Part 45

On leaving the seat of government, Washington presented a token of regard to the principal officers of government. His affection for them was sincere and abiding. Towards the entire American people, he bore the kindness and good-will of a father. He wished their happiness. He had spent years in their service, without emolument, and even at the sacrifice of a portion of his patrimony; but that was nothing, so long as he could see the government stable, and the republic "one and indivisible." There was, perhaps, no one subject which had occupied Washington's thoughts, more than the union of the states. And now that he was about to retire, he felt it to be befitting him to express his views on some subjects connected, as he thought, with the vital interests and the future glory of his country. These he embodied in a "Farewell Address," which, for purity of language, beauty of conception, and soundness of political sentiments, has never been equalled. It can never be read but to be admired. There are but two sentences which we shall cite from this address; but, in respect to the future glory and prosperity of our country, they are as the corner-stones to our national capitol:

"The _unity of government_, which now constitutes you one people, is now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is the mainspring in the edifice of your real independence; the support of your tranquillity at home; your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize."

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, _religion_ and _morality_ are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness--these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

On other subjects connected with the future welfare of the country, he expressed opinions, of whose wisdom and practical value, revolving years have given ample proof. Against the spirit of innovation upon the principles of the constitution, he gave solemn warning--against the spirit of party, when bitter and exclusive, he uttered his solemn remonstrance. Public credit should be maintained; public economy practiced; and institutions for the education and improvement of the public mind, liberally endowed.

FOOTNOTES:

[62] Pitkin.

[63] Never did a magistrate exercise power entrusted to him, with stricter fidelity than Washington. In respect to appointments to and removals from office, no man could be more conscientious. Private friendship exerted no influence, where the public good could not be subserved. A lofty patriotism swayed him. Even the enemies of Washington--they were never many--but the few who, at length, opposed the measures of his administration, had no occasion to censure him for conferring office on men whose only claim was friendship, or political affinity to the president. The following anecdote will serve to illustrate the integrity of the first chief magistrate of the union--happy had it been for the country, and for the honor and reputation of some of his successors in that exalted office, had they followed, in this respect, the "footsteps of an illustrious predecessor."

"During his administration, an application was made to him by a gentleman who had been the friend and companion of the general throughout the whole course of the Revolutionary war, during which he had received, on various occasions, indubitable marks of his kindness and partiality. He had become, in the estimation, if not of himself, of his friends, in a degree necessary to the happiness of Washington, and had therefore, in their opinion, only to apply for the office, to receive it. It was a boon, which, while it would ensure competency and ease to a friend, would bring that friend into frequent intercourse with his patron and former associate in arms.

"For the same office, however, there was a competitor; but as he was decidedly hostile to the politics of Washington, and had made himself conspicuous among the opposers of his administration, no serious apprehensions were felt from this quarter. Towards such a man--a well-known political enemy--Washington surely could feel under no obligations, and was not likely to prefer such a one to a personal friend and favorite. Every one acquainted with the pretensions of the two applicants, was at no loss to judge as to the president's decision, and the concurrent opinion was in favor of the friend and against his competitor.

"Judge, then, the general surprise, when it was announced that the political opponent of Washington was appointed and the former associate of the general in the toils and deprivations of the camp, was left destitute and dejected.

"When his decision was known, a mutual friend, who interested himself in the affair, ventured to remonstrate with the president on the injustice of his appointment. 'My friend,' replied this illustrious man, 'I receive with a cordial welcome; he is welcome to my house, and welcome to my heart; but, with all his good qualities, he is not a man of business. His opponent, with all his political hostility to me, is a man of business. My private feelings have nothing to do in the case! I am not George Washington, but president of the United States. As George Washington, I would do this man any kindness in my power; but as president of the United States, I can do nothing.'"

[64] Pitkin.

VII. JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT.

INAUGURATED AT PHILADELPHIA, MARCH 4, 1797.

THOMAS JEFFERSON, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.

Timothy Pickering, Pennsylvania, (_continued in_ } _office_), } Secretaries John Marshall, Virginia, May 13, 1800, } of State.

Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut, (_continued in_ } _office_), } Secretaries Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts, December 31, 1800, } of Treasury.

James M'Henry, Maryland, (_continued in_ } _office_), } Secretaries Samuel Dexter, Massachusetts, May 13, 1800, } of War. Roger Griswold, Connecticut, February 3, 1801, }

Benjamin Stoddert, Maryland, May 21, 1798, Secretary of the Navy.

Joseph Habersham, Georgia, (_continued in_ Postmaster _office_), General.

Charles Lee, Virginia, (_continued in_ Attorney _office_), General.

SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Jonathan Dayton, New Jersey, Fifth Congress, 1797. Theodore Sedgwick, Massachusetts, Sixth do. 1799.

On the 1st of March, Washington, now about to retire from the presidency, addressed a communication to the senate, desiring them to attend in their chamber, on Saturday, the 4th, at ten o'clock, "to receive any communication which the new president might lay before them, touching their interests." In conformity with this summons, the senate assembled at the time and place appointed. The oath of office was administered by Mr. Bingham to Mr. Jefferson, the vice-president elect. The customary oath was next administered by the vice-president to the new senate; which preliminary forms being finished, the senate, preceded by their presiding officer, repaired to the chamber of the house of representatives, to witness the ceremonies of the inauguration of the new president.

Mr. Adams entered, accompanied by the heads of departments, the marshal of the district and his officers, and took his seat in the speaker's chair; the vice-president and secretary of the senate were seated in advance on his right, and the late speaker and clerk on the left; the justices of the supreme court sat before the president, and the foreign ministers and members of the house in their usual seats. The venerable Washington himself also appeared. As he entered, all eyes were turned towards him with admiration, and every heart beat with joy at the complacency and delight which he manifested at seeing another about to be clothed with the authority he had laid aside.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Adams expressed his preference, upon principle, to a free republican government--his attachment to the constitution of the United States--an impartial regard to the rights, interests, honor, and happiness of all the states of the Union, without preference to a Northern or Southern, an Eastern or Western position--a love of equal laws and exact justice--an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations--his regard for the institutions of religion, and the propagation of knowledge and virtue among all classes, &c.; and, finally, he invoked the care and blessing of that Almighty Being, who in all ages had been the Patron of order, the Fountain of justice, and the Protector of virtuous liberty.

Having concluded his address, the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Ellsworth. Washington was the first to tender to the new president his heartfelt congratulations; which having done, he bade adieu to the seat of government, and hastened to the enjoyment of that peace and quiet which he had long desired, and which he now anticipated in his own beloved Mount Vernon.

The condition of the country, on the accession of Mr. Adams, was highly prosperous. The constitution had been tested through the vicissitudes of eight years, and had stood, and continued to stand, as a monument of the political wisdom of its framers. Fortunately, several of those sages had borne conspicuous stations in the government from the time of its organization. The president himself had been the president of the convention which formed the constitution. The true intent, therefore, of that instrument, both in its general and special provisions, had become well understood; its great principles had been applied, and found to answer the most sanguine expectations of its patriotic projectors.

In relation to particular measures, Washington had shown himself to be as skillful a statesman as he had proved himself sagacious as a general. A credit had been established for the country, whose soundness no capitalist doubted--an immense floating debt had been funded in a manner perfectly satisfactory to the creditors, and a revenue had been secured sufficiently ample for the national demands.

Funds also had been provided for the gradual extinction of the national debt; a considerable portion of it had, indeed, been actually discharged, and that system devised which did in fact, in the lapse of some years, extinguish the whole. The agricultural and commercial thrift of the nation had been beyond all former example, and beyond all anticipation. The numerous and powerful tribes of Indians at the West, had been taught by arms and by good faith to respect the United States, and to desire their friendship.

The principal events which distinguished the administration of Mr. Adams, were,

Difficulties with France Death of Washington. Treaty with that Power. Removal of the Seat of Government. Election of Mr. Jefferson.

_Difficulties with France._--The misunderstanding between France and the United States, which had commenced during the administration of Washington, not only extended into that of Mr. Adams, but, soon after his accession, assumed a still more formidable and even warlike aspect.

The seditious conduct of Mr. Genet, the French minister, and his rëcall, were noticed when reciting the prominent events of Washington's administration. He was succeeded by Mr. Fauchet, who arrived in the United States in February, 1794. The conduct of this functionary, if less exceptionable than his predecessor, was by no means calculated to restore the harmony of the two governments. Fauchet, believing that a large party in the United States sympathized with him and his government, insulted the administration by accusing them of partiality to the English, enmity to his nation, and indifference to the cause of liberty.

With a desire to restore the peace of the two governments, General Washington, in 1794, rëcalled Mr. Morris, our then minister to France, and appointed Mr. Monroe to succeed him, a gentleman belonging to the republican party, and, therefore, more acceptable to the French government, and the more likely to succeed in a satisfactory adjustment of existing difficulties. Mr. Monroe was received with distinguished consideration, and as an evidence of his kind reception, the flags of the two republics were entwined and suspended in the legislative hall.

Mr. Adet soon after succeeded Mr. Fauchet. He brought with him the colors of France, which were presented to the government of the United States as a token of her sympathy and affection for her sister republic. But when the former discovered that the United States continued rigidly to maintain their neutrality, her sympathy and affection suddenly declined. Measures were adopted highly injurious to American commerce. Her cruisers were let loose upon our commerce, and hundreds of vessels pursuing a lawful trade were captured and confiscated.

The favorable results anticipated from Mr. Monroe's embassy to France signally failed. Whether this failure proceeded from an impossibility of making terms with the French government, or from a want of firmness and decision on the part of Mr. Monroe, it may be difficult to decide. But, dissatisfied with the tardy and unsatisfactory manner in which the negotiation was conducted, the president decided to rëcall Mr. Monroe. This was accordingly done, and Mr. Pinckney was appointed to succeed him.

The object of Mr. Pinckney's mission was stated in his letter of credence to be "to maintain that good understanding which, from the commencement of the alliance, had subsisted between the two nations; and to efface unfavorable impressions, banish suspicions, and restore that cordiality which was at once the evidence and pledge of a friendly union." The French directory, however, refused to acknowledge Mr. Pinckney in his official capacity; and, at length, by a written mandate, ordered him to quit the territory of the French republic.

Intelligence of these facts having been communicated to Mr. Adams, he summoned congress by proclamation, to assemble on the 15th of May, when, in a fine and dignified speech, he stated the great and unprovoked outrages of the French government. He expressed, however, his wish for an accommodation, and his purpose of attempting it. Meanwhile, he earnestly recommended the adoption of measures of defence.

Accordingly, to prevent war, if practicable, Mr. Adams appointed three envoys extraordinary to the French republic. General Pinckney, then at Amsterdam, whither he had retired on being ordered to leave France, Mr. Marshall and Mr. Gerry. These, also, the directory refused to receive. They were, however, addressed by persons verbally instructed by Talleyrand, the minister of foreign relations, and invited to make _proposals_. In explicit terms, these unofficial agents demanded a large sum of money before any negotiations could be opened. To this insulting demand, a decided negative was given. A compliance was, nevertheless, repeatedly urged, until, at length, the envoys refused to hold with them any further communications.

These matters becoming known in America, excited general indignation. The spirit of party appeared to be extinct. "Millions for defence, not a cent for tribute," the language of Mr. Pinckney to the French government, resounded from every quarter of the Union. The treaty of alliance with France was declared by congress to be annulled; and authority was given for capturing armed French vessels. Provision was made for raising a regular army, and in case events should render it expedient, for augmenting it. A direct tax and additional internal duties were laid. To the command of the armies of the United States, President Adams, with the unanimous advice of the senate, appointed George Washington, with the rank of lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief. Washington reluctantly accepted the office, declaring, however, that he cordially approved the measures of the government.

The first act of hostility between the two nations, appears to have been committed by the Insurgente, which captured the American schooner Retaliation, and carried her into Guadaloupe. Soon after, the Constellation, under the command of Captain Truxton, went to sea, and in February, 1799, he encountered the Insurgente, which, after a close action of about an hour and a half, he compelled to strike. The rate of the Constellation was thirty-two guns; that of the Insurgente, forty. The former had three men wounded, one of whom shortly after died, and none killed; the latter had forty-one wounded, and twenty-nine killed. This victory, so brilliant and so decisive, with such a wonderful disparity of loss, gave great _eclat_ to the victor and to the navy.

_Treaty with France._--The bold and decided tone of the Americans, added to their preparations for prosecuting a war with vigor--and, perhaps, more than all, the success of the American navy in various engagements, had the desired effect. Overtures for renewing the negotiations were received from the French directory, which were immediately responded to by the president, by the appointment of Oliver Ellsworth, chief justice of the United States, Patrick Henry,[65] then late governor of Virginia, and William Vans Murray, minister at the Hague, envoys extraordinary for concluding a peace. On their arrival at Paris, they found the directory overthrown, and the government in the hands of Napoleon Buonaparte, as first consul. By him they were promptly received, and a treaty was concluded on the 30th of September, 1800; soon after which, the provisional army in America was, by order of congress, disbanded.

_Death of Washington._--The good and the great must die, and, at length, America was called to mourn the departure of the good and illustrious Washington. He did not live, much as he desired that event, to witness the restoration of peace.

On Friday, December 13th, while attending to some improvements upon his estate, he was exposed to a light rain, which that same night induced an inflammatory affection of the windpipe. In the morning his family physician, Dr. Craik, was called in; but the utmost exertions of medical skill were applied in vain. Believing, from the commencement of his complaint, that it would prove fatal, Washington succeeded, though with difficulty, in expressing a desire that he might be permitted to die without being disquieted by unavailing attempts to rescue him from his fate. When no longer able to swallow, undressing himself, he retired to his bed, there to await his dissolution. To his friend and physician he said, with difficulty, "Doctor, I am dying, and have been dying for a long time; but I am not afraid to die." Respiration became more and more contracted and imperfect, until half-past eleven on Saturday night, when, retaining the full possession of his intellect, he expired without a struggle. Thus, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, died the "Father of his country." Intelligence of this event, as it rapidly spread, produced spontaneous, deep, and unaffected grief, suspending every other thought, and absorbing every different feeling.

Congress unanimously resolved upon a funeral procession in memory of Washington. On the appointed day the procession moved from the legislative hall to the German Lutheran church, where an oration was delivered by General Lee, a representative from Virginia. The procession was grand and solemn; the oration, eloquent and impressive: throughout the Union, similar marks of affection were exhibited--the whole nation appeared in mourning. Funeral orations, commemorative of his virtues, were pronounced in almost every city and town, and many were the tears shed by young and old, as the excellencies of his character were portrayed, and the services which he had rendered in achieving the independence, and contributing to the happiness of his country, were reviewed.

Washington deserved all the public honors which were paid him, and yet he needed none of them to add to the celebrity of his name, or the glory of his achievements. Wherever the story of his greatness, and of his patriotic services, has travelled, it has elicited the admiration and homage of mankind. Indeed, among civilized people of all countries, his name has become a household word, and is identified with all that is wise, and pious, and patriotic. By the aged warriors of our Western tribes--now indeed few and far between--he is still remembered as "our Father:" his name is familiar to the wandering Bedouin, and his fame has penetrated to the mountain fastnesses of the roving Tartar. And in all future time--at least while the American republic has a name and a place on the earth--or while the record of her Revolution, and the establishment of her government shall last--the name of Washington will be remembered with gratitude and joy. "His country is his monument, and her history his epitaph."

The character of Washington has been so often portrayed, that we shall not deem it necessary to enter upon a formal review of it in these pages. It may be, perhaps, a more grateful service which we render, to garner up some "tributes" to his exalted worth, which have been paid him by some of the most distinguished men in other countries.

Said Mr. Fox, in the British parliament, in a speech delivered during Washington's second presidential term: "Illustrious man! deriving less honor from the splendor of his situation than the dignity of his mind: before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe (excepting the members of our own royal family) become little and contemptible!"--Said Napoleon--a man not wont to lavish his praises--and yet a man who understood and could appreciate noble qualities existing in others--said Napoleon--"Washington is dead! The great man fought against tyranny; he established the liberty of his country. His memory will always be dear to the French people, as it will to all freemen of the two worlds."

Byron has added his testimony to the excellency and glory of Washington--a tribute of praise which, it is said, he has no where in any of his writings paid to a British hero, not even to Wellington himself. "After taxing his misanthropy for the bitterest forms of speech, to be applied to the fallen Napoleon, and to mock at the fearful reverses of the French emperor's fortune, he, by some strange impulses, winds up his scorching lyric with these few lines:"

"Where shall the weary eye repose When gazing on the great-- Where neither guilty glory glows, Nor despicable state? Yes--one--the first--the last--the best-- The Cincinnatus of the West, Bequeathed the name of Washington, To make men blush there was but one."