I ; . . ' . ' ■■■■ . Glass Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT THE PRESIDENTS THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON TO CLEVELAND COMPBJ THEIR PERSONAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY JOHN FROST, LL.D. BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PBE B BY HARRY W. FRENCH o BOSTON 1889 LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers 10 .Mil K STREET ' :; >E'' 1iH AND "20 BBOADWAY Cor- s • A.RD, ..tl.L AND Cr PEEFACE. There can be no more interesting subjects for study than the lives of those who have been chosen by the free suffrage of a great nation to administer the government. From their career, we may discover what qualities and what practices most certainly lead to honor and renown, and gain a knowledge of the character and progress of the people, by seeing who have been their favorites. These things are for the world to acquire. Americans may find many other mat- ters to interest them in these biographies. The lover of his country and her institutions has a deep concern in becoming acquainted with every portion of their history, which cannot be attained without studying the lives of those men who founded, improved, defended, and sustained the government. The Presidents of the United States form a bright galaxy, of which few countries can produce a parallel. 3 4 PREFACE. Warriors and statesmen, equal to every emergency, have been raised to the great chair of state with that un- erring sagacity which is characteristic of a free and enlightened nation. We have not thought a full history of the various ad- ministrations within the scope of our work. Our object has been to give a clear view of the whole career of each President, The discussion of measures does not form a part of genuine biography, and can only serve to render a book like the present obnoxious to many readers. Since the time of Jackson, we believe, it has become a custom, to publish full biographies of all candidates for the Presidency as soon as they are nominated. Of course, these " lives and services " are subjected to the severest criticism of antagonistic politicians, and the truth is thus elicited. In this country, good men have nothing to fear from discussion. Slanders will be set afoot, but when disproved, they will die. It is a fact — perhaps, a lamentable fact — that no man can stand as a candidate for the Presidency, without being exposed to the worst shafts of party malignity. His best acts will be misrepresented — and those which, though unwise, were only the consequences of mistaken judgment, be PREFACE. 5 distorted, so as to appear the fruits of a wicked heart. But Justice has a brow like the sky ; the clouds will be swept away, and she will smile upon the pure and true. In ancient Rome, men followed the hero in his triumph with revilings, to check his pride. In our country, men assail the character of candidates for high office to find the true gold of honesty and capacity. CONTENTS; PAGE George Washington 9 John Adams 49 Thomas Jefferson 65 * James Madison 91 James Monroe •. 125 \)John Qi'incv Adams 139 Andrew Jackson 187 Martin Van Buren 257 William Henry Harrison 271 John Tyler 305 James Knox Polk 323 /a chary Taylor 355 Millard Fillmore 387 Franklin Pierce 393 James Buchanan 405 / Abraham Lincoln 427 *' Andrew Johnson 461 Ulysses S. Grant 475 Rutherford B. Hayes 497 James A. Garfield 505 Chester A. Arthur . 523 Grover Cleveland 537 7 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. GEORGE WASHINGTON. In entering on the delineation of the life and character of the immortal Washington, we feel as if we were rising above the common plain of humanity. He stands upon an eminence, wrapped in purity, serenity, and sublimity — a man, yet above the rest of mankind. Whether we con- template him as a boy, forming rules for the guidance of his conduct, and employed in the difficult service of sur- veying the savage wilderness — as a provincial colonel, saving his troops from the consequences of a British general's folly — as commander-in-chief of the army of independence, snatching his country from the dark pit of despair, defeating disciplined forces with a handful of half-starved troops, undaunted by the saddest reverses, striking the enemy when they deemed him crushed — retaining the confidence -of the mass in spite of cabals, intrigues and calumny — as president, when he might have been king, carrying into successful experiment a new and glorious system of government — and nobler still, as a true patriot and republican, retiring 10 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. to the shades of private life, when the staff of power might have remained in his hands until his death — he excites in an equal degree, our wonder and admiration. George Washington was descended from an old English family, the name of Washington being traceable as far back as the thirteenth century. Most of the members belonged to the better class of agriculturalists. About 1657, two brothers, John and Lawrence Washington, emigrated to Virginia, and settled" at Bridge's creek, on the Potomac river, in the county of Westmoreland. The brothers bought lands and became successful planters. Not long after, John Washington was employed in a military command against the Indians ; and he rose to the rank of colonel. He married Anne Pope, by whom he had two sons, Lawrence and John, and a daughter. The elder son, Lawrence, married Mildred Warner, of Gloucester county, by whom he had three children, John, Augustine, and Mildred. Augustine, the second son, was twice married. By his first wife he had four children. of whom two died in iidbmcy. By his second wife, Mary Ball, he had six children, George, Betty, Samuel, John Au- gustine, Charles, and Mildred.* George Washington, the illustrious father of his country, was born on the 22d of February, 1732. Each of the sons of Augustine Washington inherited from him a separate plantation. To the eldest, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate near Hunting Park, afterwards called Mount Vernon. The second son had for his part an estate in Westmoreland. To George were left the lands and man- sion in Stafford county, on the Rappahannock river, where his father had died. All the children were left in a condi- tion of independence. Mrs. Washington, a woman of strong * Sparks. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 11 sense, prudence, and industry, had control of all the estates until their owners came of age. She performed the difficult task allotted to her, with entire success — and the world should give her the same tribute of respect and veneration which has been awarded to the mothers of all truly great men. The province of Virginia offered but scanty means of education. Enough knowledge for a practical business life was the most that could be obtained. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and the mathematics, were alone within the reach of Washington. It is said that he was a diligent student ; but that his passion for active sports and military exercises was displayed at a very early age. He delighted in running, jumping, wrestling, tossing bars, and other feats of strength and agility. Another tradition is preserved which is quite as probable, and is important, as illustrating the growth of two of his greatest qualities. It is said that while at school his reputation for truth and judgment was so well established, that his fellow pupils were accustomed to make him the arbiter of their disputes, and never failed to be satisfied with his decision. Besides performing what was required of him in the usual routine of study, the young Washington compiled a system of maxims and regulations, and arranged them under the head of Rules for Behaviour in Company and Conver- sation. His temper was ardent and his passions powerful. The great object of his little code was to teach himself per- fect self-control, which, according to the passionate Burns, is "wisdom's root." In the conquest of himself, Washing- ton perfectly succeeded, and throughout his career he retained the command of his propensities. George left school in the autumn preceding his sixteenth 12 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. birth' day. The last two years had been devoted to the study of geometry, trigonometry, and surveying. During the last summer he was at school, he surveyed the fields and plantations around the school-house, and, with great skill and precision, entered the measurements and calculations in his books. He seems to have possessed a natural bent for the exact sciences. While George was at school, his eldest brother, Law- rence, seeing his military inclination, procured a milship- man's warrant for him. George prepared with a buoyant spirit, to enter the British navy ; but the earnest persuasion of his mother induced him to abandon the project and con- tinue at school. How much depended upon his decision in this matter ! He went to reside with his brother Lawrence, at Mount Vernon. There he became acquainted with the Fairfax family, from whom he obtained his first regular employment as a surveyor. The eccentric Lord Fairfax had purchased immense tracts of wild lands in the rich valley of the Alleghany mountains. These were to be measured and divided into lots. The ser- vice was difficult and dangerous. The country swarmed with Indians, with whom peace was always a disagreeable truce, and the hardships of a wilderness were to be endured. Washington, accompanied by George Fairfax, surmounted all obstacles, and performed the service required with skill and accuracy. His reputation as a surveyor was established. The knowledge of the wilderness and its inhabitants which he acquired was of great use to him in subsequent surveying and military expeditions. Receiving a commission as public surveyor, he was engaged almost uninterruptedly in the business of that office, during the following thre^ years. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 13 At the age of nineteen he entered upon the military sen nee. The frontiers were then threatened by the French and Indians, and as a precautionary measure it was resolved to put the militia in a condition for defence. The province was divided into districts, in each of which was placed an adjutant-general, with the rank of major, whose duty it was to muster, and maintain discipline among the militia. Wash- ington received charge of one of these districts. He new studied tactics, and entered upon this congenial service with zeal and alacrity. But the ill-health of his brother Law- rence, called him away to Barbadoes, and it was four months before he returned to Virginia. Lawrence died in Bermuda, of consumption. George was left executor, and his time and thoughts were occupied for several months with the complicated business devolving to his hands. Yet the dn ties of his office were not neglected. Governor Dinwiddie now divided Virginia into four grand military departments, and Washington, much to his gratification, received the command in the northern department. This was a post of great responsibility, and the fact that it was conferred upon so young a man proves that the governor had confidence in his talents and energy. (1752.) But new scenes of service more important in the eyes of his countrymen were about to open before Washington. Governor Dinwiddie received information that the French had left Canada, in force, and were about to erect forts on the Ohio, while the Indians were assuming a hostile front. He im- mediately resolved to send a commissioner to confer with the commander of the French forces, to inquire by what right he presumed to invade the dominions of the King of England, and what were his designs. Major Washington was though; to be best qualified for this delicate and dangerous comnns- 14 LIVES OF THE PRESIIENT8. sion, and upon him the governor fixed. The major was then twenty-one years old. Having received written instructions, with credentials and a passport, Washington departed from Williamsburg on the 31st of October, 1753. He was accompanied by Indian and French interpreters. At Will's creek he found Mr. Gist, a person long accustomed to the wilderness, who was persuaded to join the party as a guide. Four other men were added as attendants. The party then penetrated into the forests, and soon left the civilized region far behind. The severity -of the season, the Alleghanies covered with snow, and the valleys flooded by the swelling waters, were obstacles only to be surmounted slowly and with great exertion. At length, the company reached the Forks of the Ohio, where the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers unite. Wash- ington perceived the military advantages of this place, and it was by his advice that a fortification was afterwards be- gun there. About twenty miles below the Fork, he held a conference with Half-king and other Delaware chiefs, ex- plained the objects of the mission, and communicated the wishes of the governor. After some delay, four Indians were procured as an escort, and the party set forward for the station of the French commandant. At Venango, the French Captain Joncaire, used various stratagems to detain the Indians. But Washington outwitted him. At the fort on French creek, fifteen miles south of Lake Erie, St. Pierre, the superior officer was found. Washington performed his mission. The answer of St. Pierre was uncomplying and determined. He had been ordered to take post on the Ohio, and he intended to do his duty. With an answer to this effect, Washington, after ascertaining the strength jf the post, GEORGE WASHINGTON. 15 set out upon his return. The hardships and dangers of thi.. journey homeward were much greater and more trying than than those of the outward expedition. The fortitude of Washington was severely tested. During part of the trave] upon land, through the snow, he was accompanied by Mr. Gist, alcne. On several occasions, their lives were en- dangered by exposure and fatigue. They arrived at Wil- liamsburg on the 26th of January, having been absent eleven weeks.* Governor Dinwiddie now resolved to repel French en- croachments, by force, if necessary. Two hundred men were collected and placed under the command of the gallant young Washington, who was ordered to proceed to the Fork of the Ohio and there erect a fort. When the military force was reorganized for the exigencies of the moment. Colonel Fry was appointed commander-in-chief, and Wash- ington was second in command, with the rank of lieutenant- colonel. Captain Trent was sent forward with one company, to commence the fort at the Fork ; but Contracoeur, with a large force of French and Indians, came down the Alle- ghany and compelled the working party to capitulate. The French then completed the fortification and called it Fort Duquesne. As soon as news of this disaster reached Washington at Alexandria, he sent expresses to the different governors calling for reinforcements, and then set forward boldly, with the intention of erecting a fort on the Monongahela, at the mouth of Redstone creek. But he soon received information that the French were advancing against nim with superior, numbers, and he therefore hastened to a place called the Great Meaiows, and threw up some defences. Mr. Gist * Sparks. 16 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. brought intelligence that a small party of French were within five miles of the Great Meadows, and Washington resolved to attempt their capture. He put himself at the head of forty men, marched all night to reach an Indian village, and then soncerted measures with the Delaware chief, Tanacharison. The French were surprised, Jumonville, the commander. Mid ten of his men, killed, and twenty-two made prisoners. Washington then returned to Great Meadows, (March 28th. 1754.) Colonel Fry died, while on his way to join the little army. Colonel Innes was appointed to succeed him, while Washing ton received command of all the Virginia troops who were sailed to the field. Forsee^ng that the French would ittempt to revenge the capture of Jumonville's party, Wash- ington erected palisades at the encampment in the Great Meadows, and called the rude works Fort Necessity. His force numbered four hundred men. The friendly Delawares acted as spies and scouts. But now some diffi- culty occurred between Captain Mackay, who held a royal commission, and the Virginia Colonel. Mackay maintained his independent command. To put an end to the battle, Washington left the captain and his company at the fort, and marched over a rough and most arduous road to < list's plantation. The news arrived that the French were ad- vancing in great force. Mackay came to the aid of Wash- ington, but a council decided that a retreat was necessary. The whole body fell back to the Great Meadows, where Washington determined to make a stand. The men were diligently employed in strengthening the defences with all the means at command. On the morning of the 3d of July, the French approa within six hundred yards of the fort, and began an infTectnal GEORGE WASHINGTON. 17 fire, which was given and returned until e ght o'clock in the evening, when a parley was demanded by De Villers, the French commander. The result was the capitulation of the garrison on honorable terms ; they being allowed to return unmolested to the English settlements, and to retain their arms and baggage. Washington agreed to restore the pri- soners of Jumonville's party, and not to build any more establishments beyond the mountains for the space of a year. The Indians, notwithstanding the terms of the capitulation, attacked the English soon after they commenced their re- treat. They were kept at bay, though they succeeded in pilfering the baggage. The exact number of men engaged in the action cannot be ascertained; but the French were twice as numerous, at least, as the English. Washington's loss was twelve killed, and forty-three wounded. The con- duct of the commander and his troops was highly approved by the governor, the council, and the public. In spite of Washington's agreement not to erect another establishment beyond the mountains, Governor Dinwiddie resolved that another fort should be built, and that an ex- pedition should be set on foot against Fort Duquesne. Wash- ington remonstrated, and showed that both troops and sup- plies were wanting, and that the season would place almost insurmountable difficulties in the way of such enterprize. The assembly refused to grant the necessary funds, until the year was too far advanced to attempt hostile operations. A new organization of the army was now made, by which Washington was reduced to the rank of captain, and many who had been his subordinates, placed above him. This his high spirit could not bear ; he resigned his commission and retired from the army. In March, 1755, General Braddock, with two regiments 18 LIVES OP THE PRESIDENTS. of regular troops, from Great Britain, landed in Virgin La. It was expected that the campaign would be decisive. One of the general's first acts was to invite Colonel Washington to act as his aid, retaining his former rank. The troops were concentrated at Will's creek. There Braddock was thrown into paroxysms of ill humor by the delays of the province of Pennsylvania in furnishing him with the means of transportation. The zeal and activity of Dr. Franklin at length remedied the want. The forces were set in mo- tion. But the difficulties of the road were great, and their progress was slow. Washington advised the general to divide his army and hurry forward with one division against Fort Duquesne, before the garrison could be reinforced. This advice was adopted ; but Braddock refused the services of the scouts and spies, whom the colonel, accustomed to wilderness warfare, recommended. General Braddock led the advanced division of twelve hundred men, lightly equipped. Colonel Dunbar, with six hundred men remained in the rear. Sickness detained Washington nearly two weeks. But he at length recovered, and, pushing forward, he overtook the general, fifteen miles from Fort Duquesne, the evening before the battle of Mo- nongahela.* It is not within the scope of this biography to give a detailed account of this memorable disaster of the 9th of July, 1755. Upon crossing the Monongahela, about ten miles from Fort Duquesne, Braddock fell into an ambus- cade of about nine hundred French and Indians, commanded by Captain Beaujeu and Dumas. Instead of adopting tactics suited to Indian warfare, the general compelled his troops to remain together : and they were shot down by hundreds. At length, Braddock fell, mortally wounded, it is said by * Sparks. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 10 one of his own men, who believed the safety of the remainder of the army would be secured by the death of the obstinate commander.* Washington wa3 the only officer who remained unhurt, and even he had two horses shot under him, and received four bullets in his coat. With great coolness and prudence, he rallied the Virginians, and protected the retreat of the terror-stricken regulars. The enemy pursued but a Bhort distance and then retreated to collect the spoils. The killed and wounded on the side of the English amounted to seven hundred and seventy-seven men, of whom sixty-three were officers. The loss of the enemy was trifling. Brad- dock died upon the fourth day after the defeat, and was buried in the road. Up to that time, Washington and Dun- bar had preserved some degree of order in the army ; but ,hen, the troops were seized with a panic, and discipline was set at defiance until the straggling companies reached Fort Cumberland. Here Washington remained a few days to regain some strength, and then, being no longer connected with the service, he retired to Mount Vernon. While the country staggered under a dreadful blow, and censure was heaped upon Braddock, the fame of the Virginia colonel was rendered brighter. From all sides came praises of his intrepidity, foresight, and prudence. The Rev. Samuel Davies only echoed the general voice, when he expressed the opinion that Washington was reserved for some great and patriotic service. The colonel was not allowed to rest. When the army was newly organized, he was appointed commander-in-chief. This responsible office he accepted upon the conditions that he should have a voice in choosing his own officers, and that there should be a thorough reform in the military regula * Perkins- -Annals of the West. 20 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. tions. His energy and circumspection wer* now more vi gorously exercised. Every thing within the scope of his command, he took care to be perfectly acquainted with. His head-quarters were at Winchester. Suddenly, the In- dians commenced their depredations upon the frontier. Washington ordered out a strong force, but such was the insubordination of officers and men, and the defective cha racter of the militia organization, that but little could be effected for the relief of the frontier. The situation of Washington was trying to his sensibilities. The inhabitants were crying for aid, and it was not in his power to give it. He exerted himself to obtain a system of discipline for his forces, and at length, had the gratification of seeing a bill passed by the assembly, which gave him authority to punish mutiny and disobedience. It was too late in the season for a campaign. Washington busied himself in strengthening the frontier posts and collecting supplies, and soon had a much more efficient force at command than ever before. A difficulty occurring with Captain Dagworthy, who held a royal commission and refused obedience to any provincial officer, compelled the commander to appeal to General Shir- ley, general-in-chief of all the English forces in America. In February, 1756, he started for Boston, and travelled the whole distance, five hundred miles, on horseback. General Shirley received Washington politely, and accorded him his full demands. Dagworthy was ordered to act under the Virginia colonel, who now returned to mature a plan for the campaign. All ideas of offensive movements were vain. The means of transportation and even the artillery were wanting. The protection of the frontier was the most that seemed feasible The assembly determined to increase the army to fifteen GEORGE \¥ A.SHINGTON. 21 hundred men. But while the business of recruiting was going on, the tomahawk and scalping-knife were drenched with blood. Washington was unable to relieve the distresses of the people. Yet he was accused of negligence and want of military talent. Somewhat irritated, he intimated that he wished to retire from his responsible station, But the soothing letter of influential friends, and the general ap- proval of the people, induced him to abandon the idea. The duties of the campaign were arduous, though opportunities of acquiring glory were presented. The incursions of the savages were unceasing and terrible. During the summer and autumn, many skirmishes occurred. Old forts were repaired and new ones built. Washington made the tour of the whole frontier, for the purpose of inspecting and sup- plying the garrison, and was consequently exposed to the attacks of the Indians. Constant trouble, concerning the reinforcements and supplies, which were delayed, rendered the commander's station any thing but agreeable. Few military men could have had the patience to bear the vexa- tions endured by Washington. On several occasions, he recommended offensive expeditions, which promised success, but was never permitted to gratify his noble ambition, in the prosecution of them. In the latter part of 1757, fatigue and exposure had so undermined his strength, that his phv- aician advised him to retire from the army. He went tc Mount Vernon, where he fell ill of a fever, and was reduced very low. It was four months before he was able to resume his command. (March 1st, 1758.) The accession of the energetic William Pitt to the head of the administration in England led to a more vigorous prosecution of the war in America. It was determined to Bet on fsot an expedition against Fort Duquesne, and Ge 22 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. neral Forbes was appointed to take the command. Tha colonies furnished the supplies with alacrity, and harmony was again secured between the British and the provincial officers by placing them upon the same footing. Two regi- ments were raised in Virginia, Washington still holding the chief command. Colonel Byrd was to head the second regi- nisnt. General Forbes was detained at Philadelphia and Colonel Bouquet was ordered to take post in the central parts of Pennsylvania, where the provincials were to join him. Washington was very active in enlisting men und collecting supplies. In July, he led the Virginia regiments to Fort Cumberland. He was eager to advance against Fort Duquesne at an early day and by Braddock's route. But General Forbes resolved, in spite of Washington's for- cible arguments, to cut a new road. It was November, there- fore, before the main body of the army reached Loyal Hanna. Washington requested and received the command of the ad- vanced division of one thousand men, upon whom the chief labor and duty devolved. No material event, besides the defeat of Major Grant's reconnoitering party occurred, until the 25th of November, when General Forbes took possession of the ruins of Fort Duquesne, the French having aban- doned and set fire to it, the day before, and gone down the river in boats. The fort was repaired, and named Fort Pitt. A portion of the Virginians were left for a garrison, and the rest of the party returned. Washington now determined to retire from the army. There was no prospect of his rising much higher in the mi- litary line, and the province was in a great measure relieved from Indian depredations. In December, he resigned his commission. On this occasion, the officers who had served under him sent him an address, expressive of their high es- GEORGE WASHINGTON. Z6 ciraation of him as a commander, and as a man — a testimo- nial most gratifying to his feelings. Throughout his ser- vice of five years, he had displayed integrity, energy, and judgment, and this was now generally acknowledged. The events of this period of service were of a nature to give Washington confidence in his own resources, and he certainly acquired a fund of experience, which was of the greatest use co him in his subsequent high positions. The susceptibility of Washington in matters of affection for the female sex had been evinced on several occasions. He is said to have had a "flame," whom he designated as a " Lowland beauty," when he was only seventeen. In the course of the year 1758, he paid his addresses to Mrs. Martha Custis, widow of John Parke Custis, and distinguished alike for beauty, accomplishments, and wealth. He was married to this lady on the 6th of January, 1759. The union was destined to be long and felicituous. To the son and daughter of Mrs. Washington, the new husband acted the part of a faithful and affectionate father. The vast additions made to his estates furnished new employment for Washington's active mind ; and then he was elected, without effort or solicitation on his part, to represent Frederick county in the Virginia House of Burgesses — so that the public was not long without his services. Upon his first attendance at the house, Mr. Robinson moved that the thanks of that body be tendereu to Colonel Washington for the important services he had render to his country, and enforced his motion in a glowing speech. Washington arose to express his acknowledgements for the honor, but such was his confusion that he could not give ut- terance to a single syllable. The speaker came to his relief — •* Sit dcwn," said he, with a conciliating smile, "your mo 24 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. desty equals your valor ; and that surpasses the power of any language that I possess." From this time until the revolution, a period of fifteen years, Washington was constantly a member of the House of Burgesses, first representing Frederick county, and then Fairfax, his residence of Mount Vernon being in the latter. He was punctual in his attendance, and though he never made a set speech, was remarkable for astonishing accuracy of judgment, and was ever influential. The great Patrick Henry had a lofty estimation of his ability,* and repeatedly spoke of him with admiration. At the same time Washing- ton maintained the character of a country gentleman, and Mount Vernon was the centre of a highly cultivated circle of friends. When the oppressive measures of the British Parliament excited the spirit of resistance in the people of the provinces, Washington was not indifferent. He was of opinion that the British ministry was pursuing a regular plan at the ex- pense of law and justice, and thought that such a plan should be resisted. He presided at a meeting held in Fairfax county, at which resolutions were adopted, expressive of the the sense of the inhabitants, and in denunciation of the vio- lations of the rights of British subjects. He was a member of the Williamsburg Convention, which adopted some bold resolutions, and appointed seven deputies, of whom he was one, to the general Congress, to meet in Philadelphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. An anecdote is told by Mr. Wirt, which shows in what estimation Washington was held by the members of the first Congress. Soon after Patrick Henry returned home, being asked, "whom he thought the greatest man in Congress. ' * Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 25 he replied, " If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is by far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." On returning home, Washington, at the request of some of the volunteer companies, acted as field officer, and re- viewed and instructed them. He was elected a delegate to the Virginia Convention of March, 1775, in which Patrick Henry sounded the trumpet of the revolution, and was chosen to a seat in the second Congress, which met in Phi- ladelphia on the 10th of May, 1775. It was a great object of this Congress to gain a complete knowledge of the mili- tary resources of the colonies, and committees were ap- pointed for that purpose. Of all these important commit- tees, Washington was chairman. The first blood was shed at Lexington, and it became necessary to immediately or- ganize the army, and elect a commander-in-chief. It was thought by some that the latter would prove a difficult task. But when John Adams, of Massachusetts, suggested the name of Washington, general satisfaction was expressed ; and on the 15th of June, he was unanimously chosen to that responsible station. The appointment was communicated to him the next morning, by the President. He arose in his place and signified his acceptance in a reply which con- tained expressions of the self-distrust of modest merit. He declared that he would accept of no compensation beyond the expenses of his office. Four days afterwards he received his commission, and Congress unanimously resolved to maintain, assist, and adhere to him, with their lives and fortunes, in the same cause. A rough, undisciplined, and unprovided army had col- 26 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. lected in the neighborhood of Boston. Washington's pre- sence was immediately necessary. But in spite of his haste, he did not arrive at Cambridge, until the 2d of July, about two weeks after the battle of Bunker's Hill. He was every where received with respect and enthusiasm. He bent the whole force of his mind to overcome the great difficulties with which he was obliged to struggle, in consequence of the want of ammunition, clothing, and magazines, the defi- ciency of arms and discipline, and the evils of short enlist- ments. The history of this campaign before Boston is a history of successive exertions to surmount almost insuper- able obstacles, by one who was solicitous, in the extreme, to perform some great and useful achievement, in order to prove himself worthy of his high station. In one of his letters to Congress, at this period, he says, " I cannot help acknowledging that I have many disagreeable sensations on account of my situation ; for to have the eyes of the whole continent fixed upon me, with anxious expec- tation of hearing of some great event, and to be restrained in every military operation, for want of the necessary means to carry it on, is not very pleasing, especially as the means used to conceal my weakness from the enemy, conceal it also from our friends, and add to their wonder." This was written in February, after a council of war had expressed an opinion, chiefly on account of the want of ammunition for the artillery, against the execution of a bold plan which he had formed of crossing the ice, and attacking General Howe, in Boston. He then took possession of the heights of Dor- chester, in the persuasion that a general action would ensue, as the position enabled him to annoy the ships in the harbor and the soldiers in the town. The British general, in conse- quence, was reduced to the alternative of either dislodging GEORGE WASHINGTON. 27 the Americans or evacuating the place, and endeavored t2 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The only advantage which he is supposed to have given was at the battle of Brandy wine ; and that was produced by the contrariety and uncertainty of the intelligence received. In a new army, where military talent has not been well tried, the general is peculiarly exposed to the chance of employing not the best instruments. In a country, too, which is covered with wood, precise information of the numbers composing different columns is to be gained with difficulty." After the occupation of Philadelphia, the British general saving divided his force, so as to give Washington a fair opportunity to engage him with advantage, he determined to avail himself of it by surprising the camp which had been formed at Germantown, and attacking both wings, in front and rear, at the same time. He made all his arrangements with his wonted caution and address; and, on the 4th of October, the enterprise was carried into effect, and, for a time, seemed certain of a successful issue ; but the darkness of the morning, produced by a fog of uncommon density, introducing confusion into the American troops, Washington was compelled to relinquish his hopes, and to direct his at- tention to secure the retreat of his men. This he did with- out loss. Decided approbation was expressed by Congress, both of the plan of this enterprise, and of the courage with which it was executed ; and their thanks were voted to the general and the army. Having taken all possible measures to cut off the enemy from supplies, Washington took post at White- marsh where an attempt to surprise him was made by Ge- neral Howe ; but it was disconcerted, intelligence having reached him of the intended stroke. He then distributed his soldiers in winter-quarters at Valley Forge, where their sufferings were excessive, in consequence of the intense GEORGE WASHINGTON. 33 severity of the season, and their want of most of the neces- saries for comfort, and even for existence. Every effort was made by him to improve their condition, and augment their numbers ; for these ends, he exercised, though with caution, the dictatorial powers intrusted to him by Con- gress. His incessant labors and unyielding patriotism could not, however, save him from the imputations which want of success, even though occasioned by insuperable obstacles, always engenders ; and a combination was formed to deprive him of his command, and substitute in his place the victor of Saratoga, General Gates. But to weaken his hold upon the confidence and affection of the great body of the people and the army, was found impossible ; and even the troops who had conquered under Gates received the idea of the change with indi^- nation. The machinations of his enemies were frustrated without any effort on his part, and only did injury to themselves. They made no undue impression on his steady mind, nor did they change one of his measures. His sensibilities were for his county, and not for himself. In June, 1778, the British evacuated Philadelphia, whicr> was rendered a dangerous position for them by the part i* was now evident that France was about to take in the war^ and the naval force which had been prepared by that powei before she declared herself. They retreated upon New York, through New Jersey, followed by Washington, who, in opposition to the opinion of a council of general officers, and taking his measures on his own responsibility, brought them to an action on the twenty-fourth of the month, at Monmouth, which, though not a decided victory, was yet favorable to the American arms, and productive of great satis- faction to Congress and the country. He passed the night m his clout, in the midst of his soldiers, in* nnMncr to r©now 34 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. * che engagement on the following morning ; but, before the return of day, the enemy had marched off in silence, and effected their retreat to New York. Marshall has given an extract from a letter of Lafayette to him respecting this battle, in which he says, " Never was General Washington greater in war than in this action : his presence stopped the retreat, his dispositions fixed the victory. His fine appear- ance on horseback, his calm courage, roused by the anima- tion produced by the vexation of the morning, (le depit de la matinee,) gave him the air best calculated to excite enthusiasm." fn the year of 1779, Congress had formed the plan of an invasion of Canada, which was deemed altogether inexpe- dient by Washington ; and, in consequence, he requested a personal interview. This was a*, "■eded to ; and, on his ar- rival in Philadelphia, a committee was appointed to confer with him on that particular subject, .and on the general state of the army and the country. The result of their con- ferences was, that the expedition against Canada was aban- doned ; and every arrangement recommended by the com- mander-in-chief received the attention to which all his opi- nions were entitled. From this period to the siege of York- town, no incident calling for particular mention occurred in Washington's career. He remained in the neighborhood of New York, watching the enemy, and taking every measure for the welfare of the country, without being able to perform an"' striking exploit. He had to contend with difficulties the mastering of which required higher qualities than are necessary to gain a brilliant victory. His soldiers could scarcely be kept from perishing with cold and hunger, or from dispersing and living on plunder. They were daily leaving the service: some regiments niu f: nied; others re- GEORGE WASHINGTON. 35 volted and marched home; and he could obtain no compli- ance with his urgent requisitions for recruits. Nothing could be looser and more precarious than the thread by which the the army was kept together ; and, in any other hands than his, it must inevitably have been broken. But, in spite of every obstacle and disaster, he prevented the enemy from accomplishing any thing material, and adopted such prepa- ratory steps as might enable him to turn to advantage any fortunate incident which might occur. In 1781, he planned, in conjunction with Coum de Ro- chambeau, a grand enterprise against New York ; but cir- cumstances concurred to indu^j an alteration in his views and to direct them to operations in the south. He conti- nued, however, arrangements for the attempt on the city, in order to deceive Sir Henry Clinton as to his real intentions, which he did with considerable address. In August, he began his movement; and, having taken measures for the transportation of his army clown the Chesapeake, he pro- ceeded to Virginia with De Rochambeau and Chevalier de Chatelleux. On Sept. 14, he reached Williamsburg, and had an interview with Count de Grasse, the admiral of the French fleet, which was lying in the bay at the time, for the purpose of adjusting a plan of co-operation with regard to the investment of the British, at York- town, to which they had retired. The siege commenced on Sept. 28 ; and, on Oct. 19, after severe fighting, Lord Cornwallis was reduced to the necessity of surrendering the posts of Yorktown and Gloucester Point, with their garrisons, and the ships in the harbor, with their seamen, to- the land and naval forces of America and France. The capture of Cornwallis was generally considered the finishing stroke of the war; but it produced no disposition 36 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. in the American commander-in-chief to relax in those exer tions which might yet be necessary to secure the great ob- ject of the contest. He hastened to Philadelphia to confer with Congress respecting the military establishment of the succeeding year. He addressed a circular to all the state sovereignties, pressing the importance of supplies. He pro- mised and made all possible exertions towaids expelling the British from New York and Charleston. He felt alarm, and proclaimed increased danger, lest the debates in the British parliament concerning peace should beget supine- ness in America. During the winter quarters, when the military situation of affairs in general would have allowed of his absence from camp, he remained there, in order to watch and allay the discontents of the American troops, who supposed themselves ill-treated by Congress and the States. After the treaty of peace was signed, those discontents, which he knew at least to be plausible, gave him much trouble and disquietude He added to his reputation by the manner in which he noticed and counteracted the famous " Newburgh Letters," and suppressed the mutiny of the Phi- ladelphia line. While, however, he vindicated discipline, and enforced subordination to the civil authorities, he deeply sympathized with the suffering troops, and used every lawful means to procure redress for their grievances. On the 25th cf November, 1783, peace and independence being achieved, the British forces evacuated New York, and Washington made his public entry into that city, attended by a splendid volunteer retinue. On the 4th of December, he took his solemn farewell of the principal officers of the American army, assembled in a hotel at New York. On the lOih of that month, at Annapolia, where congress was then GEORGE WASHINGTON. 37 in session, he resigned, in form, to that body, the commission which he had so long and gloriously borne, and returned to private life, which he so much loved. After peace was pro- claimed, Congress unanimously passed a resolution for the erection of an equestrian statue of their general, at the place which should be established for the seat of government. The legislature of Virginia also decreed to him " a statue of the finest marble and best workmanship," with an appropri- ate inscription. It was placed in the capitol of Virginia. Washington took great interest in the navigation of the Vir- ginia rivers : he exerted himself to procure joint legislative acts of Virginia and Maryland for the improvement of the Potomac. He negotiated with the latter on the part of the former state ; and the legislature of Maryland, anxious to bear some testimony to his worth, unanimously passed a bill authorizing the treasurer to subscribe, " for the benefit of General Washington," the same number of shares in each of the navigation companies to be formed as were to be taken for the state. Washington was embarrassed by this gene- rous and honorable proceeding. In a fine letter of acknow- ledgement, he declined the large donation for himself, but asked it for some objects of a public nature. The shares were then reserved for the use of a seminary of learning es- tablished in the vicinity of James and Potomac rivers. In 1787, the legislature of Virginia unanimously elected him one of their delegates to the convention to be held at Phila- delphia for the revisal of the federal system. He finally consented to serve, making a painful sacrifice of his plans and expectations of uninterrupted retirement, in order to assist in "averting the contemptible figure which the Ame- rican communities were about to make in the annals of man- kind, wilh their separate, independent, jealous state sove 38 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. reignties," The convention, when assembled at Philadelphia, unanimously chose him for their president ; and no member in that august body more decidedly approved the constitu- tion which they gave to the country. All America, as soon as it was adopted, looked to him as the first President under it, with an eye of affectionate confidence and desire which could not be resisted. His reluctance to quit his retreat was extreme. The expression of his feeling on this head, in his private letters, is a striking mixture of genuine diffi- dence, personal disappointment and elevated patriotism. Neither the animosity of parties, nor the preponderance of the enemies of the new system in some of the states, could deprive him of a single vote for the station of President. From Mount Vernon to New York, where Congress was in session, the journey of Washington had the character of a triumph. He took the oath of office on the 30th of April, 1789. In his inaugural speech, he expressed his deep sense of the magnitude of the trust reposed in him, and invoked the aid of that Almighty Being, whose supremacy he had always acknowledged. In conformity with the rule to which he had hitherto adhered, he gave notice to Congress, that he would accept no further compensation than would be necessary to defray the ordinary expences of his station. The President had scarcely entered upon the duties of tiis office, before he was seized with a severe malady, which confined him to his bed for six weeks. He had hardly re- gained strength to go abroad, when he heard of the death of his mother, at the advanced age of eighty-two. This affliction had been expected. Yet Washington deeply felt [he loss of a beloved parent. He had taken a final farewell GEORGE WASHINGTON. 39 of her just before his visit to New York to be inaugurated, being then convinced that she was rapidly sinking. She bore to the grave, the esteem and veneration of the country to whom she had given so noble a son. Congress created three departments, the heads of which were to form the cabinet of the President. Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State — Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury — and Henry Knox, Secretarv of War. All three were men of great talents and extensive acquirements. Edmund Randolph was selected to fill the office of Attorney General, and John Jay was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Thus the ship of state was set afloat with the best of pilots and an able crew. Alexander Hamilton exercised the greatest in- fluence upon the administration. Its chief measures — the funding system, the assumption of the state debts, the bank, and tits tax on domestic spirits, all of which excited the opposition of a large party, with Jefferson at its head, ori- ginated from the Secretary of the Treasury. But it was Washington's approval and personal influence that secured them an adoption and a due degree of respect. The spirit tax was openly and violently resisted in Pennsylvania, and a strong military force alone, put down the opposition. Yet, throughout the country, the affection of the people for Washington remained unchanged. In firmly performing his official duty he had given additional reason for this attachment, Hamilton and Jefferson differed concerning every measure of the administration. Jefferson discharged the duties of his office to the entire satisfaction of the President, but hia support of the government was not that of a cordial will, Washington recommended mutual forbearance of the party 40 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. leaders, but their political courses continued to diverge, and they finally became personal enemies. The heat of parties, and the apprehensions of statesmen concerning the stability of the Union, induced Washington to sacrifice his private inclination for the public welfare, and to accept a second term of office, upon which he entered March 4th, 1793. The Indian war, upon the north-western frontier, which had hitherto proved disastrous, and the low- ering aspect of the foreign relations of the Union, furnished full occupation to the administration. France had become a republic, and now declared war against England. A large portion of the America!! people deeply sympathized with the French, and wished the government to form an alliance with the new republic. But Washington considered a neu- tral policy as the safest ; and though he sympathized with men struggling for freedom, as earnestly as any, he saw with horror the atrocities of the monsters at the head of the French government, and did not deem them worthy of sup- port. At all events, in his eyes, neutrality was the pros- perous path for the Union. Genet, the French minister, receiving no countenance from the government, appealed to the people, and fitted out vessels in American ports, in dc fiance of the President. But the Republican party, as the party which leaned to a French alli-ance was called, could not support the minister in such extreme measures. The heart of the country was with Washington, and he was ena- bled to maintain the neutrality of the infant republic. Party strife was hot during the whole of the second term of Washington. Even his private character was assailed. Though the able Hamilton retired from the cabinet, his policy continued to be that of the President, and this the supporters of Jefferson continually and bitterly attacked. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 41 Ago, the love of agricultural pursuits, svwd consider?) tiona of what was due to republican institutions, induced Wash- ington to determine to surrender the chief magistracy at the end of the second term. In September, 17 93jjie issued a Farewell Address to the people of the United States, which has ever been considered by his countrymen a wise and pa- triotic paper, always reliable for their political guidance. He remained at the seat of government until the inaugura- te o tion of his successor, Mr. Adams, and then retired to Mount Vernon, and devoted himself to agriculture and the man- agement of his estates. In 1798, when, in consequence of the difficulties with France, the United States armed by sea and land, Wash- ington was once more called into public service, receiving the appointment of lieutenant-general of the army. He accepted the post upon condition that he should be al- lowed to choose the officers immediately under him, and. his judgment was at once displayed in the selection of Alexander Hamilton and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for his major-generals. Happily, the difficulties were settled before armies could be set in motion. But Washington retained his commission until his death. On Thursday, tne 12th of .December, 1799, he was seized ,-vith an inflammation in the throat, which terminated his life on Saturday, the 14th of the same month, in the 68th yeai of his age. The mourning of his countrymen was that or children for a father, as well as that of republicans for a good and great captain. In Congress and throughout the States, lofty eulogiums were pronounced by orators and Btatesmen, and the badge of woe was worn by all. Painters and sculptors have preserved the personal ap- pearance of Washington. He was tall and strongly built — 42 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. nis frame ln the other side of the street, who had witnessed the bet, and were curious to see the issue, came up to the general, and slapping him familiarly on the back, exclaimed, with a jocose air, " Well, my old fellow, how do you find yourself this morning ?" Washington stopped ; turned round ; looked him full in the face ; and with freezing solemnity said, " Sir, what have I ever said, or done, which induces you to trea' me in this manner?" The man shrank into nothing, and was extinguished. "Another anecdote is told of his vindication of his dignity. When Washington had his quarters near Newburgh, he was frequently occupied in writing those immortal letters to GEORGE WASHINGTON. 43 Congress, in Vrhich it is hard to say whether the patriot, the general, the statesman, or the father of the American army, shines the most illustriously, and which, of themselves, would be enough to confer immortality upon their author ; and he gave a general order that at such times he was not to be disturbed, or spoken to, unless under the most urgent necessity. A militia officer, of no particular rank or stand- ing, came, one day, into the ante-room, and asked to see the commander-in-chief. Colonel Trumbull, the aid-de- camp who was on duty, informed him that the general was not to be seen ; but politely requested the officer to entrust his business with him. The officer, never having seen Wasington, little knowing with whom he had to deal, and very proud of the opportunity of having a personal inter- view, treated this intimation with hauteur, and demanded to see General Washington himself, with whom, he said, he had important business. Colonel Trumbull stated the positive orders that had been given, and said that if he went to the general's private room the consequences must be upon the officer alone. " Oh, certainly," said he, smiling, "I'll bear the consequences." The aid slowly and reluctantly ap- proached the chamber, and gently knocked. " Who's there ?" thundered a de^p voice within, in those tones which none heard without dread. Colonel Trumbull stated the case, and said that though repeatedly warned of the orders, the officer insisted on seeing him. " Does he ?" and at the same time the warlike tread was heard, the door suddenly opened, and Washington came forth. "I thought," said Trumbull, when relating to me the anecdote, "I thought, he would have walked over him." " Well, sir, what is your business with me ?" The- officer, with widely altered tone and manner, stammered out some petty question relating to 44 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the etiquette of camp duty in which he had differed with a fellow officer, and which he wished to have decided by the commander-in-chief. Washington had never taken his eyes off of him: and when he was done, replied, "Ask that question of your orderly Serjeant," and turned into his chamber. Turnbull said he never in his life saw a human creature so completely thunderstruck. He never appeared again at head-quarters. " Yet, it must not be understood from these instances, that there was the least want of courtesy in his general manner ; the reverse is true : he is truly and uniformly polite ; but it was a grave politeness, infinitely removed from that heartless artificial polish which is acquired by frivolous minds, from long converse with the world.* •'As a military man, he was brave enterprising and cautious. That malignity which has sought to strip him of all the higher qualities as a general, has conceded to him personal courage, and a firmness of resolution which neither dangers or difficulties could shake. But candor will allow him other great and valuable endowments. If his military course does not abound with splendid achievements, it is a series of ju- dicious measures, adapted to circumstances, which probablj saved his country. Placed, without having studied tL theory, or been taught in the school of experience the prac tice of war, at the head of an undisciplined, ill-organizeC, ciultitude, which was unused to the restraints and unac- quainted with the duties of a camp, without the aid of officers possessing those lights which the commander-in-chief was yet to acquire, it would have been a miracle, indeed, had his conduct been absolutely faultless. But, possessing an ener- getic and disti guishing mind, on which the lessons of expo * A. J. Stansbury GEORGE WASHINGTON. 45 Hence were never lost, his errors, if he committed any, were quickly repaired ; and those measures which the state of things rendered most advisable were seldom, if ever, ne- glected. Inferior to his adversary in the numbers, in the equipment, and in the discipline of his troops, it is evidence of real merit, that no great and decisive advantages were ever obtained over him, and the opportunity to strike an im- portant blow never passed away unused. He had been termed the American Fabius ; but those who compare hia actions with his means, Avill perceive at least as much r,f Marcellus as of Fabius in his character. He could not have been more enterprizing without endangering the cause he defended, nor have put more to hazard without incurring justly the imputation of rashness. Not relying upon those chances which sometimes give a favorable issue to attempts apparently desperate, his conduct was regulated by calcu- lations made upon the capacities of his army, and the real situation of his country. "No truth can be uttered with more confidence than that the ends of Washington were always upright, and his means always pure. He exhibits the rare example of a politician to whom wiles were absolutely unknown, and whose professions to foreign governments, and to his own countrymen, were al- ways sincere. In him was fully exemplified the real distinc- tion which forever exists between wisdom and cunning, and the importance as well as the truth of the maxim that ' lonesty ia the best policy." If Washington possessed ambition, that pas- Bion was, in his bosom, so regulated by principles, or con- trolled by circumstances, that it was neither vicious nor tur- bulent. Intrigue was never employed as the means of its gratification ; nor was personal aggrandizement its object. " The various high and important stations to which he was 46 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. called by the public voice, were unsought by himself; and. in consenting to fill them, he seems rather to have yielded to a general conviction, that the interests of his country would be thereby promoted, than to his particular inclination. Nei- ther the extraordinary partiality of the American people, the extravagant praises which were bestowed upon him, nor the inveterate opposition and malignant calumnies which he ex- perienced, had any visible influence upon, his conduct. The cause is to be looked for in the texture of his mind. In him. that innate and unassuming modesty which adulation would have offended, which the voluntary plaudit of millions could not betray into indiscretion, and which never obtruded upon others his claims to superior consideration, was happily blended with a high and correct sense of personal dignity, and with a just consciousness of that respect which : s due to Btation. Without exertion, he could maintain the happy medium between that arrogance which wounds, and that fa- cility which allows the office to be degraded by the person who fills it. It is impossible to contemplate the great events which nave occurred in the United States, under the auspices of Washington, without ascribing them, in some measure, to him. If we ask the causes of the prosperous issue of a war. against the successful termination of which there were many probabilities : of the good which was produced, and the ill which was avoided, during an administration fated to contend with the strongest prejudices that a combination of circum- stances and of passions could produce ; of the constant favor of the great mass of his fellow citizens, and of the confidence which, to the last moment of his life, was reposed in him — the answer, so far as these causes may be found in his character, ?rill furnish a lesson well meriting the attention of those who GEORGE WASHINGTON. 47 are candidates for political fame. Endowed by nature with a sound judgment, and an accurate, discriminating mind, he feared not that laborious attention which made him per- fectly master of those subjects, in all their relations, on which he was to decide ; and this essential quality was guided by an unvarying sense of moral right, which would tolerate the employment only of those means that would bear the most rigid examination ; by a fairness of intention which neither sought nor required disguise ; and a purity of virtue which was not only untainted, but unsuspected.* Numerous monuments have been erected in honor of the Father of his country, and it is probable that the National Monument at the capital will be one of the wonders of the world. But his truest and noblest memorial will be the glorious empire which he founded, and the free institutions which he launched for its benefit. m * -r & — ^ ■■:. i 1 ''' ^i^ JOHN ADAMS. Among those whose eloquence forwarded the revolution, and whose exertions kept alive that indomitable spirit "of patriotism, so necessary to bringing the war to a glorioua termination, John Adams deserves a high and foremost place. According to the testimony of his rival, Jefferson, he was the colossus of the Continental Congress, and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence was the result of his determination, boldness, and eloquence. To him was accorded the great honor of succeeding Washington in the Presidency of the United States. John Adams was born on the 19th of October, (old style) 1735, in the town of Braintree, Massachusetts. His ances- tors were among the founders of the province in which ho was born. He received an elementary education in his na- tive town, and entered Harvard College, in 1751. On graduating, four years afterwards, he went to Worcester, to touch school and study law. James Putnam was his law preceptor ; but he was proposed for admission at the Suffolk county bar, in 1758, by Jeremy Gridley, the attorney-ge- neral of the province. Commencing the practice of his pro- fession in his native town, Mr. Adams soon became known and esteemed. In 1766, he removed to Boston, by the aJ 49 50 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. vice of Mr. Gridley, and having a fair field, quickly took a bigh rank as counsel and advocate. At an early age, Mr. Adams evinced a fondness for ge- neral politics, and while at college he speculated upon the probability of the colonies being the seeds of a great empire. His feelings were strongly and ardently American. Civil and religious liberty he adored, and he was among the first to denounce the oppressive policy which the mother country pursued towards the provinces. In 1764, he married Abigal Smith, daughter of Rev. William Smith, of Weymouth, a lady of strong intelligence and great personal advantages. In the next year, Mr. Adams published an Essay on the C&non and Feudal Law ; the aim of which was to show«the conspi- racy between church and state for the purpose of oppressing the people. This paper displayed as much power of mind as learning, and both were remarkable in so young a lawyer. In 1770, the confidence of his fellow citizens in his ta- lents was evinced by his election to a seat in the legislature of Massachusetts. The Boston Massacre happened the same year. The people were indignant and exasperated. It was feared that Captain Preston and other prominent persons would be sacrificed to appease the popular fury. John Adams and Josiah Quincy bol'ly volunteered to defend tho captain when he was put upon trial, and- secured him the acquittal which was his due. The patriotism of these ad- vocates was too well known for them to lose the .favor of the people by their noble action. While a member of the legis- lature, Mr. Adams not only opposed the -measures of Go- vernor Hutchinson, but wrote against the British ministry Tor the newspapers. In 1774, he was elected a member of the Massachusetts Council, but was negatived by Governor JOHN ADAMS. 51 Sewall. the attorney-general, wrote a number of essays in defence of the ministry, which were published during the years 1774-75. It was expected that they would be influ- ential with the people. But the patriotic leaders were pre- pare 1 to counteract them. Mr. Adams wrote several replica under the name, "Nov Anglus." These papers were cha- racterized by poAver of logic, and clearness and simplicity of style. These added to his reputation, and in 1774, he was appointed a delegate from Massachusetts to the Conti- nental Congress. In that bodv, his decided course and earnest eloquence procured him considerable influence. In the second Congress which met in May, 1775, he again took his scat. He advocated the boldest measures with great force and brilliancy. Congress contained many pure and lofty characters ; and to be a leader in such a body was not a common distinction. Where such orators as Henry, Rutledge, and Lee, and such statesmen as Wash- ington, Mason, Sherman, Franklin, and Jefferson, were to be found, what must he have been who was called the " co- lossus ?" Truly, John Adams was, in will and mind, a great man. It was at his suggestion, that Washington was ap- pointed commander-in-chief of the army of independence, and throughout the revolution, he was his constant friend. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee made the famous motion, that the colonies be declared free and inde- pendent states. This gave rise to an animated discussion. John Adams took the lead upon the side of independence, and made some fervent and powerful appeals to the Con- gress to take the decisive step. The Declaration was adopted. The committee appointed to draw up the document consisted of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, an-] 52 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Robert L. Livingston. It was approved and signed by all the members, on the 4th of July. During the year, Mr. Adams was appointed upon a committee with Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Rutledge. to treat with Lord Howe, for the pacification of the colonies. As was expected, the committee effected nothing towards the object. The offers of the British government could not be accepted. In the latter part of 1777, Congress appointed Mr. Adams commissioner to the court of France, in the place of Silas Deane. When he arrived in France, he found that a treaty of amity and commerce, as well as an alliance, offensive and defensive, had already been consummated ; and after the minister plenipotentiary, Doctor Franklin, arrived, he returned to the United States. In the summer of 1779, Mr. Adams was chosen to a seat in the Massachusetts convention for forming a new consti- tution. As a member of the committee for drafting the fundamental charter, he formed a plan, the most important features of which were adopted. While he attended to the business of the convention, another important office was prepared for him. Congress resolved to send a minister plenipotentiary for negotiating a peace with Great Britain, and Mr. Adams received the appointment. In November, 1779, he sailed for Europe. Abroad, Mr. Adams main- tained the character of a stern and bold republican. While other ambassadors and commissioners flattered the French court, and took all favors as great condescentions, he took another course. He knew that it was to the interest of France to divide the British empire, and he did not hesitate to make demands 'S well as to ask favors. His great ob- jects were to effect a loan in Holland, and to induce that country to recognise the independence of the colonies. He JOHN ADAMS. 53 was successful to the full extent of his wishes. In 1782, he negotiated a very favorable treaty, and obtained a loan of eight million guilders. In 1781, I13 was associated with Dr. Franklin, John Jay, John Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson, in a commission for concluding treaties with various European powers. "W itb Franklin, Jay, and Laurens, he negotiated the definite treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States, which was signed on the 3rd of September, 1783. Mr. Adams remain sd in Europe, serving his country in various capacities until 1788. In 1785, he was appointed minister to Great Britain, where he was coldly received by the go- vernment, and was unable to effect a commercial treaty. But by assisting to form advantageous treaties with Prussia and Morocco, and by writing elaborately and eloquently in defence of the forms of government established in the United States, he won a title to the gratitude of his countrymen. When permission was given Mr. Adams to return from Europe, congress adopted the following resolution : — " Re- solved, That Congress entertains a high sense of the services which Mr. Adams has rendered to the United States, in the execution of the various important trusts which they have from time to time, committed to him, and that the thanks of Congress be presented to him for the patriotism, perse- verance, integrity and diligence with which he has ably and faithfully served his country." This expression of approval of his labors at home and abroad must have been a deep gratification to the zealous patriot. When Washington was elected to the Preidency, Mr. Adams was elevated to the office of Vice President. He presided in the Senate with dignity and judgment, during the whole of Washington's administration, cordially ap< 54 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. proved of the President's policy, and lent his personal in fluence to the support of the administration. The Senate, at the expiration of Mr. Adamss' second term of office, adopted a farewell address, containing the strongest ex- pressions of respect and attachment for him. In 1790, while holding tie office of Vice President, Mr. Adams added to the number < f his valuable political papers by the publi- cation of his celebrated "Discourses on Davila," a sequel to his "Defence of the American Constitution." On the retirement of Washington, Mr. Adams was elected to fill the Presidential chair. The contest was close and spirited, Thomas Jefferson being supported by the republi- cans, or democrats, Thomas Pinckney by a portion of the federal party, and Mr. Adams, by the friends of the policy of the last administration generally. Mr. Jefferson was elected Vice President. In March, 1797, the newly chosen President and Vice President entered upon the duties of their respective offices. The two houses of Congress having enjoined the successors of Washington to follow his great example, — Mr. Adams, in his inaugural address, thus spoke of what he knew to be his own qualifications and principles : " If a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a, diligent and impartial inquiry after truth ; if an attachment to the constitution of the United States, and a conscientious iiiination to support it, until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it ; if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual states, and a constant caution and delicacy towards tl: c state governments; if an equal and important regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness, of all the states in the Union, without preference or regard to a JOHN ADAMS. 55 northern or southern, an eastern or western position, their various political opinions on unessential points, or their per- sonal attachments ; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations ; if a love of science and letters, and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion, among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of so- ciety in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophis- try, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments ; if a love of equal laws, of justice, and of humanity in the interior administration ; if an inclination to improve agriculture, •commerce, and manufactures for necessity, convenience, and defence ; if a spirit of equity and humanity towards the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to melio- rate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them ; if an indexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among all the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this government, and so solemnlv sanctioned by both houses of Congress, and applauded by the legislatures of the states and the public opinion, until it shall be othenvise ordained by Congress ; if a -personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years, chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations ; if, while the con- 56 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Bcious honor and integrity of the people of America, and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to promote every just cause, and remove every colorable pretence of complaint ; if an in- tention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of Dur fellow-citizens by whatever nation ; and if success cannot be obtained, to lay the facts before the legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the government and its constituents demand ; if a resolu- tion to do justice, as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and be- nevolence with all the world ; if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all, and never been de- ceived ; if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and my own duties towards it, founded on a knowledge of • the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people, deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured, but exalted by experience and age ; and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a vene- ration for the religion of a people who profess and call tl em- Belves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me, in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor, that this sagacious injunction of the two houses shall not be with- out effect." Mr. Adams continued in office the same cabinet which had been left by President Washington, viz.: Timothy 1'ick- ei ing, Secretary of State ; Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of cha Treasury ; James M'Henry, Secretary of Wai ; and Charles JOHN ADAMS. 57 Lee, Attorney General. The Navy Department was not created until 1798, when Benjamin Stoddart, of Maryland, was appointed Secretary of the Navy. The difficulties with France pressed upon the new admi- nistration, and the calling of a special session of Congress, was its first important measure. The state of affairs por- tended war. Mr. C. C. Pinckney, the American minister, had been expelled from France, and the government of that country had issued new orders for depredations upon Ame- rican commerce. There was a decided federal majority in both houses of Congress, and the President was, therefore, enabled to carry through all the measures deemed necessary for the national defence. Several taxes were imposed to meet extra expenses, however, which were very unpopular. President Adams neglected no means of conciliation. He appointed Messrs. C. C. Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall, special envoys to the French republic, with ample powers. But the French government would not con- fer with them officially ; and Messrs. Pinckney and Mar- shall, satisfied that no treaty could be consummated, re- quested to be allowed to return. Soon after they were ordered to leave France. Mr. Gerry was invited to remain, and he did so. The people of the United States were indignant at the conduct of the French government. Money had been de- manded as the price of peace. But the people responded to the sentiment of Mr. Pinckney — " Millions for defence, but not a cent for tribute." Mr. Gerry was censured for not having withdrawn with his colleagues, though his inten- tions were honorable. As soon as he found there was no hope of effecting a treaty, he returned to the United States. When Congress met, measures for national defence were - r )S LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. adopted. In June, 1798, an act was passed, suspending commercial intercourse with France and her colonies. At this period, the administration was very popular. The de- mocratic part}* could not muster strongly in opposition to the President's measures. Still its members were active and determined. Although there was no declaration of war on the part of either country, hostilities commenced upon the sea, and Commodore Truxtun gained two brilliant vic- tories ever French vessels of superior force. War was not the aim of the French government. As seen as the deter- mined spirit of the United States displayed itself, the hos- tile rulers fell back, and a treaty of friendship, peace, and commerce was proposed. During the autumn of L798 Congress adopted two acts which became very unpopular. These were the alien and Sedition laws. The alien law empowered the President to order aliens, whom he found com piring against the govern- ment, to depart From its territories. The sedition law pu- nii lied libels upon the govermenl ami it officers. The first was said to he liable to an abusive interpretation, ami the second, to restrict the liberty of speech and of the press. The opposition to these laws was very strong in various parts of the country. \ the French government evinced a desire to enter into lie; (illations with the I ' nited States, the President appointed Mr. Murray, Oliver Ellsworth, and Patrick Henry, envoys. Mr. Henry declined the appointment. In his letter of de- clination, he said: "Nothing short of absolute necessity end 1 induce me to withhold mv feeble aid fr< in an admini- stration whose abilities, patriotism and virtue, deserve the gratitude and reverence ot' all their fellow cit i/.eiis." William R. Davie was appointed as a suhs! it utc. The Prcsi lent did JOHN ADAMS. 59 not consult his cabinet upon this occasion. Mr. Pickering, Secretary of State, and Mr. M'Henry, Secretary of War, remonstrated against the course pursued. They, with Ha- milton and other leading federalists, thought the first de- cided offer to treat should come from France. However, the envoys were favorably received, and the basis of a treaty was soon settled. Hut the treaty itself was not entirely ratified until after Mr. Jefferson's accession to the Presidency. The democratic party had greatly gained in strength in consequence of the enactment <>(' the alien and sedition laws, and other administration measures. When the time came f<>r nominating candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency, the federalists brought forward the names of President Adams and ( S-eneral Charles < !oteswortli Pinckney The democrats nominated Thomas Jefferson and Colonel Aaron Burr. The dismissal of Messrs. Pickering and M'- 1 lenry from the cabinet caused a division among the federal- ists. Genera] Hamilton wrote a letter, censuring the cha- racter of the President, which was calculated to increase the strength of the opponenets of the administration. When the vote iii the electoral college was ascertained, it was found as follows: — Fefferson, seventy-three; Burr, seventy-three; Adams, sixty-five; Pinckney, sixty -four ; John day, one. The votes for Jefferson and Burr being equal, it remained for the house Of representatives tO decide who should be President, and who Vice President. After thirty-six bal- lotings, Mr. Jefferson was chosen to (ill the first office, and Colonel Burr for the second. During the summer of L800, the neat of government had been removed from Philadelphia to the new federal city of Washington, and at the lately erected capitol, President Adams met the sixth Congress, on th«i 9,2d of November, 00 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 1800, when he delivered his last annual speech to the national legislature- After Mr. Jefferson's inauguration, Mr. Adams retired to his estate, in Quincy, Massachusetts. The remainder of his life was passed in literary and scientific pursuits, though he occasionally addressed the public through political papers. He always maintained a friendly correspondence with Mr. Jefferson, and approved of the chief measures of that states- man's administration. He also supported Mr. Madison, during the war with Great Britain, beginning in 1812. In 1816, the republican party in Massachusetts, placed his name at the head of their electoral ticket, a great compliment from the opponents of his presidential career. In 1820, he was solicited to act as President of the Massachusetts state convention for framing a constitution ; but he declined. The convention, however, adopted a resolution, acknowledg- ing the great services he had rendered to his country and mankind. The loss of his amiable and talented wife, who died in 1818, was a deep affliction to Mr. Adams. For many years Bhe had shared his trials, misfortunes, and joys ; and she- evinced a patriotic as well as a loving spirit. But the old patriot lived to see his son, John Quincy Adams, elevated to the Presidency — truly a great qualification. He died at the good old age of ninety-one, on the 4th of July, 182G, tho fiftieth anniversary of that independence winch he had strug- gled to achieve. Thomas Jefferson expired on the same day. Mr. Adams had the soul of an apostle of a great revolu- tion. He was a bold, determined, and indefatigable supporter of what his heart and mind told him was right. lie inquired, decided, resolved, and acted, without the slightest fear of consequences, and was therefore the very spirit of indepen- JOHN ADAMS. 61 dcnce. It has been said that he was careless of the views and feelings of others, and there is probably much truth in the assertion. But a feeling of self-sufficiency is generally the result of a knowledge of the power of ourself, and it has been a characteristic of most of those earnest and indomi- table men who have eifected important changes in the world. John Adams could not have fulfilled his mission, if he had not possessed a thorough self-reliance. " Mr. Adams was a finished gentleman in his manners, with an aristocratic bearing which, together with his known leaning towards sentiments of a similar cast, obtained for him among his political enemies the soubriquet of Duke of Braintree. There seemed to be testiness about him when contradicted, and some want of condescension towards men of low estate and vulgar manners. It did not amount to Horace's Odi ignobile vulgus, et arceo, but it had a pretty strong tincture of it, and exposed him to much misconception and misrepresentation. For the bulk of mankind, especially of those who from their position in society contemplate public characters only at a distance, and are seldom brought into personal contact with them, a?e very apt to form their impressions more from manner than any other criterion Manner strikes them at once, and with great effect, and if a man's manner to his inferiors is shy or haughty, he may calculate on their hatred, and if he holds an elective office, he will certainly lose their votes, be his public merits what they may."* Mr. Adams was of middle stature, and rather fleshy. His countenance beamed with intelligence and determination. His bearing was firm and dignified. When speaking, hia manner was slow and deliberate ; till he became excited, and * A.. J. Stansbury. see bow it proceeded. When the frame was up, and the building approaching its completion, the engineer rode over to Monticello to obtain a supply of money, and to get some directions about the saws. Jefferson kept him to din- ner ; and when the cloth was removed and wine sat upon the table, be turned to bis guest, and with an air of much satisfaction, exclaimed, " ' And so, Mr. , you like my mill.' " ' I do, sir, indeed, very much ; it is certainly one of the grcatesl improvements in the construction of saw-mills I ever witnessed.' " ' You think the sails are so bung that it cannot fail to work ?' "' Certainly; it must work, it cannot help it.' "'And there's always a wind upon that bill; if it does not come up one valley, it Is sure to come uptha other; and the bill is so high and steep that there is nothing to inter- THOMAS JEFFERSON. 70 rupt the full sweep of the wind, come which wf.y it will. You think then, on the whole, that the thing cannot fail of complete success V " ' I should think so, sir, but for one thing.' " ' Ah ! What's that V " ' I have been wondering in my own mind, how you are to get up your saw-logs.' " Jefferson threw up his hands and eyes : ' I never thought of that !' The mill was abandoned of course." " Jefferson's favorite exercise, was riding ; he was a judge of a horse, and rode a very good one. One day, during his presidential term, he was riding some where in the neigh- borhood of Washington, when there came up a cross road, a well-known jockey and dealer in horse-flesh, whose nam I have forgotten, but whom we will call Jones. He did not know the President, but his professional eye was caught, in a moment, by the noble steed he rode. Coming up with an impudent boldness characteristic of the man, he accosted the rider, and forthwith began talking; in the slang of his trade, about the horse, his points, his age, and his value, and expressed a readiness to ' swap' horses. Mr. Jefferson gave him brief replies, and civilly declined all offers of ex- change. The fellow offered boot, and pressed and increased his bids, as the closer he looked at the stranger's steed, the better he liked him. All his offers were refused with a cool- ness that nettled him. He became rude, but his vulgarity made as little impression as his money, for Jefferson had the most perfect command of his temper, and no man could put him in a passion. The jockey Avanted him to show the ani- mal's gait, and urged him to trot with him for a wager. At length, seeing that the stranger was no customer, and ut- terly impracticable, he raised his whip and struck Mr. Jef- 80 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. across the flank, setting him off in a sudden gallop, which would have brought a less accomplished rider tc the ground, at the same time putting spurs to his own beast, hoping for a race. Jefferson kept his seat, reined in his restive steed, and put an equally effective rein upon his owe temper. The jockey wondered ; but impudently turned it off with a laugh, and still keeping by the side of his new acquaintance, commenced talking polities, ami being a Staunch federalist, commenced to launch out against 'Long T( ir.' and the policy of his administration. Jefferson took his part in the conversation, and urged somethings in reply. " Meanwhile they had ridden into the city, and were making their way along Pennsylvania avenue, and at length came opposite the gate of the presidential mansion. Jlere Mr. Jefferson reined up, and courteously invited the man to enter. The jockey raised his eye-brows, and asked — " * Why, do you live here ?' " • V.s,' was the simple reply. " ' Why, stranger, what the deuce might be your name?' ■• ■ My name ia Thomas Jefferson.' " Even the jockey's brass turned pale — when, putting spure to his nag, he exclaimed — " ' And my name is Kichard Jones, and I'm off!' '•Saying which, he dashed up the avenue at double time, while tin' President looked after him with a smile, and then rode into the gate. " He was fond of the society of scientific men, and had an enlarged and just appreciation of the desirableness and importance of introducing as many of them as practicable into a country young in every thing but industry, enterprise, and the love of freedom. It was at his solicitation that that paragon of learning, and proud, eccentric genius, Hasler THOMAS, JEFFERSON. 81 came to the United States. His attainments in mathemati- cal science, and, indeed, his wonderful acquisitions in every department of human knowledge, rendered him an invaluable acquisition to the country. To the same source, I believe, we owe the presence with us of the late lamented and ami- able Nicollet. The one laid the foundations for our admi- rable coast survey, while the other prosecuted in the same spirit of scientific exactness, an exploration of the interior around our great lakes, and the head waiers of the Missis- sippi and Missouri. Nicolet was the preceptor and the ex- emplar of Fremont, who has pushed a similar system cf enterprising investigation quite across the entire continent, and who seems destined, if his life shall be spared, to render other like services to the country and the world." Mr. Biddle in his eulogy on Mr. Jefferson has ventured to draw a comparison between that illustrious man and Na- poleon as follows : " In the bearings of his personal character Jefferson can safely be compared with the contemporary rulers of nations, not excepting him — the greatest of them all ; nor need our patriotism shrink from the singular con- trast between two men, chiefs for nearly an equal period of their respective countries, and models of their different spe- cies, — Napoleon, the emperor of a great nation — and Jeffer- Bon, the chief magistrate of a free people. " Of that extraordinary being it is fit to speak with the gentleness due to misfortune. Two centuries have scarce sufficed to retrieve the fame of Cromwell from that least expiable of crimes — his success over a feeble and profligate race, more fortunate in their historian than their history : and the memory of Napoleon must long atone equally for hi3 elevation and reverses. There are already those who disparage his genius, as if this were not to humble the na- LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. tions who stood dismayed before it. Great talents, '-aritd acquirements, many high qualities, enlightened views of legis- lation and domestic policy, it were bigotry to deny to Napo- leon. The very tide of his conquests over less civilized na- tions, deposited in receding some benefits even to the van- quished — and all that glory can contribute to public happi- ness, was profusely lavished on his country. ' But in the midst of this gaudy infatuation there was that which disen- chanted the spell — that which struck its damp chill into the heart of any man who, undazzled by the vulgar decorations of power, looked only at the blessings it might confer, and who weighed, instead of counting, these victories. Such are the delusions which military ambition sheds in turn on its possessor and on the world, that its triumphs begin with the thoughtless applause of its future victims, and end in the maddening intoxication of its own prosperity. We may not wonder then if, when those who should first have resisted his power were foremost in admiration and servility — when the whole continent of Europe was one submissive depend- ence on his will — when a.mong the crowds of native and stranger suppliants who worshipped before this idol there was only one manly and independent voice to rebuke his <\s in a tone worthy of a free people — that of the rep- itative of Jefferson, we may not wonder if all the bril- liant qualities which distinguished the youth of Napoleon oncentered into a spirit of intense selfishness, and that the whole purpose to which his splendid gcr.ius was perverted was the poor love of swaying the destinies of ether men — not to benefit, not to bless — but simply to command, to ci'.' -y thing, and to be every thing. It was for this that 1 1 the earth with his insane conquests, — for thl . the whole freedom of the human mind— the THOMAS JEFFERSON. 83 elastic vigor of the intellect — all the natural play nf tha human feelings — all free agency, were crushed between this fierce and immitigable dominion, which, degrading the human race into mere objects and instruments of slaughter, wou 1 ^ soon have left nothing to science but to contrive the means of mutual destruction, and nothing to letters except to flatter the common destroyer. Contrast this feverish restlessness which is called ambition — this expanded love of violence which makes heroes — contrast these, as they shone in the turbulent existence of Napoleon, with the peaceful disinte- rested career of Jefferson : and in all the relations of theii power — its nature, its employment, and its result — we may assign the superiority to the civil magistrate. " Napoleon owed his elevation to military violence — Jeffer son to the voluntary suffrage of his country. The one ruled sternly over reluctant subjects — the other was but the fore- most among his equals who respected in his person the image of their own authority. Napoleon sought to enlarge his in- fluence at home by enfeebling all the civil institutions, and abroad by invading the possessions of his neighbors — Jeffer- eon preferred to abridge his power by strict constructions, and his counsels were uniformly dissuasive against foreign wars. Yet the personal influe'ice of Jefferson was far more enviable, for he enjoyed the unlimited confidence of hia country — while Napoleon had no authority not conceded by fear ; and the extortions of force are evil substitutes for that most fascinating of all sway — the ascendancy over equals. During the undisputed possession of that power, Napoleon jeemed unconscious of its noblest attribute, that capacity to nake man freer or happier ; and no one great or lofty pur- pose of benefitting mankind, no generous sympathy for his race, ever disturbed that sepulchral selfishness, or appeased 84 LIVES OF TIIE PRESIDENTS. that scjrn of humanity, which his successes almost justified. But the life of Jefferson was a perpetual devotion, not to hia own purposes, but to the pure and noble cause of public freedom. From the first dawning of his youth, his undi- vided heart was given to the establishment of free princi- ples — free institutions — freedom in all its varieties of un- trammelled thought and independent action, llis whole life wab consecrated to the improvement and happiness of his fellow men ; and his intense enthusiasm for knowledge and freedom was sustained to his dying hour. Their career was as strangely different in its close as in its character. The power of Napoleon was Avon by the sword — maintained by the sword — lost by the sword. That colossal empire which he had exhausted fortune in rearing broke before the first shock of adversity. The most magnificently gorgeous of all the pageants of our times — when the august ceremo- nies of religion blessed and crowned that soldier-emperor, when the allegiance of the great captains who stood by his side, the applauses of assembled France in the presence of assenting Europe, the splendid pomp of war softened by the smiles of beauty, and all the decorations of all the arts, blended their en< hantments as that imperial train swept up the aisles of Notre I )ame — faded into the silent cabin of that lone island in a distant sea. The hundred thousands of soldiers who obeyed his voice — the will which made the des- tiny of men — the name whose humblest possessor might bo a king — all shrunk into the feeble band who followed tho captivity of their master. Of nil his foreign triumphs uot one remained, and in his first military conquest — his own Country, which he had adorned with the monuments of hia fame, there is now no place even for the tomb of this deso- late exile. — But the glory of Jefferson became ever purei THOMAS JEFFERSON. 85 as the progress of years mellowed into veneration the love of his countrymen. He died in the mid-it of the free people whom he had lived to serve ; and his only ceremonial, wor- thy equally of him and of them, was the simple sublimity of his funeral triumph. His power he retained as long as he desired it, and then voluntarily restored the trust, with a permanent addition — derived from Napoleon himself — far exceeding the widest limits of the French empire — that vic- tory of peace which outweighs all the conquests of Napoleon, as one line of the declaration of independence is worth all his glory. "But he also is now gone. The genius, the various learn- ing, the private virtues, the public honors, which illustrated and endeared his name, are gathered into the tomb, leaving to him only the fame, and to us only the remembrance of them. Be that memory cherished without regret or sorrow. Our affection could hope nothing better for him than this long career of glorious and happy usefulness, closed before the infirmities of age had impaired its lustre ; and the grief that such a man is dead, may be well assauged by the proud consolation that such a man has lived." Mr. Everett, in his Eulogy on Adams and Jefferson, makes the following remarks upon the coincidence of their dying upon the Sit me day, and that day the fiftieth anniversary :>f the American Independence. " I knew these great men, not as opponents, but as friends to each other ; not in the keen prosecution of a political controversy, but in the cultivation of a friendly correspond- ence. As they respected and honored each other, I respect and honor both. Time too has removed the foundation of their dissensions. The principles on which they contended are settled, some in favor of one and some in favor of the °" LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. other : the great foreign interests, that lent ardor to the Struggle have happily lost their hold of the American people, and the politics of the country now turn on questions not agitated in their days. Meantime, I know not whether, if we had it in our power to choose between the recollection of these revered men, as they were, and what they would hare been without their great struggle, we could wish them to have been other than they were, even in this respect. Twenty years of friendship succeeding ten of rivalry appear to me a more amiable and certainly a more instructive spec- tacle, even than a life of unbroken concert. As a friend to both their respected memories, I would not willingly spare the attestation, which they were pleased to render to each other's characters. We are taught, in the valedictory lessons of our Washington, that 'the spirit of party is the worst enemy of a popular government;' shall we not rejoice that we are taught, in the lives of our Adams and our Jefferson, that the most embittered contentions, which as yet have divided us, furnish no ground for lasting disunion. In their lives did I say ? Oh, not in their lives alone, but in that myst< rious and lovely union which has called them together to the grave. ' They strove in such great rivalry Of means, as noblest ends allow ; And blood w;is warm, and zeal was high, Bui soon tli'dr strife was o'er; and now Their hatred and their love arc lost, Their envy buried in the dust.' " The declining period of their lives presents their own characters, in the must delightful aspect, and furnishes the happiest illustration of the perfection of our political system. We now behold a new spectacle of moral sublimity; the THOMAS JEFFERSON. 87 peaceful oIA age of the retired chiefs of the republic; an evening of learned, useful, and honored leisure following upon a youth of hazard, a manhood of service, a whole life of alternate trial and success. We behold them indeed ac- tive and untiring, even to the last. At the advanced age of eighty-five years, our venerable fellow citizen and neigh- bor, is still competent to take a part in the councils for re- vising the state constitution, to whose original formation forty years before he so essentially contributed ; and Mr. Jefferson, at the same protracted term of life was aide to project and carry on to their completion, the extensive establishments of the University of Virginia. "But it is the great and closing scene, which appears, by higher allotment, to crown their long and exalted career, with a consummation almost miraculous. Having done so much and so happily for themselves, so much and so bene- ficially for their country ; at that last moment, when man can no more do any thing for his country or for himself, it pleased a kind providence to take their existence into his hands, and to do that for both of them, which, to the end of time, will cause them to be deemed, not more happy in the renown of their lives than in the opportunity of their death.* " I could give neither force nor interest to the account of these sublime and touching scenes, by any thing beyond the simple recital of the facts, already familiar to the public. The veil of eternity was first lifted up from before the eyea of Mr. Jefferson. For several weeks his strength had been gradually failing, though his mind's vigor remained unim- paired. As he drew nearer to the last, and no expectation remained that his term could be much protracted, he ex- * Ta.cit. J. Agricol. Vit. c. xiv 88 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. pressed no other wish, than that lie might live to breathe the air of the fiftieth anniversary of independence. This he was graciously permitted to do. But it was evident, on the morning of the fourth, that Providence intended that this day, consecrated by his deed, should now be solemnized by his death. On some momentary revival of his wasting strength, the friends around would have soothed him with the hope of continuing ; but he answered their kind encou- ragements only by saying, he did not fear to die. Once, as he drew nearer to his close, he lifted up his languid head and murmured with a smile, 'it is the fourth of July;' while his repeated exclamation, on the last great day, was, Nunc dimittis, Domine, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' lie departed in peace, a little before one o'clock of this memorable day; unconscious that his co-pa- triot, who fifty years before had shared its efforts and perils, was now the partner of its glory. "Mr. Adams's mind had also wandered hack, over the long line of great things, with which his life was filled, and found rest on the thought of independence. When the dis- charges of artillery proclaimed the triumphant anniversary, he pronounced it, 'a great and a good day.' The thrilling word of independence, which, fifty years before, in the ar- dor of his manly strength he had sounded out to the nations, at the head of his country's councils, was now anion"- the last that dwelt on his quivering lips ; and when, toward the hour of noon, he felt his noble heart growing cold within him, the last emotion which warmed it was, 'Jefferson still survives.' But he survives not ; he is gone: Ye are gone together ! "Take them. Great God, together to thy Best ! " Friends, fellow citizens, free, prosperous, happy Ame- THOMAS JEFFERSON. 89 ricans ! The men who did so much to make you so, are no more. The men who gave nothing to pleasure in youth, nothing to repose in old age, but all to that country, whose beloved name filled their hearts as it does ours, with joy, can now do no more for us ; nor we for them. But their memory remains, we will cherish it: their bright example remains, we will strive to imitate it ; the print of their vise counsels and noble acts remain, we will gratefully enjoy it. "They have gone to the companions of their cares, of their dangers, and their toils. It is well with them. The treasures of America are now in Heaven. How long the list of our good, and wise, and brave, assembled there ; how few remain with us. There is our Washington ; and those who followed him in their country's confidence, are now met together with him, anel all that illustrious company. " The faithful marble may preserve their image ; the engraven brass may proclaim their worth ; but the humblest sod of independent America, with nothing but the dew- drops of the morning to gild it, is a prouder mausoleum than kings or conquerors can boast. The country is their monument. Its independence is their epitaph. But not to their country is their praise limited. The whole earth ia the monument of illustrious men. Wherever an agonizing people shall perish, in a generous convulsion, for want of a valiant arm and a fearless heart, they will cry, in the last accents of despair, Oh, for a Washington, an Adams, a Jef- ferson. Wherever a regenerated nation, starting up in ita might, shall burst the links of steel that enchain it, the praise of our venerated Fathers shall be the prelude to their triumphal song. " The contemporary and successive generations of men will disappear. In the long lapse of ages, the Tribes of 90 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. America, like those of Greece and Rome, may puss away The fabric of American freedom, like all things human, .however firm and fair, may crumble into dust. But the cause in which those our Fathers shone is immortal. They did that, to which no age, no people of reasoning men, can be indifferent. Their eulog}' will be uttered in other lan- guages, when those we speak, like us who speak them, shall be all forgotten. And when the great account of humanity shall be closed at the throne of God, in the bright list of Lis children, who best adorned and served it, shall be found the names of our Adams and of our Jefferson." s : ' ■?V /jQSFP- Km 3\ w* - ■(- JAMES MADISON. "Peace hath its victories," says Milton; aye, and its conquerors, too, who often win the freshest and most import- ant laurels. There are men who overthrow systematic abuses with the invisible hand of logic ; who conquer the hearts of a nation by a speech, and who not only throw down false idols without a palpable blow, but erect the true object of workmanship in their stead. The achievements of such men are more glorious than those of generals, and then works a v ~ uequently the most complete. The brutal steel may r .ay the body, but cannot persuade the heart or convince the understanding, without both of which, victories are not half-way won. He who gains possession of the heart and mind of another, holds two fertile fields, which may give birth to a thousand noble deeds. The majority of the Presidents of the United States have won their way to that lofty station by their exploits as citi- zens and legislators. While the people have duly rewarded those noble patriots who have fought and bled at the head of their armies and in defence of their soil, they have been wise enough to consider that even greater services may be rendered them in civil capacities. Among those civilians who have by legislative service won their way to that throne 91 D'J LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. which no revolution can threaten, James Madison holds a conspicuous place. To him was given the great title of the " Father of the Constitution," he having had the chief hand in framing that beneficial charter, and in procuring its adop- tion by the people of the States. As a political writer, a legislator and a statesman, posterity has given him a lofty meed of praise, which none have disputed to be his due. " James Madison w T as born on the 16th of March 1751, at the seat of his maternal grandmother, on the Rappahannock river, in King George county, Virginia. His father's home was at Montpelier, in Orange county, in the same state, where Mr. Madison himself afterwards resided. After the usual preparatory studies, first at a school kept by a Scot- tish teacher, of the name of Robertson, in King and Queen county, and then with a private tutor in his own family, he was sent, in 1769, to the college at Princeton, in New Jer- sey, where he took the degree of A.B. in 1772. He con- tinued, however, at Princeton, until the following springs pursuing a course of reading under the direction of Dr. Witherspoon, the president of the college, for whom he always entertained a high respect, and whose striking remarks he was fond of repeating. His devotion to his mental improve- ment, while at Princeton, was carried to such an extend, that, as he stated to his friend, Governor Barbour, for months ber lie had allowed himself only three out of the twenty- four hours for sleep, and that, when necessity compelled him to relax, he limited his hours of repose to the least number consistent with his health. This, in fact, had never been strong, and was so impaired by the excessive study just mentioned, as to continue feeble for a number of years afterwards. " On his return to Virginia, Mr. Madison commenced a JAMES MADISON. 98 course of reading to prepare himself for the bar, but was soon in a great measure diverted from it by the interest which he took in the agitating political questions of the pe- riod. He particularly distinguished himself by his efforts iu behalf of the clergy of the Baptist persuasion, who were then persecuted by the established church, and occasionally even thrown into prison for preaching in defiance of prohi- bitory laws. In the spring of 1776, he was chosen a mem- ber of the convention which formed the first constitution of Virginia. He WuS, in the same year, a member of the state legislature, but lost his election in the following year ; partly too, perhaps, on account of his silence, from a diffidence in himself and a respect for the older and more experienced members of the legislature, at its previous session, — a silence which led many of his constituents to doubt altogether his capacity to speak in public. The legislature, however, when it met, named him a member of the executive council, in which office he remained until appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress. He took his seat in that body, in March, 1780, and acted a prominent part in its proceedings during the three years that he held it. Among the services which, at this period, he rendered to his country, we may mention that he prepared the instruc- tions given to Mr. Jay, then the American minister in Spain, in October, 1780, maintaining the right of the United States to the navigation of the Mississippi river ; and also the address to the states at the end of the war, urging upon them to adopt some plan, to enable the Confederacy to meet its pecuniary engagements to the army and its other creditors. In 1784, 1785, and 178G, he was again a member of the Virginia legislature ; and his efforts at this time were all 04 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. exerted in favor of a wise and liberal policy. He drew up the memorial and remonstrance against the project of a com- pulsory support of religion, which was perhaps made with a view to a permanent establishment. Finding the people of Kentucky fixed in their determination to separate from Virginia, he lent his aid to enable them to accomplish their purpose. He opposed the introduction of paper money; supported the laws introduced into the code prepared by Jefferson, "Wythe, and Pendleton ; and was in favor of the recovery of the debts due to British creditors. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison obtained the passage of a resolution by the Legislature inviting the meeting at An- napolis, which led the way to the convention that formed the constitution to the United States: and he was one of the three commissioners appointed at the meeting. Mr. Madi- son was one of the five delegates who represented A r irginia in that convention. "In the convention, Mr. Madison generally coincided with General Washington in their views in favor of a strong national government. A paper in the handwriting of Ge- neral Washington, and found among the documents left by him, contains a summary of Mr. Madison's opinions on the subject of a form of constitution to be proposed. It is the substance of a letter received by Washington from Mr. Madison, a short time previous to the assembling of the con- vention at Philadelphia, and has since been published in the North American Review, volume xxxv., as follows:"* " Mr. Madison thinks an individual independence of the states utterly irreconcilable with their aggregate sovereignty, and that a consolidation of the whole into one simple repub- lic would be as inexpedient as it is unattainable. He there * Stateman's Manual. JAMES MADISON. 05 fore proposes a middle ground, which may at once support a due supremacy of the national authority, and not exclude the local authorities whenever they can be subordinate^ useful. "As the ground work, he proposes that a change be made in the principle of representation, and thinks there would be no great difficulty in effecting it. "Next, that, in addition to the present federal powers, the national government should be armed with positive and com- plete authority in all cases which require uniformity ; such as regulation of trade, including the right of taxing both exports and imports, the fixing the terms and forms of natu- ralization, &c. " Over and above this positive power, a negative in all cases whatever on the legislative acts of the states, as here- tofore exercised by the kingly prerogative, appears to him absolutely necessary, and to be the least possible encroach ment on the state jurisdictions. Without this defensivt power he conceives that every positive law which can be given on paper, will be evaded. " This control over the laws would prevent the internal vicissitudes of state policy, and the aggressions of interested majorities. " The natural supremacy ought also to be extended, he thinks, to the judiciary departments ; the oaths of the judges should at least include a fidelity to the general as well aa local constitution ; and that an appeal should be to some national tribunal in all cases to which foreigners or inhabi- tants of other states may be parties. The admiralty juris- dictions to fall entirely within the purview of the national government. "The national supremacy in the executive departments 96 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. is liable to some difficulty, unless the officers administering them could be made appointable by the supreme government. The militia ought entirely to be placed, in some form or other, under the authority which is intrusted "with the general protection and defence. " A government composed of such extensive powers should be well organized and balanced. " The legislative department might be divided into two branches, one of them chosen every — years, by the people at large, or by the legislatures ; the other to consist of fewer members, and to hold their {daces for a longer term, and to go out in such rotatation as always to leave in office a large majority of old members. " Perhaps the negative on the laws might be most conve- niently exercised by this branch. "As a further check, a council of revision, including the great ministerial officers, might be superadded. " A national executive must also be provided. He has scarcely ventured as yet to form his own opinion, either of the manner in which it ought to be constituted, or of the authorities with which it ought to be clothed. " An article should be inserted, especially guaranteeing the tranquillity of the states against internal as well as external dangers. " In like manner, the right of coercion should be expressly declared. With the resources of commerce in hand, the na- tional administration might always find means of exerting it either by sea or land ; but the difficulty and awkwardness of operating by force on the collective will of a state, render it particularly desirable the necessity of it might be pre- cluded. Perhaps the negative on the laws might create such a mutual dependence between the'general and particular JAMES MADISON. 97 authorities as to answer ; or perhaps some defined objects of taxation might be submitted along with commerce, to the general authority. " To give a new system its proper validity and energy, a ratification must be obtained from the people, and not merely from the ordinary authority of the legislature. This will be more essential, as inroads on the existing constitutions of the states will be unavoidable." Mr. Madison has entitled himself to the gratitude of pos- terity by the record which he daily made of the proceedings of its members, the only one extant which is either complete or authentic. It was purchased by Congress, after his death, for the sum of thirty thousand dollars, and has since been published. After the, constitution was formed, he united with Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Jay, in the the publication, in the news- papers, of the well-known series of essays, in defence of its provisions, under the title of "The Federalist," which at- tracted in an extraordinary degree the public attention, and by the ability and force of argument with which they were written, contributed materially to augment the number of its advocates. And when the Federal Constitution was submitted to the several states for their adoption, he was mainly instrumental, in the convention of Virginia, in pro- curing a decision by that body in its favor, in despite of the zealous and eloquent opposition of Patrick Henry. From 1780, when the new constitution went into opera- tion, down to the year of 1797, Mr. Madison occupied a seat in Congress, where he resisted the financial measures proposed by Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, and and the policy generally of Washington's adnmistration. His opposition, was, however, conducted in such a spirit as 98 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. t;o have apparently for a long time no influence on the friendship which subsisted between the President and him- self; and it never produced positive alienation. In 1798, though not a member of the Virginia legislature, he prepared the celebrated resolutions which were adopted by that body denouncing the acts of Congress for removing dangerous and suspicious aliens, and for punishing libels on the government, commonly known by the name of the Alien and Sedition Laws, as infractions of the Constitution, and inviting the concurrence of the other states. He was elected to the legislature in the following year, when he was the author of a new set of resolutions of similar import with the former, and accompanied them by a report in their vindica- tion, which contributed powerfully to the triumph that speedily ensued of the democratic over the federal party. When Mr. Jefferson became President of the United States, in 1801, he selected Mr. Madison to be his Secre- tary of State, a position which the latter continued to occupy so long as Mr. Jefferson remained in office. In 1809, Mr. Madison succeeded Mr. Jefferson in the presidential chair, having obtained one hundred and twenty-two votes out of one hundred and seventy-six. In. his inaugural address, he frankly stated the gloomy circumstances under which he entered upon his high office. But expressed confidence in the strength and resources of the United States, and in the goodness and power of the Deity. War with Great Britain was anticipated. The in- sults and injuries which that haughty power had given to f!ie United States could not be much longer borne, con- sistently with honor. Still a large portion of the people were anxious for the preservation of peace. And the new President found himself in a trying position. In his iuau- JAMES MADISON. [ ;) gural address, he thus indicates his sentiments and inten tions. "To cherish peace and friendly intercourse v,ith all nations having corresponding dispositions ; to maintain sin- cere neutrality towards belligerent nations ; to prefer in all cases amicable discussion and reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms ; to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrad- ing to all countries, and so baneful to free ones; to foster a spint of independence, too just to invade the rights of others, too proud to surrender our own, too liberal to indulge un- worthy prejudices ourselves, and too elevated not to look down upon them in others ; to hold the union of the states as the basis of their peace and happiness ; to support the constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities; to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the states and the people, as equally incorporated with, and essential to the success of the general system ; to avoid the slightest interference with the rights of conscienr-e or the functions of religion, so wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction ; to preserve in their full energy, the other salutary provisions in behalf of pri- vate and personal rights, and of the freedom of the press ; to observe economy in public expenditures ; to liberate the public resources by an honorable discharge of the public debts ; to keep within the requisite limits a standing mili- tary force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics — that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe; to promote, by authorized means, im- provements friendly to agriculture, to manufactures, and to external as well as internal commerce ; to favor, in like manner, the advancement of science and the d'ffusion of in- 100 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. formation as the best aliment of true liberty ; to carry on the benevolent plans which have been so meritoriously ap- plied to the conversion of our aboriginal neighbors from the degradation and wretchedness of savage life, to a participa- tion of the improvements of which the human mind and manixrs are susceptible in a civilized state; as far as sen- timents and intentions such as these can aid the fulfilment of my duty, they will be a resource which cannot fail me." Mr. Madison selected for his cabinet, Robert Smith, of Maryland, as Secretary of State ; William Eustis, of Massa- chusetts, as Secretary of War ; Paul Hamilton, of South Carolina, as Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Gallatin, as Sec- retary of the Treasury ; and Mr. Cesar A. Rodney, Attor- ney General, under Mr. Jefferson, were continued in their offices. The republicans had a majority in Congress to sup- port the President. Efforts were made to settle all differences between the United States and Great Britain in a just and friendly manner. But through pride or misunderstanding, they proved abortive. The non-intercourse, affecting both France and Great Britain, was continued by a new and more stringent act, passed in May, 1810. The British govern- ment continued its "orders in council," and Napoleon de- clared the obnoxious Berlin and Milan decrees, "the fun- damental laws of his empire." The trade and revenue of the United States were greatly diminished in consequence of these hostile measures. In the twelfth Congress, which held its first session in 1810-11, the supporters of the administration were in the majority. Messrs. Clay, Calhoun, Crawford, Lowndes, Choves, and other active and eloquent statesmen were found in the republican ranks. Under the influence of JAMES MADISON. 101 these ardent men, the policy of the administration was changed. Measures were adopted for organizing the army and navy, and war was contemplated as a very probable re- sult of the difficulties then existing. President Madison was not. earnestly desirous for the decisive measures ; but he was persuaded to acquiesce by the more ardent portion of his friends. Mr. Clay, particularly, was of the opinion that the country should be prepared for war, and his influence among the republicans was extensive. When war was resolved upon by the republican parly, President Madison's cabinet consisted of the following per- sons : James Monroe, Secretary of State ; Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury ; William Eustis, Secretary of War ; Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy ; and William Pinckney, Attorney General. Messrs. Smith and Rodney had resigned their posts in 1811. Of this cabinet, Mr. Monroe, alone, possessed any amount of military knowledge. The President knew nothing of the art of war. Under such auspices, how could the country be prepared to con- tend with the giant power of Great Britain. The declaration of war against Great Britain, was passed by Congress, in June, 1812. The federalists generally op- posed it, and in the Eastern States, particularly, the mea- sure excited a spirit of disaffection to the Union, which, if it had been properly treated by the British government, might have proved fatal. But the republicans rallied strongly to the support of the President, and several of the old fede- ralist leaders signified their approval of his course. The message of the President to Congress upon the subject of the declaration of war, is an admirably written justification of the country and himself. It ran as follows : " Without going back beyond the renewal in 1803, of the 102 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. war in which Great Britain is engaged, and omitting unre- paired wrongs of inferior magnitude, the conduct of the go- vernment presents a series of acts hostile to the United States as an independent and neutral nation. " British cruisers have been in the continued practice of violating the American flag on the great highway of nations, and of seizing and carrying off" persons sailing under it ; not in the exercise of a belligerent right founded on the law of nations against an enemy, but of a municipal prerogative over British subjects. British jurisdiction is thus extended to neutral vessels in. a situation where no laws can operate but the law of nations and the laws of the country to which the vessels belong ; and a self-redress is assumed, which, if Bri- tish subjects were wrongfully detained and alone concerned, is that substitution of force, for a resort to the responsible sovereign, which falls within the definition of war. Could the seizure of British subjects, in such cases, be regarded as within the exercise of a belligerent right, the acknowledged laws of war, which forbid an article of captured property to be adjudged without a regular investigation before a compe- tent tribunal, would imperiously demand the fairest trial where the sacred rights of persons were at an issue. In place of such a trial, these rights are subjected to the will of every petty commander. " The practice, hence, is so far from affecting British subjects alone, that, under the pretext of searching for these, thousands of American citizens, under the safeguard of pub- lic law, and of their national flag, have been torn from their country, and from every thing dear to them ; have been dragged on board ships of war of a foreign nation, and ex- posed under the severities of their discipline, to be exiled to the most distant and deadly climes, to risk thei: - lives in the JAMES MADISON. 1 Go battles of their oppressors, and to be the melancholy instru- ments of taking away those of their own brethren. " Against this crying enormity, which Great Britain would be so prompt to avenge if committed against herself the Uni- ted States have in vain exhausted remonstrances and expos- tulations. And that no proof might be wanting of their con- ciliatory disposition, and no pretext left for a continuance of the practice, the British government was formally assured of the readiness of the United States to enter into arrange- ments, such as could not be rejected, if the recovery of Bri- tish subjects were the real and the sole object. The commu- nication passed without effect. " British cruisers have also been in the practice of violat- ing the rights and the peace of our coasts. They hover over and harass our entering and departing commerce. To the most insulting pretensions they have added the most lawless proceedings in our very harbors ; and have wantonly spilt American blood, within the sanctuary of our territorial juris diction. The principles and rules enforced by that nation, when a neutral nation, against armed vessels of belligerents hovering near her coasts, and disturbing her commerce, are well known. "When called on, nevertheless, by the United States to punish the greater offences committed by her own vessels, her government has bestowed on their commanders additional marks of honor and confidence. " Under pretended blockades, without the presence of an adequate force, and sometimes without the practicability ot applying one, our commerce has been plundered in every sea ; the great staples of our country have been cut off from their legitimate markets ; and a destructive blow aimed at our agricultural and maritime interests. In aggravation of these predatory measures, they have been o nsidered as id 104 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. force from the dates of their notification ; a retrospective effect being thus added, as has been done in other important cases, to the unlawfulness of the course pursued. And to render the outrage the more signal, these mock blockades have been reiterated and enforced in the face of official com- munications from the British government, declaring, as the true definition of a legal blockade, 'that particular ports must be actually invested, and previous warning given to vessels bound to them, not to enter.' " Not content with these occasional expedients for laying waste our neutral trade, the cabinet of Great Britain resorted, at length, to the sweeping system of blockades, under the name of orders in council, which has been moulded and ma- naged, as might best suit its political views, its commercial jealousies, or the avidity of British cruisers. " To our remonstrances against the complicated and trans- cendent injustice of this innovation, the first reply was, that the orders were reluctantly adopted by Great Britain as a necessary retaliation on the decrees of her enemy, proclaim- ing a general blockade of the British isles, at a time when the naval force of that enemy dared not issue from his own ports. She was reminded, without effect, that her own blockades, unsupported by an adequate naval force actually applied and continued, were a bar to this plea ; that executed edicts against millions of our property could not be retalia- tion on edicts, confessedly impossible to be executed; and that retaliation, to be just, should fall on the party setting the guilty example, not on an innocent party, which was not even chargeable with an acquiescence in it. "When deprived of this flimsy veil for a prohibition ol our trade with her enemy, by the repeal of his prohibition ot ■>ur trade with Great Britain, her cabinet, intead of a comes JAMES MADISON. 105 ponding repeal, or a practical discontinuance of its orders, formally avowed a determination to persist in them against the United States, until the markets of her enemy should be laid open to British products ; thus asserting an obligation on a neutral power, to require one belligerent to encourage, by its internal regulations, the trade of another belligerent : contradicting her own practice towards all nations, in peace as well as in war ; and betraying the insincerity of those professions which inculcated a belief, that, having resorted to her orders with regret, she was anxious to find an occasion for putting an end to them. "Abandoning still more all respect for the neutral rights of the United States, and for its own inconsistency, the Bri- tish government now demands, as pre-requisite to a repeal of its orders, as they relate to the United States, that a for- mality should be observed in the repeal of the French de- crees, nowise necessary to their termination, nor exempli- fied by British usage; and that the French repeal, besides including that portion of the decrees which operate within a territorial jurisdiction, as well as that which operates on the high seas against the commerce of the United States, should not be a single special repeal, in relation to the United States; but should be extended to whatever other neutral nations unconnected with them, may be affected by those decrees. And as an additional insult, they are called on for a formal disavowal of conditions and pretentions ad- vanced by the French government, for which the United States are so far from having made themselves responsible, that, in official explanations, which have been published to the world, and in a correspondence of the American minister at London, with the British minister for foreign affairs, such a responsibility was explicitly and empatically disclaimed. 100 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. "It has become, indeed, sufficiently certain, that the com- merce of the United States is to be sacrificed, not as inter- fering with the belligerent right of Great Britain, not as supplying the wants of her enemies, which she herself sup- plies, but as interfering with the monopoly which she covets for her own commerce and navigation. She carries on a war against the lawful commerce of a friend, that she may tlte better carry on a commerce polluted by the forgeries and perjuries which are, for the most part, the only pass- ports, by which it can succeed. " Anxious to make every experiment short cf the last re- sort of injured nations, the United States have withheld from Great Britain, under successive modifications, the benefits of a free intercourse with their market, the loss of which could not but outweigh the profits accruing from her restric- tions of our commerce with other nations. And to entitle these experiments to the more favorable consideration, they were so framed as to enable her to place her adversary under the exclusive operation of them. To these appeals her go- vernment has been equally inflexible, as if to make sacrifices of every sort, rather than yield to the claims of justice, or renounce the errors of a false pride. Nay, so far were the attempts carried, to overcome the attachment of the British cabinet to its unjust edicts, that it received every encourage- ment within the competency of the executive branch of our government, to expect, that a repeal of them would be fol- lowed by a war between the United States and France, unless the French edicts should also be repealed. Even this com- munication, although silencing for ever the plea of a dispo- sition in the United States to acquiesce in those edicts, originally the sole plea for them, received no attention. " If no other proof existed of a predetermination of the JAMES MADISON. 107 British government against a repeal of its orders, it migh.' be found in the correspondence of the minister plenipoten- tiary of the United States at London, and the British sec- retary for foreign affairs, in 1810, on the question whether the blockade of May, 180G, was considered as in force cr as not in force. It has been ascertained that the French go- vernment, which urged this blockade as the ground of its Berlin decree, was willing, in the event of its removal, to repeal that decree; which, being followed by alternate re- peals of the other offensive edicts, might abolish the whole system on both sides. This inviting opportunity for accom- plishing an object so important to the United States, and professed so often to be the desire of both the belligerents, was made known to the British government. As that go- vernment admits, that an actual application of an adequate force is necessary to the existence of a legal blockade ; and it was notorious, that if such a force had ever been applied, its long discontinuance had annulled the blockade in question there could be no sufficient objection on the part of Great Britain, to a formal revocation of it ; and no imaginable ob- jection, to a declaration of the fact, that the blockade did not exist. The declaration would have been consistent with her avowed principles of blockade, and would have enabled the United States to demand from France, the pledged repeal of her decrees; either with success, in which case the way would have been opened for a general repeal of the bel- ligerent edicts ; or without success, in which case the United States would have been justified in turning their measures exclusively against France. The British government would, however, neither rescind the blockade, nor declare its non- existence ; nor permit its non-existence to be inferred and affirmed by the American plenipotentiary. On the contrary, 108 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. by repiesenting the blockade to be comprehended in the orders in council, the United States were compelled bo to regard it in their subsequent proceedings. " There was a period when a favorable change in the po- licy of the British cabinet, was justly considered as esta- blished. The minister plenipotentiary of his Britanic ma- jesty here proposed an adjustment of the differences more immediately endangering the harmony of the two countries. The proposition was accepted with a promptitude and cor- diality corresponding with the invariable professions of this government. A foundation appeared to be laid for a sincere and lasting reconciliation. The prospect, however, quickly vanquished ; the whole proceeding was disavowed by the British government, without any explanations, which could at that time repress the belief, that the disavowal proceeded from a spirit of hostility to the commercial rights and pros- perity of the United States. And it has since come into proof, that at the very moment, when the public minister was holding the language of friendship and inspiring confi- dence in the sincerity of the negotiation with which he was charged, a secret agent of his government was employed in intrigues, having for their object a subversion of our govern- ment, and a dismemberment of our happy nation. "In reviewing the conduct of Great Britian towards the United States^ our attention is necessarily drawn to the war- fare just renewed by the savages on one of our extensive frontiers ; a warfare which is known to spare neither age nor sex, and to be distinguished by features peculiarly Bhocking to humanity. It is difficult to account for the ac- tivity and combination which have for some time been de- veloping themselves among the tribes in the constant inter- course with British traders and garrisons, without connect- JAMES MADISON. 109 ing their hostility with that influence ; and without recollect- ing the authenticated examples of such interpositions hereto- fore furnished by the officers and, agents of that government. " Such is the spectacle of injuries and indignities which have been heaped on our country ; and such the crisis which its unexampled forbearance and conciliatory efforts have not been able to avert. It might at least have been expected that an enlightened nation, if less urged by moral obliga- tions, or invited by friendly dispositions on the part of the United States, would have found, in its true interest alone, a sufficient Liotive to respect their rights and their tranquility on the high seas ; that an enlarged policy would have favored that free and general circulation of commerce, in which the British nation is at all times interested, and which in times of war, is the best alleviation of its calamities to herself as well as the other belligerents ; and more especially that the British cabinet would not, for the sake of the precarious and surreptitious intercourse with hostile markets, have perse- vered in a course of measures which necessarily put at ha- zard the valuable market of a great and growing country, disposed to cultivate the mutual advantages of an active commerce. " Our councils have prevailed. Our moderation and con- ciliation have had no other effect than to encourage perse- verance, and to enlarge pretensions. We behold our sea faring citizens still the daily victims of lawless violence com- mitted on the great common and highway of nations, even within sight of the country which owes them protection. We behold our vessels freighted with the products of our soil and industry, or returning with the honest proceeds of them, wrested from their lawful destination, confiscated by prize courts, no longer the organs of public law, but the in 110 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. struments of arbitrary edicts ; and their unfortunate crews dispersed and lost, or forced or inveigled, in British ports, into British fleets : whilst arguments are employee in support of these aggressions, which have no foundation but in a prin- ciple supporting equally a claim to regulate our external commerce in all cases whatsoever. " We behold, in fine, on the side of Great Britain, a state of war against the United States ; and on the side of the United States, a state of peace towards Great Britain. " Whether the United States shall continue passive under these progressive usurpations, and these accumulating wrongs; or, opposing force to force in defence of their natural rights, shall commit a just cause into the hands of the Almighty Disposer of events, avoiding all connexions which might en tangle in the contests or views of other powers, and preserv ins: a readiness to concur in an honorable re-establishment of peace and friendship, is a solemn question, which '•'le con- stitution wisely confides to the legislative department of the government. In recommending it to their early deliberations, I am happy in the assurance of that decision will be worthy the enlightened and patriotic councils of a virtuous, a free, and a powerful nation. " Having presented this view of the relations of the United States with Great Britain, and of the solemn alternative growing out of them, I proceed to remark, that the commu- nications last made to Congress on the subject of our rela- tions with France, will have shown that since the revocation of her decrees, as they violated the neutral rights of the United States, her government has authorized illegal cap- tures, by its privateers and public ships, and that other out- rages have been practised on our vessels and our citizens It will have been seen also, that no indemnity had been pro- JA11ES MADISON. Ill vided, or satisfactorily pit aged, for the extensive spoliations committed under the vioh nt and retrospective orders of the French government against the property of our citizens seized within the jurisdiction of France. I abstain at this time from recommending to the consideration of Congress definite measures with respect to that nation, in the expecta- tion that the result of the undisclosed discussions between our minister plenipotentiary at Paris, and the French go- vernment, will speedily enable Congress to decide, with greater advantage, on the course due to the rights, the interest, and the honor of our country." This message was referred, in the house of representatives, to the committee on foreign relations. After a serious consideration of its contents, they reported a bill, declaring war between the united kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland and their dependencies, and the United States of America, and their territories, accompanied by a manifesto of the causes that impelled to war. A full history of this three years' war does not come within the scope of this biography. We have to do with President Madison. It is generally conceded that he erred in his first measures — in the choice of war ministers — in the. appointment of commanding generals. Perhaps, all the weakness and inefficiency displayed in the conduct of the first campaign, may be traced to the bad selection of a war- minister. Upon land, the force of the United States suf- fered defeat and disaster. The navy maintained the honor, and established the maritime reputation of the country. Hull, Decatur, Lawrence, and other gallant spirits inflicted upon the enemy at sea, what they gave to the Americans on land. At the presidential election of 1812, Mr. Madison was 112 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. again a candidate. Elbridge Gerry was on the same ticket as a candidate for the Vice Presidency. These gentlemen were opposed by De Witt Clinton and Jared Ingersoll. The electoral vote stood as follows : For Madison, one hundred and twenty-eight ; Gerry, one hundred and thirty-one ; Clinton, eighty-nine ; Ingersoll, eighty-six. The friends of the administration retained a majority in Congress, though the opposition daily increased in strength. On the 4th of March, Mr. Madison entered upon his second inaugural term. Previous to this, some changes had been made in the cabinet. William Jones of Pennsyl- vania, had been appointed Secretary of the Navy in place of Paul Hamilton, and General John Armstong had been appointed Secretary of War, in the place of Doctor Eustis. resigned. On the 8th of March, 1813, the Russian minister com- municated to the American government an oiler from the Em- peror Alexander of his mediation between the United States and Great Britain ; and on the 11th, the President accepted the offer. A few days afterwards, the President appointed Messrs. Albert Gallatin, John Quincy Adams, and James A. Bayard, commissioners or envoys to treat for peace. The British government rejected the offer of Russian mediation but signified its willingness to treat directly with the United States. Ghent was the place fixed for the meeting of the commissioners. In the meantime, the war went on. Upon the lakes and the ocean, the Americans were astonishingly successful, while upon land, though they met with some dis- asters, their affairs began to brighten. Henr? Clay and Jonathan Russel were added to the ne- gotiating envoys in January, 1814; and the commissioners were arranged by the President in the following order JAMES MADISON. 113 Jolin Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Guy, Jona- than Russel, and Albert Gallatin. During the year 1814, the war was prosecuted with vigor and zeal on. both sides. The fall of Napoleon left Great Britain at liberty to direct her whole strength against tho United States, and a large number of the veterans of Wei lington's campaigns, were sent over to Canada. But Brown, Sc^tt, Gaines, Jackson, and Ripley, were now at the head of the American forces, and great vigor was exerted in all parts of the administration. Confidence in the army waa revived, and the triumphs at Niagara, Plattsburg, Baltimore, Fort Erie, and New Orleans, conclusively showed the supe- riority of the Americans upon their own soil. Harrison, by the victory of the Thames, had relieved the north-western frontier from the depredations and atrocities of the united British and Indians. On the sea, the " star-spangled ban- ner" was covered with the glory of triumph. Several changes took place in the cabinet in 1814 and 1815. George W. Campbell, of Tennessee, was appointed to supply the place of Mr. Gallatin, as Secretary of the Treasury, and in October, he resigned, and was succeeded by Alexander J. Dallas. In September, 1814, General Armstrong resigned the post of Secretary of War. Mr. Monroe acted as the head of that department until the 1st of August, 1815, when William H. Crawford was appointed, and Mr. Monroe returned to the duties of the state depart' ment. Changes were also made in the subordinate offices. While Congress was passing acts for the vigorous prose- cution of the war, the unexpected and welcome intelligence of peace was received at Washington, early in February, 1815. A treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain was concluded by the commission ors at Ghent, 114 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. on the 24th of Dectember, 1814, about a fortnight before the British were repulsed at New Orleans, by General Jack- Bon. The treaty was ratified by the President and senate, and was the occasion of sincere and universal rejoicings. Early in 1815, Messrs. Adams, Gallatin, and Clay, nego- tiated at London, a satisfactory commercial treaty, which completely restored friendly relations between the United States and Great Britain. The rest of President Madison's administration was peaceable and beneficial to all the interests of the country. The want of a uniform national currency had been felt dur- ing the war, and a national bank, with a capital of thirty- five millions, was now established with the consent of the republican party. The encouragement of American manu- factures, by the regulation of the tariff, and the extinction of the national debt, were the objects of the other important measures adopted during this administration. On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Madison surrendered the Presidency to his friend, Mr. Monroe, and retired to his seat of Mont- pelier, in Virginia. " In 1829, he consented to become a member of the con- vention which met at Richmond for the purpose of revising the constitution of his state, and contributed largely in seve- ral instances to effect a compromise between contending opinions and interests. With the exception only of the two months which he was at this period absent from home, and his occasional visits to Charlottesville, in fulfilment of his duties as a visitor, and subsequently as rector, of the Uni- versity of Virginia, it is stated that he never left his county after he quitted Washington. Although he lived to the age of eighty-five, he had a very delicate constitution, and never enjoyed good health. He died on the 28th of June 1836. — JAMES MADISON. 115 In his domestic relations he was amiable and kind ; and in his intercourse with his friends, his conversational powera rendered him an instructive and entertaining companion. As a writer he has had few equals among American statesmen, and the style of his public documents and his correspondence have been much admired. He was an able debater, having acquired self-confidence by slow degrees He restored the custom of levees at the presidential mansion which was a gratification to his friends and strangers. In personal appearance, Mr. Madison was small of stature and rather protuberant in front. His countenance wore an expression of mingled mildness, dignity, and intelligence. He was slow and deliberate in speech. At the close of his last presidential term he seemed care-worn and older than he was in fact. He was bald on the top of his head, Nvore his hair powdered, and usually dressed in black. His learning was ever calculated to convey an idea of his modest merit. Mr. A. J. Stansbury, the author of " Reminiscences of Pub- lic Men," who was well acquainted with Mr. Madison and his lady gives us the following description of them : "I saw Mr. Madison, for the first time, at Richmond, where he attended as a member of a state convention, as- sembled in 1829, for the revision of the constitution of Virginia. You may imagine the intense curiosity with which I gazed on an individual so illustrious. Among a crowd of gentlemen who entered the hall of the old house of bur- gesses, in the capital, where the convention was about to open, I saw one, of lower stature than any of his compeers, Blender and delicate in form — dressed in a suit of black, not new, and now dusty from travel, with a hat distinguished by the width of its brim, and its total estrangement from the fashionable block of the day; in aspect grave, yet mild ; in 116 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. air and carriage perfectly simple and unassuming; of light., elastic step, and possessing, altogether, what may be called a winning address. I observed that he was approached by every one with an instinctive respect, (though not with that expression of awe which was inspired by Washington,) and I soon learned from every mouth, that it was cx-Pr.esident Madison. Many members of the convention then saw him, like myself for the first time. He looked to me like a gen- tleman farmer, emerging from retirement, to give his vote at some important election, and then purposing to return home. "lie met his friends with courtesy, but with an unmoved calmness of maimer, differing, as it seemed to me, from that warmth and cordiality which usually marks the intercourse of Virginians, and Southern people generally. Indeed, were 1 asked to point out Mr. Madison's distinguishing trait, I speak of his constitutional organization, I should say it was this very quality of dignifit-*! calmness. His tone of mind seemed pleasant, even cheerful, but totally undis- turbed — ever self-possessed, self-balanced. Wherever I met him, afterward, this original impression remained unaltered. He was, in all situations, gentlemanly, modest, retiring, and for so distinguished a character, more silent than I had expected. He never assumed the lead in conversation, and appeared always more disposed to listen than to speak. No- thing can be conceived more remote from all assumption and display. During the whole duration of the convention, (and it sat for sixteen weeks,) although of all present, he was best entitled to speak on subjects such as those which occu- pied that body, he spoke but twice. When he did speak, however, the effect of such retiring merit Avas at once ob- vi'ius. While other members of the body, even the most JAMES MADISON. 117 distinguished among the elite of Virginia, were listened to with respectful attention, but without any special outward demonstration of interest, no sooner was Mr. Madison upon his feet, than there was in one moment a simultaneous rush, from every part of the hall ; the ordinary decorum of tho body seemed forgotten ; regardless of all obstacles, every man made a straight line to the spot, and he was at once, so completely hemmed in by the crowd that pressed around to hear, that his small figure could scarce be seen. There was, indeed, one reason for this movement besides the homage which his character commanded. " His voice, never very strong, was then very slender, even feeble, (he was in his seventy-eighth year,) though his enun- ciation was perfectly distinct, and the universal eagerness not to lose a syllable that fell from him may have quickened the efforts to be as near him as possible. My professional occupation opened an avenue to me, since it was my duty to take down the speech ; but such was the interest I felt, in common with all around me, to hear the speech, that it was with difficulty I could prevent my attention from being drawn from my task, leaving me a listener merely. I have still the MS. notes of that speech, (the last he ever delivered) with corrections of it in his own hand, which I keep with a religious feeling of veneration. Connected with it is a little anecdote, characteristic in the highest degree of the meekness of wisdom which so eminently distinguished the author of 'The Federalist.' When I had finished writing out the speech, I left it with him for his revision. Next day, as there was a great call for it, and the report had not been returned for publication, I sent my son, with a respectful note, requesting the MS. My son was a lad of about six- teen, (whom I had taken with me to act as an amanuensis,) 118 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and on delivering my note he was received with the utmost politeness, and requested to come up in Mr. Madison's cham- ber, and wait while he ran his eye over the paper ; as com- pany had till that moment prevented his attending to it. He did so : and Mr. Madison, pen in hand, sat down to cor- rect the report. The lad stood near him, so that his eyo fell on the paper. Coming to a certain sentence in the speech, Mr. Madison struck out a word, and substituted another : but hesitated, and not feeling quite satisfied with the second word, drew his pen through it also. My son was young, ignorant of the world, and unconscious of the sole- cism of which he was about to be guilty, when, in all his simplicity, he suggested a word. Yes, he ventured, boy that he was, to suggest to James Madison an improvement in his own speech ! Probably no other individual then living -would have taken such a liberty ! But the sage, instead of regarding the intrusion with a frown, raised his eye to the boy's face with pleased surprise, and said, ' thank you, sir — it is the very word !' and immediately inserted it. I saw him the next day, and he mentioned the circumstance, with a compliment on the young critic. " I was forcibly struck, while discharging my daily duty in the convention, at the deportment of Mr. Madison. Punc- tual and unfailing in his attendance, he always occupied the eame seat, and I do not think that in the hall there was another individual who paid as uniform and unremitted attention to the proceedings of the body. Whoever occupied the floor, he was sure of at least one attentive listener. John Marshall himself, did not listen with more steadiness and condescen- sion to the argument of a young member of the bar, (and who that was ever a young member there, and did not ieel with deepest gratitude that admirable trait in the character JAMES MADISON. 119 of the great jurist ?) than did Mr. Madison to the speeches, of every grade, from men of every calibre, on subjects of which none was so complete a master as himself. Perhaps ^Jie habit might have been formed when he was himself a reporter in the convention which formed the constitution A reporter is a listener by profession ; he is attentive pa: force ; and, happily, in this case as in every other of invo- luntary and long-continued labor, the back, by a mercifir Providence, becomes fitted to the burden. " At Richmond I first saw Mrs. Madison, and the instant my eye fell on her I felt that I was looking on a Queen. A queen she was ; one of nature's queens : — she looked the character ; her person, carriage, manners, language, would have been in place in any, the most polished, Court of Eu- rope. To her, Virgil's immortal words applied with a force that struck every beholder : ' Incedit Hegina.' Her per- son was large and dignified, yet moved with easy grace ; her face a full oval, with .raised features, double chin, fine eyes, and a mouth dressed in the most winning smiles. It was a face that seemed to bid you welcome, and to ask, ' what can I do for you ?' Having once seen her, I felt no more surprised at having heard of her from a boy ; — I could credit what had frequently been told me that her husband owed much of the success of his administration (so far as its popularity was concerned,) to the influence of his wife. Hei power over him was great, and all who sought preferment, promotion, favors of any kind, addressed themselves, natu- rally, to her, as the readiest and surest channel of access to the President. A corrupt woman might have enriched her- self to almost any extent, by the use of such a power. Madison himself was cold and shy, and a timid suitor would often have met, not with repulse, but with a polite refusal ; 120 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. but to Mrs. Madison anybody, every body could approach , and if their request was reasonable and such as a lady might Urge without derogation from her own sense of propriety, thev might count upon at least her good offices. I had a personaj opportunity of witnessing both the adroitness, and the prev- alence, of her intercession. A gentleman was at Richmond with a subscription for an edition of the American Encyclo- pedia. The presence of so numerous an assemblage of in- telligent men presented a favorable opportunity for prosecu- ting such an enterprise. The work was expensive, and ita publishers would not feel warranted to enter into such an un- dertaking without securing, beforehand, a respectable amount of patronage. The gentleman was very anxious, and his first application must, of course, be made to Mr. Madison, that name alone would be worth to him more than a hundred others. With such a name at the head of his list he could present it to any man ; without it, he would be met with its absence as an objection. He applied, and was refused. Mr. Madison admitted the value of the work, complimented t lie applicant on his enterprise in undertaking its publication, wished him every success, but pleading his own restricted circumstances, which would not justify him in incurring the expense. The poor man came to me in great dejection. A refusal from such a source took the wind out of his sails: it would justify all in refusing who sought an excuse to do so. 'What shall I do ?' said he, in much perplexity. ' Have you ever read the book of Judges'.'" said I. 'The book of Judges ! Why yes, I have read it ; but what has that to do with my subscription list ?' ' More, perhaps than you think. Do you remember how the Philistines found out Samson's riddle ? Do you recollect what he told them ? " If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would never have found out JAMES MADISON. 1-L my riddle." Go you, and try the same plan.' 'You are right; you're right! I'll do it.' Next day he came into my room huzzaing — 'I ploughed with the heifer;' and see, here's the sign manual.' I asked him to tell me how she did it. ' Why,' replied he, ' she brought me to the old gen- tleman, and told him of how much importance it was to me to get his name.' 'Yes my dear,' said he, ' I am aware of that ; but you know, as well as I, that our circumstances are not such as to warrant me in incurring so heavy an expense. I should be glad to aid this gentleman, and glad to possess the work, but I cannot afford it.' 'I know that, my dear,' said his lady, ' or I am sure you would give this gentleman your name to help his list. But are not you a trustee of the University of Virginia ? and couldn't you take his book for the college ?' ' True, true, my love ; I never thought of that,' and he put down his name.' This is a sample of the admirable tact with which she could carry her point. " There were excellent points in her character. She was ever a friend to the friendless. Whenever, in the drawing- room, a modest individual seemed thrown in the back ground her quick eye instantly perceived it ; and she would always contrive, without any parade of condescension, but in the most easy and affectionate manner, by a kind word, a kind look, a question, or some other of those nameless, intangible, but influential courtesies of which she was so perfect a mis- tress, to attract attention and encouragement toward the ob- ject of her kindness. Nor was this trait in her disposition confined to mere courtesy of manner; she was ever ready to confer substantial kindness on those who needed it. Mr. Catlin, the adventurous delineator of Indian life and manners, (a man as distinguished for his modest simplicity of mind as for the charm of his pencil,) once related to me this anecdote- 1-2 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. While quite a young man, and soon after his marriage, he was in Virginia, in the vicinity of Mr. Madison's home, en- deavoring to earn his support by painting portraits ; he was a stranger, and in narrow circumstances, having taken cheap board at a private house in the country. Here his young wife was taken sick with the intermittent fever so common in a southern climate, and confined for several weeks to her bed. It was a desolate situation ; the necessary comforts of a sick chamber were hard to be procured, especially by a young couple, little known and in narrow circumstances. — But his wife had not been sick many days, before a lady, of very preposessing appearance, entered her chamber, and with a graceful apology for the intrusion, introduced herself, and begged to know how she could render any assistance ; — and then laying aside her bonnet and shawl, she sat her down by the bedside, cheered the invalid by her conversation (which ever flowed like a gentle and abundant river,) mixed and ad- ministered her medicines, and from that hour continued to nurse her like a sister, till she was quite recovered. It was Mrs. Madison. ". Another beautiful trait in her character was her fondness for the young. No one could have seen her in company with young ladies, and failed to be struck with this peculiarity. It became the more remarkable as she advanced in years. — At an age when to the most of those who reacn it the liveli- ness and chatter of young people is a burden, she had still the same fondness for their company ; nor was there a kinder chaperone to be found in introducing and encouraging a bashful young girl just ' come out.' She conciliated their' confidence at once, and in a large and mixed company, you would always find a bevy of youthful faces around her, all whose pleasures seemed to be her own. JAMES MADISON. 123 "In almost every picture of Mrs. Madison, whether minia- ture or portrait, she is drawn with a turban ; and very pro- perly ; for it was, I believe, her constant head dress. How- ever the fashions might change, and however, in other re- spects, she conformed to them, she still retained this pecu- liarity. It became her well, nor could she, probably, have laid it aside for anything that would have set off her features to better advantage. So much was the eye accustomed to see it that it became in fact, a part of her figure. It was, to her, much what old Frederick's three cornered hat was to him ; and one would as soon expect to find Mrs. Madison without her turban, as the Prussian army would to see their king without his hat. She rouged, too, very freely ; nor did she lay aside her turban, her rouge, her courtly manners, cheerful spirits, or her fondness for company, to the day of her death'." % ■ m JAMES MONROE. Those who are in the habit of regarding quickness of thought and brilliancy of expression as essentials of great- ness have spoken slightly of James Monroe. They have wound up their memoirs of him with some grave remarks upon the freaks of the popular will and the fortune of some politicians. But he who enjoyed the esteem of the great men of his day, who was employed by Presidents of various shades of opinion, in many important stations — who rivalled Madison — whose administration was so successful as to have the unanimous and hearty approbation of the nation could not have been a common man — could not have been merely fortunate. Firmness, integrity, patriotism, foresight, and great capacity for labor — the genuine attribute of the best rulers, were to be found in James Monroe. Diplomatic and administrative talents, he certainly displayed. If he lacked imagination and oratorical powers, so did Washington, and many of the best statesmen, whose names have been handed down to us by History, have been more eloquent in deeds than in words. As a hero, leaving college to lead the van at Tren- ton — as a patriot, pledging his private estate to furnish the means for defending New Orleans, as a diplomatist negotiat- ing for the purchase of Louisiana, and as President, carrying 125 126 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. into effect these measure most agreeable to the popular will, James Monroe is truly worthy of the highest esteem. The successor of Madison was born on the 2d of April, 1759; in the county of Westmoreland, Virginia. The family of Monroe is one of the most ancient and honorable in Virginia, James was the son of Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones. After preparing himself by a course of elementary study, he entered William and Mary College. But the war of independence began ; and the country had great need of the hearts and arms of all her sons. James Monroe was but eighteen years old when the declaration of independence was issued. Yet he resolved to quit the college and join the army under Washington. The British general was pre- paring an overwhelming force for an attack upon New York. The horizon of America was growing gloomy. The timid were shrinking from the side of the great patriot general. Monroe joined Washington at New York. During the dark period of seventy-six, he shared with the patriots in their perils and privations. He participated in the disastrous battles of Harlem heights and White Plains. In the battle of Trenton, while leading the vanguard in .a brave and suc- cessful assault upon the enemy's artillery, he received a wound, the scar of which he carried to his grave. After he recovered from his wound, Mr. Monroe was promoted to a captaincy, in the regular service. But, during the campaign of 1777 and 1778, he acted as aid to Lord Stirling, receding from the line of promotion. However, he won fresh laurels by his brave bearing at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. Desiring to regain his posi- tion in the line, he endeavored to raise a regiment in Vir- ginia, under the recommendation of General Washington and the authority of the legislature. But the state was ex- JAMES MONROE. 127 hausted. and men could not be induced to enlist. Failing to attain his aim, Mr. Monroe then devoted himself to the study of the law, under Mr. Jefferson, then governor of Virginia.* But he afterwards served as a volunteer, aiding to resist the British invasion of the state. In 1782, Mr. Monroe was elected to a seat in the Vir- ginia legislature, by the county of King George. He was then twenty-four years old ; but such was his activity and legislative tact, that in 1783, he was elected by the legisla- ture, a delegate to the Continental Congress. Tw© years' experience in that body convinced him that its powers were insufficient for the purposes of good government, and he therefore sought to extend them. In 1785, he made a mo- tion that Congress should be invested with the power to regu- late trade. This motion was referred to a committee, of which he was chairman. Other proposals to amend the Articles of Confederation were made, and finally, the con- vention for framing a constitution was the result. In the meantime, Mr. Monroe served with eight other highly re- spectable men of the period, in a federal court, which was to decide a long pending controversy between New York and Massachusetts. But the states settled the matter by mutual agreement, and Mr. Monroe resigned his commission. While in New York, attending the Continental Congress, Mr. Monroe married the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Mr. L. Kortright. In the latter part of 1782, his term of service expired, and being ineligible for a second term, he retired to Fredericksburg to engage in the practice of the law. But the times and the Virginians would not allow talent r,o remain in the walks of public life. In 17S7, Mr. Monroe * Statemaii's Manual. 128 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. was elected to the Legislature, and in the following year, he was chosen a delegate to the state convention, assembled to decide upon the federal constitution. In that body were some of the noblest minds in the country. The great orator Patrick Henry, was there to pour forth his thunder in oppo- sition to the constitution, while Madison, Pendleton and Edmund Randolph, appeared as its able advocates. Mr. Monroe, though convinced of the necessity of a radical change in the general government, was not prepared to accept the propose^, constitution, without certain very important amend- ments. With Patrick Henry, George Mason and other great men, he thought the power committed to the hands of the executive would overwhelm the liberties of the people and the rights of the states. The democratic and state right doctrines held by Mr. Monroe at this time were consistently maintained throughout his political career. The convention finally adopted the constitution as it was, by a vote of eighty- nine to seventy-nine, Mr. Monue being in the negative. The majority of anti-federalists were elected by Virginia to the first Congress. On the death of William Grayson, one of the senators, Mr. Monroe was elected to supply his place. He took his seat in the senate of the United States in 1790. During the four years that he held that station, he opposed the administration of Washington, and arose to high esteem among the republicans. In May, 1704, Presi- dent Washington appointed Mr. Monroe minister to the French republic, in compliance with the wishes of the Jef- ferson party. He was cordially received in France, but his course while there was not conformable to the policy of Washington, who therefore recalled him in 17'J(J^ On his return, Mr. Monroe published a vindication of his course of action, and censured the administration. He was then JAMES MONROE. 129 elected to tl.c Virginia legislature, and in 1799 was chosen by that body, governor of the state, which office he held for the limited term of three years. In 1803, President Jefferson, anxious for the purchase of Louisiana, appointed Mr. Monroe envoy extraordinary to France, to act jointly with Mr. Livingston, the resident minister. A fortnight after his arrival in France, Mr. Mon- roe succeeded in attaining the wished for object. Mr. Li- vingston, had begun to despair of success ; but the envoy extraordinary, having a better understanding with the French government, easily conducted the negotiation to the desired end. This achievement did great honor to Mr. Monroe's diplomatic talents. Shortly after the purchase of Louisiana, Mr. Monroe succeeded Rufus King at the court of St. James. At this time, the relations between the United States and Great Britain were anything but friendly. In 1807, Messrs Monroe and Pinckney succeeded in negotiating a treaty, which they considered advantageous to the United States. But President Jefferson refused to send it to the Senate, he thought it clogged with inadmissible conditions. Mr. Can- ning, the British minister of foreign affairs, refused to nego- tiate further, and therefore the mission of Monroe and Pinck- ney was at an end. Mr. Monroe was somewhat dissatisfied with President Jefferson in consequence of the unceremonious treatment of the result of the laborious negotiation ; but the matter was explained in friendly correspondence. It was thought by a portion of the republican party that Mr. Monroe should succeed Mr. Jefferson in the Presidency. But the majority preferred Mr. Madison. In 1811, Mr. Monroe was again elected governor of Virginia, which sta- tion, he resigned, however, to take the department of State, under President Madison. After the capture of Washington ISO S Of nu: PRESIDE ■ nation of General Armstrong, M.. M nted to the war department, in whioh capacity a displayed an energy, boldness, and patriotism, whic)i iadioa- llo proposed to one hundred thousand men, and to from the whole number of ahle»b is measure was calculated to make him unpopular; ho know it ; but in '.' feen what heoo I right and popularity, he was prepared to sacrifice the latter. For- tunately the return of peace rendered the addition t< army nnn« Towards the end of the year ISi attention \ ed to the defence of Now Orleans, To Is, he was compelled to pledge his dit,as sul to that of the government, which By this patriotio aot, Mr, Monroe waa enabled to furnish the c riumph of the v Nevi Orleans followed and t ho war dosed. Mr. Monroe nod to the department of state, and aided Mr, Madison in carrying out thos aires which a and domestic relations of the government de- manded. In 1816, he received the nomination of there- in, for the Presidency, llo was elected without difficulty. Daniel D, Tompkins, of Now York, was olootod to the Vice Presidency at the same time. Messrs. Mc and Tompkins entered upon the duties of their offices on 1th of Maroh, IS IT. President Monroe determined to pursue the same y ud to appointments, as had boon followed by J son and Madison. Republicans alone were to be oons fit for office, under a republican administration. * SI *-" . • a M.mu.il. JAMES MONROE. 131 Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, was appointed Secretary of State ; William H. Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury ; John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Secre- tary of War ; and William Wirt, of Virginia, Attorney General. Benjamin M. Crowninshield was continued in office as Secretary of the Navy. The policy of Mr. Monroe's administration was liberal and satisfactory to all parties. In many of its features, it resembled that of Washington and Hamilton. The perfect- ing of a national bank, of the gradual discharge of the public debt, of the system of fortifying the coast and increasing the navy, and of encouraging by adequate protection the manufactures and inventions of the country, were the chief aims of this policy. Mr. Monroe yielded his own opinions to those of the majority of the nation, and acquiesced in a system of internal improvements, but not until near the close of his administration. The treaty which added Flo- rida to the United States was consummated under the di- rection of the President. In 1817, he made a tour through a large portion of the northern and middle states, inspect- ing the various public works, and gaining much accurate in- formation in regard to the state of these sections of the Union. He was received with every demonstration of re- spect and aifection on the part of the people. In 1820, Mr. Monroe was re-elected to the Presidency, receiving every vote of the electoral college except one. In the previous year he made a tour through the southern and western states, where he was received with the same cor- diality as had been displayed during his excursion to the north. Mr. Tompkins was re-elected to the Vice Presidency by a very large majority. The administration was the must popular the country had yet known. The great question 132 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Defore the C ongress at the session of 1820-21, was upon the admission of Missouri into the Union. A largo portion of the members were opposed to the admission of any more states, by whose constitution slavery was recognised, and Missouri came within this category. After a very violent discussion, the question was settled by a compromise, pro- posed by Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Missouri was to be admitted ; but slavery was to be for ever prohibited in the rest of the territory west of the Mississippi, lying north of thirty-six degrees and thirty-six minutes, north latitude. Many important acts were adopted by Congress, during the second presidential term of Mr. Monroe. But we havo indicated the general policy of the administration, and the views of the President, and it is beyond our purpose to re- view congressional measures. All the candidates proposed to succeed Mr. Monroe were members of the republican party. They were William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury ; John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State ; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War ; Henry Clay, and General Andrew Jackson. The vote in the electoral college stood as follows : — For Jackson, ninety-nine ; Adams, eighty-four ; Crawford, forty-one ; Clay, thirty-seven. There was, con- sequently, no choice of a President by the people. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice President, receiving one hundred and eighty-two votes, to seventy-eight for all others. The election from the three highest candidates devolved upon the house of representatives. That body, voting by states, elected John Quincy Adams, in February, 1825. It wag Bupposed that this choice was agreeable to the views of Mr. Monroe, though the disappointed candidates were his friends. \t the elose of this vigorous and prosperous administra- tion, on the 3d of March, 1825, Mr. Monroe retired to Ltf JAMES MONROE. 133 residence in Loudon county, Virginia, where he was shortly afterwards appointed a county magistrate, and curator oi the University of Virginia. In 1829, he was elected a member of the convention called to revise the constitution of the state, a body of which he was unanimously chosen president. A writer, in a late number of the " Southern Literary Messenger," who at- tended this convention, thus speaks of the part played by Mr. Monroe. " The want of the habit of public speaking was very con- spicuous in several of the older members of the Convention, and in none more than in Mr. Monroe. It was well known that he was never a very eloquent speaker ; but in former days his speeches were said to be remarkable for plain com- mon sense, expressed in clear and intelligible language. He had lost all this, no doubt from long disuse, before he came to the convention. His ideas appeared to be confused, his delivery awkward, his manner perplexed, and his whole de- meanor that of a man overwhelmed by the magnitude of his subject. To have judged from his speeches on the floor, one might very well have supposed that he had no clear percep- tions upon any subject, and that he had not mastered the particular one upon which he was engaged for the time being. " Yet those who know the history of Mr. Monroe, are well aware that such was not the character of his mind. He was eminently a man of action ; he saw his way clearly in every iifEculty, political or diplomatic, and though he might not be able to point it out to others, he never lost it himself. In this respect he resembled the English statesman, Castlereagh, who, if the account of Lord Brougham is to be credited, was the least luminous of all speakers that ever addressed the House of Commons. He formed a perfect contrast to his 134 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. great rival and enemy, Canning, who was the most polished of speakers, the most attic of wits, the most entertaining of raconteurs. Yet when the time of action came, the master- spirit developed itself at once in Castlereagh. He managed the helm with the boldness of a pilot who delighted in the excitement of tempest and danger, while his more eloquent adversary, if left to himself in the hour of peril, would soon have run the vessel on a shoal, or have caused her to founder at sea. " Though no orator, Mr. Monroe was, nevertheless, lis- tened to with great respect in the convention. And he was entitled to be thus listened to. He had filled the highest offiees, had been twice elected President of the United States, and had conducted one of the most successful administrations the country had ever known. In spite of his embarrassed manner, and awkward delivery, these facts denoted him to be no ordinary man, and his fame had already been placed beyond the reach of accident." Before the adjournment of the convention, Mr. Monroe was compelled by indisposition, to retire. In the succeed- ing summer, he took up his abode with his son-in-law, Mr. Gouvernor, in New York. Here he died on the 4th of July, 1831, at the age of seventy-two years. He was the third ex-president who died upon the anniversary of the nation's independence. Mrs. Monroe died a short time before her husband. The following delineation of the character of Mr. Monroe, is given by Mr. A. J. Stansbury, in his interesting " Rcnii niscences of Public Men :" " James Monroe was a gentleman ; courteous, frank, dig- nified, accessible : his manner, however, had more of the soldier xr it than the civilian ; he differed strongly in this JAMES MONROE. 135 respect from each of the Presidents who had preceded him. Washington was a soldier,it is true, but he had the carriage and bearing of a monarch in the fieid, and when transferred to the cabinet was still in his place. Adams was an En- glish, or rather a New England genl leman,and had the air of a scholar, accustomed to rank and deference. Jefferson wasa polished French philosopher, courtier, and man of the world. Monroe was none of these, but had the look and open manner of one who had long been in camp, had read men more than books, and who silently reflected on all he saw. Though frank in manner, he could keep his own counsel, had his own will, and while he respectfully listened to all the opinions of his cabinet, and the arguments by which they were supported, made up his own mind, and after a night's reflection came prepared to declare and to abide by it. The composed state of the country, quietly recuperating as it was, after the tumult and effort of the second war with Great Britain, did not call out tbe latent energies of the man ; but when any thing did occur to rouse them, he always showed a spirit and vigor of mind that sometimes took men by surprise. " I recollect an instance of this that is highly character- istic of the man. He had issued an order of some kind, 1 forget its particular nature, to Commodore Porter, while on a, distant station, which that ardent and somewhat inde- pendent officer took the liberty, for reasons deemed by him sufficient, to disregard. When the despatch came, bearing this intelligence, the Secretary of the Navy himself waited on the President to communicate it. Monroe's face turned crimson ; his eyes flashed fire ; and starting up and pacing the room he exclaimed, ' the fellow ! does he dispute my orders ? He shall fight me ! I'll call him out the moment 136 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. he get" home.' There spoke out the man. It was not, the President of the United States which spoke, but it waa James Monroe. Taking Porter's conduct as a personal affront, his very first idea was to call him to the field, and make him abide the issue at the pistol's mouth. A curious interview they would have had of it, had not the prudence of the chief magistrate checked the fiery ardor of the soldier. Monroe's public conduct was eminent for prudence, and always marked by good sense ; these sketches, and a careful estimate of what Avas due to his position. " Monroe was hospitable, cheerful among his friends, and a pleasant table companion. He had, however, no powers of anecdote ; in fact he had but one story, which he often told, and which nobody enjoyed more than himself. He had a black servant who waited upon him, and who was a genuine specimen of the Virginia negro. On one occasion it had been necessary for his master to rise very early in order to set out on a journey, and fearful lest he should over-sleep himself, he ordered Tone to spread his pallet by the side of his bed, and call him at the first dawn of day. A little before daylight Mr. Monroe's anxiety awoke him without foreign aid, while poor Tone's nose gave unmistakable evidence that he was still enjoying that deep, untroubled re- pose, which God has given to be the solace of the slave. Arousing him with his foot, his master called out : " ' Tone, you dog, are you asleep yet ? did I not tell you u> call me early ? get up, you lazy devil, and look out, and let me know what sort of a morning it is.' "Tone bandied up, and blundering through the chamber opened a door, paused, and shutting it again, came to his master's bedside and reported, " Bery dark morning, master, and smell ob cheese." JAMES MONROE. lo7 " Poor sleepy Tone had opened the door into a pantry, in stead of that which led out of doors. " President Monroe had a great personal respect for General Brown, whose bravery on the frontier had done so much for the national renown, and whose painful wound, still unhealed, rendered him an object of much and deserved sympathy from his countrymen. The general's position, as commander-in- chief brought him into frequent contact with the President, and as brave military men they had much common ground. Brown too, possessed a sound penetrating judgment, and much tact in the knowledge of mankind. Monroe availed himself often of his advice, and it seemed to me that the in- fluence thus obtained over the mind of the President was at least equal to that of any of his cabinet. Calhoun, then Secretary of War, was fast rising into distinction, and his eagle eye was fixed on the presidential chair. The delicate operation of reducing the army was in progress, and Brown's co-operation was important both to him and his superior. No man thought more highly of Monroe than he. " The presidential mansion felt deeply the absence of Mrs. Madison. She had given it its charm, her smile was its light, her countenance 'the Cynosure of neighboring eyes,' Mra. Monroe was entirely a different woman. In miserable health, averse by nature, still more averse from religious principle, from all worldly pomp and display, she lived retired, and never appeared in the drawing room. I never saw her ; but all who knew her, praised her, and those who were most intimate with her loved her best." &&y * *' i/fts JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. A long career of public usefulness, great capacity, ox- tensive information, and a spirit of lofty patriotism and in- dependence, entitle John Quincy Adams to the lasting remembrance of his countrymen. That his father had filled the presidential chair was a singular distinction ; but it was rather a drawback than an aid to him in his upward course. The people of the United States have ever been watchful foes to hereditary office-holding, and even the rare talents of the younger Adams could not induce them to give a cor- dial sanction to his elevation to the high seat which his fa- ther had occupied. When that honor was accorded to him, it was nothing more than the just reward of his individual merit. John Quincy Adams was born in Boston, on the 11th of of July, 1767. His father, John Adams, was engaged in the practice of the law, and rapidly rising in reputation. The name of John Quincy was derived from a great grand- father, who had been a man of note in the province of Massa- chusetts, about the commencement of the eighteenth century. The boyhood of the younger Adams was the period of the revolution, in the principles of which he was baptized. John Adams and his worthy wife were earnest promoters of the 139 110 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. great struggle. Both were truly patriotic. During his first years, Mrs. Adams herself taught her son the elements of English. John Quincy seems to have been very quick of comprehension. When only nine years of age, he wrote to his father the following letter : Braintree, June 2d, 1777. Dear Sir : I love to receive letters very well ; much better thnn I love to write them. I make but a poor figure at composi- tion. My head is much too fickle. My thoughts are running after bird's eggs, play, and trifles, till I get vexed with my- self. Mamma has a troublesome task to keep me a study- ing. I own I am ashamed of myself. I have just entered the third volume of Rollin's History, but designed to have got half through it by this time. I am determined this week to be more diligent. Mr. Thaxter is absent at Court I have set myself a stint this week, to read the third volume half out. If I can but keep my resolution, I may again at the end of the week give a better account of myself. I wish, sir, you would give me in writing, some instructions with regard to the use of my time, and advise me how to propor- tion my studies and play, and I will keep them by me, and endeavor to follow them. With the present determination of growing better, I am, lear sir, your son, John Quincy Adams. p # g. Si r — If you will be so good as to favor me with a blank book, I will transcribe the most remarkable passages I meet with in my reading, which will serve to fix them unon my mird."* * Seward. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 141 In 1778, John Adams was appointed to fill the place of Silas Deane, as minister to the court of Louis Sixteenth, and he resolved to take his son, then eleven years old, with him, and to give him the advantages of an education at the Eur pean schools. They remained in Paris ahout a year and a half, during which time John Quincy attended a public Bchool, and, in his leisure hours, derived instruction from the conversation of his father, Dr. Franklin, and other dis- tinguished persons, by whom he was much loved and ad- mired. His rapid progress in knowledge was observed with great delight by his illustrious father. It was a pre- cious object to John Adams that his son should be a good and useful, if not a great, man, and the attention which he bestowed upon his training, was as constant as public duties would permit. Father and son returned to America. But in the fall of 1779, John Adams was appointed minister to the court of St. James, and he again crossed the Atlantic, taking John Quincy with him. They remained at Paris until August, 1780. John Quincy was sent to an academy, where he was a diligent student. The minister then repaired to Holland, to negotiate. While in that country, the younger Adams was placed at school, first at Amsterdam, and afterwards at the Univer- sity of Leyden. We have good assurance that these oppor- tunities for acquiring knowledge were not neglected by John Quincy ; for in July, 1781, when Francis Dana was ap- pointed minister to Russia, the younger Adams, though but fourteen years old, received the post of private secretary of the mission. He remained in this situation fourteen montli3, giving perfect satisfaction. He returned from St. Petersburg to Holland, alone, — a good evidence of his self-confidence and knowledge. On 142 LIVES OF TIIE PRESIDENTS. arriving in Holland, he resumed his studies at the Hague But he was present at Paris, on the 30th of November, 1783, when peace was concluded between Great Britain on the one part, and France and the United States on the other, when the independence for which his father had struggled was recognised. He soon afterwards accompanied his father to London, where, in the course of 1784, Mrs. Adams joined them. While at the British metropolis, John Quincy Adams studied English literature, and had frequent oppor- tunities of listening to the great orators, Fox, Pitt, Burke, and Sheridan. Becoming apprehensive that his academic studies were being too much neglected, he obtained leave to return home in 1785. At the age of eighteen, he entered Cambridge University, where he graduated in 1788, with high honors. After leaving the University, young Adams went to New- buryport and commenced the study of the law, under the learned Theophilus Parsons. Having completed the usua. term of preparation, he was admitted to practise, at Boston. For three or four years he was nearly briefless, and had fre- quent cause for despondency. But circumstances arose, of which he skilfully took advantage to get into public esteem. The French Revolution was differently regarded by the fede- ral and republican parties which upreared their heads at tho commencement of Washington's administration. French political ideas, tending to overthrow all the decent restraints of society Avere received and advocated by the republicans, while the federalists went to the monarchical extreme. John Quincy Adams held singular views; and in 1701, he pub- lished in the Boston Centinel, a series of articles, signed Publicola, in which he discussed, with great ability and force of style, the wild notions of the French political writers. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 143 These article^ attracted much attention both at home and abroad. They were republished in England, and admired by Fox and Windham. They were generally attributed to the elder Adams. In 1793, John Quincy Adams published another series of articles, in the Boston Centinel, under the signature of " Marcellus," advocating the policy of neutrality for the United States, during the European wars. These papers attracted general attention and had the desired effect upon the public mind. Washington read them with deep satisfaction, and inquired for their author. The policy recom- mended was in opposition to popular notions, and it is believed had not been before publicly advocated in the United States. That it was adopted by sage statesmen and made the perma- nent guide of the government, was a brilliant testimony to the wisdom of the young Adams. The next public appear- ance of the young Boston lawyer was in a series of essays, under the signature of " Columbus," reviewing the violent course of Genet, the minister from the French republic to the United States. These important writings of the younger Adams brought him prominently before the public and won for him the hio-h esteem of statesmen. Mr. Jefferson, then Secretary of State, considered them full of the brightest promise. He recom- mended young Adams to the favor of President Washington, as one fitted for diplomatic service. The President approved the judgment of Jefferson, and in May, 1794, appointed Mr. Adams minister of the United States at the Hague. This was as gratifying as it was unexpected. John Quincy Adami was then only twenty-Sevan years old. Seldom has so weighty a trust been placed in such youthful hands. Mr. Adams arrived at the Hague, in the summer of 1791. The affairs of Holland were in confusion, in consequence of 144 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the French invasion. No prospect of effecting any thing beneficial to the United States appeared, and a few months after his arrival, Mr. Adams thought of returning home. President Washington, hearing of his intention, wrote to the Vice President, John Adams, expressing the hope that the young minister would remain at his post, and prophesying that he would one day be at the head of the diplomatic corp3. This high approval induced John Quincy Adams to yield his inclinations. He remained abroad at the Hague, until near the close of Washington's administration, attentively studying European affairs, and watching for every oppor- tunity of advancing the interests of his country. During his residence at the Hague, Mr. Adams had occa- sion to visit London, to exchange ratifications of a treaty formed with Great Britain concerning commerce. While there, he formed an acquaintance with Miss Louisa Catha- rine Johnson, daughter of Joshua Johnson, Esq., consular agent of the United States, at London. This acquaintance deepened into an affection, and the parties were married on the 26th of July, 1797. The union was long and happy. In 1796, the elder Adams was elevated to the Presidency. The course to be pursued towards his son perplexed the dis- interested old patriot. He consulted Washington, and was advised by that great man not to withhold merited promotion from John Quincy Adams upon any consideration. Wash- ington expressed the opinion that the young minister was the most valuable public character abroad. President Adams then appointed his son minister to the court of Berlin, upon the dutiss of which office he entered in the fall of 17!»7. In 1798, Mr. Adams was commissioned to form a commer- cial treaty with Sweden. While in Berlin, he made the ac- quaintance of many eminent German scholars and poets, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 145 and displayed much sympathy with their pursuits. To per- fect his knowledge of the German language, Mr. Adams made a metrical translation of Wieland's " Obcron," into the English language. The publication of this work, how- ever, was forestalled by the translation made by William Sotheby. In the summer of 1800, Mr. Adams made a tour through Silesia, with which he was delighted. His impressions dur- ing the excursion were communicated in a series of letters to a younger brother in Philadelphia. These, without their author's knowledge, were published in the United States and in Europe. The information contained in them was consi- dered very valuable. Mr. Adams was successful, after a protracted and skilful negotiation, in forming a treaty of amity and commerce with Prussia. The penetration and vigilance of the young mini- ster were fully tried in the contest with wily and veteran diplo- matists, and he came off with increased reputation. On the 4th of March, 1801, John Adams was succeeded, as Presi- dent of the United States, by Mr. Jefferson. One of the last acts of the elder Adams was the recall of his son from Ber- lin, that Mr. Jefferson might not be perplexed with the matter. John Quincy Adams returned to the United States in 1801, He was no partisan, having been absent from the country when parties were formed. His talents and acquirements were well known, and he was not allowed to remain lono- in inactivity. In 1802, he was elected to the senate of Massa- chusetts from the Boston district. In that body he acted with that independent and fearless spirit which was ever his great characteristic. Though he took unpopular sides he did not lose favor. In 1803, he was elected to the senate of the 1-16 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. United State?, in which body he took his seat when but thirty-six years old. As a senator, John Quincy Adams soon displayed qualities noble in themselves, but calculated to render him unpopular with the federal party, by whose suffrage he had been elected. The British orders in council, and Napoleon's Berlin and Milan decrees threatened to sweep the commerce of the United States from the seas. Outrage after outrage was committed upon American vessels. President Jefferson at length resolved upon the retaliatory measure known as the "Embargo." (December, 1807.) The federal party stoutly opposed this Embargo, and it was expected that its senators and representatives who had been chosen by that party, should urge its repeal. Mr. Adams thought President Jef- ferson's policy just and expedient, and gave it his sup- port. This course subjected him to severe and bitter cen- sure, and he was charged with acting from every motive but the true one — a desire to promote the honor and welfare of the Union. The legislature of Massachusetts disapproved of the course pursued by Mr. Adams, and elected another person to supply his place at the expiration of his term. Mr. Adams did not wish to represent a body of which he had lost the confidence, and he therefore resigned his seat in the senate, March, 1808. The reputation of Mr. Adams for literary acquirements, equaled his fame as a statesman. In 1804, he was urged to be a candidate for the presidency of Cambridge Univer- sity ; but he declined the honor. During the following year, he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric and Belled Lettres, in "die same institution. This office he accepted on condition tna* its duties should not interfere with his con- gressional services. On the 12th of June, 1800, Mr. Adams JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 147 delivered his inaugural address, on entering the professor- ship. His lectures on rhetoric and eloquence were popular, and attracted great crowds. On the 4th of March, 1809, Mr. Madison began his eventful administration. Hcving a proper appreciation of the talents and experience of Mr. Adams, he gave him the important post of minister to Russia. In the following summer, Mr. Adams sailed for St. Petersburg. He was received with many marks of favor, and admitted to per- sonal intimacy with the Emperor Alexander. During his residence in Russia, the death of Judge Cushing caused a vacancy on the bench of the supreme court of the United States. President Madison nominated Mr. Adams to this high office, and the nomination was confirmed by the senate. But Mr. Adams declined its acceptance. While sojourning at St. Petersburg, Mr. Adams wrote a series of letters to his son, then at school in Massachusetts, on the value of the Bible and the benefit resulting from its daily perusal. These letters, which were honorable to the head and heart of their author, have been published since his de- cease. Mr. Adams, like his father, had faith in the Unita- rian doctrines ; but was a practical Christian, and never let himself be swayed by sectarian feeling. The influence obtained by the American minister, at the court of St. Petersburg, was turned to the best account. The Emperor Alexander was induced to make an offer of his mediation between the United States and Great Britain. President Madison signified his acceptance of this offer, and appointed Messrs. Adams, Bayard, and Gallatin, to conduct the negotiation. To these commissioners were afterwards added Messrs. Clay and Russel. Great Britain refused to treat under the mediation of Russia, but proposed to nego- 14:8 LIVE?, OF THE PRESIDENTS. tiate independently with the United States. In the famous negotiations at Ghent, in 1814, Mr. Adams took a leading part, and contributed much to bringing about a good under- standing between the hostile countries, as well as to the vin- dication of the rights of his nation. The conduct of the American commissioners was eulogized by the Marquis of cf Wellesley, and it gave great satisfaction in the United States. After the conclusion of their labors at Ghent, Messrs. Adams, Gallatin, and Clay, were directed to proceed to London, and, if possible, to negotiate a commercial treaty. This was accomplished without much difficulty, and in the meantime, Mr. Adams was appointed minister to the court of St. James — the most important diplomatic situation at the command of the American government. On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe succeeded Mr. Madison in the office of President of the United States. As Secretary of State, he had possessed the best opportunities for observing the diplomatic talents and great political knowledge manifested by Mr. Adams in Europe, and he now selected that gentleman to take charge of the depart- ment of state. Mr. Adams was known to be an independent as well as an able man. Against him there was no party rancor. The appointment gave great satisfaction to the friends of the President and the people generally. Mr. Adams arrived at New York on the 6th of June, 1817. A few days afterwards a public dinner was given him by a large number of distinguished citizens, with Governor De Witt Clinton at their head. Another public dinner was given him upon his arrival in Boston, at which his vene- rable father, ex-president Adams, was present as a guest. Entering upon the duties of the office of Secretary of JOIIN QUINCY ADAMS. 149 State, in September, 1817, Mr. Adams acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the President and the country, during the eight years of Mr. Monroe's administration. The fo- reign affairs of the country were never more skilfully handled. Peace and neutrality were preserved through all difficulties, while the honor of the nation was never allowed to be sullied. At the close of the administration of Mr. Monroe, the federal party was extinct. All the candidates for the suc- cession were members of the republican party. The East brought forward the man who by his superior statesmanship had become its "favorite son" — John Quincy Adams. The West upheld two names — General Andrew Jackson, who possessed a splendid military reputation — and Henry Clay, one of the first orators and most active statesmen of the day. The South selected William H. Crawford, a statesman of commanding talent, as its candidate. Of these personages, Mr. Adams least sought the presidential office. He allowed his name to stand before the people, at the urgent request of a large body of admiring friends. " The qualifications on which his supporters depended, and to which they called the attention of the American people, as reasons for elevating him to the head of the ge- neral government, may be summarily enumerated, as fol- lows : — 1. The purity of his private character — the simpli- city of his personal habits — his unbending integrity and up- rightness, even beyond suspicion. 2. His commanding talents, and his acquirements both as a scholar and a states- man. 3. His love of country — his truly American feelings, in all that concerned the welfare and the honor of the United States. 4. His long experience in public affairs, especially his familiarity with our foreign relations, and his perfect knowledge of the institutions, the internal condition and 150 LIVES ( F THE PRESIDENTS. policy of European nations. 5. His advocacy of protection to domestic manufactures, and of a judicious system of internal improvements."* The campaign of 1824, was very exciting. The greatest zeal and energy was displayed by the friends of the several candidates. Of two hundred and sixty-one electoral votes, General Jackson received ninety-nine ; Mr. Adams, eighty- four ; Mr. Crawford, forty-one; and Mr. Clay, thirty-seven, There being no choice by the people, the election devolved on the house of representatives. On the 10th of February, 1825, that body proceeded to vote by states, according to the constitution, and the result was ascertained to be as fol- lows : — For John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, thirteen votes ; for Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, seven votes ; for William H. Crawford, of Georgia, four votes. John Quincy Adams, therefore, was declared duly elected President of the United States, for four years, commencing on the 4th of March, 1825. The choice of Mr. Adams by the house of representatives excited a o-reat deal of clamor among the friends of General Jackson. This was unreasonable. General Jackson had received fifteen more electoral votes than Mr. Adams, but the latter was superior in the popular vote. However, much bitter feeling was excited, and it was ever charged that a bargain had been made between Messrs. Clay and Adams, by the terms of which, the latter was to be chosen Pre- sident upon condition that the former should be appointed Secretary of State. This charge has been completely refuted. Ft could not have been made except in partisan heat. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, was elected Vice President; by a large majority in the electoral college. * Seward, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 151 On the 4th of March, 1825, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated as President of the United States. The cere- monies were brilliant and imposing. Seldom before had such a scene been witnessed at* Washington. The inaugural address of Mr. Adams was a statesman-like and polished composition, doing full justice to his political and rhetorical attainments. He thus spoke of the policy of the preceding administration, which he entirely sanctioned : " The great features of its policy, and in general concur- rence with the will of the legislature, have been — To cher- ish peace while preparing for defensive war — to yield exact justice to other nations, and maintain the rights of our own — to cherish the principles of freedom and equal rights, where- ever they were proclaimed — to discharge, with all possible promptitude, the national debt — to reduce within the nar rowest limits of efficiency the military force — to improve the organization and discipline of the army — to provide and sus- tain a school of military science — to extend equal protection to all the great interests of the nation — to promote the civi- lization of the Indian tribes ; and — to proceed to the great Bystem of internal improvements, within the limits of the constitutional power of the Union. Under the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent citizen at the time of his first induction to this office, in his career of eight years the internal taxes have been repealed ; sixty millions of the public debt have been discharged ; provision has been made for the comfort and relief of the aged and indigent among the surviving warriors of the Revolution ; the regular armed force has been reduced, and its constitution revised and per- fected; the accountability for the expenditure of public mo- nies has been more effective ; the Flor'das have been peace- ably acquired, and our boundary has been extended to the 152 LIVES OF THE I RESIDENTS. Pacific Ocean ; the independence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has been recognized, and recommended Ivy example and by counsel to the potentates of Europe; pro- gress has been made in the defence of the country, by forti- fications and the increase of the navy — towards the effectual supr ression of the African traffic in slaves — in alluring the aboriginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of the soil and of the mind — in exploring the interior regions of the Union, and in preparing, by scientific researches and surveys for the further application of our national resources to the internal improvement of our country." In entering upon the discharge of his duties as President, Mr. Adams formed his cabinet by nominating Henry Clay, of Kentucky, Secretary of State ; Richard Rush, of Penn- sylvania, Secretary of the Treasury ; James Barbour, of Virginia, Secretary of War ; Samuel L. Southard, Secretary of the Navy ; and William Wirt, Attorney General. These were all men of well-known capacity and integrity. A power- ful opposition was organized, but Mr. Adams, throughout his presidential term, discharged his duties with the utmost fearlessness, as well as with consummate ability, and the clamors of violent partisans were treated with contempt. In the year of the inauguration of Mr. Adams, the vete- ran General Lafayette visited the United States, made the tour of the country, and was every where received with en- thusiasm and expressions of gratitude for revolutionary ser- vices. On the 7th of September, 1825, he took leave of the general government. On this occasion, President Adams bade him farewell in an address, not more remarkable for dignified eloquence than for generous emotion. In the same month, the President visited bis aged father, at Quincy, Massachusetts. It was his last interview with JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 153 the old patriot. On the 4th of July, 1826, John Adama and his compatriot, Thomas Jefferson, left the earth together*, amid the rejoicings of " Independence Day." The aims of President Adams were to conciliate all rar ties and to benefit the whole country, and his administr ition was certainly wise and energetic. Internal improvements and domestic manufactures were objects of constant solici- tude. The first tended to strengthen the Union, the second to render it truly independent. The Secretary of State was active and skilful. During the four years of Mr. Adams's administration, more treaties were negotiated at Washington than during the entire thirty-six years through which the preceding administrations had extended. Throughout the administration of Mr. Adams, the opposition was strong, bitter, and unscrupulous. Most of the measures of the government were approved, But there was a deter- mination manifest to seek out every occasion to denounce the President and his cabinet. In Congress, the opposition had a majority. In the fall of 1828, the presidential elec- tion occurred. Mr. Adams and General Jackson were the opposing candidates. The contest was highly exciting. Put the result was anticipated. General Jackson obtained a large majority in the electoral college. As Mr. Adams had taken his lofty seat with diffidence, he retired from it with dignity and without regret. He was satisfied that he had done his duty. After witnessing the inauguration of General Jackson, on the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired to the old fa- mily seat at Quincy, Massachusetts. One of his first acts there, was the erection of a monument to the memory of hia parents. The inscription contained a glowing eulogy upon their virtue and patriotism, and was honorable to the feel- 154 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ings of the noble son. Scientific and literary pursuits, as well as tlie conversation of friends, now occupied the atten- tion of the ex-president. But the public voice demanded new service. In 1830, the people of the Plymouth district nominated him for their representative in Congress, and, contrary to general expectation, he accepted the nomination It was his constant creed, that whatever service the country demanded of a citizen, that he was bound to render, and no false idea of dignity could deter him from acting accordingly In due time the election was held, and Mr. Adams was re turned to Congress, by a nearly unanimous vote. From that time forward, for seventeen years, and to the hour of his death, he occupied the post of representative in Congress from the Plymouth district, with unswerving fidelity and honor. His course was ever bold, decided, and independent. He was a ready and powerful debater, and won the title of " the old man eloquent." No subject came before Congress upon which he could not shed light, while his devotion to principle and to the rights of man was untiring, and, on par- ticular occasions, heroic. Mr. Adams first took his seat in the house of representatives in December, 1831. The marks of respect and affection received by him from distinguished representatives were many and gratifying. Those who had refused even justice to the President were willing to render the man his due. As a member of committees, Mr. Adams was diligent and attentive, while it was a matter of general nute, that he was usually the first representative to enter the house and the last to leave it. He acted in general, with the whigs, as the opponents of Jackson and Van Burcn were called, but when he thought that party wrong, he did not hesitate to oppose it, and support the administration. Courageous independence was his noblest trait as a states- JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 155 man. Whatever opinions may be entertained in regard to the wisdom of Mr. Adam's opposition to the Texas inde- pendence and annexation scheme, and of his advocacy of the the right of petition touching the institution of slavery, all must admire the firmness, the perseverance, the almost sub- lime determination he displayed in maintaining his doctrines, amid tempests of abuse and denunciation, as well as threats of expulsion and assassination. Upon all subjects, but slavery, Mr. Adams could com- mand the respectful attention of the house. The confidence placed in him in emergencies was unbounded. A case in point is afforded in the difficulty occasioned by the double delegation from New Jersey, which is thus given in the famous " Reminiscences of John Quincy Adams," by an Old Colony Man : On the opening of the 26th Congress, in December, 1839, in consequence of a two-fold delegation from New Jersey, the house was unable, for some time, to complete its organiza- tion, and presented to the country and the world the perilous and discreditable aspect of the assembled representatives of the people, unable to form themselves into a constitutional body. On first assembling, the house has no officers, and the clerk of the preceding Congress acts, by usage, as chair- man of the body, till a speaker is chosen. On this occasion, after reaching the state of New Jersey, the acting clerk de- clined to proceed in calling the roll, and refused to entertain any of the motions which were made for the purpose of ex- tricating the house from its embarrassment. Many of the ablest and most judicious members had addressed the house in vain, and there was nothing but confusion and disorder in prospect. The fourth day opened, and still confusion was triumphant. 156 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. But the hour of disenthralment was at hand, and a scene was presented which set the mind back to those days when Cromwell uttered the exclamation — " Sir Harry Vane ! wo unto you, Sir Harry Vane !" — and in an instant dispersed the famous Rump Parliament. Mr. Adams, from the opening of this scene of confusion and anarchy, had maintained a profound silence. He ap- peared to be engaged most of the time in writing. To a common observer, he seemed to be reckless of everything around him — but nothing, not the slightest incident escaped him. The fourth day of the struggle had now commenced ; Mr. Kuo-h H. Garland, the clerk, was directed to call the roll again. He commenced with Maine, as was usual in those days, and was proceeding towards Massachusetts. I turned, and saw that Mr. Adams was ready to get the floor at the earliest moment possible. His keen eye was riveted on the clerk ; his hands clasped the front edge of his desk, where he always placed them to assist him in rising. He looked, in the language of Otway, like the " fowler eager for his prey." "New Jersey!" ejaculated Mr. Hugh II. Garland, "and ;he clerk has to repeat that " Mr. Adams sprang to the floor ! "I rise to interrupt the clerk," was his first ejaculation. " Silence, silence," resounded through the hall; " heai him, hear him. Hear what he has to say ; hear John Quincy Adams !" was the unanimous ejaculation on all sides. In an instant the most profound silence reigned throughout the hall — you might have heard a leaf of paper drop in any part of it — and every eye was riveted on the venerable JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 157 Nestor of Massachusetts — the purest of statesmen, aL(l the noblest of men! He paused for a moment; and, having given Mr. Garland a •' withering look ! " he proceeded to address the multitude : " It was not my intention," said he, " to take any part in these extraordinary proceedings. I had hoped that this house would succeed in organizing itself; that a speaker and clerk would be elected, and that the ordinary business of legislation would be progressed in. This is not the time, or place, to discuss the merits of the conflicting claimants for seats from New Jersey ; that subject belongs to the house of representatives, which, by the constitution, is made the ultimate arbiter of the qualifications of its members. But what a spectacle we here present ! We degrade and disgrace ourselves ; we degrade and disgrace our constituents and the country. We do not, and cannot organize ; and why ? Because the clerk of this house, the mere clerk, whom we create, whom we employ, and whose existence de- pends upon our will, usurps the throne, and sets us, the re- presentatives, the vicegerents of the whole American people, at defiance, and holds us in contempt ! And what is this clerk of yours ? Is he to control the destinies of sixteen millions of freemen ? Is he to suspend, by his mere negative, the functions of government, and put an end to this Congress ? He refuses to call the roll ! It is in your power to compel him to call it, if he will not do it voluntarily. [Here he was interrupted by a member, who said that he was autho- rized to say that compulsion could not reach the clerk, who had avowed that he would resign, rather than call the state of New Jersey.] Well, sir, then let him resign," continued 158 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Mr. Adams, " and Ave may possibly discover some way by which we can get along, without the aid of his all-powerful talent, learning, and geniu3. If we cannot organize in any other way — if this clerk of yours will not consent to our discharging the trusts confided to us by our constituents, then let us imitate the example of the Virginia house of bur- gesses, which, when the colonial Governor Dinwiddie ordered it to disperse, refused to obey the imperious and insulting mandate, and, like men " The multitude could not contain or repress their enthu- siasm any longer, but saluted the eloquent and indignant speaker, and intercepted him with loud and deafening cheers, which seemed to shake the capitol to its centre. The very Genii of applause and enthusiasm seemed to float in the atmo- sphere of the hall, and every heart expanded with an inde- scribable feeling of pride and exultation. The turmoil, the darkness, the very " chaos of anarchy," which had, for three successive days, pervaded the American Congress, was dis- pelled by the magic, the talismanic eloquence of a single man ; and once more the wheels of government and of legis- lation were put in motion. Having, by this powerful appeal, brought the yet unor- ganized assembly to a perception of its hazardous position, he submitted a motion requiring the acting clerk to proceed in calling the roll. This and similar motions had already been made by other members. The difliculty was, that the acting clerk declined to entertain them. Accordingly, Mr. Adams was immediately interrupted by a burst of voices de- manding, " How shall the question be put?" " Who will put the question ?" The voice of Mr. Adams was heard above the tumult, "I intend to put the question myself!" That word brought order out of chaos. There was the master mind. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 159 As soon as the multitude had recovered itself, and the ex- citement of irrepressible enthusiasm had abated, Mr. Rich- ard Barnwell Rhett, of South Carolina, leaped upon one of the desks, waved his hand, and exclaimed : "I move that the Honorable John Quincy Adams take the chair of the speaker of this house, and officiate as pre- siding officer, till the house be organized by the election of its constitutional officers ! As many as are agreed to this will say ay ; those " He had not an opportunity to complete the sentence — " those who are not agreed, will say no," — for one universal, deafening, thundering ay, responded to the nomination. Hereupon, it was moved and ordered that Lewis Williams, of North Carolina, and Richard Barnwell Rhett, conduct John Qumcv Adams to the chair. Well did Mr. Wise, of Virginia, say, " Sir, I regard it as the proudest hour of your life ; and if, when you shall be gathered to your fathers, I were asked to select the words which, in my judgment, are best calculated to give at once the character of the man, I would inscribe upon your tomb this sentence, ' I will put the question myself.' " The labors of Mr. Adams in behalf of the right of peti- tion were at length crowned with success. In 1845, the obnoxious "gag rule," was rescinded, and Congress con- sented to receive and treat respectfully all petitions on the subject of slavery. " If any thing were wanting to crown the fame of Mr. Adams, in the last days of life, with imperishable honor, or to add, if possible, new brilliancy to the beams of his setting sun, it is found in his advocacy of the freedom of the Ami- stad slaves. " A. ship-load of negroes had been stolen from Africa, 100 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. contrary to the laws of nations, of humanity, and of Grod, and surreptitiously smuggled, in the night, into the Island of Tuba. This act was piracy, according to the law of Spain, and of all governments in Christendom, and the per- petrators thereof, had they been dectected, -would have been punished with death. Immediately after the landing of these unfortunate Africans, about thirty-six of them were purchased of the slave pirates, by two Spaniards, named Don dose Ruiz and Don Pedro Montes, who shipped them for Gruanaja, Cuba, in the schooner 'Amistad.' When three (lays out from Havana, the Africans rose, hilled the captain and crew, and took possession of the vessel — sparing the lives of their purchasers, Ruiz and Montes. This trans- action was unquestionably justifiable on the part of the ne- groes. Thev had been stolen from their native land — had fallen into the hands of pirates and robbers, and reduced to abject slavery. According to the first law ol' nature — the law of self-defence — implanted in the bosom of every human being by the Creator, they were justified in taking any measures necessary to restore them to the enjoyment of that freedom which was theirs by birthright. " The negroes being unable to manage the schooner, com- pelled Ruiz and Montes to navigate her. and directed them to shape her course for Africa ; for it was their design to return to their native land. Rut they were deceived by the two Spaniards, who brought the schoonei to the coast of the United States, where she was taken possession of by Lieutenant Gedney, of the United States surveying brig Washington, a few miles oft' Montauk Point, and brought mto New London, Connecticut. The two Spaniards claimed the Africans as their property ; and the Spanish minister demanded oi' the President oi' the United States, that JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 16] they be delivered up to the proper authorites, ar,d taken oack to Havana, to be tried for piracy and murder The matter was brought before the District Court of Connecticut. " In the mean time President Van Buren ordered the United States schooner Grampus, Lieutenant John S. Paine, to repaii to Now Haven, to be in readiness # to convey the Africans to Havana, .should such be the decision of the court. But the court decided that the government of the United States had no authority to return them into slavery ; and directed that they be conveyed in one of our public ships to the shores of Africa, from whence they had been torn away. From this decision the United States District Attorney appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. These transactions attracted the attention of the whole people of the Union, and naturally excited the sympathy of f'n masses, pro and con as they were favorable or unfavor- able to the institution of slavery. Who should defend in the Supreme Court, these poor outcasts — ignorant, degraded, wretched — who, fired with a noble energy, had burst the shackles of slavery, and by a wave of fortune had been thrown into the midst of ;i people professing freedom, yet keeping their feet on the necks of millions of slaves ? The eyes of all the friends of human rights turned instinctively to Jojin Quincy Adams. Nor were their expectations disappointed. Without hesitation he espoused the cause of the Amistad negroes. At the age of seventy-four, he appeared in the supreme court of the United States to advocate their cause. lie entered upon this labor with the enthusiasm of* a youth- ful barrister, and displayed forensic talents, a critical know ledge of law, and of the inalienable rights of man, which 162 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. would have added to the renown of the most eminent jurists of the day.* " When he went to the supreme court, after an absence of thirty years, and arose to defend a body of friendless negroes, torn from their home and most unjustly held in thrall — when he asked the judges to excuse him at once both for the trembling faults of age and the inexperience of youth, having labored so long elsewhere that he had for- gotten the rules of court — when he summed up the conclu- sion of the whole matter, and brought before those judicial but yet moistening eyes, the great men he had once met there — Chase, Cushing, Martin, Livingston, and Marshall himself ; and while he remembered that they were ' gone, gone, all gone,' remembered also the eternal Justice that is never gone — the sight was sublime. It was not an old pa tncian ot Koine, who had oeen Consul, Dictator, coming •>ut of his retirement at the Senate s call. r,o stand m tht Forum to levy new armies, marshal them to victory atresh, and gain thereby new laurels for his brow ; but it was a plain citizen of America, who had held an office far greater than that of Consul, King, or Dictator, his hand reddened by no man's blood, expecting no honors, but coming in the name of justice, to plead for the slave, for the poor barba- rian negro of Africa, for Cinque and Grabbo,' for their deeds comparing them to Harmodius and Aristogeiton, whose classic memory made each bosom thrill. Thut was worth all his honors — it was worth while to live fourscore years for that."t " This effort of Mr. Adams was crowned with complete success. The supreme court decided that the Africans were entitled to their freedom, and ordered them to be liberated * Seward, t Theodore Parker. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 168 In due time they were enabled, by the assistance of the charitable, to sail for Africa, and take with them many of the implements of civilized life. They arrived in safety at Sierre Leone, and were allowed once more to mingle with their friends. " In availing the country of the benefit of the ' Smithso- nian Bequest,' and in founding the 'Smithsonian Institute' at Washington, Mr. Adams took an active part. He re- peatedly called the attention of Congress to the subject, until he succeeded in causing a Jbill to be passed providing for the establishment of the Institute. He was appointed one of the Regents of the Institute, which office he held until his death. " In the summer of 1848, Mr. Adams visited Lebanon Springs, New York, for the benefit of his health, which had become somewhat impaired, and also the health of a cherished member of his family. He designed to devote only four or five days to this journey ; but he was so highly pleased with the small portion of the state of New York he saw at Leba- non Springs, that he was induced to proceed further. He visited Saratoga, Lake George, Lower Canada, Montreal and Quebec. Returning, he ascended the St. Lawrence and the Lakes as far as Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and by the way of Rochester, Auburn, Utica and Albany, sought his home in Quincy with health greatly improved. " Although Mr. Adams had many bitter enemies — made so by his fearless independence, and the stern integrity with which he discharged the public duties entrusted to him — yet in the hearts of the people he ever occupied the highest position. They not only respected and admired the politician, the stitesman, but they venerated the man ! they loved him for hig purity, his philanthropy, his disinterested 164 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. patriotism, hi3 devotion to freedom and human rights. All this was manifested during his tour through New York. It was marked in its whole extent by demonstration of the highest attention and respect from the people of all parties. Public greetings, processions, celebrations, met him and ac- companied him at every step of his journey. Never since the visit of Lafayette, had such an anxious desire to honor a great and good man been manifested by the entire mass of the people. His progress was one continued triumphal pro- cession. ' I may say,' exclaimed Mr. Adams, near the close of his tour, ' without being charged with pride or vanity I have come not alone, for the whole people of the state of New York have been my companions !' " At Buffalo he was received with every possible demon- stration of respect. The national ensign was streaming from an hundred masts, and the wharves, and the decks and rig- ging of vessels, were crowded by thousands anxious to catch a glimpse of the renowned statesman and patriot, who was greeted by repeated cheers. The Honorable Millard Fillmore addressed him with great eloquence. The following is the conclusion of his speech : "You see around you, sir, no political partisans seeking to promote some sinister purpose ; but you see here assem- bled the people of our infant city, without distinction of party, sex, age, or condition — all, all anxiously vieing with each other to show their respect and esteem for your public services and private worth. Here are gathered, in this vast multitude of what must appear to you strange faces, thou- sands whose hearts have vibrated to the chord of sympathy which your speeches have touched. Here is reflecting age, and ardent youth, and lisping childhood, to all of whom your venerated name is as dear as household words — all JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 165 anxious to feast their eyes by a sight of that extraordinary and venerable man, of whom they have heard, and read of that ' old man eloquent,' on whose lips wisdom has distilled her choicest nectar. Here, sir, you see them all, and read in their eager and joy-gladdened countenances, and brightly beaming eyes, a welcome — a thrice-told, heart-felt, soul- stirring welcome to ' the man whom they delight to honor.' " Mr. Adams responded to this speech in a strain of most interesting remarks. He commenced as follows : "I must request your indulgence for a moment's pause to take breath. If you inquire why I ask this indulgence, it is because I am so overpowered by the eloquence of my friend, the chairman of the committee of ways and means, (whom I have so long been accustomed to refer to in that capacity, that, with your permission, I will continue so to denominate him now,) that I have no words left to answer him. For so liberal has he been in bestowing that eloquence upon me which he himself possesses in so eminent a degree, that while he was ascribing to me talents so far above my own consciousness in that regard, I was all the time implor- ing the god of eloquence to give me, at least at this moment, a few words to justify him before you in making that splendid panegyric which he has been pleased to bestow upon me ; and that the flattering picture which he has presented to you, may not immediately be defaced before your eyes by what you should hear from me. * * * * "In concluding his remarks, he said: 'Of your attach- ment to moral principles I have this day had another and pleasing proof in the dinner of which I have partaken in the steamer, in which, by your kindness, I have been conveyed to this place. It was a sumptuous dinner, but at which temperance was the presiding power. I congratulate you 166 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. on the evidence there exhibited of your attachment to moral principle, in your co-operation in that great movement which is promoting the happiness and elevation of man in every quarter of the globe. " And here you will permit .me to allude to an incident which has occurred in my recent visit to Canada, in which 1 perceived the co-operations of the people of that Province in the same great moral reformation. While at Quebec, I visited the Falls of Montmorenci, a cataract which, but for yours, would be among the greatest wonders of nature. In going to it, I passed through the parish of Beauport, and there, by the side of the way, I saw a column with an inscrip- tion upon its pedestal, which I had the curiosity to stop and read. It was erected by the people of Beauport in gratitude to the Virgin, for her goodness in promoting the cause of temperance in that parish. Perhaps I do not sufficiently sympathize with the people of Beauport in attributing to tlu Virgin so direct an influence upon this moral reform ; but in the spirit with which they erected that monument I do most cordially sympathize with them. For, under whatever influence the cause may be promoted, the cause itself can never fail to make its votaries wiser and better men. I can- not make a speech. My heart is too full, and my voice toe feeble. Farewell ! And with that farewell, may the blessings of heaven be upon you throughout your lives !" Mr. Adams was greatly delighted with his visit to Niagara Falls, and with his whole tour. During the same year he delivered numerous lectures before literary associations, and yet attended to his Congres- sional duties. Labors which would task the strength of vouth, he performed with comparative ease and comfort. "His great longevity and his general good health must JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 167 be attributed, in no small degree, to his abstemious and tem- perate habits, early rising, and active exercise. He took pleasure in athletic amusements, and was exceedingly fond of walking. During his summer residence in Quincy, he haa been known to walk to his son's residence in Boston, (seven tciles,) befoi 3 breakfast. ' While President of the United States, he was probably the first man up in Washington, ighted his own fire, and was hard at work in his library, while sleep yet held in its obliviousness the great mass of his f ellow-citizens.' He was an expert swimmer, and was in the constant habit of bathing, whenever circumstance would permit. Not unfrequently the first beams of the rising sun, ts they fell upon the beautiful Potomac, would find Mr. Adams buffeting its waves with all the sportiveness and dex- terity of boyhood, while a single attendant watched upon the shore. While in the Presidency, he sometimes made a journey from Washington to Quincy on horseback, as a simple citizen, accompanied only by a servant."* More than fourscore years had wasted their strength upon the frame of Mr. Adams, and he was still found in the hall of representatives. There, at his post, the hand of death was laid upon his venerable head. On the 20th of November, 1846, he experienced the first blow of the dis- ease, which terminated his existence. On the morning of that day, at Boston, he was stricken with paralysis. This affliction confined him for several weeks, when he gained suffi/fient strength to proceed to Washington. After this 3troke, he did not mingle as freely in debate as formerly. On the 21st of February, 1848, while voting for a resolu- tion returning thanks to several generals, who had distin- guished themselves in the Mexican war, Mr. Adams was • Seward. 168 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. again struck with paralysis. The members crowded around him. The house adjourned amid the excitement. Mr. Adams was laid, in a state of insensibility, upon a sofa in the speaker's room. The senate adjourned as soon as in- formed of the accident. On all sides the deepest regret and sorrow was manifested. The elements of life and death continued in uncertain balance until the evening of the 23d, when the spirit fled to God. The last words of the vene- rable statesman were- — " This is the end of earth — I am content." The nation was thrown into mourning upon the announce ment of the death of John Quincy Adams. President Polk issued a proclamation announcing the bereavement, and directing the suspension of all public business upon the day of the funeral — the 26th of February. The body was laid, with imposing ceremony, in the Congressional burial- ground, where it remained until the next week, when a committee of one from each state and territory in the union, appointed by the house of representatives, conveyed it to the family burying ground, at Quincy. Funeral processions along the route gave indications of the national sorrow. The body was laid in a plain tomb, prepared by the direc- tion of the deceased statesman. Upon it was inscribed — John Quincy Adams — and nothing more — and nothing more was necessary. Numerous eulogiums have been pronounced upon ^he character of John Quincy Adams. Among the most elo- quent was that delivered by Governor William H. Seward, before the New York legislature. iTrora it we make the following extract : " The model by which he formed his character was Cicero. Not the living Cicero, sometimes inconsistent ; often irreso- JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 169 lute ; too :>ften seeming to act a studied part ; and always covetous of applause. But Cicero, as he aimed to be, an'' as he appears revealed in those immortal emanations of his genius which have been the delight and guide of intellect and virtue in every succeeding age. Like the Roman, Adams was an orator, but he did not fall into the errors of the Roman, in practically valuing eloquence more than the beneficence to which it should be devoted. Like him he was a statesman and magistrate worthy to be called " The second founder of the Republic," — like him a teacher of didactic philosophy, of morals, and even of his own peculiar art ; and like him he made all liberal learning tributary to that nable art, while poetry was the inseparable companion of his genius in its hours of relaxation from the labors of the forum and of the capitol. "Like him he loved only the society of good men, and by his generous praise of such, illustrated the Roman's beautiful aphorism, that no one can be envious of good deeds, who has confidence in his own virtue. Like Cicero he kept him- self unstained by social or domestic vices ; preserved sere- nity and cheerfulness ; cherished habitual reverence for the Deity, and dwelt continually, not on the mystic theology of the schools, but on the hopes of a better life. He had lived in what will be regarded as the virtuous age of his country, while Cicero was surrounded by an overwhelming degene- racy. He had the light of Christianity for his guide ; and its sublime motives as incitements to virtue ; while Cicero had only the confused instructions of the Grecian schools, a,nd saw nothing certainly attainable but present applause and future fame. In moral courage, therefore, he excelled nis model and rivalled Cato. But Cato was a visionary, who insisted upon his right to act always without reference 170 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. to the condition of mankind, as lie should have acted m Plato's imaginary Republic. Adams stood in this respect midway between the impracticable stoic and the too flexible academician. He had no occasion to say, as the Grecian orator did, that if he had sometimes acted contrary to him • self, he had never acted contrary to the Republic ; he might justly have said, as the noble Roman did, ' I have rendered to my country all the great services which she was willing to receive at my hands, and I have never harbored a thought concerning her that was not divine.' " More fortunate than Cicero, who fell a victim of civil wars which he could not avert, Adams was permitted to linger on the earth, until the generations of that future age, for for whom he had lived and to whom he had appealed from the condemnation of contemporaries, came up before the curtain which had shut out his sight, and pronounced over him, as he was sinking into the grave, their judgment of approval and benediction. " The distinguished characteristics of his life were benefi- cent labor and personal contentment. He never sought wealth, but devoted himself to the service of mankind. Yet, by the practice of frugality and method, he secured the enjoyment of dealing forth continually no stinted charities, and died in affluence. He never solicited place or prefer- ment, and had no partisan combinations or even connections ; yet he received honors which eluded the grasp of those who formed parties, rewarded friends, and proscribed enemies ; and he filled a longer period of varied and distinguished service than ever fell to the lot of any other citizen. In every stage of this progress he was content. He was con- tent to be President, minister, representative, or citizen. "Stricken in the midst of this service, in the very act of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 171 rising to debate, he fell into the arms of the conscript fathers of the Republic. A long lethargy supervened and oppressed his senses. Nature rallied the wasting powers, on the verge of the grave, for a very brief period. But it was long enough for him. The rekindled eye showed that the re-collected mind was clear, calm, and vigorous. His Aveeping family, and his sorrowing compeers were there. He surveyed the scene and knew at once its fatal import. He had left no duty unperformed ; he had no wish unsatisfied ; no ambition anattained ; no regret, no sorrow, no fear, no remorse. He could not shake off the dews of death that gathered on his brow. He could not pierce the thick shades that rose up before him. But he knew that eternity lay close to the shores of time. He knew that his Redeemer lived. Elo- quence, even in chat iiour, inspired mm witti ais ancient sublimity or utterance. This, said the dying man, -thi> j£ the end of EAHTH. lie paused ior a moment, and men added, i I am content.' Angels might well draw aside the curtains of the skies to look down on such a scene — a scene that approximated even to that scene of unapproach- able sublimity, not to be recalled without reverence, when, in mortal agony, One who spake as man never spake, said, ' It is finished !' " Only two years after the birth of John Quincy Adams. there appeared, on an island in the Mediterranean sea, a human spirit newly born, endowed with equal genius, with- out the regulating qualities of justice and benevolence which Adams possessed in an eminent degree. A like career opened to both — born like Adams, a subject of a king — the child of more genial skies, like him, became in early life a patriot and a citizen of a new and great republic. Like A.dams he lent his service to the state in precocious youth, 172 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and in its hour of need, and won its confidence. But un like Adams he could not wait the dull delays of slow and laborious, but sure advancement. He sought power by the hasty road that leads through fields of carnage, and he be- came, like Adams, a supreme magistrate, a Consul. But there were other Consuls. He was not content. He thrust them aside, and was Consul alone. Consular power was too short. He fought new battles, and was Consul for life. But power, confessedly derived from the people, must be exercised in obedience to their will, and must be resigned to them again, at least in death. He was not content. He desolated Europe afresh, subverted the republic, imprisoned the patriarch who presided over Rome's comprehensive See, and obliged him to pour on his head the sacred oil that made the persons of kings divine, and their right to reign inde- feasible. He was an Emperor. But he saw around him a mother, brothers and sisters, not ennobled ; whose humble state reminded him, and the world, that he was born a ple- beian ; and he had no heir to wait impatient for the impe- rial crown. He scourged the earth again, and again for- tune smiled on him even in his wild extravagance. He be- stowed kingdoms and principalities upon his kindred — put away the devoted wife of his youthful days, and another, a daughter of Hapsburgh's imperial house, joyfully accepted his proud alliance. Offspring gladdened his anxious sight ; a diadem was placed on its infant brow, and it received the homage of princes, even in its cradle. Now he was indeed a monarch — a legitimate monarch — a monarch by divine appointment — the first of an endless succession of monarchs. But there were other monai ehs who held sway in the earth. He was not content. He would reign with his kindred alone. He gathered new and greater armies — from his own land — JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 173 from anbjugated lands. He called forth the young an^ brave — r ne from every household — from the Pyrenees to Zuyder Lee — from Jura to the Ocean. He marshaled them into V jig and majestic columns, and went forth to seize that universal dominion, which seemed almost within his grasp. But ambition had tempted fortune too far. "The nations of the earth resisted, repelled, pursued, surrounded him. The pageant was ended. The crown fell from his presumptuous head. The wife who had wedded him in his pride, forsook him when the hour of fear came upon him. His child was ravished from his sight. Hia kinsmen were degraded to their first estate, and he was no longer Emperor, nor Consul, nor General, nor even a citi- zen, but an exile and a prisoner, on a lonely island, in the midst of the wild Atlantic. Discontent attended him there. The wayward man fretted out a few long years of his yet unbroken manhood, looking off at the earliest dawn and in evening's latest twilight, towards that distant world that had only just eluded his grasp. His heart corroded. Death came, not unlooked for, though it came even then unwel- come. He was stretched on his bed within the fort which constituted his prison. A few fast and faithful friends stood around, with the guards who rejoiced that the hour of relief from long and wearisome watching was at hand. As his strength wasted away, delirium stirred up the brair. from its long and inglorious inactivity. The pageant of ambition returned. He was again a Lieutenant, a General, a Consul, an Emperor of France. He filled again the throne of Charlemagne. His kindred pressed around him again, re-invested with the pageant of royalty. The daughter of the long line of kings again stood proudly by his side, and the sunny face of his child shone out from beneath the 174 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. iradem that encircled its flowing locks. The marshals of the Empire awaited his command. The legions of the old guard were in the field, their scarred faces rejuvenated, and their ranks, thinned in many battles, replenished. Russia, Prussia, Austria. Denmark, and England, gathered their mighty hosts to give him battle. Once more he mounted h'ui impatient charger, and rushed forth to conquest. He waved his sword aloft, and cried " Tete d'Armee." The feverish vision broke — the mockery was ended. The silver cord was loosed, and the warrior fell back upon his bed a lifeless corpse. This was the end of earth. The Corsiaan was not content. "Statesmen and Citizens! the contrast suggests if,, „-™> ;,v>r,vessive moral." Tvm ra a magnificent eulogmm. In it. wo may see Jonn ^uir&'wu .Jkdams from the loftiest point of view. But in tne follow©* description and anecdotes, from the " Reminis- cences" of the venerable Stansbury, we may see the man as he appeared among his friends and foes, lofty and noble, but with frailties : " It was my privilege to be present at the inauguration of Mr. Adams. I witnessed the ceremony then for the first time, though I have seen it since that seven times repeated. The ceremony itself is of the simplest kind ; deriving its solemnity from the nature and the source of the authority conferred, together with the momentous consequences inse- parable from its assumption. A greater contrast, in all other respects, can scarcely be conceived than that between a coronation in Europe and the inauguration of an American President ; and, doubtless, to diplomatic eyes, that have witnessed the pompous accompaniments of the one, the other may appear a petty affair. Not so to the lover of free JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 175 representative government ; in his sight the spectacle is one of the most august that can be conceived, pregnant with every source of interest, and suggestive of a thousand trains of solemn thought. In the case of Mr. Adams, the cere- mony took place in the representatives' hall, though ever iince that time it has been performed on the eastern portico of the capitol, or on a platform in front of it. The original intention of the great rotunda, which occupies the central portion of that vast building, was that the Presidents of the republic should on that spot be inducted into office ; but, in practice, this was found impossible, and that for several reasons. In the first place the dimensions of the saloon would not contain a tenth part of the assembly always ga- thered on such occasions. The rotunda is not a hundred feet in diameter, while the auditory collected often exceeds twenty thousand people. Then, in the second place, the dome which covers that apartment, though very lofty and crowned with a large lantern above, occasions such an echo that the mere stamping of your foot on the stone floor pro- duces a reverberation like thunder, which lasts for many seconds. When I took my little boy into this magnificent chamber for the first time, while his childish eye was lifted in wonder to the vaulted dome, broken into pannel-work and terminating in a rich gilded border surrounding the base of the lantern at the top, I made the experiment of stamping on the floor ; he instantly cried out in terror, and made his way to the door, and no persuasions could, induce him to enter it again. 'I feared of the ceiling,' was the invariable reason by which he justified his refusal. " The mention of the rotunda and its beautiful ceiling, reminds me of an act of presumptuous folly of which I was onc: General Jackson assurred them of peace and safety, if they would retire to the north of Fort William. But resolving to put their friendly prof' -.\ once to the them to bring Weatherford, one of the first chiefs of the nation, to him. '■ Learning from the chiefs, on their return, what had been required of them by Jackson, Weatherford was pre- vailed upon, as being perhaps the safer course, to go arid make a voluntary surrender of himself. Having reached the camp without being known, and obtained admission to the general's quarter's, he told him he was Weatherford, the chief who had commanded at Fort Mimms, and. desiring peace for himself and people, had come to ask it. Some- what surprised, that one who so richly merited punishment, should so 3ternly demand * on which had been led to others, he replied to him, that he was astonished he should venture to appear in his presence; that 'tie was net ignorant of his having keen at Fort Mimms, nor of his 204 LIVE.3 OF THE PRESIDENTS. conduct there, for which he well deserved to die. 'I had directed,' continued he, 'that you should be brought to me confined ; had you appeared in this way, I should have known how to have treated you.' Weatherford replied, 'I am in your power — do with me as you please. I am a soldier. I have done the white people all the harm I could; I have fought them, and fought them bravely ; if I had an army, I would yet fight, and contend to the last : but I have none ; my people are all gone. I can now do no more than weep over the misfortunes of my nation.' Pleased at the firmness of the man, Jackson informed him, that he did not solicit him to lay down his arms, and become peaceable. ' The terms on which your nation can be saved, and peace restored, 1ms already been disclosed : in this way, and none other, can you obtain safety.' If, however, he wished still to continue the war, and felt himself prepared to meet the consequences, although he was then completely in his power, no advantage should be taken of that circumstance ; that he was at liberty to retire, and unite himself with the war party, if he pleased ; but if taken, his life should pay the forfeit of his crimes ; if this were not desired, he might remain where he was, and should be protected. " Weatherford answered, that he desired peace, that his nation might, in some measure, be relieved from their suf- feaings ; that, independent of other misfortunes, growing out of a state of war, their cattle and grain were all wasted and destroyed, and their women and children destitute of provisions. 'But,' continued he, 'I may be well ad- dressed in such language now. There was a time when I had a choice, and could have answered you : I have none now, — even hope has ended. Once I could animate my warrioi s to battle ; but I cannot animate the dead. My ANDREW JACKSON. 205 warriors can no longer hear my voice : their bones are at Talladega, Tallushatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka. I have not surrendered myself thoughtlessly. Whilst there were chances of success, I never left my post, nor supplicated peace. But my people are gone, I now ask it for my nation, and for myself. On the miseries and misfortunes brought upon my country, I look back with deepest sorrow, and wi3b to avert still greater calamities. If I had been left to con- tend with the Georgia army, I would have raised my corn on one bank of the river, and fought them on the other ; but your people have destroyed my nation. You are a brave man : I rely upon your generosity. You will exact no terms of a conquered people, but such as they should accede to ; what- ever they may be, it would now he madness and folly to op- pose. If they are opposed, you shall find me amongst the strongest enforcers of obedience. Those who would still hold out, can be influenced only by a mean spirit of revenge ; and to this they must not, and shall not sacrifice the last remnant of their country. You have told us where we might go, and be safe. This is a good talk, and my nation ought to listen to it. They shall listen to it.' " The earnestness and bold independence of his conduct left no doubt of the sincerity of his professions. The peace party became reconciled to him, and agreed to bury all pre- vious animosities. In a few days afterwards, having obtained permission, he set out from camp, accompanied by a small party, to search through the forest, for his followers and friends, and persuade them to give up a contest, in which hope seemed to be at an end, and, by timely submission, to save their nation from still further disasters."* A large number of the Creeks had retired southward to * Eaton. 206 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the Gulf of Mexico, where they could be protected by the British and Spaniards. A line of posts was established along the frontiers of Georgia and Tennessee to cover the country, and overawe the Indians. General Pinckney took command of what troops were to remain in the service. General Jackson and his brave Tennesseans returned home, amid the plaudits of their countrymen. "It was now eight months since General Jackson had left home, to arrest the progress of the Indian war ; during most of which time, he had been in a situation of bodily infirmity that would have directed a prudent man to his bed, instead of the field. During this period, he had never seen his family, or been absent from the army longer than to visit Deposit, and arrange with his contractors some certain plans to guard against a future failure of supplies. His health was still delicate, and rendered retirement essential to its restoration ; but his uniformly successful and good conduct, had brought him too conspicuously before the pub- lic, for any other sentiment to be indulged, than that he should be placed, with an important command, in the service of the United States. " The resignation of General Hampton, enabled the go- vernment, in a short time, to afford him the evidences of re- spect it entertained for his services and character. A notice of his appointment as brigadier and brevet major-general, was forwarded on the 22d of May, from the war department. General Harrison having, about this time, from some cause, become disgusted with the conduct of the government towards him, had refused to be longer considered one of her military actors; to supply which vacancy, a commission of major-ge- neral was immediately forwarded to Jackson. "The contest with the Indians being coded; the first ANDREW JACKSON. 207 and principal object of the government was, to enter into some definite arrangement, which should deprive of suc- cess, any effort that might hereafter be made, by other powers, to enlist- these savages in their wars. None was so well calculated to answer this end, as that of restricting their limits, so as to cut off their communication with British and Spanish agents, in East Florida. "The citizens of Tennessee, Learning that commissioners were appointed for the accomplishment of this pin-pose ; and believing themselves as much, or more interested than others, in having such a disposition made, as should give complete Becurity to their borders, petitioned the government that one might he selected from their state. The efforts they had made 1 to effect what had been done; and the interests they had involved, were considerations that the President did riOl scruple to admit. lie accordingly associated < leneral Jackson in the mission, and again required his services for the establishment of a peace, on such terms as should pro mise to he permanent. The circumstance of Colonel Haw kins being appointed, was an additional reason, why any solicit tide had been felt, or any petition forwarded. IIo may have been deceived, and may have founded his opinions upon data presumed to he correct; but his continual decla- rations, that the Creek Indians intended a rigid adherence to their treaties, at the very moment they were planning their murderous schemes against the frontiers, led the western people to fear, that his agency had lasted too long, to hope that he would steadily pursue that course, which the safety and interest of the country required. " On the 10th of July, the general, with a small retinue, reached the Alabama ; and on the 10th of August succeeded in procuring the execution of a treaty, in which the Indians 208 aIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. pledged themselves, no more to listen to foreign emissaries, — to hold no communication with British or Spanish garrisons ; guaranteed to the United States, the right of erecting mili- tary posts in their country, and a free navigation of all their waters. They stipulated further, that they would suffer no agent or trader to pass among them, or hold any kind of commerce or intercourse with their nation, unless specially deriving his authority from the President, of the United States. " General Jackson having understood, that that comfort and aid, which had been already so liberally extended, was still afforded by the Spanish governor to the hostile Indians, who had fled from the ravages of the Creek war, cherished the belief that his conduct was such as deservedly to ex- clude him from that protection which, under other circum- Btances, he would be entitled, from the professed neutrality of Spain. At all events, if the improper acts of the Spanish agents would not authorize the American government openly to redress herself for the unprovoked injuries she had received, they were such, he believed, as would justify any course that had for its object the putting them down, and arresting their continuance. In this point of view he had already considered it, when, on his way to the Alabama, he received certain information, that about three hundred English troops had landed ; were fortifying at the month of the Apalachi- cola ; and were endeavoring to excite the Indians to war. No time was lost, in giving the government notice of what was passing, and the course deemed by him most advisable to be pursued. The advantages to be secured by the pos- session of Pensacola, he had frequently urged. Whether il was that the government beheld things in a different point of view, or, being at peace with Spain, was willing to en- ANDREW JACKSON. 209 counter partial inconveniences, rather than add her to the number of our enemies, no order to that effect was yet given. In detailing to the secretary of war what had been commu- nicated to him, he remarks : ' If the hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida, and are there fed, clothed, and pro- tected ; if the British have landed a large force, with muni- tions of war, and are fortifying and stirring up the savages ; will you only say to me, raise a few hundred militia, which can be quickly done, and with such regular force as can be conveniently collected, make a descent upon Pensacola, and reduce it ? If so, I promise you, the war in the south shali have a speedy termination, and English influence be for ever destroyed with the savages in this quarter.' "* To this communication, the general received no answer until after the battle of New Orleans. Upon his own re- sponsibility, he addressed a letter to the Spanish governor, at Pensacola, requesting that the ringleaders of the Creek confederacy, from whom new hostilities were expected, should be delivered to United States officers. The governor refused, and replied to General Jackson's letter in a very lofty tone. But events were about to occur of a nature to test the energy and talents of Jackson. Every day's reports con- firmed the impression that the British were preparing a formidable armament, for a descent upon New Orleans. General Jackson urged the governors of Tennessee, Mis- sissippi, and Louisiana to be vigilant and to hold all their militia in readiness for marching at the shortest notice. The Tennessee troops were the first to advance and to reach Mobile. With a body of these and a few regulars, General Jackson started for New Orleans. He had scarcely started, before Fort Boyer, near Mobile, was attacked by a British * Eaton.. 210 LIVES OF THE PKESIDEMS. force, commanded by Colonel Nichols. However, the little garrison displayed Spartan bravery, and repulsed ths assailants, who then returned to Pensacola. This attick General Jackson considered as a feint, but determined to proceed to Pensacola, and upon his own responsibility, break jp the hostile band of British, Spaniards, and Indians there assembled. This was an extraordinary resolution, but the circumstances certainly justified its formation. The security of the frontier and the lives and property of American sub- jects which General Jackson was expected to defend, de- manded that the rendezvous of the enemy should be destroyed. Far from deserving censure for this project, the general merited commendation. He incurred all the risk. There was no danger of his involving his country in a war with Spain. The government might disavow his act, and punish him for its commission. When Colonel Child's brigade arrived at Fort Stephens, General Jackson's whole force amounted to three thousand men. On the 2d of November, the line of march was taken up, and on the 6th, the army reached the vicinity of Pensacola. The British and Spaniards had obtained intelligence of its approach and intentions ; and every thing was in readi- ness to dispute its passage. The forts were garrisoned, and prepared for resistance ; batteries were formed in the prin- cipal streets ; and the British vessels were moored Avithin the bay, and so disposed as to command the main entrance to the town. Before any final step was taken, General Jackson concluded to make a further application to the go- vernor, and learn what course he would make it necessary for him to pursue. To take possession, and dislodge the British, was indispensable : to do it under such circum- stances, as should impress the minds of the Spaniards with a ANDREW JACKSON. 211 conviction, that the invasion of their territory was a mea- sure adopted from necessity, and not from choice, or a dis- position to infringe, or violate, their neutral rights, was be- lieved to be essential. It was rendered the more so, on the part of Jackson, because a measure of his own, and not sanctioned or directed by his government. Previously, therefore, to any act of open war, he determined to try the effect of negotiation, that he might ascertain, certainly and correctly, how far the governor felt disposed to preseire a good understanding between the governments. But all attempts at a peaceable settlement were unavailing, and on the 7th, Jackson put his army in motion, and after a short conflict, compelled the governor to surrender all the works into the hands of the United States forces. Sool after the fort at Barancas was blown up, and the British vessels left Pensacola bay. Having accomplished the de- struction of a dangerous rendezvous, General Jackson resolved to return to Mobile, which place, he thought the British would again threaten. A detachment was in pursuit of those hostile Creeks who had fled from Pensacola. Reaching Mo- bile, the general prepared it to resist an attack. In the latter part of November, General Winchester arrived. Leaving the command of Mobile to this officer, General Jackson hastened to New Orleans, which he made his head-quarters. General Jackson was now on a new theatre, and soon to be brought in collision with an enemy, different from any he had yet encountered : the time had arrived, to call forth all the energies he possessed. His military career, from its commencement, had been obstructed by innumerable lifficul- ties, but far greater were now rising to his view. His body worn down by sickness and exhaustion, with a mind con- stantly alive to the apprehension, that, with the means 212 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. given him, it would not be in his power to satisfy his own wishes, and the expectations of his country, were circum- stances well calculated to depress him. He was as yet with- out sufficient strength or preparation, to attempt successful opposition against the numerous and well-trained troops, which were expected shortly at some unprepared point, to enter, and lay waste the lower country. What was to be hoped, from the clemency and generous conduct of such a foe, their march to the city of "Washington already announced ; while the imagination painted in lively colors the repetition, here, of scenes of desolation, even surpassing what had there been witnessed. " Louisiana, he well knew, was ill supplied with arms, and contained a mixed population, of different tongues, who per- haps felt not a sufficient attachment for the soil or govern- ment, to be induced to defend them to the last extremity. No troops, arms, or ammunition, had yet descended from the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. His only reliance for defence, if assailed, was on the few regulars he had, the volunteers of General Coffee, and such troops as the state itself could raise. What might be the final result of things, under prospects gloomy as the present, should an enemy shortly appear, was no difficult conjecture. His principal fears, at present, were, that Mobile might fall, the left bank of the Mississippi be gained, all communication with the western states cut off, and New Orleans be thus unavoidably reduced. Although continually agitated by such forebod- ings, he breathed his fears to none. Closely locking all apprehensions in his own breast, he appeared constantly serene, and as constantly endeavored to impress a general belief, that the country could and would be successfull} 7 de- fendel. The manifestations of such tranquillity, and ap ANDREW JACKSON. 213 parent certainty of success, under circumstances so un- propitious, excited strong hopes, dispelled every tiling like fear, and impressed all with additional confidence in their security." General Jackson was fully aware that spies and traitors swarmed in Louisiana. He urged Governor Claiborne to te vigilant and determined in discouraging the spirit of discontent and treachery. He addressed the people of the state and urged them to make a bold stand in defence of their soil and freedom. One of the general's addresses concluded in these energetic words : — " Our country must and shall be defended. We will enjoy our liberty or die in the last ditch." The states of Kentucky and Tennessee were actively engaged in preparing their forces to advance to the defence of Louisiana. The Kentuckians were commanded by Major-General Thomas, and the Tennesseeans, by Major-General Carroll. General Jackson pushed forward extensive preparations for guarding the passes to New Orleans. " The legislature of Louisiana had been for some weeks in session ; and, through the governor's communication, had been informed of the situation and strength of the country, and of the necessity of calling all its resources into action ; but, balancing in their decisions, and uncertain of the best course to be pursued, to assure protection, they as yet had resolve 1 upon nothing promising certainty and safety, or calculated to infuse tranquillity and confidence in the public mind. The arrival of Jackson, however, produced a new aspect in affairs. His activity and zeal in preparation, and his reputation as a brave and skilful commander, turned all eyes towards him, and inspired even the desponding with a confidence they had not before felt. " The volunteer corps of the city were reviewed, and a 214 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. visit, in person, made to the different forts, to ascertain their situation, and the reliance that might be had on them, to repel the enemy's advance. Through the lakes, their larger vessels could not pass; should an approach be at- tempted, through this route, in their barges, it might be met and opposed by the gun-boats, which already guarded this passage ; but if, unequal to the contest, they should be captured, it vould, at any rate, give timely information of a descent, which might be resisted on the landing, before an opportunity could be had of executing fully their designs. (Jp the Mississippi, however, was looked upon as the most probable pass, through which might be made an attempt to reach the city ; and here were progressing suitable prepa- rations for defence. " We have already noticed that Colonel Hayne had been despatched from Mobile, with directions to view the Missis- sippi near its mouth, and report if any advantageous posi- tion could be found for the erection of batteries ; and whe- ther the re-establishment of the old fort at the Balize could command the river, in a way to prevent its being ascended. That it could not be relied on for this purpose, the opinions of military men had already declared. General Jackson was always disposed to respect the decisions of those, who, from their character and standing, were entitled to confi- dence : yet in matters of great importance, it formed no part of his creed to attach his faith to the statements of any, where the object being within his reach, it was in his power to satisfy himself. Trusting implicitly in Colonel Hayne, as a military man, who, from proper observations, could infer correct conclusions, he had been despatched to examine how far it was practicable to obstruct and secure this chan- uel. His report was confirmatory of ths previous inform* ANDREW JACKSON. 215 tion received, that it was incapable, from its situation, of effecting any such object. Fort St. Philips was now resorted to, as the lowest point on the river, were the erection of works could be at all serviceable. The general had returned to New Orleans, on the 9th, from a visit to tin's place, which he had ordered to be repaired and strengthened. The commanding officer was directed to remove every combustible material without the fort; to have two additional platforms immediately raised ; and the embrasures so enlarged, that the ordnance might have the greatest possible sweep upon their circles, and be brought to bear on any object within their range, that might approach either up or down the river. At a small distance below, the Mississippi, changing its course, left a neck of land in the bend, covered with timber, and which obstructed the view. From this point, down to wher« old Fort Bourbon stood, on the west side, the growth along the bank was ordered to be cut away, that the shot from St. Philips, ranging across this point of land, might reach an approaching vessel, before she should be unmasked from behind it. On the site of Bourbon, was to be thrown up a strong work, defended by five twenty-four-pounders, which, with the fort above, would expose an enemy to a cross fire, for half a mile. A mile above St. Philips was to be established a work, which, in conjunction with the others, would command the river for two miles. At Terre au Boeuf, and at the English turn, twelve miles below the city were also to be taken measures for defence; where it was expected by Jackson, with his flying artillery and fire ships, he would be able, cer- tainly, to arrest the enemy's advance. This system of de- fence, properly established, he believed would give security from any attack in this direction. Fort St. Philips, with 216 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the assistant batteries, above and below, would so concentrate their fires, that an enemy could never pass, without suffering greatly, and perhaps being so shattered, that they would fall an easy prey, to those still higher up the river. The essen- tial difficulty was to have them commenced, and speedily finished. Upon lakes Borgne and Ponchartrain, an equally strong confidence was had, that all would be safe from invasion. Commodore Patterson, who commanded the naval forces, had executed every order with promptness and activity. Agreeably to instructions received from the commanding general, to extend to all the passes on the lakes every pro- tection in his power, he had already sent out the gun-boats, under Lieutenant Jones. From their vigilance and capa- bility to defend, great advantages were calculated to arise ; added to which, the Rigolets, the communication between the two lakes, was defended by Petit Coquille fort, a strong work, under the command of Captain Newman, which, when acting in conjunction with the gun-boats, it was supposed would be competent to repel any assault that might here be waged. The prospects of defence had been improved, by detachments sent out to fell timber across every small bayou and creek, leading out of the lakes, and through which a passage for boats and barges could be afforded ; and to in- crease the obstruction, by sinking large frames in their beds, and filling them with earth. Guards and videttes were out to watch every thing that passed, and give the earliest in- formation. Certain information was at hand, of an English fleet being now off Cat and Ship island, within a short dis- tance of the American lines, where their strength and num- bers were daily increasing Lieutenant Jones, in command of the gun-boats, on Lake Borgne, was directed to recon- ANDREW JACKSON. 217 noitre, and ascertain their disposition and force ; and, in the event they should attempt, through this route, to effect a disembarkation, to retire to the Rigolets, and there, with his flotilla, make an obstinate resistance, and contend to the last. He remained off Shin island, until the 12th of Decem- ber ; when, understanding the enemy's forces were much increased, he thought it most advisable to change his anchor age, and retire to a position near Malheureux island. On the 13th, Jones discovered the enemy moving off in barges, and directing his way towards Pass Christian. A strong wind having blown for some days to the east, from the lake to the gulf, had so reduced the depth of water, that the best and deepest channels were insufficient to float his little squadron. The oars were resorted to, but without rendering the least assistance : it was immoveable. Recourse was now had to throwing every thing overboard that could be spared, to lighten and bring them off; all, however, was ineffectual, — nothing could afford relief. At this moment of extreme peril and danger, the tide coming suddenly in, relieved from present embarrassment, and lifting them from the shoal, they bore away from the attack meditated ; di- rected their course for the Rigolets ; and came to anchor at one o'clock the next morning, on the west passage of Mal- heureux isles ; where, at day, they discovered the pursuit had been abandoned. At the Bay of St. Louis was a small depot of public Btores, which had, that morning, been directed, by Lieute- nant Jones, to be brought off. Mr. Johnson, on board the Sea Horse, had proceeded in the execution of this order. The enemy, on the retreat of Jones, despatched three bargea to capture him ; but unable to effect it they were driven l»ack. An additional force iioav proceeded against .him ; 218 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. when a smart action commenced, and the assailants were again compelled to retire with some loss. Johnson, satisfied that it was out of his power successfully to defend himself, and considering it hopeless to attempt uniting, in face of so large a force, with the gun-boats off Malheureux, determined to blow up his vessel, burn the stores, and effect his retreat by land. A prodigious explosion, and flames bursting on his view, assured Jones of the probable step that had been taken. Early on the morning of the 14th, the enemy's bargee, lying about nine miles to the east, suddenly weighed their anchors ; and, getting under way, proceeded westwardly to the pass, where our gun-boats still lay. The same difficulty they had experienced yesterday was now encountered. Per- ceiving the approach of the enemy's flotilla, an attempt was made to retreat ; but in vain. The wind was entirely lulled, and a perfect calm prevailed ; while a strong current, setting to the gulf, rendered every effort to retire unavailing. No alternative was at hand ; but a single course was left ; — to meet and fight them. Forty-three boats, mounting as many cannon, with twelve hundred chosen men, well armed, con- stituted the strength of the assailants. Advancing in ex- tended line, they were presently in reach : and, at half after eleven o'clock, commencing a fire, the action soon became general. Owing to a strong current, setting out to the east, two of the boats, numbers 156 and 163, were unable to keep their anchorage, and floated about one hundred yards in ad- vance of the line. The enemy, coming up with the two gun-boats in ad- vance of the line, and relying on their numbers and sup- posed superior skill, determined to board. For this pur- pose, several large barges bore down on number 156, com- manded byLieuterant Jones, but failed in the attempt; ANDREW JACKSON. 219 they were repulsed with an immense destruction, both in their officers and crew, and two of their boats sunk ; one of them, with one hundred and eighty men, went down, im- mediately under the stern of number 156. Again rallying, with a stronger force than before, another desperate assault was made, to board, and carried at the point of the sword, which was again repelled, with considerable loss. The con test was now bravely waged, and spiritedly resisted. Lieu- tenant Jones, unable to keep on the deck, from a severe wound he had received, retired, leaving the command with George Parker, who no less valiantly defended his flag, until, severely wounded, he was forced to leave his post. No longer able to maintain the conflict, and overpowered by superior numbers, they yielded the victory, after a contest of forty minutes, in which every thing was done that gallantry could do, and nothing unperformed that duty required. The great disparity of force between the combatants, added to the advantages the enemy derived from the peculiar construction of their boats, which gave them an opportunity to take any position that circumstances and safety directed, while the others lay wholly unmanageable, presents a curious and strange result ; that, while the American loss was but six killed, and thirty-five wounded, that of their assailants was not less than three hundred. " Resistance on the lakes being at an end, no doubt was entertained, but that the moment for action would be, as early as the enemy could make his preparations to proceed. At what point, at what time, and with a force how greatly superior to his own, were matters wholly resting in uncer- tainty, and could not be known, until they actually trans- pired. All the means of opposition were to be seized on, without delay. 220 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Early on the 15th, expresses were sent off, up the coast, in quest of General Coffee ; to endeavor to procure infor- mation of the Kentucky and Tennessee divisions, which it was hoped were not far distant, and to urge their speedy approach. In his communication to Coffee, the general ob- serves, " You must not sleep, until you arrive within strik- ing distance. Your accustomed activity is looked for. In- numerable defiles present themselves, where your riflemen will be all important. An opportunity is at hand, to reap for yourself and brigade the approbation of your country." Having marched eighty miles the last day, Coffee encamped, on the night of the 19th, within fifteen miles of New Orleans, making, in two days, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. Continuing his advance, early L next morning, he halted within four miles of the city, to examine the state and condition of his arms ; and to learn, in the event the enemy had landed, the relative position of the two armies. The advance of Colonel Hinds, from Woodville, with the Mississippi dragoons, was not less prompt and expeditious ; an active and brave officer, he was, on this, as on all other occasions, at his post, ready to act as was required. Having received his orders, he hastened forward, and effected, in four days, a march of two hundred and thirty miles. On the 16th, Colonel Hynes, aid-de-camp to General Carroll, reached head-quarters, with information from tho general, that he would be down, as early as possible ; but that the situation of the weather, and high winds greatly re- tarded his progress. The steamboat was immediately put :n requisition, and ordered up the river, to aid him in. reach- ing his destination, without loss of time. He was advised 3f the necessity of hastening rapidly forward ; that the lakes were in possession of the' enemy, and their arrival dailj ANDREW JACKSON. 221 looked f or : " xkit," continued Jackson, "lam resolved, fee ble as my force is to assail him, on his first landing, and perish, sooner than he shall reach the city." Independent of a large force, descending with General Carroll, his coming was looked to with additional pleasure, from the circumstance of his having with him a boat, laden with arms, which, destined for the defence of the country, he had overtaken on the passage. His falling in with them was fortunate ; for, had their arrival depended on those to whom they had been incautiously given, they might have come too late, and after all danger had subsided ; as was indeed the case with others, forwarded from Pittsburg, which, through the unpardonable conduct of those who had been entrusted with their management and transportation, did not reach New Orleans, until after all difficulties had ended. Great inconvenience was sustained, during the siege, for want of arms, to place in the hands of the militia. Great as it was, it would have been increased, even to an alarming extent, but for the accidental circumstance of this boat falling into the hands of the Tennessee division, which impelled it on, and thereby produced incalculable advantage. While these preparations were progressing, to concen- trate the forces within his reach, the general was turning his attention to ward off any blow that might be aimed, be- fore his expected reinforcements should arrive. Every point, capable of being successfully assailed, was receiving such additional strength and security as could be given. Patroles and videttes were ranged through the country, that the earliest information might be had of any intended move- ment. The militia of the state was called out en masse: and, through the interference of the legislature, an embargo de- clared, to afford an opportunity of procuring additional re- 222 LIVES OP THE PRESIDENTS. emits for the navy. General Villery, because an inhabitant of the country, and best understanding the several points on the lakes, susceptible of, and requiring defence, was or- dered, with the Louisiana militia, to search out, and give protection to the different passes, where a landing might be effected. Jackson's arrangements were well conceived, and rapidly progressing ; but they were still insufficient ; and his own forebodings assured him, that, to obtain security, something stronger than had been yet resorted to, required to be adopted. That there was an enemy in the midst of his camp, more to be feared than those who were menancing from abroad, was indeed highly probable ; while an appehension indulged, that there were many foreigners, who, feeling no attachment for Jie country, and having nothing to defend, would not scru- ple to avail themselves of every opportunity, to give intelli- gence of the strength, situation, and arrangement of his camp, Qxcited his fears, and induced a wish to apply the earliest possible corrective — that the country, without it, could not be saved ; he brought to the view of the legislature the propriety and necessity of suspending the writ of habeas corpus. They proceeded slowly to the investigation, and were deliberating, with great caution, upon their right and power to adopt such a measure; when the general, sensiblf that procrastination was dangerous, and might defeat the cbjects intended to be answered, suspended their councils, by declaring the city and environs of New Orleans under martial law. With the exception of the Kentucky troops, which were yet absent, all the forces expected had arrived. jreneral Carroll had reached Coffee's encampment four miles above the city, on the 21st, and had immediately reported to the ANDREW JACRSON. 223 commanding general. The officers were busily engaged in drilling, manoeuvering, and organizing the troops, and in having eve/y thing ready for action, the moment it should become necessary. No doubt was entertained, but the Bri- tish would be able to effect a landing at some point ; the principal thing to be guarded against was not to prevent it ; for, since the loss of the gun-boats, any attempt of this kind could only be regarded as hopeless ; but, by preserving a constant vigilance, and thereby having the earliest intelli- gence of their approach, they might be met at the very thresh- hold, and opposed. Small gun-boats were constantly plying on the lakes, to watch, and give information of every move- ment. Some of these had come in, late on the evening of the 22d, and reported that all was quiet, and that no unfa vorable appearance portended in that direction. With such vigilance, constantly exercised, it is truly astonishing that the enemy should have effected an invasion, and succeeded in disembarking so large a force, without the slightest inti- mation being had, until they were acciclently discovered emerging from the swamp and woods, about seven miles below the town : why it so happened, traitors may conjecture, al- though the truth is yet unknown. The general impression is, that it was through information given by a small party of Spanish fisherman, that so secret a disembarkation was effected. Several of them had settled at the mouth of this bayou, and supported themselves by fish they caught, and vended in the market at New Orleans. Obstructions, had been ordered to be made on every inlet, and the Louisiana militia had been detached for that purpose. This place had not received the attention its importance merited : nor was it until the 22d, that General Villery, charged with tie execu- tion of this order, had placed here a small handful of men. 224 LIVKS OF THE PRESIDENTS. Towards day, the enemy, silently proceeding up the nayou, landed, and succeeded in capturing the whole of this party, hut two, who, fleeing to the swamp, endeavored to reach the city ; but, owing to the thick undergrowth, and briars, which rendered it almost impervious, they did not arrive, until after the enemy had reached the banks of the Mississippi, and been discovered. The approach of the enemy, flushed with the hope of easy victory, was announced to Jackson, a little after one o'clock in the afternoon. There were too many reasons, assuring him of the necessity of acting speedily, to hesitate a moment, on the course proper to be pursued. Could he assail them, and obtain even a partial advantage, it might be beneficial — it might arrest disaffection — buoy up the despondent — de- termine the wavering, and bring within his reach resources for to-morrow, which might wholly fail, should fear once take possession of the public mind. He resolved, at all events, to march, and, that night, give them battle. Generals Coffee and Carroll were ordered to proceed immediately from theii encampment, and join him, with all haste. Although four miles above, they arrived in the city, in less than two hours after the order had been issued. These forces, with the 7th and 44th regiments, + .he Louisiana troops, and Colonel Hinds's dragoons, constituted the strength of his army, which could be carried into action against an enemy, whose numbers, at this time, could only be conjectured. It was thought ad- visable to leave Carrot and his division behind ; for notwith- standing there was no correct information cf the force landed tin >ugh Villery's canal, yet Jackson feared that this was only a feint, intended to divert his attention, while, in all probability, a much stronger and more numerous division, having already gained some point, higher on the hike, might, ANDREW JACKSOJV. 225 bj advancing in his absence, gain his rear, and succeed in their views. Uncertain of their movements, it was essential he should be prepared for the worst, and, bj different dispo- sitions of his troops, be ready to resist, in whatever quarter he might be assailed. Carroll, therefore, at the head of his division, and Governor Claiborne, with the state militia were directed to take post on the Genially road, leading from Chef Menteur to New Orleans, and to defend it to the last extrem- ity. Colonel Hayne, with two companies of riflemen and the Mississippi dragoons, was sent forward, to reconnoitre their camp, learn their position and their numbers, and in the event they should be found advancing, to harrass and oppose them at every step, until the main body should arrive Ihe general arrived in view of the enemy, a little before dark. Having previously ascertained, from Colonel Hayne their position, and that their strength was about two thousand men, he immediately concerted the mode of attack and has tened to execute it. Commodore Patterson, commanding the naval forces, with Captain Henley, on board the Caro line, had been directed to drop down, anchor in front of then- hue, and open upon them from the guns of the schooner • which being the signal for attack, was to be waged simul-' aneously on all sides. The fires from their camp disclosed heir position, and showed their encampment, formed with he left resting on the river, and extending at right angles mto the open held. General Coffee, with his brigade, Colonel Hinds s dragoons, and Captain Beal's company of riflemen was ordered to oblique to the left, and, by a circuitous route' avoid their piquets, and endeavor to turn their right win- having succeeded in this, to form his line, and press the enemy towards the river, where they would be exposed more completely to the fire of the Caroline. The rest of the troops 226 live! of the presidents. consisting of the regulars; Plauche's city volunteers, Daquin's colored troops, the artillery under Lieutenant Spotts, sup- ported by a company of marines, commanded by Colonel M'Kee, advanced along the bank of the Mississippi, and were commanded by Jackson in person. " General Coffee had advanced beyond their piquets, next Ihe swamp, and nearly reached the point to which he was ordered, when a broadside from the Caroline announced the battle begun. Patterson had proceeded slowly, giving time, as lie believed, for the execution of those arrangements con- templated on the shore. So sanguine had the British been in the belief that they would be kindly received, and little opposition attempted, that the Caroline floated by the sen- tinels, and anchored before their camp, without any kind of molestation. On passing the front piquet, she was hailed, in a low tone of voice, but returning no answer, no further question was made. This, added to some other attendant circumstances, confirmed the opinion that they believed her a vessel laden with provisions, which had been sent out from New Orleans, and was intended for them. Having reached what, from their fires, appeared to be the centre of their encampment, her anchors were cast, and her character and business disclosed from her guns. So unexpected an attack produced a momentary confusion ; but, recovering, they answered her by a discharge of musketry, and flight of eongreve rockets, which passed without injury, while her grape and canister were pouring destructively on them. To take away the certainty of aim afforded by their camp fires, these Avere immediately extinguished, and they retired two or three hundred yards into the open field, if not out of reach of the cannon, ai least to a distance, where, by the darkness of the night, they would be protected. ANDREW JACKSON. 227 Coffee had dismounted his men, and turned hi» horsea lo^se, at a large ditch, next the swamp, in the rear of Lo- rond's plantation, and gained, as he believed, the centre of the enemy's line, when the signal of the Caroline reached him. He directly wheeled his columns in, and, extending his lines parallel with the river, moved toward their camp. tie had scarcely advanced more than a hundred yards, when he received a heavy fire, from a line formed in his front ; this, to him, was an unexpected circumstance, as he supposed the enemy lying principally at a distance, and that the only opposition he should meet, until he approached to- wards the levee, would be from their advanced guards. The circumstance of his coming up with them so soon, was owing to the severe attack of the schooner, which had compelled them to abandon their camp, and form without the reach of her guns. The moon shone, but shed her light too feebly to dis- cover objects at a distance. The only chance, therefore, of producing certain injury, with this kind of force, which consisted chiefly of riflemen, was not to venture at random, but only to discharge their pieces when there should be a certainty of felling their object. This order being given, the line pressed on, and, having gained a position near enough to distinguish, a general fire was given ; it was too severe and destructive to be withstood ; the enemy gave way, and retreated, — rallied, — formed, — were charged, and again retreated. These gallant men, led by their bravo commander, urged fearlessly on, and drove them from every position they attempted to maintain. Their general waa under no necessity to encourage and allure them to deeds of valor : his own example was sufficient to excite them. Always in the midst, he displayed a coolness and disregard 0( LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of danger, calling to his troops, that they had often said tney could fight — now was the time to prove it. The enemy, driven back by the resolute firmness and ardor of their assailants, had now reached a grove of orange trees, with a ditch running past it, protected by a fence on the margin. It was a favorable position, promising security, and was occupied with a confidence that they could not be forced to yield it. Coffee's dauntless yeomanry, strength- ened in their hopes of success, moved on, nor discovered the advantages against them, until a fire from the whole British line showed their defence.- A momentary check was given ; but, gathering fresh ardor, they charged across the ditch, gave a deadly and destructive fire, and forced them to re- tire. Their retreat continued, until, gaining a similar posi- tion, they made another stand, and were again driven from it, with considerable loss. " Thus the battle raged, on the left wing, until the British reached the bank of the river ; here a determined stand was made, and further encroachments resisted : for half an hour, the conflict was extremely violent on both sides. The Ame- rican troops could not be driven from their purpose, nor the British made to yield their ground ; but at length, having suffered greatly, the latter were under the necessity of tak- ing refuge behind the levee, which afforded a breast-work, and protected them from the fatal fire of the riflemen, Coffee, unacquainted with their position, for the darkness had greatly increased, already contemplated again to charge them ; but Major Moulton, who had discovered their situa- tion, assured him it was too hazardous ; that they could be driven no further, and would, from the point they occupied, resist with the bayonet, and repel, with considerable loss, any attempt to dislodge them. A further apprehension, ANDREW JACKSON. 229 lest, hy moving still nearer to the river, he might greatly expose himself to the fire of the Caroline, which was yet spiritedly maintaining the conflict, induced Coffee to retire until he could hear from the commanding general, and receive his further orders. During this time, the right wing, under Jackson, was no less prompt and active. A detachment of artillery, un- der Lieutenant Spotts, supported by sixty marines, formed the advance, and had moved down the road, next the levee. On their left was the 7th regiment of infantry, led by Major Piere. The 44th, commanded by Major Baker, was formed on the extreme left ; while Plauche's and Daqum's battalions of city guards, were directed to be posted in the centre, between the 7th and 44th. Instead of marching in column from the first position, the troops were wheeled into an extended line, and moved off in this order, except the 7th regiment, next the person of the general, which advanced agreeably to the instructions that had been given. Having sufficient ground to form on at first, no inconvenience was at the moment sustained : but this advantage presently failing, the centre was com- pressed, and forced into the rear. The river, from where they were, gradually inclined to the left, and diminished che space originally possessed : farther in, stood Lorond's house, surrounded by a grove of clustered orange trees : this pressing the left, and the river the right wing to the centre, formed a curve, which threw the principal part of Plauche's and Daquin's battalions without the line. This might have been remedied, but for the briskness of the ad- vance, and the darkness of the night. A heavy fire from behind a fence, immediately before them, had brought the enemy to view. Acting in obedience to their orders, not to 230 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. waste their ammunition at random, our troops had pressed forward against the opposition in their front, and thereby threw those battalions in the rear. A fog rising from the river, which, added to the smoke from the guns, was covering the plain, — gradually diminish- ing the little light shed by the moon, and greatly increasing the darkness of the night : no clue was left, to tell how or where the enemy were situated. There was no alternative but to move on, in the direction of their fire, which sub- jected the assailants to material disadvantages. The British, driven from their first position, had retired back, and occu- pied another, behind a deep ditch, that ran out of the Mis- sissippi towards the swamp, on the top of which was a high fence. Here, strengthened by increased numbers, they again opposed the approach of our troops. Having waited, until they had come sufficiently near to be discovered, they discharged, from their fastnesses, a fire upon the advancing army. Instantly our battery was formed, and poured de- structively upon them ; while the infantry, coming up, aided in the conflict, which was for some time spiritedly maintained. At this moment, a brisk sally was made upon our advance, when the marines, unequal to the assault, were already giv- ing way. The adjutant-general, and Colonels Piatt ar d Chotard, with a part of the 7th, hastening to their support, drove the enemy and saved the artillery from capture. Ge- neral Jackson, perceiving the advantages they derived from their position, ordered their line to be charged. It was obeyed with cheerfulness, and executed with promptness. Pressing on, our troops gained the ditch, and, pouring across it a well-aimed fire, compelled them to retreat, and abandon their entrenchment. The plain, on which they were contending, was cut to pieces, by races from the river, ANDREW JACKSON. 231 to convey the water. They were therefore, very soon ena- bled to take another situation, equally favorable with the one whence they had been just driven, where they formed for ba + tle, and, for some time, gallantly maintained them- selves ; Sit were at length forced to yield it, and retreat. The enemy, discovering the firm and obstinate resistance made by the right wing of the American army, and per- haps presuming its principal strength vas posted on the road, formed the intention of attacking violently the left. Obliquing for this purpose, an attempt was made to turn it. At this moment, Daquin's and the battalion of city guards were marched up, and, being formed on the left of the 44th, met and repulsed them. The enemy had beeen thrice assailed and beaten, and been made to yield their ground for nearly a mile. They had now retired, and, if found, were to be again sought for through the dark. The general determined to halt, and ascertain Coffee's position and success, previously to waging the battle further, for as yet no communication had passed between them. He entertained no doubt, from the brisk firing in that direction, but that he had been warmly engaged ; but this had now nearly subsided ; the Caroline, too, had al- most ceased her operations ; it being only occasionally, that the noise of her guns disclosed the little opportunity she possessed of acting efficiently. The express despatched to General Jackson, from the left wing, having reached him, he determined to prosecute the successes he had gained no further. The darkness of the night, — the confusion into which his own division had been thrown, and a similar one on the part of Coffee, all pointed to the necessity of retiring from the field, and abandoning the contest. General Coffee was accordingly directed to with- 6oZ LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. draw, and take a position at Lorond's plantation, where the line had been first formed : and thither the troops on the right were also ordered to he marched. From the experiment just made, Jackson believed it would be in his power, on renewing the attack, to capture the 3nemv : he concluded, therefore, to call down General Car- roll with his division, and assail him again at the dawn of day. Directing Governor Claiborne to remain at his post, with the Louisiana militia, for the defence of the Gentilly road, he despatched an order to Carroll, in the event there had been no appearance of a force during the night, in the direction of Chef Menteur, to hasten and join him with his command ; which order was executed by one o'clock in the morning. Previously, however, to his arrival, a different con- clusion was taken. Although very decided advantages had been obtained, yet they had been procured under circum- stances that might be wholly lost, in a contest waged in open day, between forces so disproportioned, and by undisciplined troops against veteran soldiers. Jackson well knew it was incumbent upon him, to act a part entirely defensive : should the attempt to gain and destroy the city succeed, numerous difficulties would arise, which might be avoided, so long as he could hold the enemy in check, and halt him in his designs. Prompted by these considerations, — that it was important to pursue a course calculated to assure safety ; and believing it attainable in no way so effectually, as in occupying some point, and by the strength he might give it, make up for the inferiority of his numbers ; he determined to forbear all fur- ther efforts, until he should discover more certainly the views of the enemy, and until the Kentucky troops should reach him, which had not yet arrived. Pursuing this idea, at four o'clock, having ordered Colonel Hinds to occupy the ground ANDREW JACKSON. 233 he was then leaving, and to observe the enemy closely, he fell back, and formed his line behind a deep ditch, that ran at right angles from the river. To present a check, and keep up a show of resistance, detachments of light troops were occasionally kept in front of the line, assailing and harassing the enemy's advanced posts, whenever an opportunity was offered of acting to advantage. Every moment that could be gained, and every delay that could be extended to the enemy's attempts, to reach the the city, was of the utmost importance. The works were rapidly progressing, and hourly increasing in strength. The militia of the state were every day arriving, and every day the prospect of successful opposition was brightening. The enemy still remained at his first encampment. To be in readiness to repel an assault when attempted, the most active exertions were made on the 24th and 25th. The canal, covering the front of our line, was deepened and widened, and a strong mud wall formed of the earth, that had been originally thrown out. To prevent any approach until his system of defence should be in a state of forward- ness, Jackson ordered the levee to be cut, about one hun- dred yards below. The river being very high, a broad stream of water passed rapidly through the plain, of the depth of thirty or forty inches, which prevented any ap- proach of troops on foot. Embrasures were formed, and cwo pieces of artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Spotts, early on the morning of the 24th, were placed in a position to rake the road leading up the levee. General Morgan, who, at the English turn, commanded the fort on the east bank of the river, Avas instructed to pro ceed as n«ar the enemy's camp as prudence and safety would permit, and by destroying the levees, to let in the waters of 234 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the Mississippi between them. The execution of this order, and a similar one, previously made, below the line of de- fence, had entirely insulated the enemy, and prevented hia march against either place. On the 26th, however, the commanding general, fearing for the situation of Morgan, who, from the British occupying the intermediate ground, was entirely detached from his camp, directed him to aban- don his encampment, carry oft* what cannon might be wanted, and throw the remainder into the river, where they could be again recovered, when the waters rece'ded ; to retire to the other side of the river, and, after leaving an adequate force, for the protection of Fort Leon, to take a position on the right bank, nearly opposite to his line, and have it fortified. As yet the enemy knew nothing of the position of Jackson. What was his situation — what was intended — whether offen- sive or defensive operations would be pursued, were circum- stances on which they possessed no correct knowledge ; still, their exertions, to have all things prepared, to urge their designs, whenever the moment for action should arrive, were unremitting. They had been constantly engaged, since their landing, in procuring from their shipping, every thing ne- cessary to ulterior operations. A complete command on the lakes, and possession of a point on the margin, presented an uninterrupted egress, and afforded the opportunity of con- veying what was wanted, in perfect safety to their camp. The height of the Mississippi, and the discharge of water, through the openings made in the levee, had given an in- creased depth to the canal, from which they had first de- barked — enable! them to advance their boats much further, in the direction of their encampment, and to bring up, with greater convenience, their artillery, bombs, and munitions. ANDREW JACKSON. 235 Thus engaged, during the first three days after their arrival , early on the morning of the 27th, a battery was discovered on the bank of the river, which had been thrown up during the preceding night, and on which were mounted several pieces of heavy ordnance ; from it a destructive fire was opened on the Caroline schooner, lying under the opposite shore. A well grounded apprehension, of her commander, that she could be no longer defended, — the flames bursting out in different parts, and fast increasing, induced a fear, lest the magazine should soon be reached, and every thing destroyed. One of his crew being killed, and six wounded, and there being not the glimmering of hope that she could be preserved, orders were given to abandon her. The crew reached the shore, and in a short time afterwards she blew up. Although thus unexpectedly deprived of so material a dependence, for successful defence, an opportunity was soon presented, of using her brave crew to advantage. Gathering confidence, from what had been just effected, the enemy left their encampment, and moved in the direction of our line. Their numbers had been increased, and Major- General Sir Edward Packenham now commanded in person. Early on the 28th, his columns commenced their advance to storm the works. At the distance of half a mile, their heavy artillery opened, and quantities of bombs, balls, and congreve rockets, were discharged. At the moment that the British, in different columns, were moving up, in all the pomp and parade of battle, the batteries opened, and halted their advance. In addition to the two mounted on tho works, on the 24th, three other heavy pieces of cannon, obtained from the navy department, had been formed along the line; these opening on the enemy, checked their pro- 23(3 L.IVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. gress, and disclosed to them the hazard of the project they were on. From the river the greatest injury was done. Lieutenant Thompson, who commanded the Louisiana sloop, which lay nearly opposite the line of defence, no sooner discovered the columns approaching, than warping her around, he brought her starboard guns to bear, and forced them to re- treat ; but from their heavy artillery, the enemy maintained the conflict with great spirit, constantly discharging their bombs and rockets, for seven hours, when, unable to make a breach, or silence the sloop, they abandoned a contest, where few advantages seemed to be presented. The loss was se- vere. While this advance was. made, a column of the enemy was threatening an attack on our extreme left ; to frustrate the attempt, Coifee was ordered, with his riflemen, to hasten through the woods, and check their approach. The enemy, although greatly superior to him in numbers, no sooner dis- covered his movement, than they retired, and abandoned the attack they had previously meditated. The British were encamped two miles below the Ameri- can army, on a perfect plain, and in full view. Although foiled in their attempt to carry our works by the force of their batteries, on the 28th, they yet resolved upon another attack, and one which they believed would be more success- ful. The interim between the 28th of December and 1st of January was spent in preparing to execute their designs. Their boats had been despatched to the shipping, and an additional supply of heavy cannon landed through Bayou Bicnvenu, whence they had first debarked. During the night of the 31st, they were busily engaged. An impenetrable fog, next morning, which was not dispelled until nine o'clock, by concealing their purpose, aided them ANDREW JACKSON. 237 in the plans they were projecting, and gave time for the com- pletion of their works. This having disappeared, several heavy batteries, at the distance of six hundred yards, mounting eighteen and twenty-four pound carronades, were presented to view. No sooner was it sufficiently clear to distinguish objects at a distance, than these were opened, and a tremen- dous burst of artillery commenced, accompanied with con- greve rockets, that filled the air in all directions. Our troops protected by a defence, which, from their constant labors and exertions, they believed to be impregnable, unmoved and un- disturbed, maintained their ground, and, by their skilful management, in the end, succeeded in dismounting and silencing the guns of the enemy. On the 4th of January, 1815, the long-expected reinforce- ment from Kentucky, amounting to twenty-two hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major-General Thomas, arrived at head-quarters ; but so ill provided with arms, as to be incapable of rendering any considerable service. The alacrity with which the citizens of this state had proceeded to the frontiers, and aided in the north-western campaigns, added to disasters which ill-timed polioy or misfortune had produced, had created such a drain, that arms were not to be procured. No alternative was presented, but to place them at his entrenchment in the rear ; and by the show that they might make, add to his appearance and numbers, without at all increasing his strength. Informa- tion was now received that Major-General Lambert had joined the British commander-in-chief, with a considerable reinforcement. It had been heretofore announced in the American camp, that additional forces were expected, and something decisive might be looked for, as soon as they should arrive. This circumstance, in connection with ethers. 238 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. no less favoring the idea, led to the conclusion that a few more days would, in all probability, bring on the struggle, which would decide the fate of the city. For eight days had the two armies lain upon the same field, and in view of each other, without any thing decisive being on either side effected. Twice, since their landing, had the British columns essayed to effect by storm the exe- cution of their plans, and twice had failed — been compelled to relinquish the attempt, and retire from the contest. The 8th of January at length arrived. The day dawned ; and the signals, intended to produce concert in the enemy's movements, Avere descried. On the left, near the swamp, a sky-rocket was perceived rising in the air ; and presently another ascended from the right, near the river. They announced to each other, that all was prepared and ready, to proceed and carry by storm, a defence which had twice- foiled their utmost efforts. Instantly the charge was made, and with such rapidity, that our soldiers, at the out-posts, with difficulty fled in. The British batteries, which had been demolished on the 1st of the month, had been re-established during the pre- ceding night ; and heavy pieces of cannon mounted, to aid in their intended operation. These now opened, and showers of bombs and balls were poured upon our line ; while the air was lighted with their congreve rockets. The two divi- sions, commanded by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and supported by Generals Keane and Gibbs, pressed for- ward ; the right against the centre of General Carroll's com- mand, — the left against our redoubt on the levee. A thick fog, that obscured the morning, enabled them to approach within a short distance of our intrenchment, before they were discovered. They were now perceived advancing, with ANDREW JACKSON. 239 firm, quick, and steady pace, in column, with a front of sixty or seventy d<;ep. Our troops who for some time had been in readiness, and waiting their appearance, gave three cheers, and instantly the whole line was lighted with the blaze of their fire. A burst of artillery and small arms, pcuring with destructive aim among them, mowed down their front, and arrested their advance. In the musketry, there was not a moment's intermission ; as one party discharged their pieces, another succeeded ; alternately loading and appearing, no pause could be perceived, — it was one 3ontinued volley. The columns already perceived their dangerous and exposed sit- uation. Notwithstanding the severity of our fire, which few troops, could for a moment have withstood, some of those brave men pressed on, and succeeded in gaining the ditch, in front of our works, where they remained during the action, and were afterwards made prisoners. The horror before them was too great to be withstood ; and already were the British troops seen wavering in their determination, and re- ceding from the conflict. At this moment, Sir Edward Packenham, hastening to the front, endeavored to encourage and inspire them with renewed zeal. His example was of short continuance : he soon fell, mortally wounded, in the arms of his aid-de-camp, not far from our line. Generals Gibbs and Keane also fell, and were borne from the field, dangerously wounded. At this moment, General Lambert, who was advancing at a small distance in the rear, with the reserve, met the columns precipitately retreating, and in great confusion. His efforts to stop them were unavailing, — they continued retreating, until they reached a ditch, at the distance of four hundred yards, Avhere a momentary safety being found, they were rallied, and halted. The field before them, over which they had advanced, was 240 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. strewed ,vith the dead and dying. Danger hovered still around , yet, urged and encouraged by their officers, who feared their own disgrace involved in the failure, they again moved to the charge They were already near enough to deploy, and were endeavoring to do so ; but the same con- stant and unremitted resistance, tnat caused their first retreat, continued yet unabated. The batteries had never ceased their firing ; their constant discharges of grape and canister, and the fatal aim of the musketry, mowed down the front of the columns, as fast as they could be formed. Satisfied nothing could be done, and that certain destruction awaited all further attempts, they forsook the contest and the field in disorder, leaving it almost entirely covered with the dead and wounded. It was in vain their officers endeavored to animate them to further resistance, and equally vain to at- tempt coercion. The panic produced from the dreadful re- pulse they had experienced ; the plain, on which they had acted, being covered with innumerable bodies of their country men ; while, with their most zealous exertions, they had been unable to obtain the slightest advantage, were circumstances well calculated to make even the most submissive soldier oppose the authority that would have controlled him. The light companies of fusileers ; the 43d and 93d regi- ments, and one hundred men from the West India regiment, led on by Colonel Rennie, were ordered to proceed, undei cover of some chimneys, standing in the field, until having cleared them, to oblique to the river, and advance, protected by the levee, against our redoubt on the right. This work having been but lately commenced, was in an unfinished state. It was not until the 4th, that General Jackson, much against his own opinion, had yielded to the suggestions of others, and permitted its projection ; and, considering ANDREW JACKSON. 241 the plan on which it had been sketched, had not yet received that strength necessary to its safe defence. The detachment, ordered against this place, formed the left of General Keane'a command. Ronnie executed his orders with great bravery, and, urging forward, arrived at the ditch. His advance waa greatly annoyed by Commodore Patterson's battery on the left bank, and the cannon mounted on the redoubt ; but, reaching" our works, and passing the ditch, Rennie, sword in hand, leaped on the wall, and, calling to his troops, bade them follow ; he had scarcely spoken, when he fell, by the fatal aim of our riflemen. Pressed by the impetuosity of superior numbers, who were mounting' the wall, and entering at the embrasures, our troops had retired to the line, in rear of the redoubt. A momentary pause ensued, but only to be interrupted, with increased horrors. Captain Real, with the city riflemen, cool and self-possessed, perceiving the enemy in his front, opened upon them, and at every discharge brought the object to the ground. To advance, or main- tain the point gained, was equally impracticable for the enemy : to retreat or surrender was the only alternative ; for they already perceived the division on the right thrown into confusion, and hastily leaving the field. General Jackson, being informed of the success of the enemy on the right, and of their being in possession of the redoubt, pressed forward a reinforcement, to regain it. Pre- viously to its arrival, they had abandoned the attempt, and were retiring. They were severely galled by such of our guns as could be brought to bear. The levee afforded them considerable protection ; yet, by Commodore Patterson's re- doubt, on the right bank, they suffered greatly. Enfiladed by this, on their advance, they had been greatly annoyed, and n^w, in their retreat, were no less severely assailed. 242 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Numbers found a grave in the ditch, before our line ; and of those who gained the redoubt, no one, it is believed, es- caped ; — they were shot down, as fast as they entered. The route, along which they had advanced and retired, was strewed with bodies. Affrighted at the carnage, they moved from the scene, hastily and in confusion. Our batteries were still con- tinuing the slaughter, and cutting them down at every step : safety seemed only to be attainable, when they should have retired without the range of our shot ; which, to troops galled as severely as they were, was too remote a relief. Pressed by this consideration, they fled to the ditch, whither the right division had retreated ; and there remained, until night permitted them to retire. The efforts of the enemy to carry the line of defence on the left, were seconded by an attack on the right bank, with eight hundred chosen troops, under the command of Colonel Thornton. Owing to the difficulty of passing tht boats from the canal to the river, and the strong current of the Mississippi, all the troops destined for this service were not crossed, nor the opposite shore reached for some hours after the expected moment of attack. By the time he had effected a landing, the day had dawned, and the Bashes of the gun announced the battle begun. Supported by the three gun-boats, he hastened forward, with his com- mand, in the direction of Morgan's entrenchment. Colonel Thornton having reached an orange grove, about seven hundred yards distant, halted ; and, examining Mor- gan's line, found it to " consist of a formidable redoubt on the river," with its weakest and most vulnerable point to- wards the swamp. He directly advanced to the attack, in two divisions, against the extreme right and centre of the line; and, having deployed, charged the entrenchment, ANDREW JACKSON. 243 defended by about fifteen hundred men. A severe discharge, from the field pieces mounted along our works, caused the right division to oblique, which, uniting with the left, pressed forward to the point occupied by the Kentucky troops. Per- ceiving themselves thus exposed, and having not yet re- sovered from the emotions produced by their first retreat, they began to give way, and very soon entirely abandoned their position. The Louisiana militia gave a few fires, and followed the example. Through the exertions of the officers, a momentary halt was effected ; but a burst of congreve rockets, falling thickly, and firing the sugar-cane, and other combustibles around, again excited their fears, and they moved hastily away ; nor could they be rallied, until, at the distance of two miles, having reached a saw-mill race, they were formed, and placed in an attitude of defence. Commodore Patterson, perceiving the right flank about to be turned, had ceased his destructive fire against the re- treating columns on the other shore, and turned his guns to enfilade the enemy next the swamp ; but, at the moment when he expected to witness a firm resistance, and was in a situation to co-operate, he beheld those, without whose aid all his efforts were unavailing, suddenly thrown into confu- Bion, and forsaking their posts. Discovering he could no longer maintain his ground, he spiked his guns, destroyed his ammunition, and retired from a post, where he had rendered the most important services. The events of this day afford abundant evidence of the liberality of the American soldiers, and show a striking dif- ference in the troops of the two nations. The gallantry of the British soldiers, and no people could have displayed greater, had brought many of them even to our ramparts, where, shot down by our soldiers, they were lying badly 2U LIVES OF THE PRESIDENT*. wc untied. "When the firing had ceased, and the columns had retired, the troops, with generous benevolence, advanced over their lines, to assist and bring in the wounded, which, lay under and near the walls, when, strange to tell, the enemy, from the ditch they occupied, opened a fire upon them, and, though at a considerable distance, succeeded in wounding several. A communication, shortly after, from Major-General Lambert, on whom, in consequence of the fall of Generals Packenham, Gibbs, and Keane, the command had devolved, acknowledges to have witnessed the kindness of our troops to his wounded. He solicits of General Jackson permission to send an unarmed party, to bury the dead, lying before his lines, and to bring off such of the wounded as were dan- gerous. Jackson consented that all lying at a greater dis- tance than three hundred yards, should be relieved and the dead buried : those nearer were, by his own men, to be de- livered over, to be interred by their own countrymen. This precaution was taken, that the enemy might not have an opportunity to inspect, or know any thing of his situation. General Lambert, desirous of administering to the relief of the wounded, and to be relieved from his apprehensions of attack, proposed, about noon, that hostilities should cease, until the same hour the next day. General Jackson, greatly in hopes of being able to secure an important advantage, by his apparent willingness to accede to the proposal, drew up an armistice, and forwarded it to General Lambert, with directions to be immediately returned, if approved. It con- tained a stipulation, that hostilities, on the left bank of the river, should be discontinued from its ratification, but not on the right ; and, in the interim, no reinforcements were to be sent across, by either party. This was a bold stroko ANDREW JACKSON. 245 at stratagem ; and, although it succeeded, even to the ex- tent desired, was yet attended with considerable hazard. Although the armistice contained a request that it should be immediately signed and returned, it was neglected to be acted upon, until the next day ; and Thornton and his com- mand, in the interim, under cover of the night, re-crossed, and the ground they occupied left to be peaceably possessed by the original holders. The opportunity thus afforded, of regaining a position, on which, in a great degree, depended the safety of those on the opposite shore, was accepted with an avidity its importance merited, and immediate measures taken to increase its strength, and prepare it against any future attack that might be made. This delay of the British commander was evidently designed, that, pending the nego- tiation, and before it were concluded, an opportunity might be had, either of throwing over reinforcements, or removing Colonel Thornton and his troops from a situation believed to be extremely perilous. Early next morning, General Lambert returned his acceptance of what had been proposed, with an apology for having failed to reply sooner ; he ex- cused the omission, by pleading a press of business, which had occasioned the communication to be ovei looked and neglected. Jackson was at no loss to attribute the delay to the correct motive : the apology, however, was as perfectly satisfactory to him, as any thing that could have been of- fered : beyond the objects intended to be effected, he felt unconcerned, and having secured this, rested perfectly satis- fied. It cannot, however, appear otherwise than extraordi- nary, that this neglect should have been ascribed by the British general to accident, or a press of business, when it must have been no doubt of greater importance, at that mo- ment, than any thing he could possibly have had before him. 2-46 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The conflict was ended, and each army .>ccupied its for- mer position. In appearance the enemy were visibly altered; menace was sunk into dejection, and offensive measures yielded for those which promised safety. The attitude so long preserved, was now abandoned ; and they were seen throwing up partial defences, to guard against expected at- tack. It had been already announced, upon good authority, that a considerable force had succeeded in passing the Ba- lize — made prisoners of a detachment there, and was pro- ceeding up the Mississippi, to co-operate with the land forces. It was intended to aid in the battle of the 8th ; but, failing to arrive the attack had been made without it. That the enemy, chagrined and mortified at the failure of an effort, into which the idea of disappointment had never entered, might again renew the attack, on the arrival of this force, was a probable event, and every preparation was now ordered to be made to be again in readiness to repel it. Of this formidable advance, no certain intelligence was received, until the night of the 11th, when a heavy can- nonading, supposed to be on Fort St. Philip, was distinctly heard. Jackson entertained no fears for the result. The ad- vantages of defence, which his precaution and vigilance had early extended to this passage, added to his entire confi- dence in the skill and bravery of the officer, to whom it had been entrusted, led him to believe there was nothing Lo be apprehended ; and that every thing which duty and bravery could achieve, would be done. Major Overton, who commanded at this place, hib officers and soldiers, distinguished themselves by their aciirky and vigilance. To arrest the enemy's passage up the r.ver, and from uniting with the forces below the city, was of great ANDREW JACKSON. 247 importance ; and to succeed in preventing it, as much as could be expected. This was accomplished. The failure of the squadron to ascend the river, perhaps determined General Lambert, in the course he immediately adopted. His situation before our line was truly unpleasant. Our batteries, after the 8th, were continually throwing balls and oombc into his camp ; and whenever a party of troops appeared in the field, they were greatly annoyed. Thus harassed, — perceiving that all assistance through this channel } id failed ; and constantly in apprehension lest an attack should be made upon him, he resolved on availing himself of the first favorable opportunity to depart and for- sake a contest, where every effort had met disappointment, and where an immense number of troops had found their graves. The precaution taken by the enemy, and the ground over which they were retreating, prevented pursuit, in suffi- cient numbers to secure any valuable result. The system of operations which Jackson had prescribed for himself, he believed was such as policy sanctioned, nor to be abandoned but for the advantages evidently certain, and which admitted not of question. To have pursued, on a route protected and defended by canals, redoubts, and entrenchments, would, at least, have been adventuring upon an uncertain issue, where success wa^ extremely problematical. Thus, in total disappointment, terminated an invasion from which much had been expected. Twenty-six days ago, flushed with the hope of certain victory, had this army erected its standard on the banks of the Mississippi. At that moment they would have treated with contempt an as- sertion thatin ten days they would, not enterthe city of New Orleans. How changed the portrait, from the expected reality! On the 20th, General Jackson, with his remaining 248 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. forces, commenced his march to New Orleans. The general glow excited, at beholding his entrance into the city, at the head of his victorious army, was manifested by all those feelings which patriotism and sympathy inspire. The win- dows and streets were crowded to view the man, who, by his vigilance, decision, and energy, had preserved the country from the fate to which it had been devoted. In March, several statements appeared in a New Orleans paper, which General Jackson thought were calculated to introduce discontent and insubordination among the troops. These statements were rumors of peace. They were true, but the general was not sure of that, or that they were not devices of the enemy, to procure a relaxation of his military system. There were other assertions made which were no- toriously false and pernicious. As the editor refused to retract, he was arrested. Judge Hall, wishing to vidicate the supremacy of the civil authority, issued a writ of habeas eorpus — General Jackson, instead of surrendering the edi- tor, arrested the judge also, and sent him into the interior, with these instructions : " I have thought proper to send you beyond the limits of my encampment, to prevent a re- petition of the improper conduct with which you have been charged. You will remain without the line of my sentinels, until the ratification of peace is regularly announced, or until the British have left the southern coast." The justi- fication of this extraordinary proceeding is to be found in the circumstances of General Jackson's position. Surrounded as he was by persons of doubtful fidelity to the country, and uncertain in regard to the movements of the enemy, it was necessary that the stringency of the martial law he had proclaimed should be maintained. The legislature and many officials had manifested a disposition to yield tbe ANDREW JACKSCN. 249 country to the enemy, without a struggle. To preserve Louisiana for the United States, it was necessary that their authority should be set at naught. On the loth of March, 1815, the news of peace was re- ceived from the general government. Judge Hall now re- turned to New Orleans, and summoning General Jackson to appear before him, became the judge in his own cause, and, refusing to hear the defence offered by the general, fined him a thousand dollars. The people of New Orleans were indignant, and made up the fine by voluntary subscrip- tion. But General Jackson paid it himself and refused to be remunerated. The general now returned to Nashville, Tennessee. His rapid and brilliant military career now came to a stand, though he held command of the southern division of the army. The legislatures of many of the states passed resolutions of approbation of his achievements, and the Congress of the United States, besides commendatory resolutions, directed a gold medal to be presented to him, commemorative of the battle of New Orleans. The Seminole Indians of Florida, showing their hostility, by committing hostilities on the frontiers, caused the general government to order General Gaines to procect the inhabi- tants of the south-western section of the Union. That officer erected three forts, and strove to establish peace with the Indians, but did not succeed. Early in 1818, the Se- mi noles fell in with a party of forty men, under Lieutenant Scott, at the mouth of Flint river, and massacred them all but six, who escaped by swimming. As soon as the news of this outrage reached General Jack- son, he raised two thousand five hundred men, and marched for the Mickasucky villages, which he reached on the 1st of April. The villages were deserted. General Jackson burned 250 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. them, and then hastened to St. Marks, a Spanish post, on the Apalachee Bay, in Florida. Two persons, who were traders with the Indians, namely, Arbuthnot, a Scotchman, and Ambrister, a British lieutenant of marines, were made prisoners near St. Marks, by General Jackson, and confined. Both were accused of exciting the Indians to hostility, and being tried and found guilty by a court-martial were sen- tenced to death. One was shot and the other hung by order of General Jackson. About the middle of May, General Jackson took posses- sion of Pensacola and Fort Basancas, notwithstanding the remonstrance of the governor, and captured and hung two Indian chiefs, under circumstances which he deemed justi- fiable. On the 2d of June, 1818, the general informed the secretary of war, that the Seminole war might be considered as closed. He now retired to Nashville, and shortly after resigned his commission in the army. In January, 1819, General Jackson visited Washington, while his conduct in the Seminole war was under discussion in Congress. His course was approved by a large majority of the members, and by the President and a majority of the cabinet, though the Spanish posts in Florida vrere restored. The resolutions of censure were rejected. The general now visited various cities and towns, and was recei ved with many marks of respect and admiration. " In June, 1821, the President appointed him governor of Florida, which office he accepted, and in August he tcok pos- session of the territory, according to the treaty of cession. The Spanish governor, Callava, having refused to give up certain public documents, deemed of importance, he was taken into custody, by order of Governor Jackson, and committed to prison- The papers being fonnd, under a search-warrant ANDREW JACKSON. 251 issued by Jackson, Callava, was immediately set at liberty. Jackson remained but a few months in Florida ; for, disliking the situation, and disapproving of the extent of power vested in him as governor, he resigned the office and again retired to Tennessee. President Monroe offered him the appoint- ment of minister to Mexico, which he declined in 1823. " In July, 1822, General Jackson was nominated by the legislature of Tennessee as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. This nomination was repeated by assem- blages of the people in several other states. In the autumn of 1823, he was elected by the legislature a senator from Tennessee, and took his seat in the senate of the United States in December, 1823. He voted for the protective tariff of 1824. The popularity of General Jackson with the people of the United States, was shown at the presidential election of 1824, when he received a greater number of elec- toral votes than either of his competitors, namely, ninety- nine. But Mr. Adams was chosen in the house of represen- tatives. After the election of Mr. Adams to the Presidency, the opposition to his administration was soon concentrated upon General Jackson as a candidate to succeed him. In October, 1825, he was again nominated by the legislature of Tennessee for President, on which occasion he resigned hia seat in the senate of the United States. During the canvass which resulted in his election to the Presidency in 1828, by a majority of more than two to one, of the electoral votes, over Mr. Adams, he remained in private life."* Before departing for Washington, in 1829, to take tho reins of government, the general was severely afflicted by tho death of his wife, a lady of rare accomplishments. His in- auguration took place on the 4th of March, 182'J. Wash- * Statesman's Manual. 252 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ington was thronged with the general's triumphant and ( rithu* siastic friends. The address was considered equal in point of style to those of several of his illustrious predecessors, while it was distinguished for its profession of republican principles. John C. Calhoun had been re-elected Vice President. The members of Mr. Adams's cabinet having resigned, President Jackson nominated the following gentlemen for heads of the respective departments, who were promptly confirmed by the senate : Martin Van Buren, of New York, Secretary of State ; Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury ; John H. Eaton, of Tennessee, Secretary of War ; John Branch, of North Carolina, Secre- tary of the Navy ; John McPherson Berrien, of Georgia, At- torney-General. It being determined to introduced the Post- master-General into the cabinet, the incumbent of that office, John McLean, was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court, and William T. Barry, of Kentucky, received the appointment of Postmaster-General. The great features of President Jackson's administra- tion — were the great number of removals from office, under the avowed doctrine that the President should reward hi3 friends and punish his enemies ; the veto of the charter of the national bank, and the removal of the deposites — the firm opposition to the schemes of the nullifiers, under the lead of John C. Cavnoun and Robert Y. Hayne — and the bold, decided tone held in the difficulties with France. Those are still matters for discussion, and a cool, impartial inves- tigation of their justice and expediency has yet to be made. We conceive that such an investigation would occupy too much space for our volume, and, perhaps, be foreign to our purpose. ANDREW JACKSON. 253 At a very early period of the administration, a coolness between the Vice President, Mr. Calhoun, and the Secretary of State, Mr. Van Buren, was manifested. This grew out of their rival pretentions to the succession to the Presidency. Finally, Mr. Calhoun was completely estranged from the administration, and his influence went to strengthen the opposition. Mr. Van Buren's political fortunes were thereby much advanced, and when President Jackson was persuaded :o accept a nomination for another term of office, Mr. Van Buren was nominated by the same party for the Vice Presi- dency. Late in the summer of 1831, the cabinet of Presi- dent Jackson was completely re-organized, as follows : Ed- ward Livingston, of Louisiana, Secretary of State ; Louis M'Lane, Secretary of the Treasury ; Lewis Cass, of Ohio, Secretary of War; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, Secretary of the Navy ; Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, Attorney-General. This cabinet was not only superior to that which preceded it, in point of administrative talents, but might fairly compare with most of those of previous ad- ministrations. Foreign and domestic affairs were managed by it with consummate ability. In the fall of 1832, parties girded up their loins and lifted their banners for another presidential contest. The anti-masonic convention, which met in September, nomi- nated William Wirt, of Maryland, for President, and Amos Ellmaker, of Pennsylvania, for Vice President. The great majority of the opposition supported Henry Clay, of Ken- tucky, for President, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, was placed on the same ticket, as a candidate for the Vice Presidency. Mr. Calhoun and his South Carolina friends supported John Floyd and Henry Lee. In the electoral college, the votes for President stood as follows: Andrew 254 LI7ES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Jackson, two hundred and nineteen ; Henry Clay, forty- uine ; John Floyd, eleven ; William Wirt, seven. For Vice President — Martin Van Buren, one hundred and eighty- nine ; John Sergeant, forty-nine ; William Wilkins, thirty ; Henry Lee, eleven ; Amos Ellmaker, seven. It was anticipated that the second term of President Jack- son would pass away peaceably. But the removal of the de- posites, and the determined hostility evinced by the admin- istration, caused the bank directors to adopt measures of re- trenchment, which gave rise to much commercial distress, and ultimately strengthened the opposition in Congress. In June, 1834, Mr. M'Lane, who had succeeded Mr. Livingston, having resigned, John Forsyth, of Georgia, was appointed Secretary of State ; Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, Sec- retary of the Navy, in place of Levi Woodbury, appointed Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Taney had been nominated to the post of Secretary of the Treasury to effect the removal of the deposits. The senate, however, refuood to confirm the nomination. The election in the fall of 1836, resulted in the election of Martin Van Buren to the Presidency and Colonel Richard M. Johnson to the Vice Presidency, the latter being chosen by the senate. These gentlemen were warm supporters of the administration of General Jackson. General Jackson now issued a farewell address to his countrymen, embodying his political principles, and after witnessing the inauguration of his successor, retired to the Hermitage, in Tennessee, his favorite residence, where he passed the remainder of his days. He was a member of the presbyterian church, and religious faith appears to havo cheered the latter period of his life. He retained his men- tal faculties unimpaired, up to the hour of his decease, which occurred on the 8th of June, 1845. His countrymeu ANDREW JACKSON. 255 throughout the United States, joined in tokens of respect to his memory. He left no relatives, and his estate was be- queathed to members of the Donnelson family, the relations of Mrs. Jackson. * " Jackson's face and figure were so remarkable that no- thing could be an easier task to an artist than to get a like- ness of him. His face confirmed every dictum, of the physi- ognomist. It was long and narrow, and prominent below. A mouth and chin more expressive of stern decision can scarce be imagined ; the nose high and long, and a little drooping, indicating the strength of character (Bonaparte would hardly employ a man in any important trust who had not a large nose,) with a mixture of shrewdness. This quality was also strongly marked in the large folds of skin about the eyes, (often called crow's feet ;) his cheeks were hollow, the eye itself was the eye of an eagle — cold, grey, piercing in the highest degree, and when contracted by rage, darting like fire ; the brow was fretful, serious, and lowering. His figure was tall and commanding, but thin and sinewy ; his hair of iron gray, was stiff and unyielding, very abundant, and stood erect upon his head. He looked well when standing, still better when on horseback, and his appearance was much improved by a splendid uniform. When sitting, he usually crossed one knee over the other. His hands were lonr<; and bony ; toward the close of life he had a little stoop in the back, when seated, "f The chief feature in General Jackson's character was the inflexibility of his will. When he resolved, there was no possibility of swerving or bending his resolution. His pas- sions were powerful — so that his friendship was to be courted and his hatred to be feared. His mind was naturally strong * Statesman's Manual. f A. J. Stansbviry. -lo6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and keen, and particularly fitted for originating and govern ing military movements. Military men of reputation have borne testimony to the talents displayed by him at the battle of New Orleans, and in the Creek war, and his services certainly entitle him to the gratitude of every patriotic citi- zen. In regard to the wisdom of his statesmanship, widely different opinions are entertained. Perhaps, however, it will be agreed, that though he was occasionally arbitrary, he, in general, managed the foreign and domestic relations of the country with honesty, energy, determination, and a considerable share of judgment. W'-* Wj *'WP MARTIN VAN BUREN. The Presidents of the United States, from Washington to Jackson, were the children of the revolution. They had heard the trump of liberty and witnessed the struggles of the infant Hercules for freedom and independence. So linked with glorious memories, they could not but be patriotic, and whether they acted wisely or weakly, the people never doubted that their hearts were devoted to their country, and its welfare. But now, a new generation was to attempt to occupy the seat of the mighty men of the past. Younger hands were to be tried at the helm ; and grave fears and ap- prehensions arose that they would be unequal to the task of government. Martin Van Buren was the first of the new school. The ancestors of Mr. Van Buren were among the early emigrants from Holland to New York. The father of the President, Abraham Van Buren, was a resident of the old town of Kinderhook, Columbia county, on the east bank of the Hudson, a farmer of moderate circumstances, and an intelligent and upright man. He married a Miss Hoes, a distant relative, distinguished for amiability, intelligence and exemplary piety. Martin Van Buren, the eldest son of these parents, was born at Kinderhook, December 5th, 1782. 257 258 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. After acquiring the rudiments of an English education, Martin became a student in a Kinderhook academy. Here he made rapid progress in English literature and gained seme knowledge of Latin. He is said to have displayed extraor- dinary quickness of observation upon character and events, and to have possessed a strong passion for composition and ex- tempore speaking. In 1796, at the age of fourteen, Martin commenced the study of the law in the office Francis Sylvester, Esq., of Kinderhook. At that time, young men, who had not enjoyed the advantages of a collegiate education, were compelled to pass seven years in preparatory studies, before they could be admitted to practise. But the management of cases before justices of the peace frequently devolved on the students, and on these occasions, Martin Van Buren displayed extraordinary penetration and readiness of speech. While pursuing his legal studies he was very attentive to political events and the relative positions of parties, and on all occasions evinced an attachment for the republican or Jefferson party. The last year of Mr. Van Buren's prepa ratory study was passed in the city of New York, in the office of Mr. William P. Van Ness, and under his direction. Mr. Van Ness was a distinguished member of the bar and a leader of the democratic party. He was intimate with Colonel Burr, and introduced Mr. Van Buren to the notice of that able politician. The younger lawyer thus enjoyed every advantage for studying law and politics, and he was quick and skilful in availing himself of his opportunities. In November, 1803, in the thirty-first year of his age, Mr. Van Buren was admitted as an attorney at law, to the bar of the supreme court in the state of New York, and immediately re- turned to his native village to practise his profession, in partnership, with his half-brother, the Honorable James I. MARTIN VAN BUREN. 259 Van Allen. The bar of Columbia county, at that time em- braced some of the finest talent of any in New York, and Mr. Van Buren had to contend with it, on his upward way. Parties were in a very excited state at that period. The republicans were struggling hard to gain the ascendancy throughout the country. Although they had a clear majority in the state of New York, they succumbed to the federalists in many counties. In Columbia, the reins were in the hands of the wealthy land-holders, who were generally federalists and op- posed to the extension of popular rights. Mr. Van Buren's early display of energy and ability attracted their attention, and no ordinary pains were taken to detach him from the republicans. His partner and many of his nearest relation? and friends were members of the federal party, and as they considered that his political preferences would interfere with his prosperity, they strove to win him to their views. But Mr. Van Buren remained firm in the faith which his father had held in the revolution, and which he had on the onset espoused. Thus connected with the democratic party, he naturally became the vindicator not only of their political faith, but of their legal rights. The conflicts in which he engaged, rapidly invigorated and enlarged his natural powers. In 1807, Mr. Van Buren was admitted as a counsellor in the supreme court, where he was brought into more immediate collision with the most distinguished members of the legal professions. In 1808, he was appointed surrogate of Columbia county, soon after which he removed to the city of Hudson, where he resided during seven years, and maintained a high rank in his profession. His practice became extensive and lucrative. His career as a lawyer occupies a period of twenty- five years, and was closed in 1828. Throughout, Mr. Van 260 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Buren held an enviable reputation, for skill, learning, and integrity.* Mr. Van Buren was married in 1806, to Miss Hannah Hoes, to whom, he had, at an early age evinced an ardent attachment. This amiable lady died of consumption, in 1818, leaving her husband four sons. Mr. Van Buren has since remained a widower. So much for the private and professional life of the subject of this memoir. Mr. Van Buren began his career as a politician at the age of eighteen years, being then deputed by the republi- cans of his native town to attend a convention of delegates to nominate a candidate for the legislature. His talents were exercised on that occasion in preparing an address to die electors of the district in which he resided. Mr. Jeffer- von's administration received his constant support. In the state elections, Mr. Van Buren sacrificed personal friend- ship to give his earnest and unwavering support to the regularly nominated candidates of Ins party, caring nothing for men, but every thing for measures. In 1812, Mr. Van Buren was, for the first time, a candi- date for an elective office, having been nominated a senator from the counties then comprising the middle district of the state. Edward L. Livingston, a man of wealthy connections, and high in the favor of the federal party, was his opponent. The struggle was close and violent. Mr. Van Buren ob- tained a majority of about two hundred votes, in an aggre- gate of twenty thousand, and was thus at the age of thirty, placed in the highest branch of the legislature. From the commencement of his legislative career, Mr. Van Buren gave to all the war measures of Mr. Madison's administra- tion a strenuous and efficient support. * Statesman's Manual. MARTIN VAN BUREN. 261 In 1815, Mr. Van Buren was appointed attorney-general of the state of New York, and also a regent of the univer- sity. In the spring of the next year, he was re-elected to the state senate for the term of four years. As a senator; he advocated with zeal and ability the great project of in- ternal improvements contemplated by De Witt Clinton. During the war, Governor Tompkins and Mr. Van Buren were considered the leaders of the democratic party in the state of New York. In 1818, Mr. Van Buren, having determined to oppose the administration of De Witt Clinton, commenced the or- ganization of that portion of the democratic party who were dissatisfied with Clinton's election. This body is said to have swayed the destinies of New York for about twenty, five years. The "Albany Regency," of which Mr. Van Buren was regarded as the head, was a constant butt for vituperation among the friends of Clinton. The difficulties in the democratic party, between the respective friends of Mr. Van Buren and Governor Clinton, soon caused an open rupture, the great body of the democrats siding with Mr. Van Buren. The council of appointment, being devoted to the views of the governor, in July, 1819, removed Mr. Van Buren from the office of attorney-general. This made the opposition more violent. However, Clinton was re-elected governor, in spite of the most strenuous efforts of his oppo- nents. An attempt at reconciliation was made — the office of attorney-general being again offered to Mr. Van Buren. but he declined it. In February, 1821, he was elected by the legislature of Ne^ York, a member of the United States senate, in place of Nathan Sandford, a democrat, whose term expired in March, S 821 In August of the same year, he took a seat in the 2f>2 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. convention to revise the constitution of the state of New York. In this convention, Mr. Van Buren proposed and advocated such amendments as he thought would secure just privileges to citizens of all grades and colors, while they would not prevent the adoption of the constitution hy the people. Kis course was satisfactory to men of all parties. and highly honorable to his talents as a statesman. Mr. Van Buren took his seat in the senate of the United States, in December, 1821, and soon became distinguished as an active and influential legislator. He advocated with zeal and force of reason, the abolition of imprisonment for debt on actions in the United States' courts, amendments to the judiciary system, a bankrupt law — to include corpo- rations as well as persons, and the investment of the public lands in the states in which they were situated, on some just iii id equitable terms. When Mr. Crawford became a can- didate for the succession to President Monroe, Mr. Van Buren labored to effect his election, but was unsuccessful. He opposed the administration of Mr. Adams, and lent all his influence to strengthen the party which sought to "aise General Jackson to the Presidency. In February, 1827, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to the United States senate, by the legislature of his native state. But circumstances soon caused his resignation. Governor Clinton died in February, 1828, and Mr. Van Buren was chosen to succeed him in the gubernatorial office. Entering upon his duties on the 1st of January, 1828, Mr. Van Bu- ren first devoted himself to financial matters. The famo'^s safety-fund system, combining the monied interest of the Btate, which he proposed to the legislature, was adopted ; but the experience of a few years proved that it could not equal public expectation. MARTIN VAN BUREN. 263 In forming his first cabinet, President Jackson offered tho post of Secretary of State to Mr. Van Buren. The general said he made the offer as a tribute to acknowledged talents and public services, and in accordance with the wishes of the republican party throughout the Union. On the 12th of March, 1829, Mr. Van Buren resigned the office of Governor of the state of New York, and soon afterwards entered upon the duties of his new position in the general government. Mr. Van Buren's management of foreign relations did not give general satisfaction. In particular, his instructions to Mr. M'Lane, minister to England, concerning the open- ing of the West Indian ports to American vessels, were severely censured. Though the treaty upon this subject was ultimately beneficial to the United States. Yet the principle contended for by Great Britain prevailed, and it was contended that the honor of the country had been sac- rificed. On the 7th of April, 1831, Mr. Van Buren re- signed the office of Secretary of State, assigning as a reason, that circumstances beyond his control had presented him before the public as a candidate for the succession to the Presidency, and that the injurious effects necessarily result- ing from a cabinet minister's holding that relation to the country, had left him only the alternative of retiring from the administration, or of submitting to a self-disfranchise ment, hardly reconcileable with propriety and self-respect. Soon after, General Jackson's cabinet was entirely changed Mr. Van Buren was now appointed by the President, minister to the Court of St. James. On his arrival in Lon- don, in September, 1831, he was received with distinguished favor. But his diplomatic career was destined to be very short. Soon after the meeting of Congress, in December 264 LIVES OP THE PRESIDENTS. the President submitted the nomination of Mr. Van Burei: to the senate. He was rejected by that body, it was said, in consequence of their disapproval of the instructions he had, while Secretary of State, given to Mr. M'Lane, in refe- rence to the West India trade. The democratic party con- demned this rejection as an act of political persecution. The President assumed the entire responsibility of the in- structions condemned by the senate, declared they were " the result of his own deliberate investigation and reflection, and still appeared to him to be entirely proper and consonant to his public duty." On the 22d of May, 1832, Mr. Van Buren was nomi- nated as a candidate for the Vice Presidency, upon the same ticket with General Jackson. The result was a tri- umphant election of both to the respective offices to which they were nominated. Mr. Van Buren received one hun- dred and eighty-nine electoral votes, to ninety-seven for all other candidates for the Vice Presidency. He returned from England to enjoy his triumph over his political oppo- nents. On the 4th of March, 1833, he was inaugurated Vice President. He presided over the senate for four years, giving general satisfaction.* On the 20th of May, 1835, the democratic convention met at Baltimore, to nominate candidates for the two highest offices in the gifts of the people. The result had been anti- cipated. Mr. Van Buren was unanimously nominated as the candidate of the party for President, and Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received the nomination for Vice President. The result of the vote by the electoral college was one hundred and seventy for Mr. Van Buren, including Michigan, (3) informal, and one hundred and twenty-four * Statesman's Manual. MARTIN VAJN BUREN. 265 for all other candidates. Colonel Johnson did not receive a majority of the electoral vote. But lie was elected by the senate, according to the provisions of the constitution. Mr. Van Buren was inaugurated as President of the United States, on the 4th of March 1837. From the assurance of the inaugural address, the people expected that the policy of the government would remain unchanged The new President selected for his cabinet, John Forsyth, of Georgia, for Secretary of State ; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, Secretary of the Treasury ; Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, Secretary of War ; Mahlon Dickerson of New Jersey, Secretary of the Navy ; Amos Kendall, of Ken- tucky, Postmaster-General ; and Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, Attorney-General. All of these gentlemen, except Mr. Poinsett, had been appointed by General Jackson to the respective offices named, and they were continued by Mr. Van Buren. The new administration commenced its career in cloudy times. Early in May, the commercial pressure was made palpable, by all the banks in New York suspending specie payments. The banks of Boston, Providence, Hartford, Albany, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and in many other towns followed the same course. On the 16th of May, the legislature of New York passed an act authorizing the sus- pension of specie payments by the banks of that state for .me year. During the preceding two months, unparalleled embarrassments were experienced among the mercantile classes, and in the large cities business was at a stand. Pe- titions poured in, to the President, praying him to rescind the specie circular issued by General Jackson in 1836, which re- quired all payments for the public lands to be made in gold and silver, to defer commencing suits on unpaid bonds, and 266 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. to call an extra session of Congress. The President for some time, declined to act on the petitions ; but the exigency in which the financial affairs of the government were placed, finally induced him to convene Congress upon the first Monday in September. The extra session lasted forty-three days. The democrats were in a majority in both houses ; but a small portion of the party did not coincide with the President in his views of financial affairs, and the representatives of this portion, voting with the whigs, defeated the independent treasury scheme, the favorite financial measure of the administration. This measure was proposed at the extra session, and then again at the first regular session, and each time rejected. In June, 1838, Mahlon Dickerson resigned the office of Secretary of the Navy, and James K. Paulding, of New York, was appointed in his place. It was now evident that the popularity of the administration was on the decline. At the state election the opposition gained several triumphs. New York fell into their hands. The great body of the business community was arrayed against the government. In the meantime, the Seminole War, in Florida, which had con- tinued during General Jackson's administration was drawing considerable sums from the treasury and causing the death of many valuable lives. To add to the sources of discontent, a difficulty occurred with Great Britain concerning the north-eastern boundary of the United States, which threatened war. In the summer of 1839, President Van Buren visited the state of New York for the first time since his election.* He was received with every mark of respect, by the inhabitants of the various places through which he passed upon his route. * Statesman's Manual. MARTIN VAN BUREN. 267 The opposition was unquestionably in a majority in the country. It assumed the name of the whig party, and held a national convention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of December, 1839, for the purpose of nominating can- didates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the United States. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, was the favorite of a plurality of the delegates to the convention, but General Wil- liam Henry Harrison, of Ohio, was finally adopted as the stronger candidate. John Tyler, of Virginia, was unanimously nominated for the Vice Presidency. These candidates re- ceived the support of the entire opposition. The democratic convention met on the 5th of May, 1840, and unanimously nominated Mr. Van Buren for re-election. No candidate for the Vice Presidency was put forward ; it was resolved to leave each state to make its own nomination. Richard M. Johnson was understood to be the favorite. The result of the election was the success of the whig candidates, Har rison and Tyler, by a large majority. The electoral votes stood as follows : — Harrison, two hundred and thirty-four ; Van Buren, sixty ; for Vice President, Tyler, two hundred and thirty-four ; R. M. Johnson, forty-eight, L. W. Tazewell, eleven ; and James K. Polk, one. Some changes had taken place in President Van Buren 's cabinet, in addition to those already mentioned. In 1838, Benjamin F. Butler resigned, as Attorney-General, and Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, was appointed to fill his place. In 1839, Mr. Grundy resigned, and Henry D. Gilpin, of Pennsylvania, received the appointment to the office. Amos Kendall having resigned the office of Postmaster-General, John M. Niles, of Connecticut, was appointed in his place on the 25th of May, 1840. Of the character of Mr. Van Buren's administration it is 268 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. difficult at this period to make an impartial judgment. His friends contend that he completed the great work commenced by General Jackson, namely, the separation of bank and state, and thereby benefited the real interests of the country. His opponents maintain that his policy was destructive to the business of the nation. After the 4th of March, 1841, Mr. Van Buren retired tc Kinderhool , where his fine estate of " Lindenwald" was situated. There he resided, surrounded by an admiring circle of friends, and conscious of possessing the confidence of a large political party. At the democratic convention of 1844, strenuous efforts were made to nominate Mr. Van Buren for another presidential term. But the rules of the convention required that the candidate should receive the vote of two-thirds of the delegates ; and Mr. Van Buren, in consequence of his being adverse to the annexation of Texas, which was then agitated, could not obtain such a vote. James K. Polk of Tennessee, received the nomination for President. Mr. Van Buren gave him a cordial support, and his triumph may be attributed to the influence of the ex-President, in New York. In 1848, Mr. Van Buren received the nomination for the Presidency, from the "free soil democrats," through a con- vention held at Buffalo, New York. General Cass was the regular candidate of the democratic party, but his nomina- tion was said to have been unfairly made, and, besides, a large number of democrats in the north were opposed to the extension of slavery, and in favor of the abolition of the slave trade in the district of Columbia, in which views, the body of the party would not acquiesce. Mr. Van Buren coincided with the "free soil democrats," and therefore accepted their nomination. This party did not succeed in procuring the MARTIN VAN BUREN. 269 electoral vote of any state, but it mustered over three Hun- dred thousand votes at the polls. General Taylor was the choice of the people. During the canvass, John Van Buren, the active and eloquent son of the ex-President, advocated from the rostrum, the claims of the Buffalo nominees. After that period the ex-President resided at Lindenwald, enjoying the conversation of his friends, and surrounded by all the comforts which wealth could purchase and a cheerful disposition delight in, until his death in July, 1862. In personal appearance, Mr. Van Buren was of about the middle size ; his form was erect, rather inclined to cor- pulence, and said to be very hardy. His hair and eyes were light, his features lively and expressive ; his eyes were quick, and indicated penetration and readiness of apprehension ; his forehead was broad and high, indicat- ing intellectual power. His friend and biographer, Pro- fessor Holland, thus speaks of his private character. " The private character of Mr. Van Buren is above all censure or suspicion. In the relations of father and son, of husband, brother, and friend, he has always displayed those excellencies of character and feeling which adorn human nature. Extending our view to the larger circle of his personal friends, rarely has any man won a stro hold upon the confidence and affection of those with whom he has been connected. The purity of his motives, his in- tegrity of his character, and the steadiness of his attach- ments, have always attained for him the warm affection of many, even among the ranks of his political opponents. " The ease and frankness of his manners, the felicitous powers of conversation, and the general amiableness of his feeling, render him the ornament of the social circle. Uniting in his character, firmness and forbearance ; habitual self- 270 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. respect and a delicate regard for the feelings of others ) neither the perplexities of legal practice, nor the cares of public life, nor the annoyances of party strife, have ever beon able to disturb the serenity of his temper, or to derange for a moment the equanimity of his deportment. He has with equal propriety mingled in the free intercourse ci private life, and sustained the dignity of official station." . *'■ > y WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, was born at Berkeley, Charles City county, Virginia. February 0, 1773. His ancestors settled in Vir- ginia, about 1640, and the family name was always among the most prominent in her history. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was a conspicuous patriot of the revolution. When a very young man, he honorably represented his native dis- trict in the house of burgesses for many years, and on the 14th of November, 1764, was one of those of its distinguished members chosen to prepare an address to the king, a me- morial to the lords, and a remonstrance to the house of commons, in opposition to the stamp act. He was a dele- gate from Virginia to the first Continental Congress, which assembled at Philadelphia, September 1st, 1774, when he had the gratification of seeing his brother-in-law, Peyton Randolph, placed in the presidential chair. At the Congress of the following year, 1775, after the death of Mr. Randolph, it was the wish of nearly all the southern members that Mr. Harrison should succeed him in the Presidency ; but the patriotic John Hancock, of Massachusetts, had likewise been nominated. Mr. Harrison, to avoid any sectional jealousy or unkindness of feeling between the northern and southern delegates at so momentous a crisis, with a noble self-denia 271 272 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and generosity, relinquished his own claims, and insisted on the election of Mr. Hancock, who accordingly had the honor of being unanimously chosen to that high office. Mr. Har- rison still, however, continued one of the most active and influential members of the Continental Congress. On the 10th of June, 1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house, he introduced the resolution which declared the independence of the colonies ; and on the ever memo- rable 4th of July, 1776, he reported the more formal Decla- ration of Independence, to which celebrated document his signature is attached. The legislature of Virginia returned Mr. Harrison four times as a delegate to Congress. On the expiration of his last term of congressional service, he was immediately elected to the house of burgesses from his own county, and was at once chosen speaker of that body — an office he held uninterruptedly until the year 1782, when he was elected Governor of Virginia, and became one of the most popular officers that ever filled the executive chair. This eminent patriot died in the year 1791. William Henry Harrison was left under the guardianship of Robert Morris, the distinguished financier. He entered Hampden Sidney College, and having graduated, he turned his attention to the study of medicine. But he was destined for another profession — the service of his country in the field. Before he had completed his medical studies, the barbarities of the Indians upon the western frontier so ex- cited his feelings that he resolved to give up his profession and join the army. Mr. Morris, his guardian, strove to dissuade him from his purpose, but his resolution was not to be shaken, and on communicating with General Washing- ton, that great man cordially approved of his determination.* * Statesman's Manual. WILLIAM IIENRY HARRISON. 273 Receiving from President Washington, the com mission of ensign in a regiment of artillery, Harrison, then nineteen years of age, joined his corps at Fort Washington, on the Ohio, in 1791. He soon found an opportunity to distin- guish himself. A reinforcement heing ordered by General St. Clair, to proceed to Fort Hamilton, Harrison was ap- pointed to command the escort. This duty was arduous, as the country swarmed with foes, yet it was performed with such skill and vigilance, as to gain for the young ensign the approbation of his general. In 1792, Harrison waa promoted to a lieutenancy, and in the following year he joined the new army under General Wayne, which was destined to close the Indian war. When, in October, 1793, General Wayne marched for- ward to the Miami, he sent a detachment to take possession of the ground on which General St. Clair had suffered a defeat. Harrison volunteered for the service, and was ac- cepted by the commander. The troops took possession of the fatal field, collected the bones of those who had fallen two years before, and interred them with military honors, and erected Fort Recovery. Lieutenant Harrison bore an important part in the famous battle of the "Fallen Timbers," in which the Indians were completely defeated, by the skill of Wayne and the valor of his troops. The general, in his official account of the battle, complimented young Harrison, as his "faithful and gallant aid-de-camp, in having rendered him the most essential service in communicating his orders in every direction, and for hid conduct and bravery in exciting the troops to press for vic- tory." Not long after this campaign, Harrison was promoted to the rank of captain, and placed in command of Fort Wash- ington. He was then but twenty-one years of age, yet great 274 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. confidence was reposed in his skill and energy. While in command at Fort Washington, Captain Harrison married the daughter of John Cleaves Symrues, the founder of the Miami settlements. In April, 1798, when Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the north-western territory, was appointed governor of the south- western country, Harrison received the appointment to fill the vacated post. In_the next year a territorial government was organized, and it devolved on the legislature to elect a lelegate to Congress. The candidates were Messrs. Harrison tnd St. Clair. Harrison was chosen by a majority of one vote. The legislature, by joint resolution, prescribed the form <.fa certificate of his election; having received that certificate, he resigned the office of Secretary of the territory — proceeded forthwith to Philadelphia, and took his seat ; Congress being then in session. Though he represented the territory but one year, he obtained some important advantages for his con- stituents. He introduced a resolution to subdivide the sur- veys of the public lands, and to offer them for sale in small tracts — he succeeded in getting that measure through both houses, in opposition to the interest of speculators who were, and who wished to be, the retailers of the land to the poorer classes of the community. His proposition became a law, and was hailed as the most beneficent act that Congress had i ver done for the territory. It put it in the power of every industrious man, however poor, to become a free holder, ami lay a foundation for the future support, and comfort of his family. At the same session, he obtained a liberal extension of time for the pre-emptioners in the northern part of the Miami purchase, which enabled them to secure their farms, and eventually to become independent, and even wealthy.* * Perkin's Aimala of the West. WILLIAM HENRI HARRISON. 275 In 1800, a government was organized for Indiana territory, and Harrison was appointed its governor, his commission being dated 1801. In this important office, he soon displayed a talent and activity, which resulted in great benefits to his country. On the 17th of September, 1802, Governor Harrison, at Vincennes, entered into an agreement with various chiefs of the Pottawatamie, Eel river, Piankeshaw,Wea, Kaskaskiaand Kickapoo tribes, by which were settled the bounds of a tract of land near that place, said to have been given by the In- dians to its founder ; and certain chiefs were named who were to conclude the matter at Fort Wayne. This was the first step taken by Harrison in those negotiations which con- tinued through so many years, and added so much to the dominions of the confederation. He found the natives jealous and out of temper, owing partly to American injustice, but also in a great degree, it was thought, to the acts of the British traders and agents. The governor exerted himself to check a system of specu- lation in land, which had been going on for some time, and which caused disaster and difficulty to many individuals, who were duped by misrepresentation. On the 18th of Au- gust, 1804, Governor Harrison purchased from the Dela wares, their claims to a large tract between the Wabash and the Ohio ; from the Piankeshaws, their claims to the same, and also to the lands granted to the Kaskaskias in 1803 : from the Sacs and Foxes their title to most of the immense district between the Mississippi, Illinois, Fox river, empty- ing into the Illinois, and Wisconsin rivers ; comprehending, it is said, more than fifty-one millions of acres. These im portant treaties were not negotiated without much difficulty, caused, it is said, by the machinations of the great Sha 276 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. wanee chief, Tecum the, or the Crouching Panther, and his brother, called the Prophet. " Upon the 21st of August, Governor Harrison at Vin cennes, received from the Miamies a region containing two million acres within what is now Indiana ; and upon the 30th of December, at the same place purchased of the Pianke shaws a tract eighty or ninety miles wide, extending from the Wabash west to the cession by the Kaskaskias, in 1803. At this time, although some murders by the red men had taken place in the far west, the body of natives seemed bent on peace. But mischief was gathering. Tecumthe, his brother the Prophet, and other leading men, had formed at Grenville the germ of that union of tribes by which the whites were to be restrained in their invasions. We are by no means satisfied that the great Indian of latter days used any con- cealment, or meditated any treachery toward the United States, for many years after this time. The efforts of him- self and his brother were directed to two points : first, the reformation of the savages, whose habits unfitted them for continuous and heroic effort ; and second, such a union as would make the purchase of land by the United States im- possible, and give to the aborigines a strength that might be dreaded. Both these objects were avowed, and both were pursued with wonderful energy, perseverance and success ; in the whole country bordering upon the lakes, the power of the Prophet was felt, and the work of reformation went on rapidly."* Still the movements of the Indian brothers led Harrison to suspect their designs and to prepare for an emergency On the 5th of July, 1809, he wrote to the Secretary of War as follows: * Perkin'6 Annals of the West. WILLIAM HENRI HARRISON. 277 " The Shawanese Prophet and about forty followers ar- rived here about a week ago. He denies most strenuously any participation in the late combinations to attack our set- tlement, which he says was entirely confined to the tribes of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers ; and he claims the merit of having prevailed upon them to relinquish their intentions. " I must confess that my suspicions of his guilt have been rather strengthened than diminished at every interview I have had with him since his arrival. He acknowledges that he received an invitation to war against us, from the British, last fall, and that he was apprised of the intentions of the Sacs, Foxes, &c. early in the spring, and warmly solicited to join in the league. But he could give no satisfactory explanation of his neglecting to communicate to me circum- stances so extremely interesting to us, and towards which, I had, a few months before, directed his attention, and re- ceived a solemn assurance of his cheerful compliance with the injunctions I had impressed upon him. " The result of all my inquiries on the subject, is, that the late combination was produced by British intrigue and influence, in anticipation of war between them and the United States. It was, however, premature and ill judged, and the event sufficiently manifests a great decline in their influence, or in the talents and address, with which they have been accustomed to manage their Indian relations. " The warlike and well-armed tribes of the Pottawatamies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Delawares, and Miamis, I believe neither had, nor would join in the combination ; and although the Kickapoos, whose warriors are better than those of any other tribe, the remnant of the Wyandot excepted, are much under the influence of the Prophet. I am persuaded that 278 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. they were never made acquainted with his intentions, if these were really hostile to the United States. " In this same letter, the governor, at the request of the secretary, Dr. Eustis, gives his views of the defence of the frontiers, in which portion of his epistle many valuable hints are givon in relation to the course proper to be pursued in case of a war with England. " In September, October, and December, the Governor of Indiana succeeded in extinguishing the claims of the Dela- wares, Pottawatamios, Miamies, Eel river Indians, Weas, and Kickapoos, to certain lands upon the Wabash which had not yet been purchased, and which were believed to contain copper ore. The treaties with the Delawares, Pot- tawatamies, Miamies, and Eel river Indians, were made at Fort Wayne ; the others at Vincennes ; they were protested against by Tecumthe in the following year. In 1809, the western part of the Indiana Territory, long known as ' the Illinois,' was made a separate territory, with the name of the great Indian nation which had once lived there."* During the year 1810, the hostile intentions of Tecumthe and his followers were placed beyond all doubt. Tecumthe denounced the treaty of Fort Wayne, in 1809, as illegal and unjust, maintaining that no single tribe had a right to sell so much land. That British countenance was given to his plans was rendered clear, though it is believed that the rulers of Great Britain did not sanction the deeds of their agents. The great chief had formed the project of uniting all the Avestern tribes, and had succeeded in forming a for inidable confederacy. By various acts his feelings and intentions were made known to the whites. In August, 1810, a council was held at Vincennes, in which the position of * Perkin's Annals of the West. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 279 affairs was clearly ascertained. Of this council, Mr. Drake, in his life of Tecumthe, gives the following account : "Governor Harrison had made arrangements for holding the council on the portico of his own house, which had been fitted up with seats for the occasion. Here, on the morning of the 15th, he awaited the arrival of the chief, being at tended by the judges of the supreme court, some officers of the army, a sergeant and twelve men, from Fort Knox, and a large number of citizens. At the appropriated hour Te- cumthe, supported by forty of his principal warriors, made his appearance, the remainder of his followers being en- camped in the village and its environs. When the chief had approached within thirty or forty yards of the house, he sud- denly stopped, as if awaiting some advance from the governor. An interpreter was sent requesting him and his followers to take seats on the portico. To this Tecumthe objected — he iid not think the place a suitable one for holding the con- ference, but preferred that it should take place in a grove of trees — to which he pointed — standing a short distance from the house. The governor said that he had no objection to the grove, except that there were no seats in it for their ac commoda.ion. Tecumthe replied, that constituted no objec- tion to the grove, the earth being the most suitable place for die Indians, who loved to repose on the bosom of their mother. The governcr yielded the point, and the benches and chairs having been removed to the spot the conference was begun. the Indians being seated on the grass. " Tecumthe opposed the meeting by stating, at length, his objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, made by Go vernor Harrison in the previous year ; and in the com se of his speech, boldly avowed the principle of his party to be, that of resistance to every cession of land, unless made by 280 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. all the tribes, who, he contended, formed but one nation. He admitted that he had threatened to kill the chiefs who Higned the treaty of Fort Wayne ; and that it was his fixe 1 determination not to permit the village chiefs, in future, to manage their affairs, but to place the power with which they had been hitherto invested, in the hands of the war cliiefs. The Americans, he said, had driven the Indians from the sea coast, and would soon push them into the lakes ; and, while he disclaimed any intention of making war upon the United States, he declared it to be his unalterable resolution to take a stand, and resolutely oppose the further intrusion of the whites upon the Indian lands. He concluded, by making a brief but impassioned recital of the various wrongs and aggressions inflicted by the white men upon the Indians, from the commencement of the revolutionary war down to the period of that council ; all of which was calculated to arouse and inflame the minds of such of his followers as were present. " To him the governor replied, and, having taken his seat, the interpreter commenced explaining the speech to Te- cumthe, who after listening to a portion of it, sprung to his feet and hegan to speak with great vehemence of manner. " The governor was surprised at his violent gestures, but, as he did not understand him, thought he was making some explanation, and suffered his attention to be drawn towards Winnemac, a friendly Indian, lying on the grass before him, who was renewing the priming of his pistol, which he had kept concealed from the other Indians, but in full view of the governor. His attention, however, was again directed towards Tecumthe, by hearing General Gibson, who was intimately acquainted the Shawanee language, say to Lieu- tenant Jennings, 'those fellows intend mischief; you had WILLTAM HENRY HARRISON. 281 better bring up the guard.' At that moment, the followers of Tecumthe seized their tomahawks and war-clubs, and pprung upon their feet, their eyes turned upon the governor. As soon as he could disengage himself from the arm chair in which he sat, he rose, drew a small sword which he had by lu3 side, and stood on the defensive. Captain G. R. Floyd, of the army, who stood near him, drew a dirk, and the chief Winnemac cocked his pistol. The citizens were more numerous than the Indians, but were unarmed ; some then procured clubs and brick-bats, and also stood on the defensive. The Rev. Mr. Winans, of the Methodist church, ran to the governor's house, got a gun, and posted himself at the door to defend the family. During this singular scene, no one spoke, until the guard came running up, and appearing to be in the act of firing, the governor ordered them not to do so. He then demanded of the interpreter, an explanation of what had happened, who replied that Te cumthe had interrupted him, declaring that all the governor had said was false ; and that he and the Seventeen Fires had cheated and imposed on the Indians. " The governor then told Tecumthe that he was a bad man, and that he would hold no further communication with him ; that as he had come to Vincennes under the protec- tion of a council-fire, he might return in safety, but that he must immediately leave the village. Here the council terminated. " The now undoubted purposes of the brothers being of a character necessarily leading to war, Governor Harrison proceeded to strengthen himself for the contest by preparing the militia, and posting the regular troops that were with him, under Captains Posey and Cross at Vincennes* * Pel-kin's Annals of the West. IVoumtht? l . S i ) ■ ■■ ■ .•u he had •• • . '. t'vH- j WILLIAM IIKNIIV HARBISON. 283 eellent. 1 then took leave of the ohief, and a mutual promise was again made for a suspension of hostilities until we could have an interview on the following day. I found the ground destined for the encampment nol altogether such as I could wish it it was indeed admirably calculated for the encamp- ment of regular troops, thai were opposed to regulars, but it afforded great Facility to the approach of savages. It was a piece of dry oak land, rising about ten feel above the level of a marshy prairie in front (towards the Indian town) and Dearly twice thai heighl above a similar prairie in the rear, through which and near to this bank ran a. small stream Clothed With willows and brushwood. 'Towards the left Hank this bench of high land widened considerably, but became gradually narrower in the opposite direction, and at the distance of one hundred and fifty yards from the right Ha; k, terminated in an abrupl point. The t wo columns of infancy occupied the front and roar of this ground, at the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from each other on the left, and something more than half that distance on the right Hank —these Hanks were tilled up, by the first two companies of mounted riflemen, amounting to about one hundred and twenty men, under the command o\' Ma jor-deneral Wells, of the Kentucky militia, who served as a major; the other h\ Spencer's company of mounted riflemen, which amounted to eighty men. The front line was composed Of one bat talion of I'nited States infantry under the command of Major Floyd, flanked on therighl by two companies of militia. and on the left by one company. The rear line was composed of a battalion of United States troops under the command of Captain Baen, acting as major, and four companies of militia infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Deoker, The regular troops o\' this line joined the mounted riflemen under 284 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. General Wells, on the left flank, and Colonel Decker's bat talions formed an angle with Spencer's company on the left. " Two troops of dragoons, amounting to in the aggregate about sixty men, were encamped in the rear of the left flank, and Captain Parke's troop, which was larger than the other two, in the rear of the front line. Our order of encampment varied little from that above described, excepting when some peculiarity of the ground made it necessary. For a night attack the order of encampment was the order of battle, and each man slept immediately opposite to his post in the line. In the formation of my troops I used a single rank, or what is called Indian file — because in Indian warfare, there is no shock to resist, one rank is nearly as good as two, and in that kind of warfare the extension is of the first importance. Raw troops also manoeuvre with much more facility in single than in double ranks. It was my constant custom to assemble all my field officers at my tent every evening by signal, to give the watchword and their instructions for the night — those given for the night of the 6th were, that each corps which formed a part of the exterior line of the encampment, should hold its own ground until relieved. The dragoons were directed to parade dismounted in case of a night attack, with their pistols in their belts, and to act as a corps de reserve. The camp was defended by two captains' guards, consisting each of four non-commissioned officers and privates. The whole under the command of a field officer of the day. The troops were regularly called up an hour before day, and made to continue under arms until it was quite light. " On the morning of the 7th, I had risen at a quarter after four o'clock, and the signal for calling out the men would have been given in two minutes, when the attack com- menced. It began on our left flank — but a single gun wae WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 285 fired by the sentinels or by the guard in that direction, which made not the least resistance, but abandoned their officer and fled into the camp, and the first notice which the troops of that flank had of the danger, was from the yells of the savages within a short distance of the line — but even under these circumstances the men were not wanting to themselves or the occasion. Such of them as were awake, or were easily awakened, seized their arms and took their stations ; others which were more tardy, had to contend with the enemy in the doors of their tents. The storm first fell upon Captain Barton's company of the 4th United States regi- ment, and Captain Geigler's company of mounted riflemen, which formed the left angle of the rear line. The fire upon these was exceedingly severe, and they suffered severely before relief could be brought to them. Some few Indians passed into the encampment near the angle, and one or two penetrated to some distance before they were killed. I be- lieve all the other companies were under arms and tolerably formed before they were fired on. The morning was dark and cloudy ; our fires afforded a partial light, which if it gave us some opportunity of taking our positions, was still more ad- vantageous to the enemy, affording them the means of taking a surer aim ; they were, therefore, extinguished as soon as possible. Under all these discouraging circumstances, the troops (nineteen-twentieths of whom had never been in action before) behaved in a manner that can never be too much applauded. They took their places without noise and with less confusion than could have been expected from veterans placed in a similar situation. As soon as I could mount my horse, I rode to the angle that was attacked — I found that Barton's company had suffered severely and the left of Geigler's entirely broken. I immediately ordered Cook> 286 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. company and the late Captain Wentworth's, under Lieute* nant Peters, to be brought up from the centre of the rear line, where the ground was much more defensible, and formed across the angle in support of Barton's and Geigler's. My attention was then engaged by a heavy firing upon the left of the front line, where were stationed the small company of United States riflemen (then, however, armed with muskets) and the companies of Baen, Snelling, and Prescott, of the 4th regiment. I found Major Daviess forming the dragoons in the rear of those companies, and understanding that the heaviest part of the fire proceeded from some trees about fifteen or twenty paces in front of those companies, I directed the major to dislodge them with a part of his dra- goons. Unfortunately the major's gallantry determined him to execute the order with a smaller force than was suf- ficient, which enabled the enemy to avoid him in front and attack his flanks. The major was mortally wounded, and his party driven back. The Indians were, however, imme- diately and gallantly dislodged from their advantageous po- sition, by Captain Snelling at the head of his company. In the course of a few minutes after the commencement of the attack, the fire extended along the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank, and part of the rear line. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen, and the right of Warwick's company, which was posted on the right of the rear line, it was excessively severe : Captain Spencer, and his first and second lieutenants were killed, and Captain ^Yarwick was mortally wounded — those companies, however, still bravely maintained their posts, but Spencer had suffered so severely, and Laving originally too much ground to occupy, I rein- forced them with Robb's company of riflemen, which had been driven, or by mistake ordered from their position od WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 287 the left flank, toward the centre of the camp, and filled the vacancy that had been occupied by Robb with Prescott's company of the 4th United States regiment My great object was to keep the lines entire, to prevent the enemy from breaking into the camp until daylight, which should enable me to make a general and effectual charge. With this view, I had reinforced every part of the line that had suffered much ; and as soon as the approach of morning dis- covered itself, I withdrew from the front line, Snelling's Posey's, (under Lieutenant Albright,) and Scott's, and from the rear line, Wilson's companies, and drew them up upon the left flank, and at the same time, I ordered Cook's and Baen's companies, the former from the rear, and the latter from the front line, to reinforce the right flank ; fore- seeing that at these points the enemy would make their last efforts. Major Wells, who commanded on the left flank, not knowing my intentions precisely, had taken the com- mand of these companies, had charged the enemy before I had formed the body of dragoons with which I meant to sup- port the infantry ; a small detachment of these were, however, ready, and proved amply sufficient for the purpose. The Indians were driven by the infantry, at the point of the bayo- net, and the dragoons pursued and forced them into a marsh, where they could not be followed. Captain Cook, and Lieu- tenant Larebee had, agreeably to my order, marched their companies to the right flank, had formed them under the fire of the enemy, and being then joined by the riflemen of that Hank, had charged the Indians, killed a number, and put the rest to a precipitate flight. A favorable opportunity was here offered, to pursue the enemy with dragoons, but being engaged at that time on the other flank, I did not observe it, until it was too late. 288 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. " I have thus, sir, given you the particulars of an action, which was certainly maintained with the greatest bravery and perseverance, by both parties. The Indians, manifested a ferocity uncommon, even with them — to their savage fury our troops opposed that cool and deliberate valor, which is characteristic of the Christian soldier. " The Americans in this battle had not more than seven hundred efficient men, — non-commissioned officers and pri- vates ; the Indians are believed to have had eight hundred to one thousand warriors. The loss of the American army was thirty-seven killed on the field, twenty-five mortally wounded, and one hundred and twenty-six wounded, that of the Indians about forty killed on the spot, the number of wounded being unknown. " The battle of Tippecanoe was fought on the 7th of No- vember, and upon the 4th of the following month, Harrison writes that the frontiers never enjoyed more perfect repose ; though it seems to be clear that the disposition to do mischief was by no means extinguished among the savages."* The victory of Tippecanoe gave Harrison a high reputa- tion among his countrymen. In the west, he was very popular. Before the surrender of Hull, at Detroit, when a large volunteers force was called into the field, Harrison was appointed to command the Kentucky troops. Soor. after, in compliance with the general wish, he was elevated to the responsible post of commander-in-chief over all the forces of the west and north-west. (September 17th, 1812.) "When General Harrison found himself placed at the head of military affairs in the west, his main objects were, first, to drive the Indians from the western side of the De- troit river ; second, to take Maiden; and third, having thus * Perkin's Annals of the Weat, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 289 secured his communications, to recapture the Michigan ter ritory and its dependencies. To do all this before winter, and thus be prepared to conquer Upper Canada, Harrison proposed to take possession of the Rapids of the Maumee and there to concentrate his forces and his stores ; in mov- ing upon this point he divided his troops into three columns, the right to march from Wooster through Upper Sandusky, the centre from Urbana by Fort McArthur on the heads of the Scioto, and the left from St. Mary's by the Au-Glaize and Maumee, — all meeting, of course, at the Rapids. This plan, however, failed : the troops of the left column under Winchester, worn out and starved, were found on the verge of mutiny, and the mounted men of the centre, under Gene- ral Tupper were unable to do any thing, partly from their own want of subordination, but still more from the shiftless- ness of their commander ; this condition of the troops, and the prevalence of disease among them, together with the in- creasing difficulty of transportation after the autumnal rain sets in, forced upon the commander the conviction that he must wait until the winter had bridged the streams and mo- rasses with ice, and even when that had taken place he was doubtful as to the wisdom of an attempt to conquer without vessels on Lake Erie.* Several expeditions against the Indian towns were under- taken,, and they were successful to a certain extent. In December, Colonel Campbell, with about six hundred men, marched against the villages on the Mississinaway, a branch of the Wabash. He defeated the Indians in a severe battle, and destroyed several of their towns. After the massacre at Frenchtown, General Harrison fell back to the Rapids of the Maumee, and thence to the * Perkin's Annals of the West. 200 LIVES OF THE PKESIDENTS. Portage, where he waited until reinforcements injrcased his army to seventeen hundred men, and then once more ad- vanced to the Rapids, where the troops were ordered to con- centrate. He projected a winter campaign against Maiden ; but the delay of the reinforcements frustrated the plan, and he was then compelled to fortify his camp to be prepared for any hostile movement of the British and Indians. The fortified camp was called Fort Meigs. On the 28th of April, 1813, a large force of British and Indians, under the command of Proctor and Tecumthe, appeared before the works and began to erect their batteries. Harrison ordered his men to throw up a bank of earth twelve feet high, and upon a basis of twenty feet, behind which the whole garrison withdrew, upon the 1st of May, when the enemy were ready to open their fire. " Upon this bank the ammunition of his majesty was wasted in vain, and down to the 5th, nothing was effected by either party. On that day, General Clay, with twelve hundred additional troops, came down the Maumee in flat- boats, and, in accordance with orders received from Har- rison, detached eight hundred men, under Colonel Dudley, to attack the batteries upon the left bank of the river, while, with the remainder of his forces, he landed upon the southern shore, and after some loss and delay, fought his way into camp. Dudley, on his part, succeeded perfectly in captur- ing the batteries, but instead of spiking the cannon, and then instantly returning to the boats, he suffered his men to waste their time, and skirmish with the Indians, until Proctor was able to cut them oft" from their only chance of retreat ; taken by surprise, and disorder, the greater part of the detachment became an easy prey, only one hundred and fifty of the eight hundred men escaping captivity or WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 201 death. This sad result was partially, though but little, al- leviated by the success of a sortie made from the fort by Colonel Miller, in which he captured and made useless the batteries, that had been erected south of the Maumee. The result of the day's doings had been sad enough for the Americans, but still the British general saw in it nothing to encourage him ; his cannon had done nothing, and were in fact no longer of value ; his Indian allies found il ' hard to fight people who lived like groundhogs ;' news of the Ameri- can successes below had been received ; and additional troops were approaching from Ohio and Kentucky. Proctor, weigh- ing all things, determined to retreat, and upon the 9th of May, returned to Maiden."* About the middle of July, however, the enemy once more appeared before Fort Meigs, and remained in the vicinity a week, using various stratagems to draw the American from their works. Being unsuccessful, they then proceeded to Fort Stephenson. But the gallant young Croghan, who commanded at that post, gave them a severe repulse, and baffled their most strenuous efforts. Proctor and Tecumthe, having the fear of Harrison as a spur, then hurried away towards Maiden. The victory gained by Commodore Perry, upon Lake Erie, was decisive of affairs in the north-west. Harrison, having received all his expected reinforcements, embarked in Perry's fleet, on the 27th of September, and set sail for the shores of Canada. Proctor abandoned Maiden, intend- ing to make his way to the heart of Canada by way of the valley of the Thames. " On the 29th, Harrison was at Sandwich, and McArthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigan. At * Perkin's Annals of the West. 292 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. this point Colonel Johnson's mounted rifle regiment, whijh had gone up the west side of the river, rejoined the main army. On the 2d of October, the Americans began their march in pursuit of Proctor, whom they overtook upon the 5th. He had posted his army with the left resting on the river, while the right flank was defended by a marsh ; the ground between the river and the marsh was divided lengthwise by a smaller swamp, scf as to make two distinct fields in which the troops were to operate. The British were in two lines, occupying the field between the river and the small swamp ; the Indians extended from the small to the large morass, the ground being suitable for their mode of warfare, and unfavorable for cavalry. We quote from Harrison's official despatch ; '.' The troops at my disposal consisted of about one hundred and twenty regulars of the 27th regiment, five brigades of Kentucky volun- teer militia infantry, under his excellency Governor Shelby, averaging less than five hundred men, and Colonel Johnson's regiment of mounted infantry, making in the whole an ag- gregate of something above three thousand men. No disposi- tion of an army, opposed to an Indian force, can be safe unless it is secured on the flanks and in the rear. I had, therefore, no difficulty in arranging the infantry conformably to my general order of battle. General Trotter's brigade of five hundred men, formed the front line, his right upon the road and his left upon the swamp. General King's bri- gade as a second line, one hundred and fifty yards in the rear of Trotter's and Chile's brigade as a corps of reserve in the rear of it. These three brigades formed the command of Major-General Henry; the whole of General Desha's di- vision, consisting of two brigades, were formed en potenca upon the left of Trotter. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 293 " Whilst I was engaged in forming the infantry, I had directed Colonel Johnson's regiment, which was still in front, to be formed in two lines opposite to the enemy, and upon the advance of the infantry, to take ground to the left and forming upon that flank to endeavor to turn the right of the Indians. A moment's reflection, however, convinced me that from the thickness of the woods and swampiness of the ground, they would be unable to do any thing on horseback, and there was no time to dismount them and place their horses in security ; I, therefore, determined to refuse my left to the Indians, and to break the British lines at once, by a charge of the mounted infantry : the measure was not sanc- tioned by any thing that I had seen or hoard of, but I was fully convinced that it would succeed. The American back- woodsmen ride better in the woods than any other people. A musket or rifle is no impediment to them, being accustomed to carry them on horseback from their earliest youth. I was persuaded too, that the enemy would be quite unprepared for the shock, and that they could not resist it. Conformably to this idea, I directed the regiment to be drawn up in close column, with its right at the distance of fifty yards from the road, (that it might be in some measure protected by the trees from the artillery) its left upon the swamp, and to charge at full speed as soon as the enemy delivered their fire. The few regular troops of the 27th regiment under their Colonel (Pauil) occupied, in column of section of four, the small space between the road and the river, for the purpose of seizing the enemy's artillery, and some ten or twelve friendly Indians were directed to move under the bank. The crotchet formed by the front line, and General Desha's di vision was an important point. At that place, the venerable governor of Kentucky was posted, who at the age of sixty- 294 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. six preserves all the vigor of youth, the ardent zeal which distinguished him in the revolutionary war, and the undaunted bravery which he manifested at King's Mountain. With my aid-de-camp, the acting assistant adjutant-general, Cap- tain Butler, my gallant friend, Commodore Perry, who did me the honor to serve as my volunteer aid-de-camp, and Brigadier General Cass, who having no command, tendered me his assistance, I placed myself at the head of the front line of infantry, to direct the movements of the cavalry, and give them the necessary support. The army had moved on in this order but a short distance, when the mounted men received the fire of the British line, and were ordered to charge ; the horses in the front of the column recoiled from the fire ; another was given by the enemy, and our column at length getting in motion, broke through the enemy with irresistible force. In one minute the contest in front was over ; the British officers seeing no hopes of reducing their disordered ranks to order, and our mounted men wheeling upon them and pouring in a destructive fire, immediately surrendered. It is certain that three only of our troops were wounded in this charge. Upon the left, however, the contest was more severe with the Indians. Colonel Johnson, who commanded on that flank of his regiment, received a most galling fire from them, which was returned with great effect. " The Indians still further to the right advanced and fell in with our front line of infantry, near its junction with Desha's division, and for a moment made an impression upon it. His excellency, Governor Shelby, however, brought up a regiment to its support, and the enemy receiving a severe fire in front, and a part of Johnson's regiment having gained their rear, retreated with precipitation. Their loss was verj WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 295 considerable in the action, and many were killed in their retreat."* The victory of the Thames excited much rejoicing through- out the north-west. The President, Mr. Madison, spoke of it as "highly honorable to Major-General Harrison," and Congress adopted the following resolution : " Resolved, luj the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, presented to Major-General William Henry Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for their gallant and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major-General Proctor, on the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the 5th day of October, 1813, capturing the British army, with their baggage, camp equipage, and artil- lery ; and that the President of the United States be re- quested to cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to General Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky." General Harrison's military career was now cut short by the undignified conduct of the Secretary of War, General Armstrong, who gave instructions to inferior officers, with- out consulting the commander-in-chief, and discovered a strong prejudice against him. Harrison visited Washington, receiving many demonstrations of respect and gratitude upon the route, and tendered his resignation. President Madison was then absent from the capital, and the war de- partment accepted the general's resignation without con- sulting him. It is said that Mr. Madison greatly regretted that he had not received some intimation of Harrison's in- * Perkin's Annals of the West. 296 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. tcntions before they were fulfilled. However, the President gave him a fresh token of his confidence, by appointing him, in the summer of 1814, in conjunction with Governor Shelby and General Cass, to treat with the Indians at Greenville. During the following year, when the treaty of Ghent provided for the pacification of several important tribes, he was placed at the head of the commission. In 1816, General Harrison was chosen to represent the district of Ohio, in which he resided, in the house of repre- sentatives of the United States, to fill a vacancy, and for the two succeeding years. He had scarcely taken his seat at Washington before his conduct while in command of the north-western army was impugned. At the instance of the general, a committee of investigation was appointed, of which Colonel Johnson was chairman. The result was a triumphant vindication of the patriotism, disinterestedness, and ability of the slandered soldier. While in Congress, General Harrison labored to accom- plish two important objects ; a reform in the militia, and the relief of the veterans of the revolution and the disabled in the late war. The first he could not effect. But the second was accomplished, and many a pensioner had reason to re- gard General Harrison as a benefactor. He generally con- curred in the views of the statesman, Henry Clay, but did not ao-ree with him in his wholesale censure of General Jackson's conduct in the Seminole war. Harrison gave Jackson credit for patriotic motives, and approved of many of his acts.* In 1819, General Harrison was elected to the senate of Ohio. In 1824, he was chosen one of the presidential electors of that state, on the ticket formed by the friends * Statesman's Manual. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 207 »f Mr. Clay, and gave his vote for that statesman as his choice for President. In the same year, he was elected a member of the senate of the United States. Soon after taking his seat in that body, he was appointed chairman of the military committee in place of General Jackson, who had resigned. He was a supporter of the administration of John Quincy Adams, and in 1828, he was appointed by that President, minister plenipotentiary to the republic of Columbia. Arriving at Bogota, in December, 1828, Harrison found the country in a state of confusion. Though at first re- ceived with many token of respect, his plain republican manners ultimately caused him to be suspected of favoring the liberal party, and subjected him to many annoyances. However, he was speedily relieved. One of the very first acts of General Jackson's administration was to recall him from the mission. Before leaving Columbia, Harrison ad- dressed to General Bolivar his famous appeal in favor of constitutional liberty, a document which has so often been quoted in North and South America. The pure principles and fervid eloquence of this appeal have always been deemed highly honorable to its author. Upon his return to the United States, General Harrison retired to his farm at North Bend, on the Ohio, a few miles below Cincinnati. As a means of contributing to his sup- port, he accepted the office of clerk to the court of Hamilton county, in which he resided. This station he held up to the time of election to the Presidency, evincing an utter con- tempt for the false notions of dignity prevalent among those who had held high office under the general government. In 1835, the friends of General Harrison determined to bring him forward as a candidate for the Presidency to suc> 298 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ceed General Jackson. Mr. Van Buren was the adminis- tration candidate. The opposition could not unite in sup- port of Harrison. If it had been otherwise, it is believed that he might have been elected. Judge Hugh L. White, of Tennessee ; Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts ; and Willie P. Mangum, of North Carolina, were nominated and voted for by portions of the party opposed to the succession of Mr. Van Buren. The election occurred in 1836, and the result showed the popularity of General Harrison. Without any general concert among his friends, he received seventy- three electoral votes, and in many of the states which cast their vote for Mr. Van Buren, received strong manifestations of the people. On the 4th of December, 1839, the national whig conven- tion assembled at Harrisburg, the eapital of Pennsylvania, to nominate candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presi- dency. Three well-known names were brought forward — those of General Harrison, Henry Clay, and General Scott. Twenty-two states were represented in the convention, and on an informal ballot per capita, it was found that Mr. Clay had a decided plurality, but neither of the candidates had a clear majority of the delegates. It was then determined to vote by states, each state to have as many votes in the con- vention as it had electoral votes. On the first ballot, one hundred and three voted for Clay, ninety-four for Harrison, and fifty-seven for Scott. The delegates then compared their views to ascertain which of the candidates had the best chance of success. Harrison's friends were successful. After a session of three days, the convention took a final ballot, when Harrison received one hundred and forty-eight votes ; Clay, ninety ; and Scott, sixteen. General Har- rison was therefore declared the nominee for the Presidency WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 299 John Tyler, of Virginia, was unanimously nominate! for the Vice Presidency. These gentlemen concentrated the whole force of the opposition throughout the country. The con- test was very spirited, but the result was the triumph of Harrison and Tyler, by an overwhelming majority. Har- rison received two hundred and thirty-four electoral votes ; Mr. Van Buren only sixty. During the contest, General Harrison attended several mass meetings, in Ohio, and ad- dressed the people, with power and effect. His success occasioned general rejoicing. Much was expected from his well-known honesty and patriotism. General Harrison left home for the capital, in February, 1841. Along his route, he was greeted by immense assem- blages of the people, and treated with every mark of respect, by his enthusiastic and triumphant friends. He was then sixty-five years of age, and his venerable appearance ex- cited that attention from his opponents, which, perhaps, the recollection of his public services, and of the fact that he was the last President, upon whose youth Washington had gazed, could not have secured. The inauguration drew a vast number of strangers to Washington City, and the attending pageants were of a splendid character. A grcrid procession in the day, and several balls in the evening, occupied the great throng of visitors. The inaugural address of General Harrison was au able and eloquent production. It gave a review of the powers granted to the general government, and an estimate of the abuses to which they were liable and had been applied. His opinions were of the Jefferson stamp. He considered thf powers committed to the hands of the President as too sweep ing and dangerous, and declared his intention of exercising them with moderation. In what other republic, has an ex 300 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ecutive officer thus spoken ? In the republic of the ancient world, the grasp of power was universal. The following quotation from General Harrison* address will give an idsa of the character of his views. " Upwards of half a century has elapsed since the adop- tion of our present form of government. It would be an object more highly desirable than the gratification of the curiosity of speculative statesmen, if its precise situation could be ascertained, a fair exhibit made of the operations of each of its departments, of the powers which they respectively claim and exercise, of the collisions which have occurred be- tween them, or between the whole government and those of the states, or either of them. We could then compare our actual condition, after fifty years' trial of our system, with what it was in the commencement of its operations, and ascertain whether the predictions of the patriots who op- posed its adoption, or the confident hopes of its advocates, have been realized. The great dread of the former seems to have been, that the reserved powers of the state would be absorbed by those of the federal governments, and a conso- lidated power established, leaving to the states the shadow, only, of that independent action for which they had so zea- lously contended, and on the preservation of which they relied as the last hope of liberty. Without denying that the result to which they looked with so much apprehension is in the way of being realized, it is obvious that they did not clearly see the mode of its accomplishment. The gene- ral government has seized upon none of the reserved rights of the states. As far as any open warfare may have gone, the state authorities have amply maintained their rights. To a casual observer, our system presents no appearance of discord between the different members which compose it WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 301 Even the addition of many new ones has produced no jarring. They move in their respective orbits in perfect harmony with the central head, and with each other. But there is still an under current at work, by which, if not seasonably checked, tlTe worst apprehensions of our anti-federal patriots will be realized. And not only will the state authorities be overshadowed by the great increase of power in the execu- tive department of the general government, but the cha- racter of that government, if not its designation, be essen- tially and radically changed. This state of things has been, in part, effected by causes inherent in the constitution, and in part, by the never-failing tendency of political power to to increase itself. " By making the President the sole distributor of all the patronage of the government, the framers of the constitu- tion do not appear to have anticipated at how short a period it would become a formidable instrument to control the free operations of the state governments. Of trifling importance at first, it had, early in Mr. Jefferson's administration, be- come so powerful as to create great alarm in the mind of that patriot, from the potent influence it might exert in controlling the freedom of the elective franchise. If such could have then been the effects of its influence, how much greater must be the danger at this time, quadrupled in amount, as it certainly is, and more completely under the control of the executive will, than their construction of their limited powers allowed, or the forbearing characters of all the early Presidents permitted them to make ? But it is not by the extent of its patronage alone that the executive department has become dangerous, but by the use which it appears may be made of the appointing power, to bring under its control the whole revenues of the country. The 302 LITES OF THE PRESIDENTS. constitution has declared it to be the duty of the President to see that the laws are executed, and it makes him tha commander-in-chief of the armies and navy of the United States. If the opinion of the most approved writers upon that species of mixed government, which, in modern Eu- rope, is termed monarchy, in contradistinction to despotism, is correct, there was wanting no other addition to the powers of our chief magistrate to stamp a monarchical cha- racter on our government, but the control of the public finances. And to me it appears strange indeed, that any one should doubt that the entire control which the President possesses over the officers who have the custody of the public money, by the power of removal, with or without cause, does, for all mischievous purposes at least, virtually subject the treasury also to his disposal." President Harrison nominated the following gentlemen to form his cabinet : Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, Se- cretary of State ; Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; John Bell, of Tennessee, Secretary of War ; George C. Badger, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy ; Francis Granger, of New York, Postmaster-General ; John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, Attorney-General. The nominations were all confirmed by the senate. The cabinet was one of great ability, and much was expected from its administration. On the 17th of March, President Harrison issued a pro- clamation, calling an extra session of Congress, principally on account of the revenue and finances of the country, to begin on the last Monday in the ensuing May. But before that meeting, the country was called upon to mourn the loss of its chief magistrate. On Saturday, March 27th, President Harrison, after WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 303 several days previous indisposition from the effects of a cold was seized with a chill and other symptoms of fever. These were followed by bilious pleurisy, which resisted all the art of medicine, and terminated the President's eventful life on the 4th of April, at the age of sixty-eight years. The last words he was heard to speak were as follows : " Sir, I wish you t r ; understand the principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more." He fancied he was addressing his successor. At the announcement of the death of the President, grief was general throughout the country. Never since the time of Washington has one man so concentrated upon himself the love and confidence of the American people.* From all sides came the sounds of woe. The nation put on mourn- ing for the loss of its patriotic son and venerated ruler. On the 7th of April, the funeral of President Harrison took place at Washington. The civil and military procession was large and imposing. The body was interred in the Congres- sional burying ground, but afterwards removed to North Bend, Ohio, at the request of the family of General Harrison. Throughout the country funeral honors were awarded to the memory of the illustrious dead. In courts, legislatures, churches, and societies, the event was solemnly mentioned. In person, General Harrison was tall and rather thin. By habits of activity and temperance he .enjoyed bodily health and vigor even at an advanced age. He had a mild benevo- lent expression of countenance, and his dark eye was remark- able for its quickness and fire. His talents were of a very high order, and his acquirements extensive. All his coinpo- ' sitions display taste and judgment. As a general, he was bold, active, prudent and fertile of resource. * National Intelligencer. JOHN TYLER. Virginia has been called " the mother of Presidents." Of the thirteen chief magistrates whom the people have chosen, seven were born in Virginia, viz.: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, and Taylor. May the. Old Dominion have many more " such seeds within her breast ! " Her warriors, orators, and statesmen have proved to be of a growth unsurpassed in any country — the flower of mankind. Their swords, pens, and tongues have battled upon the side of freedom and in- dependence, and they have held the helm of state with firm and skilful hands. If Virginia should continue to produce such men, her sister states can well afford to allow her to- lift them to the presidential chair. John Tyler, who succeeded General Harrison in the presidential office, was the sixth chief magistrate whose birthplace was in the "Old Dominion." His ances- tors were among the early English settlers in that province. It is understood that the family traces its lineage to Walter or Wat Tyler, who, in the fourteenth century, headed an insurrection in England, in defence of the rights of the people. John Tyler, the grand- father of the subject of this memoir, was marshal of the colony, under the royal government, up to his death, which occurred after the remonstrances against 305 306 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the stamp act. His patrimonial estate covered a large tru t of country in and about Williamsburg. His son, also named John, entered into the discussion concerning the grievances of the colonies, and became distinguished as an ardent pa- triot. The Virginians successively raised him to the offices of speaker of the house of delegates, governor of the state, and judge of one of their highest courts. At the breaking out of the war of 1812, ho was appointed by President Ma- dison, a judge of the federal court of admiralty. In Feb- ruary, 1813, he died, full of years and honors, leaving three Bons, Wat, John, and William.* John Tyler, the subject of this memoir, was born in Charles City County, Virginia, on the 29th of March, 1790. After receiving the usual elementary education, he entered Wil- liam and Mary College, being then twelve years old. He graduated at the age of seventeen, and on that occasion delivered an address on the subject of " female education," which was pronounced by the faculty a most masterly per formance. The two years subsequent to his graduation, Mr. Tyler spent in reading law, under the instruction of his father and Edmund Randolph. At nineteen years of age, young Tyler received a certifi- cate that he was competent to practise his profession. His success was singular. Ere three months had elapsed., there was scarce a disputable case on the docket of the court in which he was not retained. When but twenty years old, he was offered a seat in the legislature. But he declined the honor until the following year, when he was chosen nearly unanimously, a member of the house of delegates 'December, 1811.) Mr. Tyler was attached to the party of Jefferson and ♦Statesman's Manual. JOHN TYLER. 307 Madison. Upon the breaking out of the war, he supported the policy of the administration, and advocated with an eloquence that attracted general attention, the most ener- getic measures. Messrs. Giles and Brent, the senators in Congress from Virginia, at that time, were instructed by the legislature to vote against the renewal of the charter of the national bank. Mr. Brent disobeyed. Mr. Tyler then introduced a resolution of censure into the house of dcle- gates, animadverting severely upon the course of the senator and laying it down as a principle, that any person accept- ing the office of senator of the United States, from the state of Virginia, tacitly bound himself to obey the instructions of che legislature. This movement, in favor of the much discussed "right of instruction," shows Mr. Tyler to have entertained the broadest democratic opinions. He was elected to the legislature for five successive years, on some occasions, receiving nearly the unanimous vote of his native county. At the time the British forces were in the Chesapeake Bay, Mr. Tyler raised a volunteer company, and strove to effect a thorough organization of the militia in his neighbor- hood. But he never had an opportunity of bringing his troops into action, and his military career was thereforo nipped in the bud. His conduct, however, evinces his patriotism and desire to serve his country. During the legislative session of 1815-16, Mr. Tyler was elected a member of the executive council, in which capacity he served until November, 1816, when after a close and exciting contest, he was elected to fill a vacancy in the representation of the Richmond district in Congress. An- drew Stevenson, a distinguished" politician of the same school as Mr. Tyler, was the opposing candidate. The next 808 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. month, Mr. Tyler, then twenty-six years old, took his scat in the house of representatives of the United States. In April, 1817, he was re-elected by an overwhelming majority over his former rival, Mr. Stevenson. In Congress Mr. Tyler maintained the state-right, strict- construction doctrines of the dominant party in Virginia. He opposed a system of internal improvements and a national bank ; but agreed with Mr. Clay and others in censuring the conduct of General Jackson in the Seminole War. His 6peeches brought him into general esteem. In 1819, he was re-elected to Congress, there being no opposing candidate. He took an active part in the debate upon the Missouri ques- tion, sanctioning the southern side, opposed a protective tariff, and labored earnestly as a member of the committee of ways and means. Constant toil and confinement almost prostrated a constitution naturally weak. Mr. Tyler was compelled tc resign his seat before the expiration of the term, and retire to his estate in Charles City county, to recruit his health. At the same time he recommended his former rival, Andrew Stevenson, to the favor of his constituents. In the spring of 1823, after much urgent solicitation, Mr. Tyler consented to become again a candidate for the legis- lature. He was elected by a large majority, and in Decem- ber, he took his seat. As a legislator for his native state, he soon displayed rare energy and talent. He took the lead in proposing and carrying through a number of internal im- provements of great importance, and strove to awaken the Virginians to a sense of the necessity of action if they would not fall behind the people of the other states in power and prosperity. Many of the finest public works in the state were the fruit of his. toil. In the legislature, his reputation as an orator and statesman was fully established. JOHN TYLER. 309 In December, 1825, Mr. Tyler was elected governor of Virginia by a large majority. His administration was pros- perous and beneficial. Internal improvements still engaged his attention, and he did all in his power to heal sectional divisions, and awaken the people to their true interests. In July, 1826, he delivered an eloquent eulogy on the death of Thomas Jefferson. During the next session of the legisla- lature, Mr. Tyler was re-elected governor of Virginia. But it was thought that the talents of Mr. Tyler would be advantageously employed in the national field. A por- tion of the democratic party were dissatisfied with the course pursued by John Randolph in the senate of the United States. His genius and principles were admitted to be of the loftiest stamp, but his eccentric bearing and frequent onslaught upon democrats, prevented him from receiving that respect and deference that is usually the reward of dignified manners. Governor Tyler was the only man who possessed sufficient popularity to succeed against Mr. Randolph, and he was so- licited to stand as a candidate. He consented, but reluc- tantly and after much persuasion. Upon the first ballot in the legislature, he received one hundred and fifteen votes, and John Randolph one hundred and ten. This proof of confidence was highly gratifying to the feelings of Mr. Tyler. Their selection was generally sanctioned by the Virginians. A few days after his election to the senate of the United States, Mr. Tyler sent to the legislature his resignation of the office of governor. The following is an extract from his message on this occasion : " The principles on which I have acted,without abandon- ment, in any one instance, for the last sixteen years, in Con- gress and in the legislative hall of this state, will be the principles by which I will regulate my future political life. 310 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS, Keeping them constantly in view, yielding them neither tc the force of circumstances nor to the suggestions of expe» diency, and thereby seeking to promote the lasting interests of my beloved country, if I do not acquire the indivilual confidence of Virginia, I shall at least have preserved my own consistency, and secured the peace of my mind through the days of my increasing years, and in the hour of my final dissolution." Upon the occasion of his retirement from the chief magis- tracy of the state, he was invited to a public dinner, by a large number of the members of the legislature, and of the citizens of Richmond. In answer to the following toast — " John Tyler our friend and guest — a republican too firm to be driven from his principles — too upright to be swerved by the laws of ambition or power" — Mr. Tyler, among other remarks, said : " I can be at no loss to ascribe this manifestation of public respect to its proper source. It flows from the late senatorial election, and the incidents connected with it. I place upon it, therefore, the highest possible value. The recesses of my heart have been attempted to be scanned with the view of detecting some lurking wish at variance with my public declarations. Had I desired a change, what was thereto have prevented me from openly seeking it ? Are not the offices of the republic equally open to all citizens ? When was an exclusive monopoly established ? or when was it before that ' Rome contained but cue man' ? Virginia, thank Heaven, depends on no one of her citizens, however distin- guished by talents, for her character or standing. She has been compared to the mother of the Gracchi, and I trust she may still be permitted to be proud of her sons. For one who had been taught in early infancy that golden rule, that, JOIIN TYLER. 311 next to his Creator, his first duty belonged to his country, and his last to himself, how could I have stood acquitted, had I permitted private considerations to have controlled the obligations of public duty ? By accepting the appointment, while I interfered with the pretensions of no other citizen, I have acquitted myself of a sacred obligation." After speaking at large upon the administration, and what he had hoped would have been the policy of Mr. Adams, he said : " Candor requires me here publicly to say, that his first splendid message to Congress long since withered all my hopes. I saw in it an almost total disregard of the fedeia- tive principle — a more latitudinous construction of the con stitution than has ever before been insisted on ; lying not so much in the particular measures recommended — which, though bad enough, had some excuse in precedent — as in the broad and general principles there laid down as the basis of governmental duty. From the moment of seeing that message, all who have known any thing of me have known that I stood distinctly opposed to this administration ; not from a factious spirit, nor with a view to elevate a favo- rite, or to advance myself, but on the great principles which have regulated my past life. I honestly believe the preser- vation of the federative principles of our government to be inseparably connected with the perpetuation of liberty."* As soon as Mr. Tyler took his seat in the senate, he joined the ranks of the opposition. On all occasions he up- held the doctrines so popular in Virginia, concerning the powers of the general government, and the commercial po- licy of the country. When General Jackson succeeded Mr. Adams in the presidential chair, Mr. Tyler supported his * Statesman's Manual. 312 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. alministration in general, but on certain occasions, pursued an independent course. Where the President acted accord- ing to the Jefferso-nian views of the powers of the general government, he was ably supported by Mr. Tyler, and most of the southern members. They opposed the re-charter- ing the national bank, a tariff for the chief purpose of pro- tecting home industry, and a national system of internal improvements. Mr. Tyler's speech against the tariff, was long, earnest, eloquent, and forcible. He sympathized with Mr. Camoun and his friends upon the question of nullifica- tion, and thereafter withdrew his support from General Jackson's administration, on the ground that the President had abandoned the principles of Jefferson. Mr. Tyler's is the only vote recorded in opposition to the force bill. The removal of the deposites excited his determined resistance. He considered the act an outrage upon the laws. Though anxious for the destruction of the national banking system, he wished it to die by law. Mr. Tyler was re-elected to the senate of the United States for six years from the 4th of March, 1883. As a member of the committee of finance, he labored with zeal and ability. Having made a voluminous report upon the condition and affairs of the United States Bank, he found it furiously attacked by Mr. Benton, of Missouri. In reply, Mr. Tyler made a speech worthy of his position and repu- tation. He said, " He has loudly talked of the committee having been made an instrument of by the bank. For myself, I re nounce the ascription. I must tell the senator that I can no more be made an instrument of by the bank, than by the Btill greater and more formidable power, the administration. I stand upon this floor to accomplish the purposes for which JOnN TYLER. 313 1 am sent. In the consciousness of my own honesty, I Btand firm and erect. I worship alone at the shrine of truth and honor. It is a precious thing in the eyes of some, to bask in the sunshine of power. I rest only upon the sup- port which lias never failed me — the high and lofty feelings of my constituents. I would not be an instrument even in their hands, if it were possible for them to require it of me, to gratify an unrighteous motive. " The committee, in their investigations, have sought for nothing but the truth. I am opposed — have always been opposed — to the bank. In its creation I regard the consti- tution as having been violated, and I desire to see it expire But the senate appointed me, with others, to inquire whether it was guilty of certain charges, and I should regard myself as the basest of mankind were I to charge it falsely. The report is founded on unquestionable documentary evidence. I shall hold myself ready to answer all the objections which can be raised against it, and to prove, from the documents themselves, that the report is made with the utmost fairness, and the most scrupulous regard to truth." In March, 1835, near the close of the session, Mr. Tyler was elected president of the senate, pro tempore, by the united votes of the whig and state-rights senators. In Feb- ruary, 1836, the legislature of Virginia passed resolutions instructing senators from that state to vote for a resolution directing the resolution of March 28th, 1834, censuring the conduct of General Jackson, to be expunged from the jour- nal of the senate. Mr. Leigh, the colleague of Mr. Tyler, refused to obey or resign his seat, and wrote a long and able letter in defence of his course. He considered the expunging resolution unconstitutional, and was of opinion that the legislature had no right to instruct him to sanction 3H LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. a violation of that constitution he had sworn to support Mr. Tyler took a different course. He had advocated " the right of instruction," while in the legislature, and he could not now gainsay that right, with any regard for truth or consist dncy. Yet he believed the expunging resolution to be unconstitutional, and that he could not violate his oath, as a senator of the United States. To resign appeared to mm to be the proper course, and accordingly, he sent in his resignation, with a letter reviewing the political principles which had guided his life. On retiring to his estate and the practice of his profession, Mr. Tyler carried with him the good wishes of the majority in Virginia, and throughout the union. His course was considered that of a true and firm Jeffersonian. A public dinner was tendered Mr. Leigh and himself, and compli- ments were showered upon them both. In 1830, Mr. Tyler had removed from Charles City county to Gloucester, where his family resided until 1835. He then returned to Wil- liamsburg, and devoted himself to private pursuits. In the same year, Mr. Tyler was nominated in Maryland for the Vice Presidency, and was placed upon the same ticket with General Harrison. He was not considered the whig candidate for that office, however. The state-rights Darty in the south generally supported him. At the elec- tion in 1836, he received forty-seven electoral votes. In the spring of 1838, Mr. Tyler was elected by the whigs of James City county, a member of the house of delegates of Virginia, and during the subsequent session of the legislature, he acted with the whig party, under which name the different sections of the opposition to Mr. Van Buren's administration vrcre amalgamated. A nobler, but a more doubtfully acted, part was now tc JOHN TYLER. 315 be performed by Mr. Tyler. In 1839, he was elected one of the delegates from Virginia to the whig national conven- tion, which met at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. In common with nearly all the southern delegates, he preferred Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Being chosen one of the vice presidents of the convention, Mr. Tyler exerted himself to procure the nomination of Mr. Clay. But Gene- ral Harrison obtained a majority of votes. To conciliate the irritated friends of the Kentucky statesmen, the con- vention then nominated Mr. Tyler for the Vice Presidency, and he consented to stand as a candidate. The acceptance of a nomination from a party with whom he did not entirely agree in opinion was a questionable course of action. But it is urged by Mr. Tyler's friends, that when he consented to stand as the candidate for the whigs, he did not believe that he would be required to give his influence to the esta- blishment of a national bank, and that such a course could not have been expected by any one who was acquainted with his previous political career. Probably, the convention acted with as little discretion in making the nomination as Mr. Tyler did in accepting it. No man should be nominated for the Vice Presidency who cannot be trusted with the Presidency. The speeches, letters, and declarations of Mr. Tyler, during the canvass of 1840, were satisfactory to the whigs, who interpreted them to assist their expectations The party was triumphant. Harrison and Tyler were elected by an overwhelming majority, and both Houses of Congress were of the whig complexion. On the 4th of March, 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice President of the United States, and one month after wards, by the death of General Harrison, he became Prc*i- 816 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. dent, Mr. Tyler was at his residence in Virginia, w the news of the death of the President was announced to him. He immediately hurried to Washington, arriving on the morning of the 6th of April. The members of the cabinet waited on him, and he informed them that he wished them to retain their posts. He then took the oath of office. On the following day, he attended the funeral of President Harrison. After the solemnities were concluded, he issued an address to the people of the United States, as an informal inaugural document, setting forth the principles which should guide his administration. The retention of the cabinet and the tone and sentiments of the inaugural address inspired the whigs with confidence. An extra session of congress had been convened by Pre- sident Harrison. In this measure, Mr. Tyler concurred. One of his first acts was to recommend a day of fast- ing and prayer to the people of the United States, on ac- count of their recent bereavement. The removals and appointments made by the new chief magistrate were satis- factory to the whigs. When Congress assembled upon the 31st of May, 1841, it was debated in the house, whether Mr. Tyler should be addressed as President of the United States, or as Vice President, acting as President, and de- cided in favor of the first form. The message of the Presi- dent was well received. The veto of the national bank was the great feature of Mr. Tyler's administration. On the 12th of June, the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Ewing made a report, and with it sent a bill for the incorpo- ration of " the fiscal bank of the United States." This plan for a bank was free from all the objectionable features of the former fiscal institutions, and was supposed to have the ap- probation cf the President. A bill similar in substance was JOHN TYLER. 317 introduced in Congress, and finally passed on the 6th of August, and sent to the President for his decision. The President retained the bill until the 16th of August, and then returned it to the senate in which it originated, with his veto message. This bewildered the whigs. Their leaders remon Btrated with the President, and sought to repair the evil effects which threatened the party with dissolution They had yet a hope. In his veto message he shadowed out the plan of a bank which he said had long been endeared to him, that- of a fiscal agent devested of the discounting power and limited to dealing in bills of national exchange. By the 3d of Sep- tember, a bill, establishing a bank of this character, passed Congress and was presented to the President. On the 9th, he returned it to the house of representatives, with his objec- tions. The following day it was taken up in the house, but was lost, two-thirds not voting for it. The reasons which induced President Tyler to veto the last bank bill were not of a nature to satisfy the whigs that he had acted with any degree of sincerity. It is now certain that the disclosure of an intention upon the part of a member of the ruling party to circumvent the man whom they had elected to office had much influence in determining his course. A letter from John M. Botts, an eminent whig of Virginia, which contained expressions of a resolution to "head" the President was published in the administration organ, the Madisonian. How could it be expected that Mr. Tyler should favor the schemes of a party which treated him in such a manner. Still, this disclosure would not justify the veto of a great public measure. The President brought forward constitutional objections to the bill to support his course. The veto was received by the opposition with exultation. They applauded Mr. Tyler's independence, though they did 318 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS, not give liim any reason to hope that he would become the head of the democratic party and a candidate for re-election. On the other hand, the great body of the whigs throughout the country were indignant, and denounced the President aa a recreant. On the 11th of September, all the members of the cabinet, except Mr. Webster, feeling that all confidence between the President and themselves was at an end, resigned. Mr. Webster concluded to remain in the cabinet, believing that he could harmonize with Mr. Tyler upon the subject of foreign relations, and that differences upon the questions of revenue ought not to disturb their relations. On the 11th of September, the whig members of Congress held a meeting, and appointed a committee of three senators and five members of the house, to prepare an address to the people of the United States, concerning the measures which had been adopted and those which had failed at the extra session, with such other matters as might exhibit the condi- tion and prospects of the whig party. The address which was adopted proclaimed that all political alliance between the whigs and Mr. Tyler was at an end and set forth the reasons of the state of things. During the extra session, a protective tariff bill, a bill for the appropriation of the proceeds of the sales of public lands, and a uniform bankrupt law, passed Congress and received the sanction of the President. Mr. Tyler had previously been opposed to the protective tariff. That he low approved one gave rise to considerable speculation in regard to his real views. It was expected the new cabinet would be formed out of the democratic ranks. But the President appointed the fol- low ing distinguished whigs and conservatives to office Walter Forward, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury; John JOHN TYLER. 319 McLean, of Ohio, Secretary of War ; Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy ; Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, Postmaster-General ; Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, Attorney-General. These nominations were all confirmed by the senate previous to the termination of the extra session. Judge McLean declined to resign his seat on the bench of the supreme court, and John C. Spencer was then appointed to take charge of the war department. In the next congressional session, the President found that he could not count upon the support of either party. Mr. Rives, in the senate, and four or five whigs in the house were his only reliable friends. The hopes of forming a third party were shown to be fruitless and vain. In 1842, an important treaty was negotiated at Washington, by Secretary Webster, and Lord Ashburton, a special minister from Great Britain, settling the north-eastern boundary question, providing for the final suppression of the African slave trade, and for the surrender of fugitives from justice, in certain cases. By this treaty, the greatest good feeling was restored between the two nations. The 28th Congress commenced its first session on the 4th of December, 1843, and adjourned on the 17th of June, 1844. There was a large democratic majority in the house of representatives. The whigs had a majority in the senate. In consequence of the disagreement between the two houses, but few acts of general interest were passed this session. In March, 1843, Mr. Forward resigned the post of Secretary of the Treasury, and John C. Spencer was transferred from the war department to that of the treasury. Caleb Cushin» had been previously nominated to the treasury department, but had been rejected by the senate. Mr. Webster resigned the office of Secretary of State, in May, 1843, and Hugh S 320 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Legare, Attorney General was appointed in his place. But the latter gentleman soon after died at Boston. In July, 1843, the President re-organized his cabinet, as follows. Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, Secretary of State ; John C. Spencer, of New York, Secretary of the Treasury ; Jaines M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War ; David Hen- ehaw, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy ; Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, Postmaster General ; John Nelson, of Maryland, Attorney General. At the next session, the senate rejected the nomination of Messrs. Porter and Hen- shaw. The President then nominated William Wilkinb, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War ; and Thomas W. Gilmjr, of Virginia, for Secretary of the Navy, and they were con- firmed by the senate. But the cabinet was destined to further shifts and changes. By the explosion of one of the large guns of the steamship Princeton, on the Potomac, the Secretary of State, Mr. Upshur, and the Secretary of the Navy," Mr. Gilmer, lost their lives. In consequence of this catastrophe, and of the difficulty of choosing successors to the unfortunate ministers, Attorney General Nelson dis- charged the duties of Secretary of State, and Commodore Warrington officiated as Secretary of the Navy, ad interim.. Finally, the President appointed John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Secretary of State, and John Y. Mason, of Vir- ginia, Secretary of the Navy; both of these nominations were confirmed by the senate. In May, 1844, Mr. Spencer resigned the office of Secretary of the Treasury, and George M. Bibb, of Kentucky, was appointed in his place. The negotiation of a valuable treaty with China, by Caleb Cushing, Esq. in 1843, the commissioner to that country, and the Texas annexation treaty, negotiated at Washington. April 12th, 1844, by Secretary Calhoun, on the part of the JOHN TYLER. 321 United States, and Messrs. Van Zandt and Henderson, on the part of Texas, were the most important events of the remainder of Mr. Tyler's administration. The senate con- firmed the treaty with China, but rejected the annexation Bcheme. It was evident, however, that the Texas question would enter into the next presidential election, and Mr. Tyler's friends strove to make it the stepping stone for his accession to a second term. The national conventions of the great political parties were held in Baltimore', in May, 1844. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, were chosen by the whigs as their candidates for the two highest offices in the nation. Mr. Clay was nominated by the most enthusiastic acclamations. In the democratic con- vention, Mr. Van Buren had a plurality of votes ; but he was opposed to the annexation of Texas, and it had been determined by the democratic party that the candidate must favor the scheme. Two thirds of the votes were required to make a nomination, and these, Mr. Van Buren could not obtain. At length, after eight ballotings, James K. Polk, of Tennessee, received the nomination. Silas Wright, of New York, was nominated for the Vice Presidency, but he declined, and George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, was then nominated in his stead. A convention of Mr. Tyler's friends was held in Baltimore, about the same time, and he was placed before the people as a candidate for re-election. But in August, Mr. Tyler yielded to the persuasions of the de- mocrats and threw his influence into the scale in favor of Messrs. Polk and Dallas. Those gentlemen were elected after a very exciting contest. Joint resolutions, annexing Texas to the Union, passed Congress on the 1st March, 1845, and were approved by 322 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. President Tyler. The administration ended on the 3d of March. Mr. Tyler's last act was what is called " the pocket veto," which he exercised by retaining the river and harbor appropriation bill over the time specified by the constitution. Mr. Tyler generally surrounded him- self with able advisers, and his government was vigorous and decided. But he retired from office without the re- gret of either party. Indeed, he has ever since received the most bitter denunciations from the whigs. He was accused not only of a want of judgment, but of a want of good faith. That he was a determined man, the whigs were forced to concede, when they considered his resist- ance to an able cabinet and a large party in power ; and before he became President his intellectual excellencies were generally admitted. In person Mr. Tyler was rather tall and thin, with a light complexion, blue eyes, high forehead and promi- nent nose. In 1813, Mr. Tyler, when twenty-three years old, married Miss Letitia Christian, of Kent county, Virginia. This amiable and accomplished lady died at Washington, in September, 1842, leaving three sons and three daughters. On the 26th of June, 184-4, Mr. Tyler was again married, to Miss Julia Gardiner, of New York, a, daughter of Mr. David Gardiner, who was killed by an explosion on board the steamship Princeton. The lady was young, beautiful, and wealthy. After his retire- ment from the Presidency, Mr. Tyler resided at his seat near Williamsburg, Virginia, in the enjoyment of the society of his friends. lie was president of the Peace Congress which met in Washington in 1861, and after- wards became a member of the Confederate Congress. He died at Richmond, Virginia, in January, 1862. -^5/ JAMES KNOX POLK. The persons who were elevated to the presidential chad in the early days of the republic were long before the pcoplo and were long mentioned in connection with that high office ere they were brought forward as regular candidates. Their powers and acquirements were generally known, though dif- ferently estimated. When they were presented as candidates, nobody was surprised, and nobody was doubtful as to their qualifications and the character of their policy. These persons had either passed through a regular gradation of offices or were known for some particular service done for the country, either in the field or in the council. Latterly, however, there has been evinced a different state of affairs. Parties, more anxious for systems and measures than men have been satisfied to place in nomination persons who, although with- out great administrative genius or a very extensive experi- ence in state affairs have fixed political principles, strong practical sense and an honest determination. The history of the world has satisfied the people, that though genius is of much value, the pure and patriotic will should be ranked above it, and — a still higher truth — that men are frail — in- stitutions, certain and reliable. The nomination of James K. Polk, of Tennessee, for the Presidency, surprised the 324 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. great body of the democratic party. Even those who were acquainted with his talents and acquirements had not looked for such a consummation. His opponents delighted to in- quire — " Who is. James K. Polk? " But the election proved that the whole democratic party could rally to the support of a man, who, to the best of his ability, would carry into effect democratic measures. The name Polk is a corruption of Polk ck, originally Scotch, and corrupted in Ireland. The founder of the Polk family in America was Robert Polk, who emigrated from Ireland to the eastern shore of Maryland, between 1735 and 1740. Some of his descendants are still to be found in that state. Other members of the family, including Thomas, Ezekiel and Charles Polk, followed the current of emigration which swept onward to the base of the Alleghanies, and located tempo- rarily in the neighborhood of Carlisle, in Pennsylvania. Thence, the three brothers, Thomas, Ezekiel and Charles, removed to the south-western frontier of North Carolina, about 1750, and settled in the county of Mecklenburg, then a part of Anson county. Ezekiel subsequently changed his residence to South Carolina. Thomas, who, as the eldest was considered the head of the family, has the credit of the principal agency in bringing about the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which preceded the one issued at Philadelphia by more than a year. It is certain, that both he and Ezekiel were staunch and resolute patriots in the revolution. James Knox Polk was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, on the 2d day of November, 1795, and was the oldest of ten children. His father was Samuel Polk, a son of Ezekiel Polk. His mother was Jane Knox, the daughter of James Knox, after whom her eldest son was JAMES KNOX POLK. 325 named, a resident of Iredell county, North Carolina, and a captain in the war of the Revolution. Samuel Polk, the father, was a plain, unpretending farmer, but of enterprising character; from necessity and inclination, frugal in his habits and style of living, yet kind and onerous in disposition. < Thrown upon his own resources in early life, he became the architect of his own fortunes Immediately after the close of the Revolution, a strong tide of emigration set in from Mecklenburg and the adjoining counties, and flowing over the mountains, rolled down upon the ranges of grassy hills, the undulating plains the exten- sive reaches of grazing land, and the fertile valleys of Ten- nessee. Attracted by the glowing accounts, given by the first settlers and adventurers, of the beautiful daughter of his native state, Samuel Polk formed a determination to remove thither with his family; and if honesty of purpose, enterprise and industry, could accomplish that end, to achieve a com- petence for himself, and those who looked up to him lor support and protection. „,.-,. From one cause or another the fulfilment of his design was postponed till the autumn of the year 1806, when ac- companied by his wife and children, he followed the path of emigration to the rich valley of the Duck river, one of the principal tributaries of the Tennessee. Here, in the midst of the wilderness, in a tract of country erected m the fol- lowing year into the county of Maury, he established his new home. His example was imitated by all the Polk family n North Carolina, who, with the exception of one branch, emigrated, and cast their lot in with the bold spirits that ouo-ht a home in the great valley of the Mississippi.' Havincr purchased a quantity of land, Samuel Polk em- ployed himself in its cultivation ; following at intervals, the 326 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. occupation of a surveyor. By dint of patient industry and economy, and by his untiring and energetic perseverance, he acquired a fortune equal to his wishes and his wants. He Jived to behold the country around him become flourishing and prosperous ; to see its dark forests pass away like some vision of enchantment, and its broad plains and valleys blooming with fruits and flowers, and teeming with the luxu- riant produce of a fertile soil. Respected as one of the first pioneers of Maury, and esteemed as a useful citizen and an estimable man, he finally closed his life at Columbia, in 1827. His wife, a most excellent and pious woman, afterwards married a gentleman by the name of Eden, and is now living at Columbia. Her son, James, passed his boyhood in the humble position in life which his parents occupied. The lessons that he learned in this school were never forgotten. He was by no means a stranger to what, — unless, as in his case, accompanied by a happy and contented heart, — is the drudgery of daily toil. He assisted his father in the man- agement of his farm, and was his almost constant companion in his surveying excursions. They were frequently absent for weeks together, treading the dense forests and traversing the rough cane-breaks which then covered the face of the country, and exposed to all the changes of the weather, and the dangers and vicissitudes of a life in the woods. On these occasions, it was the duty of James to take care of the pack- horses and camp equipage, and to prepare the scanty and frugal meals of the surveying party. When a lad, he was strongly inclined to study, and often busied himself with the mathematical calculations of his father. He was very fond of reading, and was of a- reflective turn of mind. "In the infancy of the state of Tennessee, as is always the case in new settlements, the opportunities of instruction JAMES KNOX POLK. ■ 327 were quite limited. The father of young Polk was not in affluent circumstances, though able to give all his children a good education. He regarded with favor the natural bent of his son's mind toward study, and kept him pretty con- stantly at school. Though afflicted for many years by a painful affection, from which he was only relieved by a sur- gical operation, James had been completely successful in mastering the English studies usually taught, when his health began to give way. Fearing that his constitution hud become so much weakened as to unfit him altogether for a sedentary life, his father, not without many an earnest remonstrance from his son, placed him with a merchant, with the view of fitting him for commercial pursuits. "After remaining a few weeks with the merchant, James obtained the permission of his father, by much entreaty and persuasion, to return home ; and in the month of July, 1813, he was placed under the tuition of the Rev. Dr. Henderson Subsequently he was sent to the Murfreesborough Academy, then under the superintendence of Mr. Samuel P. Black, one of the most celebrated classical teachers in Middle Ten- nessee. Henceforward there were no obstacles in the way of his obtaining the education he so ardently desired. In less than two years and a half he prepared himself thoroughly for an advanced class in college ; and in the autumn of 1815, being then in his twentieth year, he entered the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, at the beginning of the sophomore year. This venerable institution, at which so many of the most distinguished statesmen, and the most emi- nent divines, in the southern part of the union, have been educated, was then under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Caldwell, 'justly styled the father of the University.' Co- lonel William Polk, late of Raleigh, and the first cousin of 328 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the father of President Polk, was also one of the most in fluential and active of the trustees, and had been such from about the time of the first establishment of the institution. At the University, Mr. Polk was most exemplary in the perf ;rmance of all his duties, not only as a member of col- lege, but also of the literary society to which he belonged. He was punctual and prompt in every exercise, and never absent from recitation or any of the religious services of the institution. Of the exact sciences he was fond, and he was also an able linguist. At each semi-annual examination he bore away the highest honors, and at the close of the junior year the first distinction was awarded to him and Ex-Governor Wil- liam D. Mosely, of Florida. He graduated in June, 1818, with the highest distinction, which was assigned to him alone, as the best scholar in both the mathematics and the classics, and delivered the Latin Salutatory Oration. Mr. Polk did not forget his Alma Mater amid the busy Bcenes, the turmoil and confusion, of his active life ; nor did she lose sight of one who reflected so much credit upon her, in every station that he filled. He often revisited her shrine, and attended the pleasant re-unions of the mother and her sons ; and at the annual commencement, in June, 1847, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him, together with John Y. Mason, late Secretary of the Navy, of the class of 1816, and Willie P. Mangum, of the Senate of the United States, and a member of the class of 1815. When Mr. Polk left the university, his health was con siderably impaired by constant and unremitting application to his studies. But a few months of relaxation and respite from study, were sufficient fully to restore him ; and tha JAMLS KNOX POLK. 329 choice of a profession was then to be considered and decided. This was not at all difficult. His thoughts had long been directed toward the law, and each succeeding year had served to confirm and strengthen the desire which he had half formed ere the time came for serious reflection. At the beginning of the year 1819, he entered the office of Felix Grundy, at Nashville. Mr. Grundy was then in the zenith of his fame — at the head of the Tennessee bar — enjoying the professional honors and rewards which continued to flow liberally upon him — and with the laurels he had won on the floor of the house of representatives of the United States in defence of the war measures of President Madison, blooming freshly on his brow. In him Mr. Polk found a legal preceptor whose rich stores of learning were freely opened to his benefit. Beside being the favorite student of Mr. Grundy, it was the good fortune of Mr. Polk, during his residence at Nash ville, to attract the attention and win the esteem of one who bound his friends to him with hooks of adamant, and whose favor could not be too highly prized ; of one whose influence over him, powerful though it was, was at all times voluntarily and cheerfully acknowledged ; of Andrew Jackson, the gallant defender of New Orleans, already occupying a proud position among the great men of the nation. Both preceptor and pupil were ever welcome guests at the Hermitage ; both contributed in after years, to the elevation of its occupant to the highest station in the land, and, the one in the senate, and the other in the house, sustained and defended his administration against whomsoever assailed it, in storm and. in sunshine, from its commencement to its close. General Jackson was always warmly attached to Mr. Polk; he looked upon him in the light of a i^roUgee, and took a deep interest in his political advancement. 330 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Within two years from the time he entered the office of Mr. Grundy, Mr. Polk made sufficient progress in his legal studies to entitle him to an examination, and near the close of 1820, he was regularly admitted to the bar. He now returned to Maury county, and established himself in prac- tice at Columbia, among the companions of his boyhood, who had grown up with him to man's estate, — among those who had known and esteemed him from his earliest years. His advantages were great, in consequence of the connec- tion of his family, by the ties of blood or friendship, with most of the old inhabitants and their descendants. His success, therefore, was equal to his fondest hopes. Mr. Polk remained at the bar, it may be said, up to the time of his election as Governor of Tennessee, but for seve- ral years he devoted himself exclusively to the laborious duties of his calling, constantly adding to his practice and his reputation, and annually reaping a rich harvest of pro* fessional emoluments. Though " there were giants in the land," he stood in the front rank among his cotemporaries. During some portion of this period he was associated with other practitioners in business, and at other times he was alone. Among his law partners were Anson V. Brown, of Pulaski, for some years a representative in Congress from the sixth district (Tennessee) and governor of the state from 1845 to 1847, and Gideon J. Pillow, a major-general in the army during the war with Mexico. The father of the late President belonged to the Jeffei • sonian school of politics ; he supported its founder in the great contest of 1800, and up to the close of his life was the firm and consistent advocate of democratic principles. The associations of Mr. Polk himself, in early life, and while he was reading law, naturally inclined him to adopt the same JAMES KNOX POLK. 331 opinions ; but the convictions of his matured judgment a** corded with and approved them. It is rarely the case, in this country, that the politician and lawyers are not united in one and the same person ; and Vlr. Polk was not an exception to this general rule. As soon is he became a voter he attached himself to the democratic party, and after his admission to the bar, was an active par- ticipant in the political contests of that day. His style and manner as a public speaker were calculated to win the favor of a popular assembly, and he was often sent for many miles from his home to address the meetings of his party friends. Elis reputation in this respect was extensive. Possessing all the advantages of mind and disposition so necessary to success in an aspirant for political honors ; rooted in the affections of a large circle of admiring friends ; the hope of the party to which he belonged, he entered public life at an early age. His first employment in this character was that of chief clerk to the house of representatives of the Tennessee legislature ; and in the summer of 1823, in accord- ance not more with his own desire than with the wishes of his friends, he took the stump against the former member of that body from Maury. A most formidable opposition was encountered, but after an animated canvass he secured his election by a heavy majority. He remained in the legislature for two successive years, being regarded as one of the most talented and promising members. Most of the measures of the then President, Mr. Monroe, received his unqualified support and approbation, and he was ardently desirous that the successor of the former should be one who had no sympathy for the latitudinarian doctrines with reference to the constitution which appeared to be gaining ground. Animated by this motive, he approved 332 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of the nomination of Andrew Jackson for the Presidency, made by the Tennessee legislature in August, 1822 ; and in the autumn of the following year, he contributed by his in- fluence and vote to the election of his distinguished friend to the senate of the United States. While a member of the general assembly, Mr. Polk succeeded in procuring the passage of a law designed to pre- vent duelling. Though residing in a section of the union where this mode of vindicating one's honor when assailed has ever been sustained by the general sense of the commu- nity, oftentimes in opposition to positive enactments, he was never concerned in a duel, during his whole life, either as principal or second. This was the more remarkable, be- cause of the many stormy epochs in his political career. His aversion to duelling did not proceed from constitutional timidity ; he was utterly opposed to the practice, from prin- ciple ; and though he made no unbecoming parade of his sentiments, he did not care to conceal them. No one ever invaded his personal rights without finding him prepared to defend them. Mr. Polk always doubted the power of the general go- vernment to make improvements in the states; and his doubts ultimately became absolute denials of the right. He concurred, however, with Mr. Monroe, in the belief that such improvements were desirable, and that it would be pro- per to amend the constitution so as to confer the power, although, in the absence of such an amendment, they might be carried on with the consent of the states in which they were located. When, therefore, the President so far yielded to those of his friends who had long vainly attempted to persuade him to lend his countenance to an extensive sys- tem of internal improvements, as to give his consent to the JAMES KNOX POLK. 333 act of 1824, authorizing surveys to be made of the routes of of such roads and canals as he might deem of national im- portance, Mr. Polk looked upun the measure with favor. The views of Mr. Polk on this question of internal improve- ments subsequently underwent a change ; and when he saw what great latitude had been taken under the constitution as it was, and how much danger there was to be appre- hended from the undue enlargement of the power of the general government by the adoption of the proposed amend- ment, he took decided ground against any change, and ex erted all his influence and authority to bring back the ship of state to her ancient channel. On the 1st day of January, 1824, Mr. Polk was mar- ried to Sarah Childress, the daughter of Joel Childress, a wealthy and enterprising merchant of Rutherford county, Tennessee. Mrs. Polk was well fitted to adorn any station. To the charms of a fine person she united intellectual accomplish- ments of a high order. Sweetness of disposition, graceful- ness and ease of manner, and beauty of mind, were happily blended in her character. Her unfailing courtesy, and her winning deportment, were remarked by every one who saw her presiding at the White House. In the spring of 1825, Mr. Polk offered himself to the electors of the sixth or Duck river district, in which he re- Bided, as their candidate for Congress. At this time the subject of internal improvements was attracting unusual at- tention in Tennessee, owing, probably, to the examinations •recently made by the board of engineers, under the act of 1824, of the country between the Potomac and the Ohio rivers. Indeed, it was the only political question of im- portance, — except the manner in which General Jackson. 334 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. whom Mr. Polk had ardently supported, had been defrauded, as was alleged by his friends, of the Presidency, — that was then agitated or discussed ; for, although there had been several candidates voted for at the late presidential election, they all claimed to belong to the same party. " Although Mr. Polk, like many other young men be- longing to the democratic party, was disposed, in 1825, to adopt the impression that the authority to construct works of internal improvement was comprehended in the money- power conferred by the constitution, further reflection and experience caused him to change his opinion. At the Au- gust election, in 1825, he was chosen a member of Congress, by a flattering vote. That he discharged his duties to the entire satisfaction of those whom he represented, is evidenced by the fact, that he was repeatedly returned by the same constituency, for fourteen years in succession, from 1825 to 1839. In the latter year he voluntarily withdrew from another contest, in which his success was not even ques- tionable, in order to become a candidate for the office of governor of his adopted state. " Mr. Polk first took his seat in the house of representa- tives, as a member of the sixteenth Congress, in December, 1825 : being, with one or two exceptions, the youngest member of that body. The same habits of laborious appli- cation which had previously characterized him, were noi* displayed on the floor of the house and in the committee- room. He was punctual and prompt in the performanc< of every duty. " Immediately after the organization of the two houses of Congress, in December, 1825, the peculiar circumstance; attending the election of Mr. Adams, through the influenco and aid of Mr. Clay, were brought up in review. Amend JAMES KNOX POLK. 335 ments to the constitution were proposed in the senate, by Mr. Benton, of Missouri, providing for a direct vote by the people, in districts, for President, and dispensing with the electoral colleges ; and by Mr. McDuffie, of South Carolina, in the house, authorizing the electors to be chosen by dis- tricts, and containing provisions which would prevent the choice of President, in future, from devolving on the house of representatives. Mr. Polk made his debut as a speaker on this question, and advocated the amendment of the con- stitution, in such a manner as to give the choice of Presi- dent and Vice President directly to the people. As one of the friends of General Jackson, he entered warmly into the subject, and his speech was characterized by what was with him an unusual degree of animation in addressing a delibe- rative body. He afterwards earnestly opposed the Panama mission, the object of which was to form an alliance, offensive and defensive between the North and South American re- publics, and spoke against a protective tariff and a system of internal improvements. In reference to the Panama mission, Mr. Polk introduced the following resolutions. " Resolved, That it is the constitutional right and duty of the house of representatives, when called upon for appropri- ations to defray the expenses of foreign missions, to deliberate on the expediency or inexpediency of such missions, and to determine and act thereon, as in their judgment may seem most conducive to the public good. "Resolved, That it is the sense of this House, that the sending of ministers, on the part of the United States, to take part in the deliberations of the Congress of South Ameri- can nations, at Panama, would be a total departure from the uniform course of policy pursued by this government, from the adoption of the Federal Constitution to the present period ; 336 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and might, and in all probability would, have a tendency to involve the nation in 'entangling alliances,' and endanger the neutrality and relations of amity and peace, which at present happily subsist between the United States and the belligerent power-s — old Spain and the southern republics of this continent." Mr. Polk defended his resolutions, and enforced his views upon the question, in an argumentative speech. During the whole period of General Jackson's admini- stration, as long as he retained a seat on the floor, he was one of its leading supporters, and at times, and on certain question of paramount importance, its chief reliance. In the hour of trial he was never found wanting, or from his post. In December, 1827, two years after his entrance into the house, Mr. Polk was placed on the important committee jf foreign affairs, and some time after was appointed, in ad dition, chairman of the select committee to which was re- ferred that portion of the President's message calling the attention of Congress to the probable accumulation of a surplus in the treasury, after the anticipated extinguish- ment of the national debt. As the head of this committee, he made a lucid report, replete with Jeffersonian doctrines, ably enforced, denying the constitutional powers of Congress to collect from the people, for distribution, a surplus beyond the wants of the government, and maintaining that the re- venue should be reduced to the exigencies of the public service. The session of 1830 will always be distinguished by the death- blow which was then given to the system of internal improve- ments by the general government. The Maysville road veti was second in importance to none of the acts of General Jackson's administration. When the bill was returned by the President unsigned, a storm arose in the house, in the midst JAMES KNOX POLK. 337 of which the veto was attacked by a torrent of passionate declamation, mixed with no small share of personal abuse. To a member from Ohio, whose observations partook of the latter character, Mr. Polk replied in an energetic improvi- sation, vindicating the patriotic resolution of the Chief Ma- gistrate. The friends of state-rights in the house rallied upon the veto. The result was the bill was rejected. In September, 1833, the President, determined upon tho bold measure of the removal of the deposits, which was ef- fected in the following month. The act produced much ex- citement throughout the country, and it was foreseen that a great and doubtful conflict was about to ensue. At such a crisis it became important to have at the head of the com- mittee of ways and means, a man of courage to meet, and firmness to sustain, the formidable shock. Such a man was found in Mr. Polk, and he proved himself equal to the oc- casion. Congress met, and the conflict proved even fiercer than had been anticipated. The cause of the bank was sup- ported in the house by such men as Mr. McDuffee, Adams, and Binney, not to mention a host of other names. Mr. McDuffie, the distinguished leader of the opposition in this eventful conflict, bore testimony, in his concluding remarks, to the boldness and manliness with which Mr. Polk had assumed the only position which could be judiciously taken. All the measures of the committee, including those of para- mount importance, relating to the bank and the deposits, were carried in spite of the most immitigable opposition. Although the vote of Tennessee, given at the presidential election, in 1828, was almost unanimously in favor of Ge- neral Jackson, indications of dissatisfaction were manifested by some of the most prominent members of the democratic party in that state, at an early period of his administration. 838 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. \s the time approached, for the selection of his successor, the elements of discord and disaffection were more plainly visible. His preference for Mr. Van Buren were well know u, as they were never disguised. But in Tennessee, a large portion of the democratic party were in favor of Hugh L. White, an estimable and talented citizen of that state, then one of its senators in Congress. Governor Carroll, Ex-Governor Blount, Felix Grundy, James K. Polk, Cave Johnson, and other discerning men in the democratic ranks, in Tennessee, saw, at a glance, that the prospects of Judge White were utterly hopeless. Ten- nessee had been honored with a President of her own choice, for eight years in succession ; and there was nothing in the public services, or in the character of Judge White, that pe- culiarly entitled him to inherit this distinction, in opposition to the candidates whose nomination was desired in other states Besides, the general sentiment of the democratic party in the nation, as manifested in a thousand ways, and in the most unequivocal manner, had indicated a decided preference for Mr. Van Buren. Mr. Polk and his friends were disposed to yield a ready acquiescence to what appeared to be the controlling desire of their democratic friends out of Ten- nessee. He was himself urgently solicited to join in some public manifestation in behalf of Judge White ; but he firmly and constantly refused to lend his name or his influence foi any such purpose. In the house of representatives, the White interest was represented by John Bell, one of the colleagues of Mr. Polk, a,nd between whom there had long existed a sort of rivalship. Both claimed to be the sincere friends of General Jackson, and both approved of the veto of the United States Bank, and the removal of the deposits. But Mr, Bell was in favor JAMES KNOX POLK. 339 of the incorporation of another bank, while Mr. Polk, in accordance with what had now become one of the cardinal doctrines of the party to which he belonged, avowed his un- compromising hostility to such an institution. In June, 1834, the speaker of the house, Andrew Stevenson, of Vir- ginia, resigned his seat in Congress, in consequence of his nomination as minister to Great Britain. Mr. Polk wag instantly selected by a majority of the democratic members, as the administration candidate for the vacant position. But the friends of Judge White refused to support him, and voted for Mr. Bell, who, with the aid of the whig members, was elected over Mr. Polk on the tenth ballot. Shortly after the adjournment of Congress, Mr. Van Bu- ren was regularly put in nomination as the democratic can- didate for President, by the unanimous voice of the national convention assembled at Baltimore, in May, 1835. Mi-. Polk took no part in calling or recommending this convention. It was entirely a new movement, and originated mainly in a desire to organize the democratic party in a most efficient manner, in anticipation of a powerful effort on the part of the opponents of the administration to defeat their candi- dates. After the nominations were made, and received with an almost universal expression of approbation in everv state in the Union, Tennessee alone excepted, Mr. Polk an- nounced his determination not to separate himself from the democratic party of the nation. Messrs. Carroll, Blount, Grundy, and Johnson, agreed with him in sentiment, and active preparations were immediately made to carry the state at the gubernatorial and congressional elections, in August, 1835. But the time proved too short to counteract the im- pressions which had been formed, and to change the direction of the popular current. The whigs united with the friends 340 LIVES OF THE PE ESIDENTS. of Judge White, and succeeded in defeating Governor Car -oil, who was nominated for re-election, and all the admi- nistration candidates for Congress, save Mr. Polk and Mr. Johnson. Judge White ultimately received the support only of the opponents of the administration and of the friends of the United States Bank, except that in a very few instances he obtained the votes of persons in the southern states, who thought Mr. Van Buren would be unable to carry them, and desired to prevent the election of General Harrison, the whig: candidate at the north. In the state of Tennessee, Mr. Polk and his friends engaged with great activity in the contest, in support of Mr. Van Buren ; but the White elec- toral ticket, with the whig opposition united in its favor, succeeded, by about nine thousand majority. Shortly after the August election, in 1835, Mr. Polk visited Nashville, when on his way to Rutherford county. While at the seat of government, the compliment of a public dinner was tendered to him by the democrats of that city ; but he was forced to decline the proffered invitation, on account of the poor state of his health. When the members of the twenty-fourth Congress assem- bled at the capitol for their first regular session, in Decem- ber, 1835, it was found that the friends of the administra- tion were largely in the majority. Mr. Polk was selected by general consent as their candidate for speaker, not merely as an act of justice on account of the circumstances under which he was defeated the previous year, but as a tribute to the firmness and independences he had exhibited during the canvass in Tennessee. Mr. Bell was once mora the opposing candidate, but he received only eighty-four yotes, while one hundred and thirty-two were given for Mr JAMES KXOX POLK. 341 Polk. At the first, or extra session of the twenty -fifth Congress, held in September, 1837, the same candidates were pitted against each other — Mr. Bell being at that time thoroughly identified with the opposition.* Parties were more equally divided in this Congress, but Mr. Polk wat again chosen over his opponent by thirteen majority. As the speaker of the twenty-fourth and the twenty-fiftl Congress, Mr. Polk occupied the chair of the house during five sessions. It was his fortune to fill this distinguished position when party feelings were excited to an unusual degree. During the first session, more appeals were taken from his decisions, than were ever before known ; but he was uniformly sustained by the house, and frequently by the most prominent members of the opposition. He was courteous and affable toward all who approached him, and in his manner, as the presiding officer, dignity and urbanity were appropriately blended. At the close of the twenty- fourth Congress,' in March, 1837, a unanimous vote of thanks to the speaker was passed by the house. In adjourning the house, on the 4th of March, 1839, and terminating for ever his connection with the body, of which he had been so long a member, Mr. Polk delivered a fare- well address of more than ordinary length, but characterized by deep feeling. Still higher honors awaited Mr. Polk. His long and ar- duous service in the national representation, and more es- pecially the circumstances attending the presidential canvass of 1836, had familiarized the people of Tennessee with his name and character. To the democrat party he was endeared for his sacrifices in their behalf, by his devotion to their in- terests, and his steadfast maintainance of their principles. At. the earnest request of his friends, Mr. Polk consented 342 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. to become the candidate of the democrats of Tennessee, at the August election, in 1839, for the office of governor. It was very evident that none but the strongest man in the party could enter into the canvass with any thing like a fair prospect before him ; and it was exceedingly doubtful whether he could be successful. Mr. Polk accepted the nomi- nation which was tendered to him by the unanimous consent of his democratic friends, in the fall of 1838, and at a bar- becue in Murfreesborough publicly declared himself a candi- date. He immediately took the stump, but was only able to make a few speeches that fall, as it was necessary for him to repair to Washington in time for the opening of the session of Congress. At the close of the session, in the spring of 1839, he hastened home without delay, and his voice was soon heard uttering its appeals, that aroused the energies of the party. The canvass was warm and spirited. The state had for years been in the hands of the opposition, and they now rallied with enthusiasm and alacrity in support of Governor Cannon, the incumbent of the office, who was a candidate for re-election. The exertions of Mr. Polk during this canvass deserved the success with which they were rewarded. He was elected over Governor Cannon by upwards of twenty-five hundred majority, and on the 14th of October took the oath of office at Nashville, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. On this occasion, he delivered an address, which is consi- dered to be one of the clearest and ablest documents that ever came from his pen. By the amended constitution of Tennessee, provision was made for such works of internal improvements as the geo- graphical position of the state rendered necessary ; and in his first regular message, delivered to the two houses of the JAMES KNOX POLK. 343 general assembly, on the 22d of October, 1839, Governo\ Polk advised the " vigorous prosecution of a judicious sys- tem of internal improvements," and that " a board of public works, to be composed of two or more competent and scien- tific men, should be authorized, and their duties established by law." In the same message, he recommended the revi- sion of the laws prohibiting the practice of betting on elec- tions, which, he says, " begets excitement and engenders strife; and it but too often happens, that those who have stakes at hazard, become more interested to secure them, than by a dispassionate exercise of the right of suffrage, to secure the public good." Of irresponsible issues of paper money, or paper credits intended for circulation as money, he was always jealous; and in his second regular annual message to the legislature, in 1841, he advised " a revision of the laws prohibiting the issuance of any exchange tickets or small paper bills, by individuals and corporations other than banks," for the reason, as stated by him, that " some of the internal im- provement companies in which the state was a copartner," had issued " small paper bills in the form of script or checks, and put them into circulation as money, without any specie basis upon which to rest, and without authority of law." The administration of the state government by Mr. Polk was satisfactory to the public, and his course as chief magis- trate was well calculated to harmonize the party of which, by the death of his old friend and preceptor, Mr. Grundy, in 1840, he had become the acknowledged head. The term of office of Mr. Polk expired in October, 1841, but at the August election of that year, he was again a candidate. Ilh prospects were dark — the Harrison electoral ticket had suc- ceeded in the state by more than twelve thousand majoritv. 344 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. To overcome this heavy vote was impossible ; but Mr. Polk entered upon the canvass with his accustomed spirit and ability. His competitor was James C. Jones, a most effective speaker, and decidedly the most popular man at that time in the whig party of the state. Personal good feeling on the part of the opposing candi- dates characterized this contest, as it had that of 1839. Mr. Polk frankly and cordially met Mr Jones on the atump and travelled in company with him. But the efforts of Mr. Polk proved unavailing. The politics of the state were for the time firmly fixed in opposition to his own. He was defeated, but reduced the whig majority to about three thousand. In 1843, he was once more a candidate opposed to Governor Jones, but the latter was re-elected by nearly four thousand majority. On leaving the executive chair of Tennessee, Mr. Polk returned to private life. He possessed a competence — all that he needed or desired — which enabled him to be liberal in the bestowment of his charities, and to dispense a generous hospitality to his numerous friends. Mr. Polk was not without ambition ; but he preferred henceforth for others to secure his advancement, if they de- sired so to do, and contented himself with being in the main a passive instrument in their hands. In 1841 and 1843, he came forth as a candidate for governor, only in compliance with the general desire of his party. The wishes and ex- pectation of his immediate friends were early fixed on the presidential office. At the session of the Tennessee legis- lature, in 1839, he was nominated by that body for the Vice Presidency, to be placed on the ticket with Mr. Van 13uren, and with the expectation, no doubt, that he might succeed that gentleman in the higher office. He was after j AMES KNOX POLK. 34o wards nominated in other states for the same position ; bin as Colonel Johnson seemed to bo the choice of the great body of the democratic party in the union, no efforts of im- portance were made by the former, and at the election, in 1840, he received but one electoral vote, in the college of Virginia. From the time of the defeat of Mr. Van Buren, in 1840, ftp to within a few weeks previous to the assembling of the national democratic convention at Baltimore, in 1844, public opinion in the democratic party seemed to be firmly fixed "apon him as their candidate for re-election to the station he had once filled. But in the month of April, 1844, a treaty was concluded, under the auspices of President Tyler, between the representatives of the government of the United States and of the republic of Texas, providing for the an- nexation of the latter to the American Confederacy. This measure, though long in contemplation, was fruitful in strife and dissension. Hitherto it had been conceded on every hand, that Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clay ought to be, and would be, the rival candidates for the Presidency, in 1844 ; but now the political elements were thrown into complete confusion. The opinions of every public man in the United States were sought ; and among others, Mr. Polk was ad- dressed. He replied, arguing in favor of annexation. When the Texas question was presented in this manner to the American people, public men, and the parties to which they belonged, arrayed themselves on one side or the other. The whig party at the north opposed the annexation. The democratic party generally favored the annexation ; but a small portion of the party at the north, and a few of its members residing in the slave states opposed it. In the midst of the commotion produced by the agitation 346 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of tae Texas question, the national democratic convention assembled at Baltimore, on the 27th of May, 1844. Until the publication of his Texas letter, Mr. Van Burcn had been by far the most prominent candidate ; but when the conven- tion met, Lewis Cass, of Michigan ; Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky ; James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, and Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, all of whom were in favor of the immediate annexation of Texas, were supported for the nomination by their respective friends, with greater or less earnestness. Immediately after the organization of the convention, a rule was adopted, in accordance with the pre- cedents established by the conventions of 1832 and 1835, requiring a vote of two-thirds to secure a nomination. Mr. Van Buren received a majority of votes on the first ballot; seven additional ballotings were then had, but at no time did he receive a vote of two thirds ; whereupon his name was withdrawn by the New York delegation. The delegates op- posed to the nomination, after the first ballot, concentrated their strength mainly upon Mr. Cass ; but as the friends of Mr. Van Buren numbered more than one-third of the con- vention, and were irreconcilably hostile to the selection of any of the other candidates originally proposed, it was appa- rent that no nomination could be made without their consent. The name of Mr. Polk had been freely spoken of in con- nection with the Vice Presidency, and when the convention found itself in this dilemma, a number of his friends among the delegates voted for him on the eighth ballot as the pre- sidential candidate. On the ninth ballot he received nearly all the votes of the members of the convention, and the vote was subsequently made unanimous. The nomination for the Vice Presidency was tendered with great unanimity to Silas Wright, of New York, a distinguished friend of Mr. Van Buren. JAMES KNOX POLK. 347 but it was declined ; and George M. Dallas, of Pennsylva- nia, was then put in nomination. The closing proceedings of the convention were marked by great good feeling and enthusiasm. The nomination of Mr. Polk was communicated to him by a committee appointed by the convention. Unexpected as was the honor thus conferred upon him, he did not decline it. In reply to the committee he returned a letter of acceptance, in which he avowed his firm determination in the event of his election, not to be again a candidate. Prior to its adjournment, the Baltimore convention adopted a series of resolution, setting forth the principles that distinguished them as a party. By the acceptance of their nomination, Mr. Polk signified his approbation of those resolutions. The candidates selected by the whig party, in opposition to the democratic nominees, were Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for President, and Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, for Vice President. Mr. Tyler, the then President, was also put in nomination for the Presidency, by a convention of Ms friends, but he subsequently withdrew his name and gave his support to the democratic ticket. The nomination was not only well received, but a spirit of enthusiasm was soon h roused in his favor. The election was conducted with great spirit and animation. Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Cass, with the other candidates before the national convention, and their friends cordially supported the ticket. In the electoral colleges, Mr. Polk received one hundred and seventy votes, and Mr. Clay one hundred and live. The majority of Mr. Polk over his distinguished competitor, on the popular vote, was about forty thousand, exclusive of the vote of South Carolina, whose electors are chosen by the 348 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. state legislature. The total vote was a little less than tv/o million seven hundred thousand. On the 28th of November — the result of the election being then known — Mr. Polk visited Nashville, and was honored with a public reception by his democratic friends, together with a number of his opponents in the late contest, who cheerfully united with them in paying due honors to the Pre- sident elect of the people's choice. A brilliant civic and military procession escorted him to the public square in front of the court house, where he was addressed by the Honorable A. 0. P. Nicholson, on behalf of the large assembly, that had collected to welcome him to the seat of government. To the address of Mr. Nicholson, congratulating him on his success, and assuring him of the highest respect and admi- ration entertained for his intellectual capacity and his private virtues by the people of Tennessee, Mr. Polk replied in a conciliatory and grateful spirit. Mr. Polk left his home in Tennessee, on his way to Wash- ington, toward the latter part of January, 1845. lie was accompanied on his journey by Mrs. Polk, and several per- sonal friends. On the 31st instant, he had a long private interview at the Hermitage, with his venerable friend, Andrew Jackson. The leave-taking was affectionate and impressive, for each felt conscious, that, in all probability it was a fare- well for ever. On the first of February, Mr. Polk and suite left Nashville, and proceeded as rapidly as possible, considering the demon Btrations of respect with which he was every where received on his route, to the seat of government of the nation. The President eleet and his party arrived at Washington on the 13th of February, and was immediately waited upon by a committee of the two houses of Congress, who informed JAMES KNOX PO^K. 3^9 him that the returns from the electoral colleges had been opened, and the ballots counted, on the previous day ; and that he had been declared duly elected President of the United States. He thereupon signified his acceptance of the office to which he had been chosen by the people, and desired the committee to convey to Congress his assurances, that " in executing the responsible duties which would de- volve upon him, it would be his anxious desire to maintain the honor and promote the welfare of the country." On the 4th clay of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugurated President of the United States. An immense concourse of people assembled at Washington — every quarter of the Union being well represented — to witness the imposing ceremony. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the procession moved from the quarters of the President elect, at Coleman's hotel — Mr. Polk and his predecessor, Mr. Tyler, riding together in an open carriage. Arriving at the capitol, the President elect and the Ex-President entered the senate chamber. Here a procession was formed, when they pro- ceeded to the platform on the east front of the capitol, from which Mr* Polk delivered his inaugural address.* This paper was long, clearly written / and argumentative. The policy of the incoming administration was defined, and strongly enforced. The oath of office was then administered by Chief Justice Taney, and Mr. Polk returned to the pre- sidential mansion. In the evening, the President and his lady attended two balls given in honor of the inauguration. President Polk's cabinet was made up from the most dis- tingushed members of the democratic party, as follows: James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of State ; * We are indebted for the greater part of this sketch to the ably written u Life of James K. Polk," by John 8. Jenkins, Esq. 350 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treasury ; William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of War ; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy ; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, Postmaster General ; and John Y. Mason, of Virginia, Attorney General. With such a mi- nistry, it was expected that the President would satisfy the expectations of the democratic party. The first important achievement of the new administra- tion — that which influenced the remainder of his term — was the consummation of the annexation of Texas to the union. Shortly before the close of Mr. Tyler's term of office, joint resolutions in favor of the annexation of Texas had passed both houses of Congress, and in pursuance of them, President Polk instructed the charge d' affairs of the United States, in Texas, to make the necessary overtures. The people of the infant republic accepted the proffered terms, then held a convention, framed and adopted a state constitution, and prepared themselves for admission into the union. In his first annual message, President Polk called the attention of Congress to the importance of pass- ing at an early day, an act recognizing Texas as a sister of.. the confederacy. The " Army of Occupation," which had been ordered to take post between the Neuces and del Norte (Rio Grande) was under the command of brevet Brigadier-General Taylor, the fleet in the gulf was under the orders of Commodore Conner. Of the events which brought about the declaration of war, and upon which so much discussion has been held, we have not room here to speak. The opposition in Congress denounced the war as unjust, and as being unconstitutionally begun by the President. It was said determination to abide b\ them. The murder of Lieutenant Porter, immediately after this, tended to exasperate the A.me Several communications passed between General Taylor and the Mexioan general, Arista, who had now taken command of the arm\ at Matamm Point Isabel had been made the depol for military stoies for the Anuv o\' Occupation. The Mexioans had already crossed the Rio Grande, and intercepted the oommunioation en this post and Fort Brown, and General Taylor waa engaged in making preparations for re-opening the oommu- ideation between bhe two posts. Teams despatched from Fort Isabel to Fort Brown had been compelled to return, and Captain Walker, o\' the Texan Rangers, who went out on the 28th to reconnoitre, was driven baok to Fort Isabel, with the loss of some of his party, He reported baving en oountered a force oi' the enemy, whioh ho estimated at fifteen hundred. Notwithstanding this, he started on the 29th, with a message from Major Munroe to General Taylor, and after a series of "hair-breadth escapes Buooeeded in delivering it. Vt'ter reoeiving this message, General Taylor (Maj 1st, L846) took up his line o[' tuareh for Point Isabel, with the main body o( the anuv, leaving a regiment of infantrv and two companies o( artillery at Fort Brown, under the oom maud oi' Major Brown. The Mexicans, who had very pru dentlv refrained from attaoking the anuv while General Taylor was present, eomnieneed, on the 3d oi' May, a fUHOUS fire, on the small force left in Fort Brown, from a battel y Of SOYen guns. The lire was instantly returned with spirit, and the battery was silenoed in twentv minutes after tin Americans oommenced firing. Another attaok was cum a < -.ok. 365 ■ ■ The firing s Foi B g heard by al Taylor, he 'J< rj intelli' i . On the morning tailed by a hea re th* had placed a night. A I ne time th 'fata I the gallant fellows in the intrenchn a speedy ed the fire on both sides, maintaining the unequal c perfect coolness, until the firing of the enenr ing of thi ijoi B own, in obediem which he had received from General pounders a Lgnal thai rounded. On the forenoon of the 6th, Ma oj Brown, the gallant commander of the fort, was morti shell from oneof the Mexican batteries. l\< in the commani tain Hawkins, who. at half past four o'clocl mmoned • ad, of c ed. The fir 1 or the of the 'lay. At. daylight - th, the firing red; but after sndd< ed. It was again r< eoj tinned The firing at Palo Alto, where General Tay- igaged with the Mexicans, was then hoard at Fort Brown, with what mixed emotions the reader may cot;' The Americans welcomed the sound with a tremendous The enemy recommenced the bombardment witk 366 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. redoubled energy ; but the continuous and exulting shout of the Americans finally silenced the bombardment. A* sunset a Mexican deserter brought the news of the victory of Palo Alto ; and the wearied garrison felt that their labors and dangers were nearly closed. But General Taylor expressed his determination to marc from Point Isabel to Fort Brown, and to fight any force of the enemy that might oppose his progress. The following letter, from an eye-witness of his operations, gives a clear view of the battles of the 8th and 9th of May, 9 A the succeeding events. By the last departure I wrote to you briefly o r t,he opera tions of the army up to that time, of the bom ardment of the fort opposite Matamoras, and the moveme A of General Taylor with the main body to this place, for the purpose of strengthening its defences. Having effected this, he marched, without waiting for reinforcements, on the evening of the 7th ; and on the 8th, at two o'clock, found the enemy in position, in front of a chapparal, which lies opposite to the timber of a stream called Palo Alto. The train was closed up, the troops filled their canteens. and General Taylor promptly formed his line of battery. The first and only important movement attempted by the enemy, was by a detachment of their cavalry to make a detour around a clump of chapparal on our right, and attack the train. Captain Walker, of the Texas Rangers, promptly reported this, and the 5th infantry was detached to meet it, which it did handsomely, receiving the lancers in square, anil driving them by a well-delivered volley. The cavalry then pushed on again for the train, and found the 3rd in- fantry advancing in column of divisions upon them. The} thm retired, and as they repassed the 5th, they received a ZACHAKY TAYLOR. 36: fire from Lieutenant Ridgely's two pieces, which had ar- rived at the nick of time. Two field-pieces, which were following the enemv's cavalry, were also driven back with them. Meanwhile the enemy's left Avas riddled by the eighteen- pounders, which slowly advanced up the road — Duncan's battery on the left, neglecting the enemy's guns, threw their fire into the Mexican infantry, and swept whole ranks The 8th infantry on the left suffered severely from the enemy's fire. The grass was set on fire at the end of an hour's cannonading, and obscured the enemy's position completely, and an interval of three-quarters of an hour occurred. During this period our right, now resting on the eighteen-pounders, advanced along the wood, to the point originally occupied by the Mexican left, and when the smoke had cleared away sufficiently to show the enemy, the fire was resumed with increased rapidity and execution. Duncan divided his battery on the left, giving a section to Lieutenant Roland, to operate in front, and with the other he advanced beyond the burning grass, (which was three feet high, and the flames rolled ten feet in the strong breeze,) and seized the prolongation of the enemy's right, enfilading that flank completely. Night found the two armies in this position. On the 9th, the general packed the heavy train, collected the enemy's wounded in hospital, buried their dead, arranged our own wounded (among whom we have to regret the sudden death of Major Ringgold, and probably Captain Page,) and moved on in pursuit of the enemy on the Matamoras road. Thoy had taken post in the chapparal, the second time, oc cupyrng the bed of a stream called Resaca de la Palma, with •iieir artillery on the road at the crossing. The general 368 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. brough, up his troops by battalions, and posted them, with brief orders to find the enemy with the bayonet, and placed the artillery where they could act in the road. The dragoons were held in reserve, and as soon as the advance of our line had uncovered the Mexican batteries, General Taylor told Captain May that his time had come ; "Here's the enemy's battery, sir, take it, nolens volens/ May dashed upon it with his squadron, and lost one-third of it ; but he cleared the battery and captured its commander, General Vega, in the act of raising a port-fire, to fire a piece himself. May took his sword, and brought the general off. The enemy remanned the guns, and lost them a second time to the 5th infantry. Captain Barbour, of the 2d infantry, with his single com- pany, and a few from the 5th, who joined him in the chap- paral, threw his back against a clump of bushes, and received and gallantly repelled a charge of cavalry. Captain Duncan, with his battery, did terrible execution. Lieutenant Ridgely was also amongst the foremost. In truth, it was a series of brilliant skirmishes, and heavy shocks, in which fifteen hun • dred fighting men met six thousand hand to hand — over- whelmed them with the precision of their volleys, and the steady coolness of the bayonet, and drove them from the field with the loss of their artillery, baggage, pack-mules, fixed ammunition, and near two thousand stand of muskets. Fort Brown, meantime, had been summoned, with true Mexican duplicity, and told that Taylor was flying. The Matamoras newspapers and official bulletins called him a cow- ardly tailor. In answer to the summons, the officers plunged their swords in the parapet, and replied " to the hilt." Up to the evening of the 9th, fifteen hundred shells and three thousand shot had boor, thrown, and the only loss was that I \i|I.\|;Y TAYLOR. .^O, of the brave commander, Major Brown, and one sergeant and one private killed, and eleven wounded. The general returns to the army to-night, and will cross the river to-morrow or next day. The fort will be increased in guns, and especially provided with mortars, which will bring the town to terms at once. The navy will co-operate at the mouth of the river, and steam-boats begin to carry supplies by that route. General Taylor has just given General Vega a letter to General Gaines, and a letter of credit on his factor. The officers here and in the main body vied with their com- mander in delicate attentions to a brave and accomplished enemy, who won their admiration on the field, and was taken like a soldier, in full harness, and fighting gallantly to the last. Our loss about thirty killed, and one hundred and forty wounded. Mexican loss at Palo Alto, set down by themselves at four hundred and fifty ; at Resaca de la Palma, two thousand missing. Since the battle, our dragoons have been exchanged grade* for grade ; and the Mexican wounded sent over to Matamoras. On the morning after the battle of Resaca de la Palma, General Taylor with his usual humanity, sent to Matamoras for Mexican surgeons to attend their wounded, and for men to bury their dead ; and the same day was occupied by the Americans in burying their dead. On the 11th of May, an exchange of prisoners took place ; and General Taylor started for Point Isabel, for the pur- pose <>f communicating with Commodore Conner, command- ing the American squadron in the Gulf of Mexico, and who sailed to Brazos Santiago, in order to render aid to the general. 370 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The 13th an 14th of May were spent by General Taylor m organizing and despatching a force to capture Barita, a town near the mouth of the Rio Grande, on the Mexican side, where the enemy was said to be concentrating the remains of his shattered and vanquished army. Commodore Conner ordered a part of his fleet to co-operate, and the place was quietly taken on the 15th, the inhabitants fleeing on the approach of the Americans. The next operation was the capture of Matamoras. Every thing was ready for an attack on the town, on the evening of the 16th. On the morning of the 18th, General Taylor commenced crossing the river. No resistance was offered by the Mexicans on the bank of the river, and it is said many of them assisted in landing the boats. Arista re- treated to Reynosa, where he encamped, waiting a rein- forcement from Parades. General Taylor although in possession of Matamoras. found himself in no condition to advance further into the enemy's country. He was deficient not only in troops, but in supplies and the means of transportation. It became necessary, therefore, for him to remain at this post through - the greater part of the summer, waiting for the necessary means of prosecuting the invasion. In the beginning of June, General Taylor's force did not exceed nine thousand men, including seven hundred and fifty stationed at Barita, and five hundred at Point Isabel. Reinforcements were coming in slowly from the different states of the union, and, although he was anticipating the arrival of a sufficient force to warrant his advance towards Monterey, where the enemy was concentrating his forces, neither men nor steam-boats had yet arrived sufficient to en- able him even to fix the time of his departure. By the mi- ZACHARY TAYLOR. 371 litary arrangements which followed the re-organization of the government, General Arevalo was sent to Monterey, and Bravo to Mexico, while Mejia was placed in the command of the northern army, and Ampudia was ordered to San Luis Potosi. Monterey, being considered the most probable scene of General Taylor's operations, was strongly fortified and furnished with provisions and munitions of war. Before the end of June, General Taylor was strongly reinforced by the arrival of numerous bodies of fresh volunteers from various parts of the union ; but his means of transportation were still deficient. In the meantime Captain McCulloch, with the Texan rangers, had seized and occupied the Mexican ports of Rey- nosa, Camargo. and Mier, without resistance on the part of the enemy. It was not until the 5th of August, nearly three months after the battle of Resaca de la Palma, that General Taylor was able to take up his line of March from Mata- moras to Camargo. On arriving at that place, General Worth was detached to San Juan, while Captain Wall oc- cupied Reynosa, and General Twiggs had been left in com- mand of Matamoras. Towards the end of August, General Worth was ordered to advance to Seralvo, and there to await further orders. From this port he sent advices to General Taylor on the 5th of September, that Monterey had just been reinforced by the arrival of three thousand men under General Ampudia, thus increasing the garrison to four thousand. This important information determined General Taylor to advance immediately and attack Monterey. He accordingly took up his march towards Seralvo on the 7th. leaving General Patterson in command of all the forces sta- tioned between Camargo and Matamoras On his arrival at Seralvo, instead of waiting for further reinforcements oi 372 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. fresh orders before attacking so formidable a fort with sc light a force, he pushed forward for Monterey with his main body, consisting of but little more than six thousand men. On the morning of the 19th of September, the army encamped at the "Walnut Springs," within three miles of the city of Monterey. Here they could survey the prospect before them — Monterey seated in a beautiful valley, bosomed among lofty and imposing mountains on the north, west and south, and open to a plain on the east, fortified with thick stone walls in the old Spanish fashion of another century, with all the apparatus of ditches and bastions, and lowering upon them, with deep mouthed cannon. From their elevated po- sition the Americans could see in part what they had already learned from spies and deserters, that the flat-roofed stone houses of the city itself, had been converted into fortifications. Every street was barricaded, and every housetop was bris- tling with musketry. On one side the Americans could see the Bishop's palace, a strong post, well fortified ; on the other, redoubts well manned; and in the rear of all, a river. Such was the city which was destined after three days of desperate fighting, to surrender its garrison of ten thousand men, its castles, redoubts, cannon, and munitions of war, to an Ame- rican army of seven thousand men, inspirited by the guiding genius of Taylor. After reconnoitering the defences of the city, General Tay- lor detached General Worth to gain a position on the Saltillo road ; and the next day, the 21st of September, while Worth advanced and gained a good situation, the commander-in- chief pushed the attack vigorously against the centre and left of the tow r n. The firing on both sides was tremenduous The assailants displayed the greatest valor. By the evening General Taylor had obtained a foot-hold in the town. ZACHARY TAYLOR. ?>78 The 22d passed without any operations in the lower part of the city. The Mexicans gradually withdrew from that por- tion. On the same day, Worth attacked and carried the Bishop's Palace and the adjacent batteries. On the 23d, both divisions pressed to the attack, and the gallant Worth, over- coming the greatest obstacles advanced far into the town. The next morning, propositions were made for a capitulation, which was at length arranged. Monterey and the material of war, with certain small exceptions were placed in the hands of the Americans. Ampudia and his force were allowed to retire. The entire loss of the assailants was one hundred and twenty men killed, and three hundred and sixty-eight men wounded. The Mexican loss was supposed to be much greater. The achievement was glorious, and the gallant commander and his troops deserved the applause they received from their countrymen. We doubt whether such a fortress was ever before taken with such means as those at the command of General Taylor. After establishing his head-quarters at Monterey, General Taylor detached Brigadier-General Worth with twelve hun- dred men and eight pieces of artillery to Saltillo ; Brigadier- General Wool and the column under his command, two thous- and four hundred strong, with six pieces of artillery, w ere ordered to occupy the town of Parras. Saltillo and Parras were occupied by the Americans without any opposition, the enemy having fallen back as far as San Luis Potosi. Santa Anna had now been recalled to Mexico, and placed at the head of affairs, and Parades deposed. Santa Anna was no- minally commander-in-chief of the. Mexican armies, really dictator. He was raising a formidable army to resist the further advance of General Taylor. Before December, he bad succeeded in raising twenty thousand men, and concen- 374 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. trating them at San Luis Potosi, which he strongly fortified, and filled with military stores. After awaiting the advance of this formidable force for some time, General Taylor determined to meet them on their own ground. General Taylor was now superseded in the chief command of the Army of Occupation, by Major-General Winfield Scott, who was appointed commander-in-chief of all the land forces in Mexico, and at the various posts on the Rio Grande The theatre of Scott's operations was different from that of Taylor's. His main object was the reduction of the city of Vera Cruz, and the fort of San Juan de Ulloa, by a combined land and sea force. Vera Cruz being the key of the main road to the capital, General Scott thought that its reduction would compel the Mexicans to sue for peace. To effect this object it became necessary for him to draw from General Taylor the main body of his regular forces. Not only were nearly all the regulars withdrawn from him but his noble coadjutor General Worth was detached and ordered to march at the head of them from his post at Sal- tillo towards Vera Cruz, while Taylor was advised to fall back on Monterey and await the arrival of fresh recruits, volunteers who were destined to take the place of the vete- ran warriors of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey. His address to these veterans was full of sensibility. On reaching Monterey, his regular force was six hundred, including May's dragoons. In February, he had received reinforcements raising his army to nearly six thousand men. Anticipating an attempt on the part of Santa Anna, to possess himself of the line of posts between himself and Matainoras, he determined to advance and fight a pitched battle with him. Accordingly, on the 20th of February, we find him encamped at Agua Nueva, eighteen miles south of ZACHARY TAYLOR. 375 Saltillo, and sending out videttes, who return with intelligence that Santa Anna is within thirty miles of his position, rapidly advancing with some twenty thousand men against his forlorn hope of five thousand four hundred. On receiving this intelligence, General Taylor determined to choose his own battle ground, and accordingly fell back to an admirable position in front of Buena Vista, seven miles south of Saltillo. The following extracts, from the dispatch of the commander himself, will give the best general view of the battle. The army broke up its camp, and marched at noon on the 21st, encamping at the new position a little in front of the hacienda of Buena Vista. With a small force I proceeded to Saltillo, to make some necessary arrangements for the defence of the town, leaving Brigadier-General Wool in the immediate command of the troops. Before these arrange- ments were completed, on the morning of the 22d, I was -idvised that the enemy was in sight, advancing. Upon reaching the ground, it was found that his cavalry advance was in our front, having marched from Encarnacion, as we have since learned, at eleven o'clock on the day previous, and driving in a mounted force left at Agua Nueva to cover the removal of the public stores. Our troops were in posi- tion, occupying a line of remarkable strength. The fea- tures of the ground were such as nearly to paralyze the ar- tillery and cavalry of the enemy, while his infantry could not derive all the advantages of its numerical superiority. In this position we prepared to receive him. At eleven o'clock I received from General Santa Anna a summons to surrender at discretion, which, with a copy of my reply, I have already transmitted. The enemy still fore- bore his attack, evidently waiting for the arrival of his rear 376 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS columns, which could be distinctly seen bj our look-outs as they approached the field. A demonstration made on his left causei me to detach the 2d Kentucky regiment and a section of artillery to our right, in which position they bivou- acked for the night. . In the mean time the Mexican light troops had engaged ours on the extreme left (composed of parts of the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry dismounted, and a rifle battalion from the Indiana brigade, under Major Gorman, the whole commanded by Colonel Marshall,) and kept up a sharp fire, climbing the mountain side, and appa- rently endeavoring to gain our flank. Three piece of Cap- tain Washington's battery had been detached to the left, and were supported by the 2d Indiana regiment. An occasional si i ell was thrown by the enemy into this part of our line, but without effect. The skirmishing of the light troops was kept up with trifling loss on our part until dark, when I became convinced that no serious attack would be made before the morning, and returned, with the Mississippi regiment and squadron of 2d dragoons, to Saltillo. The troops bivouacked without fires, and laid upon their arms. A body of cavalry, some fifteen hundred strong, had been visible all day in rear of the town, having entered the valley through a narrow pas? east of the city. This cavalry, commanded by General Minon, had evidently been thrown in our rear to break up and harass our retreat, and perhaps make some attempt against the town, if practicable. Having made dispositions for the protection of the rear, I proceeded on the morning of the 23d to Buena Vista, ordering forward all the other available troops. The action had commenced before mj arrival on the field. During the evening and night of the 22d, the enemv had thrown a body of light troops on the ZACHARY TAYLOR. 377 mountain side with the purpose of outflanking our left ; and it was here that the action of the 23d commenced at an early hour. Our riflemen, under Colonel Marshall, who had been reinforced by three companies under Major Trail. 2d Illinois volunteers, maintained their ground handsomely against a greatly superior force, holding themselves under cover, and using their weapons with deadly effect. About eight o'clock a strong demonstration was made against the centre of our position, a heavy column moving along the road. This force was soon dispersed by a few rapid and well-directed shots from Captain Washington's battery. In the mean time the enemy was concentrating a large force of infantry and cavalry under cover of the ridges, with the obvious intention of forcing our left, which was posted on an extensive plateau. The 2d Indiana and 2d Illinois regiments formed this part of our line, the former covering three pieces of light artillery, under the orders of Captain O'Brien — Brigadier-General Lane being in the immediate .command. Captain O'Brien found it impossible to retain his position without support, but was only able to withdraw two of his pieces, all the horses and cannoneers of the third piece being killed or disabled. Colonel Bissell's ~egiment, 2d Illinois, which had been joined by a section or Captain Sherman's battery, had be- come completely outflanked, and was compelled to fall back. being entirely unsupported. The enemy was now pouring masses of infantry and cavalry along the base of the mountain on our left, and was gaining our rear in great force. At this moment I arrived upon the field. The Mississippi regiment had been directed to the left before reaching the position, and immediately came into action against the Mexican infantry which had turned our flank. Discovering that the enemy was heavily pressing upon the Mississippi 378 I IVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. regiment, tue 3d Indiana regiment, under Colonel Lane, was despatched to strengthen that part of our line, which formed a crotchet perpendicular to the first line of battle. At the same time, Lieutenant Kilburn, with a piece of Captain Bragg's battery, was directed to support the infantry there engaged. The action was for a long time warmly sustained at that point — the enemy making several efforts both with infantry and cavalry against our line, and being always repulsed with heavy loss. I had placed all the regular cavalry and Captain Pike's squadron of Arkansas horse under the orders of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel May, with directions to hold in check the enemy's column, still advancing to the rear along the base of the mountain, which was done in conjunction with the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry, under Colonels Marshall and Yell. In the mear. time our left, which was strongly threatened by a superior force, was farther strengthened by the detachment of Cap- tain Bragg's, and a portion of Captain Sherman's batteries to that quarter. The squadron of the 1st dragoons, under Lieutenant Rucker, w r as now ordered up the deep ravine which these corps were endeavoring to cross, in order to charge and disperse them. The squadron proceeded to the point indicated, but could not accomplish the object, being exposed to a heavy fire from a battery established to cover the retreat of those corps. While the squadron w r as detached on this service, a large body of the enemy was observed to concentrate on our ex- treme left, apparently with the view of making a descent upon the hacienda of Buena Vista, where our train and bag- gage were deposited. Lieutenant-Colonel May was ordered to the support of that point, with two pieces of Captain Sherman's battery, under Lieutenant Reynolds. In the mean ZACHARY TAYLOR. 379 time, the scattered forces near the hacienda, composed in part of Majors Trail and Gorman's commands, had been to some extent organized under the advice of Major Monroe, chief of artillery, with the assistance of Major Morrison volunteer staff, and were posted to defend the position. Before our cavalry had reached the hacienda, that of the enemy had made its attack ; having been handsomely met by the Ken- tucky and Arkansas cavalry under Colonels Marsha.? and Yell. The position of that portion of the Mexican army which had gained our rear was now very critical, and it seemed doubtful whether it could regain the main body. At this moment I received from General Santa Anna a message by a staif officer, desiring to know what I wanted ? I imuiedi ately despatched Brigadier-General Wool to the Mexican general-in-chief, and sent orders to cease firing. Upon reaching the Mexican lines General Wool could not cause the enemy to cease their fire, and accordingly returned without having an interview. The extreme right of the enemy con- tinued its retreat along the base of the mountain, and finally, in spite of our efforts, effected a junction Avith the remainder of the army. During the day, the cavalry of General Minon had ascended the elevated plain above Saltillo, and occupied the road from the city to the field of battle, where they intercepted several of our men. Approaching the town, they were fired upon by Captain Webster from the redoubt occupied by his com- pany. The enemy made one or two efforts to charge the ar tillery, but was finally driven back in a confused mass, and did not again appear upon the plain. In the mean time, the firing had ceased upon the principal field. The enemy seemed to confine his efforts to the protection of his artillery LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and I had left the plateau for a moment, when I was recalled thither bv a very heavy musketry fire. On retraining that position, I discovered that our infantry (Illinois and 2d Ken- tucky) had engaged a greatly superior force of the enemy — evidently his reserve — and that they had been overwhelmed by numbers. The moment was most critical. Captain O'Brien with two pieces, had sustained this heavy charge to the last. and was finally obi s leave his guns on the field — his infantry support being entirely routed. Captain Bragg, who had just arrived from the left, was ordered at once into bat- tery. Without any infantry to support him. and at the im- minent risk of losing his guns, this officer came rapidly into action, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzle of his pieces. The first discharge of canister caused the enemy to hesitate, the second and third drove him back in disorder, and saved the day. The 2d Kentucky regiment, which had advanced beyond supporting distance in this affair, was driven back and closely pressed by the enemy's cavalry. Taking a ravine which led in the direction of Captain Wash- ington's battery, their pursuers became exposed to his fire, which soon checked and drove them back with loss. In the mean time the rest of our artillery had taken position on the plateau, covered by the Mississippi and 3d Indiana regiments, the former of which had reached the ground in time to pour a fire into the right flank of the enemy, and thus contribute to his repulse. In this last conflict we had the misfortune stain a very heavy loss. Colonel Hardin. 1st Illinois, and Colonel McKee and Lieutenant-Colonel Clay. 2d Ken- tucky regiment, fell at this time while gallantly leading their nmands. farther attempt was made by the enemy to force our position, and the approach of night gave an opportunity tc :- . _ . . . _ . _ and st pari ■ ' Z t ' E "' - _ ' - r j the place as we L leaving _ _"- i . ' 1 j port, to ha 1 - • . ■ hand com- mand left in a: near Sail tteries of light than fov. i and fifth-1 _ - - ... I - ofonnaJ - -- four hundred and loss in k led may - and will leas hundred of their kille : .eld of t we no means of - qc the numb-. and d men from : ) b I The rest complimenting particular office- - Sqz lives of the presidents. The battle of Buena Vista will stand as an evidence of the great military qualities of the American general. The field was skilfully chosen, and all the efforts of a vastly superior enemy was met with a wise and determined resist- ance. General Taylor performed no further remarkable service during the war. Upon his return to the United Slates, he was received with every demonstration of gratitude and admiration. Although he retired to his plantation on the Mississippi, his countrymen were determined that there he should not be permitted to rest. Before the general had left Mexico, he had been nominated for the Presidency in various sections of the union, and a disposition was now manifested to bring him forward as the candidate of the national whig party. The general had meddled little with politics. He declared himself " a whig, but not an ultra whig." Violent partizans found no favor with him. His opinions were those of the Jefferson stamp, while he ex- pressed his ardent admiration for the policy of Washington. lie objected to the frequent exercise of the veto power by the President — believing such a course detrimental to liberty, and antagonistic to the design of the framers of the consti- ■ ; i . It was understood that his views in regard to the revenue and internal improvements agreed with those of the ! rading whig statesmen. In June, 1848, the national convention of the whigs met in Philadelphia. Upon the third ballot, General Taylor received a majority of votes, and was, therefore, declared the nominee for President. Millard Fillmore, of New York, was placed upon the same ticket as a candidate for the Vice Presidency. General Taylor accepted the nomination with a diffidence that evinced how little he had sought for it The canvass was an exciting one. General Lewis Cass, of ZACHARY TAYLOR. 383 Michigan, and General William 0. Butler, of Kentucky, were the candidates of the democratic party ; while Martin Van Buren, of New York, and Charles Francis Adams, of Massachusetts, were the candidates of a new organization, called "the free soil party," which was opposed to the ex- tension of slavery. The result of the election thus appeared in the electoral college : For Zachary Taylor, one hundred and eighty-five ; for Lewis Cass, one hundred and sixty ; for Milkrd Fillmore, one hundred and eighty-five ; for Wil liam 0. Butler, one hundred and sixty. Messrs. Taylor and Fillmore were thus elected. The progress of the President elect from his residence in Louisiana to Washington, in February, 1849, was a con- tinued triumph. In all the towns through which he passed, he was greeted with gorgeous processions and the most en- thusiastic acclamations. The old warrior was rewarded for all his hard service upon the frontier, in the swamps of Florida, and in the hot fields of Mexico. On the 4th of March, the ceremony of inauguration was performed, amid a vast assemblage of citizens, from all parts of the union. General Taylor's address was brief, but eloquent, and all that the occasion demanded. He expressed his intention of making honesty, capacity, and fidelity, the qualifications for office, and of guiding his administration by the bright example of Washington. The following eminent whigs were chosen to form the cabinet : John M. Clayton, of Delaware, Secretary of State ; William M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury ; Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, Secretary of the Inte- rior ; George W. Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of War ; William B. Preston, of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy ; Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, Attorney General ; JacoL 384 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Oollainer, of Vermont, Postmaster General. The office of Secretary of the Home Department, or of the Interior, had been created at the previous session of Congress. It waa designed to relieve the state and treasury department of a portion of their onerous duties. Of the events of General Taylor's administration, we may speak, but not judge. They have passed too recently to allow the cool settlement of an opinion of them. In Congress, the opposition had a decided majority. Howell Cobb, de- mocrat, was elected speaker of the house, at the second session of Congress, after General Taylor's inauguration, but not until after a struggle of six weeks' duration, pro- duced by the question of slavery in the territories causing a division in the democratic ranks. Great excitement per- vaded the country. California had applied for admission into the union, but this was opposed by southern members of Congress. Texas laid claim to a portion of the territory of New Mexico, and threatened to take forcible possession. It was proposed to give Utah and New Mexico territorial governments, but the question of the prohibition of slavery interfered. The President was understood to be in favor of the admission of California independent of other mea- sures, and of leaving the question of slavery or no slavery in the territories to the people concerned. But Messrs. Foote, Bell, and Clay, in the senate, proposed a series of compro- mise measures, which they contended would settle the diffi- culty. A select committee of thirteen senators, of which Henry Clay was chairman, reported these measures com- bine'd in what was called an " omnibus bill." This bill caused a lengthy and exciting discussion in Congress, the best talent of the country being called into the arena of debate. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 385 Preparation being made in southern ports to set on foot an expedition to revolutionize the Island of Cuba, in the summer of 1850, President Taylor issued a proclamation, expressing his determination to uphold and vindicate the neutral laws of the United States. The expedition, under General Narciso Lopez, however, sailed, and troops were landed at Cardenas. After a day's fighting, which proved that the invaders had few friends on the island, they re- embarkea and returned to the United States. The course of the president, in regard to this expedition, was generally approved. The discussion upon the compromise measure was at its height; The storms of sectional hostility threatened the union, when suddenly the pilot was stricken down while at the helm. On the 4th of July, 1850, President Taylor at- tended the ceremony of laying the corner stone of the na- tional monument to Washington. It is believed that the exposure to a heat of unusual intensity caused a malady, which about half-past ten o'clock, on the night of the 9th of July, terminated his eventful and honorable life. His last words indicated his character : " I am not afraid to die. I am ready; I have endeavored to do my duty," said the dying patriot. The mournful announcement of the death of the chief magistrate caused universal sorrow. Those who had opposed the policy of his administration were now forward in doing honor to the great and good qualities of the deceased. Throughout the land the sounds of woe and lamentation were f .o be heard. Both houses of Congress had adjourned when it was reported that the President was not expected to live above a few hours. When they assembled the next day, and the tidings was officially communicated to them, impressive 886 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. eulogies were delivered by members from various states. In the senate, Mr. Webster and other distinguished orators eulogized the deceased. In the house, among several eloquent eulogies, those of Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and of Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky, were particularly noted as giving the true idea of the character of General Taylor, and of the affliction of the nation at his loss. "Great, without pride;" said Mr. Marshall, " cautious, without fear ; brave, without rashness ; stern, without harshness ; modest, without bash- fulness ; apt, without flippancy ; intelligent, without the pedantry of learning ; sagacious, without cunning ; benevo lent, without ostentation ; sincere and honest as the sun, the ' noble old Roman' has at last laid down his earthly har- ness — his task is done. He has fallen as falls the summer- tree in the bloom of its honors, ere the blight of autumn has seared a leaf that adorns it." A committee from both houses was appointed to make the necessary arrangements for the funeral. The obsequities were solemnized with great magnificence, and were worthy of a nation's sorrow. The funeral procession was long and splendid. An eloquent Bermon was delivered by the Rev. Smith Pyne, and the ser- vice of the Episcopal Church was performed. All the pro- ceedings were impressive and worthy of their illustrious subject. On the 17th of July, the senate adopted a resolution proposed by Mr. Webster, to erect a neat monument to the memory of General Taylor. The house concurred in this measure. President Taylor left a widow and two daughters — both married. His fortune was never extensive, but he left sufficient property to render bis widow independent. sm *% *&&a t®m> MILLARD FILLMORE. The life of Millard Fillmore is full of bright lessons. Nc more foreible illustration of the power of energy and intel- lect over obstructing cirrumstances — " low birth and iron fortune" — can be found. To every young American it. speaks, teaching resolution and perseverance. His father, Nathaniel Fill more, was the son of one of 1 ike name, who served in the French war, and was a true whig of the revolution, proving his devotion to his country's cause by gallantly fighting as lieutenant under General Stark, in the battle of Bennington. He was born at Bennington, Vermont, in 1771, and early in life removed to what is now called Summec Hill, Cayuga county, New York, where Mil- lard was born, January 7th, 1800. He was a farmer, and soon after lost all of his property by a bad title to one of the military lots he had purchased. About the year 1802, he removed to the town of Sempronius, now Niles, and lived there till 1819, when he removed to Erie county, where he cultivated a small farm with his own hands. He was a strong and uniform supporter of Jefferson, Madison, and Tompkins, and was a thorough whig. The narrow means of his father, deprived Millard o f a ny advantages of education beyond what were afforded by the 387 888 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. imperfect and ill-taught schools of the county. Books were scarce and dear, and at the age of fifteen, young Fillmore had read but little except his common school books and the Bible. At that period he was sent to the then wilds of Liv- ingston county, to learn- the clothier trade. He remained there about four months, and was then placed with another person, to pursue the same business and wool carding, in the town where his father lived. A small village library, which was formed there soon after, gave him the first means of acquiring general knowledge through books. He improved the opportunity thus offered. The thirst for knowledge soon became insatiate, and every leisure moment was spent in reading. Four years were passed in this way, working at his trade, and storing his mind with the contents of books of history, biography, and travels. At the age of nineteen he fortunately made the acquaintance with Walter Wood, Esq., who advised him to quit his trade and study law. In reply to the objection of a lack of education, means, and friends, to aid him in a course of professional study, Judge Wood kindly offered to give him a place in his office, to ad- vance money to defray his expenses, and wait until success in business should furnish the means of re-payment. The offer was accepted. The apprentice bought his time ; en- tered the office of Judge Wood, and for more than two yeara applied himself closely to business and study. He read law and general literature, and studied and practised surveying. Fearing he should incur too large a debt to his benefactor, he taught school for three months in the year, and acquired the means of partially supporting himself. In the fall of 1821, he removed to the county of Erie, and the next spring entered a law office in Buffalo. There he sustained himself by toaching school, and continued his legal studies until the MILLARD FILLMORE. 389 spring of 1823, whew he was admitted to tho Common Pleas, and commenced practice in the village of Aurora, where he remained until 1830, when he again removed to Buffalo, and has continued to reside there ever since. His first entry into public life was in January, 1820, when he took his seat as a member of the legislature, from Erie county, to which office he was re-elected the two following years. His talents, integrity, and assiduous devotion to public business, soon won him the confidence of the house. The most important measure that came up during his service in the legislature, was the bill to abolish imprisonment for debt. In behalf of that philanthropic measure, Mr. Fillmore took an active part, urging its justice and expediency, and as a member of the committee on the subject, aiding to per- fect its details. That portion of the bill relating to justices' courts was drafted by him, the remainder being the work of the Hon. John C. Spencer. He was elected to Congress in 1832, and took his seat in the stormy session of 1833-34, immediately after the remo- val of the deposits. In those days, the business of the house and debates were led by old and experienced members — new ones, unless they enjoyed a widespread reputation, rarely took an active part. Little chance was afforded him of display ing his abilities, but the school was one admirably qualified to develop and cultivate his powers. He discharged his duty with scrupulous fidelity, never omitting any effort to advance the interest of his constituents. At the close of his term of service, he resumed the practice of his profession, until, yielding to the public voice, he was re-elected to Congress, in 1836. In that Congress, Mr. Fillmore took a more ac- tive part than he had during his first term, and at the next contest he was re-elected by an increased majority. 390 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. On the assembling of the next Congress, to which Mr. Fillmore was re-elected by the largest majority ever given in his district, he was placed at the head of the committee on ways and means. The chairman of this important com- mittee is virtually the leader of the house. The duties of that responsible station, always arduous, were at this period peculiarily so. A new administration, with an entire new domestic policy had come into power. To replenish the treasury, to provide means that would enable the government to meet the demands against it, to pay off the debt, to revive trade and industry — these onerous tasks devolved upon the committee of ways and means. With an energy and devo- tion to the public weal, truly admirable, Mr. Fillmore applied himself to the work, and, sustained by a majority, succeeded in accomplishing his aims. He was an ardent and perse- vering advocate of the protective tariff policy, and his views generally coincided with those of the whig champion, Henry Clay. After his long and severe labors in the committee room — labors sufficiently arduous to break down any but an iron constitution — he was required to give his unremitting attention to the house, to make any explanation that might be asked, and be ready with a complete refutation of every cavil or objection that the minority might devise. For the proper performance of these duties, few men are more properly qualified than Mr. Fillmore. In 1844, Mr. Fillmore was selected as the whig candidate for governor of New York. The able and popular Silas Wright was his opponent. Wright was elected. Confident, however, that Mr. Fillmore could command a great vote in New York, the whigs nominated him for the responsible office of Comptroller, in 1847, and succeeded in electing him by an unprecedented majority. MILLARD FILLMORE. 391 In June, 1848, the national whig convention to nominate candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency was held in Philadelphia. General Zachary Taylor was nominated for the first office, and Millard Fillmore for the second. The canvass was most exciting. The result was a triumph for General Taylor and Mr. Fillmore. Entering on the duties of his office on the 4th of March, 1849, Mr. Fillmore presided over the senate of the United States, with a dignity and ability worthy of an experienced parliamentarian, until the death of General Taylor, on the 9tjh of July 1850, when, according to the provision of the constitution, he became President of the United States. Immediately after the accession of Mr. Fillmore, all the members of the cabinet of General Taylor tendered their resignations. It was understood that they differed with the new President upon important public measures. A new cabi- net was not organized without unusual difficulty. At length the ministry was completed as follows : Darnel Webster, of Massachusetts, Secretary of State ; Thomas Corwin, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; Alexander H. H. Stuart, of Virginia, Secretary of the Interior ; Charles C. Conrad, of Louisiana, Secretary of War; William II. Graham, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy; John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, Attorney General; Nathan K. Hall, of New York, Postmaster General. As the opposition had a majority in both houses of Con- gress, it was not expected that the administration could carry through any of the measures which the whigs maintained to be just and wise. The passage of the compromise measures, settling, as supposed, the question of slavery, had the effect to lull the public mind into its usual calm and steady move- ments. Another expedition with the object of securing the 392 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. independence of the Island of Cuba, called forth a proclama tion from President Fillmore, declaring that all violations of the neutra laws of the United States should be punished and that all those who embarked in such expeditions should place themselves beyond the protection of the laws of the country. The armament, under General Lopez, sailed, however, a/id landing in Cuba, the troops fought several battles. But they were finally defeated and dispersed. General Lopez waa garotted — Colonel Crittenden and fifty-two men were shot, and more than a hundred were sent to Spain, where they were reprimanded and liberated. It is agreed that Mr. Fillmore filled his high station with honor. His opponents admitted his patriotism, in- tegrity, and energy. He could look back upon his career, with feelings of pride and self-approval — like those of a person, who has, almost unaided, climbed to the peak of a lofty and rugged mountain. He was a true representative of the American character — with all its simplicity, in- dustry, and aspirations. While he held the office of President, one of his daughters might have been found teaching a public school in New York. About such a President, there could be no tinsel, nor monarchical re- serve. He was worthy to be the servant of a people who look to institutions, not to men, for happiness and prosperity. In person, Mr. Fillmore was rather above the middle height, and strongly built. Though still young, compared with the statesmen who surrounded him, his hair was gray, and his general appearance venerable. The ex- pression of his countenance was cheerful, benevolent, and intelligent. His bearing was dignified and courte- ous. He visited Europe in 1855, and again in 1866; and died at Buffalo on the 8th of March, 1874. FRANKLIN PIERCE. TnE baffling of wire-working politicians, and the selec- tion of meritorious but unpretending persons as candidates for the highest offices in the gift of the nation, are com- mon features in the actions of recent nominating conven- tions. The laurel always confers most honor when it is deserved and yet unsought. There is something so noble about modest merit that even conventions made up of noisy, trading politicians are compelled to yield its tribute of re- spect. The national convention that nominated Fianklin Pierce for the Presidency of the United States illustrated this remark. Franklin Pierce was born aL Hillsborough, New Hamp- Btiire, on th-3 23d of November, 1804. His father, General Benjamin Pierce, was a distinguished patriot and soldier of the revolution, and afterwards governor of New Hampshire. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. During the war of 1812, the father and brothers of the subject of this me- moir were thoroughly imbued with the military spirit, and strenuous supporters of the Madison democratic party. From them Franklin gained his first lessons in democracy and patriotism. General Benjamin Pierce, having all his life felt the dis- 393 394 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. advantages of a defective education, resolved to give Ins son every chance of improving his mind and acquiring knowledge. Franklin was sent to an academy at Hancock, and afterwards to that of Francestown, where he was re- ceived into the family of Peter Woodbury, father of the late distinguished Judge Woodbury. He was not a precocious child, and was rather remarkable for generosity of disposition than extraordinary talent. In the year of 1820, at the age of sixteen, Franklin entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Maine. Among his class-mates was the present Professor Calvin E. Stowe ; and in the College, at the same time, were Nathaniel Haw- thorne, the distinguished writer of romance, and John P. Hale, of oratorical fame. During one of his winter vaca- tions, young Pierce taught a country school, which was in want of a teacher, and yet could not pay a sufficient salary. This was highly honorable in the collegian. His class- mates now living, remember him as a generous friend as well as a tolerable scholar. He displayed his fondness for the military profession, while at college, in forming a com- pany, ol which he was chosen an officer. Leaving college in 1824, Franklin Pierce returned to Hillsborough. Soon afterwards he chose the law as a pro- fession, and became a student in the office of Judge Wood- bury, of Portsmouth. The two last years of his studies were sperr at the law school of Northampton, Massachu- setts, and in the office of Judge Parker, of Amherst. In 1827. Mr. Pierce was admitted to the bar, and began to practise his profession, at Hillsborough. At first, he did give promise of eminence. His first case was a marked failure. But, conscious of the power within him, the young lawyer resolved to make it manifest. Politics, however, FRANKLIN PIERCE. 395 drew away his attention for a time. Like his father, Franklin Pierce was a warm supporter of General Jackson, and he had scarcely been admitted to the bar before he took an active part in politics. In 1829, the town of Hillsborough elected Franklin Pierce its representative in the legislature of the state. He served in that body four years ; in the two latter of whi"h he was chosen speaker by large majorities. It is rare to find so much confidence placed in the abilities of so young a man. In 1833, Mr. Pierce, then twenty-nine years of age, was elected to Congress. In that body, he was a labo- rious rather than a conspicuous member. He was too modest to speak frequently where older and more experienced men were legislating ; but in the committee-room, he was recog- nised as a trusty and valuable member of the national house. He supported the administration of President Jackson through all the storms by which it was assailed. His prin- cipal speeches were made in opposition to the bill authoriz- ing appropriations for the Military Academy at West Point, an institution to which he subsequently became friendly. Having remained a member of the house of representa- tives about four years, Franklin Pierce was, in 1837, elected to the Senate of the United States. That body then con- tained Clay, Calhoun, Webster, and other extraordinary men, and Mr. Pierce took his seat among them when scarcely thirty years of age. While he continued in the senate, the administration President Van Buren received his cordia support. He seldom spoke ; but always worked and voted In 1840, Mr. Pierce, then a member of the committee on revolutionary pensions, made a forcible speech, in which while he acknowledged the strong claims of the revolutionary patriots upon the gratitude of the country, he took grouud 396 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. against the extensive system of pensions. After the acces- sion of the whig party to power, in 18-11, Mr. Pierce made a vigorous speech, denunciatory of the removals from office made by the Harrison administration. Upon the whole, the congressional career of Franklin Pierce conferred high honor upon himself, and considerable benefit upon the na- tional legislation. In June, 1812, he signified his purpose of retiring from the senate. In 1834, he had married Jane Means, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Appleton, formerly president of Bowdoin College. Three sons, the first of whom died in infancy, had been born to him ; and having hitherto been kept poor by his public services, he became sensible of the expediency of making some provision for the future. This was the reason of his resignation. Mr. Pierce now took up his residence at Concord, and devoted himself, with the most brilliant success, to the prac- tice of the law. Those who had remarked the effort of his first failure at the bar, were astonished and delighted with the powerful speeches which he now made on many occa- sions. He was soon considered at the head of the New Hampshire bar. In 1846, President Polk tendered to Mr. Pierce the high position of attorney-general of the United States ; but, from family reasons, he declined the honor. He also declined an appointment of United States senator by Governor Steele, and the nomination of the democratic convention for governor. Few men have rejected so many opportunities of distinction as Franklin Pierce. Honors came unsought, and he refused them. On the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 1846, Frank- lin Pierce showed his patriotism by enrolling himself as the earliest volunteer of a company raised in Concord. On the passage of the bill for the increase of the army, he received FRANKLIN PIERCE. 397 the appointment of colonel of the 9th regiment ; and shortly afterwards, lie was commissioned as brigadier-general in the army. On the 27th of May, 1847, he sailed from Newport in the bark Kepler, and after a voyage of a month reached Vera Cruz. General Scott, with his victorious army, was then far on his way towards the city of Mexico, and com- munications between the army and Vera Cruz were cut off by swarms of guerillas. General Pierce was compelled to await the arrival of his whole brigade, and the supplies in- tended for General Scott. On the 16th of July, he left Vera Cruz, and began his perilous march. At San Juan and other points, the brigade was assailed by guerillas, but the rapid charges ordered by General Pierce were effectual in beating them back. After a fatiguing and exhausting march, he reached the main army at Puebla, on the 7th of August, with twenty four-hundred men, in good order, and without the loss of a single wagon. General Pierce took an active part in the battles fought in the valley of Mexico, and though disabled for a time by the fall of his horse, had opportunities of which he took advantage, to prove himself a brave and skilful officer. After the capture of the city of Mexico, and the beginning of negotiations, for peace, General Pierce returned to the United States. In Concord, he was welcomed with enthusiasm, and many marks of honor were conferred upon him. He resigned his commis- 'on in the army, and returned to the practice of the law. The citizen soldier was not long permitted to enjoy the sweets of private life. He was elected a member of the convention, called in 1850, to revise the constitution of New Hampshire. In that body he acted as president, and possessed great influence. General Pierce approved of the Compromise measures passed by Congress, in 1850, 398 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and procured for them the support of a large majority of the democratic party in New Hampshire. On the 11th of June, 1852, the Democratic National Convention assembled at Baltimore, in order to select a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. The democracy of New Hampshire had indicated General Pierce as its preference, but, at his request, his name was not at first presented to the convention. Thirty-five ballotings were held and still there was no choice. Then Virginia cast her vote for Franklin Pierce, and on the forty-ninth ballot, the vote stood, for Franklin Pierce, two hundred and eighty- two, and for all other candidates, eleven. William R. King, of Alabama, was nominated on the same ticket for the Vice- Presidency. General Pierce accepted the unexpected nomi- nation, with an expression of diffidence which was highly honorable to his character. The canvass was conducted with spirit. The whig party brought forward as its candidates, General Winfield Scott, of New Jersey, and William A. Graham, of North Carolina. The election was held on the 2d of November ; and the next day it was known that the democratic candidates had been chosen by an unprecedented majority. Only four states — Vermont, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Tennessee, were found in the ranks of the opposition. On the 4th of March 1853, Franklin Pierce was inaugu rated President of the United States. His address con- tained a plain avowal of his political principles, which were those of a large majority of the democratic party. A love of the Union was conspicuous in this inaugural declaration. The cabinet of the new President was formed as follows : — William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of State ; Ro- bert M'Clelland, of Michigan, Secretary of the Interior FRANKLIN PIERCE. 899 James Guthrie, of Kentucky, Secretary of the Treasury ; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Secretary of War ; James Dobbins, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy ; Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts, Attorne} r -General ; and James Campbell, of Pennsylvania, Postmaster- General. The administration of President Pierce began under the brightest auspices, having the support and confidence of a powerful party. The acquisition of Texas, which was really a great and most successful filibustering expedition, stimulated similar efforts in other directions, and these efforts caused President Pierce no small annoyance. In December, 1850, Lopez, a Cuban, with a number of associates, had been arrested for a violation of the neutrality law of 1818; but as nothing could be proved against them, they had been released. Early in August of the fol- lowing year, Lopez sailed from New Orleans and landed in Cuba; but the Spanish authorities routed his forces, executed the leaders, and imprisoned the rest. It was evident that Spain was too strongly intrenched in Cuba to be disturbed by private effort, and hence subsequent movements in its direction were mainly confined to governmental action. Nevertheless, private prepara- tions did not wholly cease, though they never again came prominently to the surface. President Pierce ended them by his proclamation of May 31, 1854, warn- ing all good citizens against taking any part in them. The expedition against Cuba, however, at first gave rise to considerable anxiety in Europe as to the possible future action of the United -States Government in regard to them. In 1852, Great Britain and France jointly proposed to the United States a tripartite con- 400 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. vention, by- which the three powers should disclaim all intention to obtain possession of Cuba, and should dis- countenance such an attempt by any power. Edward Everett, the Secretary of State, refused to do so, but at the same time he declared that the United States would never question Spain's title to the island. In August, 1854, President Pierce directed the American ministers to Great Britain, France, and Spain — James Buchanan, John Y. Mason, and Pierre Soule — to meet in some convenient city and discuss the Cuban question. They met at Ostend, Oct. 9, and afterwards at Aix la Chapelle, and drew up the despatch to their government, which is commonly known as the "Ostend Manifesto." It declares, in brief, that the sale of Cuba would be as advantageous and honorable to Spain as its purchase would be to the United States ; but that, if Spain should obstinately refuse to sell it, self-preservation would make it incumbent upon the United States to "wrest it from her," and prevent it from being African- ized into a second St. Domingo. It is needless to say that neither the Ostend confer- ence nor the cabinet at Washington gave any counte- nance to this policy. The manifesto was denounced in the Republican platform of 1856, as "the highwayman's plea that might makes right;" and was not openly defended by the Democratic platform of 1850 or of 18G0, except that the latter declared in favor of the acquisition of Cuba by honorable and just means, at the earliest practical moment. It was during President Pierce's administration that the so-called Kansas-Nebraska Bill was passed. By virtue of this bill the territories of Kansas and Nebraska FRANKLIN PIERCE. 401 were organized, and its political importance consisted wholly in its repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. It did not seem possible at the time that there could arise any further question in regard to slavery in the United States, for every inch of territory in the coun- try was thought to be covered by some compromise or other. The slavery question was, then, in this state of equilibrium when a bill was passed b} r the House, Feb. 10, 1853, to organize the territory of Nebraska, cover- ing also the modern State of Kansas. In the Senate the bill was laid on the table. But during the summer of 1853, Southern politicians began to discuss the new phase of the slavery question created by the proposed bill ; and, by the time that Congress met in December, they had pretty accurately marked out a plan for future action. The Northern Democrats were in sympathy with them. In January, 1854, after considerable discussion, Stephen A. Douglas reported a new bill on the subject, which, in its ultimate and unexpected consequences, was one of the most far-reaching legislative acts in American history. The bill divided the territory from latitude 37° to latitude 43° 30' into two territories, — the southern to be called Kansas, and the northern, Ne- braska ; the territory between latitude 36° 30' and 37° was now left to the Indians. In the organization of both these territories it was declared to be the purpose of the Act to carry out the following three " propositions and principles established by the compromise measures of 1850:" 1. That all questions as to slavery in the territories, or the States to be formed from them, were 402 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. :o be left to the representatives of the people residing therein ; 2. That cases involving title to slaves or per- sonal freedom might be appealed from the local tribunals to the Supreme Court ; and 3. That the fugitive-slave law could apply to the Territories. On the 3d of March, 1854, the bill passed the Senate by a, vote of thirty-seven to fourteen. In the affirma- tive were fourteen Northern Democrats, and twenty- three Southern Democrats and Whigs. In the negative were eight Northern anti-slavery Senators, Free Soilers, or "anti-Nebraska men; 7 ' one Southern Whig; one Southern Democrat ; and four Northern Democrats. The bill was passed by the House, May 24, by a major- ity of thirteen ; and on the 30th of May, President Pierce signed the bill, which at once became a law. What were the results? The bill destroyed the Whig party, the great mass of whose voters in the South went over to the Democratic party, and in the North to the new Republican party. It made the Democratic party almost entirely sectional, for the loss of its strong anti-slavery element in the North reduced it in t lie course of the next few years to a hopeless minority there. It crystallized all the Northern elements opposed to slaveiy into another sectional party, soon to take the name of " Republican." Finally, it compelled all other elements, after a hopeless effort to form a new party on a new issue, to join one or the other sectional party. Its cflccts on the people of the two sections were even worse. It made the whole North believe that the policy of the South was a greedy, grasping, scllish desire for the extension of slavery; it led the South into the belief that the North was treacherous and FRANKLTN PIERCE. 403 evasive. In other words, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and still more the Dred Scott Decision which followed it, placed each section, in 1860, to its own think- ing, impregnably upon its own peculiar ground of aggrievement. The North remembered only the viola- tion of the compromise of 1820 by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill ; while the South, ignoring the compromise of 1820 as obsolete by mutual agreement, complained of the North's refusal to carry out fairly the Kansas-Nebraska Bill and the Dred Scott Decision. All this unfortunate complication was due entirely to Stephen A. Douglas's over-zealous desire to settle still more firmly and securely a question which was already settled. Notwithstanding the fact that, by his signature to the bill, President Pierce strengthened the Democratic party, his party refused him a second term. At the Democratic National Convention, which assembled in Cincinnati in 1850, James Buchanan was nominated as his successor, and was elected in November. In March, 1857, Mr. Pierce retired to private life, and shortly afterwards he sailed for Europe with his wife, whose health had been seriously impaired since the death of their last surviving son in 1853. They visited Madeira, and made a protracted tour of the Continent, returning home in 1860. The sojourn abroad was an interesting one, but the bereaved mother could not rally from her great affliction, and died in 1863. President Pierce was an ardent supporter of the State Rights doctrine. In 1860, on the 6th of January, he thus wrote to his old friend, Jefferson Davis : " I have never believed that actual disruption of the Union 404 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. can occur without blood ; and if, through the madness of Northern abolitionists, that dire calamity must come, the fighting will not be along Mason and Dixon's line merely, it will be within our own borders, in our own streets, between the two classes of citizens to whom I have referred. Those who defy law, and scout constitutional obligations, will, if we ever reach the arbitrament of arms, find occupation enough at home." From 18G1 to 1865, the ex-President remained in retirement at his home in Concord, N.H. He took no active part in the strife, except occasionally by open letters or public addresses he passionately denounced the coercion of the seceded States, and the general conduct of the war. In one of these addresses, he called Vallandigham " that noble martyr of free speech." The death of his wife saddened the remainder of his life. His depression of spirits was still more enhanced by the death of Nathaniel Hawthorne, his most inti- mate and cherished friend. His health began to decline shortly after the close of the civil war. He died Oct. 8, 1869, at Concord. Whatever may have been his political short-comings, and his inability to grasp the great questions of the day with a statesmanlike grip, President Pierce was in private life greatly beloved. His amiable qualities and his winning manners won many friends, to whom he ever proved true and faithful. As a husband, he was devoted; ;is a, father, tender; as a man, devout and kindly. His death saddened many hearts who knew little ;inil cared less fur his political career, or his views on national subjects. % JAMES BUCHANAN. James Buchanan was the last Democrat to hold the office of President of the United States before the war, and his term of office occupies, in the annals of the country, a most unique and memorable position. His administration was the only one in which a condition of war existed, without formal declaration, from his inauguration to the end. James Buchanan was born in a little town in Frank- lin County, Penn., dignified by the peculiar name of Stony Batter, at the foot of the eastern ridge of the Alleghany Mountains, April 23, 1791 ; thus, as he sometimes said, he lacked " but a broad limestone val- ley of being born in Maryland." The spot where Mr. Buchanan first saw the light of day is a wild, romantic gorge surrounded by the towering summits of eternal hills. The chimney of the old Buchanan cabin is still to be seen in an expiring state, marking the ex-Presi- dent's birthplace. Mr. Buchanan's father was a native of North Ireland, and emigrated to the United States in 1783. He was poor but industrious, and before his death he had acquired a handsome competency. He married a daughter of Pennsylvania and became a 403 40G LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. pioneer in American civilization. James Buchanan was born in a log cabin, and lived there till he was eight years of age. His father had an excellent English education, his mother an uncommon intellect. In 1798, Mr. Buchanan's father moved to Mercersburg, where the son received his early education in English, Latin, and Greek. At the age of fourteen he entered Dickson College at Carlisle, in Cumberland County, and at once took rank among the most indefatigable students. He graduated with the highest collegiate honors at the age of eighteen, a tall, slender, and grace- ful youth. Cradled in poverty, inured to hardships and toil at home and in the forests, dexterous with the rifle like a true back-woodsman, he had the firm collegiate foundation adequate to support the life which followed. Soon after graduating from college he began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar Nov. 17, 1812, and rose rapidly in his profession, till he became distinguished throughout the State, already celebrated for the ability of her lawyers. With her Baldwins, Gibsons, Roses, Duncans, Breckinridges, and her Semples, Mr. Buchanan was obliged to struggle for that eminence in his profes- sion which he attained and held, till his name appears more frequently in the Pennsylvania reports than that of any lawyer of his day. Very soon this prominence forced him to consent to become a candidate for Con- gress, a position which he held for ten years, when he peremptorily declined renomination. In 1831, he retired altogether from his profession, having already accumu- lated an ample competence. Only once after that was he prevailed upon to appear at the bar. This was in behalf of an aged widow, in an act of ejectment which JAMES BUCHANAN. 407 involved all her little property. The case was a diffi- cult one ; and, technically, decidedly against the unfor- tunate woman. He succeeded, however, in establishing' her title to the property in question ; but, to her ex- pressions of gratefulness and offers of remuneration, Mr. Buchanan positively refused to accept any thing for his services. Even as early as during the war of 1812, Mr. Buchanan signalized his devotion to his country in an address of great ability, which he followed by registering his name as the first volunteer, serving as a private, and using all his influence vigorously to prosecute the war; thus laying an indestructible foundation for vindicating the exceptions taken by political enemies to his Congres- sional record in later years. Whatever opinion may be held concerning his political preferences during his ten years in Congress, no one to-day attempts to impeach the honesty and integrity of James Buchanan. As an instance of the earnestness and sincerity with which he performed his public duties, an extract might be made from the speech which he delivered on the 12th of March, 1822, in which he said, " 1 have the honor of representing an honest, a wealthy, and a respectable agricultural community ; and I owe it to them, to my conscience, and to my God, not to suffer this bill to pass, which I conceive to be fraught with destruction to their best interests, both moral and political, without at least entering my solemn protest against its provis- ions/' This spirit followed Mr. Buchanan throughout his public career. In his speech upon the tariff question, he said of himself, " If I know myself, I am a politician neither 408 LIVES OF THE PKESIDENTS. of the East nor of the West, of the North nor of the South ; I therefore shall forever avoid any exceptions, sectionally, the direct tendency of which must be to create sectional jealousies, sectional divisions, and at length disunion, — that worst and last of all political calamities." In Congress, Mr. Buchanan came in contact with Webster of Massachusetts, Clay of Kentucky, and Livingston of Louisiana. In every important debate during the ten years, Mr. Buchanan took a prominent part, often crossing swords with these brilliant lights in American statesmanship ; while extracts from his speeches soon became popular selections for the juve- nile rostrum, and echoed about the angular walls of many a district school. From the prominent position which Mr. Buchanan took in the campaign when his friend Gen. Jackson was elected to the presidency, he became the special mark of the malignancy of his enemies. He was assailed with all tire bitterness which party spirit could invoke, but firm in his confidence in the ability of the distinguished man whom he supported for the highest office of the people, he never wavered in his support. Especially did Mr. Buchanan distinguish himself in the consideration by the legislative body of the impeach- ment of James H. Peck, judge of the District Court of the United States for the district of Missouri ; and there is no man, in whose bosom beats a true American heart, who cannot thank him for the noble sentiments which he uttered before the assembled tribunal of the nation on that occasion. Ten successive years in the popular branch of the JAMES BUCHANAN. 409 National Legislature necessarily gives a man a thorough acquaintance with the details of legislation, and quali- fies him for more responsible positions. It is not too much to say that Mr. Buchanan won his position in the hearts of the American people by the laborious indus- try of a long life devoted to their interests, and by those qualities of head and heart which fitted him for retaining, in so remarkable a degree, the confidence be- stowed, and in discharging so acceptably the responsible duties with which he was afterward intrusted. He entered Congress at a period when party lines were not drawn with that rigid exactness which has marked political life since that time. The Federal party had been dissolved at the close of the war of 1812, and political issues had not again assumed a definite form. He began his career in Congress, fighting for the cause of equal rights, with special privileges for none, and justice for all. When Monroe's famous message upon the subject of internal improvements appeared, he gave it his unquali- fied indorsement. On the tariff question he was with Gen. Jackson, denying the right of Congress to levy duties except for revenue. He appeared as the distinct foe of sectional strife and any attempt to destroy the Constitution, ranking second to none in the ability and vigor with which he supported the freedom of the press and the rights of the people. Shortly after his voluntary retirement from Congress, President Jackson appointed him minister to Russia, which distinguished office he held with honor to himself and his country. His diplomatic life was marked with the same regard for duty, and the same careful concern 410 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. for the interests of his country. He negotiated the first commercial treaty between Russia and the United States, securing valuable advantages for our commerce in the Black and Baltic Seas. After his return from Russia, in 1804, Mr. Buchanan was elected to fill the vacancy in the United-States Senate caused by the res- ignation of Judge Wilkins. He returned to Congress just in time to come to the rescue of his friend in the storm which the rigid principles of Gen. Jackson had inaugurated, and to bear an important part in the memorable struggles of his administration. Among the important questions that came before the Senate at this time was the subject of slavery. The subject was then, in most of its aspects, a new one. It had previously been before Congress only as a measure excluding it from further extension. Now (1835) it assumed a different form. The reception of this aboli- tion exotic was at first looked upon with scorn and dis- dain. Its advocates were mobbed as cheerfully in the North as in the South. The general sentiment of the community at large was in opposition to slavery in the abstract, but any thing that savored of placing white men and negroes upon terms of social equality was distinctly rejected as outrageous. Mr. Buchanan vigorously opposed slavery in the abstract; but, like many others, went to the utmost limit of the Constitu- tion in protecting the Southern Slates from what was then thought to be incendiary publications. If the danger which was feared of a negro insurrection had been what it was supposed to be at that time, the views of such as Mr. Buchanan would have been just and proper; but the more extended acquaintance with the JAMES BUCHANAN. 411 subject, which experience has developed, precludes the possibility of farther argument. Throughout the administration of Gen. Jackson, Mr. Buchanan remained his staunch friend. In 1840, when Congress assembled, on the 7th of December, the whirl- wind of the campaign had spent its force. Gen. Harri- son had been elected ; and the session saw no very important legislation, but more of a review of the past, and speculations as to the future. The day had not passed, however, when many hoped to gain something by attacking Gen. Jackson ; and in reply to some derogatory remarks of a distinguished senator, Mr. Buchanan exclaimed, " Gen. Jackson has now retired to the Hermitage, and may live to have the judgment of posterity, as it were, passed upon him. He was an able, sagacious, and truly patriotic man ; and I now say that those of us, if there be any such, who shall survive a quarter of a century longer will live to see the day when Jackson's name and fame shall be cher- ished alike by persons of all political parties." It was a prediction which came true much sooner than Mr. Buchanan anticipated. In the following Congress, the extra session con- voked by Gen. Harrison, but which did not assemble till after his death and the assumption of the chief magistracy by Vice-President Tyler, the first measure- introduced by the new party was the repeal of the independent treasury act. The Democracy resisted it with all their might, but Mr. Buchanan and his sup- porters were in the minority. Mr. Buchanan appeared as the leader of his party, and in many an excited debate, with his plain facts resolutely asserted, met the 412 LIVES Or THE PRESIDENTS. brilliancy and wit of Mr. Clay. The veto power, the territorial government of Oregon, the annexation of Texas, called every latent power into activity, and raised him still higher in the estimation of both friends and foes as an accomplished and brilliant leader. And again, in 1844, the election of James K. Polk and the favorable issue before the people of the annexation of Texas gave renewed power to the Democracy, and pre- cedence to its leader. Mr. Buchanan was the only member of the Committee of Foreign Relations in the Senate, to which the subject was referred, who had reported favorably upon the annexation ; and his final vote to admit Texas into the American Union completed his senatorial career. He resigned his position as senator from Pennsyl- vania, — a place which he had held for ten years with so much honor for himself, his party, and the nation, — to accept the position of Secretary of State in the cabi- net of President Polk, occupying the chief position in that cabinet which conducted the brilliant campaign in Mexico, and planted the stars and stripes in Cali- fornia. When he left the State Department, our country was at peace both at home and abroad, our ter- ritory had been enlarged, and our commerce extended. Untold riches were falling into the country, prosperity was everywhere visible, our States were growing with unexampled rapidity, and railroads were stretching into the West, in great part due to the statesman-like foresight that had opened and secured California to the adventurous spirit of American genius and enterprise. Throughout his entire career, he had relied upon the plain, outspoken truth, appealing to common sense JAMES BUCHANAN. 413 rather than to fancy or imagination, adhering strictly to simple, yet graceful and eloquent language. In no speech of his was there apparent a desire to catch the breath of temporary applause; but firm, dignified, and impressive, in advance of his opinions as he was resolute and energetic in maintaining them, he presented, b} r his urbanity in debate and purity in patriotism, a model American statesman. No man who understood Mr. Buchanan's character could ever suspect him of bluster or bravado. Upon all public questions he was awarded a leading part, and in all positions he acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of his supporters. The reputation that a person acquires in life may pass away like a dream before the inexorable justice of history ; the newspapers of the day may create a fame which will last for a time; but posterity will judge of men by the advantages which they have brought to it, and by ideas which will live and breathe as sentiments when they are gone. He was always firm in his politi- cal views, but moderate and conciliatory in expressing them. Upon the election of Gen. Taylor, Mr. Buchanan gladly sought the rest and quiet of private life, which a long, uninterrupted devotion to public service ren- dered as agreeable as it was necessary. He had never sought for public honors; but, taken up at an early age by his neighbors, and placed in public life, he had acquitted himself with such honesty, devotion, and singleness of purpose, that, step by step, his preferment came almost of necessity. When the Baltimore con- vention met in 1852, a large number of Mr. Buchanan's friends desired to nominate him for the presidency. 414 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. They failed in this, but no one gave the successful can- didate more generous and hearty support than did Mr. Buchanan. When the campaign was over, Presi- dent Pierce tendered to his firm supporter the mission to the Court of St. James, an office at the time only second to the position of the President in social, politi- cal, and financial importance. While holding this office, two questions arose which required of him consum- mate tact for their proper management, and in dealing with which the direct American plainness and honesty of Mr. Buchanan's diplomatic papers puzzled the old- school European tricksters, who were not accustomed to downright frankness, and eventually overcame them ; and in August, 1853, the President transmitted to him full power to conclude a treaty with Great Britain in relation to the Central-American questions. At his own urgent request, several times repeated, Mr. Buchanan was at last relieved from the vexing duties and responsibilities of his office, and returned to his native country on the 23d of April, 1856. His course had been watched with interest and anx- iety by his fellow-citizens ; and when the Common Council of New-York City determined, without respect to party, to unite in giving him a public reception, it but expressed the general impulse of gratefulness to him for his distinguished services. The following pre- amble and resolution was unanimously passed by the city authorities : — ; " Whereas, Mr. Buchanan's patriotic, dignified, and able course as representative of his country at the British court, and especially the judgment and ability displayed in conducting the recent negotiations with JAMES BUCHANAN. 415 Great Britain, have commanded the admiration and approval of the American people ; and, " Whereas, the respect entertained by onr citizens, without distinction of party, for his exalted character and commanding talents as evidenced in a long career of conspicuous public service, ought to find a fitting expression in their representatives in the common council ; therefore, be it "Resolved, that a select committee of five be appointed to receive the Hon. James Buchanan on his arrival at this port, as the guest of this city, and tender to him the hospitalities thereof." The reception was cordial and enthusiastic. Cheer after cheer ' attested the earnest and deep affection which the public always bestows upon a faithful ser- vant, as Mr. Buchanan landed from the steamer. A public dinner was tendered him by the corporation, which Mr. Buchanan politely but decidedly declined. Long before Mr. Buchanan's return, a large and influential portion of Iris political friends, in different parts of the United States, forwarded his name as a candidate for the presidency. The Democratic conven- tion in his own State also presented his name to the public. The time and circumstances seemed to con- spire in his favor. Never since the formation of our Government had a more formidable agitation been con- ceived or conducted upon such systematic principles. Whatever action there was in his favor was the spontaneous moving of the people in their primary organizations. Such was the state of affairs when the Democratic National Convention met at Cincinnati, on the second day of June, when Mr. Buchanan was 416 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. unanimously nominated on the seventh ballot. Such was the man presented to the American people for their suffrages, in the- sunset of an honorable life, with his eye yet undimmed, his natural force unabated ; and such was the man whom the people selected as their chief magistrate. President Pierce had left his successor the legacy of the Kansas-Nebraska imbroglio. During the latter part of the Pierce administration, the hostile camps had come very close to each other with their organized bands, each claiming to be the legitimate militia of the Territory, engaging in battle on the plains of Kansas, and sacking towns at their pleasure. Here in reality was the germ of the Rebellion. The Southerners were Missourians and Texans, whose only real object seemed to be to insist upon the promotion of slavery, and who were not, many of them, actual settlers, but were known as border ruffians; while the Northerners were from nearly all of the free States, and came to till the soil and establish manufactures, not to practise with Sharp's rillcs and Colt's revolvers. But necessity was the mother of invention, and the few real combatants knew no bounds. Little quarter was ever given, and mid- night assassinations and hangings were of continuous occurrence on both sides. Such was the state of things which Mr. Buchanan found before him when he took his seat in the White House: and the work of pacifica- tion was arduous enough to tax to the utmost the ex- perience he had obtained in his years of public service. The Federal officials upon the spot were obliged to support sometimes one party, sometimes the other; while the governors sent out from Washington gave up their places in despair. JAMES BUOHANAN. 417 Conspicuous among the Free-State leaders were John Brown and his four sous. In the defence of Ossawat- tomie, the Browns gained their first decided notoriety. It was a little village in Kansas, near the Missouri State line. John Brown, with sixteen followers, held the place against several hundred marauders from over the border. With a, loss of bnl two men. he succeeded in killing and wounding nearly eighty of their number, which made him the terror of his enemies, and gave him the sobriquet of " Ossawattomie Brown," by which he was afterward known throughout the country. President Buchanan, elected in 1856, was inaugurated March 4, 1857, and called to his cabinet Lewis Cass of Michigan as Secretary of State; Howell Cobb of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury; John B. Floyd of Virginia, Secretary of War. Isaac Toucey of Con- necticut, Secretary of the Navy ; Jacob Thompson of Mississippi, Secretary of the Interior; Jeremiah Black of Pennsylvania. Attorney-General , and Horatio King of Maine, Postmaster-General, — a list of gentlemen every- where admitted to be among the ablest statesmen of the day; and. except upon the question of slavery, their actions throughout the numerous difficulties in their path met with the approval of the country. Being Democrats, and a part of them Southerners, they were naturally strongly biased in their views at the time, as were all their political adversaries in the United States. Prominent among the vexatious subjects not at all connected with slavery, to which Mr. Buchanan succeeded, was the disturbed condition of affairs with Great Britain. The relations between the two coun- tries were strained. The British minister Crampton 41S LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. had been dismissed from Washington for enlisting soldiers in New York and Philadelphia for service in the English army in the Crimea, and the course of the British in Central America was, likewise, troublesome, and very much in violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Neither had England relinquished the right of search, which had caused the war of 1812; and the practice of stopping and searching American vessels, upon the alleged suspicion that they were engaged in the slave- trade, was put into frequent action by British cruisers in the Gulf of Mexico. With his usual clear-headed, straightforward deter- mination, Mr. Buchanan resolved to deal peremptorily with this question. T lis experience as United-States minister at the Court of St. James well acquainted him with the situation, and of all men in the United States he was competent to act peremptorily and with decision. The American navy was small, but it had never been in any better condition; and in it were some of the finest warships afloat, with a corps of skilled and able officers who were quite ready, as they afterward abundantly proved, to undertake any daring enterprise whatsoever. In 1858, these aggravating cases of the boarding of American vessels by British cruisers increased in num- ber, and created a marked excitement and indignation throughout the country at large. The President de- manded explanations from England. Gen. Cass, Secre- tary of State, addressed Lord Napier, the new British ambassador at Washington; and Mr. Dallas, the American minister in London, was instructed to de- mand compensation for the outrages, and to insist per- emptorily on their cessation. In the mean time the JAMES BUCHANAN. 419 Gulf squadron was materially strengthening, and the " Colorado," a powerful frigate of the first class, was sent there with specific orders to stop all interference with the American ships, from whatever quarter it might come. Both political parties united in the sup- port of the Government, and the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution introduced by Mr. Seward for immediate and thorough investigation of the facts. At last England awoke to the situation. It w r as evi- dent that the United States was in earnest; and that if the right to search were insisted on, the next step would be another conflict, with chances for success even less than before. Therefore, all things considered, the British Government announced its willingness to discuss the question. The excitement at once calmed down, and the nations met each other, through their represen- tatives, with such satisfactory results that, on Monday, July 5, while the American citizens in London were celebrating the eighty-second anniversary of American independence. Mr. Dallas informed the guests assembled that the right of search, and even the right of visiting, had been totally renounced by the British Government ; and thus was brought to a happy conclusion one dan- gerous controversy, which had so long threatened the peace or the two nations. The laying of the first Atlantic cable, which was begun a month later, added much to the better feeling between the two countries. Expressions of good will and hopes for commercial prosperity were sent as salu- tations from each to the other by cable. Messages were exchanged between President Buchanan and Queen Victoria ; and, in the general astonishment and 420 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. enthusiasm, in grand celebrations, illuminations, torch- light processions, military parades, and other jo} r ous demonstrations, the American people forgot their bitter- ness toward England, and began to feel that Great Britain was one of the most delightful of neighbors. This change of sentiment was in great part due to the skilful and earnest treatment which the entanglement received at the hands of President Buchanan. Another incident which encouraged the best of feel- ing was brought about in the course of the naval oper- ations in Chinese waters, carried on by the British Admiral Hope, during the war between England and China. He undertook to reduce the forts at the mouth of the river ; but, through ignorance of the water and tides, three of his vessels got aground, directly under the guns of the fort, and would have been utterly de- stroyed or captured, for the rest of the fleet was obliged to retire ; but Commodore Tatnall, commanding the American fleet, who was watching the fight, bore down in his own flag-ship, and pulled the English ships out of range. Shortly after this the British Government ceded the Bay Islands to Honduras, thus ending the long dispute over the Monroe Doctrine. The Mormon question, too, which had appeared like a threatening cloud upon the horizon during the Pierce administration, now assumed most serious proportions for Mr. Buchanan. The territory of Utah, under the governorship of Brigham Young, publicly announced a positive rebellion against the authority of the United States. Gentiles were murdered, and the Federal courts rendered inoperative: even thn military power of the Government being defied. Again President JAMES BUCHANAN. 421 Buchanan dealt his vigorous and decisive, blows, and settled the question temporarily to the entire satisfac- tion of the country. He sent out an army corps of about three thousand men, comprising- several regiments of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, under the famous Gen. Albert S. Johnston, which made such an impos- ing force on its march into the Territory that the Saints at once opened negotiations and tendered submission, some time before the advance guard arrived in Salt Lake. Commissioners empowered to arrange the mat- ter accompanied the troops, and a new governor and a new judge were inaugurated without conflict. The following year James Buchanan's administration was destined to see even greater excitement, in the threatened insurrection and the John Brown raid, which took place at Harper's Ferry in 1859, creating the profoundest impression all over the country, and proving the final incident, previous to the election of Abraham Lincoln, which induced the secession of the Southern States. It was only the climax of what had been growing in the Kansas warfare, the Dred Scott Decision, and the suspected plot of insurrection among the slaves; and in the sympathy expressed in the North for John Brown and his companions, the impetuous Southerners became thoroughly enraged and alarmed. The success of John Brown's endeavors was an impos- sibility from the start, but its influence at the moment was most important. The last year of the Buchanan administration was one of the utmost political tumult ; with the Walker filibustering expeditions from Southern ports against Central America, and the secession threats from South 422 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Carolina, it was a period of intense though gloomy ex- citement. It became evident that Abraham Lincoln would be elected President by the Republican party, over the candidates of the divided Democracy, and that incipient war would at once be inaugurated. The Democrats were cast down and hopeless through the split in their party; while the Republicans, though assured of a political victory, were gravely apprehen- sive of what was to follow. The only agreeable inci- dent of the year was the visit of the Prince of Wales, then a youth of nineteen, travelling with his tutors. While he was in Canada he was invited to the States and to Washington by President Buchanan. He came earl}" in October, and was royally received throughout his journey, spending nearly a week at West Point, as the guest of Gen. Scott. After the election of Mr. Lincoln the seven Southern States which seceded, formed themselves into a confed- eracy and began preparation for war, electing Jefferson Davis of Mississippi for president, and Alexander H. Stevens for vice-president, Feb. 8, 1861. They also seized one or two United-States arsenals : and South Carolina, acting independently, sent com- missioners to Washington to demand the transfers of forts and other property in the Charleston Harbor, then belonging to the Federal Government. President Buchanan declined to treat with these commissioners, reiterating the views which he had expressed in his last message to Congress that it was unconstitutional for any State to secede from the Union, no matter what the cause. He declared that, while the Constitution gave him no power to coerce a sovereign State back into JAMES BUCHANAN. 423 the Union, he had at least the right to defend Federal property from appropriation and confiscation. This he endeavored to do; and, on the 5th of January, 1861, the steamer " Star of the West " was sent from New York with two hundred and fifty troops, and supplies for Major Anderson at Fort Sumter ; but she war. fired upon from the batteries on the shore at Charleston, and was obliged to turn back. The great difficulty in the President's path was in the fact that the United States did not at the time pos- sess sufficiently available forces to protect its property or maintain its authority. The great body of the regu- lar army was scattered along the Pacific coast, with no railroads for its concentration and transportation. The navy was also scattered ; and, in view of some de- rogatory opinions (perhaps thoughtlessly expressed) concerning President Buchanan, it may be but just to suggest that he hesitated, before the first gun was fired, to do precisely what his successor hesitated even longer in doing : viz., to call upon the Northern States for vol- unteers to put down the secession. There were not a few to charge Mr. Buchanan with treachery to the Union and favoritism for secession. There were others who, for the time at least, regarded him incompetent to deal with so grave a crisis as that beginning in 1861. The first charge has long since been dismissed by all reasonable men in their cooler judgment ; and those who still think with the latter should remember that Mr. Buchanan was a statesman of the old school, over seventy years of age ; not a soldier, but a peace-loving citizen of the Republic, whose chief magistrate lie was at a most trying moment, and, most naturally, was 424 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. unwilling to adopt measures which would plunge his country into the horrors of fratricidal war, without due deliberation and without a more than sufficiently hostile act on the part of the seceders. In his cabinet at the time of this last struggle were the able advisers and stanch Union men, John A. Dix, Edwin M. Stanton, Joseph Holt, and Jeremiah S. Black ; and it was by their advice, as well as his own, that he was guided at the time when he was most censured for his incompetency. It should also be remembered that President Buchanan must have been greatly em- barrassed and hampered by the action of the Southern members of his cabinet, — Messrs. Thompson, Floyd, and Cobb. Mr. Floyd was at the time Secretary of War, and aroused much resentment in the North against the administration by his act of sending large quanti- ties of munitions of war to the Federal arsenals in the Southern States, claiming that the South had never re- ceived its due proportion. It was Mr. Floyd, too, who sent the great body of the regular army to garrison dis- tant and inaccessible posts on the Western plains or to Texas, where they were subsequently surrendered to the Confederacy by the perfidious Gen. Twiggs. Had these troops been available at Washington at the time, it would have been possible for the President to re-en- force and perhaps to hold the United States forts on the Southern coasts, and thus to check the Rebellion ; while it is by all means probable that those who cen- sured him most for inaction would have considered him far from justified in calling out seventy-five thousand volunteers before any overt act had been committed, beyond the shouting of a convention of mad men, who JAMES BUCHANAN. 425 cried themselves hoarse to prove they were out of the Union. Judging from the selection which Mr. Buchanan made to till in his cabinet the places of the Southern members resigned, and the patriotic action of the new body, it is by no means improbable that, had it fallen to the lot of Mr. Buchanan to be his own successor, he would not have taken energetic measures for the main- tenance of the Union, when at last the firing on Sum- ter gave the final signal for vigorous action. At all events he saved the National capital from the intended seizure by conspiring secessionists, and he turned it over to the new President, with all its governmental departments intact. During his administration Mr. Buchanan saw three new States added to the Union, — Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas. The census showed an increase of eight millions in the population, and the financial statement exhibited a nation comparatively free from debt, and with a surplus in the Treasury. After Mr. Buchanan's retirement from office he re- turned to his home in Wheatland, where, though often much abused by political opponents, he still retained a vivid interest in his country's affairs, as is evidenced in many letters written in the course of his extended cor- respondence with the highest officials of the nation throughout the war. In 1866 he had the happiness of seeing his favorite niece, Miss Lane, whose home had been with him, mar- ried to Mr. Johnson of Baltimore. But the world with its interests gradually faded away, and the unknown future opened before him. He was never married, but 426 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. his home was always the favorite resort of many friends and relatives. During his last illness there were with him the Rev. Dr. Buchanan, his brother ; Miss Buchanan, the doctor's daughter; and Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Henry, and the ever faithful Miss Hetty. Kind neighbors too wire at hand. The immediate cause of his death was rheumatic gout. It occurred on the morning o( June 1, 1868, in his seventy-eighth year. The funeral obse- quies took place at Lancaster on the 4th of June; the sermon was preached by the Rev. -John \V. Nevin, D.D., president of Franklin and Marshall College. The remains of President Buchanan lie in a beautiful rural cemetery near the city of Lancaster, beneath a simple monument which records only the date of his birth and oi' his death, and the fact that he was the fifteenth President of the United States. Vs X- x \ v$ ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The life of Abraham Lincoln is a most potent illus- tration of the fact that good parts make great actors. A typical American from boyhood to death, he started with nothing, utilizing every opportunity for advance- ment, and honestly earning a right to live forever enshrined in the heart of his country. The Republican party was born of public necessity during the administration of Washington and the elder Adams, and kept its organization and faith till 1833, when it was temporarily dissolved. Twenty-three years later it was re-formed for the defence of freedom of the person, of speech, and of the press, and for resistance to the usurpations resulting from the substitution of the Calhoun policy for that of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. The choice of Abraham Lincoln for Presi- dent marked the victory of the reformed party, and the immortal standard-bearer led them on to greater triumphs. The Lincolns originally came from England, settling in Hingham, Mass., about 1638 ; thence they moved to Pennsylvania; and, in 1782, again westward; till Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of the President, entered 427 428 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. four hundred acres of land on the south side of Licking Creek, under a government warrant, and built a log cabin near Fort Beargrass, the site of the present city of Louisville, Ky. In the second year of their Ken- tucky settlement, Abraham and one of his sons were at work in the field when waylaid by an Indian, who fired from ambush, and killed the father. Two elder sons were chopping wood in the forest near at hand. One of them ran for help, the other turned to the cabin, seized the ever-ready rifle, and, looking through one of the port-holes, he saw the Indian grasp his youngest brother, Tom, then only six years old, and start with him for the woods. Levelling the rifle, lie shot the Indian , and the boy, liberated by the death of his captor, sprang to his feet, and fled to the cabin ; thus, almost miraculously, the father of President Lincoln was saved from the Indians. In the wilderness of Kentucky there were few gleams of light ; no schools, and scanty means for acquiring even the art of reading and writing ; and here, in the rude life of the frontier, in ignorance and poverty, the father of President Lincoln grew to be a man. He was unable to read until after his marriage ; but to his credit it should be said that he resolved that no child of his should ever be crippled as he had been. He married Nancy Hanks, and took the young bride to a rude log cabin which he had built for himself near No] in Creek, in what is now Larue County, Ky. In this cabin, on the 12th of February, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born. While he was yet an infant, the family removed to another log cabin not far distant, nnd in these two Lincoln spent the first seven years of his life. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 429 His mother was a woman of great force of character, and passionately fond of reading. President Lincoln often said of her. that his earliest recollections of his mother were of sitting at her feet, and listening to the tales and legends that she read. She was also a skilful hunter, and with her rifle more than once brought down the bear and deer, while with her hands she dressed the flesh and prepared it for the family table, and wrought garments for the family from the skins. When Abraham Lincoln was in his seventh year, Zachariah Riney moved into the neighborhood, and the lad was sent to school to him. Riney was a Catholic, however, and the Protestant children attending his humble school were withdrawn whenever any religious exercises were held. A little later he had the oppor- tunity of being taught by Caleb Hazel for three months. Lincoln was a full-grown lad when he first saw a church ; and his first notion of public speaking was taken from the itinerant preacher, Parson Elkin, who now and then passed their way. Thomas Lincoln being of a somewhat unsettled nature, like many another pioneer, thought that lie saw better advantages farther west ; and listening to the wonderful tales of rich soil, abundant game, fine timber, and good -pasturage in Indiana, he resolved to go West. He found a new-comer who was willing to take his partly improved farm and log cabin for ten barrels of whiskey and twenty dollars in cash. Aided by his boys lie built a flat-boat, and launched it upon Rolling Fork, which empties into the Ohio, loaded his ten barrels of whiskey and heavier articles of fur- niture upon it, and floated off down the Ohio ; but 430 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the frail craft upset, and with what little could be saved from the wreck, Thomas Lincoln landed at Thompson's Ferry, and there found an ox-cart to trans- port him with his slender stock of valuables to Spencer ( lounty, Ind., about eighteen miles from the river. The children, left at home with their mother, attended school, and snared game for the family table. One bed-ticking filled with dried forest leaves sufficed for their rest at night, and early in the morning the future President was out chopping wood for the day's fire. At last the father returned, and the long journey to Indiana was undertaken. At night they slept on the fragrant pine-twigs, and by day they plodded on their way toward the Ohio River. By all sorts of expedients the little family contrived to get from one home to the other, where, on a grassy knoll in the heart of the un- trodden forest, they fixed upon the site of their future dwelling. A hunter's camp was all that could be built to shelter them during their first winter. One side was entirely open, except as it was screened with the half- dressed skins of wild animals. Here the future Presi- dent spent his first winter in the State of Indiana. Thorns were used for pins in his home; bits of bone covered with cloth did duty for buttons; crusts of rye- bread, well burned, were substituted for coffee; the dried leaves of sundry native herbs took the place of tea. Corn-whiskey tempered with water was a common drink of the country, and one of the readiest forms of business currency. There were no neighbors to drop in with friendly gossip, no boats to vex the waters of the western rivers. Even when one of the settlers of that region knew how to write, it would require ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 431 months sometimes for his letter to reach the eastern world ; and only as a faint echo now and then came a whisper of politics and national affairs. James Madison was the President of the United States, and the country was greatly disturbed over the admission of Missouri, the extension of slavery, and other matters of great moment , but little or none of the excitement ever reached the log cabin. Through the winter Abraham Lincoln aided his father in felling logs for a more substantial cabin ; and in the spring all the available neighbors were convened, the logs were rolled out of the woods, and one by one fitted into their places in the shape of four walls. Gables were fixed in position with wooden pins, and the log cabin was com- plete. The floor was the solid ground, and the cracks between the logs were " chinked " with thin strips of wood. No wonder that little " Abe " mastered the art of splitting rails, and imbibed a knowledge of woodcraft which clung to him forever. During their first year in Indiana the mother was stricken down by hard work, exposure, and continual anxiety, and died on the 5th of October. There were no funeral ceremonies, for there was no one to conduct them ; but long after, when the spot where she lay was covered with the wreck of the forest and almost hidden, her son was wont to say, " All that I am or hope to be. I owe to my mother." Boys of the present age, turning languidly over the piles of books at their command, would wonder at the little stock that made Abraham Lincoln's heart glad in those sad times. His library consisted of the Bible, '-iEsop's Fables, 1 ' and " Pilgrim's Progress."' On 432 LIVES OF THE PRESIDEJSTTS. these three his literary tastes were formed. He read the books till he could repeat from memory many chapters of the Bible, the most striking passages of Bunyan's story, and every one of iEsop's fables. Then he secured a copy of the lives and characters of eminent men, and from the day when he first read the biography of the great Kentuckian, Lincoln dated his undying admiration for Henry Clay. Then he obtained Ramsay's " Life of Washington /' and hearing of another "Life of Washington," 1 written by Weerns, he made a long journey to borrow it, and joyfully carried it home in the bosom of his hunting-shirt. A storm at night washed through the chinks of the logs in the cabin, and damaged the book, and with a heavy heart he carried it back to Mr. Crawford, who had loaned it to him. He offered to. do any thing in settlement which Mr. Crawford thought fair and just, and it was finally agreed that Abe should "pull fodder *' for three days for Mr. Crawford. "Does that pay for the book, or for the damage done to it?" asked the boy, taking his first lesson in worldly wisdom. Mr. Crawford "allowed'' that he had con- sidered the book practically worthless, and that the work paid for it, so that it became the first book that Abraham Lincoln purchased , and discolored and blis- tered though it was, it was to him of incalculable value. In the autumn of 1819 Thomas Lincoln went off into Kentucky, leaving the children to take care of them- selves; but in December lie returned, bringing a new mother for them, and a store of what to the children of the wilderness seemed a gorgeous array of housekeeping ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 433 utensils ; a table, chairs, a bureau, crockery, knives, forks, and other incidentals, which to-day are considered the necessaries of life ; but which, until then, the Lincoln family had lived without. The new mother and her stepson became fast friends from the start, and she said of him afterward, "He never gave me a cross word or look, and never refused in fact or appearance to do any thing that I requested of him/' From this time, matters began to look brighter in the Lincoln family. Neigh- bors became more abundant, and the school, with its coveted facilities for obtaining knowledge, was within reach. At the age of seventeen, an accident led Lincoln into the vicinity of Booneville. There hearing that one of the famous Breckinridges of Kentucky was to speak for the defence in a murder trial, he went on to Boone- ville, and in dumb wonder listened to the first im- portant speech which he had ever heard. Lincoln could not restrain himself; and as the eminent lawyer passed out of the court-house, he found himself inter- cepted by a tall, over-grown youth, awkward, horny- handed, and evidently of the poorer class, who timidly held out his hand to him. But the aristocratic Breck- inridge stared in surprise at the intrusive stranger, and hastily passed without further notice the future Presi- dent of the United States. The boy had learned a grand lesson in oratory, however, and he was as grateful to Breckinridge for it as he would have been had the great man been as gracious to him then as he was years afterward, when he was reminded by the President in Washington of the little incident in Boonville. From that moment his enthusiasm for speech-making knew 484 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. no bounds. His father was at last obliged to interfere, and forbid his making speeches during work hours. The old man grumbled, " When Abe begins to speak. all hands stop work to hear him." In every possible sense of the word, at twenty years of age, Abraham Lincoln was a self-made man. What he had learned, he had learned by himself; what he knew, he knew with absolute accuracy.. Self-taught, self-dependent, self-reliant. In the spring of 1830 the entire family made another move to the West, across the prairies to Illinois, near to the village of Decatur. The entire outfit consisted of one wagon, drawn by four oxen, and driven by Abraham Lincoln. When at last the family were well settled upon the new ground, young Lincoln determined that it was time for him to strike out for himself. He was twenty-one years old. and able and anxious to earn his own living. He engaged himself with a party that was taking a Hat-boat loaded with produce down the river to New Orleans. Thus he visited the land of slavery, and saw its peculiar institutions, and thus he formed his first opinions of slavery, lie succeeded so well with the cargo that the owner employed him to take charge of a country store at New Salem, 111. where he at once established himself as a great favorite. Up to this time. Mr. Lincoln had never held any office except that of an occasional clerk of an election ; but in the spring of 1832 he found himself out of busi- ness, the store at New Salem having been closed, and he resolved to become a candidate for representative to the Legislature. He was a pronounced Whig, follow- ing in the footsteps of his idol, Henry (lay. Before ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 435 the election, however, there was a call for volunteers to repel the hostile Indians, and Lincoln was among Hie first to volunteer. At the head of a party of Sangamon County men, he made his way to Gen. Atchinson's head- quarters, where he was appointed captain of a company. The campaign was short and decisive. Mr. Lincoln reached, his home again, with only ten days remaining in which to make his canvass for the seat in the Legis- lature to which he aspired. He received a. majority of the votes in his own precinct, hut he lost the election. Having now no further occupation, he borrowed every book on law that he could find, and. amused himself and his neighbors by drawing up imaginary deeds, wills, and conveyances ; and neighbors soon began applying to him for advice and assistance in selling and mort- gaging real estate. His fees were usually the necessities of life, turned over to the family with whom he boarded. Soon he was undertaking small cases on trial before the justices of the peace. An old judge said of him that, "When Lincoln argued, he inevitably gave the impres- sion that he sincerely believed every word he said.'" Surveying, too, occupied his leisure moments, and maps of land surveyed by Lincoln still show a neatness and semblance of accuracy that testify to the rigid care he exercised in all his work. In 1833 Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem. The revenues were small; and, as tin; popular saying ran, "Lincoln carried the post-office in his hat." He said of himself, that he took the office on account of the weekly papers coming through the mail, which he scrupulously read before they were called for. In 1844 he again became candidate for the Legisla- 436 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. ture. This time he was elected. He was now twenty- five years old. The capital was then at Vandalia. Clad in a suit of not especially elegant blue jeans, Lincoln, with his commanding height, was a marked figure in the Legislature. During the first session, he introduced few bills, but he narrowly observed what other men were doing in this direction ; and while he said little, he took in every thing, and thought a great deal. The next year he was re-elected. In his appeal to his constituents he said, " I go for all sharing the privileges of the Government who assist in bearing its burdens. I go for admitting all whites to the right of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms, by no means excluding; females." At this second session of the Legislature he put himself on record for the first time as opposed to the farther extension of the system of American slavery. In 1837 Lincoln went to Springfield, the new capital of the State, where he established himself in the prac- tice of law, and there he remained till his election for the presidency. He rode into town on a borrowed horse, all his earthly possessions packed in a pair of saddle-bags fastened to the crupper of his saddle. He wanted to hire a room, and furnish it with the barest- necessities, but found that the aggregate cost of these was seventeen dollars. To the storekeeper Mr. Lincoln said sadly, " It is cheap enough, but cheap as it is, I have not the money to pay for it. If you will give me credit, until Christmas, and my experiment here is a success, I will pay you then. If I fail, I shall probably never be able to pay you." The storekeeper, somewhat impressed, replied that ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 437 he had a large double bed in his own room, which Lincoln was welcome to share with him if he chose ; and thus he settled in his new quarters in the capital of Illinois. In April he formed a partnership with John T. Stuart of Springfield, which continued till 1841, when he associated himself with Stephen T. Logan. In 1843 the law firm of Abraham Lincoln and William H. Herndon was formed, and the co-partnership was not dissolved until the death of Lincoln in 1865. As a lawyer, Mr. Lincoln proved the value of those qualities which had won for him the title of "honest Abe*" while he was a storekeeper. In 1839 there was a remarkable debate in the Illinois Legislature, in which Stephen A. Douglas, John Calhoun, Josiah Lamborn and Jesse B. Thomas were upon one side; and Stephen T. Logan, Edward D. Barker, Orville H. Browning, and Abraham Lincoln upon the other side. During the debate, one of the speakers taunted the other side upon the hopelessness of its case and the fewness of its num- bers. In replying, Lincoln said, " Address that argu- ment to cowards and knaves. It may be true ; if it must, let it. Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours may lose hers. But if she shall, let it be my proudest plume not that I was the last to desert her, but that I never deserted her." In 1840 the country was deeply stirred by the presi- dential campaign. Martin Van Buren stood for the Democrats, Gen. William H. Harrison for the Whigs. Lincoln was one of the electors on the Harrison ticket, and he took a lively interest in the canvass, making speeches and going on long expeditions for the sake of his candidate. 438 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. While living in New Salem, he had become tenderly attached to a young lady of that village, Miss Ann Rutledge, who died before his prospects in Springfield guaranteed their marriage. In 1840 there came to Springfield from Kentucky a Miss Todd, daughter of Robert Todd, who was courted and flattered by all the young men in Springfield, and soon made the acquaint- ance, of Abraham Lincoln, then regarded as "a rising man." To her Mr. Lincoln became engaged. There was a misunderstanding between the two at one time, and he offered to release her, which offer, however, she declined: and the couple were married Nov. 4, 1840, and took lodgings in the Globe Tavern, a modest board- ing-place, not far from the Slate House. The cost, as Lincoln said afterward, was four dollars a week for board and lodging. The log-cabin and hard-cider cam- paign having terminated to Mr. Lincoln's satisfaction, he spent the first winter of his married life happily as well as busily, finding time to write and deliver a most earnest temperance address, expressive of sentiments which he held throughout his life : for never, to the day of his death, could lie be persuaded to partake of spirits or wine. Ex-President Van Buren, against whom Lincoln had fought so vigorously in the campaign, became storm- bound in a little village not far from Springfield : and several of his friends in Springfield hearing of the fact, made up a party, generously provided with provisions, hi go to him, and persuaded Mr. Lincoln to accompany them. Of this visit, Mr. Van Buren afterward said that with Mr. Lincoln he was surprised and delighted; the onlv drawback being that his sides were sore for ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 439 a week thereafter, from laughing at Mr. Lincoln's stories. Lincoln had long desired to go to Congress ; but it so happened that all his best friends were equally anxious to go, and from the same district. On one occasion, having himself been a candidate for nomination, Lincoln was elected as a delegate to the nominating- convention, and was instructed to vote for Baker. Of the predica- ment he good-naturedly said, " I am lixed like the fellow who was made groomsman to the man who cut him out and was marrying his girl.". The greatest political disappointment of his life, however, was when his idol, Henry Clay, was defeated, and James K. Polk elected in 1844. For once Lincoln's political expecta- tions were overwhelmed. In 1846 Lincoln was at last nominated for Congress, and carried the election by a most unusual majority. He took his seat Dec. (5, 1847. One of his first acts in Congress was a masterly speech reviewing the causes of the Mexican war, and severely arraigning the Adminis- tration for its persistance in the matter of annexing Texas, and thus involving the country. In Congress, Lincoln was associated with Webster, Lewis Cass, John A. DiX, J. C. Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas, John Quincy Adams, Caleb Smith, John Palfrey, Robert C. Winthrop, Andrew Jackson. Alexander H. Stevens, Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, and many others famous in the stormy times then making ready in the far distance. In this illus- trious company Lincoln very soon became recognized as a man of marked ability. Speaking of him long afterward, Alexander H. 440 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Stevens, then Vice-President of the Southern Con- federacy, said, " Lincoln always attracted and riveted the attention of the House when he spoke. His man- ner of speech as well as thought was original. He was a man of strong convictions, and what Carlyle would have called an earnest man. He abounded in anec- dotes ; he illustrated every thing he was talking about with an anecdote, always exceedingly apt and pointed, and socially always kept his company in a roar of laughter." Lincoln was a delegate to the Whig convention that nominated Gen. Taylor, and as soon as the Congres- sional recess began, he went at once to New England where he took the stump for his candidate. Into this campaign he carried the same thoroughness which he had always shown, and the same ambition to utilize every thing to the best advantage. In a letter to his law partner, Mr. Herndon, lie said, "Let every one play the part he can play best. Some can speak, some can sing, and all can halloo."' The election of 1848 gave Gen. Taylor a decided majorit} r : and there was great excitement and exulta- tion manifest concerning it, for the satisfaction felt all over the North that the election of Taylor would some- how prevent the extension of slavery. Matters in Congress were decidedly changed. Lin- coln and the Whigs were no longer in the hopeless minority. It was Mr. Lincoln who now introduced (he bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, but it excited a storm of opposition so great, that it never came to a vote ; and when Congress adjourned. Mr. Lincoln's term of office being out, he went to his home ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 441 in Illinois not to return till he should come as the great emancipator of slavery throughout the length and breadth of the Republic. He was offered the position of governor of the Terri- tory of Oregon, but he declined it ; feeling, doubtless, that he had greater work to do on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Robert Todd, Mr. Lincoln's eldest son, was born in 1843 , Edward Baker, the second, was born in 1846 ; William Wallace, the third, was born in 1850 ; and Thomas, the fourth, in 1853. Of these, Robert, the eldest, Secretary of War under Garfield and Arthur, is the sole survivor of the family. After returning to Springfield, Mr. Lincoln again devoted himself to his legal business, in many ways increasing his popularity, and strengthening the reputa- tion for honesty and integrity which had gone with him throughout his life. After his death, Judge Drum- mond of Chicago said of him, " I have no hesitation in saying that he was one of the ablest lawyers I ever knew. With a voice by no means pleasant, without any of the graces of the orator, without much in the outward man indicating superiority of intellect, his mind was so vigorous, his comprehension so exact and clear, his judgment so sure, that he easily mastered the intricacies of his profession, and became one of the ablest reasoners and impressive speakers at our bar. He always tried a case fairly and honestly, and never intentionally misrepresented the evidence of a witness, or the argument of an opponent."* To the end of his life Mr. Lincoln adhered to the old-fashioned pronunciation of many familiar words. 442 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. "Chair" was always "cheer," and "legislature," " legis- latur." In October, 1854, the storm of war over slavery broke out again in Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska bill. The entire North was against him. He hastened to Illinois, confident that with his crafty logic and audacious decla- mation he could convince the people there that his bill did not contain the pernicious and destructive influences which were credited to it ; but in Chicago, his constit- uents refused to hear him. The walls were placarded with angry words, and angry denunciations were heaped upon him. He went on to Springfield; the annual State fair was to be held there, and he grasped the oppor- tunity. It was noised abroad that Douglas was to speak in justification of his course, and in defence of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. By common consent, all eyes were turned to Lincoln as the man best qualified to answer the plausible and overbearing senator from Illinois. Douglas began his defence. He was the Democratic leader of the West, and the acknowledged head of his party in the North ; so much so, that people had even begun to call themselves Douglas- Democrats. This must be his supreme effort, or he would lose his hold in his own State and in his party. On the next day Lincoln replied to it. The sensa- tion produced was so convincing, so powerful in its logic, so tremendous in its array of facts and arguments, that it was indescribable. At last the lion had been roused. Lincoln rose to the occasion, and spoke as he never spoke before. The enthusiasm of his audience was raised to a high pitch. The Springfield Journal, in reporting the speech, said, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 443 " The crowd approved the glorious triumph of truth by loud and long continued huzzas. The women waved their handkerchiefs. At the conclusion of the speech, every man felt that it was unanswerable ; that no human power could overthrow it or trample it under foot ; and every mind present did homage to the man who took captive the heart, and broke like a sun over the understanding." At the close of Lincoln's speech, Douglas, excited and angry, took the platform, and said that he had been abused, and would continue his address in the evening. When evening came, however, Douglas was not there, and the promised remarks were not made. A few days later the two spoke at Peoria, with the same result. At the close, Douglas said to Lincoln, " You have here and at Springfield given me more trouble than all the opposition in the Senate combined."' In 1856 a convention was held in Bloomington, 111., of men opposed to the Kansas-Nebraska measure. Mr. Lincoln was summoned to the mass-meeting and said, "In building our new party, let us make the corner-stone the Declaration of Independence. Let us build on this rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against us ! " Of Mr. Lincoln's address to the convention, all that remains is the report of those who heard it. One who was present says, w * Never was an audience so completely electrified by human eloquence. Again and again they sprang to their feet and upon the benches." Similar proceedings took place in other States ; and thus the Republican party was born to meet in its first National convention in Philadelphia, June 17, 1856, when Freanont was nominated for President and Dayton of New Jersey for Vice-President. 444 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The Democratic convention nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania for President, and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Vice-President. Again Lincoln took an active cart in the campaign. In the election, James Buchanan received the majority of votes, but the fight between freedom and slavery still went on; and in L858 Lincoln and Douglas were again pitted against each other. Douglas's senatorial term was draw- ing to a close, and the Republicans of Illinois nominated Mr. Lincoln to till the vacancy. The Democrats of the State nominated Mr. Doug-las to succeed himself. Lin- coln realized that this was to he a mighty struggle. None hotter than he, knew how tender the people of Illinois yet were on the subject of slavery, and how afraid they were of the epithet of "abolitionist." When the memorable debate began. Lincoln and Douglas were in full maturity of their physical and intellectual powers. Douglas was forty-five, Lincoln was forty-nine. Douglas was small of stature, with long and grizzly hair, and called by his admirers the "little giant of Illinois." Lincoln was almost herculean in build. His head was massive, poised on a long neck, with stiff and obstinate hair, thai usually >.t«>od up in irregular waves. Two important topics were before the country for these two men to dismiss, — the Died Scott decision and the struggle in Kansas. In Douglas's speech he had inti- mated that Lincoln was in favor of a complete equality of the white and black races, which sentiment, in those days, was sufficient to draw upon any one a rousing mob, even from among his own constituency. In his reply. Lincoln said. "I protest, now and forever, against that counterfeit logic which presumes that. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 445 because I do not want a negro woman for a slave, I do necessarily want her for a wife. My understanding is, that I need not have her for either ; but, as God has made us separate, we can leave one another alone, and do each much good thereby." Lincoln tried to persuade the " little giant "' to a joint canvass of the State, to which Douglas objected at first, but at last consented to a joint debate at seven different points. In this debate, Lincoln travelled in an unostentatious and inexpensive manner. Douglas moved from point to point on a special train, accom- panied by a brass band and cannon. Everybody felt that, to use a common expression of the country, Lin- coln was getting the best of Douglas; and by his manner, Douglas sometimes showed that he thought so too. In Charlestown, 111., for instance, during Lincoln's speech, Douglas left his seat, and, watch in hand, paced up and down the rear of the platform, behind the speaker, greatly agitated, with his long. grizzly hair waving behind him ; and the instant that the hands of his watch marked the moment for Lincoln to stop, he turned the timepiece toward the speaker, and eagerly cried, "Sit down, Lincoln, sit down ; your time is up."' Turning a good-natured face toward Douglas, Lincoln calmly replied, "1 will, I will quit ; I believe my time is up." A deep voice from some one at no great distance added, " Yes, Douglas has had enough. It is time you let up on him." As the result of several peculiar conditions, the Legis- lative vote was cast for Douglas; though the popular vote was 126,000 for Lincoln, and 121,000 for Douglas. Lincoln had won a great moral victory, and had made for I 16 i iv ks OF tmk \ rs. idure, YYhe - by « I I when &d l\v (ho d that he fell toy who I stub : Nothing, h v> uler tamo than tin - \ \; i was im the East . V'\\ > 01 k, Feb, I. I860, \ tho fou ' tho 5 V\ ' w • \ hold bv th ; : . did inuoh toward the compromise i a slant time . rhe -\ was in a ferment, Tho South was hing, and there was \ \ Antagonisms were engendered, s, that th N« oxal conventions in ©turbulent. The first convention was. . v > C Cushing ami Benjamin F. ■ there. >' s was . 1 for President, and Her* schel Johnson o \ President. On May 16, the Republican convention assembled in - were man) W lliam 1 1 Seward, I uneron, S. P, Chase, Edwa William M. Dayton, were all pushed forward bv their Sev vd precluded e from Ne^ Vork, but he seoured pportunitv to aot as delegate from Oregon, In of Mr. G - opposition, however, Mr. ed at ton to one against the field, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 447 Willi considerable temper,dii ati faction, and discon- tent, the convention began its work. The Seward men were confident of success, but the convention's action urn i be the hinge on which the history of the country should turn. The hall was packed to the verge of suffocation. Leading men from North and South, from I-., i i and West, were there; all with their individual preferences. When nominations were in order, Seward. Cameron, Chase, Bates, Dayton, McLane, and Colla- more were introduci d. The moment had almost arrived for ballotting, when Uncle Je -<■ Harper of Illinoi . a tall, gaunt figure clad in rusty black, ro e, and put in nomination Abraham Lincoln, the rail- plitter. Ji may sal'i-h be said thai to the astonishment of every dele- gate, the first ballol tood William II. Seward, one hundred and seventy-three and a half; Abraham Lin- coln, one hundred and two; with the other fift) or below. On the third ballot, Lincoln received two hundred and thirty-one and a half votes, and shortly afterward his nomination wa fed. William M. Evarl - made the motion that the nomination of Abraham Lincoln be made unanimou ;thiswa econded by John A. Andrew of Massachusetts. The tickel was com- pleted by the nomination of lion. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine. There were four tickets in the field. Douglas al the head of one; Breckinridge, another ; John Bell, a third; and Abraham Lincoln, the fourth. A more exciting campaign was never known. Kami i, were separated bj sentiment; friendships were broken, social relations were evered ; trade, commerce, and the industries of the en-tire country seemed to be paralyzed. If Lincoln were to be elected, 448 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. every one foresaw that the Union would be broken. Never was there a more bitter contest than that waged by the several parties seeking the election of their can- didates. Thus Lincoln stood for the verdict not of his own town, county, or State Legislature, but of his country. The nation is familiar with him to-day, but only those who knew him best really knew him at all. Thousands of men, even then, were familiar with " Abe," but no man was ever intentionally rude a second time to Abraham Lincoln. He was gentleness and courtesy personified. He was a natural born man ; strong in will and purpose, tenacious of opinions, courteous to opponents. The result of the campaign gave Mr. Lincoln 180 electoral votes ; the remaining 123 were divided be- tween his three opponents. A Republican President had been elected to face a large majority against him in the House of Representatives, a strong opposition in the Supreme Court and in the Senate, with a task before him such as no mortal man had ever had before, and none since his day. Between the 6th of November, 1860, and the 4th of March, 1861, when Lincoln was at last inaugurated, were months pregnant with trouble, with national dis- turbance, with lack of confidence, and conflicting politi- cal ideas. Party feeling ran high throughout the nation. Toward one man all eyes were looking. Abraham Lincoln in his quiet Illinois home was the hinge upon which the mighty events were turning. What would lie do? He had not uttered one word concerning the condition of affairs since the day of his election. The one man to whom all turned was silent. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 449 In February he left for Washington, as it was deemed expedient that he should be there some time before inauguration. Thousands gathered at the station in Springfield, but his parting words had nothing of poli- tics. They were, "A duty devolves upon me which is greater, perhaps, than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He would not have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. Feeling that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him, in the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support." The progress to Wash- ington was eventful, and might easily have been made one of the utmost excitement ; but it would be difficult to conceive of a more considerate course, and one more conciliatory than that pursued by Mr. Lincoln from the beginning to the end. A great-hearted, honest-minded, clear-eyed man, taken by the strong hand of popular will from the calm quiet of his Western circuit, and placed at the helm of the country, a target for every eye, for every tongue, and possibly for every bullet, — such was Abraham Lincoln, as he waited for the 4th of March. The Government at this fearful crisis was to be turned over to Republican administrators by the Democratic hands which had controlled it so loner. Hours before the time for the inauguration ceremonies, scores of thousands of anxious men were massed in front of the House of Representatives. In the Senate chamber Hannibal Hamlin took the oath of office of Vice-President, and assumed his chair as presiding officer of the Senate, administering the oath to the newly elected senators, then superintending the forming 450 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of the procession to the platform where the presidential inauguration was to be held. The oath of office being administered by the venerable chief justice, Robert B. Taney, President Lincoln stepped to the front. Horace Greeley said of the inaugural address, " I sat just behind Lincoln when he read it, on a bright, warm, still March day, expecting to hear the delivery arrested by the crack of a rifle aimed at his heart ; but it pleased God to postpone the deed, though there was forty times the opportunity to shoot him in '61 that there was in '65, and at least forty times as many intent on killing or having him killed." The address produced a profound impression. Its affectionate interest and peaceful tendency affected the Northern public, but not the South. He treated all the secession acts as a farce. His manner, always earnest, and suggestive of absolute honesty, was never more earnest, never more suggestive ; and the cheers of fifty thousand listeners rose and echoed, pregnant and significant, at the close. The die was cast ; and accompanied by Mr. Buchanan, the President entered the carriage, and drove to the White House. Two great troubles faced Mr. Lincoln at the outset, — office-seekers and the impending war. He deter- mined, if possible, to have one or two Southern men of prominence in his cabinet, and not to disturb any per- sons then in office who had proved themselves honest and competent servants ; a line of policy which irritated many of his friends, it being so contrary to the practice of the time. His first duty was the formation of a cabinet. William H. Seward was chosen Secretary of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 451 State; Simon Cameron, Secretary of War; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury ; Gideon Welles, Sec- retary of the Navy ; Montgomery Blair, Postmaster- General ; Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior ; Edward Bates, Attorney-General. They represented a great variety of political sentiment and opinion, and did not always agree. Mr. Lincoln sometimes face- tiously referred to his cabinet as " The Happ}^ Family." Two commissioners appeared at the White House shortly after the President was installed, as emissaries from the seceded States. Mr. Lincoln refused to see them ; but with a certain grim humor, he sent them a copy of his inaugural address. Then the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter, and the threatened war be- came a reality. Up to that moment there had been many loyal persons who were doubtful as to the right of the national Government to coerce a State, but in an instant all this was swept away. The flag of the Union had been insulted, and the universal cry was for revenge. On the second day after this first shot, Lin- coln issued his call for seventy-five thousand troops, and both Houses of Congress were summoned to meet at the national capital, July 4, 1861. The governor of Delaware responded very doubtfully to this call for troops. The governor of Maryland seconded the call for soldiers only to serve within the limits of the State. The governor of Virginia de- nounced the call and the President altogether, and defied the Administration in bitter terms ; the governor of North Carolina replied in a similar vein. The gov- ernor of Kentucky made answer that that State would furnish no troops ; so did the governors of Tennessee 452 LIVES OP THE PRESIDENTS. and Arkansas. The governor of Missouri replied, " Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional, revolu- tionary, inhuman, diabolical, and cannot be complied with." Massachusetts was the first State to respond, with four regiments, within forty-eight hours after the proclamation had been received. Governor Sprage of Rhode Island placed himself at the head of a thousand infantry and a battalion of artillery, and marched to Washington. A Pennsylvania regiment was the first to reach the national capital. In the North-west, where Lincoln was idolized, the rush to arms was wonderful. Ohio's quota was thirteen thousand men ; but within a week after the call was issued seventy-one thousand had offered their services. Lincoln called for seventy- five thousand men ; and in response five hundred thou- sand sprang to arms, notwithstanding the vindictive messages which he had received from several of the governors. The attack upon the " Sixth Massachusetts," in pass- ing through Baltimore, added to the indignation at the North ; and the President found his arms strengthened by constantly increasing approbation. Stephen A. Douglas, too, proved one of his warmest, most enthu- siastic, and devoted friends until his death, which occurred on the 3d of June following the inauguration. Thus Mr. Lincoln, alternately upheld and denounced, perplexed, burdened with doubt and uncertainty, beset with multitudinous counsel differing and opposing, found himself without any consistent, sustaining hand, when the buttle of Bull Run was fought, and the Southern army fled in precipitate confusion toward Richmond, believing itself upon the eve of annihilation, ABRAHAM LINCOLN". 453 and the Northern army ran furiously back to Washing- ton, every moment anticipating overwhelming destruc- tion. Nothing was gained by it but the knowledge that neither the North nor the South was prepared. After that, however, the war began in earnest. Complications with foreign powers arose. The British Government was guilty of many unfriendly acts, if noth- ing more. The national capital was filled with plun- derers, fortunes were made in a day, imperial revenues were poured into the laps of favored contractors. Gen- erals not in political favor were hampered and crippled ; but of the dire necessities of the times, many inventions were born which resulted favorably. Out of the com- plications grew the greater desires, aims, and ambitions of the war, till on Jan. 1, 1863, the first causes and motives wholly forgotten in the later details, President Lincoln issued a proclamation of emancipation, ordering and declaring that all persons held as slaves should thenceforward be free ; and pledging the Government of the United States, with all its military and naval power, to a recognition and maintenance of the freedom of the emancipated people. On the 8th of June, 1864, President Lincoln was nominated for his second term by the Republicans, and Gen. MacClellan by the Democrats. For a time the slow manoeuvres and halting delays of the army of the Potomac had not only kept the President in a state of constant anxiety, but plunged every loyal element of the country into the deepest gloom, both in the front and in the homes. All in vain had the President endeavored to force action. One disaster had followed another, but the turning-point 454 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. had come in 1863. The wave of tumultuous joy had swept over the North when Vicksburg fell. Lincoln's action in promoting and supporting Grant, though de- rided and scoffed at the start, — as he was for almost every action throughout the first four years, — proved its wisdom in the end. The army of the Potomac had covered itself with glory at Gettysburg ; Gen. Sherman and Gen. Sheridan, too, had come to the front. The disturbed politicians in the Republican party, who had fought against the re-nomination of President Lincoln, had been quieted and overcome. The campaign and subsequent election gave him the justification of his country. The overwhelming majority by which he was re-elected was a substantial guarantee and indorse- ment ; but, though the dark clouds were lifting, and the night was far spent, the heavy weight of responsibility resting on the President's shoulders was hardly light- ened. Enemies were still ready at every moment to attack his words and actions. With Secretary Seward he went to Fortress Monroe to meet with Rebel commissioners, and consult concerning terms of peace ; but foreseeing that the sole purpose of the conference was to secure an armistice* under some pretence, during which renewed preparations for war could be made, the President turned a deaf ear to all suggestions that there should be a cessation of all hostilities, explicitly declaring that there could be no receding from the position taken by the Government on the slavery question ; but that he was ready to con- cede every thing that was possible. The conference amounted to nothing, and hostile critics and unfriendly politicians at home were as ready as ever to impugn the President. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 455 Simplicity- was the main characteristic of life at the White House. Lincoln's nature was averse to display. No man was ever more free from affectation, yet he was not without a dignity of bearing and character that commanded respect ; and notwithstanding his inimita- ble good nature, it was not impossible for him to rebuke those who presumed too far upon it. A deputation of citizens from a distant State waited upon him to remon- strate against certain appointments. Their objections were committed to writing, and read by the spokes- man. The paper contained implied reflections upon Senator Baker, then a guest at the White House. Lincoln listened silently to the reading of the docu- ment; then, taking the paper, he said, "Is this mine to do with as I please ? " " Certainly, Mr. President," replied the spokesman. The President calmly turned to the fireplace, and laid the document on the blazing coals, saying, " Good-morning, gentlemen." Afterward, speaking of the anger that the delegation manifested when they went out of the chamber, Lincoln said, " The paper was an unjust attack upon my dearest personal friend, Ned Baker. They told me it was mine to do with as I liked, and I could not trust myself to reply in words, I was so angry." During his life at the White House, President Lin- coln enjoyed little recreation and few amusements. The times were full of trouble, and he had little to do with social or formal entertainments. His only mental relief was found at the theatre, where he often went, accompanied with a single friend. He was naturally fond of music, and it seemed the greatest pleasure of his simple, almost pathetic, life. He cared little for the 456 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. pleasures of the table, and seldom partook of any but the plainest food. Wine was set upon the table when those who used it were guests, but it was never used by the President. So engrossed was he with the cares of his office, that many a time his anxious wife sent to the cabinet chamber a tray of food when he had for- gotten his meal, and then he was often too busy or absent-minded to touch it. His greatest delight in life was with his children. His second son, Willie, died in February, 1862, during the darkest and most gloomy time of the long and oppressive era of the war. Possibly this calamity made Lincoln less strict with his youngest boy. At all events, he found it well-nigh impossible to deny him any tiling ; but the little fellow, always happy and lovable, never abused his privileges. He roamed the White House at will, as well known to habitual visitors as the President himself, and passionately devoted to his father. He invaded the cabinet councils with his boyish griefs, and climbed to his father's knee when the President was engaged upon the affairs of state. The President and his wife addressed each other in the old-fashioned style of " father " and " mother." , Mrs. Lincoln rarely spoke of her husband as the Presi- dent ; and if he had occasion to refer to his high office, Mr. Lincoln invariably spoke of it as "this place." One soon forgot, in his immediate presence, however, the native ungainliness of his figure, and felt that he was in the personal atmosphere of one of the world's great men. The summers were spent upon the reservation in the suburbs of Washington known as the Soldier's Home. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 457 No warning of suspected attempts upon his life seemed to disturb the President in the least. Once he said to a friend, somewhat seriously, " I long ago made up my mind that if anybody wants to kill me, he will do it. If I wore a shirt of mail, and kept myself surrounded by a body-guard, it would be all the same. There are a thousand ways of getting at a man if it is desirable that he should be killed ; besides, in this case, it seems to me that the man who would come after me would be just as objectionable to my enemies, if I have any." At that time Hannibal Hamlin was Vice-President. A volume might be made up of anecdotes of Lincoln's kindness of heart. He was readily accessible to peti- tioners of every grade and rank in life, but until the spring of 18G5 he received little of the charity which he gave. On the 2d of April the tolling bells of Richmond sounded the knell of the Rebellion, and on the third the Union flag was hoisted over the building that had been occupied by the Rebel Congress. Accompanied by his little son, the President entered the fallen city unattended, save by a boat's crew, and leading his little boy by the hand. It was characteristic, if not triumphant. He walked as one in a dream. Rich- mond, so long and so painfully the object of Union hopes and desires, was now in the hands of the United States ; the members of the exploded government were fugitives. Thousands of colored people gathered about their liberator. They shouted, they rent the air with their frenzied cries ; but in that supreme moment Lincoln was speechless. The statesman, reared by God's wonderful providence, disciplined in the rough 458 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 4 school of adversity, stood in the stronghold of the broken slave power, his life-work completed. The North was delirious with joy. The national capital was in a tumult of excitement and triumph. Flags were spread in the remotest villages and hamlets, guns were fired, bands and processions were every- where ; not so much for victory over a fallen foe, as for relief and release from the pernicious war. The government clerks assembled in the great rotunda of the treasury building, and sang " Praise God from whom all blessings flow." The war was over ; and at last every heart swelled with love and blessing at the name of Lincoln, shouting all manner of joyous greetings to the second "Father of his Country." Thus, in the midst of these tremendous rejoicings, came the fourteenth day of April, 1865. At noon was held a cabinet meeting, at which Gen. Grant was present. In the evening, with Mrs. Lincoln, a daughter of Senator Harris, and Major Rathbone, the President sat in a box near the stage, in the upper tier, enjoying his accustomed recreation at the theatre, when John Wilkes Booth, an actor, wh'o had no personal grievance of which to complain, passed unnoticed into the rear of the box, held a pistol within a few inches of Mr. Lin-, coin's head, near the base of the brain, and fired. The President fell forward insensible. Major Rathbone attempted to seize the assassin, who stabbed him in the arm, jumped from the box to the stage, there brandished his knife, crying, "Sic semper tyrannus" the motto of Virginia ; and adding, " the South is avenged," van- ished. The insensible form of the President was carried to a ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 459 private residence across the street. No human skill could save the precious life. He uttered no word, and gave no sign of consciousness of what was taking place ; and at twenty-two minutes past seven, on the morning of April 15, the great heart ceased to beat. Mr. Lin- coln was dead. The body was carried to the White House, followed by a little procession of weeping but stern-faced men. Flags that had been flung in triumph were lowered to half-mast in sorrow. For days business was practically suspended, and the nation that had been so jubilant seemed abandoned to its mighty grief. On Wednesday, April 19, the funeral of the dead President took place from the mansion in which he had suffered and toiled for the people, and his form was borne to the Capitol. In the rotunda it lay in state for a day, guarded. by a company of high officers of the army and navy. Later, the President's body was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, near Springfield, 111. The funeral train left Washington on the 21st of April, traversing nearly the same route that had been passed over by the train which bore the President-elect from Springfield to Washington five years before. Nearly two thousand miles were traversed. People lined the entire distance almost without an interval, standing with uncovered heads, mute with grief, as the sombre cortege swept by ; even the night and the falling showers did not keep them away from the line of the sad procession. Watch- fires blazed along the route in darkness ; and in some of the large cities the coffin of the illustrious dead was lifted from the funeral train, and carried about by a mighty procession of citizens, till at last the body of Abraham Lincoln was laid at rest near his old home, 460 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. and a noble monument was raised by loving hands to mark the spot. He began life in poverty and obscurity in the wilder- ness, to end it in the full blaze of the white light that beats upon a form most conspicuous in the world's fame. •'"W ANDREW JOHNSON. The man suddenly called upon to fill the office of chief magistrate of the United States, in the fearful and overwhelming grief which bore the nation to the earth, in the sudden death of Abraham Lincoln, was a peculiar combination, — a man whom few understood, doubtless because he thoroughly failed to understand himself. The early life of Andrew Johnson is but a record of poverty, destitution, and friendlessness. He was born on the twenty-ninth day of December, 1808, in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. His parents, belonging to that class called the " poor whites " of the South, were in such circumstances as to be entirely unable to offer him the slightest advantages of education. When the lad was five years of age, his father was drowned ; and until he was ten years old, Andrew Johnson was a ragged boy about the streets, never having attended school, and being unable to read or write. He was apprenticed then to a tailor. A benevolent gentleman of Raleigh was in the habit of going to the shop, and reading to the boys at their work, often choosing the speeches of distinguished statesmen, which aroused in Andrew Johnson an ambition to learn to read for 461 462 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. himself. This he accomplished, while working ten or twelve hours a day in the shop, by robbing himself of rest and recreation in order to study. When sixteen years of age, having finished his apprenticeship, he was still unable to read with fluency. In 1826 he went with his mother to Greenville, East Tennessee, where he worked as a journeyman tailor, and married a young woman of estimable character, so much in advance of him in education, that she became his teacher in reading, writing, and arithmetic. She read to him while he plied the needle on the bench, and in the evening instructed him in other branches. Words came to him more readily, however ; and his popularity with the working classes was such,. that, in 1828, he was chosen one of the aldermen of the little town, and at twenty-two years of age was elected its mayor. He took a lively interest in political affairs, identifying himself with the working classes. In 1835 they elected him to the House of Representatives as a Democrat, and in 1840 he vigorously advocated Martin Van Buren's claims to the presidency ; while his readiness as a speaker constantly increased his reputation. In 1841 he was elected State senator, and was universally esteemed as an earnest, honest man, heartily advocating whatever he thought to be right, and denouncing that which he considered wrong. In 1843 he was elected a member of Congress, which position he held for ten years. In 1853 he was made governor of Tennessee, and re-elected in 1855; constantly proving himself the friend of the working classes. While he was governor of Tennessee, he cut and made with his own hands a handsome suit of clothes, ANDREW JOHNSON. 463 which he sent as a present to Gov. McGoffin of Ken- tucky, who was a blacksmith by trade, and returned the compliment by forging with his own hands a shovel and tongs, which he sent to Gov. Johnson, with the wish that they might keep alive the flame of their friendship. In 1857 Mr. Johnson was elected by the Legislature of Tennessee as United-States senator for the term of six years. Both in the House and in the Senate he adopted, in general, the Democratic policy, opposing a protective tariff, and advocating the Homestead Bill ; opposing the United-States' Bank, and all schemes of internal improvement by the national Government. He also strongly indorsed the views of the South on the incompetency of Congress to prevent the extension of slavery into the Territories. Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin, and often took pride in the fact, that what he was he owed distinctly to himself. " Sir," he once exclaimed on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget that I am a mechanic ; nor do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Saviour was the son of a carpenter." He was strongly opposed to secession; not so much upon the ground that slaveholders were not right in their claim that slavery should be nationalized, as in fear of an appeal to arms. He said, " We can more successfully resist black Republicanism by remaining in the Union than by going out of it." Concerning Mr. Lincoln, on the 19th of December, 1861, he said, "I voted against him; I spoke against him; I spent my money to defeat him." But as the Secessionists grew more determined in their measures, Mr. Johnson 464 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. grew more bold in his opposition ; and the slaveholders at last turned fiercely against him, denouncing him as a traitor to the South, while the North looked with admiration upon the moral courage which he displaj^ed in thus contending against almost every senator and representative of the South ; and in this admiration the North forgot that he was or ever had been Demo- cratic and Southern in his theories. To add to his popularity in the North, he was burned in effigy at Memphis, Tenn., in 1861, and was repeatedly insulted by mobs, and threatened with l} r nching. A price was even set upon his head. A Rebel band sacked his home, drove his wife, — who was ill at the time, — and his child into the street, confiscated his slaves, and turned his house into a hospital and barracks. The Union party at the North began to regard him as in all points one with them ; while his own speeches indicated a continually increasing sympathy with the views of the great Republican party, which 4iad elected Abraham Lincoln. In one of these speeches he said, " We may as well talk of tilings as they are ; for if any thing is treason, is not levying war upon the Gov- ernment treason? Is not an attempt to take property of the Government treason ? It is treason, and nothing but treason." And though the address was met with hisses, reproaches, threats, and a shower of abuse, grow- ing still bolder, he exclaimed, " Does it need any search to find those who are levying war, and giving aid and comfort to enemies against the United States? And this is treason. Treason ought to be punished, North and South; and if they are traitors, they should be entitled to traitors' rewards. Were I the President ANDREW JOHNSON. 465 of the United States, I would do as Thomas Jefferson did with Aaron Burr. I would have them arrested and tried for treason ; and, if convicted, by the eternal God they should suffer the penalty of the law at the hands of the executioner." This he said in the Senate Chamber, on the 2d of March, 1861. He was a Democrat of the Jacksonian school ; but the assumptions of the Secessionists were crowding him over into the ranks of those who would increase rather than diminish the power of the central government. In February, 1862, President Lincoln, with the approval of the Senate, appointed Andrew Johnson military gover- nor of the State of Tennessee ; an appointment which was received with enthusiasm by nearly all the loyal men of the Union. On the 12th of March he began his administration with an energy which cheered the hearts of the long-suffering Unionists. The mayor of Nashville and the city council refused to take the oath of allegiance, and he sent them to the penitentiary. The editor of the " Nashville Banner" uttered treason- able sentiments, and was forthwith imprisoned. To quell the marauding guerilla Secessionists, the fol- lowing proclamation was issued : — " I, Andrew Johnson, do hereby proclaim that in every instance in which a Union man is arrested and maltreated by marauding bands, five or more Rebels from the most prominent in the immediate neighborhood, shall be arrested, imprisoned, and otherwise dealt with, as the nature of the case may require; and further, in all cases where the property of citizens loyal to the Government of the United States is taken or destroyed, full and ample remuneration shall be made to them out of the 466 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. property of such Rebels in the vicinity as have sympa- thized with, and given aid, comfort, information, or encouragement to the parties committing such depreda- tions." He had five clergymen imprisoned for preach- ing treason from their pulpits. A little later the Rebel armies again entered the State, and Nashville was in a state of siege. The timid ones began to talk of the necessity of surrender, when Mr. Johnson exclaimed, "I am no military man, but any one who talks of surrendering I will shoot." In the stress of the last necessity, when Nashville was com- pletely surrounded by the enemy, Buell, who was in command of the forces, turned traitor, to Johnson's way of thinking, and determined to evacuate the city in forty-eight hours. Col. Moody chanced to call at the office of the governor at the moment when he had received Buell's determination ; and turning to him in despair, Johnson said, "Moody, can you pray?" to which Col. Moody replied, "That is my business, sir, as a minister of the gospel." - " Well, Moody, I wish you would pray," said the governor ; and the colonel kneeling, he threw himself upon his knees beside him, and responded at the close of the prayer with an emphatic and fervent "Amen." Rising from his knees, Gov. Johnson drew a long breath, and said, " I feel better." But a short time later, as Col. Moody was going out with orders, the governor turned suddenly and said, "O Moody, I don't want you to think that I have become a religious man because I asked you to pray. I am sorry to say it, but I am not, and never pretended to be, religious ; no one knows this any better than you. But Moody, there is one thing about it, I ANDREW JOHNSON. 467 do believe in Almighty God, and I believe also in the Bible , and I say damn me if Nashville shall be sur- rendered ! " The current of events had apparently swept Mr. Johnson into entire sympathy with the Republican party. He was not only oppposed to secession, but he was now opposed to slavery, and to the entire demands of the haughty Southern aristocracy ; and publicly avowed that he had been converted heart and soul into a cordial supporter of the measures of President Lin- coln's administration. In 1863 he visited Washington to confer with the President in reference to the restora- tion of Tennessee to the Union, of which he was very strongly in favor. He had now so thoroughly identified himself with the Republican party, and had so warmly advocated its principles, that his name began to be mentioned for the vice-presidency at the approaching election, especially as it was deemed very important, at the present crisis, to elect the vice-president from some of the Southern States ; and there was no name so prominent as that of Andrew Johnson. The North had learned to admire him, and with enthusiasm the Republican party rallied round him. At the national convention assembled in Baltimore on the 6th of June, 1864, almost by acclamation he was nominated. His address, upon hearing of his nomination, was most patriotic, and thoroughly in sympathy with the Govern- ment. It was full of noble truths nobly uttered, that met with cordial response in every loyal heart. Every sentence elevated Andrew Johnson in the estimation of the American people. The names of Lincoln and 468 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Johnson were at the fireside, at the church, mingled in prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving that God had raised up a Southern man to co-operate with the noble Westerner in the protection and redemption of the country. The election took place on the 14th of November, 1864, resulting in the choice of Lincoln and Johnson, by one of the largest majorities ever given ; and on the 4th of March Mr. Johnson was inaugurated Vice-Presi- dent of the United States. The clouds of gloom which had so long hung over the land were beginning to break. On the 3d of April there was a meeting in Washington to rejoice over the glad tidings of the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. In the address which Vice-President Johnson made at that meeting, he said, " At the time that the traitors in the Senate of the United States plotted against the Govern- ment, and entered into a conspiracy more vile, more execrable, and more odious than that of Catiline against the Romans, I happened to be a member of that body, and, as to loyalt}', stood solitary and alone among the Southerners from the Southern States. I was then called upon to know what I would do with such trai- tors, and I want to repeat my reply here. I said, ' If we had an Andrew Jackson, he would hang them as high as Hainan. I would arrest them, I would try them, I would convict them, and I would hang them. It is not the men in the field who are the greatest traitors ; it is the men who have encouraged them to imperil their lives, spending their means, and exerting all their power to overthrow this Government. Hence, I say, the halter to all intelligent, influential traitors.' " ANDREW JOHNSON". 469 Then the great Rebel army under Gen. Lee surren- dered -, and in live days more, while the bells were ringing over all the nation, at the utter overthrow of the Rebellion, the bullet of the assassin pierced the brain of President Lincoln. On the morning of the 15th of April, the fearful tidings were spread abroad ; and Hon. James Speed, Attorney-General of the United States, waited upon Vice-President Johnson with the official communication of Abraham Lincoln's death. At ten o'clock, but a little more than two and a half hours after the death of the President, a small but august assemblage met in Mr. Johnson's private apartments, and Chief-Justice Chase administered the oath of office. The ceremonies were brief, but invested with unusual solemnity, and Andrew Johnson became the President of the United States. President Johnson's first step was to invite the mem- bers of Mr. Lincoln's cabinet to remain in their places. At their head was the veteran William H. Seward, one of the founders of the Republican party. Hugh McCul- loch of Indiana was Secretary of the Treasury ; Edwin M. Stanton of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War ; Gideon Welles of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy ; William Dennison of Ohio, Postmaster-General ; James Ireland of Iowa, Secretary of the Interior ; and James Speed of Kentucky was Attorney-General. It was upon the tide of popular enthusiasm and patri- otism that Andrew Johnson had been hailed as the candidate for the vice-presidency ; but when thus placed in the position of chief magistrate, the serious and thinking men of the country looked at the future with doubt and uncertainty ; for they bethought them 470 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. that, after all, they knew comparatively little of this man. The first revelation of the new President's inten- tions came in addresses, which he made very soon after his inauguration, thoroughly startling the nation ; he had pledged himself, in many an address, to the sternest and most resolute system with the South, — a policy almost of revengeful retribution. Upon this his cabi- net was divided ; evenly, but for Secretary Seward, by far the ablest and most influential member, who viewed such a course with the utmost regret. Doubtless it was his personal persuasion, to some extent combined with many other influences, seen and unseen, which persuaded Andrew Johnson to turn about in a most sudden, appar- ently inexplicable and radical manner, and forgetting all vengeance which he had breathed against the South, to try to win the friendship of the Southern chiefs. At the outset, at least, in this new position, he had the full sympathy of Secretary Seward ; and having thus adopted an entirely new line of conduct, President Johnson lost no time in putting it into action. His first step was to issue a proclamation of amnesty and pardon to all per- sons who had taken part in the Rebellion, with a very few exceptions, — diplomatic officers, military officers above the rank of colonel, and all who left judicial, military, or Congressional positions to join the Rebel- lion. The second step was to arrange conditions under which the Rebel States might resume their relations with the Union. Such an extraordinary change could not easily be understood, and Congress did not readily agree with the President's plan of reconstruction. There arose a long conflict between the President and the majority ANDREW JOHNSON. 471 in Congress as to the conditions under which the Rebel States should be re-admitted; and Congress at last passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion, which for the first time granted civil rights to all the inhabitants of the United States. This was vetoed by the President, but was passed over his veto. This was followed by a series of Reconstruction Acts impos- ing other stringent conditions on those States, each Act being vetoed by the President, and then passed over his veto. Various other subjects arose from time to time to imbitter the discord between the President and Congress. The Freedman's Bureau became a subject for dis- cussion. Congress passed a bill giving additional judicial and military authority to the chief officers of the Bureau. It was vetoed by the President : this time Congress failed to pass it over the veto. Then a modified bill was brought in, which was passed, vetoed, and passed again over the veto. Another measure of Congress which the President strenuously opposed was the Tenure of Office Act. This bill, too, was vetoed by the President, and passed over the veto. The nation in general was in sympathy with Congress. The President, in contravention for the Tenure of Office Act, issued an order removing Secretary Stanton from office, and substituting Gen. Lorenzo Thomas. Secretary Stanton, acting in harmony with the advice of Congress, refused to surrender the post which it was endeavored thus illegally to wrest from him. By threats the President endeavored to force them to yield. This brought the matter to such a crisis that the impeachment of the Presi- dent was decided upon. When he urged the plea that he violated the law in order that he might bring the 472 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. matter before the Supreme Court to test its constitu- tionality, the reply was, that he had taken an oath to execute the laws, and that he could violate that oath only at his peril, which was to be impeached. The course which the President had pursued had created intense and widespread exasperation. Those who were in sympathy with the Rebellion applauded him. The loyal community all over the land was incensed. On the 4th. of March, at 1 o'clock p.m., the, managers of the impeachment, appointed by the House of Representa- tives, entered the Senate Chamber followed by the members of the House ; the chief justice and the sena- tors (fifty-three in number) forming the court and jury. The people of the United States, through their representatives in the House, entered the prosecution. The President was accused at the bar ; and the tedious trial continued for nearly three months, when a test article of the impeachment was submitted to the court for action. As it voted upon that article, it was under- stood it would vote upon all. Thirty-four votes pro- nounced the President guilty, nineteen declared him not guilty ; and as a two-thirds vote was necessary to his condemnation, he was acquitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote would have impeached the President. Though he remained in office for the remainder of his term, he was but little regarded. Weekly he struggled to continue his conflict with Congress ; but his own party did not consider it expedient to renomi- nate him for the presidency, and the nation rallied with unparalled enthusiasm around the name of Gen. Grant, utterly ignoring Andrew Johnson. ANDREW JOHNSON. 473 Never was there presented to a man a better oppor- tunity to immortalize himself, and gain the gratitude of a nation ; but, though he utterly failed to do this, indirectly and unintentionally he doubtless strength- ened Congress by his opposition, and forced it to do what Lincoln might have done ; and by one vote only he escaped the first attempt that was ever made to remove a President of the United States from his high office. On the 4th of March, 1869, Andrew Johnson retired from the place where his career had been a troublesome and stormy one , but he was not willing yet to give up public life. After remaining in retirement for six years, he was elected by the Democrats to the United-States Senate, from Tennessee, and took his seat March 4, 1875. His first and last conspicuous effort in this return to public life was a violent speech assailing President Grant. On the 27th of July, 1875, he visited his daughter at Carter Station, Tenn., where he was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious : he rallied for a time, and finally passed away July 31, 1875, aged sixty -seven years. His funeral was attended at Greenville, the scene of his first attempts in public, on the 3d of August, with every demonstration of respect. He was headstrong, vindictive, and stern in partisan- ship ; rash, and wanting in tact, and often in wisdom ; but it is generally accepted in the cooler judgment of affairs that he was honest and patriotic in intent, and that his integrity as a man was above reproach. Under his administration the battle of reconstruction was 474 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. fought and won by Ills antagonists ; and from out tlie strife which waged around him the country issued once more a compact and united Republic, stronger for his opposition than it could have been with his support. j^m #* ULYSSES S. GRANT. The record of Ulysses S. Grant is strikingly one of development, rather than of original prominence and promise. There is nothing in his early life indicative of a remarkable career. He was an honest, energetic, modest boy, who, but for the Rebellion, would probably never have been known beyond the limits of the West- ern district in which he engaged in a commercial undertaking. The war developed the latent virtues and heroism which crowned him with fame. He was born on the 29th of April, 1822, at Point Pleasant, on the banks of the Ohio. In a short time his father removed to Georgetown, in which remote frontier district Grant received a common-school edu- cation ; and at the age of seventeen entered the Mili- tary Academy at West Point, where he made his mark simply as a solid, sensible, fair-minded young man of sturdy, honest character. He graduated in 1843, his record comparing favorably with the general average, and was sent as lieutenant of infantry to a distant military post in the Territory of Missouri. There he spent two years watching the poor Indians. Then the war with Mexico took place, and Grant was sent with 475 476 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. his regiment to Corpus Christi. In his first battle the opposing parties stood upon a vast open prairie, with a half mile of ground between them, and spent several hours firing at each other with cannon. His second battle was somewhat fiercer, at Resaca de la Palma. In the third battle, Lieut. Grant was one of an army of six thousand that crossed the Rio Grande, and marched upon Monterey, which was garrisoned by ten thousand Mexicans. In this battle the young lieuten- ant gave intimation of what was in him. His brigade had exhausted its ammunition ; a messenger must be sent for more, and must pass along a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, following an expedient he had learned from the Indians during his two years in Missouri, grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one side of the animal, ran the gantlet in safety. From Monterey, Lieut. Grant was sent to aid Gen. Scott in the siege of Vera Cruz, where he again proved an efficient officer, and in preparation for the march to the city of Mexico was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and brevetted captain at the hill of Chapultepec. At the close of the Mexi- can war, Capt. Grant returned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to a military post on the frontier. After the discovery of gold in California, he was ordered with a battalion to Fort Dallas, for the protec- tion of the emigrants. But life became so monotonous in those weary wilds, that Capt. Grant resigned his commission, returned to the States, married, and began ULYSSES S. GRANT. 477 the cultivation of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had little skill as a farmer, however ; and very soon wearying of the unprofitable labor, he turned to mer- cantile life, and went into the leather business with a younger brother at Galena, 111., in 1860. When the flag at Sumter was fired upon, Capt. Grant, in his counting-room, remarked, "Uncle Sam educated me for the army ; and though I have served him through one war, I do not feel that I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge my obligation. I shall buckle on my sword, and see Uncle Sam through this war too." He went into the street, raised a company of volunteers, and, as their captain, led them to Springfield, the capital of the State, where he offered their services to Gov. Yates. The governor, impressed by the zeal and ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the volunteer organization, which was then being performed in the State, in behalf of the Government. His earnest ambition, however, desired active service in the field; and on the 15th of June, 1861, he received a commis- sion as colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers, and was sent across the Mississippi to guard the Hanni- bal and Hudson Railroad. He was soon promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and placed in command at Cairo, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet. The Rebels raised their banner at Paducah ; but it had scarcely appeared when Grant was on hand. They fled, leaving their banner to be replaced by the stars and stripes. The Rebels were assembling at Columbus, a few miles from Cairo. They had a garrison of twenty thousand 478 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. men, and were organizing a force at Belmont to invade Missouri. Grant's strength was not sufficient to attack Columbus; but he resolved to attempt the destruction at Belmont, though he knew he could not permanently hold the position, as it was covered by the guns of Columbus. Thus, on the evening of November 6, with three thousand men conveyed on transports, Grant descended the river, landed early in the morn- ing three miles from Belmont, marched rapidly through the forests, and attacked the earthworks. They were guarded by nearly twice the attacking force ; but the Rebels, bewildered after a short conflict, broke and fled. The torch was applied to every thing that would burn, and the stars and stripes were raised over the conquered field. Then, before the guns of Columbus could be brought to bear upon the audacious party, Gen. Grant commenced the withdrawal of his troops. An aid rode up to him, exclaiming, " General, we are surrounded by the enemy." " Very well," replied Grant, " we must cut our way out, as we cut our way in. We have whipped them once, and I think we can whip them again." They did cut their way through thirteen regiments of infantry and three squadrons of cavalry. They regained their boats, and returned to Cairo, having destroyed a vast amount of material of war, captured a hundred and fifty prisoners and two guns, and spiked four guns which could not be removed. On the 14th of February, 1862, Fort Donelson was attacked by Commodore Foote on the river, while Gen. Grant manoeuvred with the land force. As Grant was preparing to storm the intrenchments, with twenty -seven thousand men, Gen. Buckner sent a note ULYSSES S. GRANT. 479 to him asking for terms of surrender. Gen. Grant's reply was characteristic. " No terms can be accepted but unconditional surrender. I propose to move im- mediately upon your works." The result was, that seventy-five guns, twenty-six thousand small arms, and an immense amount of military stores, fell into the hands of the victors. Gen. Grant had introduced a new era of hard fighting into the conflict. The nation was electrified by the victory, and Secretary Stanton recommended the suc- cessful officer as major-general of volunteers. The same day President Lincoln sent the nomination to the Senate, and the Senate at once confirmed it. Thus, by the fall of Donelson, which was really the first im- portant success which the Union armies had achieved, Gen. Grant was lifted into a national reputation, and the military district of Tennessee was assigned to him. Then came the battle of Shiloh, named for a church a few miles from the landing where the battle was commenced, when Gen. Johnston, with an overwhelm- ing force, marched upon Gen. Grant, who with a little band was awaiting the arrival of Gen. Buell. It proved a day of fearful carnage, and never was the energy of Gen. Grant more signally displayed than in those hours of disaster. No thought of ultimate defeat seemed to enter his mind. Night put a temporary end to the slaughter, and he instantly began to re-organize his shattered division, and form a new plan of battle. Every available man was prepared for immediate action. With the earliest dawn, when the rebels expected to find the expiring remnant ready to surrender, they received instead an impetuous assault. During the 480 LIVES OP THE PRESIDENTS. long hours of the day the conflict waged with uninter- rupted fury, and night again found the field still dis- puted. The next morning, however, disclosed the fact that the Rebels had retreated to their intrenchments at Corinth. The battles of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, had been fought, and Gen. Grant had gained another signal victory. Then followed the famous siege of Vicksburg. For days, for months, there was almost incessant fight- ing. The defence of Vicksburg was as determined as the assault. When some one asked Gen. Grant if he really thought he could take the place, he replied, " Certainly. I cannot tell exactly when I shall take the town, but I mean to stay here until I do, if it takes me thirty years." The final assault was arranged to take place on the 4th of July ; but, being forewarned, Gen. Pemberton, knowing that he could not withstand it, proposed a capitulation, to which, as usual, Gen. Grant replied that his only terms were unconditional surrender ; and at ten o'clock on the 4th of July, 1863, the white flags arose along the Rebel lines, announcing the unconditional surrender of Vicksburg. A more signal conquest was never made. ■ Nearly forty thou- sand prisoners were taken and seventy -two cannon ; and the Mississippi River was thrown open to the gun- boats of the North, from the Gulf of Mexico to Cairo. Shortly afterward, however, in New Orleans, Gen. Grant was thrown from his horse while reviewing his soldiers, receiving injuries which seriously disabled him for several months, confining him to his bed for three weeks, and greatly delaying several important move- ments which he had proposed. ULYSSES S. GRANT. 481 Later in the fall Gen. Thomas became entangled by the enemy at Chattanooga, where he was closely be- sieged, and his line of communication cut off. On the 19th of October, Gen. Grant telegraphed him, " Hold Chattanooga at all hazards : I will be there as soon as possible." Gen. Thomas characteristically replied, " I will hold the town till we starve." On the twenty-third day of October, true to his word, Gen. Grant entered. Then began a display of energy and military sagacity rarely surpassed. First he succeeded in opening a line of communication, and the whole army was inspired with such new life as to double its moral strength. " The Richmond Enquirer," the leading organ of the Rebels, in speaking of the matter, said, " The enemy were outfought, but the present condition of affairs looks as though we had been outgeneralled." When Gen. Sherman's troops arrived, Grant instantly assumed the offensive. Sherman, Thomas, Hooker, — all entered valiantly into the struggle ; and on the 25th of October, Gen. Grant taking his position upon Orchard Knoll, the whole army rushed upon the foe. The scene beggars description, though many a pen has endeavored to do justice to that dreadful battle. In the evening- Gen. Grant telegraphed to the authorities at Wash- ington in his characteristic modest way, " The battle lasted from early dawn till dark this evening. I believe I am not premature in announcing a complete victory over Bragg. I have no idea of finding him here in the morning." This great achievement pierced the heart of the Rebellion, freed Burnside, rescued Kentuck} 7 " and Tennessee, and opened the gate for the grand march to the sea. It was a tremendous victory ; and following 482 LIVES QF THE PRESIDENTS. it up, Gen. Grant gave the Rebels no rest till they were driven fairly out of Tennessee, and into Georgia, leav- ing in history his campaign of Chattanooga as one of the most memorable upon record. One of the officers, describing the general's conduct in the battle, said, " It is a matter of universal wonder that Gen. Grant was not killed ; for he was always in the front, and perfectly regardless of the whizzing bullets and screaming shell flying around him." Immediately upon the meeting of Congress after these events, a vote of thanks was passed by that body to Gen. Grant and the officers and soldiers under his command. A gold medal was ordered to be struck off with suitable emblems to be presented to the general, while several States followed the example in passing votes of thanks. But the energetic general manifested no disposition to rest upon his laurels. He gathered up his strength to push the war with renewed vigor. Three armies were now under his command, extending over a. line a thousand miles in length. Gen. Grant was responsible for all their movements, for every act and every neglect to act. In the midwinter, through storms and snow as they might come in the mountain passes, Gen. Grant, on horseback, visited the outposts of his army, and in Knoxville, Louisville, Lexington, and St. Louis he was received with the greatest enthusiasm ; but no efforts could flatter, persuade, or provoke him to make a speech, with a single exception. An immense crowd gathered about his hotel one evening in St. Louis, and after serenading him, began an incessant shouting for a speech. After a long delay, the general appeared ULYSSES S. GRANT. 483 upon the balcony, and in the breathless silence which followed, leaning over the rail, he said slowly and de- liberately, " Gentlemen, making speeches is not my business. I never did it in my life, and I never will. I thank you, however, for your attendance here." Then he retired amid uproars of applause. National honors were now lavished upon him in every possible form. On the 4th of Februrary Congress re- vived the grade of lieutenant-general to confer it upon Gen. Grant. On the 3d of March he was summoned to Washington to receive his credentials, and enter upon the immense responsibilities of his new office. At every railway station by the way, crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of his face, and the enthusiasm was unbounded upon his arrival in Washington. Unher- alded he succeeded in slipping into the dining-room at Willard's Hotel, and secured a seat for himself at the table ; but a gentleman, recognizing him, rose and announced to the guests that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was in the room. Instantly the entire companj^ sprang to its feet, and cheer after cheer rang through the hall. President Lincoln gave a levee in the evening in his honor ; but Gen. Grant had no taste for such ovations, and when retiring that night, he said to a friend, "I hope to get away from Washington as soon as possible, for 1 am tired of this show business already." On the 9th Gen. Grant received his commission in the Executive Chamber in the presence of the cabinet and distinguished guests ; and in response to a few hearty words from the President, he said, — "I accept this commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble 484 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. armies who have fought on so many battle-fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibility now devolving upon me. I know that if it is properly met, it will be due to those armies, and above all to that Providence which leads both nations and men." Some ladies in Washington, patriotic and noble women, but without sufficient reflection perhaps, pro- posed a ball in connection with the grand review of the army, which was immediately to take place. But in terms kind, yet sad, which endeared him to every sol- dier and every soldier's friend, Gen. Grant replied to them, "I am not a cynic. I enjoy rational pleasures as well as any one else ; but I would ask you, in all candor and gentleness, if this is a time for music and dancing and feasting among the officers of the army? Is our country in a condition to call for such things at present ? Do army balls inspire our troops with courage in the field ? Do they soothe the sick and wounded in the hospitals ? " Gen. Grant bent all his energies now to terminate the war by the only possible means, — a destruction of the enemy's forces. He began to concentrate the widely dispersed national troops. All the great roads leading toward Richmond were thronged; and on the 3d of May, 18G4, the great army crossed the Rapidan, a hundred and fifty thousand strong, to traverse that region most appropriately called the " Wilderness." Gen. Lee, in command of the Rebel hosts, an officer of great ability, led troops as desperate in valor as ever marched the earth. Massing his forces, he suddenly emerged from the forest, ULYSSES S. GRANT. 485 and fell upon the entire centre of the extended line of the Northern troops. The battle was long and terrible. For two days it lasted with unabated fury ; then Gen. Lee retreated to Spottsylvania, whither the Union army hurried for the third day's battle of the Wilderness. Great billows of war were sweeping incessantly to and fro through that wilderness, day after day, as the battle raged, till at midnight, in the midst of a thunder-storm, Gen. Hgncock, by Grant's command, plunged with a strong column upon one division of the sleeping foe, and drove them before him, capturing seven thousand pris- oners and thirty-two guns. As though the day were not sufficient for the fighting, this signal roused the exhausted armies, and the battle continued through the remainder of the night. The sun rose ; noon came, fol- lowed by evening and darkness. For fourteen hours the men had fought, and still Gen. Grant was steadily pressing forward, never relinquishing a foot of the ground which he had gained. But the history of the campaign is well known. During the struggle, a states- man who was present one evening in Grant's tent said to hiYn, " General, if you flank Lee and get between him and Richmond, will you not uncover Washington, and leave it exposed to the enemy ? " The general's reply was, " Yes, I reckon so." — "And do you not think," continued the statesman, " that Lee can detach a suffi- cient force to re-enforce Beauregard at Richmond, and overwhelm Butler?" The general replied, "I have no doubt of it." — " And is there not danger," the statesman continued, M that Johnson may come up and re-enforce Lee, so that the latter will swing around, and cut off your communications and seize your supplies ? " — " Very 486 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. likely," replied the general. This being all the satis- faction which the statesman could obtain, he returned to Washington somewhat doubtful concerning the course which Gen. Lee would really follow, and what Gen. Grant actually intended to do. But Grant was distinctively a man of actions, not of words ; and he was willing to show all those who were patient just what he intended to do. Few persons are aware of the magnitude of ^uch an army as Gen. Grant was commanding at this time. The vast hosts would fill, in a continuous line, any one road to its utmost capacity for nearly a hundred miles. One mind must preside supreme over the operations, rapidly changing day and night, night and day, as they fought against a determined foe of a hundred thousand desperate men. They were within forty miles of Rich- mond, and drawing nearer. Another day, and by a sudden manoeuvre Gen. Grant brought himself within fifteen miles of Richmond. In the desperation of this last struggle, it is difficult to conceive how the army was enabled to endure the fatigue ; for it seemed the plan of Gen. Grant to march all day and fight all night. One writer, in speaking of this last famous campaign, said, " It is wonderful how entirely the army confides in Gen. Grant. Every soldier's tongue is full of his praises. He is everywhere, night and day, looking after the comfort of his men, and quietly prosecuting the strategic work of the campaign ; speaking a pleas- ant word to the pickets if faithfully on duty, adminis- tering reprimands if not vigilant and watchful, going often only accompanied by an orderly. He is a thought- ful, resolute, kind man ; sympathizing with the humblest ULYSSES S. GRANT. 487 soldier in his ranks ; penetrated with a solemn appre- ciation of the work given him to do." Thus days and weeks ensued; and Gen. Grant, step by step, was approaching nearer the attainment of his great end. On the 9th of April he sent a message to Gen. Lee, in which he said, "The result of the hist week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resist- ance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, b} T asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. To Lee's inquiry concerning the terms of surrender, Grant replied, " Peace being my first desire, there is but one condition I insist upon ; namely, that the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged." Gen. Lee did not consider it necessary at the time to surrender ; and Gen. Grant, without waiting for a reply, pressed forward at once with his preparations, when Gen. Lee again applied to him, agreeing to his terms. The papers of surrender were signed at half-past three in the afternoon, on the 9th of April. The information caused the Rebel army to break out in a series of shouts and cheers, for it came to them as a signal of deliverance ; and the hills rang with the joyful cries of the two armies. Such was the man to whom the Republicans turned in the crisis that followed the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, and the ill-conceived struggle with Andrew Johnson. There was no name in the United States capable of inciting such unbounded enthusiasm, as was 488 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. well evidenced, when the Republican convention met at Chicago, on the 21st of May, 1868, to vote for a candi- date to fill the office of chief magistrate. The vote was announced in these terms : " Gentlemen of the conven- tion, you have six hundred and fifty voters, and you have given six hundred and fifty votes for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant." In the succeeding election twenty-six of the States gave their electoral votes, numbering two hundred and fourteen, for Gen. Grant. Eight cast their votes, eighty in all, for Seymour. Thus, on the 4th of March, 1869, Gen. Grant entered upon the duties of his new office under most favorable circumstances. The country was in a state of prosperity, the tempest of the war had subsided, and nearly all questions of importance which had divided the two parties were settled. But no man can occupy the presidential chair with- out exciting obloquy. No President, for instance, has been more fiercely assailed than Washington or Jeffer- son. President Grant found the Southern States in a chaotic condition, and before him one of the most perplexing political problems. The organization of his cabinet was attended with difficulty. Horace Greeley, with some of his wayward but well-sounding maxims, also proved a decided stumbling-block. But as the result of the course followed by the Government, finan- cially at least, the five-per-cent bonds reached a par value in gold, where, at the end of Mr. Johnson's administra- tion, the six-per-cent bonds were only worth eighty- three and a half cents on a dollar. It was in a discussion upon the Indian policy that Gen. Grant uttered that sentence which since has ULYSSES S. GRANT. 489 become almost a maxim : " I know of no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so efficient as their stringent execution." Very early in his administration, President Grant was compelled to consider the struggle between Cuba and Spain. Then the question of the Alabama claims came up, and a series of circumstances which resulted in the alienation of President Grant and Mr. Sumner. Then the negotiations took place which ended in the treaty of 1871 with Great Britain, conducted by Mr. Fish, Secretary of State. The popular verdict, at all events, was very much in favor of Gen. Grant ; for the Republican convention met in June, 1872, and, in a platform vigorously sus- taining Grant's Southern reconstruction policy, renomi- nated him, with Henry Wilson of Massachusetts for Vice-President. A disturbed body of Republicans, calling themselves " Liberals," met in Cincinnati in convention, and nominated Horace Greeley for Presi- dent ; while the Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore, and indorsed the Liberal Republican can- didates and platform ; and a convention of old-line Democrats, dissatisfied with the Baltimore convention, met at Louisville, nominating Charles O'Conor for President, and Charles Francis Adams for Vice-Presi- dent. Mr. O'Conor and Mr. Adams refused these nominations, however, and Grant and Wilson received two hundred and eighty-six electoral votes. Mr. Greeley died between the day of election and the counting of votes. Thus, in the popular vote, the first administra- tion of Gen.,Grant was thoroughly indorsed. During his administration, too, the national debt was reduced 490 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. more than four hundred million dollars. He was a strong Protectionist, and a thorough Republican ; and in an unostentatious manner he most emphatically acted upon the dictates of the later civil-service reform. Public credit was re-established upon a firm basis, and the long-delayed resumption of specie payment was rendered possible. During his first term, Gen. Grant certainly ac- quitted himself with dignity. The national credit and national honor, though vehemently attacked, were ad- mirably maintained. Reconstruction was carried on and completed on a basis of humanity and justice ; and the purity of motive, the high integrity, and unsullied patriotism of the President were never successfully as- sailed. During the next four years, however, the policy seemed to have been changed, and was fraught with many errors, which left an impression of regret upon the public mind. It is by no means assured that the President had any personal connection with the many public scandals ; but there was a general feeling that, to some extent at least, they might have been the result of carelessness on his part, many high officials being implicated. During the administration the country was at peace at home and abroad, save for a temporary fear that there would be war with Spain, and for the ever-vexing Indian question. The Centennial Exhibition was held during the second term ; the President himself opened it. There was a strong desire, notwithstanding all the blunders and scandals connected with the administra- tion, to nominate the President for a third, term. But there was so much dissatisfaction in the ranks of the ULYSSES S. GRANT. 491 party that another nomination was made, and Ruther- ford B. Hayes of Ohio became the successor of Grant. Having finished his second term, the ex-President embarked for Liverpool. Upon the arrival of the steamer, the spectacle which confronted the eyes of the visitors was grand in the extreme. All the ships in the harbor were decorated with flags and bunting, thousands of people were gathered on the wharves, and the very earth seemed to tremble with their shouts that rent the air. The ovation continued throughout his journey to London, where the most stately of all the ceremonies gotten up in his honor was that in which the freedom of the city was conferred upon him, — the highest honor that could be paid by this ancient and renowned corporation. Then came the crowning event of his visit to England, — a reception by the Queen at Windsor Castle. Wherever he moved in England, fes- tivity succeeded festivity. Upon the Continent it was much the same. Thence he visited the East, but there was no change in the desire evinced to do him honor. The Sultan received him at Constantinople. In Greece and Egypt the demonstrations were the same. Through India, China, and Japan new demonstrations were pre- pared for him. His reception abroad exceeded in mag- nificence and splendor any ever before bestowed upon an American. His welcome home likewise surpassed in enthusiasm any thing before exhibited by the American people to one of their fellow-citizens. After his return from abroad, there was another vain endeavor made to secure a nomination of the general for a third term in the presidential office ; and at the end of the political contest, Gen. Grant removed to 492 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. New York, and identified himself with several business enterprises: it was here, too, that Grant wrote his "Memoirs." While living in New York, he visited Mexico. Early in 1881 the project was formed in New- York City to hold a world's fair there in 1883, and Gen. Grant was elected president ; but he resigned, and the plan was finally abandoned. In the winter of 1883 he was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate a reciprocity treaty with Mexico. It was about this time, too, that the firm of Grant & Ward was formed, which drew such unfortu- nate attention upon the general. Misfortunes gathered more thickly about him. Acci- dents, illness, and disappointment forced him to lead a quiet life, in which he found a temporary respite in the writing of a series of papers on the civil war, which appeared in " The Century Magazine." This under- taking for the Century Company proved an impulse inciting Gen. Grant to a more pretentious effort. While at Long Branch, early in the summer of 1884, an irritation began in the general's throat, which terminated in the fatal epithelioma. He had nearly completed the first volume of his " Memoirs " at the time when he was taken ill, and eagerly began upon the second volume. Steadily the fearful malady grew upon him. Plis family were gathered about him ; and though every precaution was taken, and every care extended to him, it was perfectly evident that he could not remain much longer. Many times he rallied from what was thought to be the last, and, during quiet intervals, persistently kept at work upon his "Memoirs." Often in intense pain, often standing at what all felt ULYSSES S. GRANT. 493 was the door of Death, he still persistently adhered to the plan which he had laid down, as characteristically as during his conflict with the South ; and he did not finally put aside his pen until a few days before the 1st of June, when it had written " The End " to his book. Then he was removed to Mount MacGregor, where the cottage of Joseph W. Drexel had been placed at his service ; and, for a time, the mountain air had a most exhilarating effect upon the general. He sur- vived until the twenty-third day of July, 1885, when he died, surrounded by his entire family. On the person of the dead hero was found the following : — Mount MacGregor, July 9, 1S85. Last Message to my Wife, — Look after our dear children, and direct them in paths of rectitude. It would distress me far more to think that one of them could depart from an honorable, upright and virtuous life, than it would to know that they were prostrated on a bed of sickness from which they were never to arise alive. They have never given us any cause for alarm on their account, and I earnestly pray that they never will. With these few injunc- tions, and the knowledge I have of your love and affection, I will bid you a final farewell until we meet in another, and, I trust, a better world. The death of Gen. Grant was announced in a procla- mation, signed by the President, and counter-signed by the Secretary of State, with an order for draping the public buildings, and closing all public business on the day of the funeral. Similar orders were issued by the Secretary of the Navy, and that each vessel of the United States navy bear the ensigns at half-mast ; that a gun be fired at intervals of every half-hour, from sunrise to sunset, at each naval station and on 494 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. board flag-ships ; that officers of the navy and marine corps wear badges of mourning for thirty days. Similar proclamations were issued by various governors, and North and South alike joined in expressions of love and sorrow. It was decided that the body of Gen. Grant should be buried at Riverside Park, upon the Hudson River. No spot could have been more fitting. The arrange- ments for the funeral were under the direction of Gen. Hancock. - In response to a request from Mrs. Grant, President Cleveland appointed the following gentlemen as pall- bearers : Gen. William T. Sherman, Lieut.-Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, Admiral David D. Porter, Vice-Admiral Stephen C. Rowan, Gen. Joseph E. Johnson, Gen. Simon B. Buckner, Hamilton Fish, George S. Boutwell, George W. Childs, Gen. John A. Logan, George Jones, and Oliver Hoyt. On Tuesday, Aug. 4, private funeral services were held at the little cottage on Mount MacGregor, where over a thousand people assembled. Shortly after one o'clock, the funeral train of draped cars transferred the solemn procession to Albany, amid the firing of guns and tolling of bells, where the body lay in state for a time, and was finally moved to New York. While the services were being held at Mount Mac- Gregor, a notable audience gathered in Westminster Abbey, London. The Duke of Cambridge, Gen. Lord Wolseley, and other distinguished officers of the English army and navy, were present. Lord Salisbury and two members of the Cabinet, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, and a vast number of representative men and women, ULYSSES S. GRANT. 495 our own Chief Justice Waite, Senator Edmunds, and Gen. Hawley were among those that thronged the vast building to its utmost capacity, as Archdeacon Farrar delivered, a memorial address, abounding in expressions of warmest admiration for Gen. Grant. While the body lay in state in New York, it is esti- mated that two hundred and fifty thousand people paid their last tribute of respect to the hero; while no less than three million human beings watched the final inarch to the tomb. No such impressive burial services were" ever accorded an American statesman ; and the wide world said Amen to the sentiments with which Canon Farrar closed his memorial address : " Let us write his virtues on brass for men's example. Let his faults, whatever they may have been, be written on water." .■ RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. The town of Delaware, the county seat of the county of Delaware, in the State of Ohio, claims the honor of being the birthplace of the eighteenth President of the United States. Here, on the 4th of October, 1822, Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born, less than three months after the death of his father. This father was a quick, bright, accurate, and active business man ; he could do a great deal of work, and do it well. He was rigidly honest, and was esteemed by all who knew him. The mother of the future President united force of character with sweetness of nature. In village parlance she was known as a "good manager," a good Christian, and, like her husband, was beloved by all her friends and neighbors. She died in October, 1866, at the age of seventy-four. Rutherford was sent to the ordinary schools of the town at an early age, and then, through the agency of an uncle, to an academy at Norwalk, O. Here he remained one year ; and in the fall of 1837, to complete his preparation for college, he was sent to quite a noted school at Middletown, Conn., kept by Isaac Webb. In the fall of 1838, at the age of sixteen, he entered 497 498 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Kenyon College, Ohio, an institution situated forty miles north from Columbus, in the village of Gambier. In college he excelled as a debater. He was, however, a good general student, especially in logic, mental and moral philosophy, and mathematics. " He was remark- able," says one of his classmates, " for great common- sense in his personal conduct ; never uttered a profane word ; behaved always like a considerate, mature man." Another classmate says, " Hayes had left a memory which was a fascination, a glowing memory ; he was popular, magnanimous, manly ; was a noble, chivalrous fellow, of great promise." On his graduation day Ruth- erford delivered the valedictory address, — the sign of the highest honor the faculty could bestow upon a member of his class. Although the youngest in years, he was then accounted the oldest in knowledge. Soon after his graduation, Mr. Hayes began the study of the law in the office of Thomas Sparrow of Columbus. Here again the young student showed great diligence, as well as good moral character. On the 22d of August, 18-13, he entered the law school of Harvard University, and finished the course of lectures in January, 1845. The law department of the University was at this time under the charge of Mr. Justice Story, whose eminence as a jurist is only surpassed by that of his bosom friend the great Chief Justice John Marshall. Hayes enjoyed the friendship of Story, and also of Professor Simon Greenleaf, who bore testimony to his diligence, exem- plary conduct, and demeanor. While pursuing his law studies at the school, he also profited by the additional advantage which a residence in Cambridge and his mem- bership of the University afforded him. He attended RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 499 the lectures of Professor Longfellow on foreign litera- ture, those of Professor Agassiz on the grand themes of nature. In Boston he frequently listened to some of the model arguments of Webster, and in Quincy he visited John Quincy Adams at his home. Leaving college, Hayes returned to Ohio, and at once proceeded to Marietta, where the ambulatory Supreme Court of the State was then in session. Having there passed an examination, he was admitted to practise in the courts of the State as attorney and counsellor at law. Hayes began the active work of his profession at Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, Sandusky County, O. Fortune favored his ambition ; and ere long he had a good run of office business, and was frequently employed in cases of grave importance. In April, 1846, he formed a co-partnership with Ralph P. Buckland, an older practitioner, with increased prosperity. In November, 1848, in consequence of bleeding at the lungs and other evidences of failing health, Mr. Hayes left Fremont to pass a winter in Texas. He returned to his work in the spring, entirely recovered. But now he began to be restless ; the field seemed too narrow for him ; he needed, as he thought, the stimulus of a wider field. After prospecting for a while, he hired an office in Cincinnati, — in January, 1850, — in the hopes of attaining greater success. Success came slowly, but surely. He had to work hard for it, but he did achieve it at last. Two years later he was united in marriage to Miss Lucy W. Webb. She was the daughter of Dr. James Webb, a popular gentleman and successful practising physician in Chillicothe, O. 500 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. The six years following were years of work, in which disappointments were few, and successes were many. The people came to know Mr. Hayes ; they appreciated his worth and character ; so much so, that, in 1859, he was, without any effort on his part, chosen city solicitor, by the city council of Cincinnati. Says a newspaper of that period : " It would have been very difficult to have made any other selection of a solicitor equally excellent and as generally satisfactory." Mr. Hayes filled the office of corporation counsel for three years, during which time he passed judgment upon questions involving large interests, and discharged with fidelity the high duties of an important trust. During the national campaign of 1860, Mr. Hayes favored the election of Abraham Lincoln. Long before the candidacy of Fremont, he had been a most earnest and ardent opponent of slavery. He did not think the Union should be destroyed to make slavey perpetual; he had always desired to mitigate, and finally eradicate, that evil. He had prayed for the election of Gen. Har- rison for the sake of the country ; he had cast his first vote for Henry Clay, his second for Gen. Taylor, and his third fur Gen. Scott. But the old Whig party hav- ing ceased to be a living organization, he gave his whole heart to the Republican party and its cause, and by political speeches and in other ways helped forward the movement in favor of equality of rights and laws. The attention of the country was called to him, and in the Republican National Convention of 1876 he received the nomination for President, with William A. Wheeler as Vice-President, against the opposing candi- dates, — Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 501 The electoral campaign was very enthusiastic, with the contending parties nearly equally divided ; and when the votes were cast it was found that the contest was only just begun. At the beginning of the year 1877, the country was in a state of great excitement respecting the result of the presidential election. The votes of Florida, Loui- siana, and South Carolina were counted by the canvass- ing boards with a result in favor of the Republican presidential electors. This result would give Mr. Hayes one majority, and secure his election. The Dem- ocrats, however, asserted that the canvassing boards in each of the above-mentioned States had made an unjust canvass, that the popular vote in each had been in favor of the Democratic electors by a considerable majority, that legal Democratic votes in large num- bers had been rejected, and that by the people the Democratic candidate for the Presidency had been elected. The certificates of the results in each State, sent to Washington under the official seal of the respec- tive governors, gave the election to Mr. Hayes by one vote. As the question was likely to cause much trouble in Congress, an Act was passed to refer all contested cases to a commission consisting of senators, represen- tatives, and judges of the Supreme Court. This "elec- toral commission," so called, met, examined all the evidence (whether impartially or not the future will decide), and declared Mr. Hayes elected. The people acquiesced in the decision, and the new President was duly inaugurated on the 4th of March of the same year. At the beginning of his term of service, President 502 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Hayes's policy in regard to the unsettled state of affairs in South Carolina and Louisiana — a policy which was wholly conciliatory and just — caused much dissatisfac- tion to many of the members of the Republican party, but was warmly approved by the general public. He also undertook to effect a reform in the civil service by the appointment to office of men only of the best character and attainments, with less regard to political influence. Public officers were forbidden to interfere in elections, and members of Congress to dictate in the matter of patronage. This way of striking at the root of abuses appeared to find no favor with the Republi- cans ; and, indeed, all of the recommendations to Con- gress, in this direction, were often chiefly sustained and carried through by the Democratic members. During an extra session of Congress, which assembled on Oct. 15, it became manifest that the Republican majority in the Senate was very small, that there was a lack of harmony between the President and his party, and that he could not rely upon its undivided support of his measures. At this session, also, the first measure of a re-actionary nature, relating to the financial affairs of the country, was introduced. It was technically designated as the " Silver Bill." The results of the financial legislation of Congress, since the close of the Rebellion, had been to replace all the bonds of the United States which had been issued (payable, either principal or interest, in currency or " greenbacks ") with new bonds for a longer period, in which both prin- cipal and interest were to be paid in coin ; also to demonetize silver, or to take from it its legal-tender feature, thereby rendering bonds and future specie pay- RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 503 ments payable in gold ; and also the passage of an Act requiring the resumption of the payment of specie or all Government legal-tender notes on Jan. 1, 1879. This involved the payment of specie or national bank notes and other similar obligations. The commercial transactions of the country had been shrinking since September, 1873 ; and with its immense indebtedness to governments, corporations, and individuals, a state of insolvency and extreme depression prevailed through- out the year. The "Silver Bill" was the first legisla- tive expression of the point of re-action to which the public mind had at that time reached. It subsequently passed Congress over the President's veto by more than the necessary two-thirds majority. The payment of specie in the discharge of public contracts, which had been suspended for nearly two- thirds of a generation, was fixed by law to commence at the close of the year 1878. The resumption, there- fore, entered into the consideration of every commer- cial and financial enterprise. It became a political question, also, and, with other incidental ones, led to the formation of a national party. The general course of the Administration during 1878-79 was uneventful, though the assault made upon it in the latter year resulted in successes for the Republicans at the fall elections. The success of the resumption of specie payments, and the abundant crops, increased the prosperity of the people, and diminished their anxiety on financial issues. In 1880 the tenth census of the United States was taken by a provision of the Federal Constitution. It showed a tfttal population of 50,155,783 living in the 504 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. States and Territories. Of this number, 43,475,840 were native, and 6,679,943 were foreign born. The ratio of colored to white was as about 1 to 7. With but little else than the affairs of peace and quiet to be considered, with but few changes in any part of the Administration, the attention of the people was largely taken up in 1880 by the canvass for the presidential election. At the close of the previous year Gen. Grant had returned from his tour around the world ; and being again, as it appeared, on the top wave of popularity, he was once more looked upon as a possible candidate for renewed presidential honors. The State conventions of Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois instructed their delegates to the national convention to cast their votes unitedly for Grant. The prominent candidates for the Republican nomina- tion, besides Grant, were James G. Blaine of Maine, John Sherman of Ohio, and George F. Edmunds of Vermont. The Republican convention met at Chicago in June, and after thirty-six ballotings (extending through two days) nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio. The nomination of Gen. Garfield was made unanimous on motion of Senator Conkling of New York. Gen. Chester A. Arthur of New York was nominated for Vice-President. The Democratic National Convention gathered in June at Cincinnati, and nominated Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock as their candidate for the Presidency. Dur- ing the remaining months of the } r ear, the canvass was conducted with considerable warmth and activity, although the leading question of reform or change in administration and policy entered into the contest to RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 505 only a slight degree. The issues of the past, and the contests of sections, were still dwelt upon, and the resources of political management were brought into full play to secure the result. The election took place on the 2d of November, and the plurality of Garfield over Hancock was 3,033 votes. The electoral votes cast on the 6th of Decem- ber were for Garfield, 214 ; for Hancock, 155. The administration of President Hayes was closed March 4, 1881, without special incident. . JAMES A. GARFIELD. In a humble log cabin, in the wilderness of Ohio, a little fair-haired, blue-eyed boy was born on a bleak November day, 1831. The winds whistled through the crevices, mingled with the barking of hungry wolves in the woods close at hand, to greet the little stranger. But a warmer welcome awaited him within, where in love and joy he was christened James Abram Garfield. When he was eighteen months old, his father died, leaving to the broken-hearted mother four children and a rough frontier farm. The task was before her, and must be accomplished ; and with the aid of the two older children she worked wonders upon the farm. Four years after his father's death, a schoolhouse was built a mile and a half away, and James attended with his two sisters. The three R's, with spelling and geog- raphy, were the only branches taught ; but as soon as the boy could read, he devoured every book that came within his reach. He had a most remarkable memory, and would often commit long passages of poetry. The trees about the house he named after noted Indian chiefs, and, while yet a lad, would climb a high ledge 507 508 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. of rock in the neighborhood, and deliver long harangues to imaginary audiences. As soon as he was old enough, he worked diligently upon the farm during his spare time ; but he constantly declared that he would rather be a carpenter, while his mother as persistently wished for him to be a teacher or a preacher. When James was twelve years old, he virtually took control of the farm ; for his brother — who was then twenty-one — left home to work upon a clearing in Michigan. He tried hard to fill his brother's place, but he could never throw his whole soul into the work. He was reading and study- ing continually, and his thirst for knowledge was con- stantly increasing. In the fall his brother returned with enough money to hire a carpenter to improve upon the log cabin, which was fast falling to pieces. James watched the building with keen, observant eyes ; and before the house was completed he had learned a good part of the trade, and practised it beside. • The carpenter was so much pleased with the cleverness with which James used his mallet, chisel, and plane, that he said, " I think I will have to employ you when I want an extra hand." The brother went back to Michigan, and the future Presi- dent turned again to the work of the farm. But his restless spirit longed for a wider field. If he could only earn some money, he would be able to buy books. Passing the carpenter's shop one day, he saw a pile of boards at the door, waiting to be planed ; and, stepping inside, he asked for a job. " I will give you a cent a board," said the carpenter. To his surprise the lad began the work so eagerly that before night he had JAMES A. GARFIELD. 509 carefully planed a hundred boards, each twelve feet long. This was the first money which he had ever earned. But the boy who could plane a hundred boards in a day did not find it difficult to secure work at odd intervals thereafter, and before long he had earned twenty dollars. Soon, however, these tasks seemed too limited for his ambition; and he applied to a Mr. Barton, ten miles away, for work upon a shed he was erecting. He so thoroughly pleased his emploj^er in this, that he offered young Garfield fourteen dollars a month to work in his potash factory. This was two dollars a month more than his brother was earning in Michigan, and James was delighted. In time, however, an insatiable longing to become a sailor seized upon him ; but fortunately none of the family favored his wild scheme, so that he went laboriously on with his work at home, attending school in the winter, reading whatever books he could find, and taking odd jobs in carpentry to add to the family income. At last his mother gave her consent to his trying one trip on Lake Erie, in the hope of quieting his restless- ness ; and in his ecstasy the boy walked the entire dis- tance to Cleveland. He boarded the first schooner that he found lying at the wharf, and was told that the captain would soon be up from the hold. Young Gar- field had an exalted idea of the important personage, and expected to see a fine, noble-looking man, such as he had read about in his books, when suddenly there came from the hold an indiscriminate collection of terrible oaths ; and the boy, stepping one side to let the drunken man pass him, was greeted by the gruff ques- 510 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. tion, " What do yer want here, yer green land-lubber ? " — "I'm waiting to see the captain," James replied. " Wall, don't yer know him when yer do see him ? " he shouted. " Git off my ship, I tell yer, double quick." The lad needed no further invitation, but he left on board that schooner all his fond fancy for going to sea. While wandering about Cleveland, he met a cousin who was captain of a canal-boat, and who offered him twelve dollars a month to drive for him. His first exploit was to get himself and his mules jerked into the canal, where, getting astride one of the mules, he kept his head above water until rescued. A very little of canal-boat life was sufficient to assure him that that, too, was not his "bent ; " and as soon as his task was completed, he returned to his home with the news, which his mother gladly received, that he was going to fit himself to be a teacher. He went to Chester, to the academy. He had but eleven dollars in his pocket at the start ; but he found the carpenter in Chester very willing to engage all his spare time, and by working in his shop before and after school, and all day Saturday, Garfield earned enough money to pay all his bills through the term, and carry home a few dollars. In the debating society he took an active part, astonishing the students with the eloquent appeals of their rough, ungainly schoolmate. In the long vacation, he found his first opportunitj^ to teach school, in his own district. His first day was a series of battles with the boys, but after that a most friendly relation was established ; and before the winter was over, he had won the reputation of being the best teacher that had ever " kept school " at the " Ledge." JAMES A. GAKFIELD. 511 In the summer vacation he increased his small stock of money by working at haying for the farmers. It was about this time that the question of slavery began to agitate the country. It was laid for discussion at the debating society ; and one of his schoolmates, after listening to Garfield's fiery denunciations, remarked, " Jim ought to go to Congress." The following winter he taught school in Warrenville, where he was paid sixteen dollars a month and his board. In this school some of the pupils wanted to take up geometry, a branch which Garfield had never studied ; but, buying a text-book, he mastered the science after school-hours, and his pupils never dreamed but that he was as famil- iar with it as with algebra and arithmetic. The third summer he taught school in Zanesville, whither he went by the Cleveland and Columbus Rail- road, which was his first ride in the cars. While stop- ping at Columbus, he visited the Legislature, and afterwards remarked that that alone was worth a month's schooling. In August, 1851, he presented himself at the Hiram Institute, where he secured the position of janitor, in order to work his way through college. His moral and religious faculties were developing as rapidly as his intellectual powers ; and his classmates and teachers thought, as a matter of necessity almost, that he would become a preacher in the Church of the Disciples. After spending three years at Hiram, he felt himself fitted to enter the junior class in almost any college, and wrote to the presidents of Brown University, Yale, and Williams. They all replied that he could graduate in two years; but President Hopkins of Williams 512 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. College concluded his letter with the sentence, " If you come here, we shall be glad to do what we can for you." This touch of friendship decided him, and in 1854 he presented himself for examination. This he passed without difficulty, and soon became a great favorite with his class, taking a high standard for accu- rate scholarship, and winning honors as a writer, rea- soner, and debater. He was also a prominent member of the Philological Society, of which he was afterward elected president. While Garfield was at Williamstown, the anti-slavery contest was at white heat ; and at a public gathering, he made a powerful speech, denouncing slavery in the strongest terms. At the end of his first college year, he received a tempting offer to teach in the high school at Troy; but, much as he needed the money, he determined to finish his college course, and graduated in August, 1856. Upon his return to his home, Mr. Garfield was immediately appointed professor of ancient languages and literature at the Hiram Institute. The following year he was elected president of the institute, though only twenty-six years of age. At one time, he filled the pulpits at Solon and Newburg each Sunday, in aid of the Church of the Disciples. He frequently preached at " The Disciples " church in Hiram. Lucretia Rudolph, a bright and attractive girl who had been his schoolmate at Hiram in earlier years, and to whom his thoughts were often diverted, was now a teacher under him. They had corresponded throughout his college life, and their long friendship now ripened into love ; and on the eleventh day of November, 1858, they were united in marriage. Shortly after his JAMES A. GARFIELD. 513 marriage, Garfield entered his name in the law-office of Riddle & Williamson, — attorneys in Cleveland, O., — as a student of law, and all his spare time was occu- pied with law-books. His capacity for work was pro- digious ; his interest in politics intense. He would spend the day in teaching, and, during the campaign of 1856, drive ten and even twenty miles to speak in some public gathering in the evening ; while he preached on Sundays, almost without interruption, sermons new, crisp, and vigorous, all the while carrying on the study of the law, and attending to the outside duties encum- bent on him as president of the institute. In 1859 Williams College honored him with an invitation to deliver the masters' oration. In 1860 he was elected State senator, though scarcely thirty years of age at the time, the youngest member of the Senate. In less than ten years from the time when he first visited Columbus, and rode for the first time in a railway-car, he became one of the most prominent members of the State Senate. During his second term in the Legislature, Fort Sumpter was fired upon, and President Lincoln issued the call for seventy- five thousand men. The proclamation was hardly read in the Senate when Garfield sprang to his feet, and moved that Ohio should contribute twenty thousand men and three million dollars as the quota of the State. As quick to act as to speak, Garfield immediately offered his services to Gov. Dennison, who sent him to Missouri to obtain five thousand stands of arms, that Gen. Lyon had placed there. Later he was sent to Cleveland to organize the seventh and eighth regiments of Ohio infantry. He was offered a colonelship in one of them, 514 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. but declined because he had had no military experience ; he agreed, however, to take a subordinate position if he could serve under a West Point graduate. This promi- nent position he was finally compelled to fill, however, and his regiment was ordered to join Gen. BuelFs forces at Louisville. Gen. Buell made Col. Garfield commander of the eighteenth brigade of the Army of the Ohio. At the very outset, Garfield signalized himself for rapid, desperate, and successful action ; equal to any emergency, and ready daj' and night. It was through his immediate agenc}^ that Kentucky was entirely rid of the Rebel hordes, and President Lincoln appointed Col. Garfield brigadier-general. During the wearisome siege of Corinth, a fugitive slave came into .the camp ; and in a few minutes later the master, riding up, with a volley of oaths demanded his property. The division commander was a believer in the theory that fugitive slaves should be returned to their masters, and accord- ingly wrote a peremptory order to Gen. Garfield to hunt for the fugitive and deliver him over to his master. Gen. Garfield took the order, and quietly wrote on the back of it, " I respectfully but positively decline to allow my command to search for or deliver up any fugitive slaves. I conceive that they are here for quite another purpose. The command is open, and no obstacles will be placed in the way of a search." When reminded by one of his officers that these rash words might bring him to account, he replied, " The matter may as well be tested first as last. Right is right, and I do not propose to mince matters at all. My soldiers are here for other purposes. Ohio did not send her boys and myself down here to do that kind of business." JAMES A. GABP1ELD. 515 The exposure and malarial atmosphere of the South began to tell upon the strong physique of the young- commander, and he was ordered to reli . Morgan of his command at Cumberland Gap ; and the following January he joined Gen. Rosecrans, in command of the Army of the Cumberland. He became Rosecrans's chief of staff, and his confidential adviser and friend. In his report oi the battle of Chiekamauga, Gen. I' erans wrote. "To Brig.-Geu. James A. Garfield, chief of staff, I am especially indented for the clear and ready manner in which he seized the points of action and movement, and expressed in order the ideas of the general commanding." He received the promotion to major-general for gallant service in this battle, and during the year was elected in Ohio as representative to the thirty-eighth Congre.--. Pi Lincoln urged him iommission and come to Con- •■ J ere are plenty of major-gene; -. id he. •'but able statesmen are few and far betwei n." There- fore, on the 5th of Decemb< after three years of military life, he re-igned his commission, with its high emoluments, for the work of a congressman. He filled in Congress the very seat left vacant by the death of Joshua R. Giddings, the hero of his boyhood. Both by nature and education, he seemed especially endowed for the office of public speaker : and above all and through i - the vital powei varm, sympathetic, and generous heart. He had been the youngest man in the Ohio senate, the young _ - dier-general in the army, and now at the age of thirty- two found himself the youngest member of the national House of Representatives. From the very first, he 516 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. made his influence felt ; and breaking down the bars that usually restrict the new and younger members of Congress, he took up the gantlet, with Thaddeus Stevens, N. P. Banks, Roscoe Conkling, and other leaders in legislative halls. Old members began to realize the growing power that they had in their midst, and were not slow to seek Garfield's assistance when they had some important measure to bring forward. The convention wished to renominate him, but hesi- tated, as it was rumored that he was the author of the famous Wade-Davis manifesto. With a firm step he came upon the platform, and in a brief speech declared, that, although he had not written the Wade-Davis letter, he was in sympathy with the authors, and that if the nineteenth district of Ohio did not want a repre- sentative who would assert his independence in thought and action, it must find another man. To his astonish- ment, he was renominated. He said, " It was a bold action on my part perhaps ; but it showed me the truth of the old maxim, that ' honesty is the best policy ; ' and I have ever since been entirely independent in my rela- tions with the people in my district." On his return to Congress, he was placed upon the ways and means committee, at the request of the Sec- retary of State. Upon the tariff question he said, " I hold that a properly adjusted competition between home and foreign products is the best gauge to regu- late internal trade. Duties should be so high that our manufacturers can fairly compete with the foreign product, but not so high as to enable them to drive out the foreign article, enjoy a monopoly of trade, and regu- late the price as they picas.'." Finding that no one in JAMES A. GARFIELD. 517 Congress had made a business of examining in detail the various appropriations of public money, Garfield took the arduous task upon his own shoulders, so that he might vote more intelligently. Having made out a careful anal}' sis, he delivered it before the House ; and it was so well received, that each succeeding year another was called for, till " Garfield's budget speech " became an institution in Congress ; and a few years later he was made chairman of the committee on appropriations. Directly after the assassination of President Lincoln, a furious mob gathered in the thoroughfares of New York, clamoring for revenge. A man suspected of Rebel sentiments was shot in the street; and the wild rabble, bearing a roughly constructed gallows, started madly down the street for the office of " The World,'' when suddenly a tall, manly figure appeared, holding a small flag in his hand. " Another telegram from Washing- ton," cried the excited mob ; and, silenced for a moment, the people heard the stranger in clear, deep tones begin, " Fellow-citizens, clouds and darkness arc round about Him; justice and judgment are the estab- lishment of his throne ; mercy and truth shall go before his face. Fellow-citizens, God reigns, and the Gov- ernment at Washington still lives/' The crowd stood riveted to the ground. It was a triumph of eloquence inspired by the moment, such as falls to but one man's lot, and but once in a lifetime. Webster and Clay never reached it. It silenced the maddened crowd; it quelled the mob. " God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives." And when they asked who he was who spoke, some one who knew him answered, " It is Gen. Garfield of Ohio." 518 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. A year later, in Congress, he delivered his grand eulogy upon Abraham Lincoln, the martyred President. His home in Washington, overlooking Franklin Square, was one of the pleasantest resorts in the city, with many fine paintings and an elaborate library ; for the owner never for a moment relaxed his love of books, and his mind was a capacious reservoir. It was a common saying in Congress, that no man in Washington could stand before the army of facts that Garfield could bring forward at a moment's notice ; while the record of the Congressional library showed that he took out more books than any other member of Congress. In the famous salary bill, Garfield was in the opposi- tion, for he held that Congress had no right to increase its own pay ; but those who favored the plan had attached it to another bill, that he felt must pass. President Hinsdale says, " On Monday I happened to pass the room of the committee on appropriations, and I found Gen. Garfield walking up and down the corridor. He said to me, 'I have got to decide in fifteen minutes whether I will sign that bill or not. If I do, I go on record as indorsing a measure that I have been oppos- ing; if I do not, I lose all control of the bill. It will be reported to the House by Gen. Butler, and he will control the debate. The session of Congress ends to- morrow; and, if the bill fails to pass, this Congress will expire without making provisions for carrying on the Government.' He signed the bill eventually ; but im- mediately upon receiving his back pay, Gen. Garfield returned the money to the Treasury. His record in Congress is exceptionally free from even the suggestion of suspicion. To the Ohio senate, JAMBS A. GARFIELD. 519 shortly after his election, Garfield said, "During the twenty years that I have now been in the public service, I have tried to do one thing. I have represented for many years a district, in Congress, whose approbation I greatly desired ; but, though it may seem a little egotistical to say it, I yet desired still more the appro- bation of one person, and his name is Garfield. He is the only man that I am compelled to sleep with, eat with, and die with , and, if I could not have his approba- tion, I should have bad companionship." Nevertheless, he did not entirely escape the distressing ordeal of slander and scandal which has been meted out with a generous hand to every prominent American. The National Convention of the Republican party that met in Chicago in June, 1880, will long be remem- bered in the annals of the country. The thircUterm question was vigorously pressed. Three prominent candidates were in the field, — Grant, Blaine, and Sher- man, all vigorously supported by able men. Garfield was among the delegates from Ohio, and an enthusiastic supporter of Sherman. The battle raged in the con- vention till Saturday night without a decisive vote. On Sunday Mr. Garfield said to a friend, "This is a day of suspense, but it is also a day of prayer ; and I have more faith in the prayers of to-day than in the political tactics at the convention. ,, Twenty-eight ballots were cast on Monday without result. On Tuesdaj* Wiscon- sin made a break, giving thirty-six votes for James A. Garfield ; Connecticut, Illinois, and Indiana followed. Garfield immediately rose to his feet, and said that he refused to have his name announced and voted for in the convention. But the chairman interrupted him, 520 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. saying that he was not stating a question of order, and the enthusiasm for the new candidate rose to a high pitch. An eye-witness wrote of it : "I shall never for- get the expression on Garfield's face, as delegation after delegation, breaking from its moorings, went over to him. He looked anxious, almost troubled. When the president of the convention announced that James A. Garfield of Ohio received three hundred and ninety- nine ballots, Senator Conklmg moved that it be made unanimous ; and the nomination once made popular, enthusiasm knew no bounds. The Republican party throughout was well satisfied." Gen. Arthur of New York was nominated Vice-President. The next morning Mr. Garfield left for his home in Mentor, and the journey proved a continual scene of ovations. At Cleveland a salute of a thousand guns was fired. He had promised to deliver the address at the commencement exercises at Hiram College, and left Cleveland as quietly as possible for that place. On the way he said to a friend, " I never sought but one office in my life, and that was the office of janitor at the Hiram Institute." The news of the nomination at Chicago was received with unfeigned delight throughout the country. The Republican press, too, was unanimous in his favor. In the election he carried twenty of the thirty-eight States, receiving two hundred and fourteen electoral votes. Garfield himself wrote: "I believe all my friends are more gratified with the personal part of my triumph than I am ; and although I am proud of the noble support I have received, and the vindication it gives me against my assailants, yet there is a tone of sadness running through this triumph which I can hardly explain.*' JAMES A. GARFIELD. 521 The months which elapsed between the election and inauguration were spent by Garfield at his quiet home at Mentor. The journey from Mentor to Wash- ington was another series of ovations. The inaugural address was frequently applauded by the vast audience. At the close of the address, the oath of office was ad- ministered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and James A. Garfield became President of the United States. The following day, the President announced to the Senate, in special session, the following names for his cabinet : James G. Blaine, Secretary of State ; Wil- liam Windom, Secretary of the Treasury ; Samuel J. Kirkwood, Secretary of the Interior; William If. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy ; Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary of War ; Thomas L. James, Postmaster-General ; Wayne MacVeagh, Attorney-General. Two great problems confronted President Garfield as he assumed the reins of Government, — the national debt and a half million impatient office-seekers. In the former, Garfield's accurate knowledge of political economy and finance developed plans destined to save the country many millions of dollars ; but the second problem was not to be solved so easily. The baleful influence of the spoils system was being seriously felt. The theory had become dominant, that the party owed every supporter a living. President Garfield thoroughly opposed the system, and desired to make such appoint- ments as were for the manifest good of the whole coun- try ; but it was impossible for him to do this without exciting opposition, and a rupture in the Senate imme- diately followed : so that the first weeks of his admin- istration presented a continued series of hotly contested battles. 522 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. On the morning of July 2 the President rose at an early hour, preparatory to turning from the harassing disturbances of the past few weeks, and seek rest and recreation in a ten days' trip in New England, accom- panied by his wife and a few members of his cabinet. The trip was intended to include the commencement exercises at Williams College. Not a breath whispered of impending danger, or a note of warning sounded in the clear atmosphere of the bright July morning. Arm in arm with the Secretary of State, the President passed through the broad entrance door at the railway station and into the ladies' waiting-room, which gave them the readiest access to the train beyond. The room was nearly empty, as most of the passengers had already taken their seats in the cars. As the President passed through the room, an ill-favored man suddenly sprang be- hind him, and, taking a heavy revolver from his pocket, deliberately aimed and fired. At the sharp report, the President turned his head with a look of surprise, when the wretch recocked his pistol, set his teeth, and fired again. The President fell senseless to the floor. He was soon tenderly placed upon a mattress and carried without delay to the White House. The first ball had passed through the arm just below the shoulder, with- out breaking any bones ; the second entered just over the hips. The condition was most critical, and the indi- cations were that he could live but a few hours. Life hung upon the merest thread, but slowly and surely the tide began to turn. Sunday morning he was pro- nounced much better, and in broken slumber he mur- mured to himself, " The great heart of the people will not let the old soldier die." Thus the Fourth of JAMES A. GARFIELD. 523 July was ushered in with mingled feelings of hope and fear. The assassin, Charles Guiteau, came to Washington on Sunday evening, March 6, and on May 18 deter- mined to murder the President. He had no money ; but on the 8th of June he borrowed fifteen dollars, on the plea that he wanted to pay his board-bill, and gave ten of it for a pistol. From that time on he watched his opportunity. At various times he had almost suc- ceeded before the fatal shot was fired. Thus, without cause or provocation, one of the most atrocious crimes of history was committed. Every effort which love and expense could suggest was made for the comfort of the wounded man, and every possible skill was exerted to preserve his life. Early in September, he was removed to Long Branch. Many times the President rallied : many times the hopes of America were roused. But again and again re-action came ; and on the 19th of September, at 10.35 P.M., President Garfield died. The tolling of bells in every city, town, and village throughout the country announced the sad tidings. Among the very first expressions of condolence received was a telegram from Queen Victoria, and another from Minister Lowell. The whole world seemed full of sympathy and sorrow. On the 21st of September, the casket was placed in the parlor of the cottage at Long Branch. Brief reli- gious services were read by the Rev. C. J. Young of the Dutch Reformed Church at Long Branch, and the casket was placed in a funeral car. At Princeton, the students scattered flowers along the 524 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. track. At four p.m., the train reached Washington, and the casket was at once borne to the Capitol. All night long the stream of visitors passed through the rotunda'. At least forty thousand people gathered in the Capitol to witness the start of the funeral procession, while the streets were more densely thronged than on the 4th of March. The Second Artillery Band played the funeral march ; and on reaching the station the casket was borne from the hearse upon the shoulders of six sol- diers, and placed in the funeral car with a guard of honor of ten officers from the army and navy. The sad journey to Cleveland was marked by touching trib- utes of affection. After lying in state through Satur- day and Sunday in the Park at Cleveland, the remains of President Garfield were solemnly committed to the tomb at Lake View Cemetery. The twenty-sixth day of September was appointed by President Arthur as a national day of mourning. Public buildings through- out the country, and many private residences, were draped and decorated with beautiful and appropriate emblems of the nation's sorrow. A subscription fund for Mrs. Garfield and her chil- dren closed on the fifteenth day of October, amounting to $ 360,345.75. A Garfield monument-fund was organ- ized in Cleveland immediately after the funeral. And thus, in many ways, the country showed its warm appreciation for the man who had risen to be its chief magistrate, only to fall before the miserable assassin, — a martyred President. CHESTER A. ARTHUR. ( About 1820, a young Protestant Irishman from Ballymena, Antrim County, named William Arthur, set sail for this country, following the great tide of immigration. He was eighteen years of age, a gradu- ate of Belfast College, and thoroughly imbued with the desire to be a Baptist clergyman. Persevering in this, he was soon admitted to the ministry, and began a career of usefulness which only terminated in 1875, when he died. He was in many respects a remarkable man, and acquired a wide reputation, not only in his chosen career, but in the great competition of authors. Pie published a work on " Family Names " which is cer- tainly one of the curiosities of English literature. For eight years he was pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in New-York City. He married an American lady, and their family consisted of two sons and five daughters. One of the sons — Chester Alan Arthur — was born at Fairfield, Franklin County, Vt., Oct. 5, 1830. In his boyhood he attended school at Union Village and Schenectady. At the outset he had certain advan- tages over most of the children about him. He was 525 526 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. surrounded by impressive influences, which, in the for- mation of his character, had beneficial effects. He was trained in a religious home by a father of piety and learning. With such assistance, he was enabled, at the early age of fifteen, to enter Union College ; and, two years later, he graduated high in his class""/] During his college course he partly supported himself by teach- ing. Having become a member of the Psi Upsilon Society, he was one of six in a class of a hundred who were elected members of the Phi Beta Kappa Soci- ety, the condition of admission to which was high scholarship. He chose the law as his future profession, and began his legal studies immediately after leaving college, in 1848, continuing to reside with his father at Lansing- burg. In the mean time he fitted boys for college ; and in 1851 he was principal of an academy at North' Pownal, Vt., at which institution, three years later, James A. Garfield, then a student in Williams College, taught penmanship during his winter vacation. Mr. Arthur's career had been marked by steady habits and sturdiness of character, and he had also proven the excellence of his mind. While studying books, he was always a close observer of the important events of the period ; and by personal contact with his father's friends, he formed the character and some of the purposes which afterwards made him prominent. In 1833 young Arthur went to New- York City, entered as a student the law-office of Hon. Erastus D. Culver, was admitted to the bar the same year, and at once became a member of the firm of Culver, Parker & Arthur. Mr. Culver had been an anti-slavery member CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 527 of Congress from Washington County at the time when Arthur's father was pastor of the Baptist church at Greenwich in that county. Gerrit Smith, another of the most prominent abolitionists in the country, was also an intimate friend of Dr. Arthur, and sometimes occupied the hitter's pulpit. Mr. Culver, Mr. Smith, and William Lloyd Garrison, another leading advocate of the abolition of slavery, were frequent visitors at the Arthur residence ; and from intimacy with these gentlemen, and association with other kindred spirits, young Arthur naturally formed those sentiments of hostility to slavery, to which he first gave public expression in the famous Lemmon slave case. It occurred in 1852. Jonathan and Juliet Lemmon, Virginia slave-holders, intending to emigrate to Texas, went to New York to take the steamer, bringing eight slaves with them, when a writ was obtained from Judge Paine to decide whether the slave-law was in force in that State. Judge Paine ordered the eight slaves to be liberated. A howl of rage went up from the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the attorney-general to make an appeal. William M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed to represent the people of New York, and they won the case. It then went to the Supreme Court of the United States, where Charles O'Conor was added to the slave-holders' cause ; but he, too, was beaten by Evarts and Arthur, and thus a long step was taken toward the final emancipation of the blacks. Another case was that of Lizzie Jennings, a colored woman, roughly expelled from a Fourth-avenue horse- car because she was black, in 1856. For her Mr. 528 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Arthur brought suit against the railroad company, and obtained a verdict of five hundred dollars damages in favor of the colored woman. The money was paid by the road, and the next day the company issued an order to permit colored persons to ride on their cars. Other companies quickly followed their example. M>r- Arthur was married in October, 1859, to Miss Ellen Lewis Herndon of Fredericksburg, Va., a daugh- ter of Capt. William Lewis Herndon, formerly a dis- tinguished officer of the United-States navy, whose bravery and heroism in the disaster to the merchant steamer, the "-Central America," in 1857, was recog- nized by Congress voting his widow a sum equal to three years' pay of a commander in the navy, as a token of appreciation of his conduct. ~\ With an accomplished hostess and a genial host, the Arthur residence in New York naturally became an attractive social resort. Mr. Arthur had an inherent taste for military affairs, and was an able organizer and administrator. In 1859 he was judge advocate of the second brigade of New- York militia ; in 1860, upon the accession of Hon. Edwin D. Morgan to the governorship, Mr. Arthur was appointed engineer-in-chief on his staff. When the war broke out, Gov. Morgan made Arthur inspector- general, and later quartermaster-general, of the military forces of the State. In the latter position he served with marked ability till the expiration of Gov. Morgan's term, late in 1863. He threw his whole soul into the work of equipping, supplying, and forwarding to the field of battle the immense number of soldiers furnished by the Empire State. As proof of his capa- CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 529 bility, in the report made by his successor in this office^ — a gentleman of opposite politics — appears the statement : " I found, on entering upon the discharge of my duties, a well-organized system of labor and accountability, for which the State is chiefly indebted to my predecessor, Gen. Chester A. Arthur, who, by his practical good sense and unremitting exertion at a period when every thing was in confusion, reduced the operations of the department to a matured plan, by which large amounts of money were saved to the gov- ernment, and great economy of time in carrying out the details of the same." Gen. Arthur was consulted in regard to the defences of New- York Harbor; and in the winter of 1861, as a member of a board of engineers, he submitted a report of importance, showing the condition of the national forts, both on the seacoast and on the inland border of the State. He was present, by invitation, at the famous meeting of "loyal governors" in 1862, to discuss measures for providing troops for the vigorous prosecu- tion of the civil war. He was the only participant in that important conference who was not the governor of a State. The result of their deliberations was the advice to President Lincoln, upon which, two days afterward, he issued the call for three hundred thousand volunteers. In the winter of 1863-64 Gen. Arthur resumed the practice of the law, and continued active in his profession for about ten years, still taking a deep interest in politics. In early life he was identified with what Avere known as the " Henry Clay "Whigs," and was a delegate to the convention at Saratoga, which 530 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. founded the Republican party of New York. He was chairman of the Central Grant Club in 1868, and in 1879 he became chairman of the executive committee of the Republican State Committee. President Grant manifested his appreciation of Gen. Arthur's ability by appointing him, in 1871, to the office of collector of customs of the port of New York, the most important Federal office in the metropolis. At the expiration of his four years' term, he was again commissioned by President Grant for another term. When this second nomination was sent to the Senate for approval, it was confirmed unanimously the same day, without the customary reference to a committee, — a courtesy never before extended to an appointee who had not been a senator. He was a faithful and efficient public official. His conduct has been searched in vain for an error or offence ; yet after he had served about six years, he was removed by the Hayes administration, and offered a foreign mission. This he declined, and, on the basis of civil-service reform, temporarily held his position. At the opening of the next session of Congress, the President sent to the Senate the nominations of two gentlemen as successors to Collector Arthur and Sur- veyor Cornell. They were rejected by the Senate, the effect of which was to still retain Arthur and Cornell in office. Six months later, however, when Congress adjourned, the Administration took advantage of the absence of the Senate, and they were suspended, and their successors took possession of the offices. At the next session of the Senate, the influence of the Admin- istration proved sufficient to secure the confirmation of CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 531 the successors. The controversy was remitted to the Republicans of New York, and their opinion was given in the succeeding fall by the election of Mr. Cornell to the governorship of the State ; while Mr. Arthur was considered a candidate for United-States senator. A year later Gen. Arthur was among the earnest advocates for the election of Gen. Grant to succeed President Hayes, and, as a delegate at large to the Chi- cago convention, he labored for that result ; but the delegates who were opposed to a third term for Gen. Grant combined and nominated Gen. Garfield. A gen- eral desire at once arose in the convention to nominate for Vice-President some advocate of Grant and a resi- dent of New-York State. The delegation from that State indicated their preference for Gen. Arthur ; and, before the roll-call began, the nomination of Arthur was a foregone conclusion. On the first ballot he received four hundred and sixty-eight votes against two hundred and eighty-three for all other persons, and his nomination was made unanimous. During the session of Congress which immediately followed his election as Vice-President, Gen. Arthur spent much time in the Senate chamber, observing the proceedings, and making the acquaintance of the mem- bers of the body over which he was to preside, prepar- atory to managing the affairs of his new office with ability and confidence. He took the oath as Vice- President of the United States in the Senate chamber, at the close of the "last regular session of the Senate, just as the Forty-sixth Congress expired, at noon on March 4, 1881, and immediately assumed the chair to preside over the Senate in special session, called 532 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. by proclamation of the outgoing President, for the purpose of considering such business and nominations as might be submitted by the new President. This exciting and memorable session was prolonged for seventy-six days by the efforts of the Republicans to elect their nominees for prominent offices, against dilatory tactics employed by the Democrats, and by the controversy over the nomination by President Garfield for collector of the port of New York of William H. Robertson, who had been one of the New-York leaders at the Chicago convention who opposed the nomination of Grant for a third term. The parliamentary compli- cations in the Senate began early in this session ; and before the expiration of a week, Vice-President Arthur was obliged to decide by his vote a very important question, on which the two parties were arrayed in active opposition. Gen. Arthur became Vice-President under favorable auspices and pleasing circumstances ; but he succeeded to the Presidency under conditions more unfavorable, and circumstances more discouraging, than those which have attended any other President. The unfortunate controversy about the distribution of official patronage which had grown up between President Garfield and members of his party, most of whom were or had been intimate associates of Gen. Arthur, had become more and more serious. The split in the party had widened till a crisis was reached when the New- York senators Conklinc: and Piatt resigned their seats in the Senate. The Vice-President had done all in his power to pre- vent the break, but it could not be averted. Political excitement throughout the country had been aroused CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 538 to a high pitch, when, on July 2, the fanatic Guiteau shot President Garfield. The attempted assassination of the President, under such circumstances, convulsed the nation, and created grave apprehensions. Cruel misjudgments were formed concerning Gen. Arthur and all who were associated with him in close personal and political relations. In some isolated instances anger and desire for revenge were expressed. The public mind was perturbed and restless; and Gen. Arthur, by the very necessity of his position, became the object of most causeless and cruel suspicions and assaults. Although not directly charged with sympa- thy with the assassination, still he was made to feel a distrust which impaired his usefulness, and threatened his administration with failure. President Garfield was shot July 2, 1881, when, accompanied by Secretary Blaine, he was walking through the railway station in Washington, .to take a train for New York ; and while he lay suffering and gradually dying from the effects of the wound made by the assassin's bullet, Vice-President Arthur remained at his residence in New- York City, refraining from any participation in political affairs. The question of the inability of the President to perform the duties of his office was publicly and seriously discussed by many of the leading statesmen and lawyers of the country. But it was thought that it would be sufficient fur the successor to qualify promptly in the event of the President's death ; and it was maintained that the cabinet could not take upon itself the right to decide when the " inability " of the President began or ceased. 534 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Vice-President Arthur was himself averse to taking any action while the President lived. Nevertheless, he realized that this question might involve the existence of the government and the liberties of the people; and after his accession, in his first annual message to Con- gress, he asked that body to define the Constitution in its specification of the " inability " of the President, as one of the contingencies which calls the Vice-President to the exercise of presidential functions. On the death of President Garfield, on the night of Sept. 19, 1881, the cabinet at once announced the fact to the Vice-President, then in New- York City ; and, at their suggestion, Mr. Arthur took the oath as Presi- dent of the United States, at 2.15 o'clock the next morning, at his residence, before Judge Brady of the Supreme Court. President Arthur immediately tele- graphed to the cabinet, all of the members of which were at Elberon : — I have your message announcing the death of President Garfield. Permit me to renew through you the expression of sorrow and sympathy which I have already telegraphed to Attor- ney-General MacVeagh. In accordance with your suggestion, I have taken the oath of office as President before the Hon. John R. Brady, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. I will soon advise you further in regard to the other suggestion in your telegram. C. A. ARTHUR. In accordance with the custom of having the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States administer the oath to the President, on Sept. 22 the oath of office was again taken before Chief-Justice Waite. This ceremony having been performed, CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 535 President Arthur read his inaugural address. It was the first time in the history of the nation that two ex-Presidents were witnesses when a new President took the oath. Ex-Presidents Grant and Hayes occu- pied prominent positions in the room. The solemnity of the occasion was heightened by the consciousness of the fact that a fourth President lay dead in another part of the Capitol building. As President of the United States, Mr. Arthur gave the country an administration with which little fault has been found. To a friend he said, early in his administration, " My sole ambition is to enjoy the confidence of my countrymen." His cabinet, selected with deliberation, acted in cordial unity with him and with each other. The only changes were caused by the death of two of the members. During Arthur's administration, the tariff laws were partly revised, with a view to a reduction of revenue, while giving " aid and protection to American labor." The public debt was reduced nearly $500,000,000, internal revenue stamp taxes were repealed, and the number of collection districts was reduced. The entire postal service was greatly improved. Letter- postage was reduced from three cents per half ounce to two cents per one ounce, and newspaper-postage and rates on printed matter generally were also reduced. Provision was made for adjudication of the French spo- liation claims, which had long awaited payment, and for the final distribution of the remainder of the $15,000,- 000 paid by Great Britain to the United States in satis- faction for claims of American citizens for losses sustained on account of depredations by Rebel cruisers 536 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. fitted out in British ports. Affairs of the Indians were wisely conducted, and progress made toward the edu- cation of Indian children. In three or four instances, when the President's con- victions of public duty would not permit him to assent to Acts of Congress presented to him for approval, he exercised his veto power in moderate language, arous- ing no feelings of hostility. His personal relations with senators and members, without distinction of party, were of the most cordial character. The last official act of President Arthur was pecul- iarly appropriate. Reciprocal regard had often been manifested between ex-President Grant and President Arthur. In his later years Gen. Grant had become dis- pirited by reason of disappointment and serious losses ; and President Arthur, having deep sympathy for the hero of Appomattox, in his last annual message, rec- ommended that Congress should vote to the general a pension, commensurate with his character and past ser- vices. While this plan was taking shape, Gen. Grant announced publicly that he would not accept a pension. Immediately President Arthur came to the rescue with a more practical suggestion, by which adequate relief could be given to his friend without wounding his pride, and at the same time a vote of confidence and faith in the old commander could be publicly given by the representatives of the people of the whole country. This suggestion found ready response in Congress. A bill was promptly introduced in the Senate .by Mr. Edmunds of Vermont, authorizing the President to appoint on the retired list of the army of the United CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 537 States, " from among those who had been generals commanding the armies of the United States, or gen- erals-in-chief of said army, one person with the rank and full pay of such general or general-in-chief, as the case may be." Mr. Edmunds said, " Every senator will see the object and purpose and application of the bill. It will authorize the President of the United States to appoint Ulysses S. Grant on the retired list of the army, and it will enable the United States to pay this act of gratitude and justice to Gen. Grant." The bill passed both Houses, and it was with unmistakable sat- isfaction that President Arthur wrote his signature of approval upon it. A subject of universal comment was the graceful demeanor of President Arthur during the ceremonies at the Capitol, attending the inauguration of his suc- cessor, Grover Cleveland, and when he afterward rode through Pennsylvania Avenue beside the new Presi- dent, and then for hours stood or sat by Mr. Cleveland in front of the Executive Mansion, participating in the grand review, — an imposing and remarkable demon- stration in honor of the return to power of the Demo- cratic party, after an exclusion of a quarter of a century. Gen. Arthur did not long survive after retiring from the presidential office. He died of apoplexy, at his residence in New-York City, Nov. 18, 1886. His remains were taken to Albany, and buried by the side of those of his wife, in the family burial-place in Rural Cemetery. The funeral in New-York City was attended by President Cleveland and his cabinet, Chief- 538 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. Justice Waite, ex-President Hayes, Hon. James G. Blaine, Gens. Sherman, Sheridan, and Schofield, the surviving members of President Arthur's cabinet, by many other officials, and by a concourse of true friends. GROVER CLEVELAND. The return of the Democratic party to power was signalled in the election of Grover Cleveland to the presidential office in 1884. He is descended from an old English family, with the record of nearly two hun- dred years in America. The family first settled in Connecticut, and its history has been chiefly one of religious activity. Dr. Aaron Cleveland, an ances- tor of the President, was an Episcopalian minister in Philadelphia, an intimate friend of Benjamin Franklin, at whose home he died in 1757. Benjamin Franklin wrote of the death, in " The Pennsylvania Gazette/' of which he was then editor : " His death is greatly lamented by all who knew him, as a loss to the public, a loss to the Church of Christ, and in particular to that congregation who had proposed to themselves so much satisfaction from his late appointment among them." He left a son, born in East Haddam, Conn., in 1744, who, shortly after his father's death, returned to Con- necticut, and spent the greater part of his life in Norwich, distinguishing himself by his opposition to slavery. He was a member of the Connecticut Legis- lature, and introduced the bill for the abolition of 539 540 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. slavery in his State. He was also a minister of the Congregational Church. Richard Falley Cleveland, the father of the Presi- dent, was born in Norwich, Conn., graduated from Yale College in 1824, and from the Princeton Theological Seminary as a Presbyterian clergyman. Grover Cleve- land's mother was a Baltimore lady. The young clergy- man's first parish was in Windham, Conn. ; the second at Portsmouth, Va. ; and the third at Caldwell, N.J., where Grover Cleveland was born on the 18th of March, 1837, the fifth of nine children. When three years old, his father was called to the church at Fayetteville, near Syracuse, N.Y., where the children made diligent use of the village school, and in 1851 removed to Clinton with his large family of chil- dren, where his salary was a thousand dollars a year, which was much in increase of what he had been receiving. While here, Grover was obliged to accept a position in the village store, adding materially to the resources of the family by his salary of fifty dollars a year. In 1853 his father died ; and, forced to any alternative to increase the limited resources of the fam- ily, Grover secured a situation as bookkeeper and assistant teacher in an institution for the blind in New- York City, though at the time he was only sixteen years old. A year later he set out for the West, determined to seek a wider field, where possibly he might accomplish his earnest desire of becoming a lawyer. In Buffalo he met an uncle, who gave him a temporary position with small remuneration, sufficient for his necessary expenses, and in a few months secured him a position in GROVER CLEVELAND. 541 the law office of Messrs. Rogers, Bowen, & Rogers. He was admitted to the bar in 1859. When the war broke out, he was anxious to become a soldier ; but two of his brothers went into the army, and it became necessary for him to remain at home to assist the family. In politics he was what was known as a war Democrat ; and in 1863 he was appointed assistant district-attorney for the county of Erie. In 1870, at the age of thirty- three, he was elected sheriff of Erie County, at the close of which term of service he entered into a law-partner- ship with Mr. W. S. Bissell, in the firm of Cleveland & Bissell, which continued until he was elected governor of New York. As a lawyer, he was fluent, terse, and forcible. His clear apprehension of legal principles, and his logical statement of them, rendered him successful. His law- partner said of him, that he never knew a man capable of so many hours of strenuous mental labor as Mr. Cleveland ; but that he was never so industrious as when working for the rights of some poor man. As a friend and companion, he was genial and unassuming, frank, generous, and open-hearted. There had grown up a decided dissatisfaction in Buf- falo with the way in which the city government was managed ; and in 1881 many Republicans were ready to unite with the Democrats in the election of a mayor, provided an able and upright man could be found for a candidate. Mr. Cleveland was the one selected. He at first refused to have his name used in nomination, being too much occupied in his profession. He was at length forced to accept the nomination, however ; and, though the city is largely Republican, he was elected by a majority of thirty-five hundred. 542 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. A few months after assuming office, one of the Republican journals of the city said of him : " The people feel, without distinction of party, that they have in Mayor Cleveland an able, fearless, upright chief magistrate, who will not abuse the trust reposed in him, but will use his best endeavors for their welfare, and to promote the interests of the city." In the eleven months that he was mayor, he saved the city of Buffalo over a million dollars, and at the very outset of his public career became somewhat celebrated for the dar- ing common-sense of his vetoes. The year 1882, in a political view, was memorable and influential in the history of the country. There had been a growing discontent among the Democrats and Republicans, which was rapidly forming a well- defined body of influential Independents. A political tidal wave was sweeping over the country. In New York a most astonishing revolt took place, the Inde- pendent vote showing to what an extent it had grown. In 1880 Garfield received twenty-one thousand more votes in New York than Gen. Hancock ; but the majority which the State gave to Grover Cleveland, in his nomination for governor, was such as had never before been received by any candidate in any State in the Union. Grover Cleveland had fully justified the expectations of the people of Buffalo. He had put down dishonesty in the government in their city, and, in doing so, showed an executive ability of a high order, an independence of party, strength of will, and a practical way of dealing with public questions, that had won for him many favorable opinions ; and in the Democratic State Convention his nomination for the GROVER CLEVELAND. 543 governor of New York was most enthusiastically received. He had come to Buffalo with no other capi- tal than honesty, integrity, industry, and common- sense. Unaided, he had advanced step by step, till he had won an honorable place in the community; and a majority of 192,854 as candidate for governor of New York was convincing proof of the position which he held in the State. On the day before his inauguration as governor, he went to Albany, and spent the night at the Executive Mansion. On the following day he walked through the throngs of people crowding the streets to the Capi- tol, and, unrecognized, entered the building. As soon as the simple ceremony of the inauguration was over, he entered the office of the Executive and quietly began his work. Here, again, the daring common-sense with which he exerted the veto-power attracted wide attention. Political agitators were not slow to make the most of these vetoes to arouse a feeling of hostility , but in the end it clearly appeared that the governor had done few things in his public career which were so much to his honor. In his public record, as well as in his private life, Mr. Cleveland has shown a profound regard for the welfare of the people of all classes, and a close attention in the proper and economical use of their money. His administration as governor of New York was most acceptable, notwithstanding the vetoes. His acts uni- formly indicated intentions consistent with his profes- sions. During his administration there was an earnest and general movement, irrespective of party ties, in 544 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. the direction of reform ; and it was universally acknowledged that the Executive chair was filled by a man fully identified with the movement, though the Executive was a Democrat and the Legislature Repub- lican. It is doubtful, if the two had been politically one, if more efficient support could have been given in the matter of reform. The governor also identified himself conspicuously with the subject of civil-service reform. His dignity and manliness of character and unwavering firmness continually won for him the respect and admiration of all with whom he came in contact, and left a deep impression of his ability, uprightness, and thorough independence. Thus it was altogether natural that there should arise in the party a strong movement in favor of his nomination for the Presidency, when the Democratic National Convention met in 1884. Mr. Tilden was of course the first choice of the State of New York ; but as soon as his letter was published, positively and emphatically declining a second nomina- tion, Grover Cleveland's name became identified with the movement. A circumstance which greatly favored his prospects as candidate was the relation toward him of the Independents. All the circumstances conspired to rouse the Democratic party as a whole to the level occupied by its best and leading men. The question of civil-service reform played an active part, and the prominent men in the Democratic Convention instinc- tively turned to Grovei Cleveland as the most appro- priate nominee. The Convention met in Chicago, July 8, and was organized by the selection of Gov. Hubbard of Texas as temporary chairman, and Col. Vilas of GROVER CLEVELAND. 545 Wisconsin as permanent chairman. The candidates put in nomination were Senator Bayard of Delaware, ex-Senator Thurman of Ohio, ex-Senator McDonald of Indiana, Hon. John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, Gov. Hoadley of Ohio, Hon. Samuel Randall of Pennsyl- vania, and Gov. Cleveland of New York. In his address to the convention, presenting Mr. Cleveland's name, Mr. Lockwood said, "A little more than three years ago I had the honor, at the city of Buffalo, to present the name of this same gentleman for the office of mayor of that city. It was presented then for the same reason, for the same causes, that we present it now. It was because the government of that city had become corrupt, and political integrity sat not in high places. The people looked for a man who would represent the contrary, and without any hesita- tion they named Grover Cleveland. The result of that election and his holding that office was that in nine months the State of New York found herself in want of such a candidate for such a purpose ; and at the convention of 1882, when his name was placed in nomination for the office of governor of the State of New York, the same people knew that it meant honest government. It meant pure government, and it was ratified by the people. Mr. Cleveland's candidacy before this convention is offered upon the ground of his honor, his integrity, his wisdom, and his Democracy." Mr. Cleveland was nominated on the second ballot, greatly to the satisfaction of his party. In his accept- ance of the nomination, he displayed himself as the same earnest and sincere advocate of justice and reform. 546 LIVES OP THE PKESIDENTS. Such was the man presented to the people of the United States in opposition to James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate in 1884. The campaign was one of great excitement and desperate effort, carried to an extreme at once disgraceful and demoralizing ; a struggle in which both parties, perhaps, rendered unnecessary offence, but in which the supporters of Gov. Cleveland followed more closely the example of their candidate in dignity and determination. With the most brilliant statesman of America placed against them, they stood firm for their candidate ; and though the election was close, Gov. Cleveland was chosen by a decided majority to the position of chief magistrate ; the first Democratic President to be elected since the selection of James Buchanan in 1856. Naturally this long-delayed victory placed the Democratic party in a state of exultation which could scarcely be controlled. But the successful candidate bore himself throughout with the same dignity which had characterized his public life from its beginning ; the weight of responsi- bility, and the grave duties to be imposed upon him, bringing more of the serious than of the joyful side to his contemplation. On the 4th of March, with most unusual demonstra- tions on the part of the people, he took the oath of office, and assumed the position of President. As the natural result of the fiercely contested campaign, he entered upon the duties of the Chief Executive with many bitter political enemies. No President has escaped them ; few, however, have found them so deter- mined to crush every design and ambition, and to thwart every measure proposed. It has been difficult, GROVER CLEVELAND. 547 if not impossible, for the most vigorous scandalmongers to lay either social or political charge successfully against the President. Nevertheless, with an opposing majority in the Senate, his feet were fettered and his actions criticised without economy ; persevering, how- ever, upon the same rules which had characterized him in other official departments, President Cleveland suc- ceeded in administering the government so thoroughly to the satisfaction of the grave and serious as to readily indicate himself the only candidate for renomination, by his party, at the expiration of his first term of office. W OUNG f OLKS' - ? b ooks QF Travel DRIFTING ROUND THE WORLD; A Boy's Adventures by Sea and Land By Capt. Charles W. Hall, author of " Adrift in the Ice-Fields," " The Great Bonanza," etc. With numerous full-page and letter-press illustra- tions. Royal Svo. Handsome cover. $1.75. Cloth, gilt, $2.50. "Out of the beaten track" in its course of travel, record of adventures, and descriptions of life in Greenland, Labrador, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Holland, Russia, Asia, Siberia, and Alaska. Its hero is young, bold, and adventurous; and the book is in every way interesting and attractive. EDWARD GREEY'S JAPANESE SERIES YOUNG AMERICANS IN JAPAN ; or, The Adventures of the Jewett Family and their Friend Oto Nambo With 170 full-page and letter-press illustrations. Royal 8vo, 7 x oi inches. Handsomely illuminated cover. $1.75. Cloth, black and gold, $2.50. This story, though essentially a work of fiction, is filled with interesting and truthful descriptions of the curious ways of living of the good people of the land of the rising sun. THE WONDERFUL CITY OF TOKIO; or, The Further Ad- ventures of the Jewett Family and their Friend Oto Nambo With 169 illustrations. Royal 8vo, 7x9^ inches. With cover in gold and colors, designed by the author. $1.75. Cloth, black and gold, $2.50. " A book full of delightful information. The author has the happy gift of permitting the reader to view things as he saw them. The illustrations are mostly drawn by a Japanese artist, and are very unique."— Chicago Herald. THE BEAR WORSHIPPERS OF YEZO AND THE ISLAND OF KARAFUTO ; being the further Adventures of the Jewett Family and their Friend Oto Nambo 180 illustrations. Boards, $1.75. Cloth, $2.50. Graphic pen and pencil pictures of the remarkable bearded people who live in the north of Japan. The illustrations are by native Japanese artists, and give queer pictures of a queer people, who have been seldom visited. HARRY W. FRENCH'S BOOKS OUR BOYS IN INDIA The wanderings of two young Americans in Hindustan, with their exciting adventures on the sacred rivers and wild mountains. With 145 illustrations. Royal 8vo, 7 x 95 inches. Bound in emblematic covers of Oriental design, $1.75. Cloth, black and gold, $2.50. While it has all the exciting interest of a romance, it is remarkably vivid in its pictures of manners and customs in the land of the Hindu. The illustra- tions are many and excellent. OUR BOYS IN CHINA The adventures of two young Americans, wrecked in the China Sea on their return from India, with their strange wanderings through the Chinese Empire. 188 illustrations. Boards, ornamental covers in colors and gold, $1.75. Cloth, $2.50. This gives the further adventures of" Our Boys" of India fame in the land of Teas and Queues. Sold by all booksellers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of pries LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston lFj y n of- history By GEORGE MAKEPEACE TOWLE. Handsomely Illustrated. Price per vol., $1.25. Sets in neat boze& VASCO DA GA MA: HIS VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES. "Da Gama's history is full of striking adventures, thrilling incidents, and perilous situations; and Mr. Towle, while not sacrificing historical accuracy, has so skilfully used his materials, that we have a charmingly romantic tale." — Rural New- Yorker. PIZ ARRO: HIS ADVENTURES AND CONQUESTS. " No hero of romance possesses greater power to charm the youthful reader than the conqueror of Peru. Not even King Arthur, or Thaddeus of War- saw, has the power to captivate the imagination of the growing boy. Mr. Towle has handled his subject in a glowing but truthful manner; and wi venture the assertion, that, wery our children led to read such books as this, the taste for unwholesome, exciting, wrong-teaching boys' books — dims novels in books' clothing — would be greatly diminished, to the great gain of mental force and moral purpose in the rising generation."— Chicugo Alliance. MAGELLAN; OR, THE FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. "What more of romantic and spirited adventures any bright boy could want than is to be found in this series of historical biography, it is difficult to imagine. This volume is written in a most sprightly manner; and tha life of its hero, Fernan Magellan, with its rapid stride from the softness of a jutted youth to the sturdy courage and persevering fortitude of manhood, makes a tale of marvellous fascination." — Christian Union. MARCO POLO: HIS TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES. "The story of the adventurous Venetian, who six hundred years ago pens trated into India and Cathay and Thibet and Abyssinia, is pleasantly and clearly told ; and nothing better can be put into the hands of tho school boy or girl than this series of the records of noted travellers. The heroism dis- played by these men was certainly as great as that ever shown by conquering warrior; and it was exercised in a far nobler cause, — the cause of knowledge and discovery, which has made the nineteenth century what it is." ■■•'Graphic. RALEGH: HIS EXPLOITS AND VOYAGES. *' This belongs to the ' Young Folks' Heroes of History ' series, and deals with a greater and more interesting man than any of its predecessors. With all the black spots on his fame, there are few more brilliant and striking figures in English history than the soldier, sailor, courtier, author, and ex. plorer, Sir Walter Ralegh. Even at this distance of time, more than two hundred and fifty years after his head fell on the scaffold, we cannot read his story without emotion. It is graphically written, and is pleasant reading, not only for young folks, but for old folks with young hearts." — Woman t Journal. DRAKE: THE SEA-LION OF DEVON. Drake wns the fe'-emost sea-captain of his age, the first English admiral to send a ship completely round the world, the hero of the magnificent victory which the English won over the Invincible Armada. His career wm stirring bold, and adventurous, from early youth to old age. LEE AND SHEPAED, Publishers, Boston. ■ V * \ ' p ■* i ! i ? [ - if - If ' F [ • ■I # .