affairs of Europe. Peace with all nations, and the right +which that gives us with all nations are our objects. It will be +necessary for all our public agents to exert themselves with vigilance +for securing to our vessels all the rights of neutrality, and from +preventing the vessels of other nations from usurping our flags."[290] + +As the cabinet met only one month later (April 18) at the request of +Washington to discuss the proclamation of neutrality, it is not without +importance to call attention to the date and the text of that letter. +Winning Jefferson over to the position finally adopted by the American +Government could not present insuperable difficulties since he had +already outlined the same policy even before consulting with the +President, and on his own initiative had sent instructions to the +agents. + +When the Cabinet met to consider the emergency, and the several +secretaries were invited by Washington to submit their opinions in +writing, the course to be followed was officially agreed upon and +Washington issued the famous Proclamation of Neutrality on April +22,--the very same day the new minister from France landed at +Charleston. Jefferson did not lose any time notifying the American +agents abroad of the policy of the United States, repeating +substantially the instructions already sent to Dumas one month +before.[291] At the same time Ternant was officially notified that +credits opened in favor of the West Indies had to be stopped;[292] as +the emergency had passed and a regular government had been established +in France, money could be appropriated from the regular installments +paid on the debt. + +[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON + +_From the portrait by Rembrandt Peale_] + +According to a letter written to Monroe,[293] Jefferson saw with a +secret pleasure, the monocrat papers publish the most furious philippics +against England, and the old spirit of 1776 rekindled from Charleston to +Boston. He expressed the pious wish that "we may be able to repress the +spirit of the people within the limits of fair neutrality." But he +revolted against what he considered a subservient attitude to England on +the part of Hamilton. It is one of the few occasions in which he +departed in a letter (I do not count the "Anas") from his judicial +attitude: "In the meantime," he said, "Hamilton is panick struck, if we +refuse our breech to every kick which Great Britain may choose to give +it. In order to preserve even a sneaking neutrality a fight is necessary +in every council for our votes are generally two and a half against one +and a half." + +Jefferson's private opinion might have favored the French Revolution, as +it undoubtedly did. I do not see, however, that in any important +circumstance he departed from the strict line of neutrality which he had +traced for the country. + +He sent instructions to Thomas Pinckney[294] to the effect that, in +order to avoid any violation of neutrality, passports could be issued to +vessels only in American ports; that "in other lands American citizens +were free to purchase and use any foreign built vessels, as those were +entitled to the same protection as home built vessels." That all vessels +belonging to citizens of the United States loaded with grain to the port +of one of the belligerents could not be stopped by the other +belligerent if going to an unblockaded port. + +Then Genet, still at Charleston and before being regularly accredited, +took upon himself to outfit privateers and to commission them. "The +British ship _Grange_, while lying at anchor in the bay of Delaware, +within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, was taken +possession of by the _Embuscade_, a frigate of the French Republic, +brought to port where she was detained as a prize and the crew kept +prisoners."[295] Ternant was asked to detain the vessel, waiting for a +decision to be taken concerning the representations of the British +minister, Hammond. But it will be seen in Jefferson's letter to +Hammond[296] that he did not hesitate to grant that the capture of the +_Grange_ was not "warranted by the usage of nations, nor by the existing +treaties between the United States and France", nor, Jefferson added, +"by any law of the land." On the other hand he maintained that agents of +the French Government were free to purchase "arms and military +accoutrements" with an intent to export them to France, and that +citizens of the United States could sell such articles, being duly +warned, however, that they were subject to confiscation should they fall +into the hands of a belligerent. + +Indeed, it took all the calamitous blunders of Genet to turn Jefferson +against him. From Charleston, where he had landed, to Philadelphia, his +march had been a triumph. The citizens of Philadelphia, hearing that the +President might refuse to receive him, had even decided to give him an +ovation and to meet him at Gray's Ferry. He delivered his credentials on +May 18, and at once communicated the object of his mission in a style +which now appears grandiloquent, but simply reflected that enthusiasm +for America which was running so high in France at the time. "In short," +wrote Jefferson to Madison, "he offers everything, and asks +nothing."[297] This was too good to be true, and too wonderful to last +long. + +Less than three weeks later (June 5) Jefferson had to send to Genet +strong representations on his attitude and pointed out several breaches +of neutrality, particularly in the arming of French privateers in +American ports, stating rather stiffly that it was "the _right_ of every +nation to prohibit acts of sovereignty from being exercised by any other +nation within its limits and the duty of a neutral nation to prohibit +such as would injure one of the warring powers." + +But in a letter to Hammond he stated that the measures could not be +retrospective. In the first days of the war, French citizens, duly +commissioned by the authorities of their country, had captured British +vessels. It was impossible for the United States to rescue those vessels +from the captors. All that could be done was to prevent the repetition +of such an incident and to order the departure of all French privateers +from the ports of the United States. It was fine legal reasoning, not +without some of that hairsplitting for which Jefferson reproached +Randolph. Whether Randolph had a hand or not in the reaching of that +decision is another question. Jefferson indorsed it in transmitting it +both to Hammond and Genet. + +Another proposition of Genet did not meet with more favorable approval. +The Republic was hard pressed for money, and the new plenipotentiary had +been requested to make every possible effort "to obtain payment in one +lump sum of all the annuities coming to France, taking the debt in +produce if necessary, or changing it into bonds to be sold to the +public." To this Jefferson was unequivocally opposed, although he +referred the President to Hamilton. He recommended payment in advance of +the installments due for the year, but strongly objected to changing the +form of the debt.[298] He wrote, furthermore, to Gouverneur Morris to +acquaint him with the situation and to request him "to prevent any such +proposition in the future from being brought forward."[299] + +As a matter of fact, although Jefferson expressed pious and fervent +wishes for the success of the French, I cannot see that he officially +did much to further their cause. He was not even pleased by the +agitation and propaganda in their behalf carried on in America by +enthusiastic patriots. This appears very clearly in a letter to his +son-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph, which, better than any official +document, indicates his state of mind at the end of June, 1793: + + The French have been guilty of great errors in their conduct towards + other nations, not only in insulting uselessly all crowned heads, but + endeavoring to force liberty on their neighbors in their own form. + They seem to be correcting themselves on the latter point; the war + between them and England embarrasses our government daily and + immensely. The predilection of our citizens for France renders it + very difficult to suppress their attempts to cruise against the + English on the ocean, and to do justice to the latter in cases where + they are entitled to it.[300] + +Monroe had sent him a long dissertation on the proclamation of +neutrality which he judged both "unpolitick and unconstitutional"; for, +if the President "possesses the right to say we shall be neutral, he +might say we should not be."[301] + +To this Jefferson answered that his friends' apprehensions were somewhat +exaggerated, for the United States being at peace with England, the +so-called proclamation of neutrality--which, by the way, did not contain +the word neutrality--did nothing but maintain a _status quo_. This was a +fine legal distinction, not very convincing, but very characteristic of +Jefferson's state of mind at that time and of his reluctance to favor +the French side. Had he ever wished to do it, the attitude of the French +envoy would have soon forced him to adopt a different policy. + +The case of Citizen Genet is too well known to require elaborate +treatment. Less than six weeks after his arrival in Philadelphia, +Jefferson had given him up as hopeless and dangerous: + + Never in my opinion, was so calamitous an appointment made, as that + of the present minister of France here. Hot headed, all imagination, + no judgment, passionate, disrespectful & even indecent towards the + President in his written as well as verbal communications, talking of + appeals from him to Congress, from them to the people, urging the + most unreasonable & groundless propositions, & in the most + dictatorial style.[302] + +The case of the _Little Sarah_, a British prize, taken to Philadelphia +and refitted as a privateer by Genet's orders, brought the matter to a +head. Genet was warned that the vessel could not sail; he refused to +give definite assurances that it would not be ordered to sea. Washington +was away at the time, and Knox and Hamilton proposed mounting a battery +of cannon to prevent the sailing of the vessel, a measure strongly +opposed by Jefferson, determined to avoid at all cost measures +tantamount to a declaration of war. The _Little Sarah_ and the +_Democrat_ escaped, and Washington in vehement words manifested his +disapproval of the weakness shown on this occasion. The least the +American Government could do was to ask that Genet be recalled, and it +was so decided at a meeting of the Cabinet on August 3. In a long letter +intended for the French Government, but sent to Gouverneur Morris and +communicated to Genet himself, Jefferson drew up a terrible indictment +of the French minister. Hamilton and Knox were decidedly in favor of +stronger measures and of deciding then and there upon the "_renvoi_" of +Genet. Jefferson, following his constant policy, was against a measure +that could be construed as the recognition that a state of war existed +between the two countries. This has been sometimes interpreted as +evincing partiality to France on his part, but entries in the "Anas" +under August 20 and August 23 demonstrate beyond any doubt that he was +also guided by his uppermost desire to promote the interests of his +country. + +There was at least some reason to believe that Genet's conduct would not +receive the support of his Government, and on the other hand he had +brought over with him certain proposals worth considering for a treaty +referring to the commerce with the West Indies. Although the Cabinet had +never considered the question formally, Jefferson estimated the matter +of such importance that he had taken it upon himself to discuss it with +Genet in several conversations. To leave the friendly overtures of the +French Republic without any answer would not only be insulting but +highly unpolitic, since the Executive might be accused "of neglecting +the interests of the United States." Under these circumstances some +means had to be found of sparing the feelings of the French Government, +so as not to lose entirely the chances of concluding a treaty so +advantageous to the United States. As Secretary of State, Jefferson had +to find a satisfactory formula. This was to ask the French Government to +recall Genet, but at the same time to appoint his successor and to renew +to this successor the powers granted originally to Genet. Such was the +tenor of his letter to Morris, a very clever solution to a very +difficult situation. As for Genet himself, he was to be tolerated until +the arrival of his successor. + +Unfortunately the "citizen" did not know how to keep quiet or when to +quit. Not a dishonest man in ordinary life, not even an unintelligent +man, he was the greatest bungler ever sent by a friendly nation to +another. When he arrived in May, 1793, he had public opinion largely in +his favor. Members of Congress and of the government, except possibly +Hamilton, were not hostile to France; the French envoy could have +obtained distinct advantages for his country if he had proceeded slowly +and with ordinary caution. Two months later he had succeeded in turning +against himself and against the country he represented the whole of +public opinion, in sowing germs of distrust never to be eradicated, in +fixing and crystallizing all sorts of prejudices and unfavorable +generalizations about France. + +Jefferson had made all possible efforts to keep the disaffection of the +American Government toward the French minister as much under cover as +possible. But Citizen Genet threw down the gauntlet by publishing part +of his official correspondence, thus forcing an appeal to the people and +running the risk of arousing the "disgusts" Jefferson had so much wished +to avoid.[303] A week later, he had to admit to Madison that Genet's +conduct "has given room to the enemies of France to come forward in a +style of acrimony against that nation which they never dared to have +done. The disapprobation of the agent mingles with the reprehension of +his nation and gives a toleration to that which it never had +before."[304] + +By a strange irony of fate, one of the last acts of Jefferson as +Secretary of State was a final protest against Genet's attitude. Six +months before he had been notified that he could not be received by the +Executive and that all communications from him had to be made in +writing. Deciding to appeal to Congress over the head of the President, +Genet had copies of his instructions printed, demanding that they should +be laid before both houses. A more stupid and childish step could hardly +be imagined. Jefferson, requested by the President to draw up an answer +to Genet, wrote at first a scathing denunciation of the French minister +which was probably thought too strong, for it is marked "not inserted" +on the manuscript:[305] + + The terms in which you permit yourself in this and some other of your + letters to speak of the President of the U. S., and the influence and + impressions you venture to ascribe to him, are calculated to excite + sentiments which need no explanation. On what grounds of truth they + are hazarded, how to reconcile them to decorum, to the respect due to + the person and character of our chief magistrate, and to the nation + over which he presides and that too from the representative of a + friendly people, are questions left to your mature reflection. + +The letter which was finally sent, more moderate in its terms, was +nevertheless a formal reminder of diplomatic proprieties: + + Your functions as the missionary of a foreign mission here, are + confined to the transactions of the affairs of your nation with the + Executive of the United States; that the communications, which are to + pass between the Executive and Legislative branches, cannot be a + subject for your interference, and that the President must be left to + judge for himself what matters his duty or the public good may + require him to propose to the deliberations of Congress. I have + therefore the honor of returning you the copies sent for + distribution.[306] + +That very same day Jefferson resigned his office into the hands of +Washington, assuring him that in his retirement he was taking with him +"a lively sense of the President's goodness, and would continue +gratefully to remember it."[307] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +MONTICELLO--AGRICULTURE AND POLITICS + + +When Jefferson left Philadelphia for what he sincerely believed would be +definite retirement from the field of politics, he felt weary, tired, +and already old. He had transacted all the business of his office with a +minimum of clerical assistance, attending himself to all the details not +only of foreign but also of domestic affairs, sometimes translating +documents which he did not trust Freneau with, preparing reports for the +President, digging in his manuals of international law, Wolfe, +Puffendorff, Vatel, and Grotius. The actual labor was enormous, the +variety of subjects amazing; many times during the course of a day he +had to shift from one subject to another. Under fire all the time, +harassed by the Federalist papers, consulted by the leaders of the party +which was beginning to form, he had not broken down under the strain, +but was in urgent need of complete rest and agricultural quietude. He +had packed books and furniture in advance and sent everything to +Monticello; his letter to Genet written, he set out for Virginia without +even waiting for the justification that would result from the order to +publish his correspondence with the French minister. + +At that time a vague idea that he could turn a new leaf and start a new +life may fugitively have crossed his mind. He had respectfully but +profoundly admired Madame de Corny when he was in Paris. News from her +had come through Mrs. Church; Mr. de Corny had died; Madame de Corny +left a widow in very limited circumstances had retired to Rouen.[308] +It seems that he entertained the hope that she might decide to move to +America and in that case he would have liked to see her at Monticello: +"Madame de Cosway is in a convent ... that she would have rather sought +the mountain-top. How happy should I be that it were _mine_, that you, +she, and Madame de Corny would seek." But he had seen too many of these +brilliant French women in Philadelphia to believe that a Parisian could +ever become accustomed to the simplicity of Monticello and to its lack +of entertainments, and he made the suggestion very timidly: "I know of +no country where the remains of a fortune could place her so much at her +ease as this, and where public esteem is so much attached to worth, +regardless of wealth; our manners & the state of society here are so +different from those to which her habits have been formed, that she +would lose more perhaps in that scale." After all, he had not changed so +much since he had declared his flame to Belinda, almost in the same +terms, twenty years earlier. This was the typical Jeffersonian way of +presenting his own wishes, of letting the others decide after he had +stated the pros and cons; clearly he was not made to win personal +triumphs, either in love or in politics. + +Of politics he was utterly sick. He pictured himself spending the rest +of his days in bucolic occupations. "The length of my tether is now +fixed for life from Monticello to Richmond," he wrote to Gates. "My +private business can never call me elsewhere, and certainly politics +will not, which I have ever hated both in theory and practice."[309] + +Writing to Mrs. Church, he had gone into more details. + + I am to be liberated from the hated occupations of politics retire + into the bosom of my family, my farm, & my books. I have my house to + build, my family to form, and to watch for the happiness of those who + labor for mine. I have one daughter married to a man of science, + sense, virtue and competence; in whom indeed I have nothing more to + wish. They live with me. If the other shall be as fortunate in the + process of time, I shall imagine myself as blessed as the most + blessed of the patriarchs.[310] + +At Monticello he found Martha and her husband, Thomas Mann Randolph, and +induced the young couple to stay with him. Maria was now a tall girl, +vivacious and witty, who would soon find a suitor. Devoting himself +entirely to his family and domestic cares, Jefferson plunged into the +reorganization of his estate left to an overseer for more than ten +years, and granted so little attention to politics that he did not even +subscribe to any newspaper, being quite content with those published at +Richmond. "I think it is Montaigne who has said that ignorance is the +softest pillow on which a man can rest his head," he wrote to Edmund +Randolph. "I am sure it is true as to everything political, and shall +endeavor to estrange myself to everything of that character."[311] Since +that time there have been in American politics many instances of +politicians who left for a hunting party, or retired to their farms in +order to avoid responsibility. This was not the attitude of Jefferson; +his was no temporary retirement while waiting for the storm to blow +itself over. Had he chosen to remain in Philadelphia, as he had been +asked to do by Washington, he would have at least checked Hamilton's +personal influence and counterbalanced in Washington's mind the advice +and counsels of his enemy. His party had been reorganized and the +republicans had just obtained a majority in the new Congress, but his +principles were far from being secure. He indicated it himself in the +same letter to Randolph when he wrote: + + I indulge myself on one political topic only, that is, in declaring + to my countrymen the shameless corruption of a portion of the + Representatives to the first and second Congresses, and their + implicit devotion to the Treasury. I think I do good in this, because + it may produce exertions to reform the evil on the success of which + the form of the government is to depend. + +Shortly after coming back to Monticello, he discovered, somewhat to his +dismay, that the rank and file of the good people of the country did not +pay much attention to the political battle which was still raging in +Philadelphia. He went to "court" at Charlottesville at the beginning of +February and was amazed to find that his neighbors had not heard of +Madison's speeches in Congress or even of the recall of Genet. + + I could not have supposed--he wrote to Madison--when at Philadelphia + that so little of what was passing there could be known even at + Kentucky as is the case here. Judging from this of the rest of the + Union, it is evident to me that the people are not in a condition + either to approve or disapprove of their government, nor consequently + to influence it.[312] + +This would tend to give confirmation to the supposition I timidly +ventured in the last chapter. Neither the inflammatory speeches made in +Congress, nor the foundation of democratic clubs, nor the newspaper +battle between different editors had been able to rouse the people of +the country. In America, as in every other country, the rural +population, at that time the majority of the population, remained +passive and took little interest in discussions that did not immediately +affect their interests. Then, too, as in our days, the press was able to +modify and to influence to some extent public opinion, but did not +express it. Editors were years in advance of the slow-moving masses in +their prognostications. It takes a national emergency, a violent crisis +or a well-organized political machine to coalesce the great majority of +a people and force them to see beyond the limited horizon of their +village, their county or their State. This is so even now, and it was +certainly so a century and a half ago, when the parochial and provincial +spirit was still stronger than the national spirit. + +Since this was realized by Jefferson, it is difficult to understand how +he did not come to the conclusion that his clear duty was to go back to +Philadelphia and do his utmost to educate an apathetic people. But he +was not the man to enjoy strife and struggle; he was too sensitive of +personal criticism and attacks, too timid also to care to exchange blows +with an opponent. He was the type of man who likes to play chess by +correspondence, to suggest solutions, but not the one "to knead the +dough", as the French say, and to take an active part in the daily game +of politics. + +From his retirement he found time to answer letters from Madison and +Monroe. Before leaving Philadelphia, he had transmitted to the House of +Representatives a Report on the Privileges and Restrictions of the +Commerce of the United States.[313] It was incumbent upon Madison to +draw from it specific recommendations. Jefferson pointed out in a +dispassionate way the obstacles put by Great Britain to the growth of +American commerce, her lack of reciprocal treatment, her prohibitions +and restrictions. He ended by indicating that France had, of her own +accord, proposed negotiations for improving the commercial relations +between the two countries by a new treaty on fair and equal principles; +that her internal disturbances alone had prevented her from doing it, +though the government had repeatedly manifested reassuring dispositions. +On the contrary, "in spite of friendly advances and arrangements +proposed to Great Britain, they being already on as good a footing in +law, and a better in fact, than the most favored nation, they have not, +as yet, discovered any disposition to have it meddled with." As a +remedy, pending the conclusion of treaties, Jefferson laid down five +principles to protect American commerce and retaliate in so far as would +not hurt the interests of the American people, although at the beginning +trade might suffer from it. A storm broke out in Congress, and once +more Jefferson became the target of the Federalists. + +He was not uninformed of these developments, for Madison and Monroe sent +him several letters at short intervals at the beginning of March; nor +did he leave his lieutenants without directions. He still hoped that a +war could be avoided; but he could not conceive that it would be +possible in any event to let Great Britain seize the French West Indies: +"I have no doubt that we ought to interpose at a proper time, and +declare both to France and England that these islands are to rest with +France, and that we will make a common cause with the latter for that +object." Having thus outlined these policies, he relapsed into his +ataraxy, affirming that he had not seen a Philadelphia paper until he +had received those inclosed by Madison. The patience of Monroe must have +been taxed to the breaking point when, after sending to his chief a long +letter full of detailed information, he received in answer an equally +long letter replete with agricultural disquisitions--"on such things as +you are too little of a farmer to take much interest in."[314] + +The supposed leader of the Republicans was not more encouraging in his +letters to Madison when he wrote a month later: "I feel myself so +thoroughly weaned from the interest I took in the proceedings there, +while there, that I have never a wish to see one [a newspaper], and +believe that I shall never take another paper of any sort. I find my +mind totally absorbed by my rural occupation."[315] Yet the old fame +flared up occasionally, as when he learned that Hamilton was being +considered to succeed Pinckney who would be recalled from England: "a +more degrading measure could not have been proposed," he wrote to +Monroe. In regard to Hamilton, he foresaw an investigation on the +Treasury and had wanted to withdraw before it took place.[316] + +But he fell back into the same detached attitude of mind, when he wrote +to Washington the next day: "I return to farming with an ardor which I +scarcely knew in my youth, and which has got the better entirely of my +love of study. Instead of writing ten or twelve letters a day, which I +have been in the habit of doing as a thing of course, I put off +answering my letters now, farmer-like, till a rainy day." + +As a matter of fact, I doubt very much whether he had reached any such +equanimity. For if he was unwilling to reenter public life, he was not +averse to giving his opinion and advice in critical circumstances. While +Madison's resolutions were still before Congress, news arrived in +Philadelphia of the seizure of American ships in the Caribbean, under +the Order in Council of November 6. Indignation was running high and +democratic societies held patriotic meetings throughout the country. War +seemed imminent, and although Jefferson preferred to contemplate the +tranquil growth "of his lucern and potatoes", he still felt indignant +when thinking "of these scoundrels" (the British). Yet he believed that +war should be avoided and wrote to that effect to Tench Coxe: + + We are alarmed here with the apprehension of war; and sincerely + anxious that it may be avoided; but not at the expense either of our + faith or honour.... As to myself I love peace, and I am anxious that + we should give the world still another useful lesson, by showing to + them other modes of punishing injuries than by war, which is as much + a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferers.[317] + +To Washington he wrote two weeks later a most amusing letter, starting +with a dissertation on crop rotation and "a certain essence of dung, one +pint of which would manure an acre according to Lord Kaims", but not +forgetting, in a negligent way, to slip in at the end a piece of +political advice: "to try to extricate ourselves from the event of a +war; at the same time to try to rouse public opinion in Great Britain +and the only way to do it being to distress their commerce." But he +added once more, "I cherish tranquillity too much to suffer political +things to enter my mind at all."[318] This was nothing but the +non-intercourse policy then debated by the government and of which +Jefferson had evidently heard. When his letter reached the President, a +solution had already been adopted and Jay had sailed for England on the +mission which was to end with his signing the famous or infamous treaty. +The summer went on without any new letter from Jefferson. A letter of +the Secretary of State, asking him whether he would not consider lending +a hand to the President in the present emergency, found him in bed +"under a paroxysm of rheumatism which had kept him for ten days in +constant torment." Then he emphatically added, + + No circumstance will evermore tempt me to engage in any thing + public.... It is a great pleasure to me to retain the esteem and + approbation of the President, and this forms the only ground of any + reluctance at being unable to comply with every wish of his. Pray + convey these sentiments, and a thousand more to him, which my + situation does not permit me to go into.[319] + +This was the very time when the Whisky Boys of Eastern Pennsylvania +revolted against the excise laws of Hamilton which fell on them harder +than on any other part of the rural population, for they could not +market their grain for lack of transportation facilities and their only +means of living was distilling it into whisky. Individual acts of +resistance to the agents of the excise culminated in August, 1794, in an +armed convention denouncing the law and defying the government on +Braddock field, under the leadership of the chief expert of the +Jeffersonians, Albert Gallatin. Not only was the militia called but the +President and Hamilton went to visit the camp at Carlisle. The +insurrection ended without bloodshed, but the side of the +insurrectionists was taken up in the large cities by the Democratic +societies in which the Irish element was largely represented--hot-headed +people, recently come from an oppressed land, who felt an ingrained +spirit of revolt against soldiers and men in uniform,--until dressed in +a uniform themselves. The immediate effect of the Hamiltonian policy was +to amalgamate rural population and urban groups of mechanics and small +operatives in a hostile attitude towards the aristocratic government. +Hamilton thought the time had come to crush the vanguard of the +Jeffersonian troops, and Washington, who had an inveterate hatred of +anything smacking of disorder and mob rule, lent a favorable ear. He +wrote a stinging denunciation of the Democratic societies in his yearly +message to Congress. + +This time Jefferson was aroused, although personally he had never had +anything to do with Tammany in New York nor any of the Democratic +societies in Philadelphia. He fairly exploded in a letter to James +Madison: the denunciation of the Democratic societies was "one of the +extraordinary acts of boldness of which we have seen so many from the +faction of monocrats." How could one condemn the Democratic societies +and let alone the Society of the Cincinnati, "a self-created one, +carving out for itself hereditary distinctions, lowering over our +Constitution eternally." It was an inexcusable aggression. With regard +to the transactions against the excise law, he refused to take seriously +the "meeting of Braddock field", and ridiculed the mobilizing of an army +against men who were not thinking seriously of separating, "simply +consulting about it."--"But to consult on a question does not amount to +a determination of that question in the affirmative, still less to the +acting _on such determination_," he advised. A fine legal distinction +which Jefferson forgot at the time of the Burr conspiracy! But "the +first and only cause of the whole trouble was the infernal excise law." +The first error was "to admit it by the Constitution"; the second, to +act on that admission; the third and last will be to "make it the +instrument of dismembering the Union." In conclusion he advised Madison +to stay at his post, "to take the front of the battle" for Jefferson's +own security, and once again he reaffirmed that he would not give up his +retirement for the empire of the universe.[320] + +On April 23, 1795, he wrote to James Madison to refuse categorically any +resumption of office high or low. That was already his firm resolution +when he had left Philadelphia and it was even stronger then, since his +health had broken down during the last eight months: "My age requires +that I should place my affairs in a clear state. The question is forever +closed with me." To propose his name would only mean a division of votes +in the party and that was to be avoided before everything.[321] To Giles +he repeated that his days "were busy with now and then a pious +ejaculation for the French and Dutch, returning with due despatch to my +clover, potatoes, wheat, etc."[322] In the meantime Jay had returned +with the treaty surrendering practically all the claims of the United +States, placing the country in a position of constant inferiority with +reference to England, opening the Mississippi to the British trade and +forbidding American vessels to carry molasses, sugar, and cotton to any +ports except their own. It was laid in special session before the Senate +on June 8, ratified on June 24, and sent to the President without the +contents being known to any one. It would have remained secret if +Thomson Mason of Virginia had not taken a copy of it to Bache, who +published it the next day in the _Aurora_. It was a most humiliating and +scarcely defensible transaction: Jay had been outgeneraled at every step +by Grenville and, in a way, betrayed by Hamilton. But although it was +distinctly a Federalist victory, it offered good campaign material for +the Republicans.[323] + +On August 30, Jefferson sent to Thomas Mann a sort of apologia, telling +him how, "while all hands were below deck, every one at his own business +and the captain in his cabin attending to the log book a rogue of a +pilot had run the ship into an enemy's port." Not that he wanted to +express any opinion of his own but, "metaphor apart, there is much +dissatisfaction with Mr. Jay and his treaty.... For my part, I consider +myself now but as a passenger leaving the world and its government to +those who are likely to live longer in it."[324] + +With H. Tazewell he was more outspoken: a glance at the treaty had been +enough to convince him that the United States would be much better +without any treaty than with a treaty of that sort. "Acquiescence under +insult is not the way to escape war," and he could only hope that the +Executive's sense of public honor and spirit would be awakened. To +Madison he gave the benefit of his advice. There was no leader in the +camp of the Republicans to take advantage of the situation; rioting in +the streets could not influence favorably the judgment of Washington, +who had not yet signed, and there was always Hamilton, who had retired +to be sure, but was "a host in himself"; the Federalists were in a +defile, but "too much security will give time to his talents and +indefatigableness to extricate them." He ended with an appeal to +Madison: "We have had only middling performances to oppose to him. In +truth, when he comes forward, there is nobody but yourself who can meet +him.... For God's sake take your pen, and give a fundamental reply to +Curtius and Camillus."[325] + +With real perspicacity Jefferson had put his finger on the fundamental +weakness of the Republicans. They were only the yeomanry; they counted +a number of very honest and distinguished men; some of them were even +brilliant in debates and could flatter themselves that they were +victorious, as long as the Federalist chieftain did not appear in person +on the battlefield. When he did, however, they had no outstanding man +with the same capacity for work, the same ability to marshal facts, to +present cogent arguments and to use biting sarcasm. Jefferson alone, +with his great felicity of expression and his mastery of style, could +have opposed successfully the Federalist leader, but, as he wrote to +Rutledge: "after five and twenty years' continual employment (in the +service of our country), I trust it will be thought I have fulfilled my +tour, like a punctual soldier and may claim my discharge."[326] + +That he would have been a redoubtable opponent, had he chosen to be so, +appears in a letter he sent at the time to William B. Giles. The treaty +once ratified by the Senate and signed by the President, it was thought +that the House, on which fell the duty of making the necessary +appropriations for the enforcement of the different articles, might +possibly pass in their turn on the merits of the document. Randolph had +been requested by the President to give his opinion on the subject and +did it in one of those written consultations which Jefferson had so +often been asked to prepare himself, when in the official family of +Washington. To Giles, who was to attack the treaty in the House with +Gallatin and Madison, Jefferson sent an elaborate and cruel dissection +of Randolph's opinion: + + The fact is that he has generally given his principles to one party, + and his practice to the other, the oyster to one, the shell to the + other.... On the precedent now to be set will depend the future + construction of our Constitution, and whether the powers of + legislation shall be transferred from the President, Senate, and + House of Representatives to the President and Senate, and Piamingo + or any other Indian, Algerine, or other chief.[327] + +Clearly he was getting back into his stride and when thoroughly aroused, +as he had been once or twice in his career, he could also hit back or +rather pierce with rapid thrust of the rapier. And yet he was not really +thinking of reentering the arena, for at the same time he was offering +to George Wythe to superintend an edition of the laws of Virginia, of +which he had made as complete a collection as he could, "either the +manuscripts crumbling into dust or printed."[328] Yet he had an eye upon +the budding geniuses of the Democratic party. Soon he realized the value +of Albert Gallatin, who had undertaken a thorough analysis and +demolition of Hamilton's administration: + + Hamilton's object from the beginning was to throw them into forms + which would be utterly undecypherable.... If Mr. Gallatin would + undertake to reduce this chaos to order, present us with a clear view + of our finances, and put them in a form as simple as they will admit, + he will merit an immortal honor. The accounts of the United States + ought to be, and may be made as simple as those of a common farmer, + and capable of being understood by common farmers.[329] + +With such sentences, simple and easily remembered, such felicity of +expression and of thought, one can make a lasting impression on the +people, without addressing directly the Indians of Tammany Hall or +participating in whisky riots. One can also throw suspicion of +intentional dishonesty on one's adversaries, coin mottoes which, +repeated in a political campaign, fix themselves easily in the +unsophisticated minds of the common people. But it does not ensue +necessarily that Jefferson was an arch plotter, pulling the strings and +laying plots to explode years later. He was quite sincere in his dislike +of Hamilton's budgets, for the simple reason that he did not understand +them himself. The master financier and expert was beyond Jefferson's +comprehension; in many respects he was even far ahead of his own time, +while Jefferson, in matters of finance at least, remained all his life +an eighteenth-century man. But the young Swiss-American who had made his +mark in the whisky insurrection must have felt himself elated at +Jefferson's approval. By such appropriate compliments and +encouragements, great tacticians create and foster party and personal +loyalty, and Jefferson was a past master in this difficult art. + +As he had encouraged Gallatin, he encouraged Giles, kept in touch with +him and through him sent a word of congratulation to a new Republican +recruit, Doctor Leib: "I know not when I have received greater +satisfaction than on reading the speech of Doctor Leib in the +Pennsylvania Assembly. He calls himself a new member. I congratulate +honest republicanism on such an acquisition, and promise myself much +from a career which begins on such elevated ground."[330] He reminded +him that Democratic societies were proscribed in England and that it +would be interesting to know the terms of the bill proposed by Pitt +against them. Gallatin again called for his commendation for a speech +printed in Bache's _Aurora_, the sole organ of the Republicans since +Freneau had discontinued his _Gazette_: "It is worthy of being printed +at the end of the _Federalist_, as the only rational commentary on the +part of the law to which it relates."[331] Then Jefferson raved over the +indignities heaped upon the country by the treaty, over the point made +by the Federalists that the House had nothing to say in the matter, and +in his fury he even went so far as to treat Washington more severely +than he had ever done before. "Curse on his virtues," he exclaimed; +"they have undone his country." This political advice was naturally +buried under rural news: "Mercury at twenty degrees in the morning. +Corn fallen at Richmond to twenty shillings." But this bucolic note +stopped short and the political thermometer was consulted again and +indicated that "Nicholas was sure of his election, R. Joue and Jo. +Monroe, in competition for the other vote of the county." + +Three weeks later Jefferson dug in his files to send Madison more +ammunition, showing clearly that, at least in one case, Washington +himself had recognized formerly the authority of the legislature, that +is to say both branches of the House, when it came to ratifying the +treaty with the new Emperor of Morocco.[332] Then he wrote to his former +neighbor, Philip Mazzei, a letter which was to cause him more +difficulties than any of the previous acts of his career. He thought +that he could and should give news of the country to this curious +character, who had come to Virginia as a vine-grower to engage in +agricultural experiments but who was also the former agent of the Duke +of Tuscany and of Stanislas of Poland, a Grimm "_au petit pied_", a +literary correspondent and a philosopher. In all fairness to Jefferson a +preliminary remark is here necessary. He was apt in conversation to take +his cue from his interlocutors rather than to force on them any topic, +and he was apt also to speak in the same tone and same diapason. In his +letters he instinctively yielded to the same tendency, changing his tone +and style according to his correspondent. Writing to an Italian he +adopted a flowery, metaphoric, and emphatic manner not often found in +his letters, and in his desire to flatter the Tuscan ear of his friend, +he overshot the mark and overemphasized what he would have stated much +more moderately to an American: + + Against us are the Executive, the Judiciary, two out of three + branches of the Legislature, all the officers of the government, all + who want to be officers, all timed men who prefer the calm of + despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty.... It would give you a + fever were I to name to you the apostates who have gone over to + these heresies, men who were Samsons in the field and Solomons in + the council, but who have had their heads shorn by the harlot + England.... + +But these men had not realized the great strength of the party then +coming into being: "We have only to awake and snap the Lilliputian cords +with which they have been entangling us during the first sleep which +succeeded our labors." Then came the customary mention of his health, +even more mournful than usual: "I begin to feel the effects of age. My +health has suddenly broken down, with symptoms which give me to believe +that I shall not have much to encounter of the _tedium vitae_."[333] +Little did he believe when he indulged in this rhetorical outburst that +Mazzei would give the letter to an Italian paper, that it would be +translated from the Italian into French, from French into English and +finally appear in America. + +For Jefferson was eager to remain on good personal terms with +Washington, even if he strongly disapproved of his policies, and this +appeared when a few months later he denied having communicated to +Bache's _Aurora_ the questionnaire on the _Little Sarah_, and he seized +the occasion to assure Washington once again of his affectionate +sentiments. But he was already thinking of protecting himself, for in +the same letter he asked the President to send him copies of the +opinions presented by Hamilton and Randolph as "they had his opinion and +he never had been able to obtain copy of theirs." And significantly he +added, "Though I do not know that it will ever be of the least +importance to me, yet one loves to possess arms, though they hope never +to have occasion for them."[334] + +The summer was apparently entirely occupied in agricultural and +scientific pursuits. La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, the former president of +the National Assembly, at whose house Jefferson used to visit when in +Paris to meet the "_republicains_", was then traveling through the +United States and stopped at Monticello for a week. The Duke has left us +a most valuable description of Jefferson's establishment and the country +around it. He praised the house "which will deserve when completed to be +ranked with the most pleasant mansions in France and in Europe." He +admired the view from the hill: for "Mr. Jefferson's house commands one +of the most extensive prospects you can meet with." But his eye was that +of a refined and overcivilized Frenchman of the eighteenth century +accustomed to limited horizons, limited forests, to a certain balance +between the woods, the rivers and the lands inclosed with hedges, to a +nature stamped, modified, remolded by centuries of human labor. The +contrast between the "moderate French landscapes" and the unlimited +vistas in which plowed fields occupied a negligible space, impressed him +almost painfully. + +[Illustration: MONTICELLO AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY + +_Copyright Harris and Ewing, Washington, D. C._] + +It was a magnificent view, but too vast; and rather than look at the +scene as it presented itself, he preferred to call on fancy "to picture +to us those plains and mountains such as population and culture will +render them in a greater or smaller number of years." He looked with +some suspicion at the numerous agricultural experiments of Jefferson, +who seemed "to have derived his knowledge from books." He was not alone +in this opinion. In any farming country, innovations are looked upon +askance and we are not surprised to learn that "his system is entirely +confined to himself; it is censured by some of his neighbours, who are +also employed in improving their culture with ability and skill, but he +adheres to it, and thinks it founded on just observation." Finally came +the picture of the master himself and life at Monticello, worth +preserving and reproducing. + + In private life, Mr. Jefferson displays a mild, easy and obliging + temper, though he is somewhat cold and reserved. His conversation is + the most agreeable kind, and he possesses a stock of information not + inferior to that of any other man. In Europe he would hold a + distinguished rank among men of letters, and as such he has already + appeared there; at present he is employed with activity and + perseverance in the management of his farms and buildings; and he + orders, directs and pursues in the minutest detail every branch of + business relative to them. I found him in the midst of the harvest, + from which the scorching heat of the sun does not prevent his + attendance. His negroes are clothed, and treated as well as white + servants could be. As he cannot expect any assistance from the two + small neighboring towns, every article is made on his farm; his + negroes are cabinet-makers, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, smiths, + etc. The children he employs in a nail factory, which yields already + a considerable profit. The young and old negresses spin for the + clothing of the rest. He animates them by rewards and distinctions; + in fine, his superior mind directs the management of his domestic + concerns with the same abilities, activity, and regularity which he + evinced in the conduct of public affairs, and which he is calculated + to display in every situation of life. In the superintendence of the + household he is assisted by his two daughters, Mrs. Randolph and Miss + Maria, who are handsome, modest, and amiable women. They have been + educated in France. + +It is pleasant to have the direct testimony of a foreigner and a +philosopher on the way Jefferson treated his slaves. But how can we +believe that a man who could supervise all the details of the +agricultural and industrial life around Monticello and endure the +harvest sun was absolutely broken down in health? If he had ever been, +Jefferson certainly was picking up. It seems probable that he did not +discuss politics with the noble traveler. Perhaps he heard another +recital of the excesses of the French Revolution,--a painful subject and +one that did not serve any purpose; far better was it to exchange views +on crop rotation, sheep raising, dung and manure, clover and potatoes +and to demonstrate the new plow he had invented with a mold board of +least resistance, which was to bring him some years later the "_grande +medaille_" of the Agricultural Society of Paris.[335] + +The first mention of the coming presidential election occurs in a letter +to Monroe of July 10, 1796. The treaty had finally passed, but the party +of the monocrats was shaken to its very foundation, "Mr. Jay and his +advocates are treaty-foundered." The result was not doubtful. Even if a +monocrat were elected, he would be overborne by the republican sense of +his constituents. "If a republican, he will, of course, give fair play +to that sense and lead things into the channel of harmony between the +governors and the governed. In the meantime, patience!" He mentions that +in order to operate a division and to split the Virginia vote, _they_ +had unsuccessfully endeavored to run Patrick Henry for vice president +and would probably fall back on Pinckney, "in which they regard his +southern position rather than his principles." But curiously enough the +presidential nominees or preferences are not even mentioned. Could +Monroe really believe that _Hamlet_ was going to be played without +Hamlet, and that the election of a vice president was the only thing +that mattered? This omission was far more significant than any expressed +preference. If Jefferson mentioned no candidates, it was simply because +he already knew at that date that his faithful lieutenants in Congress +were thinking of him as the only logical candidate, the only one who had +not participated actively in the last three years' fierce debates in +Congress, the only one who had not officially and openly taken a +definite position, and consequently would be entirely free to make +whatever concessions were necessary to reestablish harmony in the +divided camps of the voters. The result of the election was certainly in +doubt; but at a time when foreign affairs were the dominant question, +when in spite of the Jay treaty England was multiplying almost +unbearable insults, when the nation was deeply humiliated, and even the +Federalists resented the terms of the treaty, there were only two men of +the first rank in America who had maintained the prestige of the United +States before foreign nations and had shown themselves to be able +negotiators: the man who with Franklin had put his signature to the +Treaty of Peace, and the man who had concluded treaties of commerce with +the nations of Europe; Adams and Jefferson. + +A strange campaign it was, in which the champion of the Republicans +seemed to remain completely silent. The middle of December came, and +Jefferson had not yet manifested any desire to run, nor had he made any +declaration concerning his program. He had to come out however when, on +the night of the sixteenth, he received a letter from Madison informing +him that there was no longer any doubt about the logical choice of the +Republicans and that Madison would decline to be candidate. Jefferson +took up his pen at once to define his position to his friend. He hoped +that Adams would be elected; and in that case he would be satisfied with +the second place although he would prefer the third, that is, his +rejection, since he would be free to remain at home. It was desirable, +however, in case of a tie, that Madison be instructed to request on his +behalf that Mr. Adams should be preferred. Some of the reasons he gave +were highly honorable, the best being that Mr. Adams was his senior and +had always "ranked" him in public life, either in France or in America. +Other reasons he did not indicate: one was evidently that the situation +had never worn so gloomy an aspect since the year 1783 and that +Jefferson did not believe he could steer clear of the present +difficulties.[336] + +Ten days later he wrote more at length to Rutledge. No news had come +from Philadelphia, but he protested that he had no political ambition: +"Before my God, I shall from the bottom of my heart, rejoice at +escaping." Scrutinizing himself, he found that the unmerited abuse he +had been subjected to still rankled; he was convinced that "no man will +ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it." +The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its +moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred. +Frankly he had no heart for the job. Nor was this a declaration of +philosophical principles, but another instance of his political +foresight, and a simple admission of facts, for not only had Franklin +been bitterly attacked after his death, but Washington himself was not +immune from public abuse, and such would be the fate of Adams. + +Jefferson was quite sincere when he declared: "I have no ambition to +govern men; no passion which would lead me to delight to ride in a +storm." In advance, he repeated the _suave mari magno_ of the old poet +and hoped that he would not be elected, his only wish was that the +newspapers would permit him "to plant his corn, beans, peas, etc. in +hills or drills as he pleased, while our eastern friend will be +struggling with the storm which is gathering over us, perhaps be +shipwrecked in it! This is certainly not a moment to covet the helm." +If this was not a sincere and true statement, then language certainly +has been given to man to conceal his thought. If Jefferson was thirsty +for power at that time he was more Machiavellian than Machiavelli +himself. But in spite of the inferences of ill-intentioned historians, I +do not see that there is the slightest ground to doubt Jefferson's +sincerity ... except that he accepted finally the vice presidency, as he +clearly hinted he would if it were offered to him.[337] He ended with a +picturesque and energetic phrase and said in French what he could not +say in English. He had not forgotten the words he had heard in the +streets of Paris and perhaps in some salons after dinner, but certainly +not in the mouth of Madame de Tesse or Madame de Corny: "_Au diable les +bougres!_" + +The next day he started writing to John Adams: he had not received any +direct news of the election, but from his own calculations he had every +reason to believe that barring a "trick worthy of your arch-friend of +New York, Hamilton", Adams would be elected. In that eventuality he +wished to send his best wishes, and had only one hope to express, that +Adams would be able to avoid the war. A friendly, sincere letter which +Adams never saw. As Jefferson was going to send it, came Madison's +letter of the seventeenth, announcing the complete results of the +election. + +It caused a certain amount of surprise to Jefferson; the vote had come +much nearer an equality than he had expected, and, as he wrote a week +later to Volney, "the difference between sixty-eight and seventy-one +votes is little sensible." The presidency would have been decidedly +distasteful to him; the vice presidency was something different and he +could not in his own mind decide whether he "had rather have it or not +have it." Then he went into a curious piece of philosophizing which +marks him as very different from eighteenth-century philosophers and +eighteenth-century optimists. More of a realist in politics than he is +given credit for, he showed himself once more a disciple of Hobbes in +his vision of society: + + I do not recollect in all the animal kingdom a single species but man + which is eternally and systematically engaged in the destruction of + its own species. What is called civilization seems to have no other + effect than to teach him to pursue the principle of _bellum omnium in + omnia_ on a larger scale, and in place of the little contests of + tribe against tribe, to engage all quarters of the earth in the same + work of destruction. When we add to this that as to the other species + of animals, the lions and tigers are mere lambs compared with men + alone, that nature has been able to find a sufficient barrier against + the too great multiplication of other animals and of man himself, an + equilibrating power against the fecundity of generation. My situation + points my views chiefly to his wars in the physical world: yours + perhaps exhibit him as equally warring in the moral one. We both, I + believe, join in wishing to see him softened.[338] + +For the first time Jefferson was going to occupy a position of prestige +in the American Government and to become President of the Senate, second +only to the President, the "heir apparent", as Adams had termed himself +during the preceding administration. Far from rejoicing over the honor, +he expressed his reluctance to attend elaborate ceremonies for the +inauguration, and he did his best to wriggle out of them. He asked +whether it would not be possible for him to be notified of his election +by mail instead of being waited upon by a special delegation from the +Senate; then he looked up the Constitution and decided that he could +just as well take oath of office in Charlottesville as in Philadelphia, +and that it was hardly worth the trouble, since Congress was to adjourn +at once, to undertake the long journey over muddy roads for such an +ordeal. Finally he set out for Philadelphia. He had reentered public +life for twelve more years and little suspected that it would be so long +before he could come back to dear Monticello and resume his agricultural +experiments. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +"THE DICTATES OF REASON AND PURE AMERICANISM" + + +When Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia to attend the inauguration of the +new President, he had not seen Adams for four years and only +insignificant communications had passed between them, since Madison had +thought it proper to suppress the letter written by Jefferson at the end +of December, not knowing "whether the rather difficult temper of Mr. +Adams would not construe certain passages as a personal criticism."[339] +With Adams, however, the first impulse was often the best. At the time +he felt in a very conciliating mood; he even indulged in the hope that +it would be possible to announce a sort of political armistice and to +bring about a union of the different parties. + +The two old friends had a cordial interview. Both of them, years later, +wrote accounts of this historical meeting; though differing in a few +details they agreed as to Adams' intention of burying the hatchet and +beginning anew. He offered to send Jefferson to Paris as special envoy, +insisting that he alone had the confidence of the French and would be +able to bring about an arrangement. Jefferson being both unwilling and +unavailable, Madison's name was mentioned, but nothing was decided as +both knew that Madison had refused such an offer when tendered by +Washington. + +In his inaugural address Adams discreetly sounded a note of +reconciliation. He praised the Constitution, declared that it was +"better adapted to the genius, character, situation and relations of +this nation and country than any which had ever been proposed or +suggested"; he added, much to the disgust of the Federalists, that he +did not think of "promoting any alteration in it but such as the people +themselves in the course of their experience should see and feel to be +necessary or expedient"; finally, he seemed to desert the Federalist +camp when he averred that, since he had seen the Constitution for the +first time, "it was not then, nor had been since, any objection to it in +his mind that the Executive and Senate were not more permanent." + +Not without good reason had Hamilton failed to show any enthusiasm over +the candidacy of Adams, and the Hamiltonians had some ground for +declaring that the speech "was temporizing" and "was a lure for the +favor of his opponents at the expense of his sincerity." Two days later +Jefferson and Adams attended a dinner offered by Washington to the new +administration. When they left the house they started walking home +together and the name of Madison being mentioned, Adams declared that +objections to the nomination had been raised. The President and the Vice +President had come to Fifth Street, where their roads separated; they +took leave of each other and the subject was never mentioned again. It +was really the parting of the ways after a timid effort toward +reconciliation. Adams in the meantime had called together his Cabinet +and the Cabinet, as he himself admitted afterwards, had proposed to +resign _en bloc_ if he insisted on Madison's nomination. + +For the "incongruous portrait gallery" that constituted the Cabinet +inherited by Adams from Washington, we may refer to the vivid picture of +Mr. Bowers: "Ali Baba among his Forty Thieves is no more deserving of +sympathy than John Adams shut up within the seclusion of his Cabinet +room with his official family of secret enemies" may seem to some a +rather severe characterization. The least that can be said, however, is +that it was a Cabinet hand-picked by Hamilton and that neither +Pickering, Wolcott nor McHenry were the best minds Adams could have +chosen in his party. But there again the term party is inaccurate; if +Adams had, in some respect, Federalist tendencies, he was not a party +man or a party leader. The irritable, impulsive, patriotic, peevish old +New Englander was too individualistic to belong to any party; he was not +the man either to rally the hesitating, to uphold the vacillating, or to +encourage and educate the blind. Curiously enough, he has found very few +defenders. Severely treated by the friends of Jefferson, he has not been +spared by the admirers of Hamilton. He stands alone, one of the most +complicated and contradictory figures in American history--a pure +patriot, whose patriotic work is almost forgotten, a catholic spirit who +loved to play with ideas and paradoxes, a contrary mind, but in my +opinion more widely read than any of his American contemporaries, not +excepting Jefferson. A man who spent his life by the side of the severe +and haughty "New England Juno", but who had more ideas in his brain than +any sultan of the Arabian Nights had favorites in his harem. + +He had taken the helm at the climax of external difficulties. +Complicated and delicate as were the problems of domestic +administration, they were overshadowed by the difficulties with France. +The misunderstandings, the incidents repeated on both sides, had +accumulated with such an effect that, at the beginning of 1797, war with +France seemed to be almost unavoidable. Though Jefferson had very little +to do with it, it is not out of place to recall the main facts. + +Genet had unfortunately his American parallel in Gouverneur Morris. As +witty and devoid of ordinary morals and honesty as Talleyrand himself, +elegant, refined, and corrupt, Gouverneur Morris had been, since his +arrival in Paris, the toast of French aristocrats. His activities in +favor of the king and his partisans were not unknown to the French, and +when Genet was sent to America he had been requested to present +discreetly the situation to the American Government. Genet had made no +official representation, but he discussed Morris' attitude in a private +conversation with Jefferson, and Washington, apprised of the facts, had +seen the necessity of acting. + +Monroe, on the contrary, had attempted to resume the Jeffersonian +tradition. A disciple of the former minister, a true Liberal, and +friendly to the French Revolution, he had been enthusiastically received +at once, in spite of the many difficult problems he had to present to +the government. But the Jay treaty had proved a bitter pill to swallow, +and the Directory had made strong representations to the American +minister: America was accused of having violated the treaties of +Alliance and Commerce, and when Monroe was recalled, the Directory not +only refused to receive the successor that had been appointed but even +ordered him to leave the French territory at once. + +Without entering into the merits of the question, we may say that +Jefferson was still decidedly for peace, although somewhat doubtful of +Adams' intentions. Shortly after the inauguration he analyzed his +position as follows: + + I sincerely deplore the situation of our affairs with France. War + with them, and consequent alliance with Great Britain, will + completely compass the object of the Executive Council, from the + commencement of the war between France and England; taken up by some + of them from that moment, by others more latterly. I still, however, + hope it will be avoided. I do not believe Mr. Adams wishes war with + France; nor do I believe he will truckle to England as servilely as + has been done. If he assumes this front at once, and shows that he + means to attend to self-respect and national dignity with both the + nations, perhaps the depredations of both on our commerce may be + amicably arrested. I think we should begin first with those who first + began with us, and, by an example on them, acquire a right to + re-demand the respect from which the other party has departed. + +An ideal policy, but hardly enforceable with a man of Adams' temperament +and with the Cabinet he had inherited. Immediately after taking oath of +office, Jefferson had repaired to Monticello and was getting acquainted +with his duties as presiding officer of the Senate; in January he asked +his old master George Wythe to send him all possible information on +parliamentary procedure "whether in books or scraps of paper",[340] and +he was working on his "Parliamentary Manual." Early in April news of the +refusal of the Directory to receive Pinckney arrived in Philadelphia, +Adams proclaimed at once a day of fasting and prayer and called an +extraordinary session of Congress for May 15. It was to be feared that a +declaration of war would be the order of the day, for "the President did +not need the assistance of Congress to continue in peace."[341] + +As soon as he reached Philadelphia, Jefferson studied the situation and +summed it up in a letter to Elbridge Gerry even before the opening of +Congress. He had already come to the conclusion that a rapprochement +between Adams and himself would prove impossible. There was really no +way to convince Adams that Jefferson had not coveted the first place and +did not nourish some rancor at his alleged failure to obtain it. +Furthermore, it was quite certain that the Hamiltonians would do +everything in their power to poison the mind of the President. This was +most unpleasant but of little import to politics. Jefferson considered +himself part of the legislative and not of the executive, and he had not +even the right to be heard in consultation. It was his duty as well as +his inclination to sit back, without trying to meddle in any way with +the conduct of government. + +On the other hand, he had not given up the right of expressing an +opinion as a private citizen on matters of importance to the nation, and +after stating that he had no concern in the present situation, he +launched out on a long _expose_ of the political situation as he saw it +on the eve of the special session. With reference to foreign relations +his wish and hope was that "we should take our stand on a ground +perfectly neutral and independent towards all nations." This was +particularly true with respect to the English and the French, but more +easily said than done, since the English, not satisfied with equal +treatment, wanted special privileges. Then Jefferson drew up a very +impressive picture of the hold on the United States maintained by Great +Britain through her commerce. Without domestic industries the United +States had to go to England; she was the workshop of America. Goods were +largely transported in English bottoms; British merchants, some of them +fictitiously naturalized, were in every American port and in all the +cities and towns of the interior, occupying strategic positions. The +British also were dominating American banks and American finance and, +through finance, could exert a powerful influence on American political +life. Finally, they were accused of attempting to break the Union by +advocating in their subsidized press a scission between the North and +the South. If difficulties came to such a point that the only way to +avoid a secession was to go to war with Europe, Jefferson, much as he +abhorred war, was willing to become embroiled with Europe. He still +hoped, however, that it would be possible to find some means to keep out +of European quarrels and in the meantime gradually to free America from +all foreign influence, "political, commercial, or in whatever form it +may be attempted." + +One might say that this was no original point of view to develop. It was +to a certain extent the policy advocated by Washington in his Farewell +Address. Curiously enough, it was not absolutely remote from Hamilton's +theory, for these two men who, temperamentally, could never come +together, held about the same view of the situation. That England had +the larger share of American commerce and that English manufactures had +a sort of monopoly of the American market had been repeatedly pointed +out by Hamilton. And on this Jefferson agreed completely. If one +objected to that condition, the obvious remedy according to the +Hamiltonian doctrine was, not to take measures to exclude English goods +from the market, but to encourage American manufactures so as to enable +them to compete with imported products. In this Jefferson differed from +Hamilton, but while complaining of the situation, he did not propose any +remedy, except perhaps to protect American inventors and thus stimulate +them to establish new manufacturing plants. One must admit that at this +point he let his "philosophy" interfere with realities. + +As a matter of fact, he was thoroughly opposed to the development of +manufacturing plants, to the creation of large industrial cities housing +thousands of salaried workers. As we have said, his vision of America +was a sort of Arcadia where every man would live on his own farm, off +the products of his own land. In some respects it may seem perfectly +absurd, and yet it was very natural and to a certain extent quite +logical. It was purely and simply the extension of the Monticello type +of organization to the whole country. La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt had +been struck by the fact that Monticello was practically a +self-supporting economic unit. Jefferson was raising his own horses and +just enough sheep to provide the wool spun by the women slaves to clothe +the workers and sometimes the masters. On the plantation lived smiths, +carpenters, cabinet makers, brick makers, and layers; some grain was +sold, some nails were manufactured and sold to the neighbors. Selling +comparatively little, buying practically nothing, Jefferson's estate +came as close to being a sort of Robinson Crusoe island as was possible +in a modern country. Thus the Virginia planter had come to develop a +philosophy of society not unlike the ideal society described by Rousseau +in the "Nouvelle Heloise" and more feudal than he himself realized, +since, after all, if serfdom had been abolished, it rested essentially +on slavery. He was unequivocally against great agglomerations, although +he had not visited any of the large industrial cities of England except +London; but at least he knew London and Paris, he had lived in +Philadelphia and New York, and he felt that it was not good for men to +herd too closely together. Work in factories was both unhealthy and +immoral, for in congested centers of population there developed a spirit +of discontent aggravated by the fact that industrial workers, who +generally did not own a particle of land, were footloose, unattached, +and free to move from one city to another at any time; they constituted +a restless and dangerous element. It mattered little that, for the +present, they gave their support to the Republicans and had joined the +Democratic clubs; Jefferson knew too well that they would be easily +influenced in their views by a good orator, by passions of the moment, +and could not be relied upon in an emergency. + +It would be easy to point out the close resemblance of certain features +of this ideal of Jefferson with the theories of the Physiocrats. Such a +parallelism, however, can be easily exaggerated and to a great extent is +very misleading. Whether all riches came from the soil, or were the +product of labor in any form, or both, Jefferson did not know and did +not care. He was no more a disciple of Quesnay than of Adam Smith, +simply because he was not an economist but a sociologist. Hamilton, who +was an economist of the first rank, was primarily interested in the +development of production and in the circulation of wealth, and paid +little attention to the social modification that an industrialization of +the country would probably bring about. Jefferson, on the contrary, was +solely interested in protecting and preserving a certain pattern of +civilization which was essentially an agricultural pattern--the only +safe foundation for the political and private virtues of vital +importance in a democracy. Manufactures meant surplus production, which +meant, in turn, the necessity of exporting. If America became a great +industrial nation, she would have, sooner or later, to export her +surplus production and in turn to import many products from Europe. But +if the country maintained extensive trade connections with Europe she +would be necessarily caught in the maze of international politics. Her +commercial interests would clash with the interests of Europe, and this +would ultimately result in wars or at least in a constant threat of war. +It would also mean the building of a strong navy to protect American +commerce, perhaps the establishment of a permanent army; at any rate, +the immediate consequence would be an enormous increase in taxes, the +necessity of resorting to internal taxation, the burden of which would +fall on the backs of the farmers. Numerous tax collectors would have to +be appointed; Federal employees and officials ready to act at the beck +and call of the Government would swarm all over the country. State +rights and individual rights would be restricted and invaded, and +liberty would exist only in name. On the other hand, foreign commerce +was not to be entirely suppressed. Commerce was a natural and desirable +thing with one's neighbors. Geographically the West Indies had closer +connections with America than with Europe, and it was in that direction +that the United States could develop their trade. This was a natural law +and a natural right, and any obstacle put to the natural flow of trade +between the islands and the American continent was unjust and to be +fought persistently. + +Such seems to have been at that time the political and social dream of +Jefferson. Like most dreams of the sort it was perfectly logical, even +if impossible to realize. But, as a matter of fact, it was far more +admissible than the ideal he was to propose four years later in his +inaugural address, following the lead of Washington: "peace, commerce +with all nations, entangling alliances with none." He was far more +clear-sighted when he came to the conclusion that America could not +combine political aloofness and commercial and economic relationship. +This formula was a desperate and none too successful attempt to coalesce +two contradictory principles and ideals, and for the last hundred and +thirty years America has been striving to achieve this impossible +program. Such a position has always seemed most absurd and +unintelligible to Europeans, with the result that America has often been +accused of hypocritical conduct in her foreign affairs, and more +indulgent historians have repeatedly confessed their puzzlement and +inability to understand her. The consequences of this incestuous union +of Jeffersonian political aloofness and Hamiltonian industrial and +commercial development are still apparent to-day. They were conspicuous +in the position taken by President Wilson during his first +administration; they reappear again and again in all American +declarations referring to the League of Nations, mandates, and +reparations. One of the first results was necessarily to embroil America +in all European wars and to raise again and again the question of +neutrality. + +It is doubtful however whether, even in 1797, Jefferson would have +consented to carry to an extreme the realization of his bucolic dreams. +He knew full well that America had commercial aspirations that could not +be suppressed; all one could do was not to encourage them as Hamilton +wanted to do and, in the meantime, to reduce political connections to a +minimum. + +At the end of the short session of Congress in which measures relative +to Europe had been debated, Jefferson wrote to Rutledge: "as to +everything except commerce, we ought to divorce ourselves from them +all." But this system would require "time, temper, wisdom, and +occasional sacrifice of interests; and how far all of these will be +ours, our children may see, but we shall not."[342] Such has been the +hope and the endeavor of America ever since that time; with what success +it is for others to judge. + +Adams' speech had been a warlike one. That the Government of the United +States had been insulted by the French Directory was no "matter of +doubt." Pinckney, sent as successor to Monroe, had not been received by +the Government, and Monroe had been informed that the Directory "would +no longer recognize nor receive a minister plenipotentiary from the +United States, until after a reparation of the grievances demanded of +the American Government, and which the French Republic had a right to +expect." Pinckney himself had been notified that his presence in Paris +was illegal and that he could not stay in the country. No wonder that +Adams declared that: "Such attempts ought to be repelled with a decision +which shall convince France and the world that we are not a degraded +people, humiliated under a colonial spirit of fear and sense of +inferiority, fitted to be the miserable instruments of foreign +influence, and regardless of national honor, character and interest." + +On May 23 the Senate sent an address to the President, indorsing his +views by a vote of seventeen to eleven. The fight was to take place in +the House and in the newspapers. "Foreign influence is the present and +just object of public hue and cry", wrote Jefferson to Thomas +Pinckney.[343] As always happens when the cry of wolf is raised, "the +most guilty and foremost and loudest in the cry", those who were +denouncing French influence, were to a large extent English +propagandists and not of the best type. But news from France was +infrequent and slight and, at the beginning of June, Jefferson waited +anxiously for the daily arrival of Paine and Monroe from whom he +expected a true account of the situation. Then came the news of +Bonaparte's latest victories and the announcement that the preliminaries +of peace were signed between France and Austria. This was the only thing +which could and did cool the fury of the British faction. "The victories +of the Rhine and Italy, peace with Austria, bankruptcy of England, +mutiny in her fleet, and the King's writing letters recommending +peace"--all that constituted a string of events nothing less than +miraculous.[344] + +At this juncture Jefferson made a momentous political move. He wrote a +long letter to Colonel Aaron Burr to take him into his confidence. The +Vice President was beginning to gather up the loose threads: "Some +general view of our situation and prospects, since you left us, may not +be unacceptable. At any rate, it will give me an opportunity of +recalling myself to your memory, and of evidencing my esteem for you." +What could this mean in ordinary language if not that he counted on him +to counterbalance Hamilton's influence in New York and present the views +of the chief to the leaders of the party. First of all he called his +attention to the fact that the Republican party was losing ground in the +House as well as in the Senate, and that the majority was in the hands +of "five or six individuals of no fixed system at all, governed by the +panic or the prowess of the moment, who flap as the breeze blows against +the Republican or the aristocratic bodies." + +For the present, the danger of going to war was less disquieting. +Bonaparte's victories had brought many to their senses and some were +complaining that Congress had been called together to do nothing. "The +truth is, there is nothing to do, the idea of war being scouted by the +events of Europe; but this only proves that war was the object for which +we were called." It had been a close call, and France might have +declared war against the United States if the Ancients had not +pronounced against it. "Thus we see two nations who love one another +affectionately, brought by the ill temper of their executive +administrations, to the very brink of a necessity to imbue their hands +in the blood of each other." + +But leaving aside all sentimental considerations, Jefferson undertook +to demonstrate that such a war would have, as a result, the immediate +occupation of Louisiana by France, and with Louisiana again a +Gallo-American colony, the danger would indeed be great. Such were "some +of the truths that ought to penetrate into the Eastern States", and Burr +was no doubt intrusted with the mission to preach the true doctrine of +republicanism in his district.[345] + +Four days later Jefferson announced with infinite joy to Elbridge Gerry +that he had been appointed to go as envoy extraordinary, jointly with +General Pinckney and Mr. Marshall, to the French Republic. Once more he +insisted upon the necessity of coming to some sort of an arrangement +with Europe. War against England or France could only result in civil +war in America and probably secession. The fate of the United States was +at stake.[346] + +Congress was to adjourn on the twenty-eighth of June and Jefferson was +already looking forward to the rural quiet of Monticello, where he could +"exchange the roar and tumult of bulls and bears for the prattle of his +grandchildren and senile rest." His quiet however was disturbed by an +unexpected incident. Early in August he sent an urgent call to Madison +to come to Monticello with Monroe in order to consult with them on an +urgent matter. The letter written to Mazzei the preceding year had come +back, translated from the French, and was used as a political weapon +against Jefferson and the Republicans. Public repudiation of the letter +was impossible, since he had really written it, although the translation +had garbled the meaning of some important sentences. To remain silent +under fire and accept as true the accusations hurled against him was +equally difficult. His friends alone could help him out of the +difficulty. He finally decided to ignore the whole matter as he had +already been advised to do by his Philadelphia friends, but the letter +preyed on his mind and this was not an incident to be easily forgotten. +It was during the summer and fall of that year that certain principles +were definitely crystallized in his mind. + +Deploring the fact that both factions had been incensed by political +considerations and political hatred rather than by a true judgment of +the situation and what he had called in a letter to Rutledge "the +dictates of reason and pure Americanism", he then reached for himself +certain conclusions which were to direct his political conduct during +the rest of his career. He was thoroughly sickened by the insults +passing in the press. Men of his own party he could not severely condemn +for this, nor could he take from their hands the weapons used to defeat +the enemy, but he was also loath to approve of their tactics. In +Democratic societies, established in large cities, he placed very little +confidence; they were fighting on his side, at least for the present, +and were vociferous enough; but to a large extent they were made up of +office hunters. They did not and could not constitute a trustworthy +bulwark for Republican institutions. Fortunately events had proved that +there existed in the country a large body of people sincerely attached +to republican principles; these had been slumbering and their leaders +had almost steered the ship into a foreign port, but they could be +enlightened and made to manifest their true sentiments; for all reforms +"must be brought about by the people using their elective rights with +prudence and self-possession, and not suffering themselves to be duped +by treacherous emissaries." "It is the sober sense of our citizens that +we are safely and steadily conducting from monarchy to republicanism, +and it is by the same agency alone that we can be kept from falling +back."[347] As to foreign questions, the fact that their intrusion into +American life had divided the nation against itself proved conclusively +that the only safe course to follow was to sever the last bonds that +connected America with Europe and "to place our foreign connections +under a new and different arrangement."[348] The time had come for +America to proclaim her independence in all foreign matters, for "we owe +gratitude to France, justice to England, subservience to none." + +It was in coining these fine political maxims that Jefferson was at his +best. As had happened so often during his life, he refused to be carried +away by popular passions raging in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. +From the "mountain top" of Monticello he was able to judge +dispassionately the sordid struggles of party politics. He was no party +boss, not even a party leader; if he had any ambition at that time, it +was to become a national leader and the exponent of what he himself had +called in his letter to Rutledge "pure Americanism." + +Congress had been called for November 13, but the Vice President felt no +inclination to hurry back to Philadelphia and reenter the scene of +strife. He did not leave until December 4 and found, as he had expected, +that Congress was marking time, waiting for news from Paris. Madison he +kept informed minutely of all the changes that had taken place during +the summer, of the progress of republicanism in Vermont and New York, +and of all the small talk of politics, interesting only as showing how +eagerly Jefferson kept his finger on the pulse of the country. He had an +ulterior motive in sending to Madison papers and pamphlets recently +published in Philadelphia; it was that "the paragraphs in some of these +abominable papers may draw from you now and then a squib." Matters +seemed to be on the mend; the latest official intelligence from Paris +was that the envoys "would find every disposition on the part of the +Government to accommodate with us."[349] The session dragged on. +Jefferson's melancholy statement that the Senate was divided +"twenty-two and ten and will probably forever be", was not helped by +Adams' declaration that: + + No republic can ever be of any duration, without a Senate, and a + Senate deeply and strongly rooted, strong enough to bear up against + all popular storms and passions. The only fault in the Constitution + of our Senate is, that their term of office is not durable enough. + Hitherto they have done well, but probably they will be forced to + give way in time.[350] + +The only important proposition before Congress was "the bill of foreign +intercourse and the proposition to arm our foreign vessels"; but both +parties seemed to be afraid to press the matter. Everything was in +suspense "as the ensuing month will probably be the most eventful ever +yet seen in modern Europe." If Bonaparte's projected invasion of England +succeeded the tables would turn; in the meantime the official ball given +on Washington's birthday offered to Philadelphia society a pretext for +engaging in hot controversies. Business was bad and bankruptcies +multiplying. Congress was thinking of appropriating some money for +national defense so as to furnish convoys to vessels going to Europe and +to provide for the protection of smaller vessels of the coast trade. +Adams had decided to reorganize his Cabinet. Wolcott would remain in +office, but it seemed that McHenry was to go and Pickering was very +doubtful whether he would stay.[351] + +Meanwhile dispatches from the American envoys had arrived; they were +being deciphered and the President hesitated upon the advisability of +communicating them in full to Congress. Then, on the nineteenth, came +Adams' message declaring that "it was incumbent on him to declare that +he perceived no ground of expectation that the objects of their mission +could be accomplished on terms compatible with the safety, honor, or the +essential interest of the Nation." + +On the twenty-first Jefferson wrote to Madison that "a great change has +taken place in the appearance of our political atmosphere"; the "insane +message" had had great effect but there was still a possibility that, if +all members were present, the war measures would be defeated by one +voice in the House. What was to be done in that case? The only possible +solution was to make a bid for time and wait for the results of +Bonaparte's expedition against Great Britain. Jefferson's plan therefore +was to propose an adjournment of Congress "in order to go home and +consult their constituents on the great crisis of American affairs now +existing." "To gain time is everything with us." In this letter +Jefferson made one of his few material errors, so strange on the part of +a man in his position, and hardly to be explained unless we suppose that +the wish was father to the thought. "We relied," he said, "with great +security on that provision which requires two-thirds of the Legislature +to declare war. But this is completely eluded by a majority's taking +such measures as will be sure to produce war." Certainly there was no +such article in the Constitution, unless Jefferson in his excitement +interpreted the ratification of treaties by two-thirds of the Senate to +imply also that a declaration of war should have such a majority.[352] A +week later he was convinced that "the question of war and peace depends +now on a toss of cross and pile. If we could gain but one season we +should be saved."[353] It was to these Fabian tactics that the +Republicans were to bend all their efforts in order to avoid a formal +declaration of war. + +In the meantime the dispatches of the envoys were made public and the +famous X.Y.Z. case came to light. Debate was hot in Congress on the +Sprigg resolution declaring that "under existing conditions it is not +expedient for the United States to resort to war against the French +republic."[354] Adams then decided to communicate the letters from +Paris. + +No more terrible blow could have been inflicted upon the friends of +peace. Jefferson heard the news on April 3, but as it was still +undecided whether they could be made public, he refrained from +discussing them with Madison until the sixth. His first impressions were +"very disagreeable and very confused." Yet he tried, as was his wont, to +see both sides of the question. With the story of the abortive +negotiations was interwoven + + ... some base propositions on the part of Talleyrand, through one of + his agents, to sell his interest and influence with the Directory + towards soothing difficulties with them, in consideration of a large + sum (fifty thousand pounds sterling); the arguments to which his + agent resorted to induce compliance with this demand were unworthy of + a great nation (could they be imputed to them), and calculated to + excite disgust and indignation in the Republicans particularly, whom + they so far mistake, as to presume an attachment to France and hatred + to the Federal party and not to the love of their country, to be + their first passion. + +In the papers, as communicated, Adams had substituted for the names +given by the envoys--Hottinger, Bellamy, and Hauteval--the initials X. +Y. Z., hence the name given at once to the incident. + +Whether the French bankers really represented Talleyrand is absolutely +immaterial; the result on American public opinion alone is to be +considered here. According to Jefferson, the public's first reaction was +one of astonishment;[355] furious indignation followed very quickly. +Sprigg's resolution was naturally discarded as not appropriate; war +seemed the order of the day. The last resort left to the remaining +Republicans was to avoid open hostilities with the French Republic and, +not being able to prevent a vote of credits for armaments, to insist +that they should be granted specially for internal defense and +preparation.[356] A more mature consideration of the letters convinced +Jefferson that the door to negotiation was not absolutely closed.[357] +But popular indignation was too strong; riotous scenes took place in the +streets of Philadelphia, addresses from all parts of the country came to +Adams, urging him to stand for national honor and the Federalist press +fanned the flames. The few faithful Republicans grew discouraged and one +by one drifted out of Philadelphia. "Giles, Clopton, Cabell, and +Nicholas have gone," wrote Jefferson on April 26, "and Clay goes +to-morrow. Parker has completely gone over to the war party. In this +state of things they will carry what they please. One of the war party, +in a fit of unguarded passion, declared sometime ago they would pass a +Citizen Bill, an Alien Bill, and a Sedition Bill."[358] Madison, +although urged to take up his pen "for heaven's sake and not desert the +public cause altogether", remained silent in Virginia. Jefferson felt +that the first and second measures were directed against his close +friend Volney,[359] who had been somewhat imprudent. That the republican +press would be muzzled for "the war hawks talk of septembrizing, +deportation and the examples for quelling sedition set by the French +executives. All the firmness of the human mind is now in a state of +requisition."[360] + +It is remarkable, and not the smallest achievement of Jefferson, that he +kept a cool head in the midst of this turmoil. Insulted every day in the +press and in public meetings, lampooned and caricatured, he had to +remain silent because of his official position and could not protest to +the government. No stranger political situation could be imagined than +this,--a man recognized as the head of a party opposed to the +government, yet next to the President in rank, without power to defend +himself and to enter into polemics, ostracized, and, as he admitted +himself, "insulated in every society", forced to listen to the reading +of the most detestable things such as the Alien Bill, and still not +indulging in bitterness. A comparison of his letters with those written +by Adams and Hamilton at the same time would constitute the most +extraordinary tribute to his self-mastery. He persisted in seeing some +faint hope and refused to give up the ship. + +First there was a possibility that when the merchants would see that +actual war meant War Tax, Land Tax, and Stamp Tax, these measures would +constitute sedatives to cool their ardor. The present session had +already cost two hundred thousand dollars and that was only a beginning. +Furthermore, there was also a possibility that, if an actual declaration +of war could be prevented during the summer, the coming election would +reenforce the republican party. Volney had decided to go back to France +with a few other aliens who had chartered a boat, without waiting for +the enactment of the Alien Bill. Many of them were much irritated, but +Volney at least was "thoroughly impressed with the importance of +preventing war, whether considered with reference to the interests of +the two countries, of the cause of Republicanism, or of man on a broad +scale."[361] + +Isolated though he was in Philadelphia, from his room in the +Philosophical Society of which he was president, Jefferson persisted in +hoping against hope. One thing however was to be avoided at all cost. If +the situation became such that the Northern States, Connecticut and +Massachusetts particularly, clearly dominated the situation, it was far +better to submit temporarily and endure even detestable measures than to +break the Union. The beginning of the disaggregation could not be +stopped; a realignment of States conducing to new secessions would +finally be the result. Men must quarrel, and "seeing, therefore, that an +association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing +which never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down +to a town meeting or a vestry; seeing that we must have somebody to +quarrel with, I had rather keep our New England associates for that +purpose, than to see our bickerings transferred to others."[362] + +This was a most important declaration and shows to what length Jefferson +was willing to go in order to avoid the only irremediable catastrophe. +Whatever may have been his weaknesses and shortcomings, his +inconsistencies and contradictions, the man who, in the hectic +atmosphere of Philadelphia, was able to put aside his own interests, the +interests of his party, his social and political ideals to think +nationally, was indeed a great American. We may even venture to say that +he was at the time the only great American in the country. + +When Marshall came back from France--much to his surprise, as a war hero +and as an avenger of national honor--the Republicans began to take a +less pessimistic view of the situation. After all, the situation was not +so desperate as they had been led to believe; Gerry had remained in +Paris, and negotiations could be resumed. The show of honesty made by +the envoys in Paris was most gratifying to national honor and gave the +public a feeling of triumph over the corrupt practices of European +diplomacy. But with the return of Marshall a new campaign broke out +against Jefferson. Doctor Logan on his own initiative had gone to Europe +in the interest of peace, but had gone mysteriously and without telling +any one of his intentions. It was soon assumed that he had been sent on +an unauthorized and unofficial but highly objectionable mission by the +Jacobins "to solicit an army from France, instruct them as to their +landing, etc.", and Jefferson was again accused of being the arch +plotter. Nothing could be more ridiculous, for the poor doctor was +simply one of those idealistic pacifists who sometimes do more harm than +good, but whose intentions are not open to suspicion. + +But popular passions once aroused cannot be silenced in a day and the +efforts of the friends of peace were weak and inefficient. On April 14 a +bill was passed on second reading by the Senate, declaring the treaties +with France void and nonexistent. Adams made it known that he would +refuse Gerry's request that other envoys be sent. If Congress remained +in session in a city where war hysteria had reached a paroxysm, extreme +measures were unavoidable. The only remedy was to adjourn as soon as +possible, for "to separate Congress now, will be withdrawing the fire +from under a boiling pot."[363] Congress did not separate, however, +without authorizing the President to increase the navy, to expend two +hundred fifty thousand dollars for fortifications, to purchase eight +hundred thousand dollars' worth of arms and ammunition, to raise an army +of ten thousand troops and to equip vessels to seize and bring to port +any armed vessels which had attacked American vessels or might be found +"hovering on the coast of the United States for the purpose of +committing depredations on the vessels belonging to the citizens +thereof." On July 6 were passed the famous Alien Bills, and on the +fourteenth, as a sort of defiance to the principles of the French +Revolution, Congress adopted the "Sedition Law", giving power to the +government "to prosecute persons or to prevent the circulating or saying +of any utterance against the Government of the United States, or either +House of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the +United States." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +POLITICAL LEADER AND STRATEGIST + + +When Jefferson went home after the adjournment of Congress he remained +completely silent for two months. But the newspaper war went on in +Philadelphia with more virulence than ever: attacks against the arch +plotter and the defender of the French Jacobins were multiplied, +prosecutions were begun in Massachusetts under the Sedition Act and for +a time Jefferson himself seems to have feared for his own safety. To +Samuel Smith, who had sent him a clipping in which he was vehemently +accused, he answered that he had "contemplated every event which the +Maratists of the day can perpetrate, and I am prepared to meet every one +in such a way, as shall not be derogatory to the public liberty or my +own personal honor." He naturally denied that he had in any way plotted +with Bache, the editor of the _Aurora_, or Doctor Leib; then he went on +to define once more his position. He had acted on the same principles +from the year 1775 to that day, and he was convinced that these +principles were those of the great body of the American people. He was +for peace certainly, not only with France but also with England. He was +aware that both of them "have given and are daily giving, sufficient +cause of war; that in defiance of the laws of nations, they are every +day trampling on the rights of the neutral powers, whenever they can +thereby do the least injury, either to the other." But he still +maintained that the best policy was and would have been "to bear from +France for one more summer what we have been bearing from both of them +these four years." With England the United States had chosen peace; with +France they had chosen war; to what extent the Government was supported +by the majority of the people was a thing to be seen in the coming +elections. He ended with a note of Christian forgiveness for Fenno and +Porcupine, who "covered him with their implacable hatred." "The only +return I will ever make them, will be to do them all the good I can, in +spite of their teeth."[364] + +This was almost too godly to be true; but if we remember that his +letters were intercepted and read by Adams' police, as he repeatedly +complained, and that letters sent to him were opened on their way to +Monticello, we may wonder whether he did not write these lines for the +eye of the censor, and with his tongue in his cheek. That he really +believed at the time in the existence of a monarchical conspiracy +appears from a letter to Stephens Thompson Mason.[365] + +The Alien and Sedition bills were just a beginning. If the people did +not revolt against them, the next step would be to persuade Congress +that the President should continue in office for life, reserving to +another time the transfer of the succession to his heirs and the +establishment of the Senate for life. + +This was a very accurate prophecy of the course that events were to +follow, not in America, but in France, and this shows at least that +Jefferson had an exact understanding of the gradual steps through which +a republican government might become an empire. But France had +Bonaparte, while neither Adams nor Washington ever had the inclination +or the power to bring about such a change in America. Yet when one +thinks of the military ambitions of Hamilton, of his real opposition and +scorn for republican government, it would perhaps be unfair to dismiss +these apprehensions as absolutely groundless. Whatever the case may have +been, Jefferson thought the time had come to erect a strong barrier +against the encroachments of the Federal Government. Towards the end of +the same month, the two Nicholas brothers, George and Wilson C., +discussed with Jefferson at Monticello a plan to put to work the +Republicans, who, finding themselves useless in Congress, had retired +from the field. A plan was finally adopted to arouse the State +legislatures; during these meetings were drawn up the famous +"Resolutions" that George Nicholas was to present to the legislature of +Kentucky, and which Madison was to bring before the Virginia +Assembly.[366] + +The exact authorship of the "Resolutions" remained a matter of doubt +until Jefferson more than twenty years later acknowledged his +participation in a letter to the son of George Nicholas.[367] It was +well for Jefferson's peace of mind that he remained behind the scenes on +this occasion and let Madison take the responsibility of the +recommendation, which he did not allow to pass without modifying the +original text to a considerable degree. The Kentucky resolutions have +been the subject of many discussions, and Madison himself used a great +deal of ink and time to explain the true import of the measures he had +sponsored before the Virginia Assembly. They will become much more +intelligible when studied in the light of the theory developed by +Jefferson in the document in which he stated his views on the social +compact, considered as a _pactum foederis_ and not a _pactum +subjectionis_.[368] It was simply the reaffirmation that in forming a +society neither men nor States abdicate entirely their sovereignty but +reserve a specified part of their natural rights set forth in a Bill of +Rights--an essential foundation on which to build a constitution. Such +is clearly the meaning of the first resolution; + + 1. _Resolved._ That the several States composing the United States of + America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to + their general Government; but that, by a compact under the style and + title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments + thereto, they constituted a general Government for special + purposes--delegated to that Government certain definite powers, + reserving, each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their + own self-government; and that whensoever the general Government + assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and + of no force; that to this compact each State acceded as a State, and + is an integral party, its co-States forming, as to itself, the other + party: that the Government created by this compact was not made the + exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to + itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the + Constitution, the measure of its powers; but, that, as in all other + cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has + an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the + mode and measure of redress. + +Not only was Jefferson perfectly consistent in repeating almost word for +word in this Resolution the doctrine of natural rights and State rights +already enunciated in 1776, but the last lines foretold the theory he +was to defend against Marshall during his presidency. By denying that +the parties to the Federal compact had a common judge, he refused in +advance to consider the Supreme Court as the guardian, interpreter, and +defender of the Constitution. This principle once asserted, Jefferson +endeavored to prove that the Sedition Bill, the Alien Bill and other +measures adopted by Congress at the instigation of the Federalists +constituted an infringement of State rights, since they did not deal +with matters specifically reserved to Congress and since it was provided +that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, +nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States +respectively or to the people." This was at the same time an attempt to +prove the unconstitutionality of the recent legislation and an endeavor +to define more exactly the powers of the Federal Government. The Eighth +Resolution, the longest, proposed the establishment of a committee of +correspondence to communicate the resolutions to the different +legislatures and enunciated the doctrine of nullification, namely that +the State had the right to consider as nonexistent such laws as might be +passed in defiance of the Constitution. Naturally the Law of Sedition +and the Alien Bill came under that category. + +Strong as the language of the Resolutions may have been, it was not +Jefferson's intention to promote a rebellion of certain States against +the Federal Government and to provoke a secession. They contained a +strong affirmation that the subscribers to the Resolutions were +sincerely anxious for the preservation of the Union. As a matter of +fact, in Jefferson's intention they were a piece of political strategy +and he had no desire to push the matter too far. A letter he wrote to +Madison on the subject is particularly significant on that score: "I +think we should distinctly affirm all the important principles they +contain, so as to hold to that ground in future, and leave the matter in +such a train as that we may not be committed absolutely to push the +matter to extremities, and yet may be free to push as far as events will +render prudent."[369] + +In other words, it was what the French call a gesture, the act of a +lawyer reserving certain points in a trial before a tribunal and the +right to present conclusions. It was not the act of a revolutionist and +for the time being at least, although adopted in a modified form both by +Kentucky and Virginia, it remained a gesture and a simple protest +against Federalist usurpations. + +The end of the fall came, and Jefferson relapsed once more into his +cautious silence. One letter only, written from Monticello to John +Taylor, is found in the files for that period.[370] This time Jefferson +was more optimistic; the ardor of the Federalists for war seemed to have +cooled down and the people began to realize that national pride was a +very expensive article, that wars had to be paid for: "the Doctor is now +on his way to cure it, in the guise of the tax gatherer." + +At the end of the month, the Vice President set out for Philadelphia to +attend the opening of the third session of the Fifth Congress. Adams' +address was anxiously awaited. Much to the surprise and disgust of the +war party, if it could not be called conciliatory, it was far less +provocative than the address of the twenty-first of June preceding. He +protested against the decree of the Directory constituting "an +unequivocal act of war" and maintained that "to invigorate measures of +defence" was the true policy of the United States. But while he thus +reiterated some of his previous statements, the tone was far less +truculent. President Adams, while frowning threateningly, held behind +his back the olive branch and was ready to extend it. The conclusion was +one of these milk-and-water statements, that curious balancing of two +positions so often found in American State papers relating to foreign +affairs: + + But in demonstrating by our conduct that we do not fear war in the + necessary protection of our rights and honor, we shall give no room + to infer that we abandon the desire of peace.... An efficient + preparation for war can alone insure peace. It is peace that we have + uniformly and perseveringly cultivated, and harmony between us and + France may be restored at her option. + +Then came the really important part: "The United States Government could +not think of sending another minister ... unless given positive +assurances that he would be received. It must therefore be left with +France (if she is indeed desirous of accommodation) to take the +requisite steps." + +Apparently an innocuous statement, but yet it was a new note; as it was +known that Adams had received some communications from Gerry and was to +make these communications known, it was supposed that a real change and +a change for the better was about to take place in the relations between +the two countries. Therefore Jefferson could mention in the speech "a +moderation unlike the President", and he also knew that Vans Murray, +the American minister at the Hague, had informed his Government "that +the French Government is sincere in their overtures for reconciliation +and have agreed, if these fail, to admit the mediation offered by the +British Government."[371] + +In the meantime the fight in Congress was merrily going on, with that +peculiar circumstance that both leaders remained behind the scenes. To +the Kentucky Resolutions, followed by much milder representations from +other State legislatures, Hamilton opposed his instructions sent to +Dayton, and since published in his "Works." If they had fallen into +Jefferson's hands he would have found in them ample grounds for his +fears. The Federalist leader was of the opinion that his party was +losing ground, and the late attempt of Virginia and Kentucky to unite +the State legislatures in a direct resistance to certain laws of the +Union, could be considered in no other light than as an attempt to +change the Government. Under the circumstances, and considering that +"the enemies of the Government were resolved, if it shall be +practicable, to make its existence a question of force", Hamilton had +devised a certain plan to be executed by the Federalist troops in +Congress. The measures came under four heads: establishments which will +extend the influence and promote the popularity of the Government; +provision for augmenting the means and consolidating the strength of the +Government; arrangements for confirming and enlarging the legal powers +of the Government; laws for restraining and punishing incendiary and +seditious practices. The detail of the recommendations showed a +perfectly well-concerted plan to concentrate all powers in the hands of +the Federal Government. + +One of the most remarkable proposals was perhaps the project of +subdividing the larger States into several small States containing no +less than a hundred thousand persons each, as these new units would be +"better adapted to the purposes of local regulations and to the +preservation of the Republican spirit." It is not without interest here +to note that the Federalist leader proposed the very measures which had +been adopted in France when the old provinces were divided into +_departements_. In the case of the Federalists, as in the case of the +Constituents, the purpose was the same: a concentration of all powers +into the hand of a central authority and the suppression of local +government. Other recommendations were an extension of the judiciary +with a Federal judge at the head of each district; the appointment of +conservators or justices of peace, who were to supervise the energetic +execution of the laws and to promote "salutary patronage"; a stronger +army; improvement of roads; powers given to the Government to call out +the militia to suppress unlawful combinations and insurrections; power +given to Congress to build canals through the territory of two or more +States, that "all seditious writings levelled against any officers +whatever of the U. S. shall be cognizable in the courts of the United +States." + +If the administrative reorganization advocated by Hamilton had been +effected, it would have made the United States not far different from +the France of Napoleon and, such being the plans of the Federalists, it +cannot be said that Jefferson's fear was entirely exaggerated. + +One of the first victories of the Federalists was to pass the famous +Logan Law (January 30) forbidding any citizen of the United States to +commence or carry on any verbal or written correspondence or intercourse +with any foreign government, or any officer thereof in relation to any +disputes or controversies with the United States. Doctor Logan's +intentions had been of the best. He had seen members of the French +Directory in Paris and had brought with him "non-equivocal proofs of the +pacific dispositions of the French Government towards the United States" +and particularly the Statement of Merlin that "_la liberte des +Etats-Unis nous a coute trop de sang pour qu'elle ne nous soit pas +chere._"[372] None of these activities could be called treacherous, and +in normal times would not have been noticed. But behind Logan, Jefferson +was aimed at, and he was perfectly aware, as he wrote to Madison, that +"the real views in the importance they have given to Logan's enterprise +are mistaken by nobody."[373] Yet he thought he had to justify himself +to his friends, and sent a long letter on the subject to Gerry. Far more +important than his defense was a declaration of the principles he did +not fear to avow. "They are unquestionably," he said, "the principles of +the great body of our fellow-citizens." It was really the program of the +Democratic Party and the most luminous exposition of the Jeffersonian +doctrine ever made. + + I do then, with sincere zeal, wish an inviolable preservation of our + present federal Constitution, according to the true sense in which it + was adopted by the States ... and I am opposed to the monarchising + its features by the forms of its administration, with a view to + conciliate a first transition to a President and Senate for life, and + from that to an hereditary tenure of these offices.... I am for + preserving to the States the powers not yielded by them to the Union, + and to the legislature of the Union its constitutional share in the + division of powers; and I am not for transferring all the powers of + the States to the General Government, and all those of that + Government to the executive branch. I am for a government rigorously + frugal and simple, applying all the possible savings of the public + revenue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a + multiplication of officers and salaries merely to make partisans.... + I am for relying, for internal defence, on our militia solely, till + actual invasion ... and not for a standing army in time of peace, + which may overawe the public sentiment; nor for a navy, which by its + own expenses and the eternal wars in which it will implicate us, will + grind us with public burthens, and sink us under them. I am for free + commerce with all nations; political connections with none; and + little or no diplomatic establishment ... I am for freedom of + religion, and against all manoeuvres to bring about a legal + ascendency of one sect over another: for freedom of the press, and + against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and + not by reason the complaints of criticism, just or unjust, of our + citizens against the conduct of their agents. And I am for + encouraging the progress of science in all its branches; and not for + raising a hue and cry against the sacred name of philosophy....[374] + +Jefferson ended with a paragraph in which he solemnly proclaimed the +integrity of his American nationalism, although he admitted that he was +a well wisher to the success of the French Revolution and still hoped +that it would succeed; but he added at once: "The first object of my +heart is my own country. In that is embarked my family, my fortune, my +own existence. I have not one farthing of interest, nor preference of +any one nation to another, but in proportion as they are more or less +friendly to us." + +The man who drew up that program in the midst of an unprecedented +political strife and the riotous scenes of the streets of Philadelphia +was a political leader of the first rank. The letter to Gerry is more +than a letter from one individual to another; it transcends the +circumstances of the moment. It is the result of mature reflection; the +conclusions reached by Jefferson after almost thirty years of political +life. It is really the first program of his party and the first complete +definition of Government and of Americanism; for it was distinctly +American. I fail to perceive in it the influence of any foreign +political thinker except in so far as such principles as freedom of the +press, separation of the Church and the State may have been ideas common +to a great majority of political thinkers of the eighteenth century. +Even if Jefferson's request to Gerry to keep the communication +absolutely secret was obeyed, there is little doubt that we have here +the gist of the communication made orally by Jefferson to his friends +and to the leaders of the Republicans in Congress. + +For the moment the letter contained a strong appeal to Gerry to place +every evidence at his disposal before the public, since the Government +refused to do it, and to publish in full the report on his mission. He +alone could save the situation by coming forward independently. But even +if Gerry acceded to this wish, some one else would have to present a +brief synopsis of the evidence and draw up a judicial arraignment of the +administration. At this juncture Jefferson thought of his old master +Pendleton, at whose feet he had sat in Williamsburg, and with whom he +had worked in the revision of the statutes of Virginia. He alone could +give the "_coup de grace_" to the ruinous principles and doctrines; he +alone could recapitulate all the vexations and disgusting details of the +Stamp Act and the Direct Tax. A small handbill would be printed and they +could "disperse ten or twelve thousand copies under letter covers, +through all the United States, by the members of Congress when they +return home."[375] To make Pendleton's cooeperation more certain, +Jefferson even drew up the plan of the indictment and inclosed all the +necessary documents. + +February was for Jefferson a period of hectic activity. During all the +first part of the month he multiplied his entreaties to Pendleton to +gird up his loins and enter the fight. If he still refused to write for +the press he was not averse to communicating to the editors papers +written by his friends, and he begged these for expressions of opinion +to be sent to the press. + + The engine is the press. Every man must lay his purse and his pen + under contribution. As to the former it is possible I may be obliged + to assume something for you. As to the latter, let me pray and + beseech you to set apart a certain portion of every post day to write + what may be proper for the public. Send it to me while here, and + when I go away I will let you know to whom you may send, so that your + name shall be sacredly secret.[376] + +The propaganda was beginning to bear its fruits. John Ogden was writing +from Litchfield that "many publications in the _Aurora_ have reached +Connecticut, within four weeks, which have opened the eyes of the +dispassionate" and he was asking for more pamphlets.[377] But a week +later Ogden was arrested and to Jefferson he sent a letter "From +Lichtfield Goal (sic) at the suit of Oliver Wolcott Esq", to affirm that +"prison has no horror to the oppressed, inspired and persecuted." To +Aaron Burr in New York Jefferson wrote very affectionately and very +familiarly to acquaint him with the state of public affairs.[378] To +Monroe he was sending pamphlets, asking him to distribute them where +they would do most good, adding as usual "Do not let my name be +connected in the business." He never tired of repeating that the proper +argument to strike the voters was the enormous increase in the budget of +the United States: a loan authorized for five millions at eight per +cent., another of two millions to follow and that was just a beginning. +All these measures were accepted by Congress in the teeth of Gerry's +communications with Talleyrand, showing the French Government willing to +continue the negotiations. + +Then on February 18 came "the event of events." While all the war +measures were going on, while the Government of the United States was +blockading the French West Indies and French vessels were captured, +while there were in several instances cases of actual warfare, the +President had had in his hand for several weeks letters exchanged +between Pichon, the French charge at the Hague, and Vans Murray, +declaring that the French Government was ready to receive "whatever +plenipotentiary the Government of the United States should send to +France to end our differences and that he would be received with the +respect due to the representative of a _free, independent, and powerful +nation_." Adams, almost on the eve of the adjournment of Congress, had +decided, as it seems, against the advice and without the knowledge of +his Cabinet, not only to communicate the Vans Murray-Pichon papers, but +to recommend that Murray be appointed as plenipotentiary to France. The +Federalists in the Senate were appalled and at first did not know what +to do.[379] But they were not lacking in strategy; not daring to come +out openly, they appointed on the President's recommendation, not only +Murray but Oliver Ellsworth and Patrick Henry, the last two "not to sail +from America before they should receive from the French Directory +assurances that they should be received with the respect due to the law +of nations, to their character, etc." + +This, as Jefferson noticed at once, was a last effort to postpone the +patching-up of difficulties and also a last effort to provoke the +French, since they had already given such an assurance to Murray.[380] +"The whole artillery of the phalanx was played secretly on the P. and he +was obliged himself to take a step which should parry the overture while +it wears the face of acceding to it," he wrote to Madison.[381] But the +war party was defeated, the Federalists had received a fatal blow; +victory already was in sight when Congress adjourned at the beginning of +March. + +Then Jefferson repaired to Monticello, while in the back counties +assessors clashed with farmers, troopers with small-town editors, while +Duane was flogged in the street after being dragged from his office by +militiamen. But he was not idle, although for some mysterious reason +several of the letters he published during the summer have never been +printed. He received many visitors, wrote to friends, proclaimed his +faith in ultimate victory for "the body of the American people is +substantially Republican, but their virtuous feelings have been played +on by some fact with more fiction. They have been the dupes of artful +manoeuvres and made for a moment to be willing instruments in forging +chains for themselves."[382] He encouraged Bache and Venable to publish +a gazette, for unfortunately "the people of Virginia were not +incorruptible and offices there as elsewhere were acceptable", so that +the situation was neither safe nor satisfactory. To William Greene he +wrote a truly splendid letter on "progress" in which he expressed his +belief "with Condorcet, that man's mind is perfectible to a degree of +which we cannot as yet form any conception", and predicted limitless +discoveries in the field of science. The present convulsions could only +be temporary, for it was impossible, he maintained, that "the enthusiasm +characterizing America should lift its parricidal hand against freedom +and science. This would be such a monstrous phenomenon as I cannot place +among possible things in this age and in this country." + +At the same time he was not unmindful of keeping in complete harmony the +heterogeneous elements of the party just being formed. He strove to +placate Callender who, jealous of Bache, was writing epileptic letters +to complain of the whole universe, and asking at the same time that +Jefferson should send him some money, as he was short of funds.[383] +John Taylor, who was planning to declare void and unconstitutional laws +adopted by Congress, and to call together a convention to appoint a +dictator, had to be told to "forbear to push on to this ultimate +effort."[384] Much preferable was the work undertaken by Randolph in +presenting a legal refutation of the Federalist attitude towards the +foundation of law, and the similar document on which Wilson Nicholas was +working.[385] + +All this time Jefferson was haunted by the fear that his letters would +fall into the hands of his enemies. To the few communications he wrote +during the later part of the summer, he did not even dare to put his +signature, "the omission of which has been rendered almost habitual with +me by the necessity of the post office; indeed the period is now +approaching during which I shall discontinue writing letters as much as +possible, knowing that every snare will be used to get hold of what may +be perverted."[386] He came to the point that on Monroe's advice he had +to refuse to see Madison in order to "avoid the appearance of a +collusion between them."[387] + +At the beginning of December he was back in Philadelphia for the session +of Congress and soon after was able to send reassuring news to Monroe +who had become one of his "grand electors." Those who persist in +thinking him a dreamy idealist must read the letters he wrote between +January and May, 1800; not only did he keep his hand on the pulse of the +country, but he calculated the changes of the Republicans in every State +and figured out to a unit the possible number of votes they would +receive in the coming election. He knew the situation too well not to +admit that he was the natural choice of the Republicans even before any +census was held, and very early in January acknowledged it to Monroe: + + Perhaps it will be thought I ought in delicacy to be silent on the + subject. But you, who know me, know that my private gratification + would be most indulged by that issue, which should leave me most at + home. If anything supersedes this propensity, it is merely the desire + to see this government brought back to its republican principles. + Consider this as written to Mr. Madison as much as yourself; and + communicate it, if you think it will do any good, to those possessing + our joint confidence, or any others where it may be useful and + safe.[388] + +He was undoubtedly sincere in disclaiming any ambition, but under the +circumstances he was bound to observe a certain reticence, being the +President of the Senate, next to Adams in the Government and yet Adams' +adversary in the next election. But in his letters he made no pretense +of false modesty and frankly mentioned time and again what he called +"our ticket." Yet he was not the man who could ever give all his energy +to a single task, and absorbing as were his political preoccupations he +showed during the summer of 1800 as much versatility as ever. He took up +again the transformation of William and Mary College, this time to make +a real university of the old institution. He wrote to Priestley to send +him a good plan of reorganization and a few weeks later to Du Pont de +Nemours who composed for him his "Plan of a National Education."[389] +With Colonel Benjamin Hawkins he discussed the desirability of studying +the language and customs of the Indians, while there was still +time.[390] He was thinking of compiling a volume on the "Morals of +Jesus" and discussed religion with Bishop Madison who intended to write +a book to prove that the Christian religion, "rightly understood and +carried into full effect, would establish a pure Democracy over the +world. Its main pillars are--Equality, Fraternity, Justice, Universal +Benevolence."[391] + +At the same time he was keeping close watch on the news coming from +France and on political developments in Congress. Rumors circulated that +a new revolution had taken place in Paris and that Bonaparte was at the +head of it. This was a wonderful opportunity to test out by actual +experience the disadvantage of a directory or executive committee as +compared with a single executive in a republic.[392] From what he knew +of the French character, he did not believe that a monarchy could be +reestablished in France, for "If Bonaparte declares for Royalty, either +in his own person, or that of Louis XVIII, he has but a few days to +live. In a nation of so much enthusiasm, there must be a million +Brutuses who will devote themselves to death to destroy him." But a few +days later he had come to the conclusion that it was probably what +Bonaparte had done, and what had been done in France could probably be +done in America when our Bonaparte, surrounded by his comrades in arms, +may step in to give us political salvation in his way. One thing was +certain, however: Bonaparte had clearly demonstrated that he had no +brains, no creative and constructive mind; and, with the pride of a man +who was engaged in a stupendous experiment, Jefferson pitilessly +criticized the Napoleonic reconstruction of France: "Whenever he has +meddled we have seen nothing but fragments of the old Roman government +stuck into materials with which they can form no cohesion; we see the +bigotry of an Italian to the ancient splendor of his country, but +nothing which bespeaks a luminous view of rational government."[393] + +To his friend Samuel Adams, who had written him at the end of January, +he repeated the same judgment in less striking but perhaps even harsher +terms: + + I fear our friends on the other side of the water, laboring in the + same cause, have yet a great deal of crime and misery to wade + through. My confidence has been placed in the head not in the heart + of Bonaparte. I hoped he would calculate truly the difference between + the fame of a Washington and a Cromwell. Whatever the views may be, + he has at least transferred the destinies of the republic from the + civil to the military arm. Some will use this as a lesson against the + practicability of republican government. I read in it a lesson + against the danger of standing armies.[394] + +No more patent demonstration could be desired of the fact that in his +judgments of the French Revolution, Jefferson was at all times +influenced by the possible effects that European examples might have on +the American crisis. The precedent established by Bonaparte was a very +dangerous one and might put similar ambitions into the head of an +unscrupulous schemer. Whether he really believed or not that there was +such an immediate danger for America, and that Hamilton had really such +intentions, is an entirely different question. Probably he did not +himself know. He only felt that a permanent army would constitute a +permanent temptation and consequently a permanent danger, for he had +only limited faith in the virtue of individual man, although he +continued to believe in the wisdom of the collectivity. + +Domestic matters and other more immediate preoccupations were no less +worthy of attention. He followed very closely every measure proposed in +the House on the coming elections, on the voting procedure to be +adopted, and anxiously studied the political forecasts. The situation +was decidedly on the mend. This appears clearly in the attitude of the +Federalists towards him, not only in public but also in private. For +Madison he wrote a very elaborate review of the comparative strength of +the two parties in all the States of the Union; he saw that the key +States were Pennsylvania, Jersey and New York, the other States being +equally divided, and he concluded that "Upon the whole the issue was +still very doubtful." But officially one had to maintain a confident +attitude.[395] + +When April came, he thought that it would be desirable for the +Republicans to come out with a public declaration, stating their +program and their ideals. "As soon as it can be depended on," he said, +"we must have a Declaration of the principles of the Constitution, in +the nature of a Declaration of Rights, in all points in which it has +been violated."[396] + +If the plan had been put to execution we would have had the first +presidential "platform" as early as 1800, and Jefferson would thus have +hastened the formation of distinct political parties. But more +commonplace measures were not to be neglected. Discussing the situation +in North Carolina, still a very doubtful State, he advised that "the +medicine for that State must be very mild and secretly administered. But +nothing should be spared to give them true information." We would like +Jefferson better if he had shown more discrimination in the choice of +the men selected to disseminate this true information. For at that time, +at least, he was still employing Callender in Richmond--an amusing +scoundrel not much better than Cobbet, the Peter Porcupine of the +Federalists. But Callender was a useful tool, who was doing his utmost +to publish the second volume of the _Prospect_ and to catch up with +Federalist propaganda. One could condone much in a man then writing: "I +had entertained the romantic hope of being able to overtake the Federal +Government in its career of iniquity. But I am now satisfied that they +can _act_ much faster than I _can write_ after them."[397] + +Fortunately he had the approval and indorsement of much more respectable +characters. Samuel Adams had already written him; then it was John +Dickinson, the Revolutionary hero, who wrote, when sending his thanks +for a copy of the late "Resolutions of the Legislature of Virginia": "It +is an inestimable contribution to the cause of Liberty.... How +incredible was it once, and how astonishing is it now, that every +measure and every pretense of the stupid and selfish Stuarts, should be +adopted by the posterity of those who fled from this madness and tyranny +to the distant wilds of America."[398] + +Such letters, the congratulations of George Wythe, who urged him to +publish the "Manual of Parliamentary Practice", those of Pendleton, who +consented to revise the final text and to "freely cast his mite into the +treasury", were indeed balm on the wounds made by the fierce attacks of +the Federalist press.[399] + +The end of the session was approaching and the most earnest desire of +the Federalists was to adjourn as soon as possible, for fear that the +envoys to France should announce the conclusion of a treaty. Their power +seemed on the wane, but Jefferson was still very doubtful of ultimate +victory. To Livingston he wrote that his knowledge of the art, industry, +and resources of the other party did not permit him to be prematurely +confident. The tide had turned, to be sure, and the Federalists were +losing ground constantly, but the main question whether "that would +insure a Republican victory was still undecided and it might take one or +two elections more."[400] + +Congress adjourned on May 14. During the session congressional caucuses +had nominated for the Federalists John Adams, and General Charles +Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina; the choice of the Republicans +could only be Jefferson, and for candidate to the vice presidency they +selected Aaron Burr of New York. + +In the course of the summer, Adams and his wife moved to the new Federal +City laid out by Major Lenfant, which boasted of one tavern, the +Capitol, the President's house, and a few boarding houses,--a capital in +the midst of the woods, in a veritable wilderness of trees, with +impassable paths,--a town unable to lodge Congress except at Georgetown, +which was connected with the new city by a clay road. Jefferson, +according to his custom, had hurried back to his "farm" and was +apparently absorbed by his domestic occupations, his children, and +grandchildren. + +During the whole campaign he remained almost absolutely silent, not +daring to write, because his letters might have been intercepted and +used against him, receiving few visitors and reading without comment the +newspapers filled with the insults and abuse of the Federalists. He +broke his silence on few occasions, but these occasions are worth +studying in some detail. In a letter to Monroe, written from Eppington, +he discussed the best plans for assisting Callender, then jailed under +the Sedition Act, who "should be substantially defended whether +privately or publicly" and whose case should be laid before the +legislature.[401] These efforts did not avail since in August the +publicist wrote from his Richmond jail that he was in very bad health +"owing to the stink of the place."[402] There is not much that can be +said for Callender, and Jefferson might have better chosen his friends; +but when one reflects on the accusations commonly circulated against +Jefferson at the time, the interest taken by the Republican leader in +the pamphleteer seems less astonishing. If Callender had certainly +insulted Adams and Hamilton, had not the Reverend Cotton Mather Smith +accused Jefferson of "having robbed a widow and fatherless children of +an estate of which he was executor?" To Gideon Granger, who had called +his attention to the attacks of the clergyman, Jefferson easily +justified himself and seized the opportunity to discuss with his friend +a problem of general politics of far greater importance. It had very +little to do with the details of the election and for his remarkable +capacity to rise above contingencies Jefferson truly deserves the title +of "political philosopher." To incidents which he deemed without +permanent significance he paid little attention, but when dealing with +a phenomenon which seemed to him to indicate an important change in the +orientation of national policies, he always tried to penetrate beyond +the surface and reach the core of the question. + +The thing that now disturbed him more than the possible victory of Adams +and Pinckney was the fact that political divisions seemed to correspond +to a geographical division. Not without reason had he written to Colonel +Benjamin Hawkins: "those who knew us only from 1775 to 1793 can form no +better idea of us than of the inhabitants of the moon."[403] The North +and the South had never been in complete harmony; economically they were +different and had different interests, but something new had developed +during the seven or eight years just passed. There was evidently a rift +in the Union; on several occasions talks of secession had been heard. +These rumors did not correspond to any real danger, but if the elections +proved that the Union was formed of two solid blocks of States, if the +North remained Federalist and the South were Republican, the very +existence of the nation would be put in question. Yet this seemed to be +a probable eventuality. In these circumstances, a victory of the South +would mean a defeat of the North, the country would be divided against +itself and the Union would be destroyed. This was particularly to be +feared if the powers of the Federal Government were enlarged. Leaving +aside all question of principle as to the moral merit of the questions +under dispute, Jefferson tried to show, on the one hand, that it was +impossible ever to organize a centralized form of government for the +simple reason that the United States were too big and covered a +territory much too large. If a centralized government were established +on paper, it would be necessary to have many agents of the Federal +Government with extensive powers distributed over all the States, and +because of their very remoteness they would be beyond the possibility +of continuous control. This could only mean corruption, plunder, and +waste. On the other hand, since on fundamental questions it was +impossible to bring into accord the North and the South, the true and +only remedy was to minimize the chances of conflict and to reduce to a +minimum the powers and attributes of the Federal Government. "The true +theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the +States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as +to everything respecting foreign nations." Once more, therefore, he came +back to the original theory of 1776 that, in forming a social compact, +liberty is exchanged for security and only those rights are given up +which the members of the new society have not full power to enforce. +Thus his theory of State rights was not only well founded in theory but +proved by practice and experience. Any other system would almost +necessarily conduce to a secession. The man who wrote these lines in the +summer of 1800, more than half a century before the Civil War, was +certainly not an ordinary politician; his was the clear farsightedness +of a great statesman and true political philosopher. + +Furthermore, in the controversy which had been going on since 1793, +Jefferson had been submitted to fierce criticism on every possible +ground: as he wrote to McGregory, "the floodgates of calumny had been +opened upon him." It had been particularly distressing to him to see +that the religious issue had been injected into politics. There is no +doubt that his Bill for Religious Freedom proceeded, not from hostility +to religion, but from a deep and sincere conviction, reached after +careful study of the evidence available that "in law" there ought to be +no connection between the Church and the State and that if any had ever +been established, it was due to monkish fabrications and usurpations. +That he had turned against himself some of the Episcopalian clergy of +Virginia was quite natural, but before he went to France these attacks +were necessarily limited and did not extend beyond the borders of the +State or take the aspect of a national question. + +When, on the contrary, he began to be criticized for his supposed foible +for the French Revolution, such attacks became far more pressing. The +excesses of the Revolution were attributed to the infidel doctrines of +the French philosophers; and, being "contaminated" by French political +philosophy, Jefferson was naturally accused of having brought back from +France its atheism. These views received confirmation when he befriended +Volney and Priestley, one a confirmed atheist, as Priestley himself had +demonstrated, the other a Unitarian--which in the eyes of the orthodox +clergy was possibly worse. The attacks from the pulpit became more +numerous, and a clergyman of New York, a close friend of Hamilton, even +published a pamphlet entitled "The voice of Warning to Christians on +ensuing election", in which Jefferson was accused of having answered to +a certain Doctor Smith, who expressed his surprise at the condition of a +church: "It is good enough for Him who was born in a manger." + +Considering, on the other hand, that a large portion of the clergy were +enrolled under the Federalist banner, Jefferson had come to the +conclusion that the clergy had "a very favorite hope of obtaining an +establishment of a particular form of Christianity through the United +States; and as every sect believes its own form the true one, every one +perhaps hopes for his own, especially the Episcopalians and the +Congregationalists." Whether this was so absolutely untrue or +impossible, as some historians seem to believe, is a question far too +difficult to answer and one which probably cannot be solved. On the face +of things it does seem that there was in it a grain of truth, for no +human organization, whether ecclesiastical or civil, ever relinquishes +voluntarily the smallest particle of power or prestige. + +One thing, however, is certain: if Jefferson had said the word, the +religious issue would have been injected into the campaign; and some of +his friends, believing that "Christianity was the strong ground of +Republicanism", were urging him to give his consent, for it was only +necessary for "Republicanism to ally itself to the Christian religion, +to overturn all the corrupted political and religious institutions in +the world."[404] But this was for Jefferson a forbidden subject. He had +"sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of +tyranny over the mind of man"; he had formed "a view of the subject +which ought to displease neither the rational Christian nor the Deists +and would reconcile many to a character they have too hastily rejected"; +but this was not the time or the place to discuss matters that ought to +be reserved for a calm and dispassionate discussion between friends, so +he refused to authorize the publication of any statement referring to +his religious views.[405] + +In the meantime the political campaign was going on and the Federalists' +affairs were assuming a decidedly unhealthy complexion. How this +happened is a story of extraordinary intrigue and machination, already +told several times and still a delight to historians fond of studying +political deals. To a large extent the victory of the Republicans was +due to divisions in the Federalist camp and it came to pass that no +other man did more than Hamilton to assure Jefferson's success. From the +beginning, the former leader of the Federalists had set himself against +Adams, employing every effort to have Pinckney receive the first place +in the nomination. The first sign of a Federalist defeat appeared in New +York State, where Burr had his headquarters and had so cleverly +maneuvered things that the State went Republican at the April election. +This was a personal defeat for Hamilton and also a terrible blow to the +Federalists. Then Adams went into one of those fits of anger which make +him such a picturesque figure; he decided that he had been betrayed by +his Cabinet, summarily dismissed his Secretary of War, McHenry, and +offered Pickering an opportunity to resign, which the Secretary of State +did not choose to take. Thereupon the President informed him that he +"discharged him from further service in the Cabinet." He then called +into the Cabinet John Marshall of Virginia as Secretary of State and +Samuel Dexter of Massachusetts as Secretary of War. From that time on, +the political campaign reads as if the leaders of the Federalists had +really lost their heads. Hamilton bent all his efforts towards holding +another election in New York and, failing in that, towards preventing +Adams from obtaining a majority. The affair culminated in the +publication of a pamphlet, entitled "The true conduct and character of +John Adams, Esq. President of the United States", pointing out the +weakness of Adams' character. The pamphlet was intended for private +distribution, but it found its way into the hands of the Republicans; +Aaron Burr had parts of it printed in the _New London Bee_ and the whole +was soon to be given to the public. When the whole pamphlet came out, it +added more fuel to the raging controversy. This is only one incident, +but not the least significant, among the many so vividly related by Mr. +Bowers. + +The electoral colleges met in each State on December 4. Returns came in +slowly to Washington but by the thirteenth it was known, in so far as +could be, that the Federalists were defeated; it also appeared that +there was a tie between the two Republican candidates. At this juncture +Jefferson, who had remained perfectly silent, took the matter in hand +and calmly assumed that he would be elected. To Robert R. Livingston, +brother of Edward Livingston who was a member of Congress from New York, +Jefferson wrote a letter congratulating him on his communications to the +American Philosophical Society and discussing quite seriously the +discovery "of some large bones supposed to be of the mammoth" in the +vicinity of New York. Then, as in an afterthought, he mentioned the +political situation. The matter of the election was as good as settled: +"We may, therefore, venture to hazard propositions on that hypothesis +without being justly subjected to raillery or ridicule." "To put the +vessel on a Republican tack", they would require the entire cooeperation +of "men who could at once inspire the nation with perfect confidence in +their honesty and talents", and Jefferson asked Livingston whether he +would not assume the Secretaryship of the Navy. That in his own mind he +considered the election well over appears in the sentence in which he +speaks, not as a candidate but as the leader of his party, and as if no +other hypothesis could enter his mind: "Though I have been too honorably +placed in front of those who are to enter the breach so happily made, +yet the energies of every individual are necessary, and in the very +place where his energies can most serve the enterprise."[406] + +The next day he wrote in the same vein to Aaron Burr to congratulate him +in no uncertain terms on his election as Vice President, expressing his +regrets that this distinction would prevent him from availing himself of +the services of Burr in the Cabinet. He based his conclusion on the +assurance he had received that South Carolina would withdraw one vote +from Burr, that Smith of Tennessee would give its second vote to +Gallatin. It was also surmised that the vote of Georgia would not be +entire. This would leave Burr well ahead of Adams but decidedly in the +second place. Jefferson indicated that several of the Federalists had +expressed the hope that "the two Republican tickets may be equal" and in +that case they expected to prevent a choice by the House and "let the +Government devolve on a President of the Senate." Then came a gently +insinuating sentence: "Decency required that I should be so entirely +passive during the late contest that I have never once asked whether +arrangements had been made to prevent so many from dropping votes +intentionally, as might frustrate half the Republican wish; nor did I +doubt till lately that such had been made." In the last paragraph, +Jefferson, refusing even to consider that Burr might aspire to the +presidency, indicated that he considered the matter as settled and +firmly put Burr where he belonged: + + While I must congratulate you, my dear Sir, on the issue of this + contest, because it is more honorable, and doubtless more grateful to + you than any station within the competence of the chief magistrate, + yet for myself, and for the substantial service of the public, + I feel most sensibly the loss we sustain of your aid in the new + administration. It leaves a chasm in my arrangements, which cannot + be adequately filled up. + +If we put things together, the letter of Jefferson certainly meant first +that the time had come to make some "arrangements" to thwart the schemes +of the Federalists; second, that a tie was almost certain, and finally +that it was up to Burr to declare that he was not running for the +presidency. + +This conclusion is all the more probable because three days later, +writing to John Breckenridge, Jefferson did not mention again Georgia +and Tennessee, but declared that "we are brought into a dilemma by the +probable equality of the two Republican candidates." Then he added: "The +Federalists in Congress mean to take advantage of this, and either to +prevent an election altogether, or reverse what has been understood to +have been the wishes of the people, as to the President and +Vice-President; wishes which the Constitution did not permit them +specially to designate."[407] Nothing could be clearer; it was to some +extent the situation of 1796, but reversed as to the candidates, and +Jefferson expected that Burr would do the right thing by him. + +This, however, was not so obvious to Burr himself. The letter he sent in +reply to Jefferson must have been most disappointing in this respect. +The colonel side-stepped the issue, refused to come out frankly and did +not write a single line that could be constructed as an acceptance of +Jefferson's point of view. On December 31, Jefferson wrote to Tench Coxe +to express his opinion that an agreement between the two higher +candidates was their only hope "to prevent the dissolution of the +Government and a danger of anarchy, by an operation, bungling indeed and +imperfect, but better than letting the Legislature take the nomination +of the Executive entirely from the people."[408] + +This could have been construed as a hint to Burr to give up his unavowed +hopes of becoming President. But Burr, who was in New York, could not +easily be communicated with and kept his sphinxlike silence. January +passed without Jefferson's finding any necessity of writing any +political letters. With Hugh Williamson he discussed the range of +temperature in Louisiana and whether the turkey was a native bird:[409] +with William Dunbar the temperature, Indian vocabularies and the origin +of the rainbow. + +In February, however, he again wrote to Burr. He had been informed that +certain individuals were attempting "to sow tares between us that might +divide us and our friends." He assured Burr that he had never written +anything that could be regarded as injurious by his running mate; the +only time that he had discussed his conduct was in a letter to +Breckenridge written on December 18, in which he had expressed the +conviction that the wishes of the people were that he and not Burr be +President. That was a pure statement of fact at which no man could take +offense. This time, Burr apparently did not answer at all, and while the +House was preparing for the balloting, Jefferson discussed with Caspar +Wistar the bones found in the State of New York, "the vertebra, part of +the jaw, with two grinders, the tusks, which some have called the +horns, the sternum, the scapula, the tibia and fibula, the tarsus and +metatarsus, and even the phalanges and innominata."[410] + +On the morning of the election and before going to the Capitol he wrote +to Tench Coxe: "Which of the two will be elected, and whether either, I +deem perfectly problematical: and my mind has long been equally made up +for either of the three events." This was on a Wednesday. After the +result of the election had been officially announced, the House retired +to proceed to the election of the President. Ballots were taken, +Jefferson receiving eight States, Burr six, nine being necessary to a +choice. The House stayed in continuous session till eight o'clock the +next morning, taking twenty-seven ballots without any change in the +results; members of the House dozing between ballots, snatching a bit of +sleep whenever they could, all of them admiring the fortitude of Joseph +N. Nicholson who, although sick in bed, had been brought to the House +and rested in a committee room, voting at each ballot. The House +adjourned until eleven o'clock on Friday and then took two successive +ballots without being able to break the deadlock. On Saturday three +ballots were taken without any change in the alignment, and they +adjourned until Monday. In the meantime passions were raging. The +Federalists had been told in no equivocal terms that, should they +attempt to have the Government devolve to some member of the present +administration, "the day such an act would pass, the Middle States would +arm" and that "no such usurpation would be tolerated even for a single +day." + +On the other hand, Jefferson had been approached by the more sensible +heads of the Federalists, and apparently by Gouverneur Morris, who +stopped him as he was coming out from the Senate Chamber, and had +offered to influence one member of Vermont, provided he would declare: +"1. that he would not turn all the Federalists out of office; 2. that +he would not reduce the navy; and 3. would not wipe off the public +debt." To which Jefferson answered that he would not become President by +capitulation and would not make any declaration. Then he went to see +Adams, who seemed ready to approve of the choice of Jefferson as +President and who told him that he could have himself elected by +subscribing to conditions analogous to those indicated by Morris. +Finally he was visited in his room by Dwight Foster, senator from +Massachusetts, who also reiterated the same offer. These are, +undoubtedly, some of the maneuvers he mentioned on Sunday, the day of +rest, in a letter he wrote to Monroe: "Many attempts have been made to +obtain terms and promises from me, I have declared to them +unequivocally, that I would not receive the government on capitulation, +that I would not go into it with my hands tied."[411] + +On Sunday and Monday parleyings went on, caucuses were held, and no +change was yet apparent. But on Tuesday morning an agreement was +reached. It was described by Jefferson himself as follows: + +"Morris of Vermont withdrew, which made Lyon's vote that of his State. +The Maryland Federalists put in four blanks, which made the positive +ticket of their colleagues the vote of the State. South Carolina and +Delaware put in six blanks, so there were ten states for one candidate, +four for another, and two blanks." And the speaker of the House, +Theodore Sedgwick, one of Jefferson's bitterest enemies, was forced to +announce his election. + +The letter he wrote to Monroe the same day is not a paean of triumph. The +long-disputed victory, the irreducibility of a large portion of the +Federalists, made him fearful lest the fight would soon renew. +Furthermore, Adams had at once started making new appointments, +naturally without consulting his successor; Bayard was nominated +plenipotentiary to the French Republic, "Theophilus Parsons, Attorney +General of the United States in the room of C. Lee, who, with Keith +Taylor _cum multis aliis_ are appointed judges under the new system. H. +G. Otis is nominated a District Attorney."[412] + +On his side, Jefferson wrote at once to Henry Dearborn to offer him the +Secretaryship of War in his Cabinet and courteously communicated with +Dexter, Secretary of the Treasury, and Stoddart, Secretary of the Navy, +to thank them for their offer to conduct the affairs of their +departments pending the arrival of their successors. To a certain Major +William Jackson whom he did not know and who had written him to express +the fear that he would discriminate against commerce, he answered that +he "might appeal to evidences of his attention to the commerce and +navigation of our country in different stations connected with them." + +This was an evident allusion to his mission to France and to the +activity he had displayed in defending the commercial interests of the +United States. He resented particularly the fact that he had been +represented as a friend to agriculture and an enemy to commerce, "the +only means of disposing of its products."[413] The true position of +Jefferson on this matter has already been pointed out in a preceding +chapter; but the fact that the letter was written the very day he was +notified of his election is proof enough that he already intended to +conciliate both the agricultural and the commercial interests of the +country. To the smoothing over of old differences of opinion he bent all +his efforts during the three weeks that separated him from his +inauguration. Bayard having refused his appointment to France, he +approached at once Robert R. Livingston, intending to give the +nomination to the Senate at the first opportunity. At the same time he +repeated that the great body of the Federalist troops was discouraged +and truly repentant, or disposed to come back into the fold. Those who +were so inclined should be received with open arms for "If we can once +more get social intercourse restored to its pristine harmony, I shall +believe we have not lived in vain; and that it may, by rallying them to +true Republican principles, which few of them had thrown off, I +sanguinely hope."[414] + +He resigned from the Chair of the Senate on the twenty-eighth, and made +the necessary preparations for the inauguration. The ceremonies were to +be very simple but dignified. John Marshall, Chief Justice of the +Supreme Court, was asked by Jefferson himself to administer the oath, +and on March 4, 1801, the new President was inaugurated, while John +Adams, who had refused to welcome his successor, was starting on his way +to New England. + + + + +BOOK FIVE + +_The Presidency_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +"ALL REPUBLICANS, ALL FEDERALISTS" + + +The battle over, Jefferson's first and only desire seems to have been to +bring about a reunion of the former political opponents. He had hardly +been elected when he declared that he was not the choice of one party, +but that the analysis of the last ballot showed clearly that "the former +federalists have found themselves aggregated with us and that they are +in a state of mind to be aggregated with us."[415] + +And this, much to the surprise and disappointment of the militants who +had fought the hard battle with him and for him, was the keynote of his +inaugural speech. Throwing overboard his former defense of the French +Revolution, he did not hesitate to attribute the political storm which +the ship had just weathered to the baneful influence of European +disturbances: + + During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the + agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and + slaughter his long-lost liberty, it was not wonderful that the + agitation of the billows would reach even this distant and peaceful + shore; that this should divide opinions as to measures of safety. But + every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have + called by different names brethren of the same principles. + +Then came the final and definitive formula: "We are all republicans--we +are all federalists." + +In more than one sense this was the most characteristic and the most +masterly of Jefferson's political utterances. The battle of Capitol Hill +was ended, the last streamers of smoke had floated away and America had +found herself: "a rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, +traversing all the seas with the rich productions of her industry, +engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, +advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eyes." + +This was not written simply for effect and for the public eye. To +Monroe, Jefferson had declared that the policy of the new administration +would not be a policy of reprisals. The victory had been won partly +through the repentance of former Federalists who had seen their error, +and during the awful suspense of the week of the eleventh to the +seventeenth of February, had feared that the country would become a prey +to anarchy. These he welcomed back into the fold; the leaders, of +course, were irreconcilable, but the majority were to be forgiven, and +few removals from office were to be made on the ground of political +divergences of opinion. "Some, I know, must be made. They must be as few +as possible, done gradually, and bottomed on some malversation or +inherent disqualification."[416] + +Of the thousands of Federal officers in the United States, the President +estimated that not twenty would have to be removed, while in two or +three instances, officers removed by Mr. Adams for refusing to sign +addresses were to be restored. Jefferson realized that by so acting and +"stopping thus short in the career of removal" he would give offense to +many of his friends, and he added with some melancholy: "That torrent +has been pressing me heavily, and will require all my force to bear up +against; but my maxim is "fiat justitia, ruat caelum."[417] + +All this sounds perfectly sincere and true. Even the most superficial +consideration of Jefferson's life would convince any one that he was not +a man of vindictive character. By nature a pacifier and a harmonizer, +nothing would have been farther from his program than to revive the old +fires and to prolong party strifes. But if it takes only one to declare +war, it takes two to make peace, and the defeated party was in no +peaceful mood. Hamilton was removed from the scene, and the form of +government was apparently definitively settled by the election of +Jefferson, but the Federalists had not given up every hope; they were +still strongly intrenched and the battle went on during all of +Jefferson's administration. It was not so spectacular as the fight with +Hamilton, for the chief protagonist, John Marshall, lacked the dramatic +qualities of the former leader of the Federalists; but it was no less +momentous and no less important for the destinies of the United States. + +When it came to actual removals, however, difficulties arose +immediately. Whether in all cases Jefferson was rightly advised or +inspired is open to question. The wisdom of appointing Samuel Bishop, a +man of "sound understanding, pure integrity and unstained character", as +collector of New Haven may be doubted, and there was something +undeniably worth considering in the protest of New Haven merchants, that +a man seventy-seven years old was unfit for such an office. The incident +in itself was paltry, but the letter written by the President in answer +to the protest put once again into light that curious mixture of +theoretical idealism and practical political sense so remarkable in +Jefferson. After all, the Federalists had begun with filling every +office with their partisans and it was necessary to reestablish a just +balance, even if some individuals had to suffer. If the rights of the +minority could not be ignored, the majority had its rights also and +could not submit to the monopoly claimed by the Federalists: "Total +exclusions," concluded the President, "call for prompt corrections. I +shall correct the procedure; but that done, return with joy to that +state of things, when only questions concerning a candidate shall be, is +he honest? Is he capable? Is he faithful to the Constitution?"[418] In +other words, Jefferson was not ready to proclaim the principle so +frankly avowed later "to the victor belong the spoils." His principle +was and remained absolutely different. But he considered that he was +confronted by a situation which had to be remedied without any delay, +and in his behavior he reminds one in some way of the French publicist +who, although theoretically opposed to the death penalty, declared, +"_Que messieurs les assassins commencent_!" Certainly this is not the +pure and exalted morality of the political philosopher, but neither is +it the cynical attitude of the political "boss", and one may wonder how +many men who have occupied high offices would stand better than +Jefferson in this respect if documents were available and could be +subjected to the same scrutiny. + +The fact remains, however, that during the battle from which he had come +out victorious, Jefferson had to employ and sometimes associate with men +whose character was not absolutely spotless. The presence of Aaron Burr +in the government was already a thorn in his side. It was also +particularly unfortunate that he had given aid and assistance to +Callender, whose scurrilous attacks against Adams went far beyond a +legitimate discussion of public utterances and actions of a man at the +head of the government. Callender had been sentenced under the Sedition +Act to a term in jail and liberated by Jefferson with all the other +victims of the act when he took office. It was even more unfortunate +that the pamphlet of Callender, "The Prospect Before Us", was reprinted +under a modified title as the "History of the Administration of John +Adams" more than a year after the new administration had taken hold of +things. It was also regrettable that the son of John Adams should have +been removed from office after the election. Soon after the death of +Jefferson's younger daughter, Mrs. Adams, who had befriended the little +girl when she arrived in London all alone in 1787, wrote to the bereaved +father to express her sympathy. Jefferson took the opportunity to +reassert his personal friendship for John Adams. He could not help +mentioning, however, that one act of Adams' administration he had to +consider as personally unkind, his last appointment to office of +Jefferson's most ardent political enemies.[419] This letter called for +an answer, and Mrs. Adams was not a woman to miss an opportunity to +express her husband's views and her own on the removal of Federal judges +and particularly of John Quincy. Thus Jefferson was led to write a final +letter in which he expressed more clearly than he had done anywhere else +his opinion on the judiciary and on the place it should occupy in the +general scheme of government. To understand this letter fully it is +necessary to go back to the beginnings of Jefferson's administration. + +The original draft of Jefferson's message to Congress, December 8, 1801, +contained a paragraph which, after more mature reflection, the President +decided to omit "as capable of being chicaned, and furnishing something +to the opposition to make a handle of."[420] In it Jefferson held the +theory that the three powers existing in any government had been +distributed among three equal authorities, constituting each a check on +one or both the others. The President asserted that each of these three +branches of the government had a right "to decide on the validity of an +act according to its own judgment and uncontrouled by the opinions of +any other department." According to this theory, even if opposition +developed among different departments, no permanent ill could ensue, +since at the next election the people were at liberty to refuse to +reelect those whose interpretation seemed erroneous. + +Jefferson's disapproval of the Sedition Act had been known for a long +time; he had a right to assume that his election meant that the people +approved of his position and to make this declaration: + + On mature deliberation, in the presence of the nation, and under + the tie of the solemn oath which binds me to them and to my duty, + I do declare that I hold that act in palpable and unqualified + contradiction to the constitution, considering it then as a nullity, + I have relieved from oppression under it those of my fellow citizens + who were within the reach of the functions confided to me. + +In its final form the message was far less provocative. It simply +contained the statement that "the judiciary system ... and especially +that portion of it recently enacted, will, of course, present itself to +the contemplation of Congress." But the Federalists and particularly +Marshall were not placated by this apparent moderation; they knew that +the assault against the judiciary was about to begin. The debate between +Federalists and Republicans had already been transferred to another +ground. + +No better account of it can be found than the chapters written on the +subject by Albert J. Beveridge in his "Life of Marshall." It must be +remembered, however, that Beveridge's account was necessarily colored by +his own political views, as were the views of most historians of the +subject.[421] One of the first episodes of the battle was the repeal of +the Judiciary Act passed in 1801 by the Federalists, in order to +reorganize the Supreme Court and to increase the number of Federal +judges. This was immediately followed by the impeachment of Judge +Pickering, the deposition of Judge Addison by the Senate of +Pennsylvania, and the famous decision given by Marshall on "Marbury +versus Madison." These incidents were of unequal importance and +significance. It was recognized by Pickering's friends and family that +the judge was half-demented and for several years had been unable to +fulfill his duties. But since the Act of 1801 had been repealed, no one +seemed to have authority at the time to remove the judge from office. +The Pickering case simply provided the Republicans with an opportunity +to test out their favorite contention, that impeachment was unrestricted +and could be enforced against any officer of the government deemed +undesirable by two thirds of the Senate. + +Of far greater importance was the decision of Marshall in "Marbury +versus Madison." The senior member of the Supreme Court formulated on +this occasion a doctrine on the powers of the Court which, although +never written in the Constitution, was to obtain final recognition and +which to this day had remained one of the many unwritten laws of the +land. Another most curious situation this, so disconcerting to +historians and observers trained in the principles of Roman law, but +often recurring in American politics and administrative life. The case +itself was of no importance. Marbury was one of the "midnight judges" +whose commission, signed by Adams, had been withheld by Madison, on the +theory that the powers of the former President to make appointments had +really expired, not on the third of March, 1801, at midnight, but on the +day his successor was elected. It was maintained by the administration +that the commission not having been delivered Marbury had no right to +take office and to sit on the bench. Marbury had appealed to the Supreme +Court, but the sessions of the Court being suspended for fourteen months +by Congress, Marshall had at first no opportunity to declare himself +publicly on the matter. + +When he finally passed on the case, the Chief Justice saw at once that +his hour had come, and gave his definition of the powers of the Court in +its relation to the executive and the legislative. Curiously enough, as +Beveridge remarked, the matter had never before come up and would have +remained undecided for a long time, if this particular juncture had not +made it a question of paramount importance for the destinies of the +country. Briefly summed up, the theory of Marshall, shorn of its legal +phraseology, was this: The happiness of the American people rested on +certain principles embodied in the Constitution. These principles could +not be altered by legislation; if, however, the legislative passed a law +evidently contrary to the Constitution, there must be for the individual +some recourse, some means of asserting his rights. In cases where +Congress adopts laws contrary to the Constitution, these laws must be +void. On this principle Jefferson and Marshall were in complete +agreement. But from that point on they differed widely. The next +question was to determine where does the power rest to declare a law +unconstitutional? With the Executive and even with the States, Jefferson +had first declared in his draft of 1801. With the Supreme Court, +answered Marshall; for this is essentially a judicial function. Under +this construction, the Constitution remains the supreme law of the land, +but it is within the powers attributed by the Constitution to the +judiciary, for the Supreme Court to decide on the constitutionality of +an act passed by the legislature. Thus the Court is not placed above the +Constitution, but its judges stand as the keepers and interpreters of +the superior law of the country. + +Jefferson did not engage directly in a controversy with Marshall and +held his peace. But, as he was wont, he seized another opportunity to +express his views on the subject, and he did it in his letter written to +Mrs. Adams on September 11, 1804. In this, he maintained that "nothing +in the Constitution has given the judges a right to decide for the +Executive, more than to the Executive to decide for them. Both +magistrates are equally independent in the sphere of action assigned to +them." Judges believing a law to be constitutional have a right to pass +sentences. But "the Executive believing the law to be unconstitutional +were bound to remit the execution of it; because that power has been +confided to them by the Constitution." What he did not say on this +occasion, but repeated on many others, was that, the ultimate source of +authority resting in the people, it was for the people to decide at the +next election in case a conflict of interpretation should arise between +any of the three branches of the government. In case of a conflict +between the judiciary and the legislative, however, impeachment +proceedings could be initiated and judges removed in a regular and, +according to him, perfectly constitutional way. + +It must be recognized here that the position taken by Jefferson was +perfectly logical, far more logical than the interpretation given out by +Marshall. Whether Jefferson's theory would have worked out +satisfactorily is quite another matter. It is only too evident that +perfectly logical constructions do not always fit the complexity and +contradictions of human affairs. The system of democracy which was +Jefferson's ideal at that time might have worked in the case of a New +England town meeting; it would have been more difficult to apply to the +government of a State. In the case of a large and growing federation of +States, it would have injected into presidential and congressional +elections constant elements of discord and bitterness. Thus the cost of +liberty would not have been eternal vigilance, but eternal strife and +political dissensions. + +It may even be doubted whether Jefferson would ever have entertained +such an extreme theory if at that time he had not been moved by +immediate considerations. He had come to see in the judiciary, as it was +constituted after the appointments made by Adams, an institution +endangering the very life of the Republic. As for Marshall, who had +hurled a challenge at the executive and the legislative branches of the +government, it had to be ascertained whether some means could not be +found to remove him from office. + +That such was the ultimate intent of the Republican leaders was +understood generally when proceedings were started to impeach Judge +Chase of the Supreme Court. As in the case of Pickering, the +Republicans had carefully selected the card they intended to play. Was +he not the very man who had sentenced Fries to the gallows and Callender +to jail, who had been relentless in his application of the Sedition Act +and in the prosecution of Republicans? He had finally, and this was the +immediate ground for his impeachment, bitterly criticized from the bench +the repeal of the Federal judiciary act, and predicted that the country +would be enslaved by mob tyranny and that soon "they would all establish +the worst kind of government known to man." + +The impeachment proceedings took place in the Senate room elaborately +decorated for the occasion with a display of crimson, green, and blue +cloth draping the rows of benches and the sections reserved for the +heads of departments, foreign ministers, members of the House, and the +general public. The Senate convened to hear the case on February 4, +1805, and for almost a month all other business was practically +suspended. But it was far more than the fate of a single judge which was +going to be decided. On the decision of the Senate hung not only the +future of the Constitution but probably the fate of the Union. For New +England had already on several occasions threatened secession; the North +resented what was already termed "Virginia tyranny", and it was to be +feared that these feelings of disaffection might be strengthened. It was +also the most exciting ceremony the new capital had yet witnessed, and +the formalities of the proceedings, the effort to clothe them with +dignity and solemnity, presented a strange contrast with the uncouth +appearance of the city itself, with its ramshackle boarding houses, its +muddy streets, and surrounding wilderness. + +The debates provided a rare occasion for an extraordinary display of +American eloquence. This is not one of the least surprises to a student +of American civilization, to discover the taste of the people as a whole +for oratory and the remarkable gift of American orators for long +speeches, even in the early days. Scarcely less surprising was the +capacity of American audiences to listen patiently for long hours and +with apparent interest to discussions and debates. It seems as if the +gift attributed by Caesar to the Gauls of old had been transferred to the +new continent and to a people racially much different. Oratory was to a +certain extent a new art, for few occasions were offered in the colonial +times for long political speeches; but even in the early days of the +Revolution, born orators appeared and since that time have filled the +legislative halls with an inexhaustible flow of eloquence. This is said +without the least irony and merely as another illustration of the danger +of generalizing when discussing national characteristics. To the point +these speeches were, perhaps, but they were not short by any means. A +careful study of the development of the American school of oratory would +certainly repay a specialist in the history of public speaking. + +During the session, the oratorical stars were Luther Martin of Maryland, +who spoke for Chase, and John Randolph, who summed up the case for the +administration. It appeared, however, when the final vote was taken, +that Jefferson had not been able to keep his party in hand. There were +thirty-four senators, of whom nine were Federalists and twenty-five +Republicans. Twenty-two votes were necessary to convict, but the +administration was able to muster only sixteen for impeachment, and on +one count Chase was proved unanimously "not guilty." For the time being +John Marshall was safe, and the acquittal of Chase was undoubtedly a +personal defeat for the President. + +This wound to his _amour-propre_ was compensated by the success of the +last election. Jefferson had been reelected without opposition; the +strength of the Federalists as a separate party had dwindled to the +vanishing point, and only three days separated him from the beginning of +his second term. But everybody understood that the matter at issue had +not been settled and that another test would have to be made. The very +day Chase was acquitted, John Randolph introduced a resolution proposing +an amendment to the Constitution, to the effect that "The judges of the +Supreme Court, and of all other courts of the United States, shall be +removed by the President on the joint addresses of both Houses of +Congress requesting the same, anything in the Constitution of the United +States notwithstanding." This was referred to a committee and, as +Congress had only three more days to sit, it was decided by sixty-eight +votes against thirty-three that the motion would be made the order of +the day for the first Monday in December. + +The assault against the judiciary constitutes one of the most striking +episodes of Jefferson's first administration and has received its due +share at the hands of American historians. It must not be forgotten, +however, that even in other respects the President had no easy sailing. +The friend of Priestley, Thomas Cooper, Volney, and Thomas Paine +continued to be represented in the press and in the public as the +champion of infidelity. The President could not engage in any +controversy in order to justify himself but, according to his favorite +methods, he encouraged his friends to hit back, and he became more and +more convinced that the intrusion of the churches into politics was one +of the worst evils that could befall any country. He soon came to the +conclusion that many members of the clergy were unworthy to speak in the +name of the great teacher; that the Christian doctrine had degenerated +in their hands, and that no true religion could long exist when it was +intrusted to the priests. Hence the many expressions of his preference +for the Quakers so often found in his correspondence. + + The mild and simple principles of the Christian philosophy would + produce too much calm; too much regularity of good, to extract from + its disciples a support from a numerous priesthood, were they not to + sophisticate it, split it into hairs, and twist its texts till they + cover the divine morality of its author with mysteries, and require + the priesthood to explain them. The Quakers seem to have discovered + this. They have no priests, therefore no schisms. They judge of the + text by the dictates of common sense and common morality.[422] + +The indignation of the Federalists and the clergy reached a paroxysm +when it was discovered that the President had not only invited Paine to +come to America but had even promised him passage on a public vessel. +For Paine was no longer remembered as the eloquent political writer who +in prophetic accents had celebrated the uniqueness of America's position +in the world. He was the detestable atheist who had participated in the +bloody excesses of the French Revolution--a wretch unworthy of being +thus honored by a Christian nation. Once more religion was injected into +politics. The President was bitterly reproved by the New England clergy +for having refused to proclaim days of fasting and thanksgivings as his +predecessors had done, and Jefferson, who would have preferred to let +sleeping dogs lie, had to come out and explain his position on an +alliance between "Church and State, under the authority of the +Constitution."[423] + +That Jefferson, who was so restive under public criticism, suffered even +more than he dared admit appears in many passages of his letters. "Every +word of mine," he wrote to Mazzei, "which they can get hold of, however +innocent, however orthodox, is twisted, tormented, perverted, and like +the words of holy writ, are made to mean everything but what they were +intended to mean."[424] The whole subject is not an easy one to treat +and cannot be discussed here; but it would be very difficult to reach a +fair estimate of internal politics during Jefferson's first +administration if that element of hostility were entirely left out. We +can only express the hope that some day it will receive due attention. +An investigation of the New England papers and Church publications of +the time would undoubtedly bring to light many hidden currents of +hostility. + +But, in spite of these difficulties, the new administration went ahead +with a program of political reforms of great moment. No tradition for +the respective duties of the Cabinet members and their relation to the +President had yet been established. Under Washington's administration +letters sent to the President were referred by him to the departments +concerned to be acted upon, and letters sent to the department heads +were submitted to the President with a proposed answer. Generally they +were sent back with his approbation; sometimes an alteration was +suggested, and when the subject was particularly important it was +reserved for a conference. In this manner Washington always was in +accurate possession of all facts and proceedings in all parts of the +Union. This procedure had been impossible to follow during Adams' +administration, owing to the long and habitual absences of the President +from the seat of government, and little by little the department heads +had assumed more and more responsibility, with the result that the +government had four different heads "drawing sometimes in different +directions." This usurpation of powers and this maladministration +Jefferson meant to end. In a very courteous, but very firm manner, he +reminded the members of the Cabinet that the President had been +intrusted with a certain set of duties incumbent upon him and for which +he was responsible before the public, and that he considered it +necessary to return to the procedure followed by Washington. What had +been an informal custom was to become a regular and official routine; it +entailed an enormous expenditure of time on the part of the President, a +great flexibility of mind, and a necessity of adapting himself to many +different problems in the course of one day. To a large extent, +Jefferson is responsible for placing on the shoulders of the chief +executive the enormous load under which several Presidents have broken +down. + +This was not the most conspicuous reform introduced by Jefferson in the +plan of government, yet it was one of the most important. Of no less +consequence was the reform of the financial system of the United States. +The privilege of the bank had still several years to run, but many other +modifications could be introduced at once. Hamilton had multiplied the +number of internal taxes and at the same time the number of Federal +office-holders in order to strengthen his hold on the government. These +had to be done away with, as well as the abominable excise taxes which +had created so many difficulties under the preceding administrations. +They were at best a temporary expedient, to be resorted to only in case +of war, and the Federal Government had to make an effort to return to +the more orthodox system of bringing its expenditures within the limits +of revenue raised by taxes on importations. This was perfectly +consistent with Jefferson's theory of the State rights and the general +functions of the Federal Government. To substitute economy for taxation, +to reduce the debt as rapidly as possible, to keep down the expenses for +the navy and the army,--such was the policy of the new administration, +and in his second annual message on December 15, 1802, Jefferson could +point out with pleasure that "in the department of finance the receipts +of external duties for the last twelve months have exceeded those of any +former year." To care for the Louisiana Purchase, Gallatin recommended a +loan of $11,250,000, running for fifteen years and carrying a six per +cent. interest. But in his fourth message the President declared that +"the state of our finances continues to fulfill our expectations. Eleven +million and a half dollars received in the course of the year ending on +the thirtieth of September last, have enabled us, after meeting all the +ordinary expenses of the year, to pay upward of $3,600,000 of the public +debt, exclusive of interest." Thus it was amply demonstrated that the +financial structure of the Federal Government had not been endangered by +a departure from Hamilton's policies. It is worth noting also that +Jefferson's party, at that time, stood for a strong tariff, while the +last Federalists advocated internal taxes. In that respect, at least, it +is hardly possible to say that the present-day Democrats continue the +Jeffersonian policies. + +This system, however, presented many advantages in the eyes of +Jefferson. In his first message he had made one of those many +declarations, so often found in official documents of the sort, by which +men in public life are wont to define their policies in almost sibylline +terms, so as to express their own aspirations and satisfy the members of +their party without arousing undue antagonism in an influential +minority. "Agriculture," he had written, "manufactures, commerce, and +navigation, the four pillars of our prosperity, are the most thriving +when left most free to individual enterprise." But at once he had added: +"Protection from casual embarrassments, however, may sometimes be +reasonably interposed. If in the course of your observations or +inquiries they should appear to need any aid within the limits of our +constitutional powers, your sense of their importance is a sufficient +assurance they will occupy your attention." This second statement could +only mean one thing, that the President was not ready to depart entirely +and radically from Hamilton's policy of giving encouragement to +manufactures. But there is no doubt that in his opinion America was to +remain essentially an agricultural nation. He still had before him the +vision of a large country in which every citizen would live on his own +land and from this land derive most of his subsistence instead of +congregating in large cities. It was a Vergilian vision magnified a +million times; it was based also to a large extent on his own experience +at Monticello where he had proved that it was possible to manufacture +tools, to bake bricks, to make furniture, and to maintain a +comparatively large family on the products of the soil. He was not ready +to antagonize openly those who dreamed of another future for America, +and he did not believe that he had a right to do so, since his duty was +to carry out the wishes of the people. + +Jefferson was not the man to take the lead in these matters, but he was +not the man either to oppose any measure to encourage manufactures and +commerce that Congress would deem proper to adopt. On this point he had +not varied since the letter he had written from Paris to Hogendorp. His +preference for "an agricultural condition" remained largely theoretical, +sentimental, and personal. He may be considered as the leader of an +agrarian party, he may have felt in sympathy with the French +Physiocrats, but when it came to practice he acted very much like Du +Pont de Nemours himself who, in spite of his theories, spent all he had +to establish a tannery and a powder mill near Wilmington, and at the end +of his days proposed to the American Government a "Plan for the +Encouragement of Manufactures in America." If it is true that during +Jefferson's administration industrial and agricultural interests clashed +for the first time in America, I fail to see that the President made any +effort to favor agriculture at the expense of industry. + +When the end of his first term approached, Jefferson did not need any +coercion to remain in the saddle for another period of four years. It +had already been decided that Aaron Burr would not and could not again +be a candidate, and George Clinton was chosen as running mate of +Jefferson. Never in the history of the United States was an election so +little contested: Jefferson obtained one hundred sixty-two electoral +votes while his opponent could only muster fourteen. The Republican +Party had really become the National party and the President had been +able to achieve political unity. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +PROTECTIVE IMPERIALISM AND TERRITORIAL EXPANSION + + +The famous Inaugural Message of Jefferson gave more space to questions +of domestic politics than to foreign problems, but it contained a clear +definition of America's attitude towards Europe--a short and terse +statement in which the President reiterated the principles which had +guided him when Secretary of State. These were the same principles that +underlay the foreign policies of the United States from the early days +of the Revolution. They had already appeared in the Plan of Treaties +drawn up by Adams in 1776; they had been solemnly proclaimed by +Washington in his Farewell Address; and they still direct to a large +extent America's attitude in her dealings with foreign nations on the +American continent as well as abroad. + +These principles were presented by Jefferson as being essentially the +result of natural conditions for which the Americans themselves were not +responsible: "Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the +exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe; too high-minded to +endure the degradations of others; possessing a chosen country, with +room enough for our descendants to the hundredth and thousandth +generation", there was only one course for the American people to +follow: "commerce and honest friendship with all nations--entangling +alliances with none." + +Thanks to the Republican victory, America no longer had to pay any +attention to the political convulsions which were tearing the vitals of +the Old World. The American experiment no longer depended on the issue +of the French Revolution. The Argosy had weathered the storm; America +had become the sole arbiter of her destinies, she had become, Jefferson +proclaimed, "a standing monument and example for the aim and imitation +of the people of other countries; and I join with you in the hope and +belief that they will see, from our example, that a free government is +of all others the most energetic; that the inquiry which has been +excited among the mass of mankind by our revolution and its +consequences, will ameliorate the condition of man over a great portion +of the globe." + +Such a declaration should not be mistaken for a manifestation of a +missionary spirit by which Jefferson was never moved and which was +absolutely abhorrent to his nature. America was not to engage in any +crusade. She was not to preach a new gospel of liberty to the oppressed +peoples of the earth. She had proclaimed no _Declaration europeenne des +droits de l'homme et du citoyen_, as the French Revolution had +ambitiously done. She was not sending overseas to the shackled nations a +call to throw off the yoke and liberate themselves. Such declarations +would have seemed to Jefferson idle and dangerous. Every people had to +work out their own salvation; any attempt by America to help and +encourage them would only embroil her in difficulties which would retard +her own development. She could best serve the cause of humanity by +standing aloof and simply existing as an example which others, if they +had eyes to see, could not fail sooner or later to imitate. It was +essentially the doctrine which has been so often expounded by the +non-interventionists every time America has been invited to cooeperate +with Europe. + +This doctrine therefore was not the expression of a passing mood; it +constituted one of the fundamental principles of Americanism and had a +permanent value, because, as Montesquieu would have said, it was the +result of "the nature of things", and not a deduction drawn from an _a +priori_ principle. On the other hand, it contained a new and interesting +affirmation of the unquestionable superiority of the American people +over all the peoples of the earth, not only morally but intellectually; +and this was not forgotten either, for the "high-mindedness" of +Jefferson was echoed and reflected more than a hundred years later in +the "too proud to fight" of Woodrow Wilson. Taken in itself, this +statement was no worse than so many statements made in political +speeches; all peoples like to be told and to believe that they are a +chosen people. But it must be confessed that Jefferson drew very +dangerous conclusions from that uniqueness of America's position. + +One of the earliest and frankest expressions of that naive and almost +unconscious imperialism appears in an unpublished letter to Doctor +Mitchell. After discussing every possible subject under heaven, from +frosts to mammoth bones and electricity, Jefferson concluded with this +disquieting statement: "Nor is it in physics alone that we shall be +found to differ from the other hemisphere. I strongly suspect that our +geographical peculiarities may call for a different code of natural law +to govern relations with other nations from that which the conditions of +Europe have given rise to there."[425] + +This idea was reiterated in a letter written to Short more than a year +later. In it Jefferson laid down the principle, the moral foundation of +American imperialism--a curious mixture of common sense, practical +idealism, and moralizing not to be found perhaps in any other people, +but more permanently American than typically Jeffersonian. To any sort +of arrangement with Europe he was irreducibly opposed: "We have a +perfect horror at everything connecting ourselves with the politics of +Europe." In order to protect America from the wiles of the European +diplomats, the best course was "in the meantime, to wish to let every +treaty we have drop off without renewal. We call in our diplomatic +missions, barely keeping up those to the most important nations. There +is a strong disposition in our countrymen to discontinue even these; +and very possibly it may be done." Jefferson admitted that the neutral +rights of the United States might suffer; they would undoubtedly suffer +temporarily, and one had to accept this as an unavoidable evil. But it +would be only temporary: "We feel ourselves strong and daily growing +stronger ... If we can delay but for a few years the necessity of +vindicating the laws of nature on the ocean, we shall be the more sure +of doing it with effect. The day is within my time as well as yours; +when we may say by what laws other nations shall treat us on the sea. +And we will say it."[426] + +Nor was this imperialism purely theoretical. It was susceptible of +immediate applications and it manifested itself openly in a letter +written to James Monroe a few weeks later. The people of Virginia were +most anxious to get rid of a band of malefactors guilty of insurgency, +conspiracy, and rebellion. Had they been whites, the solution would have +been easy enough, but it happened that they were colored people and they +could not reasonably be sent to the northern boundary, or be provided +with land in the Western Territory. Could these undesirables be pushed +into the Spanish sphere of influence? To this solution Jefferson was +unequivocally opposed and for reasons worth considering: "However our +present situation may restrain us within our own limits," he wrote to +Monroe, "it is impossible not to look forward to distant times, when our +rapid multiplication will expand itself beyond those limits, and cover +the whole northern, if not the southern continent, with a people +speaking the same language, governed in similar forms, and by similar +laws; nor can we contemplate either blot or mixture on that +surface."[427] + +Truly enough, Jefferson said at the beginning of the letter that +publication of his views might have an ill effect in more than one +quarter. I shall not even advance the theory that Jefferson's foreign +policies constituted a systematic effort to put such a program into +effect. But that such aspirations and ambitions existed in his mind and +influenced him to a certain extent cannot be denied, and they should not +be overlooked in any discussion of his attitude during the negotiations +that led to the purchase of Louisiana. + +Many of Jefferson's contemporaries, and not a few American historians, +have harshly criticized him for buying Louisiana from France, when no +clause in the Constitution authorized the acquisition of new territory. +On the French side, not only historians but even Bonaparte's brother +considered that the cession, without the previous consultation of the +Chambers, of a colony recently recovered by France was an act arbitrary +and unconstitutional. Both principals have been condemned and praised by +posterity, but there is no doubt that the full responsibility for the +transaction rests not upon the peoples of France and America, but on the +President of the United States and the Premier Consul. It was remarkable +that two great minds, so divergent in their views and principles, should +meet on a common ground instead of clashing. On neither side was it a +triumph of idealism, but of that enlightened self-interest which, +according to Jefferson, directs the actions of men as well as of +nations. + +Nor were they entirely unsupported by the public opinion of their +respective countries. I have already indicated in a preceding book[428] +that a friendly conspiracy seems to have been organized in France in +order to induce the First Consul, and chiefly Talleyrand, to acquiesce +in the cession. At any rate, it appears from several letters of Volney +that the Ideologists were anxious to avoid an open conflict with the +United States and, at the same time, to promote a measure which, in +their opinion, would insure the growth and prosperity of the Republican +Promised Land. Volney, himself one of the "_voyageurs_" of the +Directory, had made a trip to the West and come back fully convinced +that France could never hope to develop an empire in the Mississippi +Valley. The few scattered French colonists who remained isolated in the +Middle West were condemned to be gradually absorbed by the influx of +American pioneers and to disappear before the rising flood of American +colonization. The question of the lower valley of the Mississippi was +different, to be sure, but if the United States were thwarted in their +development, if they were hemmed in on every side by powerful neighbors, +the theory of Montesquieu that only small nations could adopt the +republican system of government would seem vindicated. It was not only +the fate of the United States which was at stake, but the fate of the +doctrine of popular government, and it was the duty of all liberals to +bend every effort to make more secure the prosperity of America. + +On the other hand, as we have already seen in previous chapters, while +Jefferson was satisfied to leave Louisiana in the hands of Spain, at +least temporarily, he had always watched for a favorable opportunity to +unite the Spanish colonies to the main body of the United States. It was +not so much desire of expansion and imperialism as the conviction that +colonies were only pawns in the game of European politics; that they +could change hands at any time according to the fortunes of war; that +there existed consequently a permanent danger of seeing France recover +some day her former colonies or, still worse, to have them fall into the +hands of the British. With England, or possibly France, on the northern +border, in the Floridas, on the Gulf, and in the valley of the +Mississippi, the old dream of European domination of the North American +continent would revive. The United States would be placed in the same +position as the old colonies with reference to France. A clash could not +be avoided; the issue would have to be fought out, until one of the +adversaries should remain in full and undisputed possession of the +whole northern part of the New World. + +Although the Treaty of San Ildefonso, by which France was to recover and +occupy Louisiana at the first favorable opportunity, was intended to +remain secret, rumors that some deal had been concluded greatly +disturbed the American Government. As early as March, 1801, Rufus King +had been informed in London that such a cession was contemplated and +learned that General Collot intended to leave for Louisiana with a +considerable number of followers. On June 1, King called his +Government's attention to the fact that the cession of Louisiana "might +enable France to extend her influence, and perhaps her dominion, up the +Mississippi; and through the Lakes even up to Canada." The information +caused great concern to the British Government, and Lord Hawkesbury had +acquainted the American minister with the rumors. At that time, King, +who was evidently familiar with the views of Jefferson on the matter, +had answered by quoting Montesquieu that "it is happy for trading +powers, that God has permitted Turks and Spaniards to be in the world, +since of all nations they are the most proper to possess a great empire +with insignificance." The purport of this quotation being, he wrote, +that, "we are contented that the Floridas remain in the hands of Spain, +but should not be willing to see them transferred, except to ourselves." +It was a double-edged answer, since it set at nil any hope the British +might have had of occupying Louisiana and the Floridas; and at the same +time it constituted a very accurate statement of the position maintained +by Jefferson when Secretary of State in all his dealings pertaining to +the Spanish colonies. + +This policy was clearly defined in the general observations communicated +by the President to Charles Pinckney, minister in Madrid (June 9, 1801) +and in the instructions given to Livingston, hastening his departure for +France (September 28, 1801). Jefferson did not know yet what part of +the Spanish colonies was to be ceded to France and was more preoccupied +with the eventuality of the cession of the Floridas. The solution +preferred for the present was clearly the _status quo_. Should the +cession have irrevocably taken place, the rights to the navigation of +the Mississippi were to be safeguarded, and if possible France should be +induced "to make over to the United States the Floridas, if included in +the cession to her from Spain, or at least West Florida, through which +several of our rivers (particularly the important river Mobile) empty +themselves into the sea." Finally, if the cession had never been +contemplated, Livingston was instructed to induce France "to favor +experiments on the part of the United States, for obtaining from Spain +the cession in view." + +The die was cast; for the first time the United States took the position +that the time had come for them to control the territory extending +between their States and the Gulf of Mexico, and to insure the peaceful +and unquestioned rights of navigation on the Mississippi. From the point +of view of international law or _droit des gens_, Madison reiterated the +doctrine of Jefferson, that it was a natural law that the States should +have access to the sea; and in this particular instance he hinted at +another principle--the application of which to the old territories of +Europe would be far-reaching--namely that the nation possessing a +certain river was entitled also to the mouth of the river. But this +again was probably in his opinion one of these "natural laws" which +applied to America only. At the end of November, Rufus King sent to +Madison a copy of the treaty between the Prince of Parma and Lucien +Bonaparte, signed at Madrid, March 31, 1801, and in December he had the +opportunity of mentioning the possibility of France paying her debts by +ceding Louisiana back to the United States, which only brought the curt +answer that "none but spendthrifts satisfy their debts by selling their +lands." + +Livingston, in a letter to Rufus King, took the view that the cession +would be disastrous not only to the United States but to Spain and +England, since the French would not fail to contract alliance with the +Indians and to renew relations with "the peasantry of Canada", rendering +the possessions of Britain very precarious. He could only hope that King +would do his utmost to "induce the British ministry to throw all the +obstacles in their power in the way of a final settlement of this +business, if it is not already too late." + +The British ministry refused to take the hint. Unwelcome as the passing +of Louisiana into French hands might be considered they were not +disposed to endanger the success of the negotiations shortly to be begun +at Amiens, and Rufus King was told that the subject would not even be +mentioned by Lord Hawkesbury.[429] Evidently England never intended to +draw the chestnuts out of the fire for the sole benefit of the United +States, and Livingston alone was left to face the situation. The letter +he wrote on his own initiative, unable as he was to consult the home +government, was somewhat blunt in tone. He called attention to the fact +that the arrival in Louisiana or Florida of a large body of French +troops could not fail to alarm the people of the Western Territory. He +conceded that no protest could be made under the sixth article of the +Treaty of 1778, since it had been superseded by the agreement of +September 30, 1800; but he maintained that even in the absence of a +formal treaty the clause expressed a very desirable policy, that at +least the United States wished to know exactly the boundaries of the +territory ceded by Spain. At the same time, he discreetly added that +"the government of the United States desired to be informed how far it +would be practicable to make such arrangements between their respective +governments as would, at the same time, aid the financial operations of +France, and remove, by a strong and natural boundary, all future causes +of discontent between her and the United States." + +These different reports, and particularly Livingston's letter to King, +of December 30, created some perturbation in the mind of Jefferson, and +on March 16, Madison wrote the American minister in Paris "that too much +circumspection could not be employed." The great danger was that any +sort of a combination with Great Britain would have to be paid later in +kind or in territory. While Madison sent recommendations to Pinckney and +to Livingston, the clear wish of Jefferson was to keep out England as +much as possible. It was at that time that the President decided to take +a hand directly in the negotiations. At the beginning of April, 1802, Du +Pont de Nemours had written Jefferson that political as well as +commercial considerations made it imperative for him to go to France for +a short visit. Jefferson saw at once a possibility to use Du Pont as in +the past he had employed Lafayette, and asked him to come to Washington +to become acquainted "with certain matters that could not be committed +to paper."[430] + +Very significantly he added: "I believe that the destinies of great +countries depend upon it, such is the crisis now existing." As Du Pont +answered that he could not possibly see the President before sailing, +Jefferson decided to explain his point of view fully in a long letter +and at the same time he expressed himself even more forcibly in a letter +to Livingston which he asked Du Pont to read before sealing it. + +The two letters complete and explain each other. First of all, Jefferson +rejected as a very imperfect solution the granting free access to the +sea to the territories situated on the left bank of the Mississippi. He +bluntly declared that although America had a more natural and +instinctive friendship for France than for any other nation, it was +quite certain that the national characteristics of the two peoples were +so divergent that they could not live peacefully side by side for any +length of time. Even the cession by France of the Floridas and New +Orleans would be only a palliative which might delay but not suppress +the unavoidable conflict.[431] The only solution was for France to give +up entirely the rights she had acquired under the Treaty of San +Ildefonso and to return to the _status quo_. Any attempt by Bonaparte to +send soldiers to Louisiana would be considered as a _casus belli_, and +the President wrote significantly: "Peace and abstinence from European +interference are our objects, and so will continue while the present +order of things in America remains uninterrupted." If, on the other +hand, France insisted upon taking possession of Louisiana, it was the +declared intention of Jefferson to come to an agreement with England, +then to launch an expedition against New Orleans, to occupy the +territory claimed by France, so as to prevent any new European nation +from setting foot on the continent. That this policy of non-colonization +should apply to South America as well as to the northern continent was +evidently in the mind of the President, since he declared that after the +annihilation of the French fleet, two nations--America and Great +Britain--would rule the sea, and the two continents would be practically +"appropriated by them." + +The threat was so formidable that Du Pont refused to believe that it was +seriously meant. He saw at once that if such representations were made +to the First Consul, even with proper diplomatic precautions, they would +be looked upon by him as a challenge that could not be ignored. "Give up +that country, or we shall take it", is not at all persuasive. "We will +defend it", is the answer that comes naturally to any man. Furthermore, +the old Physiocrat predicted that if the United States ever followed +such a policy, they would lose their prestige as a democratic and +peaceful nation. Jefferson would thus play into the hands of the +militaristic faction which ambitioned the conquest of Mexico; if, on +the contrary, Mexico were to be emancipated, it might become a dangerous +neighbor for the United States. He consequently urged Jefferson to +accept what he considered as a much more sensible program, namely a +compromise which would insure free access to the sea to "the territories +of the Cumberland, the Wabash and both banks of the Ohio." Finally he +warned the President against entering into such an alliance with +England, since England would never permit the United States to become a +naval power of first importance. If, however, the United States insisted +on having a free hand in the South, was it not possible, in view of the +impending war between France and England, to permit France to recover +Canada instead of Louisiana, and to tell Bonaparte: "Give us Louisiana +and at the first opportunity we shall restore Canada to you"? + +Even if that were refused, if nothing could remove Jefferson's objection +to the establishment of a French colony on the northern continent, there +was still a possibility of giving satisfaction to both parties concerned +without unduly irritating the national pride of either. This was simply +for America to buy from France her claim on the Southern territory. True +to his training and doctrine, Du Pont had devised a commercial solution +to a political problem. The question of Louisiana was to be treated as a +business, with a political background to be sure, but essentially on +business terms. + +The answer of Jefferson has unfortunately disappeared and was probably +destroyed by Du Pont; but another letter of the old Physiocrat permits +us to reconstruct its contents. Jefferson contended that the United +States had no money and could not afford to pay any important amount for +such a purchase. To which Du Pont answered that purchasing would be +infinitely more economical than going to war: + + The sum offered and accepted will not exclude any compensation for + all or part of the sum which might be paid to you under the treaty. + To agree on the price is the important thing. To arrange for the + forms of payment, to charge against it legitimate reductions is only + a secondary matter, which will take care of itself. All the rest of + your instructions is easy to follow, and I shall follow them exactly. + +Then proving himself to be as good a prophet as a philosopher Du Pont +added that Bonaparte would be more attracted by a frank and complete +proposal than by a compromise: "I hope it will succeed because Bonaparte +is a man of genius, and his character is much above ordinary +ideas."[432] + +It is not entirely to the credit of Jefferson that, when he was thus +declaring to Du Pont that the United States could not afford to +negotiate on such a basis, Madison, on May 1, 1802, was writing to +Livingston, asking him to ascertain precisely the price at which the +Floridas, "if included in the cession would be yielded to the United +States." + +The whole story of the negotiations as it appears in the Jefferson +papers and in the documents published in the Annals of Congress would be +worth retelling in detail. The evasions of the French minister +Talleyrand, the reticences of the Spanish ambassador as to the true +extent of the cession, the attempts of Rufus King to determine the +British Government to throw their influence on the side of the United +States, the blundering efforts of Livingston to place the case of his +Government before the eyes of Bonaparte, form one of the most +complicated and fascinating diplomatic mazes in which the inexperienced +and not highly skillful agents of the United States tried to find their +way. Livingston, who thought himself very adroit, was particularly +unfelicitous in his tone. The conclusion of the memoir he wrote on +August 10 and had printed for distribution to the French Government may +give an idea of his style: + + In reasoning upon this subject, I have confined myself to such + observations as obviously presented themselves, without seeking any + of those subtleties which may serve to mislead the judgment. I have + candidly exposed the plainest facts, in the simplest language. If + ever they are opposed, it will be by a contrary course. Eloquence and + sophistry may reply to them and may obscure them; but time and + experience will evince their truth. + +Such a language may have seemed to the American minister candid and +honest, but addressed to Bonaparte and Talleyrand it was very +undiplomatic, to say the least. One cannot help feeling, on reading the +documents, that had Livingston wished to break off negotiations he would +not have expressed himself otherwise, and it is difficult to share the +opinion of Henry Adams, who claimed for the American minister most of +the credit for bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion. + +By the end of the summer 1802, it appeared that, before going any +further, France intended to take possession of Louisiana, and Du Pont +knew only too well that such a step would cause an irresistible outburst +of public opinion in the United States. He kept in constant touch with +Livingston, giving counsels of moderation and patience. He even proposed +the project of a treaty which in his opinion would give temporary +satisfaction to the United States while being acceptable to France. This +plan included the cession of New Orleans and the Floridas, reserving for +French vessels the same treatment as for American shipping; France to +keep all the territories on the right bank of the Mississippi, but the +navigation of the river to be free to both nations. Finally the United +States were to pay the sum of six million dollars for the territories +described in the first article.[433] + +In the meantime things were moving fast in America. The suspension of +the right of deposit by the Spanish authorities was taxing the none too +strong endurance of the inhabitants of the western territory, and the +war party was making great progress. Madison wrote on November 27, +1802, that should the Spanish intendant prove as obstinate as he has +been ignorant or wicked, nothing can temperate the irritation and +indignation of the Western country, but a persuasion that the energy of +their own government will obtain from the justice of that of Spain the +most ample redress.[434] + +In his message to Congress read on December 15, the President included a +short paragraph pregnant with significance: + + The cession of the Spanish province of Louisiana to France, which + took place in the course of the late war, if carried into effect, + makes a change in the aspect of our foreign relations which will + doubtless have just weight in any deliberation of the Legislature + connected with that subject. + +This sentence could have only one meaning: that if France took +possession of Louisiana, appropriations would be in order to prevent her +from establishing herself permanently in the territory. It was a direct +threat of war. The President had apparently given up any hope of +reaching an agreement and was yielding to the war party. + +On December 17 it was, on motion of Randolph: + + _Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to + cause to be laid before this house such papers as are in the + possession of the Department of State as relate to the violation on + the part of Spain, of the Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and + Navigation, between the United States and the King of Spain. + +Jefferson complied with this request on December 22, averring that he +"was aware of the obligation to maintain, in all cases, the rights of +the nation, and to employ, for that purpose, those just and honorable +means which belong to the character of the United States."[435] + +There is no doubt that the President himself had lost patience and that +the United States were rapidly drifting towards overt acts that could +only have war as a consequence. On January 4 it was moved in the House +that the President be requested to communicate all the information at +his disposal on the reported cession of Louisiana. Then quite +unexpectedly, on January 11, Jefferson sent to the Senate a message +recommending that James Monroe be appointed special envoy to France with +full powers, "jointly with Mr. Livingston to enter into a treaty or +convention with the First Consul of France, for the purpose of enlarging +and more effectually securing, our rights and interests in the river +Mississippi, and in the territories eastward thereof." The next day, the +House, on recommendation of a committee which presented a lengthy +report, voted an appropriation of "two million dollars to defray the +expenses which may be incurred in relation to the intercourse between +the United States and foreign nations." + +The sudden change in Jefferson's attitude can largely be attributed to +the fact that, between December 15 and January 11, he had received a +letter sent from Paris by Du Pont de Nemours on October 4,[436] +submitting a tentative plan for a treaty and discounting the pessimistic +reports of Livingston. There is not the slightest doubt that the +President was much impressed by Du Pont's letter. On January 18, Madison +wrote to Pinckney: + + In order to draw the French government into the measure, a sum of + money will be made part of our propositions.... From a letter + received by the President from a respectable person, it is inferred, + with probability that the French government is not averse to treat on + those grounds; and that such a disposition must be strengthened by + circumstances of the present moment.[437] + +Finally Jefferson himself wrote to Du Pont that his letter had been +received with particular satisfaction, because while it held up terms +that could not be entirely yielded, "it proposed such as a mutual +spirit of accommodation and sacrifice may bring to some point of +union."[438] + +The President indicated, however, that the action of Spain in suspending +the rights of deposit had rendered imperative an immediate settlement: +"Our circumstances are so imperious as to admit of no delay as to our +course; and the use of the Mississippi so indispensable, that we cannot +hesitate one moment to hazard our existence for its maintainance." +Despite this more conciliatory tone, the President did not recede from +the position he had taken previously with Du Pont. He repeated that the +country was in no position to offer such a sum as mentioned by Mr. Du +Pont (six million dollars) in order to insure the purchase of the said +territory. + +In this, Jefferson was to some extent guilty of double-dealing with his +friend, or at least of not laying all his cards on the table. The +instructions given to Monroe and Livingston on March 2, 1803, specified +that "should a greater sum (than two million dollars) be made an +ultimatum on the part of France, the President has made up his mind to +go as far as fifty millions of _livres tournois_, rather than to lose +the main object." Incidentally, this passage explains how Monroe and +Livingston could feel authorized to accept the proposal to purchase the +whole territory for sixty million francs. They were not so bold as is +commonly supposed, since they were empowered by the President to go as +far as fifty million for part only of Louisiana. Whether Jefferson had +the constitutional right to promise such a sum without formal approval +of Congress is quite another matter. It is only fair, however, to recall +here that, due to the difficulty of communicating between Washington and +Paris and the urgency of the situation, it was an absolute necessity to +give considerable leeway to the plenipotentiaries and to provide for +every possible emergency. But it must also be remembered that had not +Jefferson taken at that precise time the responsibility of engaging the +resources of the United States, neither Livingston nor Monroe would have +felt authorized to sign a transaction involving six times the sum voted +by the House of Representatives. The blame or praise, whatever it may +be, must in final analysis fall entirely on Jefferson. + +It is not without some interest to notice here that Livingston was +entirely unaware of the value of Du Pont de Nemours' plan. Unable to pin +down Talleyrand or Lebrun, he soon came to the conclusion that it was +impossible to treat and that he might as well leave Paris. "I see very +little use for a minister here, where there is but one will; and that +will governed by no object but personal security and personal ambition; +were it left to my discretion, I should bring matters to some positive +issue, or leave them, which would be the only means of bringing them to +an issue."[439] He maintained to the last minute that Du Pont de Nemours +had given the French government "with the best intentions, ideas that we +shall find hard to eradicate, and impossible to yield to",[440] and on +hearing that Monroe had been appointed, following receipt of Du Pont's +letter, he answered that he was much surprised that Du Pont should talk +"of the designs of this court, the price, &c., because he must have +derived these from his imagination only, as he had no means of seeing +anybody here that could give him the least information."[441] + +Who was the better informed of the two it is not easy to decide. But by +a curious coincidence, while Livingston was writing this in Paris, the +ink was hardly dry on the instructions to Monroe which contained this +striking paragraph: "It is to be added that the overtures committed to +you coincide in great measure with the ideas of the person through whom +the letter of the President of April 30, 1802, was conveyed to Mr. +Livingston, and who is presumed to have gained some insight into the +present sentiments of the French Cabinet."[442] + +The very same day Du Pont was able to write Jefferson that he had +several times seen Talleyrand and Lebrun and that the French Government +had decided to give every possible satisfaction to the United States. On +April 6, he added, without giving any detail, that good progress had +been made; but that he had not told everything to Livingston. + +There is little doubt that the letter of Du Pont made Jefferson delay +any strong measure in the Mississippi Valley affair and stayed the hand +of the God of War. If negotiations had been broken off at that point, it +was the intention of the British government "to send an expedition to +occupy New Orleans."[443] What the consequences of such an action would +have been can easily be surmised. + +The rest of the story lies outside of our province, since Jefferson had +nothing to do directly with it. Barbe-Marbois has told the dramatic +scene of Easter Sunday, April 10, 1803, when Bonaparte called in two +ministers and gave the first indication that he considered the whole +colony lost and that it might be better to give it up entirely. The next +morning the First Consul requested Marbois to act as plenipotentiary and +to see Livingston at once. When Monroe arrived, a preliminary +understanding had been reached. The treaty was concluded on May 4 and +signed four days later, although it was antedated and marked April 30. + +The question of deciding whether Jefferson had foreseen the possibility +of acquiring the whole territory of Louisiana and had given to Monroe +instructions to that effect has provided his biographers, whether +friendly or unfriendly, with a nice bone to pick. It seems here that a +distinction must be established between the wishes of the President and +what he considered within the range of actual possibilities. From his +letters to Lafayette and Du Pont de Nemours, it is easily perceived that +he was unequivocally opposed to the reinstatement of France on any part +of the continent. On this point he never varied. On the other hand, he +had soon become convinced that France would never relinquish such an +enormous territory without a compensation that the United States could +not afford to pay. He limited his plans very soon to the acquisition of +the two Floridas, which he supposed had been made part of the +transaction, so as to give the United States access to the Gulf, while +taking a strong position on the Mississippi River. In his letter to Du +Pont de Nemours dated February 1, 1803, he reiterated that the United +States wanted and needed the Floridas, that "whatever power, other than +ourselves, holds the country east of the Mississippi, becomes our +natural enemy." But further he did not go. On February 27, 1803, he +wrote to Governor Harrison a letter which seems to settle the question: +"We bend our whole views to the purchase and settlement of the country +on the Mississippi, from its mouth to its northern regions, that we may +be able to present as strong a front on our western as on our eastern +border, and plant on the Mississippi itself the means of its own +defence." As for the Indians, they were either "to be incorporated with +us as citizens of the United States, or removed beyond the Mississippi." +Finally the letter written on July 29 to Livingston and Monroe is as +definite a statement as can be desired and ought to set the controversy +at rest: + + When these (your instructions and commission) were made out, the + object of the most sanguine was limited to the establishment of the + Mississippi as our boundary. It was not presumed, that more could be + sought by the United States, either with a chance of success, or + perhaps without being suspected of a greedy ambition, than the island + of New Orleans and the two Floridas.... Nor was it to be supposed + that in case the French government should be willing to part with + more than the territory on our side of the Mississippi, an + arrangement with Spain for restoring the territory on the other side, + would not be preferred to a sale of it to the United States.... The + effect of such considerations was diminished by no information, or + just presumptions whatever.[444] + +Whatever may have been Jefferson's satisfaction on hearing the news, he +did not write himself to the commissioners to congratulate and thank +them in the name of the nation. He was not the man to make grand +gestures. The Virginian could be as self-restrained as any New +Englander, as appears from a letter to Horatio Gates in which the two +envoys are mentioned: "I find our opposition very willing to pluck +feathers from Monroe, although not fond of sticking them into +Livingston's coat. The truth is, both have a just proportion of merit; +and were it necessary or proper, it would be shown that each has +rendered peculiar services and of important value."[445] More than that +he did not say, and probably said very little more to Monroe, his friend +and "_eleve_" when he came back from France. + +Congress had been called for October 17, to ratify the treaty; but +before that date, Jefferson sent letters and questionnaires all around +in order to gather any possible information on the limits, geography, +resources and condition of the inhabitants of the newly acquired +territory. In a letter to Breckenridge (August 12, 1803), he expressed +himself more freely than to any other correspondent. First of all he +admitted that he was somewhat disappointed at having being unable to +secure the Floridas. But it was only a delayed opportunity; sooner or +later Spain would engage in some war, and the realistic politician +added: "If we push them strongly with one hand, holding out a price in +the other, we shall certainly obtain the Floridas, and all in good +time." For the present, the United States, without claiming possession +of the Spanish territories, would act pretty freely: "In the meantime, +without waiting for permission, we shall enter into the exercise of the +natural right we have always insisted on with having a right of innocent +passage through them to the ocean. We shall prepare her to see us +practice on this, and she will not oppose it by force." + +He had already heard many objections to the treaty; of all of them he +disposed summarily. He did not take seriously the danger mentioned by +the Federalists of seeing a fringe of States, different in interest from +the original States, form along the Mississippi and threaten the +homogeneity of the Union. If it came to the worst, it would be better +for the United States to have as neighbors along the western border a +Federation of States inhabited by a people of the same blood than a +Spanish or French dominion. Then Jefferson prophetically outlined the +development of the West as he foresaw it. The inhabited part of +Louisiana was to become a new State as soon as possible. Above Pointe +Coupee, the best procedure was probably to move the Indians across the +river and to fill the vacant territories with white colonists. "When we +shall be full on this side, we may lay off a range of States on the +western bank from the head to the mouth, and so, range after range, +advancing compactly as we multiply." + +As to the constitutionality of the purchase, he admitted there was no +article of the Constitution authorizing the holding of foreign +territory, and still less contemplating the incorporation of foreign +nations into the Union. "The executives, in seizing the fugitive +occurrence which so much advances the good of their country, have done +an act beyond the Constitution." They were justified in doing it, +however, just as much as a guardian has the right to invest money for +his ward in purchasing an adjacent territory and saying to him when of +age: "I did this for your good; I pretend to no right to bind you; you +may disavow me, and I must get out of the scrape as I can: I thought it +my duty to risk myself for you." This is another instance when +Jefferson the lawyer discarded what he called "metaphysical subtleties" +to look squarely at the facts and to do his duty as he saw it, "as a +faithful servant." + +The third annual message of the President was read before Congress on +October 17. Written in simple language like all the State papers of +Jefferson, it contained a graceful word for "the enlightened government +of France", and pointed out soberly the advantages that would accrue to +the United States from the purchase: + + While the property and sovereignty of the Mississippi and its waters + secure an independent outlet for the produce of the western States, + and an uncontrolled navigation through their whole course, free from + collision with other powers and the dangers to our peace from that + source, the fertility of the country, its climate and extent, promise + in due season important aids to our treasury, an ample provision for + our posterity, and a wide-spread field for the blessings of freedom + and equal laws. + +The President avoided any specific recommendation on the measures to be +adopted to incorporate into the Union the recently acquired territories, +resting on the wisdom of Congress to determine the "measures which may +be necessary for the immediate occupation and temporary government of +the country; for rendering the change of government a blessing to our +newly adopted brethren; for securing to them the rights of conscience +and of property; for confirming to the Indian inhabitants their +occupancy and self-government." The Senate ratified the treaty after a +two-day discussion, the members voting strictly on party lines. It came +before the House on the twenty-second. The discussion was hot and more +prolonged; doubts as to the French title to the purchase were raised; +doubts as to the constitutionality of the measure. The treaty proper was +ratified on October 25, and on November 3 acts were passed authorizing +the issue of bonds in order to pay France. + +A letter of Jefferson to Livingston contains the epilogue of the +negotiations. It is another very interesting instance of the way +Jefferson knew how to handle men. Pichon, the French minister, had been +instructed by his Government to secure a clause to the ratification +providing "against any failure in time or other circumstances of +execution on the part of the United States." Jefferson took the matter +in hand himself and demonstrated to Pichon that in case the French +Government insisted upon such a proviso, the United States would insert +a similar clause of protestation "leaving the matter where it stood +before." He insisted that it was to throw on the good faith of both +nations a doubt most unpleasant to an honest man to entertain, and +concluded that he had "more confidence in the word of the First Consul +than in all the parchment we could sign." What could the Frenchman do +except to bow politely and acquiesce, and "like an able and honest +minister (which he is in the highest degree) he undertook to do what he +knew his employers would do themselves, were they spectators of all +existing circumstances, and exchange the ratifications purely and +simply." "So," concluded Jefferson, "this instrument goes to the world +as an evidence of the candor and confidence of the nations in each +other, which will have the best effects." + +A last point remained to be settled. It was suspected that Spain had +entered a formal protest against the whole transaction, "since the First +Consul had broken a solemn promise not to alienate the country to any +nation." On that point Jefferson refused to express any opinion: "We +answered that these were questions between France and Spain which they +must settle together; that we derived our title from the First Consul +and did not doubt his guarantee of it." Meanwhile measures were provided +to take formal possession from Laussat after he should have received the +territory from Spain. "If he is not so disposed _we_ shall take +possession and it will rest with the Government of France, by adopting +the act as their own, then to settle the latter with Spain."[446] In +order to provide for any eventuality, the governor of the Mississippi +was ordered to move down with General Wilkinson all his troops at hand +to take formal possession. + +Thus the transaction fraught with so many dangers came to what Jefferson +called in a letter to Priestley (January 29, 1804) "a happy denouement", +thanks "to a friendly and frank development of causes and effects in our +part and good sense enough in Bonaparte to see that the train was +unavoidable and would change the face of the world." + +If Jefferson took liberties with the Constitution in the matter of the +purchase, he was equally broad-minded in his construction of the treaty. +One of the articles provided that the inhabitants of the territories +ceded by France "will be incorporated into the Union and admitted as +soon as possible according to the principles of the Federal Constitution +to the enjoyment of all the advantages and immunities of the citizens of +the United States" (Article III). This was precisely what Jefferson was +firmly resolved not to do. Theoretically, and according to his often +expressed views on self-government, he should have taken steps to admit +immediately the newly acquired territory into the Union and to allow the +inhabitants to decide on a constitution. Practically, he considered that +they were unfitted for self-government and, although he did not formally +declare it at the time, he was convinced that self-government could not +succeed with a population mainly French and Spanish. The letter he wrote +on the subject to Du Pont de Nemours is almost disarming in its naivete: + + We are preparing a form of government for the Territory of Louisiana. + We shall make it as mild and free, as they are able to bear, all + persons residing there concurring in the information that they were + neither gratified, nor willing to exercise the rights of an elective + government. The immense swarm flocking thither of Americans used to + that exercise, will soon prepare them to receive the necessary + change.[447] + +It was impossible to state more clearly that representative government +could not be granted to Louisiana as long as the inhabitants remained +essentially French. Only when checked and controlled by the "immense +swarm" of American pioneers and colonists spreading all over the +territory could they be admitted to the immunities and advantages of +American citizens. This attitude of Jefferson, which seems in flagrant +contradiction with his theories, can astonish only those who see in him +a world prophet of the democratic faith; while his only ambition was to +build an American democracy, on strictly American principles, for the +sole benefit of American citizens, true heirs and continuators of the +old Anglo-Saxon principles. + +But his vision of a greater America extended even beyond the limits of +the Louisiana Purchase. In January, 1803, just one week before Monroe's +appointment as special envoy to Paris, he had sent a message to Congress +to recommend that a sum of twenty-five hundred dollars be appropriated +to send "an intelligent officer with a party of 10 or 12 men to explore +even to the Western Ocean and to bring back all possible information on +the Indian tribes, the fauna and flora of the region." The intelligent +officer was Merriwether Lewis, private secretary to the President, who +was to engage in this "literary pursuit" in a region claimed by Spain. +It was calmly assumed, however, that "the expiring state of Spain's +interests there" would render such a voyage a matter of indifference to +this nation. Jefferson made the expedition his own concern; he drew up +the most detailed instructions for the mission. He even wrote for Lewis +"a letter of general credit" in his own hand and signed with his name, +by which the captain was authorized to draw on "the Secretaries of +State, the Treasury of War, and of the Navy of the United States +according as he might find his draughts would be most negotiable, for +the purpose of obtaining money or necessaries for himself and men."[448] +Practically unlimited resources were placed at the disposal of the +expedition. Jefferson kept his former secretary minutely informed of the +new possibilities opened up by the negotiations with France, writing him +on July 4, 11, 15, November 16 and January 13. On January 22, he sent +new instructions: the United States had "now become sovereigns of the +country" Lewis was going to explore; it was no longer necessary to keep +up the pretense of a "literary pursuit", and the President felt +authorized in proposing to the Indians the establishment of official +connections, and in declaring frankly to them that "they will find in us +faithful friends and protectors." So Jefferson was no longer thinking of +the Mississippi as the ultimate frontier of the United States. He +already foresaw the time when the Empire would extend from the Atlantic +to the Pacific. + +Besides providing the United States with almost unlimited possibilities +of growth, the Louisiana Purchase had eliminated the immediate danger of +a conflict with France, and the chances of remaining at peace with +Europe had considerably increased. "I now see nothing which need +interrupt the friendship between France and this country," wrote +Jefferson to Cabanis. "We do not despair of being always a peaceable +nation. We think that peaceable means may be devised of keeping nations +in the path of justice towards us, by making justice their interest, and +injuries to react on themselves. Our distance enables us to pursue a +course which the crowded situation of Europe renders perhaps +impracticable there."[449] + +There remained, however, a danger point in the policies of the British +navy with regard to contraband. The United States had now to make a +strenuous effort to bring the British to abandon their "right" to search +neutral vessels on the high seas in order to impress British sailors +found on those vessels, and to use American ports as cruising stations. +Not only was this attitude of Great Britain contrary to justice but it +was also contrary to these natural laws on which rested Jefferson's +system of Americanism; above all, they were most obnoxious and +detrimental to American commerce, for "Thornton says they watch our +trade to prevent contraband. We say it is to plunder under pretext of +contraband."[450] + +Meanwhile the President was receiving the most pessimistic accounts from +Monroe, lost in the maze of European intrigues, and almost losing faith +in the future security of the United States. One of his letters of the +spring of 1804 had mentioned the possibility of a dark plot against +America. France and England might forget their old differences and +operate a reconciliation at the expense of the United States; they would +form a combination to divide between them the North American continent, +France repossessing Louisiana, while England would reannex the United +States to the British dominions. A mad scheme if ever there was one, and +it is very much to be doubted that it was ever contemplated by any +responsible Frenchman. Jefferson's confidence in the remoteness of the +American continent was not disturbed for a minute by these alarming +reports. He excused Monroe on the ground that a person placed in Europe +was very apt to believe the old nations endowed with limitless resources +and power. Everything was possible, even a return of the Bourbons; but +"that they and England joined, could recover us to British dominion, is +impossible. If things are not so, then human reason is of no aid in +conjecturing the conduct of nations." Still the policy of watchful +waiting was more than ever in order. Every point of friction was to be +eliminated, one of the first measures being to accept the "Louisianais" +to full citizenship and thus bring to an end the patronage of France. +Another step was to enforce strictly the rule against British cruisers +in American harbors, so that "each may see unequivocally what is +unquestionably true, that we may be very possibly driven into her scale +by unjust conduct in the other."[451] + +Thus was fixed not in theory but in practice a policy of neutrality +fraught with risks. The most apparent danger was that both belligerents +might turn against the United States. But of that Jefferson was not +afraid, as an alliance between the two hereditary enemies seemed +inconceivable. In the meantime proper preparations were to be made to +insure the security of the American flag. + +The message of October 17, 1803, contained an earnest appeal to +"complete neutrality." Neutrality of fact the Government was decided to +observe, and most of all to view in a disinterested way the carnage in +Europe. + + How desirable it must be, in a government like ours, to see its + citizens adopt individually the views, the interests and the conduct + which their country should pursue, divesting themselves of those + passions and partialities which tend to lessen useful friendships and + to embarrass and embroil us in the calamitous scenes of Europe. + +Then came a passage which sounds strangely familiar to those of us who +have lived through the last fourteen years: + + Confident, fellow citizens, that you will duly estimate the + importance of neutral dispositions toward the observance of neutral + conduct, that you will be sensible how much it is our duty to look on + the bloody arena spread before us with commiseration indeed, but with + no other wish than to see it closed, I am persuaded you will + cordially cherish these dispositions in all communications with your + constituents. + +A nation neutral in speech and neutral in thought, willing to intervene +only to help the victims of the war or as an arbiter between the +belligerents, such was at that time the ideal of Jefferson as it was to +be for several years the ideal of Woodrow Wilson, and to a large degree +the permanent ideal of the United States during their whole history. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +"SELF-PRESERVATION IS PARAMOUNT TO ALL LAW" + + +When, on the fourth of March, 1805, Jefferson began his second term, he +had a right to review with some complacency the achievements of his +first administration. To foreign affairs he scarcely granted a short +paragraph, but he pointed out with great details the suppression of +unnecessary offices, the reduction of taxes, the fact that the Federal +Government was almost entirely supported by duties levied on +importations, so that "it may be the pleasure and pride of an American +to ask, what farmer, what mechanic, what laborer, ever sees a +tax-gatherer of the United States?" The Louisiana Purchase had increased +enormously the potential riches of the country and removed a very +dangerous source of conflict. The right bank of the Mississippi was to +be settled by "our own brethren and children" and not by "strangers of +another family." + +Of great interest was the long passage given to Indian affairs. +Jefferson's sympathy for the red men dated from the early days of his +youth, when he had seen the chiefs stop at the house of his father on +their way to Williamsburg. He had handsomely stood in defense of them in +the "Notes on Virginia." Now he was regarding them with the +commiseration their history began to inspire: + + Endowed with the faculties and the rights of men, breathing an ardent + love of liberty and independence, and occupying a country which left + them no desire but to be undisturbed, the stream of overflowing + population directed itself on these shores, without power to divert, + or habits to contend against, they have been overwhelmed by the + current, or driven before it. + +This was certainly a very regrettable situation, but the idea of +questioning the right of an overflowing population to occupy scarcely +populated territories did not for a moment enter Jefferson's mind. To +deny such a right would have been not only detrimental to the very +existence of the United States, but also a denial of the "right" of "our +Saxons ancestors" to settle in England. Furthermore, the President was +confronted with a certain set of facts and not with a theory. The +territory of which the Indians had so long enjoyed undisturbed +possession was growing narrower every day. With the recent acquisition +of Louisiana, it was to be foreseen that they would not be able to roam +freely much longer in the vast territories extending west of the +Mississippi. They were now "reduced within limits too narrow for the +hunter's state." The only thing they could do was to submit to new +economic conditions, to settle down and become farmers, and it was the +duty of the government "to encourage them to that industry which alone +can enable them to maintain their place in existence, and to prepare +them in time for that state of society, which to bodily comforts adds +the improvement of mind and morals." + +The President had no patience with + + ... the interested and crafty individuals among them who inculcate a + sanctimonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors; that + whatsoever they did, must be done through all time; that reason is a + false guide, and to advance under its counsel, in their physical, + moral, or political condition, is a perilous innovation; that their + duty is to remain as their Creator made them. + +The attitude of these reactionaries among the Indians gave Jefferson an +opportunity to hit at one stroke the medicine men and the clergymen who +were attacking him fiercely. + + In short, my friends, among them is seen the action and + counter-action of good sense and bigotry; they, too, have their + anti-philosophers, who find an interest in keeping things in their + present state, who dread reformation, and exert all their faculties + to maintain the ascendency of habit over the duty of improving our + reason, and obeying its mandates. + +The New England and New York clergymen who had stood with the +Federalists knew exactly where they belonged. + +But if the President was unwilling to let the attacks to which he had +been subjected pass entirely unnoticed, he maintained at the same time +that no official steps must be taken to repress in any way freedom of +speech and freedom of the press. In more emphatic terms than ever +before, he reasserted the fundamental doctrine he had defended against +all comers for more than twenty-five years: + + During this course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the + artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with + whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of + an institution so important to freedom and science, are deeply to be + regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness, and to sap + its safety; they might, indeed, have been corrected by the wholesome + punishments reserved and provided by the laws of the several States + against falsehood and defamation; but public duties, more urgent + press on the time of public servants, and the offenders have + therefore been left to find their punishment in the public + indignation. + +Thus were the Callender and the Federalist pamphleteers handed over to +the public to be dealt with, according to the merits of their cases. + +The address ended with a new appeal to harmony, with the hope that +truth, reason and well-understood self-interest might enlighten the last +opponents of true republicanism. It ended also with a sort of prayer +which may or may not have expressed the religious beliefs of Jefferson +at the time: + + I shall need the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led + our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land, and + planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and + comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence, + and our riper years with his wisdom and power, and to whose goodness + I ask you to join me in supplications. + +Jefferson had not forgotten that twenty years before he had proposed +that the seal of the United States should represent the Children of +Israel led by a pillar of light. As much as the Puritans he was +convinced that the American people was a chosen people, that they have +been gifted with superior wisdom and strength, and this belief was just +as much part of his creed of Americanism as it was the more openly +expressed doctrine of more recent presidents of the United States. + +With these brilliant and reassuring prospects before his eyes, Jefferson +entered his second term. Little did he believe at that time that the +four years before him were to be the most agitated and most distressing +of his long career. The man whose fondest hope was to "secure peace, +friendship and approbation of all nations" was to begin a series of +police operations against the Barbary pirates of the Mediterranean and +was confronted, at a time, with the possibility of a war with Spain, a +war with England and a war with France. His philosophical toga was torn +to shreds by the thorns strewn along the tortuous paths of international +relations. At home he had to use all his ingenuity and resourcefulness +to keep together disaffected elements in the Republican Party, to +withstand the attacks launched in Congress by John Randolph of Roanoke, +the impulsive, erratic and dangerous leader of the discontented +Republicans. The man who had framed the Kentucky resolutions and had +stood as the advocate of States rights was reproached with using his +influence with Congress to pass the Embargo Act, "more arbitrary, more +confiscatory" than any measure ever proposed by the Federalists. The man +who had protested against the sedition bills had to repress the +seditious attempts of the former Vice President of the United States. It +seemed as if an evil genius had taken a malicious pleasure in making +every effort to test the President in every possible way, and to +confront him with the necessity of renouncing his most cherished +principles. Jefferson did not come out of the ordeal without scars and +deep wounds; but whatever may have been his deficiencies and his faults, +whatever sins he may have committed, he kept his faith in the ultimate +wisdom of public opinion and never tried to suppress by coercion the +criticism to which he was subjected. + +As a matter of fact, the roseate view of the situation presented by +Jefferson in his second Inaugural Address was hardly warranted by facts. +Even before the close of the first term, Randolph, who had been the +standard bearer of the Republicans in the House, had shown signs of +discontent. He had supported the "Remonstrance of the people of +Louisiana", protesting that one of the essential provisions had been +violated and that they should be admitted at once to "all the rights, +advantages and immunities of citizens." On the other hand, Aaron Burr, +even while remaining in office, had already paved the way for the dark +and romantic machinations which were to culminate with his trial before +Marshall at Richmond. + +The story of Burr's conspiracy deserves a special place among American +"_causes celebres_." It has been told many times, and very vividly, but +only the pen of Alexandre Dumas could do justice to it. Many efforts +have been made to whitewash the memory of the chief conspirator, to +throw most of the odium on Wilkinson and on Jefferson who, according to +his enemies, would have gone out of his way to obtain the condemnation +of a man who could not be proved guilty of any overt act, although there +is no doubt that he had originated some of the most reprehensible +schemes against the safety of his country. But Americans always had a +foible for soldiers of fortune, for adventurers who dreamed of +conquering new empires; for in them they see the magnification of the +frontier spirit which for so long constituted one of the "pillars" of +American civilization. + +By an extraordinary trick of heredity, this adventurer, who should have +been a Spanish conquistador, this arch plotter who had the insinuating +ways of the Florentine, the tortuous and complicated mind so often +considered as a privilege of the Europeans, was the great-grandson of +Jonathan Edwards and of pure New England descent. He had fought bravely +and enthusiastically in the Revolutionary War, he was a lawyer of no +mean achievement; but his thirst for popularity, applause and success +was beyond imagination, and this Machiavellic politician lacked in an +extraordinary degree common sense and political vision. Had he withdrawn +from the run for the presidency in time, had he gracefully accepted the +second rank in December, 1800, he would have had a great political +career before him. But to the last minute he refused to say the word +that was expected from him; he accepted without protest the votes of the +Federalists and was considered as a traitor to his party even before he +took office. As early as January, 1804, he had gone to Jefferson and, +after complaining that the President did not show him the same +friendship as before, he had offered to resign at once if he were +appointed to some foreign embassy. After Burr had left without obtaining +any definite answer, Jefferson put down on paper a complete account of +the conversation and dryly concluded: + + I should here notice, that Colonel Burr must have thought that I + could swallow strong things in my own favor, when he founded his + acquiescence in the nomination as Vice-President, to his desire of + promoting my honor, the being with me; whose company and conversation + had always been fascinating with him etc.[452] + +Disappointed in this respect, Aaron Burr turned his eyes towards New +York, where he had worked so successfully during the preceding election. +The post of governor happened to be vacant, and in February Burr was +chosen by the discontented Republicans of the State to run for +governor. It seems quite certain that, if he had been elected, the +movement for secession already strong in New England would have received +a new impetus and that a desperate effort would have been made to shake +off "the rule of Virginia." When, after a savage campaign marked by +invectives, brawls and riots, Burr was finally defeated, he could and +did rightly attribute his failure to Hamilton who, from the very +beginning, opposed his candidacy. A personal encounter was decided and +the two adversaries met on the bank of the Hudson, pistol in hand, in a +duel to the death. It has always been said that Hamilton did not take +aim and fired first. Burr fired deliberately and Hamilton, fatally +wounded, fell to the ground, to die the next day. + +Found guilty of murder by a grand jury, and in fact already a fugitive +from justice, Burr hid at first in Georgia and there concocted the most +extraordinary plan to effect a separation of the western part of the +United States with the help and financial assistance of England. +Although evidence was not procurable at the time of his trial, there is +no doubt that he thought the scheme feasible; that back in Washington, +and when he was presiding over the impeachment proceedings of Judge +Chase, the Vice President of the United States was prudently sounding +the delegates of the western States, ingratiating himself to them and +that the wildest dreams of empire were haunting his feverish +imagination. + +As soon as the session was over, Colonel Burr started out for a tour of +the western States and, on an island of the Ohio, met by chance the +philosopher-planter Blennerhasset, the innocent victim of his plots. +Leaving Blennerhasset, Burr went to Cincinnati, Frankfort, Nashville. He +met Andrew Jackson, the uncouth son of the frontier, and Wilkinson, the +general in charge of the western territory. After a visit to New +Orleans, where he was greatly elated by the discontent of the +population, he went back to Saint Louis to discuss the situation with +Wilkinson. Whether he still adhered to the original plan of separating +the western from the eastern States is to a considerable degree +doubtful. His immediate object seems rather to have been to lead an +expedition of adventurers against Mexico, in case the war that was +threatening between the United States and Spain should break out. It +must be admitted that the plan in itself was not particularly +objectionable to the Government, but it soon appeared that this scheme +too had to be given up. After vainly attempting to secure assistance +from the British Government, Burr, changing from conqueror to farmer, +undertook to buy, with Blennerhasset, a grant of several hundred +thousand acres on the Washita River, in Northern Louisiana, in order to +establish there a model colony. + +The rest of the story is well known. Rumors of a conspiracy grew in the +West without disturbing at first the security of the Federal Government. +Burr, summoned to appear before the district attorney of Frankfort, +surrendered himself, but was twice discharged and continued his +preparations for the settlement of Washita. Jefferson did not move until +he received from Wilkinson a confidential message purporting to be the +transcription of a ciphered letter sent by Burr. The President was so +alarmed that he issued at once a proclamation, warning the people that a +conspiracy had been discovered and directing the arrests of the +conspirators and the seizure of "all vessels, arms and military stores." +Wilkinson, eager to show his loyalty to the Government, arrested +"without warrant" several emissaries of Burr. One of them was released, +but two, Bollman and Swartwout, were sent out by sea to Baltimore and +thence to Washington, where they were kept in the military barracks. In +a special message to Congress, Jefferson apprised the Senate and the +House of the facts "touching an illegal combination of private +individuals against the peace and safety of the Union, and a military +expedition planned by them against the territories of a power in amity +with the United States, with the measures pursued for suppressing the +same." (January 22, 1807) + +Shortly after Marshall, in Washington, had refused to indict Bollman and +Swartwout on the count of "levying war" against the United States, Burr +was finally arrested and taken under military escort to Richmond, there +to be delivered to the civil authorities after Marshall had signed a +special warrant (March 26, 1807). After long skirmishes between the +prosecution and the defense, legal moves and countermoves, Burr was +indicted under two counts,--treason and high misdemeanor. On the first +charge the jury rendered a verdict to the effect that "We of the jury +say that Aaron Burr is not proved guilty under this indictment by any +evidence submitted to us; we therefore find him not guilty." + +This was a most unusual and illegal form of rendering a verdict and the +jury evidently intended to emphasize the fact that the evidence +submitted did not warrant a conviction, although they reserved their +opinion as to the real guilt of Colonel Burr. Marshall overruled +objections to the form of the verdict which threatened a reopening of +the case and decided that it would be recorded as "not guilty." Burr was +soon recommitted on the second count and declared not guilty by a second +jury. Upon which a third charge was brought in by the prosecution and +Burr summoned to appear at the session of the Circuit Court of the +United States to be held at Chillicothe in January, 1808. He never +appeared and his bond was forfeited; it is more than doubtful that he +would have been convicted. + +A serious discussion of the merits of the case would necessitate a +minute analysis of all the evidence placed before the jury and cannot be +undertaken here. Several attempts have been made to rehabilitate Aaron +Burr's memory, although certain facts are so patent that they cannot be +overlooked by the most indulgent biographers. It is a curious bend of +the popular mind that the greatness of the conspiracy seems an excuse +and attenuation of the most evident guilt. There was something +apparently heroic in the ambition of that man who wanted to carve for +himself an empire in the wilderness and to plunder the treasures of the +mysterious Southwest. Then, by contrast, the obstinacy of Jefferson in +using every means in his power and in the power of the Federal +Government in order to obtain a conviction, has been represented as a +display of pettiness unworthy of the chief of a great nation. Nor is +this tendency restricted to the impulsive and emotional masses; it +creeps into the accounts of the trial given by the most judicial +historians, and I am not certain that it is entirely absent from +Beveridge's treatment of the Richmond proceedings. + +Legally speaking, it is difficult to find fault with the findings of +Marshall, with the definitions he gave of "treason" and "overt act", +with his sifting of the evidence and, except in one or two cases, with +his behavior during the trial. On the other hand, Jefferson has been +accused of having unduly interfered by sending detailed instructions to +the district attorney, by coaching him on several occasions, and by +attempting directly and indirectly to arouse public opinion against a +man who was on trial for his life, but who finally could not be +convicted on any count. After such an interval of time, it is easy to +find fault with the conduct of the Executive, and it cannot be denied +that he acted in a very high-handed manner, condoned acts which were +technically illegal and maintained without sufficient proofs of Burr's +guilt that there was not "a candid man in the United States who did not +believe some one, if not all, of these overt acts to have taken +place."[453] + +On the other hand, if we try to place ourselves in the atmosphere of the +time, it is equally easy to find explanations that to a large extent +justify Jefferson's attitude. It must be remembered that the President +was not unaware of Burr's intention "to form a coalition of the five +eastern States, with New York and New Jersey, under the new appellation +of the Seven Eastern States."[454] If Burr's machination with the +English minister to effect a separation of the western States were still +unknown, there was little doubt about his plans. All of Burr's ambitious +schemes failed miserably, but it is perfectly natural that the +Government should have been seriously alarmed at the time. They did not +know of Wilkinson's shameful deals with Spain, but they had every reason +to believe that a man who had already plotted a secession of the western +territory and happened to be in charge of that territory and in command +of the Federal army was scarcely to be depended upon in an emergency. +For years the West had been very restive, New Orleans was full of +discontented Creoles, and if war had not been officially declared with +both England and Spain, it was felt that it could break out at any time. +None of these considerations could be brought out before the jury, but +they amply warranted some action of the Executive. The first step taken +by Jefferson was to warn the people of the existence of a conspiracy. If +we remember again that Aaron Burr was at that time roaming at will in a +part of the country sparsely settled, where he counted many friends, +where communications with Washington were slow and rare, it is difficult +to see how the President could have done less. + +After the conspirators were arrested the situation changed entirely. +They had been delivered to the civil authorities, they were to appear +before a regular court and given trial by jury; they no longer +constituted a public danger. It must be admitted that Jefferson himself +declared to his French friends, Lafayette and Du Pont de Nemours, that +Burr never had a chance to succeed and "that the man who could expect to +effect this, with American material must be a fit subject for +Bedlam."[455] This is hard to reconcile with the statement which comes +immediately after, that "the seriousness of the crime demands more +serious punishment", and particularly with the instructions sent to +George Hay. One may suspect that Jefferson saw in the trial of Burr an +opportunity to test the loyalty of the Chief Justice to the Constitution +and to the Government and allowed himself to be carried away by +political preoccupations which had nothing to do with Colonel Burr. This +appears clearly in one of the letters to Giles: + + If there has ever been an instance in this or the preceding + administrations, of federal judges so applying principles of law as + to condemn a federal or acquit a republican offender, I should have + judged them in the present case with some charity. All this, however, + will work well. The nation will judge both the offender and judges + for themselves.[456] + +This was reiterated in the instructions sent to George Hay after the +first acquittal of Burr, that no witness should be permitted to depart + + ... until his testimony has been committed to writing, either as + delivered in court, or as taken by yourself in the presence of Burr's + counsel.... These whole proceedings will be laid before Congress, + that they may decide, whether the defect has been in the evidence of + guilt, or in the law, or in the application of the law, and that they + may provide the proper remedy for the past and the future. + +The intention to scrutinize the documents to uncover any bias of +Marshall and use any such evidence against the Chief Justice is even +openly admitted: "I must pray you also to have an authentic copy of the +record made out (without saying for what) and to send it to me; if the +Judge's opinions make out a part of it, then I must ask a copy of them, +either under his hand, if he delivers one signed, or duly proved by +affidavit."[457] Who could deny after reading this that Jefferson's +intention was to push vigorously the attack against the judiciary, and +to institute impeachment proceedings against Marshall on the slightest +justification? Thus the trial of Burr became a test of strength between +the executive and the judiciary, between the President and the Chief +Justice; it was fought out in the courtroom the more fiercely as the two +antagonists were kinsmen and brought into it the obstinacy and animosity +of Southern feudists. + +Marshall came out as the stanch and unshakable champion of legality, and +Jefferson did not refrain from using the arguments and reasonings +resorted to by the Federalists when the Sedition Act was passed. There +was little excuse for a man of his legal training in believing that Burr +could be convicted and punished for his "intentions" to commit a crime, +and the prosecution failed to bring in sufficient proof of Aaron Burr's +guilt. It would have been more dignified and more consistent with +Jefferson's theories if, after the conspirator was made powerless, the +President had remained silent. That, however, he could not do. Early in +October, he called back Attorney-general Robert Smith in order to +prepare a selection and digestion of the documents respecting Burr's +treason and, in his message to Congress, on October 27, if he did not +use the word treason, he still accused Burr of "enterprise against the +public peace." He assumed responsibility and claimed credit for the +measures that had permitted "to dissipate before their explosion plots +engendering on the Mississippi." He laid before Congress the proceedings +and evidence exhibited on the arraignment of the principal offenders. +Finally, he concluded that Burr's acquittal was evidence that there was +something wrong somewhere, and that the nation could not remain +defenceless against such dangers. "The framers of our constitution +certainly supposed they had guarded, as well their government against +destruction by treason, as their citizens against oppression, under +pretence of it; and if these ends are not attained, it is of importance +to inquire by what means more effectual they may be secured." + +A year later, writing to Doctor James Brown about the measures of +repression taken by Wilkinson in New Orleans, Jefferson presented what +he considered a full justification of his conduct: + + I do wish to see these people get what they deserved; and under the + maxim of the law itself, that _inter arma silent leges_, that in an + encampment expecting daily attack from a powerful enemy, self + preservation is paramount to all law. I expected that instead of + invoking the forms of the law, to cover traitors, all good citizens + would have concurred in securing them. Should we have ever gained our + Revolution, if we had bound our hands by manacles of the law, not + only in the beginning, but in any part of the revolutionary + conflict?[458] + +This was exactly the sort of reasoning that Jefferson had opposed so +strenuously when advanced by his political opponents. Apparently he had +completely reversed his position after getting in the saddle, which was +very illogical and perhaps very damnable, but also very human. He was +now, to use the vivid expression of a French statesman, "on the other +side of the barricade", and he saw things in a different light. But if +this episode can serve to illustrate the inconsistency of the +philosopher, it constitutes also a most striking refutation of the +accusations of Jacobinism so often launched against Jefferson; for only +the Jacobin is perfectly consistent in all circumstances. More than +thirty years had elapsed since Jefferson had copied the old maxim _fiat +justifia ruat coelum_ in his "Memorandum book" and he was still wont +to repeat it, but it had taken him less than eight years of executive +responsibility to make him admit that democracy does not work in times +of emergency. It was a most dangerous admission, but one to be expected +from a man in whom still lived the ruthless spirit of the frontier. +Pioneer communities in which unrestricted and unlimited democracy +prevails are pitiless for the outlaw who endangers the life of the +group, and are not stopped by "legal subtleties." In Jefferson there was +more of the pioneer than he himself believed. For this very reason he +was probably more completely and intensely an average American than if +he had "acted up" to the letter of the law in every circumstance. + +This was by far the most dramatic of the internal difficulties that +Jefferson had to face during his second term. Burr's conspiracy obscured +the attacks against Madison led by the former spokesman of Jefferson's +party, John Randolph of Roanoke. But already, when Burr's trial was held +in Richmond, "circumstances which seriously threatened the peace of the +country" had made it a duty to convene Congress at an earlier date than +usual. Once again, as under the administrations of Washington and Adams, +foreign policies were to dominate and direct domestic policies, and once +again America was to bear the penalty of all neutrals who try to keep +out of the war in a world conflagration. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +"PEACE AND COMMERCE WITH EVERY NATION" + + +War is not always an unmixed curse, at least for nations who manage to +remain neutral while the rest of the world is torn by calamitous +conflicts. Europe's misfortune had been to some extent America's good +fortune. With comparatively short intermissions, France and England were +engaged in a death struggle from 1793 to 1815, and although Britannia +ruled the sea, the belligerents had to resort to neutral shipping. The +exports of the United States, which were valued at only nineteen +millions in 1791, reached ninety-four millions in 1802, and one hundred +eight millions in 1807. The imports followed approximately the same +curve for the corresponding dates, jumping from nineteen millions to +seventy-five millions in 1802 and reaching over one hundred thirty-eight +millions in 1807. If the United States had been permitted to pursue the +policy outlined by Jefferson in his messages, "to cultivate the +friendship of the belligerent nations by every act of justice and of +incessant kindness" (October 17, 1803), "to carry a commercial +intercourse with every part of the dominions of a belligerent" (January +17, 1806), a sort of commercial millennium would have been attained and +the prosperity of the United States would have been boundless. But, at +least at the beginning of the nineteenth century, neither the rights of +neutrals nor international law were observed by the belligerents, and +neutrals were bound to suffer as well as to profit by their privileged +situation. + +For his conduct of foreign affairs Jefferson has been severely taken to +task, not only by many of his contemporaries but by several historians, +one of the most formidable critics being Henry Adams. During his second +administration, America suffered deep humiliations which aroused the +national spirit. In many occasions war could have and perhaps should +have been declared; the navy, which had been reduced to a minimum under +Gallatin's policy of economy, could have been expanded so as to enable +the country to protect herself against foreign insults. On matters +concerning national honor and national pride Americans alone are +qualified to pass, and I can hold no brief for Jefferson in the matter. +Perhaps it would have soothed the wounds inflicted to the _amour-propre_ +of the nation if war had been declared against France, or England, or +both, and if America had taken part in the "bloody conflicts" of Europe. +It must be said, however, that one fails to see what material advantages +would have resulted for the country; in this case, as in many others, +Jefferson's conduct seems to have been directed by enlightened +self-interest. He was most unwilling to favor and help in any way +Napoleon's ambitious schemes by declaring war against England; on the +other hand, the prospect of forming a _de facto_ alliance with a country +which on so many occasions had deliberately insulted the United States +and manifestly entertained feelings of scorn and distrust toward the +young republic was equally abhorrent to him. Finally, it must not be +forgotten that by keeping out of the deadly conflict in which Europe was +engaged, the United States were able to lay the solid foundations of an +unparalleled prosperity. While the young manhood of Europe perished on +the battlefields of Napoleon, the population of America grew by leaps +and bounds, passing from 5,300,000 in 1800 to 7,250,000 in 1810. While +the farms and the factories of the Old World were left abandoned, +immense territories were put under cultivation and new industries were +developed to satisfy the demands of consumers who could no longer import +manufactured products from England. The whole life of the nation was +quickened and the industrial revolution hastened. + +When, after Waterloo, Europe resumed her peaceful pursuits, America had +freed herself of economic and financial dependence from the Old World. +She had become a rich, powerful and self-supporting nation. She appeared +to the impoverished peoples of the earth as an economic as well as a +political Eldorado. Whether the price she paid for it was too high is a +question which I may be permitted to leave for others to decide. + +In his second inaugural address, the President found it unnecessary to +state again the directing principles of his policies, simply declaring +that he had "acted up" to the declaration contained in his first +inaugural. Of foreign affairs he had little to say, except to reiterate +his conviction that "with nations, as well as with individuals, our +interests soundly calculated, will ever be found inseparable from our +moral duties." Yet there was a passing reference to possible +difficulties. War sometimes could not be avoided: "it might be procured +by injustice by ourselves, or by others"; and provision ought to be made +in advance for such emergencies, so as "to meet all the expenses of any +given year, without encroaching on the rights of future generations, by +burdening them with the debts of the past." The President foresaw that, +with the rapid growth of the population and the corresponding increase +in revenue raised from import taxes, it would be possible + + To extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend + those limits, and to apply such a surplus to our public debts, as + places at a short day their final redemption, and that redemption + once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just + repartition among the states, and a corresponding amendement of the + constitution, be applied, _in time of peace_, to rivers, canals, + roads, arts, manufactures, education, and other great objects within + each State. + +One may wonder whether at that time Jefferson realized the possible +consequences of such a system. We have not to seek very far for the +exact "source" of these ideas; they were taken bodily from Hamilton's +report of manufactures. It was the same proposal to distribute subsidies +and bounties from the Federal treasury, to encourage commerce and +manufactures. Apparently what was damnable and criminal under a +Federalist administration became praiseworthy under a Republican regime. + +As a matter of fact, even during Jefferson's first term, some of the +resources of the Federal treasury had to be spent in warlike activities. +Jefferson had never been able to forget the deep humiliation he had felt +when, as a minister to the Court of France, he had been forced to +negotiate with the Barbary pirates for the redemption of American +prisoners. He had been less than six months in office when he decided to +answer the new demands of the Barbary States by sending an American +fleet to protect American commerce in the Mediterranean. To this +incident he gave a large part of his first message (December 8, 1801), +and the activities of the small squadron kept in Europe for several +years, in order to blockade the pirates in their harbors, was regularly +mentioned in his subsequent messages. The tone of some passages is well +worth studying. His hope to reduce "the Barbarians of Tripoli to the +desire of peace on proper terms by the sufferings of war" (November 8, +1804); his determination to send to Europe additional forces, "to make +Tripoli sensible that they mistake their interest in choosing war with +us; and Tunis also, should she have declared war as we expect and almost +wish" (July 18, 1804)--all this reveals a warlike Jefferson very +different from the pacifist philosopher he is supposed to have been in +all circumstances. + +It was irritating enough to bear the insults of British and French +vessels to the American flag in order to keep the United States out of a +European war. To yield to the demands of a band of pirates who could be +cowed by energetic action with a minimum of bloodshed and expenditure, +would have been an insufferable disgrace. The Barbarians had to be +beaten into submission, and the European powers who did not seem to be +willing to emancipate themselves from that degrading tribute could +perhaps understand at the same time that there were limits to the +forbearance of the United States. + +With reference to England the situation was entirely different. The +United States had no fleet able to cope with the English fleet. The +American coasts were unprotected and the American harbors could be +bombarded from the sea without even being able to make a pretense of +resisting. A large navy could not be built in a day, and even if one had +been improvised, the odds would have been so uneven that many American +vessels would have gone down and many lives would have been lost under +the fire of the British frigates. Thus for practical reasons as well as +from philanthropic motives, Jefferson bent all his efforts to the +preservation of peace with the great countries of Europe. + +Hardly three weeks after the signature of the treaty through which he +gave up Louisiana, Bonaparte declared war against England. When he +received the news, Jefferson wrote a long letter to Lord Buchan in which +he defined his policy: + + My hope of preserving peace for our country is not founded in the + greater principle of non-resistance under every wrong, but in the + belief that a just and friendly conduct on our part will procure + justice and friendship from others. In the existing contest, each of + the combatants will find an interest in our friendship. I cannot say + we shall be unconcerned spectators of this combat. We feel for human + sufferings, and we wish the good of all. We shall look on, therefore, + with the sensations which these dispositions and the events of the + war will produce.[459] + +Thus spoke Jefferson in July, 1803, and Woodrow Wilson, who borrowed +more than one page from the book of his predecessor, expressed himself +in almost the same words one hundred and eleven years later. Thus, +also, would probably speak any President of the United States should a +new conflagration break out to-morrow. This, to be sure, was no +proclamation of neutrality and none was needed at the time; but had +Jefferson written one, he could scarcely have expressed himself more +forcibly than he did in a letter sent two days later to General Horatio +Gates: "We are friendly, cordially and conscientiously friendly to +England. We are not hostile to France. We will be rigorously just and +sincerely friendly to both." + +But this fine declaration did not make Jefferson forget the immediate +interests of the United States, for the preoccupation uppermost in his +mind at that time was to find out how the European situation could be +used to the best advantage of his own country. + +In signing the treaty France had refused to give any guarantee as to the +extent of the territory ceded under the Louisiana Purchase. Whether the +cession included West Florida, on the occupation of which Jefferson had +been so intent, was a matter of doubt. This particular point had not +been pressed during the negotiations, France, according to the old maxim +_caveat emptor_, taking the position that the question lay between the +United States and Spain, while the United States had never abandoned the +hope that they would be able to induce Bonaparte to exert pressure on +Madrid so as to enable the American Government to make the most of the +transaction. Soon after the treaty was signed, the United States found +themselves enmeshed in one of the most complicated intrigues of European +diplomacy. + +While Madison and Jefferson were negotiating in Washington with the +Spanish minister Yrujo, Pinkney and later Monroe negotiated in Madrid, +sometimes at cross purposes but without ever losing sight of the main +object. Jefferson had renewed his old contention that the United States +were entitled to "all the navigable waters, rivers, creeks, bays, and +inlets lying within the United States, which empty into the Gulf of +Mexico east of the River Mississippi." As Henry Adams remarked, this was +a most remarkable provision, as "no creeks, bays, or inlets lying within +the United States emptied into the Gulf."[460] But if Jefferson's +geography was faulty, his intent was perfectly clear, and every +opportunity was to be used to round out the perimeter of the United +States. When in October, 1804, Monroe reached Paris to push negotiations +more vigorously, the plans of the United States had crystallized. They +had a beautiful simplicity: to make Spain pay the claims resulting from +the shutting-up of the Mississippi by Morales, to take immediate +possession of Western Florida and to obtain the cession of Eastern +Florida. + +With the details of the diplomatic maneuvers we are not concerned here, +but rather with the remarkable proposal made by Jefferson to Madison +during the summer of 1805. Spain having declared war against England, +the President, fearful of being "left without an ally", thought +immediately of proposing "a provisional alliance with England" (August +7, 1805). This alliance was to be conditional and would become effective +only in case the United States should have to declare war against France +or Spain. "In that event," wrote Jefferson, "we should make common +cause, and England should stipulate not to make peace without our +obtaining the objects for which we go to war, to wit, the acknowledgment +by Spain of the rightful boundaries of Louisiana (which we should reduce +to a minimum by a secret article) and 2, indemnification for spoliation, +for which purpose we should be allowed to make reprisal on the Floridas +and _retain them_ as an indemnification." Jefferson added that "as it +was the wish of every Englishman's heart to see the United States +fighting by their sides against France", the king and his ministers +could do no better than to enter into an alliance and the nation would +consider it "as the price and pledge of an indissoluble +friendship."[461] There is little doubt that if, at this juncture, +Monroe had maneuvered more skillfully, if England had showed less +arrogance in her treatment of the United States, she could have secured +at least the benevolent neutrality of America. But apparently England +did not care for a benevolent neutrality. After Trafalgar, she was left +undisputed mistress of the ocean, she could enforce her own regulations +as she pleased, and she proceeded to do so. + +The presidential message of December 3, 1805, had to present very +"unpleasant views of violence and wrong." The coasts of America were +infested by "private armed vessels, some of them with commissions, +others without commissions", all of them committing enormities, sinking +American merchantmen, "maltreating the crews, abandoning them in boats +in the open seas or on desert shores." The same policy of "hovering on +the coast" was carried on by "public armed vessels." New principles, +too, had been "interloped into the law of nations, founded neither in +justice nor in the usage or acknowledgment of nations"; this was an +allusion to the decision of Judge Scott in the Essex case. With Spain +negotiations had not had a satisfactory issue, propositions for +adjusting amicably the boundaries of Louisiana had not been acceded to, +and spoliation claims formerly acknowledged had again been denied. + +The President concluded that, although peace was still the ultimate +ideal of the United States, there were circumstances which admitted of +no peaceful remedy. Some evils were "of a nature to be met by force +only, and all of them may lead to it." Finally specific recommendations +were made to organize the national defense: furnishing the seaports with +heavy cannon, increasing the number of gunboats, classifying the militia +so as to have ready a competent number of men "for offence or defence in +any point where they may be wanted", prohibition of the exportations of +arms and ammunition,--such were the chief measures contemplated by the +President. + +In the spring of 1806, he wrote a long letter to Alexander of Russia, +who had manifested a desire to have a copy of the Constitution of the +United States. This was an appeal to the Czar, insisting that special +articles defining the rights of neutrals in time of war be inserted in +the definitive treaty of peace sooner or later to be concluded between +the European belligerents. Having taken no part in the troubles of +Europe, "the United States would have no part in its pacification", but +it was to be hoped that some one would be found "who, looking beyond the +narrow bounds of an individual nation, will take under the cover of his +equity the rights of the absent and unrepresented."[462] Unfortunately, +more than ten years were to elapse before that pacification of Europe so +earnestly hoped for by Jefferson came about, and only a week before the +British ministry had again aggravated regulations against the neutrals +by issuing orders blockading the coast of the continent (April 8, 1806). + +A few weeks later, Jefferson who, yielding to the pressure of Congress, +had agreed to appoint a special envoy to help Monroe negotiate a +commercial treaty with England, sent William Pinkney of Maryland to +London. "He has a just view of things, so far as known to him," wrote +Jefferson to Monroe, but he did not deem it desirable to trust him with +special instructions. For Monroe alone he reserved the complete +exposition of the plans then brooding in his mind. The death of Pitt +would probably mark a change in the attitude of Great Britain; the +President had more confidence in Mr. Fox than in any other man in +England and relied entirely on "his honesty and good sense." Then came +an outline of the reasoning to be put forward by Monroe: "No two +countries upon earth have so many points of common interests and +friendship; and their rulers must be great bunglers indeed, if, with +such dispositions, they break them asunder." England might check the +United States a little on the ocean; but she should realize that nothing +but her financial limitations prevented America from having a strong +navy. If France provided the money, so as to equip an American fleet, +the state of the ocean would be no longer problematical. If England, on +the contrary, made such a proposition, an alliance of the two largest +fleets "would make the world out of the continent of Europe our joint +monopoly." Then Jefferson added: "we wish for neither of these +scenes--We ask for peace and justice from all nations; and we will +remain uprightly neutral in fact, though leaning in belief to the +opinion that an English ascendency on the ocean is safer for us than +that of France." + +Finally, at the end of the letter, came the most extraordinarily +imperialistic proposition ever made by any nation; it was the extension +of a pet theory of Jefferson to the Atlantic Ocean. As he had claimed +for the United States the free navigation of all the streams originating +on the territory of the United States, he was ready to claim that the +great current originating from the Gulf should not be considered +differently, and he wrote: "We begin to broach the idea that we consider +the whole Gulf Stream as of our waters, in which hostilities and +cruising are to be frowned on for the present, and prohibited so soon as +either consent or force will permit us."[463] + +This might be thought a visionary scheme and merely a flight of +imagination, if Jefferson had not expressed the same idea in identical +terms in a conversation with the French minister concerning the treaty +negotiated in London by Monroe and Pinkney: "Perhaps we shall obtain the +right to extend our maritime jurisdiction, and to carry it as far as the +effect of the Gulph Stream makes itself felt,--which would be very +advantageous both to belligerents and neutrals."[464] + +These being Jefferson's views, it would have taken a far more successful +negotiator than Monroe to make the British Government accept them. The +treaty finally signed by the American envoys on December 1, 1806, was +far from satisfactory. As a matter of fact, the American envoys had been +caught between the hammer and the anvil. To the Fox blockade of April, +1806, Napoleon had answered by the Berlin Decree at the end of November, +placing the British islands in a state of blockade, declaring all +merchandise coming from England subject to confiscation and refusing +admission into any French port to any vessel coming either from England +or her colonies. Forbidden by England to trade with France, by France to +trade with England, the neutrals were placed in a sorry plight. Yet not +only did Monroe in his treaty recognize the right of visit and of +impressing British seamen found on board American vessels, but he gave +up the American claims to indemnity for outrages committed on American +commerce in 1805, and accepted the most humiliating conditions +concerning American trade with the French and Spanish colonies. Finally, +before Monroe could obtain the signature of the British negotiators, he +had to agree to an additional article by which he promised not to +recognize the decree of Berlin. In less than three weeks Jefferson +received Napoleon's decree, the text of the Pinkney-Monroe treaty, and +the news of Lord Howick's retaliatory order requesting that no goods +should be carried to France unless they first touched at an English port +and paid a certain duty. + +In spite of the pressing request of the Senate, Jefferson refused to +communicate the text of the treaty. The explanation publicly given by +the President was that Monroe had concluded the treaty before receiving +information as to the points to be insisted upon, and that a new effort +would be made to obtain the modification of some particularly +objectionable features. "This is the statement we have given out," he +wrote to Monroe, "and nothing more of the treaty has ever been made +known. But depend on it, my dear Sir, that it will be considered as a +hard treaty when it is known." If it appeared to Monroe that no +amendment was to be hoped for, he was authorized to come home, leaving +behind him Pinkney, who by procrastination would let it die and thus +would give America more time "the most precious of all things to +us."[465] + +New instructions were sent accordingly to the American envoys at the end +of May, but the problem of the relations with England became suddenly +more acute during Aaron Burr's trial. + +On June 22, the _Chesapeake_ of the American navy, bound for the +Mediterranean, was hauled up in view of Cape Henry by the _Leopard_ of +the British squadron, and summons were sent to Commodore Barron to +deliver some British deserters he was supposed to have on board. Upon +Barron's refusal, the _Leopard_ opened fire and for fifteen minutes sent +broadsides into the American ship, so unprepared and unready that only +one shot could be fired in answer. The American flag was hauled down, +British officers boarded the ship and took four deserters; after which +Captain Humphreys of the _Leopard_ declared to Barron that he could +proceed on his way. The _Chesapeake_ limped back into port, and on the +twenty-fifth, Jefferson called back to Washington Dearborn and Gallatin +to consider the emergency in a meeting of the Cabinet. + +What his indignation over the outrage may have been is a matter of +surmise. He did not express it either privately or publicly. To Governor +William H. Cabell, who had sent him a special message and report, he +answered diplomatically that, after consulting the Cabinet he would +determine "the course which exigency and our constitutional powers call +for.--Whether the outrage is a proper cause of war, belonging +exclusively to Congress, it is our duty not to commit them by doing +anything which would have to be retracted." But it is certain that, even +at that time, he was not ready to recommend any radical step, for he +added: + + This will leave Congress free to decide whether war is the most + efficacious mode of redress in our case, or whether, having taught so + many other useful lessons to Europe, we may not add that of showing + them that there are peaceable means of repressing injustice by making + it the interest of the aggressor to do what is just and abstain from + future wrong.[466] + +It was scarcely necessary to call the Cabinet together; three days +before the special meeting the President had already decided on a policy +of forbearance and watchful waiting. The proclamation which was issued +was moderate in tone, but Jefferson expressed more clearly in a letter +to the Vice President, George Clinton, the reasons for his moderation. + + The usage of nations requires that we shall give the offender an + opportunity of making reparation and avoiding war. That we would give + time to our merchants to get in their property and vessels and our + seamen now afloat; That the power of declaring war being with the + Legislature, the executive could do nothing necessarily committing + them to decide for war in preference of non-intercourse, which will + be preferred by a great many.[467] + +In order to make even more certain that no precipitate step would be +taken, it was decided to issue, on August 24, a proclamation calling +Congress together, but not until the fourth Monday in October. It was +the manifest hope of the President that by that date some satisfaction +would be obtained from England with regard to the most flagrant +violations of the "_droit des gens_", and that extreme measures could be +avoided. + +In the meantime new instructions had been sent to Monroe. "Reparation +for the past, and security for the future is our motto," wrote the +President to Du Pont de Nemours. Reparation for the past, at least as +far as the attack on the _Chesapeake_ was concerned, would have been +easy to obtain, but Canning refused persistently to make any promise for +the future, or to alter the policy of Great Britain with regard to visit +and impressment. For his firmness in refusing to settle the case of the +_Chesapeake_ independently, Jefferson has been most severely criticized +by Henry Adams, whose admiration for Perceval's and Canning's superior +minds is unbounded. Shall I confess that on this particular point, at +least, I should rather agree with the English biographer of Jefferson, +Mr. Hirst, who declares that "no second-rate lawyer was ever more obtuse +than Perceval, and the wit of Canning, his foreign secretary, seldom +issued in wisdom." On this occasion Great Britain was even more stupid +than she had been in 1776; she missed her great opportunity to operate a +reconciliation with the United States and to turn them against France, +without other compensation than the pleasure of outwitting the American +envoys and once more treating scornfully the younger country. The real +answer of England was given in the Orders in Council of November 11, +1807, prohibiting all neutral trade with the whole European seacoast +from Copenhagen to Trieste. No American vessel was to be allowed to +enter any port of Europe from which British vessels were excluded +without first going to England and abiding by regulations to be +determined later. + +In the meantime, Jefferson was pushing fast his preparations for +defence. A detailed examination of his correspondence during the summer +and fall of that year would justify him amply from the criticism of +several American historians.[468] He still hoped for peace, or more +exactly peace remained his ideal, although he had very little hope that +Monroe would succeed in his negotiations. But nothing could be done as +long as American ships and sailors, "at least twenty thousand men", +were on the seas, an easy prey to British vessels in case war should be +declared at once. "The loss of these," wrote Jefferson quite correctly, +"would be worth to Great Britain many victories on the Nile and +Trafalgar."[469] + +To judge of Jefferson's conduct at that time from our modern point of +view would be most unfair and dangerous. He could neither cable, nor +send radiograms, nor even steamships to warn American citizens in +distant ports, nor give instructions to agents of the United States all +over the world. It took months for news to cross the ocean and sometimes +a year or more to receive an answer to a letter. The geographical +isolation of the United States, their remoteness from Europe and the +slowness of communications were obvious factors of the situation, yet +they are too often neglected in judging the policy then followed by the +President. As the year advanced, Jefferson's hope of being able to +maintain peace grew fainter. There is a spirit of helplessness in a +letter he wrote to James Maury at the end of November: + + The world as you justly observe, is truly in an awful state. Two + nations of overgrown power are endeavoring to establish, the one an + universal dominion by sea, the other by land.... We are now in hourly + expectation of hearing from our ministers in London by the return of + the "Revenge." Whether she will bring us war or peace, or the middle + state of non-intercourse, seems suspended in equal balance.[470] + +The message to Congress, of October 27, contained no specific +recommendation. It was a dispassionate recital of the circumstances +which had necessitated new instructions to Monroe, a promise that +Congress would be informed of the result of the negotiations, news of +which was expected hourly, and an enumeration of the measures taken +towards the defense of the country. When the first news finally came, +the President had already decided upon the course to follow. On +December 18, 1807, he sent to Congress one of his shortest messages: + + The communications now made, showing the great and increasing dangers + with which our vessels, our seamen, and merchandise, are threatened + on the high seas and elsewhere, from the belligerent powers of + Europe, and it being of great importance to keep in safety these + essential resources, I deem it my duty to recommend the subject to + the consideration of Congress, who will doubtless perceive all the + advantages which may be expected from an inhibition of the departure + of our vessels from the ports of the United States. Their wisdom will + also see the necessity of making every preparation for whatever + events may grow out of the present crisis. + +The situation was much more clearly described in a letter to General +John Mason written approximately at the same time. + + The sum of these mutual enterprises on our national rights--wrote the + President--is that France, and her allies, reserving for further + consideration the prohibiting our carrying anything to the British + territories, have virtually done it, by restraining our bringing a + return cargo from them; and that Great Britain, after prohibiting a + great proportion of our commerce with France and her allies, is now + believed to have prohibited the whole. The whole world is thus laid + under interdict by these two nations, and our vessels, their cargoes + and crews, are to be taken by the one or the other, for whatever + place they may be destined out of our own limits. If therefore, on + leaving our harbors we are certain to lose them, is it not better, as + to vessels, cargoes and seamen, to keep them at home? This is + submitted to the wisdom of Congress, who alone are competent to + provide a remedy.[471] + +As in so many other instances the temptation is great to draw a parallel +between Jefferson's policies and the neutrality advocated by Woodrow +Wilson during his first term, and to repeat the worn-out and dangerous +adage "history repeats itself." As a matter of fact, the situation +faced by Jefferson in 1808 was entirely different from that which +confronted President Wilson from 1914 to 1917. America was not then a +rich and powerful country with unlimited resources. The people had just +emerged from a long and distressing financial crisis, for it took more +than one generation to heal the wounds of a war which had lasted six +years. The Federal Government was far from being as strong as it was +destined to become. The navy was ridiculously inadequate, not only to go +out and give battle to the English fleet, but even, to use Jefferson's +expression, to keep the seaports "_hors d'insulte_". + +These facts must be kept in mind if one wishes to form a true estimate +of Jefferson's conduct and character during the calamitous years of his +second term. To criticize his policies is an easy feat for a modern +historian, for it is natural that an American of to-day should resent +Jefferson's attitude as unworthy of a great self-respecting nation. +Undoubtedly the President might have sent a warlike message to Congress +and war would have immediately followed, but on the whole the issue had +been taken out of his hands in December, 1807. The embargo, as he justly +pointed out, was no new policy and no new measure; it was simply a +recognition of a situation created by both France and Great Britain. The +only way out would have been a formal declaration of war, and one does +not quite see what this grand gesture would have accomplished. Certainly +the United States were no more in position to march into Canada in 1807 +than they were in 1812, and if they had succeeded in taking possession +of the British colony, it is unlikely that Great Britain would have +accepted such a loss with equanimity. Furthermore, even if a formal +alliance had been concluded with France, the French fleet would have +been powerless to prevent the British navy from cruising on the American +coast and repeating, if they had wished, the outrages that had befallen +Copenhagen. + +Another solution, favored by such a liberal historian of Jefferson as +Mr. A. J. Nock, would have been frankly to recognize the existing +situation and to leave the New England merchants free to send out their +vessels at their own risk. This would have relieved to a certain extent +the economic distress of the northern States, but whether it would have +been more honest or more dignified than the embargo is a matter of +opinion. Such a policy would have been neutral only in appearance; it +would have amounted to a tacit recognition of a British monopoly of the +American trade, since England was really the only country to which +American ships would have been permitted to go. Granting that the +embargo was "the most arbitrary, inquisitorial, and confiscatory measure +formulated in American legislation up to the period of the Civil +War",[472] I fail to see that the prestige of the United States would +have gained much by allowing their citizens to submit to the humiliating +Orders in Council of November 11, 1807. Of all policies this would have +been the most evasive, most vacillating and least dignified. + +It must be furthermore remembered that though he was gifted with +remarkable foresight, Jefferson was in no position to guess that the +conflict between England and France would last for seven more years. He +believed, on the contrary, that the Titanic struggle would come, if not +to a definite close, at least to a pause, within a comparatively short +time: "Time may produce peace in Europe; peace in Europe removes all +causes of difference, till another European war; and by that time our +debt may be paid, our revenue clear, and our strength increased."[473] +This reasoning reappears in many letters written by Jefferson during the +last year of his administration. His correspondence during the months +that separated him from rest and philosophical meditation may be devoid +of dramatic interest, but a thorough perusal of it would demonstrate +that at no time during his long political career were his motives less +interested, less partisan and more truly patriotic. + +At no time, either, was he more bitterly attacked. He suffered from "the +peltings of the storm" and cried out pathetically to Benjamin Rush: "Oh! +for the day when I shall be withdrawn from it; when I shall have leisure +to enjoy my family, my friends, my farm and books." But the defection of +the Republicans in Congress, the divergence of opinions in his Cabinet, +the threats of secession, the anonymous letters and the press campaign +launched against him had no power to shake his strong negative +resolution. Yet in all justice to him it may be seen that his policy was +not entirely negative. + +First of all his letters show that he never considered the embargo as a +permanent cure. As early as March, 1808, writing to Charles Pinckney, +the former envoy to Spain, he declared that the effect of the embargo +would be "to postpone for this year the immediate danger of a rupture +with England." He admitted that a time would come "when war would be +preferable to a continuance of the embargo and that the question would +have to be decided at the next meeting of Congress unless peace +intervened in the meantime."[474] Under these circumstances the repeal +of the embargo voted by Congress to take effect after Jefferson's +retirement cannot be considered as a rebuke to the President. Moreover, +it appears that Jefferson had given some thought to three and not two +alternatives: 1, embargo; 2, war; 3, submission and tribute,--the third +being exactly that advocated by Mr. Nock. In Jefferson's opinion this +third solution was at once "to be put out by every American and the two +first considered."[475] Writing to Thomas Leib, earlier in the year, he +had already defined his position with regard to this solution, +recommended by the mercantile interests: "It is true, the time will +come when we must abandon it (the embargo). But if this is before the +repeal of the orders of council, we must abandon it only for a state of +war. The day is not distant, when that will be preferable to a longer +continuance of the embargo. But we can never remove that, and let our +vessels go out and be taken under these orders without making reprisal." +This is itself evidence, but it has apparently escaped many historians +as well as many contemporaries of Jefferson. If the embargo is +considered not as a permanent policy but as a political expedient and a +political experiment, the greater part of Henry Adams' arraignment of +Jefferson's political philosophy falls flat.[476] When, on the other +hand, the same writer admits that "the result was that the embargo saved +perhaps twenty millions of dollars a year and some thousands of lives +which the war would have consumed", we may be permitted to add that +Jefferson would not have granted the principle that "the strongest +objection to war was not its waste of money or even of life; for money +and life in political economy were worth no more than they could be made +to produce." If this is economic history, Heaven preserve us from +economic policies! As to the accusation that "Jefferson's system was +preaching the fear of war, of self-sacrifice, making many smugglers and +traitors, but not a single hero", I must humbly confess that one does +not see that America would have been much richer for engaging without +adequate preparation or even a fair chance to defend herself in a +useless and, in last analysis, probably inglorious war. + +It is claimed, however, that the embargo caused an economic catastrophe: + + As the order was carried along the seacoast, every artisan dropped + his tools, every merchant closed his doors, every ship was + dismantled. American produce--wheat, timber, cotton, tobacco, + rice--dropped in value or became unsalable; every imported article + rose in price; wages stopped, swarms of debtors became bankrupt; + thousands of sailors hung idle around the wharves.... A reign of + idleness began; and the men who were not already ruined felt that + their ruin was only a matter of time.[477] + +A very pathetic picture this, made even more pitiful by the classic +quotation from the British traveler, Lambert, who visited New York in +1808 and described it as a place ravaged by pestilence. But why not +quote also from another traveler, John Mellish, who spoke of the impetus +given to manufactures and home industries?[478] Why forget to mention +Gallatin's report of 1810, pointing out that some basic industries had +been firmly established in the United States, such as iron, cotton, +flax, hats, paper, printing type, gunpowder, window glass, clocks, etc. +Who could deny, at any rate, that manufactures made enormous progress, +thanks to the embargo, and that goods formerly imported from England +began to be made in America? Even supposing that the picture drawn by H. +Adams were true, it would be necessary to admit that there was another +side to it and that a few artisans, at least, remained working steadily +at their benches. + +The last annual message of Jefferson to Congress was noncommittal on the +measures to be taken. It presented first a dispassionate recital of the +negotiations carried on with France and England to bring them to rescind +the most offensive features of their orders and decrees. It recognized +that "this candid and liberal experiment had failed." It was left to +Congress to determine what course to follow: + + Under a continuance of the belligerent measures which, in defiance of + laws which consecrate the rights of neutrals, overspread the ocean + with danger, it will rest with the wisdom of Congress to decide on + the course best adapted to such a state of things; and bringing with + them, as they do, from every part of the Union, the sentiments of our + constituants, my confidence is strengthened, that in forming this + decision they will, with an unerring regard to the essential rights + and interests of the nation weigh and compare the painful + alternatives out of which a choice is to be made. + +This reserved attitude Jefferson intended to maintain during the rest of +his term. "I have thought it right to take no part myself in proposing +measures, the execution of which will devolve on my successor. I am +therefore chiefly an unmedling listener to what others say."[479] But to +Doctor William Eustis he protested that "while thus endeavoring to +secure, and preparing to vindicate that commerce, the absurd opinion has +been propagated, that this temporary and necessary arrangement was to be +a permanent system and was intended for its destruction."[480] And this +seems to indicate that he was quite definite in his own mind, even if he +refrained from expressing his opinion officially. + +After more than a month's deliberation in Congress, Jefferson had come +to believe that "Congress had taken their ground firmly for continuing +the embargo till June, and then war." Quite suddenly, however, the +majority, frightened by threats of secession openly made by the New +England members, and fearful of the famous Essex Junto, rallied to a +compromise. Neither the people nor Congress were for war, and that fact +had been clearly realized very early both by the French and the British +ministers; at the same time it was felt that something must be done to +relieve to some extent the financial distress of the Virginia planters +and New England merchants. The result was that Congress decided to +remove the embargo on March 4, "non intercourse with France and Great +Britain, trade everywhere else, and continuing war preparations."[481] + +On the first of March, three days before the inauguration of his +successor, Jefferson signed the bill, but not without serious +misgivings. The letters he wrote at that time contain even more +convincing evidence that he did not expect the embargo to last much +longer. To General Armstrong, the American representative in Paris, he +declared on March 5 that "War must follow if the edicts are not repealed +before the meeting of Congress in May." With Short, whom he had tried +without success to have appointed Minister to Russia, he was more +explicit if no less emphatic: "We have substituted for it (the embargo), +a non-intercourse with France and England and their dependencies, and a +trade to all other places. It is probable that the belligerents will +take our vessels under their edicts, in which case we shall probably +declare war against them."[482] Finally, to Madison himself, he wrote +after reaching Monticello: + + It is to be desired that war may be avoided, if circumstances will + admit. Nor in the present maniac state of Europe, should I estimate + the point of honor by the ordinary scale. I believe we shall, on the + contrary, have credit with the world, for having made the avoidance + of being engaged in the present unexampled war, our first object. + War, however, may become a less losing business than unresisted + depredation.[483] + +Whatever may have been the opposition to the embargo and the opposition +to Jefferson of disaffected Republicans, it is remarkable that he was +able to keep his party in hand to the last minute and to choose his +successor. Early at the beginning of his second term, he had expressed +his irrevocable intention not to become a candidate for a third term. He +was longing for his farm, his books, for the comforts of family life and +he was not in the best of health. + +Not only had he been troubled by rheumatism, but "periodical headaches" +recurring at frequent intervals left him for days unable to write and +hardly able "to compose his thoughts." + +The Republicans had to make a choice between three possible candidates: +George Clinton, Monroe, and Madison. The strongest argument that could +be advanced in favor of the first was that, according to a precedent +already apparently established, the Vice President was the logical +successor, the "heir apparent", as Adams had termed it, to a retiring +President. Moreover, Clinton could count on the support of the New York +Republicans and had aroused no strong antagonism against himself. It +soon became obvious, however, that the contest lay between the two +Virginians and that the Virginia dynasty would not be broken as yet. +Monroe was not without support in his native State and his candidacy had +been upheld by a Republican caucus held by Randolph and his friends at +Richmond; but another caucus of the Assembly had given a decisive +majority to Madison. On January 23, 1808, a congressional caucus held in +Washington pronounced decisively for Madison as President and George +Clinton as Vice President. But Randolph held aloof and with his friends +published a protest against the candidacy of Madison, who had +"moderation when energy was needed", whose theories of government were +tainted with federalism, "when the country was asking for consistency +and loathing and abhorrence from any compromise." The danger of a split +in the Republican Party was indeed serious, and while Jefferson +reasserted his wish not to participate in any way in the campaign, he +wrote to Monroe a long letter, deploring the situation and making an +obvious appeal to his party loyalty. He warned him particularly against +the passions that could not fail to be aroused in such a contest, and +conjured him to keep clear "of the toils in which his friends would +endeavor to interlace him." + +That Monroe's _amour-propre_ was deeply wounded appears in the letter he +wrote in answer to his "chief." He complained lengthily and bitterly of +having been handicapped by the sending of Pinkney and of the criticism +to which he had been subjected on account of the treaty. Once again +Jefferson had to soothe the discontent of his friend and "_eleve_", +which to a certain extent he succeeded in doing. It soon appeared, +however, that the question would solve itself, that neither Monroe nor +Clinton was strong enough to control the Republican majority. When the +results came in, the Republicans had suffered the loss of all New +England except Vermont, but Madison carried the election by one hundred +and twenty-two votes, against forty-seven to C. C. Pinckney and six for +Clinton. True enough, in several states the electors had been selected +before the full pressure of the embargo was felt, but with such a +substantial majority it is difficult to accept unreservedly Henry Adams' +view that "no one could fail to see that if nine months of embargo had +so shattered Jefferson's power, another such year would shake the Union +itself." + + + + +BOOK SIX + +_The Sage of Monticello_ + + + + +CHAPTER I + +"AMERICA HAS A HEMISPHERE TO ITSELF" + + +When, after a long and fatiguing journey, Thomas Jefferson reached +Monticello in the spring of 1809, he was in his sixty-third year and had +well earned his "quadragena stipendia." But the Republic did not serve +any pension to retired Presidents. For more than twelve years he had +perforce neglected his domain, and his son-in-law, who had been in +charge of the estate for some time, was scarcely a man to be intrusted +with the administration of complicated financial interests. A large part +of Jefferson's time was necessarily spent in setting things to rights; +but the times were against him, and the embargo had proved more +detrimental to the great landowners of the South than to the New England +manufacturers. A planter whose sole revenue consisted in his crops had +the utmost difficulty in providing for a large family of dependants, and +a considerable number of slaves who had to be fed and clad, and most of +all in keeping up appearances. Jefferson was hardly freed from public +responsibilities when he had to labor under domestic difficulties which +worried him even to his death bed. + +Under his direction, however, Monticello became more than ever a +self-supporting community; the slaves were taught all the necessary +trades and when, thanks to the merino sheep brought over by Du Pont de +Nemours, woolen goods of fine quality were made at Monticello, the +master of the house was proud to wear clothes of homespun which, in his +opinion, could rival the best produce of the English manufactures. Whole +books could be written, and several have been written, on Jefferson the +agriculturist, the surveyor, the civil engineer, the inventor and the +architect. There is, however, another aspect of his last years which +deserves more attention than it usually receives. + +[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON + +_From the portrait by Kosciuszko_] + +For thirty years Jefferson had lived almost constantly under the +scrutiny of the public. His utterances had been pounced upon by eager +enemies of the "cannibal press"; letters intended solely for friends had +been printed, several times in a garbled form, and during his presidency +he had been unable to communicate freely with his European friends for +fear of having his letters intercepted. At last, he could express +himself freely. He was no longer the spokesman of the country who had to +ascertain the state of public opinion before writing a message or +sending a communication to a foreign government. He could speak for +himself, without being hindered by the ever-present danger of political +repercussions, and if he did not speak much, he wrote several thousand +letters, many of which are still unpublished--an overwhelming treasure +for historians of the period. His physical strength was somewhat +impaired, but his intellectual powers were in no way diminished; never +had his mind been keener, his perception of realities clearer and his +extraordinary gift of political prophecy more accurate than during the +last fifteen years of his life. This is the period to study in order to +understand more fully his conception of Americanism, his vision of +democracy and the practical wisdom which permeated his philosophy of old +age. + +His valedictory letter to Madison, written from Monticello on March 17, +1809, contained a very curious admission of the inability of the United +States to carry out war successfully with their present organization; "I +know of no Government," he wrote, "which would be so embarrassing in war +as ours. This would proceed very much from the lying and licentious +character of our papers; but also, from the wonderful credulity of the +members of Congress in the floating lies of the day."[484] + +This was no passing whim of his, but a very definite and categorical +understanding of the functions devolving upon the Executive in times of +emergency. He had not forgotten his experience as Governor of Virginia, +when he had to coax necessary measures from a reluctant Assembly; his +eight years as Chief Executive of the country had only strengthened him +in the opinion that "In times of peace, the people look most to their +representatives, but in war to the Executive solely." He found a +confirmation of this theory in the state of public opinion, when he +wrote to Rodney, early in 1810: "It is visible that their confidence is +now veering in that direction: that they are looking to the executive to +give the proper direction to their affairs, with a confidence as +auspicious as it is well founded."[485] + +A few months later, writing to J. B. Colvin, he took up again the same +question: "In what circumstances is it permitted for the man in charge +to assume authority beyond the law?" That he was personally interested +in the matter was evident, since he had exceeded his constitutional +powers very recently, during the Burr conspiracy. It is nevertheless +remarkable to see the champion of legality and democracy declare that: + + A strict observance of the written law is doubtless _one_ of the high + duties of a good citizen, but it is not the _highest_. The laws of + necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger + are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous + adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, + liberty, property and all those enjoying them with us; thus absurdly + sacrificing the end to the means.[486] + +To a certain extent this was a plea _pro domo sua_. If we remember that, +during the World War, the motto of America was, for more than two years, +"Stand by the President", it will be seen that Jefferson was as good a +prophet as an intelligent observer. This admission of his may seem +undemocratic, but it simply shows that the former President had a clear +perception of the permanent tendencies that direct American +consciousness; for no people are more disciplined and more ready to +follow their chosen executive than the Americans, at least on critical +occasions, and more particularly when confronted with foreign +aggression. + +War was still to be avoided and considered only as the _ultima ratio rei +publicae_. On this point also, Jefferson was perfectly consistent, and, +having shed the responsibility, he did not suddenly change his attitude. +The "point of honor" was not to be estimated by the ordinary scale in +the present maniac state of Europe. But America must realize at the same +time that no ordinary treaty could insure her safety. A treaty with +England could not even be thought of; for "the British never made an +equal treaty with any nation." + +With regard to France the situation was somewhat different. Some +compensation was due to America for forcing Great Britain to revoke her +orders in council. But what compensation? The acquiescence of Bonaparte +to the annexation of the Floridas? That was no price; for "they are ours +in the first moment of the first war; and until a war they are of no +particular necessity." The only territory that the United States might +covet was Cuba. "That would be a price, and I would immediately erect a +column on the southernmost limit of Cuba, and inscribe on it a _ne plus +ultra_ to us in that direction.... Cuba can be defended by us without a +navy, and this develops the principle which ought to limit our views. +Nothing should ever be accepted which would require a navy to defend +it."[487] + +In the meantime, Jefferson did not miss any opportunity to justify the +embargo. Even after its repeal, he insisted that "enough of the +non-importation laws should be preserved 1st, to pinch them into a +relinquishment of impressments, and 2nd, to support those manufacturing +establishments, which their orders, and our interests, forced us to +make."[488] + +To Du Pont de Nemours he wrote a long letter, stating in detail the +advantages accrued to America from the embargo, and this point is well +worth keeping in mind by those who insist on considering Jefferson as a +hundred per cent. agrarian: + + The barefaced attempts of England to make us accessories and + tributaries to her usurpations on the high seas--he wrote to the old + Physiocrat--have generated in this country an universal spirit for + manufacturing for ourselves, and of reducing to a minimum the number + of articles for which we are dependent on her. The advantages too, of + lessening the occasions of risking our peace on the ocean, and of + planting the consumer on our own soil by the side of the grower of + produce, are so palpable, that no temporary suspension of injuries on + her part, or agreements founded on that, will now prevent our + continuing in what we have begun.[489] + +So wrote the supposed agrarian to the founder of physiocracy, and this +is a _prima facie_ evidence that Jefferson was not a Physiocrat of the +first water. As a matter of fact, on this point as on so many others, he +had strong negative principles. As we have already pointed out on +several occasions, Jefferson was not so much opposed to manufactures and +industries as to mercantilism, and particularly to English mercantilism. +This corrective ought to be taken into consideration in any estimate of +the Jeffersonian democracy, and one may wonder whether some continuators +of Mr. Beard are sufficiently aware of this capital distinction. + +It soon appeared to Jefferson that there was no possible way out except +war. Contrary to all expectations, the convulsions of Europe continued +and no hope of a permanent peace was in sight. The death of Bonaparte +"would remove the first and chiefest apostle of the desolation of men +and morals and might withdraw the scourge of the land. But what is to +restore order and safety on the ocean. The death of George III? Not at +all.... The principle that force is right, is become the principle of +the nation itself."[490] + +As a matter of fact, Bonaparte was little to be feared. He still had the +whole world to conquer before turning his eyes towards America. + + England on the contrary is an ever-present danger not to be relied + upon as an ally for she would make a separate peace and leave us in + the lurch. Her good faith? The faith of a nation of merchants. The + _Punica fides_ of modern Carthage. Of the friend of the protectress + of Copenhagen. Of the nation who never admitted a chapter of morality + into her political code. + +Then follows a formidable indictment of the treacherous policies of +England with a curious and most interesting discrimination at the end, +for Jefferson observes that "it presents the singular phenomenon of a +nation, the individuals of which are as faithful to their private +engagements and duties, as honorable, as worthy, as those of any nation +on earth, and whose government is yet the most unprincipled at this day +known."[491] + +All told, both nations could be tarred with the same brush "for," said +Jefferson, "I should respect just as much the rules of conduct which +governed Cartouche or Blackbeard as those now acted on by France or +England."[492] The only difference was that France was not in a position +to cause as much damage to American interests as her hereditary enemy +whose claim to "dominion of the ocean and to levy tribute on every flag +traversing that, as lately attempted and not relinquished, every nation +must contest, even _ad internecionem_."[493] + +This detestation of English policies and English rulers did not, +however, extend to individuals. Even when war was to be declared +Jefferson took care to establish what he considered as a very necessary +distinction in a fine letter sent to James Maury, his "dear and ancient +friend and classmate": + + Our two countries are at war, but not you and I. And why should our + two countries be at war, when by peace we can be so much more useful + to one another. Surely the world will acquit our government from + having sought it.... We consider the overwhelming power of England on + the ocean, and of France on the land, as destructive of the + prosperity and happiness of the world, and wish both to be reduced + only to the necessity of observing moral duties. I believe no more in + Bonaparte's fighting merely for the liberty of the seas, than in + Great Britain's fighting for the liberties of mankind.... We resist + the enterprises of England first, because they first come vitally + home to us. And our feelings repel the logic of bearing the lash of + George III, for fear of that of Bonaparte at some future day. When + the wrongs of France shall reach us with equal effect, we shall + resist them also. But one at a time is enough; and having offered a + choice to the champions, England first takes up the gauntlet.[494] + +Since war was declared, the only thing to keep in mind was to make it as +advantageous as possible to the United States. Thanks to the Louisiana +Purchase, France had been eliminated forever from the American +continent, but the existence of a large British province on the northern +border constituted an ever-present source of anxiety and danger for the +Union. The first war aim of the United States was consequently to expel +Great Britain from the North American continent, for as long as England +could use her continental dominion as "a fulcrum for her Machiavellian +levers" there would be no safety for the United States. On the other +hand, the war could not be carried out to a successful conclusion if +during the hostilities America were kept unable to export the surplus +of her produce. Jefferson therefore recommended that neutral vessels be +used "and even enemy vessels under neutral flag, which I should wink +at", wrote Jefferson to the President.[495] + +This last recommendation may seem surprising and almost treasonable, but +Jefferson lived in close contact with farmers and planters, and he still +remembered their attitude during the Revolutionary War and knew that "to +keep the war popular we must keep open the markets. As long as good +prices can be had, the people will support the war cheerfully." + +Later in the year he was able to report to the President: + + Our farmers are cheerful in the expectation of a good price for wheat + in Autumn. Their pulse will be regulated by this, and not by the + successes or disasters of the war. To keep open sufficient markets is + the very first object towards maintaining the popularity of the war, + which is as great at present as could be desired.[496] + +To be correctly understood, this attitude of Jefferson advocating trade +with the enemy requires some further elucidation. As a matter of fact, +the issue was not so clear-cut as it would seem. While England was to be +considered as America's enemy on the continent, she was "fighting +America's battles" in Europe, for the ultimate triumph of Bonaparte +would have been pregnant with dangers for the Union. He consequently +advocated the exportation of grain to Great Britain: + + If she is to be fed at all events, why may not we have the benefit of + it as well as others. I would not indeed, feed her armies landed on + our territory, because the difficulty of inland communication + subsistence is what will prevent their ever penetrating far into the + country.... But this would be my only exception, and as to feeding + her armies in the Peninsular, she is fighting our battles there, as + Bonaparte is on the Baltic.[497] + +But it must also be admitted that Jefferson considered that in war all +is fair. He had not changed much since the remote days of the Revolution +when he urged Washington to permit him to use measures of retaliation on +the British prisoners. Once again he did not scruple to recommend +measures sometimes used but seldom so frankly advocated. He would not +have hesitated to bring the war home to Great Britain and to resort to +retaliation. "Perhaps they will burn New York or Boston," he wrote to +Duane. "If they do, we must burn the city of London, not by expensive +fleets or congreve rockets, but by employing an hundred or two +Jack-the-painters, whom nakedness, famine, desperation and hardened +vice, will abundantly furnish among themselves."[498] + +But the thing never to be lost sight of was the conquest of Canada and +"the final expulsion of England from the American continent." It was to +be a very simple expedition, "a mere matter of marching", and the +weakness of the enemy was to make "our errors innocent." All these +sanguine expectations were blasted to dust by the Hull disaster. Three +frigates taken by "our gallant little navy" could not balance "three +armies lost by treachery, cowardice, or incapacity of those to whom they +were entrusted." The mediation of Russia was the only hope left, but the +enemies were to remain "bedecked with the laurels of the land"--the +reverse of what was to be expected and perhaps what was to be +wished.[499] + +Throughout the whole campaign Jefferson was unable to choose between +France and England, or rather between Bonaparte and England's corrupted +government. Strong as were his denunciations of English policies and +crimes, he almost foamed at the mouth when he mentioned the abominable +Corsican: + + That Bonaparte is an unprincipled tyrant who is deluging the + continent of Europe with blood, there is not a human being, not even + the wife of his bosom, who does not see. There is no doubt as to the + line we ought to wish drawn between his successes and those of + Alexander. Surely none of us wish to see Bonaparte conquer Russia, + and lay thus at his feet the whole continent of Europe. This done, + England would be just a breakfast.[500] + +The "true line of interest" of the United States was consequently that +Bonaparte should be able to effect the complete exclusion of England +from the whole continent of Europe, in order to make her renounce her +views of dominion over the ocean. As there was no longer any hope of +expelling England completely from the American continent, it remained +"the interest of the U. S. to wish Bonaparte a moderate success so as to +curb the ambition of Great Britain."[501] + +From this and many other similar passages it would follow that Jefferson +was one of the first exponents of the famous policy of the balance of +power. Although at war with England, America could not wish for a +complete defeat of her enemy which would enable the monster to pursue +his dreams of world domination. But hateful as the Corsican was, no one +could wish for an English victory which would leave Great Britain the +undisputed ruler of the ocean. Incidents of the war did wring from +Jefferson impassioned outbursts which expressed a temporary anger, but +whenever he took time to weigh the different factors in his mind, the +realistic politician emerged every time. + +This appears clearly in his correspondence with Madame de Stael, who had +urged him on several occasions to make every effort to decide his fellow +countrymen to join in the battle against the oppressors of liberty. It +appears also quite significantly in his correspondence with Madison, +following the burning of the White House and the destruction by the +English soldiers of the first Congressional Library. His indignation +ran high when he learned "through the paper" that "the vandalism of our +enemy has triumphed at Washington over science as well as the arts, with +the destruction of the public library with the noble edifice in which it +was deposited." "Of that transaction, as that of Copenhagen, the world +will entertain but one sentiment," he wrote to Samuel H. Smith.[502] But +it was characteristic of the man that he thought at once of the means of +restoring the library. Books could not be procured easily from abroad +and there was no other private library in the country comparable to the +collection of books he had systematically accumulated for over forty +years. He placed his books at the disposal of Congress "to be valued by +persons named by the Library Committee, and the payment made convenient +to the public." This was not a piece of business in order to retrieve +his fortune, nor a disguised request for financial help, but simply the +act of a public-spirited citizen unable to make an outright gift and yet +unwilling to make any profit on the public treasury. + +The end of the war was in sight--a war which could be considered as a +draw, in which both sides had lost heavily and neither had gained +anything: + + It is a deplorable misfortune to us. It has arrested the course of + the most remarkable tide of prosperity any nation ever experienced, + and has closed such prospects of future improvements as were never + before in the view of any people. Farewell all hopes of extinguishing + public debt! Farewell all visions of applying surpluses of revenue to + the improvement of peace, rather than the ravages of war. Our enemy + has indeed the consolation of Satan on removing our first parents + from Paradise; from a peaceable and agricultural nation, he makes us + a military and manufacturing one....[503] + +It could truly be said that the war had failed. The best that could be +expected was the _status ante bellum_. "Indemnity for the past and +security for the future which was our motto at the beginning of this +war, must be adjourned to another, when, disarmed and bankrupt our enemy +shall be less able to insult and plunder the world with impunity."[504] + +The news that peace had been signed did not cause him any elation, it +was "in fact but an armistice", and even when he wrote again to his dear +and ancient friend James Maury, Jefferson was careful to note that +America would never peacefully accept again England's practice of +impressment on the high seas. "On that point," he wrote, "we have thrown +away the scabbard and the moment an European war brings her back to this +practice, adds us again to her enemies."[505] + +This was repeated in a letter to his old friend Du Pont de Nemours who +had asked him for his influence in order to send his grandson to the +Naval Academy: + + For twenty years to come we should consider peace as the _summum + bonum_ of our country. At the end of that period we shall be twenty + millions in number, and forty in energy, when encountering the + starved and rickety paupers and dwarfs of English workshops. By that + time your grandson will have become one of our High-Admirals, and + bear distinguished part in retorting the wrongs of both his countries + on the most implacable and cruel of their enemies.[506] + +Yet one would be mistaken in believing that Jefferson felt against +England any deep-seated animosity, and his resentment, however +justifiable, did not last long after the close of hostilities. The fine +friendly letters he wrote to Thomas Law and James Maury at the eve of +the war were more than mere gestures. He had many friends in England, he +was imbued with English philosophy, English ideas, English law and, if +he detested the rulers and the regime, he always maintained the same +sentimental and quite natural feelings of so many Americans for the +mother country as a whole: + + Were they once under a government which should treat us with justice + and equity--he wrote to John Adams--I should myself feel with great + strength the ties that bind us together, of origin, language, laws + and manners; and I am persuaded the two people would become in future + as it was with the ancient Greeks, among whom it was reproachful for + Greek to be found fighting against Greek in a foreign army.[507] + +On the same day he wrote to the Secretary of State, James Monroe, about +the proposed inscription to be engraved in a conspicuous place on the +restored Capitol, and he had suggested that if any inscription was +considered as necessary, it should simply state the bare facts, such as: + + FOUNDED 1791. BURNT BY A BRITISH ARMY 1814. RESTORED BY CONGRESS + 1817. + +But a question of more importance was whether there should be any +inscription at all. "The barbarism of the conflagration will immortalize +that of the nation.... We have more reason to hate her than any nation +in earth. But she is not now an object of hatred.... It is for the +interest of all that she should be maintained nearly on a par with other +members of the republic of nations."[508] + +With regard to France, his correspondence with Du Pont de Nemours and +Lafayette offers precious and significant testimony. Much as he loathed +Bonaparte, he deplored the return of the Bourbons and the reactionary +measures of the _Restauration_. His indignation ran high when he +received + + ... the new treaty of the allied powers, declaring that the French + nation shall not have Bonaparte and shall have Louis XVIII as their + ruler. They are all then as great rascals as Bonaparte himself. + While he was in the wrong, I wished him exactly as much success as + would answer our purpose, and no more. Now that they are wrong and he + in the right, he shall have all my prayers for success, and that he + may dethrone every man of them.[509] + +Writing to Albert Gallatin he indulged in a "poetical effusion" which +shows how deeply his feelings were stirred: + + I grieve for France ... and I trust they will finally establish for + themselves a government of rational and well tempered liberty. So + much science cannot be lost; so much light shed over them can never + fail to produce to them some good in the end. Till then, we may + ourselves fervently pray, with the liturgy a little parodied; Give + peace till that time, oh Lord, because there is none other that will + fight for us but only thee, oh God.[510] + +When all was told, and it was realized that "the cannibals of Europe +were going to eating one another again and the pugnacious humor of +mankind seemed to be the law of his nature", the only course for the +United States to follow was to keep out of the fray as much as possible +and so to direct their policy as to give no pretext for the European +powers to intervene in the New World. + +Already, in 1812, Jefferson had formulated his views in the most +unequivocal manner, when he wrote to Doctor John Crawford: + + We specially ought to pray that the powers of Europe may be so poised + and counterpoised among themselves, that their own safety may require + the presence of all their force at home, leaving the other quarters + of the globe in undisturbed tranquillity. When our strength will + permit us to give the law to our hemisphere, it should be that the + meridian of the mid-Atlantic should be the line of demarkation + between war and peace, on this side of which no act of hostility + should be committed, and the lion and the lamb lie down in peace + together.[511] + +The progress of the revolt of the Spanish colonies was at first to +strengthen him in the position he had already taken. + +Jefferson received the news without any elation. For a long time he had +known that the link between the Spanish and Portuguese colonies was +growing weaker. He doubted very much, however, that the colonies were +ready for self-government. There might have been some hope for Mexico, +because of her proximity to the United States: "But the others, I fear," +he wrote to Baron Alexander von Humboldt, "will end in military +despotisms. The different castes of their inhabitants, their mutual +hatred and jealousies, their profound ignorance and bigotry, will be +played off by cunning leaders, and each be made the instrument of +enslaving the others." The important point he made was in what followed, +and Jefferson here indulged in one of his curious political prophecies, +in which he so often hit the mark: + + But in whatever government they will end, they will be _American_ + governments, no longer to be involved in the never-ceasing broils of + Europe. The European nations constitute a separate division of the + globe; their localities make them part of a distinct system; they + have a set of interests of their own in which it is our business + never to engage ourselves. America has a hemisphere to itself. It + must have its separate system of interests; which must not be + subordinated to those of Europe. The insulated state in which nature + has placed the American continent, should so far avail it that no + spark of war kindled in the other quarters of the globe should be + wafted across the wide oceans which separate us from them and it will + be so. In fifty years more the United States alone will contain fifty + millions of inhabitants, and fifty years are soon gone over.... And + you will live to see the period ahead of us; and the numbers which + will then be spread over the other parts of the American hemisphere, + catching long before that the principles of our portion of it, and + concurring with us in the maintainance of the same system.[512] + +For the present the situation was entirely different--and as he had done +during the Revolution with regard to France, he advocated prudence and +slowness. It was one thing for the American colonies to engage in a war +with the mother country in order to preserve the liberties they had +hitherto enjoyed, and again it was another entirely different thing for +people who had not the faintest experience of self-government to declare +their independence and suddenly to sever all connections with the past. +In addition he was fully aware that the new republics would be in no +condition to fight off foreign aggressors and thus would become an easy +prey for the unscrupulous and greedy nations of Europe. Unable to stand +on their own feet, the most natural course for South America was to fall +back on Spain. Jefferson did not visualize the "_foris familiation_" of +the colonies without a sort of moral protectorate of the mother country: +"if she extends to them her affection, her aid, her patronage in every +court and country, it will weave a bond of union indissoluble by +time."[513] At the time Jefferson did not go further, and as a matter of +fact he long held that this would have been the best solution for South +America. As late as January, 1821, he still maintained this opinion in a +letter to John Adams: + + The safest road would be an accomodation to the mother country which + shall hold them together by the single link of the same chief + magistrate, leaving to him power enough to keep them in peace with + one another, and to themselves the essential power of self-government + and self-improvement, until they will be sufficiently trained by + education and habits of freedom to walk safely by themselves. + Representative government, native functionaries, a qualified negative + on their laws, with a previous security by compact for freedom of + commerce, freedom of the press, habeas corpus, and trial by jury, + would make a good beginning. This last would be the school in which + their people might begin to learn the exercise of civic duties as + well as rights. For freedom of religion they are not yet + prepared.[514] + +This was the ideal solution, but "the question was not what we wish, but +what is practicable." If consequently the new republics refused such a +compromise, another alternative could be offered: + + As their sincere friend and brother, I do believe the best thing for + them, would be for themselves to come to an accord with Spain, under + the guarantee of France, Russia, Holland, and the United States, + allowing to Spain a nominal supremacy, with authority only to keep + the peace among them, leaving them otherwise all the powers of + self-government, until their experience in them, their emancipation + from their priests, and advancement in information shall prepare them + for complete independence. I exclude England from this confederacy, + because her selfish principles render her incapable of honorable + patronage or disinterested co-operation; unless indeed, what seems + now probable, a revolution should restore to her an honest + government, one which will permit the world to live in peace.[515] + +This is a capital passage for it contains in germ much more than the +so-called Monroe Doctrine. What Jefferson had in mind at the time was +evidently a society of nations, which the United States would have +joined in order to guarantee the territorial integrity of the South +American republics under a Spanish mandate. For Brazil alone he +contemplated a real and immediate independence, for "Brazil is more +populous, more wealthy, and as wise as Portugal." + +But in Jefferson's mind this plan was only a temporary solution. He +was firmly convinced that a time would necessarily come when all the +American republics would be drawn together by their community of +interests and institutions and coalescing in an American system, +independent from and unconnected with that of Europe, would form a +world by themselves: + + "The principles of society there and here, then, are radically + different and I hope no American patriot will ever lose sight of the + essential policy of interdicting in the seas and territories of both + Americas the ferocious and sanguinary contests of Europe. I wish to + see this coalition begun."[516] + +Such, according to Jefferson, was to be the cardinal principle of +American policies for all times to come; for, as he wrote to his friend +Correa who had come back to the United States as Minister from Portugal: + + Nothing is so important as that America shall separate herself from + the system of Europe, and establish one of her own--Our + circumstances, our pursuits, our interests, are distinct, the + principles of our policy should be so also. All entanglements with + that quarter of the globe should be avoided that peace and justice + shall be the polar stars of American societies.[517] + +On the other hand, it was not advisable for the United States to +intervene directly in South America or to help the colonies to sever +their bonds from the metropolis. There is little doubt that the Spanish +colonies would never have thought of revolting if they had not had +constantly before their eyes the example of their northern neighbors. +Ill-conducted as they were, the revolutions of South America could trace +their origin directly to the American revolution and the Declaration of +Independence. It was so plain that Jefferson's French friends, +Lafayette, Du Pont de Nemours, and Destutt de Tracy expected him to +declare enthusiastically in favor of the South American republics and to +use whatever influence he still had to bring about an open intervention +of the United States in their favor. Their optimism only shows how +little they knew their American friend and how little they understood +his policy. To Destutt de Tracy he answered at the end of 1820: + + We go with you all lengths in friendly affections to the independence + of S. America, but an immediate acknowledgement of it calls up other + considerations. We view Europe as covering at present a smothered + fire, which may shortly burst forth and produce general + conflagration. From this it is our duty to keep aloof. A formal + acknowledgement of the independence of her colonies, would involve us + with Spain certainly, and perhaps too with England, if she thinks + that a war would divert her internal troubles. Such a war would hurt + us more than it would help our brethren of the South; and our right + may be doubted of mortgaging posterity for the expenses of a war in + which they will have a right to say their interest was not + concerned.... In the meantime we receive and protect the flag of S. + America in it's commercial intercourse with us, on the acknowledged + principles of neutrality between two belligerent parties in a civil + war; and if we should not be the first, we shall certainly be the + second nation in acknowledging the entire independence of our new + friends.[518] + +This Jefferson pressed again even more tersely in a letter written to +Monroe almost four years later. "We feel strongly for them, but our +first care must be for ourselves."[519] + +Surveying the whole situation from the "mountain-top" of Monticello, the +philosopher wondered at times "whether all nations do not owe to one +another a bold declaration of their sympathy with the one party and +their detestation of the conduct of the other?" But he soon concluded: +"Farther than this we are not bound to go; and indeed, for the sake of +the world, we ought not to increase the jealousies or draw on ourselves +the power of this formidable confederacy." After the treaty of Ghent, at +the beginning of the "era of good feeling", the United States could +reasonably count on a long period of peace; all their difficulties with +Europe had been settled, and only one possible point of friction could +be discovered. "Cuba alone seems at present to hold up a speck of war to +us. Its possession by Great Britain would indeed be a great calamity to +the United States; but such calamity could only be temporary, for in +case of war on any account, Cuba would be naturally taken by the United +States, or the island would give itself to us when able to do so." + +Thus Jefferson, once again, reasserted the cardinal principle of his +policy--the policy of the United States since the early days of the +Union: + + I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States, never to + take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests + are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their + balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and + principles of government are all foreign to us. They are nations of + eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of + the labor, property, and lives of their peoples ... on our part, + never had a people so favorable a chance of trying the opposite + system, of peace and fraternity with mankind, and the direction of + our means and faculties to the purposes of improvement instead of + destruction.[520] + +Thus, little by little, the famous doctrine took its final shape in the +minds of both Jefferson and Monroe. Jefferson contributed to it its +historical background, the weight of his experience and authority, and +the long conversations he had with Monroe on the matter gave him an +opportunity not only to get "his political compass rectified" but to map +out for the President the course to follow. The often quoted letter +written by Jefferson to Monroe on October 24, 1823, contained little +more than what had passed between them when Monroe visited his estate in +Virginia. It was simply a reaffirmation of the fundamental maxims of the +Jeffersonian policies:--"never to entangle ourselves in the broils of +Europe--never to suffer Europe to intermeddle with cis-Atlantic +affairs." + +After making a survey of all the circumstances, Jefferson could write in +conclusion: + + I could honestly, therefore, join in the declaration proposed, that + we aim not at the acquisition of any of those possessions, that we + will not stand in the way of any amicable arrangement between them + and the Mother country; but that we will oppose, with all our means, + the forcible interposition of any other form or pretext, and most + especially, their transfer to any power by conquest, cession, or + acquisition in any other way. + +Finally, although the letters to be exchanged between the British and +American governments did not properly constitute a treaty, Jefferson +advised Monroe to lay the case before Congress at the first opportunity, +since this doctrine might lead to war, "the declaration of which +requires an act of Congress." + +Whatever use has been made of the Monroe Doctrine and whether or not the +"mandate" assumed by the United States has proved irksome to several +South American republics, there is no doubt that it was not proclaimed +without long hesitation and that its promoters did not take up this new +responsibility with "_un coeur leger_." There is no doubt, either, +that it was not considered as an instrument of imperialism. It was +primarily the extension of the doctrine of self-protection already +advanced by John Adams in 1776 and since then maintained by Washington +and Jefferson himself. It was also a corollary of the theory of the +balance of power which Jefferson always kept in mind. In this he was not +only followed but urged on by all his liberal friends in Europe. + + I would not be sorry--wrote Lafayette in 1817--to see the American + government invested by the follies of Spain, with the opportunity to + take the lead in the affairs of her independent colonies. Unless that + is the case or great changes happen in the European policies, the + miseries of those fine countries will be long protracted. Could you + establish there a representative system, a free trade, and a free + press, how many channels of information and improvement should be + open at once.[521] + +Jefferson himself was too respectful of self-government ever to think of +interfering with the internal affairs of the new republics. On the other +hand, he was too firmly convinced of the moral, intellectual and +political superiority of his own country not to believe that a time +would come when the contagion of liberty would extend to the near and +remote neighbors of the United States. The unavoidable result of the +Monroe Doctrine and the moral mandate of America would be ultimately to +form a "Holy American Alliance" of the free peoples of the Western +Hemisphere, to counterbalance the conspiracy of Kings and Lords "called +the European Holy Alliance." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +DEMOCRATIC AMERICA + + +Protected against foreign entanglements and having survived the +convulsions that had shattered the old structures of Europe, America was +at last free to pursue her development along her own lines. The +philosopher of Monticello could sit back, take a more disinterested view +of the situation and make a forecast of the future of his country. He +could also advise, not only his immediate successors, but the +generations to come and take up again the part of "counsellor" which had +always suited him better than the part of the executive. He believed too +much in the right of successive generations to determine their own form +of government, to attempt to dictate in any way the course to follow. +But he was none the less convinced that certain principles embodied in +the Constitution had a permanent and universal value, and during the +years at Monticello he formulated the gospel of American democracy. + +As it finally emerged from the several crises that threatened its +existence, the American Government was, if not the best possible +government, at least the best government then on the surface of the +earth. It was at the same time the hope and the model of all the nations +of the world. + + We exist and are quoted--wrote Jefferson to Richard Rush--as standing + proofs that a government, so modelled as to rest continuously on the + will of the whole society, is a practicable government. Were we to + break to pieces, it would damp the hopes and efforts of the good, and + give triumph to those of the bad through the whole enslaved world. As + members, therefore, of the universal society of mankind, and standing + high in responsible relation with them, it is our sacred duty to + suppress passion among ourselves and not to blast the confidence we + have inspired of proof that a government of reason is better than a + government of force.[522] + +Some dangers, however, were threatening to disturb the equilibrium of +the country. The most pressing was perhaps the extraordinary and +unwholesome development of State and local banks, which suspended +payment in great majority in September, 1814. The deluge of paper money +and the depreciation of the currency became, for Jefferson, a real +obsession and strengthened him in his abhorrence of commercialism. He +did not cease to preach the necessity of curbing the fever of +speculation that had accumulated ruins upon ruins and the return to more +sound regulations of the banks. "Till then," he wrote to John Adams, "we +must be content to return, _quoad hoc_, to the savage state, to recur to +barter in the exchange of our property, for want of a stable, common +measure of value, that now in use being less fixed than the beads and +wampum of the Indians."[523] + +His banking theories, however, had scarcely any influence upon his +contemporaries, and even Gallatin was little impressed by them. But the +evident danger of inflation turned his mind back to the days when he had +fought the Hamiltonian system and gave him once more an opportunity to +pass judgment upon his opponent of the old days: + + This most heteregeneous system was transplanted into ours from the + British system, by a man whose mind was really powerful, but chained + by native partialities to everything English; who had formed + exaggerated ideas of the superior wisdom of their government, and + sincerely believed it for the good of the country to make them their + model in everything, without considering that what might be wise and + good for a nation essentially commercial and entangled in complicated + intercourse with numerous and powerful neighbors, might not be so + for one essentially agricultural, and insulated by nature, from the + abusive governments of the old world.[524] + +From this and many other passages it might be surmised that Jefferson +still held to the old antimercantile theories that had crystallized in +his mind when he was in Europe. If this were true, the contradiction +between his conduct as President and his personal convictions would be +so obvious that his sincerity might be questioned. As a matter of fact, +on this point as on many others, he had undergone a slow evolution. He +was certainly sincere when, shortly after leaving office, he wrote to +Governor John Jay in order to make his position clearer: + + An equilibrium of agriculture, manufacture, and commerce, is + certainly become essential to our independence. Manufactures, + sufficient for our own consumption (and no more). Commerce sufficient + to carry the surplus produce of agriculture, beyond our own + consumption, to a market for exchanging it for articles we cannot + raise (and no more). These are the true limits of manufacture and + commerce. To go beyond is to increase our dependence on foreign + nations, and our liability to war.[525] + +This can be taken as the final view of Jefferson on a subject on which +he is often misquoted and misunderstood. That he was fully aware of the +change that had taken place in his own mind can be seen in a declaration +to Benjamin Austin, written in January, 1816. Between 1787 and that +date, and even earlier, Jefferson had seen the light and realized that +to discourage home manufactures was "to keep us in eternal vassalage to +a foreign and unfriendly people." He had no patience with politicians +who brought forth his old and now obsolete utterances to promote their +unpatriotic designs: + + You tell me I am quoted by those who wish to continue our dependance + on England for manufactures. There was a time when I might have been + so quoted with more candor, but within the thirty years which have + elapsed, how circumstances changed.... Experience since has taught me + that manufactures are now as necessary to our independence as to our + comfort; and if those who quote me as of different opinion will keep + pace with me in purchasing nothing foreign where an equivalent of + domestic fabric can be obtained, without regard to the difference of + price, it will not be our fault if we do not soon have a supply at + home equivalent to our demand.[526] + +Desirable as it was to promote the industrial development of the United +States, it was no less desirable not to encourage it beyond a certain +point. Jefferson saw quite clearly that, under existing conditions, a +great industrial growth of the country would have as an unavoidable +result the perpetuation of slavery in the South and the even more +undesirable creation of a proletariat in the North. He had always held +that slavery was a national sore and a shameful condition to be remedied +as soon as conditions would permit. He was looking forward to the time +when this could be done without bringing about an economic upheaval; but +all hope would have to be abandoned if slavery were industrialized and +if slave labor became more productive. As to the other danger of +industrialism, it was no vague apprehension; one had only to consider +England to see "the pauperism of the lowest class, the abject oppression +of the laboring, and the luxury, the riot, the domination and the +vicious happiness of the aristocracy." This being the "happiness of +scientific England", he wrote to Thomas Cooper, "now let us see the +American side of the medal": + + And, first, we have no paupers, the old and crippled among us, who + possess nothing and have no families to take care of them, being too + few to merit notice as a separate section of society, or to affect a + general estimate. The great mass of our population is of laborers; + our rich, who can live without labor, either manual or professional, + being few, and of moderate wealth. Most of the laboring class + possess property, cultivate their own lands, have families, and from + the demand for their labor are enabled to exact from the rich and the + competent such prices as enable them to be fed abundantly, clothed + above mere decency, to labor moderately and raise their families. + They are not driven to the ultimate resources of dexterity and skill, + because their wares will sell although not quite so nice as those of + England. The wealthy, on the other hand, and those at their ease, + know nothing of what the Europeans call luxury. They have only + somewhat more of the comforts and decencies of life than those who + furnish them. Can any condition of society be more desirable than + this?[527] + +Once more Jefferson appears as a true disciple and continuator of the +Physiocrats and one might be tempted at first to agree entirely with Mr. +Beard on this point. But this is only an appearance. To understand +Jefferson's true meaning, it is necessary to turn to his unpublished +correspondence with Du Pont de Nemours, and particularly to those +letters written after Jefferson's retirement from public life. + +The rapid industrialization of the United States had greatly alarmed the +old Physiocrat. In his opinion there was a real danger lest the national +character of the people be completely altered and the foundation of +government deeply shaken. Considering the situation from the +"economist's" point of view, Du Pont came to the conclusion that the +development of home industries in America would necessarily bring about +a permanent reduction in the Federal income, largely derived from import +duties. The government could not be run without levying new taxes and +the question was to determine what methods should be followed in the +establishment of these new taxes. If the United States decided to resort +to indirect taxation, that is to say, excise, the unavoidable result +would be the creation of an army of new functionaries, as in France +under the old regime, and the use of vexatory procedure for the +enforcement of the new system. Furthermore, according to the theories +of the Physiocrats, indirect taxation was an economic heresy, since it +was a tax on labor, which is not a source but only a transformation of +wealth. The same criticism applied _a fortiori_ to the English income +tax which constituted the worst possible form of taxation. + +In the controversy which arose between Jefferson and his old friend, the +Sage of Monticello again took a middle course. First of all, he refused +to concede that the development of industries could ever change the +fundamental characteristics of the United States. They were essentially +an agricultural nation, and an agricultural nation they would remain, in +spite of all predictions to the contrary. Furthermore, the question was +not to determine theoretically what was the best possible form of +taxation, but to find out what form the inhabitants of the country would +most easily bear. That in itself was a big enough problem and could not +be solved in the abstract, since, according to Jefferson: "In most of +the middle and Southern States some land tax is now paid into the State +treasury, and for this purpose the lands have been classed and valued +and the tax assessed according to valuation. In these an excise is most +odious. In the Eastern States, land taxes are odious, excises less +unpopular."[528] + +Finally, Jefferson pointed out that his friend had neglected several +important factors, one of them being "the continuous growth in +population of the United States, which for a long time would maintain +the quantum of exports and imports at the present level at least." +Consequently, for several generations, the Government would be able to +support itself with a tax on importations, "the best agrarian law in +fact, since the poor man in the country who uses nothing but what is +made within his own farm or family, or within the United States, pays +not a farthing of tax to the general government." With the +characteristic optimism of the citizen of a young, strong and energetic +country, Jefferson then added: + + Our revenue once liberated by the discharge of public debt and its + surplus applied to canals, roads, schools, etc., and the farmer will + see his government supported, his children educated, and the face of + his country made a paradise by the contributions of the rich alone + without being called on to spare a cent from his earnings. The path + we are now pursuing leads directly to this end, which we cannot fail + to attain unless our administration should fall into unwise + hands.[529] + +This point alone should suffice to differentiate Jefferson's system from +physiocracy, since the Physiocrats had adopted as their motto the famous +_laissez faire laissez passer_ and were certainly in favor of free +trade. How far from Du Pont Jefferson remained in other particulars may +be gathered from his "Introduction" and notes to the "Political Economy" +of Destutt de Tracy, the translation and publication of which he +supervised and directed. In it he paid homage to the founders of the +science of political economy, and particularly to Gournay, Le Trosne and +Du Pont de Nemours, "the enlightened, philanthropic and venerable +citizen, now of the United States." But he pointed out that the several +principles they had discussed and established had not been able to +prevail, "not on account of their correctness, but because not +acceptable to the people whose will must be the supreme law. Taxation +is, in fact, the most difficult function of the government, and that +against which their citizens are most apt to be refractory. The general +aim is, therefore, to adopt the mode most consonant with the +circumstances and sentiments of the country." + +This is Jefferson's final judgment on the Economists. Another +confirmation of his lack of interest in principles and theories not +susceptible of immediate application may be seen in it. In matters of +government, the important question, after deciding what should be done, +was to determine how much could be done under the circumstances, and if +a particular piece of legislation was turned down by the public will or +only reluctantly accepted, to bide one's time and wait for a more +favorable occasion. Even when doubting the wisdom of a popular verdict, +it was the duty of the public servant to do the public will. Thus in +this correspondence are revealed the two sides of Jefferson's character, +or to speak more exactly, the two parallel tracks in which his mind ran +at different times. + +At the bottom of his heart, he believed that many of the economic +doctrines of Du Pont were fundamentally sound; but he also knew that the +citizens of the United States were not ready to accept the truth of +these principles, and he did not feel that, as an executive, he had the +right to attempt to shape the destinies of his country according to his +own preferences. Thus he laid himself open to the reproach of +insincerity, or at least of inconsistency, for on many occasions one may +find a flagrant contradiction between his public utterances and the +private letters he wrote to his friends. For this reason, Du Pont de +Nemours was never fully able to understand his American friend. This +difference between the French theorician and the American statesman will +appear even more clearly in the letters in which they exchanged views on +democracy and discussed the conditions requisite for the establishment +of a representative government. + +Jefferson's opinion of the French people with regard to the form of +government they should adopt had never varied since the earliest days of +the Revolution. Every time he was consulted by his friends on the +matter, he invariably answered that they could do no better than to +follow as closely as possible the system of their neighbors and +hereditary enemies, the British. This answer, which recurred +periodically in his correspondence, was made particularly emphatic in +1801, when he again warned Lafayette that France was not ready to enjoy +a truly republican government. He went on by categorically stating that +what was good for America might be very harmful to another country and +that even in America it was neither desirable nor possible to enforce at +once all the provisions of the Constitution. Thus, in a few lines, he +defined his policies more clearly than any historian has ever done; he +analyzed that curious combination of unwavering principles and practical +expediency so puzzling to those once called by Jefferson himself "the +closet politicians." + + What is practicable--he said--must often control what is purely + theory and the habits of the governed determine in a great degree + what is practicable. The same original principles, modified in + practice to the different habits of the different nations, present + governments of very different aspects. The same principles reduced to + form of practice, accommodated to our habits, and put into forms + accommodated to the habits of the French nation would present + governments very unlike each other.[530] + +Thirteen years later his opinion had not varied one iota. Reviewing the +situation in France after the return of the Bourbons, he wrote to Du +Pont de Nemours: + + I have to congratulate you, which I do sincerely, on having got back + from Robespierre and Bonaparte, to your ante-revolutionary condition. + You are now nearly where you were at the Jeu de Paume, on the 20th of + June 1789. The King would then have yielded by convention freedom of + religion, freedom of the press, trial by jury, habeas corpus and a + representative legislation. These I consider as the essentials + constituting free government, and that the organization of the + executive is interesting, as it may ensure wisdom and integrity in + the first place, but next as it may favor or endanger the + preservation of these fundamentals.[531] + +The same note reappears constantly in the letters written by Jefferson +to his French friends, but a rapid survey of his correspondence with Du +Pont de Nemours may serve to make his position even more definite. + +When, in December, 1815, Du Pont was invited by "the republics of New +Grenada, Carthagenes and Caracas" to give his views on the constitution +they intended to adopt, he drew up a plan of government for the +"Equinoctial republics" and sent it for approval to the Sage of +Monticello. Faithful to the principles of the Physiocrats, he had +divided the population into two classes: the real citizens or landowners +and the "inhabitants", those who work for a salary, possess nothing but +personal property, can go any day from one place to another, and make +with their employers contracts which they can break at any time. These +were entitled to protection, peaceful enjoyment of their personal +property, free speech, freedom of religion, habeas corpus, and such +natural rights, but Du Pont refused them any participation in the +government; for only those who "owned the country" should have the right +to decide how it was to be administered. To give the ballot to a +floating population of industrial workers, unattached to the soil, who +had nothing to sell except their labor, was "to brew a revolution, to +pave the way for the Pisistrates, the Marius, the Caesars, who represent +themselves as more democratic than they really are and than is just and +reasonable, in order to become tyrants, to violate all rights, to +substitute for law their arbitrary will, to offend morality and to +debase humanity."[532] + +This was a doctrine which Jefferson could not accept, for it was in +direct contradiction to the tenets he had formulated early in his life +and held to during all his career. Because he had read Locke, and more +probably because he was trained as a lawyer, he opposed the contractual +theory of society to this economic organization. He maintained that +society was a compact, that all those who had become signatories to the +compact were entitled to the same rights, and consequently should have +the same privilege to share equally in the government, except, and this +proviso was important, when they freely agreed to delegate part of their +powers to elected magistrates and representatives. + +This was the theory, the inalienable principle to be proclaimed in a +bill of rights, the necessary preamble to any constitution. In practice, +however, various limitations to universal suffrage were to be +recognized. One could not even think of granting the ballot to minors, +to emancipated slaves or to women. It did not follow either that, all +citizens being endowed with the same rights, they were equally ready to +exercise the same functions in the government. Men are created equal in +rights but differ in intelligence, learning, clear-sightedness and +general ability. In other words, there are some natural _aristoi_, and +John Adams brought Jefferson to this admission without any difficulty. +If this fact be accepted, the next step is to recognize that "that form +of government is the best, which provided the most effectually for a +pure selection of these natural _aristoi_ into offices of the +government." It was the good fortune of America that all her +constitutions were so worded as "to leave the citizens the free election +and separation of the aristoi from the pseudo-aristoi, of the wheat from +the chaff. In general, they will elect the really good and wise. In some +instances, wealth may corrupt, and birth blind; but not in a sufficient +degree to endanger society."[533] + +According to this theory, the real function of the people is not to +participate directly in all governmental activities, but to select from +among themselves the most qualified citizens and the best prepared to +administer the country. In a letter to Doctor Walter Jones, who had sent +him a paper on democracy, Jefferson made his position even more definite +by establishing a very important distinction which gives more than any +other statement his true idea of a progressive democracy--an ideal to +be striven for, not a condition already reached: + + I would say that the people, being the only safe depository of power, + should exercise in person every function which their qualifications + enable them to exercise, consistently with the order and security of + society; that we now find them equal to the election of those who + shall be invested with their executive powers, and to act themselves + in the judiciary, as judges in questions of fact; that the range of + their powers ought to be enlarged....[534] + +In these circumstances, Jefferson's reluctance to encourage both his +French and Spanish friends to establish at once a government modeled on +the American government in their respective countries, is perfectly +intelligible. Of all the nations of the earth, England alone could +"borrow wholesale the American system." + + They will probably turn their eyes to us, and be disposed to tread in + the footsteps, seeing how safely these have led us into port. There + is no part of or model to which they seem unequal, unless perhaps the + elective presidency, and even that might possibly be rescued from the + tumult of the elections, by subdividing the electoral assemblage into + very small parts, such as of wards or townships, and making them + simultaneous.[535] + +As for the other nations, they were no more qualified to exercise the +duties of a truly representative government than were the inhabitants of +New Orleans at the time of the purchase. The French, in particular, had +proved in several instances that they could not be intrusted with the +administration of their own affairs. + + More than a generation will be requisite--he wrote to + Lafayette--under the administration of reasonable laws favoring the + progress of knowledge in the general mass of the people, and their + habituation to an independent security of person and property, before + they will be capable of estimating the value of freedom, and the + necessity of sacred adherence to the principles on which it rests for + preservation. Instead of that liberty which takes root and growth in + the progress of reason, if recovered by mere accident or force, it + becomes, with an unprepared people, a tyranny still, of the many, the + few, or one.[536] + +From these declarations, to which many other similar passages could be +added, a capital difference between the idealism of Jefferson and the +idealism of the French philosophers becomes quite obvious. The author of +the Declaration of Independence had proclaimed that all men are born +free and equal, but he never thought that women, Indians and newly +enfranchized slaves should be admitted to the same rights and privileges +as the other citizens. In like fashion, although representative +government remains the best possible form of government, he found it +desirable that some people, who are still children, should not be +granted at once the full enjoyment of their natural rights. Thus +self-government, which had become a well established fact and a reality +in America, should remain for other peoples a reward to be obtained +after a long and painful process of education. It could be hoped that +some day, after many disastrous experiments and much suffering, the +peoples of Europe and South America might deserve the blessings enjoyed +by the American people. But nothing was further from the character of +Jefferson than to preach the gospel of Americanism to all the nations of +the world. Instead of considering as desirable a close imitation of the +American Constitution by the newly liberated nations, he maintained that +each people should mold their institutions according to their own habits +and traditions. Far from being a Jacobin, a wild radical, or a "closet +philosopher", this practical politician had come to the conclusion that +each people have the government they deserve, and that durable +improvements can come only as a result of the improvement of the moral +qualities of every citizen--from within and not from without. Such a +moderate conclusion may surprise those who are accustomed to damn or +praise Jefferson on a few sentences or axioms detached from their +context; but, after careful scrutiny of the evidence, it seems difficult +to accept any other interpretation. + +Comparatively perfect as it was, the government of the United States +presented certain germs of weakness, corruption and degeneracy. The Sage +of Monticello did not fail to call his friends' attention to some of the +dangers looming up on the horizon. As he had warned them against +inflation, he opposed the formation of societies which might become so +strong as "to obstruct the operation of the government and undertake to +regulate the foreign, fiscal, and military as well as domestic affairs." +This might be taken already as a warning against lobbying. He was fully +aware that a time might come when the speeches of the Senators and +Representatives "would cease to be read at all" and when the Legislature +would not enjoy the full confidence of the people. He deplored the law +vacating nearly all the offices of government nearly every four years, +for "it will keep in constant excitement all the hungry cormorants for +office, render them as well as those in place sycophants to their +Senators, engage in eternal intrigue to turn out and put in another, in +cabale to swap work, and make of them what all executive directories +become, mere sinks of corruption and faction."[537] + +Serious and pressing as these dangers were, they could be left to future +generations to avoid, but at the very moment he wrote another fear +obsessed his mind: + + The banks, bankrupt laws, manufactures, Spanish treaty are nothing. + These are occurrences which, like waves in a storm, will pass under + the ship. But the Missouri question is a breaker on which we lose the + Missouri country by revolt, and what more God only knows. From the + Battle of Bunker's Hill to the treaty of Paris, we never had so + ominous a question.... I thank God that I shall not live to witness + its issue.[538] + +No New Englander had done more to promote the cause of abolition than +Jefferson; on two occasions he had proposed legislative measures to put +an end to the scourge of slavery and he had never ceased to look for a +solution that would permit the emancipation of the slaves without +endangering the racial integrity of the United States. But this was no +longer a question of humanity. What mattered most was not whether +slavery would be recognized in Missouri or not. Slavery had become a +political question; it had created a geographical division between the +States, and the very existence of the Union was at stake. As on so many +other occasions, the old statesman had a truly prophetic vision of the +future when he wrote to John Adams early in 1820: + + If Congress has the power to regulate the conditions of the + inhabitants of the States, within the States, it will be but another + exercise of that power to declare that all shall be free. Are we then + to see again Athenian and Lacedemonian confederacies? To wage another + Peloponesian war to settle the ascendency between them? Or is this + the tocsin of merely a servile war? That remains to be seen; but not, + I hope, by you or me.[539] + +The whole question was fraught with such difficulties that Jefferson +refused to discuss the abolition of slavery with Lafayette when the +Marquis paid him a last visit at Monticello. With his American friends +he was less reserved. When, as early as 1811, James Ogilvie asked him to +suggest an important and interesting subject for a series of lectures he +intended to deliver in the Southern States, Jefferson could think of +nothing more momentous than a discourse "on the benefit of the union, +and miseries which would follow a separation of the States, to be +exemplified in the eternal and wasting wars of Europe, in the pillage +and profligacy to which these lead, and the abject oppression and +degradation to which they reduce its inhabitants."[540] + +Jefferson has so long been represented as the champion of State rights, +he stood so vigorously against all possible encroachments of the States' +sovereignty by the Federal Government, that we have a natural tendency +to forget this aspect of his policies and to see in him only the man who +inspired the Kentucky resolutions. It must be remembered, however, that +he never ceased to preach the necessity of the union to his fellow +countrymen, that when President he lived in a constant fear of secession +by the New England States, that he stopped all his efforts in favor of +abolition lest he should inject into the life of the country a political +issue which might disrupt national unity. While he claimed that +theoretically the States had a right to secede, he could no more +consider actual secession than he would have approved of any man +breaking the social compact in order to live the precarious life of the +savage. + +From these dangers nothing could preserve the United States except what +Du Pont de Nemours called once "the cool common sense" of their +citizens. It was the only foundation on which to rest all hopes for the +future, for American democracy is not a thing which exists on paper, it +is not a thing which can be created overnight by law, decree or +constitution, it is not to be looked for in any document. "Where is our +republicanism to be found," wrote Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval. "Not in +our constitution certainly, but merely in the spirit of our people. +Owing to this spirit, and to nothing in the form of our constitution all +things have gone well."[541] + +One of the most reassuring manifestations of this spirit was seen in the +willingness of the people to choose the best qualified persons as their +representatives, executives and magistrates. But if the Republic was to +endure, it was necessary to enlighten and cultivate the disposition of +the people, and it was no less important to provide a group of men +qualified through their natural ability and training, to discuss and +conduct the affairs of the community. Thus Jefferson was induced to take +up again in his old days one of his pet schemes, the famous bill for the +diffusion of knowledge. + +As a matter of fact, he had never abandoned it completely, and its very +purpose had been explained already in the "Notes on Virginia": + + In every government on earth there is some trace of human weakness, + some germ of corruption and degeneracy.... Each government + degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The + people themselves are therefore its only safe depositories. And to + render even them safer, their minds must be improved to a certain + degree. This is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially + necessary. + +During his stay in Europe, Jefferson had become acquainted with great +universities, particularly those of Edinburgh and Geneva, and after +coming back to America he shifted somewhat the emphasis. It was not so +immediately necessary to improve the minds of all the citizens as to +form an _elite_, a body of specialists who might become the true leaders +of the nation. This seems to have been the object of his plan, to bring +over to America the whole faculty of the University of Geneva to +establish a national university at Richmond or in the vicinity of +Federal City. This scheme was only defeated because of the opposition of +Washington who, with great common sense, realized how incongruous it +would be to call National University an institution where the teaching +would be conducted entirely in a foreign language and by foreigners. + +Even after this plan had failed, Jefferson did not give up his ambition +to establish somewhere in America and preferably in Virginia, an +institution of higher learning. On January 18, 1800, he wrote to Joseph +Priestley to ask him to draw up the program of a university "on a plan +so broad, so liberal, and modern, as to be worth patronizing with the +public support. The first thing is to obtain a good plan." + +Priestley sent him, in answer, some "Hints Concerning Public Education" +which have never been published and probably did not arouse any +enthusiasm in Jefferson. The English philosopher had simply taken the +main features of the English system, placing the emphasis on the ancient +languages and excluding the modern: "For the knowledge of them as well +as skill in fencing, dancing and riding is proper for gentlemen +liberally educated, and instruction in them may be procured on +reasonable terms without burdening the funds of the seminary with +them." He ended with a very sensible piece of advice: + + Three things must be attended to in the education of youth. They must + be _taught_, _fed_, and _governed_, and each of these requires + different qualifications. In the English universities all these + offices are perfectly distinct. The _tutors_ only teach, the + _proctors_ superintend the discipline, and the _cooks_ provide the + victuals.[542] + +At the same time Jefferson had sent a similar request to Du Pont de +Nemours. Curiously enough, the Frenchman manifested little enthusiasm +for the proposal of his friend. To establish a university was all very +well, but first of all one had to provide solid foundations and to place +educational facilities within the reach of the great mass of +citizens--the university being only the apex of the pyramid. On this +occasion Du Pont reminded Jefferson that he had expressed himself to +such an intent some fifteen years earlier in his "Notes on Virginia", +which developed the excellent view that colleges and universities are +not the most important part of the educational system of the State: + + All knowledge readily and daily usable, all practical sciences, all + laborious activities, all the common sense, all the correct ideas, + all the morality, all the virtue, all the courage, all the + prosperity, all the happiness of a nation and particularly of a + Republic must spring from the primary schools or Petites Ecoles.[543] + +By July, 1800, Du Pont de Nemours, who had already proposed a similar +scheme to the French Government, had completed his manuscript and sent +it to Jefferson at the end of August. This was more speed than Jefferson +had expected, and Du Pont's plan was far too elaborate and too +comprehensive to be of immediate value. "There is no occasion to +incommode yourself by pressing it," wrote Jefferson, "as when received +it will be some time before we shall probably find a good occasion of +bringing forward the subject."[544] + +During his presidency, Jefferson had had to lay aside all his plans and +postpone any action for the organization of public education in his +native State until after his retirement. In the meantime, he read and +studied the project of Du Pont de Nemours and corresponded with Pictet +of Geneva; he had in his hands several memoirs of Julien on the French +schools, and he looked everywhere for precedents and suggestions. His +views were finally formulated in a "Plan for Elementary Schools" sent to +Joseph C. Cabell from Polar Forest, on September 9, 1817. The act to be +submitted to the Assembly of Virginia was far more comprehensive than +the title indicates. It provided for the establishment in each county of +a certain number of elementary schools, supported by the county and +placed under the supervision of visitors; the counties of the +commonwealth were to be distributed into nine collegiate districts, and +as many colleges, or rather secondary schools, instituted at the expense +of the literary fund, "to be supported from it, and to be placed under +the supervision of the Board of Public Instruction." + +"In the said colleges," proposed Jefferson, "shall be taught the Greek, +Latin, French, Spanish, Italian and German languages, English grammar, +geography, ancient and modern, the higher branches in numeral +arithmetic, the mensuration of land, the use of the globes, and the +ordinary elements of navigation." + +A third part of the act provided for + + ... establishing in a central and healthy part of the State an + University wherein all the branches of useful sciences may be taught + ... such as history and geography, ancient and modern; natural + philosophy, agriculture, chemistry, and the theories of medicine; + anatomy, zooelogy, botany, mineralogy and geology; mathematics, pure + and mixed, military and naval science; ideology, ethics, the law of + nature and of nations; law, municipal, and foreign; the science of + civil government and political economy; languages, rhetoric, + belles-lettres, and the fine arts generally; which branches of + science will be so distributed and under so many professorships, not + exceeding ten as the Visitors shall think most proper. + +Finally, in order "to avail the commonwealth of those talents and +virtues which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as among the +rich, and which are lost to their country by the want of means of their +cultivation", the visitors would select every year a certain number of +promising scholars from the ward schools to be sent to the colleges and +from the colleges to be sent to the University at the public expense. + +This was essentially the Bill for the Diffusion of Knowledge proposed to +the Assembly in 1779. Jefferson had incorporated in it such +modifications as he may have borrowed from Du Pont de Nemours, but +essentially the plan was his own. That Jefferson himself was perfectly +aware of it appears in a short mention of the fact that "the general +idea was suggested in the 'Notes on Virginia.' Quer. 14."[545] + +It was soon realized that neither the Assembly nor the public were ready +for such a comprehensive scheme. Part of the plan had to be sacrificed, +if a beginning was to be made at all. Jefferson did not hesitate long; +the elementary schools could be organized at any time without much +preparation or expense; secondary education was taken care of after a +fashion in private schools supported from fees; but nothing existed in +the way of an institution of higher learning. Young Virginians had to be +sent to the northern seminaries, there "imbibing opinions and principles +in discord with those of our own country." The university was the thing, +and, in order to provide sufficient funds to start it, Jefferson +proposed that subsidies from the literary fund to the primary schools be +suspended for one or two years. In his opinion this measure did not +imply any disregard of primary education, and Jefferson vehemently +protested to Breckenridge that he had "never proposed a sacrifice of the +primary to the ultimate grade of instruction"; but, "if we cannot do +everything at once, let us do one at a time."[546] + +The fight in which Jefferson engaged to obtain recognition for his +project, to have Central College or, as it was finally to be called, the +University of Virginia, located near Monticello, where he could watch +its progress and supervise the construction of its buildings, has been +told many times and does not need to be recounted here.[547] + +On the board of visitors with Jefferson were placed James Madison, James +Monroe, Joseph C. Cabell, James Breckenridge, David Watson and J. H. +Cocke. Jefferson was appointed Rector of the University at a meeting +held on March 29, 1819, at a time when the university had no buildings, +no faculty, no students and very small means. Everything had to be done +and provided for. It would have been possible to put up some sort of +temporary shelter, a few ramshackle frame houses, but Jefferson wanted +the university to endure and he remembered that he was an architect as +well as a statesman. It was not until the spring of 1824 that he could +announce that the buildings were ready for occupancy--the formal opening +was to be held at the beginning of the following year--but the master +builder could be proud of his work. The university was his in every +sense of the word: not only had he succeeded in arousing the interest of +the public and the Assembly in his undertaking, but he had drawn the +plans himself with the painstaking care and the precision he owed to his +training as a surveyor. He had selected the material, engaged the stone +carvers, the brick layers and the carpenters, and supervised every bit +of their work. After his death he would need no other monument. + +Then, as everything seemed to be ready, a new difficulty arose. Ever +since 1819, the visitors had been looking for a faculty. Ticknor, with +whom Jefferson had gotten acquainted through Mrs. Adams, had refused to +leave Cambridge although disgusted with the petty bickerings of his +colleagues. Thomas Cooper had proved inacceptable, and the very mention +of his name had aroused such a storm among the clergy that the +appointment had to be withdrawn. After a long and fruitless search for +the necessary talents at home, Jefferson and his fellow members on the +board of the university decided to procure the professors from abroad. +This time, however, they were not to repeat the mistake of the proposed +transplantation of the University of Geneva. Several prominent Frenchmen +suggested by Lafayette were turned down as too ignorant of the ways of +American youth and the language of the country. There remained only one +place from which satisfactory instructors could be obtained; this was +England. Their nationality did not raise any serious objection, for, to +the resentment of the War of 1812 had succeeded the "era of good +feeling", and Francis Walker Gilmer was commissioned to go to England +in order to consult with Dugald Stewart and to recruit a faculty from +Great Britain, "the land of our own language, habits and manners."[548] + +Eighteen months later, the Rector declared the experiment highly +successful, and the example likely to be followed by other institutions +of learning. + + It cannot fail--wrote Jefferson--to be one of the efficacious means + of promoting that cordial good will, which it is so much the interest + of both nations to cherish. These teachers can never utter an + unfriendly sentiment towards their native country; and those into + whom their instruction will be infused, are not of ordinary + significance only; they are exactly the persons who are to succeed to + the government of our country, and to rule its future enmities, its + friendships and fortunes.[549] + +Thus after fifty years, Jefferson was able to make real his educational +dream of the Revolutionary period, to endow his native State with an +institution of higher learning in which the future leaders of the nation +would be instructed. They would no longer have to be sent abroad to +obtain the required knowledge in some subjects; nor would they have to +study in "the Northern seminaries", there to be infected with pernicious +doctrines; above all, they would be preserved from any sectarian +influence during their formative years; for no particular creed was to +be taught at the university, although the majority of the faculty +belonged to the Episcopal Church. + +The University of Virginia was the last great task to which Jefferson +put his hand, an achievement of which he was no less proud than of +having written the Declaration of Independence. To bring it to a +successful conclusion this septuagenarian displayed an admirable +tenacity, a resourcefulness, a practical wisdom, a sense of the +immediate possibilities and an idealistic vision, the combination of +which typifies the best there is in the national character of the +American people. It would take many pages to study in detail Jefferson's +educational ideas, as he expressed them in the minutes of the board and +in his many letters to John Adams, Thomas Cooper and Joseph Cabell. The +most remarkable feature of the new institution was that, for the first +time in the history of the country, higher education was made +independent of the Church, and to a large extent the foundation of the +University of Virginia marks the beginning of the secularization of +scientific research in America. Its "father" certainly gave some thought +to the possible extension of the educational system that had finally won +recognition in his native Virginia, to all the States in the country; +but he was too fully aware of the difficulties to follow his old friend +Du Pont de Nemours and to propose a Plan for a National Education. At +least he "had made a beginning", he "had set an example", and he built +even better than he knew. The man who wished to be remembered as the +"father of the University of Virginia" was also, in more than one sense, +the father of the State universities which play such an important part +in the education of the American democracy. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE PHILOSOPHY OF OLD AGE + + +Old people are often accused of being too conservative, and even +reactionary. They seem out of step with the younger generations, and +very few preserve enough resiliency to keep in touch with the ceaseless +changes taking place around them. But a few men who, born in the second +half of the eighteenth century, lived well up into the nineteenth, were +able to escape this apparently unavoidable law of nature. After +witnessing political convulsions, commotions and revolutions, they clung +tenaciously to the faith of their younger days. They refused to accept +the view that the world was going from bad to worse; they looked +untiringly for every symptom of improvement and thought they could +distinguish everywhere signs foretelling the dawn of a new era. The +growing infirmities of their bodies did not leave them any illusion +about their inevitable disappearance from the stage and they were not +upheld by any strong belief in personal immortality. But however +uncertain and hazy may have been their religious tenets, they had a +stanch faith in the unlimited capacity of human nature for improvement +and development. They believed in the irresistible power of truth, in +the ultimate recognition of natural principles and natural laws, in the +religion of progress as it had been formulated by the eighteenth-century +philosophers. Thus, rather than follow the precept of the ancient poet +and unhitch their aging horses, they had anticipated the advice of the +American philosopher by hitching their wagon to a star. + +Du Pont de Nemours, experimenting with his sons to develop American +industries in order to make America economically independent from +Europe; Destutt de Tracy, almost completely blind, dictating his +treatise on political economy and appearing in the streets of Paris +during the glorious days of 1830; Lafayette, yearning and hoping for the +recognition of his ideal of liberty during the Empire and the +_Restauration_--all of these were more than survivors of a forgotten +age. Even to the younger generations they represented the living +embodiment of the political faith of the nineteenth century. It is not a +mere coincidence that most of them were friends and admirers of the Sage +of Monticello, whose letters they read "as the letters of the Apostles +were read in the circle of the early Christians." + +Jefferson could complain that "the decays of age had enfeebled +the useful energies of the mind",[550] but he kept, practically +to his last day, his alertness, his encyclopaedic curiosity and +an extraordinary capacity for work. A large part of his time was +taken by his correspondence. Turning to his letter list for 1820 he +found that he had received no less than "one thousand two hundred and +sixty-seven communications, many of them requiring answers of elaborate +research, and all of them to be answered with due attention and +consideration."[551] I may be permitted to add that a large part of the +letters he received as well as those he wrote deserve publication and +would greatly contribute to our knowledge of the period. + +Among them essays and short treatises on every possible subject under +heaven will be found. With Du Pont de Nemours, Jefferson discussed not +only questions of political economy, education and government, but the +acclimation of the merino sheep, the manufacturing of woolen goods and +nails, the construction of gunboats and the organization of the militia. +With Madame de Tesse, Lafayette's aged cousin, he resumed the exchange +of botanical views, interrupted by his presidency and the continental +blockade. He undertook to put together the scraps of paper on which he +had scribbled notes during Washington's and Adams' administrations and +compiled his famous "Anas"; he wrote his "Autobiography", furnished +documents to Girardin for his continuation of Burke's "History of +Virginia"; he answered queries on the circumstances under which he had +written the Declaration of Independence, the Kentucky Resolution, on his +attitude towards France when Secretary of State and President; he +criticized quite extensively Marshall's "History of Washington" and one +of his last letters, written on May 15, 1826, was to inform one of his +friends of the facts concerning "Arnold's invasion and surprise of +Richmond, in the winter of 1780-81."[552] + +His interest in books was greater than ever; he had scarcely sold his +library to Congress when he undertook to collect another, going +systematically through the publishers' catalogues, writing to +booksellers in Richmond, Philadelphia, New York and even abroad, +requesting his European friends to send him the latest publications and +asking young Ticknor to procure for him, in France or Germany, the best +editions of the Greek and Latin classics. He drew up the plans for the +University of Virginia and supervised the construction of the building. +Between times he took upon himself the task of rewriting entirely the +translation of Destutt de Tracy's "Review of Montesquieu" and directed +the printing of his treatise on "Political Economy." After writing +letters, regulating the work of the farm, he spent several hours on +horseback every day and during the balance of the afternoon read new and +old books, played with his grandchildren, walked in the garden to look +at his favorite trees, listened to music and, during the fine weather, +received the visitors who flocked to Monticello by the dozens. Some were +simply idlers coming out of curiosity, many were old friends who stayed +for days or weeks; but all were welcomed with the same affable courtesy +and the same generous hospitality, according to the best traditions of +old Virginia. + + They came from all nations, at all times--wrote Doctor Dunglison--and + paid longer or shorter visits. I have known a New England judge bring + a letter of introduction and stay three weeks. The learned abbe + Correa, always a welcome guest, passed some weeks of each year with + us during the whole time of his stay in the country. We had persons + from abroad, from all the States of the Union, from every part of the + State--men, women, and children.... People of wealth, fashion, men in + office, Protestant clergymen, Catholic priests, members of Congress, + foreign ministers, missionaries, Indian agents, tourists, travellers, + artists, strangers, friends.[553] + +No sound estimate of the extraordinary influence exerted by Jefferson +upon the growth of liberalism can be made at the present time. It would +require separate studies, careful investigation and the publication of +many letters, safely preserved but too little used, which rest in the +Jefferson Papers of the Library of Congress, and with the Massachusetts +Historical Society. I have already printed Jefferson's correspondence +with Volney, Destutt de Tracy, Lafayette and Du Pont de Nemours; many +other letters, no less significant, remain practically unknown. He +encouraged his European friends, Correa de Serra, Kosciusko, the Greek +Coray, to keep up their courage, to hope against hope. To all of them he +preached the same gospel of faith in the ultimate and inevitable +recognition throughout the world of the principles of American +democracy. This was not done for propaganda's sake, for no man would +deserve less than Jefferson the dubious qualification of propagandist. +The many letters written to his American friends on the same subject +clearly show that this was his profound conviction and almost his only +_raison d'etre_. His was not an over-optimistic temperament; he did not +fail to notice all "the specks of hurricane on the horizon of the +world." Yet, all considered, and in spite of temporary fits of +despondency, his conclusion on the future of democracy can be summed up +in the words he wrote to John Adams at the end of 1821: + + I will not believe our labors are lost. I shall not die without a + hope that light and liberty are on a steady advance. We have seen + indeed, once within the record of history, the complete eclipse of + the human mind continuing for centuries ... even should the cloud of + barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and liberties of + Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore light and + liberty to them. In short, the flames kindled on the 4th of July + 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by + the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume + these engines and all who work them.[554] + +Jefferson felt such a dislike for unnecessary controversies that he was +apt to adopt the tone and the style of his correspondents and apparently +to accept their ideas, so that many contradictions can be found in these +letters. To a chosen few only he fully revealed his intimate thoughts +and without reticence, without fear of being betrayed, communicated his +doubts, his hopes and his hatred. The letters he wrote to Short, +Priestley, and Thomas Cooper are most remarkable in this respect. But +with none of them did he communicate so freely as with his old friend +John Adams. The correspondence that passed between them during the last +fifteen years of their lives constitutes one of the most striking and +illuminating human documents a student of psychology may ever hope to +discover. To those who have had the privilege of using the manuscripts +to follow month by month the palsied hand of Adams until he had to cease +writing himself and dictated his letters to a "female member of his +household", it seems unthinkable that the wish expressed by Wirt in +1826,--to see the correspondence between the two great men published in +its entirety,--should not have received its fulfillment. + +They had been estranged for a long time, and no word had passed between +them for more than ten years after Adams' sulky departure from +Washington on the morning of March 4, 1801. At the beginning of 1811, +Doctor Benjamin Rush made bold to deplore "the discontinuance of +friendly correspondence between Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson." Jefferson +answered quite lengthily, giving a long account of his difficulties with +Adams, including the letter written by Abigail Adams in 1802, but adding +that he would second with pleasure every effort made to bring about a +reconciliation. However, he did not entertain much hope that Doctor Rush +would succeed, for he knew it was "part of Mr. Adams' character to +suspect foul play in those of whom he is jealous, and not easily to +relinquish his suspicions."[555] + +It was not until the end of the same year that Jefferson took up the +subject again, having heard that during a conversation Adams had +mentioned his name, adding: "I always loved Jefferson, and still love +him." This was enough, and it only remained to create an opportunity to +resume the correspondence without too much awkwardness; but "from this +fusion of sentiments" Mrs. Adams was "of course to be separated", for +Jefferson could not believe that the woman wounded in her motherly pride +had forgotten anything. This was no insuperable obstacle, however: "It +will only be necessary that I never name her" wrote Jefferson.[556] + +Adams took the first step, and, knowing how much Jefferson was +interested in domestic manufactures, sent him a fine specimen of +homespun made in Massachusetts. Jefferson could but acknowledge the +peace offering, which he did most gracefully, without mentioning Mrs. +Adams.[557] But he was too much of a Southern gentleman to hold a +resentment long even against a woman of such a jealous disposition. Two +months later he sent for the first time the homage of his respects to +Mrs. Adams, after which he never forgot to mention her. On two occasions +he even wrote her charming letters, in the same friendly tone as he had +used with her twenty-five years earlier, when he used to do shopping for +her in Paris. On hearing of her death on November 13, 1818, he sent to +his stricken old friend a touching expression of his sympathy: + + Will I say more where words are vain, but that it is of some comfort + to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to + deposit in the same cerement our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to + ascend in essence to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have + loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose + again.[558] + +Quite naturally, as the circle of his friends grew narrower and one +after the other were called by death, Jefferson's thoughts turned to the +hereafter. In his youth he had apparently settled the problem once for +all; but the solution then found was scarcely more than a temporary +expedient. It may behove a young man full of vigor, with a long stretch +of years before him, to declare that "the business of life is with +matter" and that it serves no purpose to break our heads against a blank +wall. There are very few men, if they are thinking at all, who can +entirely dismiss from their minds the perplexing and torturing riddle, +as the term grows nearer every day. Such an ataraxia may have been +obtained by a few sages of old, but it is hardly human, and Jefferson, +like Adams, was very human. This is a subject, however, which I cannot +approach without some reluctance. Jefferson himself would have highly +disapproved of such a discussion. After submitting silently to so many +fierce criticisms, after being accused of atheism, materialism, impiety +and philosophism by his contemporaries, he hoped that the question would +never be broached to him again. With those who tried to revive it, he +had absolutely no patience. + + One of our fan-coloring biographers--he wrote once--who paint small + men as very great, inquired of me lately, with real affection too, + whether he might consider as authentic, the change in my religion + much spoken of in some circles. Now this supposed that they knew what + had been my religion before, taking for it the word of their priests, + whom I certainly never made the confidants of my creed. My answer + was: "Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my God and myself + alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life; if + that has been _honest and dutiful_ to society, the religion which has + regulated it cannot be a bad one."[559] + +Unfortunately the controversy is still going on and at least a few +points must be indicated here. The simplest and to some extent the most +acceptable treatment of the matter was given a few years after his death +by the physician who attended him up to the last minutes: + + It is due, also, to that illustrious individual to say, that, in all + my intercourse with him, I never heard an observation that savored, + in the slightest degree, of impiety. His religious belief harmonized + more closely with that of the Unitarians than of any other + denomination, but it was liberal, and untrammelled by sectarian + feelings and prejudices.[560] + +But Doctor Dunglison's declaration is somewhat unsatisfactory and +misleading, for Jefferson once gave his own definition of Unitarianism. +From a letter he wrote to James Smith in 1822 it appears he was not +ready to join the Unitarian Church any more than any other: + + About Unitarianism, the doctrine of the early ages of Christianity + ... the pure and simple unity of the Creator of the universe, is now + all but ascendant in the Eastern States; it is dawning in the West, + and advancing towards the South; and I confidently expect that the + present generation will see Unitarianism become the general religion + of the United States.... I write with freedom, because, while I claim + a right to believe in one God, if so my reason tells me, I yield as + freely to others that of believing in three.[561] + +On the other hand, one might easily be misled by some declarations of +Jefferson to his more intimate friends. "I am a materialist--I am an +Epicurian," he wrote on several instances to John Adams, Thomas Cooper +and Short, with whom he felt that he could discuss religious questions +more freely than with any others. Rejecting the famous _Cogito ergo sum_ +of Descartes, he fell back when in doubt on his "habitual anodyne": "I +feel therefore I exist." This in his opinion did not imply the sole +existence of matter, but simply that he could not "conceive _thought_ to +be an action of a particular organisation of matter, formed for the +purpose by its Creator, as well as that attraction is an action of +matter, or magnetism of loadstone." Then he added: "I am supported in my +creed of materialism by the Lockes, the Tracys and the Stewarts. At what +age of the Christian Church this heresy of immaterialism or masked +atheism, crept in, I do not exactly know. But a heresy it certainly is. +Jesus taught nothing of it."[562] + +In the same sense he could write to Judge Augustus S. Woodward: "Jesus +himself, the Founder of our religion, was unquestionably a Materialist +as to man. In all His doctrines of the resurrection, he teaches +expressly that the body is to rise in substances."[563] + +His definition of Epicurism would seem equally remote from the popular +acceptation, and certainly Jefferson was never of those who could +deserve the old appellation of _Epicuri de grege porcus_; for his +Epicurus is the philosopher "whose doctrines contain everything +rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us."[564] + +All through the year 1813 and on many occasions after that date, Adams +tried to draw him out on the question of religion. "For," as he said, +"these things are to me, at present, the marbles and nine-pins of old +age; I will not say beads and prayer books." But Jefferson could not +have declared, as did his old friend: "For more than sixty years I have +been attentive to this great subject. Controversies between Calvinists +and Arminians, Trinitarians and Unitarians, Deists and Christians, +Atheists and both, have attracted my attention, whenever the singular +life I have led would admit, to all these questions."[565] + +Not so with Jefferson, who felt a real abhorrence for theological +discussions and considered them as a sheer waste of time. They belonged +to a past age and were to be buried in oblivion lest they create again +an atmosphere of fanaticism and intolerance; at best, they could be left +to the clergy. But tolerant as he was, there were certain doctrines +against which Jefferson revolted even in later life, as he probably did +when a student at William and Mary: + + I can never join Calvin in addressing _his God_. He was indeed an + atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was daemonism. + If ever man worshipped a false God, he did. The God described in his + five points, is not the God whom you acknowledge and adore, the + Creator and benevolent Governor of the world; but a daemon of + malignant spirit. + +But right after this virulent denunciation comes a most interesting +admission. If Jefferson's God was not the God of Calvin, he was just as +remote from the mechanistic materialism of D'Holbach and La Mettrie as +he was from Calvinism and predestination. Leaving aside all questions +of dogmas and revelation he held that: + + When we take a view of the universe, in its parts, general or + particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and + feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power + in every atom of its composition. So irresistible are these evidences + of an intelligent and powerful Agent, that of the infinite numbers of + men who have existed through all time, they have believed, in the + proportion of a million at least to a unit, in the hypothesis of an + eternal pre-existence of a Creator, rather than in that of a self + existing universe.[566] + +From this passage, it would seem that Jefferson founded his belief in +the existence of God on the two well-known arguments: the order of the +Universe and the general consensus of opinion. If it were so, he would +follow close on the steps of the English deists of the school of Pope. +But religion to him was something more than the mere "acknowledgement" +and "adoration of the benevolent Governor of the world"; + + It is more than an inner conviction of the existence of the Creator; + true religion is morality. If by _religion_ we are to understand + _sectarian dogmas_, in which no two of them agree, then your + exclamation on that hypothesis is just, "that this would be the best + possible of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." + But if the moral precepts, innate in man, and made a part of his + physical constitution, as necessary for a social being, if the + sublime doctrines of philanthropism and deism taught us by Jesus of + Nazareth, in which we all agree, constitute true religion, then, + without it, this would be, as you again say, "something not fit to be + named even, indeed, a hell."[567] + +On this point as on so many others Jefferson is distinctly an +eighteenth-century man. One of the pet schemes of the philosophers was +to prove that there is no necessary connection between religion and +morality. It was an essential article of the philosophical creed from +Pierre Bayle to Jefferson, and long before them, Montaigne had filled +his "Essays" with countless anecdotes and examples tending to prove this +point. But Jefferson went one step farther than most of the French +philosophers, with the exception of Rousseau. Morality is not founded on +a religious basis; religion is morality. This being accepted, it remains +to determine the foundation of morality. In a letter written to Thomas +Law during the summer of 1814, Jefferson examined the different +solutions proposed by theologians and philosophers and clearly indicated +his preference. + +"It was vain to say that it was truth; for truth is elusive, +unattainable, and there is no certain criticism of it." It is not either +the "love of God", for an atheist may have morality, and "Diderot, +d'Holbach, Condorcet, are known to have been the most virtuous of men." +It is not either the _to kalon_, for many men are deprived of any +aesthetic sense. Self-interest is more satisfactory, but even the +demonstration given by Helvetius is not perfectly convincing. All these +explanations are one step short of the ultimate question. + + The truth of the matter is, that Nature has implanted in our breasts + a love of others, a sense of duty to them, a moral instinct, in + short, which prompts us irresistibly to feel and succour their + distresses. It is true that these social dispositions are not + implanted in every man, because there is no rule without exceptions; + but it is false reasoning which converts exceptions into the general + rule. Some men are born without the organs of sight, or of hearing, + or without hands. Yet it would be wrong to say that man is born + without these faculties. When the moral sense is wanting, we endeavor + to supply the defect by education; by appeals to reason and + calculation, by presenting to the being so unhappily conformed other + motives to do good. But nature has constituted utility to man the + social test of virtue. The same act may be useful and consequently + virtuous in a country which is injurious and vicious in another + differently circumstanced. I sincerely then believe, with you, in the + general existence of a moral instinct. I think it is the brightest + gem with which the human character is studded, and the want of it is + more degrading than the most hideous of the bodily deformities.[568] + +The test of morality then becomes, not self-interest, as Helvetius had +maintained (and Jefferson reproved Destutt de Tracy for having accepted +this theory), but general interest and social utility. This is almost +the criterium of Kant and one would be tempted to press this +parallelism, if there was any reason to believe that the Philosopher of +Monticello had ever heard the name of the author of "Practical Reason." +On this point, as on so many others, Jefferson differs radically from +Rousseau, who admitted also a benevolent governor of the world and the +existence of a moral instinct, but who would have strenuously denied +that this moral instinct was nothing but the social instinct. Jefferson, +on the contrary, is led to recognize the existence of morality, chiefly +because, man being a social being, society cannot be organized and +subsist if it is not composed of moral beings. + + Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interests of + society require the observation of those moral precepts in which all + religions agree, (for all forbid us to murder, steal, plunder or bear + false witness,) and that we should not intermeddle with the + particular dogmas in which all religions differ, and which are + totally unconnected with morality. In all of them we see good men, + and as many in one as another. The varieties of structures of action + of the human mind as in those in the body, are the work of our + Creator, against which it cannot be a religious duty to erect the + standard of uniformity. The practice of morality being necessary for + the well-being of society, he has taken care to impress its precepts + so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the + subtleties of our brain.[569] + +This was stated more humorously by John Adams after they had treated the +subject exhaustively in a series of letters: "Vain man, mind your own +business. Do no wrong--; do all the good you can. Eat your canvasback +ducks, drink your Burgundy. Sleep your siesta when necessary, and TRUST +IN GOD."[570] + +This being the case, it remained to determine whether man could not find +somewhere a code of morality that would express the precepts impressed +in our hearts. In his youth, Jefferson had copied and accepted as a +matter of course the statement of Bolingbroke that: + + It is not true that Christ revealed an entire body of ethics, proved + to be the law of nature from principles of reason and reaching all + duties of life.... A system thus collected from the writings of the + ancient heathen moralists, of Tully, of Seneca, of Epictetus, and + others, would be more full, more entire, more coherent, and more + clearly deduced from unquestionable principles of knowledge.[571] + +In order to realize how far away Jefferson had drawn from his +radicalism, it is only necessary to go back to his "Syllabus of an +Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus, compared with those of +others", written for Benjamin Rush, in 1803, after reading Doctor +Priestley's little treatise "Of Socrates and Jesus compared."[572] There +he had declared that + + His moral doctrines relating to kindred and friends, were more pure + and perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers, and + ... they went far in inculcating universal philanthropy, not only to + kindred and friends, to neighbors and countrymen, but to all mankind, + gathering all into one family, under the bonds of love, charity, + peace, common wants and common aids. A development of this head will + evince the peculiar superiority of the system of Jesus over all + others. + +Jefferson had been won over to Christianity by the superior social value +of the morals of Jesus. In that sense, he could already say, "I am a +Christian, in the only sense in which He wished any one to be, sincerely +attached to His doctrines, in preference to all others." + +This profession of faith made publicly might have assuaged some of the +fierce attacks directed against Jefferson on the ground of his +"infidelity", and yet even at that time he emphatically begged Doctor +Rush not to make it public, for "it behoves every man who values liberty +of conscience for himself ... to give no example of concession, +betraying the common right of independent opinion, by answering +questions of faith, which the laws have left between God and himself." +To a certain extent, however, his famous "Life and Morals of Jesus", +compiled during the last ten years of his life[573] may well be +considered an indirect and yet categorical recantation of Bolingbroke's +haughty dogmatism. Age, experience, observation had mellowed the Stoic. +He was not yet ready to accept as a whole the dogmas of Christianity, +but the superiority of the morals of Jesus over the tenets of the +"heathen moralists" did not any longer leave any doubt in his mind. + +Whether after the death of the body something of man survived, was an +entirely different question--one that human reason could not answer +satisfactorily. It cannot even be stated with certainty that he would +have agreed with John Adams when the latter wrote: "_Il faut trancher le +mot._ What is there in life to attach us to it but the hope of a future +and a better? It is a cracker, a rocket, a fire-work at best."[574] + +He never denied categorically the existence of a future life, but this +life was a thing in itself, and after all, it was worth living. +Altogether this world was a pretty good place, and when John Adams +asked him whether he would agree to live his seventy-three years over +again, he answered energetically: "Yea.--I think with you," he added, +"that it is a good world on the whole; that it has been framed on a +principle of benevolence, and more pleasure than pain dealt to us.... My +temperament is sanguine. I steer my bark with Hope in the head, leaving +Fear astern. My hopes, indeed, sometimes fail, but not oftener than the +foreboding of the gloomy."[575] His old friend was far from attaining +such an equanimity and could not help envying the Sage of Monticello +sailing his bark "Hope with her gay ensigns displayed at the prow, Fear +with her hobgoblins behind the stern. Hope springs eternal and all is +that endures...." But Jefferson was bolstered up in his confident +attitude by the intimate conviction that he had done good work, that he +had contributed his best to the most worthy cause and that he had not +labored in vain. + +This was not only a good world, but it was already much better than when +he had entered it. He had + + ... observed the march of civilization advancing from the sea coast, + passing over us like a cloud of light, increasing our knowledge and + improving our condition, insomuch as that we are at that time more + advanced in civilization here than the seaports were when I was a + boy. And where this progress will stop no one can say. Barbarism has, + in the meantime, been receding before the steady step of + amelioration; and will in time, I trust, disappear from the + earth.[576] + +Scarcely two weeks before he died--and this is practically his last +important utterance--he recalled in a letter to the citizens of the city +of Washington who had invited him to attend the celebration held for the +fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, how proud he +was that his fellow citizens, after fifty years, continued to approve +the choice made when the Declaration was adopted. "May it be to the +world," he added, "what I believe it will (to some parts sooner, to +others later, but finally to all) the signal of arousing men to burst +the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded +them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of +self-government."[577] + +This faith in the ultimate recognition of the ideals, which he had +defined with such a felicity of expression half a century earlier, was, +even more than any belief in personal immortality, "the rocket" that +John Adams thought so necessary to attach us to this life. It was a real +religion, the religion of progress, of the eighteenth century which had +its devotees and with Condorcet its martyr. Strengthened by the intimate +conviction that he would be judged from his acts and not "from his +words", he saw the approach of Death without any qualms, and he turned +back to his old friends of Greece and Rome, for "the classic pages fill +up the vacuum of _ennui_, and become sweet composers to that rest of the +grave into which we are sooner or later to descend."[578] On many +occasions he expressed his readiness to depart: "I enjoy good health," +he wrote once to John Adams; "I am happy in what is around me, yet I +assure you I am ripe for leaving all, this year, this day, this +hour."[579] It took almost ten years after these lines were written for +the call to come. Most of his biographers have dealt extensively with +the remarkable vigor preserved by Jefferson even to his last day. For +several years after his retirement he remained a hale and robust old +man. But he felt none the less the approaching dissolution and watched +anxiously the slow progress of his physical limitations. His letters do +not completely bear out on this point the statement made by Mrs. Sarah +Randolph in her "Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson." + +At seventy-three he was still remarkably robust and, with the minuteness +of a physician, described his case in a letter to his old friend Charles +Thomson: + + I retain good health, am rather feeble to walk much, but ride with + ease, passing two or three hours a day on horseback.... My eyes need + the aid of glasses by night, and with small print in the day also; my + hearing is not quite so sensible as it used to be; no tooth shaking + yet, but shivering and shrinking in body from the cold we now + experience; my thermometer having been as low as 12 deg. this morning. My + greatest oppression is a correspondence afflictingly laborious, the + extent of which I have been long endeavoring to curtail. Could I + reduce this epistolary corvee within the limits of my friends and + affairs ... my life would be as happy as the infirmities of age would + admit, and I should look on its consummation with the composure of + one "_qui summum nec metuit diem nec optat_."[580] + +This remarkable preservation of his faculties he attributed largely to +his abstemious diet. For years he had eaten little animal food, and that +"not as an aliment so much as a condiment for the vegetables", which +constituted his principal diet. "I double however the Doctor's glass and +a half of wine, and even treble it with a friend, but halve its effects +by drinking the weak wines only. The ardent wines I cannot drink, nor do +I use ardent spirits in any form."[581] + +Yet he had to admit to Mrs. Trist in 1814 that he was only "an old +half-strung fiddle",[582] and as he advanced in age the "machine" gave +evident signs of wearing out. The recurrence of the suffering caused by +his broken wrist, badly set in Paris by the famous Louis,[583] and still +worse the very painful "disury" with which he was afflicted[584] gave +him many unhappy hours. To die was nothing, for as he wrote then in his +old "Commonplace Book", "I do not worry about the hereafter, even if +now the doom of death stands at my feet, for we are men and cannot live +forever. To all of us death must happen."[585] But "bodily decay" was +"gloomy in prospect, for of all human contemplation the most abhorrent +is a body without mind. To be a doting old man, to repeat four times +over the same story in one hour", if this was life, it was "at most the +life of a cabbage."[586] He was spared this affliction he dreaded so +much, and when Lafayette visited him in November, 1824, the Marquis +found him "much aged without doubt, after a separation of thirty-five +years, but bearing marvelously well under his eighty-one years of age, +in full possession of all the vigor of his mind and heart."[587] Six +months later, when Lafayette took his final leave, Jefferson was weaker +and confined to his house, suffering much "with one foot in the grave +and the other one uplifted to follow it." + +Death was slowly approaching, without any particular disease being +noticeable; after running for eighty-three years "the machine" was about +to "surcease motion." The end has been told by several contemporaries +and friends. No account is more simple and more touching in its +simplicity than the relation written by his attending physician, Doctor +Dunglison: + + Until the 2d. and 3d. of July he spoke freely of his approaching + death; made all arrangements with his grandson, Mr. Randolph, in + regard to his private affairs; and expressed his anxiety for the + prosperity of the University and his confidence in the exertion in + its behalf of Mr. Madison and the other visitors. He repeatedly, too, + mentioned his obligation to me for my attention to him. During the + last week of his existence I remained at Monticello; and one of the + last remarks he made was to me. In the course of the day and night of + the 2d of July he was affected with stupor, with intervals of + wakefulness and consciousness; but on the 3d the stupor became + almost permanent. About seven o'clock of the evening of that day he + awoke and, seeing me staying at his bedside, exclaimed, "Ah, Doctor, + are you still there?" in a voice, however, that was husky and + indistinct. He then asked, "Is it the Fourth?" to which I replied, + "It will soon be." These were the last words I heard him utter. + + Until towards the middle of the day--the 4th--he remained in the same + state, or nearly so, wholly unconscious to everything that was + passing around him. His circulation, however, was gradually becoming + more languid; and for some time prior to dissolution the pulse at the + wrist was imperceptible. About one o'clock he ceased to exist.[588] + +A few days before he had taken his final dispositions and seen all the +members of his family. He was not a man to indulge in a painful display +of emotions, but he told his dear daughter Martha that "in a certain +drawer in an old pocket book she would find something for her." It was a +piece of paper on which he had written eight lines "A death bed adieu +from Th. J. to M. R." There was no philosophism nor classical +reminiscence in it; it was the simple expression of his last hope that +on the shore + +"_Which crowns all my hopes, or which buries my care_" he would find +awaiting him "two seraphs long shrouded in death", his beloved wife and +his young daughter Maria. + +He was buried by their side in the family plot of Monticello. According +to his wishes no invitations were issued and no notice of the hour +given. "His body was borne privately from his dwelling by his family and +servants, but his neighbors and friends, anxious to pay the last tribute +of respect to one they had loved and honored, waited for it in crowds at +the grave." A typically American scene, without parade, without speeches +and long ceremonies--almost a pioneer burial in a piece of land +reclaimed from the wilderness. + + + + +INDEX + + + Absolutism, evils of, 203 + + Adams, Abigail, Jefferson shops for, 160; + the "New England Juno", 323; + and Jefferson, 382, 383, 386, 518, 519 + + Adams, Henry, his criticism of Jefferson's conduct of foreign + affairs, 409, 440, 441, 453, 459, 460, 464 + + Adams, John, Jefferson's correspondence with, 23, 482, 490, 503, 512, + 517, 521, 526, 529; + his first impression of Jefferson, 59; + on committee of Continental Congress appointed to answer Lord + North's "Conciliatory Proposition", 62; + assists in framing resolution instructing colonies to form + governments, 66; + his part in Declaration of Independence, 69, 70; + on committee to suggest United States seal, 86; + appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties of Commerce + with foreign nations, 152, 162; + his wines, 160; + in favor of loose association of States, 196; + and the Barbary pirates, 206; + Jefferson gives estimate of, 248; + his quarrel with Jefferson, 259-261; + reelection of, as Vice-President, 273; + elected President, 319; + attempts reconciliation with Jefferson, 321, 322, 325; + inaugural address, 321, 322; + not a party man or party leader, 323; + a complicated and contradictory figure, 323; + action in XYZ case, 325, 331, 336-338, 348, 355; + nominated for Presidency in 1800, 362; + changes in his Cabinet, 368; + in election of 1800, 367-369; + "midnight" appointments, 373, 374; + refuses to welcome successor, 375; + reconciliation with Jefferson, 518, 519; + his study of religious controversies, 522; + on life, 527 + + Adams, John Quincy, removed from office by Jefferson, 382, 383 + + Adams, Samuel, 359, 361 + + Addison, Judge, deposition of, by Senate of Pennsylvania, 384 + + Albemarle resolutions, 45-47 + + Alexander I of Russia, 448 + + Algiers, 206 + + Alien Bills, 340, 342-347 + + Aliens, their right to hold real property denied, 151 + + Allen, Ethan, declaration concerning, drafted by Jefferson, 65 + + American civilization, underlying ideas of, 85. + + American imperialism, 398-400 + + American public education, first charter of, 95-100 + + American Revolution, remonstrance in House of Burgesses, 38; + articles of association directed against British merchandise, 38; + as to causes of, 42; + effect of passage of Boston Port Bill, in Virginia, 43, 44; + proposal to form Congress, 44; + declaration of mutual defence, 45; + resolutions adopted by freeholders of Albemarle County, Va., 45-47; + resolutions adopted by Assembly of Fairfax County, 45-47; + regulation of American commerce, 46; + doctrine of expatriation, 47, 50; + first Continental Congress, 54; + second Continental Congress, 59; + Lord North's "Conciliatory Proposition" answered, 62; + independence not at first aimed at, 63-65; + colonies instructed to form governments, 66; + Declaration of Independence, 69-71; + treatment of prisoners in, 109-112. + _See also_ British colonies + + Americanism, cardinal principles of, 52, 61; + creed of, formulated by Jefferson, 62, 120; + Jefferson's conception of, when he wrote "Notes on Virginia", 136; + practical idealism a tenet of, 275; + pure, 334, 335; + definition of, 352; + Jefferson's system of, 423, 428, 468 + + Armstrong, Gen. John, American representative in Paris, 462 + + Arnold, Benedict, 108 + + "Arrears of Interest, Report on", Jefferson, 146 + + Articles of Confederation, discussion of, in Congress, 80; + defects in, 145, 146, 195, 197 + + "Assumption" of the State debts, 250-255 + + _Aurora_, journal, 311, 313, 343, 354 + + Austin, Benjamin, 491 + + + Bache's _Aurora_, 311, 313, 343, 356 + + Balance of power, 476 + + Bank Bill, Hamilton's, 255-258 + + Bannister, J. B., Jr., letter to, 172 + + Barbary pirates, 205-207, 428, 443 + + Barbe-Marbois, secretary of French legation in United States, 118, 414 + + Bastille, capture of, 235 + + Bayard, James A., nominated plenipotentiary to French Republic, 373, + 374 + + Bellini, letter to, 173 + + Berlin Decree, 450 + + Beveridge, Albert J., his "Life of Marshall", 384, 385, 434 + + Bill for a General Revision of the Laws, Virginia, 90 + + Bill for Amending the Charter for William and Mary, 98, 99, 105, 106 + + Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments, Virginia, 93-95 + + Bill for Religious Freedom, Virginia, 89, 100-103, 106, 365 + + Bill for the more General Diffusion of Knowledge, Virginia, 95-99, + 105, 505, 508 + + Bill of Rights, 198-201, 204 + + Bill on the Naturalization of Foreigners, 89 + + Bill to Abolish Entails, Virginia, 88, 89 + + Bingham, Mrs., 160 + + Bishop, Samuel, appointed collector of New Haven, 381 + + Blennerhasset, Harman, and the Burr conspiracy, 431, 432 + + Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, his influence on Jefferson, 21, 23, + 26, 31 + + Bollman, and the Burr conspiracy, 432, 433 + + Bonaparte, his projected invasion of England, 336; + Jefferson's opinion of, 359, 475, 476; + precedent established by, 360 + + Boston Port Bill, 43 + + Brazil, 483 + + Breckenridge, James, on board of visitors of University of + Virginia, 509 + + Breckenridge, John, letters to, 370, 371, 416 + + British colonies, contractual theory of government of, 45, 46; + regulation of commerce of, 46, 47; + rights of, 48-53. + _See also_ American Revolution + + Brunswick, Duke of, defeat, 273 + + Buchan, Lord, letter to, 444 + + Budget, presented by Jefferson, 146 + + Buffon, G. L. L. de, theory of, concerning + animals in America, 121, 122 + + Burke, "History of Virginia", 12, 515 + + Burlamaqui, Jean Jacques, quotation from, 73 + + Burnaby, English tourist, quoted on Virginia colonists, 42 + + Burr, Col. Aaron, letters to, 332, 354; + nominated for Vice-Presidency (1800), 362; + in the 1800-election, 369-373; + his presence in government an annoyance to Jefferson, 382; + conspiracy, 429-439; + duel with Hamilton, 431 + + Burwell, Rebecca, and Jefferson, 16, 17 + + + Cabanis, P. J. G., 161; + letter to, 422 + + Cabell, Joseph C., 507; + on board of visitors of University of Virginia, 509; + letters to, 512 + + Cabell, Gov. William H., 451 + + Cabinet, the President's, in Washington's time, 247; + Adams's, 322, 323, 368; + relation to President, 392 + + Callender, 356, 427; + employed by Jefferson, 361; + Jefferson's interest in, 363; + his pamphlet, "The Prospect Before Us" ("History of the + Administration of John Adams"), 382 + + Calonne, Charles Alexandre de, 178, 182 + + Calvinism, 522 + + Canning, George, 453 + + Capital, of United States, seat of, 252, 253 + + Capitol, at Washington, the new, question of putting inscription + on, 479 + + Caracas, constitution of, 498 + + Carleton, Guy, governor of Canada, 111 + + Carmichael, 198, 211, 226, 263, 276, 288 + + Carr, Dabney, death, 40, 41 + + Carr, Peter, 21, 175 + + Carrington, Edward, letters to, 196, 213, 219 + + Carthagenes, constitution of, 498 + + Cary, Col. Archibald, 139 + + _Ceres_, sailing-vessel, 153, 159 + + Champion de Cice, Archbishop of Bordeaux, 235 + + Charlottesville, Va., war prisoners at, 109 + + Chase, Judge Samuel, impeachment of, 387-389 + + Chastellux, Chevalier de, friend of Jefferson, 154 + + _Chesapeake-Leopard_ affair, 451-453 + + Church, Mrs., 298, 299 + + Church of England, in Virginia, 90, 103 + + Cincinnati, Society of the, 152, 306 + + Clay, Rev. Mr. Charles, subscription for support of, 103-105 + + Clinton, George, Vice-President, 395, 463, 464 + + Cocke, J. H., on board of visitors of University of Virginia, 509 + + Collot, Gen., 402 + + Colvin, J. B., letter to, 469 + + Comite du Commerce, 178, 183 + + Commerce, one of the great causes of war, 83; + Treaty of, 143, 144; + Gallo-American, 181-184; + Report of Jefferson on Privileges and Restrictions of, 302 + + Commercial monopolies, 151, 152 + + Commercial treaties, 149-152 + + Committees of safety, 54 + + Confederation, Treaty of Commerce, 143, 144; + defects in, 145, 146, 195, 197; + monetary system, 146, 147; + new States, 148; slavery, 148, 149; + hereditary titles, 148, 149; + commercial treaties, 149-152. + _See also_ Articles of Confederation; United States + + Congress, first proposal for, 44. + _See also_ Continental Congress + + Congressional election, _see_ Election + + Congressional Library, destroyed by English, 476 + + Constitution of United States, 195-202 + + Continental Congress, First, 54, 83; + Second, 59; + of the Confederation, 143-152 + + Contraband, 151, 152, 422, 423 + + Cooper, Thomas, 510; letters to, 492, 512, 521 + + Coray, Mr., 516 + + Corny, M. de, 234 + + Corny, Madame de, 161, 245, 246, 274, 298, 299 + + Correa de Serra, 484, 516 + + Coxe, Tench, letters to, 304, 371, 372 + + Crawford, Dr. John, letter to, 480 + + Crimes and punishments, in Virginia, 93-95 + + Cuba, 470, 485 + + Cutting, letter to, 225 + + + Dalrymple, Sir John, his "Essay Towards a General History of Feudal + Property", 30 + + Dandridge, Mr., 14 + + Danville, Duchesse, 274 + + Deane, Silas, + quoted on Southern delegates to first Continental Congress, 42; + elected commissioner to France, 87 + + Dearborn, Henry, Secretary of War in Jefferson's Cabinet, 374 + + Debts of United States, foreign, domestic, and State, 250-255, 258 + + "Declaration Europeenne des droits de l'homme et du citoyen", + Lafayette, 232-234 + + Declaration of Independence, the story of, 69-71; + origin of, 71-74, 77; + as literature, 72; + "the pursuit of happiness" in, 75-76; + highest achievement of eighteenth-century philosophy, 76; + suggests tone of Greek tragedy, 77 + + Declaration of Rights of 1774, 73 + + Declaration on Violation of Rights, adopted by First Continental + Congress, 83 + + Dejean, Lieut., 111 + + _Democrat_, sailing-vessel, 294 + + Democratic societies, 306, 334 + + De Moustier, letter to, 254 + + Destutt de Tracy, A. L. C., meeting with Jefferson, 161; + letter to, 484; + his "Political Economy", 495; + living embodiment of political faith of nineteenth century, 514 + + Dexter, Samuel, Secretary of War in Adams's Cabinet, 368; + Secretary of the Treasury in Adams's Cabinet, 374 + + Dickinson, John, in Continental Congress, 60; + letter of, 361 + + Dictator, proposition for appointment of, 127, 128 + + Douglas, Dr., clergyman, 5, 20 + + Duane, William, flogged, 355; + letter to, 475 + + Dumas, financial agent of the United States at the Hague, 185, 187, + 197, 209, 252, 253, 289 + + Dunbar, William, discussions with Jefferson, 371 + + Dunglison, Dr., on visitors at Monticello, 516; + on Jefferson's religious belief, 520; + his account of Jefferson's death, 531 + + Dunmore, John Murray, Earl of, governor of Virginia, 43, 44, 54, 55, + 66 + + Du Pont de Nemours, Pierre S., Jefferson's association with, 215; + his "Plan of a National Education", 358, 506, 507, 512; + theories and practice of, 395; + correspondence with Jefferson, 405-409, 411, 414, 415, 420, 452, + 471, 478, 493, 497, 498, 514; + and the Louisiana problem, 407-409, 412-415; + never fully understood Jefferson, 496; + draws up plan of government for the "Equinoctial republics", 498; + living embodiment of political faith of nineteenth century, 513, 514 + + + Edwards, Jonathan, 430 + + Election, of 1792, 272, 273; + of 1796, 316-319; + of 1800, 363-373; + of 1804, 389, 395 + + Ellsworth, Oliver, appointed Plenipotentiary to France, 355 + + Embargo of 1807, 428, 456-462, 470, 471 + + "Encyclopedie Methodique", 160, 214 + + English, their monopoly of the American market, 326, 327 + + Entails, abolished in Virginia, 88, 89 + + Epicurism, 521 + + Eppes, Mrs., sister of Mrs. Jefferson, 153 + + Equinoctial republics, 498 + + Essex case, 447 + + Estaing, Admiral d', 206 + + Euripides, 22, 24 + + Eustis, Dr. William, letter to, 461 + + Excise tax, 254, 255, 393; + revolt against (Whisky Insurrection), 305, 306; + Jefferson's bitterness against, 306, 307 + + Expatriation, doctrine of, 47, 50, 89, 107 + + + Fairfax resolutions, 45-48 + + Farmers-general, 177-181 + + Farming taxes, 177-181 + + Fauquier, Dr., of Floirac, 12 + + Fauquier, Gov. Francis, his intimacy with Jefferson, 12, 13 + + Federal Government, prerogatives of, 83 + + _Federalist_, the, 200 + + Federalists, their power broken, 355, 362; + in election of 1800, 367-373, 389; + in Jefferson's administration, 380, 381 + + Feudal system, abolishment of, in Virginia, 88, 89 + + Fleming, William, letters to, 78, 79; + on committee on religion, 89 + + Florida, Western and Eastern, 445, 446 + + Foster, Dwight, Senator, makes offer to Jefferson, 373 + + Fox blockade, 450 + + France, educational system of, 98; + colonizing designs of, feared, 207; + difficulties with, 288, 323-325, 331-342, 440, 447-462. + _See also_ French Revolution + + Franklin, Benjamin, on committee of Continental Congress appointed + to answer Lord North's "Conciliatory Proposition", 62; + his part in Declaration of Independence, 69, 70; + on committee to suggest United States seal, 86; + elected commissioner to France, 87; + Jefferson's view of, 122; + appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties of + commerce, 152, 162; + interview with Jefferson, 247 + + Franklin, William Temple, papers entrusted to, by Benjamin Franklin, + 247 + + Free ports, 182 + + Freedom of speech, 427 + + Freedom of the press, importance of, 203, 427 + + Freedom of thought, Jefferson's understanding of, 103 + + Freeholders, rights of, 52 + + French constitution, 143 + + French debt, of United States, 176, 177, 181, 182, 184-193 + + French Revolution, Declaration of June 23, 1793, 76; + Declaration of May 29, 1793, 82; + Assembly of the Notables, 219-222, 225; + convocation of States-General, 227, 229; + National Assembly, 231, 232; + capture of the Bastille, 235; + defeat of Duke of Brunswick, 273; + becomes international issue, 279; + flight of king, 282; + execution of king, 287 + + Freneau, Philip, his paper, the _National Gazette_, 261-263, 269 + + Fry, Joshua, professor in William and Mary College, 5 + + + Gallatin, Albert, defies excise law, 305; + speech of, 311; + letter to, 480 + + Gates, Horatio, letters to, 416, 445 + + _Gazette of the United States_, attacks Jefferson, 268, 269 + + Geismer, Baron de, 110, 163 + + Generations of men, rights of, 234 + + Genet, Citizen Edmond C., the case of, 288-297 + + Gerry, Elbridge, letters to, 325, 351-353; + appointed envoy extraordinary to France, 333 + + Ghent, Treaty of, 485 + + Giles, William B., and Jefferson, 311; + letters to, 307, 309, 436 + + Gilmer, Francis Walker, and Jefferson, 253; + sent to England to recruit faculty for University of Virginia, 511 + + "Government by the people", 237 + + Granger, Gideon, letter to, 363 + + Great Britain, United States debt to, 186-193; + her hatred of United States, 208, 209; + and France, war between, 288, 440, 447-462; + her navy, policies of, in regard to contraband and impressment, + 422, 423 + + Greene, William, letter to, 356 + + + Hamilton, Alexander, + quarrel with Jefferson, 127, 255-258, 263, 265, 266, 268-271; + Secretary of the Treasury, 247; + Jefferson gives estimate of, 248; + Reports of, 249; + his Bank Bill, 255-257; + his actions supported by Washington, 271; + attitude toward England, 290; + and Whisky Insurrection, 306; + would encourage American manufactures, 327, 443; + his plans of administrative reorganization, 349, 350; + in election campaign of 1800, 367, 368; + duel with Burr, 431 + + Hamilton, Gov., of Kaskakias, 111 + + Hammond, George, British minister to United States, 291, 292 + + Hardy, Samuel, delegate to Congress from Virginia, 140 + + Harrison, Gov., letters to, 145, 415 + + Hawkesbury, Lord, 402, 404 + + Hawkins, Col. Benjamin, discussions with Jefferson, 358; + letter to, 364 + + Hay, George, 436 + + Helvetius, Madame, 161, 215 + + Henry, Patrick, and Jefferson, 14, 15, 26, 27, 37, 63; + his study of the law, 28; + after passage of Boston Port Bill, 43; + and Jefferson's "Summary View", 47; + speech at second Virginia Convention, 54; + opposes Bill to Abolish Entails, 89; + seconds motion for appointment of dictator, 127; + appointed Plenipotentiary to France, 355 + + Hereditary titles, in the Confederation, 148, 149 + + Hervey, John, guardian of Jefferson, 8 + + Hobbes, Thomas, 82 + + Holland, United States debt to, 187-193 + + Hopkinson, Francis, 200 + + Hopkinson, Mrs., 153 + + Houdetot, Madame d', 161, 274 + + Howe, Lord, negotiations of Franklin with, 247 + + Howick, Lord, 450 + + Humboldt, Baron Alexander von, letter to, 481 + + Humphreys, Col. David, secretary of legation in Paris, 153, 159, 223, + 228 + + + Immigration, Jefferson's views of, 123-125 + + Impeachment, the Republican understanding of, 385, 387 + + "Implied powers", doctrine of, 256 + + Impressment, of British sailors on neutral vessels, 423; + an issue of the War of 1812, 478 + + Income tax, 494 + + Indians, 7; + study of customs and languages of, 99; + atrocities of, in American Revolution, 111; + eloquence of, 121; + affairs of, treated in Jefferson's second inaugural, 425-427 + + Industrialism, dangers of, 492 + + Isham, Mary, 3 + + + Jackson, Andrew, 431 + + Jacobins, _see_ Republicans + + Jay, John, letters to, 223, 224, 231, 234, 236, 239. + _See also_ Jay treaty + + Jay, Gov. John, letter to, 491 + + Jay treaty, 305, 307, 308, 316, 324 + + Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, 139; + death, 163 + + Jefferson, Martha, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, + her account of Mrs. Jefferson's death, 138; + date of birth, 139; + accompanies father to Europe, 153, 159; + marriage, 246; + at Monticello, 300; + Jefferson's farewell message to, 532 + + Jefferson, Mary, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, 139, 161; + joins father in Paris, 163 + + Jefferson, Peter, father of Thomas Jefferson, 4, 5 + + Jefferson, Mrs. Peter, _see_ Randolph, Jane + + Jefferson, Thomas, birth, 3; + ancestry and parentage, 3-5; + "Autobiography", _see_ below; + schooling, 5-7; + early reading, 6; + life at Shadwell, 6-8; + at William and Mary College, 8-17; + oratorical ambitions, 14; + influence of Patrick Henry upon, 14, 15, 26, 27, 37; + love episode with Rebecca Burwell, 16-18; + commonplace books, 19, _see also_ below; + change in religious belief, 19-24; + distrust of women, 22; + his system of morality, 24-26, _see also_ Morality; + influence of Greek Stoics upon, 26; + studies law, 27-31; + his revindication of the Saxon liberties, 31, 32; + his acquaintance with languages and books, 33; + practices law, 34, 36; + life as farmer at Shadwell, 34, 35; + his "Garden Books", 35, 39; + his scorn of rhetoric, 36, 37; + character of his mind, 37; + in House of Burgesses, 38; + his library, 39; + marriage, 39, 40; + life at Monticello, 41; + after passing of Boston Port Bill, 43, 44; + his declaration of mutual defence, 45; + writes Albemarle resolutions, 45-47; + his doctrine of expatriation, 47, 50, 89, 107; + drafts instructions to Virginia delegates to first Continental + Congress, 47, 53; + his "A Summary View of the Rights of British America", 48-53; + his discussion of land tenures, 49; + speaks as pioneer, 52, 53; + in second Virginia Convention, 54; + delegate to second Continental Congress, 54, 55, 64; + his part of "Declaration of the Cause of Taking Up Arms", 59-62; + his answer to Lord North's "Conciliatory Proposition", 62; + influence of Greek and Latin orators on his style, 63; + his view of independence, 63-65; + his absence from Congress during preliminary steps to Declaration of + Independence, 66; + appointed Lieutenant and Commander in chief of the Militia of the + County of Albemarle, 66; + drafts constitution for Virginia, 66-69; + and the Declaration of Independence, 69-78; + resigns from Congress and enters Virginia Legislature, 78, 79; + his view of the social compact and liberty, 80-82, 85, 204, 365, + 498; + his philosophy of natural and civil rights, 80-85, 106, 204, 346, + 365; + his conception of state sovereignty, 82, 83; + his views on property, 84, 85; + his suggestion for United States seal, 86; + the source of his political philosophy, 87; + refuses post of commissioner to France, 87, 88; + birth of son, 88; + his part in revision of laws of Virginia, 88-103; + starts subscription for Rev. Charles Clay, 103-105; + his doctrine of government, 105-107; + as Governor of Virginia, 107-114; + his attitude toward British prisoners, 109-112; + a stern, but little observed, trait in his character, 111-113; + nearly taken by the British, 113; + charges against his conduct as governor, 114, 115; + impatient at public criticism, 115; + refuses new appointment to European post, 115, 116; + his determination to return to private life, 116-118, 153; + his description of natural scenery, 120, 121; + his studies in natural history, 121, 122; + his answer to Abbe Raynal, 122, 123; + his views on immigration, 123-125; + his combination of faith and pessimism in reference to government, + 125, 126; + his view of the best government, 126, 127; + his opposition to dictator, 127, 128; + his belief in efficacy of universal suffrage, 129, 130; + his pessimism as regards human nature and human society, 130; + his views of slavery and the Negro, 131, _see also_ Slavery; + his view of American civilization as agricultural, 132; + advises peace and preparedness, 133, 134; + his ideal picture of America, 135, 136; + death of his wife, 137, 138; + appointed Plenipotentiary to Europe, but appointment canceled, 139, + 140; + delegate to Congress (June, 1782 to July 5, 1784), 140, 143-152; + founds American monetary system, 147; + appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties of commerce + with foreign nations, 152; + his qualifications for European task, 153-155; + his quarters in Paris, 159; + his views of Paris, 160; + his friends and acquaintances at Paris, 161, 162; + rooms in Carthusian Monastery, 163; + his travels in Europe, 164-171; + advises against sending youth to Europe, 172; + compares Europe with America, 173-175; + his duties at Paris, 176; + and foreign debts, 176, 177, 181-193; + and the tobacco trade, 177-181; + his efforts to promote Gallo-American commerce, 181-184; + puts all questions on a practical basis, 194; + his views on the American Constitution, 195-202; + his political philosophy, 203-205; + his management of the problem of the Barbary pirates, 205-207; + his fear of French, English, and Spanish designs in New World, + 207-211; + his belief in policy of isolation for United States, 211, 212; + originates policy of watchful waiting, 214; + his attitude toward French Revolution, 215-237; + draws up "Charter of Rights for the King and Nation", 230; + his emendations and corrections to Lafayette's "Declaration + Europeenne des droits de l'homme et du citoyen", 232-234; + his house made the scene of French committee meeting, 235-237; + how far he believed in "government by the people", 237, 238; + on the French people, 238-240; + asserts one standard of morality for nations and individuals, 240, + 241; + accepts post of Secretary of State, 245, 246; + pays respects to Franklin, 247; + the "Anas", 248, 251, 295, 515; + his attitude toward United States debts, 250-255; + quarrel with Hamilton, 255-258, 263, 265, 266, 268-271; + his opposition to Bank Bill, 255-258; + his theory of State rights, 257, 365; + his quarrel with Adams, 258-261; + reaches an impasse, 264; + his proposed changes in Virginia Constitution, 264, 265; + his indictment of Hamilton's system, 265-267; + urges Washington to run a second time for Presidency, 267; + attacked by _Gazette of the United States_, 268, 269; + becomes leader of new party, 269; + his fears of a monarchy, 271, 272, 344; + letters to French friends, 274; + his practical idealism, 275, 381, 382; + efforts to obtain New Orleans, 276-278; + becomes sympathetic with republican government in France, 278-280, + 282, 285-287; + his efforts to obtain commercial privileges with West Indies, + 280-282; + cautious in action, 283; + his principles as to recognition of foreign governments, 284, 286; + and the war between England and France, and Citizen Genet, 287-297; + resigns Secretaryship, 297; + in retirement at Monticello, 298-320; + his admiration for Madame de Corny, 298, 299; + avoids politics, 299-303; + his Report on the Privileges and Restrictions of the Commerce of the + United States, 302; + hopes for avoidance of war with Great Britain, 303-305; + views on current political events, 308-313; + writes indiscreet letter to Mazzei, 312, 333; + pen-portrait of, 314, 315; + chosen Vice-President, 320; + attempted reconciliation with Adams, 321, 322, 325; + desires peace with Europe, 324, 326, 337, 339, 343; + his "Parliamentary Manual", 325; + his view of manufactures, 327, 329; + forms certain political conclusions, 334, 335; + his self-mastery, 339, 340; + opposed to break in the Union, 340, 341; + newspaper war against, 341, 343; + his share in Kentucky and Virginia nullification resolutions, 345; + luminous exposition of his doctrine (program of the Democratic + party), 351, 352; + as political leader, 352-362; + nominated for Presidency (1800), 362; + in the campaign, 363-368; + in the election, 368-373; + inauguration, 375; + inaugural address, 379; + his removals from office, 380, 381; + his attack on the judiciary, 383-390, 436; + reelected (1804), 389, 395; + convinced of the evil of the intrusion of churches into politics, + 390; + hostility to, 390, 391; + his relation to Cabinet members, 392; + his reform in financial system of United States, 393; + his attitude toward agriculture and manufactures, 394, 395; + his imperialist views, 398-400, 449; + and Louisiana Purchase, 405-421; + sends Lewis on Western exploring expedition, 421, 422; + his policy in war between England and France, 424, 440, 441, 444, + 447-462; + his second inaugural address, 425-428, 442; + the ordeal of his second term, 428, 429; + inconsistency of his conduct in Burr case, 437-439; + tries to obtain the Floridas, 445, 446; + offers alliance with England, 446; + writes to Alexander of Russia concerning rights of neutrals, 448; + imperialistic proposition of, 449; his letters, 468, 514, 516; + his views of Executive and Congress, 468-470; + opposed to English mercantilism, 471; + his detestation of English policies and rulers, 470-473; + his ideas on War of 1812, 473-478; + offers library to Congress, 477; + his feeling for England as distinguished from English government, + 479; + opinions on affairs of Europe and South America, 479-486; + and the Monroe Doctrine, 483, 486-488; + formulates the gospel of American democracy, 489; + economic and banking theories of, 490-496; + his view of best government for France, 496, 497; + his theory of the function of the people in a democracy, 499-502; + sees germs of national weakness in United States government, + 502-505; + his services to education (University of Virginia), 505-512; + his interests, 514-516; + his conclusion on the future of democracy, 517; + reconciliation with Adams, 518, 519; + his later religious views, 519-528; + his faith in ultimate recognition of ideals, 528, 529; + his last years and death, 529-532 + + "Autobiography", references to, 4, 53, 80, 88, 91, 93, 105, 108, + 148, 236; + quoted on proposal for Congress, 44; + on expatriation, 47; + on Jefferson's retirement from Congress, 79; + on simplification of statutes, 92; + on self-government of the people, 106; + on method of composition used in "Notes on Virginia", 119; + on attendance at Congress, 143; + on Committee of Congress, 145; + on Jefferson's duties in Paris, 176; + picture of events preceding French Revolution in, 224; + on refusal of invitation to attend meeting of French committee, + 235; + the writing of, 515 + + "Commonplace Book", 19, 39; + law matters in, 28-30; + provincialism in, 32; + Kames quoted in, 45, 84; + on rights of Dominion of Virginia, 46; + passages from James Wilson in, 73; + Montesquieu and Beccaria copied in, 94; + extracts on history of Common Law in, 101; + on death, 530, 531; + other references to, 47, 49 + + "Literary Bible", 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 41; + provincialism in, 32; + Milton in, 40 + + "Notes on Virginia", references to, 69, 98, 100, 101, 103, 153, + 164, 169, 171, 215, 425, 508; + publication of, 118-120; + contents of, 120-136; + memorandum on new constitution for Virginia in, 141; + on value of education, 505 + + Jones, Prof. Hugh, his description of Williamsburg, 8 + + Jones, Paul, 207 + + Jones, Dr. Walter, letter to, 499 + + _Journal de Paris_, imprisonment of chief editor of, 217 + + Judiciary, assault on, under Jefferson, 383-390, 436 + + Judiciary Act of 1801, repeal of, 384 + + + Kaims (Kames), Henry Home, Lord, his "Historical Law Tracts", 29, 30; + on mutual defence, 45; + his distinction of "property" and "possession", 84, 85; + referred to, 304 + + Kant, Immanuel, criterium of, 525 + + Keith, Mary, wife of Thomas Marshall, 4 + + Kentucky nullification resolutions, 345-347 + + Kercheval, Samuel, letter to, 234, 504 + + King, Rufus, 402-405, 408 + + Knox, Gen. Henry, Secretary of War under Washington, 247 + + Kosciusko, 516 + + + Lafayette, Marquis de, his plan for a "declaration of the rights of + man and the citizen", 76; + sent to arrest Arnold, 108; + friend of Jefferson, 154; + his family and friends, 161; + and the tobacco monopoly, 177-179; + efforts of, in commercial transactions, 181, 182; + and the Barbary pirates, 206; + advice of Jefferson to, 220; + Jefferson sends "Charter of Rights for the King and Nation" to, 230; + letters of, 232; + his "Declaration Europeenne des droits de l'homme et du citoyen", + 232-234; + brings about committee meeting in Jefferson's house, 236; + letters to, 274, 283; + living embodiment of political faith of nineteenth century, 514; + his final leave-taking of Jefferson, 531 + + Lambert, British traveler, 460 + + Lamothe, Lieut., 111 + + Land Office, ordinance concerning establishment of, 149 + + Land tenures, origin of, 49 + + "La Peyrouse's voyage to the South Seas", 207 + + La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, visits Monticello, 313-315, 327 + + Latude, Jean Henri de, 219 + + Law, Thomas, letters to, 478, 524 + + Law, and free institutions, in Saxon society, 31, 32 + + "Law of nature", 23 + + League of Nations, 330 + + Lee, Arthur, delegate to Congress from Virginia, 140 + + Lee, C., appointed judge by Adams, 374 + + Lee, F. L., of Virginia Assembly, 43 + + Lee, Richard H., of Virginia Assembly, 43; + on committee of continental Congress appointed to answer Lord + North's "Conciliatory Proposition", 62; + assists in framing resolution instructing colonies to form + governments, 66; + mentioned, 79 + + Lee, Thomas Ludwell, appointed reviser of laws of Virginia, 90-92 + + Leib, Dr., 311, 343; letter to, 458 + + Lewis (Merriwether) and Clark (William) Expedition, 421, 422 + + Liberty, Jefferson's definition of, 82 + + Lincoln, Abraham, Gettysburg address, 77 + + _Little Sarah_, British prize, 294 + + Livingston, Edward, member of Congress from New York, 368 + + Livingston, Robert R., + on committee to prepare Declaration of Independence, 69; + letters to, 362, 368, 419; + United States Minister to France, 374; + and Louisiana, 402-416 + + Lobbying, 502 + + Locke, John, his "Treatise on Civil Government", 30; + and the Declaration of Independence, 71, 72; + his hypothesis of society, 82, 84, 204 + + Logan, Dr., idealistic pacifist, 341 + + Logan Law, 350 + + Louis XVI, Jefferson's pen-portrait of, 222, 229; + flight of, 282; + execution of, 287 + + Louisiana Purchase, 393, 400-421 + + "Louisianais", acceptance of, to citizenship, 423 + + + McGregory, letter to, 365 + + McHenry, James, + Secretary of War in Cabinets of Washington and Adams, 323, 336; + dismissed by Adams, 368 + + Madison, Bishop, discusses religion with Jefferson, 358 + + Madison, James, disapproves of Jefferson's determination to withdraw + from public life, 117; + delegate to Congress, 140; + Jefferson's correspondence with, 198, 222, 231, 234, 239, 240, 291, + 302, 303, 306, 307, 335, 337, 338, 347, 351, 355, 462, 468, + 476; + urges Jefferson to accept post of Secretary of State, 246; + Jefferson's unofficial representative in Congress, 250, 251; + Bank Bill opposed by, 255; + speeches, 257; + his copy of "The Rights of Man", 258; + accompanies Jefferson on trip, 259; + objections to, as Minister to France, 321, 322; + envoy to France, 324; + silent on French dispute, 339; + recommends Virginia nullification resolutions, 345; + letter of, 411; + election of, to Presidency, 464; + on board of visitors to University of Virginia, 509 + + Madrid, Treaty of, 403 + + Mann, Thomas, letter to, 308 + + Manufactures, Hamilton's Report on, 249, 266; + Hamilton's view of, 327; + Jefferson's view of, 327-329; + change in Jefferson's view of, 491, 492 + + "Marbury versus Madison", 384, 385 + + Marshall, John, ancestry, 3; + appointed envoy extraordinary to France, 333; + returns from France, 341; + Secretary of State in Adams's Cabinet, 368; + administers oath to Jefferson, 375; + head of Federalists, 381; + his decision in "Marbury versus Madison", 384, 385; + asserts power of Supreme Court to declare law unconstitutional, 385, + 386; + findings of, in Burr conspiracy case, 433, 434, 436, 437; + his "History of Washington", 515 + + Marshall, Thomas, family of, 4 + + Martin, Luther, in Chase impeachment case, 389 + + Mason, George, resolutions written by, 45, 46, 48; + "Virginia Bill of Rights" written by, 73; + appointed reviser of laws of Virginia, 90-93; + mentioned, 251 + + Mason, John, letter to, 455 + + Mason, Stephens Thompson, letter to, 344 + + Mason, Thomas, 307 + + Mathews, Col. George, 112 + + Maury, James, letters to, 454, 473, 478 + + Maury, Rev. Dr., schoolmaster, 6, 20, 63 + + Mazzei, Philip, neighbor and friend of Jefferson, 35; letters to, 321, + 333, 391 + + Mellish, John, traveler, 460 + + Mercer, John F., delegate to Congress from Virginia, 140, 273 + + Mexico, 481 + + Middlemen, in tobacco trade, 177-181 + + "Midnight judges", 373, 374, 385 + + Milton, John, his accusations against female usurpations, 22; + quotation from, 40 + + Mint, Hamilton's Report on Establishment of, 249 + + Mississippi, navigation of, 276 + + Missouri question, 502, 503 + + Mitchell, Dr., unpublished letter to, 390 + + Monocrats, 273, 306, 316 + + Monroe, James, disapproves of Jefferson's determination to withdraw + from public life, 117; + delegate to Congress from Virginia, 140; + Jefferson's correspondence with, 217, 251, 260, 290, 301-303, 316, + 317, 354, 357, 363, 373, 399, 463, 485, 486; + on Washington's proclamation of neutrality, 293; + sent as special envoy to France to negotiate for Louisiana, 411, + 413, 415, 416; + his fear of alliance of Great Britain and France against United + States, 423; + negotiates, with Pinkney, treaty with England, 448-450; + considered for Presidency in 1808, 463, 464; + on board of visitors to University of Virginia, 509 + + Monroe Doctrine, 483, 486-488 + + Montaigne, M. E. de, 130 + + Montesquieu, Baron de, 233 + + Monticello, the building of, 34, 39; + life at, 41; + Jefferson in retirement at, 298-320; + a self-supporting economic unit, 327, 467; + visitors to, 515 + + Montmorency, 234 + + Montmorin, Minister, 220, 237, 274, 278 + + Morality, and religion, 24, 25, 523-525; + test of, 525; + code of, 526 + + Morellet, Abbe, translator of "Notes on Virginia", 118; + meets Jefferson, 161, 215 + + Morocco, Emperor, treaty with, 312 + + Morris, Gouverneur, his accusation against Jefferson, 224; + letters to, 254, 263, 286, 293, 294, 295; + Minister to France, 283; + letters from, 284; + conduct as Minister to France, 323; + offers to use political influence for Jefferson, 372 + + Morris, Robert, Financier of U. S., 146, 179 + + Mutual defence, 45, 84 + + _National Gazette_, foundation of, 261-263 + + Natural Bridge, description of, 120, 175 + + Necker, Jacques, 229, 231 + + Negro, Jefferson's view of status of, 131 + + Nelson, Gen., elected governor of Virginia, 113 + + Nelson, Thomas, Jr., letter to, 66 + + Neutrality, Washington's proclamation of, 289, 293; + Jefferson's policy of, 424 + + New Granada, constitution of, 498 + + _New London Bee_, 368 + + New Orleans, Jefferson's efforts to obtain, 276-278 + + Nicholas, George, his charges against Jefferson, 114, 115, 127; + proposes dictator 127; + his share in Kentucky and Virginia nullification resolutions, 345 + + Nicholas, Robert C., 28 + + Nicholas, Wilson C., + his share in Kentucky and Virginia nullification resolutions, 345; + refutes Federalists, 357 + + Nicholson, Joseph N., member of Congress, 372 + + Nock, A. J., historian of Jefferson, 457, 458 + + Non-Intercourse Act, 461 + + North, Lord, his "Conciliatory Proposition", 54; + Jefferson's answer to his "Conciliatory Proposition", 62 + + Nullification resolutions, 345-347 + + + Ogden, John, arrest of, 354 + + Ogilvie, James, 502 + + Oratory, American school of, 388, 389 + + Orders in Council (Nov. 11, 1807), 453, 457 + + Otis, H. G., nominated District Attorney by Adams, 374 + + + Page, John, + Jefferson's correspondence with, 15, 16, 19, 20, 38, 78, 166; + on committee on religion, 89 + + Paine, Thomas, his "Common Sense", influence of, 60; + letter to, 227, 228; + his "The Rights of Man", 258-261; + Jefferson's regard for, resented, 390, 391 + + Paradise, Comtesse Barziza, Lucy, 162 + + Parsons, Theophilus, nominated Attorney-General, 373 + + "Parson's Case", 15 + + Patowmac River, 120 + + Pendleton, Edmund, letters to, 78, 87, 88; + opposes Bill to Abolish Entails, 89; + appointed reviser of laws of Virginia, 90; + appeal of Jefferson to, 353; + congratulates Jefferson, 362 + + Physiocrats, 142, 233, 328, 395, 471, 493-495, 498 + + Pichon, French charge at The Hague, 354; + Minister in Washington, 419 + + Pickering, Judge, impeachment of, 384 + + Pickering, Timothy, in Cabinets of Washington and Adams, 323, 336; + dismissed by Adams, 368 + + Picket, F. J., of Geneva, 507 + + Pinckney, Charles, Minister to Spain, 402; + letter to, 458 + + Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, + his treatment by the French Directory, 324, 325, 331; + appointed envoy extraordinary to France, 333; + nominated for Vice-Presidency (1800), 362; + candidate for President (1808), 464 + + Pinckney, Thomas, Minister to Great Britain, 290; + letter to, 331 + + Pinkney, William, and Monroe, negotiate treaty with England, 448-450 + + Politics, foreign and domestic, 248 + + Presidential election, _see_ Election + + Priestley, Joseph, letters to, 358, 420, 517; + befriended by Jefferson, 366; + his "Hints Concerning Public Education", 506; + his treatise, "Of Socrates and Jesus compared", 526 + + Privateering, 151, 152 + + Privateers, outfitted and commissioned by Genet, 291, 292 + + "Proclamation announcing ratification of definitive treaties, Draft + for", 144 + + Property, the right to, 83-85, 233; + and possession, distinction between, 85 + + _Prospect_, 361 + + Protestants, edict on, 224 + + Public opinion, 203, 204, 301, 429 + + "Pursuit of happiness", as a right, 75, 76 + + + Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, Va., 9, 17, 23, 44 + + Randolph, Edmund, letters to, 115, 117, 254, 300; + Attorney-General under Washington, 247, 255, 256, 292; + opinion of, attacked by Jefferson, 309 + + Randolph, Jane, mother of Thomas Jefferson, 3, 4; + death, 65, 78 + + Randolph, John, 28; + removes to England, 63, 64, 107 + + Randolph, John, of Roanoke, refutes Federalists, 356; + in Chase impeachment case, 389; + "Resolution" of, on judiciary, 390; + leader of discontented Republicans, 428; + his "Remonstrance of the people of Louisiana", 429; + his attacks on Madison, 439 + + Randolph, Peyton, 28, 47, 63; + president of first Continental Congress, 54; + recalled from Congress, 54 + + Randolph, Mrs. Sarah, her "Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson", 529 + + Randolph, Thomas Mann, Jr., marries Martha Jefferson, 246; + letters to, 251, 262, 263, 293; + at Monticello, 301 + + Randolph, William, 3 + + Raynal, Abbe, + his application of theory of Buffon to American settlers, 122; + answer of Jefferson to, 122, 123 + + Religion, and morality, 24, 25, 523, 527 + + Religious freedom, in Virginia, 89, 90, 100-103 + + Republicans, in election of 1792, 273 + + Richmond, Va., establishment of Free Public Library at, 99 + + Riedesel, Maj.-Gen. Baron de, 110 + + Rights, natural and civil, 80-85, 204, 233, 346 + + Rochefoucauld, Comtesse de la, 162 + + Rochefoucauld, Duc de La, 274 + + Rodney, Caesar A., letter to, 469 + + Rotation in office, 502 + + Rousseau, Jean Jacques, his hypothesis of society, 82, 84; + on morality, 525 + + Rush, Benjamin, 458; + deplores estrangement of Jefferson and Adams, 518; + Jefferson writes "Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the + Doctrines of Jesus, compared with those of others" for, + 526, 527 + + Rush, Richard, letter to, 489 + + Rutledge, letters to, 225, 309, 317, 330, 334, 335 + + + Saint Etienne, Rabaud de, + Jefferson sends "Charter of Rights for the King and Nation" to, 230 + + San Ildefonso, Treaty of, 402 + + Santo Domingo, and Government of the United States, 283, 285 + + Sedgwick, Theodore, speaker of the House, 373 + + Sedition Law, 342-347, 383 + + Seward, W. W., letter to, 212 + + Shadwell, Jefferson estate, 3, 7, 8, 28, 32, 34, 35; + burning of, 38, 39 + + Shaw, Samuel, consul at Canton, 289 + + Sherman, Roger, on committee to prepare Declaration of Independence, + 69 + + "Shirt-sleeve" diplomacy, 178 + + Short, William, private secretary of Jefferson, 153, 159; + studies French, 161; + correspondence with Jefferson, 275-277, 280, 282, 285, 288, 398, + 462, 517, 521; + transferred to the Hague, 283; + rebuked by Jefferson, 286 + + Skelton, Bathurst, 39 + + Skelton, Martha, married to Jefferson, 39, 40; + death, 137, 138; + grave and inscription, 138 + + Slavery, + Jefferson's attitude toward, 119, 131, 142, 148, 152, 492, 503; + in the Confederation, 148, 149 + + Small, Dr. William, professor in William and Mary College, his + intimacy with Jefferson, 11-13, 63 + + Smith, Rev. Cotton Mather, his accusation against Jefferson, 363 + + Smith, James, letter to, 520 + + Smith, Robert, Attorney-General, 437 + + Smith, Samuel H., letters to, 343, 477 + + Smith, Col. W. S., 287, 288 + + Social compact, Jefferson's view of, 45, 46, 80-82, 85, 204, 365, 498 + + Society, man and, conflict between, 107; + contractual and physiocratic doctrines of, 141, 142 + + South America, _see_ Spanish colonies + + Spanish colonies in America, 209-211; revolt of, 481-485 + + Sprigg resolution, against war with France, 337, 338 + + Stael, Madame de, Jefferson's correspondence with, 476 + + State rights, Jefferson's theory of, 257, 365 + + State sovereignty, Jefferson's conception of, 82, 83 + + State universities, 512 + + States, provision for new, 148, 149 + + Stewart, Dugald, 5, 11 + + Stoddart, Benjamin, Secretary of the Navy in Adams's Cabinet, 374 + + Stuart, Archibald, 264 + + Suffrage, universal, 129, 130; + limitation of, 499 + + Sullivan, Francis Stoughton, his "An Historical Treatise of the Feudal + Laws and the Constitution of the Laws of England", 30 + + Supreme Court, Jefferson's attitude toward, 346; + Marshall's doctrine of the powers of, 385, 386 + + Swartwout, and the Burr conspiracy, 432, 433 + + + Tariff, and the French debt, 181; + belief and practice in, 212, 213; + advocated by Jefferson's party, 394 + + Tarleton, Col. Sir Bannastre, attempts to capture Legislature and + Governor of Virginia, 113 + + Taxation, forms of, 493, 494 + + Taylor, John, letter to, 347; + efforts to secure appointment of dictator, 356 + + Taylor, Keith, appointed judge by Adams, 374 + + Tazewell, H., letter to, 308 + + Ternant, French Minister to United States, 287, 290, 291 + + Tesse, Madame de, 161, 170, 221; + correspondence with, 514 + + Thomson, Charles, letter to, 530 + + Ticknor, George, 510 + + Tobacco monopoly, 177-181 + + Tott, Madame de, 162 + + "Transfers", problem of, 181 + + Treaties, _see_ Commercial treaties + + Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), 211, 212 + + Treaty of Commerce, with Great Britain, 143, 144 + + Trial by jury, 237 + + Tripoli, war with, 443 + + Trist, Mrs., 163, 216, 530 + + + Unger, Louis de, German officer, 110 + + Unitarianism, 520 + + United States, suggestions for seal of, 86; + proclaimed as one nation, 144, 150; + establishment of monetary system of, 146, 147; + provision for new States, 148; + foreign debts, 176, 177, 181, 182, 184-193; + western lands, sale of, 188; + Constitution, 195-202; + desire of isolation, 211; + often accused of hypocrisy in foreign dealings, 213; + has tried to combine political aloofness and industrial and + commercial development, 330; + relation to foreign nations, 396; + neutrality of, in war between England and France, 424, 440; + imports and exports of, at beginning of nineteenth century, 440; + population of, at beginning of nineteenth century, 441. + _See also_ American Revolution; Articles of Confederation; + Declaration of Independence; Louisiana Purchase + + University of Geneva, 505 + + University of Virginia, 509-512 + + + Vans Murray, American Minister at The Hague, 349, 354 + + Vans Murray-Pichon papers, 354, 355 + + Venable, 356 + + Vergennes, Charles G., Count de, 178, 185, 206 + + Virginia, family life in, before the Revolution, 4; + books in, 5; + religion in, 6; + plantation life in, 35, 41; + House of Burgesses, 38, 54; + temper of colonists of, 42; + Constitution (1776), drafted by Jefferson, 67-69; + revision of laws of, 88-107; + ideas on new constitution for, 140-143; + Jefferson proposes changes in constitution, 264. + _See also_ American Revolution; Shadwell; Williamsburg + + Virginia Bill of Rights, 73, 74, 76, 83, 100 + + Virginia Convention, first, 47, 53; + second, 54 + + Virginia nullification resolutions, 345-347 + + Virginia Company of Comedians, 34 + + Volney, Constantin F. C. B., Count de, 319, 339, 340, 366, 400, 401 + + + Walker, Col., guardian of Jefferson, 10, 11 + + War of 1812, 473-478 + + Washington, D. C., in 1800, 362 + + Washington, George, presides over Assembly of Fairfax County, 45; + and Jefferson, differ as regards treatment of British prisoners, + 112; + Jefferson's view of, 122, 139; + his wines, 160; + his Cabinet, 245-247; + urged by Jefferson to run a second time for Presidency, 267; + distressed at dissensions in Cabinet, 269; + supports Hamilton's actions, 271; + reelection of, 272; + letter to, 304; + harsh words of Jefferson against, 311 + + Watchful waiting, policy of, advocated by Jefferson, 214, 423, 452 + + Watson, David, on board of visitors to University of Virginia, 509 + + Wayles, John, father-in-law of Jefferson, 39 + + West Indies, commerce with, 151, 280-282, 295, 329; + Jefferson opposed to change of ownership of, 303 + + Western lands, sale of, 254 + + Whisky Insurrection, 305, 306 + + White House, burned by English, 476 + + Wilkinson, James, and the Burr conspiracy, 429-435, 438 + + William and Mary College, 8-11; + reorganization of, 98, 99; + transformation of, 358 + + Williamsburg, Va., society in, 8, 9, 34 + + Williamson, Hugh, discussions with Jefferson, 371 + + Wilson, James, and the Declaration of Independence, 73, 76 + + Wilson, Woodrow, political aloofness and industrial development + conspicuous in his position, 330; + his phrase, "too proud to fight", 398; + neutrality of, 424; + his hope of preserving peace, 444; + his situation in 1914-1917 compared to that of Jefferson in 1808, + 455, 456 + + Wistar, Caspar, discussions with Jefferson, 371 + + Wolcott, Oliver, + Secretary of the Treasury under Washington and Adams, 323, 336 + + Woodward, Augustus S., letter to, 521 + + Wythe, George, professor in William and Mary College, and Jefferson, + 12, 13, 27, 28, 34, 63; + appointed reviser of laws of Virginia, 90-93; + congratulates Jefferson, 362; + mentioned, 310, 325 + + + XYZ Case, 337. + See _also_ France + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[1] To Mrs. Bingham, Paris, February 7, 1787, Memorial Edition, VI, 81. + +[2] To Jefferson Randolph, November 24, 1808, Memorial Edition, XII, +197. + +[3] To John Adams, June 11, 1812. Memorial Edition, XIII, 160. + +[4] "Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson", by S. N. Randolph. New York, +1857, p. 27. + +[5] "Notes on Virginia." Query XV. + +[6] "Autobiography." Memorial Edition, I., 3. + +[7] November 24, 1808. Memorial Edition, XII, 197. + +[8] William Wirt Henry: "Life of Patrick Henry." New York, 1891, vol. I, +p. 41. + +[9] January 20, 1763. Memorial Edition, IV, 6. + +[10] July 15, 1763. _Ibid._, IV, 8. + +[11] "The Commonplace Book of Thomas Jefferson." Paris, Baltimore, 1927. +"The Literary Bible of Thomas Jefferson." Paris, Baltimore, 1928. + +[12] To John Page, Shadwell, July 15, 1763. Memorial Edition, IV, 10. + +[13] Mary Newton Stanard: "Colonial Virginia." Philadelphia, 1917, p. +306. + +[14] To Peter Carr. Memorial Edition, VI, 258. + +[15] "Samson Agonistes", v, 1025. + +[16] See also "Commonplace Book", p. 330, and "Writings." Memorial +Edition, XV, 239, March 14, 1820. + +[17] "Hecuba", 592, in "Literary Bible of Thomas Jefferson." + +[18] "Hecuba", 306. + +[19] Bolingbroke, in "Literary Bible." + +[20] Stanard, p. 240. + +[21] These memoranda are in the Jefferson Coolidge Collection of the +Massachusetts Historical Society. + +[22] To Wirt, August 5, 1815. Memorial Edition, XIV, 335. + +[23] "Autobiography." _Ibid._, I, 6. + +[24] Randall, "Life of Jefferson", I, 16, _n._ + +[25] "Paradise Lost", 1. 4, v., 337. + +[26] To John Page, February 21, 1770. Memorial Edition, IV, 17. + +[27] June 9, 1770, and June 6, 1773. The diplomas are preserved in the +Jefferson papers of the Library of Congress. + +[28] Quoted by Stanard, p. 163. + +[29] Quoted by T. N. Page, p. 147. + +[30] "Autobiography", p. 10. + +[31] "Autobiography." Memorial Edition, I, 11. + +[32] This passage has been overlooked by Randall, and naturally by Mr. +Hirst, who follows Randall very closely here as elsewhere. Hirst, p. 69. +The Fairfax resolutions did not recognize the right of the British +Parliament to regulate the commerce of the colony; they admitted the +_expediency_ but denied the _right_ of such a procedure. + +[33] George Mason, I, 393. + +[34] See "Commonplace Book", 229-257. + +[35] "Commonplace Book", p. 135. + +[36] Stanard, p. 250. + +[37] To John Randolph, Attorney-general, August 25, 1775. Memorial +Edition, IV, 28. + +[38] Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress. + +[39] August 31, 1775. + +[40] November 29, 1775. Memorial Edition, IV, 31. + +[41] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. + +[42] The full text will be found in the Ford Edition, II, 7. + +[43] See "Life of G. Mason", I, Appendix. + +[44] "Journals of Congress", V, 425. + +[45] _Ibid._, V, 431. + +[46] "Autobiography." Memorial Edition, I, 25. + +[47] "Life and Correspondence of G. Mason", I, 438. + +[48] To Thomas Nelson, May 16, 1776. Memorial Edition, IV, 253. + +[49] "Writings", Ford, II, 41. + +[50] Ford, II, 61. + +[51] "Journals of Congress", July 12, V, 546 and August 20, V, 674. + +[52] "Journals of Congress", October 14, 1774, I, 67. + +[53] See "Commonplace Book", 107, 111 _et ff._ + +[54] "Journals of Congress", V., 517. + +[55] August 13, 1776. Ford, II, 78. + +[56] Ford, II, 91, October 11, 1776. + +[57] Randall, I, 196. + +[58] Ford, II, 79. + +[59] Concerning the opposition he encountered, see "Autobiography." +Ford, I, 54. + +[60] "Autobiography", _Ibid._, I, 58. + +[61] "Life and Correspondence of George Mason", I, 276. + +[62] "Life and Correspondence of George Mason", I, 277. + +[63] Note for the biography of John Saunderson, Esq., August 31, 1820. +"Autobiography", Appendix A. Ford, I, 107. + +[64] Monticello, November 1, 1778. Memorial Edition, I, 216. + +[65] "Notes on Virginia", Query XVII. + +[66] "Commonplace Book", p. 362. + +[67] This seems to be the first draft of the document; another copy in +the Jefferson Coolidge Collection presents few variants, the most +important being found in the second sentence which reads, "Yet desirous +of encouraging and supporting the Calvinistical Reformed Church, and of +deriving" etc. The list of names appended to that second version is +considerably longer and besides the original signers includes fourteen +other supporters of the Reverend Charles Clay. + +[68] "Autobiography." Memorial Edition, I, 73. + +[69] See my edition of the Jefferson-Lafayette Correspondence, Paris and +Baltimore, 1929. + +[70] Jefferson to General Philips. Quoted by Randall, I, 235. + +[71] See his letter dated from Paris, November 20, 1789. + +[72] To Baron de Riedesel, July 4, 1779. Ford, II, 245. + +[73] July 17, 1779. _Ibid._, II, 247. + +[74] July 22, 1779. _Ibid._, II, 249. + +[75] October 1, 1779. Ford, II, 258. + +[76] October 8, 1779. _Ibid._, II, 261. + +[77] _Ibid._, II, 263. + +[78] To The Virginia Delegation in Congress, October 27, 1780. To +Colonel Vanmeter, April 27, 1781. _Ibid._, III, 24. + +[79] "A Diary kept by Th: J. from Dec. 31. 1780 to Jan. 11. 1781 and +more general Notes of subsequent transactions during the British +invasion." Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. + +[80] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. + +[81] Lafayette transmitted the letter on June 26, 1781, but Jefferson +did not receive it until the beginning of August. _Ibid._ + +[82] To E. Randolph, September 16, 1781. Jefferson Papers. Library of +Congress. + +[83] June 11, 1782. Randall, I, 376. + +[84] The story of the publication has been told by P. L. Ford in a most +scholarly edition of the "Notes on Virginia" in the "Writings" of +Jefferson. + +[85] June 7, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 3. + +[86] To Arch. Stuart, September 8, 1818. Ford, III, 231, _n._ + +[87] Iliad XXII, 389. + +[88] "Domestic Life", p. 67. + +[89] To Chastellux, November 26, 1782, in Randall, I, 1782. + +[90] "Autobiography", Memorial Edition, I, 76. + +[91] January 22, 1783. _Ibid._, IV, 215. + +[92] To Madison, May 7, 1783. Ford, III, 329. + +[93] This point appears even more clearly in Jefferson correspondence +with Du Pont de Nemours, to appear shortly. + +[94] "Report on letters from the Ministers in Paris." December 20, 1783. +Ford, III, 355. + +[95] Ford, III, 377. + +[96] February 1, 1784. Ford, III, 393. + +[97] Ford, III, p. 430. + +[98] See Ford, III, 407 and 429. + +[99] _Ibid._, III, 476. + +[100] March, 1784. _Ibid_, III, p. 428. + +[101] To George Washington, April 16, 1784. Ford, III, 466 and 470. + +[102] To James Madison, February 20, 1784. _Ibid._, III, 403. + +[103] To Mrs. Trist, Paris, August 18, 1785. "Domestic Life", 79. + +[104] See G. Chinard, "Les Amities americaines de Madame d'Houdetot." +Paris, 1923. + +[105] May 24, 1785, November 12, 1785, etc. Massachusetts Historical +Society. + +[106] Chinard, "Trois Amities Francaises de Jefferson." Paris, 1927. + +[107] Most of her letters to Jefferson are in the Jefferson Coolidge +Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. + +[108] April 6, 1785. "Domestic Life", p. 80. + +[109] Diary of Martha. _Ibid._, p. 74. + +[110] _Ibid._, p. 84. + +[111] April 11, 1787. Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. + +[112] May 4, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 303. + +[113] _Ibid._, XVII, 153. + +[114] Nismes, March 20, 1787. + +[115] To J. Bannister, Junior, October 15, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, +185. + +[116] To Bellini, September 30, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 153. + +[117] To Crevecoeur, January 15, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 53. + +[118] To Carmichael, December 26, 1786. + +[119] To Skipwith, July 28, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 187. + +[120] August 10, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 262. + +[121] Jefferson to the Governor of Maryland. June 16, 1785. Memorial +Edition, V, 8. + +[122] To Messrs. French and Nephew. July 13, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, +34. + +[123] August 15, 1785. _Ibid._, V, 68. + +[124] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, Feb. 20, 1786. + +[125] Lafayette's letter. March 18, 1786. _Ibid._ + +[126] To the Governor of Virginia, January 24, 1786. Memorial Edition, +V, 253. + +[127] To James Ross, May 8, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 321. + +[128] To James Ross, May 8, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 329. + +[129] For a brief but satisfactory treatment see W. K. Woolery. "The +Relation of Thomas Jefferson to American Foreign Policy, 1783-1793." +Baltimore, 1927. + +[130] Letter to Lafayette, July 17, 1786. Library of Congress. + +[131] July 9, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 357. + +[132] To Washington, August 14, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 277. + +[133] _Ibid._, VII, 478. + +[134] July 30, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 45. + +[135] To Jay, August 14,1785. Memorial Edition, V, 65. + +[136] To John Jay, April 23, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 300. + +[137] To T. Pleasants, May 8, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 324. + +[138] To Jay, September 26, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 426. + +[139] To Jay, September 26, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 426; to Adams, +July 17, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 173; to James Madison, August 2, 1787. +_Ibid._, VI, 215. + +[140] To J. Adams, July 17, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 173. + +[141] To John Jay, August 6, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 248. + +[142] December 21, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 394. + +[143] To Dumas, February 12, 1788. _Ibid._, VI, 429. + +[144] To Adams, February 6, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 419. To The Commissioners +of the Treasury, Feb. 7, 1788. _Ibid._, VI, 421. + +[145] March 16, 1788. Memorial Edition, VI, 438. + +[146] To the Commissioners of the Treasury, March 29, 1788. _Ibid._, VI, +433. + +[147] _Ibid._, VI, 447 and 445. + +[148] To the Honorable, The Board of the Treasury, May 16, 1788. +Memorial Edition, VII, 9. + +[149] To John Jay, May 23, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 22; To the Commissioners +of the Treasury, September 6, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 136. + +[150] To James Madison, November 18, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 186. + +[151] To John Jay, March 12, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 296. + +[152] To John Jay, May 9, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 345. + +[153] To John Jay, September 19, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 471. + +[154] To John Langdon, September 11, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 129. + +[155] To John Adams, February 23, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 97. + +[156] To James Madison, June 20, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 132. + +[157] August 4, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 227. + +[158] September 10, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 295. + +[159] To John Adams, November 13, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 370. See +also letter to Colonel Smith, written the same day. _Ibid._, VI, 372. + +[160] December 11, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 380. + +[161] December 20, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 393. + +[162] To Donald, February 7, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 425. + +[163] To Carmichael and to Colonel Carrington, May 27, 1787. _Ibid._, +VII, 27, 29. + +[164] To Carmichael, August 12, 1787. _Ibid._, VII, 124; to James +Madison, November 18, 1788, _Ibid._, VII, 183; to General Washington, +December 4, 1788, _Ibid._, VII, 223. + +[165] To Colonel Humphreys, March 18, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 324. + +[166] Jefferson to Monroe, May 10, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 327. + +[167] To Major General Greene, January 12, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 246. + +[168] "Autobiography", _Ibid._, I, 97 and July 11, 1786, _Ibid._, V, +364. + +[169] See my edition of the Jefferson Lafayette correspondence, chapter +II. Paris, Baltimore, 1929. + +[170] "Memoirs", II, 148. + +[171] To John Jay, August 14, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 63. + +[172] To Baron Geismer, September 6, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 128. + +[173] To John Langdon, September 11, 1785. _Ibid._, V, 131. + +[174] To Count Hogendorp, October 13, 1785. _Ibid._, V, 182. + +[175] To John Page, May 4, 1786. Memorial Edition, V, 306. + +[176] To Dumas, May 6, 1786. _Ibid._, V, 309. + +[177] To John Jay, May 4, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 119. + +[178] To Carmichael, May 27, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 27. + +[179] To Count Hagendorf, October 13, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 181. + +[180] November 12, 1785. Memorial Edition, V, 202. + +[181] December 21, 1787, Memorial Edition, VI, 396; see also letter to +John Jay, May 4, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 122. + +[182] See "Les Amities Francaises de Madame d'Houdetot." Paris, 1925. + +[183] To Mrs. Trist. Paris, August 18, 1785. "Domestic Life", p. 79. + +[184] To James Monroe, April 15, 1785. Ford, IV, 59. + +[185] To Abigail Adams, June 21, 1785. _Ibid._, IV, 59. + +[186] To Mrs. Adams, July 7, 1785. Ford, IV, 68. + +[187] To George Wythe, August 13, 1786. _Ibid._, IV, 268-269. + +[188] To Mrs. Maria Cosway, October 12, 1786. Ford, IV, 323. + +[189] November, 1786. _Ibid._, IV, 328. + +[190] To Edward Carrington. January 16, 1787. _Ibid._, IV, 357. + +[191] To J. Jay, January 9, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 45. + +[192] January 16, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 56. + +[193] February 23, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 99. + +[194] February 28, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 101. + +[195] March 20, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 105. + +[196] To James Madison, June 20, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 134. + +[197] August 5, 1787, Memorial Edition. VI, 235. + +[198] _Ibid._, VI, 247. + +[199] To Washington, August 14, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 276. + +[200] August 14, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 279. + +[201] To John Adams, August 30, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 287. + +[202] October 8, 1787. _Ibid._, VI, 338. + +[203] To William Rutledge, February 2, 1788. _Ibid._, VI. 417. + +[204] To De Moustier, May 17, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 13. + +[205] July 18, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 81. + +[206] July 24, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 87. + +[207] To Colonel Monroe, August 9, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 113. + +[208] August 12, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 124. + +[209] To Cutting, August 23, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 131. + +[210] To Short, November 2, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 159. + +[211] To Washington, December 4, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 228. + +[212] To Doctor Currie, December 20, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 259. + +[213] To Shippen, March 11, 1789. _Ibid._, VII, 291. + +[214] March 17, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 317. + +[215] _Ibid._, VII, 321. + +[216] To Lafayette, May 6, 1788. Memorial Edition, VII, 334. To +Carmichael, May 8, 1788. _Ibid._, VII, 337. + +[217] To John Jay, May 9, 1789. _Ibid._, VII, 345. + +[218] To Crevecoeur, May 20, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 368. + +[219] To Madison, June 18,1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 386. + +[220] To John Jay, June 24-25, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 395. + +[221] _Ibid._, VII, 268. + +[222] "Letters of Lafayette and Jefferson." Paris, Baltimore, 1929. + +[223] Memorial Edition, VIII, 454. + +[224] To J. Jay, July 19, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 409 and to James +Madison July 22. _Ibid._, VII, 424. + +[225] Manuscript. Library of Congress, July 20, 1789. + +[226] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, probably August, 1789. + +[227] September 20, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 474. + +[228] "Autobiography", I, 156. + +[229] To M. l'Abbe Arnoud, Paris, July 19, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, +422. + +[230] To Madison, August 28, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 448. + +[231] To John Jay, September 19, 1789. _Ibid._, VII, 467. + +[232] To James Madison, January 30, 1787. Memorial Edition, VI, 70. + +[233] To James Madison, August 28, 1789. Memorial Edition, VII, 448. + +[234] "Trois amities francaises de Jefferson", p. 188. + +[235] Madison to Washington. January 4, 1790. + +[236] Washington to Jefferson. January 21. + +[237] "Autobiography", p. 161. + +[238] "Trois amities francaises de Jefferson", p. 195. February 28, +1790. + +[239] "Autobiography." Memorial Edition, I, 103. + +[240] Memorial Edition, I, 274. + +[241] March 28, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 9. + +[242] June 13, 1790. _Ibid._, VIII, 36. + +[243] June 20, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 43. + +[244] June 23, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 47. + +[245] To Gilmer, June 27, 1790. _Ibid._, VIII, 53. + +[246] _Ibid._, VIII, 63. + +[247] November 26, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 107. + +[248] December 3, 1790. _Ibid._, VIII, 109. + +[249] February 4, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 123. + +[250] "Writings", VI, 19-43. + +[251] To the President of the United States. Memorial Edition, VIII, +192. May 8, 1791. + +[252] Memorial Edition, VIII, 208. + +[253] _Ibid._, VIII, 223. + +[254] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, January 2, 1793. + +[255] August 24, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 229. + +[256] August 30, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 241. + +[257] To John Adams, August 30, 1791. _Ibid._, VIII, 245. + +[258] December 23, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 275. + +[259] March 1, 1792. Memorial Edition, I, 292, "Anas." + +[260] May 23, 1792. Memorial Edition, VIII, 341. + +[261] September 9, 1792. Memorial Edition, VIII, 408. + +[262] To Thomas Pinckney, December 3, 1792. Memorial Edition, VIII, 443. + +[263] To Doctor George Gilmer, December 15, 1792. _Ibid._, VIII, 444. + +[264] _Ibid._, VIII, 445. + +[265] April 6, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 19. + +[266] April 2. Memorial Edition, VIII, 11. + +[267] July 26, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 65. + +[268] To Carmichael, August 2, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 70. + +[269] To Short, August 10, 1790. Memorial Edition, VIII, 79. + +[270] To Gouverneur Morris, August 12, 1790. _Ibid._, VIII, 85. + +[271] To Colonel Mason, February 4, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 123. + +[272] To the President of the National Assembly, March 8, 1791. Memorial +Edition, VIII, 37. + +[273] To W. Short, April 25, 1791. _Ibid._, VIII, 185. + +[274] See also my edition of the "Letters of Lafayette and Jefferson", +chapter III. Paris, Baltimore, 1929. + +[275] To W. Short, July 28, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 217. + +[276] July 30, 1791. _Ibid._, VIII, 225. + +[277] To Edward Rutledge, August 25, 1791. _Ibid._, VIII, 234. + +[278] To Short, November 24, 1791. Memorial Edition, VIII, 261. + +[279] To Short, January 28, 1792. _Ibid._, VIII, 297. + +[280] March 10, 1792. _Ibid._, VIII, 311. + +[281] To Lafayette, June 16, 1792. Memorial Edition, VIII, 381. + +[282] November 7, 1792. _Ibid._, VIII, 437. + +[283] November 20, 1792. Memorial Edition, VIII, 441. + +[284] January 3, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 9. + +[285] To G. Morris, March 12, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 37. + +[286] To ----, March 18, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 45. + +[287] "Anas", February 20, 1793. + +[288] To Messrs. Carmichael and Short, March 23, 1793. Memorial Edition, +IX, 55. + +[289] March 21, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 49. + +[290] To C. W. Dumas, March 23, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 57. + +[291] To E. P. Van Berckel, April 23, 1793. To Morris, Pinckney and +Short, April 26, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 68-69. + +[292] April 27, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 70. + +[293] May 5, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 75. + +[294] May 7, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 79. + +[295] To Ternant, May 3, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 74. + +[296] May 15, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 89. + +[297] May 19, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 98. + +[298] June 6, 1789. _Ibid._, IX, 115. + +[299] June 13, 1789. Memorial Edition, IX, 123. + +[300] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, June 24, 1793. + +[301] _Ibid._ Library of Congress, June 27, 1793 and Writings of J. +Monroe, I, 261. + +[302] To J. Madison, July 7, 1793. Ford, VII, 436. + +[303] To James Madison, August 25, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 211. + +[304] To Madison, September 1, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 211. + +[305] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, 15832. + +[306] December 31, 1793. Memorial Edition, IX, 277. + +[307] December 13, 1793. _Ibid._, IX, 279. + +[308] Angelica Church to Jefferson, August 19, 1793. Chinard, "Trois +Amities Francaises", p. 155. + +[309] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, February, 1794. + +[310] "Amities francaises", p. 161. + +[311] February 3, 1794. Memorial Edition, IX, 279. + +[312] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, February 15, 1794. + +[313] December 16, 1793. Memorial Edition, III, 261-283. + +[314] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, March 3, and March 11, +1794. + +[315] April 3, 1794. Memorial Edition, IX, 281 and Manuscript Library of +Congress, March 16. + +[316] April 24, 1794. Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress. + +[317] May 1, 1794. Memorial Edition, IX, 285. + +[318] May 14, 1794. Memorial Edition, IX, 287. + +[319] September 7, 1794. _Ibid._, IX, 291. + +[320] December 28, 1794. Memorial Edition, IX, 293. + +[321] April 27, 1795. _Ibid._, IX, 301. + +[322] April 27. _Ibid._, IX, 305. + +[323] See S. F. Bemis. "Jay's Treaty." New York, 1923. + +[324] August 30, 1795. Memorial Edition, IX, 307. + +[325] September 21, 1795. _Ibid._, IX, 309. + +[326] November 30, 1795. Memorial Edition, IX, 313. + +[327] March 21, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 329. + +[328] January 16, 1796. _Ibid._, IX, 319. + +[329] To James Madison, March 6, 1796. _Ibid._, IX, 323. + +[330] March 19, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 326. + +[331] To James Madison, March 27, 1796. _Ibid._, IX, 330. + +[332] April 9, 1790. Memorial Edition, IX, 334. + +[333] April 24, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 335. + +[334] June 19, 1796. _Ibid._, IX, 339. + +[335] To Jonathan Williams, July 3, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 347. + +[336] December 17, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 351. + +[337] To Rutledge, December 27, 1796. Memorial Edition, IX, 353. + +[338] To Madison, January 1, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 357. + +[339] James Madison to Jefferson, January 15, 1797. "Works", VI, 303. + +[340] January 22, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 370. + +[341] April 9, 1797. _Ibid._, IX, 380. + +[342] June 24, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 408. + +[343] May 29, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 389. + +[344] June 15, 1797. To James Madison, Memorial Edition, IX, 397. + +[345] June 17, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 400. + +[346] June 21, 1797. _Ibid._, IX, 405. + +[347] To Colonel A. Campbell, September 1, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, +419. + +[348] June 24, 1797. Memorial Edition, IX, 409. + +[349] January 3, 1798. _Ibid._, IX, 431. + +[350] February 22, 1798. Memorial Edition, IX, 444. + +[351] March 15, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 6. + +[352] March 21, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 9. + +[353] To Madison, March 29, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 17. + +[354] March 27, 1798. + +[355] To Madison, April 12, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 27. + +[356] April 12, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 28. + +[357] April 12, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 29. + +[358] To Madison, April 26, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 31. + +[359] See Chinard, "Volney et l'Amerique." Paris, Baltimore, 1923. + +[360] To Madison, April 26, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 33. + +[361] To Madison, May 31, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 43. + +[362] To John Taylor, June 1, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 45. + +[363] To Madison, June 21, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 49-53. + +[364] August 22, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 61. + +[365] October 11, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 62. + +[366] To Madison, November 17, 1798. Memorial Edition, X, 62. + +[367] December 11, 1821. _Ibid._, XV, 351. + +[368] See pp. 80-82. + +[369] November 17. Memorial Edition, X, 63. + +[370] November 26, 1798. _Ibid._, X, 63. + +[371] To James Madison, January 3, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 67. + +[372] Madison to Jefferson, June 26, 1799. Jefferson Papers. Library of +Congress. + +[373] January 16, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 69. + +[374] To Elbridge Gerry, January 26, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 77-78. + +[375] January 29, 1799, Memorial Edition, X, 87 and Jefferson Papers, +Library of Congress, February 14, 1799. + +[376] To Madison, February 5, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 95. + +[377] John Ogden to Jefferson, February 7, 1799. Jefferson Papers. +Library of Congress. + +[378] February 11, 1799. _Ibid._ + +[379] To Madison, February 19, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 111. + +[380] To Bishop James Madison, February 27, 1799. _Ibid._, X, 122. + +[381] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, February 26, 1799. + +[382] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. To Bishop Madison, March +12, 1799. + +[383] _Ibid._ Callender to Jefferson, August 10, 1799. From Richmond. + +[384] _Ibid._ Marked received December 11, undated. + +[385] August 18, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 125. + +[386] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. To Callender, undated, +unsigned. + +[387] To Madison, November 22, 1799. Memorial Edition, X, 133. + +[388] January 12, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 136. + +[389] Priestley's answer, never hitherto published, will be found in my +volume on "Jefferson and the Physiocrats." + +[390] March 14, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 110. + +[391] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, February 11, 1800. + +[392] To Henry Innis, January 23. Memorial Edition, X, 143. + +[393] To T. M. Randolph, February 2, 1800. _Ibid._, X, 151. + +[394] February 26, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 153. + +[395] To Madison, March 8, 1800. _Ibid._, X, 157-159. + +[396] To P. N. Nicholas, April 7, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 163. + +[397] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. Callender to Jefferson, +February 10 and March 15, 1800. + +[398] March 18, 1800. Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. + +[399] _Ibid._ + +[400] April 30, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 163. + +[401] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, May 26, 1800. + +[402] _Ibid._, August 14, 1800. + +[403] March 14, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 160. + +[404] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, Benjamin Rush to Jefferson, +August 22, 1800. + +[405] September 23, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 173. + +[406] December 14, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 176. + +[407] December 18, 1800. Memorial Edition, X, 183. + +[408] Memorial Edition, X, 188. + +[409] January 10, 1800. _Ibid._, X, 188. + +[410] February 3. Memorial Edition, X, 197. + +[411] February 15, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 201. + +[412] February 18, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 203. + +[413] _Ibid._, X, 206. + +[414] To Thomas Lomax, February 25, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 211. + +[415] To Thomas Lomax, February 25, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 210. + +[416] March 7, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 218. + +[417] To Doctor Benjamin Rush, March 24, 1801. _Ibid._, X, 241. + +[418] To Elias Shipman and others, July 12, 1801. + +[419] June 13, 1804. Memorial Edition, XI, 28. + +[420] A. J. Beveridge: "Life of Marshall", II, 51-53 and Appendix. + +[421] "Life of Marshall", II, 51-222; McMaster, "History of the People +of the United States", Vol. III. + +[422] To Elbridge Gerry, March 20, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 251. + +[423] To the Attorney-general, January 1, 1802. _Ibid._, X, 305. + +[424] July 18, 1804. _Ibid._, XI, 38. + +[425] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, June 13, 1800. + +[426] To W. Short, October 3, 1801. Memorial Edition, X, 288. + +[427] November 24, 1801. _Ibid._, X, 294. + +[428] "Volney et L'Amerique." Paris and Baltimore, 1923. + +[429] King to the Secretary of State, January 1, 1802. + +[430] Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress, April 21, 1802. + +[431] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, April 25, 1802. + +[432] May 12, 1802. Manuscript, Library of Congress. + +[433] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. Du Pont de Nemours to +Jefferson, October 4, 1802. + +[434] Annals of Congress, p. 1059. + +[435] _Ibid._, p. 286. + +[436] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, marked received December +31. + +[437] Annals of Congress. Appendix, p. 1065. + +[438] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, February 1, 1803. + +[439] To James Madison, January 24, 1803. Annals of Congress, p. 1066. + +[440] To the Secretary of State, March 24, 1803. _Ibid._, p. 1083. + +[441] To Madison, March 3, 1803. _Ibid._, p. 1083. + +[442] March 2, 1803. Annals of Congress, p. 1098. + +[443] King to Livingston, May 7, 1803. _Ibid._, p. 1803. + +[444] Annals of Congress, p. 1167. + +[445] July 11, 1803. Memorial Edition, X, 402. + +[446] Memorial Edition, X, 424. + +[447] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, January 19, 1804. + +[448] July 4, 1803. Memorial Edition, X, 398. + +[449] July 12, 1803. _Ibid._, X, 404. + +[450] To Madison, August 25, 1803. Memorial Edition, X, 412. + +[451] To James Madison, August 15, 1804. Memorial Edition, XI, 45. + +[452] "Anas", January 26, 1804. + +[453] To W. B. Giles, April 20, 1807. Memorial Edition, XI, 187. + +[454] To Gideon Granger, March 9, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 113. + +[455] To Lafayette, July 14, 1807. _Ibid._, XI, 277. + +[456] To William B. Giles, April 20, 1807. Memorial Edition, XI, 187. + +[457] To George Hay, September 4, 1807. _Ibid._, XI, 360. + +[458] October 27, 1808. Memorial Edition, XII, 183. + +[459] Memorial Edition, X, 399. + +[460] H. Adams, II, 257. + +[461] To James Madison, August 27, 1805. Memorial Edition, XI, 86. + +[462] April 19, 1806. Memorial Edition, XI, 103. + +[463] To Colonel James Monroe, May 4, 1806. Memorial Edition, XI, 106. + +[464] Turreau to Talleyrand, December 12, 1806, in H. Adams, III, 424. + +[465] To Monroe, March 21, 1807. Memorial Edition, XI, 167. + +[466] June 29, 1807. Memorial Edition, XI, 256. + +[467] July 6, 1807. _Ibid._, XI, 258. + +[468] See particularly his letters to Cabell, August 11, 1807, and to +Dearborn, August 28. Memorial Edition, XI, 318, 342. + +[469] To John Page, July 17, 1807. Memorial Edition, XI, 285. + +[470] November 22, 1807. _Ibid._, XI, 397. + +[471] Memorial Edition, XI, 401. This may be simply a draft of the +message written on a sheet of paper which happened to bear the name of +General Mason. See Henry Adams, IV, 168. + +[472] A. J. Nock, "Jefferson", p. 266. New York, 1926. + +[473] To John Taylor, January 6, 1808. Memorial Edition, XI, 413. + +[474] March 30, 1808. Memorial Edition, XI, 23. + +[475] To Governor Charles Pinckney. November 8, 1808. _Ibid._, XII, 190. + +[476] Henry Adams, IV, chapter XII, "The Cost of Embargo." + +[477] Henry Adams, IV, 277. + +[478] Walter W. Jennings, "A History of economic progress in the United +States", p. 160, New York, 1926. + +[479] To Doctor George Logan, December 27, 1808. Memorial Edition, XII, +219. + +[480] January 14, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 227. + +[481] To Thomas Mann Randolph, February 7, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 248. + +[482] March 8, 1809. Memorial Edition, XII, 264. + +[483] March 17, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 266. + +[484] Memorial Edition, XII, 267. + +[485] February 10, 1810. Memorial Edition, XII, 357. + +[486] To J. B. Colvin. September 20, 1810. _Ibid._, XII, 422; see also +letter to Caesar Rodney, September 25. _Ibid._, XII, 426. + +[487] To Madison, April 27, 1809. Memorial Edition, XII, 275. + +[488] To Madison, April 19, 1809. Memorial Edition, XII, 271. + +[489] June 28, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 293. + +[490] To Rodney, February 10, 1810. Memorial Edition, XII, 357. + +[491] To Governor John Langdon, March 5, 1810. _Ibid._, XII, 373. + +[492] To Thomas Cooper, August 6, 1810. _Ibid._, XII, 401. + +[493] To Thomas Law, January 15, 1810. _Ibid._, XII, 439. + +[494] April 25, 1812. Memorial Edition, XIII, 145. + +[495] June 29, 1812. Memorial Edition, XIII, 173. + +[496] August 5, 1812. _Ibid._, XIII, 183. + +[497] _Ibid._, XIII, 206. + +[498] October 1, 1812. Memorial Edition, XIII, 187. + +[499] To William Duane, April 4, 1813. _Ibid._, XIII, 231. + +[500] To Thomas Leiper, January 1, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 45. + +[501] To John Clark, January 27, 1814. _Ibid._, XIV, 79. + +[502] September 21, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 191. + +[503] To William Short, November 28, 1814. _Ibid._, XIV, 214. + +[504] To Correa de Serra, December 27, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 221. + +[505] To William H. Crawford, February 25, 1815. _Ibid._, XIV, 243, and +June 15, 1815. _Ibid._, XIV, 312. + +[506] December 1, 1815. _Ibid._, XIV, 369. + +[507] October 16, 1816. Memorial Edition, XIV, 85. + +[508] October 16, 1816. _Ibid._, XVI, 80. + +[509] To Thomas Leiper, June 14, 1815. Memorial Edition, XIV, 311; and +to John Adams, August 10, 1815. _Ibid._, XIV, 343. + +[510] October 16, 1815. _Ibid._, XIV, 355. + +[511] January 2, 1812. _Ibid._, XIII, 117. + +[512] December 6, 1813. Memorial Edition, XIV, 22. + +[513] To Don Valentino de Torunda Corunda, December 14, 1813. Memorial +Edition, XIV, 31. + +[514] To John Adams, January 22, 1812. Memorial Edition, XV, 309. + +[515] To Lafayette, May 14, 1817. _Ibid._, XV, 117. + +[516] To W. Short, August 4, 1820. Memorial Edition, XV, 263. + +[517] October 24, 1820. _Ibid._, XV, 285. + +[518] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. December 26, 1820, and +Chinard, "Jefferson et les Ideologues." Paris, Baltimore, 1925, p. 203. + +[519] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress, July 18, 1824. + +[520] To Monroe, June 11, 1823. Memorial Edition, XV, 455. + +[521] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. December 10, 1817. + +[522] October 20, 1820. Memorial Edition, XV, 284. + +[523] About the economic and banking theories of Jefferson, I can only +indicate here some points more fully treated in my book on "Jefferson et +les Ideologues." Paris, Baltimore, 1925. + +[524] To William H. Crawford, June 20, 1816. Memorial Edition, XV, 27. + +[525] April 7, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 271. + +[526] January 9, 1816. Memorial Edition, XIV, 387. + +[527] To Thomas Cooper, September 10, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 179. + +[528] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. April 15, 1811. + +[529] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. April 15, 1811. + +[530] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. January 18, 1802. + +[531] _Ibid._ February 28, 1815. + +[532] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. December 12, 1815. + +[533] October 28, 1813. Memorial Edition, XIII, 396. + +[534] January 2, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 46. + +[535] To John Adams, October 16, 1816. _Ibid._, XVI, 85. + +[536] To Lafayette, February 14, 1815. Memorial Edition, XIV, 245. + +[537] To James Madison, November 29, 1820. Memorial Edition, XV, 295. + +[538] December 10, 1819. Memorial Edition, XV, 233. + +[539] To John Adams, January 22, 1821. _Ibid._, XV, 309. + +[540] August 4, 1811. Memorial Edition, XIII, 68. + +[541] July 12, 1816. _Ibid._, XV, 32. + +[542] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. May 8, 1800. + +[543] Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. April 21, 1800. + +[544] _Ibid._, July 26, 1800. + +[545] To Thomas Cooper, January 16, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 60. + +[546] February 15, 1821, Memorial Edition, XV, 315. + +[547] The latest account is the monumental "History of the University of +Virginia" by Professor Philip Alexander Bruce, New York, 4 vols., 1920. +See also the excellent study of Herbert B. Adams, "Thomas Jefferson and +the University of Virginia", United States Bureau of Education. Circular +of information No. 1, 1888. + +[548] To Richard Rush, April 26, 1824. Memorial Edition, XVI, 31. + +[549] To the Honorable J. Evelyn Denison, M. P., November 9, 1825. +_Ibid._, XVI, 129. + +[550] To John Brazier, August 24, 1814. Memorial Edition, XV, 207. + +[551] June 27, 1822. _Ibid._, XV, 387. + +[552] Memorial Edition, XVI, 173. + +[553] Doctor Dunglison's Memorandum, in "Domestic Life", p. 402. + +[554] September 12, 1821. Memorial Edition, XV, 334. + +[555] January 16, 1811. Memorial Edition, XIII, 9. + +[556] December 5, 1811. _Ibid._, XIII, 114. + +[557] January 21, 1812. _Ibid._, XIII, 123. + +[558] Memorial Edition, XV, 174. + +[559] January 11, 1817. Memorial Edition, XV, 97. + +[560] February 21, 1825. "Domestic Life", p. 423. + +[561] To James Smith, December 8, 1822. Memorial Edition, XV, 410. + +[562] To John Adams, August 15, 1820. _Ibid._, XV, 269-276. + +[563] March 24, 1824. _Ibid._, XVI, 17. + +[564] October 31, 1819. Memorial Edition, XV, 219. + +[565] July 13, 1813. _Ibid._, XIII, 319. + +[566] To John Adams, April 11, 1820. Memorial Edition, XV, 427. + +[567] To John Adams, May 5, 1817. _Ibid._, XV, 109. + +[568] June 13, 1814. Memorial Edition, XIV, 141. + +[569] To James Fishback, September 27, 1809. _Ibid._, XII, 315. + +[570] May 26, 1817. Memorial Edition, XV, 122. + +[571] See my edition of "The Literary Bible of Thomas Jefferson." Paris, +Baltimore, 1928, p. 58. + +[572] April 21, 1803. Memorial Edition, X, 379. + +[573] See the introduction of Doctor Cyrus Adler, in the Congressional +Edition reproduced in the Memorial Edition, XX. + +[574] May 3, 1816. Memorial Edition, XV, 10. + +[575] April 6, 1816. Memorial Edition, XIV, 467. + +[576] To William Ludlow, September 6, 1824. _Ibid._, XVI, 75. + +[577] June 24, 1826. Memorial Edition, XVI, 181. + +[578] To John Brazier, August 24, 1819. _Ibid._, XV, 207. + +[579] August 1, 1816. _Ibid._, XVI, 56. + +[580] January 9, 1816. Memorial Edition, XIV, 385. + +[581] To Doctor Vine Ulley, March 21, 1819. _Ibid._, XV, 187. + +[582] Jefferson Papers. Massachusetts Historical Society, March 5, 1814. + +[583] _Ibid._, To Short, December 17, 1822. + +[584] _Ibid._, To Samuel Smith, October 22, 1825. + +[585] "Literary Bible", p. 36. Paris, Baltimore, 1928. + +[586] To John Adams--August 1, 1816. Memorial Edition, XV, 56, and +June 1, 1822. _Ibid._, XV, 371. + +[587] November 8, 1824, "Memoires", VI, 183. + +[588] "Domestic Life", p. 425. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thomas Jefferson, by Gilbert Chinard + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOMAS JEFFERSON *** + +***** This file should be named 38073.txt or 38073.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/7/38073/ + +Produced by Robert Cicconetti and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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