Chapter 13

Upon the accession of the Republicans to the control of the government, Jefferson ordered the books of Hamilton searched to ascertain what charges could be made against him, and to discover the alleged blunders and frauds perpetrated by the Federal official while in office. Albert Gallatin, himself one of the greatest financiers of his age, undertook the task with a hearty relish as he at that time entertained no great esteem for the great Federalist. Struck by the almost absolute perfection of the system, Gallatin reported to the President that any change would certainly injure it and that no blunders or frauds had been committed.

This great man was born on one of the West India Islands, January 11th, 1757. His father failed when he was young and his mother died leaving the poor child in actual want. He was taken by friends at Santa Cruz. He had no great educational advantages there, but being able to read both English and French he devoured all such books as fell in his way. He was placed in a counting-house in Santa Cruz and, although he detested the business, applied himself diligently to his task and the knowledge here gained was no small factor of his future great success as a financier.

He applied every spare moment to study and early began to use his pen. In 1772 a hurricane passed through St. Christophers, and an account which young Hamilton then wrote for the papers attracted so much attention that his friends decided to give him a better chance. They accordingly raised the money with which to send him to New York to school, and after a few months spent at a grammar school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, he entered Columbia College, New York--then called Kings College. Here he began study preparatory to a medical course.

About this time his attention became drawn toward the struggle which was about to commence between Great Britain and America, and at a public meeting he made a short speech which attracted general attention. He was now but seventeen years of age, yet his pen was keenly felt in the interest of America, through the columns of _Holts Journal_, to which he had become a regular contributor. He entered the army as captain of an artillery company which he was the chief means of raising, and did good service at White Plains, Trenton and Princeton.

He secured this position through the influence of General Schuyler and, although but nineteen years of age, he was well qualified for the position, having made a study of artillery tactics. His ability had not escaped the attention of the army, and he was placed upon Washington's staff with rank of lieutenant-colonel. Washington needed some one to take charge of his great correspondence,--some one who could think for himself. Young as Hamilton was he assumed the entire responsibility of chief secretary, besides rendering much valuable assistance as aid. He married one of General Schuyler's daughters, and this alliance with one of the wealthiest families in the State proved a most fortunate epoch in his life. A difference arising between Washington and himself he resigned and, although Washington sent an apology, he refused to recall his resignation however their mutual esteem was continued. He subsequently commanded a brigade at the battle of Yorktown.

He now took up his residence at Albany and began the study of law with his wife's father. He was soon licensed to practice, and was chosen one of the delegates to the Continental Congress. He realized the necessity of vesting more power in congress and secured the adoption, by the State of New York, of a resolution urging the amendment of the constitution with that object in view. He now moved to New York where he soon acquired an immense practice. His efforts in behalf of the constitution were untiring and useful.

When Washington became president he selected Hamilton as his Secretary of Treasury. It was a wise choice as financial difficulties were the most formidable of any in the way of the administration, and no man was more capable of bringing order out of chaos than Alexander Hamilton. All parties agreed that the debts incurred abroad must be met according to contract, but as a large amount of the domestic debt was in the hands of men who had bought it for a rise it had been suggested that these obligations be settled upon the basis of the amount paid for them by their present holders. This measure Hamilton opposed. While acknowledging that speculation was an evil, still he saw that such a measure would tend to weaken our financial credit. He also brought about the assumption by the government of the entire State debt incurred during the war. This measure was strongly opposed by Jefferson, and its passage had a marked effect on our system tending to centralize authority.

It will thus be seen that to Alexander Hamilton belongs no small share of founding and shaping the destiny of this powerful country of to-day. Like many other great and good men, he was obliged to suffer the slander of the press, which charged him with a misappropriation of the public money, but as has already been shown in this narrative, it proved nothing but a foul story concocted through jealousy and partisan hate, and is no longer countenanced. His salary being insufficient for his support, he resigned his position and resumed the practice of his profession in New York. In the warlike demonstration of 1798 he became, upon the death of General Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of all the armies of America, but happily the war with France was averted and peace restored.

Now we come to the saddest page of American history. We have followed this poor homeless boy from childhood; we have seen him rise from obscurity to a leading position at the bar, become a gallant soldier and the greatest financier in America. And yet, when his country most needs his council and help, we see him, at the age of fifty-seven, stricken down by an assassin.

Aaron Burr was an ambitious politician. His alleged intrigues with the Federalists, whereby he sought to effect the election of himself to the presidency instead of Jefferson, the people's choice, cost him the confidence of his own party. Knowing New York to be the pivotal State, he sought the gubernatorial chair through an independent vote, hoping to secure Federal support, as it was conceded that they could not elect a candidate of their own. Hamilton, himself as pure as the bright sunshine, felt his party to be imposed upon by this intruder who, while professing to be a Republican, was seeking to thrust himself upon the other party.

At a caucus Hamilton warmly opposed the endorsement of a man whom he characterized as dangerous and who had not ought to be trusted with the reins of government. Hamilton took no active part in the campaign, but his opinion was frequently quoted by those who did, and the result was Burr's defeat by Morgan Lewis. Attributing his defeat to Hamilton, and feeling him to be his greatest political rival, he early sought a duel with him. Hamilton detested this practice, and sought by all honorable means, as he wrote to his wife, to avoid it. But finally he accepted, not in the spirit of a professed duelist, but in the character of a public man. They met on the morning of July 11th, 1804, on the fatal field of Weehawken, New Jersey.

At the first fire Hamilton sprang on his tip-toes, and, after a convulsive movement, fell forward on his face. At the same time his weapon was accidentally discharged, his missile flying wide of its mark. Indeed, Hamilton did not fire; in reality, he had resolved not to return his antagonist's fire, and never knew that his weapon was discharged, as he was insensible when he fell. He died within thirty hours, and his funeral was the most imposing ever witnessed in that day. Around the name of Hamilton there glows a halo which has brightened in the ages. Thus was America robbed of her brave soldier and pure statesman.

JAMES MADISON.

The subject of this narrative, James Madison, was born at King George, Virginia, March 16th, 1751. His father was a planter, descended from John Madison, an Englishman who settled in Virginia about the year 1656. The maiden name of his mother was Eleanor Conway. He was the eldest of seven children. He received a fairly good education but better still, he applied himself very closely at college, so much so as to make him noted in this respect; the result was seen in after years.

In 1772 he returned to Virginia and commenced a course of legal study. He particularly studied up on public affairs, and in the spring of 1776 he was elected a member of the Virginia convention from the county of Orange, and procured the passage of the substance of an amendment to the declaration of rights, by George Mason, which struck out the old term 'toleration' and inserted a broader exposition of religious rights. In the same year he was a member of the general assembly, but lost his election in 1777, from his refusal to treat the voters, and the general want of confidence in his powers of oratory. Thus, it is seen, that as James Madison's natural abilities could not have been very marked, his success was the natural result of GREAT EXERTION.

The legislature, however, on meeting in November of the same year, elected him a member of the council of the State; and in the winter of 1779 he was chosen by the assembly a delegate to congress. He took his seat in March, 1780, and remained in that body for three years. He strongly opposed the issue of paper money by the States, and was in favor of a formal recommendation on the part of congress against the continuance of the system. As chairman of the committee to prepare instructions to the ministers at Versailles and Madrid, in support of the claims of the confederacy to western territory and the free navigation of the Mississippi, he drew an elaborate and able paper which was unanimously adopted by congress. He zealously advocated in 1783 the measure proposed to establish a system of general revenue to pay the expenses of the war, and as chairman of the committee to which the matter was referred, prepared an able address to the State in support of the plan, which was adopted by congress and received the warm approval of Washington.

The people of Virginia now began to realize the value of his services; a striking proof of which is exhibited by the fact that the law rendering him inelligible after three years' service in Congress was repealed, in order that he might sit during the fourth. On his return to Virginia he was elected to the Legislature, and took his seat during 1784. In this body he inaugurated the measures relating to a thorough revision of the old statutes, and supported the bills introduced by the revisors, Jefferson, Wyth, and Pendleton, on the subject of entails, primogeniture (exclusive heirship belonging to the first born) and religious freedom.

He aided in the separation of Kentucky from Virginia, and the formation of the new State, opposed the further issue of paper money, and favored the payment of debts due British creditors. His greatest service at this time was his preparation, after the close of the assembly, of a "Memorial and Remonstrance" against the project of a general assessment for the support of religion, which caused the utter defeat of the measure, against which it was directed. In January, 1786, he obtained the passage of a bill by the General Assembly inviting the other States to appoint commissioners to meet at Annapolis and devise a new system of commercial regulations. He was chosen one of the commissioners, and attended at Annapolis in September of the same year. Five States only were represented, and the commissioners recommended a convention of delegates from all the States to meet at Philadelphia, in May, 1787. The recommendation was generally adopted and, of course, Madison was chosen one of the delegates from Virginia.

The convention assembled and the result was the abrogation of the old articles and the formation of the Constitution of the United States. Madison was prominent in advocating the Constitution and took a leading part in the debates, of which he kept private notes, since published by order of congress. His views of a federal government are set forth at length in a paper still extant in the hand-writing of Washington, which contains the substance of a letter written to Washington by Madison before the meeting of the convention, proposing a scheme of thorough centralization. The writer declares that he is equally opposed to 'the individual independence of the States,' and to 'the consolidation of the whole into one simple republic.'

He is nevertheless in favor to invest in congress the power to exercise 'a negative in all cases whatever on the legislative acts of the States, as heretofore exercised by the kingly prerogative.' He says further 'that the right of coercion should be expressly declared; but the difficulty and awkwardness of operating by force on the collective will of a State, render it particularly desirable that the necessity of it should be precluded.' From these extreme views Madison conscientiously departed, but in the convention he supported them with zeal and vigor.

The scheme known as the 'Virginia Plan' was adopted instead, and the convention adjourned. The subsequent adoption of the Constitution was in a large measure due to a series of essays, now familiar in their collected form as "The Federalist." They were commenced in a New York newspaper soon after the adjournment of the Convention, and continued to appear until June, 1788. The public journals everywhere republished them, and it was soon known that they were the work of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. The volume remains the forcible exposition upon the side which it espoused. The whole ground is surveyed, generally and in detail; the various points at issue are discussed with the utmost acuteness, and the advantages of the adoption of the instrument urged with logical force and eloquence which place "The Federalist" beside the most famous political writings of the old English worthies.

The Virginia convention, of which Madison was a member, assembled in June. He had completely overcome his natural diffidence and, although deficient as an orator, exerted a powerful influence over his associates, contributing as much to the final triumph of the constitution as any one in the body. The instrument was adopted by a vote of eighty-nine to seventy-nine and the convention closed. The part which he had taken in its deliberations very greatly increased Madison's reputation; and he was brought forward as a candidate for United States Senator but was defeated. He was, however, chosen a member of congress and took his seat in that body in 1789.

Alexander Hamilton was at the head of the treasury department and Madison was obliged either to support the great series of financial measures initiated by the secretary, or distinctly abandon his former associate and range himself on the side of the republican opposition. He adopted the latter course. Although he had warmly espoused the adoption of the constitution, he was now convinced of the necessity of a strict construction of the powers which it conferred upon the general government. He accordingly opposed the funding bill, the national bank, and Hamilton's system of finance generally.

His affection for Washington, and long friendship for Hamilton, rendered such a step peculiarly disagreeable to a man of Madison's amiable and kindly disposition, but the tone of his opposition did not alienate his friends. Occupying, as he did, the middle ground between the violent partisans on both sides he labored to reconcile the antagonism of the two parties, and always retained the same cordial regard for Washington.

On Jefferson's return from France, Madison was solicited to accept the mission and it was kept open for twelve months awaiting his decision. He declined the place, as he afterwards did the position of Secretary of State on the retirement of Jefferson, from a firm conviction that the radical antagonism of views between himself and a majority of the members of the cabinet would render his acceptance of either office fruitful in misunderstandings and collisions.

He remained in congress, becoming thoroughly identified with the Republicans, and soon became the avowed leader in congress. In 1794 he gave his full support to its foreign policy by moving a series of resolutions, based upon the report of Jefferson, advocating a retaliatory policy toward Great Britain, and commercial discriminations in favor of France. These resolutions he supported in a speech of great ability. In March, 1797, his term expired, and he returned to Virginia.

The insulting treatment of the American envoys to France and the war message of President Adams were about to be followed by the passage of the alien and sedition laws. The Republicans vainly tried to stem the popular current in favor of the measures of the administration. The passing of the alien and sedition laws in July, 1798, gave them the first opportunity to make a stand. Opposition to even these violent measures was however ineffectual in the Federal legislature; and the Republican leaders determined to resort to the State arenas for the decisive struggle.

It commenced in Kentucky, and resulted there in the adoption of a series of resolutions, which were followed, in December, 1798, by similar resolves of the Virginia Assembly. The latter, now known as "the resolutions of 1798-'9," were drawn up by James Madison, not then a member. They declared the determination of the Assembly to defend the Constitution of the United States, but to resist all attempts to enlarge the authority of the federal compact by forced constructions of general clauses, as tending to consolidation, the destruction of the liberties of the States, and finally to a monarchy.

In case of a "deliberate, palpable, and dangerous" exercise of powers not clearly granted to the General Government, the States had a right to interpose; and as the passing of the alien and sedition laws was such an infraction of right, the assembly protested against those laws. The seventh resolution called upon the other States to join with the State of Virginia 'in declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid are unconstitutional, and that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each for co-operating with this State in maintaining unimpaired the authorities, rights and liberties reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.'

The resolutions passed the House by a vote of 100 to 63, and were duly communicated to the several States of the Union. They met with little favor, especially in the Northern States. Massachusetts and New England generally remonstrated against them, and declared the obnoxious laws both constitutional and expedient. This drew forth, in the winter of 1799-1800, Madison's "Report" in defence of his resolutions. This elaborate paper subjected the resolves to an exhaustive analysis and defended them with masterly vigor. It is the most famous of his political writings and will rank with the greatest state papers written in America.

Although the resolutions met with an unfavorable reception throughout the States, they exerted a powerful influence on public opinion. Virginia had shown how deeply in earnest she was by directing the establishment of two arsenals, and an armory sufficiently large to store 10,000 muskets and other arms; but a wholesome change in the sentiment of the country happily restored good feeling and softened down all bitterness.

The alien and sedition laws found few supporters ultimately, and Madison's views were fully vindicated. The revulsion against the Federal party and in favor of the Republicans, terminated in the election of Jefferson, who entered upon the presidency in 1801. Madison was Secretary of State during Jefferson's entire administration, and his opinions on public affairs closely agreed with those of the President.

He became still more popular with, and acceptable to, his party and toward the close of Jefferson's second term was generally spoken of as his successor. A caucus of the majority of the Republican members of Congress was finally held, and Madison was nominated. This met with bitter opposition from a wing of the party, headed by John Randolph, who were friendly to the nomination of Monroe. They published a caustic 'Protest' against the action of the caucus and denounced Madison for his 'want of energy,' his connection with the 'Federalist,' and his report upon the Yazoo claims.

His friends defended him against all charges and retorted so strongly upon the authors of the "Protest" that they were silenced. The action of the caucus was generally approved by the party, and Madison was elected by a vote of 123 out of 175, and took his seat as president, March 4, 1809.

President Madison entered upon his duties at a crisis in public affairs which required the utmost foresight, resolution and prudence. Great Britain and the United States were on the verge of war. In 1807 the long series of wrongs inflicted by England upon the commerce of America, and the rights of her seaman, had been consummated by the affair of the Leopard and Chesapeake. This wanton insult had thrown the country into violent commotion, and occasioned the embargo act, which had been succeeded by the non-intercourse act, prohibiting all commerce with France and England, until the decrees of the French emperor and the British orders in council in relation to the seizure of neutrals and the impressment of seamen were repealed.

The first of the British cabinet did not encourage peace. Mr. Erskine, the English minister, in promising reparation for the affair of the Chesapeake, and a repeal of the obnoxious orders in council, on condition of a renewal of intercourse on the part of the United States, was declared to have exceeded his authority, and was recalled. He was succeeded by Mr. Jackson who was authorized to enter into a commercial treaty, but speedily became embroiled with the Secretary of State. The president directed the secretary to have no further communication with him, and soon afterward requested his recall. This was complied with, but no censure was visited upon the envoy, and no other was sent in his place.

In May, 1810, congress approved the course of the executive, declared the official communications of Mr. Jackson highly indecorous and insolent, and passed a new act of non-intercourse. This provided that if either France or England repealed her hostile decree, and the other did not within three months do likewise, then intercourse should be resumed with the one, while with the other non-intercourse should be persisted in.

In August the French minister for Foreign Affairs gave notice to the American minister that the Berlin and Milan decrees had been revoked by the Emperor; and in November Madison issued a proclamation declaring the fact, and announcing that the act of non-intercourse would be revived as to Great Britain unless her orders in council should be revoked within three months from the date of the proclamation.